Chapter 510

Martha slowly opened her eyes. She could see a clean white ceiling, one that lacked even a single speck of dust.

‘Where am I…? Ah.’

She immediately remembered what had happened, probably because her head was clear after such a deep sleep.

‘I fainted after becoming a Master.’

She was enlightened while fighting against a Master during the fighting contest of the Five Divine Orders, and she finally managed to unleash the astral energy that she’d always desired.

‘The match must’ve ended as a draw.’

She remembered that she’d landed a clear hit on that arrogant Kallon, even if she ended up losing consciousness after that.

Martha slowly clenched her fist. She could feel a huge amount of power twitching inside her energy center.

‘It wasn’t a dream.’

Her enlightenment about martial arts had deepened further. She had a feeling that she could have a complete victory against Kallon if the fight happened once again.

‘I wonder what Raon is going to say about this?’

She was unbearably curious about what Raon would say about her becoming a Master. She wanted to immediately check out his reaction.

‘Considering his personality, I don’t think he’s going to praise me… Hmm?’

Martha giggled to herself and rolled her eyes. It had been noisy outside for a short while.

‘I must be at a healing ward.’

Judging from the neat interior and medicines next to her, she was clearly in a healing ward. It was clear that they’d spent a lot of money on it, which was to be expected from a new city.

‘Let’s go out.’

Her body felt light, probably because she’d been sleeping for a long time. She figured she would have no issue moving around, roughly unwrapped her bandages, and opened the door.

“Aaaah!”

“Cover his stomach first!”

“Wait, how did his arm end up like this…?”

“Sh-she’s bleeding too much! There are more than three holes in her stomach! It’s already too late…”

“Shut up and focus on healing! They brought the third prince’s divine tablet with them! Save them no matter what!”

The screams of the patients and shouts of the healers were being hurled all around the place. They were so noisy to the point where her ears were hurting, but she realized that the screaming voices were familiar.

“Don’t tell me…”

Martha closed her lips tightly and examined the face of the patient whose abdomen was being treated by the healers.

“Huh…?”

It was Dorian. Both his arms and legs were smashed as if they had been hammered down, and he had a dark hole in his abdomen, where blood was gushing out nonstop.

“Where’s the priest?!”

“Th-they are coming soon!”

“Damn it! Their asses are so heavy even with the amount of money we spent!”

The middle-aged healer wearing a golden uniform applied medicine to Dorian’s abdomen while swearing, and then he covered the hole with his hands before scattering his blue energy.

“Sniff…”

Dorian’s quiet groan could barely be heard. The movement of his throat showed that he was still alive, but it didn’t look like he would last for long.

However, he wasn’t the only one with serious injuries.

Next to Dorian, Burren was there with one of his eyes covered in blood, Runaan had three holes in her stomach, and Mark Goetten’s left arm was scorched black.

All three of them seemed to be in intense pain, as their shoulders and necks were shivering.

“Uah…”

“Aaaaah!”

“Uuh…”

“Pl-please skin me! I can’t endure this anymore…”

The other Light Wind swordsmen were also injured in various places, and their wounds were dark, as if they’d been injured a long time ago.

‘D-demonic energy? Were they defeated by demonic energy?’

Martha sank to the ground while leaning against the wall next to her.

“What’s even happening right now?!”

Her strength had abandoned her legs. Then she raised her head while sitting on her knees.

‘W-wait! Raon! Where’s Raon…?’

She couldn’t understand the situation, but there was no way Raon would be intact when the Light Wind division was injured to that extent.

She crawled to find Raon and saw that Yua was standing up.

“Yua!”

“M-Martha!”

Yua’s shoulder and waist were covered in bloody bandages as she ran towards Martha.

“What even happened? Please tell me…”

Martha’s pale lips were trembling as she grabbed Yua’s sleeve.

“Wh-while you were fast asleep, the Holy Sword Alliance master and the White Blood Religion's leader attacked Banneret.”

