Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"What did you just... say?"

Cheon Gangwol barely kept himself upright.

He even raised a hand to his forehead as though wondering whether he'd misheard.

All the strength seemed to drain from him.

"You apparently didn't hear properly."

"I'll say it again."

"If you become Young Cult Leader, keep me alive."

"Please."

"I'm begging sincerely."

"..."

I repeated my request clearly.

With even more sincerity.

All I got back was a deep sigh.

"Haa..."

"All this dramatic nonsense just for that?"

"I'm completely serious."

"If you become Young Cult Leader, you'll learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."

"You'll naturally become the second strongest person in the Divine Cult."

"Then from that point onward..."

"You can protect me."

"Are you insane?"

"My mind is perfectly clear."

I began explaining.

"History is full of people who reach the throne and then eliminate their own relatives."

"Look at our family."

"Have you ever seen an uncle?"

"An older uncle?"

"Forget them."

"Are you planning to spare Second Brother?"

"First Brother?"

"Fourth?"

"..."

My logic was so clean that even Cheon Gangwol froze.

Even I thought it was airtight.

"...If that's what you're worried about, simply leave the Divine Cult."

"Or give up the Young Cult Leader position."

"You misunderstand me."

"I still want to enjoy everything that comes with being the Third Young Master."

"When I say survival..."

"I mean quality survival too."

"And leaving the Divine Cult would actually be a terrible move."

"The others would never allow it."

"I'd probably die somewhere outside without anyone even knowing."

"The same goes for merely saying I've given up."

"Look at what's happening already."

"They sent assassins after someone everyone thought was already crippled."

"...You could also become Young Cult Leader yourself."

"I never said I gave up on that."

"Actually, I intend to work quite hard."

"But one-in-a-thousand chances exist."

"One-in-ten-thousand too."

"To put it simply..."

"I'm digging another burrow for the future."

Cheon Gangwol stared at me.

"Then let me ask you the opposite."

"If you become Young Cult Leader..."

"Will you keep me alive?"

"What a greedy bastard."

"One trade at a time."

"If you want revenge, I'll give you revenge."

"Your life isn't included."

"You're completely insane."

"You ask me to spare your life..."

"Then casually tell me you might kill me."

"I'll take that as praise."

"However..."

"If you put something more on your side of the scale..."

"I'll consider sparing you too."

I negotiated sincerely.

No lies.

Maybe asking him to keep me alive sounded pathetic.

Compared to his grand revenge...

It might even seem small.

But survival was more important to me than anything else.

Survival did not care about pride.

That was how I'd lived until now.

"There's no value in hearing more."

Cheon Gangwol turned sharply and began leaving.

I stood too.

Then walked toward the exit.

As I passed him near the door...

I casually added:

"If you change your mind, tell me."

"Anytime before we leave the Dark Demon Well."

"...Where are you going?"

"Weren't you planning to defend your chamber?"

I glanced back.

"We haven't caught the last assassin yet."

"You have a way?"

"A method worth trying."

He became interested.

Naturally.

The person targeting my life and the person targeting his was probably the same assassin.

Cheon Gangwol quietly followed me outside.

"How do you plan to find them?"

"Simple."

"Even easier with you here."

"You want cooperation."

"Temporarily?"

"If you don't like it, go your own way."

"I hate troublesome things."

"Let's finish it now."

"Good."

So even though he'd temporarily rejected my alliance proposal...

The two of us ended up moving together.

The moment he agreed...

Shing!

CLANG!

"What the hell?!"

"Die! Fifth Young Master of the Divine Cult, Cheon! Gang! Wol!"

I drew my dagger and suddenly attacked Cheon Gangwol.

It wasn't a truly dangerous strike.

I deliberately swung toward the side where he held his sword.

In other words...

I was telling him to block.

Fortunately, despite being startled...

He did.

Then I raised my voice loudly enough to cut through all the surrounding weapon clashes.

I made absolutely sure everyone nearby heard exactly who I was fighting.

"What are you doing?!"

"Play along."

"You blocked it, didn't you?"

"...So that's your plan."

"Fine."

"I'll play along."

"But things won't go exactly your way!"

Whoooosh!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Fortunately...

Cheon Gangwol understood immediately.

What I wanted...

Was attention.

More specifically...

Attention focused on Cheon Gangwol.

The best opportunity in an assassination came when the target was distracted by something else.

So the two of us put on a convincing performance.

Shhhk!

His sword passed just above my head.

I narrowly avoided it.

Then aimed a dagger at his throat.

He violently knocked it away.

He is...

Just acting, right?

The sword paths coming toward me were a little too sharp.

Still...

I had to trust him for now.

CLANG!

"Hey, little brother."

"Enjoy yourself while you can."

"Soon I'll drive you into..."

