The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1286 'So...' Raon lightly tapped the table and lifted his chin. '&lt;Pride&gt; isn't just about being cocky and arrogant, but disgustingly cocky and infuriatingly arrogant, right?' He narrowed his eyes as he repeated the meaning of pride that he had heard from Wrath until both ears were worn out. -Yes! That's right! Wrath shouted with irritation. -How many times are you going to ask! He shook both fists, telling him to understand already. 'It's simple though?' Raon nodded confidently. 'It's just telling me to act superior.' Being arrogant was, in a word, no different from openly acting superior. It was simpler than he thought. -You're in this situation because you can't do that simple thing! Wrath frowned as if asking what he was talking about. -And it's not just about acting superior! You have to truly think you're superior from the core of your soul! He clicked his tongue, saying that only by truly thinking himself superior could he feel even a speck of <Pride>. 'Then it's difficult...' Unlike when he said it was easy, Raon let out a deep sigh. 'I don't think I'm superior.' Others might find it hard to believe, but since he had never once thought himself superior, it seemed it wouldn't be easy to awaken pride. No, it seemed almost impossible at this point. -That's what I don't understand! Wrath let out a long sigh. -I don't want to admit it, but you possess uncommon talent and abilities even in the eyes of me, a demon king! I can't understand at all why you think you're ordinary! He said that even from his perspective, he was an exceptional human and nodded his chin. 'It might seem that way. But...' Raon looked at Wrath and calmly shook his head. 'I'm absolutely not a superior person.' Having lived two lives and learned the First Patriarch of Zieghart's special martial art Ring of Fire from birth, he was bound to appear to have different talents from others. In reality, he wasn't talented or superior, but just lucky. "Phew..." Raon let out a frustrated breath and ran his hand through his hair. 'This is difficult.' He had heard from Wrath what the emotion of <Pride> was, but still couldn't get a clear grasp of it. -Haah... Wrath also let out a long sigh following him. -That's what I told you! You and <Pride> are the furthest apart! He bared his white teeth, saying that no matter how much he explained, he wouldn't understand. 'Still, I didn't expect to have no sense of it at all.' He thought he could open <Pride> not too difficultly like the other demon kings' emotions, but it was a big mistake. Even though a week had passed since returning to Zieghart, opening pride was still far away. -But why do you care about something like <Pride>? Wrath came closer and lifted his head. -You originally weren't that interested in the demon king's Authority. You didn't particularly try to awaken the Authority either. He tilted his head as if it was strange. 'That's right. I did.' Raon acknowledged Wrath's words and nodded. 'But the <Pride> I obtained this time felt like it would be something different.' -What? Wrath narrowed his nose bridge as if displeased. -Are, are you saying that <Pride> is superior to <Wrath>? He ground his teeth, saying that <Pride> could never be superior to <Wrath>. 'That's not what I meant.' Raon calmly shook his head. '<Pride> and <Wrath> both possess such strong power that there's no need to rank them. What I want to say is that all seven emotions of the demon kings will come together.' Looking into Wrath's blue eyes, he recalled the demon kings' authorities dwelling in his soul one by one. 'If the seven demon kings' authorities that seemed impossible to gather come together within me, I feel like something new will awaken.' Not just a simple feeling, but conviction. He had a premonition that if pride awakened and regained its full power, a great change would occur within his soul. -Hmm... Wrath looked at him and rolled his eyes up and down. -No one has ever gathered the seven demon kings' authorities in one body. Even gathering three would cause the body to explode. He nodded as if he would acknowledge that point. -So what do you think will change? 'I don't know that either.' Raon shrugged his shoulders. 'I can only find out when <Pride> awakens.' Right now he only had the sense that there would be change, so he couldn't know more than that. No, in fact even that was just his intuition, so it wasn't certain. -In the end, there's no answer! Wrath frowned, saying they had wasted time again. 