Chapter 145
"Good grief. What are they up to now? As if we weren't busy enough! And they're not even children."
The one-eyed man grumbled as he headed somewhere.
Soon, he arrived at the lodgings of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit.
He had come looking for the members of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit, who hadn't shown their faces since morning.
He was one of the instructors who usually guided the martial arts of the Black Gate Thirteenth and Twelfth Units, known for his particularly fierce temperament.
The Black Gate Thirteenth Unit's daily routine wasn't strictly enforced.
But even so, there were a few occasions they absolutely had to attend.
Today's schedule was one of those.
That's why he had come looking for them like this.
"Are you in there? If you are, come out at once!"
He pounded on the door of the lodgings and shouted in an irritated voice.
However, there was no response from inside.
Ha, surely they couldn't still be sleeping?
The thought that they might actually be doing just that made the man's face crumple.
The Black Gate Thirteenth Unit had done something like this once before.
They had drunk heavily the night before and slept through the entire next day, missing an event where the entire Black Gate was supposed to gather.
"I've never seen such irresponsible fools."
He had really given them hell that day, but for them to do this again now really made the man's blood boil.
There was a limit to how much they could act on their own.
Thoroughly annoyed, the man flung open the door and stepped inside.
At that moment,
"Ugh!"
The first thing that hit him was the pungent smell of blood that stung his nose.
His eyes widened.
"W-what is this?"
It extends from the entrance of the lodgings to the hallway and each room.
Everything was covered in blood.
The man, momentarily stunned, hurried inside the lodgings.
Hoping there might be survivors, he frantically opened every door he came across, but all he found were corpses.
And the state of those corpses...
The man's eyes shook violently.
It was when he flung open the last door.
"Oh my."
He involuntarily took a step back.
There was another corpse in there too.
But unlike the other bodies that were simply dried up, this one was not only desiccated but also torn to shreds, so horrific it was hard to look at.
He too had cut down countless people in his life.
Naturally, seeing dead bodies was something he was very accustomed to.
But even he felt nauseous at the utterly horrific state of this corpse.
Who on earth could have done such a thing!
He hurried to go outside to report this fact.
At that moment, someone appeared with a swish.
"Who's there?"
The one-eyed man cried out in alarm and quickly drew his sword.
But the other person just silently laughed at his reaction.
"You are..."
The man's eyes, which had shown surprise for a moment, soon narrowed.
Looking at the state of the corpses, he had guessed, but seeing the person before him, he became certain.
It was a familiar face.
This was a man who was soon to be expelled from the Black Gate.
But his appearance was subtly different from just yesterday.
He knew what that appearance meant.
Demonization.
He had to know.
It had once caused quite a stir in the Demonic Alliance, after all.
But also...
Damn it.
The one-eyed man raised his sword more sharply towards the other person while scanning his surroundings.
He had to stop this somehow.
Or at least escape and report what had happened here.
"What exactly happened? What in the world occurred here?"
The man asked, deliberately trying to create an opening.
At his words, the demonized person tilted his head.
"What happened? Ah, that. Kekeke. Something very pleasant happened."
"You..."
It was a smile so chilling it sent shivers down his spine.
He clearly seemed to be out of his mind.
The one-eyed man asked, exuding a fierce aura.
"Was this your doing?"
"What if it was?"
At those words, the one-eyed man's eyes narrowed.
It was as good as a confession.
"You know that killing your comrades is grounds for immediate execution, don't you?"
"So you're saying you'll kill me? Someone like you?"
"Ha. You've completely lost it!"
"Lost it. Lost it, you say. Kekeke. Yes, perhaps I have gone mad. Kekeke."
The demonized person clutched his stomach, his shoulders shaking.
Seeing him cackling as if it was truly hilarious, the one-eyed man flashed his eyes.
This was his chance.
As the demon laughed, showing his back as if the man wasn't even worth considering, the one-eyed man instantly gripped his sword and charged.
But perhaps he should have made a different choice.
The man's sword flashed.
Without hesitation, the assassin's blade emerged from his hand as if there was nothing more to see.
His sword rushed towards the other's neck.
And the sensation on the blade.
This should have been the end.
But,
His sharply swung sword failed to cut the other's neck at all.
It wasn't that the blade was blocked; it simply couldn't inflict even a scratch on the other's body.
What devilry was this?
He cried out with a bewildered face.
"H-how?"
"How? I've been chosen, that's how. Now then, die. Keke."
He twisted his head grotesquely and opened his mouth wide.
It was absolutely not the appearance of a normal human.
Teeth that had somehow become protruding like those of a beast were now ferociously aimed at the one-eyed man.
"Aaaaargh!"
But no one heard his scream.
There was no one left in the lodgings.
Crunch, crunch.
Soon, the life faded from his eyes and his body shriveled up horribly.
His body became just like the corpse lying in the corner of the room.
"Kekeke. Sweet, so sweet. To think blood could be this sweet. And such power coursing through my body. Good, good."
The eyes of the demonized man glinted.
"Yes. I've been chosen. So... it's alright if I kill them all, right? Hm?"
"Of course you can kill them all. From those White Wolf Unit bastards who made you like this to all the other Demonic Alliance scum, slaughter them all. Keke."
"The thought of being drenched in their blood excites me so."
The man was muttering as if talking to himself.
His mind was already completely collapsing, but unaware of this, he simply trembled with immense pleasure and cackled.
"Well then. Shall we go?"
