Their movements were swift and stealthy.
All of them wore dark blood-red garments—so dark that at a glance they looked almost black. And in the hand of one of them was Jo In's severed head, nothing but the head remaining.
Whoosh!
Jo In's head was hurled toward Sama Cheol. Sama Cheol hurriedly raised his hand to catch it—but he failed to receive it properly.
Thud!
Sama Cheol looked down at Jo In's head, now embedded against his chest, as blood poured from his mouth in ragged spurts.
"Cough."
After hacking up a mouthful of blood, Sama Cheol slowly turned his head to look at Jo Seol-yeon.
Her eyes were already filled with tears. And behind those tears lay utter despair.
"Well, that wraps it up. They really were tenacious bastards."
Muttering to himself, the man swung his sword toward Jo Seol-yeon.
Screee—
A sharp blade of sword energy tore through the air toward her. Jo Seol-yeon had no strength left to block it—no ability, no stamina, no will.
Boom!
Through her tear-blurred vision, something flickered into view. And only then did she realize she was still alive.
That flickering shape drew closer. Then it gently wiped away the tears clinging to her eyes.
As her blurred vision cleared, a face filled her sight.
"What… is this?"
The man muttered as he looked at the tears smeared on his fingers. Jo Seol-yeon stared at him blankly.
"B–Big Brother Dan…"
Dan Hyung-u placed his hand atop Jo Seol-yeon's head.
A searing sensation pierced through her crown, and her consciousness wavered. Then she experienced something astonishing—every ounce of fatigue that had built up in her body seemed to drain cleanly away through her feet.
"Wipe them."
Startled by Dan Hyung-u's words, Jo Seol-yeon hastily wiped away the rest of her tears. Dan Hyung-u's gaze shifted to the side.
There lay Sama Cheol, barely clinging to life. Dan Hyung-u's eyes trembled slightly.
Blood continued to spill endlessly from Sama Cheol's mouth. And before him lay Jo In's severed head.
"P–Please…"
It was a plea wrung from the last of Sama Cheol's strength. Dan Hyung-u nodded. Seeing that, a faint smile formed at the corner of Sama Cheol's mouth.
Thud.
"U–Uncle…"
Sama Cheol collapsed. Jo Seol-yeon could do nothing but weep endlessly at the sight.
Dan Hyung-u watched quietly for a moment, then turned his body around.
Twenty men stood before him.
Every one of them radiated sharp killing intent. His mood darkened.
The man standing at the front stepped forward. He was momentarily shaken by Dan Hyung-u's sudden appearance, but in the end, nothing had changed.
No matter how strong Dan Hyung-u might be, he was confident they could overcome him. Even if the opponent were the Martial Alliance Leader himself, he wouldn't withstand a combined assault from twenty.
The twenty present were the very ones who had destroyed the Jo family estate and crushed the Henan Escort Agency. They had accomplished it with their own hands.
"At worst, it's just one more corpse."
At the man's mutter, ten of them stepped forward. Slowly, they surrounded Dan Hyung-u, utterly underestimating him.
Whoosh!
One man lunged first. In an instant, he slipped behind Dan Hyung-u and drove his sword toward his back.
The motion was so fast and natural it looked as though he had always been standing there, sword already thrust. But his face twisted in shock.
'I feel nothing.'
The blade had clearly pierced through—but there was no sensation at all. The reason became clear immediately.
Dan Hyung-u's afterimage, left behind where he had stood, wavered and dispersed.
Dan Hyung-u was already standing right beside the man, sword raised high into the air.
Flash!
The man's body split cleanly in two along with his sword.
That single strike plunged the remaining nineteen men into shock. Not one of them had seen Dan Hyung-u's movement.
'Where did such a monster come from?!'
They all thought the same thing.
The nine men at the front charged simultaneously. Immediately after, the ten standing behind them also moved.
Two of them ignored Dan Hyung-u and hurled themselves toward Jo Seol-yeon, hoping to divide his attention and create an opening.
Their efforts were utterly futile.
Crack—crack—crack!
The nine charging in front were struck by lightning almost simultaneously and split apart.
Slash!
