Raon narrowed his eyes while resonating the Ring of Fire.
‘They don’t just have the numbers…’
There were even some strong ones among them.
The White Blood Fanatics increased their bloody energy by devouring people’s blood and flesh.
Judging from the bloody energy mixed into the flow of mana, just like oil floating on water, he could guess that a large number of powerful warriors had fallen in that city.
‘I can’t track them.’
He tried to determine the source of the bloody energy, but he couldn’t reach that far. The Blade of Requiem’s energy was cut off midway, just like when a long rubber band would snap.
‘I need to be careful.’
Considering the faint stench of bloody energy and the fact that the bloody demons couldn’t be found at all, he figured it would be better to follow his initial plan and pretend to be a novice mercenary while investigating.
“All of the buildings look so funny.”
Burren was whistling while looking up to the peculiar buildings of Grand Seville. He must’ve been interested in how different they looked from Zieghart’s buildings, which were all rectangular and uninteresting.
“Mmm…”
Runaan was the same as always. She didn’t seem too interested in the buildings as she simply stared at Molve Lake on the other side of Grand Seville. She must’ve been thinking that it was a good place to doze off.
“Wow, the inside is even more splendid.”
“H-How is everything sparkling so much?”
“This is how it looks during the day, but I heard it becomes even more crazy at night.”
“This city is so crazy.”
The other swordsmen were also busy looking around. None of them were able to sense the bloody energy.
Raon smiled faintly while watching their reactions, which would make others look down on them.
‘This is even better because they aren’t acting.’
It wasn’t too bad, because they really looked like mercenaries from the countryside that had come to Grand Seville for the first time. No one would believe that they were from Zieghart.
“Haa…”
Martha exhaled roughly and clenched her fist. She didn’t notice the bloody energy, but she seemed to have instinctively noticed the White Blood Religion’s scent of blood inside Grand Seville.
‘Is it because they are her archenemies?’
People said that archenemies could be found with heart instead of brain, and Martha seemed to have found the White Blood Fanatics with her soul. She was similar to the Blade of Requiem in a way.
“Stop acting like country bumpkins, it’s embarrassing.”
Raon shook his hand at the Light Wind members that were standing there like idiots. He purposefully used a vulgar manner of speech in order to pretend to be a mercenary captain.
“Don’t say that…”
“I know you are also excited, captain.”
“He’s right. You are the biggest country bumpkin of us all, captain.”
“Huhuhu…”
The Light Wind members acted like a small-scale mercenary corps, just like they were taught on the way to Grand Seville.
“They are so out of style.”
“That’s normal since they came from the countryside.”
“Another set of soft touches have arrived.”
“I’m sure they will lose all their money before they go back home.”
“Some of them will stay here forever after that.”
The passersby and the guards behind them were laughing at them, which proved that their acting was working as intended.
“Shut up and follow me! Let’s get the lodgings first before I let you play however you want!”
Raon smiled faintly and went towards the inn he’d stayed in his previous life.
* * *
Raon called the team leaders Martha, Runaan, and Burren to his room. He created an aura barrier around them and let them sit in the room.
“The Shadow Agents’ prediction was correct. The White Blood Religion’s bloody demons are here.”
The extremely faint bloody energy he found with the Ring of Fire and the Blade of Requiem were the remnants of a powerful warrior’s energy, one that was devoured by the White Blood Fanatics.
Considering how big it should’ve been initially, the one hiding inside the city must’ve been at least an archbishop.
Grit.
Martha violently ground her teeth. Because he confirmed that their enemy was the White Blood Religion, the pressure she’d been suppressing was slowly rising with her wrath.
“Martha.”
Raon looked down on Martha with cold eyes.
“You should drop out from the mission if you can’t control your emotions.”
The way he spoke was so ruthless that Burren turned his head in surprise.
“No one will be looking after us during this mission. We will need to withdraw if there’s someone at the advanced or highest level of Master, or even a Grandmaster among the enemies. If you get too excited and lose control of yourself, you aren’t the only one who will die. You will also be bringing other squad members down with you.”
Neither Rimmer nor Sheryl were with them. Because the Light Wind squad had to deal with everything on their own, it was necessary to always keep a tactical retreat in mind.
“I know…”
Martha clenched her fist and slowly breathed out. As the impure energy flew from her mouth, her boiling pressure started to subside.
