Kiando emerged from the dust, a cold smile etched on his face. He stood staring at Baran, who was positioned in the center of the battlefield, black lightning coiling around his body like a furious beast.
Baran looked at his hand and thought to himself:
"Alright… I'll change the plan. I'll direct the lightning entirely into the path of speed so I can understand his techniques and attack patterns. This is a level of existence… one hit could definitely kill me."
Baran raised his spear toward Kiando, then vanished in an instant and appeared beside him, striking with the black spear.
But Kiando lifted his petrified hand and blocked the attack with ease. With his other hand, he launched a deadly strike toward Baran—yet Baran disappeared before it could reach him.
Baran reappeared in the center of the arena. Kiando looked at him and said mockingly:
"You rely on speed, don't you? Fine… I'll show you what real speed is."
Kiando raised his hand, and five stones floated into the air. As he clenched his fist tightly, immense pressure crushed them until they shrank and transformed into small stone spheres.
Kiando said:
"This is the Stone Sphere Technique… If you're truly fast, then stop them."
The moment he finished speaking, the spheres shot forward with a simple flick of his hand.
They were terrifyingly fast. They rushed toward Baran, but he vanished.
The spheres collided with one another and scattered, then reformed into five again and began attacking him from all directions.
Baran kept disappearing and reappearing as the spheres pursued him relentlessly. At first, he didn't understand Kiando's goal—until Kiando suddenly appeared behind him and launched a surprise attack.
Baran sensed danger and vanished instantly.
He appeared beside Diaso and whispered to himself:
"He's trying to distract me with the spheres so he can strike… Fine, I'll shift the lightning into the path of defense."
The spheres rushed toward him. Black lightning surged forward and collided with them, completely destroying them.
Kiando's eyes widened in anger at what he saw. Without thinking further, he charged forward with all his strength.
He swung a blow with his petrified hand. Baran shifted the lightning into the path of power and countered with a punch covered in lightning.
The two attacks collided, sparks exploding in every direction.
Diaso was shocked by the immense force that clashed before him.
Baran staggered a step backward. Kiando noticed and smiled, then delivered a second strike with his other hand.
Baran couldn't block it.
Baran was sent flying backward, blood pouring from his body, several of his bones shattered. Yet he stood up again, firm, thinking rapidly.
Suddenly… an idea flashed through his mind.
A spear of lightning formed in his hand, and he said firmly:
"Deadly Lightning Dragon Attack!"
The dragon surged toward Kiando—
"I released the dragon while channeling lightning into the path of power… What would happen if I changed it to the path of speed?"
Baran shifted the lightning into the path of speed, but the dragon's power did not change.
His eyes widened slightly, then he vanished instantly after realizing the dragon would not be affected.
Kiando gathered power into his hand and struck the dragon with a massive blow. The attack collided directly with the dragon, and Kiando began gathering energy into his other hand—
But before he could do anything, Diaso suddenly appeared and swung his feather-made sword.
Kiando blocked the strike with his second hand.
Sparks scattered from the feather sword, while lightning began spreading wildly from the dragon's body. Kiando looked at the two of them, then smiled coldly.
Before he could execute what was on his mind—
Baran appeared from above, holding Narvik's sword.
Kiando was shocked.
He knew very well how dangerous that sword was.
Without hesitation, he summoned a transparent shield around his body, then released a thunderous roar that destroyed the entire battlefield.
The dragon dissipated and shattered. Diaso was thrown far away but suffered no serious injury.
As for Baran, he was blasted upward—and when he appeared above Kiando, he had shifted the lightning into the path of defense.
Baran descended straight down upon him and, with a single strike, severed Kiando's arm.
Kiando screamed in pain and swung his remaining hand in a desperate attack.
Baran was sent flying away, his bones shattered once more.
Baran stood with difficulty, then began running toward Kiando.
Before he could reach him—
Everyone vanished.
They reappeared inside the city.
The battle between the three clans was still raging.
Blood was everywhere.
Corpses covered half the city.
There were fighters with numbers engraved on their chests, others overflowing with terrifying green energy, and some who had summoned smaller golems than the one Kiando had previously unleashed.
Baran looked toward Kiando, with Diaso standing beside him.
"Hmmm… what should I do now?" Baran thought.
Before he could finish thinking, Kiando screamed and fled toward the city walls.
Baran didn't understand what was happening.
He looked around one last time at the chaos inside the city… and was shocked.
Before he could speak, Diaso shouted angrily:
"Hey! Don't let him escape! If he escapes… we'll kill him later!"
Diaso took off, flying after Kiando.
As for Baran… he didn't move.
He slowly headed toward the center of the city.
Rubble was everywhere.
He climbed through the wreckage, blood flowing from his body.
He fell… then stood up… then continued.
Until he finally arrived.
He stopped and raised his gaze toward the city's center—
Baran was stunned by what he saw.
Blood was everywhere.
Diako's leg lay in one direction… his arm in another… his body torn apart in the middle of the square.
At the heart of the city stood the King of the Dark Kingdom, terrifyingly calm, manifested within Jessor's body, holding Diako's severed head, his eyes fixed on Baran.
Baran didn't understand what had happened to Jessor.
Before he could say a word, the Dark King spoke in a deep voice:
"So you are Baran… I've heard a lot about you."
