The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1263

 Chapter 1263

 

Raon narrowed his eyes as he stepped through the gates of Cameloon, his face hidden beneath a disguise.

‘This feels different.’

The last time he’d come here, it had felt like a brief stopover, a place to rest before moving on to his real destination. Now, knowing it was Eden’s den, his fingers curled tight without him even realizing.

“Th-this is kind of scary…”

Dorian, wearing a messy wig and dressed as a merchant, dragged the Bear Alteration Demon along behind him. His chin trembled.

“It feels like they’re going to jump us any second…”

He sniffed, muttering that Eden might be lying in wait for an ambush.

“No.”

Raon subtly spread aura barrier so their voices wouldn’t carry, then shook his head calmly.

“There’s no way Eden knows we’re here.”

Syria Sullion and the Bear Alteration Demon had cut off contact with Eden and begun acting independently. From Eden’s standpoint, serving only restoration and following only the Heavenly Demon, there would be no particular reason to care about the two of them.

Raon had already suppressed the trace of sorcery clinging to the Bear Alteration Demon, and with the disguises in place, even if an Eden executive were hiding somewhere in this city, they would never suspect.

“It’s not Eden ambushing us.”

Raon stopped walking and looked at Dorian with steady eyes.

“We’re the ones striking first. Don’t forget that. And make sure the others understand it too.”

Right now, Dorian was the signalman linking him to the other Light Wind Palace swordsmen scattered throughout the city. Raon gave a small nod, trusting that Dorian understood the real intent behind his words, and that he would pass that intent along to the others.

“R-right! Yes, sir!”

As if strength had returned to him, Dorian clenched his fist hard.

“Bear Alteration Demon.”

Raon turned to him, lowering his brows.

“Got something you want to say?”

Since the Bear Alteration Demon’s expression had hardened, he lightly pressed down on his shoulder.

“N-no.”

The Bear Alteration Demon shook his head quickly.

“I just think you’re… not normal.”

He frowned, as if he couldn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing.

“Not normal? Explain.”

Raon tilted his chin, telling him to go on.

“You’re right. This is where Eden’s headquarters lies.”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s lips trembled.

“The Heavenly Demon, the strongest warrior on the continent, is here. And among those who follow him are monsters who rival you. No matter how strong you are, you can’t possibly face them all. I don’t understand what you’re relying on to stay so calm.”

He let out a hollow breath, as if he couldn’t make sense of Raon bringing his subordinates all the way here.

“The answer’s simple.”

With unwavering eyes, Raon took in the scenery of the trade city Cameloon.

“Eden laid a hand on Zieghart. If we freeze because the enemy is strong, or because there are too many of them, then who would ever follow Zieghart? Even if I, the acting head of house, die here, this is something that must be done.”

Eden wasn't stupid. Rather, for the sake of their objective, they were more cunning than anyone.

There was no way they didn't know Syria Sullion was gunning for Runaan and Zieghart. To Raon, that meant they had essentially sanctioned the attack by standing by.

“Y-you’re right! It’s scary, but we still have to do it! We’re swordsmen of Zieghart!”

Dorian stepped forward strongly, as if courage had risen through Raon’s words. The fear had not completely disappeared, but it seemed he had overcome part of it.

“Haa…”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s jaw trembled, as if he’d just heard something unimaginable.

“If someone like you had existed there…”

He sounded angry, or perhaps envious.

“Bear Alteration Demon.”

Raon turned to him.

“I’m not interested in your past. Tell me what we need to summon Eden’s gatekeeper.”

There had to be a special reason the Bear Alteration Demon had followed Syria Sullion. But once this was over, he would disappear along with the rest of the villains. Raon had no intention of digging into his story.

“…Haahah.”

The Bear Alteration Demon let out a self-mocking laugh and nodded.

“The conditions aren’t difficult. Just… tedious. On the night of a full moon, you go to the western wall closest to the desert and perform a ritual. And of course, the one performing it must wear an Eden mask or helmet.”

Without one, he said, you would never even see the gatekeeper.

“For the ritual, you need five gemstones of different colors, five kinds of fruit, five kinds of grain, and five kinds of meat.”

He spread his fingers as he listed them.

“W-what?”

Dorian’s eyes widened.

“Every time an Eden demon enters headquarters, they go through something that complicated? That’s ridiculous!”

He glared at the Bear Alteration Demon in suspicion.

“That’s not it.”

Raon calmly lowered his hand.

“The Heavenly Demon ordered the Eden demons to cease all external activity and focus solely on training before entering seclusion. That means the original entrances and exits to headquarters are all sealed. The gatekeeper he is talking about…”

He twisted his lips slightly as he watched the busy main road packed with people.

“…guards a door that’s never meant to open under normal circumstances.”

The Heavenly Demon ordered Eden’s demons to cease all activity and focus solely on training before entering seclusion. In other words, the original entrances and exits leading to Eden’s headquarters have all been completely sealed. The gatekeeper the Bear Alteration Demon mentioned must be guarding a door that would never open under normal circumstances

“Y-you’re right.”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s flared nostrils quivered, clearly startled by how quickly Raon had pieced it together.

“That gatekeeper is practically the same kind of mystical creature as the one that exists in Eden’s headquarters. It will only respond if it takes a liking to you. Only then will it engage in questioning, and only after that will it open the sealed door. The grains and fruits must be large and of the finest quality. The gemstones must be flawless, without a single scratch. And the meat must be perfectly fresh.”

He frowned, noting that while summoning the gatekeeper was hard, getting it to actually open the gate was even harder.

“And how were you planning to convince it?”

Raon narrowed his eyes at him.

“I-I was going to offer the sacrifices… and try to pass its questions.”

