Failed Possession Chapter-28

## Chapter 28.

Spar

Until now—

for a long time—

he had endured well.

At least, that was how Yuri judged himself.

The evening of the day he returned from the Le-Seun Auction House.

When he first heard about a Martial Zeniths from Haryeong at the dining hall.

**“Full-Moon Play Chuk Shin-do.”**

The moment he first heard that name—

thinking back on it now, it was a miracle he hadn’t laughed.

Honestly, luck played a part—

but it was also because Yuri had been consciously on guard.

A Martial Zeniths was among the strongest beings in this world.

Someone that powerful could very well have appeared as an NPC in the game.

If he reacted strangely to a familiar name, people might suspect he was a possessed one.

So from the start, he had forced himself to control his expression.

Thanks to that, when he first heard the name **Full-Moon Play, Chuk Shin-do**, he managed not to laugh.

Next.

The top floor of the Dercia Magic Tower. Orca’s room.

When they secretly watched Chuk Shin-do’s antics near the city wall with magic.

Kicking an iron ball into the gate like scoring a goal.

Doing a ceremony afterward.

Hearing from Orca that the iron sphere’s name was **Demon-Guiding Orb**.

Even then, somehow, he endured.

The earlier conversation had been serious.

And he had already suspected Lacy, Orca’s apprentice, might be a possessed one.

For all he knew, that conversation itself might have been some kind of test.

So he had kept strict control over his expression from the beginning.

Thanks to that, even witnessing Chuk Shin-do’s idiocy, he didn’t laugh.

Next.

When he actually met Chuk Shin-do.

When the guy loudly proclaimed his own name.

Talked about “my hyung.”

Quoted fake-sounding “wise sayings” from this so-called older brother.

And confidently declared that his hyung never broke promises.

The biggest crisis—

was when Chuk Shin-do took off his outer jacket before the spar.

That had been genuinely dangerous.

Who would’ve thought he’d be wearing a custom-made uniform underneath?

After surviving so many close calls, and having gotten somewhat used to him in person, Yuri’s tension had loosened just a bit in that moment.

He almost laughed—

but bit his tongue and held it in.

After that, he thought there would be no more danger.

He’d gotten used to Chuk Shin-do’s nonsense.

Surely nothing could be more ridiculous than what he’d already seen.

—

He had been too focused.

The spar between Bakered and Chuk Shin-do was so high-level that he couldn’t help but concentrate.

Just watching it broadened Yuri’s understanding of martial arts.

He didn’t want to miss a single thing.

But then—

who would’ve thought—

there was still more left?

**“Full-Moon Kick-Slaughter Fate, Secret Art.”**

**“Heaven-Filling Downpour.”**

The instant he heard that—

before he even had time to think *I need to hold it in*—

a laugh slipped out.

Fortunately, the laugh he let out was incredibly, incredibly small compared to the world-shaking roar.

Small enough that no one should reasonably hear it.

But Yuri didn’t relax.

Right beside him were Elena and Haryeong.

Elena was Rank 4.

Haryeong—unknown, but likely equal or higher.

And Haryeong was an assassin.

Assassins had sharp senses.

She might have heard it even through this thunderous noise.

Anyone else didn’t matter—

but he absolutely didn’t want Elena or Haryeong to discover he was possessed.

He couldn’t even dare turn his head to check.

That alone would look suspicious.

So Yuri didn’t look around.

And because of that—

he never noticed Orca and Lacy staring directly at him from afar.

A critical moment.

His mind spun rapidly.

He didn’t assume the noise had simply covered his laugh.

Relying on that kind of wishful thinking could get him killed someday.

So he immediately circulated his inner energy.

The laugh that had already escaped couldn’t be helped.

Then he just had to disguise it as something *other than laughter*.

It took him only seconds to decide.

This was the worst crisis he’d faced since possessing this body.

He didn’t hesitate for even an instant.

He deliberately twisted the flow of inner energy rising from his dantian.

His insides churned.

Intentional internal injury.

Blood burst from his mouth.

“Puhk.”

The exact same sound as before.

He didn’t just spit blood from his mouth.

Blood streamed from his nose and eyes too.

“Yuri-nim?!”

Haryeong jumped in shock and supported him.

Elena grabbed his arm in horror.

But Yuri never once looked at them.

Blood ran from his eyes, nose, and mouth like dark tears.

His already bloodshot eyes stared only forward.

“Wolf… Fist…”

His voice wouldn’t come out due to the internal injury, but he forced it.

Cracked.

Shaking.

Perfect.

Blood flowed like tears.

He clenched his fist tightly.

“To this extent…!”

Haryeong sighed with certainty.

They weren’t truly master and disciple.

But in her eyes, they might as well have been.

For a month, hadn’t Bakered taught him every day?

