The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 813

Chapter 813

Editor: Aldbnlf

 

“Hmmm…”

Merlin clutched the acorn tightly in her paw and looked up at Lust.

‘What’s going on now?’

She had been enjoying small moments of happiness by observing Raon through the eyes of the squirrel family, but during the brief time she left to handle matters with her main body, some unknown incident had occurred.

The now blind former master of the Holy Sword Alliance was lying beaten on the ground, Raon had exchanged a brief conversation with this mysterious woman, and then descended the mountain.

She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but judging by their expressions, it seemed like something significant had been discussed, making her simmer with frustration.

“What are you!”

Merlin pointed an accusing finger at Lust. Of course, as a squirrel, the gesture only came across as cute.

“A squirrel?”

Lust tilted her head as she looked down at Merlin.

“It’s clearly an ordinary squirrel, but it can talk?”

Lust didn’t recognize Merlin’s presence in the squirrel, letting out a small gasp.

“What are you…?”

“I asked first!”

Merlin couldn’t hold back and threw the acorn to the ground.

“Ah!”

Realizing immediately that it wasn’t hers, she hurriedly retrieved the acorn rolling away.

“This is your fault!”

“I see…”

Lust nodded slowly as she studied Merlin.

“You’ve melted your soul into the squirrel to avoid putting strain on its body? It’s hard to recognize unless you speak first.”

She murmured in admiration, saying it was remarkable magic.

“I already know I’m amazing! Who are you, I said?!”

Merlin bared her front teeth and growled, but as a squirrel, even her anger looked adorable.

“I am…”

Lust began to answer but turned her gaze toward the base of the mountain. Her eyes softened into a gentle smile as she looked at Raon, who had just arrived at the village.

“Hey!”

Merlin stamped her foot in frustration. Being a squirrel, the impact left no mark on the ground.

“Why do you stop halfway through your answer!”

She shouted and kicked at Lust’s shoe, knocking off a bit of dust.

“…”

Lust, now seemingly uninterested in Merlin, gazed only at Raon, her cheeks tinged with a rosy hue. Her expression grew dreamy, as if imagining the future.

“Answer me!”

Merlin bit into Lust’s leg, channeling mana from the air into her teeth. But Lust didn’t even flinch, keeping her eyes fixed on the mountain below.

‘This woman…’

Merlin narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Lust.

‘She’s not human.’

Though her face was undeniably beautiful, Lust’s features bizarrely reflected Merlin’s ideal image.

It wasn’t magic or sorcery, it was a natural power, a trait so unique it could be called an authority.

But that wasn’t the only reason Merlin was convinced Lust wasn’t human.

‘The size of her soul.’

The soul writhing within Lust’s body was even larger than Glenn’s or Darkan’s. No human could possess a soul that immense.

“What the hell are you looking at!”

Merlin bit her lip and lifted the squirrel’s body. It would be a strain on her main body, but she couldn’t just sit still.

‘Raon?’

Floating in the air, she followed Lust’s light pink gaze and spotted Raon. As she suspected, the conversation between him and Lust hadn’t been ordinary.

“You! Why are you staring at what’s mine!”

Merlin blocked Lust’s view with the squirrel’s body, shaking her head vigorously.

“What’s yours?”

For the first time, Lust’s gaze, which had ignored Merlin’s strikes and bites, grew cold and fierce.

“Squirrel. Watch your words. They could be your last.”

“Now you’re showing your true colors!”

Merlin flipped in the air and landed lightly on the ground, taking the pose of a hero, kneeling with her fist on the ground.

“Come at me!”

She punched her tiny fists into the air, daring Lust to approach.

“Pathetic… Hmm?”

As Lust watched Merlin's punching, she felt a gaze coming up from down the mountain. It was Wrath, sensing her presence and glancing in her direction.

‘Oh no!’

She immediately suppressed her energy and ducked, hiding from Wrath’s sight.

‘That was close…’

She couldn’t let Wrath know she had broken her promise to wait quietly. Disappointing him would be worse than death.

Wooooong.

Concealing her true form imbued with the authority of Lust, Lust resumed the guise she had modeled after Wrath and turned her focus back to the squirrel.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Her calm eyes reflected disdain as she shook her head.

“He’s not yours. He’s mine. I’ve been chasing him my entire life.”

She flicked Merlin’s nose, pushing her back slightly.

“Your whole life?”

Merlin snorted at Lust.

