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His comrade right next to him was about to yell in alarm after witnessing Yi Myeong-Hwan freeze up. However, he, too, ended up stopping everything and looking up. And then… They all saw it.

In utter stupefaction, everyone looked up and took in the incredible spectacle taking place on the cruise ship!

"W-w-what the f*ck…?" Yi Myeong-Hwan muttered before clamping his mouth shut.

Black flames were billowing madly on the ship\'s deck! Of course, Yi Myeong-Hwan knew those things were not real flames.

No, those billowing licks were actually… demonic qi!

Yi Myeong-Hwan had seen that spectacle several times already, so he knew those black flames were actually Kang Jin-Ho\'s demonic qi.

Those demonic qi strands were so dark in color that the ocean\'s darkness seemed bright in comparison. The longer he stared at those licks of demonic qi, the more it felt like he\'d get sucked into that eternal darkness!

Even though the darkness was supposed to be still and calm, that demonic qi\'s darkness danced and wavered around like an eerie mirage.

Yi Myeong-Hwan began shuddering.

\'How… What do you need to do to reach that level?\'

Humans usually comprehended as much as they knew. In the past, it was impossible for Yi Myeong-Hwan to estimate how lofty Kang Jin-Ho\'s realm was. That was because he had zero understanding of true experts, and his knowledge of demonic cultivation was practically non-existent.

The best he could do was vaguely estimate that he could never be a match for Kang Jin-Ho.

But now? Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s situation was different now. Mastering demonic cultivation had improved his understanding of all things demonic. And it also improved his strength incomparably from his previous self. These two factors helped him comprehend a little more now.

His head finally could tell how terrifying those licks of black flames were!

\'Strengthened qi? Nope! It\'s not as simple as that!\'

No materialized qi could move around like that. This could only mean that phenomenon could only be produced when one had reached the next realm, a realm Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn\'t even fathom yet.

That phenomenon was unexplainable something from the realm only the transcendents who had surpassed the limits of mortals were qualified to enter.

Crackle, crack!

The black flames danced as if they were living, breathing creatures. The flames overflowed from the deck and began crushing and ripping the railings on the side. However, that didn\'t seem to sate the appetite of these flames as those ominous things began threatening to devour the ship itself.

\'What the… Seriously?!\'

Crack, crunch!

The edges of the ship made out of metal got crushed. The end result was so horrifyingly twisted that it was difficult to recall what the original shape even looked like.

This phenomenon was already beyond the realm of Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s comprehension. Even though he was a martial artist, a demonic cultivator no less…

What his eyes could see had far, far surpassed the territory of simple things like martial arts or demonic cultivation.

Of course, even Yi Myeong-Hwan could easily crush and twist the ship\'s railing and the edges. All he had to do was stand on the deck, then punch and kick and rip the living daylights out of the place. But this and that were not the same thing. They weren\'t even in the same dimension!

An adult male should be strong enough to lift another person off their feet. That much should be amply doable. However, could that person use only one finger to lift another person up? While sitting on their butts, no less?

The important distinction to be made here was "how" it was done.

No man should be able to utterly destroy the surroundings simply with nothing but some aura leaking out of his body.

But Kang Jin-Ho was pulling that seemingly impossible feat off!

Wasn\'t he Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s master and the Assembly Master? In that case, Yi Myeong-Hwan should be more pleased than anyone that his master was such a powerful monster, but…

But Yi Myeong-Hwan was not pleased. At all. How could he? Any person feeling pleased by this spectacle must\'ve surely misplaced many of the screws in their heads!

"...Crazy son of b*tch."

The battle on the ocean\'s surface had already stopped by then.

Even if this was a life-or-death battle, they were all martial artists. And that made it impossible for them to ignore the feast of incomprehensible power. All they could do was remain still and spectate.

There was no friend or foe. It didn\'t matter who they were, everyone just remained still and shivering as if their souls had been suppressed and stolen by the power they had never witnessed before.

Dozens of shooting stars rose up as if they were planning to oppose the black flames. And then… They all descended on the core of the flames.

To Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s eyes, though, that attack looked like a useless struggle. Sure enough… Even before he could form the next impression in his mind, the black flames rumbled and roiled like angry waves and swallowed up all the azure-colored shooting stars.

KA-BOOOOOOM!

"Uwaaaaahk?!"

"W-what the f*ck?!"

