Chapter 1061
Screeeech!
In a world moving so fast and in such minute detail that he could feel the particles of Mana brushing against his skin, Raon brought Heavenly Drive down toward Denier’s heart.
The flames blazing along the blade spun violently as they curved downward.
“Ugh!”
Denier could no longer evade as leisurely as before. He forcibly twisted his body and deflected Raon’s Sword Strike. He still looked unable to believe they now stood in the same realm.
“The longer you take to accept it, the harder it’ll get.”
Raon gave a thin smile as he moved to Denier’s left, unleashing Silver Sword Dream of the Blizzard Sword Art with Heavenly Drive while simultaneously igniting Flawless Sea of Flames with the Soul Requiem Sword.
Whoooosh!
A freezing wind fell from the sky, and waves of flame surged up from the earth, swallowing Denier whole.
“I’ll take your neck myself.”
Realizing his escape routes were cut off, Denier charged straight at Raon instead. His judgment was swift, and his movement even swifter.
Boom!
Denier’s swordsmanship accelerated even further as he closed in. It seemed he still hadn’t revealed his full strength until now.
Clang!
Raon frowned as he knocked aside Denier’s sword, which had been aimed at his neck, with Heavenly Drive.
“Speed alone won’t beat me.”
Denier was still so fast he couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, but every one of his movements had already been seared into Raon’s mind.
Having grasped all of Denier’s martial arts and habits, blocking or dodging his sword wasn’t particularly difficult.
“Don’t spout nonsense.”
Denier gritted his teeth. His heart, once as calm as a lake, seemed shattered as he swung his sword up toward Raon’s legs.
His swordsmanship had grown sharper and faster, but with his composure broken, reading his movements had only become easier.
Clang!
Raon raised a Flame Wall with Heavenly Drive to block Denier’s Sword Strike, then thrust the Soul Requiem Sword forward.
Slash!
The resentment dwelling inside the blade tore through the thick Blood Energy and sliced into Denier’s waist.
Spurt!
Along with his uniform, Denier’s waist split open, and white blood gushed out.
“Kgh…!”
The Blood Energy Denier possessed was so immense that the wound closed at once, but he still seemed to feel intense pain and fury as his brow twisted deeply.
“You heard it too, right? The resentment dwelling in this sword is deeper and denser than the sea.”
Raon flicked Denier’s white blood from the Soul Requiem Sword and lifted his chin.
“It’ll never lose to your crude Blood Energy.”
Vowing to burn away everything belonging to the White Blood Cult along with the resentment in the Soul Requiem Sword, he stepped forward with Supreme Harmony Steps.
“The resentment of the dead has no value.”
As if declaring he would never die, Denier kicked off the ground hard and hurled his sword. The Sword Strike he unleashed stretched long like a spear as it pierced toward Raon’s chest.
‘He combined his swordsmanship and Movement Technique with the Principle of Extreme Speed?’
Because both his swordsmanship and Movement Technique were so absurdly fast, the sword seemed to stretch toward him like a horizon.
‘Learned another one.’
Thinking he should use it when creating a new sword technique, Raon watched the sword stabbing toward his heart and unleashed Frost Pond.
Clang!
With a line of frost and silver blades linked together like a single chain, he knocked Denier’s sword aside and counterattacked by tearing off the bastard’s shoulder with the Soul Requiem Sword.
“Kgh!”
Denier grabbed his torn shoulder and retreated. His pupils trembled as if he were in confusion.
“How can this be…?”
“You’re faster, yet you’re the one getting pushed back. You’re wondering why, right?”
Raon nodded as if he understood everything.
“The answer is simple. Because I’m reading all your movements.”
Perhaps because countless lives were hanging in the balance, even he was surprised by the level of concentration he had reached. It allowed him to grasp all of Denier’s swordsmanship and movements.
He had also nearly caught up to the Subtle Principles of the Sharp Sword and the Swift Sword, so there was no longer any area where he fell behind.
‘It’s probably because Clear Mirror Still Water is active.’
