The masked man circled them, eager to provoke them further… eager to test the power that lay dormant within them.
He sensed the similarity in their strength, which filled him with extreme astonishment.
How could a girl not yet a thousand years old possess a power he felt would soon overwhelm him… as it had before?
He tried to change his plan at the last moment, knowing that confronting her could end either of their lives… and she was important to him as well.
He didn't know how to achieve his goal with her: should he fight her and force her into submission, or lure her gently to make possession easier?
He was thinking carefully, plotting, when the old master interrupted him, as if reading his thoughts:
"Isn't it enough that you've killed me and Jin Hai before in pursuit of your reckless desires… in order to claim what is not yours?"
The masked man replied calmly, his eyes glancing strangely at Hoo Feng:
"And why do you think she doesn't belong to me? Wait… do you really think I killed Jin Hai, your friend, that night?"
The master looked at him, puzzled:
"Didn't you?"
The masked man answered, his voice trembling with an attempt at honesty:
"I didn't shoot the arrow, but I drew it from his heart."
He paused, then continued:
"Maybe I wasn't the cause of his death, but I killed him… no, I didn't kill him, I spared him from a pain that would have taken his life sooner or later."
At those words, Hoo Feng caught the scent of blood—the same scent that had harmed her in the Furnace.
Her eyes flared with anger, her fangs bared, like a trapped beast haunted by painful memories of her father, who was no longer there.
Now she realized that he had been killed by the one standing before her.
Without realizing it, the Sword of Lightning, her guardian blade, sprang from her palm. She lunged at her enemy, seeking vengeance for her father.
The masked man narrowly avoided the strike with a small step, trying to evade a direct confrontation.
Then he grabbed the master with ease, threatening her:
"If you do not obey me, I will relieve him of the suffering you've caused."
Hoo Feng hid her sword as if surrendering.
She approached him slowly, with a terrifying calm, her head bowed.
Her eyes were wide, unblinking… fixed only on the ground.
Her steps moved steadily toward him, her father's image never leaving her mind for a moment.
She heard his laughter, felt the warmth of his embrace, now taken away by this criminal.
She decided within herself:
"I will not let him escape what he has done this time."
She didn't stop until she passed through his clothing, into his very soul.
The masked man froze, realizing that a single step would destroy him—not his mortal body, but his spirit, which began to crumble little by little… just as it had a thousand years ago.
His hands trembled slightly, as he felt icy blood running through his veins.
Had his strength really diminished?
He tried to control himself, but felt cold sweat trickle beneath his mask.
He wondered:
"Why am I feeling this fear? I haven't felt anything like this in thousands of years. Is she stronger than I thought? Or have I lost my power for some other reason?"
Then, with absolute calm, she tore from his back his most precious treasure, the thing he valued above all else.
She uprooted his largest magical wings, just as she had done before with his small diamond wings in the Furnace.
When she finished, she stepped away, her eyes still fixed on the ground.
She distanced herself slightly, then pierced him with a look he would never forget:
"Do not be surprised... I am the Forbidden Spell… I am the Vengeful Spirit. Your spell in the Furnace became part of my soul. You will not achieve your goal, even if you kill me. Leave now, for you have received your just punishment. Go, and do not resist… or else…"
The masked man did not fully understand her words, as he was overwhelmed by the pain that had struck him.
He felt that she had ripped something from his depths. He screamed silently inside his mind, but the sound never reached even himself.
He was utterly defenseless. So he chose to flee… transforming into a guilty shadow and flying into the sky until he disappeared, still disbelieving what had happened to him at such speed for the second time.
Then, suddenly, frost began to spread across the mountaintop, freezing everything in its path.