The Price of Pain

“I survived my entire life on the suffering of others, and in the end, I met the most miserable death as its price.”

Cough!

Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs seeped into the stone floor. The Torture Chamber, located deep underground within the Murim Alliance, exuded its usual unpleasant chill. My limbs were bound by chains, and a thick iron collar was clamped around my neck.

Heh heh... Cough.

They've severed the tendons in my wrists and ankles, so why go to such lengths? It's not like I'm even thinking of escaping anyway. A laugh escaped me for no reason, though it soon stopped due to the pain of my insides being seared by fire.

Thump- thump-

Footsteps echoed from the darkness.

There was a familiar presence.

Creak-

The rusty iron door creaked open, and a middle-aged man, looking like a dignified scholar, entered.

How is it? How does it feel to be in the seat yourself, after always putting others there?

I barely managed to look up at the man, enduring the pain as I asked.

Why... why are you doing this?

It was a question laden with many meanings. The man's lips curled into a smirk.

"Does the reason matter?" "You saved me when I was on the verge of death, brought me here, and made me who I am today. So why now..."

Was that so? It's been so long; my memory is hazy.

The man slumped into a chair, filled a pipe with herbs, and lit it.

As the thin smoke and its unique pungent aroma entered my nose, I felt the pain subside, if only slightly.

Didn't you say I was capable? Didn't you say I was essential to the Alliance?" "I certainly did."

It was in the past tense.

*I was prepared, but still, I had a bad feeling.*

No, let me correct myself. It's less about being capable and more about being unique. What's the difference?

There is, of course. Number Twenty-Eight, strictly speaking, your Martial Arts talent wasn't particularly impressive, especially compared to the other Shadow Agents of your cohort.

I had nothing to say, and the intensifying pain made it impossible to open my mouth. As if it didn't matter, the man—no, Je Galgeon, the Strategist of the Murim Alliance—continued speaking silently. As if in a monologue.

Completing the Black Shadow Tower, which trains the Alliance's Shadow Agents, is by no means an easy feat.

He wasn't wrong. Out of the hundred who entered with me, only five remained until the end. What happened to the rest? Half died during training, and the other half either took their own lives or were murdered by one of their classmates.

Indeed, the training process of the Black Shadow Tower was inhumane for a child to endure, and utterly brutal.

But you survived. , always defying my calculations and predictions.

Je Galgeon, having discarded the burnt-out pipe, gazed intently at me.

How did a child who should have been discarded survive? I grew curious. From then on, I began to observe you. Cough, for a Strategist of the Murim Alliance to take notice of a mere interrogator... should I call it an honor?

As I kept watching you, something eventually became clear because you were that unique.

Je Galgeon slowly rose from his seat and circled around.

*I was already dizzy, and now I feel even dizzier.*

During the poisonous fog training, most rushed into the right valley, but you veered left without hesitation. Half of those who went right died from venomous insect bites. And that's not all, is it? During the jumping training, you alone stepped onto a rock barely an inch away, as if you knew the ground would collapse.

Je Galgeon stopped, squatted down, and met my gaze.

Could all of this truly be a coincidence?

I swallowed the rising blood and glared at him.

Coincidence or not, I passed the trials fairly and lived with pride as a Shadow Agent of the Alliance. If you told me to bark like a dog, I barked. If you told me to pluck out someone's eyes, I did so without hesitation. I, who have toiled like a dog my entire life under you! Haa... Haa. Is this how I deserve to be treated...?

As I spoke, a sudden surge of anger welled up within me. After I overcame death's door and completed the Black Shadow Tower, the first place I was assigned was the Assassination Squad. The work was simple. Literally, I just had to track someone down to the end and kill them.

But after just five years, I was unexpectedly transferred to the Surveillance Department. It was a very unusual case, so much so that everyone tilted their heads in confusion. But I moved without complaint. It was a solemn order from the Alliance.

The Surveillance Department's mission wasn't difficult either. It was simply about acquiring useful information for our allies. However, the level of danger was dozens of times higher than during my time in the Assassination Squad. It was natural, given that I was infiltrating the heart of enemy territory.

I wondered if you could possibly survive there too? It was a whim, sent out of pure curiosity, but I was truly surprised that you could last ten years without dying. Then why didn't you just keep me as an Informant? Why send me to a place like this again?

After ten years, the Alliance's order was to replace the vacant interrogator position. For countless nights, I sat people in chairs and subjected them to mechanical torture. The countless screams, like wails of ghosts, flashed through my ears.

As I glared intently, Je Galgeon let out a small laugh.

"I thought your talents would be more useful here." "What do you mean..."

"Did you think I didn't know, Number Twenty-Eight, about your method of extracting information?"

"..."

Even now, I find it absurd. To think you'd extract information through torture. And in the heart of enemy territory, no less. Should I call it audacious, or reckless?

If I were to make an excuse, it was unavoidable. I had suddenly become an Informant after being an Assassination Squad member; what knowledge could I possibly have? With the heavy pressure to perform, I had no other choice.

Still, deep down, I was confident. Because I could inflict terrible pain on an opponent without leaving a trace with the Acupoint Martial Arts Scripture I had painstakingly learned.

In any case, didn't you truly blossom thanks to me? You even earned the excessive title of Blood Interrogator, despite being just an interrogator. But now I'm being discarded like a hunting dog after the hunt.

Don't take it too hard. When times change, shouldn't people change too?

Why are times suddenly changing?

We've signed a truce with the Evil Dao Alliance, and they requested your head.

The Evil Dao Alliance was a confederation of heterodox sects that had been at war with the Murim Alliance for fifty years.

You should have been more moderate, then. How desperate must they have been to demand your head, even at a loss to themselves. Tsk tsk.

