Chapter 635

The moment Raon cut down the doppelganger lord, Delpros took his hand off the crystal ball. The ball lost its light and fell into darkness as the mana left it.

“H-how?” The Shadowed Serpent Division leader lost strength on his legs and sank powerlessly on his ass. “I focused over thirty boundaries on that one…”

His lips trembled in disbelief even though he’d watched Raon’s fight against the doppelganger lord.

“This doesn’t make any sense!”

The Shadowed Serpent Division leader couldn’t suppress his frustration and slammed the ground with his fist. Since he wasn’t a warrior, it tore the skin on the back of his hand, and blood started to flow.

“Haa…” Delpros let out a small sigh while looking at the darkened crystal ball.

“Ah…”

The Shadowed Serpent Division leader returned to his senses upon hearing Delpros’s sigh and lowered his head while forcing himself to stand.

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that…”

“Your plan wasn’t wrong.” Delpros calmly shook his head. “The issue was that Raon Zieghart is such a monster that he even surpasses your plan.”

The doppelganger lord enhanced by the Shadowed Serpent Division leader was extremely powerful. There should’ve been a time limit, but it was powerful enough to kill most people in the grave. The only reason it had gone wrong was Raon Zieghart’s talent.

‘He is stronger than expected. No, rather than that… he is rapidly becoming stronger.’

The Shadowed Serpent Division leader didn’t seem to have realized it, but Raon Zieghart had gotten stronger while fighting the doppelganger lord. He had made up for his shortcomings and improved his strong points during that short time.

‘He is truly a monster.’

He could clearly understand why that person was so mindful about Raon Zieghart when he was just a greenhorn.

“Sh-shouldn’t we block the path now? It wouldn’t last for long, but we should be able to stop him until we finish our job…”

“No.” Delpros firmly shook his head. “It’s meaningless.”

Raon Zieghart had come down to the fourth floor while destroying the rules on every other floor. It was better to control him rather than let him do whatever he wanted somewhere they couldn’t see.

“Since this is the last floor anyway, I’ll finish him off myself.”

Powerful and heavy pressure emerged from under Delpros in the shape of a water droplet.

“And…”

He started to walk out but suddenly shifted his gaze to the right corner. He lowered his brow while looking at the black pair of eyes flickering from the gray fog.

“Dispatch that one when the time comes.”

“Understood.” The Shadowed Serpent Division leader lowered his head, showing his faith in him.

“It’s time to put an end to everything and create a new beginning.” Delpros curved his lips into a bloody smile and disappeared into darkness.

* * *

Raon opened his eyes after arriving on the fifth floor.

‘What is this place…?’

It was a strange space.

Only the ground was lit up, as if a round light were attached to the sky and beaming down on it, and he couldn’t find any path towards the exit because the entire surrounding area was dark. Since the space itself wasn’t that vast either, it felt stuffy, like he was inside a closed container.

The fortunate thing was that there weren’t that many people. He would’ve felt suffocated if the space was even smaller.

Raon licked his lips while looking at the fine sand covering the ground—like a training ground.

‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation traces have intensified.’

He could feel the first head of Zieghart, who had created the training ground, nearby. He had a feeling that he could remove the dark energy that Derus Robert had added if he could analyze the first head’s boundary a bit more in-depth.

Raon made the rings of fire resonate to increase his focus. He examined the people on the fifth floor while analyzing the boundary engraved deep under the ground.

‘There aren’t that many people.’

Even considering that the space wasn’t that wide, there weren’t that many people since there weren’t even thirty of them in total.

“......”

Most of the warriors were slightly or severely injured, and they were emanating extremely sharp pressures against each other, as if they were going to start a fight, unlike on the first floor where they were just cautious about each other.

However, he could also see many corpses for some strange reason. He examined them just in case and found out that they’d perished a long time ago.

‘Fortunately, none of us are among them.’

He’d been worried about the Light Wind Division upon seeing the corpses. He was about to move in order to find the swordsmen…

“Division leader!”

He could hear Dorian’s voice from the deeper area. He shifted his gaze towards where the sound came from and saw Dorian running at him, his belly pocket swaying in the air.

Ooh! The King of Essence’s wallet! You are safe!

Wrath gladly waved his round hand.

“Dorian.” Raon smiled faintly while looking at Dorian. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be injured at all.

“D-division leader. Are you the real one?” Dorian’s lips twitched while trying to read his face.

