The flames of the Fire Demon engulfed the area, leaving countless prisoners with severe burns. In the ensuing chaos, they stumbled and fell over each other.

Ordinarily, such agony from burns and the scorching flames would have left anyone writhing in pain and begging for relief, but these individuals were far from ordinary humans.

“I’ll kill you!”

These were prisoners whose hatred and rage toward Pendragon had been deeply instilled. Moreover, they were murderers—hardened criminals who had survived brutal competitions with the Wyrms. For them, the pain of their injuries only fueled their rage, driving them to seek vengeance against the one responsible for their suffering.

Thus, it began.

“There they are!”

“Chase them down!”

Emerging from the flames, the prisoners surged forward like rabid hunting dogs, intent on killing the Pendragon knight.

“…We’ll go after him too,” said a man who had taken a blow from the knight. Clutching his nose, blood pouring like a waterfall, he rose to his feet. His bloodshot eyes glinted with murderous intent.

“Fourth Apostle, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Go after him immediately. I’ll catch up after recovering briefly.”

“…Understood.”

Whoosh!

With the sound of rushing wind, the men clad in black disappeared. The man referred to as the Fourth Apostle steadied his breathing.

“So, he knows about the Black Moon…”

Gritting his teeth, he thought of the knight investigating the Black Moon. He now had one more reason to ensure that knight didn’t leave alive.

“Whoever he is, I will kill him. Without fail.”

[[Krrrr...]]

Even if it meant offering himself and everyone else as sacrifices! Not out of humiliation for being defeated, but for the sake of the greater cause…!

…Drip.

The blood still didn’t stop flowing.

A blast of Baekbo Shinkwon (Hundred-Step Divine Fist) struck the horde charging at them, enveloping them in the force of the technique.

Boom-boom-boom!

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

“What?!”

Caught off guard, the prisoners tumbled to the ground, unsure of what had hit them. For many, experiencing Baekbo Shinkwon for the first time likely felt like being attacked by a ghost.

It wasn’t an entirely unreasonable thought.

“Invisible hands!”

“How is he hitting us from that far away?”

“The Pendragon knight is using ghost powers!”

Striking accurately from thirty to fifty paces away with what seemed like ghostly hands was nothing short of supernatural in their eyes. The fear instilled by this unseen power was evident, causing hesitation among the prisoners. And each time they faltered, Lee Han struck.

Thud!

He did not hesitate to kick the faces of those who wavered or break their legs.

For Lee Han, the more disoriented his opponents, the easier it was to break through.

However—

Thud!

“Don’t back down! Charge at him! We’ve got numbers on our side!”

“No matter how strong he is, a blade will kill him just the same! Stab him!”

“Hold formation! Don’t let it collapse, you idiots!”

Not all of them were cowed.

Some of the prisoners were seasoned fighters. Even in the face of the unfamiliar Baekbo Shinkwon, they quickly adapted and pressed their attack. Some displayed leadership, attempting to coordinate an encirclement, while others boldly charged.

Of course, those who tried that—

Crunch!

“Move.”

Snap!

—were crushed without mercy.

Lee Han’s fists moved swiftly, striking his opponents’ philtrums and chest centers, targeting their vital points. With precision, he rendered them helpless before jabbing his hand like a spear into their sides, gripping and tearing—

Crack!

—until their ribs shattered. The broken bones pierced their internal organs, leaving them writhing on the ground.

Even those who survived were left with injuries that would disable them for life.

Some might call his methods cruel, but Lee Han felt no hesitation.

‘The stench is overwhelming.’

The stench of rot emanating from them wasn’t due to poor hygiene.

No, it was the scent discerned by a nose honed through experience. It was the odor that clung to lawless mages or illegal slavers—people who harbored no remorse for their crimes, who derived pleasure and thrill from harming others. These were the cancers of society, exuding a reek of pure malice.

There was no reason to hold back against such filth.

‘I don’t have time to waste on trash that serves no purpose alive.’

Lee Han’s gaze grew colder, his emotions dulling like unfeeling stones. He no longer saw them as people but as pests to be exterminated.

With this mindset, he continued to break through, striking and destroying anyone who stood in his way. Those who dared to block him were crushed; those who resisted paid an even greater price.

Repeating this brutal process—

Crash!

“Sir! I think we’re finally out!”

“…”

“Sir…?”

“…Feels like I lost myself for a moment.”

“That’s… terrifying focus. Almost scary…”

“Hah…”

At some point, there was no one left to block his path.

 

Derrick swallowed hard.

The sheer focus and overwhelming power Lee Han had displayed moments ago were nothing short of terrifying.

‘Even a Terminator wouldn’t be this scary.’

Lee Han moved like a machine programmed to eliminate the inanimate. The moment he confirmed his opponents were criminals, his attacks became utterly merciless. With each move, his precision and force only grew, as if his very being had been honed to act as an unstoppable executioner.

It was overwhelming. If the Grim Reaper had a form, surely it would look like this.

