Silence. That's the first thought Raon had as he returned to reality.
'The mana is following my will.'
As if blessed by mana, he could feel the various energies spread throughout the world as if they were his own. With just a movement of his fingertips, the surrounding mana stirred. Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it on his heart. A deep resonance echoed as nine rings of fire vibrated within his chest.
Not only the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, but also Glacier's cold energy and Garunua's wind pulsed along with the rings.
And in the deepest part of his chest, the sorrow Rimmer had passed on to him was crystallized. Raon exhaled heavily and opened his eyes.
[You have reached the realm of transcendence!]
[
[
[
[All abilities...]
[Transcendent trait...]
[Trait...]
As soon as he opened his eyes, reward messages popped up. Raon dismissed them without looking at any of them. Even without those, he already knew he had reached transcendence.
-Hey, you!
Wrath thrust his pale face forward.
-Are you alright? The cold energy reached your bone marrow, how...
He shook his chin as if he couldn't understand. His blue flickering eyes were filled with worry.
'I'm sorry.'
Raon slightly raised his body and bowed his head to Wrath.
-Th-that's not important! Tell me what happened! How did someone who should have died reach transcendence!
Wrath waved his hands up and down as if dying of curiosity.
'That's...'
As Raon was about to answer, the Light Wind division swordsmen rushed in with a sound like crumbling ice.
"Raon!"
"Are you okay?"
"What on earth did you do!"
Runaan, Burren, and Martha grabbed him and exhaled rough breaths.
"What do you mean, what did I do?"
Raon tilted his head as he looked at the three.
"Your body turned white as if dead, then suddenly floated in the air, and then burst into a golden flame so dense it filled this entire cavern. It looked like wings of fire had sprouted from your back!"
Martha said she had never seen such a sight before, her eyes trembling.
"That flame melted the wall of cold energy that was trapping us. Strangely, it wasn't hot."
Burren briefly shook his head, saying they were able to get out thanks to that.
"Raon. Are you really okay?"
Runaan seemed to be worried only about his condition, holding onto his arm and not letting go.
"I'm fine."
Raon nodded calmly. Although his physical condition wasn't good because his injuries hadn't healed, that wasn't important right now.
"Hmm, you seem different somehow..."
Martha narrowed her eyes as if something was strange.
"I see it too. The mana around this guy is fluctuating as if it has a will of its own."
Burren also exhaled in amazement.
"Raon, could it be..."
Runaan swallowed dryly as if she had realized something.
"Yes. I've reached transcendence."
Raon nodded as he felt the mana moving according to his will.
"Ah!"
"Tr-transcendence...?"
"How? You were dying..."
-That's right! Explain properly!
Not just Runaan, Martha, and Burren, but Wrath also pounded his chest as if frustrated.
"Master..."
Raon bit his lip deeply as he looked at Rimmer lying as if asleep.
"Master gave me his teachings."
"Hmm..."
"What does that..."
"..."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan turned to look at Rimmer, their eyes trembling.
-Don't tell me... you met the pointy ears in the mental world?
'Yes.'
Raon nodded, recalling Rimmer who hadn't lost his smile until the very end.
"Master came all the way to the mental world to teach me what I was lacking. Thanks to that, I was able to reach transcendence."
He raised his trembling hand to stroke his own head. Even though it hadn't happened in reality, he could still feel Rimmer's warmth.
"You're not just transcendent, you're like..."
"It's as if you've become a different person."
Runaan continued Martha's words. As they said, his current self and past self were like different people. No, he was still changing even at this moment.
"Young Master..."
Dorian, his entire body wrapped in bandages, approached and knelt down.
"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't save the Vice Leader, nor could I protect Lady Alice. It's all because I'm incompetent!"
Dorian seemed to be in more mental pain than physical as he buried his pale face in the ground.
"We'll reflect later."
Raon shook his head as he grabbed Dorian's shoulder.
"First, we need to finish our revenge."
"Revenge is difficult..."
Burren shook his head, lowering his gaze.
"Even if you've reached transcendence, the enemy has two Transcendent Warriors, and it's been 3 hours since they left this place."
He bit his lip, saying they would have already reached the dungeon's exit by now.
"I want to do it too. I want to tear that bastard's face off!"
Martha trembled her fist, which was dripping blood, as she sobbed.
"But the dungeon has collapsed, and it'll take us much longer to get out than it took them..."
She shed tears as if truly frustrated.
