Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 497.13 – Side Story 4 Part 2

Madman (2)

Right Guardian Ma Ra-hyeon, subdued in just ten moves, was shocked beyond measure.

It was a kind of self-loathing.

He knew that the Ten Martial Arts Madman Cho Jin-geuk was notorious as one of the Three Madmen, but public opinion wasn’t as high as for the Sword Demon Ji-oe, formerly known as the Mad Swordsman.

Even so, he had prepared assuming Cho’s martial arts would have become formidable, considering the time since he was last seen.

However, the result was defeat in 7 moves.

The sword qi at his neck seemed about to pierce his flesh at any moment.

‘Ah… Father.’

Was he to die here without even avenging his father?

As despair washed over him, Cho Jin-geuk, who had been laughing madly while facing him moments ago, suddenly had an utterly cold expression as if sobering up.

‘What?’

As Ma Ra-hyeon wondered, Cho Jin-geuk spoke.

[Who are you to enter this place?]

Frowning at his completely different tone, Ma Ra-hyeon replied:

[Why do you think I came here?]

Cho Jin-geuk snorted and answered:

[You’re a funny one. Answering a question with a question.]

[I find it even funnier that you ask such a question now after we were just fighting.]

[We were just fighting?]

At those words, Cho Jin-geuk rolled his eyes and looked around.

The traces of battle all around clearly showed they had been fighting fiercely just moments ago.

Confirming this, Cho Jin-geuk fell into thought briefly before speaking.

[Did you approach while I was seized by killing intent?]

[Killing intent?]

[Let’s just say I was mad.]

[So you were really insane when you were acting like a madman?]

At Ma Ra-hyeon’s words, a strange bitterness flashed in Cho Jin-geuk’s eyes.

He gazed at the sunlight shining into the cave, then removed the sword qi from Ma Ra-hyeon’s neck and said:

[Whoever you are, leave while I’m in my right mind.]

Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes trembled slightly at his attitude.

The battle was decided, yet he suddenly came to his senses and was letting him go unharmed?

Though it was a perfect chance to keep his life, anger welled up in Ma Ra-hyeon along with the rising self-loathing.

[Who are you to decide whether I stay or go?]

Feeling the killing intent in his voice, Cho Jin-geuk, who had removed his sword qi, raised his energy without releasing it.

Then he raised one eyebrow, tilted his head, and said:

[Did you come looking for me?]

[Do you think I came all this way for no reason?]

[Ha.]

At those words, Cho Jin-geuk sighed and licked his lips as if they were dry.

After staring at Ma Ra-hyeon for a while, Cho Jin-geuk finally spoke.

[I suppose I’m your enemy.]

[Don’t talk as if it’s someone else’s business.]

[I never thought it was someone else’s business. It’s all my karma, something I brought upon myself.]

[You brought it upon yourself?]

[I don’t know who you are, but judging by that level of killing intent, you must have lost family or someone precious while I was seized by killing intent. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to such a remote place.]

At these words, Ma Ra-hyeon, still exuding killing intent, removed his mask.

Whoosh!

As the mask came off, revealing blue eyes and exotic features, Cho Jin-geuk’s expression froze.

[You. You’re a Westerner. No, a mixed-blood?]

[Do you remember nothing even seeing this face?]

[…]

Cho Jin-geuk gave no answer to Ma Ra-hyeon’s question.

It was an affirmative response.

At his answer, Ma Ra-hyeon felt a pain in his chest beyond anger.

It was stranger for someone who indiscriminately killed people while mad to remember each person they killed, but he had hoped.

He thought Cho might remember his father, Priest Mayera, since he was a Westerner.

But his father wasn’t in this bastard’s memory.

Clench!

As Ma Ra-hyeon gripped his sword, energy began circulating through his eight extraordinary meridians.

Sensing this, sword qi materialized on Cho Jin-geuk’s sword.

Taking a sword stance, Cho Jin-geuk said:

[I don’t know who you are, but if you’re related to those who died by my hand, I can apologize. That was an error caused by me.]

[You can apologize? You speak carelessly with that gaping mouth.]

Ma Ra-hyeon felt true hatred for this bastard.

He spoke as if bestowing some small kindness by saying he could apologize, but it wasn’t the attitude of someone who truly considered it his karma.

Thud!

Ma Ra-hyeon stomped his foot and thrust his sword at Cho Jin-geuk.

