The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1359

 Chapter 1359

 

“Holy Sword Alliance?”

Raon’s eyes widened after hearing Rector’s words.

Wh-Whatever it is…

Wrath’s eyes trembled as he stared at Rector.

Wouldn't it be better to eat first and think later?

He swallowed hard while staring at the smoke rising from the annex building’s chimney.

“What is it about the Holy Sword Alliance?”

Raon tilted his head, ignoring Wrath’s words.

‘I have absolutely no idea.’

The name Holy Sword Alliance had come up completely unexpectedly, so he couldn’t understand what Rector meant.

“It’s the Holy Sword Alliance’s divine artifact.”

Rector raised a finger to his lips.

“I became the alliance master so suddenly that I wasn’t informed about it, but I happened to discover it when I visited the alliance this time.”

He frowned, explaining that since he had been forced to take on the position of alliance master after it became known that the Dark Night Sword God, Darkan, had died, he knew the divine relic existed but had never known where it was.

“Then how did you find it?”

Raon narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know what it was yet, but he thought there was a possibility it was a trap.

“Whew, it was in the former alliance master’s room.”

Rector let out a short sigh.

“It had been tossed among the sword manuals, so I thought it was an ordinary mirror. But it wasn’t.”

He pulled a round mirror out of his arms, saying that even he finds it absurd.

“I’ve long known that man was obsessed with swordsmanship, but I never expected him to be so careless with even the alliance’s divine relic.”

Rector clicked his tongue, saying whatever regard he had left for Darkan had sunk below rock bottom.

“Ah….”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rector.

‘Is it because he saw that divine relic? Grandfather’s might and the rank of his soul seemed to have grown even stronger.’

Rector was displaying a soul rank that had become far grander than before, going beyond merely recovering his strength. In addition to his training, he seemed to have gained a fortuitous opportunity through that mirror.

“Hmm….”

Raon licked his lips as he stared at the mirror in Rector’s hand.

‘What kind of artifact is it?’

The Holy Sword Alliance was a faction with an extremely deep connection to Zieghart’s first head of house. Raon believed there was a strong possibility that it had been founded by the first head of house himself, so he wanted to examine that mirror.

“Here. Take it.”

Rector tossed the mirror, saying that Raon should look at it himself. It was a small mirror of the sort women might carry around, and its edge was slightly chipped, as though it had been cut by something sharp like a blade.

“…Is it really all right for me to look at this?”

Raon’s eyes widened as he examined the mirror Rector had given him. No matter how much he was Rector’s grandson, he wondered whether he was really allowed to look at the Holy Sword Alliance’s divine relic.

“You can inherit it. The Holy Sword Alliance.”

Rector curled his lips upward, telling Raon to become the master of the Holy Sword Alliance.

“Pardon…?”

Raon blinked at Rector.

“Me? The Alliance master of the Holy Sword Alliance?”

He had heard words telling him to become the Holy Sword Alliance master as a joke in the past, but his mouth fell wide open because he naturally never thought about it seriously even once.

Absolutely not!

Wrath abruptly raised his head.

This guy must go to devildom and become the Demon King of <Bullshit>!

He glared fiercely, insisting that he had to become the Demon King in charge of the <Bullshit> attribute.

‘What the hell is the Demon King of <Bullshit>…?’

Raon let out a deep sigh before looking at Rector.

“I’m a candidate to become Zieghart’s successor.”

Raon shook his head, saying that he couldn’t become the alliance master of the Holy Sword Alliance.

“And why not?”

Rector asked back instead.

“You can become Zieghart’s head house and the alliance master of the Holy Sword Alliance at the same time.”

He shrugged, saying that there was no reason Raon couldn’t hold both positions simultaneously.

“What? Uh….”

Raon blinked.

‘Now that I think about it, there’s no reason I can’t do both at once.’

Unlike in the past, when Zieghart was one of the Six Kings and the Holy Sword Alliance was one of the Five Demons, there was no reason why I couldn’t become the leader of both factions.

‘It’s just going to be hard for me.’

Even if I became Zieghart’s head of house, I was still considering whether I actually wanted to accept the position, so taking on the position of alliance master as well would be difficult.

Exactly!

