Chapter 551: What's Wrong With Risking One's Life?

TL: FoodieMonster007

At the final gate of the Bloody Road Misdirection Formation, Jin Hagun and the Demon Slaying Brigade were locked in a bloody struggle.

"Watch your left!"

Jin Hagun swung his sword to block a volley of hidden weapons. A long spear then shot out from behind, grazing Jin Hagun's ear before retracting.

A variety of mechanisms flew from all directions, targeting the martial artists of the Demon Slaying Brigade. The traps attacked with increasing strength and speed as time passed.

"Hurry!"

Jin Hagun's shout was aimed at Jeong Gyeong.

Amid the chaos, Jeong Gyeong, the formation specialist for the Demon Slaying Brigade, was desperately trying to locate the gate of life. This particular gate had to be solved by applying the principles of generation and restriction from the Five Elements.

Stepping stones marked with the characters for the Five Elements were etched into the floor.

He first had to solve it using the principle of generation, followed by the principle of restriction.

"Wood drains the energy of Earth, and Earth blocks the flow of Water."

Jeong Gyeong stepped on the platforms in sequence, moving from Wood to Earth, and then to Water.

The problem was that the formation did not make this simple.

"Get down!"

The Demon Slaying Brigade martial artists all hit the ground at Jin Hagun's command.

WHIRRRRR!

A huge, rotating blade sliced through the air above their heads at an unbelievable speed. It was perfectly clear why this maze was called the "Bloody Road."

"Fire melts Metal, and Metal cuts Wood."

If he was even a fraction of a second too late in stepping on a platform, he would fall into a death trap. He would then have to risk his life just to escape it.

I did it!

Just as Jeong Gyeong leaped to step on the final platform!

SWOOSH!

A blade flew toward Jeong Gyeong, aiming for that exact moment. He had become too excited in his joy and had acted with too much haste.

No!

He despaired, knowing he was too late to dodge. He could only hope his body would carry him forward to the platform, even if his head was cut off.

"……"

The rotating blade scraped past him. Jin Hagun had charged in and deflected the weapon. There was no time to offer thanks.

Jin Hagun rushed to the other side while Jeong Gyeong threw himself toward the last platform.

The moment he stepped on the final Wood platform, completing the cycle of the Five Elements!

With a loud CLANK, every mechanism stopped. One of the Demon Slaying Brigade members stared at a blade that had frozen just inches from his eyes.

The mechanisms that had filled the space with metallic noises began to retreat to their original positions.

SCRRREEE.

A hidden door slid open in the wall. They had finally unlocked the gate of life for the final trial.

Everyone exchanged glances with one another. They had lost count of how many times they had brushed against death.

"You worked hard," Jin Hagun said, praising Jeong Gyeong.

"Not at all. If it weren't for you, Commander, we would have lost many of our comrades."

The other members of the Demon Slaying Brigade all nodded in agreement. Jin Hagun's performance within the formation had been truly incredible. It gave them a chance to see him in a new light.

"Let's get out of here first."

They still had not killed the Heavenly Fiend who created the formation. With the trap now broken, he would surely reveal himself once they passed through the door.

Just as they were about to step through the doorway, the Heavenly Fiend's voice rang out.

"To break through to the final gate without a single sacrifice… truly impressive."

The voice echoed around them, making its origin impossible to pinpoint.

"The Demon Slaying Brigade, truly worthy of being called the pride of the Murim Alliance."

Jin Hagun felt a sense of unease. The fiend's voice remained relaxed even though they had breached the final gate.

"However, it's a shame to just let you go, so I've prepared a farewell gift."

CLANK. CLANK. CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.

More than a dozen doors opened on every side. Each one revealed a long corridor with people tied up at the end. Some corridors held a single person, while others held several.

"Save us!"

"Please, help us!"

"Please, at least save my child!"

Dozens of blades were pointed at their heads. The captives trembled with fear, not knowing when the blades might fall.

