"Hey… didn't I tell you not to touch her?" Wang Jin's cold voice filled the area. 

"Wang… now this is a shocker. I didn't think you'd get up from that blow. Color me surprised."

"You okay, Donna?" Instead of humoring Kruos, Wang Jin turned to the girl behind him. Her body was visibly injured in many different places. 

Her clothes were slightly cut up thanks to the machete slashes, allowing Wang Jin to see into the promised land. 

Seeing Wang Jin staring at her, Donna growled at him. 

"Oh… my bad, hah. Go ahead, get yourself out of here. I really do have it this time."

"...are you sure?" 

Even if she didn't want to say it out loud, there was a part of her that was relieved to see Wang Jin still alive. She didn't know how, and she didn't care. 

"Yeah. Definitely got it this time."

"Good luck, then."

Slowly, Donna got up and walked away. Just before she went out of view, Wang Jin shouted to her,

"Hey! How about we have lunch sometime?" 

"Is that a nod I see? Hell yeah! Now I'm even more motivated to kick your ass, Kruos."

"That's if you can even do that. But tell me, Wang. How did an insignificant bug like you learn a revival skill?"

"If that's what it looked like to you, then maybe you need to go back to the clan and start reading. Now come on! Let's dance."

"Hmph. Have it your way, then. I'll make sure you're really dead this time."

In an almost theatrical style, Kruos raised his hands. Mist came out from them and started to surround Wang Jin. 

"That won't work on me this time, cousin." 

Imbuing his fists with mana, Wang Jin slammed them onto the floor, and a strong gust erupted around him and blew the mist away. 

"Is that so? Then as your cousin, you won't mind if I test my brother on his martial arts skills?"

"With pleasure!"

The two charged toward each other, their fists clashing the moment they met. 

Kruos, being more physically gifted, was the first to move. Using his left foot, he initiated a sweep. 

Twisting his body, Wang Jin leaped off the floor and unleashed a devastating wind-powered kick onto Kruos. 

"Not bad."

"I see a little bit of your mother in you. Maybe that whore taught you a few of her tricks."

"Don't call my mother a whore, you mist freak!"

"Haha! Anything that'll get you stronger, Wang. I need to see more power."

Charging forward, Wang Jin attempted to tackle Kruos. Using his wind magic, he was able to push himself forwards and make the tackle twice as deadly. 

If it hit, of course. But it didn't. Kruos was ready and prepared for it and slipped back into his mist form. 

Wang Jin was unable to control his momentum and crashed into a wall.

A hole was made in the concrete wall, showing just how strong his attack was.

"Bah! That's funny. You could've served as father's jester, you know. It would've been fitting for the main family to laugh at you."

However, Wang Jin wasn't done. Pulling his head out from the hole, he chanted his signature ability. 

"Asmodeus." 

Slowly, the wind began to flow across the surface of Wang Jin's hands. 

Even Kruos knew the dangers of being reckless, so he raised his guard.

Once again, Wang Jin closed the distance. 

"Punch!" Wang Jin aimed his fist at Kruos' face. 

"Too slow." Ducking under it, he grabbed onto Wang Jin's arm and pulled towards him. 

Surprised by the sudden increase in strength, Wang Jin was helplessly pulled. 

That didn't mean he couldn't counter it, though. As he was pulled, Wang Jin twisted his body and emitted a strong wind at the tip of his fingers. 

The wind was aimed toward Kruos' face, forcing him to shut his eyes. 

This allowed Wang Jin to leap off the ground and over Kruos unharmed and out of his grasp. 

Then, Wang Jin formed his fist into a palm, and slowly but surely, unleashed a devastating palm strike onto Kruos' back!

The unaware Kruos was knocked forwards, almost diving headfirst into a pile of rubble. 

"That should've broken his back at least. I better get out of here…"

Just as Wang Jin was going to leave, Kruos' voice once again rang across the area.

"Hold it right there, Wang. I'll admit, you're pretty strong for a bug. If only I was allowed to bring the mystic sword, this would've ended the moment it started. Instead, I got this piece of garbage." Kruos threw away the machete like he was tired of it.

"Up again, Kruos? Do you love me that much?"

"Love? Ah, yes, love. If we're talking about love, I've got someone you might want to meet."

"Illusion Mist!"

Wang Jin couldn't even react in time before the entire area was surrounded by a thick, dense mist. 

