Chapter 253

[You really can see me, right? Say something again! Quickly!]

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Lohengreen writhing in the air.

'Is he really your servant?'

Indeed.

Wrath nodded while wrinkling his nose.

'Then why did you not realize it before?'

It was understandable that he wouldn't notice from the name because he was using a different name as Lohengreen. However, it wasn't normal that he didn't notice his own power.

Do you still not realize it?

'Realize what?'

He's already dead.

'Ah!'

Raon swallowed nervously. He forgot about it because Lohengreen looked so lively as he spoke and moved, but his transparent appearance—missing his legs—was what a ghost would look like.

Most of the power that the King of Essence lent to that four-eyes has already returned to his main body.

Wrath shook his head while looking at the ice flower pattern on Lohengreen's robes.

Since his death changed his energy, recognizing it is as difficult as finding a cup of beer that you poured into a river upstream when standing downstream.

'I see.'

That was actually normal.

Lohengreen was one of the heroes who fought against Merlin the Witch of Betrayal hundreds of years ago. No matter how long the Masters and advanced magicians lived, it was impossible for him to still be alive.

'Then why is he in that state? Did he really become a ghost?'

Raon asked while looking at Lohengreen's transparent tail, which was sticking out from his blue robes.

That's not a ghost. It's a remnant of his mind. The shell of his soul that couldn't leave the world because of regrets.

Wrath declared in irritation.

Just like the shabby dagger you have contains the resentment of people, he also turned into that wretched state because of the lingering attachments he had.

'What lingering attachments did he have?'

Raon got curious about what kind of lingering attachment he could've had when he was an excellent magician who was praised as a hero.

There's…

'There's?'

There's no way the King of Essence would know that!

Wrath shook his hand widely.

'But why would you not know? Haven't you watched him all along?'

Raon tilted his head. He couldn't understand why Wrath didn't know about it since he must've been sticking with Lohengreen just like he was with Raon himself.

Not everyone is like you…

Wrath ground his teeth so hard that a grating sound could be heard.

The King of Essence generously granted that four-eyes his power on a whim!

His eyes filled with burning anger.

And you! You called on the King of Essence and robbed away everything he had! There's a huge difference between you two!

'Ah…'

Raon slowly lowered his eyes.

'I see.'

Wrath kept screaming that it had never happened to him before and fainted whenever Raon took away his stats. Considering that reaction and what he'd just said, Lohengreen's case must've been the complete opposite from his.

[Can't you hear me? Answer me already!]

Raon didn't look at Lohengreen. He looked down at Wrath in order to obtain some more information.

'You mentioned generosity and whim. What did you mean?'

There's no reason for the King of Essence to tell you!

'I'll give you two more pineapple pizzas.'

Are you going to keep taking the King of Essence for a glutton?

'But Yua told me that she was going to make a shrimp pizza before we left.'

Sh-Shrimp?

'A beef will be added on top of the shrimp, with two pieces of pineapple on top…'

He was similar to you in the beginning. That's when…

Wrath immediately started to talk. He was fast and cheerful.

* * *

When the war against Pride had ended, the King of Essence was resting in his castle. That was when he could feel someone's wrath. Since the wrath was coming from a different dimension from Devildom, it aroused his curiosity.

He used his clone to distract the mediators and went to the source of that powerful wave of wrath.

"Kuaaah!"

The city was engulfed in flames. A young man was screaming desperately on a land covered with corpses and blood with his green hair dyed red.

"I'll kill them! I'm going to kill them! I'll kill all of them!"

As he shouted his resentment against someone, black blood was flowing down from his eyes and mouth. The emotion of wrath was killing his mind.

How obvious.

The emotion of wrath was usually caused by someone else. His heart was burning from the wrath of losing his family and the village at someone else's hand.

The King of Essence went to the young man and asked him what he wanted. He stared at his eyes for a long time before he started to talk.

"Power! I want the power to kill all of the devils who are wearing human skin!"

