Urban Vagabond: Reload

A week had passed since the incident that shook not just the Korean martial world, but the entire country.

[Traces have been confirmed on the body of Ju Cheolgwan, the Black Heaven Society’s society leader, showing that he had learned the Dark Flame Demonic Art, one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts. In response, the World Martial Alliance has expressed deep concern and announced that it intends to dispatch an investigative team to Korea.]

[With this, the Black Heaven Society, which has built up infamy over the past several decades, is now on the path to eradication, fading into the back pages of history.......]

A full week had already passed since the Dark Flames that had shot into the sky scattered away, but every broadcast and every outlet was still reporting on it.

[Martial Alliance Leader Yeo Pilgeuk, along with AZURE SKY SWORD GATE and the Supreme Pole Sword Gate sect leader, who are known to have jointly executed the Black Heaven Society’s society leader, have also released official statements. The Glacier Priestess of the Sun and Moon Gate, which remains in closed-door seclusion, never appeared in public in the end and is said to have returned to her sect.]

When the channel changed, Yeo Pilgeuk, the Azure Sky Sword Elder, and the Supreme Pole Sword Gate sect leader appeared standing on a platform, their faces heavy with exhaustion. Camera flashes burst toward them without pause.

Yeo Pilgeuk received the microphone first, bowed his head, and began to speak.

[First of all, I would like to apologize to the citizens who were alarmed by this sudden extermination operation. The reason this operation had to be carried out under top secrecy was.......]

The Azure Sky Sword Elder and the Supreme Pole Sword Gate sect leader each gave their own statements as well.

[As one of the orthodox martial artists, it has always weighed on my mind that unorthodox rabble threatening the safety of the public continued to exist. But it is also true that I hesitated because I feared my disciples would have to bleed. AZURE SKY SWORD GATE has spent this time in reflection and deep self-examination...... and that time was by no means wasted.]

The Azure Sky Sword Elder paused for a moment, then looked at Yeo Pilgeuk and smiled faintly.

[That is why, when the Martial Alliance Leader proposed that we wipe out the Black Heaven Society together, I was able to make my decision without difficulty.]

After that, as one of the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects, the Azure Sky Sword Elder spoke at length about the sect’s period of self-restraint and his feelings on it, then vowed that they would be reborn as true members of the orthodox martial world.

[The Supreme Pole Sword Gate will continue to stand at the forefront of the path of exterminating demons and striking down the wicked! Our disciples will wear the wounds they received while fighting corrupt-path filth with pride, and.......]

The Supreme Pole Sword Gate sect leader lifted their chin proudly and launched into a full speech.

With the Supreme Pole emblem on the front of their robe clearly on display, they subtly showed off the wounds they had received while fighting the Black Heaven Society’s society leader.

“......But didn’t that Supreme Pole Sword Gate old guy pass out back then?”

Shin Kangheon, who had never once stopped moving his chopsticks over the dinner table, stared at the TV with a dubious expression.

“Heh-heh. Let him be proud of it. I heard it from the Martial Alliance Leader himself—said that bastard did fight to the end in his own way instead of running.”

Those words had come from the very mouth of the Sword Demon, who hated the Eight Great Sects more than anyone.

Watching the TV, Choi Geon drank his whiskey with an easy expression.

“I’m telling you, politics is terrifying. Up until a little while ago, they were all at each other’s throats over arrests and whatnot, and now they’ve opened up some grand stage of orthodox unity.”

Hwang Suksu hadn’t even touched the braised pork belly he’d brought with him. Instead, he kept helping himself to the food made by Kim Muhyuk’s parents, marveling the whole time.

“Man! This hot pot is incredible. Your mother made it herself?”

“Does it suit your taste?”

“At this rate, if we sold this at our place, it’d be a smash hit!”

The one who had insisted to the very end that he wasn’t coming was now the one throwing himself into the gathering most enthusiastically and chatting away without stopping.

“It’s seriously so good....... Eating together like this makes me think of the meals my mom used to make.......”

“Hyung, are you crying?”

Han Jaechun, who was soft-hearted to begin with, had gone red-eyed because it had been so long since he’d shared a meal like this with so many people.

TA-DA!

Apricot pattered across the wide table.

From Shin Kangheon’s head to Han Jaechun’s shoulder, then back down to tap at the Sword Demon’s arm with its beak before climbing right back onto Kim Bokja’s shoulder.

“You little menace, if you don’t sit still, I’m gonna wrap you up in lettuce and eat you.”

The moment Shin Kangheon, mischief in his eyes, tried to wrap Apricot up in a lettuce leaf, Kim Bokja flicked the lettuce through the air with spellcraft and smacked it flat onto Shin Kangheon’s face.

“Jeez! Have you lost it, Kim Bokja?!”

“Then why are you messing with our Apricot?”

Shin Kangheon flailed, reaching out with both hands, while Kim Bokja and Apricot dodged him left and right.

Nobody paid the two of them any attention, as though the sight of the three of them acting like that was already familiar.

Kim Chanho, looking around fondly at the guests who had come to his home, jabbed his son in the side.