Most people stiffened and made mistakes in desperate situations, but thanks to the trait Clear Mirror Still Water, the more dangerous things became, the calmer and more relaxed Raon grew.
“Impossible…”
Denier’s jaw trembled as if he couldn’t believe that everything about him had been read.
》He’s a traitor, but I can understand that feeling of despair.
Wrath let out a hollow laugh, as if he knew exactly what Denier was feeling.
》You really are becoming a true monster.
He nodded, acknowledging that the bastard was gradually becoming someone even he had to recognize, if only a little.
“Now it’s time to finish this…”
Just as Raon was about to bring Heavenly Drive down on Denier, he turned toward the fierce sound of tearing air coming from the right.
Rumble!
The Transcendents of the Five Emperors stood with their feet planted in the ground as they faced the White Blood Lord’s Blood Energy.
“Hold on! Hold on even if it kills you!”
“Ah, I know…”
Lecross swung his sword with his lips tightly sealed, black blood dripping from the blade. Larian, looking like a shut-in Mage again, trembled with blood-soaked hands as she raised a wall of Mana with the last six daggers she had left.
“Haa…”
“Let’s hold on a little longer…”
Aris sliced through space with a hand drained of strength. Chamber, as if her internal injuries had flared up again, bled from her eyes as she formed a magical formula.
Both of them could no longer attack and were focused solely on evasion and defense.
“Ugh! Everyone’s going to die! Everyone’s going to die!”
Evelyn activated dozens of Magic circles in delayed succession, twisting away the weapons of the Mara of Blood and Mercy as they fell toward the Transcendents of the Five Emperors. Without her help, they would have all died already.
“Meaningless resistance!”
The White Blood Lord pressed her palms together and chanted an incantation so quickly her lips couldn’t even be seen.
The ground beneath her feet boiled like lava, then erupted into a colossal tidal wave of blood that looked as if it could reach the heavens.
Rumble!
As Raon watched that wave slowly tilt toward the Transcendents of the Five Emperors, a chill ran down his spine so sharply it felt like he was witnessing the moment the world would end.
“You sure do enjoy playing in water!”
“A wave like this deserves to be ridden!”
Lecross and Chamber raised their trembling hands as if welcoming the wave, swinging their swords and pouring out Magic.
Aris and Larian stood beside them as well, unleashing Spatial Sword and spells that erased Blood Energy.
“Being with a good man really does keep me busy!”
Evelyn spread her Mana wide and erected a magical barrier capable of blocking the blood wave itself.
But the White Blood Lord’s Blood Energy was too powerful. The wall Evelyn created couldn’t even last a few seconds before dozens of cracks spread across it.
Craaack!
The Transcendents of the Five Emperors barely held on, breathing in threadlike gasps, but the situation had become so dire that it wouldn’t have been strange if they died at any moment.
“If that’s all you have left to show…”
Raon pressed his lips into a hard line and turned back to Denier.
“Let’s just end this.”
Using the Subtle Principle of the Swift Sword he had attained through Enlightenment, he stepped forward with Supreme Harmony Steps. Chasing after the retreating Denier, he brought Heavenly Drive down and thrust the Soul Requiem Sword forward.
Clang!
Denier slashed diagonally to block Heavenly Drive, but he couldn’t avoid the Soul Requiem Sword. It stabbed into his chest and sent him rolling across the ground.
“Urk!”
He retreated to the left, using Blood Energy to heal the wounds on his shoulder and chest.
Fwoosh!
Raon unleashed Flame Blossom at Denier, who was focused only on fleeing.
A garden of flames bloomed above the red-hot blade, scattering thousands of petals.
The flame fragments dancing through the void became a storm of fire that wrapped around Denier.
“Tch!”
To block the flame storm, Denier released his Blood Energy and draped it over his entire body like a cloak.
Slash!
Raon didn’t miss the moment Denier’s steps faltered. He rushed in and carved a long gash down Denier’s back with Heavenly Drive. Sticky blood poured from the split wound.
“Urgh!”
