Chapter 773

Raon’s eyes widened as he watched The Fallen collapse—his chest torn open.

What… is happening?

Just moments ago, he had completely lost control. His mind had been drowned in fury and darkness.

And yet… he was conscious now.

And…

Power—immense and boundless—was surging through him. His once-exhausted mind had settled into eerie calm, and a force unlike anything he’d ever felt filled every corner of his being.

It was as if he held omnipotence—a power capable of ruling over all things.

–Of course I would!

Wrath popped up from below, thrusting his face right into Raon’s.

–That’s my power, you thief!

He shouted, eyes burning with indignation.

Did I steal it?

–Didn’t you feel it?! You were completely consumed by anger!

I did.

–Just when I was about to be absorbed by your body and lose my mind—

Wrath jabbed his pudgy finger at Raon’s chest.

–Wings suddenly sprouted from the Ring of Fire embedded in your chest… and pushed me out! What the hell is that thing?!

He shook his head furiously, clearly rattled.

Wings...?

Raon reached toward his left chest with trembling hands.

Just as Wrath had said—above the eight rings, now spinning together like one unified core—wings of fire had bloomed, radiating intense heat.

–The moment those wings appeared, your mind became so solid I couldn’t even break into it!

Wrath’s voice trembled with disbelief.

–How the hell is power being transferred while your mind remains intact? It makes no sense!

So that’s… why the rampage stopped?

–Exactly. Thanks to that, I was able to regain control of my own rage too!

Wrath scowled, clearly irritated, and muttered that if not for those fire wings… everyone here would’ve been dead.

“Mmm…”

Raon turned his head and looked back.

The massive explosion had thrown the entire Arianne force to the ground—but thankfully, due to the distance, no one appeared to have died.

–In short, those wings… they’re the time limit for your sanity.

Just as Wrath had said—
the feathers of those burning wings were falling… one by one.

It was clear: once the last feather vanished, he would lose control again.

–So, you need to finish him off and get as far away from here as you can—fast.

Wrath lifted his gaze slowly, pointing at The Fallen’s body lying motionless on the ground.

But… didn’t I already cut through his heart?

–That bastard won’t die from just that.

Raon narrowed his eyes.

He had clearly split The Fallen’s heart in two with the Heavenly Drive, yet Wrath’s certainty was undeniable.

As if on cue—

Fwooom.

A brilliant light began to radiate around The Fallen’s body.

It wasn’t healing.

It wasn’t regeneration.

It was resurrection—pure and divine. A spectacle so holy, it mocked death itself.

The Fallen slowly stood up within that glow—reborn.

It was as if the very word resurrection had taken form.

How… how do you kill something like that?

Raon bit his lip as he slowly raised the Heavenly Drive.

I… I’m not sure I can do this.

–Don’t worry.

Wrath’s voice was firm.

–Right now, your body’s power and energy—they’re mine.

…So that’s why I felt this energy.

–Your mind’s crumbling. You’re missing a lot—a lot—but even if your mind is falling apart…

Wrath shook his head.

–With the strongest body and overwhelming energy, it’s still a fight worth taking.

Even if Raon couldn’t wield the full force of his power, Wrath was certain—he could still resist.

–And this isn’t about whether you can do it.

Wrath pointed toward the unconscious figures scattered across the battlefield.

–It’s because you must.

–They’re not… dead yet?

“Ah…”

Just as Wrath said, he could hear it now—the faint, ragged breaths of Merlin… Rimmer… even Edgar.

But—

Rector, who had stood at the front and taken the full brunt of the demonic explosion…

And Sylvia, who had thrown herself to shield Edgar and Sia…

Their breathing was so shallow… so fragile… it wouldn’t be surprising if it stopped at any moment.

You're right.

Raon nodded, biting his lip.

It's not a matter of whether I can do it, but that I absolutely must do it.

As Raon considered how to move the others—

Wrath’s energy stirred on its own.

Fwoosh.

Merlin, Rimmer, Edgar, Sylvia, Sia, and Rector—still unconscious—rose gently into the air.

Without another word, Raon guided their floating bodies toward House Arianne, ensuring they were out of harm’s way.

Then he turned.

And walked forward.

Toward The Fallen.

“…That terrifying presence is gone.”

The Fallen’s pupils trembled ever so slightly. He had clearly sensed it—that monstrous aura from when Wrath tried to descend into Raon.

“The energy is still absurdly strong… but it’s nothing compared to before.”

He narrowed his eyes, trying to understand this strange, unstable situation.

“Then come get me.”

Raon raised a finger and beckoned.

“I’ll tear your smug mouth off first.”

“…Indeed,” The Fallen muttered, slowly raising his hand. “It would be the wisest course of action…”

“To bury you here—before you cause any more disruptions.”

