The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1251

 Chapter 1251

 

Kwaaahhh—!

Runaan’s sword flowed forward, and from the arc of her blade, two white hawks burst forth, flashing with a sharp blue-white light. Their eyes burned crimson, as if hungry for blood, as they lunged straight at Martha and Burren.

Goooooo—!

Martha lifted her sword high overhead, its blade thickly wrapped in Titan’s Aura. Even as Runaan’s cold crept over her skin, threatening to freeze it solid, she stood her ground and waited for the hawks to come.

Shraaaash!

The instant a white hawk reached her, Martha brought her raised sword crashing down. Titan's Aura, heavy with the power of the earth, tore mercilessly through the hawk’s wings, which carried the chill of extreme cold.

“Hoo.”

Burren exhaled low, his sword drawn back over his shoulder. Enduring air so cold it froze his breath, he thrust the moment the other hawk closed in.

Chiiiiiaaang!

From Burren’s sword erupted a razor-sharp wind, fierce enough to split the air itself, cleaving the white hawk Runaan had sent in two.

“Pretty, I guess….”

Martha curled her lips as she looked at the crushed frost hawk.

"But it's nothing special. Flimsy as a paper doll."

She snorted, stepping on the remnants left behind by the frost hawk.

“Let’s go back.”

Burren lowered his sword and let out a short sigh.

"It’s not too late yet."

He nodded, urging her to return.

“No. And….”

Runaan shook her head firmly and raised her sword again.

“It’s not over yet.”

The moment she spat out that it wasn’t finished—

Fwaaaaah!

The white hawks that had sunk into the ground after clashing with Burren and Martha melted into the earth, freezing their shoes and legs solid and pinning them in place.

“Th-this….”

“Runaan!”

Burren and Martha frowned deeply as they looked down at the cold, white frost encasing their ankles.

“If you try to pull your feet out by force, your ankles will snap off.”

Runaan calmly shook her head, telling them not to move.

“I’ll be right back.”

Leaving them behind, Runaan turned to chase down the demon of Eden. She lowered her stance, ready to pour everything into her footwork, determined not to let this chance slip away.

“Hng….”

The Eden executive wearing the forest wild rabbit helmet hurriedly pulled his hood down and rose onto his toes, trying to flee from Runaan once more.

“I’m not letting you get away this time.”

Runaan steadied her breathing, preparing to kick off the ground.

Crack!

Ignoring Runaan’s warning, Martha forcibly shattered the ice and stepped free.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

As if she felt no pain at all, she moved instantly, cutting off Runaan’s path.

“Martha….”

Runaan’s jaw trembled slightly in shock at Martha’s sudden move. She immediately dropped her gaze to check Martha’s ankle.

“Were you worried about my ankle?”

Martha gave a crooked smile as she met Runaan’s eyes.

“Relax. I’m fine.”

She tapped her ankle lightly, showing there wasn’t a scratch on it.

“How…?”

Runaan frowned faintly, unable to understand.

“Because I already fell for it once.”

Martha smirked and brushed the lingering cold from her clothes.

“After humiliating myself in the training ground, you think I’d let it happen again?”

She said she’d learned how to block the cold, just in case Runaan tried to freeze her whole body again, her lips curling with confidence.

“Same here.”

Burren also shattered the ice around his feet with ease and lifted his leg.

“After watching your spar with Martha, I was honestly shaken. That’s why I prepared countermeasures using wind.”

He crushed the broken ice underfoot and stepped back in front of Runaan.

“…….”

Runaan’s eyes flickered slightly as she looked between Martha and Burren, clearly shaken by the unexpected turn of events.

“I know you’re strong. Even now, beating you wouldn’t be easy for me. But….”

Martha rolled her right shoulder like a back-alley thug and tilted her chin up.

“If you don’t understand why you’ve become that strong, you’ll never bring out all of that might.”

She narrowed her eyes to thin slits, as if reading Runaan’s internal state.

“I don’t think I’ve lived up to my role as vice palace master.”

Burren shook his head, blaming himself despite the situation.

“Runaan. I knew you weren’t in a good state, but I believed time would fix it. I thought I just needed to get stronger to help you. That was wrong.”

He bit his lip as he looked at her darkened eyes and pale skin.

“I should’ve confronted you, no matter what, and pulled you out. I’m sorry.”

Burren bowed the straight back he had been holding.

“So I can’t let you go now. No, I won’t let you go!”

His red eyes burned with heat as he made it clear he wouldn’t step aside.

“I wanted to keep you from getting hurt….”

Runaan let out a short sigh.

“But I don’t have a choice.”

As if declaring that she would go all out from now on, she exhaled pure white breath.

"You usually mumble so slowly it drives me crazy, but this? This is much better. Keep it up."

Martha grinned, clearly pleased.

“Now all that’s left is to fix that arrogant attitude of yours.”

She crooked a finger, beckoning her on.

“You won’t get past us easily.”

Burren straightened up and looked down at Runaan.

"Because right now, I have to stand in for Raon."

He calmly shook his head and raised his sword, wind blazing along its edge.

“For Raon...”

Runaan clenched her teeth and lifted the Snow Flower Sword.

"I have to kill them all... for Raon!"

White light flared along Snow Flower Sword’s blade, and from high above, a massive frost storm began to descend.

"You know this will be tough alone, right? Back me up."

Martha crooked her finger at Burren, smacking her lips as she said it’d be better to combine their strength.

