A massive serpent, as big as a house, rose up, its white chill like fur. It coiled protectively around Lee Taebaek like a guardian, rearing its head to threaten the enemy.

“…Shit, damn it. What the hell is this!!”

Hiss, hiss.

“Hey, you old-timers! You know this guy, don’t you! What the hell is it?! Was there a Tamer class in this world’s jobs?!”

The Bow Master faced those dangerously gleaming eyes head-on, whether from the chill or the shock of encountering a beast he’d never seen before in his life.

Even his fingers, busy nocking an arrow to the bowstring, cramped up and froze solid. And he wasn’t the only one.

Grrrrrrrowl.

The Imugi let out a low rumble from deep in its throat. Its breath carried an infrasound wave. It was Pier.

Everyone in the room hesitated and began stepping back.

They were all Ten Wings. It wasn’t that they were scared of some suddenly appearing snake… but that the situation itself was so confusing and unfamiliar. Even transcendent powerhouses felt a chill in their chests when confronted with something entirely new. Transcendents were still human, with blood running through their veins.

As the Ten Wings retreated, the white chill scraped across the floor with a rasping sound, steadily expanding its territory.

Even the Great Master and Saber Master—arguably Lee Taebaek’s allies among the Ten Wings—were no exceptions. The cold emanating from the snake, the Imugi, made no distinction between friend and foe.

If it affected even them, how much worse for the Bow Master, their actual enemy?

Cold sweat beaded in the wrinkles of his hands, instantly freezing into granules. The Bow Master swallowed a scream rising in his throat. He leaned back like a drawn bow, tilting the arrowhead toward the ceiling. He planned to punch a hole through it and escape.

Lee Taebaek wasn’t about to just watch.

Kyaaaaaaaah—!

The Imugi unleashed Pier. The Bow Master felt his soul and body sliced at once. But he wasn’t ordinary either.

He quickly regained control of his emotions and composure. Archers had superior recovery resilience compared to other classes. And the Bow Master was the pinnacle of that category. His arrow finally left the string, undaunted by the monster’s infrasound.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A faint smile appeared on the Bow Master’s lips as his three arrows punched a hole in the ceiling.

Lee Taebaek extended his hand again. The Imugi shot straight toward the Bow Master like a bolt. Its blood-red eyes trailed long afterimages.

Whiiiiiish—!

The long, white form stretched out like a streak of light. Its triangular maw, packed with grotesque fangs, thrust forward its forked tongue assertively.

“You monster bastard!”

The Bow Master swiftly emptied his quiver, nocking two arrows per finger.

Scraaaape!

He ground ten arrowheads against the floor. Sparks ignited—the special arrows coated with quick-burning compound.

Rumble.

Lowering his stance, the Bow Master drew the bowstring with all his might. Veins bulged savagely across his forearms.

It was the moment the Imugi’s gaping maw closed in on him.

“Thousand Sky Arrows!”

The Bow Master’s arrows spiraled in a dance toward Lee Taebaek’s Imugi and struck.

──────!

White noise ravaged the area unchecked.

Ripples spread in layers, sweeping debris from the floor into the corners.

Despite the massive shockwave hitting them head-on, everyone held their ground. But with light exploding repeatedly at the impact point, grasping the situation took just a moment longer.

The first to adapt his vision was the Great Master Hong Geolgae. From what he discerned with his focused gaze…

“Freakish… utterly freakish…”

The Imugi and flaming arrows were locked in a tense standoff, clashing auras like a battle of wills. The Imugi’s tattered overcoat flapped limply.

They didn’t even touch.

Yet the ripple effect was this tremendous.

The Great Master, unconsciously murmuring a Taoist exclamation, soon regained his calm.

He shifted his gaze from the epicenter to the opposite side.

Lee Taebaek’s half-broken gas mask obscured his expression. He seemed to be controlling the Imugi with subtle wrist flicks.

“Young friend, you keep surprising me every time… You’re lethal to an old bag of bones like me. Bad for the heart.”

“Then cut off your interest cleanly, old timer.”

“Hahaha. Muyachi, you’re being greedy unlike yourself. Where’s the Mercenary King who always prioritized rational choices?”

“When I signed with Daesung, I discarded the Mercenary King title.”

The Saber Master continued, gazing at Lee Taebaek with sunken eyes. His breath rose in wisps.

“Maybe getting drunk on that empty fame… was just self-justification to avoid facing this city.”

“Objective self-evaluation is important. But this doesn’t seem the time to indulge in sentiment.”

“I know.”

The Saber Master and Great Master lifted their heads together.

“It’s coming.”

“Yeah… it’s coming…”

As the two Ten Wings wore troubled expressions, the battle’s tide shifted decisively.

Crackle, sizzle—

The elemental matchup between ice and fire needed no explanation.

Not by the Bow Master’s intent, but the flaming arrows gained a slight edge over the Imugi.

Seizing the opening, the Bow Master stomped with Tremor Stomp. Crack-crack-crack! Ice spikes embedded themselves in the rising stone floor. The Imugi had shot them to block escape, but the Bow Master’s sharp eyes spotted them instantly.

