Chapter 28: The Poison Monarch's Lair
The lifeless corpse of Kang Min-joon lay at Ji-ho's feet, dissolving in his own poison. The air around the abandoned industrial zone was thick with venom, death, and fury.
But Ji-ho didn't pause.
His Eye of Evil glowed faintly, leading him deeper—toward a tunnel hidden behind a wall of cracked steel. Inside, carved into the rock like an ancient tomb, was the true lair of the man Min-joon called master.
The Poison Monarch.
One of the ten devils.
Ji-ho's footsteps echoed through the stone corridors. His aura pulsed unnaturally now—Destruction fused with Poison, swirling like a storm around his body. His evolution trait had fully absorbed and redefined Min-joon's powers.
Now, his aura corroded everything it touched.
The walls, once covered in toxins to deter intruders, melted before him like wax. No trap, no barrier, no hallucinogenic mist could halt his steps.
And then—he arrived.
A massive chamber, filled with venomous fog, glowing stones, and vats of twitching experiments—half-dead bodies infused with devil stone fragments. Floating above them was a man clad in a black cloak, his skin dyed green with venom, and his eyes sharp and narrow like a snake's.
"So... the rat chewed through the wires," said the Poison Monarch, his voice oily, inhuman.
Ji-ho said nothing. His rage roared louder than any words.
The Monarch raised a hand. "Your power has evolved. Min-joon's scream still echoes in this place. Impressive."
Ji-ho took one step forward. "You're next."
"Really?" the Monarch chuckled. "Let me show you true poison."
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The Battle Begins
The Monarch snapped his fingers, and the entire chamber erupted in green inferno. Toxins turned to solid spears, lightning-fast. Ji-ho dodged, then swung his Destructive Ray—now a gleaming black blade—cleaving through poison constructs as though cutting air.
"You fight like a beast," the Monarch sneered, floating higher. "But you haven't seen despair."
He threw a vial from his hand.
It shattered—releasing screams.
Screams of the people who died in his experiments.
Ji-ho froze for a second. Not in fear, but in pain. These were voices—echoes of souls lost to torture.
His anger became divine.
He didn't care anymore about holding back.
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Unleashing Evolution
Ji-ho released all his aura at once—a hurricane of black, red, and green.
His Destructive Ray transformed into a whip-sword, lashing out and cracking through the Monarch's shield.
Poison flooded toward him—but Ji-ho's new Poison Resistance nullified it completely.
The Monarch's grin faded.
Ji-ho teleported forward using pure aura compression, appeared behind the Monarch, and slashed.
CRACK!
The Monarch's body split—but he didn't die. Instead, he morphed, reshaping into a liquid form.
"You'll have to do better," he hissed.
Ji-ho gritted his teeth, activated Eye of Evil—
"203 ways to kill: Calculated."
He raised his sword, now glowing with destruction, and in an instant it became a giant spear, hurling it forward with telekinetic precision.
It pierced the Monarch's core.
The entire lair shuddered.
Toxic clouds burst outward like shockwaves.
The Monarch screamed—not in pain—but in fear.
"What are you!?"
Ji-ho walked slowly through the explosion. "I am what your sins created."
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Aftermath
As the lair burned behind him, Ji-ho stared at the ceiling where the Poison Monarch's symbol once glowed—a twisted angel turned devil.
Now, it crumbled to ash.
Ji-ho clenched his fists.
Target Remaining: 5.
But his pendant pulsed again.
Something was watching him.
Something darker than the ten.
The President.
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