The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1336

 Chapter 1336

 

There was something unique about the first head of house's training ground.

If someone chosen entered it, no, if someone who lacked the qualifications entered it, every light within the training ground would go out.

After father finished his training first and left, every lamp that had always bathed the training ground in a gentle glow, day and night alike, was extinguished.

It meant that it did not acknowledge me. Karoon Zieghart. Not even as a human being.

Deep underground, where not even the faintest ray of sunlight could reach, nothing was visible.

Even I, who had ascended to Transcendence and was challenging the limits beyond it, felt suffocated by that pitch-black darkness.

Normally, even in a room without light, one's eyes eventually adapt.

But the darkness created by this training ground could never be adapted to.

Only then did I realize it.

That I had not been chosen by the first head of house.

And despair consumed me.

Had I been outside, I might have endured somehow. But trapped in absolute darkness where I couldn't even see my own hands, my mind crumbled with frightening speed.

In truth, perhaps my mental world had already begun to crack long ago, ever since Raon Zieghart had demonstrated a difference between us that was impossible to ignore.

The dream of becoming the head of house Zieghart, of surpassing Transcendence and reaching the Absolute realm, slowly began to fade away.

What remained in the training ground was no longer the master of the Central Martial Palace.

Only a broken shell crawling along the floor.

Leave.

I can't endure this anymore.

Just as I was about to abandon everything and escape this hellish place, a mysterious light flickered into existence like the flame of a lantern.

Within that tiny glow pushing back the pitch-black darkness, two faces appeared.

Raon.

And Burren.

The face of my nephew Raon, whom I regarded as both family and my greatest rival, and the face of my son Burren, before whom I never wanted to show weakness. The moment I saw them, the dying desire within my heart burst into flame once more.

The light driving back the darkness disappeared, but an even fiercer blaze erupted within my chest.

Endure it.

This trivial darkness cannot stand in my way.

Aaaaaaaagh!

Roaring from both body and soul, I forced myself to my feet. Groping through the darkness, I seized the sword embedded in the ground and swung it.

I couldn't see the sword's trajectory, its form, or its flow. Nothing met the blade, so I couldn't even tell whether I was swinging it properly.

No matter how long I practiced, losing all sense of time, nothing changed.

This wouldn't work.

If I didn't even know what I was doing, there was no meaning in swinging a sword. No matter how unshakable my resolve was, every swing I made now was nothing more than wasted time.

Then what could I do?

I desperately searched for a way to train my sword within darkness so complete that I couldn't even see an inch ahead.

And eventually, I found the answer.

Draw sword technique.

With a draw sword technique, where the direction of the scabbard determined the direction of the thrust, I would not lose my way even within this profound darkness.

After reaching that realization, I did nothing but sheath the sword, draw it, and thrust, over and over again in the darkness.

The essence of the draw sword technique was to let the blade glide along the scabbard before piercing the enemy's vital point. The friction naturally produced its distinctive sound. Perhaps because I repeated only that single action in the darkness, at some point the draw sword technique became completely silent.

Even after the sound disappeared, I knew the technique was still incomplete.

It wasn't enough.

To defeat him, Raon Zieghart, I needed to become an even sharper sword.

Though the Draw Sword technique continued to improve, I forgot time, forgot space, and gradually forgot myself as I endlessly swung my sword.

As I honed the draw sword technique without end, a faint light eventually began to bloom at the tip of my blade.

At first, I thought I was imagining it.

But the more I practiced, the brighter that light became, distorting time and space until the sword's edge could extend anywhere.

From that moment on, I became possessed.

As though possessed by a ghost... no, by the Sword God, I neither ate nor slept, devoting myself entirely to the Draw Sword technique.

My hands blistered around the hilt.

My breathing grew so ragged it felt as though my heart would burst.

After training the draw sword technique to that extent, I finally managed to produce a tiny sword edge that emitted enough light to illuminate the entire training ground.

Whaaaaaaa

The instant a brilliant radiance erupted from the sword's edge, the first head of house's training ground lit its original lamps once more, as though it had finally acknowledged me.

And then I discovered what my draw sword technique had accomplished.

A tiny hole had been carved into the wall of the training grund. It was a place that even those in the Absolute realm had been unable to damage, yet I had left my mark using nothing but the draw sword technique.

At last, I felt I could truly call my Draw Sword technique complete.

Naturally, my realm of swordsmanship had risen, and I had also forged a spirit that would never break.

As I was now, I would not lose even to Raon Zieghart.

But...

The sword of the Raon Zieghart standing before me was different.

Kyaaaaaang!

My ultimate draw sword technique, the one that had erased the darkness created by the first head of house, was effortlessly shattered.

It was so incomprehensible that I wanted to cry out to the heavens that it was unfair.

Of course, those words never left my lips.

Because Raon Zieghart's sword was simply too beautiful.

A violent shiver ran down my spine.

Tears flowed down my face because I could feel just how much time and blood Raon must have shed to perfect that sword.

Raon Zieghart.

You...

You must have spent the amount of time I spent swinging my sword in that hellish space countless times over.

Having perfected my draw sword technique through death-defying effort, I could tell. Raon's sword was not forged through mere talent. It was a true sword that could only be created by repeating the effort I had just put in, or even greater, many times over.

That was why, even though the draw sword technique I had devoted everything to train was shattered in a single strike, a laugh actually escaped me.

I can become even stronger.

