Chapter 1277
The chilly breeze of the late hours fades away, and the shimmering glow of the stars and moon descending from the heavens grows still.
In a vacuum of silence that suggested the entire world had turned to ice, a massive, stifling pressure began to swell, threatening to crush the firmament and the soil alike.
The Heavenly Demon. The supreme martial artist gifted with a demonic title by the heavens themselves walked forward with a stride as heavy as a mountain, appearing as though he were the sole master of the continent.
"Guh!"
"Hah..."
Burren struggled for air and fell to his knees, while Martha’s legs, which she had desperately tried to keep locked, finally gave out.
"So... this is the Heavenly Demon..."
"Ha! It’s impossible, but he has actually grown even more powerful."
Runaan gripped her blade with hands that wouldn't stop shaking, while Evelyn doubled over, gnawing on her lip in disbelief at the sheer scale of his power.
This was no simple clash between two warriors. It was a fundamental disparity in the very essence of their being. Though the Heavenly Demon was draped in tattered rags and the Zieghart knights wore the finest silks, the gap was insurmountable. It was a core law of nature that could not be challenged—like the sky weighing upon the globe or the ocean consuming the shoreline.
Like a drop of dark ink bleeding across white paper, the moment the figure known as the Heavenly Demon showed his true self, a heavy gloom washed over the world as if a gateway to the void had been flung wide.
The Heavenly Demon took another stride. There was no grand spectacle or chaotic eruption of energy; he simply manifested an overwhelming weight of existence, as though he had been part of the landscape since time immemorial.
Hwaaaaa!
The filthy rags clinging to the Heavenly Demon’s form disintegrated in a burst of crimson combat intent, exposing a physique so flawless it seemed sculpted by a deity of battle.
Swoooosh!
From the shadows behind the Heavenly Demon, a man wearing a lion mask and a woman in a tiger helmet stepped forth, draping a cloak as dark as the midnight sky and a sash over his shoulders.
Chak!
Even with his sworn enemies, the Zieghart swordsmen, standing directly before him, the Heavenly Demon took his time to fix the robe and tie the sash around his hips, acting as if they were of no consequence.
The very atmosphere seemed to hold its breath, as if the local reality existed only to serve the entity known as the Heavenly Demon.
He smoothed the black fabric until it was perfectly flat and adjusted his dark red demonic dragon helmet. The calm eyes peering from behind the visor shone with a haunting, captivating light, as if they were fixed not on the present scene, but on an era yet to come.
His detached expression, suggesting a spirit forged through eons of time and limitless bloodshed, made it clear that the entire world was beneath him.
'This is...'
Raon felt a lump in his throat as a suffocating weight began to squeeze his chest.
'The Heavenly Demon.'
This was fundamentally different from standing beside Pride. When the Heavenly Demon focused his momentum solely on Raon, an aura far more magnificent than any demon lord—greater than anything he had known—bore down on him.
'He isn't even leaving me enough room to speak.'
The Heavenly Demon was projecting a horrific combat spirit to paralyze both his physical frame and his soul, as if intent on denying him even a single word.
"Hup!"
"Ugh..."
"Ha..."
Not just Burren and Martha, but even Runaan was rendered speechless by the crushing presence of the Heavenly Demon, reduced to ragged gasps.
'The most terrifying part is...'
That it didn't touch anyone else.
They were currently in a slum where the poorest laborers resided.
Thousands should have been startled awake, yet they remained in their beds, snoring peacefully.
It meant the Heavenly Demon was focusing that absolute pressure with surgical precision only on them.
'He is testing whether we are worthy.'
The weight from the Heavenly Demon intensified, signaling that finding him was merely the invitation—the true ordeal was beginning now.
-Arrogant wretch!
Wrath's features twisted in a deep scowl as he glared at the Heavenly Demon.
-A mere plaything of Pride thinks he is the real thing!
The entity fumed, clearly incensed just by the Heavenly Demon's connection to Pride.
'Deep breath.'
Raon calmed his internal rhythm and activated the Ring of Fire.
Wooooong!
As ten rings hummed in unison, the Heavenly Demon’s murderous intent that had been strangling his spirit began to give way.
"Leader of Eden, the Heavenly Demon."
After shoving back the aura that sat on his shoulders like the weight of the firmament, Raon finally found his voice.
"I have arrived because there is a debt to be settled between us."
As the acting patriarch of Zieghart, he straightened his posture with dignity, refusing to shrink before the Heavenly Demon.
His red eyes burned with a fighting spirit that would not bend, even in the face of such a monster.
"..."
The Heavenly Demon arched an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that Raon could actually repel his pressure.
For the first time, it felt as though the man was truly looking at him, rather than just acknowledging a name.
"Because you failed to manage your followers, the Evil Goat Demon, Syria Sullion, and the Bear Fire Demon acted out and caused massive slaughter within Zieghart. We have tracked you down to claim compensation in blood."
Despite the terrifying pressure emanating from the Heavenly Demon, Raon laid out the reasons for hunting Eden with total composure.
"You were the one who claimed a duel to the death with our Head of House would signal the start of total war. You were the first to violate your own decree, and I demand an explanation."
He gave a stern nod, emphasizing that this wasn't just about property; the people of Birdnew Village had been butchered, and a blood debt was owed.
"You speak the truth. If I gave my word and it was broken, that falls on me."
The Heavenly Demon gave a slow, measured nod. It was actually startling. Given his previous warning to Glenn, Raon hadn't expected the man to take responsibility so easily.
"However..."
