Chapter 1035
Whoooosh!
Raon swept his blood-soaked hair back and lifted his gaze.
The red wolf’s clones that had been tearing at his flesh vanished into transparent droplets, and the crimson sea that looked like it was flowing with blood returned to its original emerald hue.
‘The sea is back to normal.’
He let out a hollow breath as he looked at the sea that had regained its blue-green color. He’d only meant to save the wolf, so he hadn’t expected the sea itself to be purified.
– “Why are you acting surprised?”
Wrath frowned up at him.
– “You erased the seed left by that blood-fiend bitch who was the root of all this. Of course everything would return to normal.”
He nodded, as if to say Raon had done well.
‘Is that so.’
Raon smiled faintly as he felt a breeze that almost seemed to carry Rimmer’s clear presence.
‘But it looks like the wolf is gone too.’
He narrowed his eyes as he gripped the Soul Requiem Sword that had returned.
‘It shouldn’t be dead.’
He’d completely severed the White Blood Cult Leader’s blood energy with the Heart Sword, so he’d expected the wolf to still be here, but there was nothing before him now except the sea.
– “It suffered under that vile blood energy for a long time. It might be resting from exhaustion, or it could’ve passed out.”
Wrath waved a hand, saying it would be alive.
– “Forget that spirit and think about yourself first.”
‘Fair….’
Raon let out a cold laugh as he looked down at his body with blood running over it.
‘I’m a wreck.’
After fighting eight wolves with Transcendent-class blood energy, he’d taken internal injuries and his external wounds were severe. The only thing intact was his mind.
‘Not just intact—my mind is in the best state possible.’
Maybe because his soul’s rank had risen and the Heart Sword’s realm had advanced, his mind was calm even after that long battle, even while pain pulsed through his entire body.
– “Of course it is….”
Wrath bared his teeth at him.
– “This time, you got rewards while fighting!”
‘What are you talking about?’
Raon blinked at Wrath who was getting worked up.
– “You didn’t know? While you were fighting that spirit, reward messages popped up!”
‘I didn’t see anything. I was focused on the fight.’
Because he’d been fixated on saving the wolf’s soul, he hadn’t noticed any reward messages at all.
– “Seriously, this bastard’s luck….”
‘I’ll check now.’
Raon exhaled briefly and pulled up the unconfirmed messages.
[Trait Perception of the Snow Flower has increased in rank.]
[Trait Demonic Eye of Wrath has increased in rank.]
[Trait Perception of the Snow Flower and Demonic Eye of Wrath have undergone linked evolution.]
[A new trait Azure Mind’s Eye has been created.]
[Trait Heart Sword (Spirit) has increased in rank.]
Just as Wrath had said, there were reward messages he hadn’t seen.
‘So it wasn’t that my senses got better and I found the wolf’s soul on my own.’
Raon let out a dry chuckle as he checked the messages one by one.
‘Azure Mind’s Eye, huh.’
He had definitely felt a new sense awaken.
It really was like opening an eye in his mind—he could perceive the wolf’s soul and the White Blood Cult Leader’s blood energy with his eyes and soul.
‘But linked evolution between traits exists too?’
Azure Mind’s Eye was a trait created by combining Perception of the Snow Flower and Demonic Eye of Wrath.
He’d never even imagined traits could undergo linked evolution instead of simply evolving on their own.
– “E-even this King has never seen it before….”
Wrath chewed at his lip.
‘You’ve never seen it either?’
– “I’m telling you, yes! That damned system definitely did something!”
His tail trembled, as if it had been created against his will.
‘Whatever the reason, it’s clearly a special power.’
Azure Mind’s Eye lets him see what can’t be seen and feel what can’t be felt.
It was truly an upgraded version of both Perception of the Snow Flower and Demonic Eye of Wrath, so he was simply glad.
‘It feels like it could be used for things beyond combat too.’
Raon smiled faintly and looked at the last message.
‘The Heart Sword’s growth.’
Even without reading it, he’d already felt the Heart Sword had grown. When it came to swordsmanship, his own sense was more accurate than the system’s.
– “Grrr….”
Wrath rolled his eyes up and down and ground his teeth.
‘You’re not as mad as I expected.’
