C867
-Well, look at all these colorful creatures coming at us!
Wrath licked his lips as he watched the man who appeared to be a Golden Dragon.
-It’s like choosing from a variety of pearl ice cream flavors.
He muttered nonsense about wishing there was also a cool Blue Dragon among them.
“This one is different from the other lizards.”
Raon frowned at the powerful aura emanating from the Golden Dragon.
“I’m not sure I can win in this state.”
The energy of the blonde man before him was far superior to the Black Dragon he had initially fought. Even with all his strength, he couldn’t guarantee victory, causing his heart to pound with tension. As Raon regulated his breathing and tried to regain his concentration, Sterin, who had fallen before Sepia, approached.
“I’m sorry…”
Sterin wiped the blood dripping from his mouth and exhaled deeply.
“Maybe it’s really time for me to leave. My body doesn’t move the way I want it to anymore.”
He kept muttering apologies, unable to raise his head.
“You saved Sepia, but I…”
“It’s okay.”
Raon turned around and shook his head calmly.
“We’ll have to cut them off right here.”
He spoke with more confidence, not only to deceive Sterin but also his own emotions.
“Yes, let’s stop them here.”
Sterin, seemingly encouraged by Raon’s words, clenched his fist until his knuckles turned red.
“That one is called Matirus. He is the strongest dragon of the Golden clan, except for the current Lord.”
Sterin’s hand trembled as he gripped his bow, warning that Matirus was a dangerous being even among ancient dragons. Judging by the blood covering his entire body, it seemed he had fought desperately.
“From now on, I will fight at the front. Guardian, please support me from behind.”
“Raon…”
Sterin bit his lip as he watched Raon advance towards Matirus with a smile.
‘You…’
Raon had asked for help, not for Sterin to fight. It was consideration, treating this war as if it were his own and not wanting to be a burden on Sterin. Despite having spent a lot of energy and stamina fighting two dragon-level opponents and that serpent-masked human, Raon still thought of Sterin first. This made Sterin’s heart burn with emotion.
“Of course! I will protect your back no matter what!”
Sterin accepted Raon’s consideration and raised his bow fiercely. He no longer felt the pain of torn muscles or ripped flesh. Only the determination to protect his grandson’s disciple, even at the cost of his own life, welled up inside him.
“Even after receiving such a beating, you still don’t know your place.”
Matirus snorted and shook his head.
“No matter what you do, the World Tree and Sepia will disappear today.”
As he moved his finger, black flames erupted around the World Tree. It was the high-level magic Hellfire. Matirus not only created a wall of flames but also summoned large monsters from the subspace to pressure the elves at the World Tree.
“Aaaaagh!”
“¡¡¡There are monsters here too!!!”
The elves who saw the monsters suddenly appear sat down in fear. As there were almost no fighters left, they all retreated, pushed by the flames and monsters.
“Matirus!”
Sterin shouted as he saw the flames beginning to burn the World Tree’s roots.
“Why are you going this far?”
“You started it. It’s not strange to destroy the seeds of a race that will become our future enemy, right?”
Matirus tilted his head as if wondering why Sterin was asking such an obvious question.
“The World Tree doesn’t belong only to the elves! You know very well that it affects the entire continent!”
“It’s to eliminate the vermin that ruin the world. That sacrifice is necessary.”
He shook his head calmly, as if he didn’t feel the slightest bit of shame.
“Matirus…”
Sterin gritted his teeth as if he were disgusted.
-These lizards are getting more insignificant as time goes on!
Wrath frowned and said he wanted to jump and rip Matirus’ teeth out himself.
“Ah, then…”
Raon looked at Matirus and nodded slightly.
“Are you burning the World Tree to become the lapdog of the Five Demons? You, who call yourselves the mediators of the world?”
He sneered and waved his hand up and down.
“From now on, I will have to rip out the tongue of anyone who calls dragons mediators or regulators. No matter how you look at it, you are nothing more than low-quality swindlers.”
Raon raised an eyebrow and said they were worse than the lizards crawling on the ground.
“…First, I will have to shut your mouth.”
