N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
C 293
Whew!
As the silvery frost storm subsides, the figure of Wrath emerges.
Raon swallows dry saliva and narrows his gaze.
"Is that Wrath's true form?"
The first thing that captures his attention is Wrath's eyes.
Within the slender yet deep eyes, sky-blue irises resembling glass beads emit a faint light.
The next noticeable feature is the long hair that extends down to the waist.
Its color shimmers like the northern seas, displaying shades of deep blue and even hints of emerald green like the southern seas.
The facial structure is slender yet sharply defined, captivating one's gaze like a black hole.
"The words spoken back then were not lies."
While he might not be certain about Wrath's standing in the demon realm, in this continent, such an appearance is rare.
Even someone like Raon, who doesn't care much about aesthetics, would find words like "beautiful" or "handsome" inadequate, as more fitting terms like "mysterious" or "mesmerizing" come to mind.
"So, that's the true appearance of that gluttonous cotton candy."
The mismatch between appearance and personality is quite remarkable.
It seems like a good opportunity to reevaluate conventional notions about appearances.
"I wonder what Encia would say if she saw him."
Perhaps something about an imperfection in a precious stone.
Two things were slightly disappointing.
Firstly, his attire was somewhat peculiar.
Wrath was clad in rumpled indigo robes that appeared to have folds, resembling the attire of a mythical angel.
Secondly, there were no horns or wings.
A demon lord is expected to have black horns and wings, but both were conspicuously absent, which was a bit regrettable.
"It's been quite a while since this form has been revealed."
Wrath spread his long, white fingers and offered a gentle smile.
He slowly raised his gaze to look in his direction.
"Thanks to you, I've had quite a lot of trouble."
"Is this your true appearance?"
"Indeed. this is the face of the Demon King, just as the King described"
"I wouldn't know, not having been to the demon realm."
Raon lightly tilted his head with a playful smile.
"Hmph. I should have expected that. With your dull eyes, you can't see beyond that face."
When Wrath frowned, a shockwave of impact swept through his body, as if hit in the head with a hammer.
It wasn't an attack.
Just the surge of anger alone made his heart sink, as if the intensity of it alone could knock him down.
"What in the world..."
The force was beyond imagination, to the point where he forgot to breathe for a moment.
He grimaced as he exhaled roughly, his expression contorted in astonishment.
"You must be feeling it, right? That the King's power is different from before."
"What on earth did you do?"
This place was a mental realm created by the collision of his soul and Wrath's.
It was impossible for Wrath to exert more power than their current state of anger and wrath.
It was incomprehensible how he could summon a mental strength of that magnitude, surpassing his imagination.
"Though maggots might see the soul and body separately, in the end, the soul must coexist with the vessel that is the body."
Wrath clenched his jaw and shot a disdainful glance as if pitying the situation.
"By implementing the soul in it's original form within a suitable body, a portion of the King's power can be exerted."
He took another step forward.
Tremors ran through Raon's jaw as an intense coldness and anger radiated from beneath his feet.
"Although there was a significant sacrifice, it's better this way. If I take possession of your body like this, I can make up for all the losses."
With a cool smile, Wrath shifted his weight and rolled his foot.
In that moment, waves of unfathomable rage and coldness surged.
Jjejejejeong!
Without any time to sense anything, colossal ice mountains rose up around him, on both sides and behind.
"Uh..."
Raon mumbled, lips quivering, eyes rolling.
The massive frosty mountains pressed against his shoulders.
If he had come just a bit closer, their arms would have been severed.
"Rising up? Is that right?"
Honestly, he hadn't really seen the process of the ice mountains rising.
In other words, if Wrath had truly intended it, he would've already died and disappeared.
"No need to worry."
Wrath spun his finger and lifted his chin, a mocking smile as usual, yet with that appearance, he looked elegant.
"His King is merciful. He won't finish things before repaying the suffering endured so far."
"That's not mercy, that's cruelty."
"It could be."
Before the laughter-tinged voice could finish, a massive wave of frost surged from beneath him.
"Ugh..."
"Don't think it's the same as before."
Although the wave was the same size as when Wrath was cotton candy, the energy contained within was on a different level.
His previous powers were utterly useless against it.
Kukukukukuk!
He simultaneously rotated seven rings of fire, raising his fist in defiance.
Any lapse in focus could lead to his death.
They had to give it their all.
Pwook!
Raon clenched his teeth on his incisors.
Released all the energy within the Heavenly Drive sword to conjure the "Dragon's Roar."
Kwaaaah!
The breath of flames emanating from the silvery blade clashed with the frosty deluge unleashed by Wrath.
Kukukukukuk!
The frosty deluge didn't melt away as easily as before.
Instead, it pushed against and absorbed the flames from the fully powered Heavenly Drive sword.
"Ugh..."
This wouldn't hold.
At this point, he couldn't resort to using different sword techniques or invoke any spells.
Hey had to find a way to escape from Wrath's clutches while utilizing the "Dragon's Roar."
"Concentrate. Find a way… Hmm?"
Yes, concentrate.
Raon nodded his head.
Using the "Dragon's Roar" as usual wouldn't hold.
