novelraw Chapter 116 : Faith and Loyalty in Reversal (1)
Chapter 116 : Faith and Loyalty in Reversal (1)
Chapter 116: Faith and Loyalty in Reversal (1)
Conflicts tied by trust, loyalty, and betrayal
Sasaha sat alone in her room, staring at the candle flame.
The candle flickered, casting dancing shadows on the walls. Every time the light waned, the darkness seemed to inch closer, threatening to engulf her.
The investigation by the Grand Investigation Hall was only three days away.
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
She scanned the documents spread out on the table once more.
All the evidence from the Ma Ungyeol incident pointed at her like arrows. Every sheet bore a red seal, and each letter seemed like a noose tightening around her neck.
The method of Jin Mukgyeol was undeniably hers.
The finger marks piercing the Gyeonjeong Acupoint, the precise angles aimed at the blood channels—it was obviously the martial art of a secret assassin. But a spirit would not move on its own. That was the basic principle of Soul-Summoning Arts.
“Someone manipulated this.”
She gritted her teeth and muttered, her voice hoarse.
A cold wind blew in through the window.
The candle flickered violently, twisting the shadows in the room into monstrous forms.
The school’s archives lay shrouded in darkness.
Sasaha quietly opened the door and slipped inside. Normally, she could walk in freely, but now she was under confinement, forbidden from leaving her residence.
‘Even coming here, I have to act like a thief.’
The old door creaked mournfully.
She had to dig through past case records to find any signs of tampering. Could a spirit imitate another spirit? If there were even a single similar case, it could serve as a clue.
But the shelves were already empty.
All the crucial materials had vanished. Only dust-laden, bare shelves stood before her as if mocking her.
‘Guun of the Twelve True Armies…’
Sasaha bit her lip hard.
His power had already passed through here.
“Pathetic people… Ma Ungyeol’s death is a grave matter. And yet, they use it just to frame me?”
Sasaha clenched her fists, her nails digging painfully into her palms.
“If I endure, the truth will be revealed.”
She steadied herself, recalling her loyalty. Her vows to the Cult Leader, the years she had devoted to the Heavenly Sound Cult. She wanted to believe it had not all been in vain.
Yet, deep in her heart, the seeds of doubt were growing.
As night deepened, the air grew colder.
Sasaha’s door opened silently. Without a sound, Guun entered like a shadow. His crimson robe brushed the floor, and a faint red aura seeped from his Bloodstone Sword.
Shh!
Sasaha lashed out with her whip.
But her whip was instantly caught by him. She had anticipated it… but the gap in martial prowess was too great.
“Become my woman, and I’ll halt the investigation.”
His hand rested on her shoulder.
Cold fingers brushed her skin, sending shivers down her spine. His breath smelled of alcohol.
Sasaha twisted her body to avoid him.
The chair toppled to the floor with a dull thud.
“I refuse.”
Her voice trembled, but she did not bend.
A slow smirk twisted Guun’s lips. Shadows fell across his face, making him look even more sinister.
“Tch! You can’t hold out. Though… if you had spread your legs so easily, I’d have been disappointed. That’s not Sasaha. Heh heh! But… don’t resist too much. That’s not attractive either.”
He turned and left.
His footsteps faded down the hallway.
At that moment, Sasaha instinctively felt that something horrific was about to happen.
The next morning, a scene of utter devastation unfolded.
Her loyal maid had been killed. The tortured body was displayed in the square. Her fingernails had been pulled out, her entire body covered in whip marks. Her face was so mangled it was unrecognizable.
Cult members passing through the square averted their eyes.
No one dared to make eye contact. Fear spread like air.
Sasaha knelt before the corpse.
Sohwa had come to her at a young age and spent ten years by her side. Bringing tea for her while under confinement had become a crime. The charge: having met a confined criminal.
“Sohwa…”
Her voice trembled. Tears streaked down her cheeks.
“Take it easy…”
Guun’s voice echoed in her ears.
She didn’t know when he had stood behind her.
With each layer of humiliation, her heart began to split. The cracks deepened.
“One. I’m disappointed that the Twelve True Armies member was just this kind of man. I knew he was lustful, but I expected him to have some sense of honor. Two. Why must I be treated this way? Bring me the evidence.”
“One. Let’s say you were bitten by a dog on your way past. Just close your eyes for one night. Two. The evidence you asked for? I have it all. Heh heh!”
Her fists shook.
Anger and despair surged together.
“All the years I devoted to the Cult, is this all there is?”
Rumors within the school spread like wildfire.
Guun’s followers whispered along every hallway. Their voices seeped like poison into the ears of the cult members.
“Lord of the Ten True Armies has great ambition; they say he’s aiming for the Cult Leader’s position.”
“So that’s why the Lord of the Eleven True Armies was eliminated.”
“It was planned from the start.”
The baseless rumors spread as a power struggle. The truth was irrelevant. People preferred to believe the more sensational stories.
On one side, there were voices defending the Lord of the Ten True Armies, but they gradually grew faint.
“Sasaha wouldn’t do that. She’s far too cautious a person.”
“But there’s evidence.”
“Evidence can always be fabricated.”
Yet such voices were quickly buried.
The Third True Army came to her.
Bloodshadow Assassin Wiryeonghye was Guun’s right hand. Rumor said they were deeply connected… Normally, she always looked at Sasaha with disdain, her words laced with barbs.
