The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1277 The cool wind created by night ceases, and the brilliant starlight and moonlight pouring from the sky settle down. In the empty silence as if the world had frozen, a heavy oppressive feeling that crushes heaven and earth rose up. The Heavenly Demon. The absolute martial artist to whom heaven bestowed the name of demon approached boldly with mountain-like momentum, as if he alone existed on this continent. "Urgh!" "Haaa..." Burren gasped for breath and knelt down, while Martha collapsed with the legs she had stubbornly tried to keep standing. "Th-this is the Heavenly Demon..." "Ha! I-I can't believe it, but he's gotten stronger." Runaan raised her sword with trembling hands, while Evelyn bent her waist, biting her lips as if wondering how this could be possible. This wasn't a confrontation between human and human. It was a difference in innate level. Even though the Heavenly Demon wore rags and the Zieghart swordsmen wore uniforms made of precious silk, that difference couldn't be narrowed. It was an absolute natural law that couldn't be defied, like heaven pressing down on earth and sea swallowing land. Like ink dropped on rice paper spreading pitch-black color, when the being called the Heavenly Demon revealed his true form, darkness and heaviness extended throughout the world as if a door to the abyss had opened. The Heavenly Demon takes one more step forward. It wasn't a flashy entrance, nor was there a chaotic display of power, but he revealed an overwhelming presence and weight as if he had existed in this place from the beginning. Hwaaaaa! The foul-smelling rag pieces the Heavenly Demon wore melted away in red fighting spirit, revealing a perfect body as if crafted by a god of war weighing on scales. Swoooosh! From behind the Heavenly Demon, a man and woman wearing a lion's mask and tiger's helmet appeared and draped a night sky-like robe and sash over the Heavenly Demon's shoulders. Chak! Even though the Zieghart swordsmen, his mortal enemies, were before his eyes, the Heavenly Demon leisurely and ceremoniously draped the robe and wrapped the sash around his waist as if feeling no value in them. Everything held its breath as if that space itself existed for the being called the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon wrapped the pitch-black robe without a single wrinkle and adjusted the dark red demonic dragon helmet. The quiet gaze emerging from inside the helmet gleamed with a mysterious yet bewitching light, as if looking not at what was before him but at the distant future. The Heavenly Demon's indifferent gaze, as if his soul had been tempered through eternal time and endless slaughter, showed that this entire world lay beneath his feet. 'This is...' Raon swallowed dry saliva while feeling an oppressive weight that seemed to squeeze his heart. 'The Heavenly Demon.' It was different from when he stood next to Pride. When the Heavenly Demon unleashed his momentum only on him, an aura more magnificent than a demon king—no, more than that—pressed down on his body. 'He's making it impossible to even open my mouth.' The Heavenly Demon was unleashing terrifying fighting spirit to oppress his body and soul, as if he wouldn't even give him a chance to speak. "Hup!" "Ugh..." "Ha..." Not only Burren and Martha, but even Runaan couldn't speak due to the Heavenly Demon's oppressive presence and were gasping for breath. 'What's more frightening is...' That it has no effect on others at all. The place where he was standing now was a shantytown where low-class laborers lived. Countless people should be sleeping, yet no one woke up and were instead snoring in their sleep. It meant the Heavenly Demon was unleashing that absolute aura only toward them. 'He means to test our qualifications.' The Heavenly Demon sent increasingly stronger pressure, as if finding him was only the beginning of the test and the real thing started from here. -Arrogant bastard! Wrath furrowed his brow deeply while looking at the Heavenly Demon. -A mere toy of Pride is deluding himself into thinking he's the real deal! The guy ground his teeth as if annoyed just by the fact that the Heavenly Demon was related to Pride. 'Phew.' Raon regulated his breathing internally and operated the Ring of Fire. Wooooong! When he resonated ten rings simultaneously, the Heavenly Demon's fighting spirit that had been tightly constricting his body and soul began to loosen. "Eden's leader, Heavenly Demon." After firmly pushing away the Heavenly Demon's aura that pressed down on his shoulders like the weight of heaven, Raon slowly parted his lips. "I've come because there's something I need to settle with you." Since he was currently Zieghart's temporary head of house, he straightened his back proudly without yielding an inch before the Heavenly Demon. He flashed his red eyes, revealing a fighting spirit that wouldn't yield even to the Heavenly Demon. "..." The Heavenly Demon raised one eyebrow as if he hadn't expected Raon to be able to push away his fighting spirit. For the first time, it seemed like a proper gaze was fixed on him, who had shown no particular interest beyond just calling his name. "Thanks to you not properly controlling your subordinates, the Evil Goat Demon, Syria Sullion, and the Bear Fire Demon moved and inflicted great damage on Zieghart. We've come to find you to collect that blood debt." Despite the Heavenly Demon sending terrifying pressure, Raon explained in detail the reason for seeking out Eden as if it didn't matter at all. "You were the one who said that a life-and-death duel with the Head of House would be the start of war. Since you broke your own promise first, I need to get an answer for that." He nodded heavily, saying that it wasn't simply property that was lost, but that Birdnew Village had been massacred, so they needed to collect that blood debt. "You're right. If I made a promise and broke it, then it's my problem." (E/N: But he didn't. He said that he wouldn't be responsible for those moving on their own.) The Heavenly Demon nodded calmly. Honestly, it was unexpected. Since he had warned Glenn first before, Raon hadn't expected him to so readily admit his own fault. "However..." The Heavenly Demon stopped nodding and raised his cold gaze to look at Raon. "Such words can only be spoken by those who have power." He unleashed tremendous fighting spirit as if ready to fight right now and took one more step closer to Raon. Kugugugugugu! Just the Heavenly Demon taking one step closer felt like an endless abyss had opened. His absolute aura melted everything, making it seem as if heaven, earth, sea—everything was submerged in ink. "Hmm." Raon swallowed dry saliva and placed his hand on the Heavenly Drive. 