He needed to focus his strength into one point.
Rumble!
He compressed the power of the "Dragon's Roar" into a space no wider than his shoulders.
The power concentrated into a single point began to push back the freezing cold energy summoned by Wrath.
Roar!
The direction where the "Dragon's Roar" hadn't blocked was inundated by the surge of cold energy, forming a mound of blue ice.
"Huff!"
Raon took a deep breath, grimacing as he struggled to hold their ground.
If he hadn't managed to block the wave of cold energy, he would've been part of that ice mound.
The thought alone was horrifying.
"I can't understand. This is a mental realm, yet by creating a physical form, such power emerges?"
Looking at Wrath, who was smiling, he furrowed their brows.
"As I said, the body is both the vessel and the anchor of the soul. Without a proper body, even if you're the King of Wrath, as long as you don't have a true physical form, it's difficult to tap into your true power. You still need a form that aligns with your physicality to fully unleash your abilities."
Wrath flicked his fingers, a habitual action that, though usual, now escalated tension rather than eliciting laughter due to his altered power and appearance.
"Don't worry. The King has no intention of killing you."
"What?"
"Because of the affection accumulated until now, I will impale you in a corner and repay the humiliation you've caused over time."
He extended his hand again.
Vibrations rippled through the ground as icy spikes shot up.
Fwaaaah!
Raon swung the Heavenly Drive sword, clashing with the rapidly rotating fiery blade.
However, Wrath's icy spikes remained mostly intact.
"It's impossible to cut them all down."
It would be unreasonable to try to cut them all.
Raon stepped on the Taehwabo and moved back.
Yet the icy spikes emerged wherever he stepped on the incantations, targeting his soul.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue softly and stepped on the Jinkak, quickly moving out of the area where the spikes emerged.
"You are slow."
As Wrath twirled his hand, the icy spikes now rained down from thin air.
"Damn!"
Raon thrust Heavenly Drive sword into the air, channeling all the energy from the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation into creating the Zhongchen.
Zhezhejejeok!
The formidable force generated by the strike drew in and shattered the soul fragments of the icy spikes aimed at Raon.
Kwaaaah!
As the spikes gathered in one place, the strike exploded, obliterating hundreds of spikes at once.
"Hoo..."
Raon grabbed his trembling chest and slightly bent his knees.
Perhaps using such a vast amount of mental power at once caused dizziness.
"I've come up with a good idea."
"What now?"
"The King will eat mint chocolate ice cream three times a day once I take over your body. Just the thought of it brings me joy!"
He seemed to savor the thought.
"Quite simplistic for a Demon King."
"I don't mind being simple if it means giving you pain!"
Wrath flicked his finger with a smirk.
Blue clouds formed in the sky, releasing an uncountable downpour of rain.
"What's that?"
Raon trembled as he held his hand out.
Each drop of rain carried a powerful frost energy that could pierce through his soul.
"Blocking is impossible."
Avoiding them all was impossible too.
The clouds covered the entire space.
"Still, I can't just stay here."
He couldn't become an ice kebab.
He gritted his teeth and stepped on the Taehwabo.
Boom!
The icy shower Wrath released veered towards where he stood, as if he expected them to evade.
"Running away like a rat in the rain, it's quite amusing to watch!"
Wrath chuckled, grabbing his belly.
Though the lighthearted laughter didn't suit his handsome appearance, it strangely fit him well.
"Want to hear something interesting?"
"Something interesting?"
"This world can be a hint for reaching the Grandmaster level you've been desiring."
"What..."
Suddenly, the heightened concentration Raon had on the mention of the Grandmaster was broken.
"The rank you referred to as Grandmaster level is the martial art level that manifests your world with a sword. In essence, this mental realm, where anything can be accomplished through imagination, forms the basis of that Grandmaster level. Of course..."
Wrath smirked and waved his hand.
"While it might be impossible for those beneath the King."
Consequently, he spoke, conjuring even more frost.
Rain poured down even more intensely from the sky, resembling waves crashing even more than before.
"He's saying this to mock me."
Raon chewed his lip until it bled.
That infuriating Demon King was bringing up the Grandmaster level to break his concentration and taunt him.
"Kyaah!"
As the falling raindrops brushed against his left arm, the searing pain wasn't confined to their shoulder alone; it felt as if his whole body was being pierced by a sword.
Because his physical form was formed by his soul, pain in one area felt like it radiated throughout their entire being.
"At this rate, I won't be able to escape... Hm?"
As Raon turned around to step on the incantation circles to activate the incantation, he opened his eyes wide.
Flames were extending from the initial icy peaks and hills that Wrath had created.
"Those flames..."
These flames hadn't been extinguished by Wrath's frost; instead, they were gradually expanding their reach.
"Why aren't they disappearing?"
Compared to Wrath's fury-driven frost, Raon's mental energy was sorely lacking.
He couldn't understand why these lingering flames persisted even beneath Wrath's frost.
"Could it be..."
Looking at Wrath, who was laughing, and Rockta, who was kneeling before the ruined castle, Raon narrowed his eyes.
"Perhaps he's not the master of this place?"
