Chapter 992

               

Raon frowned as he examined the crimson bell.

‘It doesn’t make a sound.’

No matter how hard he shook it, not even the faintest chime came out.

‘Strange. There’s definitely a bead inside.’

Normally, a bell was made by hollowing out metal or wood and placing a small bead inside to produce a clear sound. It was also a tool sorcerers often used.

But this crimson bell clearly had a bead within it, and yet it was silent.

Swish.

The only thing he heard was the soft rustle of silk, like decorative tassels brushing against each other.

‘Sound aside, this bell…’

It feels ominous.

The bell itself contained no energy, but for some reason, it drew his eyes again and again. Along with that pull came a heavy sense of foreboding, so unpleasant he wanted to crush it on the spot.

‘Merlin…’

Just in case, he glanced at Merlin. As expected, she still hadn’t regained consciousness, only breathing faintly.

‘I want to leave it here, but taking it is better.’

The Demon Spear Society and Eden had chased Merlin all the way here to reclaim this bell. If it could be used to hurt those bastards, then it was right to take it, no matter how sinister it felt.

– “Hmm…”

Wrath frowned, rolling the bead in his gaze from side to side.

‘What is it? Do you know this bead?’

Raon held the crimson bead out to Wrath, who looked oddly troubled.

– “No. I don’t know it at all.”

Wrath shook his head firmly, saying it was the first time he’d ever seen it.

‘Then why are you groaning?’

– “It’s strange…”

He smacked his lips, eyes still fixed on the bead.

– “It smells like someone this King hates.”

Wrath grimaced, saying a foul stench was mixed in with the bead’s ominousness.

‘Someone you hate? Lust?’

– “I don’t hate her, I just dont like her, but there’s someone who disgusts this King even more on instinct.”

He shook his head, saying it wasn’t Lust.

‘Then who?’

– “I don’t know…”

Just as Wrath lowered his eyebrows, still unsure whether it was merely similar or the real thing—

Rumble!

A massive bolt of lightning crashed down onto the field where Mark Gorton was.

‘I have to move.’

Mark Gorton’s condition had already worsened, and that lightning strike had made it critical. This wasn’t the time to keep talking to Wrath.

‘Mark Gorton’s condition is bad, but…’

The Fallen One must have already sensed the Demon Slayer Spear’s death.

Someone like The Fallen One would definitely feel the death of a spear he’d brainwashed. Raon needed to get as far away as possible before that bastard arrived.

“Blood Horn.”

Raon slipped the bead into his uniform pocket and called out to Blood Horn, who stood beside the Demon Slayer Spear.

“Your master asked me to take you, but I’ll follow your choice.”

Raon spoke on, trusting that Blood Horn could understand human speech.

“If you want to stay by your master’s side, I’ll leave you here. What will you do?”

He didn’t expect much. He was the one who’d killed Blood Horn’s master. Still, he met the warhorse’s gaze.

Neigh.

Blood Horn stared at him for a moment, as if weighing his words, then slowly lowered his body and pressed his forehead to the dead Demon Slayer Spear.

With eyes closing, as though offering a final farewell, Blood Horn remained still for a heartbeat. Then he opened them, rose, and stepped forward.

Raon was tall for a martial artist, but Blood Horn was so massive he couldn’t help looking up.

Neigh!

Blood Horn stopped in front of him and dipped his head, offering its forehead.

‘Does he want me to touch him?’

Raon narrowed his eyes and brushed the back of his hand across Blood Horn’s forehead.

Whoaaaaaa!

A red circle like a blazing sun flared into existence on the back of his hand. At the same time, a strange joy surged through him, as if Blood Horn’s soul had connected to his own.

Neigh.

Blood Horn lowered its head again. Contrary to what Raon had expected, it seemed grateful—grateful that the Demon Slayer Spear had fallen as a martial artist.

“You’ll follow me?”

Raon nodded at Blood Horn.

Neigh.

Blood Horn slowly closed and opened its large eyes, as if answering yes.

“Then I look forward to working with you.”

Raon climbed onto the saddle with Merlin in his arms.

“Let’s go. Full speed.”

At Raon’s pull on the reins, Blood Horn snapped its fiery mane up as if it had never been exhausted, kicked off the ground, and tore through the forest.

Whoosh!

Rather than the mournful neigh of a warhorse forced to accept a new master, Blood Horn wore the expression of a general leaving the battlefield after a satisfying fight, a faint smile lingering on its face.

Thud!

As Mark Gorton’s sword flashed blue, the wall of monsters blocking his path collapsed in an instant.

But Eden’s Fiends and monsters surged back up as if resurrected and charged again. The endless wave made it feel like trying to scoop seawater with a gourd.