“The White Blood Religion's leader…”

She unconsciously clenched her fist upon hearing the name of the White Blood Religion's leader.

‘That monster did it again…’

She bit her lip to the point of bleeding and looked around the Light Wind division who were submerged in pain.

Her heart pounded rapidly, as if it were about to explode, upon realizing that she’d done that to her companions after taking away her mother’s body.

“But we weren’t injured by them.”

“What?”

“We managed to escape because the Light Wind division leader and the Heavenly Blade division leader carved a path for us, but…”

Yua explained what had happened to Martha.

“Wh-which means, Raon…”

“…He stayed behind on his own.”

Yua fell on her ass and started to cry loudly.

Cries of sadness and worry engulfed the healing ward, and the patients who had been struggling slowly closed their eyes and breathed quietly.

Yua had unconsciously unleashed a lullaby.

“Huh…”

“What’s happening?”

“But even the anesthetics didn’t work on them…”

The healers’ eyes widened as they looked at Yua. They seemed surprised because it had never happened before.

“Come back to your senses! Get moving already!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

The middle-aged man in a golden uniform shouted, and the other healers resumed the treatment.

“It will be fine.”

Martha shook her head while grabbing Yua’s shoulder.

“There’s no way that monster is going to die.”

“R-right?”

“Yes. I know about his miracles better than anyone else. Trust me.”

She patted Yua’s head and turned her head around. She smacked her thigh with her tightly clenched fist.

‘Damn it, damn it! Daaamn it!’

The fact that the Light Wind division struggled to death while she was sleeping soundly, that they’d been protecting her instead of their own bodies, and that she couldn’t do anything when Raon saved everyone and stayed behind on his own was so frustrating that she broke out in tears.

‘What should I do?’

She couldn’t be impatient. If it was Raon’s will that sent everyone to the healing ward, abiding by it and saving everyone took the highest priority.

‘I need to start by contacting the house.’

Since she’d said that they were teleported to the healing ward in that state, they shouldn’t have even thought about contacting the house.

Martha steadied her trembling legs and stood up.

She checked out the injuries and the states of everyone in the Light Wind division before she asked a staff member at the healing ward to send a message to Zieghart.

She asked them to bring all the medicines and elixirs that were necessary before she knelt in front of the middle-aged man wearing the golden uniform who seemed to be the person in charge.

“Please save them, I’ll do anything.”

Martha bit her lip and slammed her head on the ground.

“We’ve already received more than enough payment.”

The middle-aged man in the golden uniform pointed at the third prince’s tablet.

“But we could use your assistance. Can we extract your aura? It will be extremely painful.”

He asked whether she could endure it with narrowed eyes.

“I’ll do it even if it means I can’t use my aura ever again.”

Martha went next to the middle-aged man without even wiping the blood flowing from her forehead.

“Alright, please insert this into your arm.”

The middle-aged man pointed at Martha’s arm with a thick needle at the width of a finger.

Martha nervously bit her lip while stabbing the needle into her right arm.

‘Raon, make sure to return alive. I’m going to save them no matter what.’

* * *

Wrath was looking at the transcenders haughtily, but Raon broke out into a cold sweat as he watched him from behind.

Hey!

“Why are you calling me?”

Wrath still seemed to retain his sanity since he made an aura barrier before he responded.

Why would you leave without a plan?!

Raon reluctantly screamed at Wrath.

We can’t let them find out the relationship between us!

The original plan was to switch bodies with Wrath inside the boundary and leave while feigning ignorance. However, the crazy demon king had just left the boundary. Raon felt dizzy from the situation.

We will be screwed if it goes wrong!

If people found out that he was linked to a demon king, he would be kicked out of Zieghart at the very least, and he could potentially be murdered by the dragons.

It would be fine if he’d reached transcendence, but he wasn’t even a Grandmaster yet. That was why it was necessary to hide that fact no matter what.

