Clap, clap, clap!

Clown smiled as he clapped.

"Amazing. He's amazing."

Contrary to his statement, however, his eyes were downright murderous.

Scapi and Taboo looked absolutely shocked. Kang Oh had pierced through the trap and poison hell, and had reached their current location.

As expected of one of the Numbers!

Of course, Kang Oh wasn't in good shape.

His body was riddled with daggers or arrows, and the poison had spread throughout his system, so even if Eder were here, he wouldn't be able to save him.

He only had 4 HP left.

Kang Oh was fated to die, even if Red Moon's Four Heavenly Kings didn't do anything.

However, the Heavenly Kings were unscathed, and their subordinates were here too.

There was no way he'd escape.

"Haha, this is only the beginning. We're going to keep killing you over and over again," Clown said cruelly.

Due to the death debuff, killing him a second time would be even easier. From there, they'd just keep killing Kang Oh over and over again in his weakened state.

"I'll finish him off," Taboo said.

Kang Oh remained silent, content with staring at the three Heavenly Kings.

"Haha. To think I'd kill one of the Numbers. Anything to say?" Taboo asked.

Kang Oh flipped him off.

"Nice. Rest in peace." Taboo raised his mace, and then forcefully swung downwards.

Bam!

Kang Oh's face slammed into the ground; it sounded like a watermelon had just broken.

Once he died, the energy surrounding him returned to his demon swords, and Devil Trigger was automatically deactivated.

"Hoo, it's finally over." Scapi let out a sigh of relief.

She had been extremely cautious, worried that Kang Oh would mount a last-ditch effort. However, Kang Oh had unexpectedly accepted his death, and things had ended relatively smoothly.

"He didn't drop any items. I really like his swords." Clown came over and nudged Kang Oh's body with his foot.

At that moment...!

Kang Oh's ring radiated intense light. At the same time, blazing, outstretched wings protruded from his back.

His SS-rank ring, the Cassio Ring, had activated its special ability!

Resurrection!

[You have been revived.]

[You are the Phoenix's father. Resurrection has been enhanced.]

[HP and MP have been fully restored.]

[For 10 minutes, all abilities increase by 30%, and your maximum HP is doubled.]

[For 5 minutes, HP is replenished so quickly that you are essentially immortal.]

[You may now use Sun Sword (Active/Skill).]

[Cooldown: 30 days.]

Since they'd hatched it, Kang Oh and Asu had become Phoenix Rudy's parents. Thus, the Cassio Ring's Resurrection ability was enhanced.

The increase to his abilities had gone up from 20% to 30%, and he could use Sun Sword now.

Plus, for 5 minutes, he gained the Phoenix's ability to regenerate its HP with such speed that it made it practically immortal. For those 5 minutes, he'd be pretty damn hard to kill.

"W-What happened?"

"He came back?"

Scapi, Clown, and Taboo were shocked. Kang Oh had just stood up completely unscathed.

After all, no one knew that Kang Oh possessed a Resurrection ability.

He moved quickly, choosing to remain completely silent. This was his best opportunity to catch the Heavenly Kings off guard.

"H-He's coming!"

"Attack."

Once he rushed forward, Scapi and Taboo simultaneously yelled.

"Kill him!"

"Uahaahk!"

The Black Scorpions, as well as Clown and Taboo's subordinates, charged in.

Clown turned around and hid amidst his subordinates. There was something wrong with Kang Oh! In situations like this, it was best to take care of oneself first!

Devil Trigger!

Dark red wings sprouted from his back, a horned beast mask covered his face, a breastplate as red as blood guarded his torso, and a beast's tail swished around from behind!

Kang Oh had transformed into a demon.

Kuhaaang!

A horrific, bizarre cry erupted from his mouth.

Demon's Roar!

Kang Oh alternated between his demon swords, and killed the assassins with ease.

It was only natural. Kang Oh didn't even try to dodge them. He just took their attacks like they were nothing. He trusted in his HP regeneration! Despite that, he didn't die. The system message was right; he was pretty much immortal.

Because of that, Kang Oh focused entirely on offense. His attacks were ridiculous when he didn't have to worry about defense.

Darkness Strike!

A jet-black beast and a red bat combined, resulting in a massive explosion.

Boom!

That wasn't the only explosion.

Blood Bomb!

A scarlet energy exploded around him.

Boom!

Fresh Blood Wave!

Like a tsunami, a wave as thick and red as blood swept through everything in its path.

Tempest Tiger!

A roaring golden tiger devoured several assassins.

Abyss Claw!

It ripped through anything in its path, whether it be the ceiling, the walls, or people, and left behind a thick scar.

Lightning Breath!

