The Terminally Ill Young Master is the Mad Dog of the Underworld.

At dawn, I was finally cornered at a dead end. The encirclement was flawless, leaving me with no chance of escape. They must have intended to trap me here from the beginning.

“You bastards, do I look like an idiot who’d walk straight into a boiling pot? Get lost before I smash you all to pieces!”

I pulled out the jewel box from my coat and waved it at them in a threat. But the figures in black surrounding me just stared silently, as if my insults had never been spoken.

“Karzan, just stop running already. You’re driving me crazy.”

Ivan, the leader of the pursuers, sighed and stepped forward.

“Don’t you realize there’s no way you can survive? You’re not that stupid.”

“That’s why I’m fighting till the end.”

“That’s fair enough.”

Either way, I was cornered, trapped with no way out. But I was confident that if I fell into the icy waters of the northern sea, only my mouth would keep floating. So, I scanned my surroundings and started talking nonsense.

“The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Under its light, my madness surges. That means I still have energy left to go wild.”

I raised a sword I’d snatched while on the run and pointed it at Ivan.

“Ivan. Are you really planning to sacrifice all your men to their deaths? Is that how a leader should act? Why not step forward yourself? If I lose to you, I’ll hand over my head without hesitation.”

Of course, I wasn’t saying this because I thought I’d win. Ivan was strong enough that, in a fair fight, I’d barely have a 40% chance of victory.

Sure. I was confident I wouldn’t lose in a deathmatch, but predators on the plains don’t fight equally matched opponents unless they have no choice.

In other words, I was nervous too. With this guy bringing his whole squad, the odds weren’t in my favor. Still, a one-on-one fight might bring an unpredictable outcome, better than getting beaten down from all sides.

‘Taking him hostage would be ideal.’

“Stop spouting nonsense.”

Despite my desperate hope, Ivan responded coldly.

“Do you really think you could win against me with your guts spilling out? Or are you planning to throw dirt in my eyes for revenge? If luck’s on your side, you might even get a knife to my throat and hold me hostage.”

Spot on.

‘Smart guy.’

“Don’t feel too sorry for yourself. How many people have you killed with your blade? After shedding so much blood, it’s shameless to complain about your fate now.”

“And you, of all people, talking about shame? That’s hilarious.”

The irritating pimple attached to the Shadow King’s right hand just waved dismissively.

“Farewell, Karzan. Fight all you want before you die.”

“Idiot. I plan to keep fighting even after I’m dead.”

Ivan sneered.

“Haha. And just how will you do that?”

“If I die a headless ghost, I’ll visit your bedroom every night to haunt you.”

“Interesting.”

“If I’m reborn as a dog, I’ll leap out of an alley somewhere and sink my teeth into your neck.”

“As expected of the mad dog.”

Ivan responded nonchalantly, picking his ear.

“Then again, maybe you don’t even need to. Someday, when you’re no longer useful, you’ll end up dying as miserably as I will. And the ones who follow you now will be the ones to stab you in the back.”

I spat on the ground and laughed, my voice hoarse and mocking.

“You idiot. So you strutted around, only to end up dying like this. Maybe that guy standing to your right will even say something like, ‘Take a drink of this old man’s piss on your way out.'”

“…”

Even at my taunts, Ivan didn’t react.

“Quite the poker face. So calm. But why is it that someone as steady as you always loses so badly at gambling? Ivan, here’s some genuine advice—retire from gambling. You have no talent for it.”

As if used to my nonsense, Ivan waved his hand dismissively.

“Enough. If I listen to you any longer, my ears might start bleeding.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is it really so unpleasant? Until you tear my lips apart and cut out my tongue, you won’t be able to shut me up.”

Ivan turned to his subordinates.

“You heard him. Give him what he wants.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Oh, hell.”

That response sent a chill down my spine.

“Wait, wait. Are you seriously going to let me smash this thing? Are you planning on killing me and going down with me? I don’t think we’re exactly the type of friends who’d die together on the same day.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Even cornered like this, your mouth runs on and on.”

