“How is Bong So’s condition?”

Before entering the altar, we checked on his condition.

Bong So, sitting cross-legged with a pale face, likely from blood loss, was already concentrating on recovery through qi circulation. Fortunately, given time, it seemed he would be able to stop the bleeding and move on his own.

“Then we should look for an escape route.”

I stood before the iron gate leading to the altar. It opened easily, as it was already half-tattered from the Flame Lightning First Blade Spear.

It seemed they hadn’t installed any special devices, just as in the original story. It was likely to avoid being detected by a formation master.

Soon, the door opened, and we stepped inside. The interior had a structure like a pyramid, with the tiers getting higher toward the center.

I lifted my head, following the stairs that narrowed like a spire.

On the altar that rose prominently in the center, there it was: the Evil Divine Object.

The corrupted divine object, the Black Moon Sword. The legendary sword, said to have caused a storm of blood in the central plains whenever it appeared, exuded an ominous aura.

‘Is the ritual not yet performed?’

The reddish-black energy, a sign of the ritual’s completion, was not swirling. It was the effect of entering earlier than in the original story.

‘Perhaps, it might be possible now.’

The ‘subjugation’ process, which was carried out much later in the original story. The target, of course, was the Black Moon Sword.

‘I’ll hand it over to Baek Hasin.’

In a situation fraught with danger like this, it was more advantageous for survival if Baek Hasin’s power became even a little stronger.

His sword had also just been broken. I wanted to take it myself, but due to the Black Moon Sword’s special conditions, only someone like Baek Hasin among us could wield it now.

“Baek Hasin. You try pulling it out.”

“What? No way.”

That’s why I suggested it, but my goodwill was wasted as Baek Hasin refused with suspicion.

“You broke your sword, didn’t you? It looks like an expensive sword at a glance, so take this chance to get one.”

“…What’s wrong with your eyes? It’s obviously ominous.”

“The truly ominous thing is the demonic qi you’re emitting.”

“You’re the one who recommended demonic arts!”

Leaving him to get worked up over a trivial matter, I climbed the altar. Befitting a religious group, a large mural of a person descending from the sky was painted on the ceiling.

“Then fight with your bare hands without a sword. Thanks to you, we’ll all die next time because you’re not there.”

Baek Hasin, who had been grumbling as he followed, finally let out a sigh and stood before the Black Moon Sword. He must know in his head. That our situation was not good.

The number of our group had been halved, and our combat power had been reduced even more. In a situation like this, if we encountered even one super-peak master like Sa Yu-rang, it would be the end.

“Damn bastard.”

Baek Hasin, who had cursed me under his breath, finally grabbed the Black Moon Sword. In an instant, a black current swirled around him and the Black Moon Sword.

With a rough wind, a low rumble like a monster’s cry spread throughout the area. Baek Hasin’s demonic qi amplified, and his veins bulged.

By now, the demonic qi sleeping inside him must be reacting with the Black Moon Sword.

An evil object is a transcendent weapon, just like a divine object. Baek Hasin was currently in a tug-of-war with all his might in the world of his mind to receive the Black Moon Sword’s recognition and subjugate it.

Originally, the condition for the Black Moon Sword’s recognition was at least the super-peak level. However, before the Black Moon Sword’s power was enhanced by the ritual, the condition was relaxed, so it was worth a gamble.

Even so, the fact that it was dangerous remained unchanged.

‘In the original story, that’s why that was needed.’

I picked up the white cloth that was neatly laid under the altar. It was the Purification Cloth used to move the Black Moon Sword, an item that was practically an artifact.

Its effect was simple: it purified the energy of whatever it wrapped. It was an artifact specialized for the transportation and storage of evil objects.

This was also what I was counting on. I carefully took the Purification Cloth, being careful not to be swept away by the demonic qi, and looked at Baek Hasin.

If it seemed to be getting dangerous, I just had to cover him with this. His condition looked precarious even now, but it also seemed he could still hold on.

