160 – Choice (10)

Choice (10)

Thud, thud.

The sound of footsteps treading on the soil rang out clearly. Before they knew it, even the Demon Slayer Unit had their attention completely stolen, everyone focusing intently on the movements of the newly appeared enemy.

With the appearance of just one person, the situation had been reversed.

Unable to take his eyes off Myeong-gwi, he couldn’t confirm it directly, but Baek Ryeo-il had finished circulating his inner force. He never thought he would be so glad to see his Senior Brother, whom he usually didn’t like.

Jang Han-soo also burst into a hearty laugh.

Baek Ryeo-il, who didn’t seem to feel any sense of crisis despite stepping into the middle of the battlefield, scanned his surroundings with a calm gaze, as if trying to assess the situation.

“Where is Seong Mu-yeon?”

The indifferent voice asked. Gang Woong, who had been relieved and relaxed with joy and relief, belatedly realized that the question was directed at him.

“I, I don’t know.”

“I see.”

Baek Ryeo-il adjusted his grip on his sword.

There was no need to argue.

This place had become a battlefield, and the laws of the battlefield were simple. Cut down any enemy who attacks your allies. That was all.

“Quickly clean up and join them over there.”

“Yes!”

“The youngest is right. I killed the fourth.”

Seong Mu-geuk’s attitude as he said that was devoid of any guilt. He spoke as casually as if he were saying he had dumplings for dinner.

Perhaps that was why Seong Mu-ryong seemed to not immediately grasp the meaning of those words, his jaw dropping. But soon, anger gradually seeped into his dazed face.

“Why… Why did you do that! What did the fourth do wrong!”

“If I had to say… it’s because he was weak.”

“What?”

“That’s your problem, Brother. When Father passes away, all the brothers become rivals vying for the position of Cult Leader, but you ask me why I eliminated an enemy… I can’t understand it either.”

“You deceived me well earlier. If you were going to admit it so easily, why did you lie earlier?”

“Hmm… I didn’t want to kill you, Brother. …Not yet. I had also lost many subordinates and was short on manpower.”

As Seong Mu-geuk took a light step forward, Seong Mu-ryong and Il-gwang simultaneously stood in front of Seong Mu-yeon, as if protecting him.

“And, I judged that if you were here, the youngest would open his heart a little more. But it seems I was wrong. I thought he would at least keep his mouth shut until we got out of here. Wouldn’t that put you in danger as well, Brother? But seeing him speak so lightly, it seems you’re not worth that much to the youngest.”

“Seong Mu-geuk, you bastard!”

Seong Mu-ryong’s face turned red with anger. It had been a long time since Seong Mu-yeon had seen him so angry.

Seong Mu-geuk shook his head as he looked at Seong Mu-ryong.

As he raised his hand, the Demon Slayer Unit stopped fighting and rushed over to surround the three of them in a circle.

“…What is it?”

The orthodox sect martial artists, whose opponents had suddenly left in the middle of the fight, suddenly became useless.

As dozens of Demon Slayer Unit members simultaneously pointed their frosty blades, the dense blades enveloped the three people without a gap. If they moved even a little, the thin swords would pierce their hearts in an instant.

Seong Mu-ryong gritted his teeth. He could hear the voices of his subordinates, whom he had brought himself, desperately calling out the name of their lord.

“You know what to do, right.”

Seong Mu-geuk said from beyond the human barrier of densely packed Demon Slayer Unit members. He was taller than the average person, so he could see inside clearly.

“I hope you appreciate the trouble this brother is going through.”

“…What does that mean?”

Seong Mu-ryong asked in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the blades of the Demon Slayer Unit members who were closing in.

“Really.”

Instead of answering, Seong Mu-yeon let out a long sigh. Ignoring Il-gwang, who was staring at him in bewilderment, he reached into his chest. When the hard surface of the Spirit Pill box caught on his fingertips, he threw it straight at Seong Mu-geuk.

Seong Mu-geuk simply raised his hand and caught the flying box.

Then he slowly opened the box.

When his eyes met Seong Mu-yeon’s again, his eyes curved like crescent moons.

“Finally.”

Seong Mu-geuk tilted his palm and dropped the now useless empty box.

At the same time, the formation of the Demon Slayer Unit collapsed. A fierce storm of energy began to swirl from the center.

“Ye, Yeon-ah?”

“Seventh Young master…!”

With the tremendous flow of inner force, Seong Mu-yeon’s hair and clothes fluttered wildly. As he waved his hands, his inner force rippling, the blades of the Demon Slayer Unit members were helplessly deflected, and the Demon Slayer Unit members, unable to withstand the force, collapsed in a heap.

As a path opened, Seong Mu-yeon kicked off the ground in an instant. Then he flew like an arrow towards Seong Mu-geuk. The palm that had nonchalantly deflected the well-honed blades shot towards Seong Mu-geuk’s neck.

