The floating island was no longer stable.
Cracks stretched beneath their feet like a massive spiderweb.
The commander stood unmoving,
his black sword reflecting faint light from the sky of the void.
As for Kim…
he breathed in slow, uneven bursts.
His shoulder bled.
His ribs screamed in pain.
And the gate behind his heart trembled with a dangerous rhythm.
The commander spoke with lethal calm:
"I will end this now."
He vanished.
No trace of teleportation energy.
No distortion.
Just complete disappearance.
The System shouted a warning—
"Behind—"
But the blade had already pierced Kim's side.
It didn't reach his heart.
But close.
Too close.
Time froze for a moment.
The pain was not sharp…
It was cold.
As if death itself had touched his skin
to confirm his name.
The commander whispered near his ear:
"Unstable…
and weak."
Then he ripped the sword free.
Blood surged out.
Kim's knees nearly gave out.
And then—
something inside him trembled.
Not an explosion.
Not madness.
A decision.
Kim did not push the chaos outward.
Instead he compressed it…
compressed it…
compressed it until it became a thin layer surrounding only his muscles.
Internal reinforcement.
No glow.
No aura.
Only density.
The moment the commander attacked again—
Kim did not retreat.
He stepped forward.
The sword fell vertically.
Kim grabbed the blade with his bare hand.
The edge cut through flesh.
But it stopped.
Blood ignited around his fingers.
Not burning…
but reacting with demonic blood.
The commander's eye widened slightly.
That small moment was enough.
Kim's knee drove upward with terrifying force into his chest.
Direct impact.
The commander's armor cracked.
But did not break.
They exchanged blows at close range.
Punches.
Elbows.
Short kicks.
Every strike shook the island.
No wide bursts of energy.
No grand techniques.
Raw combat.
Savage.
The commander stepped back.
Then raised his hand.
A complex symbol formed in the air.
The air froze.
Gravity inverted.
An immense pressure crushed down on Kim from every direction.
He dropped to one knee.
His bones made a horrifying sound.
The gate in his chest began to fracture.
The System shouted:
"Warning!
Containment collapsing—"
Kim lifted his head.
His eyes were not mad.
They were… empty.
"It… won't explode."
He said it to himself.
And to the world.
Then—
instead of releasing the energy outward…
he drew a small fragment from the gate into his arm alone.
A single point.
Concentrated.
Merged with his blood.
He surged forward despite the pressure.
Despite another rib breaking.
He forced his way through the gravity field with sheer reinforced strength.
The commander hadn't expected it.
His sword moved too late.
Kim's fist struck his chest.
Not a normal punch.
It carried—
condensed chaos,
blood of the bloodline,
and a fleeting fragment of contained annihilation energy.
The collision—
did not create a massive explosion.
Only a silent black flash.
Then…
the commander's chest collapsed inward.
His armor shattered.
His body flew dozens of meters.
He crashed near the island's edge.
Fell to his knees.
His sword dissolved.
The symbol in the air shattered.
Kim stood with difficulty.
Every breath was pain.
Blood covered his body.
The commander tried to stand.
He couldn't.
He looked at Kim.
This time…
there was no coldness in his eyes.
Only realization.
"You…"
He coughed dark blood.
"You carry… his blood."
Kim did not step forward to finish him immediately.
He stood before him.
And spoke quietly:
"Take that to him."
Then—
he grabbed the commander's head.
And slammed it into the ground.
One strike.
Final.
The elite commander's body went still.
But it did not dissolve.
It remained.
As if the dimension itself waited for a higher judgment.
In the upper palace…
The ruler was now standing.
His eyes fully open.
He felt the moment of breaking.
The brief shockwave.
The resonance he recognized—
yet did not want to believe.
He whispered an old name…
a name he had not spoken for many years.
And he moved.
Not sending another servant this time.
But himself.
Below…
Kim staggered.
Finally dropped to one knee.
The island around him lay in ruins.
His body on the verge of collapse.
The gate barely stable.
The System whispered:
"Victory…
with extreme difficulty."
Kim smiled faintly, exhausted.
"I didn't come… to be weak."
But deep inside he knew—
if the fight had lasted one minute longer…
it would have killed him.