C1066
"H-how are you here...?"
Martha blinked, thinking she was dreaming. But Rimmer didn't disappear; instead, his smile deepened.
"I couldn't miss seeing the Leader of the White Blood Religion being completely defeated. It's a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle! And..."
Rimmer shook his fist before looking at her with calm eyes.
"This is your fight. I had to crawl out of hell to see it."
He gently grabbed her shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"The Division Leader hasn't changed at all..."
Martha's eyes reddened as she looked at Rimmer. Her master hadn't changed at all: he was still playful like a child, but serious when it mattered.
"Division Leader?"
Rimmer tilted his head.
"I like being called Division Leader, but wasn't I just the Vice-Leader of the Division before I died? Raon beat me and I got demoted."
He laughed merrily as he mentioned that he had lost his position to Raon. His youthful smile remained unchanged.
"Well, enough about my dead self."
Rimmer squeezed her shoulder.
"You finally did it."
He slowly examined her Sword Domain, made of a sea of blood.
"I always knew you would be the first to complete your Sword Domain."
Rimmer nodded as if he had always genuinely believed in her.
"Ugh..."
Martha lowered her head, trembling, to hide her expression. Hearing Rimmer's sincere praise, her pent-up tears fell into the sea of blood. The crimson waters seemed to dilute a little.
"Though I didn't expect you to create such a cruel Sword Domain. It certainly suits your name as Miss Rakshasa!"
Rimmer smiled, saying that this level of brutality was appropriate for Miss Rakshasa. Seeing his refreshing smile, the fatigue and pain in her soul seemed to melt away, replaced by vigor.
"Um, well..."
"I'd like to chat more too, but first, we need to take care of something."
Rimmer interrupted her and pointed to the Leader of the White Blood Religion, who was surrounded by vengeful spirits.
"Those spirits can use their original power here thanks to Raon's support. However..."
He frowned slightly as he continued.
"Those spirits can torment and weaken the Leader of the White Blood Religion, but they can't kill her completely."
Rimmer picked up the sword that had fallen into the sea of blood and handed it to her.
"You need to finish this."
He summoned the Wooden Ring Sword out of thin air, saying he would help with the final battle. *Whoosh!* While the Blade of Leaf suited Raon well, it truly shone brighter in Rimmer's hands.
"I understand."
Martha nodded, using honorifics with Rimmer for the first time.
"Master."
She raised her sword as she finally uttered the title she had always wanted to use but couldn't until now.
"Oh, shame! My fingers are curling!"
Rimmer cried out as he curled his ten fingers like octopus tentacles.
"Hey, you bastard!"
Martha couldn't hold back and kicked Rimmer in the rear.
"Do you know how much courage it took for that?"
Just having Rimmer by her side made the tension disappear and her fighting spirit soar. It truly felt like the spiritual pillar of the Light Wind division had returned.
"Master, uh... not bad at all."
Rimmer waved his hand solemnly, as if his teasing had been just a joke.
"Will the secret father over there join us too, right?"
He moved his chin towards Denier, as if asking if he could fight.
"Of course..."
Denier took a deep breath and forced strength into his trembling arms and legs. Seeing the green wind rising behind him, it seemed Rimmer had lent him his help.
"Let's go."
The moment Rimmer spoke in a low voice, Martha and Denier simultaneously propelled themselves from the sea of blood.
"You bastards!"
The Leader of the White Blood Religion exploded with her remaining soul realm and bloody energy, trying to hit the spirits and Rimmer at the same time. But the vengeful spirits' obsession and thirst for revenge against the White Blood Religion surpassed her imagination. With a thunderous force, the spirits charged at her even more frantically, tearing her flesh as if they didn't care about being destroyed by the bloody energy.
"Aaaargh!"
The Leader of the White Blood Religion abandoned her counterattack, using her hands and bloody energy only to repel the spirits.
"Now!"
With Rimmer's shout, three blades imbued with pale green wind descended upon the Leader of the White Blood Religion. With a thunderous cut, Rimmer's swift blow split her horizontally at the waist, while Denier's sharp blade ripped out her heart. The attack roared through the air!
Martha's Crushing Ocean Sword struck for the final time, piercing the violently spreading bloody energy to sever the Leader of the White Blood Religion's neck.
"Ah...!"
The moment the Leader of the White Blood Religion's body fell into the sea of blood in three pieces, the vengeful spirits descended again and began tearing her soul thread by thread.
"Kyaaaaaagh!"
The Leader of the White Blood Religion seemed to have no strength to resist, she could only scream as if her tongue was going to burst. With a thunderous roar, the vengeful spirits devoured her soul completely, as if satisfying their endless revenge and hunger, while she screamed. They were like piranhas, leaving not a single bone of their prey.
"..."
"Hah..."
Martha, with her mother's soul in her arms, watched the Leader of the White Blood Religion's screams and suffering without blinking, while Denier lowered his eyes as if he couldn't bear the sight.
"What a sight!"
Rimmer laughed loudly as he lay in the sea of blood.
"That's how a revenge story should end!"
