Chapter 405

Not a single trace of clouds existed above the Land of Death because of the intense energy of death, but the wind started to blow and lightning rained down.

In the midst of the storm where monsters crumbled into pieces and the Specter stepped back in fear, Rimmer was quietly standing.

Raon swallowed nervously.

'His sword field has changed.'

The previous sword field Rimmer had used was called the Eye of the Storm. It consisted of creating a windless area to decrease the opponent's power while increasing his own.

However, Rimmer's sword field had changed. The name itself was different since it was called the Song of Wind and Lightning, and the wind was blowing like crazy around him as lightning struck nonstop.

 'It's possible to change the sword field? No, it's normal that it can change.'

Rimmer once mentioned that the most important part of the sword field was the mental world of the individual. Since that world was bound to change as the person grew and gained different experiences, it could be called natural that the sword field could change.

Indeed.

Wrath nodded while watching Rimmer.

Like the King of Essence said before, the most important aspect of all kinds of martial arts, magic, and skills is image. His sword field has changed because Shitty Ears's image in his head has changed.

He raised his lips into a slight smile, saying that Rimmer had managed to achieve a rather interesting change.

Rimmer casually shook his hand to tell Raon to watch closely before he walked up to the hell pilgrim.

Raon increased his aura perception to prevent the Specter from playing his dirty tricks and focused on Rimmer.

Kuh!

The hell pilgrim seemed to have noticed that he was in a crisis as he lowered his posture and gathered his energy of death. The black astral energy bursting from his longsword looked like a burning shadow.

'I knew it. He wasn't going all out against me.'

The hell pilgrim's pressure was on a whole different level from before. He must've mustered all of his energy upon noticing the danger from Rimmer's Sword Field Creation.

"That's the correct decision."

Rimmer nodded while facing the hell pilgrim. He smiled with an easygoing attitude.

"Because you would've died right away if you didn't go all out."

Kuaaah!

The hell pilgrim slashed without the slightest hesitation. He seemed to have taken it as an insult.

Rumble!

Even though he was using a thin longsword, it felt like he was using a heavy weapon as his powerful and heavy energy wave engulfed the space, falling towards Rimmer before he suddenly disappeared.

Zap!

The hell pilgrim's sword cut through the thin air with nothing but green sparks, and Rimmer was already at his side.

'Is he using lightning and wind in his footwork?'

It was difficult to believe even though he was watching it. It almost looked like a spell like Blink instead of footwork.

Rimmer extended his left foot. His sword unraveled like silk alongside wind and lightning.

Clang!

The hell pilgrim must've been using his aura perception since he immediately reacted by raising his longsword, but he was pushed back five whole steps, unable to properly fend off the strike of wind and lightning.

"We still have a long way to go.'

Rimmer smiled coldly and dashed forward. He scratched the space with the windy blade, aiming a slash toward the hell pilgrim's neck.

Grr…

The hell pilgrim exhaled roughly and extended his longsword, which was covered in black flames that were burning from the blade.

Claaang!

Even though it was a clash between swords, the tremendous noise made it sound like the entire world was collapsing. The shockwave spreading from the explosion engulfed the space.

Zap!

When Rimmer and hell pilgrim's swords clashed, wind and lightning fell from the sky.

Rumble!

As if someone was controlling those winds and lightning, they smashed at the hell pilgrim's waist.

Grrr!

The hell pilgrim groaned in surprise and stopped trying to push Rimmer back with his sword, and then he leaped backward with footwork.

Zap!

However, the wind and lightning caught up to the hell pilgrim and continued their violent assault.

"You seem so confused."

Rimmer smiled and rushed towards the hell pilgrim from the left. His sword stretched with the power of his footsteps and sparkled like a ray of light.

Claang!

The hell pilgrim twisted his blade upwards diagonally to push Rimmer back, but lightning fell in the meantime to pierce through his thigh.

Grrr!

The hell pilgrim leaped backward and wrapped himself in a huge amount of energy of death—like armor. He'd realized that the wind and lightning around him weren't natural phenomena.

"You are getting a grasp of it, huh?"

Rimmer clicked his tongue while wagging his finger.

"All of this lightning and wind are pretty much my sword."

He smiled and pointed his sword at the hell pilgrim.

"Perish while dancing in the wind and lightning."

Rimmer turned into lightning to advance and rotated his right wrist.

His blade fell diagonally like the light coming from a setting moon to pierce the right side of the hell pilgrim's chest where his core was located.

Grrr!

The hell pilgrim growled like a beast and pushed with his heavy sword, which weighed like a great mountain.

Whaam!

The overwhelming heaviness managed to push Rimmer back, but his wind and lightning kept striking non-stop.

Rumble!

