Chapter 124: Ma Chulsoo (3)

“I didn’t expect you’d help me for such a price.”

I grumbled inwardly and cursed Ma Chulsoo.

‘What do you mean, such a price? I was desperately holding myself back from asking for something in return too.’

Whether or not I could get anything from Ma Chulsoo was beside the point—right now, I was in no position to receive any compensation.

‘I have to hide my identity while helping him. If I take anything material, it leaves evidence.’

If that happened, the Ma Clan could easily accuse me of meddling in their internal affairs and break the agreement.

Suppressing my simmering frustration, I pulled out a piece of paper from my sleeve.

“Alright then, stamp your blood seal on this.”

At my words, not only Ma Chulsoo but even his subordinates were startled.

“W-W-Wait a second?! A blood seal? What are you talking about?!”

“We can’t leave such an important agreement with just verbal confirmation, can we? Of course we need proof.”

“Proof?! That’s….”

“Hey, Ma Chulsoo.”

I did my best to suppress my expression into a cold glare.

“As you said, compared to what I’m doing for you, what I’m receiving is laughably small. So is it really too much to ask that I at least get that tiny reward with proper proof?”

Ma Chulsoo’s voice immediately shrank.

“N-No, it’s not too much….”

“Right? Then stamp it. Gu Chil, give me a dagger.”

“Here it is, sir.”

“……”

Was this what it felt like to make a deal with a devil?

Ma Chulsoo looked at the prepared contract and tightly shut his eyes.

‘S-Still, I shouldn’t be losing anything from this deal, right?’

But the atmosphere made it feel like he was taking a huge loss.

Still, Ma Chulsoo had no other choice.

“Here. It’s done.”

“Good.”

Seeing the blood seal stamped with his thumb, I let out a sly chuckle inwardly.

‘You’re not getting out of this now.’

This would be a powerful weapon in case Ma Chulsoo ever failed to keep his promise.

Even if he became the Clan Head, if this contract ever got out, he wouldn’t be able to make a move against me.

“Ahem, good. Since the contract is established, let’s move on to the serious talk.”

***

“Ma Chulsoo. In your current situation, what do you think is your winning condition?”

Ma Chulsoo thought for a moment before giving a conclusion almost identical to what I had previously said.

“To overcome all obstacles and reach the Clan Head.”

“Just as I thought.”

“Ma Jeongcheon ambushed me, violating the family rules. That’s not fair competition—it’s a breach of the bloodline regulations. If I can get to the Clan Head and report him, I can turn things around.”

Even if it was too much to expect Ma Jeongcheon’s complete downfall, Ma Chulsoo could at least gain an edge in the race for the successor position.

“Then, how much time do you think is left?”

This time, he answered more quickly.

“…Six more days.”

“So ten days in total?”

Four days had already passed since the initial ambush.

According to Ma Chulsoo, he needed to return to his position within the remaining six days.

I fell into thought for a while before speaking up.

“Ma Chulsoo. Was the Cheon Clan involved in this?”

“H-How did you know?!”

“Because you collapsed too easily.”

There were three graduates from the Thousand-Day Pass guarding Ma Chulsoo.

But they weren’t the only ones he had recruited.

‘They were people limited by their birth, but with talent good enough to be useful, right?’

The main reason Ma Chulsoo had managed to drive out Ma Jeongcheon was thanks to the efforts of these people who didn’t care about working in either light or shadow.

He wouldn’t have prepared so sloppily as to collapse in a single ambush.

“What exactly happened?”

“Well, it was… when I was checking the Ma Clan’s internal businesses and returning… That’s when Ma Jeongcheon ambushed us with about thirty subordinates.”

“How many were with you at the time?”

“About fifteen.”

That should’ve been enough to escape, as long as it wasn’t a head-on fight.

“But then, some old men suddenly blocked our retreat.”

“Old men?”

I had a rough guess as to who they were.

