Chapter 559

Raon activated the mechanism attached to the boulder. The large boulder that looked like a turtle’s head was pushed away soundlessly, and the path leading underground opened.

Raon inhaled the cold air of daybreak and set foot into the hole that was as dark as the abyss without hesitation.

He descended by only stepping on the stairs that Beltz had stepped on, and the vivid yellow lighting seeped into the cold ground just like at dawn.

However, there was one difference. It was the presence of the Lakion’s swordsmen. The swordsmen blocked his path, revealing the crimson demonic energy in their eyes.

‘It’s meaningless, though.’

Raon surrounded himself with the darkness of the cavern as if he were wearing a robe, walked past the swordsmen, and stood in front of the door at the center leading to the room where Basion was staying.

“Hmm…”

“Wh-what?”

“No one is coming down even though the door opened.”

The Lakion swordsmen spread their aura perception to examine the surroundings, but none of them managed to find Raon’s presence.

“Hmm…”

The middle-aged man who seemed to have the highest rank among them frowned and knocked on the door of Basion’s room.

Knock knock.

The door opened as soon as the two knocks ended, and Huan Lakion’s second son, Basion, came out.

“What?!”

Basion squinted while wiping the blood off his cheek. Raon looked inside the room through the gap in the door when he came out.

Siollen was limp on the ground with bruises on her forearm and thigh while her nanny had lost a significant amount of flesh on her shoulder, as if she had been bitten by a beast.

They weren’t moving in the slightest, and their extremely faint breathing implied that they were both unconscious.

It can’t be. Did he seriously beat up a child?

Wrath furrowed his brow in disbelief.

‘Moreover, he only hit the parts that can be hidden with clothes, so he won’t be found out.’

He needs to die! Does he have nothing better to do than beat up a child?!

‘I agree with you for once.’

Raon forcibly suppressed his boiling anger and strained his finger.

“Why are you knocking on my door?! Who’s here?!”

Basion looked at the stairs while shouting. He was apparently also aware of the fact that the boulder path had opened.

“Th-the door is open but no one came down.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

He twisted his lips and took a step out of his room.

Whir!

The moment Basion took his second step, Raon used his clenched fist to smack Basion’s face.

Smaaack!

With the sound of a boulder shattering, Basion’s face twisted and he slammed into the wall.

“Huaah…”

Raon grabbed Basion by his collar as he let out a painful groan and unsheathed the Blade of Requiem with his left hand to cut off his arm.

“Kuaaah!”

Basion’s right arm, which had tried to counter by reflex, dropped onto the cold ground, and he let out a screeching scream.

“Wh-who are you?!”

“Do you really believe you’ll be fine after doing this in Lakion?!”

“Let him go right now!”

Lakion’s swordsmen glared at him while unleashing their demonic energies above their shoulders.

“Shut up,” Raon quietly declared while pointing the Blade of Requiem at Basion’s neck.

“If you mouth off or twitch a single finger, your master is going to die.”

He made a small cut on Basion’s throat while threatening them. Red blood started to soak the Blade of Requiem.

Raon was forcing the evil fiends who had given up on being humans to realize that he was the one in charge, not Basion.

“Kuh…”

Basion touched his severed shoulder with his left hand and ground his teeth violently.

“D-do you believe that I’d yield to a petty threat like that?”

Probably because he was possessed by demonic energy, new flesh was sprouting from his shoulder.

“Attack him! He can’t kill me anyway! Cut his head off right now!”

Basion shouted for them to attack Raon without minding him.

Cring!

Lakion’s swordsmen dashed forward as soon as they heard the order, unleashing their sword strikes. Their blades surrounded by dark demonic energy were rushing towards Raon hungrily.

Raon wielded the Blade of Requiem in reverse grip and slammed it into Basion’s spine.

Crack!

The shattering sound of bone echoed throughout the cavern, and Basion fell to the ground powerlessly.

Clench.

