As soon as Sharv opened the door, a ray of light hit his face. He stepped forward, glancing sideways, and said,
“Vijay, go and find out how many people are here, and where they’re stationed.”
Vijay nodded and moved ahead.
‘Alright, I’ll check.’
He walked forward casually, as if strolling through an empty field. But he had no fear after all, he was a spirit. No one could see him except Sharv, and a few select individuals in this world.
Vijay soon disappeared from Sharv and the woman’s sight. That’s when Sharv turned to that woman; his master and asked,
“Master, when you first saw that man who brought me here, why did you get so angry?”
‘...’
“You even screamed out loud ‘Life Prana!’ But why?”
The woman said nothing for a while. Sharv continued to look at her, clearly waiting for an answer.
‘Why are you staring at me like that?’
“I’m just trying to read your face.”
‘And what will you gain from that?’
“Who knows… maybe it’ll make it easier for me to find that ‘immortal’ man you want revenge on.”
‘...You’re clever. Then why don’t you think for yourself why I reacted that way?’
Sharv quickly replied,
“Master, you used Death Prana, right? So it’s likely that the ones who imprisoned you and killed your people were Life Prana users. That’s probably why you shouted like that after seeing that man, isn’t it?”
‘Disciple, if you already know, then why ask me?’
“...I just wanted confirmation that I was right.”
The woman didn’t respond, she simply stood there silently.
Sharv didn’t speak further either. But then, the woman asked,
‘What did you do with that bead?’
‘?!’
“What do you mean?”
‘I know you destroyed those beads… but there was one bead that you didn’t break, the one that contained my dead body. That bead can’t be destroyed anyway, so you must have separated it from the rest.’
Sharv couldn’t hide anything from her. When he was cultivating Lunar Energy, and the woman had gone off wandering, he had secretly separated that particular bead from the others to avoid future complications.
And it turned out to be the right decision. Soon after, Surendranath had arrived to seize the beads.
Had Sharv not separated that one beforehand, he probably wouldn’t be alive today.
“Don’t worry, Master. That bead is still with me, safe and secure.”
From his tone alone, it was hard for the woman to tell exactly where that bead might be.
In the beginning, she had thrown away those beads herself, thinking them worthless.
But now, seeing how far Sharv had been dragged into this mess because of them, she realized, someone out there knew about her… or perhaps someone wanted to use her.
Countless thoughts ran through her mind, but in the end, Sharv had destroyed the rest of the beads, erasing the trail from the outside world.
To anyone else, the matter was finished. Only Sharv knew the truth that one bead still remained.
‘Perhaps it’s better this way. Judging by his nature, I doubt he’d ever hand that bead over to anyone.’
The woman thought Just then, Vijay returned and said,
‘Like that old man’s spirit said, there are two gates ahead and one at the back. The rear one isn’t heavily guarded. If we escape through there, we’ll get out fastest.’
“...Alright then, let’s move.”
Sharv replied and began walking toward the rear gate of the building known as Death Hall.
But before they could go further, Vijay asked,
‘I have a question…’
“What is it?”
‘Where exactly are we escaping to? This is the main base of the Crimson Heaven Society. Getting out of here won’t be easy. With your current strength, escaping seems nearly impossible.’
Sharv didn’t reply immediately, a faint smile appeared on his face as he said,
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“You’re right, Vijay. Escaping from the Crimson Heaven Society is impossible…”
‘...’
“...But when did I say I planned to escape from them? I only said we’re leaving the jail of Death Hall.”
‘...You mean?’
“Yes. We’ll stay here, for a while. I have unfinished business here. I need to gather as much information as possible about that ‘Black Spear King.’”
Sharv kept walking. But suddenly, he felt something.
“There’s someone ahead.”
Vijay spoke up,
‘Yes. Two guards in front and three or four more behind them. Once we deal with them, we’ll reach the rear gate.’
“Guards…”
Sharv’s only real concern was how he would stay within the Crimson Heaven Society. But maybe he wouldn’t have to worry much now.
The Crimson Heaven Society valued strength above all else.
Unlike the Righteous Alliance, which respected martial artists for their truth and honor, here, only power mattered. Everything else came second.
“Well then… looks like things just got easier for me. Vijay, Master, don’t interfere until and unless it's a critical situation. Just watch quietly.”
Sharv said and stepped forward. While Vijay and that women looked at him figure from back.
Soon, Sharv spotted two guards dressed in black standing ahead.
‘?!’
As soon as they saw him, both guards froze in surprise and shouted,
“Never seen you before! State your name!”
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
They shouted loudly on purpose, to alert the other guards stationed down the corridor.
But Sharv didn’t reply. He just kept walking toward them, slowly, silently.
One of the guards lost patience, grabbed the dagger from his belt, and hurled it straight at Sharv.
Swish!
Sharv turned his head slightly, dodging it with ease.
‘No… there’s no need to hold back anymore. I have Prana now. I can fight head-on.’ Sharv thought.
Bam!
Sharv suddenly burst forward, his speed surging, and before the guard could react...
Bang!
Sharv’s fist smashed into the man’s abdomen with brutal force.
“Puakk!”
The guard coughed out blood and fell to the floor.
