Raon swallowed nervously while looking at Syria.

Apparently, Syria's anger and emotionless facade were also an act, since his face after his mask had shattered was twisted in a grotesque manner. He didn't even look like a human being anymore, resembling a beast straight from the wilderness.

There was no trace of reason in his glowing purple eyes. There was only ferocity and desire, raging like a fire.

Raon fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive. He couldn't predict his actions, since it was his first time seeing him in that state. He needed to be prepared, since he could start attacking Runaan or himself.

“Hmm.”

Sheryl came up next to them and narrowed her eyes. She apparently thought the same.

“Runaan…”

Syria called Runaan with a much more affectionate voice than usual.

“What did you say just now?”

He looked down on Runaan with a strange posture, his waist pulled back and his upper body leaning forward. A gloomy energy was emerging from above his shoulders.

“I-I told you to not come.”

Runaan didn't withdraw, facing Syria's creepy eyes.

“I'm going to stop you, big brother. I'm not going to stand still and do nothing like before!”

She finished what she wanted to tell him even though her hands, gathered in front of her chest, were trembling.

“Haa…”

White steam came out of Syria's mouth.

“You will stop me? Stop , huh…”

“Uhh!”

Runaan's legs faltered in the face of that extremely ominous energy.

“Good job on saying it.”

Raon came up next to Runaan and held her shoulder. He raised Heavenly Drive to mid-height in order to react to any situation.

“Runaan. Ahu, my little sister…”

Syria didn't even take a glance at Raon, opening his mouth widely while staring at Runaan.

“When? When did you start making those eyes towards me? Why are you looking at me with those cold eyes?”

He extended his wide-open hand, laughing in a strange manner.

“Scram!”

Raon fended off Syria's approach with the .

Claang!

Syria blocked the blow by holding his greatsword in a reverse grip, but he was pushed back to his original position.

“Runaan, how could Runaan look at me like that? Aah…”

“The winner told you to leave.”

When Syria started running towards them once again, Sheryl made her move. She lightly kicked the ground to advance, extending her right fist.

Slaam!

A gray light sparkled, and Syria bounced away like a rubber ball, without even having time to defend himself before he was slammed into the ground. It was difficult to believe that such power came from a simple punch, without any preparatory movement.

Sheryl's punch was fast, powerful, and precise at the same time. The ability to harmonize all different principles in a punch in such a short time was indeed the skills of a Grandmaster.

“Kuh…”

Blood was flowing from Syria's mouth from the damage, and Runaan was watching him with her lips tightly closed.

“There's no place for the loser here. You shall disappear, as you promised.”

Raon coldly looked at him and pointed his sword.

“Runaan, the same blood flows in our veins.”

Syria stood up while faltering and looked down on Runaan.

“You can't run away, nor escape from this blood.”

He grinned, drenching his lips with the blood flowing from his mouth.

“Aah…”

Runaan's eyes were trembling violently. Fear was emerging inside her, just like before she overcame her fear of blood.

“I-I…”

“She can.”

Raon narrowed his eyes, standing next to Runaan.

“She can run away, escape, and even beat you up.”

“Raon Zieghart…”

Syria's gaze was directed at Raon for the first time.

“Watch him properly. He's just a human being who can spill blood. You don't need to be afraid. You can defeat him in the future with your own sword.”

“Do you really believe that's possible?”

“I'll make it possible.”

“You…”

Syria's chin was trembling at hearing the serious resolution in Raon's voice.

“Raon.”

Runaan clenched her hand, which was no longer trembling, into a fist. She looked at Raon instead of Syria.

“Runaan! Where are you looking? Look at me! Don't look at him, and look at me instea…”

“I told you to scram.”

When Syria came running at Runaan in order to return her gaze to him, Raon ignited the .

Slam!

Heavenly Drive's burning blade fended off Syria's greatsword once again.

“Kuuh…”

Syria groaned after being pushed back, his greatsword slamming into the ground.

“You are getting in my way until the end…”

“Syria Sullion.”

As Syria was about to approach with the intention to kill, a tremendous energy wave exploded like an eruption from the right.

“I'll cut you if you take one more step forward.”

Sheryl stood in front of Syria, her hand on the sword behind her.

“Keep your promise.”

The deadly coldness flowing from her eyes showed that she was serious about what she said.

“You should disappear since you lost. There's no place for you here.”

Raon also glared at Syria, using the to the extreme.

“Fine, fine.”

