It was dark.
Darkness was the only thing he could see, as if he were forcefully closing his eyes.
Raon squinted his eyes.
'Is this the Gambling Monster's Sword Field?'
The Gambling Monster's name was Herrian Zieghart. Since he was originally one of the elders, and his extreme skills had far surpassed Master level, it wasn't strange for him to be capable of creating a Sword Field.
'However…'
He didn't expect him to create a Sword Field like that.
The pitch-black darkness was as peaceful and calm as the abyss. It was far different from the Gambling Monster's rowdy personality that he saw during the gambling and drinking.
'I can't tell what my position is.'
Not only could he not see anything, he also couldn't smell, hear, nor feel anything.
'It can't be helped.'
He controlled his aura to spread the aura perception that he'd been relying on even more than his vision recently.
"Huh?"
Raon swallowed nervously.
'What is happening…?'
He couldn't move his aura perception. The aura simply dissipated like smoke upon leaving his body, instead of spreading around to the outside. He tried it one more time, but he couldn't move his aura at all upon leaving his body.
'Is it because of this space?'
The black Sword Field must've been stopping his aura perception.
'In that case.'
He controlled the energy of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, imbuing Heavenly Drive with it. The flame covering the crimson blade was completely unwavering, unlike his aura perception.
'Is this field just blocking my aura perception?'
There were no issues with the other five senses either.
The Gambling Monster's Sword Field seemed capable of minimizing the effect of aura perception without affecting anything else.
'How curious.'
He had the same thought when Rimmer was slaying the Blood Raving Demon, but the Sword Field Creation felt different in nature.
What a strange barrier. The joints are crude, but the interior is completely full.
Wrath nodded with his arms crossed. It looked like the field had piqued his interest.
The King of Essence will solve this problem for you. Let's finish this quickly and go eat the bead ice cream…
'Don't do it.'
Raon firmly shook his head.
The King of Essence said it was crude, but that's in his standard. It's going to take a pretty long time for you to dismantle it and leave.
'Even so, I need to do it myself.'
It was different from the gambling and drinking matches. He needed to gain the Gambling Monster's acknowledgement with his own martial arts in order to remain proud in front of him.
'Stay inside, since I won't take that long.'
Tsk. You are being stubborn for no reason.
Wrath clicked his tongue, then returned to the bracelet.
'He told me to escape.'
Even though the Gambling Monster told him to try escaping from his world, he couldn't find any exits, nor any method to leave. He couldn't even begin to guess how he was supposed to leave.
"Huu."
Raon calmly caught his breath, then wielded Heavenly Drive.
'I shouldn't be making the first move.'
Darkness was the only thing he could see, his aura perception was completely useless, and the place was pretty much his opponent's home field. Since the situation was too disadvantageous for him, moving was the worst thing he could possibly do.
'That's why… I need to move.'
The Gambling Monster must've been completely aware of his reaction. Rather than standing still to become an easy target, it was better to try understanding that place by moving around.
He lowered his posture to be ready to swing his sword anytime, he slowly started walking. He decreased his stride to one fourth of his usual one, advancing as slowly as a turtle.
Five steps. Ten steps. And thirty steps.
He'd reached the end of the dark world, but there were no obstacles nor attacks. The dark space was completely empty.
'Just what…?'
Raon frowned. A sense of anxiety crept along his spine, as the situation was too different from his expectations.
Where did the Gambling Monster go? Why was he not attacking? How was he supposed to escape?
His head was filled with all kinds of questions.
'Shall I try to shatter this field?'
He thought about trying to destroy the field by using Frost Pond, Flame Dragon Art, or the Heavenly Heavy Cannon, but he immediately discarded the idea. He wouldn't be able to respond if the Gambling Monster attacked him while he was performing a powerful attack.
The only thing he could do in the given situation was to remain vigilant and move around.
