Igni Serpang's elongated neck, now severed from its head, bent like a scythe as it fell to the ground. Fortunately, the neck seemed lighter than the head, so the lair's floor didn't sink any further.
Raon silently sheathed his Heavenly Drive sword while gazing at Igni Serpang's body as the life drained from it.
'Is this my full power.'
Wanting to test his grown martial prowess, Raon had struck with his Heavenly Drive at full power just as Igni Serpang was about to unleash its flame breath. His power exceeded even his wildest imagination, causing Igni Serpang's neck to be severed before it even realized what had happened, instantly ending its life.
As it fell into the lava, Igni Serpang's eyes reflected shock, rage, and deep terror. It meant the dragon only realized its neck had been severed after death had already claimed it.
'Even if Igni Serpang had tried to block my sword, its neck would have still been split.'
Now he could feel it with certainty. Even if Igni Serpang had exhaled its flame breath and unleashed high-level magic spells in succession, the result would have remained the same—death by a single stroke.
The power to kill the leader of the Red clan, known as the most brutal among dragons—a race called the strongest on earth—with a single strike. He felt as though he had finally reached the realm of true transcendence.
'How was that?'
Raon turned to Wrath with a faint smile.
'Seems I've grown a bit, just as you said, right?'
-This guy...
Wrath chewed his lips in apparent disbelief.
-How could you just blast off the lizard's head like that!
He bellowed as if demanding an explanation.
-The head meat is one of the most delicious parts, why would you throw it away!
Wrath gnashed his teeth, seemingly angry not about Raon's power but about losing the fresh dragon's head.
'...'
Raon sighed as he looked at Wrath.
'That glutton really never changes.'
He muttered that unlike himself who was gradually changing, Wrath hadn't changed at all, and shook his head.
-This king is already perfected!
Wrath snorted as he looked down at himself.
-Unlike you who is still immature, I have no need to change!
He waved his hand, saying not to compare himself with Raon.
-Well, even so...
Wrath narrowed his eyes as he looked at the cleanly decapitated body of Igni Serpang, the leader of the Red clan.
-Not bad at all. It was definitely a sword stroke that showed your growth.
Though annoyed at losing Igni Serpang's neck, he nodded, saying it was swordsmanship impressive enough to make him momentarily forget that loss.
'That's the highest praise, isn't it?'
Raon whistled briefly.
'It means you noticed my swordsmanship before the lizard roast.'
Befitting a demon king, Wrath rarely showed surprise or confusion over ordinary matters, focusing solely on his greatest interest—appetite. For such a being to notice Raon's sword before the dragon's corpse meant that Raon had grown substantially.
-Hmph! Your sword is still nothing special, so keep honing it!
Wrath wrinkled his eyes as if telling Raon not to be cocky.
-You still haven't even reached this king's knee!
'Of course.'
Raon placed his hand on the Heavenly Drive and licked his lips.
'My ambition for growth won't lose even to Greed, so don't worry.'
-The same goes for the Demon King.
Wrath clenched his fist tightly as if to show he too had strong desires.
-That is, my appetite! Roast that lizard's body right now! The lava and fire below are perfect for it!
'...'
You're supposed to be the demon king of wrath...
***
"What...is...this...?"
Bartius swallowed dryly as he examined Igni Serpang's body, its soul having departed in an instant.
"What just happened..."
He hadn't properly seen or felt it. The moment he recognized that Raon Zieghart had raised his sword, Igni Serpang's head was already split and falling.
'I can't believe it.'
Igni Serpang wasn't merely a clan leader, but the king of the Red clan, famous for their love of battle. Having fought countless strong swordsmen and accumulated vast experience, even preparing to attack first, it was unimaginable that its neck would be split by Raon's single strike.
'This martial prowess is beyond comprehension.'
Bartius let out a hollow laugh as he observed Raon's composure after slaughtering the Red clan's leader.
'Was Raon Zieghart this strong?'
The reason he had chosen Raon wasn't simply for his martial prowess, but because he judged him trustworthy through the various incidents that had earned him the title of Sword Emperor. Indeed, Raon had lived up to those expectations by trusting him today without asking for anything in return.
