The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 592
The essence of the Flame Demon completely shattered, and a bright red stream of blood gushed out from its chest.
Thud.
Raon dropped the Heavenly Sword from his right hand. He no longer had the strength to hold it.
However, the flames in the eyes of the Flame Demon had not extinguished. It seemed unwilling to give up even in the face of death.
“Graaaahhh!”
The Flame Demon let out a monstrous scream and reached out not towards Raon, but towards the World Tree.
A fierce heat radiated from its skinned, bloody hand—a flame fueled by its very life force.
Rumble!
Raon was thrown back as if punched by the heat emanating from the Flame Demon’s flames.
Does that fire wretch think he can underestimate the Great King?
…
Raon wanted to retaliate, but the ongoing clash between Wrath and the Spirit King of Fire was causing his head to throb painfully.
Even though he wanted to pass out, he forced himself to stay conscious because the Flame Demon was still alive.
“Kuaaahhhh!”
A majestic waterfall-like stream of water descended from the sky to block the Flame Demon’s flames. It was the Spirit King of Water’s Moon Water.
“Don’t interfere!”
Despite spewing a large amount of blood, the Flame Demon did not extinguish its flames. It seemed intent on struggling until the very end since it would die anyway.
Sizzle!
The Flame Demon’s flames intensified, starting to evaporate the Moon Water that the Spirit King of Water had summoned.
Raon widened his eyes as he saw the waterfall of Moon Water thinning.
‘Is the Spirit King of Water losing?’
When he raised his gaze, he saw Siyan staggering, unable to stand straight. Blood was dripping from her nose and mouth.
‘Is she at her limit?’
No, it was a miracle she had held on this long.
Even for a High Elf like Siyan, handling the power of a Spirit King from the start wasn’t easy. She had done her part by holding on until now.
‘I have to finish this.’
Rimmer couldn’t move, the Great Elder and the other elders were seriously injured, and the other elves couldn’t even approach due to the heat. This fight had to end by his hand.
‘But how?’
The Sword Gate was closed, and the clash between Wrath and the Spirit King of Fire made it impossible for him to even stand, let alone wield a sword.
The Flame Demon knew this and attacked only the World Tree, ignoring Raon.
‘Wait… ignoring me?’
Raon looked at the Flame Demon, which wasn’t even glancing his way, and caressed the Soul Requiem Sword in his left hand.
‘There’s still a way.’
He loosened his grip on the Soul Requiem Sword in his left hand and stomped his right foot on the burnt ground.
Harnessing the momentum from his ankle to his thigh, waist, and shoulder, he shot the Soul Requiem Sword forward.
Whizz!
The red blade, infused with the power of the secret technique instead of aura, surged towards the Flame Demon’s heart.
“Hmph!”
The Flame Demon noticed that the Soul Requiem Sword had no aura and focused solely on breaking through the Moon Water.
It seemed confident that the blade couldn’t reach it through the wall of heat.
Vroom!
Indeed, even though the Soul Requiem Sword was imbued with demonic energy, it wavered and couldn’t advance through the Flame Demon’s heat.
Raon didn’t move even as he saw the Soul Requiem Sword falter. He was waiting for the right moment.
The Flame Demon, recognizing that the Soul Requiem Sword was no threat, concentrated all its attention on the Spirit King of Water.
At that moment, the final flames flared in Raon’s eyes.
‘Now!’
He briefly reopened his upper dantian. Ignoring the flames, he infused his murderous intent into the Soul Requiem Sword.
Vroom!
Perhaps due to the extreme situation, the Soul Requiem Sword and his will seemed to synchronize perfectly as if they were one from the beginning.
A cool breeze seemed to blow through his mind, which had felt like it was about to boil.
Buzz!
The Soul Requiem Sword, which had been falling due to the heat, steadied itself and soared.
The red blade moved faster than when he had used the Heavenly Sword, piercing through the Flame Demon’s flames.
Thud!
Like a flash of light, the Soul Requiem Sword shattered the Flame Demon’s helmet and lodged into its head.
“Guh!”
The Flame Demon’s hand fell powerlessly. Even though piercing its chest hadn’t killed it, its life force began to crumble.
“Ikiyogeom…”
The Flame Demon trembled as it looked at Raon, its dry lips quivering.
“You deceived me…”
“No.”
Raon shook his head, exhaling roughly.
“It was a coincidence.”
It wasn’t a lie. It was only because of the dire situation that his mind and the Soul Requiem Sword could synchronize. If it had been an ordinary situation, he would have failed a hundred times out of a hundred.
“Ugh…”
The Flame Demon knelt and collapsed. Reaching towards the World Tree, it twisted its mouth.
