쥐뿔도 없는 회귀

목마
“Lee Sungmin has taken the Minor Heavenly Demon into custody.”

The man who came back to the room sat on the bed and grabbed the crystal ball. The
crystal reacted immediately to his action. The silver-colored crystal ball hummed
with a bit of static.

[Lee Sungmin, you say? Is that the one who killed the Bloody Heavenly Demon who
turned into a vampire?]

“Yeah, that’s him.”

[I left without preparing much but, that’s just how our relationship is. Should I say
we have a good relationship then?]

“I’m afraid you’d be wrong to say that you’ve matured.”

The man said, while taking off his vest. A dry smile appeared on his face as he swiftly
patted down his back and swept his long bangs to the side.

“Lee Sungmin overpowered Ironclad. It’s an amazing feat considering his age,
although Ironclad didn’t fight with the intent to kill.”

[He still can’t compare to Minor Heavenly Demon.]

The voice beyond the crystal ball answered curtly. The man replied while tying his
hair into a bun using a hair tie.

“I’m sure the old Spear King, Chang An would be really interested in this one.”

[That old man who still enjoys swinging his own spear the most even when he’s this
old already?]

The person behind the crystal ball laughed. The man with the tied up hair said,
shrugging his shoulders.

“The kid’s good enough to be noticed, but it still isn’t comparable to the Minor
Heavenly Demon.”

[If he’s protecting the Minor Heavenly Demon, He might get involved with him. More
importantly… Where are those two now anyway?]

“At the branch of the Samaryunju.”

[Hmmm… I expected them to leave town straight away.]

Listening to the words of the voice behind the crystal ball, the man clicked his tongue
and then took off his coat. His body clothed in tight black clothing was visible when
he took off his coat, it had numerous artifacts attached. The man then said, setting
aside his artifacts one by one.

“I don’t know why I have to clean up the mess of the higher-ups.”

[It can’t be helped. You’re the stealthiest out of us Amzone.]

Amzone then had a dry smile again at the thought of having to work the difficult
missions again. Qian Zun had left triumphantly, saying he would bring Minor
Heavenly Demon back, but returned with wounds all over his body. The fight that
had lasted for three days and nights with Wijihoyeon had left Qian Zun in a bad
shape, but it was due to the curse that had left them both half dead.

As an elf, Qian Zun had a lifespan far beyond that of mere mortals, giving him the
leeway to learn different martial arts for centuries on end. At the same time, it gave
him a level of proficiency in sorcery and curses that made others laugh at him due to
his mismatched power levels between martial arts and magic. The time he spent on
sorcery made others reluctant to engage with him because of his proficiency in the
deadly professions.

But sorcery, and especially curses, afflict the caster as much as the person they
cursed. As a result, Qian Zun was currently going through the same state as
Wijihoyeon. He had hidden himself deep in the woods with the elves because he was
not capable of properly moving and or circulating his internal energy proficiently.

“When would be a good time to bring him back?”

[I was going to wait for the Minor Heavenly Demon and cripple her but it’s hard to
tell what will happen from here on out. I was going to let you go because I thought it
would break my heart if I was threatened by a weak man who I don’t even care
about. I didn’t know that a little kid named Lee Sungmin would go to the extent of
protecting the Minor Heavenly Demon though.”

The man beyond the crystal ball then voiced his annoyance.

[If they’re hiding in the Samaryunju branch, then it would be really difficult to touch
them. Even if the Samaryunju aren’t interested in affairs that don’t involve them, they
will not tolerate trouble in their territory.]

Ma Huang-tian Yang Il Cheon, the Lord of the Samaryunju, was a silent dragon.
Stirring him up for no reason would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble. (T/N yeah,
that’s one hell of a long ass name)

[There is no way for the Minor Heavenly Demon to break the curse on her unless the
caster dies. Well… There’s no need to hurry. It’ll happen sooner or later.]

She lost her strength overnight and became weak. He didn’t think that the Minor
Heavenly Demon, for whom the pride of being among the strongest in Eria, could
endure the shame and humiliation.

[Kill Lee Sungmin right before the Minor Heavenly Demon’s eyes if they leave the
city.]

“That’d be such a waste of talent. Ah, by the way, he’s currently with the Crazy one.”

[There’s nothing more to see from the Crazy Heavenly Demon. If you haven’t reached
the pinnacle of Transcendence after being stuck for ten years, it’s hopeless for you.
Anyway, you were spoken of quite highly by Lee Sungmin. Didn’t you enjoy that?]

“I’ve always been fond of outstanding young men. The way I see it, that kid is only
second to the Minor Heavenly Demon. The Shaolin, The Open Drunkard, and the
Prodigy of the Wudang are the only other contenders. The drunkard is just a nobody.
Ji-hak still needs to be kept under surveillance, and information about Heavenly
Demon Sect is still under such tight wraps by the Taeguk Sword that no one dares
touch him.”

The three mentioned by Amzone were the young masters called the Future of
Shaolin, the Open Drunkard, and the Prodigy of Wudang. Among them, the one that
Amzone and Cheon Ucheon rated the most highly was Prodigy of the Wudang Sect.
He was the only disciple of the Taeguk Sword, who was an old veteran of the Wudang
Sect’s war, and nothing was known about his ability at all.

“In the fourth generation, Geom-ryeong is pretty good… There are quite a few skilled
guys in Samayukmun and in Madosamga.” (T/N most likely other sects/ factions of
Murim)

[What if we compare them to Lee Sungmin?]

“Honestly, I’m tempted.”

The corners of Amzone’s lips rose into a grin. It was full of greed. If Lee Sungmin was
an expert likely to be on the verge of transcendence, he should meet him and test
him out. The person from the crystal ball laughed darkly at his answer.

[If that’s the case, then do what you wish. You may kill… You may also try him out.]

Amzone nodded and put down the crystal ball. The crystal ball lost its light as it left
his hand. Amzone then savored the silence as he committed the information
obtained to memory, piece by piece. It had been a long time since he had to
memorize information about someone, but he always remained vigilant – just in
case.

He felt at ease. The coldness and feeling that certain colors of spring always made
him feel comfortable.

‘When will they come out?’

Amzone thought to himself as he glanced out the window.

—-

Soon after, someone standing at the branch building of the Samaryunju became
visible.

There was no way to find Qian Zun here. Even with all the information from Erebrisa,
his location could not be confirmed. It was evident that information concerning
Beyond the Heavens was appeared to be hidden beyond the reach of all information
guilds. He tried the Murim Information Service, but any information was either
fragmented or minimal.

[Erebrisa is an intermediary guild.]

Neville’s voice rang in Lee Sungmin’s head.

[Our only role is to broker deals between two parties, and to deliver the goods or
services agreed on in the deal. If the other party doesn’t have information, I can’t tell
you about it. The same goes when they don’t want to disclose the information to you,
I can’t tell you anything about it either. I’ve done you several favours in the past, but
in this case, it’s a different story.]

Neville’s direct delivery of a letter to those who weren’t also part of Erebrisa was an
act that technically should not be allowed. Lee Sungmin bowed his head with a sigh.
It was strange. There were Six Transcendent Masters, and there was almost no
information available about them. Lee Sungmin could only chew his lips.

[Maybe going South is the only solution.]

Heoju then spoke.

[The Southern Region is a commonplace for Sorcerers. You may not have the curse
dispelled, but we can find a way to do it there, rather than keep ourselves idle here
and groan.]

There were quite a few sorcerers who they met through Erebrisa, but none of them
could break the curse on Wijihoyeon. Unlike the wizards, which always grouped up
in one guild, sorcerers didn’t like to stay out in public and hid themselves because of
the public opinions of them. That was why the number of sorcerers available was
limited.

“The Othodox’s hounds are heading to Rubes.”

“The guards gave the carriage away.“

Use of the bloodhounds resulted in exceptional results, even when compared to the
many forest hounds. They may be weaker than one in terms of force, but they were
great at chasing and harassing stealthily.
Lee Sungmin did not answer. Words spoken behind the scenes were forcing him to
choose. If he joined the Samaryunju, he would be protected and would turn
completely hostile towards the Orthodox factions of Murim.

Lee Sungmin closed his eyes. He didn’t need to care or put his attention towards
things like political and religious factions in his previous life. He didn’t have the
choice either. Lee Sungmin was a mercenary, with no class.

Lee Sungmin in his previous life, was not important enough to be forced to a
crossroad between political and religious factions. But, what about now?

“What kind of place is Safa?” (T/N actual location of the Samaryunju)

“It’s a place full of mines.”, Guan Hu said with a serene smile.

“The distinction between the Political and the Religious Sects are meaningless in this
world, but… mines are mostly in Safa. The techniques they learn are more violent
than the ones from the political factions, and change the temperament of the
practitioners as well. Saekmas and Killer Ears are quite common in Samaryeon.”
(T/N beasts he’s referring to)

“Don’t you control them?”

“I’m controlling some but, their desire is like an awl in your pocket. If you push it
deeper, it comes out through your clothes.”

Guan Hu snorted and laughed while saying so.

“But that’s how it works, though. Release your grip on your pent up desires and just
go crazy. In that case, Samaryunju will no longer protect them. It’s done by the
righteous councilors and the forest allies.”

Guan Hu’s laugh then came to a stop.

“Let’s leave.”

Lee Sungmin called out to Wijihoyeon. She looked up at Lee Sungmin with weakness
apparent in her eyes.

“Where?”
“Let’s go South first. There are excellent Sorcerers down there, so we could consult
them.”

“South… That’s quite far from here. What about here?”

“Just because we’re in a desperate situation, there’s no guarantee that they’ll protect
us here unconditionally. In fact I’m sure there will be a follow-up attack from the
Orthodox, but I’m going to shake it off as best I can.”

“If you do that, you’ll be a political bandit. I guess that doesn’t matter to you?”

“Nope. Would you rather I just abandon you and leave?”, Lee Sungmin asked back.

Wjihoyeon only gave a deep sigh and didn’t answer back. After a short silence,
Wijihoyeon opened her mouth.

“What if one of the Six arrive?”

“I don’t care.”

“They want to take me.”

“But you don’t really want to go with them?”

“Yes.”

“So, that’s it then.”

“What do you mean?”

Wijihoyeon burst into laughter. This whole situation and the emotions that came
with it was something that she was experiencing for the first time. She felt a sense of
helplessness. She had never imagined that she would be protected by Lee Sungmin,
who was weaker than herself.

It wasn’t as bad as she thought, though. She felt a little strange, being protected by
someone in such a hopeless situation. Wijihoyeon looked at Lee Sungmin with
expressionless eyes.

A time would come where one of the Six Divinities might come at any moment. The
hounds had already set out for Rubes. If they left the Samaryunju, they would surely
be targeted. However, they couldn’t remain here forever, either. This wasn’t a safe
place, after all.

When Wijihoyeon came to her senses, she realized she no longer needed to be in the
branch of the Samaryunju. She needed to meet Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia.

‘The Golden Tower? No, that’s not necessarily a safe place either.’

He also thought about entrusting Lloyd with the protection of Wijihoyeon, but he
decided not to. Not only because he didn’t want Lloyd to get involved, but also
because there was no guarantee that the place was safe. Then would it be safer to
travel with him? Lee Sungmin could answer that question. Crazy Heavenly Demon
and Lee Sungmin were among the cream of the crop. The problem was that he didn’t
know when danger would strike, aside from the pursuit from the Orthodox.

Little did Lee Sungmin know that Amzone, one of the Six Divinities, was just around
the corner. If he knew, he might have made a different choice. Being oblivious, Lee
Sungmin informed Guan Hu that he was leaving.

“Is that so?”

Guan Hu was not surprised. As if he knew in advance that Lee Sungmin would act
like that, he nodded his head with a calm face.

“Do you have no regrets about your choice?”, Guan Hu asked.

Lee Sungmin hesitated and looked into the eyes of the latter. Guan Hu’s eyes were
twirling with a tinge of curiosity.

“I won’t say this place is absolutely safe, even I can’t predict what’s going to happen.
But this branch is pretty safe under the circumstances. I thought that if you leave this
place, the hounds drunk on the absurdity of justice would try to bite you, and the old
monsters who had made Wijihoyeon look like that will be after you.”

“…You… Who are you?”

“Lord of the Samaryunju.”

A different voice replied, but it had the face of Guan Hu.

“Don’t be too nervous. I’m just talking through a terminal engraved in the soul of the
branch manager. ”

“Just telling me not to be nervous isn’t going to make me any less nervous.”

“Haha. Well, just don’t then. So, what’s your answer? Don’t you regret your choice?”

“You said it yourself. This isn’t exactly a safe place.”

“Right. I’m talking through this terminal, but you know that place is quite far from
here. If the hounds of the Orthodox use brute force, the Samaryunju forces in Rubes
can’t stop them. Especially if it’s over a thousand, that is.”

“Do you know anything about Beyond the Heavens?”

“Of course, I know of them.”

“Nothing changes, even if you drag your feet here.”

“You don’t seem to have any regrets. I don’t intend to stop you. If you want to leave,
then do so.”, Lord Samaryunju answered in a cool voice.

“I’m not talking to you because I wanted to stop you.”, he continued.

“Then for what reason?”

“No matter the outcome of your choice, the consequences are still something you
have to bear. Whether you want to be gray or not, simply choosing is not your main
priority. But if you choose to be black, look for the Leggoro forest. There’s an answer
there.”

“…What?”

“You don’t have to hurry. Did you say you were going to the South? Come see me
when you’re done with your business. Right now, even if you come, I can’t afford to
see you.”

“Wait. I didn’t even say I was going…”

“That’s my choice, too.”, Lord Samaryunju said with a smile.

“It’s not compulsory. Whether you come or not, it’s you who decides that.”

The light disappeared from the pupils of Guan Hu before returning to his usual eyes.
Guan Hu stood absentmindedly for a moment, then sighed deeply.

“Lord, you’re so… Please let me know in advance when you’re going to do something
like this!”

Lee Sungmin, who was flustered by the sudden contact of Lord Samaryunju, quietly
agreed. However, if he was asked about his opinion, he wouldn’t be able to answer.
Lee Sungmin rose from his seat.

“Are you going?”

“Yes.”

Lee Sungmin replied, turning to leave.

Leggoro Forest and Lord Samaryunju. The last remark he was left with lingered in
his head but Lee Sungmin shoved it to the last of his priorities.

He had to go South first.

They need to meet some Natives of the tribes in the South to learn how to deal with
the forces, and also to acquire the treasures of Heoju. In the meantime, he also needs
to ask a Sorcerer who can answer and heal the curse of Wijihoyeon. It would be a
long journey to the South.

The group left the Samaryunju branch and took the train right away. As for
yesterday’s commotion, Samaryunju had already dealt with it, so the guards at the
train station only warned Lee Sungmin and did not pester him.

“Don’t get in trouble.”, the ticketing clerk warned.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon wore a complex look on his face that made him look like
he was blissful to take the train again but also saddened to leave the city.

“You can come again next time.”, Rubia said.

She sat beside the Crazy Heavenly Demon. Lee Sungmin then helped Wijihoyeon sit
next to him as the train engine rumbled to life. Wijihoyeon looked out the window.
She didn’t say anything and just stared blankly at the passing scenery. She didn’t
complain about the sudden departure and hid her anxiety well.

Rubia was still a bit dazed. She was still confused how Lee Sungmin knew such a
famous martial artist. Not only that, their relationship seemed more than just
acquaintances. Rubia remembered how they almost died to the doppelganger of
Wijihoyeon in the dungeon and had a tinge of respect and admiration in her eyes.

“Amazing.”
The Crazy Heavenly Demon opened his mouth. He glanced out of the window,
pretended to be solemn, and tried to see Wijihoyeon’s arm.

“Twenty-three… is what he said right? You’re both writing history with these kinds
of accomplishments. Even in the Murim, this kind of talent and hard work is rarely
seen.”

“Crazy Heavenly Demon.”, Wijihoyeon called.

Looking out the window, she moved her gaze to meet the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“Ten years ago, I’ve been listening to stories about you since I left Genavis.”

“What do you think then?”

Wijihoyeon spoke informally, but Crazy Heavenly Demon didn’t mind it.

“It’s annoying that I’ll overpower you, but I don’t think it’s going to be hard. “

“Hahaha!”

“I’m sure of it. I’ve been trying to reach transcendence up until now. I’ve been
hanging on for decades, but I haven’t reached it.”

“Well it’s as expected.”, Wijihoyeon murmured.

At Wijihoyeon’s answer, the Crazy Heavenly Demon burst into laughter accompanied
with a less reassuring smile.

“It may be impossible now because of your bad health, but if you get better one day,
I’d love to have a duel with you. “

“As you wish.”

Wijihoyeon then leaned her head against the window. She was extremely conscious
of the curse becoming stronger and stronger. Before, it was difficult to move her
internal energy and some parts of her body. But now she couldn’t even move her
fingers, let alone circulate a shred of her internal energy.

It wasn’t because of the clash with Ironclad. The wounds and internal injuries from
the duel had already healed, Wijihoyeon could feel it. It was the curse that is eating
her body from the inside out, faster and faster.

‘It’s hard to maintain consciousness… ’

That’s how it was even now. Drowsiness was settling in like a creeping mouse. She
had to bite her lower lip just to force herself to stay awake. Lee Sungmin grasped the
back of Wijihoyeon’s hand. She turned her head slightly to face him, eyes blinking
begging for rest.

“You can sleep.”

“…okay.”

She nodded slightly at Lee Sungmin’s words. It was strange for her, once Lee
Sungmin grasped her hands she felt at ease, and she wanted to sleep.

‘Ah.’

As she realized her thoughts, she closed her eyes in satisfaction and fell asleep.

“I feel bad for you.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon murmured, “I didn’t expect that a
talented warrior like her would be this helpless. If I were in her position, I would be
at worst… No, I wouldn’t be able to handle first-rate or second-class martial artists
with that curse.”

“Maybe…”, Lee Sungmin replied.

He then turned his gaze to Wijihoyeon’s sleeping face and tightly clenched his fists.

“…I need your help.”

“Why are you asking that? You know that I’m supposed to go South with you. It
doesn’t mean I won’t help you out just because I tag along for my personal reasons.”

“You might end up fighting the Orthodox practitioners.”

“What’s wrong with that? You must have forgotten, but my nickname in Eria is Crazy
Heavenly Demon. I’ve been fighting those goons for decades.”
“I’m talking about Beyond the Heavens.”

“That’s even better.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon grinned.

“I want to see the Master Swordsman Zoan again. I’d like to see how much he’s
improved from 10 years ago.”

However, Lee Sungmin didn’t want it. He didn’t want to meet the head of Beyond the
Heavens because he wasn’t sure what would happen. Even though Lee Sungmin was
at a very high place in the realm of martial arts, he wasn’t confident of defending his
comrades while fighting with one of the Six Divinities of Transcendence.

The train arrived at the South Gate station. Lee Sungmin carried Wijihoyeon on his
back without waking her up from her slumber. The Crazy Heavenly Demon then
moved behind Lee Sungmin, while Rubia changed her appearance to a sphere of light
and entered Lee Sungmin’s arms.

“Leave.”

Coming out of the South Gate, Yoo Ho-jeong, the Ironclad, was sitting in a corner
draped with a shawl. Two days ago, Lee Sungmin defeated Yoo Hojeong at this very
place. After that, Yoo Ho-jeong remained at the South Gate without leaving.

Lee Sungmin opened his mouth while watching Yoo Ho-jeong sitting in the corner.

“Are you going to stop me?”

“You can’t stop them.”, uttered Yoo Ho-jeong.

“I’m not alone, I’m with the Crazy Heavenly Demon.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I have something I want to ask you.”

Yoo Ho-jeong neither wore his armor nor he picked up his lance. Instead, the huge
lance was leaning stationary against the wall right next to Lee Sungmin. Yoo Ho-
jeong asked him, while slowly rising up from his seat.
“Are you going to keep protecting the Minor Heavenly Demon?”

“Yes, to the best of my ability.”

“You’ve told me about her before.”

“I know.”

“It’s not too late for now. Don’t you intend to change your mind?”

“No.”, Lee Sungmin declared.

“I see.”, Yoo Ho-jeong nodded his head.

“I know my actions to kill a weakened Minor Heavenly Demon were unjustifiable.

But, I still knew that and acted. Do you know why I did that?”

“No, because Wijihoyeon isn’t a cruel or vile person.”

“There is no guarantee that even if the Minor Heavenly Demon had not committed
evil acts known, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened or won’t happen in the future.
She is a young monster that is growing so fast that no one will be able to stop her in a
few years.”

“That’s why you tried to kill her?”

“I know it’s unjust and narrow-minded. Maybe it’s not right. But, again, it could be.”

Yoo Ho-jeong reached out his hand and caught the lance next to him.

“I guess I can’t stop you.”, Yoo Ho-jeong said, “But I have to stop her. Because this is
right for me. This is my justice, even if it’s selfish.”

“You said you couldn’t stop her growth.”

“I know.”

The lance, dyed with light, covered Yoo Ho-jeong’s body, and when the light
disappeared, Yoo Ho-jeong was wearing the armor that gave him the nickname
‘Ironclad’. Yoo Ho-jeong slowly lowered the helmet’s visor.
“Two days ago I wasn’t trying to kill you, because I wasn’t sure whether it was right
or wrong to kill you. But now… I’m sure. It’s right to kill you here and now.”

“Why do you have to go so far?”, Lee Sungmin sighed and exhaled, “I’m not alone,
apart from my proficiency and skill, it will be impossible to kill me. Even if
Wijihoyeon hasn’t done any evil yet…”

“Didn’t you hear? It’s a narrow-minded justice.”

Kuung.

Yoo Ho-jeong walked forward.

“I may not be right to kill the Minor Heavenly Demon in your opinion, but it is right
for me to do the same to you and her. It’s the right thing to do in my own opinion.”,
Yoo Ho-jeong said.

Narrow-minded, but still honest. What he said was the unshakable belief he kept in
his heart. Apart from the will of the Orthodox, the warrior Yoo Ho-jeong was a man
of unwavering faith.

Wearing the Ironclad armor, Yoo Ho-jeong struck out with a heavy step. Lee Sungmin
knew it was impossible, they couldn’t kill him just because he’s fighting like this.
Nevertheless, Yoo Ho-jeong would die if he kept this up.

Yoo Ho-jeong did not consider Lee Sungmin’s power to be terrified of the situation
yet. He acted out of his own right; or else he would die out of impatience. He was not
afraid of death, even though he was weak.

“Ugh.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon groaned a little. He sighed, and took a step backward.

“That’s the type of answer I don’t really like and that’s the reason why I don’t want to
leave my position.”

Lee Sungmin didn’t want to do the same thing. He didn’t enjoy murder. So far, he had
always been like that. He didn’t kill if he didn’t want to. In the sleeping forest, in the
dungeon, he thought Jang would be annoyed and would kill him, but he didn’t.
Through the 2100 years spent in his conscience, his unstable mind became stable as
time passed and that’s how Lee Sungmin became where he is ‘now’.

The Ironclad Yoo Ho-jeong was a man whom he didn’t want to kill. Lee Sungmin
didn’t want to agree with nor deny his beliefs and ideas. He just didn’t want to get
involved. He only wanted to pass by without problems. But now it seems like he
couldn’t.

Yoo Ho-jeong was standing in front of Lee Sungmin, obstructing him to the front of
the gate. Lee Sungmin entrusted Wijihoyeon to Crazy Heavenly Demon.

[Not fighting and running away is one of our options.]

“Are you going to run away?”

Heoju murmured, and Yoo Ho-jeong asked the question.

“If you run away, I may not be able to chase you right now. But I’ll be chasing after
you again and again.”

Black and white.

“If you really want to protect the Minor Heavenly Demon, don’t run away. You know
what’s right, what’s wrong, and what’s your faith. To not let the Minor Heavenly
Demon die. If that is really the case then don’t run away, kill me here and go!”, Yoo
Ho-jeong shouted.

At the same time, he has been accelerating toward Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin took
out his spear without hesitation.

Clash!

The collision at close range caused Lee Sungmin to take a half step back. The lance
was heavier than it was before, which was under the buff spell two days ago. It was
evidence that Yoo Ho-jeong did not go all out at that time.

Was the Minor Heavenly Demon evil? He didn’t know. Wijihoyeon in her previous life
did not commit any apparent misdeeds, except that she exterminated everyone in
the dungeon. Lee Sungmin knows that the killing in the dungeon was done by the
Doppelganger of Wijihoyeon, not by Wijihoyeon herself. Lee Sungmin died in his
previous life four years after he turned 28 years old and during those four years,
Wijihoyeon did not commit a whole lot of evil deeds.

After that? Five years, six years, ten years later. There wasn’t any guarantee that
Wijihoyeon would stay the same. Because of what might not happen, Yoo Ho-jeong
was risking his life to kill Wijihoyeon.

Lee Sungmin was being forced to make a choice. A choice that could not be made
while staying gray. He had to turn black in order to protect Wijihoyeon. He had to be
courageous enough to kill Yoo Ho-jeong and antagonize every single Orthodox
faction in Murim. Lee Sungmin bit his lower lip. He thrust a heavy stab outwards
with the spear.

Clang!

The spear and the lance collided and clashed against each other. Yoo Ho-jeong did
not back down. He bent over and grabbed the lance with both hands. It then hit Lee
Sungmin by turning into a huge javelin, then Lee Sungmin made a half crescent arc
and pulled the spear upwards. Lee Sungmin’s upper body fluttered with a dull roar.
In that stance, Lee Sungmin shifted his posture by dragging his feet sideways, and
shot the spear at Yoo Ho-jeong.

‘Let’s stop this.’

Lee Sungmin’s eyes were cold. He knew it from the previous battle. Yoo Ho-jeong was
sincerely trying to kill Lee Sungmin now. He acknowledged, acted and claimed it to
be his own justice.

A Faction or a Religion. He didn’t want to make that choice. But now, he had to
choose. Lee Sungmin had to go through with his own choice. There would be those
who believe in their own sense of justice and defend it. And the situation wasn’t any
better knowing that the hounds of the Orthodox were on their way.

And with that, he made a decision in his heart.

If those who believe in their own sense of faith took their path, and decided the rest
as nonsense, then Lee Sungmin would take that path.

Lee Sungmin’s hands were tainted with the purple aura from the internal energy
coursing through his body as he unleashed the Amethyst Cloud Spear Technique and
2-Step Calamitous End, shooting forward the aura pulsating ripples of energy, at the
tip of the spear.

Looking at him, Yoo Ho-jeong thought as if Lee Sungmin had blurred out of existence.

‘Fuck… I can’t stop this.’

At that moment,Yoo Ho-jeong despaired.

Yoo Ho-jeong slowly closed his eyes.

His hollow logic resulted in the splurge of action that happened first thing in the
morning because of the Faction’s beliefs. It was the desire of wanting to kill the
Minor Heavenly Demon that made Yoo Ho-jeong meet his own end. He did not feel
sorry for the desire and paid accordingly.

Yoo Ho-jeong was looking up at the sky, while Lee Sungmin looked down at him with
gloomy eyes. Blinking his eyes, Yoo Ho-jeong opened his mouth to say something, but
he couldn’t speak. Instead, it was red blood that spat out from Yoo Ho-jeong’s mouth.

Yoo Ho-jeong failed to stop Lee Sungmin’s spear. His armor, his trusted line of
defense, which gave him the nickname ‘Ironclad’ couldn’t protect him. Yoo Ho-jeong
tried to kill Lee Sungmin, and Lee Sungmin dealt with him in sincerity and strength.
And so the result was apparent.

Yoo Ho-jeong raised his trembling hand and fumbled around to feel his chest. The
hole in his chest was deep enough to see the other side, but the blood was so thick
that it could only be seen in a red hue. Yoo Ho-jeong vomited blood continuously. He
moved his bloody lips, smiled and looked at Lee Sungmin.

“That… choice… you’ll regret…”

“I won’t.”

The Orthodox faction was going all out to kill the Minor Heavenly Demon, but in fact,
it was no different from asking Yoo Ho-jeong to commit suicide. Yoo Ho-jeong did not
resent the decision. There must have been a good reason, he tried to convince
himself before.

Just as he believed he was right, so did Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin sighed. He didn’t
want to regret it even if he was a pushover. To some people, Wijihoyeon may seem
evil. After all, she was like a main character in Eria. Maybe one day she would really
become one.

But, not for Lee Sungmin.

“Well, that’s for sure.”, Yoo Ho-jeong muttered.

He did not resent Lee Sungmin. It was true that Yoo Ho-jeong tried to kill Lee
Sungmin. He was dying due to blood loss. That’s usually how one would die; in
battle, if you were in the Murim. Yoo Ho-jeong was a warrior and had long known
that one day he would come to this end. That was probably the reason why he closed
his eyes without resentment.

And that was how Yoo Ho-jeong died.

It was not a good feeling to kill others with regrets. It was someone Lee Sungmin
didn’t want to kill. Although their relationship was short lived, he was known as a
martial artist with a high reputation, ahead of Lee Sungmin as a no-class. Even
though he said he was narrow-minded, he was a long-standing and outstanding
warrior of the Orthodox.

[Cry me a river.]

Heoju muttered. Lee Sungmin knew what Heoju was getting at. By killing Yoo Ho-
jeong, he was setting his path in stone. His nickname as a meritorious warrior would
be thrown down the drain along with his nickname ‘Ghost Gun’. If he wanted to live a
life on his own terms he needed to firm his resolve.

Lee Sungmin then turned around to face the Heavenly Demon and the resting
Wijihoyeon.

“Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you gonna at least send him off?”

In his chest, the artificial spirit form of Rubia grumbled and asked. Lee Sungmin
passed by Yoo Ho-jeong’s body.

“The road we have to walk, there will be many others to bury besides him.”, he
answered.
Eyes from the spectators around the South Gate were demeaning. People were
running from the entrance. They hurled abusive words at Lee Sungmin.

He dismissed it. He wouldn’t listen to them anyways. Because he didn’t want to spark
conflict within them, Lee Sungmin opened his eyes to look at them.

But they didn’t come after him. They saw how Lee Sungmin killed the Ironclad right
in front of them. None of the fighters in the area could hold a candle to Lee Sungmin.
Moreover, they wouldn’t fight just for words when they had their own lives to value.

The Ironclad had wasted his life.

Lee Sungmin didn’t know but there was a lingering feeling of discomfort in the
corner of his heart. Was that narrow-minded belief in justice worth risking one’s
reputation and life? He was disturbed by how the factions convinced good people
and warriors in their beliefs, only to take it to such extremes and lose their lives
pitifully.

And so they left Rubes.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Lee Sungmin stopped walking down the trail.

A man stood under the shade of a tree not far from him. Without his definitive and
firm voice, Lee Sungmin wouldn’t have noticed that a man was standing there. As
such, the presence of the man was faint. But, even that was an understatement.

He was in total stealth and transparency.

“I saw the fight with the Ironclad. He was a peak master of the Orthodox, however he
was pretty easy to deal with, wasn’t he?”

The man was wearing a large overcoat, and a pair of large, voluminous boots. The
sleeves were wide and long, so Lee Sungmin couldn’t see his hands. He walked out of
the shade waving his long sleeve.

“Is the Minor Heavenly Demon asleep?”, Amzone asked.

Lee Sungmin looked at Amzone with a stiff expression. Although he was standing in
front of Lee Sungmin’s eyes not too far away, he still felt his presence wavering. It
was a queer feeling. The Crazy Heavenly Demon, who was standing behind Lee
Sungmin, also looked nervous.

“The curse of Qian Zun is getting stronger, isn’t it? I can’t believe it’s working on a
warrior in the Transcendence Realm. Whoo-hoo! You’re the best. I’ve never felt great
about curses, but I have to admit that it’s working.”

“…you… who are you?”, asked Lee Sungmin.

“Beyond the Heavens.”

Amzone revealed his affiliation without hiding it.

“Have you heard from Minor Heavenly Demon about the Six Divinities? I’m one of
them, Amzone.”

Lee Sungmin felt incredibly unlucky.

He thought he’d eventually meet a master from Beyond the Heavens someday but he
never imagined that today was that day. It had only been about two hours since they
left the South Gate of Rubes.

“You don’t look so great. “

Amzone muttered and curved the corners of his mouth to a toothy grin. He took off
his vest and put it down next to him.

“You don’t have to be too afraid. I don’t intend to kill you. I just want to test you a
little.”

“Test?”

“I’ve met a lot of talented and potential young fighters, but… Whew! I’ve never seen
someone as great as you.”

“So you’re basically going to do nothing about us… Is that really all?”, questioned Lee
Sungmin.
“That’s not true.”

Amzone burst into laughter. He replied with a tint of maliciousness, looking at

Wijihoyeon, who was sleeping behind Lee Sungmin.

“And to take the Minor Heavenly Demon.”

Lee Sungmin’s expression hardened and went ice-cold. From the time he heard
Amzone state his identity as one of the Six Divinites from Beyond the Heavens, the
eyes of Crazy Heavenly Demon went cold and emitted a blood-curdling killing intent.
He strode forward and spat out.

“Is the Swordmaster Zoan coming?”

“Ah! Crazy Heavenly Demon.”

Amzone’s gaze turned to the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“You haven’t yet forgotten that you lost to him 10 years ago. Sadly, he didn’t come
here. But why are you looking for the Sword Prince? Do you want to take your
revenge from what happened ten years ago?”

“If it’s possible.”

“It’s impossible, because your skills won’t even touch Zoan’s hair.”

Amzone uttered with a menacing grin full of arrogance.

“Don’t skip the line. Beyond the Heavens is no longer interested in you. If a decade
has passed and you have not reached the realm of Transcendence, then that’s your
limit and your fate. Our group is by no means amiable to the unqualified.”

Amzone warned him and then looked at Lee Sungmin.

“I’m going to be taking the Minor Heavenly Demon. It would be nice if she came
along willingly but, I don’t think things will go that way because she’s sleeping like a
little birdie hehe!”

“I’m not giving her to the likes of you. “

“Oh? And why’s that? Do you even know what Beyond the Heavens is? Do you know
the reason why we’re trying to take her with us? Are you really going to butt in our
business and try to stop us when you don’t know anything? Think about it. We could
have killed the Minor Heavenly Demon a hundred times over, but we didn’t.”

“You cursed her…”

“That’s what Qian Zun did hastily. He was shocked that he couldn’t defeat the Minor
Heavenly Demon with his sheer martial ability.”

Amzone answered like that without a single reaction evident on his face.

“That’s why I’m here, because Qian Zun can’t move. With the curse from the
Heavenly Sorcerer of ‘the Six’, the Minor Heavenly Demon has been reduced to this.
Even with the caster’s ability he could easily kill her right now. But the Minor
Heavenly Demon did not die and came to Rubes. Why do you think that’s been the
case up till now?”

Lee Sungmin could not answer. Amzone didn’t need Lee Sungmin’s answer, so he
gave the answer to his own question in advance.

“I’ve done a lot of work for a little bird in the sky that Minor Heavenly Demon is not
aware of. I have killed many who have come to recognize and threaten the Minor
Heavenly Demon behind the scenes, I did that to protect her from the shadows. At
the South Gate, the Ironclad was deliberately left alone. I just wanted the Minor
Heavenly Demon to despair at her helplessness. I never expected that you’d step in
and protect her.”

“So…?”

“We don’t have any malice towards the Minor Heavenly Demon. In fact we’re more or
less an unopened present for her. Do you even know what her fate is?”

“What…?”

“You don’t seem to know. I don’t have to explain it to you, but that’s fine. Our
interests seem to be in sync.”

Amzone shook his right hand lightly. The wide sleeve rolled down his arm and
revealed his hand. He held a dagger the size of his palm and lifted it up and spun it
like a flashlight.

“I have to test you and take her with me. You want to stop me don’t you?”

“Where is Qian Zun?”

“Don’t beat around the bush, Ghost Gun.”

“There’s no reason to tell you why I need to know. You seem to have a lot of interest
in both of us, but if you want answers or compliance you need to be stronger than
your opponent. But, are you sure you’re the stronger one?”

Lee Sungmin talked with a blanklessly cold expression that betrayed the anxiousness
he was feeling at the sudden situation.

‘We need to work together.’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon communicated via telepathy. This was not the time to
take pride. Amzone, the one in front of him, was the strongest person Lee Sungmin
had ever faced. Lee Sungmin alone wouldn’t be able to handle him.

‘Will you help me?’

‘I will.’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon answered without hesitation. Amzone laughed as he

watched the Crazy Heavenly Demon communicating with telepathy, obviously trying
to pull something on him.

“Are you thinking of working together? That’s not bad either. Yeah… Crazy Heavenly
Demon, if you join forces, I won’t kill you, either.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon’s face was distorted from Amzone’s arrogant remarks that hit
right at his pride as a martial artist. He started to rouse his internal energy and it
started to pulsate strongly enough his hair started to flutter violently. Lee Sungmin
took out his hand and put on Rubia’s spirit form.

“What, what?!”

“It may be dangerous… Please keep Wijihoyeon safe.”

Rubia hesitated and nodded her head. The Crazy Heavenly Demon carefully laid
Wijihoyeon down as he examined the movements of Amzone. Wijihoyeon was still
asleep with a pale face. Rubia approached her and carefully held her in her arms.

“I’m worried that the annoying ones will see it.”, said Amzone.

Amzone put his hand at his shoulder, as he was saying so. What he took out was a
transparent sphere that came into one hand. He shook it lightly, and soon threw it up
into the sky.

-Paat!

The sphere gave off a bright light and surrounded them. Lee Sungmin and the Crazy
Heavenly Demon looked around, bewildered by the heterogeneity felt in the space
itself

“Don’t be surprised. I’m just blocking the space around here. Isn’t it more
comfortable to fight without others?”

That’s how Amzone began to strut along.

“It’s a promise I just made to myself. I won’t touch the Minor Heavenly Demon until I
overpower you two. “

Lee Sungmin didn’t listen to the words till the end. With all his might, he shot
straight at Amzone with his spear as he released his techniques.

‘2-step Gentle Ripples technique’

‘Nine Heavenly Spears Technique : 2nd move Nine Dragon’s Annihilation’

‘Blood Gale Nova’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon didn’t just stand still either. He ran after Lee Sungmin.
Their bodies were both covered in a blood-scarlet mist, and the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s steps shook the ground every time he stepped forward.

In the face of the two rushing, reckless and swift attackers, Amzone stood
motionless. He shook the dagger lightly with his right hand.
BAM!

The dagger was then fired at them. It fell right in the path of Lee Sungmin, who was
quickly narrowing the distance from Amzone, who was stretching out.

Gwa-a-a-a-a-ang!

The ground exploded. Lee Sungmin’s body reeled backwards as the ground cracked
apart and rocks overturned. The dust spreaded out in all directions. Without
panicking, Lee Sungmin swung the spear widely and scattered the dust.

“Ugh…”

Lee Sungmin’s body suddenly stiffened. A warning from his sixth sense passed
through Lee Sungmin’s body faster than that. Pakapak! There were dozens of
daggers embedded in the ground, Lee Sungmin shuddered slightly. Beyond the dust,
the dagger thrown by Amzone grazed Lee Sungmin’s body, and the internal energy
force for self defense that he used failed to disperse the trajectory of the dagger.

“I didn’t get you there.”, Amzone said while waving his empty hands.

Before he knew it, Amzone held a disk the size of a palm. After putting it on his index
finger and twirling it, he glanced at the Crazy Heavenly Demon, who was close to the
disk.

“Huh!”

The bloody mist from the Blood Gale Nova from the Crazy Heavenly Demon exploded
towards Amzone, but his body disappeared like smoke. Standing next to the Crazy
Heavenly Demon, Amzone passed by him with a gentle step. The Crazy Heavenly
Demon contorted his face and thrust his fist at Amzone, and this time it was the
same. Amzone was like a goblin with two eyes but no substance. Every time Crazy
Heavenly Demon’s fist touched Amzone’s body, he turned into a wisp of smoke and
disappeared.

[The air is different]

Heoju said in admiration. Lee Sungmin jumped over the dagger embedded in the
ground and rushed back towards Amzone. Amzone glanced at the spear and blew
away the disk that was twirling with his finger. It cut through the air, turning fiercely,
and making no sound. The disk that flew through the line aimed for Lee Sungmin.
Lee Sungmin fired his spear clad with the blood-red aura at the disk. But the disk did
not get pierced. As soon as it reached, the disk’s trajectory changed. It passed by the
neck of Lee Sungmin, turning softly in the air.

Sheeeeeeen!

Blood flowed from his thinly cut skin at the neck. Lee Sungmin was startled and
raised his hand to wrap the wound around his neck. If it had been cut deeper, it
would have been fatal.

“I won’t kill you.”

Is what Amzone said with his ever malicious smile.

The disk that grazed Lee Sungmin’s neck continued to rotate and hover around him,
even after Amzone had already given up control over it.

He went to deal with the Crazy Heavenly Demon. Out of Amzone’s hands, a dark aura
started to envelope the space around him.

In Eria, it was common knowledge that within the four main forces of the Orthodox
Factions that the Tang Clan was known for their meticulous hidden weapons and
ease of control over poison. But, like every other clan in Eria that summoned people
from different dimensions, the Tang Clan had long improved their arts with their
countless experts from different dimensions.

Long ago, Amzone had a Tang Clan surname. But he was of humble origins within the
clan and was excluded from most opportunities the Main Branch held within the
clan. He wasn’t one with the best aptitude among their standards, so he left the clan
while creating his own arts with the knowledge he had taken and memorized from
the clan libraries.

He then started to learn the dark arts of the Tang Clan and modified it himself. When
the other members tried to bring him back, his new skill was absolutely
unparalleled.

However, that was a very long time ago and Amzone had improved further on the
assasination arts he had learned. Assasination was not all about simply killing
others. All the techniques regarding assasination, dealt with utilizing poison.
Assasins should be able to kill an opponent secretly and without doubt. Thus, the
technique using the black arts was one of a killing blow.

Every time Lee Sungmin chased the moving disk, it moved around faster than he
could fathom. He was slowly realizing how far away the Transcendental Realm was.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon clenched his teeth and greatly inflated the Blood Aura he
had to form around his entire body.
Kwaaang!

A red storm exploded from his fists. Standing at the center of the storm, the Crazy
Heavenly Demon raised his feet and struck down the ground. The ground shook and
the violent blood storm began to make a fierce turn. If anybody looked at it from a
spectating point of view they would be certain that the storm was one that would
cause instant death and have their body turned and shredded to pieces.

The dark zone created by Amzone however, was tranquil even in the storm. There
was no sign of any discomfort or agitation apparent on his face, though the dark aura
of his small domain fluttered ceaselessly. Byuk Won-Pae stared at the face of the dark
domain created with Amzone’s aura and spread out his hands. Then he roused up his
violent and coursing internal energy and unfolded the Blood Gale Nova technique.

(T/N reminder : Byuk Won-pae is the Crazy Heavenly demon’s name)

At that moment the dark domain moved. The body of the disappearing Amzone was
within the reach of the Crazy Heavenly Demon. Amzone twirled the awl wrapped in
his hands with the force of his dark aura and cut through the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s technique. It didn’t just stop at severing through the technique, it sliced
right through the defensive aura of Byuk Won-Pae and blood splurted from his
shoulder.

BOOM!

The Dark Aura exploded with a deafening sound. But, the Crazy Heavenly Demon
didn’t stop. He hurriedly reached out his left hand and grabbed Amzone’s arm.
Amzone didn’t fret and threw the awl from the gripped hand to the free arm he had.
Then Byuk Won-Pae rose his strength as much as he could muster and tried to rip
the arm off from the shoulder of Amzone.

Whoosh!

The awl shot forward and sliced through the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s flesh. Amzone
said he would not kill him. Even in the circumstances, Amzone intended to keep his
word, and the awl that pierced the side of the Crazy Heavenly Demon was not a fatal
wound because it cleverly avoided his internal organs.

As a result, the bloody storm exploded. Red gusts of aura swept everywhere with a
heavy noise that shook the whole space.
BANG!

Amzone revealed himself, completely unscathed. He looked at Crazy Heavenly

Demon, swiping off the dust that had collected on his body. The blood-stained Byuk
Won-Pae was glaring at Amzone with a chilling killing intent.

It was at that moment, Lee Sungmin jumped out at the back of Amzone. He fired his
fiercely-rotating spear at his opponent’s back. Again, Amzone disappeared in a haze.
Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth and turned the spear to the side. Amzone who was
standing there, smiled and waved. His sleeve and Lee Sungmin’s spear collided.

Thwocccckkkkk!

Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth under the pressure of his aching hands. The end of
the spear trembled and he exploded a bloody lightning aura clad with the spear tip.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 3rd move : Lightning Strike (분쇄 추상)

Crazy Heavenly Demon’s technique : Blood Ring Smithereens (血環破碎 )

“You’re definitely an interesting character.”

Amzone nodded and waved his sleeve to respond to the spear.

Pavavabak!

Dozens of dagger blows fired from inside Amzone’s sleeves and blocked all the spear
stabs of the lightning clad spear. Lee Sungmin opened his eyes as he watched the
aura become scattered in vain.

[Stretch out your feet.]

Lee Sungmin widened his stance and planted his feet firmly and rose the spear back
up with the blood rings. The Red Aura covered Lee Sungmin’s eyes with a dense,
strong atmosphere in just two steps.

Amzone rolled up his right sleeve. Covering the wide sleeves, was a sharp steel blade.
There was a cracking sound from the shoulder of the arm that was wielding the
blade. Amzone swung his right arm wide.
“Ugh.”

The steel blade that was clashing with the spear was cut short. Amzone put the blade
of the knife that protruded from his forearm back into his arm and waved his left
hand.

Pavabababak!

Dozens of small beads were fired. It was a nail-sized needle-like bead. Lee Sungmin
immediately changed the trajectory of the explosive bead by spreading the Blood
Mist.

Behind Amzone’s back, came Byuk Won-Pae. Though his shoulder was wounded, it
wasn’t fatal, and there was no major obstacle in moving his body. He fired off the disk
that was circling Sungmin earlier, stretching out his wide open hands sequentially.
Amzone twirled around the spot, moving his left hand. Between his fingers, there
was a hidden steel claw.

Quaddeuk!

It ripped apart the bloody hurricane created by the Crazy Heavenly Demon, just like
shredding apart a bloody corpse through a grinder. Then, Amzone stretched forward
his foot toward the rift created by it. The left hand that he was wielding pulled back
in the opposite direction. A curved blade which had been stuck between his fingers,
flew toward Byuk Won-Pae.

“Hahaha!”

The blades which had penetrated through the tornado, reached the Crazy Heavenly
Demon and once more, sliced through his flesh. The Crazy Heavenly Demon
staggered, the blood spurting out like a waterfall from the wound on his shoulder.

“ELDER!”

Lee Sungmin shouted out to the Crazy Heavenly Demon in response to the blow dealt
by Amzone. He then started to circulate even more internal energy, heating up his
energy thrusting his spear forward with a scarlet aura from the Blood Rings
technique and incorporeal dragons surrounding the spear materialized from the
Nine Dragons Lightning strike.
“Hmm.”

Amzone nodded his head with a pleased expression. It was as he thought to be

expected from Lee Sungmin. No it was even surpassing his expectations! The
dancing spear lush with the combined auras of his techniques, pleased Amzone. The
fact that Lee Sungmin had reached such an outstanding level at the age of 24 meant
that he had a great future ahead of him if he continued to tread diligently.

Or maybe ten years? Amzone thought to himself. If Lee Sungmin kept at this pace
and overcame his limits, Amzone thought Lee Sungmin could cross the wall from
peak level over to Transcendence.

But it won’t be now.

Amzone’s hand gripped around his waist. The Hidden Weapon Arts of the Tang Clan
weren’t as simple as throwing darts and poison. Hidden Weapon Arts always utilized
a cover-up weapon, and its essence lied in being well hidden so that the opponent
can’t know when or where they’ll be attacked.

While moving his hand at his waist, he grabbed the black whip he had hidden behind
his clothes. Among the various weapons that Amzone had, the whip had some
sentiment for him and it’s results had never disappointed him for the time he
wielded it.

When Amzone snapped the whip with force, the blood mist and the incorporeal
dragons were scattered against the whip.

“Hope you have more to show me.”, Amazon whispered to himself.

The whip struck forward again. It hit the injured and stationary Crazy Heavenly
Demon and he flew backwards.

“Crazy Demon!”

“I didn’t kill him.”

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 4th move : Lightning Annihilation (伏蛇魄貪)

It was the fastest technique that Lee Sungmin could use with his strength, but
Amzone could twiddle his thumbs faster.
Bang!

Lee Sungmin’s right shoulder joint turned fiercely and it was pierced through by the
spear shot by Amzone. In succession, Amzone moved back and flicked more hidden
weapons through his fingertips.

Pew Pew Pew Pew Pew Pew!

Lee Sungmin’s right leg, which was supporting the weight of his body, was pierced
multiple times by the hidden weapons Amzone threw at him. His body weight
couldn’t hold up and he fell forwards.

“I realize you have been stuck at the verge of Transcendence for the past ten years,
but… You’ve trained yourself to the point, where it’s close to the wall that blocks it
from the peak level. I’ll pay my respects to your efforts.”

Amzone said to the Crazy Heavenly Demon who was kneeling on the ground and
bleeding profusely. The Crazy Heavenly Demon clenched his teeth and gripped his
broken shoulder tightly. The same with Lee Sungmin. He was supporting himself
with the spear in place of his immobile leg.

[Too much.]

Heoju mururmed.

[You can’t beat him no matter how bad you are. The class is different.]

Lee Sungmin knew. He knew it even before the fight. Amzone was a powerful enemy
that could never be defeated by Lee Sungmin’s ability as it was. Even though the
Crazy Heavenly Demon, which was similar to Lee Sungmin, was working together
with him, he could not inflict any real damage to Amzone.

[Are you trying to rely on the black heart?]

Heoju spoke with a hint of irritation.

[Don’t you believe in the abilities you have now? So far, the black heart has given you
the right help in every crisis. I’ve evolved your body so that you can reproduce the
martial arts you’ve reached in your consciousness with your body. But, are you sure?
Are you confident that the heart will evolve your body to avoid death, as it has done
so far?]

It was true that he had relied on the black heart so far. Lee Sungmin had almost died
several times. Whenever that happened, the heart evolved to make Lee Sungmin
survive his circumstances. The entanglement of the heart, mind, and body, which had
been holding back Lee Sungmin for a long time, was also solved thanks to the black
heart.

But Amzone was not trying to kill Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin was struggling
desperately to kill the man, but Amzone was attacking him with a different intent
than what was needed for the black heart to evolve. He was very relaxed, and he was
trampling all over the teamwork between The Crazy Heavenly Demon and Lee
Sungmin.

[Even if you’ve been lucky enough to survive, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able
to do it again this time. So…]

‘Give it to me.’

Lee Sungmin said with a raspy but cold and determined voice. He glared at his right
leg, which was throbbing.

‘Turn your powers over.’

[…what?]

‘Turn over your powers of the yokai to me.’

[Didn’t you want to avoid it? Non-human powers are dangerous forces, and may
make you, who is a human being, not human anymore.]

Heoju warned him.

Lee Sungmin was also well aware of the risks. He didn’t know how his appearance
would change or how the powers would affect his thinking. So, Lee Sungmin had
been avoiding using the powers since the dungeon.

‘I don’t care.’

If Lee Sungmin didn’t stop Amzone here, he would lose Wijihoyeon. No. He didn’t
know what Beyond the Heavens was really pursuing. He didn’t know why Qian Zun
wanted to take Wijihoyeon or why Amzone protected her in the shadows.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t want her to be taken, Wijihoyeon also didn’t want to join
Beyond the Heavens. But, deep down inside, he was really worried about her.

Those two reasons were more than enough for him to use the powers of Heoju.

‘Give to me!’

[…!]

Heoju didn’t laugh in a sarcastic tone like he normally did. It wasn’t because he was
reluctant to lend his strength to the wounded Lee Sungmin. It was only because he
wasn’t sure if Lee Sungmin could win against Amzone even if he used his powers.

Lee Sungmin’s path was still that of a human. While Heoju’s powers may be deeply
rooted inside Lee Sungmin’s energy, that power alone might not be enough to
overcome this crisis.
Amzone looked down on the powers of monsters and non-humans. There were some
who had mastered the ominous powers. But those who use evil powers and those
who were truly evil were fundamentally different. Those old monsters who call
themselves ‘Predator’ had been long time enemies of his organization, Beyond the
Heavens, and Amzone had killed far too many monsters and practitioners of non-
human powers to recognize them.

“I thought it was impossible. But, really can’t believe you’re going to rely on the
powers of the devil!”

(T/N: Byuk Won-Pae was the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s name prior to meeting Lee
Sungmin, and it is coming out. Hence why he got the name Crazy in his title as a
heavenly demon. )

Amzone had burst into a roar from irritation at the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s choice.
From Byuk Won-Pae’s perspective however, Amzone’s voice seemed distant. It was
the first time since meeting Lee Sungmin in Travia that the Crazy Heavenly Demon
was able to move his body and weight this freely. Even so, it felt different from that
time in a much more ominous sense.

The power of the yokai made him lose reason. The madness that came after months
of avoiding the power made him a violent beast. The aura of the yokai enveloped his
fists as he lunged at Amzone. In response, Amzone shook his sleeves containing his
hidden weapons without hesitation. Pavababak! The wide sleeves fluttered and
dozens of blades flew at the crazed and demonic Crazy Heavenly Demon.

However, the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s self-defense aura had become incomparably
stronger than before. And within it was Heoju, the source of the yokai powers and
strengthening the source of energy in his dantian. Thanks to this, the blade’s
trajectories were more deeply affected by its strength than they usually were.

Gwa-a-ang!
The sharp blades collided with Lee Sungmin’s chestplate and bounced off roughly.
Though the yokai’s spirits had eased a little on Lee Sungmin’s mentality through the
collision, he started a vicious blitz again.

“Hey!”

Amzone knew what the demonic power was like. It was the reaction of the devoured
human souls that drew forth the power of the yokai.

Shinnng!

A sharp knife shot up from Amzone’s right hand. He narrowed the distance from the
vicious Lee Sungmin by utilizing the ghostly steps of the Bodhisattva footwork
technique. The knife Amzone threw this time was much stronger, penetrating
through the sinister aura of the yokai and piercing the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s
torso, spurting blood.

Even in this situation, he was faithful to his words that he would not kill either of
them. Thanks to that, the wound caused by Amzone was shallow. The tottering and
crazed Crazy Heavenly Demon bounced back and opened his arms wide to try and
catch Amzone by surprise. Amzone moved his upper body with his eyes unfazed.

Pavabak!

The long stretch of blades and needles from Amzone’s fingertips knocked against the
Crazy Heavenly Demon’s sinister aura. It was too fast to the naked eye, trying to
follow the speed of these two might give one a severe headache.

Crrrr!

But it didn’t prove effective at all. Byuk Won-Pae’s body didn’t even stop because the
powers of the yokai were regenerating the wounds at a visible pace. Amzone was a
little embarrassed by the ineffectiveness of his attacks. But that also proved that the
Crazy Heavenly Demon wasn’t immortal.

Amzone clasped his hands together with a clap. There was an intangible energy
formulating between his hands, and Amzone redirected all the energy towards the
Crazy Heavenly Demon.

Whoo-oong!
The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body swelled up and he was thrown back with the air
waves pulsating at the point of attack. Then, Amzone swung his hand at the airborne
Crazy Heavenly Demon. Rings flew out from Amzone’s sleeves and each separated
their trajectories to restrain Crazy Heavenly Demon’s limbs.

Behind Amzone, Lee Sungmin stepped out.

His heart was beating frantically, pumping his blood at an accelerated rate. The
vomiting feeling he had felt inside his body from accepting the powers had
degenerated into a disgusting sensation. Amzone turned around and looked at Lee
Sungmin. In Lee Sungmin’s gaze, he saw that the Crazy Heavenly Demon was in a
hurry to tear off the restraints, and then at Wijihoyeon that Rubia was caring.

Wijihoyeon had yet to wake up. There was a fight going on around, but she was deep
in her slumber. After checking Wijihoyeon’s breathing that was seemingly in a steady
rhythm, Lee Sungmin faced Amzone with a serious expression.

[Keep in mind, there’s no guarantee that you can beat him by using brute force.]

Heoju warned, but Lee Sungmin already knew that. By using the power, he gained a
violent and enhanced physical strength along with a resilience that surpassed
human beings. Even so, Amzone was in the realm of transcendence as well as being
part of an organization known for their strength. All this power Lee Sungmin gained
as of now, only evened out the playing field.

“The power of the yokai destroys human beings.”, Amzone spat out in disgust while
staring at Lee Sungmin. “There is no power in this world that can be gained
conveniently. Power must be accompanied by cost and responsibility. You should
already know that!”

Lee Sungmin knew, as he had seen those who had fallen down low after touching the
power of non-humans. He just didn’t want to argue about morals and reasoning with
Amzone, especially in the present situation.

Gwa-ang!

The strengthened Lee Sungmin stepped forward and instantly narrowed the
distance between himself and Amzone. He swung the spear at the best distance for
him before completely closing the distance between them.
The synergy between his own internal energy and the powers borrowed from the
yokai, was incredibly fierce. Lee Sungmin blocked Amzone’s movement by covering
all the openings he previously had given Amzone from his movements. Amzone
didn’t avoid the aura-clad spear in front of him.

Kagagagagak!

The blade of the sword that Amzone pulled from his sleeve clashed with the spear.
Lee Sungmin gripped with his left hand holding the spear, tightly and added on a
bloody haze to the spear’s already vicious aura.

Blood River Predation (혈류추살)

It was a technique that was focused on rupturing the opponents flow of energy using
the blood of the user. Amzone stretched out his opposite hand with his eyes
widening in surprise.

Qua-a-a-ang!

The auras of the scarlet tinted spear and flying daggers were clashing and exploding
everywhere. Amzone was surprised by a sudden albeit slight throbbing of his left
wrist.

‘This… it’s not possible… no matter how much you’ve practiced this it’s not… ’

Looking at the raw power that Lee Sungmin was exuding, it was indeed in the realm
of transcendence. But, that didn’t mean Amzone would lose ground even with Lee
Sungmin’s power boost. Amzone twirled his opposite hand that was free from Lee
Sungmin’s spear, reaching for Lee Sungmin’s arm.

As he climbed up Lee Sungmin’s wrist like a snake, he raised his fingertips and
tapped his forearm. What Amzone did by doing this, was a form of offensive
acupuncture of sorts. He tapped and destroyed the inner circuits of Lee Sungmin’s
energy flow and destroyed the veins connecting the blood vessels. At that moment,
Lee Sungmin’s left arm was drained of strength, and Lee Sungmin pushed Amzone
off his body by twisting the spear at his body.

Thump! Thump!

The blood vessels and circuits of energy flow in the damaged forearm were forcibly
reconnected by the yokai’s regenerative power. The internal wounds regenerated in
a flash.

“You’re not human!”, Amzone roared.

A black river of energy gushed from under Amzone’s feet. He then spread his feet
wide, and struck the ground.

Bumph da bumph!

The ground had been cracked apart by the force and it’s altitude lowered. When Lee
Sungmin’s body tilted, Amzone stretched out his foot towards the air in a confusing
manner to anybody who might have been spectating.

But what followed was nothing short of amazing. Nothing was in the air, but Amzone
seemingly started to run in mid-air! After running freely in the air, he swung his feet
toward Lee Sungmin’s head with a high kick.

Fwoosh!

Lee Sungmin stayed composed and tilted his back, moving his upper body to dodge
the kick with ease. Amzone’s foot seemingly extended and brushed the tip of Lee
Sungmin’s nose. Lee Sungmin remembered the teachings from long ago, practicing
the basics of the spear and rotated the blunt end of the spear towards himself and
struck out with a fierce gush of energy back at Amzone’s exposed backside from the
kick.

Amzone’s image disappeared in smoke. It was the ghostly stealth technique at work
again. Kicking up the air with his feet, Lee Sungmin put his feet on the ground and
flung himself with the spear. He started to unfold the highest technique he could use
of the Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques, Void Rendering.

When Amzone came down to the ground, he clicked his tongue at the sight of the
speartip trying to penetrate his body. Amzone pulled out the whip he had wrapped
around his left arm.

Caaaang!

There was an unthinkable sound of a flexible whip and a spear struck together. Lee
Sungmin lowered the spear that was lifted up. The Void Rendering technique was
lacking in power.

Crushing sounds and blood flew from the area along with scattered spearheads and
countless hidden weapons met to create hundreds of attacks. Amzone’s eyes were
cold and enraged. He was feeling a bit pressured seeing that this would no longer be
an easy fight and moved his hands slowly.

Hundreds of afterimages of hands appeared and attacked the countless afterimages

of the spear. Techniques clashed and banged out with a loud noise throughout the
forest. Amzone twirled a sharp-edged ring on the index finger of both of his hands
resulting in two rings twisting around his wrist and flying up into the air.

The two flying rings spun and sounded out in an ominous manner. It wasn’t just any
weird sound produced from the attacks, it was a sound attack itself. Different sounds
mingled and resonated in a piercing tone in an attempt to shake up Lee Sungmin’s
mind. However, Lee Sungmin’s mind was not shaken. He busily moved his eyes to
confirm the position of the flying rings, and fired the spear precisely at the moving
objects.

Amzone put his hand in his sleeves. His left hand, which had been hidden by the
sleeve, came back out with a black glove. Thin strands of silver threads seemingly
invisible protruded from the tips of his five fingers. As Amzone swung the hand
moving the threads, Heoju roared.

[Block it!]

Even before Heoju shouted, Lee Sungmin was preparing to defend himself. He
murmured the auxiliary spell ‘strength’ to add on to the defense aura of the armor
where Heoju resided. He then further added to it by bringing the spear closer to his
chest to block the incoming attack.

Kagagagak!

The ground around the two had been cut apart like tofu from the sharp threads. The
spear which was constructed by Selgerus with a coating of Orchicalcum had been
shredded and blemishes could be seen along the shaft of the spear.

‘I didn’t lose my reason. In fact I’m surprisingly rational right now. I can’t believe it. It’s
completely unbelievable. How does one normally use the power of the yokai if they
want to stay rational?’
Lee Sungmin’s head spun, realizing he had subconsciously utilized the power of
Heoju while maintaining his reasoning. The more he divided his attention between
offense and defense, the more Lee Sungmin realized how phenomenal the curse
master, Qian Zun and his friend, Wijihoyeon were. So far, Lee Sungmin hadn’t
inflicted any serious damage to Amzone. Amzone had plenty of composure, and he
didn’t use any unnecessary movements while dealing with Lee Sungmin.

‘I’m too fucking weak.’

It had been a long time since Lee Sungmin felt futile at his own weaknesses. He was
even using the power of Heoju and still felt this way. The black heart kept beating.
Lee Sungmin had seen something stronger. He used to be stronger.

In a distorted spacetime within his subconscious, he was chasing the horizon. The
horizon and absolute pinnacle of martial arts. He recalled Wijihoyeon. He didn’t want
to be weak when he was with her. Moreover, he didn’t want to see her weakened like
this either. Lee Sungmin unfolded technique after technique with the spear, but it
was torn apart by the grace of Amzone.

Everything he tried even after obtaining this fake power that wasn’t even his, was
nothing in front of this man.

‘This is going nowhere. I used to have stronger martial arts in that time spent in Denir’s
trial. Wait… why am I even hesitating? My mind, heart and body have been
straightened out. Not only that, but my body has become incomparably stronger. What
was I even doing? It’s time.’

Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth and poured his inner strength out from his dantian
into his hands holding the spear.

The tremendous amount of internal energy Lee Sungmin was pouring into the spear
started to resonate with the Orchicalcum. Suddenly, the aura from the spear and his
internal energy started to reverberate throughout the surroundings in a violent, yet
synergistic manner.

Then he stepped forward with his hair fluttering and the purple, yellow and scarlet
energy swarming around his body. He moved the spear into stance and struck
forward with a boom from his steps.

‘Yeah, it’s about fucking time’

Wijihoyeon opened her eyes and blinked subtly at the scene before her. Her eyelids
felt heavy alongside the steady and terrible pain inside her body, like a rat is gnawing
at her innards. Wijihoyeon managed to swallow the groan that was creeping up her
throat.

“Whoa… are you okay?”

Rubia’s voice was shaking, as she noticed the look on Wijihoyeon’s face. It was the
only thing words Rubia could come up with when she had seen everything.

The surroundings were in complete ruins.

Although the Crazy Heavenly Demon was still restrained by Amzone’s rings, Lee
Sungmin had succeeded in combining the three powers he had learned: Nine
Heavenly Spears, Blood Ring techniques and the power of the yokai. Among the
three powers combined, the yokai was considered the most difficult because of its
oppressive nature, and it was hard to see because it would naturally distort the
space with the other auras.

It really was a jaw-dropping scene. Amzone’s body was ragged with blood strewn
across the floor. Amzone, one of the Six Divinites of the Transcendence realm from
Beyond the Heavens, suffered such wounds because he failed to respond to Lee
Sungmin’s explosive and violent increase in power.

“Urgh… Kyack!”

Lee Sungmin tilted his head downwards in exhausting motion and vomited out a
black clot of blood. His vision was blurring like a drunken man. He managed to lift
his head after throwing up a couple of bloody lumps from his throat one after
another. Although his dantian was feeling overheated from the massive and constant
use of his internal energy, Lee Sungmin desperately coursed his internal energy into
his hand on the spear.
It wasn’t over yet.

It was a good idea from Lee Sungmin to combine the 3 auras even if it was by force.
As a result, it directly threatened Amzone who was without a scratch before it.
However, still wasn’t enough to kill him. Lee Sungmin was already going all out, using
every single auxiliary magic he knew like haste, strength and even fatigue recovery
right now. He didn’t know how many wounds he had accumulated to get to this point
but, it wasn’t for nothing, as he saw Amzone finally injured.

“…hmph!”

Lee Sungmin pounced at Amzone like a tiger and expected him to react accordingly,
but Amzone couldn’t give strength to his legs and was expending his internal energy
at a fast pace. He looked down at his body as if he could not believe it. Then he jerked
his gaze upwards and looked at Lee Sungmin.

“You incompetent garbage…”

Amzone’s facial expression was contorted with rage and contempt. The 3 auras had
successfully racked up enough of a toll on Amzone to make his foundations shake.

Lee Sungmin’s last attack was bizarre. Obviously, even though there were enough
gaps to avoid the attacks, the attacks that had penetrated the Amzone’s self-defense
aura caused fatal internal injuries.

It was absurd and incomprehensible to Amzone. Even with the powers of the yokai…
This was too much.

Amzone clenched his teeth. Did he underestimate his opponent too much? No, he
just didn’t expect this kind of development. The impossible scenario that couldn’t
have possibly happened, did in fact happen, but it has only just happened.

Lee Sungmin, whom Amzone saw, was never a master in the realm of Transcendence.
Even with the added power of the yokai, the difference could never be filled, and
indeed it never was. Even after Lee Sungmin used his powers, Amzone overwhelmed
Lee Sungmin for most of the duration of the battle.

Nevertheless, the results came out. He was faithful to his words that he would not
kill Lee Sungmin, even as Lee Sungmin used the power of the yokai to try and kill
him.
Thud!

Lee Sungmin ran forward, biting on his lips. It wasn’t easy to move in his current
state, but he had to do something about it. Lee Sungmin forced his strength into both
of his weak and tattered hands. The current strength he exuded was weakened
compared to his previous surge of strength, but the same was true for Amzone. He
panted raggedly and drew a blade from the sleeve of his right arm.

Caang!

Amazon was pushed back with a dull sound of the spear and blade clashing. His
internal injuries were piling up and his internal energy circuits were damaged so the
flow of his energy was distorted. His face became contorted in pain. It was the same
result for Lee Sungmin as the spear was pushed back along with his body. His spear
suddenly cracked from the constant rugged clashes that had been going on for days
as he drew the remaining energy for a last attack using Void Rendering.

In the swirling attack, Amzone folded his arms and swung his fist at the attack that
was cracking the weapon mid-stance. Although he managed to fend off the attack, he
realized the danger of the situation as the once intense battle turned into a messy
brawl.

The rings that were still restraining the Crazy Heavenly Demon were starting to
break and the Crazy Heavenly Demon continued to thrash about in the weakened
restraints. It was impossible for the deeply wounded Amzone to deal with the
combined force of Lee Sungmin and the Crazy Heavenly Demon in his current state.

Amzone twisted his arm and put his hand in his sleeves. He took out a metallic
cylinder the size of a palm. He aimed at Lee Sungmin, who was rushing in for an
attempt to keep the pressure on him.

Changggg!

Hundreds of miniature spiked balls were fired at the same time. It was too fast for
the exhausted Lee Sungmin to stop his attack and avoid the hundreds of beads that
smashed against his tattered body. Lee Sungmin was pushed back several feet
although his armor where Heoju was residing was unfazed.

Amzone found an opening, ignored the internal injuries in his body and pulled up his
internal energy. His arms moved in a half-crescent arc. His hands moved along with
the afterimages. The hundreds and hundreds of those afterimages were all holding
different hidden weapons.

Amzone shot out the hundreds of hidden weapons with a shrewd sound.

Pavavabak!

Hundreds of weapons fired from the afterimages. Lee Sungmin opened his eyes wide
and unfolded the Lightning Annihilation technique to counter the fast and precise
attacks. As fast as Lightning Annihilation, his fastest technique, and even with the
yokai’s powers enhancing him, it couldn’t stop the Amzone’s last resort technique.

Lee Sungmin was pierced heavily this time as the armor couldn’t hold out from the
fierce attack. His body flew back, smashed against a rock. The rock cracked heavily, it
looked like a spiderweb. Amzone threw up a lump of blood as he didn’t fare well
from the backlash and shook his shoulder.

Wijihoyeon was struggling to get up. She was incredibly frustrated at the state her
body was in, now more than ever as Lee Sungmin was seemingly on death’s door for
her, risking his life. She tried to open her mouth but no sound followed.

“Bastard…”, Amzone spat out.

Lee Sungmin, who was pierced by the needles and blades, started to raise his body
from the crash. He did not die, although he looked as if he could collape the next
second and died on the spot. He let go of his left hand holding the cracked spear as
he tried to inhale a wisp of oxygen, but instead inhaled a staunch patch of dried up
blood from his mouth.

Lee Sungmin was processing the situation quite well despite his disposition and
started to sort through his memories to extract and get rid of the unnecessary
movements from his injured body and tried to situate himself in a somewhat
manageable stance.

Amzone was speechless. Although he failed to spread his last resort 100 hidden
weapon explosions, Lee Sungmin still took it head on. He couldn’t understand what
the hell was happening and what kind of perseverance this man called Lee Sungmin
possibly had.

“Stop it!”
Wijihoyeon managed to shout out with a raspy voice, looking at Lee Sungmin’s back
soaked in such copious amounts of blood, it started to look like someone dipped his
entire body in red paint.

“I can… I can go. So please leave me here and live!”

“No.”, Lee Sungmin answered with a short and curt voice.

He didn’t even look back to reply her. He staggered along with his ghoulish-looking
body and spat out the words.

“You don’t have to do that for me. You… you said you didn’t want to go to those
bastards.”, he continued.

“But you…!”

“It’s all right.”

It really wasn’t though. The wounds Lee Sungmin suffered to this point were fatal.
But he had to say he was okay.

“I don’t want to let you go.”

Amzone distorted his face and was silent. He never expected in his wildest dreams
the current situation he was caught up in. He needed to take Wijihoyeon with him for
their plans.

[Quit the act you fool!]

Heoju spat out a curse at Lee Sungmin for being so reckless. He couldn’t let Lee
Sungmin die, however there was nothing he could do. He had already intervened
several times with Lee Sungmin’s dantian, trying to take possession of his body to
save him from death and to help balance the forces of the yokai powers. But, it was
impossible to do anything. Lee Sungmin’s mental barrier was much stronger than
before.

Lee Sungmin trudged his body slowly to face Amzone. When Amzone saw Lee
Sungmin lifting the spear silently with his fierce and cold gaze, he trembled.

“Only if I die will you touch her…”

“I can’t help it then.”

It was at that moment Amzone took back his word and decided to kill Lee Sungmin.

Pazizik!

A black current splashed into the air. The sight of it made Amzone’s eyes widen with
surprise. In the tangled current, someone rose up from the dark and sinister aura.
The man with his long hair neatly tied up was wearing a half mask covering half of
his face. The large long robe in which it was hung was red as blood.

“YOU! The Lord of the Samaryunju!”

Amzone’s face turned white when he saw the man standing in the ominous current
of aura. Lee Sungmin’s face was forced to harden to study the identity of the man
who had arrived.

A few hours ago, the Lord used the manager of the branch to speak to Lee Sungmin
by taking advantage of his body. Now, the Lord of the Samaryunju suddenly appeared
before Lee Sungmin.

“Long time no see. Party weapons ahaha!”, he called.

“Don’t call me by that name!”

“You hate it so much, don’t you? That’s a pretty good name. I think it suits you very
much!”

Behind the mask, Lord Sima put on a smiling face. The frivolous way of speaking
made Amzone’s shoulders tremble. Amzone knew the Lord Sima in front of him was
not the original. It was hard to know where the real Sima Ryunju (T/N his full name)
was, but the Sima Ryunju that appeared here was nothing more than a mere
alteration.

“Why don’t you let this go and back down?”

Sima Ryunju stood with his hands behind him and urged Amzone to do so.

“Do you want to get involved in the affairs of Beyond the Heavens?!”, Amzone spat
out, gnashing his teeth.
“Is that how this will play out? Well… then I’ll say it’s just an intervention. I didn’t
want to worry about it. That boy’s desperate act melted a little cold heart like mine,
that I just had to act.”

“Bullshit!”

“I mean it.”, replied Sima Ryunju.

Without turning his back, he glanced lightly at Amzone’s reaction.

“Even if it’s my alteration here, it’s not that hard to kill you when you’re hurt. Would
you like me to try?”

“Now… are you threatening me?!”

“It may sound like a threat, depending on what you hear.”

“What was I even thinking trying to reason with you…”

“There are only three opponents that this old master finds himself uncomfortable
with. One is the God of Mudang, the God of the Heavens at the top of your little
organization, and the Predator of Massacre.” (T/N : Ooh Predator of Massacre we
haven’t heard of this guy yet.)

The conversation started to unfold in a rather tense manner.

It was over.

Lee Sungmin was tired.

He sat down right there because his legs were incredibly weak. Wijihoyeon
approached him. Unable to move properly, Wijihoyeon came up with a slow pace and
plopped down near Lee Sungmin. She looked up and down at Lee Sungmin, who was
covered with wounds. The spear, which had been beaten and cracked from the
overuse of internal energy and clashing with Amzone as well as the armor, was full of
holes, and the metal shrapnel was deeply embedded in his flesh. Blood was flowing
like a slow river in a puddle around him.

“…dumbass…”

Wijihoyeon barely uttered such words while pouting with her cheeks, and when she
saw Lee Sungmin finally stopped and exhausted beyond words, she smiled pitifully.

“You talk too much.”, he replied.

“Why… don’t you see that it’s like this because…”

“I didn’t want to let you go.”

“Did I ask you to do this?”, she asked.

“Doesn’t matter. You were sleeping… Did you sleep well?”

“You stupid son of a bitch…!”

Hearing Lee Sungmin’s answer, Wijihoyeon jerked out her hand to grab him by the
collar and grumbled, but she couldn’t speak out loud from her condition, so she put
down her seized hand.
“…what if you died?”

“I’m not dead though.”

“You could’ve died…!”

“I’m not dead, so it’s fine.”, he said again.

Wijihoyeon’s voice was ringing in Lee Sungmin’s head. He felt his consciousness
thinning, and his eyelids grew heavy. He wanted everyone to just wait and pause
time but he couldn’t do anything. From afar, the figures of Sima and Rubia
approaching was blurry.

“I’ll just have a little sleep.”

That was the last word he said before falling asleep on the spot.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in what seemed to be a dark cave. He
heard the sound of rain in the distance. Lee Sungmin glanced at the black dragon
cape Wijihoyeon always wore, covering his body. Right next to him, Wijihoyeon was
asleep with a chirping breath.

“Don’t wake her up. Because it hasn’t been long since she fell asleep.”

He heard a voice while he was looking at the face of Wijihoyeon. It was the Crazy
Heavenly Demon. He sat leaning against the entrance of the cave, and by his side
Rubia crouched and asleep.

“What is this place?”

“It’s the cave where an old bear used to live. Lord Sima got his own magic to nullify
the smell because of the old musty smell that would have been invading your nose if
not.”, Byuk Won-Pae, the Crazy Heavenly Demon, said with a grin.

“You’ve been asleep all day. Aren’t you hungry?”

“…I am.”, Lee Sungmin replied.

“I only have bread… We were thinking of taking the southbound route but we needed
to rest. So we took a detour over to this place to stop in the cave. There may be some
kind of forest trail to take back, but… everyone needed a break.”

Lee Sungmin picked up the black dragon cape that was covering his body. There
were no scars left on the body.

“I pulled out the shrapnel of the hidden weapons and poured some potions on your
body. You were lucky. You were hit head-on by a thousand firearms, but you’ve been
recovering in good shape.”

