Wrath’s round eyes widened while looking at Raon.
…Gold?
Raon’s eyes were supposed to be red like rubies, but they had turned gold. Wrath rubbed his eyes and looked at him again. The bright gold was already gone in the blink of an eye, and Raon’s eyes had returned to their original red color.
“Gold? What are you talking about?”
Raon tilted his head while looking at his hands.
Your damn eyes sparked gold just now.
“ Gold, you say.”
His ancestor’s flame had a brilliant gold color, unlike his own red flames. He had only seen him through his mental image, but he guessed that it might be caused by the blood flowing through his veins.
“Well, I guess that can happen. By the way…”
Raon clicked his tongue while leering at Wrath.
“Are you sure you should be saying vulgar words like ‘damn eyes’ even though you are a king?”
“Ahem, your eyeballs were sparking gold.
“Eyeballs aren’t that much better though…”
Raon couldn’t see him as a demon king whenever he voiced such vulgar words, though his gluttony was also an issue. Despite his noble manner of speech, his choice of words was too boorish.
Let’s not talk about the King of Essence’s way of speaking!
Wrath shook his hand to dismiss it as a pointless topic.
You are such a selfish bastard for keeping all the good stuff for yourself. Did you manage to get it?
“No, I didn’t get most of it.”
Raon sighed briefly and shook his head.
Ooh!
Wrath’s wrinkled face smoothened like a stiff piece of paper. He seemed to be glad that Raon didn’t manage to obtain the technique.
This is a lesson for you! You aren’t getting any good results because you keep torturing the King of Essence by feeding him Nadine bread every day! It’s not too late to show your regret! The King of Essence will bestow you a spell to make your life easier if you pay tribute…
“I didn’t finish what I was saying though.”
Huh…?
“I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t get most of it. However, I managed to learn where I can get the rest of it.”
Raon smiled faintly while caressing the traces of the Flawless Sea of Fire left behind by his ancestor.
What do you mean by that?
“This one wasn’t finished.”
The Flawless Sea of Fire from his ancestor hadn’t been completed there. The opponent’s attack had interrupted him, and that was why it left such a wide trade.
‘And that’s why I managed to learn from it.’
Because the ancestor’s swordsmanship had already reached heaven, he probably wouldn’t have been able to learn anything if it was perfectly completed. Raon managed to achieve some progress in martial arts precisely because it was interrupted.
He didn’t manage a huge amount of progress because the trance had only lasted for a short time, but the proficiency of his swordsmanship, the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, and the Ring of Fire had increased to reach the upper limit of intermediate Master.
‘I just need a small opportunity and… I should be able to open the door and reach the advanced Master.’
And Raon was aware of where he could find the key to break through the wall.
The key?
“Yes. I know where the trace of the perfectly executed Flawless Sea of Flame is located. No, on top of that…”
Raon shoved the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation in between the sword traces left behind by his ancestor. The heat emerging from the crack transferred to other traces and spread throughout the dungeon.
“I can now tell this entire dungeon’s layout and the location of my enemies.”
The dungeon was created from a fight between his ancestor and his enemy. Since the entire dungeon was carved with the traces of their swords, Raon could tell through the Ring of Fire where he needed to go, and where the others were located.
“In short, I’m pretty much a magical map right now.”
Huh!
Wrath’s jaw dropped. His widened mouth looked like it was tearing apart because of how shocked he was, and Raon could see his throat.
This can’t possibly be happening…
“It’s all thanks to my ancestor.”
‘Thank you, ancestor!’
Raon bowed at the sword trace to express his gratitude to the first head of house and obtained information through the Ring of Fire.
‘There are two powerful energies at the very bottom.’
They didn’t seem to be human. One of them was a mythical-grade monster, and the other one was an artifact protected by the monster.
‘And the Flawless Sea of Flame’s trace is right above them.’
The completed Flawless Sea of Flame’s trace could be sensed right above the monster and the artifact’s energies. He needed to go there to obtain the treasure and increase his realm.
‘And…’
He could feel Martio, Kosini, and the shadows’ energies from a significant distance above the artifact’s location.
‘There are too few of them.’
Judging from the fact that there were fewer shadows than what he’d seen on the beach, he could guess that the assassins were standing by in the passage to guard them.
‘This makes it easier for me.’
Since he needed to kill all of them anyway, it was better for him if they split up.
I-impossible! Bring me your ancestor! The King of Essence will kick his ass!
Wrath ground his teeth. He seemed to dislike how well it was going for Raon.
“But you should want me to finish this quickly and go outside. You won’t be able to eat anything delicious otherwise. Don’t tell me, did you take a liking to Nadine bread?”