The moment the swords of Lakion’s swordsmen were right in front of his neck, Raon clenched Heavenly Drive’s hilt with his right hand.

The crimson light emanating from the tip of his fingers ruthlessly tore apart the blades that were blazing with demonic energy.

Whaaam!

A tremendous explosion occurred, and the attack of the demonic energy and House Lakion’s swordsmen turned into ash before it subsided.

Rumble!

The cavern’s ceiling collapsed because of the tremendous power of his strike and warm sunlight crept into the underground that only had experienced the yellow lighting so far.

“Wh-who are you…?”

Basion could only tremble his lips because the impact on his spine had paralyzed his entire body. He couldn’t even budge a finger.

“Did you think I wouldn’t kill you?”

Raon met Basion’s eyes and took off the mask covering his face.

“Bl-blond hair and red eyes. Raon Zieghart? Why are you here…?”

“I didn’t ask you about my name. Why did you think that I wouldn’t kill you? Because of the hostages?”

“That’s…”

“You’re right. I’m not going to kill you yet. I need that demonic energy surrounding you.”

Raon rolled his lips into a smile while watching Basion’s shoulder, which was regenerating as he spoke.

“However, once you are no longer of use to me, your head will roll.”

“Kuh…”

“You’d better keep your mouth shut if you want to live a bit longer.”

Raon stepped on Basion’s head and entered the room. He treated the nanny with the Divinity Blooming from the Underworld first because her injuries were more severe, then he approached Siollen.

“Sw-swordsman, you’re really Raon Zieghart?”

Siollen had woken up because of the sound of the explosion and asked about his identity with trembling eyelids.

“Yes.”

Raon nodded after he easily destroyed the chains squeezing into her arms and legs,

“Can you stand up?”

“Ah, yes…”

Siollen nodded and stood up while putting her hand on the wall. She sank to the ground once again because she’d been kneeling for so long, but she stood back up right away.

“I’m going to fight against your house from now on. House Lakion’s sins need to be thoroughly exposed if we want to avoid the fight escalating any further.”

Raon lowered his heavy gaze to meet Siollen’s transparent eyes.

“Can you take up that task? I’m well aware that it’s a difficult one, so I’m not going to force you. However, we should be able to reduce the casualties if you step up.”

Since he kept Basion alive, he could create some proof somehow. But if Siollen explained the circumstances herself, she should be able to awaken the warriors who weren’t engulfed by the demonic energy yet.

However, she had witnessed the deaths of the people in the Sinigan branch, and she’d been locked in a room to be tortured. That was why Raon understood if she didn’t want to do it.

“I’ll do it. Please let me do it!”

Siollen nodded while looking at her nanny, who still hadn’t woken up, and Basion, who had collapsed on the ground.

“In return, can you save our house?”

“Haa…”

Raon exhaled quietly while listening to Siollen’s teary voice.

‘Even people like them are family to her.’

Even though she was afraid of her father and brothers, she still wanted to save them.

The reason she tried to deliver the situation of her house to the Sinigan branch must’ve been because she wanted her family to stay as it was.

“I’ll do my best.”

Raon nodded without telling her for sure.

“I-is it over?”

Dorian had been waiting at the base of the mountain, but he must’ve come up after hearing the explosion. He was watching from above the collapsed ceiling with trembling eyebrows.

“I thought there was a landslide…”

“Come down.”

“Ah, yes!”

As soon as Dorian landed in the cavern, he pinched his nose and furrowed his brow.

“Aww, this place is really filled with a strange odor.”

“It’s the stench of demonic energy.”

Raon opened the door to the room next to the one where Siollen was locked in. People wearing House Lakion’s martial uniform were piled up in a corner with no signs of life.

‘Those cruel bastards…’

Considering the fact that the corpses were completely dried up, even lacking any flesh, their vitality must’ve been drained.

Raon walked to the center of the cavern, which was connected to multiple rooms. The deepest and most intense stench of demonic energy was coming from below.

Whaam!

