C771
Thud!
Raon planted his right foot firmly. As he raised the Heavenly Drive to finish off the first Two-Headed Demon who was staggering, his body suddenly felt heavy.
‘Is this the aftereffect…?’
Despite his mind’s rapid assessment, his arms and legs moved with agonizing slowness. The sword control technique he had unconsciously used seemed to have overloaded his energy center and body.
“I still have to push forward.”
Raon bit his lip and forced himself to push the sword. Just as the tip of the Heavenly Drive was about to pierce the first Two-Headed Demon’s neck, a great sword flew in from the right. The second Two-Headed Demon. His powerful Fighting Spirit sent Raon reeling back five steps.
“Urg!”
At that moment, the first Two-Headed Demon regained his senses and clutched his chest wound. He glared at Raon with a look filled with intense killing intent.
“Haha…”
Raon didn’t move immediately, but instead controlled his breathing. As long as the two Two-Headed Demons were together, any half-hearted attack would be meaningless.
-A wise decision.
Wrath nodded approvingly at Raon’s good judgment.
-Your body and mind aren’t in their normal state right now.
-Although it’s not that serious.
Raon licked his lips briefly, feeling that a brief rest would improve his condition.
-To achieve enlightenment and act in such a dangerous moment, you’re an increasingly incomprehensible human being.
Wrath frowned and said that she was already tired of that.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
-It wasn’t a compliment, I said I was tired of this!
‘Well.’
Raon dismissed Wrath with a gesture and looked at the second Two-Headed Demon with the great sword resting on his shoulder.
‘An old man?’
Unlike the first Two-Headed Demon, who looked like a child, the second’s skin was covered in spots and wrinkles. He seemed to have the body of an elderly person.
“But still strong.”
The second Two-Headed Demon was also a monster who had reached the peak of Grandmaster, just like the first. While facing two Grandmasters at once was worrisome, it was also exciting.
“W-wait, there were two Two-Headed Demons?”
Rimmer’s eyes widened in apparent disbelief that there had been two.
“Raon! That was sword control, wasn’t it? As expected, you’re amazing!”
Merlin waved her hand toward Raon, seemingly unconcerned about the fact that there were two Two-Headed Demons.
“R-Raon, are you alright?”
Sylvia showed a worried look as she kept her distance from the Severing Sword.
“I’m fine.”
Raon smiled reassuringly at Sylvia before turning to face the two Two-Headed Demons.
You said you could definitely catch him, but you didn’t!
The old Two-Headed Demon glared at the younger one.
“How was I supposed to know he could use Sword Control?”
The younger Two-Headed Demon shrugged, seemingly bewildered as well.
“He’s more dangerous than I expected.”
He twisted his lips into a sneer as he healed the wound on his chest.
“If we can’t take him, we’ll have to kill him here for sure.”
“Take who where? Kill who?”
Merlin’s piercing scream was accompanied by flames and lightning that fell upon the heads of the two Two-Headed Demons.
“Snot-nosed brats and old geezers! If you do that… No, I’ll kill you just for breathing!”
While sweating as she struggled to contain the Green King without hurting her, Merlin showed an intense intent to kill toward the Two-Headed Demons.
“Urg!”
The Green King, oblivious to Merlin’s feelings, continued to unleash powerful sword blows.
“Miss! Hold still for a moment! No, wait, how should I call my husband’s sister?”
Merlin muttered that she didn’t know the proper term to address her as she dodged the Green King’s sword blows. She was truly an extraordinary woman.
“Sorry, but…”
Raon stabilized his breathing before simultaneously employing the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier techniques.
“I’m tired of being kidnapped. Let’s end this with your deaths here.”
As he spoke, he stretched out his arm and the Blade of Requiem that was still floating in the air flew into his hand of its own accord.
“Arrogant brat!”
The old Two-Headed Demon raised his great sword over his shoulder with a frown.
“It’s a pity, but we have no choice.”
The young Two-Headed Demon sighed as he lifted his broken club. Even broken, it still seemed five times larger than the Heavenly Drive.
-Raon, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can help you…
Rimmer bit his lip as he wielded his sword, which crackled with lightning. It seemed that he was struggling to block the Severing Sword even with Sylvia’s support.
‘Of course.’
The Severing Sword possessed power that surpassed that of the young Two-Headed Demon, and now that his identity as Edgar had been revealed, they couldn’t kill her. Rimmer was fulfilling his role by simply resisting.
-Don’t worry, I’ll finish this.
