Thump! Thump!
He could hear the sound of his pounding heart as soon as he saw Derus Robert. The heavy palpitations were resounding throughout his body as if dozens of people were drumming at the same time.
Zip.
Raon bit the flesh inside of his cheek harshly. The metallic taste of the blood filled his mouth.
‘Grr…’
His head refused to cool down despite the intense pain. His mind was heated, and his hands and feet were clenched powerfully.
‘I need to suppress it. I have to suppress it at all costs.’
Derus Robert was the most skeptical and careful person he knew. Showing his murderous aura or wrath even by a small amount was bound to become troublesome.
‘Please. Please.’
Fortunately, Derus was still far away from him. He needed to regain his composure before he approached even closer.
‘Damn it!’
He was trying so hard to suppress his emotions, but it was rising even more powerfully, like a rebounding rubber.
What are you doing right now?
Wrath came up next to him and frowned.
Why are you showing so much wrath after seeing that beanpole?
‘Hmm…’
Raon couldn’t even afford to play around with Wrath. He focused solely on suppressing his emotions.
Hmm, now that the King of Essence thinks about it, this is the same kind of wrath that you showed when you called him…
‘Ah!’
Immediately after Wrath tilted his head, Raon remembered the time when he first met him.
‘The Ring of Fire!’
Raon briefly exhaled and controlled the Ring of Fire.
Whir!
The seven rings resonated with each other to calm his boiling emotions.
His head started to clear up as if a blue wave had swept past the red haze in his brain.
‘I even forgot about the Ring of Fire… I was completely out of my mind.’
Considering the fact that he was angry enough to even forget about using the Ring of Fire, his desire for revenge must’ve hardened even further.
‘No, it was probably normal that I couldn’t keep my sanity.’
Even though twenty years had passed, he still clearly remembered the way he lost his head at Derus Robert’s hand.
His collapsing body, Derus’s cold gaze looking at him as if he were a dirty worm, and the moon turning upside down. The memories of his death were still vividly engraved in his mind.
No one would’ve been able to maintain their sanity upon seeing the archenemy who played with their lives before discarding them once they weren’t useful anymore.
Haa.
Raon slowly breathed and controlled the Ring of Fire to the best of his ability. The maximized resonance of the rings decreased his soul level.
Unlike how he increased his soul during combat, he concealed everything about him—just like hiding in the shadows. He suppressed all of his energies so that Derus wouldn’t notice anything more than his current strength.
Hey, you are being strange today.
Wrath narrowed his eyes, wondering what the hell was going on.
‘It’s not a big deal.’
Raon shook his head at Wrath with a smile.
‘It’s a relief that Wrath is with me.’
It was thanks to the cotton candy’s warning about Derus’s presence and his hint about the Ring of Fire that he managed to suppress his explosion before their encounter.
The Giving Wrath’s work even stretched to the Owen Kingdom, since he still managed to help him in that situation.
“Huh, even the Sky Sword Saint is here.”
The third prince smiled at Derus, who was walking towards them.
‘Sky Sword Saint. Yes, that was the damned bastard’s alias.’
Sky Sword Saint signified that he was a saint of the sword that reached the sky.
If people knew what kind of person Derus was, they would’ve called him trash rather than Sky Sword Saint, but he still managed to keep an alias with such a great meaning.
Raon swallowed nervously while looking at Derus, who was nearby.
‘He might have noticed it a little.’
Judging from his memory, Derus might have noticed his violent emotion from a moment ago. Raon calmed down his mind in order to retain his composure no matter what question he asked.
“Greeting the Sky Sword Saint!”
The third prince walked up to Derus and went down on one knee. He was showing the same level of courtesy as when he greeted Glenn.
“Greeting the Sky Sword Saint.”
Sheryl and Rimmer simply lowered their heads without kneeling. Raon pretended to be surprised and lowered his head just like them.
“You must be Mister Greer and the heroes from Zieghart. It’s been a while.”
Derus nodded with a gentle smile on his face. He was treating the third prince and the Zieghart’s swordsmen with courtesy even though they were far lower than him in terms of age and position.
‘This is the disgusting part about him.’
Even though he commanded the assassins, spies, and slaves in the underworld, he always treated others with courtesy while pretending that human rights belonged to everyone. That aspect about him was extremely disgusting.
“I can’t see the Destructive King of the North here.”
“He’s currently enjoying tea with his majesty.”
