Chapter 589

Raon squinted while looking at the Crimson Flame Demon’s crimson glare.

‘How much energy did he suck from the world tree?’

The Crimson Flame Demon he was facing was an entirely different existence from the Crimson Flame Demon he’d fought in the great forest.

If he hadn’t created the sword field before facing him, his skin would’ve melted from the powerful heat.

‘I can’t win against that…’

He would’ve been able to fight the Crimson Flame Demon in the great forest with the Sword Field Creation and Wrath Release, but it was impossible to win against him anymore since he’d devoured the world tree’s energy.

That was why he needed help.

Alright! The King of Essence will help you!

Wrath immediately nodded.

Let the King of Essence advent right now since that fire guy is burning up the world tree that should’ve been his nourishment. The King of Essence will turn him into an ice shard!

He bobbed his finger, asking Raon to hand over his body already.

‘I’m not talking about you.’

Raon ignored Wrath and turned around.

He asked again while looking at Rimmer’s pale face, “You can do it, right?”

“Hah…”

Rimmer gasped upon seeing the calmness in Raon’s eyes.

‘He asked me to help him instead of saying that he will help.’

The reason why Raon asked for help was simple. He considered the battle to be his own. It was an expression of his determination that he wasn’t going to withdraw from it and that Rimmer didn’t need to be sorry about it.

‘Moreover… He is pretty much threatening me.’

Since even a human being was fighting against the threat, he was threatening that an elf shouldn’t idle around as the owner of that land.

‘Seriously, this man…’

Raon filled him with admiration every time he saw him. Rimmer felt like he was dealing with a higher existence than himself rather than a subordinate or a disciple.

“Of course!”

Rimmer nodded, suppressing the pain in his abdomen.

“But we are both going to die if we don’t finish it quickly. You should be aware of that fact, right?”

“Of course.”

Raon bit his lip while looking at the world tree, where the roots were starting to burn.

“I’ll be in charge of the attack, so focus on blocking his flame.”

“Leave it to me.”

Rimmer clenched his leaf-shaped sword, saying that he would do something about it.

“Even if two vermin combine their focus, they are just vermin in the end.”

The Crimson Flame Demon sneered while looking down on Raon and Rimmer.

“You should be careful. We might be vermin, but we are poisonous.”

“You are just a bug!”

He furrowed his brow and scattered his flames. The moment the flames started to bend like a whip, Raon kicked the ground with the Supreme Harmony Steps.

“I’m also confident with fire.”

He made the rings of fire resonate to the maximum output. He dodged the flame whips rushing at him by only using footwork and entered the Crimson Flame Demon’s space.

“Let’s see who burns better.”

Raon thrust the blue demonic sword in his left hand. With a flickering silver light, the blade of frost broke through the wall of flame and advanced toward the Crimson Flame Demon’s shoulder.

“You said fire.”

The Crimson Flame Demon raised his hand while snorting. The flame that was severed by the demonic sword was reattached, and a powerful wave occurred from it.

The heat even managed to break through his six-star Fire Resistance and the Black Dragon Coat’s protection, spreading throughout his body.

Raon furrowed his brow, feeling the pain of a burn, and a dark green wind blew from behind him.

Whaaap!

It was Rimmer. His wind pushed back the Crimson Flame Demon’s heat and created a path for the sword to pierce into.

‘He’s so reliable.’

It wasn’t exactly true when he was gambling, but Rimmer was the most trustworthy person Raon knew during a battle.

A clear sword resonance spread around from the divine sword in Raon’s right hand. The golden flame advanced as powerfully as the sun, violently pushing back the crimson flame in the process.

The moment the Crimson Flame Demon’s eyes started to tremble, Raon swung down the demonic sword in his left hand. The blade of frost descended as beautifully as the moonlight, brushing past his shoulder.

Pssh!

Since he wasn’t exactly a spirit, but a human being with spirit’s power, red blood gushed from the deep laceration on his shoulder.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

Raon shook his finger up and down towards the Crimson Flame Demon.

“You should watch out for poison.”

“This is just a small scratch. It’s too early for arrogance!”

The Crimson Flame Demon twisted his lips and rubbed the wound on his shoulder. An intense flame sparked, slowly healing the laceration.

