"A strong one?"
Black King Sigel opened his mouth, dripping with black liquid, in disbelief.
"How could you possibly be strong?"
He twisted his greatsword and spear, warning not to be mistaken. The true demonic energy flowing from the Devildom began to wrap around Black King Sigel's weapons, pushing back the flames of the Divine Sword and the frost of the Demonic Sword.
"Before this demonic energy, human strength is nothing more than an ant's struggle."
Black King Sigel, enveloped in demonic energy, began to press back against Raon. His fingertips trembled at the intense aura emanating from the creature.
"You lack self-awareness."
Raon sneered, tightening his grip on the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword. He cut through the black-burning demonic energy above the flames and frost, stirring up wrath.
"How can a human..."
Black King Sigel's eyes widened as he watched the demonic energy being split effortlessly.
"When the demonic energy of the Devildom covers heaven and earth, how can a human become stronger?"
He shouted that the situation made no sense as he thrust forward with the spear and greatsword in his hands.
"I'm a special case, you see."
Raon shattered the spear tip falling like a hawk's talon and deflected the greatsword driving towards his chest. The spear Sigel had been holding soared into the sky, while the greatsword struck the ground, bursting the corpses of demonic beasts on the floor.
'He's open.'
Raon didn't miss the opportunity when Sigel was defenseless, diving into his embrace and stabbing his chest with the Divine Sword.
'What's this?'
Though there was resistance, it didn't feel like piercing human flesh and bone. It was a hollow sensation, as if stabbing through thick cloth.
"You are... hmm!"
As Raon furrowed his brow looking at Sigel, something fell and struck his shoulder. Turning his gaze, he saw a black arrow embedded in his left shoulder. Raon stepped back as black axes and whips rose from behind Sigel's back and fell towards his head.
Raon spread a Fire Wall with his Demonic Sword to block the axes and whips falling like lightning.
However, the demonic energy contained within was so strong that he couldn't prevent being pushed back.
'Here it comes again.'
Before he could reposition himself, he sensed arrows falling from the right. As he moved his body to the left, the arrows followed, as if they had eyes, aiming for his back.
'Better to destroy them.'
Raon swung down with a Crimson Slash, combining the strikes of the Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts to intercept the incoming arrows. Though the arrows were small, the demonic energy within them was so strong that it felt like striking iron.
"Huff..."
Raon stepped back further and pulled out the arrow embedded in his shoulder. He used what little Holy Power remained, but the bleeding wouldn't stop. It seemed the arrow was enchanted with magic to prevent blood clotting.
"You..."
Raon furrowed his brow as he crushed the black arrow in his hand.
"You don't have just two hands."
At first, he thought Sigel was controlling multiple weapons using a martial art like Sword Control, but that wasn't the case. Black King Sigel was wielding those weapons using multiple hands.
"You're slow to catch on."
As Black King Sigel nodded, countless arms sprang out from within his black robe. The hands, covered in muscle and demonic energy, were equipped with longswords, sabers, spears, greatswords, hammers, axes, shields, bows, whips, daggers, and even gauntlets.
"Do you understand now?"
Black King Sigel tilted his chin arrogantly.
"No human can defeat me."
He raised his weapons with a confident tone, certain of victory. The greatsword moved first. A blade as large as his torso lunged forward, aiming to split Raon's chest. Raon deflected the greatsword's thrust by drawing a semicircle with his Divine Sword.
But there was no time to relax. A spear and hammer were plunging down right behind.
Raon used Supreme Harmony Steps to escape the range of the spear and hammer, only to face incoming arrows and whips. He dodged the arrows by turning his shoulder and blocked the whip by raising a Fire Wall with his Demonic Sword.
'This is dangerous.'
Sigel was wielding all those weapons at a Transcendent level. It was more challenging than facing multiple opponents because a single person was handling dozens of weapons with perfect coordination.
Longswords and greatswords fell towards both shoulders, while an axe swung from the left and a hammer from the right. A spear thrust from behind, with arrows and whips raining down, leaving no space to dodge.