'He's going to attack right here?' Although he had predicted the Heavenly Demon's movements, there hadn't been an option for him to want to fight immediately like this. Cold sweat ran down his spine at this unexpected situation. "Killing you like this wouldn't be too difficult." The Heavenly Demon stopped the hand he was extending toward Raon and slightly lowered his chin. "I should give you a reward for finding me. Just one chance." He raised his long, thick finger. "If you can withstand my fist once, I'll listen to what you have to say." The Heavenly Demon nodded, saying that if Raon could withstand his fist, he would listen to and acknowledge what Raon had to say. "How absurd." Raon let out a cold sneer. "I came to collect the debt for the incident you caused, and you want to test me?" He stomped his foot roughly as if it were absurd. The dark red fighting spirit that spread from beneath the Heavenly Demon's feet was instantly pushed back by golden flames. "I know it's nonsense, but fine." Raon bit his lips deeply and drew the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem. "I'll smash that arrogance of yours and collect Birdnew Village's blood debt." He wanted to argue against the nonsense, but the Heavenly Demon wasn't someone who would listen to such words. Since he could only start a conversation by withstanding his martial arts, there was no choice now. "Come." Raon raised the Heavenly Drive above his head and lowered the Wooden Ring Sword downward. After taking a heaven-and-earth stance that could receive any offensive, he arrogantly tilted his chin. "Excellent fighting spirit. You are indeed Glenn Zieghart's grandson." The Heavenly Demon nodded calmly as if Raon resembled Glenn. He settled the dark red fighting spirit that had been gathered in his fists, as if he would have killed him immediately had Raon refused. "First form." The Heavenly Demon extended his left hand forward and drew his right fist to his waist. The sash he was wearing heated up from the intense heat of his fighting spirit and emitted gray smoke. "Heavenly Defeat." He announced the name of the technique and thrust out his drawn-back right fist. 'Hup!' Raon stopped breathing. The moment the Heavenly Demon threw his punch, sound and light disappeared once again, and only his fist devoured the entire world. The dark red energy, as if all the world's malice and fighting spirit had been gathered and condensed, seemed to pour down like a pillar proving the existence of a demon god. The punch the Heavenly Demon threw writhed like a living creature as it rushed toward him. Neither too fast nor too slow. However, it contained absolute power that would annihilate everything it touched—in front, beside, and behind it. Kuuuuuung! The sky roared. Blood-tear-like lightning poured from the darkened sky, roughly scraping the earth. The ground screamed as it was torn apart, and flames filled with pride erupted from the gaps. Raon trembled at his fingertips, feeling the world split apart just from the aftermath of the punch. 'If I move even slightly wrong...' I'll die. The Heavenly Demon's punch was real. He was genuinely trying to kill him. 'There's only one way...' Raon operated Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier to their extremes while raising the Heavenly Drive. He loosened his wrist that had unconsciously tensed up and stepped forward with his left foot, displaying bear's heart. Whoosh! He advanced toward the Heavenly Demon's punch that would shatter bones and flesh—no, even his soul—and opened his mental world. In the world that had become as vast as if it contained the continent itself, countless swords rose simultaneously. From the basic swordsmanship he had trained in every day since childhood, to the flame swordsmanship containing Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's fire, the Fangs of Insanity and Blizzard Sword Art containing freedom, Sky-Piercing Thunder reflecting Glenn's life, and even his own unique swordsmanship mastered while transcending life and death. Swords that contained everything from his past life to present life rose from the edge of his soul and overlapped with the Heavenly Drive. Wooooong! The swordsmanship that had lived with him seeped into the Heavenly Drive, and the silver blade flickered with brilliant golden light. "Sword Domain." Raon threw his body into the Heavenly Demon's punch and struck down with the Heavenly Drive burning with golden radiance. "Heaven's Rift." Like that grand moment when a new heaven opens, endless radiance swirled from the sword's edge of the Heavenly Drive. Tukwaaaaaang! Sword and fist. Fighting spirit and aura. And the clash of soul against soul. The dark red fighting spirit and golden aura never mixed, burning each other like water and oil while creating a massive whirlwind. Zzzzzzzk! Eventually, the earth could not withstand that power and collapsed, creating pitch-black cracks in the sky. "Kuhuk!" Raon bent his waist and vomited pitch-black dead blood. He had faced the Heavenly Demon's punch with all his strength, but naturally could only be defeated. He was overwhelmed in martial arts, in spirit, and in Demon King's Authority. Step. The Heavenly Demon approached while maintaining the same quiet gaze as at the beginning, as if it were natural. His low footsteps sounded like a specter dragging chains. "There is only one person who can keep their head raised before my dominion." The Heavenly Demon arrogantly jutted out his chin as if his victory was natural unless it was Glenn. "However..." His firm lips curved up slightly, forming an arc. "You too have the qualifications to stand before it."