C851
Raon didn't panic, but instead lowered his gaze as he watched Denier, biting the inside of his cheek.
-As expected, that person is strange.
Among Zieghart's key figures, Denier Zieghart was the most difficult to understand. Karoon was sensitive and cold, but he was also a man with a strong pride for Zieghart, and Balder was ignorant and gullible, but he was a man overflowing with loyalty. However, Denier was different from those two.
He seemed kind and just, but when it really mattered, he didn't step forward and instead showed incompetence.
'The attack of the White Blood Religion was the culmination of it all.'
Even when the White Blood Religion invaded Zieghart, Denier was defending the Lord's Mansion and ended up causing the deaths of the Council of Elders and a considerable number of swordsmen. Considering his strength as a Palace Master and his usual intellectual behavior, he was strange in many ways.
"If there's a spy in Zieghart, Denier is the most likely candidate."
Sif said that his target was Glenn after Alice, but in Raon's opinion, that was impossible.
"The difference in power is too great."
Even if Sif had absorbed Alice's power and achieved transcendence, he was in a completely different league than Glenn. Just as with Alice, he could wield his sword against Glenn with an extremely rare probability after draining Glenn's power and spirit, but Roenn or Sheryl wouldn't stand idly by and watch.
In fact, it's impossible to drain Glenn's power or catch him off guard.
The chances of him trusting Sif, who returned alone after losing both the Light Wind division and Alice, were also low.
-So there's only one way.
To use Sif as bait and have one of Zieghart's spies take advantage of that opportunity. Others might not do it because Sif's skills were too valuable, but it was a totally possible plan for Derus.
-So, are you saying that pale bastard is the spy?
Wrath looked at Denier with eyes full of anger.
-No, it's just my intuition for now.
Since he was young, for some reason, the images of Derus Robert and Denier Zieghart sometimes overlapped. Especially now, when he should be angry but instead smiles and endures, Raon reminded him of that bastard's dirty face.
-This is unusual.
Wrath turned his head and narrowed his eyes.
-Normally, you would gather information, assess the situation, and then proceed slowly.
"I don't want to see any more people close to me die."
Raon bit his lip. As Wrath said, his usual self would have gathered enough information about the opponent before making a move. But after experiencing Rimmer's death, he realized that there were times when he needed to act first, even without certainty.
The Cursed Black Sword in his hand was now an important object that could potentially restore Alice and disrupt Derus' plans.
He didn't want to hand it over to the inscrutable denier.
"What does this mean?"
Denier looked at his own hand before looking up at Raon.
"Leader of the Light Wind Division?"
His voice was calm. He didn't seem angry or even surprised that the sword he was holding had been taken away from him.
"As I said."
Raon shook his head impassively.
"This Cursed Black Sword is cursed, so not everyone can hold it."
"Are you already ignoring me because you have achieved transcendence?"
Denier spoke lightly, as if he were joking. Even now, he didn't seem angry.
"R-Raon?"
"Young Master Raon..."
Instead, Vulcan and Roenn called out to Raon in low voices.
"How could that be?"
Raon shook his head as he moved the Cursed Black Sword behind him.
"There may be a dangerous curse that we can't understand in this Cursed Black Sword, which is why the Head of House has limited the number of people who can touch it."
He looked up as he said that the name of the Wise Martial Palace Master was not on that list.
"Wise Martial Palace Master, I hope you will focus on other tasks, as you have many things to do in the future."
Raon bowed politely and said that he and others would take care of matters related to this sword.
-The old man didn't say anything about that!
Wrath opened his eyes wide as if he couldn't believe it.
'The denier doesn't contradict the words of the Head of House. He always listens in silence.'
-What if he asks the elder about that?
-He won't.
Unlike Karoon and Balder, who sometimes complain or question Glenn, Denier never steps forward. Using the Head of House's name had to work.
"Even if he questions it, I can find another way out."
He had also thought of a method in case Denier asked Glenn, so it didn't matter how he moved. The important thing was to keep that sword out of his hands.