Raon nodded calmly. Although he had used the Divine-Demonic Harmony and suffered internal injuries that had left him in bad shape, he could still fight enough thanks to the enlightenment that had elevated him to the peak of Grandmaster. The two Twin-Headed Demons charged forward, shattering the ground beneath them.
The old Two-Headed Demon brandished his great sword as he lunged from the right, while the younger one lunged from the left, swinging his broken club.
The Two-Headed Demons, who had previously distrusted each other, now displayed exquisite joint techniques as if they shared a single body. Raon raised the Blade of Requiem to form a Wall of Fire, blocking the attacks of both Two-Headed Demons.
Unlike when he faced only one of them, the impact resonated to his bones. He could feel his internal injuries worsening, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he unleashed the Mid-Soul Palace technique of the Mystic Soul Sword with the Heavenly Drive.
A blue Astral Ring bloomed from the darkness, cutting through the crimson Fighting Spirit and severing the demons’ shoulders and chests.
“Mmm!”
“How…?”
The old Two-Headed Demon’s eyes widened as he looked at his wound, while the younger one swallowed as he stared at Raon.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Raon looked at the two Two-Headed Demons with his red eyes and chin raised.
“Having two heads doesn’t seem to mean much.”
He scoffed, wagging his finger.
“Bastard!”
“We’ll rip your mouth off first!”
The two Two-Headed Demons lunged forward with lethal intent in their eyes. Raon felt a terrible storm of energy enveloping his entire body.
“You two…”
Raon bit his lip, remembering Sylvia’s desperate look and once again fueling his anger. He unleashed the Flame Dragon Strike with all his might, surrounding himself with killing intent and energy waves no less powerful than those of the two Twin-Headed Demons.
“I won’t give you an easy death.”
* * *
Rimmer narrowed his eyes as he deflected the Severing Sword’s blow.
‘What’s going on with this one?’
The being who had been relentlessly attacking him with chilling demonic energy had become strangely silent.
—Was it when Raon used sword control? No, it started when Sylvia intervened.
While the Severing Sword had begun to hesitate more noticeably after seeing Raon’s Sword Control, even before that, she had been strangely reluctant to attack Sylvia.
‘Could it be…?’
Did she really retain memories of the past? If the Severing Sword still possessed Edgar’s memories and soul, that would explain the current situation.
—Sylvia, it seems Raon might be right after all.
Rimmer whispered softly as he moved beside Sylvia.
—Are there any sword techniques or words that your husband might remember?
“Maybe he’ll remember the swordsmanship…”
Sylvia bit her lip as she looked at the Severing Sword, then her eyes widened. In front of her, Raon’s sword, which had been filled with a dark mist, was now falling silently.
‘The Mystic Soul Sword!’
Now that I think about it… Edgar had frozen like a statue for a while after seeing the Mystic Soul Sword that Raon had unleashed with Sword Control, and his movements had become even more stiff after that.
“It’s clear now.”
Before this mission, when she saw Raon perform the Mystic Soul Sword by the lake, she felt her heart sink. While she had felt happy and sad seeing father and son learning the same swordsmanship, it seemed that their destinies were truly connected.
“Edgar! You made me learn the Mystic Soul Sword!”
Sylvia charged at Edgar without Rimmer’s help.
“Don’t you dare say anything more about your awkward stance!”
She unleashed a clumsy version of the Mystic Soul Sword, drawing on memories from over 20 years ago.
* * *
Edgar slowly opened his eyelids.
‘It’s dark.’
All he could see was pitch black, as if he had fallen into an ocean of darkness. It hadn’t always been like this. Even after putting on the Death Knight helmet, he had managed to maintain some semblance of sanity, but as The Fallen’s influence grew stronger, his sense of identity began to fade.
However, that being hadn’t completely erased him, claiming it was for an experiment, but instead, he had hidden him in a corner of his own body.
Just as he was starting to forget who he was, a boy named Raon was brought to the Eden branch. Upon hearing that he was Sylvia’s son, Edgar realized that Raon was his own son. He wanted to immediately free him and help him escape, but all he could do was watch.
All he was given was the ability to observe the world from the darkness.
Fortunately, thanks to Zieghart’s attack, Raon was able to escape the Eden branch. Unlike the rumors he had heard, it seemed that Glenn truly cared for Raon, which was a relief. Just as Edgar thought he could die without regret, he encountered the Green King.
The moment he saw her, he instantly recognized her as Sia, the daughter he hadn’t been able to protect.
For the first time, he overcame the Death Knight’s soul and took control of his body. Just as he was about to escape Eden with Sia, The Fallen appeared as if he had been waiting for this moment.
[Now it will finally be complete.]
