Chapter 993

               

“Raon Zieghart….”

Green Snake Demon trembled, his eyes reflecting Raon as if he’d been struck by shock.

“You killed the Demon Slayer Spear?”

He bit his lip hard as he looked at Blood Horn, the Demon Slayer Spear’s beloved warhorse.

“……”

Raon didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his gaze to Mark Gorton behind him.

“You finally achieved it.”

Mark Gorton hadn’t betrayed his faith. Here, he’d awakened and reached the realm of Grand Master.

Seeing him settle into a higher realm than Burren, Martha, and Runaan had upon their own awakenings, it felt like the reward for all those years—never abandoning the sword even when his skill didn’t improve—had finally arrived.

“It’s all thanks to the Lord believing in me.”

Mark Gorton didn’t even wipe the blood flowing from his wounds. He bowed his head, saying it was all thanks to Raon.

“If it weren’t for the Lord, I would still be….”

“I know you have a lot to say, but let’s finish cleaning up this place first.”

Raon smiled faintly and waved his hand.

“Please take care of her.”

Raon dismounted Blood Horn and handed Merlin over to Mark Gorton.

“Ugh….”

Mark Gorton let out a low groan as he looked at Merlin’s condition, her body riddled with spear wounds.

“I will protect her with my life.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Raon calmly lowered his hand and drew the Heavenly Drive.

“Not a single thing will go your way.”

Saying no one would reach him, he stepped toward Green Snake Demon.

“Green Snake Demon.”

Raon lifted his chin slightly.

“I’m tired of seeing that snake helmet.”

From the golden snake mask he’d seen at the Eden branch to the Green Snake Demon who’d attacked Sephia, he’d faced four different snake helmets by color. Now, just seeing one made him annoyed.

“I let you go in Sephia, but you won’t have that luck today.”

He’d spared him in Sephia to minimize damage, but he had no intention of being lenient now.

He tightened his grip on the Heavenly Drive, vowing to kill not only Green Snake Demon, but the next snake helmet as well.

“Kuh….”

Green Snake Demon bit his lip and retreated, seemingly overwhelmed by the killing intent pouring off Raon.

Thud.

Raon advanced the same distance Green Snake Demon retreated, narrowing his eyes.

‘He hasn’t gotten any stronger.’

A fair amount of time had passed since Sephia, yet Green Snake Demon’s martial prowess hadn’t changed much.

It was as if he simply kept resurrecting. There had to be some other secret behind his persistence.

‘Before I kill him….’

– “What are you trying to do now?”

Wrath tilted his head, curious.

‘There are a few things I need to confirm.’

Raon took out the crimson bead he’d kept in his uniform pocket.

– “Green Snake Demon. Do you know what this is?”

He hooked the ring connecting the bead to his fingertip and held it out.

– “Why is that thing in your hands….”

Green Snake Demon stopped retreating, his eyes widening inside the helmet.

Kugugugugu!

Not only Green Snake Demon, but Eden’s Fiends as well revealed beast-like eyes and began drooling as they stared at the bead.

“No….”

Green Snake Demon clutched his head and let out a low breath.

“Merlin is with you, and the Demon Slayer Spear is dead, so I suppose it’s inevitable.”

He nodded heavily, as if accepting it.

“Haaa….”

Green Snake Demon’s hand trembled on his sword hilt.

“As long as you have that thing, I can’t just back down.”

He pressed his lips tight, saying he had no choice but to fight.

“We agree. I wasn’t planning on letting you go either.”

Raon chuckled and spun the bead on his finger.

“So, what is it about this bead that’s causing such a reaction?”

He tilted his chin, demanding an answer.

“You wouldn’t understand even if you knew.”

Green Snake Demon licked his lips, eyes drifting to the spear wound on Raon’s chest left by the Demon Slayer Spear.

“I will stop you here, even if it means carrying on the Demon Slayer Spear’s will.”

He openly declared his intent to exploit Raon’s injury.

“Don’t dare utter the Demon Slayer Spear’s name with your filthy mouth.”

Raon frowned, tilting his head slightly.

“Hmph!”

Green Snake Demon snorted and dropped his hand. The monsters and Eden’s Fiends behind him charged at Raon all at once.

“The Net of Heaven and Earth is gone now!”

Mark Gorton shouted that the formation’s pressure had vanished with the commander’s death.

“Understood.”

Raon nodded calmly as he watched the approaching wave.

‘The Net of Heaven and Earth is definitely broken, but….’

The monsters’ Battle Aura has become more toxic.

The overwhelming pressure was gone, but perhaps because of the bead, Eden’s Fiends were filled with desperate resolve.

“Just you wait.”

Green Snake Demon didn’t rush in. He retreated behind monsters and Fiends, hiding his presence. He wasn’t running—he was circling, waiting for an opening.

– “He’s getting uglier and uglier.”

Wrath clicked his tongue in disgust.

– “He used to at least have the decency to fight head-on!”

He snorted, saying the bastard got more pathetic every time his mask changed color.

‘I agree.’

Raon stepped forward.