Relying on his five senses, as he was unable to use his aura perception, kept him nervous to the point that his head started to hurt. He even felt like he was seeing hallucinations in the darkness surrounding him.
Tap. Tap.
The moment he returned to his original position at an extremely slow pace, he could hear something falling to the ground. It was a familiar sound. It was the sound of three dice rolling on the ground.
Once the sound stopped, the numbers 5, 3, and 6—a total of fourteen spots—appeared on the dark ground before disappearing.
"Fourteen?"
As he stayed alert while looking at the ground where the spots had disappeared, the darkness in front of him split like a tidal wave and a huge human figure appeared.
The swordsman had his pitch-dark black hair tucked behind his ears, and a wild appearance that exposed iron muscles. He was the Gambling Monster, Herrian Zieghart.
"How daring of you. It must be because you are still young."
The Gambling Monster raised his chin and chuckled.
"You actually decided to move in this space."
"What were the dice just now?"
Raon loosely grabbed Heavenly Drive's hilt, prepared to swing it at any moment.
"That's up to you to find out."
The Gambling Monster's mouth curled up as he raised his sword.
"Do whatever you can to try surviving now!"
He crushed the ground and started dashing. A dark glow was covering the blade that was falling towards Raon's side.
Clash!
Raon incorporated the principles of Fangs of Insanity into Heavenly Drive, thrusting it at lightning speed. The pain coming from the shockwave that burst from the collision between the two swords made it feel like his skin was getting torn apart.
"Haap!"
Raon endured the pain and took a step forward with his left foot. He used Heavenly Drive, which was glowing with a crimson light, to deliver a heavy strike.
Slam!
The extremely heavy strike pushed the Gambling Monster back as if he were sliding on ice.
'I need to continue.'
Since the Gambling Monster was at a much higher level than him, it was necessary to push ahead when he had the chance.
"Ack!"
When he turned around to use the Flame Spirit of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, he could feel a heated pain from his side. When he looked aside, he noticed blood flowing down from a long cut in his uniform.
'What's happening? I was sure I blocked that.
His vision wavered, as he didn't expect that to happen. He couldn't understand why blood was flowing down from his side when his defense was perfect.
"Can't you even defend properly?"
The Gambling Monster chuckled as he charged at him. The thrusting sword multiplied into ten and dashed towards the vital points all over Raon's body.
'Illusion sword!'
He'd heard that the illusion sword was the Gambling Monster's specialty. It must've been true, since all ten of his swords looked extremely sharp without exception.
Thud!
Raon stomped the ground. The raging energy drawn out from his knees brushed past his middle energy center to dwell inside Heavenly Drive. The flame of astral energy gathering on his blade spread out like a fan to create a circular astral barrier.
Clang!
The collision between the astral blade and shield created a tremendous shockwave. Inside the wavering darkness, the Gambling Monster withdrew one step, while Raon took five steps back.
"Kuh…"
Raon looked down and frowned. Blood was gushing out from the lacerations on his left forearm and right thigh.
'Just how…?'
Those were indeed the Gambling Monster's targets, but his defense was perfect. He couldn't understand how he got those wounds when he'd managed to block all of the strikes he saw, and the Gambling Monster's blade hadn't even reached his skin.
Drip, drip.
The blood flowing down from his forearm and thigh were creating ripples on the ground, where the blood from his side was gathered. It almost looked like it was representing Raon's confusion.
"Are you confused?"
The Gambling Monster smiled, twirling his sword. His deep smile made it look like he was trying to make up for the smile he'd lost during the gambling and drinking.
"You must be wondering, 'why did I get hit when I'm sure I managed to block his aura and sword?' Right?"
"Since you know how I'm feeling, are you giving me a hint?"
"No way."
The Gambling Monster raised his sword once again.
"Because it's your fault for being tricked!"
The black light covered the Gambling Monster's blade like darkness. The thrust from the black blade spread out like a kaleidoscope to completely fill his vision.
'This is not a simple illusion sword.'