The Fallen smiled with apparent joy as he subdued Edgar and pushed his soul deeper into the darkness. The feeling of having his soul manipulated by another was more than painful. He screamed in agony, wishing for death thousands of times a day. Afterward, even his vision was filled with darkness, and he could barely see anything.
Despair for himself, regret for his children, and longing for Sylvia were the only pillars that supported his soul. Just as he was desperately trying to cling to the determination to at least protect his daughter, a small spark of light appeared.
That light followed the flow of the Mystic Soul Sword he had practiced all his life, cutting through the darkness before his eyes. As the forms of the Mystic Soul Sword flashed a few more times, the darkness that obscured his vision began to fade, and he could see the world again.
-Edgar!
Sylvia, with her face unchanged, shouted his name as she performed the Mystic Soul Sword.
“It’s clumsy.”
It seemed that she hadn’t practiced at all since he had taught her; the sword movements and aura flow were a mess. However, it conveyed a deeper and more intense warmth than any other swordsmanship in the world.
-Wake up already, chatterbox!
Seeing Sylvia’s tearful face and the battles unfolding around him, Edgar instantly understood the situation.
“Sylvia.”
As he looked at Sylvia, overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, his body, as if not recognizing her, unleashed a cold sword blow.
‘No! Not now… Argh!’
Edgar screamed as he tried to control his body’s movements. He managed to avoid killing Sylvia, but a pain as if his soul was being ripped apart assaulted him. However, his body, indifferent to his soul’s agony, tried to strike Sylvia again with his sword.
‘I said no! Ah!’
Edgar once again raised his soul to stop his body’s movements. This time, he felt a pain as if his flesh was being bitten by a beast’s teeth. Although he had experienced much pain as a swordsman of the Holy Sword Alliance, this was unlike anything he had felt before.
“I can’t keep stopping it like this.”
No matter how strong his will was, it would be impossible to endure this pain indefinitely. He needed to find a way to stop the battle entirely. As Edgar breathed deeply to overcome the pain, a faint voice echoed in his mind.
[Fight there for a while, then target Raon Zieghart.]
It was the voice of the young Two-Headed Demon who could control his body.
“Raon.”
Edgar looked away. He saw Raon fighting the two Two-Headed Demons without giving an inch. It seemed that the Two-Headed Demons wanted to use him to safely kill Raon.
‘If I could use this in reverse… Urgh!’
As soon as he thought of defying the Two-Headed Demon’s order, the most intense pain yet crushed his soul. He felt like he would disappear at this rate.
-No, absolutely not…
This was his only chance to act as a father. Edgar endured the increasingly intense pain and pushed what little remained of his soul toward the Severing Sword; no, toward his own body. He felt as if his soul was being scraped by thousands of blades. It was difficult to move even a finger.
‘Puaj…’
It hurt, but it didn’t hurt. Compared to being trapped in the darkness and unable to do anything, this level of pain was completely bearable. If he could save everyone, he didn’t care if he died there.
“Raon…”
Edgar kept his gaze fixed on his son’s back as he wielded his sword toward his wife.
‘Wait a little longer.’
* * *
Raon gritted his teeth as he blocked the Fighting Spirit unleashed by the two Two-Headed Demons.
‘Damn it…’
They’re incredibly strong. At first, he thought he could win, but the two Two-Headed Demons’ perfect combination techniques made the battle anything but easy. It felt like he was facing a single transcendent warrior instead of two Grandmasters.
“Are you starting to regret it now?”
The younger Two-Headed Demon sneered as he swung his wooden club at Raon’s shoulder.
“Don’t think about capturing him. Kill him without fail.”
The old Two-Headed Demon frowned as he raised his great sword. Raon felt a chill run down his spine as lightning-fast Fighting Spirit pressed down on him from above and below simultaneously.
‘I need to block and counterattack.’
Continuing to defend himself alone wouldn’t lead to a solution. He had to counterattack somehow. Raon unleashed the Mystic Soul Sword’s Sword Separation technique with the Blade of Requiem and the Heavenly Drive’s Advanced Formless Transformation with the Azure Sky Sword.
The frost-imbued sword froze the Two-Headed Demons’ Fighting Spirit, while the Heavenly Drive’s flames traveled on the wind to sever the abdomens of both demons.
“Puaj…”
“Mmm…”
The two Two-Headed Demons groaned as if they had received a major blow, but they pressed on without regenerating their wounds. They seemed to realize that they needed to finish this now that Raon was exhausted.
Raon focused on defense, repeatedly unleashing the Fangs of Madness and Blizzard Sword Art techniques, but he gradually began to be pushed back by the Two-Headed Demons’ relentless offense.
