"Runaan!"
At Burren's clear cry, the Light Wind squad activated the Grand Light Wind Formation without changing their stances.
The individual martial prowess of each swordsman had grown significantly, and as they experienced death, their realm of the soul awakened, making the Grand Light Wind Formation radiate a firmer wave of energy than ever before.
"Sweep away the demonized humans that are eating away at Zieghart!"
Martha stepped forward, unleashing her berserk mode. As the first group of the Light Wind squad supported her from behind, the Grand Light Wind Formation transformed into a single spear, fiercely piercing through the Lakion swordsmen's momentum.
Their eyes reflected not a shred of fear as the Light Wind squad, truly a tempest, charged forward.
*Coooooaaar!*
The crimson energy flow of the Light Wind squad and the magic of the Lakion swordsmen clashed head-on, tearing a massive fissure into the earth.
"Damn it…."
Bells Lakion clenched his jaw, observing his subordinates' faces stiffen. The moment he channeled magic into his body, attempting to disrupt the heart of the Grand Light Wind Formation, a green wind blocked his path.
*Clang!*
Rimmer, wielding a sword with its tip shaped like a leaf, effortlessly deflected Bells' longsword and wiggled his finger.
"What am I supposed to do if even *you* ignore me?"
Rimmer flashed a grin and kicked Bells in the stomach.
*Thud!*
With a sound like a bursting rubber ball, Bells was sent flying and crashed onto the ground.
"The leader of the Light Wind squad isn't that arrogant bastard, it's *me*!"
Rimmer pointed his thumb at himself.
"I missed out on the tastiest one, so I'll have to make do with you."
"Ugh…."
He revealed a fierce glint in his eyes as he looked down at the groaning Bells.
"Light Sword…."
Bells gritted his teeth, drawing his longsword that was ablaze with magic.
"This land belongs to Lakion!"
"Not anymore."
Red lightning crackled from Rimmer's grasp, weaving through the green wind.
"You've made a grave mistake by siding with the Holy Sword Alliance."
He struck down Bells' magic with a sword strike infused with both wind and lightning.
*Crackle!*
Bright lightning and dark magic exploded in rapid succession, filling the air with thick smoke.
*Thud!*
After confirming that the battle between the Light Wind squad and the Lakion family had begun, Raon kicked off the ground with the Supreme Harmony Steps.
As he raked the ground with the flames of the Divine Sword and the frost of the Demonic Sword, the lingering demonic energy on the ground screamed and exploded.
"So the rumors about you opening the Sword Domain are true. However…."
Juan gritted his teeth and raised the Demonic Sword, Criatus.
"It means nothing before this Demonic Sword!"
A chillingly dense magic, enough to sting his skin, surged atop the Demonic Sword he held. It seemed like he was reabsorbing the magic he had implanted in his subordinates to amplify Criatus' power.
*Fwooosh!*
Juan Lakion thrust the Demonic Sword forward.
The magic spewing from the twelve blades bent like flowing water, charging toward Raon's heart. Each strike felt as if the sword itself were alive.
*Goooooo!*
Raon focused aura into the mana circuit in his left leg. He traversed the cracked earth with the Supreme Harmony Steps and raised the Divine Sword in his right hand. The red blade, drawing a half-circle as it surged upwards, blocked the black flash.
*Clang!*
The Divine Sword and the Demonic Sword. Flame and magic collided, unleashing a deafening roar as if tens of thousands of humans were screaming in unison.
*Crackle!*
The red and black blades clashed without giving an inch, showering the surroundings with violet sparks.
"Is that all you've got?!"
Juan snarled, pushing forward with the Demonic Sword. Like souls of the dead were trapped within, the weight of his strike was almost unbearable.
"You will pay dearly for killing my son!"
"I suppose your daughter isn't as precious."
Raon sneered, glancing down.
"Siuelen is a failure! Nothing more than a traitor who abandoned her family!"
"Siuelen showed courage to save you all."
He thrust the Demonic Sword forward, unleashing his boiling rage. Flames and frost intersected diagonally, beginning to push back against the Demonic Sword Criatus' magic.
"It was *you* who struck down that child who struggled until the very end to save Lakion."
Raon locked eyes with Juan's black pupils through the gap between their blades and curled his lip.
"I will make you regret it even in death."
The moment he spoke, the energy that had been condensing between their swords finally gave way, erupting in a massive explosion. A bizarre darkness welled up, dyeing his vision pitch black.
*Bang!*
Raon cut through the murky darkness with the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword as his guiding lights. It felt like the Supreme Harmony Steps, enhanced by his Spatial Sword mastery, had granted him crimson and blue wings on his back.
