The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1044

 Chapter 1044

 

"Hoo…."

Rector let out a heavy sigh as he held the teacup.

‘Things aren’t going well.’

From the moment they first met, Darkan had highly valued Raon’s talent, so Rector thought he would at least be willing to listen. But perhaps frustrated by the lack of enlightenment, Darkan hadn’t even given him a chance to speak.

‘A week is more than enough time.’

He had waited, watching Darkan for a week as Raon had suggested, but it was starting to feel like a complete waste of time.

Clack.

Rector set the empty teacup down on the table and rose to his feet.

‘I should just tell him we’re leaving.’

If Darkan were willing to stop Derus Robert, it would be a huge help, but judging from the current situation, it didn’t look like that was going to happen.

Rather than wasting more time on something that had no possibility, it would be better to return quickly and devise another plan.

‘He should still be there.’

Rector recalled the alley where Raon and Darkan had been in the morning and left the teahouse.

As he walked into the royal capital’s alleyways, thinking about what he should say to persuade Raon, a coarse voice rang out from the distance.

“P-please spare a coin!”

It was Darkan. He was begging people in a tone that had dropped noticeably compared to before.

“Don’t cling to me.”

A well-dressed middle-aged man frowned but still tossed a silver coin from his pocket.

‘What in the world?’

Rector widened his eyes as he watched Darkan succeed in begging.

‘He almost never succeeds.’

Even after begging all day, Darkan rarely got a single coin.

Despite wearing an eye patch, he moved as if he could see. His body was massive like a general's, so it wasn’t strange that people were unwilling to give him anything.

‘Is he just lucky today?’

Right after, Darkan also managed to get a silver coin from a young woman dressed like a noble.

“Th-thank you!”

Darkan clutched the coin that had fallen to the ground as if it were precious and bowed his head to the noblewoman.

‘No, now that I’m watching closely…’

His posture had changed?

Previously, even when begging, Darkan kept his broad shoulders and back straight, reaching out in a threatening manner.

The beggars and thugs in this neighborhood had figured him out, treating him like a punching bag to mess with when bored, but ordinary people must have found his posture intimidating.

But now, Darkan had spread his knees, narrowed his shoulders, and even hunched his back. Seen that way, his large frame looked pitiful instead.

‘He succeeded again?’

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one thinking that, as quite a few people were throwing coins to him.

‘Did he gain some kind of enlightenment?’

If the Darkan from the morning had been merely acting like a beggar, the current Darkan was truly becoming one, tapping a cracked rice bowl. It seemed he had grasped a realization about human life in that fleeting moment.

‘If that’s the case… he might be willing to listen to us…’

Just as Rector approached Darkan with a hint of hope—

“I told you, that’s not it!”

A young man, who looked as if the word “beggar” were engraved on his face, came out from beside Darkan and smacked him on the back of the head.

“The angle! The angle of your hands was too wide!”

The beggar youth spread his own hands and demonstrated the begging posture for Darkan.

“If you had kept the angle between your right and left hands at exactly 45 degrees like I just did, you would’ve gotten a gold coin, not a silver one!”

He held out both hands in front of Darkan's eyeless face, telling him to watch and feel properly.

“Your trembling is too forced! Shake at mismatched rhythms like you’re actually sick!”

Then, the beggar youth kicked Darkan in the back, shoving him out to the front of the alley as if to say, “Do it again.”

“P-please spare a coin…”

As if deeply moved by the beggar youth’s guidance, Darkan resumed begging. Seeing his trembling fingers held at a perfect 45-degree angle, Rector found his own hand unconsciously reaching into his pocket.

‘W-what the…?’

Is this some kind of charm spell? He really does look pitiful.

Even though he knew Darkan was the Dark Night Sword God, the urge to give him money arose out of sheer pity.

‘How… how is this happening…?’

As he let out a hollow laugh and shook his head, the beggar youth who had taught Darkan let out a faint chuckle.

“Huh…?”

Rector stared at the beggar youth, his mouth falling open.

‘C-could it be… Raon?’

The disguise was different from this morning, but that beggar youth was unmistakably Raon.

“It was decent. But there's still something lacking.”

Raon clicked his tongue as if unsatisfied with one aspect.

“You’re blind, right? Then you mustn’t accept or take money right away. If you purposely drop the coin and pretend to search for it, you’ll look even more pitiful.”

“That’s true! Certainly!”

Darkan brought both hands together toward Raon, as if he had learned something new again. His posture was truly respectful, as though he had taken Raon as his teacher.

“Then I’ll try again.”

“Alright. Express what you feel through your begging.”

“Got it!”

Raon nodded and stepped back, while Darkan stepped forward again to resume begging.

“P-please… spare a coin…”

Darkan hunched over and flailed his arms like a real blind beggar, and people passing through the capital tossed silver coins to him.

“Th-thank you!”

Remembering Raon’s words, he didn’t pick up the coin immediately. He swept his palm across the ground as if searching for it.

“Ah!”

Rector unconsciously tossed the silver coin he had on his finger to Darkan.

