Surprisingly, the Evil God Worshippers hadn't fallen; they remained in place, even after withstanding a full power Tempest Tiger.

However, they couldn't move, perhaps due to the force of the blow.

Kang Oh had no time to waste; he used Abyss Transfer, teleporting himself right in front of them.

Kuu...

Kyaho!

The monsters shrieked as he got closer.

He could see the claw marks that Tempest Tiger had left behind on their bronze arms.

'Time to finish them off!'

Kang Oh swung his sword in a wide arc as if he were sweeping the ground, aiming for their lower bodies.

Rather than attack their upper bodies, which were well protected by their bronze arms, he decided that attacking their lower bodies would be far more effective.

Swish!

He simultaneously cleaved through all of their legs.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

His attack had been amplified by Gluttony, so the Evil God Worshippers took a tremendous amount of damage.

"Jaila!" one of them cried out, and swung their fist at Kang Oh.

Kang Oh got out of the way; his body felt a lot lighter, perhaps because of Gluttony.

Thud!

The monster's fist shattered the tough rock floor and was halfway stuck.

Its power was incredible, but if it didn't hit, all the power in the world wouldn't matter. Moreover, it had exposed itself in the process.

Kang Oh swung downwards.

Slash!

A thick white line slashed the center of its body. Red shards spilled out of the wound, and Kang Oh's hands tingled.

Then...

"Haahp!"

Asu joined the fray.

'I have to divert their attention and buy some time!'

Their regenerative ability far exceeded any damage she could deal.

She may not be able to damage them, but she could buy time; she could isolate one of them and allow Kang Oh to take care of the others as quickly as possible.

Asu swung her sword at one of the Evil God Worshippers.

Of course, she hadn't really committed to the attack. She attacked while keeping defense and evasion at the forefront of her mind.

Kuheok!

One of the monsters rushed at Asu.

Thud.

It swung its fist at her.

'It's fast!'

Asu gritted her teeth. The bronze fist's speed and power was no joke.

'It's still weaker than Oppa's full power!'

She'd gotten used to Kang Oh's full strength through their spars, so she could dodge it.

Thud.

Asu kicked off the floor.

Bang!

The monster's fist slammed into the ground. Then, it immediately followed up with another attack.

'Should I?'

Asu laid her sword flat.

Right before the monster’s fist made contact with her sword...

Sword Parry!

Screech.

The monster's fist grazed her sword, the contact creating sparks, and emitted a shrill 'screech'.

Asu pulled her sword back and redirected her opponent's force.

Right after, she stabbed the monster's side.

A direct hit!

Then, her necklace's effect activated, chilling her opponent and causing its movements to slow!

The Evil God Worshipper's speed hadn't really slowed, but she figured that it'd be noticeable after a few more attacks.

'I can do this!'

Asu's eyes glinted, and she bravely yelled, "Come on!"

The bloody battle between the two continued.

By keeping one of them busy, Kang Oh was able to overpower the two other Evil God Worshippers with relative ease.

"Die!"

Slash!

Abyss Aura!

Throw!

Clang, clang, clang!

Shadow Ubist was helping him as well!

His attacks were unrelenting, each and every attack bearing considerable force.

Kang Oh slowly wore them down.

Kya!

As a last resort, the two monsters threw fireballs at him.

Jaila's Burning Brand!

Two fireballs came hurtling towards him!

Kang Oh swung his demon sword, absorbing one, and blocked the other with Abyss Shield.

Roar!

The fireball blazed violently over the Abyss Shield.

[You have taken fire damage.]

That's how powerful the fireball was; he'd protected himself with Abyss Shield, but he'd taken damage regardless.

'I should just dodge it next time.'

Kang Oh kept the power of Jaila's Burning Brand in the back of his mind, and came in between the two worshippers.

Then, he swung his sword like an unrelenting storm!

Shadow Ubist did its part too, pouncing upon them like a rabid dog!

He continuously swung his sword, and Ubist's shadow decreased and then increased in size. The more they did so, the worse the Evil God Worshippers' conditions became.

"This the end."

Kang Oh decapitated an Evil God Worshipper.

Whack!

Dead.

He immediately swung twice at the other in the shape of an X.

Darkness Strike!

Boom!

The jet-black wave completely depleted the monster's already low HP.

Now, all that was left was the Evil God Worshipper Asu was dealing with.

"Jaila!"

It was pushing her back.

At first, she put up a good fight, but as time passed, the worse the fight became for her.

Fortunately, Kang Oh intervened before things became hopeless for her.

"How dare you!"

Kang Oh had easily defeated the other two monsters, so just one was a piece of cake.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The final remaining Evil God Worshipper was quickly dealt with!

Kang Oh wanted to compliment Asu, but time kept ticking by.

'I'll compliment her later.'

"Let’s move!"

Kang Oh sprinted once more.

Asu immediately followed him.

* * *

They encountered a sword-wielding Evil God Worshipper.

The sword was bizarre; it possessed a mouth at the sword's end with a bumpy tongue that darted in and out.

'It's a Bleo.'

The sword-wielding Evil God Worshipper's name was Bleo.

He'd watched footage of the players who'd cleared the '1 hour hell', so he was already familiar with it.

'If you get hit by the tongue, then you get cursed by the evil god, so I can't afford to get hit.'

Kang Oh charged whilst swinging his black tail; it was like a black comet falling upon the monster.

Bleo swung its sword.

A sharp horizontal sword beam came flying at him.

His Hyper Intuition told him where it was aimed at, so he easily evaded the attack whilst continuing his charge.

'My turn!'

Kang Oh quickly closed in and unleashed a fierce barrage of attacks.

