âThis isâŠâ Lubatchi stared at the melting Evil God Worshippers and furrowed his brow.
This light was like a natural enemy to anyone who possessed the Evil Godâs power. It belonged to one of the four Primordial Gods: the God of Life, Luhan!
Luhanâs light annihilated anyone who bore the Evil Godâs power.
âWhat do we do now?â an Evil God Worshipper asked.
Lubatchi immediately threw him at the device that emitted the light.
âUhahk!â the Evil God Worshipper screamed.
At the same time, the device emitted Luhanâs light, which devoured the Evil God Worshipper.
âIt works more than once.â Lubatchiâs expression was calm, despite the fact that heâd just used his subordinate as a lab rat.
Whatâs worse, the rest of the Evil God Worshippers thought his actions were justified.
Anyhow, Lubatchi stretched out his hands, and shot out the Evil Godâs energy.
The energy flew towards the device. However, the device sensed the evil energy, and Luhanâs light filled the cave once more.
Lubatchi hoped that his energy would last long enough to break the device.
However, it was a fruitless endeavor. Before it even reached its target, the Evil Godâs power had completely disappeared.
âTch, how annoying. Lord Sraka,â Lubatchi said to the bronze mask man.
âIâll take care of it.â Sraka stepped forward, and drew the greatsword from his back.
He swung his sword, unleashing the dreary, wicked energy of the Evil God.
The device unleashed Luhanâs light once more.
Upon contact, Srakaâs blast weakened, but it didnât disappear completely. It was such a giant, powerful blast of the Evil Godâs power!
âAs expected of you, Lord Sraka!â Lubatchi was in awe.
The device broke into pieces. The transparent sphere, which controlled Luhanâs light, had been destroyed, so they no longer had to fear being vaporized.
Lubatchi and his men progressed through the cave. They had to deal with the devices that unleashed Luhanâs light time after time.
However, Sraka destroyed every last one of them. Though he was an Evil God Worshipper, his power and skill were undeniable.
After all, he had killed the Baiyan Kingdomâs Master Warrior, Heinel.
Killing Heinel had turned the battle into a one-sided slaughter in favor of the Evil God Worshippers.
Anyhow, the traps couldnât hold back Sraka. Ultimately, the disciple and his men reached Axionâs coffin.
âThe sacred treasure is definitely in here,â an Evil God Worshipper said excitedly.
Thick energy rose from the coffin and permeated the room.
âHurry up and get it out. We have to reclaim Lord Jailaâs sacred treasure as soon as possible,â Lubatchi said. Then, Four Evil God Worshippers stood at the four corners of the coffin and pulled.
Luhanâs light seeped out of the coffin, filling the world with light.
All of the Evil God Worshippers were vaporized, aside from Sraka, whoâd shielded himself with his greatsword, and Lubatchi, whoâd hidden himself behind Sraka.
Since the Evil God Worshippers whoâd opened the lid had all been vaporized, they covered the coffin once more, and the light disappeared.
Lubatchi gritted his teeth.
âTo think thereâd be a trap of this magnitude at the very end!â
But there was a bigger problem here. If they wanted to open the coffin and reclaim Jailaâs sacred treasure, then they needed to somehow deal with Luhanâs light.
Sraka solved the problem again. His greatsword unleashed giant, sticky energy, which devoured the coffin.
Once the Evil Godâs energy destroyed the coffin, Luhanâs light spilled out. Sraka pushed even harder, imbuing his sword with even more of the Evil Godâs power, and completely suppressed Luhanâs light.
Ultimately, Luhanâs light completely disappeared and the coffin was destroyed. Axion had died a long time ago, so his body hadnât remained. Instead, the Evil Godâs sacred treasure lay there.
It was a bronze ceremonial knife.
This was the sacred treasure known as Jailaâs Knife. It was the blade that the four-armed Jaila wielded in one of his bronze arms!
âLord Jaila! Weâve finally reclaimed your sacred treasure!â
As soon as he saw the treasure, Lubatchi knelt down onto the floor and slammed his head onto the floor. Sraka also knelt down, and bowed so deeply that his bronze mask touched the ground.
