Chapter 515

The red blade embodying the culmination of Glenn's martial arts destroyed the Holy Sword Alliance master's dark sword. The ashen flame of his manipulated sword disappeared completely, and the shattered blade sank under the cold lake.

The shapeless sword that was supporting the manipulated sword couldn't withstand the sharpness of the red sword either. The colorless energy used to be as clear as sunlight but had subsided like a heat haze.

Glenn's sword didn't come to a halt even after destroying the ultimate harmony between the manipulated sword and the shapeless sword, which was too unreal to exist.

The furious radiance emerging from it was about to put an end to the battle.

"Is that the sword you've been accumulating?"

The Holy Sword Alliance smiled in delight while spreading his arms, a large amount of blood was gushing from him.

"I'm honored to die from a swordsmanship like that! Come at me, Glenn Zieghart!"

He didn't run away. He widened his eyes and took a step towards Glenn as if he were asking to be killed. Even his sword wasn't more important than the sword for him. He was indeed crazy for the sword, and it was the perfect way to describe him.

Glenn didn't really care about the Holy Sword Alliance master's intentions. His mind remained as serene as at the start of the battle as he extended the Lightning Spirit Sword.

Rumble!

The red radiant lightning exploded from the tip of his sword. Just as everything was about to be erased, a huge mana turbulence occurred from the hill on the left and the sky above him.

It was from the White Blood Religion's leader and the dragon lord, who had been hiding.

The White Blood Religion's leader fired a barrage of bloody weapons to take Glenn's life while the dragon lord activated the Dragon Words. He seemed to be trying to reduce the impact of his sword attack.

'Hmm…'

Glenn kept thrusting his sword while ignoring them and suddenly narrowed his eyes.

'Was there one more?'

A tremendous amount of demonic energy was approaching from behind the Holy Sword Alliance master.

Glenn had expected the White Blood Religion's leader and the dragon lord to take action, but he hadn't predicted the existence coming from behind the Holy Sword Alliance master.

Considering the size of the demonic energy, it must've been the Black Tower's master who had attacked Cameloon.

"It's pointless to interfere. I'll just slay you all."

He bit his lip tightly and unleashed the pinnacle of swordsmanship that he hadn't even named yet.

Whaaam!

Even though the Dragon Words were decreasing the output, a tremendous explosion occurred.

Water completely evaporated from the lake, and the land shook violently.

The endless gray smoke became a pillar connecting heaven and earth, and an earthquake turned the land upside down.

Glenn lowered the Lightning Spirit Sword amid that hellish scenery. The fissure in the space, which was radiating a strange color, couldn't close because the sword strike was far too powerful.

He looked at the other side of the fissure. No one was there. The Holy Sword Alliance master, the Black Tower's master who was trying to protect him, and the White Blood Religion's leader who was trying to take him by surprise were all gone.

"..."

Glenn caught his breath in his mind and lowered his gaze. The white crater created on the land was soaked with a frightening amount of blood. It was the Holy Sword Alliance master's blood.

'I cut him for sure.'

Even though the Dragon Words had decreased the output, he was certain that he'd managed to cut the Holy Sword Alliance master's chest.

A robe of demonic energy had surrounded the Holy Sword Alliance master before the explosion, but it was impossible to completely absorb the impact even for the Black Tower's master.

'Those two must've managed to escape.'

The White Blood Religion's leader and the Black Tower's master must've escaped through sorcery, as they were behind the Holy Sword Alliance master.

Tsk.

Glenn briefly clicked his tongue and subdued the Lightning Spirit Sword. The red lightning subsided, and Heavenly Tremor returned to its original appearance. His sword felt heavy for the first time.

'I've used an excessive amount of power.'

He probably could have defeated the Holy Sword Alliance master by focusing on Heavenly Blade even if he hadn't gained enlightenment from earlier.

However, he didn't want to throw away the epitome of martial arts that he'd gained thanks to Raon. He put the enlightenment together while thinking he would teach him about it one day.

'I should finish the rest even though I'm tired.'

Glenn raised his head and furrowed his brow. The huge dragon floating below the moonlight was looking at him with trembling eyes.

"Come down."

[Hmm…]

The dragon lord quietly groaned, changed into his human shape, and landed on the ground.

"Did you decide to take the Five Demons's side?"

The dragon lord's shoulders trembled upon facing Glenn's cold gaze.

"N-not at all!"

