C935
"Rensia?"
Raon opened his eyes in astonishment as he saw the girl walking from behind the broken fountain. Her delicate features were accompanied by a determined gaze. Rensia, whom he had believed dead moments ago, was now approaching him.
'An illusion? No, this is real.'
Seeing the real Rensia, Raon felt as if he were in a dream, his body went limp. He thought he might collapse and faint right there.
"Rensia!"
"You're alive! Girl!"
"Ah..."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan also seemed surprised by Rensia's return, lowering their weapons and taking a deep breath.
- Eh? What?
Even Wrath gaped in surprise, not expecting Rensia to be alive.
- H-how is that brat still alive?
He staggered backwards as if he had seen a ghost.
"Master Raon!"
Rencia ran towards him, stumbling slightly, and threw herself into his arms. Her complexion was pale and she seemed unsteady on her feet, indicating she wasn't fully healed.
"I'm so glad you've returned safely! Truly..."
She was still thinking of others first, not minding her own condition.
"How...?"
"I was lucky."
Roenn stood beside Rensia, letting out a sigh of relief.
"All the priests and healers left in Montiro refused to treat Lady Rensia, saying they couldn't save her. Just as we were about to move her elsewhere, fortunately, divine intervention arrived."
He raised his hand, pointing to the Holy Olga who was walking towards the fountain.
"The Holy One took time out of her busy schedule to use her sacred power to heal Lady Rensia. Without her, it would have been much more difficult."
Roenn bowed his head, explaining that Rensia was able to survive thanks to Holy Olga.
"H-Holy One! Thank you!"
Rencia, who had been unconscious and was seeing Olga for the first time, immediately bowed her head.
"I was also on the brink of death. It seems you weren't destined to die."
Olga smiled slightly as she patted Rensia's head. She also seemed quite exhausted, her fingers with black lines trembling slightly.
"...What happened to Chamber?"
Raon approached Olga, forcibly suppressing the confusion in his heart.
"I managed to save her, for now."
Olga nodded calmly. She began to reach for her tobacco but stopped upon seeing Rensia, lowering her hand again.
"What do you mean 'for now'..."
Raon moistened his dry lips as he listened to Olga's words.
"You saw it too. She had bone-exposing wounds all over her body, and her mental injuries are much worse."
Olga shook her head, saying these weren't symptoms that could be easily cured even with sacred power.
"We'll only know Chamber's condition when she wakes up."
She closed her eyes, saying that at this point, nothing could be certain in any way.
"Then, is it possible that she won't be able to use magic?"
They had managed to shift the balance of power between the Five Kings and the Five Demons by destroying the Black Tower, but if Chamber were to give up, it would all be in vain. Even the Beast King Ogram had lost his power, so Chamber couldn't fall either.
"The upper dantian of the Transcendants is so thick and strong that it's hard to break by force. Since cracks have formed there, healing Chamber won't be easy. However..."
Olga brushed away her blood-stained hair and shook her head.
"I'll do what I can, so erase that sickly chicken expression from your face. It's disgustingly ugly."
She tilted her chin arrogantly, as if to say not to worry.
"That's very typical of a holy one."
Raon nodded with a smile.
"Thank you. For coming here, and for saving everyone else. For everything."
He drew his Heavenly Drive and gave Olga a sword salute. He was grateful for everything she had done: bringing the Holy Knights and priests, saving Rensia despite her busy schedule, and not giving up on Chamber even with demons and Demon Kings wreaking havoc.
"Did you only learn cheesy lines while I wasn't looking? The Black Tower is also our common enemy. It's natural to fight if we can."
Olga snorted and waved her hand in disdain.
"If anything, I should thank you for calling us. I never thought I'd see the Black Tower fall with my own eyes."
She smiled genuinely, as if just participating in this war was enough for her.
"Besides, what you've done for Suphren is much more than what we did today. Don't think I've forgotten."
Olga shook her head, saying that without him, the Holy Kingdom of Suphren itself might have disappeared.
"Ah, that's embarrassing. Stop talking so embarrassingly. You're making me blush."
Raon rubbed his arms, returning Olga's words.
"S-shut up! You're the one saying cheesy lines. I just copied you! Damn it!"
Olga's face turned red like an autumn apple as she gritted her teeth.
"Uh..."
Rencia blinked in bewilderment, clearly not expecting the one they called Holy to use such vulgar language.
"Hey, girl."
Olga gestured to Rencia, who wasn't much shorter than her.
"Come here. Seeing your complexion, I need to heal you a little more."
"What? But I'm fine..."
"Shut up and come. I was too busy before to heal you completely. Besides, a young lady shouldn't have scars on her body."
She shook her head, saying she needed to erase even the remaining scars on her body.
"Ah, alright."
Rencia bowed to Raon as if she had no choice and approached Olga.
"Hey."
Olga looked at Raon with her arm around Rencia's shoulders.
"Consider this payment for your help today, alright? Don't say anything weird later."
She shouted that he didn't need to be grateful for today's events and entered the makeshift infirmary.
