The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1501 Chwaaaaak! Raon surged forward as if piercing through space, bringing the Divine Sword down toward Derus Robert's neck. Kuuuuung! Derus Robert managed to block Raon's sword, but his wrist bent back halfway before he could even fully extend his Sword of Beloved Death. His brow trembled, as though blocking Raon's blade wasn't an easy task. Jijijijijik! Raon narrowed his eyes and pressed down harder on Derus Robert, whose face twisted under the force of the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword. 'Certain.' I've grown stronger again. He could tell just from swinging his sword. Compared to when he'd first felt himself growing stronger and told himself to be careful not to get intoxicated by power, his physical abilities and the rank of his aura had grown subtly stronger still. "Hmm…." Derus Robert frowned as if he too had noticed it. His brow furrowed deeply, as though he were struggling to figure out why he kept drawing out a little more power. -Ha? Wrath's jaw dropped. -What a truly wretched world this is! He shook his head, as if he too sensed his own growth. -It's not like you're gaining enlightenment, so why are you getting stronger! What the hell is this! Wrath gritted his teeth, saying he'd never seen anyone grow stronger this way. 'I didn't understand it either, but….' Raon stepped forward with his right foot and brought down the Demonic Sword. 'Now I know for certain.' The blade, flickering with blue light, aimed for Derus Robert's shoulder. Jjeoooooong! Derus Robert extended his blade infused with the death aura to block the Demonic Sword, but he seemed pushed back by the force, his feet sinking into the ground as if driven in. "What are you thinking?" Derus Robert asked with a crooked smile. "If you're going all out, go all out, and if you're waiting for an opening, wait for it — what's with this half-hearted nonsense?" He slowly steadied his breathing, as if trying to calmly read Raon's intentions. "I'm not going all out, and I'm not waiting for an opening either." Raon shook his head calmly. "I'm simply growing stronger, even in this very moment." He pressed Derus Robert even harder, telling him that he was growing stronger. "Growing stronger? What nonsense!" Derus Robert snorted, telling him not to talk nonsense like Wrath. "You can feel it too, can't you?" Raon asked Derus Robert if he wasn't feeling it himself, while knocking aside his Sword of Beloved Death and slicing thin cuts across his waist and thigh. "……." Derus Robert staggered back, blood spraying from his waist and thigh. His eyes hardened, as if trying to grasp the intent behind Raon's words. -You idiot! Wrath burst out, gnashing his teeth. -Why are you telling that to him?! He smacked his own back, asking why he was being so foolish. 'Don't worry.' Raon waved his hand, as if pushing aside Wrath's concern. 'That man isn't foolish enough to believe my words at face value.' Derus Robert was, among all the humans he knew, the most suspicious. There was little chance he'd believe Raon was growing stronger just from being told so — if anything, he'd likely grow more suspicious, wondering why such information had been given to him, and confuse himself in the process. -I'm sick of this. Wrath's jaw dropped. -Fighting that monster, and he still pulls off psychological warfare like that! He shook his head, saying it really made no sense. -But didn't you say you'd figured out how you got stronger? Wrath smacked his lips, curious about what he'd said earlier. 'That's right.' Raon nodded calmly. 'Once you see over there, you'll feel it too.' As he said that, his eyes turned toward the Black Tower Master, leader of the third of the Five Demons whom Derus Robert had revived, and the Archmage Chamber of Eternal Flame who stood blocking him. 'Because the same result is going to happen.' * * * Gooooooo! The Black Tower Master glared at the Archmage Chamber of Eternal Flame, his red eyes flashing. It wasn't just his pupils that were red — his entire eyeballs were burning crimson. "Still, there was a time I thought you were the trickiest of the Five Demons to deal with…." Chamber pulled out a lollipop and popped it into her mouth as if lighting a cigarette. "You've rotted through completely. Forget becoming a demon king — you didn't even manage to become a demonic beast." She shook her head, openly belittling the Black Tower Master. "Haaaah…." The Black Tower Master slowly turned his gaze toward Chamber. "Chamber…." He murmured her name, as if only now truly seeing her. "Would you not say my name?" Chamber frowned as she crushed the candy in her mouth. "If you say it, I feel like it'll start to smell." As if ready to begin right away, she took off her witch's hat and raised a hand charged with mana. "You worm of a magician…." The Black Tower Master exhaled black smoke from his mouth and hunched his back like a hunchback. "Do you truly think… your magic will work on me…." He tilted his chin arrogantly, as if still looking down on Chamber. "The world's changed quite a bit while you were rotting away." Chamber chewed the candy once more, then spat out the stick. "Before the new history of magic, your demonic energy is nothing more than a loach wriggling in muddy water." She tilted her head, unfazed even as she watched the terrifying demonic energy blooming around the Black Tower Master. "Haah…." The Black Tower Master let out a heavy breath as he looked at Raon's back beyond Chamber. "I'm not like those fools who died drunk on new power." It was the moment his red eyes narrowed like a crescent moon. Wooooooong! A darkness deeper than his demonic energy began to seep out around the Black Tower Master. The death aura. The death aura that Derus Robert had passed on to him merged with his demonic energy, giving off a bleak glow. "I have already made the death aura my own." The Black Tower Master proudly lifted his chin, declaring that he had fused the death aura Derus Robert left behind when reviving him with his own demonic energy. Kugugugugugugu! The demonic energy the Black Tower Master had draped around himself like a robe merged perfectly with the death aura, rising behind him in the shape of a Specter. The sky twisted and the ground melted. It seemed