The sound of metal clashing echoed continuously from within.
A sharp sound that felt like it could cut flesh just by hearing it.
At the center of that sound, Namgung Il and Gok I-hyeon were swinging their swords at each other.
Clang—.
Neither of them backed down an inch.
A series of attacks and defenses where a single minor mistake could lead to a slit throat or a pierced heart continued to go back and forth, but the two did not hesitate to display moves that felt like walking on thin ice.
‘This brat…’
Just then, for the first time, a change appeared on Gok I-hyeon's face.
He was currently responding to all of the opponent's moves, but Namgung Il was doing the same.
It was a situation that was nothing short of being called an equal match.
In the first place, Gok I-hyeon was very displeased that such a situation had unfolded at all.
“……”
When they had briefly crossed swords before, he had felt that he was a bit different from ordinary students.
However, Gok I-hyeon had thought he could sufficiently overwhelm Namgung Il with his own skills.
Weren't he and Namgung Il in a teacher-student relationship in the first place?
It was only natural for a teacher to overwhelm a student with skill, regardless of the field.
Clang—!
But Namgung Il, as if thoroughly rejecting that natural order, was blocking all of his moves.
This was a very humiliating situation for a teacher.
Although he had become a teacher at the Flying Dragon Academy with a different purpose, he couldn't help the crack forming in his pride.
‘Insolent brat!’
If you're a student, act like one and be quiet in front of your teacher!
Gok I-hyeon swung a sword strike filled with killing intent at Namgung Il.
Hwik—.
However, that sword strike also fruitlessly cut through the empty air.
Gok I-hyeon glared at Namgung Il, who had retreated slightly, and spoke in a voice filled with malice.
“Insolent. Insolent. Insolent!”
“……”
“No matter how you resist, you are destined to become a sacrifice for Him! If you obediently give up and hand over the key now, I will make sure you become that sacrifice very comfortably!”
“You’re going to kill me in the end, aren’t you.”
Namgung Il said, as if there was no need to listen further.
“You Blood Dragon Cultists might unhesitatingly offer your own lives for the Blood Demon, but any person with normal thinking would consider that a crazy act.”
“A crazy act? Becoming a sacrifice for Him is a most noble honor!”
“Then you go ahead and do it all you want.”
Namgung Il said and aimed his sword again.
“The one you guys worship as a god is already dead. And a dead human cannot come back to life.”
The Blood Demon certainly possessed power to the extent that he was thought to be a god who had surpassed humanity.
However, he too was ultimately human.
When Namgung Il had confirmed the blood flowing from the Blood Demon's body, he had known that for sure.
“In the end, that guy was also human.”
“Eee… Kuaaaak—!”
Just then, Gok I-hyeon clutched his head as if feeling a severe headache and began to scream.
His appearance was like a beast howling rather than a person, and he looked so precarious that it seemed he would explode at any moment if left alone.
“He is a god!”
“……”
“A truly omnipotent… a god whom no one can dare to approach!”
As expected, Gok I-hyeon was undoubtedly from the Blood Dragon Cult.
Seeing that, Namgung Il once again firmly realized that fact.
‘What the Blood Dragon Cultists hate the most is the denial of the Blood Demon himself.’
To them, the Blood Demon was a being equal to a god.
The center of the entire world was the Blood Demon, and for his sake, they would unhesitatingly commit acts that deviated from common sense.
In other words, an act that denied the Blood Demon, like now, was the same as having one's entire being denied.
Still, to show such a violent reaction meant that Gok I-hyeon was a considerable fanatic even within the Blood Dragon Cult.
‘One’s rank within the Blood Dragon Cult is proportional to one’s faith in the Blood Demon.’
That level of loyalty was by no means that of a mere underling.
Although Namgung Il didn't know the exact organizational chart of the Blood Dragon Cult, he could guess that Gok I-hyeon held a position of some rank.
‘I’ll extract information from this guy.’
If he was a high-ranking member, he would know a considerable amount of information.
What is the current strength of the Blood Dragon Cult, and where is their headquarters located?
If he knew such information, even if it was impossible right now, it would be a great help in subjugating the Blood Dragon Cult later.
Pajijik—.
For that, he first had to subdue Gok I-hyeon.
Even if he was a madman, his skills were on a level that could never be underestimated, so Namgung Il prepared to engage in the fight in earnest.
Pajijik—.
As an anomaly occurred on Namgung Il's sword, Gok I-hyeon finally stopped his howling.
The flashing that was currently occurring around Namgung Il's body.
The sword's blade also shimmered with a blue light, as if clad in lightning.
“……Hehe.”
Seeing that, Gok I-hyeon laughed again.
How dare a mere student insolently use sword ki. Such a belittling emotion was strongly felt in Gok I-hyeon's laughter.
Woong—.
Immediately, sword ki also formed on Gok I-hyeon's swords.
The longsword and the dagger. Sword ki formed on both of them.
The process was very clean, so it was clear that Gok I-hyeon had not become a teacher at the Flying Dragon Academy by luck.
‘I’ll end this with a swift battle.’
With that thought, Namgung Il moved quickly.
Like a single flash of light, Namgung Il's sword strike instantly aimed for Gok I-hyeon's vitals.
Pajijik—!
Gok I-hyeon blocked the sword strike simultaneously with the swords in both hands.
The moment their swords clashed, the energy of the electric shock scattered in all directions.
Although Namgung Il's sword strike did not directly touch his body, Gok I-hyeon felt a tingling sensation in his hands for a moment.
Hwik—!
Gok I-hyeon immediately counterattacked Namgung Il.
However, at that moment, Namgung Il's figure was already far away, and the figure of Namgung Il, who he thought was far away, was already close in front of him again.
