The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1139

 Chapter 1139

 

Before dawn broke, darkness still blanketed the world.

On the cold, austere ground, holy knights clad in silver armor and priests dressed in blue robes stood in perfect formation.

Step.

Holy King Hopen walked forward, receiving the gaze of every knight and priest as he ascended the white, temple-like platform supported by marble pillars.

He said nothing. Standing tall upon the platform, he simply looked down upon the assembled people below.

Kuuuung!

Hopen drew the sword at his waist and drove it straight into the platform. The energy imbued within the blade shook not only the platform but also the ground beneath it.

“……”

Even as the earth trembled, the knights and priests did not flinch or utter a sound, only watching their king.

“The time has come.”

Hopen’s solemn gaze swept over the holy knights and priests standing below.

“The time has come for us to strike back at the witch who suddenly appeared, stole our land, and put our comrades under mind control!”

At his cold yet commanding cry, the spirits of the knights and priests surged like fire.

“The witch’s power was so great that we were forced to build a wall of holy power and cast an illusion barrier to hide from outsiders, but there is no longer any need for such humiliation!”

Hopen raised the dagger he had received from Saintess Olga, pointing it toward the sky.

“God has granted us a blade and courage to defeat the witch! Before Schper lies nothing but victory!”

At the word “victory,” faint dawn light began to spread across the once-dark sky above the Holy Kingdom of Schper.

Whoooosh!

From beyond the rugged eastern ridges, the golden sun began to rise.

Under the blazing heat of the newly born sun, fierce flames burned within the eyes of the holy knights and priests.

“Victory!”

Saintess Olga, who stood behind Hopen, stepped forward and brought her hands together. Her holy power burst upward like lightning, casting magnificent light across the sky.

Shhhhhh!

The holy knights received that light with their entire bodies and drew their silver swords. On their shoulders, visible waves of holy power shimmered and burned brightly.

Wuuuuung!

As the priests clasped their hands and began their chants, holy power shaped like glowing letters rose from the ground, forming a protective spell that enveloped everyone present.

“Victory!”

Having completed their preparations for war, the holy knights and priests followed Olga and shouted in unison until their voices nearly broke.

“Begin!”

Satisfied by their cries, Hopen nodded and gestured behind him.

Wuuuuung!

The priests standing at his back brought their hands together. The faint mist before them faded away, revealing a massive wall of holy power, towering higher than any fortress wall.

Fwaaaaaah!

Inside the wall, pink currents swirled like thick, rolling clouds. The sight was strangely beautiful, almost sorrowful.

“Ugh!”

“Such immense energy…”

“Does that much power still remain?”

The holy knights and priests swallowed hard, unsettled by the pink current that pressed against the wall of holy power as if trying to break free.

“Over there!”

Following the gestures of the knights to the right, everyone’s eyes turned toward the inside of the wall.

Hoo—

Within the pink current, they could see the figures of armored holy knights and priests.

Their eyes were glazed, blank, and unfocused, drool dripping from their open mouths as if possessed by something.

“Ra… Raphen…”

“Sirean? Sirean!”

“My… my comrade’s in there!”

The knights and priests trembled, calling out the names of their comrades trapped within the pink current.

“If you wish to save your friends, your lovers, your people, then fight.”

Olga stomped her foot and stepped toward the wall of holy power.

“I will support you from behind.”

Shouting that now was the time to fight, she thrust her fist toward the barrier.

Kwoooooom!

Dozens of cracks spread from where her fist struck, bursting apart with a thunderous roar.

Fwoooosh!

The moment the wall shattered, the pink current trapped within surged outward like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf the entire Holy Kingdom of Schper.

“How dare you!”

Undaunted by the approaching current, Olga pressed her hands together.

“Be sealed!”

Her cry burst forth in white light. The shattered fragments of the holy power wall froze midair, hardening the pink current as though it had been turned to stone.

“Now!”

Holding back the raging pink current that could have swallowed the kingdom whole, Olga cried out for the knights to move.

“Uwooooooh!”

The holy knights let out a battle cry as they charged toward the pink current—

Rumble, rumble.

—only for hollow-eyed knights and priests to emerge from within, blocking their path.

Fwoosh!

The holy knights of the Holy Kingdom of Schper who were under mind control, their eyes vacant yet their movements unnaturally sharp, lunged at the charging holy knights and thrust their swords with deadly precision.

Paaang!

