The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1133

 Chapter 1133

 

“Grandfather?”

Raon frowned slightly as he looked into Glenn’s eyes, which now seemed detached from the world.

“Are you really all right?”

Unlike when he had been under Derus’ mental pressure, Glenn was calmly supporting Rector in a relaxed posture. He had a gentle smile, as if all his troubles and worries had already been resolved.

‘It feels like he could disappear any moment, but it’s different from before.’

Before, too, Glenn had been enveloped in a strange atmosphere, as if he would be erased from the world. It was so desolate and cold that just looking at him made one's heart ache.

But now, Glenn felt somewhat different. The air that felt like he would disappear at any moment was the same, but the emotion blooming from him was, unlike before, warm and gentle, to the point it gave a soft and comforting feeling.

“How many times must I say it? I’m fine.”

Glenn waved his hand as he said he was fine.

“Thanks to you, my heart is at ease.”

He smiled softly, as though everything had truly been set in order.

“Because of me?”

Raon frowned slightly at the sight of Glenn smiling.

“What do you mean? I haven’t done anything…”

“You’ve done something important, something I could never do myself.”

Glenn nodded deeply, his expression filled with pride.

“Hmm…”

Raon tilted his head, not understanding his words.

“Could you please explain that properly?”

“Just take my words as they are.”

Glenn merely smiled, showing no intention of giving an answer.

“Don’t tell me… it’s because I brought back the corpse of the archangel Ramiel?”

Raon blinked as he looked at Ramiel’s body, still impaled upon Heavenly Drive.

“That was part of the reason.”

Glenn shook his head gently, as if saying he had no intention of explaining any further.

“Ugh…”

Raon scratched his head, looking at Glenn's smile, which seemed to be enjoying this situation.

The King of Essence understands what he means.

Wrath tilted his head knowingly.

‘What is it then?’

If he won’t speak of it himself, the King of Essence has no reason to explain it either.

He waved his hand dismissively, refusing to say more.

When one grows old, they tend to become stubborn. Think carefully about it yourself.

'Even if I think hard, I don't get it.'

Raon glared at Wrath, but the spirit remained silent, clearly having decided not to say another word.

“…All right. Then I’ll just think about it on my own.”

Raon sighed shortly and stepped closer to Glenn.

“Grandfather, do you really believe everything Derus Robert said?”

He clenched his fist as Derus’ words replayed in his mind.

“What do you mean by that?”

Glenn nodded as if to tell him to continue.

“The time he mentioned, it’s not one year, but one year and one month, it’s strange. That man is definitely preparing something besides war.”

Derus had declared that the war would begin in the trading city of Cameloon one year and one month from now.

If it were one year, then one year, if two, then two. Adding one extra month was suspicious no matter how one looked at it.

“There’s a chance he’ll strike before the thirteen months are up.”

Raon bit his lip, recalling Derus’s hollow eyes.

“Derus Robert is the kind of man who would discard even an official promise if it served his purpose.”

Raon let out the anger that still lingered in his chest, saying Derus was the kind of swindler who could even break his own declaration of war.

“I think so too.”

Glenn closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again in agreement.

“As you said, we can't just trust Derus Robert's words. We’ll have to conduct a large-scale investigation to locate him and Eden’s headquarters.”

He nodded, saying he would find the locations of the two factions even if it meant mobilizing all the intelligence networks of the Five Kings and the Black Market.

“That’s a good decision.”

Raon clasped his hands together, saying their thoughts were aligned.

“Now that the Holy Sword Alliance has joined us, we should be able to surpass the enemy in overall strength.”

Glenn looked at the still-unconscious Rector, tightening his grip slightly.

“In truth, even without the Holy Sword Alliance, the Five Kings alone could have crushed them by sheer power.”

Raon nodded, saying that even the neutral factions allied with the Five Kings held half the continent’s might.

“That’s true. In numbers, we far outmatch them. But…”

Glenn exhaled heavily and shook his head.

“It’s the number of Transcenders, those at high Transcendence level, that we lack.”

He rested a heavy hand on Heavenly Tremor, saying that was why he hadn’t been able to kill Derus.

