Chapter 63:The Devil and The Poison Queen

The sky above the Tang Clan was dark.

Not because of clouds.

Not because of rain.

But because an army was marching toward Sichuan.

Thousands of soldiers.

Murim Alliance warriors.

Hidden experts.

Clan elites.

And among them...

A Great Elder.

The ground itself trembled beneath their advance.

Yet on the tallest rooftop of the Tang Clan, a lone figure sat lazily on the edge as if none of it concerned him.

One leg dangling.

A bamboo stick between his lips.

Crimson eyes staring at the distant horizon.

Waiting.

Not hiding.

Not preparing defenses.

Simply waiting.

Tang Ock climbed onto the rooftop and stopped behind him.

The wind blew through her black hair.

For a moment neither spoke.

Then she finally broke the silence.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucifer didn't even look back.

"Waiting."

"For what?"

He smiled.

"The same thing a fisherman waits for."

Ock frowned.

Lucifer continued.

"Waiting for the fish to bite the bait."

His eyes narrowed.

"And waiting for the perfect moment."

Far in the distance, dust clouds rose from marching armies.

Ock looked at them before looking back at Lucifer.

Her expression became serious.

"You can't defeat them."

No answer.

"The young master's forces are one thing."

Still silence.

"But the Great Elder is coming too."

Nothing.

"The Murim Alliance wouldn't mobilize this much force unless they were certain you were here."

Lucifer remained motionless.

That silence terrified Ock more than any army ever could.

Because she had begun to understand something.

Lucifer wasn't ignoring the danger.

He simply didn't consider it dangerous.

"Aren't you afraid?" she asked quietly.

Finally, Lucifer laughed.

Afraid?

The word sounded foreign.

"I wasn't afraid when I stood alone against the Heavenly Army."

Ock blinked.

"The Heavenly Army?"

Lucifer stood.

"Forget it."

Ock couldn't tell whether he was joking or speaking seriously.

With Lucifer...

Both possibilities were equally terrifying.

After a moment she spoke again.

"There is something I need to show you."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"In the southwest mountains beneath the clan."

"What about them?"

"There is a cave."

"A cave?"

"The Poison Cave."

Even Lucifer looked interested.

Ock continued.

"For generations the Tang Clan has thrown poisonous creatures into it."

"Snakes."

"Spiders."

"Scorpions."

"Centaipedes."

"Anything venomous."

"They kill each other."

"Devour each other."

"Evolve."

"Until only one survives."

Lucifer's smile widened.

Now she had his full attention.

"The surviving beast becomes stronger than any poison creature should be."

Ock nodded.

"The clan patriarch would normally kill it and refine its essence."

Lucifer looked toward the mountains.

"A treasure."

"Yes."

Then Ock looked directly into his eyes.

"You'll need it."

Lucifer chuckled.

"You think I need help?"

"I think you're strong."

Her voice remained calm.

"But not strong enough yet."

The smile disappeared from Lucifer's face.

For a moment.

Just a moment.

He looked at her seriously.

"Why tell me this?"

Ock smiled.

A small smile.

A genuine one.

"Because I trust my husband."

Lucifer froze.

Even after all this time he still wasn't used to hearing that word.

"Husband."

Ock turned and began walking away.

"You should hurry."

"I'll buy as much time as I can."

Lucifer stared at her retreating figure.

"Giving me such a valuable treasure."

She stopped.

"Aren't you afraid I'll take it and run?"

Without turning around she answered.

"I'm not trusting the Devil."

A pause.

"I'm trusting Lucifer."

Then she walked away.

Leaving Lucifer standing there.

For some reason...

He smiled.

"What a weird woman."

And then he jumped from the rooftop.

Straight toward the Poison Cave.

Meanwhile.

At the front gates.

The Tang Clan prepared for war.

Tang Ryeong stood beside her sister.

Her grip tightened around her hidden weapons.

"Where is he?"

Ock looked toward the mountains.

"He'll come."

Ryeong stared.

"You trust him that much?"

Ock nodded.

"More than anyone."

Ryeong sighed.

"Then let's survive until he arrives."

The gates opened.

The army advanced.

And war began.

Deep beneath the mountains.

Lucifer entered the Poison Cave.

The moment he stepped inside he understood why ordinary people never returned.

Poison miasma filled every inch of space.

The air itself was toxic.

The ground was covered in corpses.

Animal skeletons.

Broken scales.

Venomous fangs.

Half-devoured remains.