Everlasting Darkness!

Blood shot an electric blast, while Ubist unleashed a pillar of darkness.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Ugh."

"Stop him!"

"Do something! Anything!"

"Uhahk! Die, you monster!"

The Heavenly Kings' direct subordinates did their best, but their resistance was pointless.

Sun Sword!

Roar!

Blood and Ubist were coated in intense flames.

Mad Wind's Sword!

The combination resulted in a raging storm of flame. A flaming storm that swept through and burned everything in its path!

Sometime later...

By the time he lowered his sword, no one was left unscathed.

Scapi, Taboo, and Clown weren't in good shape.

Taboo was on one knee, while Scapi had been rammed into a wall. Clown's face lay on the floor, deathly pale. All of them had been burnt, and some flames kept burning within the passageway.

The place had been burnt to the ground!

Kang Oh moved quickly, killing both Taboo and Scapi.

"I'll pay you back for this."

"We'll keep coming for you! We'll never stop!"

Those were their last words.

"Hiik."

Clown, believing that he was next, began running.

Kang Oh placed Ubist into his inventory, and used Darkness Chain, wrapping Clown from head to toe.

"Eup!"

He dragged Clown with him. The chains had covered his mouth too, so he couldn't speak properly.

"Mad Jester, Clown. You're coming with me."

Kang Oh wanted to catch all four of the Heavenly Kings and send them to the Security Bureau, but he wasn't confident that he'd be able to drag all three of them there.

Thus, he killed Taboo and Scapi, and planned on taking Clown, who had the most annoying abilities of the three, to the Security Bureau.

He dragged Clown outside of the dungeon. There wasn't anyone to stop him, after all.

"Eeup!"

Clown just writhed around from within the chains.

* * *

Altein's intercity transfer gate.

Kang Oh and the wrapped Clown exited the rainbow pillar of light. He had arrived wearing the Draka set, and also had Ubist on his back and Blood at his waist.

His striking appearance, coupled with the fact that he'd come dragging someone in chains, inevitably drew people's attention.

"Who's that?"

"Oh, that sword is..."

"It's Kang Oh!" someone yelled.

"That's Kang Oh? Numbers Kang Oh?"

"It's one of the Numbers!"

He was so famous that all eyes were on him. Eventually, they turned their attention to the one in chains instead.

"Who's he dragging with him?"

"Not sure. He's completely covered in chains, so I can't see his face."

"Should we follow him?"

"Let's go."

A group of people began following Kang Oh. More and more players joined in; soon enough, there was an entire crowd following him.

It was a combination of Kang Oh's fame and their curiosity. They wanted to know who he was dragging along with him.

Kang Oh had set things up so that this would happen, so he wasn't surprised in the least.

Clown's eyes and mouth were covered, so it was hard for him to tell what was going on. What he did know was that it was noisy outside, so he knew there was a giant crowd amassed outside.

'I have to get away no matter what.'

However, the chains were wrapped around too tightly, so he couldn't even attempt to do anything. All he could hope to do was writhe around.

Kang Oh headed for the Altein Security Bureau with a huge crowd in tow.

"He's going to the Security Bureau."

"Is he dragging around a criminal?"

"Who is it? He must be pretty famous if Kang Oh's bringing him here."

"Just wait and see."

Creak.

Kang Oh opened the door and entered the Security Bureau. The huge crowd tried following him inside, but a worker blocked the entrance.

"Apologies, but there are already too many people inside, so you cannot go in. Please wait a few minutes."

"Aw! Just let me in!"

"No. I'm gonna go in."

They wanted to see what would happen, so they tried to shove their way through, but the Security Bureau worker barred entry.

Kang Oh approached the desk.

"I brought a criminal with me."

Nearby people began to whisper.

"He really did catch a criminal."

"Who did he catch?"

The Security Bureau worker saw the chains and said, "Who did you catch?"

"The Mad Jester, Clown."

"Excuse me?"

'Did I hear wrong?' The worker asked back. 'Clown? As in one of Red Moon's executives?'

"The Mad Jester, Clown," Kang Oh said clearly.

"R-Really!?"

"See for yourself."

Everyone went hysterical.

"He said he caught Clown!"

"He's one of Red Moon's executives."

"It looks like Kang Oh fought Red Moon."

"Wow, Red Moon!?"

Red Moon was the worst criminal organization. Their leader, Red, and his four Heavenly Kings had never been caught before.

"T-Then, I'll make sure it's really him."

The worker sifted through their drawer and found Clown's wanted letter. Then, they came over to the bundle of chains.

Kang Oh slightly opened the chains, showing Clown's face while keeping his mouth shut.

