Raon didn't miss the faint and thin presence of the assassin controlling the Water Demon Guests. Hiding in the explosion that tore the ground apart, he slowly observed the movements.
'It's not fast, but its presence is even smaller than a corpse.'
It seemed Derus had created a new footwork technique; the assassin was using steps with even less presence than Black Shadow Step.
If it weren't for Merlin, he would have only noticed after using the Perception of the Snow Flower.
'I shouldn't follow him recklessly.'
He realized the assassin had noticed that he wasn't dead, indicating he was experienced.
Despite being in a life-threatening situation due to Merlin's magic, the assassin didn't retreat recklessly. Controlling the Water Demon Guests to reduce damage while maintaining vigilance indicated he was a senior member of the Shadow.
Rushing in could lead to being caught in a self-destructing explosion of the Water Demon Guests.
'This is the worst condition.'
Even if the assassin's power level was around Master, fighting head-on in his current state was madness.
He had to continue the assassin's battle as he originally planned.
'I have confidence in endurance battles.'
Raon endured the explosions, moving in the same direction as the assassin. The aftermath of the explosions touched his body, but he trusted in the protection of the Black Dragon Coat and held his breath.
Rumble.
As Merlin's magical bombardment subsided, the scenery covered in gray dust began to reveal itself.
The ground was dug up, and the bodies of six Water Demon Guests were blown apart.
But the assassin didn't stop his footwork. He constantly circled around, not releasing his concealment technique to be prepared for any situation.
Raon bit his lip.
'My energy center aches.'
White Shadow Step, which hid oneself in nature, consumed more aura than Black Shadow Step.
Forcing the use of aura in an injured state made his insides feel like they were boiling.
Ssss.
The assassin finally stopped his footwork and hid behind a large tree with a shattered trunk.
'He's finally settled, but...'
It's not time yet.
The assassin's vigilance hadn't loosened. He was still alert to his surroundings with sharp senses.
'But there's a way to penetrate.'
The assassin's senses naturally spread around the rear, with Water Demon Guests placed beside and behind him for protection. Raon had a sense of how to approach him.
Raon advanced, wrapping his whole body in the still swirling dust and the night's darkness.
Not left, not right. He walked straight towards the base of the tree where the assassin was hiding.
'Slower than a turtle.'
If he became impatient due to the diminishing aura, the Water Demon Guests would rush in and self-destruct. He needed to remain calm in such times.
'I can't expect any more help.'
While fighting the 10th apostle, Merlin had cast a magical bombardment here.
If he couldn't finish the remaining situation alone, he had no right to survive here.
Like a baby taking its first steps, he advanced one step at a time toward the tree base.
The assassin, true to his nature, still focused his senses behind. He paid no attention to the now-visible front.
Raon approached the tree base where the assassin was hiding and crouched down.
'From now is crucial.'
Even though his senses were focused behind, if he stabbed now, he might be counterattacked. He had to target the moment when the assassin let his guard down.
Raon adjusted the Requiem Sword he held in a reverse grip and held his breath.
'It will come for sure.'
Siris bit the inside of his cheek, suppressing his presence.
'Damn it.'
He was about to kill him, but what the hell is this!
As he assessed from the hill, Raon Zieghart's condition was not good.
It was surprising he escaped the self-destruction of the Water Demon Guests, but his remaining aura was extremely low.
All he had to do was spread the remaining Water Demon Guests to find him, but suddenly, magic bombardment from the sky ruined everything.
'Six died.'
Due to the magic, six Water Demon Guests exploded. Four were self-destructed, and two were too damaged to move, leaving only twelve.
'No, this is enough.'
That magic must have been from Merlin.
It meant not to kill Raon, but she was currently fighting the 10th apostle. It was impossible for her to use that scale of bombardment again.
'I need to kill him as quickly as possible.'
The situation had changed. Before Merlin used magic again or someone else came to help, he had to deal with Raon quickly.
Siris spread the twelve Water Demon Guests around. After placing them where Raon might be hiding, he fiddled with an artifact in his left ear.
It was an artifact that spread the mumbling sounds inside his mouth to the desired location.
[I know you're alive. With that leech-like survival instinct, you'll crawl even if…]
Just as he was about to provoke Raon like before the magic bombardment, his words were cut off.
Because a red dagger was already touching his lower abdomen.
Ssshing!
As the dagger pierced Siris's abdomen, a sharp yellow aura flashed.
"Urgh!"
Siris stiffened from the explosive aura, and the red dagger took the opportunity to rip through his energy center.
Szzzz.
As the energy center split with a cracking sound, Siris fell backward, trembling all over. His pupils rolled up due to the intense pain.
