The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Whoosh…

Whooosh…

Hwagmu, spinning the spear, bent his legs and took a wide stance.

Paaannngg—!

Hwagmu flew at an incredible speed. He was heading to where numerous Dragon's Flowers were gathered.

He had never shown his back to an enemy before—not even when it was strategically necessary.

Something had suppressed his arrogance, and he chose practicality instead.

Seol paused to think for a moment and then snapped his fingers.

Snap—!

[Summon a Darkness Dweller.]

Whir…

A massive figure rose from the darkness, lifting Seol Hong and Jin Ryeo.

"Follow slowly."

The safest place was where Seol was. Therefore, he couldn't leave them alone.

"Let's go."

Nod…

Paang—!

Spectre, Seol, and the Twin Knights leaped simultaneously and headed to where Hwagmu had gone.

"Aagghh—!"

"Ugh…"

Thud…

The visitors and the Dragon's Flowers, who had come to see the Dragon Ascension Ceremony, were now tangled together, fighting against Blood-pus puppets.

And Hwagmu was scheming something again.

Gulp… Gulp…

The blood of the Dragon's Flowers, who had fallen to the Blood-pus puppets, was being sucked into Hwagmu.

"Were you too confident?"

Hwagmu's energy grew larger as he absorbed more blood.

Spectre said.

"He wasn't even using twenty percent of his power. If we don't defeat him before he regains all of his strength, it will take thousands of times more effort next time."

Spectre shrugged her shoulder.

"Well, and we're obviously going to die."

Ding…

Diinng…

There was no response to the sound of the Luminous Bell.

"It's useless. After all, it's the blood of someone dead."

If he could get fresh blood, he could get closer to a complete resurrection, but he didn't have much choice.

After all, breaking through the wall of Seol and Spectre was hard.

Creak…

[Hwagmu has used Blood Purification.]

[Hwagmu's power is growing.]

Whir…

Hwagmu gathered bloody energy and grew even larger.

Creak…

Now, his body couldn't even be covered with a large Dragon Robe.

Creak…

The Dragon Robe tore, revealing the body of a Dragon from within—no, it was the body of someone half human and half dragon.

Hwagmu, with his elongated snout, smirked.

"Did you think you could forever block the power of a Dragon with such trivial tools?"

[Part of Hwagmu's sealed power has been released.]

Hwagmu raised his hand high.

Whoosh—!

[Hwagmu used Bloodline: Forced Retrieval.]

[All of Hwagmu's blood is gradually gathering back to him.]

[Once Forced Retrieval is activated, no action can shorten the time.]

And thus, the Evil Dragon’s resurrection was announced.

Instead of aiming for a complete and swift resurrection, Hwagmu chose to gradually regain his power, even if it was only part of it.

"AAGGHH!"

"Agh…"

The heads of all of the Dragon's Flowers started to turn white. Hwagmu was stealing their health.

"I'll give you time… Show me that you can resist my domination."

Seol frowned.

Swoosh…

BOOM…

BOOM…

Behind him, a figure as large as Hwagmu appeared.

"He's much smaller than the Dragon we saw before."

"Right?"

Seol agreed with Jamad, who had a disappointed expression.

Annoyed by the appearance of another unusual-looking opponent, Hwagmu slammed his lightning-infused spear into the ground.

BZZ…

BOOM—!

The entire area evaporated, creating a massive crater.

"Retreat!"

"Step back!"

Wary of the overwhelming power that was beyond humans, The Dragon's Flowers retreated.

Threatened by the Blood-pus puppets and the dragon's flowers who had lost their sanity, they couldn't join the battle.

In fact, none of those who had witnessed the fight dared to interfere.

Paaf—!

Those within the crater circled each other.

BZZ…

Seol took the lead more proactively than before.

[You used Iaido: River Split.]

[Swiftly draw your sword from its scabbard into a strike that deals massive damage to a single target.]

[This attack cannot be dodged.]

[50% fixed damage is applied to large opponents.]

BOOM—!

An attack from above.

Hwagmu was momentarily stunned by the immense slash, enough to make his spear wobble.

When they first clashed, he never expected such power.

The problem wasn't just Seol.

Slash—!

"Ugh…"

Slash—!

"Agh—!"

The Twin Knights crisscrossed, crushing his scales and leaving small wounds.

Hwagmu’s body would have already torn to shreds if it weren't for his black scales.

He still lacked power.

* * *

WHOOM—!

As he dropped thunderbolts to secure space, someone charged toward him.

Whoosh…

It was Jamad, clad in earth armor.

'Ugh…'

Hwagmu had just used a lot of energy to attack, exposing him to Jamad’s attack.

But still, he thought he could easily defend, if not counter.

At least, that's what he thought before Jamad's fist landed.

BOOM—!

"Ugh…"

The impact made a sound so loud that everyone present heard it.

And for the first time, Hwagmu let out a strained groan, as if he was overwhelmed.

Jamad smirked and retreated, avoiding the giant spear.

"You're soft."

Everyone was shocked by the scene unfolding.

"Wh-Who… Who is that…?"

"Hwagmu…"

"Is being pushed back…"

WOAH—!

As they realized the tide of the battle was turning, they all shouted. They wanted to express their excitement even if they couldn't join the fight.

"Oof… Oof… You inferior… bastards…"

Hwagmu's complexion darkened slightly. The truth was that all of his plans had gone awry.

He had been preparing a lot for his resurrection, but for some reason, all of his plans had been crushed.