Before Juan could regain his footing and create distance, Raon caught up to him and unleashed a flurry of strikes with the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, as elegant as a dancer's graceful movements.
*Fwaaaaa!*
A bud of flame blossomed from the crimson blade, and petals of frost scattered from the blue blade. It was the Fire Spirit, manifested through the Divine and Demonic Swords.
Like cherry blossoms fleeting with the arrival of spring, the petals that left the blades began to fall. Hundreds of fragments of astral energy enveloped Juan.
*Cooooooar!*
The moment Raon swung the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword downward, the falling petals seemed to gain a new life, soaring upward and creating a tempest of flame and frost.
"Ugh!"
Juan furrowed his brows and twisted the Demonic Sword to the right. The twelve blades vibrated as if alive, unleashing a wave of magic.
*Crackle!*
The storm of the Fire Spirit and the tide of magic engulfed the earth and sky, resulting in countless explosions.
Raon threw himself into the heart of the explosions, which were strong enough to shatter even his aura shield. Despite his accelerated speed narrowing his vision, he could still sense Juan's magic vividly.
'A beast's roar echoed from the blades of the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword. It was the Fangs of Insanity, unleashed using both swords.'
The essence of dual-swordsmanship, honed under Sheryl's guidance, had evolved to a whole new level, wildly scattering flames and frost.
*Coooaaaar!*
The majestic energy imbued within the two blades finally tore through the viscous magic, hurtling toward Juan's chest.
However, Juan, being a seasoned warrior who led a vassal family, didn't panic for long. He smoothly slid backward, swinging the Demonic Sword like a fan.
*Fwoosh!*
A fog of magic surged, distorting the trajectory of the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword. It wasn't just brute force from the Demonic Sword; he had a solid grasp of swordsmanship techniques as well. As expected, he wasn't an opponent to be taken lightly.
'However….'
'His swordsmanship is unbalanced.'
Because the Demonic Sword's power was so explosive, his swordsmanship and aura couldn't fully extend themselves. It seemed like exploiting that gap was the optimal strategy.
*Clang!*
Raon leaned forward, swinging both swords upwards from below. Like a charging bison, he pierced through the center of the approaching magic.
*Coooooong!*
He spun the flames and frost counterclockwise, unraveling the condensed magic. The Demonic Sword, Criatus, was left bare, its black blade exposed.
'Now!'
Raon tightened his grip on the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, pressing down on the curved blade of the Demonic Sword, Criatus.
*Clang!*
The red and blue blades clashed head-on with the twelfth blade of Criatus, sending a massive shockwave through the surroundings.
"Ugh…."
Juan's face paled as the magic he had gathered was so easily neutralized, his fingertips trembling.
"Damn Zieghart! Damn Sword Domain!"
He twisted his wrist with a roar. The fifth and seventh blades of the Demonic Sword vibrated fiercely, deflecting the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword.
However, Juan's large movement created a new opening.
Just as Raon was about to thrust the Divine Sword, exploiting that gap, Juan desperately rolled away.
*Cooong!*
As a tremendous amount of magic slammed down, the earth twisted and cracked violently.
Raon used the collapsing ground as stepping stones to chase after him, but Juan had already retreated further, using the recoil from swinging the Demonic Sword.
"You will regret this!"
He snarled, slashing the Demonic Sword horizontally. A jet-black sword strike shot out even before the sound reached Raon's ears. The ominous blade, shaped like a crescent moon lying on its side, was aiming for his neck.
*Clang!*
He crossed the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword. A line of fire and frost extended, pulverizing the blade of magic.
Raon used the dust kicked up by the explosion as cover, dashing to Juan's left.
"Y-You!"
As Juan frantically tried to dodge, Raon used the Supreme Harmony Steps to enter his space, slashing down with the Divine Sword and thrusting with the Demonic Sword.
*Crack!*
The searing hot blade tore through the twelfth blade of Criatus, which was caught off guard, and the blue icicle pierced through Juan's side.
*Puchi!*
With his first deep wound, Juan's face turned deathly pale.
"You dared to covet Zieghart with just that much?"
Raon approached Juan with a twisted smile. He kicked the broken blade of Criatus and tilted his chin.
"H-How… How are you not affected by the demonic energy?!"
Juan stammered, unable to comprehend the situation.
"Your flesh should be rotting from mere exposure to the demonic energy, why are you perfectly fine?!"
He had completely lost his composure as the head of the family, his words now resembling those of a child throwing a tantrum.
"Because *you* are weak."
Raon shook his head, gazing at the jet-black magic emanating from Criatus.
His innate resistance to magic, coupled with the divine power he used to purify any demonic energy that managed to seep in, rendered the Demonic Sword's power completely ineffective against him.