“Your swords won’t be able to reach me!”

“It already reached you though.”

Rimmer tilted his head while pointing at the wound that still remained.

“You are rather stupid, aren’t you? You should be saying ‘You won’t be able to kill me’ in a situation like this.”

“I know, right? He bluffs too much.”

Raon followed up with Rimmer, curling his lips into a smile.

“Look at how he isn’t even dressed properly. It already shows his mental status.”

“But why is he still wearing those pants?”

“He must have no confidence in that part.”

Rimmer giggled, turning his sword behind his back.

“You bastards!”

The Crimson Flame Demon looked at his pants for a moment and roared like a beast.

The Black Dragon Coat curled up, almost looking like it was melting from the intense heat surging from his upper body.

“He’s perfectly excited.”

Rimmer created a powerful wind, allowing Raon to advance without fearing the heat.

Thud!

Raon dashed towards the Crimson Flame Demon, riding Rimmer’s wind, which was pushing his back while suppressing the heat.

“Fuck off!”

The Crimson Flame Demon extended his thick hand, and the flame covering his body surged like a huge whirlwind.

Raon set foot into the flaming whirlwind, counting on Rimmer, who was supporting him from behind.

Claaang!

The blade incorporating both flame and frost clashed against the Crimson Flame Demon’s fire, causing a huge shockwave to spread around. The vibration was so intense that even the world tree was shaking despite how deeply rooted it was.

‘Is this still not enough…?’

The divine and demonic swords were being pushed back by the Crimson Flame Demon’s fire. When the hem of Black Dragon Coat started to burn and turn into ash, a clear wind blew towards him.

The wind advanced like a thinly sliced storm, rampaging like a living creature to enhance the divine sword’s flame and the demonic sword’s frost while suppressing the Crimson Flame Demon’s fire.

“Stop bothering me!”

The Crimson Flame Demon shouted in irritation and launched a spear of flame towards Rimmer.

‘This is my chance.’

He was still devouring the world tree’s energy to get stronger even as they fought. It was necessary to finish him off once and for all while he was distracted by Rimmer.

Raon thrust the demonic sword, concentrating the frost at the tip.

It was the monarch of Wrath’s ultimate technique.

Snow Flower Demonic Sword

Crack!

Raon activated the Snow Flower Demonic Palm with a sword, completely freezing the shield of fire protecting the Crimson Flame Demon.

The silver light flashed, dissipating the flame while covering their vision as Raon bounced the divine sword with his right hand.

Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Thousand Flames.

Golden Void Infusion

The divine sword’s blade split apart like a bamboo step, forming a prison of golden flame.

Whaaam!

The Crimson Flame Demon retained his composure even though he saw the bars of flame approaching him.

“A weak flame like this won’t be able to harm me!” He sneered, tearing apart the Golden Void Infusion’s flame with his hand.

Raon didn’t panic, watching his actions with a smile on his face. He had been waiting for this moment from the beginning.

Whaam!

Raon released his wrath. Rotating the rings of fire as fast as possible, he executed the most powerful sword technique that he could use.

Raon Zieghart Style.

Sixth Form, Divine and Demonic Harmony Combination Technique

Red-Blue Invincible Sword

The divine sword’s flame and the demonic sword’s frost burst out alongside a majestic radiance.

The two blades carried his conviction to cut through the Crimson Flame Demon’s fire and pierced his chest.

“Kuaaah!”

However, the Crimson Flame Demon didn’t give up on his life easily. Flames burst from his lacerated body and pushed back the divine and demonic blades.

“It’s working! Keep moving forward!”

Even though the Crimson Flame Demon’s spear had sliced Rimmer’s waist, he kept sending the wind to enhance the divine and demonic swords, telling him to continue the attack.

However, Raon’s expression gradually hardened even though Rimmer’s energy was helping him.

‘This bastard… He is changing.’

Even though the blades were still piercing into the Crimson Flame Demon’s body, he wasn’t getting the sensation of cutting through a person at all.

It was similar to how it felt when he cut through the darkness spirit summoned by Cassandra. He could guess that the Crimson Flame Demon was becoming more and more like a spirit.

‘I need to finish him off before he changes even more.’

