Whoosh!
The darkness raised by the Green King could not withstand the flames of the Divine Sword and slowly melted away like morning mist touched by sunlight. Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched the Green King's Sword Domain vanish into nothingness.
Sword Domain...
Sword Domain is a type of barrier that materializes the Willpower and Mental Images accumulated by a swordsman into reality. Befitting its special nature, it has one essential condition—it can only be used by swordsmen who inherit the bloodline of Zieghart.
Rimmer and Wrath had shown Sword Domains, but strictly speaking, they were slightly different techniques that substituted blood power by overloading the body and mind.
But that Sword Domain is real.
In fact, the darkness raised by the Green King was so crude it could hardly be called a Sword Domain. Although it was far inferior to even the incomplete domain he had used during his Master days, she naturally followed the flow of the Zieghart Sword Domain. In other words, it meant that the woman wearing the black orc helmet was inheriting the blood of Zieghart.
"That's a real Sword Domain..."
Rimmer also gaped in disbelief at the Green King's Sword Domain.
"That's right."
Raon nodded heavily. As he became certain that the Green King was of Zieghart origin, various buried feelings of discomfort and questions began to dig into his mind.
A young body that looked to be in her twenties, a talent not inferior to his own, affiliation with Eden, a few pieces of advice Wrath had given before the battle, the Twin-Headed Demon's mocking remarks that he couldn't understand, and now the Sword Domain.
It's still hard to believe, but...
The Green King seemed to be his sister Sia, who was believed to be dead. If he accepted this hypothesis, it would explain why he felt familiarity when looking into the Green King's eyes, and why Wrath had said they had similar temperaments. However, there was still something he needed to confirm to be certain.
Gulp.
Raon swallowed dryly and turned to look at Sylvia. She was staring wide-eyed, unable to comprehend the situation.
I have to ask.
To confirm that the Green King was Sia, he needed Sylvia's testimony.
However...
He couldn't bring himself to speak easily, unable to imagine how much sorrow Sylvia would feel.
Mother's reason for coming here is also related to that incident.
Before leaving for this mission, Sylvia had sincerely told him that she was training to the point of collapse to protect her family, and that the ones she needed to protect included him as well.
Mother has been carrying this unhealed wound all this time...
The reason Sylvia made such a vow was because she couldn't protect her husband and young daughter. She tormented herself to never experience that pain again.
That's why she came here too.
Having a son who had died once and returned asking for support, Sylvia could not have just stayed quietly in the annex building. The scenes of her pleading with the Void Sword Division Leader and kneeling to Glenn for permission was easy to imagine, making his fingertips tremble unknowingly.
However, even knowing Sylvia's state of mind, he couldn't stop here.
Even if it deepened her pain and wounds, he had to uncover the truth.
"I'm sorry to do this in this situation, but..."
Raon turned to Sylvia, clenching his fist so hard it almost bled.
"What color were my sister's hair and eyes?"
For the first time, he asked about Sia's eye and hair color, which he had avoided mentioning for fear of making Sylvia sad.
"They were brown and red. But why do you ask?"
Sylvia, still not understanding the situation, rolled her eyes.
"Huu..."
Raon examined the Green King and squeezed his eyes shut. Her hair color was brown, and her eyes were red like his own.
"Lastly, Mom, you didn't actually see Father and Sister die for certain, right?"
"Th-that's right. I saw them fall, but I was dragged away unconscious..."
She shook her head, saying that the Zieghart guards had stopped her.
"Raon. Why suddenly... Oh?"
Sylvia, as if finally realizing why Raon had asked these questions, turned her gaze to the Green King. She looked the Green King up and down, then dropped her sword with a clatter.
"N-no way..."
"I think it's true."
"Ah..."
Sylvia sank to the ground, not even thinking to pick up her fallen sword.
"No, it can't be..."
She shook her head wildly, as if unable to believe it.
—Hey, why is Mother acting like that?
Wrath blinked, looking at Sylvia who had suddenly fallen to her knees.
Because it seems that woman wearing the helmet came from the same womb as me, just as you said.
—Huh? Th-that was just an example, is it really true?
The guy gaped, seemingly surprised himself.
Yes.
Thanks to Sylvia's testimony, it became certain that the Green King was his sister, Sia.
"Keheheh..."
Seeing the Twin-Headed Demon's snickering laughter, as if to say Now you know, made him even more certain.
"Th-that's your sister?"
Rimmer's lips trembled as he also realized that the Green King was Sia.
"It's certain."
Raon nodded, biting his lip.
"No. No. It can't be. That's too..."
Sylvia's face turned pale. Her eyes, as she looked at the Green King, were bloodshot.
