Urban Vagabond: Reload

“It was a coincidence. A coincidence.”

Ivan Volkov narrowed his eyes at Kim Muhyuk’s shameless expression across the table.

He had received a report about the clash between Skybreaker Gate and the Black Night Gang.

By chance, Kim Muhyuk had been nearby. Ivan had confirmed that fact, summoned him to investigate the connection, and questioned him.

“I have no connection whatsoever to an unorthodox sect like the Black Night Gang. Honestly, I don’t even know why you called me here.”

Why had he called him?

Because Kim Muhyuk’s movements were deeply suspicious.

“Are you saying it was merely a coincidence that you were at Skybreaker Gate at that time? CCTV footage shows you entering the Skybreaker Gate building through a window while the Black Night Gang boss was visiting.”

Ivan presented clear evidence that gave him every reason to suspect Kim Muhyuk.

Kim Muhyuk, however, claimed that it was proof of his innocence.

“If I had truly intended to infiltrate the building, I wouldn’t have been caught on CCTV. So the footage proves I’m innocent.”

“Wow...”

Ivan Volkov stared at Kim Muhyuk in disbelief. Even after many years as a World Martial Alliance investigator, he had never encountered anyone quite like him.

“Investigator, I only went there because I was angry and wanted to confront Yang Seonu. He gave false testimony during the confrontation interrogation. I’ll admit that the Black Night Gang boss’s visit made it easier for me to meet Yang Seonu.”

That was precisely why Ivan suspected him.

“That coincidence worked out very favorably for you. It is now uncertain whether the Skybreaker Gate sect leader will be able to attend the next confrontation interrogation.”

The Skybreaker Gate sect leader had become embroiled in an unprecedented scandal overnight.

There were allegations that he had borrowed an enormous sum from the Black Night Gang, one of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects, and never repaid it.

The Black Night Gang boss had personally come ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) after him like a creditor and made a scene, so the suspicion was only growing.

For a martial artist of the orthodox world, where honor was valued as dearly as life itself, it was a devastating stain. If he failed to clear his name in time, even his position as sect leader could be at risk.

“Was all of this truly a coincidence?”

The investigator’s instincts told him that it could not all be coincidence.

Kim Muhyuk merely shrugged.

“I think the Skybreaker Gate sect leader was finally punished for all the evil he has done.”

Ivan shook his head at Kim Muhyuk’s brazen attitude.

“Let me ask a different question. You said Yang Seonu gave false testimony. Do you have proof?”

“I’m still looking for it. When I find it, I’ll show it to you before anyone else.”

“...Martial Artist Kim Muhyuk. Look directly at me.”

Setting down the documents in his hands, Ivan Volkov silently studied Kim Muhyuk’s face.

“...”

“...”

When Ivan looked at someone like this, most people would shrink back or grow uneasy, even when innocent.

But Kim Muhyuk did not avoid his gaze. Nor did he show the slightest sign of unease.

That made him all the more suspicious.

I can’t read him. Either he truly has nothing to be ashamed of...

Or he is an exceptionally good liar.

Rarely, someone could be both.

A man of the same nationality as Kim Muhyuk came to Ivan Volkov’s mind.

“Investigator.”

As Ivan fell silent in thought, Kim Muhyuk spoke first.

“Do you think I moved the Black Night Gang to put the Skybreaker Gate sect leader in a difficult position? I may be a little more capable than most people my age, but I do not yet have that kind of power.”

Listening to something that was somehow both modest and unbearably presumptuous, Ivan found himself suddenly curious.

“If...”

Out of nothing but pure curiosity, he asked Kim Muhyuk a question.

“If you possessed power beyond that, what would you do with it?”

—If you had the power to change the world, what would you do?

This was the second time Ivan Volkov had asked a question like that.

The first person who had answered had also been Korean.

Now, he was the Strongest in the World.

Richard. Would this young man give an answer like yours?

Kim Muhyuk answered Ivan Volkov’s subtle gaze without even pausing to think.

“If I ever gain that kind of power, I’ll save the world if it is in danger.”

“...!”

He said it with a light smile, almost as though he were joking. But Ivan swallowed the next question that had risen to his lips and nodded.

“An interesting answer.”

He decided that he could learn nothing more directly from Kim Muhyuk.

“Very well. You may leave.”

Kim Muhyuk rose and gave a clasped-hands martial salute.

But as he was about to leave, something seemed to occur to him. He turned back toward Ivan.

“May I make a suggestion? For the next confrontation interrogation...”

“...Are you serious?”

After Kim Muhyuk made his proposal and left, Ivan Volkov stood with his arms crossed, his expression stiff as he sank into thought.

For a long while, he did not move.

Then the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

Heh.

“It feels as though I’m stepping onto a chessboard that young martial artist has prepared...”

Ivan Volkov had come to Korea to investigate whether the Korean Martial Alliance had committed illegal acts or abused its authority through the special audit, then report the most transparent result possible to the World Martial Alliance.

However, the method of investigation was left to the investigator’s discretion.

Ivan Volkov was free to choose as he pleased.

—Why not make the next confrontation interrogation much bigger?

The proposal Kim Muhyuk had just made was exactly the kind Ivan liked.

“...I’ll gladly step onto that chessboard. The wider you cast the net, the more fish you catch.”

Having made his decision, Ivan picked up his phone.

A short while later, he was connected to the Russian branch of the World Martial Alliance.

