The Path Beneath Seven Shadows

Mae-Bi was just about to enter his quarters when a flutter of feathers caught his eye.

A black-plumed messenger bird perched silently at the edge of his window, talons clutching a tightly rolled scroll sealed in bone-colored string.

His brow furrowed.

"...That was fast."

He unrolled the scroll.

Blank.

No words. No symbols. Just plain parchment.

Mae-Bi narrowed his eyes and channeled a thread of demonic Qi into his fingertips, grazing the edge of the paper.

Sssssk—

Faint symbols shimmered into view, reacting to the Qi like ink set aflame.

—Departure Confirmed.

Leave by nightfall.

Route enclosed.

Do not alert the other Pillars.

Do not fail.

He scanned the map etched faintly beneath the words.

Something felt... off.

The route was wrong. Slightly warped. It led toward the Thousand Venoms Empress's territory, but with strange detours and unfamiliar valleys.

I've seen this route before, Mae-Bi thought. And this isn't it.

His heart slowed.

He stepped away from the window.

"System."

[Online.]

"Was this letter tampered with? Is anyone... watching me?"

There was a short pause.

[Confirmed. Estimated three individuals at long-range. Qi signatures masked. Most likely high-level assassins.]

Mae-Bi's fingers curled around the edge of the scroll.

So that's how it is...

They weren't just sending him to die.

They were testing him — or someone wanted him gone.

And he had a damn good idea who was behind it.

But revenge?

That could wait.

He folded the scroll, Qi-burning the message back into ash, and stepped outside.

The mission was still real. And his squad needed to move.

Outside, moments later—

Jin was already in the courtyard, half-asleep against a training dummy.

The rest of the Fifth Division team filtered in slowly, weapons strapped, eyes low. Yuri wasn't with them.

Mae-Bi's voice rang out clearly.

"Pack up. We move tonight."

The squad turned, surprised.

"Already?" Jin asked, yawning. "No briefing?"

"No time. We've been summoned."

Mae-Bi's eyes scanned the squad.

His voice lowered slightly.

"And we're not the only ones interested in this mission."

"You're not going without me!"

Yuri's voice rang through the courtyard as she stormed forward, fists clenched, eyes locked on Mae-Bi.

Behind her trailed Jeong Rak, arms crossed, gaze unreadable as always.

Groans rippled through the squad.

"She's still going?"

"Damn... she just won't let it go."

"How pitiful."

Whispers passed between the team like wind through dead leaves.

Mae-Bi and Jin turned to face her.

Yuri stopped in front of Mae-Bi, jabbing a finger toward his chest.

"You think you can leave me behind? Just because you humiliated me doesn't mean I've given up! I'll deal with you—eventually!"

Mae-Bi blinked.

"Sure. Whatever. Right now we—"

"Shut up. I know." She cut him off, stepping past him. "Let's just go."

Jin pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's not how you speak to your squad leader, by the way."

Yuri crossed her arms and looked away, pretending not to hear.

Mae-Bi gave no reaction. Just a wave of his hand.

"Let's move."

In perfect sequence, the squad activated their Veil Steps — leaping into the shadows, scaling the outer wall of the fortress like phantoms.

Leaves whispered in their wake as they vanished into the tree line, feet barely touching the moss-covered branches.

And just like that…

The Fifth Division slipped into the forest under the darkening sky.

Together.

In the world of Murim, no place was feared, hated, or misunderstood more than the Demonic Cult.

Unlike the structured hierarchy of orthodox sects or the disciplined chaos of rogue clans, the Demonic Cult stood on an entirely different foundation — one built on brutality, silence, and secrets passed through blood.

It wasn't a single fortress.

It was an empire.

Carved across seven massive mountains, each ruled by one of the Seven Pillars, the highest-ranking forces under the Heavenly Demon himself.

And at the very heart of those peaks, surrounded by all seven like fangs around a throat —

lay the forbidden zone known as the Heavenly Demon's Garden.

No one entered it.

Not willingly.

It was said that demonic Qi pooled so densely there, it twisted reality. Creatures were born from madness — some fused together, others bloated in agony, crawling across the land in eternal pain. An abomination made of shattered martial beasts, warped Qi, and failed human experiments.

That was where the Heavenly Demon trained.

And where he now remained — in self-imposed isolation.

But Mae-Bi and his squad had no business with gods.

Not yet.

They had a mission.

And first, they needed to descend from one of those very peaks.

Their journey began down the Forest of Shrouded Echoes — a dense, silent mountain path that curved northward through the fifth Pillar's domain.

From above, it looked peaceful.

Untouched.

No guards.

No patrols.

A perfect escape route.

But that was the trick.

The Forest of Shrouded Echoes was one of the deadliest routes in the entire Demonic territory. It was said to be layered with spiritual traps, invisible pressure fields, and natural illusions. Even high-level assassins could vanish inside it — minds shattered before they realized they'd been lured off path.

But Mae-Bi had an advantage.

He activated his Blood Eyes.

Hyeol-An.

The world shifted around him.

Veins of energy lit up in the trees.

Pressure fields shimmered like spiderwebs across the trail. Poison fogs, spike pits, buried corpse-fire bombs — he saw them all, clear as day.

"Eyes up," he muttered.

One by one, his squad activated their Blood Eyes as well.

The path unfolded before them like a grim riddle — but one they could now read.

As they moved through the forest, they stepped lightly, weaving through the traps in perfect silence.

Mae-Bi led from the front

"Is it just me," one of the squad members whispered, "or is the squad leader… fast?"

"His Veil Step is insane," another muttered, struggling to keep pace through the dense branches.

Jin glanced back at them and smirked. The quiet praise made him proud — and more than a little surprised. A few days ago, Mae-Bi was the lazy bottom-rank of their squad. Now? They were whispering about him like he was some elite shadow master.

Up ahead, Jeong Rak pushed past the others, catching up to Mae-Bi in a few swift steps.

"Hey, Squad Leader," Rak said, sharp-eyed. "Aren't we heading the wrong way?"

Mae-Bi turned to him, keeping his pace steady.

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly—

FWIP!

"Watch out!" Jin shouted.

A flash of steel tore through the air — a shuriken, spinning toward Mae-Bi's head.

Mae-Bi tilted, dodging with perfect reflex, then leapt backward mid-air and landed in a crouch.

"Don't panic!" he barked. "Everyone — hold your position!"

The squad obeyed instantly, scattering into the trees with Veil Step, disappearing into the canopy. Silent. Invisible.

Mae-Bi's eyes scanned the trees.

He could sense them now.

Multiple Qi signatures.

Shadowy shapes slipping through branches. Coordinated. Silent.

Assassins.

But not just any assassins.

Demon Cult assassins.

His jaw tightened.

They're ours. Internal.

The real mission was supposed to be secret — and that meant someone had leaked their route.

And whoever set this up didn't send just one team.

He counted at least three distinct squads—

Eight. Nine. Ten.

This wasn't just a kill order. This was an erasure.

"Damn it," Mae-Bi muttered under his breath.

Jin whispered from a nearby branch. "Hey. It could still be an enemy, right? Maybe they're just dressed like us."

Mae-Bi shook his head.

"No."

He looked down at a discarded blade left on the path.

A standard-issue Blood Blade dagger.

Every cult assassin was issued one — engraved with the Fifth Mountain's sigil.

This is an execution squad.

Mae-Bi clenched his fists, mind racing.

He wouldn't let his squad die — not again.

But if he was right…

Then this wasn't just a test.

It was a purge.

And someone inside the cult wanted him gone.

Badly.