The dragon lord hurriedly shook his head.

"The human factions have no importance to us!"

He raised his staff and pointed at the dimensional rift that was still showing its distortion.

"Destructive King of the North. Your sword from a moment ago was far too dangerous. That rift could've expanded endlessly if I didn't reduce the output."

"..."

Glenn looked at the rift quietly. Just like the dragon lord had said, the fissure in the space still wasn't closing. It was gradually increasing in size along with strange sparks.

[Close.]

The fissure in the space was finally reattached and returned to normal after the dragon lord spoke using Dragon Words. The violent sparks also started to decrease slowly.

"Your power is dangerous. Even I am starting to feel fear."

His gaze revealed a fear that hadn't existed before.

"Your time must've decreased even further because of that, but…"

"Lord."

Glenn called out to him with a dry voice and the dragon lord shut his mouth.

"Like I said before, I am one who minds my own business. You don't need to pay attention to me, since I'll take my own karma and sins to my grave. And…"

He raised Heavenly Tremor in front of the dragon lord's trembling pupils.

"This is your last warning. I'll take it as a declaration of war if you disturb me once again."

"H-how could you…?"

The dragon lord gasped at his ridiculous statement.

"Do you intend to wage a war against the dragons?"

"Do you think I can't?"

"Hmm…"

The dragon lord was unable to respond. Glenn's eyes were glowing in a frightening light, implying that he was serious about it.

'It might be better to kill him now…'

Since Glenn clearly looked tired, he thought he might be able to kill him. His finger twitched before he knew it.

'It might be possible with the two of—'

When he was contemplating whether he should take action or not, Glenn sneered at him.

"Do you want to try it now? I don't mind."

Crimson lightning burst from his sword, showing his willingness to fight.

The dragon lord swallowed nervously. Even though Glenn was tired, he broke out into cold sweat upon remembering the sword technique he'd witnessed a moment ago, since even the strongest weapon of the dragons—the dragon breath—wasn't a match to it.

"I have no intention of doing so. But I'd like you to understand that we are simply doing our job."

"It would've been better if you didn't have that double standard that only benefits your race."

"Hmm…"

He quietly groaned because he was unable to refute the matter, then turned into a golden light to disappear.

"Haa…"

Glenn exhaled the breath that he'd been holding back, and the Archmage of Eternal Flame, Chamber, appeared alongside a blue light.

"The Black Tower's master came this way, didn't he?"

Chamber wasn't in a good condition at all. Her robe was torn in various places with blood flowing from it, and her huge mana pool was at the rock bottom. Even her characteristic wide-brimmed hat was nowhere to be seen.

"He did a number on you."

"He managed to get his hand on Fraya's robe."

"Fraya's robe?"

"Yes. The Black Market was hiding it, but he acquired it."

She twisted her lips, saying that it was bad news that it was taken.

"Fraya's robe…"

Glenn closed his eyes while stroking his chin.

'Is it that thing from earlier?'

The robe of demonic energy that the Black Tower's master had used to surround the Holy Sword Alliance master when he was on the verge of death must've been Fraya's robe.

"I'm sorry, I should've stopped him…"

Chamber furrowed her brow, saying that she couldn't stop him when he tried to run away as soon as he saw the Silent Sword Sovereign.

"It's fine."

Glenn lightly tapped on Chamber's shoulder, as she seemed stressed out. She'd done a good job holding out for so long, especially because the Black Tower's master was the worst matchup for her in the first place—and that was discounting the fact that he even had a new artifact.

He didn't want to blame her, as the Light Wind division had survived thanks to her.

"Huh?"

Chamber was surprised by his reaction, and her eyes widened as she clutched her shoulder. Glenn thought about asking her to teleport him but gave up on the idea since both her stamina and mana seemed insufficient.

"I'll be taking my leave."

Raon and the Light Wind division's survival took the highest priority. He used the Supreme Harmony Steps by burning the aura that had regenerated in the meantime in the mana circuits of his legs.

He ran at full speed, and the Owen Kingdom could be seen soon after. Just as he was about to try to jump over the ramparts, he noticed that Roenn was standing in front of the gate.

"Roenn?"

"I've been waiting for your arrival."

Roenn bowed without asking any questions. It showed his strong faith in his victory.

"What's the matter? Did you manage to find Raon and the Light Wind division?"

"First of all, the Light Wind division has recovered enough to move around. They won't have any aftereffects either."

