Chapter 1218
Immediately after Raon began the construction of the tower within Heaven, Evelyn gathered azure mana above her violet hair. With her fingers dancing as if playing a melody on a piano, the mana currents spiraled, forcing open two spatial rifts at once.
[Ehehehe! Is this that new batch of lemon sweets... Hiek!]
Emerging from the first rift was Archmage Chamber of Eternal Flame. She was in the middle of popping a bright yellow candy into her mouth when she caught sight of Evelyn’s expression and let out a sharp gasp.
[What in the—! Why are you showing up like this!]
Chamber bolted upright from her seat, her rabbit-like, adorable looks failing to mask her shock as she spat out the candy she had been chewing.
[Finally, I can get some sleep... Kkeuh!]
The figure in the second rift was, unsurprisingly, Mage Tower Master Larian. Her half-lidded, weary eyes snapped wide at the sight of Evelyn’s sudden intrusion.
[How... how did you manage to bypass my wards and open this dimension...]
Larian’s fingers trembled, all traces of exhaustion vanishing. she looked utterly stunned that Evelyn had managed to break into her private sanctum.
"Sisters! It has been quite a while!"
Evelyn waved enthusiastically at the bewildered Chamber and Larian, offering a cheerful greeting.
"S-sister? Since when am I your sister? And besides, it’s the middle of the night..."
"Hey! It hasn't been that long at all!"
Chamber shoved the stammering Larian aside and raised her voice.
"What do you think you’re playing at! Why are you sneaking through a back door instead of using the proper communication channels!"
She scowled, demanding to know why Evelyn had carved out a secret path to reach them instead of using the established front door.
"A matter of extreme gravity has surfaced. If we are discovered, my man’s life could be forfeit."
Evelyn pleaded her case, pressing her palms together in a gesture of urgency.
"Your man? You don't mean Raon, do you?"
Chamber squinted at Evelyn with suspicion.
"Why is Raon your man! More to the point, why is he in harm's way?"
She gestured impatiently, urging Evelyn to explain herself.
"Raon is currently conducting a highly classified mission."
Evelyn pressed a finger against her crimson lips, signaling for silence.
"As we are all aware, Derus Robert has informants lurking everywhere. That is why I had to reach out to you through this clandestine method."
She slumped her shoulders slightly, silently asking for their indulgence just this once.
"A... secret mission?"
Larian’s curiosity peaked at the mention of secrecy, and she leaned her face closer to the dimensional rift.
"Yes. To summarize the situation..."
Evelyn provided a concise briefing on the predicament Raon was facing.
"So, you are suggesting we teleport several hundred people to a destination you have never visited, the location of which is nearly impossible to pinpoint?"
Chamber let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
"And this place is saturated with divine power instead of mana, under the constant watch of Angels?"
Larian’s brow furrowed deeply, noting that the difficulty of such a task was off the charts.
"Exactly. It is far from simple. In fact, it is bordering on the impossible."
Evelyn nodded quickly, reinforcing that this was the very reason she had sought out their expertise.
"To think such a challenge existed..."
Chamber glared at Evelyn, her face twisted in a scowl.
"Why are you only just telling us! This sounds magnificent!"
She pumped a small fist, her excitement growing in direct proportion to the impossibility of the task.
"Yes! This is going to be exhilarating!"
Larian’s eyes, previously dull with sleep, now blazed with intensity.
"Piercing through divine power using mana... how thrilling!"
She shed her lethargic persona, her fierce battle spirit emerging at the prospect of a magical breakthrough.
"I had a feeling you two wouldn't turn me down!"
Evelyn beamed, having anticipated this exact reaction.
"This isn't just about helping you. I want to see if it can be done!"
"Cracking the secret to bypassing divine power will be an invaluable asset for the war a year from now!"
Chamber and Larian nodded with even more fervor than Evelyn.
"Let’s begin at once!"
"What are your coordinates, and what is your current vantage point?"
The two mages completely forgot their interrupted rest, practically salivating at the chance to start the work. Despite their clashing temperaments, in this moment of academic obsession, they looked like true sisters.
"Perfect."
Evelyn struck her palms together and projected the data she had compiled above the heads of Chamber and Larian.
"Let's get to work. Oh! But before we dive in..."
She projected an image of Derus Robert's face over the schematics of the Land of Clouds and Heaven, her expression turning icy and sharp.
"There is one crucial directive that Raon insisted upon."
