The lukewarm rain began to fall from the sky, and Hyunmu lifted his head, gazing at the clouds.

The volcanic ash clouds were causing the rain to soak Hallasan.

While this kind of rain wouldn't affect Hyunmu, it would certainly be a concern for the students who were in the mountains.

And aside from worrying about the students' safety, there was something else weighing on his mind.

‘Things are unfolding differently from what those kids saw in the replay. He's using another trick.’

Hyunmu had joined after hearing about what was happening on Jeju Island. His friend, the descendant of the Blue Dragon, was in danger, and there were signs of the Vermilion Bird's influence—he couldn't just stand by.

Because of that, Hyunmu decided to follow Jo Yi-shin’s plan.

Before taking action, Hyunmu had listened in detail to what Yeom Jun-yeol had experienced in the replay, and the timing of the rain was different.

‘In the replay, Jun-yeol said the rain fell after he stopped the volcanic eruption. After exhausting Jun-yeol’s energy, they struck the final blow. This time, there are more students, so did they anticipate that Jun-yeol would help and started the rain early to prevent it?’

Hyunmu didn't think his speculation was the answer, but he decided to stop dwelling on it.

Right now, Hyunmu wasn’t the one making the moves. He was more like a piece on Jo Yi-shin’s chessboard.

So, for now, he would move according to Jo Yi-shin’s will.

Jo Yi-shin made a request with something close to a plea, saying:

―In the replay, I used several of the Vermilion Bird's feathers. I made Yeom Jun-yeol sense the fire energy stimulating the meridians to lure him, and I used them when I burned Cheon Dong-ha’s eyes.

Jo Yi-shin spoke calmly, but when he mentioned Yeom Jun-yeol and Cheon Dong-ha’s names, his voice slightly lowered.

Hyunmu wanted to soothe Jo Yi-shin with gentle words, but he knew that the Blue Dragon or Yellow Tiger would try to step in and say they could offer better words to their benefactor, so he silently listened.

―Ma Jin-seung, in the replay, felt the tainted darkness mixed with the Vermilion Bird’s feathers. And now, the mastermind has obtained a purer, more refined tainted darkness than before.

―You think that person will use my friend's feathers to do even worse things.

―Yes, now that the mastermind has multiple Vermilion Bird feathers and the tainted darkness, they’ll be able /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to use even more tricks.

Strictly speaking, what the enemies had used were modified and enhanced items made from the Vermilion Bird’s feathers.

However, their performance was close to the real thing, and with the added tainted darkness, they had to be even more cautious.

Hyunmu understood what Jo Yi-shin was asking for.

―You want me to track the energy contained in the Vermilion Bird’s feathers.

―Yes, the only one I can entrust with this task is someone who possesses the original Vermilion Bird feathers and has known them for a long time—only you and the Blue Dragon. The area we need to search is vast, so I hope you and the Blue Dragon will take Hallasan in halves. It will be more burdensome than searching with three people, but the other one is in a beastly state, so...

Jo Yi-shin openly disregarded the mighty White Tiger, though it didn’t seem like he was underestimating him.

Even though the White Tiger, in his beastly state, had the means to be summoned to Jeju Island, Jo Yi-shin didn’t want to use him.

The problem wasn’t just that there were limits on how often and how long the White Tiger could be summoned. In a situation where the will of the Heavenly Gods was unclear, it wasn’t wise to frequently bring him out of his clan’s divine realm.

When Jo Yi-shin spoke of the White Tiger, it seemed as though he was holding back complaints and irritation, with a tinge of worry.

Hyunmu had noticed his friend’s shoulders shaking as though trying to suppress a laugh, so he had a rough idea of what was going on.

―Now that the Vermilion Bird’s feathers can be used to unleash more powerful and tainted energy, there’s no need for Jun-yeol to stop the volcanic eruption. He’ll probably want to push the blame on Jun-yeol for making the eruption worse with his reckless actions.

―What?!

The Blue Dragon, who had been quietly sipping his tea, suddenly raised his voice, losing his composure.

