The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1266

 Chapter 1266

 

Squelch.

Raon stepped over the blood of the helmeted demons and slowly scanned his surroundings.

‘Is this Eden’s back mountain?’

The place where he and the Light Wind Palace had emerged was a low mountain overlooking the entirety of Eden. It was not that high, but since Eden itself was situated in low ground, it was not difficult to examine the surroundings.

‘No… it’s more like a back door.’

From here, he could survey the whole area, and there were barely any guards posted. Just as he had expected, the dimensional gate the Sphinx had opened had led them straight to Eden’s rear entrance.

‘More than I thought…’

Raon narrowed his eyes at the white buildings spread below.

‘There are a lot of monsters with powerful energy.’

Perhaps there was some special power in Eden’s headquarters, powerful energies were felt here and there. A very small number at the top floors of the buildings seemed to be monsters who had reached Transcendence.

Just as you say!

Wrath smacked his lips in interest.

There are quite a few true masters scattered about! Truly fitting for a gathering of the maddest lunatics!

He rubbed his hands together, delighted that a place full of madmen also held plenty of strong opponents.

‘One of them stands out in particular.’

From the highest floor of the tallest structure rising at Eden’s center, an overwhelming combative energy surged outward. Whoever it was had already sensed their intrusion. A chilling gaze was fixed directly on them.

Oh ho!

Wrath let out a low exclamation, having felt it too.

You’re right. That one is no ordinary foe. It would not be an exaggeration to say he is of the same level as you.

He narrowed his eyes, clearly not having expected someone like that to be here.

‘I thought I’d only need to watch out for the Heavenly Demon. I was wrong.’

With the Fallen dead, Raon had assumed the Heavenly Demon was the only one in Eden worth worrying about. But if someone like that existed, they would need to rethink their entire war plan from the ground up.

‘It was the right decision to come.’

He had intended to repay the blood debt for the people of Birdnew village and gather information on Eden while he was at it. Yet the moment he arrived, he’d already gained valuable intelligence.

“…Hngghm.”

The Bear Alteration Demon let out a strained breath as he looked at the Eden demons lying dead, unable even to scream properly before they died. His brows knit together. His trembling lips made it clear, he saw his own future in those corpses.

“So you weren’t bluffing.”

Raon glanced at him, eyes narrowing.

“There really is a monster here.”

The Bear Alteration Demon had claimed that someone on Raon’s level existed within Eden. It hadn’t been a lie. Something that could truly rival him was living inside that tower.

“I-I told you.”

The Bear Alteration Demon forced his shaking jaw to steady and spoke haltingly.

“This place is hell! If you’re not strong, you can’t live like a human here!”

He ground his teeth, saying that if Syria Sullion hadn’t helped him, he would never have escaped this hell himself.

Runaan didn’t react at all when Syria Sullion’s name came up. As if she had already overcome everything tied to that past, her expression didn’t change in the slightest.

“There’s never been an intruder before! And we never let intruders leave alive! But…”

The Bear Alteration Demon bit his lip deeply as he looked at Raon.

“If it’s you… it might be different.”

His trembling eyes revealed reluctant acknowledgment.

“We’ll see,” Raon said with a faint smile, shaking his head. “Whether we collect the blood price and walk out alive… or leave as corpses.”

“What shall we do now?”

Burren stepped up behind Raon and bowed his head slightly.

“It seems the demons of Eden have sensed our presence.”

His brows dipped as he felt killing intent flaring up below. The monster on the top floor must have issued orders.

“Hmmm.”

Raon lifted his chin slightly as he looked down the mountain. Not only those who had reached Transcendence, every presence within Eden was now aware of the Light Wind Palace. They were preparing to climb the mountain.

“If they come up, we can simply cut them down as they come, but….”

His hand rested on Heavenly Drive at his waist, but he shook his head.

“There is no need to handle matters in the same way as those bastards.”

