Chapter 534

A black shadow wriggled like a swamp and took human form not much later.

It was the concealment technique used by the assassins from Shadow.

Raon briefly licked his lips while watching ten assassins gathering in front of the lake.

'Every single one of them is powerful.'

He couldn't check out their auras because they were too far away, but their concealment technique and movements implied that they had reached a considerable level as assassins.

'They are the most powerful among those who came here so far.'

He saw Shadows trying to enter the factory multiple times in the past two days of waiting, but those who'd just arrived were the best among them.

'Which means…'

Raon averted his gaze from the assassins who were about to go into the lake and looked at the village once again.

'Derus will be here soon.'

The objective of the assassins was to buy some time. They were definitely there to distract the Black Market's agents until Derus finished examining the factory.

Raon twisted his lips while looking down at the factory.

'It looks like he still doesn't want to leave traces despite the urgency of the situation.'

His fists were clenched before he knew it as he thought about that weasel's face.

'But it will be different this time.'

Raon's trace didn't exist at all inside the Deathbringer Revenant Factory. A high-ranking magician had even twisted the flow of mana afterward, which was why even Derus wasn't going to learn anything there.

'He is going to think that I'm making fun of him.'

Derus was a level-headed person, but his rage tended to become uncontrollable once he was provoked.

Since dozens of years of effort and an astronomical amount of money were lost because of the Deathbringer Revenant Factory's destruction, even Derus was going to be enraged.

'And I've already made all the necessary preparations for that.'

Even though it might be impossible to perfectly reveal Derus's identity, he had prepared a method to stop his rampage and track him afterward. If everything went according to plan, it might be possible to disclose his true nature before long.

'Haa…'

Raon was calming himself while double-checking his plan, and Wrath opened his eyes with difficulty—having fainted because of the rubber taste of the Nadine bread.

H-he is here.

'What?'

The one you are looking for is here.

Wrath pointed at the factory with his round finger.

'I didn't feel anything, though.'

He is on a whole different level from you, and he is concealing himself on top of that. That's why there's no way you'd notice. Even the King of Essence almost missed him, to be honest.

He furrowed his brow, saying that they were dealing with a dangerous man.

'Did he become even stronger?'

Raon furrowed his brow and turned his eyes towards the lake. The assassins gathering around it were making sounds on purpose and started to enter the lake.

'They are buying time for Derus to investigate the factory.'

Considering the fact that assassins had started making their move, Derus must've already entered the factory just like Wrath had claimed.

[Vice squad leader.]

Raon sent an aura message to Denzel, who was hiding nearby.

[I think he is here.]

Denzel nodded in acknowledgment and moved the Black Market's agents near the lake.

The Black Market heeded his order and attacked the assassins who were trying to enter the lake, a battle breaking out.

Raon entrusted the matter around the lake to Denzel, focusing on the factory.

'I can't allow myself to be careless.'

He had to keep paying attention because many people could end up dying if he missed Derus in his enraged state.

He calmed himself with the Ring of Fire and focused on his aura perception. He covered his hands and feet with a small amount of aura in order to act at any moment.

He was slowly increasing his focus while making the rings of fire resonate, and a man wearing a black robe suddenly appeared in front of the factory.

'What?'

He didn't even see how that happened. He couldn't even feel any flow of mana or wind, and it literally looked like he'd just appeared.

'It's him…'

He could tell just from looking at the silhouette of his robe. Derus Robert had definitely emerged after examining the factory.

Raon bit his lip and put his hand into his subspace pocket. He swallowed nervously while touching an artifact and a flare that he was going to use as soon as Derus started to act.

However, Derus wasn't moving at all. He almost looked like he wasn't even breathing, as if he'd turned into a stone statue.

'What's happening…?'

Just like he was enraged on the ocean in the past, Derus should've been trying to destroy the village and kill all of the agents from the Black Market.

However, he was standing completely still, not even budging a finger.

'Don't tell me, did he find traces of me? No, there's no way.'

He had even gotten Wrath to confirm. He had left no trace inside the factory at all.

All he had left was a few traces of sword strikes that he had carved on the wall on purpose to make fun of him.

'What are you even thinking?'

Raon bit his lip and tried to suppress his pounding heart when Derus raised his head towards the sky.

His eyes were revealed, and they were covered by something. Some kind of crimson lava was rampaging inside his blue eyes.

'He's coming! He is definitely com—Huh?'

He had clenched the hand holding the flare when Derus suddenly disappeared.

'Where did he go? Did he go to the lake?'

Raon stood up while looking at the lake.

If Derus was trying to kill the people at the lake, they weren't going to last even for a second. He had to fire the flare to save the Black Market's agents.

You don't need to fire it.

Just as Raon was about to shoot the flare toward the sky, Wrath raised his hand.

He went back.

'What do you mean?'

That man ran away.

Wrath shook his head, telling him that Derus had completely left the area.

'How is that even possible…'

Raon looked at the area around the lake. The assassins from Shadow weren't attacking back anymore, instead focusing solely on running away.

