The detached force mobilized at the same time as the main force. This force, led by Valan, consisted of Kang Oh, Sephiro, Bart and his friends, Helena, Asu, and the Witch's Forest, as well as Aman and the Great Forest's warriors.

They made their way to the altar without any obstacles. Of course, it was a completely different story once they made it to the altar itself.

"You can't go any further."

Sraka and the Evil God Worshippers showed up. They would fight to the last to protect the altar.

They had to protect the altar no matter what. After all, the Evil God Worshippers' one desire was... Bringing the Evil God into this world!

This was their best chance of attaining that divine dream of theirs. Well, that only applied if they were able to overcome this ordeal.

Valan wasn't leader-like at all. He was the most powerful vanguard.

As soon as he saw Sraka, he launched a Divide the Sea at him. Sraka drew his greatsword, gathered a ton of evil energy within it, and then launched it at Valan's attack.

The battle had begun.

There weren't any demons to be found. In exchange, the guards were much stronger than the norm.

The Evil God Worshippers were classified based on their power. Obviously, they possessed skilled and powerful members aside from the disciples. Their final defense line consisted of these members.

They were the elite Evil God Worshippers!

Although there were only 100 of them, they couldn't be underestimated. Helena, Bart, and the Great Forest's mages cast mighty spells.

Most Evil God Worshippers were proficient in wicked spells and curses. These elite troops were no different, but their power was on another level.

Roar!

Helena's chunk of ice was melted by their black flames.

Kieek!

Evil spirits flew overhead, and the floor turned black. They had cast an AoE curse.

Bart used a Fusion skill. He combined the Priest spell, Holy Land, and the Druid spell, Purify! The ground began to glow, and the curse's progression was halted.

Meanwhile, Sephiro's arrow crashed against an Evil God Worshipper's whip.

The two side's spells and ranged attacks scorched the battlefield.

Kang Oh, Plum, Viper, etc. avoided the explosions and rushed at the enemy. 

"Let's go, boys!" The Nedav Chieftain, Aman, who was always the first to a fight, led his warriors into battle. 

"Die!"

"None of you will get through!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Screams, cries, and sharp metallic clangs resounded throughout the battlefield. These clangs came from weapons clashing against each other and the Evil God Worshippers' bodies!

The Evil God Worshippers turned to bronze, which made their bodies impervious to most normal attacks. Unleashing a powerful blow would perhaps leave a dent.

Plum or Viper, who used a thin sword or daggers, had trouble dealing any damage to them. Of course, this didn't apply to Kang Oh.

He pulled out Sarahoff and Blood, and transformed into the Frostblood Demon.

His body turned blood red, with swirling streaks of white running through it. Bat wings protruded from his back, and stiff, glacial horns jutted out of his mask. His arms and legs were also covered by icy greaves and gauntlets!

Kang Oh leapt into the air, descended like a streak of lightning, and swung Sarahoff downwards.

His attack possessed both speed and power. It was all due to his prior movements.

The Evil God Worshipper known as Cornell crossed his arms and protected himself.

At the same time, black energy popped out from behind, coalescing into a giant claw. He planned to block Kang Oh's strike and then immediately counterattack.

However...

Upon contact, spider web like cracks spread across his bronze skin.

"What?" Cornell looked in disbelief.

'To think he'd be able to break the Supreme One's bronze skin so easily!'

It was only natural. Before Sarahoff's Absolute Destruction, Jaila's bronze was nothing more than tough metal. Kang Oh was also incredibly strong. 

Then, Kang Oh swung Blood upwards.

Red Avalanche!

The Frostblood Demon's power surged. Red and blue energy rose and increased in size, forming an avalanche that consumed Cornell whole.

"He's dangerous!"

"We have to kill him!"

Kang Oh stood out way too much. Three nearby Evil God Worshippers rushed at him.

Red Butterfly's Dance!

Kang Oh's movements quickened and he left behind an afterimage as he disappeared.

The Evil God Worshippers had aimed for his vitals, but they weren't on Kang Oh's level.

"This guy!"

"Catch him!"

The panicking Evil God Worshippers urgently yelled, as all of their attacks missed.

Kang Oh grinned. 'Here's a present for you!'

