Darkness fell.
Cha Iran stared into the darkened alley with cautious eyes.
She could feel a suppressed killing intent from within, and the air around her foretold death.
Enemies were spread all around.
Cha Iran carefully set Geom Mugeuk down.
She leaned his body against a wall and lightly covered him with a black cloth.
It was a concealment cloth, used by assassins to hide in the dark.
It was thin and light, folding down to the size of a palm.
Fortunately, the clothes she wore today were the black martial robes Geom Mugeuk had said suited her.
They were easy to fight in and hard to spot in the darkness.
‘It's almost as if you had a premonition this would happen, isn't it?’
She moved silently into the darkness.
Inside the alley, a martial artist stood leaning against the wall.
He hadn't drawn his sword, fearing the blade might reflect the light, and stood leaning against the wall.
Sssshk.
With the sound of flesh tearing, his throat was slit.
The one who had covered his mouth and slit his throat was Cha Iran.
She had become a perfect assassin.
Just as Cha Iran silently lowered the martial artist's body to the ground and was about to return to where Geom Mugeuk was.
Shiiik!
A sword flew out from the darkness.
A hidden martial artist had dropped his concealment and revealed himself.
It was a trap from the beginning, using the exposed martial artist as bait to kill her.
Cha Iran reflexively twisted her body to dodge the attack.
Pssht!
The flying sword grazed her arm, and then, thud!
The dagger in her hand was embedded in the martial artist's throat.
After silently laying the body down again, Cha Iran rushed back to where Geom Mugeuk was.
She had dealt with the opponent, but if she had been any slower, she could have been injured.
It meant they were not opponents to be taken lightly.
'These are Hwa Do-myeong’s personal subordinates.'
Their martial arts skill was one thing, but as expected of Hwa Do-myeong's subordinates, their stealth was also extraordinary.
She removed the black cloth covering Geom Mugeuk.
She could feel intense heat radiating from Geom Mugeuk’s body, his eyes closed.
A fierce battle was likely raging inside him.
"I trust you can hear me. Hold on just a little longer."
She lifted Geom Mugeuk onto her back.
She tore her clothes and tied him securely to her body so she could still use both hands.
The fastest way to the Divine Flower Sect was to use lightness arts to leap from roof to roof, but it was too conspicuous a method, and all attacks would be focused on her.
She couldn't fight like that with Geom Mugeuk on her back.
Once again, she began to move through the darkness.
Befitting the best of assassins, her movements were so silent that not even her breathing, footsteps, or any trace of her aura could be felt.
It was as if a shadow was moving in the dark.
Just then, the moon, which had been hidden by clouds, emerged.
As the surroundings brightened.
The silhouette of a martial artist hiding in the shadow of a wall a short distance away was revealed.
The opponent saw her too.
The martial artist drew his sword to unleash his Sword Qi, but Cha Iran was faster.
Shwiiiiik!
Thwack!
Cha Iran's dagger flew as straight and fast as a beam of light, embedding itself in his throat.
At the same moment, Sword Qi flew at her from behind.
Swaaaash!
With the alley filled with Sword Qi, she pushed off the ground and leaped into the air with Geom Mugeuk still on her back.
As she appeared in the air with the moon at her back, two martial artists who had been hiding on the roofs on either side rushed towards her as if they had been waiting.
The martial artist from the left was faster.
Shhhhk.
Cha Iran stretched her body out, lying flat in mid-air.
The sword grazed her face and missed.
Her expression, reflected on the blade, was perfectly calm.
Gwak.
Grabbing and twisting the opponent's wrist, her body spun with his.
Thuuud!
The sword of the martial artist rushing from the right stabbed the martial artist from the left in the chest.
Cha Iran used the martial artist from the left as a shield while simultaneously striking out with her right palm.
Pwaaang!
A rain of force blasted the chest of the martial artist on the right.
Puh-puh-puh-puh!
With holes riddling his chest, the martial artist was sent flying far away.