He nodded with satisfaction as he drank from a bottle of liquor that had appeared out of thin air.
"And you? Satisfied?"
Rimmer moved his chin towards her, as if asking how she felt.
"Someone once said that revenge would feel empty after..."
Martha clenched her fist as she watched the Leader of the White Blood Religion's soul melt away in endless agony.
"It feels terribly good. As if all the repressed emotions and resentment are finally being released."
She nodded, expressing her genuine satisfaction.
"Kya! That's Miss Rakshasa for you!"
Rimmer clapped, pleased with her answer. The sound of his clapping, which he hadn't heard in so long, brought an unconscious smile to his face.
"But what did you mean before when you said you thought I would be the first to use a Sword Domain?"
Martha narrowed her eyes as she looked at Rimmer.
"Exactly what I said: I knew you would use a Sword Domain before Runaan and Burren."
Rimmer blinked, indicating that he meant it literally.
"How?"
Martha looked at Rimmer with narrowed eyes.
"Because you were more desperate than anyone else."
Rimmer smiled subtly as if remembering old memories.
"Burren worked hard too, but he had the complacency of being from the Direct Line, and while Runaan was desperate like you, he still felt a lingering compassion for his older brother."
His long eyelashes trembled as he remembered his beloved disciples.
"Of the three, you were not only the most desperate, but you also had the most intense desire for revenge. Your willpower and your desperation to sacrifice even your life created this Sword Domain."
Rimmer slowly closed his eyes, saying he could feel her soul and her emotions in the Devil's Prison Sword Domain.
"C-could you feel all that? You?"
Martha let out a surprised sigh at the unexpected answer.
"You called me Master, right? A master must read not only their disciple's talent, but their emotions as well."
Rimmer wagged his finger, telling her to remember this well.
"Hmm..."
Martha bit her lip hard as she looked at Rimmer. He had always shown different facets of himself whenever she saw him, but she didn't expect to see new aspects even after his death.
"Now that the vengeful spirits have satisfied their revenge a little, shall we finish this?"
Rimmer shook his bloody hands and grabbed the Wooden Ring Sword again.
"You're the owner of this Sword Domain, and I received the power of Raon's Soul Weapon. Together, we can end this decisively."
He took her hand and stepped forward towards the storm of vengeful spirits. With a hurried sound, the spirits closed their mouths that had been tearing the Leader of the White Blood Religion's soul and opened a path for them.
"Heuuh..."
The Leader of the White Blood Religion's body must have been completely devoured by the spirits, as only her head floated in the sea.
"I... I will kill them all..."
"Don't talk."
Rimmer raised his sword with a grimace.
"Right. Because that's never going to happen."
Martha nodded and lowered her sword towards the Leader of the White Blood Religion's head along with Rimmer. With a thunderous impact, the two blades pierced between her eyebrows, turning her eyes completely white.
"Kyaaaaaagh!"
The Leader of the White Blood Religion seemed to realize that this was the end and tried to resist somehow, but the two blades imbued with the power of the Soul Weapon and the Sword Domain wouldn't let her go, melting away what remained of her soul. The power resonated through the air!
As if it had been waiting for this moment, the gates of hell shot out iron chains that wrapped around the Leader of the White Blood Religion's soulless head.
With a thunderous boom! The Leader of the White Blood Religion's head, now devoid of a soul, was mounted on the right side of the gate of hell, dripping pure white blood.
"Haah..."
Denier let out a deep sigh as he watched. The air seemed thick with sadness, affection, and bitterness. A thunderous roar resonated!
Having claimed both the bodies of the Tenth Apostle and the soul of the Leader of the White Blood Religion, the Devil's Prison opened its gates again as if its role was over.
"So now it's over."
Rimmer clicked his tongue briefly as he looked at his fading hands.
"C-can we see each other again?"
Martha bit her lip as she watched Rimmer throw away his empty liquor bottle.
"I don't know what comes after this. Maybe not even the gods know?"
Rimmer shrugged as he patted the vengeful spirits descending behind him.
"Ah..."
Martha looked at Rimmer with eyes full of regret.
"Even so..."
Rimmer approached her and extended his mature hand.
"I'm glad I saw you."
Rimmer patted her head gently, saying he was grateful to be able to fight this final battle with his grown-up disciple.
"W-wait a minute!"
As Martha reached out to Rimmer, the gates of hell opened completely with an intense burst of light.
***
The gates creaked! Raon swallowed as he watched the reopened gates of hell.
'It's changed.'
On the right gate of the gate of hell was mounted a woman with red hair and red eyes who hadn't been there before. Though her breath had stopped, terrifying bloody energy could still be felt within her.
'Is that the true form of the Leader of the White Blood Religion?'
'So Martha won?'
As if confirming his prediction, the gate of hell disappeared into the lava-flowing ground with a surge of red energy, its task apparently complete.
-That's right!
Wrath nodded as he watched the ground where the gate of hell had disappeared.
-I can't sense that mosquito queen's soul anymore!
He jumped up and down, saying that Martha had done it.
"Haah..."
