The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1279

 Chapter 1279

 

KRRRRRRRSH!

The Heavenly Demon remained utterly indifferent as he destroyed his own body with his fists. Flesh burst apart, deep wounds split open to expose bone, yet the only emotion lingering in his eyes was pure arrogance.

He poured the very concept of martial arts into both fists and continued striking himself without end. As the blows flowed one after another like water, the horrifying crunch of flesh and bone breaking somehow transformed into something strangely refreshing, like the roar of crashing waves.

‘What the…?’

Raon let out a hollow laugh as he watched the Heavenly Demon punch himself apart. Even after living two lifetimes, this was one of the most shocking sights he had ever witnessed, enough to make his legs tremble on their own.

T-That bastard….

Wrath’s jaw hung open as it quivered.

Is he actually insane? What the hell is he doing?!

Unable to comprehend the Heavenly Demon’s actions, his blue eyes darted wildly from side to side.

If he wants to kill himself, he should just cut off his head!

Wrath exhaled sharply as he watched black blood spill from the Heavenly Demon’s mouth.

‘No, that's not it.’

Raon shook his head while resonating all ten Ring of Fire to their limit.

He’s not destroying his body for no reason.

The Heavenly Demon was not simply torturing himself. Within the very fists that were shattering his own flesh, he was manifesting the true flow of martial arts.

‘He’s showing it to me.’

Raon bit down on his lip until blood burst forth.

‘What true martial arts really are.’

The power exploding from the Heavenly Demon’s fists wasn’t the authority of pride. It was martial might built solely through his own path as a warrior.

‘So that’s what he meant when he told me to watch carefully.’

Right after telling Raon to pay close attention, the Heavenly Demon had turned his fists on himself.

At first, I thought he was simply paying the blood debt of Birdnew village with his own blood, but that wasn't the case.

‘He’s trying to teach me.’

The Heavenly Demon wasn't just settling a blood debt. By revealing the true flow of martial arts hidden within those fists, he was undoubtedly compensating Raon for the tests he had put him through.

“None of you blink. Watch carefully.”

Biting his lip, Raon spoke to Burren, Martha, and Runaan, who were kneeling behind him.

If they could truly watch, understand, and engrave the Heavenly Demon’s fists into their minds, it would advance their martial training by at least ten years.

“Hngh!”

“Urgh!”

“…Haah.”

Burren, Martha, and Runaan seemed to understand immediately. Veins bulged across their foreheads as they forced themselves not to miss a single movement of the Heavenly Demon’s fists, carving every motion into their eyes.

“Okay! I won’t miss a thing!”

Even in the midst of this, Evelyn wasn't looking at the Heavenly Demon, but rather staring at Raon's back with sparkling, ecstatic eyes.

‘Whatever his reasons...’

Raon slowly nodded, never taking his eyes off a single one of the Heavenly Demon’s punches.

‘You were right. That bastard really is insane.’

He had demanded blood payment, yes, but Raon had never truly intended to see the Heavenly Demon bleed.

All he wanted was to extract information for the future war, kill as many of Eden’s executives as possible, and steal their supplies.

But the Heavenly Demon clearly found that far from enough. So he had chosen to destroy himself personally.

What you wanted wasn't exactly sane either, you know...?

Wrath snorted in disbelief.

Though not nearly as insane as that monster.

Wrath wrinkled his nose, insisting nothing could compare to what the Heavenly Demon was doing now.

“True.”

Steadying his breathing, Raon forced every single movement of the Heavenly Demon’s fists into his eyes.

‘It’s a fist art perfected to madness.’

The Heavenly Demon clenched his fist with a hand torn open to the bone. As he did, the very essence and origin of martial arts seemed to converge into that single fist, throwing the flow of the wind into chaos and scattering the clouds across the sky.

That fist no longer resembled a human body made of flesh and bone.

It was a miniature universe, a world compressed into a single point.

BOOOOOOOM!

The Heavenly Demon thrust out a fist imbued with the laws of the world itself. The punch moved slower than moonlight, yet the moment it struck his chest, space exploded once again with a colossal shockwave.

An absolute fist tearing apart an absolute body.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Heavenly Demon inflicted upon himself wounds even a Martial God could not endure.

Fwoooooosh!

Even with over half his body destroyed, not a single drop of sweat formed on his brow. He didn’t look like someone paying a price. If anything, his indifferent eyes made it seem as though he were calmly testing the limits and principles of martial arts itself.

BOOOOOOOM!