as though, following the Black Tower Master's will, a true demonic energy capable of melting everything had been born. "Ahahahahaha!" Chamber burst into a bright laugh even as she faced the Black Tower Master's overwhelming demonic energy. "…Why are you laughing?" The Black Tower Master glared at Chamber with twisted eyes, as if he couldn't understand. "Because it's just too absurd." Chamber wiped at eyes that were even leaking tears, her laughter growing deeper. "It's hilarious that someone who wanted to become the demon king of this era ended up happily playing lackey to Derus Robert!" She waved her hand, saying he'd have been better off not showing up at all and just keeping what pride he had left. "You wretch…." The Black Tower Master gnashed his teeth at Chamber, his brow deeply furrowed. "I am the demon king! I am the incarnation of demonic energy destined to become the true master of this world!" He declared himself the demon king and unleashed an even denser surge of energy. Kuwaaaaaaaa! The Specter-like form of demonic energy that had risen behind the Black Tower Master grew even more massive, until before long it blanketed the very sky where Chamber stood. "I'll melt you away in a single stroke." As if pouring everything into this one blow to finish Chamber off, he brought the sky-covering demonic energy crashing straight down. It was a will to crush magic itself beneath the power of demonic energy. "I'll give you credit for one thing." Chamber pulled out a new piece of candy and parted her red lips. "It was good that you didn't waste time and drew out your full power right away." She nodded with a bright smile, as if genuinely praising him. "However…." Chamber calmly raised her hand even as she watched the Black Tower Master's massive demonic energy bearing down on her. "It means nothing at all." She wove a spatial spell as if to trap the Black Tower Master's demonic energy. "Useless…." The Black Tower Master scoffed and shook his chin. "My demonic energy has the advantage over your mana. Now that the death aura has been added to it, space itself will melt away." His cold eyes flashed, as if certain of his victory. "It's your demonic energy that's useless." It was the moment a fresh smile bloomed at the corner of Chamber's lips. Jjeoeoeoeoeoeok! The sky, blackened beneath the massive demonic energy, cracked apart like a spiderweb, splitting into dozens of pieces and scattering like a melting glacier. "Disappear." The moment Chamber clenched her fist, the shattered fragments of space that had held back the demonic energy vanished into another dimension in an instant, as if they had never existed at all. "Huh…?" The Black Tower Master blinked blankly. "What is this…." His chin trembled as he stared at the now-calm sky, unable to believe what he was seeing even with his own eyes. "What did you do?! How could demonic energy infused with death—!" The Black Tower Master gnashed his teeth, as if demanding to know what trick had been played on him. "Your demonic energy has definitely grown stronger. That much is certain." Chamber laughed, saying the Black Tower Master's power had grown to the point of surpassing even her own. "But no matter how strong you are…." She raised the hand holding her candy and pointed toward the Demonic Dragon of Destruction battling the Spirit Kings. "You're still not on the level of that monster. We prepared this spatial spell specifically to stop that destruction." Chamber gave the Black Tower Master the explanation he wanted, stretching out her fingertips to weave a spatial spell that trapped him as well. "Ah…." The Black Tower Master gazed at the Demonic Dragon of Destruction, then slowly lowered his head. "Don't spout nonsense!" He gnashed his teeth at the sight of the spatial spell trapping him. "Before my demonic energy, your magic is nothing—!" The Black Tower Master shouted that he'd smash Chamber's spatial spell right away and unleashed an explosion of demonic energy. Kuwaaaaaang! The Black Tower Master's demonic energy swelled until it covered the whole of Chamber's spatial spell, but her magic never broke. "H-how…." The Black Tower Master's pale lips trembled as he finally sensed that Chamber's magic had grown solid to a degree entirely different from before. "Disappear. And…." Chamber slowly clenched her fist as she faced the Black Tower Master, whose eyes trembled in shock. "Don't come back." "W-wait!" "There's no place for you here anymore." The Black Tower Master reached out a hand, but Chamber only waved as if telling him farewell and closed her fist. "No, nooooo! Raon Zieghart…." The instant Chamber's mana surged, the Black Tower Master's existence vanished from this world along with his scream. "Whew…." The moment the Black Tower Master disappeared, Chamber's body slumped limply. She looked as if she'd won with ease, but cold sweat trickled down her forehead — proof that she'd poured every bit of her mana into each and every blow, leaving her utterly drained. "I've finally gotten my revenge." Chamber wiped away the sweat running down her face and lifted her head. "Thank you! Thanks to you, I've settled an old grudge!" She waved at Raon, saying she'd avenged the Balkar magicians who had suffered at the Black Tower Master's hands. 'You felt it now, didn't you?' The moment Chamber finished thanking him, Raon shoved Derus Robert back even more fiercely and tilted his chin toward Wrath. -Y-you don't mean…. Wrath bit his lip, as if he too had felt it now. -You grow stronger every time someone on your side wins? He let out a scream-like cry, as if he couldn't believe it even as he said it himself. 'Not exactly anyone on my side. It seems to only happen with the people I trust.' Raon smiled as he glanced in turn at Evelyn, Alice, and Chamber. -H-how…. 'Because of you, obviously.' -B-because of this king? What does that— Gasp! Wrath tilted his head, unable to understand, then suddenly widened his eyes. 'That's right. The Thread of Fate and Spirit Transformation.' Raon nodded briskly and brought down a sword strike that was even faster and stronger than before. 'It's thanks to your traits growing. Which means….' He curled his lips as he watched Derus Robert's expression grow ever more rigid. 'This war might end even more easily than I thought.'