C1698
Jang Ilso: "Wrong?"
Clink.
The empty liquor glass was placed on the table.
How many rounds had they gone through? The empty bottles piled up one after another, but the two men stared at each other with cold eyes, their expressions unchanged.
Although the atmosphere was calm, it couldn't be said to be peaceful. It wasn't a life-or-death battle with crossed swords, but the tension between them was just as intense.
"Are you saying that I'm wrong?"
"That's right."
Jang Ilso's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Hmm, and what makes me wrong? It doesn't seem like I've said anything incorrect."
"That's why you can't understand me."
Chung Myung spoke with an emotionless face.
"Knowing well and understanding are two similar but different things. You may come to know me well, but you will never understand me. Probably never."
Jang Ilso smirked.
"Hmm, that sounds quite sad. But... it doesn't seem to be the topic of our conversation. What is it that I'm misunderstanding?"
"You think they think like me, and that what I want to do will be achieved through them."
Chung Myung laughed as if the idea was ridiculous.
"That's an absurd idea."
"Isn't it?"
"You can only think that way. That's your nature."
Jang Ilso's eyes narrowed in disgust. But Chung Myung continued speaking unfazed.
"To you, the world is made of imperfect things."
Chung Myung's gaze was directed at the sky, not at Jang Ilso. He watched the stars shining through the thick smoke.
"That's why you can't trust. Compared to you, everyone else seems deficient and pathetic."
Jang Ilso's red lips slowly opened. Then he bared his white teeth and laughed openly.
"My, my. You said you couldn't understand, but it seems you understand quite well."
Jang Ilso slowly stood up and looked down at Chung Myung. At the same time, he picked up a liquor bottle from the table.
"Let me ask you the opposite. Do you trust them so much?"
He began to walk slowly towards where Heo Dojin was lying.
"Look."
Jang Ilso, standing right in front of the weakened Heo Dojin, looked at him with contempt and ridicule. But in reality, he was looking at Chung Myung.
"This is reality."
"......"
"This man must have also believed it. That he had improved, that he was different from the past, that he could do something with his present."
Chung Myung's face turned cold.
"Whether it was a sense of mission, for justice... it doesn't matter what his motivation was. But..."
Jang Ilso slowly poured the liquor from the bottle.
Drip.
The clear liquor spilled over Heo Dojin's bloodied head, soaking him.
Chung Myung's eyes grew even colder as he watched Jang Ilso.
"The result is this disaster. Sad and pitiful, but this is reality. This is the result of that great trust."
Drip.
"So they can only lament. Dead in life..."
Clink!
At that moment, the bottle Jang Ilso was holding shattered. The remaining liquor spilled over his sleeve and pants.
The Furious Dogs, who had been silently guarding the place, became enraged.
"How dare you...!"
"Tsk."
With a simple click of his tongue, Jang Ilso silenced them. He observed his wet clothes in silence, then lifted the broken neck of the bottle. He shook it as if it were a child's toy.
"Is this enough? Surely, what you really want to cut is my neck, isn't it?"
A malicious expression appeared on his made-up face.
"Instead of saying nonsense about trusting those men, why don't you...?"
Jang Ilso slowly cut his neck with his long nails.
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
Chung Myung's gaze turned cold.
"You also know that it's a safer way to do it, right?"
He was staring fixedly at Jang Ilso's pale neck. He could cut it. Just as Jang Ilso said.
Even though there were many enemies here, it was possible.
If he assumed all the risks, if he was willing to sacrifice his life, he could have a chance to bring his sword close to Jang Ilso's neck.
But instead of grabbing his sword, Chung Myung grabbed a glass.
"The liquor is finished."
Jang Ilso, who had been silent for a moment, sighed deeply as if he had never shown malice.
"It didn't work."
Then, dragging his feet, he sat down again in front of Chung Myung. He rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Chung Myung before asking.
"So, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"The world you see, is it different from the one I see? Is the world you see beautiful and perfect?"
The mockery in his voice only intensified. He seemed prepared to ridicule any response.
But Chung Myung didn't blink or change his expression.
"Not at all."
"…What?"
"For me, it's the same. The world is still irrational, full of people who can't be trusted, and even pathetic."
Jang Ilso frowned as if he hadn't expected that response. Chung Myung continued speaking.
"But now I understand something."
"What is it?"
"That even though I believed I was the most complete, I failed completely."