-But I've already touched it?
Denier said that he had held the Cursed Black Sword and smiled slightly.
"Even food that falls to the ground can be eaten if it's picked up within three seconds. I snatched it right away, so it should be fine."
Raon shook his head, telling him not to worry.
"Are you alright?"
"I even fought with Sif, who wielded this sword. If I were cursed, it would be too late."
He shrugged as he looked at Denier.
"I see. So you came all this way to tell me that?"
Denier lowered his slightly clenched fist slightly.
"No."
Raon let out a small sigh as he looked at Roenn behind him.
"I came to inform everyone that Aunt has already woken up."
"Sister..."
Denier frowned and let out a murky groan.
"Is Lady Alice alright?"
Roenn lowered his eyebrows as if he were worried.
"Her body... is fine. She has fallen asleep again."
"Ah..."
"..."
Understanding the meaning behind the words that her body was fine, Roenn let out a groan and Denier looked away heavily.
"Since you say she's sleeping again, I'll have to visit her later."
Denier clicked his tongue briefly and turned around.
"Leader of the Light Wind Division. Thank you for worrying about me."
"Not at all. As Palace Master, you should take care of your health better than anyone else."
"Is that so? It seems you need to take better care of yourself than I do now."
He mumbled something incomprehensible and stood in front of the reception room door.
"To be honest, even if I had seen that sword, I wouldn't have been able to find a solution. Everyone, work hard, please."
Denier greeted Roenn, Vulcan, and Pasirion, the shaman of the Beast Union, politely before leaving the reception room. As he walked down the hallway of the Lord's Mansion, he opened the hand that had held the Cursed Black Sword. Woong.
Denier looked at the fragment of the Cursed Black Sword that glowed faintly in his palm and briefly frowned. He seemed pleased and bitter at the same time.
"That's how it is..."
* * *
"Young Master. What is all this about..."
Roenn blinked as if he couldn't understand the situation.
"It just happened like that."
Raon shook his head, telling him not to ask.
"You seem to be having some strange thoughts again."
Vulcan snorted, saying that he couldn't understand.
"Yes. Please understand."
Raon looked at Vulcan and smiled slightly.
-I can't tell you.
For now, it was just a hunch. There was no evidence that Denier had done anything or leaked information so far. The reason for suspecting him was intuition, so he couldn't comment on it with the others.
"Then you are Raon Zieghart."
The shaman of the Beast Union approached Raon and clasped his hands together.
"I, Pasirion of the Union, greet our benefactor."
He bowed his head to Raon with the utmost respect. It seemed he was referring to the time when Raon had entered the White Blood Religion and rescued the Beast King Ogram.
"That was a long time ago. Please don't do this."
He waved both hands, embarrassed because it was a very old incident.
"If I were to disrespect our benefactor, the Beast King would tear my head off."
Pasirion bowed his head even further, asking him not to refuse the greeting.
"Ah, I guess that's true."
Raon smiled awkwardly and accepted Pasirion's greeting.
"Thank you."
Pasirion bowed his head once more in gratitude and straightened up.
"So, is it impossible to break the curse of this sword?"
Raon immediately brought up the main point to prevent Pasirion from saying anything else that would be embarrassing. He had examined this sword on his way back to Zieghart, but he couldn't break it with the magic he knew. It was fundamentally different from dungeon magic.
How could I refuse a request from you?
Pasirion shook his head as he looked at the Cursed Black Sword.
"It will take a lot of effort and time, but we should be able to break it."
He raised his hand and said that although it would consume a lot of manpower and time, breaking the curse was possible. It seemed he was saying that it was possible because it was his request, not someone else's.
"Then, will Aunt's power be able to return?"
"If the curse is broken, she should naturally return. The nature of water is to return to where it was; this case should be similar."
Pasirion nodded, saying that it would be possible once the curse was broken.
"...Thank you."
Raon took Pasirion's hand and bowed his head. If even a little of her power returned, that would give Alice some strength. All he could say was thank you.