‘I knew it…’

Raon could assume that Dorian was also attacked by a doppelganger.

“I finally encountered someone after being lost in the snowfield for a whole day, and it was you, division leader. I was so glad to meet him! That’s why I greeted, and…”

“And?”

“He greeted me in a friendly manner! Isn’t it too strange?”

‘Is that supposed to be strange? How do I usually act?’

Raon tilted his head and shook his hand at Dorian, signaling for him to continue.

“I found it strange but I overlooked it. The fake division leader also told me that we should get moving.” Dorian licked his lips. “Just in case, I playfully asked him, ‘I don’t have to train here, right?’”

He rapidly continued while furrowing his brow, “And he responded, ‘Yes, let’s skip the training here since it could be dangerous’! That’s why I unconsciously slapped his cheek!”

“......”

Raon gulped loudly.

“He was surprised upon being slapped and suddenly started to run away! I tried to catch him, but he managed to escape because he was too fast!”

“…Did you seriously recognize that he wasn’t me from just that?”

“There’s no way our division leader would spout nonsense about skipping training! He was definitely a fake!”

Dorian shook his head, saying that it was absolutely impossible.

“Haa…”

‘What does he even think about me?’

He shook his head at his ridiculous statement just as the sound of someone falling could be heard from behind him. He looked back, and Krein was walking towards him with wide eyes.

“Division leader! You are the real one, right?”

“......”

“I mean, our division leader didn’t train while walking! I asked why he didn’t, and he spouted some bullshit about wanting to move quickly because he was worried about the others! I immediately figured out that he was a fake and smacked the back of his head!” Krein smiled cheerfully, saying that it felt great even though he was a fake.

“You, too?”

“Yes, me too!”

Dorian and Krein suddenly clapped their heads above their heads.

Clap!

Raon clutched his temple while listening to the clear resonance.

Puhehehe!

Wrath covered his stomach and burst into laughter.

The King of Essence told you! Shitty Ears and you have pretty much the same image.

‘Shut up…’

Raon pushed Wrath away as he kept laughing at him and bit his lip.

‘What’s wrong with my reputation?’

As he was letting out a sigh, other people entered the space once again. He spotted a familiar face among them. It was Martha, who was an extreme beauty as long as she kept her mouth shut.

“Martha.”

“......”

Martha furrowed her brow and bobbed her finger instead of approaching him right away. Judging from her reaction, he could guess that she’d also met a doppelganger.

“Did you also encounter me?”

“He was an extremely strange person.”

Martha bit her lip and nodded. She even forgot her respectful speech because of how surprised she was.

“I was walking on the snow field, and you suddenly appeared. And…”

“And?”

“You started worrying about the others as soon as we met up. I found it strange, but I followed while thinking it was understandable, but you simply walked. You just walked without doing any swordsmanship or footwork training!”

“…Why is that even strange?”

“Because you always practice your footwork or swordsmanship while walking!” She bared her teeth shouting that it couldn’t be happening. “I found it strange, so I asked him, ‘Aren’t you going to train?’ Can you guess how he responded?”

“What did he say?”

“He said that the others mattered more for the time being! Do you think that makes any sense?! You’re a training demon!”

Martha twisted her lips, saying that she immediately realized he was an enemy.

“So what did you do?”

“I stabbed him in the back!”

“St-stabbed?!”

Raon swallowed nervously. The doppelganger was stabbed just because he was worried about the others. He suddenly felt pity towards him.

“The path towards this location opened up once I defeated him.”

Martha dusted off her hands, saying that she came down through the door after waiting for a few hours.

“As expected, you are fully aware of our division leader’s personality!”

“Of course I am! He’s honestly a crazy bastard!”

Raon closed his eyes tightly while listening to their conversation.

‘How do they even see me?’

Why are you even asking?

Wrath shook his head while scratching his stomach.

Just a crazy bastard.

‘......’

* * *

Two more Light Wind swordsmen came down after Martha, but no more of them appeared after that.

“I’m worried something might have happened to them.” Dorian anxiously bit his lip.

“There’s no way they would be deceived by the fake division leader, though…” Krein shook his head, saying that it was impossible for a Light Wind Division member to be deceived by the fake Raon.

“Hmm…” Raon leaned his back against the wall with his arms crossed.

‘It’s not just us. There are only a few people overall.’