"Not that."

"Behind you."

After several more clashes...

Our dagger and sword locked.

Cheon Gangwol frowned at me.

I tilted my chin behind him.

Only then did he notice suspicious presences approaching from the rear.

"Four..."

"No."

"Five."

"There are five behind me too."

"Ten in total."

"This isn't what we expected."

"It is exactly what I expected."

"Flies always gather."

"Might as well clean them up at once."

"If the assassin is among them..."

"Even better."

"...I knew something felt wrong."

"So this was your real plan from the beginning."

"Good instincts."

I grinned.

"Slow judgment."

"...?"

The friendly conversation while our blades were locked ended there.

Cheon Gangwol realized something was wrong.

But too late.

Sometimes...

You needed to read an opponent's move faster.

I wanted to teach my little brother that.

I redirected his sword.

Used his own strength to pull his balance forward.

Then grabbed his collar with my free hand.

My foot stepped deep between his legs.

A judo-style outer reap.

Perfectly placed.

I pulled his upper body while hooking his leg.

His balance collapsed.

Whirl!

BOOM!

I threw Cheon Gangwol directly into the group of people trying to surround us.

Shock.

Rage.

Disbelief.

All three flashed across his face while he was airborne.

His lips were very obviously forming a curse.

"You son of a..."

I immediately pointed at him and shouted:

"Fifth Young Master Cheon! Gang! Wol is defenseless!"

Every nearby gaze snapped toward him.

Cheon Gangwol desperately grabbed for the sword that had fallen beside him.

"N-now! Attack!"

"Chance!"

"AAAAAAAH!"

"I'll take him!"

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Multiple weapons flew toward Cheon Gangwol at once.

From the outside...

It probably looked like I had thrown my younger brother into certain death.

But I had confidence.

Cheon Gangwol could handle this.

Probably.

"You filthy bastard...!"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

As expected.

Our youngest brother immediately regained his footing.

He blocked the attacks pouring toward him.

Several people flinched at being called filthy bastards.

They would never know...

Those words weren't directed at them.

Anyway...

He was incredibly simple.

While he fought all ten...

It was time for his older brother to help.

After all...

If I merely watched my younger brother get beaten...

What kind of older brother would I be?

Swish.

As I said before...

The best moment to assassinate someone was when they were focused elsewhere.

Only...

The target had changed.

From now on...

Cheon Gangwol and I weren't the prey.

Those jackals attacking him were.

I suppressed my presence as much as possible.

Then approached their backs.

As though I'd been part of their group all along.

Their entire attention was fixed on Cheon Gangwol.

So I slipped behind them.

Shhk! Shhk!

Swish! Swish!

Enemies showing their backs were the easiest enemies in the world.

I quickly stabbed vital points with my daggers.

One after another.

Throat.

Lung.

The large vein along the leg.

Quietly.

Efficiently.

Cheon Gangwol held the chaotic front line well enough that no one looked backward.

So they didn't even realize their numbers were decreasing.

I killed three in moments.

Then went after the next.

This was why daggers were so useful.

At close range...

You could target vital points quickly.

And if you cut the right places, blood filled the airway before they could make much noise.

After the fourth fell...

"Fine! Let's do this properly!"

Whoooosh!

SLASH!

Cheon Gangwol's strong sword finally began showing its true power.

His sword traced a curve.

Crimson energy coated the blade.

He cut down two people at once.

Now six were dead between us.

"W-what the hell is happening?!"

"G-get together!"

Shhk! Shhk!

"Kgh...!"

"...?"

Slash!

"Urgh!"

By the time they began realizing their numbers had fallen...

Cheon Gangwol and I killed two more.

Victory was completely ours.

Two left.

Without discussing anything...

We each selected one.

I took the man with the axe.

Cheon Gangwol chose the dagger thrower.

Whooosh!

I dropped toward the ground to avoid the incoming axe.

Then slashed the man's leg.

Thud!

As his body lowered...

The fight ended.

My dagger entered a vital point and came out again.

A thin stream of blood curved through the air.

Cheon Gangwol finished at almost the same moment.

He knocked away every throwing dagger.

Advanced.

Then cut the enemy's body nearly in half.

Ten attackers.

All dead.

Blood covered both of us.

"Haa... haa..."

Cheon Gangwol breathed hard.

He raised his head.

Our eyes met.

We had accomplished this together.

Usually...

This was the moment comrades walked toward each other and slapped hands.

A small celebration of survival.

Would something like that happen between brothers too?

Cheon Gangwol slowly approached me.

Then...

"DIE, YOU FILTHY BASTARD!"

What came toward me wasn't a hand.

It was his sword.

Filled with killing intent.

I had no choice but to dodge repeatedly and flee.

No one else attacked us anymore.

Though one person continued attacking me.