If he hadn’t worn the orchicalcum armor, his body would have been crushed to bits
the moment he was hit by the thousand firearms. Thanks to this, the orchicalcum
coating was completely peeled off, but no matter how valuable the orchicalcum is,
his life was certainly more important.

“I’ve heard about the situation from the others. I think I’m going back to how I used
to be, ravaging and attacking things in a crazed manner. I haven’t forgotten the spell
and the slap method you told me to follow…”.

“It’s not out of control yet, I don’t believe that.”

“That’s a relief that Amzone didn’t act any further… Lord Sima stepped in and made
Amzone fall back. I didn’t know we’d get the help from that mysterious, old man.”,the
Crazy Heavenly Demon murmured.

Sima Ryunju. The Lord of the Sama Order or otherwise known as the Samaryunju. He
was considered to be the strongest master of Heretical Factions, and was the
pinnacle of order among the Samaryunju. His identity was well known, but it had
been decades since he was last seen publicly, so the public speculated wild rumors
about him, wondering if he was even alive or possibly dead.

But Sima Ryunju was alive. Lee Sungmin didn’t know why but, it was clear to him
that Sima Ryunju wanted his favor. Not Wijihoyeon’s, not the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s, but his. He seriously questioned why he would try to gain his favor when
he wasn’t that well known compared to his companions and whether his intentions
were pure or not.

“Is Lord Sima protecting us for now?”, asked Lee Sungmin.

“I don’t think it’s a bad situation. It would be better to be under the protection of
Sima Ryunju, than to be taken away by the Orthodox or to be fighting to death
against Beyond the Heavens.”

“I don’t know if I should trust him.”

“I don’t even know what kind of person he is. I’ve never met him, but…”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon, who was looking at Lee Sung-min’s face, tilted his head.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?”

“Huh?”

Lee Sungmin blanked at the words of the Crazy Heavenly Demon. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon rummaged through his subspace pocket and took out a mirror for
Lee Sungmin. The face reflected in the mirror was unfamiliar.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I saw my face in the mirror like this.’

Lee Sungmin looked at his face in the mirror and froze.

His left pupil was strange. The right eye had the usual black colored pupil, but the
left eye pupil was dyed in light gold. Lee Sungmin was startled and covered his left
eye with his palm.

[It’s Yo-an]

Heoju said, clicking his tongue.

‘Yo-an?’

[This is evidence that your body has begun to change to one of the non-human path,
making you a freak of nature. It’s only changed your eye color for now, and there’s
nothing wrong with it, but… If you keep using your powers, the mutation will start
developing in earnest.]

Lee Sungmin tried to diagnose himself and inspected his dantian. The raw internal
energy amount was greater and stronger than before. It was evidence of the side
effects of using Heoju’s strength to protect Wijihoyeon. Lee Sungmin bit his lower lip.
[The power of monsters are dangerous to humans. Be glad it’s only this much.]

Heoju warned.

[Although I’ve lost my body, I was one of the greatest monsters in all of Eria. It’s not a
common level of strength you’ve obtained, but one of a major monster that struck
fear to all of Eria. If it had not been for your body’s mysterious black heart, you
would have died the moment it used my force. Let alone losing your reason and
going crazy. In your case, you avoided the dangerous side effects, but you couldn’t
avoid the body mutations.]

Listening to Heoju’s words, Lee Sungmin was feeling a sense of vague loss because of
his body mutating. He was ready for this to happen. When he made the decision to
make the change, he was prepared for the outcome. Lee Sungmin wanted to protect
Wijihoyeon, and for that he would take the same decision a thousand times over.

[Still, it’s fine. If you don’t use the power that’s deep within your dantian, it will stay
stagnant and won’t affect you in the future. But… I don’t know too well if the
circumstances will stay the same. Your case is unprecedented even to someone as
old as me. It’s rare for humans to become monsters, but it’s not unprecedented. It’s
just your case itself.]

Lee Sungmin put down the mirror. Although he had a golden hue in his left pupil, he
felt relieved that it was the only change. Lee Sungmin closed his left eye, biting on his
lower lip.

“…Who exactly is the Predator of Massacre?”

(T/N: Lee Sungmin had asked in the past about this person as to wondering who would
be the leader of Predator. In the original translation it refers to the King of Beasts
which can also be called the Predator of complete massacre but, didn’t mention the 5th
real power of Predator which was the Yokai (figured it was self explanatory being with
heoju and all))

When stopping Amzone, Sima Ryunju had said there were only three people in the
world whom he felt uncomfortable with. And one of those Predator of Massacre
whose identity he hadn’t completely grasped. Among the 5 powers leading Predator,
he knew each of their identities. But he didn’t know who the Predator of Massacre
was.
[It’s one of the deities those old farts wish to appear. It’s more or less a completely
unknown existence. Vampires, Liches, Monsters, Lycanthropes, the Yokai. It wasn’t
the 5 known identities to the world, it’s a name they give to the King of all the non-
human existences, who will appear one day and be at the apex of Predator.]

Heoju smiled bitterly.

[At least 400 years ago, there was no such thing as the Predator of Massacre.]

Lee Sungmin thought back to when Sima had arrived when he was worn out against
Amzone. Amzone was much stronger than Lee Sungmin initially thought. Even
though he pulled out his strength, he did not have the upper hand in the fight against
Amzone. If Amzone had wanted to kill Lee Sungmin from the beginning, he would
not have even had a chance to resist.

He used every means of power he could use while fighting his best. The Nine
Heavenly Spears Techniques, the Yokai power, the Blood Rings. It was shocking that
he didn’t have the upper hand even though he fought with the auxiliary magic he
learned from Scarlett. If Amzone hadn’t stayed so composed towards the end, he
could have did more than just fatally wounding Amzone.

‘I could have even killed him.’

Even if the result against Amzone wasn’t the most ideal. Without the emergence of
Sima Ryunju, Lee Sungmin could have killed Amzone or so he thought. But if that
happened, all sorts of retaliation would have come their way, and Lee Sungmin
wouldn’t be ready for it.

‘What will we be doing in the future?’

Sima Ryunju said he would protect Wijihoyeon for Lee Sungmin. But, after that… Lee
Sungmin did not know what to do next. Choosing the next path wouldn’t be for
himself, but rather for Wijihoyeon.

‘We’re still weak.’

If he had been stronger, he would not have had to go through such a crisis. He
wouldn’t have been in such a mess with the Orthodox, Beyond the Heavens or the
Samaryunju.
‘I need more.’

He needed strength.

For a day, Amzone looked after his wounds. He felt strange as he had been reduced to
such a state by someone he initially only showed mild interest in. This kind of result
wasn’t supposed to happen even in his wildest dreams.

‘Lee Sungmin… You aren’t as we initially thought. We underestimated you… ’

Amazon bit his lower lip. Even if Lee Sungmin used the power of the Yokai, he
couldn’t ignore his initial strength as baseless. Rather, he should be considered more
dangerous because of the added power of the yokai. Lee Sungmin was still a human
being. But the power and energy he used weren’t…

‘No, what am I even thinking? He was never in the same league as Beyond the
Heavens and he never will be.’

Amazon raised himself. He had been healed with the use of potions. Even though the
group he was chasing was most likely still weak, The Lord of Samaryunju was
protecting them now. Things were different. He couldn’t make the same decisions.

First of all, he had to let the organization know of the circumstances. Amzone pulled
out the crystal ball.

[Come back.]

That was the answer and command he had received, after he informed of Lee
Sungmin’s unexpected prowess and the Lord of the Samaryunju’s intervention. It
was so unexpected that Amzone was silent for a moment with his mouth gaped
open.

“Why?”

He couldn’t understand, it wasn’t that hard to get rid of them nor would it take that
much effort if just one more person from Beyond the Heavens came.

So he asked again, completely dumbstruck.

When Wijihoyeon opened his eyes, Lee Sungmin was the first to find her. He was
crouching next to her and they just stared at each other wordlessly. He wanted to
listen to what she wanted to do first before moving or making further plans.
Wijihoyeon just frowned at him as they kept staring at each other.

“You must have a bad habit of staring at others.”, Wijihoyeon said.

“What the hell are you talking about now?”

“I think it’s quite embarrassing to make such an unsightly face while looking at
others”

“Do you really have to put it that way?”, Lee Sungmin replied, irritated.

“You’re not completely at fault though, who wouldn’t want to look at my beautiful
face?”, Wijihoyeon chortled at Lee Sungmin.

Wijihoyeon then groaned lightly and rubbed her mouth.

“Did I, by any chance, drool in my sleep or snore?”

“Yeah I had to wipe your mouth because your snoring got too loud and you ended up
drooling like an orc, princess.”, Lee Sungmin smirked, in a sarcastic tone towards
Wijihoyeon.

“That can’t be right.”

“Yeah, well it was a lie.”

When Lee Sungmin admitted the truth about lying, Wijihoyeon smiled. Lee Sungmin
smiled back at her, happy at the fact that she was happy, even if it was just for this
moment. They continued to crack sarcastic jokes at each other, smiling at each other
enjoying the space they had.
“I’ve thought about it.”

Wijihoyeon said, changing her expression to a blank yet serious look. She glanced
down looking at her hand as if examining how weak her state was.

“I’ve always been independent, always at the top… For the first time I’m realizing just
how weak and pampered I really was. It’s new… and I can’t describe it…”

“Do you hate it?”

“No, I have a strong sense of resilience. I want… to be stronger than you again. Or at
least similar to you. But now, I’m weaker than you. Without your help, I can’t
survive.”

“I don’t care about any of that. I’ll be here regardless.”

“I care.”, she said, shaking her head and then continuing to speak.

“…I don’t want to put you in danger because of my presence. I don’t want to trouble
you. So… I intend to accept the offer that the Samaryunju offered for protection.”

Lee Sungmin’s mind went blank and he couldn’t answer. If he could, he wanted to
hold onto Wijihoyeon. It didn’t matter to him how weak she was or how helpless of a
state she was in. He just wanted to be with her. But, how did she feel about it? She
couldn’t bear to be seen as a weak person even to her only friend she had. Her pride
wouldn’t allow it. But regardless, Lee Sungmin cared for her and just wanted her to
be happy. So in the end he couldn’t find a reason to rebuke her decision.

“How long have I been sleeping?”

“…every day.”, Lee Sungmin responded

“Then the people sent by Samaryunju will come today as well. That means… I’ll be
going with them and leaving you guys. Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

“Because you were sleeping too deeply.”

“Hoo-hoo! It seems like you really do enjoy staring at others, seeing how you must
have been staring at my sleeping face yet again!”
Wijihoyeon gave a low laugh. She then blinked and looked over at Lee Sungmin. He
put his hand and caressed her cheek.

“You’re feeling pretty good right now, aren’t you?”

She felt embarrassed that he could say words like that with such a straight face.

“You said that you didn’t even know me in your previous life. You said I even acted
and was known as a man back then, I know my life will be one of a Heavenly Demon,
but I’m trying my best to change everything that will happen and live this life as my
own.”

Wijihoyeon never did her hair, she didn’t even wear makeup. Although she had been
learning how to do those things secretly. She felt there might be a day when she
might have a need to do so. She even wore clothes that revealed her body’s curvature
so she could be openly seen as a woman. She didn’t artificially enlarge her breasts
using elixirs, but she seriously thought about growing them that way.

“I wanted to show you… That I would be different than the Wijihoyeon of the past
life.”

Wijihoyeon still had a question in the back of her mind that resurfaced just now. She
had imagined what it would be like when they met again. Would Lee Sungmin be
happy to see her? Would he have become stronger? Would she be able to speak her
mind freely with him again?

“Answer me.”

Wijihoyeon locked her gaze fiercely with Lee Sungmin’s,

“Do you think I’m beautiful?”

The makeup she had secretly been learning. The reluctance to wear skirts and other
feminine clothing. Doing her hair in fancy patterns.

‘Yeah I wanted to do this… because it was for you… ’ She thought to herself.

“I thought you were beautiful even when I saw you last year.”

“hehe…”
Wijihoyeon chuckled lightly and blushed. She reached out with her hand to touch
Lee Sungmin’s and then placed it around the back of his hand.

“In my eyes, you were quite handsome as well…”

She said in a meek voice, her cheeks growing redder from the blushing.

“Ten years ago, you were a nobody. You weren’t a big deal in my eyes at the time.
There must have been a million guys like you everywhere in the world… but it felt a
bit unusual. For some reason, with you, I was happy to be your friend. There were so
many new things I was able to experience being with you. You didn’t treat me as a
title or object of recognition. You saw me… as me…”

She gently closed her eyes.

“Are we still friends?”, she asked.

He was dumbstruck at the question.

What kind of answer should I give? What does this mean? Oh god… I don’t know.

She laughed slightly, somewhat expectant at Lee Sungmin’s flustered yet silent
manner.

“I…”

“No, it’s okay.”

Right as he was about to come up with an answer, she cut him short. Wijihoyeon
shook her head. She grinned as she removed her hand from the back of Lee
Sungmin’s hand.

“Don’t give me an answer.”

It was a short reply, but the meaning was heavy. Lee Sungmin looked at Wijihoyeon,
and in return she looked right back at him staring into each other’s eyes. Wijihoyeon
smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“Your left eye has changed color. Did you want to become some kind of playboy?”
“It’s not like that. It just happened.” Lee Sungmin said in a curt manner, but his body
betrayed him as his cheeks reddened from the slight embarrassment at the remark.

“I’m glad to hear that. Those eyes… They don’t look natural.”

She said smiling.

In the middle of their conversation, they had to stop because of the two remaining
people that had entered the cave. Rubia and The Crazy Heavenly Demon had
returned from outside and came over to the two of them.

“Here come the guests.”, said The Crazy Heavenly Demon, “They aren’t from the
native tribes residing in the forest. So, it must be the Samaryunju forces.”

“Probably, let’s get ready then.”

Lee Sungmin helped Wijihoyeon out of the cave. Beyond the luscious, green forestry,
movements could be seen as if the very shadows of the forest itself were moving.
Since they hadn’t confirmed yet, whether it was the Samaryunju forces or another
party, Lee Sungmin and the Crazy Heavenly Demon kept their guard up.

Finally, more than ten people emerged from the clearing with a small carriage
behind them led with a stout horse.

“The Lord has sent me here for assistance to whatever you may need.”

The woman standing beside the carriage spoke with a firm and resolute, but not
arrogant tone. Looking closely, every one of the members sent by Sima had been
women. Lee Sungmin made a guess that it was out of courtesy for Wijihoyeon.

“Have you made up your mind?”

The woman turned to face Wijihoyeon and asked. Wijihoyeon gave a faint nod in
response and the carriage door opened.

“We will protect you while we escort you to the place where the Lord is residing. It
may be a long journey, but I can promise your safety.”

The woman said while bowing respectfully.

“And, for Ghost Gun. I have a message from Lord Sima. ‘Don’t come now. Finish the
work you have in the South and the other side of the field. Take some of the hair
Minor Heavenly Demon. You will need it in the South.”

“Hair?”

He couldn’t quite understand why he needed Wijihoyeon’s hair let alone the meaning
of ‘the other field’.

[You will need it when we go South most likely as the medium for curing the curse
placed on that Minor Heavenly Demon. We’ll also be needing to learn the force that is
practiced by the tribes in the South. Using the hair as a medium along with killing
the caster of the curse will help you in your search.]

Heoju clarified for Lee Sungmin because he was mostly lost in the cryptic message
Lord Sima sent him.

The woman handed a dagger to Wijihoyeon. She took it and sliced a part of her hair
and handed the dagger back to the woman. Then she turned to Lee Sungmin and
handed the hair to him.

“Don’t smell it or anything.”

“I’m not a pervert.” Lee Sungmin replied with an annoyed tone.

She spoke to him with a smile on her face even though he replied with a blank
expression. He then took the hair and put it in the spacial pocket.

“I’ll see you again soon hopefully.”

Wijihoyeon said while stepping onto the wagon.

“Even if you don’t come to see me. Someday, I’ll visit you again. There are many
things we haven’t done together yet.”, Wijihoyeon continued.

She didn’t want to say anything too weird so she tried to choose her words carefully,
but Lee Sungmin chuckled slightly and they looked at each other with smiles across
their faces.

“I’ll see you again if fate allows it. Don’t die on me though.”, Lee Sungmin said in a
somewhat sarcastic but serious undertone.

Wijihoyeon continued to smile and closed the carriage door.

‘When we meet again Lee Sungmin, what will we do then? Will we still be friends
again? This hurts too much to say goodbye, but it’s for the best.’ She thought to herself.
She then groped her breasts and looked down at them, ‘Will these grow any bigger? It
wouldn’t kill to have a little bit more appeal hehe.’

But, more than anything she was conflicted as she couldn’t identify one of the
emotions she felt. It wasn’t the feeling of saying goodbye or feeling desperate. It was
feeling like she wanted… no she needed to be with him.

‘Not now.’, she said to herself trying to comfort her emotions, ‘I can’t put him in any
more danger because of my weak state. I have to trust in him that we’ll be able to see
each other again. And… I’m sure we will’, She then smiled rubbing her red cheeks and
fixing her gaze at the departing view of Lee Sungmin

Lee Sungmin looked at the carriage and felt the pain of losing her again.

‘10 years ago we made a promise… to meet again… and now because of them… No,
because of my weakness, we can’t stay together.’

He strengthened his resolve and looked out once more to the departing carriage
moving away in the distance.

‘I’ll get stronger… Enough that nobody can stop me.’

Lee Sungmin was used to being homeless. During his trip to Travia he often had to
live like that as there were sometimes no inns in the harsh blizzards of the north.
Although he was traveling South this time and there weren’t any raging blizzards,
there was just as much lack of visibility through the forestry encapsulating the
Southern Regions of Eria. That being said he was very cautious while traveling
towards Travia, even as the South was different, he still needed to be on guard. If not
more than he was before.

[A follow-up request on your information has been circulating through the

information guilds and the Othodox Factions of Murim.]

Lee Sungmin was listening to Neville informing him about the recent activity of his
pursuers. They had already discovered that he had killed Ironclad. They also
somehow seemed to have found out that he had separated from Wijihoyeon. But
what was really disturbing him was that they ignored her departure, and focused
their hounds on tracking Lee Sungmin for the death of Ironclad.

His actions and whereabouts were under constant watch thus making Lee Sungmin
extremely wary. They hadn’t had any direct conflict yet, which was quite the blessing.
Regardless, Lee Sungmin asked for The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s advice. He had
confirmed most of what he knew by consulting him.

The Orthodox Faction of Murim was considered a Political Faction. As for most
Political factions they couldn’t just be represented by one’s personal interests but
rather by the entire group’s interest.

The Political Factions weren’t like Religious Sects. The Religious Sects pursued their
own ideologies and prioritized those values over everything. Though the political
factions wanted to believe they were righteous and upholding justice, the truth was
far from that. In Eria, several people from the Murim were summoned and there
were too many people to keep track of and interests clashed. Thus it was more of a
facade that they were always represented righteousness and cooperation.
Their very ideology had become viewed as old fashioned within the upper echelons
of the Political Factions.The same was for the Heretical Faction, which was often
depicted as an Evil Faction though it was just because they didn’t like to bind
themselves with ideologies they knew they wouldn’t uphold.

“However, there’s a way to expose those Orthodox buffoons for being hypocrites”, the
Crazy Heavenly Demon had told him.

“What’s that?”, he asked back.

“Become a force to be reckoned with and acknowledged by all. Whether it’s a being
people venerate in respect or in fear, it doesn’t matter. Power speaks for itself.”,was
the answer he got back.

The Orthodox hounds were only observing him for now, but that wasn’t guaranteed
to stay, as the circumstances were becoming more and more unstable as more
people talked.

“You should avoid friction with them.”, said Byuk Won-Pae, The Crazy Heavenly
Demon, gazing at the embers sparking from the bonfire, “They’re not just sending
people willy-nilly. These are the individuals known as the hounds of the Orthodox,
they’re trained in tracking and utilizing dirty methods to accomplish their goals. One
individual may not be much, but they’ve been trained as a unit to capture or kill the
most devastating of targets. Have you ever come in contact with them?”

“I haven’t.”, Lee Sungmin replied.

Lee Sungmin also turned his gaze to the crackling bonfire. Rubia still had a pouty
face because she hated traveling and being homeless. But, once the meat was cooked
and the smell permeated around the three of them, her face brightened up like a
candle.

“Breaking into the realm of Transcendence is no easy task. You have the power to
match with them and even almost kill them as you did with Amzone who was
already in the realm of Transcendence.”

“That was only thanks to his carelessness.”, Lee Sungmin replied blankly.

“Gahahah! That’s still quite the accomplishment! Even if one steps into the realm of
Transcendence, it doesn’t fix their bad habits or personalities.”, The Crazy Heavenly
Demon burst out into laughter.

Unlike Lee Sungmin, The Crazy Heavenly Demon had lived a long time and had
observed how others react and listen. The only reason The Crazy Heavenly Demon
had been left alone by the Orthodox despite not being in the realm of Transcendence,
was because when he went berserk, he killed several practitioners in frenzies and
didn’t fight to protect himself when in that state. If they wanted to capture or kill
him, they couldn’t do it without making several sacrifices.

If they were only observing Lee Sungmin for now it was okay. Even if they decided to
make a move, Lee Sungmin wouldn’t hesitate to go all out and use the powers from
Heoju. Though he still would like it if that didn’t come to be the case.

Lee Sungmin was hoping things could pass by smoothly without friction.

The Forests were incredibly thick and the temperature was humid. Though it was
hot and stuffy, Rubia didn’t complain as she was told she might be able to find her
master, Envirus, if she went South with Lee Sungmin. That alone was enough for
Rubia to dismiss any minor inconveniences in her travels.

[There are various tribes living in the south.]

Lee Sungmin inquired with Neville over the course of their travel about the kinds of
Tribes in the South and what they were like.

[They’re very secluded and are hard to find within the forests of the South. They
have several different cultural beliefs and part of the reason it’s so hard to find them
is because the several monsters that reside in the forests.], said Neville.

[The monsters manifest their powers from the fears of the living.]

said Heoju, giving his own two-cents to Lee Sungmin to make sure he could prepare
for anything they might encounter.

[The way the monsters came to existence in the South is rather hilarious as they
were initially incredibly weak. But, in the tribes and cities in the South, there are
several stories passed down through generations which feed those weak monsters
with the power of fear. So despite being weak at first, any monster here could grow
to be something disastrous.]
As they headed south, Heoju showed signs of joy. He was born, raised, recognized
and even died in the South. Everything to his existence seemingly originated from
here.

[Be sure to stop by that place at the end of the day. It’s a pretty cool city.]

There was a rather peculiar city located in the South. It was a city where the night
never ends and the sun never rises. The population seemed to be made up mostly of
monsters that resembled humans but weren’t exactly humans themselves.

“If I have a chance, I will.”, Lee Sungmin replied to Heoju.

He took turns to stand guard during the night with the Crazy Heavenly Demon. Lee
Sungmin hugged the spear and looked at the bonfire. Nearby, Rubia was asleep
curled up. Earlier, Rubia laid the boundary magic to support them safely, but she told
them it would be best if they didn’t trust it unconditionally.

The forest was dark and seemingly boundless.

Lee Sungmin looked beyond the bright flames of the fire flickering in the dark night.
Something was shaking in the shrubs beyond the campsite. Lee Sungmin
unconsciously swallowed his saliva and gripped his spear tightly in nervousness. He
couldn’t make out the figure but it seemed to be a non-human entity.

“Who is it?”

Lee Sungmin wasn’t scared but he was nervous. Lee Sungmin’s martial arts was
something he had confidence in. In some cases he could even face people above his
level so his confidence wasn’t unfounded. With a rustling sound, the being moved
out from the shadows. It was a 3 meter long serpent, with a shining tint of purple
coloring it’s scales. The snake brought it’s tongue out from it’s mouth and made a
creepy hiiiiiisssssss sound with its forked tongue.

“A… snake?”

[It’s a monster.]

Heoju murmured. The snake, looking at Lee Sungmin with a blink of an eye, lifted its
tail in the air and shook it ever so slightly.
[Who are you?]

The snake did not open its mouth, but its voice rang telepathically in Lee Sungmin’s
head.

[A foolish human from the looks of it. Did you break in even though you knew this
was the territory of this magnanimous being?]

‘What is it talking about?’, Lee Sungmin asked Heoju about the details of what the
snake was talking about.

[I don’t know. It seems to be quite matured for it’s age, but this is just a petty and
small area thus, I don’t quite know what it’s talking about, but I can guarantee it’s not
something that would give you much trouble.]

Heoju said to Lee Sungmin. On their way here, Lee Sungmin had delved into the
information Heoju had on the South. Learning about different species, what types of
poisonous plants there were or escape methods the monsters used.

[Are you not answering me?], the snake hissed in irritation.

[That stupid snake can’t even realize it’s completely outclassed. Kill or not, I don’t
care.]

Heoju said to Lee Sungmin, while speaking in a slightly annoyed tone.

The purple-scaled serpent opened its mouth, raising its body as if to threaten and
intimidate Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin sighed because he didn’t want to fight.

“Don’t bother me and go away.”, he replied to the snake.

[Hahahah! You weak and incompetent human!]

Lee Sungmin said that out of consideration for the purple snake. But, the snake was
rather foolish. It lunged forward with its teeth bared. Although it was fast for a
monster in the vicinity, it couldn’t scare or surprise Lee Sungmin in the slightest.

Lee Sungmin twirled the spear in his hand and stabbed it into the mouth of the
Monster. The long body of the monster struggled and squirmed while being pierced
by the spear.
[Kyakkkk!]

The twitching body of the monster finally stopped moving. Lee Sung-min pulled out
the bloodied spear from it’s corpse. Even if it’s a monster, it looked like a snake.

‘Wouldn’t this be edible? Although I like snake meat, I’m not too sure if I want to eat it
based on how it was talking to me.’ Lee Sungmin thought to himself.

As the night passed and he switched shifts with the Crazy Heavenly Demon to get
some sleep. He eventually woke up and opened his eyes to the sounds of the forest.

“Oh, did you wake up?”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon asked Lee Sungmin with a smile on his face. Lee
Sungmin sniffed at the smell of the meat roasting and looked at Byuk Won-Pae and
Rubia with a confused look.

“Heheh… We were lucky! We found a big snake dead around there. You look like you
could use some good old snake meat!”

Byuk Won-Pae said with a childish grin pointing to the area where Lee Sungmin had
slain the snake last night. Rubia was seemingly happy with a foolish smile as she dug
into a large piece of the snake meat.

“…”

Lee Sungmin briefly pondered whether to tell him it wasn’t exactly a snake but,
rather a monster. He gave up on the idea and sighed, walking over to the fire where
the meat was roasting.

Although it was the meat of a monster, it was quite delicious.

‘What if I ate the heart instead of the meat?’

Lee Sungmin’s appetite disappeared when his thoughts reached up there. Thanks to
the black heart, Lee Sungmin can quickly increase his strength by extracting and
eating the heart of another being through the innate skill of the heart called
Predation.

However, such a means of attaining power frightened him as he felt he would really
completely lose his humanity if he did so.
Through the forestry, Lee Sungmin and the group came to a city named Devon.
Throughout Eria’s large land, it was evenly distributed with towers, clans, and guilds.
Devon is the city managed by The Zhuge Clan, one of the four great families within
the Orthodox Factions. However, it wasn’t a huge city.

As small as it was, Devon was under the firm influence of Zhuge Taeryong. His
influence was prominent throughout the citizens and management of Devon. Lee
Sungmin frowned after confirming the information he had purchased through
Neville.

The farther south one went, the appearance of cities and establishments became
sparse. The forest clearing was wide and the sunlight grew intense. Devon was the
most stable and wealthy city before the great forests in the south began in earnest.

“Zhuge Taeryong.”

Lee Sungmin had run into him once in Shaolin. They didn’t talk with each other.
When Lee Sungmin first went to Shaolin, he formed a relationship with Namgung
Heewon of the Namgung clan. Heewon got along with Lee Sungmin and helped him
to meet the ambassador, Sorim’s Chief of Defense.

Zhuge Taeryong’s son, a small Duke within the Zhuge Clan, married a few years ago
to Murong Seojin, a member of the Ming Clan. Since then, Murong Seojin had been
living in the Zhuge Clan, and a few days from now would be the first birthday of
Zhuge Xie, a child born between the two.

The Segawa Household within the Namgung Clan, who had originally been close
friends with the couple, sent envoys to celebrate Zhuge Xie’s birthday. The envoys
included Namgung Heewon, a member of the same age as Zhuge Liang, and Dang Ah-
hee, who were a part of the royal lineage of the Segawa Household.

Others did not care about Lee Sungmin, but he was a little concerned that Namgung
Heewon was in Devon. Heewon told Lee Sungmin to visit the Segawa household one
day back when they were in Shaolin, but Lee Sungmin never came to visit.

There was the possibility that nothing would happen, but it was slim. Lee Sungmin,
who killed Ironclad, had become a rogue and was being pursued by the Orthodox
Factions. Even if the chase was nothing but an observation from afar, the fact that Lee
Sungmin was branded as a rogue, would embarrass the Namgung clan if he imposed
on them.

‘It’s the Black Dog, Chuck of the Orthodox that’s enroute.’

Lee Sungmin also had information about them. Black Dog Chuck was a master who
was said to barely reached the Peak Realm, and the nine black dogs in his unit who
were with him were hovering right in between 1st rate and the Peak Realm.

In fact, Lee Sungmin’s current combat prowess could slaughter the black dogs
without much difficulty. However, doing so would make things troublesome for him.
Exterminating the Black Dogs, a direct force of the Forest Alliance, would put him on
the radar of the entire Forest Alliance within the South.

“You’d better not enter the city.”,The Crazy Heavenly Demon advised Lee Sungmin.

After confirming the information Lee Sungmin had heard, the Crazy Heavenly Demon
gave his best advice to avoid any trouble.

“Even though it’s just some brat’s birthday party, it’s a gathering of all the Four
Families within the Orthodox Faction. I don’t think the upper echelons came, but
their children came. You don’t have to stop by the city and provoke trouble.”

“Devon is a small city. The southern jungle is where monsters roam like wild animals.
Devon wouldn’t have developed this much without the Zhuge Family’s influence.
That’s why the security in Devon has so much control.”, said Rubia, twisting her
sides.

He shouldn’t enter. Without a reason, there would be no need to enter the city. But
there was a reason.

[Devon has a sorcerer named Aladdur. He’s a sorcerer who’s not connected to us
particularly, but there’s a rumor in Devon that he’s outstanding.]

Lee Sungmin pressed down on his temples.

The reason for heading South wasn’t just to learn the art in handling the forces of
Heoju. It was also to explore the location of Qian Zun, who had cursed Wijihoyeon.
Lee Sungmin tried to locate Qian Zun’s position by asking a small number of
sorcerers and wizards who were connected to Erebisa with the hair he received from
Wijihoyeon, but Wijihoyeon’s hair alone could not confirm the location of Qian Zun.

‘There is no guarantee that Aladdur will be able to find out where he is.’

But he couldn’t just ignore the possibility. Even so, Lee Sungmin couldn’t just walk
straight up to Devon and walk through the gates. He had to sneak in. Thus, he got
wigs and disguises from Erebrisa through Neville.

“Face masks…”

[It doesn’t mean it’s made of human skin.]

Neville smiled and handed the mask over to Lee Sungmin.

[The name is just something the producer came up with. Originally, skin masks are
made by applying elaborate work to magical corpses. It’s then modified to suit the
wearer. It’s not permanent.]

Lee Sungmin tried on a mask. The inside of the mask was a touch of sticky mucus on
the face. Lee Sungmin checked the mirror. The face was inconspicuous and didn’t
resemble the original Lee Sungmin in the slightest.

He then followed by changing into a new set of clothes. Rubia did not disguise her cat
ears, but changed her body to a sphere of light as usual and hid in Lee Sungmin’s
clothing.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon also disguised himself. He took off his uniform and took
the look of a seasoned hunter. Hunters were common in the South due to the
skillsets they had that were suited towards the vast forestry. The Crazy Heavenly
Demon, sported a loose uniform with animal pelts wrapped around it, looking more
like a bandit than a hunter, but when he hid his face with the face mask, his appeal
turned into a veteran hunter.

Lee Sungmin took the look of an ordinary scholar. He took off his armor and put it in
his spacial pocket. Although Heoju grumbled, there was no big problem. Thanks to
Heoju’s strength lying dormant in his dantian, he was always connected to the yokai
even without a medium like the orchicalcum armor.

Although there was surveillance of the Black Dogs, they weren’t too difficult to shake
off.

As the night came, Lee Sungmin and Byuk Won-Pae escaped from their sleeping area.
They unfolded their footwork techniques and quickly escaped the watch of the Black
Dogs, and headed over the walls of Devon and avoided the attention of the patrol
guards.

“We lost sight of them.”, a member of the Black Dog unit reported to Chuck.

“Well shit, this is what we get for getting loose.”

Listening to the unit’s report, Chuck chewed on the jerky he was eating.

“Lee Sungmin… You’ve been leading us gently all this time, and suddenly you’ve
made things difficult. What a prick.”, Chuck cursed under his breath.

“Did he go to Devon?” he asked the unit member.

“Their actions are weird. Though they’ve been homeless, they seemed to have no
problem hunting animals and supplying their food. Sometimes, they ate from the
food stored in their storage pocket. So it’s unlikely they went for supplies; if they did
go to Devon that is.”

“I guess there’s something there.”, Chuck grumbled.

Naturally someone like The Black Dog leader, himself, wouldn’t even know of
Erebrisa. So, he was feeling like a chicken running around with it’s head cut off.

“Fine. We’re going to Devon, too.”

“Ek… do we have to go too?” the unit member shrunk back.

“Of course, you should go, you incompetent motherfucker.”, Chuck cursed at the
unwillingness of the unit member.

—-
Lee Sungmin and the Crazy Heavenly Demon, who jumped over the wall, permeated
into the darkness of the city. He wanted to find Aladdur right away, but Devon was
still a city and it was relatively wide. Moreover, Aladdur was not the type to stay put
in one place, but he was a man who wandered through Devon’s streets, doing his
sorcery business like a street vendor.

Aladdur was not the most powerful sorcerer, but he did have a specialty to be known
for.

“He’s good at finding people?”

“To be exact, he’s good at finding bodies.”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon answered
back.

They soon stopped running through the darkness and entered a shabby inn. Sitting
in one seat at the noisy bar on the first floor, the two ordered drinks and simple food
to ease themselves a bit.

“There are many people who die in the forest, but not many people are found. There
are a lot of beings in the Southern Forests that eat dead bodies. Aladdur says he finds
them like ghosts.”, said the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“Is that really sorcery?”

“It’s a spell. I don’t know what it is. Maybe this hair will help us trace the
whereabouts of Qian Zun, who cast the curse on Wijihoyeon.”

“But you don’t know where Aladdur is.”, Lee Sungmin said in a dejected voice.

“We’ll find him soon enough.”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon replied.

Aladdur was a man with some reputation. Though Erebrisa couldn’t locate his exact
location, Neville told him he would certainly be in Devon. And once he appeared
there would certainly be rumors of him following.

“It’s dangerous to walk around the streets of Devon, even though we’ve disguised
ourselves it would be better to stay on guard. So don’t go outside, just find the right
hotel and stay there and wait.”, Lee Sungmin said to Byuk Won-Pae.

“I hope it goes well.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon murmured as he lifted the glass.

The room they rented out was shabby, but Lee Sungmin, who became accustomed to
long-term homelessness periods, didn’t have any complaints. He sat on the bed,
fiddling with the mask covering his face. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but acting with a
completely different face continued to convey an unpleasant sense of incongruency
with himself.

He continued to fiddle with the mask and then took out his spacial pocket. He
reached in and took out the hair from Wijihoyeon covered and wrapped with a white
ribbon. It was practically untouched since he first got it from her.

This was due to the time and anti-rotting function of the pocket.

‘Where are you now?’ , Lee Sungmin thought about Wijihoyeon.

It had been more than a month since they separated and he left for the South. He felt
a bit of longing thinking about it, and fiddled with the hair.
Wijihoyeon turned her gaze towards Sima Ryunju, Lord of the Sama Order. She didn’t
know much about this person or his faction’s goals, thus she felt reluctant around
him. The reason for her displeased state was because she hadn’t learned any
information about the situation in regards to Lee Sungmin. Although she tried to
hide it, her cold gaze couldn’t be averted from Sima Ryunju.

“Such intentful eyes. Is it jealousy perhaps?”, asked Sima Ryunju with a grin.

At the question, Wijihoyeon unconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her cheek.
‘Jealousy?’ she murmured the word in a small voice. It was a feeling she had never
been conscious of in her lifetime.

“…That’s not possible” ,she replied coldly.

“That’s what it looks like to me. Whoo-hoo! Youth is such a wonderful time. Don’t you
think so?”

Sima Ryunju laughed to himself in a pleasant manner, but Wijihoyeon didn’t take his
remark well. She may have denied the feeling of jealousy, but she absolutely did not
like the man before her.

“Why are you wearing a mask?”, she asked.

“Oh this? I only wear it in certain circumstances when I need my identity hidden, but
I absolutely love these little props hahah!”

“That’s why you’re wearing a mask?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m wearing it. It gives the mystique of change to the enemies, unlike
your stoic expression.”

Sima Ryunju raised his hand to cover the mask. When the hands were removed, the
face of Sima Ryunju had changed yet again to that of one resembling a beast.
“These masks are also called a pervert’s ultimate desire. Isn’t that funny?”

The mask changed every time Sima Ryunju’s hand covered the mask. It was fast
enough to fool most people that it was natural, but to the trained eye of Wijihoyeon,
she was able to see right through it.

“You’re not funny.”, she responded coldly.

Seeing that Wijihoyeon’s expression wasn’t the best, Sima Ryunju stopped fooling
around with the mask and changed topics.

“You seem quite attached with the kid.”

“…it’s because he’s a friend.”

“You mean he’s loyal? Well it doesn’t matter anyways. Since what we do with him
won’t be any of your business.”

He murmured quietly to himself with a toothy grin. However, Wijihoyeon heard what
he had said and cast a glare right at him.

“……what are you trying to do with him?”

“I’m thinking of making him my disciple.”

He said flatly without any hesitation or ulterior motives in his voice. Wijihoyeon was
shocked with what he just said. Sima Ryunju was a man many people couldn’t even
fathom. He was one of the Leaders in the Heretical faction and was the Lord of the
Sama Order. If people heard he was taking a disciple, all of Eria would come flocking
to the Sama Order’s doorsteps.

“Why would you do that…?”, Wijihoyeon asked, unconvinced.

“Didn’t you say it yourself before? He’s hard working and doesn’t take things for
granted. I don’t have any children or disciples because I’m worried that if I did they
would be conceited and complacent. But, he’s completely ideal to take in as my
disciple.”, Sima Ryunju stated.

Wijihoyeon went silent. If what he said was true, wouldn’t it tie Lee Sungmin to the
Heretical Faction? She knew Lee Sungmin could care less about being tied down and
wanted to pursue martial arts; not some tea party with a bunch of wild geese.

‘It can’t be.’

She glared at Sima Ryunju intently, inwardly pissed that Sima probably already knew
what Lee Sungmin thought but still wanted to convince him.

“Did you know?”, he murmured.

“You’re known to all of Eria to be considered a peerless talent. The boy is recognized
by you, even equal to you. Ten years of living apart from each other, you wouldn’t
have known.”

“What are you saying…”, she asked bluntly.

“I’d like to let you know, but it wouldn’t be my place to do so. If you want to hear it,
then hear it directly from the kid.”

After saying so, Sima Ryunju’s body double started to fade away. Wijihoyeon tried to
hold on to the double so that she could ask him more things, but the body double
became foggy and disappeared before she could reach out with her hand.

“Next time, I’ll see you not with a body double but, with my main body.”

His laughter carried out throughout the carriage

“My eyes and ears are in Devon.”

Zhuge Taeryong was sitting across from the man known as the leader of the Black
Dogs, Chuck. He wore a neat robe and had his hair combed and tied back. He exuded
a presence of dignity that was representative to his Zhuge Family.

“I know.”, Zhuge Taeryong replied to Chuck calmly.

He had not been selected next in line as the patriarch’s successor as of late. But his
father, Zhuge Liang, has already left all the external family affairs to his son. Thanks
to that responsibility, he was handling affairs with the Black Dogs presently.
“The whereabouts of the Minor Heavenly Demon are unknown, but we cannot ignore
the maggot who killed Ironclad. I’m sure you already know why I’m here as you
should have been contacted through the Orthodox headquarters…”

“Hm.”

Zhuge Taeryong nodded slowly. He kept his appearance calm and cooly. It made the
leader of the Black Dogs, Chuck more or less in awe. He recalled the rumors about
Zhuge Taeryong and the fact that many people were saying his martial arts were
currently at their zenith. (T/N Zenith means peak or prime)

“I don’t want to cause trouble to the Lord’s plans, but the arrangements have already
been made…”

Zhuge Taeryong opened his mouth and cut Chuck’s sentence short.

“Ghost Gun should be considered one of the best fighters in Eria. Will the Othodox do
nothing to help us?”

“Our black dogs…”, Chuck spoke meekly.

“What can they do?”

Zhuge Taeryong asked with a smile that betrayed the intent behind it. Chuck
swallowed his saliva and scratched his head sheepishly. In his mind, Zhuge Taeryong
was irritated. The Black Dogs weren’t known for their fighting force but rather their
tracking skills. But these incompetent fools were now unable to track Lee Sungmin
as he entered his city during his son’s first birthday.

“Don’t be too hard on us please. You are the only one who is able to help us with the
connection to Zhuge Liang.”

“Hoo-hoo! I know. It’s just annoying. You’ve asked me to kill someone who is causing
a bit of trouble, but it seems your side has not given me any support.”

“Isn’t it possible that there was a secret deal with the Patriarch, Zhuge Liang
himself?”, Chuck suggested.

As Taeryong wanted to rebuke the suggestion, the matter of fact was that even
though Zhuge Liang was his paternal father, he didn’t really know much about him
nor his personality. That being said it was possible there had already been a deal of
support behind the scenes with his father, when discussing terms with the Orthodox
Faction.

“Then firstly, I’ll order a search across Devon.”, he came to a decision resolutely.

“There’s a possibility of disguise.” Chuck advised, as he wanted to end this wild goose
chase as soon as possible.

“Of course, that won’t be a problem. There’s a sorcerer in Devon who’s good at
finding people.” Zhuge Taeyrong said confidently.

“…a sorcerer?”

At Taeryong’s response, the leader of the Black Dogs opened his eyes wide.

“Do you believe in that kind of thing?”, he inquired Taeryong’s response at the fact he
was confident in relying on sorcery.

“You don’t seem to know much about the South. In this area, the average level of
sorcerers here exceeds the common knowledge.”

Taeryong smiled as he spoke. The Black Dog’s leader sighed and finished his
preparations as Zhuge Taeryong got up from his seat to show him out. He was happy
to finally leave the hunting of Lee Sungmin and hand it over to the overeager son of
the patriarch.

After leaving the room, Zhuge Taeryong ran into Murong Seojin, his wife. When her
eyes met with his, her face hardened. He realized the door to the room wasn’t closed
and his wife might have overheard the discussion. Mindful of her expression, he
shifted his steps aside. Then, with a friendly expression on his face, he hugged
Murong Seojin’s waist.

“Come on, dear.”

“…yes.”, Murong answered with a nod.

The face of Zhuge Taeryong, who glanced up, was cold. She felt that Taeryong’s
forearm that was around her waist was stiff. It was not until Chuck, the leader of the
Black Dogs left that he retracted his arms.
Murong Seojin looked silently at Taeryong’s back. A little later, she sighed. Such a
callous look was familiar. The title of wife was nothing but a facade now. They didn’t
have such emotions towards each other since, it was an arranged marriage with the
lineages of their respective households on the line. If it weren’t for the fact they
needed to pass the lineage on and have children, such a marriage would have fallen
apart long ago.

“Hahhhh.”

She let out her sigh and clenched her fist. She started to walk down the corridor
before taking a glance at the garden. She suddenly made eye contact with Namgung
Heewon. She didn’t avert her gaze but rather, Heewon averted his.

—-

Two days had passed since Lee Sungmin and the Crazy Heavenly Demon arrived in
Devon. Aladdur’s location had finally been identified. Without hesitation, Lee
Sungmin stormed out of the inn. Likewise, Byuk Won-Pae, who became accustomed
to the playing the part as a hunter, followed Lee Sungmin’s footsteps.
‘In this case, should I say that I’m lucky? Or should I say I’m unlucky?’ , Zhuge Taeryong
thought to himself.

After days of inactivity, Aladdur appeared, so Taeryong asked to meet with him. It
was to ask him to trace Ghost Gun who had seemingly disappeared from the trail of
the Orthodox’s hounds. There was no plan to meet him beforehand. If there had been
such a schedule, Taeryong would not have been the only ones seeking out Aladdur.

Of course, there was no evidence of it yet that the clumsy bastard and hunter in front
of Taeryong were the bastards he was searching for. But there was a vague feeling it
could be. Even if their face and appearance was different, it could be disguised to this
extent.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”, Lee Sungmin said, denying his identity
under the disguise.

Lee Sungmin did not want to cause friction with Zhuge Taeryong. Even though he
was branded and pursued as a rogue, he didn’t want to step up and inflate the
problem. So for now, Lee Sungmin stepped back and pretended not to know.

“Who are you then?”

Zhuge Taeryong softened his attitude a little. He judged the situation as best as he
could because he was alone. There were two people before him, if they were indeed
the bastards, Zhuge Taeryong’s ability wouldn’t be able to handle either of them on
his own. And if they turned violent it would be mayhem.

Especially because Lee Sungmin was known to have killed Ironclad.

[What are you going to do?]

asked Byuk Won-Pae to Lee Sungmin telepathically, looking at Taeryong. Lee

Sungmin picked up that Taeryong’s attitude had changed. It looked like their
interests were aligned. Taeryong didn’t want to cause friction with the two anyway.
At least… for now.

“I’m just a wandering scholar.”, said Lee Sungmin calmly.

“I’m a hunter.”, Byuk Won-Pae added.

Taeryong twitched at the weird answers given as their identities didn’t make sense
to be with each other.

“I am Zhuge Taeryong.”, Zhuge Taeryong introduced himself.

“I shall take my leave then”, Lee Sungmin responded as he had found the information
he needed.

It would be possible to kill Zhuge Taeryong right here, but that would only lead to his
notoriety rising and he would have to follow the act in the future if more martial
artists were to come.

[All you have to do is have strength.]

said Heoju.

[All you need is the strength to kill everyone who comes to kill you. In the end it all
leads to striking fear into those who oppose you and making your power known.
Don’t you have any desire to reign?]

‘Pft… me?’

Lee Sungmin let out a smile as he couldn’t believe what Heoju had just told him.

[You wouldn’t laugh at anyone that reigns with that kind of power, would you?]

‘Maybe not, and maybe that’s just how other people in my position would think… but,
it’s not for me.’

There were too many people in Eria and he had met and heard of many of those
people. He had no aspirations to settle or push down others with influence.

[In the end, there is no better person to compare than one’s self.]
Heoju spoke. At the words, Lee Sungmin smiled unconsciously.

‘I know.’

Even though he knew it.

‘It’s good to be able to pursue the path I want and get stronger.’

It felt good that he was improving so much these days. It felt even better knowing he
had a path to follow that he had made for himself. Thus, he knew what direction to
take and the obstacles to avoid more or less.

Lee Sungmin was happy he had found the location of Qian Zun, The Forest of Elves.
He didn’t know where it was but, in any cases like these he could always ask his
broker from Erebrisa, Neville.

[Hmm… The Forest of the Elves? Do you mean the Forest of Beginning?]

As soon as he asked Neville, he got a response.

[The forest of the beginning is further south but, it won’t be easy to get in. Because
Elves are viewed as a commodity in the slave industry there’s tight security and
restrictions to getting in. Due to that, the place they reside in, The Forest of
Beginnings, is one of the safest places in all of Eria.]

Even if Qian Zun was a master in the Transcendental Realm, he was weakened
because of the curse he set on Wijihoyeon. As the curse was a double-edged sword
for the caster, it would be extremely easy for Lee Sungmin to kill him. The only
problem was getting into the forest he was hiding in.

He wanted to go there right away, but he restrained his impulses. He had one more
thing to accomplish while being in the South and there was no need to rush it, which
was mastering the power of the Yokai bestowed by Heoju, would be a difficult
process.

“Who were those two who just came?”

It wasn’t until Lee Sungmin and The Crazy Heavenly Demon had finally left did
Taeryong feel comfortable to ask Aladdur about their identities. Aladdur answered
him blinking his eyes.
“They’re a hunter and a scholar aren’t they?”

Knowing that his opponent was Zhuge Taeryong, Aladdur did not make any
awkward actions. Taeryong then, composed himself, exhaling his stifling breath.

“I’d like to find two people. Ghost Gun and The Crazy Heavenly Demon.”

“Well… I’m afraid sorcery is not that easy. If you want to find a person, you need to
have a piece of their clothing or personal belongings like their hair.”

However, Taeryong came prepared. As the Black Dogs had secured a piece of hair
from a cave Lee Sungmin and his party stayed at while being homeless, Taeryong
handed over the hairs to Aladdur. Aladdur began to conjure his sorcery as he had
done in the process of tracking Qian Zun.

“…huh? The ones you are looking for are the guests who just came in…”

Taeryong didn’t need to listen any further. He gathered his belongings and
immediately departed from Aladdur’s sorcery place.

—-

Namgung Heewon was a person who kept to himself these days. He was very
different from how he was when he had met Lee Sungmin in Shaolin. The reason was
because he was solely focused on becoming stronger with his sword, maintaining his
title as the ‘Sword Dragon’. Some people had rumored that he was even better than
the current head of the Namgung Family in regards to martial arts. Regardless
whether those rumors were true or not, it was clear he was incredibly skilled and
was the suitable heir to inherit the title of the Head as one of the Four Major Families
in the Orthodox Faction, the Namgung.

‘I’ve become a very different person.’, Heewon thought to himself.

Dang Ah-hui stood with her back leaned and looked at Namgoong Heewon. Around
Namgung Heewon, there were 15 guards from the Namgung family. It was the same
with Dang Ah-hui. Behind Dang Ah-hui stood ten people dressed in black military
uniforms as if to escort Dang Ah-hui, exuding a strong but faint presence.

(T/N Dang Ah-Hui was translated as Tang Ahee before)

“Ghost Gun and the Crazy Heavenly Demon.”

Dang Ah-hui giggled a fit of suppressed laughter. Heewon glanced over to her.

“If I remember correctly. I think you introduced me to him seven years ago in
Shaolin.”, Dang Ah-hui said in between her giggles.

“Maybe.”

Heewon’s response was lukewarm. Dang Ah-hui kept talking because she wanted to
provoke a reaction out of Namgoong Heewon, who showed little emotion.

“How times have changed. He was a man you introduced to me as your brother and
now he’s the rogue we have to hunt. How do you feel?”

“Why the fuck do you care?”

Namgoong Heewon’s mouth opened as he cursed at her. Dang Ah-hui’s eyes opened
wide after being insulted and Heewon continued.

“You used to be a bit of a bitch, but I think it’s even worse today. Are you on your
period?”

“…what?”

Dang Ah-hui’s eyes widened in disbelief at the treatment she was receiving from the
man who had seemingly shown no emotions over the past year.

“Are you bleeding into your crotch? Don’t pick a quarrel with someone who stays
silent. Not unless you want to die.”

At his harsh words, Dang Ah-hui looked as if she had been dumped in a pile of
horseshit to rot. The guards behind her didn’t stay still at the insulting words
however. They took out their blades and poured a surge of killing intent out at
Namgung Heewon. Namgoong Heewon stood tall and received the forceful killing
intent face-to-face. His 15 guards were standing behind him ready to act, if need be.

“Stop.”

Zhuge Taeryong raised his hand. He looked at Namgoong Heewon and Dang Ah-hui
with an irritated expression.

“Thank you for your cooperation, but if you’re going to fight between each other, we
won’t even catch Ghost Gun at this rate.”

“Oh don’t mind me… ehehe! I can’t bear to miss out on catching this good prey.”, said
Dang Ah-hui with a shrill laughter.

She then glared at Namgoong Heewon with cold eyes, and then turned her gaze to
Zhuge Taeryong.

“Ghost Gun is a rogue that has suddenly become notorious by murdering Ironclad,
and The Crazy Heavenly Demon, I can’t even wonder why he was left alone all this
time. I can’t bear to leave the honor of killing them alone.”

“You can say that with such a straight face. But the truth is you want to steal the
honor and glory for yourself. Don’t you?”, Namgoong Heewon grinned and laughed.

“…that’s the same for you!”, Dang Ah-hui retorted.

“I just want to meet this Ghost Gun after such a long time.” Heewon stated calmly.

“You don’t mean to take the side of the Ghost Gun, do you?”, Dang Ah-hui exclaimed
in an irritated voice.

“If we’re talking about our relationship, he’ll have to mend his ways as a brother.”,
replied Namgoong Heewon.

Zhuge Taeryong sighed and gave up stopping the two. Either way, their forces were
strong and he was confident they could catch the rogue Lee Sungmin and Crazy
Heavenly Demon with it. Especially in the case of Namgung Heewon, since he was
even stronger than Taeryong at this point of time, even though he would never admit
it.

“Isn’t this too much to catch two people?”

Aladdur grumbled beside Zhuge Taeryong.

“I can’t believe you forced someone like me to give you a hand and guide you!”, cried
out Aladdur.
“I’ll give you as much money as you want. So don’t have a seizure and just do what
you’re told to do. Also don’t keep up the act pretending you need to eat every five
minutes.”, Zhuge Taeryong stated to Aladdur, not caring about the sorcerer’s well-
being at all.

“Of course, My Lord.”

Alladdur nodded in a pissed off manner, understandably so because he was

essentially forced to do the job under the pretext of good pay. He picked up one of
the strands of Lee Sungmin’s hair and lit it. Other sorcery was just so-so, but Aladdur
was already in the ranks of elite sorcerers when it came to tracking.

As the smoke in the air dissipated and pointed out in one direction in the distance,
The forces of the 3 family heirs moved forwards.
It had been a week since Lee Sungmin and his group had left Devon. He took turns in
between with the Crazy Heavenly Demon, to cover their tracks in an attempt to
shake their pursuers. Before they knew it, they came across a dense jungle. The wet
jungle was so grotesque that it was hard to tell whether it was a monster in itself.
The tall trees created a maze of nature. It was extremely difficult to maintain a sense
of direction in such a forest, no matter how keen one’s senses were.

[The flow of mana is strange.], Heoju murmured.

Lee Sungmin wasn’t the only one affected by the unnatural flow of mana. Like when
he was in the dungeon with Rubia, they made a map with the flow of mana, but here
it was useless and she eventually gave up trying to map the area. It wasn’t unusual
for a forest to be full of mana, but this forest’s mana density was immense. The
uncontrolled mana was like a wild torrent, gushing in all directions like a wild beast,
so even Rubia was feeling irritated that her skills weren’t enough here.

[The Southern Forests sometimes have a distortion where the mana and the energy
of the dead monsters intertwine. Since long ago, humans were afraid of the darkness
in the forest and the cries of beasts. From that fear, monsters were born, and the
deeper one travels, the density becomes stronger and impossible for any caliber
wizard to make it out.], Heoju warned.

[I’m not even sure if you can find a skilled guide here.], he continued.

There were no such guides here. Erebrisa tried to find one for Lee Sungmin, but the
guides they contacted shook their heads in disgust.

‘The Forest of Temptation? Haha! You guys are crazy and eager to die. I assure you,
no one in their right mind will guide you once you mention the Forest of Temptation.
No matter how much money you have, it’s worth nothing if you’re dead.’

Lee Sungmin was frustrated with their reactions and responses.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’, Lee Sungmin asked in irritation to Heoju.

[When this old man was alive, this forest was just a forest with not much going on.
It’s evolved into a monster of a jungle since the times have past.]

Heoju protested as if he was falsely accused. It was 400 years ago when Heoju
roamed the South. Given the time that passed it was only natural since one couldn’t
predict changes of nature over that long span of time.

This forest also had a nickname ‘The Forest of Death’. Once you get in, you can’t get
out. At some point, the strength and mana of the forest would mess with the sense of
direction and caused the wanderers to lose their paths. The chances of escaping
from this place were extremely slim.

“Shouldn’t we just go ahead and beat the shrubbery aside and mark it physically?”,
frustrated, the Crazy Heavenly Demon spat out.

A ting of scarlet energy intertwined and coalesced in his hands. A powerful Blood
Ring was fired at the dense trees. Lee Sungmin didn’t bother to stop him. So far, he
had been holding in his frustration of wandering aimlessly trying to shake off the
pursuers in the humid heat of the forests and he was reaching the limit of his
patience.

They had been traveling around the jungle for over a day. Lee Sungmin marked a
rock he had passed by to get a vantage point but, he started to cross by the same
rock over and over essentially running around in circles.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

The Blood Rings smashed into the tree. However, as the bloody mist dissipated there
wasn’t a scratch on the tree. The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s cheeks flushed red in
embarrassment. What sense did it make that a simple tree could withstand a peak
level expert’s full force attack?

[It’s not normal.], Heoju murmured.

Lee Sungmin also decided to raise his spear. He chose the most powerful and passive
techniques he could unfold: strengthening magic, haste magic, The Nine Heavenly
Spears technique: Nine Dragon Spirits along with Blood Predation. The bloody aura
enveloped the golden light emitting from the tip of the spear. After that he added on
the power of the yokai and a purple aura encased the colorful spear adding a
severely powerful energy to the tip.

“Huh!”

Swallowing a short shout, Lee Sungmin pierced forward at the tree. An exploding
sound rang out and the area overturned rocks and dust. Once the dust cleared, He
was shocked to see the tree completely unscathed.

“What in the…?”

[Strange… I’ve never heard of such a monument like this in my 400 years in the
south. It could be an illusion, but there are no skilled illusions that wouldn’t break
under that sort of attack since you stacked so many powers into one strike.]

Heoju said with a bit of shock and skepticism

[Wait, look up.]

Lee Sungmin raised his head and looked up at the sky. Intense sunlight was pouring
through the cracks of trees, branches and leaves that seemed endless.

[Jump to the top of the tree.]

‘What will that do?’, Lee Sungmin pondered and asked Heoju.

[If you can’t break it from the front, climbing up the tree could be a possibility. It may
become too noticeable if you do and attract attention, but it’s a minor problem
considering being stuck here.]

Lee Sungmin roused his internal energy and focused it into his legs followed by a
jump. The ground shook from the jump and he flew up with a bang. Lee Sungmin
stepped onto a nearby branch up in the air to gain a new foothold and jumped up
again like a frog.

Thud.

Lee Sungmin suddenly hit his head against an invisible barrier in the air. He
stumbled over and flipped. As he was falling, he looked at the sky with eyes widened
in shock. He swung his foot in a hurry to regain his balance and formed a layer of
internal energy to serve as a temporary platform. Standing barely balanced in the air,
Lee Sungmin reached out his trembling hand and fumbled it in the air as if trying to
grab ahold of something.

He verified what he had felt. There was an invisible barrier encapsulating the
surroundings.

[This is amazing.]

Heoju snorted and laughed.

[This whole forest is caught up in a barrier or illusion or both. This is no longer a

human’s domain. No matter how skilled or knowledgeable a sorcerer may be, it
would be impossible to set up this kind of powerful and vast barrier.]

‘So what do we do then?’

Lee Sungmin finally calmed down in realization of what the cause of the misgivings
they had been forced upon since entering the forest.

[Maybe since this old man has passed for so long, I completely forgot the territories I
ruled in the South… This was one of my old territories but it seems like some brat
has taken over control of my territory… GAHAHAHA!]

Heoju’s laughter rang out in his head.

“I can’t believe I’ve had to enter this terrible forest. In all my lifetime this was
definitely not on my list of places to visit.”, Aladdur uttered a sigh.

At the whining, Zhuge Taeryong felt a mild urge to kill the sorcerer for being so
annoying the entire trip, but he knew if he did they would never leave here alive, as
Aladdur was their only guide in this place and killing him would be signing their own
deaths off.

“It’s disgusting.”, Dang Ah-Hui muttered in discontent.

The humidity and heat from the forest was constantly racking on her already
irritated flow of energy making her frown at the lingering headache she was having.
“Hold on to your mentality.”

“Men… what?”

“Ugh… your fucking state of mind!”

Aladdur shouted at the party and continued.

“Damn it! Do you seriously know nothing about this forest?! This forest is only a
week’s travel away from Devon. Zhuge Taeryong, are you seriously so incompetent to
never have heard of the rumors?!”

Aladdur stood up from his seated posture and glared at Zhuge Taeryong. If he had
never gotten mixed up with the arrogant fool of the Zhuge family, he would never
have been stuck in such an unforgiving death hole.

“…I know about the Forest of Temptation. It’s known as an uninhabitable forest
crawling with monsters. Not only that, but you can’t get out once you come in.”,
replied Taeryong with frustration and then added,

“We have 45 people in our group, 3 heirs to the great and noble families of the
Orthodox Faction and you seem to think we’re incapable of getting out of such a
lousy place?! You fool.”

“These stupid fucking Orthodox idiots…”

Aladdur distorted his face and murmured to himself quietly. Then raised his voice
and said,

“Do you not realize the situation we’re in? We ONLY have 45 people and 3 arrogant
silver spoon fed babies that have never been in a real life or death situation! Do you
realize we are only humans? Humans that can get their flesh torn to pieces, their
bodies violated and killed by at a moment’s notice from a strong god??!”

“What…?”, Zhuge Taeryong responded shortly, as the blood from his cheeks were
blushing bright red from embarrassment and anger.

“You don’t know anything about the Forest of Temptation, but of course you don’t!
Well, I can’t help but NOT know! Only a few sorcerers know the truth of this forest.
Damn old men, you’re cracking up and you’re playing dumb!”, Alladur complained
while sputtering seemingly utter nonsense at the end.

“Calm down.”, Namgung Heewon intervened to defuse the situation.

But, there was an invisible blade of aura scratching at the tip of Aladdur’s neck.
Aladdur swallowed his saliva and gulped in fear at the physical threat.

“Explain it easily so we can understand.” Heewon spoke in a curt voice.

“…there was a great monster 400 years ago.”, Alladur trembled as he recalled the
story, “It was a great monster, one that could kill many practitioners at a whim if he
was bored. A lot of exorcists and powerful men were mobilized to catch him once
people had finally understood how much of a threat he was to humanity.” Aladdur
finished shaking his legs in fear of the story and the blade at his neck.

“400 years… that’s a long time ago. It was before my father even got his place in
Devon.” Zhuge Taeryong murmured.

When Aladdur heard the response, he twitched his lips.

“Even if it’s dead or sealed, this is still that monster’s territory. Dead or alive, it’s
power was frightening.”

“So?”

“The monster is a foreign entity that is different from any other monster. The people
who subdued it were specialists. So…”

Aladdur glanced at the forestry ahead of them.

“…Let’s say the bushes are shaking. Of course you’ll think there might be a small
animal. But, what if we looked through the bushes and didn’t see anything like an
animal? You would then think the wind was blowing. That, or the animal that shook
the bushes quickly ran away. Such thoughts are common. But for some people the
fear would linger and they would ask themselves what exactly shook those bushes.”

“…so what about it?”

“Fear is a sudden emotion. Have you ever felt someone’s gaze in the dark? No matter
how great a master of martial arts is, there are times when you feel scared. It’s
especially true for children. Have you ever been afraid to sleep alone? Do you think
there might be a monster under the bed? Ever heard a scary story and were scared
of going to the bathroom alone at night? Have you ever been afraid of thunderstorms
on a rainy day?”, Aladdur said in a grave voice.

“This… is much more serious than I thought.”

Taeryong contorted his face realizing the situation they had been trapped in.
After learning that this barrier was a type of formation being maintained by some
entity, Lee Sungmin and The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s actions were bound to become
cautious. It was impossible to smash apart the trees that seemed to be the pillars of
the formations, let alone jumping to the top and trying to escape them.

[It is impossible for the person screwing with my territory to maintain this kind of
formation by themselves.]

Heoju confirmed the discrepancies within maintaining this kind of barrier.

[There is no one who can do this kind of thing that I know of. There are plenty of
people who can destroy the entire forest, but it’s never possible to entangle the very
space like this.]

“What if the other person is not human?”

[The same goes for the latter. This kind of formation is too strong to set up by one
person alone. It could be a group of people, or the most likely scenario is that they’re
using the power of the land itself to power it.], said Heoju.

Lee Sungmin thought it would be better to gather as much information as he could,

so he called Neville and asked him if there was any information he could gather.
However, Neville just cracked apart in the space and formed a connection with
another sorcerer. Lee Sungmin recognized the sorcerer to be one of the few he had
consulted about the curse on Wijihoyeon.

“Nice to see you again.”

The sorcerer with a disheveled beard smiled at Lee Sungmin, showing his yellow
teeth. Lee Sungmin asked the question out of doubt.

“I’d like to ask you about the Forest of Temptation, but why am I talking to you?”, Lee
Sungmin asked.
He was confused why this sorcerer would be of help when he couldn’t do anything
about the curse laid on Wijihoyeon.

“You really don’t seem to know anything. Sorcerer’s specialize in certain fields.
Curses aren’t my forte but I do know a bit about this forest.”

The sorcerer grinned and stroked his unkempt beard lightly.

“This is the forest where the great monster Heoju was based 400 years ago, and
when that monster died, the forest’s fear of losing it’s ruler was embedded into the
forest itself.” the old sorcerer spoke in a calm tone.

[…well.]

Heoju groaned at the disaster he inadvertently caused.

“For 400 years, the forest has transformed itself into a forest that conveys fear to
everyone. Since the source of fear is the forest itself, it has resulted in people not
being able to leave.”

[Now I get it.]

Heoju finally understood what had happened to the forest.

[The fear left by this old man has transformed the forest. Somehow I thought I was
getting too excited thinking there would be some opponent to fight. I didn’t expect
this to happen.]

‘You didn’t know?’’

[This happened after I lost my body. You couldn’t even differentiate me from the very
epitome of horror.]

“Since the monsters realized the apex predator of the forest had left, they migrated
back here and grew from the sources of fear produced by people who reside around
here. But, to the sorcerers and wizards of old times, this was no secret.”

The sorcerer snorted with laughter. He looked at Lee Sungmin and said,

“If I may advise you, don’t stay here too long. I’m glad it’s not night yet. At night… it’ll
be hard. You know that the darkness is a source of fear for most, right? You don’t
know when or what’s going to pop out of it. If that fear continues… People go crazy.
‘I’m going crazy with fear.’ After that? You’ll be distracted by this and die in the
woods, not by a monster or a human being.”

“…do you know about the monsters in this forest?”, Lee Sungmin asked again.

He was anxious. Even though he noticed this was caused by Heoju’s death, it was still
dangerous to be in the forest.

“Do you know a monster called the Henemy?”, the sorcerer suddenly asked.

It was a name Lee Sungmin knew of, and one both he and Heoju were very wary of.

[Henemy? He’s the king of monsters in Predator, one the 5 beings in charge of it.]

“You mean the King of Beasts is here?”, Lee Sungmin asked the sorcerer, anxiety
written all over his countenance.

“Henemy was the king of monsters who ruled over the other elders in Predator
despite not being the being they worship known as ‘Predator of Massacre’. But a few
years ago, Henemy was defeated and disappeared in a quarrel with someone. And
now he’s here, in a forest of temptation.”, replied the sorcerer.

[Henemy was defeated?!]

Heoju’s voice was growing louder inside Lee Sungmin’s head in disbelief of the news
he heard…

[No way. 400 years ago, he used to be as powerful as this old man. Who on earth
defeated him?]

“…who defeated Henemy?” asked Lee Sungmin.

“It’s the nine-tailed fox that took over his body and controls the old monster now. I
don’t know if it’s the real name or not, but some monsters called the nine-tailed fox:
Yanachuan.”

[Kumiho…… that tricky bastard.], Heoju, quipped seemingly in knowledge of the real
identity of the monster that had defeated Henemy.
The fox, Kumiho, which had lived for a long time, grows its tail one by one and grows
it’s power by each tail it grows until it becomes a nine-tailed fox.

“That fox isn’t the only one here. There are monsters that used to be famous in the
south. But the most dangerous thing is not the fox that’s taken over Henemy’s body.
There’s a monster of immortality in this forest.” the sorcerer continued warily.

“What the hell is that?”

Lee Sungmin questioned even more, seemingly confused as the entity of something
that could be even stronger than the nine-tailed fox, Kumiho that had defeated a
monster at the caliber of Heoju.

” It’s liiteral. It’s a monster that is immortal and was born in this forest. I don’t know
what it looks like or it’s name, but I’m certain that thing is living in the Forest of
Temptation. That’s all I know about the beings or mysteries about the forest. No
other sorcerers would know anything else.”, the sorcerer grinned as he continued. “I
repeat, beware of nightime. Or, just leave the forest. It’s probably not too late yet.”

The connection with the sorcerer ended there. Lee Sungmin kept his mouth shut. He
couldn’t find any fault with Heoju since this had all happened after he had died.

[What are you going to do?], asked Heoju.

Lee Sungmin knew that continuing to explore the forest to find the methods Heoju
had left behind to control his power was risky in many ways. He knew he absolutely
must not come across the Monster of Immortality nor should he go looking for the
nine-tailed fox controlling the body of Henemy, the King of Monsters.

‘Your treasures. Are they worth embracing these dangers?’ he asked Heoju reluctantly.

[Absolutely.], Heoju answered with confidence and conviction.

[Though this old man’s treasure is no money. If you continue the path you are
walking with martial arts, it will certainly be a great help for you going forward.]

It was Lee Sungmin who had to worry here. Currently, Lee Sungmin had three jobs to
do in the South. First, to visit the southern tribes and learn how to handle their
forces. Second, to go to the Forest of Beginning and kill Qian Zun who was hiding
there. And lastly, to recover Heoju’s treasures. He wanted to prioritize killing Qian
Zun and saving Wijihoyeon from her curse but since he was already here, he might as
well retrieve Heoju’s treasures.

‘It’s dangerous for sure but, if you’re certain your treasures are here then we will go get
them.’, Lee Sungmin smiled bitterly.

Since the rewards were here he decided to take the risk. He just had to be absolutely
careful not to run into the 2 beings that could kill him on a whim. Regardless of all
that, he had acquired information on the forest nobody knew of, which could be
useful in getting rid of the pursuers.

‘So where should we go?’, he asked the yokai.

[If the form of the forest hadn’t changed completely, there would be a mansion in the
middle of the forest where I used to live.]

‘It’s been 400 years, you sure your mansion is even in one piece? What if somebody
already ransacked it for the treasure? You already know there’s a lot of monsters in this
forest’, Lee Sungmin questioned Heoju skeptically.

[No, it wouldn’t be possible. The mansion is probably in shambles, but the treasures
absolutely could not have been taken. It’s impossible for someone else to steal the
treasure.]

Heoju had said so many things with certainty, so Lee Sungmin was pretty much
forced to believe the old yokai. He decided to rest, since he was wary of what the old
sorcerer said, and keeping a healthy mind would be key to surviving in the forest.

[You and that old moron are lucky.], Heoju spoke.

The moron he was referring to, was the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

[You two are embedded with this old man’s strength. Like it or not, it’s already at the
border between humans and monsters. You won’t go crazy here, but you will feel the
fear that’s accumulated from others in the forest.]

Heoju in particular was extremely confident in Lee Sungmin not going crazy. Of all
the beings he had seen, even in his lifetime whilst alive, he had never seen anybody
with a mind as powerful as Lee Sungmin’s. This was once again due to the sheer
willpower and time Lee Sungmin had spent in Denir’s trial.
[The pursuers who followed you however, will have an unfortunate experience.]

Heoju burst out into laughter thinking of the idiots who were troubling even him at
this point like a mosquito he couldn’t swat. Lee Sungmin could care less for them, but
in the back of his mind he was a bit worried for Namgung Heewon, the person he
had once called ‘brother’.

‘I can’t help it.’

Namgung Heewon came here to kill Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin was in no position to
think of other’s safety especially if they were here to threaten him.

Eventually nightfall came.

Although there was a risk of being noticed by Ghost Gun, Zhuge Taeryong was forced
to make fire to settle camp and recover his fatigued mentality along with his group
members.

While they ate, Zhuge Taeryong glared at Aladdur with disapproving eyes. Knowing
that Zhuge Taeryong didn’t think well of him, Aladdur was sitting away from Zhuge
Taeryong, stuffing food into his mouth.

“Not so scary for the fabled Forest of Temptation.”, said Dang Ah-Hui, sitting near
Zhuge Taeryong, smiling.

It was as she had said. Although it was hard to navigate and avoid wandering, this
forest didn’t feel as dangerous as Aladdur said. They had met wild animals, but no
monsters yet. In fact, it didn’t matter if they ran into monsters, they thought. No
matter how powerful a monster may be, 50 first-rate martial artists and a few peak
levels would be able to kill anything that comes their way.

“It’s just a bunch of woods that nobody knows about. It’s not worth caring for at all.”,
she continued, ”But it is true that it’s annoying because of how hard it is to navigate.
I’ve even caught myself wandering a couple of times.”, Dang Ah-hui said smiling
coquettishly.

“We can’t really do anything about it though. This forest is affected by some weird
formations or barriers. If I had known this would happen, I would have come with
my uncle.”, Zhuge Taeryong sighed while keeping his haughty atmosphere.

“You’re much older and bigger now aren’t you? Do you remember what it was like
when we were younger?”, Dang Ah-hui continued her flirtatious actions with Zhuge
Taeryong.

Sitting near Zhuge Taeryong, Murong Seojin silently gazed at the bonfire. Even if they
were married, there was zero affection, and under the current circumstances, it was
becoming more prominent as Zhuge Taeyrong was openly flirting with another
woman in front of her. But, she couldn’t express herself. Murong Seojin gave up and
raised herself with a sigh.

“Where are you going?”, Namgung Heewon asked Murong Seojin, noticing she got up
to leave.

Zhuge Taeryong and Dang Ah-hui also stopped talking, as they saw Murong Seojin
standing up. As attention of those at the bonfire focused in on her, Murong Seojin
coughed out a short cough and turned her face to the side.

“…to the bathroom.”, she replied meekly.

“My foot!”, Dang Ah-hui burst into laughter on the spot when she heard Murong’s
reply.

Zhuge Taeryong, with an irritated look on his face, picked up a branch and poked at
the bonfire.

“Hurry up and come back. Because the forest is dark.”, Taeryong grumbled in
irritation.

‘You’re ashamed of me.’ Murong Seojin thought to herself. However, she didn’t resent
Taeryong over it because such petty emotions were lost long ago.

“I’ll come with you.”, Namgung Heewon raised himself up as well.

“…Yes?”, she said in astonishment and embarrassment.

“The night time in this forest is dangerous. Especially since this is a grove of
monsters, you need to be on guard at all times.”, he replied flatly.
“Are you saying you’re going to follow her to the bathroom?”, Dang Ah-hui grumbled
and continued to speak.

“Your husband, Zhuge Taeryong, seems to have a heavy butt, so can I take care of him
instead?”, Dang Ah-hui shot out her remark in utter contempt.

Zhuge Taeryong’s face cooled down and smiled flirtatiously at Ah-hui. Murong Seojin
felt at a total loss and didn’t know how to react, then turned around trying to
suppress her feelings of sadness that she was openly humiliated by seemingly
everyone.

“…I’ve learned martial arts, too. It’s like a child compared to you, but I still have the
power to protect myself.”, she then said to Namgung Heewon, averting his eyes.

“But…”, Heewon stuttered.

“Don’t follow me. Are you trying to insult me as well?”, she shot back at him
venomously.

Namgung Heewon backed away, feeling embarrassed and a little irritated with how
the camp was treating her. Dang Ah-Hui who was looking at the conversation
between them smiled cruelly.

“Why are you doing something useless?”, Dang Ah-hui asked.

“Worry about yourself.” Heewon said coldly to her.

Zhuge Taeryong glared silently at Namgoong Heewon’s face. If this wasn’t the Forest
of Temptation, and if it weren’t for everyone else here… Zhuge Taeryong laughed at
the thought of how badly he would beat Heewon’s face to a pulp.

Silence ensued after the awkward exchange between Ah-hui and Heewon.

Before long…

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A scream came from somewhere not far away.

The first to respond to the scream was none other than Namgung Heewon. He was
already leaving the tent before the long screams ended. A little later than that, Zhuge
Taeryong woke up with a distorted face. It was the same for Dang Ah-hui and other
martial artists who were surprised. Aladdur tore his hair in frustration as if he knew
this would happen.

The group arrived at the source of the scream at once, Namgung Heewon suddenly
stopped running and stood firm. When Murong Seojin saw Namgung Heewon, she
hurriedly arranged her clothes. But her face was pale, and the hand pulling the
trouser leg trembled. Namgung Heewon took off his robe and threw it to Murong
Seojin without looking at her naked body. She hesitated to accept the robe for a
second but quickly put the robe on to cover her body.

