"Evelyn?"
Raon called out Evelyn's name with wide eyes.
"How did you get here..."
Evelyn had been clearing away the White Blood Religion's white fog at the beach. Raon's mind went blank - he hadn't even considered the possibility that she would come here to help.
"I did well, didn't I?"
Evelyn came down beside him with a bright smile. Despite accomplishing an impossible feat in such a short time, her smile was as pure as a child's.
"It'll be fine now. Don't worry."
Evelyn stopped the bleeding from Martha's neck, then gently stroked her head.
"Nngh..."
The usual Martha would have shouted in protest at being touched while paralyzed, but now she was too traumatized to do more than bite her lip and squeeze her eyes shut.
"Martha..."
The vitality and anger that had filled Martha's eyes had sunk into emptiness and sorrow. Looking at her made his own heart ache, forcing him to turn away.
"Evelyn. Is the fog under control?"
Raon gestured to Evelyn while looking at the sky above the White Blood Religion Headquarters.
"My arm was getting sore from maintaining the barrier with mana. So..."
Evelyn rolled her right shoulder, indicating how difficult it had been.
"I developed a spell that automatically pushes away the fog."
She dusted off her hands, saying it had been worth observing the white fog magic multiple times.
"Even if there's a problem with the spell, I can fix it from here. It'll be fine."
Evelyn lifted her chin confidently, saying she had recovered enough mana as well.
"Amazing..."
Raon let out a wry laugh as he looked at Evelyn.
'To think Evelyn would go this far.'
Though Evelyn spoke as if it were nothing difficult, this was something absolutely impossible for most magicians. He realized once again just how extraordinary her magical ability and talent were.
-As much as I hate to admit it, that crazy woman is somewhat helpful...
Even Wrath blinked in acknowledgment, seemingly impressed by Evelyn's achievements.
"Unfortunately, it'll be difficult to remove the paralysis here."
Evelyn frowned, noting that Martha was under the influence of a magic she had never seen before.
"However..."
She raised a glass bottle toward Denier, who was grinding his teeth.
"This I can destroy."
Evelyn shook the bottle violently as if she might smash it against the ground. The red liquid inside surged like waves.
"Hand it over."
Denier extended his hand toward Evelyn, his forehead creasing.
"This is beyond what you can handle."
He ground his teeth fiercely, seeming to have lost his initial composure. He appeared angry that his original plan had been disrupted.
"Given how you say we can't handle it, I'm guessing this is blood."
Evelyn smirked as she brought her nose close to the bottle's lid.
"Well, you're the only ones who would drink something like this."
She lowered her eyebrows deeply in disgust.
"I said hand it over."
Denier leaned forward as if about to charge at Evelyn.
"If you take even one step from there..."
As Raon stepped forward to protect Evelyn, she shook the bottle behind his shoulder.
"Shall I break this?"
Having seen how Denier had taken Martha hostage, Evelyn spoke with a mocking tone as she threatened to break the bottle.
"Hmm..."
Denier could only bite his lip, unable to move as if afraid of losing the bottle.
"Hmph!"
Just as Evelyn was about to catch the bottle she had tossed in the air to taunt Denier, the Leader of the White Blood Religion unleashed an enormous amount of bloody energy, simultaneously pushing back all the Five Kings' Transcendents.
"Hah! Hah..."
Larian, who had been in charge of the front-line defense, bent over gasping for breath as if her heart would burst, too exhausted even to speak.
"What a monster."
Lecross wiped the black blood dripping from his mouth with the back of his hand and let out a bitter laugh, as if his wounds had reopened.
"If the Leader of the White Blood Religion had been at full strength, I would have died long ago."
Alice nodded gravely, saying they could barely fight thanks to the Leader's injuries.
"The same goes for us! Don't let her intimidate you!"
Chamber snorted, claiming she could have taken on the Leader one-on-one if the latter had been uninjured. Despite likely being the most exhausted, she encouraged everyone with the loudest voice.
"Calm yourselves!"
The Leader of the White Blood Religion shouted at the Apostles, who had beast-like looks in their eyes. Unlike her usual self, she was fighting with cold calculation now that the situation had become desperate.
Though he didn't like it, her composure was befitting of her position as a head of the Five Demons.
"I'll deal with that damned nuisance who's always getting in our way."
The Leader's chilling eyes turned toward Evelyn. She channeled her killing intent into the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual. The Blood God's hands, wielding spears and daggers, shot out like lightning. With a resounding clash, Raon raised the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem to block the weapons of the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual that were trying to tear Evelyn apart.