"However, I think we will have to call in more shamans. I don't think I can handle this alone."
Pasirion lowered his hand, saying that they needed the power of many shamans as well as needing to investigate the source of this curse.
"You can use as much money as you need, so please do it."
"I don't think we need much money."
He shook his head and said that money wasn't necessary.
"Those guys will also be happy to meet our benefactor."
"Me...?"
"Yes. A swordsman who achieved transcendence at the age of twenty. They'll be eager to see Raon Zieghart." (N/E: Raon is between 23 and 24 years old, I think)
"Transcendence?"
Raon blinked as he looked at the smiling Pasirion.
"It seems you didn't know."
Pasirion tilted his chin as he saw Raon's round eyes.
"Right now, rumors about Raon are spreading all over the continent."
* * *
Glenn returned to the audience chamber and sank deep into the throne.
"Huh..."
Perhaps because even Roenn wasn't there. A long sigh escaped him without him realizing it.
'I'm tired.'
He felt so dizzy that he wondered if anything so mentally exhausting had ever happened to him. It seemed he could faint right then without it being strange.
'Well...'
While he had lost many companions before, this was the first time a relative had stabbed another relative. Sif had stabbed Alice, killed Rimmer, and finally died at the hands of Raon.
Not counting the process, a friend had died, a grandson had killed a grandson, and his daughter was in a state of mental collapse, so it wasn't strange that even he felt depressed.
Above all, the fact that he couldn't do anything for Alice, who had just woken up, made his chest ache as if it were collapsing.
"Haaa..."
Glenn let out an even deeper sigh and covered his eyes with the back of his hand as he rested his head against the throne. Just as he was about to close his eyes and fall asleep, too weak to go to bed. ¡Chizizizik! Glenn frowned as he saw a blue spear sparking in front of the pillar of the Lord's Mansion.
That spear was a video conferencing magic created jointly by the Chamber and the Master of the Magic Tower.
It was asking permission to open the video, so it kept sparking.
"What's going on now..."
Glenn clicked his tongue briefly and snapped his fingers, and suddenly four suppressed windows appeared.
-¡Glenn!
"¡Zieghart, Head of House!"
"¡Old man!"
"¿E-Is it true...?"
The images of Beast King Ogram, Silent Sword Master Lecross, the Archmage of the Eternal Flame Chamber, and Magic Tower Master Larian appeared simultaneously.
"D-What are you talking about."
Glenn trembled his chin with bewildered eyes, not expecting four Transcendent Warriors to cling to the screen and talk like that.
"¡Raon! Is it true that that child has achieved transcendence?"
Ogram punched him with his hand, urging him to speak.
"I also contacted you for that reason. Is it true that the Leader of the Light Wind Division has touched transcendence? Rumors are spreading all over the continent!"
King Lecross swallowed dryly, saying he was curious.
—¡Grandpa! Why are you keeping your mouth shut? Did our Raon really become a Transcendent?
Chamber clicked her lips loudly, adding the word "our" in front of Raon's name.
"N-our side has also been talking about it all day. It's the first time that the mages have chanted the name of a swordsman..."
Larian blinked repeatedly, saying that Raon's story was also circulating in the magic tower.
"Reaching Grand Master at the age of twenty would already be a first in the history of the continent, but transcendence! It's hard to believe even for Raon."
Chamber repeatedly touched the blue screen, telling him to speak.
—¡No! ¡Raon is capable of doing it! ¡That boy's talent is different from ours!
Ogram revealed eyes full of expectation with certainty.
"...Jaja."
Glenn let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the four Transcendants who seemed about to break through the screen. He didn't know where the rumors had spread from, but it seemed that only the story of Raon achieving transcendence had spread, excluding Rimmer's death and Alice's loss.
-Stop laughing and answer, old man!
Chamber made a mouth shape with her hand, opening and closing it, telling him to speak.
"Yes, it's true."
Glenn looked at each of the four people in turn and nodded.
"Raon has entered the realm of transcendence."
"¡Wow!"
