Chapter 843

Tuuung!

Raon rushed forward without even time to breathe and caught the collapsing Rimmer.

“Vice Division Leader!”

He shook Rimmer’s shoulders, but there was no response. The once-refreshing sound of his breathing was gone, and even the scent of the wind had vanished.

“Please!”

Raon placed his hand over Rimmer’s left chest, now darkened by death, and poured the divinity that had bloomed from the darkness into him.

However, he had used too much on Aris earlier, and the wounds would not heal.

“Martha!”

Raon called out Martha’s name with a voice mixed with steel.

“Damn it! Rimmer!”

Martha screamed and rushed over, grabbing Rimmer’s wrist.

She tried to heal his wounds by infusing aura, but Rimmer still didn’t move.

“V-Vice Division Leader!”

“Aaaaah!”

Burren and Runaan also scrambled across the ground, shouting Rimmer’s name.

“Vice Leader!”

“Instructor!”

“P-Please wake up!”

Dorian and all the Light Wind Division members, soaked in blood, ran to grab Rimmer, but his eyelids never opened.

“Now I understand why he was called the Mad Sword of Zieghart.”

Sif licked his lips as he wiped the blood from his black sword.

“To throw away a chance to ascend just to save those worms… just as insane as his name suggested.”

He sneered at Rimmer with a face full of scorn.

“Do whatever it takes. Save him.”

Raon gently placed Rimmer’s cold hand down and stood up.

Glaring at Sif, who was mocking Rimmer, he gripped the divine sword and demon sword so tightly that blood flowed from his fists.

‘All…’

It was all my fault.

If I had noticed the dungeon’s abnormalities sooner.

If I hadn’t trusted Sif.

If I hadn’t been pulled into Bardiel’s barrier.

If I had broken through the light barrier at full force and rushed here immediately.

Even if it meant dying together, Rimmer wouldn’t have had to fall alone.

It was all my fault.

“That guy even called himself human. Isn’t it laughable? Using a fake sword art, even attaching a fake arm, just to become human?”

Sif spewed his foul words without restraint.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Whether human or elf, to someone soon becoming a Celestial, they’re just insects.”

I wanted to tear that mouth apart.

‘I need…’

I need power.

With my current strength, I can’t even kill Sif.

If I want to utterly destroy Bardiel and Sif, I need overwhelming strength.

Goooooo!

I drew all the anger buried deep within the soul of the Demon King.

I didn’t care if I was erased; I wanted the power to exact revenge. I wanted the strength to completely annihilate those pieces of trash.

-You mustn’t!

Wrath leapt forward, blocking my vision.

-This time, even I cannot stop or control it! It’s not my rampage—it’s yours! Come to your senses!

He shook his head desperately, warning that everything built up until now could be lost.

“Aaaaargh! Vice Division Leader!”

‘Sorry, Wrath…’

But hearing Dorian’s scream and seeing Sif’s laugh shattered the last thread of my rationality.

Crack!

It felt like something snapped in my mind, and rage surged up from the depths of my soul, flooding my entire body.

Creeeeak…

Pure white frost seeped into my heart. The eight fiery rings around it squeaked as if rusted and then froze completely.

The flames of the divine sword subsided, and the demon sword’s frost began to surge violently.

As if returning to childhood, frost filled every mana circuit in my body, and my vision froze white.

Rumble!

The balance between my elemental cores—Flame Core and Glacier—was shattered, and the three dantians were filled with chilling frost.

Kuwaaaaa!

I threw away the extinguished divine sword and raised only the demon sword. A storm of frost that could engulf the world roared from behind me, and a blue horn sprouted from my forehead.

“Accepted demon power for the sake of revenge?”

Sif licked his red lips with amusement.

“I’ll kill you…”

Standing at the heart of winter, I exhaled pure white breath.

Like a rampaging beast rather than a swordsman, I thrust the demon sword forward.

Kuwaaaaaaang!

