C1018
"Hmm..."
Raon inspected the large training ground of Thespian Emperor while rotating his wrist.
"Not bad."
The ground was well-trodden, and the equipment was maintained as if it hadn't been used. Unlike Thespian Emperor's palace, which was more modest than the mansion of an ordinary noble, the condition of the training ground was top-notch, rivaling even Zieghart. Thespian Emperor had meticulously cared for the important aspects of the image of the Five Divine Orders.
"Everything is done considering the opinions and rumors of other people. However..."
Raon frowned as he looked at Thespian Emperor, who was anxiously biting her nails.
"The person herself has become strange."
Thespian Emperor (Tragic Emperor) he knew was a slippery woman who maintained cold reasoning at all times to gain advantages. But she had forgotten her greatest strength after losing the ability to read the flow of the sky. Now, it seemed that she couldn't even correctly judge what she could do or what she should do.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that her soul had been consumed by the ability to read the flow of the sky.
-That's right.
Wrath nodded while looking at Thespian Emperor.
-Being able to know the future is immense power and authority. It's no wonder that vixen is crumbling.
He snorted, saying that even in the Devildom, there were demons who fell after relying too much on their ability to read the flow of the sky.
-However, being satisfied with a predetermined future is truly frustrating. Destiny only makes sense when one carves it out for oneself!
Wrath clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Hmm..."
Raon squinted as he watched Wrath get angry at Thespian Emperor's helplessness.
"Is it because of this guy that I'm not affected by the flow of the sky?"
His past self didn't have the ability to change destiny. Judging by the creation of the title <Architect of Destiny>, it seemed clear that he had gained the power to change the future due to the Fire Ring or Wrath.
-For a supreme being like me, who shattered destiny with my own power and ascended to the throne of the monarch...
While killing time listening to Wrath's boastful speech, the training ground door opened, and the Queen of the Swords, Brigitte, entered. She revealed an irritated look in her eyes, as if something displeased her.
"Thinking about it, that person also seems a bit strange."
She wouldn't have shown her emotions so openly before, would she? Perhaps influenced by the mentally broken Thespian Emperor, the Queen of the Swords also seemed different than before.
-What nonsense! You're the strangest of all!
Wrath waved his hand, telling her to reflect on herself.
-You're more arrogant and impatient than usual!
"I did it on purpose."
Raon smiled slightly as he removed Wrath's hand.
-Did you do it on purpose?
"I wanted to bring out the Queen of the Swords' hidden power."
The Queen of the Swords he had seen before was taciturn and disliked rude people. He deliberately used an arrogant and cornering tone to provoke her.
-Is that why you were using polite language unlike before?
"It's more irritating when you're rude while using polite language."
-Ha, are you saying you thought all that through?
Wrath exhaled in disbelief.
-You never let anything slip by, do you?
He shook his head, saying he was now tired of so much cunning.
"It seems like we're ready to start."
The Queen of the Swords placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, signaling the beginning of the duel. Raon narrowed his eyes to the thickness of a thread as he drew the Heavenly Drive from its scabbard.
"Nothing seems to have changed?"
Although the Queen of the Swords had taken a combat stance, she didn't seem much different than when he saw her in the conference room. She was still at a level not much different from that of the Demon Slayer Spear.
"Well, I'll know when we fight."
As he could only know more by crossing swords directly with the Queen of the Swords, he raised the Heavenly Drive.
"Please, come."
Raon spoke first, telling her to come while slightly moving the fingers that held the Heavenly Drive. The Queen of the Swords also charged forward, destroying the training ground, as if words were no longer necessary. As her fingers shone like lightning, a silver sword strike approached before his eyes. It was a supreme drawing technique. It felt like a sword emerging from a divided dimension.
"Fast and sharp. It's the strike of a supreme master. But..."
I can see it. The Queen of the Swords unleashed swordsmanship imbued with transcendent caliber, but it didn't surpass the level he had anticipated. Raon resonated the nine Fire Rings. As if time had stopped, the flow of air and mana slowed down, and the Queen of the Swords' sword strike that was lunging toward him felt as detailed as if it were touching his skin.