So she concluded—

Yuri was shedding tears of blood as a disciple.

Watching his master stand against overwhelming might without yielding.

It connected perfectly with how Yuri had earlier called out “Fist Wolf” alone.

Haryeong, momentarily dropping her assassin’s mindset, empathized as a martial artist.

—

Even while Yuri immersed himself in that desperate acting—

**Heaven-Filling Downpour** did not stop.

It was terrifyingly true to its name.

From the sky where Chuk Shin-do stood—

a rain of aura poured down.

Among those countless attacks, the strongest by far was the **Demon-Guiding Orb** Chuk Shin-do had kicked himself.

Bakered stood at the center of the storm, receiving it with both hands.

“Krrk…!”

Blood seeped through his clenched teeth.

He tried to deflect it with **Rantian Flowing Cloud Fist**, but this orb’s power was on an entirely different level.

Deflecting it was impossible.

Barely catching it with both hands was all he could manage.

And still—

the downpour didn’t stop.

Aura shattered his defensive energy.

“GRAAAH!”

With a scream, Bakered barely redirected the orb sideways.

But it didn’t fly where he intended.

Like a living creature with will, it soared freely, blending with the storm.

Only now did Bakered understand why the man’s title was **Full-Moon Play**.

The white-aura-wrapped **Demon-Guiding Orb** shone like a brilliant full moon.

And Chuk Shin-do’s martial art was a play that controlled that moon.

“…The Tang Clan, rulers of hidden weapons, have a supreme art called Ten-Thousand Petal Rain.”

Haryeong spoke while supporting Yuri.

“It unleashes countless hidden weapons at once. Simple to describe, but incredibly profound and high-level. This is my first time witnessing Full-Moon Play’s secret art, Heaven-Filling Downpour… It’s different from Tang’s technique. But as an aura art, its completion is extraordinary.”

*Fuck, please…*

Listening to her calmly critique the martial art made it harder to hold back.

So Yuri spat blood again.

“A-are you really okay?”

Elena trembled, terrified something was wrong with him.

“Yuri-nim, if it’s painful to watch, you don’t have to force yourself.”

“No… I’m… fine.”

He stammered.

“It’ll be over soon anyway.”

Within the downpour, Bakered staggered.

His defensive aura, already worn thin, could no longer protect him.

Blood spilled every time aura grazed him.

The only reason he wasn’t torn apart instantly—

was Chuk Shin-do’s mercy.

*Just… just a little longer…*

He looked like he would collapse at any moment.

Yet Bakered desperately held onto consciousness.

Strangely—

he wasn’t thinking about how much time remained at all.

Endure one minute?

Impossible from the start.

The only reason Bakered was still standing alive right now was Chuk Shin-do’s mercy.

Even knowing that—

he did not fall.

He did not give up.

He did not think about enduring the remaining time to win the spar.

He only wanted to gain something—

by receiving this supreme martial art head-on.

For years now, the wall of Rank 7 had blocked his path.

He knew how hard it was to cross.

There were countless masters stuck at Rank 6.

Most of them had more talent than he did, superior martial arts, better backgrounds.

Even they couldn’t break through.

So he never expected to cross that wall easily.

But Bakered had something he had to do.

What set him apart from the masses of Rank 6 experts, in his own view, was his obsession—

and desperation.

He had to avenge his clan.

He had to find the three culprits who massacred the Laspion family.

Men capable of such slaughter twenty years ago—

by now, they were very likely Rank 7.

One of them might even be among the Martial Zeniths.

Or among the Seven Evils of the Demonic Cult.

Or perhaps a recluse unknown to the world.

Or perhaps…

a possessed one.

To find them and take revenge—

he could not remain Rank 6.

With that obsession and desperation, Bakered had lived twenty years.

He repeatedly fought stronger opponents, scraping together fragments of enlightenment—

and reached Rank 6.

Defeat against Full-Moon Play was inevitable.

From this inevitable defeat—

he had to obtain even the smallest gain.

> [If you don’t despair at this attack and resist to the very end—you might gain something. Then perhaps you can fall satisfied.]

Bakered was grateful for Full-Moon Play’s consideration.

Many called him a madman.

Many despised him simply for being possessed.

But to Bakered—

Full-Moon Play was a martial artist worthy of awe.

‘Just… a little… more…’

Unconsciously, Bakered was using **Rantian Flowing Cloud Fist** and **Vajra-Shattering Fist** at the same time.

This was the primitive origin of the new fist art he had devoted himself to for the past month.

The incomplete fusion of the two styles—

unformed until now—

was being instinctively drawn out in this extreme situation.

His slowly extended fist carried weight.

Softness and force coexisted.

Both hands twisted the direction of the incoming aura barrage.

But he couldn’t repeat it continuously.

