Chapter 1176
The collision of dual-colored sword light against the golden radiance ignited a crimson conflagration that swept across the cosmos. A titanic tempest of brilliance erupted, staining the void with the colors of a dying sun. A thunderous roar vibrated through the very foundations of reality!
The blades of Raon and the luminescence of the Dragon Lord met with absolute ferocity, neither gaining the upper hand, until the sheer magnitude of their clashing energies hurled them toward the distant fringes of the universe.
A sharp, whistling drone echoed as Raon squinted at the pale wisps of energy evaporating from his twin blades, the Divine Sword and the Demonic Sword.
'I am the one losing ground.'
In that exchange, he had unleashed his entire reservoir of strength against the Dragon Lord. To an observer, they might have appeared perfectly matched, but Raon could feel the truth: he had sustained internal strain while the Dragon Lord remained unblemished. It was a silent testament to a narrow but undeniable disparity in their raw power.
'It doesn't matter yet.'
Combat is never decided solely by one's grade. From the moment he encountered the Dragon Lord within this void, he had known the beast stood on a higher plane. The setback wasn't the issue; the challenge lay in finding the lever to overturn that advantage.
-Now that is the spirit!
Wrath offered a muffled shout of approval.
-I must admit, your tenacity rivals that of the Great Kings of the underworld.
The small spirit nodded, sensing that Raon’s icy focus would allow him to hold his own against such a monstrous foe.
'I'm aware.'
Raon gave a short nod, his gaze fixed on the Dragon Lord, who shimmered like a solitary star at the horizon of space. Suddenly, the massive silhouette vanished, reappearing with terrifying speed directly above him. As the creature unfurled its talons, gargantuan spheres of golden mana materialized from the vacuum, raining down like a localized apocalypse.
'Good grief, the scale of this...'
The Dragon Lord had conjured projectiles that rivaled its own massive proportions. Despite his mental fortitude, Raon felt a dry laugh bubble up at the sheer absurdity of the pressure.
'Nevertheless...'
He could sever them. Raon traced two elegant arcs with his blades. The twin trajectories of his swords sliced against the cosmic grain, weaving a glittering lattice of energy. This was a sophisticated variation of Sky-Piercing Thunder—the celestial net that is so vast it appears to have holes, yet lets nothing pass through its weave.
Acting on that principle, the auras erupting from his steel lanced upward like lightning bolts, systematically detonating the falling stars sent by the Dragon Lord.
Sword intent and celestial fire hammered against each other, sending ripples of force through the black dimension that threatened to tear it asunder. Above them, ghostly white fractures splintered the sky; below, malformed limbs and terrifying appendages began to crawl out of the floor as if the abyss itself were spilling over.
Because this realm was a temporary construct of the Dragon Lord, the strain of their battle was allowing horrors from other planes to seep through the cracks.
However, these cosmic scavengers were instantly vaporized by the shockwaves of the two titans. Even beings of Transcendent rank were reduced to cinders before such concentrated martial might. Once the final meteor had been neutralized, Raon let out a sharp, labored breath.
'It feels as though my arms are being wrenched from their sockets.'
These weren't mere magical constructs. Each orb contained a vortex of mana that surpassed the standard Transcendent threshold, leaving Raon’s skeletal structure rattling from the sheer kinetic feedback. It was the most punishing impact he had endured since his ascension through the power of his own heart.
'But I can't just play the role of the shield.'
Passive defense was a slow road to execution. Raon lunged forward, employing the Supreme Harmony Steps. In the span of a single heartbeat—or rather, the moment the intent to move crystallized in his mind—he was already closing the distance to the Dragon Lord.
[Raon Zieghart!]
The Dragon Lord’s features twisted in irritation, but Raon was already unleashing Frost Snap. The twin strikes he usually used to exploit a split-second opening had evolved into five simultaneous flashes, weaving a web of steel around the creature’s massive frame.