'No, I still realized something thanks to you.' Raon chuckled and stood up. -Realized something? Wrath tilted his head as if asking what it was. 'You're right, I was too impatient. The change achieved through the demon king's power wasn't what was important.' He had wasted time with expectations of becoming stronger through <Pride> and fallen into unpleasant emotions. He was a swordsman, not a shaman or magician. What he should rely on was always his own mind, body, and sword. 'When I don't know the method, I should do what needs to be done.' He drew his sword and raised it above his head. 'I should swing my sword. Very...' Raon shot out a sword strike that could split the sky and curled up the corners of his mouth. 'Pridefully.' * * * Burren stood in the fifth training ground and stroked his smoothly groomed chin. "<Pride>..." It was good that he had obtained the authority called <Pride> from the demon king Pride thanks to Raon, but even after pondering alone for a week, he couldn't figure out how to awaken that power. 'It can't be helped.' He wanted to solve it alone, but since he couldn't find a way at all, he had no choice but to get help from those around him. "Ahem." Burren cleared his throat and approached Runaan, who was sitting with her eyes closed in the corner of the training ground. "Runaan. I have something to say..." It was when he went to Runaan's side and was about to bring up the main topic. Swoosh. Runaan opened her eyes first and looked at him. She sparkled her lustrous eyes as if she hadn't been sleeping but just had her eyes closed. "You weren't sleeping?" "No, I was sleeping..." Runaan said she slept well and nodded slowly. "I've just become able to control sleep and sloth to some extent now..." "Sleep and sloth?" Burren widened his eyes. Runaan had always struggled with being unable to control her sleep, but it seemed she had finally overcome that aspect. "Is it thanks to reaching Transcendence?" "No, because everyone suffered because of me..." Runaan calmly nodded, saying she hadn't changed naturally by reaching transcendence, but had changed through effort. "I see..." Burren lightly bit his lips as he saw the passion reflected in Runaan's transparent eyes. 'She must have struggled a lot.' Runaan spoke as if it was nothing, but considering what she had shown so far, she had clearly overcome sleep with all her might. "But why...?" Runaan nodded her head, telling him to state the reason he sought her out. "Well, I wanted to know how you awakened <Sloth>." Burren clicked his tongue as he asked Runaan about the method to awaken the demon king's Authority. "It just happened..." Runaan blinked her eyes and immediately gave her answer. "Huh...? It just happened?" Burren heard words he couldn't understand and blinked his eyes more foolishly than Runaan. "Yeah. <Sloth> has been with me from the beginning." Runaan nodded, saying she had been able to operate the Authority from the moment she received <Sloth> from Sloth. "Hmm, I see..." Burren bit his lips. 'As expected, that girl can't help.' Raon had said that Runaan matched Sloth like twins, so the Authority of <Sloth> strengthened even without particular effort. There was no advice he wanted to hear from that genius. "Do, Dorian!" Burren swallowed his saliva and called out to Dorian who was passing behind him. "Yes? Yes!" Dorian stopped moving training ground equipment and ran to Burren. "What's the matter?" He bowed his head with a cheerful smile. "You, how did you awaken the demon king's Authority?" Following Runaan, Burren also threw a question about Authority to Dorian. "Huh? It just happened for me too?" Dorian raised his hand, saying that like Runaan, he had entered with the demon king's Authority already opened from the beginning. "Thanks to Gluttony's consideration, I was able to use it right away." He nodded, saying that although not as freely as Runaan, he could operate <Gluttony> in his own way. "You, you too from the beginning...?" Burren's lips trembled. Hearing that even Dorian, who was far below him, could use the demon king's Authority right away, his chest felt stuffy as if he had indigestion. "What? Are you talking about demon kings?" Martha grinned while resting her head on Dorian's shoulder. "S-Sir Burren asked how I unlocked the Demon King's Authority." Dorian seemed burdened by Martha and gradually stepped aside while swallowing dry saliva. "Huh? Opening the demon king's Authority? Doesn't it just happen right away?" Martha tilted her head, saying she too had been able to use the Authority of <Envy> right away. "Can't you do it?" She looked at Burren with her mouth agape as if confused. "Grrrgh..." Burren pressed his lips down tightly while receiving the strange gazes of Runaan, Dorian, and Martha. 