Cassia stared at Kwon Oh-Jin with her jaw dropped. She didn’t say it out loud, but the look she was giving him said, “You’re the last person who has the right to say that.”

“Why would you go so far for someone like me?” she asked.

She wasn’t oblivious enough to not know that his excuse about her “not liking his face” wasn’t the real reason.

Cassia clutched her chest, tightening with guilt so heavy it felt like her insides were burning. A clear tear slid down her snow-pale cheek. The feeling of being protected by someone else felt so foreign and strange that it triggered her to her core.

Ridiculous as it was, her heart pounded wildly even in this dire moment, and she flushed hot. If she had to name what was welling up in her chest in one word... it would be happiness.

How pathetic.

She cursed at herself.

There was no worse shame than to feel happiness while being protected by the very man she had betrayed. The disgust at herself nearly made her retch.

“Why... are you protecting someone like me?”

Nonetheless, every time her eyes fell on his broad back shielding her, an indescribable sense of relief and happiness welled up inside her.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“Exactly that. I don’t even know why I’m doing this myself.” Kwon Oh-Jin briefly sighed and shook his head.

Logically, the right thing would’ve been to take Isabella and escape. He had no reason to feel guilt for Cassia’s sacrifice nor take responsibility since she had dragged him into this place in the first place. Why couldn’t he walk away as if his feet were nailed to the ground?

Kwon Oh-Jin could make up reasons easily enough. He could say that if he ran, no one knew what Mobius would unleash afterward, or that Isabella would be sad if Cassia died. Even something as stupid as the trembling and tearful Cassia looking too beautiful to leave behind. Any reason would do, shallow justice or flimsy morality.

The truth is, I really don’t know why.

It wasn’t logical or carefully calculated. He just wanted to, and that was reason enough.

That’s all that matters.

Hadn’t he already promised himself when he stood against the Heavenly Demon under the black sky? To not give up a single thing, to not sacrifice a single person, but protect everything he held without letting go of anything.

“Quit trying to act tough. Stay put and keep quiet.”

Leaving Cassia struggling to rise behind him, Kwon Oh-Jin stepped forward slowly.

From on top of the rubble, Mobius lowly chuckled. “Ha...”

He looked at Kwon Oh-Jin in disbelief.

“Are you truly the same man as the Heavenly Demon?”

How could two people be so different?”

“I’ve heard rumors about you, but... it’s quite surprising seeing you in person.”

With a weary shake of his head, Mobius sighed. “Haaa, I thought I’d seen all kinds of humans by now, but I’ve never seen someone as greedy as you.”

Trying to face a Celestial once like the North Star without sacrificing a thing or giving up a single soul was truly madness.

Kwon Oh-Jin crooked a finger toward him. “Enough yapping and come down here,”

The spear lodged in the wall levitated into the air and flew into his hand.

I’ll have to use Open Heaven eventually.

The problem was the timing. Without knowing Mobius’s true strength, he couldn’t afford to use it recklessly.

Then, for now...

Drawing on the Black Heaven’s energy, he activated his Sacred Ground Deployment.

Woong!

The Stigma of Lyra flared brightly, enveloping Kwon Oh-Jin in a gentle silver light. A Sacred Ground, the very foundation of a Celestial's power, unfolded from a mere human.

“A Sacred Ground?” Mobius exclaimed in shock.

How could a human create a Sacred Ground? In all his long life, Mobius had only seen it once before today.

“It’s not exactly the same as one created by a Celestial, but the power itself is the same.” Mobius nodded slowly, clearing his throat as he rose to his feet.

Along with the sound of fabric brushing faintly, pale white serpents slithered out from the shadows at his feet.

Sssshk, ssssh.

Here they come.

Kwon Oh-Jin swallowed dryly and tightened his grip on his spear.

The Sacred Ground drained his mana at an absurd rate, so he wanted to begin the fight as quickly as possible.

Not yet.

Without knowing Mobius’s exact strength, he couldn’t hastily strike first.

Kwon Oh-Jin activated the Stigma of Canes Venatici. His senses sharpened as he tracked the white serpents.

Just then, a searing pain tore through his side.

Sssshhhkkk!

Before he could even blink, a white serpent had darted in and ripped away a chunk of his flesh.

“Guhhk...”

He couldn't even see it. Even with the Stigma of Canes Venatici active, the attack was so fast that he couldn’t register when or where it had struck.

This is beyond just fast.

At this speed, it almost ignored space itself.

I can’t rely on my eyes.

If he couldn't even depend on his heightened senses, tracking Mobius’s attacks with his eyes was impossible.

In that case...

A faint wave of lightning, invisible to the naked eye, settled around Kwon Oh-Jin like a mist.

