Chapter 592

Raon couldn’t suppress his anger and smacked Wrath’s head.

Whaack!

Along with the shattering sound of a rock, Wrath’s face smashed onto the ground.

H-how dare you hit the King…

“You should be glad that I didn’t beat you to death!”

Raon furiously bared his fangs towards Wrath, who was shaking in anger.

Ugh!

Wrath was surprised and leaped back while rubbing his face.

“Haa…”

Raon sighed and looked at the fire spirit king that Wrath had spat out. He could barely feel any energy of fire, unlike during their first encounter.

“How could you kill it as soon as it was born? That’s so mean.”

Th-the King of Essence warned it so many times to leave! It isn’t his fault that it didn’t listen to him!

Wrath shook his head, saying that he’d done nothing wrong.

“Even then, you should’ve just beaten him up a little and sent him away. Why did you go so far?”

The King of Essence was originally planning to just teach it a lesson.

“And?”

Th-the smaller version of the fire guy was glowing weakly like a bead ice cream. It just looked so delicious…

Wrath licked his lips, saying that he couldn’t suppress his urge.

A-anyway, it’s not the King of Essence’s fault! He was just educating that child who dared to hit a boulder with an egg…

“Shut your mouth, unless you want to have nothing but Nadine bread for the rest of your life.”

Hap!

Wrath covered his mouth with both hands and lowered his head onto the floor. Raon couldn’t understand how he was the demon king of wrath when threatening him with food was more effective than pressuring his mind.

‘What should I do…?’

If others found out that the fire spirit king was eaten to death, his achievement of saving the elves would be gone and they might chase him around as an archenemy for the rest of his life. It had to be avoided no matter what.

‘I’d do anything if I can help it… Hmm?’

Raon examined the fire spirit king while biting his lip and noticed that the ember that was about to be extinguished started to blaze extremely faintly.

‘Is it not dead yet?’

It was faint, but a small ember started to burn again inside the bead.

Raon extended his hand towards the fire spirit king’s bead. He could feel a faint but warm energy from it.

‘I can save it.’

The reason the fire spirit king had come to him was because it had noticed his ancestor’s energy, not because it wanted a contract.

Raon guessed that he could save it by using the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the Ring of Fire.

Whir!

He purified the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s flame with the Ring of Fire to create a concentrated flame of extreme purity. He carefully grabbed the fire spirit king and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s fire in between his fingers.

Whaap!

A light golden flame seeped into the fire spirit king, creating a radiance similar to the midday sun meeting the evening sunset.

Raon swallowed nervously while watching the fire spirit king’s weak breathing.

‘It’s being revived.’

The fire spirit king was only the size of a candy, but it was gradually increasing in size, by absorbing the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s fire.

It quickly grew to the size of a child, befitting the power of a king even though he was beaten up by Wrath.

‘He looks different.’

The fire spirit king looked like a human male, unlike the lizard helmet that the Crimson Flame Demon was wearing.

He was extremely handsome, but his eyebrows were lowered sharply, giving off a fiery impression.

“Hmm…”

The fire spirit king slowly opened his eyes. He didn’t look like a human or reptile. His sharp and slitted eyes shifted towards them.

“Haa…”

Raon let out a sigh of relief.

‘I’m saved.’

The fire spirit king’s energy had also returned to being normal. He was really glad that he wouldn’t be the archenemy of the elves and the spirits.

“Did you come to your senses?”

“…A human?”

The fire spirit king blinked. He seemed to be unable to understand the situation yet. It wasn’t strange because he just managed to survive being chewed up by a demon king.

“That energy is strangely familiar…”

He stood up while meeting Raon’s eyes.

“Yes. I followed that energy and went to you.”

The fire spirit king nodded, saying that he was instinctively attracted to Raon. Raon didn’t like his lack of respect, but he overlooked it since he was a spirit king and was confused.

“But there was a monster in your body. It was a huge and evil energy that even I, who was born as a king, couldn't withstand. All I could do was to struggle against it.”