It wasn’t just about the Light Wind Division. The other groups from Six Kings, Five Demons, and Neutral factions were clearly too few in number.

Since there was no way people like the Master of the Abyssal Sword and the sixth apostle would be unable to reach the area, he could guess that there were separate spaces.

“Let’s wait for the time being. Something should definitely…”

Raon was trying to appease the anxious swordsmen when another area lit up from the ceiling with a ticking sound.

Tap! Tap!

The magic lamps were enlightened one after the other, and dark spaces showed up one after the other.

“Huh?”

“Division leader!”

“Burren?”

“Vice division leader!”

“The others are over there as well!”

Dozens of spaces similar to where he was were illuminated, making it a huge cavern altogether. It was even bigger than Zieghart’s great training ground, but it felt a bit narrow because there were too many people.

“Division leader!”

“You’re alive!”

“Division leader! I saw a fake division leader!”

The Light Wind Division approached him with relieved expressions on their faces. Most of them furrowed their brows, saying that they’d seen him.

“Me too!” Rimmer nodded, his eyes full of surprise. “Listen, I asked him to lend me some funds for gambling, and he immediately said he would! He was a crazy bastard! It was a shame, but I noticed that he was a fake.”

He sighed, saying that he should’ve killed him after getting the money.

“Me, too. The damn ugly Raon said that he didn’t like mint chocolate.” Runaan licked her lips, saying that she’d cut down the fake Raon who didn’t like mint chocolate.

“......”

Raon had a lot he wanted to say, but he simply shut his mouth because of the situation.

Aren’t you glad, though?

Wrath shook his head, his cheeks puffed up, showing that he had a hard time holding back his laughter.

Not many of them were injured thanks to your crazy personality!

‘…That’s true.’

Most groups had corpses or severely injured members, but no one in the Light Wind Division was severely injured even though some of them had small injuries. He could guess that they wouldn’t be in trouble even if a battle broke out.

‘The two Five Demons are still doing fine, as expected.’

Unlike the Black Tower that he’d encountered in the third floor’s labyrinth, the Master of the Abyssal Sword and the sixth apostle were also uninjured. The doppelganger’s attack must’ve been ineffective against them.

However, they were glaring at each other as if they wanted to kill them even though they should’ve been allies.

‘Then what about the Void Sword Division… Hmm?’

Raon narrowed his eyes while watching the Void Sword Division gathering in the northwest. The area around Serena’s waist was tainted with blood. She seemed seriously wounded.

“Oh no!” Raon dashed towards Serena. “Void Sword Division leader!”

“Don’t approach us!”

The Void Sword’s vice division leader, who must’ve been with Serena from the beginning, placed his hand on the hilt of his blade and blocked his path.

“......”

Serena lowered her eyes slightly while looking at him without saying anything.

“Hmm…”

Raon exhaled briefly while meeting her cold eyes.

‘Don’t tell me… Did it attack under my appearance?’

It was the only way to explain her cold gaze.

“Light Wind Division leader! Step back!”

The Void Sword’s vice division leader pressed upon his lip with his white teeth, showing that he was prepared to battle.

“Stop it.” Serena stepped forward and made the Void Sword Division’s vice division leader withdraw.

“Division leader!”

“It wasn’t him.” She shook her head while letting out a sigh. “I can tell from seeing his eyes. That wasn’t Raon.”

“Did you encounter me?” Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Serena’s wound.

“Yes. He had the exact same appearance, temperament, and voice as you.” Serena let out a sigh while raising her eyes slightly. “I was walking to look for an exit, and you suddenly attacked from behind.”

“......”

“I barely managed to avoid getting hit in a vital area and tried to counterattack, but he immediately ran away.” She calmly shook her head, as if she weren’t injured at all. “I couldn’t figure out what you were trying to achieve no matter how hard I thought about it, but I finally understood it. It wasn’t you.”

Serena’s lips curved into a faint smile, eyes brimming with certainty.

“How can you be sure about that?”

“Because I’ve been watching you ever since you were a child.” She smiled faintly. “I told you, I wanted to bring you to the Void Sword Division from the beginning.”

“Hmm…”

“And look over there.”

Serena pointed at the wall on the opposite side. Balkar Kingdom’s magicians were piercing them with a deadly glare.

“I found it strange that they’ve been glaring at us as if we were their worst enemies, but I think I have the answer now.”

“Hmm…”

“The same thing happened to them. They were probably attacked by those things using our appearances.”

