"Huff..."
Raon exhaled a breath tinged with the scent of blood as he gazed at the Black Tower Master trapped within the pink ice.
'As expected, he's not dead.'
Perhaps because the Silent Spirit World was still maintained, the Black Tower Master retained a faint vitality despite his body being cut into four pieces and his heart burst out.
-Just as you said, he's like a worm.
Wrath scoffed in disbelief.
-No matter how much you step on him, he keeps squirming.
He frowned, saying that such a tenacious demonized human was rare even in the Devildom.
'That's why I froze him.'
Raon bit his lip as he lowered his right hand, from which pink frost was emanating.
'Because he can't be killed just by cutting with a sword.'
The Black Tower Master had returned here even after his neck and heart were torn out by Chamber's magic. Knowing that stabbing vital points and cutting the body wouldn't kill him, Raon had frozen him with the Silver Aurora.
-It's extremely annoying to use my Silver Aurora with
Wrath nodded as he looked at the Black Tower Master trapped in the pink ice.
-Lust is still a demon king. The worm has no means to recover his strength, so he'll have no choice but to remain trapped like that.
He nodded, saying that the pink cold energy blocking external forces was essentially the same as sealing the Black Tower Master.
'No. I don't intend to seal him.'
Raon shook his head firmly.
'I'm going to kill him.'
Although the Black Tower Master himself couldn't escape that ice, someone could break it from the outside. He couldn't bear the thought of that man being released.
'For that child's sake, if nothing else.'
Roenn had said he would do whatever it took to save Rensia, but Raon already knew the outcome. Unless a miracle happened, she absolutely couldn't survive the explosion of demonic energy inside the body of an ordinary girl.
Rensia's last words asking him to take care of her siblings instead of her, and the face of that child showing a genuine smile for the first time, came to mind. He wanted to kill the Black Tower Master, the root cause of all this, by any means necessary.
"Haah..."
Raon placed his hand on the pink ice imprisoning the Black Tower Master. He ignited the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, summoning Wrath's
'I'll burn it all away.'
Wrath's frost had the power to freeze not only the enemy's body but also their energy and soul. He had to erase everything that was frozen in an instant. Whoosh! As if being pricked by needles, he dismantled the Silver Aurora in his aching mind and reassembled it into a new technique that could kill the Black Tower Master.
'I'll place an inescapable chain of death around your neck.'
He opened his fluctuating mental world while resonating with the Ring of Fire. Raon Zieghart Style ultimate technique: Crimson Chain. Dozens of flames shot up over his outstretched hand like tree branches, enveloping the frozen Black Tower Master. In a fraction of a second, the chains of fire surrounded the Black Tower Master and began to burn away his very existence.
"W-What is this!"
The Black Tower Master tried to use teleportation magic as soon as the ice trapping him melted, but the blazing flames burned away even his demonic energy and magic formulas.
"Aaaaargh!"
The chains of flame became a prison from which not even an ant could escape, melting the Black Tower Master's flesh and bones. His agonized screams could be heard from within the crimson flames.
"S-Stop!"
The Black Tower Master, seemingly in pain so severe he wished for death amidst the cold and heat, cried out begging to be spared.
"If you just let me out, I'll tell you everything I know!"
He pounded on the crimson chains, saying he would reveal the secrets of the Five Demons if he was released.
"Have you ever once spared someone who begged you for their life?"
Raon looked down at the Black Tower Master bound in chains with chilling eyes.
"Urgh..."
The Black Tower Master's blue lips trembled, as if he had no words to say.
"I don't need your information. Just die."
"W-Wait..."
Ignoring the Black Tower Master who was about to speak again, Raon clenched his fist that had raised the crimson chains. Whoosh! The chains of flame shrank in an instant, crushing the Black Tower Master inside along with his soul. Boom!
The flames compressed to the extreme exploded, melting the Black Tower Master and his demonic energy without leaving even a spark behind.
Even in the faint breeze, the Black Tower Master's demonic energy could no longer be felt. It seemed not only his body, but his soul too had been annihilated.
[It's over. His presence has been completely erased.]
Zircon nodded as he looked at the space that seemed charred black.
[As expected, my choice was correct.]