“……!”
Gok I-hyeon could not easily adapt to the movement that was several times faster than before.
Even if he tried to counterattack, he would disappear from that spot in an instant, so what on earth was he supposed to do?
In the meantime, Namgung Il's movements gradually accelerated, further scattering Gok I-hyeon's concentration without mercy.
Flash—!
A single flash of light sparked from Gok I-hyeon's right.
Clang—!
And then this time, a flash from the opposite side, the left.
Chaechaechaeng—!
Soon, flashes sparked successively from all directions.
In the midst of that, all Gok I-hyeon could do was barely receive them.
Gok I-hyeon was helplessly trapped in the prison created by the Raging Waves of Light.
“Kuh…!”
Due to the fierce attacks pouring in from all directions, Gok I-hyeon's expression gradually became urgent.
He had thought that if he just held on a little, the momentum would weaken, but far from weakening, it was getting stronger.
On top of that, his hands were getting strangely numb every time the swords clashed.
Gok I-hyeon instinctively knew that he was at a disadvantage as time passed.
Flash—.
At that moment, Namgung Il's sword strike, with its momentum several times stronger, raged from the front.
“……!”
In the end, unable to withstand the impact any longer, both his hands were thrown up.
As if not to miss that opening, Namgung Il quickly rushed in from a blind spot.
Ting—.
It was then.
At that moment, a strange sound that he had not heard until now rang in Namgung Il's ear, and immediately, an instinctive intuition warned Namgung Il that it was dangerous.
Hwik—.
Namgung Il urgently changed direction.
The Raging Waves of Light, which had seemed unstoppable until now, finally lost its momentum and stopped in place, and at that moment, countless unknown sword strikes raged around Gok I-hyeon.
Chwaak—!
It felt as if countless invisible swords were being swung around Gok I-hyeon right now.
Those swords, as if not aiming for any particular target, mercilessly cut through the empty air and the floor, and Namgung Il was also included in that target.
“……!”
Namgung Il instinctively stopped approaching and immediately tried to get away from Gok I-hyeon, but by then, it was already a step too late.
The clothes on various parts of his body were torn, and fresh blood flowed from them.
The floor was stained with the blood that flowed from Namgung Il's body.
“Hehehehe… Hahahaha—!”
“……”
“You finally look like a proper sacrifice!”
Gok I-hyeon laughed madly, looking at Namgung Il.
A look befitting a sacrifice.
As he said, Namgung Il's undergarments were stained as red as the robe he wore over them.
“……You were hiding such a cheap trick?”
“A cheap trick?”
Gok I-hyeon swung his sword on the spot.
What moved was the dagger in his left hand. And the direction he swung the dagger was not at Namgung Il, but at the longsword in his right hand.
Ting—.
At that moment, the unpleasant tune that had rung out just before was heard again.
Simultaneously, a sword mark appeared on the floor.
If Namgung Il hadn't dodged from that spot just now, the place where that sword mark appeared would have been Namgung Il's body, not the floor.
‘Sound Arts…’
Literally, a martial art that used sound.
A martial art that defeated the opponent by changing one's internal energy into the form of sound.
He had heard that it usually caused hallucinations, but he had also heard that there were cases where it gave physical blows like that.
“……”
Usually, Sound Arts mostly used musical instruments.
Since it was a martial art that used sound, the existence of a musical instrument, which was its basis, was necessary.
In Gok I-hyeon's case, since he wasn't holding any noticeable musical instrument, Namgung Il had not been on guard against Sound Arts at all.
‘To think those two swords were musical instruments.’
Normally, one wouldn't be able to notice.
Perhaps what Gok I-hyeon was aiming for was precisely that element of surprise.
To kill the enemy with the hidden move of Sound Arts when the opponent least expects it… In fact, if he had been a little late in dodging, he would have died on the spot.
“You have good senses.”
“……”
“More than that, I’m surprised. To think you’d make me pull this out.”
No one at the Flying Dragon Academy knew that Gok I-hyeon used Sound Arts.
A secret he had thoroughly hidden despite being a teacher for several years.
Conversely, the fact that he was made to pull out that move meant that Gok I-hyeon was also quite cornered.
“Well, it’s fine.”
“……”
“It’s a pity I couldn’t kill you in one blow, but instead, I got what I was aiming for.”
Gok I-hyeon said and walked forward.
At that moment, Namgung Il belatedly confirmed what had fallen on the floor, but by then, Gok I-hyeon's hand was already heading for it.
“I’ll secure the Blood Spot Grass first.”
“……!”
“I’ll kill you after that.”
It seemed the necklace that held the ring had been cut when the slashes had raged earlier.
Because of that, the ring was now on the floor. No, the key to the labyrinth.
Seeing that, Namgung Il tried to stop Gok I-hyeon, but the pain felt throughout his body held Namgung Il's feet.
“Stop!”
Namgung Il shouted, but there was no reason for Gok I-hyeon to listen.
Gok I-hyeon instantly approached the pillar and was holding the ring out to it.
“With this, His resurrection will be achieved.”
“……!”
Gok I-hyeon pushed the ring into the pillar.
The ring went in very smoothly, as if it had originally been one.
A moment later, the interior began to stir violently.
Drrr—!
The labyrinth was shaking as if an earthquake had occurred.
The cause of that upheaval was the hidden door opening on the other side. That seemed to be the exit to escape this labyrinth.
“……!”
And one more thing. Something that had been hidden until now was showing itself to the world.
Drrr—.
The pillar was sinking into the ground.
At the same time, another pillar was rising from nearby.
As if it were a vase, a single flower was placed in the center.
“……!”
A feeling that it was not of this world.
The existence that had been thought to be a fiction until now was really there.
(End of Chapter)