The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 999

 Chapter 999

 

“Mom…”

Evelyn called out to Sella in a deflated voice, like a child, her throat filled with blood.

“Yes. My daughter.”

Sella gave a gentle smile, as if that alone made her happy.

But unlike her smile, her complexion darkened rapidly. The last flare before death. Death was already at her back.

“Evelyn.”

Sella wiped the blood from her hands on her sleeve and touched Evelyn’s purple hair.

“You might not remember, but the first time you used magic, you hurt the child who was next to you. That shock stayed in your mind, and that’s why you couldn’t use magic.”

She gave a faint smile, saying it was because of her kind heart that she couldn’t use magic.

“Even if you couldn’t use magic, you are still a Para… still my daughter.”

With trembling hands, Sella pulled Evelyn into her arms.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I was just so…”

Evelyn lowered her gaze, blaming herself as if all of this were her fault.

“None of this is your fault. But…”

Sella shook her head and held up her fingers.

“If you want to marry a good man, you’ll have to act a little faster.”

She poked Evelyn’s cheek with a teasing smile.

“M-Marry…?”

“There’s just one last thing I want to ask. Forget about today. Go far away from here. Marry someone who truly loves you, have children, and live a normal, happy life.”

Sella pressed her lips to Evelyn’s forehead, asking her to live the life she herself couldn’t.

“M-Mom! Let’s… ah—”

Just as Evelyn lifted her head, Sella struck the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious..

“……”

Sella looked lovingly at the sleeping Evelyn, then turned her back.

“Loctar.”

She carefully handed Evelyn over to Loctar and gave a firm nod.

“Take care of Evelyn.”

Sella stepped back, entrusting Evelyn to him.

“Your Majesty…”

Loctar saw the death reflected in Sella’s eyes and bit his trembling lips.

“It was an honor to serve you.”

Holding Evelyn in his arms, he ran westward.

Rumbleeeee!

Even when faced with the countless knights blocking his path, Loctar did not retreat. He charged straight ahead.

Thud—!

As he cast off his armor and leapt forward, blue light flashed across his body, revealing the massive form of a dragon.

Rumbleee!

In his true form, Loctar broke through the encirclement of knights while holding Evelyn and soared northward.

“Stop him!”

“Fire aura blade and astral energy!”

“Cut his wings!”

The high-ranking knights launched aura blade and astral energy to stop Loctar.

“Not a chance!”

Even as she coughed up blood, Sella raised walls of mana, blocking all the slashes aimed at her daughter.

Kwoooooosh!

Sella let out a faint, weakened smile as she watched Loctar fly away, sweeping the knights aside with a tremendous gust.

‘Be happy.’

Just as she gave Evelyn her final farewell, a grotesque sound came from behind her, like bones and flesh rejoining.

Crunch…

The sage, whose face she had smashed in with a lightning-infused fist, slowly rose to his feet. As if time were rewinding, his flesh and face began to restore to their original state.

“So you were a draconian.”

The sage smoothed over his now fully restored face and nodded.

“No wonder the mana flow felt off.”

He gave a thin smile, as though he finally understood.

“You…”

Sella swallowed dryly as she looked at the sage.

“What are you…”

The man known as the sage had certainly stopped breathing. She had crushed his face down to the inside, something not even a troll with extreme regeneration could survive.

But this man restored his crushed face and body, returning to his original form. She knew many spells and forms of sorcery, but she had never seen anything like this.

“I’m just an ordinary man who wants to change the past.”

The sage shrugged as if that were all.

“Of course, right now, all I want is to save our poor king…”

He looked up at the sky where Evelyn had disappeared and smacked his lips.

“Never…”

Sella raised her heavy arms and brought her hands together.

"I will absolutely not give you that child!"

She forcibly gathered the mana that was slipping from her grasp, creating a radiant light.

“I suppose it’s only fair to accept a final struggle.”

The sage smiled and raised his fingers.

Kuwaaang!

The massive explosion caused by the clash of Sella’s and the sage’s magic spread all the way to the center of the royal capital.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

Even in the swirling storm of the blast, Sella survived and stood as an unyielding wall, blocking the sage and the knights for over ten minutes.

But in the end, due to her wounds, her breath stopped. She sank to the cold ground without even being able to close her eyes.

“As you wished, I may never find that child. However…”

The sage smacked his lips briefly as he looked into Sella’s eyes, which held onto their resolve even in death.

“Your daughter will find her way to me on her own.”

He nodded with certainty and drew a cold smile.

