“M-My Lord, The Fallen….”
“Is he truly dead? The Herald of Resurrection…?”
“The Fallen Lord defeated by those mere brats! It’s unthinkable!”
Eden's executives stared at the ground where The Fallen had crumbled to dust, swallowing hard. They all wore expressions of disbelief at The Fallen's death.
"Phew."
Raon set Evelyn down on the ground and stood up to examine the spot where The Fallen had died.
'Is he truly dead this time?'
He forcibly roused his unstable aura to extend his Aura Perception, but The Fallen's energy couldn't be sensed anywhere.
'Wrath.'
Raon gestured to Wrath, who was stroking his chin.
-Hmm...
Wrath peered down into the bottomless pit-like hole with furrowed brows.
-This king cannot sense that masked fellow's energy either. It seems he has completely vanished.
He nodded, saying the guy seemed to have truly died this time.
'How was it when he burned earlier?'
-At that time, the masked one's mana was slightly scattered in the air.
Wrath shifted his eyes slightly.
-I thought he should be dead, but also possibly alive.
He lowered his eyebrows, saying he hadn't spoken then because the situation was ambiguous.
'Then now...'
-It appears the likelihood of death is high.
Wrath nodded, saying not only The Fallen's techniques but even traces of his mana had disappeared.
'He won't resurrect again, right?'
-Unless someone else helps him. It would be difficult on his own.
Wrath shook his head calmly.
-The recent resurrection was not something that could be used through normal means.
He lowered his finger, saying that resurrection method couldn't be used again right away.
'That's a relief then.'
Raon nodded with a long sigh.
"It seems it's truly over this time."
Larian nodded as if she had read his thoughts.
"Relax your face."
She waved her hand, telling him to rest.
"Is it..."
Evelyn dragged her powerless legs over to his side.
"Really over?"
She looked at the ground where The Fallen had died with a serious gaze, as if she had never been playful.
"Yeah. It seems to be over."
Raon nodded as he looked at Evelyn.
"Really?"
Evelyn asked again about The Fallen's death, as if she still couldn't believe it. Blood was still flowing from her nose and mouth.
"Yes. It's over."
Raon calmly closed his eyes and opened them again. He answered with certainty, since Wrath and Larian had also acknowledged it.
"Th-Thank you..."
Evelyn clasped her trembling hands together as she uttered words of gratitude.
"Mom will be so grateful too."
Her eyes reddened as if recalling Sella.
"You don't need to thank me. You killed The Fallen with your own hands."
If he had fought alone, he would have been the one reduced to dust by the void sphere The Fallen fired at the end. The reason they were able to kill The Fallen wasn't because he was strong, but thanks to Evelyn's magic interpretation ability.
"Haa..."
Evelyn exhaled a breath mixed with the scent of blood as she slumped back to the ground.
"How should I put it? I can't believe it. It feels like he'll come back to life and glare at me again."
She covered her face with both hands, her heart seeming to have softened due to her recovered memories.
"It's okay."
Raon raised his hand to grasp Evelyn's shoulder.
"Even if he appears again, I'll kill him for you."
He comforted Evelyn, saying he would behead The Fallen again even if he came back to life.
"That's reassuring."
Evelyn nodded with a faint smile.
"But I feel a bit cold."
She shivered all over as she complained of the cold.
"Must be from the blood loss..."
Evelyn had lost enough blood that it wouldn't be strange if she died instantly, so her condition wasn't good despite her awakening.
"Wait just a moment."
Raon took Evelyn's hand and transmitted the heat of his Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to her.
"Hugging would be nice too, but..."
Evelyn curled her lips in a faint smile as she grasped his hand tightly.
"Just holding hands like this is romantic, isn't it?"
She smiled brightly, saying anything was fine.
"Another joke?"
Raon frowned and shook his head. However, he couldn't immediately push her away since he had seen in her memories why she had become so forward.
"Hey kids. Go flirt somewhere else!"
Larian furrowed her brow as if annoyed.
"It's not like that."
Raon shook his head as he let go of Evelyn's hand and stood up.
"Don't move and rest."
Larian shook her head, saying she would take care of the aftermath herself.
"No. I'll fight too."
Raon shook his head and raised his Heavenly Drive.
'I have to fight until the end.'
Larian had used transcendent magic to transport herself here and then single-handedly blocked The Fallen and the others. Though she looked fine on the outside, she must be exhausted inside, so it was only natural to help.
"Me too..."
Evelyn struggled to her feet as if she wanted to fight as well.
"No need. Lie down."
