The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1077 (fixed)

 Chapter 1077

 

“Let’s stop here for today.”

Darkan waved the hand holding his black sword.

“Hoo….”

Raon exhaled a white breath, planting Heavenly Drive into the ground.

‘It keeps getting harder.’

After the Flame Spirit, I improved the Flame Dragon Art, and after the Flame Dragon Art, I worked on the Flawless Sea of Fire.

But even after that, there were still higher-level sword techniques I had to refine, so neither my body nor my mind had any respite.

‘The mornings are the same.’

Inside my mental world, my will and the authorities of the demon kings were still clashing, so even though I was growing both physically and mentally, my training felt like a daily brush with death.

‘To think I’d be worn out in just one week.’

Raon clenched his trembling hand into a fist.

It had only been a week of training, yet the exhaustion hit me as though months had passed, making me laugh hollowly.

‘If I hadn’t vented this frustration on the Light Wind swordsmen, I might have collapsed long ago.’

You, did you just say you vented your frustration?

Wrath nodded vigorously, as if he knew it all along.

You said it was training for the Light Wind kids, but in the end you were just venting your frustration! You filthy scoundrel!

He ground his teeth, calling him vicious.

‘So, did they grow stronger or not?’

Raon tilted his chin at Wrath.

Huh? Uh….

Wrath blinked in confusion.

‘They did, didn’t they? The kids grew, and I let out my stress. Killing two birds with one stone.’

Raon straightened his chest proudly.

H… He guesses?

Wrath opened his mouth in surprise.

I-It seems right, and at the same time nonsense. Spending time with the world’s craziest bastard, even the King of Essence feels like he’s going mad….

He clutched his head and groaned as if he didn’t know anymore himself.

“Raon. Have you thought about the question I asked you a week ago?”

Glenn approached and looked down at him.

“I’ve thought about it, but I still don’t have an answer.”

Raon let out a small sigh and shook his head.

“Then you still can’t join our conversation.”

Darkan chuckled and turned his back.

“Let’s go.”

He gestured to Glenn, saying that Raon wasn’t in a place yet to join in the conversation about the Heart Sword.

“I don’t like it, but what he said is true. Think more deeply about what I told you before.”

Leaving only those words behind, Glenn departed the training ground with Darkan.

“Haa….”

Raon frowned as he sank down onto the dirt floor.

“Damn….”

It was true that after a week of training with Darkan and Glenn, my strength had increased rapidly.

But the most important part of this training was neither the growth of my swordsmanship nor the strengthening of my will.

‘The Heart Sword.’

After the Blade of Requiem was shattered, the Heart Sword reverted back to one star. Growing it again was my greatest purpose, but I hadn’t even been able to begin.

“Think of what it is you can show through your Heart Sword? What does that mean?”

No matter how many times I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what Glenn’s words meant.

‘The Heart Sword is just a sword forged from the soul, isn’t it?’

Pathetic fool!

Wrath clicked his tongue long and loud.

Without the Blade of Requiem, are you incapable of doing anything?

Wrath frowned as if he found it pathetic.

‘Yeah. Even I think I’m pathetic.’

Raon sighed and nodded.

‘Looks like I’ve been leaving too much to master and the Blade of Requiem.’

I had thought that I had been wielding the Heart Sword by my own will, but looking back now, it seemed I had relied on Rimmer and the Blade of Requiem for the most important parts.

Buzzzzz.

A transparent energy rose above Raon’s hand. A blurred Heart Sword. The energy was there, but it was an incomplete sword that hadn’t taken form or will.

‘I can use the Heart Sword, but I don’t know what it really is.’

Looking at the wavering sword, Raon let out a self-mocking smirk.

‘I awakened the Heart Sword, but I don’t even know how I awakened it. Pathetic beyond words.’

He bit his lip hard, insulting himself.

“I don’t have time to rest, but I want to rest.”

As Raon lay down with his back against the training ground, a small swallow descended from the sky.

“Oh? You’re back already?”

The swallow he had sent to deliver news to Rector had returned with a reply.

Chirp!

The swallow tilted its head as if saying it had been a while, then extended its right leg with a letter tied to it.

“Thank you.”

Raon stroked the swallow’s head, untied the letter, and read it.

[I believed that you and Zieghart would destroy the White Blood Religion and defeat its leader. But seeing that belief come true in reality, it cannot be expressed with words like ‘proud.’ Now that I’m old, tears just come so easily. I wanted to be of help to you, but I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you. I….]

The letter was simple. It congratulated the victory and apologized for not being able to help.

‘But….’

What’s this part?

[Your sword even cut through the White Blood Religion leader’s persistence. Your fight always stirs people’s hearts. I am truly proud.]

I had not written in my letter to Rector that I personally killed the White Blood Religion’s leader.

I had only written that we destroyed the White Blood Religion, and that the leader had died, yet Rector had written as if he had seen the fight himself.