He hung his head, saying that he’d fought to save Raon but ended up being defeated.

The King of Essence isn’t a monster!

Wrath had been sulking but he suddenly stood up.

He is the monarch of… Haap!

Raon hurriedly ran to Wrath and covered his mouth.

“......”

However, the fire spirit king’s eyes were already directed at Wrath.

“Huaaah!”

The fire spirit king trembled like a deer facing a carnivorous beast and frantically retreated.

“It’s him! It was him! That monster followed us all the way here!”

His face turned pale, unbefitting of the fire spirit king. He seemed to be feeling Wrath’s energy instead of seeing him.

“Don’t worry about him.”

Raon shook his head while bouncing Wrath like a ball.

“He can’t do anything in this state.”

Can’t do anything?! Don’t look down on the King of Ess—

“Nadine bread.”

Haap!

Wrath shut his mouth again as soon as Nadine bread was mentioned.

“Huh…?”

The fire spirit king widened his eyes while watching Wrath, who became completely obedient in Raon’s hand.

‘Wh-what…? Why is that monster being so mild?’

He couldn’t believe that the monster who overwhelmed him, who was born as the fire spirit king, was being stopped by a human.

“Don’t worry about him.”

Raon pushed Wrath away and shook his head.

“How is your condition?”

“N-Nadine bread?”

The fire spirit king shouted Nadine bread, which Raon had mentioned a moment ago.

Huh?

Wrath shoved his face over Raon’s shoulder and furrowed his brow.

Hey! You damned fire guy! Do you seriously have a death wish? If it wasn’t for this weasel, you would’ve been chewed to death by the King of Essence!

“Huaaah!”

The fire spirit king remembered how he was being chewed by Wrath and fell backward while curling up.

You need to be eaten to the bones…

“Nadine bread.”

Wrath quickly flew towards the fire spirit king as if he were going to eat him again. However, as soon as Raon shouted “Nadine bread”, he suddenly stopped mid-air.

Nadine bread’s power even ignored the law of momentum.

D-damn it…

“I told you to behave yourself.”

Raon grabbed Wrath’s tail to throw him behind him and walked up to the fire spirit king.

“Like I said before, don’t mind him and…”

“Wh-who are you, Great Sir?”

The fire spirit king straightened his back, treating him with great respect, unlike before.

“What?”

“You are definitely human. Could you tell me how you managed to tame that monster?”

T-tame? Are you seriously insane?! No one in the world can tame the King of…

“Tsk!”

Ugh…

Raon clicked his tongue, and Wrath shut his mouth again.

“Huh…”

The fire spirit king’s jaw dropped, his head trembling in shock. He seemed to be so shocked that he was terrified.

“My name is Raon Zieghart. I’m just an ordinary human.”

“O-ordinary?”

“Yes.”

Raon casually nodded.

“You defeated a monster who possesses even more coldness than the water spirit king that was born with me. How could you call yourself ordinary?!”

The fire spirit king shook his head, saying that he had common sense even though he was only born recently.

Raon narrowed his eyes while watching the fire spirit king’s chin tremble.

‘Fortunately, he didn’t recognize Wrath.’

It looked like he didn’t figure out Wrath’s identity thanks to his lack of experience, despite being born with common sense.

“Please tell me. How did you make that monster surrender to you?”

“It was through a battle of willpower.”

Raon briefly licked his lips and tapped on Wrath’s head.

“He attacked with his coldness, and I withstood it with willpower and won.”

“H-how did you withstand that…?”

The fire spirit king dropped his jaw, amazed by the fact that he’d managed to withstand that soul-shattering pain.

“Please tell me if there’s a secret technique for it!”

“You just have to endure it. There’s no other way.”

Raon shook his hand, saying that it wasn’t a big deal.

Hmph! That human is the most persistent human in the world! Someone like you won’t be able to do it even after your death!

Wrath snorted, telling him to not even try it.

