The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1292

 Chapter 1292

 

“What? Archangel?”

Raon shot up from the throne, his eyes widening.

‘Don’t tell me…?’

Despite the grandeur of their name, the archangels had descended into this world before and worked alongside the worst villain of all, Derus Robert.

The moment he heard that an Archangel had appeared again, a cold chill crawled down his spine at the thought that Derus Robert might somehow still be alive

‘No.’

Raon shook his head sharply, biting down hard on his lip.

‘He definitely died.’

He knew it better than anyone because he had personally cut down both Derus Robert’s body and soul. The man was unquestionably dead. Even Raphael, the archangel of Protection and Healing, who possessed the power of restoration and resurrection, had been killed. There was no way Derus Robert could return.

The King of Essence saw it as well.

Wrath lifted his blue eyes from Raon’s shoulder.

That bastard most certainly died back then.

He gave a heavy nod, as if telling him not to worry so much.

‘Yeah. You’re right.’

Raon let out a thin breath and slowly reopened his eyes.

“Has there been any information about Derus Robert as well?”

He tightened his grip hard enough to keep his voice from shaking as he spoke the name.

“N-No!”

Chad, the leader of the Shadow Agents, waved his hands firmly.

“There has been absolutely no trace of Derus Robert anywhere!”

He raised his chin sharply, insisting that not even rumors of Derus’s name had surfaced.

“I see.”

Raon slowly exhaled the stale breath clogging his lungs.

‘Right. There’s no point worrying already when his name hasn’t even come up.’

There were times when I thought of Derus Robert somehow surviving crept into my mind, but right now, dealing with the newly appeared archangel took priority.

After all, an archangel possessed enough terrifying power to devastate the continent alone.

“What’s the name of the archangel that appeared this time?”

Raon suppressed the heat boiling inside his chest and looked back at Chad.

“W-We still haven’t confirmed the name yet. However…”

Chad glanced down at the documents again and swallowed dryly.

“Judging from the descriptions of its appearance and the impossible feats it’s accomplished, it’s almost certainly an archangel!”

He crumpled the edge of the document slightly, as if there were simply too many things no human could possibly do.

Impossible feats, my ass!

Wrath frowned deeply, already irritated just hearing about the archangel.

“Go on.”

Raon leaned back onto the throne again and gestured for him to continue describing the being suspected to be an archangel.

“The archangel first appeared in the Kingdom of Sarion, located between the central and southern regions of the continent.”

Chad wet his lips with his tongue before continuing.

“Using a beauty and nobility that seemed utterly beyond this world, it entered high society and instantly captivated the nobles and royalty there.”

“High society?”

Raon frowned slightly at the unexpected answer.

“Yes. High society. But after building relationships with the nobles and royals, the archangel began teaching them knowledge and magic that should not exist in this world. Secrets no one could possibly know, like the mysteries of vanished ancient empires and kingdoms, and even forbidden magic capable of achieving the impossible.”

Chad nodded firmly, saying only an archangel who had lived through countless ages could possess such knowledge.

“The archangel resolved the worries and burdens hidden within the hearts of nobles and royals alike, winning not only their trust but even gaining influence over their souls. Armed with uncanny insight and seemingly impossible knowledge, he extended his reach beyond the Kingdom of Sarion into neighboring kingdoms and cities. At this point, many people practically revere him as a god.” 

He let out a heavy sigh, as though he still couldn’t believe what he was saying himself.

“If all of that is true…”

Raon slowly nodded.

“Then it’s definitely an archangel.”

Just as Chad had said, that inhuman beauty, forgotten knowledge that no mortal should possess, and even forbidden sorcery that should not exist in this world could belong only to beings such as archangels or demon kings. 

And none of the demon kings would act this way, making it far more likely that the being was an archangel.

That left only one possibility.

“But why are we only finding out about something this massive now?”

Zieghart now gathered information not only from the Shadow Agents but also from through the Black Market, which made it hard to believe that something this massive had remained undiscovered until now.

“I-I apologize, head of house. It’s just...”

Chad lowered his trembling head in shame.

“The matters the archangel dealt with were anything but ordinary. They involved the hidden concerns and secrets of nobles and royals, so they were inevitably kept under wraps. Apparently, each of them concealed their meeting with the archangel, even from one another.” 

"Secrets and private concerns..." 

Raon narrowed his eyes as he listened.

‘That does make sense.’

This went beyond simply building connections. If people were revealing secrets and weaknesses they desperately wanted to keep hidden, it was only natural that they would conceal the relationship itself.

Whoever this archangel was, he had an uncanny grasp of human nature.

“A-And on top of that…”

Chad wrinkled the bridge of his nose, as though what he was about to say was even harder to believe.

“All of this happened in less than two months. Th-The speed at which it spread is simply unbelievable.”

He let out a strained groan, saying that never in history had a single being expanded its influence so rapidly.

“Putting all of this together…”

Raon flicked his finger, and the documents in Chad’s hands floated through the air into his own grasp.

“It’s almost certainly an archangel.”

A being who listened to people’s secrets and private concerns, then resolved them with forgotten knowledge and forbidden sorcery, it was difficult to believe he could be anything else. 

“Even so, if he has already gained influence among royalty and the nobility, we can’t act recklessly.” 

Raon rested his hand on the throne’s armrest and slowly nodded.

“Gather a little more information first. I’ll handle this personally.”

