Chapter 179: Kergel (6)

The arena run by the Kergel Magic Tower always reeked of sweat. It was a tangled mess of ambition, ecstasy, and all sorts of other emotions. Truly a cauldron of desire.

But today, not a single cheer rose toward the octagon. Inside the pristine hexagonal cage, a man and a woman faced each other in tense standoff.

“It’s always like this.”

Hwaryeon Goeun.

“…I don’t want to treat you like this either.”

Chae Hakgyun, the arena’s manager. The two had grown up together as childhood friends and had joined the Demonic Cult on the same day as fellow disciples and peers. Their bond was special, inevitably tender. Yet now, they were creating a standoffish atmosphere between them.

To cut to the chase, it was because of Goeun’s demand. It was absurd, something Chae Hakgyun could never accept.

“I think of you as more than a friend, Hwaryeon.”

“Same here.”

“Damn… You know that’s not what I mean!”

Chae Hakgyun snapped in a surge of frustration, then quickly regained his composure. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d been shot down by her.

Chae Hakgyun cleared his throat a half-dozen times before fixing her with a cold gaze.

“But you know, Hwaryeon. You’re more than a friend to me, but the Magic Tower is like home.”

He swept his gaze across the arena and continued.

“Sure, I was demoted to this lowly position for showing disrespect to the Tower Master. But I’ve never held a grudge against her, not once.”

“I know. I’m sure you didn’t.”

Chae Hakgyun was a stubborn man. He had to stick to his principles and rules to feel satisfied. He lacked flexibility to the point of seeming foolish.

That rigid personality was why he kept confessing to Goeun every time he thought he’d forgotten her, despite being rejected over and over.

Besides, the Heavenly Demon wasn’t a fool. Would she entrust the management of an arena where eyes could easily wander outward to just anyone?

As the saying goes, being the arena manager was undeniably a dead-end job. But the private forces available were among the top three in the Magic Tower. Isolated from headquarters, the subsidiary staff shared unusually tight bonds. It was much the same here. They rallied solidly around Chae Hakgyun.

“My crew is like family to me.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Living tangled up in a sweaty place like this, eating the same food.”

“You get it.”

Chae Hakgyun’s pupils gleamed fiercely.

“…And you, who gets it so well, are telling me and my family to betray headquarters? Hwaryeon. I like you, as a person and as a woman. But this crosses the line. Just because I granted your request once before, you think you can make this outrageous demand? I don’t think you’re that foolish.”

“It’s not a foolish proposal. It’s for you and the ‘family’ you talk about.”

Goeun glanced around the arena mid-sentence. Beyond the chain-link fence riddled with holes, shadowy figures began to stir in the darkness outside the cage.

The security was tight. Even within the Magic Tower, few mages exuded such chilling menace. Chae Hakgyun had personally trained his brothers-in-arms. Like Goeun, he’d been in charge of training back at headquarters.

Strong bonds and excellent instruction.

Those two elements combined made them one-man armies, mages capable of turning the tide. That was why Goeun had her eye on them—including Chae Hakgyun.

“I’m saying this because this is the only way for the family you cherish to survive. You know me, Hakgyun. Have you ever seen me say something empty?”

“No, you haven’t. If you were the type, you’d have defected long ago. So let me ask: after living by the code, what’s left for you?”

“……”

Goeun paused briefly. Her life flashed through her mind—a bumpy ride marked more by trials than triumphs.

Crises had plagued her since infancy. Each time, the Demonic Cult and Chae Hakgyun had been her steadfast emotional pillars.

But at some point, she’d realized priorities had flipped.

The Magic Tower, which she’d thought was her whole life, allowed no self. One day, when she glimpsed the Tower Master’s true intentions from on high… She realized the Heavenly Demon treated disciples like disposable trash.

So she’d fled. Abandoned everything. As a defector, she knew the score—she’d handled plenty of defectors herself.

Yet Goeun had defected anyway. She wanted to taste freedom, even if it cost her life. A fleeting spring dream was worth more than centuries as a slave.

Goeun closed her eyes briefly, then opened them softly. Vitality sparked in her once-dull gaze.

“I could remain myself.”

Her words made Chae Hakgyun’s jaw twitch dynamically. He squeezed out a suppressed voice.

“You’re willing to throw away your life for that?”

“Yes.”

Goeun nodded.

“There’s a saying: even rolling in a dung field is better than living in the afterlife. Once you’re dead, it’s over. You know why the Tower Master trains even in the City.”

“How could I not.”

Immortality. Yes. The Heavenly Demon sought eternal life.

She might be the strongest in the mortal world, but the Heavenly Demon was ultimately human. Yet she aimed to skip the immortal sage stage and enter true divinity—the secular term for it was “immortal.”

“Even the Tower Master clings to life. So why don’t you? Why treat your life so lightly?”

