A room filled with pungent smoke.
"Open."
"He's dead."
"Damn it, this table is rigged."
The dice kept rolling without stopping.
Even the onlookers, who noticed that the stakes were enormous, gathered around, but a strange silence had descended on the table where the dice were being tossed.
"Three."
"Me too, three."
"Ahh, I am buying; this time I will do it."
A silver ingot, which most people would have a hard time touching in their entire lives, was tossed around like a toy. The eyes of those watching the scene gradually turned red with greed.
"We lost."
The wanderer in red robes threw the dice in his hand onto the round table. He lost three silver coins at once, but there was no regret or anger in his demeanor.
'That moron.'
Chae Gyu barely suppressed the smile that was about to appear on his face.
Even though he pretended to be calm on the outside, that wanderer was probably dry-mouthed and parched inside. The status of those gambling at that table varied greatly, but the emotions felt by those losing their stakes were largely the same.
It's worth acknowledging that he wasn't showing signs of anxiety. If it were any other gambling house, he might have won a decent amount of money by now. But, at least in this place, it wasn't easy to escape just by pretending to be calm.
Little by little, very slowly.
This place slowly eats away at your money like a swamp swallowing you up.
"Two."
"Five."
"It is six."
"… damn it. What kind of six is this!"
"I thought he would definitely get it, damn it!"
"That guy's lucky. How much does he get in one game?"
Silver coins piled up in front of the red wanderer who won the big game. About half of the money he had lost so far had been recovered in an instant.
However, Chae Gyu, who frowned as if he was in a bad mood, was feeling different now. The reason was simple. He had lost this game on purpose.
Unless he was a fool, there was no way he wouldn't know that his stake was decreasing. A gutsy guy would try to turn the tables until the last stake was gone, but most people would get scared and leave the game after losing half of their money.
'This cannot continue.'
That's why one had to give him a taste of the good stuff every now and then, so the wanderer wouldn't lose hope that he could somehow recover the lost money in one go, if he could bet right.
'Hehe.'
Chae Gyu's lips twitched.
Gambling is fun because it is all about making money, but watching a person fall into ruin is also an unmissable pastime. In that sense, today's round table is truly the perfect game.
"Two."
"One."
"Four. Hehe. What should I do?"
The pair of bets went back and forth again, and the pile of silver coins in front of the wanderer gradually decreased. It didn't seem easy to lose all that enormous money, but when he came to his senses, he had almost hit rock bottom.
If it were any other ordinary person, it would be enough to make them lose their minds.
However, the red wanderer still stared at the round table with the same indifferent eyes as before.
Clench.
"I won."
Chae Gyu swept up the stakes on the round table with a smug look on his face. In front of him and his colleagues, the silver coins formed a tower. However, the silver coins could no longer be found in front of the red-robed wanderer.
"Oh my. It seems like all the stakes are gone."
"What do I do, I feel bad about this!"
The three men smiled bashfully.
"Do you have any money left? If not, I think you should leave now."
The red-robed wanderer quietly looked down at the place where his stakes had been piled up, then slowly raised his head.
"I have no money left."
"Tsk tsk. Today was an unlucky day for you. Let's do it again next time."
"There are days like this."
The men each picked up one of the silver notes placed in front of them and pushed them toward the man at the center of the table.
Three silver notes.
It would be a huge amount of money for ordinary people, but considering the money the wanderer lost today, it wasn't that much.
The corners of the wanderer's mouth curled up as he stared at the three silver notes.
"… I don't have any money to bet. But I do have something to place here."
"I won't take it if it isn't money."
"You will take it."
"… Hmm?"
Chae Gyu frowned slightly and looked at the man.
'Tsk, tsk. It would have been better to just lose the money and leave.'
Chae Gyu lowered his hand under the table and slowly grabbed the handle of the sword at his waist.
"Before that… let me ask you something."
"… What?"
The wanderer slowly leaned back against the chair. Then he tilted his head back and tilted it.
Goosebumps appeared on the back of Chae Gyu's neck.
'What is this?'
He was bewildered because he couldn't understand his own reaction. He wasn't particularly afraid of the man in front of him, so why was his body reacting like this?
At that moment, the wanderer's voice pierced his ears.
"Happy?"
"…"
Chae Gyu, who had been glaring with caution, narrowed his eyes.
"What are you even talking about?"
"Exactly."
The wanderer's head slowly returned to its original position. His long, messy bangs still covered his eyes. Because of that, Chae Gyu had no way of knowing what kind of eyes he was looking at him with.
"Are you happy?"
"… this insane bastard…."
Chae Gyu exchanged glances with those sitting on the left and right. He wanted to be ready to deal with him at any moment if the man tried to act out.
The wanderer said.
"The stakes. Right, there is no money left. But there is still something to stake."
"… And what is that?"
"Life."
The dark lips of the wanderer curled up.
"… Damn it. I said I don't accept anything but money in here!"
"What are you doing? Drag this punk out now!"
At that moment, the wanderer lightly waved his hand, and the red robe shook.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. I am not saying that my life is the one at stake."
"… what?"
"Not mine, but yours."
"… fuck."
"No, the lives of everyone here. Furthermore, the lives of everyone in Hangzhou. It could be the lives of everyone in the Central Plains."
Chae Gyu suddenly realized that this situation was odd.