Raon ground his teeth to the point of breaking and unleashed his wrath even more powerfully. It was necessary to put an end to it, even if he had to overexert himself.

“Kuaaah!”

His wrist felt like it was about to snap, but Raon exerted even more force and swung the divine and demonic swords until the very end.

The flame and frost advanced like lightning, cutting through the Crimson Flame Demon’s fire and tearing his body apart.

“It worked!”

Rimmer shouted excitedly from behind, but Raon couldn’t smile.

“Damn it…”

He managed to cut through but he didn’t manage to cut him.

The Crimson Flame Demon had become a spirit entirely, absorbing the energy leaking from the world tree’s roots.

Only fire was spreading from his body instead of blood. He must’ve taken a large amount of damage, but it wasn’t a fatal injury at all since his body didn’t have a physical form.

“Oh no…”

Rimmer’s lips trembled nervously upon noticing the Crimson Flame Demon’s state.

Raon swallowed nervously as he watched the Crimson Flame Demon regenerating his body with the flame.

‘He isn’t even the issue. I’m the problem.’

Using the Red-Blue Invincible Sword and Wrath Release consumed a large amount of will and aura.

Even the Sword Field wasn’t going to last for long.

‘Moreover…’

Rimmer had also reached his limit. To be honest, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he could see the end of the battle.

“It’s over.”

The Crimson Flame Demon tilted his chin, gazing at him arrogantly.

“You are exhausted, and I’m getting stronger as we speak.”

He curled his lips into a smile, stroking his chest where the laceration was completely gone.

“Despair is all that awaits you.”

“You are delusional.”

Raon raised the divine and demonic swords with a grim smile on his face.

“Because I’m only getting started now.”

“You are bluffing…”

“You are going to learn whether I’m bluffing or not.”

* * *

Siyan clenched her fist, watching Raon and Rimmer’s backs as they confronted the huge flame.

‘A-are they winning?’

She couldn’t see it properly, but she could tell that Raon was pressing onto the Crimson Flame Demon. She felt like they were going to win at this rate.

She shifted her gaze to the back.

The guardians and the elves were struggling to fend off Eden’s demons and the ashen-skinned elves. More and more elves were collapsing because their attacks were becoming more and more ferocious.

‘Just hold on a little longer.’

Raon and Rimmer should be able to kill that monster soon enough and return to help them. The battle was pretty much over as long as that happened.

“Aaaaah!”

Siyan shifted her gaze to the right upon hearing a ringing melody. A twin-tail girl was dashing through the battlefield, spreading her beautiful song.

Her song revitalized their allies while confusing their enemies.

Her might itself wasn’t that amazing, but her influence was outrageous.

The green-haired human who was fighting while protecting the girl was also quite peculiar. He took out ointments and arrows from his belly pocket to hand out to others and cut down the enemies with a fascinating swordsmanship.

However, his trembling eyes suggested that he had a cowardly personality despite his prowess. Even so, it never stopped his sword and legs from moving.

‘Those two humans are…’

Dorian and Yua. They were both humans that had arrived with Raon.

Let alone standing out in the Biography of Raon Zieghart, their names were barely mentioned. However, they fought on the battlefield, braver than anyone else.

‘M-me too…’

Siyan couldn’t control aura nor summon a spirit, but she was confident in her archery skills.

Siyan picked up a wooden bow from the ground. She was trying to help them even a little, and the head elder stopped her hand from the side.

“H-head elder.”

“Lady Siyan…”

The head elder’s eyes glowed fiercely. Siyan closed her eyes tightly, thinking that she was going to be scolded, but his voice was too quiet and powerless.

“R-run away.”

“What?”

She blinked because his sudden request for her to run away left her dumbfounded.

“Wh-what do you mean…?”

“You should run away from here right now.”

The head elder shook his hand, coughing up blood from his internal injury.

“Wh-why would I run away when everyone else is fighting?! Sir Raon is going to arri—”

“He can’t win.”

He raised his trembling finger and pointed at the battlefield where Raon and Rimmer were fighting against the Crimson Flame Demon.

“That monster has already absorbed too much energy from the world tree. It’s going to surpass the wall of transcendence in no time…”

“B-but Sir Raon…”

“He didn’t manage to finish him off when he should’ve. The human named Raon is definitely amazing, but his opponent has already surpassed his realm.”

