The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1200

 Chapter 1200

 

“Uh, uh….”

Raon, disguised as Jilpen, blinked as he looked at the middle-aged woman who approached him in a friendly manner.

“W-who are you?”

He slumped his shoulders and tilted his head, clearly expressing that she was a complete stranger to him.

YY-You idiot! What do you think you’re doing right now?!

Wrath gaped at him in disbelief.

She’s obviously someone he knows! You should’ve pretended to recognize her somehow!

He shouted, demanding to know why Raon was acting like he didn’t know a woman who was approaching him so familiarly.

It’s over! The infiltration failed the moment it began!

Wrath shook his head back and forth, muttering that everything was ruined.

“D-do you know me?”

But Raon continued to say he didn’t know the woman, as if he couldn’t hear Wrath’s outburst at all.

“You don’t know me? Look properly! Even if only occasionally, we’ve known each other for years!”

Without giving her name, the middle-aged woman looked hurt, as if she couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize her.

“I—I really don’t know you.”

Raon shook his head vigorously again. He even took a small step back, clearly indicating that he had no idea who she was.

‘A way to bait someone into filling in the blanks.’

The fact that the woman didn’t reveal anything about herself and instead spoke only about Jilpen’s childhood made Raon even more certain that she was fake.

We’re done for….

Wrath raised a hand to his forehead as if everything were finished.

Forget advancing the war, it feels like the King of Essence’s lifespan is being pulled forward instead.

He pounded his chest as though suffocating with frustration.

‘No. This is the right move.’

Raon didn’t lower his gaze, his confidence unwavering.

‘This is a method Derus Robert uses often.’

When someone is impersonating another person and an acquaintance appears, most people try to awkwardly play along, and that’s when their identity gets exposed. Derus had caught spies from other factions countless times using exactly this trick.

‘But this time is different.’

The identity I was using, Jilpen, had been fabricated by the Black Market. An orphan with no parents, raised in a small mercenary group with no personal connections. Pretending not to know her was the only correct response.

“Hmm!”

Kuanura looked at Raon, then nodded as if satisfied.

“Jilpen! Look again! I am—”

“That’s enough.”

He raised a hand toward the middle-aged woman who was about to step closer to Raon.

“Believer Barian. You’ve worked hard.”

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Kuanura bowed his head slightly to the woman.

“Not at all! If it’s to help the branch manager, I’ll do anything!”

Calling Kuanura the branch manager, the woman bowed politely.

‘Branch manager, he says….’

Raon turned his eyes toward Kuanura, tensing his fingertips.

‘Is it their method for the branch manager to guide new recruits personally?’

I had assumed Kuanura was just an ordinary missionary at most. I hadn’t expected him to be the branch manager. It seemed I had met the right person.

“I’m sorry. But since it was the branch manager’s request, I had no choice.”

The woman apologized politely and said that next time they met, she would treat him to something delicious.

“Well then.”

As if her task was finished, she offered a final farewell and walked toward the luxurious residential area.

“Th-this is….”

Raon opened his mouth in a round shape, as though he still hadn’t grasped what had happened.

“I sincerely apologize!”

Kuanura bowed at a perfect right angle as he faced Raon directly.

“As I mentioned earlier, there was a possibility that impure individuals might target Heaven, so we conducted an additional test.”

He scratched the back of his head, saying he was sorry for testing him repeatedly. When a branch manager apologized like that, it was impossible to protest.

“I-it’s fine.”

Raon waved both hands with a dazed expression.

“You said there are many evils aiming for Heaven, so it can’t be helped.”

He smiled awkwardly, saying he understood.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Kuanura bowed again, grateful that his apology had been accepted.

“No, really. It’s fine.”

Raon hurriedly returned the bow, pretending to feel burdened.

“Then let’s go inside.”

Saying that the tests were over, Kuanura gestured toward the vast stretch of green grass spread out before them.

The lawn leading into the residential area was brimming with vitality, shimmering with a gentle light.

