After shedding a torrent of tears, Raon followed Glenn to the audience chamber. Sylvia and Edgar, along with other executives, trailed behind with bewildered looks, seemingly surprised to have witnessed his tears.
"Hah..."
Glenn stood on the platform in the audience chamber, heaving a heavy sigh. He stood before the throne and extended his hand toward Raon.
"Rimmer..."
Glenn paused, biting his lip slightly as he looked at Rimmer's coffin beside Raon.
"I heard that Rimmer had died and Alice was seriously injured, but the exact circumstances weren't conveyed to me."
He looked at Lawaine, seemingly realizing that Raon and the Light Wind division were in a mentally difficult situation.
"Lawaine. You..."
"Head of House. I will explain."
Raon wiped the remaining tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and stepped forward.
"Are you sure you're up for it?"
"Yes. I want to do it. No, I must do it."
He nodded, looking at Rimmer's coffin beside him.
"...Then, please proceed."
Glenn stepped back, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"I'll start from the beginning. After we obtained the Soul Crystal and were about to return to Zieghart, one of Lady Alice's subordinates came to us."
Raon referred to the subordinate as Alice's without mentioning Paras's name, to avoid putting pressure on him.
"The news was that they had found traces of Sif, Lady Alice's son. After some deliberation, we decided to send the Soul Crystal to Zieghart first and then go search for Sif. When we first entered the dungeon..."
Raon recounted everything that had happened inside the dungeon in detail, without omitting anything.
"...Thanks to my master whom I met in the mental world, I was able to ascend to transcendence. I then adjusted the dungeon to pursue Sif and Bardiel for revenge."
As he recalled the memories of the dungeon, Rimmer's face came to mind, and he felt tears welling up again. But not wanting to cry anymore, he suppressed the surge of emotions.
"Derus Robert. That son of a bitch!"
Balder stomped his foot violently as if he might bring down the audience chamber.
"Where the hell is this bastard hiding while pulling this shit!"
He gritted his teeth, expressing his desire to drag Derus out by his hair.
"We're in front of the Head of House. Be quiet."
Karoon shook his head while looking at the platform.
"Aren't you angry, brother? This son of a bitch is toying with Zieghart... Mmph!"
Balder was yelling but closed his mouth upon seeing Karoon's glare.
"I told you to shut your mouth."
Karoon's eyes were rimmed with crimson lightning. As someone with deep pride in Zieghart, he seemed to be more furious than anyone else present.
"Hmm..."
Balder pouted before stepping back again.
"..."
Even Denier, who always maintained a calm demeanor, was shaking his clenched fist, seemingly angered.
"I see. So that's what happened..."
Glenn looked at Rimmer's coffin, slowly closing and opening his eyes.
"That's why you've been blaming yourselves."
He nodded gravely, saying he understood the looks in the eyes of the Light Wind division swordsmen.
"It's all my fault!"
Dorian stepped forward, his voice choked with emotion.
"Because I couldn't do anything, the Vice Leader..."
He grabbed his disheveled hair, saying he had been more of a hindrance than a help.
"No. It's my fault."
Raon shook his head, stopping Dorian.
"There were several opportunities to stop Sif's plan. It was because of my carelessness that Lady Alice was stabbed, and even the Vice Leader was attacked."
Raon bowed his head, taking all the blame to prevent Dorian and the other Light Wind division children from berating themselves. However, this wasn't just an emotional gesture; it was also him genuinely addressing his own shortcomings.
'If I had been just a little more composed, I could have saved both of them.'
If the coolheadedness of Raon's past life had remained, he wouldn't have trusted Sif until the end. It seemed that becoming Raon Zieghart and believing in people and relationships had created a weakness in him.
"The swordsman Rimmer I knew might have been frivolous, but he never spoke nonsense."
Glenn pressed his lips tightly as he looked at the coffin.
"He left you with words to be happy, and the fact that he departed with a smile in Raon's mental image means he had no regrets. Neither the Light Wind Division Leader nor the Light Wind division need to blame themselves."
He lowered his chin, his gaze turning cold.
"There's someone else who used dirty tricks, so why are you so desperate to blame yourselves? Berating yourselves any further would be an insult to Rimmer. Forget about it from the moment you leave this room."
Glenn gritted his teeth, telling them to blame Derus instead of themselves and to think about revenge.
"Do you understand?"
"...Yes, I understand."
Dorian nodded, kneeling and sobbing.
"I understand."
Raon also bowed his head. As Glenn said, and as he had seen himself, Rimmer had disappeared with a smile, seemingly without regrets. He felt that he shouldn't dishonor his master's last moments, as Glenn had pointed out.
"And there's one more thing I need to tell you."
