"Ah..."
Martha's eyes reddened as she watched Raon simultaneously cut down the Twelfth Apostle and the fortress wall. With trembling lips, she bit down and thrust her sword toward the Tenth Apostle's waist.
Martha's sword pierced through the Tenth Apostle's spear for the first time and slashed his long robe. She seemed to have come to her senses more from Raon's words "it's your turn to show them" than from him killing the Twelfth Apostle.
-Because it means you trusts her.
Wrath smiled faintly as he sensed Martha's stabilized momentum.
-You showed your trust, so the beef girl wants to respond to that trust.
He sniffled as if looking at his grown-up daughter.
'Why are you crying? Anyone watching would think she was your daughter.'
Raon let out a hollow laugh while looking at Wrath.
-Did I not carry her on my back while raising her! Of course my heart would be moved!
Wrath wrinkled his nose as if asking why Raon would question something so obvious.
'I've never seen you carry her though...'
As Raon pushed Wrath aside and tried to enter the White Blood Religion Headquarters, a whooshing sound filled the air.
White blood burst from the bisected corpse of the Twelfth Apostle, forming a small pool that wrapped around his ankle.
"This is..."
Raon frowned as he watched the pool of bloody energy grabbing his ankle and pulling at his leg.
'It's slippery yet sticky, making it impossible to shake off.'
His body grew weak as if sinking in desert sand, and his legs began to be sucked into the pool. Even when he tried to use his aura to pull his legs out, they wouldn't budge despite his efforts.
'No way...'
[HAAAA!]
As Raon tried to slash at the pool with his sword, the Twelfth Apostle's voice echoed from within the white bloody water.
[I never imagined I would die from a single strike, but you truly are impressive.]
The Twelfth Apostle let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief.
"Twelfth Apostle..."
Raon lowered his eyebrows as he looked at the Twelfth Apostle's smug face reflected in the white pool.
"Are you still alive?"
[No, I'm dead. How could I be alive after you split me in half?]
The Twelfth Apostle shook his head leisurely while declaring his death.
[This is the residual thought I left behind when I died.]
"Residual thought?"
[Yes. I engraved a curse on my soul that will drag my killer to hell with me.]
He split his lips into a wide grin, saying his soul remained because of that curse.
[You will never escape the Bleeding Curse!]
As the Twelfth Apostle let out a grotesque scream about dying together, the pool's pulling force suddenly intensified. It was far stronger than the bloody energy he had possessed while alive.
"Haaa..."
Raon exhaled roughly while enduring the physical and mental pain that felt like being stabbed by thousands of needles.
'As expected, he had a hidden trump card.'
This is why he had wanted to learn more before finishing things.
If he had continued fighting while provoking the Twelfth Apostle, he might have noticed this curse and either dispelled it or just cut off his limbs before killing him. He regretted not having time for that.
'Though this might be better.'
Since he called it the Bleeding Curse. The fact that it was specifically a blood curse, not some other type, suggested it might actually work in his favor.
"Raon!"
"Are you alright...?"
Martha and Runaan called out to him simultaneously.
"Don't worry about me, focus on your own fights."
Raon calmly shook his head and then released his strength, no longer resisting the blood pool pulling at his body. As the resistance disappeared, the pool's suction suddenly intensified and swallowed his body whole.
His breath was cut off as if underwater. Below the pool wasn't ground but an endless sea of pure white blood. Bloody energy surged everywhere he could see.
[KIHAHAHAHAHA!]
The Twelfth Apostle's soul, taking the form of a shark, rushed toward him as if to devour him. Red blood flowed from his forearm where the apostle's teeth had grazed him.
[Even if it's you, you can't escape this curse! You'll die with me!]
The Twelfth Apostle opened his massive jaws, intending to tear out his throat this time.
"Haven't you considered that I might have entered willingly?"
Raon smiled thinly as he thrust forward the Blade of Requiem.
"This sword says it's still hungry."
[What?]
The Twelfth Apostle frowned as if not understanding.
"Devour it all."
Raon unleashed the extreme Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation above the Blade of Requiem. The burning flames spread wide like a cloth above the red blade, completely enveloping the Twelfth Apostle's residual thoughts and bloody energy as he charged with bared teeth.
