“She’s not here?!”
“Y-yes, that’s right!”
“Why isn’t she here? Why isn’t she here, you bastard!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Cha Gwang bowed so low his forehead touched the ground. It was a posture that demonstrated just how flexible a human’s waist could be.
Seo Ryang roared.
“You bastards! Even if it was your Squad Leader’s order, how does it make sense that not a single one of you knows where your Squad Leader is or what she’s doing! Arghhhh!”
He was one step away from exploding. No, he had already exploded.
Cha Gwang and all the Mad Demon Squad members pulled in their necks like turtles.
Who was this young man before them? One of the Divine Cult’s highest-ranked disciples, and a tyrant who easily turned their respected Squad Leader into a wreck.
Though they were infamous as mad demons, they didn’t dare raise their heads. And seeing him now, the Third Young Master didn’t seem particularly sane either.
As they say, it takes a madman to recognize another’s madness.
They realized that if they provoked the Third Young Master now, they’d be destroyed so thoroughly that hellish training would seem pleasant in comparison.
“Well…”
Seo Ryang whipped his head around.
“What!”
One of the Mad Demon Squad members spoke hesitantly.
“Perhaps… she went for a drink…?”
“You son of a bitch! What fucking drink?! How could anyone drink in this situation? Are you crazy?”
Squad Leader is the crazy one.
The Mad Demon Squad member couldn’t dare utter those words that rose to his throat.
If he had known that Seo Ryang had told Wi Hong-ryeon to go drink, he would have been even less able to speak.
He would have realized even more clearly that the Third Young Master wasn’t in his right mind.
“T-then perhaps she went to the True Demon Squad…”
“Think logically! If she went to the True Demon Squad, wouldn’t there be chaos in the neighborhood by now! Did you hear any fighting? Did you sense anything? Did you smell anything?!”
“…The Young Master is absolutely right.”
Seo Ryang scratched his head furiously.
“I must be crazy! I must be the crazy one! How could I trust that bewitching bitch with a task!”
He had now moved beyond anger into self-reproach.
The Mad Demon Squad members instinctively realized this was quite a dangerous state.
“Um…”
“What now!”
The unit member shrank his neck. The Third Young Master’s glare was truly terrifying.
“Perhaps you should still check the True Demon Squad…”
“Want to fight me?”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”
“Then what! Are you picking a fight? Want to die? Should I split your skull into about two hundred and thirty pieces?!”
“Th-that’s not it… if you’re having trouble finding our Squad Leader, perhaps you could focus on finding the True Demon Squad Leader…”
“You damn bastard! That’s the same thing…”
Suddenly Seo Ryang’s eyes went wide.
“Huh? Huh?”
What’s this? Not a bad idea.
No, not just not bad – it’s a brilliant idea. You might call it a paradigm shift.
“You! What’s your name?”
“W-Won-u, sir.”
“You bastard! Won-u! I’ll remember your name! Thanks, man!”
Seo Ryang ruthlessly ruffled Won-u’s hair before quickly employing his movement technique.
Thus, leaving only a storm of madness behind, he vanished into a dot.
“…”
A strange silence fell over the Mad Demon Squad.
Cha Gwang glanced at Won-u.
“You’re quite something, huh?”
“No, Vice Squad Leader.”
“Don’t deny it. We survived thanks to you.”
“Well… we should have some fun too.”
“Fun? What fun?”
“The Third Young Master came here looking for our Squad Leader.”
“Right?”
“We know to keep our heads down because we’re scared of the Third Young Master, but those True Demon Squad bastards don’t know that.”
“…Huh?”
“Those bastards have been annoying anyway. Let’s have a disaster god descend on them.”
Strength entered Cha Gwang’s eyes.
“You!”
“Yes, Vice Squad Leader.”
“Well done, man.”
“Thank you.”
***
Crack!
Wi Hong-ryeon, who had been thrown through an intact wall, quickly regained her stance.
But that was all. Her low stance kept swaying, suggesting her legs had lost their strength.
“Huff! Huff huff!”
The breath she exhaled carried the metallic scent of blood.
Her complexion was as white as paper, and her limp left arm was dangling, possibly broken.
“You b-bastard! You half-nutted bastard trained your martial arts like crazy.”
Whoosh.