Her special palm technique that fell like night rain.
Heavenly Maiden's Night Rain Palm.
Her hidden signature martial art had been unleashed.
Normally, she only used hidden weapons and never revealed her signature martial art, but today she was revealing everything she had.
In an instant, she dropped back down and hid in the alley.
The clouds covered the moon again, and the surroundings darkened.
She retrieved her dagger from the corpse and quickly moved on.
A low groan escaped Geom Mugeuk's lips.
The more violently she moved, the more difficult it would be for Geom Mugeuk.
But moving safely would be even more dangerous.
Even if it was risky, she had to pick up the pace and break through.
As she turned into the next alley.
Four ambushing martial artists attacked her at once.
Pwang!
She unleashed the Heavenly Maiden's Night Rain Palm on the martial artist to her left and threw the dagger in her right hand at the one on the right.
Then, she parried the sword coming from the front with the back of her hand, twisting her body to avoid the attack from behind.
Gwajik!
The martial artist hit by the Heavenly Maiden's Night Rain Palm was sent flying back, and the dagger accurately embedded itself in the other opponent's neck.
She had parried the attack from the front, but the problem was the martial artist behind her.
Shwiiiik.
To keep Geom Mugeuk from being harmed, she was in a situation where she had to give up one of her arms.
Thwack!
The sound of tearing flesh was heard.
But it wasn't a sound coming from Cha Iran's body.
Someone had rushed in, grabbed him, and repeatedly stabbed his side with a dagger.
Thwack! Thwack!
The woman who had subdued the opponent was none other than the First Assassin.
The martial artist who had attacked from the front was being attacked by two other people.
Clang! Clang!
He blocked the attack from the Fifth Assassin on his left, but.
Thwack!
He couldn't block the dagger the Seventeenth Assassin stabbed into his back.
Just as he gritted his teeth, turned, and tried to swing his sword.
Thwack! Thwack!
This time, the Fifth Assassin stabbed him repeatedly in the back again.
The martial artist could no longer hold on and collapsed.
The opponents' martial arts skills were not low.
They were skilled enough to win if one was careless.
The women only exchanged glances.
In response to Cha Iran's thankful gaze as she ran, they gave her a reassuring look, telling her to leave the rear to them.
The First Assassin instructed the Fifth and Seventeenth Assassins to take the path to the right, while she entered the alley to the left.
This wasn't a fight that would be won by moving in a large group.
It was a battle of hunting one another in the dark.
The Fifth and Seventeenth Assassins moved as a pair.
Their movements were cautious.
They didn't know where a hidden ambush might be.
Cha Iran could dodge such an attack, but it wouldn't be easy for them.
A scream erupted from the direction the First Assassin had gone.
Fortunately, it wasn't a woman's scream.
Just as they were distracted for a moment by the sound!
A sword flew at the Fifth Assassin in a surprise attack.
Swaaaash!
The moment she parried the sword that suddenly flew out of the darkness.
Thwack!
Another sword, wielded by an assassin who dropped his concealment, stabbed the Fifth Assassin in the stomach.
Clang! Clang!
The Seventeenth Assassin threw herself forward to block the follow-up attacks on the Fifth Assassin.
The two martial artists who revealed themselves were fast and strong.
Even within the same organization, some are more skilled than others; the ones they faced now were much stronger and faster than their previous opponents.
Clang! Clang-clang!
The Seventeenth Assassin desperately protected the Fifth Assassin.
If not for her single-minded determination to protect the Fifth Assassin, she would not have been able to block the combined attack of these two.
Thanks to her, the Fifth Assassin had time to staunch the bleeding from her stomach wound and rejoin the fight.
However, the battle-hardened Fifth Assassin knew by instinct.
At this rate, they would both die.
The Fifth Assassin threw herself fiercely at one of the martial artists.
She was making a move of mutual destruction, intending to die together.
"You crazy bitch!"