A whirlwind arose from the sword tip.

It was the sword technique ‘Chasing and Turning Sword’ from the Luminous Star Sword Art, the unique martial art of his master Jin Ye-rin.

Though he hadn’t had the chance to learn it directly from his mentor since becoming the Right Guardian of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult after the battle with Demons, his lord, the Leader of Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, had taught it to him when he said he was preparing for revenge.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Cho Jin-geuk’s eyes widened as the sword energy came whirling in while he was in a stance.

He realized it wasn’t an ordinary sword technique, but a peerless one.

‘I have to end it here.’

Ma Ra-hyeon was putting everything into the Chasing and Turning Sword.

Since the technique itself was a trump card, and he hadn’t been able to use it intentionally when the bastard wasn’t in his right mind, he thought Cho wouldn’t be able to counter it.

But right then,

Snap! Clang!

Though his range of motion was limited by the chains on his ankles, Cho Jin-geuk stepped back about five paces and extended his sword.

At that moment, something flew from the dark rear of the cave.

They were four weapons: a saber, a sword, a spear, and a wheel.

‘Ten Martial Arts, Second Realm. Four Weapons Emerge!’

‘!?’

Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes widened at the sight.

He had thought Cho wasn’t an ordinary master since he defeated him in 7 moves, but could he be a Profound Realm master who had even surpassed the Wall of Walls?

Clang clang clang!

As Ma Ra-hyeon marveled, the four weapons harmonized in four directions through energy control, tracing exquisite trajectories to block the Chasing and Turning Sword.

Each of the four weapons moved differently, as if four different weapon masters were demonstrating excellent combined techniques.

‘What is this?’

It was reminiscent enough of his mentor Jin Ye-rin’s unique martial art Wind Shadow Eight Forms to perfectly utilize the strengths of four weapons, but unlike Wind Shadow Eight Forms which directly created afterimages, these were deployed through energy control, making the changes even more unpredictable. Moreover, each move seemed imbued with tremendous killing intent, as if the martial art was created solely to kill opponents.

Clang clang clang!

‘Ugh!’

Though he tried to endure and push through somehow, the result was:

Claaang!

Ma Ra-hyeon’s sword flew and lodged in the ceiling, while the four weapons floating through energy control aimed at his vital points.

They seemed ready to pierce his body if he moved even slightly.

In the end, Ma Ra-hyeon had to accept his defeat, sinking into despair despite using his trump card.

From the start, if his opponent was a Profound Realm master, there was bound to be a difference in their levels, so perhaps this was inevitable.

[Kill me.]

Ma Ra-hyeon spoke, taunting him.

Though frustrated at failing to take revenge, he had to accept the outcome of his defeat.

But then,

[You’re no ordinary skilled fighter. With that level of martial arts, you must be one of the greatest masters of this age.]

[…]

[You may not accept it, but I’ll apologize.]

[You bastard!]

[If I had completed the Blood Killing Qi Technique, I could have fully controlled the killing intent. But failing to overcome it was strictly my fault. That’s what I’m apologizing for.]

[You speak as if you’re apologizing for killing by mistake.]

[That’s exactly how you understood it.]

[What?]

[From the start, choosing to live in the martial world means choosing a life where death can come at any time. Do you see a big difference between deaths with reasons and those without?]

Grr!

At his words, which were beyond absurd and utterly brazen, Ma Ra-hyeon wanted to tear that mouth apart right then.

But he had already been defeated, and he would die instantly if the bastard made even a small move.

Perhaps knowing this, Cho Jin-geuk continued:

[It’s an era of survival of the fittest. Even if it was a mistake, I’m not weak-hearted enough to accept revenge for those who died because they were weak. No, it’s even ridiculous to make excuses to the likes of you when I haven’t even conquered the martial world yet.]

[Conquer the martial world?]

[Isn’t it natural for a man born as a martial artist to dream of being the best under heaven? You too should have ambition instead of wasting time on revenge. Ah, I suppose that would be difficult too. Once I complete the Blood Killing Qi Technique and leave this place, even ambition will be meaningless.]

[Ha.]

Ma Ra-hyeon was dumbfounded.

Even when not insane, this man wasn’t exactly a normal type of person.

He was simply furious that his father had been killed by such a bastard.