“So how does it feel, coming home again after a while?”

At that, everyone’s eyes turned in the same direction.

Kim Muhyuk, who had finally been discharged and come home after a week, was wordlessly shoveling food into his mouth.

“Mmph....... It’s good?”

The sight of Kim Muhyuk stuffing himself so frantically that his cheeks were full made everyone burst into laughter.

After a week in the hospital eating nothing but bland food, the way his appetite had exploded the second he got home made him look exactly like a boy his age.

Embarrassed, Kim Muhyuk scratched his cheek and grumbled.

“What, have you never seen someone eat before? Why’s everyone so happy about it?”

It had taken a full week to treat the injuries he suffered in the fight against the Black Heaven Society’s society leader and return home.

Thankfully, because the initial emergency treatment had been so good, he had been discharged sooner than expected.

Of course, he still had to keep going back and forth to the hospital for treatment for a while.

No matter how fine he looked on the outside, the internal injuries were still fairly deep.

“Why do you think? We’re just happy to see our crew leader eating properly after nearly dying and coming back!”

“Seriously, Kim Muhyuk. Nobody does a better job of making people worry than you.”

“You should count yourself lucky this ended at only this much.”

“You scared your mother and father half to death and you’ve still got the nerve to eat that well?”

At the sight of the crew members pouring out complaints the second they got an opening, Kim Muhyuk let out a deep sigh.

“I didn’t know I was going to end up with this many people nagging me.......”

“That’s all on you. You’re the one who gathered every single person here, one by one.”

At Kim Bokja’s snickering reply, Kim Muhyuk couldn’t argue back and only shrugged.

He grumbled with his mouth, but there was a smile at the corner of his lips too.

The dinner they had all promised to share together after the Black Heaven Society extermination operation.

They had been forced to postpone it, and he was grateful that the crew members had gathered again to match the day he was discharged.

“All right, all right, let’s have a toast to celebrate Kim Muhyuk getting discharged!”

“Again?”

“The more congratulations you get, the faster you recover. Everybody, fill your glasses already!”

As if he’d learned it at a White Tiger Unit staff dinner, Shin Kangheon took command of the drinking table with practiced ease. Everyone looked dumbfounded by the way he forced it, but they still filled their glasses anyway.

“To Kim Muhyuk, the one and only son of this house and the crew leader of Blue Wolves, congratulations on getting discharged—!”

“Congratulations—!”

The people who clinked their glasses ate, drank, and talked as much as they pleased. Kim Muhyuk enjoyed his own discharge party to the fullest as well.

“Ma’am! This is seriously delicious!”

“I’d like one more bowl too!”

“Sir. I brought a pretty decent bottle—want me to open one?”

“Oh? For once, you’ve done something commendable.”

TA-DA!

For the first time, family and crew members all spent the late hours together in one noisy, lively room.

On the TV in the living room, an anchor was speaking with an expert about what kind of ripple effects this incident would have on the Korean martial world.

[We’ve been hearing that public opinion toward the Eight Great Sects has recently begun to shift in a positive direction. Doctor, would you say you agree with that assessment?]

[That’s right. In particular, favorability toward AZURE SKY SWORD GATE, the Supreme Pole Sword Gate, and the Sun and Moon Gate—the sects whose leaders directly participated in the execution of the Black Heaven Society’s society leader—is rising. The prevailing view is that the orthodox faction has finally done something worthy of being called orthodox.]

[I understand the other Eight Great Sects also worked together to keep the Five Great Unorthodox Sects in check. The sect leaders of Golden Glory Gate and GREAT HEAVEN GATE were injured while fighting the Black Heaven Society’s society leader as well. But isn’t the spotlight falling too heavily on just those three sects?]

[People who risked their lives and fought to the end cannot be treated the same as people who came out halfway through. The public is not stupid. It is only natural that they would cheer for the sects and martial artists who actively took part in the extermination of the Black Heaven Society.]

The man introduced as an expert on the Korean martial world pushed up his glasses with one finger and continued in a calm voice.

[......I believe this incident will push the Eight Great Sects into earnest competition. Who builds the better image, who restores their lost honor, who wins public support first—evaluation will change depending on what they do.]

The destruction of the Black Heaven Society and the death of its society leader were already bringing massive changes to the Korean martial world.

Watching the news, I tried to predict how the martial factions would move from here on out.

‘The Eight Great Sects will have to act more like the orthodox faction, if only because they’ll be conscious of the public eye. The Five Great Unorthodox Sects and the unorthodox forces that got cowed will probably keep their heads down for a while.’

Of course, there would be bastards like the Blood Tiger Gang trying to grow their power by filling the gap left by the Black Heaven Society, but in a situation like this, they wouldn’t be able to cause trouble openly. They would only move beneath the surface.

‘And as for the Heavenly Demon Cult.......’

By wiping out the Black Heaven Society, we had removed one of the footholds the Cult would have used to push into Korea, so it was fair to say we had delayed their movements to some degree too.

Naturally, my thoughts moved from the Heavenly Demon Cult to Red Worm.

