C936
Glenn frowned as he observed Derus Robert, who remained calm.
'He's gotten stronger.'
His fingertips trembled at the aura emanating from Derus. A power that surpassed the framework of a Transcendent. It seemed natural that King Lecross, known as the Silent Sword Master, had fallen so easily.
'But more than that....'
What surprised him wasn't the man's martial prowess. It was something deeper. Derus Robert's very soul had changed. There was a sense of alienation, as if he had become something more than human.
"It's been a while."
Derus Robert slowly turned to face him.
"Glenn Zieghart."
He lifted his chin, placing King Lecross in front of him as if he intended to use him as a hostage.
"Judging by your swift arrival, you must have been waiting in Zieghart."
Derus wagged his finger as if he were surprised.
"I thought you'd be hiding in Montiro, where the Black Tower is, but you stayed with your family. I guess you don't care if your grandson and son die?"
He mentioned Karoon and Raon's names as if he knew everything about the plan to attack the Black Tower.
"Those children are strong. They won't fall to people like the Black Tower."
Glenn shook his head calmly, expressing his faith in Raon and Karoon.
"Oh? That's different from the information I have."
Derus slightly twisted the sword piercing King Lecross' shoulder, as if trying to provoke Glenn.
"..."
King Lecross didn't let out even the slightest groan despite feeling the pain of flesh and bone being torn apart.
"Head of the family. I've shown you an unpleasant scene. Please, don't worry about me and kill this demon."
He lifted his firm gaze, asking Glenn to kill Derus without considering his own life.
"He's not the king of a country for nothing."
Derus Robert murmured in admiration, letting out a sigh.
"I'll have to silence you."
He brought his index and middle finger together and stabbed King Lecross' back.
"Mmph!"
King Lecross froze, unable to move a finger as if his entire aura flow had been blocked.
"..."
Glenn looked at King Lecross, who couldn't even move his eyes, then turned his gaze back to Derus.
"When did you realize we were targeting the Black Tower?"
"A little before the Black Tower did."
Derus shrugged as if he had known about the plan before the attack.
"Then you could have prevented the surprise attack?"
Glenn frowned as he looked at Derus.
"Why would I?"
Derus shrugged as if asking why he should have stopped it.
"What?"
"Having the Black Tower become the final battlefield isn't the path I desire."
He shook his head, saying now wasn't the time for the real war.
"It's more beneficial to take advantage of the opportunity when everyone's eyes are on the Black Tower to confirm my abilities and kill this incompetent king."
Derus twisted his lips, saying it was better to reduce an enemy than to save an ally.
"Don't you agree?"
He wagged his finger as if he were excited, pressing on King Lecross' wound.
"..."
Despite the intense pain, King Lecross remained unyielding, sending a gaze that seemed to say 'kill Derus'.
"Just wait."
Glenn gripped the Heavenly Tremor more tightly after accepting King Lecross' gaze in his heart.
"Are you really going to try? The moment you move, this country will lose its father figure."
Derus wasn't ashamed to take a hostage despite having an aura not much inferior to Glenn's. It was behavior beyond comprehension.
'Besides....'
That wound was inflicted by a surprise attack. It's obvious just by looking. The wound King Lecross received wasn't from a frontal attack, but from an ambush from behind. It was shocking that he would use such murderous fighting methods despite possessing such power.
'I knew Holy Sword Saint Derus Robert was a man created by acting, but I didn't expect him to be so different.'
Derus abandoned the opportunity to save the Master of the Black Tower and infiltrated Owen to attack King Lecross. Using a strategy to kill an enemy despite having enough power to save allies, it seemed harder to understand because the memory of Holy Sword Saint Derus Robert still lingered in Glenn's mind.
'This is difficult.'
I can't read that guy's thoughts. Up until now, with his vast experience, Glenn could somewhat predict what kind of person someone was by observing their social standing and behavior. But this Derus Robert was different.
Despite possessing power that overwhelmed a Transcendent of the Five Kings and Five Demons, he resorted to surprise attacks and wasn't ashamed to take hostages. It was incomprehensible to Glenn's common sense.
"How fascinating."
Derus Robert lowered his chin slightly as he observed Glenn.
"How can you reach such a state when you're merely human and no one exists behind you?"
He narrowed his eyes as if he couldn't understand Glenn.
"Of course, being merely human, you can't escape causality."
Derus smiled arrogantly as if he knew Glenn's condition.
"Stop hiding and come out."
As he raised his hand, a young man with golden hair and snow-white wings emerged from behind a pillar. An impressive appearance that shattered composure just by looking at it. Not human, but an Angel.
"Please."
Derus handed King Lecross, whom he had been holding hostage, to the Angel. Judging by his tone, it didn't seem to be a superior-subordinate relationship.
"..."
Glenn frowned as he watched this scene.
