C916
"That's it."
Raon clicked his tongue as he looked at the damaged middle floor of the Black Tower.
«Even with all my strength, I couldn't break it all.»
Despite hitting the cracked wall with all his might after Chamber's magic, he couldn't completely destroy the middle floor. The wall itself seemed too solid, making the attack seem pointless.
-Demonic energy is compressed to the maximum as you go up each floor. Even if the quality is slightly lower, the quantity itself is overwhelming, so you won't be able to break it with your current strength.
Wrath shook his head, telling him not to waste unnecessary energy.
'Something...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the hand holding the Heavenly Drive.
"I thought I could do it."
He felt himself getting stronger little by little since entering the Black Tower's dimension. Even if it wasn't growth in martial arts itself, he thought he could break the wall with the power of Wrath, but it seemed he was still too weak.
-Indeed, you're consuming demonic energy through my Wrath, but you still have very little time left.
Wrath snorted, telling him to control himself. He pointed to Chamber, who was erasing the demonic energy from this dimension.
-Right now, only that little mage pretending to be a child can destroy the upper floors of that tower. Of course, we can't do that since we don't know when the one inside the tower will jump out.
-I guess so.
Raon let out a short sigh.
'It's a shame.'
Chamber had said that she couldn't use high-powered magic when the Black Tower Master wasn't visible because he might launch a surprise attack. In the end, the only answer was to go in directly and behead the demonized humans.
-However...
Wrath frowned as he looked at the upper floor of the tower covered in black mist.
-The energy there is strange.
'What do you mean by strange?'
-The flow of demonic energy has accelerated rapidly since they entered this dimension. It seems the Black Tower Master is preparing something.
He waved his hand, saying that the flow of demonic energy was being distorted.
'What could it be?'
Raon bit his lip as he examined the upper floor of the tower.
-As I always say, I don't know much about sorcery or magic.
Wrath lowered his eyebrows, telling him not to expect detailed information from him.
-But what's for sure is that the mole hiding up there is trying something.
'You wouldn't say nonsense...'
Raon clenched his fist as he stared at the black mist.
"We need to get in as soon as possible."
He wanted to drag the Black Tower Master and the demonized humans out of the Black Tower, but it seemed they would have to enter that tower themselves.
"Lady Chamber!"
As Raon yelled towards the sky, Chamber descended as if she had been waiting.
"I have something to tell you.
He told her the story he had just heard from Wrath.
-So you felt it too?
Chamber widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe it.
"How are your senses…?"
She was surprised that he, who had just become worthy of the name Transcended, had read the Black Tower Master's scheme.
-Did you feel it too, Lady Chamber?
Raon looked at Chamber, who let out a dry laugh.
"Yes."
Chamber licked her lips as she observed the entire Black Tower.
"That Black Tower Master is concentrating demonic energy very discreetly."
She nodded, saying that the flow of demonic energy had changed.
"I don't know what kind of magic it is, but something big is about to come."
Chamber let out a long sigh and said the same thing as Wrath.
"However, this means that the Black Tower Master was also very surprised by this attack. We need to reach the upper floor where the Black Tower Master is before that magic is complete."
She bit on a candy and said that if they could stop that magic, they could gain the advantage.
-Then time is key, isn't it?
Raon looked at the Black Tower with a cold gaze.
"Yes. In fact, we're in a situation similar to being in a tiger's mouth. We have to pull out its teeth and cut out its tongue before it closes its mouth."
Chamber frowned and said that everyone here could be in danger if they couldn't stop the Black Tower Master's magic.
"Can't you, the great mage, attack first?"
Karoon, who had approached unnoticed, nodded towards Chamber.
"The Black Tower Master is hiding, and my position is clearly exposed. If it's him, he might be able to launch a surprise attack on me while activating the current magic."
Chamber gestured with her finger, indicating that the situation was disadvantageous for them.
"Then you go in first."
She smiled slightly as she put a blue candy in the inner pocket of her uniform.
"I'll delay the completion time of the Black Tower Master's magic from here."
Chamber waved her staff and ordered them to enter the Black Tower and clear the way.
"Understood."
Raon nodded as he clutched the pocket with the candy. It seemed that was the only way for now.
"Karoon, I'm asking you too."
Chamber also handed a blue candy to Karoon. It seemed to be a special artifact, not an ordinary candy.
"I'll make sure you can meet the Black Tower Master."
Karoon nodded, thumping his chest as if to say not to worry.
"Then I'm counting on you."
Chamber put a new candy in her mouth and disappeared into the black mist where the upper floor of the tower was.
"We'll go in first, so follow us and regain your strength."
Karoon said that he would clear the way and then jumped into the middle floor that he had broken before. The swordsmen of the Central Martial Palace also followed him, leaping into the middle floor in a huff.
