-It is as you say.
Wrath nodded as he surveyed the base of the mountain.
-The aura has been shaped with incredible precision. These are no ordinary humans.
He narrowed his eyes, noting that they far surpassed the level of ordinary Transcendents.
'Wait.'
Raon clenched his fist as he watched the flames and frost clash as if trying to destroy each other.
'The earth's aura supporting those flames and frost...'
Why did it feel so familiar? The violently clashing flames and frost contained earth's aura, and strangely enough, it felt similar to the martial arts passed down by the Sword Saint.
'No way...'
-Is this really the time to be lost in thought?
Wrath tapped his shoulder with his tail, telling him to go down and take a proper look.
'You're right about that.'
Raon nodded and ran down the mountain. With a crackling sound, the two energies wrapped in flames and frost tried to devour each other's properties, burning as if they had encountered mortal enemies.
However, the flames and frost were perfectly matched, and after expending all their power without leaving even a small fragment, they dissipated into grey smoke.
"Damn it!"
Raon arrived at the middle of Mount Sterling too late - the flames and frost had already vanished, and the dimension that had summoned the two forces had closed.
-That's why I told you to hurry!
Wrath shook his head in frustration.
'Even if I had reacted immediately, I couldn't have caught them at this speed.'
While it was true that he had briefly pondered about the earth's aura, it wasn't for long. Even if he had come down immediately upon seeing it, he would have still been too late.
"A-are you alright?"
Dorian's voice came from the mountain peak.
"I'm fine, don't come down."
He raised his hand to Dorian, who appeared like a small dot from this distance.
"I-I'm scared! What if we wake up this demon king!"
Dorian stamped his feet anxiously, saying he wanted to go down.
"He won't wake up. Probably..."
After shouting to Dorian not to worry, Raon examined the ground where the flames and frost had collided.
'A Transcendent. One who's either my equal or superior.'
Such powerful martial arts couldn't be easily created even by Transcendents, so this must be the work of a powerful figure who had left their mark in history.
'But this kind of aura...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he examined the traces on the ground.
'I've never seen it before.'
These were martial arts and aura he had never encountered before. Such martial artists weren't found among the Six Kings and Five Demons, nor even in the Five Divine Orders.
'Could they be reclusive masters?'
Given the vast and long history of the Continent, it wouldn't be strange if there were reclusive masters he didn't know about.
'The problem is...'
Raon clicked his tongue as he looked up at Mount Sturin, where the vibrations were subsiding.
'Why are they fighting? And in a different space at that.'
He couldn't understand why they would transmit their aura to the middle of Mount Sturin and risk waking Sloth, instead of fighting where they were.
'Do they have a grudge against Sloth?'
Raon wrinkled his nose as he looked at the peak where Sloth was sleeping.
-That guy isn't the type to make enemies. He's so patient that the title of demon king doesn't even suit him.
Wrath shook his head, saying that couldn't be the case.
"Hearing that makes it even more confusing."
As Raon frowned and sighed, suddenly two cracks appeared before his eyes as red and blue aura burst forth. The flames and frost charged forward once again, emitting powerful energy waves in their attempt to destroy each other. A tremendous roar filled the air.
As the flaming aura and frosty energy collided head-on, terrifying waves of force spread outward. Mount Sturin, which had barely stopped shaking, twisted as if it might collapse.
"Ugh..."
Raon was pushed back like a paper blown by the wind.
'As expected.'
Just as he had sensed from afar, the clashing flames and frost before his eyes were martial arts unleashed by Transcendents.
'Both the flame and frost are unleashed through sword techniques.'
The flames and frost contained different types of power. The flames represented precise swordsmanship aimed at vital points, while the frost was a fierce sword technique meant to cleave enemies in half. With a crackling sound, the two forces once again created powerful waves as they tried to devour each other, only to fade away when their power was exhausted.
"Whew..."
Raon caught his breath and nodded.
'Now I kind of understand.'
-Huh? What do you understand?
Wrath raised his eyebrows in confusion.
-All we can tell is that there are two crazy people out there.
'It's not certain yet. I'll tell you later.'
Raon lowered his hand, saying he would explain once he was sure.
-Well then, can you solve this?
Wrath licked his lips, seemingly eager to resolve this quickly and go eat at the Frost Branch.
'That...'
Raon blinked slowly, narrowing his eyes.
'I don't think it'll work.'
-What? Didn't you just say you understood?
'Even if I understand, I can't solve it. I can't enter that dimension.'
While he could roughly guess who was behind this, he still had no answers about where they were or why they were doing this.