The third prince smiled while looking back at the audience chamber.
“Teatime with the Destructive King of the North and the Silent Sword Sovereign? I can’t possibly miss this chance. Hmm?”
Derus smiled pleasantly. He started walking towards the audience chamber but met Raon’s eyes as he did so.
“Blond hair and red eyes. Are you actually…”
“My name is Raon Zieghart.”
He held back his urge to throw up and lowered his head.
“The Frostfire Sword of Valor!”
Derus clapped his hands and gave him a deep nod.
“I’ve heard enough of the Frostfire Sword of Valor’s fame. Even the south was in an uproar from the stories of the new hero.”
“I’m so flattered.”
“Now that I see you, I can tell that they weren’t groundless rumors. Your achievement is truly outstanding. I believe no one around your age can match up to you. However…”
Faint darkness spouted from his blue eyes.
‘This bastard…’
The others wouldn’t have noticed it, but Raon could understand because he’d been rotting under his reign. His gaze signified that something was bothering him.
“You didn’t seem to be in a good mood earlier. Did something happen?”
Derus’s dreary gaze, the way he was looking down on him as he spoke, made his heart clench to the point it felt like it could explode.
‘He noticed it after all.’
His turbulent emotions only lasted for an instant, but Derus hadn’t missed that short moment. His eyes were full of suspicion as he looked at Raon.
‘It’s a relief I did.’
It was a relief that he’d prepared for a situation like that.
“No.”
Raon shook his head with a faint smile on his face. He settled his emotions to the best of his ability through the Ring of Fire.
“Nothing happened, but…”
“But?”
“I was shocked when I saw the Silent Sword Sovereign because his pressure was a different type from the head of house’s. Its sharpness felt like it could pierce through my heart, and I was so nervous that my emotions started to rampage before I knew it, I think.”
“Huh! You can already feel what type of martial arts someone has. That’s truly commendable!”
Derus exclaimed in surprise.
“It wasn’t that great. It was all thanks to the two who showed themselves to me.”
Raon examined Derus’s gaze while maintaining his smile. Even though his face was smiling, his eyes weren’t. The deepest part of his eyes glowed briefly.
He could fool other people, but he would never be able to fool Raon, since he used to serve him from right next to him. Raon noticed that Derus’s malice didn’t come from what happened earlier, and he’d been holding a grudge against him even before they met.
‘Has he been targeting me after all?’
A sense of crisis filled his head before he could feel a sense of relief for clearing up the suspicion.
‘I guess it’s understandable since I shattered his plans.’
Since he was the one who completely shattered Derus’s long-awaited plan of taking over House Yonaan, his reaction was understandable.
‘I bet he wants to kill me.’
Derus was smiling on the outside, he must’ve been holding back the urge to snap Raon’s neck immediately.
‘No, maybe his plan is already ongoing.’
Since Raon was the youngest Master of a rival house that destroyed his plan, it was possible that he already started a plan to attack him.
“My youngest son is a big fan of you, the Frostfire Sword of Valor. I’d like you to have a simple conversation with him later on in the banquet.”
Derus drew a boy standing behind him forward. His silver hair and blue eyes were similar to Derus's, but his passionately sparkling eyes still retained his innocence.
“M-my name is Lephon Robert!”
Raon had never seen him in his previous life. His age suggested that he must’ve been born after he died.
‘He’s really amazing.’
The way he hid his murderous intent and introduced Raon to his son with a gentle smile on his face made him look like a kindhearted father.
It was an attitude that Raon had to learn, as he almost ruined everything a moment ago because of his exploding emotions.
“I’m Raon Zieghart.”
Raon lowered his head with a faint smile, and Lephon’s face turned red.
“Uuh, uuh! Ever since that battle where you saved the Saint—no, ever since the battle where you saved Habun Castle’s soldiers, I’ve admired—”
“Lephon, let’s save the talk for later and greet the Sword Sovereign for now.”
“Ah, yes!”
“See you later.”
Lephon answered while chattering and followed Derus, who walked ahead.
A young man who looked similar to Derus nodded at Raon slightly after they passed. His eyes and mouth were curved into a sneer.
‘He’s also here.’
Raon knew about him. He was the third son of Derus, and one of the Twelve Stars of the Continent, Cadis Robert.
After Robert's swordsmen passed next to him, Raon left the royal castle.
“Please come this way. I’ll introduce you to the sword graveyard first, which is Owen Castle’s pride.”
