Chapter 216 – More Than Words, Sashimi

The old elf, Rog, kept his head bowed, staring only at Kang Geom-Ma’s shoes. He didn’t dare lift his gaze.

‘It’s not that I’m afraid of dying.’

He was an elder who had lived longer than any human could dream. The fear of death had long since faded. In fact, life had become tedious. He no longer had any purpose or direction.

And yet, this worn-out old man was sweating cold, as if he were being wrung dry—like squeezing water from a dry towel.

All because of the monster standing in front of him Kang Geom-Ma, who had just reawakened his trauma.

The humiliation he had suffered centuries ago at the hands of the Founding Hero, Balor Joaquin, pulsed again within Rog.

Though this boy was not Balor Joaquin. Kang Geom-Ma, the Heavenly Sword, was still weaker than the Founding Hero. Balor Joaquin had defeated none other than the First Corps Commander, Lycan.

Kang Geom-Ma was strong, but he hadn’t reached that level yet.

‘He could still be stopped by Kuarne, the Second Corps Commander.’

It seemed he had not yet awakened his full potential.

Comparing him to Balor Joaquin was still absurd. But Rog’s instincts as a demon screamed this young man would someday become an existence beyond description.

“Hey.”

Kang Geom-Ma rubbed his aching eyes. He had used the Blessing of the Sword God for nearly a full minute, and they were irritated.

“Are you done playing dumb?”

“….”

Rog trembled as Kang Geom-Ma, crouched before him, looked him straight in the eye. Meanwhile, the fight between the Swordmaster and Horn had also ended. With the capture of their leader, Rog, the rest of the dark elves lost their will to fight.

They knelt down, throwing their weapons to the ground. The Swordmaster came running, panting heavily, trying to stop Kang Geom-Ma.

“Heavenly Sword, wait a moment!”

Kang Geom-Ma tilted his head slightly. The Swordmaster spoke hastily.

“Don’t kill them yet. Look around. There are fewer than twenty elves left, and they’ve all surrendered. There’s no point in killing them.”

“I have no intention of killing them.”

Rog instinctively lifted his head.

He wasn’t going to kill them?

Kang Geom-Ma finished his sentence.

“Not yet.”

He couldn’t activate the Blessing of the Sword God anymore, so if he were to start killing, he would have to leave the cleanup to the Swordmaster or the Hero Association.

Besides, the old elf seemed to know something about the boss, and they still needed to find the fifth fragment hidden on this island.

‘I was planning to use some of them as guides anyway.’

An old man like Rog should know the terrain well. It was better to keep him alive… for now. If he tried anything suspicious, he would be eliminated immediately.

Kang Geom-Ma looked down, wondering if he should start by cutting off the old man’s fingers.

But he gave up on that idea.

‘I’m not a butcher.’

“Kill me already!”

Rog cried out. It was his final act of resistance as the elder leader of the dark elves.

“I’d rather die than tell you anything!”

“….”

Kang Geom-Ma frowned.

‘Even when I try to talk, it always ends up like this.’

Demons and villains never understood at first.

‘As always…’

Kang Geom-Ma sighed and extended his arm. Everyone widened their eyes in shock at what they saw.

“Ugh…”

An elf subordinate, who had a sashimi knife stuck in his neck, began to rise like a zombie—moving awkwardly, with vacant, glassy eyes.

Rog froze in place.

“Ge… Gremfield… how… what is this…?”

His mind went blank. In nearly a thousand years of life, he had never seen anything like this a corpse being revived.

Was this boy really human?

Or a demon? Even the Swordmaster, Director Sung, and the other heroes had turned pale. It was their first time witnessing the Power of the Underworld King.

Even Horn, who had already seen it once, shuddered.

‘Even seeing it a second time… it’s still horrifying.’

And that wasn’t all. Kang Geom-Ma waved his hand, and the corpse turned into stone like a statue.

Horn felt a chill run down his spine.

‘Petrification Eye…?’

It was a power obtained after defeating the basilisk and enhancing his knife, Murasame—to turn anyone it wounded into stone. Though difficult to use under normal conditions, here he had found a way to make it terrifyingly effective.

‘It feels dirty to use it like this…’

But it was necessary to instill fear.

It was a shock tactic. Kang Geom-Ma withdrew his hand and stared at the old elf.

“They say the dead tell no tales… but I can make them talk.”

He stretched his neck from side to side.

“I don’t need to argue with you if I can make your dead speak.”

Of course, it was a lie. Resurrected corpses couldn’t actually speak.

But they didn’t know that.

“I can cut down every elf here, revive them one by one, and interrogate them.”

“….”

Kang Geom-Ma spoke calmly.