‘Well, this is a complete bust.’

This wasn’t part of my plan. For something so valuable, they seemed oddly unbothered about killing me over it.

‘They must have something up their sleeve. But what?’

I sharpened my instincts, trying to deduce Ivan’s intentions.

‘Ah, of course.’

Could it be that they believe I can’t break it with my own strength?

Right now, I was trapped with no escape route, and Ivan, who’d been chasing me relentlessly, now wore a smug expression, as if he had nothing to worry about.

In other words, they didn’t care if I destroyed the item, only that I might run and hide it.

“Hehehehe. Now I understand, you sly bastard.”

I laughed and my shoulders shook along.

“Going mad at the end, are we?”

“Ivan, Ivan.”

I shook the jewel box in front of him.

“Are you guys so confident that I can’t break this? Is that what you really believe?”

“…”

Ivan chuckled darkly.

“Still scheming till the very end. And that’s why you’re going to die.”

“Blaming your victim for their own death, huh? You’re all absolute scum.”

“Shut up.”

Ivan pointed at me, as if to clarify the truth.

“Well done. You guessed correctly.”

“I knew it.”

“So what? This makes it even worse for you.”

I inspected the jewel box and asked, “Just how indestructible is this thing? Is it made from adamantium or something?”

“That’s none of your concern. I’ll tell you just one thing: even an 8th-rank master would struggle to break it.”

Ivan smirked.

“Even Sir Amilcar couldn’t do anything to it. So what does a street blade like you think you can do?”

“Amilcar?”

He was an absolute powerhouse known to everyone in the underworld, a name that was essential when discussing the kingdom’s top ten masters.

Otherwise known as ‘the Shadow King’s Blade.’ If I managed to escape, he’d likely be the executioner leading the royal guard in my pursuit.

“Well then, I guess I’ll have to break through this wall today.”

“Hahahaha!”

Ivan and his lackeys held their stomachs, laughing at me.

I got my fill of insults—‘crazy bastard,’ ‘clueless idiot,’ ‘all talk and no bite,’ ‘lunatic,’ ‘good-for-nothing scum’—as I raised my hand.

“If you’re so confident, why don’t we make a bet? If I can’t break this, I’ll kill myself on the spot.”

Ivan raised his palm and gestured in approval.

“Go right ahead. This’ll be entertaining.”

Seeing that suspicious bastard this confident told me it must be incredibly durable.

‘Looks like it has protective magic from some 8th-rank archmage.’

Mages—useless lot. 

‘No other choice.’

It was do or die.

“Take this!”

Clang!

When I struck the jewel box, a transparent blue barrier deflected my blade.

“Whoa!”

The backlash was intense. I nearly sprained my wrist.

“Useless, isn’t it? Is that the end? Fulfill your promise and end your life.”

“Shut up. That was just a test.”

I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the deepest depths of my subconscious. 

My spine tingled, partially expecting a sudden strike, but thankfully, Ivan and his men just stood there, smirking as they watched me.

‘With my current strength, I can’t break this magic. So…’

I’d have to borrow someone else’s power. It was time to pull out my last gambit.

‘Years ago, I saw the body of a knight rumored to have reached the invincible ‘Swordbreaker’ stage.’

His corpse had a wound twisted like a whirlpool, as if his flesh had been gripped and twisted clockwise. I’d wondered about the origin of that wound for a long time, but never figured it out.

I whimsically named that method ‘Spiral’ and began experimenting with it.

‘After thrusting the blade, a twist of the hilt should ensure the wound spreads, slicing through organs for an instant kill.’

It was a crude description, but I figured the principle was likely similar.

‘And another thing.’

A prominent underworld master, clad in solid armor, had once challenged a martial artist renowned for breaking armor with bare hands—and died. Rumor had it that his armor remained intact, without so much as a crack, yet his corpse was crushed to a pulp.

‘Why didn’t the armor break? It was as if the attack bypassed it.’