Phantom, who was supposed to resurrect and quietly grow stronger, had vanished immediately after resurrection, and Shade's resurrection had also abruptly failed due to his soul dissipating.

Finally, even the plan to shake the Ghost Realm's Sacheon Prison to make Yaksha escape and force the East into chaos was also thwarted midway.

Nothing had gone his way.

It was as if fate itself was trying to bring him down.

And then, Hwagmu finally realized who the one standing before him was.

"So it's you… You're Seol. The one who killed Phantom and even Yaksha…"

If Phantom and Shade had both successfully resurrected and granted Hwagmu their power.

And if Yaksha had not only made the East fall into chaos but also sided with Hwagmu.

Things would have ended differently.

No, even if Seol hadn't been as strong as he was now.

If his summons were at a level that Hwagmu could handle…

That's right… His fate had changed.

This was a fate never meant to be granted—someone had overturned his destiny.

Seol was his fate.

"Oof… Oof… I can't accept this."

He couldn't accept that times had abandoned him.

"I'm Hwagmu."

Whoosh…

His chest turned red.

"He's using his breath! Everyone, retreat!"

At Spectre's words, everyone turned around and fled.

Dragon's breath was the biggest reason why they had become an object of fear.

Once burned by it, you would burn forever.

KWAAAAA—!

A straight line of fire stretched out.

CLAP—!

WHOOM—!

As Jamad clapped his hands, a massive rock wall rose in the direction of the incoming flames.

BOOM—!

BOOOM—!

"Tsk…"

The flames melted the rock wall and, in a slightly diminished state, poured toward Seol.

"Seol! No!"

"Retreat!"

Shin Yo and Tae Yul, who recognized Seol, shouted, but he didn't listen to them.

'Shin Yu.'

- Yes!

Swoosh…

[You used Fantastic Exceptional Skill: Yaksha.]

[Syncing with Yaksha's senses…]

[Syncing with Yaksha's memories…]

[Following Yaksha's movements…]

[You have obtained Yaksha's power.]

[Your reaction and casting speed have increased.]

…

Bzz…

Agony was imbued with storm energy.

BOOM—!

In an instant, a horizontal slash stretched out.

Fwoosh…

The breath Hwagmu had unleashed dissipated.

"How could this be…"

"He… cut the fire…"

Seol's power was like a tower solidly built from the ground up.

He intended to use its unshakable foundation to break through even the hardest challenges as easily as possible.

This was his reward for all the hardships he had gone through since coming to the East.

"It's that person!"

"The one who killed Yaksha!"

"He's Obsidian! I'm sure of it!"

"I thought he had gone missing… That he was dead…"

Only then did people realize who Seol was.

A silhouette of a large wing briefly appeared on Hwagmu's back, and…

WHOOM—!

He leaped high into the air.

Although flying was impossible, it seemed he was fully capable of leaping high into the air.

Whoosh…

Hwagmu prepared a bigger flame.

If this much couldn't burn anything… He would gather enough flame to incinerate everything.

"I'll turn you all into ashes…"

Grr…

Hwagmu's human body gradually transformed into something more Dragon-like.

As he concentrated the flames, the five who had been facing him simultaneously stopped.

Karen, Karuna, Jamad, Seol, and Spectre—each had at least one way to block those flames.

Seol and the others realized this and let out a faint laugh, but Spectre, due to the heat of the moment, didn't notice.

"Seol, he's chosen mutual destruction. I'll sacrifice myself. But that will make the barrier break, so he'll escape…"

Swoosh…

Spectre stopped mid-sentence as Seol briefly extended a finger forward.

Spectre looked in the direction Seol’s finger pointed.

Swoosh…

Standing in the middle of the battlefield, as if he had been there all along, was a figure draped in a robe.

The Veil’s crow emblem hung from the robe's seams.

"No, no… This just feels right. Haha…"

The man laughed like a madman.

The robe shifted, revealing his snow-white hair.

"Th-That person is…"

Seol Hong, who had finally reached the place where the Dragon's Flowers were, alternated her gaze between Seol and the man.

"Seol…?"

They looked alike—no, they were identical.

A man who looked exactly like Seol, except for their hair and pupils, stood between them all.

Hwagmu's face turned bright red.

Iinng…

"This much should be enough."

Hwagmu unleashed his breath.

BOOM—!

"It's perfect for a signal flare…"

Whoosh…

An overwhelming amount of mana gathered around the white-haired man.

Crackle…

In an instant, the entire area around the man turned white, forming a snowflake pattern.

[Ur used Exceptional Skill: Frozen Shut.]

[Everything freezes.]

CRACKLE—!

The flames, which had been raging as if they would melt everything, froze along with the atmosphere.

There was no heat. Only cold remained.

And there were some who recognized that great power.

"Th-That snowflake… It's Azran! The Grand Duke of Frost!"

"The Grand Duke of Frost has returned!"

The Zodiac elders, who had retired and were invited to the Dragon Ascension Ceremony, only to be caught up in Hwagmu's resurrection, shouted as if they were about to faint upon seeing the snowflake pattern formed at Ur's feet.

"I have returned… you can rest assured. You all are…"

Hwagmu's body gradually grew larger. Now, he was shedding his skin to become a Dragon.

It was a hasty, sorrowful resurrection.

And the ones who had created this situation.

"Under the protection of the Veil."

Paf—!

Paaf—!

The crows, except for Ur, flew toward Hwagmu.