The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1044

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1044

“Sigh….”

Lectar grasped his teacup and exhaled a heavy sigh.

‘Things aren’t going well.’

Darkan had always held Raon’s talents in high regard since their first meeting, so I thought he might at least listen to what I had to say, but his reluctance to accept enlightenment seemed to frustrate him so much that he wouldn’t even give me a chance to speak.

‘A week was more than enough time.’

I had waited for a week watching Darkan at Raon’s suggestion to wait and see, but it felt like nothing but a waste of time.

Clink.

Lectar set down his empty teacup on the table and rose to his feet.

‘I should tell him to leave.’

If Darkan could hold back Derus Robert, it would be a great help, but given the current situation, it seemed unlikely that would happen.

It was better to return quickly and devise other measures than to waste time on something with no possibility.

‘He should still be there.’

Lectar left the Tea House, recalling the Alley where Raon and Darkan had been that morning.

I entered the Alley of the Royal Capital while thinking of words to persuade Raon, when a hoarse voice reached me from afar.

“Please, just one coin!”

It was Darkan. He was begging from people with a lower tone of voice than before.

“Don’t cling to me.”

A prosperous-looking middle-aged man frowned and threw a silver coin from his pocket.

‘What’s going on?’

Lectar’s eyes widened as he watched Darkan, who had succeeded in begging.

‘He almost never manages to get anything.’

Darkan’s success rate was so low that he couldn’t earn a single coin even if he begged all day long.

Though he wore an eye patch, he moved as if he could see, and his muscular frame was as massive as a general’s, so his failure at begging wasn’t particularly strange.

‘Is he having a lucky day today?’

After that, Darkan even received a silver coin from a young noblewoman dressed in aristocratic attire.

“Th-thank you so much!”

Darkan clutched the silver coin that had fallen to the ground tenderly and bowed deeply to the noblewoman.

‘Wait, now that I look at it….’

His posture seems to have changed?

The previous Darkan would stretch out his broad shoulders and back straight when begging, presenting a threatening appearance as he extended his hand.

The beggars and ruffians in this neighborhood knew about him and treated him as a punching bag to mess with whenever they felt bored, but ordinary people found his appearance terrifying.

But now Darkan spread his knees, narrowed his shoulders, and even bent his back. With such a posture, his massive frame actually looked pitiable instead.

‘Did he succeed again?’

It seemed he wasn’t the only one thinking that way—quite a few people were throwing money at him.

‘Did he gain some kind of enlightenment?’

If the Darkan of the morning had been acting as a beggar, the Darkan of now had truly become a beggar, tapping a broken bowl. In a fleeting moment, he seemed to have grasped an enlightenment about human existence.

‘If this continues, he might actually listen to our story….’

It was just as Lectar approached Darkan with anticipation in his eyes.

“That’s not it!”

A young man who looked as though the word “beggar” was etched into his very face stepped out from beside Darkan and smacked the back of his head.

“The angle! Your hands need to spread wider!”

The beggar youth spread his own hands and demonstrated the proper begging posture to Darkan.

“If you maintained a 45-degree angle between your right and left hands like I’m doing now, you would’ve gotten gold coins instead of silver!”

He extended both hands in front of Darkan’s sightless face, urging him to observe and feel properly.

“Your trembling is too artificial. Shake at different rhythms like you’re afflicted with a disease!”

The beggar youth kicked Darkan’s back, pushing him toward the alley entrance.

“P-please, just a coin, sir….”

Darkan began begging again, seemingly inspired by the youth’s instruction. The moment I saw his trembling fingers spread at a 45-degree angle, my hand moved toward my pocket without thinking.

‘What… what is this?’

Was this some sort of enchantment? He really did look pitiful.

Even knowing that Darkan’s true identity was the Black Night Sword God, I felt the urge to give him money out of sympathy.

‘How… how is this possible?’

As I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head, the beggar youth who had been instructing Darkan flashed a knowing smile.

“Huh…?”

Lectar’s mouth fell open as he stared at the beggar youth.

‘C-could it be… Raon?’

Though he wore a different disguise than this morning, that beggar youth was unmistakably Raon.

“It was decent. Though there’s still room for improvement.”

I clicked my tongue, as if there was one thing I regretted.

“You’re blind, right? Then you can’t just take money directly or receive it. If you deliberately drop money on the ground and pretend to search for it, you’ll look even more pitiful.”
“Ah, I see! That makes sense!”

Darkan clasped his hands together toward me as if he’d learned something new. His posture was respectful, as though he’d taken me as his teacher.

“Then let me try again.”
“Yes. Express what you feel through begging.”
“Understood!”

I nodded and stepped back, while Darkan came forward again and began begging.

“P-please, just one coin, I beg you….”

As Darkan writhed about with his body hunched, truly appearing as a blind man, people passing through the Royal Capital threw silver coins at him.

“Th-thank you!”

He remembered my words and swept his palm across the ground instead of picking up the money directly.

“Gasp!”

Lectar unknowingly tossed the silver coin he had been wearing on his finger to Darkan.