I’d labeled this enigmatic technique as ‘Penetration’ and studied it, though mimicking something I’d never actually seen was impossible.

‘But now…I feel like I might be able to do it.’

Even as my body reached its limits, with strength drained and blood lost, my mind felt sharper than ever.

‘Think of the protective magic around this jewel box as armor.’

What if I could bypass that magic and penetrate the inside? And if I twisted the attack in a spiral to compensate for my lack of strength?

I channeled every last drop of mana left in me and wrapped it around my sword. Today, the blade in my mind felt sharper than ever.

‘Perfect. Something feels different today.’

A sense of insight flashed through my mind.

‘Penetration, and Spiral.’

With only these two concepts in mind, I summoned a battle cry from deep within.

“Hyaaaaah!”

“This idiot. He’s losing his mind.”

That single strike, accompanied by a fierce shout, caused an unexpected result.

“What?”

“No way…?”

Crack! Crack!

The beautifully gilded jewel box began to split apart with a brilliant flash of light.

“Ah.”

The sound of air escaping from Ivan’s mouth was almost comical.

“Hahaha! What are you going to do now? It’s broken!”

The backlash was so strong that my wrist was practically wrecked, but I was the type to laugh even harder in moments like this.

“So much for the might of an 8th-rank master, huh?”

Finally, Ivan’s eyes focused on reality.

“Y-you… You mad bastard!”

“It’s over for you. You’re all as good as dead. Even if you make it back, do you think the Shadow King will let you live? At this point, it’d be wiser to join me and flee the country.”

“Aaaaargh! Karzan, you damn bastard!”

Ivan lost his composure and clutched his head in fury.

“Kill him! Kill hiiim!”

“Step back! Today, I, Karzan, have broken through the wall, and now you’re all as good as dead.”

“…!”

Whether that was true or not, I didn’t know. Probably not.

‘I’ve just figured out a way to break really tough things.’

My body had been wrecked for a while now. Just because I’d had an awakening didn’t mean my torn organs were magically healed.

But my words had the desired effect.

“You cowards. Dare to stop?”

Ivan glared at his hesitating subordinates with bloodshot eyes. He spoke as though m chewing out each word.

“Anyone who hesitates will have their head chopped off and guts ripped out.”

“Wow! What a brutal guy.”

Just as the enraged Ivan and his men started advancing, something happened.

“What?”

The jewel box glowed ominously and suddenly exploded with tremendous force.

BOOOOM!

I didn’t even have time to feel pain. My body, enveloped in light, began to disintegrate.

‘Ah… To die in such a ridiculous way.’

It was pointless. In the end, I died without ever truly clashing against the fortress built by the Shadow King.

‘I was too weak. The outcome of this battle was decided from the moment of birth.’

No matter how skilled an underworld swordsman was, he couldn’t hope to defeat a Shadow King born a noble and ruling the underworld.

‘If only I’d started with the same conditions as him…’

If I had been a bit smarter, I might not have ended my life as a crushed insect, struggling in vain.

‘Let it go. It’s all just excuses.’

But the truth was, because I had drifted through the underworld without ever knowing the light of the upper world, this was how I was bound to die. If only I had been more proactive and extended a hand to the nobles—

At the very least, I wouldn’t have met such an end.

‘I should have been wiser. It’s too late for regrets, Karzan.’

Having lived so passively, unaware of these truths, my death today was inevitable.

‘…I’m exhausted.’

In a mix of regret and relief, I quietly closed my eyes.

This was my death.

———

Seventeen years passed.

One morning, after nearly losing his life to a sudden and violent fever that had him on the verge of death for days, the ‘terminally ill prince’ Allen Vert suddenly realized that he was the reincarnation of ‘Mad Dog of the Underworld’ Karzan.

“Wow! This  is insane.”

Could it be that I’d just woken up from a long, twisted nightmare?

Prince Allen Vert sat up in bed and slapped his cheek hard.

Smack!

“Wow! So it’s not a dream.”

He was now fully awake.