'I can't block them all.'
Raon abandoned defense. He raised his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword symmetrically, creating two streams of waves. The Flame and Ice Unification, composed of flames and frost, repelled Sigel's onslaught without interfering with each other by the slimmest margin.
As if anticipating his attacks would be blocked, Sigel thrust a fist wearing a gauntlet into the gap as the Flame and Ice Unification ended. A black-burning fist strike rushed towards Raon's face.
Raon blocked Sigel's fist strike with the pommel of his Divine Sword, but the impact was so great that he felt his bones and flesh reverberate. Even his fists couldn't be underestimated.
-Why are you only using half of your wrath?
Wrath furrowed his brow, unable to understand.
-His strength has become overwhelmingly powerful due to the demonic energy. You cannot face him while holding back!
He tilted his chin, as if telling Raon not to spare his strength.
'I need to close the gate.'
Raon exhaled briefly and looked at the Devildom Pathway. His goal was not Sigel before him, but closing that gate. He couldn't use all the wrath he possessed, not knowing how much power would be consumed.
"Do you understand now? Humans cannot defeat me."
Sigel extended his weapons relentlessly. Having gained confidence from the recent clash, his already complex attack pattern became even more chaotic. Raon spat out the blood pooled in his mouth and deflected Sigel's fiercely falling weapons.
'This is more difficult than I thought.'
It felt like fighting dozens of Transcendents simultaneously. The weapons in Sigel's hands moved independently as if wielded by different people, making them challenging to counter.
'And that black robe is also a problem.'
The black robe Sigel wore possessed a special power beyond his weapons. To break it, Raon needed to strike its core in one go.
"Just die already."
Sigel, seemingly unwilling to let go of his momentum, swung dozens of weapons simultaneously, eliminating any space for escape. The power of the weapons imbued with demonic energy was so strong that it was difficult to block, and even when blocked, the impact accumulated in Raon's body. Wounds on his shoulders, waist, and thighs increased.
"..."
Raon raised his gaze with difficulty as he blocked the greatsword, hammer, axe, and spear shaft simultaneously.
'It's like an ant colony.'
Even at this moment, demonic beasts were pouring out through the Devildom Pathway. With powerful demons mixed in, he couldn't afford to waste any more time.
"I need to end this quickly."
Raon decided to take down Black King Sigel as fast as possible, even if it meant consuming more wrath.
"End it quickly? Very well. I'll grant your wish!"
Black King Sigel twisted his lips into a smile and raised all his weapons above his head. Black droplets began to fall onto all his weapons: longswords, sabers, spears, greatswords, hammers, axes, shields, bows, whips, daggers, and gauntlets.
"Demonic Heavenly Water."
Black King Sigel's ultimate technique, which had killed Owen's Transcendent in one strike, was unleashed. The individual grains of his weapons merged into a single line, forming a massive wave like the sea. A tidal wave of black-dyed demonic energy fell towards Raon's head.
Raon advanced towards Sigel, swinging down the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword he had tilted behind both shoulders.
Raon Zieghart Style Swordsmanship.
Sixth Form Divine-Demonic Harmony Linked Technique: Invincible Azure-Red Sword.
The Invincible Azure-Red Sword, true to its name of invincibility, clashed with Black King Sigel's Demonic Heavenly Water, raising a powerful aura. The Demonic Heavenly Water contained tremendous demonic energy, as if dozens of Transcendents had simultaneously unleashed their ultimate techniques. Even the aura of the Invincible Azure-Red could barely push it back, making Raon feel as if his entire body was being crushed.
"I'll end this as you wished."
Sigel sneered, as if this was the finale, and added more power to the Demonic Heavenly Water with stronger demonic energy.
"...Then you should be the one to die."
Raon raised his trembling gaze. Following his eyes, the Wooden Ring tied to his waist rose into the air.
"Sword Control? How ridiculous. It's just one more blade!"
