An old magician wearing a gray robe bowed to Derus Robert.
“I’m honored to serve the Sky Sword Saint.”
“I’m in your care.”
Derus nodded and looked at the semi-circular frame next to the old magician.
‘They forced me to use the dimensional door.’
He normally didn’t entrust his body to others. Since using the dimensional door meant he needed to leave his body to the complete mercy of a magician, he rarely used them unless it was absolutely necessary.
He even used a carriage when he went to the Conference of the Six Kings, claiming that he wanted to witness the world with his very eyes and walk through the land with his own feet as an excuse. However, he ended up using the dimensional door anyway and that fact enraged him.
‘I’ll make you regret living.’
Whether it was the mythical creature inside the submarine dungeon or a third party who suddenly interfered, he decided that he would reduce Martio and Kosini’s killer into a state where they were neither living nor dead.
“Haa…”
Derus sighed briefly and looked at the old magician.
“You may begin.”
“Understood.”
The old magician bowed once again and slammed the ground with his staff.
With a thud, the semi-circular frame started to shine brilliantly. The light intensified and spread into a cone shape, filling the entire frame and turning into a door.
“This door is connected to House Robert. Please enter.”
The old magician stepped aside with a smile.
Derus nodded and walked into the dimensional door. Dazzling light filled his vision alongside a floating sensation.
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue in irritation because he had to entrust his body to someone else, then turned his head to look back. Regel had also entered the door and was following right behind him.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
Derus frowned and clenched his fist.
“I’m seriously angry now. It’s been a very long time since the last time I felt this way.”
He was also irritated when the ninth farm was destroyed, but it couldn’t be compared to how he was feeling.
His wrath was similar to when Temas died while trying to attack Zieghart on his own accord after he failed to take over House Yonaan.
‘It’s because I’ve been working on it for a long time.’
He’d been preparing for a long time to obtain the elixir and relic at the submarine dungeon.
He’d wiped out the sea monsters around the dungeon and removed the huge boulders blocking the path from above the dungeon, which took several careful years to prevent it from collapsing.
The preparation took as long as House Yonaan, yet his plan had been foiled and he had even lost the two useful people, Martio and Kosini. That fact made him boil in anger to the point that he felt bloated.
‘I won’t let you escape.’
Martio and Kosini’s deaths couldn’t be undone. What he needed to do was to obtain the treasures under the dungeon no matter what.
Whir!
He was biting his lip to suppress his anger when the semi-circular door appeared just like when he entered that space.
“Haa…”
Derus let out a small sigh and walked towards the door.
“My lord! Welcome back to the house!”
House Robert’s swordsmen and magicians were lined up in front of the dimensional door, bowing politely.
Derus didn’t even respond to their greetings, throwing away his coat before jumping into the sky. His body turned into a ray of light and rushed towards the dungeon.
‘Even if you are a god…’
Flames of wrath sparkled from Derus’s eyes as he kicked the sky to advance.
‘You won’t be able to escape me.’
* * *
Raon swallowed nervously while looking at a flower floating in the puddle.
‘A blue flower?’
The five petals were sparkling with a navy blue color, the stem was curved as softly as the moonlight, and six transparent leaves were sprouting out of it.
It looked so fragile that it seemed like it would break from the smallest touch, yet beautiful at the same time.
‘Wait, is this…?’
‘The ocean soul?’
The ocean soul was the name of the flower, and it was a legendary elixir that contained the energy of the entire ocean.
It only appeared in the stories of legend and myths, and Raon never expected to find one.
I-it is…
Wrath nodded. His widened eyes looked like they were about to pop out.
It really is the ocean soul. H-how was it even here…?
His trembling voice revealed his surprise.
“I have no idea.”
‘I don’t know about that, but…’
His hardened face had turned into a smile before he knew it.
Are you smiling?
“Should I cry instead? I can do it now if you want.”
Raon figured that crying would be a reasonable reaction since he had just managed to find an incredible elixir.
Argh!
Wrath’s clenched fist was trembling violently.
What the hell is wrong with you? Why is the entire world helping you so much?! Say something, because it’s getting annoying!