“They were all wearing masks. They said they were there to ensure a fair fight, then surrounded us and refused to let us go.”

“Did they use martial arts?”

Ma Chulsoo shook his head.

“No. At least, not outwardly.”

“Outwardly?”

“No matter what we tried, none of my men could break through and get past them.”

I stroked my chin, imagining the situation.

“An invisible formation, or perhaps a type of mental manipulation?”

“Maybe. They were definitely masters beyond the wall.”

“What weapons were they carrying?”

“None. They all fought barehanded.”

“I see.”

Only the Cheon Clan could mobilize experts of that level.

“If Jinyoon hadn’t broken through the encirclement, by now… Ah, J-Jinyoon!”

As if he had just remembered, Ma Chulsoo jumped up.

“I-I have to find Jinyoon! I can’t leave that child alone!”

Now that things had calmed down a bit, it made sense that he’d start thinking of Ma Jinyoon.

“Jinyoon wounded Ma Jeongcheon and fled in the opposite direction from me. He detonated a forbidden martial art, so his life might be in danger right now!”

If Ma Chulsoo had ended up in this state escaping with just his body, then Ma Jinyoon would be in even worse shape.

He could already be dead somewhere.

‘Damn it, thinking like that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.’

At that moment—

“Ah, about that.”

Jeolyeong, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

“In regard to this incident, the Lord of the Heavenly Thunder Corps gave a piece of advice.”

“…Advice?”

There’s no way that man would give a normal piece of advice, right?

And of course, as expected—

“The Lord of the Heavenly Thunder Corps said that if you take Ma Jinyoon’s head, you’ll be able to reach the Clan Head without any further interference.”

“Nonsense!”

Ma Chulsoo shot to his feet and shouted.

“Is it because Ma Jinyoon violated the Blood Law?”

“That’s correct. In fact, he violated two. He learned martial arts from outside the family and even wounded a direct blood relative.”

The unique internal regulation of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan—‘Blood Law.’

From what I’d heard, ‘Blood Dragon’ in the clan’s name referred to an absolute law that any clan member must follow.

Apparently, this Blood Law was established after some massive incident when the clan was founded by the First Heavenly Demon.

‘Wasn’t the first Clan Head a woman? Maybe that has something to do with it?’

I shook off that random thought and turned my gaze to Ma Chulsoo.

As expected, he responded with intense resistance.

“You want me to do something that filthy?”

“It’s the most certain way to turn the situation around.”

Regardless of how close their brotherly bond was.

If Ma Chulsoo just informed the Ma Clan that he’d be bringing the head of Ma Jinyoon—who broke the Blood Law—he could immediately eliminate all obstacles and reach the Clan Head.

‘Say yes.’

Deep down, I hoped Ma Chulsoo would choose that option.

Regardless of what scars it left him, why take the long way when there’s a faster route?

But—

“I… can’t do that.”

“You’re choosing the hard road over the easy one.”

Jeolyeong clicked his tongue softly.

“How could I abandon my brother? I can’t do it!”

Ma Jinyoon, a mere first-rate level martial artist, broke through top-tier masters.

Even if he were still alive, his state would be worse than death.

Even so, Ma Chulsoo clinging to hope seemed foolish, but—

“Tsk!”

Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but shrug.

‘I guess I can’t really call myself a full demon yet.’

After all, I’m doing this out of love, not for power.

‘Honestly, the claim that Ma Jinyoon violated the Blood Law is kind of a stretch.’

There’s no way he could’ve learned Cheon Jumyeong’s martial technique without approval from the main family, and wounding a direct relative was purely an act of self-defense.

That said—

“Ma Chulsoo.”

“What?”

“Let’s be clear about one thing.”

I spoke sternly to the man who was slowly losing his rationality.

“If Ma Jinyoon is dead, then following Jeolyeong’s suggestion is the quickest way.”