"H-hold on, an Archangel is descending already? Getting the synchronization right is going to be a nightmare."
Archmage Chamber of Eternal Flame gnawed on her lip as she fine-tuned the intricate Magic Circle.
"Huuu..."
Mage Tower Master Larian exhaled softly, focusing every ounce of her mental fortitude on the spell, unable to even spare a word.
"We can pull this off."
Evelyn maintained a confident smile while precisely weaving the mana, certain that their combined strength would prevail. The collective will of three Transcendence-level mages merged, and a shimmering blue Dimensional Gate began to manifest in front of the Zieghart Lord's Manor.
"Huuuu, so now we’re actually going to war with Angels..."
Dorian gulped nervously as he watched the image of Raon’s Tower of Babel shimmering within the azure portal.
"What’s the big deal about Angels? Slice their throats and they'll drop just like anyone else!"
Krein dismissed the threat, resting his hand on his hilt and asserting that death was the great equalizer, whether for divine beings or mortals.
"For once in your life, Krein, you actually said something sensible!"
Martha slung an arm around Krein’s shoulder with a fierce grin.
"She's right! Angels aren't anything we can't handle!"
She nodded firmly, expressing total confidence in the current strength of the Light Wind Palace.
"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves before the blades even clash."
Burren signaled for calm with a steady hand.
"That said, we’ve pushed ourselves to the limit in training. We have every reason to be confident."
He gave a solemn nod, reminding them to trust in the muscle memory of their grueling preparations.
"We definitely worked harder than when the Palace Master was around."
Trevin let out a low whistle, recalling how close to death they had come during their drills.
"..."
Runaan remained silent, her gaze fixed on the expanding gateway.
"Raon..."
She clutched the Heavenly Drive and the Wooden Ring Sword—the blades Raon had left in her care—tightly to her chest, a wintry chill glinting in her usually vacant eyes.
"It’s about to start."
Rector stood before the nearly completed gate and gave a sharp nod.
"Indeed it is."
Glenn stood at Rector’s side, closing his eyes briefly before opening them with renewed resolve.
"That boy Raon... he always insists on being the first one to dive into the fire."
Rector clicked his tongue as Raon’s image flickered within the portal.
"He’s been that way since the day he was born."
A faint, nostalgic smile touched Glenn’s lips as he thought back to Raon’s early years.
"Since my grandson has gone to the trouble of setting the stage, the least we can do is show up for the performance."
Rector declared that it was time to repay Raon’s efforts, his prosthetic fist tightening.
"I concur. If Raon has paved the way this far, we must take charge of the rest."
Glenn nodded in agreement, ready to unleash his full power.
"I owe you my thanks as well, in-law. Because of your help, this limb feels as natural as my own."
Rector gripped his prosthetic arm with his left hand, nodding deeply in appreciation.
"I believe someone once said that family shouldn't need to say such things."
Glenn waved off the gratitude, echoing a sentiment he had once heard from Raon himself.
"You're right about that."
Rector let out a soft chuckle, remembering those words. As their brief exchange ended, the portal revealed the moment Raon decapitated the radiant Archangel Raphael.
"That’s my grandson for you!"
"That’s my grandson for you!"
Both Glenn and Rector claimed the title simultaneously, raising their fists in pride. For once, they shared a genuine, knowing smile.
"G-grandfathers! Forgive the delay! You have to go in now!"
Evelyn bit her lip, urgent for them to move the moment the gate stabilized to provide Raon with backup.
"Don't worry."
"We won't be a second late."
Glenn and Rector offered a reassuring gesture to the frantic Evelyn before stepping toward the shimmering threshold.
"Let's move."
"Let's do this."
As the Dimensional Gate fully stabilized, the two men bumped fists with the seamless coordination of lifelong partners and plunged into the blue radiance without a moment’s hesitation.
"Kahahahahaha! Wipe them out!"
Balder roared with laughter, energized by the thrill of a large-scale battle. He tore through the ranks of the Angels and Derus’s minions with reckless abandon.
"See? I told you Angels were over-hyped!"
Martha channeled a Fighting Spirit that rivaled Balder’s, her sword coming down with crushing force, reducing the celestial beings to splatters of red.
"Y-yeah! They aren't as tough as I feared!"
Dorian’s face was still pale with fright, yet his blade moved with lethal precision, carving through Derus’s Shadow warriors.
