Chapter 416
Raon snickered while watching Wrath stick his tongue out at Rimmer.
‘It would be fun if those two ended up meeting each other.’
Because Wrath and Rimmer competed to be the most childish people in the world, Raon could only smile as he thought about what would happen if they met each other.
‘I wonder if they would start fighting like children.’
While he was imagining the conversation between Rimmer and Wrath, Wendy Arianne entered the stage.
She walked up to Rimmer and leaned forward at a 90-degree angle.
“Light Wind squad leader, I’m really thankful for what you’ve done.”
When Rimmer asked for permission to run a gambling stall in the arena, she thought he was just keen on money, but she was completely mistaken.
She realized he planned that gamble to help House Arianne financially after he saved them during the war alongside Raon.
‘He’s from Zieghart, after all, and from the Light Wind squad at that.’
There were many bad rumors about Rimmer, but Wendy realized they were groundless.
She was moved to tears and unconsciously clenched her fist because she had met another hero after Raon.
“Huhuhu…”
Rimmer nodded while laughing gently—like Roenn did. The tears welling up in his eyes fell towards the ground.
“You are donating such a large sum to us…”
“House Arianne will never forget this gratitude!”
“We will serve you as our benefactor in the future!”
“Whoaaa!”
The newly appointed executives of Arianne also bowed to Rimmer and cheered.
“Huhuhu….”
Rimmer simply nodded while letting out bitter laughter.
“Let’s celebrate by tossing him into the air!”
“Whoaa!”
“Sir Rimmer, we are really thankful!”
Wendy and the executives tossed Rimmer into the air and thanked him once again.
“Huhuhu…”
Rimmer kept laughing like a gentleman even as he floated into the air and came back down.
He almost looked like he was broken.
“Benefactor?”
“Sir Rimmer?”
People tilted their heads, and Raon went up next to Rimmer.
“He does that when he’s happy. He’s always loved to donate money, after all.”
“Ah, I see!”
“That’s so admirable!”
“That’s really amazing because it’s difficult to decide on the donation.”
On top of Arianne’s executives, even the spectators praised Rimmer and raised their hands.
“Actually, I did hear something like that in the past.”
One of the executives licked his lip while looking at Rimmer.
“A friend of mine told me in the past that he saw Sir Rimmer donating at an orphanage.”
He was uttering some unbelievable claim with a warm smile on his face.
“He donated? Are you sure he didn’t rob them?”
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Rimmer.
“Squad leader, did you really donate by yourself? Isn’t that about someone else with the same name?”
It was a ridiculous story, but Raon asked Rimmer about it just in case.
“I don’t know. Screw it!”
Rimmer briskly turned his head around and left the arena. He shook his hand, telling him to take care of the rest.
“Bank!”
“Yes!”
Dorian leaped onto the arena upon hearing Raon’s call.
“Did you finish the calculation?”
“Of course!”
Dorian skimmed through his account book as if he were the president of a bank before he nodded.
“Deliver our squad leader’s donation to Lady Wendy.”
“Understood.”
He took gold coins from his belly pocket and gave them to Wendy Arianne and the executives.
“Ah…”
“I don’t even know how I should thank you for this…”
Wendy and the executives fell speechless as they looked at the pouch, which held a huge amount of gold coins.
“Contact the Sephia company and tell them to trade with House Arianne. They will immediately come running here since this is a great opportunity for them to monopolize the best grapes and blueberries.”
Since House Arianne and the Sephia company were pretty much allies at that point, they were naturally going to become great partners, and it brought a smile to Raon’s face.
“I’m sure our president will be happy!”
Dorian immediately nodded and took out the communication crystal that the president had given him.
“Light Wind squad! Light Wind squad! Light Wind squad!”
“You are wrong! They are called the Mad Dog Squad nowadays!”
“Mad Dog squad! Mad Dog Squad! Mad Dog Squad!”
The spectators were loudly praising the Light Wind squad that saved House Arianne and even donated a large sum of money.
“We are the Light Wind, not Mad Dogs, you bitches!”
Martha became furious as soon as she heard them being called the Mad Dogs.
“Ahhhh!”