That was also obvious.

The wrathful ones who desired vengeance always wanted power.

It was a waste of time.

As the King of Essence was about to return, the young man's last words brushed past his ears.

"There are fiends that shouldn't be allowed to walk around. I'm going to freeze them alive, to make them feel an eternal pain that they will never escape from!"

The King of Essence's footsteps came to a halt at hearing those words, which sounded like he wanted to crush their bones, recited. It was because that was the exact same thing the King of Essence usually said to other demons.

He asked his name.

"My name is Lohenyellow."

The young man answered, while sweeping up his green hair.

It could've been generosity or a whim. The King of Essence engraved his coldness and water affinity into the young man by using the system.

"Thank you!"

Lohenyellow immediately realized that he'd gained power and lowered his head.

"I'll offer my soul once my revenge is over, o' god of wrath!"

He must've read too many novels. The King of Essence told him that his emotion of wrath was enough for him and shook his head. Some weak human's soul wasn't necessary for the demon king.

"In that case, please tell me anything you want!"

The King of Essence told him he didn't need anything, but the young man held onto his leg and didn't give up.

"I'm really fine with you taking my soul!"

Since it was annoying, the King of Essence told him to improve the traits that he gave him.

"I'll do my best!"

Lohenyellow finally let him go.

"I swear under the name Lohenyellow to live for the sake of the god after I complete my revenge!"

The King of Essence told him to change his name instead of doing stupid shit. The name Lohenyellow didn't match his green hair at all, after all.

Even after returning to Devildom, the King of Essence checked on Lohenyellow from time to time. He developed his power and gathered people to get stronger. Since his emotion of wrath grew larger as he got stronger, it was a decent snack.

By the time the young man who used to kill himself with wrath became an old man, he managed to complete his revenge alongside his companions, and he left behind all of the wrath he had.

It wasn't too bad.

Since it was quite interesting despite being a result of his caprice, he told him to have a good life as a farewell and cut off the connection with him.

And that incident happened soon after that.

Once the King of Essence woke up, he had to meet a real demon that even Devildom wouldn't be a match against.

Raon slowly nodded while looking at Wrath.

'I see. I can understand it now.'

Why did the dungeon feel familiar to him? How could he find the golem's core on his first attempt, and find the passage inside the cave? All of those questions had been answered.

'It was thanks to Glacier.'

It was because the dungeon's creator Lohengreen was Wrath's servant, who'd received the coldness and water affinity from him before Raon.

'Interesting.'

He could only laugh at the situation. Even though Lohengreen was different from him since he used magic instead of swordsmanship, he was pretty much his fellow disciple.

'His life must not have been easy either.'

Raon had thought that he was a classic and boring hero when he read his story from the book, but that wasn't the case at all. Even though he was helped by Wrath, he was a real hero who'd achieved his objective after overcoming intense sadness and pain.

'In that case, what could be his lingering attachment?'

All of the other questions he had were answered, but he still couldn't figure out what kind of lingering attachment he had when he managed to finish his revenge for his family and village.

'Are we the only ones who can see Lohengreen because we can use Glacier?'

That's probably the case. Ahem, I ended up telling the whole story somehow…

Wrath awkwardly scratched his chin.

If you have any conscience in your mind, you shouldn't even think about taking advantage of him. You should help him instea…

"I'm a priest who worships Wrath, the God of Wrath."

Raon spoke in a low voice to prevent Dorian from hearing him.

Judging from how he shouted about the god of wrath when they first met, he must've still considered Wrath as a god.

Hey!

Wrath shouted, but Raon ignored him and raised his head.

[What insolence is that? How am I supposed to believe that you are a priest of the God of Wrath?]

"Are you really suspecting me when I opened this secret passage and am currently watching you?"

[Th-That's…]

"I'll show you then."

Raon chuckled, spreading out the wrath inside his soul, which he got from Wrath, and Glacier at the same time.

Whir!