The cave looked less like a habitat and more like a graveyard.

A graveyard created through endless slaughter.

Chirin spoke.

"What kind of hell is this?"

Lucifer smiled.

"The law of nature."

His footsteps echoed.

"The weak are eaten."

"The strong survive."

"The strongest devours everything."

The deeper they walked...

The more terrifying the environment became.

Massive claw marks scarred the walls.

Gigantic webs covered entire tunnels.

Bones larger than humans littered the floor.

Then...

A strange sound echoed.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Lucifer stopped.

His instincts screamed.

MOVE.

BOOM!!

A stream of venom struck where he had been standing.

The stone floor instantly melted.

Like butter.

Like it never existed.

Even Lucifer's eyes widened.

"That would've hurt."

Chirin slowly looked upward.

"Oh no."

Lucifer followed her gaze.

And saw it.

A gigantic spider.

It clung to the ceiling.

Its body alone was larger than a house.

Eight crimson eyes stared down at them.

Watching.

Waiting.

Hunting.

"I don't like its eyes."

Lucifer grinned.

"Neither do I."

The spider moved.

Fast.

Far too fast for something that large.

Lucifer instantly drew Chirin.

Cleave.

A black slash exploded upward.

The spider dodged.

But the cave ceiling behind it didn't.

BOOOOOM!!

The entire cavern shook violently.

Chunks of stone crashed downward.

Chirin screamed.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Lucifer laughed.

"Looks like the ceiling couldn't dodge."

The spider screeched.

Furious.

the battlefield had become a sea of blood.

Tang Clan disciples fought desperately against an army several times their size. Hidden weapons flew through the air like shooting stars. Poison mist spread across the ground. Screams mixed with the clash of steel.

Yet no matter how many enemies fell...

More kept coming.

Ryeong wiped blood from her cheek and looked at the endless tide of soldiers.

"Is this army never-ending?"

No one answered.

Because everyone was thinking the same thing.

The Tang Clan was losing.

Slowly.

Inevitably.

At the center of the battlefield stood Tang Ock.

Her beautiful robes were stained with blood.

Her breathing was ragged.

Her poison arts had already claimed hundreds of lives.

Every step she took left corpses behind.

Yet she continued forward.

Like a queen standing against an entire kingdom.

The Young Master watched from behind his soldiers.

His eyes burned with obsession.

"Capture her alive!"

"Anyone who harms her will be executed!"

The soldiers surged forward again.

Ock fought.

And fought.

And fought.

Until finally...

Her movements began to slow.

The Young Master smiled.

"You're exhausted."

He slowly walked toward her.

"Look around, Ock."

"The Tang Clan is finished."

"You could have avoided all of this."

His smile widened.

"If you had simply become mine."

Ock spat blood onto the ground.

Then she laughed.

A weak laugh.

But a genuine one.

The Young Master frowned.

"What is so funny?"

Ock raised her head.

Her beautiful eyes contained nothing but contempt.

"You're asking me to compare you to Lucifer?"

The Young Master's face darkened.

"Lucifer is a thousand times better than you."

"You hide behind your soldiers."

"You hide behind authority."

"You hide behind your father."

"You've never earned anything yourself."

The Young Master's expression twisted.

CRACK!

His foot slammed into Ock's stomach.

She flew backward and crashed into the dirt.

Blood spilled from her lips.

The Tang Clan disciples roared in anger.

But enemy soldiers blocked their path.

They could do nothing but watch.

The Young Master grabbed Ock's hair and forced her head upward.

"Where is your husband now?"

He sneered.

"Don't tell me the great Devil ran away."

The soldiers laughed.

The elders laughed.

Even some mercenaries laughed.

Ock smiled.

A small smile.

"You're not worthy."

"What?"

"You're not worthy to stand before him."

The Young Master's face turned purple from rage.

"Die!"

But before he could react...

A silver flash appeared.

A hairpin.

The hairpin pierced his throat.

Straight through.

His eyes widened.

His laughter stopped.

His body froze.

Poison spread instantly.

"N-No..."

He collapsed.

Dead.

Silence.

Everyone stared.

No one expected the Young Master to die.

Especially not like this.

Ock slowly stood.

Blood dripped from her lips.

Her legs trembled.

Yet her voice remained steady.

"Tang Clan."

Every disciple looked at her.

"Kill every enemy you see."

"Leave none alive."

The battlefield erupted once more.

Meanwhile...

Deep beneath the mountain.

Inside the poisonous cave.

Another battle was reaching its climax.