Matirus raised his fingers with veins bulging on his forehead. Light condensed at the tips of his fingers, turning into golden arrows that flew at an invisible speed. Raon raised a Wall of Fire with Heavenly Impulse to block the light arrows fired by Matirus.
‘It’s heavy.’
Even using the Wall of Fire, his fingers trembled from the weight. Although thin and small, the power seemed no less than the sword strikes of Transcendants.
“That was just the beginning.”
Matirus said it was just a greeting as he created and fired multiple light arrows like the one he had just fired. Despite the increase in quantity, their power and speed seemed to have become even stronger.
“I have to block them.”
Raon gritted his teeth as he saw the light arrows flying towards his vital points. Although blocking them was a disadvantage, he couldn’t dodge them to protect Sterin, whose mobility had decreased. Raon wielded dual swords with the Fangs of Madness and the Blizzard Swordsmanship to deflect the light arrows that Matirus had unleashed.
His tired shoulders and forearms seemed to tingle, but he bit his tongue and extinguished all the light.
“An opportunity.”
Green Serpent nodded slightly and disappeared into the dark clouds. He silently appeared beside Raon’s left side and plunged his wind-condensed sword.
“…”
Although Raon had detected Green Serpent’s movement, he didn’t react and focused only on erasing Matirus’ light.
“It’s over.”
Just as Green Serpent’s sword was about to pierce Raon’s waist, a blue-tinged arrow flew from behind. The arrow fired by Sterin not only deflected Green Serpent’s sword but also pierced the light arrows rushing from the right.
“How dare you?”
Sterin lowered his eyebrows as if to say that it was absolutely forbidden.
“I look forward to continuing to rely on your support.”
Raon nodded without even looking back.
“Green Serpent. You take care of the old elf. I will kill this human.”
Matirus assigned Sterin to Green Serpent as he formed a golden sphere on his right hand. The Orb of Light. It was a device that turned the fantasies of mages into reality.
“That seems best for now.”
Green Serpent nodded and took a step back. He disappeared from sight, enveloped in the wind.
—Raon, don’t worry about me, focus on Matirus.
Sterin calmly tightened the string of his bow, saying he could handle a young man with a helmet.
“Of course.”
Raon said he would trust him and then launched Frost Snap towards Matirus. The ice blade shot forward from Heavenly Drive and fell towards Matirus’ neck. Just as the ice blade and Heavenly Drive were about to decapitate Matirus, a golden flash emerged from the orb he had created, blocking both Frost Snap attacks simultaneously.
“How crude.”
As Matirus snorted, the light that had blocked the sword strikes split into dozens of strands and fell towards Raon’s vital points. They were faster and more powerful than the light arrows he had initially fired.
“You came close on your own, so you won’t have room to dodge.”
As he said, there were too many lights, and they were too fast. It seemed impossible to block them all.
“Then…”
Raon raised the Heavenly Drive, twisting his lips into a smile.
“I will erase them all.”
He raised a barrier of flames upon the blade of the Heavenly Drive. The flames that seemed to cut the air enveloped Matirus’ light for a long time. Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. Golden Flame Dance. The silk of flames that originally devoured darkness devoured the light of the corrupt regulator, causing a powerful explosion.
Raon didn’t miss the opportunity created by the explosion of the Golden Flame Dance and charged towards Matirus.
Exhausted both physically and mentally, he needed to end the fight as quickly as possible. He stepped on the steps of supreme harmony in the air and thrust Rimmer’s sword from Matirus’ blind spot.
“I knew you would come like this.”
Matirus nodded calmly, as if he had been waiting for this.
“Humans always attack like boars.”
As he moved his finger, the orb condensed like a small bead and then expanded, creating a tidal wave of light. It was a wave of light so terrifying that the sky of Sepia seemed like a golden sea.
Raon swung the Heavenly Drive and Rimmer’s sword diagonally, falling like lightning. Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. Unification of Flame and Ice. He drew the Silver Sword of Dreams, cutting through the tidal wave of light with waves of fire and frost.
The reddish sword strike that scattered like a dream pierced Matirus’ neck as it passed. But no blood spurted. He had already retreated after preparing a light clone.
“Hmm!”
