A man stepped down from the carriage.

He had a well-built figure and a cold expression.

The saying “not a drop of blood would come out even if stabbed” seemed made for him; his expressionless face suited him perfectly. He was chilling yet neat.

The man entered the wide-open estate. Above the entrance hung a signboard reading “Daeyabang (Great Night Gang).”

Inside was a horrific scene.

Over a hundred corpses lay scattered. The Daeyabang gang members had been massacred. Among the bodies, warriors clad in unified red uniforms searched for survivors to kill.

It was a battlefield-like gruesome sight, yet the man walked without blinking.

Blood splattered on his shoes and pants, but he didn’t care.

In fact, walking through the sea of blood suited him perfectly. His every step radiated presence—an intimidating aura that no one could block unless he chose to stop.

The man was none other than Yalyulhan, the second-in-command of the Satan Alliance.

The red-uniformed warriors who massacred this place were the Geukdo Regiment’s warriors.

The Geukdo Regiment was the Satan Alliance’s elite force, led by Yalyulhan.

Each time Yalyulhan passed, the Geukdo Regiment bowed respectfully. Each warrior’s aura was extraordinary.

Yalyulhan entered the main hall.

In the center, Daeyabang’s leader, Jongsim, sat slumped to one side. Severely injured, he was covered in blood. Around him lay the corpses of Geukdo Regiment warriors.

“You bastard!”

Jongsim shouted, then coughed up a flood of blood.

“How could you! How could you do this!”

Compared to Jongsim’s outburst, Yalyulhan was utterly calm.

He walked toward a corner where a severely wounded Geukdo warrior still breathed painfully. The injuries were too grave to be reversed.

Without hesitation, Yalyulhan placed his palm on the warrior’s chest.

The warrior soon passed away peacefully. From behind came Jongsim’s words.

“I’ve always been creeped out and uneasy just looking at your face.”

Yalyulhan showed no emotion.

“You always hid your feelings.”

Jongsim had never seen any emotion from Yalyulhan—not happiness, sadness, or anger.

“Is there even human emotion in that body of yours?”

Calmly, Yalyulhan replied, rising.

“Should there be?”

His deep, pleasing voice echoed through the hall.

“What?”

“Those so-called human emotions you mentioned—must they really exist?”

His confidence left Jongsim at a loss for words.

“I’m surprised to hear that from you. You haven’t exactly lived a very human life yourself.”

“Shut up!”

The old man shouted but coughed blood again. Dark red blood stained his clothes.

“But I never lived a life of framing and massacring an entire sect.”

He was executed today for conspiring with the Murim Alliance to rebel. The evidence was clear: a forged letter in his handwriting that he never wrote, a large sum of money from the Murim Alliance stored in his war camp without his knowledge, leaked secrets of the Satan Alliance, testimonies, and witnesses to secret meetings with Murim Alliance members. He was clearly a traitor.

“Explain why. Why?”

Jongsim was certain Yalyulhan had trapped him.

“You have forgotten.”

Yalyulhan’s words startled Jongsim, as if he had made a grave mistake.

“What do you mean?”

“You once told me people get annoyed if you are too much.”

Jongsim had no memory of saying that. Did I? It was vague.

“You couldn’t hold back what you wanted to say. Living in Murim, you couldn’t control your emotions? I despise people like that.”

“So?”

Yalyulhan said no more.

Jongsim was shocked.

“Is that all your reason?”

“I kill those I despise. What more convincing reason do you need?”

Jongsim shouted angrily.

“You madman!”

Compared to Jongsim’s fury, Yalyulhan was calm.

“There are countless people like grains of sand in this world. Why go with those you dislike?”

Jongsim understood that much. Even if he didn’t want to, he pretended to understand. But he couldn’t grasp this part.

“Then you should have just killed me!”

“My mood was too bad for that.”

“Even so… you killed innocent people over such a petty matter?”

Jongsim sighed painfully.

Tears fell from his eyes. He would have felt less wronged if this was due to a great grudge. He would have felt less guilty toward his family and sect warriors. A family destroyed over a word he barely remembered?

Jongsim spoke self-deprecatingly.

“It must be fate.”

“You’d like to blame fate, but it’s your fault. You insensitive fool, calling others’ feelings ‘petty.’”

Jongsim motioned for Yalyulhan to come closer.

“I have something important to tell you before I die.”

Had he sensed death? Anger vanished from Jongsim’s face.

Yalyulhan approached.

Closer, closer. Jongsim struggled to gesture.

Yalyulhan obediently granted his final request.

They drew near.

“Shshhhk!”

Jongsim used all his remaining energy to strike a slash. The feeble gesture was an act to deliver this final move.

Flash! Shreek!

But Yalyulhan’s sword was faster. Invisible to the eye, it was precise.

Thud, roll roll roll.

Jongsim’s severed head rolled on the floor. Yalyulhan looked coldly at the head.

“Old man, you think I did this for such reasons?”

After Jongsim’s death, Yalyulhan exited.

As he stepped outside, rain began to fall.

Ssssshhh.

Yalyulhan stood briefly under the eaves, looking up at the pouring rain.

A man ran through the rain and handed him a blood-stained cloak. It was Chahwan, covered with dragon tattoos—the last surviving member of the Four Sign Lords.

Though tattooed all over, he resembled a black leopard: black skin, sleek physique, and striking white sclera that stood out.

But he was a man who wished to be a dragon rather than a leopard. He proudly claimed to have the highest loyalty among the Four Sign Lords and believed Yalyulhan kept him close for this reason.

“Enough. Let’s get soaked for the first time in a while.”

