Myeong Shin brandished his Dagger, lost in a state of selflessness.
Sparks flew from the Dagger as it clashed with the King of Assassins'.
The battle between the number one and second-in-command of the Underworld.
It was a fight where a single mistake would lead to death.
The clashing Daggers were so fast, they were nearly invisible to the eye.
He had engaged in light spars with the King of Assassins before, but a life-and-death battle like this was a first.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
The Daggers stabbed at each other in quick succession.
Their footwork was as fast as their attacks, moving in a dazzling display, while they used their movement arts with extreme concentration to twist their upper bodies and evade the incoming blades.
The Daggers clashed with clear, ringing sounds, as well as the grating noise of metal scraping against metal.
'He's strong!'
Before his mind or instinct, Myeong Shin's hand felt it.
The weight behind the King of Assassins' attacks still held a sense of ease.
In contrast, he was pouring everything he had into it.
The reason he could fight on even terms despite the difference in skill was due to his momentum.
Myeong Shin had resolved to fight to the death.
The momentum of one prepared for death was narrowly compensating for the gap in their abilities.
In an instant, over a hundred moves had been exchanged.
Clang!
With a loud clash, the two men retreated.
They were standing on the roof of a building across from the Tavern.
Myeong Shin's breathing was ragged, but the King of Assassins was calm.
This was the precise measure of the skill gap between them.
'Still, it's fine.'
Having prepared for death, Myeong Shin was not afraid.
Whenever he went on an assassination mission, he would always imagine the moment of his death from a failed mission.
Then, a scene like this would naturally come to mind.
Martial artists rummaging through his corpse, trying to figure out where the Assassin came from.
Since no one buries the body of an Assassin, they would throw it in a field.
Then wolves would come slinking by and feast on the corpse.
Myeong Shin had considered this to be the end for an Assassin.
But to die fighting the King of Assassins?
'This is a pretty decent death.'
Just then, the King of Assassins was looking at the Tavern across the street.
Through the window, he could catch glimpses of the fight unfolding inside.
"The Young Cult Master will not make it out of there alive."
Myeong Shin spoke calmly.
"The Young Cult Master will come out alive."
The King of Assassins paid no mind to the fact that Myeong Shin, who always used honorifics, was now speaking informally.
"If that's the case, it means all the devices you prepared have been rendered useless."
Myeong Shin knew that was why he had been drawn outside.
"I appreciate you trusting me, but."
Even knowing that, he had come outside for three reasons.
First of all.
"It will be useless. Against that Young Cult Master."
He had faith in Geom Mugeuk.
The Geom Mugeuk he had seen in reports and the Geom Mugeuk he had seen in person.
This was the conclusion drawn from combining the two.
It had only been a few days since he met him, but he had a greater impact on him than anyone he had ever seen before.
It was to the point where he felt he had to rewrite the report on him himself.
Of course, that would never happen now.
Another reason was that if he stayed in the Tavern, the King of Assassins would have stayed as well.
That would have made the fight just as difficult.
He'd rather buy time with the King of Assassins, hoping Geom Mugeuk would finish them off and come out.
A choice that couldn't be made without faith in Geom Mugeuk.
And the last reason was that he wanted to kill the King of Assassins himself.
Even knowing it would not be an easy task, he had a burning desire to settle this grudge with his own hands.
It was at that moment.
Swish!
Myeong Shin dodged a hidden weapon that flew from behind him.
It wasn't thrown to kill, but to get his attention.
A man was suddenly standing on the roof of the adjacent building.
It was Blood Silk, the one whose tongue had been cut by the King of Assassins for mocking Myeong Shin earlier.
With his expression and gaze, Blood Silk pleaded with the King of Assassins.
Let him handle Myeong Shin.
A hatred that blamed Myeong Shin for the loss of his tongue could be felt in his eyes.
The King of Assassins glanced back and forth between Myeong Shin and Blood Silk, then nodded his permission.