'This isn't an ordinary Angel.'
Having witnessed Uriel's descent, Glenn knew that Derus had connections to the heavenly realm. If it were a mediocre Angel, he could take an opportunity with a single sword strike, but this Angel was different. It seemed dangerous if not dealt with properly.
"Well, then..."
Derus Robert raised his sword, dripping blood from King Lecross, and pointed it at his own heart.
"I was curious about the difference between you and me, and this is perfect."
He tilted his chin as if suggesting a fight. As Derus Robert raised his sword, a chilling sensation was felt as if ice spikes were sprouting from the ground.
"As your junior, I'll make the first move."
He stepped with his left foot and extended his sword imbued with a blue light. A pain as if his body and soul were pierced by a blade arose even before Derus' sword made contact.
The state of projecting the sword built in the mental image into reality. As expected, Derus Robert had reached a level different from other Transcendants.
'But it's still not enough.'
Glenn deflected Derus' sword strike that was piercing through space by twisting the Heavenly Tremor diagonally. Despite being just a clash of swords, a huge aura storm erupted, ripping apart the entire palace. The roof flew off, the walls collapsed, revealing the blue sky and the dark earth.
"You blocked that so easily?"
Derus let out a hollow laugh, feeling incredulous. It had seemed like an ordinary stab, but he had just used an extreme technique. He had intended to split not only Glenn, but also the ground behind him, but he hadn't expected it to be blocked so simply.
"Now it's my turn."
A bright red lightning bolt flashed over the Heavenly Tremor that Glenn raised. His sword fell towards Derus' head with a majestic radiance. Within Glenn's sword strike, which seemed to contain the thunder of the heavens, was the will to pulverize his enemy.
"Magnificent!"
It was a force that would tear off limbs even for a Transcendent of the Five Kings and Five Demons, but Derus charged forward despite seeing it. A blue light like the sea blossomed from his sword, cutting through Glenn's sword strike that was about to explode with lightning in the air. It was a severing sword that interrupted the flow before the swordsmanship could exert its full power.
'As expected.'
Glenn narrowed his eyes as he watched Derus shaking off the remaining lightning from his sword.
'This guy has already become different from the other Five Kings and Five Demons.'
At this point, Derus Robert possessed the power to defeat all the leaders of the Five Kings and Five Demons except the Heavenly Demon and himself. Glenn couldn't understand how he had acquired such power in such a short time since his disappearance.
"Now that we've tested the waters, shall we begin in earnest?"
Derus twirled his wrist with a cold smile. The blue light enveloping his sword turned into an ominous darkness.
'Death aura....'
Death aura was a power built by refining and perfecting the energy of death. Naturally, it was a much more dangerous and vicious energy that one had to be careful even to touch. Derus' sword strike cut through the air and flew towards Glenn. The earth split, and black flames bloomed. It was as if hell was being summoned to this world.
Glenn didn't back down even after seeing the strange phenomenon created by Derus' swordsmanship. He invoked an even denser lightning energy over the Heavenly Tremor and cut through the incoming darkness.
Since ancient times, lightning has possessed the power to break evil. Death aura, unable to resist the red lightning, vanished in vain.
"Worthy of the Lightning God."
Derus unleashed an even denser sword strike filled with death aura without flinching at his attack dissolving. It seemed as if the darkness that could erase the sun was rising around him. Death aura and red lightning collided violently, causing dark red cracks to appear in the sky and the earth.
The citizens of Owen who were watching the palace knelt down, muttering that the end of the world had arrived.
'This is taking too long.'
I need to finish this quickly. As Glenn was about to split the darkness that Derus had created and move forward, he felt an unsettling sensation behind him. Derus Robert. He was launching a surprise attack from within the darkness, just as he had done with King Lecross.
Because death aura was scattered like mist, it was difficult to sense his approach before he got close.
However, Glenn's body was in a state capable of manifesting the mental image into reality. He deflected Derus' sword, which came at an odd angle, bending the Heavenly Tremor downwards as if taking a sword stance. Derus was pushed back and exhaled deeply.
"You're certainly different."
He curled his lips as he lowered his trembling hand.
"But not that far."
* * *
Lecross bit his lip as he watched the Angel holding him from behind.
'There's no opening.'
Judging by this Angel's aura, it seemed he wouldn't be easy to deal with even if he wasn't injured. Unlike the Angel that Raon had captured before, this one seemed to be a high-ranking Angel with a name.
'Then I'll have to wait for a chance.'
Moving carelessly would only interfere with the fight. It seemed better to observe the battle between Glenn and Derus and look for an opportunity.
'I didn't expect Derus to become so strong.'
Beyond defeating him, the fact that he wasn't losing to Glenn's sword proved that Derus had clearly reached a different level than the other leaders of the Five Kings and Five Demons.
'It's incomprehensible.'
