Thud! Raon rushed forward without a moment's hesitation and caught Rimmer as he collapsed.
"Vice Leader!"
He grabbed Rimmer's shoulders and shook him, but there was no response. The once refreshing breath was silent, and the scent of wind had faded away.
"Please!"
Raon placed his hand on Rimmer's blackening left chest and poured out the divinity born from darkness. However, having given too much to Alice earlier, the wound wouldn't heal.
"Martha!"
Raon called out Martha's name with a voice tinged with desperation.
"Damn it! Rimmer!"
Martha cursed as she ran over and grabbed Rimmer's wrist. She pushed her aura into him to heal the wound, but Rimmer remained motionless.
"V-Vice Leader!"
"Aaaargh!
Burren and Runaan also rushed over, calling out Rimmer's name.
"Vice Division Leader!"
"Instructor!"
"P-Please wake up!"
Dorian, covered in blood, and all the members of the Light Wind division ran over to hold Rimmer, but his eyelids remained closed.
"Now I see why he was called the Light Sword."
Sif licked his lips as he shook the blood off his cursed blacksword.
"To throw away the chance to ascend to transcendence for the sake of saving such vermin, he truly was as mad as his name suggests."
He sneered at Rimmer with disbelief.
"Do whatever it takes to save him."
Raon held Rimmer's cooling hand before standing up. He glared at Sif, who was mocking Rimmer, and gripped his divine sword and demonic sword so tightly that blood flowed from his palms.
'All...'
It's all my fault. If I had figured out the strange aspects of this dungeon sooner. If I hadn't trusted Sif. If I hadn't been sucked into Bardiel's barrier. If I had broken through the light barrier with all my strength and come here as quickly as possible. Even if we died together, Rimmer wouldn't have fallen so lonely.
All of this was entirely my fault.
"That guy. He called himself human. Isn't it laughable that he tries to be human while having a fake energy center, using a fake sword domain and even wearing a fake arm?"
Sif rambled on with his nonsense.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. From my perspective, soon to become an angel, humans and elves are all just insects."
Raon wanted to tear that mouth apart.
'Power...'
I need power. With his current strength, he couldn't even kill Sif alone. To brutally kill Bardiel and Sif, he needed immense power. He drew out all the emotions of the demon king sleeping within his soul.
Even if I disappear, I want the power for revenge. The power to brutally kill those trash.
-You must not!
Wrath jumped out in front, blocking his view.
-This king can neither stop nor control it now! It's not this king's rampage, but yours! Come to your senses!
He shook his head vigorously, warning that everything built up until now could turn to nothing.
"Aaaargh! Vice Leader!"
'I'm sorry, Wrath...'
But seeing Dorian's scream and Sif's laughter, the last of his reason shattered. Crack! As if something snapped in his mind, the feeling of rage surged from the depths of his soul and spread throughout his body. Screech...
As frost white as snow seeped into his heart, the eight rings of fire creaked like rusted metal before coming to a complete stop.
The flames of the divine sword subsided, and the frost of the demonic sword surged as if about to explode. As if returning to his childhood, cold energy filled his mana circuits, turning his vision white. The balance between the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier that always worked in harmony was broken, and his three energy centers were filled with a chilling cold.
Raon discarded the extinguished divine sword and raised only the demonic sword. Behind him, with blue horns sprouting from his forehead, a storm of frost rose as if to devour the world.
"Have you accepted demonic power for the sake of revenge?"
Sif licked his red lips as if finding it amusing.
"I'll kill you..."
Raon exhaled a white mist as if standing at the heart of winter. As if the power of frost had gone berserk, he thrust his sword in a bestial, vicious form rather than a swordsman's stance. Crash! With a single sword strike, half the cavern froze over, and Sif was thrown back against the wall as if overwhelmed by the force. It was a terrifying display of power.
"Are you trying to die together? You're truly worthy of being the Light Sword's disciple!"
Sif raised his cursed blacksword with black veins showing in his eyes. A spatial slash rose in front of Raon's chest. Raon didn't dodge. As if intent on mutual destruction, he endured the spatial cut with his frost armor and brought down an even fiercer sword strike towards Sif.
As the frost slash and spatial sword collided, a white frozen crack appeared and then exploded.
Explosions erupted from all directions, shaking the cavern as if it would collapse.
"Your strength is beyond transcendent."
Sif chuckled as he looked at his right arm, now permeated with frost. As Sif stepped back to retreat, Raon reversed his grip on the demonic sword and plunged it into the ground.
As the blade of the demonic sword flashed as if about to burst, the space Sif had opened to escape froze over, and a storm of cold energy rose around him. It was a prison made of frost.
Raon charged at Sif with blue light flashing in his eyes. Just as he was about to bring his sword down on Sif's neck, a white beam shot from the right, piercing through his waist and thigh.
"Argh!"
Even while injured, Raon didn't stop and swung his demonic sword down at Sif. However, having lost power and speed midway, Sif easily blocked the strike and slipped to the left.
