By Zephyria 
A thick tree trunk fell right next to the Demonic human. If it had been off by even an inch, his entire body would have been crushed.
The blood drained from his face.
At that moment, the Demonic human’s eyes caught the emblem on the man’s clothes, and he wanted to faint right then and there.
The imposing figure of the Hwasan Sect, and the famous Nansaeng Sword gleaming at his waist?
‘Demon-slaying Blood Shadow Baek Ryeo-il…’
Within the Demonic Cult, especially among the rising forces under Third Young Master, the so-called Divine Demon Sect, his infamy was sky-high.
As long as you belonged to the Demonic Cult, once you were caught by him, you could never return alive. The Demonic human had witnessed many times his comrades going out on missions one day and then simply disappearing. Each time, his name was whispered.
Rumor had it that he had a hobby of pulling out the intestines of his enemies and enjoying the sensation of touching them.
Who could spread such rumors when no one ever came back alive? The Demonic human was too terrified to entertain such rational doubts.
Crack.
Baek Ryeo-il’s fist, filled with extreme anger, made a sound.
“…Ha, so you were hiding there after all. I should have known sooner.”
The Demonic human felt a chill run down his spine at the man’s muttering.
He knew I was hiding here! When did I get caught? How long has he been following me?
Suddenly, an eerie aura emanated from the man’s body. It was a murderous intent that made his hair stand on end.
He must have known I was here all along, pretending not to know while enjoying the pressure.
‘He’s as ruthless as the rumors say…’
In this situation, the Demonic human didn’t have many options. In the end, he jumped out of the bushes and prostrated himself, banging his forehead on the ground.
“Please, spare my life!”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll tell you everything, whether it’s the internal organization or the location, whatever you want! Please, just spare my life!”
Because his head was on the ground, the Demonic human didn’t see Baek Ryeo-il’s bewildered expression. Even Gang Woong, who had rushed over, was gaping at the unexpected sight.
* * *
“So, there’s a campsite about half a day’s journey from here, is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
In the end, the Demonic human, who had been captured again, revealed all the information he knew in front of Seong Mu-yeon and Owl, Baek Ryeo-il and Gang Woong, Peng Do-hwan, and the villagers.
“There are a total of fifteen people stationed there! It won’t be difficult for you to handle!”
‘He looks so pathetic when he’s desperate.’
Seong Mu-yeon clicked his tongue inwardly, realizing that the Demonic human’s appearance was the same as his own when he had groveled before Baek Ryeo-il in the past.
…I must not live like that.
“Why did they take the people? What about Yak Seon?”
Peng Do-hwan, who had been watching him from a distance, lowered himself next to the Demonic human.
“I don’t really know…”
At the vague answer, Peng Do-hwan smoothly raised his arm and gripped the hilt of his greatsword. The Demonic human immediately prostrated himself.
“I really don’t know! I’m just a low-level grunt who does what I’m told! Among us, there’s a rumor that Woo Ma-jang is looking for subjects to test a newly developed poison on…”
Peng Do-hwan stood up.
“If you’ve set a trap or are lying… you know what will happen, right?”
“Of course! I just want to live! The Demonic Cult? I never really liked it anyway!”
“…”
Peng Do-hwan stared coldly at him with contempt, then suddenly kicked him in the back.
“What are you doing! There’s no time to waste! Lead the way.”
“Yes, yes! Of course! Let’s go! It’s this way!”
Before long, the villagers who had gone to ask for help arrived in the village with martial alliance martial artist. The group decided to leave the aftermath to them and immediately left the village.
Yak Seon’s life and the lives of the hostages were at stake, so they couldn’t delay even for a moment.
As they left the courtyard, Baek Ryeo-il and Gang Woong, who had finished preparing to leave first, were waiting for the rest of the group. Seong Mu-yeon felt their gaze fixed on him. Seong Mu-yeon quickly averted his eyes from the gaze that seemed to penetrate his mask.
“Let’s go.”
Peng Do-hwan dragged the Demonic human to the front. Then, Baek Ryeo-il took his eyes off them and followed Peng Do-hwan with his disciple. Finally, Seong Mu-yeon and Owl quietly followed behind.
Owl patted Seong Mu-yeon’s back as if to reassure him.
How long had they been climbing the mountain following the Demonic human’s guidance? For the first few hours, no one spoke. It was Peng Do-hwan who broke the slightly tense atmosphere.
“You said there are fifteen enemies in total? Then I’ll take eight, and Heartless Sword can take seven.”
