The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1213

 Chapter 1213

 

Raon drew a cold smile as he looked at Priest Srude, whose shock was plainly reflected in his blue eyes.

‘He certainly isn't as insidious as the real one.’

If this had been the real Derus Robert, he would have remained perfectly calm even in a situation like this, acting as though the outcome were only natural. That bastard had maintained his facade as a righteous and benevolent being so flawlessly that, until the moment his true identity was exposed, no one, absolutely no one, had ever harbored the slightest suspicion toward him.

But priest Srude standing before me now could not completely control his emotions in the face of this unexpected result, plainly revealing his stiffened gaze and lips.

‘That one’s the same.’

Baif, who had brought me to this Heaven, was also staring with his mouth agape, shoulders trembling as if shocked by Kirk’s defeat. Seeing his eyes constantly darting from side to side, it looked as though he was worrying about what might happen next.

‘This will work just fine.’

A human defeating the celestial Kirk was inherently suspicious, but judging by Srude and Baif’s reactions, I felt I could easily deceive them if I just stuck to the plan.

“Hey. Aren’t you going to answer?”

Raon frowned at Srude.

“You’re not about to start babbling something else now, are you?”

He crooked his finger arrogantly, demanding that Srude keep the promise he had spoken aloud himself. At the same time, he deliberately let out rough breaths, as if he were still badly exhausted from the duel.

“Ah….”

Priest Srude let out a short exclamation, as though he were snapping back to his senses.

“Of course.”

He erased the awkwardness from his expression, put on his usual smile, and nodded.

“As I mentioned earlier, with the desire Sir Jilpen has accumulated, you will be able to reach the sky.”

He waved a hand lightly, as if to reassure him.

“However, since the amount is so immense, converting it into a tower will take some time.”

He bent slightly at the waist, explaining that since both Jilpen and Kirk had wagered an enormous amount of desire, it would take time to raise it into a tower.

“I don’t mind. Frankly, given how much desire has already been gathered, it wouldn’t be strange to say the Tower of Babel is effectively complete already. There’s no real need to raise the tower immediately.”

Raon rubbed his chin, speaking as if he were being understanding and reasonable.

“Thank you for your consid—”

“But.”

As Priest Srude smiled and began to bow, Raon raised a single finger, cutting him off.

“Looks like they don’t agree with that.”

He pointed straight ahead, toward the people who had just witnessed the duel between himself and Kirk.

“Can’t you feel their desire to have the tower raised right now?”

No matter where one is, the collective will of the masses carries great power. And in a place like this Heaven, one that exists because of people’s faith, that collective will could not help but manifest as an even more overwhelming force.

“That’s right!”

“As expected of Jilpen! You said it perfectly!”

“We want to see the archangel right now!”

“No, just bring us a god!”

“I don’t need an archangel or a god! Just show us the tower smashing the sky!”

“Honestly, we’ve only heard stories. Very few have actually seen an archangel.”

“At last, we’ll finally see one!”

The residents of Heaven shouted for the archangel to be summoned immediately, swinging their fists overhead as if striking the sky itself.

They had long been lured into desire using the existence of an archangel who supposedly granted any wish as bait, so this reaction was only natural.

“Hmm.”

Watching the people react even more fiercely than he had expected, Raon curled the corner of his lips upward.

‘Great reaction.’

From the start, I had anticipated that even if I won the duel, priest Srude wouldn’t immediately raise the tower.

It was obvious they would try to stall, either replacing me with another celestial or try to brainwash me.

‘There were several ways I could have prevented that from happening.’

I could have stayed surrounded by as many people as possible so they couldn’t replace me, or I could have turned their attempt at brainwashing back on them if they tried it, but the choice I’d made now was the most effective of all.

‘Using the masses.’

This Heaven was a livestock farm where Derus Robert and the celestials stockpiled their food by exploiting human desire.

If the dreams and hopes of that “livestock” were to shatter, then Heaven itself would inevitably collapse from its very foundation. And that was precisely why they couldn’t suppress the people now raising a commotion, no matter how much they wanted to.

