06:00-

The sun was steadily rising. Yue took a small break when he first felt that the night was ending and closed his eyes after making sure no one was near him. The mana density felt like it was affecting him. It wasn’t making him feel weak like it would make a normal person but it was a different feeling. It had been a while since he’d been close to a dungeon so he thought it was that but even back in Wolfsstadt it didn’t feel like this and it had been months since he had entered a dungeon before then too.

He felt...Pleasant? Was that the correct word to use to describe the calmness he felt? The feeling that he was in the right place at the right time?

He sat on the rubble of a fountain that had been partially damaged and dried up when the dungeons appeared. He was cultivating, taking in the mana around him. It was easier now that it was almost spring. He stopped cultivating after a while and then looked toward his chest.

He had reached Mastery of the Mystic arts again. He wanted to turn around and tell someone, he wanted to be praised like he had been back when he did it the first time, but he didn’t even bother to vocalize his achievement. He knew no one was behind him waiting to congratulate him.

He stood and stretched. He remembered the goal he had set for himself and relaxed as he unsheathed his sword.

‘First, Anyone in my way,’ Because of the current situation and all of the incidents with Hundun in the past, Yue really felt no remorse for killing Hundun members anymore, so if they got in his way he was perfectly willing to cut them down.

‘Then, the Lich.’ He didn’t want the Lich to revive his true target once again.

‘And finally, Li ChaoXiang…’

He was really going to kill him this time.

07:00-

Viktor whistled a little as he looked around the partially destroyed buildings in the area. The bodies of Hundun mages and monsters were scattered all around. They all died with one quick slash of a sword.

“Sir, we’ve found some civilians. They say that one of our people did all this himself.”  A mage said to Viktor, they were expanding the barrier so they had moved forward from their original location after checking that the area was clear of Hundun mages and monsters. 

“I already know that. Just get to healing them.” Viktor said and smiled.

“At least he’s conserving his strength.” He mumbled to himself as he checked if any of the Hundun mages were alive.  He found that they were all dead and chuckled awkwardly. 

‘He’s probably long gone by now too...I really should’ve told him to keep some alive…’ 

11:00-

“I don’t feel tired...how strange,” Mai murmured to herself and used a handkerchief to wipe blood and ash from her hands. She had to use her hands to kill a monster that had gotten too close to her. She ended up using her flames to burn it to a crisp while it was in her hands so ashes and blood ended up on her hands. It was a way of fighting that she’d never tried before.

‘Maybe I should try martial arts?’

“Anh! I’m over here!” She called out to Huy. Huy was using his wings to fly around and scout the area since he couldn’t feel any humans other than Mai around. He swooped down over to her and lifted her into his arms. Mai squealed a little at how suddenly she was lifted into the air but she quickly calmed down and held on tightly.

“We’re too close to the dungeons, let’s move in a different direction,” Huy said and sped up.

“Why can’t we go near the dungeon?!” Mai asked loudly, making sure the wind didn’t cover her voice.

“I don’t think I’m weaker than Yue or the Lich. But I’m not certain that I will be able to protect you during their clash.” Huy said and kissed Mai’s forehead.

“That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”

Mai didn’t have much time to be embarrassed or touched, she looked over in the direction of the dungeons. Yue and the Lich...

“How long until they meet?!”

“5 or 6 hours. They’re in the same direction. The Lich is stationary while Yue seems to be fighting through monsters and Hundun mages. “ Huy explained.

‘Yue will probably be fine right..?’ Mai thought, worriedly biting her lip as she continued to stare in Yue’s direction.

--

12:45-

“I don’t think we’ll arrive in time, Master.” Lian Bai murmured as she and Fei Xiang ran through a forest. They were on their way to Naples to try and help with the situation discreetly.

“It’ll be alright don’t worry. We don’t need to get there too early. Yue hasn’t even gotten serious yet.” Fei Xiang murmured.

“We just need to get there soon enough to save Peizhi.” He added and picked up his pace.

17:45-

The Lich and Yue were finally facing each other again. Yue didn’t smile, but he wasn’t very serious either. Things had changed since they last faced one another. Not only was he much stronger now...He was also not at all afraid. He wasn’t being pulled along by rage or fear. Not anymore.

“I’m shocked you came to me before you went to Li ChaoXiang. Are you scared I’ll revive him again?” The Lich said, raising their skeletons from out of the rubble of the city.

Yue didn’t even react. He sliced toward the skeletons, not bothering to even get close. His slash managed to cut them all down anyway.

“You’re much stronger than Li Chaoxiang, so obviously...I’ll kill you first,” Yue muttered, his gaze cold. The wind started to pick up.

“You’ve evolved, I guess you absorbed the fang after all.” The Lich said and got a little more serious. They summoned wax skeletons and a unique sort of cloaked Skeleton that started murmuring spells behind him.