Matirus raised his right hand above his head, and the orb elongated, forming a shining sword of light.
“Sacred Light Sword.”
Raon lowered the light sword he had created with both hands. It wasn’t swordsmanship, but its power was no less than the ultimate technique of a Transcendent. Raon unsheathed the Crimson Slash against the light sword strike that fell like a waterfall. Sparks erupted in the sky one after another as the flame sword and light sword clashed.
‘He’s continuously condensing mana.’
Raon narrowed his eyes as he saw the light sword resisting the Crimson Slash with a large amount of mana.
“I can use this as an opportunity.”
As he imbued the Crimson Slash with the essence of the Subtle Sword and the Quick Sword to the extreme, he twisted his left wrist holding Rimmer’s sword. White waves erasing the golden light. It was the White Shadow Slash, a counter-technique that erases the opponent’s martial arts. The moment the White Shadow Slash erased Matirus’ light sword, Raon added explosive power to the Crimson Slash and aimed for Matirus’ heart.
Just as the flames of the Crimson Slash were about to cut through Matirus’ chest, the scattered light turned into a shield and blocked the sword strike. Once again, Matirus had blocked the attack by pouring out a huge amount of aura. At the very least, the amount of mana he could use was overwhelmingly superior.
«No, that’s not the only problem.»
It wasn’t just the amount of mana or magical ability that mattered, but also experience. Matirus had overwhelmingly more combat experience than the Black Dragon or the Red Dragon he had faced before. Even though Sterin was exhausted, Raon could understand why they had rejected him.
“You certainly have the ability to kill those two.”
Matirus nodded as if acknowledging this.
“But it doesn’t make much difference.”
He created a new Orb of Light in his left hand, saying the game was over.
“Let’s see how long you can hold out.”
“Hold out?”
Raon twisted his lips into a smile as he looked at the shining orb.
“It would be faster to calculate how long your neck will stay attached.”
* * *
“Black fire! It’s hellfire!”
“There are monsters too!”
“W-we have nowhere to run…”
The elves who had entered the sacred ground could only retreat helplessly, terrified by the Hellfire and the monsters slowly approaching.
“Is there no other option than to die?”
“Someone will protect the World Tree, right?”
Some elves sat down right there, awaiting the arrival of death as if they had already given up on life. At that moment, when no one dared to step forward and everyone gave up, Siyana removed her blanket and stepped forward.
From her fingertips emerged the highest-grade water spirit in the form of a unicorn and the highest-grade wind spirit in the form of a butterfly.
The spirits, reading her heart, cut the monsters with swords of wind and repelled the approaching black flames with blue rain.
“Lady Siyana?”
“What are you all doing?!”
Siyana turned around without even accepting their thanks. For the first time, she looked at her kin with anger in her eyes.
“This is Sepia! And our sacred land!”
Siyana pointed to the sky with gritted teeth.
“Outsiders are risking their lives, so why are you looking for guardians and giving up on life? Do you think the World Tree would be happy if you just silently await death?”
She stomped her foot hard, telling them to regain their common sense.
“We are the only ones who can protect our land!”
Siyana shouted at them to move on their own, revealing eyes that shone with determination.
“B-but we can only summon low-grade spirits.”
“I can only shoot normal arrows…”
“Even if we want to fight, we can’t…”
“That’s no excuse.”
Siyana shook her head firmly.
“Now that we are cornered here! Whether it’s low-quality spirits! Throwing stones! It doesn’t matter, we must fight!”
She shouted at them to fight with their lives on the line and jumped towards the approaching horde of monsters. The earth spirit she summoned for the third time split the ground and swallowed the monsters.
“Rage…”
Siyana exhaled forcefully and grabbed her head. Having continuously blocked the poison in Sepia while commanding spirits, her mental strength had reached its limit. She felt dizzy, as if she were going to collapse at any moment.
“Until the end!”
As she bit her lip and tried to stand up, some young elves came forward and summoned small water spirits. The spirits, as young as the children, sprayed water as if it were a bladder. While one alone was insignificant, the combined streams managed to push back the flames a little.
“Mmm…”
Seeing this, the other elves also bit their lips and advanced, each summoning a spirit to fight the monsters. Although fear was present, no one gave up or retreated.
-Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone die before me!
Siyana raised her head and said they should all fight together.
“Well said, Princess!”
Martha emerged from the flames and cut the neck of an ogre approaching the World Tree.
“Even if others help you, you have to protect your own home!”
She nodded, saying she liked Siyana’s thinking.
“She’s not a princess, but the next Guardian. This isn’t a kingdom!”
Burren shook his head as he annihilated a horde of orcs rushing from the right with a single blow.
“Yes, Siyana. Well done.”
Runaan patted Siyana’s head as he repelled the black flames that burned even when they were wet with frost.
“Next Guardian! Stop being so disrespectful!”
Burren’s lips trembled, nervous at Runaan’s action.
“Ugh, it’s tougher here…”
Dorian shook his head, muttering that Sepia was more like hell.
“No, it’s safer where the division leader is.”
Krein licked his lips as he watched Raon fighting in the sky.
“Everyone, stop chattering and concentrate.”
Burren briefly looked at the Requiem Sword placed at the base of the World Tree, then shook his head.
“We can’t let our master’s homeland disappear!”
“Let’s go!”
With Martha’s shout, the Light Wind division’s counterattack began.
* * *
Raon bit his lip as he blocked the incessant bombardment of light.
‘There’s no opening.’
Seeing that Matirus didn’t give a swordsman any opportunity to approach, Raon realized his initial assessment was correct: Matirus had excellent practical experience and combat sense.
-No, it’s not just that he has more experience…
My movements aren’t right. Beyond mental or physical fatigue, my body feels heavy. Even though I can see them, cutting or blocking light magic isn’t easy. Raon narrowed his eyes as he cut through the waves of light rushing like clouds.
‘Wait a minute, now that I think about it…’
Sterin had also said that his physical condition was much worse than usual, making it difficult to face Matirus. Even if he was tired from training with Raon, it was strange for a Transcendent to say those things.
‘Let’s check it out.’
Having trained his entire life, he knew his own body better than anyone. He decided to determine if it was really fatigue or an external problem. Dozens of light clusters shot out from the orb Matirus had created, aiming for all of Raon’s vital points.
Raon took a step to the left using the Supreme Harmony Steps. As he tried to escape the light net, for a moment, his body felt heavy and slow.
He thought he could escape enough, but due to his heavier body, he couldn’t dodge it and had to block the light net.
“Rage…”
Raon wiped the blood dripping from his mouth and shook his head.
“What did you do to me?”
At that moment, his body’s movements and his aura had become a little slow. It was clearly an external effect, not internal.
“So you realized.”
Matirus exhaled in surprise.
“You are certainly different from that old elf.”
He nodded as if he were impressed.
“Stop muttering and answer my question, lizard.”
“I don’t have to tell you.”
Matirus frowned in annoyance and moved his finger. The orb floating in the air spun forcefully, throwing shards of light in all directions. It was as if all the stars in the night sky were falling at once.
Raon swung the swords in his hands with a time difference. As he was about to deflect all the approaching lights using the dual sword technique he had learned from Sheryl, it happened again.
‘Again.’
The light magic that he thought he could reach enough passed faster than Heavenly Impulse and pierced his side. More than the pain, he realized how he did it. Raon unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier to the extreme. After erasing all the surrounding light with an explosion of heat and cold, he raised his head.
“Now I understand.”
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Matirus standing on the edge of the sky.
“It’s gravity.”
At first, he thought Matirus might have placed a curse on his body, but it wasn’t so. Matirus had altered the gravity of the space Raon was in, slowing the movements of his body and his aura. Interestingly, he wasn’t manipulating gravity with mana, which was why it took so long to realize.
“Good senses.”
Matirus nodded, easily acknowledging it.
“While your ability to precisely control gravity is truly remarkable, now that it’s known, it no longer matters.”
Raon twisted his lips as he looked at Matirus.
“Is that so?”
As Matirus mocked him, his body was enveloped in magnificent light. A huge body casting shadows across the sky. The ancient dragon he had seen when he first entered the Great Forest now looked down at him from the sky.
[The fun is over, let’s finish this now.]
