Taeseong swiftly closed the distance, grabbing Lize by the head and slamming her into the ground.
“Ugh!”
Kwaang!
With a tremendous noise, Lize’s head burst apart, scattering brain matter in all directions.
Moments later, she emerged from the crater in the floor, her body restored to its original form. Had she not been a vampire, she would have died at least twice over.
“What the hell are you?!”
Lize screamed hysterically, once again unleashing her power over blood. Countless weapons formed from blood filled the sky.
It was a spectacle grand enough to leave one awestruck, but Taeseong didn’t spare it a glance. He simply continued walking toward her, step by step, after landing on the ground.
That chilling sight instinctively sent a shiver of fear down Lize’s spine. She gestured, and the crimson weapons rained down like a storm.
A barrage meant for one person alone.
Ududududu!
Taeseong took them all head-on with his bare body. His arms were torn apart, his abdomen pierced, but his body regenerated instantly as if nothing had happened.
Watching this, Lize’s eyes widened in shock.
‘That… That thing is a Delta rank?! This makes no sense!’
“Yoo Han! You useless bastard! Stop lying there and do something!”
Yoo Han was in excruciating pain from losing his front limb, but he couldn’t afford to disgrace himself any further in front of the woman he adored.
Returning to his human form, Yoo Han pulled a massive sword from his mouth.
The sword’s name was Earthbreaker—a Gamma-ranked greatsword with absurd destructive power, living up to its ominous name.
Yoo Han pushed his Dragon Heart’s output beyond 50%.
Pwoom!
A thunderous sound of air splitting accompanied an immense surge of mana from his entire body.
“Damn it…! How dare I make a fool of myself in front of Lize?!”
Having regenerated his severed limb through magic, Yuhan’s form vanished.
Whoosh!
He reappeared behind Taeseong, slashing his greatsword across Taeseong’s waist.
Or at least, he thought he did.
“W-what…? How did he block my strike?”
Taeseong had caught Earthbreaker with his bare hands.
The blade was coated in a crimson aura, but it didn’t matter. His hands also carried an overwhelming force of energy.
“……”
A vein bulged on Yoo Han’s forehead.
He strained every muscle in his body, pouring all his strength into the sword, but it didn’t budge an inch.
“Shit! What the hell is this?!”
Finally, he cursed aloud.
Taeseong smirked as he stared into Yoo Han’s eyes.
“This is what Beta rank amounts to?”
With that, he clenched his grip—Earthbreaker shattered into countless fragments.
Yoo Han’s face twisted in horror, but he had no time to react.
Taeseong’s fist flew toward him.
It looked like a casual punch, yet upon impact, Yoo Han was sent flying over twenty meters.
“Guhk!”
But that wasn’t the end.
Before Yoo Han even landed, Taeseong had already outrun him.
As Yoo Han remained in air, Taeseong struck down with his foot.
Kwaang!
Yoo Han’s body crashed into the ground, forming a massive crater.
Taeseong didn’t stop.
He kept punching.
Each impact sent tremors through the earth, as if an earthquake had struck.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every bone in Yoo Han’s body shattered, his flesh ripped apart, and his blood pooled beneath him.
His organs were obliterated.
He was practically a corpse.
But he couldn’t die.
Because this was Lucy’s Dream.
Taeseong knew that.
That’s why he showed no mercy.
Besides, their attitude had pissed him off.
With every punch, the crater deepened, until it looked like the aftermath of a meteor strike.
Yoo Han was already a mangled mess.
But Taeseong still broke every one of his fingers and toes, then tore off both legs and burned them to ashes.
“Kuaaaaaaagh!”
“Why don’t you keep talking? You had so much to say earlier, but now you’re quiet?”
As Yoo Han drooled and screamed in agony, his consciousness faded.
Taeseong froze his head, then melted it to jolt him awake.
“I-I was wrong! I’m sorry! Please stop! It hurts too much! I’ll never act out again! Please, I beg you, stop!”
“Oh? You were wrong?”
“Yes! Please! Please—Guaaahhhh!”
As Taeseong turned away, blue flames erupted from Yoo Han’s ruined body.
Fwoooosh!
The searing heat engulfed him, yet he remained alive.
In this dream world, he couldn’t die.
All he could do was suffer until everything was over.
“Uwaaaaagh! Please! Please! Kill me! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please just let me dieee! Please kill meeee!”
Yoo Han’s mind shattered from the pain, and he begged for death.
But Taeseong had already left.
From above, watching the scene unfold, Lize finally realized she had made a grave mistake.
She should never have provoked him.
The rumors about him—none of them were exaggerated.
If anything, they underestimated his true strength.
As she saw Taeseong climbing out of the crater, a fear consumed her.
His glowing red eyes, brimming with killing intent, made her envision her own fate.
A future where she was torn apart in his grasp.
