-Isn't that old man the worm whose arm I ripped off?
Wrath frowned as he seemed to recognize the Demonblade.
'That's right.'
Raon gritted his teeth as he looked at the Demonblade.
'It's him.'
An old man with white hair and thread-thin eyes. It was undoubtedly Dreg, a member of the Five Divine Orders and the leader of the Dark Black Lotus.
"Demonblade. Why are you here?"
He had thought there might be a monstrous being inside the magically created rock, but he didn't expect it to be the Demonblade.
'I don't understand what he's thinking.'
He couldn't understand why the master of the Dark Black Lotus, a force just below the Five Kings and Five Demons, and a complete Transcendent, was spreading such terrible death energy here.
"I wanted to return."
The Demonblade spread his arms with a faint smile.
"Return? What do you mean?"
Raon narrowed his eyes, not understanding the Demonblade's words.
"After the Blue Demon King ripped off my arm, I walked the path of ruin."
The Demonblade twisted his lips as he looked at the shoulder where his prosthetic arm was attached.
"The wound inflicted by the Demon King never healed, constantly tormenting me. As time passed, my strength didn't recover; instead, it only diminished."
He clutched his wrinkled forehead, saying that each day was filled with excruciating pain.
"Having lost my arm on top of that, I had to live in a state of Transcendence that wasn't truly Transcendence. But the greatest pain wasn't that."
The Demonblade looked at Raon with a chilling smile.
"The trash of the Five Divine Orders started looking down on me because I had weakened. No! It wasn't just them. The whole world treated me like a bird with broken wings!"
He gritted his teeth while caressing his prosthetic arm, which was stained purple.
"Raon Zieghart. Do you know?"
The Demonblade slowly raised his gaze as if time had stopped.
"The pain of one who has lost their power. Do you know the agony of a fallen one who once stood in the heavens but crashed to the earth!"
He chuckled and shook his head slightly.
"You wouldn't know. Someone like you who only knows how to climb higher without understanding the height of the sky could never understand."
The Demonblade lowered his hand, saying it was natural that Raon wouldn't understand.
"But it's alright now. Because I can return again."
He ripped off his purple-stained prosthetic arm from his shoulder. Thud! As the Demonblade discarded the prosthetic arm on the ground, the sea of death energy that had been enveloping the grasslands and mountains began to surge violently and get sucked into him. Whoosh!
Like amniotic fluid nurturing a child, the waves of death energy rapidly condensed and enveloped the Demonblade's entire body.
'Should I strike now?'
Raon bit his lip as he adjusted his grip on the Heavenly Drive.
-No! If that compressed death energy explodes, all those behind you will die. You too will be severely injured.
Wrath shook his head, saying that the current Demonblade was no different from a powder keg.
'Then do we have no choice but to watch?'
As Raon clicked his tongue and began to intensely draw upon the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier, there was a cracking sound! A new arm made of purple flesh sprouted from the Demonblade's shoulder. It wasn't like the regenerative ability of a troll. It looked as if an entirely new body had emerged, like a slime. However, his transformation wasn't limited to just that.
Whoosh. As if time had reversed, the Demonblade's white hair turned jet black, and his wrinkled gray skin tightened and became elastic.
The old man who had looked close to 100 years old seemed to have returned to his 20s in an instant.
Kuooooo! As the Demonblade clenched his newly grown fist, a massive shockwave occurred, splitting the riverbed where he stood in half. It was a terrifying display of power.
"Yes. This is the power. I wanted to return to the time when I commanded the continent."
He covered the brilliantly shining sun with his new hand, drawing a sinister smile.
"No, not returned. I should say I've been reborn."
"..."
Raon bit his lip as he looked at the Demonblade's purple arm.
'What is that...'
More shocking than the Demonblade's rejuvenation or the growth of a new arm was the amount of death energy residing in that arm. It seemed as if the entire sea of death energy that had covered the grasslands had seeped into that arm.
"What on earth have you done?"
Raon lowered his eyebrows as he looked at the smiling Demonblade.
'This isn't possible with normal power.'
It's impossible for a human to grow a new arm. The Demonblade must have done something unnatural using the death energy from this place.
"There's always something needed to properly handle death energy."
The Demonblade twirled his finger lightly.
"Sacrifices."
"What...?"
"This purple sea that covered the grassland is the essence of condensed death energy accumulated by the Dark Black Lotus, shedding blood to accumulate this much."