Raon examined the area once again after hearing that.

“You ungrateful sons of bitches!”

“Right back at you! How could you attack us from behind?”

“Who are you trying to frame?!”

“Look at this laceration on our vice division leader’s corpse! It was made by your Supreme Wolf Sect’s sword technique!”

“You cowards, how could you take him by surprise?!”

The factions that were originally allied or cooperating were showing an intense bloodlust against each other, as if they were about to start a fight. Some people found it strange, like Serena, but most people were absorbed by the atmosphere and revealed their emotions without reserve.

Raon bit his lip while reading the fifth floor’s atmosphere, which was becoming colder and colder.

‘Was this their goal?’

He’d thought they were trying to kill people with the doppelgangers, but he realized their real intention was to cause a dispute between the factions.

‘I was wondering why corpses were here…’

He’d found it strange that there were corpses even though only the living should’ve been able to get there, and there was a good reason behind it.

‘Because powerful warriors can tell who killed them just by looking at the corpse.’

It must’ve been a plan to accelerate the conflict between the allied factions through the traces on the corpses. He could only admire Derus’s malice, to have used such a method to create conflict.

Raon clenched his fist, sensing the tension among the people growing tighter, like a rubber band stretched to its limit.

‘But the conflict shouldn’t be his final goal. What Derus wants to truly achieve must be…’

War.

If he could manipulate all of the corpses of the people in the grave and release them to the world, the Six Kings, the Five Demons, and all the neutral factions would be engulfed in war between themselves. It seemed clear that a continental war was Derus’s objective.

“Alright, fine! I’ll start by killing you!”

“That’s my line!”

The White Eyed Sword House and the Raging Wave Saber Sect pointed their weapons at each other.

“Kill them!”

“Eradicate them all!”

“Wait.”

Raon interfered between the two factions that were about to attack each other. He was the only one who could stop the situation since he’d defeated the doppelganger in a direct confrontation.

“Please listen to me.”

“Who the hell are you?!”

“What’s the point of those shitty eyes of yours? He is Raon Zieghart, the Dragon Slayer!”

The middle-aged man who seemed to be the head of the White Eyed Sword House insulted the Raging Wave Saber Sect’s leader.

“Hmm, I’ve heard lots of great rumors about your deeds, Light Wind Division leader. I’d like to greet you, but this isn’t the right time for that.”

The head of White Eyed Sword House shook his head and gripped his red blazing sword.

“I agree. We need to cut down those swindlers, so step aside!”

The Raging Wave Saber Sect’s leader also unleashed a deadly aura from his saber while showing his teeth.

“It’s because of that.”

Raon added aura to his voice so that everyone could hear him. His quiet voice pierced through the deadly pressures and spread all around the cavern.

“On the fourth floor snowfield, I…”

He was about to explain what had happened to him so far. A magic lamp lit up from the north, which had been dark so far, and a space opened up.

A middle-aged man wearing a white ceremonial outfit was revealed, sitting on a golden chair that emerged like a throne made for an emperor. His short blond hair emanated the noble and disciplined atmosphere of a soldier.

‘That man…’

Raon bit his lip while watching the middle-aged man elegantly lift his teacup.

‘Is that Delpros?’

His face had gotten slightly older, but his noble appearance was the same as before.

Unlike Shadows, who were in charge of assassination, information gathering, and theft, Delpros was one of Derus Robert’s vanguards. He was in charge of using the armed forces, and this was undoubtedly Delpros.

‘So he was in charge of this place.’

Raon was watching Delpros, and he suddenly narrowed his brow while looking back at him.

“Who are you?!”

“What the hell are you?”

“Come down from there right now!”

The warriors and magicians raised their voices before anything else, pressured by Delpros.

“I’m the owner of this grave.” Delpros casually nodded his head.

“Th-the owner of this grave?”

“Then are you the Sword and Saber Sovereign?”

“That’s impossible…”

“Ah, let me explain again. I was saying that I’m the owner since I was the first one to find the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s grave.”

His lips curved into a faint smile.

“Are you telling us to believe that…?”

“Is this enough for you to believe me?”

Delpros took out two thick books from the thin air.

The red book had the words ‘Abyssal Saber Art’ written on it, and the blue book was engraved with the title, ‘Demon Breaking Sword Art’. The letters on both of them were as vivid as a flying dragon.