Kuuuuung!

When the large monsters and Eden’s Fiends reached him, he activated Glacier and stepped in with Supreme Harmony Step

Jjeojeojeojeojeok!

The ground he stomped cracked and overturned violently, launching every charging monster and Fiend into the air.

“Ke, keep attacking!”

“We have to kill him here!”

“If you can’t use your hands, bite him with your teeth!”

Even while airborne, they threw themselves at him, desperate to land a hit.

But his strike hadn’t merely sent them flying.

Kwaddeudeudeudeuk!

Silver frost erupted from the shattered ground, freezing the monsters and Eden’s Fiends in midair into enormous ice sculptures.

It was a martial art that applied Wrath’s ultimate move, Silver Lotus Dream.

Sssseuuu.

As his view cleared with the freeze, Raon’s eyes snapped to the right.

He caught Green Snake Demon’s movement behind him, eyes burning red like the sun.

“Damn it!”

Green Snake Demon recoiled the instant their gazes met.

“There you are.”

Raon floated the Heavenly Drive into the air.

Huuuung!

Wrapped in a green wind, the Heavenly Drive rose as if alive, then dropped toward Green Snake Demon.

“Sword Control!”

Green Snake Demon stopped retreating and gripped his sword with both hands. Transcendent energy surged from his fingertips, and brilliant green light flared above the blade.

“Haaah!”

Just as he prepared to unleash a full-force Sword Strike to deflect Raon’s attack, the Heavenly Drive vanished.

“What!”

As Green Snake Demon trembled in shock, the Heavenly Drive pierced through space and reappeared, curving toward his chest.

Raon Zieghart Style Swordsmanship.

Seventh Form, Void Slash.

A Sword Strike that had elevated Aris’s Spatial Severance and Rimmer’s Garunua to an even higher level pierced through Green Snake Demon’s counter and struck straight at his weakness.

“Damn it!”

As befitting a Transcendent, Green Snake Demon recognized the flow of Void Slash and stepped back to the right, raising a wall of aura.

But the Heavenly Drive followed Raon’s will, tracking Green Snake Demon’s movement without missing a beat.

Pueooooeok!

Wrapped in refreshing green wind, the Heavenly Drive pierced through the final wall of aura and drilled into Green Snake Demon’s chest.

“Keuheoeok!”

Green Snake Demon froze, vomiting black blood. He couldn’t withstand the crushing weight of the Heavenly Drive—weight heavy enough to break a Transcendent’s will—and collapsed to one knee.

“Speak.”

Raon approached, raising the crimson bead.

“What is this bead?”

“…I don’t know. And even if I did, I couldn’t tell you.”

Green Snake Demon shook his head, blood spilling from his lips. Even with the cold, wind-filled sword lodged in his chest, he didn’t open his mouth.

“Then what is your identity? Why do you keep coming back to life?”

Raon frowned and asked his second question.

“I think I’ve said it before….”

Green Snake Demon shook his head with difficulty.

“You’ll find out soon. This time, for real….”

He grinned, as if this death still wasn’t the end.

“Okay. Then….”

Raon pulled the Heavenly Drive out of Green Snake Demon’s chest.

“Die.”

He swung without hesitation, beheading him.

“Ah, no….”

Green Snake Demon trembled as if he hadn’t expected it so immediately, then collapsed.

‘There’s no need to waste time.’

He might have forced information out with torture, but he didn’t know when The Fallen One—or another Transcendent from Eden—might arrive. Escaping came first.

“To take down a Transcendent so easily….”

Mark Gorton let out a disbelieving chuckle. Having clashed with Green Snake Demon before, he seemed even more shaken.

“Get on.”

Raon mounted Blood Horn again and gestured to Mark Gorton.

“Ah, no. I’ll just use my legs….”

“It’ll be faster to ride.”

Blood Horn was faster than Mark Gorton at full sprint, and with those injuries, riding was the better choice.

“Ah, understood.”

Mark Gorton rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, then climbed up.

“Let’s go!”

Even before Raon could shake the reins, Blood Horn seemed to read his intent and kicked off, galloping across the field.

Teoeoeeong!

Blood Horn crossed the field in an instant and entered the mountain Raon had climbed earlier. It moved as if it didn’t need to be told.

Kugugugugu!

Where ordinary horses slowed on an incline, Blood Horn ignored the very concept, climbing at the same speed it had on flat ground.

“Heok!”

Mark Gorton couldn’t close his gaping mouth, stunned by the speed.

‘He’s right to be surprised.’

Raon stroked Blood Horn’s mane and nodded.

‘He’s on par with a master expert.’

Its baseline speed, burst acceleration, and directional changes surpassed even a Grand Master’s, and it wasn’t hindered by terrain.

He’d never imagined a warhorse like this could exist.

– “B-but I want to ride him too.”

Wrath licked his lips, saying he wanted to ride Blood Horn himself.

‘It’s definitely refreshing and feels good.’

– “That’s not what I mean!”

Wrath frowned as if that wasn’t it.

‘Then what?’

Raon looked at Wrath and rolled his eyes.

