The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1198
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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 1198
“As expected.”
I smiled faintly as I watched Deningrose, who wore a subtle grin on her face.
“So you knew about my plan, Branch Chief.”
When I asked Evelyn to investigate the missing persons, I had anticipated that Deningrose would understand my intentions. The fact that she had tracked me down here confirmed my suspicions were correct.
“Looking at the first and second investigation reports, it’s rather obvious.”
Deningrose shook her head, saying it would be harder not to know.
“Honestly, it does seem dangerous, but I can’t think of a better plan to strike at Derus Robert’s weak point. Besides….”
She gazed at my face intently while covering her mouth slightly.
“You wouldn’t listen even if I tried to stop you.”
Deningrose’s eyes smiled as she said it was obvious I wouldn’t listen anyway, so it was better to investigate thoroughly instead.
“Embarrassing as it is, you’re right.”
I scratched the back of my head and nodded in agreement.
“This plan is something I absolutely must carry out.”
Just as Deningrose said, I couldn’t abandon this plan under any circumstances. However, unlike before, I wasn’t going to charge in recklessly. I intended to refine countless strategies and information to ensure absolute success.
-So what exactly is this plan!
Wrath charged at me like a raging bull.
-By now, you should at least tell the True Demon King!
He furrowed his brow, complaining that information doesn’t leak out anyway, so why wouldn’t I tell him.
‘By now, you should have figured it out yourself.’
I exhaled shortly.
-I can’t figure it out no matter how hard I think!
Wrath shook his head, insisting he couldn’t understand it no matter what.
‘Then wait.’
I raised my hand and gently tapped Wrath’s head.
‘You’ll understand soon enough.’
Now that Deningrose had brought the information, it was safe to assume the plan’s execution was just around the corner. There was no need to explain further.
“That’s right. So I’ve gathered proper information.”
Deningrose smiled and opened her subspace pouch. From the fact that I hadn’t sensed she possessed a subspace pouch herself, it seemed it didn’t hold massive quantities of items like Dorian’s, but it appeared far better suited for concealing important documents.
“I’ve organized everything in coordination with the Bi-Yeon Society, so you can review it right away….”
Just as Deningrose was about to retrieve a thick binder from her subspace pouch.
“Wait!”
Evelyn burst out of the Annex Building with a cry, her usually perfectly groomed hair disheveled as she gasped for breath in her urgency.
“That information shouldn’t have been completed until tomorrow, right?”
Evelyn bit her lip, apparently having anticipated when Deningrose would be compiling the Black Market’s intelligence.
“I finished it by staying up all night.”
Deningrose smiled wryly, mentioning she was tired as a result.
“You’ve never stayed up all night before!”
Evelyn furrowed her brows, apparently having gathered information on Deningrose herself, questioning why she suddenly skipped sleep.
“I make an effort in situations like this as well.”
Deningrose smiled brightly at Raon, saying she wanted to deliver it quickly since it was important to him.
“Ha! So that’s what you were after!”
Evelyn let out a hollow laugh upon seeing Deningrose’s smile.
“So she’s not just anyone managing the Zigheart Branch.”
She nodded, saying Deningrose had the qualifications to become the Black Market Master’s disciple.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Deningrose nodded and handed Raon the prepared documents.
“Th-thank you very much.”
Raon was startled by Evelyn’s sudden appearance, but he reached out and accepted the materials Deningrose had prepared.
“I wanted to bring them to you myself.”
Evelyn clicked her tongue in disappointment as she looked at the documents in Raon’s hands.
“Evelyn. What were you doing?”
Raon blinked as he looked at Evelyn. Her appearance was so different from usual that he wanted to know what state she was in.
“I went to check on that forest. There might be changes.”
Evelyn sighed, saying she had remembered his request and gone to observe the forest where Derus Robert was presumed to be hiding.
“Whether Derus Robert is really hiding there or not, the locations where the barriers are installed have been steadily changing.”
She nodded, saying the forest was worth continuing to observe, just as Raon had said.
“As expected.”
Raon clicked his tongue briefly and clenched his fist.
‘If what he said is true, then Derus Robert hasn’t noticed our movements yet.’
