Chapter 562

Rimmer unleashed the barren wind of the northern sea. It advanced violently, like a leaf in a storm, and pierced through the air like red lightning, aimed at the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s heart.

Whaaap!

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword clenched the hand holding the demonic sword Kriatus, raising a curvature on the demonic energy.

Claaang!

A powerful shockwave engulfed the surroundings from the clash between the red lightning and the black demonic energy.

Rumble!

The Light Wind division and the sword demons from the Holy Sword Alliance around Rimmer and the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword were bounced back regardless of their will and rolled on the ground.

“…Astral sphere?”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword furrowed his brow while watching the red current dwelling on Rimmer’s sword.

“Did you really reach the astral sphere in that short amount of time?”

“Why are you even surprised? Have you never seen an astral sphere before?”

Rimmer rolled his lips into a smile while looking at the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s crumpled brow.

“You are recovering quickly indeed. But it’s all pointless.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword nodded briefly and rapidly bent his wrist, holding the demonic sword to the right.

The blade of demonic energy bent like a whip and smashed at Rimmer’s back. It was an eccentric move, attacking his opponent’s back while standing in front of them.

“That’s not up to you to decide. It’s up to me!”

Rimmer went into the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s space instead, unleashing the green wind. The astral sphere that was only dwelling at the tip of his blade spread through the flow of the wind to become a shield defending his back.

Claang!

The blade of demonic energy fell towards him fiercely, but it couldn’t break through the thick layer of aura and dissipated in vain.

“Tsk.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword briefly clicked his tongue because he didn’t think that Rimmer would fend off his surprise attack so easily.

“I already know that you are underhanded despite your appearance.”

Rimmer casually swirled his sword and sneered.

‘Yes, I know that better than anyone else.’

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword gave off a civilized impression, much like a priest, but he was actually a schemer harboring thousands of snakes in his mind. He wasn’t an easy opponent, both in swordsmanship and psychological warfare.

‘I can’t be careless at all to begin with because of that damned demonic energy.’

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s sword strikes were dangerous, but the demonic energy emerging from the demonic sword Kriatus was a huge threat by itself.

‘Those below the Master’s realm won’t even be able to approach.’

The demonic sword was dominating the space by scattering the demonic energy all around, to allies and enemies alike.

Since he wasn’t confident he could perfectly fend off the demonic energy while fighting, it was severely limiting his moves.

However, he couldn’t run away or withdraw. Regardless of his revenge, he needed to quickly slay the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword for the sake of Raon and the Light Wind division behind him.

Whaaam!

Rimmer used his footwork violently, advancing toward the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword. The way he rushed while being surrounded by wind and lightning looked like a divine dragon strolling in the sky.

“Don’t be impatient. The battle is only getting started.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword twisted his lips and unleashed an astral sphere with the demonic sword’s flame. The wave spread around the astral sphere in concentric circles, turning the dark land upside down and making the atmosphere scream in pain.

“No, this is the end!”

Rimmer didn’t stop his advance even though he saw the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s powerful astral sphere. He dashed even faster and unleashed his majestic strike.

“You idiot!”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword didn’t run away either, thrusting his blade towards Rimmer’s neck.

Whaaam!

The gray current bursting from the clash between the wind-lightning astral sphere and the astral sphere of demonic energy engulfed the entirety of House Lakion.

* * *

Raon squinted while watching the wave created by Rimmer and the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s clash.

‘Is he going to last?’

Rimmer had no resistance against demonic energy, and he couldn’t keep his sanity because of his anger towards the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword.

Even though his might was getting close to his original realm, Raon couldn’t guarantee his victory.

Cring!

He was furrowing his brow because of the complicated situation when Cloud rushed from the left side and swung his sword. It was an attack with fast and drastic variation. His versatile sword had improved even more than in their previous encounter.

Raon bit his lip while observing the trajectory of his blade rushing at his chest.

‘I shouldn’t clash against it.’

An astral sphere was clearly dwelling on Cloud’s blade. If he clashed against it in his current condition, he was definitely going to get an internal injury that he couldn’t easily recover from.

Thud!

Raon turned his ankle diagonally and used the Supreme Harmony’s Third Step. Like coral moving according to the ocean’s flow, he used the power of Cloud’s attack to withdraw instead of pushing it back. He could feel that Cloud’s blade was brushing past the Black Dragon Coat.

“Where are you looking at?! I’m your opponent!”

Cloud followed while grinding his teeth. His footwork was fast and full of variety. He seemed to be planning to push him into a corner without giving any room to counterattack.

“You’re not wrong.”

Raon raised Heavenly Drive and furrowed his brow.

‘He’s right. This is no time to be concerned about others.’

He had already spent most of his stamina and aura, and he was severely injured on top of that.

