Mun-Jae cracked his neck, smiling like a man greeting an old rival.
"I haven't had fun in ages," he said. "To be honest… you remind me of myself."
Mae-Bi's eyes narrowed.
"I was like you once. Born in the pit. The Nine Hells chewed us all, but I rose faster than most. Thought I was strong. Thought I was special."
He stepped forward, calm, reminiscing with venom in his voice.
"But Beak Mu-Gi—he was always above me. No matter what I did, no matter how much I bled, he stayed one step ahead. His martial arts… his instincts… everything."
Mun-Jae's eye twitched. "I hated it."
Mae-Bi said nothing.
"So I left. I joined the Empress. Refused that pathetic 'Second Squad Leader' title. I carved my own name out of poison and corpses. And now…"
He looked Mae-Bi dead in the eye. "Now I see the same fire in you. That's why I'm telling you—walk away. Train. Get stronger. You're not ready to face someone like me."
Mae-Bi's grip on his dagger tightened.
He took a breath. Then spoke, voice like steel under strain.
"I don't know what kind of weird, unrequited love you have for Beak, or what twisted obsession you're calling 'rivalry'—but don't drag me into it."
He stepped forward. A wave of red intent burst from his body like a pulse of death.
"You killed one of my people. You think I care about rank? About being better than anyone?" His teeth clenched. "All I ever wanted was to live. Quietly. Without this madness. But here you are… and now I have to put you down."
The pressure shifted.
Mun-Jae's smile fell. "So… you call my devotion obsession. You mock my path. You insult my past?"
His voice dropped into something colder than rage.
"Then I'll kill you slowly."
They moved at once—daggers flashing like lightning.
The first clash cracked the air. Mae-Bi barely deflected Mun-Jae's strike, the impact sending shudders through his bones.
Mun-Jae's Qi surged like a black tide. "Die, you arrogant little—!"
Mae-Bi vanished with Veil Step—closing the distance, blade spinning for a counterattack.
But Mun-Jae anticipated it. His Qi exploded outward, a sharp blast punching through Mae-Bi's guard. The younger assassin was thrown back, boots skidding through dirt, ribs aching.
His body screamed.
But he didn't fall.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and surged forward again—dagger ready, teeth bared.
At the other side —
Rak and Jin clashed again—fists swinging, eyes wild.
"Snap out of it, Jin Seori!" Rak shouted, blood on his lips. "Ever since he became leader, everything's gone to hell! Mae-Bi's bad news, open your damn eyes!"
But Jin didn't answer.
Instead, he slammed his fist straight into Rak's jaw, sending him flying into a tree with a sickening crunch. Rak gasped, coughing blood as he slid down the bark.
Jin approached like a machine, fury in every step. His eyes glowed red. His body pulsed with uncontrolled Qi. He raised his hand to strike the final blow—
—and a foot came down on his head from above.
Crack!
He staggered back.
"Yuri?!" Jin growled.
"You're welcome, idiot!" she shouted, landing between them. "We just wiped out the last of the assassins. I thought you needed saving."
Rak groaned and tried to stand, only for Dol-Gae's friends to rush in and shield him with their bodies.
"You guys… why are you helping me?" Rak muttered.
"You were a traitor, not a lost cause," one of them replied.
"Just jealous," another added, smirking.
Yuri turned to Jin. "Come on, Jin! This isn't you! Snap the hell out of it!"
But Jin roared and charged.
They didn't back down.
The team moved in together—clashing with Jin in a desperate attempt to restrain him, each one doing their part to save their friend from himself.
Meanwhile…
Mun-Jae chuckled, twirling his blade. "You're fast, Mae-Bi. But not fast enough."
He launched another barrage, sharp arcs of Qi cutting the air. Mae-Bi dodged, leapt, ducked—but it was clear: Mun-Jae was on another level.
"You talk big, but you haven't landed a single hit," Mun-Jae laughed, voice gleaming with arrogance.
Mae-Bi gritted his teeth. Blood trickled from his side, his legs ached, and his vision blurred. But something deeper pushed him forward—something sharper than pain.
A flicker.
A sudden blur.
He vanished.
"Behind you," Mae-Bi's voice rang out.
Mun-Jae spun, eyes widening—just as Mae-Bi's foot smashed into his jaw. Mun-Jae staggered, stunned, and Mae-Bi didn't waste the moment.
He tossed a dagger—a feint.
"Take that !".
Mun-Jae dodged on instinct.
Too late.
Mae-Bi surged in low and stabbed—steel slipping between the ribs.
"Got you," Mae-Bi whispered.
Mun-Jae gasped. Blood sprayed."my…my..blood."
Then his Qi exploded in rage, a crimson storm bursting from his core."NOOOO MY BLOOD!."
"You bastard!" he howled. The pressure was crushing, shaking the ground around them.
Mae-Bi stood his ground."tsk this bastard is another level I guess it's over."
"Thousand Venoms: Third Form — Serpent Dance!"
Mun-Jae's voice cracked through the forest like a whip.
A massive green serpent—formed from pure toxic Qi—burst forward, its fangs bared, maw wide. The snake slammed into Mae-Bi like a battering ram, dragging him across the ground with such force that the forest exploded in its wake—trees snapped, the soil melted, and poison scorched the earth.
Mae-Bi hit the ground hard, skidding through shattered bark and dirt, coughing blood as his body convulsed. He couldn't feel his arms. Could barely breathe.
If not for the system's passive resistance layer, he would've melted alive.
But even now, the system remained silent.
"Damn… it…" he choked.
"Mae-Bi!" Yuri screamed, running forward—only to be held back by the searing green mist left behind.
Jin collapsed nearby—eyes wide, breath frozen. The Qi backlash had paralyzed him mid-charge. He hit the ground, unconscious.
Mun-Jae exhaled and stepped forward, calm, blade humming in his hand. "Goodbye, Mae-Bi. You were strong. But you were never on my level."
He raised his blade again.
"STOP."
The forest froze.
Even Mun-Jae faltered. His hand paused mid-air.
The trees trembled. Birds exploded out of the canopy, fleeing.
A figure descended in a silent blur.
Black robes. An ashen-white Asura mask.
A chill colder than winter bled into the clearing.
Baek Mu-Gi.
"Didn't think the second pillar's lapdog would be so… sloppy," he said flatly. "Your training's as poisoned as your style."
Mun-Jae's teeth clenched. "Baek! You one-eyed bastard! You're the reason I lost this eye!"
Baek ignored him, already walking past.
He looked at the broken remains of the Fifth Division—scattered, burned, and unconscious.
Twenty Assasines appear behind beak.
"Pick them up," Baek ordered. "They're done here. They need treatment. Now."
Then he paused.
"The mission. Is it complete?"
Mae-Bi, barely clinging to consciousness, forced his trembling hand up—clutching the blackened, half-melted box.
"H-here… I… kept it… safe…"
Baek vanished and reappeared beside him in a blink, catching both the box and the boy before he hit the ground again.
He glanced at the charred container, untouched on the inside.
Then at Mae-Bi.
"Stupid," Baek muttered, picking up his unconscious body. "But loyal. The lord won't be pleased… but he'll be impressed."
"Don't you dare ignore me!" Mun-Jae roared from behind.
Baek turned his masked face halfway, voice calm. Cold.
"Remind me again. Who are you?"