“You are so much stronger now… I could almost compare you to Elena Ivanov.” The Lich said and watched Yue cut down the wax skeletons. 

Yue lowered his body and prepared himself, reading to begin his real blitz as the hooded skeletons started summoning more skeletons and completely surrounding him. 

‘Show it to me. Show me that you’re deserving of the title of god.’ The Lich thought as he watched Yue, not bothering to try and stop him.

18:00-

“Woah...This is weird.” Mr. Anderson murmured, adjusting his glasses and trying to stop his clothes from fluttering about.

“...What in the world…” Mr. Wagner was shocked as well, he showed a lot more emotion than he usually would.

A large dome of wind covered an entire kilometer of the city. Swirling massive gusts turned the dome into a scene akin to the swirling storms on Jupiter.

“W-Was there such a strong wind magic-user in our group?” Mr. Anderson asked, he was filled with morbid curiosity, and the slight pulling that the concentrated air created didn’t help to calm the feeling.

“No...This is...beyond what a normal mage is capable of… Could this be what a mage from Hundun can do? The Lich?” Mr. Wagner asked, his eyes wide.

“I did feel an aura of death around here.” Mr. Anderson’s curiosity was calmed by the thought. He wanted nothing to do with the Lich, getting involved with it was bad news. He knew he could easily be swayed into pursuing the taboo path of necromancy so he willed himself away.

“Let’s get away from it, Evan. That’s not something we should get involved with.

Mr. Wagner originally had the mindset that they should try to do whatever they could to stop the Lich even if it was futile but Mr. Anderson’s expression changed his mind. He grabbed Mr. Anderson’s hand and rushed off in a different direction with him.

“If you’re this scared of it...then I guess it’s serious.”

Mr.Anderson wanted to say that he wasn’t scared but the words wouldn’t come out, so he just stayed silent.

19:50-

Yue grunted a little as his cheek was cut by a skeleton’s sword. He didn’t bother healing it and rushed forward to strike the skeleton down. He was confident. 

He knew he could cut down more skeletons than the Lich could produce. Especially when he used his true power. He was holding back on using his original power though, he would use it when the Lich decided to fight him one on one. It was unlikely for that to happen but he wanted to save his energy just in case the Lich has some sort of secret weapon.

“Do you know the difference between you and Elena Ivanov at this moment? The core difference that will be your downfall?” The Lich asked, staring right at Yue who had cleared the area of skeletons again. 

Yue raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You. Aren’t.Immortal.” 

Yue didn’t even get the chance to process those words or even acknowledge the prophecy he had at that moment. 

A large arrow pierced through Yue’s side. It was like the arrows that the Lich had shot toward London but much thinner. The arrow was coated with the negative energy and the aura of death that the Lich’s Mana exuded. It hurt more than any previous injury Yue had ever received because of this.

Yue was certain he was going to scream or pass out but the pain suddenly became manageable. The part of the arrow that was inside of him was having its negative energy purified.

“Just because the negative energy is being absorbed doesn’t mean you’re safe.” The Lich said and sent more skeletons at Yue before he got the chance to remove the arrow from his side.

23:50-

Yue wasn’t certain he was even seeing reality at this point. He was light-headed and his side wouldn’t heal. His movements were sloppy but he was managing to avoid injury even as his sight became blurry.

‘You’re seriously giving up now? Aren’t you supposed to be the real one?’

The voice of the previous incarnation in his head was the only reason Yue managed to not fall on the ground.  Yue raised his head a little and squeezed his sword as he watched the skeletons continue to approach him. He took a deep breath and decided to use some of his true power. He couldn’t give up. He had to kill Li ChaoXiang no matter what. Knowing he was dead and that he would never come back would be the only thing that could put his mind at ease. 

The horns that appeared on his head almost made his hood fall off but he quickly caught it. The places where he had been injured were now being surrounded by blue-green scales and they were closing up, not fully healing but closing up.

The Lich wasn’t feeling very threatened and just summoned more skeletons, they turned away for a second though. 

“What…? Is this also one of your abilities?” The Lich asked and turned to face Yue. 

Tonight had been the night of the new moon but suddenly the moon was full and glowing bright blue. Yue’s wind barrier had started to crumble so a large gap allowed the moon to be seen clearly from the dome. Yue couldn’t help but smile a little as he watched the Lich’s shocked expression.

“I’ll end you right here. Under my blue moon.” Yue said and smirked, feeling energized as he watched the moon.

 

The Lich hadn’t been scared before but the reflection of the moon on Yue’s blade, the glow of his eyes, the sparkle of his fangs...It was almost horrifyingly scary.  He didn’t stop fighting but he had already accepted the outcome. He would be dead by sunrise, maybe noon if he’s lucky.

‘Apologies my lord, I don’t think I’ll be able to join you in paradise. My crimes have caught up to me.’