Slash!

Mark Gorton cut down monsters and Crimson Twin Demons alike, then stepped back.

‘Damn it! It’s endless!’

No matter how many times they were cut down, they kept pressing forward to force their way into the forest. They showed no fear even as corpses piled high. It was like fighting puppets that refused to stop moving.

‘It’s getting hard to hold on…’

Perhaps because he’d forced his way past the entrance to the Grand Master realm in an instant, his internal and external wounds weren’t healing. He was enduring on sheer awakened will, but his limit was close.

‘Before that…’

Mark Gorton turned his gaze, biting his lip.

‘I have to find the commander.’

Before his flame went out, he needed to kill the one maintaining the Net of Heaven and Earth, to open a path for Raon’s escape.

‘Where the hell is he?’

Given how quickly the formation shifted and how relentlessly lightning magic rained down, the commander was definitely inside the Net of Heaven and Earth. Yet no matter how he searched, he couldn’t pinpoint the bastard’s position.

‘Damn it…’

Just as Mark Gorton bared his teeth while cutting down a monster charging like a bison—

Kugugugugung!

A tremor and explosion shook the ground. Flames surged from within the forest as if to pierce the sky.

‘The fight is getting fierce.’

Raon’s aura reached even here. The battle in the forest must have hit its limit as well.

‘Even Raon-nim can’t bring down a Transcendent that easily.’

Raon might come out badly injured. Mark Gorton had to break this encirclement, no matter what.

Slash!

He cut down more Fiends and spread his Aura Sense again, but still couldn’t find any human with distinct energy.

‘Did he use invisibility magic? Or disguise himself as a monster?’

He scoffed at his own thought—and then froze.

‘Disguise…? Could it be…’

When the idea hit, he remembered something: the commander’s voice had sounded awkward when directing the Crimson Twin Demons, the Black Soul Demon, and the White Wolf Demon. Goosebumps crawled up his spine.

‘That’s it.’

That’s why he couldn’t find him.

Mark Gorton smacked his lips and swept his gaze across the battlefield. This time, he didn’t look at masked executives or helmeted figures. He looked only at the monsters.

Gooooooo!

He brushed aside the drooling Fiends rushing him and expanded his Aura Sense again. Having forcibly leapt past the entrance of the Grand Master realm, his senses already covered the entire field.

‘I have a clue, but it’s still not enough.’

He understood how the bastard was hiding, but the commander was too cunning. Even Aura Sense wouldn’t easily reveal him.

‘Then…’

I’ll have to show an opening.

Mark Gorton exhaled slowly and gathered the little aura he had left into the Jade Dragon Sword.

“Annoying bastards! Get out of my way!”

He roared and swung the Jade Dragon Sword into the wave of monsters. The sword’s energy surged out like a divine dragon, sweeping in all directions.

Kwaaaaaaa!

The Blue Thunder Sword Art technique, Crushing Lightning Strike, erased not only the monsters in front of him, but the Fiends behind them as well.

“Hoo…”

But because it was a strike unleashed with everything he had, his body locked up as if stiffened.

Pajijijijijik!

As if waiting for that exact moment, red lightning fell from above and a blue spear erupted from the ground.

Kwaaaaaaa!

Mark Gorton raised a wall of aura to block the red lightning and the icy spear.

Yet he couldn’t fully disperse the impact. Crimson blood burst from his mouth. The wounds he’d barely restrained tore open again, soaking his uniform.

‘The damage is severe.’

His aura was drained from that full-force strike, and his reopened wounds sent pain pulsing through his skull.

‘But…’

Mark Gorton bit down on blood-smeared lips and straightened his bent knees.

‘I found him.’

He drew a breath as if it would be his last and charged into the monster swarm on the far side of the forest.

Paaaaaa!

He tore through countless monsters and brought the Jade Dragon Sword down on a Kobold Shaman who was staring blankly at the sky.

Kwaaaaaaa!

A kobold should have been shredded like paper under that strike, but the shaman raised a thick wall of mana and blocked it.

[H-how…?]

The Kobold Shaman’s eyes widened as if it couldn’t believe its identity had been exposed.

“There were plenty of hints.”

Mark Gorton pressed down with the Jade Dragon Sword and twisted his lips.

“It was strange. The voice giving orders to the White Wolf Demon sounded unnaturally awkward, like a human forcing the words out.”

When the commander had ordered the White Wolf Demon into the forest, the tone had been clumsy—clumsier than a child’s. Mark Gorton hadn’t thought much of it then, but now it was obvious. The bastard wasn’t human, so it spoke like that.

“And none of the executives were giving commands.”