Raon took out a Nadine bread and waved it in front of Wrath’s eyes.
Hieee…
Wrath’s shoulders dropped as his eyes trembled like a kid who had seen a cane.
A-alright.
He finally realized what was better for him and stepped aside, straightening his back even though it was uncertain it was really his back that he was straightening.
Well, do you need any h-help?
Wrath’s voice turned cheerful and almost sounded charming.
‘You will be helping me by not doing anything.’
Raon chuckled and opened his subspace pocket. He took out Dorian’s makeup tools to turn his eye and hair black, then painted his skin a pale color before creating a fake scar under his eye to wrap it up.
Cring.
He created a bit of round ice with his coldness and looked at his reflection on it. He looked like a completely different person than Raon Zieghart.
‘Perfect. It’s been twenty years.’
That was the face of the assassin Raon from when he used to be Derus’s shadow.
‘It would be a shame to kill him normally.’
Martio was one of the leaders who was involved in everything, including his kidnapping, brainwashing, and education.
He had stabbed Raon countless times in his vitals, unleashed wild dogs to devour his flesh, and even skipped meals sometimes—forcing Raon to eat dirty grass for a whole month.
‘I’m definitely not allowing you an easy death.’
He had no intention of quickly killing Martio, unlike Lisbon. He was going to make him regret being alive by mentally tormenting him on top of giving him physical pain.
Raon equipped Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem around his waist with a frightening smile on his face.
Whir!
He used the cracks in the wall to find out the closest shadow’s location.
‘It would take twenty minutes to get there.’
He figured he could reach him in five minutes if he used a shortcut.
Raon decided on his destination and dashed through the passage that his ancestor had created.
‘This is easy.’
Even though it was a complex passage, He managed to reach the location the shadows were guarding without getting lost at all, thanks to the Ring of Fire’s senses.
Cring!
Raon used the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to open the wall behind the shadows.
“Uhh…”
“Int—”
The shadows managed to react in that brief moment and tried to step away, but Heavenly Drive was faster than them.
Shhink!
The blade’s trajectory gleamed silver as it cut through the shadows’ necks.
“Ack…”
“Aah…”
With an extremely brief groan, the shadows collapsed to their backs while covering their necks.
Tap.
Raon caught the two shadows’ corpses and leaned them against the wall to avoid detection by Kosini’s magic.
Tsk, tsk.
Wrath raised his chin while clicking his tongue.
You idiot, they already found out.
He furrowed his brow while pointing at the corpses.
The King of Essence can tell that you have no talent for assassination. You should just swing your sword at their faces without trying anything else.
“Pfft!”
Raon burst out laughing.
Why are you laughing?
“I’m sorry, but I let them hear it on purpose.”
You let them hear on purpose?
“Yes.”
Raon smiled and shook off the blood from Heavenly Drive. There was no way he would make such a simple mistake after being an assassin for so many years. Killing the shadows before they reacted was a piece of cake for him.
Why though?
“I want them to know about my presence.”
He was sending them a signal to notify them that a rather skilled warrior had killed the shadows by letting them hear their groans and making their presence disappear in an instant.
…The way you think is truly a mystery.
Wrath was unable to understand him and shook his head.
“Assassination’s true goal isn’t to simply kill your target. You have to create the result you want to call it successful.”
Raon licked his lips while looking down on the ground where he could feel Martio’s presence.
“Open your eyes and watch.”
‘I’m about to show you the real deal.’
* * *
* * *
Martio quietly looked upwards. His eyes had turned as cold as a glacier.
“Listen without showing any reaction.”
“What’s the matter now?”
Kosini frowned while looking back.
“This is already tiring enough, so why do you have to be so annoyin—”
“There’s an intruder.”
“Intruder?”
She narrowed her eyes while looking upwards.
“My alarm magic didn’t find anything though? I already said this, but it’s impossible that anyone would barge in—”
“The presence of the shadows at the fourth location has disappeared. I even heard a small groan.”
Martio lowered his chin while looking at Kosini with a serious face.
“They would never leave that spot even if they lost their limbs unless I give them the order. They were killed by an intruder.”
He was focusing on the floors above him because the uneasy feelings didn’t fade away, despite how convinced Kosini was about the lack of intruders. That’s how he managed to notice that two shadows had collapsed with a small groan.
And that was the proof that someone other than them had intruded inside the dungeon.
“Moreover, it’s a powerful one.”