Festival of Blood!

Blood swelled with blood red energy, as if it was a red balloon on the brink of exploding. 

'Let's go!'

Kang Oh activated the Avenger set's special ability. This was his first time using it. 

Dragon's Fury!

[You have used Dragon's Fury.]

[10,000 MP has been consumed.]

[Cooldown: 10 minutes.]

Kang Oh's armor glowed with dim light. However, Blood and Sarahoff shined much brighter than his armor.

He felt as though his swords had become much heavier than normal. That was how much power was contained within his blades.

"Huahp!" Kang Oh raised his blades into the air like a dragon's outstretched wings, and then forcefully swung them.

Whoosh!

A giant, mighty energy swirled around Kang Oh and rose into the air like a hurricane. Dragon's Fury devoured all the Evil God Worshippers in its path.

"Guaaahk!"

He could hear agonizing cries all around him. However, those cries didn't last very long. All of the affected Evil God Worshippers died in a flash. Only 3, no, 5 seconds had passed.

Dragon's Fury was ridiculously powerful. 

"He's on the level of the disciples!"

"Be careful!"

"Attack him from afar! Don't fight him close up!"

These were the enemy's elites. Once they realized how powerful Kang Oh was, they widened the distance while casting spells.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Kang Oh stomped on the floor.

Red Cliff!

An ice wall surged from the ground, preventing the three Evil God Worshippers from escaping. 

Frostblood Drill!

Sharp ice fragments flew at them. 

With their escape route blocked, the three had no choice but to focus on defending themselves.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Although the drills were made of frostblood, a special type of ice, it was still ultimately ice. Upon contact with their bronze skin, the ice shattered into pieces.

Of course, they had been just a diversion. Kang Oh quickly closed in and fiercely swung his twin demon swords.

Mad Wind's Sword!

He had killed three of them with Dragon's Fury, and had killed three more with his merciless assault.

Suck!

Blood absorbed their shards of light, restoring Kang Oh's HP.

"T-This is bad!"

"Aah, Lord Jaila!"

The elites' faces darkened.

They couldn't hope to match Kang Oh. To make matters worse, he was accompanied by other powerhouses such as Bart, Helena, and Aman.

The Evil God Worshippers had no chance of victory.

At that moment...

A thick shadow cast over Kang Oh's body. It was the bronze masked Sraka, wielding his giant greatsword. He swung his sword at him.

Great Devil's Sword!

Sraka used the skill that gave him the name, the Devil's Sword. It was a secret move that only an Evil God Worshipper could learn! However, Sraka had trained it to Master level.

The power behind it was unimaginable.

It was as though his blade opened the gates of hell. All sorts of dark, evil beings stretched out their hands and peeked out their heads.

'Shit!' Kang Oh immediately used his survival skill.

Moon's Protection!

However, Sraka's blade had cut through him before the shield could protect him. At the same time, the demons' claws and horns ripped through Kang Oh. Their sticky, long tongues poisoned him, and gave him all sorts of status ailments.

He took a tremendous amount of damage too. He'd lost 90% of his HP in a single hit, and his remaining HP was quickly going down.

The Cassio Ring's Resurrection ability was still on cooldown. 

'Is there any way I can survive?'

At that moment...

"Oppa!" Asu yelled.

Chirp!

Rudy, who was hiding within Asu's chest, popped out and chirped as loud as it could.

'That's right!'

A light bulb went off in his head. He immediately pulled out the Phoenix's Feather from his chest.

Just having a Phoenix's Feather provided a slew of benefits. However, it could also be used as a consumable item that would instantly restore the user's HP and MP to full.

'Use the feather!'

[You have used the Phoenix's Feather.]

[Your HP rises quickly.]

The Phoenix's Feather burned intensely, and the resulting flames were absorbed into Kang Oh's body.

[HP and MP have been fully restored.]

[The Phoenix's Feather has disappeared.]

The Phoenix's Feather burned to a crisp. In exchange, Kang Oh was able to survive Grandmaster Sraka's full power.

He didn't have to worry about a follow up attack. After all, Sraka was taking on Valan. 

Valan showed up out of nowhere, just like Sraka. He cut through Sraka's neck with his steel sword; it looked so plain that it made him wonder, 'Why does he use that sword?'. But he didn't actually cut through his neck; it only appeared that way.