'Disgustingly heavy.'
Despite raising two layers of Fire Wall, his arms felt like they would fall off, and his waist felt like it would break. Both the martial arts imbued in the weapons and the bloody energy burning above them possessed terrifying power.
'It's certainly a threatening attack, but...'
Raon licked his lips as he pushed back the weapons of the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual with the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier's frost.
'She's definitely losing strength.'
If the Leader of the White Blood Religion had attacked with full power, he would have either died or suffered great losses. The fact that he only felt shaken, like before taking internal injuries, clearly showed she was weakening.
"We're not done yet!"
The Leader moved all the hands of the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual as if intending to kill both him and Evelyn simultaneously. The massive weapons and hands fell together, numerous enough to block out the sky.
"Seems she still has plenty of strength left."
"She's not even an octopus, why is she so tenacious!"
Despite coughing up blood from severe internal injuries, Lecross and Larian rushed forward to block the assault of the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual.
"What, can't you see us?"
"Stop targeting the kids and play with the adults instead!"
Under Lecross and Larian's protection, Alice and Chamber used dimensional magic and the Spatial Sword to slash deeply into both of the Leader's shoulders.
"Just die already!"
The Leader let out a monstrous cry and unleashed a radiance made of bloody energy, while the Five Kings' Transcendents mustered all their strength to create a wall blocking that light. As the two powerful forces clashed, the White Blood Religion Headquarters began tilting toward the sea as if the earth's axis had been twisted.
"As expected, Raon's the only one who thinks about me."
Evelyn seemed unconcerned with the battle between the Leader and the Five Kings' Transcendents as she gently touched her shoulder and thanked him.
"Stay back."
"No, I'm fine."
She calmly shook her head.
"I was just careless earlier. I'll support you from behind."
As if showing she was done playing around, Evelyn threw the bottle she had stolen from Denier to the ground, shattering it. The red liquid that flowed between the broken glass shards writhed grotesquely like a screaming creature before dissipating into smoke.
"Kuh..."
Denier ground his teeth as he stared at the ground where the red liquid had vanished. Though he clearly wanted to kill Evelyn immediately, he seemed to be trying to maintain his composure due to the Leader's advice to stay calm.
"No need to hold back. I'll come to you."
Raon charged at Denier, thrusting with the ultimate point of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. With a thud, Denier dodged by stepping back, then used the momentum as his toes touched the ground to surge forward instead. By the time Raon sensed the movement, Denier's sword was already at his throat.
'It's true that Denier is faster than me. However...'
My swordsmanship is superior. A swordsman's battle isn't decided by speed and power alone. At similar levels, what matters most is who has more experience and has overcome more hardships. With a sharp clash, their swords met.
Raon tilted the blade of the Blade of Requiem to deflect Denier's sword that was aiming for his throat. Denier's sword struck the ground instead of his neck.
As Raon slashed downward with Revolving Sky toward Denier's chest, the latter pushed off the ground with just his big toe to escape the sword's range. However, he couldn't dodge completely - a black burn mark appeared across his chest, and blood spurted forth.
"Hmm..."
Denier frowned at the wound on his chest, as if he hadn't expected to be cut.
"You cannot be faster than me."
He charged forward at an even faster speed, his eyes narrowed as if refusing to accept reality.
"I'll acknowledge your speed. However..."
Raon raised the Heavenly Drive toward the trajectory of Denier's incoming sword while pushing his Azure Clear Eye to its limit.
"We will win this war."
Just as he knocked away Denier's sword that was driving toward his heart while swearing never to lose, an explosion of the Leader's bloody energy, the Five Kings' Transcendents' magic, and aura created a thunderous boom and shockwave that shook heaven and earth.
"Kuhk..."
The Leader of the White Blood Religion seemed to have reached her limit, coughing up clear blood as her fingers trembled. For the first time, she appeared to be at a disadvantage. The Godly Blood Summoning Ritual began to fade, as if she was having trouble maintaining it.
"Haaa..."
"This is disgustingly difficult."
Larian and Lecross bent over with their hands on their knees, their faces pale as if they were about to die.
"But it looks like we can see the end, right?"
"Yes. She's not even regenerating her wounds anymore."
Larian and Chamber curled their trembling lips as they watched the Leader neglecting to heal her wounds.
The Thirteen Apostles also retreated to the Leader's side with their chest cut from Raon's fierce assault. They chewed their lips as if unable to find a way to defeat Raon.
"Damn it..."
