Chapter 1128
Boom! The colossal shockwave produced by the collision of the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword rattled the local atmosphere. It felt as though the firmament was fracturing and the earth was collapsing while a shroud of ashen grit obscured the environment.
"It can't be..."
Raon's expression darkened as he observed Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword revert to their standard states.
'Did the strike fail to penetrate?'
He had buried both the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword into Ramiel’s torso and triggered the Invincible Azure-Red Sword; by all rights, the celestial being should have perished on the spot. Instead, the pressure radiating from Ramiel amidst the swirling dark haze pulsed with even more intensity than before.
-No, the puncture was accurate.
Wrath gave a composed shake of his head.
'Then how is this happening?'
Raon shifted his focus toward Wrath, seeking an explanation.
-Did this King not caution you from the start? Ramiel is diminished, but he is a different beast when burning his life energy.
Wrath gestured toward his own temple, implying Raon ought to recall their prior discussion.
'So that means...'
-Precisely. That wretch Ramiel has tapped into the reservoir of life energy he has stored until this moment.
As the entity gestured, vivid amber bolts erupted from the heavens, consuming the surrounding frost and fire. Ramiel’s electricity manifested with apocalyptic force, crushing the air and ground as if intending to submerge the entire realm.
'Life energy...'
Raon muttered, his eyes locked onto Ramiel.
-Quite literally, it is the fundamental vitality gathered by a creature throughout its existence. While things like Aura, divine grace, or demonic power can be replenished through rest, life energy is a finite resource that cannot be restored except through the most miraculous means.
Wrath signaled his confirmation that Ramiel was currently expending this vital essence.
-Ramiel is a high-ranking Archangel who has endured for millennia. Under normal circumstances, you would have been vaporized instantly by the discharge of someone wielding that much life energy.
Wrath watched with a cynical curl of his lip as the lightning branched out in every direction.
-However, because your previous sword strike delivered such a devastating trauma to his core, he is incapable of harnessing his full potential even while burning his life force.
He dismissed the display, noting that even this terrifying lightning was a mere shadow of Ramiel’s true capacity.
-The arrogant simpleton. Had he committed his life energy from the start, he would have crushed you without effort.
Wrath mocked the angel, suggesting Ramiel’s current predicament was the direct result of his hubris and his failure to take Raon seriously.
"Be erased!"
Ramiel’s roar pierced through the dark fog, and the lightning obeyed his command, lashing out at Raon and the survivors behind him. Raon immediately deployed the Fangs of Insanity alongside the Blizzard Sword Art to intercept the bolts aimed at Rector, Lawrence, and Mustan.
'The weight of this is on another level.'
Even with both blades moving at maximum output, parrying the electricity was a grueling task. Whether it was the infusion of life energy or simply Ramiel’s desperation, the sheer heat and mass of the bolts felt twice as heavy as their previous encounters. A sharp, stinging sensation vibrated through the tips of his fingers.
As the lightning dissipated, the form of Archangel Ramiel reappeared. He unfurled his eight wings like a monstrous bird of prey, his eyes gleaming with a murderous chill.
However, a gaping cavity the size of a human head remained in his chest, leaking dark, ichorous blood.
'That injury...'
Raon gripped his hilts tighter as he noted the wound that remained unhealed despite the use of life energy.
'I managed to expand the opening grandfather made.'
The Invincible Azure-Red Sword had not been in vain. It had visibly torn open the gash Rector had previously carved into Ramiel, inflicting deep trauma on both the angel's physical form and his psyche.
'With a hole that large, it's no wonder he can't tap into his peak power.'
If he were able to function at one hundred percent with half his heart pulverized and a void in his chest, he would transcend the rank of Archangel and truly be a god.
"Even if I lose everything I have amassed..."
Ramiel ground his teeth, his gaze fixed on Raon with pure loathing.
"I will reduce every one of you to cinders!"
His eyes burned with lethal intent, and his entire frame became encased in a Lightning Aura as if his very ego had been shredded.
"You aren't the only one feeling vengeful."
Raon tilted his chin up defiantly.
"You should have just stayed down after the Invincible Azure-Red Sword. Your desperate struggling is honestly pathetic."
He adjusted his grip on Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword, signaling his intent to finish the job.
