Dancing on the golden ashes

Jieun's shoulder was pierced, blood staining her robes as the redirected sword attack grazed past her. My fire wall had managed to reduce the impact and alter its path, but it wasn't enough to spare her entirely.

Despite the wound, Jieun's resolve only hardened. She wrapped herself in an even thicker layer of celestial light, the radiant energy stemming the bleeding as her fury surged. The orb in her hand pulsed with raw power, releasing an overwhelming torrent of celestial energy until nothing was left.

The entire area became bathed in brilliant light, a breathtaking yet terrifying display. In the next instant, all that energy condensed and hurtled toward Lin Feng like a divine judgment.

He had no choice but to flee, his speed unmatched as he barely escaped the onslaught.

Then, the explosion came.

A blinding flash consumed the battlefield as the impact sent shockwaves rippling outward. The sheer force of the blast unleashed a gale so strong it uprooted trees, their massive trunks crashing to the ground like fallen giants. Dust and debris filled the air, and even I could feel the ground tremble beneath me.

In the next moment, Lin Feng shot into the sky, his presence looming above us like an unstoppable force. Behind him, at least a hundred massive black swords materialized, their edges gleaming with malice.

With a flick of his finger, the swords surged forward one by one, raining down on us with unrelenting precision.

Seong-Hoon's ice dragon roared and rushed to intercept, its ethereal form coiling upward in pursuit of Lin Feng. But the onslaught was relentless—sword after sword shattered pieces of the dragon, chipping away at its icy form until it began to crumble. The sheer volume of swords raining down was overwhelming.

"You're too young and inexperienced to fight me! Every single one of you will die today!" Lin Feng sneered, his mocking voice dripping with arrogance. "Here, taste my blade!"

His words cut deeper than his attacks, stoking the fire of hatred within all of us. But no matter how much we burned with the desire to strike back, all we could do was evade the relentless assault.

The black swords rained down with terrifying speed and precision, forcing us to move constantly, our footing becoming more unstable with each dodge. The ground around us was soon littered with the ominous blades, their dark energy pulsating faintly as if marking their territory.

"Come down here and fight me!" Eun-Woo roared, his voice echoing with unrelenting fury.

In his left palm, an attack unlike anything I had ever seen began to form. Two opposing energies, which by all logic should never coexist, swirled around each other in perfect harmony. The orb resembled a small baseball, but its power was anything but ordinary—it radiated a force so potent it made the air around us hum with tension.

Eun-Woo's hammer in his right hand suddenly flared to life, glowing with a brilliant golden light that seemed to pierce through the darkness.

Then, with a fierce throw, the small ball of energy shot upward, arcing through the air.

The moment it reached his waist level, Eun-Woo swung his hammer with precision, slashing through the orb.

A playful smirk curled on Lin Feng's lips as he waved his hand, sending at least twenty swords crashing down toward Eun-Woo. "Are you playing ball with me? What is this silly attack?" he taunted, his voice dripping with mockery.

But his arrogance was short-lived.

In the next instant, his expression twisted into shock and fear as the seemingly insignificant ball of energy transformed into a massive beam of combined sun and moonlight. The attack was blinding, crashing into him in mere seconds with an unstoppable force.

Lin Feng barely had time to react, summoning a massive black shield in front of him.

The beam shot upward, piercing the sky and painting it in breathtaking shades of gold and silver. The swords racing toward Eun-Woo were obliterated instantly, disintegrating under the sheer power of the attack.

As the light faded, the battlefield fell into stunned silence. Lin Feng's mocking demeanor was gone. His left arm was missing, the wound charred and still smoking, and his body bore scorched marks that oozed with fury and pain.

His gaze locked onto Eun-Woo, no longer mocking but filled with fear and rage. "You'll pay for that!" he roared, his body suddenly radiating a brilliant white light.

A massive beam of white energy erupted from him, streaking toward Eun-Woo with terrifying speed. Eun-Woo had no choice but to raise his shield, bracing for the impact.

BOOM!

The force of the attack shook the earth, sending tremors rippling outward. Eun-Woo's shield absorbed the brunt of the beam, but the strain was visible. His legs quaked, and the shield's once-pristine surface was left scorched, a thin layer of it nearly disintegrated.

Had that attack been slightly stronger, Eun-Woo might not have survived.

"I will kill you all!" Lin Feng roared, his voice shaking with unbridled fury as his eyes turned blood-red. He had completely lost his mind.

"Then come and kill me! This time, I will not lose!" Seong-Hoon barked back, his voice fierce and unwavering.

As the words left his mouth, his body began to transform on the spot. The dragon sword wrapped around his arm suddenly expanded, its sharp edges digging into his flesh like roots seeking sustenance.

In the next instant, half of Seong-Hoon's body became covered in shimmering scales, their surface radiating a faint icy glow. His eyes turned completely draconic, slitted and gleaming with primal ferocity. His entire frame surged with power—something far beyond human comprehension.

