The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1328

 Chapter 1328

 

“Haa...”

Raon let out a sigh so heavy it felt as though it could make the ground cave in and lowered his head.

“Did I die again?”

His chest, which he had believed to be harder than steel, was frozen solid with a long gash torn through it. It was the result of failing to overcome Wrath's ultimate technique with his swordsmanship. He could probably keep fighting even in this state, but against an opponent like Wrath, suffering a wound like this was practically the same as dying.

“Every time I die...”

Raon slowly lifted his gaze and looked up at his mental world.

“It feels like this world changes too.”

Whenever he died, all of his injuries healed, and he was resurrected in perfect condition. But his mental world never recovered from its cracked and frozen state. Even now, the swords that had once soared through the sky remained frozen in place, while the black fissures splitting the ground only grew deeper and wider. It looked as though his mental world itself was falling apart, yet strangely, there didn't seem to be any other problems besides that.

“This is difficult.”

Raon lowered his eyes again and let out a weary sigh. Ever since entering his mental world, he had sparred with Wrath without end, and every single bout had ended in his own death. Even knowing Wrath was using his ultimate techniques at full power, he hadn't expected to be crushed this helplessly, and the realization gave him a headache.

“Difficult?”

Wrath walked over to him with a disbelieving laugh.

“You truly are insane.”

He frowned despite casually eating mint chocolate bead ice cream, as though the very idea baffled him.

“If you could actually defeat the King of Essence while he’s fighting seriously, that would be ridiculous!”

Wrath thrust his face forward, telling Raon to have at least a shred of common sense.

“And...”

As though he had been holding it in for a while, he took a deep breath before continuing.

“When you come charging at the King of Essence with that damned look in your eyes, there are times when even the King of Essence’s heart skips a beat!”

Wrath let out a low breath, admitting that every time Raon rushed at him, his breathing quickened and his head began to spin.

“You've become that much of a threat now.”

He wrinkled his nose, admitting that he could no longer ignore Raon's might.

“I don't feel that way at all.”

Blood trickled from the corner of Raon's mouth as he slowly shook his head.

“I still haven't managed to leave even a single wound on you.”

No matter how seriously Wrath fought him, Raon had failed to inflict even the slightest injury on him. He had done nothing but die over and over again. It didn't feel as though he was growing stronger in the slightest.

“Your head's completely gone.”

Wrath snorted as he swallowed the mint chocolate bead ice cream in a single bite.

“You're becoming obsessed with strength!”

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, as though he were genuinely worried.

“Is that a bad thing?”

Raon let out a heavy breath as he pressed a hand against the ache in his chest, a pain so fierce it made him want to die.

“Neither good nor bad. If you make proper use of it, you may grow stronger at an astonishing pace. But if that obsession consumes you...”

Wrath knitted his brows as another scoop of ice cream appeared in his hand.

“You could become a monster that seeks nothing but strength, just like your grandpa once did.”

He tilted his chin, clearly referring to the Glenn of old.

"Even if your reasons for seeking strength are well-intentioned, there's no guarantee that obsession won't consume your mind."

With cold eyes, Wrath looked down at him, warning that in his haste to grow stronger, he could end up regressing instead.

“Hmm...”

Holding his throbbing head, Raon let out a low groan.

“That's definitely not something I want.”

If I fall into deviation now, there's no way I can recover before the war. No matter how talented I am, there simply isn't enough time. Under no circumstances can I allow myself to be consumed by that obsession.

“But I don't have time.”

A considerable amount of time has already passed since I entered my mental world. Unlike the Chamber of the Self, I can't spar here forever, so even if it's dangerous, I have no choice but to push myself.

“...”

Wrath didn't argue, merely knitting his brows as though he agreed on that point.

“Even so…”

Gripping the broken, frozen Heavenly Drive in a reverse grip, Raon twisted his lips into a faint smile.

“I’ll try to keep it under control.”

With those words, he drove Heavenly Drive straight through his own heart.

“…I'll be back.”

Even through the excruciating pain, Raon simply said he'd be back before collapsing.

“What a relentless fool.”

Wrath frowned as he watched Raon kill himself without the slightest hesitation.

"Despite knowing he'll come back to life, he kills himself without a moment's hesitation... What an absurd monster."

Just watching him made Wrath's fingers tremble slightly, as though the very existence of the human named Raon had begun to frighten him.

“But if you keep fighting like this...”

Watching Raon's wounds heal, Wrath slowly shook his head.

“You'll never obtain what you seek.”