Baran's eyes widened, his rage exploding instantly:
"Who are you?! And how do you know my name?!"
The Dark King laughed coldly, then said:
"Do you want to know why your family was killed… and who truly killed them?"
Baran replied without hesitation:
"I know who killed my family. The King of Light and Shaheen. And I'll kill them myself. I don't need your help."
The Dark King smiled mysteriously and said:
"And do you know… who sent them to kill your family?"
Baran froze.
Deep inside, he knew someone was behind everything… but he didn't know how to reach them.
Before Baran could respond, the Dark King continued:
"Two months from now, come to the Dark Kingdom. Join us… and I'll tell you everything you want to know.
Even the full truth about Zaflyan's killer."
At that moment, lightning exploded from Baran's body.
His power surged terrifyingly, his rage spiraling out of control.
Zaflyan…
The one who saved him.
The one who gave him the Black Lightning skill.
The Dark King looked at the raging lightning and said calmly, mockingly:
"So this is the lightning skill Zaflyan gave you… Powerful, yes.
But in the hands of a weak person."
Then—
The Dark King vanished from Jessor's body.
Jessor collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain.
The poison transferred into his body—a deadly poison the Dark King had been afflicted with.
The poison began devouring him.
His skin rotted before their eyes, his flesh melting away.
Jessor looked at Baran with eyes full of desperation, begging him to save him.
But Baran stood still.
He only watched.
Blood decayed, bones emerged, and the body collapsed piece by piece.
Suddenly—
Baran sensed energy behind him.
In an instant, something rushed toward Jessor at incredible speed.
It was Diaso.
He grabbed him and knelt before him, screaming madly:
"Where did you hide that thing?! Speak! Tell me!"
Jessor muttered faint words…
Baran didn't hear them.
No one did.
Then—
He died.
His body completely dissolved under the poison's effect,
Even his clothes turned to ash.
Diaso slowly lifted his head toward the sky…
His eyes recalling something from long ago.
---
The city was filled with people.
Shops were open, streets crowded, and although the day was ordinary, everyone seemed unusually happy.
Three children were walking, talking about the city's affairs, when one suddenly said in surprise:
"Hey… look! Isn't that boy Diaso? The young master?!"
The other two were shocked and rushed toward him.
Diaso was only ten years old, beloved by the Dawn Sword Clan.
His left hand was completely black, as if he had been born with a curse that could not be hidden.
The children reached him and said anxiously:
"Hey, Diaso! What are you doing here?! Didn't the clan leader say you're forbidden from leaving?! He ordered us to watch you too!"
Diaso frowned and thought to himself:
"They worry about me too much… even though I'm just an outsider."
One of the children understood his thoughts and said sincerely:
"Listen, Diaso. It's true you're not from the Dawn Sword Clan, but you're the clan leader's adopted son… which means you're one of us."
Silence fell for a moment.
Then Diaso spoke calmly:
"Do you know… the village where I was born?"
Everyone knew the story.
A village whose entire population was slaughtered, with only Diaso surviving as an infant.
Diako was the one who found and adopted him…
As for who killed the villagers, it was completely unknown.
One of the children said:
"Yes, we know where it is. If you want to go… we'll go with you."
Diaso agreed without hesitation.
He wanted to see his birthplace—and perhaps find clues about who killed the villagers.
The four left the city, heading toward the village.
Diaso asked along the way:
"When exactly will we arrive?"
One of the children replied:
"In just two hours. It's relatively close."
But—
After three hours, they finally arrived.
One of the children laughed and said:
"The rabbit meat was really delicious, wasn't it, Diaso?!"
Diaso didn't respond.
He stared at the village silently, then said softly:
"Let's… get closer."
As the children approached the village, suddenly—
All three collapsed at the same moment, unconscious.
Diaso continued forward alone, unaware of what had happened behind him.
He entered the village.
It was filled with bones…
Skulls scattered everywhere.
He entered one of the houses.
The walls were covered in spider webs, and the air was heavy with the smell of death.
Suddenly—
Daylight vanished.
It wasn't sunset… it was as if the light had been forcibly torn from the sky.
Night fell instantly, darkness spreading like a living creature crawling over the village.
Diaso froze in place.
He quickly turned back to call out to the children—
But…
No one was there.
They had vanished.
No trace…
No sound…
Not even footsteps.
Then—
"Hehehehehehehe…"
A low, broken laugh emerged from nowhere, as if whispered directly into his mind.
"I didn't expect to see you here again… what a coincidence."
Diaso's eyes widened, chills running through his body.
He slowly turned toward the source of the voice.
And he saw him.
A man standing at the entrance of a ruined house.
He wore torn black clothes, as if stitched from shadows themselves.
His long black hair flowed freely, and his face was wrapped in black cloth, revealing nothing—
Except for his eyes.
Golden eyes… glowing in the darkness.
They were the only clear thing.
And the only thing one should never stare at for too long.
His black cloak wrapped around half his body, and in his hand—
A scythe.
Its blade was curved and dark, as if it had drunk so much blood that it lost its shine.
Around him, the air grew colder…
And the shadows began to move unnaturally.
The man lowered his voice and said:
"You've returned to the place of your birth…
To the graveyard you forgot."
At that moment…
Diaso felt as if the village itself was staring at him.