Siyan widened her eyes while looking at the gigantic woman who was carrying her. Her energy of water had a lot higher purity than spirits who were already close enough to nature. There was no way she wouldn't recognize her even though she'd never seen her before.
"Th-the water spirit king!"
The water spirit king smiled gently, confirming her thoughts. Siyan couldn't tell for sure, but her smile felt bitter and painful for some reason.
"Pl-please help us!"
Siyan grabbed the water spirit king's finger and went to her knees.
"Please! Save everyone!"
Her wish wasn't to kill their enemies or to save herself.
She wanted to save her kin that she'd been ignoring so far and the family that always believed in her and waited for her.
"..."
The water spirit king stared at Siyan's eyes for a while and eventually nodded.
She extended her hand, and the ashen sky glimmered blue, spreading transparent raindrops around.
As the rain that was clear enough to reflect their faces began to fall, life started to return to the dying elves' expressions. Even the severe burns on the head elder and the other elders who'd sacrificed themselves to carve a path for her started to subside.
It wasn't ordinary water. It was the source of life, the water spirit king's moon water that was rumored to even revive the deceased—similar to how Ifrit's crimson flame could incinerate everything.
Psssh!
The rain of moon water didn't simply save the elves. It even quenched the inextinguishable crimson flame and removed the intense heat.
Sterin had been dying from the heat, but his dark complexion had slightly improved.
"Haa…"
Siyan sank to her knees from above the water spirit king's palm and sighed in exhaustion.
'I'm so glad. I'm really glad…'
The elves that were on the verge of death were being revived thanks to the moon water. She was happy that she could save her kin rather than the fact that she managed to summon the spirit king.
Siyan clutched her excited chest and looked downwards.
The elves were all looking at her with wide eyes. They had instinctively recognized the spirit king's presence.
The elves that had been waiting for her and those who had been looking down on her were all trembling in astonishment.
The head elder and the elders were astonished and smiling at the same time. Since she'd managed to summon the spirit king after they tried to save her at the cost of their lives, they must've been surprised and happy at the same time.
'Those are the expressions that I've been dreaming about.'
She'd been dreaming about making them surprised like that because she'd thought that everyone looked down on.
She'd been thinking that she was going to achieve resonance one day and make fun of them, but she didn't think like that anymore—not after the conversation she'd had with the head elder.
She was satisfied with the fact that she'd managed to save everyone.
Siyan put strength in her trembling legs and stood up. The Crimson Flame Demon and Raon had also stopped fighting, and they were watching her with widened eyes.
Siyan smiled faintly while looking at Raon's round eyes.
'It's all thanks to you, Sir Raon.'
The reason she could muster the courage without giving up was all thanks to him. If she hadn't met him, she would still be shaking under her blanket.
'I'm really thank—'
She was trying to thank him, but the area around her chest started to hurt again, just like when she'd summoned the water spirit king.
However, a violent heat could be felt, unlike the previous occasion.
"Aaack!"
Siyan couldn't withstand the boiling heat and let out a scream. A radiance of fire even more powerful than the Crimson Flame Demon's was unleashed from her chest and fell towards Raon.
Raon narrowed his eyes while touching the crimson flame surrounding his body.
'It's not hot.'
The energy of fire had a higher purity than the Crimson Flame Demon, but he wasn't feeling the slightest pain.
It was warm rather than hot. It felt like a campfire warming up his body.
However, the warmth wasn't the only thing the crimson flame was delivering to him. It was shoving a powerful energy of fire into his body, which had lost most of its aura.
Rumble!
His dried-up mana circuits were refilled with energy, and a powerful flame was ignited in his empty energy center.
Raon looked at Siyan, who was standing on the water spirit king's hand. He'd thought that his ancestor's beads might be inside Siyan's body, and he must've guessed right.
'I didn't expect those beads to be the spirit kings, though…'
Raon clenched his fist while looking at the darkening flame.
'Is the fire spirit king of this generation entering my body?'
Since the previous spirit king was Ifrit, and he'd become Eden's helmet, Raon could guess that the huge existence entering his body was the new fire spirit king.
"Kuh!"
The Crimson Flame Demon was also surprised at the unexpected situation and watched with trembling lips. His eyes were blazing with madness from behind the helmet.
Whaaap!
The Crimson Flame Demon polished his flame like a blade and thrust it towards Raon, trying to burn him up in an instant.
Raon frowned while looking at the flaming sword approaching him.
'I need to dodge… Hmm?'
He was about to dodge it because he wouldn't be able to withstand the strike in his condition, but the new spirit king unleashed its flame and created a wall to block it.
Whaaam!
The crimson blade and the crimson wall clashed against each other, and crimson flame engulfed the surroundings.