"T-That's impossible…."
"Don't panic. We've only just begun."
Red lightning flashed in Raon's eyes as he lunged toward Juan.
As he pushed through the magic and was about to take a step forward with his right foot, Juan slammed Criatus into the ground. A fog of demonic energy rose, blocking his path.
"Running is futile."
He gritted his teeth, preparing to cut through the magic and chase after Juan.
"What?"
Raon was about to dash through a gap in the demonic fog, but he stopped in his tracks. It was so absurd that he was rendered speechless.
"That crazy…."
Juan was stabbing his subordinates in the chest with Criatus—not him.
"Gah…."
"L-Lord Juan!"
"W-Why are you…."
The Lakion swordsmen trembled, eyes fixated on the Demonic Sword's blades protruding from their chests. Betrayal, clear as day, filled their eyes.
—You irredeemable piece of trash!*
Wrath rose from within, blue sparks erupting from his eyes.
—Instead of trying to save his subordinates, he's killing them to draw out their demonic energy? How can such filth exist?!*
Wrath, who valued his subordinates above all else, was truly enraged by Juan's actions.
—Kill him! Tear him limb from limb!*
'I was already planning on it.'
Raon cut through the demonic fog and approached Juan.
"I-It's because… because I lack power! I had no other choice!"
Juan had completely lost his mind, his eyes rolled back. The Lakion swordsmen he stabbed with the Demonic Sword were reduced to husks even before they could draw their last breath, their flesh and blood completely drained, tossed aside onto the cracked earth like discarded rags.
*Cuckoo!*
A magnificent demonic energy blazed atop Criatus, forming a black sun.
"Aaaaagh!"
"L-Lord Juan…."
"W-What are you doing?!"
The Lakion swordsmen surrounding them melted into puddles of blood from the overwhelming surge of demonic energy radiating from the black sun. As humans infused with demonic energy died, the black sun only burned brighter.
'I can't let this continue.'
Raon clenched his jaw and stepped into the black sun's area of effect.
"Everyone, fall back!"
He ordered the Light Wind squad to fall back, ensuring their safety, and charged at Juan.
The closer he got, the more the demonic energy clung to him like a swamp. His fingertips trembled from the dreadful flow of demonic energy, and his mana circuits constricted, slowing down the flow of his aura. Still, he pressed forward, unwavering as a bull's horns.
"Die!"
Juan swung Criatus, the Demonic Sword that had conjured the black sun. The atmosphere itself seemed to be erased by the tremendous heat, space itself distorting.
Using the momentum of his advance, Raon drew a Crimson Slash with the Divine Sword and unleashed a Frost Snap with the Demonic Sword. Both were attacks. Ignoring defense, his only thought was to kill Juan.
*Crackle!*
Heat, cold, and demonic energy clashed, shaking heaven and earth. A gray whirlwind soared between the blades, devouring everything in its path.
*Clang!*
Even within the crushing pressure that made it difficult to even twitch a finger, Raon twisted the Divine Sword and the Demonic Sword. Between the heat and cold, a clear wind soared, weaving the two discordant energies into a single line.
*Crackle!*
Juan's hand trembled as the explosively surging wave of fire and frost threatened to tear Criatus from his grasp.
"Aaaaagh!"
Juan let out a roar that sounded more like a scream, desperately pouring strength into his grip on the Demonic Sword.
Whether due to the warrior's instincts he had accumulated over the years or something else entirely, a profound swordsmanship technique wrapped around his blade. It was the movement unique to longsword techniques, both precise and overwhelmingly powerful.
"It's too late to come to your senses now."
Raon unleashed his Wrath. The energy of the Divine Sword and the Demonic Sword soared with a majestic light, as if burning their last embers.
*Cooong!*
As Juan staggered back, unable to withstand the surge of energy, Raon stomped his left foot into the ground and swung the Divine Sword and the Demonic Sword that he had pulled back.
*Flame Dragon Strike,* unleashed simultaneously with both swords. The breath of the Fire Dragon and the Water Dragon crashed into the sun blazing with demonic energy.
A terrifying explosion engulfed everything before them, shattering the demonic energy barrier. Five of Criatus' blades shattered into dust.
"Gasp…."
Juan stumbled back, his face aging twenty years in an instant, his expression ashen.
"Father!"
Despite having lost his left arm to Rimmer, Bells Lakion didn't hesitate for a second and rushed towards Juan.
However.
Juan pierced his own son's stomach with the Demonic Sword.
"F-Father? What… What is this…."
"Thank you. You saved my life."
The depravity of a warrior who had lived his entire life consumed by an inferiority complex was far worse than any demon born from the abyss.
"Father…."
