"...Dark clouds are gathering."
Within a dimly lit stone chamber, a man with snow-white hair and piercing gray eyes slowly opened them. Laszlo, whose fangs glinted faintly in the weak light, turned toward the narrow window where sunlight struggled to pierce the gloom. A shadow stretched long across the floor, and from that shadow, a whisper echoed.
—The Silent Emperor has fallen.
Laszlo's gaze sharpened. Jin Qingjing, who had ascended to the throne through human sacrifice, was a tyrant both feared and despised. It would not have been surprising for him to meet his end one day. Yet, Laszlo's instincts told him this was not a simple matter.
"Who was it?" he asked quietly.
The Silent Emperor had been powerful—his strength and mastery unmatched even among the Emperors of Pangea. For him to fall, the killer must have been extraordinary.
The voice from the shadow answered.
—Ma-Hwang, Lee Seong-jun. Defeated by a human.
Laszlo's eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his pale face. "A human?"
Humans were frail, a race bound by mortality and weakness. Even the most gifted among them could never match the power of higher beings. The idea that one had slain an emperor—the strongest of them all—was absurd.
And yet… it had happened.
Laszlo chuckled softly, a glimmer of intrigue surfacing in his eyes. "Interesting. What sort of power did you wield, human? How far can you go before the heavens themselves tremble?"
He stood, his expression hardening. "The storm has already begun."
With the death of the Silent Emperor, the divine blue light that suppressed the continent had vanished. The chains that bound the world of Pangea were gone. The age of forced peace had ended.
"Finally," Laszlo murmured, lips curling into a grin. "It's time for our clan's glory to shake this world."
The shadow rippled again.
—The other emperors are gathering their forces.
Laszlo's voice grew cold. "Fools. They will never reach the throne that way. An emperor is not made through alliance or fear. He is the continent itself—one who stands alone, unbent, and unbroken."
He rose from his seat, eyes burning with ambition. "There will be no unity. Only conquest."
A dark aura erupted from him, filling the chamber.
"In the name of Laszlo, the Death Emperor, I will conquer Pangea. And when I do, my next target shall be Earth—where Ma-Hwang, Lee Seong-jun, awaits."
—Your will is absolute.
The shadow bowed and dissolved into mist. And so began the march of the Death Emperor.
In the aftermath of Mukhwang's fall, the Blood Empire began to rise once more under Lee Seong-jun's rule. Cities that had crumbled during the chaos were now returning to life. Corrupt officials were dragged through the streets by furious citizens, and the traitorous sects that had once allied with them were hunted down by the Blood Wind Group.
Under the guidance of Song Cheon-baek, the empire stabilized with astonishing speed.
Within a temporary palace built amidst the ruins, Lee Seong-jun leaned back in his chair, reviewing reports. "You've worked hard."
Song Cheon-baek bowed deeply. "No, Your Majesty. It is your strength and majesty that restored order."
Lee Seong-jun smiled faintly. "I won't deny that, but I couldn't have done it alone. You have my thanks, Song Cheon-baek."
The older man's expression softened. The blood-soaked lands of the Heavenly Continent were finally beginning to breathe again. But even as peace returned, one matter still lingered—a thorn too long ignored.
Lee Seong-jun's expression darkened. "What about the sect?"
Song Cheon-baek hesitated. "Anna Ferris said she would handle it herself. I granted her one of the new recruits. Since then… there's been no report."
Moments later, Anna herself appeared, her calm smile unsettling in its serenity.
"Did you kill him?" Lee Seong-jun asked bluntly.
"That's impossible," she replied. "I simply ensured he couldn't move. Killing him would be too merciful."
Her finger pointed toward the ground.
"...You buried him?"
"In a sense. He kept begging for death, so I made sure he couldn't die—or escape."
Lee Seong-jun sighed. "You've done well."
"Then... will you handle it personally now?" Anna asked.
He nodded. "It's time."
Song Cheon-baek stepped forward. "Your Majesty, permit me to come with you. I wish to face him one last time."
"Very well," Lee Seong-jun said. "Let's go together."
Anna led them through a series of barriers and wards hidden around the estate. After several minutes, they arrived at the mansion's rear courtyard—an open field that reeked faintly of blood and magic.
There, half-buried in the earth, lay the captured traitors. Their skin was blackened, their eyes unfocused, but they still clung pitifully to life.
"They're still alive?" Lee Seong-jun asked.
Anna nodded. "I placed a restoration array beneath them. Every time they near death, it revives them."
"So they die and live again, over and over," he murmured.
Anna smiled. "Exactly."
She raised her hand, blue mana spreading through the soil. The magic circle flared, and one of the prisoners stirred.
"Urgh…" Tanghak—the sect master who had betrayed him—opened his eyes.
When his gaze fell upon Anna, terror replaced confusion. "Monster! You're a monster!"
He struggled, but his body refused to move. The realization broke him, and his laughter turned hollow and cracked.
Anna gestured, and his body slowly rose from the dirt, dangling helplessly before them.
Lee Seong-jun stepped closer. "Tanghak," he said quietly. "You are no longer my subject."
The man trembled. "Your Majesty… my heaven… my emperor…"
"Silence."
Lee Seong-jun's eyes turned cold. "What kind of subject betrays his emperor?"
"Please, listen—just once—"
"It's not worth hearing."
He could see it clearly now—the greed, the deceit, the snake-like cunning behind Tanghak's eyes. Even now, his pleas were nothing but survival instincts.
"Please… forgive me, just this once…"
Lee Seong-jun's tone was calm, yet heavy as stone. "Tell me, Tanghak. If our positions were reversed, would you forgive me?"
The man said nothing. His silence was his answer.
Lee Seong-jun's gaze hardened. "I thought not. Then you already understand—I have no intention of forgiving you."
And in that moment, the traitor's final hope crumbled to dust.