Kang Oh's party stood atop an island that floated above a lake of boiling lava. There was a red dragon lying down in the middle of it.

Puff.

A black plume of smoke rose from its slightly parted mouth.

The two horns on its long head represented fear and despair. Its deep yellow irises were as beautiful as gems, but their gold gaze could freeze even the soul itself.

The dragon possessed a long neck, a giant red body, and a tail, which seemed like it'd crush anything with a single swing.

Inarius's wings were its most striking feature. The jet-black wings looked like they were made of threads of darkness that a craftsman had painstakingly stitched together.

Dragon Inarius!

It was the living embodiment of evil!

Gulp.

Kang Oh swallowed hard.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen a dragon firsthand. After all, he'd seen the Divine Dragon plenty of times.

However, he felt a different kind of presence from Inarius.

Just looking at it gave him an ominous feeling, like something bad was just waiting to happen. It was like Inarius was the incarnation of fury and misfortune.

Kang Oh and his companions didn't move a muscle. They never would've guessed that they'd be meeting Inarius like this.

Thus, they didn't move hastily and kept up their guard.

Inarius's yellow eyes stared at Rokan's corpse. The Black Knight's severed head rolled onto the floor beside his body.

Flap.

Inarius stretched out its wings, and out came black threads that pierced Rokan's face and body.

Something strange happened next.

The threads sprouted out of the severed portions of his body, twisted together like vines, and then pulled on each other.

"How dare you!" Valan swung his sword.

He quickly realized that Inarius was attempting to revive Rokan.

Valan couldn't just sit there and watch. Rokan was his mortal enemy, one who'd killed his close friend in the past.

Divide the Sea!

Valan swung his sword, unleashing a line of unmatched sharpness; it was as if the word 'sharpness' originated from it.

Bam!

Inarius stretched out its other wing, acting like a veil that blocked Divide the Sea.

Rip!

The wing was ripped apart like paper. However, the ripped wing instantly mended itself as if black ink had filled in the gaps.

Even so, Divide the Sea hadn't fully disappeared. It passed through Inarius's wing and came straight for Rokan's corpse.

Inarius was mumbling something.

Whir.

In an instant, dozens of magical barriers were layered around Rokan's body!

Screech!

Divide the Sea struck the layered barrier, making a sound akin to a saw cutting through rock.

The barrier sparked and a couple layers shattered, but Valan's attack wasn't able to break it completely. The saw had lost its edge before the rock could be completely broken.

Bam.

Inarius fluttered its black wings.

Dancing Flame!

A dark red circle of flame gradually expanded around Inarius's body. Kang Oh and his companions protected themselves.

In the meantime, Rokan's head and body were reconnected. His once lifeless face began to show the spark of life once more.

"Heok!" Rokan immediately stood up. "L-Lord Inarius!"

Rokan's body shook as he saw the dragon's face.

"You failed to stop the invaders, I see." Inarius's enraged voice rang out.

Inarius didn't accept failure. If you did fail, the best you could do was bow and beg for forgiveness. After all, Inarius reveled in the sight of bugs bowing before it.

"P-Please forgive me." Rokan immediately knelt down and prostrated himself.

"I thought about leaving you to your death, but I decided to give you another chance."

"Thank you."

"I called Duvall and Meragon. I want to see you kill these invaders."

"I'll take care of them no matter what!" Rokan stood up.

Then...

A portal opened up, and a three-headed lizard with red skin and a giant body walked out.

Three-Headed Meragon!

It was followed by a dwarf.

He had a much smaller build than a normal dwarf. His eyes were also strange, and he held different hammers in his hands.

The Chieftain of the Black Wing Dwarves, Duvall!

They were a tribe of dwarves that loyally followed Inarius. Duvall was the result of Inarius's horrific live experiments on the dwarves.

Kuhaang.

Meragon and Duvall stood in front of Inarius.

"Take care of the invaders."

Dragon Knight Rokan.

Three-Headed Meragon.

Artificially Enhanced Dwarf, Duvall.

They were the three most powerful guardians in Inarius's Nest.

It seemed like Inarius had no intention of getting involved himself. At least not yet, that is.

Kuhaahk!

Meragon unleashed three different types of poison from its heads.

"He's mine," Valan yelled, leaping high up into the air.

"I'll fight the dwarf. The rest of you, please take care of the lizard. Be careful; you never know when Inarius will step in," Kang Oh said.

"I'll take care of the tanking and healing. Ms. Asu, Nile, attack it from behind. Mr. Sephiro, ride on Waryong's back and attack it from the air. Mr. Bart, long-range attacks. Ms. Helena, please take care of its poison. Remember, it isn't over once we beat it. Don't waste your most powerful skills or spells on it."

Isshin, the Paladin of Life, gave the orders. When he was still a part of Steel Heart, he had been the ace of their raid team. In other words, he was a reliable commander.

They all knew this, so they did as they were told.

"I'm going!" Isshin protected himself with his square shield.

This shield was made out of Dragon Bone and alloy. The Dragon Bone acted as a base, while a layer of the alloy sat atop it. It was a work of art that was also adorned with rare jewels on top.

It was an SS-rank shield called Shining Hoff's Shield!

Only the greatest of Hoffman's creations would contain his son's name, 'Hoff', in the title.

"Oh Luhan!"

Isshin's shield radiated intense light, which transformed into two giant wings.

Protector's Shield!

Isshin passed through the poisonous mist and ran forward. Asu and Nile were right behind him.

Helena opted for aerial bombardment, while Bart and Sephiro flew on top of Waryong's back.

A short while later...

Their formation, fully optimized to hunt Meragon, was ready.

"Attack!" Isshin yelled.

* * *

Duvall was originally a Master Dwarf Warrior who wielded twin hammers. Then, he was subjected to Inarius's physical modifications.