It was the Dance of the Golden Flame, a technique of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation that erases all evil energy.
The Dance of the Golden Flame, thickened by the power of vengeful spirits, remained impenetrable even against the Twelfth Apostle's soul as it struggled while containing massive bloody energy.
[W-what is this...]
The Twelfth Apostle's voice trembled in disbelief.
"You called it a Bleeding Curse, right? This Blade of Requiem is a ceremonial sword made to comfort those who died by your hands. A mere Bleeding Curse is nothing but food for this blade."
Raon twisted his lips as he burned away the Dance of the Golden Flame containing the Twelfth Apostle's soul and bloody energy.
[KIAAAAAAK!]
Along with the Twelfth Apostle's scream as he faced true death, the white blood melted away in the flames. The blade of the Blade of Requiem grew even redder after absorbing the remaining bloody energy from the blood, as if indicating there were still many grudges left to settle.
"Ughk!"
"The Twelfth Apostle, so easily..."
"He-he even overcame the Bleeding Curse."
"His martial prowess defies logic. How could someone like him..."
The Archbishops swallowed dryly as they watched Raon easily overcome both the Twelfth Apostle and the Bleeding Curse.
"Now that the magic protecting the walls is broken, the Warring Steel Leader and Full Moon Division Leader should enter and subdue the apostles inside."
Raon pointed inside the collapsed wall, directing Runaan and Trevin. Though an apostle who had been reinforcing the magic and another who could summon Blood Demons remained inside, those two should be more than capable of subduing them.
"Yes...!"
"I accept your command!"
Runaan and Trevin led the Full Moon Division and Warring Steel Division through the collapsed wall, cutting down the Blood Demons that had been trying to fill the breach.
"Leave this to me too!"
Alice winked at him as she beheaded the First Apostle, indicating she would follow. Though she had been fighting evenly with the First Apostle, she seemed relaxed, as if holding back some hidden strength.
"Martha. Your task isn't just to kill the Tenth Apostle."
Raon turned his gaze to Martha, who was engaged in combat with the Tenth Apostle.
"I know!"
Martha pressed her lips together and nodded, seeming to have regained her composure. She clearly understood her role.
"Go on without worry!"
Denier showed calm eyes as he promised to support Martha and protect the people at the bridge.
-The most suspicious one tells us not to worry!
Wrath shook his head in disbelief.
-You worry me more than the Blood Demons!
He trembled his hands, saying he couldn't predict what Denier might do.
'Looking at him now, he really does seem like a father caring for his daughter.'
Despite all their suspicions, Denier had been cutting down Blood Demons and bishops without hesitation. He had saved Martha's life and protected his subordinates countless times. Looking at his battlefield performance alone, he was the very image of a father who valued his daughter and subordinates more than his own life.
'Nothing can be done about it now.'
Though he wanted to keep watching Denier, there wasn't time for that.
'I've told Balder, so I'll just have to trust in that.'
After hearing his words, Balder was tearing apart Blood Demons at the fourth bridge near Denier. Since there was little difference in martial prowess between him and Denier, he should be able to stop any suspicious behavior.
'Right now, stopping the Leader of the White Blood Religion is what's important.'
Raon entered the White Blood Religion Headquarters through the path Runaan and Trevin had cleared. While it appeared to be an immaculate and pure white city without a speck of dust, the stench of blood flowed like a river underneath. The Blade of Requiem burst with an intense sword mantra, as if sensing the terrible bloody energy that made up this city.
'Where is the Leader of the White Blood Religion?'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he ran toward the city center.
'The roads seem different from when I was here before.'
He couldn't see the roads or buildings he remembered from when he came to rescue Ogram. It seemed they had expanded the headquarters in the meantime.
'It's too vast. I can't just wander around like this.'
Raon stopped and activated his Azure Clear Eye. A pure energy seeped into his tired eyes, and he began to sense the flow of energy spread throughout the entire city.
'It's definitely different.'
With the Azure Clear Eye, both his eyes and senses were opened, making it much easier to detect enemy movements than before. As Raon scanned the entire city while focusing on his enhanced sight, he turned his gaze northward.
'What is that...?'
A cathedral-like building stood at the northern edge of the city, and something chilling was blooming inside it. It wasn't aura or bloody energy. He could sense someone's soul itself changing into an eerie color.
