Raon bit his lip as the lion slowly walked towards him.
'Why is it a lion this time…?'
He'd prepared vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, crackers, chocolates, and even some candy in the subspace pocket he got from Dorian. He thought he was prepared for all scenarios, but it was all for naught.
'I'm screwed.'
The rabbit could have some fruit at least, but there was nothing in the pocket that could satisfy a lion. After all, he couldn't possibly feed that huge carnivorous mouth with chocolate.
'Should I give him my arm or something?'
He started wondering whether he should give his own flesh. It was ridiculous, but that was how surprised he was.
'No, but why is it a lion this time?'
Even though it was a rarely-visited place, there was nothing but a small lake and a small forest nearby. He couldn't understand why a lion was there. He couldn't understand what Merlin was thinking at all.
Sh-she's really insane…
Wrath shook his head while glaring at the lion with Merlin's mind.
The girl who used to follow the King of Essence was also eccentric, but she's even worse! She might appear as an elephant next time. You have to kill her now!
His shoulders were trembling as he pointed at the lion to ask Raon to stab it.
'You are right.'
Raon nodded while listening to Wrath.
'It's Merlin's fault for being crazy, not mine.'
It was Merlin's fault that a lion suddenly came out, and it was originally Merlin's job to feed it.
He somehow ended up thinking that it was his job to feed it because he kept doing that in the past, but it wasn't actually his problem.
'I was almost tricked.'
Raon confidently straightened his back while looking down on Merlin.
"Huhu."
Merlin elegantly sat down in front of Raon. He realized that it was a male lion due to its mane, and that was even more absurd.
"Why did you appear as a lion this time?"
He asked the biggest question he had.
"I told you before, but I don't one-sidedly control the animals. It's a trade where we help each other for our needs."
"Which means, this one…"
"Yes. This one also has something it wants."
Merlin winked using the lion's appearance, and goosebumps appeared on his forearm.
"You should grant its wish by yourself before you disappear."
Raon frowned deeply. He would've fed it himself if he had anything suitable, but he couldn't deal with the lion at all.
"I've been watching you."
Merlin didn't respond and said her piece instead.
"You were acting differently this time."
She raised her chin slightly with a delicate smile on her face.
"You've always avoided shedding blood so far. Even when you had to kill people, you showed them the overwhelming difference in your power to stop your enemies from attacking you."
She was right. He wasn't exactly afraid of killing people, but he preferred to avoid killing if he could.
"However, you didn't hesitate to kill your enemies this time. Your murderous aura was terrifying."
Merlin said it while licking her paw with her tongue. She was grooming herself just like other felines.
"Haa…"
Raon sighed and closed his eyes.
'This is driving me nuts.'
He couldn't focus on the conversation at all because the lion was licking itself while talking about a serious matter.
"And the way you killed the man who seemed to be in charge was especially strange because you were unnecessarily cruel. I never thought you could be so brutal."
"So what? Are you disappointed in me?"
"No."
Merlin slowly stood up.
"I was excited. I was so thrilled that my hands were completely wet with sweat."
"Uhh…"
"The clean side, the serious side, and the cruel side of you are all perfect. You are always the best…"
The lion's cheeks were turning red, and its feet started to tremble. It seemed to be expressing Merlin's emotions.
Tsk.
Raon briefly clicked his tongue.
'I was hoping that she would stop chasing me because of that.'
He thought Merlin might hate shedding blood because he'd never seen her kill anyone before, but that wasn't the case.
She seemed determined to stalk him no matter what he did.
Th-this is the real madness! She's completely crazy!
Wrath groaned and escaped into the ice flower bracelet.
"So, what do you want to request this time?"
Merlin nodded her head and told him to ask anything he wanted.
"I don't have anything like a request."
Raon shook his head and stretched his hand.
"Tell me your wish. I don't want to drag this out any longer, so I'll have you tell me right now and decide."
"My wish, I see."
Merlin smiled faintly and took a step towards him. It was a mystery that she could make all those expressions with an animal's face.
"My wish is…"
She stopped talking and stared at him.
'I can't even begin to guess what she's going to ask.'
She was a crazy woman just like Wrath said, and Raon couldn't predict what she was about to ask at all. He stared nervously at Merlin's mouth.
"Hug me please."
"Haah?"
"Have you never heard of hugging? Hug me."
Merlin raised her thick front paws and waved them left and right. She was trying to show him what a hug was about, but Raon was baffled because those paws were strong enough to tear off his flesh.
"In your current state?"
"Yes. I can still feel you in this state. I'll be satisfied with this for now since it can't be helped. You can grant this wish, right?"
She smiled, convinced that he wouldn't refuse it.
'She's right about that.'