An incredible impact force suddenly slammed into the area. Deafening noises ripped through the air, and the boat and the ocean undulated violently as if a storm was sweeping through the region.

In the blink of an eye, the skies and the sea switched places, with salty waters now spraying down from above Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s head!

Yi Myeong-Hwan desperately clung to the boat\'s railing. Although it was questionable if a small boat like this could provide any sort of haven against such violent undulations, he figured it\'d be a hundred times better than not holding on to anything!

Everything was tumbling. Everything was shooting up and down!

The boat now felt like the inside of a massive cocktail shaker a bartender was busy shaking around. And the poor Yi Myeong-Hwan was thrown around like ice cubes inside said shaker!

"Aaaaaahk!"

"N-no! Help me! No!"

Things were this bad for those riding on the boats, so how much worse was it for the people in the water? With their sense of direction gone, those people quickly vanished from the surface.

Losing one\'s sense of direction in the water meant it was the end. Especially in the middle of the night like this when there was no light source to indicate which way was up. And with the ocean tumbling crazily like this, relying on buoyancy to float back up was also out of the question.

"Kkuh-euuuk!" Yi Myeong-Hwan shuddered while gripping the railing tightly. "Bloody hell, there\'s no freaking way that ship can withstand impacts like…"

Wouuuong, kkkiiiiiiing!

Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s eyes powerfully quaked as that thunderous noise rocked the world. And then…

"Hey, you dipsh*t! I told you to stop running your damn mouth, didn\'t I!"

"W-wait, I was just…"

"Seriously, dude! You just can\'t help yourself, ah?!"

The Demon Flames, soaked from head to toe from the unwelcome saltwater bath, began swearing like sailors at Yi Myeong-Hwan. And he couldn\'t even plead innocence before clamping his mouth shut.

Then again, even he had to admit now wasn\'t the good time to talk. Since everyone could clearly see the cruise ship beginning to tilt slowly to the side as soon as he had opened his piehole!

\'H-hold on a sec! Didn\'t, uh… Didn\'t the ship sink a little even before then?\'

Thanks to the undulating ocean surface, Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn\'t get a definite confirmation. But the cruise ship\'s deck didn\'t seem as high as before for some reason.

"…! That ship is sinking!"

"Dammit!"

Creeeaaaaaaannniiiing!

The thunderous noises of massive steel frames twisting resounded out to seemingly all corners of the ocean just then.

"D-do something, man!"

Yi Myeong-Hwan stared in disbelief at the Demon Flame who said that. "What the hell are you even saying, dude…?"

What could he even do in this situation? Other than panic like everyone else as this unexpected turn of events continued to unfold right before his eyes?

Nothing could be done once a ship like that fell to the side. It didn\'t matter who showed up to save the day, no mere mortal could change the outcome!

Just as Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s thoughts reached that far…

"Ooooooooooh!"

A loud roar of a warrior rang out into the night sky. The roar, powerful enough to shake human souls loose, nearly tore Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s hearing into pieces. And then…!

KWA-AAAAAAHHH!

The ocean split apart in half! It didn\'t last for long, but Yi Myeong-Hwan still got to witness it. A massive strike laden with qi slammed into the water in a straight line, crushing and shoving the ocean left and right in the process. Like how Moses split the Red Sea, this part of the ocean was really spreading open!

The Japanese warriors unfortunate enough to get caught in this qi strike couldn\'t even scream as they got flung to all corners of the world. It was as if a gigantic tunnel had suddenly materialized in the middle of the sea!

"Get a hold of yourselves!"

A loud voice echoed in the air. Yi Myeong-Hwan sobered up immediately.

\'Was that Sir Vator?\'

However, he didn\'t have time to respond as someone else reacted first.

"You goddamn idiots!" A sharp yell suddenly stabbed into Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s hearing from behind. "What the hell are you doing?! Stop minding the useless stuff and get rid of the f*cking Japs first!"

The owner of that yell was, of course, Lee Hyeon-Su. He must\'ve bumped his head against the floor or something as blood was pouring out of his forehead. Even then, he was still yelling at the top of his lungs while liberally resorting to sailor-like swearing!

Was it because he got cursed at? Yi Myeong-Hwan sobered up instantly.

So what if the cruise ship sank? That had nothing to do with him or the Demon Flames. No, their job was to protect this boat at all costs.

"Orrrraaaaa-chaaa!"