‘Just don’t get devoured. Endure the weight of a protagonist.’

So, in the meantime, I decided to prepare something else on this side.

In truth, my real interest was not the Black Moon Sword. It was meaningless to covet something I couldn’t use anyway. It was an item that would turn you into a madman if you touched it carelessly, so I didn’t need it.

What was helpful to me was this altar itself. This space and the grand formation, which had gathered and condensed immense energy veins and power to strengthen the Black Moon Sword, were what I needed to take.

While it was important to take the Black Moon Sword in the midst of the chaos to reduce the Blood Demon’s power, it was also an important task to take the side dish and increase my own strength.

As I was changing the form of the formation around the altar.

Gooooooh-

A vortex of dense demonic qi shot up from the very top of the altar where Baek Hasin was. I instantly lifted my head at the creepy energy. And I narrowed my brow at the sight that unfolded.

‘Damn, I got too absorbed!’

I had neglected Baek Hasin too much.

To properly subjugate the Black Moon Sword, I should have covered Baek Hasin with the Purification Cloth when he was in danger, but this mess happened because I was focused for a moment.

I had unintentionally encouraged a soul battle between Baek Hasin and the Black Moon Sword.

Just as I was belatedly trying to break through the storm of demonic qi and cover him with the Purification Cloth, an even denser demonic qi condensed and burst out, sweeping through the surroundings.

“Keuk!”

I endured being almost thrown back by the tremendous gust of wind and stared ahead. There, an amazing sight was unfolding.

‘Don’t tell me?’

In the very center of the altar, Baek Hasin, who had overcome the demonic qi and pulled out the Black Moon Sword, was standing. From his entire body, blackish threads were waving, and their identity was none other than powerful qi.

The calmed Black Moon Sword and the wavering powerful qi. This whole scene was saying one thing.

Baek Hasin had become a super-peak level master.

‘Crazy.’

No matter how explosive his recent growth had been, to already enter the super-peak level?

It was an achievement that had never been reached even in the original story.

I looked at Baek Hasin, who was standing still in a state of enlightenment, and then changed my mind.

‘This is actually better. I can use the Purification Cloth entirely for myself.’

“If you’re done with your business, why don’t you come down?”

I said to Baek Hasin, who had come out of his reverie.

“What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see. Don’t get caught up in it and stay away.”

Saying so, I stood in the middle of the altar. And then I activated the formation.

Wooooong-

Then, with a mana reaction, the huge energy dwelling in the entire altar swirled and rushed toward me. I was devouring all the energy that the Blood Cult had gathered with immense money and effort.

Of course, since it was the Blood Cult’s, it was closer to turbid energy than pure power. If it weren’t for the Purification Cloth wrapping my entire body, I would have been poisoned already.

I purify the turbid energy with the artifact, the Purification Cloth, and absorb the filtered energy. But the amount was unusual.

‘This could be dangerous.’

Come to think of it, no matter how much it was purified, the very idea of using a grand formation meant for strengthening an evil object on a human was insane.

But I couldn’t just leave after coming this far.

As the formation patterns surrounding the altar shone even brighter, the energy gathered by the Blood Cult was shot at me with tremendous force. The artifact, the Purification Cloth, was rapidly deteriorating.

An amount of turbid energy that was difficult for a human to handle rushed in, and the energy clumped together as black as a corner of the deep sea.

Finally, power filled my body. I absorbed it with my whole body and filled my circle.

Thanks to my mana pool having grown a bit since reaching the 4th circle, I could contain more than when I dealt with the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

‘Still, it’s a lot.’

It was overflowing energy anyway. I filtered out everything that was even slightly unnecessary.

And so, I began to gather only pure mana and store it in my circle. A ridiculously luxurious method, as if washing my entire body with an elixir.

I had consumed 90% of the compressed and gathered energy for pure mana and stored only 10% or less in my circle.

