Chapter 807
“You just…”
Darkhan twisted his jaw sideways in disbelief.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I will now take on your swordsmanship.”
Raon stood before Darkhan, placing his hand on the hilt of the Heavenly Drive.
“Kahahahaha!”
Darkhan swept back his red hair and let out a thunderous laugh. After laughing for a long time, he suddenly stopped and lowered his head slowly.
“Your grandfather being my meal today was quite satisfying, you know? Don’t spoil my appetite unnecessarily.”
Darkhan, finding his sparring match with Rektor enjoyable, gestured for Raon to step back.
“You might regret that.”
Raon ignored Darkhan’s warning and beckoned with a flick of his finger.
“Your thirst hasn’t been quenched yet, has it?”
He smirked, glancing at the black eyepatch covering Darkhan’s eyes.
“Hah, and you think you can satisfy that thirst?”
Darkhan lowered his head slowly, his gaze tightening around Raon like an invisible vice.
“A mere brat like you?”
Darkhan, now devoid of humor, exuded a thick killing intent as he stared down at Raon.
– Are you out of your mind?
Wrath grabbed Raon by the collar, his voice full of disbelief.
– Cancel this at once!
The demon shook his head violently, declaring that Raon would never be able to stop Darkhan.
“Not right now, of course. But…”
Raon barely withstood Darkhan’s pressure, shaking his head.
“Before long, I’ll be able to satisfy your hunger with a sword technique no one has ever seen before.”
Saying so, he firmly grasped the Heavenly Drive’s hilt.
“I thought you were just spouting nonsense…”
Darkhan nodded, as if he now understood.
“So you’re just trying to buy time.”
He chuckled, looking past Raon at Rektor.
“Unfortunately for you, Rektor can no longer fight. I’ve cut down the very will that sustained him.”
Darkhan dismissed the notion that delaying the fight would help, lowering his hand.
“Raon Zieghart. I admit, you interest me—not because of your current strength, but because of your talent. Once I confirm that, your body is nothing more than bait to lure out Glenn.”
A chilling wave of energy burst forth from him, making it clear that he was now fully prepared to kill. Seeing the Heart Sword, his perspective seemed to have shifted.
“Then test me. Test my potential.”
Raon stood his ground, straightening his back under Darkhan’s oppressive aura.
‘Feels like I’m going to die.’
Though he acted calm, his entire body felt like it was being crushed under Darkhan’s overwhelming power.
Just enduring it required every ounce of his mental strength.
“Are you scared, perhaps?”
Raon even managed a faint smile as he met Darkhan’s gaze.
‘Darkhan is different from the other Five Demons.’
Though part of them, he was neither truly good nor evil.
He was simply a madman whose soul was consumed by swordsmanship—making him the perfect target for provocation.
‘Just watching his fight with my grandfather was enough to understand his nature.’
Aside from the last technique he used, Darkhan never fought seriously.
Even during Rektor’s last technique, he could have blocked or dodged it—but he chose to take it head-on, just to experience a new sword.
It looked like an even battle, but in reality, an uncrossable chasm lay between Darkhan and Rektor.
‘A lunatic like that will definitely take my bait.’
Both Glenn and Rektor had told him his swordsmanship was a path never walked before—a true Path of Ten Thousand Swords.
If he showed Darkhan the potential of a new sword technique, he would surely be set free.
“R-Raon… don’t…”
Rektor coughed up black blood yet still reached for his fallen sword.
“I… I will fight.”
He tried to rise, urging Raon to step back.
“Hah?”
Darkhan furrowed his brows, watching Rektor struggle to his feet.
“How is he even standing?”
He exhaled a hollow breath, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
“The world does not revolve around the realm of swordsmanship alone.”
Raon shook his head, feeling Rektor’s warmth behind him.
“Tch…”
Darkhan clicked his tongue, staring into Rektor’s eyes.
“He’s only standing. He can’t fight.”
“…I can fight.”
Rektor took slow, deliberate steps, positioning himself in front of Raon.
“Even if my body is broken, my will is not.”
Though unable to cut even a single bug in his condition, his resolve to protect his grandson burned brighter than ever.
“Hmm…”
Darkhan pressed his lips together as he watched.
“It’s okay, Grandfather.”
Raon embraced the trembling Rektor, shaking his head.
“Leave the rest to me.”
As he reassured Rektor, he guided him to sit behind him.
“Touching. However…”
“You don’t have to do this if you’re scared.”
Raon turned back to Darkhan, waggling his fingers.
“What?”
A vein bulged on Darkhan’s smooth forehead.
“What did you just say…?”
“You’re rambling so much that it sounds like you’re afraid of my future. If that’s the case, then go ahead and kill me now.”
Raon spread his arms wide as if he truly didn’t care.
“You… are you truly insane?”
Darkhan’s brows furrowed deeply.
“If someone obsessed with swordsmanship rejects the chance to witness a new sword technique, it can only mean one thing—they’re scared.”
Raon embraced Darkhan’s killing intent and shrugged.
“…You truly believe you can prove the potential of a new sword technique?”
Darkhan’s lips quivered slightly, as if he were on the verge of taking the bait.