The Bear Alteration Demon looked down, his face flushing with shame as he admitted he had planned to use the talented children he'd kidnapped as bargaining chips.

“You disgusting piece of—”

Dorian bit his lip, looking like he wanted to kill him on the spot.

“I—I had no choice! I needed to survive! And you’d better start preparing now. The full moon rises in just two days—”

“Preparation’s already done.”

Dorian lifted a bundle as if to prove it. Inside were five fruits, five grains, five cuts of meat, and five gemstones.

“…What?”

The Bear Alteration Demon blinked in disbelief.

“You have all that? Right now? And according to the conditions I just mentioned?”

“Of course. They’re all necessities.”

Dorian grinned, as if asking why he wouldn’t.

“What in the world…”

The Bear Alteration Demon tilted his head repeatedly as if he could not understand either Raon or Dorian.

“Then we just have to wait for the full moon to rise. Of course, before that….”

Raon nodded calmly, glancing at the bundle in Dorian’s hands.

“There’s still something we need to do before that.”

*   *   *

Haaaa.

White breath spilled from Karoon’s mouth. Holding his sword in both hands, he stared coldly at Glenn standing across from him.

Sssshhhh!

The moment Karoon angled the tip of his blade, the space before him split clean in two. Even Glenn’s body, caught between the fracture, seemed on the verge of being torn apart.

Wooooong!

But as Glenn moved Heavenly Tremor, the immense slash that looked capable of cleaving him in half melted away like spring snow.

“Huff! Huff!”

Karoon drove his sword into the ground, panting hard, as if that single strike had drained everything from him.

“Good.”

Glenn nodded gently, pride in his eyes.

“You’ve only been here a short time, and you’ve already broken through one wall.”

He even clapped for him, impressed by his progress.

“I still have a long way to go.”

Karoon shook his head and forced himself upright. Even exhausted, he bit down on his lip as if refusing to collapse no matter what.

“I always found it regrettable that instead of striving for your own growth, you focused on dragging others down. But now… it seems you’ve finally found a sword that is truly your own.”

Glenn nodded, pride flickering in his eyes as he looked at his son, who had undergone such a profound change.

“The path of martial arts has no end. If you continue to grow as you are now, you may one day reach what you seek.”

Despite his gentle tone, Glenn raised Heavenly Tremor and pointed it at Karoon.

Kuuuuung!

As Glenn lifted his blade and let his aura surge, it felt as though he himself had become a single, honed sword. A razor-sharp wave of energy shot forward.

“Hmmmh…!”

Karoon’s lips trembled as he faced him.

‘No. This is….’

It’s not that father has turned into a sword… it’s as if this entire space has become a blade meant to kill me!

If sword-and-man becoming one was the stage where the swordsman and the blade fused into unity, then what he was doing now felt beyond that, like he was merging with the world itself.

The moment Glenn raised his fighting spirit, the air, the ground, the very space around them turned hostile. A chilling cold washed over Karoon, as though the world itself had declared war on him.

“Ghh…!”

In the end, he couldn’t withstand Glenn’s pressure. One knee hit the ground. Even as he faltered, he never took his eyes off him.

“If you run too fast, you’ll trip and end up slower than if you had walked. Learn to relax a little.”

Glenn acknowledged Karoon’s progress but told him to rest as well, drawing a faint smile.

“I know that. But…”

Karoon forced himself back to his feet. His legs trembled violently, but he locked them in place and raised his sword again.

“I hate losing because I didn’t give it everything. Even if I’m going to lose, I want to stake everything and lose that way.”

He bit his lip until blood welled, as if thinking of someone already walking far ahead of him.

“Raon.”

Glenn closed his eyes briefly, understanding exactly who Karoon was thinking of.

“That child is different. To be honest, even if you devoted your entire life to the sword, you wouldn’t be able to catch up to him.”

He spoke bluntly, choosing honesty over comfort.

“While pursuing martial arts, thinking about the role of head of house that only you can—”

“That, more than anyone, I already know.”

Karoon nodded calmly without even the slightest change in emotion.

“Hmm?”

Glenn opened his eyes roundly as if surprised that Karoon did not show a fierce reaction.

“But I don’t believe someone who neglects the sword simply because he lacks talent compared to another has any right to become head of house.”

Karoon lowered his head slightly, his voice steady.

“Even if my talent falls short of Raon’s, that doesn’t mean I can afford to slack off.”

He tightened his grip on his sword.

“And I do not think that Raon Zieghart would be worse than me at the role of head of house. Probably when we go out here….”

He thought of Raon, the one who always managed to astonish him.

“There will be something new to surprise us again. I’m sure of it.”

*   *   *

On a night when the full moon shone brighter than the sun—

“Whew…”

The Bear Alteration Demon wiped the sweat from his brow as he carefully arranged the offerings Dorian had prepared on the ground. He moved with meticulous focus, as if afraid a single mistake would cost him his life.

Only after confirming that everything was perfectly symmetrical did he finally straighten up.

“I-it’s done.”

He nodded at Raon, who had been watching silently from behind.

“It… it looks like he’s drawing some kind of magic circle,” Dorian muttered, staring at how precisely spaced the offerings were.

“The gatekeeper of Eden is… merciless,” The Bear Alteration Demon swallowed dryly. “It’s a terrifying existence.”

He shuddered.

“Honestly, I’d rather not see it—”

“If you’re finished, summon it.”

Raon cut him off with a slight tilt of his chin.

“W-wait! There are things you must be careful about when dealing with the gatekeeper!”

“The one who should be careful isn’t us, it’s Eden.”

Raon stepped forward, a cold chill radiating from him. He seized the Bear Alteration Demon by the shoulder and shoved him ahead.

“As for the questioning. As for the judgment…”

His eyes hardened.

“I’ll handle it.”

 

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