Raon stepped forward again and looked up at Glenn.
"It's about how Sif stole Lady Alice's power."
Before speaking, he surveyed the entire audience chamber. Only the Palace Masters, direct lineage members, Division Leaders, and high-ranking executives were present, so it seemed safe to bring up the topic.
"Yes. I was curious about that!"
Balder nodded emphatically.
"Even someone as ignorant as me knows it's impossible to achieve transcendence by stealing someone else's power!"
He wiggled his finger, urging Raon to continue.
"In our Zieghart..."
Raon continued, placing a hand on his chest.
"It's said that the blood of Angels flows within us."
"...Angels? Are you talking about the Angels that Derus Robert supposedly summoned?"
Karoon's lips trembled in apparent shock.
"That's correct."
Raon nodded, looking at Karoon.
"Sif apparently ascended to transcendence by absorbing the power of the Angels residing in Lady Alice's blood. Martha."
"Yes."
Martha stepped forward and handed Sif's Cursed Blacksword to Raon.
"Sif stole Lady Alice's power through the curse remaining in the cavity and this Cursed Blacksword. The secret must lie within this sword."
Raon passed the Cursed Blacksword, still reeking of blood, to Glenn.
"...Indeed, there's a suffocatingly intense aura remaining."
Glenn narrowed his eyes, saying he hadn't known such a sword existed.
"We'll need to contact Vulcan and Ogram as well."
He nodded, thinking he should summon Vulcan, renowned as a master blacksmith, and the shamans of the Beast Union.
"Head of House. Did you know about this?"
Raon furrowed his brows as he watched Glenn examining the Cursed Blacksword. Judging by his calm reaction, it seemed he already knew about the Angels.
"I didn't know about the mixed blood of Angels. However..."
Glenn shook his head as he lowered the Cursed Blacksword.
"Considering our unique Sword Domain and Zieghart's characteristic of not slowing down in growth even after reaching transcendence, I had thought our lineage itself was special. We'll need to investigate this aspect thoroughly as well."
He lowered his eyebrows, saying it was unexpected even to him.
"Angels, huh? Should we be happy about this or not..."
Balder let out a hollow laugh, as if he still couldn't believe it.
"..."
Karoon looked at Rimmer's coffin with somber eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
"It seems..."
Denier, after staring at the Cursed Blacksword, stepped forward.
"It appears Derus Robert is also utilizing the power of the White Blood Religion."
"The White Blood Religion?"
Balder turned his chin, as if asking what Denier meant.
"The White Blood Religion are the ones who understand human blood best across the entire continent. The two forces must be deeply connected."
Denier rubbed his temples, suggesting that Derus and the Leader of the White Blood Religion must have collaborated to research ways of stealing Zieghart's power.
"That's certainly a possibility."
Glenn nodded, saying that since Sif had ascended to transcendence using Alice's blood, there was a high chance the Leader of the White Blood Religion was involved.
"From what we can see, it seems that Zieghart's blood must be connected to Zieghart for the power to be stolen, but just in case, I want the Palace Masters and Division Leaders to investigate all aspects."
He issued an order to all executives present in the audience chamber to gather information about this matter.
"From now on, I declare Derus Robert and his forces as Zieghart's primary enemy. Prioritize them above all other forces, and if you encounter them, kill them without fail. I give you my permission."
Glenn ground his teeth sharply, emphasizing that they should never be left alive.
"Yes, sir!"
The Zieghart executives bowed their heads resolutely, as if swearing to carry out the order even at the cost of their lives.
"Merlin."
Glenn gestured to Merlin, who was standing at the back of the Light Wind division.
"Yes! Grandfather!"
Merlin responded in an even more cheerful voice than usual, as if trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"Hmm, how long will it take to prepare to awaken Sia?"
Glenn, after hesitating for a moment as if caught off guard, asked about Sia.
"It will probably take about two weeks."
Merlin raised two fingers, saying that since this was her first time doing something like this, she needed to prepare thoroughly.
"It doesn't matter if it takes longer. There must be no failure, so please ensure it's as safe as possible."
"Leave it to me!"
She smiled, tapping her arm confidently.
"We'll hold Rimmer's funeral in three days. Since he came from Sepia, it might be right to send him back there, but I want to bury him in Zieghart." (E/N: in the raw, it was not Sepia but Sephia, ie the company belonging to Dorian's family, but I assume it was a typo. Or something else very wrong went in the translation at some point.)
Glenn said this and then turned around.
"You must all be tired, so go back now. I'll take care of the rest."
He made a weary gesture, as if telling them to withdraw.
"...Understood."
Raon bowed deeply and left the audience chamber with the Light Wind division.
"We'll be leaving as well."
"Please don't overexert yourself..."