It wasn’t just her who pitied Darkan.

The people who had been watching Darkan seemed to believe he was truly blind, so they carefully took out the money they had in their pockets and handed it to him.

“Thank you so much.”

Darkan seemed to feel joy at becoming a true beggar, tears dripping from his empty eye sockets.

“Mm-hmm!”

Raon nodded his chin emphatically, as if he found the sight admirable.

“Sigh…”

Lectar shut his eyes tightly as he watched his former superior content himself with begging and his grandson proudly teaching begging techniques.

“Am I dreaming right now?”

A nightmare, no less?

*

*

*

“So….”

Lectar let out an incredulous laugh.

“You taught Darkan how to beg?”
“Yes.”

I nodded while removing the tattered rags that even beggars wouldn’t wear.

“At first, I thought he was spouting nonsense….”

Darkan turned to me with a gentle smile.

“But this boy was right.”

He placed his dirt-stained hand over his chest and exhaled deeply.

“I merely played the role of a beggar, but my soul has always been that of the Black Night Sword God. Even when trampled by other beggars or scorned by gamblers, I always held the confidence that I could kill them all. That gave me peace of mind.”

Darkan mocked his former self, his hands clasped before him.

“But nothing changes that way. It’s nothing but a waste of time that withers both body and spirit. I felt that I had lost my way, but I didn’t know what to change, so I remained still—until this boy said something like that.”

He pointed to himself and lowered his jaw with gravity.

“‘Don’t look down on beggars.’ Only then did I realize I was wasting my efforts.”

Darkan offered a thin smile, saying that thanks to those words, he had been able to shift his mindset.

“Now my heart feels unsettled, as though I’ve truly become a beggar. As if I must worry about my next meal tomorrow. This must be the genuine life of a beggar.”

Darkan’s heart remained troubled, but he said the discomfort that had been nagging at his mind had vanished, and he froze in place.

-Hah…

Wrath blinked his eyes as if utterly dumbfounded.

-You gain enlightenment from learning beggar’s work? Does that even make sense?

He shook his head, unable to comprehend it.

“W-wait, surely not….”

Lectar swallowed hard as he watched the frozen Darkan.

“It’s an enlightenment. Though it probably won’t last long.”

I wiped away the soot and ash smudged on my face and nodded calmly.

“No, wait. So you’re saying….”

Lectar stammered, seeming uncertain what to ask first.

“How do you know so much about beggars?”

He nodded, deciding that the question about beggars should come first.

“I acquired the knowledge during information-gathering missions.”

I waved my hand dismissively, as if it were nothing.

“Beggars hear all the world’s rumors and gossip.”

For information gathering and masquerading as an assassin, no profession was better than that of a beggar.

Since beggars could exist anywhere, at any time, in any manner without seeming out of place, Shadow had taught the art of acting as a beggar with utmost sincerity.

However, since I couldn’t mention my past life, I could only express it as something I had acquired during a mission.

“…I see.”

Lectar nodded, not entirely convinced but seeming to accept it to some degree.

“Then….”
“Haah!”

Just as he was about to speak again, Darkan exhaled a heavy breath.

“At last….”

Darkan swept back the hair that had fallen over his eye patch and clenched his fists.

“My mind feels as refreshed as if cold water had been poured over me. All my afflictions have vanished.”

A subtle smile crossed his face as he spoke of having attained an important enlightenment.

“It’s thanks to you, Raon Zigheart.”

Though Darkan was an eccentric obsessed with swords, he bowed his head respectfully like a true warrior.

“It’s nothing special.”

I shook my head calmly.

‘I only acted because I was a bit irritated….’

And now it’s come to this.

I’m not a god, and I didn’t move by calculating all these circumstances.

I had merely given him some pointers because his clumsy beggar act didn’t sit right with me, but thanks to how well he followed along beyond my expectations, my own frustrations were thoroughly relieved as well.

“Now tell me. What is this favor you’re asking of me?”

Darkan snapped his fingers, and seeing the ease flowing through his voice, it seemed he would grant most requests.

“Before I make my request, I have a question. What do you think of Sama?”

I brought up Sama’s name before asking Darkan to stop Derus Robert.

“Sama?”

Darkan smacked his lips briefly.

“Right now, I feel nothing toward them. Though I do think they’re pathetic.”

He shook his head, saying he held neither goodwill nor malice.

“Even toward the Heavenly Demon?”
“I know he’s strong, but he’s not a swordsman.”

Darkan snorted, dismissing the Heavenly Demon as unworthy of his attention simply because he wasn’t a swordsman. I could only think that this man was truly obsessed with the blade.

“Then I can make my request.”

I nodded while looking at Darkan’s eye patch.

“Derus Robert will soon move to attack the Five Emperors. Can you stop him?”
“Derus Robert?”

Darkan murmured Derus’s name and scratched the bridge of his nose.

“Yes. At this point, only the North Destruction King and you can stop Derus.”
“He’s grown that strong?”

His mouth opened in surprise.

“I cannot even read his power.”