“What’s going on?”

Zhuge Taeryong and the other martial artists arrived. Zhuge Taeryong glared at
Murong Seojin, who was covering herself with Namgung Heewon’s clothes. Rather
than worry, annoyance and anger surged up. Anger at his wife for doing something
that made him feel ashamed of himself.

“There…!”

Instead of Murong Seojin, Dang Ah-hui raised and pointed with her finger as her
mouth was wide open. The direction she pointed to was across from where Murong
Seojin was standing embarrassedly. Something was swaying beyond the luminous
bushes that made everyone present shudder.

Their eyesight wasn’t fooling them this time. Everyone saw it. It’s outline became
clearer through the haze from the forest. A monster 3 meters tall with an absolutely
bloody and horrendous appearance that looked dazed and confused by the
appearance of the party.

“Fuck!”, Zhuge Taeryong roared.

He was surprised but not afraid. He beat the ground with his feet and rushed
forward. He swung his sword coated with a golden hue of internal energy at the still
confused monster and cut through the flesh of the monster.

‘What…?’

Zhuge Taeryong, who cut off the body of the monster, felt embarrassed. He cut it, but
there was no sense of it being ‘cut’. Zhuge Taeryong moved his body back, stepping
around the monster cautiously. The monster’s appearance started to shift and
started to morph into something disgusting as if taking the appearance of a million
different species like a chimera, then it started to distort and turn into a wisp of
smoke.

“Get back!”, cried Aladdur hurriedly.

The expert in this field was Aladdur, a sorcerer, not the swordsman with martial
techniques. Aladdur moved his hands into his sleeves and started fiddling around as
if to look for something. After a while, what he took out was a wooden statue and
closed his eyes. The wooden statue looked more like an ominous voodoo doll or
totem, but Aladdur carefully held it forward with both hands. Aladdur murmured a
spell with his lips fluttering. Then the two eyes of the wooden statue opened wide
and shone brightly in the dark encampment.

‘AGHHHHHH!’

The smoke monster let out a hideous cry and the hazy smoke started to disintegrate
slowly.

“What the hell was that?”

Namgung Heewon, who was watching it all, asked carefully. Aladdur answered while
sighing a breath of relief.

“A yokai.”

“Yokai…?”, Heewon asked for clarification, seemingly skeptical of the answer he

received.

“You must have heard the ghost stories of your childhood, right? Literally that’s an
evil spirit. No, I don’t have to call it evil. The spirit that died in this forest, unable to
go where it was supposed to go, became bound by the strength of the forest and was
forced to submit to the evil spirits.”

Because his mentality was exhausted from the spell and the abrupt wake-up scream,
Aladdur’s legs were shaking from fatigue.

“Don’t be surprised by this. That kind of evil spirit doesn’t have much power. If you
keep your head straight, you won’t be possessed. Well… not necessarily.”

Aladdur’s face was stained with uneasiness. There were some seriously strong and
possessive spirits in this forest. One had to be extremely careful not to be possessed
at any moment.

“I can’t help it if it’s a powerful evil spirit. It’s embarrassing to say that my sorcery
isn’t that strong when it comes to subduing spirits. So… please be more cautious. If
you lose your mind, you’ll lose everything you know, even if your body is refined
through years of training.”, Aladdur pleaded.

Zhuge Taeryong bit on his lower lip. Zhuge Taeryong was famous not only for his
martial prowess but also for his strategy and tactics, but unfortunately, it was a
facade. He was only good for his martial arts, and his so called strategy and tactics
were nothing but propaganda to the masses.

‘I should have brought my uncle.’,Taeryong thought to himself.

However, it was too late to do so.

“Stand up.”

Zhuge Taeryong glared at Murong Seojin and spat out with a venomous tone. She
stumbled in embarrassment and anxiety. Zhuge Taeryong jerked his head and turned
away when he saw that she had finally stood up. Murong Seojin felt that her husband
was cruel, but there was nothing she could really do about it. She took off the robe
she borrowed and handed it back to Namgung Heewon.

“…thank you.”

“It’s all right.”, he replied flatly lowering his gaze respectfully.

With Zhuge Taeryong at the forefront, other fighters return to the fire pit. Namgung
Heewon stayed there and turned his head to Aladdur.

“…I’d like to apologize for my earlier actions.”

“For the famous heir to the Namgung family to be lowering his head to me. Should I
be honored?”

Aladdur teased, but the latter was not displeased. Aladdur looked with a surprised
and confused look, that Namgung Heewon didn’t react negatively to the teasing.

“If you had another sorcerer to help you, do you think you would be able to help us
break out of the forest?”, Namgung Heewon asked.

“If only there was another sorcerer on hand, but… I don’t think anyone’s going to
come. Any sorcerer worth his two cents knows the dangers of this forest.”

“…ah.”

Namgoong Heewon sighed helplessly. Then, a boy in a black suit rose from under
Namgung Heewon’s shadow.

“Did you call?”

“Huck!”

Aladdur yelped in surprise. Namgoong Heewon ignored Aladdur’s response and

talked to the boy.

“I’d like to get some help with leaving the Forest of Temptation. Are there any
sorcerers who can support us with the task?”

[Wait a moment please…]

The boy suddenly disappeared. Aladdur, who had his mouth wide open, muttered as
he looked at Namgung Heewon.

“…yes, of course, you were a member of the Erebrisa…”

“Do you know them?”, Heewon asked Aladdur, intrigued that he knew the identity of
the mysterious organization.
“I’ve only heard in name. It’s an intermediary guild with brokers who appear like
ghosts seemingly anywhere in the world without restriction. My teacher had been
contacted by Erebrisa, but she refused to sign with them. Even though they’re
resourceful… I’m sure none of the sorcerers they connect with, will come to the
Forest of Temptation. As long as they are connected to Erebrissa for profit, they will
not move without profit.”

“I can give them as much money as they need.”

“Hah… money is great and all, but one’s life is more valuable than money, you should
already know that. If I wasn’t forced by Zhuge Taeryong to come with you lot, I would
have never come here.”

Namgung Heewon didn’t mind that Aladdur had backhandedly insulted Taeryong. He
had the same feelings and thoughts towards Taeryong, the fact that he was forceful
and arrogant. A moment later, the broker from Erebrisa reappeared.

[I’m sorry. I asked the nearest sorcerers, but they all refused when they heard about
the location being the Forest of Temptation.]

“Hahaha!”

Aladdur laughed aloud as he listened to the broker.

“You see, what did I say?”

Aladdur spoke, already knowing of such an outcome.

When Murong Seojin had screamed when she saw the spirit. Lee Sungmin, and his
group were also encountering the evil spirits of the forest. Watching the incorporeal
beings beyond the bonfire, Rubia swallowed her breath and the Crazy Heavenly
Demon furrowed his brows.

[What a trifling rascal. Don’t mind it’s presence.], Heoju said to Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin looked at the evil spirits swaying in the dark. As he kept looking at it,
he heard an unknown noise ringing in his ears seemingly a form of mental attack
from the spirit, but he didn’t feel displeased or unsettled by it. He had experienced a
severe trial of losing and regaining his mind through Denir’s trial when he was
trapped in his subconscious for 2,100 years.
The evil spirit shook when it met Lee Sungmin’s mental fortitude. It’s body started to
contort and shift in a peculiar manner. Lee Sungmin narrowed his eyes. The noise in
his ears seemed to get clearer little by little.

[This… this… this…… this…]

The spirit tried to mumble out a sentence but struggled. Lee Sungmin’s eyes
suddenly opened wide. The sound was not only heard by Lee Sungmin, but also by
Heoju, who was connected to Lee Sungmin through his soul and dantian.

[What is it? The devil said what…?]

Most evil spirits could not speak. For they, who are already dead and bound by their
souls, are dead, and have lost their reason and are left with wickedness. If the rank of
the evil spirit increased, they regain some of their senses and become able to speak,
but the evil spirits compared to Heoju were nothing short of crude.

‘What is it saying?’, Lee Sungmin asked Heoju who was trying to converse with the
mentally incapacited spirit.

[Well… it’s impossible for a spirit to be able to converse. Why don’t you try getting a
bit closer first?], Heoju replied, seemingly interested in what he had been able to
make out from the spirit.

Lee Sungmin raised himself carefully. He, who had a sharp sense, was able to discern
things clearly in the dark, but he still held the torch to get better visibility.

“You don’t have to use such barbaric tools.”, Rubia grumbled.

Rubia then used magic to make a small sphere of light. Lee Sungmin still didn’t see a
reason not to use the torch. So, relying on two lights, Lee Sungmin, Rubia and The
Crazy Heavenly Demon approached the evil spirit.

Lee Sungmin still didn’t drop his guard. In the case that somehow a spirit gained
possession of a body, there were no countermeasures to regaining one’s
consciousness as Heoju had warned him beforehand.

[This… way…], the spirit murmured.

The evil spirit shifted its body a bit as it saw Lee Sungmin approaching. Then the
spirit slipped into the shadows and disappeared suddenly. Lee Sungmin and his
party narrowed their eyes with a tinge of anxiety rethinking the decision to follow
the spirit.

The night was just beginning.

Lee Sungmin wanted to ignore the night and move undisturbed. Even if he got a
guide, the fact that this forest was a dangerous place remains unchanged. At night,
fear and energy thickened disturbingly and empowered the monsters. It was more or
less an act of suicide for anybody to do such a thing.

As he was advised not to do anything stupid during the night, Lee Sungmin left the
evil spirits and returned to the fire, changed his mind to go in the morning. The
spirits hovered around Lee Sungmin without leaving.

Eventually morning came and Lee Sungmin got up fatigued and prepared his
breakfast.

[Come on then, let’s go!], Heoju exclaimed in a cheery voice.

He looked the happiest since he was tied to Lee Sungmin as a mere soul fragment. He
had finally returned to the forest he had dwelled in for so long and it was brimming
with the power of fear. Why wouldn’t he feel great?

Lee Sungmin could not relate to Heoju. Heoju had died while having things still intact
like his territory and powers of fear. While Lee Sungmin had died a dog’s death in an
unknown dungeon to many in his past life. But, he wasn’t going to ruin Heoju’s
happiness over some dull feelings.

“What happened to the pursuers?”, he asked the group including Heoju. Though the
group wouldn’t be able to hear Heoju’s response.

[Gahahahah! I don’t know for sure but, they probably experienced hell for a
nightime. Maybe some of them are already crazy or dead. Fear is like a contagious
disease in this forest.], said Heoju ringing out with laughter inside Lee Sungmin’s
head

“Maybe they gave up pursuit and went back.”, Rubia suggested.

“Maybe. They should be somewhat smart. They’re sure to be sensitive to deaths
around them if they aren’t fools and head back.”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon added,
hoping the pursuers would piss off already.

“That’s only if they aren’t arrogant and made a stupid decision”, Lee Sungmin spoke,
shutting down the hopefulness and bringing light to the more likely truth.

When Lee Sungmin began to move, the spirits followed suit. In the morning of the
forest and in the low shadows of the trees, the evil spirits were faintly visible among
the surroundings.

[This way… this way… With…], dozens of demons talked like that in Lee Sungmin’s
head.

“Huh, you’ve been resourceful here and there, but now you can even communicate
with spirits?”

“Yeah don’t ask too much about it…”

Since Lee Sungmin didn’t introduce Heoju to The Crazy Heavenly Demon, he made
up an excuse saying he had learned the skill in the past. Byuk Won-Pae did look
surprised but he did not doubt Lee Sungmin in the slightest.

He followed the spirits that were guiding them. This time the group wasn’t
wandering around in circles like before as they noticed the landscapes slowly change
bit by bit.

‘Where are they leading us?’, Lee Sungmin asked Heoju as he understood that the
yokai had given them instructions.

[Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to get my damn treasures already! HAHAHAH!], Heoju
cheered loudly, as Lee Sungmin could feel Heoju’s soul fragment tingling with
excitement within his dantian.

It was only a side attraction to get the treasures as Lee Sungmin wanted to escape
the forest and leave as soon as possible. He was more focused on getting to the tribe
The Crazy Heavenly Demon had met in the past and learning their ways of handling
forces and energy.

The spirits however, weren’t that fast as they were incorporeal and floated at a
rather slow pace.

Two days had passed since Lee Sungmin’s group had followed the spirits. They were
growing frustrated at the time spent in this blasted forest when suddenly, Lee
Sungmin came to a stop. But, it wasn’t just his steps that stopped. The spirits guiding
them halted too.

[Wow… Wow…]

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…]

The evil spirits trembled in awe. He moved with the spirits for two days, but this was
the first time they made this kind of response. On the way, he killed some monsters
that tried to obstruct them, but the spirits never responded to his amazing martial
arts or skills.

It was different this time. Suddenly, the spirits started to turn grey and scatter as
small specks of light came into contact with them. They trembled as they finally
dissipated abruptly from the domineering intent that poured over them.

Paaaaaaah!

The hideous presence completely disintegrated the spirits. The bushes and trees
shivered. The forest, which was full of a disgusting fear that pressed on all
individuals within the forest, disappeared for a second like it was all a complete lie.

“Strange…”, Lee Sungmin muttered.

Lee Sungmin didn’t dare to move from the sudden intense pressure that befell them
a moment ago. His gaze finally shifted to the being that started to emerge from the
forestry. A man with red hair, and a face so haggard you would think he was just
waking up from a hangover, came into view. He met Lee Sungmin’s eyes with his own
eyes devoid of any emotion.

[No it can’t be… Henemy?]

Heoju spoke as if he could not possibly believe it. Henemy. Lee Sungmin muttered the
name in a small voice. He was the King of Monsters belonging to Predator. One of the
monsters that reigned at the top of Predator when Heoju was alive. But, he was
known to be possessed by Kumiho from the information he knew of. Lee Sungmin
was wary, but the man in front of him looked so fragile as if he would shatter if you
tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

Things weren’t adding up. But regardless, Heoju identified the man in front of him as
Henemy.

When Lee Sungmin travelled to the North, he had seen what one of the 5 elders of
Predator was like. The Vampire Queen Geniella, was the complete opposite from this
man. She was like a tidal wave of ominous, vile power. The man in front of him was
like an ant who got washed up from the shore of a beach.

Lee Sungmin was confused.

[He’s weaker than he was 300 years ago… What the hell happened?]

[Heoju?], the man’s mouth opened.

He blinked at Lee Sungmin as the man was confused why he felt the presence of
Heoju in a human. Lee Sungmin nodded in response to the gaze. Lee Sungmin’s
biggest question was about the whereabouts of Kumiho, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Kumiho
had defeated Henemy, but there was more. Wasn’t Kumiho supposed to be
possessing the body?

[I thought he died 400 years ago… Well, I shouldn’t be surprised. Monsters of his
caliber obviously wouldn’t die so easily.]

Henemy smiled widely. Unlike Heoju who was born as a monster from birth, Henemy
was a monster that was born human that turned into a monster later on.

[Why did you come here after 400 years? Looks like you didn’t even have full control
of that human body…], Henemy continued.

[He came to take mine.], Heoju replied flatly.

Heoju suddenly started to raise Lee Sungmin’s internal energy forcibly, as Lee
Sungmin was shocked albeit for a second, could feel Heoju did it out of uneasiness of
the man in front of them.
[Ah how interesting it is, that you of all people came back here after 400 years
hahah!] , Henemy laughed as the corners of his lips curved upwards to form a
malicious grin.

[What are you doing here?], Heoju asked, this time not in surprise but in a tone of
hostility.

Lee Sungmin finally felt like the pieces of the puzzle were coming together now.

[Because my body looks like this.], Henemy replied in a cold manner this time, with
zero emotion present on his face.

In the eyes of The Crazy Heavenly Demon, the man in front of them seemed to be
talking to himself facing Lee Sungmin, but he felt that he understood now what was
going on, albeit his guess was a bit different than the actual truth. He figured that Lee
Sungmin himself was a spirit possessing the body. Which was partially true and not
at the same time.

[My heart was ripped out], Henemy continued to speak.

Henemy moved his hands to grab the hem of his shirt and lifted upwards. Lee
Sungmin flinched at the gruesome sight in front of him. There was a fist sized hole
right through the man’s chest where one’s heart would normally be placed.

[It was taken away by the fox girl who is now controlling the elders behind the
scenes at Predator.], Henemy spoke, revealing what had happened to him, and
spilling some information that could be incredibly surprising if true.

But, Heoju was still wary and tense as he spoke.

[So… You’re here to take my strength from this place aren’t you?]

[That’s right.], Henemy replied flatly.

He had nothing left to hide. His pride as the King of Monsters had disappeared long
ago when his heart was ripped out of his chest by a monster that wasn’t even at the
level of the 5 elders 400 years ago.

[This forest is full of energy. I was trying to recover from my illness here. I was going
to benefit from the fear and energy you left lingering behind.]
[How sad.], Heoju replied.

[But, at least I’m not dead], Henemy grinned and continued.

[Unlike you.], his smile returned in a half joking manner.

[Hahaha! You got me there! Yes indeed I am dead, but also I am not at the same time.]

Heoju replied with a big smile releasing the energy and tension he had been holding
onto up till now out of vigilance.

[If you want to restore your strength by holding onto your life like that, then do as
you please. You don’t need to see me any longer in this pitiful state…], Henemy spoke
in a quiet tone towards the end.

Henemy then turned his attention to Lee Sungmin and nodded his head.

[You’re standing at the border between man and monster. You’re not even half-way
there. What a weirdo.], he murmured at Lee Sungmin and then turned around to
leave and vanished.

[I don’t need any more guidance from here to find the treasure.]

Heoju said to Lee Sungmin as he returned his seeping energy back inside Lee
Sungmin’s armor and dantian.

Eventually Heoju led them with his knowledge, and the group finally appeared in
front of a huge mansion that was infested with weeds and rubble.

[It was good to see in the old days. There were many slaves in the back courtyard. I
even used to personally tend to the garden.], Heoju murmured regretfully.

They passed the gate and looked around. Rubia came out of Lee Sungmin’s arms and
turned back into a human form. She and the Crazy Heavenly Demon looked around
intrigued how such a mansion could be inside a horrid forest.

[That should be it.]

Lee Sungmin stopped walking at Heoju’s words. He hadn’t even entered the mansion
yet. Nearby was a sunken hole that was once a pond. Heoju’s energy shot out of the
armor suddenly. A surge of force swelled and popped in the air. The goblets
surrounding the mansion lit with an eerie, green fire. The goblin fire brimmed with
life and in front of the mansion a spatial rift formed in front of Lee Sungmin and
stabilized.

It took the form of a black and rusted door.

[Go ahead], Heoju said, quelling Lee Sungmin’s anxiety.

Lee Sungmin put his hand on the door and the power of the yokai borrowed from
Heoju’s enveloped his body lightly as if embracing him like a child.

To Rubia and the Crazy Heavenly Demon it looked as if Lee Sungmin had gone
delusional and was grasping at the air. But, that was due to the safety measures
Heoju setup to avoid his treasures being robbed by other sorcerers who might be
able to see through the illusion. Even if they saw the door, it wouldn’t open unless
they had Heoju’s personal signature of yokai power.

The door creaked open as Lee Sungmin heard the grinding and creaking of small
gears opening the door using old machinery. He peered inside but didn’t step inside
as he couldn’t see past 2 meters in front of him.

[Come on inside and you’ll see.], Heoju told Lee Sungmin with a warm smile as he
savored the nostalgia he had.

‘Are you sure it’s alright?’, Lee Sungmin questioned.

[Don’t worry, if anything you’re the only person I’m willing to give these things to, so
go ahead.], Heoju replied.

Lee Sungmin cautiously put a step in the space and noticed nothing malicious
happened so he sighed. Rubia and The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s jaws were about to
fall off their face as, from their perspective, Lee Sungmin just walked into thin air and
vanished.

Inside was a white subspace completely opposite to the original dark corridor he
had expected to be in. It reminded Lee Sungmin of the time he had spent in his own
subconscious during Denir’s Trials.

But instead of just white empty space, there were several boxes laying around neatly.
Heoju and Lee Sungmin were connected to each other so Lee Sungmin felt Heoju’s
sense of pride soar as if showing off his trophies.

[Go ahead and open one.], Heoju said with an undeniable happiness in his voice.

Lee Sungmin then approached a nearby box and opened the lid. Inside, was what
seemed to be some kind of green gem shaped like a ruby. He didn’t know what it was
and looked at it confusedly.

[Hoh? Is this your first time seeing one of these?] Heoju asked, feeling Lee Sungmin’s
confusion.

Although he pretty much expected Lee Sungmin to be confused as this was no

ordinary object. In fact it was incredibly rare and only heard of in legends. If this was
known to be obtained and sold through Erebrisa, the amount of people trying to
obtain it would be in the billions.

‘What is it?’, Lee Sungmin asked full of curiosity as he felt an inexplicable foreign
energy surging through the air around the gem.

[…This… is the heart of a Dragon.], Heoju replied.

“…That’s a… Dragon’s Heart?”

Lee Sungmin was trying his best not to be surprised with whatever Heoju would give
him, but the words that came out of Heoju’s mouth were too unexpected. Lee
Sungmin’s jaw was threatening to drop straight to the floor in shock.

“You don’t mean… THE Dragon Heart?”

[That’s how they call it these days, I guess.]

Heoju tried to brush it off as if it were insignificant, but there was an indescribable
sense of pride in his tone. Who wouldn’t be prideful if they had this? The heart of the
dragon was one of the most rare treasures in this world. It wasn’t easy to meet
dragons in this era. Even if one somehow did, it was absolutely impossible to kill one,
let alone extract the heart in maintainable conditions.

[In the days when this old man was in high spirits? Those little lizards were nothing
but play toys! Hahaha!]

Heoju beamed in a joyous tone, obviously overexaggerating how difficult it would be

to kill a dragon, even if it were him in his prime.

[If you get on their back and snap their wings, they’ll scream for help! HAHAH! Just
like that!]

Heoju continued his nonsensical story and Lee Sungmin ignored him. He reached his
hand out to the dragon’s heart once more and then Heoju snapped back to attention.

[Wait!]

“What?”

[Don’t just take it out. The dragon’s heart is a tricky fellow, if exposed to the outside
world, it will immediately crumble and disappear.]

“Then why did you put it here?”

[I put it in as a trophy.]

“Why would you do that if you can’t even use it?”

[What did I just say? It’s a TROPHY. Of course I wouldn’t actually need it.]

“I need it.”

[Trying to get rid of your prize already? But… you can’t use it right now, so keep it in
the box. I’ll know how to fix the problem if we can find a good wizard later.], Lee
Sungmin listened to Heoju’s words.

He then closed the lid of the box containing the dragon heart. He didn’t even know
how to properly handle a dragon heart in the first place. Lee Sungmin decided to
keep it for now, and then ask Neville what to do next.

[Come on, open the other boxes too. There’s a lot of good stuff.], Heoju said excitedly.

Lee Sungmin approached another box. The box was full of blinding gold coins. Lee
Sungmin lifted up one of the gold coins. The currency used in Eria is ‘Erne’. Erne is a
coin, not a gold coin, and is also used as a banknote or check.

[It’s not the same worth as paper money. You’ll be able to buy a single city with the
gold in the box.]

Lee Sungmin normally wasn’t moved by money, however he had been living like a
homeless person for a while now, and didn’t try to make any money on the side
because he was always busy. He would always spend his money immediately through
Erebrisa when he did because of his goals. This was something he actually had a
desperate need for, and he had gained a lot of it.

The next opened box contained all kinds of jewels. The value of a single gem alone
would be several times more than the box of gold coins just now. Lee Sungmin also
put the box in a spatial pocket with a pleased expression.

He continued to open more boxes and they were like the other 2 boxes he had
opened. More gold coins and gems. It was enough to make someone faint, but Lee
Sungmin was just pleased with one box, this much would just make him feel dull.
Nevertheless he collected the gems and coins because he never knew when a rainy
day would come.

‘How much is this exactly?’

He thought to himself as it was almost too much. Since his original spatial pocket he
used for daily needs was becoming full, he had to use other spatial rings to fill the
rest. As he finished storing all the boxes of currency, he approached a few boxes
separated from the rest.

[Now, is time for the good stuff ehe.], Heoju murmured in a low voice.

Lee Sungmin approached the nearest box and opened it. A vapor of cold air brushed
out against his face and he took a few steps back in surprise. Before he knew it, a
white frost began to form on the lid of the box. Although Lee Sungmin was bothered
by the severe cold due to the body heating function of the orchicalcum armor, the
frost started to emerge on his fingertips where he wasn’t covered.

[The fabled Frost Ginseng.]

Lee Sungmin overcame the cold and approached the box. In the midst of the intense
chill was a small frosty root the size of his forearm.

[Try it. Originally the coldness was so severe that one would have to balance the yin
energy to eat it, losing the effectiveness of the ginseng. But you can eat it and the
energy raw because of that heart of yours.]

With the black heart, Lee Sungmin could absorb any kinds of energy right away
without having to go through any rough processing. Lee Sungmin wasn’t a huge fan
of having this foreign heart inside his body, but for cases like this, it was rather
helpful.

Lee Sungmin opened his mouth wide and bit into the frosty root.

He started to feel a cool minty aura envelop his mouth in a pleasant manner. The cold
yin energy entered his body then burst with an invigorating presence and flowed
neatly into his dantian.
His dantian started to pulsate and expand. Lee Sungmin sat down and started to
meditate on the inner circuits that were being invigorated by the cooling energy. He
had taken elixirs before that he was gifted from the Shaolin but those could not even
compare to the might and amount of energy he was getting right now from the Frost
Ginseng.

Puahhhhhhh

A light misty vapor rose from his body as he finished circulating the yin energy into
his dantian. He rose up from his seated position feeling incredibly calm and collected
as it seemed the yin energy also helped him regulate his emotion a bit.

[Open the next box.], said Heoju happily, as he had observed both the qualitative and
quantitative change to Lee Sungmin’s dantian.

Lee Sungmin was re-evaluating his view of the old yokai. Initially when he met Heoju
in the sleeping forest while he was sealed, he tried to invade Lee Sungmin’s body but
eventually settled for his armor. Lee Sungmin had thought him to be an annoying old
man who just knew some information and might be nice based on his circumstances.
But, the yokai had several chances to retake possession of Lee Sungmin and didn’t,
instead he rather helped Lee Sungmin overcome those crises.

When Lee Sungmin approached the other box and opened it he saw a little vial that
was colored in a violet and black aura.

“What’s this?”, Lee Sungmin asked confusedly.

[It’s a certain type of poison that can improve one’s inner circuits to flow faster and
more effectively if one can neutralize it. Not only that, it helps one utilize other
poisons so naturally as if they were breathing. Naturally you already have a method
of doing so.], Heoju said while giggling.

“You liked to eat… poison?”

[Hey! That stuff tastes pretty damn good. It really hits the spot once you’re drunk!],
Heoju retorted.

Lee Sungmin decided not to bother with the old yokai’s queer habits. However, it
would be an understatement to say he was tempted to utilize poisons. Poisons were
the worst kind of enemy as they could kill, with just a scratch. Most people in the
Orthodox Factions claimed poisons to be the dirty work of the shameless, Hence why
the Tang clan didn’t have the best reputation within the Orthodox as they dealt with
hidden weapons and poisons. Lee Sungmin uncorked the vial and chugged it down in
one gulp.

The Black Heart really was a type of absolute poison immunity at this point. The
poison flowed throughout his circuits like a murky liquid but he felt the
improvements immediately. He was just disturbed at the slightly bitter taste and
deathly aura it gave off.

[Acquired Poison Arts skill.]

For the first time in a while he heard a voice in his head from the status screen. He
immediately opened up his status and checked the additions with a smile.

[Those right there are the remains of that overgrown lizard you call a dragon hahah!]

Several boxes were filled with gold-glazed bones and scales.

[If you get a blacksmith to process those remains for you, I’m sure you’ll get some
new equipment that will completely outshine what you currently have.], Heoju
continued gleefully.

There was only one box left that was rather small. He opened it and was seemingly
confused once and a little irritated as he felt that there was no way it was what he
was thinking, because Heoju said these were treasures. However, he asked in
confirmation.

“What is this?”

[That’s one of the most precious treasures this old man has!], Heoju excitedly
shouted.

“Explain.”

[Don’t be surprised. This bottle right here has an endless liquor. It’s not just random
liquor. Any man worth his salt would drool at a drop of it! Do you know how many
drunks tried to steal this off me?!]

“…so… It’s just an endless supply of liquor…”

[Yes! It’s a drink that never ends! HAHAHA!]

Lee Sungmin blanked and was immediately disappointed. He should have known
this old yokai would put something useless like this in his so called treasure vault.

[Buffoon! You don’t know the real value of the treasure.], Heoju grumbled in
dissatisfaction.

Frankly, Lee Sungmin wanted to throw away the bottle, but because Heoju was
nagging so hard about it he decided to put it in a spatial pocket. Since there was
nothing more to take care of, Lee Sungmin escaped from the space.

“Are you back?”

Looking at Lee Sungmin finally walking out, the Crazy Heavenly Demon asked with
bright eyes. Lee Sungmin nodded his head. Before Lee Sungmin knew it, there were
evil spirits scattered around because of the appearance of some intruders.

“…Um.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon had a surprised look. This was because the raw depth of
Lee Sungmin’s internal energy which before, was like a bright candle. Now, it was
like a blazing fire in the night. Thanks to the fact that Lee Sungmin had taken the
medicines of high quality from Heoju’s treasures, his raw amount of internal energy
was doubled.

“Did you come across another treasurable experience?”

Byuk Won-Pae was no longer surprised. Every time he had thought something was
impossible or unfathomable to the man before him, Lee Sungmin, would make it
possible and go up and beyond the expected outcome.

Grmmmmmmbbbbb!

The forestry began to shake with a tremor. It was incomparable to when Henemy
had first appeared in front of them a few days ago. The spirits shook and scattered
around, the ground cracked and shook violently. Heoju’s mansion which had already
been old and dusty started to crack and crumble to the ground.

[My house!], Heoju screamed out in vain.

Lee Sungmin looked around in a nervous manner. He tried to dial in to his dantian
and focus his senses but it wasn’t something internal or an aura trying to clash with
him. It was the very landscape itself that was trembling.

[Hmm…], Heoju realized something was wrong and collected his emotions to deal
with the task at hand.

Heoju helped Lee Sungmin focus his power to observe the surroundings. There was
something not too far away from the tattered mansion. Heoju’s power that was lying
dormant in Lee Sungmin’s dantian started to tremble with excitement or anger, he
wasn’t sure which but regardless, it was something unnatural.

[…are you going?] Heoju asked Lee Sungmin in a quiet voice but he could not hide
his tinge of anger in his tone.

If Heoju had his body still, he would have gone right away as this was something
clearly threatening his territory, but Lee Sungmin had to be cautious and decide
whether it was something out of his capabilities or if it was beneficial.

[I won’t impose my feelings on you. It could be dangerous.], Heoju said,

understanding Lee Sungmin’s disposition.

“You don’t have to go, do you?”, Crazy Heavenly Demon asked, noticed Lee Sungmin
pondered in thought.

Lee Sungmin opened his mouth and decided he would go. Heoju had really given Lee
Sungmin too much help and he couldn’t leave it like that out of respect for him. He
wasn’t so brash as to not repay his favors. Not only that, if he wanted to get out of the
forest he would need the guidance of the spirits which were dying. It was a simple
choice really.

Dreadduck!

The forestry started to move again. The trees wriggled and intertwined to form a
huge wall that blocked off Lee Sungmin from the direction of the exit.

[Seems the forest doesn’t want you to leave even if that wasn’t your intention.]

It seems like no matter what decision Lee Sungmin had made he was going to have to
get rid of whatever was going on first. He chewed his lower lip in frustration because
it seemed his task would become a whole lot more difficult.

—-

Wandering through the forest for a week aimlessly, the number of Lee Sungmin’s
pursuers had dropped considerably.

The Forest was dreary and terrifying, the monsters got stronger throughout the
night and the spirits constantly appeared and disappeared. Zhuge Taeryong’s group
was getting little to no rest and could not fight off some of the monsters and had
members of their group die before their eyes. Tension was high, and even throughout
the day when he ordered Aladdur to track Lee Sungmin it was getting harder to
pinpoint the location because the forestry shifted and moved like a labyrinth.

Zhuge Taeryong was almost at the limits of his patience as his fatigue was getting
immense and his pride was hurt because he was being led around the nose by this
Lee Sungmin.

“You have to stop this farce and head back.”, Namgung Heewon said to Zhuge
Taeryong as he grabbed at his disheveled hair in anguish.

“Are you saying to go back without any results after all this shit?”, Zhuge Taeryong
shouted out in frustration.

“If we keep going, we’ll all really die.”

Heewon spoke flatly, hiding his irritation. He was getting mad at the fool’s rashness.
Many martial artists from each of the families groups were dying off one by one.
They had started 45 strong, and now… they only had 25 people. Some people were
getting lost by the day and they didn’t know if they deserted, died in the night or
went crazy and got possessed.

“No… We can’t do that.”

Zhuge Taeryong at this point was weakened, thinned out from lack of food and losing
his mind. He was useless in every sense.

“Everyone will laugh at me if I go back without even catching sight of Ghost Gun. I
can’t…”, he murmured to himself due to the selfish delusions he had.
“Are you really going to value your honor and pride over your own life right now?!”,
Namgung Heewon screamed at him.

Namgung Heewon lost his poker face completely at this point. He then continued.

“If you continue to be reckless and foolish, I will return with Dang Ah-Hui and Muron
Seo-“

“PAHAHAHA! You really think I’ll just let you do that? Even if you convinced them,
Murong Seojin is my wife and she stays here with me.”, Zhuge Taeryong burst out in a
maniacal laugh and contorted his face in a malicious grin.

“Don’t say anything you can’t even do. You think I don’t know what happened to your
ex-wife?”, Zhuge Taeryong continued.

Namgung Heewon’s face became distorted in pure anger and wrath. Murong Seojin
never thought that Zhuge Taeryong would be so insensitive and rude to mention
Namgung Heewon’s late wife.

“You…!”, Heewon was fuming at this point.

“You don’t possibly mean you’ll take everyone back safe and sound with your
lackluster ability do you?”

Zhuge Taeryong grumbled looking around at Dang Ah-hui as if to get her opinion to
join him as well. To be honest, Dang Ah-Hui also wanted to stop tracking and go
back, but she felt at the same time that she could not go back without any results like
Taeryong mentioned.

“It’s best to just go back and regroup…”, Aladdur added in quickly as he didn’t know
when a better chance would come to leave.

Puk!

Suddenly a hand ripped right through Aladdur’s chest spurting blood everywhere.
“kuhk…”

Blood spurted from Aladdur’s mouth. As he looked down at the bloody hand boring
through his chest, his facial expression looked one of disbelief as he looked to see
who had attacked him. He let out a gasp, choking on the blood coming up his throat,
he cursed his pitiable death

“So… shitty…”, Aladdur uttered with a broken voice and a miserable face,”This forest
fucking sucks…”

With his last words, Aladdur fell forward and planted his body dead on the ground.
The fighters who were watching him screamed, threw their dignity as they saw the
gruesome sight. Henemy, the red headed monster licked his bloody hand with a
smile forming on his pale lips.

[Hehehe… So many fun toys here.], the enemy mumbled incomprehensibly.

After meeting Lee Sungmin, the weakened and pale-faced Henemy, who wandered
around the forest saw the warriors of 3 great families gathered together. There was
no reason to hesitate. As monsters already do kill humans, the case was special for
Henemy who was recovering his strength based on the fear lingering in the forest. As
he killed the warriors he would consume their fear and add it to his strength along
with eating his fill.

[It’s the first time I’ve seen so many humans since I settled in this forest… How
fearless kekeke…], Henemy continued to mumble, giggling to himself at the foolish
humans.

Ever since his heart was pulled out by Kumiho, the Nine-Tailed Fox, he had continued
to weaken and was dying by the day. Although he settled in the forest to prevent his
looming death, it could not be completely stopped as he was just delaying the
inevitable.
So killing these foolish humans was actually something completely necessary. If he
had so much fear to collect by killing them, he might be able to gain enough strength
to build upon by further devouring all the fear left in the forest. If he was able to do
that, he would, in theory, be able to go back and kill Kumiho and retake his heart.

[Are you afraid?], Henemy asked with a cruel smile to the faces of the fighters dying
in utter fear.

Fear was contagious. As it spread the more he killed, the better the outcome. Even
though he was weakened, he was still at the apex of Predator in his prime. The
fighters from the 3 great families would still be like swatting flies to him.

“Who are you?”, Zhuge Taeryong said, trying not to fumble on his words and let his
fear become present.

Henemy took a glance at the man holding his sword that was shaking, as if glancing
at a new toy to play with.

[kekeke… Haven’t you ever heard of the King of Monsters?]

“No… it can’t be… Henemy?”

This time it wasn’t Zhuge Taeryong who knew the identity of the killer, but rather
Namgung Heewon. He had collected all the information on the monsters currently
residing in the Forest of Temptation through Erebrisa.

“Ready your swords!”, Namgoong Heewon shouted.

The order made the members of the Namgung clan come to their senses and drew
out their swords. Seeing that he looked like a completely incompetent fool right now,
Zhuge Taeryong shouted at his Zhuge family members to do the same.

[Ah resistance… Even better! The more you try to fight back, the more despair you
will have that will turn into fear. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been able to
have such a fulfilling meal.], Henemy spoke, baring his bloodied fangs.

Dang Ah-hui stammered and pulled out her sword. The blades of the warriors shot
out in all directions, the dozens or practitioners attacked Henemy all at once.

Dedeuk!
From Henemy’s back a thick aura materialized to protect him from the attacks.

“Form a pincer attack!”, Zhuge Taeryong shouted.

Although their numbers were growing incredibly low from the death count, they still
had enough members left to form a kind of pincer attack to try and confuse Henemy.

Namgung Heewon quickly rushed over to Murong Seojin where she was standing
trembling with the sword in hand to check up on her.

Henemy was no fool and decided to move first. The practitioners tried to form a
semi-circle and split their ranks to divide his attention, but Henemy quickly broke
through the formation and grabbed one of the practitioners in the mid way by the
head.

Sprattt!

The practitioner’s head grabbed by Henemy, popped like an exploding watermelon,

as blood, bits of bone from his skull, and brain matter flew from the lump of flesh
that was once his head.

[GAHAHAHAHAH!], Henemy burst into a maniacal laughter.

His mouth started to open to such an obscene degree it looked like a snake enlarging
its mouth to swallow a mouse whole. Then, he chomped on the remaining flesh of
the dead practitioner’s head and chewed the flesh loudly.

The other martial artists suddenly flinched at the grotesque scene and shuddered
noticeably. They had spent a whole week without much rest, food, water and
constant tension. This scene was starting to crack their sanity as fear started to
envelop them.

“AHHHHH!”

Zhuge Taeryong shrieked in absolute fear as he had never seen something so vile and
cruel in his entire life. The formation also broke apart from the hesitation apparent
from the practitioners. This would only lead them to their deaths. As a formal pincer
attack required the attackers to rotate to rest the members of the party while the
opponent would be worn down slowly.
Henemy though being merciless was no fool. He planned out the best way to incite as
much fear as possible and jumped towards the group with blood spraying
everywhere. However, he did not kill them… yet. He tore off the limbs one by one and
incapacited the opponents to remove their mobility and make them shriek in horror.
The cries and sounds were frightening all those who listened and only grew
Henemy’s power further.

Namgung Heewon made the most rational thought he could and decided to try and
flee. He glanced over to Murong Seojin. If she gave him a gap he would take her by
surprise and flee with her, whether she was willing or not.

[Escape… We need to escape together.], Dang Ah-hui sent a mental message to

Namgung Heewon noticing his intentions and wanting to live too.

[What?], he responded as he didn’t expect it.

[I’m going to rush order my fighters to rush into battle and draw attention. So
please… take me with you!], Dang Ah-hui said without a trace of hesitation.

Namgung Heewon was no saint, especially so in this situation, but his face was
contorted with disgust at Dang Ah-hui’s utter lack of comradery to throw away her
subordinate’s lives away like that.

More and more people died as time passed. Namgung Heewon was no fool and knew
through Erebrisa that the fear was only making Henemy stronger. He had to come to
a decision quickly.

Henemy was very cunning, and had a thorough understanding of the opponents
positions from start to finish. Naturally he did not want to waste any fear that he
could collect.

“What the hell… is that…?”, Zhuge Taeryong was sprawled on the floor trying to inch
away bit by bit as he saw the gruesome scene before him.

Henemy raised his body up after eating a limb from a practitioner. He gave a silent
gaze at the crawling Zhuge Taeryong and looked at him with indifference as if he
were utter trash.

For Henemy, there was nothing that disturbed him more than a competitor that tried
to take away his prey. If such things happened to him, he would grow enraged and
stop his hunt just to take out the opponent that tried to poach his prey. Of course he
also had to learn the identities of such beings well. Those 5 elders from Predator
were exactly those kinds of opponents.

[Hm?], Henemy noticed a familiar presence and gave out a questioning look.

He finished licking off the blood from his hands and looked in the direction of the
presence. As he rose his naked body up his eyes opened wide. He knew that presence
familiarly as it was one of the former 5 elders of Predator from his time of rule. But it
was a bit weird. A naked monster walked out from the forest with an aura of Heoju.

[Huh?]

The monster of immortality in front of him was a manifestation of Heoju’s fear that
had accumulated over the several years of fear that came to the forest. It wasn’t the
half-breed Lee Sungmin he had seen earlier.

[What the…]

He stopped the massacre of the martial practitioners and focused his attention on
the new stimulation in front of him. It wasn’t as if Heoju had resurrected or sent a
manifestation of himself. This was an entirely new entity that had been residing in
the forest for a long time. Instead of fearing the surging power of the monster in
front of him, Henemy smiled viciously. If he ate and consumed that monster, he
would get millions of fear stricken souls to eat. Getting revenge on that damned fox,
no… even ruling all of Eria would not be a dream anymore. He could regain his
ambitions.

[Good luck! HAHAHA!]

Henemy threw away the head he was chewing on in a pile of flesh that was once a
first rate martial artist. He lunged at the monster in front of him. Although that
monster had a lot of fear racked up, Henemy was the pinnacle of Predator in his time.
Even if he was weaker than before, there was no way he couldn’t kill a newborn baby
monster that hadn’t even lived for 400 years. (T/N : the monster in front of Enemy
right now is the so-called monster of immortality the sorcerer Lee Sungmin contacted,
spoke of. The monster isn’t actually a baby, it’s just not nearly as old as Henemy who’s
around 600-700 years old.)

He had to kill it. He was going to rush in and tear the limbs off that monster and
slowly devour it. But Henemy’s thoughts stopped there.

Henemy didn’t even know that his arms had been torn apart and his head pulled out.
The body of Henemy, who lost both its arms and head, rolled the ground at the same
speed as it was running forward. The monster of immortality left Henemy’s corpse
to rot and fall to the ground and turned its attention to the remaining martial artists.
Those who survived could not understand the situation, but they had no choice but
to acknowledge that the monster in front of them was much, MUCH worse than the
being that had started to slaughter their forces apart.

“Sa, save… Save me.”

Zhuge Taeryong muttered in a low voice, as he started to piss his pants and grab his
arms in fear as he laid sprawled on the ground, scared shitless. Namgung Heewon
looked at the monster with a pale face. It was the same with Dang Ah-Hui who
started to shake uncontrollably in fear as the strength in her body seemed to leave
her.

“…Seojin.”

Namgoong Heewon called out to Murong Seojin in a small voice. Murong Seojin, who
covered her mouth with both hands, not daring to utter a sound, looked around to
face Namgung Heewon.

“Run away, don’t look back.”, he said quietly, in a grave tone to her.

Namgoong Heewon was feeling that he could not escape even though he said he
would earlier. The opponent in front of him right now was something he couldn’t
possibly fathom. Even if someone tried to escape right now, the forest was like a
labyrinth and there wasn’t much hope. Despite that, he still told Murong Seojin to
run in the slim chance she might be able to live.

But the monster did not approach them as they thought it would. It stopped walking
and turned it’s head to look at the lush trees. Then, the ground shook like an
earthquake. The trees break apart and form a pathway. The monster stood still and
saw the forestry change significantly. The survivors were facing the monster but
dared not move. Everyone knew it. As soon as any of them made a movement, that
monster would rush in their direction and slaughter them. Of course it wasn’t a
certainty. But the fear of ‘maybe’ was the deciding factor for them.
—

[Now I know why the forest was acting that way to you], Heoju murmured to Lee
Sungmin as the old yokai understood the forest’s intentions.

[This forest seems to want you to clean up that shit.]

Lee Sungmin stopped running.

The path made by the trees wasn’t an incredibly long distance like he thought it
would be. He never thought there would be pursuers so close, nor would he expect
to see such a gruesome scene before him when he arrived. Lee Sungmin saw the
dead, the wounded, the unidentifiable corpses, and the warriors of the pursuing
party that were somehow still alive…

“…Ghost… ghost… ghost gun…”, Zhuge Taeryong stammered and muttered quietly.

“…Long time no see, brother.”, Namgung Heewon spat out, partially relieved to see
Lee Sungmin, and partially in hope that he might save them.

“Are you still calling me brother?”, replied Lee Sungmin tilting his head to the side in
confusion.

“There’s no reason why I can’t call you one, once a brother always a brother right?
Hahah.”, replied Namgung Heewon, with a cold sweat dripping down his back.

Lee Sungmin felt a bit of pity seeing someone he really enjoyed talking to in the past
end up in such a state. He then turned his eyes, to meet the monster in front of them.
But, he recognized the face of the monster as one he had seen long ago in the
sleeping forest.

[That thing has the same face as me… figures.] ,said Heoju without any surprise as if
he were somewhat expecting it.

Lee Sungmin narrowed his eyes at the monster in the shape of Heoju that was buck-
naked. Aside from the toned and well-defined muscles, his lower body was
particularly… big…

*Ahem*
Standing behind Lee Sungmin’s back, Rubia covered her eyes with both hands, and
gave out a slight cough. But her eyes still peeked through the slits of her closed
fingers while her cheeks flushed bright red.

[Something seems to have gotten smaller.], Heoju grumbled clearly unsatisfied at the
monster’s already humongous girth.

“I have to kill that?’

[That’s the situation, isn’t it? The forest obviously didn’t want you to leave and led us
here to find that thing, so isn’t it rather obvious? Don’t tell me you’re scared?]

‘You… no it… Looks strong.’

[Well it may be strong as it was born out of the fear of my very identity, but you’re
quite strong yourself these days.], said Heoju, seemingly enjoying the situation.

[Why don’t you give it a try?]

There was no need for Heoju’s last words because the monster had already moved.
The Monster’s movements were not quick, if one were to be completely honest.
However, Lee Sungmin was unable to move freely. The vestige of fear in the form of
Heoju gave off a tingling feeling to Lee Sungmin inside his dantian.

[What’s wrong? Are you overwhelmed because this old man’s power is so strong?],
Heoju grinned as he spoke in a sarcastic tone to Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin ignored the sarcastic remark from Heoju. The monster of immortality,
as some called it, was really just Heoju’s vestige remnant that was formed from his
collected fear. Against such a foe, the power of the real Heoju stuck within Lee
Sungmin’s dantian boiled with excitement against the opponent.

[That’s just a mere copycat of this old man. Nothing more, nothing less. However it’s
quite sad to see that Henemy was killed by such a piece of trash copycat.], Heoju
muttered in disappointment looking at Henemy’s corpse strewn out across the
ground.

The result might have been different if the King of Beasts’ heart hadn’t been pulled
out by Kumiho, but Henemy, while they met briefly, was too weak. Even if the
opponent was only a remnant of Heoju’s vestige, it was on its home turf and the pure
quantity of fear collected could not be underestimated.

‘Compared to Amzone… ’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself.

Lee Sungmin pushed his strength into his hand holding the spear. The strongest fight
Lee Sungmin had fought till now was against Amzone, one of the Six Divinites, from
Beyond the Heavens. Had Amzone tried to kill Lee Sungmin from the start of the
battle and not have been careless from pride, he wouldn’t have even lasted 10
seconds against him.

So what about now? Since he now had the 3 forces of energy inside his dantian,
along with the massive qualitative and quantitative changes from the ginseng and
poisons. How would he fare?
He didn’t know. In the fight against Amzone, who was well into the transcendent
realm, Lee Sungmin had learned quite a bit. It wasn’t so much that the flow of energy
or amount of it was the important thing in those kinds of fights. It was rather the
techniques, how well you used them, and your mentality throughout the fight.

[It’s coming.], Heoju spoke as he heard the footsteps of the remnant speed up.

Once it started to pick up speed, it charged forward like a rampaging juggernaut.

Gwa-ang!

The ground started to shake and crumble from the force emitted by the monster
remnant. A violent red energy enveloped the monster completely and made it look,
to one spectating from afar, as if a giant raging bull was burning on fire running at
something.

Bad-ang!

Lee Sungmin stabbed forward with the spear muttering his auxiliary spells
beforehand. Was the monster being pushed back? Was it holding its ground? It was
neither. The moment Lee Sungmin stabbed forwards, the force against the spear
dispersed. But the forceful energy wasn’t the only thing that disappeared. Lee
Sungmin couldn’t see the body of the monster as it disappeared.

An illusion? No, it wasn’t like that because Lee Sungmin would have felt it if so.
Because of it, Lee Sungmin felt slightly embarrassed, seeing that the monster
completely escaped his senses.

[He is a monster you fool! Don’t slack off!], Heoju spat out quickly.

Immediately there was a sudden explosion of presence as Lee Sungmin felt the
power of Heoju’s fear remnant reappear.

Thwack!

Without looking back, Lee Sungmin swung the spear in his hand and made a full arc
unleashing the Nine Heavenly Spears techniques along with the sinister yokai power
from his dantian together.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 5th move : Void Rendering (空道)

The purple and yellow sparks made a circle around Lee Sungmin and flashed out
vibrantly within the forest.

‘What did you mean earlier?’, he asked Heoju rushedly about what he meant earlier.

[It’s a unique force that only the greatest monsters can use. It varies upon each
individual monster. If you want to survive fighting the Elders of Predator in the
future, remember this: don’t think of it with human standards and think of it as a
bloody brawl where anything can happen.]

Lee Sungmin listened to the advice and quickly imprinted it to memory. Although he
was deeply pressured in the fight, Lee Sungmin knew to himself there were a lot of
things he didn’t know still.

The monster remnant, using the unique force only Heoju could, the disappearance
and reappearance technique like a complete ghost. It swung it’s fist at Lee Sungmin
as he parried the first head on with the spear.

“Urgh…”, Lee Sungmin spat out a slight groan from the heavy strike.

He gritted his teeth and endured the shock. The monster lowered it’s fist and raised
his foot in a quick motion. It was simply a kick that was lifted up and stretched, but
its power seemed… unusual. Lee Sungmin dodged the monster’s kick by stepping on
the outstretched leg with speed and bounced the spear tip towards the enemy’s jaw
with a red mist from the Blood Gale Nova technique surrounding the tip.

Bang!

The head of the monster got hit head on and reclined backwards. Then, Lee Sungmin
decided it was time to reveal a new technique he had used in Denir’s trial where he
didn’t have to focus on the limits of his internal energy. He was only capable of using
it now that his internal energy had doubled to a freakish amount.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 7th move : Fate Severing(武神)

Sheeeeinnnngg!

The spear shot out in a straight line and a deep, dark scarlet aura followed the
spear’s trajectory. He wanted to pierce straight through the body of the monster with
this monstrous technique. However, it’s skin was harder than it looked.
[Not yet.], Heoju warned Lee Sungmin.

The monster’s movement wasn’t impeded in the slightest, even though the spear had
shot through it’s stomach, leaving a gaping hole.

Pao-Ang!

Suddenly, the monster’s body scattered in the same manner as before, when it had
used Heoju’s unique skill. Once again, as it released this power, Lee Sungmin could
not detect it’s presence with any of his 5 senses. This was the skill of the monster
Heoju that had reached the Great Demon Realm.

Crrrrrrrrrrrr!

Lee Sungmin did not just stand there idly. He started to combine the 2 auras from the
techniques he started to release. The 2 techniques he was releasing were the best
when attacking with the intention of attacking with AOE or Area-of-Effect.

Bloody Heavenly Demon Technique : Blood Ring Smithereens (血環破碎)

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 5th move : Void Rendering (空道)

Lee Sungmin started to grip the spear’s shaft loosely and twirled the spear in wide
arcs increasing the spear’s rotation in speed every time it came full arc. The red and
gold auras danced and intertwined together to form a beautiful scene to all those
spectating but emitted a huge amount of force, seemingly threatening any being that
dared to come close.

Everyone who was watching the fight between Lee Sungmin and the monster were
stuck in place, completely mesmerized. Albeit the flashy aura coming from the scene,
their attacks were simply faithful to their intent of killing the other.

But there was something even more shocking for the martial artists from the
Orthodox that were sent to kill Lee Sungmin. They, who had been slaughtered by the
unknown entity, Henemy, couldn’t even stand face to face with it. But that very entity
had been slaughtered by the monster they couldn’t even possibly fathom. That
monster was fighting the target they were sent to kill on equal terms. No… Their
target, Lee Sungmin, was seemingly having the upper hand against the monster. How
foolish were they?
The monster started to reform it’s scattered body and re-appeared before Lee
Sungmin. The hole that was pierced through its chest had been stitched up sloppily
somehow in the time it had disappeared. Lee Sungmin didn’t bother with how and
why, but rather lunged first to attack, taking the initiative he had been given.

He unleashed a series of quick and precise stabs using the Rana technique at the
vital points of the monster’s internal energy flow. The monster stumbled back, but it
did not fall. The stab wounds regenerated so fast, as if they were never there in the
first place.

‘The monster of immortality’ Lee sungmin recalled the words of the sorcerer he had
consulted through Erebrisa.

[No, there is no such thing as immortality in this world. It’s just a bit tricky to deal
with. Unconditional immortality would breach the laws of casualty placed in this
world causing something much worse than a mere remnant.], Heoju cut in, shutting
down the irrational thought that Lee Sungmin had.

Even Heoju, the old yokai who had reached the Great Demon Realm, and a true
monster much stronger than the foe before him, had died.

[That’s just this old man’s remnant. It would be absurd if it achieved immortality,
which is something even I did not achieve.]

The forest trembled from the constant clashes between them. Lee Sungmin felt his
internal energy starting to boil with excitement. The monster stepped back and
opened its mouth, but it could not scream. It was just a remnant formed from fear. A
mere copycat if one might say.

It was born from complete fear and utter resentment. It had no reasoning or logical
judgement.

The monster spread his arms wide and jumped in the air.

Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Lee Sungmin started to rouse his internal energy and decided to unleash a new move
he had not been able to use because of his lack of internal energy. However, now he
could completely use it.
(T/N had to cut out some rather vulgar sentences here; it’s a bunch of sexual jokes
between Heoju and Lee S. but, could be disturbing for some viewers.)

The monster, carrying a red, forceful aura behind it’s back, raised both arms higher.
The force of the upward movement shook as the monster moved his arm, then came
down on Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin lifted the spear upwards to parry the heavy and
brutal attack…

[It’s only 400 years worth.], Heoju murmured.

Internal energy started to coalesce into the spear made of Orchicalcum. The spear
reverberated and shone brightly with a purple sheen.

[It would be 1000 years if you take the total time of my reign. Can you handle that
1000 years of accumulated fear?], Heoju asked Lee Sungmin as he faced the remnant.

Lee Sungmin didn’t answer and struck forward with the spear and hooked the
monster’s arm.

Kying!

A huge surge of internal energy followed into the tip of the spear as Lee Sungmin
unfolded one of his strongest techniques he knew.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 8th move : Slaughter Spear (虐殺捕食)

The monster this time, did not have the time to scatter itself like before. The surging
energy started to form a fierce gale as Lee Sungmin stabbed forwards.

Poo-hoo!

The big hole previously opened up by Lee Sungmin started to open up as many other
stab wounds started to accumulate. The monster’s regeneration started to kick in
once more albeit a slower pace than before.

But Lee Sungmin was convinced this monster was no immortal and he would slay it.
The spear started to move faster to match the speed of the regenerating wounds. The
monster tried to push Lee Sungmin by swinging it’s arm away from him wildly, but
Lee Sungmin shifted his feet and twirled the spear moving the strike like a work of
art, avoiding the monster’s gesture. The monster noticed this and tried stomping
down with it’s incredible force to level Lee Sungmin’s balance, but Lee Sungmin was
currently in a sort of trance.

Because he was not afraid, Lee Sungmin pushed forwards and was not overpowered
by the monster’s fear. Because the remnant was connected with Heoju and the
yokai’s powers, Lee Sungmin didn’t feel his mentality or spirit collapse, because of
the simple connection that allowed Lee Sungmin to feel no fear while facing the
monster, it was much easier to wield his techniques and eventually even overpower
the monster in their exchanges. If Lee Sungmin had not benefited from this simple
connection, the fight would have been much more difficult.

The Orthodox warriors, watching the fight between the two, were now fully aware of
how foolish they were. Their perception of the warrior they were chasing and the
frightening aspects of the forest they brushed off as stupid rumors had changed
drastically. Rather than being afraid of the monsters however, they were frightened
by Lee Sungmin who was much stronger than any monster they could think of. Lee
Sungmin was gradually weakening the monster before them. 400 year old monster?
No, the only monster here was the man they thought they could take down and gain
glorious merits and honor.

As the two continued to clash Lee Sungmin’s left eye seemed to start throbbing.

Quadang bang!

Lee Sungmin shifted the spearhead diagonally and slashed the monster’s left leg
right off it’s thigh. The monster was forced to kneel and staggered as it frantically
looked at it’s severed leg that wasn’t regenerating,

[Disappointing… Hurry and finish that copycat off.], Heoju grumbled in disdain.

Heoju wasn’t too happy to see a monster that had taken the physical appearance of
himself in such a pitiful state. Even if the one who took it down was Lee Sungmin, the
man he was traveling with and gave his legacy to.

[I can’t believe you’re imitating me when you’re so weak. That makes me feel bad.],
Heoju said, looking down at the monster in front of him and Lee Sungmin.

Listening to Heoju’s sour words, Lee Sungmin didn’t hesitate any longer and pierced
the spear right through the head of the monster. It distorted its body and they
scattered for the last time. This time, the remnant’s monstrous fear and presence
finally disappeared without a trace as the monster was finally slain.

The force of the monster’s remnant fear started to hover over the body and started
to approach Lee Sungmin. He got startled and shifted his steps backwards but Heoju
halted him and said it was okay. The force entered his body but it did not get
absorbed by his dantian. Instead it went straight to Heoju.

[The remnant’s fear has only gone back to its original owner. I wish I could swallow
the fear in this entire forest but I’m not capable of doing so anytime soon as weak as
I currently am.], Heoju said to Lee Sungmin explaining what had happened.

[So. What are you going to do now?], Heoju then asked Sungmin as he had finished
absorbing the fear leftover.

Lee Sungmin looked back at the surviving warriors of the Orthodox sprawled in fear
on the ground a few meters away from him. Although he had finally killed the
monster of immortality, and Henemy, the King of monsters had been taken care of by
the very remnant. There were still the warriors of the Orthodox, thus it was not over
yet.

“Are you going to kill us?”, Namgung Heewon mustered his courage and asked Lee
Sungmin.

Zhuge Taeryong was still sprawled on the ground tense with fear and yet trying to
regain his pride. Murong Seojin was so flabbergasted at the situation she had been
dragged into and was speechless and it was the same for Dang Ah-hui who was
embarrassed for looking so unsightly and realizing how stupid she was.

The other members who had followed along willingly or not, were also tense and
listening intently to Namgung Heewon’s question.

“My brother.”, Lee Sungmin opened his mouth and spoke.

Namgung Heewon smiled at the words Sungmin spoke, as it seemed he might be able
to live another day and repent his actions.

“Are you going to kill me?”, Lee Sungmin asked Heewon, observing his expression.

“Why would you ask such a thing when it’s impossible in the first place?”, Namgung
Heewon answered with a bitter smile.
Namgoong Heewon was also a peak realm master in his prime years, but he had no
confidence in winning against Lee Sungmin.The others might think differently and
try to combine their forces foolishly as they weren’t in their right minds, but
Namgoong Heewon knew even if everybody here tried to fight him it would be futile.
While fighting that monster, Heewon noticed that Lee Sungmin was quite relaxed
fighting such a calamity. Besides that, wasn’t there still the Crazy Heavenly Demon?

“I’d like to get back to work if you’re done spouting nonsense.”, Taeryong butted in
foolishly, still trying to regain his arrogant face.

“That’s not…!”, Namgung Heewon shouted out at Taeryong’s foolishness as he knew

if this fool kept talking he would get them all killed.

“Are you begging for your life from the Rogues?!”, Taeryong cut him off trying to act
high and mighty.

At Zhuge Taeryong’s utterly brash response, Namgoong Heewonn sighed deeply. He

had enough of this charade. Acting as if he was some righteous knight in shining
armor, sucking up playing house with the other heirs and their questionable actions.
He turned to Taeryong and his expression finally loosened up as he had come to ease
with his emotions finally.

“Hey.”, Heewon said informally to Zhuge Taeryong.

“…what?”, Taeryong looked at Heewon as if he were looking at trash.

“Shut up, fucker.”, Namgung Heewon cursed at Taeryong with a serious face.

But if you looked closely enough there was a brief and short smile creeping at the
corner of his lips as Heewon spoke.
Zhuge Taeryong looked like he just ate a pile of shit. Never had he ever been insulted
in the open like this from anyone other than his father. No, not even his father dared
to speak like that in public. He could not believe Namgung Heewon had just cursed
him in front of all these people.

“This… this…”, Taeryong sputtered in utter disbelief.

“What? Are you going to keep being a retard?”, Namgung Heewon spat at Taeryong
while glaring.

Namgung Heewon spat out the facts back at Zhuge Taeryong, not holding himself the
least.

“Do you remember how many people you killed on your way here with your
stubbornness? We’ve had 50 people here! 50! Now we’re not even half that number!
Your entire group of followers have been killed and there’s even more people at risk
among our groups because of you!”

“That’s…”, Taeryong’s cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

“Oh, of course! We’re idiots who followed you here without knowing that you’re such
a jerk. But I can’t do it anymore. You all want to catch the Ghost Gun here, and if they
do it, it would be glorious to all of Murim! Bullshit. If you want to die a dog’s death go
ahead. But I value my life so keep me out of your idiotic plans.”, Namgung Heewon
said venomously and glanced over to Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin stood still and looked at Namgoong Heewon. Heewon looked down in
shame and gasped for breath as he had spoken the most he had ever spoken since
embarking on the expedition.

“Aish. Ghost Gun, this Namgung Heewon will no longer chase after you. If you could
still think of this foolish person in light of our old connection we used to have, could
you let this Namgung Heewon go back?”
Namgung Heewon spoke, choosing his words carefully. He no longer had the face to
call Lee Sungmin his brother. Lee Sungmin nodded his head with a bitter smile in
response.

“If you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you either.”, Sungmin replied in a low voice.

“Thank you.”, Namgung Heewon responded and bowed deeply.

Namgung Heewon then raised his posture upright and turned around. It wasn’t that
mockery didn’t bother him. However, if Namgung Heewon tried to force Murong
Seojin back with him safely, he would get in trouble later in the Zhuge territory in
Devon. Namgung Heewon bit his lower lip bitterly knowing how difficult the
situation still was.

In the end it may be that he didn’t have the courage to stand up against everyone
else. He may be a completely morally upright person in the Namgung clan. But, those
values come to fruition only in dire circumstances like this one. So, he had to make
the choice whether to get in trouble with the Zhuge or be the upstanding person he
always had been.

“Let’s go back to Namgung Family.”, Heewon said.

“Are you confident of getting out of this forest?”, Zhuge Taeryong uttered harshly as if
mocking Heewon.

“It’ll work out somehow. I think it’s better to wander through this forest than to die
trying to kill a foe you can’t even fathom.”, Heewon replied to Taeryong’s remark
mocking him right back.

Dang Ah-Hui wanted to give up and get out of this place as soon as possible, so she
tried to stick to Heewon who seemingly finally had a method to get out. She grabbed
her wet trousers and raised herself. She looked around and said in a busy voice.

“Me, me too. I’m going back to my family.”, she spoke with as much pride as she could
muster, which was little to none.

“Oh, you too…?!”, Taeryong shouted out in displeasure and mockery.

“Brother Zhuge… I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do any more.”, she replied in a
meek voice.
Not only did she wet her pants, but she was utterly helpless in the entire battle that
happened. She was a mess.

In the end, only Zhuge Taeryong, Murong Seojin, and the Black Dog unit remained.
Lee Sungmin looked over to the Leader of the Black Dog, Chuck, completely ignoring
Zhuge Taeryong. The Black Dog unit was completely unscathed. It’s not that they
were skilled in fighting, they just ran out of the way to ensure survival.

“What about you?”, Lee Sungmin now turned to face Taeryong.

It was Lee Sungmin who held the power in this place. He would be the one to decide
the final decision, not Taeryong, not the Black Dog, no one except for him. In Devon,
Zhuge Taeryong was the top dog, he held all the power because in the cities,
influence and money were taken into account for one’s power. But in this forest, he
was nothing in front of Lee Sungmin, where survival of the fittest was the rule.

“Well… I think we’d better get back.”, Chuck muttered sheepishly as he wanted
nothing but to keep his life here.

He then glanced over to Zhuge Taeryong and continued to speak,

“I’ll have the Orthodox HQ organize and settle the accounts on this matter. To the
extent that it doesn’t harm everyone. But… I’m not good at writing, if you don’t mind,
I’d like to ask Zhuge Taeryong’s advice on the matter of settling the accounts…”,
Chuck continued.

What Chuck just said was an opportunity for Taeryong to walk away from this scotch
free with his honor intact. That was the only thing he cared for; his honor and
prestige in the family. If he had the access to write the reports he could wrap this up
efficiently if he hid and distorted the accounts himself.

“…can’t be helped. I’ll be helping you on the matters then.”, Zhuge Taeryong said,
turning his body away trying to maintain his facade of pride.

[What an asshole, he’s trying to act benevolent and powerful, but it’s all a lie he’s
fabricating.], Heoju murmured to Lee Sungmin, calling out Taeryong on his bullshit.

‘Leave him alone. It doesn’t matter anymore’, Lee Sungmin quipped to Heoju, just
wanting to wrap things up as he was exhausted.
It would be a good thing for Lee Sungmin if Zhuge Taeryong returned without
causing a scene. If he got caught up in a scene here and Taeryong tried to incite
something, it would only lead to more problems moving forwards.

Zhuge Taeryrong and Murong Seojin left with the Black Dog unit as escorts. It was
questionable whether they could get out of the forest without trouble, but Lee
Sungmin was too tired to think about such annoying troubles anymore.

“Then now…”, Lee Sungmin muttered to himself collecting his wits about him.

All the business in the Forest of Temptation was settled. Heoju’s Legacy was now
given to Lee Sungmin, and the remnants of fear were absorbed by Heoju. Now, it was
time to leave and look for the tribes that The Crazy Heavenly Demon knew of.

“Huh?”, Lee Sungmin shouted out in surprise.

Someone jumped up through the pile of corpses. Lee Sungmin, Byuk Won-Pae and
Rubia looked at the figure in surprise at the sudden incident.

“Son of a bitch!, I almost died!”

It was the famous sorcerer, Aladdur, who jumped out and surprised them. His heart
was pierced by Henemy before, but seemingly there was nothing wrong with him, as
if it had never happened in the first place.

“I bet you never imagined my heart was placed in my right chest not the left you son
of a bitch!”, he cursed out loud at the mangled corpse of the King of Monsters.

Aladdur rubbed his chest with his hands angrily and still visibly upset. Normally
when one had their chest pierced on the left side they would drop dead as most
people’s hearts were located there, but Aladdur’s heart was placed on the right. He
knew it would be a useless death if he endured it and got up after Henemy initially
attacked him. So he played dead and healed his wounds with an elixir while hiding
among the corpses.

“Were you alive?”, Lee Sungmin asked surprisedly at Aladdur.

He didn’t even know Aladdur was alive. Lee Sungmin arrived after Henemy was slain
so naturally when he didn’t see Aladdur, he thought he had died a long time ago.
“Don’t you see? I’m alive!”, Aladdur shouted out.

“Why are you standing up now? It would have been better if you had gotten up after I
had left.”

Lee Sungmin spoke as he didn’t understand why Aladdur had shown up in front of
Lee Sungmin, now that his identity as Ghost Gun was out in the open.

“Ay, that’s not even a real question. If you leave, I’ll be left alone in this goddamn
forest. If that happens, it’d be obvious I’d only die a dog’s death!”, Aladdur screamed
not understanding why Lee Sungmin couldn’t read between the lines.

“So?”, Lee Sungmin asked.

“Please take me with you.”, Aladdur replied as he kneeled down.

Aladdur didn’t hesitate to throw away his pride and kneel if it meant being alive. In
the rapid change of posture, Lee Sungmin narrowed his eyes and looked down at
Aladdur speculatively.

“…take you with me?”, Lee Sungmin said with skepticism.

“I’ve been forced to track you down by those ignorant fuckers. This forest is a strange
place, but everytime I started to cast my spell you were even further away. I came to
a hypothesis that you might know your way around this forest. Isn’t that so?”,
Aladdur asked pleadingly.

“That’s right.”, Lee Sungmin replied flatly. But, inside his mind he was a little
impressed with Aladdur’s speculations.

“That’s why I’m asking you to take me. I can give you as much money as you like.”,
Aladdur offered.

“I have no need for money.”, Lee Sungmin spoke obstinately.

“Oh, come on. I’ve been thinking about relationships before…”, Aladdur tiredly tried
to convince the stubborn man in front of him.

“It’s all about that relationship that made the deal to track me down in the first
place.”, Lee Sungmin said flatly, exposing Aladdur’s reverse logic.
“So… I’m more talented than I look. Especially pathfinding treasures is the
breadwinner among my sorcery. Don’t you want to find anything valuable?” Aladdur
said so, exposing his talents.

Honestly, even though Lee Sungmin had obtained a boatload of treasures from
Heoju, and he could idealistically purchase anything through Erebrisa, having a
sorcerer at his beck and call to find valuable things was incredibly tempting. In the
end, he nodded his head and accepted the proposal.

“There’s something I want to find.”, Lee Sungmin said, hiding his emotions.

Lee Sungmin realized it would not be easy to find the tribes based on the Crazy
Heavenly Demon’s memory alone. And having a tracking sorcerer go with them had
more pros than cons.

As Lee Sungmin finished his thoughts there, the evil spirits started to sway and move
accordingly to guide Lee Sungmin out of the forest.

[This way…] they murmured to Lee Sungmin, as they moved through the shrubbery
to exit the forest.

The Forest of Temptation was still a complete maze and incredibly difficult to
navigate, especially so now that Zhuge Taeryong was under the impression that
Aladdur had died. Even so, he strode forward. Although he had found a solution to
cover up his utter failure, he still felt irritated at the numerous insults he received
from Namgung Heewon and the eyes that looked at him like a fool at the time.

“I should have gone with Namgoong Heewon, is that what you’re thinking, hmm?”,
asked Taeryong to Murong Seojin who was following behind him.

The target of Taeryong’s misplaced anger and humiliation was his wife who was
traveling with him. Murong Seojin, shivered at the unexpected question and
weakened her steps as she prepared for the onslaught of mistreatment that was
about to come.

‘It would have have been better if you had, you dumb bitch, I could have kicked you out
of the Zhuge Clan.’ ,Taeryong thought venomously.
“…I’m not thinking about it.”, Murong Seojin replied in a quivering voice.

“Ha! You’re being so hesitant to answer. What’s wrong? Are you regretting the
decision you made a few years back?”, Taeryong quipped at her mockingly.

Murong Seojin fell silent. Until the wedding ceremony a few years ago, Zhuge
Taeryong was not like this at all. He was much more… kind persay. He wasn’t too
outspoken, was serious with his endeavors and seemed overall better than the other
option which was Namgung Heewon at the time.

“…the others are listening. Stop it, please.”, Murong Seojin then spoke up lightly,
almost begging Taeryong to keep the face of their marriage.

“If you cared about that kind of attention, why didn’t you act less shameless, hmm?”,
Zhuge Taeryong spewed out his words relentlessly.

The Black Dog unit behind them showed no response whatsoever to the unsightly
conversation the two were having. Some unit members even blatantly looked around
as if they weren’t hearing anything at all.

[Ok, Let’s move.]

Chuck sent a telepathic message to the unit all of a sudden. It was an order.

Ten Black Dog members, including Chuck himself, flew forwards without hesitation.
They struck Zhuge Taryeong and Murong Seojin, who were walking ahead of them,
with rapid movements to attack them. Apart from his crude personality, Zhuge
Taeryong was a Peak Realm martial artist. He turned in surprise at the secretive
attack launched at him.

“What’s going on?!”, Zhuge Taeryong shouted out, drawing his sword at the ready
parrying a sword that came at him.

No one answered his cry. The swords of the Black Dog members drove forwards at
Zhuge Taeryong. At the same time, two members were attacking Murong Seojin.
Murong Seojin opened her eyes wide in shock at the two members flying at her.
However, she pulled her sword out a little too late. Before she could even parry the
strike, the sword lunged into her chest.

“Uaugh!”
Murong spurted blood out from her mouth. As she faltered, she tried to strike at her
attacker but the man swiped his sword with such speed and severed her left arm
right off her shoulder.

“ACKKK!”

She shrieked out in pain. Once, Murong Seojin was called ‘The Sword Flower’.
However, compared to those days of her youth and beauty, she had withered over
time in her martial arts and looks through motherhood. No matter how long it had
been though, she was still beautiful in her own right.

There was no mercy however, from the Black Bog that attacked her. Chuck then
grabbed her by her throat and lifted her up. He wasn’t going to kill her right away as
he smacked his lips. Normally when killing one’s wife right away it would discourage
the husband from attacking further, but Zhuge Taeryong didn’t show any reaction to
the crippled Muron Seojin struggling for breath.

“Don’t take it too personally.”, Chuck said to the pitiful woman.

Murong’s consciousness was fading as the blood spurted from her mouth. She
thought back to her past. What if she had left with Namgung Heewon when
departing from the forest? No. What if she had chosen Namgung Heewon over Zhuge
Taeryong? She then slipped from her consciousness not having the slightest pity or
worry for the bastard of her husband still fighting.

And just like that Murong Seojin died.

“Why are all of you suddenly doing this?!”, Zhuge Taeryong howled in anger.

Zhuge Taeryong shouted right at Chuck who was holding Murong Seojin’s body by
the throat. Rather than the death of his wife, who had lived with him for years, Zhuge
Taeryong didn’t ask them about her death but rather why they were attacking him.

“As I said earlier… Don’t take it personally.”, Chuck said in a low voice.

He then threw away the body of the dead Murong Seojin to the dirt and swiped his
bloodied hands against his robe to clean them. Zhuge Taeryong was then joined by
the remaining Black Dog members. It was dangerous but he was still holding out
against them. As arrogant and foolish as he was, he was still not to be
underestimated in his combat prowess.
“Though things have come to this, it should be fun to pluck the peacocks feathers”,
Chuck laughed out loud speaking cryptically.

(T/N: Chuck basically called Taeryong a peacock, someone who is just a person in title
and has no real qualities.)

“What are you saying…”, Taeryong uttered to himself in spite.

“Zhuge Taeryong, you must die here today. Don’t be too upset, your story was an
insignificant one to all of the Murim.”, Chuck cackled at him.

“…What? Was it… my father…?”, Zhuge Taeryong asked as he still couldn’t believe he
was going to die here like this.

“Didn’t you think it was strange? I came here supported by 3 great families of the
Dang, Zhuge and Namgung, yet we’re doing this? Ghost Gun and the Crazy Heavenly
Demon are among the best martial artists in the world! Did you really think someone
as pitiful as you even stood a chance against them?”, The Black Dog leader, Chuck
laughed as he mocked Taeryong’s utter foolishness.

“Well, the Lord of the Zhuge Family has let you die despite your foolish actions to
redeem your honor. Do you know why? It’s because of your utter stupidity. So don’t
blame me. I’m no more than a blade that others use. This time it was your father and
the Orthodox Leader who swung me at your head.”, Chuck said matter-of-factly.

That’s how the Black Dog always was and will continue to be. Chuck slowly
approached Zhuge Taeryong who was struggling with the other 9 members. He knew
he couldn’t hold out against him, who was also a master at the peak level if he was
trying to suppress the other 9 attacking first rate martial artists.

“Sa, save me… please… I’ll give you anything you want”, Zhuge Taeryong begged,
grasping at straws.

“Huh? Look at this idiot.”, The Black Dog Leader laughed at the pitiful idiot who never
seemed to learn his lesson even at the very end.

“Just die, and regret your decisions in the afterlife you fool”, he said to Taeryong as he
rushed forwards.

Zhuge Taeryong’s cry was muffled throughout the forest.