A hypothesis formed in his mind.
This world was created by the collision of his soul and Rockta's, and Rockta had already admitted defeat.
Hence, irrespective of the intruder Wrath, this world was slowly becoming solely their own.
"Right, he did say something like that."
When Wrath first arrived, he claimed that he wasn't significantly connected to this space.
"If I can endure until those flames cover the castle..."
Raon could escape from Wrath.
"Relaxing my focus like this won't let me last much longer."
With Wrath's mocking laughter-filled voice, a surge of frost inundated the ground.
From above, the frosty shower rained, while from below, waves of cold surged amidst the icy tide.
'I can't avoid this.'
Raon came to a stop.
The attack was something he couldn't evade.
'But still...'
There was a way.
If this place truly operated based on mental power and imagination, as Wrath had suggested, then he could use something other than the martial arts he had accumulated so far.
Raon took a deep breath and extended their left leg.
In his mind, he drew the image of the ultimate martial artist Glenn Zieghart.
He recalled the day he had taught him the "Supreme harmony steps."
A step that could go anywhere.
Remembering the steps he could utilize in his original world, Raon stamped the ground.
Hooong!
Beyond the level of running by folding space, an incantation that could transcend space like magic was activated.
In an instant, Raon's body moved behind Wrath.
Just one step.
With that single step, Raon avoided all of Wrath's cold attacks.
"What is this..."
Wrath seemed surprised as he turned around and opened his eyes.
"You're Wrath, indeed."
Raon weakly smiled and nodded their head.
"Seeing you giving both trials and hints, it's clear that you're a giver, Wrath."
By engulfing the space with cold and mentioning imagination, the method of escape was made clear.
Despite his changed appearance, Wrath was still generous, just like a tree that gives generously.
"You're being noisy. This is just the King's entertainment!"
Wrath stretched out his hands.
A blue light glowed from his palms as countless storms of cold surged from the ground and ceiling.
Kugugugugu!
The storms collided with each other, growing larger and becoming more powerful.
"You won't be able to block this at all!"
"Yeah, but avoiding it is enough."
"I won't let you!"
Using his fingers, Wrath started to manipulate the storms directly.
"I wonder..."
Raon extended his right leg, stealing glances at the cold sweat running down his forehead.
Glenn Zieghart's Steps came to mind as he activated it.
The fiery waves extended like a bright light, brushing aside the storm that covered the space.
"Ugh!"
Wrath tried to alter his frost's form to target Raon's soul, but each time, Raon utilized Glenn's steps to create waves and evade the area where the shockwaves occurred.
"As expected, it works."
The steps that Glenn had demonstrated showcased its impressive rise in martial skill by covering the entire world and evading the overwhelming cold.
"Huff."
Wrath exhaled a cold breath, furrowing his brow.
"I made a mistake. I shouldn't have given you time."
"It's already too late."
While limited to the mental realm, now that Raon could use Glenn's steps, he had a means to escape whatever Wrath did.
"No, it's not too late."
Wrath pointed to the sky with his right hand and the ground with his left.
Kugugugugu!
As both hands gradually converged in the middle, waves of cold simultaneously surged from the sky and the ground.
It was a large-scale attack that left no space to evade, no matter where in the sky or the ground.
"At this level, even you won't be able to evade."
Thinking it was all over, Wrath raised the corners of his mouth.
"Don't worry. Like I said, I won't kill you. You will live within the King."
"Haah..."
Looking at the ceiling of frigid cold that was now almost touching their head, Raon sighed.
"Puhahahaha! That expression is quite a sight! Now, at last, I'll take my reve... huh?"
Wrath burst into laughter but suddenly halted.
Looking at Raon, he saw not a despairing expression but a smiling one.
"You..."
"No, you're right. It's a bit late."
Raon smiled with ease as he sheathed his sword.
"There's no point in showing off! If I crush you like this, no matter who you are... huh?"
Wrath was about to strike at Raon but suddenly widened his eyes.
'Why am I so short?'
His once long and beautiful arms and fingers had become stubby and short, and his legs had completely disappeared.
His arms were short and green, and Raon had returned to his normal form, the one he was bullied while living within Raon.
"Ugh... What is this?!"
He was on the verge of overpowering Raon, and now suddenly his body had returned to this state.
He couldn't fathom why his body had changed back so abruptly.
"What on earth have you done?!"
"It's over."
Raon smirked and pointed at the ground.
The frozen earth brought by Rockta's soul and the vibrant scenery vanished, leaving only the Zieghart family, including the subsidiary buildings.
"The owner of this domain has been determined."
After acknowledging defeat earlier, Rockta's flames had consumed this world, revealing Wrath in his true form and erasing the power he had exerted to drag Raon along.
"In this place, you were nothing but an outsider."
"Ah..."
Now it seemed Wrath had grasped the situation, scratching his head awkwardly and emitting an uncomfortable laugh.
"Well, well, how was it? Did you find the King's jest amusing? Hehe!"
"Just the right size for a good hit."
Raon clenched his fists and approached Wrath.
"Well, um, you see, the King just wanted some mint chocolate..."
"Let's start with a hit."