Raon stomped the ground, and the ground exploded into pieces, revealing the lower area. Some kind of tree root was embedded upside down on the ground, emitting an intense stench of demonic energy.

‘What is this…?’

Hmm?

Raon was rubbing his fingers because he couldn’t tell what it was, and Wrath’s eyes widened upon seeing the tree root.

Why is the Life-Sapping Tree root in a place like this?

‘Life-Sapping Tree?’

It’s unsure why only the root is here, but this is a tree from Devildom. It quietly digs into the ground and sucks all the nutrients up like a hungry demon. It has a voracious appetite, and not even monsters live around a Life-Sapping Tree.

He snorted, saying that he didn’t like it because it reminded him of Gluttony.

‘Did they gather the demonic energy by offering people up as sacrifices to this root?’

However, Raon couldn’t feel that much demonic energy from the tree itself. It just had an intense stench.

“Dorian, take this with you.”

Even though the demonic energy wasn’t intense, the lingering scent of demonic energy could be proof. That was why Raon threw the Life-Sapping Tree root to Dorian.

“Uheh!”

Dorian managed to catch the root with only his fingernails, probably because he was afraid of it.

“Are you ready?”

Basion was lying in front of the door, and Raon picked him up by the hair.

 “Kuh, what do I even need to get ready for…?”

“You must be already aware. Why are you even asking?”

Raon’s lips twisted as he looked into Basion’s trembling eyes.

“Get ready to lose everything you had.”

* * *

Whaam!

Huan Lakion kicked the platform and ran out of the lord’s manor. Beltz and the other executives followed him outside.

“Huh!”

“Wh-what’s happening there…?”

“Why is smoke rising from Bekin Mountain?”

House Lakion’s swordsmen’s lips trembled as they watched the gray smoke rising from halfway up Bekin Mountain in the east.

“You bastard! What have you done?!”

Huan turned around and glared at Rimmer, who was slowly walking out. Murderous intent was leaking from his dark eyes in a frightening manner.

“Are you finally revealing your true nature? The demonic energy is leaking from your eyes.”

“Wh-what? Nonsense!”

Huan’s lips trembled in panic even more than when the mountain exploded. It wasn’t just him. The executives protecting him from his side were also emanating an eerie light from their eyes.

“Ah, I was just kidding.”

Rimmer shrugged his shoulders, saying that he must’ve been mistaken.

“But why are you panicking so hard? Just tell me it’s not if it isn't demonic energy.”

He raised his chin sharply, a sneer hanging from his lips.

“Your filthy mouth is going to kill you one day.”

“That might be true. But you are going to go before I do, don’t you think?”

“Beltz!”

Huan turned his head and called for Beltz, as if he didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

“Yes.”

Beltz knelt in front of Huan upon hearing his violent voice.

“Go there and check, find out what happened!”

“Understood.”

“You don’t need to go.”

Rimmer cheerfully shook his hand.

“Our mad dog should be coming this way with a bone in his mouth.”

“…Raon Zieghart?”

Huan bit his lip, realizing who that mad dog was referring to.

“Oh, speak of the mad dog and he shall appear.”

Rimmer smiled cheerfully and raised his finger. Everyone could see that Raon was running towards the lord’s manor while stepping onto the rooftops one after the other.

“H-he seems to be carrying a person.”

“Huh? Th-that person!”

“Basion! It’s Sir Basion!”

Lakion’s swordsmen widened their eyes upon realizing that Raon was carrying Basion.

Thud!

As everyone reacted in surprise, Raon lightly kicked the wall and landed in front of Huan.

“Hey, you’re late. The guests have been waiting.”

Rimmer put his hands on his waist and frowned at him.

“There were lots of things to find.”

Raon responded and tapped on Basion’s head.

“B-Basion…”

Huan bit his lip while looking at his second son, whose arm was torn off and who couldn’t even stand properly.

“What have you done?!”

“Even for Zieghart, this kind of violence can’t be forgiven!”

“Unforgivable!”

