Chapter 7: Sharing the afterlife

The head instructor’s shout sent two instructors charging toward the twins.

The twins’ swift approach seemed impossible to redirect, as if they’d be caught.

It looked like that’s how it would go.

Until the instructors’ hands just missed them.

The twins, somehow, moved in a way hard to believe on this dirt ground, ducking low and sliding across it.

‘What was that?!’

Like sliding on ice.

As the instructors stared dumbfounded, the head instructor shouted.

“Such fools!”

He stomped, and—

– Boom!

A dust cloud rose with a loud noise, and he vanished.

Or rather, he dashed forward, grabbing the twins by their napes.

‘That’s… a martial master!’

Seo couldn’t hide her awe.

He was on a different level from any martial artist she’d seen.

The black-path master who shocked her village called himself first-rate.

But his words likely meant he was third- or second-rate.

Even that thug seemed absurdly strong to her…

‘Is he… even human?’

Compared to the head instructor, that thug was like a child before an adult.

A peak master.

The term hit Seo directly for the first time.

A supreme realm, unreachable even with a lifetime of effort for someone talentless like her.

‘But… someday…’

If she could just track that movement with her eyes, she’d no longer be ordinary.

She wouldn’t be a weakling, stripped of everything.

That strength would be enough.

As Seo’s desire for martial arts flared, the twins’ voices rang out from the head instructor’s grip.

The boy, Baekak, shouted.

“Let go!”

The girl, Baekran, ignoring her capture, kept yelling toward Seo.

“Boss! Boss! Over here!”

The head instructor, already furious at their rule-breaking charge toward the servants, grew angrier seeing them disregard him.

His face turned red.

“What are you brats doing?!”

“Let go! The Boss is right there!”

“Boss! Can you see me? It’s Baekran!”

Their complete disregard shocked Seo.

‘They haven’t changed a bit…’

Still making others’ stomachs churn, acting like they’d mastered ignoring people.

Even from this distance, the head instructor’s rage was clear.

Veins bulged in his gripping hands, his body trembling with anger.

The instructors, seeing this, rushed to him, grabbing his arms, pleading.

“Head Instructor! Ease your grip! Those troublemakers aren’t new to this!”

“Right! With the graduation ceremony near, if a Silver Plaque student gets hurt, the director might punish us…!”

– Grind.

The sound of the head instructor’s teeth made Seo feel cold sweat and a damp back.

Was this killing intent…?

But the twins, true to form, kept yapping as if oblivious.

“Boss! Hey?! Did we just make eye contact?!”

“Let me go! I need to see the Boss!”

Suppressing the urge to bury them, the head instructor roared.

“Who’s this ‘Boss’ you keep talking about?! Is there really a ‘Boss’ among these servants?!”

“Ahem… I think they’re looking for me…”

Fearing things would escalate, Seo stepped forward as soon as he asked.

Instantly, nearly a hundred pairs of eyes turned to her.

Soso’s gaze beside her felt especially piercing.

Glancing at Soso, Seo saw her revert to last night’s expression when she saw Seo thrash Danryang.

Did I mess up?

Seo wanted to sigh but swallowed it, facing the head instructor.

She’d hoped for a reunion…

‘Not like this…’

Barely half a moment after seeing the twins, she already felt she could go a while without seeing them again.

Kyomakwan has three plaques.

Gold Plaque.

Silver Plaque.

Bronze Plaque.

Given to students excelling academically.

In modern terms, like grades 1, 2, and 3 in a national exam.

Below that, students are just regular.

Each plaque comes with privileges.

One Silver Plaque privilege is having personal quarters and assigned servants.

The reason for mentioning this is simple.

Among the cult’s genius late bloomers, the twins, Baekran and Baekak, earned Silver Plaques.

And at their request, Seo and Soso became their servants.

More precisely, Soso was just noticed by the head servant and ordered to join Seo.

They stood before the twins’ quarters.

Soso, awestruck, said.

“Wow, it’s huge…”

The Silver Plaque quarters weren’t a grand palace but rivaled a wealthy village family’s home.

In short, a place ordinary folk like Seo and Soso could never dream of entering.

“Yeah.”

“Should we… go in?”

Seo looked at Soso, back to using formal speech.

She’d clear the misunderstanding someday, but not today.

The twins alone gave her enough headaches, especially since her painstaking explanation to Soso hadn’t lasted a day.

They entered the empty quarters.

The room was a mess, likely from lacking dedicated servants.

They decided to clean before the twins, off for punishment for disobeying instructors and disrupting order, returned.

Hours passed.

– Slam!

The door burst open, and the twins, covered in dirt and sweat, rushed in without removing their shoes.

“Boss!!!”

“Gah!”

Before Seo could respond, the twins tackled her.

Unable to withstand their force, she tumbled to the floor with them.

Like a year ago.

Like in the village.

As if transported to the past.

Seo was about to yell for them to get off when—

“Wah… I missed you, Boss.”

“Boss, you don’t know how tough it’s been without you…”

The twins, clinging to her, started crying.

Seo realized something.

No matter their Silver Plaque status or strong martial arts, the twins, welcoming her so noisily, were still just fourteen.

How hard must it have been for kids?

Sold to strangers, thrust among unknowns, forced into grueling martial training.

If Seo were truly fourteen, she’d never have survived Kyomakwan.

Feeling a pang, she patted each twin with a hand.

“Yeah… It’s been tough, hasn’t it?”

The three began catching up on their belated reunion.

The most intense reaction came when they heard about thrashing Danryang yesterday.

Of course, she omitted learning martial arts.

She’d tell trustworthy Soyul, whom she hadn’t met, but feared the twins would blab.

“That jerk’s the worst!”

Baekran agreed.

“No way! If the Vice-Boss were here, we’d grab tools like old times and go after them!”

Baekak, as in the village, suggested teaching troublemakers a lesson.

Since the Vice-Boss came up, Seo asked.

“By the way, kids, where’s Soyul?”

“The Vice-Boss? Somewhere for closed-door training or something…”

“Idiot! It’s closed-door training!”

“What? Idiot? Didn’t I tell you not to call me that?!”

“You’re an idiot, so what else do I call you?”

“You… You! Come here!”

Used to the twins’ usual bickering, Seo ignored it.

Until a frightened sound came.

“Hic…”

Soso, terrified by the true disciples’ fight, looked lost.

Worried the trouble might spill onto her.

“Stop it, kids. You’re scaring Soso…”

“Soso?”

“Who’s that?”

At Seo’s words, the twins stopped and looked at the frightened Soso.

“Boss, who’s she?”

“Idiot! Didn’t you listen? The Boss’s friend!”

Seo realized she hadn’t formally introduced Soso to the twins.

In a room even more lavish than the twins’ quarters, a boy with ash-gray hair stared at a kneeling servant.

“You’re sure you delivered it properly?”

“Y-Yes. I definitely placed the letter in the closed-door training chamber…”

“I’m asking if Sim Soyul read my letter.”

“W-Well, I don’t know that…”

A dagger stabbed near the trembling servant’s head.

“Eek!”

“Useless. I’ll spare you, so get out.”

The servant fled without looking back.

Alone, the ash-haired boy muttered with madness.

“Sim Soyul… Let’s see if you can stay calm when I tear apart those kids you cherish.”

Thinking of someone above him, he ground his teeth.

No one could stand above him.