The smokescreen didn't last long. It dissipated like cigarette smoke, but only Brutal Blade and Taboo were here. Kang Oh was nowhere to be found.

"Where did he go?"

"Find him quick!"

Red Moon's executives looked around the dungeon in search of Kang Oh.

At that moment…

Kang Oh reappeared beside Clown and Scapi.

He'd fought Brutal Blade and Taboo within the smokescreen, and had used Abyss Transfer when it was almost over.

'You're my first target.' Kang Oh stared at Clown. He was the most annoying of the bunch since he controlled all the traps.

Festival of Blood!

Demon Sword Blood was coated in blood red energy.

Gluttony, Devil Trigger, and Festival of Blood!

Mad Wind's Sword!

His red and black swords crazily danced through the air.

"Ugh."

Clown, who'd instantly gotten hit twice, just barely threw himself out of the way, and escaped the storm of blades.

"Die!" Scapi pulled back and threw a poison filled sphere.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Various poisons spread through the air, causing Kang Oh to momentarily hesitate.

"Do I look that weak to you!?" Clown righted himself, pulled out two hooks, and charged at Kang Oh.

"Don't get close to him!" Scapi urgently yelled, but Clown didn't listen to her at all.

'Thanks for saving me the effort!,' Kang Oh thought.

Transcendent Blade!

Demon Sword Ubist pierced through Clown's chest.

Stab!

"Keok!" Clown staggered.

"No!" Scapi threw herself at Kang Oh.

Clown was the only one who could control the traps here. She couldn't afford to let him die.

Poison Human!

Her body changed color like a bronze statue. However, various colors appeared over her bronze skin and then disappeared. This process continued over and over again.

"Hueup! Haa!" She spat out a damp, black poisonous mist.

Kang Oh gritted his teeth. 'I'm killing him.'

He decided to finish Clown off, knowing that he'd take some damage in order to do so.

Tempest Tiger!

Everlasting Darkness!

A golden aura shot out of Blood, and a pillar of darkness surged from Ubist.

Then, Clown used his survival skill. His necklace began to glow.

Pinch Hitter!

A wooden doll appeared in front of him, taking the Tempest Tiger and Everlasting Darkness in his place.

However, it wasn't able to protect him entirely. The pillar of darkness ripped through the wooden doll and devoured Clown.

"Ugh!" Clown cried out, and shards of light burst from his body.

Then...

Scapi pierced through the pillar of darkness and stood in front of Clown.

Poison Tsunami!

She released a fan-shaped poison energy from her body.

Her poison and the darkness clashed evenly until they both disappeared.

"Haa, haa." Scapi breathed haggardly.

Using Poison Human converted her HP and Stamina into poison. Using a large quantity of poison would largely deplete her 'Stamina'.

What a relief.

Kang Oh was forced back by the poisonous mist. During that time, Taboo and Brutal Blade had appeared by her side.

"Are you ok?" Brutal Blade looked Clown over.

"Of course I am!" Clown yelled. The smile had disappeared from his face long ago.

However, Clown wasn't in good shape. If Kang Oh had landed another attack, then it would've been game over for him.

"Scapi, Taboo, take Clown and run away," Brutal Blade said.

"You want me to run!? What the hell are you talking about!?" Clown yelled.

"I don't like it either. I want to fight," Taboo said.

"I'll keep Kang Oh here. Get away and activate all the traps."

"Then you'll die," Scapi said.

"Sacrifices have to be made if you want to kill one of the Numbers," Brutal Blade said nonchalantly.

"Let's just all kill him together. Even one of the Numbers can't take on all four of us at once," Taboo said.

"If we do that, then Clown could die. If Clown dies, he can get away. So just do as I say."

"Then I'll stay. I want to fight him!" Taboo said strongly.

"No. On the off chance that Kang Oh escapes, you have to be there to finish him off. You have the greatest destructive power amongst the four of us."

Taboo tried to talk back again, but Clown replied first.

"Fine. We'll make sure to finish him off for good. He'll die to my traps, his strength, or her poison. Either way, he'll die!"

"Good."

Then...

Kang Oh suddenly reappeared via Abyss Transfer. He was still aiming for Clown.

Whoosh!

