Chapter 501

The sky collapsed and the land erupted.

The entire land was shaking from the manifestation of the heavenly power of the transcenders.

Rumble!

By the time a mysterious light poured down from the fissures in the sky, the six transcenders lowered their hands at the same time, as if they’d promised to do so.

“Your swordsmanship is indeed well-trained.”

The Holy Sword Alliance master briefly licked his lips in satisfaction.

“Show me more, show me how much you can slice.”

He looked down upon the Demonblade and the Queen of Swords with his eyes full of desire.

“You degenerate…”

The Queen of Swords bit her lip violently, feeling creeped out by the Holy Sword Alliance master’s gaze.

Whir.

The Thespian Emperor looked at the Holy Sword Alliance master while releasing the colorless energy surrounding her.

“Aren’t you worried about your disciple?”

“Are you talking about Cloud?”

The Holy Sword Alliance master shook his head while stroking his beardless chin.

“I taught him personally. His opponent might be the most talented person in the continent, but he’s never going to lose against a Master.”

He declared the words nonchalantly. He seemed to believe in his disciple’s victory without any doubt.

“I’m not trying to brag about this, but…”

The Thespian Emperor shook her hand with a faint smile on her face.

“You will pay dearly if you underestimate Raon Zieghart.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“Indeed. It’s a piece of advice coming from my extremely vivid experience.”

She nodded while looking at the destroyed part of the ramparts.

“Shut up, both of you. Raon Zieghart is mine!”

The White Blood Religion’s leader spread her transparent bloody energy to separate the Thespian Emperor and the Holy Sword Alliance master.

Even though the transcenders were mentioning Raon’s name, it didn’t feel unnatural at all.

“What a shame. Cloud should’ve heard that advi—”

The Holy Sword Alliance master nodded while ignoring the White Blood Religion's leader, only to suddenly look away.

The other warriors’s eyes followed his gaze, and two lights soared toward the sky from a distant place where their aura perception couldn’t reach.

A sun and moon with strange shapes were rising behind the radiant pillars of red and blue.

“Ah…”

Sheryl’s lips trembled in excitement as she watched that scene.

‘It’s a sword field! Raon finally achieved the sword field!’

The faint golden light surrounding the pillar of light was unmistakably the sign of a sword field’s activation.

“Rimmer!”

She called out to Rimmer, who was fighting next to her.

“Uwaaaa!”

However, he couldn’t hear her voice. He was fully occupied with a head-on clash against the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword, his eyes glowing red.

His body was full of injuries because the amount of aura he possessed was inferior compared to his opponent’s, but he kept attacking while shouting desperately.

“You idiot!”

Sheryl kicked Rimmer’s side because he had yielded to his opponent’s provocation and was giving up his life.

“Ack! What are you doing…?”

Rimmer frowned, and Sheryl pointed at the pillar of light.

“Huh?”

His jaw dropped upon seeing the sun in the night sky.

“Wait, is that…?”

“It’s Raon’s sword field. He finally did it!”

“Ha! Ahahahahaha!”

Rimmer burst out into laughter while sweeping his bloody red hair back.

“I couldn’t gain anything ever since that day except my disciples!”

Crimson lightning sparked from his shoulders as he lowered his gaze.

“I was originally planning to kill you here in exchange for my life, but I’m not doing that anymore.”

“What?”

“I can’t let myself die before I see my disciple’s first sword field.”

Rimmer’s lips twitched as he pointed his sword at the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword.

“Sword Field Creation.”

His deep voice echoed as if it were emanating from high above in the sky, resonating across the field.

“Song of Wind and Lightning.”

* * *

Raon raised his hands. The divine sword in his right hand was blazing in crimson, and the demonic blade in his left hand was covered with blue frost.

They were the two swords that he’d hammered and forged in his mental world. He’d thought those divine and demonic swords could only be found in his mental world, but they had been summoned into reality.

They were neither cold nor hot. All he could feel was an extreme amount of power. An indomitable power that wouldn’t lose against anyone was flowing into him through the grips.

‘Moreover… Even the pain is gone.’

He couldn’t tell whether it was the excitement or the sword field that was causing it, but even the crushing pain of his intestines was all gone.

‘No, it must be because I wished for it.’

Rimmer had taught him that a sword field was the manifestation of the user’s life.

From the moment he was reborn as Raon Zieghart, he’d wished to never be defeated. He’d pledged to overcome all kinds of hardship and pain in order to behead Derus Robert.

Even his resolution and pledge seemed to be dwelling in the sword field.

A-a boundary? Did you just create a sword boundary?

Wrath’s chin trembled violently as he looked up to the sun and moon in the sky.

How did you manage to activate this?! You should still have a long way to go!

