Kang Oh couldn't find Valan at the Holiseum. Burkan wasn't there either. But he did manage to hear that they were at the Great Temple of Rakan.

"Good timing," Valan said to Kang Oh.

'Good timing?'

"Is this related to the Evil God Worshippers?"

"Who else would cause such a ruckus?" Valan seemed really fed up with them.

"What do you need me to do?"

"What I do best."

"Insulting people? Ignoring people? Cockiness?" Kang Oh said jokingly.

"Want to die?" Valan scowled, causing Kang Oh to shut his mouth.

Then...

Burkan came over. "The 100 Fighters are all ready and accounted for... Oh, Little Brother."

"Brother. What's going on?" Kang Oh wanted a detailed explanation as to what had happened.

"Hoo, so..." Burkan briefly explained the events that had taken place.

They had found the Evil God Worshippers' hideout in the Daltrak Region, and had sent troops to destroy it. However, Nazaran had betrayed them and stole Nemeth's Skull. After that, the Evil God Worshippers seized control of Franco City.

"Ultimately, the Evil God Worshippers reclaimed all of their sacred treasures." Kang Oh sighed. He had a feeling that this would be a difficult endeavor.

"Yeah. That's why they seized control of Franco." Burkan gritted his teeth. 'You evil bastards!'

"Franco has a total population of 1 million. That's enough people to summon Jaila."

"Yeah. That's why we need to stop them," Valan said.

"How?"

"We have to get in their way as much as possible. You help out too," he said commandingly.

"No thank..." Kang Oh instinctively said. After all, he was the type of person that talked back the harder you pressured him.

However, he was also weak to threats. Especially Valan's threats, as he knew that none of his excuses would work on him.

"Then should I kill you instead?"

"No, I'll do it."

"Good. Follow me."

"Yes, sir."

Valan, Burkan, Kang Oh, and the 100 Fighters left the Great Temple of Rakan.

* * *

Their first order of business was to attack the demon army led by Lubatchi and Garup. The two disciples would go around the nearby cities, killing, kidnapping, destroying, etc. Any villainous act you could think of, they did.

It was time for justice to be served.

"Enemies!"

"They're heretics!"

Kyahaahk!

Kuhaaa!

The black robed Evil God Worshippers cast their evil spells, and the starving demons rampaged about.

"Kill them all, 100 Fighters!" Dion raised his voice.

"Let's go!"

"Attack!"

Kang Oh and Burkan also joined the 100 Fighters.

Meanwhile, Valan kept his only hand in his pocket. There was no need for him to get involved.

'This is exciting.'

Kang Oh loved fighting on a large battlefield. It was the perfect stage to show how powerful he was.

He excitedly swung his jet-black greatsword and purple longsword. Kang Oh split the demons' skin, which was tougher than a whale's tendons, or their scales, which was tougher than the strongest steel.

Kang Oh cut down a giant mosquito-like demon, and then stabbed a large mouthed, four-armed demon in its eye.

Bam!

Some of the demons exploded on contact, but he could just throw a Fire Bomb at them and that'd be the end of that.

Kang Oh was plenty strong enough without using Gluttony or Devil Trigger.

"You bastard!" Lubatchi rushed at him. Or he would've if Garup hadn't grabbed his arm.

"Mr. Lubatchi, we have to retreat. Look over there." Garup pointed at Valan, who was observing the battle.

"T-That man is...!" Lubatchi clearly remembered him. It was only natural. He was the monster that fought Sraka one-on-one and won!

'I can't beat him.'

Lubatchi instinctively yelled, "R-Retreat!"

"Retreat!"

The Evil God's followers retreated like sand escaping between one's fingers. Then, Valan moved to intercept them. He had no intention of letting Lubatchi or Garup go.

He drew his sword and swung horizontally.

Divide the Sea!

Swish.

A horizontal line suddenly appeared! Any demon or Evil God Worshipper in its path was split in half.

Absolute power!

Divide the Sea's sharp energy came for Lubatchi and Garup too.

"S-Shit!"