She had to escape.
Forget the test—she needed to run for her life.
No.
Maybe… Maybe she should just surrender.
Yes.
She could just surrender.
Right now—
“……!”
Before she could move, Taeseong had already appeared in front of her, as if he had teleported.
He grabbed her jaw and unleashed his ice ability.
It happened so fast that Lize couldn’t even react.
She froze solid in an instant.
Taeseong then shattered both her arms.
And threw her to the ground.
Clang!
Lize’s frozen body broke apart like a porcelain statue, scattering into countless fragments.
Moments later, blood rose from the shattered pieces, merging together to reform her body.
“You crazy bastard….”
As Lize spat out curses and tried to leave quickly, the cold air unleashed by Taeseong was already rising from beneath her feet.
Knowing she would turn into an ice statue again at this rate, Lize decisively severed her lower body. It wasn’t a big issue since she could regenerate anyway.
With her lower body cut off, Lize spread her wings and soared into the sky. Aware that Taeseong could reach her at lower altitudes, she increased her speed and kept ascending.
Fighting that monstrous guy head-on was impossible. The best course of action was to stall for time or simply abandon the test altogether.
‘This should be enough. No matter how strong he is, he won’t be able to reach me here.’
But as if mocking her expectations, Taeseong soon appeared before her, leaving Lize in shock.
“W-What? How did you get here…?”
“You think you’re the only one who can fly?”
Behind him, enormous wings spread wide.
Sensing danger, Lize frantically flapped her wings. She had many options, but her instincts told her to flee.
It was a meaningless struggle. She was already trapped.
With a single hand strike from Taeseong, her wings were severed at an angle.
Immediately after, ice spears formed and impaled her body.
“Guh…!”
As a last resort, she attempted to split her body into a swarm of bats and escape, but Taeseong froze them all.
“This is what you call Beta rank?”
Gathering the frozen bats into a single lump, Taeseong descended to the ground.
Then, he threw Lize into the pit from earlier.
Inside, Yoo Han was still burning. The searing heat from his flames melted Lize’s body. Though her vampiric regeneration made her nearly immortal, it did not grant her immunity to pain.
With a snap of Taeseong’s fingers, blue flames ignited on Lize’s body as well.
“Aaaaargh!”
The excruciating burning pain fried her brain. Blood seeped from her melting flesh, attempting to regenerate, but the relentless blue flames kept consuming her.
“So full of yourselves earlier, and now all you do is scream. What was it you said before? Something about my worth? Calling me a nobody?”
“Aaaaargh! Stop! Stoooop!”
“What’s wrong? Still think I’m a nobody? Why aren’t you answering?”
Lize’s entire body was aflame, her flesh melting into a formless mess. Yet, fresh blood rose up, attempting to regenerate, only for her to melt again.
Like a madwoman, she thrashed around, screaming incoherently—whether in agony, desperation, or curses, it was impossible to tell.
“Gaaaah! It hurts! It hurts too much!”
Taeseong watched the scene with a disturbingly calm expression. Even the eerie red glow in his eyes had faded, leaving only an emotionless gaze—which, in turn, was even more terrifying.
“Why is it that people only realize their place after getting beaten?”
“I’m sorryyyyy! I’m sooorry! I was wrong! Pleaaase! Pleaaase! Pleeaase stop!”
Yoo Han, who had been silent beside her, had completely turned to ashes. Of course, he wasn’t dead.
He was simply in a state where he couldn’t speak.
“The fact that weaklings like you get to flaunt around calling yourselves Beta rank is laughable. Is this really the best the Korean branch has to offer?”
It was a genuine thought. Taeseong had known that Xiao Yun was one of the stronger Beta rank administrators, but he never imagined the skill gap would be this vast. Forget about raw power—these two lacked even the basics of combat experience and battle sense.
“I’m sooorry! I was arrogant! I’ll never do it again! Please forgive me!”
After watching Lize frantically stomp around for about five minutes, Taeseong finally snapped his fingers.
As if it had all been a lie, the flames on her body vanished.
“Speak.”
Trembling violently, unable to even meet his gaze, Lize stammered,
“…S-S-Sorry. I-I-I w-w-won’t… act up a-again…”
Her previous confidence had completely vanished. Now, she was just a terrified young woman.
‘This makes me feel like some kind of villain.’
Taeseong turned his gaze upward and spoke.
“I think this test is over.”
From a distance, Park Woo-man finally appeared. Unlike before, his expression was serious.
Taeseong asked,
“Did I meet your expectations?”
“Yes. You far exceeded them. But… did you really have to be that brutal?”
Hearing that, Taeseong stared straight into Woo-man’s eyes and spat out each word as if grinding them into dust.
“You told me to prove myself, and I did. What’s your problem? If you don’t like it, then cut the crap and fight me yourself.”