The head elder sighed deeply, saying that there was no chance of victory.

“The world tree’s trunk is already on fire. We have no time. The escape will be completely blocked if you waste any more time…”

“Th-then you should leave instead of me, head elder!”

Siyan removed her blanket and shook her head.

“It’s already too late for me. And…”

The head elder stared at Siyan with a serene gaze.

“You are the only one who can secure our future, since Lady Siyan is a high elf.”

“B-but I’m incompetent! I can’t do anything correctly as a high elf…”

“It’s not that you can’t do anything correctly. You are the high elf who’s been making more effort than anyone else, and that’s why you have to go.”

“H-head elder!”

Siyan unfurrowed her brow because it was her first time hearing a gentle voice coming from the head elder.

“Effort? H-how do you know that, head elder?”

“Because I’ve been watching you.”

“I-I thought you disliked me.”

“Why would I dislike you, Lady Siyan?”

“Then why…?”

“Why did I look down on you?”

The head elder smiled faintly while looking at Siyan. His face looked red because the flame around them was intensifying.

“Did you want me to encourage you or something? You’ve read too many human books, Lady Siyan. We aren’t humans.”

He calmly shook his head.

“And I believe such encouragement is an irresponsible action. Anyone can say that, and even the ones who don’t know anything about the situation can say the same. There’s no meaning nor worth to such words. That’s why all we can do as elves is to watch our kin.”

“Ah…”

Siyan’s lips trembled as she looked at the head elder.

‘Now that I think about it…’

The head elder had always been strict. He got angry at her for covering herself in a blanket and scolded her for speaking strangely.

However, he’d always been watching her and never criticized her unreasonably. Unlike the others, he’d never called her incompetent.

“L-Lady Siyan. Please escape right now.”

“You shouldn’t die in a place like this.”

“You are the only one who can revive the world tree, Lady Siyan.”

The other elders stood up while faltering and also voiced their honest concerns.

They ran towards the battlefield while bleeding, determined to carve the path for her at the cost of their lives.

“Open the path!”

“Hold on until the end!”

They weren’t the only ones. The injured elves and guardians were also following the elders. They killed their enemies and opened the path even though their bodies were burning.

“Aah…”

Siyan trembled, covering her shoulders with her arms.

‘What have I even been doing so far?’

She’d thought that every elf other than her grandfather hated her and looked down on her.

However, she realized that she was the one who’d ignored the other elves and shut herself in her room.

Some of them must’ve really hated her, but so many of her kin were waiting for her to stand back up.

“Leiran!”

“Yes, head elder.”

Leiran ran up to the head elder with a burn wrapped around her shoulder.

“Take Lady Siyan and the humans, and escape to the West.”

“…Understood.”

Leiran stared at the head elder’s eyes for a moment and eventually nodded.

“Lady Siyan. No, Siyan. Please survive.”

The head elder gently stroked Siyan’s head and moved to the west. He violently coughed up blood and unleashed a wave of water, reducing the flame scorching the land and driving away the red demons and ashen elves.

“Excuse me. We have no time.”

While Siyan stood there in a daze, Leiran picked her up and dashed to the west, carrying her on her shoulder.

Siyan bit her lip while looking at Sterin, who was still resonating with the world tree.

‘Grandfather. You were right, Grandfather.’

He’d always smiled gently at her, saying that she didn’t need to be so afraid of the world.

She wanted to protect him, and every elf that had believed in her. She didn’t want to see anyone else die anymore.

“Please come this way too, the two of you!”

Leiran waved her hand towards Dorian and Yua, shouting for them to follow her.

Siyan closed her eyes, her blurry vision reflecting the elves getting further away.

‘I can’t just save myself like this.’

She put her hands together and bit her lip tightly.

‘Please! Please! If I’m really a high elf, please give me a small miracle at least!’

Siyan’s honest cry of despair connected to the world, and a blue shard started to form around her chest.

* * *

“Huff.”

Raon exhaled deeply while fending off the flame rushing towards him.

‘This is the worst.’

The Crimson Flame Demon grew stronger as its flames spread to the World Tree, making the heat increasingly unbearable.