He was going to immediately refuse if she asked him to kill someone or leak some information, but he didn't mind hugging her. Moreover, he wasn't even hugging Merlin herself, so he was perfectly fine with that.
'However… She might try to kidnap me like last time.'
He couldn't accept it unconditionally because she might use an artifact to bring him to her like the last time.
"I promise with my body and soul on the line, I'll never do anything harmful to you."
Merlin raised her hand, and the mana wavered around her. She was performing a pact of soul and body to restrict herself.
"Isn't this going to harm the lion's soul and body instead of yours?"
"Absolutely not."
Merlin shook her head in denial.
…She's right.
Wrath poked his head above the bracelet.
She's pledging on her main body and soul. That madwoman's soul and body will receive a huge amount of damage if she doesn't keep her promise. That's why…
His lips trembled violently.
She's even more scary! She's seriously insane!
"…Fine."
Raon nodded. He had to grant her wish anyway because he'd promised her that he would.
"Uhuhu."
Merlin bobbed her paw to ask him to hug her already.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Haa…"
Raon sighed deeply and stood in front of Merlin. He only needed to bend his knees slightly because the lion was pretty big.
'I only need to bear with it once.'
He closed his eyes and hugged Merlin, or rather the lion. The mane was fluffy, but the skin was as rough as sandpaper.
'I'll stop after three seconds.'
He was planning to count to three before getting away from the lion, but its body suddenly turned as soft as pudding and also became thinner.
Hey! Hey! Look in front of you!
'Wh-what's going on?'
Raon opened his eyes while Wrath hurriedly called out to him. The lion wasn't there anymore, and Merlin was standing in front of him with the old woman's mask on her face. Her elegant fragrance tickled his nose.
"This is great. I'm going to have a nice dream tonight."
"Hey!"
Raon gritted his teeth and pushed Merlin back.
"Uhuhuhu!"
Merlin leaped backward and shook her hand.
"It's best to feel human warmth directly."
"How could you do this even after you pledged…?"
"But I didn't harm you in any way."
She shook her hand, saying that it wasn't a big deal.
"Huh…"
Raon gasped. Just like she said, she wasn't trying to harm him, and she wasn't going against her pledge at all.
"I've enjoyed every moment we spent together."
She floated into the air and disappeared by turning into bubbles.
"I won't be able to see you for a while because I have business to attend to, but I'll be looking forward to hearing the news of your achievements."
That was the last thing she said before her presence completely disappeared.
Raon laughed bitterly with drooping shoulders.
'I'm so exhausted.'
Even though he'd been running all day long, it wasn't as tiring as what happened a moment ago.
'Still…'
"I don't need to feed the lion anymore."
He was glad that he didn't need to feed the lion thanks to Merlin's disappearance.
"I'm so relieved."
That was the madwoman's plan all along!
Wrath secretly raised his head and rolled his eyes.
In the King of Essence's opinion, that madwoman has your portrait in her head instead of a brain.
Wrath's eyes were trembling because of how frightened he was.
He doesn't even need your body anymore…
'Is it that bad?'
The orphanage, Cloud's House, used to be filled with the smiles of children on the outside even though they were all screaming inside.
It had turned into a deserted house, and Owen's knights were guarding it.
"I still can't believe that assassins were being raised in this orphanage."
The blond knight sighed while looking at the Cloud's House.
"It's so cruel. I thought kidnapping children to raise them as assassins only happened in novels…"
The black-haired knight lowered his eyes and shook his head.
"Cruel isn't enough to describe it. Whoever was behind this must be a demon wearing a human's mask."
"Yes. It's not an idea that a human being can possibly come up with."
While the two knights ground their teeth while thinking about the perpetrator behind the incident, two knights were walking towards them from Cameloon's direction. They were coming for the shift.
"Freeze! Freeze! Freeze!"
The blond knight unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the approaching knights.
"Raise your hands! I'll attack if you move!"
The knights stopped walking upon hearing that and raised their hands.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, it's me. I'm your colleague."
The tall knight raised his helmet and smiled.
"Beer."
"Chicken."
The blond knight finally lowered his sword after he got the password right.
"Good job."
The newly arrived knights patted the shoulders of the ones who had been guarding the orphanage.
"How are the children doing?"
The blond knight gathered his equipment and asked the newly arrived knights about the children.
"They haven't changed. They don't say anything or smile. They only follow orders like machines."
"I feel so sad for them whenever I watch them."
The knights who came for their shift clicked their tongues.
"Is it impossible to recover naturally over time?"
"They have been brainwashed for far too long for that."
"They said that someone was going to come to treat their condition. We should wait and see."
"Seriously, I wish the fiend who did this was in front of me so that I could kill him."
"Calm down, you—huh?"
