The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 772 The true power of Heaven's Rift lies not just in its increasing strength as martial prowess grows, but in the ability to adjust the flow and trajectory of the Sword Domain to match the battle situation. As Raon fought the two Twin-Headed Demons, he swung Heaven's Rift towards the openings he had identified. The brilliant golden light extended outward, erasing any space for them to dodge. The greatsword held by the elderly Twin-Headed Demon shattered, while the wooden club of the young Twin-Headed Demon was pulverized without even leaving dust behind. But the light of Heaven's Rift had not yet faded. Like the sun erasing dawn, it grew ever brighter, enveloping heaven and earth. That noble radiance split not just the two Twin-Headed Demons, but even the monsters behind them in half. As Raon lowered the Heavenly Drive, the vast light faded, revealing a battlefield that seemed frozen in time. The thousands of monsters that had been there now lay still, their lives extinguished, as red blood pooled across the blue plains. "Urgh..." "Ugh..." The two Twin-Headed Demons barely clung to life by expending all their fighting spirit, but they had sustained injuries that could prove fatal at any moment. "D-damn it..." "Argh!" The elderly Twin-Headed Demon knelt with both arms that had held the greatsword now severed, while the young Twin-Headed Demon had lost the right half of its lower body while trying to flee after being struck by Heaven's Rift, and was now crawling on the ground. Both trembled in agony, coughing up black blood. "Haa..." Raon frowned as he forcibly swallowed the blood rising in his throat. 'I'm at my limit.' Having used the Sword Domain repeatedly, sustained serious internal injuries, and fought two monsters who had reached the Grandmaster level, his entire body was in tatters. It was fortunate the battle ended here - if it had continued even a little longer, he would have collapsed first. 'But I can't let my guard down yet.' The Twin-Headed Demons inherited Eden's abilities, giving them troll-level regeneration. Now that they're incapacitated, I need to make sure to finish them off for good. "Kuhak!" As Raon struggled to move his legs, he heard an intense groan from behind. Turning his head, he saw Edgar kneeling on one knee, spewing black blood from inside his helmet. "Are you alright?" He turned and supported Edgar, who was about to collapse. There was a long hole in his back, likely from taking Rimmer and Sylvia's sword strikes head-on earlier. "Y-you did well, Raon." Even while coughing up blood, Edgar smiled warmly as if to say he was grateful for being trusted. "No, I..." Raon's lips trembled before he lowered his brows. He couldn't think of what to say to Edgar right now. "Edgar!" As he was pondering what words to use first, Sylvia ran over and cradled Edgar's head on her knees. "You idiot! If you regained consciousness, you should have said something!" Sylvia shouted, demanding to know why he took the sword strikes with his body. "If I had, those two wouldn't have fallen for it." Edgar wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled awkwardly. "Hmm..." Rimmer also seemed concerned about Edgar, glancing back while keeping the two Twin-Headed Demons in check to prevent them from moving. "Still..." Sylvia bit her lip deeply, as if the entire situation was painful for her. "The flow of your Mystic Soul Sword was all wrong, so your sword strikes didn't even hurt. I told you to extend your ankle forward for the second form, but you got it wrong again. For the third form, you need to draw a semicircle with your wrist, but the angle was off. And..." Edgar held Sylvia's hand as he poured out critiques about the Mystic Soul Sword. It was hard to tell if this was a battlefield or a training ground. "Really..." Sylvia's eyes reddened as she watched Edgar's endless chatter. "How have you not changed at all..." She shed tears as if she had missed Edgar's talkative nature. "You're still as tearful as ever." Edgar raised his hand to wipe Sylvia's tears but stopped. He looked at his blood-soaked hand before lowering it. "But seeing you again, I really... Kuhak!" Edgar smiled awkwardly before doubling over and coughing up more black blood. "...Are you alright?" Rimmer furrowed his brow, seemingly thinking Edgar was in pain because of his sword strikes. "D-don't worry about it. This isn't because of physical injuries." Edgar weakly waved his hand. "What do you mean?" Sylvia swallowed dryly as she looked at Edgar. "Whew..." Edgar looked at Sylvia and Raon for a moment before letting out a deflated laugh. "Well, it's a bit awkward to say it like this." He raised both hands to grasp the Death Knight's helmet. "Arghhhh!" Edgar let out a terrible scream as if his throat was being torn out as he removed the helmet with his own strength. Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Edgar's bare face. 'Is this man my father?' He had pale skin as if he had never seen sunlight, with a gentle impression that suggested he might enjoy books. Though he had a soft demeanor, his eyes were firm, giving the impression of stubbornness. "My soul is currently trapped by The Fallen. I'm barely holding on, but I don't know when I might lose control of my body again." Edgar exhaled heavily, explaining that even coughing up dead blood now was because he had refused the orders of the Twin-Headed Demon controlled by The Fallen. "But it's okay. This is much better than not being able to do anything." He smiled, calling it a pain that brought happiness. "Edgar..." Sylvia caressed Edgar's face as she wept as if wailing. Though she was generally emotional, this level of crying seemed unprecedented since learning about the Curse of Frost. "I came too late, didn't I? I'm sorry." Edgar awkwardly smiled as he stroked Sylvia's back. However, even in this moment, his hand trembled, betraying the intense pain he felt. "I have no words for you all. I couldn't protect Sia, nor could I protect you and Raon. I said I'd make you happy, but I haven't accomplished anything. I'm a failure. All I wanted was for your family to live happily, but I only made you miserable. Still, I'm glad you've lived well..." He lowered his head as if disgusted with himself and continued his endless stream of words. "You say you have no words, yet you talk so much." Sylvia wiped her tears and chuckled. "Raon, didn't I tell you your dad talks a lot?" She nodded, as if telling Raon to greet Edgar. "We've already shared our hearts." Edgar slowly raised his gaze to look at Raon. "It was brief, but sincere." He grinned, saying that fighting with his son had been enjoyable. -Brief? What do you mean brief when you talked so damn much! Wrath waved his hand as if to say not to spout nonsense. 'It certainly wasn't brief.' Though it had been an urgent situation, Edgar only moved after pouring out everything he wanted to say. He was as talkative as Wrath. "Um..." "Oh my! Father-in-law!" As Raon was about to call out to Edgar, Merlin waved her hand first. "It's been a while!" Merlin smiled brightly while pinning down the Green King with gravity magic. "U-um, Raon." Sylvia glanced at Merlin before leaning forward. "She called me 'mother-in-law' earlier too. Did you get married without telling me?" "M-married to Merlin?" Edgar also widened his eyes in disbelief. "I knew about that child's obsession, but marriage!" He shook his head while coughing up blood. "No. Not at all." Raon exhaled deeply before approaching Merlin and the Green King. "Argh!" The Green King seemed exhausted from the continuous fighting, only able to scream without exerting much strength. Raon moved behind the Green King using his barely recovered aura and struck the back of her head with the Heavenly Drive. "Ugh..." Unprepared for the sudden impact, the Green King collapsed. "Raon! Be gentle with the lady... I mean, big sister... Anyway, don't be so rough!" Merlin furrowed her brow as if telling him to handle her carefully. "...Never mind. Just tie her up securely." Unlike Edgar, it was uncertain whether Sia could be saved, so she needed to be restrained. As the Green King Sia fell, the monsters attacking the castle walls stopped moving. They looked around as if forgetting what they were doing, then fled into the forest without looking back upon seeing the numerous corpses. "Haaah!" Dorian collapsed on the spot, letting out a long sigh. "It's finally over..." He sniffled while lying on the ground, as if relieved to be alive. "It seems things were resolved well on that side too." Burren nodded as he looked out over the battlefield where the war had ended. "You really saved him." Martha clenched her fist as she watched Sylvia holding Edgar. 'Then I should be able to do it too.' Just as Raon had saved his father Edgar, she felt hope rising that she could rescue her mother from the Leader of the White Blood Religion. Though her body was exhausted to the point of collapse, she felt like she could do anything. "Yeah..." Runaan bit her lip deeply as she looked at Raon's back. 'Why couldn't I do that?' Regret rose to her throat, thinking that if she had shown courage like Raon, her brother wouldn't have ended up like that, and her mother and father wouldn't have suffered. 