The attack was so menacing that it drew such a frantic curse, an attack that disregarded her own life.
In that desperate attempt, the Seventeenth Assassin found an opening.
In that very instant, the two women switched opponents.
Shwiiik!
Sguk!
The Seventeenth Assassin succeeded in felling the martial artist the Fifth Assassin was trying to kill, but the Fifth Assassin, who had made a reckless move, was stabbed in the shoulder by the other martial artist's attack.
In the end, the Fifth Assassin collapsed on the spot.
The wound in her stomach was serious, but the shoulder wound was also severe.
The Seventeenth Assassin had no time to check on the Fifth Assassin's wounds.
The opponent continued to press his attack.
If she had a plan to kill him, the Seventeenth Assassin could surely do it.
But this fight was different.
Assassins were people who killed someone secretly, not those skilled in open combat like this.
Seeing the Seventeenth Assassin being pushed back, a strained voice came from behind.
"... Go."
It was a command to abandon her and run.
But the Seventeenth Assassin fought to the end.
Her arm was cut, and so was her thigh, but she didn't give up.
Kaang.
The dagger she was holding was sent flying and fell to the ground.
The martial artist didn't hesitate and thrust his sword toward her.
Shwiiiik.
A hidden weapon appeared in the Seventeenth Assassin's hand.
If the sword pierced her chest, she planned to grab it with one hand and throw the hidden weapon with the other.
Would that even work? But she had to try, to give the Fifth Assassin even a sliver of a chance to survive.
Just as the Fifth Assassin had aimed for mutual destruction, she too was prepared to sacrifice herself.
Thuuuud!
The sound of tearing flesh was heard.
It wasn't a sound from the Seventeenth Assassin's body.
Nor was it a sound made by the hidden weapon in her hand.
A dagger was embedded in the side of the martial artist's neck.
Papapak!
As the dagger was pulled out, he spurted blood and collapsed to the side.
Behind him stood a Faceless One.
The Seventeenth Assassin recognized him at once.
He was the Crescent Moon Faceless One.
Of all people, he had saved her again.
If they had met in this fight, she had wanted to be the one to save him.
The Faceless One picked up her dagger from the ground and handed it to her.
It was the dagger she had wanted to give him, and now he was giving it to her.
But this was no time to be lost in personal feelings.
She hurriedly checked the Fifth Assassin's wounds.
She pressed her pressure points to stop the bleeding and applied golden salve.
Having already lost a lot of blood, the Fifth Assassin's face was pale.
Just then, the Faceless One handed her a small pill.
It was the emergency medicine that the Faceless Ones used in critical situations.
As the Seventeenth Assassin placed the pill in the Fifth Assassin's mouth, a little color returned to her pale face.
The Faceless One pointed in one direction.
It was the direction where they had already cleared out the enemies.
“Take your comrade and escape that way.”
It was the first time he had spoken to her.
The Seventeenth Assassin bowed her head respectfully.
"Thank you."
Regrettably, the conversation ended there.
The Seventeenth Assassin lifted the Fifth Assassin onto her back and ran in the direction he had indicated.
Before turning the corner of the alley, she looked back, but the Faceless One had already vanished into the darkness.
Amidst the corpses, Cha Iran was catching her breath.
“He brought quite a crowd of spectators.”
Hwa Do-myeong had said he was just here to watch, but in reality, he had bet everything on this.
She returned to look at Geom Mugeuk, who was still leaning against the wall.
The enemy had tried to take him, and in her frantic efforts to stop them, she had been cut in two places.
Fortunately, the wounds weren't serious, but she had lost a lot of blood and was not in good condition.
'Just a little further to go.'
She had escaped the maze-like alleys, and just beyond the forest ahead was the Divine Flower Sect.
“Young Cult Master, just hold on a little longer! I'll definitely get you there!"
As she was exiting the alley, Cha Iran stopped in her tracks.
Her expression darkened.
In the clearing before the forest, about twenty martial artists stood in a line, swords in hand.