Jo Yi-shin, who seemed used to the Blue Dragon’s outbursts over Yeom Jun-yeol’s actions, calmly continued:

―The eruption started because of the Silver School students, and Yeom Jun-yeol completely triggered the eruption with his final blow. On top of that, the Red Dragon went berserk, and the whole of Jeju Island was on the verge of being burned. This is the scenario that could be created.

The Blue Dragon, seemingly overcome with both rage and dread, could barely make a sound and just gaped.

He seemed to be imagining the 'Red Dragon’s flames covering the island' that Chok Rin had seen in his dream.

―Before Yeom Jun-yeol’s flames could suppress and devour the Vermilion Bird’s power, many feathers would have to be planted in the meridians. You two should retrieve them. If you have difficulty handling the tainted darkness, you can destroy some of them.

Jo Yi-shin’s guess about the mastermind’s plan was bold and horrifying, but it made sense.

Although Hyunmu couldn’t confirm what was happening on the other side where the Blue Dragon was acting, he had already retrieved several Vermilion Bird feathers tainted with dark energy.

Hyunmu packed the feathers into a box made of ice, but even when he attempted to card them, the tainted darkness repelled him.

As Jo Yi-shin had said, if the number increased, he might need to destroy some feathers for safety.

‘As expected by the Morning Star. If Jun-yeol pours the fire energy into the meridians, he intended to trigger the volcano without leaving any gaps. If someone records and spreads the scene of Jun-yeol pouring the fire energy into the ground, he will be in serious trouble.’

The one who planted the Vermilion Bird’s feathers tainted by dark energy all over Hallasan’s meridians clearly had a deep understanding of intelligence.

The feathers were arranged in such a way that just the brush of Yeom Jun-yeol’s fire energy would cause a chain reaction, triggering the volcano and causing an explosion.

Hyunmu felt both cold anger and helplessness toward the mastermind who was trying to use his friend’s power in this way.

Despite the situation, Hyunmu still hadn’t met the Vermilion Bird.

Uncharacteristically, he had considered attacking the Juche Concern directly without the Vermilion Bird’s permission, but his foresight skills had given him such a terrifying warning that he didn’t dare move.

Hyunmu continued his search while hiding the anger in his gaze behind his blindfold.

‘It’s strange. If they wanted to trigger the volcano, they should have targeted a point closer to the summit. That way, the effort and the number of feathers used would have been reduced.’

The points where Hyunmu had found the feathers were all lower areas of Hallasan.

The feathers were spread out widely, surrounding Hallasan.

Perhaps, as Jo Yi-shin had feared, this was exactly as it seemed.

―But the mastermind is now clearly aware that someone is trying to block his plans. He must have prepared for when the volcano doesn’t fully erupt. If that happens...

At Jo Yi-shin’s next words, all the true species, humans, and descendants present looked displeased.

―I will take action myself.

Cheon Dong-ha stared at the sky where the rain began to fall, his expression becoming heavy.

The tainted darkness surrounding the summit had already spread to the lower slopes of the mountain.

As expected, the enemy had used multiple layers of schemes.

‘External support is unlikely to be expected beyond what was prearranged. While there were some preparations made at night, the TC won’t be able to interfere...’

Cheon Dong-ha focused his energy to protect himself and the Red Dragon from the rain, watching Yeom Jun-yeol’s back.

He had thought the rain might come when the volcanic ash clouds began to form, and now that it was falling, his heart sank.

They still hadn’t stopped the eruption, and the one who had called for the meadow that protected them, Ma Jin-seung, wasn’t with them anymore.

Looking at Yeom Jun-yeol, who quickly tracked the fire energy, Cheon Dong-ha noticed that the Red Dragon, glancing at the sky where the rain was falling, seemed somewhat conscious of it.

However, Yeom Jun-yeol didn’t seem inclined to move out of the rain cloud's range.

“This is it.”

Cheon Dong-ha almost sighed upon seeing the place Yeom Jun-yeol had pointed to.

