Whoosh! As if drawing back a stage curtain, the crimson energy that had soared into the sky, shattering the heavens, slowly subsided, signaling the end of the duel between the Heavenly Demon and Glenn.
'Grandfather!'
Raon swallowed hard as he saw Glenn standing beneath the dark fissure.
'Is... is he alright?'
Glenn stood exactly where he had been, holding the Heavenly Tremor upright. Though he appeared uninjured, his body was enveloped in a soft, mysterious light as if wrapped in celestial silk, making him seem to exist on the border between reality and illusion.
'Then what about the Heavenly Demon....'
After confirming Glenn's safety, Raon turned his gaze to the Heavenly Demon.
'Blood?'
The Heavenly Demon was bent over, coughing up red clots of blood from behind his crimson dragon mask.
"This is...."
He seemed to have taken a heavy blow, struggling to raise his head while gripping his knee with one hand.
"The Soul Sword, is it? Indeed, a blade that cuts the soul lives up to its name in sharpness."
The Heavenly Demon smacked his lips with satisfaction.
"Being cut by such a sword, even the Fallen will have to accept that the covenant is broken."
He smiled thinly, saying it was a blade that could even sever the curse the Fallen would leave behind.
"Huh?"
Raon exhaled sharply as he watched the Heavenly Demon straighten up.
'He didn't die or run away?'
Unlike the other leaders of the Four Demons, the Heavenly Demon hadn't fled but had withstood the Soul Sword right there. Even if Glenn hadn't used his full power, it was astonishing.
"An impressive sword. Had you been serious, I might have been in danger."
The Heavenly Demon nodded, saying he felt a thrill.
"But it seems it's not an unbreakable martial art."
He raised his fist, blood beading on it.
"It's just a matter of forging a soul thicker than your blade."
The Heavenly Demon let out a bold laugh, saying he was glad to have experienced it now.
'So that's why....'
Raon bit his lip as he looked at the Heavenly Demon standing proudly.
'Did he obtain Pride's Authority?'
To say he could still win despite having his soul twisted by a direct hit from the Soul Sword - now Raon understood why Pride had given his Authority to this man.
"I'll return those words to you."
Glenn lowered the Heavenly Tremor gracefully, not a single drop of blood on it.
"I too need only hone my blade until it can cut your soul."
He shook his head, saying he could win whenever they fought.
"But by then, won't you be gone from here?"
The Heavenly Demon shrugged as if doubting Glenn could really do it.
"..."
Glenn said nothing, just staring intently at the Heavenly Demon.
"Of course, I don't wish for such a futile thing."
The Heavenly Demon tilted his chin up, raising his imposing presence.
"I want a decisive match before you leave. With our lives on the line."
He spat out the blood pooled in his mouth, creating a deep dimple at the corner of his lips.
'Before he leaves....'
Raon looked at Glenn as he heard the Heavenly Demon's words.
'Grandfather.'
The light that had made Glenn appear hazy was gone, but he still looked as if he were standing in a fog.
"I'm not your real target, am I?"
Glenn furrowed his brow as he looked at the Heavenly Demon.
"Of course, I have a separate aspiration. But..."
The Heavenly Demon met Glenn's cold gaze.
"I can't move forward with someone like you at my back."
He shook his head, implying that defeating Glenn came first.
"Soon, a place for you and me to fight will be created. Let's meet again then."
The Heavenly Demon lowered his hand, saying they'd see each other on another battlefield.
"Soon?"
Glenn narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Heavenly Demon.
"When the time comes, you'll naturally know. If you don't want to be swept up, prepare thoroughly. Especially..."
The Heavenly Demon turned his gaze to look behind Glenn.
"It would be good to raise that child well. He's a martial artist with a future more promising than the present."
He nodded, showing interest not in Larian but in Raon.
"He was certainly worthy of being your grandson. His appearance and that sword were exactly the same."
The Heavenly Demon smiled, saying Raon and Glenn resembled each other more than they realized.
"Hmm..."
Glenn's furrowed brow relaxed slightly as he listened to the Heavenly Demon's words.
"Well then."
As the Heavenly Demon raised his hand in a final greeting, he and the Ghosts of Eden following him vanished as if they had never existed. If not for the cracked sky and deeply fissured ground, it might have seemed like an illusion.
Glenn shook off the Heavenly Tremor before sheathing it. Perhaps because the Heavenly Demon had disappeared, the phenomenon that had made him appear hazy was no longer visible.
"Haa..."
Raon bowed his head, exhaling a breath mixed with blood.
