The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1316

 Chapter 1316

 

In a secluded forest far from Melvin mountain.

Wooooooong!

A vivid blue light burst through the air, and Raon emerged carrying Darkan over his shoulder.

“Haaah…”

Before his feet had even properly touched the ground, Raon collapsed to his knees and let out a blood-stained breath.

'That was truly dangerous this time.'

The furious expression on Uriel’s face just before I entered the teleportation circle flashed through my mind. If the spell had activated even a moment later, we would have been swallowed by the rampaging Apocalypse and reduced to ashes. Fortunately, Evelyn's magic had activated first, allowing us to escape.

Indeed.

Wrath looked toward Melvin mountain, where Uriel’s divine power was still pouring forth.

That bastard. He was ready to destroy everything without caring what happened afterward!

He frowned, saying that Uriel had been prepared to burn the entire area to ashes.

‘I felt it too.’

Raon nodded as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

'If not for Evelyn's magic, I would've died too.'

Evelyn had told him to trust her, and it seemed she really had prepared a flawless escape spell.

‘When I get back, I should thank—’

Just as Raon was thinking that he should properly thank Evelyn once they returned to Zieghart—

“You’re here!”

Evelyn’s bright voice rang out from above.

“I’ve been waiting!”

Complaining that he had taken far too long, Evelyn descended to the ground and immediately wrapped her arms around him.

“Y-you weren't back at Zieghart?”

Raon's shoulders twitched as he looked at Evelyn.

“Why are you here…?”

They had agreed that she would remain at Zieghart to avoid being tracked, so he couldn't understand why she had appeared here instead.

“Wherever Raon goes, I go too. A needle and thread belong together!”

Evelyn twisted her body playfully, as if asking why he would even ask such a thing.

"We're going to be together forever!"

“Ugh…”

Raon clutched his head, feeling a headache far worse than anything Uriel had inflicted on him.

Grrrgh!

Wrath squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep groan, as if suffering even more than Raon.

“Well, regardless, thank you.”

Raon nodded to Evelyn.

“Thanks to you, I—”

Just as he was about to thank her and gently pry her off him—

Fwaaaaaaaah!

A colossal pillar of flame erupted into the sky above Melvin mountain, large enough to engulf the entire region and more. The magnificent flames spread outward like the wings of an archangel before slowly descending, wrapping around the entirety of Melvin mountain, which stood rooted to the earth like a giant tree.

Kuwaaaaaaaaaah!

As the massive streams of fire connected into a single ring, a terrifying explosion of crimson flames erupted. Beneath the white cloud of smoke produced by the blast, the towering mountain that had once seemed capable of piercing the sky was gone.

Rummmmmmble!

Before Uriel’s wrath, the very land on which Melvin mountain stood collapsed and melted away, leaving behind a massive blackened crater. At that moment, even the name Melvin mountain ceased to exist.

Swoooosh.

As if refusing to linger for even a second longer, Uriel vanished into thin air after erasing both the mountain and Azazel.

Gulp.

Raon swallowed dryly, his hand trembling around the Heavenly Drive.

'If that had landed on me...'

I would have died without question.

In my current condition… No, even if I were in peak condition, enduring something like that would have been nearly impossible. Unless I summoned Wrath through the <Demon King's Advent>, death would have been inevitable.

That bastard Uriel finally lost his temper!

Wrath chuckled, saying it was satisfying to see the twisted expression on Uriel's face.

And it looks like Azazel is dead too.

He snorted, saying that Uriel had probably melted Azazel's soul away with those flames.

‘I don’t care about Azazel.’

Raon nodded calmly.

'It's far better for her to die here than escape and survive somewhere.'

Though their encounter had been brief, he had already seen through her true nature. She was a self-serving con artist and a complete sociopath who cared only about herself and nothing for anyone else. It was far better for her to be erased by Uriel here than to suddenly reappear later and involve herself in the war.

You may be clueless sometimes, but you certainly know how to read people.

Wrath let out a short laugh, apparently finding it rather amusing.

“Raon!”

Evelyn immediately latched onto Raon again, rubbing her cheek against him.

“What comes after ‘thanks to you’? I want to know!”

As though the complete erasure of Melvin mountain couldn't interest her less, she grabbed his hand and urged him to finish what he had been saying.

“I-I survived...”

Raon's eyes wavered slightly as he explained that he had been trying to say thank you for saving his life.

“No! If you ever need anything, just tell me!”

Evelyn gave his shoulders a small shake, as if asking whether there were any more problems to deal with.

“For now, everything’s fine.”

Raon nodded calmly.

“I got everything I came here for.”

The primary reason he had come to Melvin Mountain was to find a way to weaken Uriel.

There was no way he could cut down the archangel Uriel with his current might, so his highest priority had been to reduce Uriel's might by destroying the temple or taking similar measures. Fortunately, he had succeeded.

'With the temple destroyed, the connection to heaven has been severed. Uriel can no longer wield the full might of his main body.'

Azazel's seal had been broken, which was proof enough that the connection between the temple and heaven had been cut. Other archangels who had already visited the temple might be a different matter, but Uriel would no longer be able to maintain the power of his main body.

'On top of that, he burned through an enormous amount of divine power fighting Darkan and me.'

Uriel had expended a tremendous amount of divine power in that battle. Now that his connection to heaven had been severed, replenishing that lost power would not be easy.

'And with Azazel dead, another potential threat has been removed.'

The Fallen Angel Azazel was a con artist who could never be trusted. If she had recovered her strength and started causing trouble again, countless people could have suffered for it. Being dealt with by Uriel here was the best possible outcome.

