The Moment of Crisis
The overwhelming pressure of Yeom-je, leader of the Blood Flame Sect, crushed down upon the entire tomb. Jin-ho and Seol Hwa-rin couldn't even breathe properly in the face of such overwhelming power.
"Kahahaha... Finally found you!"
Yeom-je slowly descended into the tomb. His massive frame towered over three meters tall, clad entirely in crimson armor, with burning eyes visible through his helmet. With each step, the ground beneath him sizzled and melted, and the air filled with the acrid smell of burning.
『Blood Flame Sect Leader - Yeom-je (炎帝)』『True Identity: Reincarnation of 'Fire Dragon General', Blood Heaven Great Emperor's closest subordinate』『Blood Heaven Great Emperor Memory Fusion Rate: 78%』『Danger Level: SSS-Class』
"Three thousand years I have waited... for the true resurrection of the Blood Heaven Great Emperor!"
As Yeom-je spread his arms wide, the entire tomb became hot as a furnace. The four stone coffins began melting one by one, and the ancient patterns on the walls glowed red-hot.
"Argh!"
Jin-ho screamed in agony. Blood energy was explosively boiling up from within his body. This was not natural awakening. It was dangerous, forced awakening being violently extracted.
『Forced Awakening Progress: 23%』『External Stimulus Intensity: Fatal Level』『Blood Heaven Great Emperor Consciousness Rapidly Activating』『Warning: Complete Host Consciousness Loss Risk』
"No... not now..."
Jin-ho gritted his teeth and resisted, but Yeom-je's pressure was beyond imagination. It was like a massive volcano erupting.
"Seol Hwa-rin!"
Seol Hwa-rin was in the same situation. Tremendous cold energy was bursting from her body as the fourth awakening began. But this was not the awakening she wanted.
"Ugh... uah..."
Seol Hwa-rin's pupils slowly turned completely blue. Her last remaining emotions were freezing and disappearing one by one.
At that moment...
Rumble rumble rumble!
Thunder echoed from the sky. But this was not a natural phenomenon. It was something different, artificial thunder.
Crackle crack!
Suddenly the tomb's ceiling cracked under lightning strikes. Golden electricity poured down through the gaps.
"Who dares interfere with my ceremony!"
Yeom-je looked up in rage.
CRASH!
A massive lightning bolt struck Yeom-je directly. However, Yeom-je blocked the lightning with one hand. Lightning and flames collided, creating a tremendous explosion.
From within the explosion's smoke, a boy descended with the lightning.
Crackle crack... zap zap...
Electricity was sparking all over the boy's body. He appeared to be about 16 years old, with striking red hair and golden eyes. Around him, tiny bolts of lightning writhed like living snakes.
"Noe Jin-un!"
Seol Hwa-rin cried out the boy's name in surprise. Even in the pain of fourth awakening, she recognized him.
"The heir of Thunder Constitution... you're alive."
Noe Jin-un was the most notorious troublemaker in the Thunder Hall. He was known for his explosive personality and rebellious spirit that gave the Thunder Hall elders constant headaches.
"Seol Hwa-rin? You're here too?"
Noe Jin-un looked back and forth between Jin-ho and Seol Hwa-rin. His voice carried a rough dialect.
"Heh, what's the Ice Blood Girl doing in a place like this?"
"This isn't the time for nicknames!"
Seol Hwa-rin barely managed to reply.
"And that person must be... Blood Constitution Kang Jin-ho, right?"
Noe Jin-un looked at Jin-ho. There was a strange interest in his eyes.
"I've only heard rumors, but seeing you in person, you don't look particularly impressive."
"There's no time... to explain right now!"
Jin-ho said painfully. The agony of forced awakening was reaching its peak.
"If we don't stop that Blood Flame Sect leader... we'll all be forcibly awakened!"
"Forced awakening?"
Noe Jin-un's expression changed dramatically. Rage flashed in his golden eyes.
"What did you say? Forced awakening?"
Noe Jin-un's voice grew louder. Electricity sparked even more violently from his body.
"Those bastards... doing that shit again!"
Crackle crack! BOOM BOOM BOOM!
As Noe Jin-un's rage exploded, the surrounding air filled with electricity. His red hair stood on end and danced from the electrical current.
"Just like what those Thunder Hall bastards did to me!"
Noe Jin-un clenched his fists. His past was flooding back.
Two years ago, Thunder Hall underground prison
"You must become stronger! To be the true successor of the Thunder Demon King!"
The Thunder Hall elders had chained young Noe Jin-un and were forcibly channeling electricity through him.
"Argh! Stop! Stop it!"
But they wouldn't stop. Under the pretext of achieving stronger awakening, they subjected him to all kinds of torture.
"If you can't control your emotions, you cannot become the Thunder Demon King!"
"Turn your rage into power! That is your destiny!"
Eventually, Noe Jin-un escaped. But in the process, he killed countless Thunder Hall disciples. His rage became lightning that burned everything.
"Never... I will never let that happen again!"
Even stronger electricity burst from Noe Jin-un's body. His rage was converting into electrical power.
『Noe Jin-un - Thunder Constitution 2nd Awakening』『Special Ability: Rage Conversion Technique』『Electrical Output Increases with Anger』『Current State: Extreme Rage』
"You think you can force awakening?"
Noe Jin-un glared at Yeom-je.
"Thunder God Technique 3rd Form! Heaven's Thunder Strike (天雷霹靂)!"
As Noe Jin-un stretched both arms toward the sky, massive storm clouds began forming above the tomb.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Crackle crack! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless lightning bolts poured down toward Yeom-je. Each one was the size of a house.