His skin was covered with dragon scales, so even without armor, his defense and elemental resistance was incredibly high.

The dwarf's eyes were also replaced with a hawk's eyes, as they were known for their keen vision. His nose and ears were replaced with a Big Nose Monkey's nose and a Big Ear's ears. It was said that a Big Nose Monkey could smell things dozens of kilometers away, and a Big Ear could hear a needle drop on the floor.

His muscles belonged to two different monsters: an Ogre and a Cyclops. They were known for their herculean strength.

Duvall was composed of countless other parts; he might look like a dwarf, but he had nothing left that made him a dwarf.

Would it be accurate to say that he was similar to Howlka?

The only difference was that Duvall was experimented on, which increased his strength beyond a dwarf's, while Howlka used a combination of passive skills to maximize his physical abilities.

At the same time, Duvall was nowhere near as strong as Howlka.

Kang Oh completely overpowered him, even though Duvall's physical abilities surpassed his while he wasn't using Gluttony.

However, Kang Oh was far superior in every other aspect.

First, his fundamentals were more solid.

A Master versus a Grandmaster.

Kang Oh could predict his every move, he had a better handle on his abilities, his senses were better, and he was more experienced.

What's worse, he had his Hyper Intuition on his side.

Moreover, Kang Oh, who'd transformed into the Frostblood Demon, was an insurmountable wall and could use Frostblood's unique properties to sap his enemy's strength.

That was why he had such an easy time fighting him.

To be more specific, he had enough free time to watch Inarius's movements while fighting against him.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

His twin swords clashed with Duvall's hammers.

Once this clash was over, countless shards of light spilled from Duvall's body.

"Ugh." Duvall backed off.

Kang Oh immediately took a step forward and attacked with even greater ferocity.

Frostblood surged from the ground, and his twin blades came for Duvall's weak points like an enraged venomous snake.

Beside them, Meragon was on the floor, writhing in pain.

Guaah!

Meragon specialized in spewing three different types of poison from its mouth.

However, Isshin's restorative abilities (both healing and detoxifying), his teammates' outstanding abilities, and Eder's special medicine proved too much for it.

Its other specialty, extending its long tongue at great speeds, was absolutely useless too. The fact that it had three of these tongues didn't give it any advantage either.

Meragon could instantly kill one of them if it managed to catch them with its tongues, but none of Kang Oh's teammates were that weak.

Ultimately, Meragon was the recipient of a one-sided beat down.

Although it had a ton of HP, their attack power was so high that it didn't matter. It wouldn't be long before it breathed its last.

Valan swung his sword at Rokan.

Rokan was about as powerful as Dukeram without his Invincible Emperor buff. In terms of Masters, he was about the middle of the road.

He was absolutely no match for Valan, especially now that he'd gotten a lot younger and the best possible body one could ask for.

However, a Dragon Knight became stronger when they fought near the dragon they formed a contract with.

"It won't be as easy as last time," Rokan yelled, gathering a ton of Inarius's wicked energy. His sword ignited with dark red flames.

Dragon Fire!

The intensity and size of the flames were tremendous.

"Die!" Rokan fiercely swung his sword. The flames lunged forward, filling Valan's vision.

However, there was nothing Valan's sword couldn't cut.

Swish!

Not only did he cut through the flames in a single swing, but he also took off one of Rokan's arms.

"Kuhaahk!" Rokan cried out.

Inarius coldly narrowed its eyes.

'Useless.'

It abandoned any hope it had in Rokan, Duvall, and Meragon.

Hoo.

Inarius raised its head and inhaled. Its legs were firmly planted on the floor, keeping it steady.

Then, it stretched out its black wings.

Inarius gathered as much energy as possible until it couldn't keep it in anymore.

Fierce Fire Dragon's Breath!

Bam!

Fan-shaped flames, which threatened to burn everything in their path, spread outwards over a wide area.

The Dragon's Breath, which was considered a dragon's most powerful attack, consumed both Kang Oh's party and its minions.

Inarius opened its mouth even wider, and gave it everything it had.

Game Over!

* * *

The Fierce Fire Dragon's Breath left only ashes behind.

Inarius sensed the deaths of all three of his subordinates, and smiled in satisfaction.

However...!

He sensed the powerful energy of life in what should've been a lifeless inferno.

Whir!

The Phoenix soared through the air.

Then, the invaders reappeared one or two at a time.

They were all unscathed.

They were surrounded not by Inarius's wicked flames, but by Rudy's Flames of Protection.

Right when Inarius unleashed its Dragon's Breath, Rudy transformed into a Phoenix and protected everyone.

However, Rudy wasn't able to consume Inarius's breath. It was due to the evil contained within them. Rudy would feel sick if it ate those.

"You dare!?" Inarius stood up.

It had expected them to have burnt to a crisp, yet they were all still alive, unscathed even. Rage and irritation welled up within it.

"I'll kill you all!"

Black spheres reminiscent of black holes surrounded it.

Darkness Annihilation!

That wasn't all.

Lava Stone!

Rocks filled with lava were interspersed among the black spheres.

"Die!" Inarius's malicious voice rang out.

Bam, bam, bam!

Kang Oh's party was bombarded with magic on all sides. Kang Oh himself avoided the spells and flew into the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

There was an explosion in the spot he'd just left. It was completely burned.

"I'm going!" Tasha's voice echoed through his head.

"Go!"

Whoosh!

Kang Oh quickly flew towards Inarius's head.

At that moment...

Demon Sword Sarahoff released intense light.

This demon sword was created by a dwarf who'd lost his wife and son to Inarius! It possessed a power that would only manifest itself against the evil dragon.

That time was now.

Demon Sword Sarahoff awakened its true power.