“Miss Rakshasa is here! She is the hellhound of Zieghart!”
“That fucker Raon is the hellhound, not me!”
She ran into the spectators' seats and started to rampage, but it was just a trivial incident.
Everyone around the arena was enjoying the festival with smiles on their faces.
‘Ah, except for one person.’
The only person who wasn’t smiling was the red-haired elf who was shedding tears of blood while shrinking in a corner.
“Ugh, my money. My flower path…”
He bit his lip tightly while looking at the gold pouch Dorian had taken out from his belly pocket.
‘I should keep the promise with the Sword Demon now… Hmm?’
Raon was about to walk up to the Sword Demon but stopped himself.
‘That man…’
Mustan, standing behind the Sword Demon, was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
‘That makes two people total who aren’t smiling.’
Raon didn’t manage to hear everything, but the Sword Demon sounded like he was encouraging Mustan after his match instead of scolding him. However, it looked completely ineffective.
Mustan wasn’t spreading any pressure, but the malice in his eyes had further intensified.
‘I need to thoroughly crush him at some point.’
Since Raon had reached the highest level of Master, he was confident he could defeat Mustan without much difficulty—even if he managed to show his full potential.
Raon figured he would need to crush him and show him the difference in their power to make him learn his place.
“Sir Rector.”
Raon walked up to the Sword Demon without being affected by Mustan’s piercing glare.
“I’m ready now.”
The Sword Demon nodded and pointed at his room.
“Let’s have tea at a quiet location.”
* * *
* * *
The Sword Demon raised his eyes while touching his teacup. He caught his breath while watching Raon who was sipping on his tea on the opposite side of him.
‘He looks so similar no matter how I look at him.’
Raon would have looked exactly like him if his hair and eye colors were brown and blue instead.
‘Moreover, the expression he had on his face during the fight was the exact same as his.’
His peaceful expression was simply similar, but the way he was fighting to the best of his ability almost looked like he had returned to wield the sword once again.
It was possible to have a similar-looking person in the vast world, but it was difficult to imagine that a non-blood relative would share so many similarities.
“Sir Rector?”
“Ahem!”
Rector came back to his senses upon hearing Raon’s call and cleared his throat.
“My bad. My thoughts were wandering.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Raon quietly shook his head.
‘He looked a bit lonely just now.’
The Sword Demon had just looked like a sad old man of his age instead of a demonic swordsman.
Since he said his thoughts were wandering, he must’ve been reminiscing about the past.
‘I wonder what he’s going to ask me.’
It would’ve been understandable if he wanted to make a request or ask for a rematch against his disciple, but Raon couldn’t figure out his intention because he was just going to ask some questions.
“It might sound strange, but I’d like to ask this question.”
“Sure.”
“Can I hear about your father and mother?”
“My mother and father?”
“Indeed. I’d like to know what kind of people they are to raise you into such a splendid man.”
Despite his composed eyes, the Sword Demon smiled awkwardly while saying that he found it curious that Raon had such great might, willpower, and even personality at the age of twenty.
‘Personality…’
Raon figured that the Sword Demon was well aware of Mustan’s repulsive personality.
Raon liked him even more because he seemed to be asking for advice for his disciple’s sake.
‘It’s not exactly a secret anyway.’
Since many people were aware that he was Sylvia’s son, answering his question wasn’t an issue.
“My mother is Sylvia Zieghart. She was originally a swordswoman of Zieghart, but she’s currently living in peace. However, her heart is even stronger than a swordsman and makes people comfortable when they are around her.”
Raon responded with his feelings and thoughts about Sylvia honestly.
“You mentioned my personality just now. The reason why I gained an honorable title that I don’t deserve was all thanks to my mother.”
He told him about how Sylvia wanted Raon to wield his sword for the sake of others like the Zieghart swordsmen in the past.
“…I see.”
The Sword Demon quietly groaned and nodded.
“Then what about your father?”
“It might sound strange, but I don’t really know about my father.”
“How come?”
“He perished before I was even born. I never met him.”
“H-he died?”
The Sword Demon’s voice remained placid, but his lips were trembling slightly.