But it wasn’t just Rector who found Darkan pitiful.

Those watching nearby also seemed convinced that he was truly blind, carefully taking out their money to offer him.

“Th-thank you.”

Darkan, as if thrilled at having become a true beggar, shed tears from his empty eye sockets.

“Hmm!”

Raon nodded grandly, as if proud of the sight.

“Ha…”

Rector tightly shut his eyes as he watched his former superior satisfied with acting like a beggar, and his grandson proudly teaching him how to do it.

“Am I dreaming right now?”

A nightmare, at that?

*   *   *

“So…”

Rector let out a dumbfounded chuckle.

“You’re telling me you taught Darkan how to beg?”

“Yes.”

Raon nodded while taking off the ragged clothes that even beggars wouldn’t wear.

“At first, I thought he was spouting nonsense…”

Darkan turned to Raon with a soft smile.

“But everything he said was true.”

He placed his soot-stained hand over his chest and let out a low breath.

“I was merely pretending to be a beggar, but my soul remained the Dark Night Sword God. Even when I was trampled by other beggars and ignored by gamblers, I kept my composure, always thinking I could kill them all if I wanted.”

With both hands gathered forward, Darkan mocked his former self.

"But with that, nothing changes. It's literally just a waste of time that wears down the body and spirit. I myself felt I had taken the wrong path, but I didn't know what to change when that kid said those words."

He pointed at Raon and gave a firm nod.

“Don’t look down on beggars. That’s when I finally understood,  what I was doing was foolishness.”

Darkan said that thanks to those words, he was able to shift his mindset, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Now it really feels like I’ve become a beggar. My heart is uneasy as if I have to worry about tomorrow's meal. This must be the true life of a beggar.”

Though his heart was unsettled, Darkan said the unpleasant feeling that had been tickling his mind was now gone, and then he froze in place.

“Huh…”

Wrath blinked, as if dumbfounded.

He gains enlightenment from learning how to beg? How can that even make sense?

He shook his head, saying he couldn’t understand it.

“C-could it be…?”

Rector swallowed dryly as he looked at the frozen Darkan.

“It’s enlightenment. Though it probably won’t last long.”

Raon calmly nodded as he wiped away the soot smeared on his face.

“No, wait, you… I mean…”

Rector stammered, seemingly unsure where to begin with his questions.

“How do you know so much about being a beggar?”

He finally nodded, deciding that should be the first thing he asked.

“I picked it up during an information-gathering mission.”

Raon waved it off like it was nothing.

“A beggar’s ears catch all the rumors of the world, after all.”

For collecting information and disguising oneself as an assassin, there was no better profession than that of a beggar.

Since beggars were never seen as strange no matter when, where, or how they appeared, even in the Shadow, they were taught to act like beggars in earnest.

But since he couldn’t bring up his past life, he could only say he learned it during a mission.

“…I see.”

Rector nodded, as if somewhat convinced, though his doubts were not completely resolved.

“Then—”

“Haa!”

Just as he was about to speak again, Darkan let out a murky breath.

“Finally…”

He brushed back the hair that had fallen over his eyepatch and clenched his fist.

“My head feels clear, like I’ve been doused with cold water. The turmoil is completely gone.”

He drew a faint smile, saying he had gained an important enlightenment.

“It’s thanks to you, Raon Zieghart.”

Though a madman obsessed with the sword, Darkan, true to a warrior, bowed his head to him.

“It’s nothing.”

Raon calmly nodded.

‘I only acted because I was slightly annoyed…’

And this is how things turned out.

It wasn’t like he was some god, calculating all of this ahead of time.

He only gave a bit of guidance because Darkan’s clumsy beggar act rubbed him the wrong way, but because Darkan followed along better than he expected, even his own frustration was refreshingly resolved.

“Now speak. What is it you wanted to ask of me?”

Darkan flicked his finger. Judging by the relaxed tone in his voice, he seemed likely to agree to most things.

“Before I ask the favor, I have a question. What do you think of the Four Demons?”

Before asking Darkan to stop Derus, Raon brought up the name Four Demons.

“The Four Demons?”

Darkan clicked his tongue briefly.

“I feel nothing toward them now. I do think they’re pathetic, though.”

He shook his head, saying he held neither goodwill nor malice toward them.

“Even toward the Heavenly Demon?”

“I know he’s strong, but that guy isn’t a swordsman.”

Darkan snorted, saying that no matter how great the Heavenly Demon was, he wasn’t a swordsman, so he had no interest in him. It was impossible to see him as anything but a man obsessed with the sword.

“Then I suppose I can ask the favor.”

Raon nodded as he looked at Darkan’s eyepatch.

“Soon, Derus Robert will begin moving to attack the Five Kings. Can you stop him?”

“Derus Robert?”

Darkan repeated the name as he scratched the bridge of his nose.

“Yes. As of now, the only ones who can stop Derus are the Destructive King of the North and you.”

“He’s gotten that strong?”

Darkan opened his mouth in wonder.

“To the point I can’t read his martial power.”

