Dancing on the golden ashes

Eun-Woo and Malrang fought in perfect sync, one defending while the other attacked, their movements seamless and instinctive. The bulky man with twin axes had pinned Malrang down, but Eun-Woo's hammer swung with devastating force, sending him flying.

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At the same moment, Malrang unleashed her new attack. The ground trembled as a massive, five-meter-tall gate materialized behind her, its eerie surface adorned with skulls and sinister carvings. Energy poured forth from the gate, wrapping around her like a living aura.

Her power surged, the air itself rumbling with her intensity. Purple flames began to swirl and concentrate in her mouth, their glow casting an ominous light over the battlefield.

"I'll help you!" Eun-Woo shouted, discarding his shield and charging forward. His arms glowed with a brilliant golden light as he closed the distance to the mage, who hurled a shadowy orb straight at him.

Eun-Woo didn't flinch. Ignoring the attack entirely, he seized the mage by the head with his radiant hands and hurled him with incredible force toward the bulky, towering man.

The tall man showed no mercy. Without hesitation, he swung his axe, slicing the mage cleanly in half. Flames erupted violently around him, and a massive inferno roared to life where he stood. His axes gleamed, wreathed in terrifying magma that dripped and sizzled, radiating heat and destruction.

"Let's see who's tougher, you lowlives!" the man barked, slamming his axes into the ground. A massive surge of magma erupted, barreling toward Malrang and Eun-Woo with devastating force.

Malrang didn't hesitate. The energy she had been building erupted in a pure beam of purple fire, tearing through the air like a blazing arrow of destruction.

The beam collided with the incoming magma, overpowering it effortlessly. The attack surged forward, engulfing both men in its path. When the flames finally dissipated, nothing remained of them but scattered ashes on the scorched ground.

But the magma attack was still rushing toward them, relentless and consuming.

I trusted Eun-Woo. Without hesitation, he moved, positioning himself in front of Malrang. A massive ten-meter-tall wall of shimmering moonlight materialized before him as he planted his shield firmly into the ground.

His stance was unyielding, his back radiating unwavering resolve. He would not give up.

The colossal wave of magma collided with the wall, its searing heat radiating across the battlefield. For a moment, it seemed unstoppable, but the moonlight barrier held strong. The magma scattered, its force dissipating against Eun-Woo's defense.

As for the thunder tempests, they relentlessly hunted down those who lacked the strength to fight back. The ground was littered with mauled corpses, stretching endlessly in every direction. I had no idea how many people had lived here, but it must have been a significant number.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Still, none of them seemed like saints. Serving such a cruel, self-proclaimed emperor was a death wish in itself. If you were truly virtuous, you wouldn't have stayed in a place like this.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts.

Now it was time to end this once and for all.

My scythe floated behind me, dancing through the air under my control as I wielded my kinetic powers. With a single motion, it slashed through the massive wooden palace doors, shattering them instantly. The scythe returned to my hand as I stepped inside.

What greeted me was a sight of pure malice—a man sitting casually on a wooden throne, his lips curled into a wild smile. He was cloaked in an eerie black tunic, the fabric almost pulsing with darkness. In his hand, a black staff radiated an aura far stronger than before, its surface teeming with trapped souls that writhed and flickered like dying embers.

"Took you long enough to find me," he said, his voice cold and taunting. He rose slowly from the throne, his smile widening. "How about we finish this, once and for all, Gaon?"

"Accept your fate..." I extended my arm, aiming directly at him.

"Second step... Life."

A tiny ball of black fire danced on my palm, its energy crackling with ominous power. I sent it hurtling toward him, fully expecting the attack to end him.

But instead of destruction, his body shattered, dissolving into a new, grotesque form. His figure became completely black, no longer physical. His legs disappeared, leaving him floating ominously in the air. Black, razor-sharp claws replaced his hands, and his head was shrouded in a black hood. Where his face had been, two violet spots glowed faintly—his eyes, I assumed, piercing and otherworldly.

The staff he once wielded shattered into countless fragments, each piece radiating a black light as they began to orbit him. The fragments spun around his body with incredible speed, creating a haunting sound like rushing wind.

It all happened in an instant. My attack was reflected back at me, leaving me no choice but to take the hit—if I dodged, it would have killed my friend behind me.

