"Tsk."
Raon clicked his tongue as he looked at the damaged middle floor of the Black Tower.
'Even with my full strength, I couldn't break it all.'
Despite striking the cracked wall with all his might after Chamber's magic, he couldn't completely destroy the middle floor. The wall itself seemed too solid, making the attack seem meaningless.
-The demonic energy becomes extremely compressed as you go up the floors. Even if the quality is slightly lower, the quantity itself is overwhelming, so you won't be able to break it with your current strength.
Wrath shook his head, telling him not to waste energy unnecessarily.
'Something...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the hand holding the Heavenly Drive.
'I thought I could do it.'
He felt he was getting stronger bit by bit since entering the Black Tower's dimension. Even if it wasn't growth in martial arts itself, he thought he could break the wall with the power of Wrath, but it seemed it was still too much.
-You are indeed consuming demonic energy through my wrath, but you're still far short on time.
Wrath snorted, telling him to get a grip. He pointed at Chamber, who was erasing the demonic energy of this dimension.
-Right now, only that little magician girl pretending to be a child can destroy the upper floors of that tower. Of course, we can't do that since we don't know when the one inside the tower might jump out.
'I suppose so.'
Raon let out a short sigh.
'It's a shame.'
Chamber had said she couldn't use big magic when the Black Tower Master wasn't visible because he might launch a surprise attack. In the end, the only answer was to go in directly and behead the demonized humans.
-However...
Wrath frowned as he looked at the top floor of the tower covered in black mist.
-The energy over there is strange.
'What do you mean by strange?'
-The flow of demonic energy has accelerated rapidly since you lot entered this dimension. It seems that Black Tower Master is preparing something.
He waved his hand, saying the flow of demonic energy was distorting.
'What could it be?'
Raon bit his lip as he examined the top floor of the tower.
-As I always say, I don't know much about sorcery or magic.
Wrath lowered his eyebrows, telling him not to expect detailed information from him.
-However, it's certain that the mole hiding up there is trying something.
'You wouldn't talk nonsense...'
Raon clenched his fist as he glared at the black mist.
'We need to get in as quickly as possible.'
He wanted to drag the Black Tower Master and the demonized humans out of the Black Tower, but it seemed they would have to enter that tower themselves.
"Lady Chamber!"
As Raon shouted towards the sky, Chamber came down as if she had been waiting.
"I have something to tell you.
He relayed to her the story he had just heard from Wrath.
"So you felt it too?"
Chamber widened her eyes as if in disbelief.
"How on earth are your senses..."
She was astonished that he, who had just become worthy of the name Transcendent, had read the Black Tower Master's ploy.
"Did you feel it too, Lady Chamber?"
Raon looked at Chamber, who was letting out a dry laugh.
"Yes."
Chamber licked her lips as she surveyed the entire Black Tower.
"That Black Tower Master. He's concentrating demonic energy very discreetly."
She nodded, saying the flow of demonic energy had changed.
"I don't know what kind of magic it is, but something big is coming."
Chamber exhaled a long breath, saying the same thing as Wrath.
"However, this means the Black Tower Master was also greatly surprised by this attack. We need to reach the top floor where the Black Tower Master is before that magic is completed."
She bit into a candy, saying if they could just stop that magic, they could gain the upper hand.
"Then time is the key, isn't it?"
Raon looked at the Black Tower with a cold gaze.
"Yes. In fact, we're in a state akin to being in a tiger's mouth. We need to pull out its teeth and cut off its tongue before it closes its mouth."
Chamber frowned, saying everyone here could be in danger if they couldn't stop the Black Tower Master's magic.
"Can't you, the great magician, attack first?"
Karoon, who had approached unnoticed, nodded towards Chamber.
"The Black Tower Master is hiding, and my position is clearly exposed. If it's him, he might be able to surprise attack me while activating the current magic."
Chamber waved her finger, saying the situation was disadvantageous for them.
"So you go in first."
She smiled faintly as she put a blue candy into the inside pocket of her uniform.
"I'll delay the completion time of the Black Tower Master's magic from here."
Chamber waved her staff, telling them to go into the Black Tower and open the way.
"Understood."
Raon nodded as he grasped the pocket with the candy. It seemed this was the only way for now.
"Karoon. I'm asking you too."
Chamber also handed a blue candy to Karoon. It seemed to be a special artifact, not an ordinary candy.
"I'll make sure you can meet the Black Tower Master."
Karoon nodded, thumping his chest as if to say not to worry.
"Then I'm counting on you."
Chamber put a new candy in her mouth and disappeared into the black mist where the top floor of the tower was.
"We'll go in first, so follow behind us and recover your strength."
Karoon said he would open the way and then leaped up to the middle floor he had broken earlier. The swordsmen of the Central Martial Palace also followed him, diving into the middle floor in one breath.
