Chapter 1058

“Ah, Father?”

Martha stared at Denier with the dim eyes of a dead fish. As if she couldn’t believe reality, she dropped the sword from her hand.

“Why would Father attack King Lecross…”

“An interruption.”

Denier Zieghart didn’t even glance at Martha as he turned around and frowned. As if he intended to kill Lecross for certain, he twisted the wrist holding his sword.

“Stop!”

Raon gave up pressing the White Blood Lord and used the [Supreme Harmony Steps]. Advancing as if piercing through space itself, he drew a line of frost toward Denier’s neck as Denier moved to cut off King Lecross’s upper body in one strike.

Whoooosh!

As if he had predicted Raon’s movement, Denier threw King Lecross aside and lightly evaded the frosty slash.

‘He dodged that?’

Raon bit his lip as he looked at Denier, who had so easily avoided his strike.

‘That’s not something a Grand Master should be able to dodge.’

As long as the Sword Field Creation was still active, Denier, who was only supposed to be a Grand Master, shouldn’t even have been able to properly see his sword. Yet he had casually brushed aside the attack.

“I’ll give you that one. But instead…”

Denier stepped back to the right and moved behind the dazed Martha. It was a movement as stealthy as a ghost, yet no slower than the [Supreme Harmony Steps].

“I’ll be taking this one.”

He grabbed the throat of the adopted daughter he had brought back himself and raised as if she were no more than an object.

“Martha!”

Raon caught King Lecross, who was falling to the ground, with his left arm and ground his teeth until they creaked.

“Ah, Father, why…”

As if the cold gaze of Denier, who was gripping her throat, hurt more than the hand itself, tears fell from the corners of Martha’s eyes.

“…”

Without giving any answer, Denier used Blood Energy to paralyze Martha’s entire body so that she couldn’t move.

“If you so much as touch Martha in that state…”

Raon aimed Heavenly Drive, which had returned to its original form as the Divine-Demonic Harmony faded, at Denier’s heart.

“I’ll make you feel pain beyond anything death itself could offer.”

He glared at Denier, stirring up a rage he hadn’t even poured out completely on the White Blood Lord.

“…”

Denier accepted his fury with calm indifference and tightened his grip on Martha.

“Ugh…”

Martha let out a painful gasp. It seemed the sorrow of being betrayed by Denier was greater than the pain of being choked.

》 “I can’t believe it.”

Wrath narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t understand.

》 “That black-hearted bastard was hiding his strength all this time!”

He let out a hollow laugh, saying that it was power even he himself had failed to notice.

‘Yeah. Denier was a Transcendent…’

Raon nodded heavily.

‘And one at a level similar to mine.’

How is something like this even possible?

No matter how close he was to his own realm, it should have been impossible to deceive Glenn and Wrath. Denier clearly possessed some special ability that let him conceal his strength.

‘Then it’s no wonder I lost track of his movement.’

Raon had never trusted Denier completely, so he had kept the senses he had spread around them active, thinking Denier might stab them in the back.

Sensing that, Denier seemed to have waited until Raon’s concentration was focused on the White Blood Lord, then released the power he had been hiding and stabbed Lecross from behind in a single move. He was a man with a base yet coldly calculating mind.

》 “Damn it! Save the beef girl already!”

Wrath flailed his arms wildly, saying Martha was in danger.

‘I want to vent all my rage on Denier too, but…’

This isn’t the time for that.

Keeping his gaze fixed on Denier, Raon checked Lecross’s condition with his left hand.

‘He’s not dead yet.’

It was true that the sword and Blood Energy had been driven into the left side of his chest where his heart was, but Lecross’s breathing had not stopped yet.

Wooooooong!

Raon immediately used [Divine Power Blooming in Darkness] to heal Lecross’s wound.

‘But even after taking a sneak attack from behind, he’s still alive…? Hm?’

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the dagger lying at Lecross’s feet. Seeing that aura still remained within it, it seemed this dagger had interfered with Denier’s ambush.

“I-it was a split-second difference.”

Balder’s rough voice came from behind. It looked like he had thrown that dagger and knocked Denier’s sword slightly off course.

(T/N: Let’s go Uncle Balder!!!)

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

Balder ran up beside him and pointed at Denier.

“Raon told me to keep an eye on you, so I thought it’d be easy as eating rice cakes while lying down, but what the hell is this!”

He roared so loudly the city itself seemed to shake, demanding to know what Denier was thinking.

