Raon licked his lips while watching the tenth apostle and Merlin.
“What are you doing?”
He crossed Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem to tell them to start fighting already.
“Do you have too much time to waste? Start fighting already so we can be done with it.”
“Huh!”
“Aah…”
The tenth apostle’s fierce eyes lost focus, and Merlin moaned in ecstasy.
‘What’s going to happen now?’
He smiled while casually receiving the gazes coming from the two Grandmasters.
Of course it’s not going to work! Do you even have a brain to think?
Wrath frowned, saying that it was obviously not going to work.
‘It’s totally possible.’
You idiot! Even though they are nothing compared to the King of Essence, they are still relatively powerful in your world.
‘Well, that’s true.’
Moreover, they are allies. Do you truly believe that people who managed to ascend to their ranks are stupid enough to fight for you? They are definitely going to try taking you away by using a different method!
‘I don’t think so.’
He shook his head while looking into the tenth apostle and Merlin’s eyes, which were reflecting different emotions. That method wouldn’t work against the other Five Demons, but it was definitely going to work against Eden and the White Blood Religion.
Because…
They were both crazy.
Even though the Five Demons were all crazy, Eden and the White Blood Religion were about a quarter crazier than the others. If the crazy people had the same objective, it was obvious they were going to clash against each other regardless of their alliance.
“Merlin, don’t tell me you are going to listen to that guy.”
“Hmm? Ah, of course… I will.”
“What?”
“I decided to do everything he wants.”
Merlin stretched her hands with a smile full of affection. Magic circles of water and fire attributes appeared behind her, and the mana around her started to boil.
“Merlin!”
The tenth apostle controlled his white bloody energy. His murderous glare, directed at Merlin, was violent enough to make anyone terrified just from looking at his eyes.
“Can’t you tell? We are being tested.”
Merlin wagged her finger left and right.
“Tested? What kind of bullshit are you spouting?!”
“He’s testing us, telling us to show our strength if we want to have him. Do you really fail to realize that he intends to join the stronger one?”
She interpreted Raon’s intention to her convenience.
“Killing you is a trivial task if it means I can bring Raon with me.”
Crimson water gushed from Merlin’s right hand, and blue flames burst from her left hand to be discharged towards the tenth apostle from the front.
Whaam!
The two streams of magic increased in size and power as they advanced and filled half of the cavern.
“You crazy bitch!”
The tenth apostle stretched his hand towards the sky. A crack appeared and a spear as white as a snow flower emerged from it to fit into his grasp.
The violent bloody energy gushed from the spearhead to clash against Merlin’s magic.
Boom!
The huge impact distorted the cavern’s floor, and the ceiling collapsed like a sandcastle.
“You should withdraw if you don’t want to fight. I’ll be generous enough to take it as your loss.”
Merlin sneered while unleashing four magic spells at once with one hand.
“It’s an order from the religious leader. I’m not going to stop, even if I have to return to the Blood God’s embrace as a result.”
The tenth apostle clenched his teeth and aimed his white spear forward.
“It’s decided.”
The magic circle behind Merlin expanded twice as much as before. Her amplified mana was also incomparable to before.
“Come at me to your heart’s content.”
“I’ll tear off your mask and enjoy your wailing face.”
The look in the tenth apostle’s eyes changed. It felt like the leash of a ferocious yet composed beast had been removed, his eyes reflecting his madness.
Whaam!
The spear and magic. The entirety of Grand Seville trembled from the clash between the two monsters.
Wh-What’s going on?
Wrath swallowed nervously as he watched Merlin and the tenth apostle fight against each other violently enough to create huge sparks around them.
Why are those idiots even fighting against each other?
‘The tenth apostle gave you the answer earlier. It’s because they are crazy.’
That was really the only reason. Merlin and the tenth apostle were as crazy as they were strong, which made their fight a natural course of action.
‘Moreover, Merlin is obsessed with me.’
Since her crazy obsession had been increasing at each encounter, it was as clear as day that she was going to start a fight with the tenth apostle.
The tenth apostle was no different. He pretended to be composed, but he was still a bloody demon who fed on people’s flesh. He was obviously going to rampage around once the trigger was pulled.
‘Do you want to see something even more interesting?’
Raon smiled faintly and called on Merlin, who was using wind and fire magic at the same time.
“Merlin, do I lose myself if I wear that helmet?”
“Are you interested? You must be! I knew it!”
Merlin turned to look back and smiled brightly. The way her old woman mask was smiling could only be described as grotesque.
“No, you will still remain yourself. However, you will change slightly once you wear the helmet. You will realize what I mean as soon as you try it. You can become much stronger than right now. I’ll make it happen.”
She gently explained that the mysterious power in the helmet would increase his potential.
“She’s lying.”
The tenth apostle ground his teeth while deflecting Merlin’s magic.
“The souls of countless monsters dwell inside Eden’s helmets and masks. You are bound to lose your free will as soon as you use them!”
He continued speaking while pushing Merlin back with the bloody energy storming around his spear.