With a single strike, half the cavern froze over. Sif, overwhelmed by the sheer force, was hurled against the wall. It was a terrifying manifestation of strength.

“Trying to take everyone down with you? No wonder you’re the Mad Sword’s disciple!”

Sif, black veins bulging in his eyes, raised his black sword. A slash that split space itself surged toward my chest.

Puuuck!

I didn’t dodge. Clad in armor made of frost, I endured the spatial slash and pressed forward, delivering an even fiercer strike.

Craaaaack!

As the frost strike and spatial slash collided, white cracks spread and then exploded outward.

Boom!

Explosions echoed in all directions as the cavern shook violently, threatening to collapse.

“Your strength is already beyond transcendence.”

Sif looked at his frostbitten right arm and let out a hollow laugh.

Whoooooom!

As Sif tried to retreat with footwork, I reversed my grip on the demon sword and slammed it into the ground.

The blade flashed as if about to explode, freezing the space Sif tried to open for escape. A storm of frost erupted around him, forming a prison of ice.

Chiiiiing!

With blue light gleaming in my eyes, I charged at Sif.

Just as I was about to bring my sword down upon his neck, a pale beam shot from the right, piercing my waist and thigh.

“Kuagh!”

Even injured, I didn’t stop. I swung the demon sword down toward Sif.

Kuwaaaaang!

However, weakened midway by the wound, Sif managed to block the strike and slip to the side.

“What the hell… How is this even possible?”

Sif grimaced as he looked at the frost creeping up his black sword.

“It’s possible.”

Bardiel let out a cloudy sigh as he stared at me.

“The demon lending him strength is the Monarch of Wrath.”

He furrowed his brow darkly.

“Monarch of Wrath?”

Sif narrowed his eyes at Bardiel.

“Among the Monarchs who rule the Demon Realm, he’s one of the most fearsome. Now I understand why even light is freezing.”

Bardiel finally nodded heavily as if he understood now.

“We have to attack together. He’s not a transcendent, but we must treat him with more caution than one.”

“Hmm….”

Sif narrowed his eyes, staring at Raon, who was exuding an ever-stronger frost.

“Shall we run a little experiment?”

“Experiment?”

“Just wait and see.”

Dodging the frost Raon generated, Sif unleashed a spatial slash toward the Light Wind Division gathered around Rimmer.

Kuwaaaaaaang!

The slash tore through space, aiming to slice the Light Wind Division members’ necks, but Raon, who was charging at Sif, hurriedly retreated and erected a wall of ice.

Kuwaaaang!

Fortunately, he managed to save the Light Wind Division from Sif’s sneak attack, but perhaps because he had sharply twisted the flow of the frost, blood trickled from Raon’s lips.

“Kuahahahaha!”

Sif ran his hand through his disheveled hair and burst into wild laughter.

“Even half-crazed, you prioritize your comrades first? So you’ve inherited even his stupidity!”

He grabbed his stomach and laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Hmm….”

Even Bardiel frowned, seemingly surprised by Raon’s actions.

“This is why humans are insects. Driven by emotions, they can never accomplish anything great.”

Sif curled his lips in disdain.

“You know what we have to do, right?”

He raised the black sword over his head and looked at Bardiel.

“Yeah. Let’s attack together.”

Bardiel nodded and brought his hands together. Pure white radiance flared from his palms as divine power gathered.

Craaaaaaack!

Sif’s descending slash twisted and tore the mana of the cavern.

A spatial slash born of transcendence. Cracks tore through the void, and slashes stormed from all directions.

‘I…’

Raon closed his eyes as he faced the deluge of slashes and waves of light targeting both himself and the Light Wind Division.

‘I can’t even choose.’

He had cast himself aside to avenge his master, yet he couldn’t allow his comrades to die.

Cursing his own indecisiveness, he exploded the frost he had accumulated.

‘I’m sorry, Vice Division Leader. I’m sorry, Wrath.’

For the sake of protecting the Light Wind Division, not himself, Raon raised his sword.