“Hakgyun.”

A chill slithered down Chae Hakgyun’s nape. Goeun smiled with her eyes.

“I’m not the Heavenly Demon.”

“……”

“I’m not Hwaryeon. I’m Goeun.”

“……”

“Because I’m different from her, I want to live as I please. That’s what I learned in the City.”

“…You should have stayed in the Central Plains.”

Chae Hakgyun muttered with a scowl.

“Coming to this vulgar city has corrupted you…”

“……”

Goeun glanced around silently.

The owners of those fierce gazes were emerging one by one. Fingers twitched. The air stung. They’d unleash their magic the moment Chae Hakgyun gave the order.

“…Same for me.”

Chae Hakgyun dropped the arm he’d been rubbing his face with. Then he bellowed, his voice carrying to every corner of the vast interior.

“Listen up! As of today, our arena is seceding from the Kergel Magic Tower.”

His brothers gaped in shock. It was a declaration beyond radical—it was tantamount to opening the gates to doom.

“B-Brother!”

“Also, cooperate as much as possible with the Supreme of the Ten Wings. That’s our path to survival. Hmm. We’ll have to close the arena for a while. Change the name too. We’ll rethink it before reopening.”

“Bro-ther! Snap out of it!”

“Quiet, you idiots. I’m stone-cold sober. When have you ever seen me drink? Anyway, that’s the deal. Anyone who objects, leave now. I won’t stop you.”

Chae Hakgyun waved dismissively, signaling dismissal.

It was then.

Crack!

With the snap of fingers, fire arrows rained down on the octagon from all sides. Goeun instantly erected a firewall. The curtain of flames blanketed the area, blocking the ambush entirely. No matter how well-trained the mages, they stood no chance against a fire specialist.

“…These bastards.”

Chae Hakgyun ground his teeth. The ambushers were none other than his most trusted subordinates—all of them. He should have been furious at the betrayal, but he mustered utmost calm.

“I didn’t plan to appeal to emotions. Still, I didn’t expect all of you to turn your backs on me. Have I wasted my life?”

“Not at all.”

His most trusted younger brother replied.

“You’ve been endlessly good to us. Honestly, in this dead-end job, you’re our only pillar.”

“Then why!”

“If you’re the pillar, headquarters is our foundation. A pillar needs the ground to stand. If we must choose, we pick the ground we stand on.”

Chae Hakgyun’s face fell in dismay.

“Ha, haha.”

His laughter rang hollow.

“Right, yeah. Thinking about it, I’ve changed, and your judgment is normal.”

“Withdraw your words now, and we’ll pretend we didn’t hear, for old times’ sake.”

“Oh? A threat. And if not?”

“We’ll return to headquarters—thanks to you, Brother.”

The younger brother stated flatly, making it clear he’d use Chae Hakgyun as a sacrificial offering to get back.

Thud.

Goeun nudged Chae Hakgyun’s shoulder and asked.

“How’s it feel?”

“Bitter taste in my mouth. But when you left, I built up some tolerance. Not as devastated as I thought. Well, you shot me down again today.”

“Men and their grudges.”

“That kind of discriminatory talk doesn’t fly in the City.”

The two chuckled. Goeun whispered while looking away.

“No secret escape route only you know?”

“Nah. There was one, but I told that guy over there half a year ago.”

“Guess no choice then.”

“Yeah. No choice. Let’s go straight at them. We’re old-school, after all.”

The two assumed attack stances. The younger brother furrowed his brow, then swept back his hair as if resolved.

“A shame. I hoped you wouldn’t choose this.”

“I didn’t want to kill my brothers with my own hands either.”

“We’ll… see about that.”

The next moment, the two sides lunged at each other in unison. The plan was for Goeun to deflect the barrage of spells with her firewall while Chae Hakgyun leaped in to sweep them away…

Whoosh!

A slicing sound echoed as the brothers’ fingers rained down like sausages. Blood gushed from the clean cuts. As eyes turned to the fountain of blood, a blade flashed from a blind spot.

Heads rolled. Nearby, another neck was severed in a spray. He kicked the flying head into another’s solar plexus. Ribs cracked as the foe gasped, and he thrust the Para Blade through. The sensation of piercing flesh and bone traveled up his elbow.

Three down in an instant. As the mages screamed and raised their remaining fingers, Lee Taebaek kicked off the ground. The Para Blade charged forward, spilling their guts. It was outright slaughter.

Goeun and Chae Hakgyun watched the gruesome scene in stunned silence, robbed of momentum just as they were about to join in. Chae Hakgyun mumbled.

“Hwaryeon, I get what you mean now.”

A dazed smile spread across his lips. Chae Hakgyun was still dazed.

“Staying caged up is definitely our only life gate right now.”

“Told you.”

Goeun shrugged.

“I don’t say empty words.”