*   *   *

Claaaaang!

Raon brought the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, both blazing with golden light, down in unison. The ultimate technique of Heavenly Lightning of the Azure Sky and the ultimate technique of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Flame Dragon Dragon Art, merged through the profound principle of the twin blade technique, taking the form of a colossal fire dragon as it descended upon Wrath.

Ruuuuumble!

The scorching heat radiating from the fire dragon, which spewed golden lightning and shook heaven and earth, distorted the mental world itself as though it were melting away. It was a sword strike of terrifying power, one that would have been difficult to withstand even for Raon himself.

“The worm is putting up quite the fight.”

Even as he faced the fire dragon that seemed capable of devouring the entire mental world, Wrath simply curled his lips in amusement and raised a hand.

The Ultimate Technique of the Monarch of Wrath.

Silver Moon Demonic Palm.

A soft radiance, like the moonlight of a dark night, blossomed from Wrath's outstretched hand. Though the tranquil light advanced slowly, it stretched forth with majestic grandeur, shooting toward the fire dragon's breath that blanketed both heaven and earth.

Craaaa!

There was no deafening explosion. No earth-shattering shockwave. All that remained was the fire dragon, still burning as it froze into a ghostly white.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Swallowed by the silver radiance extending from Wrath's hand, the fire dragon shattered into thousands of fragments that rained onto the ground.

“Haa...”

Raon dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.

“So that's the Silver Moon Demonic Palm.”

No technique other than Wrath's Silver Moon Demonic Palm could possess such understated brilliance while wielding such overwhelming power.

“Just because it is large and flashy does not mean it is strong.”

Wrath casually waved a hand as though imparting a lesson.

“It must be beautiful, yet possess substance.”

He levitated a piece of frost containing a serene light above his finger, as if telling him to try fighting as elegantly as himself.

“I don't have the luxury of worrying about elegance right now.”

Raon bit his lip as he looked at his shoulder, waist, and thigh, all frozen by the Silver Moon Demonic Palm.

“I'll be back.”

To fight again in peak condition, he stabbed Heavenly Drive Sword into his own heart. As he endured the unbearable pain, his eyelids naturally drifted shut.

When he opened his eyes again, he found his body and aura completely restored.

“Let's begin.”

Raon raised Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword, telling him to fight again.

“...”

Wrath's lips twitched as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he simply raised a hand without speaking.

“What a tiresome bastard.”

He jerked his chin, telling Raon to come at him.

“This time will be different.”

Unleashing the Chilly Wind and Void Severance simultaneously, Raon charged at Wrath once more.

However, contrary to his claim that it would be different, he collapsed to the ground vomiting blood.

“What exactly was different?”

Wrath shrugged as though he found it absurd.

“Again!”

Biting his lip, Raon thrust his sword into his own throat.

Whoosh!

After recovering from every wound, Raon rose to his feet and charged at Wrath again. The result was, naturally, exactly the same as before.

“Again.”

He combined and unleashed countless sword techniques.

“Again.”

He detonated his aura until his very body trembled.

“Again.”

He unleashed the authorities of the Demon Kings.

“Again.”

Even after activating his sword field, he failed to defeat Wrath even once. No, he couldn't leave so much as a scratch on him. And so, the time he could remain within his mental world steadily drew to an end.

*   *   *

“Urgh!”

Raon forced himself upright, his jaw trembling violently.

“Wh-What is this?”

He bit his lip, gripping his sword with shaking hands.

“Why... why does it feel like I'm getting weaker?”

I've fought Wrath endlessly, overcoming death time and time again, yet somehow he feels even farther out of reach than when we first began. It's like I'm the one who's regressing while Wrath just keeps getting stronger.

“It is not the King of Essence who has grown stronger. Rather...”

Brushing an invisible speck of dust from his spotless sleeve, Wrath shook his head firmly.

“You are indeed growing weaker. You sensed it correctly.”

He let out a scornful snort, confirming that Raon truly had become weaker.

“But why...?”

Raon swallowed hard, his brow furrowing.

“I've trained with everything I had. I endured the pain and even the fear of death while fighting. So why?”

Unable to understand, he sought the answer from Wrath.

“The very fact that you do not know is why you are growing weaker.”

Wrath sneered and shook his head.

“Your mental world has become twisted...”

Looking down at Raon, he tilted his chin.

“Which means the next one will be the last life you've been given.”

Wrath lowered his eyebrows deeply, implying that Raon only had exactly one life left, excluding the current one.

