The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1227

 Chapter 1227

 

"…And that is what happened."

Raon explained everything that had happened to the people who came all the way to his room in the annex building.

“To think you cut down an archangel with a single strike! That's my son, alright! Look at him! He’s handsome, and his swordsmanship is the best on the continent! Father! Aren't you glad I left the Holy Sword Alliance? If I hadn't, you wouldn't have a grandson like him!”

Edgar kept shouting “my son” and chattering nonstop at Rector beside him.

“I already know, so shut your mouth!”

Rector grabbed Edgar by the head and shoved him away as he stuck close and kept running his mouth.

“And he’s my grandson! I noticed him first!”
He snorted, boasting that he had recognized Raon before Edgar ever did.

“You split Derus Robert’s soul with your Heart Sword?”

Balder grabbed his own head with a hand the size of a pot lid, looking utterly dumbfounded.

“To think you cut down that nauseating bastard with your Heart Sword, impressive!”

Saying the mission had been worth it, he slapped Raon on the back so hard it hurt.

“So… what about my martial art?”

Balder, as if the martial art had been his true objective all along, subtly brought up the topic of the manual.

Hey! At this point, you should just make one for him already!

Wrath frowned, saying Balder was starting to look pitiful.

“Honestly, the operation had a lot of holes. You could say we were lucky. No, maybe it was thanks to our palace master’s adaptability.”

Burren let out a sigh of relief, saying he was just glad everything ended safely.

"What a waste! I should have smashed my fist in that shiny, smug face of his before Derus died!"

Martha clicked her tongue in frustration that she hadn’t gotten to see Derus Robert’s main body.

"Y-You would have died if you did! Please, control yourself!"

Dorian wiped his chest, relieved they hadn’t had to face Derus Robert directly.

“There you go again, killing the mood! We were helpful in our own way this time! Derus is nothing special!”

Krein slung an arm around Dorian’s shoulder, shouting at him to have some confidence.

“Ah, I wanted to fight too!”

Sia bumped her two fists together in front of her chest, regretting that she hadn’t been able to fight alongside them.

“Haaah….”

Evelyn panted, her cheeks flushed red, looking happy just because Raon had woken up.

“Raon….”

Sylvia looked at Raon with a faint smile, one that ordinary people wouldn't notice, but those close to her would instantly recognize.

"Try moving your body. Does it hurt anywhere?"

Sylvia clasped her hands together, worrying only about her son’s condition, regardless of whether he had killed an archangel or Derus.

“Hmm….”

At Sylvia’s words, Raon slowly moved his body. He still felt pain here and there since he hadn’t fully recovered yet, but nothing severe, and nothing that felt like it would leave aftereffects.

“I’m fine. They’re all wounds that’ll heal soon.”

Saying he was okay, Raon rolled his shoulders firmly.

“Thank goodness….”

Only then did Sylvia seem relieved, letting out a breath and sinking down on the spot.

“It’s amazing that you’re fine after fighting like that.”

“Is your body actually made of steel?”

Burren and Martha huffed in disbelief, amazed by Raon’s body, which always endured even after he fought to the brink of death.

“He’s always been like that.”

Dorian shook his head, recalling how Raon had gone straight back to fighting the very next day even after being gravely injured at Habun Castle.

“Looking at him now, it feels like our palace master’s real talent isn’t swordsmanship, but his body. Call him the Steel King.”

“Raon’s physical toughness was unrivaled on the continent, even more than his sword skills.”

“That’s because of me! I’ve always had a tough body too! I never lose when it comes to that! Once, I got buried under a pile of rocks—”

Edgar jumped in, not missing the chance to boast about himself.

“That was before I’d even learned aura, but I only got scrapes, barely bled at all. My son’s sturdiness comes from me—”

“Please, just let the kids play among themselves!”

Sylvia kicked Edgar away, veins bulging on her forehead.

“Ghk!”

With Sylvia’s foot planted squarely in his mouth, Edgar toppled over onto the floor.

“Hehe, take your time and enjoy yourselves.”

In stark contrast to that brutal kick, Sylvia wore a bright smile as she dragged the unconscious Edgar outside.

"Sigh, they're at it again."

Sia placed her hands on her hips and sighed deeply, looking tired of it all.

“Why? It’s nice.”