“We are different. The religious leader is capable of making you stronger while you still remain yourself. You just need to accept her bloody energy. Come with me, you will become the strongest apost—”
“I won’t let that happen.”
Merlin created a translucent space to absorb the tenth apostle’s strike and smiled gently.
“Monsters souls indeed dwell inside the helmets, but it’s not bound to devour you. You might be able to prevail against it. Moreover, once you take off the helmet, you will return to your usual self. Nothing will change. You should just consider it as you gaining a new power called ‘combative energy’.”
She blew her breath on the small wind emerging from her finger. The bit of wind was smaller than a fingernail, but it turned into a large whirlwind to storm at the tenth apostle.
“Once you accept bloody energy, you will have to live as a monster who devours human flesh for the rest of your life. Are you fine with that? Moreover, the White Blood Religion’s leader is …”
“Shut up!”
“Huhu.”
The tenth apostle severed through the storm and attacked with his spear. Merlin used Blink to gain distance before she barraged him with magic spells, spreading all kinds of lights around them.
Whaam!
Merlin and the tenth apostle stopped talking once again and tried to kill each other with their violent attacks.
“Hmm.”
Raon narrowed his eyes while thinking about what Merlin and the tenth apostle said.
‘Monster souls dwell inside the helmet… I might be able to use that.’
It was a good piece of information that could benefit him in his current state. He was really thankful to them for being so crazy.
‘See?’
Raon shrugged his shoulders while looking at Wrath.
‘I can even get information out of them.’
Uuh…
Wrath’s jaw dropped as he looked at Raon.
‘Is he really human…?’
Even though the enemies were far stronger than him, he wasn’t intimidated—instead, he used their way of thinking to make them fight against each other, and even obtained information from them. Something like that had never happened even in his imagination.
‘Ridiculous.’
Raon was the weakest of them all, but he was still dominating the situation. The way the weakest person was standing confidently in front of stronger people made him look like a great man for the first time.
Although his might was still that of a greenhorn for sure, his willpower and planning ability were already pretty much mature.
Ahem!
‘This is going to be useful.’
Wrath cleared his throat and enlarged his left hand, then started writing what happened that day with the index finger of his right hand.
The King of Essence had a surprising experience today. The weak dominated the strong…
‘What are you doing?’
Raon tilted his head as he watched Wrath start to mumble while writing something on his hand all of the sudden.
Taking notes.
‘Notes?’
Indeed.
‘What notes?’
It’s a note to remind myself of how you manipulated those two idiots. The King of Essence is definitely going to learn this method and make that arrogant Pride and ugly Greed fight against each other.
‘Huh…’
Wrath called it impossible at first and didn’t believe him, but he seemed to be fascinated by the method after seeing it happen.
The King of Essence even thought of a cool line.
‘Line?’
Yes. ‘You shall kill each other now!’ Isn’t it cool?
Wrath held his nose in the air, praising himself for coming up with such an amazing idea.
I’m looking forward to your lessons in the future. The young demons in Devildom should also learn from you…
He licked his lips while saying that it was regrettable that it couldn’t happen, and repeated the line once again.
‘But I don’t think that’s going to happen so easily…’
The reason why his scheme succeeded was because Merlin was really crazy from the bottom of her heart. It wasn’t going to happen unless his target was truly insane.
‘Rather than that…’
Raon furrowed his brow while watching Wrath celebrate the good lesson he learned.
‘Did he really give up?’
Wrath seemed to have pretty much given up on taking over his body after getting beaten up for more than ten years straight. He was nothing more than an illegal tenant who was borrowing a portion of his body at that point.
He was an affectionate and naive monarch of Wrath who liked strange food. He was truly full of surprises.
Whaam!
As Raon was murmuring ‘how curious’ while watching the back of Wrath’s head, a large explosion occurred in Grand Seville’s sky.
Merlin and the tenth apostle had left the small cavern to fight in the sky instead, and the impact created by the two monsters’ mana was making him nauseous despite being so far away.
What are you planning on doing next? Are you going to run away?
‘No.’
Raon shook his head. They could easily catch him even if he tried to run, and they would only gain hostages from it. Something like that wouldn’t be the correct course of action.
Whap!
He placed his hand on the ground and released the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. The flame spread in all directions, following the dried blood on the floor to surround the dead.
Are you trying to cremate them in this situation?
‘I’m doing it precisely because we are in this situation.’
Those people had their blood and flesh devoured by the seventh apostle. He decided to comfort the dead to send them off, since they could turn into evil spirits or something bad if they were left alone.
Whir!
The Blade of Requiem released its ghastly energy to amplify the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s flame.
‘I see.’
The Blade of Requiem’s clear sword resonance sounded like it was praying for them to end up differently than itself.
Whap!
The mixture of pure heat and ghastly energy turned the resentful corpses into ash and scattered it into the air.
‘I hope you can find peace in the otherworld.’
Raon gathered his hands and closed his eyes.
He paid tribute to the deceased for a while, without even realizing that an auspicious light emerged from the ashes to dwell inside the Blade of Requiem.
* * *
* * *
Rumble!
