“Lencia?”
Raon stared wide-eyed at the girl walking out from behind the broken fountain.
She had a slender appearance and a determined gaze. Lencia, whom he had thought was dead just a moment ago, was approaching him.
“Is this an illusion? No, this is reality.”
Seeing the real Lencia, he felt as if he were in a dream, and all the strength drained from his body. He felt as if he would collapse and faint right there.
“Lencia!”
“You’re alive! Little one!”
“Ah…”
Burren, Martha, and Runaan also seemed surprised by Lencia’s return, lowering their weapons and taking deep breaths.
-Huh? Huh?
Wrath also seemed surprised that Lencia was alive, his mouth agape.
-How is that little one still alive?
He stepped back as if he had seen a ghost.
“Lord Raon!”
Lencia staggered slightly as she ran toward him and threw herself into his arms. Her pale complexion and inability to steady herself suggested she wasn’t fully recovered.
“I'm so glad you're back safe! Really...”
She was still thinking of others first, without caring about her own condition.
“How did you...”
“I was lucky.”
Roen stood next to Lencia and breathed a sigh of relief.
“When we had no choice but to move to another place because all the priests and healers remaining in Montiro refused to treat Lencia, saying they couldn't save her, we were fortunate enough to receive divine intervention.”
He raised his hand and pointed to Saint Olga, who was walking toward the fountain.
“Even though she was busy, Saint Olga used her divine power to heal Lencia. If it weren't for her, it would have been very difficult.”
Roen bowed his head, grateful that Saint Olga had saved Lencia’s life.
“Saint Olga! Thank you!”
Lencia had been unconscious, so this was her first time actually seeing Olga, and she immediately bowed her head.
“It was fifty-fifty for me too. It seems you weren’t meant to die.”
Olga smiled and stroked Lencia’s head. She seemed very tired, her black-lined fingers trembling slightly.
“...What happened to Chamber?”
Raon forced himself to calm his racing heart and approached Olga.
“I saved her, at least.”
Olga nodded calmly. She took a cigarette out of her pocket, looked at Lencia, and put her hand back down.
“Saved...”
Raon heard Olga's words and moistened his dry lips.
“You saw it too. Her bones are exposed all over her body, and her mental wounds are even worse.”
Olga shook her head, saying that these symptoms could not be easily healed even with divine power.
“We won't know what state Chamber is in until she wakes up.”
She closed her eyes, unable to be certain of either outcome at this point.
“So, is it possible that she won’t be able to use magic?”
Now that the Black Tower had been destroyed, changing the balance of power between the Five Emperors, if Chamber were to retreat, it would be a complete waste. King Ogram had also lost his own power, so Chamber could not be allowed to fall as well.
“The upper layer of the Transcendents is so thick and sturdy that it’s difficult to break through by force. Now that there’s a crack there, healing Chamber-sama won’t be easy. But…”
Olga brushed her blood-stained hair aside and shook her head.
“I’ll do whatever I can, so stop making that sickly expression. It’s disgustingly ugly.”
She tilted her chin arrogantly, as if to say not to worry.
“That's a saintly thing to say.”
Raon smiled and nodded.
“Thank you. For coming here and for saving everyone else.”
He drew the Heavenly Sword and bowed to Olga.
He was grateful for everything she had done: bringing the holy knights and priests, saving Lencia despite being busy and healing the wounded, and not giving up on the Chamber even though the Demon King and his minions were causing chaos.
“Have you only learned to say such things since I last saw you? The Black Tower is our enemy as well. It's only natural to fight if we can.”
Olga snorted and waved her hand.
“I’m actually grateful that you called me. I never thought I’d get to see the Black Tower collapse with my own eyes.”
She smiled brightly, as if simply participating in this war was enough for her.
“And what you did for Schper that day was more than what we did. I haven’t forgotten that.”
Olga shook her head, saying that if it weren't for her, the Holy Kingdom of Schper itself might have disappeared.
“Ugh, that gives me goosebumps. Stop saying embarrassing things. It's embarrassing.”
Raon folded his arms and repeated Olga's words back to her.
“Shut up! You're the one saying embarrassing things. I'm just repeating what you said! Damn it!”
Olga gritted her teeth, her face red as an autumn apple.
“Um...”
Lencia blinked blankly, as if she never imagined that Olga, who was called a saint, would use such vulgar language.
“Hey, kid.”
Olga waved her hand at Lencia, who was not much shorter than her.
“Come here. Looking at your complexion, you need a little more treatment.”
“Huh? I’m fine…”
“Shut up and come here. I was too busy earlier to treat you completely. And girls shouldn’t have scars on their bodies.”
She shook her head, saying that she had to erase all the scars on her body.
“Oh, okay.”
Lencia bowed her head to Raon as if she had no choice and approached Olga.
“Hey.”
Olga put her arm around Lencia's shoulder and looked at Raon.
“Are you saying today's work is in exchange for you helping us? Don't say anything strange later.”
She seemed to be saying that he didn't need to be grateful for today's events, and entered the makeshift treatment room.
-That little girl's tattoo has gotten darker.
Wrath frowned as he looked at Olga's arms and legs.