‘No way….’

Raon’s chin trembled slightly.

‘Grandfather came too?’

Thinking about it, it would be stranger if he wasn’t. Rector was someone who cared for me more than anyone else.

‘Wrath. During the war with the White Blood Religion, the one who supported us….’

Raon frowned as he looked at Wrath.

‘Was it grandfather?’

Gasp!

Wrath clamped his mouth shut.

‘It wasn’t the other demon kings, but Grandfather who helped, so why didn’t you say anything?’

Raon stretched Wrath’s cheeks like cheese, demanding an answer.

H-He thought that if the old man deliberately hid his presence, then he must have had a reason!

Wrath raised his hand, telling him to think carefully.

If it was simply to deceive Derus Robert, he could have sent you an aura message, couldn't he!

He shook his head, insisting it was only out of consideration for Rector.

‘Hmm….’

Raon let out a low groan.

‘That’s true too.’

As Wrath said, seeing that Rector hadn’t wanted even me to know, there must have been another reason.

‘Normally you’re a fool, but at times like this you’re unexpectedly considerate.’

Raon gave Wrath a small laugh.

What do you mean at times like this! The King of Essence is always overflowing with consideration!

Wrath didn’t refute being called a fool, but only got angry at the part about consideration. Every time, he proved to be a truly peculiar demon king.

And there were a few more of them.

‘A few more?’

He doesn’t know most of their names, but one of them was the guy who threw you aside, saying you were noisy.

‘Threw me away for being noisy? Ah! Lawrence!’

Raon clapped his hands and let out an exclamation.

‘So Sir Lawrence came too.’

Lawrence had said he would definitely take part in the war against the White Blood Religion, but he had not shown up at the battlefield.

I had thought it was a pity for both sides, but it seemed he had been helping me and Martha from an unseen place.

Human ties seemed to continue on even when they felt like they would break.

‘It’s good to hear news of Sir Lawrence, but now I’m worried about grandfather.’

Raon narrowed his eyes as he read Rector’s letter again.

‘He should avoid dangerous situations.’

Rector had stayed back as one of the heads of the Four Demons, waiting to strike Derus from behind, instead of participating in this war.

I worried about what he might do, since he was deceiving even me.

“Hoo.”

Raon sighed and shook his head.

Buzzzz!

The incomplete Heart Sword hovering above his hand rippled like a puddle of water stepped on and began to take the shape of a small sword.

It was a sword, but its blade was broad enough to be used like a shield.

‘Could it be….’

Raon’s eyes widened as he looked at the sword shaped like a shield.

‘Is this what the head of house was talking about?’

My worry for Rector, my desire to protect him, seemed to have taken shape as that shield-like sword.

The manifestation of the Heart Sword clearly shared the same nature as will.

‘So that’s why they asked me what my will was before starting the training.’

Only now did I understand the reason Glenn and Darkan had asked what kind of sword I wanted to achieve.

Buzzz.

Raon returned the Heart Sword to its original round form and curled his lips upward.

‘I understand now.’

It seemed Glenn and Darkan had said nothing until now so that my soul could engrave this realization on its own.

‘I’ll be busier from here on. Ah, before that….’

He was about to refine the Heart Sword with the realization he had just gained, but opened his eyes again.

‘I should send a reply first.’

Raon wrote a reply to Rector, tied it to the leg of the young swallow that was yawning, and spoke.

“I’m counting on you.”

Chirp!

The swallow let out a clear cry as if telling him not to worry, then soared into the distant sky.

Aren’t you going after the old man and the madman?

Wrath narrowed his eyes as if asking why he wasn’t following Glenn and Darkan.

Thinking about it, there was no need to follow them.’

Raon floated his soul above his palm and curled his lips.

‘Because I’m not making someone else’s Heart Sword, but my own.’

Glenn and Darkan were here not to make me a Heart Sword, but to help it grow. My own sword had to be created by myself.

Looks like you’re finally starting to get it.

Wrath nodded as if satisfied with his reasoning.

‘Watch me.’

Raon slowly closed his eyes, recalling everything he had built up until now.

‘How my sword will change.’

* * *

“What are you smiling at?”

Lawrence frowned as he looked at Rector, who was grinning after receiving a letter.

“What did that Raon brat write?”

“He tells me not to do anything strange, and just to stretch out my legs and sleep.”

Rector waved his hand, not taking his eyes off the letter.

“Seems he noticed we went to the White Blood Religion’s headquarters.”

“He noticed that?”

Lawrence gave a hollow laugh as he glanced at Rector’s letter.

“He really is quick to catch on. Even when he got in my way, it was on purpose.”

He faintly smiled as he recalled Raon deliberately visiting the cave.

“He says he gained enlightenment of the Heart Sword thanks to me. Even in the middle of being busy, it was worth sending a reply.”