Her eyes returned to being clear once she appeased her anger by controlling her emotions. The way he taught her to control her emotions through training on the way was showing results.
“Let’s get started, then.”
Raon nodded in satisfaction before looking at the three team leaders.
“Our first objective is finding them. Considering the fact that even the Blade of Requiem was unable to find their location, the leader of White Blood Fanatics in the city isn’t going to be revealed so easily.”
Since even the Blade of Requiem was unable to find any traces of them, they must’ve been concealing their bloody energy by using some kind of formation or martial art.
“Which means we need to find their tail and work upwards. You shouldn’t attack them even if you manage to find a White Blood Fanatic. You should release them, pretending you didn’t notice, and track them to find their main base.”
Torture didn’t work against the White Blood Religion because they were fanatics. That was why it was necessary to secretly chase them in order to locate their base.
“Sounds good. Alright.”
“Mhm.”
Burren and Runaan immediately nodded in agreement.
“Haa…”
Martha closed her eyes instead of responding.
‘This memory never fades away.’
Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the memories of that day, the hellish scene where the tenth apostle and the bloody demons were devouring the villagers’ blood and flesh as they dragged her mom away from her.
‘I won’t be able to forget about it for the rest of my life.’
That scene repeated every day in her dream. Even if she managed to slay the tenth apostle and save her mom, the nightmare might follow her for the rest of her life.
‘I’ve been making excuses to myself so far.’
Because something like that had happened to her, because she was having that nightmare every night.
She told herself that it was normal to lose control as soon as she saw a White Blood Fanatic. She kept reminding herself that it was only natural that her hand moved before she knew it and her head turned empty.
‘But I can’t stay that way.’
She needed to stop comforting herself like that.
Because she wasn’t a kid anymore.
She couldn’t be an incompetent kid forever. She needed to take a step forward, just like she promised Raon and the first team members.
‘By the way, he really is a monster.’
Although it hadn’t even been an hour since they’d arrived at Grand Seville, Raon had already noticed that the White Blood Religion was hiding inside, and even suggested their course of action. She realized once again that Raon’s might wasn’t the only amazing part about him, since even his insight and experience were as seasoned as a division leader’s.
‘I need to learn all of that from him.’
There were so many things to learn from him, but what she needed right away was composure. She wanted to take after Raon’s calmness that allowed him to remain composed in all situations.
Martha calmed herself down before opening her eyes. Her eyes weren’t wavering in the slightest as she looked at Raon.
“Pretty good.”
Raon chuckled after noticing Martha’s unfazed gaze.
“Convey what I told you to the team members. We will use the buddy system and move in the groups of three that I assigned you to before.”
It was necessary to have groups of three to report and react at the same time in case something happened. That was the most efficient way to investigate, considering the situation they were in.
“Disband if you don’t have any questions.”
Raon waved his hand at the team leaders, asking them to leave.
“Are you moving on your own?”
Burren turned his head when he was about to leave.
“Are you worried about me?”
“I guess I shouldn’t be worried about a monster.”
He scratched his cheek while smiling awkwardly.
“Then what are you going to do?”
Martha asked next, narrowing her eyes.
“I shall meet him.”
Raon raised himself up with a faint smile on his face.
“The client that called us here.”
* * *
* * *
Raon left the inn on his own. He peeked into different shops like a newbie mercenary before entering an antique shop located on the corner of an alley.
“Welcome.”
An old man wearing a monocle briefly bobbed his head. He didn’t seem to be welcoming him at all.
Raon slowly looked around the displayed miscellaneous items as he walked towards the old man’s counter.
“Why are you looking around so much? Are you going to buy something or not?”
The old man examined Raon from top to bottom and furrowed his brows.
“I came to borrow.”
“Borrow what?”
“The axe to cut down a large tree.”
“Hmm.”
The old man slowly stood up. His irritated eyes immediately turned as transparent as a bead, removing all emotions inside.
“Come this way.”
Raon followed the old man and entered the room behind the counter. He passed through multiple rooms with questionable purposes, and he arrived at the deepest room with a gray window on the lower part of the wall.
“It’s in here.”
When he opened the window, the space behind it was wavering and white stairs were revealed. It was a secret passage, hidden with magic.
Raon nodded and went downstairs. He could feel the presence of a few people in the darkness, but he ignored them as he kept walking down.