“Ah, yes.”

Raon rolled his eyes quickly like a country bumpkin and moved to Kuanura’s side.

Huh….

Wrath let out a hollow breath, utterly dumbfounded.

W-What just happened? What’s going on right now?

He tilted his head, as if he still couldn’t understand anything.

‘That guy said it.’

Raon lifted his head and let out a small chuckle.

‘It was a test. They attach someone pretending to be an acquaintance and check whether the person really is who they claim to be. If it’s Derus, I figured something like this would definitely exist.’

Since it was something I had anticipated from the start, I hadn’t panicked and had responded calmly.

Seriously, this crazy bastard….

Wrath let out a hollow laugh, saying he had nearly had a heart attack.

Come to think of it, you were like this from the very first time the King of Essence met you. Just what the hell are you, anyway?!

Only now did he ask about Raon’s identity, grinding his teeth.

‘It’s still too early to be surprised.’

Raon twisted his lips upward as he stepped onto the grass, following Kuanura’s hand.

‘This is just the beginning.’

The beginning?

As Wrath tilted his head, clearly not understanding what he meant.

Ssssssss.

An extremely subtle energy rode the wind and seeped into his body, so faint that only he, or someone who had reached Transcendence, could sense it. No, even he would have missed it without the Ring of Fire.

‘As expected.’

Raon bit down on his lip.

‘There really was a real one.’

Raon bit his lip. Just as he had expected, the real test was separate. If it were Derus Robert, he would have thrown out a crude probe using a fake acquaintance as bait, then prepared the true trap elsewhere. This was proof of it.

‘This is dangerous.’

The energy was on an entirely different level from the divine power I had stepped on when descending the stairs

This wasn’t a barrier that detected the body or mind. It was an absolute magic that probed the human heart itself, detecting minds harboring impurity.

“……”

Kuanura’s gaze subtly shifted, sweeping over my entire body. Judging by his reaction, he clearly knew that a third test existed.

‘Stay calm.’

Raon scratched his cheek, maintaining his awkward act as if he felt nothing. He swallowed dryly again and again, acting like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time.

‘I have to keep the Ring of Fire spinning.’

The Ring of Fire was more focused on elevating the soul and mind than on strengthening the body. By resonating all nine rings, he concealed his true intent from the divine power probing his soul.

‘Maybe my focus improves when it’s a real situation.’

Should I try it here?

Smacking his lips, Raon ignited a new flame between the nine rings. In the middle of enemy territory, he began the challenge of forming a tenth ring.

You insane bastard!

Wrath gaped at him in utter disbelief.

Do you really have no sense of fear at all?!

He sucked in a sharp breath, saying that even he, a Demon King, wouldn’t dare do such a thing.

Gooooooo!

Ignoring the horrified Wrath, Raon focused on forming the tenth ring.

Saaaah.

But once they passed through the lawn, the divine power vanished as if nothing had happened, and his focus sank along with it.

‘Tch. Why was it so short?’

Raon clicked his tongue inwardly in disappointment.

Ha! It’s not that you’ve got guts, it’s like fear doesn’t even exist for you!

Wrath shook his head, muttering that this human was more than he could handle.

“You’re keeping up well. As expected, Mr. Jilpen is someone truly suited to ascend to Heaven together with us.”

Kuanura spoke with words that seemed to carry multiple meanings and smiled faintly. It felt as though this meant I had finally passed the real test.

‘That’s a relief.’

It really had been right for me to infiltrate personally. If someone from the Shadow Agents or the Black Market had come instead, their identity would have been exposed by the barrier installed in this lawn, and the enemies would have gone into hiding.

“Th-then… is this Heaven?”

Raon narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the luxurious residences reminiscent of noble estates, the beautiful forest, and the people overflowing with laughter.

“No.”

Kuanura shook his head firmly.

“This is the Land of Clouds, where one must refine body and mind before ascending to true Heaven.”

He smiled, saying that this land had been built above the clouds.