Watching Sylvia and Edgar’s cute, theatrical scuffle, Raon let out a soft smile.

‘This really is the place where I feel most at ease.’

The annex building was where I could feel most comfortable just being myself. After more than a month of infiltration missions, seeing this long-missed scene made a smile form on my face without me realizing it.

The King of Essence missed home too!

Wrath nodded vigorously, as if he felt the same way.

‘You too—’

Home-cooked meals! They’re not fancy, but he misses those delicious home-cooked meals so badly!

Unlike Raon, all he’d missed was food, drool practically dripping from his mouth.

The food in Heaven tasted good too, but it lacked the seasoning called sincerity! This King of Essence still says home-cooked meals are the best!

Wrath smacked his lips, saying that no matter how often he ate the food at the annex building, he never got tired of it.

You look fine now, so get up and go eat already!

Frowning, Wrath complained that while Raon had been unconscious, he had nearly starved to death holding back his hunger.

‘Devildom really is in trouble.’

Raon let out a small snort of laughter as he watched Wrath clutch his stomach and complain about being hungry.

'To think this is a Demon King.'

When fighting Derus Robert, he had supported me from behind like a seasoned adult who had been through far more than me. But now, he was no different from a child throwing a tantrum over food. He was truly an amusing Demon King.

“Raon.”

Rector called his name in a low voice.

“Thanks to you, Derus Robert and his forces have disappeared, and the balance of the war has clearly tilted toward the Five Kings.”

As he spoke of the current state of affairs, he slightly lifted his chin.

‘Derus Robert.’

Raon narrowed his eyes, recalling the expression of shock frozen on Derus Robert’s face at the very end.

‘Is he really dead?’

He believed that Derus Robert had died without question, but the man had always been so elusive, so ghostlike, that a faint sense of unease still lingered in his mind.

Still, in a situation like this, he didn’t want to ruin the mood, so he calmly nodded.

“What do you want to do now?”

Rector revealed clear, resolute eyes, as though he would grant anything Raon asked for. If Raon said to end the war, he looked ready to stop everything. If he said to start it, Rector seemed ready to hunt down Eden no matter where it was hiding.

“What I want to do now…”

Raon reached out and grasped Heavenly Drive resting on the table.

“For now, it’s already decided.”

*   *   *

Whooooom!

After sending everyone away, Raon went out to the lake behind the annex building and swung his sword.

Though not much time had passed, it felt strangely exciting, as if it had been a long time since he last held a sword.

You crazy bastard!

Wrath ground his teeth and smacked Raon on the shoulder.

If you’re a patient, you should be asking for a feast! Why are you swinging a sword?!

He turned his blue face red, shouting that he couldn't understand it at all.

‘I want to check.’

Feeling the familiar sensation of Heavenly Drive sticking to his palm as if his arm had grown longer, Raon curled his lips slightly.

‘How much I’ve grown.’

After the Ring of Fire reached ten stars, everything had accelerated so rapidly that even he couldn’t properly gauge his own might.

He had grown even further through witnessing Glenn’s Heart Sword, and with that enlightenment, he was able to cut down Derus Robert. He wanted to properly confirm where he now stood.

You’re truly obsessed with the sword….

Wrath shook his head, looking genuinely fed up.

If you want to check your strength, start by checking the rewards you stripped from the King of Essence’s main body.

Waving his hand, he told Raon to just give up and check the rewards.

‘No. Right now, I want to feel what I earned myself first.’

Raon shook his head firmly.

‘Only after I know what I can do on my own can I properly accept what comes from others.’

I had already undergone excessive growth, and compared to before, my body, mind, and aura had all changed greatly. For now, I wanted to clearly feel my own strength first.

‘I’ll eat after I’m done, so wait just a bit.’

After asking Wrath to understand, Raon swung his sword again.

Tch, do whatever you want!

Wrath clicked his tongue sharply and turned away.

Seriously, you’re impossible to hate.

Raon was always taking things that belonged to him, which made Wrath want to hate him, but whenever he saw Raon immerse himself so earnestly in the sword like this, he couldn’t help but feel proud of him as both a friend and a fellow practitioner walking the same path of growing stronger.

Ssssh—

Having obtained Wrath’s ‘permission’, Raon heightened his focus even further and unfolded every sword technique he had learned.