[Sword Field Creation – Genesis Blade].

A violet radiance, like the sight of twilight, soared along the demon sword’s blade.

A sword strike not to slay enemies, but to protect comrades, drew a great circle and clashed with the heavenly light and the slashes ripping through space.

Kuwaaaaaaaang!

An enormous explosion erupted. The cavern floor caved in, and the ceiling and walls began to collapse.

The impact exceeded all limits, causing the dungeon itself to collapse.

“Keuk!”

Raon vomited black blood and was slammed into the crumbling ground.

However, within the wall of frost he had created, not a single member of the Light Wind Division suffered even a scratch.

“Raon!”

“Get up!”

The Light Wind Division shouted his name, but he remained unmoving as if dead.

“Dead? No, we should check—”

“We have to get out of here!”

As Sif moved to confirm Raon’s condition, Bardiel grabbed his shoulder.

“What nonsense! We should at least bring his corpse!”

“The time axis inside this dungeon is different from outside! If we don’t escape before it collapses, years could pass outside!”

Bardiel shouted that they had to leave, claiming those trapped would die regardless.

“Tsk.”

Sif clicked his tongue, slung Aris over his shoulder, and gestured toward the Light Wind Division trapped in ice.

“Should we call it luck? No, it doesn’t matter. They’ll die anyway.”

Leaving those words behind, he escaped the collapsing cavern with Bardiel.

“Huff….”

Raon barely managed to lift his head. Using what little frost remained, he thickened the frost wall around the Light Wind Division, then collapsed back onto the ground.

‘Vice Division Leader.’

Among the Light Wind Division members, Rimmer’s face came into view. Even in collapse, he hadn’t lost his smile, and seeing him made Raon’s heart ache to the point of death.

‘I’m sorry…’

Staring at Rimmer, Raon closed his trembling eyelids. As he exhaled a faint, dying breath, the Requiem Sword, restored to its original form, flashed with a clear green light.

—

When I opened my eyes again, I was in my mental world.

It was a place I had visited often, now familiar—but today, it was different.

The land, once divided by heat and frost, was now frozen white, and the swords were scattered across the ground, covered in frost.

The eight fiery rings that floated in the sky had stopped spinning and tilted downward, broken.

Just like my heart, my mental world was frozen.

“Really… like a worm.”

I chuckled faintly, sitting down in the frozen mental world.

I had resolved to avenge my master and entrusted my body to the Demon King’s Authority, yet I still couldn’t sacrifice my comrades.

I had become nothing more than a writhing worm, unable to do anything properly.

Trrrk.

I pulled out a sword frozen in the ground.

“I’m sorry… for being such a useless master.”

Looking at the sword, which resembled the First Family Head’s Egotistic Sword, I shook my head.

‘What would he have done?’

Or rather, what would Grandfather have done?

The most resolute and strongest swordsmen I knew. I wondered how they would have acted in this situation.

“No… it doesn’t matter anymore.”

I was already broken. Even if I survived, it would take an incredibly long time to take revenge.

‘I lost too much.’

Rimmer was dead. Aris’s fate was unknown. Sif gained strength and information. There were no gains—only losses. My chest felt stifled.

“Everything… is my fault….”

“Still blaming yourself?”

At the sound of a familiar, clear voice carried on the breeze, I turned around.

“Uh…?”

Seeing the red-haired elf standing there casually with one leg tilted, my jaw trembled.

“I-Instructor?”

Rimmer. The man I thought was dead had entered my mental world. In my shock, I called him the way I used to in the past, not by his current title.

“H-How are you here? What’s going on…?”

“I don’t know.”

Rimmer shrugged his shoulders, saying he didn’t know either.

“No, that’s…”

“That’s not important right now. Like I’ve always said, you think too much. Sometimes…”

He thumped his chest with a laugh.

“Think with this heart.”

“Ah…”

Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at Rimmer. The fact that he said such words made it clear—this was no fake. It was truly Rimmer.