He shouted while pointing his finger in the thin air.
The King of Essence has never seen anything that comes even close to being an elixir for the past hundreds of years, so why is this bastard shoving elixirs in his damn mouth all the time?! Since when did elixirs become as common as candy?!
“You are so loud.”
Loud? Fine, the King of Essence will make it even louder! Once you hear his story of life in Devildom, you will want to offer that elixir right away, with teary eyes…
Wrath started up the long spiel that he hadn’t given in a while. Raon pushed him away because he was going nuts and examined the ocean soul instead.
‘It’s the real one.’
Both its shape and pure energy were exactly what he heard from the stories.
‘But… Why can I feel the energy of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation from this ocean soul?’
He could feel that extremely familiar energy from the ocean soul that should have the energy of the ocean.
‘I’ll find out once I try.’
Raon slowly caught his breath and carefully placed his hand on the ocean soul’s leaf…
And the world changed with a flash of light.
* * *
The picturesque scenery that he saw when he first entered the dungeon was displayed in front of his eyes.
He could see a blond-haired swordsman. Raon could easily recognize that familiar back. He was Zieghart’s first head of house, the one who could use the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the Ring of Fire.
A mysterious black man with white pupils and black eyes was standing opposite of him. He had a similar appearance to the one he had seen in the Central Martial Palace before, but the single horn on his forehead made a difference.
They glared at each other before they started to move. The sword and saber struck at the same time. Crimson flames burst from his ancestor’s sword, and black light emanated from the mysterious man’s saber.
The clash between tremendous powers turned hundreds of sea monsters into dust and split the submarine mountain in half.
A lump of aura fell to the submarine mountain and created a huge hole. The fight was creating the dungeon, the place where he was in.
The power spreading out from the mysterious man’s saber froze the world. The energy was powerful enough to crush heaven as he attacked.
Even though the tremendous power was crushing the entire ocean, the first head of Zieghart didn’t run away. He slashed his raging blade towards the violent trembling of the horizon with a faint smile on his face.
The red and black energy violently clashed and tried to devour each other, and the ocean’s water kept evaporating as a result.
They were equally matched. The fight between the mysterious man and the ancestor was truly a titanic battle.
The two monsters easily moved underwater as if they were on land until the sun set and rose once again, and they kept striking each other with their sword and saber.
After some time, his ancestor was overpowered and slammed into the hole that was previously made in the mountain.
The mysterious man sneered and charged at his ancestor and attacked continuously with his saber. The black energy undulated like a cloud to pierce the center of the mountain.
His ancestor didn’t panic despite the powerful attack from the mysterious man, calmly unleashing the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s techniques to fend off all attacks.
The mysterious man didn’t show any signs of exhaustion, and the black energy in his blade kept growing stronger and bigger.
When the violent spread of the black light was about to devour everything, a blue flame burst from his ancestor’s sword—unlike the red color he’d shown up to that point.
That flame was in no way weaker than the mysterious man’s energy.
The two monsters who had far transcended human limits dashed together as their sword and saber clashed against each other and created that long and huge passage under the ocean.
The sword traces that had allowed Raon to enter the trance were the traces of that battle he was witnessing.
The clash between his ancestor and the mysterious man’s energies crushed the land and created a huge cavern.
It was that place where Raon managed to learn the Flawless Sea of Fire and kill Martio and Kosini.
The mysterious man’s energy amplified once again. The black energy became powerful enough to make the entire ocean tremble, and it was unleashed like the breath of a devil that came straight from hell.
The evil in the saber’s strike felt like no swordsmanship in the world could fend it off.
The tip of his ancestor’s sword sparked blue. The extremely small spark spread in a spiral to draw a majestic line.
The Flawless Sea of Fire of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. The ocean of blue flames clashed against the darkness.
The blue flame undulated and spread in four directions, but the mysterious man clenched his huge black saber and endured it without moving an inch.
He screamed, and the black energy turned even thicker, slashing through the blue flames.
His ancestor’s smile didn’t fade away even though he saw it happening. He said something to the mysterious man and twisted his blade.