Even though it was an illusion sword, it contained more power than a powerful sword. There was a good reason why his nickname was famous throughout the continent.
Whir!
Raon increased the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's output to the maximum. He leaned forward, thrusting Heavenly Drive. The flame seeping inside the blade surged like a turbulent wave and the flame dragon's roar burst out.
Crack!
With the thunderous noise of crushing steel, Raon bounced back.
"Ack…"
Raon groaned slightly as he grasped his shoulder. Red blood was gushing out from both of his shoulders.
'That one was dangerous.'
The shoulder was right next to the neck. If the attack was directed a bit more to the left or right, he would've lost his head.
He raised his head and looked at the Gambling Monster. His eyes, as vicious as a starving wolf, revealed that he had no intention of going easy on him. Raon thought he might really end up dying if he couldn't figure out the secret of the space.
"Fear is filling your eyes."
He raised his chin. He looked like he was enjoying the situation where he had the upper hand.
"You are still so bad at reading people."
"You should give up instead of bluffing. You can't leave this place."
"Give up? What does that mean?"
Raon straightened his spine. A faint smile appeared on his face as he equipped the Blue and Red Ring on his finger, the one that Dorian had returned to him.
"Stop talking and come at me."
"Wh-What is this now?"
Dorian swallowed nervously while looking at the black spherical space that had swallowed Raon and the Gambling Monster.
"The Black Blade. It's the Gambling Monster's Sword Field Creation."
Rimmer warmed up his neck with his arms crossed.
"S-Sword Field Creation? The Gambling Monster can use Sword Field Creation?"
"Why are you so surprised? He's an old man that was originally part of the senate. That's not a big deal."
He shrugged his shoulders, telling him that it wasn't something to be surprised about.
"Why has he been drinking and wandering around the continent when he's part of the senate?"
"Because he's not affiliated with Zieghart. No, I should say that he's half-affiliated with them."
"Whaat?"
Dorian's mouth widened. He couldn't understand what he was saying at all, because it was an unimaginable story.
"Why is he not with Zieghart?"
"About that… I don't know."
Rimmer hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
"Wait, it doesn't matter whether he's with Zieghart or not. Isn't this a serious situation? It's just a trial to check his might, yet he even used Sword Field Creation! I'm sure he's trying to take revenge for the gambling and drinking matches!"
Dorian moved his hand as if he would draw his sword at any time, telling him that they needed to save him as fast as possible.
"Calm down."
Rimmer shook his head and stopped Dorian's hand from drawing the sword.
"The Gambling Monster isn't such a narrow-minded old man. His anger must've dispersed as soon as he faced Raon's sword. He isn't intending to seriously attack Raon."
"Then why did he use Sword Field Creation…?"
"Even though he freed himself from Zieghart, his heart didn't leave it completely."
Rimmer closed his eyes, smiling in lamentation.
"He wants to witness what kind of guy Zieghart's Future is."
"Ah…"
"Raon is going to gain the Gambling Monster's recognition, and break through the Sword Field with his own power. You should believe in him and wait."
He nodded with serious eyes.
"Squad leader…"
Dorian rubbed his belly pocket. His eyes looked like he was deeply impressed by his words.
"I knew that the squad leader has always been thoughtfu…"
"Moreover, it will break the Promise of Three if we stop them now. If that happens, the gamble will be ruined, and my plan for the future will be brought to naught!"
He gathered his hands and knelt in front of the black barrier.
"Oh my god of fortune, Raon! Bestow me the gold rain!"
"..."
Dorian's round eyes started to look like he was looking at trash.
* * *
Raon brushed off the blood flowing from his cheek with the back of his hand.
'He got me so many times.'
Blood was all over his body. The internal injuries weren't exactly serious, but the serious blood loss was causing dizziness.
"That's why I told you."
The Gambling Monster grinned, supporting his sword on his shoulder.
"You should give up before you get hurt."