A magnificent radiance surged from The Fallen’s hand.

–Don’t panic.

Wrath placed a firm grip on Raon’s shoulder, taking a deep breath.

–If that masked bastard had been a martial artist, not even my power would’ve given you a chance.

–But he’s a magician. A shaman. That’s your opening. You can fight him.

Alright. I have to do this.

The moment Raon nodded, the light in The Fallen’s hand burst forth.

Zzrrrhh!

It didn’t take the form of arrows or swords like ordinary spells. It was pure light, moving so fast that even with Raon’s heightened perception, he could only barely trace its glimmering path.

–Top and left won’t hit! Just block the front!

Got it.

Trusting Wrath’s instincts, Raon channeled the frost energy surging through his mana circuits into the Heavenly Drive.

Fwoooosh!

A wave of ice burst from the blade, colliding head-on with the incoming radiance.

Shhhhhhh!

Frost and light clashed violently in midair—the piercing wave of cold cutting straight through the luminous assault.

“The energy itself is absurdly strong,” The Fallen muttered, narrowing his eyes. “But your skill… is still the same.”

Unfazed, as though this was only the opening act, he unleashed an even denser surge of light.

Vrrrm!

The faint glow condensed rapidly—forming a massive pillar of pure radiance.

Its speed doubled.

Its power surged.

Raon exhaled half a breath and flicked his wrist—

Crack!

A colossal ice blade erupted from the Heavenly Drive, sweeping upward like a frozen tidal wave.

Shatter!

The pillar of light was split cleanly in two—sundered by a frost so deep, it even froze the brilliance of light itself.

A cold that defied the laws of nature.

A power… that shouldn’t have existed.

“I don’t understand…”

The Fallen frowned, clearly shaken by what he saw.

“Power gained suddenly always reveals its limits.”

He raised his hand again, summoning an even deeper concentration of luminous energy.

“I’ll expose those limits… myself.”

–That’s usually true.

Wrath’s voice popped from within Raon.

–But…

Wrath trembled and wrinkled the bridge of his nose.

–This guy is different! He’s even twisting causality on his own!

Wrath shook his head frantically, almost like he was begging The Fallen to understand what they were up against.

“Let’s end this here.”

Snap.

With a flick of The Fallen’s fingers, eight towering pillars of light erupted around Raon—forming a cage of pure destruction. It was a chilling spell meant not to kill, but to erase his very existence.

–There’s no need to be afraid! Believe in my energy… and in your sword!

Of course.

Raon stepped forward.

No hesitation.

No doubt.

As he advanced toward the encroaching pillars of light, he raised the Heavenly Drive and unleashed—

Fire Dragon’s Ice Strike.

Kwooooooooh!

A dragon—larger and more fearsome than even the legendary Blue Dragon Kaivar—roared from the blade of white steel.

Its massive jaws opened wide.

And from within, a torrent of glacial breath burst forth—

Sssshhhhhhh!

A cold so absolute, it seemed to freeze the very world.

All eight pillars of light shattered like brittle glass.

The plains, once soaked in crimson blood and black demonic energy…

…were now covered in pure white snow.

Not a single footprint remained.

“Ha…”

Raon exhaled a breath of white frost as he straightened his back.

“I’m starting to understand it now.”

Having already mastered the flow of cold through Glacier, wielding Wrath’s energy wasn’t as difficult as he expected. The scale of it was immense—and occasionally overwhelming—but his body had grown strong enough to handle it.

–Ugh… it’s going well, but why am I angry about it…?

Wrath's expression twisted, one half smiling in relief, the other frowning in irritation.

–I feel better… and worse at the same time!

"You're being quite troublesome."

When The Fallen extended both hands—

And the night vanished.

The sky… the earth… everything filled with blinding brilliance.

All that lay before Raon’s eyes now was light—pure and endless.

From every direction, beams of various hues surged forward.

It wasn’t just an attack—it was a symphony of radiant spells, like a master swordsman wielding every technique at once.

Raon raised the Heavenly Drive, his posture noble and unshaken.

From the blade—so sharp it seemed to pierce the heavens—petals of cold energy began to bloom, glowing a crystalline blue.

Fwoooosh!

Thousands—

No, tens of thousands of frost shards burst forth, clashing against the immense flood of light that The Fallen had unleashed.

Kraaaaaaang!

The ground split open.

The sky howled.

Countless shockwaves erupted, flipping the land and splitting the heavens in a storm of unnatural power.

But Raon didn’t stop at defense.

He advanced.

His steps drove the earth backward beneath him, and the cold radiating from his body began to take form.

Behind him, the frost bloomed into wings of ice, faint yet beautiful.

