Chapter 560
Raon activated a mechanism set in the rock. A large boulder, shaped like a turtle’s head, silently slid aside, revealing a path that led underground.
He stepped into the gaping, dark hole, breathing in the icy dawn air.
As he descended the stairs previously traversed by Bels, a dawn-like yellow light bathed the cold floor.
However, something was different this time—swordsmen from the Rakion clan. Their eyes gleamed with crimson magical energy as they blocked the path.
“It’s meaningless, though.”
Shrouded in the darkness like a robe, Raon brushed past the swordsmen and stood before the central door where Bashion was staying.
“Hmm…”
“What, what?”
“The door’s open, but no one’s come down.”
The Rakion clan’s swordsmen scanned the area, but no one detected Raon’s presence.
“Um…”
The most senior-looking swordsman scowled and knocked on Bashion’s door.
Knock, knock.
No sooner had he knocked twice than the door flew open, and Bashion, the second son of Juan Rakion, burst out.
“What!”
Wiping the blood from his cheek, Bashion squinted his eyes. He peeked inside the room.
Inside, Sirellen lay slumped with bruises on her forearms and thighs, and her nanny’s flesh was torn from her shoulder like she had been bitten by a beast.
Both were unconscious, barely breathing.
“Did he really hit a child?”
Raon furrowed his brow incredulously.
“He only touched areas that could be covered by clothes.”
“The scoundrel! To harm a child!”
“I finally agree with you.”
Suppressing his rising anger, Raon clenched his fist.
“Someone knocked on the door!”
Bashion, aware of the opened rock, shouted back towards the stairs.
“The door’s open, but no one’s come down!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
He twisted his lips and stepped out of the room.
Whoosh!
As Bashion took a second step, Raon swung his clenched fist at his face.
Crash!
A sound like a rock shattering rang out as Bashion’s face smashed against the wall.
“Kuhuk…”
Raon grabbed the groaning Bashion by the collar and drew his soul-calming sword with his left hand, slashing Bashion’s arm.
“Aaaargh!”
Instinctively trying to counterattack, Bashion’s right arm fell to the icy floor, and he screamed in agony.
“Who are you?”
“Do you think you can do such things in Rakion and live?”
“Release him immediately!”
The Rakion clan’s swordsmen glared, magical energy rising from their shoulders.
“Shut up.”
Raon pointed the soul-calming sword at Bashion’s throat, his voice low.
“Chatter, move a finger, and your master dies.”
With that, he slightly nicked Bashion’s throat. Red blood trickled down the blade.
The rulers of this place are no longer the Bashions, but me, as these devil-like humans had forsaken their lives.
“Kuh…”
Bashion, clutching his severed shoulder with his left hand, gritted his teeth.
“You think I’d yield to such threats?”
Perhaps due to magical influence, new flesh began to sprout from his shoulder.
“Attack! He can’t kill me! Cut his throat now!”
Bashion, unconcerned for himself, yelled for Raon to be attacked.
Ching!
Following the order, Rakion’s swordsmen charged, unleashing a flurry of blade strikes wrapped in dark magical energy.
Raon, holding his soul-calming sword in reverse, stabbed down on Bashion’s spine.
Crunch!
A sound of crushing bones echoed, and Bashion collapsed powerlessly to the floor.
Groan.
As Rakion’s swordsmen’s blades approached his throat, Raon gripped the hilt of his sky-reaching sword.
A fierce red blade-light blossomed from his fingertips, mercilessly slashing through the magical blades.
Kwaang!
A massive explosion scattered the magical strikes and the swordsmen of the Rakion clan into ashes.
Rumble…
The immense force of the strike caused the ceiling above to collapse, and warm sunlight filled the underground bathed only in yellow light before.
“Who on earth…”
Paralyzed by the blow to his spine, Bashion trembled, unable to move even a finger.
“Think I wouldn’t kill you?”
Raon removed his mask, facing Bashion.
“The blonde with red eyes… Raon Zieghart? Why are you here…”
“It’s not my name I asked about. Why did you think I wouldn’t kill you? A hostage?”