Normally, his personality would have driven him to provoke Myeong Shin with all sorts of taunts, but now he couldn't speak a single word.
Blood Silk brandished his sword and charged at Myeong Shin.
Myeong Shin did not dodge either, swinging his Dagger to meet him.
Assassins are those who prepare and plan to kill their opponents.
That is why, when the opponent's guard is at its lowest, they should effortlessly stab them and leave.
Therefore, there are things they must not do.
An assassin should not use footwork.
An assassin should not use martial arts.
To have to use them meant that the preparations for the assassination mission were insufficient.
Using footwork and martial arts was only for when an assassination mission failed.
Thus, fighting openly like this was less a fight as assassins and more a fight as martial artists.
It was a battle of pure fundamentals.
A battle of their martial arts, hidden weapon techniques, and lightness arts.
Swoosh!
The incoming sword grazed Myeong Shin's face.
Even as he felt the cold chill of the blade brushing against his face, Myeong Shin charged forward, thrusting his Dagger.
Blood Silk twisted his body to dodge the Dagger, twisting the sword he had thrust out as well.
The sword that had passed by his face changed direction, intending to slice it, but Myeong Shin had already lowered his body and was stabbing at Blood Silk's stomach.
Clang, clang, clang!
Blood Silk's sword changed direction again, blocking the attack.
As expected of the assassins representing the Underworld, their fight was magnificent.
Their movements were like the wind, and when they attacked, they were as courageous as fierce beasts.
The sharp sounds of metal clashing continued in short bursts.
But gradually, the sword began to be pushed back by the Dagger.
He had been confident he could beat Myeong Shin, as he had been more successful as an Assassin recently.
Unfortunately for him, this was not a fight as assassins but as martial artists, and he was lacking in the fundamentals.
'Damn it! I will never lose to you!'
But as Blood Silk was pushed back further and further, his hands and feet began to move clumsily.
Thrust!
Blood spurted from Blood Silk's shoulder.
Although Blood Silk considered himself the true second-in-command.
There was a skill gap between the two greater than a severed tongue.
Blood Silk tried to unleash his trump card, but Myeong Shin did not miss the momentary opening created when one uses a major technique.
Myeong Shin's Dagger swiftly stabbed Blood Silk's chest repeatedly.
"K-kuek."
Blood Silk coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His gaze turned to the King of Assassins.
It was a look of resentment, asking why he didn't help, but the King of Assassins couldn't help him even if he wanted to.
From the moment he started fighting Myeong Shin, he had felt Hwi's presence.
The moment he showed an opening, Hwi would not miss it and would deliver a fatal blow.
The Cult Master's bodyguard.
He had wanted to kill Myeong Shin earlier, but the reason he couldn't was because of Hwi.
If I rashly try to kill him, I too will die.
His opponent was a master who could certainly turn this instinctive sense of crisis into reality.
It was at that moment.
Papapapapapak!
Holes riddled the wall of the Tavern across the way.
He could tell the Demon Abacus Beads had exploded.
The thick smell of blood wafted from the holes.
It was clear a fierce battle was still raging inside.
Myeong Shin caught his breath in front of Blood Silk's body.
He knew it too.
Why the King of Assassins hadn't intervened in the fight with Blood Silk.
He could feel that Hwi was protecting him.
That was why he couldn't help but think of Geom Mugeuk at this moment.
'You really are!'
It wasn't just words when he said let's be friends, nor was it just words when he said he would save him.
The King of Assassins silently stared at the Tavern before speaking abruptly.
"Your target for revenge should be the person who put in the contract, not me."
"That's right."
Myeong Shin readily admitted it.
"Then why?"
Myeong Shin knew what words were omitted after the King of Assassins' question.
Why did you betray me?
Myeong Shin knew that the King of Assassins genuinely harbored such a question.
That was why he wasn't angry.
Because that was just the kind of person the King of Assassins was.
I saved you and even raised you as an Assassin, so why aren't you grateful and betraying me instead?
He was the kind of person who would ask such a question.
