Chapter 234 - If Even One Gets Through

“Happy birthday, Master.”

The man bowing respectfully was Sa Hyo, a disciple of the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. He was the man Geom Mugeuk had seen yesterday. The Divine Sword of Five Thunders sat before him.

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders struck one as truly grotesque. Despite his ninety years, the skin of his face was as taut as a young man's. Yet his arms and hands were covered in deep wrinkles, making the contrast utterly bizarre.

“Your birthday gift.”

Sa Hyo took a small box from inside his robe and presented it.

“This time, I have prepared a special Rejuvenation Pill made from the vital essence of girls no older than fifteen.”

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders' face lit up at the mention of a Rejuvenation Pill.

“How many?”

“Ninety.”

Although that meant ninety precious lives had gone into this tiny pill, radiant delight spread over his face. His smile stretched his skin even tighter, making him look more grotesque still.

“That cannot have been easy.”

Gathering the vital essence of ninety girls must have taken years. It was an exceedingly precious medicine.

“You are turning ninety, Master. As your disciple, I ought to put in at least this much effort.”

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders smiled in satisfaction. At some point as he aged, he had become obsessed with youth. The stronger that obsession grew, the more blood stained Sa Hyo's hands.

“I shall teach you the next portion of the mnemonic formula. This time, I shall make an exception and pass on three verses.”

Sa Hyo immediately prostrated himself.

“Thank you, Master.”

But with his head lowered, his expression hardened.

'Damn old bastard. Only three verses!'

Each such display of loyalty earned him another portion of his master's martial arts. He needed only the final, fifth form to learn the entire Five Thunders Sword Art, but obtaining that last form was proving far from easy.

Sa Hyo was gifted with a natural talent for martial arts. He excelled particularly at lightness arts and possessed not only keen senses but an innate sixth sense. His memory was excellent as well; once he saw or heard something, he never forgot it.

The sole problem in his life was that his master was the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. Twenty years had passed since he became his disciple, yet he still had not received all his teachings.

'There is a limit to everything. Do you have any idea how much blood I've stained my hands with for you?'

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders looked down at him with an utterly cold expression.

'Do you think I don't know what you're plotting?'

His disciple was vicious enough that, once taught everything, he might try to kill him. From then on, he would not even be able to take a Rejuvenation Pill in peace for fear it had been poisoned.

'You will get the final verses only when I am dying!'

By the time Sa Hyo raised his head, both men's expressions had returned to normal.

“I shall take the Rejuvenation Pill now. Wait outside for a while.”

“Yes, Master.”

Once Sa Hyo left, the Divine Sword of Five Thunders swallowed the Rejuvenation Pill with a satisfied expression. Then he quietly closed his eyes and began qi-circulation meditation.

* * *

Geom Mugeuk slipped quietly over the estate wall. His first destination was the annex where the servants slept. He entered their rooms one by one and pressed their sleep points. By the time they woke, everything would already be over.

Leaving the annex, he cautiously made his way toward the main building again.

Just then—

SWISH!

Someone leveled a sword at his neck.

“Move and you die.”

The man holding the sword behind him was Sa Hyo. He had spotted Geom Mugeuk just as he left his master's room.

“It was you yesterday, too, wasn't it?”

Geom Mugeuk answered without looking back.

“Yes, it was.”

“If you have no fear, you should at least have some skill. Turn around slowly.”

Geom Mugeuk turned to face him. Despite being caught intruding, he looked entirely untroubled.

“Who sent you?”

“Does that matter, Sa Hyo?”

Sa Hyo was startled. He had thought no one but his master knew his name. What he did not know was that the secret dossier on the Divine Sword of Five Thunders supplied by Bi Sain recorded his taking a disciple named Sa Hyo some twenty years earlier.

“How do you know my name?”

The instant his composure broke—

ZING!

A Blood Calamity Finger shot toward him from behind.

Sa Hyo was undeniably a born expert. He twisted aside to evade the finger force while attempting to cut down Geom Mugeuk in front of him. But in that fleeting instant as he turned, Geom Mugeuk's fist slammed into his chest.

BANG!

He skidded backward. Had he not raised his protective concentrated qi in an instant, the blow would have burst his internal organs and killed him.

“Fuck!”

He had no time to stand there cursing.

ZING! ZING!

Two more streaks of Blood Calamity Finger came flying in succession. Judging that evasion would not suffice, Sa Hyo turned and swung his sword. Sword qi burst forth, dispersing the incoming finger force.

At that instant, Geom Mugeuk's sword descended from behind, aiming to split his head. It was too late to block. He barely twisted aside, but blood sprayed from his shoulder.

It had been so long since Sa Hyo had been cut that the wound came as a tremendous shock. Yet he had no time to examine it.

ZING!

