Chapter 8

'Anger?'

Raon swallowed hard and looked around.

'Someone is here...'

Though he couldn't see or hear anyone, a presence lingered in the room where he was alone. It felt like the <Anger> mentioned in the message.

Whoosh.

Tightly gripping the tension, he was on guard when a blue flame suddenly burst into life before his eyes.

A terrifying aura surged from the fist-sized flame. It felt like witnessing a volcanic eruption up close.

-Finally.

A bone-chilling voice emerged from the blue flame, filled with a madness that seemed ready to explode.

"What is this...?"

Though he had access to countless pieces of information from his past life, he had never heard of or seen a talking flame.

-Your anger has reached the Great King. I, the second ruler of the Demon World, Wrath, will grant you your revenge. Offer your soul and body...

Raon's eyes widened as the blue flame, introducing itself as the ruler of the Demon World, Wrath, scanned him up and down.

-Why is it a child...?

"What are you?"

-Who are you to ask? The anger transmitted to the Great King is not something a mere child could feel.

Wrath's voice deepened, but a suffocating intensity surged through it.

"Anger?"

Raon frowned. In this life, he had never felt intense anger.

'Wait, past life?'

Reflecting on it, he had been reborn with his memories and had gained the peculiar ability of a status window. All of this happened after he died.

It occurred to him that this Wrath might be the one who granted him those special abilities.

"Then, did you give me the status window?"

-Status window? You can use it?

"Yes."

-Impossible! Hmm?

The blue flame surrounding Wrath trembled.

-The connection is severed! Why...?

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

-You summoned the Great King.

"I summoned you?"

-Didn't you feel such intense anger that you were willing to kill someone, no matter the cost? I have descended to fulfill your wish.

"Ah..."

He remembered his resolve to kill Darius Robert before he died. It seemed this flame had appeared in response to that anger.

'But it's too late.'

There was a two-year gap between his past and present lives, and twelve years had passed since he was born. Fourteen years later, what was the point of appearing now?

"You'll help me with my revenge?"

-Yes.

"What's the price?"

Raon's eyes burned with intense heat.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. From what you said, are you taking my soul and body?"

-If I grant you such a desperate revenge, offering your insignificant soul and body is the right thing to do.

"..."

Raon stared intently at Wrath. Something was trapped within the blue flames, a non-human entity with a sinister smile.

'Is this because I died and was reborn?'

It seemed that in his past life, he had died before the entity could possess his body, leading to this situation.

"Revenge must be done with one's own hands."

After being toyed with by Darius for a lifetime and dying, he was given a new chance. But to take revenge through someone else's hands? He couldn't accept it.

'I have to do it myself.'

Raon had no intention of entrusting his revenge to anyone. No matter how difficult, he would personally take Darius' life.

-You're right. You are correct.

Wrath's eyes, hidden in the blue flames, glared at him.

-You hide deep and intense anger in your heart.

He bared his teeth in a grin.

-It doesn't matter what happened. The Great King has already made the choice; you need only offer your body.

As Wrath's voice burned with anger, the blue flames enveloped Raon.

"Ugh!"

Raon bent over, clutching his chest.

It was cold.

Not just his body, but his mind felt frozen. Wrath's attribute was not fire, but ice.

-Think of the one who wronged you and raise your anger. Even if he were a god, the Great King will kill him.

Wrath's chilling voice made his heart churn. It felt like his heart was pierced by a frozen icicle.

[Water Resistance (3-star) activated.]

'Water Resistance!'

Thanks to the water resistance he gained from absorbing the cold, the pain from Wrath's cold was reduced.

However, Wrath's attack wasn't just cold.

"Ugh..."

Raon let out a deep groan. Darius' face appeared in his mind. The contempt in the man's eyes made it hard to breathe.

-Submit to the Great King. I will shatter his skull and devour his flesh.

"Huff..."

Wrath's voice, which stirred his emotions, made him want to unleash his anger at Darius.

'Absolutely not...'

Raon clenched his teeth. If he gave his body to Wrath, who knew what he would do to Sylvia and the maids in the other room.

Even if he died here, he couldn't give his body.

'Endure.'

He clenched his fists so hard they bled. He was an assassin, the best of the best.

