"That's enough for today."
Darkan waved the hand holding his dark sword.
"Phew..."
Raon exhaled a white breath as he planted the Heavenly Drive into the ground.
'It's getting harder and harder.'
After completing the Fire Spirit, he mastered the Flame Dragon Strike, and after finishing that, he improved the Flame and Ice Unification. However, there were still higher-level sword techniques that needed to be developed, leaving his body and mind exhausted.
'The morning sessions are just as tough.'
Glenn recognized his progress and strengthened the Willpower he imbued into his sword accordingly. In his Mental Image, Willpower still battled against the demon kings' Authority, so despite his physical and mental growth, he continued to undergo life-threatening training every day.
'I never thought I'd be this exhausted after just a week.'
Raon clenched his trembling fist. Though he had only trained for a week, he couldn't help but laugh wryly at how the fatigue felt like months had passed.
'If I hadn't taken out my frustration on the Light Wind Palace kids, I might have collapsed already.'
-You, did you just say you took out your frustration?
Wrath nodded vigorously, as if he had expected this.
-You claimed it was training for the Light Wind Palace children, but in the end, you were just venting your frustration! You filthy bastard!
He ground his teeth, calling Raon wicked.
'So did the Light Wind Palace kids get stronger or not?'
Raon tilted his chin while looking at Wrath.
-Huh? Uh...
Wrath blinked, appearing flustered.
'They got stronger, right? The kids grow, and I relieve stress. It's killing two birds with one stone.'
Raon puffed out his chest even more proudly.
-I-is that so?
Wrath opened his mouth in a round shape, looking confused.
-It seems right, but also sounds like nonsense. Being with the world's biggest madman is making this King go crazy too...
He groaned while clutching his head, as if he couldn't make sense of it himself.
"Raon. Have you thought about the question I asked a week ago?"
Glenn approached and looked down at him.
"I've thought about it, but I haven't found the answer yet."
Raon shook his head with a soft sigh.
"Then you still can't join our conversation?"
Darkan chuckled as he turned his back.
"Let's go."
He gestured to Glenn, saying that his current self probably couldn't participate in discussions about the Soul Sword.
"Though I don't like it, he's right. Think more deeply about what I told you before."
After saying this, Glenn left the training ground with Darkan.
"Haa..."
Raon sat down on the dirt floor with furrowed brows.
"Damn it..."
It was true that his Martial Prowess had grown rapidly during the week of training with Darkan and Glenn. However, the most important part of this training wasn't the growth of his swordsmanship or the strengthening of his Willpower.
'Soul Sword.'
The main goal was to develop the Soul Sword that had reverted to level 1 after the Blade of Requiem broke, but he never expected he wouldn't even be able to start.
"Think about what you can show through the Soul Sword? What does that mean?"
Even after thinking it over, he couldn't understand the meaning behind Glenn's words.
'The Soul Sword is just a blade forged from one's soul.'
-Pathetic fool!
Wrath clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
-Are you saying you can't do anything without the Blade of Requiem?
He wrinkled his brow in apparent disdain.
'Yeah. Even I think it's pathetic.'
Raon nodded with a sigh.
'I guess I've been relying too much on Master and the Blade of Requiem.'
He had thought he was wielding the Soul Sword through his own will, but now he realized he had been depending on Rimmer and the Blade of Requiem for the most crucial aspects. Woooong. A transparent aura rose above Raon's hand. A hazy Soul Sword. Though it had the energy, it was an incomplete blade lacking form and will.
'I can use the Soul Sword, but I don't know what it is.'
Raon let out a self-mocking laugh as he looked at the wavering Soul Sword.
'I understood the Soul Sword, but I don't know how I understood it. How pathetically disgusting.'
He bit his lip hard while insulting himself.
"I don't have time to rest, but I want to."
As Raon lay back against the training ground, a small swallow descended from the sky.
"Huh? You're back already?"
The swallow he had sent to deliver news to Rector had returned with a reply. Jjaek! The swallow tilted its head as if it had been a while, then extended its right leg with the letter tied to it.
"Thank you."
Raon patted the swallow's head before untying and reading the letter.
[I believed that you and Zieghart would bring down the White Blood Religion and defeat its Leader. Now that I've seen that belief become reality, words can't express how proud I am. Getting old makes me tearful. I wanted to help you, and I'm sorry I couldn't go with you. I...]
The letter was brief. It congratulated him on his victory and expressed regret for not being able to help.
'But...'
What's this part about?
[Your sword cut through even the Leader of the White Blood Religion's tenacity. Your battles always move people's hearts. I'm truly proud.]