Nobody knew about the deaths of Murong Seojin and Zhuge Taeryong except for the
Black Dog and their contractors. Their bodies would rot and die quickly and that was
only if they weren’t eaten by monsters first. In the end, only the Zhuge Clan head and
the current stand-in leader of the Orthodox from the Black Dragon clan would know
of what happened here.

Unaware of their deaths, Lee Sungmin traveled out of the forest as they were guided
by the evil spirits lurking around. The good thing was that the forest did not impede
them this time as Lee Sungmin had taken care of the monster remnant or ‘monster of
immortality’ as others called it. So, the forest was staying still, grateful that the
monster was slain.

“How… No, what the hell is he even doing?”, Aladdur spat out in confusion as he saw
the evil spirits leading the way for them.

He had never thought of such a possible method being available to them, as it was
conventional yet unheard of.

“The handling of evil spirits is something that only a few of the high-quality
sorcerers can do. It’s ridiculous to deal with evil spirits that are in the forest of
temptation because they’re much stronger than most. Only black magicians would
be capable of what you’re doing so how are you doing it?!”, Aladdur spat out at Lee
Sungmin.

“I don’t know. I’m not a black magician.”, Lee Sungmin replied curtly.

Lee Sungmin knew though why they were leading him, but chose not to disclose the
why and how to Aladdur. The spirits were linked to Heoju’s power and presence, and
Lee Sungmin was connected to Heoju through the dantian. Hence, why such an
impossible sight was taking place in front of Aladdur.

‘It doesn’t matter.’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself.

It was only in this forest he would be able to use this method, and he didn’t have any
intentions of trying this method anywhere else or approaching more evil spirits in
the future.

“I’m so sick and tired of eating and sleeping by the graveyard to learn how to handle
evil spirits. How could life be so unfair? Someone who’s talented in martial arts, has
great looks, doesn’t need to affiliate himself with any needless trouble and can even
do what most sorcerers dream of!”, Aladdur cried out in dissatisfaction.

As the group heard his complaints, Rubia giggled and the Crazy Heavenly Demon
nodded inwardly and sympathized with Aladdur. Aladdur didn’t know why the
heavens would bless such a man so much! And he was only at the age of twenty-
three!

“If you keep blabbering like that I’ll leave you behind, so shut up.”, Lee Sungmin said
irritably.

“Ah I’m sorry, I just can’t express how impressed I am with your abilities.”, Aladdur
grumbled.

Lee Sungmin only added Aladdur to their group because of the necessity, but after
one day of traveling with him he was more or less irritated with him. Lee Sungmin
was not the talkative type so Aladdur got along well with Rubia and The Crazy
Heavenly Demon as they traveled.

“Aren’t you going in the wrong direction? Are you out of your mind!?”, Aladdur
suddenly yelled out after a few minutes of walking in silence and studying his
sorceries.

After a while they took a break and Aladdur asked where Lee Sungmin wanted to go
as he did offer to help him find another place to travel.

“Fuck! I jumped ship with the crazy idiots to get away from hell, but I’ve only ended
up traveling on another ship going straight for hell once more!”, Aladdur cried out as
he realized where they were headed.

“No. I’m not saying I’m going to go to the City of Endless Night. It’s just in that
direction.”

(T/N: The city where monsters and half humans reside, and where night time is
endless/sunrise doesn’t occur. It was mentioned by Heoju when Lee Sungmin was
traveling towards Devon in earlier chapters.)

Lee Sungmin glanced at Aladdur, who was shaking visibly as if he had a seizure. Only
after hearing that they weren’t heading directly to the City of Endless Night, did
Aladdur look a little more relieved. Rubia, who was watching the meat cooking on
the fire, looked at Aladdur and asked him.

“What’s wrong with the City of Endless Night? I know it’s a walking freakshow of a
city, but it’s not necessarily a dangerous place, is it?”, Rubia asked.

Rubia was right. It wasn’t necessarily a dangerous city, as it was weird. In fact many
famous and influential humans hired guards and liked to tour the city for leisure.

Just because monsters naturally didn’t get along with humans, didn’t mean they
hunted them indiscriminately. With more time and power, monsters gained more
sense of reasoning and were quite amicable with humans. This was the case in the
City of Endless Night, or so Lee Sungmin thought.

“Miss Rubia. The City of Endless Night you know, is the city of the past, and not up
the date with the current times.”, Aladdur replied waving his hands.

“Oh, of course. It’s a pretty good city for tourists who come and go without any idea
of how it really is. The markets and red light district is also nice to see, and it’s fun to
watch the plays and circus of monsters they hold there every so often. But, miss…
Think about it. It’s a city where so many monsters live, what the hell do they eat?”,
Aladdur trembled in disgust as he thought of the answer to his own question.

“…a monster doesn’t just eat human flesh, does it?”, Rubia asked innocently.

“That’s right. Most monsters don’t just eat human flesh. But there are some monsters
that need to eat human flesh. Hmm… an example would be a nine-tailed fox.”, Aladdur
replied.

Lee Sungmin immediately thought of Kumiho, the ambiguously hidden nine-tailed

fox that had a lot of history with the Organization of Predator. He looked to Aladdur
who was trembling in disgust near the bonfire.

“The nine-tailed fox changed hosts a while ago, now it’s pulling the strings of
Predator’s elders behind the scenes. That sneaky fox-like bastard.”, Aladdur spoke in
a low tone.

“Are you saying that Kumiho can only eat human flesh?”, Lee Sungmin interjected.

“It’s highly dependent on it, yes. It depends on the type, but… Kumiho is a monster
that needs human flesh to survive. I would think it had liver problems by now but…
Oh well.”, Aladdur sighed.

“Hmmm…”, Lee Sungmin murmured to himself.

The legends about a Nine-Tailed fox were famous even in Korea, before Lee Sungmin
even stepped foot in Eria. Many regions including Korea, Japan, and China have been
told about the Nine-Tailed Fox. Especially in Korea, where Lee Sungmin lived, they
had multiple tales of old folklore about the devilish fox.

“It’s not just Kumiho. There are a lot of monsters that depend heavily on human
flesh. The human flesh they gather is constantly being supplied to the elders in the
upper echelons in Predator. Henemy, the old King of Monsters who ruled Predator
before Kumiho, didn’t antagonize the humans to such extent. But since Kumiho has
been playing Predator behind the scenes, the amount of missing persons reports in
Eria have skyrocketed.”, Aladdur spoke while quivering

“If possible, I’d like to break up with the group before heading towards the direction
of the City of Endless Night.”, Aladdur continued and spoke his request.

“What are you so afraid of? They say the number of missing persons has increased,
but not everyone is missing. It’s not like Kumiho went out in the open and said ‘let’s
go hunt all the humans’.”, Rubia spoke this time, not understanding why Aladdur was
scared so easily.

“It’s because I’ve had a lot of shit happen to me the past few days, inside and outside
this forest. I just want to get out of here already.”, Aladdur exhaled and let out a deep
sigh.

As Lee Sungmin and the rest were departing from the Forest of Temptation,
Wijihoyeon, who was being escorted by the Sama Order’s guards, came across a huge
forest.
“Is this…?”, she muttered to herself.

Wijihoyeon got out of the carriage with the help of the guards and looked around.
She had asked multiple times about the destination, but never received a clear
answer. As she looked around her eyes widened in shock.

‘Oh. My. God.’, she thought to herself inwardly shocked.

The forest was full and abundant with natural resources. Originally, it was natural for
such a dense forest to have so many resources and thick forestry, but it was not at
the level. Every time she breathed, she got a refreshing breath of abundant oxygen
and natural, herbal scents. This forest’s resources and beauty were beyond common
sense.

“It’s a customer, sir!”, a voice of a young boy shouted out.

“Who is it?”, an old, elderly voice grumbled in response.

“It’s a woman!”, another boy cried out in excitement.

“You’re pretty, aren’t you? Right? You’re not an elf, are you?”, a small girl’s voice was
overheard in the crowd.

“You fool, don’t you know from the sight of your small ears?”, a snarky young voice
replied.

“You’re the fool, you stupid head!”, the small girl replied in annoyance.

A series of voices approached Wijihoyeon. She looked in the direction of the sounds.
Boys and girls, about the size of her palms, were laughing. Wijihoyeon opened her
eyes wide, looking at the fluttering wings behind their backs.

“Is it your first time seeing a fairy?”, a voice behind Wijihoyeon approached.

Sima Ryunju approached her from behind, wearing a face mask over himself while
communicating to her using a body double. Wijihoyeon furrowed her brows in
wariness at the man.

“Well, fairies are rare. If you don’t see them here, you can find them in the Forest of
the Elves, but then again, it’s not like anybody would go searching for fairies in the
land of the Elves.”

“Elf’s forest? I’ve never heard or been there.”, Wijihoyeon replied.

“Sima always tells stories we don’t know. All we know is this forest.”, one of the
fairies cried out excitedly like a child.

“Ryunju, Ryunju! Why did you wear such an ugly mask? You need to wear a cuter
mask!”, another fairy chimed in.

As Sima Ryunju appeared, the fairies exclaimed in delight and flew around him
excitedly. Some of the braver ones even sat on top of his head and shoulders and
tickled him.

“Oh, stop, stop! I was trying to show off my dignity but you’re not helping me!”, Sima
Ryunju said playfully to the fairies.

“What is dignity?”, a childish fairy asked.

“I’m talking about being cool, you little fool.”, Sima Ryunju replied with a wholesome
smile.

“Is dignity acting cool? It doesn’t look good on Ryunju though.”, another fairy butted
in.

The elves giggled. Sima Ryunju slightly pushed the hair-pulling fairy with his hand,
and changed his mask to a better appearance to fit the fairy’s requests. Wijohoyeon
was speechless at the playful and childish looking mask he put on, but was more
speechless at the fact a master of transcendence was acting to the beck and call of
these embarrassing little fairies.

“You ruined my first impression.”, Sima Ryunju grumbled at the fairies.

“Was there any inconvenience on your way here? I told the guards to be careful with
you. Please let me know if you were uncomfortable in any way.”, he asked Wijihoyeon
politely.

“…there was no discomfort.”, Wijihoyeon replied matter-of-factly.

“I’m glad to hear that. Come this way, it’s a little further in, but I don’t want to drive a
wagon into this forest. Actually I could, but it’s more of a mood thing. I don’t want
such a beautiful forest to be stained with human touch from carriages and
machinery.”, Sima Ryunju smiled as he stopped the carriage.

“Oh, is it hard to walk? I can arrange one of the guards to carry you, if your pride will
allow it that is.”, he grinned saying so.

“No need.”, Wijihoyeon replied curtly, a bit irritated from his remark at the end.

“You’ve even been carried like a princess in that carriage all this time, you won’t have
a guard carry you politely?”, he asked teasingly.

“As you said. This is simply a matter of my mood, too.”, Wijihoyeon replied coldly.

“Then I’ll have to understand. But it’s annoying to keep up with your slow pace. So
here’s the deal.”, Sima Ryunju said as he raised his hand.

As he did so, Wijihoyeon’s body floated up in the air. She could have resisted, but her
state of body was so pitiful that it wouldn’t be able to resist in full.

“You’ve become weak.”, Sima Ryunju hummed as he trotted along the path.

“I feel quite happy.”, he added.

“I’m not having fun.”, Wijihoyeon replied, glaring daggers at him.

“That’s how you feel.”, Sima Ryunju said laughing.

As Sima Ryunju trotted along the path naturally made by the forest, the fairies
followed along gossiping like little children. Some of them came along over to
Wijihoyeon, and tried to have a conversation with her, but she outright ignored them.

“It’s a good forest to live in.”, Sima Ryunju opened his mouth after a while.

“Even if the fairies bother you, it’s still better company than having annoying humans
who play politics. They may lie, but the lies they speak are out of playfulness and
their childlike mentalities, completely void of ill intent or malice”, he noted.

“…what are you talking about?”, Wijihoyeon noticed he was just beating around the
bush and had something else to say.
“Well, to put it simply, my main body is in this forest.”, he said jovially.

“I thought…… you were in a state where you couldn’t move. Having a disease, or
untreatable wound of sorts.”, Wijihoyeon replied a bit shocked.

“Ha ha! It might look like that. But it’s not the case. My main body is very healthy. I
may have lived for quite a long time, but it’s not deterring me in any way. The only
reason I stay here is because it’s a comfortable place to reside.”

“Surely so. The natural resources of this forest are great. Just breathing without even
meditating is replenishing my internal energy and revitalizing my dantian.”,
Wijihoyeon nodded, agreeing with his statement.

“Of course you’d notice. If you’re in the realm of Transcendence there’s no way you
wouldn’t feel it. Not only that, but, there’s a fairy queen in this forest.”, he added.

“…A Fairy Queen?”, Wijihoyeon asked confusedly.

“Yes, maybe you can meet them, too.”, Sima Ryunju chuckled.

Sima Ryunju stopped his steps slowly as they had arrived at the destination. The
place where they arrived was a small wooden cottage.

“…didn’t you say you didn’t want the humans to stain this forest?”, Wijihoyeon asked
mockingly.

“Huh? That is so, but did you expect this old man just to sleep on the floor?”, he
replied in a sarcastic manner.

“I did bring you to the cottage as a guest, it’s up to you whether to live here or not. Or
course if you do, you’ll be staying here with this old man.”

“No.”, Wijihoyeon said flatly.

“Then stay homeless. When the little Ghost Gun asks why you’re dirty and homeless,
this old man will just say he was magnanimous to offer, but the stubborn lady
wouldn’t set aside her lowly pride.”, he said cooly, setting down the staggering
Wijihoeyeon.

“…you won’t do anything to me?”, she asked skeptically.

“What, did you expect this old man to do something for you? Would you like to be a
disciple of the Sama Order’s leader and lord?”, he quipped at her.

“No.”

“Then what? You want me to be as sweet as your Daddy? No lovers though. This old
man doesn’t take interest in little girls.”, he mocked her once more.

“Don’t say such disgusting things.”, Wijihoyeon glared at him.

“I mean it from the bottom of my heart. If you feel like you’re going to die, I’ll give
you a meal. Well then… live well from now on. I don’t know when the little Ghost Gun
will be back. You’ll have to stay in this forest for at least half a year. It’s okay to think
you’re recuperating just because this forest has good air.”, Sima Ryunju said turning
around.

“I’ll tell you one thing. Just as this old man doesn’t care about you, neither do you.
This old man is merciful, but… If you irritate the main me. I don’t even know how
this old man will behave.”, SIma Ryunju said, playing along with the fairies.

Half a year.

Wijihoyeon bit her lower lip. She wasn’t used to being in such a state and sighed. She
then sat down and started to meditate and cultivate her internal energy. Though, it
was hard and painful because of the curse, it was actually possible to cultivate
because of the surroundings.

Although she couldn’t cultivate fast or properly, she would make the most of her time
here, waiting for Lee Sungmin.
Before leaving the forest completely, Lee Sungmin called Selgerus through Neville.
When Selgerus saw Lee Sungmin, she took no time to yell and complain at him.
Seeing that every time he called her, it would be because he had problems with his
equipment.

“Please tell me your spear isn’t broken again?! I remade it with a whole ore of
orchicalcum!”, Selgerus cried out in vain.

At the sight, Lee Sungmin shook his head and smiled bitterly.

“It’s not broken, it’s fine.”, Lee Sungmin said coolly.

“Then what is it? Is the magic armor the problem?”, Selgerus quipped at Lee Sungmin
skeptically.

“No, I just wanted to ask if I could commission on a new product.”, Lee Sungmin
replied.

“……how long have you been repairing your spear and armor? There’s no better
material than orchicalcum. So it would reduce the quality of the spear if you repaired
it half-assedly.”, Selgerus said, not taking her attention away from the spear and it’s
armor counterpart.

She was sullen because, even though she had the title of a Meister, as a blacksmith, it
was rare to have experience working with orchicalcum. Lee Sungmin reached into
the spatial pocket and pulled out a box. It was a box he had received from Heoju’s
legacies.

“What is that? You’re not asking me to make something out of that box, are you?”,
Selgerus looked at Lee Sungmin like he was an idiot.

She had thought he wanted her to make something out of a shabby box. Lee Sungmin
remained silent and smiled whole-heartedly. He opened up the box slowly for
Selgerus to see the contents inside the box. Inside were the set of scales and bones
from a dragon Heoju had slain. They gave off a subtle but brilliant and undeniable
golden hue.

Selgerus tilted her head and took a look at the contents. She blinked her eyes
repeatedly in confusion.

“……what is it?”, Lee Sungmin asked her as she looked blankly at the materials.

Selgerus couldn’t make heads or tails out of the scales and bones. She assumed they
were relatively high-quality from first impressions but didn’t really quite know what
she was looking at. However… It was not the same for Neville.

Neville’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief. He then puckered up his lips
and regained his wits and struggled to ask a question to Lee Sungmin.

[No way… are those possibly the bones and scales of a dragon?], Neville asked in a
quivering voice as he stuttered to speak properly.

“Yes.”, Lee Sungmin and replied with a nod to Neville.

Then, Selgerus’ expression changed. She didn’t express her emotions of disbelief in
such a wild and visible manner like Neville as she was a meister and dealt with
several interesting materials. But regardless, she scurried closer to the box like a
squirrel and peeked once more at the contents.

“No way.”, she spat out in a trembling voice.

“A dragon’s bones and scales? Oh my god… No, that can’t be possible! You…… have
you hunted dragons?”, she exclaimed in surprise trying to hide her shock.

“No, I didn’t hunt one aha… I just got lucky.”, Lee Sungmin said sheepishly, scratching
his head.

“Such…… how on earth do you have to be lucky to get the bones and scales of a
dragon? Did you come across a dead corpse of one? Or did you rob someone for
this?!”, Selegerus continued to question Lee Sungmin in disbelief.

Neville was feeling the same, as he did not know how much luck one person would
need to attain the contents inside the box. Neville glanced at the box, moved his
hand, and opened the auction window of Erebrisa.

[Dragon’s scales and bones… There’s some in small quantities at the auction house,
but…… that much is… How the hell did you……], Neville spat out, as he had never
seen something so priceless and in such a large quantity.

“There’s more than this…”, Lee Sungmin muttered quietly, unsure of whether
mentioning it would be helpful or not to the situation.

Heoju smiled along gleefully as he listened in on the conversation and observed the
shocked looks from the two in pride. Heoju, who had hunted dragons in the past, did
not bother to process the bones and scales separately, but kept them as trophies and
put them in a conservatory storage, so they remained intact and in brilliant
condition.

When Lee Sungmin pulled out some more boxes and opened them, Neville and
Selgerus shut up.

After a prolonging silence, Neville opened his mouth.

[……except for the Black Dragon Association within the Orthodox faction who have
members from half-dragon/half-human blood, it’s been over 300 years since a ‘real’
dragon has been seen in this world. Now, dragons have become nothing but myths
and legends to those who hear of them. Three hundred years ago, when dragons still
roamed Eria they were beings of absolute and unparalleled magic might. There was
little to no evidence of them ever being hunted.], Neville uttered in a small breath.

“That’s enough materials to arm an army with. Forget the folklore and myths for a
moment, that’s something if used properly as equipment would be on a level much
higher than orchicalcum in terms of magical potency and compatibility with internal
energy. But, that’s just one general use for the remains of a dragon. Those are the
best alchemy materials and equipment any alchemist would go crazy for in the
entire continent… I don’t know if… No, I can’t do it.”, Selgerus gave up and sighed.

Though she really wanted to experiment and at least to attempt working with
dragon materials, she knew better than anyone she had no qualifications whatsoever
to work with it. She had zero confidence in even producing a decent weapon with it.

“It’s not just me however, not even dwarven blacksmiths with the title of a Meister
can handle the bones and scales of dragons. It’s not something anyone has dealt with
before. I don’t know if it was the case with the chief, but……”, Selgerus continued in a
dispirited voice.

“The Chief?”, Lee Sungmin asked with a little bit of expectation.

“The Dwarven Chief. He’s an old man whose years are growing on him, but he also
knows when he’ll die and is in good shape still. Maybe the chief can handle that……?”,
Selgerus muttered, still unconvinced of the possibility since the materials were so
difficult.

At that remark, Lee Sungmin glanced at Neville. Neville shook his head with an
expression of embarrassment.

[The chief of the Dwarves would be Mr. Mackendor. Unfortunately, Mr. Mackendor is
not connected to Erebrisa. He was a member 50 years ago, but he suddenly gave up
his membership and cut off all ties with us.], Neville spoke.

“He is also the person that tested me and granted me the title of Meister, but I haven’t
seen the old man in decades.”, Selgerus murmured.

[However, it’s obvious that he’s still working. The sun’s furnace, which can only be
used by the chief, is still running steadily and works as his workplace. Luckily,
sometimes works made by the chief come out on the market.], Neville chipped in,
trying to give Lee Sungmin some information to work with.

“Wouldn’t other Dwarves be able to meet the chief?”, Lee Sungmin asked.

“No, they can’t meet with him either on any kind of whim.”, Selgerus spoke and
continued to speak.

“The chief’s got a hell of a character. It’s been decades since he’s come out and every
time someone tried to talk to the chief he would kick them out and hit them with a
hammer GAHAHA!”, Selgerus broke out into laughter thinking of all the foolish
dwarves who tried to reason with the chief.

[……what Mr. Mackendor bought in his last deal with us at Erebrisa, was a huge
amount of food. Food doesn’t go bad in spatial pockets, so it’s probably enough for a
hundred years to eat alone.], Neville responded as he seemed a bit flustered with the
mannerisms he noticed from the Dwarven Chief.
At that remark, Lee Sungmin was left speechless. According to Neville, Mackendor
was staying in the sun’s furnace with food that could be eaten for a hundred years as
if he were hibernating like a bear.

Selgerus or any other blacksmiths with the title of Meister could not handle the
bones and scales of the Dragon, nor could they arrange a meeting with the chief.

[You mean you can’t use it, even if you have good materials.], Heoju grumbled,
clicking his tongue.

It was unfortunate, but Lee Sungmin couldn’t do anything about it. But just in case,
Lee Sungmin handed over some of the dragon’s teeth and scales to Selgerus.

“I’m not confident…”, she muttered helplessly.

“Didn’t you say you’ve never dealt with it? So why not give it a try.”, Lee Sungmin
responded to her bluntly.

“But, I don’t know how much I should give you……”, Selgerus said so, because she
wasn’t sure how much these materials would even cost.

“I don’t need money.”, Lee Sungmin replied in matter-of-factly tone.

At Lee Sungmin’s words, Selgerus was moved and bowed her head. Lee Sungmin was
surprised and waved his hands in embarrassment at the actions done by Selgerus.

“You don’t have to.”, Lee Sungmin said to the bowing Selgerus.

“No, I should. Because I want to.”, she replied, keeping her head down.

After learning that scales and bones could not be processed right away, Lee Sungmin
showed the dragon heart to Neville to see what he should do with it.

Neville, who was inwardly not expecting any more surprises as he was already
shocked beyond belief, collapsed his countenance when he saw the dragon heart.

[Oh, my God…], Neville said, completely giving up on the image of being a

professional broker.

“Yes?”, Lee Sungmin questioned Neville as he tilted his head in confusion at Neville.
[Oh, no. I’m sorry. I was so surprised…… dragon heart…… dragon heart. Haha……!],
Neville replied, gathering his wits about him.

Neville then, shook his head with a bitter smile.

[There has never been a dragon heart on the auction block of Erebrisa. I don’t know
if there’s a wizard who can handle it. You wouldn’t be able to handle even with a
decent sorcerer…]

“Will you look into it?”, Lee Sungmin asked bluntly, cutting off Neville’s rambling.

[Okay, I’ll start by asking around our sources and I’ll let you know if I come across
anything useful.], Neville snapped back to attention.

That was the end of Erebrisa’s business dealings, as Neville returned into Lee
Sungmin’s shadow and vanished.

—-

Lee Sungmin returned to the bonfire. He could see Aladdur asleep by the tent
snoring loudly, and Rubia curled up next to him snuggled in his warmth like a child.

Nearby, the Crazy Heavenly Demon was watching the bonfire with an emotionless
expression.

“Have you finished up your business?”, Byuk Won-Pae asked Lee Sungmin.

“Yes.”, Lee Sungmin replied as he approached the bonfire.

“When I see how amazing you are, this old man is often ashamed of himself.”, Byuk
Won-Pae spoke, unmoving his gaze from the bonfire as he smiled bitterly.

“……yeah?”, Lee Sungmin spoke carefully as he was aware of Byuk Won-Pae’s

expression.

“It’s been over half a year since I first met you and started traveling with you. Do you
remember how we first met?”

“I remember.”, Lee Sungmin replied with a nod of his head.

It had been a complete coincidence that he had met the Crazy Heavenly Demon while
traveling north to Travia. No, maybe it was fate not a coincidence.

Lee Sungmin didn’t want to think too deeply on such obscure topics like fate.
Perhaps if fate really existed, their meeting in the north was indeed a meeting of fate.

The meeting with The Crazy Heavenly Demon was sudden, and by meeting with him,
Lee Sungmin was able to get directions on what to do and where to go further in his
travels.

“You were strong then, but weaker than this old man.”, Byuk Won-Pae said coolly.

“I was indeed.”, Lee Sungmin did not deny it.

In fact, Lee Sungmin almost died in the fight with the Crazy Heavenly Demon. Had it
not been for Heoju, he would have died.

“And soon after, you developed at an incredible rate. You were already close to me or
on par with this old man at the time. And after you killed the Blood Heavenly Demon
you leapfrogged in skill to my level. But it didn’t stop there, recently you have
become even stronger than me at this point.”, Byuk Won-Pae continued with a
melancholic tone.

“…Are you feeling ashamed of yourself?”, Lee Sungmin asked carefully.

“I felt that 10 years ago when I met someone stronger than me for the first time. That
was the Swordmaster from Beyond the Heavens, a martial artist in the Realm of
Transcendence. I realized then, how small I was, and that the world was wider than I
thought.”, Byuk Won-Pae said, trying to laugh off the awkward experience he
recalled.

“I don’t feel a sense of shame. I’m not discouraged at all by comparing you to my
current self. This old man prides himself in his unique martial arts and skill still. Ten
years of hard work didn’t break me through to the realm of Transcendence, but it
wasn’t completely fruitless. One of those things was meeting you and getting rid of
the curse I had that made me crazed and berserk.”, said Byuk Won-Pae, smiling
lightly.

Lee Sungmin remained silent. To feel shame by comparing oneself to others. To

despair. Lee Sungmin also felt these things several times in the past. Lee Sungmin
was well aware that to overcome that misery and destructive thought cycle was
never easy. Shit. He had spent over 2,100 years trying to do it.

“Go to bed first. I’ll stand guard.”, Lee Sungmin volunteered himself and raised his
body up.

“Shouldn’t you catch up on your sleep?”, Byuk Won-Pae turned to face Lee Sungmin
and grinned.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon, Byuk Won-Pae got up and walked over to the tent to
rest.

Lee Sungmin pondered on the conversation he just had. The Transcendental Realm
was a large and difficult place to reach, as a warrior of The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s
caliber, did not reach it in over 10 years.

Lee Sungmin knew he had made great strides in his progress and cultivation since
the fight with Amzone, but he was still not quite there yet. Lee Sungmin had already
reached the Realm of Transcendence in the 2,100 years he spent in his subconscious,
but even with such memories, his current self had a long way to go in reaching the
Transcendental Realm.

It was a long and arduous path, even if his heart, mind and body were finally aligned.

—-

When the morning sun rose. The group cleared their sleeping areas and began
walking again under the guidance of the evil spirits. Aladdur was reluctant to go
toward the direction of the City of Endless Night, but after hearing the details of the
travel, he seemed to be more at ease.

“It’s a tribe…… where there’s a lot of forestry and greenery, but the South is big, so
there’s a lot of minor and smaller tribes. There’s no real end in searching each of
them one by one.”, Aladdur spoke hesitantly.

“I remember the location of the great river.”, Byuk Won-Pae said.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon tried to remember some details about the location of the
tribe they were looking for.
“You’d better not trust the positioning too much. Most tribes don’t settle in one place
unless it’s a larger tribe. Didn’t you say it was 10 years ago? Perhaps the tribe has
already left the area you remember.”, Aladdur pointed out to the Crazy Heavenly
Demon.

Byuk Won-Pae looked perplexed. If that really was the case, their plan of actions in
the beginning, where they would rely solely on Byuk Won-Pae’s memory was a lost
cause. The decision to take Aladdur with them, had been the correct one.

Looking at the Crazy Heavenly Demon, Aladdur smiled with a toothy grin.

“I’d like to perform my services for you all, but I can’t use a tracking spell just from
one’s memory.”, he spoke.

“Did you get anything from the tribe at the time, or any kind of keepsake?”, Lee
Sungmin asked the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

Byuk Won-Pae thought to himself and realized Aladdur was asking for a medium.
After realizing so, he rummaged through the spatial pocket he carried with a flushed
expression, letting out a small cough of embarrassment.

“Yes…… that’s… I mean, I mean… Hm!”, Byuk Won-Pae stammered.

What he took out was a small bracelet made of hand-carved materials. The old,
intricate patterns had faded away, but the shape of the bracelet remained the same.

“What is that?”, Aladdur asked, peeking over at the bracelet with a perverse grin.

“That…… bracelet I received from the tribe 10 years ago.”, Byuk Won-Pae said,
stuttering at the sudden question.

“You got it from a woman!”, Aladdur shouted out in excitement, teasingly.

Byuk Won-Pae avoided Aladdur’s gaze and tried to ignore his remark, as it was spot
on.

When Aladdur received the bracelet with both hands, he began to move his lips and
recite the words of the spell. The bracelet started to become covered in black smoke.

“Don’t burn it!”, Byuk Won-Pae cried out.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”, Aladdur said, maintaining his closed eyes, but letting out a
small laugh.

Eventually the spell started to end and the smoke went into Aladdur’s nostrils.
Aladdur nodded his head, breathing in and out loudly.

“Hmm.”, Aladdur muttered to himself.

Aladdur opened his closed eyes.

“I see where they are.”, he spoke out to the group.

“Where are they?”, Byuk Won-Pae asked excitedly like a child.

His past dignified image nowhere to be seen as Aladdur suspected the behavior to be
because of a woman.

“Let’s get out of the woods for now.”, Lee Sungmin interjected bluntly.

Aladdur smiled and nodded his head in response. Then he spoke out to the group
excitedly,

“It’s not that far away.”, Aladdur said letting out a happy smile.
Uicheon Military Administration Office in Zhuge Territory

Tap tap tap

“It says Zhuge Taeryong is dead.”

Although Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Taeryong’s father, was known to have retired from the
front line, Zhuge Liang was still secretly leading the Zhuge Clan, contrary to popular
perception.

If only his son, Zhuge Taeryong, was a man with outstanding qualities, there was no
way he wouldn’t want to foster him carefully. Sadly, that was not the case. Zhuge
Liang was fine and still powerful, but his strategies and tactics weren’t his most
outstanding qualities so he couldn’t do much from the back line.

“So, that’s what happened.”, he murmured to himself.

Zhuge Liang stood up and carried his bag.

Zhuge Taeryong.

He was Zhuge Liang’s oldest son. However, he was a complete problem child, and in
many ways he did not meet Zhuge Liang’s expectations.

Even though he was excellent in martial arts, he did not have any restraint of pen and
tongue, so Zhuge Liang could only sigh at the confirmation of his son’s death.

(T/N : not having restraint of pen and tongue basically means that Zhuge Liang knew
that Taeryong was an incompetent fool.)

From childhood, Zhuge Liang focused his children’s education on both martial arts
and literary arts. Zhuge Taeryong was only good at martial arts and tended to ignore
his literary studies, and his attitude was a mess.
Hence if one of his children was going to die, he might as well save the remaining
child who wasn’t such a problem. In the end, even Zhuge Taeryong’s martial prowess
disappointed Zhuge Liang.

After learning the Zhuge Family’s sword arts, Zhuge Taeryong had managed to reach
Peak Realm, even if he was an arrogant fool who took advantage of his privileges
being born with a golden spoon.

In fact, being at the Peak Realm at Zhuge Taeryong’s age was outstanding, but Zhuge
Liang wanted a heir that would be even better than that. His heir should be able to
stand as a prodigy among prodigies along the likes of the Jihak, the Future of the
Shaolin and Wijihoyeon, The Minor Heavenly Demon.

“What will we do with the next heir?”, the attendant from the administration asked
Zhuge Liang.

“He is still young, but he is better than his dead and foolish brother. I’ll be counting
on you.”, Zhuge Liang replied, not looking back.

Zhuge Hyongjin.

Although he was only 13 years old, Zhuge Hyongjin’s growing talent was better than
his late brother’s, Zhuge Taeryong. If he had enough time and support, reaching the
Realm of Transcendence would only be a matter of time for Zhuge Hyongjin. Perhaps
he would even be able to go beyond that realm.

Of course, Zhuge Liang wasn’t going to count his chickens before they hatched. As he
had learned the mistake of doing so with his late eldest son.

‘There may still be some time left before the establishment of the Heavenly Dragon
Society, so he won’t be able to relax. He’s going to be busy.’, Zhuge Liang thought to
himself about his youngest son’s position.

“What kind of misfortune did I have in my past life to deserve such troubles in my
late years…”.

Zhuge Liang grumbled as he looked up into the sky.

—–
A long time ago, the clan heads of the Four Great Families made a promise.

It was a drunken remark at a drinking party made without much thought, but over
the years the promise was starting to be realized as an ambition.

The Heavenly Dragon Society.

They would make an organization with the powers of the Four Great Families and
multiple subsidiary clans.

But Zhuge Liang was well aware of the problems that could arise with such an
organization.

Even if The Heavenly Dragon Society was really made, it would not be possible to
control the smaller clans and the independent master martial artists they intended
to suppress.

“I’ll keep my word, so don’t worry.”, the attendant bowed their head to Zhuge Liang.

“I won’t doubt your success.”, Zhuge Liang responded in a haughty tone.

A man sat in the middle of the spacious room. He was drinking an expensive liquor
from the ornamented goblet raised in his hand. He wore a spotless white garment,
and his jet black hair tied up in a bun neatly.

He was smiling at Zhuge Liang, gazing deeply at him with his keen and deep eyes. It
was almost as if he were human. Even though the person mentioned was a man, he
was beautiful enough to be mistaken for a woman.

The stand-in leader of the Orthodox Faction in all of Murim. He was the leader of the
Black Dragon Association. Zhuge Liang felt strange every time he met the Leader,
Jehu.

Jehu was not a human being. He was half-human, but he had the dragon blood in his
veins. The Dragon race had disappeared from all of Eria hundreds of years ago.

It had not been long since Jehu appeared in the Murim and made his name, but
nobody knew anything about him. What was he doing before making his name, how
long he had lived or his origins. All of it was impossible to find, even with the best of
the information guilds searching for his backgrounds.
“Zhuge Taeryong.”

Jehu folded his arms and took something out from his robe. What he took out was a
piece of literature, a novel, clean as a whistle.

“He was a master of the Peak Realm. We could write it down and record it properly,
or improve it and make him seem stronger than he really was. However, if we talk
about Zhuge Hyongjin’s talent, it will be of big benefit to us in the future.”

“Thank you.”, Zhuge Liang replied with his head slightly bent to Jehu’s compliment
towards the new heir.

“I’m sorry for you to lose your eldest like that”, Jehu spoke.

“He was an ugly son in nature.”, Zhuge Liang spoke with a bit of irritation in his voice
thinking back to his incompetent son.

“Even so, blood is blood. If Zhuge Hyongjin learns martial arts in earnest and gets to
a certain level, bring him to the Black Dragon. I’ll make him my disciple.”, Jehu spoke
nonchalantly to the Zhuge Clan Head.

“Um…!”

Zhuge Liang’s eyes opened wide at the words of the Black Dragon Leader.

The Leader of the Black Dragon Association was not to be underestimated in his
martial strength. This was partly due to the fact that Jehu never showed himself to
the public, but also to the fact that he himself had been hiding his own strength
greatly.

Zhuge Liang, however, was well aware that Jehu was no weaker than the Saintess, the
former Orthodox Faction Leader. If Hyongjin was taken in as a disciple, he would be
almost guaranteed to reach Transcendence and have a higher possibility to go even
higher.

“Thank you.”, Zhuge Liang bowed deeply.

“I just felt like doing so. What are you doing? Come and get a drink.”, said the Black
Dragon Leader.
Jehu had in his hand a bottle of liquor. Zhuge Liang proceeded to sit across from Jehu,
facing him directly.

“……then why are you going so far with Ghost Gun?”

“Because he’s annoying.”, replied Jehu.

“The prowess of Ghost Gun has been underestimated. In the eyes of the Clan Heads,
they think Ghost Gun will soon reach Transcendence.”, Jehu continued.

“That much?”, Zhuge Liang widened his eyes in surprise.

“He is already standing at the end of the zenith of the Peak Realm. One can easily
step into the Realm of Transcendence if you have the talent and hard work to make
up for it. If Ghost Gun was one of us, he would be a blessing to our entire Faction, but
unfortunately he’s a rogue martial artist.”

Jehu poured the wine into Zhuge Liang’s glass.

“Ironclad was the measuring stick, and Ghost Gun killed Ironclad. And yet he did not
kill the Minor Heavenly Demon nor the Crazy one. My plans were foiled by that
bastard the moment he saved them. But if that wasn’t enough he killed one of our
talents in the process…”, Jehu spoke with an irritated expression.

(T/N : He’s referring to the loss of Ironclad, yet Lee Sungmin also saved his enemies
that represent the Heretical Factions, The Heavenly Demons are not directly affiliated
with any faction but they practice Martial Arts of the Heretical Path.)

So Zhuge Taeryong had to die no matter what.

With the death of Zhuge Taeryong, The Four Great Families and the clans under the
Orthodox would become enraged with Lee Sungmin. This was all a political ploy to
get rid of Lee Sungmin.

“I’ve already tipped off the information guilds about the death of Murong Seojin and
Zhuge Taeryong. With that kind of information being publicly circulated, the masses
will be angered and wrathful with Ghost Gun.”, Jehu spoke this time with a happier
expression.

However, the South was a place where their influence was not great. It’s population
was mostly filled with monsters and native tribes that had nothing to do with the
political landscape of Eria and it’s martial artists.

Even the Black Dragon Association Head knew this well. In fact, he still didn’t like the
current situation all that much. If he could, Jehu wanted to personally exercise the
power and might of the Black Dragon Association and beat Lee Sungmin to death.
But, he couldn’t.

It was because he had been told not to do so yet.

‘It’s weird. Was there a reason to let him go? Even if he doesn’t bother you right now,
Ghost Gun would be sure to get on your nerves some day.’, Jehu thought to himself
while holding a glass of wine.

Only to feel so, the Heukryonghyeop did not intend to go out on its own.

It was because he would have to respect the words of Kumiho.

After coming out of the Forest of Temptation, Lee Sungmin’s connection with the evil
spirits completely severed. They would continue to exist in that forest and attract
humans who enter without knowing anything.

Rubia asked, glancing at the spirits that had not escaped from the territory of the
Forest.

“What will happen to them in the future?”, she asked.

“They’ll remain in the woods as they always have.”, replied Aladdur.

“They’re evil spirits, they’re so they’re contracted to stay where their source of fear
originates. As long as the forest itself doesn’t disappear, they have no choice but to
live in it forever. It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances. I wouldn’t know if it would
stay that way if a high-ranking monk would come and purify the forest. The famous
Buddhist monks of Shaolin haven’t been able to in the past. So don’t worry about it,
Miss Rubia. They’re meant to be that way.”, Aladdur spoke sympathetically.

Although he had come to terms with it, Rubia’s expression waned. Looking at such
an expression the Crazy Heavenly Demon asked,
“In the time we’ve spent here, have you grown attached to them?”

“It’s just heartbreaking to see the unfulfilled evil spirits wander aimlessly as they’re
trapped.”, she responded.

Aladdur looked at her with a sympathetic gaze and The Crazy Heavenly started to
tease Aladdur about developing feelings for Rubia.

At the fuss the three were making, Lee Sungmin was listening to Neville.

A few days ago I had asked Neville about a wizard who would be able to handle the
processing and uses of a dragon heart.

And it was not until today that he heard back.

[A lot of wizards were interested in Dragon Hearts, but unfortunately…… Like the
scales and bones, few wizards have seen dragon hearts in person by themselves. So,
although everyone offered to do it, they were a little less reliable. They’re all in the
ranks of the Magicians, not Wizards.], Neville responded.

‘What’s your opinion on it then?’, Lee Sungmin asked Neville, as he didn’t know much
about the magician’s societies or ranks in Eria.

He had learned some auxiliary magic, but that didn’t make Lee Sungmin a magician.

If Scarlett had been around, Lee Sungmin would have consulted her, but it had been
years since he had last interacted with Scarlett.

[……Dragon Hearts are very sensitive to mana and are fragile. There is a high risk of
completely ruining them if one is inexperienced with them. So I think it’s better to
keep it right now and leave it for now.], Neville responded stating his opinion.

‘Hmm…… ’

Lee Sungmin couldn’t help but feel a bit sour. No dragon hearts, no scales, no bones.
It was because even though he had the materials, they couldn’t be processed
recklessly and getting the right people to process it was like trying to find a needle in
a haystack.

[Oh, and The Blue Tower Master asked me to tell you that he really wants to buy the
dragon heart. The price is…], Neville was cut off short by Lee Sungmin.

‘I don’t intend to sell it.’, Lee Sungmin said bluntly.

[Of course you don’t. Other than the Blue Tower Master, other people showed an
intense interest in buying it, but I will talk to them for you. Oh!…… and.], Neville’s
voice sank slightly.

[Other information guilds, including the public ones, are talking about Lee
Sungmin.], Neville said with a sullen expression.

‘Wait… What?’, Lee Sungmin contorted his face.

[This is what they’re saying : Zhuge Taeryong and Murong Seojin who were chasing
Ghost Gun, were brutally murdered by him.], Neville spoke.

Hearing this, Lee Sungmin’s expression hardened in anger and irritation.

‘Zhuge Taeryong and Murong Seojin died?’ , He thought to himself this time.

Lee Sungmin recalled the events that took place a few days ago. It had been more
than a week since he had broken off from the people that were chasing him. He also
didn’t take any of their lives.

‘I didn’t kill him.’, Lee Sungmin spoke to Neville after recollecting his thoughts.

[But that’s how the information networks are spreading it.], Neville responded.

Although Zhuge Taeryong did not have the most amicable relationship with his wife,
it was improbable that she would kill him and commit suicide. Common knowledge
was that she didn;t even have the skill necessary to do it.

The last memory Lee Sungmin had of them, was when they left the forest together
followed by the Black Dogs.

[The evidence of the information was confirmed, as the bodies were found in the
Forest of Temptation. That was the report I received from the Black Dogs.
Furthermore, Namgung Heewon and his group succeeded in getting out of the forest.
It seems that Dang Ah-hui, her followers, and the black dogs are still wandering in
the forest.], Neville followed to report his findings to Lee Sungmin.
‘First of all…… Heewon is okay.’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself and sighed in relief
that Heewon had escaped safely.

Although they did not call each other brothers anymore, Lee Sungmin and Heewon
still held favor of each other, so he was relieved to hear about Heewon.

‘But… Zhuge Taeryong and Murong Seojin are dead.’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself
irritatedly.

However, he knew it would be bad if he indulged in his anger right now, so he cooled
off.

It was simple. He was being framed by the only people that held open enmity about
this. The two died in the forest and the Black Dogs had killed them. Most likely
ordered to by the upper echelons of the Orthodox Headquarters.

‘Why are you doing this? Zhuge Taeryong and Murong Seojin are the first couple and
heirs to the Zhuge Clan… ’, Lee Sungmin pondered.

Lee Sungmin was distraught as he couldn’t find a reason as to why they would frame
him, and take their enmity further. He could only see downsides to both the
Orthodox and himself for this decision.

‘Beware of the Orthodox.’

The warning Lord Sima of the Sama Order gave Lee Sungmin lingered in his head.

‘Jehu of the Black Dragon Association…… ’

Lee Sungmin bit his lower lip, in frustration. He had never even met this person that
seemed to have some sort of unknown enmity towards him.

Lee Sungmin’s words wouldn’t even be taken at face value at this point if he tried to
protest about the framing.

“What’s wrong with your face?”,Rubia asked, tilting her head.

Lee Sungmin relaxed his expression and decided to tell the party the news he had
just received from Neville.
At the end of the story, Aladdur giggled and nodded his head.

“The bastard, he died in the end. Oh, that’s refreshing!”, Aladdur spoke in a gleeful
manner.

“Even the Orthodox use dirty tricks. I don’t understand why they’re going so far.”, The
Crazy Heavenly Demon muttered.

Rubia just gave a blank expression as she didn’t care so much about the entire
situation. As she puffed her cheeks cutely and stopped playing with her ears she
spoke.

“The Dragon Heart.”, she said, continuing to speak.

“You can’t let some 3rd rate magician handle it, but wouldn’t my master, Envirus, be
able to handle it?”, she said with a curious and playful expression.

“Huh?”, Lee Sungmin’s eyes widened at Rubia’s words.

“My master is a Wizard who goes beyond common sense and other top tier Wizards.
I’m not sure if he can do it or not, but if it’s something other wizards can’t do, my
master might be able to do it.”, she added.

The words sounded quite plausible. Envirus was Lloyd’s teacher, the Master of the
Gold Tower.

Even if it was impossible for a Master of a Magician Tower to process it, Envirus
might be able to do what others couldn’t.

“You said you could meet him in the South, so we’ll probably be able to meet soon.”,
Rubia nodded her head, saying so.

“I’m sure we can.”, Lee Sungmin said with a bit of hope.

She couldn’t see.

She couldn’t feel her arms either.

There was a constant ringing in her ears, and her body was feeling heavy like it was a
lump of iron.

‘I don’t remember how long it’s been since I washed and changed my clothes.’, Baek
Sogo thought to herself as she was currently undergoing the trials of Mush for the
second time.

For a long time there were no conversations, no sound in her voice either.

She was afraid to sleep.

Nightmares continued in different forms every day. Everything that came into her
mouth tasted terrible enough to be creative.

It all smelled the same.

Baek Sogo added several more restrictions since coming to the Mountain of Mush for
the second time.

Burning pain was searing throughout her body. Baek sogo was feeling pain even
though she wasn’t doing anything.

It was a pain that made your leg muscles break and tear whenever she walked, and
her lungs pop whenever she took a breath.

There was also a restriction on involuntary breathing.

She had to be conscious of her own breathing at all times. Sleeping became more
difficult if you had to be conscious of your breath while sleeping.
In addition, minor restrictions were added.

It made life itself impossible, but the ‘Silent Flare’ Baek Sogo kept moving.

She had a feeling that she was breaking.

Was she broken or going insane? Maybe it was both.

But she was still alive.

It was clear that she was alive. The constant pain was painful enough to die, but it
nevertheless gave evidence that Baek Sogo was still alive.

[You’re crazy.]

The only voice she could hear besides her own. The god, Mush.

While she didn’t respond, she looked at the golden eyes she was seeing staring at her
mysteriously. She was having a hallucination.

Baek Sogo rather liked having the addition to the hallucinations as a restriction. That
way she wouldn’t just see complete darkness and feel lonely.

[No… you’re both crazy.], Mush said, retracting her earlier statement.

Mush had become Baek Sogo’s only companion during the time she spent here.

Was it because of boredom or simply interest? Baek Sogo didn’t find it appropriate if
she asked Mush, a living god, why they were conversing with a human like herself.

She moved her body, conscious of continuing her breathing. Her steps felt weighted
with every step she took.

[I don’t know why you’re doing this. The kid from before…… Lee Sungmin. He’s crazy
too, but you’re worse than even him. You are the first human… no being to ever
survive this many punishments and restrictions of this mountain since it was even
made.]

Should she take it as a compliment? Baek Sogo didn’t know. She’d been losing track
of her thoughts lately. Was it because her fatigue had reached its limit?
[It would be much better to die. What are you trying so hard to pursue?], Mush asked
pensively.

At one point in time, Baek Sogo deemed that she was a warrior who upheld the
righteous moral values while fighting for the Orthodox’s Faction.

But now she couldn’t tell if her actions up till now were the right ones.

She knew what she wanted. She had her own morals and stuck to her code. But, her
partnership with the Orthodox… were they really holding the same values?

Baek Sogo felt muddled about the situation. She was incredibly lost on her goals and
perspectives and needed time to rethink everything over.

So she came out to the Mountain of Mush.

Power

That was her answer. She wasn’t going to be pushed around. She needed to make her
own decisions and she would do that if she was strong enough to do so.

She was now aware of what she wanted to do.

A great philosopher once said, “The rules have consequences if you break them.
Either follow them and stay in line, or be strong enough to make your own”.

It wasn’t just that. She couldn’t stand being weak. She thought she was strong, she
thought the world would work the way she knew it would. But she came here after
being saved by the young man she had taught her techniques to. She didn’t expect to
be saved by someone weaker than her. But no. He was stronger than her, and it was
clear.

Baek Sogo recalled the old memories.

When she first met Lee Sungmin on this mountain. The young boy, at 14, was pitiful.
He wasn’t talented at all, yet he still acknowledged his shortcomings and asked her
for help.

He was a genuinely good person.

It was a relationship that was like that of a mentor and a student, and yet it
blossomed to one between close comrades and friends.

That’s how she had thought it would stay.

Such a connection was incredibly precious. Especially while being on this hell of a
mountain. But, he never gave up. His tenacity was unparalleled between the others
there, including herself.

She came down the mountain before him and…… when she met the boy again, she
didn’t express her feelings, but she was happy to see how much he had improved.

And then, when they met once more, it was in that dungeon.

It was heartbreaking to see him so grown up.

But she felt even more ashamed at the fact she had been saved by him, yet fled
without a word.

So she wanted to be strong.

For when she would meet him again, if he was in danger like she had been. Like the
boy did, she wanted to throw her pride aside and save him like he had done to her.

Baek Sogo couldn’t think of any other way.

She wasn’t conscious of it.

She was a desperate woman. Desperate enough to lay down her pride and search for
any method she could to get stronger as long as it would let her stay down the path
she wanted. But that path was not with the Orthodox.

[Desperation], Mush muttered.

[But, also out of necessity]

Those are the circumstances of what most of the practitioners who enter the
mountain had.

However, Mush had never seen the tenacity and desperation as deep as it was in
Baek Sogo. Not even that odd boy, Lee Sungmin had been this tenacious. And when
Mush saw him she thought there would never be another like him. But to have
someone even more desperate than him? She couldn’t help but be interested.

Pursuing strength was all the same for anybody who came to the Mountain of Mush.

However, in the case of Baek Sogo, the fundamental reason for her pursuit of
strength was different. As it was not strength for herself, but rather for others.

[I like you.], Mush spoke to her.

Mush had changed her thoughts about her.

Mush had been watching Baek Sogo ever since she entered this mountain.

When she said she would come back to this mountain and resume training, she
thought little of it.

It’s not like Mush hadn’t seen people return for more strength. Such people who did
however, couldn’t handle adding even more restrictions on top of the prior
restrictions they had before.

But Baek Sogo didn’t stop. She had continued, and continued for years.

[When you decide to leave this mountain… I will give you my blessing myself] Mush
spoke to Baek Sogo.

But Baek Sogo didn’t even hear it.

She just missed Lee Sungmin.

Aladdur had now taken the lead in guiding the party.

As he said earlier, he was confident in locating the tribe through the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s bracelet.

After 3 days, Aladdur stopped suddenly and raised his hand.

“First of all, that forest.”, Aladdur opened his mouth.

Lee Sungmin had seen many forests as they traveled to the South and he didn’t see
much of a difference between them at this point at first glance.

“I’ve followed the location I found in the bracelet, but there’s no guarantee that what
you’re looking for is in that forest.”

Lee Sungmin had already heard this from Aladdur beforehand.

The owner of the bracelet may be in that forest, but there was no guarantee that the
entire tribe would be there.

Even so, this is the only lead they had right now.

“There’s no guarantee that they will be alive either.”, Aladdur grumbled.

Lee Sungmin just listened to the words.

Maybe they were already dead and buried. The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s expression
turned gloomy when he heard the words.

Even though it was something that was personal and happened 10 years ago, The
Crazy Heavenly Demon did not forget those memories.

“Even if it’s a dead body, it’s not like the chances are high that they’re crippled or
anything. If they kicked the bucket already then it’s whatever, It’d be more useful if
you had a piece of their bones so I could gather more information.”, Aladdur spoke
with an irritated tone.

“What a piece of their bones?! do you want to die?!”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon spat
out with a surge in anger.

He opened his eyes, jerked away, and shot back at Aladdur.

“And why are you talking nonsense about a corpse or something? You don’t know
jackshit you black motherfu**er!”

“Oh, come on…… it’s not like you’re a nigg** facing constant looks and bullshit
remarks everywhere you go. Why are you so angry about this? If you want me like
this right now, give it a try! Who’s gonna show you the way when I die? Huh?!”,
Aladdur rather put his chest forward at the threat of The Crazy Heavenly Demon,
showing his nerve.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon quelled his anger by shaking his clenched fist.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon knew he could not kill Aladdur if he wanted to find the
information he wanted.

Rubia clicked her tongue as she watched the two quarreling, and Lee Sungmin, who
was staring at the forest, opened his mouth.

“Stop it. Let’s go in.”, Lee Sungmin said rather authoritatively.

“Look, this old man was screaming for no reason!”, Aladdur protested.

“You fucking sl*ve bast*rd……!”

As Aladdur teared up, the Crazy Heavenly Demon trembled with anger.

Lee Sungmin ignored the scuffle between the two and stepped forward first. Aladdur
quickly approached Lee Sungmin’s side to get away from the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

Lee Sungmin entered the woods. Having passed through many forests on the way,
the forests were now getting a bit familiar for him.

Other beings were wary of the strong energy levels of the group and refrained from
approaching.

It was questionable whether the ones that did approach would have reason, but they
did not approach Lee Sungmin and his party easily. Thanks to it, the speed of
traversing through the forest increased.

“It’ll be coming up soon now.”, Aladdur said in a quiet voice.

It was as he said. Lee Sungmin could see a small village not far away. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon got quite excited as he saw the village himself.

It was the same for Lee Sungmin though.

The reason he came all the way South was to meet a tribe that knew how to handle
the forces of Heoju and possibly learn how to breakthrough to the next realm.

“Uh……”

However, there were few signs of the lack of population in the village that they
arrived at.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked around with a blank expression. Lee Sungmin
didn’t feel too good about it.

The atmosphere was rather dreary.

“Who are you?”

The party heard a voice speak out from nearby.

Aladdur looked in surprise in the direction of the voice. A haggard old man stood
there.

The old man was staring at Lee Sungmin and his party with wary eyes.

Before Aladdur said anything, Lee Sungmin came forward first and opened his
mouth.

“Who are you?”, Lee Sungmin asked.

“I’m a resident of this town.”, the old man replied with a frown.

Lee Sungmin could see clearly the faded brown tattoos covering the man’s body.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon who was looking at the old man’s face made a cry and
walked forward.

“Pervas? Isn’t that you Pervas?”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon stuttered.

“……huh?”, The old man said with eyes full of shock.

Pervas, who had been looking at the group for a while, nodded his head with a
startled movement as he heard Byuk Won-Pae.
“You’re…… yes, I remember. It’s been 10 years or so……?”, the old man said in a
pensive tone as he recollected his memories.

“You remember me? Pervas, you’ve gotten very old……”, Byuk Won-Pae spoke.

Recognizing the Crazy Heavenly Demon from ten years ago, the old man nodded his
head.

“I never thought I’d see you again. What brings you here?”, Pervas said.

“I’ve come for you. I wanted to ask you something.”, spoke the Crazy Heavenly
Demon.

Lee Sungmin had heard the stories of the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Pervas.

Pervas chuckled at Byuk Won-Pae’s words in nostalgia.

“I don’t know what you want to ask, but I don’t know if I can answer.”, Pervas said
with an almost inconceivable sense of secrecy in his eyes.

“The breathing method you taught this old man.”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon asked.

The moment Pervas heard that, his face stiffened.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon continued his words, looking at his expression.

“……and the spirit you gave to this old Heavenly Demon. And…… that’s……”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon hesitated slightly and what he wanted to ask.

“……Where is Dersia?”

“She’s dead.”, Pervas replied with a troubled look.

The words left The Crazy Heavenly Demon blank. He almost collapsed because his
legs were weak, but he supported himself by giving strength to his legs, which were
about to fall.

That’s what Aladdur had said earlier, but he didn’t really mean it. But now that it was
true? Aladdur almost choked.
“……why the hell……?”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon asked in a solemn voice.

“Most of the tribesmen are dead.”, Pervas murmured in a small voice, as he looked
around the shabby village.

“Now I’m the only one left in this town.”, Pervas added

“Who the hell did… No, why has it become this way?”, The Crazy Heavenly Demon
asked trying to hold back his flustering emotions.

“It’s because of that breathing technique you’re talking about.”, Pervas’ face distorted
as he said the cold hard truth to The Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“In the first place, this tribe was wrong in its beliefs and origin. The monster…… who
died a long time ago that was considered a god and a tribal faith. I had hated it as I
realized what it really was. It was just like any other monster. In the sense that it ate
humans.”

[Pft.], Heoju chuckled at the expected outcome.

Lee Sungmin didn’t think he would face this situation and reaction, so he coughed in
vain as if he were embarrassed.

In fact, Heoju had high expectations until they came to this forest.

He wondered what kind of people they would be because they were a tribe that
thought of themselves as gods and believed in them 400 years ago since it was
completely contradictory.

“and you paid the price. No wonder you believed it was the spirit……”, Pervas smiled
bitterly as he spoke.

“What do you mean?”, Lee Sungmin suddenly asked.

Pervas gave an odd look to Lee Sungmin.

“Three years ago, this town was attacked by a monster. A terrible…… monster.”,
Pervas said in a quivering voice, his shoulders trembling slightly.

“What kind of monster was it?”, Lee Sungmin asked once more.
“That’s…… I don’t know. But I’ve never seen such a monster. It was huge, and it…
breathed fire… the tribal warriors tried to resist, but it was useless. Rather, the
warriors of the nearby tribe were almost burned to death from just the aftermath.”,
Pervas replied with his head down.

“I don’t even know the monster’s name. The techniques we were using…… most of
the tribal fighters and residents who were using that damn power were killed.”,
Pervas continued in a downcast tone.

“……why didn’t you die?”, asked Lee Sungmin.

It was a question that might sound a little rude, but Pervas answered with a sigh, “I
don’t think I have the energy to be angry.”

“When the monster was about to finish killing us. Another monster appeared.”, he
continued his story.

“Another monster?”, Lee Sungmin muttered.

“It was the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kumiho.”, Pervas said as the group fell silent.

Pervas couldn;t even begin to describe Kumiho. It was true that he hated monsters,
but he was alive now because of one of them after all.

“……The savior Kumiho. When Kumiho appeared, the monster who was slaughtering
the villagers ran away. Kumiho told the remainder of us who survived that the
monster that attacked would never come back again to the forest. And…… they left
the forest with those who wanted revenge among the surviving tribesmen.”

Kumiho. Lee Sungmin naturally recalled the Nine-Tailed Fox, who was controlling the
elders of Predator behind the scenes.

He had never seen the fox before, but had heard several stories of it.

“I’m the only one left in this forest. All the other survivors went out of the woods
along the lake.”, Pervas finished with a sigh.

“……why do you…… what’s left of this forest?”, Lee Sungmin asked this time a bit
more politely.
“Because I’m scared.”, Pervas started to tremble once again.

“There hasn’t been a single monster left in this forest since that day. Maybe that’s
because of what Kumiho did. I can hunt, so there’s no problem with living…… but
once you’re out of the woods, what if that scary monster might come and kill
me……?!”, Pervas stammered his words with a frightened face.

Lee Sungmin noticed that Pervas’ mental state was not intact.

Perhaps it was because it had become a trauma for him, Pervas held his head in both
hands and murmured a series of words that couldn’t be made out.

“I can’t believe Dersia’s dead……” The Crazy Heavenly Demon, collapsed on his knees
and muttered.
[Hm, a fire breathing monster though… There are a lot of monsters like that, but one
with that kind of firepower is rare.], Heoju grumbled as he tried to identify the
monster that initially ravaged the village.

They decided collectively to head to the grave of the fallen tribesman where Dersia
was laid to rest. Lee Sungmin wasn’t sure about the Crazy Heavenly Demon, but he
was old enough to make his own decisions and had wanted to go see it.

Lee Sungmin looked at the back of the Crazy Heavenly Demon, who was walking
ahead with a weakness in his faint steps.

It was the same for everyone, seeing that the mood had been down since they heard
the story from Pervas. Especially for Aladdur, who regretted his mocking words
earlier, seeing that he really didn’t expect The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s lover to be
truly dead.

Lee Sungmin couldn’t find any words to comfort the group.

[If you think about it…… Hmm…… maybe a Fire Giant?], Heoju was lost in thought as
he tried to identify the monster’s identity

But, there was really no reason to even look for the monster that attacked the tribe
anymore, at least for Lee Sungmin’s case. Pervas didn’t know how to handle the
techniques and forces the Crazy Heavenly Demon used so he had to try to find the
villagers who knew how to do it.

To do so however, Lee Sungmin knew they must find Kumiho, not the monster that
killed the villagers, as Kumiho was obviously the real cause of the disasters and the
evil techniques. He recalled that Pervas said Kumiho took the surviving village
warriors who wanted revenge.

“I want revenge.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon muttered to himself.

Nevertheless, due to the anger and loss of the Crazy Heavenly Demon, he wanted to
find the monster responsible for the slaughter of the tribe and death of his late
Dersia. Even if it had been ten years ago for the Crazy Heavenly Demon, the
connections he made in this village were quite dear to him.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s thoughts were muddled as he recalled the terrible
things that had happened since he had left and gone insane from the techniques he
practiced and the killing of the tribe while he was gone.

Lee Sungmin empathized with him, as he knew what it felt to feel the loss of
something dear to him from forces and things outside of his control. If so, he wanted
to be able to help the Crazy Heavenly Demon in his vengeance.

He had been traveling with the Crazy Heavenly Demon for almost a year now, and
had heard several stories from Byuk Won-Pae about how much he held the tribe
close to his heart.

The grave was overgrown with weeds and moss as it hadn’t been looked after due to
the entire tribe either dead or scattered. Pervas was the only caretaker, and he
wasn’t in a healthy state of mind as he had been overridden with fear and trauma.

The graveyard was pretty much abandoned.

“……that’s the one.”, Aladdur spoke in a small voice as he pointed to Dersia’s grave for
the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“Thank you.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon said with a solemn but grateful voice to
Aladdur.

Standing in front of the grave, no one knew what Byuk Won-Pae was thinking, as he
stood there in silence. No one came forward to ask him, as they wanted to give him
his peace.

[I don’t know. There are so many fire-breathing monsters…… why don’t you go and
meet Kumiho instead?], Heoju, who had been lost in thought for a long time, spoke
out.

If things went well and they were able to meet Kumiho, they might be able to find the
other tribesman.
[Isn’t that right? You’ll know the identity of the monster that killed the other
tribesman as well.], Heoju spoke trying to give some motivation to Lee Sungmin.

However, forget meeting with Kumiho. Even if he met that monster, it was incredibly
unlikely it would even listen to Lee Sungmin if he wanted to know the location of the
other tribesman.

Kumiho was no ordinary monster and based off of what Lee Sungmin had heard,
Kumiho was a very sly and cunning beast that was playing Predator behind the
scenes.

It wasn’t verified information if Kumiho truly was pulling the strings, but it had
ripped Henemy’s heart out, Henemy who was the previous leader of Predator and
was known to be hostile to humans and ate them.

He couldn’t possibly drag The Crazy Heavenly Demon into this and ask him to go.
This was a beast that could kill them on a whim.

[But don’t you need to? You will have to take the risk at some point.], Heoju said to
Lee Sungmin, reading his thoughts.

‘I know.’, Lee Sungmin replied, feeling bitter.

It wasn’t until sunset when the Crazy Heavenly Demon stood up from the grave and
turned to face them. He fiddled with the bracelet he had in his hands.

“I’m thinking of going to the City of Endless Night.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon said
to Lee Sungmin.

“Good for you.”, Lee Sungmin said, nodding his head.

“I’m thinking of going to The City of Endless Night as well.”, Lee Sungmin added.

“I’m not going.”, said Aladdur, his shoulders trembling.

“Looking at the way that city is run, I think they’re involved with that monster
Kumiho or other human-eating monsters. There’s no way I’m going.”, Aladdur said.

“Even if I give you more money?”, Lee Sungmin asked him.

“Don’t make me repeat myself! How many times do I have to tell you that no money
is comparable to a human life?”, Aladdur cried out.

“Then do as you please.”, Lee Sungmin nodded his head.

He was reluctant to take Aladdur by force. They had been guided well by Aladdur to
the tribe for now. With their destinations set, it wouldn’t be too troublesome if he
used Neville. Thus, there was no need to take Aladdur by force.

“Don’t attract too much attention when you leave though. The Orthodox are not your
match.”, Lee Sungmin replied to Aladdur warning him of his circumstances.

“They’re certainly strong, but I have no intention of getting mixed up with those
bastards another time.”, Aladdur spoke as if he were sorry.

Lee Sungmin took out a large jewel from the spatial pocket and handed it to Aladdur.
Aladdur opened his eyes wide and looked at the jewels given by Lee Sungmin.

“……what is this?”, Aladdur asked in shock.

“Compensation for guiding us here.”, Lee Sungmin spoke as if it were obvious.

“……ugh.”, Aladdur stretched out his hands to receive the jewels as he sounded sick.

He’s surprised by the weight of the heavy jewels, but he was a snob for money after
all.

“I didn’t…”, Aladdur, who was mumbling his thick lips, sighed deeply.

“……I’m not going to go with you at all. Keep…”, he continued to mumble.

“What is it?”, Lee Sungmin asked again as Aladdur was struggling to come up with his
words.

“It’s not just because of the monsters that I won’t go to the City of Endless Night. The
teacher that……… I know. I’m unsure whether she has passed away or not, but if
she’s alive, she’d be there…”, Aladdur spoke solemnly.

“It’s that kind of circumstance.”, Aladdur glanced at the silent Crazy Heavenly Demon,
saying so.
“I don’t know her exact location anymore, but if you’re a member of Erebrisa, I’m
sure you’ll be able to find her if she’s alive. Her name is Frau, I don’t know anything
else that could be of help for you in finding her. But if you meet her, mention my
name and she’ll do you a favor. She’ll be a bit stingy but as long as you pay the price it
should be fine aha…”, Aladdur said so trying to cheer up his departure, but he still
had a sense of dejection at leaving the group surprisingly.

“I’ll make sure to do so.”, Lee Sungmin replied with a smile and nodded his head.

Aladdur seemed to be having mixed feelings of gratitude at the party. Even though
their time was short, they weren’t such a bad group as they all had their unique
circumstances.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon was staring at Aladdur for a while. They didn’t have the
best view of each other but, even he knew he should be grateful for the man who
helped him to at least find his tribe and old lover’s grave. He then surprisingly bowed
his head down to Aladdur at a ninety-degree angle.

“Thank you.”, Byuk Won-Pae said with complete gratitude.

“Well… you don’t need to thank me. It’s a favor, man. Just a favor.”, Aladdur made a
fuss as he gave a rare genuine smile at the corners of his lips.

Lee Sungmin and the party had left the village.

Aladdur had said he would go to a secluded area, not anywhere with big influence so
that he could avoid troubles with the Orthodox.

Through Erebrisa, Lee Sungmin inquired information through Neville about the
Nine-Tailed Fox Kumiho, types of fire-breathing monsters and The City of Endless
Night.

[There is only one Nine-Tailed Fox in all of Eria that has grown all nine tails. There
might be other demonic foxes, but there is only one Nine-Tailed Fox which is known
as Kumiho. Fire-breathing monsters are too common to be narrowed down from the
information you’ve given me, but there’s a chance that Frau knows the identity of the
fire-breathing monster you described.], Neville spoke to Lee Sungmin through a
telepathic message.
‘Are you in the City of Endless Night right now?’, Lee Sungmin asked Neville.

[Yes, Ms. Frau is particularly outstanding among the many Sorcerers in the South. We
really wanted Ms. Frau to join as a member, but we were rejected every time we
asked.]

Information about Frau’s location flowed into Lee Sungmin’s head from Neville.

Likewise, information about Kumiho also came in. Kumiho the Nine-Tailed Fox was a
monster that had lived many, many years. It was said to be the strongest devil fox of
all the fox monsters in Eria and that it was rather hard to locate.

It was true that Kumiho was controlling the actions of the Elders of Predator, but that
didn’t mean Kumiho had specifically engaged in any kind of circumstance, let alone
be traced to any kind of historic action.

It was a very different story from what he heard from Aladdur.

[Kumiho is known to not be hostile to humans. He’s actually been showing a bit of
favor towards them.], Neville spoke to Lee Sungmin.

‘I’ve heard that more and more people are missing in recent years.’, Lee Sungmin
replied as he wasn’t sure at this point what was real and what was not regarding
Kumiho so he stated the facts he did know.

[Hmm…… that’s true. In fact, Kumiho is not entirely free from blame for what
happened. That’s what happens when Kumiho doesn’t take care of the other
monsters.], Neville responded.

‘What does that mean?’, Lee Sungmin asked back confusedly.

[Kumiho is a monster that suddenly became famous a few years ago for the act of
ripping Henemy, the prior King of Monsters, heart out. Originally, there were many
great monsters reigning as the elders of Predator long ago, not only the powerful
yokai from 400 years ago, but also several powerful monsters counting more than
the current number of elders right now. They were under the leadership of Henemy,
but they were holding the knife ready to backstab Henemy at any time he showed a
weakness. But then… Kumiho suddenly appeared.]

Lee Sungmin was not the only one listening. Heoju was also listening in on the
conversation keenly, as he was interested in the knowledge of the present Eria.

[Kumiho’s appearance was extraordinary. Henemy couldn’t resist or defeat Kumiho,

and his heart was pulled out, resulting in him running away. Until Kumiho appeared,
Henemy was a monster that clearly reigned as the King of Monsters. Kumiho, who
took over the spot, reigned only in name and did not control other monsters. It was a
different type of ruling from the days of the old leader Henemy. Henemy was keeping
the other monsters in check so they wouldn’t slaughter humans and gain a greater
power to overthrow him later.], Neville spoke.

[I see now.], Heoju mumbled, shaking his head.

[But because Kumiho was very lax, it is only now that the Great Demons that rule as
the elders in Predator have begun to hunt human beings in order to increase their
strength. As time goes by, the number of humans who will disappear from their
elders will increase.], Neville spoke as if he were drawing a conclusion then let out a
chirp in exclamation as he realized something and continued to speak.

[And now as it turns out, you described the monster that ruined the tribe, a giant
monster with fire-breathing capabilities, and seemed like fire itself, correct? There is
a monster with that characteristic, a monster named Chusung.], Neville exclaimed as
he thought this might be a solid lead.

[Chusung? Chet.], Heoju grumbled in a disappointed tone.

‘Chusung?’

[There are many different kinds of monsters. Chusung is a monster like a chimera
but also it isn’t at the same time. They say that Chusung is something that is like a
dragon but is mutated freakishly and is rather weak. Hmm……… From this old man’s
perspective, he was a quick-tempered and ignorant wretch. But given it’s been 400
years, maybe it’s a little more plausible.], Heoju spoke skeptically.

[Well there’s a lot of information in the City of Endless Night regarding monsters. In
case you don’t know, would you like some information about the pursuit?], Neville
asked.

‘Please do so.’, Lee Sungmin replied.

There was no guarantee that Chusung was the monster that attacked the village, but
it seemed necessary to know his existence at least.

—–

While heading toward The City of Endless Night, the Crazy Heavenly Demon did not
speak much.

He meditated whenever he had time, and checked his internal energy conditions to
make sure he was stable. Thanks to the solemn mood of the visit, the atmosphere of
the party was rather quiet.

Rubia looked around for no reason, and Lee Sungmin checked his internal energy
and cultivation with the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

Along the way, Lee Sungmin was informed by Selgerus that she had failed to process
the scales and bones of the dragon. It seemed that eventually, he would have to visit
the Dwarven Chief to process and use the bones and scales he got.

After 3 days of traveling since the separation with Aladdur, they saw the outskirts of
The City of Endless Night.

It was night time, but the city life was still bustling with the faint dim glow of street
lamps in the city.

[Ah, the city life here is beautiful. The monsters prefer the night look rather than the
day when the sun is up.], Heoju muttered in a happy expression.

‘Is it really necessary to go in during the day though it’s always night here?’, Lee
Sungmin asked.

[If you want to fight monsters, it’s wise to go at sunrise rather than at night even if
it’s just an illusion of sorts.], Heoju said to Lee Sungmin.

It was better to listen to Heoju, who was an incredibly old and powerful monster
himself than going by Lee Sungmin’s own intuition. So the party camped out on the
outskirts of the City until daytime came. The campfire was lit and the meal was
ready, but the Crazy Heavenly Demon did not sit down.

He glared at the City of Endless Night with cold eyes.

“Are you all right?”, Lee Sungmin asked as he saw the odd expression from the Crazy
Heavenly Demon.

“Yea.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon replied emotionlessly.

It was the same question Lee Sungmin had kept asking him since leaving the tribe,
and it was still the same answer every time. Lee Sungmin saw the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s back as he slowly nodded his head to Lee Sungmin’s question.

After staring at the direction of the City for a while, the Crazy Heavenly Demon came
to the fire and sat down.

“I’m sorry.”, Byuk Won-Pae said gloomily.

“It’s all right.”, Lee Sungmin replied understandingly.

“……my heart is so conflicted. I can’t believe I’m so agitated.”, the Crazy Heavenly
Demon spoke truthfully and laughed.

Lee Sungmin didn’t know the exact details of the relationship between the dead
woman from the tribe and Byuk Won-Pae but Lee Sungmin wasn’t going to ask him,
as it was a sensitive time and topic.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to return one day. It was a light expectation I had. But… I
came back with you all and found out she was murdered. I need to get revenge or my
heart won’t settle.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon said coldly as he glared at the embers
withering away from the campfire.

—–

In the early morning, everyone woke up and prepared to enter silently without a
word being spoken between them, as if it were agreed on prior to yesterday’s sleep.

The City of Endless Night was quiet, as it was still dark due to the nature of the City.
The gate was wide open, but no guards were seen. There was no need for such a
thing as guards to exist in the first place.

This was a city of monsters, not humans.

The street they could see through the entrance of the gate was wide and long. They
crossed the street in silence and walked past the closed up street vendor shops. Lee
Sungmin arranged the information in his head.

First of all, he was going to meet Frau, the teacher of Aladdur. He had already
obtained the location of Frau from Neville so he was not too worried about finding
her.

“……Um.”, Lee Sungmin recalled the information of his location as he looked at the
scene before him.

The place where Frau was supposed to be located was part of the Red Light District
in the City of Endless Night.

Lee Sungmin looked at the sexual atmosphere filled with drugs and attractive
lighting with a perplexed expression.
Lee Sungmin wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with the Red Light District.

Mercenaries and prostitutes were pretty much inseparable, and Lee Sungmin used to
stop by the brothels every day when he was a low-ranking mercenary in his previous
life. There was a prostitute whom he met quite frequently, and the amount of money
he spent at the brothels back then was enough to buy him a mansion.

However, that was just his previous life. In his present life, Lee Sungmin had never
been to a brothel, nor had he had any intimate relationships of the sort.

The initial scenery of the City of Endless Night was incomparable to it’s Red Light
District. Frankly speaking, Lee Sungmin felt repulsed at the sight.

He didn’t know why Frau, an outstanding sorceress, would live in the Red Light
District. Even if he didn’t want to go, Lee Sungmin moved toward the location of the
building in his head.

“By the way, shouldn’t all the shops be closed at this time?”, the Crazy Heavenly
Demon muttered.

He had a point, as the Red Light District was normally bustling with life in the later
hours. But right now, it was early morning, so it didn’t make much sense.

Heoju, who heard the words, smiled.

[Ah, don’t you know this is the City of Endless Night? It’s been 400 years, but the
place hasn’t changed much. It feels nostalgic to be back here.], Heoju spoke as he felt
enamored by the sight before them.

The City of Endless Night would overwhelm most people just from the entrance as it
was always night time in this city. The artificial night was illuminated dimly with the
several lanterns glowing across the street. Under the long procession of lanterns
hanging from a string, there were bars with their doors wide open with loud noise
and rambling drunks.

There were several monsters, humans, and half monster-humans seen at the bar
entrances or walking around seducing the opposite sex and adding flirtatious vibes
to the Red Light District.

“Heek!”, Rubia let out a yip as she hid behind Lee Sungmin’s back.

A Naga, a lower half of a snake, upper body of a woman, was flickering her tongue
seductively at the group. In particular, she was trying to seduce Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin looked around the rows of open bars. There were also human women,
and there were women who looked like halflings and monsters.

“Hey, I’m over here. Hihihi…”, the naga flickered her forked tongue as she called out
to Lee Sungmin to get his attention.

