Kwaaaahhhh—!!!

A massive column of blue light poured out.

Its size was so enormous that it easily surpassed the pit I had created.

Kugugugu—!!!

The earth vibrated violently. The tremor was so intense that I could hardly stand without using energy.

“Kugh.”

I barely managed to land my body, which had been thrown back by the shock.

Even so, the air pressure was pushing me back.

Crack.

My feet slid across the ground, leaving marks behind.

I grimaced and put more force into my body.

Crack—!!!

Only when the ground cracked under the pressure could I stop my momentum and reach out.

Whoooosh—!!

Energy poured from my fingertips, wrapping around Yarang, who was next to me.

I held her firmly in place.

Yarang, her body held in place, looked at me.

Even though she wore a mask, I could clearly see her gaze.

Although her expression was hidden, I could still see her eyes.

I couldn’t quite tell her emotions, but at least I didn’t sense any hostility.

Thank goodness.

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

It wasn’t the time to think about it.

‘What do I do now?’

I looked at the massive pillar of energy in front of me and let out a sigh.

‘What is that?’

I could tell right away that it was no ordinary energy, and I could feel the intensity of it as well.

The real problem was—

‘It’s even worse than I thought.’

The massive column of energy was composed entirely of life force—the very essence of life. The innate energy that living beings are born with.

It had been condensed and refined into this form.

It was extraordinary. I had never felt such wild vitality before. What kind of energy was that?

In reality, there was no need to think much about it. I already knew where this life force had come from.

‘Crystal.’

The life force emanated from the crystal. It had gathered in the air and then poured directly into him.

‘That crystal...’

I had felt the life force from the moment I saw the crystal.

It was clear now. The crystal wasn’t just a container; it had contained living beings within it.

‘The beings inside were still alive.’

Although it was made of crystal, the life forms inside had still been breathing. They hadn’t died, and they were still alive, trapped within the crystal.

It was horrifying.

How could they have survived in such a state?

‘Did {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} he do this?’

The last general, the crow.

It seemed like he had been trying to do something in secret without the mother’s knowledge. But something unexpected happened, and he had to take care of it quickly.

‘What is this...?’

Was this pillar the result of his actions?

What kind of absurd explanation could that possibly be?

Shiiiing—!!!

The unrelenting flow of energy continued to pour out. It was full of life, but knowing how it had been created made it feel ominous.

‘This is not the time to be thinking about that.’

Now was not the time to be pondering. If I felt it, I needed to act.

If I left it as is, everything would fall apart.

I instinctively knew this.

Crack.

I broke through the pressure and sent my energy forward.

I punched and shot flames out, but—

Fwwwh—!!

The flame was knocked back by the energy, absurdly deflected.

“Huh?”

What the hell? Why was it deflected?

I stared in disbelief, caught completely off guard.

Gripping.

Someone grabbed the collar of my clothes. I looked and saw, of course, it was Yarang. She pointed at her sword with her hand.

“What the hell?”

In that instant—

Fwaaah—!

The energy of Pama wrapped around her sword.

“......!”

I realized then. Was she asking me to use Pama?

At the same time, I had questions.

“You...”

How did you know I could use Pama’s energy? I wanted to ask her, but the situation was too urgent.

I pushed the questions aside and focused on my heart.

Fwwwhh—!!!

Instantly, flames enveloped my body. The flames rose along my shoulder, and I grabbed them with my hand.

I drove it deep into my heart.

Then—

Fwaahk—!

The flames changed color. No, rather than changing, the outer shell I had been wearing seemed to peel off, and the blue hue vanished, leaving only white behind.

Pama.

The otherworldly energy that destroys demons. The flames of Pama swirled around my hand.

I gripped the white flames and applied the energy.

Fwaahk—!

The ring that had risen behind me also changed its color long ago.

Kiiiiing—!!

As I put power into the now-changed ring, it began spinning violently. The white flames swirled around, bursting out.

I altered the form of the flame.

From Flame Jade to Sacred Spear.

It was the first time I had done this with white flames, but it wasn’t too difficult. It was just a slight discomfort in my heart. Other than that, it was fine.

Once I grasped the Sacred Spear made from the white flames—

Kwaaaahhh—!!!

I turned to see Yarang preparing her sword as well.

I turned my waist to follow her movements, and just as if she was waiting for me, Yarang moved her sword.

A white flash cut through the air.