The blue flame suddenly turned gold. The auspicious light burst out endlessly to cover the entire area.
The mysterious man exploded his black energy as a last-ditch effort, but the golden flame of his ancestor erased the black energy and even the mysterious man himself in an instant.
His ancestor lowered his sword and stared at the ashes that used to be the mysterious man.
He said something with his eyes closed and someone appeared behind him. Raon couldn’t see her face because she was wearing a black robe, but she seemed to be a female magician, judging from her build.
She said something, and his ancestor stomped the ground. The ground was destroyed as a result, and the area Raon found the ocean soul and the ghost jellyfish was created.
Seawater was welling up on the ground just like Raon had seen, but a jewel similar to an emerald was floating on it instead of the ocean soul. It seemed to be the ocean soul’s seed.
The seed was extremely dry, and a thin sprout was all it had. It seemed to be running out of life.
The ancestor went on his knees and stared at the seed. Instead of taking the ocean soul’s seed for himself, he injected it with a small fire before he stood up.
The magician shouted in surprise, but the ancestor murmured something with a smile before turning his head.
His eyes were directed at Raon. The moment he faced those clear red eyes, his vision turned gold once again.
* * *
* * *
“Huff…”
Raon supported himself with his trembling hands.
‘Those were the techniques from the real Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.’
It was on a completely different level from what he’d felt from the traces. His heart was pounding much too quickly in excitement, enough so that he thought it would pop out.
‘I think my swordsmanship has improved even further.’
It could’ve been just an impression, but he had the feeling that his swordsmanship had further improved even though it had already improved when he saw the sword traces.
[You’ve observed the Flawless Sea of Fire in its perfected state.]
[Proficiency for all swordsmanship has increased.]
[The Ring of Fire’s proficiency has increased.]
[All stats have increased by 5.]
Raon was shaking his head when the messages appeared.
“Huh?”
‘It wasn’t just an impression?’
Apparently, he had really gotten stronger from that. His swordsmanship had really improved just like he’d felt.
Wh-what’s happening now…?
Wrath was dumbfounded and his jaw dropped.
Why are you suddenly giving him those rewards?! Your body was empty just now, where did you even go?! You damn zombie bastard!
He couldn’t understand the situation and violently shook his head.
“Hmm…”
Raon briefly licked his lips.
‘I can’t explain it to him.’
He couldn’t say anything because it was obvious he would be called crazy if he said he’d just met his ancestor.
What the hell was that? There should at least be a reason for giving rewards! Why are you getting them out of nowhere?
Wrath started to cry while slamming the ground, asking why Raon was the only one who got everything.
“Let’s leave for now…”
You took away his elixir and even his stats! The King of Essence can’t accept this kind of life!
He stood in front of the ocean soul and puffed himself up. He looked like the king-sized cotton candy that the cotton candy seller made because he wanted to go home already.
‘The elixir wasn’t even yours to begin with.’
That was what Raon wanted to tell him, but he figured it would be pointless. He said the only word that was bound to be effective against him.
“You need to get away from it already so I can leave and eat delicious food. I told you I’d buy everything you wante—”
Even before he finished the sentence, Wrath lowered his hands and jumped on Raon’s shoulder.
What are you waiting for? Pluck the flower already.
“Haa…”
‘This is seriously exhausting.’
Raon sighed and walked up to the ocean flower. The flower reminded him of Zieghart’s ancestor who he’d seen just a moment ago.
‘The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation…’
It was clear why he could feel the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation from the flower. It was because his ancestor had helped it sprout from the seed.
‘He really is amazing.’
He could’ve brought the seed with him to raise it by itself, or just eaten it as it was and it would’ve been better than an intermediate-grade elixir. Instead, he’d made the decision to leave it as it was, and it showed how extraordinary he was.
Raon plucked the ocean flower alongside its leaves and carefully put it in his subspace pocket. He put the ghost jellyfish’s corpse in a different space, just in case, before he stood up.
‘It’s time to destroy this place now.’
The perfect crime was only completed by completely destroying the dungeon.
Whap!
