Chapter 65: Welco, It's a Trap (1)
[Bell Tower Sect — Seoul Diocese Headquarters]
Red Dragon Gate Master Lee Won-ryong stepped out of the back seat of a luxury SUV that had arrived in front of the Bell Tower Sect's headquarters.
"The Sect Leader is waiting for you."
"Understood."
A Bell Tower Sect follower dressed in a black suit guided Lee Won-ryong inside.
The Bell Tower Sect's Seoul Diocese Headquarters was a forty-story building.
The Bell Tower Sect followers called that building the Black Iron Tower.
The absolute authority. The leader of the sect.
Sect Leader Bell Tower Heavenly King.
And one million followers who believed in her with blind devotion.
All manner of bizarre, sorcerous symbols packed the building's lobby to the brim.
An elevator that traveled only between the first and fortieth floors.
Riding it alone, Lee Won-ryong muttered quietly so no one could hear.
"Insane…… Cult bastard."
He was the Master of Red Dragon Gate, one of the Three Great Sects of the Republic of Korea — but honestly, the Bell Tower Sect at this point surpassed even Red Dragon Gate.
Especially with one deranged minister and one chief from Gukmubon acting as if they were possessed by sothing.
They were hamring his Red Dragon Gate and his alone to death.
As a result, his standing had been steadily shrinking.
"I should never have picked up Bell Tower Heavenly King's call back then."
That call from Bell Tower Heavenly King, which had co at a ti when he was cornered in crisis.
-It appears you are in need of assistance. Gate Master Lee.
-……How did you know that?
-The Tower reveals all to this King. Now then — will you join hands with our Bell Tower Sect?
The Bell Tower Sect was poison.
If he joined hands with them, the Goryeo Sword Sect, the Changbai Sect, and all the other sects would distance themselves from Red Dragon Gate.
But.
'There is no other way…….'
Driven to desperation, Lee Won-ryong had no choice but to take Bell Tower Heavenly King's hand, even knowing full well he shouldn't.
Red Dragon Gate's Lee Won-ryong had been released from Gukmubon along with a petition signed by one million Bell Tower Sect followers — but from that mont on, Lee Won-ryong had been used like an extension of Bell Tower Heavenly King's own limbs.
Ding!
The elevator arrived at the fortieth floor.
"Sect Leader. It is Lee Won-ryong."
The mont Lee Won-ryong stepped onto the fortieth floor, he felt a chill.
It wasn't even sumr yet, and yet it felt as though dozens of air conditioners were running at full blast.
"Oh my, you've arrived. Gate Master Lee."
Bell Tower Heavenly King was a heavyset woman in her fifties.
There she was at the very top of the Black Iron Tower's fortieth floor — receiving a massage while wearing nothing but a light slip.
A long pipe was tucked between her lips, and pale grey smoke curled from her face.
Around her, four young n in their twenties dressed in nothing but undergarnts kneaded her shoulders and legs.
Even with Lee Won-ryong present, Bell Tower Heavenly King paid no mind.
"Sit down over there. What are you doing? Not even offering our guest so tea."
"I am quite all right."
"Have so. It is this King who offers it."
While Lee Won-ryong averted his eyes from Bell Tower Heavenly King, another young and handso man brought out a cold cup of tea.
As the young man held out the tea, Lee Won-ryong noticed sothing on his forearm.
'……Blue veins?'
They were not ordinary veins.
Because a faint chill seed to hover around the edges of those bluish, visible veins.
Co to think of it, Lee Won-ryong himself was at the point of pulling his clothes tighter — and yet these young n showed no sign of feeling the cold whatsoever.
Just like her.
'Blue Blood Royal Guard.'
They had to be the Bell Tower Sect's royal guards, said to have blue blood flowing through their veins.
"It ca from the Murim Tower. They say it aids in advancing one's internal energy — so drink every drop."
"……Thank you."
Tea obtained at the cost of the Bell Tower Sect's young lives.
The tea was cold as ice.
Lee Won-ryong felt as though he were drinking blood.
"How is the aroma?"
"Wonderful."
"Hehehe."
Swish.
Bell Tower Heavenly King rose from her seat.
A fra like a bear.
Perhaps because she hoarded all the finest things for herself — her belly was thick with fat, and her face glead with grease.
A stark contrast to the Bell Tower Sect followers who grew increasingly gaunt by the day.