“That’s…”
“Right. I won’t kill you now. I need the magical energy you’re cloaked in.”
Bashion watched his regenerating shoulder, a smirk curling Raon’s lips.
“But once you’re of no further use, your head will fall too.”
“Kuk…”
“If you want to live even a bit longer, keep your mouth shut.”
Raon stepped on Bashion’s head as he entered the room, first healing the gravely injured nanny with a divine light that emerged from the darkness, then approached Sirellen.
“The knight is Raon Zieghart?”
Awoken by the explosion, Sirellen fluttered her thin eyelids.
“Yes.”
Raon snapped the chains binding her arms and legs with ease and nodded.
“Can you stand?”
“Ah, yes…”
Sirellen nodded and tried to stand, leaning on the wall. She collapsed at once but managed to rise again.
“From now on, I will be fighting against your family. To prevent this conflict from escalating, the sins of the Rakion family must be exposed.”
Raon looked deeply into Sirellen’s clear eyes.
“Can you do this? I know it’s a hard task, and I won’t force you. But if you step forward, we can reduce the damage.”
Bashion was still alive, so they could create evidence, but if Sirellen spoke out herself, it could awaken those not yet consumed by magical energy.
However, she had seen the people of Shinigan branch dying and had been tortured; it was understandable if she declined.
“I will do it. Please let me!”
Sirellen nodded, looking at the still-unconscious nanny and the collapsed Bashion.
“Can you also save our family?”
“Ah…”
Raon exhaled deeply, moved by her words.
“This is what family is, I guess.”
This girl wanted to save her father and brothers despite fearing them, perhaps because she wanted to preserve the family she tried to inform the Shinigan branch about.
“I’ll do my best.”
He nodded without making a firm promise.
“Is it all over?”
Dorian appeared above the collapsed ceiling, having heard the loud noise.
“I thought there was a landslide…”
“Come down.”
“Ah, yes!”
Dorian descended into the pit, pinching his nose.
“Ugh, it really stinks here.”
“It’s the stench of magical energy.”
Raon opened the door of the adjacent room where people dressed in the Rakion clan’s uniforms lay dead, piled in the corner.
“Terrible…”
The bodies were shriveled up as if all vitality had been sucked out of them.
Raon walked to the central chamber of the network of rooms below, where the deepest and foulest stench of magical energy was rising.
Kwaang!
As he stomped, the ground cracked open, revealing a tree root-like structure spreading a foul magical scent.
“What is this?”
- Huh?
Raon rubbed his fingertips, puzzled, as Wrath spotted the tree root.
- Why is there a root of a sacred tree here?
“A sacred tree?”
- Yes. It’s a devilish tree from the demonic realm, silently burrowing into the ground, sucking all nutrients around it. It’s so gluttonous that not even demons live near it.
Wrath snorted in dislike.
“Was this root used to gather magical energy by sacrificing people?”
Although the root itself didn’t emanate much magical energy, its stench was overwhelming.
“Dorian. Take this.”
Though not heavily magical, the root’s remaining scent was a crucial piece of evidence, so Raon threw it to Dorian.
“Eek!”
Dorian caught the root with just his fingernails, showing a knack for it.
“Are you ready?”
Raon grabbed Bashion’s hair, lifting his head.
“Kuk, what preparation…”
“You know what I mean.”
He twisted his mouth as he met the trembling eyes of Bashion.
“Prepare to lose everything you ever had.”
Kooong!
Juan Rakion kicked off the podium and ran out of the hall. Bels and other executives followed him.
“Ha!”
“What the… Why is there smoke coming from Mount Bakin?”
The Rakion clan’s swordsmen trembled as they saw grey smoke rising from the middle of Mount Bakin on the east.
“You! What have you done!”
Juan slowly walked toward Rimmer, glaring at him as his black eyes emitted a deadly intent.
“Are you showing your true colors now? Magical energy is flowing from your eyes?”
“What nonsense!”
