Glenn chewed his lip while looking up at the dark window. It was rare for him to express such intense emotion as he did while he placed his hand on Heavenly Tremor’s hilt, which he had equipped around his waist.
‘Orgos and the Light Wind division…’
Chad had said that the vice tower master, Orgos, was going to clash against the Light Wind division—however, that wasn’t exactly the correct way of saying it.
Not a single person from the Light Wind division would be able to survive if they encountered Orgos.
Orgos wasn’t as powerful as the leaders of the Six Kings and the Five Demons, but he was still a transcender with a heavenly might.
Even with Raon, Sheryl, and Rimmer combined, they should have a hard time lasting against him. That was why it was absolutely impossible for Raon and the Light Wind division to fight him by themselves.
‘It’s meaningless to assume that they aren’t going to meet.’
Raon was Orgos’s target. Judging from his realm, he would definitely find them even if the Light Wind division decided to hide or run away after noticing the anomaly in Cameloon.
‘And he won’t be able to use that ring, either.’
He was thinking about Chamber’s ring, which was awarded to the winner of the Six Kings tournament in the Owen Kingdom. Raon could avert the crisis if he could use the ring at the correct time.However, the authority of that ring was far too powerful, and it even required Chamber’s mana on top of its innate mana. She couldn’t afford to spend that during her fight against the Black Tower’s master.
Whir!
Glenn tapped on Heavenly Tremor’s hilt with a slightly trembling finger. Heavenly Tremor’s resonance sounded sentimental, as if it understood its owner’s feelings.
‘Is there no way for me to arrive there in time?’
Judging from the timeline Chad had mentioned, it was impossible for him to arrive at the scene before Orgos encountered the Light Wind division unless the dimensional door at Cameloon was restored.
Haa.
Glenn sighed roughly and closed his eyes.
Raon’s awkward gaze and the way he was sometimes embarrassed and lowered his eyebrows came to mind.
Burren, Martha, Runaan, and the other youngsters’ faces overlapped with him after that, and his heart tightened as if it was being bound by a chain.
‘I’ll be late no matter what I try. But still… I’ll go.’
There was no solution in staying in the room to think about it.
He had to run towards Raon and the Light Wind division even if he had to expend all his power, and that was the correct course of action.
“Leader of the Shadow Agents, which dimensional door is the closest?”
Glenn made up his mind and took his hand off of Heavenly Tremor.
“There’s a small to medium-sized city called Diol located southwest of Cameloon. It should be closer than Owen or Balkar.”
Chad responded without delay. He must’ve prepared the response in advance.
“Roenn.”
Glenn threw away the cape covering his shoulder and headed towards the audience chamber’s door. His footsteps were frighteningly silent after he finished his contemplation.
“I won’t look back.”
Roenn lowered his head with his hand placed on his chest. The gentleness in his eyes had turned completely dark.
“I’ll follow.”
* * *
Unknown Forest between Cameloon and Banneret
Warriors covered in injuries like defeated soldiers were walking along a forest path where white snow flowers were blooming.
Dorian looked behind him while touching the bandage covering his shoulder. He licked his lips while looking far beyond his companions.
‘He should be fine, right?’
He was the closest witness of Raon’s miracles, but he was still unable to rest assured.
‘It’s because he is facing a Grandmaster.’
The difference between a Master and a Grandmaster was huge, even bigger than the difference between an Expert and a Master.
His stomach ached because it was clear that even Raon might end up dying during the battle.
‘Whether he wins or loses, I just want him to return safely.’
Dorian was pressing on his temple while hoping for Raon’s safe return when he heard a murmuring sound from the right.
He turned his head to see that Burren was looking at his hands with twitching lips.
“I really became a Master, I really became a Master, I…”
Burren kept repeating the same thing over and over. It looked like he still couldn’t believe that he’d become a Master.
Dorian smiled faintly while looking at Burren’s scarred hand.
‘It shouldn’t come as a surprise that he became a Master.’
Burren was a member of the direct line of Zieghart. It was only natural that he would become a Master.
Of course, the reason he was so surprised was because he’d reached Master at the young age of twenty-one, but it wasn’t that amazing either considering what he’d been doing up to that point.
‘Because we’ve overcome countless deadly crises.’
Because Raon’s training was similar to a real battle, they had almost died countless times even inside the house, and they had also fought with their lives on the line during missions. That was why quick growth was a natural outcome.
‘You’ve earned what you deserved.’
Dorian ignored Burren, who was now pinching his cheek, and looked forward.
Runaan was rotating her arm with her entire body covered in bandages like a mummy, and her eyes as blank as always. Blue frost was rising from her fingertip.
‘Lady Runaan also seems to be in a good mood.’