-Seeing that it extends all the way to her fingers, it seems there's not much time left.
“I felt it too.”
The black lines on Olga’s body were not tattoos, but a phenomenon caused by her skin melting from forcibly drawing in divine power.
It seemed that she was still drawing in large amounts of divine power at the cost of her own life and soul to destroy evil and save people.
“I said I’d be fine…”
Raon clenched his fist and smiled faintly.
“But I might end up creating another debt?”
At the time, he lacked the ability to even consider it, but now he felt he might be able to correct Olga’s distorted constitution.
“Can you help?”
-Hm…
Wrath glanced at the treatment room where Olga had entered and snorted.
-I’ll at least restore the balance.
Wrath seemed to approve of Olga and nodded without hesitation.
“I've been thinking about it.”
Raon smiled as he stroked Wrath's nose.
“You don't seem like the type to be a demon king.”
“That's an insult!”
“Really?”
Raon pushed Wrath's forehead as he struggled and headed toward the ice cream shop where Gluttony and Lust were waiting.
***
“Ugh...”
After finishing treating Lencia, Saint Olga shook her hand, which was marked with black lines.
“Saint Olga? Are you okay?”
Lencia sat up, looking worried.
“Don't get up.”
Olga pressed her forehead with her weak fingers.
“I’m more worried about you than myself. If I had been a second later, you would have died.”
She wasn’t joking. If she had arrived a few seconds later or hesitated, Lencia would have died. The injury was so serious that the fact that they were even talking now was nothing short of a miracle.
“But if the saint who healed me is sick…”
“Adults can handle being sick.”
Olga waved her hand, telling her to go to sleep.
“Ah, I can’t sleep yet because I haven’t said thank you.”
“Thank you? To whom?”
“To Raon and everyone else.”
Lencia seemed disappointed that she hadn't been able to properly thank Raon.
“I received so much help. Without them, I would have died without escaping the Black Tower's grasp.”
She said it still felt like a dream, tears welling up in her emerald eyes.
“How did they help? I came here in a hurry and don't know the details.”
Olga gestured for her to tell the story if she couldn’t sleep.
“Should I? When we first met, his name wasn’t Raon. He came as a wealthy man…”
Lencia gripped the blanket tightly and began recounting the events of the past.
“...That's how I was able to open the door leading to the Black Tower. After that, I was injured and don't remember much.”
“It's fine.”
Olga nodded, saying that was enough.
“Now that you've told me everything, do you feel better?”
“Yes!”
Lencia smiled brightly and nodded.
“Then go to sleep.”
“Huh? I still need to say thank you… Ah.”
Olga placed her hand on Lencia’s forehead, and she fell asleep, breathing softly.
“Huh…”
Olga exhaled heavily and looked toward the fountain where Raon had been.
“You haven’t changed at all.”
After hearing the news that Raon had become an transcendent, she had wondered how he had changed.
She had worried whether the purity she had seen in him remained, but it seemed he hadn’t changed at all.
The young hero who had risked his life to save the Schper Holy Kingdom, even though it wasn’t his responsibility, was still standing there, swinging his sword for others.
“…I wish I hadn’t changed either.”
Olga drew a bitter smile as she looked at the black lines covering her arms and legs.
“There’s nothing I can do now.”
She had expended a great deal of divine power to restore the Holy Kingdom to its original state, and today she had used another large amount of divine power to defeat the demon race and save Chamber.
Seeing the black lines extending to the middle of her fingers and the chill spreading throughout her body, she felt that her life was truly nearing its end.
“Still, I have no regrets.”
She had nurtured the indecisive Hopen into a capable Holy King, and had trained the newly appointed Holy Knights and Priests through hellish trials to ensure they could fulfill their roles.
She had also repaid the debt of gratitude she owed to Raon, so she felt she could die without any regrets.
“Still…”
Olga approached the bed where Chamber lay. Her head ached from the exhaustion of using her divine power, but she couldn't stop yet.
“I have to save this person somehow.”
If Chamber lived, she could gain an advantage in the battle against the Five Kings and Five Demons. Even if she died, she had to save this person.
“Ah, I'm running out of cigarettes.”
Olga put a pen in her mouth instead of a cigarette and placed her hand on Chamber's head. In the damp treatment room, a warm light like a winter cigarette burned continuously.
***
Raon headed for the marble ice cream shop near the fountain.
Fortunately, there was no one inside the store, and Gluttony was eating the entire tub of pearl ice cream.
Judging by the empty cans rolling around on the floor, there didn't seem to be much left.
Meanwhile, Lust was staring up at the ceiling with a creepy smile that was difficult to interpret, with a single scoop of pearl ice cream on the table.
“Wait a minute!”
When Raon opened the door of the ice cream shop and tried to go inside, Wrath blocked his way.
“Are you really going to go in? With that stalker there?”
Wrath shook his head as if to suggest that he reconsider.
“If you don't go in, Gluttony will eat all your ice cream too.”
“Eh...?”
Hearing that, he swallowed hard as he looked at Gluttony, who was eating even the ice cream container.
“I have to stay here until my family sends help, so if I don't eat now, I won't be able to see any more pearl ice cream for a while.”
