The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1521 "Ha!" Raon let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the shattered western sky. 'Just as I thought, this isn't going to be easy.' As Derus Robert was torn apart by the Heavenly Drive, he had unleashed a massive death aura. At first, Raon had thought it was a parting gift left behind in the man's final struggle, and had accepted the death aura scattered into the air. 'But that wasn't it.' Derus Robert had clearly anticipated that Raon would absorb the death aura left in the sky, and had used the portion he'd secretly diverted to shatter the Holy Sword Alliance's barrier. Kuwaaaaaang! With the sky that the First Patriarch of Zieghart had drawn with the Vast Heaven Sword now broken, the seal binding the Demonic Dragon of Destruction's body and soul had been released, and its true flames had swept over Darkan. "Kreuuu…." Darkan let out a harsh groan, his whole body trembling. It seemed he had tried to deal a finishing blow to the gravely wounded Demonic Dragon of Destruction, only to be counterattacked instead and take serious damage. "I-I'm fine…." Darkan raised his hand, insisting he could still fight, but even holding on seemed difficult for him. 'The dragon being wounded turned out to be poison rather than an advantage.' If Darkan had fought with utmost care, he wouldn't have been struck down so easily no matter how massive the dragon's flames were. In his rush to kill the dragon quickly, he had neglected his defense and focused only on attacking, only to be countered head-on. 'Truly….' Raon let out a pure exclamation of admiration. 'Impressive.' Derus Robert. To think of the next move even in the face of death. Even as an enemy and a mortal foe, Raon couldn't help but feel genuine admiration. -Admiration my ass! Wrath ground his teeth as he watched the dragon rise, its wounds regenerating with flame. -The balance had barely been restored, and now it looks like it's about to tip again! He pounded his own shoulder, demanding to know what Raon planned to do now. -That Pride fellow can't even help us now! Wrath pointed at Pride, who was locked in a standoff with Archangel Michael. The archangel and the demon king were focused entirely on each other, paying no mind whatsoever to the Demonic Dragon of Destruction. -That's why I told you to finish it off earlier! Wrath ground his teeth, asking why Raon had given the enemy time. 'It's fine.' Raon waved a hand at the agitated Wrath and continued. 'I had confidence in myself. That's why I let it drag on.' He was surprised that the Holy Ground's sky had broken, but shrugged as though it were no big deal. -Ha? Wrath blinked blankly at Raon's calm expression. -You had confidence? He widened his eyes as if at a loss for words. -You haven't even fully recovered yourself! Wrath frowned, pointing out that Raon had only just woken from death and not all his wounds had healed. -No matter how strong you've become, taking on the dragon's full power head-on is impossible! He said they needed to rework the plan, breathing raggedly. 'Of course, my body isn't in perfect condition right now.' Raon acknowledged Wrath's words without argument. 'But I'm not so broken that I can't fight.' Fighting Derus Robert, Archangel Michael, and the Demonic Dragon of Destruction, and repeatedly wielding the Sword Domain, had opened his internal injuries and soul wounds to a severe degree, but by overcoming death those injuries had been perfectly healed. His physical condition and stamina were lacking, but his aura and spirit were practically at their best. 'And….' Raon smiled brightly and lowered his chin. 'Like I said earlier, there's still room for me to grow.' He said his growth wasn't over yet, and rotated the wrist gripping the Heavenly Drive. -G-Growth…? Wrath's eyes went round, as if wondering whether Raon was serious. -You can really grow even further from where you are? He let out a sharp breath, as though he'd assumed it was a lie. 'You'll see if you watch.' Raon approached the Demonic Dragon of Destruction with a faint smile. "If you want to live, hole up in some corner of the continent and never come out again…." Raon extended the Heavenly Drive, aiming it at the dragon's neck. "But if you want to follow your master, then come at me." He tilted his chin, as if giving the dragon a chance. Grrrrrr! The dragon's massive maw twisted open. It let out heat that seemed as if it would melt souls, along with a chilling fury. "I take it that reaction means you want to die?" Raon met the dragon's chillingly twisted eyes and curled his lips upward amid the bone-searing heat. Kuoooooo! The Demonic Dragon of Destruction unleashed flames of ruin along with a world-overwhelming Dragon's Fear, proclaiming that it alone was the master of this world. * * * "Th-That…." The Fire Spirit King Ifrit pointed at the Demonic Dragon of Destruction and swallowed hard. "That dragon head wasn't even fighting at full strength when it fought me?" He screamed upon realizing that the dragon's power he had fought hadn't been its real strength. "Haaa…." The Water Spirit King Elayim let out a deep sigh as she looked at Ifrit. "I told you. That dragon holds the power to destroy the world." She shook her head, explaining that the dragon's power had been suppressed by this land's barrier. "T-Then how is big brother holding up! No, seriously, what even is that guy!" Ifrit burst out in a cry of astonishment, watching Raon cleave through the flames of the dragon that had killed Derus Robert and unleashed its true power. "Who else! Raon Zieghart, of course!" Blade Queen Siera wiped the blood from her lips and grinned. "My lord, and the greatest Martial Artist on the continent!" She raised her chin, telling him to remember that well. "You think I asked because I don't actually know? I'm singing his praises!" Ifrit shook his head vigorously. "Besides, before he was your lord, he was my big brother!" He snorted, insisting he had become Raon's brother first. "Who was first doesn't matter! I'm the one who's spent more time with him and built a real bond!" Siera waved her hand, claiming she had spent more time with Raon. "I forged a Soul Oath with big brother that transcends time!" Ifrit cried out about their very souls, unwilling to lose to Siera. "Haaa…." "Ugh…." Warlord Yuber and the Water Spirit King Elayim