“Vice Division Leader, I…”

“I saw it.”

Rimmer let out a sigh.

“You were just like always. Greedy little Raon Zieghart, trying to hold on to everything.”

He smiled as if he had expected it.

“But this time, I understand.”

Rimmer lightly laughed and pointed to himself.

“I was the same.”

He chuckled, saying he had been battered while trying to save Dorian and Aris.

“Vice Division Leader…”

“Enough with that title. Just call me Master. I’m tired of having my student call me their superior.”

“Ah, yes…”

Raon nodded.

“This is your mental world? As expected, it’s boring.”

Rimmer shook his head at the barren world filled only with swords.

“At your age, you should be dating, drinking all night with friends, traveling.”

He clicked his tongue in pity.

“Sorry…”

“But now I kind of get it.”

Rimmer smiled faintly as he looked up at the floating rings of fire.

“Get what?”

“Your swordsmanship and aura have long reached the transcendent level, but your state remained stuck at Grandmaster. If your aura was transcendent but your swordsmanship lacking, it would make sense. But even with perfect swordsmanship, you couldn’t break through the wall. I finally figured out why.”

He squinted mischievously at Raon.

“Now I know the reason.”

“Mm…”

Raon let out a low hum, not fully understanding.

“When I first met you, you were like a blank slate. Not just in martial arts, but emotionally. Strangely, you had deep anger, but almost no affection, sorrow, or joy that children usually have.”

Rimmer waved his hand as he spoke, saying it was like his emotions were broken despite his talent.

“Luckily, thanks to the good people around you, you came to know happiness and joy. But there was still something missing.”

“What was it…?”

“Sorrow.”

Rimmer raised a finger toward Raon.

“Among all emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—you didn’t know sorrow. You were cold as a child but gradually became more emotional. Those human emotions must have greatly helped your growth.”

“Ah…”

It was just as he said. His growth wasn’t only influenced by human emotions but also by the emotions of the Demon Kings.

“But even then, you never understood sorrow. You mistook sorrow for anger.”

Rimmer placed his hand lightly on his head.

“‘Every meeting ends in parting, and those who leave must return.’ Sorrow should be accepted as sorrow. There’s no need to force yourself to endure it by turning it into another emotion.”

He laughed gently, ruffling his own hair.

“Raon. You are Raon Zieghart. Return to the essence of what it means to be human.”

As he said this, Rimmer began to fade away, his body becoming translucent.

“Master!”

“Looks like my time’s up.”

Rimmer smacked his lips as he looked at his disappearing hand.

“I don’t know if we’ll meet again, but I’m glad I got to have this last conversation with you.”

Nodding slightly, Rimmer added:

“Oh, and make sure you kill that bastard! Got it? I wasn’t going to say it, but seeing him torment you like that—I can’t stand it—”

He shouted to kill Sif before disappearing, staying true to himself until the end.

“Haha…”

Raon laughed. Accepting the emotions he had been trying so hard to suppress, he found laughter instead of tears.

He realized it wasn’t yet the time to cry—it was time to embrace his sorrow.

Kuuuuuuuum!

However, the pain tearing through his chest—his soul—remained. No, it became even worse. The agony that followed sorrow was unbearable.

As he fully accepted the emotions flooding him, his mental world vibrated. At the end of the frost that had frozen heaven and earth, golden flames began to rise.

Softly like embers, the flames rode the green wind and spread across the heavens and earth.

Fwaaaaaaaaa!

The frozen land melted, and the swords trapped in frost floated back into the sky.

Finally, the golden flames reached the heavens and melted the eight frozen rings of fire, forging a ninth ring—tempered by sorrow.

The ever-turning golden ring, like a wheel that would never stop even in the midst of battle, resonated, unleashing a roar that awakened Raon’s soul.

Uoooooooooo!

(T/N: Shit, I’m crying… And im super pissed at Sif. Your name should not be Sif, but SHIT!)