“How? Did he die from an illness?”
“It’s a delicate matter to explain to a third party, but he was murdered.”
“……”
The Sword Demon closed his eyes. His shoulders used to look as sturdy as steel, but they felt as weak as a twig.
“My mother never talks about my father, and I didn’t even hear his name to be honest.”
“Were they on bad terms?”
“No, she said that they got along extremely well. I believe she was being considerate so that I wouldn’t feel his absence.”
Sylvia was smiling whenever she talked about his father, but she also looked sad at the same time.
He purposefully didn’t ask about his name because it was so hard for him to see her sad expression.
“According to my mother’s expression, my father was a foolish man. He was tall and had excellent sword skills, but he had no talent with aura, and couldn’t become famous.”
Raon told him about the description Sylvia had given him of his father.
“However, she said that my father wielded his sword for the sake of others and became stronger when he protected people. The reason I care about other people right now must be because of my father’s influence on my mother.”
Because he’d been an assassin in his previous life with a worn-down personality, he could’ve become a psychopath like Mustan if it weren’t for Sylvia.
Meeting Sylvia and the people from the annex building was the luckiest encounter in his life.
“……”
The Sword Demon quietly stared at the teacup on the table. It looked like the small amount of tea left at the bottom of the cup was evaporating.
“I’m sorry to ask this, but can I hear who murdered your father? It’s important for me.”
“…Eden.”
“I…see.”
He put his hands together and lowered his head. His fingertips were trembling faintly even though they had been unshakable during the match.
“Hmm…”
Raon touched his lips while watching the Sword Demon, who looked unstable for some reason.
“Do you know about my father by any chance?”
The way he was acting could only be explained if he knew about his father.
“Not yet.”
The Sword Demon calmly shook his head. He’d managed to control his emotions in that short timeframe.
‘Not yet?’
Raon couldn’t tell what it was even supposed to mean.
‘I guess it’s impossible to recognize my father from a simple explanation like this.’
It would’ve been stranger if he decided he was acquainted with his father when he hadn’t even heard the name.
“Can I make another request?”
The Sword Demon briefly inhaled and raised his head.
“Please do.”
“Can I go with you when you return to Zieghart?”
“Are you planning to meet my mother, by any chance?”
“There’s something I’d like to confirm about your father. I swear that I won’t cause any harm.”
He gave his pledge as a swordsman while putting his right hand on the left side of his chest.
“We are planning to visit Habun Castle before going to Zieghart. Is that fine with you?”
“That’s fine.”
“There shouldn’t be any problem if you are visiting us as a guest.”
The Sword Demon wasn’t an enemy, and he didn’t seem to be holding any malice against his father even if he ended up being his acquaintance.
Since he was a big help, there was no issue with inviting him to Zieghart.
“Thank you. I’m really glad…”
The Sword Demon raised his gaze. Mysteriously, his gaze felt as hot as a griddle even though he definitely looked nonchalant on the outside.
“Don’t mention it. Please prepare in advance since we are leaving in five days.”
“Alright.”
He nodded and told Raon to take care of his body before he closed his eyes.
Raon bowed before leaving the Sword Demon’s room.
‘I’m curious what business he has in Zieghart.’
He went to the first floor while thinking about the relationship between the Sword Demon and his father, and Mustan was climbing the stairs.
He could still see the two blades in his eyes.
“What did you talk about with my master?”
The frightening pressure around Mustan felt like he was about to draw his sword at any moment.
“Why do you want to know?”
Raon snorted at Mustan.
“He would’ve called you into the room if it mattered to you.”
“You arrogant…”
Mustan’s brow crumpled like a piece of paper in a grip.
“Do you really believe you won fair and square when you just attacked me while I was careless?”
“It’s a fact.”
“We would’ve had a different outcome if I did my best from the beginning! You won’t be a match against me if we fight once more!”
He clenched his scabbard. He looked like he wanted to go for round two right away.
“I’ll overlook it once for Sir Rector.”
“Don’t mention my master’s name with your dirty mouth!”
Raon was about to go down the stairs after he sighed, but Mustan grabbed his shoulder violently.
“You seriously don’t know your place, do you?”