The third prince guided the Zieghart party while smiling brightly.
Raon opened his fist while following them. Blood was flowing from the injury created by his nails digging into his skin.
‘It’s a relief’
He smiled while looking back at the castle.
‘Because my desire for revenge still hasn’t faded away, and because you’ve reached even higher than twenty years ago.’
He was worried that Derus might have ended up retiring or dying, but he didn’t need to do that at all. Derus had become even stronger and was standing at an even higher position than before.
‘Just wait a little longer.’
Raon smiled while shaking the blood off his hand.
‘I’ll crush you into the ground from all the way in the sky.’
* * *
* * *
Roenn narrowed his eyes while watching Glenn enjoy the tea’s bitter fragrance.
‘He looks extremely pleased.’
Glenn was drinking tea with an expressionless face, but he was overwhelmed with joy on the inside.
‘And that’s because…’
That was all thanks to Owen’s king Lecross, who was sitting in front of him, and the third prince who guided them to the castle.
“I used to believe that growing up healthy was all I wanted from the children, but the Light Wind’s vice squad leader changed my opinion a little.”
Lecross smiled after smoothly swallowing his tea.
“His might already surpasses that of an intermediate Master at the age of nineteen. There’s normally a huge difference between each stage of Master, but it looks like he would put up a good fight even against an advanced Master.”
He briefly exclaimed in surprise.
“How did you even raise someone like him? Please tell me your secret.”
Roenn smiled faintly while listening to King Lecross.
‘It’s all thanks to these compliments.’
Not only the third prince of Owen but also King Lecross was complimenting Raon. That was why Glenn’s mood was already floating above the clouds.
Considering the way his hands were trembling slightly, Roenn expected him to start leaking laughter that he wouldn’t be able to suppress anymore.
“Ahem, he did all of that by himself. I didn’t do anything special.”
Glenn covered his mouth and cleared his throat while shaking his hand. His gesture was brushing it off as nothing, but those who watched him from behind could see a deep cavity around his mouth.
‘He’s such a helpless doting grandfather.’
It must’ve been a side effect of trying so hard to hide his emotions from his grandson that he couldn’t hide his expression from others at all.
Whenever anyone complimented Raon, he cleared his throat and his lips curved into a smile. It was an automatic reflex at that point.
‘It would be nice if he could be honest to him.’
It would’ve been nice if he opened his heart and showed his love for the grandson, but Roenn could understand Glenn’s reasoning because he’d been serving him right next to him.
‘But I still want to see the three of them getting along.’
He used to think that he had no more regrets because he’d achieved everything he wanted, but he really wanted to see Glenn, Raon, and Sylvia getting along with each other and eating together with smiles on their faces.
While Roenn was imagining Glenn and Raon smiling at each other, the grand chamberlain entered the reception room.
“Your majesty, the Sky Sword Saint and House Robert have arrived.”
“They arrived faster than scheduled.”
King Lecross licked his lips and stood up.
“It looks like one more person will be added to this meeting. Are you fine with that?”
“I don’t mind it.”
Glenn nodded, telling him to do whatever he wanted.
“Please wait a moment.”
The king smiled faintly and left the reception room.
“The Sky Sword Saint…”
Roenn briefly licked his lips while looking at the door of the reception room.
“I remember my lord mentioning that his talent was outstanding. He must’ve gotten a lot better than before.”
Although the Sky Sword Saint, Derus Robert, was the youngest and weakest of the current heads of the Six Kings, Glenn had given the highest evaluation to him.
“Indeed.”
Glenn nodded slowly after putting down his empty teacup.
“However, my expectations turned out to be incorrect.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
“His talent surpassed my expectations.”
He turned his head to look at the slowly opening door of the reception room. His lips curved into a cold smile while looking at Derus Robert’s smile.
* * *
The sword graveyard was a bright place despite its gloomy name.
Green trees were brimming with vitality, and all kinds of sword shards created an elegant atmosphere. It looked more like a properly tended garden than a graveyard.
“Huh…”
Raon exclaimed while looking at the thickets groomed into the shape of a sword.
‘It’s not made by ordinary means.’
The thicket he was looking at wasn’t groomed by gardening scissors. Judging from the rapier pressure emerging from the tip of the thicket, it must’ve been carved into the shape of a sword by a sword technique.
‘This is amazing.’
Hey.
While he was admiring the thicket, Wrath shoved his face into him.
Who was that guy just now?
‘What?’
