The King of Ghouls lightly dispersed his body like before, dodging the lightning. However, the situation was different from before.

Whoosh!

The raging flames that had grown too intense for Yi-Han to control filled the vast cavern.

Even for the King of Ghouls, it was difficult to lightly ignore the fierce flames imbued with the mage's mana.

If he got caught up in it and burned in his already exhausted state, the damage would be…

The insects first. Kill them first.

The King of Ghouls changed his mind, deciding to chase and kill those who had just escaped through the back instead of crushing Yi-Han.

"...Flash forth!"

However, Yi-Han naturally did not let him do so. He frantically fired lightning along the trajectory the King of Ghouls was likely to move, advancing step by step.

Zzzz, zzzz, zzzz, zzzz!

Even the King of Ghouls flinched at the fierce barrage of razor-sharp spells.

Such a crazed bombardment was close to self-destruction. Wouldn't his mana be depleted in less than ten seconds?

The King of Ghouls, with extensive experience fighting mages, was once again startled by Yi-Han's actions.

However, Yi-Han neither ran out of mana nor collapsed. Rather, he made very good use of the time the King of Ghouls had stopped.

Whoosh!

He had blocked the passage his friends had just escaped through and filled it with flames.

Only then did the King of Ghouls realize Yi-Han's intentions and become extremely enraged.

How dare he.

"As I said, you should have negotiated when I offered."

Now that the situation had come to this, Yi-Han no longer hid his true colors. He glared fiercely at his enemy and swung his staff.

The pattern of the phoenix, which still had strength left, transmitted energy to Yi-Han's grip.

The uncontrollable flames surrounding them tried to engulf Yi-Han but retreated, coming under control once more.

'Go!'

In the midst of such fierce flames, there was no need for shape transformation or manipulation. Yi-Han charged head-on.

Huge waves of flames, several layers deep, began to surge and rush towards the King of Ghouls.

The master of all ghouls and the terror of mortals faced disrespect.

The King of Ghouls realized he could no longer stall for time. Their positions had completely reversed from before.

Although it was regrettable to expend his strength, there was no other choice.

Even death cannot repay this.

Just as when he had tried to possess Buldahak's body and descend, a deep blue negative energy intensely condensed and shot out towards the waves of fierce flames.

The flames that had been raging so violently began to die down, unable to withstand it.

However, the King of Ghouls still had not accurately judged his opponent.

This was not an enemy that could be dealt with simply by binding his magic like other mages.

"Blaze forth!"

If the King of Ghouls had eyes, one would have seen them widen greatly.

The flames that had been extinguished by the deep blue negative energy reignited, fueled by mana, leaving the King of Ghouls speechless.

And only then did he realize.

It had been a mistake from the beginning to try to conserve strength and engage in a battle of attrition. That in itself had been his opponent's scheme.

Whatever artifact he possessed, it was clear that his opponent had a means to recover mana.

“How impudent…”

The King of Ghouls' form became distinct and suddenly flew in like an arrow. As he penetrated the fierce flames engulfing the cave, the sound of burning came from his form.

However, the King of Ghouls endured that damage and got close to Yi-Han.

The mage wielded a sword and charged in.

Yi-Han swung Morning Star with one hand. The King of Ghouls took Morning Star's attack head-on and got even closer.

“I'll do as you wish!”

Kwak!

The King of Ghouls firmly grabbed Yi-Han's form, just as he had possessed Buldahak.

Although most of his ability had vanished, among the powers the King of Ghouls still retained was this one.

Opening a realm gate filled with void and connecting the captured opponent's body to it.

The empty void realm endlessly sucked in the mage's mana like a vacuum.

A mage's greatest fear was running out of mana.

Moreover, this connection did not end even when the mana was depleted. It continued until the mage's life force was converted into mana and exhausted.

The King of Ghouls waited, expecting to see the captured mage collapse, bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

However, the situation that unfolded before his eyes was different from his expectations.

"Thank you. For doing as I wished."

Yi-Han spoke coldly and aimed his staff.

At this distance, with the enemy grabbing him, there was no way to miss.

"Gather, condense..."

Zzam…

"...and explode!"

<Piblicus's Insane Magic Explosion> hit accurately at close range.

The King of Ghouls, who had already expended a great deal of strength using the realm connection ability, shattered into pieces with a silent scream.

"We have to find it! Quickly!"

Dolgyu shouted urgently.

If they had any leisure time when Yi-Han was risking his life to buy them time, that would be even stranger.

Anglago and Raphael knew this too and thoroughly searched every corner of the cave. Sharakan, the summon Yi-Han had sent, guided the way, sharply tearing through everything.

"Here... Damn it! I saw wrong!"

"You blind fool! Even a blind man would be better than you!"

When Anglago made a mistake, Dolgyu exploded in anger.

Anglago was so startled that he couldn't even retort.

He had never expected Dolgyu to react like this.

Usually, no matter what mistake he made, his friend would say, 'It's okay, it wasn't on purpose,' but now...?!

"I'm sorry!"

"Instead of wasting time apologizing, shut up and search!"

Raphael, who was in front, was thoroughly intimidated by Dolgyu's momentum. If he made one more mistake, it seemed like Dolgyu would stab him with his sword.

-Grrrrr!-

Fortunately, Sharakan opened the way.

Sniffing the remnants of mana, Sharakan tapped on the empty cave wall and signaled to the three.

"Here?"

"It must be here!! You think he's doing that for fun?! Swing quickly!"

