Kuuuuuuuuung---!!!

A thunderous explosion rumbled from afar, and I turned my head toward the source, my eyes narrowing.

Looks like they’ve caught something.

It seemed the other side had finally started.

Before facing the chieftain, I had asked Cheonma for one favor:

If that unknown bastard from before showed up again, to deal with them personally.

Upon hearing my request, she had nodded and replied—

"Can I kill them?"

Her flat, emotionless question carried a chilling weight. But I, hearing those words, simply nodded [N O V E L I G H T] without a second thought.

After all, I was curious.

Curious to see if whoever she set her mind on killing would be strong enough to survive her wrath.

And now—

Kuaaaaaaaa----!!!

A pillar of black energy erupted into the sky, and I clicked my tongue.

The aura alone is undeniably overwhelming.

That black haze—it was all pure magi.

A deep, inky darkness without the faintest hint of any other color.

It was so utterly void of light that it felt alien—unnatural and foreboding, yet somehow... sacred in its purity.

No matter how different Cheonma seemed in this life—

That aura remains the same.

That ominous, oppressive energy of hers hadn’t changed one bit.

Kwaaaaaah—!!!

The outpouring of energy reached even me, despite the considerable distance.

I felt my skin prickle as goosebumps rose involuntarily, and I tore my gaze away.

That side was hers to handle.

I had my own fight to focus on.

“Grrrrr—!!!”

Kugugugung--!!

The ground trembled under the beast’s guttural roar.

Kyaaaaaaa--!!!

Kwaaadeudeuk--!!! Kugugung--!!!

The air thundered with the sound of countless bodies crashing together in a frenzied melee.

The demonic beasts I had summoned using my authority clashed violently with the enemy's monstrous horde.

There was no hesitation—only raw instinct.

They tore into each other, uncaring whether their own flesh was ripped apart in the process.

Crunch—!!

Teeth sank into throats. Flesh ripped.

Bone shattered as claws pierced through bodies, but neither side relented.

Sssssssss—!!!

The more they fought, the more my energy drained at an alarming rate—like water flooding out from a burst dam within my heart.

Summoning these creatures is terribly inefficient.

I had known this from last time.

While it looked impressive, summoning in such massive numbers wasn’t exactly the most practical strategy.

Raising my hand—

Hwa-reuk.

A flicker of heat shimmered at my fingertips—

Kuaaaaaaaa---!!!

Kyaaaaaaa--!!!

A tide of black flames surged forth, engulfing everything in front of me.

The beasts let out brief, shrill screams before being incinerated, their bodies reduced to ashes in an instant.

If wiping them out is this easy, why even bother with summons?

A simple gesture had erased the entire horde.

And truthfully, the beasts themselves weren’t all that formidable.

Well... they’re not exactly weak either.

Judging from their power, the weakest were comparable to first-rate warriors, and the strongest could reach the level of peak grandmasters.

In terms of demonic beast ranks, they ranged from blue-grade to as high as red-grade.

The me from the past could never have fought them head-on.

But now? Now was different.

Wuuuuuuuung—!!!

Giiiiiiiing—!!

Behind me, a flaming ring ignited and began to spin, releasing searing embers that hung in the air.

The embers wavered, then stilled—coalescing into orbs that hovered, suspended in the void.

‘Blazing Star Constellation.

A constellation of flame orbs lit the night sky—though their color was blackened, far from anything that could be called stars.

With a flick of my hand—

The string of orbs surged forward—

Kogogogogogogo---!!!

A bombardment.

In an instant, my conjured flame-beasts were obliterated, wiped out by the very fire I had unleashed.

This was the reason why, in my previous life, I had earned the title of a battlefield reaper.

A power made for mass slaughter.

No need for precision—just raw, devastating coverage.

And as a weapon of war, there was no match for it.

But—

Now, the quality of my flames has ascended even further.

Through compression and pressure, and the friction born within—

I had learned to harness every aspect of the flame.

This wasn’t the power I once wielded.

I felt it even now—

The sensation of the flames responding to me freely.

This is good.

It wasn’t control anymore—

The flames moved with my will.

It wasn’t a matter of manipulating them but simply moving—

A difference as vast as heaven and earth.

Even as I continued the bombardment, I adjusted their trajectories—fine, fluid adjustments that would have been impossible before.

The orbs swept through every corner of the battlefield in a devastating cascade, obliterating everything in their path.

This was why summoning creatures felt pointless.

But...

I had no doubt—

The one on the other side must be thinking the same.

“KuoOOOOOO—!!”

Kwaaaang---!!!

A thunderous roar erupted as an explosion broke through my bombardment.

Something burst forward, cleaving through my flames.

The blaze wasn’t the same hue as my black fire—

This was a bright, crimson inferno.

“KuoOOOOAAAA---!!!”

Thud! Thud thud thud---!!!

There he was.

The chieftain, his massive frame wreathed in roaring, crimson flames, swinging his colossal axe in wild arcs that shattered everything in his path.

His skin and fur had turned a deep, smoldering red, his body emanating searing heat.

When he took that form, his presence always seemed to vanish—

And right now was no different.

But his presence wasn’t the only thing that had changed—

His speed and power are on a completely different level.

This wasn’t just a transformation in appearance—he had transcended his previous limits.

With a single sweep of his axe, entire waves of my summoned beasts were obliterated.

Even though my beasts were red-grade, the highest tier I could summon—

They couldn’t even hold him back.

“You wretch---!!”

The chieftain bellowed, his voice carrying both fury and challenge as his eyes locked onto me, the source of the flame barrage.