"Ugh!"

Lubatchi ducked and just barely managed to dodge it. However, Garup's body was split in half.

Fortunately, Garup possessed Super Regeneration. The severed parts of his body quickly began to heal.

But...!

In an instant, Valan closed the distance, releasing a bleak killing intent. He didn't really say anything. He just swung his sword.

Swish, slash.

Lubatchi and Garup were the Evil God's Disciples. Even Valan wouldn't be able to kill them in a single hit. At the same time, they had no chance against him. Burkan was by his side too, after all.

"L-Lord Jaila."

"Ugh. I'll definitely pay you back for..."

Ultimately, the Evil God's third and fourth disciples, Lubatchi and Garup, lost their lives that day.

However...!

Amak had Ilunati's Snake.

* * *

The Evil God Worshippers possessed all three of Jaila's sacred treasures: Nemeth's Skull, Jaila's Bronze Knife, and Ilunati's Snake.

Nemeth's Skull was capable of forcefully converting people into Evil God Worshippers. The other two sacred treasures also possessed tremendous abilities.

Jaila's Bronze Knife was capable of drawing out a living soul and storing it. These stored souls could be used at the wielder's discretion. Plus, it could be used to plant a 'seed' within someone, and allow the user to control them. Amak had done this to Nazaran.

Ilunati's Snake was capable of bringing back the dead. It obviously had certain strings attached.

First, you had to possess something connected to the dead individual. For example, Amak was able to revive Sraka by possessing his greatsword.

Second, you need a certain amount of sacrifices to revive a person. It differed depending on the individual; for some, it would require thousands, but for others, it might take tens of thousands. Human life and souls were what fueled this process.

Lastly, reviving a person that had already been revived before would require so many more sacrifices. Moreover, the revived individual could only live for a year. Every time they were revived, that 1 year lifespan would go down significantly.

Despite that, Ilunati's Snake was an overpowered item for sure; it could bring the dead back to life for god's sake.

Like right now.

The countless souls stored within Jaila's Bronze Knife were sucked into Ilunati's Snake, a scale with a snake coiled around it. Then, the scale began to tip in either direction.

Creak! Creak!

The scale gave an unpleasant 'creak', and shards of light formed in the air. Then, those shards gathered around the yellow teeth on the floor.

At some point, the scale became perfectly balanced, and Jaila's Bronze Knife stopped feeding it with souls.

The shards of light coalesced into the shape of a human and soon became recognizable.

Slaughter Lubatchi had come back to life.

"Uheok!"

As soon he came back, Lubatchi opened his eyes and raised his upper body. Then, he began to pat his body.

"Lubatchi," Amak called.

"H-High Priest!" Lubatchi still looked as confused as ever. Most people who were revived using this process had a similar reaction.

"I revived you."

"Heok, thank you." Lubatchi bowed his head. He understood what was going on now.

"Who killed you?" Amak asked.

As the Evil God's High Priest, he knew right away when one of the Evil God's Disciples were killed. But he didn't know how they were killed or for what reason.

"I-It was him," Lubatchi recalled Valan and said.

"Him?"

"The one who could fight Lord Sraka."

"Valan!"

Amak knew who he was. In fact, there was no way he wouldn't know who he was.

He had sacrificed the lives of his fellow Evil God Worshippers to resurrect the Devil's Sword, Sraka. He was their greatest weapon, so it was worth the price.

Sraka was a Grandmaster!

Throughout history, there were few that managed to reach that level of skill. However, Sraka was one of the few that had.

But he hadn't expected there to be an individual that could not only match him, but defeat him as well.

When he sensed Sraka's death, he couldn't believe it. But it was the irrefutable truth.

If not for Jaila's Bronze Knife, as well as the countless souls trapped within, then he wouldn't have been able to revive Sraka again.

Anyhow, he asked Sraka who'd killed him, and was able to learn about Valan.

"Valan has shown up, huh..." Amak's emaciated face creased with frustration. The Guardian of the Continent, Valan, was their biggest hurdle.

