C989
The black lance/spear pierced Merlin's chest. Blood flowed down the shaft, staining the undergrowth crimson.
"Ah..."
Raon's fingers trembled as he watched Merlin close her eyes, unable to scream. Her breath and vitality faded rapidly.
'Merlin....'
Seeing Merlin impaled by the black lance/spear, lifeless, reminded him of Rimmer's final moments. The memory of his mentor smiling and worrying about them until the end flooded his mind, turning everything white. A crackling sound filled his ears.
He felt as if a god of wrath, rather than Wrath, was possessing his body. Rage surged from head to toe, making him want to erase everything in sight.
"You're a fool!"
Wrath slapped his shoulders with both hands, as if trying to calm him.
"She's not dead yet!"
He shook his head forcefully, insisting that Merlin wasn't completely gone.
'What...?'
Raon exhaled sharply and examined Merlin again. Although extremely faint, her breathing continued.
"Raon Zieghart?"
Kern, the Martial Society master and a Transcendent known as the Demon Slayer Lance/Spear (Demonic Spear), opened his eyes as if recognizing him.
"So you were connected to this girl after all?"
The Demon Slayer Lance/Spear gently shook the shaft piercing Merlin, as if he had suspected it. Blood gushed from it like rain.
"But you're a little late. It's all over."
He stroked Merlin's purple hair that fell over the shaft, expressing his disappointment.
"Damn you..."
As Raon was about to lunge towards the Demon Slayer Lance with explosive murderous intent, something happened.
"R-Raon..."
Merlin uttered his name, slowly lifting her eyelids. Time seemed to stop, and he couldn't tear his gaze away from her.
"How did you get here...?"
Even impaled by the lance and dying, Merlin managed to smile painfully, thinking of him first. Seeing her like that made him feel his heart ache as if it was going to break.
"Huh? She can still talk in this state?"
The Demon Slayer Lance let out an incredulous laugh.
"Her skills were lacking, but I must admire her will and tenacity."
He nodded, saying it was befitting of a former Eden executive, even if only for a moment.
"Let yourself go..."
Merlin gasped, telling him to flee and leave her behind.
"P-please..."
With that last plea, Merlin closed her eyes again. Her vitality began to fade even more rapidly.
"Well? What will you do?"
The Demon Slayer Lance shrugged as if to say "do what you want" and playfully twisted the shaft impaling Merlin.
"..."
Raon bit the inside of his lip as he looked into the Demon Slayer Lance's eyes, which mocked Merlin.
-Regain control. She's still alive.
Wrath frowned, insisting that Merlin wasn't dead yet.
'I feel it too.'
For some unknown reason, Merlin was still breathing even though her chest was completely pierced. If he could rescue her from the Demon Slayer Lance, he might be able to save her.
-It'll be hard to save her while she's impaled, but try something!
'Right. Now's not the time to let anger cloud my mind.'
He couldn't make the same mistake as with Rimmer. He sent the cold energy of Glacier to his upper dantian, pushing away the rage that filled his mind.
'I can't move recklessly.'
No matter how fast he was, he would still be slower than the Demon Slayer Lance who had Merlin impaled on his lance. He needed to find a way to save Merlin that didn't rely on strength.
"Why are you here?"
Raon addressed the Demon Slayer Lance, suppressing the curses trying to escape his tongue.
"Can't you tell just by looking?"
The Demon Slayer Lance twirled his finger, pointing around him.
"I've joined the Four Demons. More specifically, I'm with Eden."
He explained that was also why he had chased after Merlin, tilting the shaft towards the ground. Merlin seemed unable to wake up on her own, not moving a finger even when the blade piercing her touched the earth.
"I thought if we followed the Thespian Emperor and created the Five Divine Orders, we could have a proper fight with the Six Kings and the Five Demons, but they kept hesitating. So..."
The Demon Slayer Lance raised his finger to step on Merlin's head.
“I left the Five Divine Orders and joined the Four Demons. I wanted a proper fight with the Five Kings.”
"Why the Four Demons instead of the Five Kings...?"
Raon exhaled briefly, trying not to look at Merlin.
"The Five Kings have more numbers, right? That means more people to fight, so of course I'd choose the other side."
The Demon Slayer Lance grinned, saying he joined the Four Demons because he wanted to fight more skilled opponents. He was truly a man obsessed with fighting.