Boom!!

He stomped down, and the earth shattered, sending debris flying.

His body lowered into a coiled stance, joints bending—

A predator about to pounce.

But before he could launch himself forward—

A fresh wave of my beasts surged toward him.

Kruaaaaah--!!!

Krrrrr--!!

Massive, towering beasts swarmed the chieftain, enveloping his body in a chaotic onslaught—

But—

“Begone—!”

Kugugugung—!!!

With a single burst of his aura, the creatures were blasted away, their bodies flung through the air like ragdolls.

And then—

Thud—! Kwaaaaah—!!!

The chieftain charged at me with unrelenting ferocity. In a blink, he was upon me, his axe swinging down with all his strength—

The blade, wreathed in flames, cleaved through the air, streaking toward me—

In that instant—

"Block."

A quiet whisper left my lips.

“—!!”

Something materialized before the chieftain’s eyes, and with a grunt of instinctive alarm, he twisted his axe mid-swing, redirecting the blow.

The trajectory veered left—

And—

Screech. THUD—!!

The axe slammed into the ground with devastating force—

Kwagagagang—!!!

A deafening shockwave erupted from the impact, and the earth to his left splintered apart, massive cracks spiderwebbing across the shattered ground.

“What—?!”

The sudden interference wrenched a startled growl from the chieftain.

And his confusion was justified.

Because I wasn’t the one who stopped his strike.

“Kirurururururu.”

A sound. A distorted, unnatural cry—distinct from the beasts that had been howling moments before.

"Kyarrururururu."

The figure that had intercepted him was grotesque—

A withered, humanoid form, its gaunt body covered in desiccated flesh, with folded, jagged wings protruding from its back.

It stood taller than a human but was far too small to be a typical beast.

Yet—

"Kyarrururururaaaa—!!!!"

When it shrieked, the aura it unleashed was incomparably stronger than that of any red-grade beast.

So potent, in fact, that even the chieftain involuntarily flinched.

Yes—

This was my authority.

The power known as the Summon—a technique that only allowed me to call forth creatures I had personally hunted and absorbed.

And this one—

This was a white-grade beast I had hunted in Hanan.

"Handle him."

"Kyaaaah—!!!"

With my command, the beast lunged at the chieftain, who grimaced and immediately braced himself.

Its razor-sharp claws slashed through the air—

The chieftain met the assault with a sweeping strike of his axe.

Screeeeech—!!!

Claw and blade collided, the force of their clash detonating waves of power.

From behind my mask, my expression tightened.

This... is harder than I expected.

Truthfully—summoning a white-grade beast had been beyond my reach until now.

The energy consumption alone was staggering, and I had never been able to fully manifest one before.

But now—

After reaching Transcendence—

It’s finally possible.

I had summoned the beast immediately to test its might.

And—

This thing is insane.

Its power exceeded my expectations.

Was it truly on par with a natural white-grade beast? Maybe not.

But—

Close enough.

At the very least—

This thing could annihilate a Hwagyeong-level martial master with ease.

Perhaps not quite strong enough to stand against the Top Ten Grandmasters—

But—

Any lesser master would be crushed.

It was a monster to be feared, without a doubt.

And even now—look at it—holding its own against the chieftain.

Though—

Crunch—!!

Victory was not within its reach.

"Kiaaaaaah—!!!"

The beast let out a horrific screech as its arm was severed by the chieftain’s axe.

Yet there was no pain—because pain meant nothing to these creatures.

And—

Before the chieftain could press his advantage—

Shlrrrrrp—

The arm regenerated instantly, flesh knitting together in a blink.

The beast surged forward, claws poised to strike once more.

This regeneration—

The hallmark of white-grade beasts, carried over into its summoned form.

But—

...Damn it. My energy.

Every shred of power it used to regenerate—

It was draining directly from me.

The summoning alone had already devoured a massive portion of my energy—

And now, with every attack, every injury, it was feeding on my life force to sustain itself.

I can’t keep this up for long.

The strain was building—this battle couldn’t drag on.

I needed to end it quickly.

But—

Not yet.

There was still one thing I had to confirm.

"You bastard—!!"

THUD—!

The chieftain’s fist drove clean through the beast’s abdomen.

"Grrrhh... Are you going to keep hiding behind your puppets like a rat?!"

His voice bellowed at me, dripping with frustration.

But I—

I chuckled softly, a smirk curling behind my mask.

"Wasn’t it you who brought in those other beasts first?"

"Grrrrr—!!"

A snarl of rage tore from his throat at my taunt.

With a growl, he flung the beast aside.

This time, the creature did not rise. It lay still—unmoving. No more regeneration.

"Enough of your games. You’re not running from me this time."

The chieftain bent low, muscles bunching, preparing to pounce—

But—

I raised my hand.

And pointed—

To the sky.

“......?”

His gaze followed my gesture—

And his eyes—

Widened.

"We’re not finished yet."

"I’ve prepared one last gift for you."

And there—

In the sky—

A second rift had torn open.

Vast—far larger than the one before.

Because, as I had mentioned—

The power of Summon—

Allowed me to call forth only those I had personally hunted and absorbed.

And—

I hadn’t absorbed just one white-grade beast.

“Devour, Mang.”

Kugugugung—!!!

With a sound like the heavens splitting—

Something massive descended from the rift.

A behemoth, its body as large as a hill—

Its maw lined with colossal, jagged fangs—

Plummeting straight toward the chieftain—

To devour him whole.

Kuuuuuuuuuuung----!!!!