Chapter 292

Rip!

With the loud sound of an entire book being ripped apart, a diamond shaped blue fissure in the space opened all the way to the sky. Wrath made his appearance in a dimension that was as turbulent as the ocean.

Whir!

Wrath was looking down on the world, clad with absolute power—befitting his title of Monarch of Wrath.

"Hmm…"

Raon frowned while watching Wrath cross dimensions.

'But why is he the same as before? No, more importantly… Why is he so big?'

Wrath looked like blue cotton candy, just like always, but he was a bit bigger than before. No, it was correct to say that he was a lot bigger than before. He was about a hundred times as big as he usually was when he popped out of the ice flower bracelet.

"Uah!"

As soon as he entered the dimension, he couldn't keep his balance and fell on the ground with an unsightly scream.

Rumble!

He must've also gotten heavier after getting bigger, since the entire space trembled from his fall.

"Kuh…"

Wrath raised his head slightly, his brow furrowed.

"You are such a snail! What have you even been doing for this to last for so long?!"

He could hear Wrath's voice for the first time. His voice entered through his ears instead of ringing inside his head.

"And where is the lizard? I want some roasted dragon since it's been a while."

'Wait, did you mean that you literally ate dragons when you said it back then?'

Raon laughed bitterly. He thought it was a figure of speech to say that he'd won against a dragon, but he apparently really ate one. He couldn't understand why he wasn't the monarch of gluttony no matter how he thought about it.

"Stop staring at me and talk. Where's the dragon? The King of Essence wants some healthy food!"

"He's beneath you."

Raon shook his head and pointed to the ground.

"What?"

"You just landed on him."

Loctar must not have expected the blue cotton candy to fall down right after it made its appearance, as he ended up crushed under Wrath's belly.

Judging from the faint blue energy rising from him, he must've still been alive at least. Raon felt relieved, because being crushed to death by a cotton candy's belly would've been such a miserable death.

"Hmm?"

Wrath licked his lips while lowering his gaze.

"A dragon waffle?"

Wrath was completely insane, no matter how Raon thought about it.

"Haa…"

Raon sighed and looked up at Wrath.

"Why do you look like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm asking why you still look like cotton candy when souls are supposed to regain their shapes in this space."

"Cotton candy? What is cotton candy?"

Wrath started asking about cotton candy instead of answering his question.

"It's candy made by heating up thick sugar and turning it into a thin thread. It's then bundled up like cotton. It looks exactly like you right now."

"Is it delicious?"

"..."

He wasn't too surprised, since he expected him to ask that question.

"It just tastes like sugar."

"The King of Essence will need to try it out in the future."

Wrath licked his lips once again.

"More importantly, I'm asking you why you look like cotton candy instead of your supposedly beautiful and amazing appearance?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Wrath frowned, treating it like a stupid question.

"This world is the result of a clash between the walls of the minds of you and the lizard. It would've been strange if the King of Essence regained his appearance here."

"But your wrath is dwelling in my soul."

"It's thanks to your wrath that the King of Essence managed to gain such a fine appearance."

He smiled while looking at his plump arm. He seemed rather satisfied with his body, which had grown bigger than before.

"Huh…"

Raon gasped while looking at Wrath. It was impossible to understand what cotton candy was thinking.

"Seriously, you…"

Just as he was about to start talking to Wrath once again—

Rumble!

The land started to tremble and Wrath sprung up into the air.

"Kwaaaa!"

Loctar shouted and unleashed a tremendous amount of coldness and despair from below Wrath.

"How dare you ambush me, you coward!"

Loctar ground his teeth while glaring at Wrath, who was sent flying into the air.

"I'll tear your lump of flesh into pieces!"

His eyes were overflowing with madness. Getting run over by Wrath's belly must've been shocking to him.

"You aren't even a proper lizard. That's so much arrogance coming from a halfling."

Wrath glared at Loctar while floating in the air.

"What are you waiting for? Take care of him already, as the King of Essence's servant!"

"Do you wanna make a bet, since we haven't done it for a while?"

Raon smiled while pointing at Loctar.