Martio could guess that it must’ve been an extraordinary enemy, considering that they managed to attack the shadows from behind and took care of them before they could even do anything, all while avoiding the alarm magic altogether. Martio himself wouldn’t have noticed them either if he wasn’t focused on the upper floors.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, I guess you are better than me in that area.”
Kosini bit her lip while she nodded. Since Martio was far better than her at sensing sounds and people’s presence, she was convinced that there was indeed an intruder.
“What shall we do now? Should we stop digging and wait?”
“No.”
Martio shook his head and pointed at the ground.
“You should keep digging and pretend you didn’t notice anything. Maintain your speed but decrease the noise.”
“Alright.”
Kosini nodded and twirled her finger. The speed of the digging and the tamping of the soil was the same as before, but the noise was more than halved in comparison to before.
“Hmm…”
Martio lowered her eyebrows while following Kosini down the tunnel.
“Two more have been defeated. The sound was even smaller than the previous ones. It's a powerful opponent and they are extremely proficient at assassination.”
“That’s for sure. The alarm magic still didn’t catch anything.”
Kosini twisted her lips while taking a glance back.
“But are we still continuing like this? The damage is only going to increase.”
“Their lives are worthless anyway. It works out better for us if they can be used to bait them in.”
“Bait them, you say?”
“The intruder should already know our numbers. If we throw out the shadows in groups of two, they will see it as an opportunity and follow us.”
Martio slowly nodded.
“He must be planning to attack us right before we obtain the treasure, as humans are bound to become careless at that moment.”
“Hmm…”
“We will keep digging and pretend we didn’t notice anything until that happens, and counterattack when he tries to get us.”
“Isn’t it better to chase them now and take care of them?”
“It’s too far away. We won’t be able to catch them if they decide to run away, and we can’t have that happen.”
Martio clenched his fist so hard that it made a cracking sound.
‘We need to catch them no matter what.’
Since they were trying to ruin Derus’s important plan, Martio was going to discover their identity and their affiliation no matter what, even if he had to torture them.
‘Two more have died.’
The fast approach showed that the intruder was bold and level-headed at the same time. It was also proving that trying to bait them instead of chasing them was the correct decision.
‘However… This type of enemy is even easier to catch.’
Those who were overconfident about their abilities were easier to kill, whether they were assassins or warriors. And that was all that intruder was going to amount to.
Martio’s eyes turned cold as he imagined what was going to happen in the near future.
‘I’ll have you spit out everything, including the things you don’t even know about. Come at me, I’m ready.’
* * *
‘He must be thinking that he’s fully prepared.’
Raon smiled coldly while he sensed Martio and Kosini’s energies getting closer.
‘He is reacting just as I expected.’
Martio was pretending he didn’t notice and was wagging his tail to lure him in and catch him because he believed Raon was following him from behind. He must’ve been trying to catch him to obtain information instead of simply killing him.
‘It’s a good method… Except that I’m your opponent this time.’
Raon knew everything about Martio. He knew what kind of person he was, how he was going to think, and how he was going to act. Moreover, he had a full understanding of the dungeon’s layout.
Martio likely believed that he had the upper hand, but all conditions were pointing at an overwhelming advantage for Raon.
Raon smiled faintly and warmed up his fingers.
‘My next move is to erase my presence.’
It was necessary to lower his presence a lot further than when he spent four days hiding behind the shadows.
Whir.
Raon made all of the rings of fire resonate. He usually used them to increase his presence, but he suppressed it to the extreme instead and concealed himself.
He turned himself into a tiny piece of mana dwelling inside the dungeon, similar to a small pebble on the ground or a drop of water falling from the ceiling.
Whir!
He could sense the vibration from Kosini’s digging. It felt like her mana was touching his shoulder.
Raon bit his lip tightly.
‘Not yet.’
They were definitely nearby, but there was still a chance for Martio to escape even though he was injured. He needed to wait for a little bit longer.
‘Haa.’
He suppressed his emotions in addition to his body. He even erased the resentment, wrath, and murderous intent that he had from his previous life. He turned his body and mind into a white canvas, much like a newborn baby.
Whir.
After Kosini’s magic, the vibrations occurring from Martio and the shadows’ steps were tickling his feet. That flow allowed him to imagine Martio and the shadows’ movements. All of them were fully focused behind and above them.
‘Now!’
Raon gritted his back teeth and kicked the ground. He wasn’t emerging from the front or behind them but from the wall at the left side. He pushed the wall with the Supreme Harmony Steps that had been further improved and reached Martio’s back in an instant.
Cring!
It was a blind spot where none of the shadows, nor Kosini nor Martio, were able to react, and a frightening light emerged from Raon’s sword.