He was not the type of person to listen to such nonsense. How many people had he met here who had lost their stakes and were causing trouble? If he were to act like himself, he would have already drawn his sword and cut off one of the bastard's limbs and kicked him out. Or he could have cut the head too.
But…
'Why am I silently listening to all this nonsense?'
"I have to ask, you know."
The wanderer slowly opened his mouth.
"How much is your life worth?"
"…."
"Isn't it because of that life that you can enjoy throwing the lives of others into a gutter like this? That is why I am asking. How much is that life of yours worth? That is how I can get back that money."
Yeom Ho, The Ghost Seeker, sitting next to Chae Gyu, couldn't endure it anymore and shouted.
"Where the hell does that damned bastard act like he can do what he wants! How much is my life worth! Why? Do you want to take…"
It was at that exact moment.
The wanderer slightly raised his hand. Then Yeom Ho's body, who had been shouting, flew over the table. It was as if he was being tied and dragged away somewhere.
'What?'
That sudden and unnatural scene made Chae Gyu freeze for a moment.
Thud!
The pair of golf clubs and silver coins spread out on the round table scattered in all directions.
The money he had collected was scattered in all directions, but Chae Gyu's eyes didn't turn to the silver coins at all. No, he couldn't turn them. The hand of the wanderer was grabbing the face of Yeom Ho, who was face down on the table.
'H-how…?'
Sticky sweat ran down Chae Gyu's back.
'Void Air Object Movement?'
There was no other way to explain the sight.
However, that interpretation was equally nonsensical. Only someone who had reached a very high level could pull an object with their qi.
But how could he pull a person, and not an object, with qi? And that too, someone like Yeom Ho?
While Chae Gyu was flustered, unable to understand the situation unfolding before his eyes, the red-robed wanderer slowly pulled the face of Yeom Ho up.
"Why am I taking this?"
A ghostly smile formed on the black lips of the man.
"A simple reason, you see. Right now, your lives are nothing more than collateral. The reason why everyone in this Central Plains cannot live is because the Cult allows you all to live."
"Ugh… eukkk….."
"But… it is too bad. No matter how I look at it, your lives don't seem to be worth more than a penny. Your lives are so cheap and useless to me."
"Euk… kuahhhh!"
Blue veins began to appear on the body of Yeom Ho. He trembled and writhed in pain as if he had been stabbed with needles all over his body.
And at that very moment, Chae Gyu saw it clearly.
The body of Yeom Ho, exposed outside the clothes, was twisted and cracked like a drought-stricken field.
'That is…'
The wanderer calmly and slowly pushed back the bangs covering his face with the other hand.
"Euh…"
Chae Gyu took a step back without realizing it.
The eyes of the man who pushed back the bangs were eerily red. They were not just red. They looked like they were filled with blood.
The dark lips, pale skin, and bloodshot eyes gave Chae Gyu a creepiness he had never felt before.
"Kuaak…."
Yeom Ho's body, which had been trembling and convulsing, finally fell down.
Thud.
Yeom Ho's body, twisted like a mummy, fell awkwardly on the round table. Instead of the money and the cards that had been scattered, what was now placed on the table was a miserable corpse, cold and lifeless.
"Uh…."
"Such trivial beings."
The words of the wanderer changed.
A creepy aura flowed out of him the moment he slowly got up. Just facing him made everyone gasp for breath as blood rushed back to his body.
"Who… whoo…?"
Chae Gyu barely managed to ask, shivering.
Rebellion? Resistance?
He didn't dare think of such things.
This was a problem beyond discussing the difference in power. The indescribable difference in rank made him freeze like a rat before a poisonous snake.
"Who?"
The man in the red robe slowly shook his head.
"It is hard to answer. I am a nameless person."
"…."
He twisted the corners of his mouth slightly and sneered.
"If you think about it, this might all just be a desperate attempt to gain a name."
At the same time, his bloodshot eyes shone.
Chae Gyu didn't understand what this man was saying, but he didn't really need to know. People don't have to care about what happens after they die.
Chae Gyu's body was sucked into the man's hand.
"Kuak!"
The man grabbed Chae Gyu by the neck and stared straight into his eyes.
"It is such a glorious death compared to the worthless life, isn't it?"
"Fu…ck…"
Crack.
The bones in his entire body crumbled and rolled up.
"Kuak… ehk…"
Chae Gyu's body, unable to even vomit the blood, collapsed to the ground. The corpse, whose bones now looked all twisted, was horrifying beyond compare.
Shock, disbelief, and above all, great fear weighed down on the gambling hall.
The man, who had stared coldly at those frozen like rats before a snake, opened his mouth as if he was monologuing.
"Building a mountain with corpses…."
"…"
"If you kill and kill and kill again, enough to create a sea of blood…"
Step.
He took a step forward.
"The entire world will know what happens here. Right, the whole world."
"… uhh."
Someone's terrified groan spread through the static-filled casino.
With bloodshot eyes, the man raised his hand.
Kiiing!
The dark qi that shot out from his fingertips pierced the casino's ceiling like a pitch-black blade.
"Second Coming of Heavenly Demon, Mansae!"
The man's wail, like a ghost, echoed as if he was going to burst.
"Your insignificant lives will be our cries. Our cry to the One who has returned somewhere in this world!"
KWAANNGGGG!
The halls, filled with the back alleys of Hangzhou, exploded like firecrackers at the same time.
It was a scream, a scream. It was a fanatic's evil cry that reverberated through the world for the first time in a hundred years.