King Rose tightened his grip around his sword as countless slashes tore through the air toward him at terrifying speed. He instinctively raised his blade to block them, but his exhausted body could no longer keep up. Instead, he narrowly dodged each incoming strike, barely escaping with his life.
A grin spread across Yonk face.
He continued launching slash after slash with effortless kicks, clearly enjoying himself. Watching the mighty Ogre King reduced to desperately struggling for survival amused him more than anything.
King Rose relied on years of mastery with the sword. Rather than meeting the attacks head-on, he lightly brushed his blade against the incoming slashes, altering their trajectory just enough for them to miss him.
It was an incredibly delicate technique.
One mistake... and a slash would tear straight through his body.
Because of that, he only redirected the attacks that came close enough to hit him.
Even so—
One slash grazed his left shoulder.
A thin line of crimson instantly bloomed across his clothes as blood began flowing from the wound. Without hesitation, he pressed his sword hand against his injured shoulder, trying to slow the bleeding.
Seeing his condition, Yonk finally stopped attacking.
He looked at King Rose with a smug grin before clicking his tongue repeatedly.
"Tsk... tsk... tsk... tsk... tsk..."
"I knew it... The great Ogre King can only endure this much."
King Rose clenched his teeth and glared at him with burning fury.
But he also knew losing his temper would only make things worse.
Slowly, he calmed himself.
Taking a long, steady breath, he exhaled.
Almost immediately, the blood flowing from his shoulder began to slow until it completely stopped.
Removing his hand from the wound, he gripped his sword with both hands and pointed it toward Yonk.
"My apologies," he said calmly. "It seems I couldn't live up to your expectations."
Yonk chuckled.
He lazily raised one hand, studying it for a brief moment before looking back at King Rose.
"Honestly... copying Yina's ability isn't exactly easy."
"But testing it on you..."
"...this was the perfect opportunity."
He casually waved his hand toward King Rose.
The instant he did—
A blade of wind ripped across the ground, carving through the earth as it raced toward the Ogre King.
King Rose's eyes narrowed.
He immediately leapt aside, barely avoiding the attack.
What kind of slash was that...?
It resembles wind... yet it's completely different.
I have to be even more careful.
One slash carries this much destructive force... which means he's still suppressing his true strength.
As expected of a High-Rank Demon.
The moment I take my eyes off him... it'll be over.
His gaze sharpened.
Taking one heavy breath, King Rose regulated the flow of blood throughout his body, directing it wherever it was needed most before exploding forward at incredible speed.
Seeing him charge, Yonk smiled again.
With another casual kick, he unleashed another barrage of slashes.
King Rose tightened his grip.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Each slash was knocked away by his sword, their trajectories changing before they could reach him.
Deflecting every attack, he finally closed the distance.
Without slowing down, King Rose leaped into the air, gripping his sword with all his strength before bringing it crashing down directly toward Yonk.
But—
His eyes widened.
Instead of cutting through Yonk...
His blade struck nothing but the ground.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the earth beneath him, massive cracks spreading in every direction.
Where did he go?!
King Rose hurriedly searched for him.
Then—
A voice whispered from behind.
"What happened?"
"...Who are you looking for?"
King Rose's instincts screamed.
He instantly jumped away while spinning around—
—but the moment he turned—
Yonk was already standing right beside him.
A cold flash streaked through the air.
Slash!
Yonk hand carved diagonally across King Rose body, slicing from his shoulder all the way down to his abdomen.
Blood erupted from the wound.
King Rose eyes widened from the sudden attack.
His knees buckled beneath him, and he dropped to one knee.
Calmly wiping the blood from his hand, Yonk looked down at him with disappointment.
"So..."
"You're even weaker than I expected."
King Rose vision blurred.
The strength finally left his body...
...and he collapsed onto the ground.
Yonk shifted his gaze away from the fallen King Rose and looked toward the rooftop of the hotel, a faint smile forming on his lips.
