Chapter The Demonic Cult Instructor Returns Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Swooooosh!
A gust of wind blew, violently shaking the tree branches.
The masked man ran like the wind.
Thud!
The moment he kicked off a tree branch, leaves scattered and fell like snowflakes.
The surrounding scenery rushed past him at high speed.
Despite his remarkably impressive lightness technique, the masked man’s eyes shook uneasily.
‘Damn it! How did they…!’
He gritted his teeth tightly.
There had been no problems in any part of the process.
There was no possibility of information leaking.
Yet they had caught his trail.
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
Originally, the Tiger Forest (Hojarim) that spread widely to the east of Yongcheon Hall had rather lax security.
Moreover, when holding events like the Spring Fragrance Festival, maintaining perimeter security was meaningless.
It was better to monitor the grounds and screen out suspicious individuals.
But there were eyes scattered throughout Tiger Forest.
And they were considerably skilled masters at that.
They weren’t Yongcheon Hall instructors.
Someone had definitely planted people there deliberately.
That meant…
‘Someone knows our plan!’
How much did they know?
How did they find out?
Questions flashed through his mind, but there was no need to think that far.
That was a job for those above.
He just needed to escape from here immediately and report that information had leaked.
But…
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swooooosh!
“Tch!”
The masked man clicked his tongue and quickly spun around.
Clang clang clang!
Three throwing weapons flying at terrifying speed were deflected away.
‘At this rate, it’ll be difficult to escape!’
While fleeing, he realized it.
These bastards were herding him toward one location.
They intended to capture him alive.
At least that was fortunate.
It meant the information they possessed wasn’t complete.
If it were, there would be no need to bother capturing him alive.
‘I need to break through somehow…!’
The easier a place was to run through, the more likely it was to be a trap.
But for now, he had no choice but to run toward that place.
Everywhere else was too tightly covered.
‘Damn it, is this as far as I get…!’
The masked man ground his teeth and kicked off another tree branch.
***
‘Indeed, his lightness technique is quite excellent.’
Sa Bigang narrowed his eyes.
The masked man was pouring almost all his internal energy into his lightness skill.
But he wouldn’t be able to escape Tiger Forest.
Sa Bigang leisurely pursued the masked man from behind.
Heaven’s Web Spider Silk Formation (Cheonrajusajin).
It was a formation mobilizing the Ghost Night Stronghold warriors, Tang Family subordinates, and even Ghost Shadow Bureau warriors.
To execute this formation perfectly, they had practiced day and night for the past several days.
Once caught, not even an ant could escape.
Sa Bigang hadn’t developed it independently.
It was something already familiar in the Demon Realm that he had simply brought over and given a plausible name.
It was easy to learn yet highly efficient.
“Running away is useless.”
Sa Bigang spoke quietly as if muttering to himself.
But since he used Magic Mouth magic, it would have reached the opponent’s ears clearly.
Sure enough, he could feel the man’s qi becoming disturbed.
He was shaken.
Since it was different from Sound Transmission, he must have been even more surprised.
Taking advantage of that gap, Sa Bigang used Blink magic to instantly move to a distant position.
Meanwhile, the masked man only came to a complete stop after being cornered against a dead-end cliff.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
The masked man caught his breath that had risen to his chin while looking around.
Swoosh, swoosh, swish swish swish swish swoosh!
Warriors fell like rain from all directions.
‘As expected…!’
They had been prepared.
Where on earth had the information leaked from?
Had Red Snake’s identity been exposed as well?
His thoughts couldn’t continue long.
A man had appeared before his eyes as if by magic.
Pop!
A person who appeared as if materializing from nothing.
It was Sa Bigang.
He looked at the masked man with an emotionless expression.
“Who did you meet?”
“……”
“Did the Blood Death Alliance (Hyeolsaryeon) send you?”
“……!”
Sa Bigang’s eyes narrowed.
“So that’s how it is.”
The masked man was flustered.
Blood Death Alliance was a name not yet revealed to the world.
They had planned to proudly announce the existence of Blood Death Alliance after succeeding in this operation.
But he knew even that name!
Just who was this person…!
