Glenn frowned as he observed Derus Robert, who remained composed.
'He's grown stronger.'
His fingertips trembled at the aura emanating from Derus. A power that surpassed the framework of a Transcendent. It seemed natural that King Lecross, known as the Silent Sword Master, had fallen so easily.
'But more than that....'
What shocked him wasn't the man's martial prowess. It was something deeper. The very soul of Derus Robert had changed. There was a sense of alienation, as if he had become something other than human.
"It's been a while."
Derus Robert slowly turned to face him.
"Glenn Zieghart."
He raised his chin, positioning King Lecross in front of him as if intending to use him as a hostage.
"Judging by your quick arrival, you must have been waiting in Zieghart."
Derus wiggled his finger as if surprised.
"I thought you'd be hiding in Montiro where the Black Tower is, but you stayed with your family. I guess you don't care if your grandson and son die?"
He mentioned Karoon and Raon's names as if he knew everything about the Black Tower attack plan.
"Those children are strong. They won't fall to the likes of the Black Tower."
Glenn shook his head calmly, expressing his faith in Raon and Karoon.
"Oh? That's different from the information I have."
Derus slightly twisted the sword piercing King Lecross's shoulder, as if trying to provoke Glenn.
"..."
King Lecross didn't let out even the slightest groan despite feeling the pain of flesh and bone being torn.
"Head of house. I've shown you an unsightly scene. Please don't worry about me and cut down this demon."
He raised his steadfast gaze, asking Glenn to kill Derus without regard for his own life.
"He's not king of a country for nothing."
Derus Robert muttered admiringly, letting out a sigh.
"I'll have to shut you up."
He brought his index and middle fingers together and stabbed King Lecross's back.
"Mmph!"
King Lecross froze, unable to move a finger as if all his aura flow had been blocked.
"..."
Glenn looked at King Lecross, who couldn't even move his eyes, then turned his gaze to Derus.
"When did you realize we were targeting the Black Tower?"
"A bit earlier than the Black Tower did."
Derus shrugged as if he had known about the plan before the attack.
"Then you could have prevented the surprise attack?"
Glenn furrowed his brow as he glared at Derus.
"Why would I?"
Derus shrugged as if asking why he should have stopped it.
"What?"
"The Black Tower becoming the final battlefield isn't the path I desire."
He shook his head, saying now wasn't the time for the true war.
"It's more beneficial to use the opportunity when all eyes are on the Black Tower to confirm my abilities and kill this incompetent king."
Derus twisted his lips, saying it was better to reduce one enemy than to save an ally.
"Don't you agree?"
He wiggled his finger as if excited, pressing on King Lecross's wound.
"..."
Despite the severe pain, King Lecross remained unwavering, sending a look that seemed to say 'kill Derus'.
"Just wait."
Glenn gripped the Heavenly Tremor tighter after accepting King Lecross's gaze in his heart.
"Are you really going to try? The moment you move, this country will lose its father figure."
Derus wasn't ashamed of taking a hostage despite having an aura not much inferior to Glenn's. It was a behavior beyond understanding.
'Moreover....'
That wound was inflicted by a surprise attack. It's obvious just by looking. The wound King Lecross received wasn't from a frontal attack, but from an ambush from behind. It was shocking that he used such assassin-like fighting methods despite possessing such power.
'I knew that Sky Sword Saint Derus Robert was a man created by acting, but I didn't expect him to be this different.'
Derus abandoned the chance to save the Black Tower Master and infiltrated Owen to target King Lecross. Using a strategy to kill an enemy despite having enough power to save allies, it seemed harder to understand him because the memory of Sky Sword Saint Derus Robert still remained in Glenn's mind.
'This is difficult.'
I can't read that guy's thoughts. Until now, with his vast experience, Glenn could somewhat predict what kind of person someone was by observing their social position and behavior. But this Derus Robert was different.
Despite possessing power that overwhelmed a Transcendent of the Five Kings and Five Demons, he resorted to surprise attacks and wasn't ashamed of taking hostages. It was incomprehensible by Glenn's common sense.
"How fascinating."
Derus Robert lowered his chin slightly as he observed Glenn.
"How can you reach such a state when you're merely human and no one exists behind you?"
He narrowed his eyes as if he couldn't understand Glenn.
"Of course, being merely human, you can't escape causality."
Derus smirked as if he knew Glenn's condition.
"Stop hiding and come out."
As he raised his hand, a golden-haired youth with snow-white wings walked out from behind a pillar. A breathtaking appearance that shattered composure just by looking. Not human, but an Angel.
"Please."
Derus handed over King Lecross, whom he had been holding hostage, to the Angel. Judging by his tone, it didn't seem to be a superior-subordinate relationship.
"..."
Glenn frowned as he watched this scene.
'This is no ordinary Angel.'