Denier let out a muddy groan. As he tried to break through Flame Blossom with his body, Raon detonated more than a thousand flame fragments at the same time.
Boom!
A tremendous shockwave erupted, shaking the earth as black smoke billowed into the sky. The White Blood Cult Main Headquarters tilted even farther toward the sea.
Whoosh!
Denier regenerated the wound on his back and fled to the right. The effect of the White Soul Elixir seemed greatly diminished, as the speed of his recovery had clearly slowed.
“Not a swordsman but a thief? You’re good at running away.”
Raon used Sky-Piercing Sword and Sky-Piercing Thunder Art to cut off Denier’s retreat, then brought down a Sword Strike like red lightning onto his head.
Boom!
The flesh around Denier’s waist and thighs was crushed and torn away, exposing wounds deep enough to reveal bone.
“Aaaagh!”
He screamed in pain, yet still managed to regenerate and flee again.
“He’s reached his limit.”
Denier’s movements slowed as if his Blood Energy had run dry, and white blood spilled from his nose and mouth. He seemed to have reached the physical limit the White Blood Lord had spoken of.
“No more stalling. Time to di-”
Just as Raon was about to behead Denier with Sword Control,
Boom!
an immense burst of Blood Energy exploded from the White Blood Lord, slamming the Transcendents of the Five Emperors and Evelyn into the ground.
“Enough playing around.”
As if declaring she would end it now, she unleashed both her own Blood Energy and the weapons of the Mara of Blood and Mercy at the same time.
Boom!
A violent tremor tore through the world as if heaven and earth were flipping over beneath that overwhelming power.
“Damn it…”
Raon gave up on killing Denier and turned to rush toward the Transcendents of the Five Emperors.
‘Those five can’t block that.’
If it had been the usual Lecross, Larian, and Chamber, they might have been able to stop it well enough, but those three were already in worse shape than Denier. Evelyn also looked completely spent after supporting the Transcendents this whole time.
“Ra-Raon!”
“It’s dangerous!”
Chamber and Lecross frantically gestured for him to get behind them.
“You came to help me? Just as expected!”
Unlike them, Evelyn smiled slyly, as if she had been waiting for him.
“I’ll take the front! Help me!”
Instead of saying he would handle it alone, Raon shouted for help and stepped in front of everyone.
Facing the White Blood Lord’s Blood Energy and the Mara of Blood and Mercy as they crushed the ground and surged toward him, he unleashed his strongest techniques at the same time: Heavenly Flame: Flame Dragon Break and Heavenly Sky Cannon.
Boom!
From the Sword energy of Heavenly Drive and the Soul Requiem Sword, the breath of a fire dragon and a blue flash shot forward, colliding head-on with the White Blood Lord’s Blood Energy.
Aura and Blood Energy clashed violently, black fissures splitting open between them as if the world itself were being torn apart from sky to earth.
‘My arms feel like they’re going to tear off…’
Raon clenched his jaw so hard it felt as though his teeth might shatter. Not even a second had passed, yet the pressure crushing his bones and muscles felt endless. His organs shriveled, and blood burst from his mouth like a fountain.
‘How do I… Ah!’
Just as he wondered how he could endure, the Magic and Aura of the Transcendents of the Five Emperors erupted from behind him and helped force back the Blood Energy. Even breathing became difficult.
‘I can’t just keep blocking. I have to attack.’
He floated the Wooden Wheel Sword with Sword Control, then unleashed Wuthering Wind into the roughly surging Blood Energy.
Whirl!
The Wooden Wheel Sword, wrapped in green wind, pierced through space and sprang up before the White Blood Lord’s neck.
“Hmph!”
As if determined not to be tricked twice, she retreated instantly, but Wuthering Wind, harmonized with the Principle of Extreme Speed, followed her movement and sliced past her throat.
Slice!
Nearly a third of the White Blood Lord’s neck tore open, and transparent blood spurted out like a fountain.
Her concentration broke, and the Blood Energy that had been on the verge of erasing him weakened.
