A witch and a dragon.
The fairy tale of a witch controlling an evil dragon and devouring people was Merlin's story.
Hundreds of years ago, Merlin betrayed humanity and sided with monsters to start a war and ended up destroying an entire kingdom.
Back in the days when Merlin was called the Witch of Betrayal, the stories said that a blue scaled dragon was at her side. The stories about the evil dragon capable of freezing hundreds of knights in an instant were passed down through generations, and the helmet must've been made with that dragon's magic stone.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the helmet floating above Merlin's hand.
'There's no mistake. It's the dragon from the story.'
The sharp blue scales and the light blue mane fluttering in the air definitely belonged to the dragon that Merlin controlled in the past.
'This is the reason she gave me the elixirs of coldness.'
He was wondering why the elixir contained nothing but frost, but it must've been a gift for that dragon.
'Amazing.'
Even though he hadn't even worn the helmet yet, she tried to increase his frost in advance by giving him the elixirs. Devotion was the only way to describe her actions.
'But isn't it going to be dangerous if this is that dragon?'
The stories only mentioned it as an evil dragon that Merlin controlled. It could've been a weak dragon like a sky dragon or an earth dragon, but it could become dangerous if it was a powerful one.
'A dragon is the strongest creature in the world, after all.'
People also referred to dragons as the strongest race, or the mediators of the continent. If the soul dwelling inside the helmet really was a dragon, it could be dangerous despite Raon having the Ring of Fire.
Hmph! Why are you worried about a paltry dragon?
Wrath snorted at the dragon helmet.
The King of Essence roasted dragons, boiled them, and even made stir fry with them.
'You did?'
Indeed! The King of Essence is the Monarch of Wrath! He can easily trample a paltry dragon!
'I see, I see."
Hey! Listen to me!
Raon gave a small nod while Wrath kept trying to punch him.
'He isn't lying.'
Wrath never lied. Considering what he said, he must've killed at least three dragons in the past.
'It might end up being easier than I thought.'
Raon watched Wrath pouting while snorting for a while before raising his head.
"Is this helmet made from a dragon's soul?"
"I wonder."
Merlin laughed quietly as she closed her eyes.
"You will find out tomorrow."
She didn't give a definite answer, telling him that he would find out once he put it on.
"I'll ask another question then."
"Hmm?"
"Are you the real Merlin?"
Raon looked into Merlin's eyes behind the old woman's mask. The mysterious color of her eyes sparkled with passion.
"What's your guess?"
"I wasn't too sure, but after seeing this helmet, I think that you are the real one."
Merlin had told him during their second encounter that she'd prepared a perfect helmet for him. Considering the fact that she was so obsessed, to the point that she used a legendary consumable item to kidnap him and make him wear the helmet, Raon started thinking that she might be the real one.
'There are a few questionable parts though.'
The skin outside of her helmet was snow-white and completely smooth, without a single wrinkle. She looked like she was around Encia's age at most.
'Moreover, Lohengreen said that he killed Merlin with his own hands.'
When Lohengreen explained his past, he mentioned that he destroyed the witch's castle and killed Merlin himself.
Since it was impossible for a dead person to come back to life, there was no way the woman in front of him was the real Merlin.
'No.'
Raon's eyes widened, and he swallowed nervously.
'I was also reincarnated.'
Just like he was reincarnated from the assassin Raon into Raon Zieghart, it was also possible for Merlin to be reincarnated for some reason.
"You will also get the answer to that question once you wear the helmet."
Merlin pointed at the helmet's lips, while telling him that he would learn everything once he experienced it personally.
"When am I going to wear the helmet?"
"Tomorrow."
She shook her hand, and the dragon helmet floating in the air disappeared like smoke.
"We will start when the full moon rises tomorrow evening."
The passion in Merlin's eyes heated up even further.
"You should make that elixir's energy into yours until then."
Merlin raised her finger to point at the elixir placed on the table.
"Because you will need that to retain your ego, as faint as it might be."
She stroked Raon's cheek as she breathed out in excitement.
"See you tomorrow."
Merlin waved her hand and left the room. She must've finished everything she wanted to do.
"My chance of winning, huh…"
Raon opened the wooden box. He chuckled while looking at the elixir spreading its coldness around it.
'It will be completely impossible to win if I eat this.'
Judging from the higher ratio of Soul Nullifying Water than the day before, Raon could guess that Merlin was planning to completely demolish the wall protecting his soul.
How can she help this demonic bastard instead of stopping him!?
Wrath clicked his tongue while staring at the door that Merlin used to leave.
She thinks she's smart, but she's so stupid.
'That's true.'
Raon nodded. Merlin must've prepared the Soul Nullifying Water in order to help the dragon inside the helmet, but it was instead helping him develop the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, which would be extremely helpful to fight against it.
