Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 394 – Crossroads (2)

“That’s right. That’s why I’m not going to give you time to find a way.”

A low voice echoed in his ear.

Startled by this, Mo Yak, Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s confidant, leaped forward without a moment to think.

-Pat!

Simultaneously, he pulled out two daggers from both sleeves and, while doing a somersault, threw them towards the owner of the voice.

-Swish swish!

Was it because he was extremely tense?

It felt as if time was moving slowly.

Even in the midst of his somersault, he could clearly see the face of that being.

A face so beautiful.

It seemed even more beautiful than a woman’s.

But that being slightly nodded his head as he looked at the incoming daggers.

It seemed like he had no intention of blocking them.

At that moment.

-Pa pak!

The flying daggers suddenly changed direction in mid-air, and then embedded themselves into Mo Yak’s shoulder and thigh as he was mid-somersault.

-Puk! Puk!

“Aagh!”

-Ku dang tang!

Mo Yak, hit by his own daggers, couldn’t land properly and fell.

“T-This is!”

At this, Silent Saber Hyeong-in, who was right beside him, hurriedly drew an extremely thin and flexible sword from his waist and tried to behead that being, Mok Gyeong-un, who had suddenly appeared.

However, before it could even reach him,

-Chaeng gang!

The sword broke and flew upwards,

-Pak!

“Kek!”

Silent Saber Hyeong-in’s neck was caught in Mok Gyeong-un’s hand as he was swinging his sword.

It happened so quickly that Silent Saber Hyeong-in couldn’t even perceive what had been done.

As he was bewildered,

“So you’re that rat who was sneaking peeks earlier.”

“Kek kek… You… you?”

“If you’re done with your business, shall we go?”

“G-Go, you say?”

-Kwa deuk!

Mok Gyeong-un tore out Hyeong-in’s adam’s apple as he questioned.

Hyeong-in, with blood pouring from where his adam’s apple had been torn out, staggered with eyes wide open before falling backwards and sprawling out.

The sight of him twitching with blood gushing up was almost pitiful.

Despite two people being taken down in an instant, Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s eyes never left Mok Gyeong-un.

He glanced up once with his eyes and then opened his mouth.

“Did you come by flying?”

“Yes, you guessed correctly.”

“……”

Came by flying, he says.

Does that mean he used something like Sky-Traversing Void Path or Void-Stepping?

Even he, who had mastered the Clear and Manifest Water Crossing Steps, one of the greatest body techniques in history, and was more skilled in footwork than anyone, had not yet reached that level.

He tried to deny it inwardly, but still,

‘…He has surpassed the wall of walls.’

If it came down to pure martial arts, he had to admit he had no chance of winning.

And the guy’s aura had changed.

Even before, starting from his almost diluted emotions, he had thought him to be a similar type of person to himself in many ways, so he thought that if he wouldn’t follow, he should naturally be killed.

But apart from this, there had been an immature feeling, but now that was completely gone.

If before he had been rough and unrefined, now he felt like a well-forged sword, complete.

‘Became stronger…’

Na Yul-ryang’s pupils moved minutely but continuously.

Though he knew Mok Gyeong-un had become overwhelmingly strong, being in an opposing situation, he was imagining countless scenarios of confrontation in his mind.

But even after envisioning dozens, hundreds of times in an instant, no answer came.

The guy had completely become a monster.

-Drip!

Feeling something strange on his forehead, Na Yul-ryang wiped it with the back of his hand.

It was cold sweat.

Seeing this, a strange light flickered in Na Yul-ryang’s eyes.

Had he ever shed such sweat besides when training?

It was the first time in his life he had felt tense about something.

‘Life and… death… Am I standing at that crossroads?’

Crossroads.

What an interesting crossroads.

A crossroads riddled with death where the path to life was barely visible.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“I wanted to see you become more emotional, but since you’re a rational person, it seems reality has sunk in quickly.”

“Since I don’t see any chance of winning, I won’t particularly deny it.”

“I’ll give you a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose you’re going to give me unnecessary hope torture.”

“Consider it a chance to enjoy life a bit longer.”

