"S-stop!"
The moment Dan Ja-Kang began to charge, screams erupted from the mouths of the Black Ghost Tower's elite warriors.
Desolate Gold Elder was someone they had to protect at any cost. The thoughts, which had been close to brainwashing for many years, immediately compelled them to block the path to Desolate Gold Elder and scream to protect him.
However, their feet didn't move as easily as their mouths.
Bloodshot eyes were gushing out.
Black demonic qi swirled around his entire body.
It was as if the vengeful spirits of the dead that Dan Ja-Kang had killed were wandering around him. That horrifying, almost destructive sight held them in place.
Their reasoning to fight and their instincts to survive clashed repeatedly.
At that moment, the Black Ghost Tower's elite proved their worth. Those who had overcome their instinctive fear flew in and blocked the path to Desolate Gold Elder.
But the right choice doesn't always lead to the right results.
KWANGG!
Dan Ja-Kang's swung hand hit the head of the person blocking his way.
KWAANGG!
With a tremendous explosion, the shattered skulls shot out in all directions like assassin weapons.
The small bone fragments were only the size of a fingertip, but the power contained in them shattered the raised self-defense weapon like a piece of paper. And that wasn't all—the bone fragments swirled and pierced the weak human bodies.
"Kuaaakkkk!"
The hole in his chest was only the size of a fingernail at best, but the wound on the back was big enough to fit a person's hand in.
Dan Ja-Kang, who had instantly turned a dozen or so people who had rushed at him into a mess, tore apart their groans with his two eyes, emitting a ferocious aura.
Blood splashed out, and flesh was torn apart.
"D-Die! You monsterrr!"
Perhaps that wasn't courage, but recklessness, or perhaps just a tantrum.
Dan Ja-Kang thoroughly punished those who had committed presumptuous acts.
Swisssh!
The black demonic qi blades that shot out from both his hands literally sliced through the people who rushed at him. Those who had become mere flesh scattered, and a thick blood mist rose around them.
Demon Lord's Path. The demon walks the world.
The demonic qi that emanated from him tore through the air, enveloping the surroundings and spinning around. Even the Black Ghost Tower, which had terrified the Southern island, was helpless in the face of that overwhelming force.
At that moment, Desolate Gold Elder's foot hit the ground—not ahead, but behind.
"Block him!"
A loud roar burst from Desolate Gold Elder's mouth.
There was just one worst-case scenario: he dies right there.
Given the nature of the Evil Faction, a lord falling meant annihilation. If he died, the Black Ghost Tower would collapse instantly, so that was something he had to avoid.
Desolate Gold Elder, having finished calculating, pulled himself out with all his might.
No matter how dire the situation, he had to return alive. That way, he could tell the world about the existence of that insane monster.
But Dan Ja-Kang wasn't merciful enough to let his prey escape on his own.
Paaaat!
Those blocking Desolate Gold Elder were scattered in disarray. Dan Ja-Kang, who had crushed, trampled, and pierced everything in front of him, rushed straight towards Desolate Gold Elder like a black arrow.
"Kuak!"
A ray of light shot out from Desolate Gold Elder's waist.
Ghost King's Incarnation!
His pride and joy in the world cut through the air—a sword slash that was close to perfection, without any waste. How many people had disappeared into a handful of souls due to this lightning-swift sword strike?
But.
Kakakang!
The sword slash that Desolate Gold Elder unleashed collided with Dan Ja-Kang's hand and bounced back. Desolate Gold Elder opened his eyes wide in shock.
'He clashed my sword with his hand?'
Kyaaak!
At that moment, a massive demonic qi blade shot out from the tip of Dan Ja-Kang's raised hand. The demonic qi blade, resembling the claws of Asura descending upon this world, rained down on Desolate Gold Elder's head.
Desolate Gold Elder, not daring to block it, kicked the ground and rolled to the side to avoid it.
Kwaang!
A huge scar was engraved on the ground where the demonic qi blade had fallen, as if scratched by a monster's claws. It was a sight hard to believe even after witnessing it firsthand.
"You dirty unbeliever!"
Dan Ja-Kang threw his head back and roared like an animal.
Desolate Gold Elder's entire body began to soak in cold sweat.
Why was this happening?
The one overwhelming this place was, of course, Dan Ja-Kang. Black Ghost Tower couldn't even stop him. So why was that man running wild like a wounded beast?
"This!"
Dan Ja-Kang's hands began to turn black.
"I will not kill you easily!"
The life in his eyes boiled like lava. Dan Ja-Kang shouted as if he couldn't control his anger. The veins and tendons on his face began to bulge.
"I will tear apart the mouth that dares to hold Him down! You unbeliever!"
Kwaang!
Dan Ja-Kang, who had stomped hard on the ground, rushed once again at Desolate Gold Elder with incredible speed.
Desolate Gold Elder quickly dodged by throwing his body to the side.
Kwaang!
The ground where Dan Ja-Kang's fist landed crumbled like tofu, exploding and shooting up as if a shell had landed in water.
Paaat!
Desolate Gold Elder, who dodged the attack by flying his body away, instantly turned around and unleashed his swift sword towards Dan Ja-Kang.
The three rays of sword light, sharp enough to be described as nothing short of razor-sharp, flew in at a speed like light.
A normal person would dodge, and someone who wasn't would block. However, Dan Ja-Kang neither dodges nor blocks. Instead, he wraps his entire body in demonic qi and charges towards the sword qi.
'What?'
Kwaang!
The black demonic qi that burst out deflects the three sword qis flying towards him. Desolate Gold Elder reflexively kicks the ground and flies back.
One cannot avoid it perfectly forever.
Crack!
Dan Ja-Kang's hand, swung like a beast's paw, sweeps across Desolate Gold Elder's chest. A handful of flesh is torn from his body, and blood rushes out from his chest.
