Chapter 387: Chapter 387
Had the original plan been this early?
Or had it been rushed because of me?
The conversation with the third of the Phantom Five Demons inside Chowol Manor, and the emergency declared at the Murim Alliance the instant they died—
Everything felt as though it fit together far too neatly.
‘If the Grand Strategist actually dies……’
I severed the countless tendrils of unpleasant memories sprouting up and focused solely on running.
This wasn’t the aftermath where everything was already over. This was still a moment where something could be changed.
On top of that, I’d placed Dang Seo-hui at his side, and Yong So-ah had latched on like a leech as well.
I didn’t know the details, but there was no way the Grand Strategist would be lost as hollowly as in my previous life.
SHRIEK—
Running at full power until my ears rang, I began to see more and more people.
TAP, TA-TAP—
Just as I’d done leaving Chengdu, I kicked off rooftops and shot straight ahead.
As the crowds thickened, eyes turned my way, but I had no time to care.
‘Faster, even faster……’
I pushed the Unrivaled under Heaven Movement Art to its absolute limit.
BOOM-BOOM-CRASH—
A roof shattered here and there, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.
Sure enough.
The closer I got to the Murim Alliance, the louder the commotion grew.
Looking down below, I could see a great many people rushing toward the Alliance in a panic.
Among them, someone pointed up at the rooftop where I was and shouted.
————!
But I was moving too fast to catch what they said.
Well, it probably wasn’t anything important.
After clearing five buildings, I planted my foot against a high wall to change direction and twisted my body.
BOOM—!
My body shot forward as if launched by the rebound—
SHRIEK—
An arrow came flying from a blind spot, missing by a hair’s breadth.
‘An enemy?’
I’d already killed three of the Phantom Five Demons, but two still remained.
And hadn’t the third one brought along ten Heavenly Killing Unit members?
It wouldn’t be strange if even more Flame Demon Ghost-Eye Unit operatives were hiding out there.
‘Where are you……!’
I kept my footwork going to deal with any ambush while scanning my surroundings.
And then—
Looking down in the direction the arrow had come from, I noticed something was off.
“……”
There were quite a few people chasing me from below the buildings.
‘They’re being this blatant about showing themselves?’
At minimum, over twenty.
On the path toward the Murim Alliance, there were thirty or more.
“Seize him!”
“He’s suspicious!”
“Intruder!!”
Now I could hear their voices clearly.
The bastards were framing me as an intruder.
‘Ha, shameless sons of bitches!’
No matter how brazen they were, to be this flagrant about it—
At the same time, the thought crossed my mind that these bastards were truly committed.
But I couldn’t afford to lose my temper here.
‘Save the Grand Strategist first.’
None of the arrows flying my way were actually threatening, anyway.
I drew up more inner arts and pushed my speed higher.
BOOM—
The bastards pointed at me even more openly, inciting the people around them.
————!
———————!
Grinding my teeth at their despicable provocations, I raced toward the Murim Alliance.
I swore to root them out completely and make them pay.
Dodging arrows, spear tips, and hidden weapons flying in from all directions, I finally reached the Murim Alliance, and felt a measure of relief.
At the very least, not even the Demonic Cult bastards could have replaced the warriors standing watch at the main gate.
“I’m leaving my rear to you!”
Entrusting the Demonic Cult lackeys chasing me to the gate guards, I was about to vault over the main gate when—
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—
The warriors drew their swords and sent sword qi hurtling at me.
‘Fuck, what the hell……!’
Using the Iron Bridge technique, I barely dodged the sword qi, only for a stern spear form called the Heaven-Shaking Eight-Strike Spear to come bearing down on me.
From my back-bent position I reached out with both hands and spun backward three full rotations before—
“Hff……”
—finally escaping the relentless range of that spear form.
What’s going on? Don’t tell me even the main gate has been taken over by Demonic Cult operatives?
Just as that doubt made me lift my head—
“How dare you try to barge into a place like this!”
Two Gate Captains blocked the entrance, crossing their spears across the gate.
“……”
What is this? What the hell are they scheming that they’d take the act this far?
Before the thought even finished forming, one of the Gate Captains spoke.
“Identify yourself! Otherwise, we will assume hostile intent and execute you on the spot!”
Something about the atmosphere was wrong.
No matter how committed to an act, going this far in such a public space, with every ounce of genuine effort—
This is way too far beyond reason.
“Identify yourself!”
Under the relentless pressure, I hesitated before finally answering.
“I’m Jin So-un, Murim Academy Representative!”
Huh? What’s with this reaction all of a sudden?
The moment I introduced myself, their faces went blank with bewilderment.
“Jin So-un? You mean Black Flame Dragon Jin So-un?”
“……I’m Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect.”
“Proof that you’re Jin So-un?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t brought my nameplate.
