The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1255

 Chapter 1255

 

Hwaaaaaah!

Ten snow-covered mountains rose up behind Runaan.
The gigantic peaks, towering as if they might touch the sky, were draped in eternal snow frozen together with time itself, arrogantly looking down upon the humans below.

“S-Sword field…?”

Syria Sullion widened his eyes inside Baphomet’s helmet, as though he had never even imagined that Runaan, on top of awakening, would go so far as to use a sword field.

“That’s impossible! I took everything from you!”

His lips trembled as if he could not understand how this was possible, even though he had drained Runaan’s aura and stamina, and had even severed her soul.

“Haha…”

Burren wiped the blood trickling from his lips and let out a weak, breathless chuckle.

“So you finally decided to earn your keep.”

As if he trusted Runaan completely, he laid his body down on the ground.

“This time, make sure you kill him.”

Burren nodded, asking her to finish what Raon had been unable to complete before.

“Of course….”

Runaan gave a small nod and lifted the Snow Flower Sword, its blade glowing white, toward the sky. In that instant, the massive mountains rising behind her began to quake, and the eternal snow blanketing them billowed upward like clouds.

Hwaaaaaah!

The snow masses brushing the darkened sky shattered into thousands, no, tens of thousands, of frost petals, drifting down to settle around Runaan.

Sssssss—

Wrapped in countless shards of frost, Runaan gave off an atmosphere that was both beautiful and merciless. She looked like a goddess of falling snow, and at the same time, like a sovereign ruling over a frozen hell.

Chiaaang!

When Runaan leveled the Snow Flower Sword at Syria Sullion, the frost petals swirling around her shot forward as if riding the wind.

It was as lovely as cherry blossoms falling in spring, but within those graceful petals lurked a killing intent so cold it was vicious.

“Ghk!”

Though startled by the swarm of frost petals rushing at him like a cloud of insects, Syria Sullion swung his greatsword.

Whoooooom!

His greatsword generated a dreadful shockwave, as if it would split the sky apart.
It was a domineering strike that embodied the realm of Transcendence.

Hwaaaaaah!

But Runaan’s frost petals flowed with the wind like butterflies, slipping past the greatsword and surging straight toward him.

“Th-This—!”

Syria Sullion hastily retreated to avoid the onslaught, but one frost petal pierced into the back of his hand.

“Ugh…!”

He bit his lip, staring at his hand as though the pain was far worse than he had expected.

“This little wound means nothing! It won’t change how much I love you!”

As if to prove he didn’t care, Syria Sullion reached out with his right hand to rip out the frost shard embedded in his left.

But against his will, the shard didn’t budge.

No, it sank in deeper the more he touched it.

“Wh-What is this…?”

His jaw trembled in shock as the frost shard burrowed into his flesh.

“Don’t be surprised…”

Runaan rotated the Snow Flower Sword, and the frost petals began to circle, slowly pressuring the space around Syria Sullion.

“This is only the beginning.”

As she brought her sword down again, the frost born from the sword field flew fiercely toward him once more.

“Damn it!”

Realizing he had no time to inspect his wound, Syria Sullion immediately activated his footwork and swung his greatsword. He tried to blow the frost petals away with the wind created by his blade, dodging any that slipped through with footwork.

But once again, the result defied his expectations.

Whoooooom!

Runaan’s frost petals rode the wind his sword created, advancing against it, unaffected by his elusive, fluid footwork. Without the slightest delay, they stuck to him relentlessly.

“Insane!”

Eyes bulging, Syria Sullion spun his greatsword like a windmill, trying to bat away every last petal. But three shards slipped through the gaps and pierced his shoulder, waist, and calf.

“Graaah!”

He staggered backward with a hoarse cry. Gone was the sly composure he had shown until now, his fingers shook violently as he looked at his wounds.

“What the hell is this?!”

He focused his combative energy into his fingers, trying to pull the frost petals from his shoulder and waist, but just like before, they refused to come out, digging even deeper into his flesh.