"......"
"I couldn't protect what I wanted to protect, and I couldn't bring down what I wanted to bring down. The goal I pursued to the end collapsed, leaving only scars."
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
A feeling of disgust began to appear in Jang Ilso's eyes.
It wasn't the confusion of not understanding, but a deep disgust that arose from within.
"Isn't that what you're trying to achieve through them?"
"You're wrong, idiot."
Chung Myung gritted his teeth. He looked at Jang Ilso with fury and hostility.
"They are not my tools. They are not something that will fulfill my dreams. They are simply themselves."
"......"
"The only thing I know is that those I considered inferior can achieve what I couldn't."
Jang Ilso tried to say something, but Chung Myung interrupted him firmly.
"That's your limit. Someone like you, when faced with an insurmountable barrier, can't do anything and ends up giving up. You can't dare to challenge what you can't obtain through effort and struggle."
Jang Ilso's face hardened for a moment.
"But I'm not like that. Even if I face something I can't overcome, I won't despair. Sometimes I will be discouraged and feel pain, but deep down, I will believe. That there is a way to overcome what I can't alone with my strength."
Jang Ilso's expression faded, and the atmosphere became silent.
But then, his eyes softened again.
"Are those them...?"
He sighed deeply and shook his head.
"If your jokes are that bad, not even out of courtesy can I laugh. Understood?"
Chung Myung closed his eyes.
What he was about to say wasn't his.
It was from someone who conveyed this meaning to him. Someone who was greater and stronger than anyone else.
"Only those who acknowledge their insufficiency can move forward."
"......"
"That's what my Sahyung said."
At that moment, Jang Ilso's face turned strange, a mix of disgust and perplexity, an emotion difficult to decipher.
Jang Ilso, who had been staring intently at Chung Myung for a long time, slowly murmured.
"You seem... like a pretty pathetic guy. Saying such useless things."
Chung Myung laughed.
He seemed to be seeing his reflection.
It didn't mean they were equal or similar. None of his words would reach Jang Ilso. Probably not until this man's last breath.
It was like talking to someone who looked but never touched.
What did his words mean to this man?
"You asked what I would do if they betrayed my trust."
"So I did."
"I'll tell you. No, I promise you."
Chung Myung's lips curved into a twisted smile. So creepy that even the fearsome Jang Ilso held his breath for a moment.
Flash!
In an instant, Chung Myung's sword came out of its sheath like lightning. The speed was so astonishing that the Furious Dogs, who had been protecting their master, couldn't react.
Clang!
The blade of the sword stopped right in front of Jang Ilso's face, touching his open hand.
Crack!
The rings on Jang Ilso's fingers creaked. Chung Myung, looking into Jang Ilso's eyes, bared his teeth in a snarl.
"Then, you... will die here."
"Ha... Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!"
A booming laugh echoed. Jang Ilso's eyes glowed with madness.
------------------
Snow began to fall suddenly over the blood-soaked cliff.
The image of the swirling white snow was truly beautiful. The word 'poetry' seemed made for this scene.
But realizing that the snow was actually scattered sword energy, the poetic view transformed into a terrifying scene of slaughter.
Swish! Swish!
"Argh!"
The white sword energy cut and pierced the bodies of the Southern Sea Sun Palace warriors relentlessly.
"Damn it!"
Facing an unexpected enemy, they began to collapse helplessly. A warrior from the Southern Sea Sun Palace shouted as he intensified his solar energy technique.
But no matter how much he tried to protect his body with energy, it was hard to block all the sword energy falling like rain from the sky.
"Those swords are..."
"First recover."
Namgung Dowi, who murmured in surprise, regained his composure as he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He grabbed the cliff more firmly, securing his position.
Although he couldn't use his energy, having a moment to catch his breath was a great help to him at that moment.
But he couldn't help but wonder.
"Plum Blossom..."
"It's a sword with a complicated history."
While he infused energy into Namgung Dowi's body, Lee Songbaek smiled wryly.
'Twelve Moves Snow Flower Sword Technique.'
A sword that inflicted a deep wound on the Southern Edge Sect.
Once believed to open the future of the Southern Edge Sect, it had now become a symbol of shame.
But while those who knew the whole story wanted to hide it, Jin Geumryong didn't. He didn't abandon that sword.
He laughed coldly.
Will it disappear if we ignore it? If it were so, it would be easy.