After the match, Cloud exhaled slowly, the eyes of the crowd still glued to the ring.
"…Mia," he whispered, "did you know Hyeolmu could fight like that?"
Mia didn't answer at first. Her arms were folded tight, but her fingers trembled slightly.
"I warned Dalmu," she said quietly. "But even I… didn't expect this."
Cloud swallowed, watching Hyeolmu walk away as if nothing happened.
"That wasn't a spar," he muttered. "That was a message."
Mia nodded once, expression grave.
"Hyeolmu… is not someone to underestimate. I didn't invite him just to fill space."
The crowd kept buzzing, but the two of them just stood there — and even when the entire public opinion of Hyeolmu shifted for the better, some were not happy, especially Woon-hyeok, who was watching the match from quite a distance.
As tension rose, emotions kept clashing. Whether to be afraid of this unexpected child that could not be controlled or amazed by his strength, one thing was certain: the entire cave was about to become quite eventful.
---
"Hey, you could have gone easier on him. Do you want to kill him or something? Even though he might be weak, he is still someone ranked high under the top 100…" Mia said, having a smile on her face. "Try going easy on him or something, you know… low profile."
Although she tried to appear as though she disliked the result, her face gave her away.
"You are one to talk," Hyeolmu scoffed. "Even a blind person would be able to tell the level of excitement in your voice. Even your face is glowing as though it was you who won the match and not me. Anyway, what are you doing here? Or do you just happen to have so much free time on your hands or something…?" Hyeolmu said with an indifferent look on his face.
"I don't have that much time, and I'm only here to prevent you from causing trouble in my group," she said sharply, arms crossed.
"If I wasn't here, only God knows what you would've done to that child. I can't afford to let you ruin everything we've built."
She stepped aside slightly.
"Anyway… I'm here to introduce our second-in-command to you. I'm pretty sure you know him."
"He is the only son of the Murim Alliance Leader, Hwang Mu-jin, who is ranked 3rd in the ranking," Mia said.
A presence quietly approached — heavy footsteps, firm, confident.
A tall figure stopped beside her, expression calm but carrying unmistakable authority and a very handsome appearance.
"Ma Hyeolmu, the son of the previous Blood Demon," he said, his voice deep and steady as a mountain.
"I'm Hwang Mu-jin. It's good to finally meet you. Mia has talked a lot about you, and for someone as strong as you, you're definitely always welcome."
He extended his hand.
Hyeolmu hesitated for a heartbeat, having felt a discomforting energy from him, but quickly shying away from it, then gripped his hand. Mu-jin's handshake was firm, warm, controlled — the kind that immediately pressured everyone below him. He didn't even have to release his aura, which was already leaking from him. He didn't need to show strength to prove he had it. Absolute power.
Mu-jin smiled faintly.
"Let's get along… and please do well not to give us any trouble. I kind of have my hands full already."
"Okay…?" Hyeolmu said, wondering what's with the tough act so suddenly.
"Anyways, let's go eat lunch. I'm pretty sure the food rations are already here or about to come. We wouldn't want it to go to waste…" Mia said, trying to cool the heating pressure that was being brewed.
---
At the living quarters of the top-ranked, during the late time of the night, a low, rumbling breath echoed through the darkness.
A shape — no features, no face, just a towering mass of shadow — leaned closer.
"Woon-hyeok…"
His name slipped out like a whisper sharpened into a blade.
"Tell me… why is it taking you so long to accomplish something so small?"
The shadow's presence pressed down, heavier than the air itself.
"You understand I do not wait," the voice continued — calm, patient, yet dripping with a quiet promise of violence.
"Meanwhile, Mia and her little group… they grow stronger by the day."
A thin chuckle, cold enough to crawl down the spine.
"The next competition approaches. And you…"
An awful, powerful demonic Qi rushed out until it swallowed the light around him, instilling a high level of fear in Woon-hyeok.
"…you don't want this to end with your corpse on the floor… do you?"
Woon-hyeok swallowed hard, voice cracking as the words tumbled out in a frantic rush.
"I–I'm trying… I really am," he stammered, eyes darting anywhere but toward the looming shadow above him.
"She's—she's far more cautious than I expected. She doesn't show a single weakness. Not one."
His hands balled into fists, trembling.
"Even though I'm in her group, it's like she never fully trusts me… not even for a second."
His breath shook, halfway between panic and frustration.
"And getting close to her? Impossible — absolutely impossible — because of that son of a b*tch glued to her like some miserable parasite."
The anger flared, then instantly shrank under the weight of fear.
"Because of him, I can't even step near her personal space!" he hissed, voice breaking.
He clenched his jaw, forcing down the urge to scream.
"It's not like I can take care of the boy either… she watches every move I make. And him—"
Woon-hyeok's voice dropped, bitter, defeated.
"…he's too strong for an ordinary fool like me to just 'remove.'"
His knees threatened to buckle as he let out a shaky breath.
He looked up at the shadow, desperately, hopelessly—
"…I'm doing everything I can. Please… just give me more time. Just a week is enough to weaken her."
"That boy — don't kill him. He is rather useful for now… And even though he might seem strong, he only fought against low-ranked people, so he's probably only winning by luck. But before the next competition, I want to hear good news about Mia, you hear me? If you fail this time, there won't be a next time," the shadowed figure said.
DAYS TILL NEXT EVENT — 3 DAYS
To be continued…