'I'm dizzy.'
As he felt the fight was over, the tension drained away and his vision began to turn white.
'There's so much I need to ask...'
-Just go to sleep.
Wrath snorted and placed a cool hand on Raon's forehead.
-You really worked hard this time.
Hearing Wrath's voice that seemed to approve, Raon couldn't fight his heavy eyelids any longer. He sank into a deep sleep under Wrath's warm gaze.
***
"R-Raon!"
Evelyn reached out to Raon as he collapsed, but she was too far away to reach him.
"Raon!"
Glenn too stopped in the middle of sheathing the Heavenly Tremor and rushed to Raon, using his footwork.
"It's alright."
Larian shook her head as she infused Raon's body with high-purity mana.
"He just fainted from using up all his strength."
She shook her head, saying that while his injuries were severe, he wasn't in a dangerous state.
"Haa..."
Evelyn let out a sigh of relief and pressed her head to the ground while lying down.
"Is the Heavenly Demon definitely gone?"
Larian raised her eyes to Glenn.
"Yes. His aura has disappeared."
Glenn nodded, saying he seemed to have left the area.
"Then what about the Fallen?"
Larian narrowed her eyes as if that was more important.
"..."
Glenn turned his gaze to look at the fragments of the Fallen's mask that had been completely pulverized.
"He should be dead. No, he is dead. The swordsmanship Raon used at the end was..."
He smiled faintly as he looked at the unconscious Raon.
"The Soul Sword, after all."
Glenn stroked Raon's hair, looking proud.
"It seemed so. However..."
Larian shook her chin slightly as she looked at Raon.
"It wasn't just a simple Soul Sword, it looked similar to your sword."
She smacked her lips, saying Raon's sword resembled Glenn's.
"I felt that too."
Glenn smiled warmly as he wiped the blood from Raon's head.
"This kid must have copied my Soul Sword after seeing it."
Despite being so weak that he could barely cut a normal person and relying on the power of spirits, Raon’s Soul Sword had the same rhythm as his own.
"Saying I'm proud doesn't even begin to cover it."
Seeing his grandson imitate the Soul Sword, which was as good as his life's work, moved Glenn's heart to the point of trembling.
"The Heavenly Demon must have felt the same."
Larian nodded, saying she understood the Heavenly Demon's words.
"It's beyond amazing. I've never seen anyone like him before."
She wiped Raon's forehead, which was sweating red, with a proud smile.
"He broke through the net of heaven and earth created by the Ghosts of Eden, killed the Demon Slaying Spear, and then caught the Fallen here. Even though I'm much stronger than Raon, I might not have been able to do it."
Larian let out a hollow laugh, saying she might not have been able to do it even if asked.
"Ahem..."
Glenn's lips trembled slightly, as if pleased to hear Raon praised even in this situation.
"Well, that's true. It's not something just anyone could do."
He nodded broadly, openly acknowledging it without showing false modesty.
"As the Heavenly Demon said, Raon's growth might determine the course of the war."
Larian lightly tapped Raon's nose, seeming to sincerely believe this.
"Ahem!"
When Larian, a fellow leader of the Five Kings, sincerely praised Raon, Glenn's face turned bright red as he let out a series of fake coughs.
"But..."
Larian raised her head as she heard Glenn's fake coughing.
"Are you alright?"
She bit her lip slightly, as if Glenn, who had no injuries, was the most worrying.
"I'm fine. Both he and I held back."
Glenn tapped the scabbard of the Heavenly Tremor, as if he could continue fighting even now.
"I-I'm sorry. It's all my fault..."
Evelyn raised herself up, supporting herself with trembling hands on the ground.
"If only I hadn't been captured, neither Raon nor Sir Glenn would have ended up like this..."
She pressed her head to the ground, saying she was truly sorry.
"..."
Glenn silently approached Evelyn and met her gaze.
"Thank you for always standing up for Raon."
He grasped Evelyn's shoulder, saying he was grateful.
"And congratulations on your enlightenment."
Glenn sincerely congratulated Evelyn on reaching Transcendence.
"Ah..."
Evelyn's violet eyes widened, as if she never imagined receiving thanks and congratulations from Glenn.
"You've also crossed the barrier. Congratulations."
Glenn nodded as he grasped the hand of Mark Goetun, who stood protectively over Evelyn.
"It's all thanks to the Palace Master. I merely followed the path he created for me."
Mark Goetun shook his head, saying he was able to awaken thanks to Raon.
"Is that so? It seems Raon is blessed with good people as well."
Glenn turned back to Evelyn with a gentle smile.