“You, who are you?”
The masked man shouted, but Sa Bigang just shook his head quietly.
“I’m the one asking questions.”
“Kuk…!”
“Who did you meet before returning?”
“How did you know?”
“You’re planning to carry out your operation in this Tiger Forest on the day of the organizational competition, aren’t you?”
“……!”
“So that’s it. The Spring Fragrance Festival was moved up by about a month, but you didn’t revise your plan at all.”
“You, just what is your identity?”
“You were going to meet your inside contact, survey Tiger Forest once, then return, right?”
“Eeek…! How do you know all of that…!”
“Now, I ask again. Who were you returning from meeting?”
“What else do you know?”
“So you really have no intention of telling me?”
“I’d rather die.”
“You’re going to use explosives in Tiger Forest, aren’t you? And you plan to massacre the students and instructors in the ensuing chaos. Right?”
Now the masked man’s eyes looked ready to tear.
Knowing this much detail meant it wasn’t guesswork.
So managing his expression was meaningless.
Sa Bigang smiled faintly.
“Now, let’s make a deal.”
“What…”
“Just tell me who the inside contact is. Then I’ll let you go peacefully.”
“Hah! Do you think I’d believe that?”
“By any chance, did you come to meet Cheon Se-myeong?”
The masked man chuckled.
“Hehe. You’re trying to make deductions from my reaction, I see. But it’s useless!”
The masked man squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
The next moment.
Pop!
His head instantly exploded.
The warriors surrounding him flinched and rushed forward, but the masked man’s body with his head already blown off was slowly melting away.
“Ruthless…!”
Go Jeok-san let out words like a groan.
Sa Bigang was approaching the corpse but stopped and turned around.
“Someone’s coming.”
“Pardon?”
One warrior asked, but Sa Bigang quietly looked toward the forest instead of answering.
Finally, a shadow appeared.
Unexpectedly, it was Instructor Sang Pil-ji.
‘His breathing is relatively steady, but he used lightness technique to come straight here. Could Sang Pil-ji be the contact?’
Sa Bigang grinned while hiding his thoughts.
“Isn’t this Instructor Sang Pil-ji? What brings you here?”
“I was surveying Tiger Forest to prepare for the upcoming organizational competition. As you know, the organizational competition will be held in this Tiger Forest. But what brings Instructor Sa to such a place? And what’s that corpse? Who are these warriors?”
Sang Pil-ji’s expression hardened.
Whether it was because he was the inside contact or simply shocked by seeing the corpse couldn’t be distinguished.
Sa Bigang told the truth.
“A little rat snuck in, so I chased it and it self-destructed.”
“These warriors?”
“They’re followers of mine.”
“Where did that rat come from?”
‘Does he really not know? But I shouldn’t easily dismiss suspicion.’
Sa Bigang carefully observed his expression while replying.
“I wasn’t able to determine that.”
Of course, it was a lie.
If he told the truth and the other party was the inside contact, there was no telling how the future might change.
Moreover, in a situation where he didn’t know who the inside contact was, if he blabbered everything they knew, he might be caught off guard instead.
At least from his expression, there was no sign of relief.
Well, that made sense.
If he was an inside contact planted here for several years, his complexion wouldn’t change over something like this.
Sang Pil-ji chuckled and asked.
“But how did you know it was a rat?”
His gaze was quite sharp.
Sa Bigang narrowed his eyes again.
In some ways, it was the same content as the question the masked man had thrown.
“If it wasn’t a rat, there would be no reason to wear a mask.”
“Hmm, may I examine the corpse?”
“Of course.”
When Sa Bigang stepped aside, Sang Pil-ji walked over and examined the corpse.
Since the head had completely exploded, it was impossible to confirm the identity.
Sang Pil-ji glanced back at Sa Bigang.
“Will you report this to the Hall Master?”
“Of course.”
“I see. You’ve worked hard.”
Sang Pil-ji patted Sa Bigang’s shoulder once and then walked away.
‘Hmm, this is a bit confusing.’
Sa Bigang watched his retreating figure thoughtfully.
***
“You’re saying one really appeared?”