“Th-the Abyssal Saber Art and Demon Breaking Sword Art! Those are…”

“The Sword and Saber Sovereign’s martial arts!”

“I-it really was the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s grave…”

“If only I had them…”

The warriors swallowed nervously while looking at the books Delpros was holding, despite how they’d been antagonizing each other.

“Do you want to have these?”

No one responded to Delpros’s question, but greed and desire were welling up in everyone’s eyes. It was a deep and intense desire, stemming from the belief that they could reach the same realm as the Sword and Saber Sovereign if they could possess the books.

“Alright, I’ll give them to you.” He chuckled and shook the books in the air.

“A-are you giving them to us?”

“Those books?”

“But under a condition.”

Delpros’s frightening gaze landed on Raon and pierced him.

“I’ll give both these books to whoever manages to kill him.”

At that moment, hundreds of gazes on the fifth floor were directed at Raon. It almost looked like the scene of a swarm of fireflies flying into the air at the same time near a dark lake.

“H-how are we supposed to believe that you are telling the truth?!”

“Yes! It’s already clear that you are plotting something, considering you called us all the way here!”

The head of White Eyed Sword House and the leader of the Raging Wave Saber Sect shouted at the same time, even though they’d been fighting against each other.

“You over there.”

Delpros shook his hand towards a middle-aged man in a scholar’s outfit standing on the far left end. He was a warrior from Owen’s knight order who’d arrived later on.

“You are Krasel, the Omniscient Sword Sage, right?”

“…Yes I am.” Krasel raised his gaze and nodded his head.

“You should personally confirm it since you don’t lose to anyone when it comes to the martial art’s history and analysis.”

“......”

Krasel glanced at his companions and slowly went up to the platform where Delpros was located.

“Take it.” Delpros confidently threw the Abyssal Saber Art at him.

“Hmm…”

Krasel opened the book on the spot, his eyes moving rapidly. His face gradually froze, and a cold sweat started to flow from his cheeks.

“I-it’s the real deal…” Krasel nodded, unable to take his eyes off the book. “The book is already hundreds of years old, and it wasn’t modified at all. The contents don’t have anything strange in them either!”

His lips trembled as he declared that it really seemed to be the Abyssal Saber Art even though he hadn’t finished reading it.

“It should be enough as a proof.” Delpros bobbed his finger, and the Abyssal Saber Art was sucked back into his hand.

“The one who kills him will be the new Sword and Saber Sovereign!”

Delpros threw the two books, and a spherical aura barrier was formed, making them float in the air.

“Hmm…”

“Ahem!”

The head of White Eyed Sword House and the Raging Wave Saber Sect’s leader secretly stepped back and gripped their weapons. Their deadly gazes looked like they were going to attack the moment they saw an opening.

“Haa…” Raon looked around while touching Heavenly Drive’s hilt.

‘I’ve never gotten this kind of attention before.’

The pressures from hundreds of people fascinated by the demon called desire were tightening his heart. His body felt even more tense than when he was surrounded by the Five Demons.

However, he wasn’t afraid. He was on Zieghart land, and the will of the ancestor who had founded the land was with him.

“This is just like the saying, ‘A dog pretends to be the master when the real master is away.’” Raon curled his lips into a smile and tilted his chin. “I’ll need to tighten your leash again.”

“What are you even talking about?” Delpros furrowed his brow while leaning forward.

“I’m telling you to stop pretending to be the owner of my land, you mongrel.”

“Your land?” He started to laugh like a madman, his hand placed on his forehead.

“Since when has this place been Zieghart’s land? This is…”

“Ever since my arrival.”

Raon stomped the ground with his left foot. The land was split apart along with a thud.

The golden flame, as dazzling as starlight, spread around in all directions while curving into beautiful lines.

Whap!

A flame blazing with an intense heat haze, forming a sword of fire similar to Zieghart’s emblem on the yellow land.

“Wh-what?!”

“What’s wrong with this flame?!”

“Kuh! M-my aura is burning!”

“Step back!”

The slaves of desire who had looked like they would attack at any moment started to panic and stepped back.

“Light Wind Division. Carve a path.”

“At your command!”

The Light Wind Division stood on either side of Raon. The warriors swallowed nervously and pulled their weapons back upon feeling their frightening pressures.

“Come down, you mongrel.”

A red radiance glowed from Raon’s eyes. As he looked up at the throne and stood upon the land of desire, he declared:

“You don’t belong in that place.”

***

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]