By Zephyria The Inevitable (2)
Wi Rim took out a weapon from his waist. It was an iron whip with shimmering black scales.
“Still, it’s a shame to just let you go, isn’t it? I’ve never liked Young master since way back. Acting all high and mighty just because he’s the Cult Leader’s son, even though he has nothing to show for it.”
He raised the whip and aimed it directly at Seong Mu-yeon.
“Let’s just die here. That would be better.”
Someone was watching all of this.
‘……It was true. He was trying to devour me.’
Seomun Yuha chewed on his fingernails.
He couldn’t let go of his attachment to the Demonic Cult and secretly ran away from home at night. But when he saw Seong Mu-yeon had arrived first, he couldn’t decide what to do and hid, listening to their conversation.
Click, click, click…….
His body trembled, and his teeth chattered involuntarily. He was afraid they would hear the sound. The moment he was discovered, he would be as good as dead.
‘Ca, carefully……. Let’s go back secretly…….’
It was the moment Seomun Yuha, who had been crumpled in the bushes, was about to get up.
“Stay still.”
A strong hand pressed his shoulder back down.
“Ba, Baek Ryeo-il Instructor?”
Seomun Yuha, who shouted without realizing it, was startled and covered his mouth.
“Don’t move. I’ve put up a qi barrier, so you won’t be detected unless you move a lot.”
Seomun Yuha relaxed and sat back down. In fact, his legs were shaking so much that he wasn’t confident he could escape safely.
Baek Ryeo-il watched Seong Mu-yeon and the man in black with lowered eyes.
“Did you hear that? You’ve been deceived.”
“……Yes.”
Seomun Yuha drooped his shoulders, dejected. It was clear that he had been too optimistic about the world.
He shuddered at the thought that his entire family might have been harmed.
“But, Instructor. Isn’t that Young master Seong Mu-yeon dangerous?”
“Save him?”
“He’s going to die like that. He seems weaker than me.”
Baek Ryeo-il chuckled. Then, he glared.
“Shut up and just watch, you bastard. What kind of eye do you have?”
“Yes, sir.”
Baek Ryeo-il turned his head towards Seong Mu-yeon, who was facing off against the enemy.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Seong Mu-yeon. It was just…….
“Kuaaak!”
Seong Mu-yeon swung his sword. Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Wi Rim and his subordinates quickly regrouped, as befitting those who had survived in the Demonic Cult for a long time.
Seong Mu-yeon had maintained a blank expression throughout.
One by one. He knocked them down in order.
‘It was an unnecessary worry.’
Sitting still and waiting didn’t suit his temperament. He had followed along in case he got hurt, but thanks to that, he was able to protect Seomun Yuha.
He had almost been discovered hiding. It was fortunate that he had deployed a qi barrier in time to block it.
Before he knew it, all of Wi Rim’s subordinates had fallen. Wi Rim, left alone, was covered in wounds.
“H-How does this guy have such power……?!”
Seong Mu-yeon unleashed a fluid footwork and swung his sword. The trajectory left by the sword was like a butterfly.
“Kuek!”
The opponent was pushed back continuously without being able to use his hands.
“……Amazing.”
Seomun Yuha muttered without realizing it.
Baek Ryeo-il agreed.
He really was an amazing man.
Baek Ryeo-il couldn’t take his eyes off Seong Mu-yeon’s sword dance for even a moment. The trajectory of the sword, the naturally shifting center of gravity, everything was perfect.
He had seen countless swordsmen in his life. No matter how much someone was praised as a prodigy, they were far from enough in Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes.
However, Seong Mu-yeon had a strange quality that drew people in.
“Kueut!”
Wi Rim dropped his weapon and collapsed.
Seong Mu-yeon didn’t hesitate. When the moment of revenge came, people often became sentimental. But Seong Mu-yeon, like someone without any emotions, stabbed his chest without delay.
“Kkeueueuk…….”
Before long, Wi Rim’s breath was cut off.
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon release the strength in his sword-wielding hand, take a deep breath, and stand up.
When he looked up at the sky, the bright moonlight illuminated his face.
Seomun Yuha’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Seong Mu-yeon.
“So……. Cool.”
“Cool?”
Seomun Yuha flinched at the cold voice from above. Baek Ryeo-il stared at Seong Mu-yeon with lowered eyes.
“You just saw it. What kind of place the Demonic Cult is……. Seong Mu-yeon is the one who survived in that Demonic Cult.”
“…….”
“What about you? Flowering Bone? So you can’t learn external martial arts? Wake up. That guy tried to survive in an environment far worse than yours. He’s still trying. With a body that’s slowly dying every time he uses his inner force.”