“I was so close…”
With those words, the Flame Demon breathed its last. Just to be sure, Raon kept watching, but it didn’t rise again.
“Persistent bastard…”
Raon muttered as he fell backward.
‘I’m really at my limit now.’
His stamina, aura, and mental strength were all spent. He had no strength left to keep his eyes open.
‘The remaining enemies can be dealt with by the others.’
Having slain the Demon King and Cassandra, and now the Flame Demon, he believed the remaining enemies were within the elves’ capability to handle.
To be honest, everything felt like a hassle, and he just wanted to sleep.
Because…
Fine! If you struggle that much, I’ll just devour you!
…
Wrath and the Spirit King of Fire were still fighting inside him.
Wrath was overwhelming in power, but the Spirit King of Fire clung to him like a leech.
‘Stop fighting, you lunatics…’
I’m really going to die at this rate!
Rimmer crawled towards the fallen Raon, gasping for breath.
“He really did it, that monstrous bastard.”
Raon had cut through the Flame Demon’s flames and shattered its head, a foe much stronger than himself. Even with the help of the Spirit Kings of Fire and Water, it was an unbelievable feat.
‘That final technique.’
It was the Ikiyogeom.
If the Flame Demon hadn’t been careless due to its low completion, it wouldn’t have worked, but the dagger Raon threw had followed the flow of the Ikiyogeom.
‘It hasn’t even been a week since the Grandfather imparted the technique…’
It was astonishing that Raon had mastered and made the technique his own in such a short time.
‘Monster. No, even that word isn’t enough.’
First, he was called a genius, then a monster, but now, none of those words seemed sufficient to describe Raon.
“Well done.”
Rimmer barely managed to crawl over to Raon and stroked his blackened blond hair.
“Thank you.”
If it weren’t for Raon, Seiphia would have been reduced to ashes, and Eden would have welcomed a new transcendent being.
He was grateful to Raon not just as a disciple or subordinate, but as a person.
“Raon-nim!”
At the sound of Siyan’s voice, Rimmer turned around. She was wiping away her nosebleed with the back of her hand as she ran towards them.
‘Yes, he’s also a benefactor to that child.’
It was thanks to Raon that Siyan had regained her courage and summoned the Spirit King again. There were many things to thank Raon for once he woke up.
“Siyan, are you alright…”
“Raon-nim!”
She knelt before Raon, ignoring Rimmer, and checked his condition.
“Aren’t you going to look at me…”
“You’re alive, that’s enough!”
Siyan muttered for him to go apply some ointment and held Raon’s hand.
“Raon-nim, are you okay?”
Raon had already lost consciousness and couldn’t answer.
“What should I do!”
Siyan brought the Moon Water from the diminished Spirit King of Water and poured it into Raon’s mouth. Despite the blood flowing from his lips due to internal injuries, she didn’t stop.
“Rimmer.”
The Great Elder, having dealt with the remaining enemies, extended a hand to Rimmer.
“Phew…”
Rimmer grasped the Great Elder’s scarred hand and stood up.
“Phew…”
The Great Elder let out a short sigh as he looked at Raon.
“What is that monster?”
“Raon Zieghart. He’s my disciple and subordinate now, but someday…”
Rimmer looked down at the unconscious Raon with a faint smile.
“He will be a king I must serve.”
For the first time, his voice carried the weight of a king’s name.
“Is that so.”
The Great Elder neither seemed surprised nor reproachful. He nodded calmly, acknowledging Raon’s potential.
“That service might include us as well…”
“I told you!”
As he paused to catch his breath, Erian approached, raising a fist.
“That man! The Spirit King’s contractor!”
Erian laughed heartily, finally rewarded for his long faith.
“Not only is he the Spirit King’s contractor, but he also became the savior of our elves! My intuition never fails!”
He gestured and motioned to the dazed Leyran.
“Leyran, you didn’t believe in Raon! How do you feel now?”
“I-I…”
Leyran stammered, unable to find the words to respond.
“You called me crazy, didn’t you? This is what wise investment looks like!”
Erian’s personality seemed to have changed completely, overjoyed that Raon had become the Spirit King’s contractor and the savior of the elves.
“Now the Spirit Realm should also stabilize with the Spirit King of Water and Fire…”
“Be quiet!”
Siyan shouted as she examined Raon.
“Si-Siyan-nim?”
“Something’s wrong with Raon-nim.”
“What do you mean?”
Rimmer hurriedly moved closer to Raon.
“Inside Raon-nim, heat and cold are fighting. One side is definitely the Spirit King of Fire, but what is the other?”
Siyan shook her head, confused by what she was sensing.
“Another one?”
“Yes. It’s a cold energy, stronger than Elime’s…”
She shook her head again, saying the energy felt even more powerful and vast than the Spirit King of Water.