He blinked while murmuring that it couldn’t be happening.

Moreover, that sword! Why do you have that sword?!

‘What is this sword?’

It’s, erm, uhh…

He couldn’t give a proper response about the blue demonic sword, his lips moving in a silent murmur.

Thud.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Wrath, and Cloud’s footsteps could be heard.

“Sw-Sword Field Creation?”

Cloud’s eyes were trembling as violently as a reed fluttering into the wind.

“How can a mere Master activate the Sword Field Creation?! It’s impossible!”

The intense wavering of the astral sphere that had remained unshakable during the entire fight revealed his shock.

Until a moment ago, Raon couldn't find any way to break through his astral sphere, but now not even the smallest trace of anxiety could be found in his mind.

“It’s not up to you to decide whether it’s possible or not.”

Raon shook his head while pointing the divine sword in his right hand at Cloud.

“The real fight is starting now. It will be different from before.”

“It’s just a petty trick! It won’t make any difference!”

Cloud’s tidy hair had become disheveled. He glared with distorted eyes and thrust his blade, which was surrounded by a storming astral sphere.

The land was being swept away by the trajectory of his sword, a testament to its tremendous power.

‘However… I can’t imagine myself losing this fight.’

Raon didn’t withdraw. He advanced, trusting the instincts of his body and mind. He stomped the ground with his left foot to stop the land from trembling and smashed with the divine sword in his right hand.

Whaaam!

The divine sword and astral sphere clashed, but neither of them was pushed back. The powerful lightning occurring between the blades scattered the vicious heat.

“Kuh…”

Cloud let out a small groan of pain from the heat, but he didn’t withdraw.

However, he ended up regretting his decision right after that.

Whaap!

Even the space looked distorted from the divine blade’s heat as it started to melt down the astral sphere around Cloud’s blade.

“I-is the astral sphere burning?!”

Cloud widened his eyes to the point of bursting. He leaped backward and pulled out the astral sphere, the surface incinerated.

“Where do you think you are going?”

Raon lowered his divine sword and caught up to Cloud from the left. His body felt as light as a feather. He felt like he was casually sparring in a training ground despite being in a duel to the death.

“Shut up!”

Cloud used his footwork to gain distance and thrust the sword that he’d pulled back. The powerful attack was meant to crush his entire body, contrasting with the softness of his footwork.

Cring!

Raon turned his shoulder midair and slashed upwards with his left hand. The demonic blade soared while scattering blue frost onto the land and clashed against Cloud’s astral sphere.

Claaang!

The resonance was even bigger than the previous clash. Just like the divine sword, the blue demonic sword remained unwavering in the face of an astral sphere.

Creak!

It froze Cloud’s astral sphere in return and spread a frightening amount of coldness that seemed like it could tear skin apart.

Crack!

Cloud’s loose clothes were frozen in an instant and crumbled away. He fended off the demonic sword with his trembling lips, which had turned blue from the cold, and slid away to gain distance.

Raon didn’t follow Cloud, instead observing his two swords. Even though they had clashed against an astral sphere, there was no trace of them being chipped or broken. The fire and frost on them were getting even stronger instead.

It looked like his resolution to never be defeated that he was forming his mental world with was transferred to his blades.

* * *

“I-it’s freezing and melting my astral sphere? How is this happening…?”

Cloud swallowed nervously while looking at his own sword. The way he kept repeating ‘how’ looked like he was mind-blown by the performance. Apparently, the power of the divine and demonic swords was shocking for him despite how great he was as a warrior.

“I can’t believe this. No, I won’t believe it!”

He dashed forward while shouting in astonishment. The astral sphere bursting from the tip of his blade was creating a powerful pressure.

Raon nodded calmly while watching Cloud’s eyes, which were glowing with yellow madness.

‘I don’t lose in terms of power anymore.’

It was the reverse. He’d gained a power that could push the astral sphere back.

The only question left was whose sword technique was superior.

It was time to decide who was better between himself—who was taught by Glenn Zieghart, Rimmer, Sheryl, and Rector—and Cloud, who inherited the Holy Sword Alliance master’s achievements.

Rumble!

Raon thrust the divine sword while facing pressure that was crushing his skin. The crimson blade blitzing from his chest like a spear was incorporating the Fangs of Insanity’s principles.

Claaang!

The blade severed Cloud’s sword like the savage fangs of a beast and spouted its powerful heat.

However, his attack wasn’t over yet. His demonic blade rotated with his ankle, causing a blue flash of light.

Whap!

Cold wind burst out and cut off the flow of Cloud’s attack despite his efforts. It was the Blizzard Sword Art’s Silent Wind of the Silvery Ocean that was revised a moment ago.

Claaang!