The Dragon Lord deployed an impenetrable sanctuary of light to shield its hide, yet the impact was so significant that its mountain-like body recoiled, visibly shaken.
[Submit to the earth!]
The Dragon Lord’s command, saturated with pure Willpower, descended like a hammer to crush Raon’s spirit and body.
'Ugh!'
A weight that felt capable of pulverizing a soul crashed down upon him. It was a force designed to annihilate a Transcendent biology. These weren't just words; they were the absolute Authority of a sovereign.
'I will not break.'
Raon ground his teeth against the pressure that threatened to splinter his marrow, his grip tightening on his swords until his knuckles turned white.
'He isn't at his peak either.'
The puncture in the Dragon Lord’s throat remained unsealed, and its internal energy flow was erratic. He needed to settle this before the creature’s regenerative factors could stabilize the wound.
'The Soul Sword isn't the answer here.'
While his spiritual blade had reached new heights, it wasn't yet capable of cleaving a soul as vast and ancient as this one. Dismantling the physical vessel was the more viable path. A low thrum began to vibrate through the void.
Ignoring the suffocating weight of the Dragon Lord’s words, Raon raised his arms. Instead of a standard swing, he simply let the blades go.
Raon Zieghart Style.
Seventh Form: Void Slash. Eighth Form: Whispering Wind.
These were his original masterpieces, techniques born of his own path. They surged along the edges of the Divine and Demonic swords, screaming toward the Dragon Lord’s vital points—the skull and the heart.
'Regardless of its divinity...'
Raon watched the red and blue streaks with narrowed eyes.
'First contact with these styles usually ends in a lapse of judgment.'
Both Void Slash and Whispering Wind functioned on different principles, yet both shared the ability to bypass the physical constraints of space. If the Dragon Lord were a master of the blade, it might have adapted, but as a being of magic, it shouldn't be able to counter two space-transcending strikes at once.
[Hmph!]
The Dragon Lord let out a dismissive snort, moving to swat the incoming blades aside. Suddenly, the atmosphere groaned. The inferno of the Divine Sword executing Void Slash flickered out of existence, only to reappear instantly at the creature’s throat. Simultaneously, the Demonic Sword transformed into the Whispering Wind itself, plunging toward the Lord's chest.
[So, you possess blades that ignore distance.]
The Dragon Lord’s eyes thinned, its voice eerily steady as if it had already dissected the nature of the techniques. Golden shards erupted from its scales in response. With a high-pitched screech, the fires of Void Slash and the chill of Whispering Wind shattered the first layer of golden steel, but the Dragon Lord’s Light Swords began to sprout in infinite numbers, like grass after a rainstorm.
With a series of sharp reports, the two techniques failed to pierce the dense thicket of mana and were deflected back toward Raon. But they were followed by the Dragon Lord's own conjured blades, which chased them like guided missiles.
Raon was driven back to the very edge of the cosmic arena by the relentless pursuit of those Light Swords.
'Every single one carries the weight of a Transcendent strike.'
Because the Dragon Lord’s Will was fused with the light, even parrying a single blow felt like stopping a falling mountain. Cold sweat slicked his back, and a dull heat began to ache in his chest.
[Raon Zieghart.]
The Dragon Lord lifted its head with supreme confidence.
[I am the one who designated you as the highest threat to our order. Did you truly believe I would remain ignorant of your repertoire?]
It bared its fangs, a silent warning against his arrogance.
"...My mistake."
Raon exhaled a cloud of hot air, looking up at the golden beast.
"It appears I didn't give you enough credit."
He had known the Dragon Lord was a master of deception, yet he had allowed his desire for a quick victory to cloud his judgment. With a surge of renewed resolve, he gripped his weapons with such force the hilts groaned.
"From this point on, I am playing for keeps."
He breathed out a frosty mist as he tapped into the primordial power hidden in his core—the Authority of the Demon King. Drawing a deep breath, Raon opened the floodgates of Wrath, a cold blue light igniting within his crimson pupils.