"I was getting bored just waiting in Eden, but then they asked me to capture this girl. They said they'd block her path, so all I had to do was push my lance. Of course..."
The Demon Slayer Lance kicked Merlin's waist with his finger while frowning.
"There wasn't much satisfaction since she's a magician. She was weak too."
He spat on the ground where Merlin lay, saying it wasn't a satisfying battle.
"Then..."
Raon took a step towards the Demon Slayer Lance.
"I'll be your opponent. In exchange..."
"You want this girl?"
The Demon Slayer Lance twisted his lips as if Raon's intentions were transparent.
"Do I need to do that? Looking at you, it seems like you'll attack me even if I don't give her to you."
He curled the corners of his mouth, saying he could feel the rage Raon was suppressing so forcefully.
"You said you like to fight, right?"
Raon shook his head, pushing down the anger trying to overwhelm his mind.
"If I get consumed by rage and start swinging my sword wildly, wouldn't that ruin your thrill?"
Knowing that appealing to Merlin would be useless, he instead provoked the Demon Slayer Lance's thirst for battle.
"Oh?"
The Demon Slayer Lance's eyes flickered faintly with interest.
"If you hand Merlin over to me now, I'll face you with all my strength. No, I'll even give you time to recover your stamina and aura."
Raon nodded, saying he would allow recovery time to stimulate the Demon Slayer Lance's competitive spirit.
"I swear by my name as the Sword Emperor, Raon Zieghart."
He placed his hand on his chest, promising not to flee with Merlin, but to settle things here.
"I don't care about the rest..."
Veins bulged on the Demon Slayer Lance's temples.
"You said you'd give me time to recover my strength and stamina? You?"
He frowned as if he found it absurd.
"Yes. You're not at your full power now either."
Raon nodded, examining the various magical traces on the Demon Slayer Lance's armor. Although he said it was easy, it was clear he had been through a long chase and battle.
"Ha! You've got a knack for provocation. Alright! I'm not interested in a dying magician anyway."
The Demon Slayer Lance curled the corners of his mouth as if he found it amusing.
"But before that..."
He pulled out two pairs of reddish bells from Merlin's chest.
"I was told to recover this at all costs."
The Demon Slayer Lance stuffed the bells he took from Merlin into his own chest, licking his lips.
"Take her."
He pushed the shaft impaling Merlin towards Raon with a mocking smile. Merlin, still pierced by the lance blade, was thrown helplessly by the flexible movement of the shaft. Raon lunged towards Merlin, lowering his Divine Sword and Demon Sword, even though he felt the Demon Slayer Lance might attack.
The Demon Slayer Lance immediately plunged his lance, its blade rising sharply towards Raon's head, after releasing Merlin. Raon gently caught Merlin with his right hand while raising his Demon Sword in his left to block the Demon Slayer Lance's strike.
To prevent the shock from reaching Merlin, he extended the cold energy of Glacier in a fan shape to stop her body from trembling.
"Good. You pass."
The Demon Slayer Lance stepped back, saying that Raon seemed skilled enough to keep his promise. Although his pride was hurt, he seemed to desire a full-strength battle, as he began to cultivate after taking elixirs to recover his aura and stamina.
"Ha!"
Wrath exhaled in disbelief.
-I can't believe you actually saved her, with that mouth of yours...
He shook his head, saying he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
'Now's not the time to be amazed by that.'
After confirming the Demon Slayer Lance's movements, Raon stepped back to examine Merlin. Blood flowed ceaselessly from the wound on her chest where the lance had pierced her, soaking even her uniform. Her black uniform looked red from the blood that had flowed from all over her body.
'She's still alive.'
Even though her chest was shattered by the Demon Slayer Lance's strike, Merlin was still breathing. Of course, she was heading towards death, so he needed to act as quickly as possible.
Raon placed both hands on Merlin's chest, hoping for a miracle. He poured the Darkness-Born Divinity he had accumulated into her blackened wound.
As the subtle light, rather than a sacred glow, soaked into Merlin's chest, her wound began to heal slowly. The extreme bleeding stopped, and new flesh began to grow in a miraculous sight.
"It's not enough yet! Put out more!"
Wrath waved his hand, saying the healing power was still insufficient.
'I want to, but...'
Raon bit his lip.
'There's not much left.'
