Chapter 280

Raon remembered a conversation between Derus Robert and Martio that he happened to hear in his previous life. 

"The real reason why the White Blood Religion's leader is difficult to deal with isn't because of her powerful might, but because of her dirty sorcery. You can't even get close to her because you don't know when and how her sorcery will take effect."

Derus had briefly clicked his tongue while saying that.

"Fighting the White Blood Religion's leader in a location where she has set up her sorcery arrays is pretty much asking to be killed. The shadows we sent to Ritten Village recently have been annihilated, do you remember?"

"Yes."

Martio nodded. He was as stiff as a wooden doll.

"That was also from the sorcery of the White Blood Religion's leader. She engraved the bloody energy into the people inside her sorcery array to turn them into puppets that can't disobey the caster. She then draws out the bloody energy with increased quantity and purity to devour them alive. It's a parasitic bloody energy. Isn't that amazing?"

Derus had ordered Martio to analyze and research into that array technique, calling it a beautiful and efficient method.

Even though it ended in a failure, Raon had managed to pick up a lot of knowledge about sorcery and array technique.

Raon bit his lip while reminiscing about that conversation from the past.

'It's that sorcery. I'm sure of it.'

Even though the form and the method were a lot different from before, the objective remained the same.

The array covering Grand Seville was inserting bloody energy into the people inside the city with the purpose of harvesting once it grew bigger, with increased purity.

It was a ranch. Grand Seville was turning into a human ranch to help White Blood Fanatics to gain more bloody energy.

'How can they even come up with something like this?'

Even though he'd witnessed countless atrocities in his previous life as a hunting dog and even committed them himself, what was unfolding in front of his eyes was on a completely different scale. It was too much, even for monsters wearing human skin.

'All of those people will become sacrifices…'

The countless people he was watching were going to turn into food for the White Blood Fanatics as soon as the sorcery array was completed.

They would still believe that they were leading a free life, but they would be nothing more than cattle controlled by bloody energy, waiting to be fed to their master.

'I can't let this continue.'

Raon remembered Sylvia's voice. She wanted him to wield his sword for the weak, just like a Zieghart's swordsman should, and that was the only request she had ever made of him.

'Rather than that…'

Regardless of Sylvia's request, doing nothing about the situation would disqualify him as a swordsman, and even as a human being.

"Ahahaha!"

"I'm so lucky today. Let's play another game!"

"Where's the drink? Bring all the alcohol!"

"Thank you for everything today."

"See you next time."

Raon stared into the sky, standing in the middle of the extremely noisy central avenue of Grand Seville. He braced himself as he glared at the bloody fog spreading like a cumulus cloud.

'I'll destroy it. No matter what.'

* * *

Martha went down on her knees to meet the eyes of the girl, who stopped speaking.

"What's your name?"

Because she didn't want to talk about her scar, she decided to talk about something else.

"Runa."

"Runa? Your name sounds similar to a stupid girl that I know."

"Stupid girl?"

"Yes. She's an idiot who has unfocused eyes every day of the year."

"No one like that exists in the world!"

"She exists. I'll let you meet her later if I get a chance."

Martha chuckled while remembering Runaan's always blank expression.

"My name is Martha."

"Martha…"

"Runa. I'm asking because it's a really important matter. Can you tell me how you got that scar?"

"..."

Despite acting like a child, Runa closed her mouth tightly as soon as Martha started talking about the scar.

"You must've gotten this scar pretty recently. Please tell me who made this cut."

Martha narrowed her eyes while looking at the scar on Runa's wrist. The shape was suggested that it was made by some kind of blade.

"I-I wasn't harmed by anyone. And…"

Runa closed her mouth tightly once again and refused to answer.

"Haa…"

Martha sighed deeply and threw the wallet Runa had returned to her into the air before catching it.

"It can't be helped, then. Let's go."

"Wh-Where are we going?"

"Naturally, I'm bringing you to the guards. I just caught a pickpocket red-handed, so I can't just overlook it. Ah! Wait, I should bring you to that guy first."

"That guy?"

"Yes. He's a dork who can turn humans into dogs, and rabid dogs on top of that."

A frightening smile appeared on Martha's face as she looked down on Runa.

"N-No! I have to return today!"

"That's none of my business."

"Please! I have a younger brother!"

Runa desperately grabbed her sleeve.

"Hmm…"

Martha bit her lip slightly.

'So that was the reason.'

It was common sense for pickpockets to avoid targeting mercenaries or warriors because they could easily lose their hand if a powerful person caught them. She thought Runa didn't know about it yet because she was too young, but she must've been too impatient despite knowing about it.

"Is it because of the tribute?"