Lakion’s swordsmen unsheathed their swords and unleashed their bloodlust as if they were going to attack at any moment.

“I’m fine with a fight.”

Rimmer smoothly gripped the hilt of his sword, and the Light Wind division managed the distance, prepared to get into formation at any moment while unleashing their sharp pressures.

“Since I couldn’t see your second young master, I wondered about it and looked for him. I found him hiding underground like a mole.”

Raon lifted Basion to let him meet Huan’s eyes.

“F-father…”

“You bastard!” Huan barked, glaring.

“What do you think you are doing?! Do you even realize the consequences of your actions—”

“It will be your death.”

Raon cut Huan off as if he were slashing with a sword.

“Your second son has been caught. How long are you planning to keep up the act?”

Raon sneered and twisted Basion’s left arm. With the sound of smashing bones, his arm went limp like a marionette without a string.

“Kuaah!”

Basion’s shoulder trembled as he screamed. His smashed spine must’ve regenerated with demonic energy, as his senses had returned to a certain extent.

“Hmm…”

Huan could only bite his lip, unable to respond. He wasn’t the only one. Beltz and the other swordsmen also remained quiet.

Unlike House Sullion, where Syria was the only one who’d gone crazy, most of the people in House Lakion were plotting it together.

“What do you mean by that?!”

“Stop humiliating our lord!”

“What has the second young master even done?!”

However, the warriors who weren’t chosen by Huan because they were too young or old were proudly raising their voices, completely ignorant of the situation.

“I’ll have to tell you, since some of you don’t know about it.”

Raon smiled while meeting the heated gazes of the swordsmen.

“This man—no, not only him. Your head of house, Huan Lakion, and the executives in front of you allied with the Holy Sword Alliance and sacrificed the warriors of the house to the demonic sword.”

“B-bullshit! It’s complete nonsense!”

“Yes! There’s no reason for our house to ally with the Holy Sword Alliance!”

“Bring proof!”

Since they’d never imagined such an accusation, their confident voices subsided as if they were buried under mud.

“You should know once you see this.”

Raon turned Basion’s body around to show them his shoulder, the one that was torn apart. The demonic energy eating his body was forcibly regenerating his arm.

“Regeneration? No, that’s demonic energy…”

“Th-then what he just said is all…”

“Yes, it’s true.”

Raon nodded in response to the warriors.

“The assault on the Sinigan branch, the sudden appearance of bandits, and the disappearance of the main executives of the house who were killed afterwards…”

Raon raised his index finger and pointed at Huan Lakion.

“Were all done by your head of house and the executives.”

As soon as he finished talking, Lakion’s swordsmen looked at Huan. Their eyes had lost their trust, wavering like a sailboat on a turbulent ocean.

“Un-unbelievable!”

“That’s right! It’s possible that you covered him with demonic energy!”

However, many people were still unable to believe him.

“M-my lord!”

“He is lying, right?”

“Please tell us!”

“Can’t you believe your lord?”

Beltz stepped forward and revealed the unyielding look in his eyes.

“Trust him. Who is going to trust our lord if we don’t trust him?”

He shouted at them to trust their lord, saying that Zieghart was trying to divide Lakion.

“I don’t even need to refute that,” Huan lied without even batting an eye.

“It’s all his doing, and he is trying to blame it on us.”

“I knew it!”

“They call you the White Sword Dragon and Dragon Slayer, but you are just a bastard possessed by demon!”

“He is an enemy! We need to kill him right away!”

The swordsmen understood with their heads that Huan was lying, but they still shouted, unable to accept it with their hearts.

“Yes, I knew this was going to happen.”

Raon chuckled and nodded his head. Since Huan was their head of house with a good reputation, it was only natural that they couldn’t easily accept it.

“Come out now.”

Raon bobbed his hand behind him, and Dorian came forward with Siollen.

“L-lady?”

“Even our lady was captured…”

“No.”

Siollen shook her head firmly and took a step forward.

