Chapter 376: Insufficient (1)

But there were those who couldn’t stay calm like Cale and his group.
No—most people couldn’t simply watch.

“Hwa In is Sohyi?!”
“Th-this is impossible! How dare she commit such a deception!”

It wasn’t just the ordinary citizens of the kingdom—
Even the leaders of the Kingdom of Lan were in shock.

Since the position of the next king of the Kingdom of Lan was at stake in this combat competition, the revelation that Hwa In was actually Sohyi sent shockwaves through the crowd.

But those capable of deeper thought and judgment—
The leaders of each organization, or—

“This—”

The reaction shifted slightly for someone like Queen Tamahi.

“Sword Master.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The voice of Sword Master Charun trembled.

“Now, no matter how we look at it... it seems Hwa In was a mask, and Sohyi is her true face.
Can it truly be right… for the leader of an organization to operate in secret, hiding her identity all this time?”

The Queen felt it too.
Without even realizing it, she was speaking to Charun with the same respectful tone she used as a child.

“And that strength…”

Her hand pointed toward Kim Hae-il.
Her finger trembled.

“Now I think I understand it.”

Wooong— Wooong—

The moment she saw the blood-red aura growing larger and larger—
Queen Tamahi felt it.

She hadn’t understood the nature of that force when she was younger.
But now, she believed she could.

To be precise…
She still didn’t know what that force truly was.
But she had seen something like it before.

“Those guys… it’s definitely the Wanderers’ strength.”

The invaders who once controlled her—
Who had rendered her powerless.

It was the same kind of force.
Unfamiliar. Overwhelming.
Something she had never seen in her entire life.

Although each had its own unique essence…
The two Wanderers she had encountered so far—
Their power shared one terrifying trait.

“Only the aura itself... emanating from within them.”

Moments she had endured, unable to resist.
Moments where strength was unattainable—
And all she could do was suffer.

“…Kim Hae-il… is he a Wanderer?”

The moment Queen Tamahi whispered those words—
A fire sparked in her eyes.

“Your Majesty.”

The calm voice of Sword Master Charun reached her ears.

“The situation is strange.”
“…I know.”

“The suspicious person is the leader of the Justice Alliance, Hwa In, but…”

It was at that moment—

Awooooooooohhhhh!

A horrific sound—like the wailing of a dying beast—ripped through the arena.

“!”

Even Queen Tamahi—
A warrior who had trained for decades—
Shuddered involuntarily at the sound. She winced, instinctively covering her ears.

“Ugh!”
“Ah, my ear!”

The common citizens of the kingdom clutched their ears or grabbed their heads in pain.

“Your Majesty!”

At the guard’s urgent voice, Queen Tamahi turned her gaze toward the battle stage.

“!”

Just as the blood-red aura was about to engulf the entire stage—
A flow of pure white rose.

She inhaled sharply, without even realizing it.

That white... it didn’t shine.
It was a cold, dull white.
Pure, but lifeless.

A white line, rising like a rope, extended from the hand of Hwa In—
No, Sohyi.

“Ah—”

A white thread piercing through the sea of blood-red.
The moment Tamahi saw that line, only one thought entered her mind:

Death.

She didn’t know why. She couldn’t explain it.
But the instant she saw that white line—
It felt as though her own neck was being cut.

SKREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

That strange sound in her ears…
It felt like the final moan—
The despair of someone moments away from death.

Death wasn’t always black.
Sometimes, white represented death even more clearly.
Because it was like a blank sheet of paper—
So pure, it rejected even a speck of dust.

Shreeeeeeeek—!

The tip of the white line, which had risen skyward, began to split.

Shreeeeeeeek—!

Eight lines divided outward from it, arcing like a semicircle—
Surrounding the entire arena.

Shreeeeeeeek—!

The eerie moan grew louder, stronger, sharper.

Queen Tamahi couldn’t move.
It felt like the moment she even flinched, that white line would slice her throat.

And that white light—
It now seemed poised to swallow the entire arena.

Ah—

In that moment, she understood.

Spiderweb—

That white line was like a spiderweb.
And she realized—
She was the prey caught within it.

