The World’s Greatest is Dead

The World’s Greatest is Dead – Chapter 103

Slowly, I lifted my heavy eyelids and opened my eyes. A wooden ceiling came into view. It was an unfamiliar ceiling. That was my immediate impression upon waking.

“…… Hmm.”

What could that be? While pondering for a moment, I tried to lift my body-

*Crack-!*

“—!!”

As soon as I rose, an intense pain shot through my body. It hurt so much I couldn’t even curse. The pain was so overwhelming that I almost passed out again.

Barely managing to withstand it, I lifted my upper body. Even that made my entire body ache and feel like it was tearing apart. My right arm, in particular, felt almost numb.

Wondering why, I took a closer look.

‘Oh.’

Bandages were wrapped around me. When I felt my body with my left hand, I found bandages not only on my right arm but also wrapped around my head and torso.

‘So, this is why my body hurts so much? Why am I like this?’

Stopping my thoughts, I widened my eyes.

‘Ah.’

Pal Du-Hyeok.

And Broken Heaven Palace.

The events at Secret Vault came back to me. As I understood, I staggered and fully stood up.

‘What happened?’

What was the situation? If I regained consciousness here, did it mean everything was resolved?

I recalled my last memory and held my breath.

‘I killed Pal Du-Hyeok.’

Yu Chun-gil, using my body, killed Pal Du-Hyeok with sword qi. Immediately after, it seemed like Poison King had escaped?

‘And then?’

What happened next? I seemed to have fainted right after that.

‘Where is Yu Chun-gil?’

Where did the old men go? Poison Sovereign and Yu Chun-gil should have been around back then, but neither was visible.

‘Where is this place?’

It clearly wasn’t my room. As I looked around curiously,

*Creeak-!*

The door beside me opened, and someone walked in. Our eyes met. When they realized I was awake, they started trembling in surprise.

It was Tang Yelan.

“B-Young master Bang.”

“Ah, Young lady Ta-”

“Are you alright..!?”

Before I could call, she rushed over to check on me.

“Are you alright……?”

“No. I don’t think I am, but it’s bearable.”

Suppressing the groans, I asked Tang Yelan.

“…… What happened?”

In response to my question, Tang Yelan explained, “You’ve been unconscious for over three days.”

“…… Three days?”

Had it really been that long? I was genuinely surprised at that revelation.

I urgently inquired further upon hearing the time.

“What about Young master Chun and Senior Do Hyung?”

How were those two? As I asked, Tang Yelan answered my inquiries.

“They’re both safe.”

“…… That’s a relief.”

It seemed like there were no issues. While Do Hyung seemed trustworthy enough, I was somewhat worried about Chun Uijin.

‘No, Do Hyung is equally important.’

I relied on the guardian spirit attached to him, but it didn’t even function properly.

‘What the heck?’

Why did it stay still even during an attack? It didn’t make sense.

‘A normal guardian spirit would have gone berserk, right?’

Do Hyung’s guardian spirit was unusually calm. Even when the situation turned dire, it remained the same.

‘What’s up with that?’

What kind of guardian spirit could be like that? It was significantly different from any other guardian spirit I knew.

Anyway, as Tang Yelan spoke about those two, she rose and said, “For now… I’ll go call the others.”

“Oh, okay.”

When Tang Yelan returned, she came back with several people.

* * *

“Young master Bang..!”

Chun Uijin entered, checking to see if I was conscious. Seeing him, I managed a slight smile.

“…… Yes. Have you been well?”

“Are you alright……?”

“Yes.”

“I’m relieved you’re awake……”

Behind him, Do Hyung followed with his usual expression.

Around him, the guardian spirit was floating around as before. I frowned at the sight.

There wasn’t much difference between when the attack happened and now.

‘Is that really a guardian spirit?!’

Ignoring the absurdity of this, I decided to examine other things first.

Along with two people, Tang Yelan brought someone along. By the attire, it was clear they were a physician.

“I’ve come to conduct a medical examination. I apologize for the intrusion.”

The approaching physician carefully examined my body. He handed over the task without saying much. I remembered that the physicians I had encountered before were all quite rude.

‘… Indeed, a person changes with their circumstances.’

I could feel the change in attitude since my position slightly improved.

After a brief examination, the physician spoke to Do Hyung.

“Although the external injuries are severe, fortunately, the internal injuries aren’t a major issue. Since Young master Bang Sung-Yun is a martial artist, his natural recovery will be fast. The complete recovery shouldn’t take too long.”

The diagnosis wasn’t bad.

Although the external injuries were severe, the internal injuries were manageable.

That was good enough.

For a martial artist, internal injuries were more feared than external ones.

“Thank you.”

When Do Hyung thanked the physician, the physician politely bowed before leaving.

Only then did Do Hyung start talking to me.

“How is your body holding up?”

“It’s okay. How are you and Young master Chun?”

“I’m fine. However, Senior…”

Chun Uijin directed his gaze at Do Hyung’s chest.

Upon closer inspection, bandages were visible through Do Hyung’s martial arts uniform.

“Are you injured?”

“It’s just a scratch.”

“Senior, you normally don’t wrap bandages like that for a mere scratch.”

Though he claimed it was a scratch, it was clearly a sword wound.

He must have been injured during the battle.

‘But still.’

Arms, legs, eyes, and nose were all intact, so it wasn’t too bad.

Nothing was broken or damaged completely.

Well, except for…

‘It seems his right arm is pretty wrecked.’

But since the physician said it could be fully healed, that was reassuring.

With Chun Uijin and Do Hyung alive, and no immediate issues in sight, I judged the situation and asked Tang Yelan.

“What happened after I collapsed?”

Tang Yelan responded.

