I could feel it—I was now extrely close to reaching level 32. One more of them would push over the edge.
But sothing felt off.
The king with the glasses, Kim Joon-Ho, was nowhere to be seen. After the explosion, his aura had completely vanished.
"Is he fleeing?" I muttered to myself, the thought laced with disdain. "How pathetic."
I stepped out of the shattered remnants of the house I was in, scanning the battlefield. The air was thick with debris and lingering energy, but my focus quickly locked onto the imposing figure of Park Seo-Jin hovering above .
His massive black longsword rested lazily on his shoulders, but the tension in his stance betrayed his composure. His entire body trembled—not with fear, but with rage.
His piercing golden eyes locked onto mine, burning with unspoken fury. Park Seo-Jin didn't seem like soone who'd ever feel fear. No, this was the anger of a predator pushed to its limit.
"You co to our ho, wreak havoc, kill my comrades, and you dare stare at like that?" Park Seo-Jin growled, his voice trembling with barely contained rage.
"Did I stare at you?" I sneered, tilting my head mockingly. "I'm sorry, I thought I was staring at a corpse."
His eyes burned with fury, his grip on the massive black longsword tightening. "You're a fucking psychopath. If the king were here—"
"If he was here, it'd be the sa." I cut him off, my voice sharp, filled with venom. "Him and ? We're blood enemies. You think I cheated in the tournant? That I deserved what happened to ?"
I stepped forward, my aura flaring with raw intensity.
"All of you most likely had a good laugh while I was frad. I lost everything because I was a threat—to your business, to your fragile egos. Because I was better than the n. So what if I was?"
The words spilled out like a flood, the bitterness in my heart igniting into a blaze.
"Is it so hard to accept one person—a woman—reaching the top? It's not like all of us got there, just . But none of you observers ever believed ."
I took another step closer, my scythe glinting ominously.
"You're just as guilty. Guilty for your silence. Guilty for your laughs. Guilty for my fall. So tell , why shouldn't I kill you?"
He lowered his sword slightly, a flicker of sothing—sympathy, perhaps—crossing his golden eyes.
"I can tell now," he said, his voice calr but still laced with tension, "what you're saying is coming from your heart. But revenge is a fool's ga. Do you really think it will make you feel better? Is it worth killing those who had nothing to do with it?"
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
"You misunderstand ," I replied coldly, stepping closer. "In this world, there's no one left who can be called innocent. All of you have killed before, so who are you to scold ?"
My scythe shimred in the golden fire that surrounded , casting an eerie glow over the rubble-strewn battlefield.
"Don't act like you're any different. You've spilled blood to protect what's yours, just as I have. So spare the self-righteous lecture."
His gaze faltered for a mont, the weight of my words sinking in.
"Hypocrisy doesn't suit you, Park Seo-Jin," I added, my voice dripping with venom. "If you're going to stand there and defend your actions, don't pretend mine are any worse."
"Even so..." His aura surged, radiating an intensity that seed to weigh down the air around us. His voice carried a sharp edge, his golden eyes locked on mine. "That only proves you've completely lost your humanity. Just look at those horns on your head—they're not human. You've beco a devil."
I threw my head back and laughed, the sound echoing maniacally across the ruined battlefield.
"Hahaha, you're right—I'm evil!" I sneered, gripping my scythe tightly. "But you're mistaken. I'm not a devil... I'm a demon!"
With a sudden burst of energy, I spun on my heel, my scythe carving through the air in a perfect arc. A black crescent moon of fla erupted from its blade, streaking toward him with blistering speed.
The slash collided with his massive sword as he raised it to block, the force of the impact shaking the ground beneath us. A ripple of corrosive black flas clung to him, searing his skin, but he didn't even flinch.
His golden eyes glinted with resolve, and I couldn't help but grin.
"Let's just fight!" I shouted, excitent lacing my voice. "Why waste ti with useless words when we can let our blades do the talking? The winner gets to write history, anyway!"
My heart raced, adrenaline surging through my veins as I readied myself for his next move. The thrill of the battle, the clash of power—I craved it. I wanted to feel the full weight of his attacks, to test my limits against him, to see where I truly stood in this world.
His massive blade slashed at with incredible speed, the angle of his attack strange and difficult to predict. I twisted my body awkwardly to dodge, narrowly avoiding the strike, but my scythe followed the montum of my movent, arcing toward him in a deadly counter.
The blade of my scythe shimred with its black and gold hue, the faint tinge of black fire wrapping it like a living glove. I hadn't fully transford it into the Fire Scythe—not yet. I craved the tactile thrill of clashing weapons, the raw satisfaction of tal colliding with tal.
