“GAAAH!”

“Kurgh!”

The power of Catastrophic Thunder, infused with Holy Force and Demon Force, far exceeded Seong-Hwi’s expectations. The Earthly Branches members were powerless against it despite unleashing their Chaos Mana.

Chaos Mana was unparalleled in offense and defense because of its mana-devouring characteristic. However, the Earthly Branches members did not have anywhere near enough Chaos Mana to endure the superior powers of an angel and a demon.

“Gurgh!”

“Urgh...”

The lightning bolts subsided. Snake and Rabbit, the two with the weakest defense, lost consciousness.

“What kind of ability was that?!”

“Kurgh! What the hell is he?!”

Although they were still conscious, Seo-Gyeong, Tiger, Dog, and Pig were hit with Catastrophic Thunder’s debuffs. In disbelief, they stared at Seong-Hwi, enveloped in black and white electricity.

“Could those energies be... Holy Force and Demon Force?” Seo-Gyeong mumbled.

However, he couldn’t understand how a human could utilize those powers. It was more absurd than a human using Chaos Mana.

[00:00:30]

[00:00:29]

...

Seong-Hwi quickly took action once he confirmed he only had thirty seconds left. The Wings of Evolution flashed, and he instantly teleported to Pig.

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!” shouted Pig, who had suffered an attack from Seong-Hwi earlier due to his instantaneous movement skill.

He crossed his forearms and activated a skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Adipose Armor.]

Pig expanded like a balloon as his adipose tissue proliferated. His fat layers expanded to fill the hallway as he turned into a giant fat wall.

“Gahaha! Try to get through my defenses this time!” he shouted confidently.

His unique skill, Adipose Armor, could endlessly create fat with mana, albeit its defensive capabilities decreased the more he made. No matter how quickly Seong-Hwi destroyed the Adipose Armor, it wouldn’t be fast enough to surpass the proliferation rate, and he would be crushed to death by the fat.

Seong-Hwi smirked as he stared at the rapidly proliferating fat and said, “I’ll help you go on a diet.”

He clasped his hands together again. Holy Force and Demon Force clashed as he activated a different skill.

[Activating Skill: Rust of Ruin.]

A dark red aura enveloped the black and white energies. Seong-Hwi unclasped his hands, straightened his fingers, and thrust his hands into Pig’s Adipose Armor.

“Kekeke! That doesn’t even tickle!” Pig mocked.

Seong-Hwi’s attack was no different from sticking two toothpicks in a giant watermelon, but Pig’s mocking smile soon disappeared.

“Huh? Huh?!”

Pain spread throughout his body, slowly growing intense to the point that it felt like he was being hacked with a knife. His blood and organs were corroding.

“GAAAH!”

Dark red blades sprouted from Pig’s body. His corroded blood had ripped through his blood vessels and protruded from his body.

“Thanks for increasing the area available for me to attack,” Seong-Hwi replied with a smile.

Rust of Ruin could corrode even people. Two-thirds of the iron in the human body was carried by hemoglobin in red blood cells, and the remaining third was stored in organs. Seong-Hwi’s Rust of Ruin was effective against any lifeform possessing blood and organs, unless they were a spirit or a specter.

It was debatable whether the Progenitor, Haema Sanguis, was the strongest, but he was one of the worst opponents to face because of this skill in Seong-Hwi’s past life.

“Gurgh...” Pig groaned as he bled profusely from the rust fragments that sprouted from his body and collapsed.

[00:00:01]

[00:00:00]

The conversion terminated, and the Wings of Evolution returned to their hexagonal pattern. Tiger and Dog charged at Seong-Hwi like lightning, thinking Seong-Hwi was exhausted after noticing the change in the wings.

“Now! Kill him!”

“Ruff!”

Tiger’s thick human arms turned into a tiger’s front legs, wrapped in Chaos Mana like a sandstorm, ready to grind apart everything it touched. Dog, a long-haired woman, had undergone Beastification with her D Weapon, a Bernese Mountain Dog. The dog was very muscular, as a mountain dog would be, causing her to become more muscular than a man.