Humans always hide underground even though they are capable of facing the sun. How pathetic of them.
Wrath clicked his tongue. Something was apparently grating on his nerves.
What kind of place is this?
‘It’s the dwelling of this mission’s client.’
Why would a client be hiding underground?
‘The Black Market is usually full of people who like to hide.’
Raon chuckled. He was currently going to the Black Market, which was an information agency spread throughout the entire continent, with the countless casinos and pubs of Grand Seville under its wing.
Why did people like that make such a request?
‘Because their money is leaking.’
No matter how much people liked entertainment, they wouldn’t be risking their lives for it. The increasing number of missing people likely reduced the number of visitors, and sales plummeted as a result.
Hmph, so the doormats are gone.
‘Indeed. Even doormats need the right environment to offer up all of their money.”
Raon stared at Wrath as he spoke.
‘This is a lesson for me.’
He decided to provide plenty of food for Wrath in order to prevent the Giving Wrath from running away. Except for macaron.
Hmm? Wh-Why are you starting at the King of Essence like that?
‘No reason.’
Raon shook his hand and snickered.
Tap.
As he finished descending the stairs, dim lighting turned on in the dark corridor. They were telling them to follow. Raon followed the light, and an antique door appeared.
Creak.
He opened the door and entered. A woman wearing a purple robe with the hood hiding her face was sitting in front of a round table.
“Please sit.”
The woman bowed slightly and pointed at the seat in front of her.
“My name is Denning Rose, the Black Market’s branch manager for Grand Seville.”
Denning Rose introduced herself and took off her robe. She was a short-haired beauty with remarkable red hair, and she was wearing an eyepatch on her right eye with a black rose drawn on it.
“I’m Raon Zieghart, the Light Wind’s vice squad leader.”
Raon sat in front of Denning Rose and bowed.
“Are you disguised as a mercenary?”
“Yes. It’s best to be treated as mercenaries when investigating something.”
The mercenaries were mostly uncontrollable because of their carefree personalities. Even in his previous life, he mostly disguised himself as a mercenary.
“What a shame. I wanted to see the face that made the youngest artisan of House Yonaan fall in love with you.”
Denning Rose smiled faintly and placed a document on the table.
“The situation has slightly changed from when I made the request.”
The smile disappeared from her face as she pushed the document towards him.
“You must’ve confirmed the presence of White Blood Fanatics, and a high ranked one at that.”
“H-How did you know that…?”
Denning Rose’s left eye widened.
“I could feel a faint bloody energy floating in the air when I arrived in this city. A famous powerhouse must’ve been defeated.”
“Correct…”
Her chin was trembling in surprise.
“Warriors powerful enough to be called powerhouses have been dying every day recently. There’s most likely an archbishop or an apostle among them.”
Denning Rose pointed at the lower part of the document. The names of the people who had gone missing recently were listed there. They were people at the intermediate, advanced, and highest level of Expert, and one of them was even a Master, although he was far past his prime.
“All of them have…”
“Yes. They’ve disappeared recently, after I made the request.”
“Even a Master disappeared without a trace…”
Raon realized that it was even more dangerous than he had anticipated.
“Is there any information about which apostle or which archbishop is behind all this?”
“Not at all. We managed to catch a White Blood Fanatic a few days ago, but he immediately killed himself, and we didn’t manage to get anything out of him.”
Denning Rose furrowed her brows, thinking about the missed opportunity.
“Our agent caught him while he was secretly working on propagation. That’s why it will be even harder to catch them now.”
“Even the Black Market is unable to find the White Blood Religion.”
Raon licked his lips while reading the document. He thought he’d learn something about them upon visiting the Black Market, but there was nothing more than what he’d learned upon arriving in the city.
“I’m embarrassed to say that the White Blood Religion is pretty much our natural enemy.”
Denning Rose sighed deeply.
“We are an organization created by the people at the rock bottom of society to protect themselves. In terms of Grand Seville, it’s countless people—like gamblers, thieves, prostitutes, clerks, servants, and the like—who gather information for us. However, the White Blood Religion can’t be found by people like them.”
“Fanatics…”
“Yes. They never reveal their identity to anyone other than those who worship the Blood God. It’s also difficult to find them because the lower-ranked fanatics have a blood color similar to ordinary people.”