An incoming blast of finger force tore through his flank. Again, had he not dodged at the last instant, it would have pierced his abdomen.

The attacks came from front and back without giving him room to breathe, let alone think. Watching Geom Mugeuk fight, Sa Hyo realized the truth.

'He let me catch him!'

They had laid a trap on either side and drawn him into it.

He could not fend off the frantic barrage from both directions.

“Master! Save me!”

At last, he screamed in desperation. Even as he uttered that single cry, blood sprayed from his body again.

“Master! You fucking bastard!”

Despite his desperate cries, his master did not emerge. Sa Hyo understood. His master considered taking the Rejuvenation Pill more important. If he stopped circulating his qi now, he would receive only part of the medicine's effects. But did that justify letting him die? Him, who had sacrificed his whole life like a dog?

“Aaaaaaagh!”

He unleashed a furious barrage. With his body in tatters, he launched the first, second, and third forms of the Five Thunders Sword Art in succession. Sword qi rained down from every direction. But the wounded beast's desperate struggle merely struck empty space and scattered.

For all his innate martial talent, his training remained incomplete. He could not withstand the combined attacks of Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon pouring in from front and back.

SLASH!

The instant the Black Demon Sword cut a great diagonal gash across his back—

THUNK!

The final blast of finger force pierced his forehead.

As he fell dead, Sa Hyo saw a fleeting procession of images. It was not his own life flashing before his eyes, but the faces of the girls he had killed to make the Rejuvenation Pills.

THUD.

Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon exchanged a single nod. Bi Sain's dossier had already told Geom Mugeuk that Sa Hyo committed all manner of atrocities for his master, so he had not hesitated in the slightest to eliminate him. The information Bi Sain had provided was certainly proving useful.

Just then—

WHOOOOSH!

Both men twisted aside, and a streak of sword qi passed between them. It was extraordinarily powerful and fast.

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders had launched it.

He had heard his disciple calling for help, but could not stop assimilating the medicine's effects.

“I'll tear you bastards apart!”

His attention to the fight outside had prevented him from absorbing the full effects of the Rejuvenation Pill. That angered him more than his disciple's death. He was furious that he would be unable to obtain another Rejuvenation Pill for some time. His yearning for youth took precedence over everything.

He had heard that Yelü Han was embroiled in a bitter conflict with the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance these days. And now they were storming his residence?

'How could he have bungled things so badly?'

The target of his anger was Yelü Han.

Even in this situation, he showed not the slightest sign of fear. He had once dominated the unorthodox Murim.

His gaze moved over the two men.

'One is a mere boy, and the other wears a mask?'

Sa Hyo had fallen to men like these? Just as that puzzled thought occurred to him, his gaze fixed on the Wicked Laughing Demon again.

“Surely not?”

How could a man of ninety not know of the Wicked Laughing Demon's white mask? Had Sa Hyo not died, he would have dismissed him as merely a man in a mask. But killing Sa Hyo in so little time made sense only if he was a Demon Supreme of the Demonic Cult.

“Why are Demonic Cult lackeys coming after me?”

The Wicked Laughing Demon's eyes smiled coldly. Geom Mugeuk answered in his stead.

“What a monstrous face. You killed all those children just to become that pathetic monster!”

The secret dossier Bi Sain had obtained also contained information about the Rejuvenation Pills.

“Even the maggots that come to eat you after you die will spit in disgust and turn away!”

Surely the Divine Sword of Five Thunders, who had spent ninety years among the unorthodox factions, would not fall for such provocation. But he did.

His sword flashed from its sheath.

BOOM!

Sword qi slammed into the spot where Geom Mugeuk had stood, as swift as lightning. He had already stepped aside.

“Ugly, hideous old bastard! You filthy, vile, wicked freak!”

BOOM! BOOM!

Two more streaks of sword qi struck, but Geom Mugeuk evaded them with Flicker Step.

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders was furious at being cursed at for the first time in ages—and by a mere youth, at that. Moreover, in all his ninety years, no one had ever insulted him by saying even maggots would spit at him.

“I'll tear that mouth of yours—”

At the very instant he began to speak in his agitation, Geom Mugeuk charged, cutting short his breath. With his temper flaring and his mouth open to speak, his qi and blood were at their most disordered.

Closing in with Underworld King's Step, Geom Mugeuk unleashed the Heaven-Balancing Form, the first form of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.

SWIIISH!

Just as a streak of sword light swept across to bisect him—

CLANG!

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders blocked the Black Demon Sword with his own blade. Geom Mugeuk's speed appalled him. That mouth would not be so easily torn apart.

ZING!

The Wicked Laughing Demon's Blood Calamity Finger shot toward him. Today's fight would begin and end with joint attacks. Their opponents had committed atrocities deserving of death; they would be afforded none of the courtesies due a martial artist.