Lectar frowned, saying that Derus had become an entirely different caliber than before.

“Even you might not be able to defeat him now.”

He bit his lip slightly, saying the outcome of such a confrontation was unpredictable.

“Please, I’m asking you to stop Derus Robert.”

I bowed my head to Darkan.

“I know your ultimate goal is your Grandfather. But since one of you two will disappear in that fight, there’s no harm in getting a taste of it first, right?”
“No….”

Darkan wagged his finger at me. It seemed like it really wasn’t going to work.

“If it’s something like that, tell me quickly!”

He shook his head as if asking why I hadn’t mentioned it first.

“If you’d just said that Derus had become that strong, I would’ve agreed to fight right away.”

Darkan shrugged his shoulders as if questioning why I hadn’t brought it up sooner.

“No, you’re the one who wouldn’t let me speak!”

Lectar stomped his foot, his mouth sealed shut by murderous intent, as if asking what I was talking about.

“Did I?”

Darkan scratched the back of his head as if he’d forgotten his own words and actions.

“Well, let’s move past old grievances. I’ll stop Derus for you.”

He nodded in agreement with an almost anticlimactic swiftness.

“And….”

Darkan tapped his temple as he looked at me.

“I’ll impart a small lesson to you as well.”
“A lesson?”

I raised my eyebrows slightly.

“What are you talking about….”
“I appreciate transactions. Since I gained enlightenment thanks to you, it’s only right that I repay that debt.”

Darkan laughed, saying he simply wanted to repay what he had received.

“I’ll observe your swordsmanship.”

He nodded, affirming that he would watch my sword techniques.

“It wasn’t such a profound enlightenment, was it?”
“At my level, even the smallest insights become precious. What you did for me was far from trivial.”

While most would downplay another’s contribution, Darkan acknowledged my actions as greater than their actual measure.

“What troubles you these days?”

Darkan spread both arms wide, as if ready to hear everything.

“Hmm….”

I pondered for a moment before slowly parting my lips.

“The power of the Heart Sword seems weaker than I expected.”
“Huh…?”

Darkan stood dumbfounded before exhaling sharply.

“The… Heart Sword? You’ve reached the realm of the Heart Sword?”

He shook his head, clearly unaware of this development.

“Yes. Though I must borrow the power of this blade.”

I explained that I couldn’t yet achieve it alone, then drew the Soul Reaper Sword.

“Then you should have told me first! If you were a swordsman walking the same path, I would have heard you out completely!”

Darkan shook his head, questioning why I hadn’t spoken of this sooner.

“No, you weren’t listening!”

I shouted at Darkan just as Lectar had, my voice sharp with frustration.

-Sigh, I must have misjudged again.

Wrath clutched his head after listening to the exchange between me and Darkan.

-That bastard is on equal footing with you. You’re both simply mad!

*

*

*

In the back alley of the Oscott Kingdom.

“What kind of instruction are you talking about?”

I stood face to face with Darkan before the ruins of a building swept by moonlight.

“From now on, I will unleash heart swords at you.”

Darkan grasped empty air with his right hand as if gripping a sword.

“You will defend using your own heart sword.”

He tilted his head back arrogantly, as if challenging me to block well.

“Wait!”

Lectar raised his hand toward Darkan.

“Raon has only recently reached the realm of heart swords. He is not at a level to withstand your blade.”

He shook his head as if telling him to stop.

“That boy cannot even use heart swords independently, so the difference in power is obvious.”

Darkan chuckled as he looked at Lectar.

“However, what you’re thinking won’t happen. My Heart Sword is special right now.”

He waved his hand dismissively, as if there was nothing to worry about.

“As Darkan, I lie as easily as breathing, but as a swordmaster, I never break a promise.”

Darkan nodded, as if assuring us that he could be trusted.

“Grandfather.”

I smiled faintly as I looked at Lectar.

“It will be fine.”

I asked him to wait and took another step closer to Darkan.

“Let’s begin.”

I drew the Soul Reaper Sword and gripped it firmly, clenching my teeth.

“A fine spirit.”

Darkan curled his lips into a smile and extended the hand holding his formless sword.

Whoooooosh!

Though no breeze stirred, a terrifying killing intent crashed toward my soul like a raging typhoon. It was the wave of Darkan’s Heart Sword.

Crack!

I clenched my teeth and linked the resentment dwelling in the Soul Reaper Sword with my own soul.

As rivers converge to form a sea, souls of different hues intertwined, forging a keener blade of spirit.

‘Now!’

I unleashed my own sword against Darkan’s Heart Sword that bore down upon me fiercely.

Clang!

Blade against blade. Soul against soul. The collision rang out like thousands of glass panes shattering at once.

Boom!

I closed my eyes against the tremendous shockwave, and when I opened them again, the entire world had transformed.

“What is this….”

Where the desolate Back Alley had been, an endless expanse of gray space now stretched before me.

“Welcome.”

Darkan stood at the center of that gray space, looking down at me with a twisted smile.

“To my Heart Sword.”

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