The blades slid out silently. Raon stood between the forces of the Suphren Holy Kingdom and the Monarch of Lust, drawing his two swords without a sound. He lifted his chin proudly, as if declaring himself the master of this moment and place.
"Woooaah!"
"Lord Raon!"
"It's Lord Raon!"
"The Sword Emperor has come to aid Suphren!"
"Please slay that evil witch who bewitches people!"
The Holy Knights and Priests shouted in jubilation as soon as Raon appeared, begging him to kill the brainwashing witch. People's faces, which had been turning pale yellow under Lust's overwhelming aura, began regaining their color.
"Lord Raon! You've come!"
Even Holy King Hoppen couldn't hide his delight at Raon's appearance, breaking into a bright smile.
"I don't know how you're here, but be careful. No matter who you are, that woman's abilities are dangerous."
Saintess Olga wasn't surprised by Raon's appearance, her eyes flashing with cold light.
"She possesses at least the Martial Prowess equal to the leaders of the Five Kings. Especially, don't inhale that pink current of energy."
She frowned, showing how her blessed garments and gloves had all melted away.
"Wrath!"
The Monarch of Lust calmed her fiercely burning gaze as if she had never been angry, and called out Wrath's name.
"You've come to find me! As I thought, for me there's only you. And for you, there's only me!"
She cradled her own face with bleeding fingers, declaring this to be Heaven's Flow.
-Kyaaaaaaak!
Wrath screamed and stepped back as soon as he saw that sight.
-How terrifying! That's not someone else's blood, but her own!
He grabbed Raon's shoulders and shook them desperately, suggesting they flee right now.
'We're just getting started. Where would we go?'
Raon pushed away the struggling Wrath and stood before Lust.
[I've learned sword dancing for you. Would you care to be my partner?]
He sent an aura message to Lust so others couldn't hear.
"What, sword dancing? You learned sword dancing for me?"
Lust opened her eyes wide as if wondering what he meant.
[I heard lovers dance together. Since we both use swords, a sword dance...]
"I'll do it! I'll do it right now!"
Before his words were even finished, she cried out that she would dance, making her pink energy currents rise to the sky.
"Haaaa..."
Lust drew her sword—something she hadn't done even in emergencies—exhaling a breath that burned white. The word "anticipation" seemed to float in her pupils.
-L-lovers?
Wrath's jaw trembled as he grabbed Raon's collar.
-You crazy bastard! How far are you going to take this! I'm telling you I'll die! If you say things like that, she really won't leave me alone!
He waved both hands frantically, begging Raon to stop.
"Let's dance properly."
Raon raised his voice so not just Lust but also Hoppen, Olga, and the Holy Knights of Suphren could hear, and unleashed his aura at full power. The flames of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the frost of Glacier exploded like a volcano, blocking Lust's pink energy currents that had been about to devour the Suphren Kingdom. The ground rumbled as the energies collided.
Raon's aura and Lust's Authority clashed, creating massive vibrations and energy waves that shook the world in all directions. The collision of overwhelmingly powerful forces made the Suphren Holy Kingdom itself begin to tremble.
"Redirect the holy power!"
Olga gritted her teeth and spread her hands.
"Don't attack the brainwashing witch! Raise a wall of holy power to prevent their auras from leaking outside!"
As she gave the order, she stepped forward and created a shield of holy power.
"Follow the Saintess's instructions!"
Hoppen immediately stood beside Olga and raised the same form of holy power, and the other Holy Knights and Priests followed their lead, erecting walls of holy power.
"If you're going to play, do it properly!"
Olga jutted her chin as if saying "go ahead now."
"I will."
Raon thrust the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword into the holy-power-infused ground. Sword Domain - Divine-Demonic Harmony. He aimed at Lust's pupils with two swords forged from sunlight and moonlight.
"Huhuhu."
Rather than being intimidated, Lust exhaled an excited breath with flushed cheeks, as if impressed by his display.
-S-scary! It's scary!
Wrath screamed as if foreseeing the future after seeing Lust's gaze.
'First fortune.'
Raon advanced toward Lust, crushing the ground beneath him.
'A duel with Lust.'
Despite his talk of dancing like lovers, he swung his Divine Sword with full force at Lust's neck. With a resounding clash, Lust blocked Raon's sword strike with her Authority-infused blade, her lips curling upward.
"That's right. A dance should be performed at full power! I'll follow your lead."
