The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1001

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 1001

Whoooosh!

The Blue Dragon’s wings, shredded beyond repair and fluttering like rags, struggled forward through the sea.

“I’m sorry, Uncle….”

Evelyn, bleeding from every inch of her body, caressed Rocta’s scales with her one remaining hand.

[Do not speak!]

Rocta pushed mana into Evelyn’s body with trembling hands, but it only slipped away without taking hold.

“It’s too late.”

Evelyn shook her head as if everything was already finished.

“I almost made it, but at the very end….”

The memory of stopping my hand when I saw Cella made me laugh bitterly at myself.

“But do you know something?”

Evelyn smiled, looking at the hand that had embraced Cella.

“Even knowing that my mother’s soul wasn’t in there, I was so happy. Because I had never embraced my mother before.”

Cella had embraced me many times. She had held me close and told me she loved me even before she died.

But I had never been the one to embrace Cella first. I was happy that at least at the end, I could hold my mother’s hand and embrace her.

[….]

Rocta only rumbled silently, his expression sorrowful.

“I’m sorry for being so stubborn all this time.”
[Don’t speak—conserve your strength!]

Rocta felt Evelyn’s warmth fading and, for the first time, abandoned formality as he cried out.

“Thank you so much, Uncle.”

Evelyn reached out with weakening hands to touch Rocta, her smile fragile as gossamer thread about to snap.

[W-wait!]
“As the last royal of the Sirken Kingdom, I command it. From this moment forth, I release Knight Rocta Deport from his oath.”
[Evelyn!]

Rocta froze mid-flight, his gaze fixed upon Evelyn.

“Uncle, I hope you’ll find happiness in place of Mother and me. I’m truly sorry…”

With those final words, Evelyn closed her eyes and her hand trembled. Vitality and warmth began to drain from her body.

[Ah….]

Rocta watched as Evelyn’s hand—the one that had held him—fell limp, and his shoulders shook.

[AAAAAAAHHHHH!]

As if sensing the solitary Dragonian’s anguish, the sea erupted with waves higher and deeper than ever before.

*

*

*

Hisssss.

Rocta swept away the icicles with the back of his hand, shaking his head.

“Find happiness alone? That’s impossible.”

I shook my head heavily, gazing at Evelyn trapped within the ice pillar.

Evelyn had told me to free myself and live happily, but I couldn’t live that way.

My own life was already running short due to my wounds, and I couldn’t bear to send a lonely child into the world alone.

It was as Rocta stared blankly at Evelyn’s corpse and released a heavy sigh.

Crunch.

The sound of someone entering echoed from the entrance of the cave where I dwelled.

“….”

Rocta made no sound, gripping the sword he’d leaned against the wall. Just as he was thinking he’d cut down whoever came, a small flame like a lantern materialized before his eyes.

“So you were here.”

Behind the flame, a mage with a flowing gray beard emerged.

“Birn?”

It was Birn, the high mage who had commanded the mages during the last war.

“How did you find this place….”
“I followed your trail. You’ve certainly come far.”

Birn sighed, as though the journey here had exhausted him.

“So Evelyn is finally dead.”

He clasped his hands together in prayer, gazing at Evelyn trapped in ice.

“If she had survived, the magical history of the Continent would have changed.”

Birn shook his head, saying that Evelyn’s talent was more special than anyone else’s.

“I’m sorry. About what happened that day…”

Rocta exhaled deeply, lowering his head.

“There was no other choice.”

Birn nodded in understanding.

“Still, we’ve achieved our goal. The Roser Kingdom is gone, after all.”

He chuckled softly, satisfied with himself.

“You were only thinking of revenge against Roser, not the wealth or status that would come after.”

Rocta set down his sword, saying that it seemed like that would be the case.

“Yes. That’s why I came. There’s one final knot I must untie.”

Birn turned his gaze from Rocta toward Evelyn.

“What do you mean by that?”

Rocta’s eyes narrowed.

“If we leave her as she is, that child will become a malevolent spirit.”
“A malevolent spirit?”
“She never achieved her desired purpose, and she still has lingering attachments to this world.”

Birn touched the ice encasing Evelyn and clicked his tongue.

“And being trapped in ice like this will only make it worse.”
“Then… what should we do?”