They hadn’t come here to wage all-out war against Eden. They had come to meet the Heavenly Demon. Only by facing him could this whole matter be resolved.

“Where is the Heavenly Demon?”

Raon took a short breath and expanded his aura perception once more. In an instant, the ten Rings of Fire resonated, and every presence throughout Eden flowed into his senses.

‘…He’s not here.’

His aura perception had grown strong enough to rival even Wrath’s, yet nowhere could he feel the Heavenly Demon’s presence. It was as if he didn’t exist on this land at all.

“Looking for the Heavenly Demon?”

Just as Raon furrowed his brows and focused more deeply, a cold voice drifted down from a tree to his right.

“Who’s there?!”

“No presence at all—!”

Burren and Martha spun around at once, swords drawn toward the tree the voice had come from.

“Black…”

“A snake helmet?”

The two frowned as they looked at the man leaning against the tree, wearing a black snake helmet.

Runaan, as if intending to protect not only Burren and Martha but the entire Light Wind Palace, scattered blue frost and wrapped it around the surroundings.

“I don’t intend to fight right now, so you can relax.”

The man in the black snake helmet waved a hand lazily.

“I just came to watch. Fools who walked into hell on their own.”

His lips curled faintly beneath the helmet, clearly amused.

“So this time it’s black.”

Raon let out a quiet sigh as he looked up at him.

“After gold, red, blue, green, what is it this time? Black Iron Snake, perhaps?”

A swordsman who returned each time with a different helmet and color whenever he died.

The presence was far too familiar to forget. That was why Raon hadn’t been surprised when Syria Sullion returned even after having his throat cut. Because of this snake.

“Close. But wrong.”

The man waved a hand calmly.

“This body is Black Form Snake. I’m quite different from the others.”

He introduced himself as Black Form Snake, revealing a chilling glint in his eyes. True to his words, he felt different from the previous snake-helmeted demons. There was something… free about him.

“Ah… ah…”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s mouth opened and closed as he stared at the Black Form Snake. He trembled more violently than when Syria Sullion had been killed by Runaan.

“What is it? You know him?”

Raon tilted his chin toward the Bear Alteration Demon.

“…Ugh.”

The Bear Alteration Demon gave no answer, only chewing hard on his lips. At first Raon thought he was afraid of being killed by the Black Form Snake, but judging by the wavering in his eyes, it looked more like longing than fear.

“So you're the traitor. Nice of you to open the gate for them.”

In contrast, the Black Form Snake merely let out a small laugh, as if the Bear Alteration Demon meant nothing to him. Raon made a mental note to ask later why the Bear Alteration Demon had reacted that way.

“Black Form Snake, Black Iron Snake, I don’t care.”

Raon flicked his fingers toward him.

“Tell me where the Heavenly Demon is.”

He lowered his chin arrogantly, making it clear that nothing else interested him.

“You really are insane, just like I heard.”

The Black Form Snake let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“You come to this damned garden where the Heavenly Demon is worshiped like a god… and demand him outright. Unbelievable.”

He laughed again, as if he genuinely found it fascinating.

“You sound different from the other demons who worship him.”

Raon’s eyes thinned to slits.

“Well… that’s true.”

The Black Form Snake twisted his lips as he met Raon’s gaze.

“Guarding the Heavenly Demon or the garden is not my role.”

He shrugged, as if it had nothing to do with him.

“So I can answer your question. But I have one condition.”

He leaned forward slightly as he approached.

“What riddle did the Sphinx, the gatekeeper of that gate, give you?”

He licked his lips, far more curious about the Sphinx’s question than anything else.

“What the hell are you?”

Raon tilted his chin as he studied him. The previous snake-helmeted demons he had seen until now had always drawn a clear line between friend and foe, as if measured with a ruler. But this one called Black Form Snake was slippery and smooth, and not the slightest sense of restraint or allegiance could be felt from him.

“I’m just curious. How you managed to get past the Sphinx.”

