The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1299

 Chapter 1299

 

The temporary residence provided by the Black Market.

“Haaaah!”

Dorian threw off the worn robe he'd been wrapped in for days and let out a long sigh.

“I-I seriously can't do this anymore....”

He shook his head vigorously, looking completely drained.

“You can't do this anymore?”

Krein let out a disbelieving laugh.

“We're the ones doing all the actual work. What kind of nonsense is that?”

He wrinkled his nose at Dorian, telling him not to complain when he'd been sitting in one place the whole time.

“Reading people's minds is insanely exhausting too!”

Dorian shot to his feet as if he absolutely had to defend himself.

“A-And lately, more nobles and powerful warriors have been showing up too! That makes it even more stressful!”

He shouted that he was suffering just as much as everyone else.

“Do you think it’s easy to act as confident and composed as the young master all the time?”

Simply maintaining the persona of the Sage had built up a tremendous amount of mental fatigue, and Dorian collapsed back into his chair.

“That's enough.”

Burren leaned against the wall and brushed back his disheveled hair.

“No one has had an easy time on this mission.”

He narrowed his eyes, saying that everyone, Dorian included, was bound to be exhausted by now.

“Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

Martha punched the air in irritation.

“When is that damned archangel finally going to show himself?”

She ground her teeth, clearly annoyed that archangel Sariel hadn't shown so much as his face.

“...”

Runaan had helped resolve more people's concerns than anyone else, and she seemed utterly exhausted, sitting there with her head slowly nodding forward as she fought off sleep.

“We still have one more stage to get through.”

Standing at the center of the exhausted Light Wind swordsmen, Raon raised a hand.

"The archangel won't come himself. One of the nobles or royals under his control will come."

Archangel Sariel was far too prideful. No matter how much Dorian was being called a sage or a living god, Sariel would never reveal himself right away.

“If we can turn one of the people under his control to our side instead...”

Raon's lips curled as he imagined the expression on Sariel's face.

“He'll come out on his own.”

Sariel's pride wouldn't allow it. If someone under his control ended up switching sides, he would have no choice but to appear personally.

“A noble or royal under the archangel’s control...”

Dorian swallowed hard.

“I-I don't think I can do that. If they've fallen under the archangel's control, wouldn't their minds already be completely broken?”

He shook his head vigorously, saying that was nothing like Count Asak's situation.

He's right.

Wrath nodded with a frown.

Sariel takes hold of a person's very soul. Once that happens, breaking his control is no easy matter. No matter how much that wallet has grown, he won't be able to free them.

He clicked his tongue, saying it was beyond Dorian's abilities.

“True.”

Raon nodded calmly.

“People like that are beyond your capabilities. Which is why....”

He stepped in front of Dorian and lowered himself slightly.

“From here on, I’ll take over.”

Narrowing his eyes, Raon mirrored Dorian’s gaze perfectly.

“Huh...?”

Dorian’s eyes widened in shock.

“We've already won over the nobles around Winten Kingdom. Sariel's slaves will be showing up soon.”

Raon lowered his chin calmly.

“Starting tomorrow, I'll be Sage Doraen.”

“You... you were planning that from the beginning?”

Krein’s jaw dropped.

“Dorian’s Mind’s Eye won’t work on Sariel’s slaves.”

Raon lowered his gaze slowly.

Their concerns had already been resolved, and their souls were already in Sariel's grasp, leaving Dorian with no way of stopping them. From the start, Raon had intended to handle them himself. 

“That's why we kept your appearance hidden as much as possible.”

He lifted the old robe, explaining that concealing Dorian's features had always been part of the plan so they could switch places later.

“T-Then why didn’t you do it from the start?!”

Dorian sniffled as though all his suffering had been for nothing.

“Because of this.”

Raon shrugged.

“Haven't your Mind's Eye and the Demon King's authority improved dramatically?”

“W-Well...”

Dorian couldn't answer immediately and glanced down at his chest.

“Y-Yes, that's true. Both my Mind's Eye and the authority of <Gluttony> have grown tremendously.”

He nodded, admitting that his time as the Sage had brought about tremendous mental growth.

“That’s why I had you do it.”

Feeling the change in Dorian's presence, Raon smiled faintly.

'Looks like his next wall isn't far off.'

Even while handling all of the Light Wind Palace’s logistics as quartermaster, Dorian had never neglected his training. After growing so much in so many ways during this mission, it seemed entirely possible that he would soon break through to a new level.

“Ah, understood.”

Only now did Dorian seem to be free of the pressure. He let out a long sigh.

“Then I'll stay behind the scenes and discern what people are thinking for you.”

He nodded, offering to use his Mind's Eye to discern what people were thinking.

“No. That won’t be necessary.”

Raon raised a hand toward Dorian.

“Huh? Why not?”

Dorian blinked in surprise.

“Watching you these past few days...”

Unlike Dorian, Raon wore a relaxed smile.

“I've more or less figured out what Mind's Eye is.”

*   *   *

“...Illness.”

Raon narrowed his eyes sharply as he looked at the elderly man with a limp.

“Not yours. Your granddaughter's, the one bedridden at home.”

Rather than commenting on the old man's condition, he calmly brought up his granddaughter as if he had truly peered into the man's heart.

“Y-Yes! That’s right, Sage!”

The old man dropped to his knees as though begging for help.

“Take this.”

Raon pulled a small glass vial from inside his robe and handed it over.

“Have her take the medicine twice a day until she recovers.”

Without the slightest hesitation, he assured him that his granddaughter would get better.

“Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Dragging his bad leg behind him, the old man repeatedly bowed to Raon before finally leaving.

“The Sage seems even more noble today.”

"I know what you mean. That mysterious presence of his makes it feel like there's nothing he can't do."

“Maybe he isn’t a Sage at all. Maybe he’s truly a god descended from the heavens.”

“That wouldn't surprise me. The archangels have lost their minds. Perhaps a real god has come down to set things right.”

The people who had come to see the Sage were too busy praising him to notice that Dorian and Raon had switched places. A few sensed something slightly different, but none of them paid it much attention.

“That guy is unbelievable.”

Martha let out a disbelieving laugh.

"How did he learn Mind's Eye too?"

She frowned, unable to make sense of it.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Burren exhaled slowly.

“I can understand him acting as the Sage, but how did he learn Mind's Eye? We've been watching Dorian this whole time too.”

He shook his head, unable to imagine what Raon had seen that allowed him to grasp the principles behind Mind's Eye.

“Hoo...”

Runaan couldn't take her eyes off Raon, clearly captivated by how impressive he looked as the Sage.

Of course, the most shocked person there was Dorian.

'Crazy. This is insane... absolutely insane!'

Standing behind Raon, Dorian swallowed repeatedly.

'What in the world is this man?'

He knew Raon possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts. In fact, he had long accepted that Raon was gifted in countless fields where mastering just one would make an ordinary person a genius.

But no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't accept that Raon had copied a skill that Dorian himself had only obtained after a lifetime of carefully reading people and finally meeting the right master, simply by watching him.

“I see. You....”

Raon smacked his lips as he looked at the middle-aged man who came after the limping elder.

‘So it's his business.’ 

Reading the man's thoughts, Dorian nodded to himself.

'Can he really figure out even that?'

The man looked wealthy on the surface, and his mind was overflowing with thoughts. He was exactly the sort of person who was incredibly difficult to read. Even Dorian had only managed it with difficulty, so he couldn't help worrying. 

“Your business is collapsing. You're burning through the wealth your ancestors spent generations building.” 

Contrary to Dorian's worries, Raon accurately discerned both the man's circumstances and the thoughts hidden beneath them. 

‘Wow...’

Dorian lowered his head, feeling awe and fear rise within him at the same time. 

'H-He's not reading my thoughts too, is he...?'

His shoulders trembled at the thought.

“Heh.”

As if he had heard that very thought, Raon glanced back at him and smiled. 

“Ghk!”

A strangled groan escaped Dorian's lips.

'This man is terrifying...'

I've known him my whole life, but he's never been this scary!

Realizing he would never be able to escape Raon's grasp for the rest of his life, Dorian clutched his head in despair.

*   *   *

What in the world are you?

Wrath's jaw trembled as if he genuinely couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

How are you reading those people's thoughts?!

He frowned deeply, unable to make sense of it no matter how long he watched.

Even the King of Essence has been watching that wallet the entire time, yet he still doesn't understand how the Mind's Eye works! So how did you—

Wrath ground his teeth, unable to accept that a human might surpass even a Demon King.

‘It's simple.’

While offering advice to the wealthy-looking middle-aged man, Raon nodded calmly.

'I'm not using Mind's Eye...'

I'm using the Heart Sword.

While Dorian read people's hearts through the Mind's Eye he had developed from a lifetime of reading others, Raon was discerning their thoughts through the Heart Sword.

H-Heart Sword?! That's even less believable!

Wrath lifted his chin, demanding that Raon make some sense.

If one of those people were struck by your Heart Sword, their souls would be obliterated without a trace!

'That's why I'm controlling the output.'

Raon smiled faintly.

'I'm making the Heart Sword thinner than a single strand of hair and dulling its edge. Then I lightly brush against their souls. Once I do, their thoughts naturally begin to surface.'

Compared to Glenn and Derus Robert, the destructive power of his Heart Sword was still lacking. But when it came to controlling it freely or shaping it into different forms, he was second to none.

T-The King of Essence knows you're skilled with the Heart Sword!

Wrath lowered his gaze and swallowed dryly.

But creating a Heart Sword that doesn't injure ordinary people in the slightest should be impossible!

He knew how capable Raon was, yet he still couldn't understand how he had accomplished such a thing.

'I trained for it in Zieghart, and here as well, while watching Dorian. I practiced on my own soul.'

Raon smiled faintly.

Before touching anyone else's soul, he had experimented on his own first.

'It hurt quite a bit in the beginning, but I've learned how to control it now.'

Y-You insane bastard…

Wrath's jaw dropped in disbelief.

You truly are insane! What kind of human would even think of doing that?!

He shook his head furiously. No one but Raon would ever come up with such a method.

'Thanks to that, it's still serving as Heart Sword training even now.'

Raon smiled faintly, finding it amusing that he could train his Heart Sword while reading people's thoughts.

Y-You ridiculously tenacious bastard! You could fall into lava and come out without so much as a singed hair!

Wrath lowered his tail and backed away, as though he had finally had enough of Raon's insanity.

'Come on now.'

Raon chuckled and reached out toward Wrath.

Just then—

Ruuuumble!

A massive cloud of dust rose in the distance as countless warhorses thundered toward them.

“His Majesty approaches!”

A commanding voice rang out above the grand orchestra of pounding hooves.

“Kneel before the King!”

“Not the king...”

Raon let out a cold laugh as he looked at the golden crown gleaming through the dust cloud kicked up by the warhorses.

“An archangel's slave.”

 

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