[Translator - Helga ]

    [Proofreader - Starfall ]

    Chapter 153: The Demon (1)

    "Is she dead?"

    At the sudden voice, Kwon Hanul turned his head. Sasha Babel was looking at him.

    "You’re..."

    "Sasha Babel. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?"

    Kwon Hanul let out a faint smile. As if he ever could. She was, after all, a member of the Babel clan.

    "Is Mano Stonelight dead?"

    "Who knows?"

    Kwon Hanul answered indifferently. He’d struck down with the intent to kill, but it didn’t matter to him whether she lived. That’s how insignificant Mano Stonelight was to him.

    "She’s a disciple of the Dragon Slayer."

    Sasha Babel sighed as she said it.

    "There’s no benefit to killing her. If it were me, I would’ve tried to keep her alive and use her to my advantage."

    "Hyukcheon never forgets a grudge,” Kwon Hanul replied flatly. Even if Mano’s death provoked the Dragon Slayer, he had no regrets. "So don’t interfere with how Hyukcheon does things."

    He stared coldly at Sasha Babel. She swallowed hard.

    "...I was out of line."

    "As long as you understand."

    "Thank you... for sparing me."

    Kwon Hanul nodded in response.

    "Don’t worry about it. It just happened that way."

    He hadn’t fought to save Sasha Babel. He simply came across Mano Stonelight—and settled a personal score.

    "...Even so, the fact remains that you saved my life. I won’t forget this debt."

    "Then repay it right now."

    "What?"

    "How did you get beaten so easily?"

    Mano didn’t have a scratch on her, but Sasha Babel was a complete mess. It had been a one-sided fight.

    They might have to face the Dragon Slayer one day. Understanding how Sasha lost might prove useful.

    "I’m not exactly sure myself. One of the daggers Mano threw wounded me. Then the aura of the Red Dragon Star seeped in and suppressed the power of my Dragonheart Bloodline."

    "The Red Dragon Star has an ability like that?"

    It wasn’t just the Babel clan that was wary of the Red Dragon Star. The Hyukcheon clan was too.

    Kwon Hanul had already studied it through Joo Hayun and the Hyukcheon’s intelligence division.

    But nowhere did it mention that the Red Dragon Star could suppress bloodline abilities.

    "I’m just as surprised. There was no record of this ability in Babel’s data either..."

    A Gift was something innate. It shouldn’t change.

    If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.

    "It feels like it’s almost worn off now. So you don’t have to worry about—"

    At some point, Kwon Hanul had walked right up to her. Sasha’s words caught in her throat.

    It was just the two of them here. And Sasha couldn’t use her Dragonheart power. If Kwon Hanul had any ill intent, she had no way of resisting.

    "Um..."

    She couldn’t imagine a member of Hyukcheon acting like that, but her clan leader had always told her—all men are wolves.

    And though it embarrassed her to admit it, Sasha knew she was beautiful.

    "Why are you suddenly this close...?"

    Just then, Kwon Hanul grabbed her wrist. Sasha screamed.

    "Kyahhh!"

    She raised her arm to shield her chest, shouting in panic as her clan leader’s face flashed through her mind.

    "D-Don’t touch me! If you lay a finger on me, I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself!"

    Sasha flailed wildly.

    But something felt off. Kwon Hanul was only holding her wrist—nothing more.

    That’s when Sasha realized the look on Kwon Hanul’s face.

    He looked... pitying.

    "I know this is a rude question, but... is something wrong with your head?"

    "N-No, it’s just... you suddenly grabbed my hand and..."

    Mana flowed from Kwon Hanul’s hand, passing through Sasha’s body.

    The aura of the Red Dragon Star has been erased!

    Suppressed abilities have been restored!

    The oppressive aura that had been restraining her vanished. Her Dragoheart power returned.

    "I needed to confirm what kind of influence the Red Dragon Star had. And whether I could nullify it with my power."

    With that, Kwon Hanul released her wrist.

    "I might have to fight the Dragon Slayer eventually. Do you understand me now?"

    Sasha''s face turned crimson.

    Though the Red Dragon Star’s effect was gone, Sasha Babel was in no shape to continue fighting. The external injuries alone were serious.

    In truth, even if she’d been fine, she’d planned to give up. Anyone who had witnessed Kwon Hanul’s fight with Mano would have thought the same.

    That’s how overwhelming it was.

    "..."

    If she were honest, all of that was just an excuse.

    She was mortified by how pathetically she had acted in front of Kwon Hanul. She turned her face away, trying to hide her shame.

    "I’ll be going now."

    * * *

    The moment he confirmed she had no intention to fight, Kwon Hanul turned to head back to the maze’s center. The Sky Arena wasn’t over yet.