“What is this choice you speak of?”

“If you sever the tendons and muscles of your limbs and destroy your danjeon yourself, I’ll let you keep your life.”

“Is that much different from telling a martial artist to die?”

“If death as a martial artist is the same as life to you, you can die right here.”

“Huh.”

Na Yul-ryang snorted.

At his reaction, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged.

Then Na Yul-ryang reached out somewhere.

The scabbard lying next to the drinking table was sucked into his hand by void grasping.

-Tak!

Na Yul-ryang, grasping the scabbard, opened his mouth.

“I have no intention of begging for my life so pitifully or living like that. But if I’m going anyway, it’s not bad to go as a martial artist.”

“How admirable.”

“Cut the insincere talk. Anyway, beyond the martial arts world, the world is about the strong eating the weak. It’s the law of nature that the weak are eliminated, and this time it was just me.”

Though he said this, it was truly a bitter moment.

It’s almost laughable that even though he had gained power nearly on par with the Eight Stars, he had become the weak one thanks to the guy becoming even stronger.

Na Yul-ryang, tightly gripping the sword hilt with his right hand, was about to remove the eye patch he was wearing.

Even in a fight with no chance of winning, shouldn’t one struggle?

Mok Gyeong-un also moved to grasp his sword-deciding talisman.

It was then.

“Time Stop Darkness.”

-Tsu tsu tsuk!

As if blinking, the world briefly darkened.

Along with this, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

‘!?’

This was because Young Master Na Yul-ryang, who had been right in front of him just a moment ago, had disappeared.

What on earth was going on?

It happened in such a brief instant that he was puzzled.

There was no movement of presence, no flow of energy, yet not only had he disappeared from sight midway…

-Rumble rumble rumble!

He felt numerous presences converging around him.

And there were a great many of them.

These too had appeared as if suddenly generated.

It was a strange phenomenon.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un slowly raised his head and looked at someone sitting on the roof tiles of the pavilion in the rear garden.

“Was this your doing?”

“Oh? I thought you’d be quite flustered no matter how strong you are, but to maintain such coolness in this situation. Truly impressive.”

The person sitting on the pavilion roof tiles at a distance.

It was Yul-myeong, the envoy from the Elder Council.

Seeing Yul-myeong’s face full of horrible burn scars, Mok Gyeong-un immediately recognized him as the one who had tried to track him with mystical techniques.

How was he here, with Young Master Na Yul-ryang suddenly disappearing?

The reason was,

-Swish!

The demonic power of the Third Eye opened in Mok Gyeong-un’s pupils.

Then he felt an immeasurably enormous spiritual power around him.

It had shaken the very space itself, and the surrounding flow was still unstable.

Observing this, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.

“What kind of mystical technique is this?”

At this question, the brow of Yul-myeong, the envoy from the Elder Council, twitched.

He had a feeling it might be the case.

But had he read the remaining waves of spiritual power?

“The secret records left by Primal Killing Pavilion Leader In Seo-ok said that Bangwol Jo Ui-gong was accepted as a disciple due to his outstanding talent, and it seems that was true.”

At these words, Mok Gyeong-un, seemingly unconcerned, continued his own words.

“This level of spiritual power seems impossible for even an outstanding diviner to possess. Did you borrow the power of a ritual tool or some special medium?”

“Huh?”

“It seems I’m right. Did you just temporarily stop me alone?”

‘!?’

At this question, the mouth of Yul-myeong, the envoy from the Elder Council, opened slightly.

He seemed somewhat surprised.

Yul-myeong, who had opened his mouth and furrowed his brow, then said,

“…What on earth are you? How did you…”

“The bloodstains on the ground are towards the direction outside the pavilion, but they clearly didn’t move while fallen, isn’t it strange that they left that and disappeared from there?”

‘Blood?’

In the direction Mok Gyeong-un was looking, there were a few very faint drops of blood remaining.

It seemed they had erased most traces, but had missed this one.

If Yul-myeong’s eyes could see, he would have been very surprised at this.

Because he had immediately found a trace that was so difficult to find.

