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It’s dark.

Nothing can be seen in the abyss.

As I stared blankly into it—

“-…Prince…!”

“-Prince…!!!”

I hear voices.

With that sound, my eyes flew open.

“…Huh…”

The dark haze brightens, and I snap back to reality.

I quickly turn my head and survey the surroundings.

What a tremendous light! Are there the dead here?

That was my reason for checking.

My qi perception rapidly scans around and returns.

‘…Thank goodness.’

Having confirmed the situation, relief washed over me.

There were no signs of any reduction.

My comrades seemed unharmed, and the martial artists behind looked fine too.

The ground was shattered, and debris lay strewn all over, but—

Given how quickly we moved, the situation was rather good.

At least, there were no casualties.

‘…It’s fortunate it was my power.’

The force that the demon beast spewed was definitely a power.

I instinctively caught it and used Tam to block it before it was too late.

If I hadn’t, it would have been a dangerous moment.

‘Ah. It’s not the time to be relieved.’

I shook my head and gathered my thoughts. This wasn’t a time for relaxation.

Looking at Tang Soyeol beside me, I began to ask—

“…It seems I can block that power, so I’ll directly…”

“Ah…No, Prince…!! Don’t move…!”

“Eh?”

Tang Soyeol’s expression was odd.

She looked like she was about to cry any moment.

What’s up with that? Other people looked similar too.

Nangong Bi-ah was staring at me with wide eyes, and Wi Seol-Ah, seemingly shocked, had dropped her sword and was covering her mouth.

What on earth is happening?

“What? Why are you….”

Twist.

“…Cough?”

Suddenly, I felt dizzy and fell to my knees, blood gushing from my mouth.

What in the world happened?

I covered my bleeding mouth and checked my condition.

Only then did I realize.

‘Oh no.’

It seems I couldn’t block all of it after all.

Looking now, my whole body was drenched in blood.

Most of my bones were broken, and there seemed to be issues with my insides as well.

“Ha…Huff…”

Was it because I used Tam so suddenly? Even if I blocked most of it, the rest seemed to have hit me directly.

Amidst the pain that was becoming more pronounced, I glanced at the demon beast.

[Keek…Keeeee…]

It didn’t seem to be in good shape either.

I wondered why it hadn’t used this power earlier, and it seemed there was indeed a recoil.

The demon beast looked utterly exhausted, lying on the ground.

Seeing this, I managed to get to my feet.

“Prince…!”

As I stood up in this state, Tang Soyeol was taken aback.

“Please sit down…!! We need to treat you first…!”

“There’s no time.”

Spitting out the blood, I gather my qi back to my body.

It hurts.

My Blood Qi seems to be messed up; it doesn’t flow well.

But I still moved.

Since I could move, it was right to do so.

My limbs were intact.

I could walk and breathe.

Then I could still do something.

“If I delay, it’s all over.”

With my body creaking, I extended my hand.

This was an opportunity. The creature was down, so I had to eliminate it now.

To do that, I began to conjure flames.

[Ki…Keeek…]

Suddenly, the demon beast let out a sound.

For some reason, it sounded almost like it was laughing.

At that moment.

Doom-!

“…Damn.”

A wind blew.

My gaze lifted. The void came into view, revealing a scene.

Inside the fully formed Demonic Gate, the incantation was complete.

“Damn it.”

I swore. Is it too late?

[GRRRR.]

[SHWEEEEEEEEE.]

Before I could question it, a crying sound echoed from within the Demonic Gate.

‘It’s too late.’

While I was distracted by the power, it seemed the creature had completed the incantation.

At this rate, dozens of formidable demon beasts would appear.

I turned my head.

“Run away.”

“…Run…? What do you mean ‘run’?”

I could feel their gazes from the martial artists.

Their expressions were saying, how could we run and leave that?

Truly foolish humans.

“Are you going to fight against that? We can’t win. We should head toward where the people are gathered.”

I shouted, sounding angry.

“That won’t stop them from chasing us. It would be better to buy time for the people to escape…”

The martial artists were adamant about not leaving, and I firmly declared.

“I’ll handle that.”

“…!”

The martial artist paused after hearing my words.

“Soyomra… What do you mean….”

“I’ll buy that time. You need to help everyone escape.”

I was going to face the creatures alone.

Upon saying this, everyone looked at me in shock.

“Soyomra-!! Everyone knows you’re strong. But to think you’d handle this alone… Is that even possible?”

“I have a method. So don’t worry.”

I understood.

Everyone could see this was a madness.

But—

‘I do have a real method.’

It wasn’t a joke; I genuinely had a way.

A method I could use when everything went wrong.

To employ that, I needed the others to be out of sight.

Rather, having these humans leave would be a help.

So, I was telling them to go away.

“When I came this far and saw that demon beast, I was already prepared to die.”

A nameless martial artist spoke to me with reddened eyes.

“If you wish to sacrifice yourself, then let me do so instead. A person like you should not meet their end here.”