Sharv didn’t let this opportunity slide, he continued kicking him viciously in the stomach until the guard was dead.
His gaze turned toward the other guard, but before he could act, the man fled in terror.
Perhaps he realized he stood no chance against Sharv.
Sharv, however, frowned. He knew this was enemy territory, that man might be planning something.
As he walked cautiously forward,
Chak! Chak! Chak! Chak!
Several spears suddenly shot out from the wall on his right.
Sharv reacted just in time, stepping back to avoid being skewered.
Grab!
He grabbed one of the spears and slammed his fist into the wall.
Bang!
The wall shattered, it had been hollow. Inside was a narrow space, just big enough to hide a man.
The second guard had been hiding there.
Sharv’s punch hit him square in the face, though the wall absorbed most of the blow, sparing the man’s life, for the moment.
“Huff!... Huff!...”
The guard gasped for breath.
Sharv grabbed his throat and squeezed, slowly until his breathing stopped.
‘?!’
But before dying, the man gave a faint laugh, something Sharv didn’t understand.
Just then, his master appeared behind him and said,
‘Disciple, you made a mistake grabbing that spear. It was poisoned.’
“Ah… I see.”
Sharv looked at his right hand, the one that had caught the spear. The skin was starting to peel, and soon a burning pain began spreading.
‘Umm… it’s not a deadly poison, but you’ll need to use your internal energy to remove it out. You won’t be able to use your right hand for a while though.’
“That’s fine. As long as my left still works, that’s enough.”
Sharv focused his internal energy into his right hand, pushing the poison out. Within moments, the poison was gone, but his right arm had gone completely numb.
“I heard noises over here!”
“You did too?”
“Hey! Someone’s there!”
“Oye! Who are you?!”
Within seconds, more guards rushed in. Sharv didn’t panic, instead, he was happy. Their arrival only made things easier for him.
Crack! Crack!
Sharv cracked his knuckles, and advanced toward them.
***
Sharv stepped out from the back gate of the Death Hall, blood smeared across his hands and chest.
He had already killed several guards inside, but as their numbers kept increasing, he decided it was wiser to retreat rather than stay and fight endlessly.
Now, ahead of him stretched a forest, thick and misty, leading up to a mountain.
From what he had heard earlier from that old man’s spirit, some kind of entrance trials were being held there.
Sharv thought, If I can somehow take part in those trials, maybe I can enter the Crimson Heaven Society as a martial artist, not as a prisoner.
But there was a problem. How could he even do that?
He only knew that the trials were happening there; he didn’t know whether outsiders were allowed to participate or not.
‘I think the only way is to kill someone and take his identity,’
Sharv thought to himself. That was the only plan that made sense to him right now. He was about to move forward when...
Clap! Clap!
‘!!!’
The sound of clapping echoed behind him.
Sharv froze.
He clearly remembered misleading all the guards before escaping no one should have been able to follow him here.
But now someone was standing behind him, clapping slowly. And the most shocking fact was that, Sharv didn't sense this guy at all, while he was standing behind him.
‘Sharv… the man behind you isn’t an ordinary human, His internal energy… it’s almost equal to that man who brought you here.’
His Master’s voice came from the sacred thread. Sharv turned around calmly.
A man stood there, dressed in black, with short, white hair and an unsettling smile. That man looked straight at Sharv and said,
“Impressive. I watched you fight inside. I must admit, your fighting style is quite fascinating.”
Sharv said nothing, simply studying him in silence.
“You have talent, but what you lack is experience.”
Sharv finally spoke,
“Who are you?”
“Me? Well… to tell you the truth, I don’t even remember my real name anymore. But people here call me the Death Hall Master.”
Sharv wasn’t surprised, just annoyed. Very annoyed. That old man’s spirit had told him the Death Hall’s leader wasn’t here. But now he was standing right in front of him.
“Haa…”
Sharv sighed deeply.
‘Forget it. Getting angry won’t help now.’
He needed to think about how to get out of this situation alive.
Meanwhile, the Death Hall Master was eyeing Sharv with interest.
He had seen him fight and sensed the presence of Lunar Energy within him. That alone made Sharv far too valuable to kill.
Surendranath had ordered him to torture the boy and make him reveal everything; though he hadn’t said exactly what to extract, only that it was related to some martial art.
But the Death Hall Master had other plans.
‘He told me to torture this kid… not to kill him.’
He knew Surendranath well, that greedy bastard would definitely use this boy for his own selfish goals.
But the Death Hall Master… he had his own reasons.
‘I need my revenge… I won't let that bastard get away this time.’
Finally, the man spoke slowly,
“Boy, I’ll let you live, but in return, you’ll have to do something for me.”
Sharv’s eyes narrowed.
“What kind of work?”
“Don’t ask too many questions. If you wish to live, do what I say. Otherwise embrace death. The choice is yours.”
Sharv was silent for a moment. His main goal is to catch and kill that black spear king, but his life is also important. And that guy in front of him.
Sharv knows that he won't stand a chance against him, so he has no other choice left. After a while Sharv said,
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
Scrug Wars, A Knight of Death - Book 1
SOCIETY LEADER WAITING FOR SURENDRENATH:
