The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1167

 Chapter 1167

 

Raon stood facing Rector behind the lake of the annex building.

“Are you really all right?”

After suffering the severe injury of having his right arm severed, Rector had been confined to bed for a long time, leaving his entire body stiff. No matter how sturdy the prosthetic arm Encia had made was, and no matter that he was a Transcender, sparring right away did not seem like a good choice.

“Father! Can’t you just stay lying down?”

Edgar shouted at Rector with his hand cupped over his mouth.

“They say Raon’s gotten even stronger again, you know? Even if you still had all of your former strength, it wouldn’t be easy anymore. If you fight now, you’ll just get beaten up and that’ll be the end of it. Please just rest in bed— guhkk!”

After pouring out what wasn’t even criticism but outright reproach toward his own father, he was kicked by Rector and went rolling across the ground.

“Honestly…”

Sylvia let out a short, exasperated sigh as she watched the scene.

“Heh!”

Sia followed Sylvia, letting out a sigh imbued with cuteness toward Edgar.

“Close your mouth already!”

“Dad, just stay still.”

Despite that, the two of them seemed to care about Edgar, as they grabbed his waist and shoulder and helped him back up.

“A swordsman is someone who speaks with his sword.”

After kicking Edgar away, Rector turned back and drew his sword. As though it had been well maintained even while he lay in bed, the blade gleamed with a smooth sheen.

“Wouldn’t it be better to chat with swords than to have a noisy conversation with mouths?”

Rector curled his lips upward, as if he wanted to express his emotions through his sword right now.

“Hmm…”

Raon turned his gaze to the right and looked at Encia.

“It’s fine!”

Encia raised both arms over her head and made a circle.

“The greatest strength of the prosthetic arm I made is its durability!”

She wore a confident smile, as if there wouldn’t be any problem at all.

“If you say so, then I suppose there’s no helping it.”

Raon smiled faintly and drew Heavenly Drive from his waist.

“A swordsman should speak with his sword, after all.”

At the realm of Transcendence, one could understand what the other was thinking simply by clashing swords, without any need for words.

Rector seemed to want to express his emotions through his sword rather than words.

‘And he probably wants to move his body as well.’

Now that he had a new arm, it was only natural for a swordsman to want to swing his sword. Since Raon could understand what Rector was thinking, he decided to grant his request.

“Hoo.”

Rector slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a chilling light flashed in his gaze, as though the Sword Demon Rector, master of the Holy Sword Alliance, had returned.

“Let us begin.”

Rector offered no concession as a senior. Stepping through his footwork, he crossed space itself and thrust his sword forward. Fitting of a Transcender, he seemed to have adapted immediately to the newly gained prosthetic arm, his sword tip standing keen and sharp.

Kyaaang!

Raon blocked Rector’s thrust without difficulty and launched an immediate counterattack. His flaming blade bent as it fell toward Rector’s right shoulder.

“So you pretend to be considerate, and yet….”

Rector let out a hollow laugh as he watched Raon’s Heavenly Drive plunge down between his prosthetic arm and shoulder.

“Are you trying to take my new arm away right from the start?”

Curling his lips upward, he knocked aside the fiercely pouring Heavenly Drive.

Jjeoooong!

Raon smoothly received Rector’s counterattack and shrugged his shoulders.

“You said a swordsman speaks with his sword. I only wanted to confirm something.”

He explained that he was just checking whether the arm moved well, or whether Rector might have grown afraid, and drew a playful smile.

“Showing exactly whose son you are!”

Rector glanced briefly at Edgar behind him, then raised his sword again. As though he had never rested despite his grievous injury, he unleashed a series of sharp sword strikes.

Each strike was an assault on the level of a Transcender’s ultimate technique.
It was felt all too well that he was a swordsman who had built up the versatile sword.

Kyagyagyagyagyang!

Raon pressed his lips together as he blocked Rector’s onslaught, which honestly and straightforwardly expressed countless sword techniques.

‘Grandfather….’

Through the sword, Rector’s emotions flowed into him. By unfolding the sword techniques he had learned until now, Rector was expressing his gratitude toward him.

Saving his life from the archangel, helping him gather the will to stand again, and giving him a new arm, he was shouting all of that gratitude through his swordsmanship.

Kuuuuung!

Raon’s fingertips trembled under the weight of the sword strikes transmitted from Rector. Because he had become a human before being a swordsman, those emotions felt as though they were being driven straight into his heart.

“Hoo….”

Rector let out a hollow chuckle while gripping his sword with both hands.

“I guess I really did rest too long. I haven’t even fought for an hour, and I’m already running out of stamina.”

Wiping the sweat flowing down his forehead, he bit his lip deeply.

‘It’s only natural.’

Raon nodded slightly as he looked at Rector, whose eyes were still alive despite his exhaustion.

‘Because he expressed the sword with all his might.’

In order to let Raon see and learn more swords, Rector continued to unfold different sword techniques throughout the spar.

At every moment, the flow of his sword changed, and each time he drew it out with his full strength, so it was only natural that he became tired. That was his own way of expressing gratitude.

“I’ll show you one last thing.”

Rector raised the sword he was holding with both hands above his head. A blue radiance seemed to shine like a halo behind his back, and then a terrifying slash, as if it would split heaven and earth in two, came crashing down.

‘This time...’

Raon tightened his grip on Heavenly Drive.

‘He’s expressing himself as a swordsman.’

If until now Rector had been expressing his gratitude as a grandfather, this time he had returned as a swordsman, seeking a contest.

He revealed cold eyes, as if telling Raon to show him the sword that would defeat him.

‘I will accept it.’

Raon stepped forward with his left foot and swept Heavenly Drive upward. A red blade surged up while scraping across the blue lake, bleaching away Rector’s heaven-splitting slash in pure white.

Having fully accepted human emotion, Raon’s sword had already gone beyond the rank of a mere swordsman.

Huuuuuk!

The storm of light unleashed by Rector subsided, and the violently surging lake slowly settled as well.

Hmph!

Wrath slightly wrinkled the bridge of his nose as he looked at the trajectory of the sword that had just been unleashed.

Only now has it become a sword worth looking at.

Rarely, he praised Raon’s sword, muttering that it wasn’t bad.

“Haa….”

Standing behind the gray smoke, Rector lowered his sword and let out a long sigh. Looking at Raon, who had melted away all of his sword strikes, he let out a hollow laugh.

“Thank you.”

Suppressing the surprise blooming in his chest, Rector expressed with words what he had conveyed through the sword.

“If you’re grateful, then please fight by my side.”

Raon showed no humility, instead, he smiled and asked him to fight with all his effort.

“Of course! Though it’ll be hard for a while.”

Rector nodded, declaring that he would somehow recover the strength he had at his peak.

“Father. That might be difficult, so why not say you’ll recover about half? Honestly, you’ve gotten older now, so you shouldn’t push yourself too— ack!”

Edgar started fooling around again and was struck on the back by Sylvia, rolling across the ground.

“Father-in-law will be able to do it.”

Sylvia let out an elegant smile as she pressed her foot against Edgar’s back.

“Yeah. I’ll help too!”

Sia said she would train together and tightly held onto Rector’s prosthetic arm.

“Thank you, all of you.”

Rector smiled warmly as he looked at Sylvia and Sia.

“I may have no luck when it comes to my son, but I seem to be overflowing with luck in daughters-in-law and grandchildren.”

As if releasing the last bit of regret he had been holding onto, he calmly stroked his chin.

Srrrng.

Raon sheathed Heavenly Drive and looked down at the hand that had been gripping the sword.

‘To feel myself grow stronger like this.’

Originally, I had often broken through walls by entering a trance through awakening.

No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that was most of the time.

This time, without awakening or trance, I had grown stronger through enlightenment gained from life itself. Because of that, I was able to display a new realm immediately, without needing any time to adapt.

Even if Rector had been at full strength before losing his arm, I felt I wouldn’t be pushed back anymore. No, if it were drawn into a prolonged battle, I was confident I could win.