Rocta grasped Birn’s hand, asking for guidance.

“We’ll need to cremate her or bury her in the ground. Of course, we should perform a proper ritual first.”

Birn nodded, saying he could handle that task.

“I’m asking you. I don’t want to cause that child any more suffering!”

Rocta’s lips trembled, his mind already shattered by the weight of it all.

“Of course.”

Birn patted Rocta’s shoulder, saying that a comrade’s burden was his own burden.

“However, we’ll need certain items for the ritual, so could you gather them for me? I should begin the preparations.”

He handed Rocta a list of necessary items along with money.

“Get some fresh air and clear your head while you’re at it.”
“Ah, understood!”

Rocta thanked him and bolted from the Cave.

“So we meet again like this.”

Birn suddenly switched to formal speech, placing his hand upon the corpse that imprisoned Merlin.

The figure reflected in the ice pillar was not a gray-bearded mage, but a strangely handsome man with golden eyes—the Sage.

A deep, resonant hum echoed through the air.

As a Black Hole materialized in the Sage’s grasp, something within Evelyn’s chest was drawn into it.

“Hmm, I could use more of this here.”

The Sage gazed at Merlin’s closed eyes and drew a sinister smile.

A sharp pulse rippled outward.

In that instant, time froze, and everything was drained of color, painted in shades of gray.

I caught sight of the Sage’s face reflected in the ice pillar and let out a quiet laugh.

“So that’s how it is.”

The Sage had disguised himself as Birn and come here to extract something from Merlin’s corpse.

‘She even manipulated her memories.’

Someone of Merlin’s caliber couldn’t possibly fail to recognize Tacheon.

Tacheon had clearly manipulated Merlin’s soul to drain her power and tampered with her memories.

“I knew Merlin’s circumstances were dire, but this….”
-An entire person’s life. No, an entire race’s existence, toyed with in that monster’s palm.

Wrath didn’t unleash the intense fury of before, but instead kindled a chilling murderous intent.

-Even if I must bear the consequences of causality, I want to kill him with my own hands.

He glared at Tacheon with eyes burning crimson, his rage genuine and absolute.

“I’m sorry, but….”

Raon shook his head calmly.

“That one is Merlin’s prey.”

Killing the Sage—no, killing Tacheon—was something Merlin herself had to do when she awakened.

“Sigh.”

As I watched Merlin trapped against the pillar with bitter eyes, the gray butterflies depicting this final scene spread their wings and flew away, revealing a new location.

“This place is….”

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a new place at all. It was Para Village, the one I’d seen in Merlin’s first memory.

-So this is where the Mad Woman lived. However….

Wrath narrowed his eyes sharply.

-This place differs from that memory. This is the Mad Woman’s true Mental World.
‘It does seem that way.’

Just as my own Mental World was filled entirely with swords and swordsmanship, Merlin’s Mental World appeared to be nothing but this village.

‘There are problems, of course….’

I furrowed my brow, observing the mana rings where the void had been cleaved.

‘It’s completely destroyed.’

Those rings were circles of magical power that surrounded Merlin’s heart, much like the ring of fire in my Mental World.

Since all of Merlin’s mana circles in reality had shattered, the collapse was reflected here in its entirety.

“Sigh….”

I exhaled deeply and stepped into the village.

‘First, I need to meet Merlin.’

Saving Merlin came first, so I made my way toward the village.

“Huh…?”

The moment I entered the village, my eyes widened.

“What is this….”

I had thought the houses built from variously colored bricks were beautiful, but up close, I realized the walls were covered entirely with paintings of myself.

“Ugh….”

I stopped in my tracks and turned my head to the right.

The walls of the house over there were also completely filled with paintings of my face.

-The Mad Woman is pitiful, I suppose….

Wrath shook his head in disapproval.

-But she’s certainly mad.
‘….’

I couldn’t argue against it.

‘This is driving me insane.’

I exhaled a breath devoid of all strength and continued walking into the village.

-Your face embedded in that wall, though.

Wrath narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the paintings that covered the wall.

-It’s not simply a portrait of you.
‘Then what?’
-It’s you as you were when you were with the Mad Woman.

He shook his head, explaining that she hadn’t merely drawn my face, but rather captured me as I was during those times we spent together.