It was at that moment—

Boom!

The arena shook.

“!”

Queen Tamahi’s eyes widened as she saw it—
The blood-red aura trembled.
And at its center stood Kim Hae-il.

He took a step forward.

Boom!

The arena quaked again.

The blood-red aura stirred—
And then, as if drawn by fate, It began to move toward the white line, following its every motion.

It was then that—

“…”

She could breathe again.

Kim Hae-il.

“…That person… he’s not an enemy—”

The moment he stepped forward, directing his aura toward the white line—

“Ha…”
“Ugh… ugh…”

The common citizens of the kingdom began to breathe.
Air returned to their lungs.
Their trembling subsided.

That white line—
The one that had even made Queen Tamahi gasp for breath—
Now faded from her focus.

And the blood-red aura—
Sinister, terrifying, yet impossible to look away from—
Was protecting them.

It wasn’t closing in.
It was shielding them.

It seemed to flow outward—
Spreading toward the common people,
Forming a thick, protective wall between them and the battlefield.

“Your Majesty!”

Charun’s voice—aged, seasoned, and now filled with despair—reached her ears.
Queen Tamahi froze.

“!”

Someone had suddenly approached her.

Whirr—

A blonde man, wind swirling around his ankles, stood before her.
His face was hidden beneath a bamboo hat.

He opened his mouth, voice calm but urgent.

“We must evacuate everyone.”

Swoosh.

He lifted the straw hat—
Revealing a strikingly handsome young man, his features delicate and refined.

And in that moment...

Boom!
The ground trembled once more.

A white line embedded itself just outside the arena.

Ziiing–––!

From that line, straight threads spread outward—
Trailing wisps of white smoke,
Like capillaries,
Like a spiderweb expanding across the earth.

If eight of these lines were embedded this way—
Emitting smoke and forming perfect straight lines—

It’ll devour us!

As if the entire arena were prey—
Caught within a perfect web.
Everyone here would be trapped.

“Damn it! My inner energy won’t work!”

Someone shouted as they unleashed a martial technique toward the lines.

It wasn’t that inner energy didn’t work—
It simply wasn’t strong enough.

The weaker forces couldn’t even touch the lines.

“Get out of the way!”
“Ugh!”

“W-We have to run!”

Panic spread as confusion gripped the crowd.

“…”

The man in the bamboo hat stood silently.

Tamahi, who had been staring at Alberu, opened her mouth with authority.

“Begin the evacuation immediately!”

The ministers moved at once to carry out her command.

Dong!

The sound of a drum echoed through the arena.
Officials rushed out, guiding the people, flinging open the entrance gates.

“Entrance number 7 won’t open! It’s blocked!”

There were eight entrances.
And now—
The white lines, like roots, were descending in front of each gate.

One of them was already sealed.

“Number 5—number 5 is about to go too!”

One of the officials shouted, voice trembling with desperation.

“Get out of the way!”

Hyun Seong of the Snow Death Flower stepped forward and unleashed a martial technique.
The tip of her spear shot toward the white line.

But—

BOOOOM!

A thunderous roar echoed across the arena.
And yet… not a scratch.

It can’t be!

The moment Hyun Seong’s spear collided with the white line,
A chill ran down her entire body.

This—

What is this?

Her inner energy rebounded.
The strike didn’t land.
Her attack hadn’t even touched it.

That white line—
It wasn’t aura.
It wasn’t magic.
It was something else entirely.

How am I supposed to defeat that?

As Hyun Seong stood frozen, her mind going blank,
The white line crept forward—
About to root itself in front of entrance number 5.

“Damn it! Take the people somewhere else!”

Hyun Seong shouted back at the officials, urgency in every word.

“Get out of the way.”

A voice cut through the chaos.
She turned—

A man with a bamboo hat.
Red hair.

The moment he drew his sword—

“!”

Hyun Seong felt another chill rush through her entire body.

“Ah…”

A wild, untamed force—
Like lightning unleashed—
Rushed past her.

Swoosh—

The white line was severed.

Swoosh.

The red-haired man lifted his bamboo hat, revealing a smooth-faced man beneath it.