The heads of the two who targeted Jo Seol-yeon flew off.
The remaining eight men staked their lives as they thrust their swords into Dan Hyung-u's body.
Not a single blade touched him.
Flash!
Lightning descended.
The bolt cleaved through space itself, snatched away the lives of the eight men, and vanished.
Once the largest manor in Heochang, it had now been reduced to ruins—what little remained of its halls lay shattered and burned to ash. Two figures stood atop the remnants of that devastation.
One was an old man whose face was deeply lined with wrinkles. The other was a man who appeared to be around thirty. Neither wore flamboyant attire, yet their clothing was refined and unmistakably high-class.
A sword hung at the younger man's waist, and the sharp aura befitting that blade spread outward, pressing down on the surroundings.
"It's been completely destroyed."
"Yes. Muyeong handled the job better than expected."
The old man leisurely surveyed the ruined Jo family estate as though admiring a work of art. With his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly turned his head and eyes, his manner utterly relaxed.
"The Martial Alliance will soon come swarming in. Perhaps it's time for you to withdraw—"
At the man's words, the old man let out a faint chuckle. The wrinkles on his face folded into a dense, intricate expression.
"Are you afraid of the Martial Alliance?"
Sensing mockery in the old man's tone, the younger man's face stiffened. He chose not to reply, clamping his mouth shut.
"Didn't you say that unless the entire Martial Alliance came at once, they couldn't defeat Blood Shadow ?"
At that, the man's body flinched. He bowed deeply.
"Of course."
Confidence shone from his eyes. This man was Blood Shadow himself.
Seeing Blood Shadow's self-assured demeanor, the wrinkles etched into the old man's face deepened further. He slowly swept his gaze around the ruins once more.
How much time passed like that? In the end, Blood Shadow could no longer hold back and spoke.
"But there's still something I don't understand."
"What is it?"
"Why did you destroy the Jo family estate like this? No matter how I think about it, there's no real benefit. All it does is plant unnecessary hostility in the Martial Alliance."
At those words, the old man looked at Blood Shadow for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
"What is there to fear about the Martial Alliance?"
"They themselves aren't frightening—but Tian Qizi's arrangements are still left behind among them."
The moment Blood Shadow finished speaking, the old man's expression froze solid. A chilling cold, as if it could freeze the air itself, seeped throughout the ruins. Blood Shadow was momentarily startled, but he soon regained his composure and bowed slightly.
The old man relaxed his expression. As his face softened, the chill in the air also turned warm once more.
"Do you know the relationship between Tian Qizi and me?"
"I understand that you were rivals who competed at the risk of your lives."
The old man smiled in satisfaction.
"Heh. That's right. Tian Qizi and I—this Blood Demon—were inseparable rivals. Though now, I alone remain."
The old man—the Blood Demon—paused briefly, then continued.
"The place where Tian Qizi's arrangements first began… was right here, at the Jo family estate. Doesn't it seem meaningful now?"
Blood Shadow's expression stiffened slightly as the Blood Demon continued speaking.
"Tian Qizi created a martial art into which he poured his life's work. And a hundred people mastered that art. But I surpassed even that. I created a martial art that exceeds his. Tian Qizi could never devote his full strength because he was always restraining me. And even that restraint has grown faint. I've uncovered exactly what martial art he created."
"D-Don't tell me…"
"Didn't I say it? The martial art I created is far superior. And there are children diligently learning it right now—one hundred of them."
A chill ran down Blood Shadow's spine. At last, he understood what the Blood Demon was planning.
The Blood Demon intended to dismantle Tian Qizi's designs one by one—completely and perfectly. Seizing the martial world would merely be a byproduct along the way.
"Now then—do you understand the significance?"
The Blood Demon asked with a smile. Blood Shadow no longer saw that smile as harmless.
He felt fear.
A gentle breeze swept through the ruins. It was cold—just like the Blood Demon's laughter.
"B-Big Brother…"
Jo Seol-yeon, her eyes brimming with tears, clung to Dan Hyung-u, burying her face in his chest. Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
Relief at having survived, the deaths of those she cherished, and the rumors she'd heard while fleeing all churned chaotically in her mind.