Fire was trying to spread again to the land that had finally regained its life, but the heat rapidly subsided thanks to the water spirit king's moon water.
"Damn it…"
The Crimson Flame Demon violently ground his teeth, gazing at the two spirit kings that stopped his flame.
"Hahahahaha!"
Erian finally returned and laughed like a madman while looking at Raon.
"I told you! He is the spirit king's contractor! I was right!"
He tapped on the shoulders of the elves who were watching the scene blankly and shouted that he was right.
"I-is this for real? Did the fire spirit king really make a contract with that human?"
"I-impossible…"
"But look at that crimson flame. It's even more intense than the Crimson Flame Demon's fire! It's really the spirit king!"
"I can understand Lady Siyan, but how could a human become the contractor of a spirit king…?"
The elves were surprised with trembling eyes, unlike Erian.
Raon couldn't afford to care about what the elves were saying. He was busy checking his own condition.
'The current spirit king has no sense of reason.'
Unlike the water spirit king who was protecting Siyan, the fire spirit king who had entered his body was acting instinctively, without any proper thought. Raon guessed that it was just born.
'Is it because of Zieghart's ancestor?'
Raon was quite certain that the spirit king was guided to him by the Ring of Fire or the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation that he'd inherited from his ancestor.
'This is my chance.'
He had practically exhausted his energy, but he could use the spirit king's energy to keep fighting against the Crimson Flame Demon.
'Let's try it.'
Raon bit his lip and raised the divine and demonic swords. He activated the Ring of Fire in order to use the spirit king's energy of fire as a replacement for the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
Rumble!
The rings of fire resonated with each other and naturally started to guide the spirit king's energy. An extremely cold energy started to flood into him from his left shoulder.
How dare you!
It was Wrath's doing. He screamed while raising his plump fist.
This weasel belongs to the King of Essence! How dare you try to cut in line when you are just a newborn fire guy!
'W-wait a moment!'
Shut up! An uninvited newcomer needs to be destroyed!
Wrath unleashed a tremendous amount of wrath and coldness, saying that he would never allow it.
Rumble!
The fire spirit king also unleashed even more heat than before, threatened by Wrath's energy.
'Ack…'
Wrath's coldness piercing him from the left and the energy of fire blazing from the right started to compete, and Raon felt like his energy center was being sliced by a blade.
Rip!
Since the Crimson Flame Demon's fire was threatening him from the outside while Wrath and the spirit king's energies clashed from the inside, Raon felt like he was going to die both mentally and physically.
'It's so painful that I want to die, but…'
Raon bit his lip to the point of bleeding and raised his head.
'I can use this power.'
He was used to fire thanks to the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, and Wrath's energy even put him at ease.
Raon figured that he could use both energies like his own.
He rotated the rings of fire that had come to a halt again. He increased his soul level to the limit and took control of the energies competing in his energy center and mana circuits.
He incorporated Wrath's coldness into the demonic sword blazing in his left hand and covered the divine sword flickering in his right hand with the spirit king's flame.
Whaaam!
The radiating light was at least twice as dazzling as when he created the Sword Field for the first time. It felt like the darkness of the night faded away and the day had returned.
Raon curled his lips into a smile while pointing his divine and demonic swords at the Crimson Flame Demon. His body felt like it was being torn apart by the demon king and the spirit king's energies, but he smiled without showing it on the outside.
"It's time to end this fight."
"Shut up!"
The Crimson Flame Demon violently ground his teeth and unleashed his fiery flame.
"You are just vermin who's gotten stronger using someone else's power!"
"You're no different."
Raon swung the demonic sword to cut down the Crimson Flame Demon's fire that was rushing toward him.
Whaaam!
Even though the crimson flame was rumored to be inextinguishable, it disappeared as soon as it touched Wrath's ice, as if it had never existed.
"H-how…"
The Crimson Flame Demon's eyes trembled violently as he watched the flame.
"It's too early to be surprised."
Raon pierced into the Crimson Flame Demon's space. He shoved his divine blade into the opening there.
Psssh!
The flame, a mixture of a golden and crimson hue, broke through the flame shield protecting the Crimson Flame Demon and stabbed into his shoulder.
Rip!
It was different from the other time. Flames and blood were leaking from his shoulder at the same time even though he'd become a spirit.
"Kuh! You bastard!"
The Crimson Flame Demon covered his bloody shoulder and stepped back. His bloodlust intensified even further even though his eyes were wavering.
Thud!
Raon caught up to the Crimson Flame Demon, stepping upon the land that was scorched black.
"Argh!"
The Crimson Flame Demon flailed his arms wildly, scattering the flame spears. It seemed to be a random attack, but every single flame was capable of killing an opponent in an instant.