Whoooooom!

Runaan showed no intention of giving him any breathing room. She scattered the frost petals once more, and the shards following her blade shot up into the sky before crashing down like lightning.

“Silent Bloom of Bloody Flame!”

Syria Sullion scraped the ground as he lifted his greatsword high. From the blade, as he unfolded his technique, blazing combative energy shot out, attempting to burn away the frost petals.

Hwaaaaaah!

The frost petals ignored even the heat generated by Syria Sullion’s greatsword and drove their sharp leaves into the flesh of his chest, arms, and thighs.

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

Syria Sullion screamed as if his limbs were being torn apart. It was a complete contrast to the confidence and ease he usually displayed.

“Why… why does it hurt this much…?”

Even just moving his body seemed unbearable. Drool and foam spilled from inside his helmet.

Wooooong!

Realizing he couldn’t endure this with his greatsword alone, Syria Sullion pulled out a bone-crafted staff from the ground. He intended to use Baphomet’s power, wielding both sword and magic.

Wooooooong!

But instead of attacking Runaan, he tried to use magic to remove the frost petals embedded in his own body.

Of course, petals imbued with Runaan’s will were never going to be erased by such crude magic.

“What the hell are these pieces of trash!”

Syria Sullion roared in fury at the incomprehensible situation, but all that answered him was Runaan’s merciless assault.

Hwaaaaaah!

Now clearly accustomed to wielding her sword field, Runaan moved the frost petals faster and more fluidly, wrapping them tightly around Syria Sullion.

Pababababak!

Despite swinging his greatsword with all his might and maintaining his footwork, wounds continued to accumulate across his body. The endless pain forced groans from his throat, and even his movements began to slow.

“S-Sir Evil Goat Demon…?”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s lips trembled as if this were the first time he had ever seen Syria Sullion panic.

“G-Get rid of these wounds! Do something, anything!”

Eyes rolling wildly, Syria Sullion shouted at the Bear Alteration Demon.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The Bear Alteration Demon activated his sorcery, trying to extract the frost shards embedded in Syria Sullion’s body, but even his sorcery couldn’t push back the frost blades saturated with killing intent.

“You useless— Aaaaargh!”

Syria Sullion was in the middle of cursing the Bear Alteration Demon when another frost petal pierced into his neck, forcing out yet another scream, no longer even human, but something closer to a beast’s howl.

“No matter how I think about it… this is im-impossible.”

When the frost first pierced my hand, it hurt more than expected, but it was bearable. Yet the more frost embedded itself into my body, the pain multiplied exponentially. Now, even the slightest contact felt like my limbs were being torn apart.

Worse still, the pain from earlier wounds never faded, it only intensified.

Even when Raon Zieghart had cut my head, I had never felt pain like this.

‘Th-There has to be a way…’

Syria Sullion’s eyes darted rapidly.

‘There is! One way!’

To my right, Burren Zieghart and Martha Zieghart lay collapsed, grievously wounded. If I took those two hostage, I could escape this crisis.

[There’s a way out of this.]

Syria Sullion sent an aura message to the Bear Alteration Demon.

[Buy me a little time.]

Panting, he urged the Bear Alteration Demon to draw Runaan’s attention.

“mmmmhh…”

The Bear Alteration Demon didn’t want to, but with no other choice, he bit his lip and stepped forward.

“D-Die!”

He formed black orbs filled with curses atop his staff and hurled them toward Runaan.

Paaang!

Knowing the sorcery within them rotted flesh on contact, Runaan used her frost petals to raise a wall of pure white.

“Hraaaaah!”

Just as Syria Sullion had asked, the Bear Alteration Demon deliberately continued to hurl his sorcery against the frost wall, doing everything he could to keep Runaan’s attention.

Paaang!

The instant Runaan shifted into defense, Syria Sullion kicked off the ground with everything he had and lunged toward Burren and MartHa.

‘Got them!’

