Chapter 481: Side Story 1 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy

An assassin’s battle was, by nature, quiet and still.

The fight between two individuals who inherited the will of the Murder Demon and reached the peak of the assassins of their time, too, would have, under normal circumstances, proceeded in silence and stillness.

However.

This battle could no longer be considered an assassin’s battle.

Kwaaaang!

A massive pillar of flame surged in a straight line.

It resembled the dragon that the demonic cultists claimed would only appear at the world’s end.

Sword qi and qi projection slashed in all directions.

Deathly energy dyed the earth black, sapping it of life.

Amazingly, the one responsible for such destruction wasn’t a black monstrosity spanning several jang.

“Hehehe… Truly exhilarating.”

The Four Atrocities Gunggi.

The monstrosity had grown to the point it could devour a human whole, letting out a pleasurable moan as it gazed down at the man and woman.

“There’s a chance. You might really be able to kill me.”

“…….”

“…….”

Baek Sang-ah tightly gripped her sword, hiding the fatigue spreading throughout her body.

‘How much time has passed?’

Two hours? No, four hours passed?

She didn’t know.

This was the interior of Six Paths Veil, a space disconnected from reality.

Since normal perception of time didn’t apply here, it was hard to tell how long had passed.

‘Pathetic…….’

Baek Sang-ah clenched her beloved sword.

When she first decided to take aim at Gunggi, she had believed it would work out somehow.

With So Cheon, she had thought they had a good chance against just one Gunggi.

But.

Reality was different.

Though she had bluffed to Jin Yeomyung that she would definitely kill it, in truth, all she could manage was to desperately endure.

“Are you alright, Young Master So Cheon?”

“…I should ask you, Lady.”

A curt reply filled with exhaustion came back.

Having fought together until just now, she could well gauge the state of her partner.

That was why she couldn’t help but ask.

“How much longer can we hold on?”

“Hold on?”

Crackle! Crack-crackle!

Black thunder imbued the held by So Cheon.

“It’s not about how long we hold on—it’s about when we kill that thing.”

“…….”

So Cheon’s fighting spirit hadn’t died yet.

However.

‘I have to face reality…’

To still have all limbs intact against such a monster was already a miracle.

She had taken pride in having grown far stronger compared to when they first encountered it, but the problem was that the opponent had also grown incomparably stronger.

No—more precisely, it had ‘recovered’ to a degree that was on another level.

‘That thing now isn’t someone even Young Master Jin could kill easily…….’

To truly kill such a monstrosity, they had no choice but to wager their lives in earnest.

‘The odds of victory are… maybe one in two.’

And even with that one-in-two chance, one of them was guaranteed to die.

At that moment.

“I’ll do it.”

“……!”

As if he had read Baek Sang-ah’s mind, So Cheon gave a faint smile.

“I’ll definitely create an opening, so please finish it.”

“Young Master……”

There was no way So Cheon hadn’t noticed the flow of the battle that Baek Sang-ah saw.

Though tired, So Cheon’s eyes were still clear as he looked straight at her.

“Still, it’s a bit of a shame.”

As the leader of a group, he had faced countless mortal dangers, embraced many, and sent off many more.

Through that experience, she could tell.

The resolve of one who had bet his life—she could feel it from So Cheon.

“If only I had a bit more time, I could’ve shown you the changed me.”

“That’s…”

He was always lighthearted, mischievous, had sticky fingers, and never listened to what others said.

But he had his cute sides, and his efforts to change had indeed been felt.

“Please remember just this. My feelings for you, Lady, are…….”

Before he could finish.

“Hmph.”

A voice cut through So Cheon’s resolve from directly ahead.

“…….”

The somewhat serious pink-hued atmosphere shattered in an instant.

So Cheon glared fiercely at Gunggi, the one responsible for all this.

…If you’re going to give me time, then give it properly to the end!

But before that silent protest could even reach Gunggi.

Gunggi looked off somewhere and opened his mouth.

“Is this as far as it goes?”

“What?”

