Dark clouds blotted the sky.
Rain poured like punishment from the heavens.
Mae-Bi ran through the downpour, heart pounding, mud splashing up his legs as he pushed past tree branches and twisted roots.
"It can't be true."
The words echoed in his mind the whispers from the squad.
"Jin Seori's dead."
"No way," Mae-Bi had said.
But now here he was, running until his legs gave out.
He stumbled into the clearing and froze and Jin was lying on the ground his face pale. Blood soaked his side.
His eyes… shut.
The rain pelted his lifeless body, washing away the blood, but not the weight in Mae-Bi's chest.
He dropped to his knees, breath caught in his throat.
"…No."
Then—
A twitch.
Jin's fingers moved,His lips parted.
And he whispered:
"…Mae-Bi…"
Mae-Bi's eyes went wide.
"Mae-Bi…"
Again.
"MAE-BI WAKE UP!"
Mae-Bi blinked.
Gasped.
And sat bolt upright.
He was back. In his room.
His body was drenched in cold sweat, clothes stuck to his skin. The floor was scorched, half his bedding was torn, and a burnt smell hung in the air like someone had lit incense made of wet socks and death.
"Holy shit," Jin muttered, standing by the doorway with his hand over his nose. "What happened in here?! It smells like something died, got resurrected, and died again!"
Mae-Bi blinked, still breathing hard.
Jin walked in with cautious steps, peeking around at the blown-over table, the scorch marks on the wall, and the shredded mat.
"Did you fight a damn ox demon in here or something?! And you—"
He waved a hand in front of his nose.
"—you seriously need a bath. Like, right now. I can't even breathe in here."
Mae-Bi rubbed his face, slowly gathering himself.
"…I had a breakthrough," he mumbled.
Jin stared at him, eyes wide. "No kidding? What was it, Breakthrough of Rotting Skunk Qi?!"
Mae-Bi exhaled, half laughing through his exhaustion.
Jin opened the window.
"Open that before the walls start crying. And then you're explaining what the hell happened, because it looks like a murder scene in here."
Mae-Bi leaned back, staring at the ceiling with a tired smile.
Mae-Bi glanced down at himself.
His body was caked in a dark, gritty layer of filth a crust of dried, stinking residue.
Impurities.
The side effect of a breakthrough. Every assassin knew it. When the body advanced, the trash inside had to burn its way out.
Still, he sniffed and gagged.
"Damn," he muttered. "It really does smell like shit."
Jin gagged from across the room.
"No kidding. Go take a bath before I pass out. We've got to report to the training hall. First Squad Leader's waiting. Didn't say anything about Cho, though."
Mae-Bi went quiet.
Of course they didn't.
They wouldn't find Cho Gwan.
There was nothing left to find.
"Hey," Jin asked suddenly, "do you think… Cho really ran off with the pill?"
Mae-Bi didn't answer right away.
He couldn't.
Even if he wanted to tell Jin the truth that he'd killed Cho Gwan, erased his body, and swallowed the pill himself the centipede in his heart would kill him before he finished the sentence.
And worse, Jin would try to protect him. Maybe even keep the secret.
Which meant he'd die too.
Mae-Bi forced a shrug.
"Meh. Doesn't matter if he ran or got killed. Not my business either way."
Jin raised a brow. "So nonchalant. And here I was thinking you'd faint when Lord Hyeolgeom Gunju's killing intent hit us yesterday. You looked like your soul was halfway out."
Mae-Bi smirked. "Yeah… he was scary."
He chuckled under his breath and to his own surprise, it wasn't fake.
It was the first real laugh he'd had in a long, long time.
"Oh crap, we've got to move or they'll make us sweep the whole courtyard," Jin groaned, yanking his cloak on.
"You go ahead," Mae-Bi muttered, still drying his hair. "I need a bath before someone files a murder report on my smell."
Jin sighed like a man who'd dealt with this a hundred times.
"Nope. Not leaving you behind. Last time I did, your lazy ass didn't even make it to drills."
Mae-Bi laughed. "That was the old me I'm not longer a kid ."
But he still got up.
Jin walked behind him, covering his nose with the sleeve of his robe. "You better not be melting people's noses in the hallway."
"You're exaggerating."
"You say that, but I smell pain and regret."
Mae-Bi stepped outside, finally letting the wind carry the worst of it away as he made his way to the bathhouse.
....
Hours Later…
The sun had risen high, casting sharp shadows across the black-stoned training grounds.
All six squads of the Blood Blade Division stood assembled in formation row after row of assassins dressed in black, heads down, weapons sheathed.
Each group stood beneath its own colored banner, denoting rank and division.
At the front stood Baek Mu-Gi, asura masked, face blank, hands behind his back. He didn't need to shout.
Silence was authority.
Mae-Bi and Jin crept in quietly from the side, slipping into the fifth squad's row.
No one stopped them.
But everyone noticed.
They were the only division without a squad leader now.
From his position, Mae-Bi scanned the field. He could see the other leaders from across the formation, standing proudly in front of their squads:
Second Squad Leader: Nam Hye-Rang, a sharp-eyed woman with a short sword and poison-laced nails. Cold and calculated known for interrogation kills.
Third Squad Leader: Yo Gun-Sik, a broad-shouldered bruiser with a wolf's grin. Known for brute force and unorthodox techniques.
Fourth Squad Leader: Jin Cheol-Min, a quiet, scholarly assassin who never speaks unless spoken to. Specializes in hidden weapons and pressure-point takedowns.
Sixth Squad Leader: Ryu So-Dam, a 12-year-old prodigy with dead eyes and an eerie calm. Said to have killed his first man at seven. The Sixth Division
made of child assassins followed him like ghosts.
Mae-Bi's gaze lingered on So-Dam for a moment.
A boy not even a teenager… leading killers like a veteran.
And now, the Fifth Squad had no one to lead it but Mae-Bi was already planning to change that.