"Can you find him?"
Raon asked about Rector's location with the swallow perched on his palm. The young swallow chirped loudly, as if ready to depart immediately despite having just landed after a long flight.
-Hey you!
Wrath raised his blue-glowing hand toward Raon.
-I understand you're bound to be flustered when a blood-stained letter arrives from your old man. However...
He furrowed his brows deeply.
-If something has happened to an old man stronger than you, you shouldn't act while so excited.
Wrath slapped Raon's forehead to make him come to his senses. With a swoosh, Raon blocked Wrath's attack with the back of his hand before speaking.
'I know. I'm not excited at all, so don't worry.'
He meant it. When he first discovered blood on the letter and the swallow's body, his heart rate had indeed accelerated rapidly and his head had grown hot. But the Ring of Fire had rotated on its own, calming his mind. Right now, he was more composed than anyone.
'I was just confirming whether the swallow knows my grandfather's location and can find him.'
Even if they used Evelyn's magic to teleport to where the letter came from, they would still need to find Rector, which is why this swallow's role was important.
"I'll ask for your help later."
Raon thanked the swallow for its answer while stroking its forehead.
'From now on, I need to think about the reason.'
He steadied his breathing and looked at Rector's letter again.
'Why is there blood on the letter and feathers, when my grandfather was supposed to be at the Holy Sword Alliance?'
He carefully examined the blood on the young swallow's body and the letter again.
'This is definitely human blood.'
From the blood on the letter, he could feel the aura of a martial artist with mana deeply dissolved in it. Moreover, this swallow delivering his letter was a spirit beast, making it much faster than ordinary hawks or flying monsters. The swallow also had no injuries, which made it even more certain. This was undoubtedly human blood.
'Then why is there blood on the letter?'
Was the Holy Sword Alliance attacked? Currently, the Holy Sword Alliance's location was perfectly hidden by powerful formations and magic. Of course, since Derus had Archangels, they might discover the Holy Sword Alliance's location if they used special abilities.
'Who could have attacked them? The Five Kings have currently ceased activities, and Eden and Derus have no reason to attack the Holy Sword Alliance.'
The Five Kings had halted their movements to conserve strength for the potentially imminent war, and Derus or Eden had no need to attack the Holy Sword Alliance, their ally.
'They shouldn't have discovered his participation in the war against the White Blood Religion.'
He knew from Rector's letter that he had come to help in the war against the White Blood Religion. But Rector's presence wasn't detectable even to himself, and only Wrath could barely sense it, so no one should know that he had moved.
'Wrath.'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he called Wrath.
'When grandfather came to the war with the Holy Sword Alliance, were there any movements from Derus or an Archangel nearby?'
-There were none.
Wrath shook his head firmly.
-I may not know about that Derus fellow too well, but if an Archangel had moved, this king could not have missed it.
He snorted confidently, asserting his certainty.
'So he wasn't discovered during the war with the White Blood Religion.'
Raon sighed and looked at the letter again.
'Then by whom and where was he attacked?'
He gripped the letter tightly, knowing he needed at least some idea before taking action.
'Why would grandfather, who wasn't discovered even at the Holy Sword Alliance... Wait?'
Raon's chin trembled as he recalled the magic circle drawn in the skies above the Holy Sword Alliance.
'Could it be...?'
-Have you figured out the reason?
Wrath approached, as if urging him to speak quickly.
'Grandfather is someone who came to help me in the war against the White Blood Religion, even while hiding his appearance and identity. Which means...'
Raon bit his lip hard as he pictured Rector's kind face.
'He's not at the Holy Sword Alliance right now, but was probably doing something else to help me.'
Rector had directly participated in the war yet sent a letter praising him for winning against the White Blood Religion as if he knew nothing about it. Such a person would likely be elsewhere now while lying about being at the Holy Sword Alliance.
'Grandfather belongs to the Holy Sword Alliance, one of the Three Demons. He must know much more information about Derus or Eden than we do.'
Raon bit his lip as he imagined what Rector might have done.
-Then...
'Yes. He must have been attacked after his identity was discovered while tracking down Eden and Derus's location or gathering information.'
Rector had often said he would do anything for him. Even his reason for succeeding the Holy Sword Alliance was to strike Derus from behind for Raon's sake. It seemed certain that Rector had been caught while gathering information on Derus and Eden to lay the groundwork for that plan.