“Kgh…”
The White Blood Lord erased the wound on her neck and ground her teeth.
“You vermin!”
She looked truly enraged, deep bark-like wrinkles creasing her forehead.
“Huff… Huff…”
Raon let out a ragged breath and moved the Wooden Wheel Sword again.
‘I need to kill Denier now.’
Thanks to the leaders of the Five Emperors holding out, the White Blood Lord no longer possessed the same absolute Blood Energy she had displayed right after drinking the White Soul Elixir.
If Denier interfered now and ruined everything, he had to be dealt with first.
‘Where is he… Huh?’
Raon turned to find Denier and swallowed dryly.
‘What is that?’
Denier hadn’t gone far. He was kneeling beside a collapsed building, scooping up the blood pooled on the ground with both hands and drinking it.
‘That pool of blood…’
The blood pooled there was the massive amount that had poured from Lecross’s back, enough to form a small puddle. Denier was madly swallowing Lecross’s blood mixed with dirt.
No, it wasn’t just Lecross’s blood. Together with the dirt, Denier was cramming down the blood he and the other leaders of the Five Emperors had shed. It wasn’t the act of someone trying to gain more power and become stronger, but the desperate act of a man trying to survive no matter what.
‘Madman…’
Every hair on Raon’s body stood on end. A chilling sensation, like stepping barefoot onto ice, ran down his spine at Denier’s fanatical obsession with life.
》 H-he’s that kind of person?
Wrath frowned as well, as if Denier’s behavior didn’t match what he knew of him.
‘He has to die!’
An alarm bell rang in Raon’s mind.
Not knowing what Denier might do next, he launched the Wooden Wheel Sword with Sword Control.
“Kgeuh!”
But Denier even rolled across the ground to evade Sword Control, then licked blood from other patches of dirt with his tongue.
“Good. Survive like that.”
The White Blood Lord nodded as if praising him, then brought down the weapons of the Mara of Blood and Mercy infused with Blood Energy.
Rumble!
Raon unleashed Sky Piercing Thunder and Myriad Incense of Heaven to block the White Blood Lord’s attack.
Crrrack!
Even with the leaders of the Five Emperors supporting him from behind and Evelyn layering defensive Magic over him, his feet began to sink into the ground.
‘I have to endure!’
His body and mind were both on the verge of collapse, but thanks to his growth through fighting Denier, his martial prowess and soul had advanced enough to let him barely hold on.
If he hadn’t grown here, he would have already exploded into a lump of red blood from the White Blood Lord’s very first strike.
‘There’s no opening to target Denier.’
He wanted to finish Denier off for good, but the White Blood Lord gave him no opening. He had no choice but to focus on the monster before him.
‘The White Blood Lord will weaken soon too.’
Just as Denier had weakened, the White Blood Lord would also suffer backlash from the White Soul Elixir. Even if it cost every last shred of his soul, he had to endure until then.
“Kgh…”
But unlike Denier, the White Blood Lord’s martial power did not weaken easily. Every time Raon blocked her attacks, flesh tore away and his internal injuries worsened.
Like the other leaders of the Five Emperors, he spat pitch-black dead blood from his mouth.
“You pests endure well!”
The White Blood Lord’s forehead bulged with veins, seemingly enraged that things were not going her way.
“Fine. There’s no point holding back anymore. I’ll crush you completely!”
As she clasped her hands and chanted a Spell at blinding speed, white Blood Energy rose like a fireball, warping the air with heat.
Whooooom!
The sphere of Blood Energy swelled without end, as if becoming a new sun, and rose into the sky above them.
Rumble!
The Mara of Blood and Mercy seemed to inherit the White Blood Lord’s fury, the red blood flowing from its eyes turning white as it raised dozens of weapons at once.
From arms and weapons bent at all different angles, a powerful Energy Wave stretched out, one that seemed able to strangle even the soul.
Hum!
The harmony between the white sun blazing with Blood Energy and the dozens of weapons moving as though each had reached the realm of a master exuded a majestic force that seemed impossible for anyone to stop.
