The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1252

 Chapter 1252

 

“No.”

Syria Sullion stood behind Runaan, a twisted smile playing on his lips.

“I should say… my lover.”

He gently held the shoulders of Runaan, whose entire body was trembling.

“No… no. This isn’t right….”

Runaan chewed at her lips, unaware that Syria Sullion had appeared behind her, as if she were still reeling from the shock of having cut down the boy with her own hands.

“Syria Sullion….”

Burren ground out the name, crushing each syllable as though he were breaking bones.

“Syria Sullion!”

Martha exploded with the rage she had barely been holding back for Runaan’s sake and screamed at Syria.

“Runaan! What are you doing right now?! The bastard you wanted dead is standing right behind you! Kill him! Now!”

She shouted at Runaan to snap out of it and charged forward.

“Behind….”

As if Martha’s scream had reached her at last, Runaan slowly turned around.

“Ah!”

The instant she saw Syria Sullion’s face, her eyes widened as though they might burst.

“Syria Sullion!”

As Runaan cried out his name and took a step forward, the blood-soaked flower crown lying at her feet crumbled like dry leaves.

Kyaaaaaang!

The flowers that had formed the crown were swept up by the wind, swirling around Runaan and forming a grotesque sorcery circle.

Woooooong!

The moment black light flared from the circle, the reality Runaan had been seeing shattered like a broken window, and the world she had only seen in her dreams began to unfold beyond it.

“Huh…?”

Runaan stared at Syria Sullion, her fingertips trembling. His image overlapped with Raon’s, and the malice and killing intent she had felt toward him began to melt away like snow under sunlight.

The man she had wanted to kill even at the cost of her own life now felt as gentle and dear as Raon. She wanted to curse herself for it, but even that thought slowly sank into darkness, until only Syria Sullion remained in her sight.

“Runaan! Fall back!”

Burren shouted, swinging his arm toward her.

“Swing your sword! Kill that bastard!”

Martha ground her teeth, shouting for Syria Sullion’s throat to be cut.

But Runaan neither retreated as Burren shouted nor cut Syria Sullion as Martha urged.

Thud.

She let go of the Snow Flower Sword, the sword she had always clung to.

“Ah….”

Like her trainee days when she couldn’t escape her trauma, she could only tremble while looking at Syria Sullion.

“Yes. That’s right. That’s a good girl.”

As though he had expected this all along, Syria Sullion opened his arms and embraced the frozen Runaan.

“Ru-Runaan!”

“That fucking bastard!”

Burren and Martha swung their swords with everything they had, but the moment they saw Runaan in his arms, they forcibly stopped themselves.

“Syria Sullion. No….”

Runaan’s purple pupils dulled, slowly filling with pitch-black darkness. Lifting her head, she softly murmured the name she had always spoken with hatred.

“Brother.”

As if she had returned to the past, Runaan called him that and closed her blackened eyes.

“Yes. Runaan.”

Syria Sullion stroked her back, unsurprised.

“It’s me. The only being who can accept your soul.”

He pulled her into an even gentler embrace and nodded.

“Mmm….”

Runaan offered no resistance at all, simply nodding while resting in his arms.

“Ru-Runaan….”

“Wake up! You crazy bitch!”

Burren’s eyes shook in panic, while Martha screamed Runaan’s name until her throat felt like it would tear.

“Burren. And Martha.”

Syria Sullion lifted his chin, a cold smile playing on his lips.

“I suppose I should thank you as well.”

Looking down at them, his eyes gleaming with excitement, he continued.

“Thanks to you, Runaan’s brainwashing ended much faster.”

As he spoke, he brushed Runaan’s hair back.

“Bullshit!”

Martha’s forehead veins bulged as she struggled to contain her rage.

“What do you mean by that?”

Burren forced himself to speak calmly.

“Runaan was under an ancient brainwashing sorcery. The more stress she experiences, the faster it progresses. Thanks to the pressure you put on my Runaan, things became much easier.”

Syria Sullion chuckled, saying that their attempts to help her had only made things worse.

“This sorcery works from inside the soul by using dreams, so it is absolutely impossible to escape it alone. The dream becomes better than reality, and you slowly sink into that world. The more pressure you apply from the outside to ‘come to your senses,’ the more the person wants to go deeper into the dream instead. Thanks to you forcing Runaan, this child ended up returning to me.”