The place where they arrived after tracking the fire energy was far from the Silver School students, and it was raining heavily. The terrain was harsh, and the surrounding energy felt off.

It looked like a good place for someone to hide and ambush, and there was a chance it could cause spatial distortion.

It was clearly a trap set to lure Yeom Jun-yeol.

Cheon Dong-ha focused his senses to the maximum and scanned the area with Gwanglim.

The tainted darkness made it hard to see far, but he could make out the surroundings.

‘There’s an anomaly in the area. Whether it’s through an invisibility skill or an item, someone is hiding.’

Among the thick weeds, a blade of grass bent at an odd angle, and a grain of sand on a wet rock shifted as though it had been pressed by something.

Such small and insignificant signs, which would normally be ignored, could not escape Cheon Dong-ha’s perceptive gaze.

He signaled to Yeom Jun-yeol quietly to be cautious.

“I know. It’s fine.”

Cheon Dong-ha’s eyes widened in surprise at Yeom Jun-yeol’s response.

Did Yeom Jun-yeol possess insight skills like Cheon Dong-ha?

Furthermore, Yeom Jun-yeol almost seemed to be speaking to those hiding, as if inviting them to listen.

“You’re not attacking me right away because you want to record the scene where I pour the fire energy into the meridians, right?”

Yeom Jun-yeol spoke while looking around provocatively, and Cheon Dong-ha was taken aback.

Cheon Dong-ha quickly raised his energy to prepare for a possible fight, tense and ready.

But the enemies didn’t attack immediately.

“If you realize our presence, you’ll attack the descendants of the dragon species right away, consuming their strength and provoking their rampage. But there’s a reason why you haven’t acted yet. You’ve been instructed to eliminate my protection first. Whether it’s the Red Lion or the dragon species, you’ve prepared ways to deal with them, but you haven’t found them yet.”

“Jun-yeol...?”

Cheon Dong-ha unconsciously called Yeom Jun-yeol’s name.

His tone and choice of words were different from how he normally spoke to Yeom Jun-yeol.

Yeom Jun-yeol had always regarded the dragon species and the Red Lion as family, but now Cheon Dong-ha could sense some distance in his words.

“Just as it’s natural for Yeom Jun-yeol to have bodyguards, it means that if there’s no bodyguard by his side, it’s not truly him. I’ve never had bodyguards by my side.”

It was as if Yeom Jun-yeol was saying he wasn’t himself.

The one standing beside him now looked like Yeom Jun-yeol and had just summoned the Red Dragon.

But that didn’t mean he could be definitively called Yeom Jun-yeol.

Cheon Dong-ha knew that someone besides Yeom Jun-yeol could summon the Red Dragon.

“You already know who summoned the Red Dragon while disguised as Yeom Jun-yeol during the Dream Auction, don’t you?”

“Jun-yeol, no, could it be...?”

Yeom Jun-yeol gave Cheon Dong-ha a brief glance, his expression apologetic.

Then, with a confident and charismatic voice, he spoke to the air.

“I am the Jiebei Guedo.”

“Ah.”

That was just Yeom Jun-yeol.

The moment Cheon Dong-ha heard those words, he saw through the true identity of the one who had called himself Jiebei Guedo.

Until just a moment ago, Cheon Dong-ha had thought the one standing beside him was Jo Yi-shin instead of Yeom Jun-yeol.

But Cheon Dong-ha knew Jo Yi-shin very well, having worked with him and understanding his behavior.

Jo Yi-shin would never say the name “Jiebei Guedo” with such pride, confidence, and joy.

‘Jun-yeol, you’ve gotten better at lying, but it seems like Yi-shin doesn't know what he thinks of Jiebei Guedo.’

Cheon Dong-ha wasn’t fooled, but the enemies were different.

Since they had the rampage-inducing agent, they were determined to find the real Yeom Jun-yeol.

Cheon Dong-ha’s sharp senses detected movement from the enemies.

They were preparing to disperse their forces to find the real Yeom Jun-yeol.