Syria grinned while looking at Raon and Runaan. His eyes were also laughing for the first time, but his face looked like a devil's smile instead of a human's.

“Kuhuhuhu…”

He giggled for a long time with his head lowered before straightening his back.

“You should…”

“It's true that I have to leave now, since I lost.”

As Raon was about to force him to leave, Syria raised his head. He managed to replace his thick mask in that short time period and was now making a fake smile.

“I'll leave as promised. Runaan, I wish you good luck in war.”

“We don't need good luck from you.”

Raon shook his hand.

“Hah.”

Syria snickered, then turned around. He even said goodbye to the warriors of House Yonaan and left, as if he had no lingering attachment.

“Ahh…”

Runaan finally sank on her knees and exhaled heavily.

“Good job on enduring it.”

Raon patted Runaan's shoulder with a smile.

“Mhm.”

Runaan nodded weakly, but her eyes were brighter than ever.

“Is that the Azure Sword's true nature?”

Sheryl narrowed his eyes, looking at Syria's back.

“I did think he was hiding a lot behind his back, but he's a lot more serious than I thought. He's pretty much a madman at this point.”

She exclaimed while helping Runaan stand as she caught her breath.

“I know, right?”

“Anyway, good job. She must've plucked up the courage thanks to you, as well.”

Sheryl smiled while tapping his back to praise him. It was Raon's first time seeing her smile, but her smile looked kind rather than refreshing.

He's not an average madman.

Wrath wrinkled his nose.

He's a completely perverted wack. If the King of Essence had a body, he would've been frozen already just to get his limbs torn into pieces!

He regrettably shook his clenched fist.

Even in Devildom, there aren't many demons like him. How could a human be so crazy…?

One of them is even a demon king. Uhh…

Wrath shuddered. It looked like he didn't even want to think about it.

Stop thinking about useless things and look at the ice cream girl.

As Raon was about to ask again, Wrath hung on his shoulder.

The ice cream girl is suffering right now. You should comfort her already.

No, she's currently going through a hard time, so she needs to be comforted by something extremely delicious.

Go to the bead ice cream shop right now and buy an ice cream for the girl. That's the best way to comfort her!

Wrath violently swayed his arms, urging him to do it.

Raon sighed.

That's slightly—very slightly—true, but the King of Essence is doing it for her sake. You feel better when you eat sweet stuff, so the depression should disappear.

When Raon thought about it, he remembered Helen mentioning that eating sweet food made you feel better.

“Let's go.”

Raon went to Runaan and extended his hand.

“Where?”

Runaan raised her head, her eyes once more blank.

“We don't need to cancel our plans just because of him.”

“Ah…”

“Come with us, Heavenly Blade leader. I'll buy.”

Raon looked at Sheryl after making Runaan stand.

“Me, too?”

* * *

Probably because it was a hot region, the bead ice cream shop in Dembell City was a lot bigger than the one in Cameloon.

Dozens of different bead ice creams were filling the cabinet on the other side of the glass window, and ice cream desserts were also displayed in a line.

“There's a lot. It's big…”

Runaan’s eyes were wide, looking all around and examining the ice cream on the other side of the glass.

“Hmm, they all look pretty good.”

Sheryl was also examining the ice cream desserts while sticking right next to the glass window. Considering the fact that she always ate at least a small chocolate after a meal, she must've loved desserts like them.

Kuh!

Wrath sniffled while looking at Runaan's back.

I'm proud of her! I'm so proud of her!

The ice cream girl broke the shell on her own and came out! I'm so proud of her that I want to pat her shoulder!

He nodded, with teary blue eyes.

The King of Essence wanted to devour that perverted bastard alive, but your choice of letting the bead ice cream girl overcome it by herself was the correct one. I'm so relieved.

Wrath was looking at Runaan warmly, saying that he was proud of her.

Raon licked his lips.

Except for his doormat nature that he showed sometimes—or rather, often—he felt more like a busybody middle-aged man or woman.

When I look at the ice cream girl standing on her two feet, I'm satisfied without even eating.

Shut up!

Wrath flapped his hands, telling him to stop kidding.

The King of Essence is hungry! Go right now and order every single ice cream in this shop!

That's not true, the King of Essence…

As Wrath was stubbornly trying to refute his words, the messages appeared.

[You've achieved equality against an opponent with an overwhelming difference.]

[All stats have increased by 6.]

[Your heavy sword's proficiency has increased significantly.]

The message was telling him that all of his stats and the heavy sword's proficiency had improved thanks to fighting equally against Syria, who was a lot stronger than him.

