Book 11: Chapter 24: Carving Flesh and Shaving Bone

"Keuheheok?!"

With a death throe scream, the last Institution warrior resisting in the yard of the Institution's headquarters collapsed.

Chalang.

Along with an eerie metallic sound, the sword that ended his breath spun once in the air and returned to its owner, Life-Snatching Ghost Sword. "……"

With this.

The enemy's main force was as good as crushed, but.

Neither Life-Snatching Ghost Sword.

Nor his colleagues, the Special Task Force members, let out any cheers of victory.

"Tui."

Spitting on the armor of the fallen Institution warrior, one Special Task Force member took a cigarette from his chest pocket and bit it. "……"

Although splashed with the blood of its dead master.

The heavy armor, the symbol of the Institution, still reflected the bonfire grandly in silver.

The hand of the Special Task Force member lighting the cigarette was trembling faintly.

"…You have worked hard."

Command Warrior Myeong of the Institution approached such a Special Task Force member and greeted him with clasped hands.

"Forget such words."

The white-haired Special Task Force member shook his head with a bitter gaze and looked at Myeong.

"You are the one who is going through a lot of trouble."

At the opponent's comfort and empathy conveyed in those short words. "……"

Myeong clenched his lips tightly inside his blood-splattered mask. "……"

Not only him, but those who rose with Myeong kept their mouths firmly shut.

What filled the surroundings.

Were the corpses of the Institution's brothers who had been like family.

And what was burning here and there was their headquarters, which was like home.

"Damn it…!"

An Institution warrior, unable to bear it, spat out a curse and turned his gaze to the sky.

Among those who lay dead, there were all too many familiar faces.

"Stupid bastards!"

A tearful voice leaked from between his clenched teeth.

"Why, blinded by power…!"

Though it was a victory.

It was by no means a victory that could be enjoyed.

The honor of the Institution, which had been the pride of the Sword Family symbolized by the silver heavy armor, had fallen to the ground.

And for them to regain that honor.

It would take more time in the future than simply recovering from the human and material damage suffered today.

"Thank you for the comfort, but."

Forcing himself to regain composure, Myeong raised his head.

"…It is not over yet."

At a glance, it could sound like 'the Institution is not finished yet.'

'We can rise again,' or something like that, but.

"Still."

However.

It was far from a hopeful story.

"The enemy leadership remains inside the headquarters. We must deal with them all before they can make a move."

It meant that there were still brothers of the Institution to kill.

There were still family members of the Sword Family to kill.

"First. We blockade the secret escape routes and surround the headquarters—" the Special Task Force member shook his head.

"It's no use talking to me about strategy or tactics. I am merely a warrior."

"Then, to whom—" it was Life-Snatching Ghost Sword's shout that cut off Myeong's words.

"Special Task Force! The next order has come down from the Elders' Hall!"

His characteristic ringing voice resounded in the yard filled with corpses.

"From now on, we will carry out a complete blockade of the Institution's headquarters! Let the group leaders of each squad report their personnel and check their missions!"

"Senior Life-Snatching Ghost Sword!"

Myeong hurriedly approached Life-Snatching Ghost Sword, who was passing along the instructions received from the Elders' Hall here and there.

"Blockade is good, but we must suppress the inside right now!"

Myeong suggested in an urgent voice.

"There will be many escape methods in this Institution's headquarters known only to the very top! So we must enter the headquarters right away!"

"There is no need for that."

At Life-Snatching Ghost Sword's firm reply, Myeong was bewildered.

"Why is that—?"

Life-Snatching Ghost Sword answered briefly while checking the directive received from the Elders' Hall.

"Because the person who must go is already inside the headquarters."

"The person who must go, you say?"

the Elders' Hall's directive that Life-Snatching Ghost Sword looked at in the light of the bonfire was already messed up with the blood on his hands.

"Yes."

At any rate, the transmission of the order was finished.