"Where are you trying to run! You little rat!"
Dan Ja-Kang's appearance chasing Desolate Gold Elder is like a hawk swooping down on its prey. Desolate Gold Elder, concerned, clenches his teeth and grabs his sword.
His technique, the 12th form of the Ghost King's Incarnation, the Ghost King's Calamity, erupts more intensely than at any moment in his life.
Kwak! Kwaak!
The demonic qi surrounding Dan Ja-Kang and his sword qi clash fiercely in the air.
"Euhhhh."
With a roar that is hard to believe came from Desolate Gold Elder's mouth, the black sword rips through the demonic qi of Dan Ja-Kang.
Pat! Paat!
In an instant, crimson blood lines are drawn all over Dan Ja-Kang.
"YOUUUU!"
The sword of the Ghost King's Calamity, which rushes out one after another, pierces through the gaps in the torn demonic qi at lightning speed.
Crack!
"…."
Desolate Gold Elder's eyes shake for a moment.
The tip of the sword, covered in dazzling blue-black sword qi, is stuck in the center of Dan Ja-Kang's chest.
'Uh…'
It is an unbelievable achievement, even though he accomplished it himself.
That is why Desolate Gold Elder is momentarily gripped by fear.
'Could it be some trap…'
Crack!
At that moment, Dan Ja-Kang grabs the sword stuck in his chest with his bare hands.
"… You fucking rat."
Desolate Gold Elder instinctively dropped his sword and jumped back. However, before he could even escape, Dan Ja-Kang grabbed his arm.
"Euhhhhh!"
At that moment, a scream burst from Desolate Gold Elder's mouth. Dan Ja-Kang's nails pierced his flesh and embedded themselves in his bones. An intense burning sensation spread, as if his entire arm was on fire. Desolate Gold Elder's body began to tremble as if he had been struck by a chill.
Yet, what filled Desolate Gold Elder with more despair than the immense pain was the sight before him. The sword that had pierced Dan Ja-Kang's heart was being pushed out on its own.
"Kua… Eukkk…"
His bloodshot eyes widened in agony. In an instant, red flesh filled Dan Ja-Kang's chest where a gaping wound had been.
Dan Ja-Kang spoke in a dark voice.
"I will keep you alive. You will not be granted a comfortable death. But… this body is useless."
Suddenly, a pain so intense that his mouth fell open engulfed Desolate Gold Elder's arm. The arm, once filled with muscle, began to wither and twist like an ancient, dying tree.
"Kuakkkk!"
A desperate scream, beyond pitiful, burst from Desolate Gold Elder's gaping mouth.
At that moment, members of the Black Ghost Tower, who had barely caught up with the two men, screamed and rushed toward Dan Ja-Kang.
"Protect the lord!"
"Die! You monsterrrr!"
With bloodshot eyes, they rushed toward Dan Ja-Kang's back, disregarding their own lives.
Dan Ja-Kang didn't even turn his head. He simply swung his arms at those charging at him. The black demonic qi blades that rose up tore through all who approached.
Humans turned to flesh, and their weapons turned to dust and bounced off.
But the members of the Black Tower Ghost rushed at him without caring about their own lives. The reason was simple: the moment Desolate Gold Elder died, the entire sect would perish too. They had no other choice.
Kakang!
A warrior swung his sword even as his lower body was severed. It moved to stab Dan Ja-Kang in the shoulder, while another, whose body was crushed, grabbed Dan Ja-Kang's leg with his remaining arm and held on.
"This!"
In the end, Dan Ja-Kang turned around, blood gushing from his eyes.
"You disgusting unbelievers!"
At the same time, dozens of demonic qi blades shot out simultaneously.
"Die, you all!"
Kwaaak!
A demonic qi blade, larger than a human body, spun fiercely and struck those rushing in. Flesh and blood mixed with his sword, creating a sight that should never exist in the human world.
Kwaaaak!
A storm of demonic qi swept forward and swept again.
And in an instant, everything vanished as if it were an illusion.
The world was filled with silence.
Only the red-tinted ground proved that everything that had happened there was not a lie.
Dan Ja-Kang, still looking around with a face that hadn't yet calmed from his excitement, slowly glanced down at what he was holding in his hand.
Someone's arm, twisted like an old tree, had been severed from the body's shoulder. A faint smile formed on Dan Ja-Kang's lips. He mumbled, throwing the arm to the ground.
"He sure is a quick thinker."
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Dan Ja-Kang lost his senses in the fight, Desolate Gold Elder had cut off his own arm and fled.
If it were his normal self, he wouldn't have ever given someone a chance to run away… but someone who has raised their demonic qi to the limit will lose their senses for a moment. This is the side effect he has no choice but to endure.
However, even in the murim world, a guy who was famous cut off his own arm and ran, abandoning all his subordinates.
"These people…."
Dan Ja-Kang bit his lips until they bled.
But soon, as if trying to shake off the growing suspicion, he shook his head and mumbled out of habit.
"Second Coming of Heavenly Demon."
He will descend.
He will definitely descend.
"Second Coming of Heavenly Demon."
In this way, he will negate all the delusions within him and finally give him a name.
Only then will Dan Ja-Kang find the meaning of existence.
"Jeok-Il."
"Yes, High Priest."
The man who responded to the command appeared before him and prostrated himself.
"… Kill more people, and inflict more pain on them. So that the whole world will groan in despair and pain."
"Yes, High Priest."
Dan Ja-Kang stared blankly at the blood-soaked land.
'Are you listening? Heavenly Demon. Our cries.'
After a long while, he slowly turned around.
In the place where they had left, only the twisted arm of Desolate Gold Elder was left, like an old tree.