But the Raon Zieghart he saw now displayed martial prowess far beyond expectations. He had thought they would have to struggle desperately to kill Igni Serpang, yet Raon had handled the Red clan's leader alone, and with such speed.
"Ha..."
Valasiur let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"Were you always this strong?"
He blinked repeatedly as if he had anticipated the outcome but never imagined the process would unfold like this.
"You weren't at this level when we fought before! Did you hold back then? Or have you gotten stronger since?"
Valasiur's fingertips trembled as he commented on the astonishing martial prowess. It seemed to be power that would instill fear even in dragons from the Red clan, who enjoyed battle.
"While you were searching for the Lord's location, I had a serendipitous encounter. No, rather than an encounter, I gained some insights from life itself."
Raon nodded as he looked at Valasiur.
"Of course, it's also true that I held back at that time."
He smiled as if to say both were correct.
"It's only been two months."
Bartius frowned as he curled his fingers.
"Humans don't usually get stronger that quickly, do they?"
He shook his head, saying Raon was very different from the humans he knew.
"Raon isn't an ordinary human."
Evelyn smiled brightly as she moved close to Raon's shoulder.
"He changes with every moment. It would be good to observe him carefully now."
She smiled casually as if she had expected Raon to defeat Igni Serpang with ease.
"Wow, I-I'm alive..."
Dorian heaved a hot sigh as he slumped to the ground, as if finally coming to his senses.
"I really thought I was going to die... Aaaagh!"
He jumped up suddenly as his pants caught fire from the heated ground.
"To kill the leader of the Red clan with a single stroke..."
Burren roughly pushed back his neat hair, seemingly surprised despite knowing Raon's martial prowess.
"I wonder how far that guy will go. Does he really intend to kill the Dragon Lord alone?"
At first, he thought the help of other dragons would be necessary, but now it seemed Raon could handle the Dragon Lord by himself.
"Amazing!"
Martha clapped her hands as if she could only express admiration.
"That's it! A swordsman should always speak with a single blade!"
She nodded emphatically, seemingly satisfied with Raon's sword that had ended the opponent's life with a single strike.
"Hmm..."
It was just as Bartius lightly slapped his own cheek to regain his senses. Woooong! With a flash of blue light, three dragons in human form appeared from behind. They were Blue Dragon Sirtiren, White Dragon Bursiarabi, and Black Dragon Dariauran, who had been maintaining the barrier from outside.
"I thought something had gone wrong when Igni Serpang's aura disappeared in an instant..."
Sirtiren gaped as she saw Igni Serpang's corpse.
"It's dead? Already?"
She turned to Bartius as if asking what had happened.
"Swordsmanship. Killed with a single stroke..."
"Insane. Beautifully chilling."
Dariauran and Bursiarabi swallowed hard, as if sensing Raon's swordsmanship through Igni Serpang's corpse.
"Bartius."
Raon called to Bartius with a relaxed gaze, as if he had just sipped tea.
"Begin now."
He jerked his chin, telling him to extract the key that could reach the Dragon Lord.
"Understood."
Bartius nodded and brought his hands together. As he chanted a mysterious spell in dragon language, a transparent golden key emerged from Igni Serpang's dead body. Bartius grasped the key in his hand and nodded.
"This is the first key to unlock the lock to the Lord's dimension. Now two remain."
He stored the golden key within his soul, saying they could go to the dimension where the Lord was hiding once they killed the remaining two ancient dragons.
"Then let's move on to the next."
Raon was about to suggest they move immediately when he noticed Valasiur standing rigid. He was silently watching Igni Serpang's body growing cold. Based on his reactions and their earlier conversation, they seemed to have been closer than expected.
"Shall we leave the corpse behind?"
Raon lowered his hand, indicating he would do as Valasiur wished.
-Wh-what nonsense are you speaking!
Wrath glared as if Raon had gone mad.
-Why would you leave that meat behind! We must roast it immediately!
He grabbed Raon's collar, telling him not to talk nonsense.
"Master Raon, what are you saying! That dragon's corpse has astronomical value!"
Dorian's eyes bulged wide, excited for different reasons than Wrath.
"If you want, I'll leave the corpse here."