Spatting a brief curse, Life-Snatching Ghost Sword threw the directive into the bonfire.

"Indeed, the person who has the right to call them to account for their sins."

The directive burned up with futile ease, scattering as a handful of ash.

* * *

Inside the headquarters of the Institution.

"Is the secured escape route still not ready?!"

The situation room located in the innermost part of the Institution's headquarters was in utter chaos.

"M-My apologies! The personnel presumed to be the Special Task Force are securing the escape routes too quickly…!"

"Does that make sense?!"

The Deputy Director of the Institution.

The second-in-command of the Institution was screaming at the top of his lungs, veins bulging in his neck.

"How can those bastards secure our Institution's secret escape routes so quickly?!"

"W-We don't know either! At every secret escape route we check, the Special Task Force is already waiting…!"

"We suspect that those who oppose our great cause have passed information to the enemy!"

"These damn bastards!"

The Deputy Director slammed his fist on his desk.

"To blab the organization's secrets so easily to others, these traitors…!"

In this situation, who was calling whom a traitor?

"And just under what authority is the Elders' Hall interfering in the affairs of the Main Family?!"

"…Deputy Director."

One of the subordinates in charge of document processing spoke carefully.

"By the Sword Family Code, in a crisis situation of the Main Family, the Elders' Hall can intervene on its own judgment—" the Deputy Director, his beard bristling, was trembling all over as he vented his rage in all directions.

"Does that mean the noble decision we made for the future of the organization is something that threatens the safety of the Main Family?!"

"I-It's not that, but…!"

"What on earth is the Second Young Master's side doing?! Even if they have to move the elders, shouldn't they put a brake on the outrages of the Elders' Hall?!"

"According to the last contact from the Second Young Master's side before the encirclement…"

[Director.] the secretary of the Director of the Institution, who had been sitting in his seat, keeping silent and watching the situation, sent him a transmission.

[The situation is not good.] the Director replied via transmission.

[…I know.] in fact, the situation had long been heading toward the worst.

That the Elders' Hall made a military intervention through the Special Task Force was a secondary issue.

'In the first place, from the moment the Supreme Executive Council got wind of it, the plan was as good as heavily derailed.'

The Director clenched his fists out of sight of his subordinates.

'Even to this day, long after you died, are you still blocking my future like this…!'

The final conversation with the former Director of the Institution suddenly flashed in his mind.

"Cough, cough!"

With a sword stabbed in his back.

Even in the situation where his breath was fading away.

"Although for now, it seems the Institution falls into your hands like this."

The former Director had glared at him with burning eyes.

"Do not forget that 'that person' resides in this Sword Family…!"

That day.

That day was the day he stabbed the former Director in the back.

"That person will eventually find you…!"

The Director clenched his teeth.

Those words left by the dying former Director were binding him like a curse even now.

At that moment.

"Deputy Director!"

An Institution warrior who rushed into the situation room reported in an urgent voice.

"An emergency request for support has come from the second floor of the headquarters' main building!"

"Haven't we already supported the second floor with two commander warriors?!"

Commander warrior was a position that could only be held by those who had crossed the wall.

If there were two experts, it was more than the entire force of most small-to-medium sects.

Furthermore, since there was already one commander warrior acting as the person in charge of the second-floor defensive line.

Did that not mean three experts had been deployed to the second-floor defensive line?

"Did you not say the Special Task Force bastards are still in the middle of forming the blockade, let alone rushing into the main building?!"

"T-That is so, but…!"

The Deputy Director, his eyes red, screamed.

"Just how many guys invaded that they couldn't suppress them even after making such a fuss?!"

"W-Well. That is information that I also judged required re-verification after receiving the report—" the subordinate closed his eyes tightly and shouted.

"How many?!"

"The enemy who infiltrated the main building is one! Or at most two, they say!"

The Deputy Director doubted his ears.