Having witnessed Uriel's descent, Glenn knew Derus had connections with the heavenly realm. If it were a mediocre Angel, he could seize an opportunity with a single sword strike, but this Angel was different. It seemed dangerous if not dealt with properly.
"Well then..."
Derus Robert raised his sword, dripping with King Lecross's blood, and pointed it at his own heart.
"I was curious about the difference between you and me, and this is perfect."
He tilted his chin as if suggesting a fight. As Derus Robert raised his sword, a chilling sensation like ice spikes sprouting from the ground was felt.
"As your junior, I'll make the first move."
He stomped his left foot and extended his sword imbued with a blue light. A pain as if his body and soul were pierced by a blade arose even before Derus's sword made contact.
The state of projecting the sword built in the mental image into reality. As expected, Derus Robert had reached a different level from other Transcendents.
'But it's still not enough.'
Glenn deflected Derus's sword strike that was piercing through space by twisting the Heavenly Tremor diagonally. Despite merely a clash of swords, a massive storm of aura erupted, tearing away the entire palace. The ceiling flew off, walls crumbled, revealing the blue sky and dark earth.
"You blocked that so easily?"
Derus let out a hollow laugh, feeling incredulous. It looked like an ordinary stab, but he had just used an extreme technique. He intended to split not only Glenn but also the ground behind him, but he didn't expect it to be blocked so simply.
"Now it's my turn."
A deep red lightning flared up over the Heavenly Tremor that Glenn raised. His sword fell towards Derus's head with a majestic radiance. Within Glenn's sword strike, which seemed to contain the thunder of the heavens, was the will to pulverize his enemy.
"Magnificent!"
It was a force that would tear off limbs even for a Transcendent of the Five Kings and Five Demons, but Derus charged forward despite seeing it. A blue light like the sea bloomed from his sword, cutting off Glenn's sword strike that was about to explode with lightning in mid-air. It was a severing sword that cut off the flow before the swordsmanship could exert its full power.
'As expected.'
Glenn narrowed his eyes as he watched Derus shaking off the remaining lightning from his sword.
'This guy has already become different from the other Five Kings and Five Demons.'
At this point, Derus Robert possessed the power to defeat all the leaders of the Five Kings and Five Demons except for the Heavenly Demon and himself. Glenn couldn't understand how he had acquired such power in such a short time since his disappearance.
"Now that we've tested the waters, shall we start for real?"
Derus twirled his wrist with a cold smile. The blue light enveloping his sword turned into an ominously black darkness.
'Death aura....'
Death aura was a power built by refining and honing death energy. Naturally, it was a much more dangerous and vicious energy that one had to be careful even touching. Derus's sword strike cut through the air and flew towards Glenn. The earth split and black flames bloomed. It was as if hell was being summoned to this world.
Glenn didn't back down even after seeing the bizarre phenomenon created by Derus's swordsmanship. He summoned an even denser lightning energy over the Heavenly Tremor and slashed at the incoming darkness.
Since ancient times, lightning has possessed the power of breaking evil. The aura of death, unable to resist the red lightning, vanished in vain.
"Befitting of the Lightning God."
Derus unleashed an even denser death aura-filled sword strike without being flustered by his attack being dissolved. It seemed as if darkness that could erase the sun was rising around him. The death aura and red lightning clashed violently, causing dark red cracks to appear in the sky and earth.
The citizens of Owen watching the palace knelt down, muttering that the end of the world had come.
'This is taking too long.'
He needed to end this quickly. As Glenn was about to split the darkness Derus had created and move forward, he felt an eerie sensation behind him. Derus Robert. He was launching a surprise attack from within the darkness, just as he had done to King Lecross.
Because the death aura was scattered like mist, it was difficult to sense his approach before he got close.
However, Glenn's body was in a state capable of manifesting the mental image in reality. He deflected Derus's sword, which was coming in at a bizarre angle, by bending the Heavenly Tremor downward as if taking a sword stance. Derus was pushed back and exhaled deeply.
"You're certainly different."
He curled his lips as he lowered his trembling hand.
"But not that far off."
* * *
Lecross bit his lip as he observed the Angel holding him from behind.
'There's no opening.'
Judging by this Angel's aura, it seemed it wouldn't be easy to deal with even if he wasn't injured. Unlike the Angel that Raon had captured before, this one seemed to be a high-ranking Angel with a name.
'Then I'll have to wait for an opportunity.'
Moving carelessly would only interfere with the fight. It seemed best to watch the battle between Glenn and Derus and look for a chance.
'I didn't expect Derus to become this strong.'
Beyond defeating him, the fact that he wasn't losing to Glenn's sword showed that Derus had clearly reached a different level from the other leaders of the Five Kings and Five Demons.
'It's incomprehensible.'
