The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1226

 Chapter 1226

 

Raon opened his eyes extremely slowly, as if he were experiencing time at half speed all by himself.

‘…Where am I?’

Even though his eyes were open, the world was pitch-black, as if his eyelids were still shut. He couldn’t see a single person, no bed, no chair, not even the faint outline of furniture.

‘The war against Derus Robert definitely ended, didn't it?’

I clearly remembered cutting down Derus Robert’s soul with the Heart Sword’s Die to Live and hurling the condensed sphere of death energy back at the bastard.

I also remembered losing consciousness after hearing Glenn’s praise. Yet now, I had no idea where I was.

‘Why isn’t this my room… or Sir Frederick’s mansion?’

It was embarrassing to admit, but I was almost never in one piece after a war or a major battle.

Usually, after passing out, I would wake up in the annex building or in Federick’s mansion, the Ragged Saint. But this time, I had no idea why I had opened my eyes in such a strange place.

‘Wait. Now that I think about it, something like this happened before… ah!’

Raon rubbed his chin, recalling the past, then let out a low exclamation.

‘Mental world?’

He hadn't realized it immediately upon waking, but this appeared to be a mental world. It seemed he hadn't noticed the difference because his soul had become as solid as his physical body.

‘As expected, the Heart Sword doesn’t just strengthen the sword, it also makes the soul grow.’

Simply wielding the Heart Sword seemed to bring tremendous growth to the soul. My soul, which I thought couldn't grow any further, had evolved to the point where it possessed senses as keen as my physical body.

‘That’s also thanks to the Ring of Fire reaching ten stars.’

When the Ring of Fire reached the ten stars, my body, soul, and aura had all undergone massive changes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my might had increased across the board.

‘But still…’

Raon slowly lifted his gaze.

‘Where exactly is this?’

My mental world wasn’t exactly clean, but it was never this pitch-black. This was clearly not mine, this is someone else’s mental world.

‘I want to wake up quickly and check my physical condition, but… hmm?’

As Raon twisted his wrist and tried to get up, the ground shifted slightly. No, it wasn’t solid, it felt faintly soft, like a swamp.

‘What is this?’

When he looked down, he saw something faintly glimmering with a dark-red light within the darkness.

‘It’s not just one or two. Are they bricks or something?’

Countless shard-like pieces, shimmering with dark red light, were spread across the ground.

They looked like an extremely luxurious carpet made of fish scales, making him wonder if this was indoors, but the area was far too vast to be considered the inside of a building.

‘Then what….’

Just as Raon narrowed his eyes further to take a closer look at the dark red fragments—

Whoosh.

A sound like flames flaring up came from behind him.

“Hmm?”

When he turned around, a single swordsman rose to his feet from within the pitch-black darkness.

‘The first head of house…?’

The once-radiant blond hair was soaked in blood, dyed a deep red. His back and arms, always unyielding, were riddled with wounds where chunks of flesh had been torn away. Even the sword that had always burned with fierce flames now emitted only dying embers, as if it might go out at any moment.

“Haaah…”

The first head of Zieghart. The strongest swordsman who always seemed so composed was now breathing raggedly, in a state where death wouldn’t have been surprising at all.

Gulp.

Raon swallowed dryly as he stared at the man’s back.

‘What… what is going on? Why is he like this…?’

The first head of Zieghart was the strongest existence Raon knew among humans, demons, and celestials alike. It was shocking to see him driven into such a desperate state.

‘Wait! The First Head of Zieghart… in a desperate situation?’

Realization struck Raon, and his gaze dropped back to the ground.

‘Could it be that this is….’

As he understood what the dark-red fragments beneath his feet represented, he drew in a deep breath.

‘The Demonic Dragon of Destruction.’

The Demonic Dragon, which had descended to annihilate the world and was slain by the first head of Zieghart, seemed to be the identity of the massive being beneath his feet. The objects he had mistaken for dark-red fragments were actually the dragon’s scales.

‘Then this makes sense.’

The Demonic Dragon of Destruction was the most vicious being that had nearly swallowed the entire continent.

Even for the first head of house of Zieghart, suffering such grievous wounds wouldn’t have been strange.

‘However...’

Raon frowned as he looked at the first head of house, who was coughing up black blood.

‘The situation is different from what I thought.’

I had believed that the first head of house had defeated the Demonic Dragon of Destruction together with several comrades. But here, only he stood alone.

‘It may have been so overwhelming that he couldn’t even manifest his companions here.’

Thinking about it, the battle with the Demonic Dragon of Destruction must have been so brutal that he couldn’t even properly grasp his own condition.

‘But…’

Raon pressed his lips together as he watched the first head maintain his stance, sword raised, despite vomiting blood.

‘Why is our ancestor still like that, even though the battle is over?’

The Demonic Dragon of Destruction lay dead beneath his feet, yet the first head of house showed no sign of letting down his guard. It didn’t make sense.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Raon stepped forward.

Sssssss—

Upon it was drawn a curved line like a crescent moon. It was someone’s eye. A black sclera with a white pupil, an eye bearing colors completely opposite to those of a normal human, was gazing down at the first head of Zieghart.

Sssss—

As if he had expected this, the first head of Zieghart nodded weakly and turned around. His face finally became visible in the pitch-black darkness.