“Ha!”
Chamber let the lollipop fall from her mouth and laughed hollowly.
“So she was still hiding power like this…”
Lecross let out a deep sigh, as if he could already see how hopeless it was.
“Ah, there was still so much left to research… even the Sea Spirit…”
Larian muttered about her unfinished experiments as if she could already see death approaching.
“Damn it! I should’ve sharpened my sword more!”
Aris ground her molars, regretting that she hadn’t trained harder.
“Compared to what Raon and I have been through, this is nothing.”
Evelyn gave a sly smile, saying they could overcome even this.
“It’s not over yet.”
Raon gripped the Soul Requiem Sword with both hands and walked toward the slowly descending sun of Blood Energy.
‘I wanted to save it, but there’s no choice.’
If he didn’t use his last resort now, then he and every human here would die. He had to use the Sword Field Creation he had saved for the end.
Thud!
Stepping down with the True Step as if he would shatter the earth, he hurled the Soul Requiem Sword as flames of resentment blazed along it.
Sword Field Creation.
Genesis Blade.
Above the red blade of the Soul Requiem Sword, a golden radiance rose without end.
That brilliant light, like the sun driving back the night and bringing the morning, erased the foul Blood Energy and released an energy that was both warm and majestic.
“If that brat’s going this far, I can’t just stand around!”
“…”
Chamber coughed up blood as she manipulated Dimensional Magic, while Lecross, conserving even the strength to speak, brought down his Ink-black Flaming Sword.
“Ugh…”
“Graaaaah!”
Larian gathered every bit of Mana left in her broken staff and dagger and hurled it forward, while Aris let out a soul-rending cry and thrust out her Spatial Sword.
“I really did pick the right man!”
Evelyn muttered that there was no time to be bored as she unleashed a magical bombardment fierce enough to rival the weapons of the Mara of Blood and Mercy.
Boom!
The clash between the White Blood Lord’s power and the combined force of Raon, Evelyn, and the leaders of the Five Emperors erupted into a colossal shockwave, tearing open a black hole in the sky and shattering the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters into dozens of pieces.
Rumble!
As Aura and Blood Energy collided, the gray smoke filling heaven and earth slowly cleared, revealing the battlefield.
“Cough!”
Raon dropped to one knee and spat out dead blood. The Transcendents of the Five Emperors lay collapsed as if dead, and even Evelyn had fallen backward, barely breathing.
“It’s finally over.”
The White Blood Lord twisted her lips into a smile and stretched out her hand.
“I’ll personally take your life… Cough!”
As she tried to unleash Blood Energy at Raon, she bent over and vomited white blood instead.
“W-what is this…?”
Blood poured from the White Blood Lord’s Five Apertures, and her arms and legs began to tremble as if she were drunk.
‘L-limit! I’ve reached my limit!’
Raon looked at the swaying White Blood Lord and tightened his grip. At last, even she had hit her limit, and it seemed far worse than Denier’s.
“D-Denier!”
The White Blood Lord coughed up blood again and again as she desperately called for Denier.
“Bring it! Now!”
She waved her hand roughly, demanding that he bring it to her.
“Understood…”
Denier wiped the blood and dirt from his mouth and turned around. But instead of going to himself, he rushed toward Balder, who was watching from a distance.
“G-get away!”
Balder shoved Martha behind him and lashed out with his Chain Sword with all his strength, but Denier slipped past it with a swift Movement Technique and punched a hole through Balder’s abdomen.
“Cough…”
Balder spat blood and fell backward.
Clang!
As Denier reached for Martha, who had fallen to the ground, the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace, having finished the battle at the Holy Wall, rushed in to block his path.
“You won’t pass…”
“Sword Formation!”
Runaan and Burren, as if determined never to let Martha be taken, unleashed a Sword Formation together with the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace.
“Huff!”
Denier charged toward the Light Wind Palace without even wiping the blood flowing from his nose.
“Strike!”
At Burren’s fierce shout, the hearts of the swordsmen seemed to become one as swift and powerful Sword Strikes poured forward.