“Ah…”

The fire spirit king stared at Raon for a long time and slammed his head on the ground while putting his trembling hands on the ground.

“I’ll follow you!”

Haah?

Wrath made a strange sound, asking what he was even talking about.

“I’ve seen from the records that humans serve the person they respect as their older brother. I will serve you as my older brother from now on!”

The fire spirit king slammed his head onto the ground again and shouted for him to please accept him.

“Hah…”

Raon gasped while looking at the fire spirit king’s trembling head.

He figured that it was another doormat behavior of Wrath’s.

* * *

Raon calmed the fire spirit king down and patted his head.

“I don’t deserve to be followed by a king like you.”

The fire spirit king had told him that he’d fought until the end for Raon’s sake. Since he seemed to be a good spirit king, Raon didn’t want to lie to him.

“Not at all! The mere fact that you rescued me from that evil fiend’s mouth makes you already entitled to my service!”

Apparently, the spirit king was making a serious mistake right from the start.

“My name is Ifrit! I’ll follow you for the rest of my life, big brother Raon!”

“Ifrit?”

Raon furrowed his brow upon hearing the fire spirit king’s name.

“But wasn’t the previous spirit king also named Ifrit…?”

“Ifrit means ‘fire spirit king’. It’s necessary to receive that name to inherit the power.”

Ifrit nodded, saying that was how spirit kings were always born.

“Hmm…”

Raon extended the hand that he had been using to rub his chin and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s flame.

“Does this flame remind you of anything by any chance?”

“It has a nostalgic feeling. The reason I followed you was because I felt that same emotion back then.”

Ifrit smiled faintly, saying that it was such a mysterious feeling. As Raon had expected, Ifrit had come to him because he mistook his fire for his ancestor’s.

“It looks like we’ve been connected since our previous lives, big brother.”

It was interesting how he was talking about nostalgia and previous life when he was born only recently.

“Stop with that big brother for now…”

“Let me give a small present to you, big brother.”

Ifrit raised his finger, and a small ember flew from it to reach Raon’s chest.

Whaaap!

The warm flame spread throughout his body before he could even stop it and seeped into the mana circuits.

“Is this…?”

“It’s the Hidden Fire, usually used to raise a contractor.”

“Hidden Fire?”

“If you can make that fire into your own, big brother Raon’s fire should be able to reach a new realm.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The effect will be halved if I explain any further. You must realize it on your own to achieve the original purpose."

Ifrit shook his head, saying that it wouldn’t be effective anymore if he explained everything.

“I’d like to stay with my big brother, but the spiritual realm is continuously calling me as we speak. It looks like a lot has collapsed while me and Ellaim have been away.”

“Ah…”

Sterin, Erian, and Rimmer also mentioned that the balance in the spiritual realm was broken because two spirit kings were missing. Raon could guess that the other spirit kings were calling Ifrit.

“We shall be able to meet again soon enough.”

Ifrit politely lowered his head, became a small ember, and disappeared.

“Haa…”

Raon sighed as soon as Ifrit was gone and fell on his ass.

‘It was so hectic.’

The demon king chewed the fire spirit king in an attempt to eat him, and Raon managed to save the fire spirit king, who now wanted to serve him as an older brother. The situation felt like a dream.

Ahem…

Wrath approached him with a frown and tapped on his hand.

You know it all happened thanks to the King of Essence, right? Someone like you would’ve never become that fire guy’s big brother otherwise.

He raised his nose, telling him to feel grateful.

“......”

Raon quietly grabbed Wrath’s head and tail, then stretched him out like he was wringing out laundry.

Gweeeh!

“How long are you going to keep causing issues?!”

Th-the King of Essence was just trying to protect his home!

He shook his head, saying that he was just trying to drive the fire spirit king away since he was an illegal intruder.

“Hmm…”

Raon released Wrath and nodded.

‘He isn’t exactly wrong.’

