Chapter 928: So in the end.

Kwaaaaaaa–!!!

The night that spread across the ground devoured the entire field. The domain’s range was vast enough to be considered a giant lake.

The endlessly spreading darkness swallowed the trees and bushes in all directions.

Thus, a domain completely dyed in dark ink was finally created.

Pasak.

Pasak.

From the black ground, an unknown ash rose like a heat haze.

It felt ominous.

And unpleasant.

“…”

The masked woman quietly observed such a domain from beyond her mask.

She rolled her eyes.

It was to find the being who created this domain.

Just then.

Jilbeok-!

“–!”

Her feet dug into the ground, and her balance faltered.

And then.

Swiiiiish—!!!

Sharp thorns shot out from the ground, burrowing towards the woman’s neck.

She moved her hand. A sword made of energy sliced through the thorns.

She pulled her feet out with force. She leaped forward, creating distance.

But.

Chwaaaak–!!

Countless hands stretched out from the ground, rushing towards the woman.

Seeing that, the woman tried to swing her sword again, but.

Kwak-!

Suddenly, her back was grabbed.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The owner of the domain had already moved behind her.

Her vision flipped as her neck was grabbed. Before she could break free, she was grabbed and thrown to the ground.

Paaaaaa–!!

Her body plunged straight into the ground.

A squishy sensation, like being buried in mud, enveloped the woman.

Moreover, the opponent wouldn’t just watch that happen.

Kkururururuk—!!!

Dark energy gathered in one spot, swirling like a vortex.

Just looking at it exerted immense pressure.

Gradually, the domain began to shrink its area. This wasn’t just shrinking; it was compression.

The vortex made the area smaller.

It got smaller, but its mass didn’t decrease.

As a result, the pressure increased, gathering immense energy.

While controlling it with his hand….

The black-haired woman lightly clapped her hands.

Jjak-!

Then.

Kuwaaaaaaaa—!!!

The gathered energy instantly erupted.

The explosion’s range surpassed imagination.

The entire ground where darkness had resided burst open.

All that remained was a deep crater, leaving only a massive scar.

Saaaa….

Lingering dark energy scattered like ash.

Cheonma’s purple eyes, watching it all, were impassive.

Did I handle it? No.

I failed to handle it.

The center of the crater.

Cheonma looked there and slowly lowered his body, which had been floating in the air.

There, a sparkling crimson light formed a small sphere.

Kkirik.

Cheonma gripped his sword.

He swung it lightly.

It was an incredibly simple movement, but the resulting outcome was far from simple.

A black crescent moon, showing a heavy stance, flew towards the sphere.

Kwaaang—!!

The energy met the sphere and exploded.

Shockwaves erupted from the impact, but the sphere remained completely unaffected.

“Hmm.”

Cheonma frowned, seemingly displeased.

There was no damage at all.

That part was strange.

“What is it?”

Was it weak?

Cheonma added more power to his hand.

The sword, having become somewhat thinner from one strike, thickened again.

Let’s try swinging it even stronger than before.

Thinking so, Cheonma prepared to properly brace himself and exert force, but.

Pik-!

Just then, the sphere suddenly vanished, and something shot out from within.

The woman scraped the ground with her sword tip and charged at Cheonma.

She swung her sword upwards.

Kkang-!

The attack didn’t succeed.

Because Cheonma blocked it before the sword could gain speed.

Cheonma slowly reached out his hand.

He tried to grab her face, but.

Pasak-!

“Huh?”

Something broke.

Cheonma’s eyes darted downwards.

A crack appeared on the sword, and it was crumbling.

Which meant.

Swiiiiish—!!!

The woman’s sword aimed for Cheonma’s face.

He quickly turned his head, dodging the attack.

While dodging, Cheonma tilted his head.

“What the?”

Why did it suddenly break?

Cheonma couldn’t understand.

However, he didn’t ponder it for long.

There was no time to think, as attacks kept coming.

Fast.