-Crazy...
Wrath looked at him and let out a hollow breath.
'Yes. It's a crazy situation.'
-No, I mean you're the crazy one!
He deeply furrowed his brows.
-What kind of lunatic makes such deductions from just one blood-stained letter!
Wrath shook his head in disbelief.
-This king would have just looked at that letter and thought the little swallow might have hit another bird. It's insane to reach such conclusions from such a small clue, not the situation itself!
Wrath shook his head, indicating he still couldn't understand.
'It's not that impressive.'
Raon sighed and shook his head.
'I still don't know if the attacker was from Eden or Derus. I don't know who could hurt grandfather either.'
Currently, Rector's martial prowess was at the level of the leaders of the Five Kings and Three Demons. Although not at the level of Glenn, Derus, Darkan, or the Heavenly Demon, it wouldn't be strange to say he was on par with King Lecross or Beast King Ogram. The only people who came to mind that could injure such a person were the Heavenly Demon and Derus.
'But those two wouldn't move directly.'
The Heavenly Demon and Derus were the pinnacle of the Three Demons and their greatest strength. If either of them moved and failed, the war would end in the Five Kings' victory before it even began, so they wouldn't act unless they were absolutely certain.
'Especially Derus wouldn't step forward if grandfather doesn't move.'
Given Derus's cautious nature, he wouldn't attack someone when Glenn's location wasn't confirmed. It definitely wasn't him.
'The Heavenly Demon wouldn't have that personality either.'
Based on what he'd heard from Glenn about the Heavenly Demon's personality, and considering they possessed Pride's authority, they wouldn't personally move to capture Rector, whom they weren't even interested in.
'Then...'
Raon frowned as he looked at Wrath hovering absentmindedly.
'It must be an undisclosed Transcendent or an Archangel.'
Derus and the Heavenly Demon would certainly have hidden forces or Transcendents. However, no matter how strong they were, it wouldn't be easy to threaten Rector. In his judgment, it seemed like one of the Archangels had attacked Rector.
'No, it's almost certain.'
Raon raised a finger as he looked at the young swallow.
"Did the person who attacked grandfather have wings on their back?"
He pointed to his own back while holding the swallow's wing. The young swallow chirped loudly and nodded as if to confirm. (E/N: ...Ok)
"I thought so. Grandfather was injured after being discovered by an Archangel while spying on Derus."
Seeing the swallow's reaction, it was clear that his grandfather had been attacked by an Archangel.
-Are you really insane?
Wrath let out a hollow laugh.
-I understood that you read your old man's personality and that he was doing foolish things, but now you've determined that an Archangel was the attacker?
He gaped in disbelief.
-Right. This king had forgotten. Your real weapon is that damn mind.
Wrath trembled his lips, saying he was afraid of him again.
'Sorry, but I don't have time to accept your praise.'
He was wondering whether to go find Rector immediately or contact the Holy Sword Alliance or Zieghart.
'No, there's nothing to consider. I'll go right away.'
It seemed best to only contact Glenn, who knew Rector's identity, and go directly to find Rector.
'Then to Evelyn...'
It was when Raon was about to move after finishing his deliberation.
"R-Raon?"
"...What's wrong with you?"
Dorian and Martha narrowed their eyes as if they had seen his serious expression.
"You look worried?"
Evelyn also lowered her eyebrows as if she had read his emotions.
'Should I only take Evelyn with me?'
If it was dangerous enough to injure Rector, that battlefield would be no different from hell. Since there was a high chance of danger, it seemed best to only take Evelyn, who could use teleportation magic.
"S-something dangerous has happened, right?"
Dorian's chin trembled as if he had read his expression.
"That's exactly what your face is saying."
Martha twisted her lips, indicating she could see through everything.
"I-I'll go too!"
"You're not going to leave me behind, are you?"
The two raised their hands without the slightest hesitation.
"Ha..."
Raon let out a hollow laugh as he looked at Martha and Dorian's determined expressions. He'd expected this from Martha, but he hadn't thought Dorian would insist on coming along with such desperate eyes.
"It will be dangerous."
"I-it's okay! I'll survive on my own!"
"Pain that doesn't kill me only makes me stronger."
The two nodded, insisting they would follow him to the end.
"I guess you're not planning to back off."
Evelyn approached and took Rector's letter from his hand.
