"W-we won! The White Blood Religion has fallen!"
"It's finally over..."
"Now I can finally relax."
"Phew, I thought I was going to die."
The Zieghart Swordsmen gathered at the training ground cheered and shouted for the Five Kings' Martial Artists who had brought them victory.
"...But what happened to Lord Denier?"
"I-I don't know. He stabbed King Lecross, and why did he target the Leader of the White Blood Religion..."
"When you think about it, it's betrayal upon betrayal, right? But for what purpose?"
"We won, but questions remain unanswered."
Many swordsmen had questions about Denier's betrayal since they hadn't heard what happened. Meanwhile, Glenn had left the training ground filled with cheers and doubts, running toward the foot of North Grave Mountain. Moving his body wherever his mind led him as if he had transcended even the realm of Transcendence itself, he headed toward the peak where Fighting Spirit emanated.
Whoosh! Glenn climbed to the highest peak of North Grave Mountain where he encountered a man wearing a red robe. The falling snowballs melted into transparent droplets before they could even touch him, never reaching the ground's unknown depths.
The master of demonic energy who had reached the heavens gazed down at the world from within the helmet of the Demonic Dragon that had once tried to destroy everything.
"You're late."
The Heavenly Demon slowly closed and opened his eyes as if he had expected Glenn's arrival.
"Was your goal to keep me restrained?"
Glenn furrowed his brow while meeting the Heavenly Demon's calm gaze.
"Coming all the way here has become meaningless. Since the Leader of the White Blood Religion is dead."
"..."
The Heavenly Demon said nothing and stared intently at him. Looking at his peaceful eyes, it seemed he already knew about the death of the White Blood Religion's Leader.
"You haven't changed."
The Heavenly Demon rubbed his chin, noting that Glenn hadn't changed at all since they last met.
"Are you still holding back?"
"..."
This time Glenn didn't answer, only staring at the Heavenly Demon.
'He's gotten stronger.'
When they last met, the Heavenly Demon had warned about the dangers of the Soul Sword while saying one could endure it by strengthening their soul. As if following through on those words, he now displayed a realm of the soul clearly stronger than before.
"You fear ascending to the heavens."
The Heavenly Demon revealed a sharp gaze as if all his thoughts had been read.
"With such a pathetic resolve, you will die by my hands."
He clenched his fist with certainty. Roar! The red Fighting Spirit burning beneath the Heavenly Demon's feet brought pale green vitality to the peak that hadn't thawed for ten thousand years. His Fighting Spirit brought forth vitality rather than death. His Martial Prowess had already reached the heavens.
"What is your purpose?"
Glenn turned his chin sideways while maintaining eye contact with the Heavenly Demon.
"Why did you stop me?"
"Reduction. We are all walking that path. And…."
The Heavenly Demon closed his mouth before finishing what he was about to say.
"The next time we meet, one of us will die."
His low voice carried certainty. Though he hadn't read heaven's flow, it was as if he could see the future.
"Of course, at this rate, you will be the one to die."
After saying those words, the Heavenly Demon vanished like a phantom, dissolving into red smoke.
"..."
After the Heavenly Demon's departure, Glenn bit the inside of his lip while watching new sprouts raise their heads on the peak.
"Head of House!"
As he let out a heavy sigh, Roenn came running with an urgent expression.
"Darkan's condition is critical!"
Roenn's eyes creased with worry as he reported that the tide of battle had turned drastically.
"Indeed. I should go."
Glenn nodded briefly and turned around.
"But the means to travel there..."
Roenn frowned, mentioning that Chamber, who needed to control the long-distance teleportation magic, was unconscious.
"No."
Glenn calmly shook his head and kicked at the peak where vitality was blooming.
"There certainly is. Someone who can take Chamber's place."
***
'This is...'
Darkan chewed his lip as if trying to tear it off.
'How is this possible?'
In the mental world created by the Soul Sword, one could see the opponent's soul with their eyes. He had brought promising swordsmen like Raon into this space to fight several times, but never had their realm of the soul exceeded his predictions.
But now, Derus Robert standing before him was emanating an immeasurably vast soul that made even his current soul as a top-tier Transcendent seem like mere skin.
