Chapter 135: An Unwanted Conclusion (3)

As Il-mok stood frozen as if his feet were nailed to the floor, his arms twitching, Yeom Ga-hwi’s blood-red energy and Yu Geuk’s pale yin qi clashed ceaselessly. At a glance, the scene didn't look much different from the beginning of the fight, but there was a significant difference. Sweat was now beading on Yu Geuk’s forehead, and blood was slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The ultimate goal of this whole mess was to find the hidden master back at headquarters.

Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong weren't enemies to kill, they were targets to capture and interrogate.

That's why Yeom Ga-hwi wasn't going all out. He had to be ready in case Ma Do-yeong tried to kill himself or escape.

But now that Il-mok's quick thinking had subdued Ma Do-yeong...

"Hup!"

There was no reason for Yeom Ga-hwi to hold back anymore.

Whether it was because of accumulated internal injuries or other factors, Yu Geuk failed to block all of Yeom Ga-hwi's wave-like assault, and his blade wavered for just a split second.

Thwack!

Yeom Ga-hwi's right fist shot out instantly, slamming into Yu Geuk's side.

That single blow made a mouthful of blood burst from Yu Geuk's lips, which had already been leaking blood.

But even then, Yu Geuk didn't let out a single groan. He just swung his blade straight at Yeom Ga-hwi's neck.

Seeing this, Yeom Ga-hwi spoke for the first time since the fight began.

"Excellent!"

Yu Geuk's attitude—trading minor wounds for a kill—was truly befitting a warrior of the great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Of course, Yeom Ga-hwi wasn't about to offer his neck along with the praise.

Grab.

As if he'd anticipated the move, Yeom Ga-hwi stretched out his left hand and caught Yu Geuk's right hand as it swung the blade.

Having neutralized his opponent's weapon, Yeom Ga-hwi swung his right arm again—the same one that had struck Yu Geuk's side.

Papapapak!

Opening his fist, he rapidly jabbed five of Yu Geuk's pressure points with his fingers in succession.

Thud.

When Yeom Ga-hwi released Yu Geuk's right arm, his body crumpled like rotten straw.

'Phew. My apologies, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, but direct action really suits my temperament better.'

He thought he'd gotten used to his position as Hall Master, but after actually fighting after a long time, this definitely felt more like his style.

With a somewhat refreshed expression, Yeom Ga-hwi looked down at the fallen Yu Geuk.

'How did a warrior of this caliber end up as a mere minion?'

As Yeom Ga-hwi stroked his beard with a blood-stained fist, mulling over that thought—

"Phew."

Il-mok let out a deep sigh.

'Well done, Il-mok!'

He didn't want to spare himself any praise.

He had endured the feast of enlightenment and resisted drawing his sword until the very end. He couldn’t have been prouder.

'How dare some pathetic scrap of Demonic Art try to take over its master’s body!'

He wanted to gleefully give the middle finger to that other self, who was grinding his teeth in frustration, and mock him to his heart's content.

But now wasn't the time for that.

"Instructors, lead all the officials back to the Black Dragon Pavilion!"

When Yeom Ga-hwi shouted this after subduing Yu Geuk, the instructors stepped forward and began cleaning up the scene.

"Phew."

Just then, Seo Wan-pyeong, who had been concentrating on circulating his energy, also opened his eyes with a deep breath.

"Are you alright, Third Brother?"

"The urgent fire's been put out, so don't worry. The situation's pressing, so let's finish tidying up first and then start proper treatment."

Seo Wan-pyeong tried to look dependable as always as he got to his feet.

"Sorry for the late greeting, Hall Master."

When the Hall Master approached, carrying the unconscious Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong, Seo Wan-pyeong quickly clasped his hands and bowed.

"Given the situation, it couldn't be helped."

The Hall Master replied and then turned his gaze to Il-mok.

"Disciple Il-mok."

"Yes, Hall Master."

