Chapter 1068
“Please wake up….”
Martha cried out, “Dad,” while clutching Denier’s hand tightly, but his time had already run out.
》”Tsk.”
Wrath clicked his tongue briefly, as if he felt some regret.
》”So that strange fellow ended up leaving as the beef girl’s father after all.”
He furrowed his brows, saying Denier must have had his reasons for betraying them.
‘That must be it.’
Raon let out a faint sigh.
‘Because Martha saw Denier’s memories.’
Denier had passed his memories on to Martha, and after seeing them, Martha accepted him as her father again.
There must have been many intertwined circumstances in them that he could never know.
》”I’m curious what kind of life that bastard lived.”
Wrath smacked his lips, wondering what kind of life Denier must have lived to betray them again and again.
‘I don’t really know either.’
He too had only thought of Denier as a villain similar to Derus, so what had happened today left him bewildered in many ways.
‘But one thing is certain.’
Raon looked at Denier in Martha’s arms and clasped his hands together.
‘As you said, that man is Martha’s father.’
》”Indeed. The Blood Oath binding the beef girl’s soul was something even more difficult to break than a Transcendent-level curse, yet he took it upon himself several times over. That’s something impossible through human willpower alone.”
Wrath nodded heavily, saying it had only been possible because it was a father’s heart.
“Waaaaaah!”
“……”
Runaan silently approached the sobbing Martha and quietly offered her shoulder.
“Sniff.”
Martha seemed to understand that sentiment. Biting her lip, she leaned against Runaan. The two of them, who had once seemed like bitter rivals, now looked like friends who no longer needed words.
“Is it over….”
Burren looked up at the still dim sky and let out a long sigh.
“This war was exhausting.”
He dropped down right there, saying he was exhausted both physically and mentally.
“I-I’m still scared….”
Dorian rolled his eyes from side to side.
“I-it feels like the White Blood Lord is going to come back to life and come after us even now….”
He swallowed dryly, saying it felt as if she would revive and seek them out again.
“Words become seeds! Don’t say stupid things!”
Krein frowned and kicked Dorian with his foot.
“It’s not strange to think that way.”
Raon chuckled softly and accepted Dorian’s words.
“Because it really was that intense.”
Normally, he would have smacked Dorian on the back of the head and told him not to talk nonsense, but after seeing the White Blood Lord’s obsession with life, he understood why Dorian would think that way.
“I was fine, unlike that coward! The White Blood Cult was nothing special!”
Krein puffed out his chest, as if trying to show off now that everything was over.
“I felt something was a little strange.”
Trevin furrowed his brow and shifted his gaze.
“Strange how?”
Raon tilted his head as he looked at Trevin.
“Every time we were in danger, a building would collapse or the ground would split, creating opportunities instead. Aura would suddenly recover too, letting us help the Light Wind Palace. Thanks to that, while there are many seriously injured in the Light Wind Palace, no one died. The luck is too good.”
Trevin found the situation suspicious, saying too many things had aligned perfectly and the luck had been too favorable.
‘He’s not wrong.’
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked around.
‘Because I experienced something similar too.’
When he had blocked the Mara of Blood and Mercy while completely drained, there had been times when its movements slowed.
At the time, he had thought it was simply because its Blood Energy was nearly depleted, but looking back, that did not seem to be the only reason.
‘Moreover….’
The recovery of Aura clearly meant someone had intervened.
The swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace had said their Aura had suddenly surged up, giving them the strength to hold back the Mara of Blood and Mercy.
He had overlooked it in the urgency of the battle, but by any standard, that had clearly been an artificial occurrence.
‘Do you know anything?’
Raon nudged Wrath with his elbow.
》”This king knows not.”
Wrath whistled and turned his head away. Whether he knew or not, it meant he did not want to say.
‘I don’t even have the strength left to spread Aura Sense.’
With the last of his Aura and stamina nearly gone, just standing was difficult, let alone using Aura Sense.
“Ugh….”
As he looked around and sighed, Evelyn grabbed her waist and pushed herself up.
“Evelyn. Are you okay?”
He walked toward her on legs trembling from exhaustion.
“No, I’m not okay.”
Evelyn spat out the Blood Essence pooled in her mouth and shook her head.
“My head feels cracked, my heart feels burst, and my arms and legs won’t move properly.”
》”Then you should already be dead!”
Wrath shook his head, saying it made no sense.
“Let’s apply some temporary treatment first.”
“That treatment….”
As he was about to hand Evelyn some Internal Injury Medicine, she stretched both arms toward him.
“If you hug me, I think everything will be solved.”
Evelyn’s purple eyes sparkled as she said that would be enough.
“Sorry, but….”
Raon raised his hand and pushed Evelyn back as she came closer.