"You insolent worm..."
Ramiel slammed his foot down, the lightning surrounding him thickening into a dense, crackling shell. He no longer seemed interested in ranged attacks; he was preparing for a physical blitz.
"I will strip the skin from your frame and burn your very bones!"
With a thunderous shout, Ramiel vanished. Crackle! Raon spun to his right instinctively. The angel had materialized instantly at his flank, launching a punch. The strike was faster and more explosive than any before, seemingly ignoring the massive trauma to his chest. Whoosh!
Raon’s blade traced a sophisticated arc, raising a crimson barrier that swallowed Ramiel’s strike whole. Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Dance of the Golden Flame. This technique, designed to purge corruption, neutralized the Angel's Lightning Aura entirely.
“You continue to hide behind these cheap deceptions!”
Ramiel hissed, unable to process how an attack backed by his full might could be extinguished so effortlessly.
“It simply highlights how tainted your power actually is,”
Raon replied with a mocking smirk.
“This defensive layer is designed to consume malevolent forces.”
The Dance of the Golden Flame was specifically tailored to eradicate evil energy. The ease with which Ramiel’s lightning dissolved suggested that the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation categorized this divine power as being just as corrupt as demonic energy.
"How dare a mortal judge an Angel as evil!"
Ramiel let out a frenzied scream, and the swirling electrical storms began to retract, sinking directly into his physical form. Veins throbbed across his skin, and his irises glowed with the same blinding yellow hue as his lightning.
His presence spiked so violently it sent a shiver down the spine. It appeared as though the entity had become a living embodiment of the storm.
"Die."
Ramiel lunged to Raon’s left, his fist moving faster than the sound of his own voice. The sheer kinetic energy in his strike was on a different scale than before. Yet, Raon did not flinch; he manifested a Fire Wall directly in the path of the blow.
The fist glanced off the thermal barrier and smashed into the terrain. The impact tore through the earth as if a giant cleaver had been brought down upon it.
"What is this..."
Ramiel’s expression wavered as his strike was diverted. He repositioned to the right, bringing a hand-chop down toward Raon's throat. It was a strike that surpassed the speed of even a high-tier Transcendent's blade.
Again, Raon remained unruffled. He used Sword Control to guide the Wooden Ring Sword, executing a flawless parry using the Azure Sky Sword technique.
"How... how are you doing this..."
Ramiel recoiled, his jaw working as he struggled to understand the reality of the fight.
"What is this power!"
"I already explained it to you."
While Ramiel was spiraling into confusion, Raon remained stoic.
"My education in the way of the sword came from the true sovereign of lightning."
He had witnessed Glenn's mastery over the blade and the storm countless times, and he had mastered the Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts. To him, Ramiel’s lightning—while holy and potent—held no secrets.
"I won't be intimidated by your posturing!"
Ramiel bellowed and lunged forward again, drawing even deeper from his life energy to increase his velocity.
'From the right.'
Raon anticipated the movement and used a defensive posture from the Celestial Thunder Arts to redirect the heavy fist.
'Now he's coming from the rear.'
He spun, using the twin strikes of Frost Snap to parry the fingers aimed at his back, then followed through with a counter-flick of the Wooden Ring Sword. A small ribbon of flesh was sliced from Ramiel's shoulder.
-Hmph...
Wrath’s eyes widened in genuine astonishment.
-I understood the earlier exchange, but you are maintaining the advantage even after he ignited his life energy?
The small entity was visibly baffled by the turn of events.
'I can perceive the underlying rhythm of Ramiel's techniques.'
On paper, Ramiel was the superior combatant in terms of raw power and physical specs. However, every one of the angel's movements followed the intrinsic logic of lightning. For Raon, who had been molded by Glenn’s Celestial Thunder Arts, these patterns were as easy to read as a children's book.
Raon neutralized a desperate lunge with the Dance of the Golden Flame and transitioned into the Silver Sword Dream.
With a precise hiss! A shimmering, ethereal silver arc traced across Ramiel's neck, leaving a shallow red line.
"Gah!"
Ramiel clutched his throat, retreating in a daze. Screech! Raon lowered the Heavenly Drive, dragging the edge of his blade against the rim of his scabbard to create a specific resonance.