He nodded as if to say it was right to choose Raon instead of the Black Tower Master.
-Why are you stealing this king's lines!
Wrath frowned and struck Zircon's head.
[Ack...]
Zircon, who had maintained a serious expression for less than a second, bowed his head with tears in his eyes.
-Ahem!
Wrath looked at the crumpled Zircon and slowly folded his arms.
-It's over! That worm's presence has been completely erased!
He nodded while reciting exactly what Zircon had said.
'Is it really over?'
-Indeed. This time he's certainly dead.
Wrath licked his lips, saying it was effective to freeze the man's soul and demonic energy with the Silver Aurora and then wrap him in chains of flame so he couldn't escape.
"Thank goodness..."
Raon exhaled a murky breath as if he was about to stop breathing, his arms hanging limply. As soon as he relaxed, the Heavenly Drive, Wooden Ring, and Blade of Requiem he had been controlling with Sword Control fell to the ground.
'It really was my limit.'
Both mentally and physically, he had been on the edge. If the Black Tower Master had withstood his final attack, it would have been Raon who died, not him.
'I was lucky, I guess... Hm?'
When Raon closed his eyes and opened them again, a light green jewel was floating above his head. It looked similar to an emerald, but slightly different.
[That's a peridot. It seems to have popped out when that human died.]
Zircon nodded, saying the peridot appeared to have returned to its original Birth Stone form.
"Hmm."
As Raon raised his arm, the peridot descended onto his palm as if it had been waiting.
"Lady Chamber."
He turned around to inform Chamber of the situation. She was still glaring this way with two fingers pressed together.
"It's over now. You can relax your power."
"Over..."
As soon as Chamber heard it was over, she closed her eyes and collapsed. She seemed to have poured out all her power and mental strength, falling unconscious.
"Lady Chamber!"
Raon drew aura from his aching energy center to catch the falling Chamber. As she fell to the ground, she began reverting to her child form, but because her power and mana were depleted, her skin cracked and wrinkles like an old woman's appeared.
'She pushed herself this far...'
The last time he saw Chamber, she wasn't in a state to use her final technique, but to create one last chance, she had torn off the meteor and erased the Black Tower Master's final attack. If she hadn't stepped in, he would never have been able to win.
'Please.'
He pushed the remaining energy in his energy center into her body to help Chamber endure. Boom! Raon staggered as if about to collapse and barely managed to land on the ground. Having exhausted his own strength as well, he left deep footprints on the ground before falling backward.
"Olga!"
Holding Chamber in his arms, he called out to Saintess Olga who was with the allied forces.
"Ah!"
Olga, who had been standing in a daze as if still unable to believe that the Black Tower Master was finally dead, rushed over urgently and examined Chamber.
"...Is she alright?"
His chest ached as if stabbed, Chamber's energy was so faint. The scene of Rimmer's death flashed before him, and his hands trembled.
"She's in critical condition. But I'll do what I can."
Olga placed her hand, glowing golden, on Chamber's chest, saying she would at least try to keep her from dying.
"You should step back. Even in this situation, she probably wouldn't want to show this appearance."
She shook her head, as if not wanting to show Chamber covered in wrinkles.
"Alright..."
Raon nodded briefly and stepped back. As Olga said, Chamber probably wouldn't want to show her current appearance, and there was nothing more he could do now.
'No, there's one thing left.'
Raon wiped his bleeding lips and bowed to Chamber.
'Thank you. Thanks to you. No, it was because of the two of us that we were able to defeat the Black Tower Master.'
He wanted to express his sincere gratitude before she woke up, even though he would have to do it again when she did. Raon kept his head bowed towards the fallen Chamber for a long time.
* * *
"Hah..."
Karoon exhaled as he watched Raon bowing towards Chamber.
'Did he really defeat him?'
Raon defeated the Black Tower Master? In fact, he thought it would be disadvantageous after the Black Tower Master opened the Silent Spirit World, and after he returned from death and gained the power of the angel Peridot, Karoon believed there was a high chance of losing.
But Raon and Chamber didn't give up even in such a dangerous situation, persisting to the end and finally bringing down the Black Tower Master. It was hard to believe even though he saw it with his own eyes.