“What foolishness. No one here can figure out the relationship between us.”

They can’t figure it out?

“The King of Essence is currently in his real form instead of your body. His energy is also demonic energy instead of your shabby aura. No one among them is capable of finding you inside the King of Essence.”

But we have a time limit. What if we suddenly revert back…?

“Your mind is maintaining this body right now, but the King of Essence’s demonic energy is also contributing to it. We do have a time limit, but he can control it.”

Wrath shook his head, saying that they might find it strange but wouldn’t think they were related.

“Moreover, your boundary is still down there. The King of Essence will release it when he’s about to leave and distract them. Don’t worry about it.”

Really?

“Has the King of Essence ever lied before?”

…Almost never.

Wrath almost never lied, except for when he bragged about something. His actions during that incident were a testament to it.

“By the way.”

Wrath rolled his eyes while curving his lips into a deep smile.

“What do you think will happen if they discover your identity?”

What?

“Truthfully, it doesn’t change anything for the King of Essence even if they found out. And he doesn’t exactly like the idea of hiding something when he is a demon king.”

Err…

“But you are different. What do you think? Shall I try revealing his identity before returning this body to you?”

His eyes curved into a crescent shape, and he laughed at Raon.

You bastard…

“One week.”

Raon bit his lip, and Wrath raised his index finger.

What?

“Swear that you are going to eat everything the King of Essence wants for one week after this incident.”

Are you threatening me?

“He learned it from you. Taking notes was worth it.”

Wrath grinned, saying that efforts were always rewarded.

Ugh…

Eating whatever he wanted for a week wasn’t a big deal. Raon would’ve done it unconditionally if he’d just asked, but being unexpectedly threatened made him extremely irritated.

“You’d better decide quickly. They must be wondering about this situation.”

Wrath pointed at the transcenders below with his finger.

Raon sighed after looking at Rimmer and Sheryl.

Alright, one week…

“It’s two weeks now because you hit the time limit.”

Hey!

“He learned that from you as well.”

When did I ever do that?!

“Huh? You are taking too long. It’s three weeks now—”

Fine! Three weeks!

Raon immediately responded that he would do it because he had a feeling it would become one month soon enough.

“Call.”

Wrath nodded with a smile.

“This should prevent heaven’s unreasonable treatment.”

He nodded, saying that he should be able to eat whatever he wanted within three weeks no matter how much heaven tried to interfere.

Raon furrowed his brow while watching Wrath descend to the land.

You could’ve just gone ahead to eat with that body right now if that’s what you want.

“Something requires his attention before then.”

* * *

The Thespian Emperor furrowed her brow while looking at the existence floating in the air.

‘What is that?’

The formation that she’d worked so hard to prepare was ruined because of his appearance through the space, but that wasn’t the important part.

‘How can energy feel like that?’

His energy was as elegant as divinity, but also as gloomy as demonic energy.

Characteristics that couldn’t easily harmonize were coexisting in his body, and his presence was huge enough to fill more than the entire space around them.

‘Is he even human?’

His navy blue hair was swept to the back, reflecting the sunlight, and he looked so beautiful that it was difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman.

The transcendental beauty, mysterious energy, and overwhelming presence gave the impression that he was something other than a human being.

‘I can’t tell how this situation is going to unfold.’

Considering that he’d ordered them to lower their eyes, he didn’t seem to be favorable. She gathered her energy in preparation for a sudden attack.

“Hmm…”

“Huh.”

The White Blood Religion's leader’s lips were trembling nervously, and the Holy Sword Alliance master’s eyes turned bloodshot like an excited gambler’s.

“Kuh!”

“Umm…”

Since the Demon Slaying Spear and the Demonblade used dark energy as their weapons, they were overwhelmed by Wrath’s demonic energy and stepped back.

“……”

The Queen of Swords had her hand on the hilt with her usual nonchalant expression.