Wrath vigorously nodded his head.

You must become a Demon King! That was our first promise, wasn’t it?!

He ground his teeth, insisting that becoming a Demon King had to come first.

‘Yeah, yeah….’

Raon casually brushed off Wrath’s words and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have much time….”

“As you’ve seen, the Holy Sword Alliance’s master doesn’t really have much to do. The children of the alliance train in martial arts on their own.”

Rector chuckled, saying that it wouldn’t take much of Raon’s time.

“Whether it’s the alliance or becoming head of house, think about that after the war is over. For now, look at that mirror.”

He nodded, telling Raon to worry about the future later and examine the mirror first.

“Hmm, all right….”

Raon fiddled with the mirror Rector had given him before slowly lowering his gaze.

“But how do I use this mirror?”

The mirror was hazy, like still water, making it impossible to see his face clearly. Moreover, its edge was chipped like a blade, so it looked as though it would shatter from even the slightest careless touch.

“The mirror will tell you.”

Rector shook his head, saying that there was no need for any instructions on how to use it.

“What? What does that… huh?”

Raon furrowed his brow and was about to raise his gaze when he suddenly stopped.

‘What is this…?’

Hot energy began to rise within the mirror, and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the Ring of Fire began moving on their own.

Gooooooo!

At the same time, his reflection in the mirror slowly began to change. His brilliantly bright blond hair faded, the heat dwelling in his eyes subsided, and deep wrinkles appeared across his skin. His face looked both benevolent and cold. It resembled his own face after many years had passed, yet it also looked like Glenn, while at the same time seeming like an entirely different person.

“A sword is….”

The old man in the mirror slowly parted his lips.

“A means of killing.”

With eyes as still as the dead, he spoke of the reason the sword existed.

“It became sharp for the sake of killing, and it became strong for the sake of killing. It is a path meant solely for killing someone.”

The old man in the mirror slowly nodded, stating in a cold tone that the path of the sword was solely a path of killing. His benevolent-looking face now appeared as fierce as that of a slaughterer.

“Yet where there is shadow, light follows as well. Alongside the sword meant to kill, the living sword meant to stop such swords and save people also grew. Of course, that sword too grew by seeing someone’s blood….”

He eventually closed and opened his eyes, saying that the sword could not help but bring blood.

“Destined One.”

The old man’s eyes in the mirror began to glow like gentle embers.

“Your sword contains both death and life.”

“Ah!”

Raon swallowed hard as he stared at the old man whose expression had come alive.

‘Now I know who this old man is!’

The man had changed so much that Raon hadn’t recognized him at first, but that face belonged neither to himself nor Glenn. It was Zieghart’s first head of house. His ancestor was speaking to him. Judging by the wrinkles on his face, this appeared to be from before his final fight with anima.

“Sticky death resides in the right edge of the sword, while faint life dwells in the left. The day those two colors of different natures take on the same light and become one….”

The first head of house’s lips curved into a thin smile.

“You will be able to draw the sword you desire.”

He nodded, as though Raon would one day be able to surpass him.

“Of course, you will have to go through many things to achieve that.”

The first head of house’s voice sank into a deeply somber tone.

“I want to give you one small bit of help so that you can overcome those hardships.”

The first head of house took a breath and drew the sword at his waist.

Swoooooosh!

The first Head of House’s sword moved even more slowly than a caterpillar. He was not swinging it to impart a lesson. He was pouring everything he possessed into the sword as he swung it. It was an ordinary-looking sword, neither flashy nor powerful. Yet within it dwelled the life and death of the greatest swordsman in history.

“Ah….”

Raon’s hand trembled as he held the mirror while watching the sword imbued with the first head of house’s life and soul. Merely watching the first head of house’s swordsmanship filled his chest with such overwhelming emotion that he felt tears welling up in his eyes. The sword that had cut the world apart and killed anima. It went beyond merely altering the laws of the world, it was another war in which he shattered the will of this world itself with his sword.

Shraaaaaaaak!

The first head of house’s sword transcended a thousand years and the mirror, leaving a deep sword mark upon Raon’s heart and soul.

“I hope it was conveyed well.”

He nodded with a weary expression, as though he had poured everything into that single sword technique.