"It's not wrong."
The Twin-Headed Demon stood next to the Green King and laughed coyly.
"She is indeed the daughter you abandoned and ran away from."
He nodded firmly, as if delivering a coup de grâce.
"Aaaaagh!"
Sylvia screamed, clutching her head. Tears that seemed tinged with blood flowed from her eyes.
"You bastard!"
As Raon was about to charge forward, the Twin-Headed Demon giggled and hid behind the Green King's back.
"I'm not finished speaking yet."
The Twin-Headed Demon raised a finger from behind the Green King, indicating he had more to say.
"Stop your useless babbling and just let me take your head..."
"You might want to hear this. Unless you want to regret it later."
"What?"
"There's one more secret left."
He shook his head while resting his chin on the Green King's shoulder.
"If the sister you thought was dead is alive, wouldn't your father be alive too?"
The Twin-Headed Demon raised a finger, pointing at the Severing Sword standing behind Rimmer.
"That man. Who do you think he is?"
The corners of the mouth on his helmet curled up in a long smile.
"Ah..."
Raon let out a low groan as he turned to look back. The Severing Sword stood quietly, just as he had seen at Eden's branch.
"That's right. It's your dad. His aura was worse than third-rate, but his swordsmanship was strangely excellent, so I brought him along. It turned out to be a jackpot! It's been a while since I've seen The Fallen laugh like that."
The Twin-Headed Demon smacked his lips, saying the reward was quite impressive.
"Liar!"
Sylvia shook her head in disbelief as she looked at the Severing Sword. However, contrary to her cry of "Liar," she couldn't take her eyes off him, as if recalling Edgar through the Severing Sword's physique.
"It's all lies!"
It was palpable that her mind was crumbling.
"Hmm..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at the Severing Sword.
Come to think of it...
Just a moment ago, when the Severing Sword ambushed him, he hadn't used his full strength and hadn't imbued his sword with Killing Intent. He had swung his sword while creating a small but escapable path. It was the same when they met at Eden's branch. The Severing Sword had stared only at him strangely and hadn't harmed him.
Each of these strange occurrences would make sense if he really was his father.
However...
As Raon furrowed his brow, recalling the differences between the Severing Sword and other Ghosts of Eden, the Twin-Headed Demon tilted his chin.
"Shall I let you confirm his face then? You might faint though."
The Twin-Headed Demon chuckled as he fondled his own mask.
"Shut that mouth of yours."
Raon adjusted his grip on the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword and stepped into the Supreme Harmony Steps. Just as he was about to simply behead the Twin-Headed Demon, sharp sword strikes flew in from the left and right.
Clang!
It was the Green King and the Severing Sword. The two of them stood in front of Raon, as if to protect the Twin-Headed Demon.
"Grr..."
"Why do you think I told you all this?"
The Twin-Headed Demon's eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Because I wanted to see family members slaughtering each other!"
He laughed, holding his stomach, while throwing a sneer worse than any evil spirit. It felt like seeing pure evil, not just some demon.
—Hand over your body. This king will crush that helmet bastard!
Wrath seemed genuinely enraged, his entire body tinged with pure white Cold Energy.
I'll kill him.
Raon bit his lip until it bled and pushed his aura into the wavering Divine Sword and Demonic Sword.
"If you want to behead me, come after killing your sister and father."
The Twin-Headed Demon couldn't hide his smile, as if he had wanted to create this situation from the beginning. Now it seemed he truly was a monster inheriting the characteristics of Etin.
"Nngh..."
Sylvia retched while kneeling, as if she had lost all will to fight.
"That little bastard."
Rimmer frowned as he approached from the side.
"He's really getting on my nerves."
His green eyes flashed red, as if he too was enraged.
"Huu..."
Raon exhaled, expelling the turbid energy. Thanks to the Ring of Fire, his anger slowly subsided.
Something's off.
From the Blood Demon to the Specter, all the Eden executives he had seen so far moved of their own will. But the Green King and the Severing Sword, despite being high-ranking Eden officials, were following the Twin-Headed Demon's orders instead of their own will. It was too strange.
Could it be that they couldn't completely erase the souls of these two?
Recalling the Green King using the Sword Domain and the Severing Sword not imbuing his sword with Killing Intent, he felt a faint possibility of saving the two of them.
"We might be able to save Father and Sister."
Raon nodded as he turned to look at Sylvia.
"What...?"
A small light sparked in Sylvia's eyes, which had been sinking into despair.
"What are you talking about? Once someone puts on the helmet, they can't come back! You know that better than anyone!"
Rimmer shook his head, as if to say they should give up what needs to be given up.