In his letter to Rector, he hadn't mentioned that he personally killed the Leader of the White Blood Religion. He had only written that the White Blood Religion was destroyed and its Leader was dead, yet Rector had written as if he had witnessed the battle himself.
'No way...'
Raon's chin trembled slightly.
'Did Grandfather come too?'
Thinking about it, it would have been stranger if he hadn't come. After all, Rector cared for him more than anyone else.
'Wrath. The person who supported us during the war with the White Blood Religion...'
Raon turned to look at Wrath with furrowed brows.
'Was it Grandfather?'
-Hup!
Wrath pressed his lips tightly together.
'It wasn't other demon kings but Grandfather who helped, so why didn't you tell me?'
Raon stretched Wrath's cheeks like cheese, demanding an answer.
-I-if the old geezer deliberately didn't show himself, I thought he must have had his reasons!
Wrath raised his hands, telling Raon to think about it carefully.
-If it was just about deceiving Derus Robert, he could have at least sent you an aura message!
He shook his head, saying he was only being considerate of Rector.
'Hmm...'
Raon let out a low groan.
'I guess you have a point.'
As Wrath said, if Rector didn't want even him to know, there must have been another reason.
'Usually you're an idiot, but at times like this you can be quite considerate.'
Raon looked at Wrath with a smirk.
-What do you mean 'at times like this'! This King is always considerate!
Wrath didn't object to being called an idiot but got angry only about the consideration part. As always, he was truly a peculiar fellow.
-And there were a few others too.
'A few others?'
-I don't know most of their names, but one of them was the guy who threw you out for being noisy.
'Threw me out for being noisy? Ah! Lawrence!'
Raon clapped his hands in excitement.
'So Lawrence came too.'
Lawrence had promised to participate in the war against the White Blood Religion but hadn't shown up. Though they had both felt disappointed, it seemed he had helped Raon and Martha from an unseen position. Human connections seemed to persist even when they appeared to be broken.
'It's good to hear about Lawrence, but I'm worried about Grandfather.'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he read Rector's letter again.
'He should be avoiding dangerous situations.'
Rector had stayed back as one of the Five Demons instead of participating in this war to strike Derus from behind. It worried Raon what he might be planning that required deceiving even him.
"Whew."
Just as Raon sighed and shook his head, Woooong! The incomplete Soul Sword floating above his hand rippled like a disturbed puddle and began taking the form of a small blade. Though it was a sword, its blade was wide enough to serve as a shield.
'Could it be...'
Raon's eyes widened as he looked at the shield-like sword.
'Is this what the Head of House was talking about?'
It seemed his desire to worry about and protect Rector had manifested in that shield-like sword. The manifestation of the Soul Sword clearly shared the same essence as Willpower.
'So that's why they asked about my will before starting the training.'
He finally understood why Glenn and Darkan had asked what kind of sword he wanted to create. Raon curved his lips after returning the Soul Sword to its original round shape.
'Now I understand clearly.'
It seemed Glenn and Darkan had remained silent until now to let his soul engrave this realization.
'Things are going to get busier. Ah, but before that...'
He was about to refine his Soul Sword based on his recent realization when he opened his eyes again.
'I should reply first.'
Raon wrote his reply to Rector and tied it to the leg of the young, yawning swallow.
"I'm counting on you."
Jjak! The swallow let out a confident chirp as if saying not to worry, then flew up into the distant sky.
-Aren't you going after the old geezer and the madman?
Wrath narrowed his eyes, wondering why Raon wasn't following the path of Glenn and Darkan.
'Come to think of it, there's no need to follow them.'
Raon curved his lips as he floated his soul above his palm.
'Because I'm creating my own Soul Sword, not someone else's.'
Glenn and Darkan weren't here to create a Soul Sword for him, but to help him develop it. He had to create his own sword himself.
-Looks like you're finally getting the hang of it.
Wrath nodded as if approving of his thinking.
'Watch.'
Raon slowly closed his eyes and recalled everything he had built up until now.
'See how my sword changes.'
***
"What are you smiling at?"
Lawrence frowned at Rector, who was grinning after receiving the letter.
"What did that kid Raon write?"
"He tells me not to do anything strange and to get some proper rest."
Rector waved his hand without taking his eyes off the letter.
"Seems he figured out we went to the White Blood Religion Headquarters."
"He figured that out?"
Lawrence let out a wry laugh as he looked at Rector's letter.
"He's always been quick to catch on. Even his interference with me was all deliberate."
He smiled faintly, remembering when Raon had deliberately come to his cave.
"He says he gained insight into the Soul Sword thanks to me. It was worth sending a reply even during busy times."