“This isn’t the time for that.”
He briefly shook his head and gestured toward Martha, who was holding onto Denier.
“Ah….”
Evelyn finally seemed to notice what was happening over there and let out a low groan.
》”That madwoman really is a madwoman….”
Wrath shook his head, saying Evelyn could seem fine one moment and unbearable the next.
“I don’t know exactly how things played out, but in the end, the White Blood Lord died to your Heart Sword, right?”
Evelyn smiled as if she did not know the details, only the result.
“No.”
Raon firmly shook his head.
“Those two were the ones who accomplished it. I only helped.”
He pointed at Martha and Denier, repeating the words Rimmer had said to him.
“I see.”
Evelyn closed and opened her eyes, saying she roughly understood the feeling.
“You worked hard. Without you, we never could’ve brought down the White Blood Cult.”
Raon bowed his head sincerely to Evelyn.
“Thank you, Evelyn.”
“I told you, there’s no need for thanks between us!”
Evelyn waved her hand, telling him not to greet her like that. He wanted to ask what exactly she meant by “between us,” but he was too afraid to.
“Then there are only two left now?”
That was when she raised her index and middle fingers.
“Where are the patients?!”
The medical unit prepared by the Five Kings Alliance came running over with urgent expressions.
“P-please look over here first!”
“This way!”
“He lost consciousness, and his breathing is weakening!”
The swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace pointed toward the Transcendents of the Five Kings and Balder, whom they had been tending to.
“Y-Your Majesty….”
“This doesn’t look good.”
“Start emergency treatment first!”
The healers and priests seemed to feel that their own abilities would not be enough, cold sweat running down their foreheads.
“Saint Federick and Saintess Olga will be here soon! Use every emergency measure you have!”
They moved their hands quickly, determined to hold out until Federick and Olga, who were treating others elsewhere, arrived.
“T-this person has already passed away.”
“Huh?”
The moment he heard the words “passed away,” Raon turned around.
“Please check again anyway!”
Martha stubbornly dragged the healers and priests over to Denier and made them examine him.
“S-sorry.”
“This is beyond our….”
The healer and priest shook their heads apologetically.
“Ugh….”
Martha bit her lip and took Denier’s hand again. She still seemed unable to let her father go.
“Instead, this person might somehow make it.”
The priest approached Martha’s mother, sprinkled Divinity over her, and used Healing Art.
Whoooom!
As Divine Power and Healing Art enveloped Martha’s mother, her pale complexion gradually began to regain color.
“Mmm….”
A very faint groan escaped Martha’s mother’s mouth.
“Huh…?”
The moment Martha heard that voice, she turned her head and widened her eyes.
“M-mom?”
Leaving Denier only reluctantly, she stepped toward her mother.
“Mom! Are you conscious?”
As if afraid the moment might shatter like a dream, Martha’s lips trembled, and she could not bring herself to touch her.
“M-Martha….”
Martha’s mother recognized the grown Martha at once and drew a faint smile.
“Y-you recognize me?”
Martha, who had apparently been worried that she had grown from a child into an adult, filled her reddened eyes with tears once more.
“Of course. Mom knows everything.”
Martha’s mother nodded with difficulty, as if asking why she would even ask that.
“Mom… Mom!”
Martha called out the name she had held back for so long and embraced her mother.
“Daughter. You suffered so much, didn’t you?”
Martha’s mother patted Martha’s back as if she knew everything.
“No. Mom suffered much more….”
Martha could not continue, as if the emotions she had suppressed for over twenty years were all surging up at once.
“But….”
Martha’s mother let out a short breath as she looked at Denier.
“What happened with that person?”
She shook her head, saying she had seen everything through the White Blood Lord’s body but still could not understand.
“He’s my dad.”
Martha parted her lips without the slightest hesitation.
“Just as Mom gave birth to me, he’s the dad who raised me.”
She smiled brilliantly, as if proud of that fact, seemingly wiping away her sorrow.
“……”
Raon watched Martha’s smile, mixed with sorrow and love, and let out a white breath.
‘One person leaves, and one person comes.’
Where there is meeting, there is parting, and those who leave must one day return.
Martha would overcome today’s sorrow and grow further as a person.
‘Now I’ve really reached my limit.’
Seeing Martha reunited with her mother eased the tension in him, and his vision blurred. He could not hold on any longer.
He wanted to know Zieghart’s situation and how the clash between Derus and Darkhan had ended, but his mind no longer worked.
‘I’m glad, Martha.’
Raon looked at Martha, who was crying and smiling at once, as he slowly fell backward.
“Yay! A hugging victory!”
As his eyes closed and the sounds of the world grew faint, someone hugged him and lifted him up, letting out a bright shout.
