The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1254

 Chapter 1254

 

“All right…”

Despite the exhaustion written all over his face, Burren let a satisfied smile curve his lips.

“…Did it work?”

Seeing Martha and Runaan gripping each other’s arms, both frozen stiff, it seemed the plan that had felt impossible had actually succeeded.

‘I should thank father for this.’

Thinking of Karoon, Burren’s smile deepened.

‘However, the situation isn’t good.’

Holding off both Syria Sullion, who was stronger than me, and Runaan at the same time had left my body in ruins.

The external wounds were deep, but the internal was worse. Honestly, I didn’t think I could keep fighting much longer.

‘Martha’s condition looks dangerous too.’

Martha had frozen in place with Runaan’s sword stabbed into her. The sword hadn’t been pulled out, so the bleeding wasn’t severe yet, but if someone touched her, her life would be in danger.

‘I need time.’

To protect Martha, I needed to recover even a little stamina. I didn’t like it, but I would have to buy time, even if it meant talking to Syria Sullion.

“You look pleased,” Burren sneered, glaring at Syria Sullion. “Didn’t see this coming, did you?”

“Hmm….”

Syria Sullion, seemingly flustered by the unexpected situation, bit his lip deeply as he looked at Runaan and Martha.

“Th-this is impossible.”

The Bear Alteration Demon, wearing the mask of the Bearwolf sorcerer, also trembled violently, unable to believe what he was seeing.

“Impossible?” Burren spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and straightened his back.
“What’s really impossible is trash like you being allowed to live in this world!”

Declaring he’d never let them live, he clenched his fist with what little strength he had left.

“Ugh!”

The Bear Alteration Demon, seemingly frightened by Burren’s energy wave, faltered with his staff and stepped back.

“Runaan….”

Ignoring Burren entirely, Syria Sullion kept his eyes fixed on Martha.

“I’ll kill her!”

Unable to hold back his irritation, he raised his greatsword, wrapped in combative energy, and prepared to bring it down on Martha.

“Damn it!”

Just as Burren sharply inhaled, about to throw himself in front of her—

“N-no! You mustn’t!”

The Bear Alteration Demon rushed forward and grabbed Syria Sullion.

“I-if you touch her now, even Lady Runaan will be in danger! She could become a cripple!”

He shook his head fiercely, insisting that neither Runaan nor Martha could be touched right now.

“Haa….”

Burren steadied his breathing again and slowly moved toward Martha.

"You looked like you owned the world a second ago, and now you can't even move?"

Because he didn’t know what Syria Sullion might do to Martha if he completely lost his mind, Burren deliberately provoked him.

Ssssss—

Black smoke seeped out from the Baphomet helmet Syria Sullion was wearing.

“Even if I can’t touch that filthy bitch….”

Inside the helmet, an eerie, pitch-black flame flared to life.

“I can still tear you limb from limb and kill you!”

Grinding his teeth, Syria Sullion vowed to kill Burren and feed him to the dogs.

“Go on,” Burren said, jerking his chin at him.
“Let’s see who gets torn apart.”

Like Raon, whom he’d always watched from behind, Burren didn’t retreat even in a crisis. He raised his sword proudly.

Chiaaang!

Syria Sullion lifted his greatsword overhead, black combative energy blazing. As the blade brushed against the horns of his helmet, a chilling screech rang out.

“Die.”

He brought the sword down with crushing weight, intent on flattening Burren into the dirt.

Kugugugugugu!

Burren didn’t retreat. He charged straight toward Syria Sullion’s greatsword, spreading Barren Wind so that the blade fell not toward his head, but toward his shoulder instead.

Jijijijijik!

At the same time, he set his sword at a diagonal, letting Syria Sullion’s greatsword slide off as it came down toward his right shoulder.

Kuuuuung!

Syria Sullion’s greatsword slammed into the ground, splitting the earth in two as pitch-black flames surged upward. Even a glancing hit would have crushed his entire body.

“Ghn….”

Burren rolled his trembling shoulder and frowned deeply.

‘He’s a monster.’

Even after twisting the attack’s path with the Barren Wind Sword and deflecting it along his blade, it felt like his shoulder was about to be torn off. The shock had hammered his muscles so hard that the hand gripping his sword went numb.

“How long do you think you can keep relying on tricks?” Syria Sullion sneered, curling his lips as he swung the greatsword with even greater force. He didn’t seem to be using any particular sword technique, yet the power and speed behind each strike were beyond imagination.

“Kgh!”

Burren drew on Barren Wind throughout his entire body, repeatedly deflecting Syria Sullion’s greatsword.

‘Chilling.’

The side that barely avoided the blade felt like its skin was melting away…

Every time he slipped past Syria Sullion’s greatsword, it felt as though flesh was being torn loose and muscles were snapping. If this was the damage from merely deflecting it, a direct hit would mean instant death.

‘Still… thank goodness I’ve brought the Barren Wind Sword this far.’