“…No, it’s not a sacrifice; I genuinely have a method…”

“You alone are insufficient. I, Woo Cheon-Soek of the Woo Clan, will join you in this fight.”

“Damn it. It seems these people aren’t listening.”

“Soyomra. I thank you for saving my life earlier. You are indeed the hope of the young martial artists and will lead the Righteous Faction in the future. Don’t shoulder everything.”

“…Damn it, listen to me already.”

What sort of weird thoughts do they have?

There’s really no time; they should just disappear.

“Everyone get out! I really have a method…!”

As I shouted, I clutched my ribs.

Ah, this time it really did hurt a lot.

“…Prince.”

Just when I was about to die from the pain, I turned my gaze.

I saw Tang Soyeol, tearful.

“You’re a liar.”

“What’s with the sudden… why…?”

“You said nothing would happen… but that was a lie.”

“…”

Hmm, I had no words.

I hadn’t expected it would come to this kind of situation.

“I’m glad. Had I not disobeyed you and come here, I might never have seen you again.”

“…That wouldn’t have happened, right?”

“Rest easy. Now we will protect you.”

It seemed they had been protecting me all along.

Seeing them beat the demon beast earlier, it was clear I hadn’t protected anyone.

“No… So… that.”

My head throbbed.

Words didn’t get across. I couldn’t understand why no one would believe me.

‘What should I do?’

How could I break out of this mess?

As I racked my brain, I heard a crackle.

A lightning sound came from somewhere.

It was from Nangong Bi-ah.

“…Huh…?”

As the martial artists huddled together, two people—

Wi Seol-Ah and Nangong Bi-ah had already stepped forward.

What the hell. Are they going that way?

“Hey! We must stop them…!”

[GRRRUUU!!]

Of all times, the demon beasts began to emerge from the Demonic Gate.

Beasts of immense size compared to the blue demon beast.

Creatures of various shapes and types emerged through the dimensional rift.

Seeing that, I tried to drag them back even more.

Crackle-!

Whoooosh—!!

“Ugh…!”

In an instant, a gale swept through, shaking my entire body.

What overwhelming pressure.

Narrowing my eyes against the storm-like force, I took a look.

The source was surprisingly Nangong Bi-ah.

However, her condition was peculiar.

From her hair, the Thunder Qi was emanating, along with a dense killing intent.

No matter the emotion on her face, judging from the energy, she seemed quite furious.

And,

‘Did she wield Thunder Fang?’

In her right hand, she clutched Thunder Fang, releasing its power.

Her entire form seemed enveloped in Thunder Qi…

‘…The Thunder Beast Descendant?’

She was resembling the Ayakashi Queen when she had harnessed Thunder Fang’s power.

Her atmosphere and presence suggested she could slice through anything right now.

Contrary to her earlier claim that she wouldn’t wield the Thunder Fang, Nangong Bi-ah was holding it for some reason.

As for Wi Seol-Ah, how was she?

Even more powerful than that time she fought against the Divine Dragon.

The Golden Qi, which didn’t lose to the Thunder Qi at all, made her figure shine all the more.

Within that pressure, I felt a significant anomaly.

“…That’s…”

There was a different feeling amidst the Golden Qi.

I could see it.

The White Qi mixed within Wi Seol-Ah’s energy.

As soon as I noticed it, I tensed.

‘…That cannot happen.’

Regardless of whether she had used it or not.

That was a power Wi Seol-Ah should never wield.

‘Damn it.’

This had to be stopped.

Looking at their states, they seemed intent on clashing with the emerging demon beasts.

This couldn’t happen.

If she used that, it wouldn’t end well for her.

Even knowing that, those two stepped toward the demon beasts, while the martial artists around also seemed ready to fight.

‘Damn it.’

It’s all gone to hell.

In that case, staring wouldn’t solve anything; there was no other option.

Thus, I concentrated and prepared to use power without hesitation.

The ring within my heart.

Not the ring of the Flame Wheel technique, but the sorcery formed ring.

The four rings that had formed would carry far more power and would become my ultimate measure based on that.

Clap.

I moved my hand to shape it.

“Prince? Why suddenly that—”

Then, in the blink of an eye, the sounds halted.

‘…Concentrate.’

Kiiing-!!

The rings began to rotate.

As I focused on breathing steadily, ready to try my method.

“Young Master.”

Piercing through the silence I had created, a voice broke in.

It was a voice that carried the weight of time.

“I’m sorry.”

Stopping my power flow, I instantly opened my eyes.

I recognized who it was right away.

“It’s the Elder. The person I’ve been waiting for.”

An elder in the Gu Clan’s Martial Robe appeared before me.

Tang Soyeol also looked startled.

It seemed she hadn’t noticed when he appeared.

There was no need for pleasantries or exchanges.

“I will tidy this up soon.”

The elder lightly waved his hand.

Kururururun—!!!!

“Please rest for a moment.”

With a thunderous roar, a massive calamity rained down upon the demon beasts.

 

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