Chapter 485

M-madwoman?

Wrath's plump cheeks shrunk instantly.

Where did that madwoman even come from?!

His chin trembled violently as he exclaimed that he couldn't even feel her presence.

'I didn't notice her either.'

Raon sighed while looking at the baby kangaroo.

'I was hoping that it wasn't, but…'

Kangaroos lived nearby, and the lodgings were at the edge of the city. That was why it was possible for a kangaroo to appear suddenly.

However, a baby kangaroo couldn't have Encia's photos in its pouch. It wasn't even hiding that she was Merlin.

'So those are the missing photos.'

Raon remembered that Encia was sad before entering the Five Divine Orders' conference room because her A rank photos had disappeared.

He'd thought that she'd simply failed to find them, but it was actually the madwoman who had them.

"Merlin."

Raon created an aura barrier to stop the sound from going out and walked up to the kangaroo.

"Yeah!"

Merlin nodded and thanked him for recognizing her.

He couldn't get used to the affectionate voice of a woman coming from an animal's mouth, or its flushed cheeks. Goosebumps appeared on his forearm.

"Didn't you say that you couldn't come to me for a while?"

"That was ages ago. I quickly finished things up so that I could see you again."

She smiled cheerfully while saying that she'd finished her job.

"You could've taken your time…"

Raon quietly murmured and pointed at the photo protruding from Merlin's pouch.

"How did you even take that?"

"I got them when she was sleeping. Do you want to know how I did it?"

"…No."

Raon shook his head because it was better left unknown.

"She's such a nice girl. She made an interesting artifact like that and even knows your worth."

Merlin smiled while saying that she'd patted Encia's head while she was sleeping.

G-goosebumps!

Wrath's shoulders were trembling, his hair sticking out like freshly made cotton candy.

'I agree…'

A chill ran down his spine upon imagining Merlin patting his head while he was asleep. However, there was one thing he was curious about.

"That's a bit unexpected."

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you only take a few photos when you knew that she could take those photos with her camera?"

According to her usual personality, she should've taken the camera and the photos altogether.

Raon found it strange that she'd only taken a few photos.

"Why is that unexpected? It's obvious."

Merlin tilted her head, finding it strange that he found it strange.

"She's going to keep taking photos of you as long as I leave the camera with her. I can't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs."

She smiled while saying that she only took a few photos so that Encia wouldn't escape.

"Ah…"

Raon's lips trembled. A frightening chill ran down his spine once again upon hearing Merlin's explanation.

Hieeeh! Th-the King of Essence can't stay here anymore!

Wrath freaked out and escaped into the ice flower bracelet.

Raon swallowed nervously while watching Merlin's cheerful smile.

'Encia is a decent person.'

He couldn't bear with Encia either, but Merlin was even worse. No, he was even terrified by her.

"…So, why did you come here?"

"Because I wanted to see you, of course!"

Merlin threw her dagger without any feints. Raon couldn't get used to her honesty either.

"And I was a little worried."

"Worried?"

Raon titled his head. He couldn't understand what she was worried about.

"The last of the Five Demons is ready to come out."

"The last… isn't that the Holy Sword Alliance?"

"Yeah."

Merlin nodded and told him that the Holy Sword Alliance seemed to be ending their closure soon.

"Holy Sword Alliance…"

'So those sword demons are coming out.'

When the Holy Sword Alliance first made their appearance, people believed that swordsmen with holy energy were going to work for everyone in the world—like a holy kingdom.

However, they were gravely mistaken.

The Holy Sword Alliance didn't mean that they were using holy swords, but that they served the sword as a holy existence.

'It sounds similar, but it's completely different.'

The Holy Sword Alliance's sword demons were lunatics who would gladly stab their parents and siblings in the back if it meant they could improve their sword and swordsmanship.

"You probably don't know, but Zieghart is on extremely bad terms with the Holy Sword Alliance."

Merlin furrowed her brow while telling him that those two factions had fought every time they met each other.

'I guess so.'

The Holy Sword Alliance attacked the prestigious houses of swordsmanship and robbed their books to improve their own might.

It was inevitable for them to clash against Zieghart since they were famous for their swordsmanship even among the Six Kings.

"And Zieghart's head of house fought the Holy Sword Alliance's master in the past."

"I knew that much."

Raon nodded. There were rumors that the reason Zieghart halted their steps and the Holy Sword Alliance entered a closure was the result of the frontal clash between Glenn and the Holy Sword Alliance master.