Juan quivered his lips more than at the explosion of the mountain. Not just him, but the executives around him also flickered strange lights in their eyes.
“Ah, just kidding.”
Rimmer shrugged as if he had misunderstood.
“Why so flustered? If it’s not magical energy, just say it’s not.”
He smirked and lifted his chin.
“You will die because of that mouth someday.”
“Maybe. But you’ll likely go before me.”
“Bels!”
Juan turned his head as if he didn’t want to deal with it anymore and called Bels.
“Yes.”
Bels stepped forward at Juan’s harsh voice.
“Go and find out what happened!”
“Understood.”
“No need.”
Rimmer waved his hand cheerfully.
“Our mad dog is on his way here with the bone.”
“…Raon Zieghart.”
Juan also realized who Rimmer meant by the ‘mad dog.’
“Oh, they say the mad dog comes when called.”
Rimmer grinned, lifting his finger as Raon appeared, leaping rooftops towards the hall.
“Is he… carrying someone?”
“Ah! That person is!”
“Bashion! It’s Lord Bashion!”
The Rakion clan’s swordsmen recognized the person in Raon’s grip and widened their eyes in shock.
Thud!
As everyone stared in surprise, Raon lightly kicked off the wall and landed in front of Juan.
“Yo. Sorry I’m late. The guests were waiting.”
Rimmer frowned, his hand on his hip.
“Took you a while to find everything.”
As Raon responded, he tapped Bashion’s head.
“Bashion…”
Juan bit his lip, seeing his second son mutilated and unable to stand properly.
“What is this madness!”
“Even for a Zieghart, this rampage is unforgivable!”
“We will never forgive this!”
The Rakion clan’s swordsmen drew their swords, ready to leap into action, their aura murderous.
“Fighting is good.”
Rimmer gently gripped his sword handle, and the Light Wind Squad adjusted their positions, ready to deploy their formation at any moment.
“I went looking for the second son since he was missing, and found him digging tunnels like a mole.”
Raon lifted Bashion up for Juan to see eye-to-eye.
“Ah, Father…”
“You! What have you done! How will you answer for the consequences of your actions?”
“You’re going to die.”
Raon cut Juan off sharply.
“You’re still putting on an act, holding your second son in my hands.”
He sneered, twisting Bashion’s left arm. The sound of crunching bones followed as the arm hung limp.
“Kuhuk!”
Bashion screamed, his spine, regenerating from the magical energy, partially restored his sensation.
“Um…”
Juan couldn’t reply, his lips sealed tight. Not just him, but Bels and the other swordsmen also remained silent.
It meant that most present were complicit, unlike the purely mad Sleion family.
“What does that mean!”
“Don’t insult the lord!”
“What has the second son done!”
However, the younger or older warriors who hadn’t been chosen by Juan shouted confidently, unaware of the truth.
“People who don’t know should be told.”
Raon smiled as he watched the hot-headed swordsmen.
“This man, no, not just him. The lord here, Juan Rakion, and the executives have colluded with the Holy Sword Alliance, sacrificing the Rakion clan’s warriors as offerings to the demonic swords.”
“What, nonsense! That’s absurd!”
“Right! Why would our clan join hands with the Holy Sword Alliance!”
“Bring proof!”
Their voices faltered, muddied by a revelation they had never imagined.
“Look at this.”
Raon turned Bashion’s body to show the shoulder where magical energy forcibly regenerated his arm.
“Regenerative abilities? No, that’s magical energy…”
“Then everything he said is…”
“Yes. It’s all true.”
Acknowledging the warriors’ remarks, Raon nodded.
“The attack on the Shinigan branch, the banditry, the murder of key clan executives reported after they left—all of it…”
Raon pointed at Juan.
“Was done by your lord and the executives.”
As he finished, the Rakion clan’s swordsmen looked at Juan. Their eyes, once firm, now roiled like stormy seas.
“I can’t believe this!”
“Right! You could have put magical energy on him!”
“Lord, tell us it’s not true!”