“One last thing. At the Holy Sword Alliance’s holy land….”

The first head of house was about to say something when—

Crackkrrrr!

A strange sound came from the broken part near the edge of the mirror, and the first head of house’s figure began to blur.

“…now that it has come to this, I ask this of you.”

The first head of house continued speaking about something, but the only words Raon could make out were “I ask this of you.”

“The Peng matures later than any other bird, but with a single beat of its wings, it is said to fly three thousand ri. I will watch over your late wingbeats.”

He nodded as though they would meet again someday as long as Raon continued walking the path of the sword.

Swoooooosh!

As the first head of house turned his back, the image inside the mirror became hazy again, and Raon’s own face began to appear once more. It seemed that the first head of house had not captured himself in the mirror through magic, but had instead left behind his own sword intent.

“I never knew something like this existed.”

Raon held the mirror carefully against his chest.

“Thank you very much.”

He bowed his head, saying that it had been an enormous help.

‘It’s far more than just help.’

The first head of house’s final sword looked completely different when viewed from behind and when viewed from the front. Just as he had said, it would take a great deal of time, but I became certain that I could make that sword my own.

‘And….’

I also learned that I have to combine the sword imbued with death and the sword containing life.

Thanks to the first head of house’s teachings, Raon realized that he had to combine the swordsmanship imbued with death and the sword imbued with life to forge his own sword. It was a moment in which he experienced so much.

“You seem to have met a remarkable version of yourself.”

Rector chuckled and grabbed Raon’s shoulder.

“Met myself?”

Raon blinked.

“Yes. That mirror is a divine relic that allows you to meet yourself from the future or the past. You can gain many things through that.”

Rector grabbed his shoulder, as if glad that it was a help.

“Hmm….”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the mirror again.

‘That wasn’t me.’

Raon nodded for the moment as he ran his fingers over the mirror.

“Unfortunately, you can only meet him once.”

Rector calmly shook his head, saying that no matter how many times he looked into it, he could not meet his future or past self again.

“I see. But….”

Raon recalled the first head of house’s final words that he had been unable to hear and pointed toward the broken part of the mirror.

“Why was this broken?”

“Why do you think?”

Rector sighed as he looked at the broken part of the mirror.

“That sword-obsessed bastard broke it while practicing his swordsmanship where the mirror was.”

He clicked his tongue, saying it was Darkan’s doing.

“Ah….”

Raon felt disappointed that he had been unable to hear the first head of house’s final words, but once Darkan’s name came up, he understood how the mirror had been broken.

“So, was it helpful?”

Rector smiled, saying that he had wanted to show it to Raon before the war began.

“Yes.”

Raon nodded firmly without hesitation.

“Thanks to you, grandfather, I now have the confidence that I won’t lose to anyone.”

He had received confirmation from the first head of house himself. If he harmonized death and life and imbued them into his sword, he would not lose to anyone in this world. He clenched his fist, etching that goal into his heart.

“Thank you.”

Raon bowed at the waist, saying that he would produce results in this war worthy of having been shown the mirror.

“Then I’m glad!”

Rector clapped his hands loudly, looking proud.

‘Wrath. Thank you, too.’

Raon lightly tapped Wrath floating in the air, thanking him for waiting quietly.

Waiting…? Quietly waiting?

Wrath slowly turned around. Red veins stood out in his blue eyes.

Can’t you see that with your own eyes?

Following Wrath’s pointing finger, Raon saw the sky beginning to brighten with dawn and the chimney of the annex building, whose smoke had completely died down.

Ignoring the King of Essence even though he kept talking! Waiting? Quietly? In this damned world!

He screamed that having his power taken away wasn’t enough, and now he had been starving every day as well.

‘Ah….’

Raon’s mouth fell open as he gazed at the slowly rising sun.

‘I didn’t expect this.’

It felt like I had only met with the first head of house for a very short while, but I didn’t realize dawn had already come. I had nothing to say to Wrath because I felt sorry for him.

‘Sorry. I didn’t know this much time had passed… huh?’

Raon brought both hands together in front of his chest to apologize to Wrath, then his eyes widened.

“Why is the Black Dragon Coat…?”

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