He hadn’t managed to reach transcendence and his martial technique had not drastically improved, but the output was just so powerful that none of his attacks worked anymore.

‘Even the Sword Field is going to be gone soon…’

He couldn’t maintain the Sword Field for much longer because he’d spent too much energy executing the Red-Blue Invincible Sword. He wouldn’t even be able to face his opponent once the Sword Field was over.

‘Moreover…’

Rimmer’s strikes weren’t carrying the fragrance of wind anymore. He was barely maintaining the Sword Field, and he was in no condition to continue the battle.

“Entertain me with your desperate struggle.”

The Crimson Flame Demon sneered and extended his hand. Fireballs as powerful as an astral sphere started to rain down like a shower.

“Kuh…”

Raon spread the divine and demonic swords left and right and activated the Flame Spirit. A beautiful flower bloomed from the tree, flickering silver as it defended against the Crimson Flame Demon’s rain of fire.

Wham! Wham!

Thousands of ice shards and fireballs collided, shaking the world with tremendous force. Thick steam rose from the clash, forming a dense, foggy wall.

“I hope you aren’t thinking that was the end of it.”

The Crimson Flame Demon casually snapped his fingers, and eight fire tornadoes burst out to surround Raon. There was no delay between his attacks, probably because of the world tree’s power.

Crack!

Raon bit his lip to the point of bleeding and swung up his sword to create a sword barrier. He looked behind him while defending against the fire tornadoes.

“Division leader, escape for now!”

“About that…”

Rimmer started to respond but powerlessly fell to his knees. His Sword Field disappeared completely, and the heat in the surrounding area intensified rapidly.

‘Oh no…’

He must’ve reached his limit because he’d been facing the Crimson Flame Demon alone before Raon had arrived. He should’ve actually been praised for lasting that long.

Hmph!

Wrath approached while rubbing his nose, an evil smile on his face.

You have no other choice anymore!

He bobbed his thick finger.

Let the King of Essence advent. A fire guy like that will be extinguished in an instant.

Wrath shouted at Raon to stab his stomach already since he would have to do it anyway.

“Huff…”

Raon’s feet started to dig into the ground as he got pushed back by the storming fire. He couldn’t figure out any other way to overcome the situation.

‘Do I have no other choice…?’

Regardless of Seipia, it was necessary to kill the opponent in order to save himself, Rimmer, Dorian, and Yua.

‘Is advent the only way?’

Wrath had told him that the Demon King’s Advent had a low chance of success, and the side effects would increase the more he used it.

If the side effect was even bigger than the previous usage, he might revert to the Master realm. It was also possible to get an irreversible injury.

‘But I still have to do it.’

Raon turned around the demonic sword’s blade. He was about to use that sword to turn his own body into a boundary.

Whaaam!

A tremendous amount of mana stormed from the world tree’s center.

The blue light soaring towards the sky was way too dazzling. The pure water surged as if it had come to life, taking the shape of a giant woman.

Her long hair was fluttering like the ocean, and her skin—as transparent as a water drop—was shining elegantly under the moonlight.

The blue goddess who seemed to be the manifestation of beauty extended her hand, and blue rain started to fall from the dry sky, which was filled with nothing but smoke.

Swaaa!

The sweet taste of rain acted like a fountain of life to save the dying elves and extinguished the flame scorching the land.

“Wh-why is that bitch even here?!”

The Crimson Flame Demon’s chin trembled intensely as he saw the watery woman floating in the air.

Arrrgh!

Wrath also screamed, gazing at the woman made of water.

Why is that water girl appearing right now?!

‘Water girl…?’

Raon’s lips trembled as he looked at the merciful smile of the goddess of water.

‘Is she the water spirit king?’

Raon swallowed nervously and saw the spirit king again, noticing that she was carrying someone on her palm.

It was a blonde-haired elf with a delicate atmosphere around her. Raon had never seen her face before, but he could tell who she was thanks to her temperament. It was Siyan.

‘Did Lady Siyan summon the spirit king?’

However, a crimson flame burst from her chest before he could continue his thought.

Whaaap!

The energetic and fiery flame poured down towards Raon instead of ascending to the sky like the water spirit king.

***

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]