“Yes. If it’s purely about swordsmanship, I can prove it.”
“Purely swordsmanship?”
“If you unleash your transcendent power, I won’t even be able to block a single strike.”
Raon tapped his temple with his finger.
“Think it through.”
“……”
Darkhan closed his mouth, staring at Raon from beneath his black eyepatch with a heavy, unreadable gaze.
“……”
Raon, arms crossed, held Darkhan’s gaze without flinching.
“Very well. But if you disappoint me…”
Darkhan’s jaw dropped sharply like a blade.
“I will kill those behind you and take you as my disciple. I will mold you into a puppet that moves at my will.”
He ground his teeth as if sealing his vow.
“Fine.”
Raon nodded and stepped forward, facing Darkhan.
– T-This actually worked?
Wrath widened his eyes at Darkhan.
– Has that bastard lost his mind? How did…
‘It wasn’t just provocation.’
– Huh?
‘I have a title.’
Raon possessed the title [Tongue That Toys with Heaven and Earth].
That title induced mental confusion even in the strongest of warriors, amplifying Darkhan’s hunger for swordsmanship.
– Grrr! So in the end, this was all because of me again…
Wrath ground his teeth in frustration.
– Hah! But that bastard won’t keep his promise!
‘No, he will.’
Darkhan’s obsession with the sword surpassed even his own—or even Glenn’s.
This was a man who had gouged out his own eyes just to see the Heart Sword. If Raon demonstrated the potential of a new sword technique, Darkhan would walk away without interference.
“R-Raon!”
“You don’t have to do this! It’s too dangerous!”
Lawrence and Jarek shook their heads in disapproval.
“Raon…”
Rektor bit his lip, overwhelmed by his own powerlessness.
But Burren, Martha, Runaan, and Dorian nodded in quiet trust.
“Don’t worry.”
Raon met their gazes before giving a calm nod.
“Nothing will happen.”
—
Raon and Darkhan stood face-to-face in the open clearing of Holy Sword Alliance training ground, where homes and mansions had been reduced to rubble.
“Just three times.”
Darkhan raised three fingers.
“I will strike three times, matching your strength. If you disappoint me even once, it ends there.”
“And if I satisfy you?”
Raon lowered his chin, staring at Darkhan’s fingers.
“If you truly show me the potential of a new sword technique…”
Darkhan nodded slowly.
“Then I will leave, without touching a single person here.”
He struck his own chest, vowing his promise.
“Good.”
Raon nodded, drawing both the Heavenly Drive and the Soul Requiem Sword.
Unlike Darkhan, he had to give it his all from the start. He immediately activated [Divine-Demonic Harmony].
Fwoooosh!
Holding a divine sword in one hand and a demonic sword in the other, he resonated with the Ring of Fire. His Demonic Eye of Wrath and Perception of the Snow Flower sharpened as he took his stance.
“If you’re ready, let’s begin.”
Darkhan casually gripped Jarek’s sword and swung it downward.
It seemed like a simple slash, but hidden within was a path of the sword honed to its absolute limit—the culmination of a transcendent’s lifelong training.
‘Ordinary swordsmanship won’t work!’
No technique he knew could stop that strike.
It wasn’t what he expected, but he had no choice. He had to go all out from the start.
Boom!
Raon stepped forward with Swift Sword, crossing his divine and demonic swords diagonally.
Raon Zieghart Swordsmanship—Form Six: Divine-Demonic Harmony—Azure Crimson Invincible Blade.
Azure Crimson Invincible Blade drew out every last bit of Divine-Demonic Harmony’s energy to slash through his opponent with overwhelming force.
However, this time, it wasn’t just power.
Inside the two burning swords, he wove the principles he had refined.
The Heavenly Drive carried speed, lightness, transformation, illusion, and audacity.
The Soul Requiem Sword embodied slowness, weight, precision, solemnity, and nobility.
Crackle!
The two swords, contrasting in nature, shone with brilliant radiance as they clashed with Darkhan’s descending blade.
BOOOOOM!
It wasn’t the sound of swords meeting—it was as if mountains were collapsing.
Even though Darkhan had restrained his power, the sheer force of their clash sank the earth and left rifts in the sky.
“Hah…!”
Raon staggered ten steps back, exhaling a ragged breath.
“I recognize this swordplay… yet I’ve never seen it before.”
Darkhan’s lips curled upward in interest.
“Not bad.”
As someone obsessed with the sword, he gave a direct, honest evaluation.
“I haven’t even started yet.”
Raon quickly steadied his breath, shaking his head.
‘Feels like my limbs are going to be torn apart.’
Though his exterior looked fine, his body was in a terrible state.
His physical strength had drained, and his middle core was shaken from the impact.
Darkhan had indeed held back—but he clearly had no intention of matching Raon’s level.
‘So this is what a true transcendence feels like.’
Even when suppressing his strength, Darkhan’s attacks carried devastating force. The gap between transcendence and mortals was unimaginably vast.
“Now, the second strike. This one will be different.”
Darkhan, his cheeks slightly flushed in excitement, released his grip on his sword.