Raon drew two circular arcs with the Heavenly Drive while operating the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation at its peak. The flames rising along the blade turned into a wave-like form, resisting the Queen of the Swords' strike. Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Unification of Flame and Ice. The swordsmanship of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, which perfectly harmonized attack and defense, effortlessly shattered the Queen of the Swords' strike.
The Queen of the Swords stepped back ten steps along with her elegantly pushed sword. Her footprints were deeply imprinted on the training ground's floor, showing that she hadn't properly absorbed the impact of the Unification of Flame and Ice. It was a clear difference in martial prowess.
"Her strength isn't much different from what I can see."
The Queen of the Swords was a transcendent who had mastered various sword techniques to the extreme, but it wasn't particularly difficult for him, who had mastered the Ten Thousand Swords. Rather, Thespian Emperor was much more dangerous. Her offensive movements imbued with magic would certainly work on him.
"Will you continue?"
"Of course!"
The Queen of the Swords, seemingly provoked, shouted that she hadn't even begun and launched a sword strike from where she was. A small circle spread from the sword strike. Within a point thinner than a single hair lay the extreme will she had accumulated as a swordsman.
"It's swordsmanship of a different caliber. However..."
I can also feel this. The swordsmanship unleashed by the Queen of the Swords lunged toward his chest faster than sound, but its flow had already stopped escaping his physical senses. Raon extended his wrist forward and unleashed a thrust identical to the Queen of the Swords'.
The thrust, repeated countless times since childhood, drew a red line in the air without the slightest tremor, like the brushstroke of a painter who mastered an era.
Heavenly Thunder Arts, Red Ink. As the point and line collided, a red fissure opened as if cutting through space. But the confrontation didn't last long. Red Ink, extending in a single beam of light, shattered the Queen of the Swords' strike despite having been born later, and finely cut it through the waist as it passed.
"Hmm..."
The Queen of the Swords bit her lip in surprise as she looked at her waist where her clothes and skin had been burned.
"Didn't you say I could die?"
Raon smiled as he looked at the ground beneath his feet, which didn't have even a small trace.
"I'm bored, why don't you try a little harder?"
"Don't rush me. I haven't warmed up yet."
The Queen of the Swords twisted her lips as she grabbed the end of her sword's hilt. She charged at him with her arm stretched back, like cavalry pushing a spear. A black light that seemed to contain the universe rose above the Queen of the Swords' sword blade. It was a Supreme Sword technique that expressed the universe with a sword.
"Hm."
Raon took a deep breath as he raised the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to its peak. The flames rising from the blade burned with a deep golden color, drawing the shape of a mysterious sword. Raon Zieghart-style swordsmanship.
Seventh Form, Void Cut.
The golden flames brightly burned the Queen of the Swords' strike that was trying to form the universe, like a star's explosion, and then fell toward her neck. The Queen of the Swords, worthy of a superior transcendent, tried to read the movement of the Void Cut amidst this and step back while defending. But her eyes and hands had already read his movements.
He stuck to the Queen of the Swords with the flexibility of the Third Step of Supreme Harmony, then shattered her defense with the sharpness of the Fangs of Insanity.
"Ugh!"
The Queen of the Swords slightly bent her knees and waist to deflect the Fangs of Insanity technique that was extending toward her chest, then used that momentum to unleash an extreme thrust toward his chest. This swordsmanship also seemed to be Supreme Sword, as the beautiful black light rippled over the sword strike.
Raon extended his left foot forward. At a distance close enough to feel the Queen of the Swords' breath, he unleashed Frost Snap at full power.
Two blades imbued with the demon king's frost struck the universe and calmly stopped in front of the Queen of the Swords' neck behind him. Five moves. That was the number of sword techniques Raon used to subdue the Queen of the Swords, Brigitte.
"Huh...?"
Even Thespian Emperor opened her eyes in surprise, as if she hadn't expected the Queen of the Swords to be subdued in just five moves.
"Ah, the Queen of the Swords?"
"Impossible! In just five moves!"
"The, the difference is too big..."
"Ah!"
The swordsmen of the Unbreakable Sword and the White Whale martial artists trembled their jaws, seemingly shocked by the outcome of the duel.
"The Queen of the Swords in five moves?"
"Fi-five moves is generous. If he had wanted to, he would have finished in one strike."