She had been purposefully trying to seduce and flirt with Lee Sungmin to grab his
attention, but Lee Sungmin deliberately ignored her actions.

[Maybe the monsters think you’re a Banyo.], Heoju whispered to Lee Sungmin while
he snickered.

‘Uh… is a Banyo a good thing to be?’, Lee Sungmin asked Heoju quietly.

Lee Sungmin recalled the several looks and gazes he had been receiving since
entering the Red Light District. It wasn’t just the snake woman who tried to get Lee
Sungmin’s attention. Several monsters had given blatant looks and advances at Lee
Sungmin.

In fact, one of the rather impatient and impulsive of them came up to him and
grabbed him by the wrist to get his attention.

‘What the hell is wrong with you?’, Lee Sungmin asked irritatedly at Heoju who was
snickering at the dubious Lee Sungmin.

[Isn’t your face pretty?], Heoju said flatly to Lee Sungmin.

‘No, even if it was… this is still too much attention to receive!’, Lee Sungmin quipped at
Heoju.
[That’s because you’re influenced by this old man’s powers. The raw amount of
power you hold is second to none, and is heavily influenced by the old man’s yokai
powers. So it is incredibly attractive for others! Hahaha!].

Heoju was chuckling but eventually he couldn’t keep quiet and snorted with laughter
at Lee Sungmin’s dubiousness.

[The yokai power you inherited is bound to be attractive to those weaklings with
pretty faces. They are struggling with their own maintenance of power and balance
so you look like a fresh prey that anybody would want,], Heoju chortled.

‘Seriously!?’, Lee Sungmin asked with irritation as it seemed he was basically

attracting gold diggers, not anybody genuinely attracted by his looks.

[Hey. I’m asking because I’m really curious, but are you a virgin?], Heoju suddenly
stopped laughing and asked seriously.

The tone of his voice was serious, but the contents of the question were not serious
at all. Thanks to this, Lee Sungmin had no choice but to stop talking to the annoying
old yokai.

“Something like a dog……”

Unconsciously, words popped out of Lee Sungmin’s voice. Then, Heoju burst into
laughter again.

[It’s so strange. Aside from your mental age, your body is very lively. It’s been a while
since this old man came to your body, but I’ve never seen this body solve it’s needs!
Hahaha!]

‘We’re obviously stuck together, and you just want to have se-!’

[Bah! This can’t be tolerated at all! I mean, you’ve got a lot, of course. Never mind this
old man. I won’t care what kind of girl you get mixed up with. Whatever you do, I’ll
take care of it with my hands and pretend I don’t know.]

‘Shut up…!’, Lee Sungmin berated Heoju for taking over his body for a moment and
making fun of his girth.

[Or, yes. Since you’re here, why don’t you do it once? A monster is different from a
human being. Do you know how a Banyo is born? It’s when a man has intercouse
with a monster but fails to hold it in and blows his load! HAHAHA!], Heoju bursted
into laughter from his own obscene jokes.

Lee Sungmin ignored the rambling of the perverted old yokai.

—-

After a long walk through the noisy streets, Lee Sungmin stopped walking.

If the information that he obtained through Erebrisa was true, then Frau, Aladdur’s
teacher, would be at the place he was currently standing in front of.

Lee Sungmin looked up at a building that didn’t look very special. It was an oriental-
style building, no different from other nearby buildings surrounding it.

[Uh…… Mmm.], Heoju stopped his rambling and looked at the person in front of
them.

At the entrance to the builfing, stood a fine looking girl with a thin veil. Although she
looked too young, she must be older than Lee Sungmin because she was actually a
monster.

“Are you a guest?”, the young lady asked Lee Sungmin.

The girl approached with a courteous and seductive gaze in her eyes. Before Lee
Sungmin said anything, Heoju quickly said, [The color of the lantern is blue.]

‘What does that mean?’, Lee Sungmin asked.

[This is a polymorpher.]

The words made Lee Sungmin break out into a cold sweat that trickled down his
neck. Lee Sungmin saw the girl approaching reflexively.

Lee Sungmin knew what ‘polymorpher’ really meant in this situation. The beautiful
fair lady in front of them, was in fact, a man, not a woman.

[Crazy. What the hell is that sorcerer doing here leading people into such a trap in
the open?], Heoju let out a sigh.
Heoju almost fell for the plot of the polymorpher and the sorcerer Frau who was
condoning such a thing.

“……I’m not a guest. I’m here to see Frau.”.

Lee Sungmin said to the polymorpher and brushed the hands that were trying to
grope his buttocks from the woman or man, he couldn’t tell.

The polymorpher’s eyes widened at the remark, and inspected the party once more
as his eyes turned to Rubia.

“Who’s your escort then?”, the polymorpher asked Lee Sungmin as ‘she’ glanced at
the Crazy Heavenly Demon and then back to Rubia.

“……escort?”

“Which one of them is the one warming your bed at night?”, the polymorpher
grumbled in dissatisfaction.

‘She’ stuck out ‘her’ tongue as if ‘she’ was a little child spitting out something
disgusting.

“The young boy, the old man. You have a good appetite, and you brought everything
you like.”, the polymorpher spoke.

“……boy? Are you talking to me now?”, Rubia glared and spat out venomously as her
gender was being assumed.

But before Rubia could try to say more, the polymorpher turned around.

“Follow me.”, ‘she’ said.

“Just what makes you think I’m a boy?!”, Rubia cried out as she felt her femininity
attacked by the crass remarks.

The party followed the polymorpher who entered into the building. The first thing
Lee Sungmin saw was the busy boys half-naked running errands.

Most of their gender were hard to identify between male or female, and most of
them were topless. But, that alone didn’t make them look masculine. With thin
makeup, long hair, and a skirt, it was hard to tell whether the males were females
unless they outright stripped their lower halves.

[Such a taste!], Heoju spat in disgust clicking his tongue.

The workers suddenly stopped their errands and looked at Lee Sungmin’s party
expressionlessly.

“The Master’s guests!”

The polymorpher who was leading the group shouted out at the workers staring at
the party, making them give up their stares and run back quickly to do their work.

The polymorpher climbed the stairs close by. Lee Sungmin heard a lot of
embarrassing noises like moaning and smacking sounds as he went up the stairs.

Rubia lowered her red face as she fumbled with her ears out of nervousness, and the
Crazy Heavenly Demon coughed and pretended not to hear anything.

“My master is here.”, the polymorpher stopped on the third floor, the top floor of the
building.

At the end of the hall was a well decorated door, and before it, the polymorpher
suddenly looked around and took out ‘her’ cosmetics. Then ‘she’ patted some
foundation on ‘her’ cheeks and put red lipstick on ‘her’ lips with great familiarity.

(T/N : Foundation is a powder cosmetic/makeup that people use as similar color to

their skin but cover their face with it to make it appear smooth/ hides pimples, zits,
scars etc.)

“Masterrr~”, the polymorpher called out as ‘she’ entered the room.

‘She’ tapped on the door with a light sound.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia did not notice that the polymorpher was
actually a man, but they already felt strange because of Lee Sungmin’s expression
earlier.

After a moment, the door burst open.

The spacious room was a mess. The bed, which accounted for most of the room, was
disheveled with bedding and pillows all over the place, and the floor was disordered
with underwear, liquor bottles and leftovers of dishes.

“Oh, master. If your room is dirty, you should tell me in advance!”, the polymorpher
said out loud.

“……what is it?”, a voice with a lingering feeling of sleep, spoke.

A woman laid on a spacious bed, raised herself. As if she knew no shame, the woman
was naked with no clothes on. The woman saw the polymorpher, and brushed her
purple hair lightly, and then turned her gaze over to Lee Sungmin.

“……what a strange fellow.”, Frau, the naked woman muttered.

She slowly raised herself off the bed. Her naked, pale-brown skin was so revealing
that it turned the attention of all those who were in the room.

Frau laughed as if their reactions were pleasant. When Frau waved her hand lightly, a
large robe lying on the floor wrapped Frau’s body.

“Are you human?”, Frau asked, directing her question at Lee Sungmin.

“I feel like you’re still human, but you don’t feel human. Half of you already is holding
the power to……… No, I don’t know if it’s real or some magic trick. Who the hell are
you? The law of causality is twisted around you, and the human vessel is half broken
and the contents inside are leaking out.”, Frau muttered.

“……what?”, Lee Sungmin asked, his eyes widening a bit.

“What, you don’t even know what you are? You have a mutated eye, but you are not
aware of your situation.”, Frau spoke, bursting into laughter.

Unknowingly, Lee Sungmin raised his hand and touched his left eye.

“I feel a variety of quirks in you. It’s not a yokai exactly, it’s the spirit of a yokai, and
you have a mysterious fate that I don’t know of.”, Frau spoke to him, her gaze looking
him up and down in interest.

“What are you talking about?”, Lee Sungmin asked.

“Fate.”, Frau grinned.

She sat cross-legged and picked up a pipe she had left on her bed.

“More than that. What the hell are you guys? I guess you didn’t come here to buy and
eat some humans. I think you came to see me.”, Frau asked putting the pipe to her
lips and inhaling a whiff of smoke.

“……I was introduced by Aladdur.”, Lee Sungmin spoke in a low tone.

“What? Oh, -ahat!”, Frau’s eyes opened wide at Lee Sungmin’s answer.

Paht!

In an instant, the room’s temperature cooled down to a chilling degree, and white
demonic spirits appeared around Frau. Frau, who was shrouded by the encircling
spirits, shouted at Lee Sungmin in anger.

“Aladdur?! You came here with the introduction from that son of a bitch?!”

“……Um please wait a moment!”, Lee Sungmin noticed hostility in her words and
tried to get Frau to listen.

The reaction was much more intense than he had expected. He had been warned in
advance by Aladdur, but he never imagined that Frau would react so violently.

Frau, who wielded the demonic spirits around her, expressed an incredibly
oppressive aura, more potent than anybody Lee Sungmin had met so far.

It was a queer feeling. It was a domineering feeling telling him that he should not
fight at all, whether he would win or lose, it wouldn’t even matter. It’s not that he
expected a total defeat if he fought. Just a feeling, that he shouldn’t fight at all.

[It’s quite spectacular…], Heoju mumbled as he admired the mastery of the demonic
spirits from Frau.

[I’ve never seen such a brilliant ghost spirit before. If you fight, you’ll have to win if
you want to live, but don’t try to fight. It’s tricky as shit. It could be a lifetime curse if
you lose.], Heoju warned Lee Sungmin what would happen if he made the wrong
move here.
Frau continued to shout at Lee Sungmin.

“Tell me where that son of a bitch Aladdur is right now!”

“…we separated from each other about a week ago.”, Lee Sungmin replied, as a trickle
of cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

“Where did you separate from?! What a shitty disciple, sending a guest to meet his
teacher without even saying a word, let alone coming here to see her!”, Frau shouted
in displeasure.

When Lee Sungmin started to rouse up his internal energy as he felt the situation
going south, the polymorpher who guided Lee Sungmin to Frau’s room earlier,
suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed Lee Sungmin’s wrist.

“Don’t do anything.”, the polymorpher said in a firm but reassuring tone.

“My master sometimes gets a little rowdy like this. She’ll calm down if you give her
about half an hour, so don’t make a move and just stay still.”, the polymorpher
whispered to Lee Sungmin carefully.

“That fucking bitch!”

Frau’s cursing and yelling was completely in contrast to the polypmorpher’s serene
and calm voice, which made Lee Sungmin a little confused and unsure.

Can he really just let it be like this?

He watched Frau cry out loud half-heartedly as her tantrum started to die down and
she eventually regained her calm after a while.

“……hm.”, Frau mumbled to herself, narrowing her eyes.

The demonic spirits that had been seen earlier started to dissipate. Frau looked
exhausted and eventually, flung herself back to her cozy bed to relax her body.

“……well, this isn’t the only way for a disciple to return. But it’s annoying and ugly to
send someone else to do their job. What should I do, should I go find that boy
myself?”, Frau grumbled, as she raised herself back up, letting a whiff of smoke out
from her lips from the pipe.
“You were sent here by Aladdur? Okay. Do you have anything to ask me? Or did you
come here wondering about your fate?”, Frau asked this time in a calmer tone, to Lee
Sungmin.

“……will you answer my questions if I ask?”, Lee Sungmin asked in a wary voice.

“If it’s just about your destiny, I can answer it since it’s not that difficult. But, I’ll have
to make sure exactly what it is, after I take a closer look at it.”

Taking in a deep inhale of the smoke, Frau laughed at Lee Sungmin as she exhaled a
stream of smoke through her nostrils.

“I’m a very interesting character, boy. I’ll only do it if it’s something interesting for
me.”, she continued.

“What is destiny exactly and its relationship with fate?”, Lee Sungmin asked

“It’s literally a force that acts on fate, distorting it, destiny goes against the very
nature of fate itself.”, Frau answered immediately.

“If you are living in this world, inevitably everyone will get tangled up with this
world’s fate and act accordingly to how the world’s fate flows. Everything that works
with fate means the answers and future are already predetermined. That’s what fate
does. However, destiny is something that goes against the nature of fate. It’s not
something people should have in this world.

But, it’s interesting because it’s force is equivalent to fate itself and allows the person
who has a destiny to carve their own path and go against the predetermined
outcome. But, this can also mess with other’s fates as I said almost everybody in this
world moves according to fate. Hence why people who wield destiny aren’t exactly
welcome forces of nature.”, Frau said.

It was a very vague yet detailed explanation. It had a lot to be left unanswered but,
also a lot to be taken in for information.

Frau pointed at Lee Sungmin with the pipe, and burst into laughter.

“Men who wield destiny are rare, but they do exist. All such men are destined to do
something inevitable to destroy the strings of fate. But… I’ve never met a man who
has such a strong and twisted destiny like you.”
“……what do you mean?‘, Lee Sungmin asked

“The lives you’ve been through. The relationships you’ve made. Your actions. It was
all fate. But, even so I’m not entirely sure.”,

Maybe even now. Frau added so, putting her hand on her breasts.

“For you to meet Aladdur by chance, and to hear my story from Aladdur, for you to
come here and meet me. It looks like a coincidence, but it may not be a coincidence.
You’re twisting and intertwining fate and destiny to something incredibly weird”, she
said with a twisted grin.
Lee Sungmin closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes at Frau.

It was the first time he had ever heard the definition of fate, but when he heard Frau,
he realized her explanation had a point.

The old yokai, Heoju, who had woken up and dwelled within his dantian and armor
then his meeting with Rubia, spirit familiar. The dungeon with Baek Sogo and
Wijihoyeon, the events in Travia Rubes, and his journey down South.

In fact, that wasn’t all.

He found a stone in the dungeon where he died in his previous life and returned to
the past, and ended up meeting Wijihoyeon. Thus, learning there was much more to
the world than he thought.

From then till now, Lee Sungmin always had ‘something to do’, or a ‘direction’ of
sorts. There were also times when he didn’t know how to proceed or lost on what he
wanted to do with this life.

At that time, Lee Sungmin trained himself again and again, going through arduous
trials and gained newfound strength and ideals. And yet after those times of training,
there was always work to be done.

At the Mountain of Mush, the next goal was meeting Denir, the god of time.

When he went down and worked as a mercenary in Behenger, he obtained Shaolin’s

pills and techniques from the dead Xeon, and had a reason to go to Shaolin.

After that? Through that unofficial visit, he was told that he made a connection with
Namgung Heewon and that he would have a fateful encounter in the North later on.

During his stay in Shaolin, he got an errand to go to the Volcano Sect area and met
Denir that time, he also became caught up with the Solitary Blade Dokgo who
became a vampire, and earned his martial nickname.

And again after that? Lee Sungmin heard the story of Envirus from Denir, and while
looking for Envirus, he arrived in the sleeping forest. Where he met Heoju and Rubia.

And he had to stop Baek Sogo from dying in the dungeon. After saving her, he went
North to see this ‘fateful encounter’ he was going to have.

Through that process, he went through a lot when traveling to the North. The
presence of Predator became known to him and he got muddled with their affairs.

Then after he had to go to the South after meeting the Crazy Heavenly Demon to
learn how to control his powers and techniques that made him go crazy and find the
origin of it. During the time of learning what to do there, he finally balanced his
heart, mind and body through the fight with Baek Museon, the vampire-turned
Bloody Heavenly Demon.

Then, his 10 year promise in Rubes. He arrived only to find that Wijihoyeon was
placed under a curse.

By killing Ironclad in Rubes, he became a rogue, and became involved with ‘Beyond
the Heavens’, the transcendent group that placed the curse on Wijihoyeon.

He met the Lord of the Sama Order, Sima Ryunju. And now, he was in the City of
Endless Night after separating with Aladdur as well as trying to find leads on
Kumiho.

All those things that had happened, were they fate? Destiny? What were they? He felt
like he was being led around his life by something greater than him or was that all
just some nonsense Frau was spouting at him? It didn’t seem like it was.

Lee Sungmin rubbed his temples as his mind was throbbing with a headache.

Was this his destiny? There was no such thing as a coincidence in this world.

The words that Mush muttered, lingered in Lee Sungmin’s mind.

If Frau’s words were true, fate was a force that moved his actions in a predetermined
manner. This meant that Lee Sungmin’s life so far has been within the flow of fate
within this world, not a series of coincidences.
Then what the hell was his destiny supposed to be?

“You’re confused, aren’t you?”, Frau giggled and laughed.

As a great sorcerer, she was looking interestingly at Lee Sungmin to some extent.

Though she could not see the ‘apostle of the end’ and it’s influence with Lee
Sungmin. Frau was a special kind of practitioner in magic, a sorcerer, who dealt with
curses, abstract things and the dead. She could see a different view on Lee Sungmin
than any other wizard or witch.

“Fate is forcing a string of coincidences to guide a certain distinct future. You can’t
help it even if you know of it. But you know what? Fate is… It’s as vague as I just said.
Maybe it’s fate or coincidence that you and I are talking like this now. No one knows
that. Even God doesn’t know.”, Frau said with a mysterious smile.

“……why are these things tied to me?”, Lee Sungmin asked as he was incredibly
perplexed.

“That’s not something I would know. All beings are bound by fate. So are the gods in
this world. The thing that gives destiny power would be something that controls fate.
It would have to be something that goes beyond even God. Human beings can never
escape that fate. It’s the same even if you become transcendent. It’s like playing on
someone’s palm after all.”

Lee Sungmin was having a bad headache, he pressed down on his temples.

Frau continued to speak to him, “You’re so strange. You’re a yokai, but you’re still
human, aren’t you? Humanity, usually in a case like yours… Hahahaha! You have to
throw away your humanity as soon as possible. You have to be a monster without
any pre-existing condition like your humanity, only then will you be out of such
problems.”

Lee Sungmin’s left eye seemed to throb.

“If it’s just a trivial evil spirit, I can get rid of it, but the influence it has on you is too
strong. If I try to fight it carelessly, I could die from mishandling it. I don’t know what
it is, but you better be careful. Human beings are meant to stay human from the time
they are born till the time they die. There’s a limit for everybody, how much of a
monster’s power they can consume without it destroying the balance or the vessel’s
body. If you continue to try and wager in between the two, you’ll end up a mess.”,
Frau spoke out flatly.

“Don’t… mind… it.”, Lee Sungmin barely managed to squeeze out his voice.

He felt terrible.

The life that he had lived to this day. The Lee Sungmin that was once dead, the Lee
Sungmin from the past. In his whole life… Lee Sungmin never once thought that the
life he had lived in was swayed and controlled by something like fate, not what he
had chosen and acted on by himself.

That’s why Frau’s words were driving Lee Sungmin into a terrible headache.

“The way to handle a technique that balances the forces. That’s why we’re here.”.

Finally, Lee Sungmin got a hold of himself and glanced over to the Crazy Heavenly
Demon, to point out his technique that was messing with his psyche.

“There’s no way to do it.”, Frau said affirmably.

“As long as you exist as a human being, there is no such technique to balance the
power between a monster’s influence and a human’s. The moment you use that force
or technique in earnest, you won’t be human anymore. It’ll take over slowly, and
you’ll think you have a handle on it, but it’s a complete illusion if you think that.”,
Frau spoke with a small frown on her face.

This was quite the problem for both Lee Sungmin and Byuk Won-Pae, as both of their
cultivations had been tainted with a monster’s influence.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s psyche and mental state was currently being sustained
and subdued down because he was in the vicinity of Heoju, an old and powerful
monster. But before he even met Lee Sungmin, he had been going on rampages for
over 10 years.

If he had not met Lee Sungmin, Byuk Won-Pae would have gone completely crazy,
suffering from madness and never able to wake up.

“……It may sound strange to say it myself. It’s a little weird with the old man’s case.”,
Frau spoke glancing at Byuk Won-Pae.
“It’s normal to be crazy at this stage with your cultivation, but you’re maintaining
your humanity. So, is that what you want to ask me?”, Frau asked.

Even Frau wondered how the Crazy Heavenly Demon was still sane at this very
moment, Although she would not know it was because of Heoju and Lee Sungmin
were around Byuk Won-Pae, that he was still sane.

Lee Sungmin stood silent for a bit wondering if he should bring up his real question
for coming here. So he decided to speak.

“I want to meet Kumiho.”

“Kumiho? The only Kumiho I know is the nine-tailed fox.”, Frau grinned.

“That is the Kumiho I’m looking for.”, responded Lee Sungmin curtly.

Frau widened her eyes in shock at Lee Sungmin’s response.

“You don’t mean to fight Kumiho, do you? No way, that can’t be possible. There’s no
way the world’s fate is going to make such a crazy development, right?”

“I don’t know that. But there’s a reason I need to meet Kumiho.”, Lee Sungmin replied
expressionlessly.

“Hm is that so?”, Frau stroked her chin delicately with her hand.

Her eyes glistened at Lee Sungmin, and she smiled coquettishly.

“How fun. The request itself is not very interesting, but it’s quite interesting because
it’s you who’s asking. Maybe this is also fate.”

Frau nodded and spoke with a sudden serious tone.

“I’ll let you meet Kumiho.”

“……Do you know Kumiho personally?”, Lee Sungmin asked shocked.

“You’re not asking me out of curiosity, now are you?”, Frau looked at Lee Sungmin
and tilted her head in confusion.
When she heard the question asked by Lee Sungmin, Frau looked rather strange. Lee
Sungmin could tell himself.

Lee Sungmin asked Frau to meet Kumiho, simply because she lived in the City of
Endless Night and she might know where Kumiho was, but he seriously didn’t expect
her to answer as if she personally knew the nine-tailed fox.

Kumiho, who was controlling Predator behind the scenes, was an extremely
powerful and mysterious existence. He was unable to locate the mysterious fox even
through Erebrisa.

“More than that. How did you know I was here? Aladdur, the goddamn bastard
shouldn’t know I’m here.”, Frau now eyed Lee Sungmin with suspicion.

“…I received information elsewhere.”, Lee Sungmin responded

“Are you a member of Erebrisa?”, Frau asked as she hit the nail on the head, frowning.

Lee Sungmin nodded silently.

“I don’t like them. I don’t know what the hell they are, but they’re treating people as
‘variables’ and making them members.”, Frau spoke in an agitated voice.

“First of all, you will stay here. I’ll ask Kumiho for you.”, Frau spoke in an irritated
voice but still respected the request.

“What’s your relationship with Kumiho?”, asked Lee Sungmin.

Frau shrugged her shoulders at the remark.

“A long-time friend. I knew Kumiho long before she started to reign over Predator.”

That being said, Frau didn’t seem to be able to get in touch with Kumiho right away
either.

Eventually, Lee Sungmin, Byuk Won-Pae and Rubia got comfortable. They got a room
in the building where Frau was staying as they were now going to stay there for a
while waiting on Frau’s response.

As soon as Lee Sungmin entered the room they received, he spoke to the Crazy
Heavenly Demon.

“If we meet Kumiho, let’s ask her about Chusung the monster who destroyed the
village.”

“Well…”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon had his eyes closed and was trying to meditate,
pondered for a moment whether it would be a good idea and eventually nodded his
head.

He didn’t know if it was Chusung who killed the tribesman or not.

To know exactly what happened at that time, they had to meet Kumiho in person as
Kumiho was the monster who drove the fire-breathing calamity away.

“Maybe… I don’t know…”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon opened his mouth with his eyes
closed and continued to speak.

“If we meet Kumiho and receive information on the monster that killed the tribe, this
old man will go and kill that beast in vengeance no matter where they are.”

“Yes…”, Lee Sungmin replied in a weak voice.

It seemed that the Crazy Heavenly Demon was stubbornly saying he would go crazy
and kill the beast even if they were hiding in a monster den like the City of Endless
Night.

“Don’t interfere with it, please.”, Byuk Won-Pae said with a calm voice and Lee
Sungmin shut his mouth.

“This is my personal vendetta. It has nothing to do with you. So I’m asking you not to
step forward please.”, Byuk Won-Pae continued.

“It…… may be dangerous.”, Lee Sungmin tried to console the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“Haha! Maybe. But this is just what my heart wants…… I don’t want your help.”, the
Crazy Heavenly Demon spoke warmly despite the content of the conversation.

“You helped me with my personal affairs up till now though.”, Lee Sungmin tried to
speak out and reason with The Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“If you had asked me not to come forward, I wouldn’t have. So, you should respect
what the other wishes. Even if I die from fighting that monster, don’t come forward.”,
Byuk Won-Pae said respectfully.

“If you die, I’ll have to avenge you.”, Lee Sungmin spoke furrowing his brows.

“Will you really act out in revenge if I die?”, Byuk Won-Pae spoke surprisedly at Lee
Sungmin’s determined remark.

“Yes, of course.”, Lee Sungmin’s answer made the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s lips form a
heartily smile.

He opened his closed eyes slightly and looked up at Lee Sungmin.

“Do you know?”, he asked Lee Sungmin.

“……know what?”, Lee Sungmin questioned back.

“You. My impression of you has changed a lot since we first met. At the time, you
seemed so emotionless and heartless……… but not now. I feel like I’ve come back to
being human now that you’ve changed as well.”

At the remark, Lee Sungmin widened his eyes in realization at his personality
change.

When he came out of Denir’s trial that he had been stuck in for 2100 years, Lee
Sungmin’s mind state was so worn out that he had become incredibly numb to
emotions and other people. Especially in perceiving the emotions from others.

Having spent such a long time alone, he couldn’t keep his old personality intact.

It got better as he spent more time outside the trial, meeting others, talking and
staying together. The emotionless and dull side of him had changed naturally due to
time and outside stimulations.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon smiled at Lee Sungmin, who was in a bit of shock at the
revelation.
“People change. You are a better person than you were back then. I think that’s the
beauty of being human right there.”.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon spoke to Lee Sungmin heartwarmingly, like a

grandfather speaking to his grandchild.

“……what?”

Lee Sungmin unknowingly became a bit emotional just hearing that others had
perceived his changes before himself.

“Yes, didn’t you just say you would avenge my death if I died?”, Byuk Won-Pae
understood Lee Sungmin and asked a question to help him understand his changes
properly.

“That’s… because there would be no reason to have met you if I didn’t at least avenge
your death.”, Lee Sungmin stammered looking at the floor.

“That’s right.”, Byuk Won-Pae smiled and nodded his head as Lee Sungmin was
nervous and embarrassed.

“But now I have a responsibility. That’s why this old man wants revenge, and that’s
why I’m asking you to stay out of it. You have no reason to join in on my personal
vengeance.”, Byuk Won-Pae spoke and closed his eyes once more.

“So don’t come forward.”, he spoke quietly to Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin closed his mouth and looked at the Crazy Heavenly Demon, which was
meditating with a calm expression. Soon, Lee Sungmin sighed and sat down next to
the Crazy Heavenly Demon to meditate as well.

He had become fond of the old man. Since they had traveled together for over a year
and gotten to know each other slowly but surely. It was natural to be attached to
each other and feel a sense of camaraderie.

It wasn’t just the Crazy Heavenly Demon, the same goes to Rubia and Heoju as well.
They all grew deeply attached to each other while traveling together.

[You naughty boy, you’re embarrassing me.], Heoju spoke out suddenly as he read
Lee Sungmin’s emotions and Lee Sungmin got embarrassed.
Lee Sungmin jumped to his feet and took off his armor. He was going to shove this
old yokai in a pile of shit again as he obviously couldn’t read the mood and came in
with his stupid sarcasm.

Heoju, who suddenly realized what Lee Sungmin was going to do, burst into a roar.

[Hey, hey! You said we were getting closer!]

Lee Sungmin strode toward the toilet ignoring him. Meanwhile, Heoju begged Lee
Sungmin not to drown him in shit for a couple days.

Only after he held the armor over the toilet did Heoju promise bitterly, that he
wouldn’t do it again.
Four days after the meeting with Frau, Lee Sungmin and his party patiently waited
for the day when they would meet Kumiho. Frau said she had delivered the message
to Kumiho, but added that it would take some time for the answer to return.

Whatever the case was, Kumiho seemed quite busy.

“Let’s be honest, you’re pretty strong.”

That night, Frau spoke to Lee Sungmin in her room with a naughty grin. She sat in an
alluring position on the bed in a thin, revealing lingerie.

“You said you learned martial arts to a pretty good extent, right? Then you’ll be
strong in bed too, right? How about it?”

Frau lifted the bottle of liquor in her hand. At her words, Lee Sungmin stepped back
with a cold sweat trickling down his neck.

“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.”, Lee Sungmin muttered.

“Don’t say that. What do you mean you don’t know? You know it clearly. Why don’t
you think less with that head of yours, and let your lower region do the thinking?”,
Frau said smiling coquettishly at him.

Lee Sungmin gulped down his saliva.

It was true that Frau was beautiful, but strangely, Lee Sungmin had no intention or
urge to sleep with her.

It wasn’t that he was forcing himself not to be allured by her, he simply had zero
response in his heart, mind and body to have any kind of intimate relationship with
her, even if it was for one night.

The image of Frau, who was shouting curses while calling on several demonic ghosts
a few days ago, still lingered in Lee Sungmin’s head.

“What a sweet guy.”, Frau grumbled as she noticed Lee Sungmin’s distressed face.

It wasn’t unpleasant to her.

Rather, Frau thought he looked quite cute, as if he were a kid reluctant to have his
first experience with a woman. Perhaps that’s why Frau licked her lips and became
even more enamored with him.

“If you’re embarrassed, just turn off the lights and lie still. I’ll take good care of you.”,
she kept trying to persuade him with more openly sexual advances.

“No, I just don’t want to……”, Lee Sungmin stammered in defiance.

“It’s all males who will be the one who turn into a beast in the sheets with his lower
half, once his upper half goes missing. You don’t think I know that?”

She grinned from ear to ear.

“What you like is something I hate.”, Lee Sungmin stood his ground.

“What a strange fellow. Why? Is there another girl who has captured your heart? Is it
because of guilt? Don’t worry, what happens here, stays here. I won’t have anybody
spreading any unnecessary rumors about how I’m playing around with Ghost Gun in
bed.”, said Frau with a grin.

Lee Sungmin slapped his face with his hand and spat out a hoarse cough. Frau, who
was giggling, took the bottle of alcohol to her mouth and took a sip.

“Well, if you really don’t like it, I can’t help it. I’m pretty fond of forcing things.”, Frau
spoke and got up.

She approached Lee Sungmin and poured some alcohol into his mouth. After a few
gulps of liquor, Frau put down the bottle.

“Answer came from Kumiho.”, she whispered in his ear.

Lee Sungmin, who was thinking about going back to his room, came to his senses
real quick once he heard about Kumiho.
Lee Sungmin looked up at Frau with determined eyes.

“By noon tomorrow. They want you to come to a middle house, one that is safe and
secluded from any unknown peeping eyes or ears. I said I won’t interfere with your
business any further, so all you have to do is go and see Kumiho.”

“……on our own?”, Lee Sungmin was rather surprised that Frau wasn’t going to insist
on coming with them.

“Why? Do you want me to come with you? I won’t even try to help you out with
anything else even if I do come. So you shouldn’t expect anything from me.”, Frau
teased.

“No, it’s okay.”, Lee Sungmin shook his head.

Frau said she was friends with Kumiho. Even if Lee Sungmin decided to fight with
Kumiho, it was natural that Frau would not help him.

They weren’t close enough for him to ask for any kind of help from her.

The next day, Lee Sungmin and his party headed for the middle house located on
Yugwak street. The building was surprisingly lavish and high end.

There was still a little time left until noon came, but when Lee Sungmin told the
attendant that he had an appointment in the annex of the building at noon, the door
opened immediately.

“She’s already waiting.”, the one-eyed female monster, who was the attendant,
opened the door for them.

She curled her hair, looking and examining Lee Sungmin up and down, giving him the
same flirtatious looks he had been receiving since coming to the City of Endless
Night.

Passing through the hallways Lee Sungmin and the party saw a beautiful garden and
pond. Beyond the pond, there was a small house in the back.

The one-eyed monster who was guiding them, stopped.

“Kumiho is inside.”

Upon hearing that, Lee Sungmin passed by the monster and entered.

There was no sign of anybody being in the detached house, and it was quite wide. So
Lee Sungmin had to hesitate for a while and wondered about where to go.

Soon, a voice rang in Lee Sungmin’s head.

[This way.], the voice rang in the space.

It was a woman’s voice. Lee Sungmin hardened his expression and looked in the
direction of the voice.

Rubia gulped, and the Crazy Heavenly Demon narrowed his eyes with a bit of
nervousness apparent. They all had different ways to express their nervousness, as
for what lay ahead of them would be a monster of great strength and power.

One who also was pulling the string behind Predator and maybe even more
organizations. Lee Sungmin didn’t know what kind of character Kumiho was or just
how powerful she would be, but he knew he should not get comfortable with her.

In the hallways of the detached house there was a white door, behind that door, the
voice of Kumiho could be heard.

Lee Sungmin reached out and pushed the white door to open it.

In the middle of the splendidly decorated room, sat a beautiful woman.

The woman sitting down by a table was dressed in beautiful kimono radiant with
colored embroidery. She had pale, fair skin with a platinum blonde hair that flowed
down to her waist and deep, blue eyes.

Lee Sungmin stood there at the entrance, and looked at the woman carefully before
opening his mouth

“……Kumiho?”

“Yes.”, the woman replied with a small voice and nodded her head slightly.
Kumiho had an impressive beauty, much different from the image Lee Sungmin had
expected. To be honest, Lee Sungmin thought Kumiho would have a domineering
appearance and character, one he would not be able to even look at.

However, Kumiho looked far different from his impression, and had a subtle air of
grace and dignity.

Kumiho raised her hand with a graceful smile and spoke, “Please sit.”

Kumiho turned her gaze to the seat opposite of her and suggested it to Lee Sungmin
with her eyes.

Lee Sungmin briefly pondered on how to accept the kindness he felt from Kumiho.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a reason for her to be so
kind.

“Are you embarrassed?”, she asked, picking up on Lee Sungmin’s confused

expression.

“……yeah.”, he replied honestly and nodded his head.

Kumiho smiled as if she had expected it.

She stared only at Lee Sungmin without giving a glance to the Crazy Heavenly Demon
and Rubia that stood behind him.

No, to be exact, she saw Lee Sungmin’s armor and his dantian infused with Heoju’s
spirit.

“How’s your tolerance to the power inside you?”, Kumiho asked politely.

Lee Sungmin’s expression slightly stiffened. It was the same with Heoju, as his spirit
subtly shook.

[What? How do you know me, nine-tailed fox, Kumiho?], Heoju spoke at a frequency
that only Lee Sungmin could hear.

“……how do you know about Heoju?”, Lee Sungmin realized Kumiho could not hear
Heoju and asked on his behalf.
At the question, Kumiho raised a faint smile of approval. Her gaze went upwards as if
she was reminiscing the past, rather than focusing on the present.

“When Heoju was still alive, 500 years ago…… I became indebted to that old man.”

[Debt? What kind of debt? I don’t even remember.], Heoju questioned.

“What kind of debt?”, Lee Sungmin asked again on Heoju’s behalf.

“Maybe he wouldn’t remember me then. I was nothing but a normal fox at that time.”,
she smiled faintly.

Her smile contained no malicious intentions but instead one of thankfulness.

[Of course I wouldn’t remember…… wait. 500 years ago, you were just a normal
fox?], Heoju was astounded at her remark.

[An ordinary fox became a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox in just 500 years? You’re crazy.
That’s completely preposterous!], Heoju exclaimed as he could not believe it.

‘What do you mean?’, Lee Sungmin asked Heoju in his mind.

[Of course it’s preposterous. An ordinary fox must live for more than 100 years to
become a demon fox, and usually grows its tail one by one every 200 years. You
would only be able to become a nine-tailed demon fox after 2,000 years or so. That’s
why Kumiho is considered to be one of the most powerful and special creatures
among the great monsters in Eria!], Heoju spat out in vain and mockery as if the
situation Kumiho was proposing was impossible by all means.

“You’re saying it’s been 500 years since you became a Nine-Tailed Fox”, Lee Sungmin
then asked Kumiho in a non-intrusive manner of speech.

“Yes.”, she replied with a nod of the head.

[I can’t believe it.], Heoju murmured to himself in disbelief.

Kumiho spoke as she looked at the magic armor Lee Sungmin had on.

“Can we talk directly to Heoju through your connection?”

Badump… Badump…

Kumiho’s sudden words made Lee Sungmin’s heart palpitate in anxiety, as cold sweat
trickled down the back of his neck. Heoju, hearing her words, rose up from above the
armor in the shape of a surging purple flame for all to see.

Kumiho smiled brightly at the sight of the flame emerging.

“Heoju.”, she spoke in a comforting and friendly tone of voice.

[Don’t pretend to know me and speak in a friendly way. I don’t remember you at all.],
replied Heoju harshly in a rude manner, as his voice was audible to all now.

Kumiho, who was looking up at Heoju, looked back to Lee Sungmin again.

She continued to speak, looking at the left eye of Lee Sungmin, which was dyed gold
from the mutation of his cultivation, embracing Heoju’s powers.

“Not yet, I assume?”, she asked cryptically to Lee Sungmin.

“Yes?”, Lee Sungmin replied in confusion.

“Your transformation.”, Kumiho spoke out to him matter-of-factly.

After her words, silence dropped in the room. Shortly after the brief silence,
something started to creep up from Kumiho’s back.

Nine, sleek and golden tails swayed in a mesmerizing manner.

“I can help you.”, she spoke to him

[What are you talking about?], Heoju’s voice this time cooled down as Kumiho
seemed to be proposing something helpful towards the assimilation of Heoju’s
powers and Lee Sungmin’s.

Kumiho, who revealed her tails, was showing a completely different vibe than before.
The complete over-bearing strength and aura of a great demon, one that ruled over
the 5 elders of Predator, surged out throughout the room.

Lee Sungmin subconsciously grabbed the spear he had set down beside him, and
gripped it tightly out of reflex.

“It seems that the human vessel is already well prepared. If I help you, Heoju, you’ll
be able to take possession of that body without any problems.”

Kumiho gave an ominous grin this time, completely shattering her kind, polite air of
dignity earlier.

“What?!”

At Kumiho’s words, Lee Sungmin became awfully surprised and raised himself
flusteredly. It was at that moment. Kumiho reached her hand out, and two of her tails
stretched out in a flash.

The stretched tail clasped Lee Sungmin’s arms and held him back from moving an
inch.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon shouted angrily at Kumiho. Then, a 3rd tail swung and
hit Byuk Won-Pae’s body.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

With a loud noise, shockwaves reverberated on contact and thrust the Crazy
Heavenly Demon’s body into the wall.

“I want to help you.”

Kumiho spoke politely once more, her actions completely in contrast to her manner
of speech.

“You lost your body in the genocide that happened 400 years ago. You lost your
strength by dubious trickery. The exorcists restrained you and destroyed your body.
When I found out about that, do you know how frustrated and angered I was at
being powerless, unable to help you?”, Kumiho spoke to the raging flame of Heoju.

The power of the tails that were restraining Lee Sungmin’s body grew stronger as it
gripped tighter around his arms noticeably and Kumiho seemed to be angered.

Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth and started to rouse up his internal energy. Noticing
this, Kumiho’s expression slightly stiffened and shot off two more tails to seize Lee
Sungmin’s legs.

“That human body, it might not have your power when you were in your prime, but it
could get there as it’s fairly close to it. What are you hesitating about? Are you
doubting me?”, she spoke out once more to the flame of Heoju.

“Heoju!!!”, Lee Sungmin shouted out Heoju’s name in a harsh voice.

Heoju, shaking in the form of a flame above Lee Sungmin’s head, was still silent.

“The human body is already affected by your powers. It’s not completely turned over
to a monster yet, but if I help you, you’ll be able to exterminate that human soul and
push your soul into the body, becoming able to possess it fully. Aren’t you currently
residing in that man’s armor? Haven’t you planted your powers in his body for this
moment?”

Lee Sungmin’s face distorted when he heard that.

At first, he doubted Heoju when they first met, but as he went through the incidents
and several life and death battles with him, Lee Sungmin erased his doubts about
Heoju’s presence.

It was because Heoju had saved his life multiple times and even got along with him.
Lee Sungmin honestly started to feel happy about having Heoju around and pretty
much already thought of him as a friend. But, at Kumiho’s words, he felt for the first
time in a very long time, to doubt Heoju’s intentions.

All of this… Him lending his powers to save Lee Sungmin multiple times… His
sarcasm and friendly jokes… It was all just to possess his body?

His left eye had started to mutate as his powers started to assimilate with Heoju’s.
Was it all because Heoju wanted to take away this body and kill him?

[……humph!]

Heoju suddenly made a noise after all the silence and snorted at Kumiho.

[Don’t speak nonsense. Do you think this old man is imparting his powers to this
human because he wants to take over his body?], Heoju spewed out in scorn at
Kumiho, and his purple flames started to rage and swell in anger at her.
[Don’t be silly. If you really knew me, you would tuck your tail in, bow your head
down, and beg to be forgiven!], Heoju spoke in an enraged voice.

Heoju’s words made Kumiho’s eyes widen in shock. The Crazy Heavenly Demon, who
was struck into the wall, raised himself up with a stream of red aura, and Rubia was
bewildered by what to do.

Heoju who saw all of this happen shouted in an angry voice once more, [Do you not
understand me?!]

“Is… it… really…?”, Kumiho’s shoulders trembled a little as she was a bit intimidated
by Heoju’s cry.

After hesitating for a moment, Kumiho sighed in response to Heoju’s anger and
nodded her head.

“……sorry.”, Kumiho bowed her head down and apologized.

The pressure that weighed on the space and the tails that were restricting Lee
Sungmin’s limbs disappeared in smoke. Lee Sungmin looked up at Heoju’s flame as
his body was lowered back down.

[What, asshole?], Heoju, who received Lee Sungmin’s gaze, answered in an irritated
voice.

[Did you really think I’d bite you in the ass and take away your body, just like that
nine-tailed fox said?], Heoju scorned Lee Sungmin as if he were lecturing an idiot.

“Uh…”, Lee Sungmin stood there dazed and stuttered.

[You bastard! You don’t really don’t trust people, even monsters huh?!]

Heoju cried out in a fit of rage as he was mostly just upset that Lee Sungmin almost
dumped him in the toilet yesterday.
“……you have gone far beyond being disrespectful.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon
suddenly interjected as he staggered to get up.

Kumiho sighed and apologized once more with another bow to the Crazy Heavenly
Demon. Even though she had bowed to both Lee Sungmin, Heoju and the Crazy
Heavenly Demon, the three of them continued to glare at her angrily.

Although he had been caught by surprise, Kumiho’s strength was beyond Lee
Sungmin’s imagination. Lee Sungmin felt that even if he fought with all his might, he
would not survive if she seriously wanted to kill him.

Her strength, from what she had shown, was comparable to Geniella’s, the Vampire
Queen in Travia.

“I’m sorry I misunderstood. I thought that of course, Heoju would be after your
body.”

[Sometime long ago I did, but it’s not the case anymore.], Heoju grumbled. [His body
and soul are incredibly eerie. I don’t want to get killed by messing with it.]

Heoju spoke truthfully, as he knew Lee Sungmin was someone incredibly special and
not someone that a monster should even think of possessing.

“……if you’re worried about that……”, Kumiho spoke quietly in a suggestive tone.

[I said I don’t need it.], Heoju cut her off abruptly as he didn’t want to listen to her
bullshit any longer.

Kumiho’s shoulders flinched at his cold remark. She finally understood that Heoju
was not going to possess Lee Sungmin, as he had rejected her firmly multiple times
at this point.

‘Is it affection maybe?’, Kumiho suddenly thought, as she couldn’t come up with a
reason why Heoju would adamantly refuse possessing Lee Sungmin’s body.

Kumiho furrowed her brows. She couldn’t be sure of it, but if it was true, then it was
something completely unheard of.

The Heoju that Kumiho remembered, was known to have zero affection for humans,
was utterly ruthless in slaughtering them, and amassed fear.

“I… I wanted to help you because I thought you wanted to see me.”, Kumiho stuttered.

[You’ve done something unnecessary. Thanks to you, I’m in a total bind.], Heoju
grumbled in discontent.

“……sorry.”, Kumiho muttered sheepishly.

[Whatever. It was out of respect for me, after all. Why are you acting so shut up
though?], Heoju spoke arrogantly to Kumiho’s suddenly meek behavior.

Heoju then turned to Lee Sungmin and spat out at him, [Didn’t you come here to ask
Kumiho some things?]

Lee Sungmin collected his thoughts quickly and calmed his emotional state. He was
embarrassed and angry at the sudden situation that Kumiho had forced on him.

But Lee Sungmin was well aware that if he acted according to his feelings, he would
do things terribly wrong. Lee Sungmin nodded after taking a deep breath.

“A few years ago. Kumiho, you might not remember, but you saved a tribe from a
crisis that nearly wiped them out. Do you remember the incident?”, Lee Sungmin
asked in a cool manner.

“Of course I remember.”, Kumiho replied to Sungmin with a respectful tone once
again.

“I came down South to meet that tribe recently. I wanted to ask if we can meet the
tribesman you rescued and took with you. And the other thing I wanted to ask
related to that tribe, was if you knew the identity of the fire-breathing monster that
attacked them.”

At Lee Sungmin’s words, Kumiho was silent for a moment. After a while, Kumiho
smiled and opened her mouth.

“Do you want a method to balance the forces with the technique they practiced?”

“If possible.”, Lee Sungmin didn’t hide his true intention with it.

“You’re a weirdo, I can see that. Frau told me about you. About the strong destiny
that is intertwined with you. You’re standing in the middle of a monster and a human
being. Your body was so mixed with the power of the yokai, that your eye is golden
and you’re almost a complete halfling. But yet, your humanity has somehow not
collapsed.”, Kumiho looked up to the flame of Heoju swaying in the air, saying so.

“A tribe that deals with forces of the yokai. They were worshippers of the dead Heoju
that they praised as their god. Their hundreds of years of worship have allowed
them to delve into the remnants of Heoju’s fear, and use it for their own techniques.
But their ability to handle the technique itself was so weak, it wasn’t enough for
them to maintain their humanity.”, she spoke in a matter-of-factly tone.

“……are there any side effects?”, Lee Sungmin asked.

“As I said, the tribesmen were able to wield the yokai power because they managed
to receive it after hundreds of years of worship. They used that power as a breathing
technique, and they lumped that force together with their personal techniques
forming a new technique that was unstable. Those who worshipped the power and
used it on it’s own without trying to tamper with it were relatively safe, but the
others who did not and mixed the techniques, suffered from madness.”

“…well shit.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon groaned.

He realized what caused his madness through the past 10 years, going on berserk
killing sprees. Kumiho stayed silent as she turned to Lee Sungmin.

“Frau said that it’s impossible for humans to handle the yokai powers on their own
though.”

Lee Sungmin spoke as he realized that even without the tribesman mixing their own
techniques with the yokai powers, they could still not handle it.

“If you’re a pure human being, yes, that would be that case. But you’re not a pure
human being. As long as you don’t revert to being completely human again or
become a complete monster, you won’t lose your humanity even if you use the yokai
powers, meaning you can utilize them in your current state as long as you keep using
the correct method.”, answered Kumiho.

It was true that Lee Sungmin felt a little relieved at the words, but he could not
express his feelings because he could not fully believe Kumiho’s words and decided
to only take them at face value.

“And as for your other question, the identity of the fire-breathing monster that
attacked the tribe. It was Chusung.”, Kumiho continued.

When the Crazy Heavenly Demon heard the name Chusung, his eyes widened and
glistened with murderous intent. Kumiho tilted her head and looked at the Crazy
Heavenly Demon as she felt the sudden murderous intent.

“Where is Chusung right now?”, Lee Sungmin quickly asked.

“Why are you looking for him?”, Kumiho asked as she narrowed her eyes.

“Revenge.”

This time it was the Crazy Heavenly Demon who answered her.

Kumiho looked at the Crazy Heavenly Demon with an amused expression and spoke,
“You’re a brilliant warrior, but it’s going to be hard to kill Chusung, even for you.
Humans and monster’s strength are difficult to compare, and Chusung has been a
monster that has lived for many years accumulating his power.”

“It’s none of your business.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon replied coldly to her.

“Chusung left this city a while ago.”, Kumiho replied with a smirk.

“When I met Chusung back in the village of the tribe. I chased him down and tried to
kill Chusung in this city. I… wanted to protect the town where I could feel the
remnants of Heoju’s power. Because of that, Chusung became aware I was chasing
him and fled as soon as he heard of it.”, Kumiho spoke as she looked to the ceiling
with a smile of nostalgia.

“Chusung left the City of Endless Night?”, Byuk Won-Pae questioned her.
“Yes, I don’t know where Chusung is right now. If he comes back here, I’ll kill him
myself.”

Kumiho responded with a devilish grin, clearly trying to incite a reaction out of the
Crazy Heavenly Demon.

Byuk Won-Pae’s face contorted at her words and shook his clenched fists. He thought
he would meet Chusung if he came here to the City of Endless Night, where several
monsters reside.

But, Chusung had already left the City of Endless Night. Lee Sungmin had found the
answers he was looking for in terms of dealing with the powers of Heoju, but the
Crazy Heavenly Demon wasn’t as fortunate.

“Well then.”, Kumiho spoke as she raised herself up.

“As you requested, I will let you meet the survivors of the tribe. It’s a good time to do
so.”, she continued.

“What do you mean ‘good time to do so’?”, Lee Sungmin asked confusedly at her
cryptic words.

“In the next few days, I will have to leave from here.”, Kumiho responded with a
serene expression, retaining her dignified look from earlier.

“There are many restrictions because of the training I am currently undergoing. So I

have to leave periodically every now and then to go back to the mountains I’ve been
training in.”

“Restrictions? No way, are you training at the Mountain of Mush?”, Lee Sungmin
widened his eyes in disbelief.

“Ah ha ha… I know about the Mountain of Mush, but it is not the Mountain of Mush
that I am training at, the mountains I’m training in are not that far away from here.”,
Kumiho turned around saying so.

“I would actually like to invite you to come with me if you have the time to train with
me but, I should show you where the other tribesmen are first.”, she said and
signaled Lee Sungmin and his party to follow.
Standing in the middle of the garden, Kumiho raised her right hand and drew a letter
in the air with her index finger.

Then the space trembled and cracked. As they walked into the portal of space, Lee
Sungmin could see a large, oriental-styled mansion built in a spacious forest.

“There are plenty of enemies of mine that try to look for me. Thus, I usually live here
in solitude.”, Kumiho explained to Lee Sungmin and his party.

There were signs of activity all over the forest. Lee Sungmin stroked his spear
reflexively, feeling the keen gazes looking at him from all over.

Kumiho raised her hand as if to signal the gazes to stop.

“They’re not hostile people. Please show yourselves.”, Kumiho spoke out, looking at
the blank forestry.

The nearby bushes shook and a young man with a healthy appearance walked out.
Starting with him, more and more people who had been hiding could be seen.

Men and women of varied and mixed ages walked out to greet them. The moment
Lee Sungmin saw them, he felt an inexplicable feeling of similarity to them.

[It’s because of my powers.], Heoju murmured, sensing Lee Sungmin’s thoughts.

“Who are you?”, the first young man to walk out, spoke.

The survivors in the village were also feeling an intangible feeling of similarity to Lee
Sungmin, and they were wary of such impulsive feelings. As Lee Sungmin saw them
looking at him with wary gazes, he wondered how to explain the circumstances.

[No need to say anything.], Heoju spoke to him in a reassuring tone and materialized
into the flame form of his spirit he had taken on earlier in front of Kumiho.

The survivors who saw the flame, immediately widened their eyes in shock and
recognized Heoju’s presence. Indeed there was no need for talk, as they knew that
flame as the god they had worshipped for hundreds of years.

They immediately knelt down in their spots and bowed their heads in reverence to
Heoju’s flame.
“Oh my God!”, one of the villagers amongst the kneeling crowd cried out in shock.

Since Heoju seemingly materialized out of Lee Sungmin’s body, they thought Lee
Sungmin was the new advent of the god they worshipped.

Heoju gave a smug laugh as if such a reaction were natural, and Lee Sungmin
frowned at Heoju in embarrassment.

Since meeting the villagers a while back with Kumiho, Lee Sungmin, the Crazy
Heavenly Demon and Rubia had been living in the forest.

The villagers were not leaving the forest, and Lee Sungmin had some things to learn
from them. The villagers were surprised to learn that Lee Sungmin would still not
balance the power of Heoju out.

“You can’t use your divine power?”, asked Abrom, with a puzzled look.

Abrom was the first man that Lee Sungmin had seen when meeting the villagers a
few days ago.

Lee Sungmin had already told them not to call him the advent several times
repeatedly, but the villagers, including Abrom, were calling Lee Sungmin as however
they wanted, even though they said they would respect him.

‘What kind of nerve is that?… ’, Lee Sungmin was irritated with the unconditional awe
and veneration in their eyes and manner of speech.

[Pft… Have you still not realized that this old man is a God to those humans?], Heoju
mocked Lee Sungmin in a prideful tone of voice.

Lee Sungmin just nodded his head, dropping the words in one ear and out the other.

“How to then…”, Abrom stroked his chin and was lost in thought.

Their technique of handling the power of Heoju was called ‘the godly breathing
technique’, but it was just a pointless name and seemingly normal breathing method
used in meditation.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon had mastered it, too, but he could not instruct Lee
Sungmin, as he had taken an Oath when he first learnt it, not to pass it on to any
other person and would lose his cultivation if he broke the Oath.

“I’ll have to write a book.”, Abrom replied, nodding his head with a determined
expression.

—-

Two days had passed since then, without receiving the book from Abrom.

Suddenly, Kumiho came.

“As I said last time. I have to leave you for a while, so I’m just here to say goodbye for
a bit.”, she spoke to Lee Sungmin.

“How long will you be gone?”, Lee Sungmin asked her.

“I’ll be gone for about 15 days or so.”, she replied expressionlessly.

Usually, it takes 2000 years for a demon fox to grow none-tails fully.

In the case of Kumiho, the time was shortened to 500 years. Lee Sungmin
conjectured there must have been some kind of outside influence to expedite her
growth.

Lee Sungmin still knew nothing about her.

“I left the portal open. You can leave this forest whenever you want, but if
possible…… I hope to see you again when I get back.”, Kumiho blushed slightly.

Lee Sungmin was feeling that the target of Kumiho’s words and facial expression was
not himself, but rather Heoju.

[If I could, I would like to as well.], Heoju replied with a sullen voice.

“……perhaps, even if you don’t remember, I was indebted to you. That’s why I became
a monster to attain the strength to repay you, but…… I couldn’t stop you from
destroying yourself. I wanted to show you that I still cared about my debt to you, and
protected these people in your stead.”, Kumiho spoke to Heoju, her cheeks flushing
bright red in embarrassment.

[I do not remember such a debt, nor have I asked you to do this, so I do not feel
grateful. But I’ll acknowledge that you protected these people in respect of me.],
Heoju replied.

Lee Sungmin, who was listening quietly, felt Heoju’s attitude was very arrogant, but
Kumiho looked thrilled when she heard it.

(T/N : LOL Heoju’s a yandere confirmed and Kumiho is a fangirl masochist PAHAHAHAH)

Kumiho answered in a quivering voice, with her head bowed, “…… thank you.”

With her heartfelt gratitude, Kumiho left the forest.

Soon, another two days passed until Abrom came back to Lee Sungmin.

“Here you are.”, Abrom spoke with a cheerful expression handing Lee Sungmin a thin
book.

After receiving the book, Lee Sungmin couldn’t understand and had no choice but to
ask.

“It’s not that thick. Why did it take four days?”, he asked.

“That’s… because only few of us know how to write.”, Abrom replied in a dejected
manner looking at the ground in embarrassment.

“You could have asked me.”, Lee Sungmin replied, tilting his head.

“How can I ask the advent for such a favor?”, Abrom trembled with a look of deep
regret and fear.

“Then just ask others…… there’s an old man I came with who is literate.”, Lee
Sungmin replied casually trying to diffuse Abrom’s extreme reactions.

“This is our tribute to the advent. How can I get help from foreigners of the tribe?”,
Abrom replied still with a look of unwavering faith, fear and respect.
Feeling as if he had spent four days in vain, Lee Sungmin sighed at the rather
uncomfortable circumstances.
Kumiho had finally left the City of Endless Night, Chusung knew it well. Most of the
monsters who reside in the City of Endless Night wouldn’t know about the presence
of a ridiculously strong monster like Kumiho, but Chusung knew.

Of course, it wasn’t that Chusung was so good at finding information himself to find
out Kumiho’s secret that she would train every few days and leave the City of Endless
Night.

“Are you sure?”, Chusung asked as he looked down at the darkness from the CIty of
Endless Night, whose lights were dim.

The remark was greeted by a nod of a presence standing near Chusung.

‘That person’s wearing a big robe, so it’s hard to tell if they’re a man or a woman.’,
Chusung thought to himself as he looked to the person who had given him this
information.

“Kumiho has definitely left the City of Endless Night.”, spoke the androgynous voice
from behind the hood.

Because of the androgynous nature of the being, even the voice made it hard for
Chusung to distinguish the gender.

“For future reference, she will not come back for at least 15 days. It will take two
days to get to the City of Endless Night from the Hughal Mountains, even for the
speed of Kumiho taken into account. This is because you must fast and pray for ten
days and nights to get a reception with Maeryeong the leader of the pavilion in the
mountains where she is trying to go.”

“Hmm!”, Chusung twitched as he heard the name Maeryong.

He didn’t know the identity of Maeryong or the pavilion, he did know that the reason
Kumiho was able to become a nine-tailed fox so quickly, was because of the power
from them.

After learning about it, Chusung also wanted to go to the pavilion ruled by Maryeong,
but the mysterious hooded person told him, it was not a place he should go to on a
whim. Although it was unfortunate, Chusung gave up on the idea of going to the
Pavilion.

There were 15 days to act. In that time, Chusung intended to ‘liberate’ the citizens. If
Kumiho was there currently, he wouldn’t even think of doing such a thing.

In fact, since Chusung was chased from the village he was slaughtering a few years
back, he had developed a grudge against Kumiho.

‘It was then.’, Chusung gritted his teeth in anger.

The memory of him fleeing in disgrace was still vivid.

Monsters who gain power for themselves, were known to be complete existences of
fear from the residents of the forest. But he had lost such a chance due to Kumiho
and had his honor stained with disgrace.

That day he had to run away from the City of Endless Night, leaving his pride behind
to save his life. But not now. Chusung couldn’t help but feel that he was robbing an
empty house with Kumiho gone, but such thoughts were trivial when it came to
revenge.

Chusung recalled the arrogant, haughty face of Kumiho staring down at him with
contempt back in the tribe he was slaughtering.

‘…… hm.’

Chusung had an odd reaction as he remembered her face and looked down at his
bulging crotch. Chusung had pledged to himself since that day that he would make
Kumiho tremble and grovel before him both in mind and body.

The androgynous and mysterious figure next to him didn’t really care for Chusung’s
ambitions. The cloaked figure knew that manipulating Chusung was rather easy.
Chusung was an undeniably strong monster, but he was pretty much an arrogant and
weak-minded fellow. The mysterious figure could read Chusung’s inner thoughts like
a book.
‘You’re such a fool, Chusung is probably thinking of making Kumiho his sex slave later.’,
the mysterious figure thought half-heartedly.

He had a rough idea of Chusung’s thoughts, but he didn’t think Chusung’s plan to
enslave Kumiho would come to fruition.

“Based on what you’ve said, since Kumiho has been gone from the city for a few days,
you’ll be able to take over the city easily… That’s only if you’re as strong as you’ve
said though.”, the mysterious figure spoke up to Chusung.

“Without any strong monsters being present or Kumiho, this monster’s body is the
strongest in the City of Endless Night.”, Chusung spoke, haughtily banging his chest
with his fist in confidence.

Chusung continued with a glare to the mysterious figure, repeating the figure’s
words right back at him.

“That’s if what you say is true.”

The mysterious figure behind the hood chuckled to himself and gave Chusung an
answer.

“I didn’t lie. I will keep my promise. The City of Endless Night is quite the profit to
capture! You just have to make sure you keep your words on the promise you’ve
made with me.”

The mysterious, cloaked figure and Chusung had made a deal a month ago. He
sought out Chusung who was hiding from Kumiho and offered him a deal. He offered
information on how to reclaim the City of Endless Night from Kumiho to Chusung, in
return that Chusung would kill each and every elder monster from Predator aside
from Kumiho herself.

Chusung accepted the request easily. He was confident if he made plans to kill each
of the Great Elder monsters from Predator in a one-on-one fight, as long as they
didn’t team up or as long as the target wasn’t Kumiho. He was a monster of great
power, but his overall strength was just below Kumiho’s.

In addition, the request of the mysterious figure was one of Chusung’s goals anyways
as he wanted to rule over all monsters eventually.
“Let’s go.”, Chusung said in a serious voice as he narrowed his eyes at the City of
Endless Night and embers crackled from his body.

The cloaked figure nodded slowly as they headed for the city.

It had been a long time since Lee Sungmin last used a breathing technique. Lee
Sungmin sat criss-crossed, practicing the pattern of breathing that the tribesmen
used. It would take a while for him to thoroughly master it and have it register as a
skill.

As it was his first time learning this breathing technique, he needed to be fully
focused on the pattern, as through time, he would be able to execute the technique
subconsciously even while he slept.

‘It’ll take a while to get there.’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself as he breathed in and
out.

Lee Sungmin was well aware that he did not possess any kind of heaven defying
talent in picking up new things. If anything, the only thing he was talented at was
hard work ethic.

All the martial arts he had painstakingly mastered had been through long and
arduous processes. And everytime he learned a new technique he was always
reminded of his poor talent.

[Can you feel it?], Heoju asked Lee Sungmin.

Heoju’s words felt distant to Lee Sungmin as he was fully immersed in concentrating
on the technique. Lee Sungmin slowly watched the changes that took place inside his
body.

The yokai power at the bottom of his dantian was constantly flickering like a flame
growing steadily as it’s influence spread throughout his body. He would normally
have to be incredibly conscious of the power and suppress it through several periods
of meditation, as it would put pressure on his body when used.

But not now, every time Lee Sungmin continued to inhale and exhale, the power
wasn’t being suppressed but rather integrated into his already vast amount of
internal energy. If the previous analogy for the yokai’s power and his own internal
energy was like oil and water, then now it was like balancing yin and yang.

The yokai powers slowly seeped into his internal energy pathways and mixed with
his blood.

Lee Sungmin raised his hand to his face while maintaining the breathing technique.
A scarlet hue of aura nestled in his hand faintly.

To be honest, it seemed much weaker than when Lee Sungmin would fully integrate
with Heoju, like when he had Heoju forcibly use his powers against Amzone with
him.

[It can’t be helped. Your strength right now is currently too weak. You will only be
able to utilize a little bit since you haven’t taken too much of the power I offered
you.]

‘Give it to me.’

Lee Sungmin demanded Heoju to spread more of his power to him so he could utilize
more. Heoju snorted with laughter at Lee Sungmin’s unhesitating glare and sent
more energy through to him.

As Heoju sent his power directly to Lee Sungmin’s dantian, a familiar pain spread
throughout Lee Sungmin’s body. But before it became too much for Lee Sungmin to
handle, Heoju helped balance out the impurities of the power and spread it more
abundantly throughout Lee Sungmin’s internal energy circuits, allowing the flow to
be balanced.

Poo-hwak!

The force around Lee Sungmin’s right hand turned much thicker and became a
darker and deeper hue of red. Lee Sungmin trembled lightly at the surging violent
energy surging through to him. Yes, it was incredibly strong, but he could also feel
just how ominous the power was if used against an opponent.

He really had to hand it to the old man. Heoju’s power was brilliant.

Although it was great that Lee Sungmin’s internal energy inside his dantian and his
internal circuitry was at the peak realm, the gap between his current power and
Heoju’s strength in his prime was still large.

[That’s obvious. You and I have lived different lives. Even if you have trained for over
2,000 years inside your subconscious, the realm you reached in your subconscious is
different from your power in reality.], Heoju sympathized with Lee Sungmin’s
frustration at not being able to reach his former heights faster.

[Don’t get too carried away by your powers though, Even if you can handle the
balance of the powers through the breathing technique, it’s still a dangerous force.
Your body is a bit special, but…… there is a good chance that if you indulge in too
much power than you can handle at once, your body can be affected and mutated
like your left eye is.]

“I know.”, Lee Sungmin answered in a calm voice.

Lee Sungmin continued to familiarize himself with the ebb and flow of internal
energy and yokai powers through the breathing. It wasn’t easy.

When he borrowed the power of Heoju in the fight against Amzone, Heoju had
helped him suppress the pressure of losing his mind and breaking down his body.
But, by doing that, Heoju also became exhausted and would lose some of his power
in the process if it was too intense. Hence why this breathing technique needed to be
mastered as soon as possible.

‘Concentrate your mind. Be careful not to get disturbed, and be conscious of your
inhaling and exhaling of the breath as you balance the energy at the same time.’ were
the words written in the small booklet written by Abrom.

The color of the thick, bloody aura around the hand gradually changed.

The red color turned a bright sheen of violet as the internal energies mingled and
intertwined. Lee Sungmin watched it change as his eyes widened. Then he gave out a
deep exhale from the immense concentration and stopped the technique.

‘It’s difficult.’, he thought to himself.

To completely replicate the violent purple aura of power he used against Amzone, he
had to be incredibly focused and he could barely do it after several attempts, and
that was while being conscious. He had many more ways to go if he wanted to be
able to replicate this power subconsciously.
It was okay though, and Lee Sungmin no longer had his defeatist attitude. As long as
he worked hard and continued to practice it, he would definitely be able to get it
down. Once he did, he was absolutely confident that no matter which realm he
achieved, he would be totally superior to anybody else in that realm.

“That’s great!”

Abrom and the other villagers, who were watching Lee Sungmin, spoke in
admiration and awe at the power Lee Sungmin exuded for a brief amount of time
while learning the breath technique.

“The advent’s power is bigger than all of ours combined! Indeed, you are the
reincarnation and advent of our God!”, one of the villagers shouted out as the gap in
their powers was clear as day.

The difference between the tribesman who could only use remnants of Heoju’s
power through long periods of worship and Lee Sungmin, who could draw the power
directly from Heoju himself was bound to be large.

Lee Sungmin smacked his lips as he looked at the village people looking at him with
envious eyes.

“They haven’t returned yet?”, Lee Sungmin asked Abrom about Rubia and Byuk Won-
Pae

“Yes.”, responded Abrom

—-

As Lee Sungmin was practicing the breathing technique, it was a little frustrating for
the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia to just sit still with nothing to do, so they
returned to the City of Endless Night.

It may have been dangerous to travel through a city full of monsters, but Byuk Won-
Pae was a master at the very peak of the Peak Realm. Unless there was a monster at
the level of Transcendence or the Great Demon Realm, there was no reason for him
to worry.

Moreover, Byuk Won-Pae was greatly disappointed that Chusung’s whereabouts

were unknown, so he went out back to the city to collect his thoughts.
“Don’t be too upset.”, Rubia spoke to the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

The two of them were walking the dimly lit streets of the City of Endless Night.

The stalls sold a variety of foods they had never seen before, and the vendors were
monsters rather than humans. It was definitely a new sight to see for both of them as
they were mostly around other humans for most of their life.

The lights covering the sky, colored in different colors, scattered far away, and united
again. The spectacular fireworks caught Rubia’s eye.

“……hm.”, Rubia muttered.

Rubia, who was watching the fireworks with a dazed look, came to her senses and
took a bite out of the snacks they both bought. The Crazy Heavenly Demon smiled at
Rubia with skewers in both hands.

“Yes, it can’t be helped.”, Byuk Won-Pae smiled bitterly.

He wanted revenge, but he had no way to go about it.

He knew that his sense of vengeance and anger would be distorted over time and it
was an impulsive fleeting feeling of frustration for not having anything to take his
anger out on. There was no way to relieve the frustration and anger he felt right now.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon just sighed and exhaled a deep breath to relieve himself.
Rubia, who was watching his frustrated emotions, sighed as well and tried to cheer
him up.

“Mr. Old Demon, I’ve come out to play with you, so please take a break and relax! The
more you frown, the worse you look!”, Rubia said cheerily and skipped along the
path circling Byuk Won-Pae like a young child.

“Yes, yes…”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon smiled reluctantly and acknowledged Rubia’s
attempts to cheer him up.

He continued to walk around with Rubia and enjoyed the unique scenery as he put
away his feelings of anger.

“It’s too bad Lee Sungmin didn’t come with us. It would be nice to come out and play
like this at least once in a while.”, Rubia sighed and grinned.

“Eh, isn’t it a good thing that he’s so hardworking and focused on trying to break into
Transcendence?.”, Byuk Won-Pae spoke, recalling Lee Sungmin sitting with his legs
crossed circulating the yokai powers when they were in the forest.

Lee Sungmin was already at a higher level than the Crazy Heavenly Demon and was
incredibly close to breaking into Transcendence. Not only that, now he was
practicing how to handle an incredibly powerful force on top of that.

He was an incredibly hard worker, and constantly improving as if he was chasing

something far in the distance. The speed he did it at was no joke too, it was like he
was being chased by demons and if he slacked off, he would die.

If he continued at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he reached

Transcendence. Lee Sungmin was indeed a great person in all, when Byuk Won-Pae
thought of him.

Byuk Won-Pae wasn’t jealous of Lee Sungmin at all either. He was happy for him, as
everybody had their own pace and reaching Transcendence was something most
people didn’t even have the chances to attempt.

Whether a martial artist was able to break through the wall to Transcendence was
another matter of it’s own as there were only a few transcendents in the entire world
and even if you got to the peak, it was really a matter of luck and hard-work to cross
over. Rather than feeling jealous of him, Byuk Won-Pae was incredibly happy to meet
Lee Sungmin and travel with him.

“By the way, when will your master, Envirus show up?”, Byuk Won-Pae asked Rubia
suddenly.

Rubia’s face, which was smiling with excitement at the night scenery, suddenly
stiffened. She had a droopy expression

“Lloyd said we would meet him in the far South, so maybe… We might be able to
meet soon…”

There was no certainty in Rubia’s voice as she spoke.

Rubia’s master, Envirus, was a mysterious figure who seemed to have many secrets
within all of Eria. She may not be showing it, but Rubia was seriously wondering if
her master was okay, or if he had become gravely injured of some sorts.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon was about to say something to cheer her up, as he saw
her sullen expression.

But, suddenly at that moment…

BOOOM!

A huge and loud resounding noise came from deep within the City of Endless Night
followed by screams.
A monster flew into the buildings across the street. The buildings couldn’t handle the
impact and crumbled as the man spat out blood.

He lifted his confused and angered face as he spat out a bloodied cough.

“Chusung…”

Chusung, the one who attacked the man and put him in this state, approached the
bloodied and weakened man.

The bloody man in question was one of the several monsters under Kumiho’s watch
in the City of Endless Night and ruled over this particular street.

He was under Henemy’s rule a long time ago, and when Kumiho became the new
master of the City and Leader of Predator, he naturally followed the strong demon
fox’s order and helped out within the City of Endless Night.

“You’re as cruel and terrible as you used to be.”, the man spat out in anger at
Chusung.

Chusung looked at the man, laughed at him, then bared his teeth in a devilish grin.

His sharp teeth and fierce gaze emitted a murderous bloodlust. The man who was
ruling this street under Kumiho’s order could not understand why Chusung had
come back to the City of Endless Night and was attacking him.

But he wasn’t such an idiot to understand that Chusung was emitting a fierce killing
intent at him, so he staggered up and shouted at him, “Why are you trying to kill
me?!”

“Kumiho is gone, obviously! Hahahaha!”, Chusung spat out in a mocking tone.

The mysterious, cloaked monster who had entered the City with Chusung was not by
Chusung’s side at the moment. The cloaked monster had his own personal agenda
while Chusung went wild.

Right now, the man who was staggering and beaten up could not think about other
trivial things at the moment.

Monster eating other monsters.

It had a lot of meaning.

Vampires were among the many monsters that could gain power from those who
they eat or drink blood from. However, that didn’t apply to just vampires. Vampires
were able to consume other’s strength from when they were weak, but monsters,
when they reached the level of the monster in front of him, Chusung, they were also
able to eat other monsters and take their power away and grow from it.

When monsters eat human beings, they also can consume their fear before dying and
grow from it. This was a disaster among disasters standing in front of him.

The bloody monster staggered up. Of course, he didn’t want to die and be eaten, but
he also did not want to confront Chusung head-on.

Although Chusung had fled from Kumiho, Chusung was one of the most famous and
powerful monsters in all of Eria.

In the end, he decided to take the best course of action. He had to run away from
Chusung, Chusung noticed the bloodied man turned tail and started to run, seeing
this, he snarled in anger and chased him.

Chusung reached out his hand and a torrent of fire rushed out and scorched the
man’s back as he was trying to escape.

“Argh!”

The smell of seared flesh spread throughout the streets with a terrible scream.

None of the monsters who were watching such scenes unfold were thinking of
stopping Chusung’s hunt.

The white fire that hit the man’s back devoured the body of the monster and soon
became red as it enveloped the entirety of the man. The man shrieked as he
struggled in the flames. Chusung laughed loudly and approached the man struggling
in the fire.

As Chusung opened his mouth wide, the man was sucked into the mouth of Chusung
while he was burned and eaten alive.

“Hahaha!”, Chusung laughed loudly as he felt quite satiated from the meal.

Chusung had never felt this crazed and powerful in a long time as he was now free to
rampage to his heart’s content.

Normally when Kumiho was present, fights between other monsters were forbidden,
as the perpetrators would be captured and punished accordingly by Kumiho. But, as
she was no longer here, nobody dared to step up and stop such a powerful monster
like Chusung.

Chusung looked back at the monsters looking at him in fear. They were terrified by
the death of the man who was eaten and burned alive. Chusung created a crazed
atmosphere by bursting into laughter while flames erupted from his body.

“You clownish bastards are so drunk on selling entertainment, don’t know what real
entertainment even looks like AHAHA!”, Chusung stirred the fear-stricken monsters
with more fear as he laughed crazily.

Quaaaaaa!

Street vendors and commercial buildings burned. The bright, red flames grew bigger
and brighter throughout the dark city.

Screams from monsters and humans alike could be heard and Chusung’s flames
scorched the streets of the City of Endless Night.

Lee Sungmin, unaware of the mayhem in the City, was practicing his breathing
technique diligently and trying to integrate it with his current techniques.

“Ugh.”
In the end, Lee Sungmin started to curse at the difficulty of it. It was one thing to
master the breathing technique on its own, but to include it and integrate it with his
amethyst cloud technique was like mixing oil and water.

It may be possible to do so if he were a peerless talent in martial arts, but it was

impossible for Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin was an incredibly strong and well rounded martial artist, and nobody
in the peak realm would be his match. But, that was due to incredibly hard work and
the luck he had from getting chances to clear trials from both Denir and Mush.

‘I know if I’ll have to create and restructure my breathing techniques from scratch,
but…… to put the tribe’s technique into my amethyst cloud technique is currently
impossible for me.’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself bitterly.

It had only been a day, but based on the initial difficulty of it, he knew how hard it
would be as it might be something he would have to work on through his entire life if
he wanted to perfect it.

Lee Sungmin raised himself up from his seated position with a sigh.

[Sorry, I don’t know much about martial arts. I only know things related to monsters
aha.]

Heoju wasn’t much help even though he wanted to be. Heoju was a monster with
great power during his time, but Heoju did not spend much time at all with martial
arts.

‘Should I get help from someone else?’, Lee Sungmin pondered on the thought.

The first person that came to mind when thinking about who to ask for help was
Wijihoyeon.

When Wijihoyeon was 13 and she had first arrived in Eria, she was already a genius
in terms of the theoretical knowledge of martial arts techniques. During that time
she had also helped Lee Sungmin get stronger and set up an incredibly solid
foundation.

If he thought about it, Wijihoyeon could easily solve the problem Lee Sungmin was
currently going through right now.
However, Wijihoyeon wasn’t with Lee Sungmin at the moment and was with Lord
Sima Ryunju of the Sama Order.

“Stop it.”, a voice spoke to Lee Sungmin from behind him.

