Raon followed Lohengreen into the fourth cavern.
'This place is also full of corpses.'
The corpses were lying all around the cavern, and their wounds told him that they had died while fighting against each other.
[O' priest of Wrath.]
Lohengreen turned around after looking around the cavern.
[Is what you told me just now really true?]
"What did I say just now?"
Raon asked back, even though he knew what Lohengreen was talking about.
[Is it true that the God of Wrath wants an item to fix the energy center?]
Lohengreen spoke extremely carefully and lowered his gaze.
"Of course."
Raon nodded while looking up at Lohengreen. He smiled gently, without a single trace of dishonesty in his expression.
"There's no way I would lie under his name. It's obviously true."
That one just now! You are lying right now!
Wrath floundered his arms like a drunkard.
The King of Essence said nothing about it, yet you are making up everything as you please!
He started to flutter his feet while lying in the air. He was apparently going insane from the irritation.
[Hmm, I can't understand it. When I saw him back then, he was literally the god. He didn't even need an energy center since his entire body was filled with extreme power and wrath. I don't understand why he would need an item to fix the energy center.]
"Ah, you misunderstood me."
[What would be that misunderstanding…?]
"He's not the one who needs the item."
[What?]
"It will be bestowed upon his servant."
Raon closed his eyes and smiled.
You bastaaaard!
Wrath climbed up to his left ear and screamed.
Why would that shitty ears be the King of Essence's servant? The King of Essence doesn't have the smallest intentions of healing that guy!
"Since Sir Lohengreen has also served him before, you must be aware of this fact."
Raon pretended to touch his ear to push Wrath back.
"The God of Wrath is extremely considerate towards his believers."
[Of course! He gave me so many things, yet he never wanted anything in return!]
Lohengreen's eyes sparkled in passion as soon as they started talking about Wrath.
'I knew it.'
It was going as expected.
Raon had noticed that Wrath always helped and took care of whoever he started calling his servant.
'He saved Dorian, and also helped Runaan.'
He warned Raon when Dorian was in danger, and he also told him when Syria tried to brainwash Runaan once again. There was also an occasion where he was considerate towards Yua at Habun Castle.
'Lohengreen must also be aware of that side of him.'
Raon could tell from the way Wrath cut off the connection and told him to live his own life right after Lohengreen completed his revenge. Even though Wrath looked coldhearted, he took care of his people properly.
You damn weasel! How much of a fool are you trying to make of me? Say something at least!
He even gave up on speaking like a king and started to shout like a child. Considering the red color on his face, he was about to explode.
"Hmm…"
Raon ignored Wrath's anger and looked at Lohengreen.
"There's another priest that follows his will. He was injured during a mission, and the God of Wrath is extremely worried about him."
The King of Essence isn't!
Wrath violently shook his head and spread around coldness.
The King of Essence has never wanted to save that shitty ears! He wants to smack him instead!
'I'm perfectly aware.'
Just like he said, Wrath always hated how Rimmer kept idling around on the ground. However, there was nothing he could do, since no one could hear him.
"There are two reasons for my coming here. First, to get rid of Sir Lohengreen's lingering attachments. Second, to find a method to fix the other priest's energy center."
[Hmm, I see.]
Lohengreen briefly licked his lips.
'He's slightly suspicious of me.'
It looked like he didn't completely trust him because Raon said Wrath couldn't treat his priest despite being omnipotent in his opinion.
'I need to put an end to his doubt.'
Raon rolled up the corners of his lips while looking at Wrath instead of Lohengreen.
'What can you do? Your servant can't hear you at all, and I'm the only one who can talk to him.'
Kuh…
Wrath's eyes were wavering like a boat in a turbulent ocean. He was incapable of thinking straight because his head was filled with wrath.
'If you really want to tell him something, I might convey it to him if you properly ask me by saying 'esteemed Sir Raon, please'…'
Kuaaah! I can't take it anymore! You evil fiend!
Raon made the same sly smile he always made whenever he made fun of him, and Wrath suddenly flipped out.
Rumble!
As expected of the Demon King of Wrath, who couldn't even read the situation, he exploded the coldness of wrath that pierced into Raon's mana circuit.
'I did it.'
Raon smiled. He endured the wrath and coldness coming from Wrath without using the Ring of Fire and aura that he would've normally used.
Rumble!