Raon patted Wrath on the head, telling him to think carefully.
-Ugh...
Wrath alternated between looking at Lust, who seemed to be truly in love, and Gluttony, who was destroying the ice cream, his jaw trembling.
-This damn world! Nothing ever goes right!
He couldn't choose between his appetite and his fear, and grabbed his head.
“I should at least say thank you. I'll go in.”
Just as Raon was about to leave Wrath, who couldn't make a decision, and open the door to the ice cream shop,
“Wait a minute!”
Jina ran up from behind and called out to him. Her face was pale with shock.
“What's wrong?”
Jina was in charge of reporting the events here to the entire Five Kings. The fact that she was so flustered meant that there was a problem with the report.
“I can't reach headquarters or Balkar.”
She looked up at the still dark sky with trembling eyes.
“I think there's a problem with the other Five Kings!”
***
Owen's audience chamber exuded an oppressive atmosphere that weighed heavily on the soul just by entering it. It was a magnificent place that would intimidate anyone, but today it was different from usual.
The huge chandelier, which seemed to be engraved with the word “splendor,” had fallen to the ground and shattered, and the red carpet was covered in bright red blood, bubbling and foaming.
The knights who had sworn allegiance to the great king lay dead, their eyes unable to hide their fear and despair, and the blood flowing from them opened a path to the throne instead of the carpet.
Gooooooooo!
The throne in the audience chamber was also split in half, and its owner, the Silent Sword Sovereign, leaned against the cracked wall and coughed up black blood.
Clang!
The silver-haired man in a blue robe stepped over the blood flowing from the knights and stood before the throne split in half. With a slight gesture of his hand, the lion's throne, which had stood unshaken for hundreds of years, collapsed.
“The Silent Sword Sovereign. Was that name just a false name? Or...”
Derus Robert, once known as the absolute master of the sword alongside the Silent Sword Sovereign, smiled coldly.
“Have I become stronger?”
He tilted his sword, stained with red blood, and approached Lecros, stepping over the collapsed throne.
“Derus Robert...”
Lecros raised his blood-stained shoulder and struggled to raise his sword.
“Why are you here?”
“You're attacking us, so I can't just stand by and do nothing.”
Derus shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Why are you asking such an obvious question?” He seemed completely different from the man who had once been known as the Heavenly Sword.
“Chamber moved, creating a gap in your communication network. We had a pretty good mage on our side, so we were able to break through.”
Derus Robert drew a cold smile, as if he thought it would be a good idea to launch the same attack rather than rescue the Black Tower Lord.
“Not a rescue, but revenge? That’s ridiculous.”
Lecros twisted his lips as he met Derus’s blue eyes.
In fact, he had already anticipated that Owen might be attacked.
Still, not everyone went to the Black Tower, and preparations were made to fill the void left by Chamber’s departure.
“The problem is…”
Lecros frowned as he watched Derus approach with a leisurely stride.
“That his strength far exceeds my expectations.”
Derus Robert possessed a level of strength that was on a completely different scale from when he was part of the Six Emperors. Even when he exerted his full strength, it was difficult to properly block the man's sword.
“Was the difference really this great?”
It hadn't been that long since Derus left the Six Emperors. Seeing how he had grown so strong in such a short time, it seemed as though he had been hiding his power from the beginning. It felt as though he was facing Glen.
" If one Ma is gone, one Huang must also go. Soon, it will become the Four Kings.”
Derus shook his finger as if the disappearance of the Black Tower was a foregone conclusion.
“No, it will become the Four Kings!”
As Derus flicked his finger, Lecros swung the sword he had been holding upright. The blue light emanating from the sword blade took the shape of a lion and split the heavens and earth.
Lion's Roar Sword Technique.
The massive sword strike, as if wrapped in unbreakable iron, cut through the entire audience chamber and reached toward Derus Robert's heart.
Kwaaang!
When Derus raised his sword, a white light rose and collided head-on with the sword technique. An enormous explosion erupted between the two sword strikes, causing the audience chamber and the castle itself to collapse.
“Is it over?”
Derus Robert's presence rapidly diminished. It would be nice if he were dead, but that probably wasn't the case.
He quickly regained his breath and stepped back, but a chilling coldness crept up his spine.
Whoosh!
He twisted his waist without even a moment to breathe, but the blue trajectory had already touched his skin. Derus Robert's sword, which had moved behind him, had already pierced deeply into his shoulder.
“I aimed for the heart, but you dodged it well.”
Derus Robert nodded in admiration.
“But it means nothing... Hmm.”
He stopped just as he was about to pull the sword out of his shoulder.
“I expected it, but it's faster than I thought.”
Derus Robert turned around, letting out a breath.
Goooooo!
A red lightning bolt flashed through the dark clouds, distorting the sky as if it were howling.
As the royal castle collapsed, gray dust rose into the air, then dissipated as if frightened, revealing an old swordsman with red eyes standing atop the knights’ bloodstained bodies.
“Finally, we meet.”
Glen Zieghart. The one who is known as the Destructive king of the North and earned the name Thunder God. The continent’s greatest swordsman drew his beloved sword.
“Derus Robert.”