The armor of death that the hell pilgrim had made was defending against the wind and lightning, but his swaying body suggested that he was taking damage.

Zap!

Rimmer stepped back and pointed his finger. The wind and lightning intensified even further to push the hell pilgrim into a corner. The energy of death protecting him was wavering violently, and it looked like it would fade away soon enough.

Kuaaah!

The hell pilgrim couldn't keep defending anymore and dashed towards Rimmer while screaming. Heaviness wasn't the only principle in his sword anymore. It was the Destructive Sword with the power to destroy anything in his path.

"Not bad."

Rimmer didn't try to simply fend off the blow anymore and used his footwork of the wind. His body fluttered like a piece of paper in a breeze to avoid the hell pilgrim's strike.

"It's my turn now."

He didn't stop with evading, thrusting his lightning blade at the hell pilgrim's right arm.

Claang!

The hell pilgrim hurriedly pulled his longsword back to try to defend himself, but the lightning falling from above stopped his movement for an instant.

Rimmer didn't miss the opportunity and pierced through his armor of death to sever the arm.

Pssh!

The energy of death that made up the hell pilgrim's body flowed out from the cut in his forearm.

Grrr!

A painful groan came out of his mouth.

"Ignore those puny lightning strikes and focus on destroying the field!"

The Specter couldn't suppress his urge and moved his bead. Countless spheres floating into the air were the concentrated energy of death.

'You aren't allowed!'

Raon turned around and slashed upwards with the Blade of Requiem. A yellow flower bloomed from the red blade, soaring from the ground.

Whaap!

The pieces of flames of resentment scattered around to clash against the Specter's energy of death.

Whaam!

The encounter between the flame of ghastly energy and the energy of death created countless explosions.

"Raon!"

Rimmer praised him by winking at him.

'Sweat?'

His forehead and the back of his hand were extremely sweaty. He was pretending to be fine, but he didn't look like he could maintain his sword field for much longer.

"Stop bothering me!"

Grounding sound of teeth could be heard from the Specter as he looked at Raon.

However, his orders must've been properly delivered since the hell pilgrim stopped his unnecessary movement and gathered his energy while standing still.

Rumble!

He raised his longsword above his head and a huge amount of power soared from it. The endless flood of energy of death looked like he was trying to destroy the sword field in a single strike.

"You are challenging me to finish this in a single strike…"

Rimmer nodded while looking at the huge energy of death, which almost looked frightening.

"Bring it on."

He smiled and extended his sword to the side. The wind and lightning of the sword field gathered around his blade.

Raon narrowed his eyes.

'It's the same as before.'

The method of concentrating the wind and lightning was the same as his previous sword field, Eye of the Storm. He was gathering the elemental power around him in his sword.

Kuaaaah!

The hell pilgrim's sword was engulfed by not only his own energy of death but also the energy of death from the land itself.

Whaap!

The dark flame burning from his sword was almost reaching the sky.

Zap!

The power inside Rimmer's sword was also powerful, but it didn't look like it could overcome the huge dark flame of the hell pilgrim.

"Squad leader…"

"It's okay. Wait there and watch."

Raon wanted to help, but Rimmer shook his head with his usual smile on his face.

"Finish him off!"

The Specter shouted, and the hell pilgrim's hands started to move.

As he unleashed the strike with the principles of the heavy and destructive sword, the entire area felt like it would burst from the pressure.

Rumble!

When the sword field was about to collapse, Rimmer took a step forward.

"Wind and lightning are my swords."

He wasn't simply talking. The voice carried his will to resound throughout the world with a beautiful melody.

"And they can cut through anything."

The area of the sword field jolted wildly, and the ray of light soaring from him was on a whole different level from before.

Kuaaah!

The hell pilgrim intensified the energy of death upon feeling the danger in his life, and Rimmer's sword advanced like a raging storm.

Swoosh!

The dark green wind and lightning cut through the dark blade and even managed to sever the hell pilgrim's body.

Kuh…

The hell pilgrim fell on his knees with his sword snapped in half, and his bloody-looking armor started to disappear into ash.

Pssh.

With the light glimmering from Rimmer's sword, the sword field dissipated.

Raon clenched his pounding chest.

'Was this why it's called the Song of Wind and Lightning?'

He had wondered why there was the word 'song' in the name. Rimmer had amplified his final strike with a song of his will.

It was truly a special sword field that even used the power of melody, which was characteristic of elves.

'I think I'm starting to understand.'

Upon witnessing the new sword field from Rimmer, Raon got a grasp on how to use affinity and swordsmanship.

He felt like another weak flame and sword had emerged from his mental world where countless swords were stuck in the ground.

"Squad leader."

He was trying to go towards Rimmer, but his body swayed. He looked like he'd used all of his power on the sword field.