*   *   *

Evelyn cried for a week, raged, sobbed again, and finally came to her senses.

“Revenge…”

She undid the bandages wrapped around her neck and clenched her fists.

“I will get revenge.”

Not just on the one called the sage, but on the king of Roser who ordered all of this, the knights, and even the people who threw stones. She swore she would kill them all.

“Princess.”

Loctar knelt on one knee and met Evelyn’s gaze.

“The path of revenge is a treacherous one. Whether you succeed or fail, only hell awaits at the end.”

Though he understood Evelyn’s feelings, he shook his head as if he couldn’t allow it.

“Do you not remember Her Majesty’s final wish?”

He let out a deep sigh and spoke Sella’s name.

“She asked you to forget that day, to marry a good man, and to live happily. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

He bowed his head, pleading with her to honor Sella’s last wish.

“I know. I remember everything.”

Evelyn nodded, saying she remembered Sella’s words and breath.

“But I can’t. I can’t just bury what happened, bury mom in my heart, and go on living.”

Her eyes sharpened as she declared she could never simply endure it.

“If you won’t help me, I’ll do it alone.”

Evelyn clenched her teeth, determined to take revenge on the Roser Kingdom even if it meant doing it alone.

“Haaah…”

Loctar let out a long sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead.

“This isn’t what Her Majesty wanted…”

He shook his head slowly, then looked back at Evelyn.

“Then I’d like to hear how you plan to carry out this revenge.”

Loctar said that was what mattered and sat down on the ground.

“Uncle, there’s something I need you to do first.”

Evelyn spoke up immediately, as if she had been waiting.

“Me?”

"Gather the factions outside the kingdom who hate the Roser, and rally the monsters. It's possible if you use your draconian abilities, isn't it?"

She nodded, saying she knew Loctar’s abilities.

"It's true that Rosser is a powerful kigdom, so there are many factions harmed by them, and it's also true that I have the ability to create guardians like a dragon. However..."

Loctar calmly shook his head.

“That alone won’t be enough. Roser isn’t just strong in the south, it’s one of the strongest on the entire continent.”

He lowered his gaze, saying they couldn’t win like that.

“Of course that’s not everything.”

Evelyn shook her head with composure.

“I’m going to go into the Roser Kingdom myself.”

She nodded as she declared that she would enter Roser herself.

“What? What do you mean…?”

“I’ll sneak in as a new mage recruit.”

Evelyn exhaled a murky breath and said she would go in herself and pave the way for revenge.

“If I enter as a mage and build up achievements, there will eventually come a time when I face the king and the sage. That’s when I’ll end everything.”

She revealed a chilling murderous intent, saying she would erase everyone involved in this incident, and the name of the Roser Kingdom itself.

“That’s dangerous! They’ll surely grow suspicious of your identity!”

“I heard there are places that specialize in forging identities. If you pay, they can create a whole new life. And…”

Evelyn bit her lip as she looked at the flustered Loctar.

“If you don’t take the risk, revenge is impossible. Just like you said, Roser is a powerful kingdom.”

She revealed unwavering eyes, showing this was the only way.

“Haaah… those eyes.”

Loctar let out a long sigh as he looked into Evelyn’s resolute gaze.

“You’re just like Lady Sella. She told you to find a good man and get married, but to think you’d show your decisiveness in this kind of way…”

He clutched his head, as if in despair.

“Even if I try to stop you, you’ll still go, won’t you?”

“Yep. Even if you tie up my limbs, I’ll find a way through.”

Evelyn nodded firmly, saying she would go no matter what.

“…Alright.”

Loctar sighed and nodded.

“But you’ll have to be thoroughly prepared. That sage has the ability to detect Paras.”

He raised his hand, saying that sorcery must be blocked first.

“That’s already taken care of.”

Evelyn nodded and placed her hand over her eye. The moment a faint light rose, the red cross in her eye disappeared.

“That monster found me and mom by tracking the mana flow unique to Paras. All I have to do is alter my mana flow to match a normal human’s.”

Evelyn flicked her hand, saying it was a simple spell.

“W-What…”

Loctar widened his eyes as he looked at Evelyn.

“When did you…”

He recalled Evelyn, who had only cried for a whole week, and let out an astonished breath.

"I made it as it came to mind."

Evelyn described the absurd spell she created as casually as if she had eaten a piece of bread.

“Were you a genius all along, Princess?”

“I’m not even sure myself.”

Evelyn shook her head calmly.

“Just… after that day…”

She raised her hands toward the air.

“I can see and feel all of mana’s flow.”