– “Isn’t the horse big and fancy? He’s perfect for me!”

Wrath drooled, captivated by Blood Horn’s elegant appearance.

– “He doesn’t suit you, so hand him over to me! I’ll take good care of him!”

‘Haa….’

Raon sighed briefly and shook his head.

– “Why aren’t you answering? You didn’t really want him anyway, did you!”

Ignoring Wrath’s shouts, he turned to Mark Gorton.

“Congratulations.”

He nodded, acknowledging Mark Gorton’s achievement.

“It’s really all thanks to the Lord.”

Mark Gorton bit his lip and bowed his head.

“If the Lord hadn’t accepted me, I’d still be stuck in a bar.”

He smiled bitterly, saying he would’ve ended up selling his soul for petty cash after abandoning the sword.

“No. This realm isn’t something I gave you. It’s something you earned yourself.”

Raon shook his head.

“Not everyone has the courage to kneel before someone younger and beg to be accepted. And not everyone has the will to keep the promise they make to themselves afterward.”

He still remembered their first meeting clearly.

A man whose body and mind had both been broken becoming a martial artist like this wasn’t because Raon taught well. It was because Mark Gorton himself had made death-defying efforts.

Raon had helped, but he didn’t want to belittle the growth Mark Gorton had carved out with his own hands.

“…Thank you.”

Mark Gorton lowered his head, trembling as if he understood.

“From now until I die. No, even after I die, I will serve the Lord.”

He raised his fist and struck his chest, renewing his vow.

“You’ll have even more to do from now on.”

Raon told him to keep it up, then looked ahead again.

Tududududu!

Blood Horn had already reached the summit and was beginning the descent.

‘Once we cross this mountain, I should call Larian.’

Raon licked his lips as he looked down the slope.

‘His condition probably isn’t good either.’

Larian had used magic even Chamber couldn’t to send Raon and Mark Gorton here.

It must have been a burden, especially since even a Transcendent needed around thirty minutes of preparation to cast such magic.

For his sake, it would be best to leave this sorcery-filled land and ask for help.

‘But….’

As Blood Horn descended, Raon took the crimson bead from his pocket again.

‘What is this bead, really?’

They’d even deployed the Net of Heaven and Earth to track Merlin. Green Snake Demon had attacked instead of retreating. All of it was because of this bead.

He didn’t know what it was, but it was clearly important.

‘Is it really a sacred object of Eden…?’

It was as Raon shook the silent bead, eyes narrowing—

– “Dodge!”

Huuuuk!

Even before Wrath’s shout fully landed, brilliant light flashed across the dark sky.

White and black. Dozens of streaks pierced his senses and rained down from above.

Chiaaaaaang!

To protect Merlin and Mark Gorton, and Blood Horn as well, Raon drew the Heavenly Drive and floated the Wooden Wheel Sword with Sword Control, raising two layers of Flame Wall.

But the falling flashes pierced through the Flame Wall and struck his chest and Blood Horn’s legs.

Peobeobeobeobeok!

Raon was thrown from Blood Horn and tumbled down the mountain.

“Damn it….”

He didn’t even think to stop the blood pouring from the wound in his chest. He forced his head up.

Huuuuk.

On the ground below, Mark Gorton was coughing blood and trembling. Blood Horn leaned against a tree, one leg seemingly broken, letting out pained cries.

‘Me, Merlin….’

Raon turned his head with difficulty. Merlin lay collapsed beneath a rock to the left, red blood welling from her chest. The wound that had barely closed seemed to have reopened.

“Merlin!”

Using the Heavenly Drive like a cane, Raon forced himself upright. Just as he tried to put strength into his legs and rush to her, the black sky split open and brilliant light bloomed.

A monster wearing the mask of a handsome young man descended from that sacred yet eerie radiance.

The Fallen One.

(T/N : Oh man. Please give Raon a break! Gaddamit)

Eden’s leader had arrived, blocking his path.

“You’ve done something flashy again.”

The Fallen One smiled warmly, raising a hand over a gray robe embroidered with devil horns and angel wings.

“Sword Emperor Raon Zieghart.”

A pale white hand, as if it had never seen sunlight, stretched out to seize Raon’s neck.

Tukwaaaaaang!

A pure white magic circle surged up around Raon, Merlin, and Mark Gorton, blasting The Fallen One’s hand away.

Uuuuuung!

A blond woman in a loose robe stepped out of the magic circle and stood in front of The Fallen One as if shielding them.

Magic Tower Lord Larian.

Her blue eyes—usually lazy and bored—now flashed sharply, like the edge of a famous sword.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Larian turned her gaze to Raon and nodded slightly.

“I had to prepare a bit. And….”

She raised a dagger tinged blue, pointing it at The Fallen One, whose smile hadn’t faded.

“I was choosing the tools to dissect that guy.”

Larian took a bold step toward The Fallen One, as if telling Raon to trust her from here on out. Mana unfolded beneath her quiet steps, and the entire mountain trembled.

Kugugugugugu!

(T/N : We finally get to see how Larian fights! )