The last night in the Dang Family.
The clan head held a lavish formal dinner, just like the first day.
Of course, a lot had changed since then.
On the first night, the atmosphere had been so suffocatingly heavy that everyone had barely eaten. Now, though, everyone was laughing, talking, and genuinely enjoying themselves.
The retainers’ attitudes were the sa.
Young or old, man or woman—everyone offered Dang Gyu-young a warm wish or a kind word.
After the battle with the Blood Cult, the relationship had improved, and it felt like the psychological wall had co down a lot, too.
You could say they’d accepted them as part of the family again.
And the distance that had closed the most was, of course, between the Dang father and child.
Dang Gunak was keeping his promise to beco a better father.
Not only did he keep talking with his child consistently—he also started saying things he’d never been able to say before, out of embarrassnt or fear, and admitting them honestly.
It seed like that night’s “last words” had finally opened the floodgates.
Sure, the side effect was having to endure the household whispering and trying not to laugh, but still.
Dang Gunak looked at his child with gentle eyes.
“I wish you ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ could stay a little longer, but if it’s work, there’s nothing we can do.”
“I’m going to miss it too.”
Outwardly, Dang Gyu-young was leaving to take a guard job at Dragonslayer Academy, and only a tiny few had been told about the re-enrollnt plan.
Dang Gunak was one of those few.
He nodded slowly.
“I believe you can do it. If anything difficult happens, rember that the main family is behind you.”
“......Thank you.”
Then Dang Gunak turned to .
“That applies to you as well. If the day cos when the main family needs to lend you strength, I’ll help gladly.”
“Just hearing you say that makes feel secure.”
“Please take good care of my child, again.”
Next, the twins Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi ca over.
“Next ti we et might not be at the main family. It could be sowhere else.”
“I think so too.”
Those two were extrely active on the outside.
I’d heard they worked with the Murim Alliance often enough that their epithet literally included the word “Hero.”
They’d keep traveling from region to region doing missions, and once or twice, their routes would probably overlap with Dragonslayer Academy.
The Dang twins smiled and each added a line.
“By then, you might be stronger than us.”
“Even just Gyu-young’s growth is insane.”
“And you... you don’t even need to be ntioned.”
I smiled back, full of confidence.
“You can look forward to it.”
After that, Dang Munhyeong, the Elder Council Head, and the siblings Dang Junyeop and Dang Huiyeon, among others, all ca to see us—and the formal dinner continued late into the night.
The next day, we left the Dang Family and boarded a train departing Sichuan.
We were all headed in different directions, so we said our final goodbyes.
Seo Ye-in clung to my arm and whined.
“I want to go with you.”
“You have to go to Hyeseong.”
“Ruby Mage Tower.”
“It’s already decided. I’m going alone.”
“I’m regretting it.......”
“Regret won’t help. Your parents and the chairman are probably waiting for you.”
“Raising a daughter is pointless.......”
“You can’t say that.”
I peeled Seo Ye-in off and soothed her calmly.
“We’ll see each other soon anyway. It’s only a week and a few days.”
“It’s long.......”
“Go rest up, and spend a good ti with your family.”
“......Yeah.”
Only then did Seo Ye-in finally join the Hyeseong Group security team.
She kept looking back at with eyes full of lingering regret, though.
Last, I shifted my gaze to Dang Gyu-young and Dang Eunbi.
As for why Dang Eunbi was here—she’d packed the mont she found out about the re-enrollnt plan.
She said she was going into Dungeon Island together “with the other freshn.”
“.......”
Dang Eunbi stared at with a really unpleasant look.
It still felt like the distance between us hadn’t changed.
Every ti I tried to get closer, Dang Gyu-young, Zhuge Soso, and Seo Ye-in would take turns showing affection and reminding her I was the “older-sister thief.”
Still, she clicked her tongue and left a line.
“......See you later.”
“Yeah. Take care.”
In the anti, Dang Gyu-young stepped closer and held both hands out.
They pulled into a light hug, then whispered into my ear.
“I’ll co greet you later too, Senior.”
“Yeah, Dang Gyu-ri.”
“Heh-heh-heh.”
Dang Gyu-young giggled and stepped back.
I waved over my shoulder as I climbed onto the train.
Then I started walking, looking for an empty compartnt.
*****
KUUUUNG!
A massive bulk collapsed, shaking the entire area.
A red-haired man watched it with indifferent eyes.
Another dragon had just died by the Blood Cult leader’s hand.
He slid his sword into the golf bag offered by the Left Protector and thought—
Almost double digits now.
Up to now, he’d wandered from place to place, defeating a variety of S-rank powerhouses.
So were boss monsters like dragons.
So were reclusive eccentrics.
So were leaders who commanded guilds or sects.
The ways they fought varied, too.
Sotis two or three S-ranks would coordinate.
Sotis they’d have their entire organization form an encirclent.
In response, the Blood Demon fought—sotis alone, sotis with the Protectors’ support—and in the end, he took victory every ti.
And I’ve gained plenty.
The road to true transcendence was still long—far, far away.
But one thing was certain.
He was headed in the right direction.
Sothing he couldn’t even grasp before—he could now at least sense it, faintly.
But it’s still not enough.
To make his insight more concrete, he needed to clash with more rivals in desperate battles.