"Bet? What kind of bet are you talking about?"

"Let's bet on who can neutralize him first."

"You arrogant bastard! Do you truly believe you can defeat the King of Essence?!"

"But I've been defeating you my entire life."

"Kuh…"

His words pierced Wrath's heart and his lips trembled, as he was unable to refute them.

"Fine! I accept that bet!"

"Don't kill him because I have something to ask him. You only win if you manage to make him surrender before I do."

"I know!"

A message appeared in front of his eyes right after he said that. It was the bet message, which he hadn't seen for a long time.

[Wrath is suggesting a bet.

Condition: Be the first one to make the draconian surrender.

Upon victory: +10 in all stats, rank up of two traits.

Upon loss: 25 points of emotion of Wrath.]

Raon nodded after checking the message.

"I accept."

As soon as he voiced out his consent, the message disappeared.

"A bet? You dare look down on me!"

Loctar ground his teeth violently while glaring at Raon and Wrath.

"As long as I'm inside this space, I won't lose to anyone!"

He drew his sword and dazzling light burst from the blade.

"You should stay back!"

"You stay back!"

However, Raon and Wrath shook their hands at Loctar and looked at each other instead.

"Despite how he looks, he's far stronger than you. Do you really believe you can do it?"

Wrath sneered. However, Raon didn't really feel angry, probably because he looked like a large cotton candy.

"It was you who taught me."

"The King of Essence did? What did he teach you?"

"That willpower and imagination are the most important factors in a fight like this."

Since the world was the representation of the fight he usually had in his body, he was confident he wouldn't lose anyone as long as he maintained a firm will and soul.

"I'm the one who won't lose to anyone here."

A heated smile appeared on Raon's face as he raised Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.

"Hmph, you won't even get an opportunity!"

Wrath lightly waved his hand. The simple wave of his hand completely froze the ground under Loctar's feet.

Creak!

The ice was powerful enough to freeze a draconian, who was supposed to possess an extreme resistance against coldness. It was an unbelievable display of power.

Whap!

When Glacier's coldness—created by Wrath—was about to freeze Loctar alive, a powerful flame burst out to remove all of the frost.

"Kuh!"

"You can't do that."

Raon was smiling, Heavenly Drive extended forward.

"You are getting in the way!"

"You never said that I wasn't allowed to disturb you."

"It's still meaningless!"

Wrath's eyes sparked blue, and thousands—and even tens of thousands—of icy blades appeared in the air.

Whaam!

The blades fell down in no time towards Raon and Loctar at the same time.

Raon thrust Heavenly Drive forward. Thousands of flower buds were created in the direction the sword was pointing before blooming with red.

The cluster of fire flowers filling the space melted down every single one of Wrath's ice blades.

'I really can do it.'

He would lose to Wrath in a single strike if it were a real fight, but the particularity of the space allowed him to stop Wrath.

'Nothing has changed from before.'

The battle they were having was the exact same as the clash of their souls. Using the Ring of Fire to increase his soul level allowed him to easily trample on the demon king.

Raon curved his lips into a thin smile while watching Wrath's frown.

'A demon king and a draconian. So many healthy meals for me.'

White Blood Religion Leader's Audience Chamber

The sound coming from the large room, where white and red colors were creating a beautiful harmony, was similar to a woman's moan.

"Aaah."

The sound was coming from midair. The ring and the glass bottle containing the Continent Chaser Fragrance were floating in the air, surrounded by a white energy.

"..."

Dorian was staring blankly at the slow rotation of the glass bottle and the ring while standing next to a pillar on the right.

Thud!

The ring and the glass bottle finally stopped spinning, and the white energy surrounding them started to draw a strange pattern in the air.

"Hmm."

The White Blood Religion leader's heated breath could be heard, the red curtain swaying on the platform.

"It took a while."

Her glamorous gaze brushed past the ring and the glass bottle, and she examined the white pattern floating in the air.

"I see."

She raised her long leg to rest her chin on her knee and smiled gently.

"He seems to be taken away to an interesting place."

She bobbed her finger and the ring and the glass bottle slowly fell into Dorian's hand.

