‘I’ve found his traces.’

That was what General Yusa had told Hong Jeong.

How much time had even passed since the banquet ended?

And yet, he had already tracked him down?

A question naturally arose in her mind.

But to Hong Jeong, it wasn’t particularly important.

What mattered here was—

‘You take care of it.’

The General had given her a direct order.

And instead of being surprised—

‘Oh my.’

—Hong Jeong had grinned from ear to ear in excitement.

How could she not be thrilled?

A mysterious assailant had suddenly appeared, defeating one Commander after another.

No one knew their identity, nor how strong they were.

The White Commander had already been defeated.

The Blue Commander had nearly been killed.

But none of that mattered.

The White one was an idiot.

The Blue one was pathetically weak.

As for the remaining one—

He was an irritating bastard she didn’t care for.

Normally, she wouldn’t even associate with them, much less fight alongside them.

They were all insects unworthy of her attention.

But that didn’t mean they were weak.

Hong Jeong, if nothing else, acknowledged that much.

‘Yet, two of them were taken down.’

By someone they didn’t even understand.

How strong was this person to be able to accomplish that?

As she thought about it, Hong Jeong’s body shivered.

‘...I want to fight them.’

She hated the weak and worshipped the strong.

That was the creed of the Red Clan.

That was why—

She had devoured her own father for being weak.

She had ripped out the hearts of her feeble older brothers.

They were far too weak,

and yet, they stood above her simply due to status.

She couldn’t accept it.

She refused to accept that someone weaker than her could outrank her.

So she killed them all. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Hong Jeong was that kind of person.

She lived for battle against the strong and despised the weak.

She had even challenged General Yusa himself once, nearly getting herself killed.

That story had become a legend among the Moonlit Night Tribe.

Her craving for the strong—

Her unquenchable thirst for battle—

That was the very foundation of her existence.

“Hahahahahaha---!!!”

That was why, as the killing intent in front of her exploded—

Hong Jeong couldn’t hold back her laughter.

BOOOOM—!!!

‘What the hell is this?’

Hong Jeong flinched as an overwhelming murderous aura erupted before her.

It was immense.

So thick and sharp that her tail stood on end.

How could a mere living being emit something this pure and dense?

Cold sweat dripped down Hong Jeong’s face as a memory surfaced.

The day she fought Yusa.

She had been overwhelmed # Nоvеlight # by his murderous intent.

It was so vast and suffocating that it nearly crushed her will to fight.

But this—

This was different.

If Yusa’s killing intent contained rage and emotion,

Then this—

‘This is... nothing but pure intent to kill.’

It was absolute.

A desire for nothing else but murder.

No rage, no hatred, no emotion.

There was only one thing inside that man—

The intent to kill everything in front of him.

‘...This is incredible.’

A chill ran down her arms.

She had never seen anything like this before.

As she felt his overwhelming energy, a grin split her lips.

“Hehe.”

She wanted him.

Should she be grateful to the General for giving her this opportunity?

She didn’t know.

She didn’t care.

Hong Jeong clenched her fists.

And at that moment—

“You wretched insect.”

The man before her finally spoke.

What was it they called him again?

Ah, right—

‘Cheonma.’

The Heavenly Demon.

That was the name he called himself.

And he spoke to Hong Jeong.

“I despise those who do not know their place.”

The more he spoke,

the denser his killing intent became.

The more she watched him,

the more she felt him—

The more incomprehensible his strength seemed.

Hong Jeong instinctively lifted her gaze toward the sky.

The sky was clear.

It was daytime.

The blessing of the Moonlit Night Tribe—

The power granted to them by the Abyss.

The blood-gifted power that made them strongest under the moon.

And yet—

How could a Moonlit Night Tribe member be this strong without it?

‘Could Yusa be like this too?’

Yusa was pureblooded.

The strongest of the Moonlit Night Tribe.

Could even he release this kind of pressure in daylight?

She suddenly felt curious.

But at the same time—

She felt he wouldn’t be able to.

And then—

“Where are you looking?”

Cheonma’s voice rang out.

“How dare you seek the sky while the sky is before you?”

An arrogant declaration.

He called himself the sky.

Hong Jeong’s eyes slightly widened.

There was only one sky in this world.

Every living being knew that the Abyss was their true ruler.

That he was the one who made this land.

For someone to proclaim themselves the sky in his domain—

“You... You’re truly insane.”

Hong Jeong laughed in disbelief.

“Perhaps.”

Cheonma’s voice was laced with amusement.

“Perhaps I am.”

CRACK—!!!

“......!”

A gruesome shattering sound rang out.

Hong Jeong’s eyes darted sideways.

Her own arm—

His knee had caved it in.

The force of the impact had crushed her bones, twisting her arm into an unnatural shape.

And before the pain could even register—

BOOOOM—!!

Her vision flipped.

Her once steady gaze was now staring up at the sky.

She was in the air.

Her brain lagged behind reality.

Hong Jeong gritted her teeth, forcing her energy to explode.