“Kurgh!” Seong-Hwi grunted as he blocked Tiger’s and Dog’s attacks, being blown backward.

He was certain his forearm was fractured.

“Keep pushing him!”

“He’s tired!”

Tiger and Dog did not miss the opportunity to continue pursuing Seong-Hwi. The color and pattern on the Wings of Evolution changed again as Seong-Hwi was blown backward. It took a repeating feather pattern, white and brown like the owl birdfolk, Saurix.

[Converting Destiny Force to Kinetic Force.]

Kinetic Force, the secondary force of the birdfolk, amplified the kinetic energy of physical objects. Seong-Hwi suddenly got twice as fast; Tiger and Dog were nowhere near fast enough to catch up to him.

Seong-Hwi landed on the ground after outrunning them and thought, It feels like my Dexterity is forcibly boosted. I’ll need some time getting used to it.

It was as if someone pushed him in the desired direction, or he was pulled with a rubber band. Just then, he thought of an innovative idea.

Wait, amplifying kinetic energy? In that case...

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Chasing Bow, one of the symbols of No.3 The Hunter]

A bow made with two black bull horns appeared. Seong-Hwi drew the bowstring, and a black bow was automatically nocked. He let the arrow loose, infusing Kinetic Force to boost its speed severalfold. Speed translated to power.

“Kurgh!” Tiger grunted as he blocked the arrows with his arms, unable to dodge.

“I get how to use this power now!” Seong-Hwi shouted as he smiled, repeatedly drawing the bowstring and firing dozens of arrows infused with Kinetic Force.

The arrows, faster than lightning, split the air, creating sonic booms. Tiger and Dog curled up their bodies as much as possible because they knew they couldn’t dodge all the arrows, hoping for their Chaos Mana and Health stat to protect them.

“Kurgh!”

“Argh!”

The arrow rain stopped, but Tiger and Dog had become hedgehogs, impaled with several arrows.

“Huff! Huff! Son of a bitch!”

“Coward!”

They glared at Seong-Hwi as they pulled out all the arrows stuck in them. Thankfully, the Chaos Mana enveloping them and their dense muscles prevented the arrows from penetrating far.

But they’ve accumulated damage! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly.

He dashed forward. Although he had pushed off hard concrete, it felt like he had pushed off a highly elastic trampoline. He immediately closed the distance as he unsheathed the Zanaka Karambit and spun it around his index finger.

He first swung the dagger at Dog, but it felt like his hand was attached to a rocket. The Zanaka Karambit instantly formed a dozen holes on Dog. As expected from a recurve dagger, even twisting the dagger slightly widened the wound significantly.

“Haaah!” Dog screamed as she endured the attacks with her high Health stat.

She swung her fist, condensed with enough power to shatter Seong-Hwi’s bones if he were directly hit. However, Seong-Hwi had already become accustomed to moving with Kinetic Force, so her punches couldn’t be slower for him. He slashed her neck over five times in one second; no human could survive such wounds.

“Krrrk!” Dog groaned as her head fell from her neck like an apple from a tree.

Seong-Hwi, his face covered in blood, turned to Tiger.

“Urgh... Stay away! Get away from me, damn monster!” Tiger shouted in terror, his earlier confidence nowhere in sight.

He ran down the hallway on all fours and thought, He’s not human! He’s different—Yeah! He must be a different race! The instantaneous changes in battle styles and mana, the versatile skillset, and the battle sense required to use everything optimally in combat... We can’t be of the same race!

“Kurgh!” Tiger grunted when he suddenly felt pain in his back. He saw a spear protruding from his left chest like a bamboo shoot. “I don’t wanna die...”

He collapsed in tears, knowing he would not stand back up again. The Kinetic Force conversion was terminated, and the Wings of Evolution returned to their original state.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!” Seong-Hwi panted heavily.

