The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1229

 Chapter 1229

 

Thud!

Glenn kicked off the razor-thin summit of North Grave Mountain, a peak so narrow that a single misstep would have sent him plummeting straight down.

As if eight wings had sprouted from his back, he cut through the endless sky and arrived at the North Sea, where white waves raged like a storm.

For an ordinary person, it was a distant land that would take days and nights of relentless travel to reach. For Glenn, it took no longer than finishing a cup of tea.

Splash.

Glenn stepped onto the sea, where violent ocean currents raged beneath him. The waves that looked ready to spiral out of control settled instantly the moment his foot touched down, the water calming as gently as the lake beside the annex building.

Whoooooosh!

The North Sea had always been known as a place unfit for human life. The cold alone could flay flesh from bone, and the waves were so fierce and towering that even veteran sailors dared not venture out.

Yet Glenn did more than simply walk on those wild waves, he crushed them underfoot, striding toward far end of the sea where a crimson current surged. It was power perfectly worthy of the name the path of domination.

Ssssh.

With every step Glenn took, his body crossed distances so vast they vanished from sight.

The Supreme Harmony Steps, personally created by Glenn and passed down to Raon, had reached the point where calling it a footwork that compressed distance itself, as if the ground were folded beneath each step, would not have been an exaggeration.

Thud.

Before long, Glenn reached the edge of the North Sea and stood before waters that spewed a crimson current.

Even though he was pressing the sea itself into submission, terrifying waves continued to surge endlessly in this place.

“So you were hiding here?”

Glenn let out a scoff as he looked into the sea, where dark crimson currents writhed restlessly.

“Don’t waste my time. Come out.”

He crooked a finger in summons.

At that instant, the waves before him, no, the entire North Sea, began to tremble. From every direction, colossal pillars of water spiraled violently into the sky.

Kuwaaaaaa—!

Along with a tremendous shockwave, the vast northern sea split cleanly in two. From its depths rose a man wrapped in dark crimson currents.

He wore a red dragon helmet crowned with ten horns of varying sizes. His body was so colossal it felt like a boulder or an ancient tree had come to life.

His presence demanded attention, but what held the gaze most were the eyes gleaming from within the helm.

Neither fully black nor fully red, in those eyes, it felt as though the path of domination itself was flashing.

“Heavenly Demon.”

Feeling the Heavenly Demon’s energy wave wash over him, sending a sharp prickling sensation across his skin, Glenn bit lightly down on his lip.

‘As expected… he’s different.’

He has reached the same realm as I have.

Derus Robert, whom I had seen not long ago, was undeniably strong, but he still hadn’t reached my level. If I steeled myself for the consequences, if I waited for the right opening, I could have killed him.

But the Heavenly Demon standing before me was different.

Even if I fought with everything I had, I couldn’t say with certainty that I would win. It really would come down to a hair’s breadth. My condition that day, maybe even luck, could decide the outcome.

‘That’s… a little disappointing.’

Both the Heavenly Demon and Derus Robert were rejecting the call of the heavens by borrowing power from non-human entities.

Unlike me.

I refused the heavens with nothing but my own strength. And because of that—

Just a little… I envy them. Not for their might. Not for their growth.

But because they could spend more time with their children.

I don’t crave strength anymore. What moves me now is only my affection for Zieghart.

‘Still… if it’s now, I don’t think I’d lose.’

My heart, once unsteady, has finally settled.

Facing the Heavenly Demon, my equal, I don’t believe I would fall.

“Glenn Zieghart.”

The Heavenly Demon lowered his chin heavily, meeting Glenn’s gaze head-on.

“I didn’t expect you to call for me.”

He curled his lips with interest. Just that expression alone hinted clearly at the kind of man he was.

“There’s no rule saying only you get to call others,”
Glenn replied with a faint chuckle, waving a hand.

“I called you because I had something to say. Though, I didn’t expect you to be this close.”

Glenn narrowed his eyes at the North Sea waters where the Heavenly Demon stood.