Yi Myeong-Hwan punched the air, sending a powerful gust of fist wind. The Japanese warriors trying to cling to the boat got knocked off by that unexpected strike and fell to the cold waters below like Autumn leaves.

"Protect your spot! Do not back off!" Yi Myeong-Hwan loudly roared while sticking very close to the railings. However, he still sneaked a quick glance at the sinking cruise ship.

\'...I\'m sure the Assembly Master will be fine.\'

Obviously, Yi Myeong-Hwan knew that worrying about Kang Jin-Ho was a waste of time. Even then, he couldn\'t help but worry.

Yi Myeong-Hwan briefly raised his head to look up at the cruise ship\'s deck. He could definitely see the large ship slowly sinking lower and lower.

***

With that, everything was over. And it ended somewhat anti-climatically, too.

Nakata Yuji dazedly studied the situation on the cruise ship\'s deck. Nothing remained on it.

No, that wasn\'t quite right. A man was standing tall on the deck dyed in crimson blood, after all!

That man was none other than Kang Jin-Ho. With the tips of his swords resting on the floor, he was silently looking up at the night sky. His relaxed demeanor seemed to indicate that nothing of note had happened in this place.

If it weren\'t for his swords, no one would\'ve guessed that man was involved in a fierce life-or-death battle only a second ago.

\'He\'s so… relaxed!\'

Nakata Yuji could only chuckle weakly. Yes, that was the "strong," now, wasn\'t it?

Being strong wasn\'t anything special. A person who could remain a little more relaxed than others was the "strong." As an example… Even though this battlefield was like Hell on Earth for Nakata Yuji, Kang Jin-Ho treated this place as the garden in front of his home.

That was the impression Kang Jin-Ho gave off. Which wasn\'t surprising at all since nothing could threaten him here.

The members of the Dark Moon Squad might have bet their everything and pounced on Kang Jin-Ho, but they must\'ve been nothing more than annoying flies buzzing around him as he took a stroll around his garden.

\'If only they were as threatening as bees…!\'

Thirty or so bees would\'ve presented enough threat to anyone, after all! Unfortunately, those elites of the Shinichi-kai weren\'t even as useful as some stupid little bees!

As a result, they were all dead. And it was all in vain!

Nakata Yuji wouldn\'t be feeling this way if he had witnessed a horrifying spectacle of blood splattering everywhere as human flesh got torn apart. But what he saw was as concise as Kang Jin-Ho\'s black flames easily swallowing up the Dark Moon Squad members descending like shooting stars.

After that… Nothing remained. Nakata Yuji would\'ve been fooled into thinking that there never was anything here, to begin with... Were it not for the fact that he had witnessed everything!

That was how futile and meaningless the deaths of those shinobis were.

\'Where did everything go wrong…?\'

Nakata Yuji obviously knew that the world did not unfold as one had calculated. No matter how foolproof a plan was, there was always a chance that it\'d fail.

That was why he never pegged the odds of this expedition\'s success as 100%. Even if the odds overwhelmingly favored him, Nakata Yuji knew this expedition could still fail for one reason or the other. And now, it had failed.

The Japanese had failed. That didn\'t surprise Nakata Yuji all that much. However, even failures had different degrees of severity.

Never once during the planning stage of this expedition did Nakata Yuji think that his potential defeat could be this wretched and thorough.

This defeat was so complete that it\'d not be an exaggeration to say he got absolutely, unequivocally crushed and blown apart into oblivion.

\'How… How did things end up this way?\'

Just how was it even possible?

There could\'ve been many reasons. But only one reason stood out above them all. And that reason was slowly looking down away from the night sky. And he accurately locked his gaze on Nakata Yuji next.

"Huh…" Nakata Yuji chuckled hollowly.

That man was so… ordinary.

That was Nakata Yuji\'s honest impression after checking out Kang Jin-Ho\'s current demeanor.

It was a bit weird to call someone wielding swords "ordinary." However, considering what happened a few seconds ago, that impression didn\'t seem so out of place.

What was with this indescribable disharmony? When this disharmony tried to make a mess of his stomach, Nakata Yuji hurriedly grabbed his mouth and stopped himself from vomiting.

In the meantime…

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely walked over toward Nakata Yuji. Even though the cruise ship\'s deck had tilted quite a lot to the side by now, it was as if he was strolling on a flat piece of land.

Once his cold gaze met Nakata Yuji\'s trembling eyes, Kang Jin-Ho unhurriedly addressed the Japanese man.