The Heavenly Fiend's voice echoed again.

"It won't be easy to save them."

Jin Hagun could tell. Dangerous mechanisms were concealed within each of the corridors where the people were held.

SCRRREEE.

Something rose from the floor in front of the main gate of life. It was a scale indicating a time limit, just like the one they had seen at the previous gate.

"If you fail to exit through that gate of life in time, you'll have to break through a much stronger Bloody Road Misdirection Formation from the very beginning. Horrifying, isn't it? You probably won't all make it here alive like you did this time."

If the maze grew stronger, there would be many casualties. It had already been incredibly difficult to get this far.

"All those you fail to save will die. Now, how many can you save? Who will be chosen by the proud Demon Slaying Brigade?"

His words implied that the remaining people would all perish. The Heavenly Fiend was truly behaving like a demon.

"You will live with guilt for the rest of your lives!"

As the Heavenly Fiend laughed, the scale began to move, and time started to tick away.

Judging by how fast the scale was tipping, they did not have much time.

From inside the corridors, people shouted to be saved.

"There are eight people in that room. We should save the one with the most people first."

"No. There's a child in this room. Let's save this one first!"

The Demon Slaying Brigade members reported the situation in each room.

Their eyes all turned to Jin Hagun. The choice of who to save was a truly difficult one. His command would grant life to some and death to others. All the while, the scale kept tipping.

Then, Jin Hagun spoke softly.

"There's no need to worry about who to save."

Everyone looked at Jin Hagun with surprised expressions at his words.

Jin Hagun strode forward and closed the gate of life, their only path of escape, with his own hands.

THUD.

After shutting the door, Jin Hagun turned and spoke to his subordinates.

"We will save them all and start this formation over from the beginning!"

"!"

It was a completely unexpected decision, and everyone wore a look of shock.

Jin Hagun turned toward the rooms and shouted to the people inside.

"We will save all of you, so please wait calmly!"

Sighs of relief could be heard from every corridor.

Jin Hagun spoke again to his subordinates in the Demon Slaying Brigade.

"Someone might call this decision foolish. We don't know how many of us might die. Perhaps we all will. However, I believe this choice is what separates us from the Demonic Cult or the unorthodox sects."

A look of apology appeared on Jin Hagun's face. He clasped his hands in a formal gesture to his subordinates and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry for not giving you all a choice. I'll apologize in the afterlife."

The members of the Demon Slaying Brigade glanced at each other.

Then, as one, they drew their swords and shouted.

"Slaying demons and eradicating evil! The path of justice and chivalry!"

From the very beginning, they had no intention of disobeying their leader Jin Hagun's decision. For the Demon Slaying Brigade, they would die if their master ordered them to.

Just as they were about to enter the first room to rescue the people inside.

Everything around them started to disappear. The open doors and the anxiously waiting people all vanished.

They now stood in a different plaza.

Incense burned on all sides, and the walls and floor were covered with all sorts of indecipherable characters. The Heavenly Fiend sat at its center.

The Heavenly Fiend's eyes, which were looking at Jin Hagun, were filled with disbelief.

"You really chose to close the gate of life yourself?"

A trickle of blood ran from his mouth.

The moment they saw this, Jin Hagun and the Demon Slaying Brigade knew the formation had been broken. The Heavenly Fiend had suffered severe internal injuries from its collapse.

Closing the gate of life yourself.

Surprisingly, that very action was the method to completely destroy the Bloody Road Misdirection Formation.

Creating different scenarios, like the room with the child or the room with many people, was a trap. It was designed to make them agonize over who to save and distract them from the puzzle's true nature.

"You really remained in this maze to save a bunch of strangers you don't even know?"

To that question, which was filled with suspicion, Jin Hagun gave a calm reply.

"It may be surprising to you, but to us, it's the natural thing to do."

The Heavenly Fiend did not believe him. He asked again with eyes that looked upon a hypocrite.