Since secrecy was paramount for this operation, I had controlled the information flow as tightly as possible, and fortunately, it seemed Derus Robert hadn’t caught wind of my activities yet.
“Thank you, Evelyn.”
I squeezed Evelyn’s hand gratefully, thanking her for moving without even sleeping.
“Mmph!”
Evelyn let out a strange sound like a hungry puppy or kitten, her shoulders trembling with delight.
“It’s no big deal!”
She said it was a simple task, then subtly raised her eyebrows toward Deningrose.
“Hmm.”
Deningrose showed no change in expression at Evelyn’s provocation, merely maintaining her smile.
“Let’s see…”
I unfolded the document that Deningrose had compiled and organized the information into.
‘The missing persons aren’t particularly special.’
The document contained information about all the missing persons who had disappeared so far, but there didn’t seem to be any consistent pattern or criteria. There were ordinary civilians, warriors, and mages.
However, most of the warriors and mages were not of particularly high rank. Judging by the highest level being Master-tier, it seemed they weren’t abducting those with overwhelming power.
‘Is there a specific reason?’
Considering the strength of Derus Robert and the Archangels, they could easily abduct even Grand Master-tier individuals, so I couldn’t understand why they only took those up to Master-tier.
‘Men and women, young and old. They truly don’t discriminate.’
The occupations varied widely—merchants, blacksmiths, bartenders, conversationalists, guards, homeless men—but the missing persons had almost no common traits regardless of gender, age, or status.
‘The locations where they disappeared are all different too.’
Some disappeared from homes where they were alone, others vanished while traveling, and still others vanished from taverns crowded with people. It seemed there was no clue to catch them.
‘Wait….’
I narrowed my eyes as I finished reading through the documents.
‘A small number of the missing said they found a way to reach heaven?’
There was a record that an extremely small number of the missing had told those around them that they would be going to heaven.
“What does this mean?”
I pointed to a section of the document to Deningrose while narrowing my eyes slightly.
“That’s exactly what it says. A very small number of the missing told those around them that they seemed to be going to heaven.”
Deningrose shook her head, saying she only learned up to that point.
“I also met an acquaintance of one of the missing who said something like that during my investigation.”
Evelyn raised her hand enthusiastically.
“They said that not long after leaving a message about finding a way to reach heaven, they disappeared.”
She held her head high, mentioning that her information was also in this record.
“Heaven….”
I furrowed my brow as I examined all the contents of the document.
‘There’s nothing beyond that.’
I had read through the entire document, but couldn’t obtain any special information.
‘This is difficult. If things continue like this, it will be hard to execute the plan… Hmm?’
I clicked my tongue briefly before my eyes widened.
‘Wait. Could this possibly be….’
I swallowed hard and continued reading through the front section of the pamphlet containing information about the missing persons.
“I think I’ve found something.”
I nodded heavily, possessed by a certain degree of conviction.
“What is it?”
“Have you discovered something?”
Evelyn and Deningrose narrowed their eyes with curiosity.
“There have been countless missing persons regardless of age or gender, but there’s one profession that’s completely absent.”
I closed the pamphlet and glanced up at the sky.
“What profession is that?”
Evelyn blinked, clearly at a loss.
“High Priests. Not a single believer in the divine is among them.”
I curled my lips upward as I deciphered Derus Robert’s plan through the pamphlet.
“It appears Derus Robert has created a new religion.”
“High Priests, religion….”
Deningrose let out a low murmur as realization dawned on her.
“That’s exactly right! There are gem cutters, blacksmiths, beggars, merchants, boxers, mages—all sorts of professions—but not a single one related to religion, like pastors or evangelists!”
She clapped her hands loudly, affirming that my observation was precise.
“How did you….”
Deningrose exhaled in disbelief at how I had extracted this detail from merely glancing at the materials once.
“Hmph! Impressive, isn’t it?”
Evelyn shrugged her shoulders with a satisfied expression, as though she herself had uncovered the secret.
“Derus Robert secretly abducted people. Given how little trace remained, it seemed the missing persons themselves had to be moving. The best method for that would be through religion.”
I laid out my reasoning for deducing Derus’s intentions and nodded.