Raon tilted his head as he looked at Wrath.
‘I thought you’d throw a fit like before.’
– “I’m pissed a new trait appeared, but….”
Wrath wrinkled his nose at him.
– “Those rewards weren’t made from this King’s power. You earned them.”
‘I earned them?’
– “That’s right. Unlike other reward messages, this time I didn’t feel my true body’s power being torn away. That….”
He raised a hand and pointed at Raon.
– “That is power you obtained with your own hands.”
Wrath’s eyes trembled, as if this was truly the first time he’d seen such a thing.
‘Power I obtained myself….’
– “What the hell are you….”
Wrath sighed and stepped closer.
[You have rescued the sea spirit that was submerged in blood.]
[You have achieved a great feat.]
[All stats increase by 30 points.]
[Trait Blood Path has increased in rank.]
[Trait Askara’s Fighting Spirit has increased in rank.]
[Trait Sword Control has increased in rank.]
[Trait Deception Detection has increased in rank.]
[Trait Soul Transference has increased in rank.]
A flood of reward messages suddenly burst up.
– “Huh…?”
Wrath blinked blankly, as if he’d never expected more rewards to appear.
– “W-what is this? Why are they giving more!”
He shouted that it wasn’t over already and swiped at the messages.
‘You said it yourself.’
Raon held out an open palm toward Wrath.
‘You said the earlier messages were something I earned. This is probably the system’s gift.’
He smiled as he said that was why it was appearing after everything ended.
– “Th-this damned….”
Wrath’s eyes trembled, like he’d been blindsided by something he hadn’t even considered.
– “Why does this happen every time I open my mouth! I really can’t take it anymore!”
He exploded with rage and screamed up at the black, wavering night sky.
‘Here we go again.’
Raon shook his head and was about to dismiss the confirmed messages.
Splaash!
The night sea, rippling with blue light, bobbed gently, and a tiny wolf sprang up like a dolphin.
It was the sea spirit’s original form, the one he’d seen when the White Blood Cult Leader had injected the spell into it.
“Khng!”
The sea spirit snorted and trotted toward him, as if it was in a much better mood.
“Are you okay now?”
Raon dropped to one knee and patted the spirit’s head. It didn’t feel like touching an animal—more like brushing over a soft wave. It really had returned to being a spirit.
“Kyareung.”
The sea spirit dipped its head as if thanking him, then licked the blood dripping from his finger.
In that moment, a cool water-like energy seeped into his body and began healing the wounds across him.
No, it wasn’t just healing his wounds. Natural Mana was flowing into him.
“You….”
“Krung!”
The sea spirit raised a forepaw and gripped his hand, as if telling him to stay still. It seemed it wanted to give him the sea’s Mana as thanks for saving it.
“I’m fine, so take care of yourself first.”
Raon tried to pull his hand back, saying he didn’t need it, but the wolf clung to his arm like a cicada gripping a tree and refused to let go.
Whoooosh!
Only after pouring into him Mana worth more than a top-grade elixir and healing all his external wounds did the wolf finally release his arm. It was stubborn.
“Thank you.”
Raon thanked it for the gift and gently rubbed the sea spirit’s forehead.
“Kyareureu.”
The sea spirit smiled as if it was happy, then bobbed its head.
“Are you asking for my hand again?”
Raon held his hand out, but the sea spirit shook its head.
“Then what….”
“Kyawung.”
The sea spirit lifted its now-cute forepaw and pointed at its own forehead.
“You want me to bump heads?”
“Kyawung!”
It nodded like that was exactly right.
“Hmm….”
It took a moment, but seeing how clear the spirit’s eyes were, Raon lowered his head a little.
Splaash!
The spirit kicked off the sea and charged in, bumping its forehead against his.
Whoooosh!
Along with a cool sensation like a water droplet touching his head, a new scene surfaced in his mind.
“This is….”
—
Slash!
Rabawin split a monster shaped like a giant crab—Giant Crab—in a single stroke and lifted his head.
Even in the dead of night, he let out a hollow breath as he stared at the sea glowing blue-green.
“I can’t believe he actually did it….”
When the Transcendent-class wolf split into eight, Rabawin had thought even Raon couldn’t win and had started preparing to retreat.