The Black Form Snake rubbed his hands together lightly, saying he only wished to know what had happened during the confrontation with the Sphinx.

“Well, to answer your question first…”

Still smiling, the Black Form Snake raised both arms and crossed them loosely at an angle.

“The correct answer is this: the Heavenly Demon isn’t here.”

He nodded his chin, saying that the Heavenly Demon was not in Eden.

“What do you mean?” Raon’s eyes sharpened. “I heard he entered seclusion to prepare for a duel to the death with our head of house.”

“There’s no rule saying he has to do that here,” Black Form Snake replied, flicking his fingers as if Raon should already know better. “Someone at your level must have sensed it, didn’t you? He’s not here.”

Those words are correct.

Wrath gave a short nod.

His presence cannot be felt within here.

He clicked his tongue, saying the Heavenly Demon carried the unmistakable scent of his mortal enemy. There was no way he could fail to notice it

“…I see.”

Raon lightly bit his lip as he examined the view of Eden visible behind the Black Form Snake.

‘He really isn’t here.’

It was possible the Heavenly Demon had secluded himself somewhere underground, like Glenn did in the training ground beneath the lord’s manor. But from everything Raon had seen of him, he wasn’t the type to hide like that. The Black Form Snake was probably telling the truth, he was somewhere else.

“Then where is he?”

Raon’s gaze narrowed.

“Before that…”

The Black Form Snake lifted a finger and pointed halfway down the mountain. The demons of Eden were rushing up toward them, their eyes gleaming with killing intent.

“Shouldn’t you deal with them first?”

His lips curved, as if suggesting it would be wiser to stop the immediate threat.

Kuuuuuuung!

As if answering for Raon, the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace drew their blades and formed the Light Wind Sword Formation, facing the oncoming tide of demons.

“That is not something you need to concern yourself with.”

Without even turning around, Raon let a red gleam flare in his eyes.

“Just tell me where the Heavenly Demon is.”

“…Hmph. So this is your level.”

The Black Form Snake’s fingertips trembled slightly against the tree branch he leaned on, startled by the energy wave radiating from Raon. But unwilling to yield, he released a fierce surge of killing intent in return.

“Ghk!”

The Bear Alteration Demon stood right at the center where Raon’s and the Black Form Snake’s energy waves collided, yet somehow managed not to collapse. Clutching his head, he stared at Black Form Snake with desperate eyes.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know where the Heavenly Demon went.”

The Black Form Snake was the first to withdraw his combative energy. He spread his hands calmly.

“I don’t know his location.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Raon stepped forward, hand moving toward Heavenly Drive, ready to draw.

“I don’t know,” The Black Form Snake repeated quickly, lifting both hands again, “But there is someone who does.”

He pointed toward the tallest white tower rising at the center of Eden.

“The Heavenly Demon’s disciple.”

The unexpected word lingered in the air as he slowly curled his lips upward.

“That one knows where he is. Or perhaps… if you defeat him, the Heavenly Demon might show himself immediately.”

“The Heavenly Demon’s disciple…”

Raon followed his gaze to the highest tower.

‘With that kind of presence… it would make sense.’

The energy wave he had felt from that tower was immense, so powerful it wasn’t inferior to his own. He had wondered who it was, and if the answer was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, it was entirely possible.

“Still…” The Black Form Snake tilted his head slightly as he looked up at the tower. “You felt it too, didn’t you? He’s monstrously strong. Far beyond what the Heavenly Demon, or the Destructive King of the North, was at his age.”

“Then it’s simple.”

Raon shook his head calmly and beckoned with a finger.

“No, this works out perfectly.”

His hand rested on Heavenly Drive, and his eyes flashed cold and sharp.

“If the disciple dies… then the Heavenly Demon will learn—”

His eyes flashed with a sharp, chilling light.

“—just how heavy the price of human blood really is.”

 

Advance Chapters