The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1287

 Chapter 1287

 

Ssssssshhh!

Five streaks of frost surged along the blade of Raon’s Heavenly Drive, carving through the sky with razor-sharp brilliance. Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay, First Form, Frost Pond. The very first sword technique he had ever created had now matured completely, reaching an entirely new realm.

Kuuuuuuung!

Raon stomped forward and thrust Heavenly Drive as the frost around it scattered apart. A dark crimson sphere bloomed at the sword’s tip, dragging in everything around it before erupting in a terrifying explosion. Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay, Second Form, Heavenly Heavy Cannon, now displayed power and range on a completely different level from before.

‘Right.’

Raon curled his lips into a faint smile as he flowed directly into his third sword technique, Sword’s Silvery Dream.

‘The answer was always inside me.’

The Demon Kings’ authorities had certainly helped me in many ways, but whenever I truly overcame a wall, the thing that mattered most was always the sword I had forged myself through relentless effort and time.

Even if I was certain awakening <Pride> would change something, I couldn’t afford to obsess over that forever. The best thing I could do now was focus on what lay within my reach.

‘The thing I should trust above all else… is the might I built with my own hands.’

The Demon Kings’ authorities, the traits gained through Wrath’s system, the countless artifacts with special abilities, they were all external things in the end. When everything came down to the wire, the only power capable of creating change was my own.

Chiiiiiiing!

To hold onto that resolve and realization, Raon unleashed the final form of the Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay, True Sword. Yet even after finishing it, he didn’t stop. He continued into the basics, keeping the flow of his swordsmanship going endlessly, like the Ring of Fire resonating without end.

You’re starting your bullshit again!

Wrath frowned deeply as he watched.

You bastard! Outside of work, all you do is swing that damn sword! There's no time to enjoy a proper meal!

He ground his teeth, complaining that there was no time to eat and be happy.

‘Don’t worry.’

Raon smiled faintly, the complete opposite of the savage sword strike he unleashed with the Fangs of Insanity.

‘Once my duties as acting head of house are over, I’ll eat everything you’ve been craving.’

He didn’t know exactly when, but Glenn would soon emerge from his secluded training. Once Raon returned the position of head of house to him, he would finally have more free time, enough to indulge Wrath’s endless desire for good meals and snacks.

R-Really?

Wrath lifted his head, eyes widening into circles.

The moment that geezer comes out, we’re going straight to eat?

‘That’s what I said.’

Raon waved his hand as if telling him to look forward to it, then summoned forth a maddened beast through his sword. The violent killing intent pouring from the blade was so intense that even the swordsmen of the Heavenly Blade Division guarding the training ground trembled all over.

Then the King of Essence shall graciously allow it! Since you’re busy handling the head of house’s duties right now, it’s only natural for a monarch like me to be understanding toward his subordinate!

Wrath smacked his lips and declared that, since Raon was currently busy handling the duties of head of house, he would generously grant his request and wait until later.

‘How very kind of you.’

Raon chuckled softly and followed the Fangs of Insanity with Blizzard Sword Art. Frost-covered sword strikes spread through sky and earth, forming shapes as beautiful as crystal sculptures.

Do not mock the King of Essence!

Wrath lowered his brows sharply.

The fact that the King of Essence is willing to wait is an extraordinary act of generosity!

He wrinkled his nose and boasted that he had never once waited even a single second for anyone back in Devildom.

‘I’m not mocking you.’

Raon shook his head calmly.

‘I’m genuinely grateful to you.’

If Wrath hadn’t warned him not to become obsessed with <Pride>, he might have continued fixating solely on the authority of <Pride> until he fell into distress once again.

Because Wrath had stopped him at exactly the right moment, Raon had realized that the answer wasn’t in some outside power, it was within himself.

‘Without you, I probably would’ve fallen into distress again for the first time in a long while.’

He had just declared that the only thing he could truly trust was his own sword, but Wrath was the sole exception. That Demon King, whom he could now call a friend without hesitation, had become no different from another sword at his side.

‘That’s why I’m going to eat everything you want.’

Huh? Oh? Uhmmm….

Wrath opened his mouth slightly, seemingly realizing Raon truly meant it.

R-Right! Of course! The King of Essence had already foreseen all of this!

Though stammering, he licked his lips and claimed he had foreseen everything all along. Raon knew it was a lie, but since Wrath really had helped him, he let it slide.

Ahem! It’s true that this king considered you worthy of becoming a Demon King, but there was still one thing where you were clearly lacking!

Apparently in a good mood, Wrath spoke with his cheeks faintly flushed.

‘……’

Raon said nothing and simply continued swinging his sword. Since he believed he lacked in so many areas, might, mental strength, insight, he wouldn't be surprised by whatever Wrath pointed out.

It was confidence.

Wrath tilted his chin as though asking whether Raon already knew.

You were strong, wise, and possessed remarkable patience, but you always lacked confidence in your sword!

He frowned sharply, insisting that Raon had never truly believed in his own sword.

‘I know.’

Raon nodded calmly as he listened to Wrath’s scolding.

‘I was always fighting opponents far stronger than myself. So no matter how desperately I trained my sword or how much effort I poured into it, a part of me could never truly believe that my sword was enough.’

Or perhaps…

The memories of living as Derus Robert’s assassin still shackled me with chains I had never truly escaped.

‘But there’s something I realized this time.’

Meeting Pride, the Monarch of Pride, and then the Heavenly Demon, the very pinnacle of the continent, one after another had made me understand something.

‘That they were no longer out of reach.’

Those absolute beings had once seemed like monsters standing at the very edge of the sky, existences I could never reach no matter how many lifetimes I spent training.