Runaan couldn’t stay still even though she was only interested in Raon and ice cream in the past. It showed that she was also surprised that she’d become a Master.
Since Runaan had been making even more effort than Burren, it wasn’t strange at all that she’d become a Master.
‘The person who is the most surprised must be…’
Dorian smiled faintly and looked to his left, where Mark Goetten was located.
‘That old man.’
Mark Goetten was hugging the Black Hermit Saber that Raon had bestowed upon him tightly with his eyes still retaining traces of tears.
‘He’s such a crybaby. Well, I guess I would’ve done the same in his place… No, I wouldn’t have been able to suppress it.’
Mark Goetten had rapidly become a Master, but his growth had come to a halt, and he was forced to watch other people surpassing him one after the other.
The fact that he was praised at first before plummeting to the ground must’ve made the criticisms even more painful to him than someone who was looked down upon from the beginning.
However, Mark Goetten had overcome the scars, humiliation, and despair to rise once again. He braced himself while serving Raon as his subordinate even though Raon was far younger than him.
People laughed at him, saying that it was already too late, and he had to train along with the Light Wind division that could’ve been as young as his son. However, he’d continuously wielded his saber regardless of those taunts.
He had reached his goal of becoming an intermediate Master after countless hardships and pain. That was why he was bound to be even more impressed than the others who’d become a Master.
‘I’ll be wishing for you to continue your advance in the future.’
Dorian bowed slightly at Mark Goetten out of respect.
‘I wonder if I can also become a Master?’
He’d honestly never thought about becoming a Master.
However, he was starting to think that he might be able to become one since the three team leaders had become Masters and his hand was touching the Master’s wall.
‘I would’ve never imagined myself becoming a Master without Sir Raon.’
He was helped by him countless times—when he was a trainee, at Habun Castle, in the Light Wind squad, at the Sephia Company, and even in the Light Wind division.
He only felt gratitude towards Raon because he was pretty much the only reason he’d become a swordsman.
‘I’ll even risk my life if it means I can repay this debt.’
He thought no one would believe him since he was a coward, but he really was willing to offer his life for Raon’s sake.
Dorian smiled while thinking about Raon’s face.
‘Well, Sir Raon would start nagging at me to swing the sword instead, if I told him about this. I can roughly tell what he’s going to do and what he is going to think at this point.’
“Don’t worry about him too much.”
Dorian looked behind him while thinking about Raon, and Burren shook his head while lowering his hands.
“That monster must’ve already finished the fight and should be thinking about a new training regime.”
“Yes, you just need to worry about how to surprise Raon more.”
Runaan nodded, saying that she was planning to brag about becoming a Master and ask him to buy some ice cream.
“Don’t you believe in our division leader?”
“But Sir Rimmer is our division leader…”
“Oh, that’s true.”
“It’s all the same since Sir Raon feels like the real division leader.”
The Light Wind division’s swordsmen erased their anxiety about Raon while joking around.
“Indeed.”
Dorian chuckled and nodded just Denning Rose and her bodyguard, who’d been walking at the front of the line, stopped.
“Why…?”
He was trying to ask why they’d stopped walking, but he noticed that they were leaving the forest, and Cameloon could be seen beyond a prairie.
“Wh-what?!”
Dorian’s eyes widened. Cameloon’s ramparts and buildings were destroyed, and black smoke was rising towards the sky.
The city was being destroyed in real time. Even though they were still far away from the city, the monstrous wave of power coming from it made his fingers tremble.
“How come Cameloon is also under attack?!”
Denning Rose bit her lip while looking at a spire being destroyed.
“What the…?”
“Ah…”
Burren and Runaan didn’t expect the situation either and fell speechless while watching Cameloon burn.
“Wh-what should we do?”
“I-if we can’t go to Cameloon, we should head to Owen or Balkar…”
“Owen and Balkar are the ones who protect Cameloon! They aren’t going to be safe either!”
The warriors from neutral factions also had flushed faces from panic. The civilians were just trying to read the room, unable to figure out what to do.
“Uhh…”
Dorian’s chin trembled as he grabbed his trembling wrist.
‘How is this happening?’
He’d thought he just needed to reach Cameloon and wait for Raon, Sheryl, and Rimmer. That should’ve been the end of it, but the city was unexpectedly under attack.
The sense of crisis that had subsided returned like a tidal wave.
“……”
Denning Rose turned around after observing Cameloon, where light and darkness were sparking. Her face was as pale as the snow covering the prairie.
“The Black Tower seems to be attacking Cameloon. The defender seems to be from the Balkar Kingdom, but it seems difficult.”
She shook her head, saying that heading to Cameloon wasn’t a great decision.
“Turn the light off for now!”
Burren quickly understood the situation and ordered the warriors to turn off their lamps and torches.
