Blood was flowing from Mara's chest. Everyone around him was frozen and shocked. Mara was about to collapse…
But suddenly, he stepped one foot forward. He lowered his head and said—
"Be reduced to ashes…"
In that moment, the veins across his body began to rise, as if an unknown power was awakening inside him. The blood flowing from his chest turned into a glowing crimson shade
Then suddenly, a blue light fell behind Mara
Before he could understand anything, the same man appeared again.
This time, he had a sword in his hand. He was about to attack Mara. Slowly, he pulled the sword from its sheath…
But suddenly, he stopped.
His grip loosened, as if something invisible had interrupted him.
The blue light started fading…
And the moment the light disappeared, the man vanished into thin air
Mara immediately drew his sword and turned back to strike—
But…
Mara's burnt sword had tiny cracks glowing faintly, shimmering with a strange light. His eyes had turned crimson red, glowing with intensity
But suddenly, he struggled to breathe. Pain tightened in his chest, and Mara dropped down onto his knees.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on him.
Mara thought in his mind— "What will happen now…?"
At that moment, a blue beam of light was aimed directly at him. The crowd stood still, as if waiting for Mara to rise again.
Then Yunsa spoke calmly—
"Watching won't change anything. If you cannot endure a bad time, you must fight it."
In an instant, he dashed forward toward the blue light
Inside the glowing aura, the same mysterious man appeared again, preparing to strike with his sword.
Yunsa drew his blade from its sheath and moved with incredible speed.
With a powerful clash, he sent the man flying toward a large tree
The man did not suffer any visible injury, but the impact forced blood out of his mouth. Moments later, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
Pasito rushed toward Mara and knelt beside him. He shook him repeatedly, trying to wake him up, but Mara remained unconscious.
Yunsa stood still, silently observing the fallen enemy. He slowly sheathed his sword and muttered to himself—
"Why didn't my blade split him into shimmering fragments…?"
A sharp thought crossed his mind.
"Is this spirit far more powerful… or is he that criminal Sir warned us about?"
Before he could think further, Yunsa turned his gaze toward Mara.
But then, his eyes shifted upward.
Above them… someone was floating in the sky
A man hovered in the air, carried by unseen wings of energy. His presence felt cold and overwhelming—like a messenger of death itself
The angel-like figure suddenly descended from the sky, rushing toward the ground with the intent to defeat Yunsa
He moved with terrifying speed, aiming to strike him down.
Yunsa immediately drew his sword, ready to counter.
But at that very moment, the unconscious man near the tree raised his hand slightly, as if showing something invisible.
Because of that strange gesture, a blue beam of light once again fell upon the angelic figure
And just like before…
The figure vanished into thin air.
Seeing this, Yunsa's anger exploded. He slammed his sandalwood sword into the ground, as if he hated the very existence of that light.
"Even the sharpest claws of that being could tear this sword apart…" he growled.
Fury filled his voice.
"Damn it… you fool!"
Meanwhile, Pasito and the others supported Mara and carefully carried him toward a nearby tree.
Pasito, who had now stepped into a serious fighting mood, said calmly—
"Smiling in difficult times… is what pushes you forward."
Suddenly, in front of Pasito, a hand began to emerge from the ground.
Pasito's smile faded instantly, turning into fear.
The ground cracked open as the hand pushed upward, tearing through the earth
Slowly, a head appeared… wearing an angel-like mask, but the expression and presence beneath it felt demonic.
Its aura was unnatural—like something born from darkness itself.
Then, inch by inch, its body continued rising from the ground.
Seeing this, Pasito stepped back in shock.
Soon, its legs also emerged, and the figure fully pulled itself out of the earth, standing before him.
Pasito's voice trembled as he spoke—
"Go back into the ground… I didn't summon you. I don't even know you!"
In an instant, Pasito drew his sword from its sheath.
Suddenly, his eyes turned a deep purple—glowing with a power that felt capable of changing the course of the battle itself
At the same time, his blade began to shine with the same violet aura.
In a deep, commanding voice, Pasito said—
"I won't make you wait any longer. The wait is over… Prepare to face your end."
With explosive speed, he charged forward and launched a fierce attack at the figure that had emerged from the ground
But—
The figure caught Pasito's strike mid-motion.
As if defeating him was no challenge at all.
Pasito gritted his teeth and said—
"Let go… or you won't survive this."
Yet the figure showed no reaction.
Instead, it suddenly grabbed Pasito by the throat.
Artha, Lina, and Maya were sitting beside Mara near the tree.
The man who had been sitting there slowly raised his hand toward Mara… but the strange thing was—his eyes were still closed. He was still unconscious.
Then suddenly…
From the ground in front of the tree, a deep blue light began to rise
It grew brighter… and from within it, the same flying figure appeared—the one who moved through the sky.
He was wearing an angel-like mask again… but his presence felt far from pure.
Floating in the air, he moved rapidly toward Mara and his friends
Yunsa was watching everything.
In the next moment, a deep black aura surrounded him, and he dashed straight toward the airborne figure.
Within seconds, he reached him—
But…
The flying figure caught Yunsa by the head with just one hand.
Everyone froze.
Their mouths left open in shock.
Then—
The figure drove its sharp claws into Yunsa's head…
And a dark, slightly crimson glowing blood began to flow down slowly.
Before things could get worse—
A man wearing a white coat stepped forward to save them.