Death.
If one were to describe the path the man before him was walking, that word alone would suffice.
The man was dying.
It wasn't as if his wounds or exhaustion were yet fatal.
Even so, he was undeniably walking the path of death.
"..."
Watching Helik's resolve, Isaac couldn't help but feel deeply conflicted.
The Silver Clock.
In the end, the sin created by humankind had led to this outcome.
One couldn't say that the hatred and rage of the Transcendents were meaningless.
But accepting all of it as whole was no simple matter either.
Boom!
Helik's staff slammed into the ground.
The scattered red aura sharpened, taking the form of piercing spears.
A clear signal that no further conversation was necessary.
"How ridiculous."
His bitter laugh was directed at himself.
Helik let out a harsh breath and extended his staff.
"I hated that woman with every fiber of my being…
And yet, the emotion I feel toward you, her vessel… is jealousy."
As he vomited out the feelings he had long buried, crimson spears rained down like a storm.
Isaac took a moment to compose himself, then drew his sword and responded in kind.
'This kind of fight… isn't in my favor.'
In a battle of attrition rather than a direct clash, he was at a clear disadvantage.
Helik knew this too, which was why he deliberately avoided facing Isaac head-on.
A crimson spear grazed past, tearing Isaac's skin, stinging his flesh.
'I need to end this with one blow.'
Clenching his teeth, Isaac steeled his resolve.
He couldn't afford to waste time with Helik.
After all, Kangwoo—the Sword Demon—was already standing before the royal palace, ready.
The only relief was that the palace knights, along with Jonathan and Heirad, were throwing themselves into battle, risking their lives.
"Stop him! Block him now!"
"Don't let him draw the sword!"
Even Lohengrin, who had just finished healing, pushed forward, unleashing his Crimson aura, overcoming his injuries.
'We don't have much time.'
This had to be resolved quickly—
"I won't let you through that easily."
Just as Helik said, the front he held showed no signs of breaking.
But then—
A crimson aura from behind suddenly wrapped around Isaac in a completely different sense.
He didn't have the leisure to look back, but he immediately knew who it was.
"I left Silverna behind and came here, Isaac."
Helik's attacks, flying with crimson fury, were blocked as if by a wall.
With Crimson aura encircling him, the barrage of spears became meaningless.
Naturally, Helik withdrew his attack.
"You left Silverna behind?"
"Yeah."
Glancing behind him, he saw Silverna locked in an intense exchange with the woman wielding the crescent blade.
She looked like she was being pushed back at a glance, but it didn't feel like she would lose.
Liana, swinging her greatsword, stepped forward and declared,
"Go, Isaac. If you don't go, they're all going to die."
"That's not wrong… but I'll pretend it's just because of the Authority of the subjugation."
Isaac started to move, but glanced at her with a side-eye.
"...Why?"
"Because I'm the one holding the command authority under subjugation. You have to do whatever I say."
"Yeah, you're right. But if you're going to ask for something weird, save it for later."
So you will ask for something weird later, huh?
Slightly taken aback, Isaac gave a small smile and said,
"Win, Lia."
"...!"
A cheer. And a command.
The moment she heard it, crimson energy surged like a storm at Liana's side.
"I'll win. No matter what."
Vwooooom!
Her greatsword swept out in a wide arc.
Flames of Crimson aura surged forward, parting the way.
"Guh!"
Helik, seeing the crimson path carved beside him, tried to resist in panic—
But before he could, Liana dashed forward, blocking his path.
"If I kill you, would that be considered a crime against my ancestor?"
"Now that you've become a vassal, you're really saying whatever comes to mind."
"I'm actually a little thankful, ancestor. Thanks to you, I finally got to say the things I kept buried deep inside."
"...Damn it."
Helik made a sour face like he'd just bitten into something rotten.
Their clash began as they slammed into each other.
Isaac rushed past them, his eyes locked on the path ahead.
"Stop himmmmm!"
"Don't let him draw the sword!"
"Raise your shields!"
Ahead, people were rushing toward Kangwoo.
But Kangwoo didn't even glance at them.
He simply looked calmly at the royal palace and placed his hand upon his sword.
"Run!!"
Almost at the exact moment of Isaac's shout, Kangwoo drew his sword.
He had trained his whole life to cut down the giant Gaia.
And that statement, it turned out, was no lie.
From beneath Kangwoo's feet, the ground split open.
A clean, vertical slash.