People extinguished their torches and lamps with hardened faces. They’d realized that Cameloon was a path toward death instead of life.
“It’s not a good idea to stay here either.”
Denning Rose shook her head while looking at the prairie towards Cameloon. It was completely open in all directions, and it did seem to be a dangerous location.
“Let’s return to the forest.”
Burren turned around as soon as he heard her. He started to walk towards a small hill that he’d memorized on the way.
“Poyen.”
Denning Rose snapped her fingers, and her bodyguards—wearing night traveling outfits—appeared behind her.
“Erase our tracks.”
The bodyguards scattered towards the entrance and exit according to her instructions.
“Casia, you should help them too.”
“Understood.”
The bodyguard called Casia also moved towards the entrance according to Encia’s hand gesture.
Casia and the warriors from the Black Market scattered at the forest’s entrance and exit to remove the traces on the ground.
There was still a high chance of being found out because of the snow, but it was better than nothing.
* * *
* * *
“What should we do?”
Burren sighed quietly and looked at Denning Rose.
“First of all, we can’t go to Cameloon. Considering the fact that Balkar’s magicians are there, Balkar doesn’t seem to be a good choice either. The remaining options are Owen or a small city called Diol…”
Denning Rose gave multiple choices and let the party decide.
“Owen or Diol…”
“However, we have to leave this forest to reach either of them, and we will most likely be discovered.”
She furrowed her brow, saying that they could be attacked on the move.
“Th-then what about hiding here?”
Dorian crawled towards them.
“Hmm, I also think staying here would be the best choice. The Black Tower must be looking for something if they decided to attack Cameloon, and they shouldn’t come all the way here…”
Burren agreed with Dorian and looked at Denning Rose.
“I think it’s a reasonable opinion. However…”
Denning Rose rubbed the ground with her finger and clenched her back teeth.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’m thinking that they might come south because Sir Raon had trouble against the Black Tower…”
She sighed, saying that the Black Tower was known for its persistence among the Five Demons.
“Ah…”
Dorian’s hand holding the hilt of his blade shivered intensely.
‘She’s right.’
Raon had an issue with a warrior from the Black Tower—none other than the vice master. Denning Rose was right in her belief that the Black Tower might make a move against Raon.
“I think the best decision we can make is to hold out here and watch how the situation unfolds, and then move on after aid arrives from Owen.”
“Understood. Let’s go with that…”
Burren nodded, and Denning Rose’s bodyguards who were ordered to erase the traces returned.
“We couldn’t remove all the traces, but we’ve erased the important parts.”
“Thank you, Poyen.”
Denning Rose smiled at Poyen.
“Your wel—”
Poyen started to shake her head but suddenly came to a halt.
“L-Lady, run…”
She was trying to tell her to run away, but her neck was snapped, twisting 180° with a cracking sound.
Thud.
A warrior at Master’s realm collapsed just like that, even though she’d been breathing until a moment ago.
“L-Lady Encia!”
Encia’s bodyguard Casia’s lips twitched to tell her to escape, but a blue flame burst into being above her shoulders.
Whap!
Casia tried to drive away the flame with astral energy, but the blue flame only intensified and turned her body into ash in no time.
A moment of silence.
Terror and screams followed.
“Aaaah!”
“Wh-what’s going on?!”
“What is this…?”
“Poyen!”
“Casia!”
Everyone stepped backward in panic while Denning Rose and Encia fell on their knees while screaming.
“Lady Denning Rose!”
“We have to withdraw!”
Dorian grabbed Denning Rose and Encia to try pulling them back.
That was when he noticed something huge floating in the sky.
Dorian raised his eyes with his chin trembling in fear. A monstrous man with skin as black as the darkness around him and eyes that were completely white, without any pupils, was standing in the sky as if he were on a stair.
He wasn’t that tall or bulky. He might even have been smaller than average. However, the presence that he was emanating was covering the entire sky.
With the low realm he had, he couldn’t tell the difference between him and the transcenders like the leaders of the Five Divine Orders, the Holy Sword Alliance master, and the White Blood Religion’s leader.
“Th-the Demonic Monarch of Azure Flame, Orgos…”
Dorian dropped Denning Rose’s arm upon hearing her trembling voice.
‘The Demonic Monarch of Azure Flame…’
He didn’t know the name Orgos, but there was no way he wouldn’t recognize the title, the Demonic Monarch of Azure Flame. It was the name of the Black Tower’s vice master, who had reached transcendence. Dorian realized that his black skin and the white pupils were just like the rumors he’d heard.
The white pupils of Orgos became distorted. There was no way to tell where he was looking because his pupils were indistinguishable.
No, that wasn’t even the issue. No one could even speak because of the overwhelming presence of the Demonic Monarch of Azure Flame.
“You are from Zieghart.”