Ignoring Wrath and Dorian, Raon extended his hand toward Valasiur.
"Do as you wish."
In the past, he would have taken the corpse regardless of Valasiur's reaction, but now, having come to understand human relationships and affection, he wanted to consider the feelings of his comrade Valasiur first.
"No. Take it."
Valasiur shook his head as if to say it was fine.
"If left here, it would just return to nature anyway, so it would be more helpful if you took it and used it."
He spoke like a true mediator, saying it was now just a corpse.
-Ooooooh!
"Wowaaaaaah!"
Wrath let out an excited cheer, and Dorian immediately rushed forward together with him to push Igni Serpang's corpse into his pouch.
"Huh?"
"Th-that all fits right in?"
"What kind of magic is that? I'd like to research it."
Even the dragons' eyes widened in surprise at the pouch's tremendous compression rate.
'If this matter ends properly, the dragons will change a lot too.'
Raon gave a faint smile as he observed Valasiur maintaining cool rationality despite the death of a fellow dragon he had been close with.
'Not as "lizards", that derogatory term, but as the dragons of old, worthy of the title "mediators."'
***
"Preparations are complete."
After stabilizing the golden key, Bartius approached Raon.
"Are you sure we can go right away?"
He jerked his chin as if to say they had time and could depart tomorrow.
"It's fine. I could fight the Lord right now without any issues."
Raon smiled, telling him not to worry and suggesting they depart.
"I wouldn't have believed those words before, but now I find them credible."
Having witnessed Raon's martial prowess firsthand, Bartius gave a thin smile, indicating he had no objections.
"Then let's depart immediately."
As he interlaced his fingers and murmured in dragon language, a golden dimensional gate opened before them.
"Enter."
"Let's do that."
Raon calmly nodded and entered the second dimensional gate opened by Bartius. This time, a cool breeze blew as soon as they entered the gate.
Opening his eyes slowly, he saw an endless ocean and a small island floating in its center. The first location had been a volcano seething with flames, but the second place was the complete opposite—the center of a vast sea shimmering with emerald light.
"This is the lair of Azgoros, the leader of the Blue clan."
Bartius shrugged slightly, as if asking if they could see the lair of Azgoros, the leader of the Blue Clan.
"Ah, I don't see it?"
Dorian blinked his eyes as if he had no idea.
"A lair? That island seems too small?"
Martha narrowed her eyes as she looked at the island in the center of the sea.
"The sea. I've heard that the Blue clan often creates their lairs underwater."
Burren nodded, saying the lair was certainly in the sea.
"That's right!"
Blue Dragon Sirtiren nodded as she looked at Burren.
"The Blue clan's lairs are underwater, making them difficult to infiltrate. Moreover..."
She smiled brightly as she looked down at the sea.
"Azgoros is an extremely cautious dragon who has numerous sea monsters guarding his lair. He's trained them to attack everyone except himself."
Sirtiren licked her lips, saying they wouldn't be able to enter Azgoros's lair quietly.
"In addition to that..."
Just as she was about to continue with additional explanation.
"There are other Blue dragons as well."
Raon narrowed his eyes as he examined beneath the sea.
"You actually sensed that? I wouldn't have known if I hadn't been informed beforehand."
Sirtiren let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"My intuition is rather good right now."
Raon shrugged, saying it was just intuition.
"If you have that kind of intuition twice, you'd uncover all the secrets of the world."
Sirtiren blinked and waved her hand.
"Anyway, that's correct. Azgoros recently summoned the adult dragons of the Blue clan to protect the surroundings for his safety. They're quite strong, so it's impossible to infiltrate without being detected."
She furrowed her brows, saying they could prevent Azgoros from escaping or contacting the outside, but a war would break out inside.
"That's fine."
Despite hearing Sirtiren's words, Raon nodded as if the current situation was favorable.
"The dragons down there..."
Raon pointed to the bottom of the sea with his finger and gave a deep smile.
"You'll handle them. If you can't, consider yourselves dead."
He jerked his chin, ordering Burren, Martha, and Dorian to hunt the dragons.
"What...?"
Dorian's jaw dropped as he saw Raon's cold smile.
"It's not just thinking about dying, we'll really die! This is all ocean here!"