“Grrgh!”
Denier endured those swords with his body as he surged toward Martha. Strangely, he didn’t attack the swordsmen. He only dodged and pushed forward.
“You won’t pass!”
“No!”
“This is where you stop!”
Burren, Runaan, and Mark Gorton stood before Denier and unleashed their respective Ultimate Techniques.
“Get lost…”
Denier swung his sword for the first time. His swift and keenly honed Sword Strike blasted the three executives of the Light Wind Palace away in a spray of blood.
“…”
After sweeping aside everyone standing in his way, Denier stopped in front of Martha.
“N-no…”
Runaan crawled across the ground and grabbed Denier’s ankle, refusing to let him pass.
Thud!
Denier kicked Runaan away with the tip of his foot and lifted Martha.
“You… I’ll kill you too!”
Seeing Runaan bleeding and still reaching out, Martha could no longer hold back and screamed that she would kill Denier as well.
“If you can…”
Denier accepted Martha’s hateful glare and turned back toward the White Blood Lord.
‘I have to stop this…’
Raon bit his lip until it bled. It was obvious that the White Blood Lord intended to replace her ruined body with Martha’s.
He had to stop it no matter what, but after overexerting himself with Sword Field Creation, his body would no longer move.
“Well done…”
The White Blood Lord lowered her hand toward Denier, who had brought Martha to her.
“Now protect me. The Mara of Blood and Mercy will block most attacks, but just in case.”
She gave a small nod, ordering him to guard her with his life.
“It will take some time, so perhaps you should move somewhere else-”
Denier shifted his gaze, saying this place was dangerous.
“Before this battle began, I gained enlightenment regarding the soul. I haven’t fully Awakened yet, but it won’t take long.”
The White Blood Lord exhaled a murky breath, saying that taking Martha’s body would not take much time.
“Grrgh!”
Raon forced strength into his seemingly emptied body and stood up.
Hummmm!
As the wavering Ring of Fire resonated, he drew out all of the Demon King’s Divine Authority.
‘I have to fight.’
His body and mind had both reached their limits, and the pain was unbearable, but he endured by drawing up Askarai’s Fighting Spirit and Unyielding Will.
“Let Martha go!”
He charged at the White Blood Lord to save Martha, but the Mara of Blood and Mercy swung its sword and axe down at him.
Thud!
Normally, he could have avoided them easily, but with both body and mind exhausted, all he could do was block.
“Come on, then! Step in! I’ll devour your soul myself!”
Martha glared into the White Blood Lord’s black eyes and dared her to try.
“That won’t happen.”
The White Blood Lord wounded her own finger and shoved it into Martha’s mouth.
“The moment you drink my blood, your soul will sink to a place so deep it can never wake again.”
Declaring that it was all over, she forced her blood down Martha’s throat.
“Aaah…”
Martha tried to move her tongue to resist, but the instant the White Blood Lord’s blood flowed down her throat, her eyes turned ash-gray like a dead person’s.
“Martha!”
After deflecting the Mara of Blood and Mercy’s weapons, Raon reversed his grip on the Soul Requiem Sword and aimed it at his own abdomen.
》Raon!
‘Yeah. There’s no other choice now.’
Just as he was about to plunge the Soul Requiem Sword into his stomach to use Demon King Descent,
“…”
Denier, who had been keeping his sword trained on Raon, turned around and approached the White Blood Lord.
“Mother. It’s time to stop.”
Denier spoke calmly as he thrust his sword into the White Blood Lord’s heart.
Thud!
The White Blood Lord, with her soul already linked to Martha, couldn’t move even a finger as Denier’s sword pierced her chest.
“W-why would you…?”
The White Blood Lord spat blood and lifted shaking eyes full of incomprehension.
“We are…”
Denier gently stroked Martha’s head, her eyes already dead, and drew a faint smile.
“Monsters that should never have existed in this world.”
(T/N: What in the Professor Snape is happening right now?!)
(T/N: Harry Potter fans, IYKYK lol.)