The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 998

 Chapter 998

 

“I found it.”

Sella nodded as she set down the hard bread and dried fruits.

“It’s the Roser Kingdom.”

She let out a murky breath, saying she had found out which kingdom the knights who kidnapped the villagers had come from.

“Ro-Roser?”

Merlin swallowed dryly as she looked at Sella.

'To think it was the number one kingdom in the south.'

Even though she had never once left the village, she still knew its name, Roser was called the empire of the south.

“Why would such a kingdom target a small village like ours…?”

“They called us demons. Said the cross in our eyes was an inverted cross, a symbol of demons.”

Sella bit her lip and pointed to her red eyes, which she had always thought were beautiful.

“D-Demons…?”

Merlin’s chin quivered.

‘Why…?’

They had lived peacefully, never harming anyone, she couldn’t understand why they were being called demons.

It was so absurd that she couldn’t even feel frustrated anymore.

“In any case, we have to go to Roser. If we’re any later, we might not be able to save everyone.”

Sella looked at her and said she would bring the villagers back.

“B-But…”

“It’s okay. I’ve already fully deciphered the magic disruption array.”

She brought her hands together, saying she had completely analyzed the array that had blocked the villagers’ magic.

“I’ll bring everyone back, so can you wait here for me?”

“I-I’ll go with you. I don’t want to be alone…”

Merlin shouted not to leave her alone and grabbed Sella’s torn sleeve.

“Please…”

If Sella didn’t come back either, she wouldn’t be able to go on. She wanted to be with her, whether they lived or died.

“Haaah…”

Sella couldn’t turn away from the young girl’s eyes and let out a long sigh.

“Well, considering they managed to find us even while we were hiding, they could find you too if you’re alone.”

As if worried Merlin might be tracked down while alone, she held her hand.

“Let’s go together. But…”

Sella placed her hand on Merlin’s head.

“If my identity is exposed, then you and I are nothing to each other. Got it?”

She gripped her shoulder, saying that if things became dangerous, Merlin had to abandon everything and run away alone.

“If you promise me just that, I’ll take you with me.”

“Ah…”

Merlin looked into Sella’s desperate eyes and slowly nodded.

“Okay.”

“I trust you, my daughter.”

Sella embraced her, calling her daughter. Not wanting to let go of that warmth, Merlin raised her trembling hand and held Sella’s back.

If only time could stop like this. No, she just wanted to return to the past, when everyone lived together.

*   *   *

Gulp.

Merlin swallowed dryly as she looked at the gates of the Roser Kingdom.

‘What if we get found out…?’

The first outsiders she had ever seen in her life were the knights of Roser, who had thrust their swords without hesitation, so just seeing the kingdom’s scenery made her entire body tremble.

“Don’t worry. This mom is right here with you.”

Sella grabbed her hand and confidently walked through the kingdom’s gates.

Fwooooosh!

Once they passed through the gates, taller than giants, they saw crowds of people walking through the capital.

Just the number of people on a single street surpassed their entire village. The overflowing liveliness made the vastness of the kingdom feel real.

Squeeze.

But Merlin clenched her fist as she looked at the lively people of the kingdom.

‘Why…’

Why do they look so normal…?

Seeing the citizens of this cruel kingdom, who had kidnapped their villagers like beasts, living like ordinary humans, filled her with a sense of dissonance so strong her fingertips trembled.

The more she followed Sella and looked around Roser, the more this normalcy made her feel nauseated, the more her rage boiled.

No matter how many times she saw it, she couldn’t understand how they could treat people, people just like them, as demons, as monsters.

While Merlin was barely holding back her anger, people started gathering toward the upper part of the capital.

“Let’s go too.”

Sella, seeming to feel the same, tightened her trembling hand and walked uphill toward the capital’s upper district.

Hooo…

The place where the people had gathered was the execution platform, and kneeling on the stage were the villagers who had once lived with her.

“La-Lady Sella…”

“You have to endure it.”

Sella gripped her hand tightly, telling her not to move no matter what. She was squeezing so hard it made Merlin’s hand ache, as if it was difficult for her to endure as well.

“Are those the ones who colluded with the demons?”

“Their eyes definitely look strange.”

“They look like crosses, but they say it’s actually an inverted cross. No wonder they’re siding with the demons.”

“They say even the flow of mana is different from ours. It’s easier to just think of them as monsters.”

The people of the kingdom laughed mockingly, treating the Para not as humans, but as monsters.

“Execute the demons!”

“Kill them all!”

“Kill them!”

The people threw stones at the hanging Para, screaming for them to be killed on the spot.

“Their execution will take place in one week.”