“Derus Robert, the Heavenly Demon, the Seven Archangels, and even the Transcenders they’ve been hiding.

There aren’t many in the Five Kings who can stand against them.”

Glenn continued in a calm tone.

“Myself, my in-law, the Best King Ogram, the Magic Tower master Larian, the Sword Sovereign, the War King, and you, that would be all.”

He listed the remaining Transcenders within the Five Kings and nodded.

“But among them, the only one who can face Derus and the Heavenly Demon is me.”

Glenn furrowed his brow deeply, saying that he alone could stop those two.

“That’s true…”

Raon let out a short sigh.

‘Grandfather, the Heavenly Demon, and Derus exist in an entirely different domain.’

They were all Transcenders, but those three stood in an absolute dimension apart from everyone else.

It was no exaggeration to say they had already surpassed the status of humans, to the extent that the heavens themselves interfered with their martial arts training.

All three of them could be called monsters without any exaggeration. However…

Wrath tilted his chin toward Glenn.

Your grandpa is the craziest of them all, having climbed to that realm and endured it without any backing.

He nodded firmly, as if he had no choice but to truly acknowledge Glenn.

"I can’t say about the Heavenly Demon or Derus, but I do have a few friends who can stop the archangels."

Raon thought of Sloth and Gluttony and gave a faint smile.

“If you say so, I can believe it.”

Glenn nodded calmly, as if he already knew who Raon was referring to.

“But since it’s a war that Derus Robert himself is preparing, no matter what we do, it won’t be enough. So…”

He let out a small sigh and gripped his shoulder again.

“When you return to the house, gather those with exceptional talent and bring them to me.”

Glenn motioned roughly toward Raon.

“So that you may go beyond Transcendence to reach the absolute, and others may rise to Transcendence…”

A red flash sparked across his eyes.

“I’ll train you myself”

*   *   *

Ssshhh—

A white, flickering door opened, and Derus Robert stepped out.

He walked forward with a calm expression, as if he had just returned from drinking tea, and sat down on the sofa in his office.

“Welcome back.”

Cubara, standing before the fireplace, bowed respectfully.

“……”

Derus seemed lost in deep thought, stroking his chin without any response to Cubara's words.

“Glenn Zieghart is just as troublesome as expected.”

Archangel Raphael clicked his tongue, recalling Glenn’s lofty presence.

“His might was even more monstrous than before. I can’t understand how a human could accumulate such sword aura.”

He frowned, admitting he never thought a human could make him feel fear.

“Well, that’s how it was.”

Derus nodded calmly, as if he had anticipated Glenn’s might.

“Then why didn’t you retrieve Ramiel’s corpse? You weren’t even defeated by Glenn.”

Raphael tilted his chin, implying that Derus had done something foolish.

“It’s not that I didn’t retrieve it, I couldn’t.”

Derus let out a short laugh as he looked at Raphael.

“Raon Zieghart shouldn’t even have the strength to block a single one of your sword strikes.”

Raphael’s cold eyes narrowed, demanding an explanation.

“Exactly. He’s no match for me. But that bastard…”

Derus ground his teeth as he recalled the dazzling trajectory of Raon’s sword.

“He instantly copied the Crescent Moon Art that I created and turned it back on me.

It wouldn’t be strange to say he took all of my enlightenment just from seeing it once.”

He waved his hand bitterly, saying that because of Raon, he had been too shocked to defend properly.

"The moment Glenn intervened, Ramiel's death was already decided. As long as I brought back his corpse, he could be revived, so it wasn't a big problem."

Derus flicked his fingers, as though today’s events had been predetermined long ago.

“However, the fact that Raon Zieghart took Ramiel’s corpse was something I hadn’t anticipated.”

He frowned, saying that reality had twisted away from his predictions.

“Not retrieving Ramiel’s corpse is unfortunate, but it’s a needless worry.”

Raphael shook his head as he opened the golden book in his hand.

“Fate does not change. Everything has already been decided.”

He lifted his chin arrogantly, declaring that the heavens had already set the outcome.