All the transcenders were nervous, and Raon checked on Rimmer and Sheryl before anything else.

What a relief.

‘They are both safe.’

Rimmer and Sheryl were both injured, but their injuries weren’t as serious as the Light Wind division’s. They should manage to escape with a decent situation.

Then… Huh?

Raon smiled faintly upon finding Merlin, who was starting at Wrath.

I knew she would be here.

‘Th-that madwoman is also here.’

Wrath groaned for the first time. Raon had thought that he had changed after getting stronger, but his personality was no different from when he was cotton candy.

Of course she would be.

It would’ve been strange if Merlin was missing since she was the person who was the most obsessed with Raon Zieghart on the continent.

“The King of Essence…”

Wrath averted his gaze, pretending he didn’t see Merlin. He looked down on the transcenders coldly and twisted his lips.

“Told you to lower your eyes.”

“You!”

The Demonblade pointed his finger at Wrath with a trembling chin.

“You are a demon! It’s difficult to tell, but that negative energy can’t be anything else than demonic ener—Cough!”

As he called Wrath a demon, a smacking sound was heard and his face turned to the side. His cheek reddened into a bloody color.

“The King of Essence doesn’t accept any questions.”

Wrath turned his head while lowering his hand that he’d used to slap the Demonblade’s cheek.

“Learn your place before running your mouth.”

“Ah…”

The Demonblade’s lips trembled as he rubbed his cheek.

‘Did I just get slapped?’

He was still somewhat prepared for an attack, but he hadn’t even recognized it until he was hit.

It was a tremendous speed and power. He had a feeling that it would be no less than the Holy Sword Alliance master in his full power.

“…And the King of Essence isn’t a paltry demon. He is the King of Devildom.”

“A-a demon king?! Why is a demon king here…?”

The Demonblade shouted in astonishment, and Wrath’s hand moved once again.

The Demonblade moved when Wrath’s white hand, which seemed to have never been exposed to sunlight, started to advance like a ray of light. He raised the back of his hand to defend against Wrath’s attack and counterattack afterward.

However, Wrath’s hand broke through the Demonblade’s defense like a snake and slapped his cheek once again.

Smack!

The Demonblade’s face briskly bent and a red tooth fell out of his mouth.

“He came to check on things because some shabby demonic energy was getting on his nerves. You are even more unsightly though.”

“Ugh…”

The Demonblade’s eyes were trembling in disbelief as he stepped backward.

“H-he’s a real demon king…”

The Demonblade shook his head, his chin trembling violently.

‘Yes, he must be the demon king. That’s the only way to explain this situation.’

Demons became weaker upon reaching the human realm. Wrath being a demon king was the only way to explain the fact that he’d slapped his cheek when he was fully prepared.

“But why a demon king…?”

The Demon Slaying Spear also seemed nervous. He bit his lip and raised his spear shaft.

“Haa…”

The Queen of Swords also prepared to draw her sword at any moment, catching her breath and clenching her hilt.

“Wahahahaha!”

The Holy Sword Alliance master burst into laughter while covering his forehead, then lowered his head.

“May I be permitted to ask a question, demon king?”

Wrath nodded his chin and gave permission.

“Do you use a sword by any chance?”

“No.”

“Tsk.”

The Holy Sword Alliance master immediately lost interest and withdrew with a frown on his face.

Huh…

Raon gasped while watching the Holy Sword Alliance master let out a sigh.

What the hell is wrong with him?

He’d heard the rumors that he was crazy for swords, but he didn’t expect that even a demon king would fail to interest him. He was a complete lunatic.

“Demon king?”

Wrath rapidly turned his head upon hearing a frightening voice from somewhere.

“This scent…”

Merlin was talking. She raised her mask slightly and walked towards Wrath while sniffing like a puppy on a stroll.

“I think this is Raon’s scent.”

“Ugh…”

Wrath was surprised for the first time and shrunk.