Raon incorporated the principle of the Fangs of Insanity into the divine sword and unleashed the Blizzard Sword Art with the demonic sword. The two swords advanced, their trajectories combined as a single attack, connecting under the dappling moonlight.
Crack!
The flaming spearheads that the Crimson Flame Demon had unleashed with his full power were shot down like cherry blossoms and subsided. His weakened flame couldn't even burn the bushes anymore.
"Huu…"
The Crimson Flame Demon clattered his teeth as he watched his flame fade away.
Raon advanced with the Supreme Harmony Steps without even wasting his time making fun of the Crimson Flame Demon.
'I don't have enough time.'
The transcendental energy that he was using couldn't be maintained forever.
His willpower was also at its limit, and he could collapse at any moment. That was why he had to finish the battle as quickly as possible.
Claaang!
He suddenly extended his demonic sword, clashing against the Crimson Flame Demon's fire. As expected of Eden's demon, he kept sucking the world tree's energy until the very end and unleashed all of his remaining energy.
Slash!
Raon pulled the demonic sword backward to regain his balance and slashed upwards with the divine sword. Flames scratched at the land and ascended to cut through the Crimson Flame Demon's abdomen.
"Kuaaah!"
The Crimson Flame Demon raised his hand overhead even though blood was gushing from his stomach. The fireball bursting from his hand rapidly expanded and became a fireball as huge as the sun.
Zap!
Raon bit his lip while watching the flaming sphere getting bigger and bigger. He could hardly approach the Crimson Flame Demon because of the tremendous heat.
"I'll kill you all!"
The Crimson Flame Demon launched the huge fireball at once, trying to destroy the world tree itself at the same time as Raon. The land disappeared as soon as the sphere reached it, and the sky that had cleared up was distorted to the point of shattering.
Raon fixed the grip on his swords while watching the Crimson Flame Demon's fireball, which was as big as the world tree.
'I need to fend it off…'
He still had the power of his doormats. In fact, they were still fighting to refill it.
Rumble!
The fire spirit king's warm flame pushed against his back.
Begone already! This is the King of Essence's food!
Wrath, the king of doormats, unleashed frost even more powerful than the fire spirit king.
Raon focused those two energies into the divine and demonic swords. Even though he was sending them to the swords instead of taking them upon himself, he felt like his hands were bursting and his bones were breaking.
He clenched his wrist, which felt like it was about to shatter, and forced his mana circuits to stabilize before he swung down the divine and demonic swords.
Even in that situation, Raon didn't entrust everything to the power. The Fangs of Insanity and the Blizzard Sword Art's principles dwelling in the descending blades cut through the center of the Crimson Flame Demon's fireball.
Rumble!
Fire devoured fire, and frost tore apart the heat.
The power of the Monarch of Wrath and the current fire spirit king even managed to extinguish the Crimson Flame Demon's flame, which had almost reached transcendence.
Crack!
Raon could see the Crimson Flame Demon's eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out amidst the dying embers of the fireball.
It looked like he couldn't move properly because he'd added too much power into the fireball.
'It's over.'
Raon advanced his exhausted body and thrust the demonic sword towards the Crimson Flame Demon's neck.
'Huh…?'
But something unexpected happened.
His upper energy center closed up from reaching his limit, and the Sword Field was undone. The demonic sword's long blade disappeared, and the thin and short Blade of Requiem was revealed.
'Damn it!'
Raon kept extending his arm and shoved aura into the Blade of Requiem, but the time was too short. The short blade of the dagger only managed to slightly brush past the Crimson Flame Demon's neck.
"…It's my victory in the end!"
The Crimson Flame Demon roared, as if he could finally relax, and extended his right hand. Crimson flame was unleashed from his huge palm covering his vision.
Whaaap!
Raon's breath weakened before his skin turned red from the heat. His willpower was also at the limit, and he couldn't think straight. He was staring at the storming flames when a sharp sound piercing through the air came from behind him.
Psssh!
The blue arrow suddenly changed its trajectory from the sky and destroyed the Crimson Flame Demon's arm that was approaching him.
"Kuaaah!"
The Crimson Flame Demon let out an unbefitting scream and stepped back, surprised by the sudden attack.
"Do it now!"
Raon could tell who it was just from hearing the voice. It was Siyan. She was supporting him, having become a true high elf after regaining her confidence.
Raon bit his tongue. He stomped the ground with his left foot, steadying his faltering mind, which was about to collapse.
He incorporated all of the spirit king and Wrath's energies that were still competing against each other into his right hand.
Whaam!
Raon combined the explosive energy into one. He swung down Heavenly Drive, vibrating to the point of breaking, towards the Crimson Flame Demon, who had started to run away.
Craaack!
The Crimson Flame Demon created a wall of fire to defend himself, but Heavenly Drive's blade—engulfed by flame and frost—cut off his head before he could even resist.