“…”

As if he had nothing to say in the first place, Denier didn’t even look at Balder. He completely subdued Martha, then gathered her into his left arm.

》 “To think that idiot would actually be useful for once.”

Wrath sighed, saying that Balder’s simplicity had at least helped them avoid the worst-case outcome.

“Urgh…”

Raon frowned as he looked at Lecross, whose pale face twisted as he coughed up dead blood.

‘The wound isn’t healing as well as I thought.’

Denier hadn’t merely stabbed him with a sword. He had also left vicious Blood Energy inside Lecross’s body, so even with [Divine Power Blooming in Darkness], the wound would not close properly.

‘Then I have no choice.’

I’ll have to use it all.

He drew out all of the divine power from [Divine Power Blooming in Darkness] and slammed it into Lecross’s wound.

Perhaps because the trait had reached 10-star and both the amount and quality of divine power had risen, he somehow managed to erase Lecross’s wound.

“Huaaak…”

Only then did Lecross seem to regain his senses, letting out a violent breath and spitting out the blood pooled in his mouth.

“M-my apologies…”

His eyes were unfocused, as if he had truly returned from the brink of death.

For now, Lecross was breathing again, but his condition was not good. It didn’t look like he would be able to fight.

“No. I’m the one who should apologize.”

Raon ground his teeth as he looked at Denier, whose forearm was wrapped around Martha’s neck.

“Because I failed to stop that bastard.”

Carelessness.

If he had truly suspected Denier as an enemy and kept him in check, he might have prevented this situation.

It was no exaggeration to say that Martha’s complete trust in Denier and his own pitiful desire to trust Zieghart itself, the family he loved, had brought about what was happening now.

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

With the White Blood Lord’s furious roar, Larian was pushed back and slammed into the rubble of a collapsed building.

“Damn it!”

Larian threw away the dagger whose blade had shattered and frowned.

“Haaaaaah…”

The White Blood Lord pulled out the Wooden Wheel Sword lodged in her neck, then used Blood Energy, and the wounds covering her body slowly began to close. It was regeneration and recovery through Blood Energy.

“I returned after being summoned.”

Denier moved behind the White Blood Lord, knelt, and lowered his head.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect this.”

The White Blood Lord twisted her lips as flesh filled the hole in her chest.

“I didn’t think I’d end up using you today.”

Even now, as if she found it absurd, she frowned while glaring at Raon and Larian.

“It was wise of us to decide on a code word in advance.”

The White Blood Lord spat out the blood pooled in her mouth and said that was what had saved her.

“A code word? Don’t tell me that code word was…”

Raon parted his trembling lips as he looked at the White Blood Lord and Denier.

“‘Come,’ was it?”

At the brink of death, the White Blood Lord had shouted, “Come!” at him, Larian, and Lecross.

He had thought it was a little strange that she was fighting head-on instead of trying to flee like before, but he had never imagined that those words were a code word summoning Denier.

“That’s right.”

The White Blood Lord nodded as she stroked her now flawless skin.

“It was a code word prepared so he could stab Glenn Zieghart in the back, but I never expected to use it in front of you. Impressive.”

In contrast to the words of acknowledgment, red killing intent rose over her black eyes as if she were sincerely enraged.

‘That’s why I couldn’t react.’

If it had been something out of place, he might have suspected it, but because it was said in the middle of the final battle, it had only made him focus more completely on the fight in front of him.

Much as he hated to admit it, the preparation of that code word had been perfect.

“What is that bastard?”

Raon asked while looking not at the White Blood Lord, but at Denier.

“That child is the thirteenth. The 13th Apostle of this cult.”

As if it no longer mattered now, the White Blood Lord gently stroked Denier’s head.

“The 13th Apostle was Denier…?”

Raon bit his lip. He had never once imagined that the 13th Apostle, whom the 2nd Apostle had said would move after his death, was Denier.

“Since when?”

“From the very beginning. The thirteenth is a child I made myself and raised myself.”

“You made him and raised him yourself?”

Denier was Glenn’s biological son. Raising him was one thing, but the part about making him made no sense at all.

“…”

As if he had no intention of speaking with his own mouth, Denier only continued to look at the White Blood Lord with quiet eyes.

“It’s regrettable that the dagger meant to pierce Glenn’s heart had to be used here, but at least the three of you will die for certain.”

When the White Blood Lord stepped down heavily and pressed her palms together, the gigantic form of the Blood God appeared behind her.

It was different from when he had seen it at Eden’s branch, and different again from when he had seen it at the North-South Union.