He curled his lips upward, red like a woman’s, as if he were overwhelmingly happy.

“Something like that exists in this world?”

Martha frowned deeply, unable to believe it.

“There is nothing Eden doesn’t have. especially with the great help of this friend here.”

As Syria Sullion extended his hand, a grotesque figure in a gray robe emerged from behind the black sorcery. Even then, the sorcerer’s hand trembled as he clutched his staff, still maintaining the sorcery.

“Damned bastards…”

Martha ground her teeth as she glared at Syria, the root cause of all this, and the sorcerer who followed him.

“Thank you. It seems you two were more precious to Runaan than I thought.”

Syria Sullion bowed mockingly toward Martha and Burren.

“So it’s only right to kill you as painlessly as possible. By her hand.”

He snapped his fingers, and space split open. Two helmets bearing the faces of goats burst forth, Eden’s helmets imbued with the power of Baphomet.

“You’ll wear it for me, won’t you?”

With a grotesque laugh, Syria Sullion lifted the first helmet.

“Mmm….”

Rather than resisting, Runaan bent at the waist and lowered her head, offering herself to receive it.

“Runaan!”

Martha slammed her foot into the ground. As if she no longer cared whether Runaan was hurt, she brought her sword down with full force.

“Damn it!”

Burren surged forward as well, hurling a blade of razor-sharp wind.

Kraaaang!

But the black sorcery barrier blooming around Syria and Runaan became a wall, blocking Martha’s and Burren’s sword strikes.

“At last, you and I will become one.”

With a chilling smile, Syria Sullion placed Baphomet helmet upon Runaan’s head.

Woooooong!

For a fleeting instant, a purple light, matching Runaan’s eyes, flickered within the helmet, before blackness swallowed everything.

Kiiiiiih!

From inside the helmet came the cry of a goat. Black waves spilled out, engulfing Runaan’s body. Zieghart’s uniform vanished, replaced by armor that looked as though it had been forged from bone.

Hssssss!

Wearing Baphomet helmet and clad in black, goat-legged bone armor, Runaan slowly straightened. The warmth that once radiated from her was gone, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.

Hssssss!

After confirming that Runaan had fully donned Baphomet armor, Syria Sullion curled his lips upward and put on his own helmet. Black liquid poured from it as well, forming a grotesque suit of bone armor.

“Baphomet is a monster born as a pair, and destined to die as a pair. No matter how strong, alone it’s nothing more than a single monster, but when there are two….”

Syria Sullion caressed Runaan’s cheek through the helmet.

“…it gains the power to kill anyone!”

Laughing wildly, he declared that his long, endless wait was finally over.

“Mmm….”

Runaan nodded calmly, as though she would obey anything Syria Sullion said.

Kugugugugugu!

It wasn’t just words. It felt as though Syria Sullion had truly obtained absolute power, his laughter alone made the darkened sky tremble and the plains begin to split apart.

Woooooong!

Runaan, now wearing Baphomet helmet, grew explosively stronger. Her might surged at an overwhelming rate, and she began pouring out energy waves and aura that surpassed even those of a beginner Transcender, crushing everything in every direction.

“That’s complete bullshit.”

Martha twisted her mouth as she stared at Syria Sullion.

“Seriously. Anyone can be killed? There’s no such thing in this world.”

Burren clicked his tongue, saying that everyone who’d ever spouted nonsense like that had ended up dead.

“Fine. Let’s see it, then. We’ll find out who’s still standing at the end.”

“And when Runaan wakes up, I’m making her buy us a whole tub of bead ice cream.”

Even against Syria Sullion and Runaan, who were releasing terrifying energy waves, Martha and Burren unleashed fighting spirit that did not yield in the slightest and charged without the smallest hesitation.

“Look carefully, Runaan. Those are our enemies.”

Syria Sullion lifted Runaan’s hand and pointed it toward Martha and Burren.

“Will you help me kill those demons?”

He nodded gently as he invited her to fight alongside him.

“Yes. I will….”

As if she’d lost every memory of the past, Runaan burst forward without hesitation, sweeping her sword upward, imbued with extreme frost.

“Yes. That’s it.”

Syria Sullion moved in beside her, slamming his blue-flashing greatsword down.

The clash of four swords, once all members of Zieghart, sent a tremendous shockwave tearing through sky and earth.

Kwaaaaaaang!