‘There isn’t much time left.’

Raon clenched his fist tightly, recalling those vicious blue eyes.

‘Derus Robert.’

*   *   *

“Kuh-humm!”

Standing halfway up North Grave Mountain and watching the spar between Raon and Rector, then let out a low fake cough as if his mood had become uncomfortable.

“Head of House. Is there some kind of problem?”

Roenn tilted his head as he looked at Glenn, who was frowning. He blinked, unable to understand why Glenn seemed dissatisfied even though everything had ended well.

“I think I know. Why the head of house is acting like that.”

Sheryl sighed as she looked down below.

“Sir Rector’s recovery is something to be happy about, but it bothers you that he’s monopolizing Raon and Sia’s attention.”

She snorted, saying Glenn’s inner thoughts were obvious.

“W-what nonsense!”

Glenn waved his hand as if it were absolutely not the case, but his reddened cheeks plainly betrayed the lie.

“Honestly! You’ve had Raon all to yourself the entire time, and you saw Sia almost every day too. Meanwhile, Sir Rector was in a completely different place, so he couldn't see them even if he wanted to! How can you be jealous over something like that?”

Sheryl shook her head, saying that Glenn was becoming tiresome now, just like Rimmer.

“Grrr….”

Knowing there wasn’t a single thing wrong with Sheryl’s words, Glenn merely wrinkled the bridge of his nose and said nothing.

“Huhuhu.”

Roenn simply laughed, sounding amused.

“But just how strong is Sir Raon now?”

Recalling Raon’s calm yet magnificent swordsmanship that had split apart Rector’s full might, he narrowed his eyes.

“…I don’t know.”

Glenn replied with an answer unlike himself, his gaze tightening.

“…What?”

Sheryl’s eyes widened.

“H-Head of house, you don’t know?”

She swallowed dryly, looking even more shocked than if she had heard the sky was falling.

“Raon’s current level is on par with the heads who stood in the middle ranks during the era of the Six Kings and Five Demons. But….”

Glenn lowered his brows as he looked at Raon touching Rector’s arm.

“The might that child can actually bring forth clearly surpasses that level. As for what rank that truly is, even I cannot tell.”

Because Raon’s growth had been both extraordinarily rapid and entirely new, he let out a rough breath, saying that even he could not know.

“I’m looking forward to eleven months from now.”

Glenn twisted his lips upward, as if mocking someone.

“To see just how far Raon’s sword will reach once he’s grown even more.”

*   *   *

The next day.

After sleeping in the annex building for the first time in a while, Raon came outside before the sun rose.

Thought you got a bit lazy, but….

Wrath sighed as he looked at the dawn sky dyed purple.

Are you swinging the sword from dawn again? You said you’d become a human!

Grinding his teeth, he complained that the forced march was starting all over again.

‘Just because one is human doesn’t mean everyone sleeps in late and is lazy. Do you know how many people work at dawn?’

Raon shook his head, saying that dawn training had nothing to do with living as a human.

Well… that’s true….

Wrath smacked his lips as if he had nothing to say on that part.

H, however, you still have a lacking part as a human.

‘A lacking part as a human?’

Raon stopped drawing his sword and looked back at Wrath.

‘What is it?’

Love!

Wrath lifted his chin.

You don’t know love!

‘Huh? I do—’

Not family! Even the King of Essence knows that you love the humans in this annex building!

He shook his head vigorously, saying that wasn’t what he meant.

He means love between a man and a woman! You absolutely don’t—

Wrath was in the middle of saying that Raon was still a novice when it came to love.

Wooooong!

A blue dimensional gate opened, and from within it appeared a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in antique white robes.

“Bartius?”

Raon’s eyes widened when he saw the gold dragon Bartius, who had contacted him through the blue window.

“Raon Zieghart!”

Bartius shoved his face forward without even exchanging greetings. His eyes looked as though they were about to burst straight through the dimension.

“I’ve found a path to reach the Lord!”

 

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