Whoosh! The massive explosion triggered by the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword shook the space around them. The sky seemed to split and the ground to sink as gray dust enveloped everything in sight.
"No way..."
Raon frowned as he watched the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword return to their original forms.
'Did they not pierce properly?'
Having thrust the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword into Ramiel's chest and activated the Invincible Azure-Red Sword, it wouldn't have been strange if the angel had died instantly. Yet the aura emanating from Ramiel within the billowing black smoke burned even more fiercely than before.
-No, they pierced correctly.
Wrath shook his head calmly.
'Then why?'
Raon asked, turning his eyes toward Wrath.
-Did this King not tell you from the beginning? Ramiel is weakened, but different when using life energy.
Wrath lightly tapped his own head, suggesting Raon should remember what he had said before.
'So then...'
-Correct. The bastard Ramiel has released the life energy he's been accumulating until now.
As he raised his hand, bright yellow lightning emerged from the clouds, devouring flames and frost. Ramiel's lightning displayed terrifying destructive power as it crushed the sky and ground, as if to engulf the entire world.
'Life energy...'
Raon asked while keeping his gaze fixed on Ramiel.
-Literally, it refers to the life force accumulated by that being as a living creature. Aura, divine power, or demonic energy can be recovered even if lost, but life energy cannot be regenerated except through extremely rare methods.
Wrath nodded, indicating that Ramiel was releasing such life energy.
-Ramiel is an Archangel who has lived for thousands of years. Normally, it wouldn't be strange if you were instantly blown away by the lightning of one who has released such strong life energy.
Wrath sneered as he watched Ramiel's lightning spread in all directions.
-However, because your sword strike just now dealt an even greater shock to his heart, he cannot use his full power despite releasing his life energy.
He shook his head, saying that even this flesh-trembling lightning was far from Ramiel's full power.
-Stupid and arrogant fool. Had he used his life energy from the beginning, he would have easily subdued you.
Wrath sneered, saying that Ramiel ended up in such a state because he thought he could easily subdue Raon and thus underestimated him.
"Melt away!"
As Ramiel's cry burst forth from the black smoke, lightning following his will shot toward Raon and those behind him. Raon unleashed the Fangs of Insanity and Blizzard Sword Art to block the lightning targeting Rector, Lawrence, and Mustan.
'This is definitely different from before.'
Even swinging both swords with full power, it wasn't easy to repel the lightning. Whether due to the life energy or Ramiel using his full power, the heat and weight of the lightning seemed at least twice as strong as before. The tips of his fingers holding the swords stung with pain.
Behind the split lightning, Archangel Ramiel's figure emerged. He spread his eight wings like a giant roc while flashing a chilling gaze.
However, there was a hole the size of an adult's head in his chest, with black blood flowing from within.
'That wound is...'
Raon clenched his fingers as he observed the wound that Ramiel couldn't erase even with life energy.
'Did I widen the wound that grandfather created?'
The Invincible Azure-Red Sword hadn't disappeared without effect. It had clearly expanded the wound inflicted by Rector on Ramiel, causing significant damage to both his body and mind.
'With a wound like that, it makes sense he can't utilize his full abilities even with life energy.'
If he could use his full power despite having such a hole in his chest and more than half his heart destroyed, he should be called a god rather than an Archangel.
"Even if everything I've built up disappears..."
Ramiel gritted his teeth while glaring at Raon.
"I'll turn you all to dust!"
He glared at Raon with eyes full of Killing Intent, wrapping his entire body in Lightning Aura as if his pride had been wounded.
"You're not the only one who's angry."
Raon raised his chin toward Ramiel.
"Before the Invincible Azure-Red Sword, you should just go and die. I don't understand why you're struggling so much."
He raised the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword, saying that this time he would definitely kill him.
"Insolent bastard..."
Ramiel stomped his foot roughly, wrapping his body in even denser lightning as if truly enraged. Rather than summoning lightning to strike down, he seemed intent on charging forward bodily.
"I'll tear your flesh from bone and scorch you to cinders!"