"Um..."
Evelyn couldn't look Glenn in the eye and slightly averted her gaze.
"Let's go home together."
Glenn grasped Evelyn's shoulder, saying they should return together.
"M-me too?"
"Yes. This war was a battle to bring you back from the start."
He helped Evelyn to her feet, saying she had done well.
"G-Grandfather!"
Evelyn raised her head, crying out the title she had been holding back.
"Now that I've found my name, I'll definitely call you Grandfather."
"Ah, no, that's not necessary..."
Glenn shook his head with startled eyes. Though he had wanted to be called Grandfather, actually hearing it face-to-face was burdensome.
"Grandfather! Why are you like this!"
Evelyn repeatedly called out "Grandfather" as if she had finally gained recognition.
"M-Mage Tower Master. Please send us back to Zieghart!"
Glenn called out to Larian with urgent eyes, trying to stop Evelyn's outburst.
"Th-the mana..."
Larian seemed to have returned to her original personality, lowering her gaze with her robe pulled up over her head.
"The spatial transfer device's mana is all used up, so we'll have to wait a bit."
She bowed her head, lowering her voice to a whisper as if she had never been confident.
"Uh..."
Glenn turned his trembling gaze away, looking flustered.
"Grandfather. Shall I tell you about everything that's happened while the mana recharges?"
Evelyn pressed her face close to Glenn with a fierce smile, as if she had never been injured.
"First, my name isn't Merlin, it's Evelyn. And with Raon..."
She moved her tongue rapidly as if she really intended to tell everything, even while coughing up blood.
"I want to see it. I want to see inside..."
Larian, with her hood on, twirled her finger as she muttered in a gloomy voice about wanting to see inside Raon.
"Um..."
Glenn looked at Mark Goetun as if asking for help, but he was only looking at Raon with a faint smile, showing no interest in anything else.
"Ah, shall I start from when I first met Raon? First..."
'This is...'
Glenn squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to Evelyn's words hammering at his eardrums.
'Loneliness?'
***
"Mmm..."
When Raon opened his eyes, he saw a very familiar ceiling.
'It's my room.'
The ceiling of the annex building. It seemed they had moved him here while he was unconscious.
'That's a relief. It wasn't a dream... Ugh!"
Raon froze as he tried to sit up.
'It hurts like hell.'
Thanks to the demon kings' Authorities and characteristics, his recovery rate increased greatly while sleeping, but even now there was severe pain in his head and body.
"Phew."
Since it was difficult even to move his body, he relaxed his arms and lay back down on the bed.
'I guess that means it was that fierce a battle. Well, we did kill the Fallen.'
He had been confident he could win against the Demon Slaying Spear, but honestly, he never imagined getting the Fallen.
'Of course, it wasn't me but Evelyn who did most of it.'
If Evelyn hadn't blocked the Fallen's magic, he would have been the one turning to dust on the spot. Evelyn was the real hero of this victory.
'Still, erasing one Transcendent is important.'
As Raon was smiling with satisfaction, a blue cotton candy appeared before his eyes.
-You crazy bastard!
Wrath looked down at Raon, wrinkling his nose.
-You're truly insane!
'Why are you suddenly like this again?'
Raon tilted his head as he looked up at Wrath.
-I'll admit it this time. You were amazing!
Wrath nodded, saying he was praising Raon for avenging Evelyn.
'Praise from you? That's unusual.'
Raon smirked as he looked at Wrath tilting his chin arrogantly.
-Don't laugh! There are hardly any in the Devildom who receive this king's acknowledgment!
Wrath snorted, saying Raon should consider it an honor.
'Yes, yes. Thank you.'
As Raon tilted his chin teasingly at Wrath, suddenly:
[You have defeated an extremely high-ranking opponent.]
[You have received acknowledgment from .]
[You have witnessed a battle between absolute beings.]
[You have achieved a great feat!]
[All abilities...]
[New trait...]
[Trait rank...]
Messages popped up simultaneously, as if responding to Wrath's words.
-Wh-what...
Wrath's jaw trembled as he saw the messages rising up, blocking his view.
-Why are there so many!
'Because you acknowledged me?'
Raon pointed to the message saying he had received acknowledgment from .
-Ah...
Wrath clenched his fist so tightly it made a cracking sound as he saw that message.
-Why did you only listen to that nonsense and ignore everything else this king said!
He screamed that he really wanted to smash it.
-You idiotic system!
'There it is.'
Raon nodded calmly as he listened to Wrath's anguished scream.
'Now it feels like I'm really home.'