"What's with that guy? How is this possible?"
Sif frowned as he looked at his cursed blacksword filled with frost.
"It is possible."
Bardiel exhaled a murky sigh as he looked at Raon.
"The demon who lent power to that human is the Monarch of Wrath."
He furrowed his brows deeply, as if displeased.
"Monarch of Wrath?"
Sif narrowed his eyes at Bardiel.
"He's one of the most formidable monsters among the rulers of Devildom. Now I understand why even light is freezing over."
Bardiel nodded heavily, as if finally comprehending.
"We need to attack together. He may not be a transcendent, but we must be even more cautious."
"Hmm..."
Sif narrowed his eyes as he watched Raon emanating increasingly strong cold energy.
"Shall we try an experiment?"
"Experiment?"
"Just wait and see."
He avoided the cold energy Raon had unleashed and fired a spatial slash towards the Light Wind division gathered around Rimmer. Just as the slash that had torn through space was about to cut the necks of the Light Wind swordsmen, Raon, who had been rushing at Sif, hurriedly retreated and erected a wall of ice.
Fortunately, he was able to protect the Light Wind division from Sif's surprise attack, but perhaps because he had abruptly twisted the direction of the cold energy, blood trickled from Raon's lips.
"Hahahahaha!"
Sif burst into laughter as he brushed back his disheveled hair.
"Even in a half-crazed state, you still prioritize your comrades? To think you'd even imitate his foolishness!"
He held his stomach and laughed, finding it absurd.
"Hmm..."
Bardiel also frowned, seemingly surprised by Raon's actions.
"This is why humans are vermin. You can't accomplish great things when led by emotions."
Sif muttered, curling his lips in disdain.
"You know what we need to do, right?"
He raised his cursed blacksword above his head and looked at Bardiel.
"Yes. Let's attack together."
Bardiel nodded and brought his hands together. Within his palms, a pure white radiance of concentrated divine power ignited. Sif's downward strike twisted and split the mana in the cavern. A transcendent spatial sword. Along with cracks that seemed to tear the air apart, slashes poured in from all directions.
'Am I...'
Raon closed his eyes as he saw the slashes and waves of light pouring down on him and the Light Wind division.
'Unable to even make a choice?'
He had resolved to avenge his master by abandoning himself to the demon king's authority, but he couldn't bear to let his comrades die. Cursing his indecisive self that couldn't let go of anything, he exploded the accumulated cold energy.
'I'm sorry, Vice Leader. I'm sorry, Wrath.'
Raon raised his sword to protect the Light Wind division rather than himself. Sword Domain: Heaven's Rift. A purple radiance like the twilight sky surged up the blade of the demonic sword. The sword strike, aimed not at killing the enemy but protecting his comrades, spread out in a circle and collided with the light of the angels and the slashes tearing through space.
An enormous explosion erupted, causing the floor of the cavern to sink and the ceiling and walls to start collapsing. The impact beyond normal limits was causing the entire dungeon to crumble.
"Cough!"
Raon coughed up black blood as he was buried in the collapsed ground. However, the Light Wind division within the frost wall he had created didn't suffer even a small scratch.
"Raon!"
"Get up!"
The Light Wind division called out Raon's name, but he didn't open his eyes, as if dead.
"Is he dead? No, we should check..."
"We need to leave!"
As Sif was about to confirm Raon's condition, Bardiel grabbed his shoulder.
"What nonsense! We should at least take the body!"
"The time axis of this dungeon is different from the outside! If we don't leave before the dungeon collapses, years might have passed when we get out!"
Bardiel shouted that they needed to leave, saying these people would die buried in this dungeon anyway.
"Tch."
Sif clicked his tongue as if he had no choice, slung Alice, whom he had extracted earlier, over his shoulder, and gestured to the Light Wind division trapped in ice.
"Lucky, I suppose? No, they'll die anyway."
With those words, he left the collapsing cavern along with Bardiel.
"Huff..."
Raon raised his head with difficulty. Using what little cold energy remained, he thickened the frost wall to protect the Light Wind division from injury before collapsing back to the ground.
'Vice Leader.'
He saw Rimmer's face among the Light Wind members. Seeing him still smiling even as he fell made Raon's heart ache unbearably.
'I'm sorry...'
Raon looked at Rimmer before closing his trembling eyelids. As he exhaled a faint breath as if dead, the Blade of Requiem, having returned to its original form, flashed with a clear green light.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, I was in the mental world. Though it's a familiar space I've visited often, today was different from usual. The land usually divided between heat and cold was frozen white, and the swords were rolling around with frost embedded in them.
The eight rings of fire floating in the sky had also stopped rotating and were tilted downwards as if broken.
Like my heart, the mental world too had frozen over.
"Truly like a worm."
I laughed bitterly as I sat in the frozen mental world. I had resolved to avenge my master and surrendered my body to the demon king's authority, yet I lacked the courage to sacrifice my comrades. I felt like a worm, merely wriggling, unable to do this or that. Crack. Raon pulled out a sword stuck in the frozen ground.