As soon as Raon heard Matirus’ calm voice, his body lost control and fell to the ground. It was no longer a subtle manipulation of gravity, but a strong Transcendent-level gravity control. He couldn’t move his body at all. Raon coughed up blood as he crashed into the ground of Sepia, just as Sterin had initially fallen.
“What the!”
Sterin, who had been fighting Green Serpent, also couldn’t overcome gravity and fell beside Raon, rolling on the ground.
[You are very wrong.]
Matirus let out a long sneer of contempt.
[Gravity manipulation is an ability I acquired when I became an ancient dragon. That’s why it’s not handled with mana. If subtle control is possible, exerting strong force is even easier.]
He shook his head and said he just wanted to watch the human’s useless struggle.
[Light has no mass, but it is affected by gravity. I will kill you without you being able to move a finger.]
Matirus raised his head as he pressed the area around the World Tree with gravity.
“Argh…”
“I can’t stand!”
“I can’t move my hands or my feet…”
The swordsmen and elves of the Light Wind division who had been gaining the upper hand couldn’t do anything and couldn’t move from their spots.
“Well…”
Sterin also coughed up black blood as if he had run out of strength. The reaction from pushing his aging body too hard made him suffer more than the others.
“So this is how it ends.”
Green Serpent, who was bleeding from his shoulder, presumably injured by Sterin, licked his lips. Matirus, as he pressed everyone down with gravity, opened his enormous maw. A golden glow began to emanate from his completely black throat. It was a breath attack, and it seemed he had gathered all the breath he could use in a day.
Raon bit his lip as he watched the golden breath gathering in the sky.
‘What do I have to do?’
Due to the increased gravity, it was difficult to even lift the hand holding the sword, and increasing his aura wasn’t easy either. He didn’t know how to block that breath, which was stronger than those of the Black Dragon and the Red Dragon.
‘Is there anyone who can help…?’
Raon looked at Wrath.
-Mmm, I guess I have no choice. This king will intervene.
Wrath nodded without hesitation, saying he would help even though his spirit body hadn’t fully recovered.
‘Wrath. You…’
As Raon bit his lip and looked at Wrath, it happened. The leaves of the World Tree, which had been bending and breaking under gravity, scattered a greenish light as if they were coming back to life. The wind rising from the Requiem Sword, touched by that light, reached Raon’s shoulders and back.
“Ah…”
Raon bit his lip as he perceived the nostalgic scent of the wind. It was as if Rimmer was grabbing his shoulder and assuring him that he could do it.
-Manifestation is impossible at this moment. This king will boost his energy…
‘Alright.’
Raon shook his head towards Wrath.
-What? What are you doing…?
‘I will do it.’
He lifted his knee, heavy as a thousand pounds, and straightened his waist.
“It’s time to act now.”
He had always received help. He survived thanks to Rimmer. Rescued by Glenn. Wrath manifested to overcome crises. In addition to these, he had been able to live as himself thanks to the help of countless people.
To expect help from others, unable to protect people even after achieving Transcendence, would be to throw away his own value and future.
Today, and right now, was the time to walk with his own feet and hands. Matirus, full of murderous intent, brought the Sacred Light Breath down towards the World Tree. The breath’s shock wave tore through the sky and lifted the ground that it didn’t even touch, crumbling it.
Raon tightly gripped the Heavenly Drive and Rimmer’s sword as he faced the breath that seemed to fill not only his vision but the entire world.
He spun the Ring of Fire to the extreme, opening the realm of transcendence.
‘What I learned by achieving Transcendence wasn’t just the aura of nature.’
The reason he had touched Transcendence at the last moment was human emotions. He imbued the two swords with the feeling of that moment when he had understood all human emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure) and became a being who surpassed humanity while remaining human.
He stomped on the ground as if he were provoking an earthquake. He imbued Rimmer’s sword with the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and enveloped Heavenly Impulse with the cold of Glacier.
The aura rising along the elegant tips of the raised swords raised a golden dawn as if announcing a new era. Sword Mastery. Crack of the Heaven. The golden aura rising like a trail of gunpowder collided with the Sacred Light Breath descending with gravity.
-
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