The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1317

 Chapter 1317

 

Swoooosh—!

Darkan cast aside his torn cloak and raised the black sword toward the night sky. The pitch-black aura that had once blocked Uriel’s divine power was gone, yet the presence dwelling within the dark blade remained chillingly sharp.

With the tip of his finger, Darkan traced the black sword downward. As the blade descended, a trail of black light bloomed behind it. The dark arc deepened the surrounding night, pressing it into an even deeper shade and bringing a cold silence upon the world, like everlasting snow blanketing the land.

As his sword rose upward again, a heavy radiance surged with it. It was not the lingering trace of swordsmanship.

Rather, it felt like the first flash of light from the dawn of the primordial age.

Wherever Darkan's black sword passed, dark afterimages lingered behind. Between them, countless sword techniques poured forth.

Some seemed capable of piercing the heavens, while others appeared powerful enough to shake the very foundations of the world. Every one of them was a martial art that Darkan had personally witnessed and mastered.

Chiaaaaaang!

Following those countless sword paths, Darkan swung the black sword himself. Each time the black blade moved, one of the sword-technique afterimages drawn across the air vanished. At this very moment, he was personally restoring the mental world he had lost to Derus Robert.

Hooo—!

Darkan's breathing grew ragged, and cold sweat streamed from every part of his body. Yet the more his body broke down, the more his mind seemed to harden, like earth tempered and compacted countless times over. The sharpness and precision of his swordsmanship deepened further with every passing moment.

It no longer looked like swordsmanship.

It was fluid and natural, as though he were performing a sword dance.

Whaaaaaaa!

Even after the depths of night had passed and dawn arrived, Darkan's sword dance did not end. His lips were dry and cracked, yet they curled upward as if he were reaching for an entirely new realm. Without pause, he continued to swing his sword.

‘I'm glad I stayed.’

Raon pressed his trembling lips together.

‘Darkan was right. This wasn't something I could afford to miss.’

At this point, Darkan was practically reenacting the entire history of continental swordsmanship with his own body.

Merely watching from where I stood made me feel as though Darkan's blade was being engraved into my mental world.

‘But...’

Raon stared at the blood and sweat dripping from Darkan's forehead and let out a silent gasp.

‘How is this possible?’

I knew for certain because I had examined Darkan not long ago.

Right now, he was in no condition to perform sword techniques. He should have been struggling just to remain standing.

And yet, from the moment the moon set until the sun rose again, he continued to unleash countless sword techniques at full power without a moment's rest.

This was not merely a feat that surpassed the limits of the body.

It transcended the limits of willpower itself.

Even the King of Essence is astonished.

Wrath let out a hollow laugh as he stared at Darkan.

The King of Essence knew that madman was obsessed with the sword, but to think something like this was possible. That body of his could drop dead at any moment, yet he's still doing this! The King of Essence can't even begin to understand how!

Even Wrath swallowed dryly, as though he himself could scarcely believe what he was witnessing.

‘What's even more astonishing...

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Darkan's faint smile.

...is that while his body is breaking down, his mind is steadily recovering.’

Darkan had undoubtedly reached his limit, both physically and mentally.

No, he had gone beyond them.

He was in a state where it would not have been surprising if he died at any moment.

Yet strangely enough, his mind was recovering.

Rumbleeeee!

Raon could feel Darkan’s mind, which had been unstable after his mental world was devoured by Derus Robert, slowly ripening and hardening like the earth after a heavy rain.

To restore his mental world that was devoured by Derus Robert like this...

Wrath clenched his teeth.

Just what kind of monster is this madman?!

Rarely, very rarely, he seemed willing to acknowledge a human weaker than himself.

‘Be quiet for a second.’

Cutting Wrath off, Raon focused entirely on Darkan's movements.

'So he even had a style like that?'

He nodded in admiration at the unconventional movements Darkan displayed.

‘Darkan's condition is certainly astonishing, but simply watching his swordsmanship is fascinating enough on its own.’

As the former master of the Holy Sword Alliance, Darkan was a swordsman who had learned more sword techniques than anyone else in the world. Watching him perform those techniques to restore his mental world, Raon felt as though his own mental world was expanding as well.

And you!

Wrath clicked his tongue as though there was one more thing irritating him.

How can you sit there all night watching nothing but that madman’s sword without losing focus even once?

He wrinkled his nose.

Aren't you hungry? Aren't you sleepy?

‘Because it's interesting.’

Raon smiled and shook his head.

‘How could I look away when something this fascinating is right in front of me?’

As though it were the most natural thing in the world, he returned his attention to Darkan's movements.

"I'm so happy!"

Evelyn's cheeks flushed pink as she declared that simply watching Raon watch Darkan made her happy.

Gaaaah!

Wrath grabbed his head and let out an exasperated groan.

Seriously, why is it that everyone around you…

He bared his teeth as his gaze moved between Raon and Darkan.

…Not a single normal person among them?!

Wrath looked ready to lose his mind.

If the King of Essence stays here any longer, even he might go crazy! Send him back to devildom!

*   *   *

Swoooosh...

Only after another full day had passed and night returned once more did Darkan finally lower his black sword.

"Hoo..."

Apparently lacking even the strength to stand, he collapsed where he was and lifted his pale, ashen face.

"Did you see it all?"

He tilted his chin, asking whether Raon had witnessed every sword technique he had displayed.

"Yes."

Raon lifted his gaze and met Darkan's eyes.

"I saw every single one of them."

He nodded, saying that he hadn't missed a single one, from the very first strike Darkan unfolded to the final sword technique that ended two days later.

"Kuhuhuhu!"

A weak laugh escaped Darkan's lips. He looked too exhausted to laugh properly.