Raon turned around and walked up to Mustan.
Rumble!
The Ring of Fire naturally resonated. The sword art released from his mental world and his increased pressure from reaching the highest level of Master created a powerful aura wave.
“Ugh…”
Mustan mustered his aura in order to fight back the huge pressure, but it simply got torn into pieces by the pressure that was as sharp as a blade.
“H-how is this happening…?”
His chin clattered as he stepped back on the stairs.
“Uhah!”
Raon’s aura wave intensified even further, and Mustan missed his step and rolled down the stairs, falling to the ground.
“Mustan.”
An emotionless voice could be heard from Raon as he looked down on Mustan on the ground.
“Carelessness can’t be an excuse in the world of competition. Your head would be rolling by now if this were a real battle.”
“Ugh…”
“Shut up and scram if you finally understood.”
Raon left the trembling Mustan behind and left the Sword Demon’s lodgings.
He is devoured by envy.
Wrath clicked his tongue.
Envy has always been difficult to control. It’s also called the mind of a snake because the emotion is as nasty as a snake.
‘Mind of a snake…’
There was someone like him in Devildom. She always got jealous of others and begrudged them no matter how they tried to help her and how well-off she was. However, she managed to obtain tremendous power with that envy.
Wrath murmured that he was the most unsightly person among the devils.
‘Are you talking about…?’
You guessed right. She managed to become a demon king with that unsightly power of envy.
Raon could understand who she was even though her name wasn’t mentioned: the Monarch of Envy, Envy. She was another demon king that Wrath had previously mentioned. She was the one who supposedly had a rough handling of her subordinates.
‘Did she reach your level with the power of envy?’
Bullshit! The King of Essence is way stronger than her!
Wrath snorted, saying that she could easily crush Envy both in terms of sheer strength and the quality of subordinates.
‘Well, a loser like him won’t be able to become a demon king.’
Raon shook his head while looking up at the Sword Demon’s room.
‘But I’m still curious about why the Sword Demon accepted an idiot like him as a disciple.’
* * *
“Haa…”
The Sword Demon sighed heavily.
‘It’s almost certain of it now.’
A righteous personality that made him act despite his abilities, excellent swordsmanship despite having a weak aura, and a tall height on top.
He still needed to confirm with Sylvia, but he could tell that Raon’s father was the one he had in mind.
‘How is this happening…?’
While he was training in seclusion, he’d heard that he left the ‘alliance’ after paying a huge price, but he never expected such a development.
‘It had to be Zieghart of all places…’
The fact that he was in Zieghart out of all houses made it painful for him.
‘I guess he never cared about it to begin with.’
The Sword Demon laughed bitterly and tried to suppress his nausea when the door opened and Mustan entered the room.
“Master, what did you just talk about with Raon?”
His face was somewhat twisted as he approached.
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
The Sword Demon shook his head. He simply declined to answer because he couldn’t tell him about an uncertain matter.
“You should train for four days instead of having those pointless thoughts. We will go to Zieghart with the Light Wind squad on the fifth day, so prepare yourself.”
“What?”
Mustan’s jaw dropped.
“A-are we going to Zieghart?! Why would we do that?!”
“I have a business with them.”
“But they are our enemies! Even though they don’t know about our identity, why would we…”
“Just as you said, our affiliation hasn’t been revealed yet. That’s why it won’t be possible later.”
The Sword Demon closed his eyes while he swept his hair up.
“Master, I’ve seen you bestow your teachings to talented warriors of the Six Kings a few times in the past, but this case is different.”
Mustan ground his teeth furiously.
“The bad blood runs deep between us and Zieghart, unlike the other Six Kings! I understand you took a liking to Raon Zieghart, but you’ve crossed the line this time!”
He went on his knees in refusal.
“Master, please return to your senses! I’m your disciple! It will be a huge problem if an incident happens now! The alliance should be calling us soon!”
Mustan categorically refused and slammed his head on the ground.
“Even though it might happen…”
The Sword Demon opened his eyes, which had been tightly closed. The frightening glow of his pupils revealed an unyielding determination.
“There’s a matter I need to confirm.”