Just from reading Raon’s letter, Rector’s face brightened as though he were happy.

“You like your grandson that much?”

Lawrence narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rector treating the letter like a treasure.

“Of course. The son I thought dead gave me a lovely daughter-in-law and two of the greatest talents on the continent. How could I not be happy?”

Rector nodded, saying that because each of them had endured difficult times, family could only be that much more precious.

“I see. I suppose that’s a feeling I’ll never know.”

Lawrence shook his head with a bitter look.

“Why? You should experience it too.”

Rector patted his shoulder, telling him to meet a good woman and get married.

“If I had a child, who knows what would come out.”

Lawrence turned his eyes away, saying one monster was enough.

“No one is born a monster. You should know that yourself.”

Rector looked at him warmly, saying he himself was proof.

“You are also my family, Lawrence.”

“Hmm….”

Lawrence furrowed his brow as if burdened by Rector’s gaze, but he didn’t voice any objection.

“Master. Sir Lawrence.”

Mustan, who was walking ahead, beckoned to the two of them.

“There’s a white curtain up ahead. Looks like we found the right place.”

He pointed at the white curtain wavering at the base of the rocky mountain. Its color was the same as the White Blood Religion’s barrier, but instead of bloody energy, it carried a holy energy.

“Stop with the nonsense and focus.”

Lawrence brushed Rector’s hand away and bit his lip.

“If you’re careless even for a moment, you’ll never see that beloved grandson again.”

He tied up his hair, saying he should steel his heart.

“You be careful too. This isn’t a battle, only reconnaissance.”

As Rector pressed the button on his sleeve, his face began to change into that of a man in his twenties. It seemed to be an artifact to hide his identity.

“Let’s go.”

Rector stepped into the white curtain without the slightest hesitation.

‘For the sake of my family.’

* * *

Another week passed.

I still sparred with Glenn to strengthen my will, then grew the principles of the versatile sword with Darkan.

As time went by, I could clearly feel my will and swordsmanship growing.

Other than Wrath complaining about being sick of the main building’s food, and the fact that the Heart Sword was still incomplete, there were no problems.

Isn’t that the biggest problem?

Wrath widened his eyes in disbelief.

“Another week has gone by.”

Darkan twisted his lips into a smile as he stood before Raon.

"How about it? Have you had any enlightenment yet?"

He shrugged his shoulders as if asking how long Raon planned to make them wait.

“Your will and swordsmanship are growing so fast they don’t even match your current level.”

Glenn nodded calmly as he looked at Raon.

“But it’s disappointing that there has been no progress at all with the most important Heart Sword.”

He lowered his brow, saying it seemed slower than expected.

“Tell me how much you’ve understood of what I said.”

“All of it. I’ve realized what the meaning behind what you said was, head of house.”

Raon nodded as he looked up at Glenn.

“A week ago.”

“What?”

Glenn stopped halfway through opening his mouth and widened his eyes.

“Huh? You realized it a week ago, so why are you only saying it now?”

Darkan blinked blankly, as if he couldn’t understand.

“Because my sword has to be made by myself.”

Raon thrust Heavenly Drive into the training ground floor and brought his two hands together in front of his chest.

“Only now have I grasped the will and the form I want.”

As he said to watch him, he summoned the formless sword invisible to ordinary humans.

Fwoooosh!

Flames and frost surged over the unshaped soul, like waves hammering it.

Like a blacksmith’s hammer, the two energies struck his soul, forging it and raising a blade that held living sharpness.

Though still only in the shape of a small dagger, its noble and beautiful form resembled the vanished Blade of Requiem.

Whooosh!

The blade, where crimson flame and blue frost burned together, connected with a black hilt, exuding both mystery and dread at once.

"An unquenchable flame. And an unmelting frost..."

Darkan exhaled a breath, feeling the power and will contained in Raon’s Heart Sword.

“Are you truly insane?”

It was the highest praise a madman like him could give.

“And an unbreakable sword.”

Glenn’s jaw trembled as he saw how Raon’s vow had been embodied in the Heart Sword through will and aura.

“I was wrong. You’ve done it faster, and better, than I expected.”

He nodded with warm eyes, as though proud of him for going far beyond his expectations.

[Your will grows stronger.]

[The demon kings’ authorities have grown stronger.]

[The level of your soul has risen.]

[The rank of the trait <Heart Sword> has increased by two stars.]

Looking at the messages floating before his eyes, Raon’s lips curved into a smile.

Hmph. Staying awake without a minute of sleep for a whole week, this much is only to be expected.

Wrath snorted, not angry as before, but as if it were obvious.

‘I’ve done it. Now you can rest easy.’

Raon closed his eyes as he felt a clear breeze blow down from above his head.

‘Today….’

For the first time since beginning this training, Raon smiled as he sank into the dimness of sleep.

‘I can finally sleep in peace.’