"He killed me." Lubatchi gritted his teeth. But he also felt fear as well. Valan was someone he couldn't contend with, after all.

"As you know, you only have 1 year left to live."

"I understand."

"But don't worry. When the Supreme One comes to this world, he'll take care of you."

"Of course."

"So do your best so that he can step foot into this world."

"Of course." Lubatchi hit his chest as if saying, 'You can count on me.'.

"Will you revive Garup too?"

"If I need to."

Amak possessed items that were linked to each of the disciples. For example, he had used Lubatchi's teeth to revive him.

He obviously possessed the item necessary to revive Garup too. However, he didn't feel the need to revive him at the moment.

"Mm."

"I want you to accompany Lord Sraka."

"Yes."

"And tell Lord Sraka to deal with Valan."

"Understood." Lubatchi stood up and left.

Amak was lost in thought. 'Valan, Valan... Is there any guaranteed way of killing him?'

He couldn't think of anything, so his face only further creased with frustration.

* * *

The Black Hammer Dwarves' Master Blacksmith, Hoffman, had never taken a day off. This day was no different from the rest.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

His hammer didn't stop.

But there was one thing that had changed as of late. There was someone else who made use of his personal workspace.

The Master Tailor, Dink.

Dink Workshop was renowned for its luxury craft goods, and Dink was its main designer!

He would show up at the Black Hammer Dwarves' Hideout every two or three days, and work together with Hoffman.

Of course, the two were currently working on Kang Oh's dragon leather armor.

Creak.

The door to Hoffman's personal workspace opened, and in came a middle-aged, honest looking man. It was Dink.

He didn't bother Hoffman. Instead, he went over to the workbench and concentrated on his own work.

Hoffman liked that aspect of him; Dink would always put everything into his work, and not allow anything to bother him. They were alike, so they worked well together. After all, they were both true craftsmen.

Clang, clang.

Hoffman kept swinging his hammer.

Sometime later...

Dink, who'd finished his work for today, came over. "Hoffman, would you like to have a drink together?"

The two had acknowledged each other's skill, and after working together, they began to speak to each other comfortably.

Plus, both of them were 'middle-aged', regardless of the difference in species.

"Sounds good to me."

"I like the taste of Phamas Beer now too." Dink smiled honestly.

"Phamas Beer is the best." Hoffman showed a rare smile.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah."

In the workspace, there were four items hanging atop a wooden mannequin. A hat, gloves, boots, and pants. All they needed for a complete set was the upper body piece, or the leather jacket.

* * *

Kang Oh, Burkan, Valan, and the 100 Fighters stared at the ruined city of Franco and were lost in thought.

The city was covered in thick mist. They all knew that that mist was responsible for forcibly transforming innocent citizens into Evil God Worshippers.

Burkan hungered for battle, twirling his gladius around.

"They're not coming out."

After they killed Lubatchi and Garup, the Evil God's followers stopped their excursions from Franco.

'They're probably wary of us.'

"Burkan, Dion, Kang Oh," Valan said.

"Yes!" Dion immediately replied, as if he were a private in the army.

Whereas Burkan and Kang Oh just stared at him. 'What do you need?'

"You three and I are going into the city."

"Just the four of us?" Kang Oh glanced back at the 100 Fighters behind them. 'Then what about them?'

"That place is nothing but a den of Evil God Worshippers now. We can't take everyone; they'll just get in the way."

Apparently, Valan didn't think the 100 Fighters were strong enough to join them.

"Only those who are strong enough will come with me. And our goal is..." He looked over Kang Oh, Burkan, and Dion's faces. "To prevent the ceremony!"

"Plus, you want us to kill the disciples with the sacred treasures and take them back, right?" Kang Oh stared at him and asked.

"That's right."

Sometime later...

Valan, Burkan, Kang Oh, and Dion secretly entered Franco. It was such a large city that it wasn't that hard to enter undetected.

But like Valan had said, Franco had become a den of Evil God Worshippers, so they had no choice but to come across some of the disciples along the way.

However...!

They came across one that Kang Oh had never seen before.