“……”

“Of course, if he’s alive, we should do everything we can to help him recover. That much duty we can fulfill.”

Chzzz!

“But!”

“Guh!”

At the overwhelming killing intent that burst from my entire body, Ma Chulsoo instantly shrank back.

Even Jeolyeong widened his eyes in surprise and looked toward me.

“Power is cruel. If you’re not prepared for that, you’d be better off dying right here.”

This was the battle to decide the head of the Six Great Demonic Clans.

A power struggle is all or nothing. The loser loses everything, even their life.

Naturally, one must care about nothing except victory.

“Are you prepared to take your dead brother’s head?”

“T-That’s…”

“Honestly, Ma Jinyoon could’ve betrayed you back there and joined Ma Jeongcheon’s side.”

The moment I outwardly gave up on the exchange ceremony, Ma Jinyoon’s value within the Ma Clan would’ve skyrocketed—even if just for a moment.

After all, he had the closest connection to Cheon Yura apart from me.

“Right now, Ma Jeongcheon would’ve gladly welcomed him with open arms. But even in that dire situation, Ma Jinyoon risked his life for you.”

“……”

“You owe him a response.”

Ma Chulsoo lowered his head and gripped his hair in agony.

After some time passed—

“Alright.”

He finally, with great difficulty, opened his mouth.

“But that decision will only be made once Jinyoon’s life or death is confirmed.”

“Fine.”

That level of resolve was enough for now.

Clap!

I clapped my hands together and shouted.

“Now, time to reinforce our strength.”

“Reinforce our strength? Is that even possible in this situation?”

Ma Chulsoo looked at me suspiciously.

“It is. I’ve got reinforcements—very capable ones—that will come running when called.”

***

“But even so, the gap in strength is massive. Especially… without them…”

Ma Chulsoo’s eyes were drawn toward the members of the Ghost Command Unit.

If they helped, it would be like gaining a thousand troops, but—

“Having fulfilled our deployment mission, we shall now withdraw.”

Jeolyeong casually ignored Ma Chulsoo’s hopeful gaze and bowed to me.

“Well done.”

The Ghost Command Unit had no business getting involved beyond this point.

“I hope we can meet again in a spirit of cooperation.”

“That depends… on whether you can fix your relationship with our people.”

Pfft!

Jeolyeong chuckled and shook his head at my shamelessly roundabout refusal.

And just like that, the Ghost Command Unit dispatched by Cheon Jumyeong vanished.

“Gu Chil.”

“Yes, young master.”

Gu Chil replied more seriously than usual.

“Can we win if we fight?”

There was no need to specify “against whom.”

“If it’s one-on-one… maybe, somehow…”

“So, it’s impossible right now.”

There was no way that guy Jeolyeong would be roaming around alone.

“Still, judging by the level of the new recruits, they’re nothing compared to the past. And the vice-captain showing up with only that few people also says a lot.”

“Of course. It’s only been about a decade.”

The real issue was whether the newly formed Underworld King’s Unit would be able to handle those monsters in the future.

‘Wouldn’t it be nice if a bunch of retired assassins just popped up somewhere?’

If I could shove those guys into the Underworld King’s Unit, it would be an overwhelming power boost.

“Ahem! Anyway, let’s talk about that later.”

I set aside that impossible fantasy for now.

“If we run into Ma Jeongcheon’s subordinates or the Ma Clan’s martial officers, we’ll need forces to confront them.”

“Just the four of us? That’s suicide.”

“I know that. Which is why I’m lending you a precious reinforcement of mine.”

Clap! Clap!

As soon as I clapped twice, figures began emerging from a corner of the forest as if they’d been waiting.

“…Who are they?!”

Ma Chulsoo was stunned at the sudden appearance of the group.

And most of all, he could never forget their attire.

“You called us in a rush, so we came… but what exactly is going on here?”

Standing at the front of the group, Baek Sang-ah scratched her cheek as she looked toward us.

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