The Central Abyss and the Desperate Ritual
In the very center of the vast underground space, Sybel sat on one knee, his massive frame trembling as he leaned his weight onto the sword cane.
“O-oh, don’t come any closer. The magic circle… it’s going to kill me, ugh.”
Sybel’s entire body shook violently, his face twisted in agony as the dark energy clawed at him.
Jin Chen narrowed his brows, his expression calm yet razor-sharp, and slowly scanned the surroundings.
An enormous underground chamber lay before him, its floor covered in intricate, grotesque patterns that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Between those patterns, countless Dark Blood Stones were embedded, each one a deadly black crystal pulsing with corrupted energy.
The air itself vibrated with the regular thunder of the magic circle, like a living heart.
Thick red mist swirled around it, wrapping Sybel like invisible chains.
After quickly assessing the situation, Jin Chen glanced at the figures clad in black robes standing along the opposite passage.
They filled the entire tunnel, so many he couldn’t count them.
“You lot… all of you?”
The black-robed figures ignored him completely and began surrounding the magic circle.
“Bakura, Damute, Gauramo Dia!”
Their voices rang out without pause.
The magic circle responded with even stronger vibrations.
“Khhhaaaah!”
Jin Chen looked at the suffering Sybel and asked bluntly, “What the hell is that? What do I need to do?”
“I-I don’t know… This magic circle is something I’ve never seen before. Khhaaaah!”
Sybel’s voice trembled, but he managed to add, “Because you’re a dragon, the strongest being in this world… I had to send you first. Magic, dark magic, anything… I thought you could handle it.”
Jin Chen’s eyes narrowed. A dragon? The strongest life form? That was why they had sent him ahead.
He could adapt quickly to any spell, any curse, any trap.
But what he saw now was nothing like the expected danger.
A magic circle that even a dragon didn’t recognize.
Sybel’s earlier words flashed through Jin Chen’s mind: “I still haven’t figured out how to use the Dark Blood Stone.”
He had been hiding and researching it for a thousand years? A magic circle that could even neutralize dragons?
“Bakura, Damute, Gauramo Dia!”
The more the black-robed figures chanted, the more violently the magic circle pulsed.
“You need to shut them up first, don’t you?”
Jin Chen charged forward like lightning and swung his double-headed axe.
The blue energy blade slashed through the black robes.
“Kyaah!”
“Kyeaaah!”
The figures collapsed to the ground, spurting blood, yet not one of them raised a hand in defense.
They simply kept chanting, pushing forward into the empty spaces left by their fallen comrades.
“Bakura, Damute, Gauramo Dia!”
Jin Chen’s brows tightened. “If that’s the case… I have no choice but to kill them all.”
He raised his axe again, but suddenly froze.
The blood of the fallen figures was being sucked into the magic circle.
“Ughhh… the vibration is growing deeper, like a heart that won’t stop.”
Sybel screamed even louder in response.
“They grow stronger the more we kill them?”
Jin Chen clicked his tongue once. “You bastards… is this your hobby?”
The red mist thickened as the chants continued.
“There’s only one way.”
He leaped high into the air and raised the axe high above his head.
Blue energy surged around the blade like a dragon’s roar.
“I’m going to shatter this magic circle!”
Jin Chen brought the axe down.
The legendary technique left by the legendary Jinho of the Mudang sect collided with the corrupted energy.
“Ughhh!”
Jin Chen’s face twisted in pain. The blue energy was perfectly matched against the incomplete red mist.
“Your energy is even more disgusting than I thought.”
The blue energy around Jin Chen grew even larger and thicker.
The black-robed figures’ voices suddenly echoed.
“Bakula… Bakula!”
The magic circle responded with a different chant.
New red energy erupted from every spot and rushed toward Jin Chen.
“Kwaaaaang!”
Jin Chen flew backward from the massive explosion.
“Kwadududuk!”
He dug the axe into the ground and stopped, his eyes cold and sharp.
“I get it now… What you’re trying to do.”
Jin Chen brushed the dust from his body and looked at the black-robed figures.
“Just wait a little longer. I’m going to wipe all of you out…”
He leaped into the magic circle while trailing off.
“N-no!”
Even Sybel’s desperate cry couldn’t stop him.
“I’ll tear you all apart!”
His voice, cold and chilling, echoed through the chamber instead.
***
The lich’s hoarse voice filled the air.
“How did you know the Gold Dragon Lord would be there?”
“If the existence of the Jiangshi was exposed, the only place they would come from was that spot. A dragon would instantly sense the Dark Blood Stone.”
“So you prepared everything in advance?”
“Even if I hadn’t prepared, I would have noticed. Our greatest enemy was always the dragon.”
“Meaning you created a way to detect the dragon’s presence.”
“Why do you believe the human who came with us is Chaeju?”
“Khhkhhk… It has been a long thousand years, hasn’t it? The dragon’s pride is so strong he probably forgot about those creatures.”
