Chapter 15: Because It’s Deathshroud
The inn was filled with the smell of alcohol.
Seo Yu-gyeom, who had already been slightly drunk, had his face flushed after a few more rounds of drinks.
“Turns out, the one who took me in and raised me as an orphan was actually the one who killed my real parents. Isn’t that surprising?”
“How did you come to know that?”
It was quite a dark story.
Even so, Jin Seong-un simply listened quietly without offering any words of comfort, only asking questions from time to time.
From Jin Seong-un’s perspective, Seo Yu-gyeom didn’t need consolation right now. He simply wanted to share his story.
“It turns out he mistook me for someone with the Heavenly Martial Star. But as he raised me, he realized something was off. Naturally so, since I wasn’t born with the Heavenly Martial Star but rather the Heaven-Slaying Star.”
It was said that the Heaven-Slaying Star appeared in the world only once every hundred years.
Those born under it possessed extraordinary martial talent, but had to live their lives under the constant sway of murderous urges.
Because of that, many of the most infamous figures in murim history who walked the Demonic Path were born under the Heaven-Slaying Star.
“I was the same. One day, I got into a quarrel with a bandit, and I simply couldn’t hold back. I killed him. Even then, my anger didn’t subside, so I went to his mountain keep and slaughtered every last one of them.”
After saying that, Seo Yu-gyeom gazed into his reflection in the wine cup for a moment.
He was handsome.
Who would believe it if they were told that such a man had killed close to a hundred people?
“After that incident, some man came to see me in the middle of the night. He was the Vice Leader of Deathshroud. When I refused to go with him, he told me the truth about my parents’ deaths. Deathshroud’s information network is impressive, you see.”
The wealthy merchant who had taken Seo Yu-gyeom in—
He had mistaken Seo Yu-gyeom for someone with the Heavenly Martial Body and had killed his parents.
“So, what did you do?”
“I avenged my parents first. I never knew their faces since they died when I was just a baby, but they were my parents all the same.”
Jin Seong-un gave a calm nod.
Those who accumulate evil deeds must always be prepared to face their due retribution.
“And then you joined Deathshroud?”
“I had nowhere else to go.”
“Then you could have lived well enough as an assassin. How did you end up being hunted instead? If you were born with the Heaven-Slaying Star, then assassination should have been your calling.”
“Not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment.”
Seo Yu-gyeom made an odd expression before continuing.
“True, it was my calling—being able to constantly vent my surging killing urge through my work. But one day, the Vice Leader gave me a mission.”
“What kind of mission?”
“The daughter of the man who raised me. A woman I once thought of as my own sister. He told me to kill her. I guess she wanted revenge, thinking Deathshroud had killed her father.”
A brief silence followed.
Although it had been before he learned the truth, killing someone he once regarded as a sister was no easy matter.
Especially since, unlike her father, she had committed no crime.
“She was just a woman who had lost her parents to someone else’s hands, like me. In fact, I was the one who killed her father. How could I possibly kill her?”
Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom no longer refilled each other’s cups. Both knew they had already drunk quite a bit.
After a moment of silence, Jin Seong-un asked,
“That’s a complicated story. But if you have the Heaven-Slaying Star, isn’t it hard to live without killing?”
The inherently surging killing urge—
It wasn’t something that could be endured by willpower alone.
If that were possible, there would be no reason for those born with the Heaven-Slaying Star to cause such bloodshed.
“My killing urge is always surging. Even at this very moment.”
“Terrifying.”
Despite the words, Jin Seong-un didn’t look scared at all, which made Seo Yu-gyeom chuckle.
“The only thing that can truly ease my urge is the thrill of slicing through flesh and bone. But after living more than twenty years, I’ve learned to control it a little. Of course, sometimes I still have to let it out—if it builds up too much and bursts, it’s truly dangerous.”
“So you’re saying… you stay here as a cook, then occasionally go out to kill people?”
What kind of insane cook was this?
Jin Seong-un briefly wondered if he should kick this guy out.
“I’ve already relieved enough of it today.”
“…Are you insane?”
Jin Seong-un glanced around, looking for the Black High Sword.
Seeing that, Seo Yu-gyeom burst into hearty laughter.
“It’s all in my imagination. I picture that what I’m chopping isn’t meat but a person. I trick myself. It’s a method I discovered by chance back when I was disguised as a cook.”
Thanks to No Sang-won today, he had made enough braised pork belly and shredded pork with pancakes to last a lifetime.