If he hadn’t learned how to stir Barren Wind around his body and redirect an enemy’s blade, he wouldn’t have bought Martha even a moment, and he’d have gone down long ago.

Once again, gratitude toward his father welled up inside him.

‘If I just keep focusing on defense, and Martha wakes Runaan up— huh?’

It was when Burren tried to deflect Syria Sullion’s greatsword, which was aiming for his waist, with the Barren Wind Sword.

Jijijijijik!

The combative energy blazing from Syria Sullion’s blade flared even stronger, crushing straight through the wind.

Crack!

Burren urgently thrust out his sword, but he couldn’t overcome the power imbued in Syria Sullion’s greatsword.

‘Wait… this….’

Watching Barren Wind split apart against Syria Sullion’s blade, Burren narrowed his eyes.

‘It feels like something’s about to come to mind.’

His mind itched, as if something that could completely erase the power of that greatsword was about to surface.

Whoooosh!

But before that realization could fully arrive, Syria Sullion’s greatsword reached him first.

Crack!

Burren hastily deployed a defensive form, but Syria Sullion’s greatsword struck his waist directly, along with his own sword.

“Kuh—!”

He spat out pitch-black blood and rolled across the ground.

“N-not yet….”

Forcing his head up, he stared at Syria Sullion as the man slowly approached.

“A good technique. Its level of completion is fairly high. However….”

Resting the greatsword on his shoulder, he frowned.

“Your focus slipped. This must be your first time using it in real combat.”

He curled his lips as if he understood Burren perfectly.

“…Yeah.”

Swallowing hard under Syria Sullion’s icy gaze, Burren admitted it inwardly.

‘He’s right.’

I had been so absorbed in the power of Barren Wind that I hadn’t even noticed my focus slipping.

I should have pulled back and stalled for time. It was a fatal mistake.

Still, it wasn’t all for nothing. Fighting Syria Sullion had given me a clue, one that could let me push the Barren Wind Sword further. Assuming I survived this, of course.

“Die.”

Syria Sullion raised his greatsword again, his voice cold and final.

“Not yet….”

Burren bit his lip as he looked at Syria Sullion’s greatsword blotting out the sky.

Death was right in front of him, but he didn’t close his eyes. Even if he died, he would fight to the very end.

Piaaang!

As Burren stared at the greatsword falling toward his head, a silver blade slipped into the gap between them.

Jjeo-eo-eo-eong!

Syria Sullion’s greatsword, powerful enough to shatter the heavens, was stopped right before Burren’s eyes, blocked by a slender longsword.

‘This sword….’

Burren’s eyes went wide as he recognized the all-too-familiar silver blade blocking Syria Sullion’s greatsword.

“Haa….”

From behind the shadow cast by the massive blade came a sound he hadn’t heard in far too long, Runaan’s languid, unhurried breath.

“Runaan! You finally came out!”

Syria Sullion broke into a radiant smile as he looked at Runaan, the one who had stopped his sword.

“I’ve been waiting—”

“I’m sorry….”

Runaan didn’t look at Syria Sullion. She met Burren’s eyes instead, biting her lip.

“I’ll tell you the rest… after this is over….”

She gave a small nod, asking him to wait just a little longer.

“R-Runaan….”

Syria Sullion swallowed dryly as he saw purple light flaring inside the Baphomet helmet she wore.

"It’s been a long time..."

The Baphomet helmet encasing Runaan’s face split cleanly in two, revealing the eyes hidden within, now gleaming with their original purple hue.

“Let’s end this twisted bond….”

Raising the Snow Flower Sword, its silver light spilling forth, Runaan leveled the blade at Syria Sullion’s throat.

“Syria Sullion.”

*   *   *

Runaan slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.

‘Martha….’

The first thing she saw upon returning fully to reality was Martha, her chest pierced by her sword.

She pulled the blade out at once and tried to stop the bleeding, but Martha likely wouldn’t hold on much longer.

‘Burren’s in danger too….’

Burren, who had protected both her and Martha, was in terrible shape as well, dark, lifeless blood spilling from his mouth. The damage could leave lasting aftereffects. He needed treatment as soon as possible.

‘And I’m not fine either.’

She herself had been consumed by Baphomet helmet. Her condition was far from good.

But the feelings and resolve Martha had passed on to her in that dreamlike world filled her now, so strongly that she felt she couldn’t lose to anyone.

“Runaan… what is the meaning of this?

You… you were my only one who understood me!”

Syria Sullion’s jaw trembled as if he couldn’t accept reality.

"Th-the sorcery is broken? It was supposed to be unbreakable, even for a Transcender..."

The Bear Alteration Demon, too, panicked at a situation he had never even imagined, sweat pouring down beneath his mask.

“Haaa….”

Runaan drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

“The one who understands you… isn’t me. Syria Sullion, you’re nothing more than an enemy I have to kill.”

Her words laid bare unmistakable hostility and killing intent.