Lohengreen's lips parted upon witnessing the flame of wrath slowly rising from his shoulders.

[Gasp! That blue wrath is the same as his!]

"Do you finally understand?"

[This lowly servant is pleased to meet the priest!]

Lohengreen knelt in the air and bowed to Raon.

'I knew this would work on him.'

A small amount of truth, an elaborate lie, and casual acting are necessary in order to deceive a target, and Raon had all of those. There was no way he wouldn't be deceived.

"Considering you turned into a remnant of mind, you must have a lot of lingering attachments to the world."

[You noticed in a single glance. You are truly the priest, Sir!]

Lohengreen nodded his head in admiration.

Y-You are just repeating what the King of Essence said! You bastaaard! You heartless fiend!

Wrath screamed as he charged at Raon.

'Just think about it.'

Raon calmly stopped him.

'Your servant turned into a ghost like that because of lingering attachments, right?'

Yes! And you are trying to take advantage of him…

'And I'm the only person who can solve his problem, right?'

I-I guess?

Wrath murmured that since other people couldn't see him…

'And I'm currently above, while people who entered the dungeon before me should be below me, along with Lohengreen's legacy.'

S-So what?

'If I don't obtain the legacy, do you truly believe that I will properly resolve his problem? Don't you think that I would start doing something strange because I'll be so sad that I didn't get the legacy? Ah, I don't even know anymore.'

Uhh…

Wrath's jaw dropped.

'Th-That's totally possible.'

He was totally going to do that!

The Raon Zieghart he'd been watching was a heartless demon that did anything for his objective. He might even try to bind Lohenyellow in the world of living forever.

'That's unacceptable.'

Even though it was his whim or generosity that took Lohenyellow as his servant, he couldn't allow his servant to stay in that wretched state forever.

Damn it…

Raon smiled faintly while watching Wrath agonize over the decision.

'He must really believe that I'm a demon.'

Raon was planning to get rid of Lohengreen's lingering attachments regardless of the legacy. He just wanted to explore the dungeon faster and more easily since he happened to meet him.

"What are your lingering attachments?"

[Can I tell you about them from downstairs? I'll guide you.]

Lohengreen bowed apologetically.

"Pfft."

Uuugh!

Raon grinned as he averted his gaze, and Wrath hung his head, filled with despair.

"Please guide me."

[Yes.]

Lohengreen told him to follow, going through the passage created inside the cave.

"Let's go."

Raon bobbed his hand towards Dorian and followed Lohengreen.

"But…"

Dorian swallowed nervously while watching Raon's back.

"Wh-What are you doing right now? Why are you talking to yourself in a way that I can't even hear, and why do you keep looking into the air?"

He clasped his hands together with a trembling chin.

"I'm afraid of this kind of thing! Tell me now if there are ghosts! Tell me! Hey!"

* * *

"Huff! Huff!"

Krein looked back, wiping his sweat flowing down his forehead. The teammates who were running towards him were completely pale, and the way their limbs were limping looked like the smallest impact would make them collapse.

'This is a natural result.'

It was only natural that everyone's minds and bodies were exhausted, as they'd abandoned their horses and had been using their footwork as fast as they could for almost an entire day.

"T-Team leader."

Krein called out to Burren, who was running at the very front. Burren glanced at him without responding.

"W-We should rest for a moment. Everyone's going to collapse at this rate."

"Hmm…"

Burren's steps came to a halt as he saw his members' crumpled faces and heard their heavy breaths.

"Let's rest for ten minutes."

"Uhaa!"

"Hoo!"

"I-I'm dying…"

As soon as he gave the order to rest, the swordsmen sank to the ground and gasped for breath.

"Erm, team leader. I mean, Sir Burren."

Krein came up next to Burren after catching his breath.

"Shouldn't we be moving more slowly? I know that it's an urgent matter, but everyone's going to collapse at this rate."

Using footwork to move quickly and using footwork to move as fast as they could generated a completely different amount of exhaustion.