Proof…… proof.
“Jin So-un is supposed to carry an unusual sword, isn’t he?”
They seemed to be referring to the glowing part of the Red Radiance Sword.
“Something came up, so I left it behind for the moment.”
“……”
Their faces screamed complete disbelief.
Well, even I had to admit I had absolutely nothing to prove my identity with…… but still!
“It’s really me!”
“……”
“If you’d just look at my face, you’d know……”
At that moment, the mob that had been chasing me surged up behind us in a clamor.
“There he is! That’s him!”
“Gate Captains! This is the man! I clearly saw him sprinting toward the Alliance at full speed the moment the emergency was declared.”
“This one is definitely one of the assailants……!”
Dozens of people in Alliance uniforms surrounded me.
“Ha……!”
So that’s what it was. This whole time, my pursuers and I had been mistaking each other for the enemy.
“What kind of bullshit is this?! I came here to save the Grand Strategist!”
When I snarled, the Alliance members flinched and fell back.
One of the Gate Captains, after exchanging glances with the other, asked me again.
“You’re…… really Black Flame Dragon Jin So-un?”
“……I’m really Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect.”
“So it was you. That filthy temper of yours matches the rumors exactly.”
Since when has my personality become a form of identification?
Setting that aside for the moment—
“‘So it was me’? I nearly got killed by a surprise attack just now. Those people almost shot me with arrows!”
“……Look at yourself before you say that.”
I hurriedly looked down.
‘Ah……’
I’d completely forgotten that I was drenched in blood from fighting one of the Phantom Five Demons and the Heavenly Killing Unit members.
“S-sorry. I was in such a rush to get here.”
“Well…… understood. In any case, your identity hasn’t been ‘officially’ verified, so I can’t let you through.”
“How can you say that! This is an extremely urgent situation!”
“The urgent situation is over. The emergency has been lifted and we’re simply on heightened alert. I don’t know what urgent situation you were imagining, Jin So-un, but that won’t be happening.”
“……”
The Gate Captain wrinkled his nose mid-sentence and took a step back.
“In any case, go back, clean up that mess of a state you’re in, and bring something that can verify your identity. Then I’ll let you in.”
So the emergency was lifted—that was a relief, at least—but something still felt off.
‘Sniff sniff…… ugh, the smell.’
I had a feeling I’d been tearing through Wuhan looking like a madman.
***
I returned to the Hao Gate’s Wuhan branch and hurriedly washed up.
Changing into the fresh martial arts uniform the Branch Chief had prepared, I gathered my belongings and rushed back to the Gate Captain.
“So it really was Black Flame Dragon Jin So-un.”
“……”
I started to say something in response to the Gate Captain’s murmur after checking my nameplate and sword, but gave up and kept quiet.
Getting a read on the situation inside the Alliance came first.
“You probably won’t be able to enter the inner compound. They’re still investigating.”
“Is the Grand Strategist alright?”
“……”
The Gate Captain pressed his lips tightly together, paused for a moment, then answered.
“Go to the Mantongbu.”
The Mantongbu, of all places……
Even after being targeted for assassination in the dead of night, he hadn’t retreated to somewhere safer but had gone to the Mantongbu?
Thinking that it was a very Jegal So-myeong thing to do, I headed there.
The inner compound was lit up in every direction despite the late hour, as though it were an entertainment district—hard to believe it was the middle of the night.
The only difference was the absence of anyone staggering around drunk.
‘Well, it’d be stranger for things to be quiet after the Grand Strategist was ambushed.’
The atmosphere inside the Murim Alliance had been turned completely upside down.
Not a single person had loosened their grim expression.
Those whose positions might be on the line after this incident were surely drenched in cold sweat running down their spines.
It wouldn’t just stop at dismissal. Every past misdeed would be dredged up and exposed during the investigation.
This incident might even send shockwaves all the way to certain departments or specific sects.
‘Well, that’s got nothing to do with me.’
I soothed my anxiety-riddled chest just a little.
The Phantom Five Demons had moved earlier than the expected date, but in the end, no catastrophe had occurred.
Things are different now from the previous life.
A competing organization called the Black Thought Alliance has been formed, and its strategist, Dam Ak, is present.
If Jegal So-myeong had died under these circumstances……
‘Dam Ak would have immediately become the prime suspect.’
A chaos far greater than the Righteous Path Association versus Orthodox Path Association conflict would surely have erupted.
Fighting the Phantom Five Demons had drained me considerably, but the outcome couldn’t have been more satisfying.
As those thoughts carried me to the Mantongbu, two familiar faces greeted me, just as expected.
“What took you so long.”
Dang Seo-hui, cheeks puffed out to bursting, spoke curtly.
“……”
And Yong So-ah, staring at me with his usual unappetizing expression.
