Dying would be easier. (1)

Crunch!

A streak of blue light pierced his flesh. Yoon Jong’s body was violently dragged as if pulled by something invisible.

‘Huh?’

Unable to grasp what had just happened to him, Yoon Jong stared at the vast sky filling his vision.

‘What in the world…?’

At that moment, a terrible pain spread through his chest. His mouth fell open on its own, and a strangled groan burst out.

Thud.

Collapsing onto the ground, Yoon Jong clutched his chest, blood spurting forth in hot gushes.

“Sahyeong!”

Jo Geol shouted, turning quickly towards Yoon Jong.

“Don’t come!”

Yoon Jong jerked his head up and shouted sharply.

Jo Geol, about to rush forward, flinched and froze on the spot. He had no time to steady his emotions. Jo Geol rapidly blocked the incoming attack from a demonic cultist.

Clang!

“Move aside! You damned bastard!”

After somehow managing to keep Jo Geol’s sanity intact, which had nearly snapped, Yoon Jong couldn’t hold himself any longer and slammed his head into the dirt.

“Ugh…”

The pain of being pierced through was beyond imagination. His body convulsed, trembling uncontrollably from head to toe.

‘…No. Not yet…’

Desperately clawing at the ground, Yoon Jong forced the strength into the legs that shook like leaves. He strained himself, fighting to rise again.

“Cough!”

Blood surged up, filling his mouth. The metallic scent of blood brought Yoon Jong’s fading consciousness back to clarity.

“Sahyeong!”

“Stop… panicking!”

Swish!

Yoon Jong fiercely swung his sword horizontally, as though determined to shake off the pain devouring him.

“I won’t die from something like this.”

“But…”

“Face your enemy!”

Yoon Jong’s stubbornness made Jo Geol reluctantly nod. Still, his gaze kept drifting to the back instead of the front, towards the place from which Jang Ilso’s attack had come.

“Don’t look!”

Yoon Jong’s cry, almost a scream, burst out once more. Caught between choices, Jo Geol shouted back.

“S-Sahyeong, but Jang Ilso…!”

“If you keep worrying about your back, you’ll fail to guard your front. Either way, dying is the same.”

“…”

“Chung Myung will block it.”

“A-And… what if he can’t?”

Yoon Jong smirked faintly. His blood-stained teeth were exposed, carrying an eerie chill unlike anything Jo Geol had seen from him before.

“What does it matter? If we die, that’s that.”

“…This crazy bastard, seriously.”

Jo Geol shook his head in exasperation. Yet, he didn’t defy Yoon Jong’s orders. Instead, he demonstrated complete compliance, firmly pointing his sword at the demonic cultists.

“Damn it, if I die, I’m going to beat the hell out of you in the afterlife.”

“…If you die, why would I be in the afterlife?”

“If I’m dead, do you think you’d still be alive, Sahyeong? You’d already be dead too.”

“…You bastard.”

Even as he exchanged these sarcastic words, Yoon Jong frantically pressed his left hand against the wound on his chest to stop the bleeding. Naturally, such crude methods had their limits.

‘I can still manage.’

No – even if he couldn’t, he had to endure. He had to pretend nothing was wrong.

The reason was simple. He could still feel the scorching gaze piercing his back even now.

‘It’s not your fault, you idiot.’

This wasn’t Chung Myung’s fault. No matter how exceptional Chung Myung was, it was impossible to block every single one of Jang Ilso’s attacks. If blame had to be put onto somebody, it belonged solely to himself, for being so careless as to be struck from behind.

‘But that idiot will surely blame himself again, as if this were his fault.’

The best way to support someone like him wasn’t to offer gentle smiles or comfort. It was to act as if nothing had happened. And Yoon Jong was more than capable of such an act.

‘Because this is the only thing I can do for you.’

At that moment, a chilling, piercing sound rang out from behind him.

Whoooosh!

Though it wasn’t loud, the high-pitched noise grated uncomfortably on his nerves. A rush of terror surged through Yoon Jong, as vivid memories of being pierced just moments ago froze him in place.

He desperately wanted to turn around, to see what was happening. He wanted to toss his sword aside and throw himself flat on the ground. Strictly speaking, that was the rational choice. After all, what could be more important than one’s own life?

Crunch!

But instead of ducking down, Yoon Jong stubbornly ground his teeth and fixed his gaze straight ahead. Soon after, something brushed perilously close past his ear.

“S-Sahyeong…?”

“I said don’t look back.”

Fear flickered in Jo Geol’s eyes as he stared at Yoon Jong. Seeing Jo Geol’s stunned expression, Yoon Jong found himself suddenly letting a laugh slip out. 

Throb. Throb. Throb.

The pain rising in his chest was proof that he was still alive, that he hadn’t died yet. 

‘This is nothing.’

The pain he’d suffered was less than one percent of what Chung Myung or Baek Cheon had endured. Complaining about something this trivial would only dishonor the plum blossom engraved over his chest.

“Leave our backs to him! We’ll defeat the bastards in front of us!”

“Yes!”

In the end, Yoon Jong never once glanced back. He simply tightened his grip on the sword and staggered forward.

‘I won’t lose to myself. So, you better not lose either, Chung Myung-ah.’

“Hmm.”

Jang Ilso clicked his tongue regretfully. If his second ring’s path hadn’t been twisted by Chung Myung’s sword energy, it would surely have embedded itself into the back of that disciple’s head.

“You managed to block it well this time. Fair’s fair – you have to give credit where it’s due.”

“…”

“But, well…”

Jang Ilso casually shifted the finger he had been pointing forward to the side. Now, his fingertip was no longer aimed at Yoon Jong, but at another disciple of Hwasan.