“Evacuate the people.”

After saying that, Choi Han moved again—
Toward the entrances.
To stop them from being sealed.

‘Cale-nim said…’

He recalled the image of Cale, standing silently, gazing down at the battle stage.

While the crowd panicked and scattered, Cale remained still.
The only one not running away.

‘Choi Han. Your Highness.’

Cale had spoken.

‘It seems that force is tied to a domain.’

Cale had shared what the Super Rock told him.

- That white line—it’s also a kind of aura. Like yours, Choi Han. But… it feels like she’s created her own realm. A power beyond simple aura.

That’s what the Super Rock had said.

Like the Ancient Powers…

–That is an Ancient Power. It’s like ours.
–But it’s stronger than ours.
–If we are sprouts… he is a tree.

If we get caught in that domain, it will be a problem.

Cale had decided what to do the moment he saw the white line.

‘Your Highness, go with the queen.’

‘And Choi Han, you help evacuate the people.’

Wooong— Wooong—

Choi Han heard a faint vibration.

A weak aura.
So subtle, no one else could sense it—
But it was close to Cale.

Sohyi.

Cale was the existence who had a powerful aura, that no one in this place could compare to.

‘If the Heavenly Demon struggles… I’ll help him.’’

Therefore, Choi Han couldn’t refute Cale’s words and had to leave his side.

“…”

However, he planned to move the moment Cale was in danger.

The Wanderer.
That one—
Was his prey.

Boom!

The ground trembled once again.

Choi Han’s eyes shifted briefly toward the battle stage.
People were fleeing, but the competition... wasn’t over yet.

“I have to catch you.”

Sohyi, the Wanderer, extended her hand toward the Heavenly Demon, a smile on her face.
In her grip, the white line coiled like a sword.

Screeeeeee—!

With a chilling wail that tore through the air, the white line lunged toward the Heavenly Demon.

A line where death itself could be felt.

“Ha… haha—”

The Heavenly Demon began to laugh, staring directly at the approaching line.

Choi Han looked away and muttered under his breath,

“…He’s definitely insane.”

The Heavenly Demon.

Choi Han had been referring to him.
But then—
A subtle smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

“But I understand.”

No one heard that final whisper.
And Choi Han didn’t have the time to explain it to anyone.

Swoosh—

His sword moved without pause, cutting through the air—
Refusing to let the white lines close in on the people.

“Hahaha—!”

The calm that had once surrounded the Heavenly Demon was gone.
Now, he was laughing loudly—freely—
As if this chaos was the most fun, he’d had in ages.

Wooong— Wooong—

The white line continued to approach, unfazed by the swirling blood-red aura.
It was focused solely on him.

The Heavenly Demon stared at it—
And beyond it, at Sohyi.

Snick.

She was smiling.

After extending the white line, her energy became still.
Like a calm, endless sea.
Motionless. Infinite.

Screeeeeeeee—!

That silence—
Unshaken by the eerie moan—
Only made her seem less human.
More distant.
An existence one could not dare to approach.

“It’s not easy, is it?”

Sohyi’s words were soft, almost like a whisper carried by the wind.
And as her voice faded—

Wooong—

The white line sliced through the blood-red aura—
Unstoppable.
And now, it stood just before the Heavenly Demon.

Sohyi smiled.

“The singularity—
That which cannot take shape—
Is quite useless, isn’t it?”

The Heavenly Demon extended his hand.

The blood-red aura surged forward,
Crashing into the white line.

Ziiing—!

A sound like burning metal tore through the air.

The aura recoiled.
The white remained untouched.

The Heavenly Demon’s smile—

Faded.

Sohyi’s smile deepened.

Kwang!

Just as the Heavenly Demon’s hand—wreathed in blood-red aura—reached for the white line, a sharp impact echoed.

“Hmm.”

The Heavenly Demon was pushed back. Even his extended hand recoiled.

He stepped back—
Silently.

And then, he looked down.

At his own foot.
The one that had moved back.

“Haha—”

Sohyi chuckled softly, waving her hand.
The white line moved in perfect harmony, as if it were an extension of her body.

