Chapter 586: I've Never Met a Villain Like This

TL: FoodieMonster007

The moment the door swung open, a blast of ancient air rushed out. It felt as if the space was finally releasing a breath it had held for a very long time. The musty scent of ages was proof enough that no one had set foot in this place for an eternity.

A long passage was barely visible within the darkness.

Using the Divine Eye Technique to peer inside, Geom Mugeuk saw that the walls of the passage were engraved with all sorts of patterns, letters, and pictures, just like the ones on the door. The darkness, seemingly carved into the earth's core, had consumed everything. It radiated an unknown energy that tempted anyone who looked upon it.

Come in, hurry and come in.

This energy was hard to describe with words, but one thing was certain. It was a very strange power, something no one in the current murim had ever experienced.

If you go in, you die.

Despite his instincts screaming a warning, Geom Mugeuk felt an undeniable pull to enter that place. This wasn't a feeling of defiance or a wish to challenge some unknown horror. He felt that his journey to the Yellow Dragon Academy, his meeting with the Sword King, and the Sword King's instruction to come down here were all guided by the hand of destiny.

Geom Mugeuk asked the Sword King who stood beside him.

"Do you feel it?"

The Sword King nodded in reply to Geom Mugeuk's question.

Just then, one of the workers took a step forward as if possessed. Hong In quickly rushed over and grabbed the man, who was trying to push past Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King to go inside.

"Get a grip!"

SLAP!

Hong In slapped his cheek without holding back. Only then did the man seem to regain his senses.

The darkness had called out and tempted him. As the one with the weakest inner arts and mental strength among the workers, he was the first to succumb to its allure. Shortly after, another worker began to walk forward, but the man next to him grabbed him and snapped him out of it.

Geom Mugeuk sent a telepathic message to the Sword King.

[I think it's time to send the workers back.]

He had a premonition that these men would not make it out alive if they entered this place.

[Shall we go in, just the two of us?]

He expected an immediate agreement, but the Sword King didn't make a quick decision. Geom Mugeuk chose not to provoke him with words like, "Was your promise to save these men a lie?"

He believed the Sword King's hesitation wasn't because he planned to lead them to their deaths, but for another reason entirely. Geom Mugeuk had clearly sensed the man's affection for them. If he hadn't, he never would have shown them the stars.

Indeed, the Sword King's concern was for the workers.

[I wanted to show them that final place.]

They had endured hell to reach this point. It seemed he wanted to show them what they had risked their lives for, something more than just money.

However, Geom Mugeuk felt that leading them into that ominous darkness was the wrong decision.

[What they'll see in there won't help them in their future lives. Not unless you're going to share the treasure with them. Are you going to share it?]

The Sword King shook his head.

The Sword King gave some instructions to the mechanism expert through telepathy, and the man ran off somewhere. Then, the Sword King turned to face the workers standing behind him.

"Your mission ends here."

His words startled the workers. They had sensed the excavation was nearing its end, but they hadn't expected it to be over just by opening this door. They assumed they would have to venture into the darkness and dismantle more mechanisms.

But they could feel it. They could sense how dangerous the darkness beyond the door was. Seeing their colleagues walk forward as if possessed was all the proof they needed. If the temptation was this strong at the entrance, what would it be like inside?

The thought that it was finally over brought a wave of different emotions. Surprise gave way to joy. The final emotion that overwhelmed them was fear. Although they had looked up to him as their Big Bro and had trusted and followed the Sword King, they couldn't shake the anxiety that they might be silenced at this final moment. They would now find out if their faith had been well-placed.

Just then, the mechanism expert who had received the order returned, handing out envelopes to everyone. Inside were the promised bank notes. At first, they had been paid a monthly salary. If someone asked, he would even send money on their behalf. They had diligently received their pay, worried they might not get it later, but since they could not leave anyway, there was no point in having it. So the workers had trusted the Sword King and asked to be paid when they left, and he had truly kept his promise and prepared the money.

Seeing the money, the workers all felt a lump form in their throats. They had endured so much hardship to earn this.

"You've all worked hard."

At the Sword King's words, tears began to stream from the eyes of several workers. This was the moment their long, dreadful job was finally finished.

Of course, many workers had wanted to see what lay beyond that door. What kind of treasure could possibly require such elaborate mechanisms? On top of that, there was another hope. What if they could get even a small piece of the treasure? But seeing their colleagues get entranced, such thoughts vanished. All they wanted was to get out of this godforsaken place.

They wanted to go out, deposit their money at the bank, and then have a drink at a tavern. After that, they would sleep all day in an inn. Someone else thought of leaving for a place where no one knew him. They all had different things they wanted to do.

