CH 255

Light Novel: Volume 11 Episode 5

Heuk-ho touched the wall with his thin fingers.

His fingers were so scrawny as if it’s just made up of skin and bones.

But what most people don’t know is that these thin fingers, which looked like they would break with the slightest force, are actually the hands of a demon. They are capable of easily taking a person’s life.

The only people who know this fact are those who belong in the same industry.

What Heuk-ho is currently looking for is the coded message left by Dark Ghost.

Dark Ghost’s whereabouts remained unknown since yesterday.

Heuk-ho expected that Dark Ghost would return last night, but he didn’t.

Assassins like them usually act independently, but when carrying out a common mission like this, the subordinate absolutely had to obey the order of the superior.

It was no different with Dark Ghost. He had no choice but to follow Heuk-ho’s every order. 

So the fact that Dark Ghost did not follow through his order and did not return on time, is not something he could easily overlook.

‘Did he get attacked by Hong Ye-seol?’

Such a thought naturally passed his mind. 

If Hong Ye-seol knew that she had been followed, it’s possible that she could have attacked Dark Ghost in anger. But she couldn’t have killed him.

The rules of the Hundred Wraith Union are very strict. It’s absolutely unacceptable for assassins belonging to the Hundred Wraith Union to take another member’s life without a legitimate reason.

Even an assassin belonging to the top ten is not exempted from this rule. So that includes Hong Ye-seol. She couldn’t kill Dark Ghost life just because she found out he was following her.

‘Then if it’s not Hong Ye-seol…’

There was only one person left.

‘Could it be Pyo-wol?’

Heuk-ho’s face became distorted.

He didn’t have any other person in mind except for him.

If Dark Ghost was really attacked by Pyo-wol then it’s a big problem.

‘But even then, if Dark Ghost’s been killed, he wouldn’t have just been helpless.’

As assassins, it was in their instinct to leave evidence about their opponents no matter the circumstances.

If Dark Ghost managed to escape, then he would most likely go to this place and leave behind a coded message. 

But no matter how much Heuk-ho looked, he could not see any messages written by Dark Ghost at all. No, there are actually some. But those messages were something he wrote way before he was in contact with Heuk-ho.

After looking at the wall for a while, Heuk-ho suddenly noticed that there was a spot that looked as if a piece of writing had been erased.

The other places are fine. Only this particular area had traces of writing. It looked as if it had been rubbed with something.

Heuk-ho took a closer look and channelled qi to his eyes, trying to enhance his vision. However, no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn’t tell what was previously written on the erased area.

‘Did Dark Ghost leave this behind?’

Heuk-ho touched the wall with his finger. The force behind his touch was enough to leave a mark. 

Goosebumps suddenly crawled up Heuk-ho’s spine.

He suddenly thought,

‘What if Dark Ghost was really attacked by that guy here?’

Just imagining it was already terrifying. 

Heuk-ho hurriedly looked around. Then, he saw bloodstains around the area. Although the blood had dried and become black, it couldn’t have been older than a day or two.

Furthermore, the amount of blood couldn’t have come from killing Dark Ghost’s alone. Only when at least a dozen people have been killed could this amount of bloodstains remain.

Kkiic!

At that moment, the door of a nearby mansion opened and a man who appeared to be a servant came out. 

Heuk-ho hurriedly approached the man and asked,

“Did something happen here yesterday? Or the day before yesterday?”

“W, Why do you ask that?”

Instead of explaining, Heuk-ho pointed a dagger to the man’s neck.

“Just answer my question.”

“Eek! T-The night before yesterday, warriors of the Golden Mountain Manor were murdered here.”

“The Golden Mountain Manor?”

“Yes! More than 10 people died near that wall. But the Golden Mountain Manor warriors had already collected the bodies.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I’m telling you, there’s no one around here who doesn’t know that.”

The man replied, blood drained from his face. 

He was just an ordinary man. His liver is not big enough for him to lie when he’s being threatened with a dagger at his neck.