“What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden?”
“If I don’t do this, you’ll get all excited and run wild, and you won’t leave any for me, will you?”
Baek Ryeo-il snorted as if it were ridiculous.
“If you want to fight that much, you can do it all yourself.”
“What will you be doing while I’m fighting? I don’t want to see you standing there with your hands behind your back like a master again.”
While the pointless conversation was going on, Seong Mu-yeon, who was following behind, was having a terrible time.
“Haa, haa…”
He tried to catch his breath, which was rising to his throat, so as not to attract the attention of the martial artist ahead. But there was nothing he could do about his stamina, which was rapidly depleting due to the continuous mountain climbing.
Baek Ryeo-il, Peng Do-hwan, and Gang Woong were martial artist who trained their bodies daily, so it was understandable, but even Owl was climbing the rough mountain path as if it were flat ground.
Only Seong Mu-yeon was struggling.
Before he knew it, the sky was dyed red with the setting sun. Even though a cool evening breeze was blowing, sweat poured down like rain.
Baek Ryeo-il frowned as if Seong Mu-yeon’s breathing was annoying him, and glanced at Seong Mu-yeon. At first, he was worried that he would attract unnecessary attention and that Baek Ryeo-il would bring up the doubts he had buried again. But before long, those worries were pushed to the back of his mind. He was so exhausted that he just wanted to lie down and give up.
After stumbling several times on the roots of trees, his legs gradually lost strength, and Seong Mu-yeon finally leaned heavily on a rock.
“You have to be careful…”
Thanks to Owl catching him, he didn’t fall, but it was enough to stop the martial artist walking ahead.
Among them, Baek Ryeo-il looked at him with particularly cold eyes.
“You…”
“Hey. How much further is it?”
As soon as Baek Ryeo-il opened his mouth, Peng Do-hwan suddenly asked.
“It’s soon… We’re almost there.”
At the Demonic human’s answer, Peng Do-hwan looked around and pointed to a deeply recessed slope that was good for hiding.
“It would be better to rest here and move when it gets dark.”
Baek Ryeo-il seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he didn’t argue and headed there. Seong Mu-yeon dragged his trembling legs and barely managed to find a place to sit in the corner.
“Here, drink some water…”
Owl handed him a canteen. He habitually opened his mouth to say thank you, but no sound came out. Seong Mu-yeon bowed his head instead and slightly lifted his mask to quench his thirst.
“I’ll go check out the surrounding terrain.”
With those words, Baek Ryeo-il disappeared without waiting for an answer.
“Young master, could you please take a look at this person?”
Gang Woong asked Owl. He was examining the Demonic human who was sprawled out in one corner.
“He’s sweating and has a high fever. It seems his wound has festered.”
“…”
“He may be a demonic cultist, but he needs to be alive until we find Yakseon Daein, right? I’m begging you.”
Gang Woong added when Owl seemed reluctant. Eventually, Owl got up from his seat and walked away.
While Seong Mu-yeon was forcing dried jerky into his mouth to recover even a little bit of his strength, Peng Do-hwan appeared with a pile of dry branches from somewhere and started a fire.
“The weather is cloudy and it will be night soon, so it’s okay to start a fire, right?”
He muttered to himself, piling the branches on the bonfire, and Seong Mu-yeon stared blankly at the way his hands moved. Soon, the flames blazed up.
‘…It feels strange.’
It was so quiet.
It was a peace that he could never have expected if even one person in the group, including Peng Do-hwan, had recognized his identity.
That fact made him feel strange.
Because it meant that it was only possible when he didn’t reveal himself and didn’t exist in this world.
“It’s the sword my dead brother used to use.”
Seong Mu-yeon snapped back to his senses at Peng Do-hwan’s voice.
“I thought you might be wondering why I carry two greatswords that I can’t even use as dual swords.”
Now that he thought about it, Peng Do-hwan had taken off the two greatswords he had been carrying on his back and carefully leaned them against a tree trunk, which happened to be at the end of Seong Mu-yeon’s gaze. Peng Do-hwan seemed to think that he couldn’t take his eyes off the two swords.
“They are the relics left by my older brother who passed away a few years ago.”
Peng Do-hwan sat down on the dirt floor in a comfortable position with a bitter smile.
“…”
“You don’t have to feel so sorry. It’s been a long time, so I’m fine.”
His tone was calm, but Peng Do-hwan’s expression was completely different from his words. A piercing longing and vivid pain floated on his face as he stared at the bonfire.