"Huh?"
Raon froze as he watched Denier stab the Leader of the White Blood Religion in the heart.
'What's going on?'
He had been tense after noticing the change in Denier's eyes, but then Denier used the sword that had been aimed at him to pierce through the Leader's chest instead. This was even more baffling than when Lecross was ambushed.
-Has that bastard truly gone mad?
Wrath blinked several times in confusion.
-Why did he stab that mosquito queen's heart! And what's all this about calling her mother!
He clutched his head, still unable to understand Denier's actions.
'Could this be a ritual to make it easier to steal Martha's body?'
He thought perhaps Denier was killing Martha's mother's body, currently possessed by the Leader, to give her more power. Honestly, no other reason came to mind.
'No, that's not it.'
Seeing the Leader's shocked eyes and hearing her trembling voice, it was clear she hadn't expected this either.
'This isn't an act. He's serious.'
The Leader had been genuinely shocked when Denier ambushed her as she was trying to push out Martha's soul and devour her body.
'And...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Denier cough up dead blood.
'The Leader attacked Denier too.'
The Leader had released the magic planted inside Denier's body, slicing his organs into pieces. There would be no reason to go that far if this was an act.
"Get away!"
The Leader channeled her bloody energy to push away both the sword piercing her chest and Denier.
"Urghh..."
But Denier didn't move, as if his legs were rooted to the ground. Even though he could barely keep his eyes open from the pain, he maintained his grip on the sword piercing the Leader's chest.
"Urghh..."
Martha also spat out blood as she was exposed to the Leader's bloody energy alongside Denier.
"W-what are you! Why did you stab that monster!"
Despite feeling pain in both body and soul, she looked at Denier rather than the Leader.
"Tell me!"
A tiny glimmer of hope seemed to shine in Martha's eyes.
"Since your souls are connected with your mother, you won't be able to move properly even though the paralysis has worn off."
Denier shook his head while maintaining his grip on Martha's hand.
"Hnngh..."
Martha's expression twisted deeply.
'Just as he said, it's hard to breathe.'
Her mind felt hazy as if drugged, and her body felt like it was floating. If not for the pain coursing through her entire body, she would have thought she was dead.
"So this is the choice you've made? Fine. I'll devour that child's body and make you despair."
The Leader curled her lips as she looked down at Martha.
"Aaaagh!"
Martha screamed in unbearable pain. The Leader's soul seemed to be violently trying to seize her body again.
"It's alright."
Denier tightened his grip on Martha's hand as she tried to push him away.
"Imagine you're holding a sword and try to use the Crushing Ocean Sword."
"Eek..."
Though Martha still felt betrayed by Denier, the extreme pain inflicted by the Leader instinctively made her start reciting the Crushing Ocean Sword's mantra. A subtle yellow light spread from her entire body like fireflies, naturally dispelling the bloody energy that had been crushing her soul.
Martha's eyes, which had been turning gray as if she was losing consciousness, began returning to their original black color.
"Ah..."
Martha stared at Denier with blank eyes as she felt the pain in both body and mind noticeably decrease.
"W-what is this!"
The Leader's jaw trembled as she watched Martha resist her soul's invasion.
"You! What have you done!"
She ground her teeth as she glared at Denier rather than Martha.
"The way you and I steal human bodies is similar. I created martial arts that can counter it."
Denier nodded, explaining that the Crushing Ocean Sword itself was a sword technique created to protect Martha.
"You truly!"
The Leader glared at Denier and screamed.
"After how much I cherished you!"
"Unlike the anger you feel towards me now, the recognition and love you showed me were false emotions."
Denier exhaled heavily as he looked into the Leader's burning red eyes.
"Though my entire life has been a lie, today at least, I want to live as a truthful human being."
After checking Martha's condition with wide eyes, he nodded toward Raon.
"Mother has mastered the soul more than anyone else in this world. She can split her soul into multiple parts, so even if father... no, even if the Destructive King of the North Glenn Zieghart comes, he won't be able to completely destroy her soul."
Denier furrowed his brows as if enduring pain.
"The only way to completely destroy Mother's soul is when she's changing bodies."
He clenched his fist, saying he had created this moment to kill the Leader completely.
"Ah..."
Martha's trembling eyes looked up at Denier.
"You've truly gone mad!"
As the Leader screamed while spitting blood, the eyes of the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual attacking Raon rolled back. The deity swung down its bloody energy-infused axe and spear, seemingly intent on obliterating the immobilized Denier without a trace.
"Die!"
Denier revealed calm eyes as he looked at him rather than the Leader, as if completely trusting him.
-What the...
Wrath frowned, still seemingly unable to grasp the situation.
'Damn it...'
Raon bit down hard on his molars as he executed the Supreme Harmony Steps. Using the supreme movement technique he learned from Denier, he rushed forward to block the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual's falling axe. As he pushed back the axe with his Heavenly Drive, his entire body screamed in protest. His body and mind had already reached their limit.