Raon raised Heavenly Drive and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to the maximum output. He slashed Heavenly Drive down in a curve, just like the first head of Zieghart had done to destroy the mysterious man.
Cring!
The red flame from the blade spread majestically to create a sea of flames.
It wasn’t blue or gold, unlike his ancestor’s, but the red flame engulfing the space was extremely vivid.
Whaam!
The improved Flawless Sea of Fire pierced into the sword traces on the walls and the ceiling to create powerful, extreme fissures throughout the dungeon.
The floor and the ceiling started to tremble violently, as if an earthquake were occurring.
“Perfect.”
He managed to destroy the frame of the dungeon, and it was bound to collapse soon enough.
Raon placed both Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem in his subspace pocket and took out skintight blue clothes, putting them on.
He lowered his head towards the puddle while thinking about his ancestor, who gave his energy to the ocean flower, before jumping in.
‘Thank you.’
He straightened his back after he expressed his gratitude to the first head of Zieghart, who gave him a new technique for the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the ocean soul.
Who are you thanking right now?
‘You’d call me crazy if I told you.’
Raon chuckled and shook his hand. Wrath would obviously have sworn, spit flying, if he had witnessed the scene. It made him smile.
Raon looked up at the collapsing ceiling before he jumped into the puddle where the ocean soul had grown, as it was the only exit from the dungeon.
Splash!
It should’ve been expected, as the ocean soul had bloomed from it, but the water wasn’t rotten. The clean fragrance of the water was seeping into his body.
‘I don’t have much time.’
Since his ancestor couldn’t have expected him to destroy the dungeon before he left, it was necessary to escape as fast as possible before it collapsed.
Just like when he fought, he increased the Rings of Fire’s resonance to the maximum to reduce his presence and energy to nothingness.
Whap!
He used Glacier to assimilate himself into the ocean.
Even though the ocean looked immobile, it was an origin of life that never ceased to move. He slowly opened his aura perception and could feel the flow of water.
‘This way should be faster.’
The right was closer to the exit than the left. He swam and followed the flow he felt through his skin while breathing with the Dolin Breathing Technique.
The passage was completely dark because light couldn’t reach it at all, and that was rather frightening. However, Glacier, the Ring of Fire, and his ancestor’s preparations gave him the courage to keep advancing.
A small light was entering the dark passage. Once he followed the light, his entire vision was brimming with sunlight.
‘I’m out!’
Raon increased his speed to leave the dark passage completely.
He was outside. His vision was filled with the endless vast ocean.
‘I’ve gotten pretty far.’
He was a long way off from the submarine valley where the dungeon was located because of how long the passage was.
Moreover, he’d gone in the direction of the ocean instead of the land, which meant it was going to take a while to return to shore.
Rumble!
He turned around upon hearing a majestic sound, and he could see that the colossal submarine valley was collapsing into the depths of the abyss.
Raon’s eyes became serious as he watched the scene.
‘The ocean has no words.’
No one would be able to learn of his visit and the perpetrator behind Martio and Kosini’s murder. A smile of relief appeared on his face upon realizing that everything was over.
‘This is what you call an assassination.’
Assassination? Did you just say assassination?
Wrath tilted his head because of his ridiculous statement.
Does the King of Essence have the wrong definition of assassination? How is this even an assassination when you just killed them all with sheer power without even trying to hide your face?
‘It’s still an assassination as long as no one witnessed it.’
You must have a blade stuck in your brain.
He shook his head, saying that it was impossible to reason with him.
Raon chuckled and opened his hands.
‘Let’s leave now.’
Stop.
He was trying to move away as fast as possible before Derus arrived, but Wrath suddenly shouted.
Raon could guess the reason and immediately stopped breathing.
‘Don’t tell me…’
He’s here.
After a short time, enough to breathe a few times, he could feel the approach of a monster clad in a bone-chilling murderous aura from the left sky.
His heart tightened. His swimming arms and legs came to a halt because of the suffocating feeling.
Raon clenched his back teeth without even looking upwards.
‘It’s him!’
Derus Robert. The man floating in the sky was that crazy bastard.