- That brat's tattoos have darkened.
Wrath frowned as he looked at Olga's arms and legs.
- Seeing how they've spread to her fingers, it seems she doesn't have much time left.
'I noticed that too.'
The black lines on Olga's body weren't tattoos, but rather her skin melting away from forcibly extracting sacred power. It seemed she was still using her lifespan and soul as payment to extract massive amounts of sacred power to destroy evil and save people.
"She said we're even, but..."
Raon clenched his fist, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"I could create a new debt, you know?"
At that moment, he lacked the ability to even consider it, but now he felt he might be able to change Olga's unbalanced constitution.
'Can you help?'
- Hmm...
Wrath stared at the infirmary where Olga had entered for a moment before snorting.
- At least I could restore her balance.
He nodded without much hesitation, seeming to have grown fond of Olga.
'You know, I've been thinking.'
Raon smiled as he stroked Wrath's bridge of the nose.
'The title of Demon King doesn't suit you.'
- That's an insult!
'Is it?'
Raon pushed Wrath's forehead as he struggled, heading towards the bead ice cream shop where Gluttony and Lust were waiting.
* * *
"Ugh..."
After finishing Rensia's treatment, Holy Olga's fingertips, marked with black lines, trembled.
"H-Holy One? Are you alright?"
Rencia sat up with worried eyes.
"Don't get up."
Olga pressed her weakened fingers against Rensia's forehead.
"Worry about yourself before you worry about me. If I had arrived even a second later, you would have died."
This wasn't a joke. If she had arrived a few seconds later or had hesitated, Rencia would have died. Her injuries had been so severe that their current conversation was nothing short of a miracle.
"But if it hurts you to heal me, Holy One..."
"Adults can endure pain."
Olga waved her hand in disdain, telling her to simply sleep.
"Ah, I can't sleep yet because I haven't properly thanked you."
"Thank you? Who?"
"Master Raon and everyone else."
Rencia licked her lips, seemingly regretting not properly thanking Raon.
"They helped me a lot. Without them, I would have died and never escaped the clutches of the Black Tower."
She blinked, tears welling up in her emerald eyes as she said it still felt like a dream.
"How did they help you? I arrived in a hurry, so I don't know the exact situation."
Olga gestured for her to explain the circumstances if she couldn't sleep.
"Should I? When we met, his name wasn't Raon. He arrived as a nouveau riche..."
Rencia gripped her blanket tightly as she happily recounted the events.
"...And that's how we were able to open the gate to the Black Tower. I don't know much after that because I was injured."
"I know what happened after that. That's enough."
Olga nodded, saying that was enough.
"Now that you've said everything, do you feel better?"
"Yes!"
Rencia nodded with a bright smile.
"Then sleep."
"What? But I haven't thanked... Oh."
As Olga placed her hand on Rensia's forehead, she fell asleep with a gentle, steady breath.
"Whew..."
Olga exhaled deeply and looked towards the fountain where Raon had been.
"You haven't changed at all."
When she heard that Raon had become a Transcendent, she had wondered how he could have changed. She had worried whether the purity she had seen in him would still be there, but it seemed he hadn't changed at all.
The young hero who had risked his life to save the Holy Kingdom of Suphren, even though it wasn't his problem, was still there, wielding his sword for others.
'If only I hadn't changed too...'
Olga smiled bitterly as she looked at the black lines covering her arms and legs.
'I guess it's too late.'
She had used a lot of sacred power to restore the Holy Kingdom to its original state, and today she had used massive amounts again to defeat the demons and save Chamber. Seeing the black lines reaching halfway up her fingers and feeling chills throughout her body, she felt her life was truly nearing its end.
'But I don't regret it.'
She approached the bed where Chamber lay. Despite the headache from using her sacred power, she couldn't stop yet.
'I have to save this person somehow.'
Chamber needed to live for them to maintain an advantage in the balance of the Five Kings and the Five Demons. Even if she died, she had to save this person.
"Ah, I miss smoking."
Olga put a pen in her mouth instead of a cigarette and placed her hand on Chamber's head. In the humid infirmary, a warm light, like a winter cigarette ember, continuously rose.
* * *
After instructing the Light Wind Palace warriors to guard the perimeter, Raon headed towards the bead ice cream shop near the fountain. Fortunately, there was no one in the shop, and Gluttony was devouring entire containers of bead ice cream without an owner. Judging by the empty containers rolling on the floor, it seemed there wasn't much left.
Meanwhile, Lust had placed a single bead ice cream on the table and was staring into space with an unsettling and incomprehensible smile.
- W-wait a moment!
As Raon was about to open the door and enter the ice cream shop, Wrath blocked his way.
- Are you really going in? That stalker is in there!
Wrath shook his head as if telling him to reconsider.
'If we don't go in, Gluttony will eat your ice cream too, you know?'
- Uh...?
He swallowed as he watched Gluttony devour even the ice cream containers.
'If you don't eat it now, you won't even be able to see bead ice cream until family support arrives.'