“I’m conflicted. Should I kill you now and sleep, or…”

“…….”

“Should I grant a reprieve.”

At Gunggi’s indecisive muttering, So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah let out deep groans.

Their opponent, in this very moment, didn’t even regard them as enemies.

In other words, he hadn’t once used his full strength until now.

However, that fact wasn’t entirely displeasing.

That kind of behavior from Gunggi meant that some sort of resolution had occurred outside.

More importantly, reading between the lines of his words, it was highly likely that Jin Yeomyung had won the battle outside.

“I’ve decided.”

Crack! Crack!

The gigantic form of Gunggi began shrinking down to about just slightly larger than a human, like when they had first seen him.

“I’ll let you live.”

“And who gave you the right to decide whether we live or die—”

“But there is a condition.”

Gunggi ignored So Cheon’s protest and continued speaking.

“Five years should be enough, yes?”

“……!”

Five years.

They didn’t know exactly why Gunggi had chosen that time frame, but they weren’t so foolish as to be unable to guess.

“Human woman.”

Gunggi pointed at Baek Sang-ah.

“You’re destined to become a ruler bearing the karma of countless people on your shoulders. You’ll live your life struggling under the weight of that karma.”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

Baek Sang-ah gasped.

If she could only make it back alive, she had planned to abandon everything—even the Alliance Leader position—and run away, and he dared to throw such a curse?!

“And you.”

As Baek Sang-ah’s eyes flared in outrage, this time Gunggi turned his gaze toward So Cheon.

“A coward who fled the shackles of blood. But now, you crawl back into the fate you once escaped, seeking to face it once more.”

“…….”

Unlike the fuming Baek Sang-ah, So Cheon gave no reply.

The calm and refined atmosphere surrounding him simply conveyed a silent affirmation.

“Normally, I wouldn’t have given you a second glance, but now… you barely pass.”

At that moment, an overwhelming force erupted from Gunggi.

A violent power that instantly overwhelmed the two.

It was the full strength of one of the Four Atrocities, who had once been counted among the mightiest even in the Mythic Era.

“Choose. Die now, or die five years from now.”

“…….”

Baek Sang-ah frowned, but in truth, she couldn’t choose to fight recklessly in the current situation.

After a brief moment of thought, she exchanged a few words with Gunggi.

Not long after, a certain pact was formed among the three.

“Still, it’s a relief we survived.”

“Can we even call this surviving…….”

Baek Sang-ah slumped down on a rock lying nearby.

Then, staring blankly at the sky, she sank into thought.

‘It’s blue.’

The ominous red aura that had once threatened to dye the heavens and earth in blood had vanished completely, and the vivid blue sky—one she hadn’t seen in years—was reflected in her eyes.

This blue sky, more than anything else, was proof of their victory.

‘Fate of a ruler, huh…….’

With a slightly empty feeling, she mulled over the word “ruler.”

She didn’t think Gunggi’s words were baseless.

Rather, they cut sharply through her current situation and circumstances.

‘Fine. If I can’t avoid it, I might as well find a way to enjoy it.’

She placed strength into her thighs and barely managed to rise.

It was the first time her body felt this drained since climbing the cliff at Thousand-Day Pass.

Even the hellish training with So Jeong had been more mentally than physically exhausting.

“It’s over, but now we’ll have to greet a new beginning.”

“Lady?”

Sensing the peculiar atmosphere around her, So Cheon swallowed nervously.

“Young Master So Cheon.”

“Y-yes?”

Even if the battle with Gunggi was over, the mountain of tasks ahead remained.

They needed to confirm the status of Jin Yeomyung and Cheon Yura, and afterward, rebuild the collapsed Murim and the Murim Alliance.

Judging by the current situation, this would not end in just a year or two. It was an endless grand journey that would take up more than half of her remaining life.

However.

Precisely because such a path lay ahead, there was something she had to confirm before anything else.

Baek Sang-ah stared at So Cheon with clear eyes and asked.

“Do you like me?”

“……!”

It became so silent, it seemed as though So Cheon had momentarily stopped breathing.