'Could it be...'
-That's right.
Wrath deeply furrowed his brows.
-That mosquito woman is in that building, and her soul is reaching the stage of awakening.
He clenched his fists, saying the Leader of the White Blood Religion was trying to cross a threshold. The ground cracked as Raon applied force to his toes. Using the Supreme Harmony Step, he leaped up, shattering the earth as he advanced toward the northern building.
As he stepped through the air trying to fly toward the cathedral where the Leader was hiding, white fog rose up before him, completely blocking his view.
'This is...'
He sensed the same foul stench as the white fog that had been protecting the White Blood Religion Headquarters from the front. The fog made him lose his sense of direction, making it difficult to know where he was.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of holding back anymore."
Raon thrust out the Blade of Requiem while calling upon Glacier's cold energy. He opened the blue sky to summon the wind and dropped wrathful lightning to split the earth. Sky-Piercing Thunder. The sword strike that harmonized the Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts tore through the thick fog.
As Raon tried to leap through the split fog toward the cathedral where the Leader was, hundreds of magic spells and Blood Demons began rushing at him.
"You cannot leave this place!"
A middle-aged man with a shaved head like a monk pointed at him while unleashing pure white magic. He seemed to be the apostle who had been reinforcing the magic in the walls until now.
"UAAAAA!"
"Protect it even if you have to throw your bodies!"
"Spread your blood to block the path!"
"We must not let him break through!"
Following the apostle's orders, the archbishops and Blood Demons charged forward while amplifying their bloody energy, ready to throw their bodies to stop him. The apostle meanwhile cast magic that pressed against his body and aura, making it impossible to move quickly.
"Just looking at those desperate faces tells me everything. That a crucial moment has come for your Leader. If you're willing to stake your lives to protect it..."
Raon raised golden flames that could burn away white bloody energy as he looked at the cathedral at the northern end.
"Then I'll stake my life to break through!"
***
A crimson space that seemed out of place in the White Blood Religion.
"Haaaa..."
The Leader of the White Blood Religion exhaled excitedly as she swept up the red blood filling the room with both arms.
'I can feel it.'
She could feel the blood and her soul resonating as if they had become one. Just as transcendent martial artists freely manipulated nature's mana, the very concept of blood was harmonizing with her soul.
'Is this the ultimate state of the Blood Realm?'
The true meaning of blood, which she had thought of only as a tool for gaining strength, was seeping into her soul. If she could embody this sensation, she would be able to switch bodies just by injecting her blood, without needing to use grand techniques like before.
'If that becomes possible, no one in this world will be my match.'
Since no human exists without blood. If she could switch bodies at will, she wouldn't need to worry about physical endurance and could fight at full power every moment. Even Glenn, considered the strongest under heaven, or the Heavenly Demon would be beneath her feet.
'Huhu.'
The Leader curled her lips as she watched the red blood filling the room turn white.
'Not much longer now.'
The blood filling this room belonged to nobles with special constitutions. Once this blood becomes transparent like water, she would be able to control the blood of all humans. She would no longer be just a religious leader, but ascend to heaven as a Blood God.
'Just a little more...'
The red blood that had been chillingly crimson now rippled white as if sprinkled with white paint. She could feel her soul violently vibrating as if about to shed its shell. As the Leader closed her eyes for her soul's awakening, a sharp pain struck her mind like a tiny pebble.
'Still have strength to resist?'
She could feel the soul of her current body stirring from where she had buried it deep in the mental world.
"Don't worry. As you wished, I'll devour that child whole as well."
Just as the Leader lightly suppressed the resisting soul and was about to begin the final purification, cracks appeared in the temple's southern wall and the blood that was nearly purified began leaking out.
"Ah, no!"
The Leader screamed and reached out her hand, but she couldn't stop the blood since she hadn't fully awakened yet.
"What in the..."
Just as she tried to forcibly use the Blood Realm to stop the escaping blood, the wall shattered into pieces as golden radiance poured in.
"Were you taking a bath?"
Raon Zieghart. The man with brilliant golden hair as if carrying the sun on his shoulders looked down at her with a twisted smile.
"I'll give you a clean cut. Make sure to wash your neck well."