Chapter 416
Raon snickered while watching Wrath stick his tongue out at Rimmer.
‘It would be fun if those two ended up meeting each other.’
Because Wrath and Rimmer competed to be the most childish people in the world, Raon could only smile as he thought about what would happen if they met each other.
‘I wonder if they would start fighting like children.’
While he was imagining the conversation between Rimmer and Wrath, Wendy Arianne entered the stage.
She walked up to Rimmer and leaned forward at a 90-degree angle.
“Light Wind squad leader, I’m really thankful for what you’ve done.”
When Rimmer asked for permission to run a gambling stall in the arena, she thought he was just keen on money, but she was completely mistaken.
She realized he planned that gamble to help House Arianne financially after he saved them during the war alongside Raon.
‘He’s from Zieghart, after all, and from the Light Wind squad at that.’
There were many bad rumors about Rimmer, but Wendy realized they were groundless.
She was moved to tears and unconsciously clenched her fist because she had met another hero after Raon.
“Huhuhu…”
Rimmer nodded while laughing gently—like Roenn did. The tears welling up in his eyes fell towards the ground.
“You are donating such a large sum to us…”
“House Arianne will never forget this gratitude!”
“We will serve you as our benefactor in the future!”
“Whoaaa!”
The newly appointed executives of Arianne also bowed to Rimmer and cheered.
“Huhuhu….”
Rimmer simply nodded while letting out bitter laughter.
“Let’s celebrate by tossing him into the air!”
“Whoaa!”
“Sir Rimmer, we are really thankful!”
Wendy and the executives tossed Rimmer into the air and thanked him once again.
“Huhuhu…”
Rimmer kept laughing like a gentleman even as he floated into the air and came back down.
He almost looked like he was broken.
“Benefactor?”
“Sir Rimmer?”
People tilted their heads, and Raon went up next to Rimmer.
“He does that when he’s happy. He’s always loved to donate money, after all.”
“Ah, I see!”
“That’s so admirable!”
“That’s really amazing because it’s difficult to decide on the donation.”
On top of Arianne’s executives, even the spectators praised Rimmer and raised their hands.
“Actually, I did hear something like that in the past.”
One of the executives licked his lip while looking at Rimmer.
“A friend of mine told me in the past that he saw Sir Rimmer donating at an orphanage.”
He was uttering some unbelievable claim with a warm smile on his face.
“He donated? Are you sure he didn’t rob them?”
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Rimmer.
“Squad leader, did you really donate by yourself? Isn’t that about someone else with the same name?”
It was a ridiculous story, but Raon asked Rimmer about it just in case.
“I don’t know. Screw it!”
Rimmer briskly turned his head around and left the arena. He shook his hand, telling him to take care of the rest.
“Bank!”
“Yes!”
Dorian leaped onto the arena upon hearing Raon’s call.
“Did you finish the calculation?”
“Of course!”
Dorian skimmed through his account book as if he were the president of a bank before he nodded.
“Deliver our squad leader’s donation to Lady Wendy.”
“Understood.”
He took gold coins from his belly pocket and gave them to Wendy Arianne and the executives.
“Ah…”
“I don’t even know how I should thank you for this…”
Wendy and the executives fell speechless as they looked at the pouch, which held a huge amount of gold coins.
“Contact the Sephia company and tell them to trade with House Arianne. They will immediately come running here since this is a great opportunity for them to monopolize the best grapes and blueberries.”
Since House Arianne and the Sephia company were pretty much allies at that point, they were naturally going to become great partners, and it brought a smile to Raon’s face.
“I’m sure our president will be happy!”
Dorian immediately nodded and took out the communication crystal that the president had given him.
“Light Wind squad! Light Wind squad! Light Wind squad!”
“You are wrong! They are called the Mad Dog Squad nowadays!”
“Mad Dog squad! Mad Dog Squad! Mad Dog Squad!”
The spectators were loudly praising the Light Wind squad that saved House Arianne and even donated a large sum of money.
“We are the Light Wind, not Mad Dogs, you bitches!”
Martha became furious as soon as she heard them being called the Mad Dogs.
“Ahhhh!”