*   *   *

Crack-crack-crack!

Martha and Burren were blown backward, coughing up blood. Their uniforms were torn in several places, crimson soaking through the fabric.

“This is….”

Burren wiped the blood from his mouth, narrowing his eyes.

“This won’t be easy. Even one-on-one we’re being pushed back, and in a joint attack, they’re more flexible than us.”

He bit his lip as he watched Syria Sullion and Runaan gaze at each other like longtime lovers.

“Don’t start whining!”

Martha stomped the ground in irritation.

“So what if they’re stronger? You saying we just don’t fight, then?”

She tightened her grip on her sword until her knuckles whitened, as if she meant to see this through no matter what.

“We fight. But….”

Burren let out a low breath.

“At this rate, it won’t end with us winning. No, it’ll end with us dead.”

Saying they were at a definite disadvantage, he looked toward Syria Sullion and Runaan.

“Hmm….”

Martha followed his gaze. Unlike them, both badly injured, those two had only suffered minor wounds, nothing that would affect the fight.

‘He’s right. The gap in power is huge.’

Runaan had always been stronger than us, and after donning Baphomet helmet, she’d grown even further. Calling her a Transcender was no exaggeration now. And Syria Sullion clearly hadn’t spent all this time merely hiding, his might rivaled hers.

The only reason we had survived this long was our accumulated combat experience and because we knew Runaan’s sword well.

“You’re holding out better than I expected.”

Syria Sullion chuckled in mild surprise.

“Looks like you’ve improved a lot since I left Zieghart. Well, I suppose that’s what happens when you fight alongside that monster.”

His shoulders trembled slightly, as if recalling Raon.

“But that monster doesn’t scare me anymore. We’ve become one.”

Grinning, he claimed it wouldn’t be long before he gained the power to defeat Raon as well.

“……”

Runaan calmly nodded, as though every word he said was right.

“That bastard…!”

Martha spat blood, looking ready to charge at any moment.

“Don’t lose your head. Don’t focus only on Syria Sullion and Runaan. There are others.”

Burren bit his lip as he scanned the area, watching for Eden’s demons lurking nearby.

“So what, then? You want to run? I’m not doing that! I’d rather die right here!”

Martha shook her head violently, refusing to retreat.

“You said you had something prepared, right?”

Burren said something she hadn’t expected, narrowing his eyes.

“I’ll buy you time somehow, so do it.”

He nodded, saying he’d face Runaan and Syria Sullion at the same time, even if only briefly.

“You think that’s possible?”

Martha frowned, incredulous.

“After you gained the Demon King’s power, I realized how lacking I was. So I swung my sword day and night.”

Burren steadied his breathing and nodded.

“Since then, I’ve sparred with my father once a day, real spars where my life was genuinely on the line. I brushed against death every single time. Because of that, my danger-sensing ability sharpened, at least a little.”

He gave a brief, almost self-mocking smile and gestured to his body.

“Hmm….”

Martha narrowed her eyes as she looked him over.

‘He’s right.’

Compared to mine, his injuries were clearly lighter, and this time he hadn’t been fighting from the rear as he usually did. Watching how narrowly he’d avoided fatal blows, it was obvious his danger-sensing ability had truly awakened.

“But I can’t hold out for long.”

Burren stepped forward, his tone almost pleading.

“Got it. It won’t take long.”

Telling him not to worry, Martha slapped his back hard.

Baaang!

Burren didn’t miss the signal. He immediately charged toward Syria Sullion and Runaan.

“So they’ve come to die.”

Syria Sullion sneered at Burren’s desperate expression.

“If that’s what they want, let’s grant their wish.”

He raised his greatsword and beckoned to Runaan.

“Yes….”

As if she had forgotten Burren’s very existence, Runaan calmly nodded and brought down her killing-intent-filled sword.

Kugugugugugu!

Syria Sullion’s greatsword fell as though it would split heaven and earth, while Runaan’s Snow Flower Sword lunged forward, scattering the scent of blood.

“Haa….”

Feeling the absolute gap in power, Burren still advanced without hesitation, lifting his sword as blue wind blossomed from it. The wind didn’t rush toward the enemy, instead, it whirled around him, wrapping his body.

Fwoooooosh!

Syria Sullion’s greatsword grazed Burren’s shoulder by the thinnest margin, and Runaan’s Snow Flower Sword skimmed his waist, leaving only a shallow cut.

