The Fallen slowly descended as if he were walking down the stairs from the sky. The holy and demonic aura emanating from his body gave off a strange impression, as if chaos and order were mixed together into his body.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the Fallen, who was spreading an inhuman presence.
‘So, the Fallen is the one who came.’
Although there were two people among Eden who were capable of stopping the White Blood Religion's leader, only one of them was active. That was why the Fallen was the only one who could help them.
‘I can’t even feel his presence.’
Because the Fallen’s mana was too massive, he couldn’t even feel his energy. It felt like he was facing an endless ocean.
‘So.’
Raon forced himself to lower his gaze and tap on Wrath.
‘What did you mean when you said he’s a mixture?’
He meant what he said.
Wrath responded without taking his eyes off the Fallen.
The power of one of the demon kings is dwelling inside him.
‘…A demon king?’
As soon as he mentioned a demon king, Raon thought about Sloth, who he’d encountered at Habun Castle. His overwhelming energy wave seemed capable of destroying heaven. Even though he’d become an intermediate Master, he had the feeling he would still be unable to stand in front of Sloth.
And the interesting part is the fact that half of him still has holy power of highest purity. Was he called the Fallen? That’s such a suitable name for him.
Wrath sneered while looking up to the Fallen.
There’s only one existence in the world crazy enough to do something like that.
‘And who is such a crazy existence?’
Pride.
Wrath wrinkled his nose while glaring at the Fallen. He continued with an extremely irritated expression on his face, one that Raon had never seen before.
He’s the monarch of Pride.
‘Pride…’
Raon swallowed nervously while mumbling the word ‘Pride’. A chill ran down his spine just from hearing the name.
‘Now that I think about it, he mentioned that name pretty often.’
Wrath had spoken about Pride multiple times in the past, but he didn’t seem happy about him whenever he did. Considering his personality, Pride must’ve been as powerful as Wrath as a demon king.
‘Does that mean that Pride is bound to his body just like you and me?’
That’s not the case. I can’t feel Pride's existence in him.
Wrath shook his head in dissatisfaction.
‘Huh…’
Raon’s hand holding the sword started to tremble.
‘Eden’s head is related to a demon king…’
Since it was completely unexpected, it was even more surprising than the appearance of the White Blood Religion's leader.
‘Then how about that woman?’
He pointed at the White Blood Religion's leader, who was leisurely staring at the Fallen from her sedan chair.
The King of Essence can’t tell.
‘Huh?’
She’s thoroughly concealing her power. It normally wouldn’t be like this, but he’s running out of power and he can’t check what’s lying behind it.
Wrath shook his head with a depressed expression on his face. He was just useless when it counted.
Thud.
The Fallen descended on the land with a noble appearance. His entire existence was sparkling to the point that his face almost looked like it was glowing.
Raon thought that he would’ve believed it was a god’s descent if he was an ignorant and ordinary person.
“Haa…”
Raon exhaled the impurities from his lungs.
‘I have no choice at this point.’
It would be pointless to be intimidated by them. What he needed was to use the situation as an opportunity to somehow think of a way to escape.
“It’s been a long time, White Blood Religion's leader.”
The Fallen walked up to the sedan chair that the White Blood Religion's leader was riding. A gentle expression was formed on the handsome man’s mask.
“You’ve once again changed your appearance in that time.”
He slightly tilted his head while looking at the White Blood Religion's leader over the red curtain.
“It was about time.”
Even though she was facing the Fallen, the White Blood Religion's leader didn’t seem flustered at all, and disinterested laughter could be heard from behind the curtains.
“Is this the first time we’ve seen each other since the establishment of the Five Demons convention?”
“No, we met one more time after that.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
The nice atmosphere around them made it seem like they were meeting an acquaintance that they hadn’t seen in a long time. However, the cold pressures deep inside their voices was frightening enough to freeze the blood of those who listened.
“I would’ve visited you if you asked. What has brought you all the way here?”
The Fallen took a step towards the sedan chair and smoothed down his sleeve. Every single one of his movements was brimming with elegance, either because of his mask or the atmosphere around him.
“There was something I wanted to have.”