Thanks to the Ring of Fire reaching ten stars, he could clearly feel how much his swordsmanship had advanced.

It wasn’t just that his sword had grown stronger, each individual sword technique had seen its defining characteristics deepen and mature significantly.

‘The Heart Sword too.’

Because the level of my soul had risen and the realm of my swordsmanship had increased, my once-short Heart Sword had grown nearly to the length of a longsword.

‘But more than its length, its sharpness has deepened.’

Before, my mind sword had felt dull, as if it lacked an edge. Now, the Heart Sword floating before my eyes revealed such sharpness that merely brushing against someone’s soul would be enough to cut it apart.

‘With might at this level….’

The Heavenly Demon of Eden, Darkan the former master of the Holy Sword Alliance, and Glenn Zieghart, the Destructive King of the North. Aside from those three, I felt I wouldn’t lose to anyone.

‘Anyone….’

As Raon recalled the names of renowned powerhouses, he slightly narrowed his eyes.

‘Derus Robert.’

I had finished my revenge, yet it didn’t feel particularly satisfying.

When I cut down Derus Robert and saw the bastard’s look of shock, it had been exhilarating beyond anything I’d felt before. But now that everything was over, no strong emotion remained.

‘It could be because I’ve become an adult. Or maybe revenge is simply like this by nature. Or perhaps….’

Perhaps he isn’t truly dead.

I didn’t say it to the others, but Derus Robert’s soul was so vast and thick that an unsettling thought crossed my mind, that even after being cut by me and struck by that tremendous explosion, he might not have died.

‘Ah… there might be one more dangerous one out there.’

Eyes where black and white were reversed.

The grotesque being with inverted pupils, its black and white reversed, an existence that had left even the first head of Zieghart unable to lower his guard even after killing the Demonic Dragon of Destruction. The being called Anima still remained.

‘It hasn’t revealed itself yet, but…’

It must still exist somewhere on this continent.

The first head of Zieghart had always shown scenes that were helpful to me. There was no way he would have shown himself facing Anima without any meaning.

‘I can’t afford to lower my guard going forward either.’

Even if Derus Robert was dead, Eden under the Heavenly Demon still remained, and the archangels were likely hiding somewhere, plotting for the future.

I wanted to continue growing, to protect the people around me.

'Then, shall I do a little more?'

Just as Raon was about to lift Heavenly Drive again to refine his sword to greater perfection—

“You wake up and the first thing you do is swing your sword?”

Glenn descended onto the rippling surface of the lake. The moment his toes touched the water, the violently churning waves settled as calmly as solid ground.

“Ah, well—”

“That’s exactly what a swordsman should do.”

Raon scratched his head, about to make an excuse, but contrary to expectations, Glenn said he was doing well and let out a faint smile.

“You achieved significant growth through this war, so it’s only natural you’d want to check your own might.”

Glenn nodded heavily, as if he had read Raon’s thoughts completely.

Natural, my ass! That’s something only you two, grandfather and grandson, would do!

Wrath shouted that there was nothing natural about it.

“That's right. Thanks to you, grandfather, I realized many things, so I wanted to check them properly.”

Ignoring Wrath, Raon returned Glenn’s smile.

“So, what was the result?”

Glenn slightly lowered his chin, prompting Raon to say what had changed.

"Finally...."

Raon raised Heavenly Drive and held it upright before his chest.

“I’ve gained confidence in my own sword.”

A declaration made before Glenn, the strongest swordsman on the continent. It might have sounded arrogant, but on Raon as he was now, that confidence suited him perfectly.

“I see.”

Glenn nodded calmly, as if he had understood everything from those few words.

“You have the skill worthy of such confidence. I can’t help but acknowledge it.”

After Wrath had acknowledged him, Glenn did the same, offering Raon a small, approving smile.

“Yes. In the war against Eden, I’ll do my utmost—”

“No. You won’t need to step in.”

Glenn slowly waved his hand and looked up at the sky.

“I’ve decided to settle things with the Heavenly Demon myself, in a duel to the death.”

His red eyes blazed fiercely, as if they would set Zieghart’s dark night sky ablaze.

“On that day, I’ll show you my sword, not as your grandfather, but as the head of house Zieghart.”

 

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