SYM 126

“It’s something that will be resolved if only I go. I’ll go.”

Cheong-un gazed at Eun-hyeon, who was breathing weakly in his arms with a pale face.

“Master. I don’t think you’re quite in your right mind yet.”

“What do you mean… You, you were injured a little while ago.”

Cheong-un’s eyebrows twitched at Eun-hyeon’s words.

As Eun-hyeon tried to look at Cheong-un’s wound, Cheong-un deliberately covered the wound with his sleeve.

“It’s nothing for Master to worry about.”

“It didn’t seem like a small wound… First, put me down. Now that I’ve regained my senses…”

At Eun-hyeon’s words, Cheong-un instead hugged Eun-hyeon even tighter.

As he inhaled deeply, Eun-hyeon’s scent filled his lungs. Just that alone made him feel as if the uneasiness that had been churning inside him was calming down.

“Master.”

Eun-hyeon’s eyes met his.

“There is nothing more precious to me than Master. I will never, ever let go of Master’s hand with my own.”

Cheong-un smiled at Eun-hyeon and raised his head.

Looking at Jeong-hyeon now, it was hard to imagine his initial appearance as a righteous and virtuous man.

The black energy forcibly drawn from Eun-hyeon continued to surge over his face, making him look more like a demon than a human.

“Jeong-hyeon. If I were in your position right now, I would run away without looking back.”

“…Ha, you’ve been spouting that nonsense for a long time. That offer just now was the last chance you had.”

Cheong-un chuckled at Jeong-hyeon’s words.

At that sight, the black energy covering Jeong-hyeon surged greatly.

“…Cheong-un.”

Eun-hyeon murmured in an anxious voice.

Eun-hyeon had been in a nightmare until just now. Even after realizing that Jeong-hyeon’s antics were in a dream, he couldn’t wake up from it.

The only thing Jeong-hyeon in the dream wanted was for him to say that he would become an Undead.

Jeong-hyeon relentlessly tormented Eun-hyeon. He tempted him, saying that everything would be easier if he just said he would become an Undead, but Eun-hyeon endured with his mental strength alone. Then, he heard Cheong-un’s voice.

He was so glad that he kept talking to Cheong-un, even knowing that Cheong-un wouldn’t be able to hear him.

Eun-hyeon was wavering between dream and reality.

He finally regained his senses when he was being held by Jeong-hyeon and having his energy extracted.

Since he originally had no Inner energy to speak of, he was being deprived of the only bit of energy he had. Because of that, his already poor physical condition was rapidly deteriorating.

Moreover, after all his energy was drained, even his Innate True Qi was fluctuating.

Innate True Qi was the energy that humans were born with. If all of the Innate True Qi was exhausted, a human would die.

After opening his eyes in Cheong-un’s arms, Eun-hyeon knew that he didn’t have much time left. His physical condition was extremely unstable.

The only thing he could do to help Cheong-un in this state was to go to Jeong-hyeon. That’s why he brought it up…

Cheong-un glared at Jeong-hyeon for a moment, then suddenly stomped his feet roughly.

The floor was already a mess from the previous battles, but this time it was different. The ground was dug deep as if he had deliberately set out to do so, and several coffins could be seen inside.

Eun-hyeon’s eyes widened. Coffins in a place that wasn’t even a tomb.

Cheong-un chuckled at the sight.

“Were all the Hongbaek Sect guys moles in their past lives? They seem to like digging in the ground quite a bit.”

As Cheong-un raised his hand, the coffins that had been buried deep in the ground were pulled up, following Cheong-un’s hand.

A total of six coffins were placed between Cheong-un and Jeong-hyeon.

“It’s time to wake up from your sleep. Obey your master’s orders, Amhon!”

Cheong-un shouted at the coffins and used the Demonic Divine Art.

The energy of the Demonic Divine Art struck each coffin violently, and at that moment, the coffins shattered from the inside.

Those inside broke the coffins as they regained their senses.

The people who came out of the coffins were all faces that Eun-hyeon knew. They were the Amhon who had been protecting Eun-hyeon so tirelessly.

“What is all this… Why, why are they in coffins…”

While he was captured by Jeong-hyeon, the Amhon did not show themselves. Eun-hyeon guessed that they had either lost their lives or were in trouble due to Jeong-hyeon, but he never imagined that they would be buried underground like that.

“The higher the Martial Arts of the Hongbaek Sect’s Undead, the stronger their power, so there’s no way they would have left the Amhon alone. They were temporarily stored for use as Undead. In coffins, no less.”

