—!!

“You forcibly switched bodies, so you must have glimpsed the secrets of the heavens. But do you think that’s all there is? You?”

Sehwa, looking at the Corrupt Dragon’s mangled form, sneered, “You, who aren’t even a Divine Beast?”

—Y-You… you…!

The Corrupt Dragon’s gaze trembled, a desperate, obsessive hunger burning in his bloodshot eyes.

Black smoke billowed from his gaping maw.

And then, he laughed, a harsh, grating sound, the air thick with the stench of his miasma.

—You and that half-baked Baek Clan bastard, you think you’re so great, calling yourselves Divine Beasts?! Him, who abandoned his immortality for a mortal life, and you, who are on the verge of losing yourself?!

The Corrupt Dragon’s voice rose in a furious crescendo.

—You still don’t understand! In this dying world, I am the true Divine Beast! I am a Divine Beast! I am!!

The air around the writhing, black dragon shimmered and distorted.

—I’ll prove it by killing both of you!

Rumble.

Boom.

A deafening roar, like the sky tearing apart, echoed through the air, and the miasma surrounding the Corrupt Dragon materialized.

Crack! Sehwa effortlessly blocked the miasma whip that lashed out at her.

Whoosh!

But the other strands, like the tails of a hydra, continued their attack, striking the white ice barrier Baek Giha had created.

KABOOM—! Bang!!

Even the warriors outside the barrier weren’t safe.

“Agh!”

“Ugh!”

They coughed up blood as the Corrupt Dragon’s spiritual power, contained within the strands of miasma, struck them.

Sehwa, her face cold and calm amidst the chaos, fired arrows of spiritual energy, severing the strands, but they quickly regenerated, the miasma reforming.

—Go ahead, cut them down! Let’s see how long you can last, with so many to protect!

A cruel laugh, like a seizure, wracked the Corrupt Dragon’s body.

—You think you can protect them all and defeat me? How arrogant! How pathetic! I’ll exhaust your spiritual power and erase you first! If you want to test the will of the heavens, let’s see who wins!

“I don’t care about the will of the heavens.”

A sharp glint flickered in her eyes.

A massive, crescent-shaped wave of spiritual power shot towards the Corrupt Dragon at terrifying speed.

KABOOM!!!

“I will crush your pathetic dreams. That is my will.”

—…Dreams? You call them dreams…?

“Yes. Dreams that will never come true.”

Seeing the Corrupt Dragon’s eyes waver, Sehwa pressed her advantage, her words sharp as knives, piercing his heart.

“You and your anchors, you will all die here. That is my will.”

—You think you can protect them all? And defeat me at the same time?

“Yes. Want to know why?”

She looked down at him, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

“Because I’m a Divine Beast, and you’re not.”

—Ju Sehwa!!!!

The strands of miasma, which had been attacking the warriors and the barrier, now converged on her.

Whoosh!

They struck her with a deafening roar.

Boom!

The Baek Clan warriors, their faces pale, cried out in alarm, “Lady Sehwa!!”

“Oh my god, Lady Sehwa!!”

They couldn’t just stand there and watch.

They charged forward, their swords raised, their spiritual power blazing, trying to cut through the miasma, when…

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind swept the miasma away.

Boom!

The artifacts, which had been hidden among the grass, exploded and vanished, Sehwa’s red robe billowing around her, her body unharmed.

Her eyes, blazing with the Red Dragon’s power, looked down at the dissipating miasma, her gaze cold and arrogant.

The black strands, swirling and reforming, trying to attack her again, crumbled like dry leaves under the pressure of her aura.

“So you’re weakened because you have so many to protect?”

She thought of those she cared about. Those who had given her their Spirit Orbs, those who had risked their lives for her.

And the man who had given her everything, even turning back time for her.

Because of them, she was here, a Divine Beast.

Her lips curled into a smile.

“That’s why you can’t become a Divine Beast.”

Just as she spoke, a bright light exploded from her body.

A powerful gust of wind swept across the plains, scattering the miasma, the trees and grass swaying.