‘[Vajra’s Might] seems to have gone berserk…’

Among Lee Han’s seven—or perhaps now eight or nine—unique traits, the one that stood out most was Vajra’s Might, a top-tier ability that Derrick surmised was aligned with the “virtue” category. It was particularly sensitive to acts of evil, meaning it thrived when facing wicked opponents.

Combined with the synergistic effects of his other sensory-related traits, Vajra’s Might exhibited even greater power. This was the advantage of his interconnected traits.

‘If his Slayer of Cursed Mages trait also amplified his abilities… the Instructor would be unparalleled among those at his level.’

As Derrick had just witnessed—

Shudder!

—he couldn’t help but feel relieved that they were on the same side. Lee Han’s way of handling the prisoners was so overpowering, it bordered on fearsome.

“I’d really like to check the Instructor’s status window again. I can’t even imagine how much he’s changed…”

“Traits, huh… This really feels like a video game,” Derrick muttered.

“Haha, I’ll jot down the stats for you later and show you,” one of his companions said, chuckling.

“Judging by that, I take it your skill cooldown’s up?”

“Haha…”

Derrick didn’t bother hiding it. Indeed, his [Status Insight] skill was off cooldown and ready to be used again.

Most importantly—

‘I can now use it five times in a row.’

Thanks to his efforts to accumulate experience and level up his skills, not only had their power increased, but their limitations had also lessened. For example, he could now use [Status Insight] five consecutive times, and its cooldown had dropped from three months to a mere fifteen days—a development he was thrilled about.

“That means checking the Instructor’s traits will give us a clear view of his new growth tree. Traits directly reflect potential, after all.”

“This feels like I’ve become a game character…” Lee Han muttered with a displeased expression, but he didn’t object. If this would help him identify untapped potential, he’d go along with it.

Lee Han felt a budding sense of curiosity. Despite the comparison to a game character, the thought of uncovering abilities even he wasn’t aware of filled him with anticipation.

He was already looking forward to the future.

…Of course.

“That is, assuming we make it out of here alive.”

“What?”

“…Something terrifying is coming.”

“Instructor…?”

“Get ready to run. Whoever’s coming isn’t someone we can take lightly.”

“?!”

Lee Han’s expression stiffened as his finely honed senses picked up a presence closing in on them.

This presence wasn’t even comparable to the Fourth Apostle.

“So, it wasn’t just weaklings we were dealing with after all.”

“…”

For the first time, Derrick saw Lee Han visibly tense, his body radiating urgency.

‘What… What’s coming?’

Instinctively, Derrick activated his [Danger Detection] skill to get a sense of the situation.

And then—

BEEEEEEEP!!

“!!!”

Derrick fell to the ground in sheer shock as an ear-splitting alarm rang in his mind, shaking his thoughts and rattling his head.

“Ugh…!”

“I told you to get ready to run, not to mess around.”

“Instructor! There’s… there’s something incredible heading this way. It’s at least Level 8…!!”

Derrick was horrified.

First, by Lee Han’s ability to detect the threat from over 10 kilometers away.

Second, by the fact that this enemy could exert such an overwhelming presence even from that distance.

And finally—

‘Are you kidding me?! It’s falling?!’

The enemy was breaking through the underground tunnels, rapidly closing the gap between them. This meant the opponent had already detected their presence and was heading straight for them.

Derrick panicked, attempting to evade.

“You’re too late.”

Lee Han spoke with certainty. Their opponent had locked onto them. No matter how they moved, it was going to collide with them head-on. Escaping was impossible.

In that case—

BOOM!!

‘If I can’t avoid it, I’ll crush it instead.’

Lee Han clenched his fist, channeling all his strength into it.

Force.

The art of using every ounce of power from muscles, bones, tendons, and weight. Lee Han was the sole creator of this technique, making his mastery of Force unmatched.

Crack!

The unrivaled master of Force gathered every bit of energy from his body, layering it on itself, compressing and amplifying it.

Wuuuuuummm!

There was still time before the enemy arrived, allowing him to build his power further. Veins bulged as Lee Han pushed himself to the brink, concentrating his strength until—

Boom! Boom!

Explosive sounds reverberated from within his body.

This wasn’t a sophisticated technique, but the pure, brute application of immense power. For anyone else, their body would have given out long ago, but Lee Han endured the pain and readied his strike.

To land a single devastating blow against the approaching enemy, he relied on his body’s unparalleled resilience.

If this technique needed a name—

• Layered Force (重疊勁).

It was Lee Han’s ultimate strike, and the moment it reached its peak—

CRASH!

The ceiling shattered, and the enemy appeared.

“Hahahahaha!!!”

The figure emerged with a deranged laugh, exuding an oppressive aura that matched Lee Han’s own. Clearly, this enemy had also been aware of Lee Han’s presence and had been preparing for him.

As their combined auras clashed, the surrounding area was devastated. There was no longer any place to run.

The two locked eyes moments before their collision, their gazes brimming with hostility—

“Wait—?”

“Hmm?”

—until recognition flashed across both their faces.

They knew each other.

‘…Wasn’t that Maximus?’

BOOOOM!!!

A punch carrying the force of a volcanic eruption collided with another like a thunderbolt, and the resulting clash unleashed an earthquake.