In a forest far removed from the "Pitch Black Forest," Yue Ming sat on the cold ground, his mind spiraling as he replayed the encounter with the "Harvester Demon."
Yue Ming was in a state of terrifying shock. "Did I... did I really die that many times? Impossible!" He muttered, his voice trembling. He struck his own face, a hard slap to wake himself from this nightmare, but it was futile. The memory of the Harvester Demon remained etched in his soul, unshakable and haunting.
Yue Ming stood up, his legs heavy. He began to walk, step by step, when a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. He pressed on, refusing to collapse. Suddenly, he turned his head to the right and saw it: a massive palace, its stone a deep, abyssal black. It looked abandoned, radiating a deathly chill.
Driven by a strange instinct, he approached the manor. As he reached the entrance, two figures lunged from the shadows behind him. Yue Ming reacted instantly, dodging their strike with fluid grace. In one swift motion, he grabbed both their heads with his bare hands and slammed them against the palace's massive gates. The sound of skulls crushing echoed through the halls.
The noise alerted those inside. From the second floor, a swarm of guards rushed toward the entrance. Yue Ming tried to push the door open, but one of them kicked it violently from the inside, the wood splintering near his face. A guard lunged with a dagger aimed directly at his throat, but Yue Ming caught the blade with his palm, the cold steel doing nothing against his unnatural grip.
With a roar of speed, Yue Ming struck the guard's hand, disarming him, then sent him crashing to the floor with a brutal kick before crushing his head under his heel.
He didn't stop. Yue Ming dove through a window, pouncing on a guard and tearing his head clean from his shoulders. Other guards swarmed him, their weapons clashing against him, but he used a fallen corpse as a shield, swinging it like a ragdoll. He took down the first with a bone-shattering punch and sent the second flying into the bathroom door with a kick so powerful the wood exploded.
Inside the cramped space, a guard managed to wound Yue Ming from behind. Yue Ming didn't flinch; to him, the pain felt like nothing more than a tickle. He turned around, his face a mask of pure rage, seized the attacker, and hurled him out of the palace through the wall.
More enemies poured down from the upper floors.
"Damn it! They just keep coming!" Yue Ming hissed.
He moved like a whirlwind—a punch, a kick, a skull crushed against the floor. From a distance, a guard threw a dagger with lethal precision. Yue Ming caught it mid-air and flicked his wrist, sending the blade back into the throat of the man who threw it.
The wooden floor of the second level groaned and collapsed under the weight of the crowd. Men fell upon Yue Ming, pinning him to the ground, raining down blows. But Yue Ming stood up amidst the pile of bodies, unharmed. He grabbed the nearest man, threw him at another, and pulverized the ribs of a third with a single strike.
"Why are there so many of them?" Suddenly, a guard outside unleashed an explosive ability. The blast rocked the manor before Yue Ming could even process it, but as the smoke cleared, he stood there, untouched.
Blinded by a primal fury, Yue Ming lunged at the nearest survivor. He pinned him to the floor and rained down a barrage of heavy punches, each strike deeper than the last, until the guard's skull was nothing but shards and red mist.
Two more guards grabbed his arms from behind, while a third stepped forward to plunge a blade into his stomach. As the blade drew near, Yue Ming used his pinned arms to jerk the two guards forward with such force that they collided with the executioner, sending all three sprawling.
Surrounded from all sides, Yue Ming dropped into a combat stance. His fists were a blur, striking two men at once, his kicks crushing heads into the stone floor. Even when a blade pierced his hand, he didn't let go; he used the guard attached to the sword as a living flail, swinging him into the crowd.
"Damn it... there are too many!" Yue Ming growled, his anger peaking.
He charged up the stairs to the third floor, searching for the source of this endless swarm. He kicked open a door and found a girl standing there. Before she could react, Yue Ming's hand was around her throat, hoisting her into the air.
"Let me go, you idiot!" Suzumi gasped, clawing at his iron grip.
"Who are you?" Yue Ming's voice was cold, sharp as a razor.
"I am the Aide of Pride," she spat.
Yue Ming's eyes widened in shock. "I killed Pride! He was a boy, not a girl... Speak, or I'll end you now!"
Suzumi sneered through the pain. "You fool... Every year, the Seven Sins reincarnate into new vessels. Pride and Wrath will find you... they will kill you, you arrogant insect!"
"Silence!" Yue Ming barked.
With a brutal twist of his hand, he tore her head from her body.
Breathless, Yue Ming turned to leave the cursed manor. He descended the stairs, heading for the exit. But just a single step away from the door, a mysterious, echoing voice stopped him cold.
"You will pay the price for this!"