"Eeup!" Clown forcefully tossed and turned.

"I-It's him!" the worker yelled. It was definitely Clown.

"It's really him!"

"It's really Clown!"

"Hey, make sure you get this. One of Red Moon's executives has been caught."

"I've been recording since the very beginning. I'm definitely putting this up on Arthtory."

Though his surroundings were noisy, Kang Oh merely said his piece.

"How much is his bounty worth?"

"I-It's worth 50,000 gold," the worker looked at the wanted letter and said.

50,000 gold!?

1 gold was worth 3,000 won ($3 USD), so in total, he was worth 150 million won ($150,000 USD).

Kang Oh's lips curled upwards.

He knew there was a huge bounty on Red Moon's executives, but he didn't think it'd amount to 50,000 gold.

"I'm also quite shocked, seeing as how this is the first time I've been given a criminal that's worth that much. Anyhow, it's definitely 50,000 gold," the worker clarified.

"Wow, did you hear what they said? He's worth 50,000 gold."

"Holy crap."

"Please deposit it immediately," Kang Oh said.

"Yes. We'll take the criminal first."

"By all means. How long will he stay in jail?" Kang Oh asked.

"Killing civilians, plundering, arson, torture, etc. He's such a terrible criminal that... he'll probably be in there for life."

"For life, huh... I see."

In Arth, punishment for crimes was severe. So for a criminal as bad as Clown, lifetime in prison made sense!

So long as no one broke him out of jail, Clown would have to delete his character and start from scratch. No one played a game to rot in jail.

"Eeup! Eeup!" Clown was probably saying 'I'll kill you no matter what!' or something like that.

A short while later...

The guards came and took Clown away. However, the gag fell out.

"Kang Oh, you son of a bitch! I'll find you in real life and kill you! I'll kill your entire fam... Eeup! Eup! Eeeup!"

The guards quickly put the gag back in.

"What'd you say?" Kang Oh picked his ear. He wasn't afraid of someone like Clown. Whether it be in-game or outside of it.

"Eeup!" Clown writhed like he was having a seizure.

"Stay still!"

"Take him down!"

The guards struck his head with their batons.

Whack! Whack! Whack!

Clown, now unconscious, was dragged to his cell.

"Here, this is his bounty." The worker carefully passed him a gold scroll. It was worth 50,000 gold!

Kang Oh accepted it and placed it inside his inventory.

'It was worth dying once.'

"Ah, by the way, which criminal is worth the most?" Kang Oh asked.

"Red."

"How much is he worth?"

"100,000 gold."

"Heop."

100,000 gold!? Then he's worth 300 million ($300,000 USD)!

'I have to catch him too.' Kang Oh's eyes were filled with greed.

"Then, if you'll excuse me..."

Kang Oh left the Security Bureau with a confident gait.

There were so many players standing in front of the Security Bureau.

"Ooh, he came out!"

"What happened inside?"

"Who did you catch?"

They barraged him with questions.

Kang Oh raised his hand. Then, people quieted down.

"I was ambushed by Red Moon today," Kang Oh began.

"R-Red Moon!"

"Did you hear? He said he was attacked by Red Moon."

"This is an exclusive. Kang Oh fought against Red Moon!"

"Ah, will you just shut up already? Let me hear Mr. Kang Oh talk!"

"Quiet!"

Once it got quiet again, Kang Oh continued. "Red Moon's Heavenly Kings, Brutal Blade, Taboo, Scapi, and Clown, attacked me. As you can see, I won. I caught Clown and sent him to jail."

"Oooh!"

"Waaa!"

"Kang Oh! Kang Oh!"

There were several players in the crowd that'd been killed due to Red and Red Moon's misdeeds. Hearing of Kang Oh's triumph made them feel great, so they cheered him on.

"And I have a favor to ask Red Moon."

People were puzzled by that statement. 'A favor?'

"Please keep coming after me. Please! I'll send you all to jail, like I did with Clown. Red, come personally next time."

Kang Oh was declaring war on Red Moon.

A declaration of war towards the worst criminal organization, Red Moon! Plus, he was provoking their leader, Red!

They would keep coming after him anyway, so he might as well make his stance clear.

'I'm the hunter, you're the prey!'

"Uwaaaaah!"

"You're so cool, Kang Oh!"

"As expected of the Predator!"

"Oppa, I love you!"

People cheered at his declaration of war.

Kang Oh, who challenged the criminal organization, was a hero in their eyes.

Of course, they were completely misunderstanding him.

'Your bounty's mine!'

Kang Oh smiled, thinking of the gold that was just waiting for him. He was only interested in 'money' after all.

He had no interest in serving justice!