She smiled with satisfaction as she thrust a fierce sword strike toward Raon's chest. With a piercing sound, Raon deflected Lust's sword strike with a Fire Wall raised by his Demonic Sword, licking his lips.
'This is manageable.'
He could withstand it even though Lust was swinging her sword earnestly. He felt he had grown significantly, as before he would have been knocked back with a single strike.
"Good! I can feel your breathing perfectly!"
Lust urged him to continue as she rotated her entire body with her ankle, bringing her sword down in a powerful strike. Raon raised both Fangs of Insanity and Blizzard Sword Art simultaneously against Lust's descending blade. The two wild, feral sword techniques blocked Lust's sudden swordsmanship and even pushed her body back.
With a thunderous sound, Raon pursued the slightly pushed-back Lust and unleashed a two-colored Flame and Ice Unification. His strikes, merging offense and defense into one, became waves of pure attack that swept over her entire body.
"This is how a dance should be performed—magnificently!"
As Lust swung her sword with a pleased smile, her pink energy currents writhed as if alive, blocking the violently cascading waves of Flame and Ice Unification. The energies clashed with a roaring sound.
The red and blue Flame and Ice Unification that Raon had unleashed began to lose power and sink, dimming as if bewitched by Lust. Her Authority seemed to affect not just people but martial arts techniques as well.
"Now it's my turn!"
Lust approached close enough that her breath was audible, then slashed her sword down with a sliding motion. Though graceful like a dance, her sword strike contained the clear intent to cut him down.
"Good."
Raon licked his lips as he simultaneously unleashed Frost Snap and Silver Sword Dream. With a resounding clash, the blade of Frost Snap, imbued with extreme speed, blocked Lust's sword strike, while the slower but mysteriously profound blade of Silver Sword Dream advanced toward her neck. The metals shrieked as they met.
Lust slightly twisted the Sword Hilt in her hand, perfectly blocking the hazy blade of Silver Sword Dream that had been aimed at her neck.
"I love this! I can feel your feelings toward me!"
She panted, saying her heart had never beaten like this before.
"Pick up the tempo a little more!"
Lust charged at Raon, asking him to dance faster and more powerfully.
"Let's dance until we stab each other!"
As if her emotions were running wild, power and Authority began to overflow from her sword. With a resounding clash, Raon blocked Lust's powerful slash head-on, giving a slight nod.
"I'll dance with you for a lifetime if needed."
-I said I don't want this!
The demon king of Wrath screamed in agony between the two lunatics.
-Someone, anyone, please save me! Pleeeease!
***
"Phew..."
Holy King Hoppen exhaled a long breath after completing the wall of holy power.
"I can't even see properly how they're fighting."
He shook his head, saying he couldn't tell the course of the battle even while straining his eyes.
"W-we feel the same."
"It's too fast to see anything."
"Is this what a battle between Transcendents looks like..."
The Holy Knights also frowned, saying they couldn't see anything either.
"Saintess, can you see it?"
"Roughly."
Saintess Olga slightly bit her lip as she watched the intense battle between Raon and Lust.
"W-what's happening?"
Hoppen thrust his face toward Olga, asking her to explain the situation.
"That Raon. He's grown to a completely different level than before. He seems to have risen to the highest ranks among Transcendents."
Olga nodded, saying Raon seemed to be approaching the level of the leaders of the Five Kings.
"Oh! Then he can defeat a witch like that!"
"Of course! He's the Sword Emperor! The Sword Emperor!"
"Now the fight will finally end."
The Priests nodded as if certain of Raon's victory.
"No."
Olga firmly shook her head.
"Raon has become unrecognizably strong, but that woman is even stronger. It won't be an easy fight, so focus on maintaining the wall."
She gave the Holy Knights and Priests a cold look, telling them to focus on the holy power wall rather than doing anything strange.
"Ah, yes..."
"To think that witch was that powerful..."
"Sigh, we barely survived."
The Holy Knights and Priests, realizing the situation wasn't over yet, refocused on maintaining the wall of holy power.
"..."
Olga turned her gaze back to observe the fight between Raon and Lust.
'That witch's Aura itself is stronger, but Raon's achievement in swordsmanship is superior. I don't know who will win.'
She bit her lip slightly as she watched Raon barely deflecting Lust's offensive.
'To charge without hesitation toward the witch's sword strike that could take his head off in an instant...'
He is always the same. Once again, Raon had appeared in Suphren Kingdom's crisis and was engaged in a desperate battle with the witch. Now it seemed that no words of thanks or rewards could fully express her gratitude.