Runaan’s attention was fixed on the Bear Alteration Demon’s sorcery, and his hand was already almost within reach of Burren and Martha. If he took them hostage now, he could pressure Runaan again, bend her back to his will.

‘I’ll grab the hostages fir— huh?’

Just as Syria Sullion let out a vicious grin and reached for Burren’s neck—

Paaahk!

Frost petals burst up from beneath the ground where Burren lay, slicing into Syria Sullion’s wrist and embedding themselves deep in the wound.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

The scream tore out of him before he could even process what had happened. As he collapsed to his knees, more frost petals sank into his flesh, multiplying the agony.

“B-Bear Alteration Demon, you… fucking useless—!”

Syria coughed up blood and turned around, only to freeze.

Kwaaaaaang!

The Bear Alteration Demon lay sprawled on the ground, frost petals piercing his neck and heart. His mask was shattered, his eyes rolled back, lifeless.

“I knew it….”

Runaan approached Syria Sullion, raising the Snow Flower Sword.

“I knew you’d go for hostages….”

She nodded, as if she hadn’t just read his movements, but his thoughts as well.

“I’ll kill you, and I’ll protect everyone.”

Runaan bit down on her lip as if vowing not to let a single person die. At this moment, her sword field displayed an invincible presence that required no separation between defense and attack.

“R-Runaan. My child!”

Syria Sullion gasped for breath and called out to her.

“We’re the only two in this world who truly understand each other! This isn’t a fight, it’s love! I’ve loved you since the moment you were born!”

As if realizing his might could no longer stop Runaan, he lowered both his sword and staff.

“You are my lover. That’s an unchangeable law of the world itself—!”

The moment he cried out the word lover, the frost petals descended, forming the shape of a colossal dragon, large enough to swallow an entire fortress.

Kwaaaaaaaah!

Trapped within the storm of frost, Syria Sullion’s body was shredded from every direction.

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

By now, frost petals were embedded all over his body, to the point where his skin was no longer visible.

“It hurts! It hurts so much! Just kill me already!”

Clawing at his own face, Syria Sullion screamed, as though this moment was more painful and terrifying than any death he had ever experienced before.

“Ughhh—!”

At last, unable to endure it, he flipped the sharp tip of his staff and tried to drive it into his own heart, as if attempting suicide.

But a frost petal flew in and cut the wrist of his left hand, the one holding the staff.

“Ghaaaahh!”

With no strength left to resist, Syria Sullion collapsed, veins bulging grotesquely across his body. He stared up into the air with eyes that begged to be killed.

Step.

As Runaan approached the groaning Syria Sullion, the frost petals finally came to a halt, revealing his ruined form.

“Haaah….”

He had lost his hair and fingernails to pain even death hadn’t given him. Veins and deep wrinkles covered his body, and the frost petals embedded within him left him unable to move even a finger. In less than three minutes, he looked as though he had aged thirty years.

“R-Run…aan….”

Barely managing to move a single finger, Syria Sullion called her name.

“P-Please… no… just kill me. It hurts… too much….”

Sobbing, he begged for death, terrified of pain that felt as though it were tearing his soul apart.

“One kalpa is the time it takes for a single drop of water to bore through stone….”

Lowering the Snow Flower Sword, Runaan nodded calmly.

“The pain you’re feeling will last for eternal kalpas, endless, uncountable ages without end….”

With a blade as white as a snowfield, she drove the Snow Flower into Syria Sullion’s chest.

Crunch!

She felt the blade tear through flesh and bone and burst his heart, but there was no guilt, no pity. Only a cold sense of release swept down her spine.

“Even after death.”

Runaan gave a calm nod, stating plainly that even death would not end his pain.

“Ah… ah….”

Syria Sullion stared in horror, his eyes burning red and his mouth hanging open, as the realization hit him, the pain would continue even in the face of death.

“And while you suffer through those endless kalpas, I will protect Zieghart.”

Gracefully flicking Syria Sullion’s blood from the Snow Flower, Runaan slowly closed her eyes.

“Even after death.”

 

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