"Agh..."

Unable to even scream due to the pain in his body, Cheon Areum took a moment to stabilize himself before slowly turning to see through the ice wall, his eyes searching urgently. Rian. He was certain it was Rian who stopped time just now.

Did he time it with Lee Haeun?

Without having been taught anything on how to use or utilize his ability more, Rian learned to expand his ability all on his own? He would have patted Rian’s head if he was here, but he was also relieved to not see him despite their house being nearby. Kim Ryung must’ve picked up Rian from school after the news of the attack. If Yoon Seoyul could find out about the watch alerts, there was no way Kim Ryung couldn’t. It would be more plausible that Kim Ryung was the first to find out and reported it to Yoon Seoyul instead.

Cheon Areum wiped the blood coming into his eyes, interrupting his vision, with the back of his hand, pressing his back on the ice wall now streaked with his blood. Swallowing down the metallic taste back into his throat, he clicked the earpiece in his ear.

"Yoon Seoyul?"

"No sign of their return yet."

"....."

Whatever.

Taking out the earpiece from his ear, Cheon Areum crushed it in his palm. Why was he even waiting for Yoon Seoyul? He had forgotten the reason. Oh yeah, probably because he wanted someone to stop him from killing anyone more than Kihyun. It was just that the reason now didn’t seem all that important to him. Also, he hadn’t encountered a single person in his way as he was flung from place to place. Irene did a great job at evacuating the civilians from the city. The ones who are still lingering in the city must be the awakeners like Rian and Lee Haeun.

Rian might have said he wanted to see Cheon Areum, and Lee Haeun had to tag along...

There was no way no one knew what was happening by now. Unlike the roads, the sky was crowded—packed with helicopters hovering at different heights, their blades chopping through the air as they circled like vultures. Cameramen leaned out dangerously, equipment aimed downward, while reporters shouted over the noise, desperate to capture every second. They wanted the footage. All of it. An S+ Class clash wasn’t something anyone would miss. Not even if it meant risking their own lives.

Sitting up straight, he had become rather calm now. Taking out the energy booster from his inventory, he injected it into his thigh as he saw another Kihyun coming out from the house in front of him. This was the last time. He had enough of seeing that face.

"He’s one stubborn kid, but when it comes to his ability, they are even more annoying. Every time I tried to do anything in that house, he’d mess with the time. I gave up on him. He’s too much to handle for me."

Cheon Areum threw away the energy booster in front of Kihyun as he heard him speak.

"You’re weaker than a kid now? Are you sure you’re also an S+ Class? You never did get officially registered after all."

"Doesn’t matter. I have the power to kill you now. That’s all that matters to me. Once I have Mind Corruption, I will be stronger than anyone on earth."

"About that, you’ve been trying for a while now. Why haven’t you killed me yet? You don’t seem as eager as me. I wouldn’t have let you live for this long."

"If you want to die this badly, why have you been protecting your stomach? That thing will die if you die too."

"You wanna know?"

Cheon Areum’s expression abruptly softened as he gazed up at Kihyun and spoke. Kihyun didn’t speak a word seeing that expression. Cheon Areum licked the blood trickling down on his wrist, enjoying the sight of the blood. The red reminded him so much of Yoon Seoyul. His energy also felt just like blood, fresh blood dampening skin.

"You’re crazy... what are you smiling for?"

Disgusted by the grin on Cheon Areum’s red lips, Kihyun walked a step closer to him. At the same time, a pinkish-brown pattern formed on the ground and started expanding around the neighborhood. This wasn’t the color of Kihyun’s energy.

"Do you know what this skill does? You basically can’t step out of this pattern until you or I die. No one else can enter it either, obviously."

Another awakener’s skill. That’s why the energy color remained the same. Did that mean he killed an awakener for this skill, or did that only apply for his special skill? That extremity must only be for his special skill, but even if it wasn’t his special skill, one of his skills could extract another’s skill, and the conditions for that were also probably nothing too ordinary.

"Instead of eyeing others’ skills, you should have just tried to become stronger on your own."

Having completed creating the second core, Cheon Areum, having more energy to spare, fearlessly connected the two cores casually. Expecting a suction, he was ready to gather more energy, but nothing happened. Cheon Areum burst out in abrupt laughter, rolling on his back on the ground, clutching his belly.

"What are you so happy about?"

The laughter was unsettling, to say the least. Perhaps sensing something amiss, Kihyun started stepping back, glancing around at his surroundings. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Wait, don’t be scared yet. I was just surprised."

Flipping onto the ground, Cheon Areum’s body twisted harshly, faint cracks echoing with each strained movement. He dragged himself onto all fours, fingers digging into the fractured surface as he began to crawl forward.

Above him, a massive vortex of black energy spiraled through the sky. It churned violently, swallowing the light as if the day itself was being devoured. The brightness dimmed, replaced by a suffocating gloom that spread across the horizon. What had once been clear skies were now drowned in darkness. The swirling mass overhead continued to expand, threads of negative energy feeding into it from multiple directions, binding together into something larger and bigger.

And at its center—

Cheon Areum crawled, his eyes had turned completely black, devoid of any trace of their original color. Darkened veins stretched across his pale skin, branching outward like cracks, staining his body with jagged black lines that pulsed faintly with each breath.