Chapter 1223
Raon gnawed on the edge of his tongue, his gaze fixed on the sinister smirk playing on Derus Robert’s lips.
‘There is no doubt. That villain Derus Robert...’
He intends to reduce this entire place to ash! Raon had found the man’s erratic behavior suspicious, but the reality was now undeniable: Derus Robert intended to vaporize this very base of operations!
-What did you say...?
Wrath’s eyes bulged in shock, his expression demanding clarification.
-If this fortress is blown to bits, wouldn't that madman perish in the blast as well?
He scowled, unable to comprehend such a suicidal maneuver.
-Furthermore, this facility is packed with his own resources and legions of soldiers!
Wrath shook his head aggressively, refusing to believe even Derus Robert would resort to such total self-immolation.
‘First, understand that Derus Robert won't die even if this whole province is erased from the map.’
Raon gave a grim, steady shake of his head.
‘You witnessed it yourself. He possesses the power to make the gashes I carved into him vanish as if they never happened. An explosion won't claim his life.’
The injuries Derus Robert had sustained would have rendered any normal human—even a Transcendent—immobile, yet he had simply wiped them away like a film being rewound. That aberration could only be truly ended by a Soul Sword capable of severing his very essence.
‘And even if he weren't immortal, he surely has a back door.’
This location served as Derus Robert’s private sanctuary. It was certain the man had installed both a detonation mechanism and a teleportation circle to vanish the moment things went south.
-So, he truly means to slaughter every subordinate trapped within these walls?
Wrath spun around, his eyes scanning the surrounding area.
-Even if they are mere fodder, there must be hundreds of souls here!
His pale yellow lips quivered at the sheer heartlessness of the thought.
‘It is well within his nature. If it’s him we’re talking about...’
Raon’s hand tightened around his hilt as he summoned the memory of the chilling cruelty he had personally suffered at Derus Robert’s hands in his previous life.
‘He wouldn't stop at hundreds; he would sacrifice thousands.’
Derus Robert was the type of person who wouldn't flinch if he sent a thousand men to their graves for the sake of his "grand design." He would view every subordinate left in this building as a mere burnt offering if their deaths could cripple him, Glenn, and the finest warriors of Zieghart.
-What sort of demon is this man...
Wrath let out a low growl, his teeth grinding in pure revulsion at the depths of Derus Robert’s depravity.
-But how did you deduce he was planning to detonate the headquarters?
He narrowed his eyes, seeking the logic behind the intuition.
‘I felt something was off from the moment we crossed the threshold. There were no elite guards or high-ranking Angels in sight—only the lowest-tier martial artists. Beyond that...’
Raon rubbed his chin, visualizing the scene at the main entrance when they first breached the perimeter.
‘His soldiers were burdened with heavy crates and gear, looking less like a defense force and more like a caravan preparing to depart. Derus Robert had marked this place for destruction from the start.’
-Ah...
A soft sound of realization escaped Wrath.
-Then could this be part of it too?
He gestured toward the floor, where a black haze was swirling and thickening.
‘Precisely.’
Raon nodded, staring down at the darkening mist pooling around their feet.
‘Derus Robert claimed he wasn't draining his energy because of the death aura in this fog, but that was a deception.’
He exhaled a heavy breath, systematically dismantling the lies hidden behind the villain’s mockery.
‘The death aura accumulating here is essentially the gunpowder for the blast. He is currently laying the fuse for a massive explosion!’
Raon’s jaw set firmly as he laid bare Derus Robert’s hidden scheme.
-Then why is he goading your grandfather to unleash his ultimate power?
Wrath tilted his head, confused by that specific detail. -If he dies before the aura ignites, doesn't that ruin everything? He raised an eyebrow, still struggling to connect the final pieces.
‘To either slay my grandfather or empty his reserves.’
Raon gave a slight shake of his head.
‘Notice how the volume of the mist hasn't changed for a while. The preparations for the explosion are finished. He is likely waiting for the exact second grandfather commits to his true power to trigger the blast.’
Ever since Derus Robert began his taunts, the density of the death aura on the floor had remained static. The man was waiting for Glenn to make his move so he could ignite the trap and wipe everything out in a single flash.
‘An explosion of this magnitude would severely wound even my grandfather. Or, he might be forced to ascend to a higher plane just to survive the blast while trying to shield me. At the absolute worst...’
He could lose his life. Derus Robert was playing a calculated game, aiming directly for Glenn’s throat. Facing him felt like standing before a cold, logical machine rather than a living being.
-That human is utterly deranged!
Wrath’s brow furrowed in disbelief at the insanity of it all.
‘You’re right. He lost his mind long ago.’
-No, he’s one thing, but you’re just as bad!
Wrath looked at him with a mix of frustration and awe.
-I didn't sense a thing, yet you’ve mapped out this madman’s entire strategy!
Wrath let out a defeated sigh, annoyed by his own lack of perception.
‘One picks up these things through experience.’
Raon offered a cryptic response, one that Wrath might understand in full when the truth finally came to light, and allowed a small smile to touch his lips.
-You carry far too many secrets, boy!
Wrath wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
‘I’ll tell you everything eventually.’
Raon exhaled slowly, his eyes locking onto Derus Robert with lethal focus.
-Fine, then!
Wrath clicked his tongue, yielding to his trust in the young man.
-But how do you plan to stop this?