A silk dress was slipped onto Bell Tower Heavenly King.
She tilted her head slightly to sniff the napes of the young n dressing her, then spoke to Lee Won-ryong.
"Gate Master Lee, your head really is quite lovely every ti I see it."
"……Thank you."
It was well known that Lee Won-ryong's hair had begun falling out since middle school, and by high school he had gone completely bald.
Lee Won-ryong himself had even tattooed his scalp black in an attempt to hide it — only to end up looking all the more bizarre.
Lee Won-ryong's insides boiled at her words, but he forced himself to endure.
"Gate Master Lee, I hear your nickna is 'The Phone'?"
"Pardon?"
"They say you beat your subordinates senseless with whatever's in your hand. I suppose you happened to grab a phone."
Crack—!
Lee Won-ryong ground his back teeth.
The muscles of his jaw jutted out sharply.
'In the old days this woman wouldn't have been able to et my eyes, and now what does she think she's doing!'
Swish, swish—.
Bell Tower Heavenly King walked forward, the long silk hem sweeping across the marble floor.
The dress flowed with elegance, its folds perfectly smooth as though it had been pressed hundreds of tis without a single crease.
She sat down across from Lee Won-ryong.
"My, my — this tea is only good when it's cold, I keep saying."
"It is already cold."
She lightly pressed her finger against Lee Won-ryong's teacup.
Crack-crack-crack—! The tea froze in an instant.
It transford into sothing like a slushie encrusted with a thin layer of ice.
"Try it now. It'll be better."
Her playthings had not brought the wrong tea.
Bell Tower Heavenly King had done it on purpose — showing off her ice energy right before his eyes.
She was also a tower climber currently challenging the 37th floor, and the martial arts she had cultivated were exceptional, and the spiritual dicines she had devoured were considerable indeed.
'Indeed…… She's saying there is no one in the Republic of Korea who can match her in internal energy?'
Lee Won-ryong felt a chill in his chest, if only for a mont.
In the past she had concealed her ice energy, but now that she had fully consolidated her power, she revealed it without reservation.
"Much better. Thank you."
"Hehehe."
Lee Won-ryong praised her insight.
Honestly, it was cold enough to kill him. Eating ice in this already freezing room was sheer tornt.
But he had no choice but to smile.
Because he had no confidence in facing Bell Tower Heavenly King's ice energy head-on.
"Is sothing the matter?"
"Ah, not at all."
Lee Won-ryong quickly changed his expression.
Now was not the ti to exchange blows out of anger.
He decided to get to the point.
"Sect Leader. Gukmubon's recent movents are deeply unsettling."
"You an the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine? They say it's sothing that can catch the 14th floor Shadowless Divine Thief."
Bell Tower Heavenly King smiled as though she already knew everything.
Her smile was, for so inexplicable reason, unpleasant — and there was sothing about it that provoked people.
"Yes. Gukmubon has distributed the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine exclusively to the Goryeo Sword Sect and the Changbai Sect."
Lee Won-ryong put emphasis on the nas of those two sects.
His Red Dragon Gate was not included — but neither was her Bell Tower Sect.
Bell Tower Heavenly King gave that sa inexplicably unpleasant smile.
"The Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine — the Tower climb should present no issue without sothing like that."
"However, having that dicine raises the survival rate enormously. The more talented individuals who survive, the closer Tower conquest becos."
Bell Tower Heavenly King set her plump hand down on the table.
"The Tower is not sothing to be climbed by half-hearted tricks. It is only when one burns the very flas of one's own life in their challenge that the Tower bestows salvation."
Hearing her words, Lee Won-ryong inwardly scoffed.
'And yet she herself hasn't even attempted to conquer the thirty-seventh floor.'
Whether she sensed his thoughts or not, she continued speaking on her own.
"That too is the Tower's trial. Why is it that foolish non-believers cannot understand this."
She lightly extended her long pipe, and one of the young n approached to light it.
Whooo—.
Acrid smoke swirled around Bell Tower Heavenly King's face before dissipating.
"I am well aware of how courageous the Bell Tower Sect's followers are. But surely there should be no reason for those who need not die to perish in vain."
"Oh my. So Gate Master Lee concerned himself with such things? Different from what I'd heard."
Bell Tower Heavenly King exhaled a long plu of smoke.
The Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine at the 14th floor held enough power to shift the balance between sects.