Then,

[But I’ve alleviated my boredom by meeting someone after a long time, so I’ll show mercy as a reward for that. Leave.]

At his attitude of bestowing grace, Ma Ra-hyeon burst out in anger.

[You’re insulting me now—]

Snap!

But before he could fully express his anger, he fell unconscious.

When he came to, he was covered in cold snow outside the cave, seeming to have been unconscious for quite some time.

‘Damn it.’

For a while after waking, he was too consumed by humiliation and anger to do anything.

Only when he heard strange laughter from inside the cave, realizing the bastard had gone mad again, was he able to leave that place.

Realizing he couldn’t do anything about Cho right away, Ma Ra-hyeon fell into deep thought for a while.

The bastard was a Profound Realm master, an enemy he couldn’t handle with his current skills.

But he didn’t know how long it would take to surpass the Wall of Walls by going back and honing his martial arts, and if the bastard completed his internal energy technique and left the cave as he said, there was no telling when or how they might meet again.

‘I’ll put aside my pride.’

In the end, Ma Ra-hyeon decided to give up on killing the bastard in a fair fight.

He thought the only answer was to target him when he was insane, since there was absolutely no chance of winning when he was lucid.

At least when insane, though he mixed various martial arts, he didn’t use that peerless energy control technique he had shown when lucid.

So Ma Ra-hyeon made a cave not far from there his dwelling and began to recall the martial arts the bastard had used, searching for ways to break them.

Meanwhile, he went near the cave and calculated the times when the bastard was lucid and when he was insane.

‘Three hours.’

After observing for several days, he found that Cho wasn’t in his right mind from about 5 AM to 9 AM.

He could tell just from the laughter coming from outside the cave.

Ma Ra-hyeon decided to target those three hours.

After recalling the 7 moves and coming up with ways to counter them, he went to the cave in the middle of the 5-7 AM period and fought the insane Cho Jin-geuk.

However, he was defeated in just 10 moves.

‘Damn it.’

No matter how many techniques the bastard had learned, their variety was so vast that even when insane, he didn’t repeat techniques much.

To say how monstrous this was, it meant he had no habits or tells.

‘Monster.’

This was the feeling Ma Ra-hyeon had after fighting the insane bastard every day for two weeks.

He had observed many talented individuals up close, but this was a completely different level of monster, no, genius.

“Haah.”

Was there really no way to deal with this bastard?

Even after two weeks, he could only last about thirty moves. Could he bridge that gap just by mentally reviewing ways to break the techniques?

Finally, Ma Ra-hyeon stopped his energy circulation midway, overwhelmed by growing frustrations.

If he kept sinking into distracting thoughts, he might fall into qi deviation.

If he couldn’t even match the bastard in his insane state, defeating him when lucid might be as impossible as facing his lord.

As Ma Ra-hyeon wallowed in self-loathing, he soon sat in meditation posture again and composed himself.

‘No. I can’t give up like this.’

No matter how strong the opponent, giving up meant giving up on avenging his father.

That would be the same as truly submitting to the bastard.

Even if it took time, if he could somehow grasp all of the bastard’s techniques, there might be a chance.

Have patience.

As Ma Ra-hyeon was about to mentally review his battles with the bastard again,

Clang! Clang!

He opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps ringing in his ears.

‘!?’

The eyes visible through the gaps in Ma Ra-hyeon’s mask trembled.

He saw a figure silhouetted against the light at the cave entrance, and with each step, the chains on his ankles clashed against the ground, making a metallic sound.

It was none other than Cho Jin-geuk.

Clang! Clang!

As he approached, red light emanating from his eyes, he spoke:

“Your dedication in targeting only my insane times was truly admirable. So I decided I must show you first when I complete my internal energy technique.”

The tremendous killing intent in his voice.

It was utterly ominous.

‘He completed it?’

Feeling pressured by the bastard’s approach with such a vicious aura, as if he had been waiting for this moment, Ma Ra-hyeon hurriedly tried to get to his feet.

But before he could, another voice echoed through the cave.

“So this is why your vacation was extended, Right Guardian.”

It was coming from behind Cho Jin-geuk.

Cho Jin-geuk, who had been approaching Ma Ra-hyeon, shook his head and muttered:

“I see you had a companion. How unfortunate.”

Before he could finish speaking,

Bang!

Cho Jin-geuk’s body was slammed into the cave wall.