Black King Sigel laughed mockingly, as if it meant nothing, and raised his shield, axe, and hammer to prepare his defense.
"Sometimes..."
Raon curled his lips and shook his head.
"A single hand can defeat dozens of hands."
Reciting words filled with conviction, he launched the Wooden Ring.
"Nonsense!"
Black King Sigel, seemingly cautious until the end, raised his shield and prepared to deflect the Wooden Ring with his hammer and axe. The moment he swung down the hammer and axe for defense, the Wooden Ring burst into red flames and emerged from inside the shield, right in front of Black King Sigel's chest.
"What is this!"
Sigel, befitting his role as the Black Tower Vice Master, reacted in that brief moment, raising his hand wearing the gauntlet to block the Wooden Ring aiming for his chest. But his martial arts couldn't stop this technique.
Raon Zieghart Style Swordsmanship. Eighth Form: Gentle Breeze.
The blade that transcended space pierced through even the thick shield of demonic energy Sigel had wrapped around himself, bursting his heart.
"Kuhek..."
Sigel fell backward, his eyes wide with shock, as if he had been certain of victory until the very end.
"H-How did you pierce the robe..."
He raised his trembling gaze, seemingly unable to believe the robe's defense had been breached.
"I crossed space twice."
Originally, Gentle Breeze cuts through space once before striking the enemy, but this time, Raon cut through space twice to penetrate Sigel's robe. Though his upper dantian felt like it would burst from the strain, it allowed him to ignore the robe and destroy Sigel's heart.
"Kheugh..."
Sigel clutched his chest, letting out an intense groan.
"W-We'll meet again."
He said he would revive with the Black Tower Master's power and then lowered his head.
As if keeping that promise, Sigel began to return from death less than 30 seconds after his last breath. His shattered heart reassembled itself, and the spilled blood refilled.
"Then..."
Raon bit his lip and stepped forward. He drew the Thirty-Six Crimson Flash Techniques with the Heavenly Drive, tearing apart Sigel's regenerating body again. However, even though Sigel's body was cut into dozens of pieces, new blood and flesh gathered to regenerate his body.
'The regeneration is faster than I thought.'
Raon was confident he could take down Sigel again, but the problem was the time and energy it would consume.
'What should I do?'
If he ignored Sigel and moved on, not only would he be in danger, but also the people left behind. It was an incredibly difficult choice.
'I have no choice.'
Raon bit his lip and passed by Sigel. As he was about to leap towards the Devildom Pathway, the revived Sigel shot an arrow. Raon stopped his jump to defend, but before the black arrow could reach him, it shattered against a silver blade.
"Go."
It was Karoon. He nodded, cutting off the regenerated Sigel's arm.
"But..."
Raon turned his gaze to where Karoon had been. It seemed he had torn apart all the demons targeting the Light Wind Palace and then come here to block Sigel's arrow.
"This magic isn't perfect. His strength is halved the moment he revives. I can somehow hold him off. The problem is..."
Karoon looked at the growing Devildom Pathway.
"That gate. The power of the demonized humans and demonic beasts coming from the Devildom is getting stronger. If we don't close it quickly, something will come out that neither you nor I can handle."
He narrowed his eyes, indicating what should be prioritized.
"Raon. Don't fear sacrifice."
Karoon endured the onslaught of demonic beasts with his body as he killed the reviving Sigel and demons again.
"Go."
He nodded to Raon with the warmest gaze he had ever shown. Raon clenched his molars and turned around. He leapt towards the Devildom Pathway, kicking off the black-stained ground.
'Damn it!'
He could feel the life force of the people below diminishing, but no screams were heard. It meant everyone was enduring, receiving the demonic energy with their bodies for the sake of their comrades.
"Aaaaargh!"
Raon resonated his three energy centers. He circulated his aura through his entire mana circuit, cutting down the demonic beasts and demonized humans descending from the Devildom Pathway as he ascended.