A strange sensation tickled at my horns, and I felt a surge of power course through my muscles. Seizing the mont, I unleashed a powerful strike, sending Park Seo-Jin flying into the air. Though he blocked with his massive sword, the sheer force of my attack overpowered him for a mont.
His weapon, while fast, was too long—an impressive and intimidating tool, but cumberso when it ca to quick defenses. That was my edge. My speed was just slightly superior, giving the advantage.
Without hesitation, I rushed into the sky after him. Our movents blurred, vanishing from sight to anyone below. For the normal eye, we were nothing but flashes of light and sound, dancing in the heavens with impossible agility.
We were both in the Supre Level of agility, our attacks moving faster than most could comprehend. His strength was slightly greater than mine, each swing of his sword pushing to the edge of what my horns could enhance.
Yet, sothing strange happened. The more pressure I felt, the more power the horns pumped into my body. With every clash, I felt myself growing faster, stronger, more capable of matching him blow for blow.
Sparks lit up the air with every collision of our weapons, a symphony of tal and fire.
We were a storm, weaving through the sky.
Each attack was faster, sharper. I dodged when I could, twisting and contorting to evade his strikes. When I couldn't avoid them, I t them head-on, using the unique curve of my scythe to redirect his montum, turning his power against him.
I closed in on him, unleashing devastating Soul Impact punches that sent him reeling back. The more we fought, the more the adrenaline surged through my veins. This wasn't just a fight—it was a test, a clash of wills, and I wasn't going to lose.
I had never felt so alive, so exhilarated. The thrill of close-range combat was intoxicating, and for the first ti, I realized just how much I loved it. My body bore several cuts, each healing rapidly, and Park Seo-Jin was in no better shape—his body slashed and bruised all over. Yet, his face mirrored mine, a wild grin of unrestrained excitent stretching across his features.
Without exchanging words, we silently agreed to settle this with pure close-range combat. No tricks, no long-range techniques—just speed, power, and precision.
"Show all you've got!" I scread, my scythe burning with black flas as it slamd into his massive sword. A faint cracking sound reached my ears.
"Hmph! I'll make sure you bow before !" he growled, his eyes gleaming with feral intensity. Twisting his body at an impossible angle, he delivered a devastating slash. I barely managed to block, holding my scythe horizontally with both hands to defend my left side.
The impact was like a shockwave. My scythe cracked slightly, and for the first ti, I felt the blow resonate directly with my soul. The sensation was disorienting.
He had managed to hurt .
We were equals.
Your next chapter awaits on empire
The force of his attack sent flying into the nearest rubble, the collision bruising my body as I slamd hard into the debris. Before I could even catch my breath, his massive sword descended like a teor.
I raised my scythe vertically just in ti to block the attack. The collision was deafening, the pressure of the strike causing more cracks to spread across my weapon. The impact traveled through my entire body, each muscle screaming in protest, begging to stop.
But I didn't care. I loved this too much.
Our eyes locked, and in that mont, we both knew the end was near. His movents slowed ever so slightly, exhaustion creeping into his stance. My breaths ca heavier, my own stamina nearing its limit.
Suddenly, a surge of power washed over .
Dammit. Why now?
The tir on my passive had run out, and the boost in power I couldn't control began flooding through .
With this, I had no equals left.
"I'm sorry for this... It seems I'm just too strong," I said softly, sadness flickering in my expression.
I didn't want the fight to end like this.
With a single powerful strike, I sent him hurtling into the sky. His face paled, eyes wide as the sheer force of my attack overwheld him.
"What the hell is this? How are you able to power up so much?!" he shouted, his voice trembling.
"Before you die, I'll tell you. This is my passive. I have no control over it... So I'm sorry our amazing battle has to end this way."
I blurred, disappearing from his sight, and in the next mont, I reappeared behind him. My scythe moved with incredible speed, piercing through his chest and hanging him from its blade. His heart was completely skewered.
Blood spilled from his lips as he coughed violently, his head weakly turning toward .
"Th-Thank... you..." he choked out, blood dripping with every word. "Thank you for this battle... It... was... fun..."
The light in his eyes dimd, and with his final breath, I activated Soul Reaver, harvesting his soul.
As the surge of power filled , I whispered to myself, "Only him... Only Nam Ji-Ho could ever beat . He's the only one deserving of the title of powerful in this world."
My grip on my scythe tightened. "But soon, I'll find him too... And I'll kill him. I'll repay him for what he did to ."
The mory of that powerful lightning, the attack that almost ended my life, burned in my mind.
I wanted to destroy that power. I craved it for myself.
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