Raon Zieghart’s Sword Style. Form 4: Azure Rain.
The acoustic vibration of the blade, engineered to disorient an opponent's senses, slammed into the Archangel's hearing.
"Aaaaaagh!"
Because Ramiel’s physical form was currently hyper-conductive and sensitive due to the lightning, Azure Rain's effect was magnified. He doubled over, clutching his head as blood seeped from his ears.
"You picked the wrong place to stage your descent."
Raon moved in for the kill, a grim smile playing on his lips.
"I am the natural counter to everything you are."
"Incredible..."
Rector let out a shaky breath as he watched the duel.
'This shouldn't be possible...'
Ramiel was being systematically dismantled by Raon’s bladework. Despite the desperate surge of life energy, the angel was being pushed back, his body slick with the sweat of sheer terror.
'Raon hasn't reached my realm of cultivation yet, has he?'
Raon had grown exponentially, but he still hadn't reached the pinnacle occupied by the Five Kings or the Three Demons. Even taking Ramiel’s damaged heart into account, Rector hadn't expected such a lopsided dominance.
'He is predicting every single motion.'
It wasn't a victory of raw strength. Raon was deciphering the logic of the attacks and responding with surgical precision. It looked less like a life-or-death struggle and more like a master correcting the mistakes of a novice.
‘Raon, you truly are….’
When Raon first arrived, Rector had been torn between relief and horror. He didn't believe his grandson could survive a creature that had bested him. The thought of watching Raon die had been more agonizing than his own impending end.
Yet Raon had told him to have faith, and now he was standing toe-to-toe with an Archangel and winning. Tears of pride welled in Rector's eyes—tears that hadn't even surfaced when he faced his own death.
"Raon."
Rector spoke the name with profound warmth and confidence. Though his voice was faint, he knew the sentiment would carry.
"Finish this."
"Count on it."
Raon signaled his resolve as he carved a dual path across Ramiel's midsection with both swords.
"I'm ending this now."
Channeling Rector’s support into his Willpower, he flooded his blades with intent, biting deep into the angel's torso and shoulders.
"Guaaaargh!"
Ramiel coughed up blood and scrambled backward. He looked at Raon with wide, fearful eyes, finally understanding that he was hopelessly outclassed in a direct exchange.
"Like I told you, your lightning has no power over me."
Raon stated firmly.
"Be quiet! Just shut your mouth!"
Ramiel’s face twisted into a demonic mask, his pride shattered by the agony and humiliation. Thick vessels stood out on his skin.
"If you can read my movements, then I'll just destroy the very ground you stand on!"
Ramiel hoisted his arms high, and the stray electrical currents in the air began to coalesce above him. Within seconds, a massive, mountain-sized orb of concentrated lightning formed. Whoosh!
A sprawling shadow engulfed the battlefield as the glowing amber sphere grew, resembling a second, malevolent sun hanging in the sky.
"Well..."
Raon looked up at the fortress-sized mass of energy and let out a calm breath.
"Perish!"
Driven by absolute hatred, Ramiel hurled the sphere downward, aiming to obliterate Raon and everything for miles. Rumble! The massive orb accelerated instantly, closing the gap in a heartbeat.
"It doesn't matter how big you make it; lightning is still just lightning."
Raon tightened his grip on Heavenly Drive and propelled himself directly toward the falling sun. He tapped into his mental world, summoning every ounce of the Ten Thousand Swords and the Willpower he had refined over his entire life.
"Sword Domain."
From his internal realm, thousands of ethereal blades manifested, merging their essence into the physical steel of Heavenly Drive. His Willpower and his weapon became a single, unified existence.
"Heaven's Rift."
A subtle, golden shimmer pulsed from the edge of the sword. The blade, possessing a paradoxical weight and temperature, sliced into the world-ending sphere. When the Sword Domain met the lightning, there was no explosion—no thunderous clap. There was only a clean, silent division as the sphere was bisected.
The mountain of electricity was split wide by a single stroke, and the momentum carried the cut through Ramiel’s neck and chest. The angel, who had been so sure of his triumph, was torn apart.
"If a punctured heart and a slit throat aren't enough to stop you..."
Raon watched as the Archangel collapsed, his blood scattering like charred feathers.
"Then I'll just take them both at once."
