The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1309

 Chapter 1309

 

Reflected in Raon's red eyes was a young man with crimson hair.

He wore a tattered long jacket that looked as though it had been patched together from countless torn rags. One hand rested on a sword he used like a walking stick, and a black blindfold covered both of his eyes. The man approached with the corners of his lips curled upward.

“Darkan...?”

The Dark Night Sword God, Darkan.

The former master of the Holy Sword Alliance and the mad swordsman who had cut out his own eyes in order to catch up to the Destructive King of the North, Glenn Zieghart, was standing atop Melvin mountain.

“Why are you here?”

Raon stared at Darkan with trembling eyes.

He had heard that Darkan had left to organize the insights he had gained in Zieghart. Raon had assumed he would be holed up in some cave somewhere. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined meeting him on Melvin Mountain, where divine power flowed.

Huh? Is that the crazy bastard?

Wrath's mouth fell open as he finally recognized Darkan.

It's him, right? The madman who gouged out his own eyes and even lived like a beggar!

Wrath scoffed in disbelief, perfectly recalling everything Darkan had done.

'Yeah.'

Raon nodded with a short sigh.

‘Why did it have to be here?’

As Wrath had said, Darkan was a man whose actions could only be described as madness.

To be honest, I would rather fight another enemy than run into Darkan. He was so impossible to control that calling this the worst possible situation wouldn't be an exaggeration.

'He's gotten stronger. No... has he?'

Raon narrowed his eyes to slits as he studied Darkan.

'I can barely sense his presence.'

Darkan was clearly standing right in front of him, yet his presence refused to register properly.

It was vague and distorted, like a heat haze in midsummer or a mirage in the desert. Raon couldn't even tell whether Darkan had grown stronger.

The same goes for the King of Essence.

Wrath frowned as he looked Darkan over.

He can barely sense that sword maniac's presence.

He shook his head, saying that Darkan's presence was so elusive that even he had been slow to detect it.

“As expected, it was you.”

Darkan laughed openly, as though this was exactly what he had expected.

“Raon Zieghart.”

Despite lacking both eyes, he recognized Raon instantly and nodded.

“You've grown astonishingly strong. To the point that right now...”

Darkan raised his chin as the sword hilt he held like a cane trembled slightly.

“I want to shatter your sword.”

He smacked his lips at length, clearly sensing Raon's growth.

“Not today.”

Raon waved his hand firmly.

“I don't want to fight here.”

Darkan had an eccentric temperament. If I explained too much, he might get excited and smash the temple, and everything else around it, to pieces. It was better to leave him alone.

“Here, you say...”

Darkan turned his head toward the space behind Raon and smacked his lips.

“So the stench that drifted down the mountain came from here.”

He flicked his finger toward the dimensional tear opened by Raon's sword, as though he could see it with his own eyes.

“You climbed all the way up here because you sensed that?”

Raon let out a disbelieving laugh.

Even he and Wrath had only barely sensed the divine power. He couldn't fathom how Darkan had managed to detect it.

“Didn't I tell you before?”

Darkan smiled and pointed at his black blindfold.

“Ever since I lost my eyes, I've been able to perceive this world in far greater detail. I even know that the dimension behind you was split open by a sword without aura. Though it seems you mixed in some special ability as well.”

He nodded, saying that even without seeing, he could feel everything.

“Ridiculous.”

Raon wrinkled his nose slightly as he looked at Darkan's relaxed expression.

'Is that even possible?'

Realizing that he was the one who had split the dimension was one thing.

But sensing that he had done it without aura and had used a trait in its place was beyond belief.

This was different from Dorian's Mind's Eye. It was a special sixth sense that Darkan had cultivated and sharpened on his own.

“Raon Zieghart. Your sword and your energy are impeccably pure. So pure that even Glenn Zieghart would find it difficult to keep pace with them.”

Darkan slowly lowered his hand.

“On the other hand, the energy behind you is foul. It masquerades as something pure and noble, yet it reeks of the gutter.”

Darkan frowned, saying that the divine power most people regarded as sacred carried the stench of a gutter.

He waved his hand dismissively, as though he genuinely couldn't stand the smell of divine power.

“Haa...”

Raon sighed and rested a hand on his waist.

'If he's already figured out this much, there's no point trying to deceive him.'

Darkan might be obsessed with the sword, but he wasn't a fool.

If anything, he was the man who had completely dominated the Holy Sword Alliance, one of the continent's greatest powers. There was a high chance he had already pieced everything together.

That guy is smart?

Wrath tilted his head in disbelief.

To the King of Essence's eyes, there is no greater idiot than him!

Wrath smacked his lips, declaring Darkan the biggest idiot among the strong.

‘That's absolutely not true.’

Raon shook his head.

'Just watch.'

After telling Wrath to observe and judge for himself, Raon turned back to Darkan.

"Darkhan. Don't move from that spot."

Taking a short breath, Raon raised his hand.

“If you enter this dimension while using aura…”

“It will leave traces.”

Darkan nodded calmly, as if he had already figured that out.

“If that weren't the case, traces of your aura would have been left in that sword mark.”

He chuckled, saying the situation was obvious enough.

"Alright. You probably have zero interest in archangels anyway,"

Raon ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

“This place is apparently a temple the archangels use to maintain their strength while in the mortal world. I came here to investigate it before the last remaining archangel arrives.”

He lowered his sword and honestly explained why he had come to Melvin mountain.

“So...”