She tried to turn her body.

But—

CRACK!

Her waist twisted unnaturally.

THUD! CRACK!

And then—

Her leg shattered next.

“Guhh—!!”

Even as she spat out blood, Hong Jeong couldn't hide her shock.

He struck exactly where she was about to move.

So she couldn’t turn.

So she couldn’t escape.

So she couldn’t resist.

So she couldn’t move.

Cheonma had completely broken her down.

No, not just broken.

Beaten.

That was the most fitting way to describe it.

THUD!

Her forehead slammed into the ground, bouncing her back up.

Moments ago, she had been looking up at the sky.

Now, she was facing the dirt.

“Guh...!”

Blood spurted from her mouth, but she refused to close her eyes.

And that was why she saw it.

His foot coming straight for her face.

She raised her hands to block it.

This time, she would stop it—

SMACK!

“Kuagh...!”

Not her face.

Her stomach.

His foot feint had baited her perfectly.

Her body flew upward,

completely defenseless in the air.

And yet—

WHOOSH—!!

Even that wasn’t allowed.

A cloth appeared from nowhere, wrapping tightly around her body.

A perfect restraint.

She immediately tried to tear it apart,

but—

‘Why... why won’t it rip?’

The fabric was unnaturally strong, refusing to break.

And then—

“Hah.”

Cheonma’s quiet sigh echoed in her ears.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!—!!!

In an unfathomable flurry, Cheonma pummeled her relentlessly.

Even as her body bounced from the impact,

even as she twisted and shook,

She couldn’t escape.

The pain swallowed her whole.

“—!!!”

She couldn’t even scream.

All she could do was watch,

staring blankly at the incoming barrage of fists.

Only after countless blows did the restraints loosen.

“Guh... Ughh...”

She collapsed, her body crumbling like a broken doll.

Was it over?

As her blurry vision began to fade—

GRAB!

Cheonma yanked her up by her hair.

Then—

He pressed a finger against her forehead, pulsing his energy into her skull.

ZZZZZT—!!!

“......!!”

An electric-like shock coursed through her body,

forcefully snapping her back to consciousness.

“Guh... Ugh...”

She wasn’t sure if she was drooling spit or blood anymore.

Her trembling eyes locked onto Cheonma.

“What... are you doing?”

His voice was calm.

Just like when they first met,

his tone and demeanor had never changed.

Neither had his eyes.

Those arrogant eyes, staring down at her from above,

as if he were looking at a mere insect.

“You worthless filth.”

His deep voice brushed against her ears.

“I have not given you permission to fall yet.”

THUMP—!

Her body trembled involuntarily at those words.

“At the very least, you should serve as a small source of entertainment.”

That was the first time his words held any emotion.

Laughter.

Behind his stoic, heavy tone—

there was a hint of amusement.

Hearing that, Hong Jeong felt something stir inside her.

What was this?

This new feeling—

A sensation that shook her to the core,

drenched her in cold sweat,

and made her entire body shudder.

‘Ah...’

She pondered for a moment.

But she didn’t need long to understand what this feeling was.

‘This is... fear.’

This was fear.

A sensation she never felt before.

Not even from Yusa.

This was true fear.

And along with it—

This was dread.

“Ku... Hahaha... Hehehe...”

Even as she bled, she laughed.

‘...This is exhilarating.’

Fear was this exhilarating?

She had never known.

She wanted to feel it more.

This strange, electrifying sensation—

She wanted more.

Hong Jeong’s gaze snapped back to Cheonma.

But—

“Your eyes disgust me.”

Cheonma’s voice was laced with boredom.

His hand reached for her eyes,

slowly pressing in—

Was he going to gouge them out?

Just as his fingertips touched her—

“...Stop.”

A voice.

Cheonma paused.

Then, with a slight chuckle,

he turned toward the voice’s owner.

“How unfortunate. Had you arrived a little later, I would have had more fun...”

His voice was flat—

completely unconcerned.

As if he had already known who it was.

“Why have you come?”

His gaze remained indifferent.

“If you intended to skulk in the shadows like a rat,

you should have stayed there.”

“......”

The newcomer—

Yusa—

frowned.

“...You knew I was watching?”

“Haha.”

Cheonma couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Then—

THUD—!!

He slammed Hong Jeong’s body into the ground.

Her limp, unconscious form rolled across the dirt.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice your pathetic schemes?”

“......”

Yusa’s brows furrowed slightly.

“...Yet you still fought her?”

If he had known,

then he also must have known that Yusa could have intervened at any moment.

But despite that, he chose to fight Hong Jeong anyway.

Why?

“You call that a fight?”

Cheonma’s lips curled in disdain.

“You consider responding to a child’s tantrum a ‘battle’?”

“......”

Hong Jeong’s actions—

To him, they were nothing more than a pitiful little performance.

Even if Yusa had joined in,

it wouldn’t have mattered in the slightest.

Hearing those words, Yusa’s expression twisted in anger.