Gukmubon was supplying so of the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine to the Goryeo Sword Sect and the Changbai Sect, but the majority was being held by Gukmubon itself.
Because of this, low-floor climbers were defecting from Red Dragon Gate in droves to register under Gukmubon.
That was what she had pointed out.
"Please help . Sect Leader."
"This King has already helped you. Gate Master Lee."
A peculiar smile settled on Bell Tower Heavenly King's lips.
Lee Won-ryong tried to read her smile but could not gauge it.
He decided to probe one step deeper.
"This is not simply a matter of obtaining the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine."
"……."
"The Naless Hero! And furthermore — a man called Ghost is currently shaking the very foundations of the Republic of Korea's Murim Tower landscape."
Chill—.
At those words, Bell Tower Heavenly King's smile vanished.
That's it!
Sensing that his strategy was working, Lee Won-ryong began to drive the nail ho.
"The appearance of the Golden Tower — that too is having a profound impact on the Bell Tower Sect—"
"Heretic!"
Thud!
She slamd the table with force.
Lee Won-ryong fell silent.
Bell Tower Heavenly King said, her eyes trembling at the corners:
"That man is a heretic! How dare you call him a hero — that wicked unbeliever who has conspired with the false prophet Ghost!"
Rumble!
At Bell Tower Heavenly King's fury, a chill spread through the entire 40th floor of the Black Iron Tower as though it might freeze solid in an instant.
"I apologize. I have caused you distress."
"I ask that you be more careful in your choice of words going forward."
Lee Won-ryong had been forced to summon even his internal energy for a mont — but he was glad that he had at least succeeded in provoking her.
"Sect Leader. Please mobilize the one million followers just once more."
"Hmph."
"The naless wretch that concerns the Sect Leader — I will deal with him personally."
"……And how?"
Her expression changed.
Lee Won-ryong smiled faintly and said,
"That I will handle myself."
"Can I trust you?"
"I have a reliable source."
Bell Tower Heavenly King exhaled smoke once more, then tapped ash into the ashtray.
After a brief silence, she gave a nod.
"What is it you need this King to do?"
"Please hold a rally in front of the Blue House for just two weeks."
"You intend to pressure President Park Jae-yeol again?"
"He is a man who lives and dies by his approval ratings. Two weeks is all it will take — even Gukmubon will be powerless."
"Very well. But."
She pointed at Lee Won-ryong.
"Deal with the heretic. My faithful followers are wavering."
"Of course."
Lee Won-ryong gave a thin smile.
Bell Tower Heavenly King flicked her finger.
Young n brought over a bag.
"A gift."
It was a black bag used at Gukmubon's Item Exchange.
He opened it — inside were ten vials of Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine.
"How did you get these?"
Into Lee Won-ryong's stunned eyes ca her laugh, as though it were nothing.
"Those with hearts full of faith in the Tower can be found in the Goryeo Sword Sect, in the Changbai Sect, and in Gukmubon as well."
"Thank you."
She had not ntioned Red Dragon Gate.
Lee Won-ryong smiled and rose to his feet.
He reached to take the bag containing the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine — thud—! Bell Tower Heavenly King placed sothing on top of the bag.
The ashtray she had been tapping her pipe against.
"Try changing your nickna this ti around."
"……!"
At the unmistakable mockery in her words, Lee Won-ryong's face flushed crimson.
Bell Tower Heavenly King was telling him to change his nickna to 'Ashtray'.
"Do you dislike it? It was carved from jade taken from the Tower."
She exhaled smoke once more.
Hearing those words, Lee Won-ryong set the ashtray placed atop the bag back onto the table with a face twisted in a strange grimace.
Thunk!
Whether from the weight of his rage, a crack split the ashtray clean through.
"……I will choose my own nickna."
"Do as you like."
She smiled faintly, and Lee Won-ryong rode the elevator down, grinding his teeth to dust.
Once Lee Won-ryong had disappeared, from a corner of the room — swish—! — a form materialized, and a middle-aged man appeared.
A man wearing a dark navy robe and even a wide-brimd bamboo hat.
His attire was that of a Gangho warrior straight out of the Tower.
"Sect Leader."
Bell Tower Heavenly King smiled without turning around.
"Hehe. You watched closely, did you not."
"I believe you provoked Gate Master Lee a little too much."
"Did it seem that way?"
"Red Dragon Gate may have been weakened, but it is still a massive sect."