There was no way the assassins would be running away if Derus were still around. They were doing that because Derus was gone, just as Wrath had told him.

"Huh…"

Raon couldn't hold back his surprise and let out a gasp.

'Did he really leave? Despite how crazy he is?'

He was well aware because he'd been with Derus for dozens of years.

He was clearly level-headed, but whenever something he'd been preparing for a long time was ruined, his brain just stopped functioning and he destroyed everything around him in a rage. Raon couldn't understand why he'd returned without doing anything.

'Don't tell me, was he actually not angry?'

No, that wasn't the case. His eyes were clearly showing an intense anger.

Correct.

Raon nodded nonchalantly.

His wrath even reached the King of Essence. However, he suppressed it and simply withdrew.

He furrowed his brow while looking at the place where Derus had stood.

He must've improved compared to when we met him in the ocean—both in terms of might and mentality.

"Haa…"

Raon exhaled roughly and sat on the ground.

'Does heaven truly not exist?'

He felt extremely uncomfortable hearing that the evil fiend who toyed with thousands, even tens of thousands of lives, had gotten stronger.

If you really want to kill him, give your body to the King of Essence. He doesn't like his actions at all either.

Wrath bobbed his plump hand.

On top of taking away your food, he even toys with life. The King of Essence will personally kill him for you!

He wagged his cotton candy tail in front of Raon as if he were making fun of him when messages suddenly appeared.

[You've succeeded in perfectly assassinating your targets.]

[All stats have increased by 12.]

[Trait Backstab has increased in rank.]

[Trait Divinity Blooming from the Underworld has increased in rank.]

It was the late reward for assassinating the necromancers and assassins in the Deathbringer Revenant Factory.

Huh?

Wrath blinked while looking at the messages.

H-how is this even happening? Why in the world are you giving him so much just because he carried out some assassination?

He screamed, yelling that the system should learn to limit itself. However, there were still more messages to come.

[The trait Envy's target was switched from Sheryl to Aries Zieghart.

The growth of the space sword is accelerated.]

Why did it even change now?!

'It must be because I used the space sword.'

When Resia had tried to make all of the Deathbringer Revenants self-destruct in the end, he used the principles of the space sword to shove the holy power into their bodies.

He'd admired Aries while using the space sword for the first time in his life, and that must've been why the target of his envy was switched from Sheryl to Aries.

Raon licked his lips in satisfaction while reading the message.

'That's even better for me.'

He had pretty much finished understanding the principles of dual wielding that Sheryl had demonstrated to him, and all he needed to do was gain more proficiency.

Learning Aries's space sword faster instead was going to be extremely helpful for future battles.

Ugh…

'Thank you, Wrath.'

Raon patted Wrath's back as his jaw dropped.

'I might be able to reach him soon enough, thanks to you.'

Argh! Shut up and prepare the meal! Spit out the food the King of Essence wants already!

'But you won't be able to taste it if I spit it out.'

Just fucking eat it already!

* * *

Demron Village

Demron was a mid-sized village in the southwest of the continent, one where farming herbs and fruits were the main source of income. A man wearing a shadow like a robe suddenly appeared.

"Who are you over there?!"

"Take off your hood and disclose your identity!"

Since it was a late hour, the soldiers guarding the entrance to the village raised their long spears from above the iron fence.

"…ky."

The man in the robe murmured something in an extremely quiet voice without even looking at the soldiers.

"What are you saying right now?!"

"Take off your hood already!"

The soldiers realized the strangeness of the situation and pointed their spears at him while the other soldiers under the fence ran towards the village in order to bring other warriors.

"..."

The man in a black robe slowly raised his head. His blue eyes were beautifully clear, yet a strange fire was flickering inside of them.

"Ah…"

"Uhh…"

The soldiers dropped their long spears the moment they saw his eyes. Festering fear was consuming their minds. They couldn't even budge a finger, as if they were paralyzed.

They finally heard the robed man's voice.

"Consider yourselves unlucky."

The iron fence shattered into pieces and disappeared with his frightening voice. The soldiers above it were no exception. They crumbled violently like autumn leaves.

Two people's lives faded away into the darkness without even a scream.

"What's happening?!"

"An intruder! Ring the alarm!"

He could see the soldiers and warriors running towards him to protect the village. They rushed at the robed man while holding swords and long spears in their hands.

Swoosh!

The robed man didn't even extend his hand, he simply walked forward. The warriors and soldiers trying to attack him were torn into pieces, not even leaving bones behind—as if his heavy steps were the swamp of death.

"Uaaah!"

"Aah…"

"Wh-what's happening…? Kuah!"

The people behind the soldiers screamed upon seeing that their bodies were melting like snow, turning into a pool of blood and flowing on the ground.

"R-run away!"

"Escape from the village!"

"Never look back!"

The villagers realized that the robed man was an unbeatable monster and scattered in all directions while shouting for everyone to run away.

The robed man didn't chase after the running people. He simply walked the path of blood and headed to the center of the village.