The knight commander left after announcing that the execution would be held here in a week.

“Ah…”

As Merlin bit her lip and tried to step forward, Sella grabbed her hand and wouldn’t let go. Her eyes bloodshot, she shook her head.

“No. Not now…”

Even though it must have been harder for her to hold back, Sella didn’t lose her composure. She turned her back.

“Let’s go down.”

She took Merlin and rented a house on the outskirts of the capital.

“It’s going to be okay.”

As soon as they entered the house, Sella hugged her and gently patted her back.

“We can save everyone.”

She nodded while meeting Merlin’s gaze. Though her eye color had changed to hide her identity, she was still just as beautiful.

“Let’s bring everyone back. This time, maybe we can live by the sea.”

Sella smiled, saying life would be better than before.

“Okay…”

Even though she sensed the unease in Sella’s voice, Merlin nodded as if she hadn’t noticed.

‘Am I going to be useless again?’

If only I could use magic, I might be able to help Sella.

Not being able to use magic, not even being able to wield a sword, this powerlessness felt like a curse.

Haaah…

Merlin looked at Sella’s trembling back and sighed inwardly.

*   *   *

Since coming to the Roser Kingdom, Sella had changed her appearance countless times to grasp the geography and power structure of the kingdom.

After figuring out whom she would have to fight and where she would need to escape, she stood in front of Merlin on the day before the execution.

“It starts now.”

Sella smiled and took her hand.

“If I get caught and chased, you must not move. Understand?”

She held out her pinky, telling Merlin to remember the promise they made before coming here.

“Mmh…”

Merlin bit her lip as she looked at the tip of Sella’s finger.

“You know what your name means, right?”

Sella smiled as she met her eyes.

“Light and hope…”

Merlin nodded softly.

“That’s right. Just like your name, everything will turn out fine.”

Sella smiled and gently stroked Merlin’s head.

“Now, let’s make that promise.”

“…Okay.”

Knowing full well how dangerous and urgent the situation was, Merlin raised her pinky and hooked it with Sella’s.

“Good. I’ll see you later.”

Leaving those words behind, Sella disappeared.

‘Now I’m alone.’

Since the house was one that Sella had rented entirely for themselves, no one came or went, but that only made it feel more unsettling. Whatever happened, she just wanted the result to come quickly.

While Merlin hid under the blanket with her head covered, a massive rumble echoed from the direction of the palace.

‘Has it started?’

She immediately threw off the blanket and looked out the window. The fortress wall, which had always felt as solid and rigid as armor, was crumbling, and a storm of fire and frost was raging from within.

‘Lady Sella…’

It was clear Sella was fighting while rescuing the others.

‘I have to be ready to escape.’

Merlin immediately got out of bed. Not knowing when Sella would return, she packed her things so she could leave at a moment’s notice and waited by the door.

But no matter how long she waited, Sella didn’t come back. Instead, the mana flow within the palace began to shake violently.

‘What’s happening…?’

Just as Merlin gripped her backpack with trembling hands and bit her lip—

Screeeeech!

A red pillar rose from the ground beneath her feet, letting out a grotesque sound.

But the pillar of light, for all its noise, had no effect on her.

‘What is this…?’

As Merlin blinked at the light, she heard the sound of people rushing from outside.

“This is the place!”

“There’s a demon inside!”

After confirming that the house’s door was locked, people began smashing the walls with hammers and axes.

Crash!

Eventually, the wall and door collapsed, and the people glared at her with icy eyes.

“There she is! The demon child!”

“B-But there’s no cross in her eyes?”

“No, that mark proves it! Trust the Sage!”

Calling her a demon, they began pouring through the broken wall.

“Ah…”

Merlin tried to run, but didn’t get far before hitting the wall behind her.

“Demon!”

Just as hands reached out toward her, a blue wind swept in from behind, blasting them all away.

“Are you okay?”

It was Sella. Even though her entire body was covered in wounds and blood, she worried about Merlin first.

“I’m sorry. It was all a trap…”

She bit her lip, saying that everything, the capture of the Para and the execution, had all been a trap.

And sure enough, red light was beginning to glow beneath Sella’s feet as well.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Sella brought her hands together to cast a teleportation spell.

Wooooong!

But her magic fizzled out just like Merlin’s flame magic had before.

“So this one’s blocked too…”

Sella bit her lip and shook her head. Just as she brought her hands together again to attempt another teleportation spell—

Splat!

A pale white hand burst out through Sella’s abdomen.

“My apologies. But I can’t let a guest who came all this way just leave.”

Behind her appeared a man with golden eyes and a cold smile.

