The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1205

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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 1205

“So…”

I lay on my side and smacked my lips briefly.

“This place isn’t Heaven—it’s Hell?”

I tapped my right foot, which rested across my left knee, as a gesture for him to explain further.

“Yes? Yes! That’s correct!”

Charlie nodded while kneeling on both knees. Unlike the confident demeanor he’d shown at first, his eye sockets were now marked with vivid bruises.

“It’s called Heaven in name only, but this place is Hell. No—it’s a fiery Hell!”

Charlie tore at the few remaining strands of his hair, as if regretting his ascension to Heaven.

“Why?”

I tilted my chin as if I didn’t understand, though I already grasped the meaning behind Charlie’s words.

“Because people aren’t treated as human beings here!”

Charlie bit his lips hard, as if emphasizing how severe this was.

“People aren’t treated as human beings?”
“That’s right. In this place, desire itself becomes power. Those with weak desires are worth less than beasts…”

He lowered his head with a dejected expression, as if those beasts referred to himself.

“How do you convert desire into power?”

I raised myself halfway up, narrowing my eyes to thin slits.

“You must expose your true desires. Not trivial desires like wanting to earn more money, live in a nice house, or meet a beautiful woman—you must draw out the kind of hideous, unspeakable desires that humans would never dare voice. Only then can you become strong in this place.”

Charlie’s fingertips trembled as he explained that one could only survive this inferno by harboring desires so filthy that no decent person would dare speak them aloud.

-Filthy desires, then….

Wrath’s brow furrowed as he contemplated what such filthy desires might entail.

-Something like tormenting others through starvation? Certainly, that would be agonizing.

For a Demon Lord, he possessed remarkably gentle thoughts, tilting his head in confusion.

“Those who came from the Land of Clouds—people accustomed to receiving only the pleasures their masters granted them like pets—have divided into two groups since arriving here.”

Charlie turned his gaze leftward, observing the mansions and towers that rose so high they seemed to pierce the sky itself.

“A handful of demons realized desires so unspeakable they cannot be voiced, trampled other humans beneath their feet, and constructed the Babel Tower—a monument that reaches toward the heavens.”

He ground his teeth with such force that an audible sound escaped, as though he himself had suffered at the hands of those demons.

“The vast majority of the rest were stripped of everything they possessed and cast into that corner.”

Charlie pointed toward the shantytown erected on the right, his eyes reddening. It appeared he too lived in that desolate region.

“The evil spirits showed no mercy—neither water, nor fire, nor blood could stop them! They competed to summon ever greater desires, purchased power with them, and then stole even our desires!”

Charlie had endured considerable suffering; with each word he spoke, he gasped as though coughing up blood.

“What do you mean by stealing desires?”

I tapped my fingers against the base of the tree, asking the question. Most of what he said made sense, but the notion of desires being stolen eluded me.

“It’s simple. As I mentioned, one can achieve anything here through desire, yes? They settle it through a life-or-death duel.”

Charlie clenched the soil roughly in both hands, as though the very thought filled him with revulsion.

“A life-or-death duel?”

My eyes widened at a term I had never considered before.

-A life-or-death duel means a confrontation where both sides kill or are killed!

Wrath’s eyes widened in shock as well.

“As a swordmaster, you would naturally know. That is indeed the Life-and-Death Duel. However, here it does not claim the enemy’s life, but rather strips away all of their desires.”

Charlie exhaled heavily, explaining that those who lost in the Life-and-Death Duel would lose all their desires and become a hollow shell.

“I see. Now it makes sense.”

I gazed at the tower that seemed to pierce the heavens and the shantytowns that looked ready to collapse at any moment, letting out a soft laugh.

“But there seem to be quite a few people over there with strong desires.”

I recalled the people in the Shantytown who possessed rather intense desires and shifted my gaze.

“You have quite the perception to sense that.”

Charlie let out a hollow laugh, as if amazed at such a keen sense.

“That’s right. Those Life-and-Death Duels of desire can only occur with mutual consent. But….”

He bit his lip so hard that blood began to seep out.

“The privileged ones create situations where the desperate have no choice but to accept the Life-and-Death Duel, no matter what.”

I recalled the wealthy who once snatched even a single piece of bread from the destitute, and my expression twisted.

“Yes, that’s exactly it!”

Charlie’s eyes widened, surprised that I had grasped that aspect so quickly.

“They’ve stolen money, destroyed food, burned homes. Wielding clubs until death is commonplace, and in severe cases, they’ve even dragged families from outside to use as leverage for coercion….”

His hands trembled as he spoke of even more heinous cases he had witnessed.

“They brought families here?”

My breath came out cold and laden with fury at the word “families.”

“As I mentioned, in this place, anything is possible if desire exists.”

Charlie nodded gravely, saying that if one offered up desire, even humans could be purchased.

“What could one accomplish with desires stacked so high? They wouldn’t build such a tower merely to indulge in pleasure.”

I pointed toward the Babel Tower, which soared as if to pierce the heavens themselves.

“If one stacks desires and builds a tower that reaches the sky, a true Archangel descends and grants their wish, they say. Resurrecting the dead, becoming a Transcendent, commanding angels—truly anything is possible, or so they claim.”

Charlie swallowed hard, mentioning that wishes capable of exerting tremendous influence on the outside world could also be granted.

“I see. An intriguing mechanism.”

I stroked my false beard-laden chin with my eyes half-closed.

-The board is set better than I expected.

Wrath let out a hollow laugh, as if exasperated.