"That is precisely why I did it."
"……Pardon?"
"Lee Won-ryong is a man who tucks his tail between his legs before a true powerhouse."
"That I am aware of."
"Which ans before the weak, he bares his fangs all the sa."
"……."
"He must be carved up. Into pieces just the right size to eat."
Tok tok. She tapped ash into the ashtray Lee Won-ryong had left behind.
Her red tongue licked her lips. As though savoring a morsel she had been longing to devour.
***
Lee Won-ryong, having descended to the first floor, was turning the conversation just past over in his mind.
'Those with hearts full of faith in the Tower can be found in the Goryeo Sword Sect, in the Changbai Sect, and in Gukmubon as well.'
A statent that she had planted spies everywhere.
Which ant.
'There are Bell Tower Sect rats in my Red Dragon Gate too.'
Damn it all.
The mont the elevator opened, he hurled the bag at the subordinate waiting for him on the first floor.
Whoosh—. Thump!
The subordinate staggered as he caught the bag and held it.
"Keep it safe."
"Yes……."
"Where's the car?"
"It's in the underground parking garage."
"Go get it now!"
"Yes, Gate Master."
The subordinate bolted off at once.
"Blast!"
He fud as he roughly grabbed the handle of the main entrance.
Crack-crack-crack! The handle of the sturdy Black Iron Tower's main entrance crumbled like clay.
As he waited for the car, he made a vow.
That his own nickna would be 'Bell Tower Heavenly King's Skull'.
But before that.
"I'll need to weed out those rats first."
***
"Damn Lee Won-ryong bastard, annoying every single word."
Lee Won-ryong's subordinate grumbled as he sprinted toward the underground parking garage to retrieve the car.
Beep beep—.
He opened the door and settled into the driver's seat.
He tossed the bag he'd received onto the passenger seat and was about to press the ignition button—
Clunk, thump——!
"Mmph!"
I vaulted into the back seat with the speed of lightning and clamped my hand over the subordinate's mouth and nose.
Then I imdiately fed him the Gu Poison.
"For the next two minutes, you rember nothing. Nothing happened, and you saw no one."
Swish—.
The subordinate's pupils went blank, and he was left sitting there in a daze.
"Success."
Smiling, I picked up the bag from the passenger seat and opened it.
Click.
Inside the bag were ten vials of Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine.
……So it was as I thought.
"The Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine I released has found its way to the Bell Tower Sect through so channel."
I bit down on my ring finger hard enough to draw blood.
I picked up one of the vials of Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine and sared my blood on the bottom.
Then I turned on the car's interior light and held it up to the beam.
Characters that reacted only to my poison energy.
A precaution I had taken in advance, anticipating that the dicine might be leaked.
The characters ca into view. A serial number I had inscribed beforehand.
'Eul-127'.
A laugh slipped out of before I could stop it.
"Eul is the Goryeo Sword Sect. The hundred and twenty-seventh vial of Purple Haze Dust Poison released."
The Goryeo Sword Sect — how convenient.
I'd be able to make the Choi brothers' power even more unshakeable.
"Even so."
The expression on Lee Won-ryong's face when I encountered him just now.
He had been in a state of fury and hostility.
"Bell Tower Heavenly King gave Lee Won-ryong my Purple Haze Dust Poison — and yet also fanned Lee Won-ryong's anger."
A contradictory act.
There is a hidden intent.
……Hmm.
"Bell Tower Heavenly King is targeting Red Dragon Gate."
Lee Won-ryong is a man of small caliber.
Plant animosity toward herself — toward Bell Tower Heavenly King — in him, and the direction that rage would turn was obvious.
Just like a mont ago — he would drive his subordinates into a frenzy.
Under pretexts like rooting out spies.
But ten years since the Tower's appearance.
Red Dragon Gate's thugs had by now grown heads thick enough to be thick, while Lee Won-ryong by comparison no longer possessed the sa charisma as before.
Right now was plenty of a situation where internal strife could erupt.
"She's aiming for internal collapse. Slice it up and swallow it piece by piece……. Impressive indeed."
Bell Tower Heavenly King.
"Rather clever."
She and I had the sa objective.
Only our thods differed.
"Bell Tower Heavenly King……. I'm sorry, but Red Dragon Gate has already been earmarked by . I cannot let you carve it up at your leisure."
Because I intend to swallow it in one gulp.
Gulp.
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