They gathered before the Sword King for one last farewell. Among them were men whose lives the Sword King had saved several times.

On behalf of everyone, Hong In spoke to the Sword King.

"Thank you so much for everything."

Behind him, the workers shouted their thanks in unison.

The Sword King brushed the dust from Hong In's clothes and said, "Be happy. I hope the day comes when I can visit the martial arts academy you run."

The Sword King had not forgotten that his dream was to run a martial arts academy.

Hong In bowed his head respectfully.

"I won't forget the grace you've shown me."

The Sword King looked around at the workers and offered one last piece of advice.

"Keep what happened here a secret. You won't die by my hand, but by the hands of other greedy men. Just say you received the money as an inheritance."

The workers all nodded, understanding his meaning perfectly.

Geom Mugeuk's telepathy flew to the Sword King again.

[I've never met a villain like this.]

Geom Mugeuk still couldn't figure it out. Why had no rumors of this place spread in his previous life? Was it because the workers had all died after going through that door? Or was it because he had let them go like this, and they had all surprisingly kept the secret and lived? Or had something else happened?

In any case, they had all survived in this life. Some might look down on them for risking their lives for money, but Geom Mugeuk didn't think that way. They were brave survivors.

Before leaving, Hong In glanced back at Geom Mugeuk one last time. He was the one who had saved them from the mechanism's attacks. Perhaps he believed they had seen the stars and slept under cotton blankets because of this newcomer. He thought that maybe their safe departure now was also thanks to this newcomer.

Hong In bowed his head respectfully to Geom Mugeuk. Lifting his head, he threw out a final joke. It was a joke he would have normally made to the Sword King but had never dared to.

"You must come to my martial arts academy. I'll teach our youngest member's children for free for three months!"

The surrounding workers laughed along with his final joke. With that, Hong In and the workers departed from the place. As if ordered by the Sword King, the mechanism expert also followed them out.

Now, only Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King remained.

"I suppose I can throw my shoe at you without worrying now."

Geom Mugeuk laughed at the Sword King's joke and replied, "It's dark in there, so please be careful when you throw it."

The Sword King, who had been staring quietly at Geom Mugeuk, asked, "Why aren't you seeing them off? What if I order my subordinates to kill them?"

"Someone who really intended to kill them wouldn't say something like that."

Of course, that wasn't the real reason. This was.

"What's the point of letting them go safely from here? If you were determined to kill them, you could do it anytime after they leave this martial arts academy."

He knew better than anyone how large their organization was.

"Perhaps they survived thanks to you."

"If that's the case, the credit isn't mine, but yours, Instructor."

When the Sword King's eyes questioned why, Geom Mugeuk answered.

"Have you already forgotten? When I asked why you were taking me to the basement, didn't you say it was because you wanted to save those men? I was only following your words faithfully, so in the end, you're the one who saved them. So you can be proud and think, 'I saved all those workers'."

The Sword King stared at Geom Mugeuk without a word. He showed no emotion, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"Shall we go?"

"Alright. Just a moment."

Geom Mugeuk took a rope from a box where he kept his work tools. He tied one end around his own waist and handed the other to the Sword King.

"Tie this to your waist. They might use some trick to try and separate us."

It was a way to ensure they wouldn't get separated. The Sword King took the rope and asked with a surprised expression, "Why are you doing this?"

"You have to protect me, Instructor."

The Sword King stared at Geom Mugeuk and said, "Not the other way around?"

The thought occurred to him that this Young Cult Leader in front of him might be trying to tie them together to protect him.

And what he found even more surprising was this part.

"You're not greedy. Most would try to go in alone to claim whatever is inside."

He had expected him to try and ditch him, but instead, he was offering a rope.

"Don't they say all treasures in the murim have an owner? If it's fated to be mine, it will come to me even if I'm not greedy."

Geom Mugeuk had learned enough in his past life. He knew that when trying to achieve something, you only need a single drop of greed. It is will and effort that allow you to finish the journey started by that first greedy step. Greed from the second step onward only serves to trip you up.

The Sword King tied the rope around his waist. He left enough slack for the two of them to move freely.

"Alright, let's go."

The two of them slowly walked into the dark passage. They raised all their senses to their absolute limit. They walked step by step, but nothing happened.

It was when they had walked to the middle of the passage.

SHIIIIIIII.

The letters and patterns carved on both walls seemed to glow.

SHASHASHASHAK!

As if falling from the sky, martial artists holding spears appeared before them. Lined up to block the passage, they all aimed their spears in unison.