‘My internal injuries are getting worse…’
His hands and feet were moving slower than he had calculated. His body wasn’t responding properly due to internal injuries and mental exhaustion.
“I guess I have no choice now.”
There didn’t seem to be time to wait for an opportunity to finish them both at once. Although he had been pretending not to notice, he could feel the Severing Sword approaching from behind, apparently following the Two-Headed Demons’ orders to target him.
‘Even if I can’t kill them in one go, I’ll have to use the Sword Domain.’
Using the Heaven Rift after fully employing the Divine-Demonic Harmony would drain all the strength from his body, but there was no other choice now.
‘Haha…’
Just as Raon was about to make his final move after calming his breathing, he heard a voice in his mind.
[…Raon?]
A deep yet gentle voice echoed in his head. It was a voice he had never heard before.
‘Who…’
[My name is Edgar. I’m your f-father.]
Edgar’s voice trembled uncontrollably as he said the word “father.”
‘Have you regained your senses?’
Raon resisted the urge to turn around and only moved his eyes. He could see how the Severing Sword was fiercely deflecting Rimmer and Sylvia’s swords.
[Yes, it’s me. The monster called the Severing Sword, who wears the Death Knight helmet. Thanks to you, I’ve managed to regain some control over my body. I saw a bright sword in the darkness, and it was my sword. How did you learn to use the Mystic Soul Sword? Your mother… I mean, did Sylvia teach you? Unlike your mother, you’re using it correctly. I’m truly moved…]
‘…’
He talks a lot. It was disconcerting that his father was talking to him so naturally after over 20 years, as if they had met yesterday.
[I couldn’t do anything, but I was always proud of you in my heart, Raon.]
The tremor and strain in Edgar’s voice seemed to strike Raon’s heart.
[I have so much to say, but I haven’t fully regained my senses yet. I’ve only awakened for a brief moment thanks to you and Sylvia.]
‘Not yet…’
[It might be hard to believe the words of a fool who couldn’t be a father for over 20 years, but please trust me this once as we fight. Even if my body is destroyed, I’ll create an opportunity for you. It’s something I should have done from the beginning, but I’ve only had this brief chance now, so all I can do is ask you to believe me. What a foolish father I am, right? I said I wouldn’t be like my own father, but I ended up being even worse…]
His words continued without interruption. It was funny how different he was from the silent Severing Sword so far, making it impossible not to trust him.
[Trust me and keep going, Raon.]
Edgar’s final words were brief but resolute.
-Do you believe those words?
Wrath frowned, as if asking if it was alright.
“I believe him.”
Sylvia had said that Edgar talked a lot and was good with words. At that moment, Raon trusted his mother’s words, not his father’s. Raon unleashed the Frost Snap and Flame Strike techniques with Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem. For the first time, it was a full-fledged attack that disregarded defense.
The two Two-Headed Demons who were attacking were pushed back with great force. As this happened, Raon felt a powerful demonic energy surging behind him.
It was the Severing Sword. She had charged forward, taking the sword blows of Rimmer and Sylvia with her bare body.
“It’s over.”
“Don’t think we’re cowards.”
The two Two-Headed Demons’ smiles deepened. Their expressions showed that they expected the Severing Sword to attack Raon. Raon bit his lip as he faced the monsters’ taunts.
‘Can I really trust this?’
Could this entire situation be a lie? He felt his back grow cold with apprehension and anxiety. He wanted to retreat right now. As he wrestled with his final decision, he glimpsed the inside of the Severing Sword’s helmet as it approached.
The eyes that had always been filled with darkness now shone with a clear light. That gaze was surprisingly similar to Sylvia’s eyes behind him.
Raon gritted his teeth.
‘I believe.’
He looked forward again. The two Two-Headed Demons added more strength to their wooden club and giant sword, as if they were determined not to let him go. Just as Raon raised all his aura, calming his mind, the Severing Sword’s blade grazed his hair and extended toward the necks of the two Two-Headed Demons.
“Crazy bastard!”
“Severing Sword! You!”
The two Two-Headed Demons blocked the Severing Sword’s blow with wide eyes, but their hasty defense was imperfect due to their surprise.
“Go!”
Hearing Edgar’s shout, Raon opened the mental world again. The Ten Thousand Swords, which had become deeper since reaching the peak of Grandmaster, sprouted golden buds on the silver blade. Sword Domain: Heaven Rift. Raon’s willpower, now imbued with an even more intense radiance, erased the red Fighting Spirit and traced a single line that crossed the horizon.
The world trembled.
-
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