Woooooo!

The Blood God was so enormous it looked as if it would collapse the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters itself, the weapons in its arms and hands had multiplied even further, and the halo rising behind it shone so brilliantly it seemed ready to push away the sun.

A mighty wave of Blood Energy began to surge through the collapsing White Blood Cult.

“Uoooooooooh!”

“Our lord has returned!”

“O Blood God!”

“White blood can never be erased!”

At the descent of the near-completed Mara of Blood and Mercy, the followers of the White Blood Cult joined both hands and wept.

Their eyes shone with madness, as if both body and mind had been completely bewitched by the White Blood Lord.

“Ah…”

“Th-that’s the Blood God?”

“It’s a monster…”

“How are we supposed to beat something like that!”

“Your Majesty…”

In contrast, the martial artists of Zieghart and Owen, who had pushed all the way into the center of the main headquarters, trembled in fear as they looked at the Mara of Blood and Mercy, which seemed to touch the sky, and at Lecross, who was gasping for breath from his injuries.

“Huhu.”

The White Blood Lord curled the corners of her lips as she looked down at Raon and Larian, clearly satisfied by the reversed tide of battle.

“Today…”

Raon pressed his lips tightly together as he felt the pressure of the Blood Energy bearing down on his entire body.

“This really won’t be easy.”

===

“D-Denier betrayed us?”

Karoon’s jaw trembled as he looked at Denier reflected in the blue window.

“How did this happen!”

He clutched his hair with his hand as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Denier…”

Sheryl clenched her fist until blood burst in her palm, fury rising after her initial shock.

“Hooo…”

Even Roenn had lost his usual hollow laugh and was staring with wide eyes.

“L-Lord Denier?”

“Why? Why would he betray us…?”

“I can’t believe it. Not just anyone, but a direct descendant—and the Head Of House’s own son—betraying us!”

The swordsmen remaining in Zieghart revealed both deep betrayal and sorrow toward Denier, who had stabbed Lecross and kidnapped Martha.

“Haaa…”

Glenn let out a sigh so heavy it seemed the earth might collapse as he looked at Denier’s sunken eyes.

‘When on earth did they tamper with him?’

The Denier he had seen before he fell into demonic deviation and the Denier he examined again after regaining his senses had not seemed different in the slightest.

He had the flaw of seeming incompetent because he lacked initiative as a leader, but he had been kind by nature and cherished his subordinates more than anyone, so Glenn had trusted him almost as much as Karoon. He had never imagined things would end like this.

‘Wasn’t it that he was incompetent, but that he had only pretended to be incompetent?’

How?

Seeing how casually he had avoided Raon’s sword strike, Denier was definitely a Transcendent, and a high-level one at that. Glenn couldn’t understand how he had hidden his strength from his eyes.

‘Then it wasn’t strength, but some other kind of ability.’

Even when he had checked Denier’s emotions and strength before sending support, just in case, he had noticed nothing strange. He had no idea what the White Blood Lord had done to his son.

[Damn it!]

Chamber’s irritated voice rang out from the blue window.

[What the hell is this! Why the fuck is Denier pulling this shit!]

She ground her teeth, saying she couldn’t understand it.

“I’m sorry. Everything you all prepared has been ruined because of me…”

Glenn lowered his head deeply, saying he had nothing he could say.

[Apologize later! This isn’t the time to worry about that shit!]

Chamber shook her head, saying this wasn’t the time to argue over who was to blame.

[We have to catch the White Blood Lord first. If we let that bitch go here, everything is ruined!]

She frowned and said the balance of the Five Kings and Five Demons could tilt in the opposite direction.

[Lecross is heavily wounded, Larian is drained, and Raon is exhausted. You can go, right?]

Chamber looked up at him with trusting eyes, saying that Glenn was the only one who could move right now.

“I’m sorry, but…”

Glenn let out a short breath as he looked at Chamber.

“I cannot move from here.”

[What? Why not!]

Chamber’s jaw trembled as if she couldn’t understand it.

[That madman is holding Derus back! And if the Heavenly Demon comes—]

“No.”

Glenn turned his gaze out the window where the pale sunlight was fading. Feeling the violent red Fighting Spirit surging up from behind Northgaze Mountain as if calling out to him, he shook his head.

“He is already here.”

===

Ruuuumble!

As if she meant to wither away all of Zieghart and Owen, the White Blood Lord swelled the aura of the Mara of Blood and Mercy even further.