Yalyulhan walked into the rain, and Chahwan silently followed. Behind them, the Geukdo Regiment’s warriors fell into line.

I arrived at the inner quarters with Geukak Soma.

Gowol awaited us with new news.

“Something unusual is happening inside the Satan Alliance.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Recently, the Daeyabang was annihilated.”

“By whom?”

“They were destroyed for committing treason with the Murim # Nоvеlight # Alliance. The evidence was clear, and the Geukdo Regiment led by Yalyulhan wiped them out during the arrest. I believe this was Yalyulhan’s doing.”

Gowol had a clear grasp of the situation.

The Daeyabang was also wiped out by Yalyulhan before the regression. But the timing had changed. What would happen still happened, but timing and causes subtly differed.

“Why do you think that?”

“First, the Daeyabang leader we know would never betray the Satan Alliance leader.”

And Gowol had a critical reason for suspicion.

“The timing is suspicious. Do you know when the Satan Alliance began investigating the Daeyabang after receiving the tip?”

“When?”

“When Aecha died.”

A truly suspicious coincidence.

Gowol judged it this way.

“When two of the Four Sign Lords died, Yalyulhan became convinced someone intervened.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he believes the Satan Alliance leader is behind it.”

It was an unexpected development.

“Did he attack Daeyabang as revenge?”

“Daeyabang’s leader was famous as a loyalist faction member. He was warning what would happen if Yalyulhan touched him.”

It was a plausible theory.

Yalyulhan’s ambition for the leadership was no secret. The current Satan Alliance leader was strong, so Yalyulhan dared not openly seek the position, but if Bisa-in took the role, things would change.

Rumors circulated that the Satan Alliance leader would have to kill Yalyulhan to pass the position to Bisa-in.

With the tense balance of power maintained.

“Yalyulhan believes the leader is cutting off his limbs to make Bisa-in the successor.”

Our movements caused this to happen earlier than it might have.

“This is a golden opportunity. If we use it well, we won’t have to worry about what happens after killing Yalyulhan.”

A truly unexpected situation awaited us.

“Killing Yalyulhan to make Bisa-in the one who killed him?”

“Exactly. It’s not bad for Bisa-in either. He would secure his position as successor, and we would succeed in our operation.”

I looked at Geukak Soma who listened silently. His eyes said he would follow my will no matter how the situation unfolded.

Then the course was clear.

“First, we have to meet the friend. I don’t know if he still considers me a friend.”

Bisa-in was eating at a fancy inn he frequented.

His face was still hideous—cut, crushed, distorted. A terrifying sight. But compared to the dark, heavy aura before becoming successor, he seemed brighter.

The Satan Thirteen Langs ate with him, guarding.

A telepathic message flew to Bisa-in.

—Been well?

Bisa-in paused his chopsticks briefly then resumed.

—You’re really fearless, coming all the way to the main faction.

His words were brusque, but his tone was gentle. He owed me his life; without me, he wouldn’t have become successor.

—I want to meet quietly and talk.

—Here. You know how hard it is for the Satan Alliance successor to go out alone?

—I will live a life where just saying the word will make it happen. So do this hard thing now. Meet me at midnight at the top of Satan Alliance’s back mountain.

Before leaving the inn, I saw a faint smile at Bisa-in’s lips. Whether friend or not, it was at least not an enemy’s smile.

I stood atop the mountain overlooking the Satan Alliance’s main hall.

Before regression, while searching for the Great Law materials, I stood here and looked down at the Satan Alliance. I thought everything would be resolved once regression happened.

Then I heard Bisa-in’s voice behind me.

“Why call someone out at night for something important? You could just use telepathy at the inn.”

I didn’t turn and said,

“I was afraid you’d flip the table.”

“Everyone knows I have a bad temper, so it would have been fine.”

Bisa-in stood beside me.

“Why don’t you look back when I push from behind?”

“We’ve become close enough not to worry about that.”

When I looked at him, Bisa-in snorted.

“Not really. You’re confident because you think you can fall without a scratch.”

“That’s true too.”

When I smiled at him, Bisa-in looked away toward the Satan Alliance building in the distance.

“Here to collect your debt?”

“Not just a debt of life. A debt of succession too.”

“What do you want?”

“I’ll grant anything.”

“If it’s something I can grant.”

I looked at him. Bisa-in looked back.

“Let’s kill Yalyulhan.”

He was startled by my sudden words.

“I knew you were strange, but I didn’t know you were this insanely desperate.”

Silence fell, then he asked,

“Are you planning war with us?”

“If I were, I wouldn’t be having this conversation. I came to kill Yalyulhan.”

“Why kill him?”

“The grace he poured blood into eventually came back to me.”

Knowing who Yalyulhan was, Bisa-in didn’t ask more. How many enemies did he have?

“If you take the leader’s seat, Yalyulhan will surely try to take yours. So the leader is probably worried about when to eliminate Yalyulhan. If he’s not thinking that—”

“Not thinking?”

“The leader made Yalyulhan successor. It’s like giving up the position knowing you’ll be killed.”

“!”

He said nothing. His mind was troubled. Yalyulhan was an enemy who had to be killed for leadership but also the greatest support of the Satan Alliance.

“The attack on Daeyabang was just a preliminary battle before striking you.”

Bisa-in couldn’t deny it. Jongsim’s death must have been a shock to both the leader and him.

“Remember when I said once we meet again as Cheonma and Satan Alliance leader, we should shake hands in memory?”

I stared into Bisa-in’s conflicted eyes. He wouldn’t decide easily. But my fate depended on it.

“I want to shake hands with you, not Yalyulhan.”