The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1219

 Chapter 1219

 

Raon walked over to the spot where the corpse of priest Srude had been, what remained after Derus Robert had blown it apart.

“He really made sure nothing was left.”

It seemed Derus Robert had feared that I might use the corpse to trace his location. Because of that, he had minced the body into fragments and detonated everything without leaving anything intact.

“Still…”

Raon twisted his lips slightly as he picked up a minuscule scrap of flesh and bone from the charred ground.

“He left behind a trace.”

No matter how powerful the explosion, the body had been infused with divine power. And more importantly, it had been an avatar of Derus Robert himself. Because of that, it was inevitable that at least tiny fragments would remain.

“I’ve been expecting this situation for a long time.”

No one in this world understood Derus Robert better than me.

From the moment I realized that priest Srude was actually Derus Robert’s avatar, I had naturally predicted that bastard Derus would eventually move personally.

‘That’s why I asked Evelyn.’

After priest Srude formed my tower, I had requested Evelyn to create a spell capable of tracking Derus Robert, even if he detonated Srude’s body to destroy the trace.

‘Even if I can’t kill Derus Robert…’

But at the very least, I have to tear apart everything he’s preparing.

Derus Robert was undoubtedly laying meticulous plans to secure a flawless victory in the war one year from now.

After Heaven, I intended to strike the headquarters where Derus was hiding and crush it completely. Only then would I feel satisfied.

“Don’t worry.”

Evelyn winked, as if to say she had perfectly understood his request and had everything under control.

“That’s more than enough. Actually… I don’t even need that.”

Smiling confidently, she stepped forward, implying that she could track Derus Robert’s location even without Srude’s body.

“Even without it?”
Raon’s eyes widened at her words.

“Yeah. From observing the souls of animals and people, I’ve learned something…”

Evelyn gently raised her hand toward the empty air.

“Every soul has its own distinct scent. Derus Robert’s soul is no exception. In fact, his is far more distinctive than anyone else’s. It reeks.”

She placed her hand on the ground where Srude had died and curled her lips into a grin.

“If even ten more minutes had passed, I wouldn’t have been able to find him. But since this is right after he disappeared, tracking him is more than possible.”

She nodded, saying that the stench of Derus Robert’s soul still lingered here.

“That’s… incredible.”

I had asked her knowing the chances of success were slim, but I hadn’t expected such immediate confidence. As expected, she truly was the greatest mage I knew.

D-Did you hear what that madwoman just said?

Wrath’s jaw trembled in disbelief.

Observing the souls of humans and animals? She’s not even a necromancer! What kind of mage does things like that?! She is absolutely not normal!

He slumped his shoulders, muttering that the more he learned about Evelyn, the more terrifying she became.

“It will take a bit of time, though.”

Evelyn clasped her hands together, explaining that soul-related magic took time to activate.

“That’s fine.”

Raon crushed one of the remaining bone fragments with his fingers and shook his head.

“Derus Robert will need time too.”

Unlike usual, Derus had been caught completely off guard, like someone stabbed in the back without any preparation. Erasing his traces and escaping cleanly would take him a considerable amount of time.

“I’ll still do it as fast as I can!”

Evelyn smiled brightly, closed her eyes, and focused on controlling her magic.

“You planned all of this?”

Glenn let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“I knew you were planning to attack this place, but I never expected your plan would go so far as to pursue Derus himself.”

He stared, eyes wide, as if asking how far Raon had seen ahead.

“I thought of it first, but I received a lot of help.”

Raon smiled faintly as he gestured toward Evelyn.

“I thought I’d be the one suffering the most, deep in enemy territory, but looking at things now, the others haven’t had it easy either.”

He curled his lips upward while watching Zieghart swordsmen slaughter celestial elites and Derus Robert’s subordinates as if they were insects.

They really are different.

Wrath let out a small exclamation.

You can tell they trained with everything they had, for your sake.

He nodded, unable to deny the growth of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

“Thank you, both of you, for following my reckless plan as well.”

Raon bowed deeply to Glenn and Rector.

“Ahem! What choice did I have? My grandson went straight into the enemy’s den. Of course I had to follow!”

Glenn turned his eyes away awkwardly, embarrassed by the sudden gratitude.

“I thought I had gotten used to your ways, but I never imagined you would infiltrate the enemy's heart and endure for such a long time. Honestly…”

Rector waved his right hand, saying he nearly worried himself to death while waiting.

“Looks like you’ve adapted pretty well yourself, grandfather.”

Raon smiled softly as he looked at Rector, who now used his prosthetic arm as naturally as his real one.

“That’s thanks to you. I was so worried about you that my hand started moving on its own.”

Rector clicked his tongue, saying that he had forced himself to adapt to the prosthetic arm with everything he had.

“But still… compared to me, who did nothing but swing my sword without even sleeping, it feels like you, the one trapped in here, have grown even more.”

He let out a hollow breath as he looked at the corpse of the dead archangel Raphael.

“I agree.”

Glenn nodded heavily.

“What on earth happened for you to swing a sword like that?”

He frowned, unable to believe that an archangel could be slain with a single strike.

“I found things to learn everywhere I went. And…”

Raon gave Glenn and Rector a deep, sincere smile, warmth filling his eyes.

