The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1141

Chapter 1141

 

Chiaaaang!

Realizing that he had entered an awakened state, Raon executed his swordsmanship.

The intertwined blades of the divine sword and the demonic sword curved elegantly through the air, descending toward Lust’s neck and heart.

Chuuuuung!

Lust swung a sword shimmering in pink light, blocking both the divine and demonic swords that crashed down with tremendous weight. Using the rebound, she launched a counterattack.

“Try blocking this!”

Perhaps because she, too, was very excited, she thrust a terrifying sword strike without controlling her strength as she had before.

Kwaaaang!

The sword slash Lust unleashed split the air with a pink crack as it rushed toward Raon.

‘Before, I wouldn’t have been able to block that head-on.’

Watching Lust’s slash racing toward him, Raon bit his lip lightly.

‘But now… I think I can.’

As the monarch of Lust, Lust possessed physical ability and powers on a completely different level from humans.

Even after all my growth, facing her directly had never been a good choice.

But thanks to her, I had come to understand, even a little, what it meant to infuse emotion into a sword, and because of that, I was confident I could block her now.

Instead of merely releasing the authority of the Demon Kings as he had before, he channeled it into his sword and swung it toward Lust.

Wooooong!

Raon’s sword, imbued with Wrath’s fury, collided head-on with Lust’s slash wrapped in lust.

Kuwaaaaang!

The moment the two differently colored blades collided, an overwhelming shockwave erupted, piercing the sky and crushing the earth beneath.

Kugugugugugu!

The explosion was so immense that even the wall of holy power maintained by the Holy King, the Saintess, and hundreds of priests trembled as if about to collapse.

“H-Hold on!”

Holy King Hopen, astonished by the overwhelming clash of power, shouted to encourage the holy knights and priests so that the wall of holy power would not collapse.

“Damn it! Those damned monsters….”

Saintess Olga, who was acting as the pillar maintaining the wall of holy power, drove her legs deep into the ground to brace herself and endure no matter what.

“Guaaaah!”

“T-The shock is too strong!”

“I can’t hold it any longer…!”

“Huff… this isn’t a fight between humans.”

Among the holy knights and priests, there were those who couldn’t withstand the impact caused by Raon and Lust and collapsed.

However, because Olga held firm at the center, the wall of holy power narrowly avoided complete destruction.

Zzzzzzt!

Raon and Lust stood upon the collapsing ground, their blades locked together. Despite the massive explosion, neither was pushed back, and the two continued their exchange of blades.

‘Infusing the Demon King’s emotions is a bit different.’

Raon narrowed his eyes as he pushed against Lust’s sword with the divine and demonic swords.

‘It’s powerful, but there’s backlash.’

By channeling Wrath’s wrath, an emotion that wasn’t mine, the power and speed of my swordsmanship rose dramatically.

But my body felt heavy, like soaked cotton, more than just my swordsmanship strengthening, my body and mind were being drained.

“Amazing!”

Lust’s face flushed red, not just slightly but completely, as she shook her head wildly.

“As expected, it’s only you, Wrath!”

She cried out in delight, shouting that only Wrath could make her this happy.

“Let’s keep dancing!”

Pink currents of air rose over her eyes, she too seemed to be entering an awakened state.

“Fine. Dance with you until this soul burns out.”

Raon curled his lips into a smile and unfolded the first form of Heavenly Lightning Cultivation.

The divine and demonic swords became red and blue lightning, crashing down toward Lust’s head.

Kyaaaang!

Lust deflected both swords wrapped in heavenly lightning with a simple diagonal twist of her blade. Clicking her tongue as if satisfied, she turned her ankle and drew up a sharp slash.

Chuuuuung!

Raon blocked her fierce attack, smiling even deeper.

‘I can see it. I can feel it.’

I could feel more vividly than ever how Lust would attack, where she aimed, and what emotions she carried. It felt as though her feelings were seeping into my soul through our clashing swords.

“Ahahahahaha!”

Lust burst into a bright, uncontrollable laugh, unleashing a series of sword strikes imbued with her emotions.

Chuchuchuchuchung!

Raon and Lust had eyes of different colors, but in that moment, their gazes were identical as they swung their swords at each other, both sinking into true trance.

*   *   *

Grrrgh!

Wrath knit his brows in frustration as he watched Raon and Lust awaken and sink into trance together.

Those damned fools, in the end…!