"Let's go too!"
Martha waved her sword-wielding hand, saying they should move quickly.
"Going isn't the problem, but the continuous emergence of demonic beasts from this place is."
Raon frowned as he looked at the darkness behind the tower. The demonic beasts kept popping out endlessly, as if it really was connected to the Devildom, even though they had killed Jepple.
"If they push in from behind, we might be completely wiped out."
If the higher-ranking demonized humans attacked from inside the Black Tower and endless demonic beasts pushed in from behind, their retreat could be cut off, putting them in danger as well.
"Leave this to us!"
Third Prince Greer raised his sword glowing with blue light.
"We won't let even a mouse enter the tower!"
He thumped his chest as if to say trust him.
"Owen came to help Zieghart and Balkar, so I'll leave the main dish to you."
Duke Tartan grinned, saying he would block the entrance.
"Then I'll trust you."
Both the Third Prince and Duke Tartan were trustworthy people and warriors. Leaving the rear to these two, he climbed up to the middle floor of the Black Tower.
'The air is not good.'
The demonic energy flowing inside the tower was incomparably worse than outside. However, he, possessing Wrath, felt his body lighter than when he was outside the tower.
"Let's go too!"
At Martha's shout, the warriors of the Light Wind Palace followed him into the middle floor of the tower. The swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace didn't seem to be greatly affected by the demonic energy either. However, the magicians of Jayna and Balkar who followed behind them were turning pale due to the tower's demonic energy.
"Are you alright?"
As Raon was checking the condition of Jayna and Balkar's magicians, he felt a strong shockwave bursting from above. It seemed Karoon and the warriors of the Central Martial Palace were slaughtering demonized humans and demonic beasts as they climbed the tower.
"We can manage."
Jayna nodded with difficulty, her hand trembling as she gripped her staff. Unlike her words, it seemed she was struggling to endure due to the demonic energy.
"It's not a problem."
Morel Kazan shook his head as if to say not to worry. Of course, he wasn't unaffected by the demonic energy either, as a vein was bulging on his forehead.
"Then let's go up."
Raon repeatedly clenched and unclenched his right hand as he climbed the stairs. Thanks to Karoon's advance clearing, they could quickly ascend without needing to fight.
-What are you doing?
'I feel like I'm getting stronger just by being here.'
He felt demonic energy sticking to his body beyond the Wrath he possessed. And it was only pure demonic energy being absorbed, without the foul-smelling impurities.
-Damn it!
Wrath twisted his lips and then punched the air.
-If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have handed over the Wrath!
He ground his teeth audibly in frustration.
'Don't be like that.'
Raon shook his head with a smirk.
'It's not like I'm getting permanently stronger anyway.'
The demonic energy he was gaining now was only temporary power since it wasn't obtained through effort. There was no reason for Wrath to be so angry.
"But..."
Raon frowned as he listened to Karoon's sword mantra growing more distant with each floor they climbed.
"How far is that person planning to destroy by himself?"
* * *
"Haa..."
Glenn let out a heavy sigh as he looked out the window.
"I'm unusually anxious."
Despite sending Archmage Chamber, the Transcendents Raon and Karoon, and even Roenn, the trembling in his chest wouldn't stop. He had a feeling that a big problem was about to occur.
'It wasn't like this at first.'
With Zieghart and Balkar's alliance, and even Owen's participation, it seemed like there wouldn't be a problem no matter who the opponent was. But after hearing the plan and receiving news of its success, he suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if he had indigestion.
"It's because you're getting old. Just old."
Alice, sitting on the platform, waved her hand, telling him not to worry.
"Karoon is one thing, but Raon isn't the kind of kid who would die in a place like that."
She curled her lips as if she trusted Raon more than anyone else.
"You certainly talk well."
Glenn frowned as he watched Alice pop a grape into her mouth.
"It's because I've seen and felt it. To be honest, I trust Raon more than Lady Chamber."
Alice thumped her chest with the empty grape stem as if she was being sincere.
"Keep your nonsense to yourself."
Glenn bit his lip as he turned his gaze back to the window.
'Strangely, I trust Raon more too.'
Although he told Alice it was nonsense, he too had as much trust in Raon and Karoon as he did in Chamber. Of course, that trust didn't erase his anxiety, but still.
"I don't know about this situation either. I wish I could go right now."
Glenn shook his head, saying it was a frustrating situation.
"By the way, have you finished your training now?"
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Alice again.
"No. I came down to check my physical condition."
Alice pointed at herself, saying she had just received a check-up from Federick.
"What did that quack say?"
"He said my body has almost fully recovered. My muscles are also building up."
She smiled, saying both her training and treatment were going well.
"So I'm planning to go for one last training session before I start."