"Tsk tsk."
The Twin-Headed Demon clicked his tongue briefly as he looked at Raon.
"You're far too late. Their souls have not only melted but have been fully digested."
He chuckled and let out a small burp.
"I can't believe your words."
"False hope. That's the biggest culprit that ruins humans."
The Twin-Headed Demon curled his lips, saying it was like gambling.
"Do as you please. It won't mean anything anyway."
He shrugged his shoulders mockingly.
"..."
"That's bullshit."
As Raon bit his lip, a familiar female voice was heard from the air.
Woong!
A long dimensional gate opened, and Merlin, wearing an old woman's mask, walked out from it.
"Merlin?"
The Twin-Headed Demon's eyes widened at Merlin's sudden appearance.
"The old man pretending to be a spirit realm being has gotten better at lying."
Merlin snorted as she looked down at the Twin-Headed Demon.
"Those two were directly tampered with by The Fallen. Looking at their current state, their souls might still be alive."
She nodded, saying that since The Fallen often conducts strange experiments, there was a good possibility.
"Mother."
Merlin approached Sylvia first, not Raon, and lifted the hem of her skirt.
"It's not time to give up yet."
She called Sylvia "Mother" and grasped her shoulders.
"M-Mother...?"
Sylvia's jaw trembled as she looked at the old woman's mask Merlin was wearing. Even in this situation, she seemed bewildered by an Eden magician calling her "Mother."
"Huhu, I just called you that a bit early."
Merlin slightly lifted her mask to show her bare face. She usually didn't like taking off her mask, but this seemed to be an action to reassure Sylvia.
"The cross..."
Sylvia's lips trembled as she saw the cross reflected in Merlin's eyes.
"Please wait just a little bit."
Merlin squeezed Sylvia's hand and stood to Raon's left.
"The fact that you're controlling those two shows there's something wrong with their minds. It must all be The Fallen's intention."
She snorted as if she had seen through all of the Twin-Headed Demon's lies.
"You traitorous bitch..."
The Twin-Headed Demon's mouth twisted as he sprang up. For the first time, it wasn't a mocking laugh, but one that seemed genuinely angry.
"Betrayal?"
Merlin snorted and shook her head.
"I've been on Raon's side since his past life. It's not betrayal, it's just a return to love."
She waved her pale white hand up and down, as if to say not to talk nonsense.
"Ha, fine. This is better anyway."
The Twin-Headed Demon raised his wooden club, aiming at both Raon and Merlin simultaneously.
"I'll just kill you all at once now."
As he tilted his chin, the Green King and the Severing Sword stepped forward.
"I never thought I'd be fighting alongside Merlin."
Rimmer let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief and moved to Raon's right side.
"I was grateful back then."
He gave a small bow towards Merlin.
"Who are you?"
Merlin blinked as if she had no interest in anyone but Raon.
"Uh...?"
"Let's save the introductions for later."
Raon raised his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, from which flames and frost had begun to dissipate.
"Let's finish this fight first. Our target should be the Twin-Headed Demon."
"Yes. I'd rather die. Don't worry."
Merlin smiled as if she would save Edgar and Sia even if it cost her life.
"That's going to be tough."
Rimmer sighed but nodded, saying he understood.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Raon swirled the Ring of Fire and stepped into the Supreme Harmony Steps. He advanced towards the Twin-Headed Demon, gripping the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword tighter. Before he could swing the two swords, the Green King and the Severing Sword blocked his path. The Twin-Headed Demon stepped back with a smile, as if daring him to cut them down.
Swish!
Raon didn't stop his charge. He trusted the two people behind him completely and just kept moving forward.
Kukugugugu!
As the Green King's slash and the Severing Sword's demonic energy flashed, intense mana and wind rose from behind.
Wooooo!
Merlin unfolded dozens of magic circles to push back the Green King who was about to thrust her sword, and Rimmer struck down the Severing Sword with a blade surging with wind and lightning.
Swish!
Raon plunged the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword towards the Twin-Headed Demon, who was acting leisurely on the wide open path.
"You're underestimating me too much."
The Twin-Headed Demon smirked as he raised his wooden club diagonally.
Kuwaaang!
Raon pressed down on the Twin-Headed Demon's wooden club with his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, which were spewing flames and frost as if for the last time. Unlike the subsiding flames, his increasingly strong Willpower carved deep cracks into the wooden club.
"What the..."
The Twin-Headed Demon's eyes widened as he saw his wooden club shaking as if it was about to break.
"Keep laughing."
Raon's blood-red eyes bore into him as he gave a cold smile.
"Because today will be the last day you can laugh."