"Man and Demon King. Observe the power born from the two entities you find most beneath you."
Raon felt the biting chill of <Wrath> coursing through his nerves.
'It has been quite a while.'
He had avoided using the extreme emotions and authorities of the demon kings since stabilizing his own human heart, fearing their volatility. But now, his understanding of the boundary between human sentiment and demonic power had matured.
There was no longer the sensation of his identity drowning in the icy tide of Wrath. Instead, he felt he could steer the power with surgical precision.
[I knew it...]
The Dragon Lord’s eyes burned with a concentrated venom.
[You have been a puppet of the demon world from the start!]
It sounded almost satisfied to have its prejudice confirmed.
"And what of it?"
Raon’s lips curled into a cold, predatory smile. Wrath seemed to replace the very blood in his veins.
"A tag-along demon king is infinitely more honorable than a treacherous snake like you."
-Infinitely? Try a billion times over!
Wrath pumped a fist into the air, energized by the remark.
-Finally, you’re using my power with some dignity! Show this oversized lizard what true rage looks like!
The spirit licked its lips in genuine excitement.
"Hah."
Raon inhaled, shifting his weight. With a muffled pop, the distance between them vanished as time seemed to stall. By the time he registered the motion, he was already standing within the Dragon Lord's guard. His velocity hadn't changed, but the nature of his presence had.
[What!]
The Dragon Lord had failed to even track his transit. With a savage hiss, Raon brought the Divine Sword down before the creature could manifest its shield. The flaming edge bit deep into the golden scales, cauterizing the flesh beneath.
[KROOOOOO!]
The Dragon Lord recoiled, a harrowing shriek escaping its throat. The pain seemed far more acute than the previous wound to its neck.
[Vanish! Cease! Be rent asunder!]
Driven by desperation, the Lord spat out a flurry of Draconic commands that drained its mental reserves. The weight of those words slammed into Raon’s physical and spiritual form. However, because he was fully synchronized with Wrath, the crushing pressure failed to halt him.
'I can walk right through this.'
Raon shattered the conceptual bindings of the dragon words through sheer force of ego and engaged the Supreme Harmony Steps once more. Space seemed to scream as he moved so fast he nearly bypassed his target. Spinning on a dime, he drove the Demonic Sword toward the Dragon Lord’s massive, ridged spine.
[Kuuugh!]
Showing why it ruled the drakes, the Lord sensed the incoming strike and summoned a dense forest of light blades along its back. It was trying to create a physical barrier of mana to catch the sword, just as it had done before.
'This is the gamble.'
Raon focused, eyes locked on the sea of golden light. Being in such close proximity meant that any reflected force would likely tear him apart.
'But I have to push through.'
Relying on his own endurance and the frigid rage boiling in his heart, he swung the Demonic Sword with everything he had. The frost radiating from the blade shimmered like a winter aurora, flash-freezing the very air.
The sound of shattering crystal filled the void!
The thousands of Light Swords the Dragon Lord had summoned were turned to brittle ice and pulverized instantly.
The Demonic Sword, now a conduit for true Wrath, erupted with a glacial energy that acted as if it had finally come home. It tore through the Dragon Lord's back like a hot knife through wax. With a thunderous crash, the creature’s mountain-sized spine split open and was instantly encased in ice. The demonic frost bled into the open wound, turning the ice a deep, sickly red.
[KRAAAAAAACK!]
The Dragon Lord spasmed, a scream of unprecedented agony echoing through the dimension. Raon didn't let up; he slammed his foot down onto the thrashing beast. The impact sounded like two worlds colliding!
The Dragon Lord was sent careening toward the edge of the void, coughing up thick, dark blood instead of light.
"You shouldn't be screaming yet."
Raon’s smile widened as the flames on his right hand and the ice on his left burned with terrifying intensity.
"We're only just getting started."