The sound of cutting through the wind was heard only after the attack struck.

It meant the woman’s sword was that fast, but.

Cheonma dodged even such attacks with an expressionless face.

It felt familiar somehow.

He didn’t know why, but it felt strangely familiar.

Had he seen this before? He didn’t know.

Cheonma didn’t know much about such things.

It was always like that.

Even if something looked familiar, the world was full of things he saw for the first time.

This was just like that.

And more than that.

Tang-!

Cheonma was curious about what was beyond the woman’s mask.

Pushing her sword away with energy, Cheonma approached the woman.

He closed the distance.

At the same time, energy emanated from Cheonma’s body.

It was the vast darkness he possessed from birth.

All that darkness surged towards the woman.

Cheonma didn’t bother controlling it.

He didn’t even know how to control it in the first place.

Seeing the energy, the woman hesitated.

And then.

Hwiik-!

She took a slight step back.

Just one step.

Then, gripping her sword, she twisted her waist.

Immediately after, the sword was swung.

At that moment, Cheonma clearly saw.

‘White?’

Along with the crimson energy, something white was wrapped around the sword.

Cheonma stared intently at it.

His gaze was captivated.

Kadeudeuk—!!

Chwaaak-!

Thanks to that, his energy was torn apart, and even as his body sustained scratches, he kept staring at it.

“Ah.”

It hurts.

Cheonma clutched his chest and stepped back.

“Ughhh…”

He bit his lip.

It hurt.

Terribly, even.

Chiiiiiik….

An unknown sizzling sound, like something cooking, came from the wound. The more it happened, the more Cheonma’s face contorted.

“It hurts…”

He removed his hand from his chest.

His hand was covered in blood.

Moreover, his clothes were stained.

Seeing his clothes dirtied by his own blood, Cheonma put on a pained expression.

‘I’m going to get scolded.’

They told me not to do useless things and just stay put.

They said they couldn’t stand the sight of me and told me not to cause trouble anywhere.

“Ughh…”

What am I going to hear this time?

I hate it even more if they dislike me.

Recalling the image of him telling me to get lost, Cheonma bit his lip.

My chest hurts.

Is it because of the wound?

It was bearable earlier, but now it hurts so much.

“…Ah.”

That’s why I spaced out.

Cheonma looked up and stared straight ahead.

“This is bad.”

The woman who had been there moments ago was gone.

He had lost track of her while lost in thought.

“…Hmm…”

Cheonma scratched his head.

Then he nodded.

Having missed her twice, he felt like he understood.

“Next time.”

The third time I see her, I’ll kill her without hesitation.

He resolved himself.

---

‘What is this.’

I looked up and glanced to my left.

I felt some kind of energy from over there.

Was it a mistake?

I had a bad feeling from somewhere, but when I focused slightly, I didn’t feel much.

“Is it because I’m tired?”

That could be it.

I hadn’t slept for days now.

I don’t usually sleep much anyway, but ever since coming here, I haven’t slept at all.

There was so much to look into, and so many things to figure out, that I didn’t have time to sleep.

“Should I sleep now…?”

I thought about just crashing since I had nothing else to do, but.

“Even so, this isn’t the place.”

I looked around and had to let out a deep sigh.

The damp and cold floor.

The humid yet strangely uncomfortable air.

And even the iron bars visible in front of me.

It felt like… a strangely familiar space.

Yes, I was currently locked up in prison.

With handcuffs on my wrists, no less.

“Heheheh.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

How long has it been since I was thrown in jail?

If I recall correctly, it hasn’t happened since before I died in my past life.

Should I be glad about this…?

Cheol-geong.

Looking at the handcuffs binding my hands, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

How did it end up like this?

“Ah, I really didn’t see this coming.”

I never imagined I’d end up in jail.

I examined the chains idly, then spoke a little louder.

“Excuse me.”

My slightly loud voice alerted someone outside the bars.

“Be quiet.”

A figure dressed in black appeared and issued a warning.

Looking at him, I asked with a smile.