“Could it be a second Spirit King of Water? Or maybe your Spirit King made a contract with Raon as well…”
Erian blinked at Siyan.
“That can’t be!”
Siyan shook her head vehemently and looked back at Raon.
“Inside Raon-nim now, there’s… Wait, the Spirit King of Fire’s energy just disappeared! What’s happening?”
She widened her eyes in disbelief.
“Huh…?”
“It’s true. I can’t sense the Spirit King of Fire’s energy anymore.”
Rimmer and the Great Elder also noticed the disappearance of the Spirit King’s energy and stood with their mouths agape.
“Then what’s happening to Raon? Is he in danger?”
Erian looked at Raon with worried eyes.
“No, the cold energy is also fading, and he’s stabilizing.”
Siyan shook her head with a puzzled expression.
“Did the Spirit King of Fire return to the Spirit Realm?”
Rimmer scratched his chin thoughtfully.
“It doesn’t seem like it…”
Siyan shook her head again, looking at Raon’s now calm face.
“What’s going on…?”
Raon slowly opened his eyes.
‘Where am I…’
He saw a brown ceiling woven from tree branches. This wasn’t the place he had stayed from the start; it seemed to be another elf’s house.
‘Makes sense since everything burned down.’
With everything except the house behind the World Tree reduced to ashes, they must have moved him here.
‘It was a tough fight.’
The Flame Demon was strong. No, it had gotten stronger as they fought. Only now did he realize how absurd it was to gain strength in the middle of a battle.
‘However…’
Raon clenched his still weak hand into a fist.
‘Thanks to that bastard, I also got stronger.’
Using the power of the Spirit King of Fire and Wrath in their life-or-death struggle had helped him advance a bit further from the Grandmaster realm.
It wasn’t just an advancement in rank but also an experience in handling higher power, which would greatly help him in the future.
‘By the way…’
Raon closed his eyes and examined his body’s condition again.
‘Has the inner battle ended?’
Wrath and the Spirit King of Fire, who had been fighting until the moment he defeated the Flame Demon, were no longer present. Both seemed to have disappeared.
‘Wrath must have won.’
Although the Spirit King of Fire clung like a leech, Wrath, who overwhelmed in strength, must have emerged victorious.
‘Wrath.’
[Why are you calling me, human?]
As soon as he called Wrath’s name, the spirit slinked out from the bracelet.
‘What happened to the Spirit King of Fire?’
[What do you think happened? He was crushed by the Great King’s might.]
Wrath snorted, not even looking at Raon.
‘So he went back to the Spirit Realm?’
Raon smacked his lips in disappointment. He had wanted to see the Spirit King of Fire properly, but now it was just gone.
…
Wrath didn’t answer and instead puffed out his chubby cheeks.
‘What are you doing?’
[W-What do you mean?]
Raon narrowed his eyes at Wrath’s back. Unlike usual, Wrath couldn’t keep his mouth still and his pronunciation was strange, as if he was chewing something.
‘What are you eating?’
[N-Nothing!]
Wrath quickly covered his mouth with his chubby hands, shaking his head.
‘Spit it out.’
There was no way a spirit like Wrath could eat ordinary food. He was surely up to something.
[I-I won’t! It’s mine!]
Wrath refused to open his mouth, clenching his teeth.
‘Spit it out!’
Raon grabbed Wrath’s head and tried to force his mouth open, but Wrath’s jaw was so strong that it wouldn’t budge even with all his strength.
‘What on earth are you eating!’
[I-It’s candy.]
Wrath claimed it was just candy, waving his hands dismissively.
‘Candy?’
[Yes, strawberry-flavored candy. So don’t worry.]
‘Strawberry-flavored…’
The mention of strawberry flavor reminded Raon of something Wrath had said before.
[Green spirits taste like green grapes, and red spirits taste like strawberries.]
Wrath had mentioned this when he returned from the Spirit Realm.
Raon swallowed dryly and looked back at Wrath.
‘No way…’
[No!]
‘No?’
Raon gritted his teeth and approached Wrath. Using all his strength, he forced Wrath’s mouth open.
Crack.
A red candy fell out of Wrath’s mouth, showing bite marks all over it.
‘It’s just candy… Wait, a flame?’
Raon noticed a faint flame flickering around the candy. The flame felt strangely familiar.
‘No way…’
No doubt about it. It was the energy of the Spirit King of Fire who had helped him during the fight against the Flame Demon.
“The Spirit King… died…”
Raon held his head, his lips trembling.
“The Spirit King who appeared after a thousand years is dead again!”
[That’s what happens when you don’t feed me…]
“You gluttonous parasite!”