Even though there were only two clashes, the size of Cloud’s astral sphere was visibly reduced.

The divine sword’s heat and the demonic sword’s coldness had torn his aura apart. Raon was surprised at the power and efficiency even though he was executing it himself.

“It’s far from over.”

Raon approached Cloud this time. He wasn’t even using footwork. He casually walked up to him and executed a downward Crimson Slash with the divine sword.

The line of heat became so thin that it was almost invisible, adding a frightening amount of sharpness to the slash.

Claaang!

Cloud was bounced back alongside his sword. The back of his hand was completely red, as if he had been burned.

Raon realized that even the Crimson Slash had become more powerful, as the heat alone was capable of harming even a Grandmaster’s body after a metamorphosis.

‘Next up is…’

He charged at Cloud, who had gained distance, and unleashed the Front Pond with the demonic sword. The blue blade smacked Cloud’s sword, and the wave of coldness followed up to devastate the land.

Whaaam!

An iceberg in the shape of the wing of a bird of prey emerged from the destroyed land and encircled Cloud.

Raon nodded heavily while looking down at his divine and demonic swords.

‘It’s according to my expectations.’

The Crimson Slash and Frost Pond had both gotten stronger than before the Sword Field’s activation. The Sword Field seemed to amplify fire and water attribute techniques.

Whaaam!

Cloud exploded his astral sphere to break through the iceberg and withdrew.

There was no serious injury on him, but his shoulder and forearm had become red from the burn and frostbite.

“You were bragging about your Sword Field, but is this all you got?!”

“Stop bluffing.”

Raon nodded his chin while lowering his divine and demonic swords.

“This is your last chance to surrender. I’ll forgive you if you kneel and bow to me.”

“Bullshit!”

“Yes, I’m just bullshitting. I actually have no intention to accept your surrender to begin with.”

“You bastard!”

Cloud’s eyes sparked red. The astral sphere bursting out from his blade inflated like a cloud, probably in an attempt to block the heat and coldness. It looked like he was going all out without consideration for the future.

‘He is going all out.’

The tremendous wave of power coming from the astral sphere on his blade was making Raon’s hair stand on end. It was the power of a Grandmaster. He wasn’t an easy opponent even though he’d achieved the Sword Field.

“An insignificant technique like a Sword Field won’t be able to defeat the Holy Sword Alliance’s swordsmanship!”

Cloud’s voice became heavier, as if it were coming from the bottom of a swamp, and a majestic light radiated from his blade.

The black current of air covering the sky turned into dozens of swords raining down to the ground. The astral sphere was bending so quickly that it couldn’t be done by a human being.

“Hmm…”

Raon weakly bit his lip. It was dangerous. He could tell that his entire body would be blown up if he made a single mistake.

‘Let’s start with what I can do.’

He executed a curved White Shadow Slash with the divine sword in his right hand. The heated white shadow removed Cloud’s principles of illusion and variable swords.

The real attack from the astral sphere was directed at his heart from the left side. The moment the violently vibrating tip of Cloud’s blade was about to reach his shoulder, Raon unleashed the Silver Cyclone of the Blizzard Sword Art with the demonic sword in his left hand.

Claaang!

The blue blade soared with the wind and violently fended off Cloud’s attack. The astral sphere dwelling on his blade was twisted so hard that it looked like it was about to fall apart.

“Ack!”

Cloud turned around mid-air in order to overcome the shock from the clash and connected into another downward slash. The astral sphere storming around the tip of his blade was extended and caused a huge explosion.

‘I knew it.’

Raon had predicted that attack since he’d noticed that Cloud had a strange twist of his astral sphere when he was turning around mid-air.

The moment the aura’s explosion was about to affect him, Raon slashed downward with the divine and demonic swords at the same time. He was applying Sheryl’s teaching to harmonize the power of the two swords.

Whaaam!

The fire and ice created a wave of a sword barrier and completely destroyed Cloud’s explosive sword.

Cring!

However, the battle wasn’t over yet. Cloud was dashing through the explosion’s aftereffect.

Despite the fact that his astral sphere had exploded a moment ago, it was bursting from his blade once again.

Even though it had already exploded once, Raon could still feel a tremendous amount of power from it. His body was being sucked into its flow, which felt like it was distorting the space itself.

Raon fixed his feet on the ground and increased the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier’s outputs to the maximum.

Whaaam!

The divine and demonic swords clashed head-on against the astral sphere.

The land collapsed, and the trees were being rooted out. It was truly a hellish scene as Raon and Cloud unleashed their full powers against each other.

The blade wrapped in the darkness of the astral sphere advanced nimbly to unleash his advanced martial art, but it never managed to break through Raon’s defense.