Having lost to Raon's sword, I would continue to grow from this point onward. I was confident that one day, I would surpass even father.

However...

It seems I won't be able to defeat you.

Karoon twisted his lips into a faint smile as he looked at Raon, whose calm eyes seemed to acknowledge him.

I missed my last chance.

*   *   *

Thud!

Even though Raon's sword had never actually cut him, Karoon dropped to his knees before collapsing with his eyes closed.

"F-Father!"

With a panicked expression, Buren leaped down from the spectator stands and rushed over to Karoon.

"Are you alright? Fath... huh?"

As he leaned in to check Karoon's condition, his eyes widened.

"..."

Despite his defeat, Karoon had lost consciousness wearing a smile of complete satisfaction.

"F-Father?"

Seeing Karoon's genuine smile for the first time in his life, Buren's jaw trembled in shock.

"Your father..."

Raon let out a heavy breath as he looked at Karoon.

"He's an incredible man. I don't think even I could change myself that much."

Having witnessed Karoon's sword firsthand, Raon understood.

Karoon had shed even more blood and sweat than he himself had in order to perfect that draw sword technique.

“Even I found it to be a dangerously sharp sword.”

On the surface, it looked like an overwhelming victory.

But if I had been even a little weaker, or if Karoon had been just a little stronger, the outcome could have been different.

Karoon Zieghart.

He was a far more dangerous swordsman than I had ever imagined.

"Father..."

Buren bit his lip as he looked at Karoon's hands, whose flesh seemed almost completely torn away.

Hooo...

Wrath's eyes trembled as he stared at the unconscious Karoon.

That Big Shitty Eyes had been hiding a sword technique that sharp?

He swallowed dryly, as though he had never expected it.

E-Even the King of Essence might have been pierced had he let his guard down! How...

Wrath looked utterly baffled, unable to understand how Karoon, whose realm of swordsmanship was vastly inferior to Raon's, had managed to unleash such a technique.

'I told you, didn't I? Warriors sometimes accomplish the impossible.'

The moment Raon saw Karoon's eyes, he had sensed that Karoon was hiding a special sword technique.

Though even he hadn't expected it to be on this level.

'This is interesting.'

Raon curled his lips upward as he looked at Karoon, who still hadn't let go of his sword despite collapsing.

Eh? What's so interesting about this?

Wrath's shoulders still trembled as if the sight continued to unsettle him.

'To be honest...'

Raon slid Heavenly Drive back into its scabbard.

'I've never really paid attention to the people chasing after me.'

With all the extraordinary abilities he possessed, it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say his rate of growth was the greatest on the continent.

He had always believed he only needed to catch those ahead of him, never worrying about being caught by those behind.

But after seeing Karoon today, perhaps that wasn't true after all.

'I don't care who becomes the head of house...'

He let out a quiet breath.

'But I hope this man keeps catching up to me.'

He genuinely hoped Karoon would continue closing the gap between them and one day display swordsmanship even greater than the draw sword technique he had shown today.

W-What? You don't care who becomes the head of house?

Wrath's jaw dropped as he looked at him.

This is insane! Why are all swordsmen such perverts?!

Wrath furrowed his brow, muttering that he wanted to crack open every swordsman's head and see what was going on inside.

"Thank you for serving as the referee."

After catching his breath, Raon bowed to Glenn.

"I can sense a new resolve in your sword."

Glenn smiled warmly, as though he sensed that Raon was reflecting on the words he'd spoken to him.

“That was an excellent spar.”

Saying that he had done well, Glenn patted him on the shoulder.

"Yes. Please continue watching over me."

Raon bowed to Glenn once more before turning away.

Hm?

Wrath's eyes widened.

W-What? Where are you going?

Grabbing Raon's shoulder, he protested that everyone seemed to be getting ready for a celebratory banquet.

'The training ground.'

Raon narrowed his eyes as he rubbed his hands together.

'I want to try Karoon's draw sword technique.'

Even if he imitated it now, he wouldn't be able to reproduce Karoon's draw sword technique perfectly.

Still, he wanted to perform it himself and analyze the technique.

'This is going to be so much fun.'

Ha...

Wrath let his jaw drop in disbelief.

The King of Essence said swordsmen were all perverts, but you're the greatest pervert among them all! You world's greatest pervert!

*   *   *

"Mmm..."

Buren slung Karoon's arm over his shoulder and helped him to his feet.

"Head of house, I'll be taking my leave as well."

Biting his lip lightly, he bowed to Glenn.

"Father doesn't appear to be injured, but just in case, I'd like to have the Ragged Saint examine him."

Lowering his brows, Buren said he wanted to entrust Karoon to the Ragged Saint.

"There's no need."

From behind the platform, Federick, the Ragged Saint, walked forward and waved a hand.

“He's perfectly fine. Just let him sleep.”

Federick smiled, saying he didn't even need to examine Karoon to know his condition.

"Ah, I see."

Hearing Federick's words, Buren let out a sigh of relief.

"Then I'll take father back to the Central Martial Palace."

He bowed to Glenn again and was about to turn away.

"Did you watch the spar carefully?"

Glenn raised a hand with a gentle smile.

“Yes? Ah, yes. Though I can't say I fully understood everything...”

"The catalyst that will allow you to overcome the wall of Transcendence... lies in the spar between Karoon and Raon that you witnessed today."

Glenn lightly patted Burren on the shoulder, a gentle smile on his face.

"Challenge it."

 

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