Since Cloud was powerful enough that he would’ve needed to risk his life even in his best condition, being fully focused on him couldn’t even guarantee his victory.

Cring!

Cloud’s sword extended like a ray of light. The single tip divided into dozens like the sunlight reflected on a lake and rushed towards the vitals all around his body.

‘Illusion sword, straight sword, and severing sword after that.’

Since Cloud was learning the versatile sword, every single principle was as powerful as other warrior’s special techniques. It was difficult to block, but avoiding it was even more difficult.

Raon stopped breathing and set foot into the radiant wave of the attack. He made the seven rings of fire resonate at once, and the world slowed down as if time had stopped.

The radiance rushing towards his brow was reflecting his own appearance. With his focus reaching the extremity, he could even feel the breath of his opponent.

Cring!

He tilted his neck to the left to dodge the attack trying to pierce his head, and he covered Heavenly Drive with a thin layer of aura to deflect the slash targeting his waist.

A chill ran down his spine every time Cloud’s attack brushed past him. Focus wasn’t unlimited. He couldn’t keep it up for long.

“You are just a sitting duck when you can’t use that great Sword Field Creation!”

Cloud sneered at him and tried to overwhelm him with sheer power. Instead of using complicated techniques, he charged like a boar while simply surrounding his blade with principles.

‘A wise decision.’

He didn’t forget the previous duel where all his techniques were countered, instead fully focusing on power by simplifying the technique as much as possible. Such a method was difficult to deal with.

‘Should I ask Wrath for help?’

It should be possible to recover his stamina and aura by making a trade with Wrath.

However, he would have to accept a lot more wrath than before because he’d gotten stronger.

It was already getting difficult to control the wrath. Receiving more could prove dangerous.

‘Moreover, there is another enemy to deal with.’

Since he might have to fight the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword afterwards, it was necessary to overcome the situation by himself instead of getting Wrath to help him.

Wrath was also watching him quietly, believing that Raon could deal with it on his own.

“Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!”

Cloud kept swinging his sword with simple principles in his attacks. However, it was still fast and precise despite being simple, making every single attack difficult to avoid.

‘It’s still a sword technique even though there are fewer principles. There must be a gap to break through.’

As expected of a high class swordsman, every single attack from Cloud incorporated profound principles despite looking simple. That flow needed to be analyzed.

Whir!

Raon even activated the Evil Eye of Wrath and the Perception of the Snow Flower on top of the Ring of Fire, observing the flow of the aura Cloud was creating.

‘I knew it.’

Cloud’s attacks weren’t made of sheer power. He was using a technique that was making it ordinary by simplifying the versatile sword to the extreme.

‘Did he learn it from the Holy Sword Alliance master? No, it feels a bit different.’

He was still using the versatile sword, but it felt like its nature was different from before. However, the flow felt strangely familiar.

Whoosh!

Raon narrowed his eyes while watching the ferocious advance of Cloud’s attack.

‘Right waist.’

The astral sphere was approaching his left shoulder, but it seemed to be targeting the right side of his waist instead.

Just as Raon figured, Cloud rotated the tip of his blade towards the right side of his waist. Since he managed to predict it correctly, he gained some room for movement.

Cring!

Raon deflected Cloud’s sword and pierced into his space to slash down with the Blade of Requiem.

The ghastly blade cut through Cloud’s aura and injured his thigh.

“Y-you bastard!”

Since Cloud didn’t think that he would get injured, his eyes widened and he started to attack again.

“Haa…”

Raon exhaled roughly and stepped back. Of course, his gaze was still fixated on Cloud’s sword and aura.

‘Is it coming to the center this time?’

Cloud had removed the variation and was targeting his solar plexus with sheer power and speed.

‘No, there’s more to it.’

The Ring of Fire rotated painfully and examined the movement of the tip of Cloud’s blade until the very end.

The honest strike rapidly bent to the left. He was planning to cut his heart in a single strike.

Raon bent his waist backwards while standing. He lowered himself until his back became parallel to the land and slashed upwards with Heavenly Drive on the rebound.

Psssh!

Heavenly Drive’s blade cut through Cloud’s chest this time. Red blood started to leak from his chest.

‘Shallow.’

The demonic energy seeping into his waist was disturbing his movement, and he didn’t manage to achieve the normal result. Raon clicked his tongue in regret.

“Kuh…”

Cloud shook the blood off with his hand and violently ground his teeth.

“It’s that person’s technique, so how?!”

His trembling pupils showed his disbelief at the fact that the attack with simplified principles was countered.

‘That person?’

Raon thought about how Cloud said ‘that person’.

‘Did he not learn it from the Alliance master?’

Since he said ‘that person’ instead of his master or the alliance master, he must’ve learned it from another person.

‘Who could that be…?’

“That damned talent of yours!”

Cloud dashed forward while exploding with the anger he’d been suppressing.

Whaaam!