“What would that be…?”
“That boy.”
The White Blood Religion's leader extended her finger outside the red curtain to point at Raon.
“I want to take him with me.”
“Hmm.”
The Fallen turned his head to look at Raon. The mouth of his mask formed a strange curve that looked like a smile.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to grant that request.”
“Why not?”
The White Blood Religion's leader confidently asked once again, as if he belonged to her to begin with.
“Everyone in Eden has gathered for the sake of restoration. Abandoning our members is one thing that we won’t do.”
The Fallen gave her the same response as Unfaceable Snake.
“And that helmet is special.”
“How is it special?”
“That blue dragon helmet wasn’t made by me. Merlin crafted it all the way from the beginning. Both the helmet and the one wearing the helmet do not belong to me, so there’s no way I can decide to give him to you.”
He responded as politely as possible before shaking his head.
Raon bit his lip.
‘This is so nerve wracking.’
The two monsters were being too composed despite what he expected, giving him no room to interfere. He cleared his head by controlling the Ring of Fire and waited for an opportunity.
“Merlin, you say.”
The White Blood Religion's leader smiled while caressing her lips with her thin fingers.
“That makes me want to return empty-handed even less. She was the one who suddenly barged into our plan and snatched Raon away.”
“Something like that happened? I see.”
The Fallen briefly licked his lips, showing that he didn’t know about that. However, his expression remained unchanged, as if he were asking, ‘so what?’.
“It’s unfortunate, but he’s already wearing the helmet. I repeat, Eden never abandons our companions.”
Raon huffed when he heard he was being called a companion. He wasn’t sure whether he should be thanking him or calling him crazy for saying that to the White Blood Religion's leader.
“Then let’s make a bet.”
The White Blood Religion's leader raised her finger.
“What kind of bet would that be?”
“Since you mentioned that the boy was a member of Eden, it’s going to be a bet about that.”
She continued while telling him that it’s going to be simple and fun at the same time.
“Hmm.”
The Fallen turned to look at Raon. He smoothed down his mask slightly in contemplation.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen.
‘This is my chance.’
It was more advantageous for him that the Fallen accepted the bet, since that would make it easier to provoke a fight between them. He wanted to make him accept it at all costs.
“I don’t belong to you. The princess is the only person who can order me around.”
He roughly declared to grate on his nerves.
‘I hope it works.’
Since his power was supposedly bestowed by Pride, he must’ve had an arrogant personality despite his polite appearance. Considering the fact that he wasn’t yielding anything against the White Blood Religion's leader, he wasn’t the type of person who would stay unprovoked after hearing that.
“I have a responsibility to protect my companions. However, that…”
The Fallen slightly narrowed his eyes.
“Only applies if he’s one of us who has the restoration as his objective.”
He turned his head to look at the White Blood Religion's leader.
“Please, tell me. What kind of bet are you suggesting?”
“It’s simple. I’ll take my hands off if the helmet’s soul has already devoured that boy. However, I’ll take him with me if he managed to overcome the helmet’s soul.”
The White Blood Religion's leader leisurely shook her hand.
“After all, it shouldn’t matter that I take him in that case, since he’s not one of you.”
“And how are you planning to determine whether the helmet’s soul has devoured him or not?”
“There’s a way I can tell.”
She smiled while saying that she had the perfect way to determine it.
“Alright, I accept. However, I have one condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. If Merlin acknowledges it after testing your method, I’ll allow him to be taken away.”
“Fine.”
The White Blood Religion's leader nodded confidently.
“Then please show me how you are planning to determine whether he was devoured by the helmet or not.”
The Fallen opened his arms, telling her to try whatever she wanted.
Raon swallowed nervously while looking at the White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen.
‘They are both certain of their victory.’
Neither of them had the slightest intention of losing, regardless of the outcome of the bet. They were both completely confident that they would have Raon in their possession no matter what.
‘This makes it easier.’
He had already fully memorized Loctar’s behavior patterns. Since he’d already absorbed his soul, there was no way his speech or behavior would give away his identity.
The best outcome was for a war to break out between Eden and the White Blood Religion. He calmed himself down while reminding himself of that objective.