'A Swordsman who thinks of others before himself, and always risks his life fighting to become stronger...'
Olga nodded calmly with a hint of a smile as she watched Raon fighting against Lust.
'For someone like you, I could give my life. No, I could offer this entire Suphren. So...'
She clenched her small fist tightly as she watched Raon's back to the end.
'Win.'
***
-That shady Saintess might think that way! But...
Wrath gritted his teeth as he stared at Raon's back.
-This lunatic is putting on an act. No, he's doing a show!
He screamed that he wanted to expose the truth behind all this to everyone present.
'Quiet down. I can't Focus.'
Raon kicked away the muttering Wrath and brought down a Crimson Slash toward Lust.
'As if I could think of anything else right now.'
Raon pressed his lips together as he watched Lust easily block his Crimson Slash and counter with a strike that seemed like it could pierce through his neck.
'This is how it should be.'
He had worried that Lust might take it easy after he mentioned a sword dance, but she was swinging her sword as if she really meant to kill him. Although exchanging blows with Lust gave him a chilling feeling like his life was being chipped away, he felt even more satisfied.
'Of course, this isn't everything.'
The emotion rising in his chest as he crossed swords with Lust wasn't just competitiveness or a sense of achievement. He felt a strange tingling along his spine. With a sweeping sound, Lust's sword strike flew toward his waist. It was an honest sword without any tricks or illusions, but that made it all the harder to block. The blades clashed with a metallic ring.
Raon bit his lip firmly as he raised both his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword simultaneously to meet Lust's sword head-on.
'I can feel it.'
Not just the weight and power imbued in the sword, but Lust's emotions. He could sense what thoughts brought her to stand before him.
'Her straightforward love for Wrath.'
Lust wielded swordsmanship that was honest and powerfully extended. Her sword contained only straightforwardness, just like her feelings for Wrath.
'She's similar to me.'
He felt in Lust's sword the same determination he had held since childhood—the resolve to never break under any adversity in his quest for revenge against Derus.
-N-no, it's not!
Wrath shook his head violently as if to deny it completely.
-Don't say such things! It makes my whole body tremble!
He pounded Raon's back frantically, telling him to stop talking nonsense. But Raon's concentration, already in a state of awakening, remained unbroken. Instead, he became even more immersed in Lust's swordsmanship. As he focused on Lust's sword and the emotions contained within it, his own sword began to change, following her flow.
With a resonating hum, a deep emotion that hadn't existed before imbued the various sword techniques he executed with Ten Thousand Swords. A single-minded determination not to break. Like Lust's swordsmanship toward Wrath, his honest and straight blade extended smoothly. The clash of metal rang out.
His sword no longer yielded even when receiving Lust's powerful slashes head-on.
Raon not only received Lust's sword without the slightest tremor but even pushed forward. With a ringing sound, goosebumps rose all over his body at the mysteriousness of his sword—though it carried heavy emotions, it moved more lightly and nimbly.
"To think such happiness exists!"
Lust cried out that she had never been this happy before, unleashing an even more ferocious sword.
"Is that so."
Raon responded to Lust's smile with his own, extending a sword strike no less powerful than hers. What empowered his current swordsmanship wasn't aura or physical ability, but emotion. He unleashed the Azure Sky Sword, wrapped with the determination not to break. The clash echoed loudly.
Raon curled his lips upward as he felt his sword keeping pace with Lust's increasingly powerful swordsmanship without yielding.
'To think love could be this devoted.'
Previously, like Wrath, he had found Lust's one-sided feelings burdensome, but not anymore. Not wanting anything in return, being happy just to be together—no, being happy just because that person exists—feeling Lust's heart made him think it was actually amazing.
-If you think it's so amazing, you take her! I'm giving her to you!
Wrath screamed that he absolutely didn't want her.
-You have your own crazy woman, I thought you'd understand!
'Understanding...'
Raon's pupils began to gradually blur as he synchronized with Lust's swordsmanship.
-Hey, you bastard! Don't fall into a state of enlightenment! It's scary—where are you going, leaving me behind!
Wrath screamed as he shook Raon, but his mind was already deeply immersed in swordsmanship.
"Wrath! Wrath! Wrath! Wrath! Wrath! Wrath! Wrath! Wraaath!"
Lust shouted Wrath's name repeatedly as if experiencing a different kind of awakening.
-W-what is this...
Wrath's jaw trembled as he looked at Raon, lost in a State of Enlightenment, and Lust, who kept calling his name.
-This is just hell, isn't it! Someone get me out of here!