'However...'
That monster was in the same state. Given how it couldn't completely overwhelm him in his weakened state, the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual must have been much weaker than it appeared.
"Thank you..."
Denier expressed his gratitude toward Raon's back.
"I don't trust you."
Raon shook his head without looking back.
"Just do whatever you can. I'll hold it back for now."
He said he would endure somehow as he deflected the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual's successive weapon strikes.
"Martha..."
Denier gently lowered his gaze while holding Martha's hand.
"Now you must do it. Only your fight remains."
He nodded, telling her to keep using the Crushing Ocean Sword to push back the Leader's soul and bloody energy.
"I will..."
Martha bit her lip as she looked up at Denier.
"After this war ends, I will definitely hear your story."
"...I promise. I will tell you everything myself."
Denier seemed to have more to say, but he didn't speak further.
"Urghh!"
Martha bit her lip as she channeled the Crushing Ocean Sword's mantra with all her might. As pure energy bloomed throughout her body, transparent blood poured from the Leader's mouth and chest. Denier also seemed to be helping push back the Leader's soul by using the Crushing Ocean Sword alongside her.
"Urghh..."
The Leader ground her teeth as white blood flowed. Her eyes flashed intensely as her bloody energy began surging like waves again. This time, blood flowed from Martha and Denier's eyes. It seemed their souls had suffered a great shock from the Leader's bloody energy.
"My soul is greater than anyone else's! I'll never be pushed back by the likes of you!"
The Leader sneered, saying it was like trying to break a rock with an egg.
"Urghh..."
"Nngh..."
As if proving her words true, Martha and Denier groaned and lowered their heads. There was an overwhelming difference in their realm of the soul.
"I won't kill you right away."
The Leader sneered as she looked down at the trembling Denier.
"I'll use that child's body, whom you cherish enough to betray me for, to cut your throat."
She smirked, saying she would kill Denier using Martha's body.
"Ugh..."
Denier continued using the Crushing Ocean Sword while conserving even the energy to speak, but it seemed he could barely hold on.
"Shut your stinking mouth."
Martha raised her head and bit the Leader's arm as she mocked Denier.
"Such struggle from someone about to die."
The Leader sneered, seemingly thinking it was just a final struggle.
"This land is too pure for the likes of you."
Martha curled her lips, still stained with the Leader's blood.
"I'll guide you to a hell that suits you."
Though she had no sword, she placed her trembling hand over her chest as if holding one.
"Devil's Prison."
The battlefield's air changed with Martha's chilling cry.
Gates of hell with flowing red blood rose from the white ground. The left gate had the taxidermied corpses of the 10th Apostles, their bodies twisted in death.
"What!"
As the Leader's eyes widened, a blood-curdling screech rang out as the right gate of hell opened. When the gate opened and freezing cold energy exploded outward, Martha, Denier, and the Leader froze in place.
The gates of hell closed again with the creaking sound of old hinges, as if their purpose had been fulfilled.
'Could that be...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the closed gates of hell, leaving the three people behind.
-Indeed. It only took their souls!
Wrath nodded as if confirming his thoughts.
-Something you experience occasionally too.
He nodded, saying their souls must be clashing inside those chilling gates.
'Then there's no point in destroying those bodies.'
It seemed today's battle would be decided inside those hell gates. Raon narrowed his eyes as he blocked the attacks of the Godly Blood Summoning Ritual, which was still trying to protect its master, the Leader.
'This could be very dangerous.'
If his thoughts were correct, Martha couldn't win in a battle of souls.
'I need to prepare too.'
Raon tightly gripped the Blade of Requiem, which was releasing fierce sword mantras as if sensing the Leader's intense malice and killing intent.
'For the final battle.'
***
Splash!
Red blood flowed beneath the hell gates where the corpses of the 10th Apostles were preserved.
"This place..."
The Leader looked around at the world filled with crimson blood. She frowned as she observed the preserved corpses of the 10th Apostles.
"This is a Sword Domain made for you."
Martha, sitting atop the hell gates, looked down at the Leader with a twisted smile.
"Your soul will be preserved down here."
Martha pointed to the empty space on the right side of the hell gates.
'I can win.'
Unlike the Devil's Prison used against the 10th Apostles, this one made for the Leader was a Sword Domain that pulled in souls rather than bodies.
She had designed it this way from the start since if that body died and was preserved, her mother would die too.
"Souls, is it..."
The Leader nodded as she looked at her body, now free of wounds.
"This certainly feels familiar."
She nodded calmly as if understanding the method. She even looked satisfied.
"Looking at it this way, your soul looks quite appetizing."
The Leader curled her lips, saying Martha's soul looked like it would taste good to dominate. Just as the two were about to move their swords and hands while glaring at each other, Denier fell next to Martha.
"Huh?"