'Was I the only one who couldn't do it?' Even if he asked Evelyn, who had the Authority of <Lust>, it would surely be no different. No, there was a high possibility he would be mocked instead. "Sir Burren?" Dorian called out to Burren with worried eyes as if asking if he was alright. "Do, don't worry about it." Burren hastily waved his hand and moved away from the three people. 'This is ridiculous...' Even Dorian can do it, but only I can't? Runaan and Martha aside, when he thought that even Dorian could do it immediately while he alone couldn't, intense self-loathing washed over him. 'To think I was this lacking in talent.' When he thought that among those who received the demon king's Authority, he alone was falling behind, he felt an unbearable mental shock. 'Am I unqualified to receive the demon king's Authority...' Burren chewed his lips and lowered his eyes. When he was about to fall into despair, the image of Raon confronting Pride, the monarch of Pride, head-on appeared in his mind. 'No!' If I'm frustrated like this, I won't have the face to see Raon! To make him grow, Raon had stopped Pride, the demon king of Pride, whose mere presence felt like it would make his heart explode. To meet his expectations, he couldn't give up here. 'No, aside from that...' Since when did I start being inferior to Runaan and Martha? Though it was when they were young, originally he had never thought he would lose to Martha and Runaan, or even to Raon. Now the difference had become too stark to help, but he had always approached training with the resolve to catch up to them. 'I've been living too much like a loser.' Burren ground his molars hard enough to break his gums. 'I need to go back.' Back to childhood when I feared nothing! He clenched his fists tightly as he turned his mind back to the time when he burned with the will to defeat not just Martha and Runaan, but even Raon. 'Even if I'm defeated, it's enough if I get back up.' It was the moment when Burren abandoned the thought of awakening <Pride> and swore to himself that he would change his pathetic mindset. Kwadrrrk! From within his soul came a roar like rocks crumbling, along with crimson flames containing the heat of the Devildom. 'Now...' Burren felt his soul being dyed red and placed his hand on his sword. 'I won't lose to anyone!' * * * -Whoa! Wrath looked toward the direction of the fifth training ground and exclaimed. -Did that shitty eyes guy open &lt;Pride&gt;? The Authority of his nemesis Pride was felt from the direction of the fifth training ground. Since that guy couldn't come here, it was certain that Burren had opened <Pride>. -Eyes guy is much faster than you! Wrath giggled and turned his gaze to the right. 'That's right.' Raon continued the movements of the Azure Sky Sword without even looking at Wrath. His sword flowed like water, drawing grand forms as if containing the sky. 'I should congratulate him.' Raon calmly nodded, thinking he should congratulate Burren on his success. -I really don't understand! Wrath frowned as if annoyed by Raon's overly calm reaction. -Until recently you were impatient like a puppy that needed to poop, but why are you so calm now! 'Since war isn't far away, being impatient is right. However...' Raon slowly shook his head as he unfolded the movements of Celestial Thunder Arts following the Azure Sky Sword. 'Right now this feels more important.' He had focused only on the demon king's Authority thinking that something would change if he opened <Pride>, but when he grasped his sword, he felt that swordsmanship training was more important instead, so he had been swinging only his sword for over a week. 'I feel like I myself will change regardless of the demon king's Authority.' Raon continued his swordsmanship while feeling something stirring in his mind and Mental Image. He had already forgotten about Burren and, heightening his Focus, fell into a world where only his sword and himself existed. -It's not that you seem like you'll change. You're already changing. And that too... Wrath looked at Raon who had entered the world of the sword and twisted his lips up heartily. -In a direction I didn't predict!