Ugh….

Wrath pressed a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache.

The King of Essence honestly can’t tell anymore how many steps ahead you’re thinking. Going up against you like this is worse than fighting two Demon Kings head-on.

Wrath let out a long, weary sigh, making it unmistakably clear that he had absolutely no desire to ever engage Raon in a battle of wits.

“Raise the tower! Raise the tower!”

“Summon the archangel! Summon the archangel!”

“Jilpen! Jilpen! Jilpen!”

“If you don’t, we’ll smash everything! Open the sky right now!”

The residents of Heaven, united as one, thrust their fists skyward and shouted for the tower to be raised immediately and the archangel summoned.

Even those who had initially felt envy were stunned by the overwhelming power with which he defeated Kirk, and, like everyone else, began chanting Jilpen’s name, eager to see an archangel for themselves.

“Hmm….”

Priest Srude clutched his temples and let out a low groan.

“Understood. I will handle it as quickly as possible.”

He let out a sigh and nodded, as if he had received instructions from his main body.

“Please wait just a little longer.”

As he said this, Priest Srude stared steadily at Raon. It seemed he was being harshly reprimanded by his main body, Derus Robert.

“Since he says to wait just a little, everyone stay here and watch!”

Raon spread his arms wide as he turned to the crowd.

“Watch me become a Transcender!”

He openly declared his wish to become a Transcender and, like the others, raised his fist and struck it toward the sky.

“Woooooo!”

“Jilpen! Go on ahead! I’ll follow you soon!”

“It’s not even my wish, so why do I feel so good?”

“Because we’ve watched him ever since he arrived in Heaven.”

“Yeah. We saw how he grew, so we can’t help but root for him!”

“He kept challenging himself nonstop. A guy like that deserves success, so we can learn from it too!”

The people praised Jilpen and even applauded, as if they had truly become his followers.

You really do end up turning people into your allies no matter where you go.

Wrath let out a hollow, incredulous chuckle.

Like he has said before, you’re wasted on a place like this.

The words themselves were serious, but as usual, he exaggeratedly stretched out his round, bread-like hand, completely undercutting the gravity of his tone.

Come with the King of Essence to Devildom! The ability to make people follow you naturally, without force or coercion, is a power granted only to those meant to be kings.

For once, Wrath wasn’t joking. He spoke about becoming a king with genuine conviction and gave a solemn nod. ‘Devildom…’

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Heaven’s false sky.

‘It’s where you live, so I do want to visit someday, but not now.’

Feeling the immense desire Kirk had possessed seeping into his soul, his eyes flashed coldly.

‘Today, I’m killing Derus Robert.’

*   *   *

“How did things end up like this?”

Derus Robert looked down with a gaze as sharp as a blade, his long legs crossed.

“I-I apologize.”

A human who looked exactly like Derus knelt on the floor, trembling violently. It was priest Srude, who should have been in Heaven. His body shimmered faintly, half-transparent, as though only his soul had been dragged here.

“I thought Kirk would be able to defeat that human without difficulty… Perhaps he let his guard down….”

Priest Srude gnawed at his lips, saying it seemed Kirk had been careless and lost to a human.

“……”

Cubara stood in front of a bookshelf with her hands clasped, saying nothing, her eyes gently closed.

“Th-the livestock of Heaven are watching, so it seems we have no choice but to grant that human’s wish somehow….”

Priest Srude clutched his head, saying there was no other option.

“Tch.”

Derus Robert clicked his tongue and habitually rotated his right wrist. He closed his eyes, as if deep in thought.

“Ugh….”

Srude, seemingly terrified, pressed his forehead to the floor at Derus's feet, letting out only thin whimpers.

“Did you say his wish was to become a Transcender?”

Derus slowly opened his eyes and looked down at priest Srude.

“Yes! He said that because he’d lived his whole life crushed by power since childhood, he wants to become a Transcender and take revenge on the world!”