"Your smile is so full of malice."
"It does feel pretty good to see your troubled face."
His smile deepened. He looked like he was enjoying the situation.
"Haa…"
Raon sighed heavily and lowered his head. The blood flowing down from his shoulder turned into strands to fall on the ground. Even though he was trying to stop the bleeding with aura, he couldn't completely stop it because there were too many injuries.
"You are going to die from blood loss if you get even more injuries."
"That's okay. I recover faster than others."
"Your lips are trembling as you speak. This is as far as you go. Just give up."
The Gambling Monster increased his pressure while targeting Raon's heart with his sword. The powerful energy, filled with murderous intent, became a needle to poke into Raon's skin.
"I said that I don't know what that is."
Raon chuckled, brandishing his sword. The crimson flame surged on Heavenly Drive's blade, and a magnificent sword resonance burst out.
"What an idiot!"
The Gambling Monster disappeared into darkness. Before Raon could even exhale, a powerful wave appeared from his left side. The Gambling Monster's blade spread out like a beast's jaw and rushed at Raon as if it would devour his upper body.
Tssh!
Raon held his breath and drew a line with Heavenly Drive. The line was faster than anything, the blue light severing the dark horizon swept up the spread blade.
Clang!
The clash between Frost Pond and the Gambling Monster's illusion sword splattered the distorted astral energy in all directions.
Cring!
Raon got pushed back by the Gambling Monster's superior strength and kicked the ground. He smoothly turned around like a leaf riding the wind, slashing with his sword.
Clang!
After the consecutive sounds of collision between metal, the black blade hiding in darkness was finally revealed.
"I knew it."
Raon used Heavenly Drive to push back the black blade targeting his chest.
"What a cute thing you've been hiding."
He laughed coldly, then tilted his head.
"That's why I kept getting cut through my defense."
The blade was the reason he kept getting injured despite having properly defended. It was hiding inside the darkness, slashing him when he was getting pushed back or when he was trying to make his move.
"You managed to find one blade, but it's already too late."
Even though his trick was revealed, the smile didn't disappear from the Gambling Monster's face.
"Even though you can't use your aura perception, your senses are too dull. You are far too different from the rumors."
He approached him while sneering at him fiercely.
"If you live on with those stupid senses, you are just going to end up dying in vai…"
"Fourteen."
The Gambling Monster stopped talking upon hearing Raon's low voice.
"There are fourteen blades hidden in this space. Those are the 'black blades' that only appear when you swing your sword."
"H-How did you find out…?"
The Gambling Monster's composed smile shattered like glass. However, he looked a bit more awkward than the other times.
"Even though we are inside a Sword Field, you are still relying on tricks. I'm starting to admire you at this point."
"Hmph! Finding out about that won't change anything."
The Gambling Monster frowned, aiming his sword at Raon.
"Because it's impossible to dodge those blades while fighting against me!"
His large body turned into a ray of light and rushed at him. The pitch-black blade twisted into a curve, aiming a slash at his arms and legs.
Cring!
Raon used the principles of the soft sword and deflected the two strikes soaring at him, like snakes pouncing on their prey.
Even though he utilized the softness as much as he could, he got pushed back once again because he was unable to completely dissipate the energy in the Gambling Monster's swords.
Tap!
Raon folded his shoulders and pulled himself back behind his knees to safely land on the ground. There were no injuries on him, despite having clashed against the Gambling Monster.
"Huh?"
The Gambling Monster's chin started to tremble upon noticing that Raon was completely intact as he stood back up.
"H-How…?"
"The blade disappears and reappears, but I noticed that the position doesn't change."
"…Are you telling me you memorized all those positions? In the middle of a fight?"
"My blood told me about them."
Raon fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive, his hand red from the dried blood.
"Since I'm starting to understand what this Sword Field is,"
The light of aura glowing from his red eyes illuminated the darkness.
"Let's start the real fight."