Alice licked her lips as she took out the Dragon Heart from her subspace pouch.
"If I want to live up to Raon's expectations, I need to prepare thoroughly."
She shook her head, saying she wanted to show a fully recovered appearance when Raon returned.
"To think he'd hand over the Dragon Heart so casually."
Glenn let out a dry laugh as he looked at the Dragon Heart shimmering with rainbow colors.
"Raon's not in his right mind either. Of course, neither are you."
"Where do you think that not-right mind came from? It all came from you, father."
Alice pointed at Glenn with her calloused finger.
"So don't worry and wait."
She smiled as she cast her gaze out the window Glenn was looking at.
"Our nephew will bring everyone back safely."
* * *
"Hm?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the upper floor.
'The sword mantra has stopped.'
Karoon, who had been pushing up like a bull, had stopped on the floor right above them, and no more sounds of fighting could be heard. It seemed the battle had ended.
"What's going on? We should be near the upper floors by now."
Burren lowered his eyebrows as he looked down at a small window.
"Has a monster appeared that even the Central Martial Palace Master can't handle?"
Martha licked her lips as if she was looking forward to it.
"There's no presence..."
Runaan shook her head, saying both Karoon and the Central Martial Palace swordsmen had stopped.
"Let's quickly go up."
Raon nodded to the Light Wind Palace swordsmen and climbed the spiral staircase using footwork. As he climbed the last step, an extremely wide space like a great training ground was revealed. In the massive space that could accommodate hundreds of people lying down, only two doors stood out.
The door on the left was decorated with white feathers like an angel's wings, while the door on the right was embedded with black horns and bat wings, creating a demonic shape.
"It's a fork in the road."
Karoon turned to look at him and jerked his chin.
"As the Archmage said, we need to reach the Black Tower Master as quickly as possible by going up either way, so it would be best to split our forces."
He pointed at the door behind him, saying they should disperse from here.
"You choose first."
"Hmm..."
Raon nodded and examined the two doors carefully. However, apart from their different shapes, both were emanating thick demonic energy.
"I'll go through the door on the right."
Raon pointed to the right door embedded with black horns. Perhaps because of Wrath and Derus, he felt more drawn to the demon's door than the angel's.
"Then we'll go to the left."
Karoon said they would go to the left and stood in front of the door with white feathers.
"What will you do?"
He turned his gaze to Princess Jayna and Balkar's magicians who had followed behind the Light Wind Palace.
"I'll go this way..."
Jayna rolled her eyes left and right before standing behind the Light Wind Palace.
"Then I'll go to the left."
Morel Kazan said he would go with Karoon and stood behind the left side.
"Not a bad choice."
Karoon smirked and opened the angel's door. He was about to enter the door when he stopped and looked at Burren.
"Don't let your guard down just because you've reached Grandmaster. Most cases where warriors die are because they thought they were strong."
Karoon gave advice that would apply not only to Burren but also to Martha and Runaan before turning his head.
"...Congratulations on becoming a Grandmaster."
He left those final words and entered the angel's door without waiting for a response. The warriors of the Central Martial Palace followed behind him, giving Burren warm smiles.
"That person really can't hold back what's inside, can he?"
Martha shook her head and looked at Burren.
"Your dad is... Huh? Are you crying?"
She gaped as she saw Burren with tears in his eyes.
"It's... it's been so long since I received praise..."
Burren shed chicken-pea sized tears as if he couldn't control his emotions.
"I get praised every hour though...?"
Runaan tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
"That's weird too!"
Martha shook her head as if it was ridiculous.
"That's enough, get ready."
Raon waved his hand at Burren, Martha, and Runaan.
"The Light Wind Palace will take the vanguard, Your Highness and the magicians will support from the middle. The Warring Steel Division will take the rear. Let's do it this way."
He finished giving instructions for the personnel deployment and stood in front of the demon's door.
"Our top priority is to reach the Black Tower Master, so falling behind in the middle is also part of the plan. Everyone, please remember this."
"I know..."
Jayna exhaled a long breath and nodded.
"Of course."
Trevin smiled as if to say to leave it to him.
"Then we're going in."
Raon made eye contact with everyone and opened the demon's door. Even before entering, he felt a strong light and a sensation of his body floating.
'What's this?'
He felt his energy growing stronger than when he was on the lower and middle floors. It seemed as if demonic energy was being absorbed through his skin. Thud!
As he felt his feet touch the ground, he raised his gaze to see a man spreading black wings in a space about the size of a sparring arena. In his pitch-black hand, he was gripping a sword that seemed to embody lightning, which hurt just to look at.
"Humans..."
The being that had transcended humanity rolled his black eyes as he looked this way.
-That...
Wrath licked his lips as he looked at the grotesque man.
-It's a real demon.