Crackle!

Closing his eyes, he focused solely on the currents of lightning that traced the air.

Right side!

Ssshhkk!

Kwon Oh-Jin twisted just in time, barely dodging another white serpent. He could feel its venomous fangs grazing the edge of his clothes.

Having dodged the attack, he seized the momentum and lunged at Mobius.

Thud!

The spearhead, charged with Black Lightning, aimed for Mobius’s throat.

Gush!

Kwon Oh-Jin felt the sharp sensation of tearing flesh. Hungry like a wild beast, the Black Lightning tore through Mobius's Sacred Ground and ripped him apart.

“Kugh!” Mobius’s eyes rolled back as blood gushed from his pierced throat.

His body crumpled and collapsed to the ground.

Kwon Oh-Jin yanked his spear free and leaped back, widening the distance immediately.

“Tsk.”

That was his artificial body.

He knew better than anyone that Mobius wouldn’t go down so easily, not after his recent battle against another Celestial.

“Impressive.” As expected, Mobius appeared somewhere else.

Turning around, Kwon Oh-Jin saw him standing with a calm expression.

Ssshhk, sssrrrk.

Mobius’s corpse on the ground unraveled into a mass of white serpents and slithered back into the shadows.

“Even if that was my artificial body, it still had a Sacred Ground around it... I didn’t think you’d break through it so easily,” Mobius exclaimed.

He wasn’t mocking Kwon Oh-Jin, but genuinely admired his strength.

You’re different from what the Heavenly Demon described.

How could Kwon Oh-Jin have grown this much in just the short time since leaving the Demonic District? The pace of his growth was absurd.

“I happened to come across a tasty prey not too long ago,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Ah, you mean Enceladus?”

“That’s right.” Kwon Oh-Jin smirked and looked Mobius up and down. “Still, serpent meat tastes better than seahorse, don’t you think?”

“Haha. How frightening. You talk just like him. No wonder you’re both masters of the Black Heaven.” Mobius chuckled softly and fixed his gaze on Kwon Oh-Jin. “Unfortunately, I’ve no intention of becoming your prey. Not now. I have... something I must do first.”

“Oh? And later? You’ll think about being my prey then?”

“Perhaps. Once my work is finished, it won’t matter anymore.” Mobius faintly smiled.

For some reason, that smile seemed lonely like someone left behind in an endless frozen wasteland.

Did he say his purpose was the same as the Heavenly Demon’s?

Kwon Oh-Jin thought briefly about what Mobius had to do first. Then, he shook his head and drew in more mana.

“Enough chatter.”

The Sacred Ground Deployment consumed mana at a monstrous pace. Keeping it active for long wasn’t possible. He needed to find the right moment to unleash Open Heaven before his mana reserves became empty.

“What are you waiting for? Are you gonna just stand there all day?” Kwon Oh-Jin flicked his fingers.

Lightning spread wider around him as he readied himself for Mobius’s next strike.

If I focus... I can dodge it.

As he tried reading the movement of each white serpent with his eyes closed, the serpents melted back into the shadows like snow dissolving in the sun.

“No, let’s stop here,” Mobius said.

“Stop here?”

Mobius shrugged as if he had already achieved his purpose. “In the first place, my only goal was to see what kind of person you are.”

“You set up this whole plot just for that?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

His eyes remained sharp, not letting his guard down as he watched Mobius’s every move. Despite the enemy’s words, a surprise attack could still occur.

Mobius quietly laughed and turned around. “Haha. There’s no need to be so tense. We’ll be meeting again soon enough.”

Kwon Oh-Jin remained silent.

“And before long... everything will come to an end.”

“What will?”

“Haha. Who knows? You’ll understand when the time comes.”

Even if you don’t want to.

With that chilling remark, Mobius sank into the shadows and vanished.

The suffocating aura that had filled the abandoned building faded away.

“Haaa...” Only after Mobius completely disappeared did Kwon Oh-Jin sigh in relief, still scanning his surroundings without lowering his guard.

What the hell is that guy?

In some ways, Mobius was even harder to grasp than the Heavenly Demon.

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned, rubbing his forehead as though a headache was setting in.

Anyway, Cassia...

He turned to check on her. There she was, staring blankly at where Mobius had disappeared.

“Ah...” Her emerald eyes looked hollow like abandoned ruins.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“L-Lord Oh-Jin.” She looked up at him, her face wet with tears. “A-Ah...”

Her face went pale. All of a sudden, she dropped to her hands and knees and crawled toward him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. Please, I don’t want to be abandoned anymore. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

She clung to his leg, repeating the same words over and over like a broken machine. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

What the... What’s wrong with her now?