Chapter 212

Raon smiled coldly, his eyes on Temas’ astonished face.

'I can hear the rolling sound of his eyes from all the way from here.'

Temas was racking his brain the fastest he had ever had in his entire life in order to find a way to escape the situation. Raon was filled with anticipation for what kind of excuses he was about to give.

“Y-You crazy bastard!”

Temas pointed his finger at him while biting his lip. He'd apparently finished thinking.

“What are you doing right now? Why did you even kill my disciple?”

He shouted, pretending he was completely unrelated to the incident, and he was just attacked by him instead.

“Ah, is that how you want to play?”

Raon chuckled, while twirling Heavenly Drive, which had blood flowing down the blade.

“Your excuse is too one-dimensional. If that's all you can give me after I gave you enough time to rack your brain, I'm rather disappointed.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?”

“I'm asking you why you are spouting dogshit after you attacked us.”

“Why would I even attack you? We were just waiting here in case patients appeared...”

“Are you still giving me that lame excuse when this flute is right here?”

Raon picked up the silver flute that Temas' disciple had dropped.

“Wh-What about it? It just makes a sound that is similar to a grass whistle...”

“You are underestimating me too much.”

Raon chuckled, pointing at the strange pattern engraved inside the flute.

“This is a Flute of Inscription.”

“Ah...”

“The highest-grade artifact that can activate a formation.”

The Flute of Inscription was a special flute, capable of activating a pre-installed formation from afar. Since the pattern inside the Flute of Inscription needed to be modified according to the formation, he couldn’t make any excuses.

“That was a really lame excuse to give after locking us up in that formation. I guess you didn't expect to be discovered.”

“Wh-What the hell are you...?”

Temas' chin was trembling violently. He looked like half his soul had left his body.

“What the hell are you? How are you shattering all my plans instead of dying? How did you even find out I was here?”

“I have a friend with good perception.”

Raon shrugged, enjoying Temas' astonishment.

Of course. The King of Essence's perception is on a different level from a mere human’s... What are you saying right now? Why would the King of Essence be your friend?

'It's just a figure of speech.'

He pushed Wrath—who kept telling him he couldn't be a human's friend—away and took another step towards Temas.

“I wonder what's going to happen if people learn that Sir Temas, famous for his benevolence, was the perpetrator behind the assassins and the poison? Moreover, he did that to a patient he was trying to treat but was denied.”

Temas was extremely sensitive to his reputation and rumors. A cold sweat started flowing down his face at the threat that his fame would plummet through the ground and below.

“Even if you died here, you would be remembered as the worst healer in the continent. Don't you agree?”

“Kuuh!”

Temas clattered his teeth while stepping backward.

'I-It's all over! I'm ruined!'

As long as Raon had the flute, as long as he had the proof that he was controlling the formation, there was no escape for him. Even if he managed to survive, Derus Robert was going to pretend he didn’t know him.

'Who the hell is this guy? How can he possibly be seventeen years old?'

He not only shattered all of his plans, but he even discovered his location and the proof of Temas’ actions. His head felt so dizzy that he could faint from the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Since many people are waiting for us, let's finish this quickly.”

Raon brandished his sword and approached him.

“W-Wait, listen to me. I'm...hmm?”

In the middle of shaking his hand to stop his approach, Temas narrowed his eyes. Although the concealing formation was broken a long time ago, he couldn't feel any other presence than Raon's.

“No way, did you come here on your own?”

“What do you expect? We don't need two people to catch you.”

Raon nodded, telling him it was obvious.

“Haaa...”

Temas exhaled a deep breath while grasping his chest.

'The heavens haven't abandoned me yet!'

That young bastard still believed that he was a normal doctor. He could escape before the Heavenly Blade leader arrived if he just melted him down in an instant with poison arts.

Whir.

He slowly gathered the poison with his left hand, which was hidden behind his back. He needed to melt Raon's heart or throat while he was still careless.

'This place is going to be your grave, not mine.'

He hid his intentions, waiting for Raon's approach while pretending to be terrified.

“Hmph.”

Raon snorted while looking at Temas, who was biting his lip harshly.

'You’re making it all too clear that you are plotting something.'

Although his expression looked like he was in despair or afraid, Raon could see his killing intent deep inside his eyes. It was so obvious that his hidden left hand-held poison.

“Let's end this.”

Raon approached Temas with his sword lowered, pretending he didn't notice anything. Once the distance between them became no more than five steps, Temas' eyes sparkled viciously.

“Die!”

Temas suddenly thrust his left hand like lightning. The purple energy in his hand extended like a spear towards Raon's heart.

“Of course you'd do that.”

Raon immediately stomped the ground, incorporating the principles of the quick sword into Heavenly Drive.

Splat!

The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's flame sparked like lightning to sever Temas' poisonous left arm entirely.

“Kuaah!”

As Temas stepped back while screaming, Raon caught up to him and stabbed Heavenly Drive into his right shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

“Kueeh!”

Both of Temas' arms became unusable in an instant, and his whole body trembled as he coughed up blood. Raon immediately put his hand in Temas's mouth to take out the poison pill hidden in his molar.

“Kuh...”

“Your underlings didn't even scream once, yet you are making such a fuss.”

“H-How did you even know about the poison pill? Wh-Who the hell are you?”

Temas' chin was trembling, his face pale.Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com

“Raon Zieghart.”

“I'm not talking about that name. I'm asking what your true identity is! How can you do this when you haven't even reached adulthood, no matter how I look at you?”

“There's no reason for me to satisfy your curiosity.”