However, judging from the Glenn that he'd witnessed, Raon felt like the actual story was slightly different from the rumors.

"You should avoid them when you see the Holy Sword Alliance."

Merlin shook her hand while telling him to first carefully observe the enemy and decide whether to fight or not afterward.

"Ah, and watch out for our faction, too. Well, I'll be telling you about that in advance."

"Eden? Is something happening from there?"

"There are more people wearing helmets and masks. A few of them are especially dangerous because they are really strong."

"Especially strong?"

"I mentioned the green king before. The owner of that helmet has awakened further."

Raon remembered her mention of that name, Green King.

"If it's a green king, it must be an orc king's helmet."

"It's not just an ordinary king. It has the power of the orc lord that dominated every orc in the entire continent. The vessel is young, but she might be stronger than your current state."

Merlin lowered her lips, saying that it was the king among the kings.

"She shouldn't appear right away, but it's better to be careful in advance."

"Did you come to tell me about that?"

"I told you, I just wanted to see you."

She smiled brightly while saying that the Holy Sword Alliance and the Green King were secondary goals, and she actually just wanted to see him.

"But I'll have to leave now for today."

Merlin shook her head while pushing the photo protruding from her pouch back in.

"Your guardian is coming."

"Sheryl? Did you already know about her?"

"Of course I did. After all, I've met her before."

She shook her head, saying that she never missed the presence of someone that she'd encountered before.

Raon could feel that Wrath was trembling inside the bracelet.

"Raon, damn handsome."

"…Stop saying that."

"Tell the photograph girl that I'll be joining the Raon Damn Handsome religion."

Merlin scratched her belly while saying that it would be interesting.

"No."

"I'll just tell her later on, I guess."

Raon couldn't even tell which part she was joking about and which part she wasn't.

"This one wants to be brushed as well. I think its back is itchy. I'm leaving now…"

Merlin waved her hand to say goodbye before she disappeared.

Tap.

The baby kangaroo jumped towards him, asking him to scratch its back.

"Brushing the fur is eas—Huh?"

Raon took out the comb and started to brush the kangaroo's fur but suddenly stopped. The photo was still inside its pouch.

'What? Merlin left this behind?'

It couldn't be happening considering her usual personality.

"Don't tell me…"

Raon started to move his hand towards the photo, and the kangaroo slapped his hand and jumped back.

"Oh no, you found me out."

Merlin stuck her tongue out and scratched her head.

"I can't leave yet because I need to get more of your photos."

She ran into the bushes after sounding like Encia was just temporarily keeping them for her.

"See you later."

"Hey!"

Raon tried to call her back, but she disappeared into the bushes without even looking back. Raon could only sigh because he wasn't courageous enough to follow her.

"Hah, I'm so exhausted."

Raon sighed while pressing his forehead with his palm. He was mentally exhausted from suffering because of Encia and Merlin one after the other.

He felt like he was regaining the stress that he'd vented on the Thespian Emperor.

'I need to vent it again.'

He shook his head and entered the lodgings.

"He's here!"

"Vice division leader, you are late!"

"Why are you so late?"

"You sent us so early… Huh?"

The Light Wind swordsmen were about to complain about him being late but shut their mouths upon seeing his eyes. Raon's eyes were brimming with madness, just like during the focus enhancement training.

"Wh-what's wrong with him?"

"Look at his eyes. He's gone nuts."

"But he was in a good mood earlier!"

The Light Wind swordsmen trembled their shoulders, terrified by the frightening energy emerging from Raon's feet.

"Sorry for being late. Let's get started right away."

Raon unsheathed Heavenly Drive, his voice cruelly cold.

"It will be a real fight."

The Light Wind swordsmen's faces turned pale upon hearing that it was going to be a real fight.

This is the situation of being slapped in Heaven and returning to Devildom to pass on the insult.

Wrath shook his head while poking his head out from the bracelet.

He's the best of all dimensions in terms of having a bad personality.

"Huff!"

Martha exhaled roughly and drove her sword into the ground. She was thoroughly exhausted, and she couldn't keep standing unless she did that.

"Damn it…"

"Haa…"

Burren had fallen on one knee and was unable to raise his head, while Runaan was only making a snoring sound with her back attached to the ground as if she were one with the land.

"Uaah…"

"I-I'm dying…"

"He's even worse today. Wh-what even happened to him?"