And from the cracked earth, the Frost World Tree rose again—this time glowing with an even purer, whiter cold.

Shing!

The Heavenly Drive flashed like a streak of blue lightning.

It tore straight through the towering wall of light The Fallen had summoned—

Slash!

A deep gash split across his left shoulder, extending down through his chest.

Just as Raon was about to unleash a Crimson Slash—

Shhhhk!

The Fallen stepped back, his body breaking apart into fragments of light.

“It seems… that first sword strike wasn’t a coincidence after all.”

He frowned as he locked eyes with Raon’s crimson gaze.

Then, moving his lips in a whisper, The Fallen clasped his hands together.

Whooom…

A complex, ultra-high-speed enchantment flared to life—brilliant light swirling above his head like a coiling storm.

Fssshhh!

Light trails spread outward like clouds—

Then—

Rain.

A relentless downpour of light cascaded from the sky.

“I have to block it all…”

Raon gritted his teeth and swung the Heavenly Drive—

Azure Sky Drive.

Boom!

The sword strike split the heavens.

It carried the Demon King’s aura, rising like a tidal wave to meet the storm above.

Wrath’s frost surged alongside it—freezing the falling rain of light, solidifying the pillars midair…

Until the sky itself turned to shimmering white.

As if it still held energy.

As if it refused to yield.

It was a power that transcended the very concept of martial arts—producing results far beyond its bounds, and yet… Raon had not even reached transcendence.

–Now’s not the time to be impressed! Keep going—now!

I know!

Raon steadied his breath, forcing down the rapid rhythm of his heart—

And launched himself toward The Fallen’s left side.

With his body twisting midair, he raised the Heavenly Drive at a sharp angle and unleashed—

Sword’s Silvery Dream.

Whoosh!

The blade of the Heavenly Drive split into dozens of shimmering slivers, mimicking the light projectiles The Fallen had once conjured.

Each fragment streaked forward—aimed straight for his throat.

Clack.

The Fallen’s fingers interlocked, and—

Whirrrr…

A slowly rotating ring of darkness rose from his neck like a barrier.

Clang!

The fragmented swords of light halted inches from their mark—refusing to pierce the darkness.

Raon’s eyes widened.

A terrible gravitational pull emanated from the rotating ring, dragging on the Heavenly Drive like a black hole.

It wasn’t just defense.

It was annihilation.

“You’ve saved me the trouble by getting this close.”

The Fallen smiled, confident—like it was all over.

He reached forward, hand glowing with radiant light.

“You’re the one who’s finished!”

Raon thrust out his left hand, meeting The Fallen’s head-on.

This was it—

King of Wrath’s ultimate technique.

Sword’s Silvery Dream was nothing compared to this.

Silver Moon Demon Seal.

Fwoooosh!

As Raon unleashed Wrath’s decisive technique—with Wrath’s body and energy—a devastating cold erupted from his fingertips.

The freezing aura didn’t just swallow the light.

It swallowed The Fallen himself.

Krrrrrrrrng!

A towering mountain of ice surged from the broken earth—encasing everything in a prison of frost.

Light. Shadow. Magic. All sealed.

A power capable of freezing the world.

“…Urgh…”

Raon staggered, clutching his left chest as a murky breath escaped his lips.

“I hope this… really is the end.”

Only half the feathers of Raon’s flaming wings remained.

The more power he drew… the faster they vanished.

It was clear now—using greater techniques came at a cost.

But just as hope sparked—

Craaaaack!

The towering mountain of ice—formed by the Silver Moon Demon Seal—was shattered without mercy.

Darkness surged upward from The Fallen’s body, breaking the seal as if something fundamental had been missing from the technique’s completion.

–Tch. It’s far from enough.

Wrath clicked his tongue in frustration.

–If it had been my Silver Moon Demon Seal… it would’ve ended here.

“Ugh…”

The Fallen exhaled a hollow breath, brushing away the ice fragments from his sleeve.

“This level of cold energy…”

He looked down at his partially frozen hand and smirked.

“…It feels more like magic than true martial arts.”

With that, he raised the edge of his hand—dismissing the lingering darkness and light still coiled around it.

“I suppose… it’s my turn to wield a sword now.”

The Fallen lowered his graceful hand—

Crack…!

And the space beneath his feet split open, as if reality itself was tearing apart.

How do I stop that…?

There was no warning. No build-up. Just raw power that split space itself—with no clue how to block or evade it.

–Think back! When you trapped that blue dragon in the sea—remember!?

–The sword that cuts through space!

“Ah…”

Raon’s eyes widened.

Wrath’s shout jolted his memory.

He remembered it clearly—Aries’s Void Slash, the technique that had split Kaivar’s breath clean through the void.