Rector's face brightened with joy just from reading Raon's letter.
"Do you love your grandson that much?"
Lawrence narrowed his eyes as he watched Rector treating the letter like treasure.
"Of course I do. My son, whom I thought dead, gave me a beautiful daughter-in-law and bore two of the Continent's finest talents. How could I not be happy?"
Rector nodded, saying family couldn't help but be precious after they had each overcome difficult times.
"I see. I doubt I'll ever know that feeling."
Lawrence shook his head with bitter eyes.
"Why not? You should experience it too."
Rector patted Lawrence's shoulder, telling him to find a good woman and get married.
"Who knows what would pop out if I had a child."
Lawrence rolled his eyes, saying one monster was enough.
"There are no monsters from birth. You can see that for yourself."
Rector looked at Lawrence with warm eyes, saying he himself was evidence of that.
"You too are my family, Lawrence."
"Hmm..."
Lawrence furrowed his brows as if uncomfortable with Rector's gaze, but didn't reject his words.
"Master. Sir Lawrence."
Mustan, who was walking ahead, gestured to the two.
"I can see a white curtain ahead. Seems we've found the right place."
He pointed to a white curtain wavering at the foot of a rocky mountain. It was the same color as the White Blood Religion's Barrier, but sacred energy flowed through it instead of bloody energy.
"Stop the useless chatter and focus."
Lawrence bit his lip as he pushed away Rector's hand.
"One moment of carelessness and you might never see that beloved grandson again."
He tied up his hair while telling him to steel his heart.
"You be careful too. This isn't a fight, just reconnaissance."
When Rector pressed a button on his sleeve, his face began changing into that of a man in his twenties. It seemed to be an Artifact for concealing his identity.
"Let's go."
Rector walked toward the white curtain without any hesitation.
'For family.'
***
Another week passed. Raon still practiced strengthening his Willpower with Glenn after sparring, then developed the mysteries of Ten Thousand Swords with Darkan. As time passed, he could clearly feel his Willpower and swordsmanship growing.
There were no problems except for Wrath complaining about being tired of the main building's food, and the fact that the Soul Sword was still incomplete.
-Isn't that the biggest problem?
Wrath opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Another week has passed."
Darkan stood before Raon with a twisted smile.
"How is it? Have you gained any insight yet?"
He shrugged as if asking how long he would have to wait.
"Your Willpower and swordsmanship are growing faster than your current level would suggest."
Glenn nodded calmly as he looked at him.
"However, it's disappointing that there's no progress with the most important thing - the Soul Sword."
He lowered his eyebrows, saying it was taking longer than expected.
"Tell me how much you've understood of what I said."
"Everything. I've understood the full meaning of what the Head of House said."
Raon nodded as he looked up at Glenn.
"A week ago."
"What?"
Glenn stopped mid-sentence and widened his eyes.
"Huh? If you knew a week ago, why are you only telling us now?"
Darkan blinked blankly, as if he couldn't understand.
"Because I needed to create my sword myself."
Raon planted the Heavenly Drive in the training ground floor and brought both hands to his chest.
"I've finally grasped the will and form I want."
As he asked them to watch, he summoned an invisible sword that ordinary humans couldn't see. Hwaaaak! Waves of flame and frost crashed over his still formless soul like iron. The two energies hammered and forged his soul like a Master's hammer, creating a blade with living sharpness.
Though still in the form of a modest dagger, its noble and beautiful appearance resembled the lost Blade of Requiem. Huuuuk! The blade, where red flames and blue frost burned simultaneously, connected to a black hilt, creating an appearance that was both mysterious and chilling.
"An unquenchable flame. And frost that never melts..."
Darkan let out a breath as he sensed the power and will imbued in his Soul Sword.
"Are you really insane?"
He offered the highest praise he, a madman himself, could give.
"And a sword that never breaks."
Glenn's jaw trembled as he saw his oath manifested through Willpower and aura in the Soul Sword.
"I was wrong. You've done it faster and better than I expected."
He nodded with warm eyes, proud that Raon had far exceeded his expectations.
[Willpower grows stronger.]
[The demon kings' Authority grows stronger.]
[The realm of the soul has risen.]
[The trait
Raon smiled as he saw the messages appearing before his eyes.
-Hmph. After not sleeping even a minute for a week and staying up every night, this much is expected.
Instead of getting angry like before, Wrath snorted as if this was only natural.
'I did it.'
Now you can go with peace of mind. Raon closed his eyes as he felt a clear wind blowing above his head.
'Today...'
Raon fell into dark slumber with a smile for the first time since beginning this training.
'I can sleep comfortably now.'