"Let's go too!"
Martha waved her sword-wielding hand, saying that they should move quickly.
"Leaving isn't the problem, but the continuous emergence of demonic beasts from this place."
Raon frowned as he watched the darkness behind the tower. The demonic beasts continued to appear non-stop, as if they were truly connected to the Devildom, even though they had killed Jepple.
"If they attack us from behind, we could be completely wiped out."
If the higher-ranking demonized humans attacked from inside the Black Tower and an endless stream of demonic beasts pushed them from behind, their retreat could be cut off, putting them in danger as well.
"Leave this to us!"
The Third Prince Greer raised his sword shining with blue light.
"We won't let a single mouse enter the tower!"
He thumped his chest as if to say trust him.
"Owen came to help Zieghart and Balkar, so I'll leave the main course to you."
Duke Tartan smiled and said that he would block the entrance.
"Then I'll trust you."
Both the Third Prince and Duke Tartan were trustworthy people and warriors. Leaving the rear to these two, he went up to the middle floor of the Black Tower.
'The air isn't good.'
The demonic energy flowing inside the tower was incomparably worse than outside. However, he, who possessed Wrath, felt his body was lighter than when he was outside the tower.
"Let's go too!"
Hearing Martha's shout, the Light Wind Palace warriors followed him to the middle floor of the tower. The Light Wind Palace swordsmen didn't seem to be affected by the demonic energy either. However, the mages of Jayna and Balkar who followed them turned pale due to the demonic energy of the tower.
"Are you okay?"
As Raon checked the condition of Jayna and Balkar's mages, he felt a strong shockwave that came from above. It seemed that Karoon and the Central Martial Palace warriors were massacring demonized humans and demonic beasts as they climbed the tower.
"We can handle it."
Jayna nodded with difficulty, her hand trembling as she gripped her staff. Unlike her words, it seemed she was struggling to endure the demonic energy.
"It's not a problem."
Morel Kazan shook his head as if to say not to worry. Of course, he wasn't immune to the demonic energy either, as a vein was bulging on his forehead.
"Then let's go up."
Raon repeatedly clenched and unclenched his right hand as he climbed the stairs. Thanks to Karoon's prior clearing, they were able to ascend quickly without having to fight.
-What are you doing?
"I feel myself getting stronger just by being here."
He felt the demonic energy sticking to his body beyond the Wrath he possessed. And it was only pure demonic energy that was being absorbed, without the foul impurities.
-Damn it!
Wrath twisted his lips and then punched the air.
-If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have handed over Wrath!
He audibly clenched his teeth in frustration.
"Don't be like that."
Raon shook his head with a smile.
"Anyway, it's not like I'm getting permanently stronger."
The demonic energy he was getting now was only temporary power, as it wasn't obtained through effort. There was no reason for Wrath to be so angry.
"But..."
Raon frowned as he listened to Karoon's sword mantra getting further and further away with each floor they climbed.
"How far does that person plan to go by himself?"
* * *
"Jaja..."
Glenn let out a deep sigh as he looked out the window.
"I'm unusually anxious."
Despite sending Archmage Chamber, the Transcendent Raon and Karoon, and even Roenn, the tremor in his chest wouldn't stop. He had a feeling that a big problem was about to happen.
«It wasn't like this at first.»
With Zieghart and Balkar's alliance, and even with Owen's participation, it seemed there wouldn't be any problems no matter who the opponent was. But after hearing the plan and receiving news of its success, he suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if he had indigestion.
"It's because you're getting old. Just old."
Alice, sitting on the platform, waved her hand telling him not to worry.
"Karoon is one thing, but Raon isn't the kind of kid who would die in a place like that."
She pursed her lips as if she trusted Raon more than anyone else.
"You certainly speak well."
Glenn frowned as he watched Alice put a grape in her mouth.
"It's because I've seen him and felt him. To be honest, I trust Raon more than Lady Chamber."
Alice thumped her chest with the empty grape stem as if she was being sincere.
"Keep your nonsense to yourself."
Glenn bit his lip as he turned his gaze back to the window.
«Curiously, I trust Raon more too.»
Although he told Alice it was nonsense, he also had as much trust in Raon and Karoon as he did in Chamber. Of course, that trust didn't erase his anxiety, but still...
"I don't know anything about this situation either. I wish I could just leave now."
Glenn shook his head and said that it was a frustrating situation.
"By the way, are you done with your training?"
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Alice again.
"No. I came to check my physical condition."
Alice pointed to herself and said that she had just received a checkup from Federick.
"What did that healer say?"
"He said my body has almost completely recovered. My muscles are also getting stronger."
She smiled and said that both her training and treatment were going well.
"So I plan to do one last training session before I start."