Even though it should’ve been impossible for a divine and demonic sword to move in harmony, the advanced martial arts were executed one after the other, the two swords causing burns and frostbite to Cloud instead, and he ended up being bounced back.

Whap!

Flowers bloomed from Raon’s two blades, the moment Cloud was pushed back.

Flame Spirit Infinite Awakening.

The red and blue flowers blooming from the two swords advanced towards Cloud from the left and right.

“Ugh!”

Cloud tried to pluck those pieces of heat and coldness with his blade, which was wrapped in an astral sphere, but he couldn’t remove all of them because they were too numerous.

“Damn it!”

He mustered his aura until his energy center was in pain, and unleashed the Dark Night Demonblade’s special technique, Blade Flow Release.

Whaaam!

The clash between the Blade Flow Release and the Flame Spirit Infinite Awakening created a huge tornado of astral energy in the air.

“Huff…”

Cloud bit his lip amid the turbulence capable of destroying the land and collapsing the sky.

‘What’s wrong with that bastard?! Is he even human?!’

He could force himself to accept the fact that the Sword Field Creation gave him the power to fight against the astral sphere.

However, his sword technique was the strangest thing.

The Six Kings and Five Demons normally retained their own characteristics.

Just as Zieghart had their Sword Field Creation and the Beast Union boasted their strongest bodies, the Holy Sword Alliance should’ve been the best when it came down to sword technique. However, that didn’t seem to apply to Raon.

His swordsmanship’s flow and principles were improving despite the intensity of the battle. It wasn’t the Sword Field’s ability but his demonic talent.

“This can’t be happening.”

Cloud’s shoulders were shivering as he straightened his back.

‘I can’t leave him alive.’

He wasn’t even jealous anymore. He was afraid of him at that point. He wielded his sword with two hands, with the murderous intention of never letting him live.

‘It’s the only way.’

Using the Dark Night Demonblade’s special technique was the only path to overcome the disadvantageous situation, even though it was still incomplete.

Whir!

He mustered every last bit of his aura from his energy center. The aura dashed through his mana circuits, and the central energy center’s sturdiness was added before it created a storming astral sphere that surrounded his blade.

“I’ll put an end to this!”

The shards of darkness seeped into the storm bursting from his blade, creating a majestic black radiance.

Whaam!

Even the sky turned dark as the Dark Night Demonblade’s special technique, Dark Star Slash, advanced. It felt like the entire world had fallen into darkness.

Cloud must’ve grown during the fight against Raon since he managed to unleash the real Dark Star Slash for the first time.

‘I did it!’

The moment Cloud was assured of his victory, Raon quietly exhaled and raised his gaze.

Just like his radiant eyes, the sun and moon emanated their dignified lights amid the darkness.

Tap.

Raon fixed the grip on the two swords while looking at Cloud.

‘This is the final clash.’

Cloud only had a handful of energy left in him. The battle was going to be over if he managed to withstand that strike.

However, he couldn’t easily find the path to victory. His opponent’s strike was literally covering the entire sky.

Raon slowly closed his eyes. He imagined the sword field once again while feeling the resonance of the divine and demonic swords in his hands.

The more he fought, the more he came to realize it.

The Sword Field didn’t originate from fire and ice. The sword was the origin.

The sword training that had started with Rimmer continued to the others, causing a variety of flowers to bloom.

Glenn’s sword was at the center of all that. His sword, which had even surpassed transcendence, was the first pillar supporting his world.

However, he was different from Glenn. It was impossible to copy since Glenn’s path led to perfection. Raon would just follow his back, just like following the light.

That was why his colors were red and blue.

Furthermore, what he’d pledged in his mental world was to never be defeated.

Just like he’d declared to Rimmer, and responded to Vulcan’s question when he asked what kind of sword he wanted, Raon wanted to become a swordsman who would never break.

That was why he was undefeatable and invincible.

Raon opened his eyes while imagining the inspiration coming from the Sword Field.

He pulled the divine and demonic swords behind his waist and shoulder while facing Cloud’s astral sphere, which was full of malice, trying to erase his entire existence.

Raon Zieghart Style

Six Form

Divine and Demonic Harmony Combination Technique

Red-Blue Invincible Sword

The red and blue radiance severed the world and cut through the sky.

Crack!

Cloud’s astral sphere disappeared like bubbles, and his sword was snapped in half.

Diagonal lacerations appeared on his chest and he fell on his knees. He wasn’t even screaming, as if his defeat was nothing but a fleeting dream.

The divine and demonic swords subsided like embers and the dark night returned.

“I defeated you…”

The dignity of the divine and demonic swords were dwelling on Raon’s eyes as he looked down on Cloud.

“No, Zieghart defeated the Holy Sword Alliance.”

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]