He’d looked across all of Eden’s executives here, but none seemed skilled enough to coordinate the battlefield, and none were actually issuing orders. That was why he’d suspected the commander wasn’t among humans at all.

[T-then…!]

The Kobold Shaman’s green lips trembled as if it finally understood.

“That’s right. So I deliberately showed an opening.”

Mark Gorton nodded, saying the lightning strike had revealed the commander’s position.

[D-damn it!]

The Kobold Shaman ground its sharp teeth, furious at its own mistake.

[Even if you figured it out, it’s too late! You’ll die here!]

It called monsters and Eden executives to strike from behind while still trying to hold Mark Gorton back.

“As expected of Eden. Giving monsters this much capability… but…”

Mark Gorton looked down at the Kobold Shaman and shook his head.

“You’re finished too.”

At point-blank range, he unleashed a Sword Strike—into the Kobold Shaman as it tried to build an even thicker wall of mana.

Kwaaaaaaa!

The Jade Dragon Sword, wrapped in blue light, shattered the shaman’s shield and cleaved its body in two.

[I-I… to a human like you…!]

The Kobold Shaman’s eyes trembled in disbelief. Then it vomited blood and collapsed into the cracked ground.

Kiyaaaaaaa!

Kuaaaaaaa!

With the Kobold Shaman commanding the Net of Heaven and Earth dead, the monsters scattered like lost children or began tearing into each other.

Eden’s Fiends that had been charging Mark Gorton were forced to retreat without even reaching him, battered back by the rampaging monsters. With the swarm now fighting itself, he no longer needed to focus on them.

“Haa…”

Mark Gorton wiped the dark blood from his mouth and smiled faintly.

‘It’s over.’

He’d dismantled the Net of Heaven and Earth before Raon emerged. A small sense of relief settled in him, as though he’d kept his oath.

‘Now…’

I need to go to my Lord.

Mark Gorton lifted legs that felt heavy as if soaked through with water and headed toward the forest.

‘Even like this, I can still help.’

By any measure, he should retreat in his condition. But if he could land a surprise attack with what strength remained, he might create an opening for Raon. He had to go.

Gooooooo!

Just as Mark Gorton was about to enter the forest, a cool wind swept over his head.

He raised his gaze slowly.

A man wearing a green snake helmet floated in the air, as if standing on the very wind.

‘Green Snake Demon!’

It was the Eden executive who kept returning no matter how many times he died.

“What a mess.”

Green Snake Demon snorted, releasing an ominous aura.

“Keuk…”

Mark Gorton’s grip on the Jade Dragon Sword trembled. That man wasn’t someone he could handle even at full strength.

“I’ll kill you first, before that bastard comes out.”

Green Snake Demon extended a hand. His fingertips shot toward Mark Gorton’s neck as if they’d become blades.

‘Ah…’

He saw the attack clearly—and still couldn’t stop it. Death carved itself into his mind. A prickling sensation stabbed through his back, and an old memory surfaced.

Whoosh!

Raon’s sword strike during concentration enhancement training—one he hadn’t been able to dodge—overlapped with the reality in front of him.

‘It’s strong and fast. But…’

Not as good as the Lord’s sword!

Mark Gorton twisted his body and threw himself to the right. A split-second decision that pushed past death itself. Thanks to the realm of transcendence he’d tasted through Raon, he barely avoided the Transcendent’s attack.

“Huh? You avoided that?”

Green Snake Demon let out a hollow breath, stunned.

“You’re that bastard’s subordinate. Then I’ll give you proper treatment.”

He clicked his tongue, displeased, and drew his sword.

Clang!

The blade came in sharp and clean—but this time there was nowhere to run. Death rushed straight for his chest.

‘So this is it.’

Mark Gorton didn’t let his lips droop even as the sword approached, ready to pierce him.

‘No regrets.’

He’d blocked the way as promised. He’d even broken the Net of Heaven and Earth. He didn’t want anything more than that.

All he wanted was for Raon to return safely.

He stared at the sword descending like a final verdict.

Dududududu!

Just before the blue blade could pierce his chest and split his heart, a thunderous clatter of hooves erupted behind him.

Before the sound even fully reached his ears, a red-gold flash filled his vision.

Clang!

A slash burning with golden flames slammed into Green Snake Demon’s sword and forced it back.

“This is…”

Before Mark Gorton could even turn around, he saw a massive horse—and a blond swordsman atop it—standing between him and death.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Raon nodded, as if acknowledging everything he’d endured. Just hearing those words from the Lord he served made all the hardship and pain of this battle feel as if it had been blown away.

“I’ll take it from here.”

Raon smacked his lips briefly as he looked at Green Snake Demon clutching his wrist—and at the monsters piling up behind him.

“As quickly as possible.”