"But how…?"

"Actually…"

Roenn quickly reported about what had happened so far.

"So Raon hasn't been found yet."

"About that…"

Roenn's head trembled, unable to continue for the first time.

"Did something happen?"

"There was a message from the house regarding him."

"From the house?"

"Yes."

He walked up to Glenn with trembling eyes.

"Someone said that she would take Sir Raon with her, and she is…"

A thick vein bulged from Glenn's forehead after he heard the whole story.

* * *

* * *

"Hmm…"

Raon raised his eyebrows while feeling like a cold wind was tightening his heart.

He could see an endless white ceiling. It wasn't reality. It was his mental world that he'd observed countless times in the past in order to achieve the Sword Field.

Swords used to bud like flowers, and fire and ice used to be harmonic and discordant at the same time, but the space had changed drastically.

"I expected this to happen, but it's a lot worse."

'So much of it has been torn apart.'

A dark hole was created at the center of his mental world where the heat and coldness were raging.

The extreme cold rising from the bottomless hole was intense enough to freeze his bones.

However, the hole wasn't getting any bigger, and he could guess it was thanks to the navy blue energy stopping it in the surrounding area.

'What is this energy?'

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at the energy that was encircling the hole, and a familiar scream could be heard.

"Don't do it!"

He turned his head and saw Wrath standing at a table in the annex building. He wasn't taking the shape of cotton candy. He was clutching his head in his real form.

'What are you do—ah.'

He noticed that grilled skewers, pizzas, breads, and ice creams were laid out on the table, and he managed to understand why Wrath was behaving that way.

He must've been missing the food that he couldn't eat so much that he tried to eat them in the mental world. Of course, it was a meaningless struggle.

"Damn it! There's no taste at all!"

Wrath gobbled down the food with teary eyes.

'That's Wrath indeed.'

Raon laughed bitterly. He could still clearly remember him overwhelming the transcenders in that form. Yet, watching him complain about the food made him realize that he was Wrath whom he'd known all along.

"Wrath."

Raon shook his head and sat on the opposite side from Wrath.

"This is so frustrating!"

Wrath violently ground his teeth while slamming his hand on the table.

"The King of Essence can't forget about it! Those foods that he couldn't eat back then are still rolling around in his memory!"

He declared the words and started eating the food once again. He spat them back out though, because they were completely tasteless.

"That's why I tried to tell you to eat them faster."

"But it was such a rare opportunity! He had to eat as much as he could while he had the chance!"

"Yes, and that's why you couldn't get any at all."

"Ugh…"

Wrath was unable to refute his words and slammed his head on the table while whimpering.

"Rather than that, Wrath. The hole over there means that my mental world was cut off, right?"

Raon tapped on Wrath's head and pointed at the dark hole at the center.

"Why are you asking the obvious question? Your mental world, and the soul level that you've been accumulating, has melted down."

"I expected as much, but it's far bigger than I thought…"

Raon bit his lip while looking at the hole. He was prepared for the worst, but the crack was far bigger than anticipated. Wrath had told him he was going to suffer lots of losses, and he had a painful realization.

"It could've been worse. The expansion was stopped midway."

"It was stopped, you say?"

"Indeed. Whoever that was, someone injected their will and aura into your upper energy center to temporarily stop its expansion."

Wrath pointed at the navy blue energy surrounding the hole.

"Hmm…"

Raon bit his lip while observing the energy. They must've been at the high end of Grandmaster or a transcender if they could inject their will and aura into his upper energy center. However, he didn't recognize whose energy it was.

"I won't be able to find out before I wake up."

He sighed and looked at the hole once again.

'This feels slightly bitter.'

Having his mental world cut off felt like a boar had ruined a farm that he'd worked so hard on.

Of course, it might be inconsequential to his stats and physical body.

However, it implied the decrease in his soul level that had been improved through his achievements, which made it even more painful.

"Do you regret it?"

Wrath asked while throwing away the pizza crust.

"Not at all."

Raon calmly shook his head.

"I'd never regret that decision."

Considering Orgos's persistence, he would've followed the Light Wind division until the bitter end if he'd survived.

It was necessary to finish him off right there, even if he would have had to borrow the power of other demon kings if it weren't for Wrath.

"I just need to gain new achievements."

"You are making it sound easy."

"It really won't take that long."

Raon smiled faintly at Wrath.