"Plus, this dungeon has a different time axis from the outside. The reason they didn't kill us and left is probably because they were worried about too much time passing outside..."
Krein sighed, saying they didn't know how many months might have passed if they left now.
"Time doesn't only flow faster here."
Raon turned around to look at Paras.
"Mr. Paras."
"Yes? Ah, yes..."
Paras bowed his head, his face looking 10 years older, as if he thought this incident was his fault.
"When you came here for the second time, you said you stayed for a week, but only a day had passed, right?"
"Th-that's right. I thought a month had passed, but I was surprised that only a day had gone by."
He nodded, saying he was also surprised.
"The time axis of this dungeon moves by magic. It can be made faster or slower."
As Raon lowered his fingertips, the rocks blocking the way melted into dust.
"It's impossible for them since all the shamans are dead, but I can do it."
Previously, he could only undo the magic that was cast, but now that he had reached transcendence, it seemed he could even manipulate the flow of magic.
"I'll relay Master's last words."
Raon turned to the Light Wind division and drew a faint smile.
"'Kill that damn bastard no matter what! Got it? I wasn't going to say this before I left! But seeing him torment you guys too! I can't stand...' That's what he said before he left."
As he recited Rimmer's words exactly, small laughs flowed from among the Light Wind division swordsmen. Everyone seemed to think it was just like Rimmer.
"Let's go. We have to avenge our master."
As Raon turned his back heavily, the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem that were stuck in the ground pulled themselves out and entered his scabbard.
"Us too?"
"Won't we just be in the way?"
Burren and Martha trembled their lips as if worried.
"Division Leader. I..."
Dorian clutched his head, saying he didn't want to regret again.
"This revenge isn't something I should do alone."
Raon shook his head as he looked at the green wind pooled in the cavern.
"I'll make the path, so follow me."
At his last words filled with trust, blue light flickered in the eyes of the Light Wind division swordsmen.
* * *
"Haah."
Sif exhaled a long breath as he broke the rocks blocking the way.
"No spatial movement?"
He flicked his hand at Bardiel, telling him to do something.
"The barrier is broken, so it can't be used now."
Bardiel shook his head, saying it would take time for his divine power to recover.
"How long do we have to keep digging through this dirt? Even an angel is useless."
Sif snorted as if mocking Bardiel.
"Beorn..."
Bardiel narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sif.
"Your personality has changed."
"Personality? I've always been like this?"
Sif turned his chin sideways as if asking what he was talking about.
"Seeing that you're not aware, it must be a side effect of absorbing the power."
"What side effect! I'm perfectly fine! It's just that you're not at a level to judge me."
He waved his hand, telling him not to talk nonsense.
"...What are you going to do with that woman?"
Bardiel changed the subject to Alice, thinking the conversation wasn't going anywhere.
"I've absorbed all her remaining power while moving..."
Sif wrinkled his nose bridge as he looked at Alice slung over his shoulder.
"She's just a burden now. It doesn't matter if we throw her away."
He lowered Alice from his shoulder as if he was really about to throw her away.
"No, not yet."
Bardiel shook his head.
"The Destructive King of the North cherishes Raon Zieghart more than anyone. To manipulate him by speaking of Raon's death, we'll need at least Alice Zieghart's corpse."
"That's a good idea."
Sif said it was a good thought as he picked Alice up again.
"Of course, we'll have to manipulate that corpse. We can't let it show that we attacked from behind."
Bardiel said he would do it himself as he lowered his gaze.
"Alright. I'll leave that to you... Oh!"
Sif was nodding when he exclaimed at the sunlight coming down from a small hole.
"Finally, I can see the outside!"
As he stretched out his hand, the hole where sunlight was coming through exploded, opening a passage large enough for a person to slip through.
"Ah, the sun really is good."
Sif drew a satisfied smile as he received the sunlight pouring from outside the dungeon with his whole body.
"We're not going to walk back just because spatial movement doesn't work, right?"
"It will recover in a few hours. Let's wait."
Bardiel said they should wait here for a while before moving, leaning his back against a tree.
"Just in case, it might be good to station people at this dungeon. Raon Zieghart should be dead, but other humans might come out."
He narrowed his gaze as he looked at the entrance of the dungeon.
"What a waste."
Sif clicked his tongue briefly.
"Raon Zieghart. If we could have researched him, we might have been able to extract demon power too..."
"You're too late."
As he was smacking his lips, Raon's voice was heard from the entrance of the dungeon. Raon came out of the dungeon with a calm expression as if he had been waiting. His blood-soaked golden hair, tattered Black Dragon Coat, and the wound on his chest that was still open.