The Heavenly Demon’s left fist stretched into the night sky before descending like the tail of a comet. Space screamed along the trajectory of his strike, while the starlight rippled and sank.

CRAAAAASH!

At last, the place his left fist landed was the only part of his body that remained intact, his right arm.

Crkrrrrk!

Only after confirming that his right arm had been completely destroyed did the Heavenly Demon lower his blood-soaked fist.

When he opened his hand, the torn sky and earth tried to restore themselves, but the dark crimson combative energy lodged between the cracks refused to disappear. The fractures remained suspended in the air like jagged streaks of lightning.

“Did you see it clearly?”

Even though his body had been reduced to a mangled ruin, the Heavenly Demon still maintained the same calm energy wave and detached gaze. Despite both legs and his right arm being broken, he stood there peacefully and nodded with absolute confidence, as though he had not suffered a single injury.

“…Yeah.”

Raon forced apart his dry lips, feeling as though his own body had been shattered alongside the Heavenly Demon’s.

“I saw it clearly.”

He nodded with trembling eyes, meaning those words in more ways than one.

“The world itself rests within my fist.”

The Heavenly Demon raised his left fist again, blood dripping steadily from it, and arrogantly lifted his chin.

His flesh had been torn apart. Bones were exposed. His limbs were broken.

Yet the fangs of the dragon that ruled the continent had not dulled in the slightest.

“Tell me. Do I look like a man who will lose?”

He was asking about the outcome of the duel to death soon to come, yet he looked like someone who had never even considered the possibility of defeat.

“……”

Raon narrowed his eyes instead of answering immediately.

“I can’t answer that.”

Before today, he would have said without hesitation that Glenn would win.

But after witnessing the Heavenly Demon’s madness, and the ultimate pinnacle of martial arts contained within those fists, Raon could no longer confidently say that even Glenn would absolutely triumph.

That man truly is the vessel of Pride. No...

Wrath twisted his lips while glaring at the Heavenly Demon.

He’s something even worse than Pride! Why are there so many madmen on this tiny continent?!

He shook his head furiously, saying the Heavenly Demon was insane on the same level as Raon.

“You truly don’t speak empty words.”

The Heavenly Demon lowered his chin slightly, seemingly pleased by Raon’s refusal to answer carelessly.

“Glenn Zieghart, the Destructive King of the North, is the strongest.”

Raon slowly exhaled and lifted his gaze.

“I can’t imagine him losing. But…”

He tightened his grip on Heavenly Drive as he recalled the Glenn he had seen before leaving the secluded training.

“I can’t picture you losing either.”

Speaking honestly about what he had felt after witnessing the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts, Raon raised Heavenly Drive before his chest.

It was a swordsman’s salute, a tribute and expression of respect toward a warrior who had devoted everything to martial arts and showed him what true martial arts looked like.

‘I learned so much from this.’

The Heavenly Demon could have thrown punches too fast to see, too profound to even sense.

Instead, he had deliberately moved slowly enough for Raon to grasp the flow and trajectory behind every strike.

Even though Raon was his enemy, the Heavenly Demon had expanded the limits of his martial vessel and broadened his understanding.

It was only right to answer that sincerity with respect of his own.

‘If I can make the flow he showed me my own…’

I might be able to reach an entirely new realm.

All Streams return to the sea. Just as every current eventually flows onward until it reaches the sea, if he could weave the principles and flow contained within the Heavenly Demon’s fist art into his own swordsmanship, he might be able to ascend to a realm far beyond the one he currently stood in.

“I look forward to my duel with Glenn Zieghart even more now.”

The Heavenly Demon curled his lips upward, his competitive spirit toward Glenn seemingly burning even stronger through Raon.

“There’s one thing I want to ask.”

Raon lowered Heavenly Drive and looked at him.

“Why did you go that far?”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he asked why the Heavenly Demon had gone so far as to destroy his own body when there should have been other ways to repay the blood debt.

“You said it yourself. Blood debts must be paid in blood. If a subordinate spills blood, then the leader must repay it with his own.”

The Heavenly Demon nodded calmly, as though the answer were obvious.

Ghk…!

Wrath clutched his chest after hearing the Heavenly Demon’s answer.

N-no! To think a mere vessel of Pride would actually move the King of Essence's heart!

Furious at himself for actually being moved by the Heavenly Demon’s words, he started smacking his own head.

“And…”

The Heavenly Demon looked at Raon with eyes blazing like flames.

“Your sword pleased me.”

He nodded, seemingly satisfied by his clash against Raon’s sword field.