"Huh, how frustrating!"
Karoon, Denier, Balder, and the other executives also bowed towards Glenn's back before leaving the audience chamber.
"..."
Glenn stood alone in the audience chamber, gazing at Rimmer's coffin. Like a statue, he remained motionless, his eyes fixed only on Rimmer, even as the sun set and dawn approached. Boom!
As Glenn clutched his head and bent over, seemingly feeling dizzy, the door of the audience chamber burst open violently, and Sheryl flew in as if throwing herself forward.
"Hah..."
Fresh blood stained Sheryl's cheeks and clothes; it seemed she had rushed here without looking back as soon as she finished her mission.
"Head of House! Where is that bastard... Ah!"
She trembled as she searched for Rimmer, then saw the coffin below the platform. Glenn descended the platform with heavy steps and stood before Rimmer's coffin. He raised and lowered his trembling hand several times before finally resolving to open the coffin.
Rimmer's figure was visible among the beautifully white frost flowers. He was smiling.
It seemed as if he might sit up at any moment and exclaim with a sly smile, "You finally hugged Raon! What took you so long!
"..."
Glenn couldn't keep looking at Rimmer's face and raised his gaze to the ceiling. His vision seemed to cloud over, as if filled with mist.
"May you rest in peace..."
Roenn bowed his head with a hand on his chest. Transparent tears welled up in his aged eyes.
"You stupid kid. You fool..."
Sheryl knelt down and struck the ground. Tears flowed from her eyes, thinly wetting her hair.
"You told me to wait! You lazy gambler!"
She shouted at Rimmer, her voice filled with resentment, asking why he hadn't kept his promise.
"You left us in a way that was truly like you."
Glenn bit his lip as he held Rimmer's scarred hand.
"I'm glad you had no regrets, but I wished I could have spent more time with you. My comrade. No, my dear friend."
* * *
"Haah..."
Raon sighed as he looked up at the ceiling of his room.
'I can't sleep.'
A long time had passed since he returned to the annex, washed, and lay down, but sleep eluded him. Despite never having been this mentally and physically exhausted before, his mind was clear.
'No, not exactly clear.'
It seemed sleep wouldn't come because his emotions and mind were too heightened.
-Then at least move your body.
Wrath yawned briefly and shook his head.
-You'll feel better if you loosen up your body a bit.
Unlike usual, he nodded, telling Raon to go stretch his body.
'...Thank you.'
Despite not keeping his promise to throw a party upon returning to the family and not having enjoyed delicious food for a while, Wrath had silently endured without complaining. Knowing what kind of temperament the usual Wrath had, Raon could only feel grateful.
-Don't talk nonsense. This King is just bored.
Wrath snorted, telling Raon to hurry up and go out.
'Alright.'
Raon smiled faintly and was about to go out the door when he stopped. His naturally emerging senses brought him the presence of Sylvia, Edgar, and Helen in the dining room. Sylvia and Helen were crying, mourning Rimmer, while Edgar was consoling them.
'...'
Raon turned and went out through the window of his room. To avoid waking others, he went to the back of the lake and drew his Heavenly Drive sword. Woong! Just gripping the sword caused the mana within his body to resonate with the mana of nature. Heavenly Connection. The aura of a Transcendent Warrior, a human who had reached the heavens, was blooming above his shoulders.
Swoosh! As he slowly lowered his sword, the lake split silently. The mana of nature followed the path left by the aura of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, creating a wall that divided the lake.
'...I've become stronger.'
He felt more strongly than ever that he had become powerful. Yet, despite reaching the long-awaited realm of transcendence, he wasn't happy. It seemed to be because the person who would have celebrated and rejoiced the most for him was no longer there.
'Still, I have no choice but to move forward.'
None of his goals had been achieved yet. Even if he died, no matter what the outcome, he had to kill Derus at the very least. As he poured his heavy heart into the sword, the blade, imbued with a faint aura, twisted and split the air. The realm of transcendence could turn the ideal into reality even with a weak aura.
As Raon finished his basic swordsmanship and was about to unfold the Fangs of Insanity, he sensed someone's presence on his right. Without needing to use his aura perception, the mana told him of that existence. He understood now why Wrath always sensed people's presence in advance.
The person who descended onto the lake with rough footsteps was Sheryl. Her hair clung to her wet face, indicating how hastily she had come.
"Heavenly Blade Division Leader..."
Raon bowed his head, unable to look directly at Sheryl.
"I'm sorry."
She and Rimmer were friends. No, they seemed to be more than that, which left Raon at a loss for words.
"Never mind that. Just take this."
Sheryl pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.
"This is..."
"That damn fool left this for you..."
She paused for a moment, then bit her lip hard.
"It's his last will."