"Grr, how dare you steal our offering to Lord Jaila!"

Trambo's face was red with rage. It was infuriating to have his offering stolen from right under his nose.

'I have to kill that heathen no matter what!'

Divine punishment for who disrespected his lord!

"Uaahk, Jaila!" Trambo wailed, and raised one of his four arms.

If he wanted to use his full strength, then he needed to sacrifice something. However, the girl he'd intended on using was gone, and Kang Oh was too strong, so he couldn't use him as an offering!

If that's the case, then... he had no choice but to offer himself up!

"I offer up my life force. Please accept this humble offering!"

His bronze chakrams, which had been spinning around him, grew larger and then went around his arm like bracelets.

Then, the bracelets ignited with dark red flames.

"Oooh!"

Trombo looked touched. This was Jaila's sacred flame!

The flames quickly wrapped around Trambo's gigantic body, burning away both flesh and bone.

Roar!

By sacrificing himself to the Evil God, he became the very embodiment of hellfire. A giant one at that!

Hellfire Giant, Trambo!

This was the Evil God's sixth disciple, Trambo's power!

Though this was the first time he'd ever offered up his life force, the power of the flames he wielded were far greater than ever before. So much so that it felt like he could burn anything to a crisp!

"Burn to ash!" Trambo swung his arm.

Trambo's gigantic form reminded him of the rushing waves of a giant tsunami.

His hellfire was so hot that the surrounding ice instantly melted away.

Kang Oh's face was flushed as if he were in a sauna. He was lucky he was in-game; if he were in the real world, then his face would be burned and he'd be screaming in pain.

Anyhow, Trambo's fist, or a gigantic wave of flames, came rushing at him.

Even so, Kang Oh smirked.

'So his entire body's turned to flame, huh...?'

Spurt!

His jet-black blade cleaved through the flames.

"Keok!" Trambo gasped, and his flaming face flickered.

His hellfire fist was split apart, causing him extreme pain.

"Hoo, hoo," Kang Oh laughed.

Demon Sword Ubist was super effective against the immaterial!

Trambo had voluntarily changed into an entity of flame, which was pretty much just asking to be killed!

"Nice going!" Kang Oh got in close.

Roar!

[You have been engulfed in powerful flames.]

[You have taken damage.]

He'd take damage just by approaching Trambo. However, Kang Oh wasn't really worried about that. After all, he was confident that he could deal more damage that he took.

'I'll shred you to pieces!'

Swish, slash, swish, slash.

Whenever he swung his sword, he cleaved through flame.

"You crazy bastard!" Trambo swore.

He couldn't bear the feeling of getting cut apart, as well as the pain that followed.

"Haha," Kang Oh laughed, relentlessly swinging his sword.

"Heathen, receive divine punishment!" Trambo opened his mouth and spat out fire.

Kang Oh assumed that this was what a Red Dragon's Fire Breath would look like.

Roar!

'Mm, this is really dangerous.'

It was much too large for his demon sword to absorb.

Kang Oh used Abyss Transfer. The area he'd once occupied had instantly become an inferno.

He reappeared above Trambo's head!

Without panicking, Trambo mercilessly swung his four hellfire arms.

Fireballs shot out of his fists, covering the sky.

Not to be outdone, Kang Oh repeatedly swung his sword as he descended. The fireballs were either cut through or absorbed.

"Grr!"

Upon seeing how ineffective his fireballs were, Trambo's body began to swell. His flaming body became so large that it touched the ceiling.

"Haahk!"

He stretched out all four of his arms, expelling a ring of flame.

Jaila's Burning Sanctuary!

Flames covered the altar upon which the coffin lay, the room and walls beneath the altar, as well as the ceiling!

It was a tremendous AoE attack!

Kang Oh gritted his teeth and shielded himself with his sword.

With both the Wind Yearning Fire Necklace and Gluttony, his fire resistance was incredibly high. Moreover, he was protecting himself with his sword, so he took less damage than he'd thought.

But that didn't mean he hadn't taken any damage at all. If the Burning Sanctuary persisted, then he'd be burnt to cinders before Trambo.

It was a race against the clock for Trambo as well.

Because he'd sacrificed his life force to Jaila, the hellfire was burning away his life.

'Now that it's come to this, it's all or nothing,' Kang Oh and Trambo simultaneously thought.

Either side had to kill the other first!

The Jet-Black Demon and Hellfire Giant clashed.

The Hellfire Giant swung his flaming fists, unleashed his flames, and attacked with all sorts of fire techniques!

While the Jet-Black Demon darted in and out, cleaving through flame and unleashing his jet-black aura!

How much time had passed?

It didn't take long before the victor was determined.

It only made sense, as the two had fought with the intention of killing the other as quickly as possible.

Swish!

Kang Oh swung his sword and cut through Trambo. His flames waned, and his body burst with red shards of light.

But the more Kang Oh damaged him, the more intense the flames became; his body would become larger as well.

Even after becoming a Hellfire Giant, he retained the ability to become stronger by taking damage.

However, Kang Oh had already won this fight. Not only did he have the demon sword at his disposal, but his concentration was at its peak, allowing him to show off his true ability. He was skilled enough to defeat someone as powerful as Trambo.

Whereas Trambo's life went down the longer this fight lasted.

In the end...

Trambo's HP had almost hit rock bottom.