"You're crazy too. To think you watched all of that!"

He chuckled, saying that he had expected Raon to grow tired of watching and leave before it was over.

“It was fascinating. And...”

Raon waved a hand casually.

“As you said, it helped me a great deal as well.”

Placing his hand on Heavenly Drive, he slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

"Congratulations."

Looking at Darkan's calm smile, Raon placed a hand over his chest.

"You've become yourself again. No... you've climbed even higher."

By restoring his mental world with his own hands, he had become stronger than he had been before Derus Robert devoured it.

His body was too broken to display his full strength right now, but given enough time, he would undoubtedly reveal a completely different level of power than before.

To exaggerate slightly, once he fully absorbed that enlightenment, he might even be able to give grandfather a magnificent fight, the grandfather from before he entered seclusion.

"Not yet."

Darkan waved a hand lightly.

“This isn't enough to satisfy me. I won't be able to close my eyes in peace until I've defeated that man. Then again, my eyes are already closed.”

He let out a short laugh, saying that he would only be able to rest easy after defeating Glenn.

"But..."

Darkan looked back at Raon and smacked his lips thoughtfully.

"It seems you've changed as well."

His brows furrowed as he remarked that there seemed to be something different about Raon's presence.

“How did my sword help you?”

Apparently curious about that, Darkan rubbed his trembling wrist.

"Everything."

Raon answered immediately.

“Everything about your sword helped me. Just as you displayed all the sword techniques you had mastered throughout your life and elevated your mental world to a new level, I engraved those sword techniques into my own mental world.”

Slowly, he closed his eyes and entered his mental world. Within that space, once filled with nothing but his own sword, new sword techniques were beginning to sprout like fresh shoots.

Because Darkan had displayed his swordsmanship openly and honestly, as though instructing a disciple, Raon had been able to establish a new domain within his mental world without much difficulty.

“If I make the sword techniques you showed me my own, I'll be able to reach a new realm as well.”

Raon smiled, saying that Darkan had given him a solid rope with which to climb even higher.

"Thank you."

Having gained so much from Darkan, he offered his gratitude separately from everything involving Uriel.

"I see."

Darkan nodded firmly, clearly pleased with the answer.

"Let's go to Zieghart together."

Raon extended a hand toward Darkan.

"If we go to Zieghart, you'll be able to recover that ruined body without difficulty."

Darkan's condition was so severe that it would not have been surprising if he died on the spot. But with the Ragged Saint, Federick, there, he could be healed completely without any lasting aftereffects.

“I refuse.”

Darkan shook his head firmly.

“The next time I visit your house will be when I come to challenge Glenn Zieghart.”

He snorted, stating that he absolutely didn't want to go and meet Glenn looking like a wreck.

“My mental world has recovered. My body's wounds will heal on their own.”

Looking at the blood flowing from all over his body, Darkan shook his head.

“And injuries like these can be cured with a little spit.”

As though telling Raon not to worry, he actually spat on his finger and smeared it across his chest, where blood was still pouring from the wound.

“Seriously...”

Raon let out a helpless laugh at Darkan's macho nature.

Ahhh! The King of Essence wants nothing to do with a barbarian like that!

Wrath clicked his tongue in disgust, vowing he never wanted to see Darkan again.

“Then we'll meet again another time.”

Darkan slowly pushed himself to his feet.

“Wait. Let me ask you one thing as well.”

Raon raised a hand toward him.

“Why did you show me all of your sword techniques? And in such detail, as though you were teaching me?”

While displaying his swordsmanship over the past two days, Darkan had revealed every technique openly and honestly, without concealing a single thing, just like a master instructing his disciple. Raon wanted to know why.

“The reason is...”

Darkan looked at him and curled his lips into a faint smile.

“I’ll tell you once you become strong enough to defeat me!”

Unlike his usual straightforward answers, he merely waved a hand as though telling Raon to remain curious.

“Of course, before that, I’ll have to defeat Glenn Zieghart.”

He let out a scoff, as if to say Raon would never beat him before then.

“When I fight him, you’d better be there to witness it.”

Smacking his lips, he remarked that the next time they met would likely be at his duel to the death with Glenn.

“Until then.”

With a casual wave, Darkan turned and began walking beneath the moonlight.

“Now then, where should I go this time?”

Though his legs trembled with every step, he never once stopped moving forward.

“A duel to the death with grandfather...”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Darkan’s broad back recede into the distance.

“I wonder how that will turn out.”

Darkan was not the only one. There was also the Heavenly Demon, making it impossible to predict how things would ultimately unfold.

‘If a problem arises...’

Raon tightened his grip on Heavenly Drive as power surged through him, a cold light shining in his eyes.

‘I may have to step in myself.’

*   *   *

At the center of the first head of house’s training ground, a white haze began to rise.

No, it was not a haze.

It was the overwhelming heat radiating from Glenn, who sat alone in the training ground.

Simply by breathing, he released such intense lightning energy that even the first head of house’s training ground, designed to suppress all aura, seemed to warp under its pressure.

“Hoo...”

After steadying his breathing, Glenn slowly opened his eyes.

The eyes that had once blazed like the sun were now simply clear and pure, like those of an ordinary man.

There was something almost incongruous about them, so innocent they seemed entirely at odds with his age.

“So there was no need to regret heavenly lightning departure after all.”

Looking at his hand, from which the searing heat had finally subsided, Glenn formed a gentle smile.

“Because a power like lightning can be found anywhere.”

He smiled in satisfaction, as though he had come to some realization.

“Now...”

Glenn quietly nodded as a pale golden radiance bloomed from the ceiling of the training ground, where nothing had existed before.

“It seems it's finally time for me to leave this place.”

 

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