“…And that actually helps?”
“Not completely. But it’s not without effect. I told you, I have talent as a cook.”
Using the sword techniques he’d mastered in his life, he cut up ingredients—
While simultaneously easing the killing urge of the Heaven-Slaying Star.
What could be more perfect?
Seo Yu-gyeom laughed proudly.
“You could say you’re my benefactor for making me into a cook.”
“…That’s embarrassing.”
“I’m saying you don’t have to worry.”
Jin Seong-un tilted his head.
“Worry about what?”
“I won’t put my benefactor in danger. If Deathshroud ever comes looking for me again, I’ll leave on my own. So don’t worry.”
“I’ve never worried about that.”
Seo Yu-gyeom’s eyes narrowed.
This waiter was certainly strange—
No, special.
“Looking closely, you’ve got guts for a waiter. Even when you learned I was an assassin, you didn’t bat an eye. Have you trained in martial arts?”
It was a casual remark.
If the other man had trained in martial arts, Seo Yu-gyeom wouldn’t have failed to notice it.
But Jin Seong-un answered as if it was no big deal.
“I have. A little.”
“How little are we talking, that I couldn’t even notice?”
“I learned for a few days, that’s all.”
Seo Yu-gyeom let out a snort.
Could that even be called learning martial arts?
It seemed this young man was naturally fearless and calm by nature.
“Want me to teach you when I have time?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I won’t charge you, so give it a try. Having some strength makes daily life a lot easier. And it’s not every day you get to be taught directly by a top-class assassin from Deathshroud.”
Jin Seong-un shrugged.
“With a top-class cook, what’s there to worry about?”
Seo Yu-gyeom smiled again.
He didn’t know if he had always been this full of smiles, or if it was just the alcohol.
A life as a top-class assassin—
Who would have thought he’d one day be called a top-class cook?
But Jin Seong-un was being sincere.
Hadn’t they handled an enormous number of orders today?
And they had even been exceptionally delicious.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before word-of-mouth spread.
“Let’s just have one more drink and call it a night. We’ve got business tomorrow too.”
Jin Seong-un said that as he refilled the cup.
With a clear chime, the cups clinked, and the two of them downed their drinks at the same time.
For some reason, the scene made them look different yet alike.
Business had been booming for several days since they opened. Just as Jin Seong-un expected, Seo Yu-gyeom’s cooking skills quickly spread by word of mouth.
Moreover, Jin Seong-un, a professional waiter with over ten years of experience, ensured customers enjoyed their meals comfortably.
Sometimes business was so good that they ran out of ingredients and had to close early.
Accepting Seo Yu-gyeom as the cook had been one of the best decisions.
Even today, they were on edge, worried the ingredients might run out, but they barely managed to last until closing time.
He would have to tell the merchants’ association to bring in more alcohol and ingredients starting tomorrow.
As Jin Seong-un organized tomorrow’s tasks in his head, he headed to the backyard.
Then, Seo Yu-gyeom suddenly spoke.
“Finding a room isn’t easy. I might have to eat and sleep at the inn a bit longer.”
“Do as you wish.”
Jin Seong-un nodded casually.
“You’re sleeping in the backyard again tonight?”
“That’s right.”
“…You’ve got some peculiar taste.”
Jin Seong-un slept in the backyard—more precisely, in a spot he had set up beside the storage shed.
The weather was pleasantly cool, so it wasn’t bad, and he was also concerned Seo Yu-gyeom might open the Martial God Storage Shed.
‘Once he finds a room and moves out, things should get better.’
As he thought that and closed his eyes, feeling the soft breeze—
Suddenly, his qi sense picked up something unusual.
It was a sensation similar to what he had felt a few days ago.
‘An assassin.’
The level of stealth was exceptional.
Compared to the Hongho Seven Ghosts who had shown up before, and even to Seo Yu-gyeom—who was said to have been a top-class assassin of Deathshroud—this assassin was undoubtedly superior.
What should he do?
As he was briefly considering, he sensed Seo Yu-gyeom quietly leaving the inn.
It seemed Seo Yu-gyeom had also noticed the assassin’s presence.
A secluded hillside.
The thick trees blocked the moonlight, creating a rather eerie atmosphere.
Seo Yu-gyeom stood facing a man.
The man was covered from head to toe in a pitch-black mask and robe.
It was a sharp contrast to Seo Yu-gyeom, who now wore neither mask nor robe.