"Damn it!"

The Specter's green flaming eyes were wavering like a sailboat in the turbulent ocean. The hell pilgrim's defeat must've been completely unexpected.

"I'll kill you myself!"

However, he must've also noticed that Rimmer was exhausted, as he started to use his black bead to create a storm of death.

'The squad leader can't move right now!'

Raon used the Supreme Harmony Steps to stand in front of Rimmer.

"Fuck off!"

"You came to kill me. Don't get distracted now."

Raon unleashed the Flawless Sea of Fire with the Blade of Requiem. The tidal wave of fire welled up from the ground to clash against the storm of death falling from above.

Whaaam!

The clash between the fire and death destroyed everything in the surrounding area, and Raon pierced through the violent storm to rush toward the Specter.

"You bastard…"

The Specter tried to escape in surprise, as he didn't expect him to charge through the storm.

However, the Supreme Harmony's Second Step crushed the land and allowed Raon to approach the Specter faster than he anticipated.

Cring!

Silver coldness emanated from Raon's hand. The extended blade was engulfed in frost as it advanced towards the Specter's heart.

"Kuh!"

Like any other magician, the Specter controlled his energy of death to create a dark barrier instead of moving his body.

Claang!

Both the first and the second blades of Frost Pond were unable to break through the Specter's dark barrier and bounced off of it.

Raon couldn't regain his balance mid-air and fell toward the ground.

"You've become so much weaker."

He could hear the Specter's sneer in his voice.

"I'm going to kill you all—you, that elf, and those worms you brought with you."

He extended the black bead. A sphere brimming with the energy of death floated on it and created powerful sparks.

Rumble!

Even though it was still incomplete, the tremendous amount of energy made his heart skip a beat.

However, Raon's eyes didn't waver. A crimson spark occurred from his eyes as he turned around to glare at the Specter.

'It's working perfectly.'

He hadn't destroyed the Specter's barrier on purpose. He was showing him once again that he was weakened to bait him into being careless.

Raon put his hand in his clothes to grasp the Heaven Slaying Dagger.

'Now is my chance.'

He incorporated Glacier's coldness and the Divinity Blooming from the Underworld that he'd been saving into the Heaven Slaying Dagger.

Flawless Throw, Special Technique.

Frozen Soulstealer.

The Heaven Slaying Dagger, wrapped in extreme sharpness, turned into a silver flash of light as it rushed toward the Specter.

"A pointless struggle!"

Because the Specter had already managed to fend off Raon's strike twice, he maintained his barrier and ignored Raon to instead accelerate the concentration of power around his black bead.

However—

Smack!

The Heaven Slaying Dagger, with holy power and the principles of Frozen Soulstealer capable of piercing through the soul, broke through his barrier in an instant and pierced through the black bead and the Specter's heart at the same time.

Claang!

By the time Raon landed on the ground on his back, the black bead was shattered into pieces and the Specter could be seen falling towards the ground while coughing up blood from his mouth.

"Kuaaah!"

Unlike when Rimmer cut him into pieces, the Specter screamed in pain and grasped the hole in his chest.

Red blood and the black energy of death gushed out at the same time through his hand.

Rumble!

However, the energy of death that scattered around when the bead was destroyed, gathered around the death sphere to make it even bigger.

"Y-you idiot…"

The Specter raised his head with trembling shoulders. His lips curved into a terrifying smile as he watched the sphere get bigger and bigger.

"No one can control that anymore. A thousand years's worth of energy of death is going to explode at once, and it's going to kill you and those humans altogether."

He jeered while pointing at the people who were watching them from afar.

"It's a shame to lose the bead, but it's not too bad if I can kill all of you in return. Because I will be re—"

"Shut up."

Raon threw the other Heaven Slaying Dagger, piercing the Specter's head.

"You damned bastard…"

The Specter fell backward while groaning in resentment. He turned into ash and disappeared without even leaving his corpse behind. It was as if he'd really turned into an undead.

"Haa."

Raon caught his breath and walked up to the dark sphere that was getting bigger.

"This looks like…"

Rimmer sighed while looking at the sphere.

"We are screwed."

He shrugged his shoulders, saying that he didn't have enough strength left to stop it.

Raon bit his lip. He'd regained some strength and willpower to go all-out once again, but he couldn't think of any method to remove the sphere.

'What should I do…?'

He looked around in contemplation and noticed the three pillars that had been there since his first visit.

He could see all the way to the bottom of the pillar that he couldn't previously see because the swamp had disappeared.

"Hmm?"

Raon licked his lips while looking at the bottom part.

'That's…'

The traces on the pillars looked somewhat familiar. Raon focused on the scars, and the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation activated by themselves as if they had a will of their own.

A golden flame surged and changed the world.