Kang Oh pulled out the S-rank 'Greedy Gouldran's Hammer' and used Gluttony. Darkness rose from his entire body, and all of his abilities were increased threefold! Plus, he could use the consumed item's special ability now.

[Incarnation of Greed]

For 30 seconds, you may summon the Incarnation of Greed, which consumes everything in its path. But be careful! It does not discriminate; it will attack both friend and foe.

The Incarnation of Greed has only ever appeared once. It was during a guild war between two small guilds. As stated, it didn't discriminate; it ate everyone on the battlefield.

This was his last resort. It was like using Devil Trigger with two demon swords at once. But if you wanted to beat Wukong, then you had to at least prepare something like this!

Anyhow, Kang Oh wasn't alone. Everyone else used their trump cards too.

Mulan's body swelled like a balloon, becoming a wolf that was about half the size of Wukong.

Urcan's Descent!

This ability borrowed the power of the Great Wolf Spirit, Urcan, and transformed Mulan into a gigantic, powerful wolf. The transformation drastically increased Mulan's power and speed.

Grr!

Mulan bared his teeth and snarled. His clear eyes watched Wukong's every move.

A scythe-wielding Grim Reaper glimmered behind Viper.

Grim Reaper's Blessing!

Lighting-like flames rose from his dagger as well.

Grim Reaper's Sacrificial Blade!

Lastly, black daggers floated around him.

Drifting Death!

This was Viper at his strongest. There weren't many that could stand against him in this mode. Bart and Emperor Dukeram were probably the only ones who could.

Green energy gathered at the center of Dambi's bow like a vortex.

Wind God's Arrow!

This was her most powerful attack.

The Desert Fairy, Karin, finished her incantation and slammed her staff into the ground.

Desertification!

This was a fearsome AoE spell that dried up any enemy within it! However, it consumed a ton of MP, so it couldn't be maintained for very long. It also had a fatal weakness; it made the caster completely defenseless, so she hadn't been able to use it thus far!

Isher raised his hand, and his giant shield began to glimmer. This skill, Guardian's Counter, would allow him to unleash an attack that dealt damage proportional to the amount of damage he'd taken thus far.

Finally, Bart prepared his most powerful attack, Chaos Sphere. The combination of light and darkness would result in an extremely powerful explosion.

Kuhaaahk!

Wukong roared and punched the Rakan Priestess.

Whack!

The priestess fell to the floor, her body turning completely gray.

At that moment...

They unleashed all of their attacks.

Isher's shield-shaped beam, Guardian's Counter, struck first.

Swoosh!

Dambi's Wind God's Arrow pierced through Wukong's chest and created a powerful whirlwind. It wasn't even comparable to Tempest Tiger's auxiliary effect; it was way more powerful.

Bart's Chaos Sphere slowly flew towards Wukong.

Even though he was caught in such a powerful whirlwind, Wukong created a boulder and threw it at the Chaos Sphere. He had been hit by a Chaos Sphere once before. He wouldn't get hit by it again!

Boom!

Unfortunately, the Chaos Sphere blew up too early. However, they weren't done just yet. Now it was time for the melee damage dealers.

The giant wolf, Mulan, leapt into the air and pounced on Wukong. He bit into Wukong's neck, and used his claws to rend flesh.

"You stupid dog! How dare you!?" Wukong scowled, forcefully pried open Mulan's long mouth, and then kicked him away.

Whack!

Mulan fell to the floor, but he quickly righted himself and charged in once more. At the same time, Kang Oh and Viper attacked Wukong from behind.

Kang Oh used everything at his disposal. Lightning Breath, Abyss Claw, Transcendent Blade, Tempest Tiger, and Everlasting Darkness!

Viper did the same.

This was the end. Either he died or they died. Viper flashily swung his daggers.

"Kuhaaaahk!" Wukong screamed, and swung his fists and feet. He too used everything at his disposal!

Monkey King's Fist, Explosion Fist, Fist Storm, and Monkey King's Roar!

Whack! Bam! Boom! Whack! Swish! Slash!

No one could tell who these shards of light belonged to. Shards of light went flying as a monster, a wolf, and humans fought.

At that moment...

"This is bad! Everyone, get away!" A desperate cry rang out. It came from Bart, who was attacking from long-range. He could see it very clearly. Wukong's fur was turning red.

Wukong had an ability called 'Contempt of the Many'. If more than 25 players fought against him, then he would enter what was colloquially called God of Destruction mode. Reddening fur was a clear indication of this mode.

However, the fact that his fur was turning red meant that...

'This is his most powerful last-ditch effort!'

Wukong had never been pushed this far. Thus, no one knew about this. That if Wukong was pushed into a corner, then he would automatically enter his final form.

Kuaaaaahk!

Wukong's fur turned completely red, and he roared; it was so loud that it threatened to burst their eardrums.

His final form gave him two things: strength and speed! His strength and speed became such that no one could block his attacks!

Bam!

Wukong landed an uppercut on Mulan's stomach.

Whimper!

The giant wolf was pushed into the air, and then landed on the ground. Wukong put his foot on Mulan's head. After that, Wukong repeatedly punched Mulan.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

Game Over!

"Run!" Karin yelled. She couldn't move while using Desertification, but she could see how things were going.

Wukong was like a furnace! A furnace that threatened to consume them all!

Viper retreated. He completely gave up after watching Mulan get beaten to a pulp.

Kang Oh felt the same. However, he couldn't just retreat here.

Summon Incarnation of Greed!

A giant black slime-like entity came out of his body. The Incarnation of Greed immediately latched onto the largest prey here.