Then Seo Yu-gyeom spoke in a low tone.
“Vice Leader, isn’t it time to stop now?”
“Traitors are purged. Have you forgotten?”
The voice of the man called Vice Leader was cold as ice, utterly devoid of emotion.
“I don’t wish to be at odds with Deathshroud. Haven’t I spared and sent back every assassin Deathshroud sent after me?”
“They’re all dead. The principle is to dispose of assassins who fail their mission.”
“…Why go that far?”
It wasn’t sympathy or guilt for the dead assassins. They had chosen Deathshroud of their own will, after all.
Seo Yu-gyeom had left simply because he disliked Deathshroud’s ways.
Despite being born with the Heaven-Slaying Star and choosing the profession of an assassin, Seo Yu-gyeom was not entirely without feeling.
“Why go that far? Because it’s Deathshroud.”
Seo Yu-gyeom let out a sigh.
Yes, that was the kind of organization Deathshroud was.
The Vice Leader who had raised and trained him had always been such a person.
“Will this end only if I die?”
“Probably. Or if you kill all of Deathshroud.”
“Vice Leader, do you truly want to kill me? Seeing as today, one of us is likely to die, at least be honest for the last time.”
After a brief silence, the Vice Leader replied.
“…An assassin does not move by emotion.”
Even so, Seo Yu-gyeom’s sharp senses caught that the Vice Leader had wavered for just an instant.
“As I thought, you don’t really want to kill me. Though it was only a few years, I considered you my teacher, and you considered me your disciple.”
Instead of answering, the Vice Leader drew his straight sword.
No teacher kills his disciple.
But an assassin does kill another assassin.
The Vice Leader’s straight sword was painted entirely black, blending perfectly into the darkness.
Given his opponent, he must have sharpened it more than ever, yet not even the slightest trace of sharp qi could be felt—making it all the more chilling.
“Well, yes. Because it’s Deathshroud.”
Seo Yu-gyeom gave a bitter smile and drew his matching dagger.
At that, the Vice Leader’s eyebrow twitched.
“There’s a foul smell.”
“It’s a dagger I was using to slice pork until about an hour ago.”
Of course, he had washed it thoroughly.
But it wasn’t enough to fool the senses of an assassin.
The Vice Leader looked at Seo Yu-gyeom as if he were pathetic.
An assassin was, by nature, someone who emitted no presence, no sound, no scent.
He had taught him that, yet here he was bringing such a dagger—didn’t that mean he had no intention of fighting?
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve sliced plenty of people and plenty of meat, and there’s not much difference.”
Seo Yu-gyeom was certain.
Tonight, he would die.
Top-class assassins of Deathshroud were the most superior among all assassins in the Central Plains.
And the one who taught those top-class assassins was the Vice Leader standing before him.
An assassin among assassins.
At best, his chance of winning was one in ten.
So he felt regret—but not for his life.
‘I finally met someone I could consider a true friend. And after just a few days, we part ways.’
As he briefly recalled Jin Seong-un’s calm face, Seo Yu-gyeom began erasing his presence. In response, the Vice Leader’s presence vanished as well.
The battle between assassins was decidedly different from that of martial artists.
Then, they rushed toward each other.
A fight between assassins never lasted long.
Only one exchange.
Whose blade could move faster and more quietly to pierce the other.
That was all.
Just before the straight sword and dagger, slicing through the darkness like the wind, reached their marks—
“……”
Seo Yu-gyeom withdrew his dagger at the last moment.
He simply couldn’t bring himself to kill his teacher.
At that moment, the Vice Leader’s eyebrow twitched again. It was truly disgraceful. Yet an assassin of Deathshroud never withdrew his sword.
As the Vice Leader’s cold straight sword was about to pierce straight through Seo Yu-gyeom’s throat—
Tak.
The straight sword froze in place.
Of course, it wasn’t because the Vice Leader’s heart had wavered at the last moment.
A crimson-stained hand had suddenly appeared, gripping the blade itself.
Both the Vice Leader and Seo Yu-gyeom widened their eyes and looked to the side. Neither had sensed anyone approaching.
Moreover, there were few in the world who could catch the sword of a master on the level of the Vice Leader with their bare hands.
“Jin Seong-un?”
Seo Yu-gyeom wore a half-dazed expression.
Regardless, Jin Seong-un simply stared at the Vice Leader with his usual dry gaze and said—
“That cook was hard to find.”