'It's an honor to be able to give my remaining life to Lord Jaila!'

Even to the bitter end, he thought like a religious fanatic.

'But if I manage to kill that heathen, then Lord Jaila will be even more pleased!'

Trambo used his trump card. His chest endlessly swelled!

Kang Oh furrowed his brow. He quickly realized what Trambo was doing. It was as clear as day.

"You crazy bastard, you should've died peacefully." Kang Oh immediately used Abyss Transfer and got as far away from Trambo as possible.

Then, he ran as fast as he could.

"Kuhahaha, Lord Jaila!" Trambo laughed crazily.

Then...

His body stopped swelling.

Instead...

Boom!

The entire world was engulfed in flame.

* * *

Once he'd died, the hellfire which burned all of creation quickly waned.

The floor, the ceiling, and the walls had been burnt black.

The Evil God Worshippers who'd been frozen solid were burnt to cinders.

Everything had been burned completely!

But it's said that a phoenix rises from the ashes.

A bird with giant wings briefly filled the room, and just as quickly disappeared.

Kang Oh stood vacantly where the bird had appeared.

"Phew." Kang Oh sighed in relief.

'I died, but then I came back,' Kang Oh thought, and then looked down at one of his rings.

The Phoenix Egg Devouring Cassio Ring! The red gem, which was representative of a phoenix egg, had lost its color.

[You have been revived by the Cassio Ring.]

[HP and MP have been completely restored.]

[For the next 10 minutes, all abilities increase by 20%, and all damage taken is reduced by half.]

[Cooldown: 30 days]

As soon as Trambo self-destructed, Kang Oh had used Abyss Shield. However, Abyss Shield didn't really make much of a difference.

Then, the Baramut set's Wind Shield activated. That protected him for just a second.

Even Wind Shield, which nullified a fatal attack, couldn't protect him from the huge shock wave and the resulting hellfire.

In the end, Kang Oh's HP was completely depleted. It was clear he'd be burnt to cinders.

But then, the Cassio Ring's Resurrection ability had activated, bringing him back to life.

'Tch. I was careless. How unlike me.' Kang Oh clicked his tongue.

This wouldn't have happened if Kang Oh had kept up his assault; if he had, then he could've stopped Trambo from self-destructing.

However, when he was sure of his victory, he'd gotten careless. By doing so, he'd given Trambo the opportunity to self-destruct.

'Tch, tch.' Kang Oh clicked his tongue as if he were reproaching himself and reflecting.

Then, he started to move.

The top of the blackened altar.

By self-destructing, Trambo hadn't even left behind a body.

He'd only left behind one item too. It was a bronze goat statue.

[You have defeated the Evil God, Jaila's Six Disciple, Sacrifice Trambo.]

[You have completely dealt with the Batiyu Ruins' Evil God Worshippers.]

[Hostility with the Evil God's followers has been maxed out.]

[You have perfectly completed the Trial to Become Valan's Successor 1. Report this to Valan and Burkan.]

Kang Oh closed the system message and picked up the goat statue.

"Appraise."

[Bronze Goat Statue (Allows one to hear Jaila's whispers)]

A bronze goat statue that the Evil God's Sixth Disciple, Trambo, carried at all times.

Through this statue, Jaila whispers into the holder's ear and tempts them.

+ Jaila's Whisper: If you hold this relic, then you will occasionally hear Jaila's whispers. If you follow the whispers, then you can become the hidden class, 'Evil God's Disciple'.

Rank: Unknown.

Abilities: Piety +100, Notoriety continuously increases.

Minimum Requirements: None

The Bronze Goat Statue was a god's relic, so its effects would be active just by owning it.

"Hmm. Bad guys would love this."

It was an item that allowed one to class change into the hidden class, 'Evil God's Disciple'. There must be people out there that wanted it. After all, the world was filled with bad people.

But he wasn't going to sell it.

'I don't want there to be more disciples out there.'

If he sold this item, then Valan may force him to kill the next disciple of the Evil God!

Kang Oh placed the goat statue into his inventory.

"Tch, I've really lost out on this one."

He spent more than 1,500 gold on the Frozen Raksha's Spear, and he was forced to use a Great Tsunami scroll too.

But Trambo had only left behind an unsellable goat statue. He'd really lost out this time.

'You can't save the world for a living!' he began. 'I'll get away from Valan no matter what! I won't become the Guardian of the Continent!' Kang Oh pledged.

Then, his eyes were drawn to the coffin, which he assumed held Jaila's sacred treasure.

Trambo's tremendous flames had burnt everything to a crisp, yet the coffin remained unscathed. What's worse, it wasn't even the tiniest bit damaged.

'What could this be made of for it to... remain in such good shape?' Kang Oh extended his hand and touched the coffin.

Then...

Crackle!

The coffin released powerful lightning.

Kang Oh widened his eyes and quickly pulled his hand away. Fortunately, he wasn't electrified.

'Was this lightning protecting the coffin?'

It was said that Batiyu had the power to call lightning. It seemed as though this coffin contained that power of his.

However...!

The lightning coalesced into a single area, and eventually appeared like a human being.

"Thank you for defeating the Evil God's disciple, Righteous One," the 'man' said.

"Who might you be?" Kang Oh asked.

"My name is Kaylas. I am a priest that serves Lord Batiyu, as well as the one who sealed the Evil God's sacred treasure here."