Franco was covered in thick mist; the same mist that turned people into Evil God Worshippers.

[You have a high Mental stat.]

[You do not serve Jaila.]

Kang Oh obviously wasn't affected by Forced Conversion. Burkan, Dion, and Valan were likewise unaffected by it.

'Hmm.' Kang Oh examined the disciples in front of him.

The Devil's Sword, Sraka. He wore a bronze mask, and a greatsword was strapped to his back. He also exuded a dangerous 'smell'.

Bewitching Sora. She wore a black dress, and held a black bound grimoire in her hand.

Slaughter Lubatchi. As always, his body was etched with tattoos of people writhing in pain. He stared at his killer, Valan.

There was one other person that stood beside them. He was an incredibly handsome man, but his eyes were vacant. His hair was so long that it reached his waist, and he was barefoot too.

'Who is that?' Kang Oh tilted his head.

He'd never seen him before. But he, like the other disciples, gave off a dangerous smell. He had to be one of the Evil God's Disciples.

"Valan," Sraka said drearily.

"Sraka." Valan stared right at him.

There was no doubt the two would fight. After all, only a Grandmaster could take on another Grandmaster!

Swish!

Slash!

Valan and Sraka drew their blades.

Clang!

The 'clang' of their blades signaled the start of the battle.

"Rip them apart!" Slaughter Lubatchi yelled.

The Evil God Worshippers, the demons, and even the converted civilians charged at Kang Oh, Burkan, and Dion.

However, no one would dare to interfere with Valan and Sraka's duel.

The Evil God's Disciples also joined the battle. The master of evil magic, Sora, gathered deep purple energy in her hand. Her target was Burkan.

Wretched Pain!

The purple energy spread out like spider webs. Burkan immediately counterattacked.

Fighting Spirit's Aura!

He shot a red aura straight at her, which devoured the purple energy along the way.

Then, Sora's body began to fade.

Boom!

A 'boom' rang out, but Sora was nowhere to be found.

Burkan immediately found her with his sharp senses. Once Sora reappeared, she cast a follow-up spell.

Burkan's blade and Sora's spells went back and forth.

He was more skilled than her. But whenever he approached, the nearby demons would throw themselves at him and protect her.

Was it loyalty?

Absolutely not. As a master of evil magic, she was capable of controlling the demons. Thus, she could force the nearby demons to take Burkan's attacks in her place.

The Evil God Worshippers knew that their attacks would do little against Burkan, so they either buffed the demons or cast curses instead.

Meanwhile, Dion fought Lubatchi. Though skilled, Dion had difficulty facing Lubatchi, the demons, and the Evil God Worshippers all at once.

Kang Oh cut through anything in his way, whether it be demons, Evil God Worshippers, or mind controlled civilians with Sarahoff and Blood.

It was unfortunate, but he didn't have a choice in the matter. If he wanted to return the civilians back to normal, then he'd need to kill Amak. However, he was nowhere to be found.

Swish, stab!

Blood sliced through a demon's neck, and Sarahoff pierced through an Evil God Worshipper's heart. In no time at all, Kang Oh had killed more than twenty of them.

Despite that, the barefooted man didn't move. His expression was as vacant as ever.

At that moment...

Burkan threw a demon, which flew right at the barefooted man.

Bam!

However, the barefooted man didn't budge. On the contrary, the demon was flung away.

Then, the man's eyes began to show signs of life. Did the shock cause him to regain consciousness?

The man furrowed his brow, and turned his head around. Sora, who'd been fighting Burkan, teleported to the man.

"Lord Nemeth."

"Who are you?"

"I am the Supreme One's second disciple. My name is Sora."

"Sora?"

Then...

Burkan's Fighting Spirit's Aura came flying at Nemeth and Sora.

Nemeth extended his arm, unleashing energy from his fist that crashed against Burkan's aura.

Bam!

The resulting shockwave caused Nemeth's hair and clothes to flutter in the wind, but otherwise, he was completely unscathed.

"Quickly explain what's going on," Nemeth said.

"You were revived by Ilunati's Snake."

"And?"

"We are conducting a ceremony that will bring the Supreme One to this world. However, those heretics are trying to interfere with the ritual."

"So I just need to deal with them?"

"Yes."

"Got it."

Nemeth raised his right fist, which was coated in dim light.

"Haahp!" He swung his fist downwards.

Boom!

The mighty energy came flying at Burkan.

"Ugh." Burkan was forced back. Its power exceeded his expectations, so he hadn't responded to it properly.

Burkan was excited. A single move was enough to tell him how powerful his opponent was.

"Haahp!" He rushed at Nemeth, gladius in hand.

Burkan and Nemeth's fight was like a battle between a dragon and a tiger.

Surprisingly, Nemeth fought Burkan on equal footing. This meant that Nemeth was on the level of a Master! That's right. Nemeth was a Master Monk.

Burkan and Nemeth continued to do battle. However, Burkan was slowly being pushed back.

It was the first time Kang Oh had ever seen Burkan getting overpowered.

'Where did that monster come from? Wait a sec... Nemeth?' Kang Oh recalled what Sora had called him.

"That Nemeth? The one whose skull was used as a sacred treasure?"

He didn't have much time to think about it.

Danger!

His Hyper Intuition sent him a warning. Kang Oh's entire body felt cold.

