[The Black Heaven is absorbing the Stigma of Bufo.] Kwon Oh-Jin dismissed the blue message floating before him and drew out the power of the newly settled constellation in his heart. His skin transformed, becoming rough and bumpy like a bufo’s. The muscles in his legs grotesquely swelled, stretching his pants to the brink of tearing. I’ll need to tweak this a bit with Transformation. His once-distorted skin returned to normal, and his overly expanded leg muscles contracted. Using the Stigma of Bufo, he felt an overwhelming surge of strength coursing through his already superhuman physique. The Stigma gave him a simple physical enhancement, but its simplicity would come in handy in various situations since the Stigma of Owl Nebula and Seahorse were tricky to use freely in front of others. He could hear a chilling hiss. Kwon Oh-Jin looked down at the demonic beast covered in jet-black armor. No, saying it's covered in armor wouldn’t be accurate in this case. That black armor was the demonic beast’s body itself. Inside was nothing more than blue-black flames. The Bufo bastards got wiped out a lot easier than I thought. Even so, the flames between the armor’s gaps had noticeably weakened compared to earlier. Kwon Oh-Jin channeled his mana into the communication orb to signal Isabella and Lee Woo-Hyuk. He took a short breath and gripped his spear tightly. He had successfully weakened his prey. “Time for round two.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝 Utilizing the explosive leg power from the Stigma of Bufo, he leaped high into the air. Extending his hand toward the Living Armor, he activated the Stigma of Owl Nebula. Lightning Feathers rained down like a storm. The Living Armor swung its spear effortlessly at the falling feathers, and the blue-black flames burned them away before they could reach it. A sinister voice seeped out from the helmet. Its glowing, blue-black eyes gleamed with murderous intent. “Give, me, the, heart, back.” “This belongs to Ha-Eun, so I can’t exactly hand it over. How about this instead?” Kwon Oh-Jin raised his middle finger toward the Living Armor. It probably had no idea what the gesture meant, but it certainly understood that Kwon Oh-Jin had no intention of giving back the heart. The Living Armor growled and gripped its spear tighter. The dim blue flames flared up violently once more. With a powerful stomp, it launched itself high into the air. It thrust its spear after instantly soaring up dozens of meters. Kwon Oh-Jin adjusted his trajectory in mid-air using Lightning Steps and fired his wires. Six wires shot out from his wire shooter, coiling tightly around the Living Armor. “Explosive Lightning.” A surge of blue lightning raced through the wires, electrifying the Living Armor. A deafening boom echoed. The Living Armor dented slightly, but that was all. It acted like it hadn’t even been fazed and made an eerie sound as it gripped the wires around its body. It yanked the wires with monstrous strength. Before Kwon Oh-Jin could be pulled in, he quickly infused mana into his shooter and severed the wires. The Living Armor raised its spear high and brought it crashing down toward Kwon Oh-Jin, who was running away. The spear struck the cargo ship with a destructive impact, sending dozens of stacked containers flying like pebbles. This is how strong it is even in its tired state? “No wonder that Bufo bastard went down so easily.” To be fair, Juan wasn’t particularly skilled. At best, he was on par with the King of Owls. Still, the Living Armor’s sheer might was nothing short but terrifying for a Black Star Society executor to die so pathetically like some nameless thug getting beaten by a Hollywood protagonist. This just got complicated. He hadn’t expected them to take each other out, but he at least hoped the Living Armor wouldn’t have this much strength left. Or actually, maybe not. Kwon Oh-Jin calmly observed the Living Armor’s movements. After unleashing that massive attack, the Living Armor panted heavily and couldn’t follow up with proper strikes. Now was the perfect chance to kill that monster. Kwon Oh-Jin dodged the Living Armor’s relentless attacks in the air. As he continued to buy time and drain its stamina as much as possible, Isabella and Lee Woo-Hyuk arrived on the cargo ship. “Mr. Oh-Jin!” Isabella shouted. They immediately took out their weapons after seeing the rampaging Living Armor with enough power to tear the massive ship in half. “What happened to the Black Star Society?” Lee Woo-Hyuk asked. “That thing killed them all,” Kwon Oh-Jin replied. Lee Woo-Hyuk’s eyes widened in shock. “It did? All alone?” Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and stepped beside him. “It’ll be even harder to take down if it recovers its stamina.” Lee Woo-Hyuk raised his sword and nodded. “Then I guess we’ll need to finish it off now.” The Stigma of Leo glowed as razor-sharp winds, like a beast’s claw, enveloped him. “Oh, Celestial Aries, grant your healing light to your young lamb.” A golden light flowed from Isabella’s staff, seeping into Kwon Oh-Jin and Lee Woo-Hyuk. “I’ll take the lead!” Lee Woo-Hyuk shouted as he ran forward and swung his sword. “Oh, wind!” A violent gust surged around his blade. He stepped fiercely and swung his sword in an upward motion. The light of his Stigma enveloped his sword and formed nine distinct patterns, Force Nine Wind—Strong Gale. Like an incoming wave, roaring winds from all directions slammed into the Living Armor. The Living Armor took a step back and swung its spear. With a deafening sound like metal being hammered, cracks began to appear on its jet-black armor. Is this guy really only an eight-star? Kwon Oh-Jin faintly sighed in astonishment as he watched Lee Woo-Hyuk push back the Living Armor. Of course, this was only possible because most of its stamina had been drained from fighting the Bufu faction. Even so, Lee Woo-Hyuk’s strength clearly surpassed eight stars. He’ll become a nine-star soon. This was good news. The stronger the hunting dog became, the better he could tear into the Black Star Society’s throat. Kwon Oh-Jin joined in to support Lee Woo-Hyuk and also bombarded the Living Armor with attacks. Now noticeably weaker than when it first wiped out the Bufo faction, the Living Armor staggered under their combined assault. With every strike, its black armor dented and cracked further. The once-ferocious blue-black flames began to die down. “Just a little more!” Kwon Oh-Jin shouted. Despite their ragged breaths, Kwon Oh-Jin and Lee Woo-Hyuk continued to drive the Living Armor back. Kwon Oh-Jin sharply groaned, “Argh.” A searing pain flared on the left side of his chest and spread like venom. The internal injuries that hadn’t fully healed from his battle against Deneb’s apostles were holding him back. Isabella’s buffs had kept him moving, but the pain became worse the more time passed. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. His mana circuits twisted, and the mana coursing through him spiraled out of control. He could endure the pain, but he couldn’t stop the rampant surge of mana. Should I use the elixir? He reached into his pocket to grab the elixir. “Watch out!” Lee Woo-Hyuk shouted. A blue-black spear swung toward him. Lee Woo-Hyuk jumped in front of Kwon Oh-Jin and blocked the attack. The impact sent Lee Woo-Hyuk flying back and crashing into the ground. Dark red blood spewed from his mouth. Having knocked him away, the Living Armor reached for Kwon Oh-Jin. “Get away from Mr. Oh-Jin!” Isabella raised her staff at the Living Armor. A golden light burst from its tip and shot toward the Living Armor. Bathed in the destructive light of mana, the Living Armor screeched in agony. However, that only stopped briefly. The Living Armor appeared right next to Kwon Oh-Jin and swung down its spear. Kwon Oh-Jin hastily raised his own spear to block. His spear bent like taffy, and a nauseating impact crashed into him. The attack flung him away like a skipping stone as he tumbled violently across the ground. “Cough! Cough!” He spat out dark red blood all over his chest. Isabella rushed toward him with a horrified expression. She knelt beside him, pulling him into her arms as he gasped for air and groaned in pain. Blood trickled down his chin and stained his chest. Isabella’s eyes grew cold as she gazed down at his pale face. The sapphire glow that once filled her pupils faded as if night had fallen over them. “How dare that fucking worthless scrap of metal...” Isabella said under her breath. Her lifeless eyes locked onto the Living Armor as a thick scent of blood wafted from her. Isabella wiped the blood from his lips with her fingertips and slightly stuck out her tongue to lick it. Just as a dark crimson aura began to rise from her like a heat haze, an engine roared from the docks. Still panting in Isabella’s arms, Kwon Oh-Jin turned toward the sound. Between the rows of containers, a massive motorcycle sped toward them. He squinted as he watched the bike rapidly close the distance. The tires skidded to a halt, leaving long streaks across the ground. A woman with a sleek figure like a model took off her helmet and tossed it aside. Her long, reddish brown hair whipped wildly like flames. “Why the hell are you always running off without me, you punk?” Song Ha-Eun clicked her tongue as she eyed Kwon Oh-Jin, still cradled in Isabella’s arms.