Darkan clenched and unclenched his fist, excitement creeping into his voice.

“Hmnm...”

Raon swallowed dryly.

Seeing Darkan's breathing quicken, he tightened his grip on Heavenly Drive, unsure what the man might do next.

But Darkan's question was completely unexpected.

“Has Glenn Zieghart become much stronger?”

As if he couldn't care less about archangels, Darkan immediately brought up Glenn instead.

“Hah...”

Raon let out a laugh.

The moment he heard the question, all the tension drained from his body.

“Why are you laughing? Don't tell me something happened to Glenn?”

Darkan leaned forward, as though Glenn was still the only thing in the world that truly interested him.

“No. He's perfectly healthy.”

Raon waved a hand with a faint smile.

“He's still in secluded training. You won't be disappointed when you meet him again.”

He nodded, knowing that Glenn would likely be far stronger than anything Darkan had imagined.

“Kuhahahahahaha!”

Darkan threw his head back and burst into wild laughter, one hand resting on his broad forehead.

Even without using aura, it felt as though the entire Melvin Mountain was trembling from the sound.

“Of course he is! That man never disappoints!”

He licked his lips, saying he couldn't wait for the day they crossed swords again.

“Though before that...”

Still grinning, Darkan took another step toward Raon.

"I want to taste just how much your sword has grown since reaching the Absolute realm."

He moved the sword from its cane-like position to his waist, making it clear that he wanted to fight right now.

“Fine.”

Raon nodded calmly.

'I knew this was going to happen.'

Darkan was a man obsessed with swordsmanship.

It was only natural that a sword maniac like him wouldn't be able to leave me alone after seeing how much I had grown.

“But not now.”

He raised a hand toward Darkan, who was about to draw his sword.

“If you attack me right now, then no matter what you do, I won't draw my sword.”

Frowning, he made it clear that he would simply leave this place.

“Hmmm.”

Darkan tilted his chin, signaling for him to continue.

“As I said, I'm here to investigate the archangels' temple. Once I've finished and come back down the mountain, I'll give you the fight you want.”

Raon lowered his hand and told him to wait.

“Ugh...”

Darkan groaned, clutching his head as though the very thought of waiting was unbearable.

“Fine! But I won't wait forever.”

Saying that Raon still owed him a debt, he reluctantly lowered his sword and began using it as a cane again.

He really is a madman obsessed with swords.

Wrath shivered, shuddering at the mere sight of him.

‘Tell me about it.’

Raon let out a sigh and turned back around.

'I just hope he doesn't get in the way.'

Praying that Darkan would stay put, he turned his attention back to the temple.

Fortunately, he couldn't sense anyone inside this space. It seemed to be completely empty.

‘First, let's take a look inside.’

Raon stopped in front of the massive white doors leading into the temple.

Countless angels were engraved upon the doors in intricate detail. Among them, he thought he could make out figures resembling Raphael and Sariel, whom he had defeated.

“This is the archangels' temple?”

Darkan, who had been outside the dimensional rift only moments ago, was suddenly standing behind him.

“Darkan!”

“Relax. I didn't use any aura, nor did I leak my presence.”

He waved a hand dismissively, saying he hadn't done anything that would cause problems.

And sure enough, Raon could tell that he hadn't used aura and hadn't left behind any traces.

“If anything, you're the one who should be careful.”

He raised a finger and pointed toward the temple door.

“You shouldn't touch that door. It's designed to record the traces of anyone who lays a hand on it.”

Darkan smirked as he looked at the door upon which countless angels were engraved.

“How do you know that?”

Raon narrowed his eyes.

“Didn't I tell you? When you lose your eyes, you start seeing far more.”

Darkan let out a faint chuckle, saying that as long as Raon still had both eyes, there were things he would never be able to see in his lifetime.

“Hmm...”

Raon frowned and examined the doors once more.

“Fine. The sooner this is over, the better, so I'll help.”

Telling Raon to trust him, Darkan raised a hand in front of the door.

With a slight twist of his wrist, the massive temple doors began to open slowly, as though someone were pushing them apart with all their might.

Rumble!

The enormous double doors, large enough to seem capable of touching the heavens, slowly parted. A soft golden radiance began spilling out from within.

'Now I'll finally see it.'

Even as the golden light poured forth, Raon kept his eyes fixed on the temple's interior.

‘The method the Archangels use to obtain the power to defy causality.’

Determined to destroy that method and prevent Uriel from using his true power, he rested a hand on Heavenly Drive.

“...Huh?”

But contrary to his expectations, nothing emerged as the light faded.

The temple was empty, like a building that had long since been abandoned. Even the divine power flowing within was faint and insubstantial.

“What is this?”

Raon swallowed hard.

‘Don't tell me they've hidden something inside as well?’

Just as they had hidden the temple itself within a separate dimension, it seemed he would have to uncover whatever was hidden inside the temple as well. The mere thought of it made his head ache.

‘What a nuisance...’

Raon frowned and let out a sigh.

Then—

“What is this?”

Darkan emerged from behind one of the temple's pillars, dragging something along with him.

“What a strange-looking creature.”

What he dragged out between his fingers was a red cotton candy that looked remarkably similar to Wrath.

[Put me down!]

The red cotton candy bared her teeth at Raon and Darkan.

[How dare a filthy human lay hands on me! I am—!]

Much like a certain someone Raon knew, the cotton candy puffed herself up with self-importance and shouted.

[I am the archangel Azazel!]

 

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