Dolgyu gripped his sword upside down and struck the wall like he was using a pickaxe, venting his anger.

"S-sorry!"

"Got it!"

The White Tiger Tower students frantically swung their weapons. With enhancement magic active and being able to infuse some mana, their power was considerable.

On top of that, Sharakan joined in, tearing at the cave wall.

Kang, kakakang, kakakakang-

The sharp sounds repeated, and gradually, the cave wall seemed to be getting thinner.

"Huff, huff. Huff..."

Anglago experienced the sensation of sweat pouring from his entire body and his breath catching in his throat.

It was only natural after running at full speed and swinging his weapon without rest.

"Don't stop!"

Dolgyu roared.

"Y-yes!"

Anglago managed to squeeze out a response. Nevertheless, his hands slowing down was inevitable.

"I'd rather you collapse from swinging! Don't stop!"

"Kuh-huff. Huff. Huff."

Dolgyu pushed his friends like a madman.

How much time passed?

Around the time when cracks appeared on the weapons and the White Tiger Tower students' palms were covered in blood, finally, the sound of cracking was heard.

Crack, crackack!

"Done!!!! We did it!!!!!"

"Get in and break the artifact quickly!!"

At Dolgyu's shout, the White Tiger Tower students kicked the shattered wall.

Inside, an empty tomb appeared.

There were no other artifacts, but if there was one difference, it was the crystal skull emitting an ominous mana on the tomb.

Anyone could see it was an artifact likely inhabited by an evil being from another realm.

Raphael drew his sword.

"Break it!"

Kang!

However, the sword bounced off without leaving a single scratch. Raphael was horrified by the evil negative energy climbing up his hand.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

As vitality vanished from his hand and strength left him, the sword naturally fell.

Dolgyu swung his weapon with a battle cry.

"If you can't do it, get out of the way!"

"S-sorry..."

Anglago thought for a moment that Dolgyu was going to kill Raphael, given how ferocious his momentum was.

Kwang!

Even though the sword was swung, the crystal skull stubbornly endured. Dolgyu took out bandages and tightly wrapped his hands.

Then he spoke.

"Wrap it! Quickly!"

"Y-yes!"

"Swing! Take turns!"

The three White Tiger Tower students began swinging their weapons in turns.

The weapons cracked and vitality vanished from their hands, but they did not give up.

"Think of Yi-Han!"

"Yes!"

"He must be risking his life against that bastard right now!"

"Y-yes..."

"I said swing faster!"

"Yes..."

And then Yi-Han appeared from behind.

Yi-Han spoke with a very tired and exhausted face.

"Guys. Since I’ve destroyed the avatar, you can break it slowly."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The three White Tiger Tower students, who were about to raise their swords and swing, froze in place.

What...?!

Yi-Han did not know exactly what kind of attack the King of Ghouls had used. Perhaps he had tried to consume mana using some means.

However, that attack had barely dealt any damage. Rather, what had damaged Yi-Han was his own magic.

<Piblicus's Insane Magic Explosion>, which the creator himself insisted was a Magic Missile.

Even though he had cast it with maximum control, the aftereffects of the mana explosion had still struck Yi-Han's entire body.

A mage taking damage from his own magic like this. If the skull principal had seen it, he would have cackled.

Since the main body was gone, relying on artifacts, and the avatar had been shattered, no matter how powerful the being, it would not be able to do anything for a while, so he could rest assured for now, but…

...Yi-Han could not do that.

'Let's never use fire magic again.'

The flames Yi-Han had crazily unleashed were spreading in all directions.

Moreover, the pattern of the phoenix seemed to have lost its power as time ran out and returned to its original form.

In the end, there was only one thing Yi-Han could do.

Crazily and diligently extinguish the fire again.

Yi-Han summoned, summoned, and summoned lumps of water and poured them over the flames.

The flames that had combined and emitted a terrible heat seemed unable to withstand the persistent attack and finally slowly died down.

Having barely finished extinguishing the fire, Yi-Han moved in the direction his friends had gone.

His friends seemed to have successfully found the artifact the King of Ghouls had inhabited and were swinging their weapons.

"Guys. Since I’ve destroyed the avatar, you can break it slowly."

"..."

"..."

"..."

While his friends were shocked, Yi-Han compressed a water orb tightly and added spin to it.

Since he had time, he could prepare a sufficiently destructive magic.

'It's a shame to break such an artifact, but...'

If he took it lightly, thinking it was a waste, and a problem arose after taking it out, it would be a huge headache.

Wasn't it common to defeat all the enemies and then take the evil artifact, only for things to go wrong?

Yi-Han was not foolish enough to leave behind potential trouble.

"Everyone, step back."

"Okay, okay."

Craaack!

The crystal skull shattered with a single blow. The evil being inhabiting it screamed and was reverse summoned to another realm.

Raphael was deeply impressed by Yi-Han's decision to destroy the evil artifact without a second thought.

"Wardanaz... Excellent."

"Wait. You... What happened to your hand?"

Yi-Han looked at Raphael in horror. The tightly wrapped bandages were covered in blood, and the exposed flesh had turned black and died.

Dolgyu answered on his behalf from the side.

"It's like a medal."

"A medal?"

"Yeah. Yi-Han. While you were fighting that bastard, it's a medal showing that we did our best."

At Dolgyu's words, the other two friends nodded.

Of course, Dolgyu's anger from before had left a slight scar on their hearts, but bringing it up now seemed too petty.

"No. Dolgyu. Stop talking nonsense. I asked what happened to your hand."

"Uh... That artifact..."