He looked like he could be called a cripple, but his red eyes were calmly settled.
"Huh...?"
Bardiel trembled his chin as he looked at Raon.
"Why are you here!"
He screamed as if he couldn't understand the situation.
"I thought you were dead?"
Sif also let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.
"I didn't expect to see you again, alive. And even having reached transcendence?"
He shook his head, giggling.
"But how did you get here? I didn't sense anyone following us from behind?"
"Are we close enough to have such a conversation?"
Raon didn't answer and lowered both hands.
"Right. We're certainly not that close."
Sif nodded his chin mockingly, saying he was being rude.
"To be honest... I'm glad to see you again, little brother. I was disappointed I couldn't absorb your blood. If I could take in your talent too, the only one in Zieghart who could stop me would be grandfather."
He laughed, saying he had gained quite a lot just from the blood he got from the surprise attack before.
"Beorn!"
Bardiel called out to Sif, deeply furrowing his brow.
"Focus! Something's different about him!"
He swallowed dryly as he looked at Raon, from whom he couldn't feel any energy.
"It's not just him who's changed. I've absorbed all of mother's power, and even if he's reached transcendence, he's still dying!"
Sif shouted not to worry and swung down a Spatial Slash of extreme sharpness aimed at Raon's neck.
"Hmm!"
Bardiel, matching Sif's attack, created a pure white cloud and rained down light hailstones towards Raon. Raon stepped forward, exhaling calmly. Neither the Spatial Slash striking down like lightning nor the light meteor shower pouring down over a vast area could even graze the hem of his clothes.
It didn't seem like he was avoiding by using footwork, but rather as if the Spatial Slash and hailstones were avoiding his body.
Raon didn't miss even the faint flow of mana blooming from the enemy's breath. The sunlight brushing down through the treetops, the dew pooled in puddles, even the slowly falling leaves. He could feel the mana of nature through his skin.
'So this is the realm of transcendence.'
His body felt heavy as if he had fallen into a deep swamp. He could feel the flow and harmony of heaven and earth, but conversely, his arms and legs moved much slower than he thought. But it was okay. The enemy was slower than him, heavier than him, and weaker than him.
"You dodge well for someone who's staggering."
Sif lowered his eyebrows as if displeased and shot out a Spatial Slash tinged with blue light. It seemed he had absorbed all of Alice's power, as it was faster and more powerful than what he had experienced in the cavern.
"He must be killed..."
Bardiel also seemed to have decided to use his full power as he put his hands together to concentrate white light. Just as Sif's Spatial Slash and Bardiel's flash of light were about to connect, Raon disappeared.
Where he reappeared was to Bardiel's left. That mysterious yet swift movement completely escaped the sight of the two Transcendents.
"Oh no!"
Bardiel, befitting a Transcendent Warrior, reacted in a split second and turned the direction of the light he was shooting. The sharply honed flash of light covered Raon's entire body. Raon drew the Heavenly Drive in the radiance that distorted space. A thousand fires become heavenly fire. A thousand flames reach the sky and fall as golden flames.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Heavenly Fire. The golden flames burned through Bardiel's light and roughly tore open his chest.
"Kuheck..."
Raon shook his head as he looked at Bardiel who was screaming.
"Your movements are always big when you use that technique."
"R-Raon Zieghart..."
"Don't call my name with that filthy mouth."
He roughly pulled out the Heavenly Drive, bursting Bardiel's upper body. The angel sank to the ground with his blood-soaked wings.
"What is this..."
Sif trembled his chin as if dumbfounded.
"Are you saying you gained something and came back?"
"..."
Raon gripped the Heavenly Drive without answering, as if it wasn't worth talking about.
'It's dizzying.'
Perhaps because he had reached transcendence while unconscious, or because his injuries hadn't healed, his vision was blurry. But now wasn't the time to show weakness. No matter what, he had to at least achieve revenge for his master against Sif.
"Alright. But as I said, you're not the only one who's changed."
Sif tilted his black sword behind his back. A powerful energy about to explode blazed from his entire body. As if pouring out all the power he had stolen from Alice, intense vibrations occurred throughout the island.
"Sword Domain: Annihilation!"
The black sword that cut through space flashed in achromatic color. The sky and earth were split diagonally, and blue-tinged cracks sprouted between them. It was an extreme sword technique that seemed to perfectly imitate Alice's Sword Domain Annihilation. Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sif's Sword Domain rushing in, tearing through space.
