Raon’s lips curved into a smirk as he observed the trembling fury on Derus Robert’s face. The man’s typical mask of composure had shattered into a jagged mess of disbelief.
'He truly never imagined I’d hunt him down to his very doorstep.'
Normally, even after the catastrophic failures in Heaven, Derus would have found a way to project an image of calm superiority. He was a man who lived by the facade of leisure, even when drowning. But today, his eyes were bloodshot, his veins pulsing with a frantic, murderous energy. Had Glenn not been standing right there, Raon felt as though Derus would have lunged forward to tear the life from his body with his bare hands.
-The bastard is absolutely livid!
Wrath let out a sharp, mocking cackle.
-A lone thief didn't just sabotage plans years in the making; he tracked him to his most private sanctum. If this king were in his shoes, my heart would have exploded from pure rage by now!
The small demon shuddered, seemingly savoring Derus’s agony as if it were his own.
-Watching that serpent writhe in frustration is a better tonic than anything else!
Wrath had been complaining about a foul mood lately, but the sight of Derus’s distorted features seemed to provide him with wicked satisfaction.
'However...'
Raon’s gaze swept past Derus, scanning the area surrounding the elevated dais.
'The defense here is surprisingly thin.'
While there were masked warriors stationed near the platform who radiated significant pressure, their numbers were few. It appeared the vast majority of the elite forces Derus had spent a lifetime cultivating for his grand war had already been deployed to other fronts.
"Derus Robert."
Glenn stepped up beside Raon, his chin tilted in a gesture of cool authority.
"Our appointment was supposed to be a year from now, yet here we find ourselves."
He rotated his wrist lazily, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips.
"I’ve never seen you look quite so unhinged. You held your temper better even when your true nature was dragged into the light."
Glenn’s smile sharpened as he noted the sickly pallor washing over Derus’s face.
"I suppose I should thank my grandson for that revelation as well. Your little games and manipulations always seemed to catch us off guard, but they never quite worked on him, did they?"
He continued to needle the man, layering on the psychological weight.
"……."
Derus offered no verbal retort. Instead, he bit his lip so hard it bled, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging like dark cords.
"Where is it you’re trying to run to now?"
Raon looked up at the man on the platform, beckoning him with a mocking flick of his finger.
"This is the conflict you craved. Why are you retreating from your own masterpiece? Are you truly that terrified?"
He lowered his head slightly, his voice cold, demanding that Derus stand his ground and settle their debt.
"Then again, perhaps this is fitting. A coward who spent his life hiding behind the reputation of the Six Kings, too afraid to even put his own name on his deeds, would naturally run when things get difficult."
Raon waved a hand dismissively, the gesture dripping with contempt.
"Haaa..."
A heavy, shuddering breath escaped Derus. It was a sound laden with so much repressed emotion that the air in the massive cavern seemed to vibrate with it.
"When did you discover this location?"
His brow furrowed, the logic of his defeat still eluding him.
"From the very start," Raon replied with a casual shrug.
"I’ve known about this place since the beginning. In fact, this was the origin point of everything."
He gestured around the space, explaining that finding this hidden node was exactly what allowed him to breach the defenses of Heaven.
"Ha! So that’s how the pieces fit!"
Derus let out a chilling, animalistic laugh, his teeth bared. It was the sound of a man finally seeing the trap that had been closing around him for months.
"I wasn't just outmaneuvered. I was a puppet dancing in your palm the entire time."
He pressed a hand to his temple, breathing out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
"If that's what you want to believe," Raon said, indifferent to Derus's internal revelations.
"You have been a thorn in my side until the bitter end, Raon!"
Derus ground his teeth, his posture losing its usual stiff refinement. He crouched slightly, shedding the skin of a nobleman for the reality of a predator.
"It’s refreshing to see the real you for once."
Raon smiled thinly, meeting the man’s glowing, amber eyes.
"Stop with the polite masks and the fake honorifics. This version of you—the snarling, desperate beast—suits you far better."
He gestured for Derus to continue, noting that the man’s raw malice was at least honest.
"So..."
Derus brushed the stray hair from his face and let out a low, steadying breath.
"What is your plan now?"
He narrowed his eyes, challenging them to make their move.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to end your life."
"By yourself?"
Derus cut him off, stepping to the very edge of the dais.
"Regardless of the power you've managed to scrape together, you are not on my level."
He gestured downward with a sneer, belittling Raon’s personal strength.
"You are incapable of achieving anything on your own—"
"You're right. I can't do this alone."
Raon cut him off in turn, surprisingly quick to admit his limitations.
"This entire campaign would have been a fantasy without the support of those around me."
The intelligence gathered by the Black Market and the Shadow Agents, Evelyn’s tireless scouting of the barriers, and the combined genius of the mages who crafted the spells to pierce Divine power—none of it was his doing alone. The warriors of Zieghart had bled and trained to ensure they could take the Land of Clouds. He had been the tip of the spear, but the spear had been forged by many hands.
"Hmm..."
Derus squinted, clearly caught off guard by Raon’s lack of ego.