Something flew through the air. It hadn't cut his neck, but his left arm.

Like a lizard giving up its tail, Sraka had turned his body, giving up his left arm for his life.

There was no way he'd have been able to block or dodge Valan's strike. Valan was no ordinary foe and attacking Kang Oh had left Sraka open.

Valan wouldn't let such a golden opportunity pass him by. 

Ultimately, there was no way Sraka could come out of this unscathed. Thus, he decided to give up an arm, minimizing the amount of damage taken.

"Now we're even," Sraka said softly.

Like Valan, he was now one-armed. Valan just silently swung his sword. Sraka also held his greatsword with his one remaining hand and blocked his strikes.

Their fight had a huge effect on the battlefield. Whenever their swords clashed, a shockwave would spread throughout the battlefield, making it difficult for anyone caught in it to even stand.

Kang Oh, as well as Aman and the Evil God Worshippers, distanced themselves from the shockwaves. However, Sraka blocked Valan's blade and then rushed at Kang Oh.

He had no choice. There was no one besides himself that could take on Kang Oh. If he didn't take him down now, then the Evil God Worshippers wouldn't be able to survive.

Thus, Sraka had no choice but to take on both Valan and Kang Oh at once. 

He also planned on using Kang Oh to distract Valan. Of course, neither Valan nor Kang Oh had realized this right away.

Kang Oh anxiously gripped his sword tight.

'Focus!'

If he, for even a second, lost focus, then he would die.

Sraka came right at him!

Clang!

An unseeable, super fast attack came flying at him. Even while he was fighting against Valan at that.

Danger!

Kang Oh just barely blocked it via his Hyper Intuition. However, the attack was so powerful that he was pushed back several meters and he rolled onto the floor.

Of course, Sraka had to pay the price for dividing his attention between two opponents. 

Swish!

Shards of light burst from Sraka's side. Valan's attack had landed.

"You keep dividing your attention," Valan said unpleasantly. 

'You dare divide your attention against me?'

"I can take on both of you at once." 

Valan swung his blade with even greater ferocity. Sraka used everything he had to repel Valan's attacks.

'Damn it!'

Only Kang Oh, an 'innocent bystander' to their fight, was the one that almost died. He wanted to get out of the area as soon as possible, but Sraka stuck to him like glue. At the same time, he couldn't recklessly attack Sraka either.

'He's waiting for me.' Kang Oh's instincts whispered. Sraka was just waiting for Kang Oh to lose his cool and attack him.

"Just sit still and don't do anything. I'll finish him off soon," Valan said.

However, Valan and Sraka's battle didn't end anytime soon. Kang Oh knew why this was the case.

'It's because of me.'

Valan was being careful so that Kang Oh wouldn't get hurt. It was unlike Valan. Had he started liking Kang Oh a little bit?

Not at all.

It was Valan's principles. With great power comes great responsibility. 

Letting Kang Oh get hurt in the process of killing Sraka was a violation of his personal values. 

'He's quite clever.'

Kang Oh knew that this was no coincidence. Sraka had planned this.

As they fought, he had seen right through Valan, and had ascertained his true nature. By taking advantage of his beliefs, Sraka was able to keep both Kang Oh and Valan here.

'What should I do?' Kang Oh took a look around.

The Evil God Worshippers fought desperately, but his allies were stronger.

Since he, the second strongest here after Valan, was unable to act, the battle would take longer than normal. But that still didn't change the fact that they'd win.

However, he didn't like how he was just wasting time.

'There's no guarantee that something else won't show up.'

None of the disciples had shown up yet. He'd killed Sora, but Amak could revive the other disciples with the sacred treasure!

Plus, there was no way of knowing how far Jaila's ritual had gone. Neither Kang Oh nor the Protectors of the Continent knew how close it was to completion.

'Time is of the essence. I have to do something!'

Ultimately, Kang Oh ignored Valan's command and headed to the top of the altar. The High Priest, Amak, should be there, right?

'Let's see your ugly mug!'

Kang Oh may be an 'innocent bystander' dragged into a fight between two titans, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. He'd drag in another innocent bystander into the fight.