As Ramiel bellowed and stomped his foot, he completely vanished from sight. With a crackle! Raon pivoted to his right. Ramiel had suddenly appeared at his right side, extending his fist. He thrust forward with a much faster and more powerful punch, as if his injuries didn't exist at all. Whoosh!
As Raon's sword drew an elegant curve in the air, a red curtain rose up and completely enveloped Ramiel's attack. Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Dance of the Golden Flame. The sword technique that erases evil forces completely wiped away the Angel's Lightning Aura.
"You're only relying on filthy tricks!"
Ramiel gritted his teeth as if he couldn't believe his full-powered attack had disappeared without causing even the slightest impact.
"That just proves how evil you are."
Raon smirked and shook his chin.
"This curtain absorbs malevolent energy even more easily."
The Dance of the Golden Flame erases evil energy more effectively than ordinary aura. The fact that Ramiell's lightning melted away so easily suggested that the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation judged divine power to be as malevolent as demonic energy.
"Angels, evil? That's not for a mere human to say!"
As Ramiell let out a furious roar, the massive lightning swirling around him seeped into his body with a blinding light. Veins bulged across his entire body, and his eyes flashed with the same yellow light as the lightning.
His aura rose so sharply it sent chills down the spine. It was as if all the lightning covering the sky and ground had transformed into a human.
"I'll kill you."
Raimiel moved to Raon's left before the sound could reach him and threw a punch. Even without the spread of lightning, the force contained within his fist was incomparably stronger and faster than before. However, Raon did not retreat in the face of Raimiel's powerful strike, instead deploying a Fire Wall directly in front of him.
Raimiel's fist slid off the Fire Wall and struck the ground. The terrifying force carved into the earth as if a massive blade had sliced through it.
"What the..."
Ramiel's eyes trembled as if he couldn't believe his attack had been deflected, then he moved to the right and brought down a hand chop. A hand blade faster and more powerful than the sword strike of a top-tier Transcendent fell toward Raon's neck.
Again, Raon wasn't flustered by Ramiel's attack and achieved perfect defense by manipulating the Wooden Ring Sword with Sword Control to execute the Azure Sky Sword technique.
"What, what is this..."
Ramiel stepped back, his jaw trembling as if he couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"What is this!"
"I told you already."
Unlike the flustered Ramiel, Raon nodded with calm eyes.
"I learned swordsmanship from the true master of lightning."
He had seen Glenn's sword and lightning countless times and even learned the ancient martial arts of Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts from him. Ramiel's lightning, merely sacred and powerful, posed no threat to him at all.
"Such bluffs won't work on me!"
Ramiel roared as he charged forward. He rushed in even faster than before, as if drawing up more life energy.
'Right side.'
Raon read Ramiel's attack pattern and deflected his powerful fist using a form from the Celestial Thunder Arts.
'Now from behind.'
Following that, he parried Ramiel's fingertips targeting his back with the dual blades of Frost Snap, then countered with the Wooden Ring Sword. A thin slice of flesh fell from Ramiel's shoulder.
-Hmm...
Wrath widened his eyes in surprise.
-I can understand before, but you're winning even after he's released his life energy?
He trembled his jaw, saying he couldn't understand how this was possible.
'I can read the flow of Ramiel's martial arts.'
Ramiel was clearly stronger than him, whether in martial arts or physical ability. However, all of Ramiel's martial arts moved according to the flow of lightning. In other words, for someone like himself who had learned Celestial Thunder Arts from Glenn and embraced lightning, Ramiel's movements were completely predictable.
Raon absorbed Ramiel's desperate punch with the Dance of the Golden Flame while drawing the Silver Sword Dream.
With a sharp slash! A dream-like, hazily curved silver blade grazed Ramiel's neck with a thin cut.
"Kuhuk!"
Ramiel clutched his bleeding neck and staggered back. *Screech!* Raon lowered the Heavenly Drive and roughly scraped the tip of the scabbard with the blade.
Raon Zieghart's Sword Style. Form 4: Azure Rain. (E/N: o_o he still uses this form!)
The sword's song, capable of paralyzing an opponent's hearing, struck the Archangel's eardrums.
"Aaaarghhhh!"