He muttered that they were such precious things as he slightly raised his thin eyes.
"Blood..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he repeated the word "blood" that the Demonblade had mentioned.
'He said living sacrifices...'
Generally, when people talk about blood and sweat seeping in, it means they've put in a lot of effort, but the blood the Demonblade spoke of seemed to mean actual human blood.
'And...'
Trevin had said that zombies using swordsmanship emerged from the sea of death energy. The puzzle pieces that had been falling into place one by one suddenly formed a complete picture.
"You couldn't have..."
Raon's lips trembled as he looked at the Demonblade.
"Did you sacrifice your subordinates as living offerings?"
"Yes. Half of the Dark Black Lotus is buried in this land."
The Demonblade nodded without the slightest hesitation, as if speaking of something to be proud of.
"Those children must have all died happily. It would be a great honor for them to be of help to me, even in death."
He smiled as he lowered his purple-tinged eyes.
"Insane..."
Raon tightened his grip on the Heavenly Drive.
'He's lost his mind.'
To sacrifice half of the Dark Black Lotus to regain his martial prowess, he knew the Demonblade was a sinister person, but this was crossing a line too far.
-He sacrificed his subordinates to become stronger?
Wrath glared at the Demonblade, grinding his teeth.
-Hand over control to me right now! This time I'll rip off his head, not just his arm!
He shook his fists back and forth, truly enraged.
"Of course, that's not all..."
The Demonblade looked at him with a long, drawn-out smile.
"For me to be resurrected in this form, I needed the pure aura of a martial artist."
"A martial artist's aura?"
"Yes. There was enough death energy, but obtaining aura wasn't easy. So..."
He rubbed his chin as he looked at the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation that had pushed back the death energy.
"I devised this plan. So that I could obtain the aura you expended while defeating monsters or pushing back the death energy."
The Demonblade clapped lightly, saying everything had been planned from the beginning.
"Actually, I thought it would take quite some time, but thanks to your arrival, I was able to finish very quickly. It was good to carry out the plan here, just as he said."
He praised himself, saying it was a perfect plan.
"He? Who's that?"
From what the Demonblade said, it seemed this wasn't something he had done alone.
"There's no reason for me to tell you that."
The Demonblade snorted and shook his head. Judging by his wounded pride, it seemed to be related to the Five Demons.
'Has the Five Divine Orders finally sided with the Five Demons?'
No, considering what he said earlier about being disregarded, it's not certain. It seemed better to think that this incident was carried out solely by the Demonblade and the Dark Black Lotus, not the Five Divine Orders.
"I'm in a very good mood right now. Actually, I had resolved to spare those I met for the first time, but..."
The Demonblade licked his lips as he caressed the sword at his waist.
"Raon Zieghart. I can't just let you go."
"You shouldn't have any grudge against me, right?"
Raon asked with a frown.
"You don't, but I do."
The Demonblade chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
"You survived thanks to the demon king's appearance, while I fell into despair because of it."
He gripped his sword hilt and gritted his teeth with an audible sound.
"Since then, I've fallen deeper and deeper, while you've risen endlessly. You caught the Mad Dragon Kaivar and earned the title of Dragon Slayer, defeated Axe King Roman to gain the title of Kingkiller, and even led the war against the South-North Union to victory!"
He folded his fingers one by one as he listed Raon's achievements.
"Your name is known everywhere in the world, but mine is not spoken anywhere. As if I've already ceased to exist! A title and name that are not spoken have no value."
The Demonblade chuckled and nodded. The word "inferiority" seemed to shine in his purple eyes.
"I even heard stories of you being called the new era's Transcendent, defeating me, a relic of the old era. So I resolved. The next time I met you, I'd take your head and end this so-called new era."
He chuckled, saying he didn't expect this opportunity to come so soon. Seeing an old man's voice and manner of speaking coming from a young appearance sent chills down one's spine.
"Division Leader!"
"W-What just happened!"
"Are you alright...?"
Burren, Martha, and Runaan, who had been pushed back by the explosion caused by the Demonblade, approached.
"Raon!"
"Division Leader! Are you alright?"
"The sea of death energy has disappeared, but why is there an even more terrible stench?"
Trevin and other swordsmen also ran over, worried about him.
"Everyone, stay back."
As Raon waved his hand, telling them not to come any closer, the Demonblade drew the sword at his waist.
"Let's begin. The battle where the old era's Transcendent crushes the new era's Transcendent."