“…Hm.”

Raon lightly bit his lip as he stared into the Heavenly Demon’s calm eyes.

‘He feels more like the Monarch of Pride than Pride himself.’

Even with his body utterly destroyed, the Heavenly Demon still carried himself with such overwhelming composure and pride that he seemed more fitting for the title of Monarch of Pride than the actual Pride himself.

“What if we attacked you while you’re injured like this?”

Raon flicked Heavenly Drive as he voiced the thought everyone here was bound to have.

“Perhaps the others would. But neither you nor Glenn would ever do such a thing.”

The Heavenly Demon nodded as though he trusted both Glenn and Raon, despite them being his enemies

“…Haah.”

Raon ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. Annoyingly enough, the Heavenly Demon was right. As he was now, Raon could never bring himself to attack the Heavenly Demon in this condition.

‘Besides, it’s not like he’d just quietly roll over and die even if we tried.’

I was utterly exhausted and suffering from severe internal injuries. Even against the heavily wounded Heavenly Demon, the chances of winning were practically zero.

‘All I can do is trust grandfather.’

Glenn could cut down the Heavenly Demon even if he were in peak condition.

Holding onto that certainty, no, that faith, Raon slowly nodded.

“Will those wounds heal before the duel?”

Raon frowned as he looked at the Heavenly Demon’s injuries, from which blood was still steadily flowing. These were no ordinary wounds, Raon himself had inflicted them with all his might, so they did not seem like injuries that would heal easily.

“It’ll be close.”

The Heavenly Demon brushed away the blood flowing from his shoulder with his left hand, sounding as though he expected to recover in time for the duel.

“Then you won’t be able to train.”

“That too is part of a warrior’s life. There is still something to learn from it.”

The Heavenly Demon raised his calm eyes, showing not the slightest trace of regret for what he had done.

“…I see.”

From that answer alone, Raon finally understood what kind of man the Heavenly Demon truly was.

“We’ve received Birdnew village’s blood payment.”

Raon and the Light Wind swordsmen had slaughtered Eden’s demons and executives. The Heavenly Demon had personally shattered his own body, sacrificing precious time he could have spent training, and on top of that, he had even shown Raon the true flow and ultimate principles of martial arts through those self-destructive fists.

There was nothing left to demand in the name of Birdnew village’s blood debt.

“Then we’ll be going.”

Just as Raon sheathed Heavenly Drive and prepared to leave—

Clink!

The Heavenly Demon pulled out a wooden ornament tied with two small bells and tossed it toward him.

“This is…”

Raon narrowed his eyes at the bells in his hand.

“You’ll find a use for it someday.”

Without offering any further explanation, the Heavenly Demon turned around. As he moved, the man wearing the lion mask and the woman wearing the tiger helm opened a gate of darkness blazing like black flames.

“……”

As if giving a final farewell, the Heavenly Demon gave a small nod before stepping into the black dimensional gate. The instant he disappeared, the shattered black sky mended itself, and the collapsed earth rose back into place like water filling a deep well.

It was as though the moment when the Heavenly Demon had appeared and revealed the ultimate pinnacle of martial arts had all been an illusion. Every scar he had left behind, marks that should never have faded, vanished completely, and the only thing remaining was the sound of the laborers snoring in the distance.

“…Insane.”

Raon could not hold back his astonished breath.

Even after displaying such overwhelming power, the Heavenly Demon had caused not even the slightest collateral damage to the surroundings. That meant he alone had borne the aftermath of the shattered sky and split earth

‘…I want to fight him.’

A desire bloomed within him to reach the absolute peak and engage the Heavenly Demon in a duel to the death.

It was a nearly impossible dream, yet the Heavenly Demon was the kind of warrior who could ignite such desire within others.

Insolent brat!

Wrath snorted in disbelief.

Your current martial arts could never hope to reach the Heavenly Demon’s level!

He shook his round chin fiercely, saying Raon would never even get the chance to fight him.

You’d need to train for over a hundred years before you could even—

Just as Wrath clicked his tongue in exasperation—

[You have received the acknowledgment of <Pride>.]

[You have received the acknowledgment of the <Incarnation  of Martial Arts>.]

[You have accomplished a great feat.]

[All stats…]

[Trait…]

As if waiting for Wrath to speak, a flood of reward messages began to pour in.

A g-great feat...?!

Wrath froze mid-mockery, his lips trembling.

‘Thanks to you….’

Raon slowly curled his lips into a grin as he read through the messages.

‘It might not even take a hundred years.’

 

 

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