“Can’t you trust your own lord.”
Bels stepped forward, his gaze resolute.
“Trust him. If we don’t trust our lord, who will?”
He shouted to believe in the lord, suggesting that Raon was trying to divide Rakion.
“No need to argue.”
Juan, without blinking, lied smoothly.
“He did it, trying to pin it on us.”
“Exactly!”
“Black Dragon, dragon slayer, and now a demon-possessed man!”
“He’s an enemy! Kill him now!”
Despite knowing Juan’s words were false, the swordsmen’s hearts couldn’t accept it, and they howled in fury.
“Figured it would come to this.”
Raon chuckled softly and nodded. For them, Juan was a respected lord, and accepting the truth was tough.
“Come out.”
He flicked his hand, and Dorian brought Sirellen forward.
“Ah, the young lady?”
“She was captured too…”
“No.”
Sirellen shook her head fiercely and stepped forward.
“I was held by my own second brother. During all this time…”
She disclosed everything that had happened in front of all assembled members of the Rakion clan.
Ironically, Sirellen’s harrowing appearance lent her testimony additional credibility.
“Lord, what is this about!”
“Say something!”
“…”
Juan remained silent, head bowed.
“Ah…”
He exhaled harshly and lifted his eyes, which swirled darkly like gathering storm clouds.
“Lord?”
“I’m sorry.”
As he extended his hand, the hearts of the swordsmen pleading for the truth exploded into dark orbs, sucked into his palm as tainted magical energy.
“Ah…”
“Lord…”
“Kuk!”
The swordsmen, unable to believe their own demise, fell without even closing their eyes.
“Your deaths will serve as the foundation for Rakion’s rise.”
Juan’s words carried a grim sincerity as he nodded solemnly.
“Remarkable, Raon Zieghart. It’s said that the most terrifying thing about you isn’t your sword, but your heart, and it appears to be true.”
He looked up at Raon, furrowing his brows.
“But you don’t know me. You don’t know how I’ve lived, what I’ve been through!”
Juan shouted not just at Raon, but as if proclaiming to the world.
“I am not wrong.”
“What?”
Raon stared incredulously.
“Do you know the life of a Vongshin family member?”
Juan chuckled as he swept his hair back.
“Vongshin, a fancy name for what is essentially slavery. At a beck and call from the Ziegharts, nothing more than dogs.”
He scratched his own hand with his nails as he continued.
“When I became the successor, the Ziegharts had devoured Rakion. Do you know what that means? This clan has never truly been mine. Even as lord, there’s Glenn Zieghart above me!”
Juan stopped laughing abruptly and clenched his fist.
“That humiliation. The humiliation of being subordinated from the start, do you understand that?”
“I understand.”
Raon shook his head quietly.
“Being ignored even when you achieve, and mocked even when you do nothing. I know that life too.”
Born into the main line, living as if in the collateral branches, enduring countless humiliations. Even now as a sub-lord, the direct lines looked at him with disdain and disgust.
“So what?”
“What?”
Juan was taken aback, not expecting such a response.
“To overcome those mocking and humiliating views, you should have used your own strength. Why take power from others, from the Holy Sword Alliance and demonic swords?”
Raon curled his lips into a cold sneer.
“You’re not standing on your own. You’ve just swapped the master you wag your tail for from Zieghart to the Holy Sword Alliance.”
“Kuk…”
Juan couldn’t reply, his throat trembling. He had likely harbored similar thoughts himself.
“Try wagging your tail at me. Who knows? I might give you a lesson in swordsmanship.”
“Shut up!”
Juan leaned forward, bellowing loudly.
“Ah, Father.”
Sirellen clasped her hands, looking at Juan pleadingly.
“Please stop. Stop here!”
The young girl sensed this might be the last chance to halt her misguided father.
“Sirellen.”
Juan briefly shook his head.
“You. You’ve ruined everything.”
“Father?”
“You should never have been born!”
His teeth gritted, he stretched his hand out. A dark sphere of magical energy and aura mixed, shooting towards Sirellen’s chest.