With the Demonblade's declaration, a purple slash surged forward. It was a wave of death energy he had shot out in an instant. Zzeeeeng! Raon deployed the Flame and Ice Unification to split the oncoming wave of death energy.
"Get out of here as quickly as possible!"
Just as Raon was ordering the Light Wind division and the Warring Steel Division to retreat to the very end. Chiiing! A sword-like flash rose from the purple-stained riverbed. Unable to block everything with the Heavenly Drive alone, he drew the Blade of Requiem as well to strike down the death energy swords trying to pierce him.
'It's heavy.'
Each rising sword of death energy was a Transcendent-level strike, making his hands tremble just from blocking them.
"Not just the death energy, but with my body returning to its youth, I can exert such power."
The Demonblade curled his lips, seemingly satisfied with his martial prowess.
"I wonder how long you can hold out."
He made an arrogant gesture with his chin and slashed his sword.
"This is just the beginning."
The space where the Demonblade's sword passed split lengthwise, and from within, monsters with flashing purple eyes sprang out.
'What are those...'
Suppressing his confusion, Raon swung the Heavenly Drive at the pouring monsters of death energy. But they scattered like mist and then regathered, baring their black-stained teeth. They weren't real monsters, but seemed to be sword strikes composed of death energy. Whoosh!
He deployed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's Fire Spirit, but couldn't block all the monsters, and his waist was thinly bitten. The torn wound turned black as if rotting.
"This is my Demon Sword realm."
As the Demonblade swung his sword diagonally, monsters wrapped in even darker death energy than before poured out, falling towards him and the Light Wind division.
"And this will be the last sight you see in this world."
* * *
The Demonblade continuously drove Raon back, letting out an excited laugh.
'Yes. This is the power I needed!'
His rejuvenated body was brimming with vitality, and the death energy seemed endless like an inexhaustible spring. Invincible. That word, which he thought was far out of reach, now seemed to be imbued in his martial prowess. Just by striking down with his sword of death energy, the earth was torn apart, and Raon staggered back.
A smile naturally formed as he realized he was overwhelming that young Transcendent in both power and speed.
"Is that all you've got? You dare to challenge me with just that?"
The Demonblade summoned demonic beasts born from death energy by cutting through space. It was both a sword technique and a summoning art. A skill that could never be cut with ordinary aura. Chiiing! Raon tried to eliminate the death energy beasts with mystical footwork, but he kept getting pushed back, sustaining various injuries.
'He can't even put up a fight.'
Watching Raon Zieghart, who he had heard would defeat him, being pushed back without being able to do anything, an unbearable elation washed over him. He wanted to take the guy's head and announce his triumph to the whole world.
'Revenge against that demon king too... Ugh!'
He wanted revenge against the Blue Demon King who had given him humiliation and despair. But when he thought of him, those noble blue eyes came to mind. Fear washed over him that even with his current power, he couldn't surpass that guy.
'No. Let's focus on Raon Zieghart for now.'
Resolving to think about the Blue Demon King later, he swung down his sword blazing with death energy. As the sinister death energy exploded, the very space where Raon stood began to disappear.
'It's over.'
It's impossible for Raon, who couldn't even properly dodge the death energy beasts, to block this sword strike. He'll disappear from this world, leaving only his head behind.
'Now I'll get revenge on those Five Divine Orders bastards who ignored me, and to them too, I'll just promise...'
Just as the Demonblade was thinking about his next plan, believing the battle was over. With a roar that seemed to shake heaven and earth, red and blue flashes rose from within the waves of death energy.
Half of the death energy wave sank, burning in golden flames, while the other half crumbled, frozen in silver cold energy.
Between the divine sword of flames and the demonic sword of frost, vividly burning red eyes appeared.
"Ah..."
The Demonblade, looking at Raon's red eyes, recalled the eyes of the Blue Demon King who had torn off his arm. Though the color was vastly different, the noble gaze and the aura of a conqueror were eerily similar.
"Now, I suppose it's time to fight for real."
Raon nodded after confirming that the Light Wind division and the Warring Steel Division had retreated to a safe distance.
"Don't tell me you..."
The Demonblade's lips trembled as he realized that Raon had been buying time for the other swordsmen to escape.
"The Head of House said it was still too early, but I think it might be good to try and overcome it today."
Raon arrogantly lifted his chin, holding up the divine sword burning with flames and the demonic sword gleaming with frost.
"The wall of the Five Divine Orders."