‘What happened to the mercenaries?’

I knew Shin Junhyun had been locked up in the Martial Alliance underground prison.

And a few days ago, No Gucheon, who had come to visit me in the hospital, had told me that the Red Worm mercenaries had vanished as soon as they entered Korea.

But I hadn’t heard anything after that.

‘Red Worm is a notorious mercenary organization. If we don’t find them and deal with them quickly, that won’t do.......’

It was just as my brow tightened faintly with worry.

“You little brat. You’re worrying about something again, aren’t you?”

Choi Geon, sharp as a ghost, reached out and thoroughly ruffled his disciple’s hair.

[It’s not that.......]

When I told him through voice transmission that I was worried about the Red Worm mercenaries, Choi Geon chuckled and told me not to worry.

[You don’t need to concern yourself with that matter. The Martial Alliance Leader already entrusted it to someone reliable.]

Someone reliable?

Choi Geon only smiled and refused to tell me who it was.

*****

A large shipping container installed on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

The Red Worm mercenaries, who had scattered at the airport, gathered in one place again.

Each of them shared the information they had brought back with the others.

“The Dark Flame Demonic Art the Black Heaven Society’s society leader learned was only a half-baked copy that couldn’t even activate without a spell formation.”

“I made contact with the Black Night Gang. Their boss doesn’t seem all that interested in an alliance.”

“One of the Golden Glory Gate elders has ties to the Cult. Want me to approach him if the situation looks right?”

“In the current situation, it’s better not to touch the Eight Great Sects.”

“The ones called Blood Tiger Gang looked pretty capable. I almost got my tail stepped on.”

“I heard people wearing Blue Wolf masks attacked Black Heaven Society branches. Anybody know who they were?”

A week ago, the moment the Red Worm mercenaries entered Korea, they realized things had already gone wrong.

The Black Heaven Society, which they had been ordered by their upper ranks to join up with, was under attack, and the former mercenary who was supposed to pick them up never came.

In the end, the mercenaries scattered on their own judgment, gathered information first, and today was the day they had agreed to meet again.

One of the mercenaries looked around and spoke.

“Where’s Head?”

Every last one of them was a seasoned killer and a mercenary accustomed to terrorism.

The person who commanded those Red Worm mercenaries was known by the nickname Head.

The most skilled and the cruelest of the mercenaries. He was also one of the strongest martial artists in the business.

And yet the very Head who had summoned them was nowhere to be seen.

Creeeak.......

At the sound of the door opening, all eyes turned outside the container.

“Everybody here?”

A woman walked inside with long strides, a sword and a saber strapped diagonally across her back.

A black sleeveless shirt. Loose-fit jeans.

A woman with an ordinary build, her hair pulled back and tied carelessly.

And yet the force she carried was enough to make it feel as though a giant were striding toward them.

Step. Step.

A trail of blood stretched along the path she walked.

It was flowing from the corpse she had been dragging behind her with one hand.

The man the Red Worm mercenaries called Head was dead, his face pale.

SHING.

Dozens of mercenaries quietly drew their weapons and surrounded the woman. Thick killing intent boiled in the silence.

The one who broke that silence was a mutter from one mercenary standing on her right.

“Fxxx. That on her wrist.......”

The mercenaries, who had stayed calm even after seeing Head’s corpse, began to waver.

Because of the thick black bands on her wrist, faintly giving off an aura.

“......Black Restraint Bands?”

Bands fitted onto people classified by international organizations as high-risk martial artists.

They were equipped with location tracking and an alarm system that activated if the wearer used more than a certain level of internal energy.

And any martial artist wearing them had to file a written explanation every time they used more than the designated amount of power.......

WIIIIIIIIIIING—!

The bands emitted a warning sound and began vibrating violently.

The mercenaries’ faces hardened. Only then did they fully understand who they were facing.

Because there was only one person in Korea currently wearing Black Restraint Bands.

The unofficial Strongest in Korea.

“Sunwoo Jehwa, the Transcendent Extremity Gate sect leader.......”

The Red Worm mercenaries slowly started backing away. They had already realized there was no chance of winning and were planning to flee if they saw an opening.

But as if she saw nothing at all, Sunwoo Jehwa simply muttered to herself.

Her gaze was actually aimed at the floor.

“The Martial Alliance Leader told me to leave at least one alive, but which one should I spare?”

SKRIIIIICH.......

She pulled out the sword and saber from her back and scraped them across the ground. Carving blade marks into the floor as if doodling on it, she went on muttering to herself.

“Should I spare the first one to surrender? Or the one who survives all the way to the end?”

Then she came to a conclusion all by herself.

“Yeah, the one who survives to the end is better. Usually that’s the strongest one. The strong one ought to be the one who survives.”

When she nodded to herself, satisfied, and lifted her head—

the Red Worm mercenaries were already scattering in every direction, trying to run.

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

Not a single mercenary escaped the trajectories of the sword and saber Sunwoo Jehwa swung.

In the next instant, savage arcs slashed through the air in all directions, and the container—split into dozens of pieces—collapsed all at once.