Chapter 33: The Flame Vessel Appears
Lee Hwan stood tall, his breath steady, his aura still raging like a silent inferno. Before him knelt the tenth Ranker—barely conscious, her armor cracked, her limbs trembling.
"I asked… if you wanted to play," Lee Hwan said calmly.
The woman tried to respond, but her body gave out, unable to endure the weight of his punch. She didn't die—Lee made sure of that.
He hadn't killed anyone on this floor. Only defeated them.
He wanted them alive… to witness what was coming.
As he turned away, preparing to move toward the next challenge—
BOOOM!
The temperature shifted.
Winds howled.
Flames spiraled into the sky like dragons breaking free of chains.
From the crimson blaze emerged a figure—cloaked in living fire, eyes burning like twin suns.
The Vessel of the Flame Monarch.
"You've caused quite a stir, Lee Hwan," the figure said, voice deep, ancient, and powerful. "Ten Rankers… brought down like they were ants. I expected arrogance. But not this much restraint."
Lee didn't flinch.
"I didn't come to prove I'm better. I came to conquer."
The flame vessel smiled, heat surging around him, turning the very ground to molten glass beneath his feet.
"Then conquer me. If you can."
The air sizzled between them, aura clashing like silent thunder.
The battlefield was set.
And only one Monarch's will would stand in the end.