But now, I realized that I had finally stepped into their world.

I still wasn’t strong enough to stand against them yet, but for the first time, I truly believed that it wouldn’t take long before I could cross blades with them on equal footing.

‘Only now….’

A gentle smile appeared on Raon’s face as crimson flowers of flame bloomed above Heavenly Drive. Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Flame Spirit. What had once been sword technique that fired petal-like flames transformed into a raging inferno like a midsummer typhoon, dyeing the sky red with a spiraling pillar of heat.

‘I finally have confidence.’

Confidence that I was strong.

Confidence that all the effort I had poured into myself was finally bearing fruit.

Throughout my endless training and battles, the soul that Derus Robert had tried to crush beneath his heel had not broken. Instead, it had grown even grander and more magnificent.

‘It’s thanks to you, Wrath.’

Raon lowered his head toward Wrath once more.

‘Because of what you told me, I was able to look beyond the <Pride> right in front of me and see something deeper.’

Thanks to Wrath’s sincere advice, he had let go of his obsession with <Pride> and turned his gaze inward instead.

‘You really are worthy of being a Demon King.’

Raon raised a thumbs-up toward Wrath before lifting his sword toward the sky.

Craaaaaack!

The instant his blade descended with almost unbearable slowness, the vast sky split cleanly in two along the path of the silver blade.

Ah…

Wrath’s lips trembled as he stared at the sky that had been cleaved apart by Raon’s sword.

T-The King of Essence only said those things because he was hungry...

*   *   *

“Hmm?”

While meditating, Glenn slowly opened one eye and looked up toward the ceiling of the training ground.

“Surely not…”

His hand resting on his knee trembled slightly, as though he had sensed something.

“I see. Already….”

A soft smile spread across Glenn’s lips as he realized what he had felt.

“That’s unusual.”

Karoon tilted his head slightly as he looked at Glenn.

“Whenever father entered meditation, you never awakened for at least two full days.”

He narrowed his eyes in disbelief. Glenn had awakened not after a day, but before even an hour had passed.

“Did something happen?”

“It seems…”

Glenn looked back toward the ceiling of the training ground, or rather, toward the surface far above, and smiled faintly.

“Your rival is about to climb another step higher.”

Even from deep underground, he seemed to have sensed the change within Raon.

“…Pardon?”

Karoon’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Raon? More importantly, it should be impossible to sense anything outside from here!”

The first head of house’s training ground had been designed to be completely isolated from the outside world. There should have been no way to sense anyone beyond it.

He couldn’t understand how Glenn had sensed Raon at all.

“Because I have grown… and that child has grown as well.”

Glenn nodded as he brushed a strand of hair from his forehead.

“It seems Raon returned after gaining valuable experience.”

He even realized that Raon had grown through his experiences outside and slowly rotated his wrist.

“He grew again…”

Karoon let out a hollow laugh, as if the very idea of Raon growing stronger again was absurd.

“He’s becoming stronger even while carrying the burden of acting head of house? Honestly, that rival of mine makes no sense at all.”

Shaking his head, he muttered that Raon had long since surpassed the bounds of common understanding.

“Indeed.”

Even Glenn let out a quiet breath of admiration.

“Calling him extraordinary still wouldn’t be enough. But…”

His eyes slowly shifted to the right.

“Your growth is no less remarkable than Raon’s.”

A faint smile touched Glenn’s lips as he looked at Karoon’s sword, now burning even redder than his red eyes.

“No. I’m still far from enough.”

Asserting that he was still miles behind Raon, Karoon resumed swinging his sword.

“It seems…”

Glenn smiled softly as he sensed Raon’s presence gradually fading while the waves of energy radiating from Karoon grew stronger and stronger.

“The amount of work left for me in the future… may become much smaller.”

*   *   *

Raon wielded Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword simultaneously, unleashing completely different sword techniques with each hand. At times the two swords meshed together perfectly like gears within a clock, while at others they scattered apart without touching at all, like oil and water refusing to mix.

Moving both swords as naturally as if they were extensions of his own body, Raon revealed calm, deeply settled eyes.

‘They won't leave my mind.’

My responsibilities as acting head of house. My anticipation and fear toward the coming war. My worries for my comrades and subordinates. Even the crushing pressure brought by the names of the Heavenly Demon and Hydra.

Not a single one of them left my mind.

Normally, when I focused on swordsmanship, nothing but the sword itself should remain in my mind. But now, every burden still clung tightly to my mental world.

‘And yet, despite the countless worries weighing on me..’

My sword is following my will more faithfully than ever before.

Even though it felt like I couldn’t fully concentrate, strangely enough, my swords moved with absolute freedom, as though they could reach anywhere between sky and earth.

In fact, my senses felt even sharper than when I entered trance.

‘What is this…?’

Raon continued wielding his sword as a cool, refreshing sensation pierced straight through the worries that had been constricting his heart. Heavenly Drive surged upward as though it would pierce the sky, while Wooden Ring Sword sank with crushing weight, as though it would suppress the earth itself.

‘This is ridiculous.’

He was being weighed down by countless things, yet at the same time, he felt an immense and boundless freedom. The contradiction was so strange that he couldn’t help but laugh.

Fwoooooosh!

In the end, Raon’s sword split apart the sky that should never have been divided and crushed the earth that should never have broken.

And within the aftermath of those overwhelming strikes, the power moving Raon’s sword was not the authority of <Pride>, but the aura he himself had built up through relentless training since childhood.

Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier.

The heat and cold that had endlessly clashed against one another were now growing larger and baring sharper fangs through their master’s growth.

Kugugugugugugu!

 

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