His clicking tongue almost made me let out a bitter laugh.

*He was frothing at the mouth, telling me to break people worse than cripples, and now he's trying to distance himself.*

Still, it's quite impressive. They say even Peak Masters spill everything they know, tears and snot flowing, in front of you, don't they? What's your secret? I am curious.

When I merely glared without a word, Je Galgeon shrugged.

Anyway, you've suffered enough. Your stubborn luck will end here. But isn't it fortunate that you have no family to mourn your disappearance?

I closed my eyes tightly at Je Galgeon's mocking voice. My home was poor but warm. On rainy days, Mother always made warm, steaming tangbyeong (soup cakes) for me. Father, returning from farm work, would brush the dirt from his hands and stroke my head.

It took less than an instant for such peaceful daily life to shatter. Masked assailants brutally massacred the villagers, and my father and mother could not escape their blades either. Hidden inside a chest meant for storing grain, I witnessed every scene with my own eyes.

When the world collapsed around me, Murim Alliance warriors appeared, defeated the threats, and saved me.

They gave food to me, who was starving, gave me a new name, and gave me a reason to live.

Although it was a life that increasingly distanced me from ordinary humanity, I thought it was fine. Because it was work for the Alliance that had saved me from hell.

It was the same now. Though I was being discarded like a hunting dog after the hunt, if this too was for the Alliance, I could humbly accept death.

*Isn't this a fitting death for a bastard who inflicted terrible pain on countless people?*

However, I did wish to share a warm bowl of tangbyeong with my parents, whose faces were now blurry. It was a meaningless fantasy, though.

Clang-

I lifted my head, and a gleaming blade came into view.

Before you die, shall I tell you an interesting truth?

Je Galgeon, sitting in the chair and caressing the blade, narrowed his eyes.

"Those assailants who attacked your village that day... Why do you think they did what they did there?" "That's obviously because the Evil Dao Alliance carried out a senseless massacre..."

Even heterodox sects don't cause such bloodbaths without reason. There's little to gain from it." "What are you... trying to say?"

An unpleasant, chilling premonition swept over me.

Around that time, we received a piece of information that an item appearing to be the treasure map of the Thousand-Hand Thief was discovered.

The Thousand-Hand Thief was a great bandit active in a previous era, rumored to be able to steal anything in the world.

I didn't think it was real at first. If I had, I would have immediately deployed my personal guard. Not the Search Squad, which reports directly to the Alliance Leader. What are you... saying now?

I tried to remain as calm as possible, but I couldn't stop my voice from trembling.

Haha, what can be done? Treasure is always bound to call forth blood.

His clear laughter echoed in the basement, but I heard nothing at that moment.

This is my small gift for you, who have dedicated yourself to the Alliance all this time. Isn't it too regrettable to die without knowing anything?

From beginning to end... I was thoroughly used. As I realized that truth, blood flowed like tears. The strange thing was that the blood didn't feel hot, but cold.

Unbearable rage boiled within me, but soon, a sense of futility washed over me.

*I had joined the Alliance to avenge my parents, but it turned out I had been loyal to their very enemies.*

There was no farce quite like this farce.

Now, farewell. I will make good use of your head.

Je Galgeon's voice was chillingly calm. As always, it was the tone of someone whose calculations were complete.

He approached. The knife was raised, and a chilling sensation drew closer to my neck.

In that fleeting moment between life and death, I smiled.

Very faintly, so faintly that no one would notice.

The only finger that wasn't broken moved imperceptibly.

Whoosh-

A needle thinner than a strand of hair pierced Je Galgeon's forehead. Startled, he stumbled back, touching his forehead. Soon, realizing it was just a harmless needle, he sneered.

Such a petty trick...

His expression then froze like stone. His eyes shook violently. His complexion turned mottled red and blue, as if painted.

Wh-what is this?

A flustered Je Galgeon stammered.

*It's quite satisfying to see the guy who always pretended to be dignified babbling like an idiot.*

Guhok.

Before he could finish speaking, his body collapsed. Then, his bones melted, his flesh turned to liquid, and he became a handful of bloody water, spreading across the damp stone floor.

Cough. You told me yourself that a Martial Artist should always have a trump card...

I spat out another clot of crimson blood.

*This is not good. A clear sign that my life is almost over.*

*Still, I had no regrets, as I could take one companion with me on my way out.*

Haa...

I poured all my remaining strength into scanning my surroundings. The Underground Torture Chamber was located in the deepest, most secret part of the Murim Alliance.

Walls discolored by seeping blood, drains caked black with dried blood.

*S-stop!!! Stop it!! Please!!*

*Just kill me!! Please kill me!!! You demon!!!*

Desperate screams, sorrowful wails.

Even though I knew they were hallucinations, I didn't try to shake them off.

*Because I didn't deserve to.*

Among those dragged here, there were innocent, good people. But I had to inflict the same pain on them until the desired answers emerged. That was the Alliance's command, and foolishly, I blindly believed that following it was justice.

Therefore, I felt no injustice about meeting this end.

Haa... Haa...

My breath grew shallow, and my vision blurred.

The edges of the basement gradually blurred, like ink spreading in water.

I deserve to fall into hell. I will gladly accept any punishment. I was never a person who deserved salvation. Every day I lived like an insect proved that fact.

Sounds gradually faded, and the world slowly turned black.

Then, the blurry faces of my father and mother gradually became clear. They had such warm smiles. A smile unconsciously formed on my lips.

And so, the world was completely enveloped in black.

***

Hey! *Fuck*, I think he's screwed? This bastard isn't breathing.

And when I regained consciousness.

What are you talking about, you idiot? His eyes are wide open and perfectly fine.

A few boys, none of whom looked old enough to be adults, were looking down at me.