Song Gyeong appeared through the broken wall.
He too was covered in blood. Like Wi Hong-ryeon, his left arm was broken and dangling, though his dislocation seemed even worse.
Tsss tsss tsss.
Yet his killing intent remained strong. His bloodshot eyes glared at Wi Hong-ryeon as if they might shoot cannons.
Wi Hong-ryeon grinned.
“What a beautiful night.”
“…You bitch.”
“The longer the night, the longer the dream. Come on, give me your neck. I’ll cut it nice and clean and mount it on my wall.”
“I’ll skin you alive and wear your hide like a trophy on every anniversary.”
“You fucking pervert bastard.”
“You mad bitch even dogs wouldn’t touch.”
Their curses and killing intent toward each other grew more poisonous with time.
But neither could easily make a move.
The greater their anger grew, the stronger their desire to win became, and they knew if they wanted to win, they couldn’t move first.
In this vast world, it’s truly rare to find someone of equal strength. In that sense, though stained with bad blood, these two made quite a matching pair.
“Whew!”
Shing.
Wi Hong-ryeon took a deep breath and relaxed her stance, sheathing her sword.
Song Gyeong’s face crumpled deeply.
“Sheathing your sword without surrendering? What are you trying to pull?”
“What else? I think I can beat trash like you with bare hands.”
“…You were already crazy, but those hits must have made you even crazier.”
“Unlike someone, I’m not a fool who can only talk big with a weapon.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for? Come on. I’m graciously offering to face you bare-handed.”
Song Gyeong, who had been staring at Wi Hong-ryeon, carelessly threw his sword.
Thunk!
The flying sword embedded deeply in a rock. Despite serious internal and external injuries and significant energy consumption, he seemed to have strength left.
Crack.
After setting and hardening his broken left arm with demonic energy to hold it in place, he raised both fists.
“Well, killing by cutting or stabbing would be too simple.”
“Oh? Sure you don’t need your sword?”
“For someone like you, just my feet…”
Suddenly Song Gyeong crouched.
Crack!!
His body retreated smoothly before stopping against a wall.
Wi Hong-ryeon, who had charged at incredible speed and launched a kick technique, laughed hohoho.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“…You dirty!”
“Who cares about playing dirty in a fight to the death!”
Bang!
They swung fists at each other.
Again, neither dodged nor deflected. Their faces quickly became a mess in the rapid exchange of direct blows.
Boom!
Their feet gradually dug into the ground.
The ground couldn’t withstand their constant footwork as they refused to retreat. The cracking ground broke apart, scattering sharp stone fragments everywhere.
How many exchanges had they traded like this?
Whoosh!
Powerful demonic energy pressed down from all directions.
As if they had been waiting for this, both fighters’ punches stopped. The concentration of demonic energy was too significant to ignore.
“Squad Leader Wi!”
Bang!
Along with the sound of air exploding, Ma Dong-pil came running from afar.
Song Gyeong’s face, which had looked smooth from being so swollen, twisted like a crumpled pig’s bladder.
“Who the hell is that?”
“What else, bastard.”
Wi Hong-ryeon grinned. She too looked like a lined pig’s bladder.
“Reinforcements have arrived!”
Crack!
Song Gyeong staggered backward.
An upward palm strike to the chin. If he hadn’t thrown his head back instantly, this blow would have knocked him unconscious.
Simultaneously, Wi Hong-ryeon also retreated. The moment Song Gyeong’s chin was struck, he had kicked her abdomen with his toes.
Even in this situation, they exchanged blow for blow. This exchange of attacks demonstrated that their martial arts were perfectly matched.
“Kuhak!”
Wi Hong-ryeon vomited blood violently.
“Squad Leader Wi!”
Swoosh!
Ma Dong-pil quickly arrived at her side and supported her.
“Are you alright?”
“Ugh… bastard, does this look alright to you?”
The martial arts of the Mad Demon and True Demon Squad Leaders were certainly equal.
But Wi Hong-ryeon hadn’t recovered from her previous internal injuries. This meant she had started at a disadvantage.
No martial artist enters a life-or-death battle in perfect condition. However, considering physical condition, Wi Hong-ryeon’s fighting spirit was certainly a level above Song Gyeong’s.
Ma Dong-pil clicked his tongue.