“Miss Rakshasa is here! She is the hellhound of Zieghart!”
“That fucker Raon is the hellhound, not me!”
She ran into the spectators' seats and started to rampage, but it was just a trivial incident.
Everyone around the arena was enjoying the festival with smiles on their faces.
‘Ah, except for one person.’
The only person who wasn’t smiling was the red-haired elf who was shedding tears of blood while shrinking in a corner.
“Ugh, my money. My flower path…”
He bit his lip tightly while looking at the gold pouch Dorian had taken out from his belly pocket.
‘I should keep the promise with the Sword Demon now… Hmm?’
Raon was about to walk up to the Sword Demon but stopped himself.
‘That man…’
Mustan, standing behind the Sword Demon, was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
‘That makes two people total who aren’t smiling.’
Raon didn’t manage to hear everything, but the Sword Demon sounded like he was encouraging Mustan after his match instead of scolding him. However, it looked completely ineffective.
Mustan wasn’t spreading any pressure, but the malice in his eyes had further intensified.
‘I need to thoroughly crush him at some point.’
Since Raon had reached the highest level of Master, he was confident he could defeat Mustan without much difficulty—even if he managed to show his full potential.
Raon figured he would need to crush him and show him the difference in their power to make him learn his place.
“Sir Rector.”
Raon walked up to the Sword Demon without being affected by Mustan’s piercing glare.
“I’m ready now.”
The Sword Demon nodded and pointed at his room.
“Let’s have tea at a quiet location.”
* * *
* * *
The Sword Demon raised his eyes while touching his teacup. He caught his breath while watching Raon who was sipping on his tea on the opposite side of him.
‘He looks so similar no matter how I look at him.’
Raon would have looked exactly like him if his hair and eye colors were brown and blue instead.
‘Moreover, the expression he had on his face during the fight was the exact same as his.’
His peaceful expression was simply similar, but the way he was fighting to the best of his ability almost looked like he had returned to wield the sword once again.
It was possible to have a similar-looking person in the vast world, but it was difficult to imagine that a non-blood relative would share so many similarities.
“Sir Rector?”
“Ahem!”
Rector came back to his senses upon hearing Raon’s call and cleared his throat.
“My bad. My thoughts were wandering.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Raon quietly shook his head.
‘He looked a bit lonely just now.’
The Sword Demon had just looked like a sad old man of his age instead of a demonic swordsman.
Since he said his thoughts were wandering, he must’ve been reminiscing about the past.
‘I wonder what he’s going to ask me.’
It would’ve been understandable if he wanted to make a request or ask for a rematch against his disciple, but Raon couldn’t figure out his intention because he was just going to ask some questions.
“It might sound strange, but I’d like to ask this question.”
“Sure.”
“Can I hear about your father and mother?”
“My mother and father?”
“Indeed. I’d like to know what kind of people they are to raise you into such a splendid man.”
Despite his composed eyes, the Sword Demon smiled awkwardly while saying that he found it curious that Raon had such great might, willpower, and even personality at the age of twenty.
‘Personality…’
Raon figured that the Sword Demon was well aware of Mustan’s repulsive personality.
Raon liked him even more because he seemed to be asking for advice for his disciple’s sake.
‘It’s not exactly a secret anyway.’
Since many people were aware that he was Sylvia’s son, answering his question wasn’t an issue.
“My mother is Sylvia Zieghart. She was originally a swordswoman of Zieghart, but she’s currently living in peace. However, her heart is even stronger than a swordsman and makes people comfortable when they are around her.”
Raon responded with his feelings and thoughts about Sylvia honestly.
“You mentioned my personality just now. The reason why I gained an honorable title that I don’t deserve was all thanks to my mother.”
He told him about how Sylvia wanted Raon to wield his sword for the sake of others like the Zieghart swordsmen in the past.
“…I see.”
The Sword Demon quietly groaned and nodded.
“Then what about your father?”
“It might sound strange, but I don’t really know about my father.”
“How come?”
“He perished before I was even born. I never met him.”
“H-he died?”
The Sword Demon’s voice remained placid, but his lips were trembling slightly.