Maybe the S-ranks that existed right now weren’t enough.
That was why he ant to provoke chaos and increase the number of strong ones—by even one.
As his thoughts reached that point, the recent report he’d received about Sichuan surfaced in his mind.
Blood Sword Commander... so they didn’t make it.
With how much ntal cultivation they’d built up, he’d expected the odds to be quite high.
But they’d fallen before crossing the wall into S-rank.
A good rival had vanished, and all he felt was regret.
Still, there was one piece of good news.
Dang Gunak crossed the wall.
It hadn’t gone the way he intended, but either way, it was true that he had one more rival now.
Soday, there would co a ti when he stepped foot into Sichuan.
He’d also been inford that the Ghost Demon and Saber Demon had died, but the Blood Cult leader felt nothing about that.
Instead, sothing else caught his interest.
Hyeseong...
A short word slipped from his lips.
“Grand Protector.”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
A blood-robed man answered imdiately, bowing his head.
“Is teor Dragon still stationed near Hyeseong?”
“From what our subordinates have confird, yes.”
“And they have three lizards under them, don’t they.”
“Yes. All S-rank.”
teor Dragon, and three dragons that served as guardian escorts.
Four S-ranks in total—an overwhelming force.
They were mild-natured, so there hadn’t been any incidents, but as a single faction, they ranked among the strongest around.
Naturally, the Blood Cult knew that as well.
The Blood Demon asked again.
“How many can you tie down?”
“If it’s and the Protectors’ masters... I believe two would be possible.”
“Two.”
The Grand Protector was also S-rank.
The Left and Right Protectors were A-rank, and the other masters hovered around that level.
If all of them joined together and ford an array...
They could temporarily separate the guardians and induce a direct clash between teor Dragon and the Cult Leader.
The Blood Cult leader fell into thought for a mont, then spoke again.
“......It’s tempting.”
*****
Endless darkness.
A place where you couldn’t tell if it was deep underground or inside a cavern.
Sowhere in that place, a black, sticky pool had collected.
Then ripples spread across the surface.
The stirring grew more violent, and a mont later, sothing thrust up from the center.
CHWAAAK—!
By its shape, it looked like a human hand.
Then the other hand appeared, and the thing crawled out with an unnatural, awkward motion.
And after a very long ti, it finally exhaled.
“Huuurgh—”
I’m back......!
She was the Witch of Decay.
She’d infiltrated Dungeon Island and thrown Dragonslayer Academy into chaos, but she’d lost in the final battle.
And for that sin, she’d been absorbed back into the body of her master—the Corpse Dragon.
How much ti had passed since then, she didn’t know.
But she had revived.
No... I was remade. And stronger.
She’d poured most of her power into the clone she sent into Dungeon Island, so when it was destroyed, the backlash had been severe.
Even if she hadn’t been absorbed by her master, she would’ve needed a long recovery.
But now, strength overflowed through her body—beyond her peak.
At this level, even S-rank is more than possible...!
If she built just a little more power, she might be able to do it.
And her body’s age seed clearly younger as well.
So young that she could claim she was a freshman at Dragonslayer Academy and no one would doubt it.
Her thoughts spiraled, but the most important thing was sothing else.
The Witch of Decay bowed her head into the darkness.
“Thank you, Master. For giving a new life—and for giving another chance.”
As if in reply, a heavy voice echoed through the space.
[This is the last one.]
“I will never disappoint you.”
A mont later, the overwhelming presence that had dominated the area gradually thinned.
Only then did the Witch of Decay rise and look around.
She’d been feeling two presences for a while—and now they were approaching with an unhurried pace.
There was no need to guess.
They were sisters.
As she looked back and forth between them, confusion surfaced on the Witch of Decay’s face.
“......Where’s Starvation?”
“She got taken out.”
“How?”
“Sa way you did.”
“......!”
So she’d infiltrated Dragonslayer Academy like her, been exposed, and hunted down.
The Witch of Decay asked again.
“Completely erased?”
“Seems like it.”
Then it made sense why their master had revived her instead of Starvation.
She had at least left sothing behind—reviving her would take less effort than creating soone from nothing.
“But how? Did she go down in the dungeon, like ?”
“We don’t know. We’re investigating.”
“.......”
For so reason, the Witch of Decay couldn’t shake the thought that it might’ve been that bastard’s doing.
The “freshman bastard” who’d ruined her plan.
While her face hardened, the Witch of Death smiled softly and said—
“I think I know who you’re thinking of.”
“You even showed .”
When they reported the mission failure, they’d projected the footage as a video.
Death flicked her chin.
“I went and t him in person, too.”
“......You t him?”
“Yeah. When I went to Hyeseong for fun. He really wasn’t ordinary.”
The Witch of Decay frowned and fell silent.
Then she realized sothing and asked—
“So you couldn’t kill him.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m really disappointed.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’re disappointed about?”
“Of course not.”
When the Witch of Decay saw the sisters’ smiles deepen, she understood again.
Why their master had given her a second chance despite her failure—and even granted her greater power.
He wants to do it.
“That’s what he wants, right?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
She had to infiltrate Dragonslayer Academy again, achieve the original goal—and this ti, kill that bastard, who was now a sophomore.
As a freshman.
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