The combination between Wrath's anger and the wrath inside his soul created a blue flame of wrath, bursting out from his head to toe.
[Ah!]
Lohengrin widened his mouth upon witnessing the blue wrath bursting from Raon's body.
[Wh-What an amazing wrath and coldness. It almost feels like I'm facing the god himself!]
Raon smiled gently while enduring the pain.
'Yes, he is indeed in front of you.'
Although the others couldn't see what was happening, Lohengreen was capable of feeling the tremendous amount of wrath bursting from Raon's body because he had received the wrath and coldness from Wrath in the past.
"He bestowed an even larger amount of wrath and coldness on me so that I can complete this task. His kindness and consideration for his believers must be peerless."
Raon deepened his smile while enduring the pain.
[Aah! Please forgive this lowly servant!]
Lohengreen went down on his knees and lowered his head.
[I believe you, priest! I'll give you all of the elixirs and artifacts I have!]
The trace of doubt completely disappeared from his eyes.
Raon bowed back with a faint smile on his face.
'It's over.'
Lohengreen's voice was filled with complete trust after facing the wrath coming from the real Wrath.
Huh?
Wrath started to blink his round eyes instead of continuing to emit his wrath. He must've come back to his senses upon seeing Lohengreen's reaction.
Wh-What's happening…?
'Lohengreen trusts me completely now thanks to your wrath.'
Raon smiled from the bottom of his heart, waving his hand at Wrath.
'Thank you, Wrath.'
Y-You…
Wrath wrinkled his forehead like a piece of paper.
You took advantage of the King of Essence again! You damned snake!
'It just happened.'
It just happened? You planned it all along, and you claim it just happened? Argh!
He roared, and an even larger amount of wrath and coldness stormed into Raon's body.
[The wrath is increasing even more.]
"He must be counting on me a lot."
C-Counting on you? Cooooounting? You must've meant crap! You are the definition of evil! I'll put an end to your life right now for the sake of the world!
Raon controlled the Ring of Fire and Glacier to block the wrath and coldness coming from Wrath. Since he'd already gained Lohengreen's trust, he didn't need to endure them anymore.
I'll kill you! I'll kill you even if it's the last thing I do! For the sake of the world!
'It's pointless.'
Wrath used all of the wrath and coldness that he'd been accumulating, but they were obviously incapable of breaching the Ring of Fire and Glacier.
[You've endured Wrath's interruption.]
[Strength has increased by 1.]
Probably because the wrath and coldness were too intense, his stats increased even though not much time had passed.
Kuaaaah!
Wrath sank to the ground along with an ear-splitting shriek that sounded like he really was dying.
[So much wrath. It reminds me of when I first met him. I'm almost jealous of you.]
Lohengreen smiled gently, as he couldn't hear his master's scream, and a tear flew down from Wrath's round eyes.
Kill me already…
[Hahahaha!]
* * *
"There's a trap right here. Jump over it."
"Yes…"
Dorian narrowed his eyes while looking at Raon, who told him the trap's location before he advanced.
'What's going on?'
He was perfectly aware of the fact that Raon was far from normal, as he'd been with him for a long time. He didn't act or speak like a child, his composure felt like he had experienced countless battles before, and his plans were capable of toying with his opponents.
Apparently, Raon had been recently using him as a wallet or a pocket, but that wasn't the important part.
Regardless of what happened in the past, Dorian was extremely terrified of Raon.
"Ah, it's the right side."
Raon nodded while looking into the air on his right side before he started to speak.
"Dorian, put your hand on the right side of the wall as you come."
He went ahead while pushing the wall with his hand as if he were demonstrating it to him.
'Right there! That's what I'm talking about!'
'I'm so freaking scared!'
He saw it countless times during their trip. Raon kept talking to some invisible person, avoiding all of the traps of the dungeon and opening the secret passages.
'Who the hell are you even talking to?!'
Dorian's hands were trembling violently. Because he was extremely afraid of ghosts, goosebumps appeared all over his body whenever Raon spoke to himself.
"E-Erm, young master?"
Dorian bit his lip tightly and called out to Raon. Because he was too nervous, he called him 'young master' instead of 'vice squad leader', which was what he should've said ever since he joined the squad.
"Hmm?"
Raon turned his head. His face looked no different from the usual.
"E-Erm, who are you talking to right now? Can you please tell me about it…"
"I told you already that it's a nice guide."
"I mean, who is that guide…?"