Yet, in contrast, his mind was whirring more actively than ever before.

“O-of course……”

He liked her.

No, his feelings had long since surpassed that.

Over the past few years, So Cheon had constantly expressed his feelings to her, so there was no way she wouldn’t know.

And yet, for her to ask again like this…

“I love you.”

So Cheon knelt on one knee before Baek Sang-ah and held her hand.

“Please marry me.”

“…….”

A straightforward confession with no hesitation or looking back.

So Cheon acted with such decisiveness that it made one wonder if he had always been this manly.

“Young Master. No, So Cheon.”

For the first time, Baek Sang-ah called So Cheon by his name.

Unable to hide his nervousness, So Cheon met Baek Sang-ah’s gaze.

“I will return to being the Murim Alliance Leader.”

“…Yes.”

“And… only after my youth has passed will I step down from that position.”

When would she be able to let go of the Alliance Leader position without guilt?

In twenty years? No, thirty?

“I can wait. Even if it takes a hundred years.”

So Cheon replied firmly.

He didn’t fall for Baek Sang-ah just for her looks.

Of course, she was more beautiful than anyone in the world, but even if that beauty faded, So Cheon’s heart would not waver.

However.

“No, I can’t wait.”

“…What?”

Baek Sang-ah widened her eyes and grabbed So Cheon by the collar.

And she raged.

“Are you insane? What? A hundred years?! What, are we going to have a soul wedding or something?!”

“N-no…”

While So Cheon floundered in the face of her unexpected transparent fury—

“In a few more years, I’ll basically be in my thirties.”

Her eyes burned like a raging volcano.

“Uh… that is…”

“Miss that window, and I’ll be old enough to be called a spinster.”

Truthfully, it was already quite late.

Even though martial artists married later than normal people, that applied mostly to men. Women from prestigious families like her typically married near the age of twenty.

“Uh, then…”

So Cheon nearly asked, “Why not now?” without thinking, but realized just in time that such a reply was a high-level landmine and shut his mouth.

It was a remarkable level of growth that made the phrase ‘heaven and earth overturned’ feel insufficient.

‘I need to understand her intent.’

Why was she saying this?

So Cheon desperately pieced together the clues.

She couldn’t wait long.

She would return as the Murim Alliance Leader.

With a few key clues and the current circumstances, So Cheon reached one conclusion.

‘Status.’

Everyone knew that So Cheon had always lingered around Baek Sang-ah like an extra since the days of the Black Lotus Union.

Even now, with the North Murim Alliance having merged into the Unified Murim Alliance, it remained the same.

But if their relationship were to become official, there would inevitably come a time to face that matter head-on.

And the ‘manliness’ she had always wanted from him.

Trying to dodge this like he had in the past would surely bring a blow that could ruin their relationship entirely.

“How long are you willing to wait?”

“…….”

Baek Sang-ah was slightly surprised that So Cheon had grasped her intent, but she kept her expression hidden as she thought of her answer.

‘This isn’t something Young Master So Cheon can resolve on his own.’

It was different from back when it involved Jin Yeomyung at the Namcheon Baek Clan.

The circumstances were different. Their statuses were different. The environment was different.

The barriers they had to overcome were not just one or two—and each was incredibly thick.

“The time Gunggi gave us is five years. Whatever happens, we have to remove all those barriers within that time.”

“Barriers… five years…”

As So Cheon silently calculated the years, a sudden smirk escaped his lips.

“Indeed, it’s too long.”

So Cheon suddenly stood up.

“Then, this time next year, I will come to Luoyang to propose to you, Lady.”

“…What?”

“Just wait until then.”

“So Cheon? What are you—hey!”

Baek Sang-ah shouted in panic.

What was infuriating about So Cheon was that although he was normally absurdly lazy, once he decided to act, no one could stop him.

And the outcome of those actions was usually no different from what one would call a ‘major incident.’

Sensing a sense of foreboding, Baek Sang-ah hurriedly reached out to stop him.

But So Cheon had already long vanished from her sight.

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