CHAKCHAKCHAKCHAK!

There were five of them in total. Martial artists also appeared from behind, aiming their spears. The same number that appeared in front appeared behind them.

Geom Mugeuk knew.

These are the martial artists from the wall paintings.

The martial artists looked identical to the paintings, but they were not living beings. An illusion meant to protect this place had been activated.

"I'll take the rear."

The Sword King took the rear, and Geom Mugeuk took the front.

CHAKCHAKCHAKCHAK!

Like trained soldiers, the martial artists began to advance with their spears aimed. The aura they gave off was extraordinary.

SHWIIIIK.

Geom Mugeuk's sword qi flew toward them. The sword qi passed right through them. It should have swept them away, but it literally just passed through. They felt like incorporeal beings, like smoke.

The approaching figures thrust their spears.

CHAENGCHAENGCHAENGCHAENG!

But the spears that struck his sword were real.

Geom Mugeuk quickly swung his sword, attempting to cut the spears.

"……"

However, just as when he had sent his sword qi, his sword simply passed through the spears. When they attacked, the spears became real, but when Geom Mugeuk tried to cut them, they turned into illusions. He had never encountered an illusion like this before.

CHAENGCHAENGCHAENGCHAENG!

He blocked the thrusting spears and launched a surprise attack, but his sword only sliced through empty air, passing through their bodies.

Geom Mugeuk retreated step by step. The situation behind him was the same. Moreover, they were not just puppets mindlessly thrusting spears. They displayed proper spear arts.

The two, pushed back, eventually stood back-to-back.

"And you wanted to bring the workers to a place like this?"

If he really had brought them, they would have all died here. It would have been a complete massacre.

HWIKHWIKHWIKHWIK!

The enemies' fighting style changed. They began to rapidly throw their spears. The two men each swung their swords quickly to block them. The deflected spears shattered into light and vanished, and new spears appeared in their hands.

The one fortunate thing for Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King was that they did not have to worry about their backs.

If I can't find a way to break this, we'll die here when our inner arts run out!

Every illusion or evil art must have a solution. This was an unchanging, absolute principle. If so, the solution was somewhere in this space. However, neither the Bloodeye Holy Water nor the Divine Eye Technique could see the solution.

While fending off their attacks, Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to the paintings on the wall. He used the Divine Eye Technique to look at the painting with the spear-wielding martial artists.

Then, one painting caught his eye. There was a painting of spear-wielding martial artists standing as if guarding a symbol at the center.

Could it be?

That symbol was drawn in various places on the wall. Geom Mugeuk leaped up and stabbed one of the symbols.

PAAT!

At that moment, one of the spear-wielding martial artists vanished into a cluster of light.

SHWIK! SHWIK! SHWIK! SHWIK!

As spears flew wildly, Geom Mugeuk shouted.

"I've found the solution! Hold them off for me!"

Geom Mugeuk stabbed his sword into another symbol drawn elsewhere. Another martial artist vanished into a cluster of light. Spears flew at Geom Mugeuk from the front and back all at once.

The Sword King leaped and deflected the spears flying toward Geom Mugeuk.

In that time, Geom Mugeuk found the symbols on the mural one by one. Every time he stabbed a symbol with his sword, the enemies disappeared. But as their numbers dwindled, they attacked Geom Mugeuk even more fiercely.

They attacked as if in a frenzy, but their opponents were Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King. How could they, with their dwindling numbers, stop the two who had found the answer?

Thus, Geom Mugeuk found the last symbol and stabbed it with his sword. The last remaining spear-wielding martial artist vanished into a cluster of light. Simultaneously, a secret door hidden at the end of the passage opened with a CLANG.

"How did you figure out the solution?"

"Usually, the more powerful the illusion, the simpler the solution. Fortunately, this is an old illusion, so the solution wasn't convoluted like modern ones. That made it easy to handle."

However, the Sword King knew it was not as easy as he made it sound. Could he himself have deduced the solution from that painting?

"If I had come alone, I wouldn't have been able to break it."

As the Sword King admitted this frankly, Geom Mugeuk thought to himself, If that's true, how did you pass through here in my past life? Who did you come with then?

"Then are you going to give me half the treasure here?"

He asked half-jokingly, half-seriously, but to his surprise, the Sword King nodded.

"I will."

"Really? You're not just saying that because you plan to kill me anyway, are you?"

The two cautiously entered the door that had opened at the end of the passage. For a moment, their steps halted, and they said nothing for a while.

The one who finally broke the silence was Geom Mugeuk.

"You can't go back on that promise you just made."