He had exhausted most of his Darkness-Born Divinity. The remaining power wasn't enough to heal Merlin.
'I'll have to use the last resort...'
Raon infused the little Darkness-Born Divinity he had left with the Authority of Sloth and Lust that lay dormant in the depths of his soul. While ordinary sacred power would have rejected the Authority of a demon king, his divinity was born from darkness and therefore gently accepted the demon kings' powers.
"You're crazy!"
Wrath opened his eyes in disbelief.
"This could be even more dangerous than before!"
'She'll die if I can't heal her now anyway!'
There was no time to send Merlin to another place. He had to save her here somehow.
-Hmm....
Wrath, realizing there was no other choice, let out a low groan.
-...But why Sloth and Lust?
'Sloth has the ability to recover body and mind while sleeping. And Lust could help because Merlin spent a lot of time with Lust.'
The Sloth he had unlocked enhanced the recovery of the body and mind during sleep, and Merlin had become familiar with Lust's energy from spending time with her. Hoping that would help her, he mixed the energies of the two demon kings.
'Please!'
Raon focused on harmonizing the divinity and the Authority, praying that Merlin's breath and vitality would return. As if answering his desperate plea, Merlin's wound closed completely, and the endless flow of blood stopped. Although her skin remained deathly pale, her breathing began to slowly return.
"She-she's recovering!"
Wrath clasped his hands together, saying a miracle had occurred.
'Not yet.'
Raon shook his head firmly and warmed Merlin's body with the heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, burning away the remaining impure energies in her body.
'Because I should also give her an elixir.'
He took out an elixir he had packed for emergencies based on Zieghart's report. When he tried to remove her mask to put it in her mouth, strangely, the mask wouldn't come off.
'What is this?'
He had easily removed Merlin's old lady mask before. But now, even when he applied force, the mask wouldn't come off.
'No choice.'
Fearing that the mask might break, he crushed the elixir into small pieces and slipped them into Merlin's slightly parted lips under the mask. As the warmth of the elixir rose in Merlin's body, her fading vitality began to slowly return.
-Now we can breathe easy...
Wrath exhaled in relief as he watched Merlin's breathing stabilize.
'Yes....'
Raon nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Saving Merlin had been several times harder than fighting thousands of monsters. His whole body felt heavy, as if he was soaked in water.
'She's seriously injured.'
The lance wound piercing her chest had been so severe that he hadn't noticed her other injuries, but Merlin's body was covered in wounds. Her original black robe looked red from the blood that had flowed from all over her body.
'She's also lost her magic...'
Magicians usually create a circle in their heart. Merlin had been no exception, but he could no longer feel the magic circle she possessed.
"Oh? You actually saved her?"
The Demon Slayer Lance opened his eyes in disbelief.
"Are you skilled in medicine too? Impressive."
He clapped as if he was genuinely impressed.
"But that just prolongs her suffering. Anyway, she'll die again."
The Demon Slayer Lance licked his lips, saying he would kill Raon and pierce Merlin's chest again.
"Have you...?"
Raon averted his gaze, ignoring the Demon Slayer Lance's provocation.
"Fully recovered your stamina?"
"Thanks to you."
The Demon Slayer Lance said he was in perfect condition as he slammed the shaft of his lance into the ground. His aura pressed against Raon's heart with overwhelming intensity. It was clearly the aura of a high-ranking Transcendent.
"I see."
After setting up a defensive formation of the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the cold energy of Glacier around Merlin, Raon stood up.
"Then, let's begin."
Raon raised his Divine Sword and Demon Sword, apologizing for making him wait so long.
"Don't you need time to recover your stamina too?"
The Demon Slayer Lance tilted his chin as if asking if Raon would be alright.
"No need. The outcome will be the same anyway."
Raon shook his head calmly and approached the Demon Slayer Lance. With every step he took, golden flames and blue frost extended like wings, enveloping the entire forest.
"Huh?"
The Demon Slayer Lance frowned at Raon's aura that fiercely pushed against his own.
"Are you trying to play me?"
He invoked an even stronger aura, his pride seemingly hurt, but Raon's momentum didn't break or retreat.
"For you..."
Raon lowered his fierce eyes, overwhelming the Demon Slayer Lance's powerful aura with sheer force.
"I'll teach you the terror of battle."
-
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Thanks for the support
I am glad that merlin is alive and the demonic spear is going to die today
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