He relayed to Heuk-ho exactly what the Golden Mountain Manor warriors said while collecting the body.

As soon as the man finished speaking, Heuk-ho disappeared like a ghost.

He literally disappeared right in front of the man’s eyes.

“Hiiik! It’s a ghost!”

The man scrambled and ran back to the mansion.

Heuk-ho didn’t pay any more attention to the man. He just proceeded to jump over the fence and headed for the Golden Mountain Manor.

The Golden Mountain Manor is not that far from the man’s mansion. 

It only took him a few minutes to arrive.

Even with the numerous warriors standing guard all over the Golden Mountain Manor, no one managed to notice Heuk-ho’s presence.

After looking around the manor for a while, Heuk-ho soon found a warehouse. Two warriors actually stood guard in front of the warehouse, but Heuk-ho still managed to successfully sneak in without being detected.

There were dozens of dead bodies piled up in the warehouse.

He assumed that all of them were warriors responsible for escorting Geum Suryeon.

The faces of the warriors were all stained with blood, making it difficult to recognize their original appearance. Furthermore, their faces started to swell because their bodies started to decompose. 

For that reason, the Golden Mountain Manor could not distinguish their identities. They could only store their bodies in the warehouse.

Heuk-ho examined the faces of the corpses one by one.

The Golden Mountain Manor’s warriors didn’t have the confidence to inspect the dead bodies of their colleagues, so they skipped it, but Heuk-ho was different.

This kind of work isn’t enough to faze him at all. 

He examined the features of the corpses closely.

“Hoo…”

When he finished examining the last corpse, Heuk-ho let out a sigh.

The last body was the most horribly mutilated corpse.

The face was disfigured beyond recognition, and its abdomen was split long causing its intestines to leak out. 

However, Heuk-ho recognized the identity of the body at once.

“Dark Ghost!”

This was clearly the corpse of Dark Ghost.

Dark Ghost, who had been missing for a while, was found among the corpses of the Golden Mountain Manor warriors.

Heuk-ho couldn’t understand the current situation.

“What the hell happened? Why is Dark Ghost’s body here?”

Dark Ghost clearly moved on his own. There was no reason for him to be with the men of the Golden Mountain Manor. Him being with the Golden Mountain Manor meant that he had a  point of contact with them somewhere.

“Wait, if all the warriors who escorted Geum Suryeon are here… Then who is the man who carried and brought her to the Snow Sword Manor?”

In an instant, goosebumps ran through his whole body.

The worst possible scenario came to his mind.

“No way—?”

* * *

Ice Slayer’s residence is a small house far away from the attendant’s office. 

He stayed in an area near the residences where the workers who built the Snow Sword Manor stayed. Most of the houses were already demolished after the construction of the Snow Sword Manor, but among the few which still remained, they were used as lodgings for the workers.

Lee Yul initially offered Ice Slayer a good residence to stay in, but the latter refused.

His reason being that staying in a comfortable place would dull his nerves. Only when he stays in an uncomfortable place would he feel like his nerves become sharper and his senses become more awakened.

In that respect, the small house where he is currently staying is perfect.

Ice Slayer sat cross-legged while sharpening his weapon.

His weapon is a long spear. Unlike most assassins who usually prefer short weapons such as daggers, he preferred a long weapon. 

His spear is made of ice crystals that can only be found in the depths of the North Sea. 

The spear could be said to be a work of art in itself. The entire spear is colorless to the point that it’s almost transparent. It would be difficult to distinguish its shape not unless the person looking at it focused their eyes on it. 

In broad daylight, it even has the effect of reflecting sunlight, which could dazzle and blinding his opponent.

Ice Slayer carefully polished his spear.

His spear had the property of becoming even more transparent the more he polished it, so he had no choice but to take special care of it on a regular basis.

Although this series of processes is cumbersome, Ice Slayer was willing to spend time mending his spear.