'But...' She couldn't keep dwelling on regrets forever. Runaan gripped her Snow Flower tightly, vowing to end Syria's life with her own hands. * * * Raon stood before the two Twin-Headed Demons, passing by Edgar and Sylvia. Thanks to Rimmer's containment, they had been unable to do anything and were just grinding their teeth. "Y-you bastard..." As the elderly Twin-Headed Demon tried to summon fighting spirit with its barely regenerated left arm, Raon swung the Heavenly Drive. The Twin-Headed Demon's arm was severed again and fell to the ground. "Argh!" "Shut up." Raon reversed his grip on the Heavenly Drive and plunged it into the elderly Twin-Headed Demon's neck. "Kuhak..." The elderly Twin-Headed Demon flailed its limbs as if it hadn't expected to be killed so suddenly, then breathed its last. "...You're killing us right away?" The young Twin-Headed Demon let out a hollow laugh, as if it hadn't expected to be killed so quickly. "One mouth is enough." Raon pulled the Heavenly Drive from the elderly Twin-Headed Demon's neck and approached the young one. Without hesitation, he plunged the Heavenly Drive into the young Twin-Headed Demon's shoulder. "Argh!" The young Twin-Headed Demon screamed and struggled, but seemed unable to move, having lost all its strength. "Talk. What did you do to those two?" Raon jerked his chin towards Edgar and Sia. "Hehehe..." The Twin-Headed Demon didn't lose its smile despite the pain. "You just made a very good choice." "What?" "If you had killed me first instead of that old geezer, everyone here would have died." It raised its chin and sneered even in this situation. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter much since you'll all die soon anyway?" "What nonsense are you spouting?" "It's the answer to your question." The Twin-Headed Demon stuck out its long tongue as it looked up at Raon. "You asked what we did to him? Well, The Fallen..." It grinned even more broadly as it moved its lips. "Used your father as a lab rat." "What?" "The Death Knight's helmet can originally only be worn by the dead. It should be put on after making a corpse, but The Fallen put it on your father while he was alive and even protected his soul. Why do you think he did that?" The Twin-Headed Demon continued speaking as if it didn't want an answer. "Your father's soul gradually turned pitch black due to the Death Knight's demonic energy and the negative emotions he produced. And that darkness..." It raised a finger to point at Edgar's left chest. "Created annihilation magic as it condensed in the jewel embedded in his heart. Just like the lords of Devildom using power from emotions! That guy is now a living bomb!" The Twin-Headed Demon grinned widely with its arms spread. "You should know, right? The Fallen said he was complete." It tapped its temple as if telling him to remember. "Ah..." Edgar opened his trembling lips, unable to refute. His eyes glazed over as if the Twin-Headed Demon's words were true. Raon couldn't hold back and punched the Twin-Headed Demon in the cheek. "Stop it right now!" "Sorry, but it's already too late." The Twin-Headed Demon licked the blood from its mouth and shook its head. "The Fallen calculated even this situation. Now that the Severing Sword has moved of its own will, the explosion can't be stopped." It cackled, saying the fuse was already lit. "It's no use running away. The completed annihilation magic can obliterate this entire region." The Twin-Headed Demon turned its gaze towards House Arianne's castle. "Not just you, but everything in that castle will disappear too." "Shut up and tell me how to stop it!" Raon mercilessly struck the Twin-Headed Demon's face and body, but it only screamed without revealing how to stop it. -The bastard speaks true. Wrath furrowed his brow as he glared at the Twin-Headed Demon. -Suddenly, massive demonic energy is roiling near your father's heart! He swallowed dryly, saying it seemed about to burst at any moment. "That's enough." Edgar calmly waved his hand as he stood up. "He won't know anything. This was all planned by The Fallen." He smiled faintly, saying it was meaningless. "No..." Raon turned his trembling head to look at Edgar. As Wrath had said, terrifying demonic energy was swirling around his chest. Even though it wasn't fully unleashed, it was already stronger than the Heaven's Rift he had used earlier. "E-Edgar?" Sylvia trembled, unable to believe the situation. She wanted to follow Edgar but her legs gave out and she couldn't