She nodded, saying she could now read not just magic, but the phenomena of this world itself.

“Ha…”

Loctar blinked in disbelief.

“Now you get it, right? It’s dangerous, sure, but I’m not just trying to break a rock with an egg.”

Evelyn nodded, saying she had a real chance.

“You must’ve seen it too, the Roser Kingdom doesn’t have many mages.”

“Right. Most of the ones chasing us were knights.”

Loctar nodded as if he finally recalled.

“And I’m still young. If I just show a decent level of talent, they’ll definitely come to trust me.”

Evelyn pounded her chest with a fist, saying she was confident.

“There’s a possibility, I suppose…”

Loctar sighed briefly and nodded.

“I acknowledge that. But Princess… you’ve changed too much.”

He narrowed his eyes, saying she seemed like a completely different person.

“I’m still timid. But mom told me to be someone who takes action. So from now on, I’ll act on whatever comes to mind. For the sake of revenge.”

Evelyn clenched her fists tightly with an audible sound as she spoke the word revenge.

“That’s not what she meant…”

Loctar let out a long sigh, as if he was already exhausted.

*   *   *

On her fifteenth birthday—

Evelyn became a new mage recruit and headed for the Roser Kingdom.

Just as she had expected, since the kingdom was centered around knights, mages were considered rather rare.

“Roser…”

Evelyn looked at the front gates of the Roser Kingdom, the same ones she once passed holding Sella’s hand, and lowered her gaze.

‘Beyond this point lies hell.’

Even so, she had to go.

Back then, she had only been scared and trembling, but now, her heart trembled in a different way.

“Hoo.”

Evelyn let out a murky breath and stepped into the kingdom.

“Excuse me…”

The moment she stepped into the capital, a young man in the kingdom’s uniform approached her.

“Are you Lady Merlin?”

“Yes.”

Evelyn gave a nod upon hearing the name Merlin, the ancient archmage that Sella had loved the most.

“I’m Berin, a third-rank assistant of the Magic Tower. Please, come this way!”

The man who introduced himself as Berin bowed and said he’d guide her.

“Thank you.”

Evelyn returned the greeting and followed Berin up the capital’s northern road.

‘It’s gone.’

The platform that had once been used to announce the execution of villagers was no longer there. In its place stood a cleanly rebuilt stone wall.

“That way leads to the royal palace. Only royal mages are allowed to enter.”

Berin shook his head, saying the palace wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.

“The Magic Tower is this way.”

“Okay.”

Evelyn loosened the strength in her hand and followed Berin toward the tower.

“The Tower master is probably waiting. Despite appearances, he’s a good person…”

Berin chatted about the Tower and its master, but none of it reached her ears.

‘Just wait a little longer.’

Evelyn bit her lip as she looked down at the royal palace through the Magic Tower’s window.

‘I’ll erase everything you hold dear.’

*   *   *

Ten years later.

Evelyn stepped out of the Magic Tower, wearing a robe adorned with a golden lion.

“Lady Merlin. Congratulations!”

“You’re finally heading to the royal palace.”

“Becoming the royal archmage in just ten years, this is a first in history!”

Her fellow mages bowed their heads and offered their congratulations.

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you.”

Evelyn gave a faint smile and waved her hand.

“We’ll definitely attend the ceremony tomorrow!”

“Even after you go to the palace, don’t forget about us!”

“Call on me sometime too!”

The mages waved as they said they would attend the ceremony taking place the next day.

“Of course. I’m sure we’ll see each other often even after I move.”

After exchanging farewells, Evelyn entered her private quarters near the Magic Tower.

“Haa…”

She sat on the luxurious bed and let out a suppressed sigh.

‘Ten years. Has it already been ten years?’

It had been ten years since she entered Roser’s Magic Tower.

In that time, she had honed her magic and accomplished many feats, but neither the king nor the sage had ever once sought her out.

The sage at least occasionally made public appearances, but the king had stayed shut inside the audience chamber, never meeting anyone, not even once.

‘But…’

Tomorrow, he’ll have no choice but to appear.

Tomorrow was the day she would leave the research position at the Magic Tower and become the royal archmage of the palace.

At least on that day, even the king who’s been hiding will have no choice but to show himself.

‘I have to end everything tomorrow.’

If the king hides away in the audience chamber again, there’s no telling when he’ll come out. Tomorrow, when both the king and the sage will be present, is the day she must erase this kingdom.

‘My heart is pounding.’

Her current self had certainly become stronger. She had reached a point where she could even block the spells the Sage used, but because she wasn't sure she could win, her heart continued to pound.