Just moments ago, Raon had still been in a shallow awakened state, easy to snap out of, but now he had entered full trance. No matter what Wrath did, he would not wake.

Wait… no, even before this, he didn’t respond.

Wrath had kept calling out to Raon, urging him to run away, but Raon hadn’t responded at all. Normally, he would have brushed him off, annoyed, but since he hadn’t even done that, it was clear that he had already entered an awakened state back then.

Haaah…

Wrath looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

He has no idea how he’s supposed to deal with this later.

Just thinking about the promises Raon had made before was dizzying enough, but now, after calling Lust his lover and even sharing a sword dance with her, the thought of how Lust would act afterward sent chills down his spine.

Nothing ever goes smoothly when that bastard’s involved!

Wrath clutched his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

He should have just eaten some bead ice cream and left this world….

He muttered, recalling the past, before opening his eyes again.

Whoooosh—

He saw Raon and Lust, both wearing utterly blissful expressions as they poured everything into their swordsmanship. It didn’t look like they were fighting at all, more like a perfectly synchronized sword dance.

Hmph…

Wrath let out a low groan as he saw Lust’s face, usually stiff and twisted, now softened and bright.

Because of that damned Raon, her emotions are flowing into the King of Essence too.

Whether it was because he shared a body with Raon, or because both were in awakening and their emotions spilled outward, Wrath could feel Lust’s emotions clearly, down to their very depth.

“Deep… and heavy.”

A one-sided affection for him. But that affection didn't crave love in return, nor did it desire him to return her gaze.

She was simply expressing her feelings. Because of that, it felt both sorrowful and pitiful.

Haah…

Wrath exhaled briefly and looked up at the sky again.

It was nothing more than a ‘trivial’ matter of the past… so why chase the King of Essence so desperately?

The memories of the past, of what had made Lust truly start pursuing him, rose in his mind, and without realizing it, a faint smile formed on his face.

If the opportunity ever comes…

Watching Lust, fully awakened and wielding her emotion-imbued sword, Wrath’s expression softened.

He’ll have a proper talk with you about our circumstances.

*   *   *

Raon and Lust’s sword dance in their awakened states continued until the sun that had risen sank again, and darkness returned.

Even though every building and inch of land around them had been reduced to dust, the two remained suspended in the air, endlessly swinging their swords toward one another.

“When… when is this going to end!”

Holy King Hopen ground his teeth, his face aged by what looked like ten years.

“Whoever wins, just please…”

He groaned, wishing for it to end, regardless of the outcome.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Saintess Olga raised her foot and kicked Hopen’s thigh.

“Raon has to win! If he loses after all this, we’re all dead!”

She shouted at him to shut up and focus on maintaining the wall.

“Haah…”

“I-it’s really the limit now.”

“Y-yeah… we can’t hold out any longer….”

“What kind of monsters are those… ugh!”

“S-sorry….”

The holy knights and priests, taking turns to barely maintain the wall of holy power, had reached their limits. One by one, they began to collapse.

When the priests lost consciousness, the wall of holy power, barely held together like a tattered cloth, shattered completely.

“D-Damn it!”

“Huff!”

Olga and Hopen, their stamina and mental strength also at their limits, could no longer endure, and the wall collapsed entirely.

“There’s nothing we can do now! Everyone, fall back! Grab the unconscious and get as far away as possible!”

Olga shouted for everyone to retreat from Raon and Lust while gathering the fallen holy knights and priests beside her.

“The civilians have already been evacuated, head south!”

Hopen didn’t flee immediately. Instead, he guided the priests and holy knights to clear a path so they could escape first.

However, contrary to their fears, Raon and Lust were no longer moving. The two stood motionless where they were.

“Uh…?”

Olga swallowed dryly as she looked at the frozen figures of Raon and Lust.

“W-What…”

She trembled as she began to approach Raon.

“Like this…”

Lust smiled, not with the wicked grin of a witch, but with the serene grace of a maiden descended from the heavens.

“I’ve never been this happy in my life.”

She placed her hands on her flushed cheeks, saying she never thought she could feel this way.

[The King of Essence feels the same.]

Raon nodded as he sheathed Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword, their flames and frost having subsided.

[And he now understands what kind of emotions you hold.]

“Really? Truly?”

Lust clasped her hands together, her eyes shining with hope.

[But that is something he cannot answer right now. You know that, don’t you?]

Since he roughly understood that there was some history between Wrath and Lust, Raon gave an intentionally vague reply.