“That’s why you should have waited until I arrived instead of getting yourself beaten up.”
“This bastard. You expect me to hold back when I see that bastard’s face?”
“You didn’t just see his face, you went looking for it, didn’t you?”
“…”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Wi Hong-ryeon grumbled quietly.
From what could be heard, she was muttering things like ‘Have you ever felt passionate about anything, you bastard,’ ‘Cold bastard,’ ‘Mental eunuch,’ and other words that would make listeners’ minds reel.
That’s when Song Gyeong spoke.
“Who are you?”
Ma Dong-pil made a respectful fist salute.
“Third Captain of the Law Enforcement Court, Ma Dong-pil.”
He showed appropriate courtesy to his opponent.
Even for an internal combat unit leader, it was right to return such courtesy. The position of Law Enforcement Court Captain was not a light one.
But like two peas in a pod, Song Gyeong also wasn’t the type of petty person to care about such minor matters.
“Law Enforcement Court or whatever, get lost! How dare you interrupt a fight!”
Ma Dong-pil’s eyes deepened.
If the opponent took this attitude, he too had no need to maintain courtesy.
“I’ll keep this brief. Kneel.”
“What?!”
“I said kneel. Soon the Third Young Master will…”
Bang!
Ma Dong-pil hesitated.
Pale smoke rose from the long sword he had half-drawn. It was where he had blocked Song Gyeong’s fist wind.
“You have the skill to back up your chatter.”
“I’ll say it one last time. Kneel.”
“…How dare you!”
Song Gyeong’s hands moved like lightning. Seeing how he freely wielded even his broken left arm, he seemed to feel no pain at all.
Bang bang bang bang!
A barrage of fist wind and palm force.
Ma Dong-pil’s eyes flashed.
Bang bang bang!
His sword strikes, though not fast, were heavy and powerful enough to block all of Song Gyeong’s attacks.
Slash!
He even went a step further. Ma Dong-pil’s sword tip had somehow reached an inch from Song Gyeong’s chest.
Song Gyeong’s cheek trembled.
“Were you going easy on me?”
Ma Dong-pil spoke coldly.
“Kneel.”
Wi Hong-ryeon grumbled.
“Hey! Leave him! That bastard is mine!”
Swoosh.
Just when it seemed to be over, another surge of killing intent rose impressively. Song Gyeong was becoming almost an incarnation of killing intent.
“…Fine.”
“Kne-“
Bang!
Ma Dong-pil staggered backward.
Palm force exploded right in front of him. Song Gyeong too must have overexerted himself, as he vomited blood. Looking at his trembling legs, he seemed to be having trouble standing.
But Song Gyeong had a reason for forcing out that palm force.
Hiss! Bang!
A small cylinder from his chest. A red flare rose high into the sky, flickered a few times, then went out.
Ma Dong-pil sighed.
“You’re making this difficult.”
“That bastard’s always like that. He’s fundamentally an underhanded bastard.”
“What will you do now? He’s called for reinforcements.”
“What about our reinforcements?”
“…”
“Why? Aren’t they coming?”
“This is all because of you!”
“This bastard? Why are you suddenly yelling?”
“If you somehow survive this, be careful. The Young Master is going to beat you senseless.”
“Hmph! Nonsense.”
While the two bickered inappropriately for the situation, Song Gyeong spoke coldly.
“You, Law Enforcement Court Captain, handle whoever comes. You! Get out here right now, you bitch!”
“You come in first, bastard! Are you scared?!”
“You bitch!”
…The situation was becoming quite messy.
At that time, in the True Demon Squad…
“S-sorry…”
“Sorry what, what’s this? Why are fifty people missing? Where did they go?”
“With the Squad Leader…”
“Huh?”
That’s when a red flare appeared high in the sky.
Seo Ryang whistled softly.
“How pretty.”
But the True Demon Squad members’ reactions were different.
“Huh? Move right now! Right now!”
“The Squad Leader’s call…”
“Gasp! Hey! Don’t say-“
That’s when Seo Ryang put his arm around the shoulder of the member who was about to say “shut up.”
“What did you say?”
“Kuhup!”
“The True Demon Squad Leader is there?”
“…”
“Ohoho.”
Seo Ryang’s eyes filled with madness.
“You bastard, you’re totally caught.”