Raon pressed down on Evelyn's shoulder to make her lie back on the ground.
"You need to rest."
He shook his head as he wiped the blood flowing from Evelyn's nose and mouth with a handkerchief.
"This isn't so bad either."
Evelyn smiled, saying it reminded her of old times.
"Those times may have been happy, but from now on will be even better."
Raon nodded, telling Evelyn that things would be happier from now on.
"Wait, is that a proposal?"
Evelyn gasped as if asking if he was serious.
"Oh my, I'm not ready yet! Should we book a venue first?"
"Forget it..."
Raon shook his head and stood up.
-Unless there are memories we haven't seen, it's hard to go crazy like that...
Wrath narrowed his eyes, saying there must be something more between the memories.
'I don't know.'
And I don't want to think about it. He exhaled briefly and walked towards the battlefield where Eden's ghosts stood.
"I'll join you too!"
Mark Goetun followed behind, saying he would help.
"Yes, please do."
Raon nodded with a faint smile. He allowed it since it seemed like it would benefit Mark Goetun as well.
"Let's end this as quickly as possible."
He raised Cold Energy from Glacier over his Heavenly Drive and charged towards Eden's ghosts. With a slash, his sword, wrapped in an unbreakable will, cut through Eden's ghosts along with their masks.
"Today, here..."
Raon took heavy steps as he passed over the fallen Ghosts of Eden.
"I will erase the name of Eden!"
***
"Ha..."
Larian let out a dry laugh as she watched Raon drive back the Ghosts of Eden.
'Is that guy really human?'
Raon had broken through countless Ghosts of Eden, shattered the Demon Slaying Spear, and then come here to defeat The Fallen. Yet even after such intense battles, he seemed to have strength left as he now dealt with Eden's remaining forces. It was so absurd she was at a loss for words.
'If I leave him be, he'll take care of everything himself.'
Even if Raon was badly injured and exhausted, as a Transcendent he seemed capable of handling all the Ghosts of Eden below by himself.
'I really want to dissect him.'
Larian licked her lips.
'What kind of structure does his Mental Image have?'
For a Magician, mental strength is a truly important factor. She wanted to find out how Raon possessed such strong willpower.
'Should I research not just Raon, but Merlin together?'
Since she had gained the right to ask Raon for a favor, it seemed entirely possible.
'First, for the experiment...'
As Larian was smiling while thinking about what experiments to prepare, it happened. A scythe wrapped in black smoke fell, aiming for her neck. With a clang, Larian deflected the black scythe with her dagger and lowered her eyebrows.
"I was going to kill you anyway, why are you in such a hurry."
She clicked her tongue as she looked at the Wraith who had raised the eerie scythe.
"He will never die. He will return and tear your soul to shreds."
The Wraith ground his teeth as if not believing in The Fallen's death.
"I will kill all of you and wait for his return!"
As he raised his scythe above his head, the air split with black currents. The King of Wraiths' soul-stealing ability seemed to have been greatly enhanced as the sky was dyed in darkness.
"That won't happen."
Larian gathered five daggers in her right hand.
"Because you're going to die now."
"Nonsense! Your magic won't work on me anymore!"
The Wraith raised black currents to envelop his entire body. Unlike before, there didn't seem to be any gaps to stab magic into. A grand Death Energy began to rise as not only his own mana, but also the mana of nature was sucked into the Wraith's black scythe.
"Die!"
The Wraith swung his scythe horizontally with a roar. A sharp slash that tore through space. But what was truly dangerous was the black current that could sever a person's soul.
"That's usually what people who are about to die say."
As Larian raised her fingertips, the five daggers disappeared and a white dagger emitting brilliant light rose up. With a burst, the light dagger instantly shattered the pitch-black slash and pierced a hole in the Wraith's chest. Blood gushed out.
This was not a small hole like before. A hole the size of an adult man's head opened up, spilling a gruesome amount of blood.
"Kuhk..."
The Ghoul trembled his lips, looking at Larian rather than his chest wound, as if shocked by the dagger's power.
"I told you. I'm on a different level from you."
As Larian flicked her hand, the Ghoul's head flew off along with his mask. With a thud, the Ghoul's corpse, having lost both head and heart, fell lifelessly to the ground like an autumn leaf. As Larian tapped the light dagger with her finger, five daggers once again floated before her eyes.
"Hmm..."
Larian licked her lips as she looked down below. In that time, Raon had dealt with Eden's remnants and was approaching the executives who had retreated to the back.
"Is it all over..."
Larian's eyes trembled as soon as she said it was over, and she quickly flipped her hood back on.