sighed at the same time. "That must be tough for you." "It must be tough for you too." Though they had just met, the two nodded at each other, as if they could each sense the other's hardship. "I…." "No, our big brother…." It was while Siera and Ifrit kept endlessly going back and forth. Kuuuuuung! The Holy Sword Alliance's Holy Ground barrier was completely shattered, revealing the true sky. With both sun and moon gone, the Day of Black Darkness, where only darkness exists, belatedly began over the Holy Ground. Uoooooooo! As pitch-black darkness fell over the Holy Ground, the Demonic Dragon of Destruction's presence swelled dramatically. An aura bigger than mountains, deeper than the sea, and more magnificent than the sky itself — it was as though it had become the very concept of destruction. Kuwaaaaaaaa! When the Demonic Dragon of Destruction exhaled its scorching breath, a massive hole was gouged into the Holy Ground's mountain, like cheese scooped out by a finger. The force was many times stronger than its earlier breath — this was now the true power of the calamity called the Demonic Dragon. "Aaaaaah!" "Gaaaaaah!" "I-I can't breathe…." As the dragon's true Martial Prowess was revealed, the Dragon's Fear it had possessed since birth spread along with it, and the humans on the ground fell to their knees in despair. The gap in power was so overwhelming that they seemed to have lost even the strength to resist. "Now's the time!" "Kill the humans!" "Follow the God of Destruction!" Meanwhile, Derus Robert's forces, gaining fighting spirit and strength from the darkness of the Day of Black Darkness, instantly reversed the one-sided battle that had been pushing them back. Kwaaaaaaa! The heads of humans and monsters fell endlessly, and a river of blood began to flow across the Holy Ground. The Transcendents kept their eyes fixed not on the war below, but on the sky. They knew exactly which battle mattered most right now. Kugugugugu! As time passed, the dragon's Martial Prowess grew stronger and its movements more fluid. It moved its body, vast as the sky itself, with total freedom, bearing down on Raon. Jijijijijik! Raon, seeming to struggle against the dragon, bit his lip as he barely managed to deflect or cut through its onslaught. "Raon!" Rector called out to Raon, who had dodged the dragon's massive claw by a paper-thin margin, clenching his fists so tightly they nearly drew blood. "I-Isn't that dangerous?" Balder sucked in a sharp breath. "That's way too strong, even for strong!" His jaw trembled as he remarked that it seemed even stronger than when he'd first seen it in the war. "Honestly…." Alice chewed on her lip as she watched the dragon. "I really can't see a way to win this." She frowned, saying that even for Raon, this was a fight with no visible answer. "B-Big brother…." Even Ifrit, who trusted Raon, trembled with his hand shaking, astonished by the dragon's amplified power. "My lord!" Siera, too, trusted Raon, but she couldn't even imagine him winning against the dragon's absolute Martial Prowess. Facing the three Absolutes earlier had seemed to offer more hope than this. "What a monster…." Yuber, stunned by the dragon's Martial Prowess, didn't even notice the cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "It seems no one could stop it unless we were in the Spirit Realm…." Elayim exhaled heavily, as if saying they couldn't stop the dragon anywhere but on ground favorable to them. "T-Then let's fight together, even now!" "Alright! I can do this too!" It was just as Ifrit and Siera were saying they should go back up and fight alongside Raon. "No." Karoon raised his hand firmly, as if to stop Ifrit. "What do you mean, no! Do you want to watch big brother die… ah." Ifrit had been about to argue with Karoon, but fell silent upon seeing his eyes. Karoon was watching Raon with a gaze of far deeper trust than even Ifrit's or Siera's. "The Head of House is smiling." Karoon wore a similar smile as he watched Raon, who hadn't lost his grin even while fighting the dragon that had revealed its true power. "I've been on the receiving end enough times to know better than anyone. When he smiles like that…." He nodded, as if placing his trust in Raon, who had always overcome crises and grown stronger. "He's never once disappointed me." * * * Chwaaaaak! Raon drew a heavy breath, seeing his own face reflected in the flames closing in before his eyes. 'Death.' At first, he hadn't been able to face his own death. It was only after dying a second time that he could feel what true death really was, how terrifying it was. 'And life.' Because he had felt death, he could also realize what it meant to be alive. Life wasn't just happiness. Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure. Where there is happiness, there is also anger; where there is love, sorrow exists too. Death was not always darkness, and being alive was not always light. As concepts he had never once considered until now etched themselves into his mind, he could feel that he had been swinging his sword all this time without understanding anything at all. Gooooooo! The realization Raon had achieved through his soul seeped into his body, and the aura that had stood apart, alone in his Mental Image, began to stir. Aaaaaaaa! It was the death aura that had remained unshaken even when all his other auras merged as one. The dead's wish, which the living could never fully wield, had found its true master and was now crying out in joy. "Now…." Raon curled his lips upward, sensing the Dan Ak Gong flame deepening as it met death. "Even death follows me now." With his low murmur, the Heavenly Drive came falling down. Jjeoeoeoeok! The instant the red-hot blade of the Heavenly Drive dimmed like a sunset nearing night, the flames of destruction that had filled the sky split apart like a sheet of paper. Peoeoeoeok! No, it wasn't only the flames of destruction that split. On the chest of the dragon that had unleashed that magnificent breath, a massive wound matching the Heavenly Drive's path opened up, and crimson blood burst out. Kuoooooo! The Demonic Dragon of Destruction writhed in agony it had never felt before, letting out a scream that shook both heaven and earth. "Don't bark like a puppy." Raon looked down at the dragon howling in pain and tilted his chin arrogantly. "You look cute doing it."