    "Wait!"

    Sasha grabbed him. He turned to her and asked, "Why are you calling me? Trying to fight now?"

    "N-No! That’s not it, I..."

    Sasha swallowed hard before continuing.

    "What did you just do to heal me?"

    "I can’t reveal the secrets of Hyukcheon."

    "I’ve never heard of Hyukcheon having such a technique."

    The Babel and Hyukcheon clans had been rivals for ages. They knew each other well.

    "Think what you like."

    Kwon Hanul had no intention of convincing her otherwise. There was no need.

    "Is it because you’re of the True Bloodline?"

    "Believe what you want."

    "Then I’ll assume you’re the only one with this ability—and I’ll make a request."

    She couldn’t get a confirmation, but Sasha had a sharp intuition.

    Among the Hyukcheon clan, only Kwon Hanul could heal someone.

    "Do you remember Alia Davi, the one from the party?"

    "I remember."

    "You asked her if she was ill when you first met her, didn’t you?"

    "I did."

    "Can you heal her with your power?"

    Kwon Hanul considered it for a moment. Could he really heal her? After some thought, he answered.

    "Yes, I can."

    The moment she heard it, Sasha straightened her posture and knelt down, looking up at him.

    "Please. Once the Sky Arena ends, please heal Alia Davi."

    "I refuse."

    Sasha’s eyes widened at the immediate reply.

    Kwon Hanul drove the point home.

    "Alia Davi is part of the Babel clan, isn’t she?"

    Her face went stiff.

    "H-How did you..."

    "You think that’s all I know? I’m also aware she was one of Babel’s top talents."

    By his assessment, she was far stronger than Kwon Chan-seong—perhaps even on Kwon Myung-woo’s level.

    "Objectively speaking, healing Alia Davi brings no benefit to Hyukcheon."

    Kwon Hanul didn’t feel strong loyalty to his clan.

    He’d grown up outside the clan, unaware of his origins—so it made sense.

    But that didn’t mean he’d go so far as to heal a high-level fighter from Babel.

    "So I can’t grant that request."

    He turned as if there was nothing more to discuss. But Sasha grabbed him again.

    "If you heal Alia Davi... I’ll do anything you ask!"

    There was no reason to keep listening. Kwon Hanul kept walking.

    "Please... I’m begging you! If you don’t, she’ll die!"

    He stopped.

    Sasha’s face brightened, thinking he had changed his mind.

    But that wasn’t the reason he froze.

    An ominous magic was in the air. It clung to the skin like something sticky.

    "...What kind of mana is this?"

    Familiar. He’d felt it somewhere before.

    As Kwon Hanul stood confused, the Sky Arena suddenly began to shake.

    The ground trembled violently. The maze walls began to collapse.

    As the quake intensified, the sinister magic grew stronger.

    "...No way."

    From the edge of the Sky Arena, the ground began to crack. The fractures converged toward the center.

    The moment they all connected, the earth erupted skyward. Something black and red burst forth.

    It was massive—its head reached the barrier covering the Sky Arena. And that was only its upper body.

    It spread its six arms wide, grabbing hold of the arena.

    %$#@!!%^.

    A roar rang out like a sonic bomb. It was too strange to comprehend.

    Wings unfurled from its back—large enough to cover the entire arena. The moment they spread, a searing hot wind swept the field.

    !%@!$!!

    It screamed again. And that’s when Kwon Hanul realized what it was.

    "...A demon."

    A creature from another world—the kind that once drove humanity to the brink of extinction—had awakened once more.

    Kwon Hanul swallowed hard.

    The demon he fought in Mexico had been severely weakened. Beating it hadn’t been difficult.

    But this one was different. Just looking at it made it hard to breathe. Every muscle in his body tensed.

    He didn’t need to fight it to understand—this demon’s power was overwhelming.

    —Aaaaaah.

    A human-like voice came from the demon’s mouth. It used two of its six arms to cover its eyes.

    Kwon Hanul stayed on high alert, watching its movements carefully.

    —Haaaaah!

    The demon inhaled deeply—then exhaled.

    —It’s too bright!

    ...What?

    Kwon Hanul stared, wondering if he’d misheard.

    —Why’d I have to wake up now? It’s too damn bright!

    But he hadn’t misheard.

    —So bright!

    The demon’s wings melted away. Strangely, the liquified wings clung not to the floor—but to the ceiling. The transparent barrier covering the Sky Arena turned pitch black.

    —Phew.

    Finally, the demon sighed in relief. It used the rest of its arms to stack a pile on the ground. Then, burying its face into them, it muttered, I’m gonna sleep a little longer. Wake me up in ten minutes.

    [Translator - Helga ]

    [Proofreader - Starfall ]