"I-I want to go home..."
She slumped her shoulders and stammered like she did during the Five Kings Conference.
"I-I'll just take the scythe for now."
Larian glanced around nervously as she descended to the ground to grab the black scythe.
***
"Hah..."
Raon let out a sigh as he watched Larian bow her head while holding the black scythe.
'Does she really have multiple personalities?'
Seeing Larian, who had confidently pressured The Fallen and easily torn apart the Wraith, suddenly become timid made him think she must have another personality.
'I'll have to ask Chamber later.'
Glenn probably wouldn't know, so it seemed he'd have to ask Chamber to find out Larian's true identity.
-Hurry up and finish this!
Wrath furrowed his brow, saying to deal with Eden in front of them now and worry about that later.
-This king is hungry! That memory was so long!
He exhaled heavily, saying the time spent in Evelyn's memories felt like he hadn't eaten for over a month.
'Don't rush me.'
Raon pushed Wrath away and straightened his back.
'I need to focus from now on.'
The ones before him now were Eden's executives. Since there were Grandmasters among them, he had to fight with all his strength even in his exhausted state.
"This monster..."
The executive wearing a bull's helmet trembled his jaw while holding a large hammer. He seemed to be the strongest among those remaining.
"Anyone can see you're the monsters."
Raon raised his Heavenly Drive as he exhaled briefly. Just as he was about to unleash Frost Snap with Glacier's Cold Energy to kill the bull-helmeted man as quickly as possible, a strange sound came from above his head. Looking up, he saw a dark red bell floating alone, swaying in the wind.
'No way...'
It was shocking that the bell from The Fallen's possession was completely unscathed when The Fallen's solid body had crumbled to dust.
'And why is it suddenly making noise?'
The dark red bell produced an eerie sound as it swayed gently. Though the sound was beautiful enough to make one smile involuntarily, for some reason it sent chills down his spine. It felt ominous. With each clear ring of the bell, an unsettling feeling enveloped his entire body as if his heart was sinking.
'It's dangerous...'
Though he didn't know the bell's name or purpose, he could tell it shouldn't be allowed to continue ringing. His soul was warning him to destroy that bell. Raon hurriedly turned his body. He drew up his remaining energy onto the blade of the Heavenly Drive and unleashed Flame Dragon Strike towards the dark red bell.
The heat that seemed to incinerate the sky spread out and engulfed the dark red bell. As tremendous smoke rose up, the bell's sound abruptly ceased.
'Did I stop it?'
No more sound could be heard. It seemed he had prevented an accident just in time.
-Raon...
As Raon was letting out a sigh of relief, Wrath's heavy voice was heard. The black smoke raised by the Flame Dragon Strike slowly settled, revealing the silhouette of a person standing within.
Raon held his breath the moment he saw him. It wasn't of his own will. His entire body refused to listen as if every cell had become foreign to him.
'What kind of human aura...'
It didn't seem human. His soul trembled at the dark and annihilating aura that seemed to contain the sky itself - the night sky deeply filled with darkness. But he couldn't run away or avert his eyes. He couldn't move a finger, as if stakes had been driven into his limbs.
The black smoke dispersed, revealing the man emitting the despairing aura.
He wore a dark red robe draped over his shoulders, which shimmered faintly as if covered in scales. It didn't give the impression of cheap ornaments, but rather exuded an antique, classical atmosphere. On his face was a red dragon helmet, but unlike ordinary dragons, it had ten large and small horns protruding around the head area.
As fiery eyes flashed from within the dragon helmet, an absolute aura that no one could reach enveloped heaven and earth. Even while operating the Ring of Fire and his aura, Raon's body involuntarily bent and his heart constricted. His mind felt like it was being twisted by the overwhelming force.
Blood spurted from his mouth as his throat clenched. He had suffered internal injuries just from the man's aura. The dark bell in the man's hand rang out even more clearly than before.
As the man's gaze curved towards him, a filthy feeling brushed against his skin, as if his soul was being read by those eyes with their unquenchable flames like the fires of hell.
'This man is...'
Raon bit his lip until it bled as he looked at the red dragon mask.
'The Heavenly Demon.'
The earth seemed to vibrate in awe of his presence, and the sky trembled in fear. The absolute ruler of demons, born from evil and ascended to the heavens, the Heavenly Demon who had been bestowed the name by this world, stood before him.
'One of Eden's pillars? Absolutely not. This man is...'
Raon swallowed dryly as he beheld the absolute being of nothingness who erased the presence of all things in heaven and earth.
'Eden itself.'