“How? Did he die from an illness?”
“It’s a delicate matter to explain to a third party, but he was murdered.”
“……”
The Sword Demon closed his eyes. His shoulders used to look as sturdy as steel, but they felt as weak as a twig.
“My mother never talks about my father, and I didn’t even hear his name to be honest.”
“Were they on bad terms?”
“No, she said that they got along extremely well. I believe she was being considerate so that I wouldn’t feel his absence.”
Sylvia was smiling whenever she talked about his father, but she also looked sad at the same time.
He purposefully didn’t ask about his name because it was so hard for him to see her sad expression.
“According to my mother’s expression, my father was a foolish man. He was tall and had excellent sword skills, but he had no talent with aura, and couldn’t become famous.”
Raon told him about the description Sylvia had given him of his father.
“However, she said that my father wielded his sword for the sake of others and became stronger when he protected people. The reason I care about other people right now must be because of my father’s influence on my mother.”
Because he’d been an assassin in his previous life with a worn-down personality, he could’ve become a psychopath like Mustan if it weren’t for Sylvia.
Meeting Sylvia and the people from the annex building was the luckiest encounter in his life.
“……”
The Sword Demon quietly stared at the teacup on the table. It looked like the small amount of tea left at the bottom of the cup was evaporating.
“I’m sorry to ask this, but can I hear who murdered your father? It’s important for me.”
“…Eden.”
“I…see.”
He put his hands together and lowered his head. His fingertips were trembling faintly even though they had been unshakable during the match.
“Hmm…”
Raon touched his lips while watching the Sword Demon, who looked unstable for some reason.
“Do you know about my father by any chance?”
The way he was acting could only be explained if he knew about his father.
“Not yet.”
The Sword Demon calmly shook his head. He’d managed to control his emotions in that short timeframe.
‘Not yet?’
Raon couldn’t tell what it was even supposed to mean.
‘I guess it’s impossible to recognize my father from a simple explanation like this.’
It would’ve been stranger if he decided he was acquainted with his father when he hadn’t even heard the name.
“Can I make another request?”
The Sword Demon briefly inhaled and raised his head.
“Please do.”
“Can I go with you when you return to Zieghart?”
“Are you planning to meet my mother, by any chance?”
“There’s something I’d like to confirm about your father. I swear that I won’t cause any harm.”
He gave his pledge as a swordsman while putting his right hand on the left side of his chest.
“We are planning to visit Habun Castle before going to Zieghart. Is that fine with you?”
“That’s fine.”
“There shouldn’t be any problem if you are visiting us as a guest.”
The Sword Demon wasn’t an enemy, and he didn’t seem to be holding any malice against his father even if he ended up being his acquaintance.
Since he was a big help, there was no issue with inviting him to Zieghart.
“Thank you. I’m really glad…”
The Sword Demon raised his gaze. Mysteriously, his gaze felt as hot as a griddle even though he definitely looked nonchalant on the outside.
“Don’t mention it. Please prepare in advance since we are leaving in five days.”
“Alright.”
He nodded and told Raon to take care of his body before he closed his eyes.
Raon bowed before leaving the Sword Demon’s room.
‘I’m curious what business he has in Zieghart.’
He went to the first floor while thinking about the relationship between the Sword Demon and his father, and Mustan was climbing the stairs.
He could still see the two blades in his eyes.
“What did you talk about with my master?”
The frightening pressure around Mustan felt like he was about to draw his sword at any moment.
“Why do you want to know?”
Raon snorted at Mustan.
“He would’ve called you into the room if it mattered to you.”
“You arrogant…”
Mustan’s brow crumpled like a piece of paper in a grip.
“Do you really believe you won fair and square when you just attacked me while I was careless?”
“It’s a fact.”
“We would’ve had a different outcome if I did my best from the beginning! You won’t be a match against me if we fight once more!”
He clenched his scabbard. He looked like he wanted to go for round two right away.
“I’ll overlook it once for Sir Rector.”
“Don’t mention my master’s name with your dirty mouth!”
Raon was about to go down the stairs after he sighed, but Mustan grabbed his shoulder violently.
“You seriously don’t know your place, do you?”