They were showing an extreme level of respect towards Jailaâs sacred treasure.
Sraka respectfully wrapped Jailaâs Knife in cloth, and placed it into his breast pocket. His chest was the safest place in the world for it.
âWeâve completed our mission, so letâs go. The demons are waiting for us outside,â Lubatchi said.
Sraka and Lubatchi lightheartedly left Axionâs grave.
Someone completely unexpected was waiting for them.
Not all of the Evil God Worshippers had entered the cave. On the contrary, there were more people that stayed outside.
However, all of them and their mounts had been killed by just one man.
Sraka and Lubatchi couldnât understand what was happening.
The Evil God Worshippers did the slaughtering, not the other way around.
âGrr! Lord Sraka, Iâll take care of this. Please go on ahead and take the sacred treasure to safety,â Lubatchi said.
âAlright. Thereâs nothing more important than the sacred treasure, after all.â Sraka raised his hand, and two hideous demons flew down. The two then rode on top of them.
Sraka rose higher into the air, while Lubatchi descended to the ground in order to kill whoever was responsible for killing his men.
All of a sudden, a long line, one that resembled the horizon itself, flew through the air. That line passed right through Srakaâs flying demon.
It was so quick that the flying monster kept flapping its wings, unaware of its death. However, it soon split in two, and Sraka plummeted to the ground.
Lubatchi quickly caught Sraka with his own demon.
âIâll put you down first.â Lubatchi dropped Sraka to the ground.
A middle-aged man, whoâd killed all of the Evil God Worshippers and their demons, walked over to Lubatchi and Sraka.
He had slicked back hair, a sharp jawline, stubborn eyes and lips, and wrinkles on his face!
The man held a sword in his hand, yet it didnât seem like a particularly good weapon. No, it actually seemed like a cheap, low quality sword.
There was only one man in this world that could unleash such a powerful attack with such a crappy sword.
He was both the Guardian of the Continent, and the continentâs most powerful swordsman.
âWho are you!?â Lubatchi yelled angrily.
ââŠâ Valan remained silent, turning all of his attention to Sraka.
âYouâre a follower of a false god that doesnât know his place. How dare you ignore me!?â Lubatchi stared at him with bloodshot eyes.
All of a sudden, however, Sraka gripped Lubatchiâs shoulder.
âYou canât beat him. This is the first time Iâve seen someone so strong ever since I was revived.â
That stung. Although he was the Evil Godâs Third Disciple, he was nowhere near Srakaâs strength.
âAre you an Evil God Worshipper too?â Valan asked.
âThatâs right. Iâm Jailaâs First Sword, Sraka.â
He knew who Sraka was. Thatâs why he was confused.
Sraka shouldnât be standing here. Why, you ask? Heâd been dead for hundreds of years already.
âAre you really the Devilâs Sword, Sraka?â
âHow did you come back?â
âLord Jaila is the one true god. His power is infinite.â In other words, the Evil God, Jaila had revived him.
A light bulb went off in his head. âIlunatiâs Snake!â
Ilunatiâs Snake was, like Jailaâs Knife, one of the Evil Godâs sacred treasures. In exchange for the lives of thousands, or even tens of thousands, Ilunatiâs Snake was able to revive the dead.
âSo you know,â Sraka said.
âThe Evil God Worshippers have already reclaimed one of their sacred treasures, huh.â Valanâs eyes glowed intensely. He knew full well what would happen if they reclaimed all of their sacred treasures.
âAt minimum, tens of thousands will die. Theyâll sacrifice them to bring Jaila back into this world.â
The Evil Godâs sacred treasures, such as Nemethâs Skull, Jailaâs Knife, and Ilunatiâs Snake, were all meant to be used to bring Jaila into this world.
That was their final goal; to bring Jaila into Arth.
âGive me the sacred treasure while Iâm still being nice.â Valanâs voice suddenly became rough.
âNot a chance!â Lubatchi yelled.