The Heavenly Demon stopped nodding and fixed a frozen stare on Raon.
"Such demands are the privilege of those who possess the strength to back them up."
He erupted with a violent combat spirit, signaling his readiness for immediate battle as he took another step toward Raon.
Kugugugugugu!
That single step felt as though a bottomless pit had cracked open under their feet. His absolute presence dissolved the surroundings, making it seem as if the sky, the land, and the waves were all being drowned in black ink.
"Hmm."
Raon swallowed hard and gripped the hilt of the Heavenly Drive.
'He’s going to strike right here?'
He had anticipated various reactions, but an immediate desire for combat hadn't been at the top of the list. A cold shiver ran down his spine at the volatility of the situation.
"Taking your life right now would be a simple task."
The Heavenly Demon halted the hand he was reaching toward Raon and tilted his head slightly.
"I shall grant you a prize for successfully locating me. A single opportunity."
He held up one thick, powerful finger.
"If you can endure a single strike from my fist, I will hear your grievances."
The Heavenly Demon signaled that if Raon survived the blow, his words would be given weight and acknowledgment.
"How pathetic."
Raon let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"I come to collect on the chaos you unleashed, and you think you have the right to test me?"
He slammed his foot down with force. The dark crimson aura creeping from the Heavenly Demon’s feet was instantly repelled by a surge of golden flames.
"It’s ridiculous, but fine."
Raon bit his lip and unsheathed both the Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.
"I will break that pride of yours and settle the debt of Birdnew Village."
He wanted to protest the absurdity, but he knew the Heavenly Demon wasn't a man moved by logic. Since the only way to open a dialogue was through martial prowess, he had no other path.
"Do your worst."
Raon hoisted the Heavenly Drive high and pointed the Wooden Ring Sword toward the earth. Adopting a heaven-and-earth stance designed to absorb any impact, he lifted his chin defiantly.
"A fine spirit. You are truly the grandson of Glenn Zieghart."
The Heavenly Demon nodded with approval, seeing a reflection of Glenn in the young man. He gathered the dark red energy into his knuckles—energy that surely would have been used to kill Raon instantly had he shown any hesitation.
"The first move."
The Heavenly Demon reached forward with his left hand and pulled his right fist back to his hip. The sash he wore began to glow from the sheer heat of his intent, trailing wisps of grey smoke.
"Heavenly Defeat."
He spoke the name of the art and drove his right fist forward.
'Hup!'
Raon's breath hitched.
The moment that punch was thrown, all light and sound vanished once more. The fist seemed to swallow the entire horizon.
The dark crimson energy, which felt like the condensed malice and fury of the entire world, came crashing down like a pillar of divine demonic wrath.
The strike the Heavenly Demon unleashed seemed to writhe with a life of its own as it closed the distance. It wasn't exceptionally fast or slow. Yet, it carried an absolute weight that promised to erase everything in its path—above, below, and behind.
Kuuuuuung!
The heavens let out a roar. Lightning that looked like tears of blood struck down from the blackened clouds, carving deep furrows into the earth. The ground groaned as it split apart, and fires born of pure pride surged from the cracks.
Raon felt a tremor in his fingers, sensing the world itself fracturing just from the wake of the strike.
'If my timing is off by even a hair...'
I'm dead.
This wasn't a sparring match. The Heavenly Demon was genuinely trying to end him.
'There is only one way...'
Raon pushed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier to their absolute limits while lifting the Heavenly Drive. He relaxed his tensed wrist and stepped forward with his left leg, channeling the bear’s heart.
Whoosh!
He threw himself toward the fist that threatened to destroy his bones, his flesh, and his very soul, and expanded his mental domain.
Within a mental landscape that felt as vast as the continent itself, thousands of blades rose at once.
From the foundational forms he had practiced since he was a child, to the burning techniques of the Ten Thousand Flames, the chaotic Fangs of Insanity, the wild Blizzard Sword Art, the Sky-Piercing Thunder that defined Glenn’s path, and finally his own personal style forged through the fires of life and death.
Every sword from his past and present lives manifested at the core of his spirit and merged into the Heavenly Drive.
Wooooong!
The essence of his entire life as a swordsman poured into the Heavenly Drive, turning the silver edge into a blinding golden light.
"Sword Domain."
Raon lunged into the path of the Heavenly Demon’s strike and brought the glowing Heavenly Drive down with everything he had.
"Heaven's Rift."
Like the monumental moment of a world being born, an infinite radiance spiraled out from the tip of his blade.
Tukwaaaaaang!
Steel met bone. Intent met aura. Soul collided with soul.
The dark red malice and the golden light refused to blend, instead grinding against each other like oil and water, generating a colossal vortex of energy.
Zzzzzzzk!
Eventually, the soil crumbled under the strain, and jagged, black rifts tore through the sky above.
"Kuhuk!"
Raon doubled over, coughing up a mouthful of dark, stagnant blood. He had met the Heavenly Demon’s strike with every ounce of his power, but the gap in strength made defeat inevitable.
He had been bested in technique, in willpower, and in the authority of the Demon King.
Step.
The Heavenly Demon walked toward him, his gaze as steady and unbothered as it had been at the start. His quiet footsteps echoed like a ghost dragging heavy chains across the floor.
"Only one man is supposed to be able to stand tall within my domain."
The Heavenly Demon tilted his head with an air of absolute superiority, as if his victory was a foregone conclusion against anyone who wasn't Glenn.
"And yet..."
His rigid lips pulled back into a subtle, knowing smirk.
"You also have the right to stand here."