Their sword strikes were fierce, their footwork fluid. The holy knights who had been consumed by the pink current now fought with strength far beyond what they once possessed, attacking their comrades with overwhelming power.

“M-Move aside!”

“Biliel! It’s me,  your brother!”

“Please! Stop this!”

The knights pleaded with their comrades who were under mind control, but those who had fallen under the pink current’s mind control could no longer hear their words.

“T-their strength… it’s not the same as before.”

“They’re absurdly strong…”

“It's h-hard to hold on…”

The holy knights and priests, unable to rescue their comrades, were instead driven back by the overwhelming power of those under mind control.

“How are we supposed to—”

“Do not retreat!”

Holy King Hopen strode forward, raising his dagger high. A pure blue light flared from the thin blade, sweeping away the pink current.

Wuuuuuuung!

The grand surge of blue light didn’t just erase the pink current, it drained the strength of the mind-controlled knights and priests, lulling them into sleep.

“Ugh…”

“Ahh…”

The knights and priests who had attacked their comrades collapsed one by one, their weapons falling from their hands.

“Now!”

As Olga shouted to execute the plan, the holy knights and priests encircled the remaining pink current, forming a ring around it.

As they brought their hands together in prayer, a pillar of holy light descended from the blue sky above.

Thwooooom!

Empowered by Hopen’s dagger, the immense holy power grew even stronger, completely erasing the pink current that had blanketed the northern heart of the kingdom.

Fwoooosh!

And within that cleared space, only one figure remained.

A witch wrapped head to toe in a black robe. Even with the pink current gone, she paid it no mind, staring intently at a bead ice cream shop in front of her.

“He was here… I can still smell him…”

The black-robed witch wandered slowly around the shop, muttering to herself that she had to find “him.”

“Now, while the witch’s mind is distracted, unleash your holy power!”

At Hopen’s command, the holy knights released the holy power within their swords, while the priests summoned the holy offensive spell known as the Hammer of Repentance.

Kwoooooom!

Because a formation that amplified holy power was in place, an enormous explosion of holy power erupted, obliterating the ground where the black-robed witch had stood.

“Did we get her?”

Olga waved her hand, sweeping away the smoke with a gust of wind, revealing the devastated land where the holy power had struck.

Fwoooosh—

Most of the buildings and ground had been reduced to nothing by the tremendous blast, but the bead ice cream shop where the black-robed witch had stood remained perfectly intact.

“…I told you…”

The witch’s gaze turned toward Olga.

“I told you not to bother me until I found him!”

Her eyes flashed beneath the hood of her black robe, glowing with chilling light.

“I don’t give a fuck who you’re looking for! Stop snooping around someone else’s place and get the hell out there to find him!”

Olga bared her teeth and charged at the black-robed witch.

“Assist the Saintess! Strike down the witch!”

Hopen followed right after her, gripping both his holy sword and dagger tightly as he rushed in.

Wuuuuuuung!

A flood of blessings from the priests poured down upon their shoulders, white light engulfing the world.

“Haa…”

The black-robed witch frowned in irritation and raised her hand. From her fingertips, energy surged forth, clashing head-on with the holy power.

Kwoooooooom!

*   *   *

“Haa.”

Raon let out a faint laugh as he looked at the black-robed witch, no, at Lust, the monarch of Lust.

‘I was wondering why she was here…’

Was she trying to find traces of Wrath?

That area is the place where Wrath ate bead ice cream with Gluttony after fighting Greed.

It seemed Lust had come to the Holy Kingdom of Schper after sensing the faintest trace of Wrath’s presence and had settled here.

What a damned persistent stalker…

Wrath trembled, saying Lust was on the same level as Evelyn.

‘Strange.’

Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Lust effortlessly dodge Olga’s attacks and deflect Hopen’s sword.

W-what’s strange?

Wrath turned his head away as if even thinking about Lust disgusted him.

‘If she can sense even the faintest trace of you that not even I can sense properly, then why can’t she find where you actually are?’

She managed to find Wrath’s trace from a battle long ago, now so faint it could hardly even be called a trace, yet I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t find Zieghart, where Wrath’s presence was plainly emanating.

Told you already! She’s hopeless with directions!

Wrath shook his head, as though tired of repeating himself.

Even if you show her the whole path and send her north, she somehow ends up on the southern coast! What a lunatic!

He furrowed his brow, saying he still couldn’t understand how she ever became a Demon King.

‘Fair point.’