Living Sword.
Though he was merely adjusting his energy, he clearly had no intention of holding back.
Fwooooosh!
His Living Sword twisted at an impossible angle, streaking toward Raon’s neck.
Rumble!
Not only was his Living Sword technique bizarre, but the energy imbued within was not something that could be blocked so easily.
‘Genesis Blade?’
No. Not yet.
He had to save Genesis Blade for the third strike.
He had to block this attack in his current state.
‘I have to gamble.’
There was only one way to counter Living Sword without using Genesis Blade—a technique still unfinished.
BZZZZZT!
Raon’s mind spun like lightning, dividing the principles of Inverse Sea of Flames and Severing Sword.
One erased the opponent’s sword trajectory.
The other pierced through their aura.
By interweaving those two profound techniques, a new flow of swordsmanship emerged.
His insight, empowered by his barely unlocked Mind’s Eye, became the rope binding these two arts together.
FLAAAAASH!
The flames of the Heavenly Drive dimmed, and the frost of the Soul Requiem Sword dissipated, leaving behind a misty violet glow like the dawn’s first light.
The unfinished swordsmanship—one yet to be named—erased the Living Sword’s trajectory and nullified the immense power within.
Whoosh!
Unlike the first clash, there was no shockwave, no thunderous explosion. But the impact on the observers was even greater.
“A-Are you telling me he neutralized Living Sword so easily… despite Darkhan holding back?”
Rektor’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“…Is that my Inverse Sea of Flames?”
Lawrence trembled as he saw his own technique woven into Raon’s martial arts.
“He finally cracked open the gap within Mind’s Eye.”
Even Jarek couldn’t suppress his astonishment, swallowing dryly.
The others, too, were left speechless as they watched Living Sword completely dissipate.
“Kuhuk…!”
Raon could no longer suppress it—he coughed up blood. Creating a new technique was one thing, but enduring the force of Living Sword still inflicted internal injuries.
“You created a new sword technique using counter techniques. Seems like The Tyrant King’s Severing Sword is mixed in there as well. Intriguing.”
Darkhan nodded in approval once again, as if truly pleased.
“To take a disgraceful counter technique and refine it into something fresh and full of potential… not bad.”
A long grin stretched across his face, as if he was enjoying every second of this.
“But there’s still one move left. If you disappoint me here, it’s all over.”
“I know.”
Raon wiped the blood from his lips and nodded.
“Then get ready.”
Darkhan tilted his chin, giving him a moment to compose himself.
“Haa…”
Raon grasped the now-extinguished Heavenly Drive, closing his eyes.
‘I barely have enough strength left for Genesis Blade…’
Genesis Blade—the pinnacle of his evolving swordsmanship, growing alongside his very life.
Through the training and meditation at Holy Sword Alliance, he had refined it further. Now, even the picky Darkhan should see its potential.
“I’m ready.”
Raon steadied his ragged breath and nodded.
“Then let’s begin the final move.”
With a flick of his finger, Living Sword dropped away.
From his grasp, a pitch-black blade surged forth.
‘…What?’
Raon swallowed hard as he watched the blade ignite like dark flames.
‘Soul-Severing Blade?’
He thought this was just a test, but for that madman, it was clearly not.
No matter how much he held back, Raon hadn’t expected him to unleash Soul-Severing Blade.
‘Damn it!’
This was his second time seeing Soul-Severing Blade, but he had never actually thought about how to counter it.
His mind went blank, as if a white canvas had been washed over his thoughts.
‘No… It’s the same as always.’
Even if Soul-Severing Blade could pierce everything and cut through the soul itself, his task remained unchanged—demonstrating his swordsmanship.
Raon resonated his Ring of Fire to its peak, drawing out the fury within his soul.
No matter how sharp the enemy’s blade was, he would harden his spirit so that it could not be severed.
Flaaaash!
Golden radiance erupted along the Heavenly Drive’s blade, condensing the essence of his sword within his Mental World.
Within that single light, thousands of sword paths intertwined, creating a vast tide of swordsmanship.
BOOOOOM!
His everything—his very being—clashed against Soul-Severing Blade.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been impossible. But Darkhan seemed to have deliberately matched his Genesis Blade against it, as if to test him further.
The light of Genesis Blade was being erased by the darkness of Soul-Severing Blade.
But his refined sword techniques refused to yield, latching onto the dark blade like a desperate struggle.
‘I held out!’
Raon bit down on his lip. He hadn’t pushed back Soul-Severing Blade, but he had weakened its force.
Believing he could endure, he raised his spiritual energy even higher.
“Good!”
But Darkhan had no intention of stopping there.
Laughing heartily, he thickened the Soul-Severing Blade’s edge.
That madman—satisfied with the test—was now conducting a new test.
Shiiiiiiiing!
Darkhan’s Soul-Severing Blade extended beyond mere flesh, burrowing into Raon’s soul.
Crackle!
Just as the dark blade was about to cleave Raon’s soul—
Something no one could have predicted occurred.
Rumble…!
Another presence within Raon’s soul moved.
The soul of the Monarch of Wrath confronted the black blade.
– You worm.
