-Hmm?
Wrath raised one eyebrow with a curious expression.
-What exactly are you planning to do?
He wiggled his round hand as if telling him to at least explain it to him.
'That is...'
Just as Raon was about to tell Wrath what he had been thinking.
"R-Raon..."
Edgar raised his trembling hand and called out to Raon.
"Save me..."
He let out a thin breath, saying he might die if he stayed like this.
"You absolutely won't die, so don't worry."
Raon smiled faintly and took Edgar's hand.
"There's no way grandfather would strike father with lightning that could kill you. If anything, your muscles should have loosened up, right?"
Glenn's lightning appeared violent enough to kill Edgar, but in reality it only caused intense pain. The lightning had actually activated his body, so he was now unknowingly exaggerating his condition.
"Hm?"
Edgar blinked his eyes and rolled his shoulders and arms back and forth.
"It's, it's true?"
He gaped in amazement, saying his muscle pain had really disappeared.
"It still hurts a bit, but my whole body feels loosened up!"
Edgar grinned foolishly, saying it had been a long time since his body felt this comfortable.
"Right? Go thank grandfather."
Raon smiled warmly and nodded his head.
'He's definitely different from my master.'
When Glenn attacked Rimmer, he would unleash deadly lightning without holding back, but it seemed he had controlled his strength somewhat since Edgar was his son-in-law.
"Father-in-law!"
Edgar supported himself on his trembling legs, stood up, and bowed his head to Glenn.
"Thank you for loosening my stiff body!"
Following Raon's words, he immediately expressed his gratitude to Glenn.
"Hmm."
Glenn didn't seem inclined to reject Edgar's thanks and nodded briefly.
"I only thought of you as a mean-spirited old man, but I was wrong! As expected of the Sword God, you had hidden intentions behind everything!"
However, true to his chatty nature, Edgar began babbling unnecessary words and started losing the points he had barely gained.
"U-um, father..."
"Even during meals, you were always putting on airs by yourself, so I couldn't tell if the food was going into your mouth or your nose, but that must have had meaning too, right?"
Without even a moment to stop Edgar, he poured out unnecessary words one after another in an instant.
"What was the meaning behind acting dignified at the dining table? Ah! Could it be that you were training us not to get indigestion in any situation..."
Edgar seemed greatly pleased that Glenn was thinking of him, and kept talking without caring about the shock of those around him.
"Ah..."
Raon squeezed his eyes shut as he saw the sky fold and lightning flash as Glenn's brow furrowed, followed by a tremendous roar.
"I... Aaaahhhhh!"
With a thunderous roar as if the entire continent was shattering, lightning struck once more and Edgar fell backward with a piercing scream.
"Please just stay still..."
Raon roughly tossed the charcoal-like unconscious Edgar into a corner and sprinkled healing medicine on him.
"Sigh, how did I end up with such a fool..."
Sylvia, who had been watching the entire situation, also sighed deeply as if Edgar was pathetic. Still, since he was her husband, she sprinkled water on his face with a garden watering can. (E/N: Justice for Edgar! Someone, anyone?)
-That guy's about as stupid as your master, isn't he?
Wrath let out a hollow laugh, saying he thought Rimmer had come back to life.
'I was thinking the same thing.'
Raon chuckled and nodded his head.
'That's why it's a shame.'
If my master and father had met, they really would have gotten along well. Both Rimmer and Edgar are talkative and playful people with a relaxed nature, so if they had met, they would have become the best of friends, which made it a little regrettable that it couldn't happen.
-No. It's fortunate they didn't meet!
Wrath shook his head firmly.
-Just watching that one fool is frustrating enough, but if those two had met, I would have been so angry that this king would have descended!
He frowned and told him not to talk nonsense.
-Enough of that, just tell me what you're planning to do!
Wrath gestured with his chin as if asking how he planned to face Glenn's sword.
'That is...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Glenn instructing Sia in swordsmanship.
'I'll check later.'
He waved his hand, telling him to watch later.
-Aah...
Wrath grabbed his head with trembling hands.
-This is frustrating! There are two ways to make people angry, and the first is to stop talking mid-sentence...
As he burst with anger and screamed, Raon brought his finger to his lips.
'You'll find out if you wait just a little bit.'
Raon smiled and turned his head.
'This very evening.'
***
Thwack! Even in the sparring match that took place after dinner, Raon couldn't block Glenn's tree branch and tumbled backward.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped involuntarily from the stronger pain than expected. Glenn also seemed to feel that his body was tougher than expected and appeared to be using more force than before.
-Hey...
Wrath lowered his coldly narrowed eyes.
-You said you'd show something different, but what is this! It's no different from the first time! No, you actually got knocked out even faster!
He frowned, asking what exactly he was planning to show.
'This isn't as easy as I thought.'
Raon smiled thinly and waved his hand.
'I guess it was too much to expect to immediately grasp the sword of the continent's greatest master.'
He smiled awkwardly, saying the result was different from his expectations.
-Grasp?
Wrath narrowed his eyes.
-Don't tell me you tried to analyze and counter that Nadine bread old geezer's sword?
He widened his eyes as if asking whether he really had that thought.
'That's right.'
Raon nodded calmly.
-You've finally gone insane!
Wrath frowned as if he couldn't believe it.
-If you fought with strength or physical toughness, maybe, but there's no way you could beat that old man in a swordsmanship duel!