'Still, I have no choice but to do it.'

As Evelyn lay down on the bed with her hand to her forehead, a faint sound echoed in her ear.

[Princess.]

It was Loctar, he was contacting her through the artifact he had given her.

[It’s tomorrow. Are you mentally prepared?]

“Yes.”

Evelyn nodded toward the blue light.

[This is truly the last chance. You can still stop.]

Loctar asked heavily, asking if she was really going to do it.

“……”

Evelyn didn’t answer right away and slowly closed her eyes.

‘Ten years…’

It was long.

Living in Roser for ten years, I came to feel many things.

There were good people here, and bad ones too. Just like the village I once lived in, this place was also filled with ordinary people.

There were people who treated me with warmth, those who became my mentors, and even precious friends and comrades.

Every time I thought of them, an echo rose in my chest, as if asking whether I truly meant to go through with it.

There are times I think about giving up and just leaving this kingdom. Times I think I’d rather stay and keep living like this, too.

But I can’t.

The king, the sage, the knights, and all those in power in this country, they’re monsters who carried out a massacre even though they knew the Para were human.

“I’m going to do it.”

After a short but deep inner struggle, Evelyn gave a nod.

[…Understood.]

Loctar lowered his voice, as if accepting her will, then vanished.

“I’m going to do it. No…”

Like a child curled up with Sella long ago, Evelyn pulled the blanket over her head and bit her lip.

“I have to.”

*   *   *

Uwaaaaaaah!

A massive platform had been erected in front of the royal palace, and a radiant banner descended over it, filled with dazzling light.

Because it was the first time in twenty years that the royal archmage of the palace was being replaced, the induction ceremony was more extravagant than ever.

Evelyn bit her lip as she looked up at the platform, towering as high as the castle walls.

‘Death and light, huh…’

Seeing that the bloodstained platform that had once mocked and executed her people was now welcoming her in light, a scornful laugh escaped her, aimed at both herself and them.

“His Majesty the King is entering!”

While she was waiting below the platform, the ground-shaking cries of knights rang out from within the palace.

She slightly lifted her head and saw the back of a man climbing the platform.

‘So he wasn’t dead after all.’

He’d been out of sight for so long that she wondered if he was dead, but the king was alive and climbing the platform in full health.

‘And…’

That bastard too.

Evelyn bit her lip as she saw the man climbing the steps one pace behind

the king.

The monster known as the sage.

That one also had to die today, no matter what.

“It’s been a while since I’ve come out in public like this.”

The king stood at the edge of the platform and looked out over the citizens gathered below.

‘That face…’

Evelyn bit her lip as she looked at the king, who appeared to be a handsome man in his twenties.

‘So he really did perform human sacrifice.’

During her ten years in the Roser Kingdom, she had secretly investigated what happened that day, and what she found horrified her.

Using the excuse that the Para had colluded with demons, the king captured them and used their blood to cure his disease, which accelerated aging.

That gleaming skin and those clear eyes were soaked in the blood and flesh of her own people.

“I’ve been so busy with the affairs of the kingdom that I haven’t been able to show myself, but I’ll be more mindful of that from now on.”

The king waved toward the citizens as he spoke.

Wooooaaaaah!

“Long live His Majesty Sifilen!”

The citizens, unaware of what kind of man he truly was, shouted nothing but cheers.

“Well then, I suppose it’s time to call up today’s main guest.”

The king took a step back and gave a nod.

“Merlin Priares. Please come up.”

He looked down and gestured toward her.

“Yes.”

Evelyn nodded and stepped up the stairs leading to the platform.

With every step she took, memories of the people dying in the burning village, her kin who were insulted in this very place, and her mother who had smiled even when on the verge of death, came to mind.

Carrying that hatred and rage in her heart, she stood before the king atop the platform.

“Welcome.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

The king and the sage, monsters wearing human skin, welcomed her with smiles.

“No need to wait. Let’s begin right away.”

At the king’s gesture, the sage stepped forward.

“For accomplishments such as the subjugation of the monsters in the Myuran mountain, the development of new advanced magic, the restructuring of the Magic Tower’s system, and the improvement of the kingdom defense magic, Merlin Priares is hereby appointed as the royal archmage of Roser.”

As the sage finished, the king stepped forward holding a red cloak and staff.

“You’ve done well.”

He thanked her for her many achievements and draped the cloak over her shoulders.

In that moment, a wave of revulsion crawled up her skin, but she forced herself to endure it and straightened her posture.