“I was captured by my second brother, not the swordsman Raon. What happened was…”

She disclosed everything that happened to her so far with everyone in House Lakion gathered around her.

Funnily enough, her miserable appearance added weight to her testimony.

“M-my lord.”

“How could this happen?!”

“Please say something!”

“......”

Huan lowered his head, not responding to them.

“Haa…”

He exhaled violently and raised his gaze. His eyes were glowing black, looking like they were covered by rain clouds.

“My lord?”

“I’m sorry.”

Huan calmly extended his hand, and the chests of the swordsmen who were asking for the truth suddenly exploded, a dark sphere being sucked into his hand. It was a lump of corrupted demonic energy. It put off an extreme stench.

“Ah…”

“M-my lord…”

“Kuh!”

The swordsmen couldn’t even close their eyes as they collapsed, unable to believe that they were dying like that.

“Your deaths shall be the foundation for Lakion to stand upon.”

Huan gave them a heavy nod, as if he were serious about it.

“Impressive. I heard that the most frightening part about Raon Zieghart was his mental prowess instead of his sword. It was true.”

He wrinkled the corners of his eyes, while looking up to Raon.

“However, you don’t know anything about me. You don’t understand how I’ve been living, nor how I’ve been enduring so far!”

Huan shouted toward the sky as if he were yelling at the world instead of Raon.

“I am not wrong.”

“What?”

Raon looked at Huan in disbelief.

“Do you know how a vassal house lives?”

Huan giggled while sweeping his hair back.

“A vassal house. It’s adorned with pretty words, but it’s pretty much a slave. We are just dogs who have to come running to Zieghart whenever we are called.”

He continued while scratching the back of his hand with his nails.

“Zieghart took over Lakion when I became the successor. Do you understand what that means? This house has never been mine. I’m the head of house, yet Glenn Zieghart is above me!”

Huan stopped laughing and clenched his fist.

“That humiliation. Do you understand the humiliation of being crushed under someone else from the start?!”

“I do.”

Raon calmly shook his head.

“Even with the same achievements, you are looked down upon, and even if you didn’t do anything, people sneer and laugh at you. I know what kind of life that is.”

Raon was humiliated countless times as he lived as a collateral who was born from the direct line. Even though he had the position as the vice division leader, the direct lines still looked down on him and revealed their distaste towards him.

That was why he could fully understand what Huan was talking about.

“But so what?”

“What?”

Huan’s eyes widened because of the unexpected response.

“If you wanted to overcome those humiliating gazes and that mockery, you should’ve done it with your own power. Instead, you borrowed someone else’s power, and the Holy Sword Alliance’s demonic sword on top of that!”

Raon rolled his lips into a cold sneer.

“You haven’t escaped from Zieghart to stand alone. You simply decided to wag your tail at the Holy Sword Alliance instead of Zieghart.”

“Ugh…”

Huan’s throat trembled intensely, unable to respond. He must’ve already thought about it before.

“Try wagging your tail at me. Maybe I’ll give you a sword technique.”

“Shut your mouth!”

He leaned forward and screeched.

“D-dad.”

Siollen looked at Huan with her hands put together.

“Please stop it. Just stop now!”

The little girl realized that this was the last chance she had and ran forward in order to stop her father from straying onto the wrong path.

“Siollen.”

Huan’s head briefly trembled.

“It’s you. You ruined everything. It’s all your fault.”

“D-dad?”

“You shouldn’t have been born!”

He extended his hand while grinding his teeth. The dark demonic energy and aura condensed into a sphere, rushing towards Siollen’s chest.

“Ah…”

Siollen didn’t even dare to dodge the dark current rushing towards her, freezing on the spot. She closed her eyes, realizing that death was approaching her.

However, she didn’t feel any pain. She opened her eyes upon feeling a heat seeping over her shoulders, quelling her trembling. Instead, she saw Raon’s back, his dark coat fluttering behind him.

“S-Sir Raon.”

“I’m sorry.”

Raon turned around and smiled bitterly.