W-What the—!

Wrath burst forward in disbelief.

What nonsense are you spouting when you don’t know a thing!?

He grabbed Raon by the collar, shaking him and yelling for him to take it back immediately.

“That’s right! Of course!”

Lust nodded enthusiastically, saying she understood completely.

“I can wait, no matter how long it takes!”

Overjoyed by her awakening, she looked as though she would agree to any words or request.

“Hm…”

Raon glanced past the shattered wall of holy power at Olga, Hopen, and the priests watching him from behind, and gave a slight nod.

‘Time to send her off.’

The show was nearing its end, time for the villain to make her exit.

[Lust. There are friends of the King of Essence in this kingdom. Since you’ve caused unintended harm, pretend to leave and conceal your presence.]

He tilted his chin toward her as he told her that he had ties to the Holy Kingdom of Schper.

N-No! Don’t go!

Wrath waved his hand at Lust in panic.

If you leave now, everything will go just as this bastard planned—!

“Ah!”

Naturally, Lust couldn’t hear Wrath’s voice. She let out a small cry.

She must have looked at Olga and Hopen several times while hiding her presence, but it seemed she couldn’t remember any of it. No, perhaps she had a tendency to forget everything except Wrath himself.

“I’m sorry. I was just… blinded by him….”

Lust bowed her head toward Olga and Hopen, her eyes twisted with regret, as if realizing she had made a terrible mistake.

“Truly… I’m sorry.”

Her voice was drained of all strength. After that final apology, she turned into a pink current and completely erased her presence.

“Uh…?”

Olga blinked blankly at the spot where Lust had stood.

“What… what is this…”

Even as she witnessed it herself, her jaw trembled as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“T-The witch… she exhausted all her strength and died!”

Hopen raised both hands toward Raon.

“Sir Raon has defeated the Witch of Mind Control!”

He roared, believing entirely what he had just witnessed.

“Uwooooooooh!”

“This is the Sword Emperor! Who could ever stand against him!”

“Did you see? The witch apologized before dying! That man is invincible!”

“Yeah! Not even a Demon King could beat him!”

“Sword Emperor! Sword Emperor! Sword Emperor! Sword Emperor!”

The holy knights and priests, convinced that Lust had died, raised their weapons to the sky and shouted in triumph.

W-What kind of nonsense is that!?

Wrath shook his head violently.

That bastard was just playing around with Lust! She’s not dead!

He screamed for them to look properly, but not a single person could hear him.

‘Well, it’s only natural that it looks that way to them.’

Lust was still here, but I was the only one who could sense her presence.

‘She gave a sincere apology, looked sorrowful, and vanished in a swirl of pink light, it’s only natural they’d think she died after exhausting her strength.’

Because Lust couldn’t act, I had subtly guided her to wear a sad expression, which worked better than I’d expected. It must have been because she had fallen even deeper for Wrath.

‘That’s how you stage it.’

Stage, my ass!

Wrath ground his teeth so hard it made a crunching sound.

Because of you, the King of Essence’s life is ruined! Now what are you going to—

Before he could finish shouting for Raon to take responsibility—

“Sword Emperor! Sword Emperor! Sword Emperor! Sword Emperor!”

“The true hero has descended!”

“Uwooooooooh!”

The entire Holy Kingdom of Schper was roaring, calling him a hero, chanting both “Sword Emperor” and “Raon” over and over.

He’s no hero! He’s a bloodless, heartless devil!

Wrath flailed his arms toward the crowd, screaming in frustration.

He’s just a fraud! And that witch isn’t dead, she’s still right here!

Tears of sheer frustration welled up in his eyes.

‘They’re not listening, Wrath. I’ll buy you bead ice cream later, just hold it in for now….’

Raon was about to pat Wrath’s head to calm him down when—

[You have fought against Lust.]
[You have influenced and awakened Lust.]
[You have achieved a great feat.]
[All stats…]
[New trait…]

A reward message appeared, it seemed that awakening alongside Lust was considered a great feat.

Ah…

The tears that had been hanging at the corners of Wrath’s eyes finally fell as soon as he saw the message appear before him.

Damn it all!

He let out the loudest, most emotional roar he had ever made.

What did the King of Essence ever do wrong to deserve this suffering!?

‘Oh.’

Raon let out a sound of admiration as he heard Wrath’s scream.

‘You awakened too, huh? That emotion’s not bad.’

You crazy bastard! Just shut up!

 

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