“How long do I have to stay here? I mean, I’m a guest, so this is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Guest?”

Hearing my words, the man in front of me spoke.

“Why in the world would you be a guest?”

“Of course, I’m a guest! Think about how much trouble I went through to bring that Gu Bong fellow. Considering the hardship, I deserve some decent treatment…”

“Shut up!”

The man who heard me reacted intensely.

Whoa, fuck, you startled me.

“Why are you yelling?”

“Do you even know who you’re talking about?”

It seemed mentioning Gu Bong was the problem.

So I replied nonchalantly.

“Who? Looking at him, he’s probably the son of this place.”

“…”

“Is he the eldest son? Second son? Or an only child?”

“…This bastard…”

His growling voice was mixed with the sound of a true beast.

I chuckled and said.

“It’s not really important. Forget that… Anyway, seriously, how long am I supposed to be here?”

I tapped the floor repeatedly as I added.

“I’m from a rather distinguished family, you know? I’m not really the type to sleep in places like this?”

Although, truth be told, I can sleep fine even lying in a mud field. But that wasn’t the point.

Ppureudeuk.

The man clenched his fist, his hand trembling slightly, then shortly after, he smirked.

“Well…”

“Hmm?”

“I haven’t received any contact about when I can let you out. Maybe we won’t let you out ever.”

“Oh, that’s a bit inconvenient.”

I leaned back, propped my chin on my hand, and frowned.

“I’m rather busy with my own affairs, so ‘never’ won’t work. Can’t you let me out a little sooner?”

“Hah.”

He burst into a hollow laugh, as if finding it absurd.

“If the Leader has set the law, then that is the truth here. Do you think your opinion matters? A nobody from the Volcano has too many desires.”

“…Hmm.”

I scratched my cheek.

It seemed I had teased him a bit too much, as the man clearly harbored ill feelings towards me.

“So, you’re really not letting me out?”

“That’s right. So just shut your mouth and sit there quietly.”

“No, really?”

“Are you incapable of understanding?”

“Ah… damn.”

I lowered my head dejectedly.

Only then did the man nod with apparent satisfaction.

“Finally realizing your place…”

“I thought you’d at least treat me like a guest. Annoyingly. If it’s like this, I’ll have to go through the trouble of moving myself.”

Before the man could finish speaking, I stood up.

And then.

Kwajik-!

I ripped off the handcuffs binding my hands.

“What–!”

The man moved in surprise, but I grabbed the bars with my now-free hands.

What happened next was exactly the same as before.

Kwajijik-!

I grabbed the bars and tore them apart.

The man’s eyes widened at the sudden turn of events.

Seeing that, I flexed my wrists slightly and said.

“If you don’t treat me like a guest and treat me like a criminal instead… then I have no choice but to act according to how I’m treated.”

“You bastard, right now–!!”

The man lunged at me.

No, he tried to lunge.

Kkwaak-!

“Kkeuup!”

I reached out to the lunging man and grabbed his cheek.

His mouth was forced open.

His teeth were clearly visible.

So, first, I grabbed and pulled out a canine tooth.

Pik-!

“…!!!”

As soon as I pulled out the canine tooth, the guy shuddered.

I could feel him struggling, but he couldn’t break free from my grip.

Still, he seemed to have some pride, as he didn’t scream.

“Listen carefully.”

Kwadeuk!

I crushed the canine tooth in front of his eyes and said.

“I have a few questions for you.”

“Kku… Kkueup…”

“If I don’t like your answers, I’ll pull out your teeth one by one. Then your fingernails. After that, your eyeballs. And finally, your bones. If you want to be in pain, you can just keep your mouth shut. Honestly, I’d prefer that.”

I slightly loosened my grip to make it easier for him to answer.

“Now, the first question.”

And looking at the terrified man, I asked.

“What kind of guy is Gu Bong?”

My face, asking the question, was filled with excitement for the first time in a while.

It had been a long time since I last tortured someone.