He doesn't understand the complex and wide range of human emotions.
"Then why did you kill your father?"
Killing intent shot out from the King of Assassins' transparent eyes.
But Myeong Shin was not concerned at all.
On the contrary, it was good.
In a fight between masters, the angrier the opponent becomes, the more advantageous it is.
"It doesn't feel good to hear that, does it? Just as you don't think you betrayed your father, it's the same for me."
The King of Assassins stared at him without a word.
Myeong Shin thought that perhaps the reason he had been captivated by the King of Assassins was because of that transparent gaze.
A feeling of purity rather than evil.
Unconsciously, he had perceived him that way.
Sometimes, the impression given by one's appearance precedes everything else.
The King of Assassins slowly walked towards him.
He read in his eyes the determination to kill him without fail.
Myeong Shin also flicked the blood of Blood Silk from his Dagger and walked to meet him.
If he wanted to stall for time, he could have tried to draw out a conversation, but he didn't.
This revenge was not Geom Mugeuk's, but his own.
'I will fight with all I have.'
The two clashed again.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
Expected and unexpected trajectories mixed.
Attacks that had to be blocked with skill and instinct continued.
His arm ached as if it would fall off from being pushed back by inner energy, but Myeong Shin gritted his teeth and fought on.
If there was a terror of the number one, there was also a terror of the second-in-command, but this clear difference in skill was not something that could be overcome with willpower.
Pah!
Blood spurted from Myeong Shin's arm, and...
Swiiish!
Just as the follow-up attack was about to pierce Myeong Shin's heart.
Clang!
A sword struck the King of Assassins' Dagger away.
The one who struck his Dagger was Hwi, who had revealed himself from stealth.
This moment, when the King of Assassins was about to stab Myeong Shin, was an opportunity to attack him directly.
But if he did that, Myeong Shin would surely die, so he chose to protect him instead.
Myeong Shin quickly pressed the pressure points on his wound to stop the bleeding and said.
"I didn't want to be indebted to you, but thank you."
But Hwi didn't reply.
He was only protecting Myeong Shin because it was the Young Cult Master's order; he had no personal feelings for this Assassin.
Myeong Shin tried to get up and fight again.
Just then, a voice came from behind.
"Why did you prepare so much? I almost died, you know!"
Geom Mugeuk was walking out of the Tavern.
The King of Assassins couldn't hide his surprise.
He hadn't expected him to clear out the Tavern and emerge so quickly.
Moreover, Geom Mugeuk's body was pristine, without even a scratch.
In fact, Myeong Shin was just as surprised.
He asked, trying hard to hide his astonishment.
"How were the preparations? I made most of them."
"If I had known you made them, I wouldn't have asked Uncle Hwi to save you."
Myeong Shin could feel it.
He wasn't reprimanding him, but complimenting the excellence of the hidden weapons he had made.
How many people in this Martial World could afford to joke with such composure in this situation? After escaping from that Tavern of death, one would expect him to show a bit of arrogance, even as a joke.
But instead, he was praising his opponent.
He was showing what true self-esteem was.
'I lost.'
Myeong Shin felt a sense of respect for Geom Mugeuk.
Respect for a young man?
But he wasn't ashamed at all.
He was also the benefactor who had saved his life.
"Are you badly hurt?"
At Geom Mugeuk's question, Myeong Shin knew that the moment had come to hand this fight over to them.
He did not insist on fighting to the end.
It was a great pity, but he knew it was impossible for him to kill the King of Assassins with his own skills.
Stubbornness would only be a burden to Hwi or Geom Mugeuk.
The King of Assassins was much stronger than he had thought.
Myeong Shin leaped down below.
"It was tough fighting with a body that's only used to hammering away. I'll rest for a bit, so you take him on."
Then Geom Mugeuk leaped up to the spot where Myeong Shin had been standing.
"Thank you, Uncle."
It was his gratitude to Hwi for successfully completing the request to protect Myeong Shin.