Not even he could be free from fatigue after a prolonged battle against several Semi Rankers. Just then, he heard clapping sounds. He turned to see Seo-Gyeong clapping with a smile.

“That was incredible! Cheon Seong-Hwi, was it? I’ve never seen nor heard such an ability! How can you use the secondary forces of other races?”

There was no such precedence in the Mirror World. The only exception he was aware of was Chaos Humans using Chaos Mana.

“Can I become like you, too? What are those wings?! Where did you get them?!” Seo-Gyeong asked, his eyes filled with aspiration and desire.

Seong-Hwi had seen such eyes too many times in his life.

He smirked and said, “You’re a bit too relaxed, aren’t you? You’re the only one remaining.”

“Hahaha! I’m different from those pieces of trash. I’m a Semi Ranker in the hundreds, and you’re exhausted. Your wings’ power looks like it has a cooldown, too.”

Seo-Gyeong’s black eyes shone wickedly as they cautiously examined Seong-Hwi.

“No wonder you’re called Rat. You didn’t intervene even once as you sacrificed your clansmen,” Seong-Hwi remarked.

“You could call it strategy, you know? I made this clan exactly for this purpose.” Seo-Gyeong smiled and continued, “More importantly... Are you part of a clan?”

“No.”

“That’s great! Come to Earthly Branches. Now that the small fry are culled, I’m heading to Reykjavik with the real deals.”

Seo-Gyeong felt no emotions when calling his comrades, who had fought for the clan with their lives, small fry.

He shouted inwardly, He will become a High Ranker soon!

He decided to recruit Seong-Hwi. To do that, he had sprayed Charming Musk throughout the surroundings as his clansmen were dying one by one. This was the battle style of a cowardly and wicked rat.

“I have a plan. Earthly Branches will become one of the ten great clans in a few years. The Union will have no choice but to acknowledge us,” Seo-Gyeong remarked.

“Hah, you think becoming one of the ten great clans is a joke? Besides, how will you do that when you’ve lost all your clansmen?” Seong-Hwi asked mockingly as he relaxed his fatigued muscles and began to replenish his mana.

Seo-Gyeong opened his arms wide and said, “It’s okay. The invaluable two remain. All I need are Dragon and Seo-Yeon!”

He explained to Seong-Hwi his plan to use Dragon and Seo-Yeon, who had divine and mythical beast D Weapons, to create human weapons.

Dragon, huh? Seong-Hwi thought.

He knew who Dragon was. His real name was Charles Dullin, a fellow Calasanz comrade alongside Seo-Yeon. Charles and Seo-Yeon were brainwashed to become Earthly Branches executives in Seong-Hwi’s past life. At the time, the two traveled together out of sympathy for each other. They met Seong-Hwi in their adventure, who then recruited them to Calasanz.

“What do you think? Awesome, right? With those two and you, we can create the greatest clan!” Seo-Gyeong shouted passionately.

Seong-Hwi, who had been listening silently, said, “Yeah. I’m sure those two and I could create the greatest clan.”

He saw no faults in Seo-Gyeong’s opinion since Charles and Seo-Yeon had been the strongest transformation attackers of Calasanz in his past life.

He continued, “But... what about you? It doesn’t sound like you’re bringing anything to the table.”

Seo-Gyeong’s expression hardened. He wondered, Is Charming Musk... working?

Seong-Hwi should have agreed to his offer by now. His muskrat D Weapon’s ability allowed him to induce people to become his allies.

However, Seong-Hwi smirked and said, “Something’s off, right?”

It didn’t work! Seo-Gyeong shouted inwardly.

He got goosebumps as he stepped backward. Seong-Hwi had only pretended to be under the effect of Charming Musk to buy enough time to recover his strength.

“Bastard!”

“Do you want to know what I hate the most?” Seong-Hwi asked as he stepped forward. The Brooch of Moderation was on his chest. “Bastards who don’t take responsibility for their destiny. It makes me sick when I see them spending their lives running away!”