"You're saying a lot of things today I never thought I'd hear."

Burren smiled faintly as he met Martha’s desperate gaze.

“Fine. As ordered, I’ll support you today.”

He raised a keen-edged wind to support her charge.

"You said for Raon? That guy doesn't want this kind of crap from us!"

Martha twisted her lips, almost welcoming the frost storm Runaan had unleashed.

"I'll smash some sense into your skull on Raon's behalf!"

She drew Titan's Aura to its limit, her entire body blazing red.

Hwoooooosh!

Burren summoned a noble wind, pushing Martha’s violent aura even higher.

Bzzzzzzzt!

Runaan’s raging blizzard collided head-on with the earth’s fury unleashed by Martha and Burren, and the golden field where reeds once swayed melted away without a trace.

Kuwaaaaang!

*   *   *

“Why….”

Runan bit her lip as she watched Martha push back the frost.

‘Why are they stopping me?’

I just want to kill Eden’s demon!

That monster burned Birdnew village to the ground, and even destroyed the village I loved.

Those things are evil incarnate, not meant to exist in this world. For Raon’s sake, for Zieghart’s sake, no, for everyone’s sake, they had to die.

‘Right. That village was definitely destroyed by that bastard too… wait. That village?’

As she blocked Martha’s strike, Runaan’s brow furrowed deeply.

‘What village is that?’

She was certain the image of a village was there in her mind, yet she couldn’t remember what village it was.

Something faint was taking shape in her mind, yet she couldn’t grasp what it actually was. Even to herself, the situation felt absurd, unnatural in a way she couldn’t explain.

‘Now that I think about it….’

Runaan stepped back slightly and steadied her breathing.

‘This is wrong. Not the situation, me. Martha and Burren were right. Eden's demon standing ahead of me was blatantly trying to lure me in.’

Normally, she would’ve seen it for what it was and refused to take the bait. But instead, she’d chased it without a second thought, like a mouse sprinting toward cheese. It was so unlike her that it made her skin crawl. Maybe it would’ve made sense for Martha, but not for her.

“What’s going on?”

Martha narrowed her eyes at Runaan.

“Don’t tell me you finally snapped out of it?”

She tipped her chin, telling her that if she’d come to her senses, she should lower her sword.

‘Martha….’

Runaan bit her lip as she saw the worry lurking in Martha’s dark eyes.

‘She’s right. The me up until now… wasn’t really me.’

Why am I acting like this?

She pressed her fingers to her throbbing temple and lifted her gaze.

‘Ever since I looked into his eyes in Birdnew village… something, ah!’

The moment she retraced her memories, recalling the first time she’d locked eyes with that robed man in Birdnew village—

Ssshhh.

As if he had been waiting for it, the robed man shook the blood-soaked flower crown he had been holding to his chest.

Fwaaaaah!

The moment she saw the blood-soaked flower crown, her heart dropped with a thud. The thoughts she had been calmly organizing sank back into darkness, and only the murderous intent to kill that monster surged upward.

“Move!”

Runaan screamed, something she never did, and stomped the ground. Without realizing it, she wrapped her sword in a terrifying killing intent and unleashed frost with everything she had.

Kwaaaahhh—!

Martha and Burren didn’t retreat an inch. They were outmatched in strength, but they wouldn’t lose in will, enduring the cold without backing down.

"I said MOVE! He has to DIE!"

Grinding her teeth until they bled, Runaan thrust her sword toward Martha and Burren—

Phaaaaaang!

Eden’s demons burst out from the shadow of the broken frost, revealing themselves as they leveled strange cylindrical weapons at Martha and Burren.
With a sharp tug on the cords, hundreds of needles exploded out, flooding the space in front of them.

“Dodge!”

“What, what is that?!”

Even while holding Runaan back with all their strength, Martha and Burren twisted away just in time, narrowly avoiding the needles.

Ssssss—!

The ground where the needles struck, where Martha and Burren had been standing moments earlier, blackened and melted as if it were rotting away. It was a deadly poison, one touch would mean death.

“Don’t tell me this is… wait! Runaan!”

The moment Marta swallowed dryly at the sight of the melting ground, Runaan broke through the two people’s encirclement and sprang forward.

“H-huh?”

The Eden demon wearing the forest wild rabbit helmet tried to retreat from Runaan’s sudden charge, but an ice wall had already risen behind him, cutting off his escape.

“I’m not letting you go this time.”

After completely sealing his retreat, Runaan hurled the Snow Flower Sword forward.

Shraaaash!

This time, he couldn’t evade her blade. He took it head-on.

Thud!

The helmet split cleanly in two, revealing the face of a boy who was still painfully young.

“Ghk—!”

With Runaan’s sword lodged between his shoulder and neck, he spat out bright red blood.

“B-Big sister… Runaan….”

Calling her name, the boy lifted a trembling hand and brushed her cheek.

“Ah…?”

Runaan’s entire body shook as she stared at his face.

“You’re….”

Her grip loosened, the Snow Flower Sword slipping from her hand, as memories of a boy who had never existed in reality flooded her mind—

Wooooong!

Behind Runaan, a pitch-black magic circle formed, and above it appeared the person she least wanted to see.

“So we finally meet!”

Syria Sullion. A monster who had been killed by Raon yet returned, driven by a twisted obsession with his own sister, wore a blinding white smile.

“My little sister!”

 

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