“Especially since the White Blood Sect, which stood at the apex of pseudo-religions, had collapsed. Taking over that position wouldn’t have been difficult at all.”
Those who believe in pseudo-religions desire direct compensation from the divine, so they would never pursue conventional religion. Since the White Blood Sect, a pseudo-religion spread across the entire Continent, had collapsed in an instant, exploiting that gap would have been remarkably easy.
“Now that I think about it, that does seem certain.”
Deningrose lowered her brows as if convinced.
“We’ll need to dig into that angle and investigate.”
She nodded, deciding to shift the direction of the investigation.
-This bastard’s mind really is….
Wrath shook his head in disbelief.
-Seriously, it’s incredible. He has zero intuition about human relationships, yet his instincts for this kind of thing are absurdly sharp!
He furrowed his brow, bewildered at how such a structure was even possible.
“Now we have the answer.”
I brushed back the golden hair falling across my forehead with a sinister smile.
“Where we need to go.”
* * *
A moonless night where darkness consumed the world.
Shhhhhhh.
Two figures in pitch-black robes that seemed to flow with darkness slipped through the Busy Street Alley.
Though there were people around, strangely no one paid attention to the two in robes. It was as if they were hidden behind a veil—their presence simply didn’t reach people’s eyes.
The Short Man leading the way walked with familiarity through the winding alleys, advancing without hesitation, while the tall man behind him moved with rigid, staccato steps, his eyes darting ceaselessly left and right in evident anxiety.
“There’s no need to be so tense.”
The Short Man glanced back slightly and smiled.
“You are the chosen one, so everyone in heaven will welcome you.”
He waved his hand, his voice warm and soothing, as if melting away tension itself.
“Yes, I know.”
The tall man’s blue eyes trembled slightly as he swallowed hard. His movements were stiff, his voice unsteady—clearly he was far more nervous than he let on.
“We’re almost there now.”
Despite the Short Man’s words that the place was just ahead, he turned through five more alleys before finally stopping.
“Here it is.”
He straightened up before a small building with blackened walls and a door so decrepit it looked ready to crumble.
“It may look shabby, but I chose this place deliberately. We must avoid the eyes of jealous people.”
The Short Man’s lips curved gently as he spoke of how not everyone could reach heaven.
“Y-yes, of course.”
As the tall man faced the entrance, his anxiety deepened and his complexion grew ashen.
“Let’s go.”
The Short Man grasped the rusted doorknob and pulled the door open. Despite its decrepit state, it swung open smoothly without a sound.
“Mm….”
The tall man let out a low groan as he stepped inside. The interior was as damaged as the exterior, leaving him uncertain where to sit.
“That person is….”
He trembled as he noticed a man who appeared to be a homeless vagrant sleeping in the corner, snoring loudly.
“There’s no need to be concerned. He exists in the same world as we do.”
The Short Man waved his hand, explaining that the vagrant-like figure was something akin to a gatekeeper of this land.
“You seem disappointed.”
He drew a subtle smile as he observed the tall man’s expression crumple slightly.
“No, that’s not it.”
“It’s understandable. You’re still only seeing reality.”
The Short Man extended his hand as if to say that the true beginning was about to unfold.
“From now on, you will see with the eyes of your heart.”
As he lightly tapped the wall with his finger, the floor opened silently and a doorway leading underground was revealed.
Whoooosh!
Unlike the building above, the interior of the underground passage gleamed with pristine elegance, as if crafted from platinum, not a speck of dust visible.
“Gasp!”
The tall man drew a sharp breath at the sight of the staircase and doorway glowing with a sacred luminescence as if leading to heaven itself, his expression one of pure astonishment.
“Let us proceed. Your first step toward heaven awaits.”
The Short Man nodded as if beckoning him to follow, then descended the staircase first.
“Yes, of course!”
The tall man’s cheeks flushed with excitement as he followed behind the Short Man.
“How exhilarating.”
Though no one witnessed it, a crimson gleam—hotter than molten lava—flickered deep within his azure eyes.
“A true paradise.”
The expression on his face wasn’t excitement about a new world, but the exhilaration of finally finding what he’d been seeking.
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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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