Ogram raised both fists and roared as if he had become a beast.
"Eh, the history of the continent. No, the history of all dimensions has been rewritten."
Lecross laughed in disbelief.
"¡As expected of our Raon! ¡I knew he could do it!"
Chamber waved her hand with a smile, apparently forgetting that she had said she couldn't believe it.
"I... want to investigate..."
Larian clicked his lips with nostalgia and said he wanted to investigate Raon, who had accomplished an impossible feat.
"Huh..."
Glenn let out a puff of air as he watched the four people showing various reactions.
'Is he that good?'
Usually, when one achieves transcendence, they become insensitive to most worldly affairs. Seeing them make such a fuss and get excited, he couldn't help but smile.
-No, in fact this is the right reaction.
Even if Raon had reached the rank of Grand Master at his age, the entire continent should have been in an uproar, but the boy had touched transcendence. Due to Rimmer's death, he hadn't been able to congratulate him properly, but it was undoubtedly an amazing feat, and it wouldn't be strange to spread the news throughout the continent and hold a festival.
"At this rate, wouldn't we have an advantage even in a full-scale war?"
Ogram laughed and said that they wouldn't be at a disadvantage in terms of military power now.
"You have to recover so we have an advantage. Who knows how many hidden Transcendent warriors they have on their side. Well, Raon achieving transcendence is still a cause for celebration. Celebration!"
Chamber chewed on a lollipop and shouted that it was a joyous occasion.
"Ejem, does Raon have a girlfriend? There's a beautiful girl in the Raman tribe who can lift two bulls with one hand."
Ogram rolled his eyes and said he would introduce a really good woman.
"¡What nonsense! ¡There is a girl with a connection to Raon on our side!"
"¡That boy has no manners!"
"¡Now it's different! ¡He's completely changed as a person!"
Chamber shook her head and said that Raon's partner was in Balkar.
"A mage would be more suitable for a swordsman..."
Larian rolled his eyes and said that there were also many good women in the magic tower.
"¡Jajaja!"
Glenn burst into laughter as he watched Ogram, Chamber, and Larian arguing about Raon's potential partner. Hearing praise for Raon, the depression and fatigue that weighed down his heart seemed to ease a little. It was always that kid who made him laugh.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Just tell us if Raon has a girlfriend or not."
Chamber and Ogram frowned and ordered him to speak.
"Not yet..."
Glenn smiled slightly and shook his chin firmly.
"¡I won't give him to anyone!"
* * *
At dawn, as the wind carried away the night.
Raon opened the door to the fifth training ground and entered.
'All the lights are off.'
In the past, even when he arrived at dawn, the lights of the training ground used to be on. He didn't realize it at the time, but it seemed that Rimmer had prepared it for him.
"He really was a person who didn't show off."
Rimmer had a hard time getting recognition for trivial things, but he kept his mouth shut in silence about the important things. Now that that person was gone, the emptiness seemed immensely large.
-Still, it seems you've improved a bit from before.
Wrath shook his head after letting out a long yawn.
"My mind is at ease." He had hardened his heart, knowing that the more he mourned, the more it would be an insult to Rimmer.
-It's a good attitude. For those who wield swords and fight, death is inevitable. It is right that those who stayed behind focus on inheriting and moving forward with the will of those who left.
'I know.'
-As the monarch of the Devildom, I have seen many subordinates...
"Meow!"
Just as Wrath was about to start talking about himself while stretching his waist, a cat jumped from the wall.
-How dare a mere cat interrupt the words of this monarch? I will shred it...
-¡Raon!
The cat shouted Raon's name with its mouth slightly open.
-¡Eeek!
Wrath, startled by the sudden words, stared at the cat before staggering like a freshly caught fish.
"Merlin?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the cat. He had thought it was Merlin from the beginning, as there were no cats around.
"What's wrong?"
"The spell is complete." The cat possessed by Merlin extended its front paws. "Let's go wake up your sister!"
-
More Ch4pters on KoreanPlayer
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Thanks for the support