“Good.”
The White Blood Religion's leader nodded in satisfaction. She looked aside, and the fifth apostle stepped up.
The fifth apostle controlled his bloody energy and a gray puddle appeared under his feet. A man surrounded in gray energy popped out from it.
Whoosh!
The bloody energy scattered, and his appearance was revealed. The fluttering green hair and innocent, puppy-like eyes could be seen. There was no way Raon wouldn’t recognize them.
‘Why? Why is he here…?’
Dorian. Raon’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing his unfocused eyes. His appearance was completely unexpected for him.
Raon crushed his tongue with his teeth in order to hide his surprise.
What? Why is your pocket over there?
‘It must’ve been from back then…’
He remembered Dorian throwing something at him when he was getting sucked into Merlin’s box. He must’ve gotten caught by the tenth apostle after that.
“We managed to come all the way here thanks to this boy spreading the Continent Chaser Fragrance on Raon.”
The White Blood Religion's leader caressed Dorian’s head. His hair, which was protruding like an antenna, was tidied up.
‘Continent Chaser Fragrance. That was what happened. The tenth apostle must’ve found out that he spread it on me.’
The White Blood Religion must’ve found Eden's base by using Dorian’s Continent Chaser Fragrance.
‘It’s getting so complicated.’
Dorian must’ve used the Continent Chaser Fragrance in order to save him, but the situation was turning into the worst case scenario. He couldn’t think straight because it was a completely unexpected turn of events.
“That’s a great feat that he’s achieved.”
Even though the Fallen realized the situation, he didn’t lose his composure as he nodded. Pride. Raon could realize once again that he’d been bestowed the power from Pride.
“You should’ve realized by now what kind of bet I’m about to suggest.”
The White Blood Religion's leader pointed with her finger, and the fifth apostle brought Dorian in front of Raon.
“If Raon kills this boy, I’ll admit my defeat. However, I’ll be taking him with me if he doesn’t kill him.”
She smiled, convinced of her victory.
* * *
* * *
‘Damn it…’
Raon could feel the cold sweat flowing down his back. The fact that he was wearing a helmet was a relief, because they would’ve found him out already if they could see his expression.
‘There’s no way out.’
With Dorian there, he couldn’t exactly let Wrath take over his body. It was obvious that he was going to kill Dorian before anyone else once he went out of control.
“It’s not bad, but it’s still a bit uncertain.”
The Fallen tilted his head while looking at Dorian.
“Even if his soul was devoured, he wouldn’t immediately turn into a different person. It was only yesterday that he put on the helmet. The soul and body must not have reached a perfect harmony yet.”
‘I have to take action right now.’
Raon bit his lip tightly while looking at the Fallen, who was expressing his dissatisfaction about the bet.
“Regardless of that, why do I even have to kill him?”
He glared at Dorian, telling them that he couldn’t understand why he had to do that.
“I’m a knight. I don’t swing my sword at anyone for no reason.”
He shook his head while voicing something that Loctar would’ve said.
‘Please…’
He was maintaining a casual expression, but his thoughts were completely different. He clenched his fist while hoping that the Fallen would refuse the bet.
“Don’t you think he’s acting right now?”
The eyes of the White Blood Religion's leader sparkled from behind the red curtain.
“It looks like I’m the winner of this bet.”
“No.”
The Fallen shook his head.
“The soul of that helmet is the draconian knight captain, Loctar Defort. It’s not strange for a knight to be saying something like that.”
“Hmm.”
“That’s why we need to properly explain it to him.”
He went next to Dorian. He pointed at the reversed sword emblem on his uniform.
“Can you see this? This reversed sword is the emblem of our biggest enemy. It means that he’s the enemy of Merlin, who is your master.”
The Fallen smiled while touching Zieghart’s emblem.
“Merlin recently received a heavy injury on her chest, and that was also their doing.”
“Haa…”
Raon quietly exhaled, pretending to be enraged.
‘He’s not lying about that.’
He remembered Sheryl striking Merlin with her twin swords when she chased her away. The Fallen was talking about that incident.
“That swordsman is our enemy, and one of the perpetrators who hurt Merlin. That should be enough reason, right?”