Rumble! A chill ran down his spine as he watched countless eyes mockingly sneer from within endless black shadows that rose like sewage water being sprayed.
'That's definitely not a soul any human could possess.'
The true soul Derus kept beneath his heart created a massive resonance as if hundreds or thousands of souls had gathered, not just one. Each bore the same sinister color. Rumble! As Derus's soul spread wider, the mental world began to shake and twist as if it would collapse.
This space he had created was about to shatter under the pressure of such an enormous and powerful soul.
'To think such a soul existed...'
Even when facing Glenn's Soul Sword, he had only thought about death without feeling fear. This was the first time his soul had been so overwhelmed. It wasn't a difference in Martial Prowess, but rather an instinctual human fear.
"Human, you ask?"
Derus twisted his lips into a smile while looking up at the black shadows covering the mental world.
"You're obsessed enough with swords to create this space, yet you worry about such trivial matters."
He shook his head as if such things were completely irrelevant in this situation.
"Why are you just standing there watching?"
When Derus smiled, the thousands of eyes behind him blinked simultaneously. It was beyond eerie - it was grotesque.
"I've revealed my soul as you wanted. Come at me like before."
Derus beckoned with his finger as if inviting an attack. His soul continued to surge forth, staining Darkan's Mental Image with darkness. Roar! He could feel black cracks appearing in his Mental Image that had taken the form of a giant sword.
'This isn't good.'
He had an ominous feeling that if he got too close to that black entity, his soul would be absorbed by Derus and become one of those eyes before he could even swing his sword. No, even at this moment, Derus seemed to be growing stronger by consuming his Mental Image.
"Having these eyes is proving useful here."
Derus sneered while looking at Darkan.
"If you had rushed in recklessly like before, I would have devoured you whole."
He clicked his tongue in disappointment. At the same time, the eyes gave off a creepy smile.
'If I had gotten close...?'
Darkan narrowed his eyes upon hearing Derus's words.
'Then does that mean he can't fully control that soul either?'
Come to think of it, someone with such a massive soul had no reason to stay hidden until now. If he could fully utilize that soul's power, he could probably defeat even Glenn or the Heavenly Demon. But Derus had been openly avoiding combat with Glenn. This meant he hadn't perfectly made that enormous mass of souls his own.
'I'll aim for that opening.'
If Derus couldn't control that massive soul completely, then he still had a chance. If he could find a spot where his soul wouldn't be absorbed, an opportunity would arise.
"Hah."
Darkan gripped his sword and lowered his upper body.
"Seems you've figured it out."
Derus raised his chin as if amused.
"Though I may be obsessed with swords, I'm not a fool who can't think."
He nodded as if confirming his judgment was correct.
"However..."
Derus's right eye began to be stained with pitch-black death aura. Rumble! The thousands of eyes that had risen behind Derus also burned black as if following his lead.
At that moment, the gray sword that formed his Mental Image finally couldn't withstand Derus's soul and shattered, splitting like a spider web.
Since his Soul Sword was the mental world itself, when the sword collapsed, the Soul Sword had to break as well. Darkan struggled to open his eyes while hearing a deafening roar.
Derus still stood before him, but the black souls and eyes that had been visible behind him were no longer there. It seemed they had returned to reality.
Roar! Derus emanated an even greater realm of the soul and tyrannical aura than before, as if he had awakened in the meantime.
"You... cough!"
As Darkan tried to approach Derus, he coughed up black blood. The aftermath of the shattered mental world had caused severe internal injuries. However, the biggest problem wasn't the internal injuries but the damage to his upper dantian. It was the worst possible situation since the upper dantian, most frequently used in Transcendent battles, had collapsed along with the Soul Sword.
"A Soul Sword that only creates a place to fight - how incredibly stupid."
Derus sneered while wagging his finger.
"Of course, even if you had wielded an orthodox Soul Sword like Glenn Zieghart, you still couldn't have cut my 'soul'."
He fixed his blue eyes on Darkan, who kept coughing up blood.
"That's how you would see it. Since you're someone without any romance for the sword."
Darkan swept back his hair and curled his blood-soaked lips.
"I'm the type who grows stronger the more desperate the situation becomes. I'm already looking forward to seeing how I'll overcome this mess."