-To go this far for a war with less than a year remaining—truly a cunning bastard!

His disdain for Derus Robert deepened, his brow furrowing.

‘No, that’s not it.’

I chuckled softly and waved my hand.

‘The war has less than a year left, but this game was set in motion long ago.’

Even for Derus Robert, constructing such a colossal scheme in mere months would be impossible. The sheer number of people and the desires permeating this place made it clear he’d been operating it long before declaring war.

“Impressive, truly.”

Charlie’s gaze shifted subtly toward me.

“How is it you understand the nature of the Celestial Realm so completely, when you’ve only just arrived today?”

He clicked his tongue, noting that while he’d come to the Celestial Realm in its early days, he’d never encountered anyone quite like me.

“Reality and this place aren’t so different.”

I shook my head, saying it wasn’t that difficult.

“What is your desire?”

I asked Charlie about his desire while brushing the dirt from my knees.

“I, I’ve been caught in life-or-death wagers so much that I have no desires left! The moment even a little appears, those bastards snatch it away!”

He shook his head vigorously, saying his own desires would have no flavor whatsoever.

“Since I have no intention of wagering my life, just speak your mind.”

I waved my hand dismissively, telling him not to be troublesome.

“I, I want to… that Tower…”

Charlie’s lips trembled as if afraid to speak.

“I want to tear it down!”

He clenched his fists as he gazed at the towers the wealthy had built to reach the sky.

“That won’t work.”

I grasped Charlie’s shoulder as his anger flared and shook my head.

“Because I need to build a tower just like that.”
“Ah…”

Charlie sighed, imagining himself standing at the summit of Babel Tower.

“I need to meet the Archangel.”

Unlike Charlie’s imagination, I let out a scoff while imagining slitting the Archangel’s throat.

“This place will be entertaining too.”

* * *

Raon stepped out into the Bustling District the moment the sun rose the next day, bringing Charlie along.

“W-why have you come here, sir?”

Charlie’s eyes darted nervously left and right, betraying his anxiety.

“This street is the most dangerous place in the Celestial Realm! Yesterday, Baife was with us, so they didn’t dare touch us!”

He grabbed Raon’s sleeve and shook it, urging him to turn back.

“Dangerous, you say? Then we’ve come to the right place.”

Raon chuckled softly and nodded.

“Without risk, there’s naturally nothing to gain. Well, except for one thing.”

I glanced meaningfully at Wrath as I spoke of that single exception.

-Huh…?

Wrath blinked blankly as he met my gaze.

-What! Why are you suddenly looking at the True Demon King!

He furrowed his brow deeply, demanding to know why I was staring at him.

‘Because you give freely even when there’s no risk involved.’

I seized the opportunity to tease Wrath, breaking into a grin.

-You damned bastard! Causing trouble even in enemy territory!

Wrath gnashed his teeth, swearing he’d go mad.

-I really can’t stand this…

Just as he was about to rage while grinding his teeth.

[You have truly angered 【Wrath】.]
[All stat points increase by 1.]

The reward message appeared as if to provoke the enraged Wrath.

‘See? He gives rewards without me doing anything.’

I shrugged my shoulders upon reading the message.

-This isn’t coming from the True Demon King, I tell you!

Wrath shrieked, insisting it wasn’t of his own volition.

-Damn it all! You’re done for! System, you cursed thing! Show yourself this instant!

He threw a tantrum at the System instead of me, flailing his fists at empty air.

“Gasp! L-look over there!”

While I watched Wrath thrashing about, Charlie gasped in terror and pressed himself against my side.

“Do you remember that person?”

Charlie raised his trembling hand and pointed to a figure collapsed on the right.

“Hmm? That woman is….”

I narrowed my eyes, studying the woman Charlie was pointing at.

“The obese woman who entered the Celestial Realm with me yesterday.”

The woman with the protruding belly whom I had questioned alongside Baife was crawling across the ground like a beggar in the Shantytown.

“Her face is unrecognizable now.”

In just one day, she had become so emaciated that her bones were visible, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her pallid complexion suggested she had been brutally beaten by someone.

“P-please… save me.”

The Unknown Woman spoke through tears, insisting she was not meant to die in such a place.

“Fell victim to a newcomer hunt.”
“Should’ve hidden or stayed at an inn. Stupid!”
“There’s always fools like that who get cocky and pay the price.”

The people around her merely mocked her; none offered aid.

“You saw it, didn’t you! She was just hit by a newcomer hunt! Not only was her money stolen—her desires were completely drained!”

Charlie’s lips trembled as he said the Unknown Woman had no desires left.

“You were targeting me too.”

Raon chuckled softly as he looked at Charlie.

“T-that was just… for my own survival. Anyway, don’t do this! Right now, the only way to survive in this place is to hide and cultivate your desires strongly!”

Charlie tugged at Raon’s sleeve, urging him back toward the Forest.

“I can’t.”

Raon gently removed Charlie’s hand and shook his head.

“There isn’t much time to ascend to the Sky.”

I pulled out the pouch of gold coins I’d received from Baife, saying there was no time for leisure.

Crash!

I threw the pouch of gold coins at my feet and spread both hands wide.

“As you can see, I’m a newcomer who arrived yesterday. Is there anyone willing to stake their life against me?”

I flicked the fallen gold coins with the tip of my boot.

“If you win, these gold coins are yours, of course…”

I summoned the desires of the Demon Lords sleeping deep within my soul, curling my lips into a smile.

“I shall even surrender my desires to you.”

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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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