If they sent a Grandmaster or even a Transcender to deal with an archangel capable of influencing people to such an extent, there was a real possibility that they, too, would fall under his influence. 

Just as Glenn always stepped forward himself to face the greatest threats, this was something Raon had to deal with personally.

“U-Understood!”

Relief washed over Chad’s face the moment Raon declared he would go himself.

“I’ll begin preparations immediately!”

Promising to gather as much information as possible, Chad hurried out of the audience chamber.

‘Wrath.’

Leaning back deep into the throne like Glenn often did, Raon called out to him.

‘Do you know this bastard’s name?’

As the monarch of Devildom and an existence fundamentally opposed to the archangels, Wrath seemed likely to know the identity of the archangel.

Hmm, winning humans over, you say...? 

Wrath stroked his chubby chin.

Yes. The King of Essence believes he knows which bastard it is.

He nodded as though he had already identified the archangel.

That bastard is…

Wrath twisted his lips in disgust, irritated just thinking about it.

Sariel, the archangel of Death and Dominion.

*   *   *

“Huff! Huff!”

A man dressed in noble formal wear sprinted through the dark streets, gasping desperately for air.

“T-That thing is a monster! Not some sage, an actual demon!”

Though no one was chasing him, he kept glancing back over his shoulder with trembling eyes.

“I have to…”

Even with his breath ragged and his chest burning, the nobleman never slowed his pace. Had he taken the main street, he would have reached home quickly, but instead he wound through alley after alley, as if trying to shake off an invisible pursuer, before finally heading toward his enormous estate.

‘I have to tell father.’

The nobleman bit down on his lip as though swearing an oath with his life while throwing open the mansion doors.

‘That thing isn’t some sage. It’s a monster that devours people.’

People across not only the Kingdom of Sarion but the surrounding kingdoms and cities revered him as a wise sage.

But the truth was that he was something closer to a devil.

“Where is father?!”

The nobleman shouted the moment he entered the entrance hall.

“H-He’s in the reception room.”

A maid holding laundry swallowed nervously and pointed toward the reception room.

“Whew…”

The nobleman steadied his breathing and immediately pushed open the reception room door.

“Father! I have something urgent to tell you! I saw... Huh?”

But unlike the determination he had when he burst through the door, the words died in his throat, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

“Oh! You’re back.”

The very being he feared was sitting calmly beside his father, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sarion.

No one had followed him. He was certain of it. Yet somehow that monster had found him and arrived at his home before him. The thought alone made his entire body shake violently.

“Welcome back, Sir Fripan.”

The so-called Apostle of God. The Dark Sage. The devil who had ensnared nearly every noble and royal in high society within barely two months smiled with a beauty cold enough to send chills down one's spine.

Black hair. Crimson eyes.

The mere sight of him was enough to ensnare anyone, and now that unnatural being curved his lips into a sinister smile directed straight at Fripan.

“Yes. What was it you wished to say so urgently?”

His father casually pointed to the seat across from them, as if inviting him to sit and speak comfortably.

“Th-That is…”

Fripan shrank back, frozen in an awkward posture, unable to either sit down or stand up straight.

“Why hesitate? The Dark Sage can resolve any problem.”

Rather than listening to his own son’s warning, the prime minister simply laughed and urged Fripan to trust Sariel, the Dark Sage sitting at his side

“Haha, you flatter me too much.”

The devil accepted the praise with calm humility before slowly, almost painfully slowly, turning his gaze toward Fripan.

“Hhk…!”

The instant their eyes met, Fripan felt his heart plummet and his soul split apart.

Those were not human eyes.

Not the eyes of a beast or predator either.

They were the eyes of a devil that sought to seize the entire world in its grasp.

‘I-I can’t let this continue!’

If he backed down now, not only the other nobles but even his father would become prey to that monster.

He had to expose its true nature.

“F-Father! That thing isn’t human!”

Fripan forced his trembling arm upward and pointed at the devil.

“I saw it! I saw him with the first prince kneeling at his feet while tormenting the princess’s soul after tearing it from her body! That monster sees humans as nothing more than food!”

He shouted everything he had witnessed in the royal palace, begging his father to get away immediately.

“Using the prince as a servant and toying with the princess’s soul, you say…”

Fripan’s father tilted his head slowly.

“And what exactly is wrong with that?”

Despite being the Prime Minister of Sarion, he blinked as though there were nothing disturbing about any of it.

“Our kingdom, the neighboring cities, the surrounding nations… all of them were created by the Sage. No, this entire world exists for the Sage, does it not?”

A warped smile spread across the Prime Minister’s face as he declared that the world had always belonged to Sariel from the very beginning.

“F-Father…?”

Fripan staggered backward, gasping in horror at the grotesque expression he had never once seen on his father’s face before.

“So he says.”

The devil rose gracefully from his chair, still wearing that mesmerizing smile.

The moment Fripan met his gaze again, his arms and legs froze solid like stone.

“Hmm.”

Without even glancing at his son, the Prime Minister calmly sipped his tea while watching the Dark Sage.

“Y-You…”

“There’s no need to be afraid.”

Sariel walked forward with elegant, flowing steps and rested a hand on Fripan’s shoulder.

"I shall allow you to enter a realm of bliss far beyond anything a human was ever meant to experience." 

As a smooth smile spread across his crimson lips, Fripan’s vision abruptly went black.

 

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