Though cornered, he raised his chin as if truly intending to defeat Derus.
"I'll defeat you and ask about that soul."
"Fine. If you defeat me, I'll tell you everything."
The moment Derus calmly nodded, his body vanished like smoke. Whoosh! When Derus reappeared, he was right in front of Darkan. Without any preparation, he thrust his sword straight at Darkan's heart. Though it seemed like a simple thrust, it contained fearsome swordsmanship principles.
Clang! Darkan raised his sword diagonally to deflect Derus's sword targeting his heart to the left. However, even just this seemed to strain him as black blood leaked from his lips.
"You've grown weak."
Derus smirked and shook his head.
"I could beat someone of your level even from a sickbed."
Darkan deflected Derus's sword rushing in from the left while telling him not to worry.
"I'll give you credit for your fighting spirit at least."
Derus chuckled and stepped inside Darkan's guard, unleashing a series of heavy sword techniques. Clang! Darkan's hand holding his dark sword trembled as he retreated ten steps.
'...This isn't good.'
While it was true that Derus had grown stronger than before, Darkan could have handled him if his body was in normal condition. The reason he was being pushed back now was due to the aftermath of his broken Soul Sword.
'It's difficult to use the upper dantian.'
If he hadn't used the Soul Sword, he could have killed Derus or made him flee, but he regretted using it so carelessly against this mysterious opponent.
'Even so...'
He couldn't fall here. His words about turning crisis into opportunity weren't lies. Since he had always grown stronger through hardship, he rallied his diminished Focus to analyze Derus's swordsmanship.
'I can see it somehow.'
Darkan blocked Derus's sword strikes with minimal loss and healed the injuries to his organs and upper dantian. Not looking with his eyes but feeling with his senses proved more helpful.
"You do deserve the title of Dark Night Sword God."
Derus twisted his lips as if Darkan had read his movements.
"Let's do things a bit differently from now on."
As soon as those words ended, Derus's swordsmanship changed drastically. Fast then slow, light then heavy. Without Darkan noticing, his sword had begun pursuing the Flow of Ten Thousand Swords like Glenn or Raon. Clang! Darkan staggered backward like a drunk person while spewing blood from his mouth.
'Damn...'
Trying to read Derus's changed swordsmanship had worsened the damage to his upper dantian. Now his vision was blurring, making it difficult to do anything.
"Tired already right after I praised you for living up to your name? Dark Night Sword God Darkan?"
Derus raised his speech level mockingly, as if already certain of his victory.
"I am not the Dark Night Sword God, but merely a Swordsman. As long as this sword doesn't break, I won't fall."
Darkan shouted for Derus to come at him while deflecting his fierce sword strikes and even counterattacking. He swung his sword with a smile despite blood flowing from his eyes, nose, and mouth. His willpower was overcoming his failing body.
"Merely a Swordsman..."
Derus slightly furrowed his brow as he brought his sword down on Darkan. Boom! Darkan raised his dark sword to block Derus's simple downward strike. But Derus, instead of using sword techniques, kept layering his aura as if intending to overwhelm with pure force.
Darkan began to collapse, unable to withstand the weight and power imbued in Derus's sword.
"Ngh..."
Darkan bit his lip as he watched his own sword being pushed back toward his forehead by Derus's sword.
"Since you're obsessed with swords, I'll let you die by your own blade."
Derus muttered that it would be a fitting end as he added more force to his sword. Whoosh! As Darkan's forehead was cut by the dark sword and blood flowed down, a powerful aura shot toward Derus's face.
"Hmph!"
Derus sneered as he created a wall of death aura to block the approaching aura. Boom! However, the white aura pierced through Derus's death aura and struck his chin.
"Ugh..."
Derus was pushed back along with his sword that had been pressing down on Darkan, as if shocked.
"Haah..."
Darkan bent over, exhaling heavily as if he had truly come back from the brink of death.
"Are you alright?"
Ogram stood beside Darkan while shaking off the death aura from his fist.
"Why..."
Darkan furrowed his brow while letting out a blood-tinged sigh.
"Why did you interfere? I was about to cut him down."
Instead of saying thank you, he glared at Ogram and demanded to know why he had interfered in the fight.
"Really..."