It was enough. Loctar would’ve already cut Dorian off, since his whole world revolved around Merlin.
However, he wasn’t actually Loctar. As Raon Zieghart, there was no way he could slay Dorian.
“Shall I make it easier for you?”
The White Blood Religion's leader snapped her fingers. As the snapping sound resounded throughout the air, light returned to Dorian’s large eyes.
“Huh? Wh-where am I… Uah!”
Dorian gasped upon noticing the strange sedan chair, the White Blood Fanatics surrounding it, and the demons wearing helmets. He saw the tenth apostle in the end, and his chin started to tremble violently from remembering how he got kidnapped.
‘She’s so obstinate.’
She wasn’t helping him, she was pretty much stabbing him with a sword. The White Blood Religion's leader was definitely aware of the fact that he wasn’t devoured by the helmet.
“Huh…?”
Dorian kept rolling his eyes from anxiety, and eventually stopped upon noticing Raon. His eyes widened upon seeing the blue dragon helmet with his uniform and sword.
“V-vice squad leader?”
Goosebumps appeared all over Raon’s body upon hearing his innocent voice. His sense of crisis was warning him of the incoming danger. Everyone could end up dying if he made a wrong move.
“Let me tell you one more time. This man belongs to one of our worst enemies, Zieghart. Slaying him would be helping Merlin.”
“…I see.”
Raon grasped his sword and looked at Dorian.
“Ah!”
Dorian shut his mouth upon seeing his eyes under the helmet. His terrified eyes were trembling violently.
‘He noticed me.’
Probably because they’d been together for such a long time, he seemed to have noticed that he wasn’t devoured by the helmet.
“So you are taking the bet, right?”
The White Blood Religion's leader waved at the Fallen with a grin on her face.
“Yes. Just like I said before, I’ll send him off after getting Merlin’s consent. However, he doesn’t look like he’s about to move any time soon. We didn’t set a time limit, did we?”
The Fallen faintly smiled and shook his head.
“Aah, I’d rather have it decided quickly.”
The White Blood Religion's leader turned her head to the right, and the old man who’d been carrying the sedan chair stepped forward. Even though only three people were carrying the chair, it didn’t tremble in the slightest.
Whir!
The old man stomped on the ground, and a long passage of bloody energy opened up on the ground. Ten people of different genders appeared from the obscure bloody energy, and none of their eyes had focus, just like Dorian’s used to be.
“I heard a knight doesn’t overlook injustice. It will be one person per minute.”
As soon as her laughing voice ended, the old man sank his teeth into the flesh of the young man who was closest to Raon, starting to devour his flesh.
Crack!
The blood gushing from the beheaded corpse fell upon Raon’s shoulders.
“The religious leader hasn’t changed at all. Well, I guess ending this quickly isn’t a bad deal for me.”
The Fallen smiled as innocently as a child while looking at the red blood covering the ground.
“Aaah!”
Dorian’s lips trembled violently as he saw the person next to him lose his head in an instant. His eyes kept wavering endlessly.
Clench.
Raon grasped Heavenly Drive’s blade to the point that it seemed like it would break.
‘He also knows.’
The Fallen was also aware of the fact that he wasn’t devoured by the helmet. He knew, and he was making fun of him. He was just enjoying the situation.
“Huhuhu.”
“Hahaha.”
The laughter coming from the two monsters didn’t sound human at all. Raon’s heart tightened upon seeing the smiles of the fiends’ who considered humans as nothing but food.
“Haa…”
He could sense the scent of death from his inhaled breath.
It would make it easier for him to escape if a fight broke out between them, but that would only be the case if they were trying to keep him alive.
The White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen were both the type of people who would rather kill him if they couldn’t have him for themselves. It was the worst situation he could be in, and one that he wasn’t expecting at all.
Kuh…
Raon violently exhaled while looking at the terrified Dorian and the nine people who were completely ignorant of the situation one after the other.
“What are you doing? One minute’s almost up.”
“Please slay Merlin’s enemy like a knight you are.”
The White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen quietly urged him on, showing that they were getting bored.
Psh!