‘Whether he’d been hiding here all along… or moved here just now, I can’t tell.’

Even standing at the threshold of the heavens, it was impossible to know whether the Heavenly Demon had been lurking here from the start or had traveled using Eden’s sorcery.

‘All the more reason to deal with him quickly.’

If the Heavenly Demon could appear this suddenly, he could just as easily strike Zieghart without warning. Ending things with my own hands felt like the safest choice.

“Speak.”

The Heavenly Demon nodded calmly, indicating he would listen to whatever Glenn had to say.

“You know Derus Robert is dead, don’t you?”

Glenn lowered his brows, staring into the eyes within the helmet.

“……”

The Heavenly Demon said nothing. His expression did not change in the slightest. Whether he knew or not, he seemed utterly indifferent to Derus Robert’s existence.

“And?”
He narrowed his eyes, urging Glenn to continue.

“The Five Demons... No, including Derus Robert, out of the Six Demons, only your Eden remains. On the other hand...”

Glenn raised a hand toward him.

“The Six Kings still have five remaining. Even if Eden possesses the strongest might of any single faction, you’ll be crushed by sheer numbers now.”

As if the war were already over before it had even begun, Glenn folded his fingers one by one with casual ease.

“So?”
The Heavenly Demon tilted his chin, urging him to go on.

“I’ll give you a chance.”

Glenn mirrored the gesture, lifting his chin just as slightly.

“A chance to fight me to the death.”

He raised a clenched fist, making it clear that he was offering to face Eden’s strongest, the Heavenly Demon, one on one.

His hand was empty, yet a razor-sharp energy wave bloomed from it, as though he were gripping an invisible sword.

“A chance…”
The Heavenly Demon slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.

“Glenn Zieghart. You’re resorting to a clumsy trick.”

Turning his chin aside, he let out an open, mocking laugh.

“A warrior who walks the path of domination lays out such a transparent scheme, who do you think that would fool?”

His gaze remained calm throughout, as though he were reading Glenn’s thoughts one by one.

He didn’t look like the leader of a faction being driven into a corner. If anything, judging by appearances alone, it was Glenn who seemed to be at a disadvantage.

“What did you say?”
Glenn furrowed his brow deeply, suppressing the stir of emotion rising within him.

“Glenn Zieghart.”

The Heavenly Demon called his name again, eyes heavy with seriousness.

“The biggest reason you’re proposing a duel to the death isn’t because you want a warrior’s duel, is it? It’s because you want to protect what you have.”

He spoke plainly, asking whether Glenn wasn’t doing this not as a warrior, but to protect Zieghart.

“Hmm…”
Glenn let out a low sound, unable to answer right away.

“As you say, if Derus Robert is dead, it is true that we are in a disadvantageous situation. But so what?”

The Heavenly Demon crossed his arms arrogantly, as if nothing troubled him.

“There's no need for you to make such an offer. You could simply find where Eden is hiding and attack. You would have the advantage in both numbers and power.”

He nodded, openly implying that even if Glenn tried to crush Eden through sheer force, it wouldn’t concern him in the slightest.

“Glenn Zieghart. What you really want is for us not to lash out without warning, isn’t it? Even a cornered rat will bite a cat. If Eden’s demons are unleashed, who knows what kind of havoc they’ll cause.”

Having read even the thoughts Glenn himself hadn’t fully recognized, the Heavenly Demon twisted his lips.

“That’s…”
A chill ran through Glenn’s chest as he listened.

‘Was that really my intention…?’

Watching Raon fight, I thought I wanted to end things properly, as a warrior.

But listening to him now, it feels like I was more worried about the children of Zieghart who are living their lives right now than about my own end as a warrior.

‘He’s…’

Damn it. He’s right.

When I saw Raon collapse after defeating Derus Robert, unconscious, I thought about nothing but this, that Zieghart’s children shouldn’t be hurt anymore, that they should be allowed to live happy lives. That was why I considered settling everything with the Heavenly Demon.

If I killed him, Eden would be nothing more than a scattered rabble.