"Remember that disgusting reflect you used to beat me in the tournament?" he roared in a demonic voice, the sound echoing as if it came from the very depths of his soul. "Here, take it back!"

"Foolish," we said coldly, our voice laced with disdain. "Using my own attack against me only makes you look like an idiot."

The reflected fire slammed into my palm, but instead of harming me, it was absorbed effortlessly into my hand, the flames vanishing as if consumed.

"Let's finish this for real now, Kim Ha-Joon."

In an instant, our bodies blurred, colliding with tremendous force. The impact sent a shockwave tearing through the palace, obliterating it from the inside. Walls crumbled, debris flew, and the entire structure was consumed by the sheer power of our clash.

His claw was like death itself, slicing through the sky and leaving three jagged black streaks in its wake as they hurtled toward me. I dodged gracefully, my body spinning and twisting in ways I hadn't even thought possible, my agility sharpening with every movement. It was as if I had become as lithe and nimble as a cat.

Without hesitation, three copies of me split from my form, vanishing into the shadows. They moved like ghosts, their presence erased entirely, each with a single objective: to strike when the perfect moment arrived.

Triple Darkness Air Shatter...

As I dashed toward him head-on, I cast three Air Shatters infused with a dense darkness aura. The attacks streaked through the air at lightning speed, cutting toward him with precision. I knew I couldn't win a direct confrontation—not against him—so I had to break his defenses first, and this ability was perfect for the job.

Kim Ha-Joon swung his claws to deflect the incoming attacks, but the instant they connected, his spectral arms shattered. A thick, dark ooze spilled from the destroyed limbs, dripping to the ground like tar.

A blood-curdling screech ripped through the air, sharp and jagged, so piercing it felt like my ears might bleed.

Seizing the opening, my scythe flared with dark flames as it danced in my grip, ready to strike. I lunged forward, aiming to sever his head in one decisive blow.

But in the blink of an eye, his body vanished.

He reappeared outside the stone wall, his form flickering faintly in the distance as if mocking my efforts.

"Are you trying to flee? Dream on!" we snarled, giving chase without hesitation.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kim Seong-Hoon moving to follow me, but I sent a quick slash attack at the ground in front of him. The message was clear: Stay out of this. His worried expression and the reluctance in his eyes said everything, but I couldn't let him interfere.

"Catch him for us!"

My clones were already ahead, closing the gap with frightening speed. Their forms radiated an ominous glow, soul shackles swirling around their bodies as they prepared to ensnare our prey.

Unfortunately, I was still slower than I wanted to be. My boost phase had reset the moment the first illusory demon was destroyed. I gritted my teeth—eighty seconds—just eighty more seconds before I could unleash my full strength again.

"Gaon, you will regret this!"

The voice screeched like metal scraping against metal, its sound sharp enough to send chills down my spine—even to me, someone who was half-demonic, or whatever I had become at this moment.

Kim Ha-Joon's body expanded rapidly, growing into a monstrous, towering figure at least ten meters tall. The illusory black demon loomed over me, its claws restored and gleaming with malice. In an instant, the world around us was swallowed in darkness, as if he had cast a prison of shadows over the battlefield.

It was similar to my Darkness Prison—but there was one thing this fool didn't realize: I could see clearly in the dark. He had no place to hide.

My eyes glowed with a luminous aura, the light cutting through the shadows like a beacon. The ability to glimpse half a second into the future sharpened my senses. A small needle of darkness streaked toward me, deadly and precise, but I saw it coming. I dodged it with ease, my heightened sensitivity to the darkness aura giving me a distinct advantage.

"We need to end this quickly. I can hold this power for at most sixty more seconds."

Those words snapped me back to reality, a wave of panic crept in. I'd thought this power would last indefinitely, but I had been naive.

No problem. I can make this work. Let's go all out and finish this.

He was enormous now, towering over me, but his size came at a cost. His movements were fast, but far more sluggish than before. That gave me the edge. My speed was unmatched.

My dark fire wings flared as I launched myself into the air, weaving through the oppressive shadows with precision. Every beat of my wings left trails of black flames, the heat intensifying as I prepared my next move.

"Get annihilated!" we roared, channeling every ounce of power into the attack.