The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1225

 Chapter 1225

 

Kwaaaaaaang!

The dark clouds hanging in the sky were torn apart like scraps of paper. The land collapsed, and the very axis of the world twisted violently.

The energy of death Derus Robert had condensed was so terrifying that, even though it detonated inside the dimensional gate, it devastated the entire surrounding area

Gulp.

Raon dropped to one knee on the still-trembling ground and swallowed his dry saliva.

‘That was truly dangerous….’

If the energy of death had exploded here exactly as Derus Robert had planned, then unless grandfather had unleashed his full power, everyone, including me, would have died.

And once he revealed his true might, he would no longer have been able to refuse the call of the heavens and would have ascended. In the end, the entire continent would have fallen into Derus Robert’s hands.

Avoiding that worst-case outcome was nothing short of a miracle.

‘We came here to kill Derus Robert, and we almost got wiped out instead.’

Raon bit down on his blood-soaked fingers and frowned deeply.

‘Derus Robert. As expected, he’s not a bastard I can ever let my guard down around.’

From start to finish, he had believed everything was under his control.

No matter what Derus Robert tried, Raon was convinced victory was assured.

Yet Derus Robert had turned the danger itself into a calculated opportunity. Using the situation, he devised a plan to annihilate both me and the elite forces of Zieghart, and even force grandfather to ascend.

Just as I had grown stronger in countless ways, it seemed Derus Robert, too, had never been satisfied with his current might or mindset, relentlessly pushing himself further.

‘I need to break free from the past as well.’

Derus Robert judged me not as the Raon of the past, but as Raon Zieghart.

Meanwhile, I had continued to see Derus Robert as the man he used to be, and nearly paid the price today. If not for grandfather, I might truly have died.

From now on, I needed to forget everything Derus Robert had shown before and judge him based on who he was now.

‘However….’

Raon slowly narrowed his eyes as he looked at the sky and land where the tremors were finally subsiding.

‘Is he really dead?’

Derus Robert had taken the explosion of the energy of death head-on after having his soul severed by my Heart Sword.

The shock of the explosion had been powerful enough to cross dimensions. Even if it had been grandfather instead of Derus Robert, surviving would have been impossible.

‘And that place was his true headquarters.’

The place connected to the dimensional gate Derus Robert had opened was where the elites of the Shadows and the archangels fled.

In other words, it could very well have been his real headquarters. If so, then there would have been no room to escape. Everything in that place should have been obliterated by that massive explosion.

‘But…’

Raon pressed his lips tightly together.

‘There was something different about his soul.’

Derus Robert didn’t possess a single soul like ordinary people.

Hundreds, no, thousands, of souls were fused together, their faces twisted and cracked like dried bark, screaming as they were torn apart.

Even after I had severed a large portion of Derus Robert’s soul with the Heart Sword’s Die to Live, and he had been swept up in that massive explosion, I still could not be certain of his death.

What are you agonizing over!

Wrath snapped, knocking on his own head as if scolding Raon for entertaining pointless thoughts.

If someone survives that, they’re already no longer human!

Snorting, he insisted that even someone as slippery as Derus Robert couldn’t possibly survive.

‘You really think so?’

Raon smiled faintly as he looked at Wrath, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

Of course!

Wrath scoffed and raised his chubby hand.

The King of Essence agrees, that bastard was like a ghost, but it wasn’t just the explosion, your sword was completely different too!

He shook his chin forcefully, as if telling Raon to stop fixating on only one part of it.

That sword and that explosion were dangerous even for Demon Kings!

Clicking his tongue loudly, Wrath declared there was nothing to worry about.

‘Alright.’

Raon let out a small chuckle as he looked at Wrath, clearly excited.

“Raon.”

Glenn stepped up beside him and supported his shoulder.

“That was a magnificent sword.”

Rather than speaking about driving Derus back, what impressed him was the Heart Sword Raon unleashed at the very end, and a calm, gentle smile spread across his face.

“Swordsmanship is the swordsman’s life itself.”

Glenn looked at his own Heart Sword, slowly closing his eyes before opening them again.

“Even siblings who learn the same swordsmanship will develop different blades, depending on how they live. My sword was a killing blade, built on violence and destruction. But thanks to you all, I was able to find a new path, even if only at the very end.”

He drew the softly glowing Heart Sword into his chest and shook his head.

“But you, Raon, are different.”

Glenn looked at Raon with eyes filled with deep affection.

“From a young age, you wielded your sword to save people. Even if death and killing intent dwell within that blade, countless lives have also been saved through it.”

With a trembling hand, he gently ruffled Raon’s hair.

“Walk your own path. A path that only you can walk.”

Saying that the path of warrior was the life of a warrior itself, Glenn gripped Raon’s shoulder firmly. In that large hand, affection and pride for his grandson overflowed.

Normally, the King of Essence would’ve mocked him for being a doting fool, but today, even the King of Essence thinks the same!

Wrath smacked his lips briefly as he looked at Glenn.

Your final sword was enough to surprise even the King of Essence!

As if impressed even upon thinking back on it, he swung his fist.

He supposes he really can’t call you a novice anymore.

Rarely showing such sincerity, Wrath nodded as he offered genuine praise.

“I understand.”

Raon repeated Glenn’s words internally and looked down at Heavenly Drive lying on the ground with a hand drained of strength.

As he lowered his hand to pick up the sword, the Heart Sword that had grown in his heart strangely began to appear overlapped with Heavenly Drive.

“Ah…”

The two swords, one formed from his will, the other existing in reality, never meant to meet, appeared to align and connect, as though they were becoming a single sword.

‘A path only I can walk.’

Recalling what only he had been able to do, as when he killed the archangel Raphael, he clenched his fist with his exhausted hand.