The Leader bit down on her molars, seemingly having never expected that she and Denier would be pushed back like this.
"There's no choice."
As she snapped her fingers, space twisted like rushing water in a valley and a white dimension opened. With a sharp sound, the Leader reached into the dimension and pulled out two glass bottles. No, they weren't empty. A transparent liquid sloshed inside them like water.
"Take it."
She tossed one of the bottles to Denier who stood beside her.
"This is White Spirit Blood, more potent than the Red Spirit Blood you had. However, if you exceed the time limit, consider your body forfeit."
The Leader exhaled heavily, indicating just how potent the energy within was.
"Understood."
Denier simply nodded in compliance and grabbed the bottle containing the White Spirit Blood.
"S-Stop them!"
"I don't know what it is, but stop them now!"
Lecross and Chamber rushed toward the Leader without even taking time to catch their breath, as if instinctively sensing the danger.
"Damn it!"
Raon also stepped forward with his footwork, unleashing Frost Snap toward Denier who was about to drink the White Spirit Blood.
"Get lost!"
The Leader shouted for them not to interfere as she detonated the bloody energy imbued in the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual's weapons, launching an attack so powerful that the Five Kings' Transcendents couldn't approach.
"Break through!"
"Damn it!"
Raon, Lecross, and Alice led the charge with sword strikes while Chamber and Larian supported from behind with magic, but they couldn't immediately dispel the Leader's massive bloody energy. They refused to give up, pushing forward with swords and magic until they finally managed to erase the bloody energy - but by then, they heard the sound of glass bottles breaking.
As they pushed away the white fog and looked up, they saw the Leader and the 13th Apostle with white droplets at their mouths.
The two seemed unsatisfied even after drinking all the liquid in the bottles, licking the moisture from around their mouths.
"Haaaa..."
The Leader's wounds began regenerating while emitting white energy streams. This wasn't the use of magic. It was an immeasurable amount of bloody energy healing the wounds on its own.
The fading Godly Blood Summoning Ritual also seemed to receive bloody energy from her, creating an even more brilliant and magnificent radiance than before as crimson blood dripped from its eyes. Just looking at this grotesque sight sent chills down their spines.
"Huu."
The 13th Apostle also erased his sword wounds without leaving a trace. An overwhelming amount of bloody energy began burning throughout his entire body.
The sharp energy that felt like it could melt flesh made his hands tremble as he gripped the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem.
"Damn it!"
Larian lowered her staff-holding hand as if all was lost, watching the revitalized Leader and Godly Blood Summoning Ritual.
"This will certainly drain our strength..."
King Lecross also let out a deep sigh, saying he hadn't known such an elixir existed.
"L-Let's keep going! It's not over yet!"
Alice raised her sword with trembling hands, shouting not to give up.
"Right, we have to see this through to the end."
Chamber spoke about fighting until the end, but unlike before, her voice had sunk into hollowness.
"Just as you say."
Raon nodded while letting out a short breath.
"The end of the war is approaching."
He calmly closed and opened his eyes as he looked at the Leader and Denier, who were emanating bloody energy that seemed to reach the sky.
"N-Nephew? Is it really ending?"
Balder, who had been quiet until now, circled his finger near his temple as if questioning Raon's sanity.
"Raon..."
The Five Kings' Transcendents also furrowed their brows, seemingly not understanding his words.
"The Leader told Denier to be prepared to abandon his body when she gave him the white blood. That means it's an elixir - no, a poison - with terrible side effects."
If there were no side effects to an elixir that could summon such bloody energy, they would have drunk that blood and slaughtered them long ago. The fact that they only brought it out in a crisis showed that it must cause great harm to those who consume it.
"Certainly..."
"That's right."
Chamber and Larian clapped their hands as they looked at him. They nodded, saying they hadn't thought of that in their despair.
"So you're saying if we keep fighting, we'll get our answer?"
"I'll endure even in death."
Alice and Lecross also raised their swords with renewed strength, ready to fight again.
"Correct."
The Leader smirked as she tilted her chin.
"You're disgustingly quick to catch on."
She wrinkled her nose as if displeased with him.
"What's this? You're admitting it so readily?"
Raon sneered, saying this wasn't like a cult leader.
"Because I'm confident I can kill you all for certain."
The Leader spread her hands, saying it wouldn't matter even if they knew.
"Of course, that child will deal with you."
She turned her eyes, saying Denier would be the one to kill him.
"Evelyn."
Raon raised his finger to point at the Five Kings' Transcendents.
"Help them."