Demon Sword Ubist flew through the air, intent on slicing through his neck.

However, there was someone in his way.

Brutal Blade!

He pushed Clown away and took Kang Oh's strike in his stead.

Clang!

Kang Oh's jet-black blade and Brutal Blade's katana crashed against each other, resounding with a shrill 'clang'.

"Go!" Brutal Blade yelled, and swung his sword at Kang Oh.

"Tch."

Taboo was still disappointed, but he did as he was told.

"Run!"

He, Scapi, and Clown ran away.

They had to be a certain distance away from Kang Oh in order to activate the traps. If not, they'd be caught in their own traps.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Kang Oh swung Ubist in a wide arc, pushing Brutal Blade away, and then yelled angrily.

Blood Spear!

Four scarlet spears appeared over his head. At the same time, two gray blades appeared beside them.

Ghost-Possessed Sword!

This was an ability that the gray cloak held.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

The Blood Spears and Ghost-Possessed Swords came straight for Clown.

"Be careful!" Brutal Blade yelled.

Then, Taboo stepped forward and deflected them with his mace.

At that moment...

Kang Oh quickly swung Blood.

Lightning Breath!

Crackle!

A powerful lightning blast grazed Brutal Blade's side.

Blood Spear and Ghost-Possessed Sword were just diversions. The true attack was Lightning Breath!

"Damn it."

Taboo stepped forward and took the Lightning Breath with his body. His hair bristled, and sparks danced across his teeth.

"I'm your opponent!" Brutal Blade yelled, and dashed at Kang Oh.

However, Kang Oh didn't want to waste his time on Brutal Blade. After all, things would get really complicated if he let Clown and the others leave!

It'd be great if he could use Abyss Transfer again, but it was still on cooldown.

Kang Oh forcefully flapped his wings and flew right at them. All of a sudden, however, the ceiling's traps activated.

Kang Oh was a perfect target, and Clown didn't miss a beat.

A net, arrows, and sticky liquid fell from the ceiling.

"It'll be tough to get out of this. Fall back," Tasha said.

"Tch." Kang Oh clicked his tongue, avoided the traps, and landed on the floor once more.

Then, Brutal Blade rushed at him again.

Behead!

A fierce energy came flying at Kang Oh.

Slash!

Kang Oh swung Ubist vertically, and cleaved through the blast.

"Let's see this through to the end."

Brutal Blade's form began to change. His lean body swelled, and his eyes glowed blue.

Battle Maniac!

This skill greatly increased one's combat abilities in exchange for their HP.

"Chaa!"

A sharp attack, one incomparable to his previous ones, came flying at Kang Oh. It was strong enough that Kang Oh couldn't afford to just ignore it.

"Haahp!"

Kang Oh went at it at full power.

* * *

"Hoo." Hoffman sighed in relief. He slowly dropped his hammer.

Look! There was a beautiful purple blade resting atop his anvil!

Hoffman slowly brought the blade close. It was still radiating heat.

"Hueup." Darkness energy, which rested in his heart, traveled down his arm.

The Black Hammer Dwarves were born with the power of darkness. They specialized in using this inherent ability to create weapons imbued with the darkness element.

Whir!

Hoffman's darkness energy began entering the sword.

Normally, a dwarf could hammer away at the weapon while infusing the energy, but he needed to be more delicate with this particular sword. That's why he took this extra step.

How much time had passed?

A thick, black energy surrounded the purple blade. The deeper the color, the better.

Hoffman raised the sword, carefully examining its color, shape, balance, toughness, etc. He knew how great this sword was.

'Good.'

The blade was the core of a sword! Hoffman had just finished crafting the blade. Now all he needed to do was build the hilt and fuse the two pieces together.

However, creating a hilt durable enough to hold a blade of this quality was a task in and of itself. He would need to put everything he had into the creation of the hilt too.

Fortunately, Hoffman possessed the dragon materials. A hilt made out of dragon materials would be capable of withstanding a Halium blade.

Hoffman carefully put the blade to the side, and pulled out dragon materials from the cabinet.

He would use Dragon Bone to create the frame, and decorate it using Dragon Claws and Dragon Skin.

'A dragon slayer. It won't be long before it's finished.'

Hoffman didn't lose concentration till the very end. A masterpiece was being born.