Considering it gave six whole points despite just being facing him on equal footing, Syria must've been really strong. Raon was still feeling a bit bitter, but reading the message made all his irritation disappear.

Uuh…

On the other hand, Wrath, who was excited about eating the ice cream, widened his eyes to a point where they could pop out.

This stupid system! Why are you giving him stats when that pervert bastard had a handicap? This is an unreasonable reward!

Wrath ground his teeth, arguing that he shouldn't get stats since Syria had a handicap and it was just a draw.

Raon snickered. Even though Syria couldn't use the best of his abilities, he was still at a huge disadvantage.

Since the victory was achieved through strategy and instantaneous judgment, it wasn't strange to receive so many rewards.

Hnng! I lost my appetite!

Wrath briskly turned his head to express his displeasure.

“What are you going to eat, Raon?”

Runaan, who was still choosing the ice cream after having already picked ten of them, turned around and shouted.

Huh? Huuh?

Raon shook his hand at Wrath and looked at Runaan.

“Ah, I lost my appetite…”

Mint chocolate!

Wrath screeched, despite having said he lost appetite.

Tell her you want mint chocolate!

Mint chocolaaate!

* * *

* * *

Dembell City

Northern Castle Wall

Syria Sullion’s fervent eyes were shaking as he watched Runaan and Raon exit the ice cream shop.

“Sir Syria.”

A man covering his whole body with a white robe came up to him and bowed.

“The others have already arrived in the vicinity. You need to leave now.”

“Do I really need to go?”

“Since there's an item we need to get from him, we need to make sure to finish him off this time.”

The robed man narrowed his eyes while looking at Runaan and Raon.

“Although the White Blood Religion is going to kill him anyway, I'll devise a plan to dispose of Raon Zieghart if you tell me to.”

“No.”

Syria slowly shook his head.

“Let him be. I saw something great today.”

“Wh-What would that be…?”The robed man raised his head slightly. The madness in Syria's voice was overflowing and he sounded completely different from usual.

“Runaan, I didn't expect her to show those eyes. They were beautiful. Chills ran down my spine the moment I saw myself reflected in her transparent purple eyes.”

Syria grinned, tearing at his left arm to the point that it bled.

“Those eyes, that face of hers when she looked at me. Aah, it was great.”

“S-Sir Syria?”

The robed man swallowed nervously.

“You know, I thought an apple needed to be grown inside a glass bottle. I believed that it needed to be raised with extreme care, so that no pests nor rain could touch it.”

Syria continued his strange story while licking his lips.

“But I was wrong. It's brimming with vitality from receiving real sunlight outside of the bottle and fighting pests. My heart is trembling from just looking at it. That's why…”

He turned around and covered the robed man's mouth.

“Don't even think about touching those pests. Get it?”

“Yes. Yes!”

The robed man just nodded, unable to think at all. He'd been with Syria for over ten years now, but it was the first time he was spreading so much madness.

“The faster Runaan grows, the more beneficial it is for me. Because that girl will be mine in the end.”

Syria smiled like a Cheshire cat while watching the tiny smile on Runaan’s face as she ate the ice cream.

Whir.

Once Runaan left his vision, the madness coming from Syria slowly subsided.

“Haa…”

He caught his breath and slowly turned around. The monstrous man from before, who couldn't hide his excitement was now gone, and he had returned to being the Azure Sword Syria Sullion, praised by the world.

“Let's go.”

Syria shook the dust off his clothes with a refreshing smile.

“I should block his path at least, in order to ingratiate myself with those seniors.”

* * *

The next day, Raon looked up to the four-horse carriage parked at the main entrance of House Yonaan.

“It's amazing.”

The harmony between straight and curved lines created a beautiful outside appearance, a shock absorbing device was installed inside to reduce the shaking, and its durability was even better than steel.

He heard it was personally made by the head of house, Michelle Yonaan, and judging from its outer appearance and the interior, it seemed to be the only carriage in the world made for Encia.

It looked even more beautiful, because he could feel her love towards her daughter.

“Wow! The carriage is awesome! As expected of House Yonaan.”

Dorian fidgeted with his fingers while looking at the carriage. It looked like he would put it in his belly pocket if no one was watching.

“Raon, is it really okay for us to accept this?”

Burren pointed at the round necklace hanging under his neck.

“An evade poison artifact of this degree is a priceless item.”

“Hmm…”

“I agree, it's a bit too expensive.”