"I'm sorry for being such an incompetent master."
He shook his head as he looked at the sword that seemed to embody the First Patriarch's sword control.
'What would he have done?'
No, what about grandfather? I wondered how the most resolute and strongest swordsmen I knew would have acted in a situation like mine.
"No, it doesn't matter now."
I'm already broken. Even if I survive, it will take a very long time to get revenge.
'I've lost too much.'
Rimmer was dead, Alice's fate unknown, and Sif, on the contrary, had gained power and information. With no gains and only losses, my chest felt tight.
"It's all my fault..."
"Are you blaming yourself again?"
I turned around at the familiar voice that came with a refreshing breeze.
"Huh?"
Raon's jaw trembled as he saw the red-haired elf standing with one leg crossed.
"In-Instructor?"
Rimmer. The one I thought dead was now in my mental world. I was so surprised that I used the old title instead of calling him Vice Leader.
"H-How is this possible? Why are you here..."
"I don't know."
Rimmer shrugged, saying he didn't know either.
"No, but..."
"That's not what's important right now. As I always say, you think too much. Sometimes..."
He laughed as he tapped his chest.
"Think with this heart."
"Ah..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at Rimmer. Hearing him speak like this, he knew it wasn't a fake. It was the real Rimmer.
"Vice Leader. I..."
"I saw."
Rimmer sighed.
"You were being yourself. As always, the greedy Raon Zieghart trying to hold onto everything."
He laughed, saying he knew it would be like this.
"But this time, I understand."
Rimmer chuckled and pointed at himself.
"I was similar."
He giggled, saying he too had been beaten up trying to save Dorian and Alice.
"Vice Leader..."
"That title is enough now. Call me master. I'm tired of having a disciple as my superior."
"Ah, yes..."
Raon nodded.
"Is this your mental world? It's as boring as expected."
Rimmer shook his head, wondering how there could only be swords in a mental world at Raon's age.
"At your age, you should be falling in love, drinking all night with friends, and traveling."
He clicked his tongue, saying it was a pity.
"I'm sorry..."
"But now I understand the reason a bit."
Rimmer smirked as he looked at the rings of fire in the sky.
"Reason?"
"Your swordsmanship and aura are already at the transcendent level, but your realm has remained at Grandmaster. If your aura was transcendent and your swordsmanship lacking, it would make sense, but it's strange that you couldn't break through the transcendent wall despite that not being the case."
He narrowed his eyes playfully as he looked at Raon.
"Now I think I know why."
"Hmm..."
Raon, still not understanding Rimmer's words, only let out a low groan without answering.
"When I first saw you, you were like a blank slate. Not in terms of skill, but in terms of humanity. Strangely, your anger was deep, but you lacked almost all the affection, sadness, and joy that other children had."
He waved his hand, saying that while Raon had talent, his emotions seemed damaged.
"Fortunately, thanks to the good people around you, you came to know joy, pleasure, and happiness, but there was one thing you lacked."
"What do you..."
"Sadness."
Rimmer raised his index finger towards Raon.
"You didn't know sadness among joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. You were cold when young, but gradually became more emotional. I think human emotions had a big impact on your growth."
"Ah..."
It was as he said. Not only human emotions but also the emotions of the demon kings had influenced his growth.
"But you still didn't know sadness. No, you accepted sadness as anger."
Rimmer placed his hand on his head as he said this.
"There is parting in meeting, and those who leave will surely return. Accept sadness as sadness. There's no need to forcibly endure it by changing it into another emotion."
He smiled brightly as he patted his own head.
"Raon. You are Raon Zieghart, no one else. Return to the essence that a person should have as a human being."
As Rimmer said this and stepped back, his body began to fade.
"Master!"
"It seems my time is up."
He clicked his tongue as he looked at his hand that was starting to disappear like mist.
"I don't know if we'll meet again, but I'm glad I could have this last conversation with you."
Rimmer nodded, asking to send his regards to the Light Wind division.
"Oh, and make sure to kill that bastard! Got it? I was trying not to say this before leaving! But seeing him torment you too! I can't stand..."
He disappeared while shouting to definitely kill Sif. He was true to himself until the end.
"Haha..."
Raon laughed. As he accepted the emotion he had tried so hard not to feel, tears didn't come, but rather laughter. He realized it wasn't time to cry, but to accept sadness.
However, the soul-rending pain remained as it was. No, it became even worse. The pain following sadness hurt unbearably.
As he accepted the emotion being conveyed to him now, the mental world shook, and a golden flame ignited at the edge of the cold energy that had frozen everything. The flame, rising quietly like an ember, spread in all directions riding on a green wind.
The frozen land melted, and the swords engulfed in frost rose back into the sky.
The golden flame that finally reached the sky melted the eight rings of fire filled with cold energy and linked a ninth ring tempered with the mental image of sadness. The rings of fire, rotating endlessly like wheels that never stop even on the battlefield, resonated and let out a roar that awakened Raon's soul.