He couldn't use the Sword Domain because he had used both the Divine-Demonic Harmony and Heaven's Rift, but he had a new sword left.
He let go of the Heavenly Drive he was holding in his right hand. He naturally imbued the rising blade with the Spatial Sword he had learned from Alice, and wrapped it with Garunua's wind that Rimmer had left behind. The person who had always made his flames the biggest and most splendid was always Rimmer.
In place of the master he could no longer meet, the lonely wind he had left behind pushed his sword.
Raon Zieghart Style Sword Technique.
The 8th Form, Whispering Wind.
Although Alice and Rimmer couldn't see it, the Heavenly Drive, which contained their dreams and wishes, clashed head-on with Sif's Sword Domain, holding more brilliant flames than ever before. The faint yet straight sword path crashed. The clear flames that seemed to imitate Rimmer burned through Sif's Sword Domain that was cutting through the world.
As the Sword Domain Annihilation shattered like thin glass, the Heavenly Drive wrapped in golden flames pierced Sif's chest.
"Kuaaagh!"
Sif trembled his chin as he spat blood from his mouth. As he tried to pull out the Heavenly Drive with shaking hands, Raon stomped his foot and let out a roar.
"Light Wind division!"
At his blood-mixed shout, the entrance of the dungeon burst open and the Light Wind division charged in. The swordsmen's blades, advancing as if wrapped in their master's wind and turned blue, were filled with sorrow and anger.
"You fucking bastard!"
Martha screamed as she jumped in and swung her sword down towards Sif's right arm.
"You crazy bitch!"
Sif reached out to Martha as if she had fallen for it. With just a point of his finger, Martha's body would burst, but Raon wasn't going to just watch. The Heavenly Drive stuck in Sif's chest caused intense vibrations, stopping the movement of the aura flowing through his body.
"Kuheck..."
Raon coughed up black, dead blood. It was a method that damaged not only Sif's body and soul but also his own, but this revenge wasn't just his, but for all of the Light Wind division.
"What is this!"
Sif screamed and reached out to Martha, but not even a tiny bit of aura flowed from his grasp.
"Die!"
Martha didn't miss the chance when Sif was flustered and brought down a slash imbued with Titan's Aura. Whoosh! Sif's right arm was torn off as if crushed by a hammer.
"Kuaaagh!"
As Sif screamed and tried to retreat, the Light Wind division's revenge was just beginning.
"Siiiiif!"
Burren charged in with a howl, calling forth a cold wind. His sharply honed blade roughly cut through Sif's left arm as it passed.
"Unforgivable..."
Runaan exploded the cold energy imbued in Snow Flower, shattering Sif's right leg. So that he could never stand again.
"Because of you! Because of you!"
Dorian brought down a strike on Sif's thigh, raising Astral Energy no less powerful than the three squad leaders. He endlessly tore through Sif's bones and flesh as if to make him feel Rimmer's pain.
"Kuaaagh! You worms!"
Sif screamed and tried to pull out the Heavenly Drive, but Raon never let him go, even as he bled black blood from his eyes and ears. Krein stabbed Sif's stomach with bloodshot eyes, and Yua and Julius cried out as they cut his shoulders.
The Light Wind division swordsmen also surrounded Sif and thrust their swords into his flesh.
A sorrowful melody rang out as over thirty swords pierced Sif's body, their blades overlapping.
"T-to think I'd be... by such beings..."
Sif trembled his cheeks, veins popping out from the intense pain.
"Didn't you say you wanted to become an angel?"
Raon approached with staggering steps and looked down at Sif.
"You can't become an angel, a demon, or even a human. At the end of the continent, in the deepest cave, we will burn you so that not even a trace of your existence in this world remains."
Uttering words like a curse, he drew the Blade of Requiem that had been imbued with Rimmer's soul.
"You weren't defeated by us, but by the Vice Leader."
Raon bit his lip as he looked at the wound on his waist that Rimmer had left until the end.
"That person was too good to die by the likes of you."
"W-wait! I can explain everything! It wasn't just me who..."
He beheaded Sif with the Blade of Requiem before he could even leave his last words. Thud. As Sif's head fell to the ground, Alice, who had been lying as if dead, spat blood and started breathing. Only then did his vision start to blur.
He didn't hold back the tears flowing down. As his master had said to regain his human essence, he cried out, pounding the ground.
More desperately and sorrowfully than anyone else.