“With lips that red, lies spill out so easily! I’ve been following him day and night, and I’ve never seen you before!”

She vehemently shook her head, rejecting Lust’s claim.

"I don't care what you think. I've been following Jeoi my whole life. Soon, that effort will bear fruit." (Joei = That person or that one)

Lust clenched her fists tightly, her blue eyes—reminiscent of Wrath—filled with certainty.

"J-Jeoi? Did you just say ‘Jeoi’? Did you really just call him that?"

This time, Merlin was enraged by Lust’s use of the word ‘Jeoi.’ The term ‘Jeoi’ was typically used by a wife to refer to her husband, so anger surged in her head.

“You liar…”

Merlin bit her lip hard, glaring at Lust’s serene gaze.

‘As much as I want to call her a liar, she’s telling the truth.’

Her natural instincts, honed through being with many animals, told her.

That woman was only speaking the truth now. She had indeed been following Raon all along and believed he would be with her.

‘That can’t be.’

Raon wasn’t someone who would fall for a woman’s appearance. That clueless fool must have his reasons, and if asked, he would explain, but this wasn’t something that could just be overlooked here.

“Is that so?”

Merlin crossed her arms and swung her legs.

“Then I’m the same.”

“The same in what way?”

Lust, who had been stroking a flower with a color similar to Raon's eyes, turned her gaze.

"I’ve also decided to be with Jeoi."

Merlin smirked, pointing at Raon.

“He even told me to come live with him.”

While the actual words were an invitation to Zieghart, not to live together, such details didn’t matter now. Winning this battle of words was the priority.

"Besides, I’ve spent the night with Jeoi before."

She emphasized the word “Joei,” grinning slyly. Of course, the “night” had been spent searching the entire North Grave Mountain for snakes to feed a mole, but it still counted as spending the night together. So, she straightened her back confidently.

“Hmm…”

Lust looked at Merlin, her fingers trembling slightly.

‘Is she really telling the truth…?’

It was hard to tell since the squirrel’s appearance made its sincerity unclear, but seeing that the woman's soul was unwavering, indicated she wasn’t lying.

“How dare you…”

Lust reached out toward Merlin with a hand filled with killing intent, but she froze when her eyes fell upon the red flower.

‘Wrath…’

The flower seemed to stare back at her with the same red intensity as Wrath’s gaze from earlier. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything disgraceful in front of it.

"Yes, you are the cause of my heart's distress."

Lust shook her head as she looked at Merlin.

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

Merlin tilted her head, confused by Lust’s cryptic words.

“This flower was planted by him for me. I won’t fall for your petty provocations.”

Lust calmed the irritation welling up inside her and carefully caressed the red flower.

“A f-flower?”

Merlin’s lips quivered as she looked at the flower in front of Lust.

‘So that’s why it felt strange….’

A faint trace of Raon’s scent emanated from the flower—not just a simple scent, but a fragment of his energy.

“Tch…”

Merlin clutched her head with trembling hands.

‘Raon never planted a flower for me… wait, that’s not true!’

She remembered.

"Flowers? That's it? I even made an entire flower garden to welcome him!"

Merlin scoffed and shook her head.

‘Though it was Sylvia, not her, who did that.’

During her stay at the annex building, she had helped Sylvia arrange the garden and plant flowers. While not entirely accurate, it wasn’t a complete lie either.

“And he risked his life to save me!”

Merlin raised her hand triumphantly, deliberately omitting how she had saved Raon just as much, if not more. She emphasized only the fact that he had saved her life.

“Hmm…”

Lust furrowed her brow deeply as she looked at Merlin.

‘Killing her would be simple…’

Even if Merlin’s soul was mixed with the squirrel, a single movement of her finger could end her life.

But resorting to violence would feel like losing, so she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Ugh!”

Merlin glared at Lust, her shoulders trembling with frustration.

‘What did she talk about with Raon?’

She desperately wanted to know what had been said between Raon and this woman in front of the flower, but she felt that asking Raon would be admitting defeat, so she couldn't do it.

“Then let’s settle this another way.”

Merlin exhaled sharply and nodded her chin.

“You said you’ve been following him all this time, right?”

“Yes, for thousands of years.”

“Enough with the exaggerations!”

Merlin pointed to herself and then to Lust.

“You’ve been following him, and I’ve been secretly following him too. Let’s settle this by seeing who can follow him more silently and without being caught!”

She stomped her feet, proposing that the loser should grant the winner’s wish.