* * *

The commander warrior who was commanding the second-floor defensive line of the main building doubted his eyes.

"What on earth…?!"

On the floor, fallen subordinates were already filling the hallway.

Now, the only ones remaining were himself, who had been commanding the defensive line, and the two commander warriors who came as support.

In effect, excluding the remaining of them.

The defensive line inside the Institution's headquarters was as good as collapsed.

"Why are you here?!"

Above their corpses, an 'old man' was catching his breath with low breathing.

An old man whose seemingly ordinary impression hid a profound mystery.

Even in this Luoyang Sword Family, what kind of old man could there be who could simultaneously deal with two commander warriors of the Institution and practically slaughter all the warriors?

One of the commander warriors screamed his name.

"Sword Venerable!"

Sword Venerable.

After retiring from active duty.

The old man who was known to be living a leisurely life of retirement as the Director of the Sword Family's Martial Arts Academy.

And.

He, who was also the Chairman of the Luoyang Sword Family's Supreme Executive Council, was there.

"Huuu…"

The old man caught his breath deeply once like a sigh and spoke.

"Should not this old man directly reap this old man's karma?"

The commander warriors could not understand the old man's words, nor the deep regret imbued in every single word.

"Karma?! What relation is there between the Sword Venerable and our Institution…?!"

"There is. Indeed, there is."

As the Chairman of the Supreme Executive Council.

As one who failed to properly lead the family when the Patriarch was absent.

"There are very many relations."

"I don't know what kind of nonsense this old man is talking about!"

The three surviving commander warriors clasped their swords in unison and pointed them at the Sword Venerable.

"Give up any thought of returning alive today!"

Even in a situation where three experts targeted a single, old, and tired man.

That the three experts felt pressured conversely.

Was surely not an illusion.

"Do you think you can block this Sword Venerable with mere three swords?"

At the immense weight brought by the name of Sword Venerable.

The commander warriors shouted like a fit.

"We know you have already exhausted all your physical strength!"

"Since all our subordinates whom you used as shields have fallen, you must now face the three of us with that bare body!"

Even while doing so, they exchanged glances, and two of them slithered their feet to move and encircle the Sword Venerable.

[We must absolutely never look down on him just because he is an old man.] suddenly, the Sword Venerable's respectful speech, the reason for which was unknown.

[We must thoroughly engage in a battle of attrition, completely exhausting the opponent's physical strength and internal energy.] wiping the sweat flowing along the deep wrinkles on his face, the Sword Venerable said.

"I see."

"It seems this is as far as this old man can do alone."

Even before the commander warriors could express their doubts, a strange voice was heard.

"Dear me."

It was the voice of a boy that felt somewhat arrogant.

"When did you stop being stubborn about trying to reap your own karma alone…"

The tips of the commander warriors' swords pointed in unison toward the direction the voice came from.

"Who is it?!"

"Reveal your identity!"

Ignoring them, the Sword Venerable gave a toothless chuckle.

"When did I say I would do it all alone? I said I would try as far as my strength reaches."

"Oh? Are you doubting my memory now?"

The corpses filling the hallway.

As if the final struggle put up by the corrupt ones of the Institution was nothing.

"It is not that I doubt your memory, but rather that there could be some misunderstanding in communication."

"Since you laid down the sword and did nothing but play politics for such a long time, your eloquence now rivals that of the Main Family's elders."

"You flatter me."

The one who was conversing with the Sword Venerable as if leisurely chatting revealed himself in front of the commander warriors.

"Well, it can't be helped."

The boy who revealed himself from the darkness.

The Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family.

Yeon So-hyeon rolled up the sleeves of both arms and said.

"Then, this Eldest Young Master will lend a hand."

"Haha, I look forward to working with you, Eldest Young Master."

On the left of the hallway was the Sword Venerable.

On the right of the hallway was the Eldest Young Master.

It was a situation where the three commander warriors were conversely surrounded.