There was the dignified presence of a general commanding a battlefield, and at the same time, a lofty elegance like that of a scholar who had cast aside the secular world.

Blond hair and red eyes, the typical cold Zieghart appearance, yet strangely, only warmth radiated from him.

The first head of house tilted his chin toward Raon, as if asking whether he had seen clearly. His eyes, heavy with pain and exhaustion, were unmistakably fixed on Raon.

“…I saw it well.”

Raon nodded heavily in response.

“……”

The first head of house smiled like a child, completely out of place in the situation, as if that was all he needed. Then he turned back around. With trembling hands, he raised the sword whose embers were barely alive.

Sssssss—

At the instant the first head of house and the inverted black-and-white eye were about to collide, the entire world twisted into a vortex, and a blue light burst forth.

‘I understand.’

Raon bit his lip hard as he looked at the first head’s back, blending into the darkness.

‘I understand what you wanted to tell me.’

Recalling the message his ancestor wished to convey even in such a shattered state, Raon slowly closed his eyes once more.

*   * *

“Wh….”

When Raon slowly opened his eyes again, his entire field of vision was filled with something bluish.

“Another mental world?”

He was just about to think he’d entered a second mental world after the first head of house—

Mental world?

Something bluish pressed down on his face and snorted.

What the hell are you talking about?

“…Wrath?”

The bluish sphere was Ras. It seemed he had been sitting on Raon’s face.

From the nonsense you’re saying, it looks like you went and did something weird again

Wrath frowned, telling him to just stay still already.

“This is….”

As Raon lifted his gaze, a familiar ceiling finally came into view. It was his room in the annex building.

‘So it wasn’t a dream.’

Seeing the spotless room, clearly cleaned thoroughly by the maids, he finally felt at ease.

Of course it wasn’t a dream!

Wrath snorted as he looked down at him.

You crushed that scheming Derus Robert with your own power!

He nodded vigorously, saying this was something Raon should absolutely be proud of.

‘That’s not true.’

Raon waved his hand lightly. Pain shot through his wrists and arms, it seemed he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

‘I never could have done it without everyone else’s help.’

The Shadow Agents and the Black Market, who found the Land of Clouds, Evelyn and the mages, who created the exact magic needed at the right moments, and Zieghart’s elite forces, who arrived in the most dangerous instant, without all of them, I never would have been able to reach Derus Robert at all.

‘Especially at the very end, grandfather and you were a huge help.’

When he targeted Derus Robert’s soul with the Heart Sword, Glenn showed him the path, and Wrath reassured him, saying he would take full responsibility for what came after, preventing him from losing faith.

Thanks to those two, he gained new enlightenment and was able to cut Derus Robert’s soul.

Aaaaaaagh!

Wrath clutched his head and screamed.

So the monster of humility has shown up again.

Baring his white teeth, he shoved his face right up toward Raon.

The King of Essence knows damn well that you’re humble to an infuriating degree, so at times like this, just accept it already!

Wrath waved his hands as if begging him to stop.

Shout it out! Say that you’re the best! That you did everything yourself!

Since the outcome turned out well, he smacked his own head, telling Raon to openly praise himself for once.

‘Openly praise myself?’

Raon closed his eyes slightly as he mulled over Wrath’s words.

‘Now that I think about it, he’s right.’

I had always given the credit to others. But after killing even my sworn enemy, Derus Robert, it didn’t seem wrong to openly praise myself this time.

‘I did it.’

Raon clenched his fist weakly.

Louder! Even a five-year-old brat would shout louder than you!

“I did it! I killed Derus Robert! With my own sword!”

He thrust his fist into the air and shouted out his achievement.

That’s it!

Wrath nodded largely, finally satisfied.

Now try calling yourself ‘the King of Essence’ just like—

Just as he was about to continue with a grin—

[You have achieved a transcendental feat.]

[You have cut down the soul of an absolute being who will be remembered in the continent’s history.]

[You have completed a perfect infiltration operation.]

[<Wrath> has acknowledged you as the greatest human.]

[All stats increase by 150 points.]

[Traits….]

Reward messages popped up before Raon and Wrath. This time, there were four lines related to achievements alone. It was the longest so far, and the amount of points was the highest ever.

Ah….

Wrath’s mouth fell open as he stared at the message stating that all stats had increased by 150 points.

O-one hundred fifty? Are you insane? Is that even a number you can get from a single achievement?!

He screamed that the system had completely lost its mind.

‘You acknowledged it,’

Raon pointed at the fourth line, the acknowledgment of Wrath.

No, the King of Essence only said that because you were acting humble and it annoyed him!

Wrath ground his teeth until a grinding sound came out.

He didn’t acknowledge you at all!

He howled that the system was clearly illiterate.

‘Well, from my standpoint, it’s nothing but a good thing. But….’

Raon dismissed the reward messages and turned his gaze toward the door.

Kugugugugug!

The sound of multiple footsteps thundered closer, and the door flew open so violently it looked like it might shatter.

“Raon!”

“Palace master!”

“My son!”

“Young master!”

“Raon….”

“You brat!”

Hearing the different ways they called out to him, enough to know exactly who each of them was, Raon let a gentle smile form on his face.

‘For now, I want to greet those people.’

 

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