They reminded him of his mother, who had abandoned him at a children’s home.

He continued, “I sought power so that I wouldn’t be like those cowards, not for some disgusting desire, like you are!”

The Wings of Evolution changed again. An inverted ginkgo leaf pattern appeared, and the wings shone gold.

[Converting Destiny Force to Draconic Mana.]

An enormous amount of mana surged. It was the power of dragons, the race with the largest mana capacity.

“You have even more power up your sleeve?” Seo-Gyeong mumbled in shock as he stepped backward.

He glanced at Seo-Yeon in a cage and thought, I can’t win! I have to run away with Seo-Yeon!

His muskrat somersaulted in midair and latched onto a wall, creating a black hole large enough to fit one person.

[Activating Unique Skill: Mouse Hole.]

I’ve created the escape route. All I need now is Seo-Yeon!

Seo-Gyeong sprinted to the cage as he stared at Seo-Yeon—his little sister, future, and weapon—leaning against the bars with her eyes closed.

I’ll retrieve Dragon later! Seo-Gyeong thought as he grabbed Seo-Yeon’s shoulder.

Just then, Seo-Yeon opened her eyes and shouted, “Fucking bastard! I’m ashamed of ever having been proud to call you my oppa! Miho!”

Yip!

“Wha—”

Miho, the four-tailed fox who had been hiding behind Seo-Yeon, pushed Seo-Gyeong out of the cage.

“KIM SEO-YEON!” Seo-Gyeong shouted in rage.

Seong-Hwi swung the Sword of Koksan, shining brightly with a golden light, at Seo-Gyeong. It was the technique, Step Forth and Slash, a vertical slash directly forward.

“Even in your last moments, all you think to do is run away. You don’t deserve to even be on the ranking,” Seong-Hwi remarked.

“Kurgh!” Seo-Gyeong quickly pivoted, avoiding a fatal strike, but the attack severed his right arm. “GAAAH!”

Blood poured like a fountain. Seo-Gyeong ran as fast as he could to the hole, determined to at least survive by himself.

“Pathetic,” Seong-Hwi said coldly as he brought the Sword of Koksan to his left hip.

He slammed his right foot on the ground and thrust the sword as he twisted it; the technique was known as Brave Thrust, aimed at Seo-Gyeong’s head. Seo-Gyeong thought furiously to find a way out of this situation. However, a shout from beside Seong-Hwi forced him to alter the trajectory.

“No! Don’t kill him!”

Instead, the Sword of Koksan severed the link between Seo-Gyeong’s spine and pelvis.

“GAAAH!” Seo-Gyeong screamed.

The nerves to his lower extremities were completely severed, and he lost all sensation from the waist down. He collapsed like a puppet without strings.

“N-nooo!” Seo-Gyeong reached for the mouse hole, but Seong-Hwi stepped hard on his head. “Kurgh!”

Seo-Gyeong’s face slammed into the concrete floor, which broke all of his teeth. He lost consciousness as his skull fractured.

“Why?” Seong-Hwi asked as he looked beside him, where Seo-Yeon was panting heavily.

“Despite all this... he was still... my family,” she answered.

“Family, huh? What do you even think family is?” Seong-Hwi snorted and continued, “Families stay with you in misery, and celebrate with you in joy. Do not insult the word. He is not your family.”

Seo-Yeon stared at Seong-Hwi with mixed feelings.

Seong-Hwi sheathed the Sword of Koksan as he momentarily hesitated, then turned around and mumbled, “In any case... I’m glad you’re okay, Seo-Yeon.”

***

Explosions endlessly sounded outside Capella Circus Theater.

[Activating Unique Skill: Three-Cushion.]

About a dozen mana balls gathered as they bounced off the cushion rails in midair. Stroppa kicked in the direction of the mana balls.

[Activating Unique Skill: Black Fox Kick.]