Even though one minute hadn’t even passed, the old man smashed the second woman’s heart. The woman collapsed, unaware of her own death.
“That’s two.”
“I wonder how long it’s going to last.”
They were crazy bastards. Even if he included his previous life, he’d never seen anyone as crazy as them before.
Even though they were trying to bring him with them, they weren’t even considering what he would do afterwards. It was a terrifying amount of arrogance.
However, he wasn’t allowed to resist. The atmosphere was telling him that he would end up dying if he tried anything funny.
The hair all over his body stood on end from the formless pressure coming from the supreme beings. Some thoughts started to appear in his head one by one, trying to comfort him.
They were going to die anyway.
It’s not my fault, the White Blood Religion was going to feed on them regardless.
I have something I need to achieve. I can’t end up dying here for their sake.
And Dorian, Dorian…
Raon swallowed nervously while looking at Dorian.
He’d spent the longest amount of time with Dorian—outside of his family—and he was the one he’d revealed his heart to the most. He couldn’t say that he would abandon him, even if he tried to lie to himself.
‘I need a way. A way to escape this situation…’
If he didn’t kill Dorian, he would be killed by the Fallen, and if he didn’t kill Dorian, he would become the White Blood Religion's leader’s target.
Dorian would end up dying even if he decided to have Wrath take over his body. He felt like he was standing at the crossroad of death with no escape available.
“Raon Zieghart!”
Dorian glared at Raon.
“You idiot!”
He chewed on his lip while screaming. The blood flowing from his lip dripped on the ground.
“I didn’t like you from the first time I saw you! I knew you would end up like this with how much you’ve been boasting. I’ve never ever been happy while I’ve been with you, not a single day!”
Dorian’s wavering eyes looked almost distorted.
“Remember this! It’s not just me—no one likes an arrogant bastard like you!”
“……”
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Kill me! All you can do is run your mouth! Run your mouth right now and kill me!”
Raon grasped the hilt of his sword even more tightly.
‘Dorian…’
Dorian’s eyes weren’t wavering anymore. He was prepared to die.
That stupid coward was asking him to kill him by mustering the courage that he didn’t have.
Instead of the resentment or insults that a dying person would usually speak, all he said were criticisms towards him. He was worried about him until the last moment.
“Hah!”
Raon exclaimed and lowered his head.
‘He doesn’t even know how to insult people properly. But he’s a brave one. A lot braver than me.’
He was a lot more amazing than him, since he was trying to find a way to escape while giving dirty excuses.
‘It’s meaningless to survive by kissing the ground.’
He’d already lived long enough as a mean rat in his previous life. He didn’t want to finish his current life the same way.
He managed to resolve himself thanks to Dorian’s courage.
“This is getting interesting.”
“This is why humans are interesting.”
The White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen smiled at the same time. Their evil smiles revealed their confidence that they could deal with any kind of development.
Raon wasn’t looking at them anymore. He started walking towards Dorian and the hostages and wielded Heavenly Drive.
‘Wrath, I’ll take your wrath. Even for an instant…’
It’s unnecessary. The King of Essence is also enraged.
Wrath frowned while looking at Dorian, who was on the verge of tears.
He’s still the King of Essence’s subordinate, no matter how stupid and slow he is. The King of Essence will help you as much as he can.
‘Thank you.’
Raon nodded and stood in between Dorian and the hostages.
“An idiot, you said?”
“Ugh…”
Dorian braced for death and closed his eyes.
“Haa.”
Raon unsheathed his two swords at the same time. The Blizzard Sword Art stormed from the Blade of Requiem in his right hand, and the Fangs of Insanity bared its teeth from Heavenly Drive in his left.
The Blade of Requiem slammed into the fifth apostle’s neck, who was holding Dorian, and Heavenly Drive pierced through the old man’s chest.
Pssh!
He pulled out the two swords at the same time, and a deadly amount of blood gushed from the fifth apostle’s neck, while the old man went to his knees before he collapsed.
“If I have to survive through dirty means.”
Raon took off the blue dragon helmet. His eyes were shining bright red, not losing their color despite facing absolute beings.
“I’d rather die right here and now.”