“I won’t be able to grant your request,” he said, lightly tapping on Siollen’s neck.

“Ah…”

He caught Siollen as she fainted with a quiet groan and handed her over to Dorian.

“I leave her to you.”

“I’ll protect her no matter what.”

Dorian nodded, an unusual determination in his eyes.

Raon bit his lip tightly while looking at his trembling hand.

‘He wasn’t just threatening.’

Huan was seriously trying to kill Siollen a moment ago.

If he’d been careless, he would’ve seen such a little girl disappear without leaving any trace. The anger that he’d been forcibly suppressing started to rage uncontrollably.

“F-father.”

Basion extended his left arm, which had regained sensation, towards Huan.

“Save me, please…”

“Don’t worry. You are never going to die because you inherited my power. I’ll definitely save…”

Raon raised his right hand and snapped Basion’s neck as he listened to Huan.

Crack!

With the sound of twisting bones, the light faded from Basion’s eyes.

Since Raon cut off the line of demonic energy with the Divinity Blooming from the Underworld, Basion couldn’t regenerate anymore and immediately perished.

“B-Basion!”

Huan’s chin trembled upon witnessing Basion’s death.

“I took care of your son since the world doesn’t need him.”

Raon smiled coldly while brushing off his hands.

“You don’t need to thank me.”

“H-how dare you!”

He extended his hand towards the ground, The land fissured like a spider web and a strangely shaped sword with dozens of blades extending from it like a tree root was pulled out.

The blade had a frighteningly dark color, and it retained its grainy texture as if it were made of wood.

‘Is that the demonic sword?’

He must’ve been hiding the demonic sword deep underground in order to hide the stench of demonic energy.

‘But it almost looks like it’s made of wood.’

It doesn’t almost look like it. It’s actually made of wood.

‘What?’

They fed human vitality to the Life-Sapping Tree root that you saw earlier, and the demonic energy is being released through that stem. What an interesting way of using it.

Wrath quietly exclaimed, saying that he didn’t expect to see such a way of using the Life-Sapping Tree.

Rumble!

Huan stabbed the sky with the demonic sword, and dark liquid gushed from the fissured ground to darken the sky and land.

It was an eerie phenomenon perfectly befitting the name of a demonic sword.

“I’m not the only one who is enhanced by the power of the demonic sword, Kriatus. None of you will manage to survive!”

Just like Huan said, powerful pressures burst from the swordsmen standing behind him. The demonic energies inside their bodies seeped into their aura. The power gushing from them as a result was on a whole different level.

“Kuh…”

“What? What is that crazy demonic sword…?”

“Hmm.”

Not only the plain swordsmen, but even the team leaders like Burren, Martha, and Runaan bit their lips, frightened by the demonic energy.

Wham!

Raon stomped the ground. Crimson flames burst from his feet and scorched the darkened land.

“Light Wind division, listen.”

Noble waves of energy spread from him, fending off the intense demonic energy and illuminating the area with a clear radiance.

“For the sin of colluding with enemy forces, murdering members of their family, and committing human sacrifices, the head of House Lakion and all their executives will be executed.”

“I hear and I obey!”

The Light Wind division was terrified by the demonic energy, but they held their swords upside down to perform a sword salute, then roared to push back the darkness.

Raon nodded, showing that he would be counting on them, before he advanced forward. The flame bursting from under his feet started to fade away, frightened by the darkness.

“I’ll make you realize the insignificance of the power obtained by abandoning your family, throwing away your pride, and making your own house fall to a ruin.”

Raon slammed Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem into the ground.

“Sword Field Creation.”

His quiet voice tore apart the space smeared with demonic energy and manifested the red sword and the blue sword into the world.

“Divine and Demonic Harmony.”

Just like the dawn where the sun and moon cross each other, the golden veil engulfed Raon to drive away the abominable darkness.

“Let’s begin…”

Raon raised the divine sword. He pointed it at Huan, his eyes even redder than the flame burning on the blade.

“…the execution.”

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]