"Handsome monster..."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan also swallowed dry saliva, saying they didn't expect the duel with the Queen of the Swords to end in just five moves.
"Is this..."
Raon frowned as he slightly lifted the Queen of the Swords' chin with the tip of the Heavenly Drive.
"Is that all you've got?"
"Of course not!"
The Queen of the Swords bit her lip and shook her head.
"Let me be honest. In your current state, no matter what you do, you can't defeat me."
Raon shook his head firmly. The Queen of the Swords might have more sword techniques and skills remaining, but at this level, she could never defeat him.
"For someone who warned that I could die, you're showing very little."
He wasn't mocking her. He genuinely wanted to ask what she meant by those words.
"Did Grandpa get it wrong?"
While he trusted Glenn more than anyone when it came to martial arts, this time he could only think that he had misjudged the Queen of the Swords.
"I also want to show you properly, but it's not coming out now..."
The Queen of the Swords murmured incomprehensibly as she lowered her head.
"This is my full power at the moment."
She audibly clenched her teeth, as if she were angry with herself.
"Hmm..."
Raon opened his eyes in surprise as he looked at the Queen of the Swords openly showing her frustration.
"Just what..."
"Enough."
Thespian Emperor sighed as she walked forward.
"Brigitte, step back. If we analyze it thoroughly, that's not your power, is it?"
She shook her head, saying they should stop now.
"Hmm..."
The Queen of the Swords let out a low growl as she raised her head. Judging from her frown, she was retreating because of Thespian Emperor, but she didn't seem satisfied with this outcome.
"Leader of the Light Wind Division. I acknowledge it. Our Five Divine Orders will follow the Five Kings..."
Thespian Emperor nodded, saying they would follow the path of the Five Kings.
"No."
Raon interrupted Thespian Emperor's words as he raised the Heavenly Drive.
"Now it's your turn to fight."
"What do you mean...?"
"Are you going to seal your fate without confirming what kind of person your future ally is and how much power they possess?"
He lowered his eyebrows, asking if it wasn't too passive a decision.
"...I never intended to test you from the beginning."
Thespian Emperor hesitated for a long time before opening her lips.
"Actually, I should have made the decision when the Demonblade died and the Black Tower fell."
She shook her head, saying she had missed that crucial moment because she could no longer read the flow of the sky.
"Someone like me doesn't have the right to test you..."
"How long has it been since you arrived at this training ground?"
Raon pointed his finger down at the training ground floor.
"Excuse me?"
"Have you fought or sparred with other opponents?"
"..."
Thespian Emperor trembled her lips as she looked at the well-trodden floor of the training ground.
"You haven't trained or even sparred for a long time, have you?"
"Hmm..."
She couldn't answer, as if his assumption was correct.
"You're a shaman and a martial artist. You're crumbling because you're only sitting at a desk and using your head."
Raon shook his head with a grimace.
"Don't talk about her without thinking!"
The Queen of the Swords clenched her teeth, as if to tell him not to mock Thespian Emperor. Indeed, there seemed to be something special between the two.
"Come at me."
Raon ignored the Queen of the Swords and snapped his fingers toward Thespian Emperor.
"I'll shatter the rock weighing down your soul."
"Are you serious?"
"I always mean what I say."
He tilted his chin arrogantly, saying this was the last chance to overcome her mental block.
-Why are you trying to fight that vixen?
Wrath narrowed his eyes as if asking what he was thinking.
"What we need is a smart vixen. Not a broken dog."
There was no point in getting Thespian Emperor in such a broken state. In her current condition, she had no value as either a martial artist or a strategist. Now that the Five Divine Orders had entered the fold of the Five Kings, he needed to awaken her collapsed mind so she could return to her original self.
"Alright. Actually, I..."
Thespian Emperor bit her lip until it bled.
"I also wanted to release this frustration."
She abruptly stomped her foot as if she were ready to fight.
"I'll give you the first move."
Raon pointed the Heavenly Drive at Thespian Emperor's neck, telling her to attack him with all her strength.
"Haa..."
As Thespian Emperor formed a magical technique with both hands and chanted an incantation, her entire body was dyed in colorless light. Thespian Emperor kicked the ground and charged, and he felt a huge mass of mana approaching as if to swallow him whole.