"No, it's not that they're weak—it's that we've become monsters!"
Krein remarked with a smirk, noting how much the entire Light Wind Palace had evolved through their hellish training.
"So, you’ve all arrived..."
Runaan summoned a blizzard of Frost from her blade, acting as a force of nature as she systematically dismantled the Angel forces.
"Keep your heads! This fight is only just warming up!"
Burren shouted orders from the heart of the fray, fulfilling his role as Vice Palace Master by coordinating the swordsmen's movements.
"Heh."
Raon watched the display of Martial Prowess and the soaring Fighting Spirit of his comrades. Seeing how much they had improved in his absence, he couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
'Those guys didn't have it easy either.'
He had assumed his solo infiltration of Derus's stronghold was the ultimate hardship, but seeing their growth, he realized that those who stayed behind in Zieghart, training through the uncertainty and mental strain, had faced their own crucible.
"R-reinforcements are here!"
"The elite Angels have finally arrived!"
"Hold the line! Victory is ours!"
"We’ll make this the graveyard of Zieghart!"
Derus’s forces, which had been on the verge of collapse, found fresh hope as the elite Angelic host descended. They brandished their weapons with renewed vigor.
"The elite of the angels, you say?"
"Hmph!"
Glenn and Rector turned their blades toward the heavens where the elites were soaring down. The combined strikes of the two peak swordsmen literally carved the azure sky into four distinct quadrants. Any Angel caught in the path of those strikes was instantly rent asunder; the blue sky bled crimson, mimicking a sudden, violent sunset.
With just a single coordinated strike from Glenn and Rector, the entire wave of elite Angels was annihilated, sending a rain of blood down upon the battlefield.
'Grandfather...'
Raon could sense the sheer weight of affection and protective worry embedded in their sword techniques, and he pressed his lips together.
'The two of them must have been through hell as well.'
It was clear they were venting all their pent-up frustration and anxiety through their blades, obliterating every enemy in sight.
"Uuugh..."
"N-no way!"
"This is impossible!"
"We can't win against this!"
"R-run for your lives!"
The remaining Angels and Derus’s soldiers turned ghost-white, their morale shattered as they scrambled to retreat. In the chaos of the rout, a severely wounded Derus Robert was left exposed at the front.
"Huu..."
Derus Robert clutched the gaping wound in his chest, a faint, weary laugh escaping him.
"Raphael fallen and Heaven laid bare... this was a scenario I hadn't even considered possible at this stage."
He nodded slowly, acknowledging the magnitude of the disaster.
"I spent so much effort perfecting this vessel, only to see it ruined like this. The setback is substantial..."
Derus Robert grimaced, suggesting that Priest Srude’s body had been intended for a far more significant purpose.
"To try and act the tough guy now would just be a pathetic performance."
He chuckled softly, using a blood-stained hand to brush the hair away from his eyes.
"I'll admit it. You've completely checkmated me. Raon Zieghart."
Derus Robert conceded his defeat without further excuse, coughing up a mouthful of dark blood.
"However, the real war hasn't even begun."
He raised a single finger with his left hand.
"It won't be on your terms, but on the day I've chosen—that is when everything truly starts!"
"What?"
Raon scowled, confused by the cryptic declaration.
"Until we meet again."
With a flick of his finger, Derus Robert’s body began to bloat unnaturally, like dough rising in heat.
"Get back!"
"Clear the area!"
Just as Glenn and Rector rushed to intercept him, Derus’s body erupted in a blinding flash of light, releasing a massive concussive shockwave. Because the two grandmasters stood their ground to block the blast, the Zieghart swordsmen behind them remained unharmed.
He detonated his Clone to make an escape!
Wrath growled, his face twisted in a deep scowl.
What a cowardly, loathsome worm!
He spat, realizing that Derus Robert must have had this self-destruct escape plan ready as a fail-safe.
'I expected as much.'
Raon surveyed the scorched, blackened earth where Priest Srude’s body had been sacrificed and gave a stoic nod.
'That's exactly why I prepared for this eventuality.'
He turned his gaze toward Evelyn.
"Yes! I'm all set!"
Evelyn signaled with a thumbs-up, ready to execute the next phase.
"I'll need the two of you to assist as well."
Raon stood between Glenn and Rector and gave a respectful bow. When he lifted his head, a golden, predatory heat burned in his eyes.
"Let’s hunt down that fleeing rat."