“Ha…”

Lifting Heavenly Drive, Raon let out a quiet laugh.

What, what is it now?!

Wrath let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded.

Don’t tell me you’ve gained another enlightenment?

Clutching his head as if begging him to stop already, he screamed.

‘Something like that, I guess…’

Raon slowly shook his head as he sheathed Heavenly Drive, which felt unbearably heavy.

‘But first… I just want to rest.’

Unable to endure his blurring vision, he slowly closed his eyes.

‘My sword….’

*   *   *

“Hmm!”

Glenn caught Raon by the waist as he slowly collapsed.

“Are you alri—whew, did he pass out?”

After confirming that Raon had lost consciousness, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, it’s understandable.”

Holding Raon’s hand, even the calluses worn away, Glenn nodded quietly.

“He’s done something worthy of being recorded in the continent’s history.”

Raon had entered Derus’s inner domain alone, killed the archangel Raphael, devised a plan to suppress the celestials’ elites and the Shadows, and executed it perfectly.

It was something even me, called the strongest on the continent, could not do. In this world, it was something only Raon Zieghart could accomplish.

‘And on top of that…’

Glenn curled the corners of his mouth into a thin smile as he hoisted Raon, who was much heavier than in his childhood, onto his back.

‘He didn’t let Derus Robert escape either.’

Knowing that Derus Robert would flee, Raon had gone so far as to request the creation of magic specifically designed to track him.

Thanks to Evelyn fulfilling that request perfectly, we were able to pursue him all the way here and begin the final battle.

‘I was even ready to leave this continent….’

Glenn brushed his hair back and let out a dry chuckle.

‘But thanks to having a grandson, I get to stay a little longer.’

Like the saying that even a rat will bite a cat when cornered, Derus Robert had devised a plan to wipe out the attackers instead.

Honestly, I thought the battle would only end if I revealed his full strength, but in that brief moment, Raon awakened and ultimately finished Derus Robert with his own strength.

I had made many predictions, yet the outcome differed so greatly from every one of them that even now I couldn’t quite believe it, and a hollow laugh escaped me.

‘No matter how strong Derus Robert was… he must be dead.’

Raon had cut Derus Robert’s soul, then pushed him into the dimensional gate along with the massive energy that even I would have struggled to handle.

Unless Derus Robert was a god, there was no way he could have survived.

“W-What happened?!”

While Glenn was looking at Raon with gentle eyes, Rector came running up.

“Raon! Is Raon alright?!”

Even though his entire body was soaked in blood, Rector only asked about Raon.

It seemed he had held the line without letting a single enemy through, then sprinted here the moment it was over.

“Palace master!”

“Raon! You bastard, you’re not dead, are you?!”

“Raon…!”

Burren, Marthga, and Runaan came rushing over as well, covered in blood and sweat, shouting Raon’s name.

“G-Grandfather, Raon’s okay, right?”

“Don’t keep us in suspense, please tell us quickly!”

“Haaah….”

Because the explosion had been so immense, the three of them seemed convinced that Raon had suffered severe injuries. They bit down hard on their lips, unable to hide their anxiety. In their eyes was an unmistakable depth of emotion, feelings that went far beyond mere camaraderie.

“Raon is fine.”

Glenn nodded with a faint smile.

“He only fainted after exhausting all of his strength and stamina.”

As he explained Raon’s condition, he waved a hand to reassure them.

“Th-thank goodness….”

Evelyn, no one knew when she had arrived, slumped back against the wall, letting out a long breath of relief.

“Then what happened to Derus Robert?”

Now that he knew Raon was safe, Rector asked about the outcome of the battle.

“He’s dead.”

Trusting his own judgment, Glenn stated Derus Robert’s death without hesitation.

“R-really?”

Rector’s mouth fell open, clearly having never imagined that result.

“Derus Robert… is dead….”

“As expected of you, head of house! It was about time that bastard met his end!”

“Hmm….”

Burren, Martha, and Runaan also let out short breaths, seemingly stunned by the outcome of Derus’s death.

“The archangels still remain, so we must not let our guard down.”

Glenn raised his hand toward the Zieghart elites who were about to cheer.

“But the most dangerous one is gone, isn’t he? It wouldn’t be strange to hold a festival! As expected of you, in law!”

Rector raised his hands and cheered, assuming Glenn was the one who killed Derus Robert.

“No.”

Glenn shook his head firmly.

“The one who finished Derus Robert was not me, but this child.”

He shifted Raon on his back so everyone could see him, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

“This child cut down Derus, and shattered even that devious‘s final scheme. Not me. He did all of it.”

Glenn gave all the credit to Raon and broke into a broad smile.

“R-Raon did?”

Rector gaped, clearly having assumed that Glenn was the one who killed Derus Robert.

“What? Raon killed Derus?”

“C-Crazy! That guy is truly crazy!”

“I knew it….”

Burren trembled in shock, his jaw quivering, Martha burst out in a cheer laced with curses, and Runaan nodded quietly, as if she had believed it all along.

“That’s my man! I love you to death. No, I love you even if you kill me!”

Saying that staying up night after night to create the magic had been worth it, Evelyn could not take her purple eyes off Raon.

“……”

Glenn cast a sidelong glance at Raon as he listened to everyone’s cheers and formed a faint smile.

‘Do you hear them? Everyone is praising you.’

He slightly lifted his grandson, who had grown much heavier than before, and patted his back just as he had wanted to do when Raon was a child.

‘Having received such great help from my grandson, it’s my turn to show them now.’

As if he had made up his mind, Glenn let chilling lightning flare above his red eyes.

‘The final battle with Eden, I will bring it to an end.’

 

 

Advance Chapters