However...
"A mere 2nd awakening dares challenge me?"
Yeom-je sneered and raised one hand.
"Blood Flame Wall (血炎壁)!"
A massive wall of flames rose from Yeom-je's hand. All the lightning was blocked by that flame wall.
Crackle crack! Hissssss!
Lightning and flames collided, generating enormous amounts of steam.
"Impossible..."
Noe Jin-un stared in disbelief. His strongest attack had been completely nullified.
"Two awakening levels... is that really such a big difference?"
"Kahahaha! Now you understand!"
Yeom-je laughed triumphantly.
"The gap between 2nd awakening and my level cannot be bridged by mere numbers! I have absorbed 78% of the Blood Heaven Great Emperor's memories and power!"
Yeom-je raised both hands, and the temperature in the tomb rose even higher.
"Blood Flame Prison (血炎煉獄)!"
Pillars of fire erupted from the ground, surrounding the three of them. It was like being trapped inside a furnace.
"Now... let me show you what true power looks like!"
Just as the situation seemed hopeless, another presence made itself known.
Clap clap clap
"Excellent. You've discovered all the truth."
A third figure emerged from the darkness. An 18-year-old youth, but his eyes seemed to have lived for thousands of years.
"Eum Mu-geuk... Shadow Constitution!"
Seol Hwa-rin was on guard.
"That's right. And I've already completed my 4th awakening."
Shadows writhed around Eum Mu-geuk. Within those shadows, the forms of the dead flickered.
『Shadow Constitution 4th Awakening Confirmed』『Shadow Demon Lord Corruption Rate: 67%』『Danger Level: Supreme Class』
But something was different about him. Unlike what they expected, there was still humanity in his eyes.
"Wait," Eum Mu-geuk said, looking at the situation. "This isn't what I came here for."
His gaze fixed on Yeom-je with clear hostility.
"Forced awakening... I've experienced that hell too."
"You've been through forced awakening too?"
Jin-ho asked in surprise.
"The Shadow Society... they did the same thing to me that the Thunder Hall did to him," Eum Mu-geuk gestured toward Noe Jin-un. "For 18 years, they controlled me. Made me stronger, made me more ruthless. But I finally realized... their goal wasn't my happiness, but the revival of the Shadow Demon Lord."
Noe Jin-un's eyes widened with recognition.
"You... you understand what we went through."
"All four great sects are the same," Eum Mu-geuk continued. "They use us like tools, sacrifice our humanity for their ancient masters' return."
"Then... are you here to help us?" Seol Hwa-rin asked cautiously.
"I'm here because I refuse to be anyone's puppet anymore," Eum Mu-geuk declared. "The Shadow Society expects me to capture you all for their ritual. But I'd rather die than become their tool again."
Trapped within the flame prison, the three felt their forced awakenings accelerating rapidly.
Jin-ho: 3rd awakening progress - 47% Seol Hwa-rin: 4th awakening progress - 52%
Noe Jin-un: 3rd awakening progress - 31%
"This is bad..."
Noe Jin-un gritted his teeth. For the first time, he truly understood the hopelessness of their situation.
"At this rate, we'll all be completely taken over..."
"There has to be a way!"
Jin-ho desperately searched his memory. Kang Cheon-hyeol's words echoed in his mind.
'Choice is always in your hands.'
'Only you yourselves can break the chains called fate.'
"Everyone!" Jin-ho shouted to the other three despite his pain. "Ancestor Kang Cheon-hyeol said we could prevent the Infinite Grand Demon God's revival if we resist!"
"How?" Noe Jin-un asked, struggling with pain. The electricity emanating from his body was growing stronger.
"By refusing awakening! Through the power of will!"
"But... it hurts so much!" Seol Hwa-rin groaned. The pressure of 4th awakening had reached its peak. Her last emotions were freezing and disappearing one by one.
"We can't do it alone!" Eum Mu-geuk realized. The pain of potential 5th awakening was beyond imagination, but he maintained his composure.
"All four of us must resist together! If even one fails, we all end!"
"Alright!"
Noe Jin-un made his decision. Lightning flashed with rage in his eyes.
"I was planning to get revenge on those Thunder Hall bastards anyway! Might as well do this properly!"
"Me too..."
Seol Hwa-rin also steeled her will. She gathered her last remaining warmth.
"Since I've already betrayed the Ice Soul Palace, there's nowhere to go back to. Let's do this together."
"Heh heh... interesting."
Eum Mu-geuk smiled. His shadows moved more actively.
"All the Shadow Society taught me was betrayal, but this time I've found real comrades."
"Then..."
Jin-ho looked at the other three.
"Let's go together! On our own path!"
The four reached out their hands toward each other. Even in the midst of painful forced awakening, their wills were uniting as one.
At that moment, something amazing happened.
『Four Constitution Will Unity Detected』『New Possibility Discovered』『Four Elements Dispersion Technique (四象分散術) Activation Conditions Met』
As the four wills merged into one, cracks began appearing in Yeom-je's Four Elements Unity Formation.
Crack crack!
The magic circle began to destabilize.
"This... this can't be!"
Yeom-je was shocked.
"Four people resisting simultaneously? And with different constitutions at that?"
The impossible was happening. Through their combined will, the four young people were disrupting a formation that had been three thousand years in the making.
Preview: The four's combined attack! The first activation of the Four Elements Harmony Technique! In the final battle with Yeom-je, new power awakens. And the birth of the Freedom Alliance!