Mighty lightning sparked from the rain clouds filling the sky. Countless lightning strikes rained down from the spectacle, where yellow chains were coiling around the sky.
Cring!
The wave of bloody energy unleashed from the tenth apostle’s white spear soared from the ground to the sky and engulfed the entirety of Grand Seville.
Whaam!
The clash between the peaks of magic and martial art crushed the city like a lump of mud. The small piece of mana bursting from the aftermath of the clash was enough to turn the lake upside down and collapse the mountain.
Whir!
The tenth apostle frowned as he watched the red and blue mana gathering in Merlin’s hands.
“You must’ve also realized that we are both going to die if we continue fighting each other. Are you really trying to see the end of it?”
“When did your leader start to target Raon?”
Merlin didn’t answer his question, instead changing the subject to something completely different.
“What?”
“It must be when the fourth apostle died by Raon, right?”
The tenth apostle responded with silence.
“On the other hand, I’ve been targeting him from the beginning. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him, and I became certain when I saw him the second time. We are fated for each other.”
Merlin’s smile deepened and the density and fragrance of mana flowing around her grew exponentially.
“Hmm…”
The tenth apostle narrowed his eyes as he watched the madness flowing from Merlin’s eyes.
“I started to prepare to fight you the moment I noticed your appearance here. You can have the victory, but Raon will come with me.”
Merlin’s eyes sparkled with a frightening light, and countless magic circles appeared behind her.
Swaa!
Every single magic spell that fell like a meteor shower was as powerful as an astral sphere, and perfectly surrounded the tenth apostle by raining down from all directions.
“Merlin!”
Bloody energy powerful enough to shatter the sky burst from the tenth apostle’s spear to sever the magic, but a new magic immediately replaced it as if he were cutting through a waterfall.
“Those are ten thousand magic strikes that I’ve prepared for you. Have fun with them.”
“Meeeeerlin!”
Merlin ignored the tenth apostle’s scream and went back down to the cavern.
* * *
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Merlin coming back down.
‘This is unexpected.’
Considering the fact that she even made that much preparation, she wasn’t just crazy—she was completely crazy.
‘However…’
‘This is more convenient.’
It was far better to face Merlin’s magic than fighting the tenth apostle’s martial art.
‘Because I have the Blade of Requiem.’
Since he had the Blade of Requiem’s ability, the Ghastly Flow of Mana that he got from destroying the black sword in Lohengreen’s dungeon, he was confident he could last until the tenth apostle broke through Merlin’s magic.
You always have a plan!
He brandished the Blade of Requiem while listening to Wrath’s admiring voice.
“I’m proud of you.”
Merlin sent a round of applause with a bright smile on her face.
“What?”
“You must’ve grown once again and have a countermeasure prepared, right?”
Her smile deepened as she slightly lowered her chin.
“I really want to see it, but we don’t have the time right now.”
“I’m sorry, but I have plenty of time. I really want to see the result of your fight.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
A hexagonal box emerged from Merlin’s hand. A black haze burst out like embers from the box covered with strange patterns.
“That’s…”
Raon swallowed nervously. He had a bad feeling about it just from looking at it.
“Did you know that there are consumable items among the legendary artifacts with only one use?”
“A legendary consumable?”
“And this is one of those. It’s called the Cage of Eternal Darkness.”
Chill ran down his spine, making Raon step back. He resonated the Ring of Fire as fast as he could in order to react to all situations.
“Release!”
Merlin didn’t even try to chase him and pushed her mana inside the box.
Cring!
Eighteen holes appeared on the hexagonal box and steam spewed from it.
‘What is th—huh?’
He tried to raise his sword, but his body wasn’t moving. He lowered his eyes, and he could see black chains emerging from his shadow to bind his whole body.
“Th-This is…”
“The Cage of Eternal Darkness is a prison that can confine an existence that has a smaller amount of mana than the user. You won’t be able to move, since the shadow chains are binding your soul.”
She was right. It wasn’t his body that he couldn’t move. His soul wasn’t moving at all even though it needed to command his body. He couldn’t even move his soul aside for Wrath to take his place because of that.
“It won’t take long.”
Merlin smiled gently and shook the Cage of Eternal Darkness, and his vision turned dark.
Because your mana pool is so small, even the King of Essence is incapable of moving. But this must be one of your schemes, right? Alright, let’s go wherever it takes us!
Wrath was grinning happily despite Raon’s frustration.
‘Damn it…’
“Vice squad leader!”
Raon was grinding his teeth when he heard a familiar voice from the hole in the ceiling. He barely managed to raise his eyes, and he could see green hair fluttering into the wind.
It was Dorian. He took something out from his belly pocket and threw it at him.
“You idiot, run…”
Raon ground his teeth as he glared at Merlin.
“…I’ll kill you… if you harm my boys…”
“I won’t. Just close your eyes for a moment and everything will be over by the time you wake up.”
Merlin’s gentle laughter could be heard as she shook her hand.
When he saw that her finger, which was drawing a circle, returned to its original position, his vision turned completely dark.