“Above the clouds….”

Raon frowned slightly as he looked down at the ground.

‘Come to think of it, it should be night outside.’

I had arrived here riding the darkness of night, yet the moment I descended the stairs, it turned into broad daylight. Whether it was above the clouds or not, this was certainly not a normal place.

“B-but….”

Raon tilted his chin slightly as he looked around.

“It feels different from what I imagined.”

People were eating what looked like expensive food, dressed in luxurious clothing and adorned with precious jewelry, inside enormous houses like noble mansions.

Men and women openly embraced and kissed each other, while some lay sprawled out as if they intended to sleep all day without moving.

It felt less like Heaven and more like a place meant to satisfy one’s desires.

“So you mean it feels less like shedding desire, and more like being exposed to it, don’t you?”

Kuanura nodded, as if he understood exactly what Raon meant.

“Many people misunderstand this. Heaven is not a place where one must abandon desire. On the contrary, the more honest you are, the better.”

He raised a finger and pointed toward the people who seemed to be overflowing with desire.

“Only those who can fully lay bare the desires hidden beneath the human shell gain the qualification to go to Heaven.”

Kuanura smiled as he spoke, telling him to lay out greed and gluttony, sloth, envy, and lust, every emotion without restraint.

“Greed and gluttony, sloth, envy, and lust.”

Raon repeated Kuanura’s words and swept his gaze over the people openly revealing their emotions.

‘That’s no different from the emotions of Demon Kings.’

He swallowed dryly, feeling a sinister chill run down his spine.

‘Don’t tell me these bastards…?’

*   *   *

“Uahahahaha!”

Raon, acting as Jilpen, spent the next few days living in complete harmony with the Land of Clouds, draped in jewelry, greedily shoveling food into his mouth, and faithfully indulging in human desire.

Huh….

Wrath let out a hollow laugh as he watched Raon, who had gone beyond merely acting as Jilpen and seemed to have become Jilpen himself.

He’s completely lost his mind.

Just a few days earlier, Raon hadn’t even known who Jilpen was. It hadn’t even been a full week since he met him after receiving word from the Black Market, yet now the name Jilpen seemed to suit him better than Raon Zieghart.

How is this even possible?

Raon had done nothing more than read a book containing Jilpen’s personal details and ask a few questions when he met the Black Market agent Jilpen in person.

After thinking for a few hours, he had shed the skin of the bold and unhinged Raon Zieghart and transformed in an instant into Jilpen, the timid aura expert swordsman.

Raon’s vivid, realistic acting had even left the real Jilpen stunned and at a loss for words.

It was one thing to accept that he possessed exceptional endurance and willpower, but it was impossible to understand how someone who barely understood human emotions could act like this.

How did something like you even come into existence?

Wrath wrinkled the bridge of his nose slightly as he watched Raon completely unleash his desires.

A monster no amount of research could explain….

Among all the humans and demons Wrath had ever seen, Raon possessed the greatest self-restraint.

The so-called three fundamental human desires, appetite, sexual desire, and the desire for sleep, had never affected him at all. He was a monster immune to them, yet now he was unleashing every one of them, indulging his desires to the fullest.

N-no, wait!

Wrath straightened his wrinkled nose and widened his eyes.

A-Are you manifesting the authority of the Demon Kings right now?!

Raon wasn’t merely revealing his desires, he was circulating greed, gluttony, and sloth. Wrath couldn’t fathom what kind of madness he was committing in a land filled with divine power.

‘That’s right.’

Raon nodded calmly, as if it were nothing.

A-Are you truly insane?! Divine power and the emotions of the Demon Kings are completely opposed!

Wrath screamed, telling him to stop at once.

‘Normally, that would be true. But….’

Raon slowly waved his hand. As he looked at the humans freely unleashing all kinds of desires like pigs stuffing themselves with feed, the corner of his mouth twisted upward.

‘This is the fastest way to reach Heaven.’

 

Advance Chapters