The King of Essence is asking about your relationship with that sly-looking beanpole.
Wrath’s eyes were sparkling blue like melted ice.
The emotion of wrath that came from you was almost the same as the one you had when you first summoned the King of Essence. Is he the target of your wrath?
‘Hmm…’
‘He’s sharp at a time like this.’
Wrath’s intuition was sharp when it concerned the emotion of wrath. It must’ve been the quality of the monarch of wrath.
‘I can’t tell him though.’
Even though his relationship with Wrath had improved drastically, it was still too early to tell him about his reincarnation.
‘I need to give an evasive answer.’
Raon made up his mind and nodded slightly.
‘He is my archenemy.’
He told him the truth, as that was a part that he couldn’t lie about.
I knew it. But that’s rather strange.
Wrath narrowed his eyes.
It looked like it was his first time seeing you. Moreover, weren’t you too young back then? How did you even develop a grudge against him?
‘……’
Say it.
‘F-food.’
Raon couldn’t come up with anything no matter how he racked his brain, so he said a word that Wrath would believe.
Food, you say?
‘When I was small, that bastard took away the last dish of the s-stew I had. You know, people treated me as an invisible person back then and he probably didn’t realize that was me.’
Raon bit his lip tightly.
‘There’s no way this is going to work.’
Raon thought it was complete bullshit even though he was the one who said it.
No matter how stupid Wrath was, it crossed the line a bit too much. Even though Raon was the one who said it, he was almost dumbfounded by how ridiculous that was.
Ugh, this bastard…
And Wrath was confirming his suspicion. His mouth looked like it was about to yell at him.
You should’ve said so already if that’s what happened!
‘Huh?’
Babies are more attached to food. Moreover, it was the last dish! I’m surprised you managed to suppress the urge to smash his head in!
‘……’
Raon slowly closed his eyes. Wrath’s foolishness about food had far surpassed his expectations. While he was thankful for that fact, he also felt sad at the same time.
The King of Essence would’ve helped you if you said so earlier! You are such an inflexible guy!
‘…I see.’
A grudge over food is extremely deep, especially if it was the last dish. Even though he’s rather strong for a human, you will carry out your vengeance no matter what!
Wrath mumbled that Raon should definitely take revenge on him since he was going to help him. He was even cheering for him.
“Hah…”
A deflating sound came from Raon’s laughter as he watched Wrath’s trembling fist.
‘Should I be thanking him for this…?’
Wrath’s help felt as reassuring as thousands of troops even though he usually gave away everything, but gaining his support in that manner was completely unexpected for him. Life was truly full of surprises.
Argh, the King of Essence is so angry about this. If anyone took away the King of Essence’s last mint chocolate, he would’ve smashed their head in and frozen them up to the last cell.
‘Th-that’s true…’
Because Raon felt thankful and sorry at the same time, he decided to fill Wrath’s stomach to his heart’s content during the banquet in the evening.
Raon shook his head and followed the others. As he followed the white road in the sword graveyard, a sword that had been slammed into the ground entered his vision. The rusted blade and the shattered hilt implied that it hadn’t had an owner for a long time.
‘Hmm?’
It wasn’t the only sword. Countless rusty swords were slammed into the ground all over the place.
Some of them were noted swords that still hadn’t lost their light, and a large number of them were low-end swords and were completely worn out.
“This place…”
“This is the real graveyard of swords.”
The third prince turned around and smiled brightly.
“All of these embedded swords belonged to the heroes who fought for Owen. Whether they were Grandmasters or ordinary soldiers who couldn’t use aura, everyone who wields their sword under Owen’s flag is allowed to leave their sword in this place.”
His face was overflowing with pride. His eyes told that he was brimming with anticipation for the day his sword would be embedded in the graveyard.
Creak.
Raon clenched his teeth. The memories of his previous life surfaced in his head like a kaleidoscope.
They were hellish days where he devoted his entire life to Robert, yet he ended up cooking him like a dog in a pot.
‘They are different.’
There was a tremendous difference between Owen and Robert, as even the ordinary soldiers could leave their names behind. His calmed wrath started to boil up again.
‘It’s a little early, but I should get started.’
Started on what?
‘My revenge.’
Since it was impossible to immediately attack Derus himself, it was necessary to slowly encroach on him from his surroundings.
‘And I shall start with…’
Raon’s lips rolled up into a smile while thinking about Cadis, who sneered while passing him by.