Bells collapsed, his skin shriveled like a drought-stricken rice paddy. Even in death, his eyes, devoid of even their whites, remained fixated on Juan.
"Phew…."
Juan rose to his feet, his youthful face restored. Having devoured Bells, who possessed the most potent demonic energy, his aura seemed even stronger than before.
"Is this the life you desired?"
Raon gritted his teeth, his voice laced with venom.
"Allying with the Holy Sword Alliance, surrendering your soul to a Demonic Sword, even killing your own son… What is it that you seek to achieve?"
"Silence!"
Juan roared like a beast and raised the Demonic Sword, Criatus.
"I will avenge my children!"
As if demonic energy had seeped into his very marrow, he swung Criatus down, claiming he would avenge Bells, the very son he had murdered.
The combination of sophisticated longsword techniques and explosive demonic energy created a jet-black wave that obliterated everything in its path.
"I will deny your choice."
Raon extended his left foot and bent his knee. He lowered the Divine Sword behind his right shoulder and the Demonic Sword behind his right hip, gathering all his remaining energy.
The flames of the Divine Sword and the frost of the Demonic Sword slowly subsided, flickering like dying embers.
*Clank!*
The moment the wave of demonic energy grazed his hair, he unleashed the power he had drawn up from the ground, adding rotation and pressure as it exploded from his fingertips.
Raon Zieghart Style Swordsmanship.
Sixth Form, Divine-Demonic Harmony Linked Technique, Invincible Azure-Red Sword.
The energies of the Divine Sword and the Demonic Sword, compressed to their limits, detonated in a split second, ruthlessly tearing apart the wave of demonic energy.
*Coooaaaar!*
He charged through the heart of the demonic energy, ripped apart like the eye of a storm. With the two swords, their heat and cold fading, he cleaved through the remaining demonic energy and severed both of Juan's arms.
"Gah!"
Juan crumpled to the ground, black blood spraying from his shoulders. His black eyes trembled uncontrollably, consumed by terror and shock.
Raon stepped on Criatus and approached Juan.
His Sword Domain had faded due to exhaustion, but it didn't matter. The Heavenly Drive and the Requiem Sword were still sharp.
*Pierce!*
He thrust Heavenly Drive down, impaling Juan's shoulder.
*Crackle!*
Crimson flames engulfed the silver blade, searing Juan's flesh and blood, cauterizing his wounds even as they burned.
"Aaaaagh!"
Juan screamed, thrashing his head back and forth in agony.
"W-Wait! Let me speak! I'll tell you everything! Who I made the deal with, why we…."
"I have no interest in whatever information *you* might possess."
Raon took a reverse grip on the Requiem Sword in his left hand and plunged it into Juan's heart.
A faint yellow demonic energy rose like a heat haze, keeping Juan alive as it began to draw out all the demonic energy residing within his body.
"Aaaaagh!"
Juan screamed and struggled, his eyes rolled back from the agonizing pain of his flesh and blood being ripped apart. Yet, with the Heavenly Drive pinning him down, he couldn't move an inch.
"P-Please! Please, stop! Just kill me…."
"I told you."
Raon looked down at Juan with cold, emotionless eyes and tilted his head.
"I will make you regret it even in death. This is just the beginning."
He kept his gaze fixed on Juan, watching as the man's blood vessels burst one by one.
"Ugh…."
More than the agony of having his demonic energy extracted, it was Raon's crimson eyes that terrified Juan the most. His eyes remained shut, his breath coming in ragged gasps, each one a scream of pain.
"To think that this is the end of the renowned Lakion family head, how pathetic."
"That trash doesn't deserve a swift death. He needs to suffer every imaginable torment before he dies."
"…"
Burren, Martha, and even Runaan seemed to agree that Juan didn't deserve an easy death, nodding their heads grimly.
"Kneel!"
"It's over. Drop your weapons."
"Anyone who remains armed will be cut down."
The Light Wind squad moved through the silent battlefield, disarming the Lakion swordsmen and forcing them to their knees.
"Having a capable leader sure makes battles easier."
"He recognized the opportunity in this chaotic situation and ended the fight. What an incredible man."
"There don't seem to be any casualties on our side. A perfect victory."
The swordsmen of the Light Wind squad smiled at Raon, ecstatic that they had crushed the Lakion family with minimal losses.
"L-Leader?"
Rimmer, who seemed confused at the sudden lack of an opponent, blinked rapidly.
"Uhm… I'm the leader, remember?"
He twitched his finger, but no one turned to look at him.
"I'm the Division Leader! Don't tell me you've already replaced me with Raon in your minds? Hello? Guys?"
Still, no response came. Only the sound of Rimmer's voice echoed emptily through the air.
"Hey, you guys!"