Alice licked her lips as she pulled the Dragon Heart from her subspace bag.
"If I want to live up to Raon's expectations, I need to prepare thoroughly."
She shook her head, saying that she wanted to show a completely recovered appearance when Raon returned.
"To think that he would hand over the Dragon Heart so casually."
Glenn let out a dry laugh as he looked at the Dragon Heart shining with rainbow colors.
-Raon is not in his right mind either. And you, of course, are not either.
"Where do you think that insane mind came from? It all came from you, father."
Alice pointed at Glenn with her calloused finger.
"So don't worry and wait."
She smiled as she looked out the window that Glenn was looking at.
"Our nephew will bring everyone back safe and sound."
* * *
"Hmm?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked towards the upper floor.
'The sword mantra has stopped.'
Karoon, who had been pushing himself like a bull, had stopped on the floor just above them, and no more sounds of fighting could be heard. It seemed that the battle was over.
"What's going on? We should be close to the upper floors."
Burren lowered his eyebrows as he looked towards a small window.
"Has a monster appeared that even the Central Martial Palace Master can't handle?"
Martha licked her lips as if she was eagerly anticipating it.
"There's no presence..."
Runaan shook his head and said that both Karoon and the Central Martial Palace swordsmen had stopped.
"Let's go up quickly."
Raon nodded to the Light Wind Palace swordsmen and went up the spiral staircase with his footwork. When he climbed the last step, an extremely wide space was revealed like a large training ground. In the enormous space that could accommodate hundreds of people lying down, only two doors stood out.
The door on the left was decorated with white feathers like an angel's wings, while the door on the right was inlaid with black horns and bat wings, creating a demonic shape.
"It's a fork in the road."
Karoon turned to look at him and nodded his chin.
"As the Archmage said, we need to reach the Black Tower Master as quickly as possible by going up in either direction, so it would be better to split our forces."
He pointed to the door behind him and said that they should disperse from there.
"You choose first."
"Mmm..."
Raon nodded and examined the two doors carefully. However, besides their different shapes, both emanated dense demonic energy.
"I'll go through the right door."
Raon pointed to the right door, the one with black horns. Perhaps because of Wrath and Derus, he felt more drawn to the demon's door than the angel's.
"Then we'll go left."
Karoon said that they would go left and stood in front of the door with white feathers.
"What are you going to do?"
He turned his gaze towards Princess Jayna and Balkar's mages who had followed the Light Wind Palace.
"I'll go this way..."
Jayna rolled her eyes left and right before standing behind the Light Wind Palace.
"Then I'll go left."
Morel Kazan said that he would go with Karoon and stood behind the left side.
"Not a bad choice."
Karoon smiled and opened the angel's door. He was about to enter when he stopped and looked at Burren.
"Don't let your guard down just because you've reached the Grand Master level. Most cases where warriors die are because they thought they were strong."
Karoon gave advice that would apply not only to Burren but also to Martha and Runaan before turning his head.
"...Congratulations on becoming a Grand Master."
He left those last words and entered the angel's door without waiting for a response. The Central Martial Palace warriors followed him, giving Burren warm smiles.
"That person really can't hold back what's inside, can he?"
Martha shook her head and looked at Burren.
"Your dad is... Huh? Are you crying?"
She gaped as she saw Burren with tears in his eyes.
"Ha...it's been so long since I received any praise..."
Burren shed tears the size of a pea as if he couldn't control his emotions.
"But I get praised every hour...?"
Runaan tilted his head as if he didn't understand.
"That's weird too!"
Martha shook her head as if it was ridiculous.
-Enough, get ready.
Raon gestured to Burren, Martha, and Runaan.
"The Light Wind Palace will take the lead, Your Highness and the mages will support from the middle. The Warring Steel Division will take the rear. Let's do it this way."
He finished giving instructions for the personnel deployment and stood in front of the demon's door.
"Our top priority is to reach the Black Tower Master, so staying behind in the middle is also part of the plan. Everyone, remember this."
"I know..."
Jayna let out a long sigh and nodded.
"Of course."
Trevin smiled as if to say leave it to him.
"Then let's go in."
Raon made eye contact with everyone and opened the demon's door. Even before entering, he felt a strong light and a sensation of his body floating.
'What is this?'
He felt his energy becoming even stronger than when he was on the lower and middle floors. It was as if the demonic energy was being absorbed through his skin. Pum!
As he felt his feet touch the ground, he looked up and saw a man spreading his black wings in a space the size of a fighting arena. In his completely black hand, he held a sword that seemed to embody a lightning bolt, which hurt just to look at.
"Humans..."
The being who had transcended humanity rolled his eyes as he looked this way.
-That...
Wrath moistened his lips as he looked at the grotesque man.
-It's a real demon.
-
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