Chapter 582

WOOOOONG—! WOOONG! WOOONG!!!

Leaving the spreading resonance behind me, I stared at Heavenly Sword.

I could see the bastard grinning at me after I blocked his sword.

“Just as I thought.”

As if he had felt something too, he nodded.

“I knew you would move.”

“What the hell are you doing?”

I was pissed.

I forced down the heat rising in me and spoke to him.

“Were you trying to kill someone?”

“I had no intention of killing him.”

“Bullshit. You threw a killing stroke at him, and now you’re talking nonsense?”

There had been bloodlust in it. I knew perfectly well he had aimed to cut off Peng Dojun’s neck.

That last attack had been a killing stroke. If I had not stepped in, Peng Dojun’s head would have come off.

No intention of killing him?

“Looks like you have a habit of talking like an asshole.”

“I trusted that you would intervene.”

“Ha.”

I was about to pour power into my sword.

Energy gathered within it, and the light of Radiant Moon Flash Aura grew stronger.

Then—

“Ugh...!”

“Ghh....”

The Demonic Cultists flinched.

What?

I narrowed my eyes at their reaction.

[Release the Sword Aura.]

The Heavenly Demon spoke.

His voice was almost a barked command, and I immediately withdrew my energy.

Once it vanished, the cultists returned to normal.

[Be careful. That Sword Aura has the nature of suppressing demonic qi.]

“...?”

...It did?

That was the first I had heard of it.

Startled by the revelation, I forced my emotions down for now.

This was not the time. I needed to deal with Heavenly Sword first.

“You said you knew I would step in? If I hadn’t, he would have died.”

“I was certain you would come.”

“Sure you were, you bastard.”

I was just about to walk over and grab him by the collar.

“That’s enough.”

“...!”

An instructor appeared between us.

He intervened and put an end to the situation.

In a rather forceful way.

BOOM—!!

“Urk!”

Heavenly Sword went flying from the punch and slammed into the wall.

The wall shook violently.

Damn.

Did that kill him?

My anger vanished in an instant.

Heavenly Sword lost consciousness on the spot.

Then—

Whoosh.

CLINK—!

A huge hand came flying toward me.

I reacted to the instructor’s attack without thinking.

Tap.

But his hand did nothing more than press firmly down on my sword.

“Calm down.”

“....”

“It is good for young men to have spirit, but there are still rules that must be observed.”

“...That was—”

THUMP—!

“...!”

My body was shoved backward.

Something had struck my abdomen.

SCREEEECH—!!!

My feet scraped across the floor as I held myself in place.

Heat surged through me.

“Huff... Haaah.”

“You surprise me every time I see you.”

I raised my head.

The instructor was looking at me.

A faint mist rose from his fist.

When had he hit me?

I checked my aching upper body. I had managed to block the attack with my sword, but I had still been blasted back.

“Trainee.”

“...Yes.”

He looked at me and asked,

“How did you react?”

“...I don’t know. I just blocked it first.”

“You have good instincts. Since you blocked it, I’ll let it go.”

As though he had already lost interest, the instructor turned away.

“Take that one to the infirmary.”

“Yes, sir.”

Several people moved to collect the unconscious Heavenly Sword.

“As I said, killing is forbidden during a spar. He was punished for breaking that rule and releasing bloodlust.”

The instructor explained, then turned his gaze on me.

“As for you, you interfered in someone else’s spar without permission. A punishment will be issued for that as well. Any objection?”

“...No.”

“Then that settles it. Finish the rest.”

With that, he turned his back on us without another word.

It really looked like that was all there was to it.

“....”

Ignoring the dull ache in my stomach, I looked toward Peng Dojun.

I needed to see how he would react too.

Normally, that man would have been furious. Why is he so quiet?

I had expected him either to get mad at me for interfering in his fight...

Or to rage over someone daring to try to kill him.

But Peng Dojun stood still.

Then I saw why.

“...Ah.”

I looked at his condition and understood.

Did he gain enlightenment?

It looked like he had found something in that fight.

The way he stood there, blankly staring ahead, made it obvious.

“....”

He found enlightenment even now?

Unbelievable.

Was body-and-sword unity the trigger?

He had reached it out of nowhere, and now it seemed he had gained something from it.

What was I supposed to do with that?

The fact that he was standing so openly in the middle of the sparring platform bothered me.

Then—

“Do not use that platform.”

The instructor spoke indifferently as he walked away.

“....”

It seemed he had noticed that Peng Dojun had entered a state of enlightenment.

I watched the instructor.

That man.

His martial strength seemed comparable to the other elders, and so did the way he treated people.

He doesn’t seem like an ordinary instructor.

He felt completely different from the others.

Like someone floating alone above the rest.

Who was he? What kind of man was he?

[He has not changed at all.]

The Heavenly Demon spoke as if he knew him.

What kind of Demonic Cultist is he?

I asked at once. Information was best acquired whenever the opportunity arose.

[There are five halls within the Demonic Cult.]

It was a somewhat unexpected answer.

Information about the Demonic Cult, all of a sudden?

I already knew this much.

I memorized that information long ago.

[The Office of Justice, the Administration Hall, the Reform Hall, the Martial Hall, and the War Hall. There are five in total. Each one exists to sustain and govern the Cult in its own way.]

The Office of Justice handled incidents that occurred within the Demonic Cult, as I had seen before.