The blond knight started to shake his hand before he suddenly turned around.
Step.
A tall man wearing a black cloak was walking towards them. He was wearing a gray mask that covered his whole face including his eyes, and the white pupils of the mask created a creepy atmosphere around him.
"Freeze! Freeze! Freeze!"
The knights who just arrived drew their swords, but the man kept walking towards them instead of stopping.
"Stop!"
"We will attack if you approach any further!"
All four of the knights drew their swords and spread their murderous intent, but the man continued to walk.
"It's me."
He raised his hand above the cloak.
"What?"
"I said that I'm the one who operated this facility."
The man's mouth curved into a frightening smile.
"What the hell?!"
"Attack him!"
The four knights moved at once. They got into the combined assault formation that they usually trained and dashed at him from four different directions to thrust their aura blades.
Pssh!
The man slowly lowered the hand he had raised, and the knights' bodies were divided into dozens of pieces and scattered on the ground. It didn't even look like swordsmanship or aura, it simply seemed to be a natural course of action.
"Vermin."
He swirled his finger. The knights' corpses and blood turned into dust and scattered into the air. All traces disappeared in an instant as if no one was there to begin with.
Once the man reached the front of the orphanage, people wearing masks and black clothes surged from the ground behind him like shadows.
He took off his mask, and Derus Robert's face was revealed. His extremely cold expression was frightening enough to make chills run down the spine of those who saw him.
"Start it now."
Upon hearing his order, the shadows scattered around the orphanage and started to look for traces.
Derus personally entered the orphanage after giving the order. His gaze turned as sharp as a blade as he examined the floor, walls, and even the remnant of the aura inside the building.
After he checked the orphanage, he also examined the underground cavern and the secret passages before returning to the orphanage.
'There's no trace at all.'
Borini Kitten was an exemplary knight, but it was impossible for him to take care of the facility perfectly because of his excellent personality. Someone from the underworld who had done dirty work before must've helped him, but there was no trace of them to be found at all.
'This is impossible…'
Even though the knights had rummaged through the place, he should've been able to find a trace. Instead, all of the traces belonged to the shadows and the knights. Even though someone had to have interfered, their presence was completely gone.
"There's no trace outside the farm."
"There's no trace inside the farm."
"There's no trace in the internal and external passages."
Derus' vein bulged on his forehead each time he heard the shadows' reports.
Whir!
Derus Robert's mouth curved into a frightening smile. He had been patient over and over, starting from Owen, yet his patience had reached its limit and his wrath started to overflow.
Whaam!
Hollow gray light spread from his eyes, and the underground below the orphanage completely collapsed and crumbled to dust.
Whoosh!
Derus took off his glove in the midst of the raging sandstorm. He smeared his lips with the blood flowing from the back of his hand and raised his chin.
"I'll kill you."
A frightening smile appeared on Derus's face as he looked down on the world with his dry eyes, which almost looked like even his blood was dried up.
"It doesn't matter where you are nor who you are. I'm definitely going to kill all of you…"
* * *
Raon used a dimensional door with another identity and went to the south. He teleported to a location that was quite far away from House Robert on purpose and alternated between riding a horse and using his footwork to reach Robert's domain.
He managed to arrive a lot faster than he had planned, but he wasn't thinking about that at all. All his senses were solely focused on House Robert, which he could see from afar.
'It's been twenty years…'
The mansions retained their elegance while shining as beautifully as an emerald sea, the swordsmen were brimming with noble spirit, and the vassals supported the house from below.
It looked as warm as dappling sunlight, yet none of that was allowed to him. There was no warmth that his hand was allowed to reach.
'Because I belonged to the gutter.'
That place belonged to those honorable people, and Raon was nothing but a hunting dog who had to keep sharpening his fangs from underground.
Whir.
Wrath was boiling from the deepest part of his soul. The anger spread through his veins and was trying to control his body, but he scattered it through the Ring of Fire.
'It's too early for that.'
He didn't want to unleash his wrath for no reason. It was a precious emotion that needed to serve its purpose during his revenge against every single executive working under Derus.
That small house isn't even worth watching, so why are you standing here for a whole hour?! This is getting so boring!
Wrath frowned and grabbed his sleeve.
You are seriously a country bumpkin! Just wait and see until you see the King of Essence's castle, your jaw will drop!
'You might be right.'
Raon chuckled. His depression faded away a little thanks to Wrath.
Since you made him bored, you shall offer some specialty food from this region! The King of Essence cannot bear this delicious smell that has been around since earlier!
Wrath pointed at the various restaurants while saying that he wanted some seafood.
'Alright. It's time for lunch anyway.'
Raon chuckled and turned his head. He was going to leave after engraving the sight of the Robert mansion in his memory, but a red-haired boy walked up to him.