“Yes, I know that well. But…”

Derus Robert’s cold eyes gleamed as he slowly removed his black leather gloves.

“There are beings in this world who can twist fate.”

He smirked as he looked down at the sticky blood flowing from the back of his hand.

“Hmm…”

Archangel Raphael let out a low groan as he saw the wound on Derus’ hand, one even his own healing couldn’t erase.

“To kill someone who can alter fate, I must ascend even higher.”

Derus rose to his feet slowly.

“Open the training chamber.”

He gestured toward Cubara while taking off his coat.

“I will surpass Glenn Zieghart.”

*   *   *

After Evelyn’s mana had recovered, Raon and the others returned to Zieghart through the dimensional gate.

“Ah, Father? Father!”

As soon as Edgar saw Rector, who had lost an arm, he charged forward, shattering the ground beneath his feet.

All traces of his usual playfulness were gone, and his eyes were filled only with deep anger and worry as he examined Rector.

“W–What… what happened!”

Sylvia, too, seemed so shocked that her hands trembled on the spot. He looked at Raon and Glenn, asking for an answer.

“He was struck by an archangel. Grandfather…”

Raon explained to Sylvia and Edgar how Rector had come to be in that state and why they had brought him back to Zieghart.

“You stupid old man!”

As soon as Edgar heard the full story, he ground his teeth at Rector.

“Father…”

Sylvia bit her lip and her eyes reddened as she realized that Rector had risked his life because of Raon.

“He’s not in critical condition, but it would be best to start treatment right away.”

Raon gestured for Edgar and Sylvia, who were holding Rector by the shoulder and sleeve, to step back.

“I’ll take care of father.”

“Right. You should get some rest too.”

Edgar and Sylvia shook their heads, saying they would personally take Rector to the mansion of Ragged  Saint, Federick.

“Understood.”

After handing Rector over to Edgar and Sylvia, Raon motioned to Lawrence and Mustan, who had been standing behind them.

“You two should go as well and get treated. The wounds aren’t severe, but since they were caused by divine power, there might be aftereffects.”

He pointed toward Federick’s mansion, telling them to receive treatment there together.

“…Understood.”

“Yeah. Let’s talk later.”

Without complaint, Mustan and Lawrence, seemingly more worried about Rector’s condition than their own wounds, headed for Federick’s mansion.

“You’ve all worked hard. Let’s dismiss for now.”

Raon clapped his hands as he looked at Evelyn, Dorian, and Martha.

“Ah, I didn’t do anything. Seriously, I didn’t do a thing!”

Martha slammed her fists together, frustrated that she hadn’t been of help.

“T-that’s a good thing!”

Dorian put a finger to his lips, telling her not to say such ominous things.

“Raon. You remember what you owe me, right?”

Evelyn tapped her forehead with her finger, reminding him.

“Y-yeah. I’ll come find you later.”

Raon nodded wearily, saying he hadn’t forgotten.

“Fufu, then I’ll be waiting.”

Evelyn smiled faintly, waved her hand, and disappeared, her expression showing clear exhaustion.

Rest is fine and all, but let’s eat first!

Wrath rubbed his sunken stomach.

All that chaos during mealtime… The  King of  Essence is starving to death!

He flopped down onto Raon’s shoulder, complaining that his hunger was so bad it hurt.

‘That doesn’t sound bad. But before that…’

Raon tilted his chin toward Wrath.

‘There’s something I should “consume” first.’

Hmm? There is? Then let’s eat it right away!

Wrath waved eagerly, urging him to hurry.

‘That thing is…’

It was when Raon was waiting for the system message that was obviously about to appear—

Whoooosh!

Black flames burst into view before his eyes, and the world shifted. It was the same phenomenon as when he had entered the memory of Zieghart’s first head, but something was different this time.

His very soul trembled violently for no reason he could understand, which meant this wasn’t the memory of his ancestor. It was someone else’s.

Fwoooosh!

Raon’s eyes widened as he stared at the rising black flames before him.

The dark fire wasn’t burning with heat, it burned with an energy he knew all too well.

The energy of death.

‘Don’t tell me this is…’

 

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