stand. "Don't worry." Edgar gently smiled as he stroked Sylvia's head. "No one will die." He nodded as he looked at Sylvia, Raon, and Sia in turn. "Huff..." After taking a deep breath, Edgar stabbed his left chest with his hand held straight. "Argh!" He let out a roar as he pulled out a blood-red jewel connected to his heart by blood vessels. Tremendous demonic energy was roiling inside the pentagonal jewel. -It's a Soul Stone! Wrath widened his eyes as he looked at the jewel Edgar was holding. -It's originally a Devildom jewel used to store demon king-level demonic energy, but why is it here... He frowned, saying he didn't understand why the Soul Stone was here. "What happens if that explodes?" -As that bastard said, this entire area will be erased. Wrath shook his head, saying everything was in danger. "Edgar!" "S-stay back!" Edgar pushed away Sylvia, who had barely managed to stand, and moved towards the forest. Whether from pain or the Soul Stone's energy, his steps were slower than an old man with a cane. Yet Edgar never stopped moving, no matter how difficult each step. -He must be feeling pain as if his soul is being torn apart... Wrath let out a sigh, amazed by Edgar's mental fortitude. -Now I see where your endurance comes from. He narrowed his eyes, saying he had to acknowledge it. "Hehehe!" The Twin-Headed Demon waved its hand with a sneer. "It's too late. You're all coming with me." "I told you to shut up!" Raon stomped on the Twin-Headed Demon's face and looked at Edgar's back. Despite the terrible pain he must have been feeling, Edgar smiled brightly as if to say not to worry. Though he was his father, Raon had only met him twice, yet his chest ached strangely. 'There is a way.' He raised the Blade of Requiem in reverse grip above his chest. Sword Domain: Descent of the Demon King. It was the only way to escape this situation. Though there were many eyes watching and his identity would be revealed, he couldn't let the man who was his father leave like this. -If you use that Sword Domain, this monarch can help. However... Wrath's blue eyes sank heavily. -You will not be able to reach transcendence. 'What?' -Because this monarch took the shock that should have been passed to you in the second Descent of the Demon King, the shock that will be passed to you if you use the third Descent of the Demon King will be far more severe than before. He shook his head as if to say to think carefully. 'If I can't reach transcendence...' I won't be able to take revenge either. Derus is so strong that no one but Glenn can face him. With him receiving support from an Archangel as well, not reaching transcendence meant failing revenge. "Edgar!" While Raon hesitated, Sylvia ran towards Edgar, gritting her teeth. "Don't come!" Edgar raised his hand, veins bulging on his forehead. "Don't come at all!" He shook his jaw, veins popping as if he could barely contain the demonic energy in the Soul Stone. "Please, stay behind me." Edgar drew a strained smile, asking for her cooperation. He continued his heavy steps, as if it was okay even if his soul was destroyed. "Ah..." Sylvia trembled all over, her hands clasped, as if unable to believe she was parting with Edgar like this after finally meeting him. "Raon." Edgar forced a smile as he looked at Raon's hardened expression. "Children shouldn't die before their parents. I'm sorry to leave like this, but please take care of your mother." He grinned, saying Raon should just live as he has been, since he was never there to begin with. Raon bit down on his molars hard enough to draw blood. 'I don't care if I can't reach transcendence.' He didn't want to see Sylvia grieving, nor did he want to see Edgar's pained expression. Even if he failed his revenge, his choice now was clear. Sword Domain: Descent of the Demon... "You're finally saying something right." As Raon was about to stab his abdomen with the Blade of Requiem, a low voice unsuited to the situation came from behind him. The Sword Demon Rector, now Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance, had somehow appeared behind him. "Huh?" Edgar stopped in his tracks and trembled as soon as he saw Rector. "Father, why are you here..." "Foolish boy." Rector approached Edgar without hesitation. "D-don't come! Right now I'm..." "Didn't you say it yourself?" He grasped the Soul Stone connected to Edgar's heart in his hand. At that moment, the growing demonic energy subsided, and the ticking sound stopped abruptly. "That a son should never go before his father." Rector placed his hand on Edgar's head and nodded calmly. "Live, Edgar."