"But I can't keep blocking these attacks forever."
Using his power, he could either send the two forces away or erase them to prevent Sloth from waking up. However, that would only be a temporary solution, and Sloth would go berserk again.
"What should I do about this..."
As Raon let out a long sigh while looking at the melted snow and ice.
"Shall I solve this for you?"
A cheerful voice rang out as a squirrel doll popped out from his chest. With a pop, the squirrel doll transformed into Evelyn, elegantly dressed in a purple robe.
"H-how did you..."
Raon gaped as he looked at the smiling Merlin.
"But I definitely left the squirrel doll in the annex building?"
Although Evelyn had told him to always carry it, he had left the squirrel doll in the annex building because it scared him. He couldn't understand why it was in his pocket.
"I cast a blessing of union on you and the squirrel doll. So you can always be together."
Evelyn clasped her hands as if in prayer, explaining that it would stick to him even if he left it at home.
"B-blessing of union..."
Raon's fingers trembled as he heard about the magic whose ability he could guess just from its name.
-Th-that's not a blessing, it's a curse! And a terrible one at that!
Wrath screamed in disbelief.
"Anyway..."
Evelyn leaned in with a deep smile, her face so pale it appeared white.
"This isn't where and when we were supposed to meet, is it?"
She shot him a burning glare as she asked why he had left early.
"W-well..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he slowly backed away.
"It's fine though. I saw everything."
Evelyn said he had grown much stronger as she brushed off his shoulder.
"Hnngh..."
Raon's eyelids trembled at Evelyn's gesture.
-N-now is not the time to be worried about Sloth!
Wrath shook his head vigorously as if asking what he was doing.
-You need to run away from that madwoman first! Hurry!
Though he screamed, Raon's legs wouldn't leave the ground.
'It's already too late...'
***
"So..."
Evelyn licked her lips as she looked at the mountain where snow and ice had melted.
"You're saying these traces and the noise-causing aura are the work of martial artists?"
"Exactly. However..."
Raon leaned against a shattered rock fragment as he spoke.
"Those martial artists are Transcendents. And the problem is they're monsters who've reached the highest level."
He frowned as he said they might be similar to or even stronger than himself.
"So we just need to find those troublemakers?"
Evelyn smiled faintly as if it wasn't particularly difficult.
"Right. But finding them won't be easy. Given their use of dimensions, they must be far from here."
Raon clicked his tongue as he looked down at the traces of aura.
"Don't worry. Dimensional and spatial magic are my specialty."
"Specialty?"
"Yes. I had some good seniors."
Evelyn bumped her fists together, saying that while she was already good, she had learned higher dimensional magic from Chamber and Larian.
"Though there is one problem."
She wiggled her finger as she approached Raon's side.
"I think I need to see it directly with my own eyes to find their location."
Evelyn shook her head, saying she couldn't find any intact traces of mana due to the powerful aura's impact.
"Don't worry about that."
Raon smiled as he lowered his hand.
"If we wait a bit, they'll appear right away."
Given that it had erupted twice as soon as Sloth fell asleep, the aura would likely burst forth again without much waiting.
"Really? Then let's wait."
As Evelyn gathered her hands and scattered mana, a blue veil spread around Mount Sturin. It seemed like a barrier to track whoever was opening the dimensions. However, even after two hours of Evelyn maintaining the barrier, no new dimensions opened.
"Are you sure we only need to wait a little while?"
Evelyn looked at Raon with narrowed eyes.
"They appeared right away when I was here earlier..."
Raon apologetically scratched the back of his head.
"You can remove the barrier if it's tough. Let's rest a bit and try again."
Since it wasn't a self-sustaining barrier but one Evelyn was maintaining directly, he felt too guilty to say anything more.
"That doesn't matter..."
Evelyn took a step closer, licking her lips. He could feel her warmth from where their shoulders touched.
"It's a bit cold, shall we talk while staying close?"
She moved even closer until he could hear her breathing, suggesting they talk.
"W-we can talk fine from a distance?"
Raon laughed awkwardly as he stepped away from Evelyn.
"My hearing isn't very good."
Evelyn smiled more deeply as she took another step toward Raon.
"Then we should get that treated. I'll call for the Saint when we get back."
Raon's chin trembled as he moved even further away.
"It's fine. I think staying close to you will help."
Evelyn muttered "no" as she pressed even closer.
"I-I'm feeling a bit hot..."
"It's okay. My body is cold."
"You're not cold at all..."
"This counts as cold."
Raon and Evelyn circled endlessly around the flattened mountain like a windmill.
-I-is this compatibility? To think the continent's greatest madman can't even resist...