He shook his head, saying it was impossible to grasp Glenn's sword with his current level.
'No, it's possible. Analyzing swordsmanship is also the foundation of my power.'
-Foundation?
'The Ring of Fire that you always call overpowered has a special talent that can grasp all martial arts.'
Since his reincarnation, he had always lived rotating the Ring of Fire above his heart. Now the Ring of Fire wasn't just martial arts, but had become like a brother to him.
With the tenth ring about to be created following the nine rings, he thought he could read even Glenn's sword using the Ring of Fire's most important characteristic—the ability to grasp others' martial arts.
However, befitting the continent's strongest warrior, Glenn's sword seemed unable to be analyzed with just a few attempts.
-That overpowered ring might indeed make it possible...
Wrath lowered his eyebrows as if it wasn't entirely impossible.
"Raon."
Glenn approached with slow steps and stood in front of Raon.
"It seems you've found a new way to counter my sword."
He drew a gentle smile as if he had felt through one sparring match that Raon's movements had changed.
"That's a good attitude. Try everything you can do while I'm staying at the annex building."
Glenn's smile was both relaxed as if the result wouldn't change no matter what Raon did, and also conveyed willingness toward pursuing new paths.
"Yes. That's what I intend to do."
Raon said he planned to challenge and fail countless times while setting his unwavering gaze.
"Normally the next sparring would be tomorrow morning, but shall we try once more right now?"
Glenn seemed pleased with his answer and gestured with his chin to continue sparring.
"Of course."
Raon answered firmly and got up. Although some pain still remained, it wasn't enough to interfere with sparring, so he raised the Heavenly Drive.
"Good."
Glenn showed a gentle smile and raised the tree branch, aiming it at his own chest. It was just a thin tree branch, yet he already felt a chill as if his heart had been pierced.
"Since it's late, I'll go right away."
He said it was time to play with Sia and thrust the tree branch forward. A deep rumbling sound! From the moment Glenn raised the tree branch, Raon resonated his Ring of Fire. The nine rings spun frantically, creating a profound resonance.
Time slowed and space was dyed pure white. All the light and flow of the world was erased, leaving only Glenn and himself.
No, only Glenn's tree branch and the Heavenly Drive he held were moving.
'Precision Sword, Quick Sword, Resonance, and Severing Sword?'
Raon bit his lips as he watched Glenn's tree branch undulating like salmon swimming upstream. He was striking toward him with four sword techniques refined to their limits.
'The opposite of those techniques!'
His goal wasn't to grasp Glenn's sword, but to break it. In other words, he couldn't stop at grasping the techniques—he had to counter them.
'With Confusion Sword, Dull Sword, Impact Sword, and Flexible Sword.'
He infused the Fangs of Insanity technique with four countering principles and struck toward Glenn's fiercely approaching tree branch. A sharp ringing sound! The sword techniques dwelling in the Heavenly Drive's silver blade bloomed harmoniously and blocked Glenn's tree branch.
'This worked!'
Raon gritted his teeth and put strength into his grip.
'I definitely blocked it!'
Having created a countering technique that could devour Glenn's sword, he thought he could sufficiently block his tree branch and put strength throughout his body.
'Now for a counterattack... Huh?'
However, the moment Glenn's tree branch touched the blade of the Heavenly Drive, he felt something had gone wrong. A deep rumbling! Glenn's tree branch twisted sharply, pierced through the Heavenly Drive, and struck his chest. Thwack! Just like in the first sparring match, Raon was hit in the chest by the tree branch and rolled on the ground.
"Grrgh..."
A desperate groan flowed out from pain greater than before.
'What, what was that?'
He had clearly grasped all of Glenn's sword techniques through the Ring of Fire and created a perfect countering technique, but he couldn't understand why it had been broken.
"That was close."
Glenn walked slowly and approached him.
"Perhaps because you're young, your changes are quick too."
He drew a thin smile while looking at the tree branch with white smoke rising from it. His expression seemed quite satisfied with his sword.
"You read my technique, but you look curious about why you were defeated."
Glenn read his confused gaze and narrowed his eyes.
"That's right. My aura, strength and speed, and even the principles contained in my swordsmanship were stronger, but I don't understand why this happened."
Raon nodded, saying it was a result completely beyond his expectations.
-Hmm, that's...
"Shall I tell you?"
Both Wrath and Glenn smacked their lips as if they wanted to tell him the answer.
"No."
Raon revealed quietly burning eyes toward Wrath and Glenn.
"As I said before, I want to find the answer myself."
He shook his head firmly, saying he could never overcome the wall with answers heard from others.
"Is that so."
Glenn showed a subtle smile that seemed more proud than disappointed.
"Then I'll have to wait for your answer."
He said that was enough for today and returned to the annex building where Sia was.
-You're such a stubborn one anyway.
Wrath wrinkled his brow, saying it wasn't an answer that could be found easily.
-It will take a long time.
He clicked his tongue as if displeased, yet drew a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
'No, it won't take that long.'
Raon stroked his chin calmly as if he was confident.
-What? How do you know that?
Wrath narrowed his brow as if asking what he meant.
'It seems like it's time to forge a new path.'
Raon raised his right hand and placed it on his left chest where his heart pulsed and nine rings resonated.
'I need to create the tenth ring.'