Wrath was right, since she was pretty much helping her enemy.
Hmph, the King of Essence never does anything that would benefit the enemy. Knowing what kind of consequences one's actions will create is called wisdom.
'...'
Raon's lips parted as he watched Wrath nod his head like freshly made cotton candy. He laughed bitterly in bewilderment, as Wrath was still unaware of the fact that he was the monarch of doormat.
How did he even become a demon king?
'What kind of idiot even made him into one?'
Raon opened his eyes. The faint moonlight shining down the window allowed him to guess that the sun must've risen once again on the outside.
'I got even more than yesterday.'
He smiled faintly while feeling how much sturdier and bigger his aura had become compared to when he was in the house.
'I managed to get so much stronger in just two days.'
It wasn't just the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier. Even the Ring of Fire had gained proficiency from purifying the Soul Nullifying Water.
He actually became stronger than before despite being kidnapped by the enemy. People would smack his cheek while calling it nonsense if he told others about it, but it was actually happening.
'I wonder if she has a few more elixirs.'
The efficiency decreased if he took multiple of the same kind of elixir, but he wanted to get a few more since he wouldn't get to drink more Soul Nullifying Water in the future anyway.
Wow, you must be the only one who tries to extort people in the enemy base!
'That's what we call boldness.'
Raon chuckled and raised himself up. As he started a light exercise to remove stiffness from his body, the door was opened, and Merlin entered.
"How did it go?"
"It went fine…"
He nodded, eyes even more unfocused compared to the day before. Since he'd been with Runaan for a long time, he was confident in making a blank expression.
"Not bad."
Merlin nodded in satisfaction when she saw his eyes. Her lips under the slightly raised mask twisted up like vines.
"Unfortunately, I can't play with you today. I need to prepare for tonight."
She placed the meal she brought on the table, her eyes sparkling with a faint red color.
"I'll come back to get you in the evening."
"Alright."
Raon simply nodded with a blank expression on his face.
"Huhu."
Merlin patted his head before leaving the room.
Raon immediately shook his head and sat at the table. He quickly finished eating before leaving the room.
He walked through the corridor in order to leave the building, and the gazes he could feel were quite different from the day before. Eden's demons were greeting him more politely than before.
'Are they really accepting me now?'
They seemed to consider him a real officer of Eden because he was going to officially wear the helmet later.
'I'm sorry, but it won't go according to your expectations.'
The King of Essence keeps thinking about it, but don't you ever feel anxious at all?
Wrath frowned while resting his chin on Raon's shoulder.
'Anxious?'
You are currently alone in the enemy base, and you might even end up losing your body. Your guts are inhuman, no matter how you look at it.
'Not at all.'
Raon shook his head.
'There's no way I would be afraid, since I won against you.'
As soon as Wrath mentioned he'd defeated dragons, his anxiousness was extinguished like candlelight.
Since he easily won against the monarch of wrath in terms of willpower, he was confident in his victory regardless of his opponent.
He even had the last resort in case they realized that the mental attack didn't work against him and started pressuring him with physical power. He could just unleash Wrath and destroy everything in that place before escaping.
'Because I don't need to protect anyone here.'
He wouldn't have been able to recklessly allow Wrath to take over if the Light Wind squad was with him, but he had nothing but enemies around him. He was feeling even more at ease than when he had allies alongside him.
Since he was confident that he could escape one way or the other after taking advantage of everything he could get, he wasn't feeling anxious at all, and everything was fun.
You are such a mystery.
Wrath frowned, since he didn't realize Raon could rest assured thanks to him.
Where are you going this time?
'You will see.'
Raon casually accepted the greetings of the robed and masked demons as if it were normal, then went outside.
He went to the border of the barrier and placed his hand on it.
Whir!
As soon as the barrier showed itself upon using his aura, the presence he'd felt the day before burst from behind him.
"What's wrong with you today?"
Unfaceable Snake tilted his chin with an annoyed expression on his face.
"..."
The Soul Severing Sword appeared in front of the wall and stared at him like a stone statue.
Shring!
Raon pointed Heavenly Drive at Unfaceable Snake with a smile on his face.
"Let's go for another round today."
Wrath and Unfaceable Snake dropped their jaws at the same time.
"You madman!"
You madman!
* * *
Clang!
Unfaceable Snake furrowed his brow while blocking Raon's strike.
'What's happening? He's a bit different from yesterday.'
Even though he could easily deflect Raon's blows the day before, he couldn't do that anymore. Raon pierced into his openings as artfully as a savage beast hunting its prey when he thrust his sword.
"Tsk!"
Unfaceable Snake clicked his tongue and straightened his wrist. He removed the softness from his sword and added even more power and weight.
'I'm going to crush you.'