Since even the team leaders were about to collapse, the Light Wind swordsmen had already collapsed and were crawling on the ground.

"Hmm…"

Martha narrowed her eyes while skimming them over the training ground.

'Certainly, the training is intense.'

It could be because the fighting competition was in two days, but Raon was pushing the swordsmen into a corner a lot more violently than usual.

Everyone was exhausted both in mind and body from fending off the attacks that felt like a real battle.

Whaam!

She looked at the center of the training ground upon hearing an explosion resounding throughout the land.

Mark Goetten was sent flying by Raon's strike and was rolling on the ground.

"Kuh…"

Mark Goetten was trying to stand back up right away, but he was unable to cope with the damage and fell on his knee once again.

"Stop exaggerating and stand up."

Raon clicked his tongue while watching the Light Wind division that was still groaning.

"You know better than anyone that we didn't do any proper training on the way here. Just consider this us doing it all at once."

"Ugh…"

"Wh-what the hell…?"

The Light Wind swordsmen simply trembled, too exhausted to reply.

"You need to endure this much if you don't want to shame the Zieghart name during the fighting competition. Hang in there."

The Light Wind division could only struggle on the ground, unable to stand up despite hearing Raon's shout. However, one person was different.

"Kuh!"

Martha straightened her back while exhaling a warm breath like she was spitting blood.

'Yes, this isn't time to stay on the ground. I haven't achieved anything regarding my objective.'

The first and only objective she had was to find her mother. She wanted to recover her mother no matter what and return to the days when they used to be poor but happy at the same time.

However, she kept dreaming about her mother being killed or kidnapped by the White Blood Religion whenever she thought about her past, and she'd become a nervous wreck.

'I believed that I was the only one experiencing pain, suffering, and loneliness and vented my anger to the world.'

She'd said and done many things she shouldn't have to the children in the Light Wind squad, and she didn't even know she should've been ashamed of it.

However, she realized that she had been walking the wrong path as she lived together with Raon, Burren, Runaan, and the Light Wind division's swordsmen.

'It was sometimes difficult, but…'

When she'd seen that the White Blood Religion's leader had taken over her mother's body while trying to rescue Raon, she was afraid that she might return to the past when she used to be enraged against the world. She couldn't even sleep because of the fear.

However, thanks to her companions, who'd told her they would help whenever and no matter what, she didn't have any nightmares, nor was she raging against the world.

Swoosh!

Martha pulled the sword out of the ground. The sandstorm surging alongside her blade created a clear trail to remove the pain deep in her heart.

"Haa…"

She exhaled and smiled faintly while looking at Raon.

'What a foolish man.'

Raon had always taken care of the Light Wind swordsmen even though he should've had his hands full with his own training.

Because she could tell that he cared for the Light Wind division from the bottom of his heart, she forgot the flow of time and even her exhaustion when she trained with him.

She was always thankful to him.

'I have one more objective now because of you.'

Releasing her mother from the White Blood Religion's leader still had the highest priority, and she had to achieve it even if she had to die, but there was one more thing she wanted to do.

She wanted to help the fool who only cared about his companions.

'I'm sure Raon has an objective, too.'

Raon always swung his sword as if he were possessed by something. The desire to get stronger wasn't enough for that.

He had an important objective. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted to help him no matter what.

'And in order to achieve that… I need to fight right now.'

Her body was heavy as if soaked in water, but she surrounded it with aura and raised her sword.

She forced her screaming limbs to stand and took a step towards Raon.

"Hmm?"

Raon widened his eyes. Even he hadn't expected her to stand back up.

Whir!

Martha twisted her lips while pointing her sword at Raon.

"I'm not done yet. Bring it on!"

* * *

The day of the fighting competition.

An antiquated arena was located at the center of the huge training ground built behind the Five Divine Orders' conference room.

People had been gathering at the training ground from early in the morning to watch the fighting competition from the best seats since it was pretty much the biggest event of the festival.

By the time breakfast time was over, the entire training ground was brimming with people, and there was no room for any additional people.

"I'm excited. I wonder who is going to win?"

"Isn't Zieghart going to be the winner? I don't see anyone who can win against the White Sword Dragon."

"The age limit is forty, not thirty. Even Raon Zieghart can't guarantee his victory."

"Yeah, I think the young head of House Yakan can potentially win against the White Sword Dragon."

"I heard the guard captain from Yufen City is no joke."

The spectators were running their tongues even faster than when they were eating because they were discussing who was going to participate and who was going to win.