"Again with that despicable power!" Lin Feng spat, his expression twisted with rage and disgust.

Does that mean Seong-Hoon used this power the last time they fought? I wondered, my gaze locked on him in awe. What even is this?

A long, imposing dragon tail sprouted from Seong-Hoon's back, swaying with deadly intent. He looked like a Dragon Emperor straight out of legend.

The dragon sword fused with his body completely, its essence manifesting into a second blade in his other hand. Now wielding dual dragon swords, Seong-Hoon radiated an aura of absolute dominance.

Even I couldn't help but admit—he looked incredibly cool in that moment.

"Die!" Seong-Hoon roared, his voice echoing with unrelenting fury. In an instant, he shot into the sky, moving with extraordinary speed. It took only a moment for him to close the gap between himself and Lin Feng, who hovered above.

A thunderous boom erupted as their swords clashed, the sheer force of the impact sending Lin Feng flying even higher into the air. Blood sprayed from his mouth, his lone arm unable to fully absorb the blow's power.

Without hesitation, Seong-Hoon crossed his twin swords into an X-shape, channeling his energy. A massive ice attack erupted from the slash, traveling with blistering speed. The moment it struck Lin Feng, his entire body was encased in a thick layer of glistening ice, frozen solid in mid-air.

Is he dead now?

The thought filled my mind with hope. I wanted this to be over. But to my disappointment, cracks began to spread across the frozen surface. In mere seconds, the icy prison shattered, and Lin Feng plummeted to the ground. His body shivered uncontrollably, patches of his skin blackened and frostbitten from the attack.

Seong-Hoon didn't relent. His swords morphed into a massive longbow, and a barrage of ice arrows rained down from the sky as his body descended slowly.

At the same time, Jieun unleashed another volley of celestial lights, her attacks flooding the battlefield with radiant energy.

But Lin Feng moved like the wind, his extraordinary speed allowing him to dodge most of the attacks with inhuman precision. A few managed to land, leaving scorch marks and cuts across his body, but they barely seemed to slow him down.

My aura surged to its maximum as I prepared to unleash a devastating fire attack, channeling every ounce of power I had left.

What I didn't expect was for Lin Feng to suddenly change direction, his blood-red eyes locked onto me.

He rushed at me with terrifying speed, a blur of shadow and fury.
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The battle grew more intense with every passing second, the chaos threatening to consume us entirely. Exhaustion clawed at our bodies, and worse, it was drawing unwanted attention. From the distant clamor of bells and rising commotion, I knew we were running out of time. My greatest fear was becoming reality—someone powerful from the White Tiger Sect could appear at any moment and annihilate us before we even had a chance to react.

But there was no time to dwell on fears. All my attention was focused on the man in front of me. Lin Feng, with his blood-red eyes filled with malice, sent a dark blade hurtling toward my chest. Eun-Woo wasn't ready to block it, and I was too drained to move quickly.

Do I really look like such an easy target to him? My muscles screamed in protest. I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard against the others. Now, I have nothing left.

As if reading my despair—or maybe sensing my gaze—five more dark blades materialized around him, their edges gleaming ominously.

"You are the most fearsome one here!" Lin Feng roared, his voice reverberating with hatred. "If I take you out first, this victory is mine!"

The blades shot toward me, slashing from six directions at once, leaving no path of escape.

Golden flames erupted around me as my hands moved instinctively, illuminating the battlefield with their brilliance. My scythe swung in a deadly arc toward his neck, the air sizzling from its heat.

If I die now, he'll go down with me.

Lin Feng's body jolted as he saw the attack, his eyes narrowing with fear and hesitation. But I didn't stop. I let his blades pierce me—each one a searing agony—but my scythe found its mark. His head flew from his shoulders, his face frozen in agony, fear, and confusion. Even in death, it seemed he couldn't comprehend why I would be so reckless.

Neither do I...

The pain was excruciating. Six dark blades had impaled me. One pierced my rib cage, missing my heart by mere inches. Others had torn through my arms, legs, and pelvis, leaving me immobilized and teetering on the edge of death.

Blood poured from me, my strength fading. This world… this cursed world… it will not be my grave. Not in a million years!

But my defiance couldn't stop the inevitable. My vision blurred, and all sound drained away. Through the haze, I saw my friends rushing toward me, their faces etched with panic.

I drifted in and out of consciousness, fragments of reality slipping through the void. I felt the warmth of someone carrying me. At times, I glimpsed the ground rushing beneath us, as though we were fleeing.

Just before the darkness fully claimed me, I saw it—a massive, blueish spectral sword descending from the heavens. It was impossibly large, stretching for kilometers, and its presence was suffocating.

The ground shattered as it crashed, sending shockwaves that tore through the earth. In that instant, I felt us falling—falling into an abyss. A massive crater was left where the sword had struck, and I had no idea if anyone else had survived.

All I knew was that my life was slipping away. My story might end here, in the cold, unrelenting darkness.