“Here I am running errands… Is it really that hard to lift a skirt? You knew, didn’t you? That man was always groping you. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
She sneered, a cold smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
“If I didn’t know… would you believe me?”
“You naïve thing? Well… you’re still a virgin, right? If you’ve been attached to that spirit so closely, at least your ability should have increased. How long have you been here? And you’re still the Lord of the Ten True Armies?”
Sasaha glared at her.
“Did the Lord of the Twelve True Armies send you?”
“I told you. It’s just an errand. If you don’t want your skirt lifted, ask someone to do it. It’s nothing.”
Wiryeonghye laughed.
“Why don’t you take it off yourself, then?”
“I already did. Ah! Don’t misunderstand. I just live on the side that wins. I have no intention of sinking with the losers. Right now, by anyone’s judgment… hohoho!”
She cackled.
The most painful betrayal came from an old comrade.
Eleventh True Army member, Cho Unhyeok. He was similar in age, and their Soul-Summoning Arts level was comparable, so they had been close comrades.
Yet he publicly declared:
“I will no longer be entangled with Sasaha. Do not ask me about anything regarding her.”
He made the declaration in front of all the executives.
‘I understand.’
Sasaha did not hate Cho Unhyeok.
Even the haughty Wiryeonghye had come. From that, she knew what kind of pressure Guun must have applied to Cho Unhyeok. Perhaps what Guun ordered Cho Unhyeok to say was even harsher.
Guun revealed his true colors in earnest.
One thing was certain: his desire to take her this time was genuine. He would absolutely follow through. Perhaps he had already communicated this matter with the Cult Leader.
“How many years have I served the Heavenly Sound Cult… only for it to be so hollow?”
She merely turned her head.
Her isolation deepened.
No one now stood on her side.
The fabrication of evidence was meticulous and cunning.
From her room came the black whip stained with Ma Ungyeol’s blood.
The whip bore his dried blood. The brownish stains were distinct. A few strands of Sasaha’s hair were pressed onto the whip as well.
When the Grand Investigation Hall began the search, this whip was discovered.
“You’ve fought the Lord of the Eleven True Armies before, haven’t you?”
The investigator lifted the whip.
“No.”
“There’s blood here… you’d better admit it. You can’t cover the sky with your hand.”
“You know the whip is planted evidence… Anything you want to say? Speak.”
“You know it already. The Lord of the Twelve True Armies’ thoughts.”
“Do you not care that the Lord of the Eleven True Armies died?”
“That investigation has been taken up by another team. Don’t worry. Eating isn’t the only thing we do; we speak as well…”
“Go. Before it kills.”
The investigator turned with a cold expression.
The most desperate thing was the Cult Leader’s indifference.
The letter Sasaha had written in desperation was returned unopened. On the envelope, sealed with a red stamp, were only the cold words: ‘Submission Rejected.’
A Cult Leader’s aide came to mock her.
“The Cult Leader has no interest in your matters. Don’t you know all internal affairs have been entrusted to the Lord of the First True Army?”
He spoke in an irritated tone.
“If you wish to speak with the Cult Leader, bring information about the Manifest Demon Emperor. Even if it’s something as trivial as urinating along the road, it will be heard.”
“I understand.”
Sasaha answered calmly.
She was aware that the Cult Leader was devoting all his efforts to the Manifest Demon Emperor’s resurrection.
‘Resurrection of the Manifest Demon Emperor? Gugwi…’
Sasaha recalled Gugwi. The terms ‘Manifest Demon Emperor’ and ‘Spirit Flow Core’ were interpreted as referring to the same thing.
As if things weren’t bad enough, outside forces intervened.
A spy dispatched from the Cold Wolf Sect infiltrated the school. They intended to fan the flames of the Heavenly Sound Cult’s internal conflict.
“The Lord of the Ten True Armies is innocent.”
The spies quietly spread the rumor.
“This is all Guun’s conspiracy.”
But this rumor only served as poison. Guun used it as a pretext to brand Sasaha as an external traitor.
“The Lord of the Ten True Armies is colluding with the Cold Wolf Sect!”
He shouted, his voice filled with rage.
“A traitor who has betrayed the Cult!”
Sasaha was no longer merely a victim of a power struggle; she had become a rebel in league with foreign enemies.
Her confinement was intensified.
A lock was placed on Sasaha’s door. Iron bars were installed on the windows, the cold metal blocking the sunlight.
The room grew dark, like a prison.
Guards patrolled the doorway day and night.
She could not take a single step outside.
Meals were given only once a day. Cold porridge and salted radish were all she received. She was treated as a traitor.
Nights were even harder to endure.
Guun’s visits were relentless. Each night he came and turned her insides upside down, while the guards pretended not to notice. No, they were his men from the start.
“Changed your mind?”
He asked with a sinister laugh.
“If you come into my arms, everything will be resolved. You know there’s no time, right? Even I have limits to what I can stop.”
His hand touched her hair. The sensation was repulsive.
Sasaha turned her head.
“Maintain your dignity as the Lord of the Ten True Armies.”
Her voice remained firm, but gradually weakened.
Guun laughed.
“Then you’ll continue rotting like this.”
The candle went out, plunging the room into complete darkness.
Sasaha’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor. She no longer had the strength to remain seated.
“Was all of this in vain?”
Her voice echoed hollowly.
From the darkness came a whisper. A voice of anger, a whisper of vengeance.
Her loyalty to the Heavenly Sound Cult began to waver. Darkness grew in the heart of the betrayed. Something fundamental in Sasaha’s gaze began to change.