The astral sphere spread around in all directions, collapsing the land and twisting the sky.

‘Shoulder!’

As soon as Raon dodged the attack trying to tear off his shoulder, an astral sphere rushed at him from the left.

‘I can’t dodge this.’

Raon twisted his body and swung down Heavenly Drive in a crescent trajectory.

He dodged and deflected at the same time, but Cloud’s blade violently pulled the flesh from his thigh.

‘Damn it!’

He endured the pain that made him want to sink to the ground and slammed forward with the Blade of Requiem, which he was holding in reverse grip in his left hand.

Whack!

The glowing blade of ghastly energy cut through Cloud’s aura and sliced his shoulder.

“Die!”

Cloud ignored the pain in his shoulder and rushed at him while screaming.

Raon’s legs wavered, and the blade with blazing astral energy brushed past his neck. Red blood scattered into the air.

“Haa…”

Raon didn’t panic even though death was right under his nose.

‘Not yet.’

Cloud’s technique was stupidly violent, but the flow hadn’t changed that much. The blueprint to defeat him was slowly filling out as he fought.

Raon forgot the pain in his waist and thigh, focusing solely on Cloud’s sword with all his senses.

‘Left shoulder, right waist, right ankle, neck!’

The flow of Cloud’s technique could be read more and more clearly. His swordsmanship became faster than before, but it was easier to dodge.

Raon didn’t move his entire body to dodge anymore, only withdrawing a short distance with the part Cloud was targeting to save his stamina and aura.

“Wh-what?!”

Cloud took a step back with trembling lips.

“How are you even dodging that?!”

He screamed, unable to understand how it was even happening.

“You haven’t advanced even a single step since that day.”

Raon rolled his lips into a smile, realizing that the end was near.

“You would’ve been defeated in a single strike if I was in a good condition.”

“Shut up!”

Cloud thrust his blade, unleashing all of his remaining aura as if he’d lost his sanity.

The astral sphere dwelling at the tip of his sword pounded violently and created a storming aura all around Raon. It was an unsophisticated but effective attack that didn’t leave any room for dodging.

Whaaam!

Raon didn’t withdraw even though the astral sphere was approaching him while turning the land upside down.

‘The opportunity is finally here.’

It would look like he was bound to die from a spectator’s perspective, but it was the only chance that he’d been waiting for.

‘Because his energy is dispersed.’

The astral sphere was an advanced technique consisting of concentrating astral energy to make it more destructive.

With the concentration being decreased in return for increasing the area, the power of the astral energy itself was bound to be weaker.

Raon advanced in order to harvest the fruit after a long period of patience.

He pulled his remaining aura upwards into his upper energy center and opened the sword field once again.

Momentary Sword Field Creation

Divine and Demonic Harmony.

Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem evaporated, and divine and demonic blades surged from his grasp instead. Raon stepped forward before the two swords were perfectly materialized.

‘I can’t complete the swords now.’

His condition was pretty much the worst. It was impossible to use the Sword Field Creation again in that state.

In fact, the sun and moon weren’t rising above his head, nor were the swords engulfed in flame and frost.

The divine and demonic swords couldn’t be completed, but it didn’t matter. The blades were still sharp enough.

Golden lightning blazed from Raon’s hands. The power of his soul pushed back the wave of Cloud’s energy and created a void boundary where swords could clash.

“Sw-Sword Field Creation? No, this is…”

Haughty blades were revealed from the swords crossing towards Cloud, whose eyes were trembling in panic. The noble divine sword and the frightening demonic sword harmonized with each other into a single technique.

“I won’t lose a second time!”

Cloud hurriedly condensed his energy into an astral sphere again and leaped towards Raon. His sword was undeniably powerful even though he was panicking.

‘However… I’ve already finished analyzing your swordsmanship.’

The single line created by the divine and demonic swords twisted the flow of the astral sphere and carved a red line on Cloud’s neck.

“I-I’m not done yet…”

Cloud’s shoulders trembled as he clutched his severed neck in disbelief before he finally fell backward. He looked up to Raon with bloodshot eyes until his head dropped.

“Not killing you back then was the correct choice.”

Raon’s lips twitched as he dropped the disappearing divine and demonic swords.

“I managed to improve again thanks to you.”

He delivered the final words to Cloud, who couldn’t listen to him anymore, and leaned forward in order to pick up the two swords that he’d dropped.

“Cough!”

He suddenly started to cough up black blood while trying to pick up the swords. Overexerting himself to muster his aura had made the demonic energy intrude even further into his body, shaking his organs.

‘Sword Field Creation that lasts for a second…’

He had to sacrifice a lot for it, but it had allowed him to win. If he hadn’t made that decision, Cloud would be the one standing in front of him.

Raon clutched his throbbing chest and raised his gaze.

‘I need to make the decision now…’

***

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]