She abruptly extended her fist burning with colorless mana. It was a simple and rough punch, clearly different from her usual intellectual character.
However, her power wasn't simple. Thespian Emperor's punch broke through the Heavenly Drive's defense and lunged, scraping his skin.
"I'll take it."
Raon revealed his teeth with a smile and raised a strong sword to match Thespian Emperor's punch. As the strong sword and the strong punch collided head-on, a crimson line seemed to be drawn, dividing heaven and earth.
* * *
Thespian Emperor gritted her teeth as she launched fist strikes imbued with magical power and aura without pause.
"Is he blocking all of this?"
Raon was receiving her onslaught, which could be considered her full power, without taking a single step back. It seemed like he intended to fight power against power until the end.
"Is this man really that child from before?"
The young swordsman who had played with her using his tongue had now become a great swordsman who was rubbing shoulders with her, no, even surpassing her.
"When I first saw him, he was already a Master."
Not even years had passed since then, and now he was standing as her equal.
"A genius. No, this goes beyond a monster, he's a demon king."
Thespian Emperor's jaw trembled as she watched Raon, who was cutting through her magical power with flames and repelling her aura with cold energy.
"What was I doing while this child ascended to transcendence?"
She had sworn to create a massive force that wouldn't lose to any of the Six Kings or the Five Demons by gaining benefits from them, but in reality, she hadn't achieved anything. She had simply observed like a mouse, unable even to pick up the fallen cheese crumbs.
"And then..."
After losing the ability to see the flow of the sky, she had really just been breathing and standing. Every day, she had brainwashed herself, saying, "I'm just waiting. I'm just silently waiting for a better opportunity." She had locked herself in her office like a recluse.
But the child in front of her had risked his life, overcoming numerous difficulties to accumulate strength and experience that wouldn't lose to her. Feeling that difference on her skin, she felt dizzy, as if she saw her own ugliness in a mirror.
"Aaaaargh!"
Thespian Emperor let out a cry more than a war cry as she launched a punch with all her strength. A fist strike filled with emotion that she normally wouldn't use. Although it was an attack too easy to counter or dodge, Raon received all the blows, even as blood ran from his lips.
"Come on, more."
Raon smiled refreshingly and tilted his chin, as if it still wasn't enough.
"The flow of the sky..."
Looking at Raon, who seemed much more mature than her, she remembered the day she read his flow of the sky. The vision of the blood that should have expressed the future escaping from the Heavenly Scriptures of its own volition was certainly terrifying. But as she met Raon's clear eyes, that terror began to resemble belief and the will to carve out her own destiny.
"Is the flow of the sky... no, is the future not important?"
The thought that the flow of the sky was just a path, and that what mattered most was the will a person had, scratched at her collapsed mind.
"Yes. That's right."
She had been too immersed in the ability to read the flow of the sky. Until now, she had prioritized a predetermined future over her own will or beliefs. That was no different from throwing her soul into a sewer. Thespian Emperor felt her mind, which had been plagued by headaches, becoming clear as she relentlessly swung her fists.
The turbulent flow of her fist strikes and magic began to settle like the waves of a great sea.
* * *
Raon exhaled as he watched Thespian Emperor, who had stopped her rough punches and stood frozen like a statue.
"An enlightenment?"
Thespian Emperor seemed to have gained some understanding while throwing her punches at him.
"I intended to let her vent her feelings, not to give her enlightenment..."
He only intended to pull her out of the sewer, but Thespian Emperor had immediately run to a clothing store and started buying new clothes, bags, and shoes as soon as she grabbed his hand. Honestly, he was astonished. However, it wasn't bad. Thespian Emperor was someone who knew what gratitude was, so there would be more ways to use her in the future.
"I should receive a great reward for this."
As Raon silently smiled and was about to walk away from Thespian Emperor, his eyes met those of the Queen of the Swords, who was leaning against the training ground wall.
"Huh?"
Raon swallowed dry saliva as he looked at the Queen of the Swords' piercing eyes.
"What is this?"
The same face, the same body, the same aura, but this woman wasn't the person he had crossed swords with before. He sensed a completely different quality from her.
"You..."
Raon pointed his sword at the Queen of the Swords as he stood in front of Thespian Emperor, as if to protect her, who was in a state of enlightenment.
"Who are you?"
-
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