Now that I thought about it, Lust really was hopeless. Even when Evelyn had guided her side by side, she would somehow wander off alone, and if you turned around for a second, she’d be walking the complete opposite way.

Enough of that! Get out of here, now!

Wrath flailed his hands frantically.

If that stalker spots you, you won’t be able to escape this time!

He slapped Raon’s shoulder hard, saying one stalker, Evelyn, was more than enough for him.

And look, she’s even holding back her strength!

Wrath clicked his tongue as he watched Lust fend off Olga and Hopen without drawing out her demonic energy.

She’s making sure no one dies!

‘True. I don’t sense any killing intent from her, and she hasn’t used demonic energy either.’

Raon nodded as he watched Lust defend herself with the pink current.

‘Does she… remember and is she listening to my words?’

Right now, Lust was fighting only with her authority, lust, and focusing solely on defense.

Long ago, I had asked her not to kill humans unless her life was in danger. Now, it seemed she still remembered those words from that time, and was keeping them.

‘So that’s why she put the people inside the holy wall under mind control.’

If Lust had truly wanted to, she could have destroyed the holy wall restraining her with a single finger. But instead, she had stayed trapped inside it, just to avoid killing anyone while searching for Wrath’s trace.

“Uaaaah!”

“Attack with everything you have!”

“She’s no longer controlling anyone—strike now!”

Hopen, Olga, and the holy knights unleashed their full power, pouring down torrents of holy power upon Lust.

Fwoooosh!

Yet Lust still didn’t counterattack. She defended only herself and the ice cream shop behind her, nothing else. She was clearly keeping Raon’s request to heart.

‘Lust…’

I hadn’t expected her to actually listen, it had just been something I said in passing, yet seeing her follow it so faithfully made me feel both grateful and sorry.

“Raon, aren’t you going to help?”

Evelyn tilted her head, as if wondering why he was just standing still.

Forget helping, run, now!

Wrath grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back, saying there was no time.

“Not yet.”

Certain that Lust wouldn’t kill anyone, Raon lowered himself and concealed his presence.

“The time’s not right yet.”

To achieve the greatest result from coming here, he decided it was better to wait a little longer.

“You fucking bastard!”

Olga, frustrated that none of her attacks were landing, gathered the greatest amount of holy power she had yet and hurled it toward Lust.

Paaang!

Lust twisted her hand, deflecting the surge of holy power with ease.

It was a perfect defense, but the blast of holy power she deflected shattered the floor of the ice cream shop where Wrath had once sat.

“Ah…”

Lust trembled as she sensed Wrath’s faint trace vanish completely.

“I was… only looking at his trace. And yet you dare…”

As if forgetting the promise she had made to herself, she released a dark, suffocating killing intent and drew up even the demonic energy of the Demon King she had buried deep within her soul.

Kwoooooooom!

As Lust’s power was unleashed, a storm of pink light erupted, and the sky sank into pitch-black darkness.

“R-retreat!”

“Fall back!”

The pressure was so immense it altered the very air. Even Olga and Hopen, not just the knights, were forced to retreat.

“…We misjudged her.”

Olga bit her lip as she stared at her dagger, now blackened and corroded beyond use.

“That’s no witch who uses mind control. She’s on the level of the Five Kings and Three Demons, or a monster on the level of a Demon King from devildom!”

She bit her lip, realizing the worst-case scenario had arrived.

“Everyone, retreat! Raise a wall of holy power and evacuate the civilians!”

While giving retreat orders, Hopen himself stepped forward.

“I’ll kill you.”

As Lust, consumed by rage, reached her hand toward Olga—

Fwoooosh!

Golden flames surged up between them, forcing them apart.

“Step back.”

Raon descended onto the ground, now stained pink, his gaze meeting Olga’s, then Hopen’s, then Lust’s in turn.

“Raon Zieghart?”

“T-The Sword Emperor? It’s the Sword Emperor!”

The formation of the Holy Kingdom of Schper erupted in astonishment.

“Wrath! It’s Wrath!”

Lust, too, loosened her stiff expression the moment she saw Raon’s face, her lips curving into a bright smile.

“From this point on…”

Raon lifted his chin arrogantly as he looked at Olga and Lust, both expecting him to take their side.

“I’ll take her on.”

Wait… who exactly?

Wrath’s voice rose in disbelief.

They’re both on your side! Have you lost your mind?!

‘Yeah. Probably.’

Raon gave a calm smile and nodded.

‘You have to be a little insane to put on a good show.’

 

Advance Chapters