Soon, he licked the blood smeared all over his mouth and headed out of the lodgings.
The night was deep.
Tomorrow is already the day they will leave the Demonic Alliance and return to the Hebei Peng Family.
During their stay, the White Wolf Unit received good treatment from the Demonic Alliance without much incident, better than expected.
It was almost to the point of wondering if it was alright.
There had been one commotion regarding the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit, but that too seemed to have been well resolved at the level of Ghost Eye Demonic Lord Ma Se-ak.
It was unexpected.
Judging by their first impression of Ma Se-ak, they had thought he might use that incident to cause a big fuss.
Well, it was fortunate that no further issues had arisen.
Anyway, the night in the Demonic Alliance was brighter than ever.
The Black Emperor had thrown a final banquet for the White Wolf Unit.
And unlike before when only the Black Emperor and the White Wolf Unit had dined together, this was a grand banquet attended by all the major figures of the Demonic Alliance.
It was truly a bold decision.
They had heard there was already considerable dissatisfaction both internally and externally about inviting the White Wolf Unit to the Demonic Alliance, yet he had made such a decision.
What could he be thinking?
Why go to such lengths?
"It's probably confidence."
"Confidence?"
As the White Wolf Unit members murmured in confusion about the Black Emperor's decision to hold this gathering, Yeo Un-hwi nodded with a smile.
The predictable mindset that the Demonic Alliance should be this way or that way.
That mindset might be the greatest shackle for the Demonic Alliance Leader.
But the Black Emperor had made his decision as if such things weren't important at all.
As if to show off.
Perhaps he thought he himself was the Demonic Alliance.
"...Wow. That's really incredible confidence."
"But it's not wrong either. He's not one of the Twelve Venerables of the World for nothing."
"That's right. He's truly an amazing figure, in many ways."
Watching the White Wolf Unit members all clicking their tongues in amazement, Yeo Un-hwi let out a small sigh.
Such confidence often tired out those around him.
Well, it was still a gesture of goodwill.
And knowing there was no falsehood in that goodwill, they could only laugh it off.
Above all, it was their last night.
It was then.
"Hahaha! My, aren't you all flattering this old man's face too much? Hm?"
Someone appeared, bursting into laughter.
It was Black Emperor Dokgo Yeong.
He waved his hand and said,
"To begin with, I'm not the type to move while considering many angles. I just thought it would be fine to arrange a gathering like this on the last night. Haha."
Above all, with himself, the Black Emperor, present, no one would dare to pick a fight with the White Wolf Unit openly, and it would be good if there were a nice exchange between those who came to this banquet and the White Wolf Unit, but if not, that would be fine too.
He was literally doing as he pleased.
At Dokgo Yeong's words, Yeo Un-hwi shook his head and said,
"That's what we call overflowing with confidence."
"Ah. Is that so? Hahaha!"
For some reason, a hint of regret could be felt in Dokgo Yeong's hearty laughter.
"Anyway, enjoy the banquet to your heart's content tonight. I'll be bothering you a bit later, so be prepared."
"Please make sure we can depart on time tomorrow."
"Well, if need be, you could stay a few more days. I'd welcome it anytime."
"I'll politely decline."
"You must be the only one who so firmly rejects my offers."
"I'm honored."
"My, aren't you shameless. Haha."
Dokgo Yeong laughed heartily as he patted Yeo Un-hwi's back, then moved away.
He thought that if he stayed by their side the whole time, no one would dare approach the White Wolf Unit.
Honestly, it seemed like a pointless thing to do, but it gave some insight into what kind of Demonic Alliance Dokgo Yeong desired.
"I've felt this since we first met him, but he really doesn't seem very Demonic Faction-like."
Do-gyeong cautiously spoke up.
The other White Wolf Unit members nodded at her words.
He was truly a peculiar person.
Sometimes, looking at him quietly, one might wonder if he really belonged to the Demonic Faction, but then again, no one suited the Demonic Faction better than Dokgo Yeong.
Everyone's thoughts deepened for a moment.
What does it mean to be Demonic Faction-like? And what does it mean to be Orthodox Faction-like?
Honestly, until now they had thought it was a standard for distinguishing good guys from bad guys.
But they were starting to think that might not be the case.
"Everyone tends to misunderstand that way."
In fact, Yeo Un-hwi knew better than anyone.
Not everyone in the Demonic Faction was rotten, and not everyone in the Orthodox Faction was good.
He had learned it painfully through experience before his regression.
Yeo Un-hwi clapped his hands once.
There was no easy answer to be found by thinking deeply about such things here and now.
"Anyway, since it's our last night, everyone enjoy the banquet. We have a long journey ahead of us starting tomorrow."
If it were just Yeo Un-hwi alone, it wouldn't take that long, but he couldn't move ahead leaving the White Wolf Unit behind just because he missed his family.
"However, anyone who gets drunk and makes a spectacle of themselves had better be prepared. I've been wanting to try out a certain hell training, and that person will be the first test subject."
"Yes..."
The entire White Wolf Unit shuddered.
Yeo Un-hwi's smiling face couldn't have looked more terrifying to the White Wolf Unit.
And so everyone dispersed to enjoy the final banquet.
As they filled their stomachs with delicious food and drink, the somewhat tense atmosphere began to loosen.
Still, no one had approached to speak with the White Wolf Unit yet.
But it wasn't a bad night.
It was then,
"Aaaaargh!"
Suddenly, a scream rang out from somewhere.
A terribly horrific scream.