But that wasn’t a good idea.

‘If I’d fought him like that…’

Glenn bit his lip, imagining how it would have ended if he had faced the Heavenly Demon while fighting to protect, rather than with a fully settled resolve.

‘It’s not guaranteed, but the odds of losing are high.’

Just moments ago, I was convinced I wouldn’t lose. And yet, I hadn’t even realized what I was truly feeling.

We stand at the same realm. We walk the same path of domination. But one of us hasn’t fully confronted his own heart, while the other fights solely to prove his martial arts. If that’s the case, then from the very beginning, the scale was already tipped.

“Even so, I accept.”

The Heavenly Demon nodded calmly.

“What…?”

Glenn looked up sharply.

“I’ll play along with your transparent scheme. Because I, too, have something I wish to prove by defeating the Destructive King of the North.”

He gave a heavy nod, accepting Glenn’s proposal for a one-on-one duel to the death. He looked like the very embodiment of the path of domination that all warriors dream of.

“However, the schedule remains unchanged.”

Uncrossing his arms, the Heavenly Demon raised one hand. The thick muscles of his inhuman arm rippled.

“I’ve been tuning my body, my mind, and my martial arts for the day I defeat you.”

He said that he had been refining his might with only the date Derus had set in mind.

“Well?”
He narrowed his eyes, asking if the condition was acceptable.

“……”

Glenn slowly nodded as he stared into the Heavenly Demon’s eyes, which flickered with a beast-like ferocity.

“Fine. Then we’ll end everything on that day.”

“In front of everyone, the strongest on the continent will be decided.”

As if confident in his victory, the Heavenly Demon clenched his fist with fingers as thick as tree roots. Just that motion sent the North Sea shuddering, the waters splitting apart as though trembling in fear.

“As you wish, Eden’s demons will not move until that day. However….”

Turning his back as if returning to where he had come from, the Heavenly Demon spoke one last time.

“As for the trash outside, I won’t be controlling them.”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, the Heavenly Demon made it clear that whatever happened beyond Eden was none of his concern.

“The trash outside?”

“A few slipped out without permission while I was training.”

He gave a short, derisive snort, adding that they were demons fused with monsters, hardly the sort that listened to orders in the first place.

“Then I’ll see you that day.”

With those words, he burst into dark crimson flames and vanished into the freezing air of the North Sea.

“Hmm...”

Glenn bit down hard on his lip, replaying everything the Heavenly Demon had said.

‘He said he was tuning his might for that day.….’

The Heavenly Demon had been preparing his body, his mind, and his martial arts solely to defeat him.

So much so that he didn’t even bother keeping Eden’s demons outside in check. That’s how serious he is. And it’s the complete opposite of Glenn, which had been focused on raising and supporting the next generation, including Raon.

“This isn’t just the odds tipping in his favor…”

Glenn clenched his fingers, grinding his teeth.

“I might have suffered a guaranteed defeat.”

It seemed the Heavenly Demon intended to dedicate his absolute all for the day of their fight. A desperate desire to win could be felt in his gaze.

If they’d gone straight into a duel without knowing any of this, Glenn losing would have been the natural outcome.

Perhaps that was why the Heavenly Demon had offered advice that wasn’t really advice at all, because he didn’t want a hollow, meaningless outcome.

“Hoo…”

Just as Glenn furrowed his brow, recalling the path of domination the Heavenly Demon had shown—

Whoooosh!

From the direction of Zieghart’s annex building, golden flames surged into the sky.

It was his grandson’s sword, the Azure Sky Sword Glenn himself had taught him.

“Cheering me on, are you?”

He knows. Raon knows I’m meeting the Heavenly Demon, and that sword was his way of cheering me on.

“…Yeah.”

Glenn clenched his trembling hand into a fist.

“I can start again. But I won’t change the resolve I’ve chosen.”

Lightly gripping Heavenly Tremor at his waist, he let out a calm smile.

“I’ll return to my beginnings,
to a beginning so distant it’s almost forgotten.”

 

Advance Chapters