Still, my circle felt like it would burst, so I focused all my nerves and consumed mana to its limit, then refilled it. As much as I could.

Heat rose from my entire body, and light emanated from the mana luminescence. At the high-energy reaction, the Daoist Scholar’s Fan floated in the air, and soon, a ray of light that shot out from the black turbid current soared, piercing the darkness, as if to counter it.

Wooooong-

The entire altar vibrated from the clash of immense energy. In the sight of a dazzling sphere of light and black mist colliding, the light finally cleared the turbid energy and burst out.

Hwaak!

My vision turned white, and even the sound faded away. My senses disappeared, and only the mana of my circle was vibrating, and I barely came to my senses.

Finally, the compressed and rushing energy had stopped. I had managed to suck up all the qi gathered in the altar.

Of course, there were side effects. The circle that felt like it would explode at any moment was the proof. I controlled it with all my might right before the circle went berserk.

I captured and absorbed the wildly rampaging mana into my circle with a god-like control ability. I captured the mana with the talent of [Absolute Magic] and adapted with the talent of [Transcendent Growth].

If I had lacked even one of them, my body would have exploded. At the very least, my mana circuits would have been torn to shreds. But the harmony of the two talents made the impossible possible.

Soon, I stabilized the circle that was beginning to calm down and retrieved the Daoist Scholar’s Fan that was floating in the air. With that, the Purification Cloth that had been surrounding me turned to dust and scattered.

No matter how much of an artifact it was, it couldn’t withstand that immense energy.

To use an artifact that would be called a divine object even in a major sect as a disposable item. If others had seen this, they would have been astonished. Of course, it didn’t matter since it was the Blood Cult’s anyway.

After finishing gathering the mana, I went down the stairs, and Baek Hasin, who had been watching this whole scene from below, looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“I took care of yours, so don’t be upset.”

He, who had an evil object, had no reason to be upset that I had gobbled up an artifact and an altar.

In fact, a suffocating energy was swirling around Baek Hasin’s entire body, who was holding the evil object. If a weapon of that caliber had fallen into the hands of the Blood Demon, it would have been really dangerous.

“Do something about that demonic qi. It’s burdensome to be next to you.”

“Ah, okay.”

As Baek Hasin belatedly controlled his energy, the Black Moon Sword turned into an ordinary sword. To handle such an item so easily. It was indeed a monstrous talent.

‘Then, since I’ve pretty much achieved my goal, the way out is…’

Kugugugung-!

Just as I was thinking that, a vibration echoed from all directions.

‘It’s happening again.’

Perhaps because I had forcibly altered the formation, cracks began to form in the ceiling after the ritual, and the altar began to collapse. I ran to a passage on one side of the altar and shouted.

“We’re going that way! Bring Bong So!”

“……”

A super-peak master would be faster than me, wouldn’t he? Thanks to such a wise judgment, we were able to safely escape the altar before the ceiling completely collapsed.

***

“What are you going to do now?”

Baek Hasin asked while we were running along the passage. We had achieved all our goals anyway. All that was left was to either join up with the original group members who might still be around or to escape as we were.

Naturally, my choice was the latter.

“We’re not enough. We’ll escape from here first.”

With the declaration, I hurried my steps.

‘I can’t go back to a space where a Blood Fiend is roaming. I can only hope that the professor and the seniors survive on their own.’

It was a cold but rational decision. Since we couldn’t search that entire vast space.

This side had also solved the original purpose of reducing the Blood Demon’s power.

Baek Hasin was also a protagonist, but he wasn’t a fool who blindly pursued only righteousness. He must have keenly realized how powerless we were in the encounter with the Blood Fiend.

As I was thinking that and looking to the side, I could tell.

The reason this guy was the protagonist.

A pair of straight eyes, shining faintly even in the darkness, looked at me.

“I’m sorry. I’m going to save everyone.”

In that unwavering tone, I felt dizzy.

Damn it. Things are getting complicated.

(End of Chapter)

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