Ivan Volkov identified himself and stated the purpose of his call.

“This is Investigator Ivan Volkov. I have a request concerning this special audit.”

*****

After leaving the investigator, Kim Muhyuk hurried to Choi Geon’s hospital room.

Yeo Pilgeuk had contacted him, suggesting that he should come see his master himself.

His condition hasn’t gotten worse, has it?

Kim Muhyuk entered the room with that worry weighing on him. But contrary to his fears, Choi Geon was awake.

He let out a breath of relief.

“Master! When did you wake—”

“Muhyuk is here.”

It was not Choi Geon who answered, but Yeo Pilgeuk, seated beside him.

Choi Geon was sitting upright in the hospital bed, blankly staring out the window.

“...”

Even though Kim Muhyuk had arrived, Choi Geon did not turn around. It was as if he could not hear anything at all.

Yeo Pilgeuk sighed with a bitter expression.

“When he first woke, we exchanged a few words. But at some point, he stopped responding no matter how often I called him. He has only sat here, looking outside.”

“Master?”

Kim Muhyuk stepped closer.

Choi Geon’s eyes were clear and transparent, like a child’s. His gaze was turned toward the window, yet it was unfocused.

“Is it because of the Inner Demon?”

“It is difficult to say for certain. But I suspect...”

Yeo Pilgeuk recalled the sensation he had felt when Choi Geon first awakened and cautiously explained his theory.

“It seems that enlightenment came to him alongside the Inner Demon, and Sword Demon may be glimpsing the realm of a peerless master.”

“A peerless master...!”

Kim Muhyuk’s eyes widened in surprise, but Yeo Pilgeuk shook his head with a troubled expression.

“It is not wholly something to celebrate. To face the realm of a peerless master is no different from saying that his madness has reached its peak. And with the Inner Demon added to it... I cannot begin to imagine what may be happening in this friend’s mental world.”

There was no way to predict how long it would take Choi Geon to overcome it.

If he could not, he might have to live in this state for the rest of his life.

That was why Yeo Pilgeuk had urgently called Kim Muhyuk.

“...Master will be all right.”

Kim Muhyuk sat across from his master and looked directly into his eyes.

Choi Geon’s gaze was still fixed on somewhere far away, but Kim Muhyuk believed that he could hear his voice.

“Master, congratulations in advance on becoming a peerless master. When you wake up, we should all get together and throw you a celebration.”

“...”

“We can hold it with your birthday party. Ah, I wasn’t supposed to say that... You’ll pretend you didn’t hear it, right?”

“...”

Yeo Pilgeuk, who had watched the scene with regret, rose from his seat.

“I should be going. Contact me if anything happens.”

“Thank you. I know you’re busy.”

After Yeo Pilgeuk left, Kim Muhyuk and Choi Geon were alone.

Kim Muhyuk took hold of his master’s hand, rough with calluses.

Then he continued speaking to the man who showed no response, as though he could not hear.

“Master, do you know what happened today? The Skybreaker Gate sect leader was humiliated beyond belief. He suddenly found himself being threatened by a creditor. You should have seen the look on his face...”

“...”

No matter what his disciple said, Choi Geon did not react.

Even so, Kim Muhyuk told him about the events of the day one by one, as though he were listening.

“Oh, and I met Yang Seonu too. He was hiding his martial level.”

“...”

Yang Seonu had been using a method he learned from Choi Geon to conceal his true martial level.

But when he briefly lost control before Kim Muhyuk, he had revealed his real aura together with his killing intent.

Kim Muhyuk had not missed that moment.

“If I hadn’t grown used to Master’s aura, I might not have noticed either. Everyone thinks he is still a pinnacle expert, but he is a supreme master.”

“...”

Only a very small number among the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects and the old masters had reached the realm of a supreme master.

Yang Seonu had concealed martial arts comparable to theirs.

“Master, do you think I can defeat Yang Seonu?”

“...”

“Without borrowing Phantom Dream’s power, can I bring him down with my own sword and martial arts alone?”

“...”

Choi Geon merely looked at Kim Muhyuk with unfocused eyes.

But Kim Muhyuk thought he knew what his master would say.

Is that truly what you want to ask?

Kim Muhyuk nodded and asked again, his expression hesitant.

“...Can I kill the former disciple you cherished like a son in your place?”

“...”

Yang Seonu, as Kim Muhyuk had seen him, was an evil man who would bring great harm to the world.

That was why Kim Muhyuk had already decided to kill him and had even gone to threaten him.

But—

“If Master does not want that... I will try to find another way. A way that does not end with killing him.”

Kim Muhyuk cared for Choi Geon as a person, not merely as his master.

He did not want to see him suffer any longer.

It was the only thing that made him hesitate when it came to punishing an evil man like Yang Seonu.

“...Is he evil?”

“Master? Master!”

Perhaps it was because he sensed the hesitation in his disciple’s trembling voice.

For a brief moment, focus returned to Choi Geon’s eyes. Then he spoke again.

“Is he evil?”

It was a short question.

Kim Muhyuk looked into his master’s eyes and answered without hesitation.

“Yes. He is unquestionably evil.”

“Then cut him down.”

At his master’s answer, filled with unshakable resolve, Kim Muhyuk’s last hesitation vanished.

“I understand.”

As though satisfied by that answer, Choi Geon smiled faintly and closed his eyes.