“I’ll give you a choice. Cooperate, and you and your people will live. Though you’ll end up imprisoned by the Association.”

“…If you can revive the dead, why offer me a deal?”

He responded curtly.

“Compassion.”

Old elf Rog clenched his teeth. Kang Geom-Ma raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

“If you’d rather throw away your chance…”

He turned toward a nearby hero.

“Hey, Hero.”

“Yes, Heavenly Sword?”

Kang Geom-Ma nodded toward the man carrying a massive greatsword.

“If the old man stays silent, execute one elf for every minute he refuses to talk.”

“B-but…”

The man hesitated. Executing surrendered enemies? Was that really okay?

Kang Geom-Ma spoke with authority.

“I’m ordering you as a member of the Seven Stars. If you refuse, be ready to face the consequences. Besides, you saw how I gave them a chance.”

“…”

“If we let these bastards live, they’ll be a danger later. Do you know what a berserk demon can do?”

The man swallowed hard.

“…They could cause more casualties if they lose control.”

“Exactly. Better to nip the threat in the bud.”

Finally, the man nodded.

“You’re right. That was my mistake.”

He raised his sword and approached one of the kneeling elves.

“I will carry out your command, Heavenly Sword.”

At that moment—

“Noooooo!”

The old elf dropped to his knees, sobbing and beating the ground.

He had surrendered. Kang Geom-Ma looked down at him without expression.

‘I must look like the villain here.’

But there was no helping it.

To humans, demons would always be villains—and vice versa.

Besides, dark elves were cannibals.

They were inherently treacherous.

Their bad reputation was not undeserved.

“I-I’ll cooperate…”

Rog wept. He seemed to have aged two hundred years in mere seconds.

Kang Geom-Ma nodded to the swordsman, who lowered his weapon, sticking it into the ground near the kneeling elf.

Finally, Kang Geom-Ma sat heavily on a log.

“Well then.”

As he cleaned the blood from his knives, he said,

“The deal starts now.”

***

Late, when the twilight was already brushing the horizon, the Swordmaster gazed at the sunset with a distant look.

Director Sung approached, limping slightly. He still hadn’t fully adjusted to his prosthetic leg.

“Swordmaster. We’ve finished tying up all the dark elves.”

“Good work.”

“Good work for what? This kind of cleanup is the Hero Association’s job. The real effort was made by you and the Heavenly Sword.”

After exchanging a few brief modesties, they moved on to the main topic. Director Sung proceeded to give his report.

“We collected all the dark elves’ weapons, and after analyzing them, we found they were made from rare materials impossible to obtain in the human world. If we sell them, their value will be considerable.”

“I see.”

The Swordmaster thought for only a moment before answering.

“Let’s keep half for the Association and sell the other half to deposit the money into Kang Geom-Ma’s account.”

“Ah! Of course. According to the Association’s rules, the spoils obtained from defeating magical beasts or demons belong to the hero who defeated them. There shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Then handle the official sale and deposit the money into Kang Geom-Ma’s account. Being one of the Seven Stars comes with a lot of hidden expenses. Even this kind of extra income is necessary. Do you have a rough estimate?”

Director Sung thought for a moment. For something called “extra income,” the amount was enormous.

“Let me calculate it.”

He hurriedly pulled out his smartphone and started working on the calculator. A long figure appeared on the screen.

“…The amount that will be deposited to the Heavenly Sword will be approximately 31.6 billion won.”

“Well, considering he saved our lives, it’s a fair price.”

The Swordmaster let out a hearty laugh as he looked up at the early night sky.

A faint crimson hue tinted the old man’s face.

Kang Geom-Ma, appearing at the most critical moment alongside a dragon disguised as a human.

There were many questions he wanted to ask, crowding his throat.

He had thought of asking for explanations once things had settled down. But in the end, he decided against it.

Dragon, resurrection of corpses, petrification—there were too many questions. So he chose to simply accept the results.

‘When the time comes, he will surely tell us himself.’

Suddenly, he recalled how Kang Geom-Ma had handled the negotiations—how he had extracted all the information from the elves.

When Fermush would appear, whether there were any special places around the Gate of Gehenna, and what was happening inside the Demon World.

And in return, all he offered them was soy-based prison food.

Because, after all, elves should eat vegetables and fruits…

The dark elves could only nod silently. It was called a “negotiation,” but they had been left with no other choice.

Recalling that scene, the Swordmaster sighed.

“A negotiation based on terror…”

He said to himself, and smiled bitterly.

At his age, a boy had still managed to teach him a new lesson. The Swordmaster slowly walked, heading toward the temporary shelter where Kang Geom-Ma was resting.

“The place the Heavenly Sword said we should visit tomorrow.”

There was something important they needed to discuss about it.