Shreeeeek—!

The line shot forward, swift as the wind, slicing through the air—
And wrapped itself around the Heavenly Demon’s wrist.

Swoosh—

It extended further, winding tightly around his arm like a bandage—
Like a spider wrapping its prey inside its web.

“…….”

But the Heavenly Demon…
He remained still, eyes fixed downward.

Looking at the foot that had taken a step back.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

Sohyi didn’t bother hiding her grin.

“Ah—”

She tilted her head upward.
Through the threads of the white line, she could see the sky.

Soon, she thought,
he’ll be up there too.
Trapped inside his cocoon.

“If I had killed everyone from the beginning, it would have been easier.”

It was too complicated.
She should have done this from the start.

“There would be fewer annoying things.”

“Yes.”

“—!”

Sohyi froze.

Her head lowered slightly.
Kim Hae-il still had his head down.
But that voice—
The one who had answered just now—

It was the Heavenly Demon.

Then, again—
That voice reached her ears.

“Yes. Thanks to you, there are fewer annoying things.”

The corners of Sohyi’s lips twisted.

“What… what are you saying…?”

What is that guy even saying?

She didn’t intend to kill him immediately, because she was very curious to know who he was. But his arrogance made her eyes blink.

And the Heavenly Demon replied.

“It’s nothing.”

He raised his head. The Heavenly Demon was smiling.

“I thank you.”

“…What?”

Sohyi asked, and then stopped.

She raised her head.

The Heavenly Demon’s voice reached her ears.

“Thanks to you, I have learned how to use this force. I truly thank you.”

His voice was incredibly calm.

“Singularity—”

Singularity.

“Can also have its own form—”

It was good advice.

Although Choi Han had been the first to see the form of this force—

Singularity and form.

Seeing that, an answer occurred to him.

“…Kim Hae-il–”

Kim Hae-il, who controlled nature itself. No, Cale Henituse.

More than Sohyi, who was in front of him—

His strength was more like a god’s.

Ah.

He saw the answer.

The Heavenly Demon had found a path beyond Choi Han.

Can I do that with this aura?

The answer to that question came quickly. The Heavenly Demon, looking at his foot, which had stepped back, thought.

I can’t be pushed back.

Why?

Because I am the Heaven of the Demons.

“Yes.”

I am, The Heaven.

I am the God of Demons and the Heaven.

“…T-This can’t be—”

Sohyi’s eyes, which were fixed on the sky, trembled. Choi Han, who had been wielding his sword, also stopped and looked up.

“As expected, you knew too.”

However...

“I’m late this time.”

A smile full of ambition appeared at the corner of Choi Han’s lips.

“Ha!”

Alberu, the crown prince, finally realized the path that Choi Han and the Heavenly Demon had taken—a path he hadn’t been able to reach. Longing burned in his eyes.

– Cale.

Cale heard Super Rock’s voice as he looked up at the sky.

– It’s not a celestial attribute. It’s a cloud.

Super Rock’s voice was filled with awe.

– A cloud that can cover the sky...

After a moment, wrapped in emotion, he continued.

– …An Ancient Power is being born!

The spiderweb of white lines.
The outer sky—the true sky—was trembling.

Clouds were forming.

Those clouds became increasingly blood–red.

And they twisted.

It was as if he was watching the movement of an animal, a tiger, stretching after resting and shrinking.

“Ha... truly.”

Cale looked at the Heavenly Demon in disbelief.

Snick.

The Heavenly Demon was already looking at Cale.
He smiled at him—then looked away.

And moved his hand.

“Ugh!”

Sohyi lowered her head.
She looked down—her foot had been dragged a step forward.
She looked ahead.

The Heavenly Demon was pulling the white line—
With his hand, still wrapped in it, gripping and drawing it toward him.

“…That bastard—”

Sohyi bit her lip, but she couldn’t move recklessly.

Rumble—

The sky began to cry.
No…
The cloud did.

The blood-red cloud, both sinister and captivating, began to spread across the sky.
It was a sky created by the Heavenly Demon.

 -----

T/L: A spider wove her trap to end gods—
But the sky had other plans.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]