"Yes. Tomorrow is the due date…"

Runa nodded, her chin trembling. The embarrassment and desperation of a child could be felt in her bones.

"Alright, I'll give you this whole thing if you tell me about it."

Martha pointed at the wallet she was holding.

"A-All of that?"

"Yes, all of it."

"Hmm…"

Runa's eyes quickly rolled left and right. Her eyes glowed with fear, shame, and anxiety before slowly coming to a halt.

"…Alright."

"Good."

Martha threw the wallet at Runa without hesitating in the slightest.

"Haa…"

Runa sighed deeply while fiddling with the wallet.

"Actually, this scar isn't from getting beaten up."

"What?"

"I was working on burying a stone in the ground, and the stone accidentally cut me to leave this scar."

She furrowed her brows while touching the scar, which wasn't healed up yet.

"Burying a stone?"

"Yes. They give money for burying a stone in a designated place. I was doing that work when I got this cut. And it's still not recovered, even though it's been a pretty long time."

Martha carefully examined Runa's arm. Taking her story into consideration, the scar looked like it was made by a thick edge rather than a sword. It seemed possible that a sharp stone was the cause.

"Who asked you to set that stone up?"

"That's…"

"You promised you would tell me about it."

"He's a merchant named Tius."

"Merchant?"

"Yes. He's a nice guy who buys food and snacks for homeless children and even makes a shelter for them, and he sometimes asks us to do some work for him while giving us some money."

Runa smiled faintly while talking about Tius. She looked rather fond of him.

"And why did he ask you to bury that stone?"

"He said that the stone protects the city from evil spirits."

"And are other people aware of it?"

"Yes, they are. They don't really care about it anymore because he's known to believe in superstitions. However, he recently told us to not tell others about it anymore…"

"I see."

Martha clenched her fist while listening to Runa.

'I got him.'

The man named Tius must've been a White Blood Fanatic. He must've been plotting some nasty things in the city by making use of a child to avoid people's suspicion.

'He must've given them normal stones in the beginning so that people would stop paying attention to him before incorporating the new stones with bloody energy.'

The stone he gave her in the beginning must've been normal, while the ones he gave her after people stopped paying attention to him must've had bloody energy inside. He was a smart one.

"Runa, thank you."

"Haa…"

Runa bit her lip tightly with a guilty expression on her face.

"You probably just saved this city."

"What? How did I save the city?"

"You will realize later."

Martha smiled faintly and patted Runa's shoulder.

"I think I'll be able to find the real evil spirit because of you."

Raon smiled faintly after hearing Martha's story.

"I was thinking I'd need to tie you up next time because you were returning too late, but you actually brought such valuable information."

The clue that Martha brought was extremely important. He was even more surprised because he wasn't expecting anything at all from her.

"I'm different from that guy, who is all talk, and the sleepyhead over there."

Martha snorted while looking at Burren and Runaan.

"Kuh!"

"..."

Burren frowned in irritation, and Runaan simply blinked without any care in the world.

"This is the stone Runa mentioned."

"Me?"

"Not you!"

Runaan turned her head and Martha shook her hand at her before giving Raon the palm-sized stone.

"I can't feel anything from it though."

"Hmm…"

Raon narrowed his eyes as he examined the stone Martha gave him.

'It has it for sure.'

Once he utilized the Ring of Fire to the maximum capacity, he managed to find the trace of bloody energy that used to remain in the deepest part of the stone.

It was so faint that he wouldn't have managed to find it out if his senses hadn't increased so much.

'He even used a child. He's a smart one.'

No one paid attention to abandoned children. Even the Black Market didn't really care about the children, saying that countless paths were waiting in a child's future.

It would've been a different story if they were fairly old or managed to get a job, but no one paid attention to the children who were pretty much beggars.

'Moreover, he even took advantage of human psychology.'

The way he pretended to be a kindhearted merchant by giving money to the children while asking them to bury worthless stones before setting up the stones with bloody energy once everyone's suspicion was gone implied that he was an extremely cautious person.

'And it must've been used to create that array.'

The man named Tius must've asked the kids to bury the stone in order to fortify the array floating above Grand Seville.

"I also managed to discover something."

Raon asked Burren, Martha, and Runaan to sit down before telling them what he managed to learn.

"Th-That's so crazy…"

"Uhh…"

Burren bit his lip so hard that it could start bleeding, and even Runaan drew her sword in a rage despite her usual lack of reaction.

"I need to find Runa. She will be in danger if she told Tius about her encounter with me!"

Martha turned around and was about to run outside. She told Runa to not tell anyone about it, and Runa did respond that she wouldn't, but she couldn't help being anxious.