The Administration Hall managed the Cult’s money and other matters such as its buildings.

The Reform Hall and Martial Hall were closed at the moment, so I did not know much about them.

And the War Hall—

A combat organization.

I had heard it was an elite force, like Mount Hua Sect’s Plum Blossom Swordsmen or the Azure Moon Sect’s Lesser Moon Unit.

The real elites of the Demonic Cult supposedly belonged there, apart from the Eight Demons and the elder council.

Hadn’t they been masters who dealt tremendous damage during the war?

[That instructor once served as chief of the War Hall.]

“....”

I paused at those words.

A former hall chief?

That was the equivalent of—

The Lesser Moon Unit leader.

Was that what he meant?

A martial artist on the level of the Lesser Moon Unit leader.

That meant someone who could easily be counted among the absolute masters.

...And someone like that is an instructor?

Why would a master like that bother teaching younger-generation prodigies?

I asked in confusion.

[I do not know. Why would I know such a thing?]

That’s fair.

There was no reason for the Heavenly Demon to know that man’s personal circumstances.

What mattered was that an absolute master who had once led a hall was working as an instructor.

...Hmph.

I watched the instructor walk away.

He had already sat down and was yawning.

The Demonic Cult.

There really was not a single normal thing about this damn place.

I just wanted to go home as soon as possible.

*****

The ranking matches had ended.

A considerable amount of time had passed.

A lot of people had fought one after another.

The instructor had said we could fight as we pleased, but there were only four sparring platforms.

Several people had to take turns using them, so it took quite a while.

The results did not differ much.

I had defeated Hyo Yeonri in our ranking match, so I remained number one.

Heavenly Sword had suffered a decision loss, which made Peng Dojun the winner.

As a result, Peng Dojun had risen unexpectedly this time.

Several other rankings changed as well.

Yu Yeon might have been the only one who remained in place.

She did not bother challenging anyone, nor did she turn away those who came to challenge her.

She faced three people in total and defeated all of them.

Everything that had happened in the rain was concluded with nothing more than sparring.

And as soon as the schedule ended, I met with someone.

“Come on. Tell me. How are you going to help me?”

“....”

Hyo Yeonri.

I had called her aside to ask.

She hesitated and avoided my gaze.

She had been like this ever since our spar earlier.

“Do you not want to hear me out?”

“...No. I do... I have to hear you out.”

I was supposed to grant whatever was wagered in a ranking match.

That was the law of the Demonic Cult.

Hyo Yeonri had said she would help with the investigation by the Office of Justice.

But first—

“How did you know?”

How had she known I was being investigated by the Office of Justice?

That was what I needed to ask first.

Hyo Yeonri hesitated before answering.

“...The deputy chief of the Office of Justice is a member of my family.”

“...Is that so?”

Deputy chief was not a low position.

It told me just how high-ranking her family was within the Demonic Cult.

“But if you knew I was under investigation, doesn’t that mean you looked into me behind my back?”

“...It wasn’t like that.”

“Sure it was.”

“...Yes.”

When I pressed her, Hyo Yeonri bit her lip and nodded.

Could someone’s attitude really change that much?

For a moment, I wondered if I had been too hard on her.

What did I even do that was so harsh?

It was not as though I had beaten her for trying to pull some bullshit.

I had only grabbed her by the collar.

Honestly, I had wanted to slap her or cripple something. I had shown restraint.

“So how are you going to help?”

“During the investigation... I will prove that Young Master Bang has no connection to the charges and resolve the matter.”

“How will you prove that I am innocent?”

“I can make it happen....”

“Oh....”

That was a rather illegal, narrow-minded, but useful method.

Which raised another question.

“What if I did it?”

“What?”

“Suppose I actually did it. What would you do if it turned out I was the one who slaughtered everyone at that inn?”

“....”

It was one thing to prove that I had not massacred everyone at the inn.

But what if I really had?

At that question, Hyo Yeonri made a strange expression.

“Is that important?”

“....”

Her answer came so naturally that I was sure of it.

She was strange too.

They all are.

Those caught up in a romantic calamity tended to have a somewhat dulled sense of guilt.

Maybe that was not always true, but everyone I had seen so far had been like that.

“Fine. It would be good if you can resolve it. I’ll count on you, then.”

She said she would help, so there was nothing more to discuss.

I rose to leave.

“Wait...!”

Hyo Yeonri stopped me.

“What?”

I looked at her with clear annoyance, and she spoke hurriedly.

“H-how did it not work?”

“What didn’t?”

“My seduction....”

“...Seduction?”

That was what she called it.

She was probably referring to the thing that had stirred up karma through her romantic calamity.

What a ridiculous word to choose.

Why had it not worked?

Explaining would be annoying.

There was no point in telling her about touching karma or anything like that.

So I gave her a simple answer.

“You’re not my type.”

“....”

“You’re ugly.”

“...!”

I said that and left.

What a pain.

I waved one hand dismissively.

I did not want to get tangled up with her again.

Right after Bang Seongyeon left—

“...Ah.”

Hyo Yeonri, now alone, murmured,

“...I can’t let this go.”

She had gone this far, and he had called her ugly.

Bang Seongyeon was the first man ever to call her ugly.

Fine.

“I have to have him somehow.”

No matter what it took, she would make him hers.

That was the moment she made up her mind.