"Urgh!"
Raon, the owner of the red dagger, smirked as he looked down at the groaning Siris.
"Now it's fair."
Raon sighed in relief as he looked at the statuesque Water Demon Guests.
'That was close.'
He wasn't sure how they were controlled, but it definitely involved aura.
He aimed for the energy center instead of the heart or neck, knowing he needed information from the assassin, and fortunately, it worked.
"Urgh…"
The assassin's groans continued. Given that a member of Shadow, trained in pain resistance, was groaning, his energy center must be completely shattered.
Raon removed the assassin's mask. He was a young man with blue hair and a kind-looking face that could be seen anywhere.
'Siris?'
He was the sub-leader of the 5th team when Raon was the head of Shadow in his previous life. He looked older than then, but he couldn't not recognize someone he had trained personally.
'Has he risen to the point of controlling the Water Demon Guests?'
Well, his skills were solid.
Siris's situational awareness, stealth, and response skills were all excellent, as evidenced by this battle.
Surviving this long and being promoted wasn't surprising.
However, his tendency to kill or massacre people excessively was still the same, as he controlled the Water Demon Guests.
"Urgh…"
As the aura waves from his shattered energy center subsided, Siris slowly lifted his body. His forehead was soaked with cold sweat from the pain.
'Still weak to pain for an assassin?'
It increased the chances of extracting information.
"You…"
Siris raised a blood-lined hand.
"What are those?"
Raon slapped Siris's hand away and pointed to the stationary Water Demon Guests, pretending to know nothing.
"There's nothing you can hear from me."
"Is that so?"
Raon placed his hand on Siris's left chest.
"Kill me quickly. Torture is a waste of time…"
Raon silenced Siris's rambling, using the now familiar Rage Worm technique to strike his chest.
Thud!
Siris's body bounced up and fell back due to the recoil.
"This pain is nothing…"
"I know. It's nothing."
Raon nodded slowly.
"So let's begin now."
He gathered all the aura rising in his energy center and poured it into Siris's body. He activated the torture method he had used on Cloud, increasing the intensity by three times.
"T-torture is meaningless… Argh!"
Siris couldn't endure even ten seconds before screaming and trembling all over.
Despite his pain resistance training as an assassin, his neck veins bulged, showing it was ineffective.
'Of course, he can't endure it.'
The current torture method inflicted pain, itchiness, heat, and cold simultaneously.
The four stimulated each other, gradually increasing in intensity, making it impossible for a human to withstand it despite having pain resistance.
Siris wouldn't last long in silence or in life.
"Urgh…"
Raon left the twitching Siris and quickly recovered his aura using Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier.
'He'll talk soon.'
Knowing he would die, Siris would speak to die more quickly and comfortably.
"P-please stop! I'll tell you everything!"
Siris grabbed Raon's pants, screaming within ten minutes. He had expected fifteen minutes; his lack of endurance was predictable.
"What are those?"
Raon asked coldly, pointing at the Water Demon Guests.
"Th-they are Water Demon Guests."
"Water Demon Guests?"
Raon pretended not to know and asked again.
"They are assassin zombies made from warriors' corpses."
"Using corpses? Were they created by necromancers?"
"Yes, they were developed through the research of necromancers and corpse sorcerers."
"So that's why their movements were so natural. Now I understand the poison in their blood and the explosions."
Necromancers made the dead move like the living, and corpse sorcerers added poison and explosions to the awkwardly moving corpses.
The combination of both created the current monstrosities called Water Demon Guests.
Clench.
Raon clenched his fist tightly, watching the stationary Water Demon Guests.
'Derus Robert…'
That monstrous bastard.
Controlling the living wasn't enough; he mocked both the living and the dead. Raon's chest burned with rage at the demon who had shed his human skin long ago.
"Phew…"
Raon suppressed the bubbling anger and glared at Siris.
"Where are the Water Demon Guests made?"
"Uh…"
Siris didn't respond, seeming to wait for the Rage Worm hidden in his heart to awaken.
"You're being troublesome."
Raon resumed the torture he had stopped.
"Aaaagh!"
Siris couldn't hold out and shook his jaw violently.
"I-I'll talk! It's in Capoly Village! Th-there's a factory… Urgh!"
He stopped breathing as he tried to say the word factory. The combined shock of his shattered energy center and the torture seemed to have taken his life.
Thud!
The Water Demon Guests behind him collapsed like puppets with cut strings.
'At least I got the last piece of information.'
It was fortunate to have extracted the information about where the Water Demon Guests were made.
The name of the village he mentioned felt oddly familiar.
'Capoly?'
Although he hadn't been there, it felt familiar.