He looked down at the death aura, which had now climbed to the level of their knees.
-Even if you’ve seen through his game, we are effectively cornered!
Wrath bit his lip; if the fuse was already lit, they were standing in a death trap with no exit.
"Glenn Zieghart, I wonder... which do you value more? Your own existence, or the life of your grandson?"
Derus Robert let out a dark chuckle, raising a blade wreathed in obsidian flames toward the heavens. In that instant, the world seemed to lose its color, and the terrifying death aura surged up to their waists, its freezing touch reaching for their very souls.
"Hmm..."
Glenn’s eyes darted toward Raon, filled with a visible anxiety that suggested he was falling for the bait. His fingers twitched, clearly weighing the cost of using his full strength to end Derus right then and there.
‘You’re right about one thing.’
Raon’s gaze sharpened as he watched Derus Robert continue to pull the strings.
‘We are trapped in his lair, in a position where no outside help can reach us in time. However...’
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as a fresh surge of power began to circulate through his weary limbs.
‘There is one variable Derus Robert has overlooked.’
Raon looked at Glenn, a silent laugh echoing in his mind.
[Grandfather.]
He projected his will directly into Glenn’s mind, bypassing Derus Robert’s senses with words the older man could not ignore.
[You trust me, don't you?]
"Hmm!"
A triumphant grin spread across Derus Robert’s face as he watched the color drain from the faces of Raon and Glenn Zieghart.
‘Perfect. Everything is proceeding exactly as I envisioned.’
The combined might of Raon and Glenn had surpassed his estimates. Had it not been for the restorative properties of the death aura, he might have been in genuine peril. Yet, despite their prowess, they lacked the means to truly extinguish him.
Raon was formidable, certainly, but physical trauma could not break him, and he was confident in his ability to parry the boy's Soul Sword.
‘The only true threat is Glenn Zieghart.’
If Glenn chose to transcend and unleashed his absolute peak, his own life could be forfeit. Glenn’s Soul Sword had evolved beyond the limitations of the physical world through sheer discipline; no matter how unique his soul was, a direct hit could be fatal.
‘Under normal circumstances, I would simply flee from Glenn, but the board has changed.’
The death aura he had been stockpiling in secret during the construction of this base was now concentrated all around them. If he detonated this massive reservoir of energy—an amount even he struggled to tether—not even Glenn Zieghart could withstand the pressure.
‘You are left with a single path.’
Glenn Zieghart would have to reveal his ultimate martial form. Since ordinary techniques had failed to kill him, Glenn’s only option was to go all out and then ascend.
‘And even then, he will fail.’
The moment Glenn prepared to unleash that power, he would spark the death aura, triggering the collapse of the sanctuary. The Glenn Zieghart he knew would inevitably prioritize the safety of his precious grandson over the death of his enemy.
‘In the end, that old fool will depart this world having accomplished nothing.’
He had initially considered other uses for Glenn, but ending the chase here and making him disappear felt like a satisfactory conclusion.
‘And reinforcements won't change the outcome.’
He could simply initiate the self-destruct sequence and vanish through the pre-set Dimensional Gate. His Archangels and elite forces were already safely elsewhere; he stood to lose nothing.
"Whew, very well."
Glenn exhaled a long, heavy breath, his posture straightening with sudden resolve. A brilliant, unprecedented light sparked in his crimson eyes, and a devastating heat began to radiate from his body.
The Destructive King of the North, Glenn Zieghart. As the man hailed as the continent’s premier swordsman tapped into his true essence, the sky above seemed to crack like fragile glass, and the ground beneath groaned under the impossible weight of his presence.
"Even if it costs me my life, I will take yours."
Glenn’s voice was a thunderous roar, declaring that Derus Robert was a malignancy that had to be cut out here and now. He lowered the Heavenly Tremor and began to manifest the absolute blade forged from the fires of his own soul.
"Huu..."
Derus Robert drew a sharp breath as he felt the suffocating pressure of Glenn’s murderous intent.
‘This is it!’
He could see it in Glenn’s eyes—the old man was wagering everything to splinter his soul.
"I have been anticipating this very moment!"
Derus Robert wore the arrogant expression of a predator watching its prey step into a snare, and he brought his heel down hard. Kuuuung! In response to the impact, the black death aura permeating the air vibrated violently, coalescing in front of his chest in the blink of an eye.
"I told you before."
Derus Robert’s lips curled into a sneer as he looked at the bewildered Glenn.
"I asked which was more valuable: your life or your grandson's. Allow me to help you decide. Will you strike me down, or..."
He shifted his gaze toward Raon, his shoulders dropping in a mock gesture of pity.
"Will you move to save the boy?"
As the words left his mouth, Derus Robert plunged his hand into the swirling sphere of concentrated death aura at his chest. Crackle! The orb began to hiss, spitting out arcs of black lightning as it reached the brink of detonation.
"You have no time for hesitation. The end is now."
Derus Robert prepared to step back into the Dimensional Gate that had materialized behind him.
"There is a third option."
Raon Zieghart. The one factor Derus Robert had dismissed as a bystander suddenly blurred forward with the speed of a lightning strike, his body radiating a brilliant, five-colored light.
"I'll pass on your gift..."
Raon shoved the massive surge of desire—the very power Archangel Raphael had tried to force upon him—directly into the heart of the impending explosion, his face twisting into a fierce, mocking grin.
"You can have it back!"