Meeting their faces drew a faint smile from my own.
“I had my own share of hardship getting here.”
But evidently her mood was far from mollified, because Dang Seo-hui’s cheeks showed no sign of deflating.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous it was?”
“Senior Dang.”
“Three whole people died……”
“Senior Dang. A true chivalrous hero doesn’t boast about her own hardships to others.”
At my words, she faltered, her lips working soundlessly.
“……I wasn’t boasting. I was simply conveying the facts.”
When I patted the shoulder of the slightly deflated girl, she was already looking up at me with sparkling eyes.
Since I didn’t know the details of the ambush, I pressed further with questions.
“How many were deployed in total?”
“Seven in all.”
So Heavenly Killing Unit members had been sent to this side as well.
“Were any of them particularly dangerous?”
“Two of them were extremely dangerous opponents. They possessed a rare combination of ruthlessness and skill.”
“What techniques did they primarily use?”
“……”
Dang Seo-hui, who had been answering readily until now, suddenly hesitated.
“I-I don’t remember exactly.”
What? The great Dang Seo-hui forgot the details of a fight?
“It was a v-very, very desperate situation, so I moved on instinct……”
Now she was openly avoiding my eyes, her hands fidgeting nonstop.
“Senior Dang?”
“……”
Tsk, she’s going to pick her fingers raw at that rate.
In the end, the answer came from somewhere else.
None other than Yong So-ah, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation.
“They appeared to favor hidden weapons and a heavy saber as their main arms, and concealed within the energy their bodies emanated was a technique that twisted the qi meridians.”
One of the hallmarks of the Wraith Demonic Art, the primary discipline of the Flame Demon Ghost-Eye Unit.
The two who had been notably strong were undoubtedly the remaining pair of the Phantom Five Demons.
‘Judging by the look of things, did this bastard Yong So-ah fight both Phantom Five Demons alone?’
Calculating backward through the timeline, the decisive battle had ended surprisingly fast—a thought that sent a chill down my spine.
‘What the hell has this bastard been eating to get this strong?’
In terms of inner arts, I already overwhelmed the current Yong So-ah.
Yet what I’d felt in our last bout was a sense of being hard-pressed.
While I was lost in thought—
“Is it my turn now?”
Before I could respond to Yong So-ah’s cryptic remark, a question came flying.
“How did you foresee this incident?”
“……”
“And.”
In those eyes that had always been devoid of emotion, a piercing, icy light stirred.
“How did you know that Dang Seo-hui and I would be needed?”
For an instant, a cold energy sharp enough to stab the lungs froze the air.
How did I know, he asks……
That’s right. Setting aside Dang Seo-hui, anyone who had observed my actions and words even once would have reason enough to be suspicious.
I gave a candid nod.
“What makes you think I’d answer that?”
Of course, I had not the slightest intention of answering.
“……”
“I’m not telling you.”
“……That’s not fair.”
What is he on about?
The bastard whose entire existence proves life isn’t fair.
“Yeah. It’s not fair. So what?”
“……”
“If it pisses you off, go report me or something.”
As the taut energy crackled between Yong So-ah and me, Dang Seo-hui—wearing an oddly ashen expression—muttered.
“……That’s childish.”
I patted her on the head and asked in a lighthearted voice.
“Senior Dang, you’ve worked hard. Want to go get some candied fruit?”
“……”
The dull, ashen hue in her eyes flooded with vivid color.
After fidgeting with her fingers and deliberating for a moment, Dang Seo-hui gave a firm nod.
“The candied fruit from last time was delicious.”
“Let’s go. I’ll buy you enough to make your stomach burst tonight.”
“They won’t be selling this late at night.”
“I bought that entire candied fruit shop. They’ll be having a special late-night opening.”
“!!!”
And so I took Dang Seo-hui’s hand and left the Mantongbu, heading for the outer compound.
And then—
Thud, thud, thud—
“……”
Yong So-ah was following behind us, his face expressionless.
‘Ha, why the hell is that bastard tagging along? Is he thinking of eating candied fruit or something?’
I did my best not to let my bewilderment show and kept walking when—
BOOM-BOOM-CRASH—!
A tremendous explosion suddenly erupted from inside the Alliance.
My head whipped around.
‘The outer compound!’
The source of the blast was, thankfully, the area where the outer compound’s halls were clustered.
Just as I began to feel a sliver of relief—an ominous premonition struck.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-CRASH—!
Another explosion rocked the air.
It was still the outer compound, but this time the blast came from a different section.
That area was none other than the place where the halls housing guests were concentrated.
And among the guests in the outer compound—
Dam Ak was there.
“Fuck……”
A fraction of a second.
My mind raced outward.
And then—
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-CRASH—!
Another thunderous blast shook the world.