The lich’s lips curled into a cruel smile.
“Dragons move alone. They are the proudest beings in existence. But when two dragons move together? What does that mean?”
“…Unless there is someone stronger than them, there is no reason to move together.”
“Exactly. Honestly, I still can’t believe it… a human stronger than a dragon. But the report from the Death’s Forest wiped away all doubt.”
The lich’s eyes glowed coldly, remembering the message.
“Master, intruders are present. Their power is not ordinary!”
“The detection magic reaction suggests they are definitely dragons.”
“Not just one. Another powerful presence is with them.”
The moment those words reached the lich, a name flashed through his mind.
The existence the lich had heard from the leader.
The human who had angered Jin Chen by revealing Jiangshi information.
“When I heard that news… I thought the God of Death himself was guiding us. He is showing us the way to handle the biggest obstacles in our plan right away!”
“I hope your prediction is correct. Even if the human with him isn’t Chaeju, it doesn’t matter. The Gold Dragon Lord! As long as we eliminate that one, our great undertaking is already more than half complete!”
“Don’t doubt it. That person is definitely Chaeju. The dragon’s pride proves it.”
The lich’s confidence made the leader reach out.
He picked up one of the many glass bottles and asked, “You have good reason to be confident, don’t you?”
“Of course. They can’t escape that place. Not even in death.”
“The opponent is a dragon and a human stronger than one. Do you really think it’s possible?”
“A thousand years. That is how long I have studied and experimented there.”
“Meaning you have proof it exists?”
The lich looked at the leader instead of answering.
“You know the power of the Dark Blood Stone?”
“Yes… but no one has proven anything yet.”
“I have proven it! Even I cannot endure that level of power!”
The lich was the 9-circle master at the peak of dark magic.
He had become a lich because it wasn’t enough.
“I actually tried it myself.”
“It lasted only one minute. That was how long I held on.”
“You’re serious?”
“Isn’t that enough explanation?”
The lich snatched the glass bottle from the leader’s hand.
“They consolidate it there. It is a place where a thousand years of power has gathered… but if we can handle just the two of them, the rest is nothing.”
He slowly poured the red liquid into a bottle.
The moment the liquid touched something, it boiled and roared.
The leader said, “This one is also a problem. If we eliminate them, what will you say?”
“Just make sure they don’t escape. And… there are still many others to deal with.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the liquid-covered figure began to stir.
It opened pitch-black eyes.
The lich smiled sinisterly.
“Let’s go. I will let you vent all your anger.”
“I like your plan. I’ll prepare immediately.”
Before the leader finished speaking, the figure slowly rose to its upper body.
“Khhaaaah! Jin Cheo!”
***
At that moment, Jin Chen was enduring an overwhelming pressure crushing his entire body.
This isn’t just raw strength… something more is at play here.
The Dark Blood Stone’s energy was trying to seep into his mouth, ears, nose, and even his skin.
Jin Chen activated his inner energy to block it and looked at Sybel.
He understood why Sybel’s movements were sluggish.
That was why he couldn’t turn into his true dragon form.
The moment he did, the Dark Blood Stone energy would flood his body.
“This is ridiculous.”
Jin Chen clicked his tongue and said, “You don’t mean to tell me…”
He slowly lifted his right foot.
“You knew I would step on it and deliberately came here.”
He brought his raised right foot down.
“Kuuuung!”
The entire underground chamber shook violently, the magic circle’s continuous vibration suddenly faltering.
“Uuuung!”
“Incomplete energy, huh?”
He stomped again.
“Kuuuung!”
“In the end, it’s all the same energy anyway, right?”
“Kuuuung!”
“Under my will… is…”
“Everything is mine!”
“Kuuuung!”
The patterns covering the magic circle began to shake violently.
“Jing! Jing!”
The magic circle twisted with a deafening roar.
The black-robed figures’ expressions turned bewildered as they tried to chant something else.
“Darako, Sobala!”
“It won’t help. This place is now my territory.”
Jin Chen sneered and was about to stomp again when the figures suddenly leaped toward the magic circle.
“Pussss!”
Their bodies disintegrated instantly into powder upon being touched by the red energy.
One, two, three, four…
As countless figures kept leaping, the suppressed red energy beneath the magic circle began to stir.
“You crazy bastards!”
Just as Jin Chen prepared to stomp again, an unknown vibration rose from beneath the magic circle.
“Kugugugugung!”
“No matter what, stay crushed.”
The remaining figures ignored it and leaped all at once.
“Oh God of Death! We offer all we are!”
“May death return eternal!”
“Pussss!”
As their bodies disintegrated, something shot up from deep beneath the magic circle.
“Kwadududuk!”
The magic circle split apart under Jin Chen’s will, and the red light exploded.
It reduced the entire chamber—and everything around it—to powder.
“Jiiing!”
A flash of light.
The space where Jin Chen and Sybel stood was swallowed in the explosion.