He gripped his sword with both hands and smashed it down with the intention of overwhelming him with sheer power and aura. The lightning strike falling diagonally was the Falling Lightning Slash.
Zap!
Just as the Falling Lightning Slash was about to smash Raon's head into half, his movements suddenly changed. He pulled his feet half step back, then turned his waist to the right to smack the center of the Falling Lightning Slash with his sword, which was surrounded by a storming heat.
Clang!
His attack twisted the Falling Lightning Strike before it could unleash its full power, and even Unfaceable Snake himself ended up losing balance.
Woosh!
Raon immediately dashed at him like lightning and swung his sword. Explosive energy burst from his silver-white blade.
'What an idiot!'
He could see a small opening in Raon's attack, probably because he got too hasty from the opportunity he saw.
"Scram!"
Unfaceable Snake snorted, thrusting Red Rising Star at Raon. His deadly blade should've been able to mercilessly break through his opening.
Cring!
The moment Red Rising Star was about to hit Raon's opening, Raon's eyes sparked red.
Whir!
Raon's strike solidified as if the sparking light of his eyes had seeped into his blade.
The thickened aura perfectly stopped Red Rising Star's flow and kickstarted a frightening counterattack.
Whap!
The two streams of fire surrounding his blade started to rotate violently towards his neck and chest.
"Hup!"
Unfaceable Snake quickly turned his sword to unleash the defensive special technique, Bundled Slash.
Clang!
The clash between the two powerful swords created a huge shockwave. Raon stepped eight steps back over the crushed land, and Unfaceable Snake took six steps back.
Even though the clash was the same as the day before, Raon took two less steps back and Unfaceable Snake had to take one more step.
"Huh…"
Unfaceable Snake stared at Raon in bewilderment.
'How is this happening right now?'
Even though he'd applied even more combative energy than the day before, Raon countered the blow more easily and even managed to counterattack. His lips trembled in disbelief.
'Is it even possible to get this much stronger in a single day?'
Since Merlin was feeding Raon elixirs, it was normal for his aura to get stronger.
However, the change wasn't because of his aura. His technique was completely different from the day before.
It was impossible for him to get so much better in a single day, even if he was enlightened. He couldn't understand what kind of magic it was.
'If he keeps getting better at this rate… It's going to be dangerous.'
Unfaceable Snake swallowed nervously. If he really kept getting better at the same rate, he could guess that Raon would be at the same level as him in their tenth fight at the latest.
'Haa.'
Unfaceable Snake lowered his sword and straightened his back.
"What a shame."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about your talent. It would've been fun if we could go for a few more rounds."
"..."
Raon also lowered Heavenly Drive as he raised his head.
"Am I going to lose myself once I wear Eden's helmet?"
"It's assimilation, to be precise."
"Assimilation?"
"Yes. Your soul will be absorbed into the existence inside the helmet."
Unfaceable Snake smiled while tapping his snake helmet.
"The assimilation can happen right away, or it might take a long time. If you start casually doing something that you normally wouldn't, it signals the start of the assimilation."
"Can I start using combative energy from that point?"
"Are you still thinking about getting stronger when your ego might end up disappearing? You truly are a madman. I can understand how you became so powerful at your age."
He covered his forehead and laughed. He must've found Raon's personality interesting.
"That's right. You can instinctively start using the combative energy once the assimilation starts. That's how it works."
Unfaceable Snake stared at Raon for a while before he returned his sword to its scabbard.
"Let's stop for today. I lost the fun of it."
He turned around and waved his hand.
"I'll come back tomorrow."
Raon said it quietly while looking at Unfaceable Snake's back.
"There's no point."
Unfaceable Snake chuckled and disappeared like smoke in the wind.
"..."
Soul Severing Sword didn't go away even though Unfaceable Snake had already left, continuing to stare at him while standing in the same posture.
His emotionless golden gaze seemed to be trying to tell him something, but Raon couldn't understand what he meant.
"And you…"
"Raon!"
Just as Raon was about to walk up to Soul Severing Sword, the space became distorted, and Merlin popped out from it.
"Did you fight against that idiot once again?"
She furrowed her brows while looking at the crushed land.
"Stop playing with that dirty snake. The dirtiness will be transferred onto you."
"I have nothing else to do. Swinging my sword eases my mind."
Raon removed the focus from his eyes slightly before he spoke. She didn't suspect him because people tended to act instinctively when they felt dizzy.
"You will be able to easily crush that stupid snake after today."
Merlin grabbed his hand with a gentle smile on her face. She stroked the back of his hand with a strange warmth while curving her lips up into a smile.
"The preparations are finished now. It's time for you to be reborn into a stronger being."
Raon licked his lips while facing Merlin's gaze, which was burning with anticipation.
'My preparations are also finished.'
'I'm ready to devour your dragon.'