"Your vision is too narrow."

A gambler suffering from hair loss clicked his tongue and interfered in the conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"This event is for the celebration of the Five Divine Orders' foundation. Do you think they would've prepared nothing for this? They are going to send their hidden powerhouses and show off their skills."

"Hmm, certainly…"

"Yeah, this is a great opportunity to become famous."

"I'm sure they welcome the Six Kings' participation. After all, defeating them would bring a huge amount of fame to them."

The gambler shook his hand while telling them to bet on the Five Divine Orders if they wanted to win money.

"But isn't Raon Zieghart a different case? He's called the Sword Dragon after all."

"He's still only twenty-one years old. Since it's the Five Divine Orders we are talking about, they should have someone stronger than him who is less than forty years of age."

"It's true that he's too young."

"Moreover, there are rumors that Raon Zieghart isn't allowed to participate. The Light Wind division is strong for their age, but they are still too green overall."

With the gamblers joining the conversation, they started to objectively discuss who was going to win.

As the sun moved towards the center of the sky, the leaders of the Five Divine Orders made their appearances one after the other, and the VIP seats located near the arena also started to fill up.

"Huh?"

"Zieghart has arrived!"

"The White Sword Dragon is taking the lead!"

"They are here, but why do their eyes look like that…?"

The spectators's lips trembled as they observed Raon and the Light Wind division.

Unlike the other participants, the eyes of Zieghart's swordsmen were radiating a deadly light—just like soldiers right before a war.

However, Raon and the Light Wind division quietly took a seat on the waiting bench despite the madness in their eyes.

The bell rang to signal 10 a.m. shortly afterward, and the Thespian Emperor came up on the platform.

Her cheerful yet elegant steps that looked like she was walking into the sky made the entire training ground burst out in cheers.

"Whoaaa!"

"The Thespian Emperor!"

"White Whale! White Whale! White Whale!"

"Thank you for taking the time to join our event."

The Thespian Emperor thanked the spectators sitting inside the training ground in different directions before she stood at the center of the arena.

"The festival of warriors shall end with a martial arts competition. Today will be an opportunity for the warriors who've visited us to compete with their polished martial arts and socialize with each other through fair fights. However, since it would be boring if there was nothing at stake…"

She snapped her fingers. A subspace opened up from the thin air, and a rectangular box emerged.

The Thespian Emperor raised the box and opened the lid. A red marble was inside, and a tremendous amount of heat erased the coldness of the winter as it emerged from it.

"It's the Heart of Lavasiri, the mystical creature living in volcanic regions."

She let everyone see the Heart of Lavasiri before closing the lid.

"We will give this elixir to the winner of this competition! Of course, we will provide an elixir of coldness so that it can be properly absorbed."

"Whoaaa!"

"The Five Divine Orders are the best!"

"Long live the Thespian Emperor!"

The entire training ground wavered from the huge reward that was introduced.

"Since there's no reason to delay, I'll proceed to the explanation of the rules. Only the young warriors under the age of forty can participate, with the exception of the heads of each group. The process is simple. The winner will remain, and the loser will be eliminated."

The Thespian Emperor left the arena, saying that the competition was over the moment there were no more challengers left.

Whoosh!

As soon as she left, a man came onto the arena like he was bouncing on a leaf. His movements were light, even though he was wearing thick armor.

"My name is Jeron from the Catan Knights!"

He introduced himself and asked for a challenger.

Raon hit Krein, who was sitting right next to him, with his shoulder.

"…Me again?"

"Always, Krein."

"Haa…"

Krein gritted his teeth and went into the arena.

"I am Krein from Zieghart!"

Krein went to the center of the arena and bowed to Jeron.

The referee came towards them and checked their identities before he nodded.

"The duel between Krein from Zieghart and Jeron from the Catan Knights is starting now!"

The referee lowered his hand and stepped back, and Krein immediately kicked the ground.

"W-wait, let's do the greetings fir—"

"I don't care about that!"

Krein unleashed a strike that spread like the sunlight with madness sparkling from his eyes.

Claaang!

Jeron was unable to withstand the impact and fell on one knee.

"S-so cheap…"

"Cheap? What happens to you if you lose this match?"

"Wh-what do you mean?!"

"You probably just get scolded a little even if you lost. But as for us, if we lose…"

Vivid madness was brimming from Krein's eyes. He unleashed his aura blade while screaming.

"We are going to die!"