IRNH C56

#56

Swish—

At that moment, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Sihyeon’s mouth. The perfect opportunity to wield the golf club had suddenly arisen.

Sihyeon tightened his grip on the golf club he was holding and swung it without hesitation at the black figures screaming silently with all their might that they were villains.

He did think poorly of taking lives, but that value didn’t extend to those attacking him.

To avoid wasting time as before, he tightened his grasp on the club further.

Crimson qi seemed to gather like a heat haze over the golf club, which he swung swiftly in an arc, the dark blade trailing long behind.

“Crunch!”

Sihyeon’s strike bore no hesitation. The two figures bursting through the door bled profusely before they realized they were under attack, crashing into one of the sidewalls.

“Master, there’s blood.”

“Ah, yeah. Be careful.”

Taewoon furrowed his smooth brows and brushed his finger against Sihyeon’s cheek.

Probably blood splattered as the villains collapsed, and seeing Taewoon mimicking what he used to do made Sihyeon somewhat embarrassed.

‘Hmm, somehow the situation has changed.’

He shook the blood off the club and smiled contentedly.

Despite all the troubles, seeing the master so devotedly cared for by his disciple made Sihyeon proud.

“Thanks.”

His worries felt trivial. He smoothed Taewoon’s sleek hair until it shone, then turned sharply to lead forward in the corridor.

Though the situation was grave, his steps felt unexpectedly light.

Taewoon instinctively revisited the place Sihyeon touched and matched his pace closely behind.

“Damn, where exactly is this? Yujun should be perfect for this.”

After wandering the continually unfolding corridor, Sihyeon gave a sharp tap with his heel on the floor and plopped onto the 15th leather sofa he had spotted.

The fortress-like barrier within shifted endlessly like a cube.

If he took what seemed a different path only to find the original route reappear, he knew neither he nor Taewoon were hallucinating—they confirmed it several times.

‘Then breaking this must be as hard as finding the counter to that unknown skill they use.’

He’d been deceived twice already by disappearing and reappearing sounds.

Though wanting to smash this entire building to bits with his full might, knowledge of the rare monsters who exploited it restrained him from reckless action.

“Ah, it’s so annoying, right?”

A whisper spilled from cracked lips.

His growing impatience was unstoppable—it felt like an hour had passed, yet they were stuck.

Trying not to disturb the terrain while searching for exits, he realized it was time to change tactics.

“Let’s try cutting through any gaps when the building moves.”

Sihyeon voiced a frustrated plan, and Taewoon nodded, slowly raising the golf club to stare intently down the corridor they first entered.

“Pfft, sorry, sorry.”

The tension snapped briefly.

Taewoon, wearing a hoodie with a cute duck character and long hair tied high, quietly raised the golf club like a sword.

Sihyeon thought no one could stifle laughter at this scene, though he himself could not laugh here.

“So cute… heh heh… ahem.”

But Sihyeon quickly muffled his giggles and glared at Taewoon.

Taewoon tilted his head down briefly then back, his smooth brows narrowing slightly; a faint crimson flush seeped onto his pale skin.

That was the genuine displeasure Taewoon showed when upset.

So it meant Taewoon knew why Sihyeon laughed.

‘Ah damn, he’s really cute. What should I do?’

Though he feigned indifference and turned away, Sihyeon smiled again, recalling a past event.

Probably it was about clothing that time…

Ah, years ago, he had confused and worn Taewoon’s underwear by mistake, having bought many of the same items; Taewoon had found that particularly uncomfortable.

Yes, he seemed to have made a similar expression then.

Bang!

“Whoa, you scared me!”

Before Sihyeon could drown in recollection, a loud crashing noise pierced his ears as if a building had been destroyed.

His heart clenched as he faced the battered wall, watching Taewoon’s back.

“…This must be the place. Let’s go, Master.”

“Uh… okay.”

The air felt chilling for some reason.

Setting aside memories, Sihyeon led silently, stepping toward the wide-open stairs with a confident voice.

Unlike the dark, endless shadowed stairs before, these ended quickly.

A sturdy stone door stood barring the way, but the sudden appearance of such terrain surely meant something awaited ahead, spurring them onward.

Crack—

A massive stone split in two and fell gently.

The door shape collapsed to jagged rocks heavily piled on the floor.

“Looks like an underground prison.”

Sihyeon’s small voice echoed faintly, accompanied by the gloom of damp underground air.

Why do these bastards always do their dirty work deep underground?

Though anger rose inside, Sihyeon forced himself to calm down and began searching for Kyu-min’s trace.

“Taewoon, I’ll check left. You check right.”

“Yes.”

The words were brief but sharp.

Stepping into the depths of enemy lines immediately sharpened the duo’s qi.

Sihyeon traced the polished concrete wall meticulously with his hand, sensing the qi around.

The energy flickered as if blocked, but Sihyeon concentrated harder.

Separated briefly, he caught Taewoon’s telepathic call.

Turning sharply toward the place where Taewoon radiated strong energy, he felt hopeful.

Though the path diverted a few times, where Taewoon was wasn’t far.

Sihyeon hastened his footsteps, adding more qi into them, eager to find Kyu-min.

“What the…?”

Shortly after, upon reaching the doorway where Taewoon stood, Sihyeon’s face twisted upon seeing the scene inside.

It was brighter than expected.

Likely due to lights on pillars, although some flickered about to go out, making the atmosphere even gloomier.

However, his displeasure wasn’t just because of light.

Slowly turning his sight, Sihyeon cursed under his breath.

“Damn… what the hell did they do here?”

Bodies with blackened cut areas and darkening bloodstains made him realize the carnage wasn’t recent.

Though he’d spent ten years in a world where cold weapons were common and people died easily, even there, secret mass killings with bodies left untouched were rare sights.

He wondered if such things could happen in a world that, just three years ago, considered murder the ultimate crime.

‘These bastards are seriously crazed.’

Frozen in stunned disbelief, Sihyeon hastily pushed aside piled corpses with the handle of his golf club.

Despite the urgency, he still didn’t grasp the structure of the barrier.

His anxiety grew with uncertainty.

“Master, I’ll handle this. Please rest.”

“No. How could I entrust this to you alone?”

“But—”

“Ssh.”

Sihyeon silenced Taewoon with one word, creeping toward the portion with the least damaged bodies, pushing them aside with the golf club.

Several bodies scattered to the floor, breaking apart under impact.

Quietly, Sihyeon apologized within and moved swiftly.

No sign of Kyu-min yet.

Nor any signal from Taewoon.

They’d need to search again.

Yet this time, Sihyeon felt fortunate.

Huh…?

Just as he straightened, his eyes caught something.

Among the tightly clustered corpses, scratches that once seemed like mere marks suddenly stood out.

Sihyeon tilted his head slightly, muttering apologies again, then pushed bodies lightly with the golf club.

“These bastards…”

The scene before him made him feel sick.

Their savagery was so crude that, if present, he’d want to behead them instantly.