“And for so many people to approach this close without me sensing even a hint of their presence, it’s only possible if I alone was somehow separated and suddenly dropped here… Ah. Perhaps you temporarily separated me with some special technique? No, not just from space, but even from the flow of time?”

‘!!!!’

At this question, Yul-myeong was truly dumbfounded.

For a moment, he felt chills all over his body.

He might be able to sense spiritual power because he had learned mystical arts, but this insight was terrifying.

He had figured out the use of the divine artifact Time Stop Darkness from just part of the situation.

Time Stop Darkness was one of the few remaining divine artifacts from the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, a treasure that could only be used when spiritual power accumulated naturally.

However, the conditions for this divine artifact were quite strict compared to other divine artifacts.

For instance, once used, all spiritual power was consumed and had to be gathered again, and only one-thousandth of the accumulated spiritual power was actually manifested.

If spiritual power accumulated for a thousand years, it could completely separate the desired target from the world’s space and time for one year, one-thousandth of that time.

It was absolute enough to be called a divine artifact, so no being could escape from it.

‘…What on earth is this guy?’

No matter how much he had learned mystical arts, no matter how strong his insight was, this was beyond common sense, so it was extremely difficult to deduce in an instant.

Yet he had accurately grasped what the divine artifact had done in such a short moment.

‘What a monstrous guy.’

Yul-myeong, the envoy from the Elder Council, truly clicked his tongue.

Because he had been using the divine artifact whenever necessary, he hadn’t gathered much spiritual power and could only confine him for half a quarter hour.

However, because he was confined for such a short time, it should have been even more difficult to grasp the situation, yet this guy was truly unbelievable.

While surprised, Yul-myeong felt somewhat regretful inwardly.

To only now discover such a person.

He had heard that he wasn’t even of age yet, but with martial arts that had surpassed the wall of walls and even such talent in mystical arts, he was a talent anyone would covet.

At this, Yul-myeong, with a hopeful heart, opened his mouth.

“You’re truly intelligent. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as clever as you among all the people I’ve met.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“So, I was wondering…”

“If it’s persuasion, I’ll decline. More importantly, where did you send the Young Master?”

“……”

To refuse even before he could speak.

He hadn’t had high expectations to begin with, but this guy was truly resolute.

It seemed persuasion would really be difficult.

At this, Yul-myeong, the envoy from the Elder Council, shook his head and opened his mouth.

“Do you think I’d simply tell you that?”

At these words, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and replied,

“Well, who knows? When your life is in imminent danger, your mouth might reveal where the Young Master went?”

-Grooowl!

Mok Gyeong-un intentionally revealed his killing intent.

This was a clear threat.

Despite this, Yul-myeong spoke nonchalantly, as if joking,

“My, how scary. Well. But that would be difficult. The Young Master is a very important existence to us, you see.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to find him myself.”

Judging from the remaining blood traces, he hadn’t been confined for too long.

If so, there was still plenty of room to track him.

There was no need to face all the people surrounding this place, it would be enough to just deal with this guy and go.

It was at that moment.

-Pak!

Someone appeared and stood on top of the east wall.

That someone was an old man with white hair and sharp features, and in his hand was a familiar face held by the nape of the neck.

It was,

‘Mok Yu-cheon?’

It was Mok Yu-cheon, his half-brother who had been taken hostage along with him at the Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

Of course, to be precise, he was the real Mok Gyeong-un’s half-brother.

There were signs of injury on his face, as if he had been forcibly captured.

-Clap clap clap!

Yul-myeong clapped his hands and said with a raised corner of his mouth,

“You’ve arrived just in time.”

At these words, the white-haired old man snorted and said, pressing down on Mok Yu-cheon’s neck,

“To bring such a guy in just half a quarter hour, you’re really troubling this old body.”

“I’m still grateful nonetheless. In any case…”

-Swish! Tak!

Yul-myeong came down from the roof tile he was sitting on, and continued speaking to Mok Gyeong-un with a sneer,

“Now the situation is reversed. With that clever head of yours, why don’t you try to guess what I’m going to say…”

“Just kill him.”

‘!?’