As Ramiel's entire body had become hypersensitive due to the lightning, he appeared greatly affected by Azure Rain, clutching his head as blood flowed from his ears.
"Consider it your misfortune that you came here."
Raon charged at Ramiel with a twisted smile.
"Because I am your natural enemy."
***
"Hmm..."
Rector exhaled deeply as he watched Raon face off against Ramiel.
'How is this possible...'
Ramiel's body was lightly flung back by Raon's sword strikes. Despite absorbing lightning and releasing his life energy, he seemed to be overwhelmed by Raon, cold sweat streaming from his entire body.
'Raon hasn't even reached my level yet, has he?'
Although Raon had indeed become much stronger than before, he still wasn't at the level of the leaders of the Five Kings and Three Demons. Even with Ramiel's heart being ruptured and weakened, Rector hadn't expected him to dominate like this.
'He's reading all of Ramiel's attacks.'
Raon wasn't simply overpowering Ramiel with strength; he was perfectly reading his attacks and delivering the most devastating counterattacks. Looking at the current scene, it didn't seem like a battle between an Archangel and a human, but rather like an instructor teaching a trainee.
'Raon, you….'
When Raon first appeared to save him, he felt both joy and overwhelming despair. His grandson couldn't possibly defeat a monster that even he couldn't handle. Fear washed over him at the thought of witnessing the death of his beloved grandson before his eyes.
But Raon, true to his word asking for trust, engaged the Archangel Ramiel without yielding an inch, and now was even overwhelming him. Tears that hadn't fallen even when facing death now streamed down due to the pride he felt for his grandson.
"Raon."
Rector called out his grandson's name, his eyes filled with trust and affection. His voice didn't come out properly, but it didn't matter. Raon would understand his heart.
"Win this."
***
"Of course."
Raon nodded as he slashed Ramiel's waist with the Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword.
"I will win."
Wrapping Rector's encouragement in his Willpower, he infused it into his swords and deeply cut into Ramiel's shoulders and chest.
"Kuuurgh!"
Ramiel spat blood as he quickly retreated. He stared at Raon with terrified eyes, as if realizing he was completely outmatched in close combat.
"As I said, you can't defeat me with lightning."
Raon nodded with confident eyes.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!"
Ramiel contorted his face like a demon, as if his pride had collapsed amid the excruciating pain. Thick veins bulged from his forehead and jaw.
"If you can read my attacks, then I'll just erase this entire world!"
As Ramiel raised both hands, the lightning scattered in all directions began gathering above his head. The thin lightning strands condensed into a massive sphere as large as a mountain before one could even exhale. Whoosh!
A pitch-black shadow fell across the land as the bright yellow sphere of lightning was completed, like a new sun rising in the sky.
"Ha..."
Raon exhaled emptily as he looked at Ramiel's lightning sphere, which had grown to the size of a fortress.
"Disappear!"
Wrapped in deep Killing Intent, Ramiel poured forth the lightning sphere as if to erase not just Raon but the entire land. With a tremendous rumbling! Despite its size, the lightning sphere descended like a flash and approached right before his eyes.
"No matter how massive or powerful, lightning is still just lightning."
Raon gripped the Heavenly Drive tightly and leaped toward the descending lightning sphere. Opening his mental world, he poured forth all the mysteries of Ten Thousand Swords and Willpower he had accumulated since first holding a sword.
"Sword Domain."
From his mental world opened for the second time, thousands of swords emerged and overlapped onto the blade of the Heavenly Drive. It was the moment his Willpower became one with the sword.
"Heaven's Rift."
A faint golden glow emanated from the blade of the Heavenly Drive. The sword, both light and heavy, warm and cold, met the sphere of lightning that sought to devour the world. Despite the collision between the Sword Domain and the sphere of lightning, there was no sound or shockwave. The only result was the sphere being cleanly split in two.
The lightning, greater than a mountain, was split by a single sword, and behind it, Ramiel's chest and neck—who had been certain of victory—were completely torn away.
"If you don't die when your neck is cut, nor when your heart bursts..."
Raon raised his chin as he watched Ramiel fall, spraying blood like burnt feathers.
"I'll cut off both."