Raon gave Wrath a tap on the head, telling him to think carefully.
- Nnngh...
Wrath's jaw trembled as he alternated between looking at Lust, who seemed genuinely enamored, and Gluttony, who was destroying the ice cream.
- This damn world! Nothing goes right!
He grabbed his head, unable to choose between his appetite and his fear.
'I need to thank them at least. I'm going in.'
As Raon was about to open the door to the ice cream shop, leaving Wrath who couldn't make a decision...
"W-wait a moment, please!"
Jayna came running from behind, calling out to him. Her expression was pale and rigid.
"What's wrong?"
Jayna had been tasked with reporting the situation here to all of Owen. Seeing her so nervous meant there must be a problem with that task.
"I can't contact headquarters or Balkar."
She looked towards the still-dark sky with trembling eyes.
"I think there might be a problem with the other Kings!"
* * *
The public chamber of Owen exuded such an overwhelming pressure that it felt as if one's soul would be crushed just by entering. This grand place that would intimidate anyone was different from usual today. The enormous chandelier, which seemed to have the word 'splendor' engraved on it, had fallen and shattered on the floor, and the red carpet was bubbling as it absorbed bright red blood.
The Lion Knights, who had sworn allegiance to the great king, lay dead with eyes that revealed fear and despair, and the blood flowing from them opened a path towards the throne instead of the carpet.
Even the throne erected in the public chamber was split in half, and its owner, the Silent Sword Master Lecross, was leaning against the cracked wall, coughing up dark blood.
The blue-clad man with silver hair stepped over the blood flowing from the knights and stood in front of the broken throne. With a slight gesture of his slender hand, the Lion throne, which hadn't moved in hundreds of years, crumbled.
"Silent Sword Master. Was that name just an empty title? Or..."
Derus Robert, once ranked among the Six Kings alongside the Silent Sword Master, smiled coldly.
"Have I become stronger?"
He tilted his blood-soaked sword and stepped over the fallen throne, approaching Lecross.
"Derus Robert..."
Lecross painfully lifted his shoulder, which was soaked in blood, and struggled to raise his sword.
"Why are you here?"
"You're attacking us, so I couldn't just stand by, right?"
Derus shrugged as if asking why he was asking such an obvious question. He seemed completely different from when he held the title of Holy Sword Saint, as if his own soul had changed.
"When Chamber moved, a gap appeared in your communication network. We also have some pretty decent magicians on our side, so we were able to break through it."
Derus Robert smiled cruelly, saying it seemed like a good idea to launch an identical attack instead of rescuing the Master of the Black Tower.
"Not a rescue, but revenge? How absurd."
Lecross twisted his lips as he met Derus' blue eyes. In reality, he had already predicted that the Five Demons might launch an attack. He had made preparations to fill Chamber's absence, ensuring that not everyone went to the Black Tower.
'The problem is...'
Lecross frowned as he watched Derus approach with measured steps.
'This guy's martial prowess exceeds my expectations.'
Derus Robert possessed power on a completely different level from when he was part of the Six Kings. Even using all his strength, Lecross found it difficult to properly block the other's sword.
'Was the difference that big?'
It hadn't been that long since Derus left the Six Kings. Seeing him become so strong in such a short time suggested he had been hiding his strength all along. It felt like he was facing Glenn.
"If a Demon leaves, a King should leave too. Soon it will be Five Kings and Four Demons."
Derus wagged his finger, treating the fall of the Black Tower as a fait accompli.
"No, it will be Four Kings and Four Demons!"
As Derus gestured with his finger, Lecross swung the sword he had been holding. The blue light imbued in the blade took the shape of a lion, cleaving the heavens and the earth. Lion King Sword Formation. The enormous sword strike, as if clad in unbreakable iron, split the entire public chamber and extended towards the core of Derus Robert.
As Derus raised his sword, a white light rose and collided head-on with the Lion King Sword Formation. A tremendous explosion occurred between the two sword strikes, causing the public chamber and the royal castle itself to collapse.
'Did it work?'
Derus Robert's presence rapidly decreased. It would be good if he had killed him, but it probably wasn't the case. As he tried to catch his breath and quickly retreat, he felt a chilling sensation behind him.
Twisting his waist without even time to exhale, the blue trajectory had already touched his skin. Derus Robert's sword, which had somehow moved behind him, pierced his shoulder deeply.
"I was aiming for your heart, but you dodged well."
Derus Robert tilted his chin as if he were impressed.
"But it doesn't mean anything... Hm."
He stopped as he was about to plunge the sword piercing his shoulder downwards.
"I expected it, but it's faster than I thought."
Derus Robert turned, letting out a sigh. The dark clouds parted as a crimson lightning bolt stretched across the sky, which seemed to roar in distortion. As the gray dust that had risen from the ruined royal castle settled in fear, a swordsman with red eyes stood over the blood of the knights.
"Finally, we meet."
Glenn Zieghart. The Northern Destroyer King who earned the name Lightning God. The continent's best swordsman unsheathed his beloved sword.
"Derus Robert."
-
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