Ogram clicked his tongue as if he had expected Darkan to say that.
"You saved me before, so it's only natural that I save you too!"
He shook his head as if the question itself was meaningless.
"I didn't try to save you. I just wanted to fight."
Darkan raised his dark sword as if to show that thought hadn't changed.
"Same here. Now that my strength is restored, I must test it."
Ogram clenched both fists and raised his aura, saying he too just wanted to fight Derus like Darkan did.
"So you've come seeking your own death. I would have given you a clean death if you had stayed still."
Derus smiled while wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.
"Since it's come to this, I'll send both of you off together."
He remained confident of victory even with Ogram's intervention. Derus burst in between Ogram and Darkan with an intense shattering sound.
Darkan swung his sword down and Ogram threw his fist, but Derus's sword pushed back both their forces head-on and drove inward.
"Just hold on!"
Ogram left the defense to Darkan and employed the Fierce Wave Arts. The spiral airflow imbued in his fist pierced through the death aura and shot toward Derus's heart. Bang! However, the fist force wrapped in the Fierce Wave Arts dissipated in the black mist before reaching Derus.
"That won't work twice."
Derus twisted his lips as if he knew everything about the Fierce Wave Arts and swung his sword. Though it seemed like just fast swordsmanship, strangely their bodies wouldn't move. Just as his right arm was about to be cut off, Darkan kicked him away, allowing him to fortunately escape Derus's attack range.
However, they couldn't completely avoid it, and a pitch-black burning sword wound appeared on Ogram's shoulder. Darkan too had a dark red wound on his chest where Derus's sword had struck.
"Not bad for people fighting together for the first time. However..."
Derus concentrated death aura in his sword tip and launched a fierce thrust. His first strike sent Darkan tumbling with blood spurting from his mouth, while Ogram reacted too late and was knocked back without properly defending.
Though they stood at similar levels, Derus overwhelmed the injured Darkan with sheer quantity and power of aura, while using high-level martial arts against Ogram who was at a different level.
It was a perfect strategy to suppress their teamwwork.
"The same scene is getting boring, so let's end this."
Derus raised his sword while standing in front of Darkan.
"If I'm this strong just from consuming your Mental Image, I wonder how much power I'll gain from killing you."
He licked his lips as if truly looking forward to it.
"Your sword isn't beautiful..."
Darkan snorted while looking at Derus's sword.
"What?"
"Glenn Zieghart's sword is noble and grand. Raon Zieghart's sword is aggressive and free. But your sword..."
He shook his head with a sneer.
"I feel nothing from it. It's certainly strong but completely empty."
Darkan blew his nose, saying it was a boring sword.
"I've felt this before, but you certainly know how to provoke people. Of course, it won't work on me."
Derus shook his head, saying he wouldn't listen to a loser's words.
"Besides, don't worry - this empty space will soon be filled with your soul and power."
He said the sword would soon have meaning as he swung his death aura-burning blade down at Darkan's head. Whoosh! Just as Darkan watched Derus's fierce descending sword as if accepting his own death - Screech!
A silver blade rose from an opening blue dimension to block Derus's slash.
Rumble! Derus's sword that had been overwhelming Darkan and Ogram began to tremble and get pushed back.
"This is..."
Derus stared wide-eyed at the sword crackling with red lightning, seemingly genuinely surprised.
"That's it!"
Darkan clapped his hands while watching the sword pushing Derus back.
"That's a real sword!"
He cheered as if he knew who the sword's owner was. Crackle! The blue dimension opened completely, and Glenn Zieghart walked out wearing a black robe over his shoulders. The Heavenly Tremor sword in his grip let out a fierce Sword Mantra.
"Chamber and Larian are down, how did you get here!"
Derus's jaw trembled in disbelief at Glenn's sudden appearance, as he had been monitoring all situations.
"You too are underestimating the children's growth."
Glenn's proud gaze turned backward.
"Haah..."
Princess Jayna of Balkar, more famous for her arrogance and haughtiness than her magical prowess, had managed to execute long-distance teleportation magic even while bleeding from her nose and mouth, following her teacher's legacy.
"Your plans today..."
Glenn stood before Derus with eyes crackling like lightning.
"Were shattered by the children you underestimated."
Chapter 1070