"So you intend to hide behind others once more."
Raon stepped to the side, clearing a path for Glenn.
"My grandfather happens to be the strongest man on the continent. Why wouldn't I rely on him?"
He stated it as a simple fact, nodding toward Glenn.
"Kuhum!"
The sudden, blunt praise from his grandson caught Glenn off guard, and his cheeks took on a faint reddish hue as he cleared his throat.
-Even in a place like this, that old doting fool is still at it...
Wrath let out a weary sigh.
"Kuh, kuhahahaha!"
Derus fell into a fit of manic laughter, clutching his head.
"Indeed. Glenn Zieghart, the North's Destructive King, is a monster. I am not yet his equal. However..."
He drew his blade, the ring of steel echoing through the vault.
"For that old man to strike me down, he would have to gamble everything. Even if he survives the fight, he would be forced to vanish from this world!"
Derus snorted, confident that Glenn could not bridge the gap without unleashing a level of power that had consequences.
"Ascension. Those who reach the pinnacle of martial arts are eventually called away to a higher plane. That old monster has been ready for that transition for a long time. He should have been gone years ago, but he’s been anchoring himself here solely because of you people."
He tapped his temple, mocking the burden Glenn carried.
"To face me at my full strength, he must release his shackles. And once he does, he will be caught in the heavens' net, unable to return to this world."
Derus pointed a finger at them, claiming that a victory for Glenn would result in his immediate exile.
"Will you sacrifice your grandfather's presence just to kill me? Yes, that sounds exactly like something you would do, Raon!"
He giggled, spitting out the name Raon with particular venom.
"I will give him the fight of his life. I won't fall until I'm certain Glenn Zieghart is forced to ascend—"
"Who said he was going to do it by himself?"
Raon stepped into a supporting position behind Glenn, his grip tightening on both the Divine and Demonic swords.
"I’ll be right here covering his back. He won't need to release his full power to end you if I'm helping him."
He lifted his chin confidently, and his ten rings began to resonate in unison. Just as he had experienced during the battle with Raphael, his perception began to fracture; time slowed to a crawl, and the very energy of the world became tangible to his senses.
"Are you insane?"
Derus flexed his fingers, unable to process the logic.
"You think the two of you can just play at war? You’ll both die if you underestimate me."
He tightened his grip on his hilt, his killing intent flaring.
"No parent truly wants to defeat their child. And a grandfather... well, he’s always going to let his grandson take the lead."
Glenn nodded calmly, signaling his absolute trust in Raon’s plan.
"The entire family has lost their minds."
Derus’s pride seemed stung by the implication that he wasn't worth Glenn’s full attention. He bit his lip until it turned white.
"Fine. I will show you both the price of such arrogance!"
He leaped from the dais, his sword wreathed in a thick, suffocating darkness, intent on reaping both their lives at once.
"Stay alert."
Glenn shifted into a low stance, raising Heavenly Tremor.
"That isn't standard aura. It’s the essence of death."
He warned Raon that the black energy was a soul-corroding force that could rot flesh upon the slightest contact.
"I’m aware."
Raon breathed out slowly, his mind focused.
'I know that energy better than anyone.'
His own unique attributes were perfectly suited to resisting and cutting through death aura. If he timed his strikes, he was actually the best-equipped person to handle this specific threat.
Derus hit the ground with enough force to shatter the stone, abandoning all further talk as he swung his blackened blade. The strike stretched out like a whip of shadow, a line of pure destruction aimed at their hearts.
"Move, don't try to parry!"
At Glenn’s command, Raon engaged the Supreme Harmony Steps. Utilizing the fluid grace of the Third Step, he spiraled away from the lethal thrust, immediately transitioning into the Azure Sky Sword. Glenn moved in perfect synchronization, using the same footwork to bypass the attack before launching his own counter.
Yet, their execution of the Azure Sky Sword was distinct.
Raon’s strike was the Azure Sky Drive designed to tear through the heavens with raw force, while Glenn’s version was an Azure Sky Drive that seemed to embody the vast, unshakable weight of the sky itself.
"Hmph!"
Derus snorted, attempting to intercept both trajectories with a burst of black, whirling energy. His blade unleashed a massive vortex of dark flames that spun like a hurricane, a display of power so immense it could have obliterated a Transcendent master instantly.
"Hmm..."
Raon felt the pressure of the sinister aura grinding against his ten rings, threatening to push him back. He dug his heels in, forcing his strength into his twin blades.
"You don't have to bear it alone."
Glenn stepped in front of Raon, a small, reassuring smile on his face.
"It’s my turn to protect you."
With a low, resonant word, Heavenly Tremor lashed out. The Azure Sky Drive of the patriarch, straight and unwavering, sliced through the dark vortex like a sunbeam piercing through a storm.
"Now!"
"Yes!"
Raon didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, dragging the Divine and Demonic swords along the floor before whipping them upward. The energy trailing behind his blades carried the singular intent to upend the heavens. The grandfather and grandson, sharing the same footwork and the same legacy, drove their blades toward the heart of the shadow-clad demon.