On the rooftop, Yen and Yeld stood facing one another.
Yen pointed his sword directly at his opponent, while Yeld calmly observed him before speaking.
"An Otherworld Hero... not bad."
"I suppose you'll be able to entertain me."
A confident smile spread across Yen's face.
"We'll see who's entertaining whom."
Without another word, he drove his sword into the rooftop between his feet.
The instant the blade pierced the surface, thick black smoke poured from it, spreading rapidly across the rooftop until it surrounded both fighters.
Within moments...
Everything around Yeld disappeared into absolute darkness.
He could no longer see anything—not even his own surroundings.
Then Yen voice echoed through the darkness.
"What happened?"
"Can't see anything in front of you anymore?"
Yeld quietly listened without showing the slightest sign of panic.
"My ability strips my opponent of their senses," Yen explained. "It forces them to move exactly the way I want."
Yeld slowly reached out with one hand, trying to feel his surroundings.
Nothing.
He couldn't even sense the flow of magical energy.
That meant he couldn't summon a weapon...
Nor cast any magic.
Only then did he realize—
He had already fallen into Yen trap.
Yen's voice rang out once more.
"Can you see what's beneath your feet?"
Yeld lowered his gaze.
The darkness beneath him faded just enough to reveal countless square tiles arranged across the ground.
Each tile was painted a different color.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
Yellow.
A grin appeared on Yen face.
"My ability..."
"Rubik Cube."
"As you can see, the floor is divided into four colors."
"If you choose the same color I'm standing on..."
"I'll receive a slash instead."
Yeld remained completely expressionless, as if he already understood where this was going.
Yen continued.
"But..."
"If you step on the wrong color..."
"You'll be the one getting cut."
"And by the final step..."
"...whoever has suffered the most slashes will be absorbed by the Rubik Cube..."
"...and disappear forever."
A playful smile crept onto his face.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"If you don't make your move within ten seconds..."
"...you'll receive an extra slash."
He slowly raised his hand.
"Now then..."
"Shall we begin?"
The smoke around Yeld gradually thinned.
Although he could now see the colored tiles beneath his own feet...
He still couldn't see the colors beneath Yen.
On the other hand, Yen had a perfect view of every tile beneath Yeld.
Yen calmly took his first step forward.
He glanced at the color beneath his feet before moving on.
There wasn't enough time to stop and think.
This wasn't a game where time stood still.
Yeld looked down at the tiles beneath him.
Without hesitation...
He stepped onto a yellow square.
Yen smiled.
"Wrong."
"I'm standing on red."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Slash!
A blade of energy flew toward Yeld, slicing across his shoulder.
Blood slowly trickled from the wound.
Yeld merely glanced at it.
Nothing more.
Resting a hand on his own shoulder, Yen smiled as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Yeld took another step.
This time, he chose blue.
"Wrong again."
"I'm standing on green."
Another slash streaked through the air, cutting into Yeld's opposite shoulder.
Without stopping...
Yeld took a third step.
Slash!
Another wound opened across his body.
He kept walking.
Slash!
This time, the attack carved across his chest.
Again...
He stepped forward.
Again...
Another slash struck him.
It wasn't because Yeld was foolish.
Far from it.
He was deliberately choosing the wrong colors.
He was enjoying this.
Rather than escaping Yen's game, he wanted to defeat him through the very rules Yen had created.
Blood soaked his body until he was practically drenched in crimson...
Yet the smile on his face never disappeared.
Watching him, Yen smirked.
"Looks like..."
"...we're getting close to the ending."
He took another step—
Then suddenly...
His body froze.
An overwhelming pressure crashed down upon him.
It felt as though...
Something was watching him.
Slowly, Yen lifted his head toward the source of that terrifying presence.
Up above...
Within the endless sea of darkness...
A gigantic eye was staring directly at both of them.
Yen eyes widened in shock.