“Ohh! It’s the Sage!”

“The Sage is here!”

The kingdom’s people, who had been trying to capture Merlin, dropped to their knees at the sight of the golden-eyed man.

“Y-You…”

Sella, clearly not expecting such a sneak attack, looked down at her bleeding abdomen and trembled.

"So you are indeed the last queen of Sirken."

The man, called the Sage, smiled and nodded.

"Actually, as long as I capture you, the rest don't matter."

He gave an insidious smile, as if he also had ties to the vanished Sirken Kingdom.

“Ah, ah…”

Merlin gasped in ragged breaths.

‘Lady Sella…?’

The arm piercing through Sella’s abdomen, the blood spilling to the floor, the monster with a human face grinning, the humans praying like fanatics, everything felt like a nightmare.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A pounding like her chest was about to burst spread through her, and her heart ached. Her vision began to turn pure white.

“Now, let me give you your mark as well—”

Just as the Sage grabbed Sella’s neck and began to twist it—

Kuwaaaaaang!

An immense blaze erupted from Merlin’s hand, destroying the house and blasting scorching heat in all directions.

It wasn’t just fire. Wind and frost stormed down from the sky, and the ground overturned, burying all the knights who had been approaching.

Gooooooo!

With blood-red crosses glowing in her purple eyes, Merlin unleashed magic of all four elements at once.

Kuwaaaaaaaa!

The power tore through the sky and earth, ripping apart even the elite knights radiating powerful aura without mercy.

“S-Sir Sage!”

The knights and surviving citizens of the kingdom stretched their hands toward the Sage, begging for help.

Wooooooong!

The man known as the Sage pulled out the hand that had pierced through Sella’s abdomen and raised a wall of mana to block Merlin’s magic.

“Kahahahahaha!”

He burst into a twisted laugh as he looked into Merlin’s eyes floating in the air.

“So you were the real one!”

The Sage reached out his hand and began interfering with Merlin’s magic.

Wooooooong!

Merlin continued pouring out powerful magic, but as if reaching her limit, she began coughing up blood and was gradually pushed back.

“Dieeeee!”

She poured out all of her rampaging power to save Sella, but the Sage didn’t take even a single step back.

“Stop resisting, and come to me.”

As the Sage reached out his hand, Merlin’s body began being pulled toward him.

Chiiiiiiing!

Just before the Sage’s hand could grab her by the neck—

Paaaaang!

A silver flash burst from the right, severing the Sage’s arm and catching the falling Merlin.

“Loctar Defort. Following Her Majesty's command, I will protect the Princess first.”

Loctar bit his lip deeply as he looked at the fallen Sella. With a single blink, he finished his greeting to his queen and dashed northward with Merlin in his arms.

“N-No…”

Merlin coughed up black blood as her broken voice leaked out.

“I’m sorry. It’s already too late.”

Loctar shook his head, saying he couldn’t save Sella. Even as tears streamed down his face, he kept moving his legs without stopping.

‘Not yet…’

Merlin reached out her hand toward Sella, who couldn’t get up.

‘I didn’t even get to say thank you or tell her I love her.’

She never got to thank Sella for treating her like a real daughter. Never got to say thank you for always loving her.

No—more than that…

Mom.

She regretted never once calling Sella “mom.”

If this was going to be their farewell, then even if it was awkward or embarrassing, she wished she’d at least called her that once. She was overwhelmed with regret for her past self who had done nothing.

“Please…”

Loctar Defort, driven by the duty to protect Merlin, pressed forward without once looking back, cutting down the knights blocking the path.

“…This was unexpected.”

The Sage, whose arm had been cut off, appeared in perfect condition without a single wound and blocked their way.

“However, this is the end. You, perhaps, but that young lady cannot leave.”

As the Sage opened his hand, a red curse unraveled and coiled around the bodies of Loctar and Merlin.

Crackkk!

The two of them were lifted into the air, their bodies constricted as if they would shatter at any moment.

“M-Mom!”

Unable to hold back the regret stabbing through her chest, Merlin cried out one last time toward the fallen Sella.

“It’s already too late. Princess of Sirken is—”

Just as the Sage shook his head with a faint smile—

Pazzzzzzt!

Sella, who had been collapsed as if dead, appeared before him and thrust forth her small fist wrapped in crimson lightning.

Kuwaaaaaang!

The Sage’s head exploded while he was still smiling, and his body slumped to the ground.

“…Finally.”

Sella looked back at Merlin without even wiping the black blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

“You called me mom.”

She nodded with a smile, as if bidding farewell for the last time.

“Evelyn.”

 

 

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