Before Jang Ilso’s ring could even fly forth, Chung Myung swiftly moved, practically vanishing as he appeared to block its path.

Smiling, Jang Ilso playfully wiggled his finger a couple more times. At these mocking, subtle moves Chung Myung’s shoulders kept twitching.

“How long can you keep blocking?”

Chung Myung’s face twisted, like that of an evil spirit. Jang Ilso burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! What’s with that face? You told me yourself it was something you could handle.”

His laughter stopped abruptly, almost disturbingly. A chilling voice slipped through his red lips.

“Or was it just empty bravado?”

“…”

“Ah. Or perhaps you’re just a fool who can’t tell the difference between what you can and cannot do?”

Creeaak.

The leather wrapped around the sword’s hilt pressed deeply into Chung Myung’s palm as he clenched it tighter.

“…Jang Ilso.”

“Don’t be so angry.”

Jang Ilso chuckled.

“I merely wanted to teach you something. That no matter how hard you try, there are things you inevitably have to let go of.”

Crack.

Chung Myung ground his teeth hard.

“You bastard…”

“Hmm. Seems you haven’t understood yet… Then perhaps I need to teach you a little more.”

Jang Ilso smiled softly.

Whoooosh!

From Jang Ilso’s fingertips, a blue energy shot forth. It was ordinary qi, unleashed without the ring as a medium. Yet, aimed at someone’s back, it contained more than enough force to kill.

Chung Myung surged forward, cutting through space as he thrust his sword towards the incoming energy.

Claang!

As his sword collided with the energy, it was deflected sharply, shooting up into the air. But at that very moment, another blast shot out from a different angle. Without even a chance to catch his breath, Chung Myung kicked off the air, launching himself again.

“Hahaha! What a marvelous sight! Ahahahahahahaha!”

Several more blasts followed, and each time, Chung Myung barely deflected them, using his lightfoot technique to its absolute limit, his inner energy threatening to explode.

‘Ugh!’

As he stretched out desperately towards a blast aimed at Gwak Hoe, a loathsome voice whispered right beside him.

“You shouldn’t have looked away from me.”

Boooooom!

A fierce palm strike slammed into Chung Myung’s side, sending him away like a cannonball at incredible speed.

Craaaash!

He smashed into the ground, sending mud and water splattering wildly around him.

“Tsk, tsk. I keep telling you, don’t overstep your station. Your stubbornness is remarkable, truly.”

Jang Ilso waved his hand dismissively, looking thoroughly disgusted.

“Any mindless pig can spout nonsense about protecting or achieving everything. What matters is whether you can actually do it.”

He roughly wiped the rain streaming down his face.

“If it were possible to achieve everything without giving anything up, the world wouldn’t be this cruel and painful. It’s about what you’re willing to sacrifice – about how much you’re prepared to give up. Yet you still spout childish dreams, proving how young and naive you…”

Kaaaaboom!

In that instant, with an explosive burst, Chung Myung charged through the pouring rain, flashing towards Jang Ilso like lightning.

“Jang Ilsoooooo!”

Claaaaaang!

Chung Myung’s descending sword met Jang Ilso’s hand mid-air. Jang Ilso’s face twisted horribly in shock.

‘This power…?’

An impact incomparable to their first clash exploded forth. The sheer force made Jang Ilso wonder in a sudden flash of fear if his entire hand had shattered upon contact with Chung Myung’s sword.

He grows stronger the longer he fights. In practical terms, an impossible thing. Yet before his eyes stood a being who had turned that absurdity into reality.

As dread surged within him, Jang Ilso tried to counterattack, but Chung Myung’s sword pressed against his hand grew even heavier. Blown away in an instant, Jang Ilso flung a leg back in haste to brace his body.

“Ooooooh!”

But before he could steady himself, Chung Myung’s sword burst into dozens of blades, each one targeting every part of Jang Ilso’s body. It was a rough, incomplete imitation of the Plum Blossom Sword technique, yet its raw savagery made it even more dangerous.

Jang Ilso quickly blocked the unrefined, murderous strikes with a hand wrapped in blue flame.

Claang!

But the instant sword and fist met, the sword shadows Chung Myung released vanished as suddenly as they’d appeared. Instead, like a venomous snake, his sword coiled around Jang Ilso’s arm.

“What?”

Jang Ilso’s eyes widened in shock.

Slash! Slash!

The sword that climbed his arm sliced across his forearm and elbow in quick succession.

“Gah!”

Jang Ilso desperately shook his arm, trying to throw off the serpent-like sword as he stumbled back repeatedly. But Chung Myung had seized his opportunity, clinging to Jang Ilso with a tenacity beyond mere ‘persistence’.

Jang Ilso’s eyes flashed viciously.

Realizing he couldn’t escape Chung Myung’s relentless attacks this way, Jang Ilso threw a punch aimed directly at Chung Myung’s face, moving faster than the eye could follow.

‘Get off…’

At that very moment, Jang Ilso understood that he’d been careless – no, he had no choice but to realize it.

Chung Myung, seeing the fist hurtling towards him, smiled eerily instead.

Boooooom!

Chung Myung took the punch head-on, his neck bending so violently it looked as though it would snap. His head swung sharply from the force, his torso twisted grotesquely, as if his spine had shattered.

But.

Crunch!

Simultaneously, Chung Myung’s Dark Plum Sword plunged deep into Jang Ilso’s chest.

“Hah…”

From the sword tip that pierced through his back and jutted out, the blood that Paegun Jang Ilso had shed dripped down.