Lee Sungmin turned around in surprise at the sudden voice. A shabby-looking old
man stood there. He was looking at Lee Sungmin with his eyes narrowed through his
monocle.

(T/N: monocles are the one-eyed glasses people used a lot in ancient medieval times)

“I am pretty sure I gave you a warning through Lloyd. Don’t give up on your
humanity. Did I say it in such a roundabout way that seemed unimportant to you?”

The man with the monocle muttered, as he took off the hat on his head. Through his
words, Lee Sungmin immediately realized who the man was.

“Envirus.”, Lee Sungmin muttered in a daze.

“That’s right.”, Envirus nodded his head.

The haggard-looking Envirus dragged his feet, and came closer to Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin came to his senses and stared at the old magician in front of him.

“You’re a little late. No, was it too late?”, Envirus muttered cryptic words and tilted
his head. He twirled his big hat around his finger like a magician.

“Well, now that you’ve met Heoju, it can’t be helped. If it were possible, I would have
wiped out the yokai back then……”, Envirus muttered with his eyes narrowed and
clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Hearing the words, Heoju raised up in his spirit form in anger.

Lee Sungmin asked as he stared at Envirus, “…… I was told we have some things in
common…”

“That’s right.”, replied Envirus. He wiped the dust from his robe and plopped down in
the grass, sitting criss-crossed.
“You and I have a lot in common.”, Envirus opened his mouth. He continued to speak
as he pushed the monocle up from the bridge of his nose.

“You too must have gone through Denir’s trial. How long have you endured there?”,
Envirus asked as he inspected Lee Sungmin.

“……2,100 years.”, Lee Sungmin replied in a weak voice.

“Huh!?”, Envirus’ eyes widened in shock as he stared blankly at Lee Sungmin as he

continued to speak.

“Wow. 2,100 years. That’s quite the accomplishment… I don’t know if you’re crazy or
just that mentally strong. My limit was 1,000 years.”, Envirus chuckled as he spoke.

“It’s not just Denir’s trial however, You also have a twisted fate like me and have
distorted the laws of causality.”, he continued.

“What did you do to accomplish that?”, Lee Sungmin asked bluntly.

Envirus answered such a question with a blank face as if he had expected the
question already.

“I’m not like you, who has come back from the past through death.”, Envirus replied.

“Then what?”, Lee Sungmin continued to ask as he couldn’t understand how Envirus
or anybody else would manage to distort the laws of causality like himself.

“I’m human and also not a human at the same time, but I’m not alien. I’m a vague
existence.”, Envirus replied cryptically.

Lee Sungmin could not understand Envirus’ words at all.

“I know you are loved by the Apostles of the End. It’s a very blind and one-sided kind
of love. I also know that you have a strong destiny. But you know something
interesting? ‘I’ was not included in your destiny.”, Envirus said so, rubbing his tired
eyes with his hands.

“But not anymore. I wasn’t part of the strings of fate in this world, but I got caught up
in your destiny by meeting you. That’s why I have been trying to avoid meeting you.
That’s why I sent Rubia instead.”, Envirus replied matter-of-factly as Lee Sungmin’s
eyes widened in surprise.

“If you get caught up in my destiny, what happens?”, Lee Sungmin asked impatiently.

“I’ll be sucked in with the flow.”, Envirus chuckled.

“You see I don’t know the ending of this story called fate, but I am certainly in the
mood to change it. Watching things from afar was how I wished to see this story flow
properly and also how I escaped the story of fate itself.”

“……so far you haven’t changed the flow?”, Lee Sungmin asked inquisitively.

“The departure from that fate is why the laws of causality changed around me.”,
Envirus continued.

“Why have you come to see me now when you said you had no intentions of meeting
me directly?”, Lee Sungmin spoke with a confused face.

The power of destiny. Lee Sungmin really didn’t want to try and understand it
because it was something so difficult to comprehend and seemed in all, rather
dangerous.

Lee Sungmin had decided a while ago, he would just move how he intended to move
and let the strings of fate or destiny, whatever they may be, flow their course on their
own, and he would do the same, following what he wanted to do.

“Because I couldn’t let you give away your life and humanity.”, replied Envirus.

“I told you not to give away your humanity for a reason. Heoju, the yokai who ruled
over the South 400 years ago, is dwelling within you. Unless you were some kind of
freak of nature that can overcome the power of the yokai, you would end up losing
your body and let the monster Heoju, roam free again and cause terror.”, Envirus
spoke as it seemed he did not know that Lee Sungmin had the black heart and was in
the process of balancing out the power.

[You bastard, what kind of person do you take this old man as?], Heoju shouted out
angrily, as he was tired of having people thinking he was a good for nothing monster
who wanted to possess Lee Sungmin, like Kumiho a few days ago.

“Even if Heoju doesn’t mean to do it.”, Envirus continued to speak.

“If you succumb to the powers and become a full-blown monster. But that very being
you might become won’t be ‘you’ and it will be ‘you’ at the same time. At that time
you won’t just be any monster, and you won’t become a yokai, but you will have the
power of one. Which means you could lose your mind and sanity and become
something neither Heoju nor you would want to become.”, Envirus spoke with a
grave tone.

“Are you saying you’ve jumped back into the flow of fate by meeting me, just to tell
me this?”, Lee Sungmin was more or less shocked at what Envirus had told him.

“Yes. I thought it was that important.”, Envirus nodded as he put the hat back on his
head.

“Even if I get caught up in your destiny, and fall back into the flow of fate that I’ve
never been able to escape completely. I thought I needed to see you. I wanted to stop
you if possible.”, Envirus spoke to Lee Sungmin in a low tone.

“……I didn’t do anything wrong. Your worries were in vain. I never intend to be a
monster.”, Lee Sungmin spoke to Envirus with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Will it be that way forever though?”, Envirus grinned as he asked back.

“Fate is something you can’t resist. Struggling in a big stream, like a small minnow is
our destiny as mortals. Especially you… to be loved by something that controls such
a powerful destiny. I was lucky enough to get out of fate, but you’ll never get out of
it.”, Envirus spoke carefully.

“……the thought and choice I make. Are you saying that all that is left to the flow of
fate?”, Lee Sungmin asked with a bit of anger apparent in his voice.

Lee Sungmin was sick of being told what to do and that he had no choice in his life
that wasn’t predetermined by fate or this Apostle of the End.

“I’m not sure about him. For neither can I escape it completely, because all beings in
this world cannot see their own destiny like the Apostle can.”

“Then what the hell are you doing?”, Lee Sungmin pretty much exploded with anger
at this point and clenched his fists in frustration.

Lee Sungmin was infuriated as he felt as if Envirus had told him he had been living
the life of a moron.

“Fate is a vague thing.”, Envirus replied emotionlessly.

“It’s your lips that are vague.”, Lee Sungmin responded coldly and continued to
speak.

“Don’t tell me how to live my life or how it should be. I don’t give two fucks about
some fate, destiny or whatever. I’m going to live my life the way I want to live it,
whether you like it or not!”, Lee Sungmin shouted to Envirus as his clenched fists
trembled.

“Will it be though?”, Envirus responded curiously though, to Lee Sungmin it felt as if

he were mocking him.

“Maybe you’re doing this right now because……”, Envirus continued to speak
suggestively to Lee Sungmin to try and convince him to re-think his thoughts.

“Don’t say shit!”, Lee Sungmin couldn’t stand Envirus any longer and shouted harder
at him.

At the words, Envirus looked at Lee Sungmin with somber eyes and responded, “……
I’m sorry if I made you feel bad. But I was worried about you.”

“I didn’t ask for your worries.”, Lee Sungmin replied, letting out a deep exhale of pent
up stress.

Lee Sungmin started to wonder, what the hell happened to him when he died and
came back? He never heard the answer before as everyone seemed to avoid the topic
or answer in an incredibly round-about way.

“……do you know about my fate?”, Lee Sungmin asked in a calmer and chilly voice.

“I don’t know. Didn’t I tell you? A mortal will never know their own fates, let alone
other’s.”, Envirus responded.

“Then you don’t know what will happen to me.”, Lee Sungmin then raised his gaze to
meet Envirus’, as he felt like this was the best thing to say at the moment to him.

“That’s right.”, Envirus nodded his head as Lee Sungmin sighed.

“……let me ask you one more question. Are you able to process a Dragon’s Heart?”,
Lee Sungmin asked this time, retracting his heated attitude.

“A Dragon’s heart?…… Hmmm, maybe. Why do you ask?”, Envirus responded tilting
his head in confusion as he didn’t know why Lee Sungmin would ask such a thing.
“……don’t tell me you have a Dragon’s Heart… do you?”, Envirus asked as his
expressionless face turned into one of incredible shock.

Lee Sungmin nodded lightly with a bit of irritation that only mentioning this was
enough to get Envirus to change his reactionless face.

“No way. You didn’t hunt dragons, did you?”, Envirus spoke, preparing himself
mentally for more shock if Lee Sungmin would answer yes to this as well.

“That wouldn’t make any sense.”, Lee Sungmin replied curtly, shutting down the idea,
since dragons were pretty much gone for good.

“Well, I suppose so. It would be pretty much impossible to even find a living dragon
these days… So how did you get your hands on Dragon Heart?”, Envirus asked with a
curious expression.

“I was just lucky.”, Lee Sungmin replied.

“What are you going to do with it?”, Envirus asked, tilting his head.

“I’m going to eat it.”, Lee Sungmin spoke as if it were obvious.

Enbirus blinked at Lee Sungmin’s answer and burst into laughter as he spoke,
“You’re going to eat a Dragon Heart? Haha! Do you think Dragon Hearts are as easy to
eat as Elixir’s or Energy Pills?”

“Would it be anything different?”, Lee Sungmin responded as he didn’t see anything

wrong with it.

“Of course it’s different! Eating a dragon heart means that you have to deal with the
enormous mana that the dragon had. Humans could never contain such an
enormous amount of mana from a dragon, otherwise we might as well be Dragons
ourselves if we could! Forget fully absorbing it, no, even half-absorbed, you’ll burst
like a balloon and die!”

Envirus shouted at Lee Sungmin understandably as he was pissed that such a good
item was in the hands of a fool.

“That’s my business.”, Lee Sungmin responded dismissing Envirus’ complaints.

“Business my foot!”, Envirus yelled at him once more agitatedly.

“Can I ask for your help or not?”, Lee Sungmin cut him off there, asking whether
Envirus would help him process it or not.

At Lee Sungmin’s words, Envirus was feeling troubled.

In his view, Lee Sungmin was like a bomb that might explode at any time right now.
Now, his balance between humanity and monster was unstable, even though it was
still co-existing somehow, maintaining his humanity.

“……I will refuse. Dragon Hearts are too dangerous for you.”, Envirus spoke
regrettably.

Envirus did want to process such a great tool like a Dragon Heart, but he felt that Lee
Sungmin was quite literally going to blow half the continent up with his ambitions
and stupidity.

“Can’t you do anything?”, Lee Sungmin asked once more, trying to reel in his
frustration at the seemingly useless Wizard.

But again, Envirus’ answer was the same. He said in a clear voice, stubbornly shaking
his head, “No, no matter what happens, I won’t be able to handle the Dragon Heart
for you. Not because I’m incapable of doing so, but because you’re too dangerous.”

[That fucking bastard!], Heoju shouted with intense anger and frustration as he had
stayed silent listening to Envirus’ stubbornness and remarks, denouncing him
earlier.

For once, Lee Sungmin felt the same exact way as Heoju about something. Lee
Sungmin no longer wanted to talk to Envirus, so he sat down on the spot to resume
his training.
“I’ll do as I please then.”, Lee Sungmin let out a deep breath and started to resume the
breathing technique.

Looking at Lee Sungmin’s back as he sat down to meditate, Envirus opened his
mouth to say something, his body trembled.

“……Um!”

Envirus’ eyes narrowed.

He continued to look at Lee Sungmin with a stiff face. Lee Sungmin ignored Envirus’
actions and remarks to gain his attention and continued breathing.

Envirus concentrated his mind and moved his mana. Around him, the whirlwind of
mana concentrated and formed a panel in front of him like a screen as it showed a
sight of a place away from the forest.

“……Oh… my goodness!”

At the sight in the panel, Envirus exclaimed out in shock as he couldn’t believe what
he was seeing. He hurriedly lost all his dignity and ran over to Lee Sungmin grabbing
him by the shoulder with trembling fingers.

“Oh. What now?”, Lee Sungmin looked back at Envirus, openly expressing his
displeasure.

Envirus replied in an urgent voice, not caring about Lee Sungmin’s glaring eyes,
“There’s a problem.”

“What problem?”, Lee Sungmin asked back uncaringly.

“Something bad is about to happen in the City of Endless Night.”

Lee Sungmin’s eyes suddenly widened as he turned visibly shocked, since his
companions were in the city right now. Not only that, for once, Envirus didn’t seem
to be talking nonsense to him.

Lee Sungmin slowly raised himself up. He asked as he looked at Envirus with focused
eyes, “What exactly is happening?”
“Something… strange… They’re trying to storm the city.”, Envirus muttered as he
showed Lee Sungmin the panel he was looking at from his mana.

“What the hell is that evil thing?”, Lee Sungmin asked as he saw a giant monster
going crazy, with the city evidently becoming more and more tattered and destroyed.

“……Um.”, Envirus hesitated a little. After swallowing his saliva, he said to Lee
Sungmin again.

“I don’t know why. A Lich, a powerful, undead, Dark Wizard, is trying to conjure up
some kind of evil magic in the city. I don’t know what they’re trying to do or who
they’re acting with, but their kind of magic never produces good results and always
tries to take innocent lives.”

“……so?”, Lee Sungmin asked back.

The only Lich he knew was Frescan, the lich who made the black heart and chimera,
Aine. That’s why when Envirus talked about a Lich, Lee Sungmin naturally recalled
Frescan.

“You have to stop them no matter what. But…… I may not be strong enough alone, so
I think I’ll need your help.”, Envirus spoke to Lee Sungmin in a serious tone.

“Why should I help you?”, Lee Sungmin spoke, brushing off Envirus.

“Then are you just going to ignore them?”, Envirus asked Lee Sungmin inquisitively.

“You’re the one who said it. Fucking fate. Will the Lich succeed or fail as you say they
will?”, Lee Sungmin spoke in a mocking tone.

“That’s…… maybe. But maybe we can change it. I don’t know what they’re trying to
do, but there’s no guarantee that it will lead down the right path of fate.”, Envirus
said hesitatingly.

At the words, Lee Sungmin smiled unconsciously because he remembered what Frau
had said to him. ‘If taking a shit is where fate leads to at the end, then it’s about the
process of taking the shit that can be changed’.

“Are you asking me to help you without offering anything in return?”, Lee Sungmin
asked with a smile.
Envirus’ shoulders trembled at the remark. The sword was naturally turned over to
Lee Sungmin as he held the decision and lead of the conversation now.

Envirus himself, was well aware of the fact. He hesitated for a long time, and
eventually closed his eyes tightly.

“Okay… the dragon heart. I’ll process it for you.”

“Words are cheap, make an oath.”, Lee Sungmin spoke without hesitation to confirm
the deal.

“I swear on my wife.”, Envirus spoke with a bit of conviction now as Lee Sungmin was
now willing to help.

It was an inevitable choice. If Lee Sungmin ends up becoming a monster, he would

become a terrible being with the power of a dragon’s heart, but that was a far-off
future that has yet to happen.

‘Maybe this is also fate.’, Envirus chewed his lower lip.

If it was fate to be this way, Envirus alone could not stop it.

Whether one was a Dragon or a God, it was impossible to change the outcomes of
fate. That being said, they must resolve the immediate crisis.

“Collapse.”, Envirus said as he swung his hand in the air lightly.

The space cracked apart and split, the turbulent mana made a teleportation portal to
the City of Endless Night. Envirus walked through the portal with a busy step in his
stride, and Lee Sungmin followed in the footsteps of Envirus.

“So, where’s the Lich?”, Lee Sungmin asked Envirus with an annoyed expression.

“……they’re towards the city’s central square. I don’t know what the hell they’re
trying to do there, but I have a bad feeling……”, Envirus slowly floated himself into
the air casting levitation magic on himself, saying so.

Lee Sungmin looked up at the flying Envirus. There were many sorcerers who used
magic to float in the air, so the Envirus that suddenly floated into the sky did not
surprise Lee Sungmin.
“Don’t resist.”, Envirus first said so and then reached out to Lee Sungmin.

Then a gentle flow of mana enveloped Lee Sungmin’s body. Then, Lee Sungmin’s
body rose up and settled next to Envirus’.

“It would be fast enough for me to run.”, Lee Sungmin grumbled at Envirus.

“But you don’t know the direction, do you?”, Envirus quipped back at him and flew
higher into the air with Lee Sungmin.

After the two rose to a certain height above the buildings that would not impede
their flight, the two of them accelerated northbound in the direction of the square.

“I hear you’re a great wizard.”, Lee Sungmin spoke while they flew unimpeded.

“Who said that?”, Envirus questioned back, as he could not understand who would
know of his identity since he kept himself out of worldly affairs.

“Rubia was the one who told me. I’ve also heard that Lloyd, the owner of the Gold
Tower, is your disciple.”, Lee Sungmin spoke, as he shifted his gaze over to Envirus
mid-flight.

“Well…… Rubia, that kid would always overrate my skills to others. And yes, Lloyd is
my disciple. It was a long time ago when I last taught others magic.”, Envirus spoke
with a bitter smile, recalling his old memories.

“Can’t you use teleportation or something like that to get there faster?”, Lee Sungmin
said, cutting off Envirus’ boring manner of speech.

“You have no idea how stupid that sounded.”, Envirus spat out with a look of
absurdity.

Lee Sungmin only asked this question purely out of curiosity since he wanted to get
there faster, but he never thought he would get this kind of answer back.

When Lee Sungmin looked at Envirus with a dazed face, Envirus coughed in vain and
explained a bit.

“……spatial movement is not human magic. There are a few spells that humans can
use in regards to spatial magic like blink, but that is only limited to a few meters, not
instant teleportation across long distances.In order to use portals, the only other
kind of space magic relative to teleportation, you need to know the spatial
coordinates of both locations, however those always change and there is no
definitive way to find them out. If you tried to force it, your body would be crushed
to smithereens in the abyss without anybody to find your remains.”

“But in places like dungeons, don’t you find scrolls that enable space movement?”,
Lee Sungmin asked with an inquisitive look on his face.

“That’s why dungeons are mysterious places. It’s where common sense becomes
meaningless and irrational. I’ve tried to complete a teleportation spell by
researching countless scrolls found in dungeons but to no avail… hmph!”, Envirus
spoke and snorted at the difficulty of research he had gone through.

“What is it?”, Lee Sungmin asked him.

“I’ve failed so many times in trying it. The amount of animals I’ve killed as test
subjects that have become paste would be enough to feed a village.”, Envirus spoke
with a depressed look.

While they were talking about teleportation and spatial magic, the two of them
arrived at the central square, which Envirus had located as the target of the Lich’s
evil magic.

No, to be exact, they didn’t arrive. It was because Envirus stopped flying with the city
square in front of him.

“……it’s a barrier.”, Envirus spoke as his face was distorted.

It was as he said. A translucent black membrane covered the central square in a

semi-spherical form. Envirus came close and reached out with his hand towards the
barrier.

Dingggggggggg!

The mana sent by Envirus hit the surface of the barrier and simply bounced right off
of it. Envirus chewed his lower lip with an anxious look as the sensing mana he sent
out couldn’t do a thing.

“I think he’s going to rule out any kind of interference…… He’s going to make fucking
undead monsters from the people here!”, Envirus shouted out in surprise as he
finally understood what the Lich’s sinister plans were.

Envirus seemed genuinely angry at the current situation despite being so

emotionless when speaking about fate with Lee Sungmin. Eventually, Lee Sungmin
and Envirus came down to the ground lightly, dispelling the levitation magic.

The atmosphere was strange, there was no sign of life whatsoever and the empty
streets inside the barrier exuded a dreary feeling like that of a ghost town.

Envirus looked around with a cold expression. The two of them had yet to know
what was happening in the city, but the situation that was immediately visible to Lee
Sungmin was incredibly sinister as corpses lay strewn about the empty street.

“We have to stop it.”, Envirus murmured to himself, trying to boost his confidence.

He rolled up his sleeves and stretched out his hands wide toward the barrier.

Then he began to chant and move his lips as he murmured a spell.

Shinnnnngggg!

Envirus outstretched hands began to emit a bright golden light as he moved them to
touch the surface of the barrier

“Shit!”, Envirus cried out as his hands burned and sizzled from just touching the
black barrier.

“This… this is bad”, Envirus muttered as cold sweat dripped down the back of his
neck.

Through the simple spell Envirus had cast to try and dispel the barrier, Envirus had
realized that this Lich was no simple Lich, and one that had reached incredible
heights as a Dark Wizard.

But it was more or less the same for Envirus as he was incredibly talented and
probably one of the best wizards in all of Eria. He continued to tune his mana with
the spell to find a counter frequency to the dark mana supporting the barrier so that
it would break it effectively.
Soon, the barrier started to fluctuate and the mana rippled apart forming a small
entry area big enough for Envirus and Lee Sungmin to walk through.

“……if anything bad is going on in this city. My party may be in danger.”, Lee Sungmin
for the first time, started to take the situation seriously, as he realized the Lich they
were dealing with seemed to be much worse than he thought, as he saw Envirus
struggle earlier.

“That’s…! You don’t have to worry. The source of the evil mana is ahead of us. There
might be some commotion in the city, but it won’t be too dangerous for them.”,
Envirus spat out in a disheartened voice as he also tried to convince himself that
Rubia was okay.

Lee Sungmin lightly nodded at Envirus’ words. He carefully thought to himself that
although Rubia was a little weak, the Crazy Heavenly Demon was with her, and he
could certainly help get her out safely if they focused on retreating.

Rather, instead of the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia who were still in the streets
of the city being in danger, it was more likely Lee Sungmin would be in danger as he
was in the very middle of the crisis entering the dark barrier with Envirus.

“You go in first……!”, shouted Envirus, who was struggling by holding the passage
from closing in on itself…

Lee Sungmin quickly passed the passage first, as Envirus quickly followed. After they
passed through the barrier, the opening quickly closed back up.

Inside of the barrier, it was incredibly hard to see. The area of the once populous and
lively city square was now desolate with a dark, eerie fog.

However, it wasn’t just the fog that was making the square so eerie. Lee Sungmin and
Envirus could hear a distinct noise of something being chewed on loudly… One that
sounded like flesh being eaten.

There was a disgusting, rotting stench permeating throughout the area. The terrible
stench reminded Lee Sungmin of when he had placed the restriction of smell on
himself in the Mountain of Mush.

“……prepare yourself.”, Envirus muttered as he did not lower his rolled-up sleeves
from earlier in wariness.
Lee Sungmin glanced at Envirus’s bare forearms, which looked so thin and frail as if
there were zero fat or muscle on them. However, on his arms there were engraved
and distinct patterns which looked interesting.

Envirus started to prepare himself as he fortified his resolve that this wasn’t going to
be an easy task. He unclenched his tightened fists and put one arm around the back
of his cape and pulled out a wand.

Lee Sungmin just nodded his head without verbal confirmation as he pulled out his
orcicalchum spear.

He has understood well what Envirus said earlier.

Krrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Suddenly a loud cry could be heard as a building’s wall collapsed and a grotesque
and pale looking ghoul came out of it and screeched at the two of them.

“It’s a ghoul.”, Envirus muttered as he pointed his wand towards the ghoul.

“I guess it isn’t just any old Dark Wizard, but a necromancer…”

“You’re such a dick.”

It was a straightforward remark as Frescan mumbled to himself.

“You’re not just a jerk. You’re a complete shithead. How did you learn magic with
such a retarded brain on your shoulders and become an Arch Lich? I just don’t
understand!”, Frescan cried out to himself in vain as he was incredibly resentful.

Frescan suppressed his desire to continue his ranting and numerous curses that
came to mind when thinking about his superior in Predator.

“Yes, that’s right…”, he grumbled to himself almost delusionally.

Frescan had to constantly bow his head down to Arbeth the Arch Lich in Predator
who ordered him around like a complete servant. It was a disgraceful feeling, but it
eventually kept accumulating from a disgraceful feeling, to one of sheer deep-rooted
resentment.

No matter how well Frescan had hidden his life vessel which was the very existence
for a lich, he was constantly tip-toeing around, feeling like he was walking on egg-
shells because Arbeth could completely destroy his existence on a whim.

Yes, Arbeth the Arch Lich. One of the 5 Great Monsters and Elders of Predator who
was in charge of the undeads within the organization. Back when Arbeth was still
alive, he had made a name for himself as a Dark Wizard for his cruel experiments
and several questionable ‘tests’. But since becoming an Arch Lich, he became much
more notorious and was unrestrained in his actions, thus becoming more open about
his cruelty and mass killings.

He was known by a nickname within the undead faction of Predator he ruled over,
‘Two Face’. As he could treat you nicely one moment, then go absolutely crazy and
make you his pet dog for a year the next.
In the Dark Wizard Tower hundreds of years ago, when Arbeth, who was a wizard at
his peak and the current Tower Master at the time, suddenly emerged as a Lich,
everybody was astonished.

Since Arbeth was the Tower Master of the Dark Wizard Tower, he had been doing all
sorts of experiments and had a vast knowledge of Dark Magic at the time. Then after
openly becoming a Lich, he had pursued even crueler experiments and sinister
magic that he could not attempt under the pretense of the Tower Master.

Frescan was a Lich who had lived for many years and had all sorts of knowledge
regarding Dark Magic, but it still paled in comparison to Arbeth. Their starting lines
were different, and the span of their knowledge was foundationally different.

Frescan still had pure reverence and respect for Arbeth’s magic knowledge as he too,
was one who was searching for the pinnacle of all magic, even if Arbeth was a two-
faced bastard.

‘This artificial life form, and theory of the black heart is amazing, Frescan.’

Arbeth had even once complimented Frescan’s research before when Frescan sought
out Arbeth in hopes to continue his improvements on the chimera known as Aine, as
Arbeth had finally seen the results of Aine face-to-face.

With that kind of praise as a Wizard, Frescan had complicated feelings towards
Arbeth at times as anyone would feel a sense of gratification receiving praise from
someone at the top of their respected field.

However, as the two of them were speaking to each other in the City Square, Frescan
was angry.

“It’s funny how stupid you are, Frescan. To make such a thing but not even be able to
control it properly. What a fool.”, Arbeth snarled and laughed at him looking at Aine
that was standing emotionlessly in front of them.

‘He’s not a pervert is he?’, Frescan thought to himself as he stared at Arbeth angrily.

Arbeth looked like a young man in comparison to Frescan, whose body looked like a
crumbling mummy.

“Isn’t that right? Playing family and all is good, but if you’ve made the vessel, you
should definitely use it. There’s nothing good about letting it go out of control and
gain it’s own sentience. This was the advice I gave you, so keep it in mind.”, Arbes
looked back, saying so.

The child in front of them looked at the two emotionlessly like a doll. There was no
sign of emotion on her face, and her eyes were calm and subdued.

Arbeth looked at the child with a pleased face.

“Tools should be tools.”, said Arbeth, admonishingly.

Frescan could only bow his head and stay silent, seething in anger.

After making Aine, Frescan didn’t try to control Aine much, trying to let her express
her own free will. There were plenty of ways to control her if he wanted to, but he
didn’t have to.

No matter what the method or process in making her had been, Frescan wanted to
let her have free will because he truly thought of Aine as his daughter.

Frankly speaking, Aine was not a good daughter. Likewise, Frescan was not a good
father. Nevertheless, Frescan was happy with their relationship, no matter how pish-
posh it may be.

Although dissatisfied, Aine always followed Frescan’s suggestions, and Frescan

believed that it would lead to a daughterly affection from Aine.

But such expectations were over now. Frescan, who had been captured by Geniella,
the Vampire Queen in the north, was forced to join Predator, and naturally connected
to Arbeth, the Arch Lich.

Geniella did not show much interest in Aine at first sight, but the same could not be
said for Arbeth. Arbeth saw the potential of Aine from only a glance and was
intrigued to no end. He immediately robbed her from Frescan, regardless of consent.

Aine, engraved with the imprint of obedience, became a faithful servant to Arbeth.
Frescan could also not show any open hostility or dissatisfaction, as Arbeth could kill
him in a second.

“……Hmm?”
Arbeth, who was looking over the team he had with him at the City Square, suddenly
froze. He raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes.

“Two rats have invaded through the barrier. Kim Jonghyun, you punk. You can’t even
handle things properly.”, Arbeth clicked his tongue, muttering.

The original plan was for Arbeth and Frescan to engrave a magic circle and cast a
spell of influence on the city square, and for Kim Jonghyun to create a barrier to
isolate them, impeding any distractions and cause panic among the citizens outside
the barrier.

But… two rats had stepped inside the barrier.

“Don’t tell me…… is it Kumiho?”, Frescan trembled as he spoke.

“Kumiho has left the city. She will need 15 days to get back even if she hears about
this now. Even if they find out what happened to the City, she won’t be able to return
because she’s at the pavilion. If Kumiho wants to keep her powers, she has to go to
Maeryong on a consistent basis to keep her power as a nine-tailed fox.”, Arbeth spoke
with conviction.

Kumiho, who ripped the heart out of the former leader of Predator, Henemy, was a
monster even Arbeth could not handle.

However, it was impossible to attack her in the pavilion while she was recovering her
lost powers because Maeryong Pavilion was a sacred and holy place that had an area
of influence deadly for any kind of Lich or undead monster.

“It’s a pain in the neck.”, Arbeth spoke as he was trying to complete the magic circle
that was taking longer than expected to make.

As he said, it would not be a big problem if the intrusion was ‘really’ a rat, but the
intruders were able to break through the barrier Kim Jonghyun had made and
Arbeth had enforced, thus making their identities a little suspicious and alarming for
Arbeth.

“……how would you like me to handle it?”, Frescan asked Arbeth carefully, as he knew
Arbeth would not want to waste his precious time doing something menial.

“You stall them for time.”, Arbeth answered back without much thought.
He didn’t tell Frescan to go kill himself, as it would be annoying if he did. Frescan
shuddered with anxiety and enveloped himself in a dark mist as he prepared himself.

“The Magic Circle is still incomplete. I can’t go because it’s an advanced magic you
can’t handle.”, Arbeth spoke to Frescan as if he were a fly and told him to buzz off.

“But on my own……”, Frescan spoke with a quivering voice.

“Did I tell you to go and die? I told you to stall for time. You’ve hidden your life vassal
as a Lich, so you’re not going to die anyways.”, Arbeth snorted at the trembling
Frescan irritatedly.

“But…”, Frescan stuttered.

“If the rats get any closer than they already are, I’ll be even more annoyed.”, Arbeth
spoke angrily to Frescan cutting him off for debate as he exuded his pressure down
onto Frescan.

Frescan hesitated and looked towards Aine. But, Aine didn’t spare Frescan a single
look. Arbeth’s imprint of obedience was too powerful. In the end, Frescan left the
square without any further resistance.

“You’re such an incompetent bastard.”, Arbeth clicked his tongue as he started to

work on the magic circle once more.

The magic circle underneath the city square would be a circle of influence that took
over the citizens’ loyalty, regardless if they respected Kumiho’s rule or not.

The reason for inciting Chusung through Kim Jonghyun and making him go wild in
this city was to spread fear throughout the commotion, speeding up the amount of
work needed to be done on the circle. The work was going smoothly.

“You’ll be eating something delicious soon.”, Arbeth mumbled to himself quietly with
a big smile.

The subject of the comment was directed towards Aine, the chimera who had the
black heart, standing behind Arbeth. The soulless child, engraved with the imprint of
obedience, just stood still emotionlessly without answering.

The influence and fear of the whole city. It was a huge amount of power that even
Arbeth could not dare to handle himself.

In the first place, such force could not be handled by one monster alone.

But if it was Aine who had the black heart, it was a different story, as the black heart
could consume all of the power of influence and fear without any restrictions or
backlash.

The magic circle and the entire plan of robbing Kumiho’s source of influence was not
for Arbeth, but rather for Aine.

“Ahhhh… I hope this is enough for a massacre.”, Arbeth spoke with a sickening smile
and continued to speak, “I hope so… I really hope so. If you get stronger, then I also
get stronger.”

Arbeth had already finished preparing the circle. If the circle successfully gathered
all the fear from the citizens running from Chusung and gathered all the influence of
the city down into Aine’s body, Arbeth would naturally be the one to benefit, as Aine
was his servant now.

After such a process, Arbeth intended to snatch her body through the exchange
magic of the soul, stealing the power contained within it and the black heart as well.

If that happened smoothly like Arbeth had hoped, he could be reborn and reign truly
atop Predator, no longer having to obey Kumiho or any other existences, becoming
an absolute ruler that would incite a genocide unheard of.

The number of Ghouls that stormed out of the broken buildings were uncountable.

When they were alive, their bodies would have been half monster-half humans, but
now there was no trace of them left as they attacked mindlessly as undead mutants.

Arhudggggg

The drooling and braindead ghouls made disgusting and undecipherable sounds and
groans as they swarmed towards Lee Sungmin and Envirus mindlessly.

Lee Sungmin started to raise his internal energy without panic using the breathing
technique he had been learning. He used both his power, the already dormant yokai
power inside of him, and Heoju’s additional borrowed strength as Heoju chipped in
his power without being asked to do so.

The scarlet aura enveloped Lee Sungmin’s spear, shining with a sinister glint. Lee
Sungmin kept his breathing steady and shot the spear forward.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

The spear, filled with the intertwining forces, swept away dozens of ghouls that
rushed in towards them.

There was nothing left other than the sticky dark red that spewed from the corpses
bodies as Lee Sungmin moved his spear. Lee Sungmin was surprised, as his power
was higher than he had expected it to be.

In fact, this power was enough to make transcendent warriors wary, but considering
the efficiency of the internal energy and amount of power wielded, it was incredible.

“Don’t overuse your powers!”, Envirus shouted in a loud voice trying to warn Lee
Sungmin not to rely on the powers of the yokai.

Lee Sungmin listened to him and did not understand why Envirus could not see that
he was using both his own power and the yokai power, not just the yokai power
itself.

He was not used to combining the powers yet, so his inner circuitry and aura that
were pushed onto the spear were a bit rough around the edges, but when he focused
his mind to the task completely, his energy and aura obeyed his will as he regulated
his breath.

Qaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The two forces pushed onto the spear resonated with the Orcicalchum magic ore,
which was crafted into the spear.

Envirus, who was making a bowl of ashes of the ghoul’s corpses through the light
magic with the wand, was surprised and looked back at Lee Sungmin.

The power that Lee Sungmin exuded from his body and spear, was so powerful that
it had shocked even Envirus, a Great Wizard who was quite old and had seen many
powerful beings in his lifetime.

Lee Sungmin was feeling a bit overpowered by the terrible and violent energy that
wanted to run rampant that he felt in his hands as he gripped the spear tightly.

Even though it was just the nature of the power itself that was making his hands
tremble with a bit of hesitation, the hesitation was brief as he solidified his mind and
swung the spear using the Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques along with the Blood
Ring Techniques he learned from Byuk Won-Pae.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 2nd move : Nine Dragons Annihilation

Crazy Heavenly Demon’s Techniques : Blood Ring Smithereens

The spear moved faster than Lee Sungmin had expected it to since the addition of the
violent energies was so great that he missed his intended mark.

The nine blood-red dragons manifested from the spear’s trajectory and destroyed
the ghouls and everything in their path.

The reason for Lee Sungmin missing his intended mark with the spear moves was
because even at the end of the 2,100 years he spent in Denir’s Trial of the
subconscious, he had never released this much power in one move, so he had yet to
adjust.

The streets got destroyed by the incredible technique and the corpses of the ghouls
spattered blood everywhere like rain.

Lee Sungmin swallowed down a brief feeling of pain. He felt as if his arms had
twisted to unnatural degree unable to keep up with his techniques.

Lee Sungmin looked dazedly at the obliterated scenery as the street and buildings no
longer had their old appearance from the intense result of the Nine Dragons
Annihilation.

“……my goodness……”, Envirus muttered to himself as he stared dazedly at Lee

Sungmin’s back where, in front of Lee Sungmin was the devastated landscape.

Lee Sungmin looked down at his orchicalcum spear as it emitted a white steam.
He was well aware that the orchicalcum ore would resonate with the mana and
internal energy to a great degree, but this… was an absurd amount of power.

“You…… what exactly was that? Was that the power of the yokai?”, Envirus stuttered
as he tried to get an explanation from Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin did not answer. He could hear his heart beating excitedly. Was it the
black heart or ‘his’ heart that was beating? Lee Sungmin gulped down his saliva
nervously as a shallow thought came to his mind.

‘If… if I can master this power completely, I can be on par with Wijihoyeon… ’
The ground and buildings around Frescan shook as he was moving towards the two
intruders and Frescan could feel the very air around him vibrating violently.

He tilted his head in confusion, it was then.

Qar-aaaaanggggg!

A huge purple storm swept through the area to his right.

Frescan hurriedly formed a barrier and wrapped himself in his mana to protect him,
but the storm crushed Frescan’s barrier immediately and threw him backwards in
shock.

“What, what……?!”, Frescan shuddered as he staggered to get up.

Nothing was left in the place where the purple storm had passed.

Frescan’s expression stiffened on the spot, thinking something was clearly amiss. He
turned his gaze towards the direction in which the tremor had begun, where the
storm had originated from.

“What… you call this a rat……?!”, Frescan stammered, his shoulders trembling.

The level of power that just passed by him was by no means at the level of a so-called
‘rat’.

Frescan was stuck in his head debating whether to go or not.

But in reality, there was no choice for him. Even if the person who wielded that
power was able to destroy Frescan on the spot, he would never truly die, as his life
vessel was hidden far from here.

But not Arbeth.

Arbeth’s powerful black magic assimilated the existence of Frescan’s Life Vessel and
dissipated his spirit itself.

It was fatal for all beings, but a hopeless attack on Lich, who believed in endless
invincibility and immortality.

That’s why Frescan couldn’t refuse Arbeth’s orders.

He became a Lich to further achieve his dreams and pursuit in the pinnacle of magic,
but he could not face death before achieving them.

Frescan was irritated and gloomy as he approached the direction of the attack.

He felt that the loss of his Lich’s body here would be better than eternal death.

The severed and dismembered ghouls corpses lay strewn around Lee Sungmin and
Envirus, but it was not the end.

Their numbers were endless because of the amount of people that died in the square
that previously lived here.

It was cruel. Monsters and humans alike came out to enjoy the night atmosphere in
the city square, only to die and be revived as brainless undead from black magic.

“I’m sorry to say this, but they are already dead. There’s no way we can save them
even if we mourn them. We have to kill them all if we want their souls to rest.”,
Envirus spoke solemnly as he lifted his wand that was emitting a bright light.

The emitted light from Envirus’ wand simply did not make the ghouls stray away
from him, as the surroundings near him were spotless compared to Lee Sungmin. It
was that the Light magic disintegrated the corpses into ash before they could even
approach him.

When Lee Sungmin entrusted the treatment to handle the ghouls properly and rest
their souls to Envirus, he recalled the spear technique he used with the yokai powers
assimilated into them that he used not too long ago.

Lee Sungmin was reaching new heights with this power, ones he had never achieved
before, even if he reached transcendence in the trial from Denir, this power was
something in its own league. However, he could still not fully control it.

It was so strong that it was impossible for Lee Sungmin, even if he used the
breathing technique to try and stabilize the power, it would still be unbalanced and
rough around the edges.

He tried adding the Blood Ring Techniques on top of it but failed to control it. But,
what if he was able to use a higher level move from the Nine Heavenly Spears
techniques and properly use the Blood Ring Techniques on top of it?

Lee Sungmin gulped down his saliva nervously, thinking about the amount of sheer
destruction he could unleash in one move.

Envirus was also wary of the destructive firepower Lee Sungmin had just unleashed.
It was an unreasonable amount of force. It was a force that should not even exist in
this world.

Envirus was a little bit regretful about his decision to fulfill Lee Sungmin’s favor of
processing the dragon’s heart for him.

What if he used that incredible power just now, along with the obscene amount of
mana from a dragon’s heart? Envirus held his breath, half in anticipation, half out of
complete fear and worry.

“……Hmm?”, Envirus furrowed his brows as he felt another undead existence

approaching.

At the same time, he felt the mana surrounding the area fluctuating fiercely. Envirus
looked back at Lee Sungmin with a stiff expression.

“Someone’s coming here. Just based on the mana flow, as you can probably already
tell, it’s a Lich.”, Envirus spoke to Lee Sungmin in a worried tone of voice.

“Is it the mastermind behind this massacre?”, Lee Sungmin asked with his eyes
narrowed in the direction of the mana fluctuation.

“I don’t think so. The large surge of mana from the center I initially felt still hasn’t
moved.”, Envirus said, swinging his wand in the direction of Lee Sungmin’s gaze
preparing himself.
The light from the wand suddenly burst out much brighter than before, vaporizing
the remaining undeads in a split second.

“……I don’t think we should drag on any longer. I’d like to personally take care of the
Lich coming here and get some information if I could… But it seems I need to get to
the root problem as fast as possible. Will you be okay on your own against the Lich?”,
Envirus asked Lee Sungmin with expectant eyes.

“What are you going to do?”, Lee Sungmin asked back.

“I… will… go to the square. The magic circle fluctuations are coming closer to
completion. It will still need more time for the spell to fully manifest, but if that spell
is released unabated, something much worse will befall this city… And possibly all of
Eria.”, Envirus replied with a grave and serious expression.

“Okay, leave this to me.”, Lee Sungmin spoke confidently with a nod of the head.

Confirming Lee Sungmin’s confident expression, Envirus floated upwards and shot
forward with flight magic at a much faster pace than Lee Sungmin had ever seen
before.

—–

As Frescan warily approached the two of them, he felt a huge and gigantic presence
of mana approaching him at an incomprehensible speed.

He hurriedly tried to prepare another barrier as he was worried something even

worse than the purple tornado was coming at him, but before he could even cast the
reciting words for the spell, Envirus shot right past him completely ignoring
Frescan’s presence.

Frescan realized something was wrong and shouted out, “Nooo!!!”

If Envirus avoided Frescan and headed straight to Arbeth to ruin his concentration
on the magic circle, Frescan was going to face severe punishment later.

But even as he shouted desperately, Envirus wouldn’t stop.

Frescan knew he could not chase Envirus even at his top speed of flight magic, as
Envirus was flying at a speed close to breaking the sound barrier.
Shaking with anger and despair, Frescan noticed that there was still another man left
where Envirus had come from.

‘I can’t help it. I’ll have to do something about at least one of them.’, Frescan thought to
himself.

On the contrary, he felt a little relieved. Although the wizard who passed by, was
already gone from his sight. Frescan could tell at a glance he was no match for the
wizard.

He thought positively thinking that the terrible attack he had been hit with earlier
was done by that wizard. If so, it was obvious this guy was nothing much.

Although he had his life vessel hidden and tucked away far from here, he wanted to
avoid losing his body here as it could cause him several losses.

‘This aura… it feels familiar… ’

As he approached the man left behind, Frescan noticed that the man’s aura was
something he had felt before.

‘Where did I feel this aura?… This… I should have never forgotten this bastard!!!’

The black mist surrounding his presence as a Lich shook with anger as he
recognized the aura as the one who had constantly made him suffer despite his weak
body and flimsy martial arts.

‘Wait… What the hell is that?’

Frescan noticed another ominous aura on top of the man’s previous aura. Something
much, much more sinister than before.

He could feel the presence of a monster that was completely indescribable within
Lee Sungmin’s aura. It was something unfathomable and ominous. Something that
should never be within a human being. He could sense Heoju’s soul deep within Lee
Sungmin’s dantian.

‘It doesn’t have a body.’, Frescan realized the existence of the soul and slightly
trembled.
Everytime he had met this bastard, something terrible always happened. Lee
Sungmin was never easy for Frescan to deal with. But this time, something was much
different, Lee Sungmin’s personal growth was already incomprehensible, but… This
ominous soul that seemed to be protecting him within his dantian was way out of
Frescan’s league.

In the moment of fear enveloping Frescan, he unwittingly retreated his steps back.

The King of the other dimension that Frescan contracted in order to obtain the Black
Heart, even that presence was nothing compared to the being before him.

“……hup!”, Frescan inhaled a sharp breath nervously.

Frescan felt as if time slowed down and everything went black and white for him. He
was being stared down by the ominous soul inside of Lee Sungmin and he felt a
sweat trickle down the back of his neck.

He felt for the first time since being a Lich, that he had regained his human feelings
of fear. He thought if he really had his old human body, he would have pissed himself
on the spot.

Frescan quickly shook his head and came back to his senses.

He convinced himself that it was just an illusion. After all, how could one being
emanate an instinctual level of fear higher than the being he contracted from an
alternate dimension? It had to be an illusion… it was too unusual for a human being
to make a Lich tremble in fear, and was just plain unrealistic.

Frescan suppressed his bubbling emotions and instincts that screamed at him to run
away, as he walked towards Lee Sungmin.

The undeads that Lee Sungmin were dealing with were finally gone and vaporized.
He looked down the empty streets and realized the lights from the lanterns that
were previously lit were all sucked into Envirus’ wand as he left.

Lee Sungmin lowered the spear in satisfaction. He was being unrealistic to think he
could control all the power he wanted to use right now. But nonetheless, the amount
of power he could control resonated fiercely with the magic ore inside his spear.
He was looking forward to the day when he could master the forces completely
without needing to stress his body.

At first when he tried synchronizing the powers in the forest, he had to do it under
pressure and pain when not doing the breathing technique properly. But he was
getting used to it now and felt pretty comfortable with it.

‘He’s coming.’, Lee Sungmin’s warrior instincts shot a warning at him as he felt the
incoming presence of the Lich approaching him.

Lee Sungmin gripped his spear tightly, half in excitement to see how well he would
fare against a Lich with the amount of control he had at the moment, half wary that
things could go terribly wrong if he or Envirus didn’t do well.

Then he noticed something. He felt that he recognized the presence coming towards
him, and slowed down his steps to a casual walking speed.

Lee Sungmin finally saw the Lich’s presence come into full view and widened his
eyes in surprise.

“Frescan?”, Lee Sungmin spoke with his mouth agape.

He didn’t really expect to see Frescan here, as he had basically ruined Frescan
completely the last time he saw him in Travia and although he was the only Lich he
had ever met, it wasn’t like he was the only Lich in all of Eria.

The dark aura surrounding Frescan convinced Lee Sungmin that it really was him.

Frescan noticed Lee Sungmin’s presence a little earlier than Lee Sungmin, because
he had the home field advantage of being in a giant dome of black magic.

Frescan came closer into view and Lee Sungmin already knew what was happening.
Frescan’s bony fingers were moving at a rapid pace as he quickly started to murmur
a spell. It was pretty much how Lee Sungmin expected Frescan to be.

So he ran. Lee Sungmin quickly broke through the distance utilizing his footwork
technique of One Thunder.

Frescan eye sockets seemed to widen as he noticed Lee Sungmin approaching with a
rapid pace as tendrils of lightning were sparking from his feet.
“You blasted Heart Thief!”, Frescan roared at Lee Sungmin after he finished the
recital needed for the spell

‘Ha! what a piece of cake!’, Frescan thought arrogantly, as he saw Lee Sungmin
approach right into the area of his spell.

Black mana waves reverberated from Frescan’s bony hands and shoved a current of
mana towards Lee Sungmin with a strong force. The surging current came to Lee
Sungmin as he stretched the spear forward with zero hesitation.

The magic was definitely strange and threatening as Lee Sungmin knew black magic
was a bit different than other types of magic, but he was confident in the
orchicalcum ore inside the spear when it came to working against magicians.

Because it was a metal with high resistance to magic spells and high conductibility
for the user specifically, it could ignore the degree of magic fired off from Frescan
with just the spear shaft alone he thought.

Of course, the magic from a Lich, who was another level of existence higher than an
average black wizard was not such an easy opponent. The flow of current banged
against the speartip and turbulence was created in the air surrounding the two of
them.

He was not going to risk rampaging his power out of control against this bastard
Lich, so Lee Sungmin decided to just work with his own internal energy to start with,
disregarding the yokai powers.

The golden aura of Lee Sungmin’s internal energy coalesced into the tip of the spear
as he unfolded the Nine Heavenly Spears techniques.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 5th move : Void Rendering (空道)

Qaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The current of mana fired off from Frescan’s spell hit the golden aura moving in a
circular fashion and dispersed in multiple directions creating a clearly open space
between Frescan and Lee Sungmin.

‘Oh, my God!’, Frescan spoke to himself astonishedly.

Lee Sungmin, compared to when Frescan saw him in Travia, was strong, but now he
had an undeniable feeling of strength. Frescan knew he had to take this bastard thief
seriously now.

Frescan hurriedly blinked away and started to move his bony fingers and murmur a
spell once more to set up a defensive framework around himself.

The moment the golden aura flung the previous currents away and created the open
space was when Frescan completed his defensive spell in preparation for the terrible
onslaught of Lee Sungmin’s spear techniques.

Lee Sungmin noticed the short space in between and unveiled the fastest stabbing
technique he knew at Frescan hoping to pierce through the barrier.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 3rd move : Lightning Strike (분뢰추살)

Gwa-a-a-ang!

Hidden inside the translucent shield spell, Frescan’s shield was hit so fiercely that his
head spun and thought the world suddenly was shaking.

Well… it was partially true… Frescan’s body was flung back into the rubble with the
shockwave of impact. He was hit so fiercely he looked like a ragdoll being thrown
around in a junkyard.

Lee Sungmin did not stop there and chased quickly after Frescan, rousing up his
internal energy and Blood Ring Techniques, giving the speartip a scarlet hue.

Quack, boom!

A series of bursts of from the speartip exploded with a powerful force cracking the
translucent sphere of Frescan even further, mid-flight.

“Cheeky bastard!”, Frescan roared at Lee Sungmin in frustration, as he could not get a
moment of breath from the dog-like bastard.

Frescan’s blue wisps of fire that burned in his sockets, shone brightly, as his
emotional state became more enraged. Frescan quickly muttered a spell and blinked
away to escape the attack and get some distance.
The afterimage of Frescan was pierced by the spear, but he had already blinked away
from Lee Sungmin’s spear trajectory.

“I’ll take back what you took!”, Frescan shouted as he realized Lee Sungmin still had
the black heart and this was a chance for him.

Frescan re-appeared behind Lee Sungmin and moved his lips furiously as he started
a longer incantation. This time it wasn’t a chant for an attack spell, but rather a curse
magic.

Frescan’s legs felt dreary and weak and his vision blurred for a moment as it was
only a temporary curse, but if it landed on Lee Sungmin correctly, it would buy him a
bit of time.

Frescan moved his hand in sync with his lips and his mana exploded outwards in a
burst as he shouted once more, “Blow to smithereens!”

Several black tendrils of mana surged out from Frescan’s bony chest and shot at Lee
Sungmin viciously like a parasite.

The dark tendrils came over to Lee Sungmin blocking out his sight as they reached at
his body desperately. However… as Frescan was preparing the incantation for the
temporary curse, it wasn’t like Lee Sungmin stood there idly to listen at Frescan’s
annoying yapping.

While Frescan was shouting around like an idiot trying to grab attention like a
teenage girl in high-school, Lee Sungmin focused his breathing and started to course
the yokai power into his inner circuitry synchronizing the powers once more.

The terribly frightening power that was unleashed before, when Lee Sungmin
cleaned up the ghouls to experiment with his power, started to revolve his aura
fiercely arounthe blade of the spear.

This time, he didn’t try to outperform himself once more and didn’t add the Blood
Rings techniques on top of his spear techniques. There was no need to have this
power go out of control and completely miss.

Lee Sungmin’s choice was to use one of the deadly high numbering spear techniques
he rarely showed others. The aura wrapping around the spear turned completely
violent but… this time it was controlled.
Frescan’s eyes widened as the tendrils of mana from the temporary curse were
obviously no match for what was about to come. The violent, and sinister purple
aura shone brightly in the dark and empty street as Lee Sungmin thrust the spear
forwards shattered the black mana away like glass.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 8th Move : Slaughtering Spear(虐殺捕食)

The violet speartip collided against Frescan’s defenseless body. No, it wasn’t a
collision. It was the first signal to start a one sided beating.
Frescan’s magic was ripped to shreds the moment it came in contact with Lee
Sungmin’s spear. The synchronized forces Lee Sungmin possessed in the spear
seemed like they stemmed from the very root of destruction.

Despite not adding the third force of the Blood Ring Techniques on top of the yokai
powers and Lee Sungmin’s own Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques, he still had trouble
controlling the spear movement.

Lee Sungmin felt a tremor in his hands as he swung the spear forwards. He knew
instinctively if he let go here, he would miss and have the technique go out of control.

‘Push the spear through the opening… firmly.’, Lee Sungmin thought to himself as he
handled the spear carefully but with resolve.

Poo-hwak!

The aura gathered at the end of the spear exploded with a surge of strength.

The explosive burst scattered Frescan’s mana from his temporary curse spell, in all
directions.

But that wasn’t all. The spear moved through the spell’s vicinity and shattered
Frescan’s defensive barrier in one go.

“Huk!”, Frescan gasped for breath, astonished at the violent power that shattered his
defense.

Frescan realized in that moment, just who had fired the purple tornado at him in the
street earlier. It wasn’t the wizard that flew by him earlier, No, it was the man known
as Lee Sungmin, standing right in front of him.

Frescan hurriedly cast successive blinks and veered away from the course of the
spear’s trajectory.
As Frescan’s body quickly disappeared from the trajectory, Lee Sungmin already had
raised his senses to the max and chased his presence.

Lee Sungmin leapt forward without hesitation.

Jumping into the sky, Lee Sungmin followed Frescan, swinging his leg viciously.

As Frescan needed to use blink to move away, he was astonished to see Lee Sungmin
following him with sheer force. It was too risky to continue firing off successive
blinks even if Lee Sungmin was closing the distance.

Since Frescan was a Lich, his physical body was much weaker than a normal humans,
making it an incredibly difficult task to use constant spatial magic.

It wasn’t just that his body might be crushed from the spatial movement, but his soul
might get caught into the void of space if he was hasty and unfocused.

‘There’s no time to slow down the bastard even with the curse magic……!’, Frescan
cursed to himself in his mind.

Not only that, but his defensive barrier that was incredibly solid and could block
most attacks, was ripped like paper right in front of him.

In the end, Frescan chose fight over flight.

He quickly changed his hand movements and started to murmur a new spell.

As he finished the spell, several dozen balls of mana formulated together and
prepared to shoot at Lee Sungmin.

“Don’t come any closer you bastard!”, Frescan shouted at Lee Sungmin anxiously and
spread his hands wide.

The mana balls multiplied into smaller hundreds of mana bullets and shot forward at
Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin looked at the large number of projectiles shooting at him and decided
to break through with brunt force, as the large number of projectiles was too difficult
to dodge mid-air.
Lee Sungmin pressed his foot down onto a foothold mid-air. Normally such a feat
would be impossible but Lee Sungmin used the Shadowless footwork technique : 2-
step Calamitous End.

He quickly raised his internal energy forcibly under the dire circumstances. He took
2 steps to rouse the internal energy and the third step to move forward, unleashing
the aura at the tip of the spear.

Lee Sungmin unleashed his Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques once more.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 6th Move : Undying Spear(劍仙)

Lee Sungmin flung the spear in a stabbing motion and the aura climbed to the peak
of the spear in a large cluster, completely annihilating the hundreds of bullets aimed
at him.

Frescan’s body shook from the shockwaves and flew back.

Lee Sungmin quickly stepped through the dust cloud of scattered mana and aura.

Frescan’s body re-appeared in the air from a dark mist clouding around him.

‘You can’t give me a break?!’, Frescan flusteredly thought as he felt the immense
pressure from Lee Sungmin’s spear earlier.

How was this even possible? The magic he was using was high-tier magic that could
have obliterated Lee Sungmin back in the mercenary dungeon when they first met.

The special contract he signed as a black magician with a higher entity from an
alternate dimension allowed him to cast magic with reduced spell cast time, but that
still didn’t mean he could instantly cast his spells.

With time and territory set prior, a wizard was a fearsome existence to any being,
but in front of this man he had neither and was completely helpless.

“If only I had that child……!’, Frescan cursed in anger.

If he had come with Aine, he could have had Aine tie up Lee Sungmin, and cast his
magic safely and comfortably.
However, Aine was now a mindless slave to Arbeth. It was true that Frescan was
competent enough of a Dark Wizard to become a Tower Master, had he not turned
into a Lich. However, Lee Sungmin was now at the level to rival a Tower Master if not
even higher in terms of pure prowess.

Gwa-ang!

Lee Sungmin shot his spear once more at Frescan as Frescan had started to resume
the battle by casting another shield.

However, this time Lee Sungmin was surprised, as the shield did not break this time.

The barrier rippled as it cracked but it was because Frescan had cast a different type
of barrier, rather than a sturdy shield type, he cast a barrier that was like a fluid,
absorbing the impact a bit.

Upon seeing this, Lee Sungmin furrowed his brows and used another spear
technique that would attack the barrier at multiple points.

Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques 2nd move : Nine Dragon Annihilation (九龍殺
生)

The nine, aura-manifested dragons flew out from the spear tip and penetrated the
weakened barrier completely shattering it.

“Chet!”, Frescan gritted his teeth and tucked his breath in from the impact.

This was extremely dangerous this time for Frescan as Lee Sungmin pierced through
the fluid barrier much faster than Frescan had anticipated and was in the middle of a
chant. Since he had to cut the chant off short, the backlash was dangerous. Frescan’s
mana that was circulating into the spell started to rotate in reverse as his body and
the black mist surrounding it started to swell.

“Ur… gurrg!”

Frescan let out a gurgle from the chant and lifted his trembling finger as Lee
Sungmin looked at him in confusion, not understanding what was going on exactly
with Frescan.

Bang!
The remaining mana that hadn’t swelled up coalesced into Frescans finger and shot
straight at Lee Sungmin.

However, the makeshift magic missile was so weak it couldn’t even penetrate Lee
Sungmin’s internal energy aura that formed around as self defense.

Lee Sungmin furrowed his brows in irritation, feeling Frescan was being annoying
and stabbed the spear at Frescans swelling body.

Poo-hwak!

Frescan’s black mist covering his body was pierced and flew out in multiple
directions.

“Please stop!”, Frescan shouted in a hurt voice.

Did his body hurt when he stabbed the intangible black mist? Lee Sungmin was
curious about it, but didn’t bother to ask about it.

He lifted the spear that skewered the Lich like a kebab down to the ground.

Quang!

A speartip pierced through the ground and left Frescan’s body sprawled defenseless
in front of Lee Sungmin as he looked down at Frescan narrowing his eyes.

Frescan was injured badly but was not dead because he still had his life vessel in
another location far from the City of Endless Night. Lee Sungmin also knew this, as
he prepared himself after the first encounter about dealing with other Liches in the
future.

“What are you doing here?”, Lee Sungmin spat out at Frescan glaring menacingly.

“That’s what I asked…”, Frescan spoke in a quivering voice.

Frescan felt totally defeated and helpless. Now he was overpowered by the man who
took one of his most beloved life works, and was a slave to a complete dickhead who
could end his life on a whim.

When Arbeth took Aine away from Frescan, Frescan could not express his feelings
and had to act subservient. But even now, he felt utterly done since Arbeth wasn’t
here.

The fact that Lee Sungmin was nothing but a mere bug in front of him a few years
ago, and was now trampling over him just made him depressed.

“Ahhhhhahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”, Frescan suddenly let out his emotions and burst into
tears.

Of course, only the sound of wailing could be heard, as he didn’t have any body fluids,
but the intent was clearly there.

Lee Sungmin, who had skewered the Lich in front of him, was dumbfounded and
looked down at the Frescan.

“Why the hell are you crying? Are you sick?”, Lee Sungmin asked in a suspicious tone.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Frescan just kept wailing like a baby.

Lee Sungmin had seen many people die both in his past life and this life when they
didn’t want to die. But, this was just plain weird, and Frescan seemed to be crying
because of something completely different.

‘He wouldn’t even die here in the first place would he?’, Lee Sungmin thought to
himself as he looked confusedly at Frescan.

That’s why his crying felt even more strange to Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin needed to get his attention as this was just… Childish. Lee Sungmin
roused up his internal energy into the spear a bit to shock Frescan to his senses.

Shing!

The spear shocked Frescan’s body awake to his senses. Frescan blinked his non-
existent eyes and shouted as he shuddered.

“You, you son of a bitch! You thief! You stole the black heart which was my life’s
work!”
“I told you already. I didn’t even want it in the first place and didn’t take it on
purpose.”, Lee Sungmin spoke down coldly to Frescan.

“Shut up! What the hell is wrong with my life! Why is it so terrible?! WHY? I just
wanted to study alone in the dungeon like the old days…”, Frescan shouted out
hysterically, seemingly to nobody.

“……where did you leave the girl you always travel around with?”, Lee Sungmin spoke
curtly, cutting to the chase.

Lee Sungmin was still suspicious of Frescan. The kid who was a chimera, an artifical
lifeform created for murder, armed with the same black heart that he had.

Whilst fighting Frescan, Lee Sungmin continued to be wary of any surprise attacks
from the chimera girl. But even now, while Frescan was skewered, she didn’t come
out.

“Aine!”, Frescan cried out and wailed even more.

Lee Sungmin shook his head internally and continued to glare at Frescan.

“My lovely daughter! My everything! Hahahaha… Waaaaaaahh!”, Frescan cried out

delusionally, as his emotions were a complete mess.

“Where did you leave her?”, Lee Sungmin cut him off bluntly.

“She’s been taken from me!”, Frescan roared out in anger and sadness.

“To the king of the Undead, The Arch Lich! Ugh! I’m sad because I’m so fucking weak.
If I had been better than him, I wouldn’t have had her taken away from me…!”,
Frescan spat out in frustration.

“Then, what were you doing here?”, Lee Sungmin questioned Frescan, not giving two
shits about his lolicon tendencies.

“Do you think I’ll tell you that!”, Frescan spat out roughly in contempt at Lee
Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin expected Frescan to be stubborn to the end and didn’t bother even
trying to get the answer out any further. It was pretty much obvious this stubborn
pile of bones wouldn’t talk any further as he wouldn’t die so Lee Sungmin just
sighed.

Poo-hwak!

Lee Sungmin roused his internal energy to the limits and stabbed Frescan for the last
time. Frescan’s body assimilated into the mist completely, and dispersed in all
directions.

But unlike before, the mist didn’t reform back together as Frescan had been erased
from the battlefield here and his soul traveling back to his life vessel.

Lee Sungmin pulled out the spear stuck in the ground and looked ahead.

Firstly, he had to follow after Envirus.

The rumbling and screams within the city shocked Rubia and the Crazy Heavenly
Demon.

They had simply come to the city to enjoy the scenery and night atmosphere for a
change of pace on their break. But, something was seriously wrong right now.

Rubia grabbed the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s hand, frightened and scared.

“It’s all right.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon patted Rubia’s head calming her down.

At first, the Crazy Heavenly Demon didn’t want to be caught up in this mess at all. He
was planning on going back to the forest through a portal where Lee Sungmin was
supposedly training.

If only he didn’t hear the voices of the citizens running away

“Chusung is back?”, a citizen muttered in anger as they brushed by the Crazy

Heavenly Demon, running away.

The moment he heard the name ‘Chusung’, the Crazy Heavenly Demon stopped
walking.

Not hearing what the citizen said, Rubia tilted her head and looked up at the Crazy
Heavenly Demon who had suddenly stopped walking.
Suddenly a fierce killing intent that was being suppressed for the past week, while
they all had trained in solitude, burst out from the Crazy Heavenly Demon in vast
amounts.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked down at Rubia, who realized what was going on
and tearily shook her head at him, pleading him not to go.

“……go back alone.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon said in a cold tone.

“What?”, Rubia cried out as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon mumbled and put his hand on Rubia’s shoulder.

Rubia got emotional and grabbed the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s wrist and asked,
“Where are you going?”

“Chusung is here.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon spoke coldly staring at the street and
the fleeing citizens.

Rubia paled at the response but, more or less expected it seeing his sudden change
in demeanor and oozing killing intent. She grabbed his wrist with both hands,
pleading once more, “Please don’t, don’t go.”

“Nothing will happen.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon said emotionlessly, blatantly
spitting out a white lie.

“How do you know that? At least wait until I’m with Lee Sungmin……!”, Rubia
pleaded, trying to buy time for her to escape and find Lee Sungmin so she could be
safe and have Lee Sungmin try and talk him out of it.

“This is something that can’t be avoided.”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon muttered in a
low voice.

He turned away, shaking off Rubia’s hands that were holding his wrist. As he turned
around, Rubia shouted something from behind him, but it didn’t even register in the
Crazy Heavenly Demon’s mind.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon burst out in the direction of the disturbance with a light
step.

The humans and monsters that were fleeing and blocking the way weren’t a problem
for him so he jumped up, and ran on the roof to run faster.

—–

When the Crazy Heavenly Demon arrived, everything was on fire.

Buildings burned and corpses sizzled like charred meat. In the middle of this
massacre, Chusung was laughing crazily as the ash and embers flew around him.

The fear that was eminent in the bodies before dying, flew around in their
incorporeal states and gathered around Chusung, strengthening him.

Chusung was feeling full and satiated without even physically eating the fear. He
laughed maniacally and smacked his belly with his hand in satisfaction.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon saw a vision overlapping with the flames. Even though
he had not seen the massacre of the tribe with his own eyes, the overlapping vision
was so vivid as if he were there.

The burning huts, the screams of the tribesman, the falling branches of the forest and
the charred bodies.

Did his beloved Dersia die like that? In that gruesome manner? The mere thought of
it enraged the Crazy Heavenly Demon as he burst his killing intent all around him
and struck out.

Kuongg!

A bloody red aura sprang out from underneath the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s feet and
he screamed in rage, “AHHHHH!”

The aura burst out in all directions together with his scream.

The huge gust of aura blew away all the burning flames surrounding the area.

The sudden strong aura that coursed through the area and blew away the flames
made Chusung stop his laughter and narrow his eyes. He noticed that this wasn’t just
some wind that blew around and extinguished his flames, it was someone’s power.

Chusung turned around and saw the source of the power emanating all around the
surroundings. The Crazy Heavenly Demon stood there with a hell-bent glare as a
scarlet glow wrapped around him.

“What are you?”, Chusung asked the Crazy Heavenly Demon who caught his eye.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon completely ignored him and instead of answering, he
roused his internal energy to the max and Blood Rings started to materialize around
him.

Looking at the Crazy Heavenly Demon who was surging with a murderous aura,
Chusung knew instinctively that he was by no means an easy opponent.

Shinggggg!

The skin on Chusung’s arm, that he started to raise up, turned black and metallic.

Gwa-ang!

With a loud noise, Chusung’s body was suddenly flung back.

“AHHHH!”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon roared.

He clenched his palms and struck out at Chusung with a fist.

The bloody aura swelled around him into his right fist.

Chusung immediately widened his eyes and covered his whole body with steel skin,
but by the time he had already seen Byuk Won-Pae, Byuk Won-Pae was flinging a
barrage of unending strikes at him.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

Chusung’s body lowered and his knees bent from the pressure of the attacks. The
ground beneath him cracked and sank.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon twisted his waist and started to coalesce more of his
internal energy into his left fist.
The left fist dug under Chusung’s arm and into his ribcage.

Bang!

Chusung’s body bent inwardly and his body floated up in the air from the hard strike.

Chusung’s body was extremely heavy. Aiming at Chusung’s body that was flung
upwards a few inches off the ground, the Crazy Heavenly Demon extended his palms
and struck out with the blood rings.

KA-BOOM!

Chusung’s body, caught in a red storm of aura, flew backwards from the impact and
smashed into a burning building that was crumbling down.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon took a deep breath and ran towards the building where
Chusung was buried, continuing his relentless charge.

He didn’t have the slightest thought that Chusung would have died just like that as he
burst forward.

He was right.

Qua’ang!

The explosion inside the building caused the whole building to explode in pieces as
debris flew out.

Debris flew out and some were flying at the Crazy Heavenly Demon. He swung his
palms at the debris and swiped it away.

Chusung, who rose up as flames surrounded his body, contorted his face while
looking at the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“You mere human bastard!”, Chusung spat out, unveiling his sharp and jagged teeth.

He felt utterly embarrassed by the sudden attack.

Not only that, he was utterly surprised at how strong his assailant, the Crazy
Heavenly Demon was. There were only a few in all of Eria that could attack him on
par like this.

But it was not only for the case for Chusung, but also for the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

When Henemy was still the leader of Predator, Chusung was second only to Henemy
and the other elders of Predator.

Since Kumiho had appeared, he was now only second to Kumiho. Always being the
number two.

The constant dissatisfaction of being number two however, didn’t mean that
Chusung was weak, in fact it only meant he was that strong to be able to contend
against those monsters in the first place.

“You cheeky bastard!”, Chusung yelled and emerged from the fire, this time
completely abandoning his human form.

His size, which before, was already bigger than the Crazy Heavenly Demon, was now
twice as big. All the clothes he was wearing were burned in the emergence and surge
of the flames wrapping around Chusung’s body.

But no resemblance of human skin could be seen. Chusung’s body was covered head-
to-toe in black scales, and his face was no longer that of a human’s but that of a
complete monster.

His eyes were bloodshot red and his scales shined brightly in the vibrant flames.

Chusung was no longer going to play around in his weak human form, and took the
Crazy Heavenly Demon seriously for the first time. Chusung really did look like a
dragon, as he opened his elongated mouth and a burst of flames came out like a
Dragon’s Breath.

Chusung’s entire demeanor and aura was much more prominent and powerful as a
violent energy surrounded his body.

‘You won’t be able to handle Chusung as you are right now.’, the Crazy Heavenly
Demon recalled what Kumiho had told him back in the detached house.

She was speaking the truth. Although the Crazy Heavenly Demon was one of the best
martial artists in the Peak Realm, it was not nearly strong enough to kill Chusung.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon knew it already.

But even though he knew, he strode forwards and continued to attack Chusung. Even
if it was too much for him to handle, even if he might die… it had to be done.

He was not going to pretend like Chusung hadn’t slaughtered the people he called
family and his beloved Dersia.

This was vengeance. Stubborn as it may be, matters of the heart couldn’t be taken
lightly.

Feigning ignorance and not facing Chusung here and now was like denying the tribe
and Dersia’s very existence as living people.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon, wrapped in a blood scarlet aura, rushed toward
Chusung through the flames as two shades of red auras clashed within the dark night
of the City.
Arbeth, who was working on the magic circle, felt the fluctuations of mana that
vibrated in the air.

Realizing that this huge fluctuation in the mana wasn’t coming from the magic circle,
he trembled slightly. He raised his gaze and focused his mana into his eyes, as he
couldn’t believe what he saw.

“It wasn’t a rat…”, he raised his hands, muttering the words.

Arbeth took his hands and pointed at the circle murmuring a spell. The spell was to
make sure the circle would be completed properly and gather mana and fear without
him having to directly work on it as he had to prepare himself for the incoming
opponent.

“Stand in the middle.”, Arbeth commanded Aine.

As Aine was currently imprinted with the seal of obedience, she nodded her head
emotionlessly and stood in the middle of the magic circle, as instructed.

As she walked over and stood in the center of the magic circle, Arbeth cast another
barrier spell that was amplified to be stronger than most as he needed to protect
both Aine and the magic circle in case problems arose.

Even after casting the barrier spell, Arbeth continued to work on the magic circle as
much as he could before the opponent came. Although this was the first time since
becoming an Arch Lich, that he felt a presence of another Wizard of his caliber
approaching him, he stayed focused on getting the magic circle done.

The most important part of the circle was the pre-preparation and he had already
completed it. All he was doing now was hastening the process.

The reason Arbeth chose the location of the magic circle to be in the central square
of the city was because of the ambient mana that surrounded it.
He looked pleasedly at the black, spherical barrier surrounding Aine and the magic
circle and raised his finger to touch the sphere.

A tiny black dot from the sphere touched the surface of Arbeth’s finger and was
absorbed into his body.

“It connected…”, Arbeth grinned devilishly and muttered to himself.

What happened was that the mana between him and the circle was connected to
each other and he could access the mana of the city now.

Arbeth briefly wondered if he really had to go this far.

The sheer amount of mana that Arbeth had in his mana pool that was collected over
hundreds of years, was so vast he didn’t have to ever worry about running out of
mana in a battle.

But he had time anyways before the unknown wizard approached, so it was better to
just be safe in case something went awry. There was nothing wrong in being
prepared when it came to fights between fellow wizards.

However, Arbeth didn’t just stop there and continued to prepare himself
appropriately.

Arbeth darted his lips in succession and murmured a spell. It was a spell that
expanded his mana to encapsulate and mark an area as his ‘territory’.

There were two major things one needed to be wary of, when fighting wizards.

One, do not ever enter a wizard’s territory. And two, don’t give a wizard time.

Arbeth was simply checking off the boxes in preparations as the spell he cast was to
set up his ‘territory’, giving him a great advantage.

He also had a hunch, guessing the identity of the Wizard approaching him. He
thought it was probably a Tower Master.

Not far away, Envirus lowered himself from the levitation magic and noticed the
presence of Arbeth’s large mana fluctuations.
Envirus noticed the fluctuation of magic and thought of the only person who could
reach that kind of level as a Dark Wizard.

No, he was sure of who it was.

Envirus was inwardly convinced that it was him. The two-faced wizard who gave up
his humanity hundreds of years ago to become an Arch Lich.

“Arbeth.”, Envirus muttered the name to himself in a low voice.

Arbeth would not know the identity of Envirus. It was only natural since Envirus had
thrown away his old identity and withdrew himself from the world a long time ago
to escape the boundaries of fate.

But there was no need for that now, as Envirus had met Lee Sungmin, a man whose
destiny was so strong it drew him back into the world’s flow of fate.

What Lee Sungmin possessed was not a destiny that encapsulated one individual in
the flow of fate, but his very existence had such a strong impact that it could change
and alter the flow entirely for every being he came across.

The fate of the entire world was tangled with Lee Sungmin’s existence.

Envirus eventually approached him after hesitating for several years, but he didn’t
regret the decision.

In the end, no mortal would know the flow of fate from here on out. There was no
need to have worries or trivial questions when it came to the overwhelming
existence Lee Sungmin had in the realm of fate.

For a moment, Envirus hesitated. He was questioning whether even his very
movements and actions right now were something to be predetermined.

‘Is this my destiny?’ Envirus chuckled with a saddened expression at the thought.

“Laplace.”, Envirus muttered as his expression loosened.

A shadow from under his feet expanded and a man materialized out of the shadow.

The man who appeared looked like every other broker from Erebrisa, but he
fundamentally had a different presence than Neville or any other broker.

Laplace stood there for a moment and raised his lowered head as his gaze met
Envirus.

[You called me.], Laplace opened his mouth and continued to speak.

[To obtain what you entrusted us to hold onto for you, correct?], he spoke
emotionlessly.

“Yes.”, Envirus replied stoically.

[Do you know what that means?], Laplace put a hand over his mouth trying to
contain his laughter from spilling out.

Envirus nodded slowly.

A long time ago, Envirus had met with the mysterious group known as Erebrisa.

Not the brokers, but those who created Erebrisa itself. Upon meeting them, Envirus
did business with them.

[It’s been 100 years.], Laplace spoke as he spread his hands wide.

A white current of mana flowed out from the tips of Laplace’s fingers, and a dimly lit
sphere floated over Laplace’s palm.

This orb was what Envirus had left to Erebrisa to hold on to for him 100 years ago.
Envirus looked at the Laplace confusedly as he did not immediately hand over the
orb.

[Do you know what it means to get this back?], Laplace asked Envirus examining his
expression.

“I do.”, Envirus nodded in reply.

[I don’t understand you. All that trouble you went through to escape the flow of fate,
and yet you still want this back, knowing what will happen?.], Laplace spoke
seemingly in a mocking tone.
“That’s correct.”, Envirus responded in a tired voice, preparing himself for Laplace’s
endless talking again.

[You should know this deal was a ridiculous request in the first place. At the time, the
Queen of Spirits asked us directly, so we accepted it warily. However…… I don’t make
these kinds of deals anymore and that goes for all of Erebrisa, so don’t plan on asking
again if you change your mind in the future.], Laplace spoke in an irritated tone,
recalling the reckless deal he made in the past with Envirus.

“I know that, as well.”, Envirus let out a sigh expressing he wanted to be done with
this talk, and Laplace shut up.

Laplace slowly floated the sphere towards Envirus’ open hands.

[You must have given up your tirade, huh?], Laplace asked in an informal tone of
speech.

“It’s because I couldn’t help it.”, Envirus responded as well in a casual voice.

Envirus opened his mouth wide and then he stuck the sphere in his mouth. Laplace
shook his head, clicking his tongue.

[I don’t know if I’ll see you again, so don’t die. If you do, the Queen of Spirits will be
sad.], Laplace disappeared, leaving the words behind.

The light emanating from the sphere also disappeared as Envirus swallowed it
whole.