‘Now that I think about it….’

I stopped walking and examined the paintings more carefully.

‘These are all places I remember.’

From my first meeting with Merlin to the countless scenes where she’d burst forth in animal forms to startle me, and even the days we spent together at Zigheart—Merlin and I appeared together in every single scene.

‘It seems Merlin….’

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

‘…was reminiscing about the time we spent together in this village.’

Particularly, there were countless paintings from when she wore a maid’s uniform at the Annex Building, as if those moments had brought her joy.

The mage I’d thought was mad seemed far more delicate than I’d imagined, possessed of deep affection, and genuinely fond of people.

Thump.

I exhaled deeply and resumed walking.

‘Is it that place?’

I could see Merlin and Cella’s home from the past. A Blue Dragon coiled around the residence like a serpent, standing guard. It was Rocta.

A low, rumbling growl echoed through the air.

Rocta exchanged a brief glance with me, then lifted his tail to open a path leading to the house.

“Thank you.”

I bowed respectfully to Rocta before stepping into Merlin’s home.

The interior of Merlin’s house was even colder and more desolate than winter in Zigheart. My entire body trembled, and my hair stood on end.

Merlin sat in the center of the living room, staring at a canvas with blank paper placed upon it. Beneath her feet lay countless sketches, each abandoned mid-creation.

“It won’t work….”

Merlin shook her head, her voice trembling with emotion.

“I can’t remember….”

She muttered in frustration, crumpling the drawing she’d been working on and hurling it to the floor.

A soft rustling sound filled the silence.

I approached from behind Merlin and unfolded one of the fallen sketches.

The drawing depicted a golden-haired, red-eyed woman, but her face was incomplete—crumbling away.

‘Could it be….’

I narrowed my eyes and unfolded the other drawings. They too showed the golden-haired, red-eyed woman, but her features were entirely absent.

‘Now I understand.’

I bit down hard on my lip.

‘Merlin was trying to draw Cella.’

She had longed to draw Cella and capture her likeness, but because of Tacheon’s memory manipulation, she had forgotten both who she was trying to depict and how to portray her.

‘If it’s now….’

I exhaled softly and approached Merlin from behind as she pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. I wrapped my trembling hands around hers and held them gently.

“Ah….”

Merlin’s eyes widened as she looked at me.

“Raon? Why are you here! You shouldn’t be in this place….”
“Your mother, as I saw her….”

I smiled faintly and guided Merlin’s hand.

“She had golden hair as radiant as the sun, braided beautifully, and her eyes held a warm crimson light like gazing into a campfire. Her nose was high and sharp as a blade’s edge. She was a beautiful woman with a refreshing presence.”

Recalling Cella as I had seen her, I guided Merlin’s hand to paint her mother.

“Your mother loved you until the very end, and you loved her just as deeply until the last moment. What I saw was….”

I continued painting while telling Merlin everything I had witnessed and felt.

Much time passed as I recounted all that I had seen, but contrary to the lonesome and sorrowful tale, a tender smile bloomed at the corners of Cella’s lips on the canvas—a smile that seemed to welcome her daughter.

“Is this….”

Merlin dropped the brush she held and parted her lips.

“Our mother?”
“Yes.”

I nodded, facing the portrait of Cella as she remained in my memory.

“Ah….”

With Merlin’s deep sigh, soft sunlight poured into the home that had been filled only with cold, and a gentle flame flickered to life in the hearth.

The warm and tender air—the intimate atmosphere of the home where Cella and Merlin had lived together was reborn.

Whoooosh!

Following the crystalline light blooming from Merlin’s residence, the fractured and collapsed flow of her mana reconnected anew.

Yet that current differed from all that came before—it was her true essence, the fundamental mana resonance that Para should have possessed.

A deep, resonant hum reverberated through the air.

Eight, nine, and ten.

The tenth circle soared skyward, and a delicate violet radiance cascaded across Merlin’s entire form.

“Yes….”

Merlin felt the ten rings burning within her heart and nodded in acknowledgment.

“I remember it all now.”

Transparent tears fell from her pristine violet eyes as she spoke of remembering everything at last.

“Then let’s go.”

Raon extended his hand toward Merlin, who cradled the painting tenderly against her chest.

“Evelyn.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————