Patience and emotional control, virtues of an assassin, were something he excelled at.

-You're holding up better than expected, but how long can you last? No one can withstand the Great King's cold.

Wrath spread a freezing cold that seemed to mock him, freezing his body and mind.

"Huff..."

Fortunately, the entity chose to intensify the cold rather than further provoke his emotions. He regulated his breathing and endured the cold that penetrated to his bones.

-Pathetic human, until the end!

Wrath's voice was filled with irritation and anger.

-I wanted to avoid damaging the body I would use, but I have no choice. I will consume you as is.

It wasn't just bravado. As the flame grew, the intensity of the cold that stimulated his body and mind increased immeasurably.

"Ugh!"

Raon couldn't hold back a groan. The pain felt like his skin was being torn and his organs split, his mouth opening involuntarily.

-Raise your anger and accept the Great King. Do you plan to die like this?

"I'd rather die than give my body to the likes of you."

He bit his tongue to regain his senses. When he resolved to die rather than give his body, a thought came to him.

'If the Water Resistance can block this cold...'

Perhaps the Ring of Fire could reduce the physical and mental pain.

Even if it didn't work, he had to try.

Whoosh!

Raon forced himself to calm down and rotated the Ring of Fire. The three rings around his heart began to spin fiercely.

[<Ring of Fire (3-star)> significantly reduces physical and mental shock.]

His guess was correct.

The Ring of Fire was a cultivation technique that enhanced and protected both body and mind. It was effective even when resisting external stimuli.

The Ring of Fire quickly swirled, infusing his body and mind with vitality. The spark of emotion that was about to explode began to subside.

Roar!

With the mental strength he had cultivated in his past life, combined with the Ring of Fire and Water Resistance, the pain and stimulation from Wrath became much lighter.

-You, you are...

Wrath's voice was filled with shock.

Huff.

The cold flames Wrath emitted gradually weakened. It seemed he couldn't attach to Raon without raising his anger.

-How can a mere child!

"I am human, but not a child."

Raon pushed back the weakening cold and answered calmly.

-This, this can't be. It's impossible!

Wrath let out a fierce scream and detached from his body. His eyes trembled like a frightened calf.

-Even though I have just awakened, how can the Great King be overpowered by a mere human!

"Huff..."

Raon exhaled lightly and glared at Wrath. The flame flickered like a candle in the wind.

"I will take my revenge myself. I won't entrust my body to a mere demon."

-Demon? To call the ruler of the Demon World a demon!

"If you can't handle one person, are you really the ruler of the Demon World? Are all the rulers dead?"

-You, you...

Wrath expanded his flame again, but it was only in size. The intensity of the cold had significantly decreased.

'He said he just awakened.'

It seemed he had just awakened from sleep or had his seal recently broken, unable to use his full power.

Whoosh!

Raon roughly waved his hand, and Wrath's flames fluttered and detached like paper.

Crack!

A grinding sound came from the blue flames.

-This, this can't be. How do you control your emotions!

"There's no need to tell you. Just disappear."

-You took the Great King's power and now you tell me to go where?

Wrath glared at him with a furious expression.

-Moreover, the Great King has already made the choice. You can't detach until you die! Huff!

Raon punched at the chattering Wrath. The flames dispersed, but there was no impact. It felt like hitting empty air.

"Then..."

He drew mana to his fingertips. It was of lower quality than refined aura, but better than nothing.

Whoosh!

He slashed at Wrath with his mana-infused hand, but the flame, like a candle in the wind, flickered back to life.

-What is this!

"Tsk, this doesn't work either."

Wrath had no material form, like a spirit. It seemed using aura wouldn't make him disappear.

'Come to think of it...'

Despite Wrath's intense aura, the guards around the annex didn't appear.

It seemed he was visible and perceptible only to Raon.

"How do I make you disappear?"

-Give your body to the Great King. Then...

"Ridiculous."

As Raon chuckled, a message appeared.

Ding!

[Additional ability unlocked.]

"Additional ability?"

Raon immediately called up the status window.

<Status Window>

Name: Raon Sieghart.

Title: None.

