The pieces of debris scattered, sending a thick cloud of dust into the air.
Seo Reyan knew instantly, this was the opportunity the Demon Lord had spoken of and promised him.
He understood clearly, this was the moment to free himself and escape. A moment that might never come again, not when every single person on this land wanted him dead.
As the statue shattered, chunks of stone flew outward, striking the guards who held him captive.
One of the larger fragments struck him as well, tearing into the flesh of his back. But the urgency to escape masked the pain of the injury.
'Wait….the rope...they're loose!'
In that instant, he felt it, only one thought surged through his mind and that was to run.
"Now's the chance!"
Muttering to himself, Reyan's adrenaline surged. He gathered what little internal energy he had into his legs. Without wasting another breath, he leapt from the platform.
In that fleeting moment, his eyes locked with a nearby guard, one who stood frozen, staring straight at him.
"Shit!"
Reyan cursed, panic rising. If the guard moved, if he so much as shouted, Reyan's brief chance at freedom would be crushed. And then it came, the words he dreaded most.
"Traitor…he's fleeing!"
With countless eyes turning toward him, he had only one option left, disappear into the crowd.
Driven by desperation, Reyan lunged forward, vanishing into the mass of people. He took full advantage of the swirling smoke, blending into the chaos. Gritting his teeth, he channeled the last of his internal energy into his hand and yanked free the long, shining black hair that marked him.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I'll make sure you all pay for this!'
As the dust began to settle within seconds, one of the Seven Disciples of the Demon Lord, Jeok Seo-un, the Young Master of one of the Six Inner Sects, turned his attention toward the platform, only to find Seo Reyan missing. His face twisted with fury.
"Where's the traitor!? Find him!"
A guard rushed over to him in haste.
"Young Master! I saw him slip into the crowd!"
Hearing this, Jeok Seo-un's anger surged. His bloodthirsty gaze fell on the guard as if it were his turn to die in place of Seo Reyan.
"I'll go find him immedia—"
"Who's that running toward the eastern gate!?"
Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, pointing at a bald young man sprinting toward the gate. It was none other than Seo Reyan.
"Catch that traitor! Don't let him escape!"
The Young Master of the Wind Wheel Sect, Min Seong-rak, shouted, ordering the guards to pursue him.
"Silence! You are in the presence of the Demon Lord!"
At once, the voice of Demon Lord's guard rang out. The crowd, including the elders, clan heads, and young masters, fell into dead silence.
"But Guardian, that traitor—"
"He has nothing to do with this Sacred Sect anymore," the Guardian interrupted coldly. "With martial skills like his, he'll die just trying to cross the Demonic River."
With that, the Guardian dismissed Min Seong-rak, the Second Disciple. He then turned to support the Demon Lord, who was now in slightly better condition than before.
The Demon Lord slowly rose, his eyes scanning the crowd. The atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense, no one dared to speak. It was clear, an injured lion was still a lion.
"The matter of execution…is dismissed."
With that declaration, the Demon Lord ended the ceremony. He rose from his seat, casting one last piercing glance toward the eastern gate, then turned and left.
------
"Huff! Huff!"
Seo Reyan ran with all his might. His appearance was far from fine, blood streamed down his back, and exhaustion was palpable on his face, but he had succeeded in escaping the sect.
"Finally… huff!… I'm free. Fortunately, the gate guards didn't recognize me—"
Before he could catch his breath, he sensed the presence of five unknown martial artists. Ahead was the Demonic Lake.
Once again, he was cornered. He could neither advance nor retreat. Ahead lay the Demonic River, its waters laced with deadly poison. Behind him, death in human form approached.
"That's the traitor! Catch him!"
Panic surged through Reyan as the shout rang out. He frantically looked around, searching for any possible escape. But time was slipping through his fingers, his pursuers were closing in.
Before he could act, the assassins arrived, each dressed in identical black uniforms. The air grew heavy with murderous intent, their eyes gleaming with cold bloodlust.
"Now where will you go, you damn traitor? There's nothing left for you but death."
Seo Reyan adopted a shaky fighting stance, his eyes darting between the river and the advancing assassins.
"Poison be damned…at least I won't die at the hands of those Demonic Sect bastards!"
Without hesitation, Reyan leapt toward the river.
"!!?... Argh!!"
A sudden sharp pain tore through him. A blade had pierced his abdomen. Blood spilled from his mouth as his vision blurred, the world fell into darkness. His body collapsed into the river.
"You made things easy for us."
One of the assassins smirked looking at the drifting body of Seo Reyan.
"We are done, Let's go."
All of the assassins vanished without leaving a trace.
'Bastards…not that I ever had a chance at life anyway…'
The river carried Reyan's limp body, its poisoned waters seeping into his wounds. His skin turned pale, his veins darkening as the toxins spread.
Eventually, after drifting some distance, the river's current shifted at a bend, spitting Reyan's body out onto the bank, half-dead, half-lost to the darkness, filled with poison.
------
'Seo Reyan…you punk, open your damn eyes.'
The harsh voice echoed in his mind like a thunderclap.
Seo Reyan's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, sitting up with effort—but there was nothing. No one around. Only the cold mud beneath him, the stench of poisoned river water, and the eerie silence of the night.
Seo Reyan's eyes darted around, his body instinctively tense.
"Who is it? Come out!"
Then, once more, the voice echoed,
'We are…'
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