They wore the same attire as the ones she had fought before, but their eyes were sharper, and their auras more piercing.
They seemed to be the most skilled members of the organization.
Breaking through them in her current condition would not be easy.
Hwa Do-myeong stood in their midst.
That wasn't all.
Behind Hwa Do-myeong stood three martial artists, two men and one woman, wearing bamboo hats.
They revealed no aura, but their very presence was unsettling.
Her assassin's instinct told her.
'They are dangerous.’
Hwa Do-myeong looked at her and spoke calmly.
“He must be heavy. Put him down now.”
Cha Iran untied the cloth and carefully sat Geom Mugeuk down.
She looked at Geom Mugeuk.
It felt as though he would open his eyes and give her a bright smile at any moment, but Geom Mugeuk remained silent with his eyes closed.
“I'm sorry, but it seems the contract was a failure."
A faint smile touched her lips as she prepared for death.
"Abandoning a contract, failing a contract... I'm a truly terrible assassin.”
Geom Mugeuk was still silent.
After gazing at him for a moment, she slowly stood up and turned around.
A dagger was in her hand.
“Can I choose who goes with me?"
Without waiting for a reply, Cha Iran aimed her dagger at Hwa Do-myeong.
“You."
Chwaaak.
Hwa Do-myeong opened his fan and waved it gently.
If it had been just the two of them, he would have hidden his face with that fan.
In front of his subordinates, he became a different person.
“Right, you're only a spectator at times like this?"
As if not allowing a single word of mockery, Hwa Do-myeong gave a cold command.
“Kill her and bring me the Young Cult Master.”
Just as the twenty-some martial artists were about to step forward.
Someone flew in from behind.
The person who ran and blocked the way in front of Cha Iran was the First Assassin.
Behind her, a few more assassins arrived.
The fighting was still ongoing in the alleys, and the First Assassin had arrived first with only a few assassins.
Cha Iran knew.
They alone could not turn the tide.
Hwa Do-myeong was one thing, but those three mysterious figures were even more ominous.
That was why she gave the First Assassin an order.
“Take the ones who are still fighting and leave this place.”
“I can't.”
The First Assassin had no intention of backing down.
For the first time, she disobeyed Cha Iran's command.
The same command fell from Hwa Do-myeong's lips.
“Kill them all.”
Just then, the moon, which had been hidden by clouds, emerged again, brightening the surroundings.
Compared to the approaching enemies, their side was far too weak.
It was at that moment.
The First Assassin said to Cha Iran.
“I will follow your order.”
Cha Iran was puzzled by her sudden change in attitude, and Hwa Do-myeong sneered.
"Yes, those who can live, should live."
As if to say that wasn't the reason, the First Assassin lifted her head and looked up.
Everyone's gaze followed hers and looked up.
The place the First Assassin was looking at was a large, old tree.
Someone was on that tree.
When on earth did they get there?
On the high branches of the great tree were Faceless Ones.
Some were standing, and others were crouching.
Another was sitting perched on a branch.
The sight of them wearing masks and silently looking down at the scene was frighteningly bizarre.
Hwik-hwik-hwik-hwik-hwik-hwik-hwik!
Those on the tree leaped down all at once.
Chak-chak-chak-chak-chak-chak-chak-chak!
The Faceless Ones, landing lightly even from such a height.
Like a shield, they formed a line between Cha Iran and the assassins.
Hwa Do-myeong stared at them with cold eyes.
He had ignored the assassins before, but he could not ignore the Faceless Ones.
It wasn't that he was afraid of them, but rather...
'If they came, then?'
Just then, a low voice came from behind Cha Iran.
“Young Cult Master.”
Cha Iran and the assassins turned in surprise to see that the Evil Heart Laughing Demon was now sitting in front of Geom Mugeuk.
Bathed in the cold moonlight, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon's white mask shone with a blue light.
From within that coldness, a burning gaze flowed out.
“I have come, so open your eyes!"