Step.

Quiet footsteps could be heard from outside of the audience chamber, and the tenth apostle opened the door before entering the room.

"Have you finished?"

"I managed to get a rough estimation of his location."

She nodded slowly while looking at the tenth apostle.

"Was the Demon Night White Chasing Spell not enough to find his exact location?"

"They must be hiding him behind a thick barrier."

She drew a circle with her finger, and a map of the continent appeared in the air. One location on the map was sparkling white, near the merchant city Cameloon.

"Cameloon?"

The tenth apostle's eyes widened upon seeing the light sparkling from Cameloon.

"No way, is Eden actually based in Cameloon?"

"They must be in the vicinity."

The White Blood Religion's leader shook her head while smoothing her hand down her neck.

"But three out of six kings are currently involved with Cameloon…"

"That would've made it even easier for them to hide there."

"Ah!"

The tenth apostle nodded slightly, realizing why that would be the case.

"It must be because they are keeping each other in check."

"Correct. They are allied under the name of the Six Kings, but they are always keeping each other in check."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"But such boldness isn't exactly common. They are smart and bold at the same time. It must be 'his' doing."

She slowly raised herself up as if she were bored of life.

"Are you going to go there in person?"

"Yes, because I don't think you will be enough for the task."

Even though she was belittling his ability, the tenth apostle didn't show any reaction. The religion's leader was pretty much a god to him. He believed that there must've been a good reason behind it if the god said he wouldn't be enough.

"I'll make the preparations."

The tenth apostle bowed and left the room.

"It would be nice if he became even more polished…"

The White Blood Religion's leader smiled glamorously towards Dorian, who was standing with the ring and the glass bottle in his hand.

"You should come with me."

* * *

Loctar's chin was trembling as he raised his head.

Wham!

A young human boy and a monster that looked like a cloud were in the middle of a frightening battle as they spread fire and ice towards each other.

'Th-There's no mistaking it. It's that man's coldness!'

He was certain that the cloud-like monster's energy was the same as Lohengreen's coldness, which made his time to stop.

'However…'

Even though the coldness was even more powerful than Lohengreen's, it helplessly melted down upon facing the young human's flame.

'That young boy is even worse than the monster.'

Loctar swallowed nervously while watching Raon's fight. He couldn't understand how he could possess such a great willpower and high level soul when he didn't even look like he was twenty years old yet.

'No, that's not the important part right now. This is an opportunity for me. It's my opportunity to kill both of them at once.'

He figured that a surprise attack while they were fighting against each other would allow him to accomplish his revenge against Lohengreen and take over Raon's body at the same time.

He kept polishing his willpower non-stop after he woke up in order to take his revenge against Lohengreen and protect the princess. It was time to show the results.

'I'll make you regret underestimating me. No, you won't even get to regret it, because you are going to disappear right away!'

Loctar unleashed his true soul. His body sparked blue and returned to the shape of a blue dragon.

Rumble!

He gathered the power of his soul and the emotion of despair from the height where humans looked even smaller than worms.

Ice breath. All of the willpower he'd been accumulating up to that point exploded with the strongest attack he'd received from his father.

Swaa!

The extreme coldness pouring from Loctar's large jaw engulfed Raon and Wrath.

Although they were unleashing fire and frost towards each other, they stopped their fight and turned to look at him with frowns on their faces.

"You are being annoying."

"How dare you, you scum!"

Raon and Wrath's eyes were filled with anger over having their fight interrupted.

"I told you to stay quietly in a corner since it's none of your business!"

The energies of different colors gushed from their fists, tearing Loctar's ice breath into pieces in a second.

Smack!

The tremendous amount of coldness and heat mingled with each other in a spiral and smashed violently into Loctar's chest.

Thud!

Despite his large body, he was sent flying like a piece of paper and slammed into the ground.

"Kuh!"

His mind became hazy and he closed his eyes while watching Raon and Wrath, who continued their fight without even looking at him.

"Those crazy bastards…"

'It is my business though…'

* * *

Raon smiled while pointing at Loctar, who had fainted with his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

"You saw how he just collapsed, right? I won the bet."