"What about you?"
Evelyn frowned, seeming more worried about him.
"I'm fine. I can win on my own."
With Evelyn's help, he could defeat Denier more easily, but right now they needed to stop the Leader first. The five Transcendents might not be able to win, but they could buy time.
"...Alright."
Evelyn nodded, showing her trust in him, then handed Martha over to Balder before taking position behind Chamber.
"Now you truly look like mere insects to me!"
As the Leader sneered and clasped her hands together, the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual swung its weapons with movements as fluid as a living human. The weapons' power and speed had more than doubled, descending with elegant martial arts principles as if multiple Transcendent martial artists were attacking together.
Chamber and Alice gave up on attacking and focused on defense.
Even with Evelyn supporting with Transcendent magic circles and Larian and Lecross simultaneously deploying defensive formations, they couldn't completely block the Leader's assault. Everyone was pushed back, coughing blood.
"Now it's your turn."
Denier kicked the ground violently, as if not wanting to give him any time. Even the Azure Clear Eye couldn't catch his afterimage, only his movement could barely be sensed. With a clash, Raon bit his lip as he deflected Denier's sword that was bent toward his neck by a paper-thin margin.
'Barely... hm!'
Just as he thought he'd successfully blocked, Denier retreated while slashing his thigh. Blood sprayed from his leg where the bloody energy sword had pierced.
"You're slow."
Denier charged again, narrowing his eyes as if pitying him. His sword fell toward Raon's heart faster than light. With a clash, Raon raised the Heavenly Drive to defend and tried to counterattack with the Blade of Requiem, but Denier had already slipped behind him.
When Denier tried to stab his sword into his back, Raon used Sword Control to lift the Wooden Ring Sword and employ the Dance of the Golden Flame.
The red cloth wrapped in flames melted away as it consumed the white bloody energy. With a thud, despite his failed attack, Denier showed no disappointment. He rolled his foot once more to move to Raon's left side, cut his waist, and vanished.
"Are you trying to make clothes by just skinning me? If you want to kill me, come at me properly!"
Despite the dangerous situation, Raon didn't retreat or run away, but instead advanced to face Denier. Though wounds were accumulating all over his body as he defended against Denier's faster and stronger attacks, he never took his eyes off his opponent.
"That fighting spirit will eventually be drowned in blood."
Denier moved at speeds beyond human perception as he swept across Raon's entire body. The flesh under his eyes was deeply gouged, his chest next to his heart was torn away, and chunks of his calf were cut off. Though the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous, Raon tracked Denier's movements using only the Ring of Fire and Azure Clear Eye.
'How can he be this fast?'
The Supreme Harmony Steps was a Transcendent footwork technique created by Glenn in his later years. No matter how amazing Denier's footwork might be, there shouldn't be such a large difference in speed.
'Let me think...'
Raon broke down Denier's movements that were tearing him apart into individual scenes and burned them into his mind. Denier's movements unfolded like a kaleidoscope as he compared them to his own.
'Breathing, ankle angle, step depth, upper body balance, and even harmony with swordsmanship.'
Beyond the principles of Quick Sword, each small difference was creating the speed gap between himself and Denier.
'Let's try it.'
Raon incorporated what he had observed and felt from Denier's movements into his body as he executed the Supreme Harmony Steps. As he stepped on the ground while simultaneously releasing Wrath and aura, his upper dantian opened like seeing a vast ocean, letting him enter a new realm of speed.
A world faster than sound. He dove into the extreme domain where Denier resided.
"What is this!"
Denier thrust his sword with even greater speed, his eyes wide with shock at Raon's growth. Now that they were in the same realm, Denier's sword was only slightly faster than his own. Raon raised the Blade of Requiem in a reverse grip to deflect Denier's sword.
"So this world exists."
Originally, he had planned to kill Denier as quickly as possible and join the fight against the Leader. But their plan to end it quickly by drinking the white blood had fallen apart. The fastest path now - no, the only way to win this war was to absorb and learn from Denier's abilities to become stronger.
'I must go further.'
His sword seemed to lose its weight and become faster, his body advancing as if it had grown wings. His Quick Sword and Art Sword, which he thought had reached their limits after endless training since childhood, were shedding their old shell and taking flight toward new evolution.
Not just Quick Sword, but the Ten Thousand Swords itself was blooming wider and higher, like trees and flowers growing together.
"With what I've learned from you..."
Raon matched Denier's sword speed as he fixed his gaze, his eyes burning with red lightning.
"I'll go cut down your master."