Rector furrowed his brow, saying that Derus was now on a completely different level.

“Even for you as you are now, it may not be a fight you can win.”

He lightly bit his lip, saying he couldn’t predict the outcome.

“Please. Stop Derus Robert.”

Raon bowed his head to Darkan.

“I know your final goal is my grandfather. But in that fight, one of you will disappear. So wouldn’t it be a good idea to get a taste of him first?”

“No…”

Darkan wagged his finger at him. It looked like he was refusing after all.

“You should’ve just said that from the start!”

He shook his head as if annoyed that they hadn’t told him sooner.

“If you’d just said that Derus had grown that powerful, I would’ve agreed to fight him right away.”

Darkan shrugged, as if wondering why they hadn’t told him earlier.

“What?! You’re the one who didn’t let me speak!”

Rector stomped his foot, saying, you’re the one who silenced me with killing intent, what are you even saying now?

“Did I?”

Darkan scratched the back of his head as if he had forgotten his own words and actions.

“Well, let’s just move past all that. I’ll stop Derus.”

He nodded, agreeing to the request almost absurdly easily.

“And…”

Darkan tapped his temple as he looked at Raon.

“I’ll give you a small lesson as well.”

“A lesson?”

Raon slightly furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean by that…”

“I like deals. Since I gained enlightenment thanks to you, it’s only right that I repay it.”

Darkan smiled, saying he simply wanted to return what he had received.

“I’ll take a look at your swordsmanship.”

He nodded, saying he would look at his swordsmanship.

“It couldn’t have been that great an enlightenment.”

“At my level, even the smallest enlightenment becomes something precious. What you did was by no means small.”

Ordinarily, one would downplay what others did for them, but Darkan acknowledged what Raon had done as something greater than it was.

“What’s been blocking you lately?”

Darkan spread his arms as if he was ready to hear it all.

“Hmm…”

Raon pondered for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“I feel like the power of my Heart Sword is weaker than I expected.”

“Wha…?”

Darkan stood blankly for a moment, then let out a puff of air.

“Y-you’ve reached the realm of the Heart Sword?”

He nodded in disbelief, saying he had no idea.

“Yes. Though I still have to rely on this dagger’s power.”

Raon said he couldn’t do it on his own yet, then drew the Blade of Requiem.

“Then you should’ve said that first! If I knew you were a swordsman walking the same path, I would’ve listened to everything you said!”

Darkan tilted his head, asking why Raon hadn’t mentioned it earlier.

"No, you’re the one who didn’t let me speak!"

Raon shouted the same thing Rector had.

Haa, the King of Essence was mistaken again.

Wrath clutched his head as he listened to the conversation between himself and Darkan.

That bastard is truly your equal. You’re both just madmen!

*   *   *

The back alley of the Oscot Kingdom.

“What kind of lesson are you planning to give me?”

Raon stood face-to-face with Darkan in front of the ruins of a building, where moonlight swept across the ground.

“From now on, I’m going to shoot my Heart Sword at you.”

Darkan reached out into the air with his right hand, as if gripping a sword.

“You try to defend against it with your own Heart Sword.”

He raised his chin arrogantly, as if telling Raon to give it his best.

“Wait!”

Rector raised his hand toward Darkan.

“Raon only recently reached the realm of the Heart Sword. He’s not at the level to block your sword.”

He shook his head, as if to say Darkan should stop.

“He can’t even use the Heart Sword on his own, so the difference in power is obvious.”

Darkan gave a short laugh as he looked at Rector.

“But what you're imagining won't happen. My Heart Sword right now is special.”

He waved his hand as if there was nothing to worry about.

“As Darkan, I lie as easily as I breathe, but as a swordsman, I never break a promise.”

Darkan nodded, as if to say he could be trusted.

“Grandfather.”

Raon gave Rector a faint smile.

“I’ll be fine.”

After telling him to wait, he took another step closer to Darkan.

“Let’s begin.”

He drew the Blade of Requiem and gripped it tightly, clenching his teeth.

“A good mindset.”

Darkan raised the corners of his lips and extended the hand holding the formless sword.

Fwoooooosh—

Not even the slightest breeze blew, but a terrifying killing intent surged toward Raon’s soul like a raging storm. It was the wave of Darkan’s Heart Sword being fired.

Crack-crack-crack!

Raon clenched his teeth and linked the grudge dwelling in the Blade of Requiem with his own soul.

Like rivers flowing together to form the sea, the differently colored souls mixed, forging a sharper sword of the soul.

‘Now!’

Raon thrust his own sword toward Darkan’s ferociously charging Heart Sword.

Chaaaang!

Sword clashed with sword. Soul clashed with soul. A sound like thousands of glass windows shattering echoed all around.

Kuuuuuuung!

Blinded for a moment by the overwhelming wave, he opened his eyes, and the entire world had changed.

“This is…”

The ruined back alley had vanished, and in its place stretched a vast gray space with no end in sight.

“Welcome.”

At the center of that gray space, Darkan stood, looking down at him with a lifted corner of his mouth.

“To my Heart Sword.”

 

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