“Your words helped me a great deal.”

He bowed his head slightly as he recalled the conversations Glenn and Rector had once shared about the nature of the sword.

“Hmm?”
“Our words?”

The two blinked and asked back, curious about what he meant.

“Yes. Back then, you said—ah?”

Raon was about to look back at Glenn and Rector when his eyes suddenly widened.

Ssssss—

From Raphael’s corpse, an ominous yet strangely multicolored energy began to rise slowly into the air.

“This is—”

*   *   *

“Haaah…”

Derus Robert gasped for breath as he opened his eyes in his main body.

“Cubara!”

He tore off a leather glove soaked with sticky blood and shouted Cubara’s name.

“Immediately—”

“Yes. I’ve already issued orders to sever every connection to Heaven.”

Cubara bowed her head, reporting that all links had been cut, as if she had personally witnessed what happened in Heaven.

“That’s not enough! Activate the self-destruction spell and erase every trace that this headquarters ever existed!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Derus Robert ordered the destruction of the headquarters he had poured years of money and manpower into.

“Self-destruction…?”

Cubara’s eyes widened, unable to believe the order.

“There is a considerable physical distance between Heaven and the headquarters. Simply cutting the connection should be sufficient—”

“No.”

Derus Robert shook his head firmly.

“They broke through a barrier I was confident would filter out everything, without exception, and reached Heaven. It’s safer to assume that this headquarters has already been exposed as well.”

Even if it meant abandoning everything he had built here, withdrawing immediately was the correct choice.

“I want to keep this place as well. But if I cling to the naive belief that the Zieghart bastards won’t find it, we could lose everything.”

He bit his lip as he looked at the blood dripping from the back of his hand. Unlike usual, his voice carried clear anger, but his cold rationality remained intact.

“The others aren’t the real problem. Glenn Zieghart is. I’ll have to kill him eventually, but now isn’t the time to face that old man. I need more time.”

He was confident he could defeat Raon Zieghart and Rector even together, but Glenn Zieghart was different.

An absolute swordsman whose name resounded not just across the continent, but across dimensions themselves. At present, Derus could confront him, but he could not win.

“…Understood.”

Cubara said she would follow his orders exactly and left the study.

“Hoo.”

Derus Robert let out a heavy, turbid breath. The headquarters was far from Heaven, layered with multiple barriers and traps. Even if someone found its location, forcing their way inside would require immense effort and time.

Even if Glenn came personally, Derus would still have enough time to clean everything up and retreat.

"Shall I begin?"

Derus Robert clicked his tongue and moved his finger. Every book that had filled the study crashed to the floor at once, instantly swallowed by black flames.

Ssssss—

He reached into the sea of black fire and pulled out a single book, its cover charred pitch-black. Strangely, the pages inside were completely untouched, the text perfectly intact.

“Still… not bad.”

Derus narrowed his eyes as he slowly examined the letters and numbers etched within the book.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I achieved most of the goals I set when I built Heaven.”

Though he had suffered losses at the end, he nodded, concluding that he ultimately obtained what he wanted.

“Of course, Raphael’s death was unexpected…”

His teeth ground together with an eerie sound, making it clear that this was the one part he found unacceptable.

“A sword that cuts both soul and body at once… Is that something Raon Zieghart newly created? Even if he lived two lives, how could such a thing be possible? Wait, don’t tell me…”

As if realizing something new about Raon, Derus snapped the book shut, his eyes widening.

*   *   *

Wooooooong!

Evelyn raised both hands toward the sky and snapped her eyes open.

“Found him!”

She nodded vigorously, saying she had located the place where Derus Robert had vanished.

“Where?”
Raon approached her, his eyes slightly dulled with exhaustion.

“It’s the forest we kept searching! The one we avoided because we might be detected, but now there’s no reason to hold back!”

Evelyn showed her white teeth as she said it was indeed the northern forest she had searched while taking the form of animals.

“So you found the exact location?”

“Yeah. I’ve pinpointed the coordinates where Derus Robert is hiding. Of course, there will probably be plenty of obstacles like barriers and traps around it.”

Evelyn frowned, saying that multiple barriers and traps would surely interfere.

“Can we go there immediately?”
Glenn asked, standing to Evelyn’s right.

“Of course! Just in case, I even set up a device nearby that can open a dimensional gate!”

Evelyn nodded quickly, saying she had prepared it beforehand just in case.

“Then that’s settled.”

Rector flicked his fingers, saying they should depart right away.

“We’ll wipe out any barriers or traps.”

He placed a hand on his sword, declaring that he would open the path himself.

“Derus Robert won’t expect us to pursue him immediately. Even if we found the location, he’d assume it would take time just to reach the forest.”

Raon looked at Evelyn as he said that they had to move now if they wanted to catch Derus Robert.

“A victory of preparation, no, maybe a victory driven by love.”

As she spoke the word “love,” Evelyn clasped her hands together. Following the motion of her long fingers, a new dimensional gate opened, and from within it flowed the scent of brush and greenery.

“Let’s go.”

Raon stepped before the gate, fixing Glenn and Rector with a resolute gaze.

“It’s time to engrave the word ‘loss’ more deeply into Derus Robert.”

 

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