'And finally, I've grown stronger myself.'

During the battle with Uriel, the ranks of <Divine Power Resistance> and <Blade that Cuts Divine Power> had risen dramatically. Watching his swordsmanship had also elevated my martial insights, while the growth of my soul had sharpened my Heart Sword even further.

If I met Uriel again, I was confident I would perform far better than I had today.

It had been an extremely dangerous battle, and I had suffered severe injuries, but in the end I had gained far more than I had lost. That alone put my mind at ease.

That's certainly true.

Wrath nodded in agreement.

But, khehehe!

The corners of his mouth curled upward mockingly.

You failed to keep the grand declaration you made while trying to look cool!

‘The declaration I made while trying to look cool? What are you talking about?’

Raon tilted his head at Wrath.

Puhahaha! You told Uriel, "This time, I'll be the one making the prediction. You die here!" And yet, in the end, you couldn't kill him!

Wrath snickered, saying that Raon had made such a grand declaration only to fail to back it up.

'Oh, that.'

Unfazed by the mockery, Raon calmly raised a finger.

‘Then I'll just change it. Instead of 'you die here,' I'll say 'you die by my hand.’

He nodded calmly, saying that was a promise he could keep.

N-no! If you're going to say something that cool and then fail to follow through, the least you can do is feel embarrassed!

Wrath ground his teeth, unable to understand why Raon remained so calm.

'What do you expect me to do? I lost because I wasn't strong enough.'

Raon openly admitted that he simply couldn't win yet and waved his hand dismissively.

Grrrgh!

Wrath bit his lip as he glared at him.

From now on, you're officially a weakling! A pathetic little weakling!

Since Raon showed no reaction, Wrath began teasing him like a child.

A pathetic coward who talked big and then ran away because he was too wea—

Just as Wrath was babbling childishly—

[You have accomplished your objective while fighting an archangel who held the advantage in might.]

[You have achieved a great feat.]

[All stats have increased by 60 points.]

[Trait...]

Reward messages appeared, recognizing that he had achieved what he set out to do against the superior archangel Uriel.

Huh...?

Wrath's jaw dropped as he stared at the messages.

W-what is this reward?! You didn't even kill Uriel!

His chin trembled as he complained that he couldn't understand why rewards were being given when Uriel hadn't even been defeated.

‘I may not have killed Uriel, but...’

Raon pointed at the first message and smiled faintly.

'But I held my own against someone stronger for a long time and accomplished my goal. It's telling me to become even stronger.'

After reading through the messages, he looked back at Wrath.

‘Because I'm weak.’

Grrrraaagh!

Wrath ground his teeth so hard it sounded like stones crushing together.

‘Thanks. It's all because of you.’

Raon nodded, saying that the rewards had probably appeared because Wrath had called him weak.

Damn it all!

Wrath slammed his hand down as he vented his frustration.

And why is the first message so long this time?! They're usually short!

‘Why do you think?’

Raon chuckled as he read the first message again.

'You kept calling me weak, so the system probably felt sorry for me and wrote a detailed explanation.'

He smiled softly as if he were completely certain.

'Keep it up. I'd appreciate it if you talked more often.'

SHUT UUUUUUUP!

*   *   *

Ssssss!

After removing his hand from Darkan's chest, Raon stepped back.

'He was right on the verge of death.'

Darkan's injuries were severe enough that it would have been no surprise if he had died at any moment. After all, he had continued clashing head-on with Uriel while his mental world had yet to fully recover. In a sense, it was only natural that both his body and mind had been pushed to the brink of collapse.

'But thankfully, there shouldn't be any permanent aftereffects.'

Because Darkan had chosen to meet Uriel's strikes head-on rather than awkwardly dodging or fleeing, his wounds were remarkably clean. It felt bizarre to describe such horrific injuries as "clean," but because they were direct and precise, they would actually be easier to treat.

'Though I couldn't completely remove Uriel's divine power.'

Uriel's swordsmanship was infused with dense divine power. Even using the Divinity Blooming from the Underworld, removing it completely had been impossible. I would likely need to take Darkan back to Zieghart and leave him in the care of the Ragged Saint, Federick, before he could fully recover.

“In any case, I survived thanks to you.”

Raon chuckled and patted Darkan's shoulder.

“Thank you.”

Had Darkan not held Uriel back, he would never have achieved the outcome he did. He would have been forced to flee immediately. Thanks to him, Raon had accomplished several of his objectives, so he meant every word.

“Thank me?”

Darkan suddenly became fully alert and shook his head.

“I'm the one who should be thanking you for letting me fight someone like that!”

The corners of his mouth curled upward as he said he was the one who owed thanks for being given the chance to battle Uriel.

“You...”

Raon stared at Darkan, his mouth hanging open.

“How are you...?”

Darkan's condition was terrible, so bad that death wouldn't have been surprising. He shouldn't even have been able to stand yet. Seeing him awake and acting as though nothing were wrong was difficult to believe.

“My eyes finally opened, so I got up. That's all.”

Darkan replied casually, rotating his shoulder.

“No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I couldn't stay asleep.”

As if this was no time for rest, he used his black sword as a cane and pushed himself to his feet.

“What do you mean by that...?”

Raon couldn't understand what Darkan was talking about and stared at him blankly.

“It has finally arrived.”

A deep smile spread across Darkan's bloodstained lips.

“The chance to completely restore my mental world!”

He clenched a trembling fist, saying that he had finally found a way to recover the portion of his mental world that had been consumed by Derus Robert.

“Watch carefully.”

Darkan planted the black sword he had been using as a cane and lifted his chin.

“I'm certain you'll learn something from it.”