Just being exposed to that immense Blood Energy made the body grow heavy and filled the soul with crushing pain.

‘This is…’

Raon frowned as he looked at the Blood Demons lining up behind the White Blood Lord.

‘I can’t see an answer.’

Lecross was injured and unable to fight at full strength, Larian had already used up all the artifacts she had prepared for the White Blood Lord, and he too was exhausted after opening the Sword Field Creation.

He had no idea how they were supposed to stop the White Blood Lord, Denier, and the fanatics crazed over them.

“I-it’s fine…”

Lecross raised his sword with a blood-soaked hand.

“I can still fight.”

He said it was an injury he could still overcome and ignited an aura worthy of the name of one of the Five Kings.

“Experiments never succeed on the first try…”

Larian floated a magic dagger above her head, then pulled out a staff that looked as if it had been twisted from wood and struck it against the ground.

“If you’re a mage, you keep going until it works.”

She nodded as if, true to a mage, she had no intention of giving up until the end.

Wooooooong!

A blue dimensional gate opened between the two of them as they steeled their fighting spirits, and Chamber sprang out.

“Lady Chamber?”

Raon’s eyes widened as he looked at Chamber.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t your grandfather.”

Chamber lowered and raised her eyes as if to say that was simply how things had turned out. It seemed Glenn truly couldn’t move.

“But it’s fine. I work better with those two anyway.”

She grinned and put a lollipop in her mouth as if telling him not to worry.

“So Glenn Zieghart can’t come after all.”

The White Blood Lord smacked her lips as if there were now nothing left to bother her.

“Even if a bug too weak to spread its wings joins the rest, the result won’t change.”

She let out a mocking laugh after sensing how exhausted Chamber was.

‘No.’

Raon shook his head as he looked over Lecross, Larian, and Chamber.

‘If even Lady Chamber has come, then it’s not as if we have no chance at all.’

The other two besides Larian were not in perfect condition, but the White Blood Lord was the same.

‘Even if she healed her wounds, the injuries themselves should still remain.’

The White Blood Lord had completely recovered her external injuries, but her insides had to still be damaged.

‘And she must be exhausted too.’

The White Blood Lord had been healing her wounds and fighting at the same time, consuming a massive amount of stamina and Blood Energy.

It was true that summoning the Blood God had made her stronger overall, but she wouldn’t be able to maintain it for long either.

‘If only there were one more…’

Just as Raon shook his head, wishing for one more Transcendent—

Kuwaaaaaaaang!

Terrifying aura exploded from the direction of the fortress walls, and something wrapped in white Blood Energy crashed into the building behind him.

“Ugh…”

The person who crawled out while pushing away the rubble was the 1st Apostle. He was gasping for breath with wounds so severe his ribs were visible.

“Your Holiness! P-please, save…”

Just as the 1st Apostle tried to crawl toward the White Blood Lord on bleeding knees—

Slash!

A white line was drawn across the 1st Apostle’s neck, and his head dropped and rolled across the ground like a ball kicked by children. It was a spatial sword that ignored distance.

Thud!

Aris descended onto the headless corpse of the 1st Apostle, blue currents pouring off her body.

“I saw something filthy, so I came to help.”

Aris nodded and said that the moment she saw the White Blood Lord summon the Blood God, she had opened her Sword Field Creation and cut down the 1st Apostle.

“But…”

She lowered her left eyebrow as she looked at Denier standing behind the White Blood Lord.

“Why is my little brother standing over there with his hair dyed like some thug?”

Aris tilted her head, as if she genuinely could not understand the situation.

“Denier Zieghart has betrayed us.”

Raon lowered his gaze toward Aris. He hadn’t wanted to be the one to tell her this when she was already deeply wounded, but there was no choice.

“Betrayed us…?”

Aris looked back and forth between Lecross, who had been stabbed in the back, and Denier standing behind the White Blood Lord, and her lips trembled.

“You fucking bastard…”

As if remembering what had happened with Sif, red currents surged over her eyes.

“I’ll kill that bastard myself. I can never forgive—”

“No.”

Raon stepped in front of Aris before she could charge at Denier.

“Auntie, please stop the White Blood Lord with the others.”

He pointed at the White Blood Lord, who was looking this way with a mocking smile.

“I’ll be the one to cut down that traitor.”

As Raon released the cold wrath sunken at the bottom of his soul, blue frost bloomed like snowflakes and began to push back the Blood Energy filling heaven and earth.

“As fast as possible, and as painfully as possible.”