She cried like that for a long time. Throughout it all, Dan Hyung-u did not move an inch—he simply stood there.
"Thank you."
Jo Seol-yeon pulled away slightly and spoke softly. Dan Hyung-u looked at her quietly, then reached out and wiped away the lingering moisture in her eyes.
"Tears…"
They were tears—something he had forgotten for an unimaginably long time.
In hell, there had been no room to cry—only endless battles for survival. And when he finally had the luxury to shed tears, there was no longer any reason to do so. There had been no one left around him.
Jo Seol-yeon wiped away the remaining tears completely and made a vow.
She would never cry again.
"Now… what should I do? What am I supposed to do now?"
She spoke with difficulty, not really expecting an answer.
Perhaps she was asking herself. But simply having Dan Hyung-u beside her gave her the strength to voice the question.
"Do what you want to do. Anything."
At Dan Hyung-u's reply, Jo Seol-yeon's eyes widened as she looked at him. She hadn't expected an answer at all. Only then was she able to force a small smile.
"Yes… I should do what I want to do."
As she spoke, she looked at Dan Hyung-u, and her thoughts gradually fell into order.
First, she needed to rejoin the escort mission. That had been the reason she left the Jo family estate in the first place, and she intended to see the escort through to the end.
She'd heard there were no escorts left—but she would find a way to finish it regardless.
After that, she would return to the Jo family estate and uncover the truth behind the rumors. Somewhere deep in her heart, she still believed the estate stood and her father lived.
Though the scale had tipped heavily toward the opposite conclusion, she still had to confirm it with her own eyes.
Everything after that would be planned later.
"So—what do you want to do right now?"
When Jo Seol-yeon's thoughts had mostly settled, Dan Hyung-u asked at just the right moment. She looked down at Sama Cheol, lying there with a faint, peaceful smile.
Beside him lay what remained of Jo In—only his head.
The tears she'd sworn not to shed began to flow once more.
"Those two…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Dan Hyung-u looked at her, then swung his sword once—from low to high.
KRAAASH!
The ground split open along the arc of his blade, tearing forward as though a dragon were writhing beneath the earth. That earthen dragon surged beneath a distant boulder—then burst skyward.
ROOOAR!
It looked like a dragon ascending to the heavens.
Jo Seol-yeon stared at the sight in stunned silence.
Dan Hyung-u lifted Sama Cheol's body and Jo In's head and walked toward the spot. A large pit had already formed beneath the boulder.
After placing them inside, he gestured lightly. The surrounding earth slid back over them, forming a grave in an instant.
Jo Seol-yeon approached the grave and bowed deeply.
"Someday… someday I'll let you rest in a truly beautiful place. I promise…"
She bit her lip, forcing back the sobs that threatened to burst out, then lifted her head and looked at Dan Hyung-u.
"I'll join the escort mission too."
Dan Hyung-u nodded.
Seeing that, she felt an unexpected sense of reassurance settle in her chest.
She'd known so little about Dan Hyung-u. She hadn't known he was this strong—or that he would save her like this.
Sama Cheol hadn't been an unrivaled master, but in Heochang he'd been nearly unmatched. For Dan Hyung-u to defeat twenty opponents that even Sama Cheol couldn't properly handle… it meant he was unimaginably powerful.
'Martial Alliance elders, perhaps…?'
Inexperienced and lacking perspective, Jo Seol-yeon couldn't truly gauge Dan Hyung-u's strength. She only knew that he was strong.
As she was lost in those thoughts, Dan Hyung-u took her hand.
"We're going now."
She was startled. Going was one thing—but why suddenly take her hand?
Come to think of it, she still didn't know why Dan Hyung-u had separated from the escort mission in the first place.
No matter how desperately she and Sama Cheol had fled using lightness skills, catching up to the escort would still take time.
And they hadn't even moved in a straight line—they'd zigzagged wildly to throw off pursuit, which meant the distance would be even greater.
Scolding herself for only realizing this now, Jo Seol-yeon tried to ask—but couldn't.
Dan Hyung-u had already started walking.
"H-Hng!"
A sudden gale pressed violently against her face, robbing her of breath.