The relentless combined assault flustered the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. The Wicked Laughing Demon's Blood Calamity Finger targeted the most troublesome spots, forcing him to block, while Geom Mugeuk was an opponent he could not afford to leave behind his back.

After only a few exchanges, finger force grazed his left shoulder, and he unleashed his ultimate techniques without restraint. With an expert's judgment, he realized that he could never win if he let the fight drag on.

CRACK! CRACK-CRACK! CRACK!

His sword qi curved and struck like lightning. The Five Thunders Sword Art sent sword qi plunging into the crown of the head; anyone unaccustomed to such attacks would die in a single blow.

Sa Hyo had died earlier without properly displaying his swordsmanship, but the Five Thunders Sword Art was a supreme sword art modeled on the shape of lightning, almost on par with the martial arts practiced by the Demon Supremes.

CRASH! CRASH! CRACK-CRACK!

Accompanied by those strange sounds, the sword qi grew stronger still. The second form's lightning was more powerful than the first, and the third displayed terrifying might.

Facing worthy foes for the first time in ages, the Divine Sword of Five Thunders grew exhilarated as he poured out his ultimate techniques. Laughing like a madman, he unleashed one sword form after another.

Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon used their footwork to evade the shower of sword qi.

They moved apart in opposite directions, then crossed paths, yielding space to each other. Having fought together several times, they needed only a glance to understand the other's intent.

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders directed his final, fifth form at the Wicked Laughing Demon. Watching them evade his attacks, he had realized that Geom Mugeuk's footwork was superior. He decided to kill the relatively weaker Wicked Laughing Demon first, then deal with Geom Mugeuk.

At the instant his most powerful technique was about to unfold, Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon's eyes met. Both conveyed the same message at once.

Now!

They, too, staked everything on deciding the fight.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

Violent sword qi poured down on the Wicked Laughing Demon like rain. Though it was an enemy's technique, the spectacle was magnificent enough to inspire admiration.

But instead of blocking the sword qi falling from above, the Wicked Laughing Demon unleashed Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm at the Divine Sword of Five Thunders.

ROOOAR!

The Divine Sword of Five Thunders' eyes widened. It was a response he had never imagined.

'He means to take me down with him!'

But this was no attempt at mutual destruction. Thirty-six streaks of sword qi flew toward those descending on the Wicked Laughing Demon.

It was Shadowed Heaven, the seventh form of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, its number of sword-qi projections increased by Geom Mugeuk's greater internal energy. He had released the greatest number he could muster.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!

If even one got through, the Wicked Laughing Demon might die!

He had unleashed Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm in absolute faith that Geom Mugeuk would block every attack coming toward him.

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

Above the Wicked Laughing Demon's head, the sword qi of Shadowed Heaven dispersed every streak from the fifth form of the Five Thunders Sword Art. Into that Shadowed Heaven, Geom Mugeuk had poured his all. Not a single streak slipped through.

At the very instant the sword qi dispersed—

BOOOOM!

Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm struck the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. Unable to dodge while unleashing his fifth form, he raised his protective concentrated qi to its limit. Caught in the palm strike, he was hurled into the estate wall.

The billowing dust drifted down and settled.

Leaning against the wall, the Divine Sword of Five Thunders vented his rage.

“I'll tear both of you apart!”

But he could not hear the words he had uttered. Puzzlement stirred within him. Had his ears been injured?

And in this urgent situation, Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon were looking at each other.

Why aren't they looking at me? The fight isn't over yet.

His gaze drifted downward.

'!'

Everything below his chest was gone.

The moment he saw it, his torso fell from the wall. The last thing he saw was his own grotesque face reflected in the pool of blood on the ground.

Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon smiled at each other. No words were needed. In that moment, the Laughing Demon truly embodied his name, his smile utterly captivating.

Geom Mugeuk found fighting alongside him immensely enjoyable. With him at his side, he wanted to fight and fight until his heart burst.

That final move in particular was an attack they could never have attempted without faith in each other. With every battle, their trust deepened.

“Let's recover our internal energy first.”

But they never got the chance.

RUMBLE-CRASH.

The wall against which the Divine Sword of Five Thunders had been hurled to his death collapsed.

“Ah! No!”

Geom Mugeuk cried out in dismay. If the wall was down, their enemies would not enter, and the plan to kill them one by one would fall apart.

But he need not have worried about that. As the dust settled, people appeared beyond the ruined wall. People who should not yet have arrived revealed themselves all at once: Yelü Han and the Three Evils, the Blood-Wheel Calamity, and Cha Hwan.

Yelü Han, standing in their midst, stepped over the broken wall. He silently looked down at the bisected Divine Sword of Five Thunders. A heart-freezing chill emanated from his body, but his indifferent eyes and expression betrayed no emotion.

“Cha Hwan, as you wished, we no longer need the gift.”