Priest Srude rattled on, even blurting out Jilpen’s background without being asked, nodding repeatedly.

“An ordinary human defeated a celestial with desire? You checked his identity properly, didn’t you?”

Derus narrowed his eyes slightly, clearly suspicious.

“Yes! We checked his soul multiple times through the archangels' barrier, so his identity is certain!”

Priest Srude answered with his shoulders trembling, clearly gripped by terror under Derus’s icy stare.

“Transcender, huh….”

Derus stroked his flawless, smooth chin.

“If that’s his wish, it’s not impossible to grant.”

He nodded calmly, as if becoming a Transcender was a trivial matter.

“Pardon? Th-then… really?”

Priest Srude blinked, clearly not expecting such an answer.

“Injecting divine power to make an ordinary human enter a state similar to a Transcender is relatively easy. Of course, maintaining it is difficult….”

As he mentioned that maintaining it would be difficult, Derus Robert twisted his lips.

“Maintain… Ah!”

Priest Srude’s eyes widened as he realized what Derus meant.

“So you’re saying we make him like a Transcender, then send him outside and deal with him there?”

He nodded, saying that much would be entirely possible.

“Even if that human were to die outside, the livestock of Heaven wouldn’t be able to know.”

Derus Robert shrugged, as if it were the simplest solution imaginable.

“If anything, this works in our favor. The energy flowing up from Heaven has been increasing rapidly lately. If we handle this properly, we could gather more than twice the power we originally expected before the war.”

He curled his lips, clearly intent on turning a crisis into an opportunity.

“……”

Cubara said nothing, but her eyes opened slightly, as if she were surprised by Derus’s quick and precise calculation.

“Yes! I’ll prepare everything accordingly!”

Sensing that the plan Derus Robert had devised in a single instant was flawless, Priest Srude bent deeply at the waist.

“Then which archangel will grant that human’s wish?”

He smacked his lips, seeming curious about which archangel would open Heaven’s sky and descend.

“Raphael.”

Derus Robert tipped his chin as he spoke the name of the archangel of healing.

“The others aren’t here right now, so Raphael has no choice but to go. He’s also well suited for this sort of thing.”

He nodded calmly, saying that for matters like this, it was best for Raphael to show his face.

“Yes! Then I’ll proceed with that in mind!”

Priest Srude bowed once more to Derus Robert, preparing to send his soul back to Heaven.

“Wait.”

Derus Robert stopped mid-nod and stared intently at his leather glove.

“I’ll go myself.”

He frowned slightly, as if he had changed his mind.

“P-pardon? Th-then….”

“Give me your body.”

As Derus reached out, as though reclaiming something he had once given, Srude’s soul was crushed and flattened, as though struck by a hammer.

“Guaaaargh!”

Derus forced his way into the deformed soul of Srude, leaving his own body behind in the dim study as he vanished.

“……”

Cubara slowly raised her eyelids and silently gazed at the empty body that had once been Derus Robert. The look in her eyes shifted, ever so slightly.

*   *   *

“Then I will now raise the tower using Sir Jilpen’s desire.”

Priest Srude nodded, as though the necessary power had finally been fully gathered, and lifted both hands toward the sky.

Kwaaaaaaah!

Raon’s tower already obscured more than half of the sky. As the ground beneath it split apart, new layers surged upward without restraint.

RUMMMMMBLE!

Raon’s tower shot upward in an instant, erupting like magma from a volcano, as though it might burst straight through the sky.

“Wooooah! Look at that!”

Charlie grabbed Raon’s shoulder and let out a scream of excitement.

“Sir Jilpen’s tower just keeps rising!”

He stomped his feet in excitement, convinced that Raon’s wish was actually going to come true.

“I told you priest Srude is someone who keeps his promises!”

“Priest Srude…?”

But Raon wasn’t looking at the tower.

He was staring at the back of priest Srude’s head, and biting the inside of his lip hard enough to draw blood.

‘That’s not that incompetent priest….’

It’s Derus Robert.

 

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