'Could I have done that?'
No, it would be difficult. Even if he had been in the same situation as Raon, he didn't think he could have done the same. The sight of him facing the Black Tower Master while burning his body and soul sent chills down his spine.
'I can only say it's amazing.'
Raon's martial prowess is not permanent. It's a very temporary power. Perhaps if he left this land, Karoon would be a little stronger. But even he didn't have the confidence to fight like Raon did here. That was a desperate battle only possible because it was Raon Zieghart.
'But maybe I've changed a bit too.'
His former self would have felt jealousy and envy at Raon's achievements, but strangely, now he only felt grateful and glad for that boy.
'Head of house...'
Becoming the head of the Zieghart house was his lifelong aspiration and wish. Even if Glenn became young again, he had no intention of handing it over, and he still wouldn't give it up. But today, for the first time, he felt he could accept someone else sitting in that position. Slash!
Karoon raised his chin as he cut down demons that were no longer reviving.
"Clear out the demons as quickly as possible."
He curled his lips as he watched Raon gathering his strength again with his eyes closed.
"We need to welcome today's heroes."
* * *
"Raon did it..."
Burren let out a hollow laugh as he watched Raon examining the Devildom Pathway.
"He really defeated the Black Tower Master!"
Even though it was a 2-on-1 fight, he never thought Raon would erase the Black Tower Master.
He had prayed for victory, but when it actually happened, he was dumbfounded.
"Looks like you didn't believe in Raon."
Martha shook her head as she patted Burren's shoulder.
"I've been expecting this scene from the beginning."
She clenched her blood-soaked fist as she looked at Raon.
"Me too..."
Runaan also nodded calmly, as if she had believed in Raon until the end.
"I knew Raon would do it today, being so handsome..."
She smiled faintly as she looked at Raon standing alone at the edge of the battlefield.
"As expected, he doesn't betray our faith."
Mark Goetun nodded with his hand on his chest, as if his trust had never wavered from the start.
"Lord Raon!"
"Palace Master!"
"Wooooah!"
Dorian, Krein, and the other swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace cut down the fleeing demons and ran towards Raon. They called out Raon's name with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces.
"Young Master. Is it really all over now?"
Yua grabbed Raon's torn sleeve and asked.
"No..."
Raon shook his head as he looked up at the Devildom Pathway.
"There's one step left."
He had killed the Black Tower Master, but he still hadn't completely closed the Devildom Pathway. That gate had to be destroyed for today's war to end.
"Wait just a moment."
After patting Yua's head, Raon kicked off the ground and rose into the sky again. Whoosh! In one breath, he ascended to the edge of the sky and stood before the frozen Devildom Pathway. Originally, the gate should have closed naturally due to Wrath's cold energy, but because of the Black Tower Master's demonic energy, the gap had widened instead.
'This is the last one.'
If he could just close this gate, this terrible and long war would end. Though his strength was depleted, he couldn't back down. Hum! He wrapped what little remained of Glacier's cold energy around the Heavenly Drive and drew out Wrath's anger from the bottom of his soul.
'I have to endure.'
At his mental and physical limit, he gathered his last strength and swung the Heavenly Drive down. Crack! Since more than half of the gate was already frozen, there wasn't much space left to cut. However, the Devildom Pathway emitted intense demonic energy as if making a last struggle, blocking the blade.
"Just die already."
Raon bit his lip and put more force into the Heavenly Drive. Crack! The demonic energy trying to protect the Devildom Pathway retreated as if frightened, and the gate began to freeze over white again. Just as he thought it was all over and was about to explode his remaining strength, a bronze arm shot out from the tiny gap that remained.
'A demon?'
He tried to cut off the arm along with the gate, but the Heavenly Drive's blade bounced off the demon's bronze skin without cutting it. Crack! The hand that broke through the white frost grabbed the frozen Devildom Pathway and forcibly tore it open. Boom! As the Devildom Pathway opened again, terrifying demonic energy swirled.
A black-haired young man with a monocle emerged from the golden center of the Devildom.
"You've really done it now."
The moment Raon saw his terrifying smile, his heart sank.
"You are..." (E/N: well, we all knew it would happen as soon as this devildom pathway was introduced)