The Barrier created by Jeong-hyeon confused the five senses and suppressed all energy except for Reversing Heaven Energy, making it difficult to use freely. That was why he couldn’t find the Amhon.

However, when the Barrier was broken, Cheong-un felt the familiar energy of the Demonic Sect beneath his feet. And he sent his energy flowing beneath his feet whenever he had the chance, awakening the Amhon.

He couldn’t save them all, but he managed to save enough to entrust with Eun-hyeon’s protection.

“Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate! We have committed the sin of failing to protect our lord…”

As one of the Amhon who had regained his senses knelt down and tried to beg for forgiveness, Cheong-un raised his hand to stop him.

“I’ll ask you later why you were lying there in such a foolish state. Right now, the top priority is Eun-hyeon’s protection. Can you do it?”

“Leave it to us!”

The Amhon replied with a stern expression.

Not only had they failed to complete the mission of protecting Eun-hyeon, but they had also been captured by the enemy and suffered a humiliating fate, only to be rescued by their lord.

The Amhon glared at Jeong-hyeon with fiery eyes. Although they had only regained consciousness a short time ago, their determination to protect Eun-hyeon no matter what was clear.

Cheong-un looked around at them for a moment and nodded.

He used Telekinesis to bring a chair and seat Eun-hyeon, and the Amhon surrounded him.

Only then did Cheong-un turn his gaze to Jeong-hyeon.

In the meantime, Jeong-hyeon was digesting the Reversing Heaven Energy he had obtained from Eun-hyeon.

The Reversing Heaven Energy was less than he had expected, but he thought it would be enough to deal with the wounded Cheong-un.

………That was until he crossed swords with Cheong-un.

Clang, clang, clang,

Jeong-hyeon realized that something was wrong as he crossed swords with Cheong-un.

Even though he had clearly suffered a fatal injury to his side, Cheong-un’s attacks were even sharper and heavier.

Every time he crossed swords with him, his body was pushed back a foot.

Cheong-un’s sword, after regaining Eun-hyeon, was without hesitation. He could no longer delay.

He had forcibly stopped the bleeding from the wound on his side by using his energy, but he couldn’t maintain this state for long.

There was also the issue of Eun-hyeon’s condition. When he checked a little while ago, his energy was too weak.

The flames that had entered the Barrier were also a problem.

For these reasons, Cheong-un poured out attacks without giving Jeong-hyeon any time to rest.

He didn’t care if he couldn’t inflict any wounds on Jeong-hyeon. The important thing was to cross swords with Jeong-hyeon. Every time the swords met, he sent out the energy of the Demonic Divine Art. The purpose of crossing swords was to exhaust the Reversing Heaven Energy.

Cheong-un also had the disadvantage of having to expend a considerable amount of his Inner energy, but he didn’t hesitate. He was confident that he would win if his Inner energy and the Reversing Heaven Energy clashed.

As expected, Jeong-hyeon’s energy was rapidly depleting as Cheong-un had predicted.

“W-wait! Cheong-un, you have to save your Master! I’m the only one who knows how to save your Master!”

As he was driven into a corner, Jeong-hyeon brought up Eun-hyeon in an attempt to entice Cheong-un. But that was not enough to stop Cheong-un.

“I’ll take care of anything related to my Master. I feel disgusted just by you mentioning him.”

With those words, Cheong-un continued to pour out his attacks, but the decisive moment was not easily appearing.

Jeong-hyeon realized that he would only be wasting Reversing Heaven Energy by crossing swords, so he dodged here and there.

It was a petty move for the leader of a sect, but Jeong-hyeon didn’t care.

There was only a tiny bit of Reversing Heaven Energy left. He had to seize the opportunity with this.

At that moment, Cheong-un suddenly groaned and grabbed his side.

As expected.

The wound he had left behind was not a light one. He must have been forcibly enduring it and using his Martial Arts all this time.

And that was Jeong-hyeon’s chance. Jeong-hyeon bent down and stretched out his arm, putting all of his remaining energy into it, towards Cheong-un, who was hunched over.

And at that moment, he felt a chilling energy at the back of his neck.

“…You!”

“I set a trap to catch a rat.”

Cheong-un grinned and swung his sword down.

“N-no way… That I would end up like this…”

Jeong-hyeon tried to say something, but he couldn’t continue speaking.

The last thing Jeong-hyeon saw was his own body standing with its head cut off.