Martha and Krein also narrowed their eyes while looking at their evade poison artifacts.

“We just need to return them after using them. Don't worry about it.”

Raon shook his hand with a smile. Those items needed to be returned anyway. The real rewards were the ones they were going to obtain once the mission was over.

“Prepare to depart!”

Sheryl and Michelle were coming down from the building inside the house while supporting Encia. Encia's expression was slightly brighter than before from completely accepting the reality of the situation.

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

Light Wind and Heavenly Blade answered loud and clear, before examining the carriage and mounting their horses.

“Are you okay?”

Raon went to Encia and examined her condition.

“Yes, I'm okay now.”

She responded ambiguously while smiling faintly.

“If you ever have a problem, please tell us immediately.”

“Thank you. You are freaking handsome today as well.”

Encia started staring at Raon's face even though she was about to enter the carriage.

“Stop it already! You silly girl!”

“Ah, Mom! Let me look at Sir Raon's face a little bit longer…”

“Do it later!”

Michelle frowned, personally pushing Encia in the carriage.

Raon smiled faintly while watching the quarrel between mother and daughter. It was a relief that they looked like they managed to overcome the betrayal of someone who was pretty much their family.

“We are finally getting started.”

Raon grasped the necklace Michelle gave him while looking at the blue sky that seemed to be a good omen for their safe return.

* * *

“We will stay here for tonight.”

Sheryl dismounted from her horse and pointed at the open area located on the forest's outskirts. It wasn't a wide area, but it was a decent place to spend a night.

“Prepare to camp!”

“Yes!”

Following her order, the Heavenly Blade swordsmen casually scattered away.

“Hmm?”

Encia left the carriage, narrowing her eyes. It's because she saw the busy Heavenly Blade and the Light Wind slowly preparing for their training.

“What a curious sight. I thought the Heavenly Blade people were the seniors.”

“They are indeed seniors. They are far more experienced than us.”

Dorian smiled while walking up to Encia.

“What? But why are the Heavenly Blade people the only ones to work?”

“Ah, there's a really interesting story behind this. Actually, our vice-squad leader…”

He told her about the arm-wrestling incident that happened before.

“Wow, he's handsome and smart, and strong as well?”

Encia's eyes looked completely impressed as she stared at Raon with her hands gathered together.

“You are complimenting me too much.”

“It's not too much. You are so damn handsome.”

It was mysterious that she only used slang whenever she called him handsome. She was a mysterious person in many ways.

“Is your body alright?”

“Yes. I'm feeling a lot better than when I was at home.”

Encia smiled, showing her forearm, where the heat had decreased.

“That's a relief. I'm going to quickly check the surroundings before I come back.”

Raon turned around and called the Light Wind.

“Don't play around, do your guard duty properly.”

“Don't worry about it.”

“Mhm.”

“Don't you trust me?”

“Affirmative!”

Hearing the responses that were so full of personality, Raon went to the deeper part of the forest.

He looked around for about thirty minutes to see if there was anything dangerous, but he couldn't find any bandits nor monsters since it was an area close to Dembell City.

Since Sheryl and Ekan were at camp, he figured it was okay to warm himself up before returning.

Do you never get tired of it?

Wrath frowned, unable to understand him.

Since he could never experience the feeling of getting better and progressing in his previous life, there was no way it wouldn't be fun.

Raon pushed away Wrath, who kept complaining, and drew Heavenly Drive.

The feeling of the heavy sword that pushed Syria back was still vivid in his head. He raised his sword in order to feel that sensation once again.

He swung his sword, incorporating the 's energy into Heavenly Drive's blade.

Rumble!

The powerful pressure spreading from the thin blade collapsed the land that he didn't even touch.

“It's still not enough.”

Probably because he became more proficient in the heavy sword, or because he wasn't in an actual battle, he felt like something was amiss.

However, he couldn't tell what he was missing.

Step.

As he raised his sword again to strike, small footsteps could be heard. Since they were familiar steps, he calmly turned his head around.

“Are you training?”

Sheryl was approaching him with indifferent eyes.

“Yes.”

Raon nodded, then lowered Heavenly Drive.

“I'd like to find the feeling I had during the fight against Syria.”

“That wasn't too bad.”

Sheryl nonchalantly nodded.

“But it couldn't exactly be called mid-level.”

“I know. However…”

“Are you not sure what exactly you are lacking?”

“Indeed.”

“Then I'll teach you what you are lacking.”

The light of aura was reflected in Sheryl's calm eyes.

“Raise your sword.”