It wasn’t long before a satisfied smile appeared on Ice Slayer’s lips. The corners of his mouth might have only risen a little, but this was already a rare case of Ice Slayer showing such emotion.

After he repaired his spear, all that remained was for him to wait.

He signed a contract with Lee Yul and entered the Snow Sword Manor.

He thought he would be put on a mission soon, but he was suddenly asked to be on standby. Something must have happened but they didn’t bother to tell him. 

But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t the kind of person in the first place who cared too much about such external factors. He only cares about accomplishing own mission. 

‘He’ll call me when the time comes.’

Ice Slayer thought as he leaned his back against the wall.

The cold wall woke him up. He liked this tension.

Ice Slayer touched the blade of his spear with his fingertips.

Just a slight touch was enough to cut his skin.

A  satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

But then,

“Hiic!”

He suddenly let out a choking sound.

Something was tightening around his neck.

‘What–?’

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, his body reacted automatically. 

He swung his spear and cut off the object that was strangling him.

Ting!

What was cut by his blade was a thread so thin that it was barely visible.

‘Thread?’

Ice Slayer frowned.

Using a thread like this is an assassin’s method of ambush.

An assassin has come for him. 

‘But who—?’

Ice Slayer was not even given time to get the answer to his question.

Ciiit!

He heard a terrifying sound coming from the ceiling.

Ice Slayer instinctively swung his spear to protect his body.

Tititing!

He felt something hit his blade.

It was such a subtle sensation that he would never have heard it if he hadn’t been paying close attention. The feeling was too weak to be considered a weapon like a sword.

‘What?’

Cwarreuk!

At that moment, the object that hit his spear came up coiling around his spear like a snake.

‘Thread?’

Ice Slayer’s eyes widened.

The object that entwined around his spear and ascended at terrifying speed was clearly thread. 

But it was not an ordinary thread. 

It was a thread made of qi. 

The qi thread is going for his hand holding the spear.

“Haap!”

Ice Slayer tried to protect his hand by using his internal energy. But the thread made of qi pierced his hand like a snake digging into tofu. 

“Keuk!”

Ice Slayer let out a groan without realizing it.

Ciiit!

In an instant, two more threads flew through the darkness. Both were also made out of qi.

‘Oh! Is it like sword qi?’

Ice Slayer’s eyes widened.

He tried to protect himself by swinging his spear, but he couldn’t move because of the thread that pierced his hand.

In the next moment, the qi that flew through the darkness pierced his forehead and heart at the same time.

Ice Slayer couldn’t even scream. 

He couldn’t believe that he had been ambushed by another assassin. He wasn’t even given the chance to counterattack and wield his main weapon properly.

The fact that he had died without being able to do anything was shocking and absurd.

‘Who the hell—?’

His mind was slowly becoming hazy. 

Since his heart and brain had been pierced, his death was only a matter of time. But he still wanted to know who was responsible for killing him so easily before he died.

Squeak!

At that moment, someone quietly descended from the ceiling.

A black shadow landed on the floor without a sound. He was like a serpent descending a pillar. The unknown figure started to approach him.

Ice Slayer gathered his last strength to keep his eyes open.

Buddeuk!

He could see the face of the black shadow changing.

The sound of bones and muscles cracking as it rearrange itself echoed in the room. He could see how the appearance of the person quickly changed into another person’s face.

‘Oh my god!’

The moment he saw the new appearance of the person, Ice Slayer’s mouth gaped.

The face the black shadow had changed into resembled his own face.

The sight of his own face looking down at him was terrifying.

‘What are you going to do with my face…?’

However, Ice Slayer’s question never came out of his mouth. 

He had already stopped breathing.

Ice Slayer passed away without being able to hear the answer to his question.

The black shadow put Ice Slayer’s body into the closet.

After that, he sat quietly in the seat where Ice Slayer had been sitting.

The appearance of him sitting cross-legged with a spear on his knee was the same as that of Ice Slayer when he was alive.

Just like that, another Ice Slayer took his place.