"Ah! I see. Wait a moment."
He opened and closed his mouth while looking into the air. Dorian couldn't hear the sound, but he could tell that Raon was really talking to someone, judging from how his mouth was moving.
"Do you really want to know?"
Raon turned his head with a faint smile on his face. He apparently finished talking to that unknown person.
"What?"
"I'm asking if you really want to know."
"E-Erm…"
"He said that he can show himself for a moment if you really want to see him. But you should consider it carefully."
"Ugh…"
Because of the way he put it, he wanted to puke from the nausea, and he kept swallowing a crazy amount of saliva.
"Th-That's okay. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. Haha!"
Dorian smiled awkwardly and violently shook his head. He had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night if he saw it.
"Okay?"
Raon chuckled, talking to thin air once again before he advanced.
'Argh, it's a ghost! I'm sure it's the ghost of someone who died here!'
That was the only way!
Dorian took a desk made from a holy white tree that supposedly has the power to chase away ghosts from his pocket.
He raised the desk on top of his head to wave it like a fan as he followed behind Raon.
'Go away!'
'Go away, ghosts!'
Martha frowned, opening the restaurant's door. The first team of the Light Wind was gathered around a large table at the deepest part of the room. She examined the expressions on the faces of the swordsmen as soon as she sat at the table.
"It looks like no one managed to find it."
"Yes…"
"There were elixirs to increase the amount of aura, but no one had even heard of an elixir that could fix the energy center."
"There were no books of martial arts to fix the broken energy center either."
"The artifact shop didn't have anything either. They said that it must be extremely rare, if something like that even exists…"
The swordsmen sighed and shook their heads.
"I knew it."
Martha snorted coldly.
"We can't get something so rare even if we look for it."
They ran to the aquapolis Dudan without even sleeping, but they couldn't find anything that could help Rimmer recover.
She was aware that it was a difficult task, but she started to feel sick from anxiety because she couldn't even find a clue.
"Haa!"
"Damn it…"
The other swordsmen must've been thinking the same thing as they groaned.
"Still."
Martha hit the table with her hand. It was a light gesture, but everyone's hearts pounded upon hearing it.
"We will find it."
A clear light was glowing from her black eyes like a black pearl.
"Raon must be currently breaking through the dungeon with all his might. You know how he is, but he must be solely focused on getting the elixir, unaware of his own injuries."
"Hmm…"
"He would totally do that."
The swordsmen closed their mouths tightly and nodded.
"Compared to what he's doing, our task is easier than breathing. We will find it at all costs, even if it means we have to turn this entire city upside down, or even search the entire continent."
"Yes!"
The swordsmen grasped the hilts of their swords and nodded.
"Ah, erm…"
The team's vice leader, Yeddi, raised her hand slightly.
"What's up?"
"I heard that an auction is going to be held tomorrow…"
"An auction?"
"Yes. But the problem is that there are going to be extremely classified and valuable items in the auction, and they are only going to allow the important people from each organization to participate."
"Important people…"
Martha frowned.
"Are you implying that the title of Light Wind's team leader is not going to be enough?"
"It might be enough, but it's also possible that they will refuse, considering the people who participated in the previous auction."
"Then can I participate as the youngest daughter of the Wisdom Palace Master, Denier Zieghart?"
"Ah…"
Yeddi swallowed nervously before she nodded.
"Th-That should work. But…"
Martha had an extreme hatred for borrowing the name of her house or organization, but she especially hated borrowing the name of her father, Denier. Since she'd always been stating her own name and nothing else, her statement was completely unexpected.
"Everyone's working so hard, so my pride doesn't matter at this point."
Martha smiled coldly as she stood up.
"You should prepare. We are going to participate in that auction tomorrow evening."
She clenched her fist.
'We have to find it at all costs.'
* * *
[We are about to reach the sixth cavern. That's the last cavern, and my laboratory is located beneath it.]
Lohengreen turned his head in the middle of climbing down a secret passage.
[The ones who came before you are currently fighting each other in that cavern.]
"I can feel it."
Raon nodded while looking down. Powerful energies were clashing against each other right under the passage.
[Since we came this way, we have to pass through the cavern.]
Lohengreen lowered his head, saying that there was no other way.
"It's okay."
Raon smiled faintly and shook his head.
"If the laboratory is right underneath it, it would be better to properly take care of them before we go."