"What kind of bullshit are you spouting?! The King of Essence's ice was what shattered his mind!"

"My flame did it before your ice."

"Bullshit! The King of Essence's ice was about a handspan faster! Your flame reached him way later than mine!"

"It was mine."

"It wasn't!"

Wrath violently shook his head, saying that it was definitely not the case. Raon could only laugh because he still looked like cotton candy.

"Kuh, whatever. The King of Essence will take this opportunity to defeat you and engrave his wrath into your soul."

"Are you sure about that?"

Raon tilted his head and snickered.

"I have the upper hand in this space."

"Hmph! It doesn't matter!"

Wrath snorted, a blue glare shooting from his eyes.

"It's a simple task to defeat you as long as the King of Essence uses his true power!"

"True power?"

Raon narrowed his eyes upon seeing Wrath's confident nod.

"Indeed. He can't unleash all of his willpower in this form. He is going to show you the true form of the King of Essence that everyone in Devildom admired."

Wrath opened his hands. His frost spread all over the place, gathering to the center as his size started to decrease. He must've been returning to his original shape, the shape from when he was revered as the demon king.

Rumble!

As his size became smaller and the coldness was condensed, his power was growing exponentially. The tremendous amount of ice and the emotion of wrath was endlessly pouring out of him.

"But you know."

Raon snickered and walked up to Wrath.

"There's no reason for me to wait for your transformation to end."

He spoke and kicked Wrath's body at the same time at full power, since his body was curled up into a sphere because he was trying to transform.

Smaack!

Along with the sound of an exploding rubber ball, Wrath's body soared into the sky.

"Kuaah! Wh-What do you think you are doing right now?"

Wrath widened his eyes and screamed.

"Why would you attack when he said he would return to his original form?"

"Why not?"

Raon kicked the falling Wrath once again, sending him flying into Loctar's face.

"Kuah!"

"Uhh…"

Wrath and Loctar groaned at once from the collision.

"This is fun."

Raon ran up to him with a smile on his face and smacked him. Along with a bang, Wrath bounced on the ground like a skipping stone and slammed into the collapsed castle wall.

Whaam!

Wrath violently swayed his hands inside the completely destroyed wall.

"Hey! You lunatic!"

Wrath screamed while quickly blinking his eyes.

"Even demons don't attack during transformations! They at least give their opponent time to gather power!"

"But I'm not a demon."

Raon even used footwork to reach him faster, smacking Wrath's face before he finished his transformation.

"Kuaah…"

Wrath swayed left and right like a sandbag from getting hit with both fists, and he was unable to recover his senses.

"Y-You fiend. No, you are even worse than a fiend…"

Smack! Smack!

Loctar trembled in fear as he watched Raon beat Wrath to a pulp with a smile on his face.

'He's the real deal. A real madman!'

Loctar had seen countless humans in his long life alongside Merlin, but he'd never seen anyone like him before.

That unyielding willpower and cruelty. Chills ran down his spine from his fear of the true monster.

'Princess… Why did you have to send a monster like that?!'

Loctar started to resent Merlin instead, since defying Raon wasn't even an option at that point. He couldn't imagine himself winning against the monster, no matter what he tried.

"Damn it…"

The moment he surrendered from the bottom of his heart and put his hands on the ground, a message appeared in front of Raon's eyes.

[You've won the bet against Wrath.]

Raon stopped his hands upon seeing the message.

"Oh?"

"Gasp!"

Wrath was coughing up blood while looking at the message, since he had almost fainted from Raon's barrage.

"Th-This is unfair! The King of Essence will never acknowledge this result! He started attacking during the transformation!"

Wrath used the small interval where Raon's fists stopped moving to twist his body and explode all of the coldness in his body at the same time.

Whaam!

The blue frost soared into the sky with a majestic radiance.

"Finally."

Raon's mind and soul trembled upon hearing a voice filled with powerful wrath and coldness.

Rumble!

A long, human shape made its appearance from the blue storm of frost.

Whir!

A chill ran down his spine upon facing the blue glare of the existence that appeared.

"Wrath…?"