"Master of the Demon Slaying Brigade, were you always this kind of person?"

He could not answer this question. He felt that he did not know himself. Was he truly this kind of person? Or had something changed him?

"Someone once told me, 'You'll become a great Chairman.' So I'm going to try to become one."

Jin Hagun drew his sword. The Demon Slaying Brigade members responded by drawing their own swords in unison and aiming them at the Heavenly Fiend.

WHOOSH.

A wind blew, though there was no breeze. Light radiated from the strange patterns and characters on the floor.

SHIIING!

Jin Hagun unleashed his sword qi. The attack, however, passed right through the Heavenly Fiend as if cutting an illusion.

At that moment, Hwangju, who was skilled in evil arts, shouted.

"We have to enter the circle he's sitting in and cut him down directly."

Indeed, the Heavenly Fiend was seated in the center of a circle filled with unrecognizable incantations.

Just as Jin Hagun was about to launch himself toward him.

SHWAAAAAAA.

A terrible demonic energy swirled and rushed toward them.

The Heavenly Fiend had drawn upon his final reserves of inner arts to unleash his unique evil arts.

The Harrowing Black Shadow Art!

The Demon Slaying Brigade members flinched for a moment. Someone cursed, and someone else screamed.

An illusion appeared to each of them. It was the person or event hidden deepest in their hearts. Things that everyone wanted to hide.

"Everyone, recite the incantation of the True Heart Technique!"

It was the Murim Alliance's unique mental cultivation technique used to protect the mind from wicked evil arts.

As they recited the True Heart Technique, the illusions in their minds would repeatedly disappear and reappear.

While the Demon Slaying Brigade countered with the True Heart Technique, the other patterns and characters around the Heavenly Fiend began to glow. This time, they shone in a multitude of colors.

SCRRREEE.

Then, shadows holding swords rose from the floor.

Hwangju shouted again.

"They're the Shadow Ghosts! We have to extinguish the candles on all sides!"

The demon slayers swung their swords in unison, confronting the Shadow Ghosts. A metallic sound rang out when their blades clashed with the shadow swords wielded by the Shadow Ghosts.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Those beings might have been illusions, but the swords they held were real.

Even while battling the Shadow Ghosts, the Demon Slaying Brigade members tried to recite the True Heart Technique and put out the candles. The Shadow Ghosts attacked them desperately, as if trying to stop them at all costs.

As battles broke out on all sides, Jin Hagun advanced toward the Heavenly Fiend.

SHWAAAAAAAA.

An immense demonic energy blew against him.

His skin felt like it was being torn, and breathing was difficult, but Jin Hagun recited the True Heart Technique and moved forward in silence.

The Demon Slaying Brigade members desperately blocked the Shadow Ghosts that tried to attack him.

The closer he got to the Heavenly Fiend, the more illusions appeared to shake his mind. The phantom of his grandfather shook his heart.

[I do not consider you my successor! Do you think you are worthy of inheriting my position?]

His grandfather glared at him with terrifying eyes. The illusion was so vivid that his chest ached with disappointment.

Jin Hagun recited the True Heart Technique and continued to move forward. This time, the person who appeared was his younger sister.

[Orabeoni, you're a hypocrite. All this talk of upholding justice is ultimately for the sake of becoming the Murim Alliance Lord, isn't it? Why else would your justice be so tiring? It's because of this impure motive.]

He knew this was also an illusion created by the evil arts, but his heart still ached.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

He heard the clash of swords near his ear. He thought that if the Demon Slaying Brigade members were not protecting him, he would have been mesmerized by this illusion and allowed the attack.

This time, the image of the child he had saved before appeared again.

[Even if you have to give up the Chairman's seat, can you still save me?]

Immediately after, an image of people pointing fingers at him for failing to become the successor flashed in his mind.

[How incompetent must he be to fail to inherit the position even when his grandfather is the Chairman?]