That night, Mae Seol-lan, who had suddenly visited Sa Bigang’s office, immediately shouted.
“What are you talking about?”
“The masked man from the Unorthodox Faction! You’re saying one really appeared?”
“That’s right.”
“Then… is all of that really… true?”
“That’s right.”
Mae Seol-lan had probably heard all the facts through Tang Iháp.
By now, she would also know the fact that he had returned from the future.
It was something she had to know eventually.
“That’s impossible…”
Mae Seol-lan trembled faintly and slumped into a chair.
She still looked up at Sa Bigang with an expression of disbelief.
“Really… did you really come from the future? Is that possible?”
“In the Demon Realm, it was possible. Not an easy task, but possible.”
“You… do you really know everything about what’s going to happen?”
“Not everything, but I know quite a lot.”
“Then… are many people really going to die soon? What happens to the students? The Unorthodox Faction? Have they really started moving again? Ten years from now, how many die from the Demon Realm’s invasion?”
“Hmm, too many questions.”
When Sa Bigang muttered, Mae Seol-lan bit her lip slightly.
She took a deep breath and spoke.
“Fine. I’ll ask just one thing. What happens to me in the future?”
“Hm?”
Sa Bigang let out a hollow laugh.
“You have strong self-love. Do you want to know?”
“If I can know…”
“You’ll marry me and bear three children. And you’ll revere me like heaven…”
“Lie.”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes, tell me.”
“You’ll be invaded by the Demon Realm, gang-raped by them, and die miserably.”
“That’s… a lie.”
“It’s the truth.”
Mae Seol-lan’s expression visibly hardened.
Though she was a warrior with a heart of steel, she was still a woman.
She couldn’t be pleased to hear about being gang-raped.
Sa Bigang immediately continued.
“But that won’t happen.”
“Why…?”
“Because I came to prevent that.”
“Can you… prevent it?”
“Absolutely. Without fail.”
Sa Bigang slowly approached and caressed Mae Seol-lan’s cheek.
Mae Seol-lan didn’t avoid it.
Suddenly, she had heard too many facts all at once.
Stories that seemed like lies.
But there were too many things that could only be understood by accepting those stories.
‘Ah, this person is also… mischievous…’
Sa Bigang looked at her with deep eyes.
But she didn’t dislike it.
Right now, she wanted to rely on his touch again.
Just like that day in the cave.
Sa Bigang’s hand soon moved toward her chest.
But then…
“Why… are you stopping?”
“A guest is coming.”
Sa Bigang turned his head toward the window.
Soon Mae Seol-lan also sensed the presence and quickly straightened her clothes and stood up.
“Let’s talk about the details next time.”
“Let’s do that.”
“And speaking informally…”
“Hm?”
“… it’s okay.”
“Keke. I’m already doing it, though?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea! You said you returned from the future. That… since you’re an old man who’s lived much longer than me, I’m letting it slide!”
“Who said anything?”
“Hmph!”
Mae Seol-lan spun around and smoothly disappeared.
Right after that.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
Sa Bigang spoke curtly.
He could have had a good time with Mae Seol-lan, but since he was interrupted, he wasn’t in a good mood at all.
The person who opened the door and entered was unexpectedly Yeon U-gyeong.
“What’s the matter?”
Yeon U-gyeong’s gaze wandered here and there as if he had lost his way.
It was somehow unlike his usual self.
Sa Bigang frowned.
“Are you lost or something?”
“Well…”
After hesitating for a moment, Yeon U-gyeong spoke with a stiff expression.
“What do you think, Instructor?”
“What? Sorry, but that’s not my preference. Did you fight with Gok Bo-ok and get desperate?”
“Wh-what are you talking about? Bo-ok and I aren’t that kind of relationship. And that’s not the question!”
“Then what is it? You need to state the point of your question clearly.”
“Tomorrow’s sparring match. Do you think… I can win?”
Sa Bigang finally became serious and looked at Yeon U-gyeong intently.
Soon Sa Bigang’s answer fell.
“No. You’ll lose.”
“……!”
“If you continue as you are now, that is.”
Sa Bigang grinned.