"We just need to go to where this letter was sent from, right?"
She smiled gently, saying this was a spell she had done before, so she could quickly trace the precise coordinates.
"But I still need some time."
Evelyn asked him to wait a moment as she held the letter with both hands and began to chant.
"It's fine."
Raon shook his head at Evelyn and turned around. He clenched his fist and bit his lip.
"I have things to prepare as well."
***
The massive forest, like a green sea, vibrated as if crying out in pain. With a rumbling crash, trees were uprooted on their own as if receiving heaven's wrath, and the earth split open to reveal black holes. With a loud thud, Mustan leaped over the cracked ground with difficulty while biting his lip as he looked at his master's right arm ahead of him.
"Master..."
The right arm of Rector, the current Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance and a top Transcendent, was torn like a rag and oozing blackened, dead blood.
"It's not your fault."
Rector shook his head as he looked back. Though cold sweat ran down his face as if enduring pain, he didn't erase his smile.
"That place was a trap. Even if I hadn't protected you, I would have suffered this injury anyway."
Rector waved his right arm, which was bursting with blood and oozing pus, telling him not to blame himself.
"He's right."
Lawrence furrowed his brows as he sprayed healing medicine on Rector's arm and wrapped bandages around it.
"I wouldn't have been able to avoid that bastard's attack from that position either. It's not your fault, but ours."
He shook his head, saying they had merely fallen into a trap.
"For now, focus only on getting out of this forest, not on other thoughts."
Rector told them to increase their speed as he pushed through trees and undergrowth with his left hand, advancing through the forest.
"Hmm..."
Mustan bit his lip as he raised his gaze.
"Hmm..."
Rector's shoulders trembled violently as if in severe pain, despite wearing an artifact that enhanced healing and reduced pain on his arm.
'Damn it!'
If Rector hadn't injured his arm while saving him, they wouldn't be chased like this even if the opponent was that monster. His lips trembled with self-loathing.
'No, especially at times like this, I need to muster my strength even if I have to force it.'
Because Raon would surely have done so. Looking at Rector's back reminded him of Raon. The boy who wasn't much different from himself was now standing shoulder to shoulder with the absolute powers of the continent. Even if he couldn't become like him, he couldn't just timidly hold back in a place like this.
"I'll take the lead!"
Mustan gritted his teeth and advanced forward, overtaking Rector and Lawrence. With a swooshing strike, he extended a silent sword attack to clear the path, leading Rector and Lawrence who was supporting him.
"Despite his face, his heart is weak."
Lawrence chuckled as he looked at Mustan's back.
"Yes. I'll leave it to you."
Rector followed behind his disciple through the forest with a gentle smile, as if sensing Mustan's change of heart.
"I can see the end!"
Mustan curled his lips up as he saw bright light emerging at the end of the dense forest.
"If we can just get there, even that monster will have to give up the chase..."
Just as he raised his finger to point at the forest exit, a thunderous roar sounded. As if the sky were enraged, a bright yellow lightning bolt descended upon Mustan's head. This was neither martial arts nor magic. The lightning of nature itself had descended to annihilate the humans.
"Ah..."
Mustan could only blankly stare, unable to move, overwhelmed by that tremendous power.
"Hah!"
Nevertheless, he did not forget his determination to protect the injured Rector, and overcame his terrified instincts to raise his sword.
"Uaaaaaah!"
It was the moment Mustan was about to unleash a sword strike while stepping on the cracking ground.
"You've grown a lot."
Rector approached beside him with a slight smile and raised his sword. A blue flash of light split the golden lightning pouring from the sky. With a thunderous crash, an enormous shockwave swept through the entire forest as the sword strike and thunder collided. The sky cracked like a spider web, and the earth was torn open to reveal a pitch-black abyss.
With a crackling sound, blue sparks spread in all directions, setting the forest ablaze, when a blue-haired man in pure white robes descended from the sky, surrounded by holy light and wings.
"Such wingless insects can't escape the palm of my hand."
The blue-haired man spread his pure white wings as he landed on the blue lightning. He raised his chin with arrogant eyes, not as if facing humans, but as if looking at insects before stepping on them.
"I see you won't come to your senses until your neck is cut by that wingless insect."
Rector raised his arm oozing with pus and pointed his sword at the blue-haired man.
"Archangel Ramiel."