Whir!

He extended his hand towards the night sky, and a strange resonance engulfed the village.

"I just need to escape from here… Ah."

"W-wait a moment! Please…"

"Uhh…"

The people trying to escape over the walls had to watch in horror as their own limbs were torn apart. It was as if a saw was cutting them off, and their lips were trembling in shock.

They were ground into pieces and disappeared before they could even scream in fear and pain.

Wham!

Demron Village had over a hundred years of history but became nothing but dust and disappeared in less than a minute.

It looked too unreal to be a human's doing. It almost looked like an evil god was hammering down his judgment on innocent people.

The robed man shook his hand to dust it off. Even though he'd killed more than a hundred people, his leather gloves remained clean, without a single trace of blood.

Even the wind stopped blowing, allowing the frightening silence to continue, and Cubara landed on the ground wearing a mask and black outfit for night actions.

"There were no pursuers."

Cubara walked up to the robed man and bowed to him.

"The only traces left in the factory were mockeries."

"Hmm…"

The robed man, Derus Robert, looked around with an extremely cold gaze. Cubara shuddered before she knew it.

"They were provoking me, almost like they knew about me, about my personality. They seemed to be telling me to show my power."

"..."

Cubara dared to meet Derus's eyes and swallowed nervously. He was right.

If it had happened in the past, Derus would've been enraged, obliterated the village, and slaughtered the Black Market's warriors hiding around it.

However, he didn't yield to the provocation and only vented his anger after coming all the way to Demron Village. He was even more terrifying than before.

"The Black Market couldn't have done this. There's definitely someone behind the scenes. And they know about me."

Derus raised his head towards the dim sky. He glared at the sky with icy eyes and twisted lips.

"Find them. Find whoever was behind them even if you have to tear apart the Black Market."

"…Understood."

Cubara voiced out the only response she was allowed to say.

"And cut off the connection with the other factories and the Yuuha company."

"Why should we…?"

"Since they found the factory at Capply Village, they aren't safe either. You have to act as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

"Take care of the aftermath before you leave."

Derus ordered Cubara and the Shadows to clean up his mess and returned to the Robert domain on his own.

The frightening atmosphere around him faded away as he approached the house, and his characteristic gentleness and kindness replaced it.

Once he arrived at the house, he went to the small training ground instead of returning to the mansion right away.

The training ground was still bright, and his youngest son, Lephon Robert, was sweating as he practiced swordsmanship alongside the swordsmen who followed him.

"Huh? Father?!"

Lephon lowered his sword upon finding Derus and ran towards him.

"What's the matter?"

"I realized I forgot something."

Derus snapped his fingers with a gentle smile on his face. A blue dimension opened up in thin air, and an elegant red sword emerged from it.

"I forgot to give you your birthday present. I'm sorry for being late."

"O-oh no, you didn't need to do that…"

Despite what he said, Lephon couldn't take his eyes off the red sword.

"It's about time you get a proper sword for yourself."

Derus smiled and gave Lephon the red sword.

"Thank you!"

Lephon smiled brightly and jumped into Derus's arms.

"Yes, let me hug you to my heart's content before you grow up even further."

Derus smiled brightly in return and hugged Lephon even more tightly. His glove was still clean as it rubbed his son's back.

* * *

Raon put himself together before heading to Denzel.

"Sir Raon?"

"It's over."

"What?"

Denzel tilted his head, unable to understand what he was saying.

"He already came and left."

"Wh-when…?"

He blinked blankly. He looked like he didn't even see Derus when he was standing in front of the factory.

"He examined the entire factory before he left. I thought he was going to throw a fit, but he disappeared quietly."

Raon sighed and lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, the plan went awry."

"N-not at all. We should be glad since no one has died."

Denzel shook his hand, telling him to stop apologizing.

"Does that mean that this village is safe now?"

"Yes, it should be fine."

Raon nodded while looking at Capply Village and Lake Bayon. Considering the fact that Derus had left without doing anything, he shouldn't try to harm the village again.

"Please call the villagers back."

"That village chief is finally going to stop nagging at me. I'm so relieved."

Denzel smiled in relief.

"Thank you for your work."

Raon smiled cheerfully while thinking about the village chief, Beruric, who was both affectionate and talkative.

"We are going to keep looking for them based on the information they left. What are you going to do now, Sir Raon?"

"Where is the Light Wind division and Lady Encia Yonaan right now?"

Raon asked a question in return instead of responding.

"The Light Wind division is currently returning to Zieghart, and Lady Encia is at Zieghart already."

Denzel immediately told him about the Light Wind division and Encia's locations. He probably investigated them beforehand.

"In that case, I should also return home."

Raon sighed quietly while looking at the north.

Ooh!

Wrath, who'd been frowning after the rewards, suddenly jumped up.

Food! It's food time! Finally! The King of Essence's tongue had nothing but the disgusting taste of Nadine bread, but sweetness is finally visiting…

'Please read the mood…'