The courtyard rang with screams and broken pride.
But the rest of the Fifth Division didn't back down.
If anything, they were fired up.
This wasn't brutality to them — this was normal.
Pain, violence, dominance — it was the only order they knew.
"DIE, YOU BASTARD!"
Mae-Bi leapt backward, landing with perfect form, feet grounded, stance balanced.
He lowered his center. Shoulders loose. Eyes locked in.
His posture wasn't like theirs — it wasn't trained for show.
It was battle-forged.
"You're dead!" the girl from before snarled, charging with a blade hidden in her sleeve.
Mae-Bi sighed. "Your screaming's getting annoying."
He stepped in—
SLAP.
Her head jerked to the side.
She tried to shout—
SLAP. SLAP. SLAP.
Her face swelled, eyes watering.
Then—
Thud. Mae-Bi tossed her aside like garbage.
Two boys lunged from opposite angles.He didn't dodge.He caught both and Pinned them down and he beat them senseless.
Fists. Elbows. Knees.
Precision strikes to joints and pressure points, each one calculated to hurt without permanently disabling.
One by one, every member of his squad fell.
Moaning. Bruised. Defeated.
And then—
Silence.
Jin stood with his mouth open.
"What the hell just happened?!"
Mae-Bi straightened his collar, not even breathing hard.
Then a voice boomed from behind.
"What the HELL is going on here?!"
Mae-Bi and Jin turned sharply—
And froze.
Two figures stood at the edge of the courtyard.
The first was a tall man in crimson robes, his presence suffocating. His eyes were narrow and cold, and his every movement carried the sharpness of a drawn blade.
Seo Gyeol, the First Royal Guard of the Blood Blade Branch — a peak master of body technique and personal enforcer of Hyeolgeom Gunju.
Beside him stood a slender young man in black and white robes, expression unreadable behind silver-rimmed glasses.
Dok Yun, the Royal Doctor of the Blood Blade, known for stitching up corpses and keeping secrets.
Mae-Bi and Jin immediately stepped forward, fists pressed into open palms in the formal assassin's salute.
"Greetings, Royal Guard Seo Gyeol. Royal Doctor Dok Yun."
Seo Gyeol looked around the courtyard — at the bruised, bleeding trainees groaning in the dirt, at the broken dummies, at the streaks of blood trailing across the stones.
He raised a single brow.
"I was under the impression assassins were supposed to be quiet," he said flatly. "Not loud, sloppy, or wild like the inner sect disciples."
Mae-Bi didn't blink.
"My apologies, sir. I am the newly appointed Squad Leader of the Fifth Division," he said calmly. "These were not screams of chaos. They were the sound of correction. My team disrespected command—so I ensured they learned obedience."
Seo Gyeol's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You did this alone?"
Mae-Bi nodded. "Yes, sir."
Silence hung in the air for a moment.
Then—
"Ooooh my—" Dok Yun moaned, stepping forward with a delighted gasp. "Look at this... look at this!"
He crouched beside one of the fallen squadmates, caressing the bruises with gloved fingers like an art critic admiring a canvas.
"This blood flow... this shattered ego... the smell of iron, sweat, and unfiltered regret. Such vivid colors... such raw emotion..."
His cheeks were flushed. His breath quickened.
"You created this masterpiece alone?" he asked Mae-Bi, eyes glimmering. "Six bodies, shattered spirits, all still breathing just enough for me to stitch them. This—this is what I've been missing!"
Jin slowly leaned toward Mae-Bi.
"...He's freaking me out."
Mae-Bi kept his posture still, but internally, he winced.
Dok Yun. Royal Doctor of the Blood Blade.
A medical genius with hands said to be blessed by the Buddha.
And yet, his obsession with injured bodies and near-death states bordered on the grotesque. There were rumors — dark ones — that he derived pleasure from the edge between life and death.
That's why he was tolerated.
No one patched up killers better than someone who loved watching them break.
"Ahem... Mister Dok," Mae-Bi said carefully. "You don't need to get that... involved."
Dok Yun sighed dramatically and waved his sleeve. "Fine, fine. I'll keep it professional. For now. But please, next time—break a few ribs. Just one or two."
Mae-Bi nodded once.
Seo Gyeol finally spoke again.
"Prepare yourself," he said. "The Lord is expecting you."