And the most heartbreaking part of all these illusions was.

Is the desire to become the Murim Alliance Lord all that's in my heart?

That must be why it was digging into his heart and attacking him. He was disappointed in himself for that. The fact that the desire to become the Chairman was in the deepest part of him.

Like a money-grubber who sold his soul for money, or a lecher who sold his soul for lust. Had he sold his soul for power?

He knew that making him feel this way was the illusion's goal. Knowing that, he was still tormented. No, he was even more tormented because he knew.

HIIIIIIII.

The closer he got to the Heavenly Fiend, the more extreme the evil energy became. He felt dizzy and light-headed. He just wanted to sit down and give up on everything.

While one part of Jin Hagun was suffering like this, in another part of his mind.

Don't be ridiculous! I will never lose to this kind of evil arts!

There was also a Jin Hagun who was gritting his teeth.

This Jin Hagun was constantly thinking of one person. He did not know why that person was Geom Mugeuk, but he needed him in this extreme moment.

[I will overcome this, just like you.]

Then, he heard Geom Mugeuk's reply. This is what he would say at a time like this.

[I told you not to try too hard. Just trust in your own strength, and do only what you can.]

Thinking of Geom Mugeuk, Jin Hagun gritted his teeth and took another step forward.

He walked and walked. At the moment he took a step with the feeling that it was fine if his body was torn apart!

The terrible demonic energy that had been pressing down on him vanished as if it were a lie. The distracting thoughts that had been tormenting his mind also disappeared.

And before his eyes, the Heavenly Fiend was vomiting mouthfuls of blood. His internal injuries were too deep, and he was now in an irreversible state.

Jin Hagun had overcome the Heavenly Fiend's Harrowing Black Shadow Art with his will alone.

The Heavenly Fiend looked up at him venomously.

"You risked your life for the Chairman position, didn't you? Your sense of justice is nothing but a tool to become the Chairman."

Jin Hagun said nothing to his malice, which sought to leave a scar on his opponent even at the moment of death.

SHIIING!

PLUNGE!

Jin Hagun's sword pierced the Heavenly Fiend's heart.

Without pulling out the sword, Jin Hagun spoke to his subordinates without looking back.

"What this man said might be true."

He honestly confessed to his subordinates what he had not said to the fiend.

A brief silence followed.

Then, someone from behind him said.

"What's wrong with risking one's life?"

When Jin Hagun turned his head to look, he saw it was Jeong Gyeong. He thought he was saying that because he had saved him several times while breaking the formation.

Hwangju added to his words.

"I would rather you be that way. I hope that desire comes before justice or goodwill."

Was it because of the image he had shown in the formation?

Even at the words that he desired the Chairman's seat more than justice, the Demon Slaying Brigade members showed no particular agitation. In fact, someone even said this.

"I don't think greed is a bad thing either. I want to achieve a great cause with such a person."

Was it because they thought this was their first chance? Even the taciturn ones who seemed unlikely to speak added a word.

"You've done so well up to now, how could you do any better?"

"I think anything more than that is greed."

"If you're too perfect, it's hard on us."

Jin Hagun had never imagined his subordinates would say such things. He did not even know they had such thoughts.

Come to think of it, he had never once spoken to them with an open heart. Even though they had risked their lives together like this.

After staring at his subordinates in silence for a moment, Jin Hagun turned back to the Heavenly Fiend.

His wide-open eyes had completely lost their vitality.

"Yes, I risked my life for the Chairman position."

Jin Hagun pulled the sword embedded in the Heavenly Fiend's heart.

SQUELCH.

Jin Hagun did not avoid the blood that splattered on his body.

As the dead Heavenly Fiend slowly collapsed to the side, the surroundings began to change.

THUD.

The place where the Heavenly Fiend had fallen was the courtyard of the Thousand Flower Palace.

Thus, as everyone watched, Jin Hagun and the Demon Slaying Brigade returned.