Sen's eyes flashed with a glint. He unleashed his mana with unbridled force to maximize the power of his poison domain.

"Let's see who dies first!" He roared with a crazed look.

Bai Seol-hwa hesitated for a moment. If she let Sen escape here, they would lose the chance to eliminate him. However, forcing through the poison mists would leave her significantly vulnerable with all the open wounds in her body.

I must kill him now!

After a moment of hesitation, she delivered another blow that sliced through the poison mist.

Whoosh!

Sen found himself unable to dodge the attack.

Dammit! I can't die here!

After all the sacrifices I have made! This isn't where I will fall!

He turned his body to an unnatural degree to barely evade the critical blow. However, Bai Seol-hwa's glaive still managed to cleave through his right shoulder down to his arm.

Blood spurted out excessively.

To prevent major blood loss, Sen quickly stopped the bleeding using his mana.

Fuck!

Sweat trickled down his face as he looked at the white-haired woman before him. Her face looked pale, and her skin had more green patches.

She was already significantly affected by the poison, but her eyes remained firm.

How can she remain so calm after being exposed to my poison domain?

Sen's eyes turned grave.

"Stop your struggle, Lord Sen. Give up and I will give you a painless death. This is my last mercy to you who worked as the former Head Alchemist of the country." Bai Seol-hwa's indifferent voice drifted into his ears.

He couldn't afford to laugh anymore. He could feel his body slowly turning cold. Without mana to stop the bleeding, he would die in just a few minutes.

However, he had the pride of a Venerable. He refused to cave in under the pressure.

With a faint smile, he responded. "Give it your best shot, Commander Bai. If you are careless, I might take you down with me to hell!"

Hearing this, Bai Seol-hwa said nothing. She infused mana into her glaive and released a devastating downward slash.

It was so quick and decisive that Sen was unable to follow her movements.

Given his condition, he no longer had the strength to resist this attack.

Sen let out a deep breath and shouted.

"For the cult!"

His eyes turned green as he used his body as a medium to further increase the poison domain's power!

The green mists gradually turned darker as the potency of the poison intensified.

Boom!

Bai Seol-hwa's glaive fell into his body, cutting him in half.

The two halves of his body exploded into a thick mist, splattering into Bai Seol-hwa.

Hiss! Hiss!

When the dark green fluid fell onto her skin, it emitted a hissing sound.

The strong corrosive fluid, burned her skin, making her scream in agony. She almost lost control of her mana, but she quickly stabilized herself.

I can't lose focus now!

Sen was no more, but there were still Rin Aspen and a few other enemy Venerables left in the heretic cult.

Although Sen had perished, there were still poisonous mists around her. She had to escape this death zone before she ran out of mana.

Without hesitation, she carried her battered body out of the poison domain.

She didn't know how long she had walked, but she briefly saw the light before she lost consciousness.

…

Meanwhile, the battle between Rin Aspen and the empress had become more intense. There were numerous craters and fissures all around them which were caused by their destructive powers.

At this moment, Rin Aspen was on the losing end. He only had one arm so he couldn't fight to his full potential.

With the empress's aggressive attacks, more wounds were inflicted upon his body.

Even with the blood domain supplying him with more energy and power, he still couldn't overpower the empress.

Just how powerful is this woman?!

His eyes were bloodshot. He used every means possible, but he couldn't even land a major hit on his opponent.

The empress could easily avoid his attacks and she could even counter with a quick stab or slash.

As more wounds began to accumulate on his body, Rin Aspen's control over the blood domain gradually weakened.

It was then that the demonic sword started to corrupt his mind. Earlier, he could still control the corruption of the demonic, but now that he was significantly weakened, he could no longer protect his mind against it.

Suddenly, Rin Aspen's aura took an abrupt change.

His gait, his temperament, and even his expression became different. He was no longer Rin Aspen.

The empress noticed the changes happening to him.

So he fell into the temptation of the demonic sword.

She gripped her sword tightly as she locked her eyes on her enemy.

She could feel the demonic energy rising from within Rin Aspen's body. It was dreadful and terrifying.

While she was observing him, Rin Aspen lifted his head and stared into her eyes.

"Yskaela Veronica, the current ruler of the nation. I applaud your efforts, but this is where it ends. Surrender and willingly offer your blood to me." He spoke in a chilly voice.

It was no longer Rin Aspen's voice, but the voice of the demonic sword's spirit.

Anyone with a weak will and mind wouldn't be able to handle its strong hypnotizing power, but the empress didn't seem to be affected by this.

She stared back at Rin Aspen with a cold gaze.

So it really gained sentience. I must destroy it now before it develops its soul to become a True Demon!

Yskaela's figure blurred as she dashed forward.

Upon gaining momentum, she brandished her sword and delivered a fierce slash that carried immense force.

Whoosh!

The air made a keening sound as her sword moved unhindered.

Seeing this, Rin Aspen snorted and deflected her attack with a casual wave of his sword.

Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions as their swords clashed.

"So this is your answer…" Rin Aspen muttered, his eyes looking incredibly cold.

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