Lucifer dodged another stream of acid.

The poison melted stone instantly.

Entire walls disappeared.

"Damn."

Lucifer clicked his tongue.

"I can't get close."

The gigantic spider hissed.

Its countless eyes glowed in the darkness.

Every movement was unnaturally fast.

Every attack was deadly.

Chirin groaned.

"This is a terrible matchup."

Lucifer nodded.

"If I get close, it attacks."

"If I stay far away, it spits acid."

Another blast of venom shot toward him.

He dodged.

The cave wall behind him vanished.

Then...

Lucifer suddenly smiled.

Chirin immediately became nervous.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"Every time you smile like that something insane happens."

Lucifer grinned.

"Correct."

The next second.

He swung Chirin.

CLEAVE.

DISMANTLE.

SEVERANCE.

RAGING TEMPEST.

The entire cave exploded.

Walls shattered.

The ceiling collapsed.

The mountain shook violently.

The spider screeched.

It finally understood.

Lucifer wasn't trying to kill it.

He was trying to bury it alive.

"Run!"

Chirin shouted.

Lucifer sprinted toward the exit.

The spider desperately chased him.

Acid rained everywhere.

Its massive body smashed through stone.

The entire mountain began collapsing.

Realizing Lucifer's plan...

The spider leapt.

Landing directly in front of the exit.

Blocking the only escape route.

Chirin cursed.

"We are dead."

Lucifer laughed.

"Not today."

Every Sin activated simultaneously.

Greed.

Envy.

Sloth.

Wrath.

Gluttony.

Time seemed to slow.

The spider moved.

Lucifer moved faster.

For a single moment...

He slipped past the beast.

Then reached the entrance.

And unleashed everything.

The mountain collapsed.

Thousands of tons of rock buried the spider.

The entire cave disappeared.

Yet...

The monster still moved.

A gigantic leg emerged from the rubble.

Then another.

Then another.

The spider was still alive.

Lucifer appeared above it.

Breathing heavily.

Body trembling.

Qi nearly exhausted.

"Persistent bug."

He raised Chirin.

And stabbed downward.

The blade pierced directly through the creature's forehead.

Silence.

The spider stopped moving.

Forever.

Lucifer immediately activated Sin of Gluttony.

The corpse began dissolving.

Its essence flowed into him.

Its poison.

Its vitality.

Its strength.

Its evolution.

Everything.

The ground shook.

Qi surged.

The Devil grew stronger.

At that exact moment...

A terrifying presence descended upon the battlefield.

Great Elder Snake.

The moment he arrived.

Everyone stopped fighting.

His pressure alone made warriors kneel.

Snake looked toward the mountain.

His eyes narrowed.

"The Devil."

He could feel it.

Lucifer was growing stronger.

That could not be allowed.

Without hesitation...

He stepped forward.

But someone blocked his path.

Tang Ock.

Snake frowned.

"You know you cannot defeat me."

Ock smiled.

"I know."

"Then why stand before me?"

"Because I promised."

Snake's gaze sharpened.

"Your decision may destroy the entire Tang Clan."

Ock nodded.

"Then let the consequences fall upon me alone."

Behind her...

Tang Clan disciples gritted their teeth.

Many wanted to stand beside her.

Many wanted to die with her.

But Ock refused.

"No one moves."

Her voice carried absolute authority.

"You will only become corpses."

Tears appeared in Ryeong's eyes.

She tried to run forward.

The elders stopped her.

"We already lost one heir."

"We cannot lose another."

Ryeong screamed.

But they held her back.

Snake sighed.

"I respect your devotion."

"Therefore I shall spare your clan."

"But you..."

His hand slowly rose.

"Must die."

Ock closed her eyes.

Not from fear.

But because she had done everything she could.

She had bought time.

Whether Lucifer survived or not...

Was no longer in her hands.

Snake's killing strike descended.

Then—

CRACK.

The space between them shattered.

A crimson-black aura exploded across the battlefield.

The sky darkened.

The wind stopped.

Every warrior froze.

Snake's eyes widened.

Someone had caught his wrist.

Effortlessly.

A figure stood before Ock.

Black hair.

Crimson eyes.

A smile that sent chills down everyone's spine.

The Devil had returned.

Lucifer looked at Snake.

Then at the hand reaching toward Ock.

His smile disappeared.

And for the first time...

Pure killing intent erupted.

"Oi."

His voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Who gave you permission..."

The crimson aura exploded.

"...to touch my woman?"