Raon turned around and walked up to Mustan.
Rumble!
The Ring of Fire naturally resonated. The sword art released from his mental world and his increased pressure from reaching the highest level of Master created a powerful aura wave.
“Ugh…”
Mustan mustered his aura in order to fight back the huge pressure, but it simply got torn into pieces by the pressure that was as sharp as a blade.
“H-how is this happening…?”
His chin clattered as he stepped back on the stairs.
“Uhah!”
Raon’s aura wave intensified even further, and Mustan missed his step and rolled down the stairs, falling to the ground.
“Mustan.”
An emotionless voice could be heard from Raon as he looked down on Mustan on the ground.
“Carelessness can’t be an excuse in the world of competition. Your head would be rolling by now if this were a real battle.”
“Ugh…”
“Shut up and scram if you finally understood.”
Raon left the trembling Mustan behind and left the Sword Demon’s lodgings.
He is devoured by envy.
Wrath clicked his tongue.
Envy has always been difficult to control. It’s also called the mind of a snake because the emotion is as nasty as a snake.
‘Mind of a snake…’
There was someone like him in Devildom. She always got jealous of others and begrudged them no matter how they tried to help her and how well-off she was. However, she managed to obtain tremendous power with that envy.
Wrath murmured that he was the most unsightly person among the devils.
‘Are you talking about…?’
You guessed right. She managed to become a demon king with that unsightly power of envy.
Raon could understand who she was even though her name wasn’t mentioned: the Monarch of Envy, Envy. She was another demon king that Wrath had previously mentioned. She was the one who supposedly had a rough handling of her subordinates.
‘Did she reach your level with the power of envy?’
Bullshit! The King of Essence is way stronger than her!
Wrath snorted, saying that she could easily crush Envy both in terms of sheer strength and the quality of subordinates.
‘Well, a loser like him won’t be able to become a demon king.’
Raon shook his head while looking up at the Sword Demon’s room.
‘But I’m still curious about why the Sword Demon accepted an idiot like him as a disciple.’
* * *
“Haa…”
The Sword Demon sighed heavily.
‘It’s almost certain of it now.’
A righteous personality that made him act despite his abilities, excellent swordsmanship despite having a weak aura, and a tall height on top.
He still needed to confirm with Sylvia, but he could tell that Raon’s father was the one he had in mind.
‘How is this happening…?’
While he was training in seclusion, he’d heard that he left the ‘alliance’ after paying a huge price, but he never expected such a development.
‘It had to be Zieghart of all places…’
The fact that he was in Zieghart out of all houses made it painful for him.
‘I guess he never cared about it to begin with.’
The Sword Demon laughed bitterly and tried to suppress his nausea when the door opened and Mustan entered the room.
“Master, what did you just talk about with Raon?”
His face was somewhat twisted as he approached.
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
The Sword Demon shook his head. He simply declined to answer because he couldn’t tell him about an uncertain matter.
“You should train for four days instead of having those pointless thoughts. We will go to Zieghart with the Light Wind squad on the fifth day, so prepare yourself.”
“What?”
Mustan’s jaw dropped.
“A-are we going to Zieghart?! Why would we do that?!”
“I have a business with them.”
“But they are our enemies! Even though they don’t know about our identity, why would we…”
“Just as you said, our affiliation hasn’t been revealed yet. That’s why it won’t be possible later.”
The Sword Demon closed his eyes while he swept his hair up.
“Master, I’ve seen you bestow your teachings to talented warriors of the Six Kings a few times in the past, but this case is different.”
Mustan ground his teeth furiously.
“The bad blood runs deep between us and Zieghart, unlike the other Six Kings! I understand you took a liking to Raon Zieghart, but you’ve crossed the line this time!”
He went on his knees in refusal.
“Master, please return to your senses! I’m your disciple! It will be a huge problem if an incident happens now! The alliance should be calling us soon!”
Mustan categorically refused and slammed his head on the ground.
“Even though it might happen…”
The Sword Demon opened his eyes, which had been tightly closed. The frightening glow of his pupils revealed an unyielding determination.
“There’s a matter I need to confirm.”