As her long, flowing hair settled, her hand, white as jade, drew a line in the air.

And along that line, the Red Dragon’s spiritual power, like exploding fireworks, tore through the Corrupt Dragon’s body.

The Corrupt Dragon hurriedly shielded himself with the strands of miasma. —!!

But he couldn’t withstand the searing heat and screamed in agony.

—Y-You… you little…

His voice, filled with rage and despair, echoed through the air.

—You can’t defeat me!! You can’t kill me! I’m also a Divine Beast! I’ve lived far longer than you!!

His eyes blazing with a chilling malice, he lunged at Sehwa.

—You’re just pretending to be a Divine Beast, relying on the Red Dragon’s Spirit Orb! You’re nothing without it!!

“That’s funny,” Sehwa chuckled, her eyes gleaming with a murderous intent, her smile promising a swift and brutal end. She didn’t bother pointing out that the power she had absorbed was now her own, that he, a parasite feeding on the lives of his own clan members, had no right to judge her.

She simply swung the branch in her hand again.

KABOOM—!!

Another deafening roar, as if the world was tearing apart, echoed through the air.

The shockwave, like a tsunami, spread outwards.

The Baek Clan warriors, barely enduring the blast, huddled together for safety.

“H-Hey…” one of the warriors whispered, his voice trembling, his eyes fixed on the epic battle unfolding before them, “Can we… forget about that time… when I said our Lady of the House must be using some kind of sorcery… to make the Six Clan Heads act like that…? I’ll… give you anything… just name it…”

“M-Me too…” another warrior stammered, clutching his trembling hands, “Can… can you forget that time I said all Ju Clan women were vixens… that I would never let such a woman become our Lady of the House…? I’ll give you all my possessions…”

As if prompted by his words, the other warriors, their eyes fixed on the sky, also chimed in, “I’ll give you everything I own, just please forget about it.”

“Me too.”

Only Baek Jeseong, who had never voiced such thoughts, even in his mind, remained silent, his gaze following Sehwa’s red robe, his voice barely a whisper, “I’ll forget everything, so please, if you ever need someone to protect the Lady of the House, choose me.”

And then he suddenly realized, ‘Wait, the Clan Head was here! What if he heard us?!’

He looked around frantically, but Baek Giha was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where did he go?’

He stood up, still looking around, when…

“Oh my god…”

“…Wow… Lady Sehwa…”

Gasps of awe from the other warriors made him look up.

His earlier concern about Baek Giha’s whereabouts faded as he watched the breathtaking battle unfolding before him.

A white figure raced across the dry, cracked earth.

Baek Giha ran as if he couldn’t see anything, his jaw clenched, his mind focused only on moving forward.

He didn’t want to leave Sehwa alone to face the Corrupt Dragon, but he had a more urgent task.

The Corrupt Dragon’s words echoed in his mind,

—I told you, the more you use it, the more you’ll lose yourself. No one will remember you, and you won’t remember them, an empty shell, neither dead nor alive! Can you bear that? Can you endure it?!

He gritted his teeth so hard that blood trickled down his chin, but he didn’t even notice.

He pushed past the warriors guarding the barrier and ran, oblivious to their surprised looks, his eyes searching for the carriage.

“Clan Head Baek?”

Choi Jangmyung, who had been guarding the carriage, snapped to attention, his eyes wide with surprise.

“Aren’t you supposed to be fighting? What are you doing here?”

“Move!!”

He shoved Choi Jangmyung aside and tore the carriage door open, not even bothering to dispel the barrier.

“!!”

He grabbed the First Consort, who had been cowering in the corner of the carriage, and dragged her out.

“Clan Head Baek!”

“Tell me,” he growled, pushing the First Consort’s head to the ground, “how to kill you. Now.”

He couldn’t lose Sehwa.

He couldn’t bear to live without her.

So he had to kill this woman.

He had to kill the First Consort, the Corrupt Dragon’s anchor, before that monster, driven to desperation, unleashed his miasma and died, before Sehwa had to purify it, before she had to…

“Tell me how to kill you! Now!!”