In Wrath’s perspective, the fire spirit king was the intruder. That was why he must’ve tried his best to save himself and Raon. Of course, he should be still called crazy for trying to eat the spirit king.

And.

Wrath glared at Raon.

You’d better stop being so arrogant towards the King of Essence.

‘Huh?’

The King of Essence has obtained a new power.

‘New power?’

The King of Essence took that fire guy’s energy in order to win against you, although he normally wouldn’t even have cared about it.

Wrath declared, unleashing a crimson flame from his plump hand.

The King of Essence can even use flames now, on top of coldness…

‘Haa…’

Raon rubbed his temple while looking at Wrath’s confident expression.

‘What are you even going to do with fire that is weaker than your coldness?’

Huh…?

‘Moreover, I have high fire resistance, too. Do you want to try it?’

Raon shook his finger up and down, telling him to try attacking.

Pssh…

The flame blazing on Wrath’s end was extinguished. He sank to the ground, his shoulders trembling in frustration.

Damn it…

Raon was laughing at his ridiculous behavior when the ground suddenly caved in and a baby fox with dirt all over its fur jumped out.

Huaah! The madwoman!

Wrath leaped backward in surprise.

“Merlin!”

“You’re safe!”

Merlin smiled happily and bobbed her front paw. Her voice was livelier than the previous encounter, implying that she had recovered her power.

“I’ve been so worried.”

She murmured that she was sorry because she had no strength left to do anything even though she wanted to.

“No, I’m the one who told you not to do anything.”

Since Eden was the opponent, and someone could be watching from another location, Raon had repeatedly asked Merlin not to take any action.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’ve gotten better after some rest.”

Merlin blushed, saying that she was perfectly fine.

“How is Eden doing? Did they completely withdraw?”

“The operation was prepared for the Crimson Flame Demon, but he ended up dying. It’s over for them.”

She nodded, saying that they’d planned the incident to make the Crimson Flame Demon stronger.

“The Fallen must’ve gotten angry.”

“I think so. He is frowning right now.”

“H-he is frowning right now?”

“Yes.”

Merlin smiled cheerfully and scratched the ground with her front paw.

“We are in the middle of a conference right now.”

* * *

The sky darkened above the blue ocean, where a red sun rose continuously throughout the year.

The Fallen was sitting at an antique wooden desk, and he moved his eyes to the right.

“…So, did all of them end up dying? To Raon Zieghart, at that?”

“Y-yes.”

The Green-Eyed Demon nodded. He was wearing a mask with green eyes drawn on it.

“......”

The Fallen remained silent and tapped the desk with his finger. A mysterious light shimmered on his mask, which was engraved with the face of an extremely handsome young man.

“I can understand about the Red Demon Snake. Since he was in charge of the operation, he could’ve died since he wasn’t that powerful. However, Cassandra was a Grandmaster, and I don’t even need to explain about the Crimson Flame Demon.”

He continued, sweeping his disheveled hair back, “The Crimson Flame Demon must’ve reached the advanced Grandmaster’s realm after he absorbed the world tree’s barrier. I can’t believe that Raon Zieghart managed to cut him down.”

“R-Raon Zieghart wasn’t the only one involved. The high elf Siyan managed to summon the water spirit king even though she was considered incompetent.”

“A newborn spirit king shouldn’t have been able to think properly. In the end, it was Raon Zieghart who ruined everything.”

The Fallen’s murderous intent was added to his faint smile.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, there was a strange part about it.”

“Strange part?”

“Raon Zieghart should’ve been a guest in Seipia, but he volunteered to scout the surroundings and appeared on the battlefield even faster than the other guardians.”

The Green-Eyed Demon lowered his head, saying that he’d found it a bit strange.

“......”

The Fallen stroked his chin and shifted his gaze to the right.

“Merlin.”

His gaze was directed at Merlin, who was sunbathing on the sandy beach.

“Do you know anything about this?”

Merlin’s eyelids were lifted naturally, swept up by his ghastly gaze.

***

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]