It was none other than part of his soul that Envirus left with Erebrisa’s founders.
This was the only method Envirus could safely escape the flow of fate and it wasn’t
easy to hide himself even with giving up part of his soul. He had to withdraw himself
from all society and use a different identity for the few that knew him.

But now, that life of seclusion was no more, thus he had no need to keep his soul with
Erebrisa any longer.

After meeting Lee Sungmin, Envirus albeit hesitantly, decided to pick himself back up
and come back into the world of Eria from seclusion.

That long period of time that he built up while staying away from society and
escaping the flow of fate, was what resulted in having the law of causality so
distorted when it came to his existence.

‘There’s not much time left.’, Envirus thought as he merged his split soul back
together.

There was a faint trace of emotion that finally appeared on Envirus’ stoic face.

Envirus looked down at the wand he held in his hand and realized there was no need
for the phony piece of wood anymore.

Envirus took the wand in both of his hands and broke it.

An enormous amount of mana poured out of the broken wand that had been stored
inside it and returned into Envirus’ body.

It had been 100 years since Envirus last felt his true power. He titled his head up
towards the sky with complicated eyes.

The fate, which Envirus was trying so hard to escape, was a torturous death.

‘One day for sure.’, Envirus thought to himself with the complicated emotions.

Every human knows they have to die at some point as long as they are alive. But,
knowing your own death and when you’ll die was not something that was easy to
handle for anybody.

That was the case for Envirus as well.

Leaving part of his soul and escaping that flow of fate, was Envirus’ last resort in
escaping that fate, but it came with a price.

It meant losing all the mana and magical prowess that he had built over the years
slowly.

During that time of 100 years, Envirus had to relearn magic from scratch. In the past
he was at the level of Henemy, The King of Monsters, and the Head of Predator.

‘Not quite there yet, I’m sure. But… it will come back slowly’, Envirus thought to
himself with a bitter smile.
What he was thinking of, was the fate that he tried so desperately to escape. He was
going to die eventually no matter what.

“……That’s not possible!”, Arbeth suddenly paled and jerked his head at the massive
influx of mana coming from the direction of Envirus.

The opponent wasn’t yet visible, but Arbeth was feeling certain. Until a while ago, the
presence that was approaching here was not that powerful, it was strong compared
to the standards of Eria, but to Arbeth it wasn’t something he was too worried about.

It seemed enough to be at the level of an Archmage, but this was a completely

different level of existence.

He did not know what suddenly just happened to cause this massive influx of mana,
but one thing was for sure, it was a level that was currently higher than Arbeth.

It was completely unbelievable.

None of the wizards in all of Eria were stronger than Arbeth till now, that goes for
even the wizards who had given up their humanity to live longer under the context
of conditional immortality like a Lich.

Arbeth boasted about being a Tower Master in the past as no more than childsplay in
front of this existence.

‘No way.’,

Thinking of who could possibly be the person coming, Arbeth’s face contorted with
unease. There was only one person who could possibly be at this level, but even then
they weren’t at this level.

However, it had been 100 years since the person he was thinking of had completely
disappeared from all of Eria and was presumed to be dead.

But now this person was showing up? Of all times?

Arbeth could not understand what was happening, but hastily finished his remaining
preparations.

If the opponent was really him, Arbeth had to be prepared for the worst of all
outcomes.

Arbeth’s prediction was correct.

Arbeth narrowed his eyes when he saw Envirus approaching the square.

Arbeth smiled, his teeth curving up to the corners of his mouth, half in excitement,
half in nervousness. It was different from the face from the one Arbeth remembered,
but 100 years had passed, so he could understand that much.

But even though his face had changed, Arbeth could immediately recognize it.

It was because of the unique tattoos on both of Envirus’ arms.

“Cain…”, Arbeth muttered with a devilish grin.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that.”, Envirus replied in a low tone.

The name Cain was the identity of Envirus prior to the deal he made with Erebrisa,
helping him seclude himself.

Envirus looked at Arbeth with a bitter smile. As he thought, it was Arbeth, one of
Predator’s 5 elders and the leader of the Undead Monster Faction within Predator,
who was here.

The tattoos on Envirus’ arms began to wriggle and writhe around.

“What the hell are you doing here?”, Envirus asked Arbeth with more emotion than
he had ever shown in 100 years, although it still wasn’t much.

“And what the hell have you been doing for 100 years?”, Arbeth quipped back.

They asked each other different questions but neither of them had any intention of
answering each other. They were pointless questions in the first place.

Arbeth immediately attacked. The magic that he had prepared prior launched itself
at Envirus.

Originally, one needed to cast a spell through a magic circle and a chant, but the
chant was omitted due to the preparations.
Quaaaaaa!

A black flame struck out at Envirus. The spell was known as ‘Hellfire’, a fire that did
not stop burning until the mana of the caster ran out.

As Arbeth did not need a chant, it was the same for Envirus.

Having regained his memories and mana he once had as Cain, the wizard who stood
atop all wizards in the pursuit of the pinnacle in magic.

Envirus moved back to dodge the flame and extended his hand at Arbeth with his
palms facing outwards. A black geometric tattoo wriggled from Envirus’ left forearm.

It wasn’t just a simple tattoo. A small list of countless runic characters were engraved
on his skin that flew out and formed a magic circle.

A white barrier was created through Envirus’ magic. Slowing the flame’s procession
with the barrier, Envirus turned the index finger of his right hand, which stretched
out and pointed towards Arbeth

The chilling fog came out of his finger and wrapped itself around Envirus.

Pavavabak!

Hundreds of small needle-like ice arrows appeared and collided with the flame.

Arbeth didn’t get cocky and waited patiently for the vapor of the collision to
disperse. The flame, which had been blocked by the shroud of fog, spreaded to the
side and vaporized all the ice arrows.

Without stopping there, Arbes changed the shape of the black flame.

Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The earth shook and the ground cracked beneath the visible surface as an
earthquake occurred. The ground cracked open, and tens of black vines sprouted
from the ground.

Vines full of poisonous thorns tried to wrap themselves around Envirus’ body.
There was no chant whatsoever from Envirus.

Among the many talented wizards in Eria, this was a specialty that only Cain could
pull off.

Although it could not match the strength and power of the Dragon’s language of
chanting, Cain was the only one who could perform magic without a chant among all
wizards that existed in history up to date.

It was possible because of the runic tattoos on his arms. All the runic characters in
the Wizard’s language were inscribed onto his body, allowing him to come up with
any combination of chants needed silently.

When Cain entrusted part of his soul to Erebrisa, this specialty of his was lost.

Instead of it, he used a wand containing the mana he had obtained through countless
years as Cain, and relearned all the spells he knew back then as ‘Envirus’.

However, ‘Cain’ and ‘Envirus’ abilities were completely different. Cain moved his
hand without any unnatural movements.

Parsasak!

The vines, which were about to tie him up and constrict him with poison, were
crushed apart and shredded to pieces.
-Coo-oong!

Not far away from Lee Sungmin’s location, there was a tremor from a collision.

Lee Sungmin stopped walking and looked ahead.

It was a collision of immense mana colliding against each other that Lee Sungmin
felt, but he inwardly could tell that the forces colliding weren’t anything he wouldn’t
be able to deal with on his own.

Lee Sungmin was still surprised by it. Perhaps it was Envirus who was fighting and
causing it, but the power he felt earlier from Envirus could not compare to the level
of magic he felt just now.

‘You were hiding your power?’, Lee Sungmin stopped and thought for a second.

He brushed away the thought and started walking again, even though he felt rather
estranged by it.

First of all, he thought that the first priority was to find Envirus and help him in
whatever way he could since he’d rather not be stuck in this dreadful space any
longer.

However, Lee Sungmin’s steps stopped once again before long.

It was because a man in a black robe suddenly appeared, blocking his way.

—-

Kim Jonghyun was deep in thought.

This was an unmistakable course of fate, he thought.

It was the same case in the north. Kim Jonghyun felt his fate tingling when he met
Lee Sungmin in Travia.

The strong destiny that Lee Sungmin had, was protection from a being so strong and
was known as the ‘Apostle of the End’.

Then following this course it had to be fate once more that Kim Jonghyun and Lee
Sungmin met now, here in The City of Endless Night.

They had met in Behenger, the city of the Volcano Sect when chasing Solitary Blade
Dokgo, and in northern Travia.

And once again… here.

It made it clear to Kim Jonghyun that whatever life he had lived in Lee Sungmin’s
previous life, it was much different than what was going on in this one.

At least Kim Jonghyun thought so. Kim Jonghyun knew that whatever life he would
have lived, it wasn’t for him to know as he had no way of finding out.

However, meeting with Lee Sungmin once more here, made Kim Jonghyun happy to
see that he was moving in a different direction whatever his previous life may have
led.

“……who are you?”, Lee Sungmin asked the robed man in front of him who was hiding
his identity.

Kim Jonghyun lowered the hood of his robe, slightly nodding to Lee Sungmin but not
revealing himself.

Inwardly, Kim Jonghyun wanted to respond and give his greetings to Lee Sungmin,
but he had to turn his head away from him, because now was not the time to reveal
his identity to him.

‘Woah… ’, Kim Jonghyun suddenly was surprised by the power he felt from Lee
Sungmin.

It was the case every time they met, every time Kim Jonghyun had met Lee Sungmin,
Lee Sungmin’s power was exponentially more powerful than the last.
If you took his identity as a no-class into account, it was an understatement to say
Lee Sungmin had long surpassed the limits of a no-class.

Not many people have reached the level of Lee Sungmin, that’s including the heirs
with genius talents among the martial artist families that had monetary support and
tutors since birth.

One can argue that the talent of martial artists in Eria were stagnant these days, but
if you took away age as a factor and looked at all the fighters in Eria, only tens of
people would be able to defeat him.

Kim Jonghyun smiled bitterly behind the hood of his robe.

“You can’t get past this point.”, he spoke stoically, and his voice was distorted by a
magic device that made it difficult to identify the gender of the voice speaking.

Kim Jonghyun raised his hand when he saw Lee Sungmin’s face twitching slightly
with irritation.

There was no need for a head-to-head competition. Kim Jonghyun was said to be
borrowing the power of the devil himself through black magic, but even so, Kim
Jonghyun is human and had not given up his humanity entirely.

To be honest, Kim Jonghyun was not confident of winning against Lee Sungmin, even
if he pulled out all his hidden cards.

So the answer was to avoid having a fight. In the first place, Kim Jonghyun’s role here
was to block those who tried to interfere with Arbeth’s plans, whatever they may be.

However, he had let Envirus go past him because he had something to aim for. But if
Lee Sungmin got through somehow, his plans would be for naught.

When the mysterious wizard tried to start chanting a spell in front of him, Lee
Sungmin rushed toward Kim Jonghyun without waiting any further.

But Kim Jonghyun aimed for it. The spell chant itself was a fake.

Kim Jonghyun suddenly stopped moving his lips with the fake chant and lightly lifted
his left hand casually.
Whoosh!

A black light suddenly flashed across Lee Sungmin’s vision.

Lee Sungmin flinched from surprise and raised the window to counter the sudden
flash of light blocking his vision.

Lee Sungmin squinted his eyes and suddenly felt his movements and senses become
murky. He opened his eyes to see nothing but black, and it felt as if time had been
skewed and stretched apart in a weird manner.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

The black world unfolded around Lee Sungmin’s surroundings like a sphere.

Lee Sungmin stopped the spear’s outstretched movement and looked around at the
endless darkness flowing in his surroundings, as all of his senses were completely
blocked off.

The discomfort that he was feeling was completely reminiscent of when Lee
Sungmin had all of his restrictions placed on him in the Mountain of Mush.

Kim Jonghyun breathed in and out with a heavy breath. The black space he created
to encapsulate Lee Sungmin was a seal that he placed beforehand that required
immense mental strength to maintain.

Kim Jonghyun pressed down on his temples, feeling a slight dizziness.

Although it was a temporary seal, the level of the seal itself was incredibly high and
difficult to maintain as it was meant to seal incredibly powerful beings.

The problem with this seal was that once Lee Sungmin was trapped, he could not
interfere with anything Lee Sungmin did inside the seal, and he was rendered
temporarily immobile while having to maintain it.

But it didn’t really matter as his goal was only to stall Lee Sungmin here.

In addition, Kim Jonghyun did not want to kill Lee Sungmin here even though he
currently had the chance, since he had used a dirty trick to trap him.
‘Three hours at most… No, maybe shorter than that.’, Kim Jonghyun thought to himself
as he estimated the amount of time he could hold Lee Sungmin here with his
unexpected amount of strength.

But that was enough time needed.

Kim Jonghyun turned around and floated up in the air to head towards Arbeth and
Envirus’ location as he now had to finish his final plans.

Arbeth spread his hands out wide and blinked out of Envirus’ spell trajectory.

A little after Arbeth blinked away, Envirus’ magic completely destroyed the space
where Arbeth once was.

It had been a long time since Arbeth last felt the unease of another existence, let
alone human wizard.

Ever since he became an undead, and even more so as an Arch Lich, Arbeth had
always been in a position of absolute power.

Because there was no fighting allowed between the other Elders of Predator or
fighting with the organization, ‘Beyond the Heavens’, enforced by Yana. The current
nervousness and unease he felt from fighting against Envirus was rather welcomed.

But even though he was pleased to have the opportunity to fight, it was still
incredibly dangerous for Arbeth.

Arbeth glanced at the magic circle where Aine was trapped. The circle was eating
away at the very mana and fear being emitted all over the city.

‘Frescan’s presence has disappeared. That fucking incompetent idiot must have died.
Stupid bastard……!’, Arbeth cursed to himself, as even right now he wouldn’t mind
borrowing a rat’s hand to deal with Envirus’ merciless onslaught.

It was that serious, Envirus’ level was actually much higher than Arbeth right now
and it was becoming more and more apparent as they continued to clash.

Arbeth honestly felt a little bit of shame about it. Arbeth, who cast another
succession of blinks, rose high in the air and became endangered once again after
each blink from Envirus’ spell’s redirection.

It was extremely dangerous to spread the blinks consecutively for most people, but
not for wizards who had control like Arbeth or Envirus.

Quaaaaaa!

Dozens of flame beads were materialized around Arbeth.

It was a hellfire that was considered the strongest and hardest spell among Flame
Wizards to master, but Arbeth cast it as easily as a simple fireball.

‘His level… It’s higher than it used to be.’, Arbeth was thinking about Envirus’ massive
mana pool.

Envirus raised both of his arms. While Envirus was losing his sudden capacity as
‘Cain’, Arbeth continued to chant spells.

(T/N : interesting… the author didn’t mention it earlier but it seems like Envirus can
only temporarily restore his abilities on top of what he already has.)

Envirus lightly clicked his tongue. The runic characters on his arms writhed around
and formed a new spell.

‘Wow’, Arbeth thought to himself inwardly surprised of Envirus’ spell mastery.

Dozens of layers of barriers were instantly cast to stop the hellfire bombardment.
The collision caused a massive explosion, and the embers from the collision that fell
to the ground melted the earthen rock down in a matter of milliseconds.

Envirus glanced toward the Magic Circle. he’d have to destroy that, but Arbeth didn’t
give him a single opening to do so.

Arbeth saw Envirus glance for a split second and resumed casting another spell.

The ground beneath Envirus’ feet cracked open from Arbeth’s spell and a monster’s
teeth along with a foul breath protruded from the cracked ends of the earthen plates.

Envirus quickly leaped up a few meters in the air and cast a spell making a quick
bubble of air to float up with, seemingly light in terms of defense but, appearances
were meant to be fooled.

The whole mouth of the monster froze suddenly from the foggy mist that shed out
from the bubbly sphere around Envirus.

Envius flew up high to Arbeth’s location and spread his hands wide.

Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

A light suddenly started to shine from Envirus’ hands and a bright bolt of lightning
struck out and the entire surrounding beamed brightly. Then a second after the bolt
flew out a deafening sound of thunder cracked out from the spell.

(T/N : for the first time in a martial arts novel i am impressed with the author to
realize the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound lol.)

Arbeth hurried back and moved his hands quickly to form a black barrier around
him, but as fast as Envirus’ spell was at the speed of lightning, it was just as
destructive as it smashed the barrier apart like glass.

Quasik!

As the barrier was smashed by the lightning and the brightness dimmed, Arbeth
appeared out of the light and his left arm was turned to dust.

Ccreaaakk

There was no yelling of cries of pain from Arbeth, as an Arch Lich was an Arch Lich
after all.

The body that Arbeth was inhabiting may appear to be human with flesh right now,
but it was nothing more than a doll injected with Arbeth’s soul.Even if this body was
destroyed, Arbeth would not die. But the loss of flesh made Arbeth quite angry.

Envirus rushed toward Arbeth, who was reeling himself farther away in the air.

The letters engraved on both arms wriggled and covered Envirus’ palms in a blue
light.
Arbeth hurriedly unfolded more blinks before Envirus’ attack could completely
destroy his body, leaving the space.

One-on-one magic fights were hard. Arbeth admitted it, though it was disgraceful to
do so for his pride.

Then again they had no choice but to continue this fight that could not fully
encapsulate each other’s talents.

Arbeth grabbed the stub that was remaining where his missing left arm used to be.

Thud thud!

His left arm started to artificially regrow back into place while Arbeth darted his lips.

As the chant began, an ominous darkness shook and formed around Arbeth.

The devil whom Arbeth had contracted, allowed a special power that only Arbeth
could use and that power was a power of never ending corruption that could corrode
anything in existence.

Arbeth’s prepared magic circles from beforehand, which were not used yet in the
fight, began to unfold their stored spells.

Darkness raged and unfolded all of the city square in a black dim lighting. Inside it,
there was a mixture of screams and howling cries of sorrow that sounded incredibly
eerie, showcasing why black magic was indeed black magic.

Inside the black space dead corpses began to rise from the ground with a creaking
noise…

The countless corpses Arbeth had taken and collected from the lives he slaughtered
for the past hundreds of years took shape in the ground and became soldiers of the
dead.

Arbeth’s specialty as a Dark Wizard was necromancy. He was at the pinnacle of

mastery in necromancy in all of Eria, as no necromancer would even hold a candle to
Arbeth.

‘If Bolander were here, it would be so fucking annoying…!’, Arbeth gritted his teeth,
thinking of one of his Death Knights he didn’t summon.

Unlike other summons, Bolander was a Death Knight of Arbeth’s that had
unparalleled Power among his undead. However, his soul was too strong to be ruled
down even as an undead, and hated Arbeth when he was alive. So naturally he never
followed Arbeth’s orders and Arbeth couldn’t summon him even if he really needed
him… like right now.

Envirus contorted his face in disgust when he saw the soldiers of the dead who had
raised their bodies creakily.

Necromance magic is the most looked down upon paths of magic and was despised
utterly as a taboo among taboos.

It was not only the lack of respect reviving corpses of the dead, but tying their souls
down for eternity never being able to rest, having to obey the necromancer’s every
whim.

The undead Arbeth summoned were different than most undead skeleton knights or
skeleton magicians that most necromancers summoned.

He took every undead corpse he had and turned them into frightening chimeras. But
unlike most corpses that had souls that were damaged and unable to think for
themselves, Arbeth’s mastery over dark magic and souls was strong enough to have
the chimera keep their memories and be able to think properly, making them
absolute nightmares to deal with.

That is why it was rather powerful. Unlike chimeras that could not think while alive
even with a brain artificially inserted, these could.

The winged chimeras flew up toward the airborne Envirus.

However, Envirus didn’t feel threatened by it. It wasn’t enough to even keep him in
check.

Envirus waved his hand without hesitation and the chimera’s corpses exploded into
flesh and gore in the air.

But as they were squashed, black poison spewed out from their blood.
The blood danced in the air and was controlled by Arbeth as they formed into needle
like darts and flew at Envirus once more.

Arves started chanting once more when he saw the blood shooting twirling around
Envirus.

He knew it was nothing more than a distraction for a master of Wizards like Envirus
and it was indeed a drag in the end.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

The black-blood needles that swirled in the air and attacked Envirus caused a great
explosion.

Before the sound of the explosion disappeared, Arbeth continued to prepare magic.

Of all the Dark Wizards in the world, which could use mana and black magic spells,
the spell Arbeth was preparing was something only Arbeth could use.

In the explosion of black blood that was dissipating, Envirus felt a deadly and
ominous presence.

Arch Lich Extinction Magic : Soul Corrosion (魂)

No matter how great a wizard may be, one cannot simply dismiss a magic that
attacks the soul directly.

From behind Arbeth’s back, two dark-colored incorporeal hands sprang up.

The hands of the devil that Arbeth contracted that popped up from behind Arbeth,
were able to corrode anything they put their hands on, and Arbeth made it so they
directly were able to touch souls only.

Arbeth fired the two hands at Envirus, concentrating his hardest on this spell as it
consumed a lot of mana and mental strength. The dark hands shot out and entered
the smoke left from the prior collision

Whoosh!

The huge wind formed from Envirus’s body completely pushed out the remnants of
the blast created by the blood needles and shot out at the black hands.

Just as Arbeth used a specialty magic only he could pull off, Envirus noticed the
ominous presence and didn’t delay in using his own specialty magic.

The wind that pushed the corrosive hands took on a shape of a muscular incorporeal
being.

“A Spirit!”, Arbeth shouted out in utter shock as he opened his eyes wide.

The grade of the spirit summoned was too high-level to be some nameless sprite
from the spirit realm if it was able to block the demon’s soul-corrupting hands.

[Is that… Cain?], The Wind Spirit asked Envirus with an emotional undertone.

Envirus nodded slowly. Then the wind spirit laughed out loud solemnly.

[The queen must be sad……], it muttered.

“I’ll think about it later.”, Envirus replied in a quiet voice

The Spirits of the spirit realm could not be destroyed even against the forms of
extinction magic.

Thus, the wind spirit that Envirus summoned spread his arms wide and summoned
a huge gust of wind.

Meanwhile…

Kim Jonghyun had already arrived at the square. He hid his presence from the
clashing Arbeth and Envirus, crouching quietly.

‘Not yet… ’, he thought to himself.

It wasn’t the time yet.

Lee Sungmin wandered in the dark abyss of the seal Kim Jonghyun placed.
Everywhere he looked, it was just utter and complete darkness.

He also knew that this space was simply a space artificially created to consume time.

It was unpleasant to feel around as his senses were still a mess, and the feeling of
time ticking by slowly weighted on his mind.

Lee Sungmin looked around and lifted the spear he had swung several times in vain.

He had tried multiple times at this point to escape through force, but every time he
released an attack into the darkness, all he could see was the space fluctuate and
bend, only to go back to normal without a single scratch to be found.

[It’s a well-designed confinement seal. This is incredibly high level, and it’s made to
break down your senses over time, but what’s more disturbing is that the seal itself
is a higher level than the caster.], Heoju spoke to Lee Sungmin, examining the space.

But even Lee Sungmin knew that much.

Lee Sungmin couldn’t identify the hooded sorcerer who placed him in the seal, but
from what he could tell, the individual was a high ranked Dark Wizard.

But the question remained… Why did he just lock Lee Sungmin up?

[Stupid, don’t ask the obvious. How can he do anything to you inside of the space,
when even you can’t do anything from the inside?], Heoju spat out in a mocking tone.

It made some sense to Lee Sungmin, but he wasn’t totally convinced.

Nonetheless, he didn’t have the time nor effort to dwell on such things until he got
out. Lee Sungmin clicked his tongue and reminded himself not to relax.
Lee Sungmin acknowledged that whatever Envirus was doing was his own business
and it might not be right of him to interfere, but he couldn’t just sit still here like a
duck.

He picked up his breath and gave strength to the hand holding the spear.

The spear vibrated with a small tremor. A golden and scarlet aura intertwined
around the speartip and gleamed brightly in the dark area.

Bloody Heavenly Demon Martial Arts : Blood Gale Nova (血腥新星)

The unique trait to the Blood Gale Nova technique taught to him by the Crazy
Heavenly Demon was that the force of the power would multiply more and more, if
you stored up the internal energy into the blood rings.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could endlessly charge up power for eternity, as if it
exceeded his own threshold of power, he wouldn’t be able to control it at all.

Even when he used his own internal energy combined with the yokai power
techniques, he did not have complete control over them, and the side effects could be
disastrous. Qi Deviation which was the breaking down of the meridians was the most
common and brutal side effect of one losing control over their own techniques and
he had no intention of doing so.

But when he used those two techniques earlier, he was in the middle of battle. Now,
he was not only dealing with something that wasn’t foreign to his own body like the
yokai power, but something a bit easier to deal with. And this time he was
completely standstill and able to focus his attention to the technique.

The strength of the blood gale nova started to intertwine with his golden internal
energy fiercely as it wound up like a tightly wound spring at the end of the speartip.

It had been a long time since he had been extremely careful and attentive in
performing his own martial art techniques instead of the yokai techniques. The huge
swirl of internal energy wound tighter and tighter, as he started to feel the spear
vibrate.

The spear would shake even more violently, if Lee Sungmin let go of the spear. This
was all the power Lee Sungmin could handle in one blow.
Lee Sungmin felt estranged and in a trance from the attentiveness he was able to
focus on the spear itself as he closed his eyes and let his body go through the
motions by itself. He opened his eyes at the last moment of the movement and thrust
his spear fiercely in a piercing motion.

Kwaaang!

There was a cracking sound like the sky had split in half.

At the end of the trajectory of the speartip, the stream of golden and scarlet aura
exploded in a straight line through the darkness.

The space reverberated intensely and the fluctuations in the mana holding the space
became cracked as a hole was opened up.

Lee Sungmin quickly threw himself into a gap he could see before it had the chance
to close back up.

Envirus, who called the Wind Spirit, began to use the spirit’s magic in earnest against
Arbeth. Envirus, who was loved by the Queen of Spirits, was free to contract with any
spirits in the spirit realm.

Any person who has a contract in the spirit realm can only contract and summon the
spirit they contracted with. However, Envirus contracted with the Spirit Queen
herself, who ruled over all the spirits and was able to summon any spirit at will that
was under the Spirit Queen.

But Arbeth, and his magic of extinction, was not too far behind in terms of skill and
power behind Envirus.

He stood up to Envirus’ spirit magic, making up the difference with his mana pool
that he was extracting from the magic circle encapsulating over the entire CIty of
Endless Night.

In Kim Jonghyun’s view who was crouching shamelessly while being hidden, the
fight between the two was almost even.

If Arbeth used a magic from another realm that was known as extinction magic,
Envirus also had his unique spirit magic from the spirit realm.

While Envirus’ capacity as a wizard and technical skill may be higher, Arbeth, who
was utilizing the mana pool from two outside sources, his contracted being, and the
mana pooled from the City, was overpowering Envirus with sheer firepower.

Luckily for Envirus, he was able to hold off and match the firepower by calling upon
several different spirits.

But there was fundamentally a difference in the amount of mana between the two.

A Dark Wizard is able to exchange more power from their contracted being, by
selling their soul. Not only that, a demon’s mana was higher and better in quality
than any mortal being, even if that being was Envirus.

In addition, although Arbeth and Envirus never thought they would never have a
battle relying on the amount of mana they could utilize since they were both
existences unparalleled to any other wizard in that regard, Arbeth was able to draw
upon more mana at any given moment compared to Envirus.

Spirit magic was an interesting magic that wasn’t studied much in Eria as there was
not much contact known to be made with the Spirit Realm. One thing Envirus
learned while staying in the Spirit Realm, was that when summoning a spirit, the
summoner would not lose their mana, as the spirit magic relied on the spirit’s own
mana reserves.

But, nevertheless there was no such thing as freely borrowing power. Although the
spirit was able to use their own mana from their spiritual body in the spirit realm,
the summoner still had to use up their own mana to sustain the summoning.

‘It’s very efficient.’, Kim Jonghyun noted to himself regarding Envirus’ spirit magic, as
he was able to deduce that much just by watching the fight, and noticing the mana
fluctuations from the two of them.

No matter how skilled a Wizard may be, there would always be a limit to their mana.
It was the same even for Dark Wizards who sold their souls. But Arbeth had the
loophole of using the mana from the City.

Although Arbeth could not push out Envirus, it was still a great situation. Arbeth’s
goals would be met simply by stalling for time.
‘Hmm?’, Kim Jonghyun’s eyebrows suddenly twitched as shock became etched across
his face.

The seal he had placed so much effort into was destroyed.

‘This fast? I thought I’d last three hours if I was lucky, and maybe an hour if it was
short.’

But Lee Sungmin’s power was incomprehensible; it seemed to Kim Jonghyun as he

let out a bitter chuckle.

‘I can’t help it.’, Kim Jonghyun thought to himself as he raised himself up.

Initially, Kim Jonghyun did not want to rush his plans like this, but if Lee Sungmin
joined in now, everything would go awry.

Even Arbeth, who had reached the apex as a Dark Wizard, did not know that Kim
Jonghyun was hiding.

“Kim Jonghyun?”, Arbeth looked at Kim Jonghyun who had suddenly appeared in
confusion.

Arbeth smiled devilishly as he thought things were only getting better from here. His
plan that he had decided on, was to stall for time since he couldn’t overpower
Envirus’ spirit magic. But with Kim Jonghyun here things would be able to play out
differently in Arbeth’s mind.

Kim Jonghyun in Arbeth’s eyes was even more incompetent than Frescan, but even a
rat could make a difference here.

Arbeth was not the only one who noticed Kim Jonghyun’s presence. Envirus’ noticed
the presence of the other Dark Wizard, and his facial expression stiffened with a bit
of irritation.

He knew very well that he would be at a disadvantage if Kim Jonghyun joined in now.

‘When is Lee Sungmin coming?’, Envirus started to think at a rapid pace in

anxiousness as he raised his arms and the runic patterns writhed around.

Envirus acted fast and changed his target to hit both Arbeth and Kim Jonghyun with
the wind spirit magic.

It was clear about the difference in skill between Arbeth and Kim Jonghyun just
based on their reaction times to cast a shield. Arbeth was immediately able to cast a
shield blocking and negating the magic entirely, while Kim Jonghyun got flustered as
he was barely able to conjure one at the last second.

“You bastard! What have you been doing to get here so late?”, Arbeth shouted at Kim
Jonghyun in irritation.

“As you said earlier, I was holding onto a rat and I failed to stop that wizard in front
of us.”, Kim Jonghyun spoke in a subservient tone of voice.

“You bastard……!”, Arbeth gritted his teeth in anger and frustration at his
incompetent members of the team.

“We have a problem. The seal that I spent a lot of time preparing beforehand was
already broken, and the rat that I was tasked with holding down is coming here.”,
Kim Jonghyun let out a gasp of breath from the impact of the spirit magic hitting his
shield.

“What!?”

Arbeth’s face contorted in absolute rage, as he thought by Kim Jonghyun holding a

failsafe plan with the seal, he would be able to tie down the other. But, as it turned
out, Lee Sungmin broke through it already and Kim Jonghyun’s assistance was
completely void.

In fact, instead of being in the planned out advantage the two of them were supposed
to have, with Lee Sungmin coming, it wouldn’t just be a stalemate, but Envirus and
Lee Sungmin would most likely hold a clear advantage.

[First of all, why don’t you expedite the process and use Aine?], Kim Jonghyun
secretly sent a telepathic message to Arbeth.

[The Magic Circle is already complete, but it’ll take some time before it’s fully
operational. In the meantime, I think we’ll have a good chance of winning if we take
out Aine a bit beforehand.], Kim Jonghyun continued to speak.

[What…?!]
Arbeth was clearly against it, as he had no intention of letting the Chimera known as
Aine get away from him and the Black Heart she possessed, just to fend off some rat
with a spear coming by.

Furthermore, it would be seen as a complete embarrassment as a wizard, to have to

rely on a chimera that was created through someone else’s lifework, to defeat
someone like Envirus.

But, pride was a luxury he didn’t have anymore the moment he received another
wizard’s help in Kim Jonghyun. Arbeth’s countenance contorted in shame and
activated the magic circle.

Soon within the black barrier encapsulating the active magic circle that was sucking
in the mana and fear from the city, a small gap opened within the space and the
clueless and stoic Aine walked out.

“Fight!”, Arbeth roared at Aine, giving her a simple one word command.

The look in Aine’s emotionless eyes suddenly changed and wings suddenly sprouted
from her back as she exploded out at Envirus. She reached out her hand and her
nails extended into sharp daggers clawing at Envirus dangerously.

Envirus summoned another spirit and had the Wind spirit deal with Aine, as he
summoned a Fire Spirit to keep the pressure on Arbeth.

He was able to keep up with the barrage by summoning these two spirits that were
at some of the highest level spirits in the spirit realm, but the consumption of mana
was too large to maintain for a long period of time, and Envirus was slowly being
pushed into a disadvantage.

Du-Du-Duuuu!

The ground started to vibrate and the earth cracked as another spirit of Earth was
called forward from Envirus to maintain the balance of the battle right now and tie
up the third person, Kim Jonghyun.

The Earth spirit roared and its heavy body rushed toward Kim Jonghyun.

Then, Kim Jonghyun smirked ever so faintly and quickly moved his hands for a spell
as if he had waited. The space behind Kim Jonghyun’s back opened wide, and a
golem with a steel body walked out of the pit.

A well-made Golem could not possibly equal a spirit of the highest level but it would
do well enough.

But it was just a distraction, as slowly more and more golems materialized and
walked out of the pit of earth behind Kim Jonghyun.

Kim Jonghyun did not want to use much of his mana, so he intended to use the
Golems as a consumable instead in this rigorous fight.

—-

As Lee Sungmin finally arrived, he looked at the battlefield and thought briefly how
to describe it.

Simply put, it was a mess.

Spirit’s were running rampant and fighting endlessly and golems were being
destroyed, as dark magic spells and fire collided.

Not only that, the chimera, Aine, was here and regenerating her endless wounds
while fiercely trying to attack Envirus.

“You’re here!”, Envirus shouted out and smiled widely as he spotted Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin nodded in response and made eye contact with Kim Jonghyun.

It may not be very meaningful to hide his identity still, but Kim Jonghyun was still
hiding his face from Lee Sungmin.

“Stop him!”, Arbeth roared as he spotted Lee Sungmin’s appearance.

Aine, who was attacking Envirus at the forefront, turned around without hesitation
at the new order and suddenly shot out at Lee Sungmin.

The magic circle that Arbeth was working on was finally completed as he was
fending off the Fire spirit haphazardly to prepare it for a bigger attack to finish it off.

Arbeth shouted as he stretched out his hands toward the Fire Spirit.
“Get out!”, Arbeth shouted in anger at the Fire spirit

A blue light burst from the circle he created in the air and the temperature shot
below freezing in less than a second.

The Fire spirit looked in shock as its body froze over and was encapsulated in a large
ice cube and could not move a muscle.

Inside the large ice block, the Fire spirit’s eyes turned and looked at Envirus.

Kwa jang chang!

The ice block broke apart as the fire spirit’s time was up, and returned immediately
to the spirit realm.

It would be impossible to re-summon for the time being as it needed to recover in

the spirit realm and since it was forcibly destroyed in the human realm and sent
back, Envirus took backlash and coughed up blood.

Black blood spurted from Envirus’ nostrils.

Crrrr…

As the spirit was recalled forcibly, the mana flowed backwards and Envirus struggled
to hold up his old body from the backlash as he slightly staggered.

As Envirus was slightly dazed, the extinction magic from Arbeth raised its hands and
chased after Envirus. Envirus unfolded a couple of blinks and moved the Wind Spirit
to block off the chase.

“Help me!”, Envirus shouted out at Lee Sungmin with a slightly anxious look.

Kim Jonghyun glanced at Lee Sungmin’s reaction, who was tied up with Aine. He was
wondering if the plan was to take care of Envirus first and then Lee Sungmin.

‘It’s not gonna be that easy.’, Kim Jonghyun thought to himself as he noticed Arbeth’s
plan of attack.

He was a bit worried for Lee Sungmin but he currently was following Arbeth’s plans.
It took time to complete the large magic circle they were setting up beforehand, and
it was even more tricky if they wanted to catch Envirus first before Lee Sungmin.

Kim Jonghyun flew high into the air as his golems and earth spirit clashed.

Aine was faithful to her orders as usual, and attacked Lee Sungmin relentlessly. Lee
Sungmin twirled to spear and parried off her never-ending attacks.

It was the first time since the two had met since being in the north, and Aine was
much stronger than before.

Of course her improvement was not nearly as much as Lee Sungmin’s though.

Even if they had the same type of heart inside their bodies, Lee Sungmin and Aine
had been in different circumstances and different battles.

When her two fingernails were blocked by the twirling spear shaft, Aine immediately
kicked up her legs and swung them in an arc at Lee Sungmin.

Aine’s legs changed into wriggling tentacles mid-air and tried to bind Lee Sungmin’s
body.

Lee Sungmin caught on to her intentions and took a half step back as he wound up
his two hands tightening their grip on the spear.

Pwoosh!

Aine’s body swelled up as it was pierced by the stabbing speartip, flew back and
rolled on the ground a couple times.

But she didn’t die just from that. Aine staggered to her feet and rose as quickly as she
could.

The stab wounds that made holes in her body were regenerated within seconds and
it looked as if they were never there in the first place, as she stood back up.

Keeping her stoic expression, she jumped back at Lee Sungmin relentlessly like a
machine.

Arbeth glanced at Lee Sungmin pushing back Aine and made a hand seal, suddenly
the dead and evil mana shot down at the ground where he stood as he glanced back
at Envirus.

The dead and evil mana covered the ground as the undead raised themselves once
more as the ground cracked apart, and Lee Sungmin narrowed his eyes.
It was getting dangerous for Lee Sungmin, as he realized an undead army, albeit
weak, would be difficult to deal with, if Aine was to attack with them.

Lee Sungmin decided to start using the yokai force in earnest and roused up the
monstrous power.

It was a bit dangerous to use if he wasn’t focused, but in a life and death battle, how
could he be anything but focused?

Quang!

A fierce purple aura exploded at the end of the spear. Dozens of the undead that
were running at Lee Sungmin with creaky bones and shredded limbs, were blown
away in the fierce explosion of the aura.

“What is he?”

Arbeth’s eyes widened in shock as Lee Sungmin’s explosive strength came out of
nowhere, and was miles apart from the strength he was using earlier.

Envirus was under the joint attack of Kim Jonghyun and Arbeth, but as he felt the
explosive strength surging throughout the battlefield, he was inwardly relieved and
gave out a sigh.

However, Envirus was on guard as the situation was still urgent.

It was because the magic circle Arbeth had been preparing before they came, which
had been fully supplied with mana, had already started it’s function and was drawing
in the whole area’s supply of mana and fear, giving an endless supply to Arbeth.

‘Dammit… It’s still not enough. What the hell is Chusung doing?’, Kim Jonghyun
thought the supply of mana they were receiving was large, but nowhere near the
amount he was expecting.
According to the plan, Chusung should have been rampaging, causing confusion, and
the resulting fear from the chaos should speed up the process. But it was slowing
down for some reason.

Kim Jonghyun was suspicious, but he could not leave the area to check up on
Chusung, as doing so would be signing his death note early.

He was completely unaware that the Crazy Heavenly Demon was tying up Chusung
right now.

Envirus, who regained his past strength, was not at all short in regards to his title as
a Grand Wizard, which was the title above Archmage.

It was a bit relieving at first that Envirus was hit with the backlash from the Fire
Spirit being forcibly returned, but nevertheless Envirus had regained his composure
quickly as Lee Sungmin was causing havoc on the other end.

The reason for this was because instead of helping Lee Sungmin with Aine like it was
before, the Earth Spirit changed targets and struck both Arbeth and Kim Jonghyun,
creating waves of mushy earth, and the water of wind spirits that were in
conjunction on the attacks also pressured the two of them.

“Fucking annoying!”, Arbeth roared as the attacks were getting more and more
relentless from Envirus as the spirits had been freed up to help him.

Just a little bit longer till the magic circle was fully completed, Arbeth thought. When
it became full, the power he would be able to unleash would be on a completely
different level than right now.

BA-dump!

The spell Arbeth fired off was completely smashed by the bombardment of the
earthen wave, not only that Kim Jonghyun’s spell completely missed it’s mark due to
the wind spirit’s interference.

Knowing that the magic circle’s completion should be stopped first, Envirus ordered
the water spirit to attack the area of the magic circle, leaving Envirus to cast his own
spells for defense.

“NO!”, Arbeth roared in anguish as he sent the black hands materialized from the
extinction magic to block the Water Spirit.

Seeing Arbeth’s main source of firepower at the moment leaving to go after the
water spirit, Envirus immediately conjured up a gravitational spell.

Kwoo-woong!

Under the weight of the crushing gravity, the black arm fell to the ground with a huge
bang.

Arbeth gritted his teeth and rushed toward Envirus.

The ignorant and rash charge from Arbeth surprised Envirus a little, but without
prolonging his astonishment, he immediately responded. The runes on both his arms
wriggled.

To be honest, Envirus didn’t want to go this far. But based on the circumstances the
battle should be almost done, and he didn’t want to mess things up for nothing since
he made the decision to restore his powers and his soul.

Arbeth noticed things going awry and decided at that moment.

“Demon, crush it to death!”, Arbeth yelled as he contacted the demon from the
alternate dimension at that point.

Arbeth’s eyes from the body he was possessing, turned pitch black at the call, as a
swirling torrent of foreign and evil energy gushed from his body.

Envirus’ magic did not invade the dark death energy that suddenly sprouted out
from Arbeth’s body.

Arbeth who called upon the foreign power, let the evil energy surge through his
internal circuits and destroy what mana he had, letting the new power source
completely take over.

“My God!”, Envirus noticed Arbeth’s mana completely shatter apart and the evil
energy completely took over Arbeth’s body, as he exclaimed in astonishment.

“How dare you take the power of the Devil himself! Do you want to die?!”, Envirus
shouted at Arbeth trying to warn him that this would end terribly if Arbeth took
things to another level.

“Do not destroy my work!”, Arbeth screamed at Envirus in anger.

Normally having the devil you contract with descend into your body as a Dark
Wizard, your soul and body would be completely and utterly destroyed on the spot.
However, for Arbeth who was at the pinnacle of Black Magic, it was not the case as he
held on.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could freely and willfully use the power of the devil
itself to its full capabilities.

It was clear that Arbeth’s soul would be severely damaged after doing so, and it
would be fatal to his body which would probably no longer be able to handle the
power and corrode itself from the inside out later, leaving him to have and possess a
new body if he wanted to live.

This would only happen though if he didn’t hold the power too long… If he held onto
it for too long, exceeding his limits, Arbeth would surely die here.

The reason Arbeth also wanted to take Aine’s body was because of the black heart,
which could freely and efficiently utilize any power that came into the body’s corpse.
If he had Aine’s body, he would be able to use the power of the devil freely and never
have to worry about the repercussions aside from his soul being temporarily
damaged.

Arbeth managed to form a magic seal even though he felt his soul creaking and
tightening under the tension.

“Ha!”, Arbeth shouted out as he cast the spell quickly at Envirus.

The density of energy was much more evil and stronger than mana as it shot at the
water spirit and earth spirit immediately returning them to the spirit realm forcibly,
causing a severe backlash once more on Envirus.

“Huck!-“, blood spurted from Envirus’ mouth as he groaned.

Even though Envirus got out of the way of the trajectory by blinking a couple times
beforehand, it was still incredibly painful and he ended up being dealt a heavy blow
and lost control of his flight magic as he crashed to the ground.
Arbeth was also feeling terrible as the tension on his soul was getting intense and
the backlash was looking incredibly painful for him.

His formerly pitch black eyes, returned to their white color but, the eye veins were
strained red, and a black mist was oozing from his mouth unnaturally.

“Ugh…”, Arbeth groaned and grabbed his throbbing head as he glanced at Envirus.

Envirus, who fell to the floor, was lying face down helplessly twitching his muscles,
trying to stand back up.

Envirus raised his trembling body slowly with great difficulty, and Arbeth’s face
contorted in disgust and anger at the sight.

“You monster……!”, Arbeth uttered in a repulsive voice.

Arbeth was one to talk as he was an Arch Lich and an undead monster, but Envirus,
who was holding out despite the fact he was suffering backlash from not one, but
three summons and still standing, was most definitely a monster in Arbeth’s eyes.

In the meantime while this was all happening, Lee Sungmin knocked down all the
undead Arbeth had arisen from his spell.

Aine was resisting fiercely, but Lee Sungmin’s level was way above Aine’s.

Arbeth tried to shout out another command to the struggling Aine, but he didn’t have
the chance as suddenly a bright light emitted from the magic circle. Arbeth’s face
slowly brightened up with pleasure.

Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The earth began to vibrate vigorously and the ground shook with unease.

The only light in the entire area was being emitted by the magic circle in the center
of the square.

The accumulated fear and mana that was being drawn in started to slowly leak out.

“Go into the magic circle!”, Arbeth shouted a command at Aine urgently.
Aine immediately followed Arbeth’s orders as she turned around immediately,
abandoning the fight with Lee Sungmin and flew towards the magic circle.

Lee Sungmin was well aware that he couldn’t let Aine go to that magic circle.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

Lee Sungmin shot the spear forward with an incredible force. It completely blew
away Aine’s lower half of her body, but Aine who was a soul-bound chimera that
didn’t feel pain, didn’t bat an eyelid as she activated her wings and continued to fly
towards the magic circle

“No!”, Envirus yelled as his eyes widened in fear.

Lee Sungmin suddenly had an eerie feeling that something would go terribly wrong
here if he didn;t stop Aine here and now, as even Envirus who was incredibly
powerful now, was frightened to death of what was about to happen.

Lee Sungmin hurriedly unfolded the shadowless technique and one thunder as he
chased after Aine.

“Stop it!”, Arbeth shouted at Kim Jonghyun in anger to get him to do something as he
was immobile, and Kim Jonghyun started to make hand signs.

He was making the signs, since he had to follow Arbeth’s orders… But that didn’t
mean he had to completely listen to them.

To be honest, Kim Jonghyun was curious about Aine and Lee Sungmin. He knew that
Lee Sungmin and Aine had the same black heart inside their bodies.

If there is a possibility that Aine will become a completely undeniably strong force of
nature by absorbing the forces of fear and mana in the magic circle, then it applied
equally to Lee Sungmin as well.

Kim Jonghyun’s magic, which unfolded a little late on purpose, failed to catch Lee
Sungmin.

With the magic circle in operation, the giant barrier over the city was already
shattered, and Aine entered the center of the magic circle before Lee Sungmin.
And a little later than Aine, Lee Sungmin entered the magic circle as well.

When he came inside the magic circle Lee Sungmin noticed a huge flow of power
fluctuating within the magic circle, but oddly enough it didn’t feel completely
disturbing to him.

As Lee Sungmin was observing the great flow, Aine crawled without her legs and just
her upper body to the center of the magic circle.

The center at which the forces were starting to flow strongest, started to fluctuate
around Aine’s severed body and her mouth flew open as mana and fear started to
surge into her body.

[Crazy bastards… I now know what they’re doing.], Heoju uttered in surprise.

[The city’s power, all of it is coming together into this circle. It’s being drawn
together forcibly and that girl’s body is most likely the vessel to hold it.]

‘What do you mean?’, Lee Sungmin was a little confused on how Aine would play a
role in all this.

[This city has been ruled for many years by countless monsters. Not even Yana could
completely utilize all its power, and she still can’t. However, these bastards have
found that little girl who is able to hold it together somehow and it’s going to be a
disaster if someone gets ahold of it!], Heoju cried out.

Normally nobody would be able to handle such immense power and their body
would explode. Lee Sungmin knew Aine had the Black Heart, but even he wasn’t sure
if the Black Heart could hold out against this much power. However, if it did, it would
be frightening.

[It’s impossible. It’s a whole city, and not just any monster city, this city is much too
large in comparison. No matter how strong your black heart is, it can’t be possible to
swallow it all.], Heoju, interjected in Lee Sungmin’s thoughts trying to make sense of
the situation.

There was still a slight probability though.

Lee Sungmin staggered toward the center of the magic circle. Aine had already
absorbed a lot of the force coming in, but he might have a way to prevent any
harmful damage from here on out.

‘Can’t I tap into the frequency of the mana and receive the power as well?’, he thought.

[Do you realize what this could do…], Heoju warned ominously.

[You are fine in dealing with evil forces, because of the power left behind in your
dantian by me. But that power is containable because I am here, the master of the
power. That power coming from the magic circle, has no 1 master, and it’s much
larger than my yokai powers alone. Taking that in could completely break the
balance in your body or tilt it heavily, making you a monster in heart, mind and
body.], Heoju spoke with a grave tone.

Aine and Lee Sungmin were fundamentally different even if they had the same heart.

Aine is composed of a chimera body that was built specifically and artificially to
contain the power of the black heart, and unlike Lee Sungmin, it was not tied to
humanity.

Lee Sungmin staggered toward Aine. The storm of mana and evil forces of fear raged
inside the circle as Lee Sungmin lifted the spear.

His inner circuitry was not properly flowing due to the violent storm of mana, and
the force he pulled out on behalf of Heoju was also at its limits in terms of control
over it.

Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth and tightened his fists.

‘A little closer.’

Lee Sungmin aimed the speartip for Aine’s heart.

He wasn’t completely convinced he could kill Aine, but his idea wasn’t to kill her, it
was to deliver a blow to the black heart itself.

His own black heart began to beat loudly.

His left eye felt like it was being seared and cooked with heat.

It was getting incredibly dangerous and Heoju shouted.

The Black Heart suddenly seemed to act like a starved monster, as Lee Sungmin
entered the center of the circle, it started swallowing the energies without rhyme or
reason.

A series of conflicting consciousness was starting to pop up in his mind.

Lee Sungmin sat down on the spot because his legs were incredibly weak.

Panting in and out, his sweat dripped down stickily from his body.

His arms and legs were twitching with muscle spasms. His blood vessels seemed to
tear apart; his muscle fibers seemed to be tearing themselves apart and healing over
and over in a rapid pace invisible to the eye.

The voice of Heoju was getting farther and farther away in his mind.

At the center of the storm, Lee Sungmin made eye contact with Aine. There was no
expression on Aine’s stoic face. His consciousness was…… drifting away.

‘Hold it.’, Lee Sungmin bit down on his lips to stay awake and focused and not lose his
mind here.

The body was being torn apart and regenerated rampantly, but rather, his sea of
consciousness was starting to become sharper and sharper.

No human being would possibly be able to withstand the pain Lee Sungmin’s body
was being subjected to. But Lee Sungmin, was a monster in human regards to his
mind, heart and body. Normally the pressure on one’s mind would make their mind
become torn to shreds in an instant, and it was still very painful for Lee Sungmin.
However, his 2,100 years in his subconscious were really paying off here. Instead of
his mind being destroyed, it was being tempered almost.

He desperately didn’t want to be a monster. Lee Sungmin had seen several times the
pitiable people who gave up their humanity and the terrible lives of guilt they led.

‘No, really? Even if they gave it up, was it that bad?’, It was a sweet and tempting
whisper in his head.

Lee Sungmin realized that it was none other than himself who was whispering like
that.
It seemed to be getting more and more dangerous. He did not like it one bit.

Lee Sungmin strongly denied the voices. The life that he had lived so far and the
memories he made passed through his mind.

He thought of Silent Flare, Baek Sogo.

If you become a monster, and are no longer a human being, how will you be able to
meet Baek Sogo again? What about Wijihoyeon the one he cared for?

Being a monster would mean he was no longer himself anymore. He was afraid of
that happening. When he thought of his own existence and very identity as the man
‘Lee Sungmin’, he was slowly raising himself.

He started to coalesce power into the hand on the spear, as an unparalleled force of
power started to wrap around violently in the spear shaft.

3 forces. Blood Rings, Nine Heavenly Spears, the forces of the Yokai. At this very
moment, Lee Sungmin’s body was focused in one last attempt and re-synchronized
his heart, mind and body that were getting tangled up in the storm.

Lee Sungmin clenched his teeth as he looked through his blurry vision at Aine’s
motionless body sucking in the large amounts of power.

“AHHH!”, Lee Sungmin shouted at the top of his lungs and flung his spear with
absolute determination.

The spear, which left Lee Sungmin’s hand, pierced through Aine’s chest undisturbed
by the rampant storm around them.

Black blood spurted from Aine’s mouth and Lee Sungmin raised both his fists.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

Lee Sungmin’s two fists hit the ground cracking apart the runic language carving the
magic circle.

A large crack formed where his fists collided against the earth. Just from cracking the
ground apart and altering the diagram of the circle, the magic circle had become
dysfunctional.
The storm disappeared like it was all a complete lie.

The City of Endless Night’s man and fear which were being forcibly gathered,
dispersed immediately in all directions.

“What?!”, Arbeth, who was facing the exhausted Envirus, shouted.

It seemed like a very long time had passed since Lee Sungmin felt the pressure ease
up, but in fact, it hadn’t been that long.

Envirus’ condition was not very good. It was the same with Arbeth. In fact, if Kim
Jonghyun had actively helped Arbeth in earnest, he could have killed Envirus here.

However, Kim Jonghyun had no intention of killing Envirus.

Arbeth did not seem to know, but Kim Jonghyun definitely saw it with the same eyes
he had used to peek at Lee Sungmin’s fate.

The love of a great being was attaching itself to Envirus. If he were involved in
Envirus’ death, he would be chased by the angered presence, and Kim Jonghyun had
no intentions of making an enemy out of something much more dangerous than
Arbeth.

Kim Jonghyun, who confirmed that the magic circle was destroyed, glanced at
Arbeth.

Arbeth was flustered, slightly embarrassed, shocked and in anger to list only a few of
the emotions going through his mind, as he could not believe what just happened.

Arbeth immediately took action. Envirus couldn’t gather much of his own strength to
stop Arbeth right now, and Lee Sungmin also sat down helplessly as his limbs were
exhausted.

“Come this way right now!”, Arbeth yelled at Aine.

Even though she was only half a body right now, and her chest was pierced with the
spear, She crawled towards Arbeth, and Arbeth quickly started to move his lips for a
spell.

First of all, he was going to exchange his soul as planned. A faint, black smoke
emerged from Arbeth’s fake body he was possessing.

He had waited long and hard for this… But it wasn’t just Arbeth who was done
waiting at that moment…

Kim Jonghyun’s fingertips started to move as he started to cast a spell and looked at
Arbeth.
Arbeth did not know that Kim Jonghyun’s spell was being aimed at him. It was partly
because Arbeth had already turned into a spiritual body, leaving behind his
possessed corpse on the ground as he turned into the black mist. However, not only
that, but Kim Jonghyun was a very secretive man by nature.

Kim Jonghyun had been aiming for this moment ever since he entered the Predator
and met Arbeth.

He had been following Arbeth with a subservient attitude up till now.

Simply put, he was lucky right at this moment. If Arbeth hadn’t performed the soul-
switching magic, he would have to wait a seriously long time to wait for the right
opportunity.

‘I really am quite lucky.’, Kim Jonghyun thought to himself.

The situation was in total favor of Kim Jonghyun at this moment and nobody knew it
but him. The intervention of Envirus and Lee Sungmin had forced Arbeth into a
corner, and in a dangerous situation for the Arch Lich, forcing him to reveal his cards
early and giving an opportunity for Kim Jonghyun.

It was as if all the circumstances were flowing in the right direction just for this
moment.

Kim Jonghyun burst into laughter as he thought of this flow of fate.

Kim Jonghyun was different from your ordinary Dark Wizard. Lee Sungmin was also
a person who knew of this, as Dark Wizards are forced to enter a contract with a
demonic being from an alternate dimension, selling their souls. However, Kim
Jonghyun’s contractor had disappeared suddenly and he had regained his soul.

When he regained his soul that had traversed dimensions with his former contractor,
it also gave him the power to see people’s souls. And… his hidden card he had kept a
secret to everybody. He also had the power of the demon that disappeared.

He couldn’t use it freely. Even though he was part of the organization, Predator,
which was an organization for monsters, he was still a human and a human’s body
could not feely wield the demonic power. His soul could suffer irreparable damage if
he was rash.

But there was too much to gain right now, thus being worth the risk.

Pao-ang

A black light started to shine from Kim Jonghyun’s fingertips. Arbeth, who turned
into a soul form and was headed for Aine’s body, belatedly realized the sudden spell
was aiming for him, as the eerie black light flashed towards him.

‘THAT BASTARD! IT’S… BETRAYAL!’, Arbeth screamed to himself in his mind as the
light came at him.

Arbeths soul started to churn and the tension started. No matter how he wanted to
avoid this and kill Kim Jonghyun, he couldn’t as he was in a helpless and defenseless
state right now.

But that didn’t mean he would just let himself be destroyed right here. Arbeth tried
to block the light that Kim Jonghyun fired by swelling his mana around his spiritual
body and focused it around himself like an armor.

However, Kim Jonghyun’s spell right passed through Arbeth’s coated mana. It didn’t
even leave a mark of penetration, it simply passed right through it and hit his soul
directly.

Arbeth’s soul form shrieked in horror as he was hit hard.

[Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!], he screeched.

The spiritual body of Arbeth’s, pierced by the eerie spell, trembled. Kim Jonghyun’s
light spell was almost a tailor-made spell for this situation.

Every Dark Sorcerer was soul-bound to their demonic contractors. Although Kim
Jonghyun’s demon was by no means a high ranking demon and could only use a
small ounce of its power, it was fatal to Arbeth who was in a defenseless soul form,
and the demon’s powers dealt directly with souls.

Arbeth’s whole body trembled in shock like he had been electrocuted. He didn’t die
right there, but his soul was in a miserable and pitiful state.

His soul could not handle the shock anymore in a manifested form and his mana was
sent back to his life vessel far away from here.

Normally if a Lich loses his body, or is forced back to his life vessel, it wasn’t the end
of the world for the Lich. It would steadily be able to recover it’s mana smoothly and
it lost power. However, this case was different, as Kim Jonghyun’s spell wasn’t
directed at the physical body and did irreparable damage to his soul, which was
already weakened by the descent of his own demon’s magic which left him in a
shocked state.

Arbeth would not be able to recover his lost power here even if he returned to his life
vessel unless he performed a miracle.

The spell Kim Jonghyun used, was a unique spell for demons that was used to
reclaim souls of the living who contracted with them. It was called ‘Soul Retribution’.

It would only be effective against Dark Wizards, who had dark souls and made
contracts with demons themselves, and the risk of backlash was so great that it was
impossible to use the spell more than a couple times.

‘Damaging Arbeth’s soul is well worth the risk.’, Kim Jonghyun thought as he crudely
grinned under his hood.

Arbeth’s soul has been dragged over Kim Jonghyun’s palm like a magnet, unable to
resist in any way whatsoever. His small soul in it’s naked form, which floated at the
top of Kim Jonghyun’s palm was a pitch black color.

Arbeth’s soul was writhing in pain, wriggling around trying to escape, as if it had
never imagined it would be in such an open and vulnerable state like this.

It was important from here on out in terms of the steps Kim Jonghyun needed to
take. If Arbeth’s soul was extracted like so, Kim Jonghyun would be able to force a
soul contract on Arbeth taking control of his life and death on a whim.

It was a specification.
As far as Caladra had disappeared, she was free from the contract, but she did not
want to sign with the devil again.

Kim Jonghyun grabbed Arbeth’s soul with both of his hands. The soul was shivering
and it’s existence was very faint and weak, but nonetheless it was still alive

Kim Jonghyun carefully skimmed through Arbeth’s soul. He did not have possession
of the soul itself, but took the information and power that it had.

“I’ll give you your soul back.”, Kim Jonghyun smiled with a grin as he muttered.

Arbeth’s soul would go back to the life vessel, but he would no longer be a Grand
Dark Wizard.

All Arbeth’s knowledge of magic and spells were transferred to Kim Jonghyun.

Kim Jonghyun carefully extracted the mana and information left over from Arbeth’s
soul.

‘No, I can’t let it go back yet to the life vessel, I need to weaken it thoroughly here and
take as much as I can.’, he thought, as the soul writhed around uncomfortably.

It didn’t really matter in any way, since he got a lot out of the soul already.

Kim Jonghyun put the flickering orb that was Arbeth’s soul into his mouth.

A bright light gleaned from inside Kim Jonghyun’s head. The great magical
knowledge and enormous mana that Arbeth had accumulated since he was a human
being filled Kim Jonghyun’s body.

There was also a short brief moment of pain, as it really was quite the task to absorb
all the knowledge Arbeth had.

“Ha ha…”, Kim Jonghyun let out a maniacal laugh as he rubbed his temples from the
throbbing mental pain.

He realized once again how outstanding Arbeth was as a wizard.

He was also proud to be on a high level as a Dark Wizard, holding the title of
Archmage, but compared to Arbeth, who had been practicing magic for hundreds of
years, he was still a child.

‘Extinction Magic. This is great. Fortunately, I think I can use it, too.’, Kim Jonghyun
smiled and thought of Arbeth’s specialty magic he gained knowledge of.

The same could be said true with Arbeth’s Necromancy magic he inherited.

Arbeth utilized dead mana to perform both extinction magic and the necromancy
magic and the amount of mana it cost was great. But the problem of mana for Arbeth
was solved by his demon contractor he had signed his soul to.

Kim Jonghyun smiled as he checked Arbeths memory. After finishing memorizing all
he needed, he sent the shabby little soul of Arbeth into the sky.

“Good-bye.”, Kim Jonghyun said with a sarcastic voice as he waved his hands at
Arbeth’s fluttering soul.

Arbeth would surely just die at this point since, his soul was returned to the life
vessel and had no body to inhibit.

After that, he would probably have his soul rot in the afterlife, since it had committed
so many evil deeds while being in the mortal realm of Eria.

That was none of Kim Jonghyun’s business. Rather, he thought it was right to be
causal.

Arbeth, the 2-faced bastard.

Was he not known to be cruel to his subordinates, also responsible for several
massacres of humans in the past and not only that but several cruel and horrific
experiments?

Yes, so of course. Even after death, he should be punished.

“What did you do?!”

Unable to even keep his posture stable, and his feet staggering, Envirus noticed what
Kim Jonghyun had done. But even though he saw it for himself, he couldn’t believe it.

Even he did not think of catching Arbeth while in his spirit form and ruining him that
way.

However, it really did happen. It was only because Arbeth was a Dark Wizard who
messed around with souls, that he would meet his end like so.

Kim Jonghyun stretched out his limbs casually, as he checked out the knowledge he
attained in his head.

With this, Kim Jonghyun’s theoretical knowledge in magic was far beyond his level,
and had an outline of how to advance further in his magical field. Kim Jonghyun
looked at Envirus and smiled leisurely.

“I don’t intend to kill you. So rest assured.”, he spoke towards Envirus who was
greatly weakened.

“What…?”, Envirus couldn’t believe his words and stayed vigilant against him.

“Killing you as you are severely wounded would be incredibly easy for anybody right
now, but I don’t want to be cursed by the existence protecting you if I did.”, he
responded nonchalantly.

As if to show off, Kim Jonghyun unfolded the magic of extinction, and behind him the
same black hands Arbeth had called on earlier materialized.

He had simply replaced the mana needed from the demon he had contracted with a
long time ago, and that had perished.

Through Kim Jonghyun’s show of magic, Envirus fully realized that Kim Jonghyun
had completely robbed Arbeth of everything he had.

“I got what I wanted.”, Kim Jonghyun spoke with satisfaction.

With this, Kim Jonghyun would also gain a tremendous position within Predator.

Although he was not a Lich, Kim Jonghyun would almost certainly become one of the
5 elders of Predator, taking over Arbeth’s vacant position and standing atop all the
Dark Wizards and undead within Predator.

The other elders would most certainly have to recognize Kim Jonghyun’s strength
and give him the position. Although he was not a human, and yet still a human, the
other elders would not pledge loyalty to him though.

“AHHH!”

Since Arbeth had died, and the imprint of obedience was erased on Aine, the chimera
girl who only had half a body right now screamed.

Woooooooooongggg

The dark night sky resonated with Aine’s scream as the air swirled around. Envirus
was startled by the sudden scream and looked back at Aine.

“Oh, my Goddamn it!”, Kim Jonghyun burst into a giggle.

He deliberately didn’t imprint a seal of obedience on Aine. He didn’t think it was

necessary, and didn’t want to intervene with such a risky specimen for no reason.

Aine’s body twitched and spasmed with a scream. The body of the overturned Aine
rose up into the air unnaturally, like a marionette being pulled by a series of strings.

“I don’t intend to kill you, but I don’t know what that poor chimera will do.”, Kim
Jonghyun spoke in a joyful voice to Envirus.

There was no consciousness in Aine currently. Nevertheless, Aine’s body was

moving.

Arbeth’s magic circle and his team was destroyed, but the strength of the city that
Aine had inherited was surprisingly huge.

The ownerless forces and violent energy inside her body were screaming for
violence and gore, completely shattering any sort of rationality Aine might have had.

A force composed of evil magic and power that dwelled within the black heart,
moved her body.

Quack, quack, quack!

Aine’s body suddenly exploded. At least it looked like it was exploding. Her body
started to break apart from the appearance of a girl and looked like a human
porcupine with several blades protruding, as the force swept up everything in the
vicinity of Aine.

[Heads up idiot!], Heoju shouted at Lee Sungmin in wariness of the sudden

indiscriminate violent power surging from Aine.

In the aftermath of absorbing the remainder of the evil energies of the City, Lee
Sungmin was losing consciousness.

Heoju hurriedly gave strength to Lee Sungmin’s body forcing it to rise and stand up.
Lee Sungmin’s body could not be moved like it was doing so before, but it was
possible to protect his body by swelling a large force within it to protect him.

Quang!

Heoju’s power collided with Aine’s in a rough manner.

It was pretty much helpless.

Heoju gritted his teeth. He missed the days when he had a body. If he had one, he’d
be able to destroy that power completely.

“Ugh!”, Envirus groaned in disgust at the huge power from Aine.

Envirus was also feeling helpless at the situation and tried to recall spirits one after
to the other, casting a basic defensive barrier.

The defense barrier was only a basic one and not strong at all. Envirus, who was hit
by the the evil energy from Aine, flew back and rolled several times on the ground

Spirit magic was an efficient magic, but the risk and backlash one could suffer from
the spirits being forcibly removed and sent back to the spirit realm was tremendous.

In fact, of the three remaining highest grade spirits he called upon earlier, the Earth
Spirit was forcibly removed once more from Aine’s attack.

Even with such high grade spirits, and prowess of a Grand Wizard, Envirus was hit
hard earlier and was undeniably weak. The existence he contracted with, the Spirit
Queen, could not do anything for him right now.

“Hahaha!”, Kim Jonghyun who flew up into the air to avoid the mayhem caused by
Aine, burst into laughter as he observed the scene below.

It was none other than Lee Sungmin that was starting to move his shoulders that
Kim Jonghyun was watching.

Kim Jonghyun did not think Lee Sungmin would die here at all. However, he did not
intend to help Lee Sungmin in any way whatsoever.

He had taken everything he wanted already under the present circumstances. From
now on, he just wanted to observe and watch which direction Lee Sungmin’s grand
fate would flow.

‘Is it fate that I’m sitting on the sidelines now? Or would it be my fate to step forward?’,
Kim Jonghyun thought to himself.

He did not know which way fate would flow here.

Kim Jonghyun’s eyes, which could see many things, could not see his own destiny,
nor could he know the direction of his own destiny.

Kim Jonghyun decided to stick to his role as a spectator.

‘If the world now is a giant story…… then, the main character is you.’, Kim Jonghyun
held back his crazed laughter.

If it really was a giant story, Kim Jonghyun was well aware that he was not at all
lacking in qualifications to become the main character himself. He had been special
in many ways, and had always been in special circumstances creating several
opportunities.

But alas, he was not the main character.

‘But… If you die here, the story will be over.’, Kim Jonghyun was certain that would not
happen.

[Wake up!], Heoju cried aloud inside Lee Sungmin’s head, as Lee Sungmin was losing
his consciousness bit by bit from exhaustion and outside interference.

Lee Sungmin opened his closed eyes. He didn’t feel good at all. It reminded him of his
hellish training on the mountain of mush, where everything, from breathing to
sleeping was incredibly difficult.

Lee Sungmin endured the nausea that was bubbling inside of his stomach as he shut
the corners of his mouth tightly. His view shook like he had been drunk. The ground
and his weight felt as if it were shaking at every second.

[Are you feeling better?], Heoju spoke with a bit of hopefulness.

Lee Sungmin staggered up as he gasped. His consciousness came back, but so far he
was grasping at straws for strength in his body right now.

Quang!

Aine’s blow was blocked on the behalf of Heoju creating a swelled protection of aura
around Lee Sungmin’s body.

“……what happened?”, Lee Sungmin spoke in between breaths of air.

[I don’t know!], Heoju roared in anger at the desperate situation before them.

Lee Sungmin looked down at his empty hands.

There was no spear in his hands. It was because he had thrown it at Aine’s body
earlier to disrupt the absorption and didn’t recover it.

His heart continued to beat fiercely and his left eye still felt like it was burning with
pain. The sore muscles and ruptured blood vessels creaked inside his body with
pain.

He groaned, holding onto his chest tightly. He felt a sense of vagueness, like his body
had a separate blood flow pumping inside of him, that wasn’t his own.

He felt a sharp pain in his head. Unknowingly, Lee Sungmin raised his hand and
covered his face.

His eyes. He felt like his right eye was being pulled out of its socket.

When Lee Sungmin’s hand came down and was lowered from his face, a faint glow
appeared in his right eye, matching his left. Both his eyes were completely golden.
[No!], Heoju cried out in a panicked voice.

Heoju knew well that Lee Sungmin did not want to throw away his humanity, and he
respected Lee Sungmin’s will greatly.

But now it was getting to the point where he might just lose it. Lee Sungmin’s eyes
were both bright gold.

His consciousness was floating adrift in his own head, and his internal energy placed
within his dantian was completely silent and unmoving. But… there was a power
coursing through him right now. It was the ownerless evil energy from the magic
circle that was digested through his black heart.

Thud, thud. Kreee-ack.

A grotesque sound began to ring inside of Lee Sungmin’s body.

Heoju hurried back into Lee Sungmin’s body and tried to push his strength inside of
it.

But it didn’t work. Lee Sungmin’s body was rejecting Heoju’s power. As if it wanted to
remain like this as a monster.

[Get ahold of yourself! It was none other than you who said you didn’t want to be a
monster and give up your humanity!], Heoju cried out in vain, as his shouts weren’t
registered in Lee Sungmin’s head.

Lee Sungmin’s consciousness was preparing to fall asleep amidst the dangerous
situation in front of them.

The wild and boundless energy felt like a warm bed and cradle for Lee Sungmin to
rest.

‘I don’t want to.’, a faint thought popped up inside his head.

But contrary to his faint thoughts and emotions, his body was preparing itself for a
bloodbath and massacre.
“Hahaha!”, Kim Jonghyun started to laugh once more as he started to notice the
ominous presence coming from within Lee Sungmin’s body.

Of course, it was no match for the so-called King of all Monsters, which had never
been seen or even heard of, but Lee Sungmin’s ominous presence was still one to
behold.

[Oh, my…!], Heoju was speechless and perplexed.

Heoju’s strength was in fact being amplified by Lee Sungmin’s power and being
brought to a completely new level.

Even if Lee Sungmin mutated into a monster, he wouldn’t fall short of Heoju in terms
of his status and power as a monster.

Nevertheless, Heoju’s powers were being dragged out by Lee Sungmin because he
couldn’t control his powers.

Lee Sungmin’s gold irises , which blinked ever so slightly, had no resemblance to Lee
Sungmin to be seen.

A dark red haze started to surround his body and the area around him.

It created an unpleasant and horrific presence of nature, more entangled with the
very essence of death that no Dark Wizard or Monster could possibly replicate.

Lee Sungmin did not find his spear. He was a monster right now that had no way to
recall his memories or techniques with the spear or any other martial arts he
mastered.

“No……”, Envirus who was behind his cracked defensive barrier, uttered a desperate
cry.
Envirus started to recall the ending of his fate, which would be a ruinous and terrible
death. It was too soon for it to possibly happen. Until earlier he believed it would
take quite a bit of time for his fate to latch back onto him.

But the scene in front of him was something that could create that fate very easily.

What could he do in this do-or-die situation where he couldn’t gather an ounce of

mana because he was so exhausted?

What else was there left besides his ruined defensive barrier to stop him from a
horrid death?

‘Not yet……!’, Envirus resolved himself with bloodshot eyes.

Aine’s attacks stopped. All the blades that had burst from her body returned to her
monstrous form.

Despite a series of powerful attacks that had ravaged the entire terrain, Aine wasn’t
even out of breath.

She looked back at Lee Sungmin with an expressionless look. Her unconscious body
was faithful to the instinct of her black heart.

Aine’s heart was beating and palpitating in excitement. It wanted to consume Lee
Sungmin’s black heart and evolve even further.

Lee Sungmin’s body was silent as a sea before the storm and was perfectly still. But,
every calm sea awaits a rampant storm.

Aine’s body bounced elastically and rushed toward Lee Sungmin with a burst of
speed. Lee Sungmin turned his eyes and looked right at Aine as black tentacles
erupted out from Aine’s body.

Lee Sungmin raised his hand with a seemingly serene face, completely contradictory
to the ominous presence around the two of them. His hand simply waved at the
empty air.

He was still completely quiet.

The tentacles shot at Lee Sungmin’s body ready to rip it apart, stopped in front of Lee
Sungmin’s palm.

The tentacles had no choice but to stop.

It was because Lee Sungmin’s simple gesture of waving at the air caught all the
tentacles shot from Aine and rendered them immobile.

“Woo……”, Lee Sungmin’s mouth dropped open and made a sound that sounded like
air breezing through a cave.

Even though the attack was blocked, Aine’s violent rampage did not stop. Rather, she
jumped at Lee Sungmin in a wild attack.

He simply raised his right hand forward, and wound his left hand into a fist behind
him in the most simplest of motions.

Aine instinctively knew what was going to happen at that moment. The tentacles
spurting out from behind her, retracted themselves and formed a web to prepare for
a defensive posture.

Gwa-a-a-ang!

The simple looking punch completely crushed the tentacles in a series of strikes
invisible to the untrained eye. The poor child, Aine’s body, unable to withstand the
shock, was flung back and plunged into the ground.

“ARHHHH!”, Lee Sungmin dropped his serene look and shouted at the top of his lungs
and kicked the ground shooting forwards at Aine.

He grabbed the airborne child’s body and plunged forward with it as he wrapped his
body around with hers. Lee Sungmin opened his mouth wide and tried to bite Aine’s
neck.

Even though her head was half crushed from the previous blow, Aine didn’t die.
Unlike Lee Sungmin, who was a human with a foreign substance like the black heart
inside his body, Aine’s vitality and regeneration power, which consisted of a body
specifically made as a chimera to hold the black heart as a vessel was unparalleled.

Aine raised both her hands and grabbed Lee Sungmin’s face. The blade that popped
out of Aine’s body earlier tried to pierce Lee Sungmin’s body.
Heoju, who was hovering around Lee Sungmin’s body in worry, formed a coat of aura
and blocked the blade.

Watching the two struggle to eat the other, Envirus was speechless. There was no
relief to be seen on his face from their quarrel. Whoever survived would be enough
of a monster to completely rewrite all of history within Eria.

‘Should I stop him? Or should I run away?’, Envirus was conflicted and could not do
anything to either of them even if he wanted to.

But what would he do after he saved his life by running away from here?

Envirus bit his lip.

It wasn’t a simple check-in that Lee Sungmin had done when going to the forest to
see Envirus. In fact he didn’t even mean to come across him. He was there for
another reason and was trying to learn how to balance the yokai powers in his body,
but ran into Envirus by chance.

Simply chance.

It was a coincidence that Lee Sungmin, who had also passed the Denir’s trial, heard
about Envirus and followed his footsteps.

Envirus met Heoju back long ago in the sleeping forest. He knew that Heoju was
waiting for ‘the one who came back’, and that it was Lee Sungmin who came back
from death and was living his second life.

He knew they would cross paths one day, and that he would meet Heoju.

It was already absolute in the flow of fate, and no matter how much he tried to avoid
meeting that fate, it was already predetermined.

Therefore, he left Rubia to continually examine Lee Sungmin’s condition.

Where did it go wrong?

Should he not have gone to the sleeping forest? When he met Heoju in the sleeping
forest long ago, should he have exterminated his soul then and there?
Should he have told the tribe that resided in the sleeping forest not to let Lee
Sungmin enter at any cost?

No, what was the point. It was already meant to be, because of Lee Sungmin’s strong
destiny.

At the time, Envirus did not know what to do and decided to observe from the
sidelines as he couldn’t come to a decision.

That’s why this all happened. It was inevitable.

‘My choices and actions may not have even mattered.’, Envirus took a deep breath and
dropped his defensive barrier.

No matter how strong he was, he was nothing but a mortal, and could not change the
course of fate.

He’d had enough of it.

“Fuck fate.”, Envirus spat out with contempt.

Even if he drank elixirs right now to try and recover his body, the backlash of the
spirits forcibly being returned to the spirit realm wouldn’t be healed.

Even if he drank a mana potion, the result was the same.