"You should also return to the Black Dragon Pavilion and rest. We'll handle the interrogation."

A student was still a student. Yeom Ga-hwi believed it was their duty to handle the cleanup. Seeing that stubborn old man's look on his face, Il-mok had a gut feeling that persuasion would be useless.

"I'll trust you and wait."

He watched the backs of Yeom Ga-hwi and Seo Wan-pyeong heading somewhere with their two captives, along with Physician Seo Jae-pil.

'Phew. At least we caught two of them, so they'll handle the rest. Plus, we have that thing too.'

Shaking off any lingering attachment, Il-mok turned and headed toward the Black Dragon Pavilion, but then hesitated.

'Feels like I'm forgetting something?'

But only briefly. Il-mok sighed and started walking again.

'Better not overthink it and trigger another round of side effects.'

Even earlier, it was lucky that the fight between the Hall Master and the Vice Hall Master ended quickly. Otherwise, he’d gone berserk.

Step. Step.

Walking toward the Black Dragon Pavilion, Il-mok thought about how he just wanted to rest peacefully without any worries for a while.

***

Yu Geuk awoke to an excruciating pain as if his whole body was being torn apart.

But even suffering such agony, he didn't let out a single groan. He just frowned slightly.

The first thing he realized upon regaining consciousness was that his pressure points had been sealed.

Not a single bit of his internal energy would move as he willed, and his body was the same. He couldn't even twitch a finger.

It was like sleep paralysis, where his mind was awake but his body was immobile.

The second thing he realized was that he was bound.

Looking down with his head half-lowered, he could see iron chains binding his body.

'Tsk.'

Only then did Yu Geuk remember being subdued by the Hall Master. Yu Geuk clicked his tongue internally.

"Looks like you're awake."

At the same time, the voice of the man who'd subdued him reached his ears.

"I'll release your pressure points."

Then came the voice of the Third Young Master, who could be called the source of this whole mess. Someone's hand lifted his chin.

Only then could Yu Geuk realize that it was the Third Young Master’s.

The Third Young Master carefully moved his hands to release Yu Geuk's pressure points. But he never let go of the hand gripping his jaw.

As if ready to act the moment he showed signs of trying to kill himself.

"Why are you doing this, Hall Master?"

Those were the first words Yu Geuk spoke after his pressure points were released. His pronunciation was slurred with the Third Young Master gripping his chin, but it wasn't hard to understand.

"Planning to play dumb to the end?"

"...Did I really displease you that much?"

Yu Geuk acted as if this were some kind of political struggle within the Hall of the Demonic Way.

“It seems it was a good thing we brought that thing."

When the  Hall Master shook his head once and said this, Physician Seo Jae-pil approached Yu Geuk with something in his hand.

Seo Jae-pil shoved something like finely ground medicinal powder into Yu Geuk's mouth, and Seo Wan-pyeong, who was gripping Yu Geuk's chin, moved his jaw and throat to force him to swallow.

"Let's see if you say the same thing after eating that."

Yu Geuk glared at the Hall Master with eyes blazing with killing intent after being forced to consume something.

"Are you trying to force a confession by poisoning me?"

But the answer that came back was unexpected.

"What we fed you is indeed a poison, but you won't die from eating that much. You'll probably be fine in an hour or two."

"???"

While Yu Geuk felt something was off about the Demonic Arts Hall Master's words—

"???"

Yu Geuk belatedly noticed something was wrong.

His consciousness gradually began to grow hazy, and the figures of Yeom Ga-hwi, Seo Jae-pil, and Seo Wan-pyeong before his eyes started twisting strangely.

The item Il-mok had requested from the Heavenly Demon through Seo Jae-pil.

The very thing that Seo Jae-pil had once proposed using as treatment for mental illness, but Il-mok had fiercely opposed, causing the plan to fall through.

It was drugs.