His training wasn’t enough yet.

“Ah…”

His mind returned from trance.

He saw the **Demon-Guiding Orb**.

Within the downpour, the shining full moon stood right before him.

Slowly approaching—

but this time, it didn’t slam into him like before.

Instead—

the full moon radiated brilliant light.

Fwaaaaah!

All the drifting aura intertwined with that light.

It was an attack that could not be defended.

But Bakered was deeply satisfied.

He burst into laughter and spread both arms wide within the **Heaven-Filling Downpour**.

Sharararak—

The scattered light gathered into one point—

then burst apart.

Amid the drifting fragments of light,

Bakered stood upright.

But there was no light in his eyes.

He had already lost consciousness.

“…Five minutes have passed.”

Namgung Ju-won, overwhelmed by the dazzling transformations and the extreme mastery of aura, barely managed to speak.

Hands behind his back, he looked between Chuk Shin-do standing calmly—

and Bakered standing unconscious yet upright.

“The result of the spar is—”

“He didn’t fall.”

Chuk Shin-do said with a grin.

“Didn’t I say at the start? If Fist Wolf is still standing after five minutes, it’s my loss.”

“Uh… um…”

“He lost consciousness, but he didn’t fall. Hahaha! I can’t call it Fist Wolf’s victory, but I can’t call it mine either.”

At that moment—

Bakered’s body wobbled.

He was finally about to collapse.

Yuri—

not quite a disciple, but something like one—

had already coughed blood and even shed tears of blood over Fist Wolf’s desperate struggle.

He wondered if he had overdone it a bit.

But now that the spar was over, doing nothing wouldn’t match the emotional display he’d already shown.

And it wasn’t just that.

Bakered’s fight had left a deep impression on him.

Simply—

he felt like doing this.

So Yuri shook off Haryeong and Elena’s support.

His deliberately inflicted internal injury made movement painful—

but the instant Bakered began to fall,

he reached him.

He caught Bakered.

Because Bakered’s frame was so large, Yuri had to wrap both arms around his waist to keep him upright.

“Oh ho.”

Chuk Shin-do’s eyes gleamed.

Blood smeared across Yuri’s face.

Lips torn from biting them too many times.

Seeing him like that, Chuk Shin-do smiled.

“You said he’s not your master, just something like that. Was it painful to watch?”

After a brief pause, Yuri nodded.

“It was painful… but I also felt proud.”

“Proud? Why?”

“Even against the Martial Zenith Full-Moon Play, Bakered-nim never gave up midway. And he kept his promise to remain standing until the end.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say the name *Chuk Shin-do*…

“Yeah. Fist Wolf’s a great martial artist. Catching and punching my Demon-Guiding Orb bare-handed—most warriors wouldn’t even dare.”

“I know you held back.”

“Hahaha! Yuri, was it? Even if I held back, how many people in this world would still swing their fists at my Demon-Guiding Orb bare-handed?”

He waved a finger.

“Unless you’re someone like the Fist King Dokgo Gwi-jin, nobody tries to take it head-on. Most dodge. But Fist Wolf reached out from the start. That alone makes him one hell of a gutsy fighter.”

“…”

“I didn’t expect much, but this spar was more fun than I thought. Those five minutes I spent today were worth it.”

Then he turned to Namgung Ju-won.

“Let’s call today’s spar nobody’s victory. I rendered Fist Wolf unable to fight, but he didn’t fall. A draw! Hahaha! Extra time or penalties are fun too, but sometimes a draw’s nice.”

His smiling eyes returned to Yuri.

“Yuri. You watched our spar really closely. See anything?”

“I’m too low-level to say I saw it properly.”

“Humble kid. Your rank’s low and your martial arts are still sloppy… but your eyes are good. Late, but they followed somehow. Good focus too.”

“You flatter me.”

“I don’t flatter. From experience, guys with good eyes end up fighting well. Same with soccer—you need good vision. Yuri, how long have you trained?”

“About a month.”

“A month? Hahahahaha!”

His laughter grew louder.

“Following that spar after only a month? That’s impressive. You’ve got talent. Be proud.”

“…”

“I don’t know how long I’ll remember your name, but… I feel like I’ll hear it again someday. If you don’t die somewhere first.”

Many people looked at Yuri.

Especially Namgung Ju-won, who examined him curiously.

His eyes held no hostility—apparently he hadn’t heard about the Namgung Jin incident.

“Thank you.”

Yuri bowed deeply.

Then—

grinning—

Chuk Shin-do suddenly rose into the air.

“I don’t usually do this, but there’s a big crowd today and I’m in a good mood. So I’ll show you.”

He kicked off the air and leapt high.

His right hand spun above his head, forming a small tornado.

“Hoo—!”

He spun midair and spread both arms wide.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

The spar was over.

—