“Ah…”
Sirellen, unable to dodge, froze in place, bracing for the imminent impact. She closed her eyes, feeling the approach of death.
However, no pain came. Instead, warmth that stilled her shivering shoulders spread over her, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Raon’s back clad in a black cloak.
“Raon sir.”
“I’m sorry.”
Raon turned around, his expression bitter.
“I can’t fulfill your request.”
With that, he lightly tapped Sirellen’s neck, causing her to faint gently. He handed her over to Dorian.
“Please take care of her.”
“Whatever happens, I’ll protect her.”
Dorian nodded firmly, his usual light demeanor gone.
Raon bit his lip as he watched his trembling hands.
‘It wasn’t just a threat.’
Juan had truly intended to kill Sirellen. If Raon had been less vigilant, the young girl would have vanished without a trace. His suppressed fury began to burn uncontrollably.
“Father.”
Bashion, now regaining sensation in his left arm, reached out towards Juan.
“Please save me. Please…”
“Don’t worry. You’re tied to my power, you won’t die. I will definitely save…”
Before Juan could finish, Raon raised his hand, swiftly breaking Bashion’s neck.
Crunch!
The twisting of bones silenced Bashion’s light, cutting off the magical line that might have regenerated him.
“Bashion!”
Juan trembled as he watched his son’s lifeless body.
“I’ve taken care of your unnecessary son for you.”
Raon flicked his hands dismissively, a cold laugh escaping him.
“No thanks needed.”
“You, how dare you!”
As Juan reached toward the ground, the earth cracked open like a spiderweb, and a grotesque sword with multiple blades, as if pulled from roots, emerged. The blades emitted an eerie black light, as if made from wood, alive with grain.
“That must be the demonic sword.”
It seemed Juan had hidden the demonic sword deep underground, cloaking it with magical stench.
“But it looks like it’s made of wood.”
- Not just like wood, but actually made from it.
“What?”
- You saw the sacred tree’s roots. After consuming the life force of humans, it uses those stems to release magical energy. A curious method of use indeed.
Wrath chuckled lowly, impressed by the unexpected application of the sacred tree.
Kuung!
As Juan thrust the demonic sword into the sky, black liquid spewed from the cracked earth, sinking the ground and darkening the sky. The phenomena fit the name of a demonic sword perfectly.
“The demonic sword Criatus not only strengthens me but also ensures that no one here can escape alive!”
As he declared, the swordsmen behind him surged with intense auras, their bodies infused with magical energy leaking into the atmosphere.
“Kuk…”
“What kind of cursed demonic sword is that…”
“Um…”
Not only the regular swordsmen, but even squadron leaders like Burren, Martha, and Runaan bit their lips, disgusted by the magical energy.
Kooong!
Raon stamped down, activating a battle stance. Fiery red flames erupted, scorching the blighted earth.
“Light Wind Squad, listen.”
The noble aura emanating from him swept away the foul magical energy, igniting a pure light.
“Collusion with external enemies, internal murder, and human sacrifices. I charge the lord of Rakion and all executives with these crimes. We will eradicate them.”
“We obey your command!”
The squad, previously dismayed by the magical energy, now held their swords reversed in salute, ready to purge the darkness.
Raon nodded as if entrusting them with a mission, then stepped forward. Flames beneath his feet scared the darkness, melting it away in fear.
“Having abandoned your family, thrown away your dignity, and brought your clan to ruin to gain this power, I’ll show you how worthless it is.”
Raon drove his twin swords, the Celestial Sword and the Soul-Calming Sword, into the ground.
“Sword Manifestation.”
His quiet voice tore through the space tainted with magical energy, summoning the black and blue swords.
“Demonic and Divine Harmony.”
Like the moment of twilight when the sun and moon intersect, a golden barrier enveloped Raon, pushing back the sinister darkness.
“From this moment.”
Raon lifted his divine sword, his gaze burning redder than the flames on the blade, as he targeted Juan.
“The execution is set.”