"Martha, you should go outside, but Runa isn't the one that you should check out."

Raon slowly shook his head.

"The man named Tius is soon going to call for Runa. You should watch him."

"Are you telling me that Tius is going to call for Runa?"

"Yes. It's because the array is nearing its completion."

Considering how much bloody energy was floating in the air, the array would likely be activated in the near future. Taking Tius's careful personality into account, Raon guessed that he was going to use the children once again.

"Martha and the first team should discover Tius's location and watch him. Burren and the third team will support the first team. Runaan and the second team will keep investigating the White Blood Religion like you've been doing so far."

"Understood."

"Mhm."

Burren, Martha, and Runaan nodded before leaving the room.

'I shall get going as well.'

Raon opened the door without making any noise at all and left the room.

Even though it was before daybreak, Grand Seville was as shiny and noisy as always. Raon went to an old pub's rooftop without letting anyone see him, then looked up into the sky.

"It's so clear."

When he just looked at it, it was a clear night sky without a single spec of rain clouds. Raon chuckled and used the Ring of Fire, and the bloody clouds filling the clear sky covered his entire vision.

Raon swept his hair up while laughing at the scarlet fog.

"Let's see who wins."

* * *

A dim light was spreading out from the underground cavern.

The seventh apostle extended his arm to put his hand on the ground that was covered with blood. White light radiated from his hand, and the blood started to boil.

The heated blood moved, as flexible as a snake, to draw a hexagram on the ground. The angle on the right side was slightly dented, showing that it was the same shape as Grand Seville.

The seventh apostle smiled in satisfaction while looking at the hexagram drawn in blood.

"Tius."

"Yes."

Tius, who was standing behind him, knelt on the ground.

"I've finished the preparations. How about you?"

"The preparations are finished. I just need to tune the sorcery before setting up the bloodstone tomorrow night."

Tius's speech was extremely polite, as if he were talking to a god.

"Are you using those stupid brats again?"

"Yes. This is the most inconspicuous method, since I've done some preliminary work."

"You are so smart, huh."

The seventh apostle snickered while slanting his chin.

"Those brats should be delicious. After all, they must have a significant amount of bloody energy smeared on them."

"I'm sorry, but those children can't be eaten."

"What?"

"They will turn into dry mummies the moment the sorcery activates, with the bloodstone sucking all of their vitality out of them."

Tius bowed, treating the children's lives like pebbles on the road.

"Kuhahaha!"

The seventh apostle laughed like a madman while leaning his back against the wall.

"I tried to tease you because you seemed to like children, but it proved unnecessary."

He grinned while looking down on Tius.

"I'm so proud to have you as our believer. The Blood God's blessings shall always be with you."

"You are flattering me."

Tius was overwhelmed with emotions and his shoulders trembled violently.

"What has Raon been doing?"

"It's the same as yesterday. He's just been moving around Grand Seville, trying to find the believers."

"Perfect."

The seventh apostle grinned while scratching the scar on his chest.

"We will follow the plan. We will release the sorcery tonight and activate it tomorrow night."

"Your wish is my command."

Tius bowed and sank into the ground.

"Tomorrow. It's finally happening tomorrow."

The seventh apostle's sparkling eyes were as red as the bloody energy covering the floor.

"Raon Zieghart. You don't realize how long I've been looking forward to this day."

I'll devour your flesh and blood while you're still alive.

* * *

Raon went around Grand Seville once again the next day. He checked the sorcery array from various locations before he stopped at an unfrequented alley when the moon was about to rise.

'This isn't easy.'

The unknown energy inside the bloody energy kept swirling around to prevent analysis of the sorcery. It was impossible to properly understand the flow because it kept interfering with the bloody energy.

'I really can't tell what it is.'

It certainly felt familiar, but he couldn't understand what it was because it was sticking to the bloody energy like gum to avoid showing itself.

He knew dispelling was a difficult task, but he didn't expect to be still unable to understand its identity in the evening.

"Haa…"

Raon sighed deeply before looking at the sorcery array once again. The scarlet fog was like a woman with red lips, laughing at him while telling him that he wouldn't be able to do it.

You damn bastard…

Wrath extended his nails with a trembling chin.

Stop the stupid drinking already! Let's have a meal already!

He floundered his limbs, telling him that the stench of alcohol coming from his mouth was killing him.

'It can't be helped.'

It was regrettable to tell him that he had no time to eat food because the sorcery's analysis wasn't progressing as much as he wanted.

Argh, the King of Essence can smell the food's delicious fragrance all around him, yet he can't even eat! How long is this misfortune going to continue?!

"Hmm…"

Raon rubbed his stomach. He did feel rather hungry because he hadn't eaten for two days.