Dozens of shadow-like feet sprouted from Stroppa’s black foot, exploding the mana balls the size and shape of billiard balls. The shockwave of the explosion blew Stroppa back.

“Human! So, you are hell-bent on antagonizing us!” Stroppa shouted as blood-red energy surged from his eyes, a sign that a beastfolk’s wildness was almost over the threshold.

“Dammit... We don’t wanna do this either, but it will complicate things if you barge in there,” Douglas replied.

“Bullshit! Those are just excuses! You humans have been in on all this from the start!”

Stroppa grew fifty percent larger as he exuded intense Beast Force.

“Dammit! If that’s how you will be, you give me no choice but to fight back!” Douglas shouted as he pointed his cue stick at Stroppa.

“Grrr!”

However, it seemed Stroppa had already lost his sense of reason. At this rate, their battle would affect the bystanders.

If I kill him, our relationship with Fox Village will become irreversible. Even so, if I let them through, our guys will be in danger! Dammit, do I have no other choice?

Douglas had been passive in fighting back, but his eyes were now filled with bloodlust. As he was about to attack, gold flames burst and burned off the Capella Circus Theater’s tent.

“W-what was that?” Douglas turned around in surprise.

Gold flames resembling a dragon’s breath heated the surrounding air, and as if it had been an illusion, it suddenly vanished. The remains of the burnt tent fell from the sky, and silence fell on the battlefield. Just then, voices sounded out as hundreds of fox beastfolk swarmed out of the circus theater entrance.

“T-the fox beastfolk are coming out!”

“I see Team Leader Kim Seo-Yeon!”

“Who’s that fucking guy holding her?”

The fox beastfolk nervously looked around.

“Yowl! We’re free!”

“W-where are we? There are too many humans.”

However, they instantly brightened once they noticed Stroppa and the other fox beastfolk.

“Yip! It’s the chief guard!”

“Chief Stroppa!”

Stroppa immediately suppressed his Beast Force and ran to the escaping beastfolk, shouting, “Ahhh! You’re all safe!”

Douglas let Stroppa through as he mumbled, “What’s going on? Did our guys free them?”

As he wondered if the spec force members that entered the circus theater had freed the fox beastfolk, he noticed a man walking toward him. He was covered in blood and was exuding an unsettling aura. Douglas got goosebumps as he felt the man’s unbridled bloodlust; he seemed to have just returned from battle.

The man was supporting the leader of Pursuit Team 5 with his left shoulder and was dragging Kim Seo-Gyeong, the leader of Extermination Team 1 and the cause of this entire incident, by the neck.

“Hey, you, stop. Who are you?” Douglas asked.

“You must be the spec force captain.” Seong-Hwi threw Seo-Gyeong at Douglas’s feet like a piece of garbage. “The remnants are still in the basement. You might capture some of them if you’re quick.”

“What? What are you talking about? Give me more details!”

However, Seong-Hwi ignored Douglas and gently let Seo-Yeon down.

He turned away from her and said, “Let’s meet again when the opportunity arises.”

“You...” Seo-Yeon mumbled as she stared blankly at him.

“Hah! Son of a bitch... Are you ignoring me—huh?”

As Douglas was about to grab Seong-Hwi’s shoulder, Seong-Hwi silently extended his fist toward him. A ring with 1ML engraved on it was on his middle finger.

“Hm? I’ve seen this somewhere... Wait, a First-Class Murder License Ring?” Douglas mumbled.

It was the same as the one he had.

Seong-Hwi glanced at Douglas and said, “I’m exhausted right now... I’ll comply if you decide to summon me another time. You can get the details from her.”

He walked away after gesturing to Seo-Yeon with his chin. Douglas couldn’t stop him because anyone with a First-Class Murder License Ring was a monster. Not even ten people in the Capital had one.

Wait a second. Someone recently received a first-class murder license. I believe his name was...

Douglas expressed shock as he stared at Seong-Hwi’s back.

“Rank 943, Cheon Seong-Hwi?”