Seong Mu-geuk lightly stepped aside, avoiding his grasp.

Unable to overcome the speed at which he had been running, Seong Mu-yeon scraped the ground as he passed him, changing direction. And then he charged at Seong Mu-geuk again.

“You’re angry at me, youngest.”

“How could I not be?”

Seong Mu-yeon threw a punch. At the same time as it landed in the empty space where Seong Mu-geuk’s head had been just a moment ago, a sonic boom tore through the air.

“I hate it when you do whatever you want with my life when I don’t want you to! It’s my life!”

Seong Mu-yeon’s figure distorted, and he instantly reached Seong Mu-geuk’s nose. Seong Mu-geuk was still floating in the air, unable to brace himself on the ground, and Seong Mu-yeon, not missing the opportunity, raised his knee and slammed it into his abdomen.

The tremendous inner force concentrated in one area exploded widely with a loud roar upon impact. At the last moment, Seong Mu-geuk crossed his arms to block, but he couldn’t withstand the impact. His body, thrown backward, broke through the building and disappeared from sight.

“Unlucky, really.”

Seong Mu-yeon, who had just had a strenuous workout after a long time, rotated his stiff shoulder. Then, he suddenly realized that the surroundings were too quiet and turned his creaking head.

“……”

“……”

Regardless of whether they belonged to the Demonic Cult, the orthodox sect, or the evil sect, everyone was frozen with their jaws dropped. It was a scene of unprecedented unity between the orthodox and the Demonic Cult.

“Eliminate the Demon Slayer Unit!”

The first to come to his senses was Seong Mu-ryong. As he gave the order, his subordinates turned their swords towards the Demon Slayer Unit members, with whom they had been fighting shoulder to shoulder until just now.

“Waaaaah!”

“Die!”

Seong Mu-ryong’s subordinates paid no attention to anyone other than the Demon Slayer Unit members. Someone from the Jegal Clan, who had suddenly become a spectator, muttered.

“…Suddenly they’re fighting each other?”

“I know, right. What do we do now?”

“What do you mean, what do we do!”

Turning his head at the burst of annoyed shouting, he saw Jegal Un, who had already come to his senses, grabbing onto the prison door and coming out.

“Shouldn’t we repay them for the humiliation we’ve suffered at their hands until now!”

“Yes, yes! Young Clan Leader!”

“We will obey!”

The Jegal Clan joined the battle, inadvertently siding with Seong Mu-ryong’s subordinates and starting to fight. They had awkward expressions on their faces, but it seemed they had decided that the enemy in front of them was more important for now.

This was possible because the Demon Slayer Unit was attacking everyone except themselves, while Seong Mu-ryong’s subordinates were completely ignoring everyone else except the Demon Slayer Unit.

His eyes met Sang-geol, who was standing blankly in the distance. Deep fatigue was etched on Sang-geol’s aged face. He grumbled something annoyedly, as if he had a lot to say, but eventually turned his gaze away from Seong Mu-yeon. Then he shouted to his disciples.

“Hwasan Sect! Everyone, draw your swords! Show no mercy to the enemy!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Yes!”

The Wudang Sect, not wanting to be outdone, urged their disciples as well.

In the next moment, the plum blossom shape, characteristic of Hwasan Sect martial arts, soared into the sky, dyeing it red. At the same time, the Wudang Sect’s smoothly flowing Sword Energy also swept through the Demon Slayer Unit, fluttering.

Amidst the chaos, Seong Mu-yeon turned his head, sensing a sharp sense of incongruity.

Before he knew it, a jet-black shadow was standing on the roof. Seong Mu-geuk was looking down at him, his jet-black robes fluttering like the night sky.

He had a cold, calm face, as if he had never expected Seong Mu-yeon to rebel to this extent.

Seong Mu-yeon glared back at him.

Did he really think that if he threw a Spirit Pill, he would wag his tail and thank him?

There’s a limit to how much you can underestimate someone.

“Seong Mu-geuk… How could you do that to your own brother…”

Seong Mu-ryong also discovered him and lowered his stance, gripping his sword as if he would charge at him at any moment.

At that moment, Seong Mu-geuk gestured lightly and then leaped backward, disappearing. Taking that as a signal, the Demon Slayer Unit members began to retreat one by one.

“They’re running away! Chase them!”

People ran after the Demon Slayer Unit members. As Seong Mu-ryong tried to join them, Seong Mu-yeon gently grabbed his shoulder and dissuaded him.

“We have to go. Those people will soon come to their senses and try to attack us.”

“…Alright, let’s do that.”

Seong Mu-ryong seemed regretful that he couldn’t finish things with Seong Mu-geuk, but he obediently turned around, worried that Seong Mu-yeon might be in danger.

As Seong Mu-ryong, Seong Mu-yeon, and Il-gwang were escaping from the manor while people were distracted by the Demon Slayer Unit, they turned their heads at the intense wave felt from afar.