“Merlin, that’s the name of an ancient archmage. I trust you’ll live up to that great name and serve the kingdom well.”

“…Understood.”

Evelyn forced her lips to move and straightened her body.

“Good. Now that you’re the royal archmage, it’s only right you be granted one wish.
Is there anything you desire?”

The king nodded and asked what she desired.

“Your Majesty…”

Evelyn, sensing that the moment for revenge had finally come, slowly closed and opened her eyes. She twisted the corners of her lips as she looked at the king’s flawless skin.

“Do you remember what happened ten years ago?”

“Ten years ago?”

The king narrowed his eyes.

"There have been so many things, I don't know which one you're referring to."

“The people once called Para, who lived in the southwest. Do you remember their deaths?”

“Ah! Yes, I remember.”

He nodded calmly.

“They looked like humans, but they were colluding with demons!”

Even now, the king still regarded the Para not as humans, but as monsters.

“I see. I’m glad.”

Evelyn lifted her head with a smile.

"That I didn't give up."

The king’s eyes trembled faintly.

A gaze filled with uncertainty, not conviction.

He knew.

Even though the Para were human, he had them slaughtered to save

himself, and he was fully aware of it.

“What are you saying…?”

The king widened his eyes as if he didn’t understand.

“I am the last surviving Para of those you murdered.”

As Evelyn spoke, she stretched out her right hand. Her fingernails dug into her palm, and crimson blood began to flow.

“To your eyes, what color is this blood? Is it black, like a demon’s?”

Baring her teeth, she flung the blood pooled in her palm at the king and the sage.

“Because the flow of mana is different, because of the cross in our eyes—we’re demons? It’s your souls that are demonic!”

Evelyn unleashed the wrath and resentment she had built up for ten years, screaming it out.

“Seize that wench! She’s a demon!”

“Subdue her!”

“Block the way!”

At the king’s shout, the knights and the sage moved to stand at his side.

“Mom told me to have the resolve to act. That’s why I prepared.”

With a snap of her fingers, red and blue lights rose up around the platform and its surroundings.

“This is the path of revenge I’ve spent ten years preparing.”

With those words, the air twisted—
and brilliant, multicolored magic rained down from the sky.

Kuwaaaaaang!

The sky roared, the earth flipped, and the explosion engulfed the gathered knights, the sage, and the nobles, leaving not even corpses behind, only pools of blood.

Among the knights were Masters and even Grandmasters, but not a single one withstood Evelyn’s magic. They melted down into nothing but lumps of flesh.

Squelch.

Evelyn stepped through the blood as she walked to the edge of the shattered platform.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

The king, somehow still alive, was screaming in terror.

“I’m not going to let you die easily.”

Evelyn shaped the remaining blood in her palm into a blade and drove it into the king’s chest.

“Gah—! Gaaaargh!”

The king’s skin began to wither and blacken, as if the blade were draining his life. His body rapidly aged.

“Gaaaaaah…”

He crawled on the floor, drooling as if horrified by the terrible pain.

"This is..."

Lifting the king by the collar, Evelyn turned toward the people gathered below the platform, her red eyes blazing.

“This is the king of your kingdom.”

After retrieving the mana infused in the blood of the Para, she slowly shook her head.

“Your vile king killed us and drank our blood so he could avoid death, then called us demons, so tell me, who do you think the real demon is?”

Evelyn looked into the trembling eyes of the people and revealed what the Para’s deaths had truly meant.

Crackle…

As she tightened her grip on the king’s collar, the sage began to rise again from within the pool of blood.

“As expected, you don’t die.”

Evelyn ground her teeth as she looked at the sage, who had resurrected without a single change from before.

“Haaah…”

The sage stretched out his newly regrown neck and laughed.

“So it was you.”

He nodded calmly, not flustered in the slightest despite the scene around him.

“I knew you would come back. You have the eyes of someone who cannot help but seek revenge.”

He smiled as though everything had gone just as he expected.

“But can you suppress all this on your own?”

At his gesture, the knights who had died in the blood began to rise again, and more knights surged in from below the platform.

“You must have run out of everything you prepared.”

The sage shook his head, as if telling her to give up.

“I’m not alone.”

As Evelyn shook her head, the kingdom’s outer wall crumbled, and a dragon emitting blue light rose into the sky.

KWAARRRRRR!

Amid a roar that felt like the earth and sky were turning upside down, she lifted her head.

“Today…”

With the red cross she had kept hidden for revenge rising in her eyes, Evelyn raised her chin.

“I will erase you and this kingdom.”

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