In the Tangun Mountain Pass, Euyn and Mikail are suddenly ambushed when men leap from behind a wagon and down the pass, surrounding them. Euyn realizes the crying child they stopped for was bait, and that the attackers are skilled—likely trained in the Yusanian military.

Euyn reacts first, dismounting and firing his crossbow rapidly, but only one bolt lands as the attackers dodge with experience. Mikail, unusually motionless, snaps out of it only when Euyn shouts for help; Mikail ignites his sword, frightening the attackers, and kills one man quickly.

The fight turns into a brutal three-on-two. Euyn is forced into close combat, gets knocked down and disarmed, and braces for a killing blow—until Mikail runs the attacker through from behind and orders Euyn to “stick to the crossbow.” Mikail dispatches another opponent with controlled ease, though Euyn senses something is deeply troubling Mikail.

As Euyn keeps pressure on the last man with crossbow shots, Mikail moves in to finish the fight. Kito screams “Da!” and throws himself in front of his father, taking Mikail’s sword through his chest. Mikail lets go of the hilt in shock as Kito’s father rips the blade out of Kito’s body and flees with it, abandoning the child who just died for him.

Euyn shoots the fleeing man in the thigh, slowing him, and Mikail tackles him. Mikail retrieves the sword and kills the man savagely, enraged by the betrayal and the earlier deaths in the wagon. Afterward, Euyn checks Kito and confirms he is dead, then reflects grimly on how much blood Euyn’s claim and “crown” will cost.