âHow dare you demand that we return the sacred treasure!?â
âLubatchi. Take this and leave.â
Once Sraka pulled out Jailaâs Knife and passed it to Lubatchi, Valan swung his sword.
It was the greatest slash, one that could cut through anything!
A diagonal line flew at Lubatchi. He imagined his body being cut in half.
If Sraka hadnât swung his greatsword, then Lubatchiâs vision wouldâve come to pass. However, Sraka had blocked Divide the Sea, allowing Lubatchi to come out unscathed.
âGo. Iâll take care of him.â
Lubatchi realized that Valan wasnât someone he could contend with.
He called his flying monster, but Valan attempted to stop him. Unfortunately, Sraka wouldnât let him interfere.
Srakaâs greatsword and Valanâs steel sword clashed.
Itâd been a long time since Valanâs sword had been blocked.
Lubatchi got onto his mount, and the demon outstretched its crow-like wings.
Valan swung his sword at Lubatchi again. However, Sraka blocked his blade once more.
âDamn it. I shouldâve brought Burkan, or even Kang Oh with me.â
Valan regretted coming here alone. If heâd have brought one of them with him, then he wouldnât have lost the sacred treasure.
In the end, Valan wasnât able to stop Lubatchi from running away with the sacred treasure.
The Devilâs Sword, Sraka!
He was a swordsman that became a Grandmaster hundreds of years ago. During his time, it was said that Sraka killed more than tens of thousands of people.
How would Valan have known that theyâd revive a legendary swordsman to stop him!?
âWhatever the case, I have to kill this guy.â Valan focused entirely on Sraka.
It was completely silent, and neither side moved a muscle. However, they were actually engaged in a fierce, invisible fight.
How much time had passed? It seemed like a lot of time had gone by.
A single drop of sweat dripped from Valanâs forehead, which slipped into his eye.
Valan instinctively blinked!
Sraka swung his sword, and Valan belatedly followed suit.
It all happened in an instant. In that short time span, the battle had been decided.
Valanâs left arm fell to the floor. A stream of red shards of light spilled from the wound.
On the other hand, Sraka looked just fine.
âIs this what you were aiming for from the start?â Sraka asked.
âAn arm to kill a Grandmaster. What a cheap deal,â Valan said nonchalantly, despite the loss of one of his limbs.
âWhat about the sweat?â
âI donât sweat that much.â
âAmazâŠâ Sraka couldnât finish his sentence. A red line appeared across his throat, and his head rolled onto the floor.
Only then did Valan grimace. There was no one whoâd be ok with losing their arm!
âUgh.â Valan gritted his teeth, bore the pain, and left with his severed left arm.
Valan had told him to come and find him once the demon sword was completed.
By bringing the sword to him, Valan would formally acknowledge him as his successor, and would begin teaching him in earnest.
Kang Oh, whoâd gotten a feel for his new demon sword, recalled Valanâs words, and came to the Holiseum.
Fortunately, heâd come at the right time. Both Valan and Burkan were here.
âMaster Valan, Iâve finally created the demon sword as you instructed.â
âSo please teach me Divide the Sea.â went unsaid, but then Kang Ohâs eyes widened. After all, one of Valanâs arms was missing!
âHuh? Master Valan, what happened to your arm?â
âSome guy chopped it off,â Valan said nonchalantly.
âTo think that someone could cut Valanâs arm off. Who was it?â
âShut up. Come over here and sit down.â Valan pointed at the chair in front of him with his foot.
âYes.â Kang Oh did as he asked and sat down. He didnât want to anger Valan, especially with his arm chopped off. There was no reason for things to get heated, was there?
âGive me the demon sword.â
âYes!â Kang Oh respectfully presented the sword to him with both hands.
Valan stroked the sword with his one remaining arm.
âItâs too good for you,â Valan said, looking at him with a jaundiced eye.
âHehe.â Kang Oh scratched the back of his head.
âCanât argue with that. This demon sword is quite overpowered.â
âEh, a promise is a promise. From this point forward, youâre my successor,â Valan proclaimed.
Kang Oh had finally become the successor of the continentâs most powerful man.