He raised the Heavenly Drive, channeling his power as he mirrored Aries’s motion—

Tracing her trajectory, but in reverse.

This was it.

The seventh form.

Void Slash.

Raon struck upward with the Void Slash, slicing from the ground to intercept the space-splitting blow descending from above.

Craaaaack!

Two spatial cuts—one from below, one from above—collided.

They twisted into each other, forming a black rift in the very air.

From within that torn space, blue frost surged upward—
freezing the expanding shockwave before it could detonate.

The sky and earth were glazed in blinding white, while the center—split by that black void—looked like a line dividing the end of the human world.

“Urgh…”

Raon bit down hard on his lip, his hand trembling violently as he gripped the Heavenly Drive.

It’s like walking on thin ice…

Every time he clashed with The Fallen, it felt as though death crept a little closer from behind.

His heart pounded violently in his chest.

It was getting harder… to breathe.

–This is where it begins.

Wrath let out a low sigh, shaking his head slowly.

–Because that guy… still isn’t being serious.

I know.

Raon clenched his jaw.

He knew better than anyone—The Fallen had yet to reveal his full power.

He had been holding back.

Ever since he first sensed Wrath’s presence, he’d restrained himself.

“Did you sell your soul to a demon?”

The Fallen narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the black horns jutting from Raon’s forehead.

“It’s not my soul…”

Raon raised his head, forcibly steadying his ragged breath.

“…but it’s still something very precious.”

He stared directly at The Fallen.

“There’s not much time left.”

Only a quarter of the flaming wing feathers protecting the Ring of Fire remained.

At this pace—

He would lose his sanity… long before he ever managed to drive The Fallen away.

“But you sure talk a lot. What’s the matter—afraid?”

Raon let out a soft chuckle, tilting his chin upward.

“Worried you’ll have to say you weren’t serious after you lose?”

He shrugged with a half-smile.

“I mean, it would be pretty embarrassing for the mighty leader of Eden to be beaten by a mere Grandmaster.”

He lifted a hand and waved lazily.

“But hey, I’d understand.”

“…Very well.”

The Fallen nodded slowly, his expression as unreadable as ever.

“I don’t have much time left either…”

“So, let’s end this little performance.”

He brought his right and left hands together—

And began chanting an ultra-high-speed enchantment.

Fwooom!

From his right hand, a blinding light.

From his left, a consuming darkness.

And when the two crossed—

KRRRRRAAAANG!

A massive pillar erupted, connecting heaven and earth in a single arc.

The light and darkness merged—

The color turned gray.

And the towering spell expanded outward—

Collapsing the frozen sky…

Shattering the frozen earth…

As if it intended to erase everything that existed.

It was no longer just a spell—

It was a storm of annihilation, a force so absolute it seemed impossible to extinguish.

–That… is beyond your power.

Wrath shook his head, his expression grim.

–The energy packed into that pillar—it’s not normal. It’s not something a human can withstand.

Still… I have to try.

Raon gritted his teeth and tightened both hands around the Heavenly Drive.

Even if it meant burning up all of his energy…

Even if it cost him his soul—

He would overcome it.

–No.

Wrath’s voice cut sharply.

–It won’t work.

What...?

–Even if you give it everything… you still can’t win.

There was a pause.

Then—

–So I’ll step in.

Wrath placed a glowing hand on Raon’s left hand.

–Just one more time…

His gaze turned toward the battlefield.

Toward Sylvia, Edgar, and Rector—all collapsed, one by one.

He nodded slowly.

–I’ll help you.

Just this once.

–Go. I'll match you, so unleash your best martial arts.

Wrath squeezed his left hand tighter, as if telling him to trust and go ahead.

...Alright.

Placing his faith in Wrath’s words, Raon stepped forward.

And unleashed—

Heaven’s Rift.

Toward the oncoming storm of light and darkness.

“Sword Domain…”

–Demonic Incarnation.

A noble silver frost bloomed from the blade of the Heavenly Drive, dyeing both sky and earth in radiant gold.

"Heaven’s Rift."

–Snow Flower.

In the heart of Heaven Rift’s scattering brilliance—

A blue flower bloomed.

It was beauty forged in destruction. A power so wild and absolute that it could freeze even light and darkness itself. The strike that followed—

A sweeping, majestic slash that felt like it could split the heavens. And behind it—

Countless thin, razor-sharp slashes spread outward, too many to count, reaching into the void.

Craaaaack!

The massive pillar of light and darkness—

Frozen.

Erased.

Not even a shard remained. Only the fluttering of frost flowers in the sky.

Everything before Raon’s eyes…

Was gone.

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – MurimTang]

[Proofreader – Mayank]