But this time, it was different. The mist carried a certain air of familiarity to it, different from the one he felt when he noticed Kruos. 

And worst of all, the ground seemed to have disappeared and was replaced by a cloudy floor.

"Wang? Come here, honey."

"That voice… it couldn't be!? Mother, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, honey. Who else could it be?" 

In front of Wang Jin stood a beautiful woman. She had long hair tied in a braid that stretched behind her back. Her clothes were… traditional, the ones a martial arts practitioner would wear. 

On the outside though, the woman was colorless. 

But for Wang Jin, she was vibrant.

"Why did you leave me, Mother? Do you know how hard it's been?"

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry. I'm a bad mother, aren't I? How have you been?"

"Great. I've managed to make new friends. There's this guy called Dignitas. I call him Digni. He's kinda eccentric, but a good leader. Oh, and then there's Rokas. He's this big…" 

Wang Jin then went on to explain to his "mother" the people he had met. 

"You've made a lot of new friends. I'm glad. I raised you properly, didn't I?" The womanly figure displayed a relieved expression. 

"Yeah… you did. Hey, why did you leave me?"

"Leave you? I never did, sweetheart."

"Then explain this feeling of loneliness I always get! Why?! Why did you leave me, mom… I don't want to be alone."

"You were never alone. You have your friends, right?"

"...yeah. But I know nothing can replace you."

"That means a lot, hearing that from you, honey. My little Wang has finally grown up. But remember, even if I'm no longer here physically, I'll always be with you spiritually. I'll be there to help you through your ups and downs, your highs and lows, your happy times and your sad times.

"You are my son, Wang. Never let other people take that away from you. Now go, and do what you must."

"...I love you, Mother." 

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"No, no, no! This isn't how it's supposed to be!" 

The short conversation was interrupted by Kruos' gut-wrenching voice.

"Oops. I think he's noticed it! I shouldn't have interrupted his little illusion tricks. That's all from me, Wang. If you ever need your mother's wisdom, just think about me. Now, I have to go."

"Hah… goodbye, Mother."

The entire mist field was immediately brought down and destroyed by the person who cast it. 

Kruos' furious face could be seen as the mist dissipated. 

"Thanks, Kruos. Huh. I never thought I'd say that to you."

"You… you messed with my spell, didn't you?! That wasn't supposed to happen! I'm going to kill you for that!" 

"Good luck trying. I've got my Mother on my side."

***

For the past thirty minutes, Nomadian had been keeping the twelve generals at bay with his White World. 

The previous blast of Devil Ashra had worked and dealt a considerable amount of damage to the Twelve Demon Generals, causing them to further weaken. 

"Huh. Turns out even demons are weak to their own mana. Wonder what's the logic behind that."

"Enough of this! I will end you right here, human!"

"Silence. We will retreat."

"Wha– retreat?! Because of this human? If you would give me a moment, I would be able to burn him–"

"No. We've established that we cannot beat him at our current power levels. We must wait until His Majesty decides to increase our Ashra capacities."

None of the generals were happy. The mere thought of retreating from an inferior species such as a human was revolting. 

And yet they were going to do that exactly. 

"Listen here, human! This won't be the last you see of us! Cower in fear! We will make sure you pay!"

"Yeah, yeah. You guys sound like a bunch of whining babies. Oh wait, that's exactly what you guys are."

"You–"

"Enough. Go."

One of the generals opened a portal, and they all walked through. The last one to stay was the leader-like one of the generals.

It stared at Nomadian for a brief moment, before he walked through. 

And as if on cue, Nomad fell to the floor. The White World instantly disappeared. 

"Goddamn. I was lucky that they chose to leave. If it went on for a minute more, I probably would've exploded."

"Ah, but good for me. Time to take a breather. Silvie should be heading back here anytime soon."

And Nomadian was right. Two minutes later, a fierce shriek echoed across the Desertian region. 

"Hmm… are those them?" 

Nomadian squinted his eyes at the shadows in the distance seemingly getting closer.

"Khwaa!!!" The bird behind them eventually came into view, confirming his suspicions. 

"Ah, here they are. Right on time. Looks like I've got some bird killing to do."

"Silvie, you good?" 

"Boss! That you?! Please help us, I think it's about to bite my head off!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Ride as fast as you can to me."