He continued to climb, stepping on falling corpses, but demonic beasts and demons endlessly poured out of the gate, making his progress excruciatingly slow. His wounds increased, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
But he couldn't stop. Even if his life ended here, he had to close that gate. Raon finally reached the front of the Devildom Pathway, enduring the seemingly fatal pain. If he exploded the wrath he had saved here, he should be able to close that gate.
As he was about to take the final step towards the gate, a black-handed demon rose before his eyes.
They say demons always block the path at the most crucial moment. The black-handed demon that had disappeared in the middle level appeared before him at the most critical time.
'This one is dangerous.'
This demon was strong enough to be acknowledged by Wrath. Facing it would inevitably consume time and energy.
'I can't afford to waste time...'
He looked down. Due to the endless resurrection of monsters and demons, the allied forces were struggling in a fierce battle, surrounded by a giant black circle. The injured inside were so pale, as if they were on the brink of death from losing too much blood.
"Move aside."
Raon swung down, combining the sword strikes of the Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts against the demon. Red lightning struck repeatedly, but the black demon easily blocked his sword strike by merely raising a wall of demonic energy.
'Do I have to use wrath after all?'
It seemed he couldn't quickly cut down this demon without using the wrath he had saved to close that gate.
'I'll think about the consequences later...'
As Raon was about to step forward, raising his wrath, the black demon fell from the Devildom Pathway. But it wasn't to clear the way. The Devildom Pathway twisted, and the largest demonic beast yet emerged.
It was a grotesque creature with a dragon's body and eagle's wings, and between its wings, demons with strong demonic energy rose up.
"Haah..."
Raon exhaled heavily as he looked at the demonic beast too large to see in one glance and the demons mixed in between.
'Cut down that demonic beast and those demons, and that black-handed demon too?'
He could probably do it, but the time consumption would be too great. During that time, everyone below would die. The demons laughed shrilly as if celebrating victory, and the demonic beasts roared with malicious glee in response to that laughter.
"Fine. I'll cut you all down without thinking about the consequences."
Raon's eyes rolled back. Just as he was about to cut down all the demons before him without regard for the aftermath, a clear trumpet sound rang out, different from the demonic beasts' cries.
Following the trumpet sound came a majestic hymn as if sung by hundreds. A song praising the divine descended upon the darkness-stained land.
"Ah..."
As Raon turned his gaze towards the source of the trumpet sound, he saw priests wearing white robes and golden crowns entering the land of darkness, pushing back the gloom. The demonic beasts, unable to withstand the holy light emanating from the priests, could only retreat.
"You humans!"
As a high-ranking demonized human tried to swing down a blade of demonic energy towards the priests using spatial movement, a white-flashing fist fell upon its head. A purple-haired young woman in a nun's habit landed on top of the crumpled demonized human, defeated by the holy power-infused punch.
"Are we a bit late?"
Saintess Olga of the Suphren Holy Kingdom flipped her purple hair back with a grin.
"Very late, indeed."
A young Holy Knight approaching Olga's side shook his head. It was Hoppen, newly ascended to the throne of Suphren.
"The Suphren Holy Kingdom has arrived on this land by order of the Light Wind Palace Master."
Hoppen paid his respects to Raon.
"Advance for our benefactor."
As he drew the Holy King's sword, a brilliant light rose to envelop the Holy Knights and priests.
"For our benefactor!"
The Holy Knights raised their swords, recalling not the king's order, but the grace they had received from Raon.
"Better late than never, as long as we do our job properly."
Saintess Olga clasped her hands in prayer, and golden light fell upon the heads of the allied forces. It was a wall of holy power preventing the approach of demonic beasts. The Holy Knights, enveloped in holy power and singing hymns of praise, swept away the demonic beasts before them with the force of a hundred men.
Kieeeee-
The demonic beasts and demons killed by their swords, imbued with true holy power, didn't revive immediately but screamed in agony, fearing regeneration. The pure white paint that had fallen on the black canvas slowly expanded its territory.
The holy light created by the Suphren Holy Kingdom pushed back the darkness and raised new hope in the land where hell had taken root.