“Hmm?”

“Ah…?”

Syria Sullion and Runaan frowned as they looked at their blades, which had only scraped his skin. This was nothing like the result they’d expected.

“Lucky, are you!”

Syria Sullion snorted, thinking it was just luck, he swung his greatsword toward Burren’s neck once more.

Runaan also drew up the Snow Flower Sword, a small vein standing out on her forehead.

“Hngh!”

But once again, Burren avoided their blades with only minor wounds and stepped even closer. This time, it was clear his first dodge hadn’t been luck.

“Wind…?”

Martha let out a breath of disbelief as she saw Burren’s wind deflect their strikes by a paper-thin margin.

‘He wrapped his body in wind to evade!’

Burren’s wind was sharper than blades. He had wrapped such keen wind around his body to automatically push away incoming attacks. The difference in power meant he couldn’t evade perfectly, but it was enough to reliably deflect blows that would have been fatal.

‘And if he completes it….’

Martha darted left, circling behind him.

‘A terrifying swordsman will be born.’

She bit her lip, imagining the absolute swordsman Burren might one day become.

‘So I can’t let him die here!’

The moment Runaan, as if her pride had been wounded, focused all her power on Burren and drove her footwork with

enough force to shatter the ground—

‘I’ll stake my life too!’

Martha charged at Runaan, sword in her right hand, and in her left a bracelet where two snakes bit into each other.

‘If I can just put this on her!’

She doesn’t trust Evelyn, but she trusts her skill. If she can just put the bracelet on Runaan, she can surely wake her up.

‘Success— huh?’

It was just before Martha fastened the bracelet onto Runaan’s arm as Runaan was turning her body.

Hoooo—!

A massive greatsword was rushing straight toward her.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

Syria Sullion wasn’t aiming at Burren at all, he was driving the greatsword straight at her.

“No matter how urgent it was, you made it far too obvious. Such a waste of effort.”
He sneered, saying her acting was painfully unconvincing compared to Burren’s.

“That bracelet you’re holding, doesn’t look ordinary, does it?”

As if he had grasped Martha’s plan in an instant, Syria Sullion lowered his brows.

“Tch!”

Martha swung her sword with enough force to nearly shatter her right arm, somehow forcing Syria Sullion’s greatsword aside.

But from behind her, Runaan’s blade shot in, and on top of that, the sorcerer’s pitch-black sorcery came flying in as well.

After taking the shock of blocking Syria Sullion’s strike head-on, there was no way she could stop those two attacks.

‘Damn it….’

Martha clenched her teeth.

‘At least protect the bracelet!’

She tried to curl her body inward to shield it—

Kyaaaang!

Suddenly, Runaan’s slash collided with the sorcerer’s sorcery, the two forces crashing into each other and being pushed aside. Their trajectories had clearly been different, it was something that shouldn’t have happened.

“Huh…?”

“Mmhh!”

Runaan and the sorcerer both let out low sounds, sensing something was wrong.

“What the—?”

Even Syria Sullion frowned, clearly unable to make sense of it.

‘Now!’

Martha was just as startled, but this was no time to stand there gawking.

Puuuung!

Using the recoil of pulling her sword back, she lunged forward even harder. No counterattack, no defense, just a reckless charge straight ahead.

Puuuung!

As if she had truly reached Transcendence, Runaan instantly twisted her sword and stabbed toward her.

“That’s it! Stab me!”

Martha didn’t dodge anymore. She took Runaan’s sword straight into her body. The icy blade pierced flesh and bone, and the horrifying sensation locked her entire body in place.

And yet, even amid that searing pain and terror, she moved her body.

“So this is where you die.”

Certain of Martha’s death, Syria Sullion curled his lips into a smile.

“Truly stubborn—”

“I… I might die.”

Still impaled on Runaan’s blade, Martha smiled even more deeply than Syria Sullion.

“But I’ll take my friend with me.”

She lifted her chin and raised Runaan’s arm, which had pierced through her abdomen.

Woooooong!

Before anyone realized it, a bracelet shaped like two intertwined snakes was already fastened around Runaan’s wrist, and red and blue light began to rise from the snakes’ eyes.

“You—!”

Before Syria Sullion’s shout could fully leave his mouth, both Runaan and Martha were swallowed by purple light.

Hwaaaaaah!

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