“Hahaha! You young punk whose head still reeks of milk—you’re under me, got it?!”

Sneering, the Bow Master approached the wall. He memorized protruding stones and exposed rebar in an instant. He’d climb them to the surface.

Escaping this godforsaken underground…

He wedged his foot into a crevice.

Booooom—!

A quake rivaling the previous one shook the earth. Caught off-guard, the Bow Master tumbled ungracefully.

Turning in humiliation and rage, he immediately regretted it.

Between the Imugi and arrows’ spiral dance, amid sparks and shattering sounds, in that hair’s-breadth gap—a high heel intruded.

She crushed both Lee Taebaek’s and the Bow Master’s killing blows with just her toes.

The Imugi crumbled from the head down like sugar, unable to hold. The Bow Master’s Thousand Sky Arrows lost spiral force as flames burned out. The woman who humiliated them both simultaneously.

The eyes of the high heel’s owner met the Bow Master’s.

“Long time no see, Monkey?”

“You, you’re…!”

The opponent, she, smiled brightly. Meeting her vivid jade eyes, the Bow Master shuddered.

“…Art Master!”

The Art Master flung the woman tucked under her arm. Seong Hayun flew like a sack, rolling across the floor to crash at the Great Master’s feet.

Seong Hayun groaned face-down. The Great Master pinned her nape with his heel, making her eyes roll back. It would be better to reduce witnesses by one.

Whoooosh!

The Art Master whipped her leg through the air. A gale howled. One whoosh of displaced air evaporated the battle’s afterimages like a mirage.

The air rippled massively. The crumbling walls and ceiling finally gave way completely.

Hummm.

The moment the Art Master appeared, the conference hall turned into a skeletal ruin.

“Damn it! Why is that bitch here?!”

“Bitch?”

“She’s worse than the Heavenly Demon!”

The Bow Master stood up, tossed his bow, and leaped. Proving his Monkey moniker, he darted between steel beams like a bullet.

The Art Master chuckled emptily at his retreating form.

“That bastard’s still as sleazy as ever, huh? Anyone know why?”

“…”

“…”

No reply came.

“…Anyway, such boring guys. Should’ve known when you ditched me to bond among yourselves.”

“Did this look like bonding to you?”

“Oh, long time no see. Muyachi. Nice to see you, but I’m especially miffed at you. Leaving me out of such a delicious arena…?”

“…”

As the Saber Master bit his lip, the Art Master glanced elsewhere. Just then, Lee Taebaek, who had been standing like a rock, crumbled. Purple veins bulged up to his jaw.

“That’s… a curse?”

With that, the Art Master burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! This is hilarious! Magic, martial arts not enough, now curses too? You’re a total freak talent for our company! Heard of Haragusa?”

“…”

“Hmm, tough? Or just boring personality. Whatever. Finish business first, then let’s have a real talk.”

The Art Master’s sleek leg swept the floor. Shattered stone floated up. Amid levitating rubble, her eyes flashed fiercely.

“Gotta knock that monkey off his tree first.”

Spinning counterclockwise, she birthed a tornado in an instant. Debris everywhere sprouted like thorns on its surface. Getting caught meant pulverization.

The energy was so vast that it warped space-time. How much power did it take to interfere with physics?

From the eye of the storm, the Art Master swung her leg repeatedly. The fleeing Bow Master looked down.

Too late. Before he could react, the tornado slammed into him. Invert Heaven’s gale engulfed its prey like a dragon under the chin.

Aaahhhh—!

Even his shrill scream was shredded. It accelerated. The tornado spun mercilessly, devouring the Bow Master like fuel.

The earthen vortex turned blood-red, swallowing his death throes whole. Then, like a burp, it spat something out.

Clatter.

It was the Bow Master’s bow.

“Whew. Roughly sorted.”

Dusting off her hands, the Art Master finally fixed her gaze on Lee Taebaek.

“You got stories for me, pretty boy?”

“…”

“Anyway, you sure made it flashy.”

The Great Master and Saber Master stepped forward. Without looking, the Art Master warned.

“Step twice, and at least one of you ends up like the monkey. Maybe both.”

“…”

“…”

The thorned tornado still swirled in the ceiling hole. Its aftermath widened the Bow Master’s sky breach.

The ceiling gaped wide. Beyond, a full moon hung. The Art Master haloed her head in moonlight. It was as if the world lit only her.

It was a scene reflecting her true calling. A star shining alone. The Art Master was the city’s idol.

“It’s a festival.”

The silent Lee Taebaek spoke up.

“Gotta make it flashy, right?”

The Art Master stared blankly, then…

“Nyahahahaha!”

She doubled over laughing. Damn, her laugh was nauseating. As expected, the Three Calamities were transcendents on another level from the Seven Masters.

“You planned for me to come all this way.”

The Art Master wiped her eye with a crooked finger.

“Right?”

Then she winked, a tear dangling.

“So, what’s the reason you called me here, pretty?”