“……”
》”Too much. This is way too much!”
===
“Hmm?”
The Beast King Ogram raised his trembling hand.
‘My strength is returning.’
His Aura and martial prowess, which had remained useless no matter how much he tried to recover them after the White Blood Lord had drained his blood, were slowly filling again.
‘Did they pull it off?’
There was only one possible reason his martial power, which had not returned no matter what he had done, would suddenly change now. Clearly, the Five Kings Alliance had pushed back the White Blood Cult and killed the White Blood Lord.
‘Finally….’
Ogram clenched his massive, rock-like fist.
‘I can fight!’
Whenever the other leaders of the Five Kings moved, he had been forced to stay behind, and though he had not said it aloud, it had bruised his pride badly.
But now he could finally fight at the front again, just like in the old days. He was so happy he could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
“I should tell Derus.”
Ogram lifted his gaze and smacked his lips.
‘He’ll be flustered too when he hears the White Blood Lord is dead.’
Just as he was about to raise his voice and provoke Derus—
Whooshshshshshsh!
Before he could even blink, dozens of sonic booms rang out through the air.
Derus and Darkhan were crossing swords in a realm beyond what he could perceive.
‘…Were they always this strong?’
Now that his strength was recovering, he could feel Derus’s and Darkhan’s martial prowess with his skin. The moment he stepped into that space, his neck would be severed.
‘…Impossible. Even if all my strength comes back.’
Even if every last bit of martial power the White Blood Lord had drained returned to him, he still could not win. Realizing the gap between fellow Transcendents was this large drained the strength from his shoulders.
‘Damn….’
As Ogram bit down on his lip, Derus’s and Darkhan’s swords fell toward each other’s necks.
Creeeeeeeak!
With a thunderous roar, a pitch-black fissure opened between them. The balance of the present world began to collapse under the overwhelming Aura wave.
“So the White Blood Lord really died after all?”
Darkhan clicked his tongue, having read Ogram’s condition even while clashing swords with Derus.
“You probably expected it, but it must still be disappointing not getting what you wanted.”
He shrugged as if mocking Derus.
“Not particularly.”
Derus calmly shook his head, as if he had already known of the White Blood Lord’s death.
“Killing you here and taking that power is a greater gain.”
He twisted his lips upward instead, as if the outcome suited him just fine.
“Dreaming the impossible.”
Darkhan snorted as he looked at Derus.
“The only one who can sever my neck is the strongest sword on the continent, Glenn Zieghart.”
He lowered his hand, saying it was absolutely impossible with Derus’s current strength.
“Of course, you’re not bad either. I didn’t expect there to be another who could receive my sword to this extent.”
Darkhan smacked his lips, saying he was glad he had accepted Raon’s request.
“We’ve seen enough of each other’s insides, so let’s fight properly now.”
He leaned forward and pushed Derus, who had been locked against him, backward.
Whoooom!
The moment Derus stepped back, Darkhan aimed his Black Sword at Derus’s heart.
“Until one of us dies.”
The moment the words “until death” spread coolly through the air, his Black Sword disappeared, and an invisible, formless sword surged forth. A Heart Sword carved from soul.
“A Heart Sword, I see….”
Derus seemed to recognize Darkhan’s Heart Sword at once, narrowing his eyes. Realizing he could not avoid it, he raised a sword burning with Deathly Energy right where he stood.
“Good mindset!”
Darkhan lifted his chin as if in approval and unleashed the Heart Sword.
Whoooooosh!
Darkhan’s Heart Sword, raging like a storm, pierced through Derus’s physical body and burrowed into the soul pooled within.
Kyaaaaaang!
The souls of two Transcendents who had reached the very summit collided, the world’s balance collapsed, and a new world unfolded.
Whoooosh.
A sword-filled space where everything had sunk into gray—Darkhan’s Mental World opened.
“……”
Though dragged into an unfamiliar place, Derus showed no panic and turned his tranquil gaze.
“Boring reaction.”
Darkhan smacked his lips briefly.
“This place is….”
“Your Mental World, I presume.”
Derus nodded slightly, as if he understood everything.
“Knowing makes things simpler. In here, we keep swinging until one of us dies. And you’ll be the one who dies.”
Darkhan tilted his head as if asking whether that did not sound fun.
“This kind of space….”
Derus twisted his jaw diagonally upward and stepped into True Step. An enormous Soul Rank erupted from him, shaking the Mental World itself.
“Can it withstand my soul?”
As Derus let out a terrifying smile, something pitch-black, threaded with tens of thousands of eyeballs, stretched endlessly behind him like branches of the World Tree.
“You….”
Darkhan’s jaw trembled as he looked at Derus’s grotesque soul, something that could not even be described as human.
“Are you truly human?”