Hearing that the Leader of the White Blood Religion was dead, his legs gave way and he collapsed where he was. He truly didn't have the strength to move a finger now. With a hiss, the Divine Blood Summoning Ritual that had threatened him and the Light Wind Palace also began to solidify, as if its connection to its master had been severed.
However, instead of disappearing, the Divine Blood Summoning Ritual began to crumble, its body breaking down into small pieces.
"Uaaah..."
"I-it's over!"
"The blood monster has collapsed!"
The Light Wind Palace Swordsmen, realizing through the collapse of the Divine Blood Summoning Ritual that the Leader of the White Blood Religion was dead, let out cheers that shook the ground. With a thunderous boom, as the Ritual melted into sand, Martha, Denier, and Martha's mother, who had been entangled together, simultaneously collapsed. The impact resonated through the air!
Having lost the Leader of the White Blood Religion's power, Martha's mother spat bright red blood from her chest where Denier's sword was embedded.
"M-Mother!"
The moment Martha opened her eyes, she ran to her mother, sprinkled Holy Water, and tried to stop the bleeding.
"Please!"
Martha used all the medicine she had brought as if she was determined not to let her mother die, but the sword wound was too sharp and wouldn't heal.
"Umm..."
Though he wanted to help somehow, his physical and mental strength was at its limit, and he had used all his Darkness-Born Divinity on Lecross, leaving him unable to do anything.
"M-move aside."
Denier crawled on his knees towards Martha's mother. As he extended his trembling hand, the blood flowing from her chest began to flow back in, and the wound began to heal.
"H-how...?"
"Your mother was exposed to bloody energy for a long time. Seeing that Holy Water wasn't working, I tried using bloody energy, and luckily, it worked."
After confirming that Martha's mother's breathing had returned, Denier coughed up white blood. His face was so pale that it wouldn't have been strange if he had died at that moment.
"A-are you alright?"
Martha supported Denier, worried about his ragged breathing.
"I'm fine. I'm fine..."
Denier waved his hand telling her not to worry, but it seemed he didn't have much time left.
"Stay with me!"
Martha frowned as she gave Denier an Elixir. Though she wanted to ask what had happened in the Sword Domain, Martha didn't seem to be in a condition to answer.
"Hah..."
Raon sighed and opened his tightly closed right hand.
'I guess I should say goodbye too.'
The Blade of Requiem remained in his hand with only its hilt, having lost its red blade.
'Thank you for everything.'
As Raon expressed his gratitude, the hilt of the Blade of Requiem crumbled into fine sawdust-like particles that scattered in the wind. With a whoosh, the particles that had formed the sword's hilt rose into the air as if they were alive, surrounding him with a purple aura.
They were the vengeful spirits. As the souls that had formed the Blade of Requiem surrounded him, his body felt weightless as if he were in another dimension, and he began to feel the presence of the spirits in detail.
A resonant hum filled the air as the spirits' voices reached his soul. Thank you. We were happy together. We enjoyed living in the same time. Thank you for fulfilling our revenge. We will miss you. We hope your future is happy. We want to see you again. These words resonated endlessly.
"No."
Raon shook his head as he listened to the spirits' voices.
"It's me who is grateful, it's me who enjoyed it, it's me who was happy."
He wanted to express his own gratitude, believing that the help he received from the Blade of Requiem far exceeded any help he had given it.
"This is truly the end."
Raon bit his lip as he watched the spirits fade away as if they were leaving.
"Until we meet again."
As he offered a prayer for the spirits' ascension, a cool breeze stirred over his head.
"Huh...?"
When he swallowed and turned his head, Rimmer was there looking at him, enveloped in a pale green wind.
"M-Master?"
Raon stepped back, his jaw trembling.
-Pointed Ears? Is that really Pointed Ears?
Wrath also gaped in surprise.
'Is it real? Or is it the Leader of the White Blood Religion's magic?'
His heart almost leaped out of his chest, as he hadn't expected Rimmer to appear at all.
-I-I'm not sure either!
Wrath gasped, saying he couldn't sense anything either.
"It's a little awkward to say 'long time no see', right? Since I've been watching you all along."
Rimmer smiled brightly as he raised his hand.
"You've become a face that suits the crown, Raon."
He nodded solemnly, as if he was happy to see his face.
"Master..."
His heart was so full that he wouldn't have cared even if this Rimmer in front of him was just the Leader of the White Blood Religion's magic.
"Are you really you, Master?"
Raon met Rimmer's eyes with trembling pupils. The green eyes reflecting him were as clear and transparent as they had been in the fifth training ground.
"I have something to tell you."
Rimmer didn't answer his question, instead, he gave a gently bright smile.
"Please, speak."
Raon nodded, determined to hear what he had to say.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any money, would you?"
"...Excuse me?"
His mind went blank at the completely unexpected question.
"I-I got cleaned out by these spirits, down to my underwear. With interest, I owe quite a bit..."
Rimmer scratched his head, saying he hadn't known there would be so many good spirits for gambling.
"How cheeky."
-What indecency!
Raon and Wrath looked at each other as if they were in agreement.
'It's definitely the real deal.'
-That's Pointed Ears, yes!
-
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