“……”

Syria Sullion stared at her with empty, doll-like eyes, as if his soul had slipped away.

“Bear. Alteration. Demon.”

He crooked a finger toward the trembling sorcerer behind him.

“…Begin.”

Syria Sullion told him to begin something and drove his greatsword into the ground engraved with sorcery.

“Y-yes!”

As the Bear Alteration Demon’s eyes trembled and he swung his staff, the fragments of the Baphomet helmet that Runaan had split in half floated up on their own.

Wooooong!

Between the Baphomet helmet Syria Sullion was wearing, the half-broken Baphomet helmet, and Runaan, pitch-black lines connected them.

“This is….”

Runaan frowned as she looked at the black line linking her to Syria Sullion. She swung the Snow Flower Sword at it but the black lines were not cut.

“One in a thousand… no, one in ten thousand,” Syria Sullion said heavily, nodding as he looked at the black line connecting him to Runaan.
“I thought something like this might happen.”

“So I put a failsafe in place. Even if you escaped me, your power would still return to me.”

The moment he bared his white teeth, a black sphere surged up from the split Baphomet helmet.

Wooooooong!

The black sphere rotated in a spiral and began extracting the combative energy, aura, and soul Runaan possessed, transferring them to Syria Sullion.

“Ughhh!”

Runaan tried to resist, but the suction of the black sphere that emerged from the Baphomet helmet was not something a human could withstand.

“From the moment you put on the Baphomet helmet,” Syria Sullion said, breathing harshly as he absorbed her power, “everything you had became mine.”

“Runaan! I’ll take you by force if I have to! I’m the only one who can accept you!”

He threw his arms wide, his entire body erupting with the aura he stole from Runaan together with combative energy from his entire body.

Kugugugugugu!

Space twisted around Syria Sullion, and the sky began to crumble.

Just the manifestation of his power alone tore the surroundings apart, he had clearly ascended Transcendence by absorbing Runaan’s power.

“Haa….”

Runaan, on the other hand, trembled at her fingertips, cold sweat pouring down as though everything had been stripped from her.

“Runaan. Come to me.”

Syria Sullion reached out his hand.

“You can never defeat me.”

Twisting his lips, he declared that no younger sister could ever overcome her older brother.

“If you come with me now, I’ll spare your friends too. I’ll even let you keep them, raise them, if you like.”

He beckoned casually, treating Burren and Martha like little more than pets.

“In the past, if I’d heard those words… I would’ve given up. I would’ve been devoured by your fear…. But….”

Runaan struggled to lift her body.

“Not now.”

She shook her head, saying she wouldn’t give up.

"Runaan, you have nothing left. No aura, no stamina, and you’ve lost the combative energy the helmet gave you."

Syria Sullion clicked his tongue, urging her to think carefully.

“Meanwhile, I’ve absorbed your power and soul and reached Transcendence! Charging at me now is no different from smashing an egg against a rock!”

He lifted his chin arrogantly, certain of victory.

“There have always been people who fought… even knowing they couldn’t win.”

Burren, who’d given everything to buy time.
Martha, who had come all the way into a dream world to wake me.
And even though they weren’t here now, Raon, and the people of Zieghart, who had always been my support.

Their faces rose vividly before me.

I couldn’t break here.

“Fine. Then I’ll take you by force!”

Grinding his teeth, Syria Sullion raised his greatsword. From the blade held overhead poured out a catastrophic wave of energy, as though it could shatter the world itself.

“Don’t worry. It might hurt a little, but I’ll piece that soft skin of yours back together afterward!”

With a vile smile, he prepared to take Runaan even if he had to break her.

“Exploding Star Martial Sword!”

Intent on annihilating not just Runaan, but Burren and Martha as well, he unleashed a supreme technique capable of reducing everything around them to scorched earth.

“Haaah….”

Watching the massive sword strike fall like a meteor, Runaan exhaled a breath white as snow.

‘I’m not afraid….’

Even after having everything taken from her, her focus remained.

As she focused on herself, time slowed, and the colors of this world disappeared. It seemed like the realm of Transcendence Raon had spoken of.

Whoooosh!

A sword large enough to destroy her body completely was crashing down, yet she felt no fear.

She had been given far too much by others.

Even with her aura gone, her stamina drained, and her soul torn away, her heart was still full.

‘I’ll… protect everyone….’

Her trembling hand tightened around the Snow Flower Sword as she thought of all those who had shaped who she was now.

In that moment, the shadow of Syria Sullion that had been encircling her soul melted away, and a warmth great enough to illuminate the entire world blossomed forth.

The opening of a suppressed soul, and the foothold for achieving a new realm, spread out before her eyes.

Runaan climbed that foothold, not one she had forced open alone, but one created together with her comrades, and felt her sword and herself become one.

“Sword Field Creation.”

She lifted the Snow Flower Sword, shining pure white like a snowy plain, before her face.

With the dignity of a knight staking her life to protect her king, she spoke calmly—

“Eternity.”

 

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