Smoke gently rose from the tip of Kangwoo's raised sword.
By the time the blade reached the palace—
KUUUUUUNG!
The royal palace split in two and began to collapse as if folding in on itself.
"Huff!"
Clarice had just barely avoided being sliced in half.
Collapsed to the ground, she shot up in a panic at the sight of the crumbling palace.
"Si-Sister—!"
"You can't, Princess! You can't just rush in there!"
"My sister—!"
Clarice tried to run toward the collapsing palace, but was stopped by the Archmage, Regant.
"I'll go! So please stay here!"
Watching the Archmage step forward, Clarice covered her face in distress, then slowly turned her head.
She couldn't afford to lose sight of the man who had felled the palace with a single swing of his sword.
"Isaac!"
She called his name like a desperate plea.
And by now, Isaac had crouched low right beside Kangwoo, who had wielded the blow.
Crack!
Isaac gripped his sword so hard it seemed it might break.
From each side of his waist, two swords unsheathed like wings unfolding—
One of Isaac's signature techniques, called Flying Wings.
KAAAANG!
But both swords were blocked.
Kangwoo's massive sword, raised high toward the sky, had been driven down between them—
Completely stopping Isaac's attack before it could even begin.
"...!"
Isaac's eyes widened.
Kangwoo looked down at him, his sharp gaze cold and detached.
"It seems the difference in skill was just proven."
Isaac swallowed hard.
It bruised his pride, but he had to admit it—plainly, painfully.
He had drawn first at that range and moment, yet Kangwoo had still blocked him.
Given the nature of their sword styles,
The fact that Kangwoo had matched his speed meant the shadow of defeat was growing heavier.
"It was a good fight."
Had Kangwoo even considered this a proper match?
With a blank expression, Kangwoo lifted his sword again, ready to cleave Isaac in two.
"Ugh?!"
But at that moment, a crimson energy struck Isaac from the side, knocking him to the ground and saving him.
Kangwoo's killing blow missed.
He scowled and turned to where the energy had come from—
There stood Lohengrin, panting heavily after narrowly escaping death.
"The eldest son of Helmut, is it?"
"Hah… Hah… Damn you, Isa-aac! Where do you think you're dying, huh?! Splitting you in two is supposed to be MY job!"
Isaac had been saved thanks to Lohengrin's attack.
There was no time to thank him—not even a breath.
"I can just swing again."
Kangwoo raised his greatsword again, ready to bring it down.
He showed no hesitation, no interest in a duel—
Only the cold execution of his duty.
He was, in the most literal sense, a sword.
A man who had severed everything for the sake of the Transcendents and become a blade himself.
Crackle!
But this time, something changed.
A dark red crimson aura shot up from the ground, climbing Kangwoo's arm like a sticky film.
"Sir Isaac! Are you okay?!"
It was none other than Jonathan.
Even in the dark, his pale face was deathly white, his sclera blackened, and his fangs exposed—
The same form he had taken in the North, when he'd shown signs of becoming a Transcendent.
But this time, unlike before, he was fully in control—guided by his own will and power.
Kangwoo glanced at his right arm, where the sticky crimson aura had coiled, preventing his swing.
He gave a short observation.
"The son of the True Ancestor?"
"...Younger brother of a blood demon."
"Is there a difference?"
"There's a big one."
Kangwoo didn't argue.
Not because he accepted it, but because he simply didn't care to continue the conversation.
"Hmm."
Vwooom!
With a powerful swing of his right arm, the crimson aura scattered like dust.
"A meaningless struggle."
Kangwoo said it without emotion.
But in that time, Isaac had managed to stand again.
"No matter how you struggle, the outcome won't change."
A cruel declaration.
And ironically, one Isaac had heard all his life.
Throughout his days as a silent sword wielder…
No matter how much knowledge or wisdom he accumulated—
People had told him:
"It's useless."
"It's meaningless."
"What's the point?"
Some said it aloud.
Others mocked him with their eyes.
Still others scorned him with their backs.
And every time, Isaac couldn't answer—
Because it had been meaningless.
He helped others, but never moved forward himself.
"I've lived like that for half my life."
Just look at him now.
"All those meaningless, mocked, and dismissed moments gathered together—"
"..."
"—are the reason I can stand here and challenge you."
Isaac had always chased stars.
And now, it was time to surpass one.
To face the Sword Demon, praised as a living legend—
A man who had become a sword himself.