“Fine. If it’s that, I won’t lose to anyone.”

Though Lust knew it was a pointless challenge, she accepted purely because she didn’t want to lose to this squirrel.

“Me neither!”

Merlin boldly raised her hand and straightened her posture.

Clap!

As Lust and Merlin's hands met, the stalking contest between the Demon King of Lust and a near-Transcender magician began.

*   *   *

“Huff!”

Raon shuddered as if startled by something.

‘What… what was that…?’

A chill ran down his spine, as if someone had just touched it. It was the first time he had experienced anything like it, and his mind went blank.

Did… did you feel that too?

Wrath swallowed nervously as he glanced back toward the mountain they had just descended.

‘You felt it too?’

Yes. The King of Essence didn't sense any particular energy, but it was chilling.

Wrath trembled, describing the sensation as though someone had stroked his soul.

‘What could it be?’

Raon expanded his aura perception but found nothing.

‘I could feel Lust’s energy earlier… did she not leave yet?’

As the King of Essence is currently in his spirit state, if Lust hides her presence intentionally, it would be nearly impossible to find her.

Wrath shook his head, explaining that her energy had briefly been there but had now vanished completely.

‘I see.’

Raon nodded slightly. There wasn’t much he could do even if he found her, so he decided to let it be.

“Well, anyway…”

Raon turned to Runaan, who was staring intently at the bracelet on his wrist, and gave an awkward smile.

“What are you doing?”

“…”

Without answering, Runaan glared at the bracelet on his wrist like a rabbit, then struck it with her hand.

Wham!

Her knife hand struck Lust’s flower bracelet, but it didn’t break, as expected from a bracelet imbued with the Demon King’s authority.

“Tch!”

Clicking her tongue in disappointment, Runaan stepped back.

“Uh…”

“You seem to have returned safely.”

As Raon looked at his wrist and gave a hollow laugh, Darkan slowly stood up. It seemed he had recovered a bit of his strength.

“You’re not going to break the promise now, are you?”

Raon narrowed his eyes at Darkan. He didn’t expect gratitude for saving his life, but he'd be very disappointed if Darkan didn't keep his word.

“Of course not.”

Darkan nodded calmly.

“A promise made with a sword is one I keep most of the time.”

He smirked, adding that it wasn’t always the case.

“As I promised, I’ll leave without harming a single person here.”

He raised his hand, saying he would leave as soon as his soul’s wounds healed.

“But remember, my promise only includes the people who were here.”

His eyes darkened ominously.

“Glenn Zieghart is not included in that promise.”

“Do as you like.”

Raon shrugged indifferently.

“You won’t win anyway.”

Since he trusted Glenn and knew he wouldn't lose, it didn't matter whether Darkan challenged him or not.

"It stings a bit that I can't refute that."

Darkan chuckled bitterly as he straightened his body.

"But there's still an unpaid debt."

He tilted his chin, indicating that things weren't entirely settled.

"Debt? What debt are you talking about?"

Raon raised an eyebrow at Darkan.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to ask us to pay you back for saving us from that swordswoman?”

In the current situation, that was the only thing Darkan could be referring to. Even if he acted on instinct, there was some truth to it.

‘Even if it’s true, I can’t let him gain the upper hand.’

If someone like Darkan gained the upper hand, it would only lead to trouble. He had to cut it off somehow.

“I know what you’re thinking, but…”

"Thanks to you, I survived."

But Darkan's idea of settling debts was the opposite of what Raon had thought.

“What?”

“You saved me. Right before I was about to die, you released some strange energy that called the swordswoman over.”

Darkan laughed heartily, as if he knew everything that had happened.

“So when you said you wanted to…”

“Yes, it’s my debt to settle.”

He nodded lightly.

“I wouldn’t have minded dying by that woman’s saber, but if possible, I’d prefer to fall to Glenn’s or your sword.”

Darkan thanked him once more, pulling something from his chest.

“I’m no longer the alliance master, nor do I have any money, so I’ll give you this.”

He threw a worn book from inside his robe and tossed it over.

“Be careful!”

"A sword might pop out from the book!"

The Master of the Demon General Sword and the Master of the Stringed Sword shook their heads, agreeing that Darkan was crazy enough to pull such a stunt.

“Hmm…”

Raon opened the book cautiously, maintaining his guard. His eyes trembled like a ship caught in a storm.

“Could this be…”

 

Advance Chapters For Indonesian