As Geom Mugeuk stood behind him, Hwi's expression changed.
When the one he had to protect became Geom Mugeuk, he became a completely different person.
Because those who change completely depending on who stands behind them are precisely what Escort Martial Artists are.
Looking at Hwi's back, Geom Mugeuk felt it.
That Hwi desired to fight the King of Assassins.
This fight was truly an inevitability created by two opposing fates.
'If Uncle Hwi has to fight?'
There was something he could do to help him.
Something he was as good at as swordsmanship.
Geom Mugeuk asked Myeong Shin, who was standing below the roof.
"Do you know why your leader joined hands with them?"
Then Geom Mugeuk leaped up to the spot where Myeong Shin had been standing.
"Thank you, Uncle."
It was his gratitude to Hwi for successfully completing the request to protect Myeong Shin.
As Geom Mugeuk stood behind him, Hwi's expression changed.
When the one he had to protect became Geom Mugeuk, he became a completely different person.
Because those who change completely depending on who stands behind them are precisely what Escort Martial Artists are.
Looking at Hwi's back, Geom Mugeuk felt it.
That Hwi desired to fight the King of Assassins.
This fight was truly an inevitability created by two opposing fates.
'If Uncle Hwi has to fight?'
There was something he could do to help him.
Something he was as good at as swordsmanship.
Geom Mugeuk asked Myeong Shin, who was standing below the roof.
"Do you know why your leader joined hands with them?"
"I don't. Do you?"
"They must have proposed it. That they would make him the king of all assassins in the world. That they would make him the King of the Night."
Myeong Shin thought that might have been the case.
He was truly a man mad about assassination.
Perhaps only that condition would have worked.
"It might sound plausible, but in the end, doesn't it just mean they'll use him as a swordsman?"
Seeing the transparent eyes twitch, Geom Mugeuk began to seriously provoke the King of Assassins.
"Where is there a ruler who takes orders from another? A King of the Night who bows his head to a ruler of the day? How utterly pathetic. A ruler? Don't make me laugh! You're nothing but a mere tool."
Geom Mugeuk spewed a series of words to provoke the King of Assassins.
He intended to shake his mind before the fight.
"He only knew how to imitate other people's lives, but as for what kind of life he should live for himself..."
It was at that moment.
Kaaang!
Two sword strokes appeared and disappeared simultaneously.
One sword stroke intended to cleave Geom Mugeuk's body in two, and the other was a sword stroke that blocked the incoming attack.
Hwi had blocked the King of Assassins' attack.
It wasn't an attack meant to kill Geom Mugeuk, but a warning attack that said, 'Shut that mouth!'
Of course, if he were to shut his mouth at that, he wouldn't be Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk, as if certain that Hwi would block any attack, continued to provoke the King of Assassins with a relaxed face.
This time, he used Myeong Shin to provoke him.
"Do you know why that man is trying to break your principles?"
This was something Myeong Shin was purely curious about as well.
"Why is that?"
"Because he's jealous. As the number one, he commits murder without any principles, while you, the second-in-command, have principles..."
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
Soul-Killing Thunder shot out from the King of Assassins' sleeve.
It was far more powerful than that of the assassins he had faced in the Tavern.
But an even more surprising scene unfolded.
Hwi's sword spun like a pinwheel, deflecting all the incoming hidden weapons.
Seeing this, Myeong Shin was astonished.
Fending off the hidden weapons of the Soul-Killing Thunder from that distance was something he could never have imagined.
'The Cult Master's bodyguard, he's much stronger than I thought.'
Hwi and the King of Assassins stared at each other.
No other reason was necessary for this fight.
They were simply the beings who hated each other the most.
A battle of polar opposites representing the Martial World.
Hwi, who had always been taciturn, spoke his mind today.
"Assassins look down on bodyguards. They think we only know how to stubbornly protect. So today, I intend to show him."
That bodyguards and assassins are two sides of the same coin.
"Just how well a man who knows how to protect can kill, once he makes up his mind."