But enough of this. Envirus had a solemn and bitter smile. He slowly lifted both his
arms.

Even though he knew that his choice could not change anything, Envirus picked it
anyway. Unlike in a sleeping forest, where he gave up his choice and wanted to adapt
to the course of fate, now he would at least do something. All the runic letters on
Envirus’ arms floated into the air.

“Oh Great Mana.”, Envirus muttered and Kim Jonghyun who was floating in the air,
changed his facial expression to one of shock.

He was also a wizard before he was a Black Wizard, so he knew what Envirus was
trying to do.
“I will give this life.”, Envirus continued to speak.

A life-and-death mana exchange.

Literally, one would receive a huge amount of mana by sacrificing one’s life. But
because there was only one life, if you exchanged it for a large sum of mana, you
would surely die.

Whoo-wow!

A huge sum of mana seeped into Envirus’ body.

The enormous amount of Mana restored all the fatigue and backlash he suffered
earlier.

Envirus reached for the black sphere that Arbeth had left behind that encapsulated
the whole city.

Ding!

The sphere was turned into the color blue. The mana and power of the city was
transferred to Envirus.

Aine’s body was covered with blood and left tattered on the floor. All the blades and
tentacles that popped out of her body were torn apart by Lee Sungmin’s hands.

Nevertheless, Aine had not ended her resistance yet. Several times the crushed body
regenerated without rest, and Lee Sungmin delved into a crazier frenzy to devour
Aine.

Envirus saw the two with his subdued eyes. Both of them, he wanted to save if
possible.

He couldn’t let them be taken away from the world in this way.

Lee Sungmin was still somewhat conscious. But his body didn’t listen to Lee
Sungmin’s cry to stop.

His power was running rampant with greed, trying to devour Aine.
However, his body was not able to cling to Aine’s. Lee Sungmin’s body suddenly flew
up due to the strong wave of mana that hit him.

It was the same with Aine. The child’s body was flung away with a blast.

Whoo-whoa!

Red flames of mana swept over the earth.

Confirming that Lee Sungmin and Aine were both out of the area of attack, Envirus
immediately prepared for the next magic.

His body was full of mana and there was not much time left for Envirus to act. Even
at this moment, Envirus’s life was racing toward death.

What was the most dangerous thing here right now?

Simple. It was Lee Sungmin.

Envirus opened his hands and pointed at Lee Sungmin. The runic letters on his arm
wriggled up. A huge mana surged through the runes, enchanting the spell to the
fullest.

Pushing into the air, Lee Sungmin swung his arms at the surging waves of mana.

Quad-de-de-de-de-de-de-deuk!

The torn mana wave split into two branches and penetrated the sky.

Even though Envirus saw it with his own two eyes, he still couldn’t believe it.

Yeah. There was a reason he was the more dangerous being here.

“I’m sorry.”, Envirus apologized sincerely. In a way, Lee Sungmin was also a victim to
this fate.

But he didn’t mean to quit.

Next, Envirus unfolded several spells at once. The best way to catch a wild beast was
to distract it’s vision.
Paoang.

The space broke apart, splashing debris from the ground all over the place.

The silver chains that rose from the gap were shot at Lee Sungmin, who was in the
air.

Lee Sungmin swung at the chains while jumping, but the flexible, curved chain
grabbed Lee Sungsmin’s joints.

The restraining chains injected a huge amount of mana into Lee Sungmin’s body. Lee
Sungmin’s arms and legs started to swell and contort in a way that was unnatural.

He didn’t know why Envirus was attacking him.

But one thing was for sure, his crazed body was ignorant of the attacks and power
from them.

It was just swinging itself and attacking with sheer power and no strategy, that alone
was more than enough for a tough opponent to handle him.

Even An Zun that drove Lee Sungmin to the brink of death, would be able to knock
him down without any trouble right now.

But Envirus was at an even greater level than An Zun right now. Envirus’ various
spells were harder to deal with and more powerful than the hidden weapons An Zun
used.

If this continued, Envirus would have no choice but to die. Lee Sungmin didn’t want
him to die.

But his body absolutely refused to listen to him.

Quang!

Lee Sungmin’s consciousness was shaken. The view changed instantly.

[What are you doing, asshole!], it was Heoju who spoke first recognizing Lee
Sungmin’s consciousness was shaken.
Heoju had the same image as when he was in his monster body when Lee Sungmin
first met him. It may be a dream space that Lee Sungmin’s consciousness was in right
now, but it was something at least.

[Get your head on straight.], Heoju growled as he slapped Lee Sungmin across his
cheek.

Lee Sungmin, who was hit with Heoju’s full strength, screamed in pain.

“Why are you hitting me?!”, Lee Sungmin yelled out.

[Shut up! In the meantime, I’ve been trying to wake you up. You damn bastard. Thank
you for the spiritual body at least!], Heoju spat out in anger at Lee Sungmin and let
go of his collar.

Lee Sungmin wasn’t really hit with his physical body, but he was sure of the tingling
pain.

Lee Sungmin asked as he looked around the space, which was a mixture of red and
black.

“Here… Where are we?”, Lee Sungmin asked with a quizzical look.

[I’m in your consciousness right now.] replied Heoju.

[It’s no different than a dream space.], he added.

“Why am I here…… No, why are you here?”, Lee Sungmin asked with eyes wide.

[I came here to beat your ass up.], replied Heoju.

[If possible, this old man wanted to wake you up alone, but your mental barrier was
so strong I couldn’t help but forcibly wake up your consciousness first.], he added
once more.

“So what are you trying to do?”, Lee Sungmin asked dazedly.

[Are you seriously just going to go and die off like this?], Heoju retorted in rage.

[Your body is about to turn into a monster, and by doing so your humanity and
consciousness as a human will fall deep into the void unable to ever come back to
life. Do you know what that means?], Heoju continued to question Lee Sungmin in
anger.

“……I’ll be a monster.”, Lee Sungmin muttered.

[It means you are alive but not really alive, you bastard!], Heoju spat out as he
couldn’t handle his angry emotions any longer.

“I didn’t do this because I wanted to…!”, Lee Sungmin tried to retort but was cut off.

[It’s not too late yet.], Heoju muttered in dissatisfaction and turned around.

[This is the first time for a case like you before. You’re…… too undecided. You’ve
become a monster, but you’re still human. No matter how strong your mind is……]

“You said it wasn’t too late.”, Lee Sungmin spoke.

Heoju flinched and nodded his head, […… look over there.]

Heoju raised his finger and spoke, [That’s why you said you were too undecided. I
don’t know if it’s because I still have a human consciousness… but that monstrous
entity is dependent. If you had fallen asleep in the void, that would be the end of
you.]

Something was running mad around the space.

Colored in sinister colors, it was running like a rabid dog, with no one to tame it.

[That’s your body.], Heoju raised his hand to point to the red blob.

[The entity is moving your body now. You turned into a monster. If this old man had
only been able to wake you up alone, I would have beaten that bastard senseless.],
Heoju plopped on the ground grumbling.

[You need to go and beat him up.]

“What about after that?”, Lee Sungmin asked, looking back at Heoju.

[This is a tug-of-war between the consciousness that reigns over your body. Whoever
wins will have control of your body. Right now he’s got the upper hand and he’s
holding your body, but…… you might get your body back if you somehow can get the
upper hand.], Heoju spoke with an uncertain tone.

It was the first time for Lee Sungmin to hear Heoju be so unconvinced about
something regarding a monster’s nature or being.

[You can’t stop it by standing here doing nothing. The time in your consciousness is
only a short time span in real life, but…… your body is now approaching death.], he
added.

“I know.”, Lee Sungmin spoke, recalling the vision he saw before being dragged here,
as his body was being bound by a silver chain cast by Envirus.

They didn’t have much time. Lee Sungmin strode toward the blurry existence.

‘I never thought I’d have a day in my life to fight over my own body.’, Lee Sungmin
thought to himself.
Heoju and Lee Sungmin easily passed the wall inside the realm of his consciousness.

There was a wall that acted as a barrier of the soul that Lee Sungmin had within his
consciousness, and Lee Sungmin and Heoju, who walked in, were accepted without
resistance.

Lee Sungmin looked down at his empty hand.

When he was conscious, Lee Sungmin was holding a spear. This was the same type of
space as Denir’s trial and yet a different place altogether.

There, Lee Sungmin was free to use his inner strength. In Denir’s space of the trial,
he was free to use his strength and use his physical body.

But it was different here. His internal energy could not be accessed here, the same
was for Heoju.

He succeeded in creating a spear, but that was all.

No matter how much he tried to bring awareness to his internal energy, his internal
energy would not appear.

‘You’re being unreasonable.’, Lee Sungmin smiled bitterly to himself.

All he could use here was his spear and his spiritual body.

If he didn’t want to die and lose his body here, he had to make this work. The entity’s
footsteps which were frantic, stopped.

It stood there and turned its head around to look at Lee Sungmin.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth. It looked like a human being, it had no distinctive

features other than it’s skin color, which was a dark red.
Lee Sungmin seemed to hear a deafening, unadulterated roar.

The entity crouched on all fours like a complete beast.

When Lee Sungmin saw it, it was already in front of Lee Sungmin’s body.

The dark hand reached out and tried to break Lee Sungmin’s head like a watermelon.

Lee Sungmin immediately lowered his posture. It was too much to defend that attack
now that his internal energy was cut off and he could not draw on any outside power.

A powerful series of fingertips grazed over his head. Lee Sungmin, who lowered his
posture, sprung his weight into his calves without hesitating.

There was no explosive acceleration due to lack of internal energy, but even if there
was none, this basic maneuvering of his body would be sufficient.

Lee Sungmin, who dug his feet firmly into the ground, thrust the spear in his hands.

Bung!

With a dull sound, the entity was slightly pushed back. The attack was light even
though he had stabbed with all his might. The spear blade was obviously sharp, but
it couldn’t penetrate the entity’s body at all.

Lee Sungmin never thought he could finish it with one stroke. There was no
disappointment to be seen on Lee Sungmin’s face because he didn’t expect much at
all.

Wha-ak!

As he rushed towards the retreating body of the monstrous entity, Lee Sungmin
unfolded a basic spear technique, The Rana technique.

The thrusting attacks of the spear were shallow thanks to the absence of his internal
energy, but he hit precisely at where the heart should be on the entity’s body.

But the entity wasn’t just going to let itself be beaten. It spread its right hand out
wide and reached Lee Sungmin’s shoulder.
From the moment the entity’s shoulders moved in accordance to the arm, Lee
Sungmin predicted the movement and avoided it.

Considering his physical ability, it was certainly true that the entity was superior to
Lee Sungmin in most aspects, but Lee Sungmin was more adapted to the body of a
human, and he had several mastered martial art techniques in his arsenal.

Lee Sungmin, who avoided the attack, weaved his body and penetrated at the gap in
defense at the entity’s body.

Lee Sungmin wanted to use the Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques move, Lightning
Annihilation, but it was impossible to pull off the destructive power of the lightning
in the spear without internal energy.

In the end, Lee Sungmin’s only available techniques were the footwork techniques
from Baek Sogo and his independent spear moves.

What Lee Sung-min chose this time was Skill Stealing (복사백탐).

Qua-duck!

The spear that rose from top to bottom hit the chin of the entity. He wanted to
penetrate the top of it’s head, but this time again he lacked the power to do so. It was
only able to bend its head back a bit in recoil.

It just wasn’t enough to completely make a fatal blow.

Slash, Stab and Thrust. Those three things were the basics to spearmanship. Lee
Sungmin slashed with the profound movement that was clearly practiced hundreds
of thousands of times.

Then, he swung the spear and hit the side of the entity’s rib cage once again. He
knew how he had to attack if he wanted to win here, he had to accumulate damage
through several blows locating the weak points. But would he really be able to win
by stacking up damage through attacking the weak areas?

Feeling suspicious, Lee Sungmin continued to move and wield his spear spear.

Heoju sat on the sidelines beyond the fight, because if he interfered and defeated the
entity then he would be recognized as the owner of the body and he did not want
that, respecting Lee Sungmin.

Even if he slowly built up and accumulated damage, it wouldn’t be easy for the entity
to fall.

Only when Lee Sungmin’s consciousness over his body overwhelmed the entity’s,
would he be able to take back control.

‘It’s impossible for me to help.’, Heoju thought bitterly.

Since it was Lee Sungmin’s own fight, Heoju couldn’t even support him.

‘Huh?’, Heoju’s eyes opened wide as he watched the fight from beyond the wall of
consciousness.

Did he see wrong? Heoju sprang to his feet. He approached closer to the barrier to
confirm what he saw.

Going to the front of the impenetrable barrier, Heoju looked inside.

Beyond the fight between Lee Sungmin and the entity, someone was sitting in a
comfortable position. The face was invisible to Heoju, no matter how hard he tried to
focus his vision and get closer.

But Heoju was instinctively feeling that the ‘person’ was smiling.

‘Who are you?’, Heoju mouthed his questions in hope that the person sitting would
respond.

They were muttering to themselves, but they lifted their head and turned to face
Heoju.

Why couldn’t Lee Sungmin and Heoju feel their presence? When they were only
sitting a few steps away. Even if it was an external presence, Why couldn’t Lee
Sungmin nor Heoju notice such a blatantly obvious presence?

Heoju opened his mouth to warn Lee Sungmin. He decided to do it.

The world suddenly narrowed thinly. At the end of a straight, single road stood
Heoju, and on the other side of the road there was a smiling, relaxed man whose face
could not be seen.

He sat in the same lotus position as Heoju had seen earlier. This is the first time he
had ever felt…… No, it had just been an incredibly long time. Heoju felt incredibly
irritated by this feeling by looking in front of him at the man.

His palms were dripping with cold sweat and his back started to aches. Heoju got
chills and goosebumps from every nook and cranny in his body.

The man in front of him slowly raised his hand over his knee. Each of the small and
simplistic movements was slowly observed by Heoju.

Heoju, whose body was only barely destroyed by several dragons, dozens of priests
and ArchBishops, along with hundreds of independent practitioners hadn’t even felt
fear when he was sealed.

He was feeling an inexplicable fear though, from the man in front of him. What the
hell was this man doing here? Why did such a fearsome and ominous being that
exuded fear and presence beyond the gods of Eria, reside here in Lee Sungmin’s
consciousness?

The man’s hand was moving ever so slowly in the air as he made the space narrow
for just Heoju and himself. Heoju saw the hand move so slowly that it felt close to an
eternity.

During that time, Heoju had envisioned something even he had never envisioned
before. His Death. Heoju saw himself dying dozens, hundreds and then even
thousands of times over in this brief moment.

The one who gave Heoju the image of death with a simple hand movement, that man
made Heoju feel the most fear possible with just a single gesture.

The man in front of him raised his index finger, while staying completely silent, and
put it over his closed lips.

Shh.

“Huaa! Huaa… Huuu… Hu…”, Heoju suddenly gasped for breath.

When he came to his senses, Heoju suddenly found himself on the floor completely
sprawled like he had just woke up on an abandoned island.

Heoju’s face contorted with confusion. Was it a hallucination? Whatever it was, it had
been so dreadful and horrid that it made him grind his teeth in anger at the feeling of
weakness and fear he felt.

Heoju also knew that when he was in his prime, alive as the monster who ruled over
the south, that nobody could bring down, nobody could match him.

Except for exceptions like the Fairy Queen and the Queen of the Spirits, there was no
mortal that could possibly match his strength.

But the man he saw in whatever it may be, a dream, hallucination, or completely real
plane inside Lee Sungmin’s consciousness, was in a completely different degree of
danger than anything that had ever lived in Eria.

Heoju? The 5 Black Stars of Predator? Yana? Sima Ryunju? No. They were flies in
front of that existence.

“You…… What are you……!”, Heoju, who had staggered up to his feet, roared as he
suddenly saw that the man was still in front of him in the narrow road of Lee
Sungmin’s consciousness.

Heoju, who managed to get up, kicked his feet forward to reach him. The guy who
had shushed him earlier, did not move an inch of his body in response.

When Heoju took a step forward, the narrow road suddenly grew in length to an
unbelievable degree.

[You’ve only taken one step.], An unknown voice rang in Heoju’s head.

Surprised by the voice, Heoju looked back. He thought he had shot forwards at least
a couple meters, but it was only one, single step.

Heoju felt a sense of utter defeat by seeing the clear gap in ability, at the fact the man
didn’t even make a gesture.

[Will you come this way?], The voice asked in a clear tone.

Heoju stood absent-mindedly and looked down the path. The length of the narrow
road…… warped and wiggled.

‘One step?’

‘Ah.’, Heoju realized something. What was this road and what kind of place was this?

What does that voice mean? What happens over there, where the man was sitting?

“Not yet.”, Heoju, who suddenly felt a bit of enlightenment oh the meaning of the road
and the place he was, muttered in a dazed voice.

There was a being sitting down or standing at every few checkpoints along the
winding road.

There were those who sat down, and those who stretched out their limbs slowly.

Heoju burst out laughing and pushed back the stretched steps again.

He knew. If he wanted to go forward, He had to go ahead without stopping or turning

back.

“I knew it.”, Heoju muttered with a smile.

Shh. The man at the end of the road signaled with a hand gesture once again for
Heoju to remain silent at what he had realized, and Heoju nodded his head.

He didn’t understand everything, but he understood that he shouldn’t tell Lee

Sungmin about this encounter and things he saw and realized in this space. He
shouldn’t even tell anybody else, because this road was something only Lee Sungmin
would be able to have access to.

At the sight of Heoju nodding, the road suddenly disappeared. Heoju found himself
back at the end of the wall in Lee Sungmin’s consciousness.

He couldn’t see the guy sitting at the end of the road anymore.

Lee Sungmin, who wasn’t aware of anything that had just happened, or what Heoju
had seen, was fighting fiercely against the entity with all his might.

At one point during the fight, Lee Sungmin started to feel instinctively that he was
faster and stronger than the entity in front of him.

His internal energy was still unavailable, but he could feel himself growing stronger
and stronger.

It was evidence that Lee Sungmin was gaining ground over the entity and was no
longer being pushed back by the monstrous identity that was in control of his
physical body.

Quang!

Lee Sungmin’s spear finally penetrated the entity’s spiritual body. He knew he had to
fight stronger and fiercer as time was running out.

Lee Sungmin had to finish things here and now if he wanted any hope at getting his
body back. The spear, which was deeply embedded in the entity’s spiritual body,
struck through the opposite end of it’s back and shot right through like a needle.

The entity staggered and knelt down. But it didn’t die. Instead, the world of
consciousness began to alter itself. The world, which used to be mixed with red and
black color, started to turn white.

It was evidence that Lee Sungmin’s consciousness weighed down on the entity and
was completely superior at this moment. But…… the entity still didn’t disappear. The
being pierced with the spear in its body struggled on the shaft of the spear.

The red and black face distorting its facial features started to turn less blurry, and
the face of the entity was revealed.

It’s face was like Lee Sungmin’s, but not exactly the same. It’s face had a devilish aura
and bared its teeth in anger at Lee Sungmin as if it were revealing itself to not be
human at all.

“See you next time.”, the entity suddenly spoke and left behind the words as it
blurred and became foggy, dissipating into the white surroundings.

Lee Sungmin stared at the spear, which was now completely free, as if it had never
stabbed anything in the first place.

The external entity within Lee Sungmin had already awakened, and it would not
perish. It would just be inside Lee Sungmin’s body waiting for the next opportunity
whenever it would present itself.

Waiting up for the day Lee Sungmin would give up his humanity again and try to
devour his consciousness entirely.

The white world of consciousness started to disappear. Lee Sungmin looked back at
Heoju, who was sitting beyond the barrier. Come to think of it, in the middle of a fight
against the entity. He had heard Heoju shouted something.

‘What did you say?’ When Lee Sungmin was about to voice his thoughts and opened
his mouth,Heoju, who was sitting lifted himself up.

He slowly ruffled his hair, then lifted his index finger and moved it over the front of
his lips.

“Shh.”, Heoju shushed Lee Sungmin.

“……what are you doing?”, Lee Sungmin tilted his head, thinking Heoju was being a
stupid rock right now.

“Go away, asshole.”, Heoju burst into a big grin.

Envirus knew his end was not far off. The exchange he did for the surge of Great
mana had rendered his immobile body, one that could cast enough magic to seal up
the two and stop them, but it was temporary.

Envirus saw Aine lying on the ground. He was completely out of energy, after having
such a hard task of stopping one of the two.

“You’re a monster……”, Envirus murmured in a feeble voice.

In the air, Lee Sungmin, who was bound by the silver chains, was drooping.

This was a master spell created by Envirus himself, and was one of the most
outstanding of all the spells he could cast.

Usually, Lee Sungmin’s would be destroyed and killed after being caught by the chain
like any other being, but Lee Sungmin was still there holding out and fighting back
fiercely.

‘But the resistance has decreased. I’m sure you’ve done everything you can at this
point…… ’, Envirus thought of Lee Sungmin with a bitter feeling in his heart.

Such a destructive spell that inserted chains to restrict the enemy and inject it with
annihilation magic, was doomed to kill the target of the spell no matter what.

“……I’m sorry. Really.”, Envirus once again apologized as he shook his head bitterly.

He raised his hands to finish the spell and finish off Lee Sungmin when suddenly
something happened.

The chained body of Lee Sungmin that was drooping over lifelessly, suddenly moved
as his head raised up and met his two golden eyes to meet Envirus’.

“What kind of apology……”

The strangely bent limbs sought out their original angles. The internal energy of Lee
Sungmin’s and the yokai power blended itself back together in harmony. Lee
Sungmin glanced at the spear lying on the floor not too far away.

‘Come.’ , the sudden command of Lee Sungmin’s consciousness resonated with the
spear.

The spear quivered and trembled as if excited and flew up and pierced right through
the silver chains Envirus had cast, without Envirus having a chance to even see it or
stop it.

“No matter what you decide to do, Why don’t you keep your promise first?”, Lee
Sungmin asked with a sarcastic voice through a small cloud of debris of broken silver
chains while gripping his familiar spear.

“Don’t you remember? The Dragon Heart.”

Envirus’s face turned pale white.

It was their initial promise that Envirus would process the dragon heart for Lee
Sungmin, that led them to this place after all.

When Envirus couldn’t figure out what was going on in the square by himself,
Envirus needed Lee Sungmin’s help to investigate.

Lee Sungmin demanded that Envirus should process the Dragon heart he had, in
return for helping Envirus since he pleaded Lee Sungmin so fervently.

Not only that, Lee Sungmin made Envirus take an Oath on it.

If he broke the oath, Envirus’ death would be incredibly painful as the mana inside
his body would rip him to shreds from the inside out.

“I…… will have to apologize but I can’t.”

He knew what Lee Sungmin and him had agreed to beforehand, but Envirus refused.

His life would soon end anyways as he had already made the Life and Death
exchange for a great surge of Mana. Wouldn’t it be the same result no matter what, as
he was doomed to die?

Lee Sungmin’s face froze coldly at the words.

This old wizard bastard said he would process the Dragon Heart in his possession
for him, only if agreed to help him here. But now he was going to screw him over like
this after nearly getting him killed and dragging Lee Sungmin into his mess?

“Didn’t you make an Oath?”, Lee Sungmin questioned Envirus coldly.

“I did.”, Envirus nodded truthfully.

“I’m not a wizard, but I know what happens when someone makes an Oath and
doesn’t fulfill the conditions.”, Lee Sungmin stared blankly at Envirus while speaking
so.

“If you don’t keep an Oath’s contents, you’ll die. I know it well. But…… What does it
matter now anyways? I’m going to die soon no matter what.”, Envirus grinned as he
spoke.

Even though he made the Oath, it was pretty much futile no matter what at this
point. Although he was still alive, Envirus didn’t feel that he could possibly kill Lee
Sungmin in that short amount of time.

In his eyes, Envirus thought even for someone whose casualty was twisted like
himself, Lee Sungmin was odd and unusual.

Up until earlier, Lee Sungmin’s internal energy was nowhere to be seen, and his
monstrous yokai power was running rampant. But suddenly, all of it had
disappeared like a lie, and he had reached a total equilibrium once more and
stabilized his consciousness.

Of course that was only how Envirus could see it. Internally, within Lee Sungmin, it
was a very dangerous and uneasy place to be in right now, as he knew the monster
inside of him was only dormant, waiting for the opportunity to strike back at Lee
Sungmin’s consciousness once more.

Meaning that put simply, he could lose himself at any time an unusual circumstance
came up, or the monster within him decided to attack.

Lee Sungmin knew Envirus’ condition as well and that he would die, but he would
rather just be ignorant about it.

“Why are you dying?”, Lee Sungmin spoke, feigning ignorance.

“I exchanged my life for the amount of mana needed to kill you. But… haha… I’ve
completely failed!”, Envirus laughed out with a melancholy laughter.

He knew his fate would be a horrible death. But he really didn’t expect himself to die
by traveling with Lee Sungmin for only one day.

Envirus had a look of resignation on his face, as he was just a bit upset his life would
end so futilely.
“You won’t die.”, a voice spoke out suddenly.

It was Kim Jonghyun who abruptly spoke and interrupted the two.

Lee Sungmin and Envirus jerked their heads suddenly at the sudden voice. When
Envirus opened his mouth to ask Kim Jonghyun what he meant, suddenly his face
started to turn completely pale as his body started to collapse immediately from the
oath’s consequences.

“Urgh!”, Envirus grunted and fell to one knee.

“I’m sorry to break our promise……”, Envirus managed to speak in between bouts of
coughing out black blood.

“No.”, Kim Jonghyun spoke once again firmly denying Envirus’ will to die.

“You’re not going to die.”, Kim Jonghyun spoke again, cryptically.

It was something even Envirus didn’t know of, and couldn’t feel with his senses. Kim
Jonghyun’s eyes were looking at the time and space around them fluctuating. There
was something coming it seemed.

Kim Jonghyun stepped back a little more out of fear that he might get caught up in
the distortions in time and space, and Lee Sungmin, who had yet to grasp Kim
Jonghyun’s identity, tilted his head.

[……Can’t be……]

Beyond his blurred gaze from his eyesight growing worse, Envirus noticed
something odd. He hurriedly looked up into the sky and Lee Sungmin noticed as
well.

Quaaaaaa!

A glare of bright light burst from the tips of the sky and blinded the onlookers.

“Good luck.”, Kim Jonghyun burst into laughter.

Kim Jonghyun honestly didn’t think that in all his life, he would be able to see such an
existence that stood atop all of Eria, with his own two eyes.
Pillars of light shot out from the sky, and seemed to almost create a throne of
blinding light, as the three of them who were conscious fixed their eyesight to see
the existence in front of them.

The light suddenly scattered in multiple directions and came back together to form a
silhouette. The silhouette’s body came into view as the light dimmed and a beautiful
woman appeared.

It was the descent of the Spirit Queen.

“Oh no…”, Envirus looked at the Spirit Queen with despair written across his face.

The Spirit Queen should not be in the mortal world. The very air of mortals was like
a poison to her existence.

“Why…… why would you……!”, Envirus stammered in disbelief and worry.

[Because I can’t allow your death.], the Spirit Queen uttered with a sigh.

It was the first time she had seen Envirus in 100 years, and she wanted to talk with
him. However, it wasn’t as if she was unaware that she did not have long to be here in
the mortal world, as it would be dangerous if she stayed for too long.

[Human.], the queen turned her head and looked at Lee Sungmin.

The queen’s eyes were filled with affection when she saw Envirus, but when she
looked at Lee Sungmin, she had an unsympathetic and haughty look on her face as if
she was looking at a piece of trash.

[Let me carry out the contract signed by Cain, no, Envirus on my behalf.], she spoke
with her arrogant demeanor.

“What do you mean? You don’t have to do that, anyway, I……”, Envirus sputtered with
embarrassment.

[You should already know when you signed a contract with me. Your life is mine and
mine alone. No person, entity, curse, or oath can take it unless I say so.], the Spirit
Queen quickly changed expressions when talking to Envirus, making one question
whether Arbeth was two-faced or this woman was more two-faced.
“Already my mana and now my life……”, Envirus muttered to himself, looking
downcast.

[Why does it matter?], the Queen gave out a shrill cry.

[Even if you did the exchange of life and death for mana, I will never let something as
trivial like mana take your life!], she continued to scold Envirus like a poor puppy,
and then turned her gaze fiercely, towards Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin inwardly was thinking just how disgusting this woman’s personality
was.

[Tell me the contents of the contract.]

To be honest, Lee Sungmin liked the idea of a greater existence processing a Dragon’s
Heart for him. It didn’t really matter who did it, as long as they could get it done, he
was happy.

Lee Sungmin took out a wooden box from his spatial pocket. When he opened it, the
queen’s eyebrows furrowed.

[It’s a Dragon Heart. Do you already have enough power to even use that?], the
Queen asked in a mocking tone.

“Will it be possible or not?”, Lee Sungmin replied bluntly, standing his ground.

[That’s not even worth discussing.], the Queen said scoffingly.

The queen raised her hand slowly.

Even though Envirus was a Grand Wizard, he said it would take even him some time
to handle and process it correctly. However, the Queen of Spirits was a completely
different kind of existence than a Grand Wizard.

“Please, stop. That man is a danger to all of Eria. If that guy goes crazy with
something like the Dragon Heart in tow……”, Envirus quivered while speaking in a
low voice.

[Don’t act like you suddenly care about the fate of this world now. The reason you
left was because you didn’t want to get involved with the fate of the world in the first
place. What happens to this world or not is not your concern. And you shouldn’t have
that kind of speech with the person who saved your life.], the Queen berated Envirus
ruthlessly.

“But!-”

[Stop.], the Spirit Queen cut off Envirus then and there, as she did not want to listen
to his quibbling any longer.

As she swung her hand, Envirus’ body was wrapped in a bright light and disappeared
before everyone’s eyes.

No matter the consequences of losing one’s life through an exchange with the will of
the world, the Spirit Queen dismissed it like it was a bothersome fly.

“Bringing humans into the world of the spirits? I didn’t know the Queen was allowed
to do so.”, Kim Jonghyun interjected with a slightly snarky remark.

At the words, the Spirit Queen glared at Kim Jonghyun and spoke, [Shut up you filthy
beast who sold his soul to the king.]

“That’s what every Dark Wizard does.”, Kim Jonghyun replied matter-of-factly.

[The spirit realm is my territory. I am the Queen and I am the rules. Who would dare
to defy my word when I say that I will bring a mortal to be treated.]

“If you say so……”, Kim Jonghyun shrugged nonchalantly.

Kim Jonghyun honestly didn’t believe something that broke the Spirit Realms
traditions from before the Queen was born, would be solved so easily, but he let it go
and smirked.

Kim Jonghyun’s attention was ultimately focused on Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin had
a body that was not complete but very close to becoming a monster.

Nevertheless, his humanity has not been abandoned, and his total strength was at
times beyond his cultivation level of being at the very pinnacle of the Peak Realm.

‘No, maybe he’s already stepping into transcendence. What if he adds the Dragon Heart
to that?’, Kim Jonghyun was internally going round in circles with excitement.
A brilliant light glistened at the Spirit Queen’s fingertips. The light wrapped around
the wooden box held by Lee Sungmin, and the Dragon Heart trembled as it soaked
and bathed in the light emitted from the Spirit Queen.

The floating Dragon Heart changed its form before Lee Sungmin’s eyes. The dragon
heart, liquefied into a superfluous red liquid, approached Lee Sungmin.

[Are you going to drink it all at once?], the Queen asked Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin nodded slowly at the question in response.

The Queen swished her fingers with a stoic face as the red liquid came closer to Lee
Sungmin’s mouth.

[Drink up.]

Lee Sungmin carefully opened his mouth. When he first sipped the liquid, the
Dragon’s Heart liquor was completely tasteless.

Lee Sungmin reluctantly sipped a bit more and expected a strong bitter taste of
blood to enter his mouth soon, but the liquid remained tasteless. He started to chug
the liquid down more and more in bigger gulps.

He could feel the sticky liquid roll around in his mouth down his throat as he
downed the substance quickly.

The Queen who had turned around and ignored Lee Sungmin, suddenly turned her
gaze back to Lee Sungmin skeptically.

She expected him to turn crazy and explode his mortal body from the powerful mana
of the Dragon, but he was lasting longer than expected. The Spirit Queen’s eyebrows
wriggled with annoyance as she turned back around deciding she had no need to see
a mortal’s body explode into a bloody pulp from his own foolishness.

Quang!

The pillar of light surrounded the Spirit Queen as she soared high into the sky and
pierced the clouds, returning back to her Spirit Realm.

*burp*
Lee Sungmin covered his mouth with his hands in embarrassment. He then noticed
something start to churn around inside his stomach.

Utter pain. He wanted to vomit right there. Lee Sungmin crouched down in the
intense pain felt inside his dantian.

His heart beat fiercely and contracted in focus. Although the black heart would
definitely subdue the power from leaking out and help digest it, the Dragon’s Heart
was indeed an incredibly strong substance.

Although Kim Jonghyun wanted to see it until the end, Kim Jonghyun knew that now
was his only chance to get out here without any problems.

Arbeth’s magical knowledge and mana were taken and stripped cleanly from the
soul, but knowing such complicated and advanced magical theories and spells, was
different than actually being able to put it to use.

He still needed more time to learn and experiment with his newfounds gains. Not
only that, he did not want to be in a hostile relationship with Lee Sungmin and Lee
Sungmin still did not know of his identity here yet.

Aine, who had lost her soul completely due to Envirus’ magic, was lying helplessly on
the ground. Kim Jonghyun glanced at the unconscious child as a mild curiosity arose
within him.

Lee Sungmin regained his consciousness during Envirus’ magic, but what about the
child? Aine was still alive, and Kim Jonghyun had no intention of killing Aine.

Not only that, Lee Sungmin was struggling on the floor writhing in pain as he was
digesting the Dragon’s Heart.

“Hmm.” Kim Jonghyun stroked his chin while pondering to himself, and then made a
hand sign.

Aine’s body floated up into the air and Kim Jonghyun recalled what Arbeth had been
trying to do. Though the purpose of Aine’s body to Arbeth was to use it as a host to
create the ultimate Massacre of Predator, the top existence that was only a myth, and
gain that power for himself. Kim Jonghyun wasn’t as foolish as Arbeth to be so
careless and half-assed with his plans.
‘Well you should do the same.’, Kim Jonghyun glanced over to Lee Sungmin, hoping the
next time he would see him, Lee Sungmin might be a bit more careful.

Writhing in pain, and lying on the floor, Lee Sungmin did not even notice Kim
Jonghyun leaving with Aine.

What would he be like the next time he met with Lee Sungmin? How strong would
Lee Sungmin be then? Thinking of the mysterious existence and man known as Lee
Sungmin, Kim Jonghyun smiled with curiosity and happiness, looking forward to
their next encounter.

Kim Jonghyun left, leaving his worries behind him, and his plans in front. The events
in the square had finished thoroughly for him.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon was trying his hardest to hold onto his hazy
consciousness. His eyesight was blurred and he was unsure if he was still dead or
alive.

‘Not yet.’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon shook his head and wiped the blood from his eyes that
were obstructing his vision.

The agitated, and enraged Crazy Heavenly Demon stood up and glared at the bright
flame burning brightly around the monster that was responsible for many innocent
deaths.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon who had mastered the breathing technique to maintain
his sanity of his soul, was not bothered by the heat physically, but the heat being
emitted from Chusung was enough to harm his soul. Byuk Won-Pae took off his
bloodied coat that was limiting his movements.

“Stop it!”, Rubia shrieked hiding behind his back.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon told her to run away and smiled a solemn and bitter
smile as he put her arms behind her and hid her from the bloody and bright flame in
front of them.
Byuk Won-Pae was flung back and his palm thrust attack completely deflected, but
his arm wasn’t broken luckily. That was enough for him.

“Silly bastard.”, Chusung laughed mockingly and his eyes glistened brightly against
the blood-scarlet flames in the dark night.
T/N:
Since the last time I translated this series, I’ve been reviewing my hangul (Korean
dialect) and there are a lot of flaws I made in the previous translations (nothing too
serious though).

The biggest change of terms :

Gumiho = Kumiho (sound the same) : this means literally a nine-tailed fox in hangul
Kumiho* real name = Yana
Zoan (sword master in beyond the heavens) = Wolhu
Amzone = An Zun

Chusung had to admit, this guy had balls for a human. Not many ever dared to try
and provoke Chusung let alone try to fight him. He was a monster nearing the top
existences in all of Eria. But, a human? Absolutely wicked and crazy indeed.

He had to admit, for a human, this guy was strong.

But it was nothing but a joke to Chusung. His power was nearing the realm just
underneath the level of the Great Yoka,i Heoju.

Therefore, Chusung had no choice but to laugh. He acknowledged the power of the
Crazy Heavenly Demon, but found it hilarious that a mere martial artist of the Peak
Realm tried to attack him.

In fact, Byuk Won-Pae knew the reality of the situation as well as Chusung did.

The flames of internal energy that coated around Chusung burned fervently in the
darkness of the night. Even if the Crazy Heavenly Demon somehow was able to break
through the coating of internal energy surrounding Chusung, it would be impossible
to penetrate, let alone scratch the firm and tempered body of the Great Monster,
Chusung.
Even though he tried using various techniques that he had developed himself, he
ultimately failed to deal a significant blow to Chusung.

The longer the battle lasted, the more exhausted the Crazy Heavenly Demon became.

‘Can I even do this?’

He had these recurring thoughts when thinking of revenge the past few weeks.
Whenever he leaned towards such a negative thought, the Crazy Heavenly Demon
immediately thought of Dersia.

How did Dersia die? How did the other villagers die? They must have died painfully.
Their body burning in the flames, screaming, crying out for any kind of help, only to
see their loved ones burning to ash right in front of them.

His faltering will was once again restored.

Chusung laughed while watching the Crazy Heavenly Demon building up a coating of
internal energy around his body again.

“What the hell’s the point of all this?”

Chusung was really curious about this man’s reasoning, so he asked him.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s eyes were blazing in a crimson hue. He replied with a
venomous glare and curt tone.

“It was a few years ago. I don’t know if you remember it.”

“What happened?”

“Near this city… There were people who lived in the forest. I don’t know why, but you
attacked and slaughtered them.”

“I do that all the time, so I don’t remember what you’re talking about too well.”

“You met Yana in the forest, and ran with your tail tucked away in fear of her.”

Chusung’s face hardened coldly at those words. He would always go on rampages

and massacre humans; but the one time that Yana, the Gumiho, was involved?
There was only one precedent.

“Okay… I remember.”

Chusung gnawed his teeth, seething in anger.

“I heard stories of a strange tribe. A tribe that full of humans, but somehow dealt
with The Great Yokai’s powers. There was a rumor that began to circulate among the
roots of Predator, but most of the Heads of the group didn’t care. However I wasn’t so
sure it was a false rumor, so I went to go over and check.”

It wasn’t a big deal for Chusung. It was just a light outing, no different from the usual.

“The rumors were true. Just looking at those disgusting bugs… I didn’t like them. So I
killed them! I don’t know why that damn bitch suddenly appeared just to ruin my
moment. But… seeing you mention this to me, are you perhaps a survivor of that tiny
little village?”

“No.”

There wasn’t even a real reason as to why they were killed. This was a heavy
statement in it’s own right.

Just because he felt like it. That was Chusung’s reasoning for massacring so many
innocent human lives.

“You aren’t? Then why the fuck are you here messing with me?”

“I was close with the villagers you slaughtered…”

“HAHAHAHA!”

At the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s answer, Chusung tilted his head and burst into
laughter.

“Is that all? You were close with them? You’re planning on dying just for that? PFT- I
really can’t understand human beings.”

‘Smile and laugh all you want.’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon thought coldly to himself while staring at Chusung.

Regardless of whether it was possible or not, his will was already set in stone. The
Crazy Heavenly Demon would attack Chusung. This was his vengeance, and his
alone.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon shot forwards at Chusung.

Chusung laughed at the sight of The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s rash and obviously
angered movements.

“How stupid.”

Chusung mumbled and swung his hand.

Kuaruru!

A wave of red flames hit the Crazy Heavenly Demon. The Crazy Heavenly Demon
struck at the bright flame without avoiding it.

Guaang!

From the beginning of his attacks, the Blood Rings techniques were being unfolded
one after the other. When the misty rings made of blood, hit the flame, the flames
scattered in all directions.

As big as the gap between the two was, It was impossible to stop the Crazy Heavenly
Demon just by throwing out little sparks.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon didn’t slow down his running speed at all, but rather
lifted his head and pursued Chusung persistently.

Strong bursts of auras from the internal energies attacked at close range to hit
Chusung.

However, even though the techniques scattered the flames and hit Chusung’s body, it
did not deliver any pain whatsoever to Chusung.

Chusung laughed away and swung his wide open hand to hit the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s head.
If he got hit once with that kind of power, The Crazy Heavenly Demon would surely
die.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon clenched his teeth and twisted his waist.

The trajectory of Chusung’s hand was dyed red with flames.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s red aura coating his body and Chusung’s flames
collided.

It wasn’t just a spark, it was a flame with magical and mystical properties. Just by
colliding with the flame head-on, it shook the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body.

A tear popped in his throat and blood spurted. The Crazy Heavenly Demon
swallowed the blood, clenched both hands and struck Chusung’s chest with all his
might.

“HAHAHA!”

Even though he was finally hit properly, Chusung laughed. The fist that the Crazy
Heavenly Demon threw with all his might was light like a being hit with a cotton
pillow for Chusung.

Chusung had been reigning tall for a long time. The strength of Chusung was
comparable to a martial artist in the Transcendence Realm.

‘No.’

There were two Transcendence Realm experts that Crazy Heavenly Demon had
experienced fighting with up until now.

Both of them were a part of the 6 divinities in ‘Beyond the Heavens’. Wolhu and An
Zun.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon felt that the strength of Chusung was probably closer to
An Zun’s.

Though, when the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Lee Sungmin fought with An Zun, An
Zun was not trying his best at the start, so it would be difficult to say which one was
superior if one were to compare the two.
But one thing was for sure.

Chusung was weaker than Wolhu.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon fought with Wolhu 10 years ago and suffered an
overwhelming and terrible defeat.

If Wolhu had not shown mercy, the Crazy Heavenly Demon would have died on that
day to Wolhu’s sword.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon spent 10 years waiting for the day to fight Wolhu again,
but he had not yet reached the realm of Transcendence.

Even so, he could clearly see who was stronger between the two. Chusung was
weaker than Wolhu. Wasn’t that more important? That meant there was still some
possibility.

Quaang!

Chusung’s kick shook the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s coating of aura.

There was little skill in the attacks from Chusung. Ignorantly strong power and
treacherous heat were all that made up Chusung’s strength.

However, due to the large difference in power, it was difficult for Crazy Heavenly
Demon to handle even Chusung’s low-skilled attacks.

‘Even if he is weaker than Wolhu, he is clearly stronger than me.’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body rolled over the ground. His left arm was feeling
stiff. He tried not to get hit, but…… he was still hit.

The last 10 years he spent were mostly in madness and full of resentment, unable to
even process one rational thought. Would it have been possible to achieve the realm
of Transcendence if he had focused on martial arts during those 10 years straight
with a clear mind?

No, it was funny to think that way. After meeting Dersia and leaving the village, he
went mad.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not want to deny his time together with Dersia. Even
if it was a very short period of time that took place over 10 years ago.

His left arm hurt. Was it broken? Regardless, It wasn’t a good thing.

He couldn’t afford to drink an elixir in time.

Chusung, who made a big leap forward, struck his foot wrapped in flames toward the
Crazy Heavenly Demon.

It wasn’t even a matter of honor, and in the first place, Crazy Heavenly Demon was a
great man who didn’t care about that.

Without hesitation, he rolled sideways to avoid Chusung’s feet.

“You’re like a bug!”

Chusung burst into laughter.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon rolled several times, raised his body and touched his left
arm with his right hand.

Fortunately, the bone was not broken. Although it was painful, it wasn’t too difficult
to move his arm now. The Crazy Heavenly Demon was relieved about it.

He decided to make a choice. If he continued like this, he would not be able to beat
Chusung. At the moment of life and death, he wanted to gain enlightenment,
although…

The Crazy Heavenly Demon was well aware that enlightenment was not something
that could not be obtained unconditionally at the moment that came from life and
death.

Therefore, when Crazy Heavenly Demon saw Lee Sungmin, he was so surprised. It
was a miracle to gain continuous enlightenments at near-death moments.

He couldn’t rely on something like enlightenment. The Crazy Heavenly Demon was
already painting his own death.

So, realizing the options he had left, The Crazy Heavenly Demon made his decision…
…If you were a warrior who had followed the path of martial arts, opened a dantian,
and built an inner circuitry inside, then at the very bottom of one’s dantian, everyone
has something very precious to keep hidden there.

It was something that everyone had, and that nobody wanted to get rid of. Utilizing
this power would surely have severe consequences to any martial artist. It was their
life force.

It was the very essence that served as the foundation to any and all martial artists,
internal circuitry.

When one circulated their internal energy, they would circulate around the dantian
like a pulsating heart. However, what made the heartbeat was the life force. Burning
up this sacred energy, traded explosive power and one’s potential as a martial artist.
Meaning, if one used all this up, they would die, or become severely crippled.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon started to circulate his internal energy violently focusing
on the untapped nucleus of his dantian. A huge surge of powerful internal energy
started to rampage forth in a controlled manner. This was Byuk Won-Pae’s final card
to play.

The scarlet-red internal energy wrapped itself around the Crazy Heavenly Demon
with a peculiar sheen. It wrapped around him in a bright light, as if the internal
energy were boasting it’s very brilliance.

The brilliant red energy permeated and floated around Byuk Won-Pae, and then
slowly started to rise up into the air.

It was the accumulation of decades of training as well as an even higher amount of

internal energy. Byuk Won-Pae was shining like a bright red star. It was him in all of
his brilliance. A man who created his own martial arts, A man who had traveled the
world, learned to love, learned what it was to feel pain in the heart, and a man who
had reached the very brink of the peak realm.

“…What did you just do?”

Chusung asked as he noticed something was incredibly off at that moment.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not even spare Chusung a glance, let alone a word.
He never expected that today was the day he would lay down his existence. He had
finally found something he wanted so genuinely, and needed to pursue his will at the
cost of his life.

Lately, as the party traveled and more had become revealed in the past few weeks.
Byuk Won-Pae had a feeling. He knew himself better than anyone else, and he just
had a gut feeling that the fight with Chusung, may be his last.

There was no regret to be seen on his face. Rather than that, he felt at ease finally.

Whether he failed or not, he wouldn’t have to regret anything knowing he put his
very life as the wager.

Either way, the Crazy Heavenly Demon would die here today.

Of course, the Crazy Heavenly Demon was planning to succeed. He knew it was still
going to be difficult, but he just knew he felt like he would succeed.

He was thinking of dying together in the fight with Chusung.

Chusung knew that something had changed, but he did not understand what exactly
had changed for the man in front of him. He blinked repeatedly as he watched the
Crazy Heavenly Demon wrap an untapped source of power, coated in red, wrap
across his body.

Chusung looked at The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s facial expression, which for the first
time in their fight, had become calm. He then tilted his head, and opened his mouth
to repeat his question.

Before the sound of his voice could even surface from his mouth, The Crazy Heavenly
Demon narrowed the distance to Chusung in an instant.

All of his martial arts techniques were unfolding at an incredibly high level that
nobody would have ever been able to witness.

Chusung dropped his jaw and immediately forgot about what he was going to say as
he looked at the Crazy Heavenly Demon that had already appeared right in front of
his face. The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s extended hand hit Chusung’s chest with a
ferocious impact.

Kwoong!
There was a heavy sound that shook in the area from the point of impact. It was a
fundamentally different sound from before. Chusung grunted and lost his breath as
the hit met his body. The heavy blow shook Chusung’s heart.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon swung his fist toward Chusung’s face, who was
staggering back. Chusung could not even respond to the speed presently being
shown from The Crazy Heavenly Demon.

Quazzik!

Chusung’s head swung sideways and a snapping sound was heard. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon wanted to smash his head in one blow, but he knew it was being
greedy if he tried.

Still, it was a powerful attack, and it was enough to temporarily break off the layer of
coated internal energy on Chusung’s body.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s face was calm as he glanced at Chusung’s eyes that
were dazed. He knew he still had a lot more power within himself.

The power gained from burning his life force was still far from being extinguished at
this point.

Kwakwakwang!

A series of attacks from the Crazy Heavenly Demon successively struck Chusung’s
body and forced it up into the air.

Chusung’s eyes widened in shock, as the pain was still being registered to his brain.

“Uhhhh!”

An outburst of anger came before his pain though. Chusung jerked round in the air
while his face contorted in sheer rage.

The first thing Chusung saw was the appearance of The Crazy Heavenly Demon
facing his side with both hands raised up and clasped together.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon lips fluttered.

Crazy Heavenly Demon’s Blood Ring Martial arts : Blood River Predation
(혈류추살)

A Red River of internal energy rose from under the feet of the Crazy Heavenly
Demon. It shook the ground violently and soared out in all directions.

Before long, a huge vortex of golden and scarlet-colored blood was formed around
him.

The storm of the raging red river shook and collided with Chusung’s body. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon raised his hand a little higher.

Chusung distorted his face and opened his mouth wide. A bright light flashed in his
wide open mouth.

Red flames poured out of Chusung’s mouth with a wild roar.

The flames poured in a straight line above the Crazy Heavenly Demon and tried to
swallow his body in the raging heat.

Therefore, The Crazy Heavenly Demon clenched his outstretched hand to a fist as the
internal energy within him surged and coalesced around it.

Crazy Heavenly Demon’s Blood Ring Martial arts : Blood Gale Nova (鲜血新星)

Chusung’s body, caught in the scattering storm of the vortex, soared high like a
broken kite, and the flames he tried to shoot at the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body,
didn’t even come close to reaching him.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon exhaled a rough breath and lowered his hand.

Kwa-Aang!

Chusung’s body, which fell at high speed into the ground, cracked and created a
crater around it. The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked to behind him, to see if there
was anything he had missed.

Rubia was looking at the Crazy Heavenly Demon with a blank expression. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon smiled bitterly at Rubia and turned his head back to focus his
attention on Chusung.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon lifted up his slightly heavy feet and approached Chusung.

Chusung, buried deep in the ground, was in a terrible condition.

The iron armor that covered his whole body was torn to pieces by the Blood Gale
Nova, and red blood was flowing through the cracks.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not let go of his guard and approached Chusung.

Chusung’s eyes, which were closed, opened up.

“AH!”

Chusung woke up with an angry yell and The Crazy Heavenly Demon rushed toward
Chusung as if he was waiting.

Chusung acted quickly to kill The Crazy Heavenly Demon even in his current state of
immense pain. His iron armor quickly regenerated, and Chusung’s quickly struck the
Crazy Heavenly Demon with a burning flame.

Still, there was no skill in the attack. The monster’s strong body and power didn’t
exactly have a need for skills or techniques, but it was that missing component that
Chusung desperately needed in this current situation.

If they had the same power, the one who had better techniques would clearly have
the visible lead in a fight.

Chusung also knew that. Even in theory, there was no way he could completely
overturn the tables without it.

But, the situation was not terrible for Chusung just yet.

“Keugh!”

Blood spurted from Crazy Heavenly Demon’s mouth.

His end was drawing near.

This wasn’t the first time he was vomiting blood.

The blood from his throat this time was so fishy and disgusting that it was
incomparable to any prior experience he had suffered in his lifetime.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon realized that his death was near. While using the powers
drawn from monstrous origins he gained the power to overwhelm Chusung, but it
was not entirely his own as well as himself burning his life force.

“…What… the hell…”

Chusung, who was helplessly being beaten by the onslaught of the Crazy Heavenly
Demon, slipped down his arms to protect his face.

In front of Chusung, The Crazy Heavenly Demon stood in a staggered posture.

Chusung couldn’t understand the situation at the moment as he saw the Crazy
Heavenly Demon breathing wildly while vomiting blood.

If it had continued like it was, Chusung would have been killed by The Crazy
Heavenly Demon.

“What… did you… do…?”

Chusung asked again with a raspy breath.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon just stared at Chusung with bloodshot eyes, but couldn’t
say anything.

He was feeling unbearable pain at that point. His intestines felt like they were being
shredded apart and mashed together repeatedly. The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s lips,
suppressing the bursting screams, were trembling.
The appearance of the Crazy Heavenly Demon wouldn’t look good to anybody, even
someone who had no knowledge of martial arts.

“Oh my…”

Chusung kept thinking that it was somehow strange. Suddenly an explosively strong
power surged from the man in front of him. The big in front of him, suddenly
attained a level of strength that could overwhelm him to the point where his life was
at stake.

It was difficult to imagine that the Crazy Heavenly Demon was hiding his power. He
must’ve pulled out that power forcefully, and now he was paying the price.

Chusung’s face was horribly distorted.

“Hahaha!”

Chusung laughed loudly and rushed toward The Crazy Heavenly Demon.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon, who was barely standing with legs trembling, hurriedly
raised his internal energy at Chusung’s approach.

His body was difficult to move due to the pain, but the inner circuitry still moved
fluidly as desired.

The internal energy coated around him in a red aura and bumped into Chusung’s fist.
The hot flame engulfed the red aura around the Crazy Heavenly Demon and pushed
him back.

“It was pretty good for a human being!”

Chusung yelled with a joyful expression to the person that was about to die.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon barely managed to give strength to his legs. His body was
still not moving properly.

It seemed like his nervous system and neural transmitters were burnt out.

A little bit more. A little bit more and he could have killed Chusung. Dersia and the
villagers would be avenged.
“Hahaha!”

Chusung reached out his hand to The Crazy Heavenly Demon with a big smile. The
red flame burned hotter than ever.

A field of burning flame stretched out toward The Crazy Heavenly Demon. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon opened his eyes and saw the coming hand to his face.

Suddenly, the time perceived by the Crazy Heavenly Demon slowed down and he saw
something that made his old heart writhe in pain. Rubia jumped in front of him.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon had never seen Rubia’s face like that. The facial
expressions that Rubia showed him were playful, irritated, sulky, bored, or terrified.

Most of them were.

However, Rubia did not look like that now. Her face was one of someone who had
determined themselves. They were prepared to give it all up for one thing.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia’s eyes met.

Rubia opened her mouth and tried to say something, but before her voice could even
make sound, the flaming fist from Chusung hit her.

It looked like a furnace burning brightly behind her back slowly engulfing her in the
slow perception of time.

The moment she touched the flame, Rubia’s body was dyed with a bright light.

A dazzling light flowed out of Rubia’s body. It pushed aside the flames of Chusung
that were coming to burn Rubia’s body.

Rubia was an artificial spirit created by Envirus. Before Envirus entrusted himself as
‘Cain’ to Erebrisa, he had ‘created’ Rubia with the help of the Spirit Queen.

Although created with the help of the Queen, Rubia was a weak entity that could not
be compared with the other high-ranking spirits summoned by Envirus.

She could use a variety of auxiliary magic, but not very much.
In the first place, Rubia was not a spirit created for combat. The reason the Queen
created Rubia, was to let her die as a shield instead of Envirus.

‘I’m sorry, master.’

Rubia closed her eyes and spoke to Envirus, who did not know where she was.

The power planted by the Spirit Queen in Rubia’s body flowed out of her body.

It became a white wall and blocked the sparks of Chusung. Rubia stopped in the air
and stood in front of the Crazy Heavenly Demon with her arms wide open.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked at the flames scattering behind her back with a
blank expression.

“What the hell…”, he muttered as his eyes shook.

“…I liked it.”, Rubia opened her mouth.

“I liked traveling with you and with Lee Sungmin. At first, it was just because of what
Master had told me to do… I thought he was caught up in some kind of trouble. But
time flew by… and before I knew it, it had been more than a year. So, naturally I
enjoyed it. The things I couldn’t do with my master, adventures, friends, experiencing
life, even as a spirit. I had been doing it all with you and Lee Sungmin.”

“What are you doing…?”, the Crazy Heavenly Demon stuttered.

“Can’t you see it?”, Rubia said with a smile.

“You’re blocking it.”

Paang!

The wall of light was torn down.

Rubia’s body fell to the ground. The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked at Rubia that fell
to the floor and gasped for air.

Chusung was a bit embarrassed that the cat-girl, who he didn’t even care about,
intercepted his attack. But when he saw Rubia fall powerlessly to the floor, he
laughed as if it was insignificant.

“That saved your life for merely a moment!”

“…Mister… please… run away…”

Rubia said in a thin voice.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon stood up and looked down at Rubia.

Run away.

It was an impossible request in the first place.

Since he had already started to burn his life force, escape would not be possible. He
would surely die.

“You did a foolish thing…”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon muttered in a weak voice. It was Rubia, not the Crazy
Heavenly Demon, that had to escape.

Chusung was approaching.

‘Move.’

The Crazy Heavenly Demon eagerly asked his lingering limbs.

As Chusung approached, he raised his hand wrapped in flames. First of all, he was
intent on killing the Crazy Heavenly Demon. Though he was merely delayed in his
plans for a brief moment due to a mere beast-human, he would have his way.

Death was near. But the Crazy Heavenly Demon was not dead yet.

Chusung’s hand reached for Rubia.

From his palm, a blazing flame fluttered toward Rubia.

‘Please.’
The Crazy Heavenly Demon continued to ask his own body, which would not move.

It was not too late yet if he could just move.

His fingertips flinched and trembled.

The tremor spread throughout his body.

His creaking body started to move only through sheer willpower. The pain that
proved he was close to death, disappeared.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon roared and rushed toward Chusung. When the Crazy
Heavenly Demon, which Chusung thought would have been completely exhausted,
jumped in again, he was greatly taken aback and fired off a spark.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not stop and jumped into the flame.

The hot flame burned his body. The desire to kill Chusung was greater than the
terrible pain caused by it.

Revenge was no longer the only reason to kill Chusung.

If The Crazy Heavenly Demon died here, Chusung would also kill Rubia. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon would not allow it.

“BASTARD!”

Chusung screamed at The Crazy Heavenly Demon with flames erupting all over his
body. Letting Chusung’s scream fall on deaf ears, The Crazy Heavenly Demon swung
his fist.

Quazzik!

Chusung’s head was beaten and turned sideways. At the same time, Chusung shook
his hand and grabbed The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s shoulder.

Even though his whole left arm seemed to be torn apart, the Crazy Heavenly Demon
did not stop.

Rather, his outstretched right hand grabbed Chusung’s neck.

“Keugh!”

Chusung couldn’t breathe.

He struggled with the pressure from his neck and tried to shake off the Crazy
Heavenly Demon.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not release the pressure he gave to his hand even
though his whole body was being engulfed in flames and the smell of charred flesh
started to permeate in the surroundings.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon, flashing his red eyes in the flame, at this moment he
truly looked like a demon to Chusung.

“You…!”

Ududug!

Chusung’s hand crushed The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s shoulder. The Crazy Heavenly
Demon ignored his left arm and lifted his knees and kicked Chusung’s stomach.

With the sound of a bang, Chusung’s body broke. Blood spewed out of Chusung’s
mouth.

“St… op…”

“No.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon mumbled in the flames burning his whole body.

“When the villagers begged you to stop… Did you stop?”

That was the last word Chusung heard.

Crunch!

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s hand completely broke Chusung’s neck and the light
disappeared from Chusung’s eyes.

However, the phenomenal vitality of the Great Monster, Chusung, would not let death
come over him, even if his neck was broken.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon put down Chusung’s broken neck, pulled his fingertips
up and thrust them into Chusung’s chest.

Fuwook!

The steel-like skin of Chusung was pierced by The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s hand.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s hand sloshed in Chusung’s body and then gripped the
heart of Chusung. It was still beating. The Crazy Heavenly Demon gave strength to
his hand and crushed it like a balloon popping.

Argh!

The flames on the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body dispersed. Chusung opened his
mouth wide and screamed.

Chusung’s body, which had been trembling and shaking, began to scatter as his body
became ashes. The Crazy Heavenly Demon staggered and sank on the spot.

The flame went out, but his body was burnt to the point that it was better to die right
then and there.

It was over.

He could rest in peace knowing his vengeance had been carried out. Rubia was also
safe.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked at Rubia with weak and shaky eyes. Rubia, lying
on the floor, lifted her head weakly.

“Mister…”

“It’s done.”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon tried to make a smile, but his face burned by flames did
not create the smile he wanted to desperately emerge.

At this moment he was not without regret. To be honest… he expected it.

If he fought Chusung while burning his life force, he wondered if he would gain
enlightenment toward Transcendence at that moment.

Expectations were simply expectations and always led to disappointment.

Was he not qualified? The Crazy Heavenly Demon sniffled and laughed.

Lee Sungmin’s face came to mind. It would have been nice if he could at least say his
goodbye to that young man.

Well, he didn’t even have to. If there was any enlightenment he gained in his later
years to help Lee Sungmin, he would tell him… but there was no such possibility to
do so now.

“…Mister?”

Rubia called out to the Crazy Heavenly Demon with a weak voice. The Crazy
Heavenly Demon slowly closed his eyes.

The bright red flicker of life force within his dantian went out. Rubia did not know
what was going on in the body of the Crazy Heavenly Demon, but she knew that the
Crazy Heavenly Demon was dying.

“Ah, Mister… Mister?!”

Rubia managed to get up and screamed the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s name.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not answer. Rubia hurriedly tried to approach the
Crazy Heavenly Demon, but… the end came for her as well.

“…Ah…?!”

With a bewildered sound, Rubia’s body started to disintegrate into small particles
and began to scatter.

As Envirus moved to the Spirit World, Rubia that was connected to him began to be
summoned to the Spirit World too.

Rubia screamed, looking down her scattered limbs.

“Please, please, Master! Wait a minute…!”

Rubia screamed, but the summoning to the spirit world did not stop. Soon after,
Rubia’s body completely disappeared.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon saw the disappearance of Rubia with almost completely
blind eyes.

Where did she go?

Such questions did not last long either.

“Really…”

The Crazy Heavenly Demon heard a voice in his state of blurring consciousness.

It was a voice he had heard of. The Crazy Heavenly Demon barely opened his eyes
and looked in the direction of the voice.

Frau with an annoyed face was standing there.

She approached The Crazy Heavenly Demon.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon opened his mouth to say something to Frau, but Frau
said, shaking her head from side to side,

“Don’t say any useless words. It was not enough to burn your life force, so you took
Chusung’s flame with your whole body… You’re lucky you’re not already dead. No,
even if you aren’t right now, you will die soon.”

Frau grumbled and waved her hand under her wide sleeves.

Then, dozens of amulets were held in Frau’s hand. Frau threw the amulet as if
spreading it roughly, and the amulet she threw hovered above the Crazy Heavenly
Demon with a constant movement.

“Yana said, if something happened to this city while she’s away, I was to help as much
as I can.”

She did not deliberately intervene with the work in the Central Square. Her loyalty to
Yana, the Gumoho, was important, but she didn’t think it was enough to take the risk
of even approaching the monstrous entities moving within the square.

But what was in front of her right now, was something Frau could solve and fit the
description of what Yana had stated.

But, she couldn’t step forward earlier.

The Crazy Heavenly Demon was fighting with Chusung while throwing his life away,
and it was not an atmosphere to interfere.

But now it was okay to step up. The fight was over, and Chusung was dead. And soon
the Crazy Heavenly Demon would die.

“You’ve done a nasty job for me.”

Frau mumbled like that and made a decision.

“I’ll give you some time to say goodbye.”

Even if she was a great sorcerer, it is impossible to revive a dying human that burned
all his life force.

But it could be delayed. A transparent barrier entwined the body of The Crazy
Heavenly Demon.

“Shouldn’t you at least say your goodbyes before you go?”

Frau muttered with a bitter smile.

Lee Sungmin started to awaken from his blurred consciousness. He could feel the
energy of a Dark Wizard moving about and leaving the premises.

The Wizard didn’t leave alone and took the child known as Aine, with him.

Lee Sungmin, who was crouched up, had heavy breaths and could sense the aura of
the two presences leaving.

Why didn’t the attack Lee Sungmin who was left defenseless? Lee Sungmin felt
doubtful at first if the Wizard was truly leaving and not scheming to take him out
later, but soon felt relief when the two of them had departed for good.

He never thought that he would feel this sort of pain after consuming the Dragon’s
Heart.

Until now, Lee Sungmin had taken various pills and elixirs, and each time, he
absorbed the power without any major problems thanks to his black heart.

This time however, the experience was vastly different than his prior experiences. He
felt all of his limbs aching and protesting to function properly; he couldn’t move an
inch from his position without severe pain.

He remembered the warning from Envirus. The warning that if his vessel could not
contain the pure energy from the Dragon Heart, he would explode and die on the
spot.

However, it did not happen.

As time went by, the pain became bearable and his internal circuitry started to
circulate his internal energy to a point where he could move again.

When the pain became weak enough, Lee Sungmin raised himself up. Trusting in the
black heart, it seemed to do the job as expected.
‘No.’

Lee Sungmin, who raised his body, examined his condition with a perplexed face.

It was because he couldn’t feel a significant change within himself like when he
absorbed elixirs or pills before. But… he must have absorbed the dragon heart.

He felt a lot of power when he first absorbed the initial parts of it.

But now?

He couldn’t feel anything. Lee Sungmin double-checked the rhythm and flow of his
inner circuitry, but could not feel the magical energy of Dragon Heart.

What on earth was wrong? Heoju spoke to Lee Sungmin, who was embarrassed.

[It’s too much power for any kind of human to handle.]

Heoju himself was not sure, so his voice did not contain the usual confidence it
normally had.

‘I’ve definitely absorbed it though.’

[I don’t know too much about this either. Even I have never consumed a Dragon’s
heart… are you sure there’s nothing different within yourself? Maybe there’s
something else you haven’t checked.]

‘Do you think the Queen of the Spirits pulled any tricks?’

[Maybe, Maybe not. But you definitely have consumed the Dragon Heart. That much
is certain.]

What was the point of even consuming it then? There were no changes he could even
notice. Just in case, Lee Sungmin traced back his memories and thoughts to the very
moment he consumed the liquidated form of the Dragon Heart, but he could not feel
a shred of additional power within himself.

He then thought about the child known as ‘Aine’.

She had acquired all kinds of knowledge including several martial arts techniques by
consuming the hearts of other organisms through the ‘predation’ trait of the Black
Heart. Thinking of that fact, Lee Sungmin tried to focus if there was any new
knowledge imported into his brain, but nothing of the sort came to mind.

“What the hell?”

No one could answer the questions of Lee Sungmin at that moment. Neither Envirus
nor the Spirit Queen were around him anymore.

Deciding to postpone his thoughts and queries about consuming the Dragon’s Heart,
Lee Sungmin decided to leave the square.

Arbeth, the Elder Lich, one of the 5 Elders that led Predator, his plot had been
thwarted successfully by Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin didn’t know what the organization known as Predator was planning,
but he wouldn’t be sitting still, staying here.

Lee Sungmin took steps to return to the City of Endless Night.

He was going to meet Rubia first. It was to meet up with her, and then perhaps tell
her about meeting Envirus.

‘I don’t think there’s much more to find out about him.’

Lee Sungmin moved to the inner streets within the City of Endless Night.

Perhaps the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia were back there together.

He was sorry for leaving without saying a word, and he felt a little anxious thinking
that maybe they were worried about him.

Lee Sungmin felt a little childish to be worried over such trivial things.

Come to think of it, it had been the first time he had ever traveled with others in this
type of close manner.

It was the same to be said for both of his two lives. In the previous life, he had
suffered the hardships of being a clueless no-class and after several years joined the
Mercenary Guild and made his way up to C-Class. But, mercenaries were colleagues
not partners.

But what about now with the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia. It had been more
than a year since the 3 of them had been traveling together as a party.

After Denir’s trial, his instability of mind in correlation to his body and heart had
evened out due to them.

‘What am I supposed to even say to you?’

He had finally met Envirus earlier, Rubia’s master.

However, Envirus disappeared in front of Lee Sungmin. How would he be able to

explain that to her?

Lee Sungmin let his thoughts lurk around in his head while he headed back in the
direction of the inn where they were staying.

“Oh, here you are?”

Lee Sungmin ran into Frau. She had a very different image than when he last saw her
on the top floor of her brothel.

Lee Sungmin also just now, had learned that apparently Frau actually knew how to
wear actual clothes.

Although… It still wasn’t much of an improvement seeing the several places that had
exposed skin through her clothes, It was merely a shawl of sorts that she placed over
her already skimpy wear.

Lee Sungmin tilted his head as he saw Frau wearing various accessories he had not
seen on her prior.

“……why are you here?”, has asked her with a bemused expression.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Frau replied with a sour face. Frau, who was looking up and down at Lee Sungmin,
tilted her head.

“It’s only been a few days since I saw you. You have become even more mysterious in
that short span of time… Hm… you’ve become quite interesting, you’re not a monster,
nor human, nor a banyo… how mysterious.”

(T/N : recap but banyo means half human/half monster which makes this conjecture
incredibly interesting.)

Frau mumbled and grinned at the end of her words.

“There’s another strange entanglement present within you. I don’t know what the
hell he’s doing now.”

“Wait… what do you mean?”

“Let’s talk about it later.”

Frau turned around saying so.

“Follow me. You need to see something.”

Lee Sungmin did not expect to meet Frau here, but Lee Sungmin followed Frau
further into the streets of the City towards her abode.

“………what happened?”

In the middle of Faru’s spacious room. A burnt body was resting on the bed.

Lee Sungmin thought it was a dead body since it was so disconfigured, but it actually
was not a dead body yet. He could hear short and faint breaths coming from the
charred body.

‘No. It… can’t be.’

Lee Sungmin’s face turned pale white.

No way.

Lee Sungmin approached the man lying down with a painful and disheartened
expression.

“……Mister?”

“Don’t go near him.”

Frau spoke out, Lee Sungmin stopped walking at the words. He looked back at Frau,
and Frau shook her head with a bitter expression.

“I wasn’t able to save him since he had burned his life force as a collateral due to
Chusung’s appearance. I’m just delaying the time he has left.”

“……Chusung?”

“Didn’t you know? While you were in central square, Chusung attacked the entire
city and it’s civilians. And then…… he stepped up.”

“……what happened?”

“Chusung is dead.”

Frau replied.

“Also, that artificial spirit the two of you were traveling with was summoned back to
the Spirit World. It seems it might have had something to do with the owner.”

Lee Sungmin chewed on his lower lip. His thoughts were… disorganized to say the
very least. Rubia’s owner and master was Envirus.

Envirus must have gone to the Spirit World with the Queen of Spirits…… Is that why
Rubia was summoned along with Envirus and returned to the Spiritual World?

What about the Crazy Heavenly Demon? Did he really burn up the one sacred fuel
that all martial artists only had one of? His life force? More than that, why did
Chusung of all monsters come to the City of Endless Night the exact moment it was
being attacked by Arbeth?

“…I have to save… Is there no…?”, Lee Sungmin stuttered with a weak voice.

“There is nothing.”
Frau answered without a hint of hesitation evident in her voice.

“We’ve taken action, but we’ve only delayed the end of his life. He would need an
elixir to somehow live if he wanted to, but he would never be able to practice martial
arts again.”

“That doesn’t matter. He needs to live.”

“There is no way to revive a man like that, no matter what the name is. He’s a man
that has reached similar heights in his martial arts, as I have in sorcery. Hence why,
I’m barely able to keep him alive right now.”

Frau grumbled. Lee Sungmin opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t say
anything, so he eventually shut up again.

Lee Sungmin was also a warrior who learned martial arts, so he knew well what it
meant to burn one’s life force as a collateral

Lee Sungmin looked down at Byuk Won-Pae with empty eyes. His words echoed
within Lee Sungmin’s head.

‘Don’t get involved. It’s my business and mine alone.’

Lee Sungmin didn’t want it to be this way, he never wanted to see this man die like
this. Lee Sungmin was in the central square when the Crazy Heavenly Demon had
carried out his cold-blooded vengeance.

“……please.”

Lee Sungmin spoke out subconsciously.

The relationship he shared with Byuk Won-Pae was not that long in comparison to
how much time had passed in his two lives combined with the time spent in the trial
of time.

The time they spent traveling together was no more than a year at most. In fact, the
very first time Lee Sungmin met Byuk Won-Pae, it was not a pleasant meeting.

But afterwards? Their relationship was unique. Lee Sungmin almost thought of him
as a father figure of sorts. He helped Lee Sungmin when he needed guidance, and
also had saved Lee Sungmin’s life on a couple of occasions.

Was this really the favor that Lee Sungmin wanted to repay the Crazy Heavenly
Demon with? Was not stepping into the fight with Chusung and possibly saving the
Crazy Heavenly Demon’s life, really the favor that Lee Sungmin wanted to repay him
with?

No. Lee Sungmin chewed his lower lip. In return for his favors, he allowed the Crazy
Heavenly Demon to indulge in his madness? Yeah, it was definitely a possible line of
thinking to think that the very suicidal act of vengeance, was indeed madness.

‘No, it’s different.’

Lee Sungmin shook his head. The Crazy Heavenly Demon came forward for Lee
Sungmin when he fought against the Bloody Heavenly Demon.

When he fought with An Zun, Byuk Won-Pae helped Lee Sungmin fight even though
it was a suicidal fight in the first place.

“There’s no way to revive him. I’m sorry.”

Frau let out a deep sigh. However, Lee Sungmin still looked at Frau with desperate
eyes.

He wanted to believe that if Frau could already somehow prolong the Crazy Heavenly
Demon’s life as it was, she might just have some way to stop his companion from
dying.

Therefore, Lee Sungmin had no choice but to cling to Frau right in front of him.

Frau eyes locked with Lee Sungmin’s pleading gaze. After a brief silence, Frau
opened her mouth.

“……well, I’m not sure.”

It’s not that there’s no way at all. However, there is a catch with the so-called
‘method’ we can use.

‘Shit, I shouldn’t have told him that.’, Frau immediately thought as regret settled in.
Considering that Lee Sungmin had somehow solved the problems and confronted
the monstrous entities that were moving within the square, she felt it necessary to at
least be honest with him.

“In fact, this is not a solution. I’m not sure if it’s even a valid method, and I don’t
know if it’s possible.”

“What?”

“A contract with a Demon.”

Frau spoke with absolute uncertainty etched across her face.

“I don’t know much about the Yokai residing within you. But…… one thing is for
certain. A demon is…… dangerous. They appear to be comical and even fun-loving,
but they can turn into existences beyond horrifying with less than a second.
However, their powers can make the impossible possible. They defy all logic; that’s
considering even the powers of those beyond the realm of Transcendence and are
similar to Gods within Eria. Not only that, there are several within Eria, hidden deep
from the eyes of those in search of them.”

Frau frowned with a complicated expression.

“It was also thanks to a Demonic contract that Yana was able to become a fully nine-
tailed Gumiho in less than 1,000 years. Of course, Yana’s strength wasn’t solely
achieved through the contract, but rather enhanced the growth speed.”

“Where can I find one of these Demons?””

“The closest one is quite far from here.”

Frau glanced at the Crazy Heavenly Demon as she spoke.

“However, I can’t guarantee it. I’m holding his soul from departing this world with
my magic, but…… it’s entirely up to him if he can hold on. Also, even if you go to the
Maeryong Temple and meet him, it’s unknown if that devil will even save him.”

“……Is that the only way?”

“Yes… well at least I can’t think of anything else.”

“……then let’s get going right now.”

Lee Sungmin did not want to let the Crazy Heavenly Demon die. Even if it was an
extremely low probability of happening, he desperately wanted to cling to that small
chance that the Crazy Heavenly Demon could live.

Frau continued, glancing at Lee Sungmin’s determined face.

“Maryeong Temple, which is located in the Hujal Mountains, is the home to Demon.
It’s a four or five days’ journey from here, and you can’t meet the demon the moment
you go there.”

“What, why not?”

“To meet the demon, Yana had to fast as well as pray for 10 days and nights once a
month. Do you understand what I mean now? No matter how quickly you reach the
temple, you will have to wait at least 10 days to meet the demon, and even if you
meet the demon, there is no guarantee that he will be willing to negotiate a contract
with you. Apart from that, I don’t even know if this man can last more than 10 days.”

“But this is the only way, isn’t it?”, Lee Sungmin spoke with a firm expression.

“……that’s…… that’s right.”

Frau replied with a stutter.

That was enough to be said. Lee Sungmin chewed on his lower lip.

Rubia was nowhere to be seen as well. His colleague who traveled with him for more
than a year had suddenly disappeared.

It was surprising but, his incomparably strong walls that he had built within his
mind, were shaking, threatening to break down.

“………You’ll need a carriage.”

He couldn’t run around with the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body as it was. It was in a
fragile state, so Lee Sungmin had to ride a carriage.

It would take longer to get to the Hujal Mountains if he rode a carriage, but he
couldn’t help it.

Lee Sungmin asked Frau to save a wagon for the ride to Maeryong Temple. Frau rode
in the back with the Crazy Heavenly Demon, and Lee Sungmin climbed onto the
driver’s seat to direct the wagon himself.

“I’ll give you directions.” Frau spoke to Lee Sungmin

‘I got caught up in something annoying.’

Frau grumbled, but Lee Sungmin didn’t listen to it.