As Raon pondered, the ground beneath Siris's feet shook, and a mole possessed by Merlin emerged.
"I knew you could do it."
Merlin smiled and nodded.
"Thank you. You saved me."
"I protect what's mine."
She lowered her eyes, indicating no thanks were needed.
"Please…"
"Ugh!"
Merlin suddenly grabbed her chest, groaning.
"Merlin?"
"It's nothing. I got hit by a spear."
Merlin waved her hand, saying she was fine.
"A spear? The 10th Apostle's?"
"Yes, this is the second time. It's not my heart, so don't worry."
"Huh…"
Raon understood why she mentioned it was the second time. The magical bombardment earlier had come from where her main body was. She must have been hit then.
"Are you okay? Can you hold on?"
"What? Worried about me?"
Merlin caressed her flushed cheeks, her tail swaying.
"If I knew you'd care, I'd have let myself get hit a few more times."
She muttered happily, nodding despite the situation, showing her discomfort.
"I need to focus. Don't worry about me and get out of here."
Merlin's presence disappeared with a smile, and the mole retreated into its burrow.
'She got hit by a spear...'
Even if it was from a regular soldier, the spear from a Grandmaster-level 10th Apostle would be a serious injury. He was worried about her condition.
'I keep accumulating debt.'
Instead of repaying her, he kept receiving help, making him feel burdened.
Especially because she seemed not to want anything in return, which made him feel worse.
"Phew…"
Raon burned Siris and the Water Demon Guests' bodies with Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and stood up.
'I need to send them off too.'
He wanted to send off those tormented by Derus even in death, but their bodies were tougher than Siris's and required a lot of aura.
'There's no time to recover here.'
As he pondered, the aura of Wrath flowed into him from the Ice Flower Bracelet.
"This is…"
-Messing with the dead is a dirty act.
Wrath poked his head out from the bracelet.
-I always smashed the heads of those who did such filthy things.
He waved his tail as he re-entered the bracelet.
-It's a hassle, so deal with it quickly.
"Soft-hearted as always."
Raon chuckled and tapped the bracelet.
-Who are you calling soft-hearted! I am the most ruthless…
'Who else but the Demon King.'
He decided to buy some ice cream for him once they safely arrived in Cameloon.
"To lose focus in front of me, you're out of your mind."
The 10th Apostle glared at Merlin, whose shoulder and chest had been pierced, with narrowed eyes.
"Why did you use magic there?"
He pointed his spear towards the forest where Raon and Siris were.
"There were some filthy bugs."
Merlin shrugged nonchalantly as if nothing had happened. As her hand brushed her wounds, the holes in her robe filled, and the blood disappeared.
"Still insane."
A terrifying light swirled around the Astral Ring on the 10th Apostle's spear.
"Let's finish this. I need to kill you and offer him to the Master."
"That's impossible."
As Merlin gestured with her fingers, numerous magic circles appeared behind her. Seven-colored light flared up from the wing-like magic circles.
"I won't hand over what's mine to anyone."
"You can't defeat me in that state."
The 10th Apostle's eerie voice, as if drawn from hell, echoed as he thrust his spear. The storm of Astral Ring he unleashed tore through the space, rushing forward.
"Sorry, but…"
As Merlin moved her hands like a conductor, the radiant light from the magic circles turned into a crimson glow.
"This is my prime."
As she smiled beneath her mask, a violent flash burst from the united magic circles.
Boom!
Whoosh!
After burning Siris and the Water Demon Guests' bodies, Raon turned his head.
'That sound just now…'
A massive clash of power could be heard from afar. Judging from the mana flow reaching here, it was Merlin and the 10th Apostle.
'Should I go?'
No, it would only get in the way.
Thanks to Wrath's energy and a bit of recovered aura, he was much better than before, but not enough to fight someone of similar strength.
Now wasn't the time to help anyone but to join the Light Wind division and escape as quickly as possible.
'I must move on immediately.'
Raon set his direction towards Cameloon and kicked off the ground. He moved while reducing his presence as much as possible, in case of any remaining enemies.
-Coward. Even when I had no strength, I walked with my shoulders squared!
As he leaped between the trees, Wrath chattered.
'I'm not the kind Demon King.'
-Shut up! You lack guts! The audacity to overcome anything! The nerve to remain unfazed no matter what happens…
As Wrath continued to rant, a message appeared in front of Raon's eyes.
[You have accomplished an impossible feat.]
[All stats have…]
[Traits…]
It seemed like the rewards for overcoming the battles with Cloud and Siris had come all at once.
-Ugh…
Raon grinned at the trembling Wrath, pointing at his quivering eyelids.
'You blinked.'
-Shut up!