If they maintained their current speed, everyone was going to run out of aura and collapse. The other swordsmen must've agreed with him, since they were staring at Burren with exhausted eyes.

"I'm fully aware that it's difficult for you guys."

Burren sighed and turned his head around.

"But the squad leader fell in that state because he strained himself too much for our sake, and Raon went to a dungeon in order to save the squad leader, taking only a single person with him."

"Ah…"

"Considering that even the South-North Union heard about the dungeon's rumors, the Six Kings, Five Demons, and even the other big factions must be inside."

Raon must've been struggling to fight against the other competitors on top of the magician Lohengreen's traps, barriers, and monsters.

'And he must be in a hurry because he's late.'

Considering when Raptor told him about the rumor of the dungeon and Raon's personality, it was obvious that he would be overexerting himself to break through the dungeon.

"Raon isn't going to withdraw no matter who he encounters inside the dungeon. He will reach the end of the dungeon at all costs, whether he can find an elixir or not. That's why we also need to run, even if we end up collapsing from exhaustion!"

"Hmm…"

"Haa, you are right."

"The vice squad leader would totally do that."

As soon as Burren finished his speech, the third team of the Light Wind raised themselves up. They were still exhausted, but a light of determination was glowing from their tired eyes.

"You guys…"

"We've finished resting."

"Yes, strength returned to our bodies once we thought about the squad leader and the vice squad leader."

"They must be suffering way more than us right now."

"Let's go!"

The Light Wind members turned their ankles with smiles on their faces.

"Alright."

Burren nodded while facing their bright eyes.

"Let's go again! We won't stop until we reach the branch!"

"Yes!"

The Light Wind's third team looked even more energetic than when they first left as they advanced.

* * *

After going through the secret passage, Raon continued going down the dungeon through a regular route.

[That steppingstone is a trap. Once someone steps on it, it will freeze their body as soon as they take off their step just like a mine.]

[That space is a barrier that I named 'Frozen Hell'. Spheres with dozens of ice spikes are scattered throughout the barrier.]

[Ah, that passage leads to the top. The other side is a long and difficult passage. The middle one is the fastest route with the smallest number of traps.]

Lohengreen stayed next to Raon to tell him about the locations of traps and barriers, and even told him which way was faster and easier.

'I gained a lot of time.'

Since the route he was taking was personally given to him by the magician who created the dungeon, he was advancing far faster than those who came before him. Considering the fact that the traces were clearer than before, he guessed that he could catch up to them soon enough.

'And there's even more of an advantage.'

Raon smiled faintly, pointing at the trap that Lohengreen had warned him about a moment ago.

"How did you make this one?"

[Ah, I used the coldness to create a sphere, and incorporated the explosion as an image and configured it in a way that the spikes would be created upon finding an enem…]

As expected of a magician, Lohengreen kept giving him detailed answers whenever Raon asked him about how the traps and barriers were made. Thanks to him, Raon got some ideas about how to apply the magic's mental image into his martial art.

[The ground over there is the last trap of the third floor. We should reach the fourth cavern soon.]

"I see."

Raon nodded, effortlessly jumping over the trap on the ground.

'This is so easy.'

He almost felt drowsy because it was too easy, on top of being fast and safe. And it went without saying that it was thanks to Wrath that he got himself such a guide. He was truly the giving Wrath who gave him everything, whenever and wherever.

'Thank you.'

Argh!

Raon grinned at Wrath, and his shoulders trembled in irritation.

'It should be fine to ask him about the legacy now.'

He had been suppressing his urge in order to avoid any suspicion, but he figured it wasn't strange to ask him about it by then.

"I have a question."

[I'm listening.]

"Is there any relic in here that can recover a broken energy center or mana circuits?"

[Hmm…]

Lohengreen pondered for a moment before he slowly lowered his gaze.

[There should be two of them.]

"Two of them."

Raon nodded while hiding his excitement.

"The God of Wrath wants both of them."

You bastard!