Her strike and my Sacred Spear rushed toward the pillar.

The pressure from the wind was diminished, but not by much. We were still able to push through the overwhelming force.

Energy poured toward the light, and then—

Thoom—!

A small noise was followed by—

Kuuuoooh—!!!!!

An explosion occurred. The pillar broke apart, scattering in all directions. The energy that had been descending shattered and shot upward into the air.

A mushroom cloud formed.

The life force and white energy blended together in the mushroom cloud. Watching it spread, I lowered my eyes.

Not yet.

‘Where is he?’

Pama consumed him. The energy was cut off, but—

‘He’s still there.’

Even though the energy exploded and had an effect, I could still sense it.

‘He didn’t die.’

He wasn’t dead. On the contrary—

‘What is this feeling?’

The unease grew. The hairs on my arms stood up. A strange sense of discomfort rose within me.

Whoooosh.

The smoke began to dissipate. This was something I had done.

I waved my hand, creating wind to clear the smoke. I had to see what was ahead.

No matter how much I concentrated, I couldn’t see through the smoke to understand what was inside.

When the smoke cleared and I could see again—

“...What is that?”

There was something.

Thud.

Something shattered its shell and began to rise.

It had the body of a human, but its skin was too white, and the wings on its back were no longer two pairs but three.

Is that a crow?

Is that a crow? It was vastly different from what I had first seen.

What is it? What the hell is that?

‘Is it a living being?’

Is it something alive? Even as I watched, I couldn’t understand it.

Its hair was long, flowing and scattered on the ground.

It slowly began to rise.

Whoosh—!

Three pairs of wings unfurled, revealing their massive form.

It lifted its head, sending its gaze through the hair.

Blue.

Blue, and even more blue eyes.

In those eyes, the sky was reflected.

Chill—!

“......!”

A shiver ran down my spine. The moment our eyes met, my whole body trembled.

What is this being? It felt like I was looking up at the sky.

An incomprehensible, distant presence. Something beyond my understanding was staring at me.

Then—

“Repulsive.”

It spoke. Something was strange. It was speaking, but its voice felt as though it was coming from above, descending from the sky.

“To be interrupted even here. How is it that you could pierce through the blessing of the gods? That is truly puzzling.”

Swoosh.

Its feet moved.

It took a step back.

The instinct of what used to be human told me: run.

The instinct of what had become a dragon told me: devour it.

Facing a being I couldn’t comprehend filled me with fear, while the dragon instinct urged me to tear it apart.

Whatever it was, facing an impossible existence felt the same.

“You didn’t even get half. How unfortunate. But...”

The creature vanished. Seeing this, I moved immediately.

“This is enough. How does it feel?”

It was already in front of me.

“How does it feel to face a truly great being?”

“......”

The blue eyes spoke to me. I bit my lip. I was sure of it.

‘I can’t win.’

I couldn’t win.

I couldn’t sense the energy, nor could I feel any presence. All I felt was a shallow life force.

I grabbed my arm. The instincts of a dragon stirred within me. It urged me to bite into its neck.

‘Damn it. Just stay still.’

I forcibly stopped myself.

“What are you?”

I asked.

“Hah.”

At that, it let out a mocking laugh.

“You don’t even lose your spirit when facing me. I have to commend that.”

It smiled widely.

“I am, indeed. The new master of the Abyssal Pit, sent by the heavens.”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

The new master of the Abyssal Pit? It was a phrase I had never heard before.

Suddenly, a new master? What kind of nonsense is that?

I couldn’t understand it, but as I stared at it—

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand.”

Its eyes curved into crescents.

“You don’t need to know. This is not something for you to understand.”

Hearing that, my wound twitched. It was a reflex created by the shiver of fear.

Swoosh.

Its hand was already digging into my shoulder.

It was too late. I couldn’t match its speed.

If this continued, my upper body would be torn apart. My eyes widened in panic.

Something charged toward me.

Fwaah—!

A body slammed into mine, pushing me back.

Swoosh—!

It took the hit for me.

It was Yarang.

“Eh?”

Yarang fell.

Thud.

The black mask that had been on her face fell off.

It rolled on the ground, revealing her face to the world once again.

It was a familiar face.

The face I had longed to see.

“......”

That face fell lifeless to the ground.

She lay there, unmoving.

“Aah.”

An exhale escaped from me.

And then, something inside my head snapped.