He voiced Zieghart’s name right away, as if he were already aware that the Light Wind division was there.
“Where is Raon Zieghart?”
“Ah…”
Dorian’s heart tightened upon hearing Orgos’s question.
‘D-did he really come here personally to find Sir Raon?’
The information from Denning Rose wasn’t wrong. He must've come to kill Raon, who had gotten in the way of him catching a drake in Werthers Village.
Boom!
An explosion could be heard from behind them. Warm liquid fell over his head, and he could smell the stench of blood. Someone had died once again.
“I’ll ask a second time. Where is Raon Zieghart?”
Orgos’s question followed. No one could respond to him, and someone else exploded once again.
Dorian’s chin trembled violently. He was afraid that his white pupil was going to face him, but he was also worried at the same time that someone might tell him Raon’s location.
Boom!
Another person died. He couldn’t tell whether it was someone from the Light Wind division or a civilian. He didn’t even have the courage to look back.
Drip.
Blood was dripping under Orgos’s feet. It didn’t belong to the people in the area. It must’ve been the blood of people who had gone to Cameloon before them.
‘Sir Raon is going to die.’
He could tell because he’d been through countless life-and-death situations. They might be able to live if they revealed Raon’s location, but Raon was going to die for sure.
No matter how much of a genius he was, there was no way he could survive facing a monster who had reached heaven.
‘I-in that case… I have to step up. This is the time to die in his stead.’
It was the time to keep the resolution to offer his life for Raon’s sake, but he couldn’t muster the courage. He didn’t want pain, and he was afraid of death.
However, he was bound to regret it for the rest of his life if he managed to survive without doing anything. He hated it even more than dying.
“This is your last chance. Where is Raon Zieghart?”
Orgos raised his hand, implying that he was going to kill everyone after that. The flame bursting out from his hand was radiating a frightening light.
Creak!
Dorian bit his tongue with his back teeth and raised his head. His body was trembling in fear, but he used the pain to remove that fear.
He wasn’t only thinking about his gratitude towards Raon.
He thought about the sickly child during their first encounter. His sharp eyes were lonely and cheerless back then.
For the sake of that child, who wasn’t lonely anymore and considered his companions his family, Dorian straightened his terrified back.
Thud!
He clenched the sword just like the person he admired the most and violently stomped on the snowfield.
“I am.”
He couldn’t even let out his voice. He mustered his aura from his aching energy center and continued.
“I am Raon Zieghart!”
Everyone around him, including Burren and Runaan, looked at Dorian instead of Orgos.
“……”
Orgos rotated his finger.
Crack!
Along with a bone-shattering sound, Dorian’s arm twisted and turned the wrong way.
“Aaaaah!”
Dorian grabbed his smashed right arm and fell to his knees.
“What an arrogant boy.”
Argos moved his hand and Dorian’s body floated and soared into the sky.
“You are just vermin who hasn’t even reached the Master’s realm. What did you just say?”
“Ha-have you gone deaf from your old age?”
Dorian’s distorted eyes were reflecting his fear and relief at the same time.
“I am. The White Sword Dragon. Raon Zieghart!”
“Hah.”
Orgos laughed and fractured his left shoulder.
“Aaaaah!”
Dorian was sent flying back and smashed into the ground. A dangerous amount of blood gushed from his mouth, showing that he’d even gotten a serious internal injury.
“I’ll snap your neck if you spout that bullshit again.”
The thin nerves appearing in Orgos’s white eyes suggested that he was serious about it.
“I-I am Raon…”
Dorian forced himself to stand with his broken arms swaying in the air. He spat the black blood from his mouth and raised his head.
“Zieghart…”
“I am Raon Zieghart!”
Burren stepped in front of Dorian and roared. He also understood why Dorian was doing that.
“I am Raon Zieghart.”
Runaan also moved in front of Dorian and unsheathed Snow Flower.
“I am Raon Zieghart.”
Mark Goetten stood in front of the three others and raised the Black Hermit Saber. He was expressing his intention to die before them.
“You vermin.”
A simple shake of Orgos’s hand was enough to blow up Burren’s shoulder, create a hole in Runaan’s stomach, and slam Mark Goetten on the ground while breaking the Black Hermit Saber.
“Cough…”
“Ah…”
Since none of them had managed to perfectly recover from their injuries, they coughed up dead blood with their trembling bodies.
However, none of them stayed lying on the ground.
Burren and Runaan grasped their wounds and stood back up, Mark Goetten ground his teeth while wielding his broken saber with two hands, and even Dorian exhaled his bloody breath while leaning against a boulder despite being the most seriously injured among them.
The Light Wind division stood in front of the four people who were prepared to die and raised their swords.
And everyone shouted.
“I am Raon Zieghart!”
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