Despite possessing power comparable to Glenn, Derus used surprise attacks and dirty tactics like throwing rocks and sand. It was hard to understand why he would use such despicable methods when he wouldn't be at a significant disadvantage in a fair fight.
'Of course, it doesn't matter either way.'
Whether Derus used proper swordsmanship or surprise attacks, Glenn blocked all of his offensives. Every movement was close to perfection, as if the god of swords had descended.
'I'll trust him and wait for an opportunity.'
Lecross slowly pushed back the death aura constricting his body and focused on the battle between the two.
* * *
Glenn deflected Derus's surprise attack coming from below his feet and thrust the Heavenly Tremor towards his heart. A dark red current burst forth, deeply tearing Derus Robert's shoulder. Eerily red blood flowed from his body.
"Hmm."
Derus stood up again and unleashed a chillingly sharp slash as if he didn't care about the wound at all. The death aura blooming from his sword strike extended out in the form of a reaper's scythe.
'This is dangerous.'
The ultimate martial arts involve manifesting one's imagination in reality. If Derus considered that scythe to be a reaper, it could inflict fatal wounds just by touching it. Glenn briefly exhaled and imbued the Heavenly Tremor with true lightning. Celestial Thunder Arts, Mixed Thunder Realm.
The lightning forged by tempering his own soul poured down as a red flash.
The reaper's scythe and the god's lightning collided, annihilating everything that existed before their eyes. As the aura evaporated, a dark red current soared to the edge of the sky, and everything below it was erased to black.
Glenn stood in the same place as before, tilting the Heavenly Tremor as if nothing had happened. It was as if the battle had never occurred in the first place.
However, Derus Robert was kneeling on one knee, spitting black blood from his lips.
"Ugh..."
He frowned as he pushed back Glenn's lightning aura that was climbing up his sword and affecting his body and soul.
"This is quite dangerous..."
As Derus let out a sigh, Glenn's sword rose again. A sword strike curving magnificently like a comet's tail fell towards Derus and the Angel's heads.
"Kugh!"
Derus twisted his lips and poured death aura into his wavering sword. Newly ignited black flames rose like rose vines, enveloping his entire sword. Glenn's sword strike once again effortlessly split through the death aura Derus had raised and carved a bright red scar on his body.
"Urgh..."
Derus was helplessly pushed back and coughed up black, dead blood.
"Insane. Is this the sword at its peak..."
The difference in swordsmanship was too great, even though the aura itself wasn't much inferior. It felt impossible to face him.
"I guess it's still not enough."
Derus stepped back awkwardly with an uncomfortable smile. He wiped the blood flowing from his mouth as if he had never received an internal injury.
"But there's a gain."
Derus tilted his chin as he looked at Glenn standing calmly.
"That's your full power now. Without using the Soul Sword."
He smiled, saying it was within the expected range.
"Next time we meet, I'll be able to reach that position."
"Who said I'd let you leave?"
Glenn raised the Heavenly Tremor, aiming at both Derus and the Angel holding Lecross.
"Can you really kill me? Along with your comrade?"
Derus twisted his lips as he stood next to King Lecross.
"I can kill."
Glenn stared at Derus without his eyes wavering.
"Anyone, if I intend to kill."
Unlike before, he had perfectly honed the blade of the Soul Sword. Now, he was confident he could cut down anyone's soul without fail, no matter who the opponent was.
'But that Angel is troublesome.'
The presence of that Angel, giving a similar feeling to Uriel, was bothersome. Even if he cut Derus's soul, it would be meaningless if that Angel did something to revive him.
'Moreover...'
I'm not sure if I'm ready. As much as the Soul Sword had been perfected, its recoil was also great. Even if he killed Derus, he would immediately leave this world. He wasn't afraid of dying himself, but he felt his fingertips stiffening with worry about those left behind.
"..."
Glenn bit his lip slightly as he looked at Derus and King Lecross.
"You seem serious. Then I'll give you a choice."
Derus wiped the playful expression from his face and flicked his hand. The Angel raised his hand without hesitation and pierced King Lecross's chest.
"Kuhurk..."
King Lecross collapsed, spewing blood like a fountain from his chest. The Angel grabbed the neck of King Lecross, who had fallen while coughing blood, threw him to the right, and then raised a golden flash over his hand.
"You choose."
As Derus lowered his finger, his and the Angel's bodies began to blur.
"Whether you'll kill me or save this country's father."
Derus twisted his lips, saying he would disappear like this if Glenn didn't swing his sword.
"No, there's one more option. If you kill me, you'll disappear too. Can the remaining ones hold out even if the Black Tower disappears?"
He shrugged as if asking what Glenn would do.
"Don't, don't worry about me! Kill him!"
King Lecross shouted to kill Derus even as he was spitting blood.
"..."
Glenn raised his gaze calmly while gripping the Heavenly Tremor tightly.