'I'm counting on you, Incarnation of Gre...' Kang Oh tried to retreat. However, Wukong's fist came straight for him.

'Shit!'

He felt frigid, so he activated Moon's Protection. This would nullify all damage for 3 seconds! This would keep him from dying to Wukong's fist. He immediately used Abyss Transfer right after.

However, Wukong pulled Kang Oh's body in, and he was subsequently covered by the Incarnation of Greed. He immediately received this disastrous message.

[Abyss Transfer has failed.]

[You cannot escape from within the Incarnation of Greed's body!]

'What?'

Moon's Protection ended.

Wukong tightened his grip around Kang Oh.

Squeeze!

"Ugh!" Kang Oh did his best to get free. Because Gluttony tripled all of his stats, he was able to avoid dying in a single hit.

However, Kang Oh couldn't withstand both Wukong and the Incarnation of Greed's sticky liquid body that flowed over his hand.

Kang Oh began to melt.

'Is there no way to get out of this!?' The Cassio Ring's gem hadn't regained its light yet, so it wouldn't be able to revive him. A month hadn't passed since he'd used it against Mayanes Kragon.

[Warning: HP is quickly falling.]

[Remaining HP: 10%]

[Warning: HP is quickly falling.]

[Remaining HP: 9%]

...

"Damn."

[Remaining HP: 0%.]

[You have died.]

* * *

The Incarnation of Greed only lasted for 30 seconds. However, it had exploded before the 30 seconds had elapsed. Wukong, whose entire body was covered in red fur, managed to kill the Incarnation of Greed by punching it.

Kuhaaahk!

Upon hearing his roar, Karin plopped onto the floor. 'We lost,' she thought.

Viper and Dambi quickly retreated. They were scared of Wukong's true strength.

"It's not over yet. Get a hold of yourselves!" Bart said. He knew that Wukong didn't have much HP left. "Keep the Desertification up!" Bart raised his voice.

If Karin managed to reduce his HP just a little bit more, then...!

Wukong's fist suddenly struck Karin. Their last hope was gone.

Dambi died soon after. The red-furred Wukong was essentially invincible.

Viper and Bart were the only ones left.

"Screw it!"

"Damn it!"

Bart and Viper put up a last-ditch effort. No, they were just trying to stay alive. The only thing they could do was try and avoid Wukong's attacks.

At that moment...

Black and red energy burst from Kang Oh's corpse.

[The demon sword's master has died.]

[For 24 hours, Ubist and Blood will take control of the player's body.]

A demon sword's power was unparalleled! In exchange for those abilities, however, the demon sword's wielder was always at risk. At risk of being controlled by the demons sealed within!

Once a demon sword's master lost ownership of their blade, the entity of darkness sealed within would be released into the world.

Whoosh!

A black beast appeared from within the surging darkness, wearing bloody energy like armor.

A new demon had been born; it was the fusion of Ubist and Blood's powers. This demon merely moved according to its instincts: destroy and eat everything!

"What the hell is that!?" Bart was startled.

Even Wukong was surprised; it stopped attacking Bart and Viper, and stared at the demon.

Kyahahk!

The demon roared and rushed at Wukong. After all, he was the biggest prey here.

Uhaahk!

Wukong swung his fist at it. However, the demon ate his fist in a single bite. It even consumed the gauntlets that it was wearing! The demon was exhibiting Ubist's power to consume everything.

"Uhaahk!" Wukong nevertheless swung his other hand at the beast. 'Do you know who I am!? I'm the mythological beast, Wukong!'

Bam, bam, bam!

The gauntlet left its mark on the demon. However, it wouldn't stop eating.

Munch! Munch!

If Wukong was in tip-top shape, then he wouldn't be beaten so easily. However, he had so little HP left.

Ultimately, the demon completely consumed Wukong. It was a completely unexpected ending.

Viper and Bart, who'd witnessed this turn of events, rubbed their eyes and looked again.

"Wukong's dead!" Viper yelled excitedly. 'Wukong's dead! We actually did it!'

However, Bart noticed before Viper did.

"Run!"

His instincts were telling him that this demon was far more dangerous than Wukong was. Turns out, his instincts weren't wrong.

"Uheok!"

In an instant, the demon devoured Viper and then Bart. No one could've expected this.

However, the calamity had only just begun. The demon wouldn't stop there.

Kiik! Kii-kii!

First, it killed all of the Stone Monkeys in the hideout. None of them survived.

Once it got out of the Agrashi tree, it began eating every living being it could find. A few players got caught in the crossfire too. This was only an omen for things to come.

If left alone, the demon would leave the Ungar Swamp, and then head to a nearby village, killing hundreds, perhaps even thousands.

But where there is darkness, there is light. Where there is despair, there is also hope.

The Guardian of the Continent, an honorable, ill-tempered hero had come to save the day. Valan had arrived!

He had appeared out of nowhere.

Of course, he hadn't actually shown up out of nowhere. As the Guardian of the Continent, he could hear the land's 'whispers'. It would tell him when/where he was needed.

Once Kang Oh transformed into a demon, the land itself whispered his name, and Valan came here as fast as he could to deal with the threat.

"You idiot." Valan looked at the demon and scowled. It was clear. Kang Oh had lost ownership of the demon sword and had transformed into a monster.

Kuhaang!

The demon was true to its nature: destroy and eat everything!

It rushed at Valan.

Valan swung his sword. He unleashed his secret move, Divide the Sea!

However, this was no ordinary technique; it was a technique created and refined by the Guardian of the Continent, a Grandmaster.

The world was split in two.