“And Grand Seville’s sales must be plummeting as a result.”
“Once again, how did you…?”
“Because there aren’t that many people in the world who are crazy enough to risk their lives for entertainment.”
He told Wrath about it before, but most people wouldn’t risk their lives for entertainment. There were many cities on a similar or larger scale as Grand Seville that were able to serve as an alternative, after all.
“Hmm…”
Denning Rose swallowed nervously as he looked into Raon’s composed eyes.
‘He’s certainly distinguished.’
He managed to recognize the presence of the White Blood Religion by sensing bloody energy as soon as he arrived at Grand Seville. Since no one else was able to notice such a thing, she thought that he was in a different league from average Masters.
‘He shouldn’t even lose to the Twelve Stars of the Continent.’
Even the Twelve Stars of the Continent that she’d met before hadn’t managed to surprise her so much. She guessed that Raon would be capable of fighting equally against the Twelve Stars of the Continent despite being far younger than them.
‘How can a human being be so competent despite being so young?’
His personality and intelligence were even more surprising.
She thought he’d be an arrogant boy because he had everything—might and fame included—at a young age, but he didn’t give off that impression at all. He was solely focused on the mission, all while staying decently polite, and he was extremely fast at processing information.
‘He’s a dangerous man.’
The world was only focused on Raon’s might, but his judgment and insight were probably his greatest qualities.
“We will do anything we can to support you. You don’t need to eliminate all of the White Blood Fanatics, so please slay the high ranking fanatics in the city.”
Denning Rose bowed to him after putting her thoughts in order. Since Grand Seville was a very profitable city compared to its size, she could do anything for him as long as he could drive away the White Blood Fanatics.
“Anything…”
Raon smiled and raised himself up.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
* * *
After meeting Denning Rose, Raon went to drink and toured all around Grand Seville before heading to Molve Lake. Because many people were enjoying sailing with prostitutes, he suppressed his presence and walked over the lake.
He climbed the hill on the other side of the lake, examining Grand Seville below it.
What are you doing now? Are you planning on missing dinner? But you said this city is famous for delicacies!
‘Delicacies or whatever, work comes first.’
You know the saying, ‘if a demon eats well, they will look pretty even in the afterlife’!
‘I need to work to earn money to buy food.’
Food!
‘Work.’
Raon threw Wrath into the lake as he kept shouting food, then looked down on Grand Seville. The more he delayed, the more the Light Wind members and the ordinary people would be placed in danger. It was necessary to discover the secret of the city as quickly as possible.
‘It’s way too flashy.’
Once night fell, brilliant lights began shining everywhere, and the city became far more splendid than during the day. It looked like everyone was having so much fun, without even thinking about the missing people, cases of murder, and the bloody religion.
‘Something’s wrong with this place.’
A dreary stench could be felt from the city at night that was unlike during the day. The flow of bloody energy became even more discreet, and the Blade of Requiem’s ghastly energy was losing its strength as if something were suppressing it. The White Blood Religion must’ve done something to the whole city.
‘I should be able to do it from here.’
He’d climbed the hill where he could see the city’s overall landscape from because it was necessary to look at the forest instead of trees.
“Haa.”
Raon closed his eyes and exhaled the breath filling the deepest part of his lungs. The suffocating feeling left alongside the breath as he opened his eyes.
Whir!
He resonated the Ring of Fire, all seven rings. His heart started to pound faster, and the flow of the world became slower as it brushed past him.
The waves on the lake, the movement of the wind, and even the clouds were slowed down to a snail’s pace.
Cring!
Raon intensified the ring’s rotation, which was already fast enough. The clear resonance of the rings became one with his mind, and he grasped the Blade of Requiem at that moment.
Whir!
As if the Blade of Requiem had turned into the eighth ring, it resonated with the rings of fire spinning around his heart, spreading around its majestic aura.
‘And I’ll add one more.’
Raon bit his lip tightly and used the Evil Eye of Wrath. The wrath stuck to his soul pierced into his vision, smearing it with red.
Once the Ring of Fire, capable of showing the flow of the world, the Blade of Requiem’s ghastly energy that could locate bloody energy, and the seeing ability of the Evil Eye of Wrath combined into one, an unimaginable sight could be seen.
“Those bastards really are crazy.”
A frightening spark appeared in Raon’s eyes.
“Did they seriously do all this shit?”