“Revive yourself. You’ve suffered a wound on your hand, haven’t you?”

He glanced at Raon's hand and chuckled.

“Let's make this last fight a proper one. Once you leave this mental world, we won't be able to fight like this again.

Wrath flicked his fingers, gesturing for Raon to kill himself and come back.

“What do you mean by that?”

Raon narrowed his eyes at Wrath. His words didn't seem to carry just a single meaning.

“The King of Essence will return to being a spirit body, so naturally we won't be able to fight anymore. Besides, your realm won't remain intact either.”

Wrath narrowed his eyes to thin slits as he swept his gaze across Raon's mental world.

“Does this mental world still look normal to you? The sky has split apart, all of your swords are frozen solid, and black magma is boiling up from the ground. A mental world in this state means your mind has already begun to break.”

Twisting his lips, he said that the moment Raon left this mental world, he would fall prey to his inner demon.

“Inner demon...”

Raon swallowed hard and looked over his mental world, following Wrath’s gaze.

“What the...!”

He had thought it would recover on its own with a little time, but now that he looked again, his mental world was so badly damaged that it seemed impossible to piece back together. All he had done was spar with Wrath, yet he couldn't understand how it had ended up like this.

"If this drags on any longer, even your last remaining life will be gone."

Wrath spread his hand, as though he had no intention of explaining any further.

“If you don't wish to kill yourself, then the King of Essence shall do it for you.”

Declaring that he would end Raon's current life, he fired a razor-sharp shard of frost.

Whoosh!

Raon hastily ducked his head, narrowly avoiding Wrath's frost aimed at his neck by the slimmest of margins.

“Why did you dodge?”

Wrath frowned.

“You said there wasn't any time.”

“My next life is the last one. I can't just throw away this chance!”

Raon ground his teeth, as if asking what kind of nonsense Wrath was talking about.

“Hmph. So you've finally realized it.”

Wrath snorted, muttering words that could barely be heard.

“Very well. Struggle all you want.”

As if determined to end it once and for all, he thrust out his hand, wreathed in silver light.

Rumble!

A wave of frost powerful enough to engulf the entire world erupted from Wrath's hand. It was his ultimate technique, the White-Silver Aurora.

‘If only my body were in perfect condition...’

Biting his lip, Raon raised Heavenly Drive Sword and Wooden Ring Sword.

‘If my body were in perfect condition, I could dodge it with only minor injuries. But taking that head-on in my current state means certain death.’

The wounds on his hand and shoulder weren't severe, but against an absolute being like Wrath, even such trivial injuries made an enormous difference. He couldn't help but regret the state his body was in.

‘Still, I have to try.’

Including this one, he only had two chances left. Somehow, he had to overcome this in his current condition.

“Hoo...”

Sensing the flow of the Silver-White Aurora that he had witnessed countless times by now, Raon actually stepped forward.

‘Break through before the frost fully spreads.’

The White-Silver Aurora was a technique that froze the entire space around it. Waiting for it to spread and trying to avoid it wasn't an option. The only way to survive was to pierce through the expanding frost before it completely unfolded.

‘With charging sword techniques!’

Raon unleashed the Flame Dragon Art with Heavenly Drive and fired Heavenly Heavy Cannon with Wooden Ring Sword. Both techniques ranked among the finest for breaking through head-on and sheer destructive power, and he drove them into the massive wall of frost.

Craaack!

His judgment proved correct. The incomplete frost was pierced by the flames and the gravity blast, creating a gap just large enough for a person to slip through.

Vwoooosh!

Raon seized that fleeting opening in the parted frost and barely slipped past the White-Silver Aurora. For the first time, he had faced the White-Silver Aurora without suffering a single injury. He had always lost, even with a fully restored body and his sword field, yet now he had overcome it while wounded and exhausted. The irony was almost unbelievable.

However, having pushed both his body and mind to their absolute limits for that brief instant, his entire body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.

“Haa...”

Just as Raon let out a deep breath and raised Heavenly Drive Sword with trembling hands—

Craaack!

Within his mental world, the swords embodying the Flame Dragon Art and the Heavenly Heavy Cannon, which had been frozen by the frost, shattered their icy prisons and flew toward him before merging into his body. As the two swords took root in his soul, the fog clouding his mind miraculously cleared away, as though it had been washed clean by a mountaintop spring. He could feel the dark shadows that had clung to him through countless deaths fading away.

“No way...”

Raon bit his lip hard as he looked at Ras, who was smiling as though to say he had finally found the correct answer.

“Was this the answer?”

 

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