This is a saying from Devildom. 'A loaf of bread is better than the song of many sirens.' You are definitely going to have a good idea once you fill your stomach.

Wrath kept telling him to eat something while mentioning a strange proverb.

"I get it."

Raon nodded, since he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a small rest because he'd been using the Ring of Fire for too long.

'Where do you want to go?'

A-Are you serious? Are we really going to eat?

'Answer quickly before I change my mind.'

The King of Essence wants to go to the restaurant on the right. The smell of barbecue coming from that shop is driving him crazy!

'Barbecue…'

Raon chuckled and started walking in the direction Wrath mentioned. He examined the sorcery array one last time before entering the noisy restaurant.

'It's still the sam…Huh?'

When he was about to stop using the Ring of Fire, the bloody energy in the air suddenly wavered significantly, creating a change that had never happened before.

Rumble!

Crimson bloody energy and an energy that was a deep yellow color emerged from the entirety of Grand Seville to gather towards the bloody cloud.

Wh-What about the food…?

'Be quiet.'

Raon pushed Wrath back and bit his lip while watching the yellow energy mixing into the bloody energy.

"Ghastly energy."

It's been ghastly energy all along…

The familiar energy mixed into the scarlet fog was none other than ghastly energy.

Raon ground his teeth violently.

'Those crazy bastards.'

People with negative emotions—such as fear, resentment, and wrath—leave an evil energy behind upon death called ghastly energy.

The bloody demons must've improved the sorcery array by even making use of the ghastly energy left behind by people they slaughtered. The reason he couldn't see how to dispel the array was because of the ghastly energy mixed into the bloody energy.

Whir!

The Blade of Requiem also seemed to have realized it, as it created a powerful sword resonance. It was a howl of wrath, resentment, and pain.

Th-The meal should be postponed for now… Right? Umm…

Even Wrath decided to stop clinging to him.

Raon grasped the hilt of the Blade of Requiem as it trembled violently, then entered an alley that was almost never visited by anyone.

Cring!

He caught his breath and used the Ring of Fire. The seven rings became one with the Blade of Requiem's painful scream to create a powerful resonance, as if Raon's body had turned into a wind instrument.

It almost felt like his body had turned into a furnace to increase his concentration.

Raon focused his enhanced senses solely on analyzing the sorcery. His brain was functioning at full capacity in his immersion.

Whir!

The scarlet fog's disarrayed flow became as clear as day. The bloody energy was dashing through a fixed trajectory inside the cloud, just like the aura that only flew through the mana circuits.

His heart was pounding violently, but his head was as clear as a lake.

He read the flow of bloody energy and registered it in his head, as if he were taking a picture.

His body was brimming with vitality, as if his previously exhausted state was that of a completely different person.

The bloody energy kept getting bigger, but he could perfectly understand its formation and its flow.

He raised his finger to draw a line. A red light emerged from his finger to follow a trajectory that went against the flow of the sorcery. 

It was a perfect dispel. The light spreading from his finger was the solution that could erase the huge sorcery at any moment.

"Haa…"

A hot breath was flowing from Raon's lips. The moon had already set at some point, and the sun was shining down its red sunlight as if it were congratulating him.

He'd realized it.

He realized the true nature of the array, and the solution to remove it was engraved in his head.

'It's over.'

He could destroy the sorcery array at any moment if he wanted. His mouth naturally curved into a wide smile.

"Wrath."

Raon caught Wrath by his neck because he was limping like a sleepy dog.

"Let's go eat."

R-Really?

Wrath's jaw dropped because he didn't expect to be able to eat so soon.

"Yes, I'm also pretty hungry right now."

Even though his head was clear, his stomach was demanding food because he'd burned up too much stamina and willpower.

Wow, we are finally on the same page! Let's go to that restaurant we were trying to go to before.

"Alright."

Raon smiled cheerfully. His hunger was one thing, but he felt thankful to Wrath for waiting for him without saying anything. That was why he decided to eat whatever he wanted for breakfast.

The King of Essence is finally starting to like you. Yes, this is the symbiotic relationship we've always needed to coexist. You should now…

As Wrath was grinning, messages appeared in front Raon's eyes.

[You've managed to analyze a sorcery array at the absolute rank.]

[Title Sorcery Analyst has been created.]

[Trait Array Analysis has been created.]

[All stats have increased by 5.]

The system was rewarding him for analyzing a sorcery of the highest difficulty.

"?"

?

Raon and Wrath's eyes lost focus at the same time as they smiled at each other. Although their expressions were similar, their emotions were the complete opposite.

'Am I really getting all of this?'

Why would it even give you all of this?!