Wrath exhaled sharply, saying even Raon couldn't win against a madwoman. As two people and one demon king spent the night in their silent war, the sun rose and two dimensions opened simultaneously, with flaming aura and frost energy bursting forth explosively.
"Evelyn!"
Raon stopped his crab-like walk and called out to Evelyn.
"I need to check the dimensional coordinates! Stop those forces from exploding!"
Evelyn gritted her teeth, saying the aura was too strong for her to properly examine the dimensions.
"Understood."
Raon nodded and drew the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword. He channeled Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier through the two swords as he dove between the clashing flames and frost. He blocked the flames with Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and wrapped the frost with Glacier to prevent the impact from spreading. A resonating boom filled the air.
Raon bit his lip as he gripped the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword so hard they might break.
'The aura is heavier than I expected.'
The energy was so powerful that he could barely match it even using Divine-Demonic Harmony. Just blocking it was making his back wet with sweat.
'Since I can't use Divine-Demonic Harmony again...'
He decided to open his Willpower. Though he had already consumed much Willpower and demon king Authority, he had no choice now. With a resonating boom, Raon stepped forward forcefully as he pushed Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier to their limits. With a thunderous roar, he infused powerful Willpower and Authority into the writhing blades of flame and frost, striking down the dimensional aura.
Finally gaining the upper hand, the flames and frost slowly began to fade under the pressure of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier. With a whoosh, Raon defeated the two dimensional auras with his power alone before collapsing where he stood.
"Haah..."
As soon as the dimension closed, he let out a heavy breath. After his duel with Sloth and now blocking the energy of two Transcendents, his body was so drained that it was cramping.
"Evelyn. How did it go?"
Raon looked at Evelyn's back with trembling eyes.
"Thanks to you, I found it."
Evelyn turned around with a bright smile.
"It's not too far from here."
She nodded, saying that while it would be difficult to walk there, she could construct a magic circle for transportation.
"Where is it?"
Raon forced strength into his trembling hands as he stood up again.
"Over there..."
Evelyn jerked her chin toward the north, beyond Mount Sturin.
"It's above the North Sea."
***
"C-can I go too?"
Dorian clasped his hands together while keeping an eye on Sloth, who had fallen into a deep sleep.
"I brought everything except what I really don't have!"
He knelt down, begging them to take him along.
"It could be dangerous there. This is the safest place."
Raon pressed down on Dorian's shoulder, telling him to stay with Sloth.
"B-but he's a demon king!"
"He's fine. Just think of him as Runaan."
He shook his head, saying Sloth and Runaan were just different in taste.
"What...?"
Dorian blinked blankly.
-How could that work! You madman!
Wrath shook his head in disbelief.
'Anyway, it's true that where we're going is more dangerous.'
Raon shook his head coolly.
'A fight could break out immediately.'
Since a battle could erupt as soon as they opened the dimensional gate, taking Dorian along would be too risky.
"But why isn't it opening again?"
Evelyn frowned as she looked at the ground where the dimension had opened.
"Because I blocked their aura."
Raon clenched his fist that had been spread out.
"They must have sensed that there was interference."
No dimension had opened for a day since he had blocked the flames and frost. They seemed to have noticed something was here and stopped fighting.
"Should we just move then?"
Evelyn licked her lips, saying she had already worked out the calculations for the transportation magic.
"No, let's wait a bit longer. Catching them in the act is the best..."
Just as Raon was shaking his head, a rumbling sound filled the air as an enormous aura burst through a dimension on the opposite mountainside. They seemed to have sensed the interference here and changed their location.
"Evelyn. Now!"
Raon called out to Evelyn as he placed his hands on the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword.
"Already on it!"
Evelyn quickly brought her hands together as if telling him not to worry. Chillingly dense mana sparkled above her hands before a blue dimensional gate opened.
"Just go straight in!"
"Thanks."
Raon entered the dimensional gate before he could finish thanking Evelyn. As soon as he entered, warm air rushed over him. Though he'd heard it was above the North Sea, he couldn't understand why there was such warm wind. With quick footwork, he exited the gate. A thunderous roar filled the air.
As the intense light faded, he saw a cold-looking man wielding a cold weapon and a kind-faced woman holding a sword wreathed in flames.
And behind them, a Gold Dragon was soaking in the North Sea.
[Stop it already!]
The Dragon yelled at the sword-wielding man and woman.
[How long are you going to keep up this marital spat!]
"Huh...?"
Raon's eyes, which had been focused only on combat, went blank.
'Marital spat?'
-...Are these people crazy too?