Even if they could secretly pass through the cavern, they were most likely going to be disturbed since the laboratory was located right underneath it.
Since he needed to solve the problem with Lohengreen's lingering attachment on top of getting the items, it was better to properly drive out the enemies before he went.
"By any chance, is it possible to see who is inside the cavern before we go?"
[Hmm… I don't have much power remaining for me, but that much should be doable.]
Lohengreen drew a circle in the air, and a round crystal ball appeared to show them the inside.
Raon came up right next to Lohengreen and checked what was going on inside the cavern. The rotating crystal ball allowed him to see in all directions.
'So it was them after all.'
He could see familiar faces. They were the Balkar Kingdom's magicians that he met in the neutral city Porvan. He could see Salaman's squad leader Morell and his disciple Inield, who was previously beaten up by himself.
'It's only natural.'
Balkar's main force consisted of magicians instead of knights. Since it was one of the two forces most interested in magic among the Six Kings, Raon expected them to be there.
'And the bitch princess is also there.'
It was his third encounter with Princess Jayna, and Zatice was also there. He was the knight that was the only one Raon took a liking to.
'And the ones next to them are from small and medium sized groups.'
The warriors gathered in a circle next to the magicians seemed to be a part of a union of different groups. It didn't look like they were fighting against the people from Balkar.
'And on the opposite side…'
A tall and slant-eyed middle-aged man was standing in a tilted posture on the opposite side of Balkar. The four balls engraved on his snow white coat signified that he was the fourth apostle of White Blood Religion.
'I knew an apostle would be there.'
Since a bishop was guarding the first cavern, finding an apostle further below was to be expected.
'Is he an archbishop?'
An old woman with gray hair was leaning on her cane next to the apostle, and she had an outstanding pressure around her. Raon could feel that her prowess was no less than the archbishop he met in Provan.
'And…'
Raon turned the crystal ball to the side of White Blood Religion for the last time. Assassins clad in black leather armor with a mask on their faces could be found.
'I didn't expect to see them here again.'
Shadows.
Raon gasped as soon as he saw the emotionless eyes of the masked men. Derus Robert, that greedy bastard, must've sent the shadows from the closest branch as soon as he learned about the dungeon.
'A 2vs2 situation.'
It looked like Balkar was working with the union of smaller groups, and the White Blood Religion and the shadows were temporarily cooperating with each other.
'It's not exactly balanced, though.'
Although the apostle and Morell were equal in strength, there were way more White Blood Fanatics and shadows, which put the Balkar side at an overall disadvantage.
In fact, while he was observing the situation, the union of smaller groups was losing their members one by one—tilting the balance into the White Blood Religion's favor.
Whir!
The Blade of Requiem resonated violently upon feeling the apostle's pressure surging from below.
'Are you asking me to keep my promise?'
Raon remembered that he told it before that he'd let it taste an apostle's blood next time.
'I might be able to do it now…'
Raon slowly warmed his hand up. Glacier's coldness was covering the entire dungeon.
If he hid his presence with that energy and hid his murderous intent behind the enemy's, it would be possible to assassinate them.
'However, before that…'
There was one thing he needed to confirm.
"Is there any way to keep those people inside the cavern?"
Raon pointed at the crystal ball that was showing the cavern.
[Since I have a pretty decent trap installed in there, it just needs to be activated. However, I don't currently have the power to control that trap. Maintaining this is all I can do. I'm sorry.]
"In that case, I'll give it to you."
[A-Are you giving your coldness to me?]
"We are pretty much brothers, since we worship the same god."
Raon looked at the confused Lohengreen kindly.
God? Did you just say god?
Wrath suddenly stood up even though he was lying down once he got tired of shouting.
You don't even treat the King of Essence as a human being! God? Say that again after you stop treating him like a dog! Divine punishment shall befall upon you!
He shouted with a hoarse voice.
[Haha, I'm really thankful for your consideration.]
Lohengreen rejoiced that he could finally feel the coldness coming from his god that he hadn't had for such a long time, unaware of Wrath's feelings.
Argh! Four eyes! Don't let him deceive you! That bastard is a leech who is taking advantage of the King of Essence!
'Shut up please.'
Raon's eyes turned serious as he listened to the loud screams coming from Wrath. A dark light seeped into his bright red eyes, like a rain cloud covering the sun.
'I shall return to my original occupation for the first time in a long time.'