“…….”
“On the other hand, you? You don’t need anyone’s help.”
Seomun Yuha clenched his fist tightly.
Stagger.
When Seong Mu-yeon staggered, Baek Ryeo-il flinched without realizing it. He barely managed to stop himself from jumping out and watched Seong Mu-yeon kneel.
He lowered his head, took a breath, and then…….
“Black……””
A tearful sob flowed out. He had been trying to hold it back, but it eventually burst out like a dam breaking during the rainy season, seeping through the cracks.
“Huh?”
Baek Ryeo-il covered Seomun Yuha’s eyes and left the spot. He dragged Seomun Yuha, who was struggling because his vision was suddenly blocked.
“Why, why are you doing this? He seems hurt, I need to check…….”
“Be quiet.”
Fortunately, Seomun Yuha didn’t seem to hear the sobbing because he didn’t have as sensitive senses as Baek Ryeo-il. He went straight back to the Seomun Clan.
By the time he returned to the Seomun Clan, Seong Mu-yeon was almost at his limit.
His staggering gait was noticeably precarious. He couldn’t bear the dizziness and leaned on a pillar. Dark blood smeared on the pillar where his hand touched.
“Haa…….”
Carefully examining the floor with his blurred vision, he groped his way to his room.
‘I overdid it.’
As expected, Wi Rim was not an easy opponent. He was someone who had rolled around in the Demonic Cult for decades. But even with his battered body, he couldn’t help but let out a weak smile.
In his young and innocent days, he had avenged his first and last friend.
However, his exhausted body kept tilting against his will.
Thud.
A strong grip supported his precarious shoulder.
Seong Mu-yeon frowned to see his face in the blurry vision. Before he could even focus, his body was lifted up.
“Instructor……?”
Baek Ryeo-il didn’t ask anything and took him to his room. Surprisingly, bathwater was already prepared.
Seong Mu-yeon was startled when Baek Ryeo-il tried to undress him.
“I’ll do it.”
“Stay still. You don’t even have the strength to resist.”
Baek Ryeo-il easily suppressed his resistance by simply grabbing his wrist. His movements were quick and precise as he loosened his belt and took off his clothes.
Seong Mu-yeon, who didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, simply entrusted himself. Exposing his naked body was nothing between them, who had seen everything there was to see.
Baek Ryeo-il lifted him and lowered him into the hot tub, starting with his toes. Seong Mu-yeon felt a sense of languor and relief.
“Since you’ve already started, how about helping me wash up too?”
“What? You’re going to use me as a servant?”
“Yes.”
Baek Ryeo-il was speechless at the brazen answer. After a moment of silence, he began to pour water over Seong Mu-yeon’s body.
Seong Mu-yeon closed his eyes and leaned his head against the edge of the tub.
Splash, splash…….
The room was quiet except for the small sound of water. It was a comfortable silence. Seong Mu-yeon, who had been staring blankly at the air through the shimmering steam, opened his mouth.
“……Thank you.”
It was a small voice, barely audible.
Baek Ryeo-il froze.
“Thanks to you, I was able to avenge the enemy who killed my friend.”
Could he even call him a friend? Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t say he knew Dam Cheong well. He didn’t know where he was from, what his favorite food was, nothing. It was just a brief encounter.
Still, Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t forget him.
“It’s thanks to you. Thank you, Instructor.”
If it hadn’t been for him, he wouldn’t have even dreamed of revenge.
Without strength, he had to bow his head humbly and live as if nothing had happened.
He had to endure even when anger rose up every moment.
But thanks to Baek Ryeo-il, he could do whatever he wanted without thinking about the consequences.
Those who haven’t experienced it wouldn’t know how grateful he was for the fact that he could come back in such a mess, that someone was waiting to help him.
What was a little butt-splitting compared to that?
He had finally relieved his burden.
When the blood was washed away, small wounds were revealed. Baek Ryeo-il ran his fingertips over the scale-like whip marks left on his chest.
“This isn’t an ordinary wound.”
Baek Ryeo-il muttered. Seong Mu-yeon nodded. Wi Rim’s weapon was slightly different from other weapons. The wound left by the iron whip imbued with Demonic Art did not disappear for a long time. It was a part that revealed his sinister taste, to make the enemy remember him every time they saw this wound.
“It will disappear someday.”
“…….”
Baek Ryeo-il quietly looked down at Seong Mu-yeon.
His gaze went from his chin to his pale lips. It went up the nose with traces of nosebleeds, and reached his eyes.
Even with his wounded body, his eyes shone like the moon.
Now, both of them knew clearly what to do next.