Il-mok had been the one to propose using it only as a painkiller due to its addictive and dangerous nature, but ironically, Il-mok had now requested it for a different purpose.

And that other purpose was as a truth serum.

Of course, he hadn't requested it carelessly. Using drugs as a truth serum was extremely dangerous.

The side effects and addiction didn't disappear just because you used them as a truth serum.

If they used truth serum on every suspect to catch criminals, the entire Demonic Cult would soon become a den of drug addicts.

On top of that, half of what someone said while high on drugs was basically nonsense, like a patient under anaesthesia talking in their sleep.

But the accomplices they'd caught this time were definite criminals, and there were several of them.

They could cross-verify nonsense against real confessions, and since they were actual criminals, there was no risk of creating innocent drug addicts.

Il-mok had requested that drugs be used as truth serum only when there were comparison groups and 'definite criminals,' and the Heavenly Demon had also given permission only under such conditions.

***

Late at night.

While the interrogation of Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong was underway—

"Snore. Snooore."

Il-mok, who had been dozing and snoring, suddenly opened his eyes.

What appeared in his vision was something silver glinting in the darkness.

"!!!"

Il-mok, who had awakened to faint killing intent, threw his body aside to avoid the blade plunging toward him.

Slash.

The bed where Il-mok had been lying was pierced through with an unpleasant cutting sound.

"Fuck."

A curse slipped out of Il-mok's mouth as he barely avoided the surprise attack.

'Thanks to Third Brother, my body automatically reacts to night attacks now.'

But that didn't mean the one who attacked him was Seo Wan-pyeong.

'I can't believe I forgot about this bastard.'

It was Jeong Gyu-seok, the instructor in charge of doctrine education and the Doctrine Research Club.

Come to think of it, he'd originally suspected Jeong Gyu-seok and Cheok Il-so as accomplices.

It's just that unexpectedly, they'd caught Yu Geuk, a bigger fish than those two.

The reason he could tell that his current attacker was Jeong Gyu-seok and not Cheok Il-so was simple.

The attacker was using a blade, unlike Cheok Il-so, who used a spear.

Plus, the body shape revealed through the black night clothes the assassin wore was a bit too lean to be Cheok Il-so's.

Cheok Il-so boasted muscles and bulk befitting a physical fitness club instructor.

"Tsk."

When Il-mok dodged his first strike, the assassin clicked his tongue lightly and swung his blade wildly.

As Il-mok had expected, he was Jeong Gyu-seok.

After the secret conversation between Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong was discovered by Third Young Master Seo Wan-pyeong—

Jeong Gyu-seok felt his blood run cold every single moment.

In the midst of this, Jeong Gyu-seok had this thought:

Eventually, his identity would be exposed as time passed anyway.

If so, then he’d rather—

'I'll kill the Eighth Young Master, who's the source of all this mess, and be done with it.'

Instead of waiting to die after being discovered while spending hellish days, wouldn't it be better to cleanly kill the source of all this trouble and then commit suicide?

Looking at Jeong Gyu-seok's blade flying toward his neck, Il-mok was furious.

'Fuck! Fuck!! Fuck!!!'

It wasn't anger at himself for not thinking about the remaining accomplice problem.

Nor was it anger about nearly dying from a surprise attack.

It was because—

Clang!

Il-mok's sword was already drawn before he knew it, and he successfully blocked the assassin's strike just in time.

While throwing his body aside from the first attack, Il-mok had grabbed the scabbard beside his bed.

Even so, the reason he was angry was—

'I should have held back just for today!!!'

It was because of the very fact that he'd ended up drawing his sword.

The lump of enlightenment he'd barely managed to shove into a corner of his mind and ignore stirred to life again.

No.

—Hehehehe.

The damn side effect was grinning like it was saying "screw you" while holding the lump of enlightenment and dancing around gleefully.

Having experienced this countless times before, this was the most unwanted ending he'd been praying wouldn't happen again.