Raon placed his right hand on Temas' stomach and created an impact.

“Kuha!”

The powerful impact on his heart made his neck bend backward. He wasn't trying to kill him, since it was a temporary treatment to stop the rage worm that might have existed in his heart.

“Wake up.”

Incredibly angry.

Although Derus killed Temas himself, he shouldn't know anything about why his life was endangered and how that situation even happened, so he must have been really frustrated.

'It's too early to be surprised.'

Raon was only getting started.

It was the first step towards his revenge against Derus Robert, the devil.

'Let's head ba...hmm?'

Just as he was about to return while carrying Temas' corpse on his shoulder, a message appeared in front of his eyes.

[You've overcome the Blood Poison by yourself.

All stats have increased by 1.

The Trait Poison Resistance has been created.]

The message was telling him that he had gotten an extra stat and poison resistance from resisting the poison in Temas's blood.

Huh? Huuh?

Wrath’s jaw dropped as he looked at the message.

Wh-What kind of nonsense is this? How can you give him stats for resisting a weak poison like that?

He slammed the ground with his hands, saying that it was bullshit.

Such a weak poison can be found everywhere in Devildom! Even in the grass and water!

'We are currently in the human realm.'

Awwgh!

Raon clenched his fist while listening to Wrath’s desperate scream...

'I should say thank you, I suppose.'

Since he got the latest information about Derus, managed to foil their plan, and even got a poison resistance trait that could prove to be their weakness, he’d killed three birds with one stone.

Who are you trying to thank? You should thank me instead!

* * *

“When did Temas start planning that attack?”

Derus Robert was looking at his butler with a faint smile on his face. It was difficult to believe that the expression and atmosphere came from someone who had just killed one of his precious confidants.

“Th-That's...”

“It's okay. Tell me.”

“I think he did that after he failed to become Encia Yonaan's personal doctor at House Yonaan. It looks like he stopped the network and gathered the shadows at the northern part of the continent to attack Encia Yonaan, who was going to visit Federick.”

The butler quickly told him everything he had investigated.

“Which means that he was defeated when he was trying to make up for his failure.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Well, fine. I'm fine with everything, but why am I getting that information so late?”

Derus was still smiling, but the atmosphere was becoming heavier and heavier.

“Network, branches, factories. I believe all of those places should be sending me their information before anyone else.”

“T-Temas lied and said that it was the master's order to prevent information from leaking.”

The butler continued, looking at the floor because he was unable to look Derus straight in the eyes.

“Moreover, i-it took some time for the information to reach us, b-because the branches and factories near that location were the only ones involved.”

“This is why I shouldn't give them important titles.”

Derus snickered, caressing his hardwood desk.

“Look at the way he believed he wasn't an insect anymore just because he received a name.”

“Hmm...”

“He should've done it properly at least, but he dared attack a carriage escorted by the Heavenly Blade leader. He should've known his place!”

The emotion transferred through Temas' rage worm were fear, shock, pain, and resignation. Since those emotions signified that there was no way for him to survive, he stimulated the rage worm to kill him before the information could leak.

“What an idiot.”

It was so obvious even though he hadn't seen the scene. Temas must've attacked them because he couldn't put up with his pride getting hurt, just to have the Heavenly Blade leader grab him by his collar.

“Cut off all connections between Temas and us.”

Temas was officially unaffiliated. His identity wouldn't be revealed as long as the connections were properly cut off.

“We are doing it right now.”

The butler immediately nodded. Since he knew Derus' personality, he'd started doing that as soon as he obtained that information.

“A tool should live as a tool. It shouldn't try to think by itself.”

“Ah, yes...”

“And a tool shouldn't act without its master's orders. Change all of the leaders of the branches, factories, and network.”

“D-Does that involve the places unrelated to this incident?”

“Yes.”

“I-If we try changing everyone, it would be more than a hundred people...”

The butler swallowed nervously, as Derus's order didn't mean to reelect a new order, but to kill all of those people.

“Is there a problem?”

Derus' eyes were calm despite having given the order to kill his subordinates, who were mostly innocent. That was the scariest part about him.

“N-No!”

“Change the system so that all information comes to me first, no matter how small it is.”

“Understood!”

“One more thing.”

Derus raised his finger.

“Investigate everyone involved in this incident. Including those who were alongside the Heavenly Blade division leader, and who found out our spy. Everything.”

“Shouldn't the Heavenly Blade leader be the one who did all that?”

“That might be the case, but it might not. It could be Ekan's doing, or the Light Wind younglings who are supposed to be with her.”

It looked like he was planning to prepare for the future by perfectly investigating the incident with his fastidious personality.

“You may leave now.”

“Yes! I'll take care of it quickly and give you my report.”

The terrified butler immediately bowed, then left Derus's office.

Whir!

The atmosphere in the office changed the moment the butler disappeared. An unbearable coldness covered the entire space, as if one of the northern ocean's tidal waves were pouring into the room.

“Huhu.”

Derus's mouth rolled up into a smile.

“So, the plan I've been preparing for twenty years has been foiled.”

The plan to take over House Yonaan had started twenty whole years ago.

He was boiling in anger because his entire plan was destroyed by Zieghart and an insect bastard.

He couldn't even begin to imagine how much time and money he needed to recover from it.

Snap.

Probably because he hadn’t gotten that angry in a long time, red blood poured from the scar on the back of his hand and seeped into the desk.

“I'll kill them.”

Derus licked the scar on the back of his hand with a brilliant smile that looked almost terrifying.

“I'll rip the heads off everyone who was involved in this incident.”