Then, Bleo aimed for a vital using 'Pain Boosting Swordsmanship'.

Whenever it swung its sword, the tongue would lash out at Kang Oh like a snake aiming for its prey.

It seemed untenable to fight against both the opponent's sword and the sword's tongue simultaneously, but Kang Oh was able to deal with it with little to no difficulty.

Above all, no matter how effective the sword's tongue was, Shadow Ubist was better!

Ubist cleverly aimed for any chinks in its armor, so its attacks couldn't be ignored.

Because of that, Kang Oh was able to push Bleo back without much difficulty.

A short while later...

"Just die already. We're wasting time here!"

Kang Oh sword's had pierced Bleo's heart.

It didn't matter how great one's healing ability was if one dealt a tremendous amount of damage all at once.

Splurt!

Red shards exploded out.

"Jail..."

Bleo died without being able to utter the god's name.

'I think we're about halfway there.'

Kang Oh recalled how much farther they had to go, and began running once more.

He ran without saying a word as if he couldn't even spare the energy to say 'Let’s move!'.

Asu had wondered whether she should butt into the fight or not, but had ultimately decided against it. She followed him immediately.

How much time had passed?

They encountered another Bleo, as well as an Evil God Worshipper wielding an orange whip that resembled a thorny vine.

The whip-wielding Evil God Worshipper's name was Wicker.

Normally, they would be difficult to deal with, as Wicker would attack from a distance while Bleo would attack from up close.

However...!

Kang Oh possessed Abyss Transfer.

He appeared in between the two, preventing them from using their combination of whip and sword.

After all, a whip was an ineffective and cumbersome weapon at close range.

"Huahp."

Kang Oh fiercely swung his sword.

Of course, he used Slash and Abyss Aura in tandem.

Not only that, but...!

With their attention completely focused on Kang Oh, Asu silently approached and thrust her sword like a wasp.

Her damage was nothing to write home about, but the more she attacked, the slower Bleo and Wicker would become, which was definitely a troubling prospect for them.

But that didn't mean they could attack Asu. They couldn't ignore a beast in favor of a wasp!

"Jaila!"

"Jaila!"

In the end, they sought their god before they died.

However, their god had abandoned them.

The whip-wielding Wicker fell on his face, and then the sword-wielding Bleo was cut apart.

* * *

Kang Oh and Asu encountered the A course's final obstacle.

There was one Bleo, one Wicker, and three Evil God Worshippers who used Evil God's Arm.

Five Evil God Worshippers were preventing their advance.

Not only that, but they were even stronger than the one's they'd encountered before as more time had passed.

'I have to take the initiative!'

Kang Oh greeted them with a good old Tempest Tiger.

The Evil God Worshippers used Evil God's Arm to transform their arms into bronze, and then took on the tiger aura.

Bang!

The clash shook the dry, bloodstained passageway, and dirt arose into the air.

When the dust cleared up, Kang Oh reappeared before the Evil God Worshippers.

"Huaahp!" he roared, and swung his sword in a wide arc.

Whack!

His sword cleaved through their bronze arms, and their dark red fur as well.

Kang Oh's blow was so powerful that it forced all three of the monsters to retreat two steps back.

At that moment, Bleo swung downwards, intent on cutting him in half.

Whoosh.

Kang Oh turned to the side and narrowly dodged the attack. Then, the sword's tongue came darting towards him.

He pulled his sword towards himself and then thrust at the tip of the tongue.

Stab!

The tip of his sword and the tongue clashed in midair. Of course, his demon sword was more powerful, so the tongue fell.

Kang Oh quickly pushed forward; he swung his sword upwards and then let it fall.

Slash!

Abyss Aura!

He slashed upwards, a white line following the path of his sword!

Which was followed by a downward strike with an accompanying black line!

Whack! Whack!

Bleo's tottered around from the substantial damage he'd taken.

Kuwah!

The other monsters, having regained their bearings, surrounded Kang Oh and assaulted him with a barrage of attacks.

Abyss Transfer!

The darkness around him swelled and then engulfed him. Then, a whip, a sword, and three bronze fists struck the area he'd once occupied.

Thump!

Kang Oh reappeared behind Wicker and began unleashing attack after attack.

Whack, whack, whack!

Black shards burst forth with his last attack. Fang Bearing Blade had caused his attack to ignore Wicker's defenses. Then, Wicker fell to his knees.

"Jaila!"

Two of the Evil God Worshippers came at him from the left and right, one swinging its bronze fist and the other using its sharp claws.

"Kuha!"

Kang Oh gripped his sword with both hands and countered with his own attack.

Bam!

The two monsters, not Kang Oh, had fallen to the floor.

Then...

'Now's my chance!'

Asu, who'd been waiting for her moment, joined the fray.

Swish, swish, swish!

Her sharp attacks and her smooth movements drew the monster's attention.

Kuha!

The Evil God Worshipper focused its attacks onto her instead.

It swung its bronze fists at her, and threw fireballs as well.

Asu deflected its bronze fists with her Sword Parry. There was a chance that the fireballs would kill her, even if they just grazed her, so she got completely out of their way.

She stood up immediately and swung her sword at the monster once more, causing it to continue focusing on her.

While she was doing her job, Kang Oh fought the other four monsters with uncanny strength.

"Haahp!"

Whenever he swung his sword, lumps of light shards would burst from the Evil God Worshippers' bodies.

Kang Oh's attacks were way too quick and powerful, but above all, they were sharp.

If the monsters showed any weakness, then he'd aimed for them immediately. The Evil God Worshippers couldn't block his attacks at all.

A storm swept through them; a raging storm that Kang Oh had created!