Seriously, this guy…

Wrath wasn’t just pretending to be afraid of Merlin. His presence was even bigger than the Holy Sword Alliance master and the White Blood Religion's leader, but he was shrinking in front of Merlin. Raon couldn’t understand how it was happening.

“Are you a demon king?”

The White Blood Religion’s leader twisted her lips and examined Wrath’s body.

“Are you really revealing that by yourself? Do you have a death wish or something?”

She laughed at his ridiculous behavior.

Wrath narrowed his eyes while looking at the White Blood Religion's leader.

‘You said that her body belongs to Beef Girl’s mother, right?’

Yes.

Wrath remembered what Martha had told him in the past.

Wait, are you…?

“Hey, parasite over there.”

Wrath extended his hand at the White Blood Religion's leader.

“What?”

“Hand over that body.”

“What?”

“The King of Essence told you to hand over that body and disappear.”

“This was already irritating enough, and now an insane demon scum is talking shit.”

The White Blood Religion's leader ground her teeth violently, unleashed her colorless energy above her hand, and thrust it at Wrath. The energy advanced while chipping the blood-covered land and rushed towards Wrath’s heart.

“You don’t know your place, parasite.”

Wrath smiled coldly and casually shook his hand. A blue light undulated from his white hand, and the White Blood Religion's leader’s bloody energy froze in an instant.

“I-it froze?! The bloody energy froze?!”

The White Blood Religion's leader’s eyes widened as she looked at the frozen bloody energy floating like a mobile hanging decoration.

“How shabby, just like your existence.”

Wrath sneered while tilting his head. The frozen bloody energy fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

“I was curious what a demon king’s blood tastes like. This is a perfect opportunity.

The White Blood Religion's leader opened her hands with a serious expression on her face. Transparent bloody energy was raging above her shoulder like a heat haze.

Cring!

A cold sword resonance severed the tension between the two.

The Holy Sword Alliance master came up next to the White Blood Religion's leader and raised his sword towards Wrath.

“Are you also joining?”

“I became interested in whether that freezing ability can block my sword technique. Moreover, demon kings are uncommon enemies in the continent.”

He licked his lip, saying that the biggest reason was that he had a feeling it would be fun.

“You can talk when you’ve accepted the Black Tower as your ally.”

The Queen of Swords frowned while getting into the posture of a sword draw.

“This and that are different stories. But you aren’t going to disturb us when we are trying to kill the demon king, are you?”

The Holy Sword Alliance master asked while licking his lip.

“……”

“Hmm…”

The Thespian Emperor didn’t respond, while the Demon Slaying Spear stepped back, implying that he was going to watch the situation.

Shring.

The Demonblade unsheathed his sword. He looked like he was going to try attacking Wrath when he found an opening.

Wrath!

Raon hurriedly called out to Wrath.

What are you doing right now instead of running away?! We don’t even have a boundary anymore.

Demons were unable to use their full power in the human realm. Dealing with the White Blood Religion's leader and the Holy Sword Alliance master should’ve already been hard enough for him, and that was why Raon couldn’t understand why he wasn’t escaping.

‘You said before that you just need to spar in the training ground if you want to always fight in a perfect condition. This is exactly for that reason.’

What?

‘A coward who only takes on safe battles can’t be called a king.’

Wrath straightened his back and looked at the Holy Sword Alliance master and the White Blood Religion's leader. Even though he wasn’t that tall, his presence became even more remarkable.

‘A king doesn’t move out of their way, nor go around. They simply carve the path while guiding the populace behind them.’

Ah…

‘If you wish to be the king of this land, you will watch.’

Raon could feel that Wrath was serious about it. The reason he kept calling himself a king was because of that pride he had.

“The King of Essence is going to rip the head off of that parasite today. Be prepared to die if you want to get on his way.”

Wrath twisted his lips while pointing at the White Blood Religion's leader. Raging wrath glinted in his sky-blue eyes.

“Come at him!”

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