“Thankfully, thanks to your efforts, we managed to suppress the attack.”

So, the attack was successfully fended off.

‘Well, of course.’

Spear Demon was killed, and Poison King appeared at the end. It made sense there were no further issues.

“What about the family head?”

“The family head is currently dealing with the current situation and handling the spies within the family.”

I nodded upon hearing this.

“Spies, huh.”

Given what happened at the Secret Vault, it made sense to prioritize weeding them out.

The problem was…

‘Is that even possible?’

I wasn’t sure if it could be done so easily.

‘If those who came with us to the Secret Vault were also spies.’

Even those elites whom the Poison King trusted turned out to be spies.

‘Can they really be filtered out?’

I had doubts, but…

‘Well, that’s Poison King’s problem to handle.’

It wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

The important thing wasn’t that.

“Then… it’s difficult to meet the family head immediately.”

“It seems so… Today might be challenging.”

“Understood.”

Since waking up, I had things to discuss with the family head.

Matters regarding the Secret Vault and compensation too, but…

‘It can’t be helped.’

I had to accept it if I couldn’t meet me right away.

The reasons were adequate.

“Ugh…”

Confirming this, I fully rose. Tang Yelan rushed to support me.

“Young master-nim!”

“I’m fine.”

I declined, stating I could stand on my own.

My upper body was the problem, not my lower body.

Or not. Seeing the trembling, maybe that wasn’t true either.

Anyway, I could walk, so I carefully headed outside.

Chun Uijin and Do Hyung watched me with worried eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine.”

I lazily waved my hand.

I did feel a bit dizzy, but I just headed out.

“Young master-nim, you shouldn’t be moving around recklessly.”

Tang Yelan hastily followed, trying to support me.

I intended to refuse, but seeing the desperate plea on her face, I relented.

Tang Yelan got close, and a floral scent wafted by.

‘What is this?’

Did she always smell like this? Perhaps I had previously noticed a faint scent of sweat.

The floral scent was a new one.

I found it curious but didn’t bother to ask.

With Tang Yelan’s support, I made it outside the building.

“Where are you heading…?”

“Just for a walk. I’ve been lying down too long, and my head feels a bit dizzy.”

“Ah. A walk?”

Her voice brightened noticeably.

‘… Hmm.’

This confirmed the eerie feeling I had previously.

Could she really be…

‘Does she really like me?’

It seemed to give off that impression.

So, should I ask her directly like last time?

‘… No.’

I restrained myself. If it were true, dealing with it would be annoying.

While thinking this, I walked along the streets of the Tang clan.

“… Look over there.”

“What? Where should I… Ah.”

I felt some eyes on me.

It wasn’t unusual. Ever since coming to the Tang clan, many people had been watching me.

There had been a lot of attention because I was from the Small Moon Division, and perhaps word had spread that I was the Sword Saint’s successor.

However, ‘This time it feels different?’

It felt completely different from the beginning.

Everyone, martial artists and non-martial artists alike, were staring at me as I passed by.

Their gazes extended beyond mere curiosity.

‘Is it surprise? Fascination?’

It was something more than curiosity.

Why were they looking at me like that?

As I pondered this, Tang Yelan quietly spoke to me.

“… It’s because word has spread that you defeated Spear Demon.”

She seemed to have figured out my thoughts and answered.

“Ah…”

So that was it. They knew I had defeated Pal Du-Hyeok?

If so, it made sense.

‘Someone must have talked.’

Not many people had witnessed what happened in the duel.

But it seemed the information had spread within days.

Hence, their reactions.

“… They said he used sword qi.”

“Using sword qi… does it mean he has reached the peak level already?”

“Still in his mid-twenties and already at the peak? Even the Seven Geniuses couldn’t achieve that…”

They seemed to know that I defeated Pal Du-Hyeok with sword qi.

Which made me appear as a peak-level martial artist.

‘It’s understandable.’

Common sense is called common sense because it’s typical.

It wasn’t just about beating Pal Du-Hyeok by using sword qi.

Even using sword qi, meant I was naturally being considered a peak-level martial artist.

I ignored the murmurs reaching my ears as I walked.

Wherever I went, people were there.

And they all showed similar reactions towards me.

Just how far had the rumors spread?

It seemed to have circulated throughout the entire Tang clan.

‘This is not good.’

If things continued like this, the rumors could spread to other regions.

No, it wasn’t just a risk; it was certain.

‘Tsk.’

I clicked my tongue. Though this situation wasn’t favorable… There was another problem.

‘I found it.’

I discovered something and stopped walking.

Then I spoke to Tang Yelan.

“I have something to take care of ahead, I will go alone.”

“Pardon?”

“I want to look at the flowers ahead alone.”

“… Ah?”

Tang Yelan looked puzzled at my sudden desire to see flowers.

I let go of her arm and walked forward.

Despite my still sore body, I walked forward.

I approached a flower within the bush.

『Boing.』

A ferocious face suddenly popped out from the bushes.

『Guess who’s the flower?』

“….”

『Wow, no reaction. Such a boring guy.』

Yu Chun-gil clicked his tongue when I stared at him expressionlessly.

Normally, I would’ve cursed at him.

But now wasn’t the time.

I immediately spoke to him.

“What’s your purpose?”

『Hmm?』

Yu Chun-gil reacted to my words.

『What-』

“I know why Grandpa did this.”

I slightly lowered my head and made eye contact with Yu Chun-gil.

Facing his blue eyes, I spoke.

“Following Grandpa’s intentions, I’ve gained a reputation.”

『….』

Mentioning reputation wiped the smile off Yu Chun-gil’s face.

Looking at his expression, I continued speaking.

As the words left my mouth, I’m sure of my expression…

“What on earth is your goal?”

…must have been icy cold.