"It's cool, isn't it?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm talking about that mansion. You've been watching it for an hour."
Raon figured that the boy approached him because he'd been watching the mansion.
"Yes, it's cool."
He nodded. It was true that Robert's buildings looked more elegant than Zieghart's.
"I'm also going to become a swordsman from that place one day!"
He proudly declared. He must've believed that Raon actually liked House Robert.
"I'll become the strongest swordsman in the continent and protect the south, just like the Sky Sword Saint!"
Raon lowered his gaze and looked at the boy. He seemed to be in his early teens, and a wooden sword was hanging around his waist.
'He's around the same age as Pine.'
He looked like his age was similar to the kids that Raon had saved in the orphanage.
However, his expression was completely different.
The boy's playful expression was characteristic of children in their early teens, but the kids—including Pine—couldn't even make an expression of admiration.
Even though they were also humans that were the same age as him, a fiend had completely destroyed their personalities.
Raon was saddened by the fact that he couldn't say anything to the boy who wanted to take after that fiend.
And that made him realize, once again, what he needed to achieve.
"I see."
Raon smiled and caressed the boy's hair.
"Good luck."
* * *
Just like Wrath had requested, Raon ate some lobster pizza, octopus steak, grilled squid, chilly shrimp, gambas, and even some bead ice cream before he finally headed toward the submarine dungeon.
What's up with you?!
Wrath massaged his shoulder with a happy smile on his face. It was the expression of the highest degree of his delight.
You must've finally decided to become the King of Essence's subordinate!
His voice sounded as happy as a clam since he managed to enjoy the delicious food to his heart's content. It had been a long time since the last time Raon heard such a voice from him.
'I already said no.'
Raon shook his head. He only listened to Wrath's request because of a different reason. He had no intention of becoming his subordinate.
'We should quickly move out since it's about to get messy.'
Wrath kept talking to him endlessly, but Raon simply ignored him and followed the east coast. Even though there were a lot of tourists around House Robert, their numbers decreased as Raon kept following the coastline.
'I should get ready now.'
He changed into clothes from the South to disguise himself as a resident and conceal his presence. Once his presence was low enough that people wouldn't notice him from right next to him, he continued along the coastline.
After a day of travel, he managed to find a line to forbid people's entrance and a signpost warning about the sea monsters' appearance.
'It's here.'
He managed to remember the dungeon's location because the coastline hadn't changed that much even though it had been twenty years since the last time he saw it.
'And what makes it certain is…'
He smiled coldly while looking at the sandy beach and the trees. Shadows were hiding on the sandy beach and between the trees to protect the location, and their existence confirmed that he had come to the right place.
He could ascertain that the submarine dungeon was located under the ocean right in front of him.
Whir.
Raon lowered his presence even further. He even inhibited the pulsation of his organs, so that he would be sensed as a grain of sand instead of a living organism and quietly stared at the ocean.
One day had passed and night had fallen, yet Raon still remained immobile. He kept staring at the ocean with the exact same posture as before. Even the shadows hidden in front of him had to move their bodies, but Raon wasn't even moving a single finger.
Ugh! This is so boring! And the King of Essence is hungry!
Wrath couldn't bear it anymore and shouted at Raon.
This is torture at this point! Why are you staying immobile all day long without even feeding him?!
'That's why I gave you a lot to eat two days ago.'
Uuh…
His jaw dropped.
Th-the King of Essence was wondering why you suddenly bought him all the food he wanted…
'I was feeding you in advance because I knew this was going to happen.'
He doesn't need such luxury! It's better to eat three meals a day without missing any!
'Does that mean you are fine with Nadine bread?'
You must be crazy! That's not even food. It is rubber that somehow fills the stomach!
'But if you are hungry…'
The King of Essence would rather drink the water instead of filling his stomach with that shit!
'Oh, great idea.'
N-no! He misspoke!
Wrath violently shook his head. He seemed to believe that Raon was really going to do it.
Raon chuckled and continued to stare at the ocean.
You are like an evil CEO! You are breaching the law for maximum weekly working hours! You even breached the Food Sanitation Act since you didn't feed him!
'That's not what the Food Sanitation Act is about… Be quiet!'
Raon covered Wrath's mouth and swallowed nervously. Someone was coming out of the ocean after two days.
Splash.
Thirty masked men, one woman who seemed to be a magician, and a tall man in black were carefully walking out from the ocean.
'So, he was here after all.'
Martio.
Just like he'd expected, the butler of the underworld, Martio, was in charge of exploring the dungeon while Derus was away.
'On top of destroying the dungeon…'
A crimson light sparked in Raon's eyes.
'I should be able to get my revenge at the same time.'