With Burkan fighting Nemeth, Sora turned her attention to Kang Oh. Sora had just shot a spell at Kang Oh. It was quite hot too.

Burning Pain!

Roar!

Dark red flames came flying at him. It was as if an evil spirit's face was etched in the hellish flames.

Switch Ubist.

Kang Oh swapped Blood with Ubist. Once he felt Ubist in his hand, he forcefully swung it.

Swish.

His jet-black greatsword sliced the flames in half, but the aftermath was much more interesting.

Suck!

Ubist absorbed the hellish flames. Abyss Blade allowed him to absorb a spell every 30 seconds. It also gave him the ability to cut through the immaterial like ghosts or spirits.

Anyhow, Kang Oh rushed forward.

Kuhaahk!

The nearby demons prevented his advance. While they kept him busy, Sora prepared her next spell.

This was his chance. Sora had made a grave error. Rather than teleport away, she had chosen to cast another spell under the protection of the demons.

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

'I'll sweep through you all.'

Whir.

Ubist shook.

Abyss Predator!

His jet-black greatsword unleashed a massive amount of darkness, which spread out instantly like a winter wildfire.

It's time to eat!

The darkness devoured the demons, and then came straight for Sora. Though she cast a barrier to protect herself, it was already too late.

Before the barrier was even ready, she was consumed by darkness.

"Kyaa!" Sora shrieked, and countless shards of light fell from her body.

'Nice.'

Once the darkness dissipated like cigarette smoke, Kang Oh prepared a follow-up attack.

Tempest Tiger!

He was absolutely certain that the golden tiger would pounce and rip her throat out. After all, she was completely defenseless. Plus, there weren't any demons nearby that could protect her. Abyss Predator had already taken care of them.

However...!

Someone completely crushed his expectations.

All of a sudden, an individual's fist struck the golden tiger, causing it to dissipate.

It was Nemeth.

'Why is he here?'

Kang Oh looked for Burkan. His eyes widened with disbelief. Burkan was on one knee! This was the Invincible Gladiator we were talking about!

"Heal yourself," Nemeth said.

"Thank you, Lord Nemeth." Sora bowed deeply.

Hearing his name brought doubts within his mind.

"Are you actually the Evil God's First Disciple, Nemeth?"

"Jaila isn't an evil god. He's the one true god," Nemeth said like a true fanatic.

"That wasn't what I was asking. Are you actually his first disciple?"

"That's right."

After he'd been revived, Lubatchi had explained that Valan had shown up. Amak thought about how he could deal with Valan, and suddenly thought of Nemeth.

After all, Nemeth's Skull was actually made of the first disciple's skull. Plus, Nemeth was once a renowned Master Monk. When compared to the strongest monks in history, Nemeth ranked within the top ten.

By using Nemeth's Skull as a catalyst, Amak was able to revive him using Ilunati's Snake. That's how the first disciple, Nemeth, was reborn.

"Tch, what a pain," Kang Oh muttered.

He was referring to Amak. To be more specific, it was Ilunati's Snake that he was most worried about.

'At this rate, they'll summon all of the Evil God's most notorious disciples.'

The Devil's Sword, Sraka, was trouble enough, but Nemeth was powerful enough to fight on even ground with Burkan.

If that's the case, then it was well within the realm of possibility that Amak revived another disciple that was just as strong.

'The Evil God's followers... they're really dangerous.'

He could understand how they were able to wage war on the entire continent.

Then...

Dion was struck by Lubatchi's fist and fell to the floor. Both Burkan and Dion had been defeated!

Of course, Dion immediately got back up and engaged Lubatchi once more. However, the presence of the demons, as well as the Evil God Worshippers' curses, were slowly putting him at a disadvantage.

Whoosh.

Nemeth's fists glowed. He kicked off the floor and rushed at Kang Oh.

Great God's Fist!

However, Nemeth's fist didn't reach him. Burkan had intervened.

"I'm your opponent!" Burkan said murderously.

Transcendent Blade!

Fist and sword intersected.

Stab!

Whack!

Burkan's gladius pierced Nemeth's neck, while Nemeth's fist struck Burkan's chest.

The two were pushed back simultaneously.

Burkan gritted his teeth and moved first. Nemeth responded right after. The two exchanged attacks once more. Their battle was no place for Kang Oh.

'Good luck, Brother!' Kang Oh inwardly cheered, and aided Dion with Lubatchi and Sora.

How much time had passed?

Boom!

A massive 'boom' rang out. Those present automatically turned their attention to the noise's source.

The Guardian of the Continent, Valan!

The Devil's Sword, Sraka!

A thick cloud of dust rose from the area they were fighting in. However, a fierce gust of wind blew the dust away.

At that moment...

Kang Oh's party and the Evil God's followers had exact opposite expressions.

Kang Oh, Burkan, and Dion looked on with hope, while the Evil God's followers looked on in despair.

Sraka had fallen to the floor, and Valan was standing over him. The victor was clear. However, Valan said something completely unbecoming of a victor.

"Retreat!" Valan began to run away.

"What?"

For a second there, Kang Oh, Burkan, and Dion were shocked. But they quickly got a hold of themselves and followed after Valan.

"Wait for me!"

"S-Stop them! Don't let them escape!" Lubatchi yelled.

However, he felt like it was already too late. Valan and his companions were already long gone.