Condition: Eight strands of Frost Curse, low physical strength, reduced mobility, reduced mana sensitivity.

Traits: Anger, Ring of Fire (3-star), Water Resistance (3-star)

The question mark in the first trait slot had changed to Anger.

But the important part was the new information at the bottom of the status window.

Strength: 13

Agility: 13

Stamina: 12

Spirit: 12

Senses: 40

His abilities like strength and agility were now displayed with numerical values.

-You, you really have a status window!

Cold frost spread from Wrath's mouth. He seemed to see only a silhouette and not the contents of the status window.

"What is this status window and message?"

-...It's a system created by the Great King.

"System? For what?"

-There's no reason to tell you.

"Is it for accelerated growth?"

-How, how did you...

"Indeed."

It wasn't a guess; his immediate reaction confirmed it. Wrath, as his name suggested, couldn't hide his emotions.

'As expected.'

Raon nodded. He had been wondering why the Ring of Fire's effects were better than in his past life, and it was indeed due to this system.

-Give it up. Your body, the Great King's power, give it up!

Wrath began to throw a tantrum, like a child on a giant throne.

"I don't know how to give it, and I have no intention to."

He had gained the ability to grow faster and higher, and there was no need to return it to a madman who tried to steal his body.

-It's not yours either!

"You also tried to take my body, which isn't yours."

-But, the Great King heard your wish...

"I did want revenge, but it must be done by my own hands. There's no meaning in achieving it through someone unknown."

-Grr...

Out of words, Wrath only ground his teeth, unable to speak further.

"Go away."

Raon ended the conversation and turned his back.

-I can't. I won't detach until you return the Great King's power!

Wrath roared and lunged at him. Expecting to endure, he clenched his fist, but the blue flames enveloped his wrist like water, causing no pain.

Hum.

The blue flames around his wrist dimmed, forming a bracelet. It looked like a flower bracelet carved from ice.

-I'll stick with you until your last breath!

Wrath sneered and shook the flower on the bracelet.

-Though I have just awakened, my power will return soon. Then, nothing you do will stop me.

"Pfft."

Raon tried to remove the bracelet, but like when he touched the flames, it slipped through his fingers and dispersed.

-Hmm...

It wasn't completely without effect; each time he touched it, the bracelet trembled, and Wrath's voice faltered.

-Grr, it's useless. The Great King will never detach!

"Let's see about that."

He scratched, pulled, rubbed against the wall, and stomped on the bracelet, but Wrath didn't disappear. He was a stubborn one.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue. As Wrath said, the flower bracelet wouldn't disappear no matter what he did.

'I want to remove it, but...'

Leaving it might be better.

If he forcibly removed it, the system might disappear, and there was a chance this demon, Wrath, might attach to Sylvia or Helen.

It was better to keep him close, like the saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer," rather than letting him operate unseen.

Trusting the endlessly growing Ring of Fire and Water Resistance, Raon decided to control Wrath directly.

"If you won't detach, at least change your form. A flower bracelet doesn't suit me."

Raon frowned. He could understand a skull, but he didn't want to wear a flower bracelet.

-It's a matter of taste. Respect it.

"Huff..."

The idea that a brute like Wrath had a taste for flower bracelets was absurd.

-The Great King never misses his prey. Your soul and body will ultimately belong to the Great King.

"Ignore you, then."

-Grr! Brat!

Raon blocked his hearing and lay down on the bed, ignoring Wrath's whining.

'But if Wrath, the owner of the system, doesn't know I was reborn, who brought me back to life?'

Raon mumbled the new question to himself and closed his eyes.

* * *

Crack.

Wrath glared at the sleeping Raon, grinding his teeth.

'How can such a human exist?'

Even without his full power, he never expected a human to resist his possession, especially a child around ten years old.

'It's impossible...'

He had seen countless humans in a different era, from heroes who built nations with swords to villains who terrorized continents.

But this human was the first of its kind, and it irritated him like seeing 'that person.'

-Wait for the day the Great King's power returns. I will devour your soul.

Wrath, unable to contain his boiling anger, let out a rough voice.

"That won't happen. Wake up from your dream."

The young human waved his hand as if swatting a fly.

-The Great King never gives up...

"It's not happening."