Despite possessing power comparable to Glenn's, Derus used surprise attacks and dirty tactics like throwing rocks and sand. It was hard to understand why he would use such despicable methods when he wouldn't be at a significant disadvantage in a fair fight.
'Of course, it doesn't matter in any way.'
Whether Derus used proper swordsmanship or surprise attacks, Glenn blocked all his offensives. Every move was close to perfection, as if the god of swords had descended.
'I'll trust him and wait for a chance.'
Lecross slowly pushed back the death aura constricting his body and focused on the battle between the two.
* * *
Glenn deflected Derus' surprise attack coming from beneath his feet and pushed the Heavenly Tremor towards his heart. A dark red current surged, tearing deeply into Derus Robert's shoulder. Unsettlingly red blood flowed from his body.
"Hmm."
Derus got up again and unleashed a chillingly sharp cut as if he didn't care about the wound at all. The death aura blooming from his sword strike spread in the form of a death scythe.
'This is dangerous.'
Ultimate martial arts involve manifesting imagination into reality. If Derus considered that scythe a reaper, he could inflict fatal wounds just by touching it. Glenn exhaled briefly and imbued the Heavenly Tremor with true lightning. Heavenly Thunder Arts, Mixed Thunder Realm.
The lightning forged by tempering his own soul poured out like a red flash.
The death scythe and the god's lightning collided, annihilating everything that existed before their eyes. As the aura evaporated, a dark red current rose to the edge of the sky, and everything below was erased to black.
Glenn remained in the same spot as before, tilting the Heavenly Tremor as if nothing had happened. It was as if the battle had never occurred in the first place.
However, Derus Robert was kneeling on one knee, spitting black blood from his lips.
"Ugh..."
He frowned as he pushed back Glenn's lightning aura that was climbing up his sword and affecting his body and soul.
"This is quite dangerous..."
As Derus let out a sigh, Glenn's sword rose again. A sword strike that curved magnificently like a comet's tail fell towards Derus and the Angel's heads.
"Kugh!"
Derus twisted his lips and poured death aura into his wavering sword. Newly ignited black flames rose like rose vines, enveloping his entire sword. Glenn's sword strike once again effortlessly split the death aura that Derus had raised and carved a bright red scar on his body.
"Urgh..."
Derus was pushed back helplessly and coughed up black, dead blood.
"Insane. Is this the sword at its peak..."
The difference in swordsmanship was too great, even though the aura itself wasn't much inferior. It felt impossible to face him.
"I guess it's still not enough."
Derus took a step back clumsily with an awkward smile. He wiped away the blood flowing from his mouth as if he had never received an internal injury.
"But there's a gain."
Derus tilted his chin as he looked at Glenn standing calmly.
"That's your total power now. Without using the Soul Weapon."
He smiled, saying it was within the expected range.
"Next time we meet, I'll be able to reach that position."
"Who said I'd let you go?"
Glenn raised the Heavenly Tremor, pointing at both Derus and the Angel holding Lecross.
"Can you really kill me? Along with your comrade?"
Derus twisted his lips as he stood next to King Lecross.
"I can kill."
Glenn stared intently at Derus without his eyes wavering.
"Anyone, if I intend to kill."
Unlike before, he had perfectly honed the blade of the Soul Weapon. Now, he was confident he could sever anyone's soul without fail, no matter who the opponent was.
'But that Angel is troublesome.'
The presence of that Angel, giving a similar feeling to Uriel, was annoying. Even if he severed Derus' soul, it wouldn't make sense if that Angel did something to revive him.
'Besides...'
I'm not sure if I'm ready. As much as the Soul Weapon had been honed, its recoil was also great. Even if he killed Derus, he would immediately leave this world. He wasn't afraid of dying himself, but he felt his fingertips stiffen with worry for those left behind.
"..."
Glenn slightly bit his lip as he looked at Derus and King Lecross.
"You seem serious. Then I'll give you a choice."
Derus wiped the playful expression from his face and gestured with his hand. The Angel raised his hand without hesitation and pierced King Lecross' chest.
"Kuhurk..."
King Lecross collapsed, spitting blood like a fountain from his chest. The Angel grabbed King Lecross' neck, who had fallen while coughing up blood, threw him to the right, and then raised a golden flash over his hand.
"You choose."
As Derus lowered his finger, his body and the Angel's began to blur.
"Whether you'll kill me or save the father of this country."
Derus twisted his lips, saying he would disappear like that if Glenn didn't swing his sword.
"No, there's one more option. If you kill me, you'll disappear too. Will others be able to resist even if the Black Tower disappears?"
He shrugged as if asking what Glenn would do.
"No, don't worry about me! Kill him!"
King Lecross shouted to kill Derus even as he spat blood.
"..."
Glenn lifted his gaze calmly as he gripped the Heavenly Tremor tightly.
-
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