Denier blinked as he looked down at his own body.
"Why am I in this form..."
This was a space where only souls could exist. He couldn't understand why he, whose soul and body were just red liquid, was appearing in Denier's form.
"Stop thinking unnecessary thoughts and focus on the fight ahead!"
Martha nodded slightly at Denier.
"Right. I will."
Though his doubts weren't resolved, Denier nodded as if realizing this wasn't the time for such thoughts.
"So you both want to willingly enter my mouth."
The Leader sneered and spat blood. Her soul reached Martha before she could even blink. Martha deflected the Leader's martial arts technique with her sword and deeply slashed her waist.
"Hmm..."
Instead of blood, white energy leaked from the Leader's waist. Her soul had been damaged.
"How strange."
The Leader clenched her fist and charged at Martha again. Martha once again easily deflected the Leader's fist and drove her sword into her shoulder. Denier didn't miss the opening created by the Leader's injury and carved a sharp sword wound into her abdomen.
"Haaa..."
The Leader was pushed back as she looked at the wounds on her shoulder and abdomen.
"Now I understand. This space itself is weakening my soul."
She frowned as she looked at the rippling sea of blood that seemed to bind her feet.
"You catch on quick. That's right."
Martha calmly acknowledged the Sword Domain's ability.
"Since my soul couldn't become stronger in such a short time, I made your soul weaker instead."
This was an ability she gained by offering her life force and swearing an oath to never wield a sword again once the Leader's soul was preserved in the hell gates.
"You must have lost quite a lot. What impressive willpower and mental strength."
The Leader nodded, saying she had to acknowledge it.
"I don't need your acknowledgment."
Martha lowered her stance as if intending to end it this time.
"Fine. Now I'll stake my life as well."
As the Leader bit her lip and brought her hands together, an intense white light erupted from her body. Like a moon rising and casting two shadows, the Leader's soul began splitting into two.
The soul that split to the right was the black-haired, black-eyed woman who had been the original owner of the body the Leader had been occupying.
Conversely, the person standing on the left was a beautiful woman whose appearance sent chills down one's spine. She was an alien existence with skin so pale it was white and prominently protruding fangs.
"I'll devour your soul here and take that body too."
The red-haired, red-eyed woman twisted her lips coldly. This woman seemed to be the Leader's true identity.
"Mom!"
Martha realized the black-haired woman who had fallen into the sea of blood was her mother's soul and ran toward her without looking back. But the Leader, as if not wanting to witness the reunion between mother and daughter, kicked Martha's jaw.
"Aagh!"
Martha screamed as she was knocked back into the sea of blood.
"You know what?"
The Leader tilted her chin as she looked at Martha's mother's soul lying behind her.
"After I weakened, your mother kept interfering? If not for that, you and Raon Zieghart would have died long ago."
She frowned, saying Martha's mother had been interfering all this time.
"Since I won't be returning to that body..."
The Leader's body vanished, leaving behind a hazy mist.
"I'll kill your mother and place your soul beneath my feet."
Despite being affected by the Sword Domain, she unleashed a realm of the soul far more powerful than Martha and Denier's. The two were struck in their abdomen and face in an instant before being thrown into the bloody water.
"Kuhak!"
"Ugh!"
Unable to even properly resist, the two lost a significant amount of their souls as they were overwhelmed by the Leader.
"Didn't I tell you? My soul is greater than anyone else's. Such restrictions can't stop me."
The Leader sneered as she charged at Martha and Denier.
"I'll handle defense! You focus on attacking!"
Denier nodded, saying he would hold the Leader back while Martha attacked.
"Hmm!"
Martha bit her lip as she raised her sword. But Denier couldn't even block the Leader's first attack and was sent flying with his arm torn off, while Martha, who had been preparing to counterattack behind him, fell backward with a hole in her thigh. The Leader stomped down on Martha's fallen body.
"Kuhak!"
Martha spat out white energy. Her soul began rapidly diminishing.
"Move!"
Denier regenerated his arm and rushed in with a sword strike, but the Leader easily dodged his attack before unleashing her martial arts. Denier's chest split open, and large amounts of energy containing his soul leaked out. The Leader reached out with her pale white hand and lifted Denier by the throat.
"Urghh!"
Denier gasped for breath, seeming to have no strength left to resist.
"This is absurd."
The Leader looked at Martha and Denier mockingly.
"To think that the likes of you believed you could handle my soul."
She tilted her chin mockingly at Martha.
"It's my first time eating both mother and child's bodies, I wonder how it will taste."
Just as the Leader wet her lips with her tongue and reached toward Martha, she stopped her hand upon feeling intense vibrations from behind.
"This aura can't be!"
The moment the Leader turned around urgently, the sea of blood that had been boiling like lava split apart, and a red sword rose up. The Blade of Requiem, containing soul and grudge. Raon's Soul Sword pierced through space and time, descending into Martha's Sword Domain.