But Raon hadn’t merely endured—he erased the blood energy filling the sea and saved the wolf’s soul.
‘He’s a man you can only describe as a monster.’
Even the howl of a single wolf had been enough to make Rabawin’s whole body stiffen, so he couldn’t help but marvel at Raon’s overwhelming might and unbroken will.
“You still don’t know our Palace Master.”
Burren snorted as he cleaved a Sharkness charging at his side in half.
“That man doesn’t even start something unless he knows he can do it.”
He nodded calmly, saying Raon had gone out there because he was certain he could win.
“Mm….”
Runaan blinked as if in agreement.
“Today, Raon is ridiculously handsome, so everything will work out….”
Without even looking at the sea, she raised an ice wall and froze the monsters, as if she didn’t need to worry today.
“That’s right.”
Martha, leaning on her sword like a cane, let out a quiet laugh.
“I knew he’d pull it off.”
Even though Raon could have crushed the red wolf with sheer force and killed it, he listened to her and chose the path of salvation.
Watching him now, facing the spirit that had returned to its original form, her eyes and nose burned hot.
‘He made that decision for me, didn’t he?’
He hadn’t tried that only to save the wolf—he’d done it as real practice for saving her mother, whose soul was trapped by the White Blood Cult Leader.
His aura flowed in with the sea wind, and before she knew it, her vision blurred at the edges.
“Thank you so—”
Martha grabbed her reddening nose as she tried to thank Raon.
And then Raon and the sea spirit suddenly vanished.
Kraaaash!
As she turned her gaze to find where they’d gone, the monsters in front of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen were split clean in half.
Raon walked out from behind them.
“Rabawin-nim.”
Raon called out to the wide-eyed Rabawin.
“Y-yes? Ah, yes!”
Rabawin swallowed hard and bowed at the waist.
“With this, everything here is finished, right?”
“Th-that’s right, isn’t it?”
Rabawin nodded, saying it had to be over—they’d secured the White Blood Cult’s ship, saved the spirit, and even killed an apostle.
“Then let’s go back to Zieghart.”
Raon clenched his fist until veins bulged as he turned his gaze, his eyes sinking with a grim heat.
“We have something we need to report faster than anything else.”
—
“So you’d been silent for a while….”
Glenn’s leg trembled as he turned his gaze toward the window.
“And you come back immediately.”
Raon had cut off contact after telling them he would lie in wait to catch the one responsible for destroying the harbor and village.
Glenn had been so worried he’d barely slept, and he hadn’t expected Raon to return so suddenly.
“When did he say he’d arrive?”
“He passed the Flying Swallow Division not long ago, so he’ll be here soon.”
Roenn chuckled and said he’d arrive any moment.
“Hmph, he should’ve contacted us first.”
If Raon had told them he was returning, Glenn would have gathered the executives so they could all hear of his exploits, and it was a shame he’d come rushing in without warning.
“We can just listen first, then call everyone in and make him tell it again.”
Cheryl smiled as if there was nothing to worry about.
“Ahem! That’s true!”
Glenn lightly stroked his chin, pretending he’d had the same thought.
“Heh heh.”
“Hoo hoo.”
Roenn and Cheryl wore gentle smiles, as if just watching Glenn enjoy himself made them happy too.
“Then let’s prepare.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
As the three of them adjusted their clothes and hair while waiting for the Light Wind Palace’s return report, a heavy knock sounded at the audience chamber door.
“Enter.”
Glenn nodded, expecting Raon’s bold footsteps to bring a victory report as always.
Rumble.
The doors slowly opened, and Raon and the Light Wind Palace swordsmen walked in.
But instead of the proud eyes of those who had completed a mission, they wore stiff, hardened faces.
“…Did you fail?”
Glenn let out a low murmur at the unexpected sight.
“No. We caught the culprit, and we identified the ones behind it.”
Raon shook his head and said the mission had been completed successfully.
“Behind it?”
Glenn frowned as he looked at Raon, who still carried the sea’s stench with him.
“The ones behind this are the White Blood Cult. And thanks to the spirit they used….”
Raon took a deep breath and lifted his gaze.
With red eyes that looked like flames, he parted his cracked lips.
“We found the location of the White Blood Cult’s main base.”