'Because I've learned a lot, thanks to you.'

He'd learned a new way to use his frost while watching Wrath's battle from up close. Since he had also observed the martial arts of the transcenders, there were lots of gains, even more than his losses.

He might've gotten weaker for the moment, but he expected to climb even higher in the future.

"Hmm, the King of Essence is disappearing now. It must be because you woke up."

Wrath furrowed his brow while pointing at his body, which was becoming blurry.

"Ah! You better not forget. It's for three weeks! Three whole weeks! Remember it!"

He shook his hand while telling him to make sure to remember and disappeared like bubbles.

Raon chuckled and looked around his mental world, where Wrath didn't exist anymore.

There were still lots of swords, but the divine and demonic swords were nowhere to be found. They might have temporarily disappeared because of the hole.

'I should try filling that hole since I don't know when I'll be able to return.'

The mental world was the same as his life itself. He closed his eyes to repair the messy world through meditation and the Ring of Fire.

* * *

As Raon was reorganizing his mental world and filling the hole little by little, he heard someone's voice.

—dy!

'Who is that?'

—eks!

Raon focused on the voice, and the sound became gradually louder.

Just wake up already!

He followed the voice, and his vision brightened.

"Huh…?"

Raon blinked blankly. His mental world was gone, and he could see a wooden ceiling that looked damp and worn out.

Wrath's head was floating in front of it.

You finally woke up! How pathetic of you!

Wrath hit his head, calling him a sleepyhead like Sloth.

'What are you talking about? It hasn't been that long since our encounter.'

What are YOU talking about? You've been sleeping for over two weeks now!

'Two weeks?'

Raon gasped while examining his condition. He could guess that he couldn't feel the passage of time because he was too focused on his mental world.

It could've been called a natural outcome because he'd spent a huge amount of energy and even received a large amount of wrath.

Are you planning to break your promise aga—

'I know, you don't have to tell me.'

Raon was well aware of why Wrath was so angry. It must've been because of the promise that he'd made about eating whatever he wanted for three weeks.

'It's because of the promise for three weeks, right? I'll extend the duration.'

It's pointless to extend it now!

'What do you mean?'

His frown deepened even though Raon was expecting him to be happy about it.

There's no one around.

'Huh?'

We are currently on the ocean!

Wrath screamed and clutched his head.U//ppTodat𝒆d fr/𝒐/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m

'Why am I on the ocean?'

He couldn't believe that he was on the ocean, as he'd fainted in the Owen Kingdom.

How is the King of Essence supposed to know?!

'Hmm…'

Raon looked around him. He seemed to be in a small room, and the floor was sloshing a little. He could guess that he really was inside a ship. However, he couldn't find Heavenly Drive or the Blade of Requiem in the area.

'Who took my swords? No, rather than that, why am I even on the ocean…?'

He licked his dry lips and left the room. He could see multiple doors to small rooms.

He climbed the stairs located at the center, and he could see the blue sky and the ocean that was as blue as the sky.

Land was nowhere to be seen in any direction. He was literally on the boundless ocean.

"We really are on the ocean…"

"Did you finally wake up?"

The gruff voice of a woman could be heard from behind. Raon looked around, and a woman with hair the color of sunset reflected on the ocean and impressive brown skin appeared.

"Who are—rather than that, why am I here?"

"What else?"

She grinned and pointed her finger at him.

"You've been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?"

Raon stepped backward and examined the woman. She had a beautiful appearance with distinctive facial features, but that wasn't the important part. He couldn't figure out her prowess at a glance. That implied that she was an extremely powerful warrior who had even surpassed the Grandmaster's realm.

"Who are you?"

"Guess who I am."

The woman smiled faintly and circled her finger.

"If I demand your ransom to Zieghart…"

"Stop with your prank, Aries Zieghart."

She murmured that the ransom would give her enough money to live idly for the rest of her life, only for a familiar voice to come from the right.

An old man with fragile white hair and muscles of steel was furrowing his brow.

"Sir Kuberad?"

He was the Continent's Blacksmith, Kuberad, who had forged the Blade of Requiem after the third prince had introduced him. He gave a small nod to greet him.

"Wait a moment!"

Raon hurriedly turned his head and looked at the woman with hair the color of a sunset.

"Aries Zieghart? Are you that Aries?"

Glenn's first daughter was in front of him even though he hadn't seen her once since he was born in Zieghart.