* * *

Deep within the Lupel Temple's ceremonial space.

Kang Oh and Brutal Blade were fighting against each other. However, it was clear who the winner and loser was. Kang Oh was overwhelming him, and Brutal Blade was just barely holding on.

'As expected, this won't work.'

The sight of Kang Oh made him think of Dukeram. Someone who stood at the top with his overwhelming strength!

He felt an insurmountable gap between him and Kang Oh, the same feeling he'd felt when he fought against Dukeram. Kang Oh was just that tall of an obstacle for him.

However, Brutal Blade was called the Killing Ghost, and he had the skills and pride of a high ranker.

'I can't just let you go without a single injury!'

Brutal Blade forewent defense and threw himself at Kang Oh. Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Blood mercilessly sliced into him.

Stab! Stab!

'Now!'

As Kang Oh's demon swords were embedded in his body, Brutal Blade sliced through Kang Oh's side.

Evil Spirit's Mark!

A dark red gammadion cross appeared on his side. Shards of light would automatically spill from the wound. In other words, Kang Oh was bleeding now.

That wasn't all. Evil Spirit's Mark had another ability. This secondary ability would put him in trouble sometime later!

"Tch." Kang Oh furrowed his brow, and raised Ubist into the air. It was time to finish him off.

At that moment...

Rumble!

The sound of a giant device turning rang out.

"Haha." Brutal Blade laughed, despite being a second away from death. This sound meant that Clown had gotten away, and that he'd activated the inescapable trap once more.

"Soon, you'll be dead too." Those were Brutal Blade's last words.

Bam!

Kang Oh sliced his neck with Ubist.

Thud.

Once he died, he dropped his katana. As the victor, Kang Oh picked up the spoils of war. It was an S-rank item. The effects weren't great, but its attack power was quite high.

Bam!

All of a sudden, the ground split open.

Kang Oh threw himself to the side. Then, another trap activated.

Abyss Transfer!

[The Evil Spirit's Mark has caused your skill to fail.]

"What!?"

Brutal Blade's Evil Spirit's Mark didn't just cause him to bleed. There was also a fixed chance that his skill/spells would fail to activate.

Stab!

A sharp harpoon surged from the ground and pierced his thigh.

"Grr!" Kang Oh threw himself out of the way again.

Whizz! Clang! Bam!

He sprung a trap wherever he moved. He had no time to rest.

'How many traps did they install!?'

Clown possessed a secret technique called Recover Trap. This skill would allow him to keep reusing traps over and over again, and also allow him to activate an almost infinite number of traps.

Moreover, Scapi's poisonous mist began to spread throughout the room. He couldn't avoid the poison mist as he was already too busy dodging the traps.

[You have been poisoned by Scapi's Special Poison.]

[This poison isn't that harmful by itself. However, it amplifies the potency of any other poison in your system.]

[Current Poisons: Red Death Poison, Illusion Mushroom Powder, Watery Rock Poison, Rusty Metal Poison, Synthesized Poison.]

[Your symptoms are severe.]

[HP drops quickly.]

[All abilities are reduced.]

[You are thirsty, itchy, nauseous, dizzy, etc.]

Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

He really wanted to see Eder. The Legendary Healer, Eder! If Eder were here, then he would've cured him of this poison in a flash. However, looking for someone that wasn't here was pointless.

'At this rate, I'll die!'

Kang Oh decided to bet the rest of his HP on his next move. Rather than avoid the traps and run away, he would instead pierce right through the poisonous mist.

Tramp!

Kang Oh ran at full speed.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Whizz!

All sorts of traps activated.

Red Butterfly's Dance!

He repeatedly left behind an afterimage wherever he passed through.

"Uhaaaahp!"

At the same time, Kang Oh crazily swung his sword. Harpoons, daggers, nets, hooks, etc. He cleaved through them all.

He would clear away the poisonous mist or acid using powerful attacks like Tempest Tiger.

However...

[The Evil Spirit's Mark has caused your skill to fail.]

"Damn it!"

Unexpectedly, his skill had failed, putting him in even greater danger.

'Brutal Blade, you bastard!'

Despite that, Kang Oh didn't stop.

He would do whatever it took to escape this trap hell!

No matter what!