The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1208

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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 1208

Crack.

I clenched my teeth, trying to suppress the fury that threatened to burst forth as I gazed upon the High Priest who bore an identical appearance to Derus Robert.

-Idiot!

Wrath slapped my back with an open palm, as if questioning what I was doing.

-Will you ruin everything here! Control yourself!

He even shouted directly into my ear, demanding I regain my composure.

‘I know.’

I nodded. Had I grown any more agitated, I would have nearly exposed my identity in this very place. I had believed myself to possess both human emotion and the cold precision of an assassin, yet before Derus Robert, even I struggled to maintain restraint.
I thought I had both human emotion and the cold-bloodedness of an Assassin, but it seemed difficult to endure even for myself in front of Derus Robert.

And…

With a short exhale, the High Priest looked at Derus’s face with eyes that had become sharp and clear.

That guy isn’t Derus Robert.

He looked exactly like Derus Robert and even had his aura, but that wasn’t him.

“It’s probably like a clone of myself.”

It was clear that Derus Robert, unable to even trust the Archangel Faction’s Barrier, had created a fragment of himself in this most important Temple and was conducting a final verification.

“I didn’t think it would actually happen…”

Raon felt that Derus Robert still didn’t trust others just like in the old days, and let out a wry laugh.

“I never thought I’d lose faith in the Archangel too.”

Not trusting his own subordinates was one thing, but I never expected him to distrust even the Archangels who transcended humanity. It was admirable in the worst possible way.

“Jilpen?”

Charlie approached Raon, who had frozen mid-stride while opening the door.

“Aren’t you going inside?”

He tilted his head curiously, wondering why Raon had stopped.

“….”

The High Priest wearing Derus Robert’s face narrowed his eyes, sensing something was amiss.

“I was just wondering what kind of man could have such a delicate appearance.”

I furrowed my brow as I looked at the High Priest wearing Derus Robert’s face.

“It’s an irritating face!”

Though Derus Robert was originally elderly in age, it wasn’t strange to say such a thing—he possessed the face of a strikingly beautiful young man that inspired admiration.

“Ah, of course!”

Charlie clapped his hands loudly in understanding.

“High Priest Strude’s face is famous even here. I was shocked when I first saw it too.”

He nodded, affirming that the High Priest’s beauty was unmatched in the Celestial Realm.

“I’m so irritated I want to leave immediately.”

I felt the suspicion directed at me wash away in an instant as I stepped into the Temple.

-To think he’d act jealous so naturally.

Wrath let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded.

-It’s strange that the one least interested in appearances is the one doing this.

He blinked his eyes, wondering how I could pull off such an act.

‘I’m not jealous, but I’ve seen plenty of people do it.’

As Wrath said, I didn’t place much importance on appearance.
However, because so many people around me had envied and coveted my looks, I could naturally perform the act.

“Please don’t say that. He’s a good person.”

Charlie shook his head, saying that the High Priest named Strude, who wore Derus Robert’s face, was one of the few virtuous souls in this Celestial Realm.

“Strude….”

I let out an inward scoff.

‘He reversed the letters. Even in this regard, he’s not thorough.’

Strude was merely Derus spelled backwards. Even that bastard wasn’t always sharp as a blade.

‘Besides, no one in this place would recognize that face anyway.’

The current Derus Robert had shed his humanity, and even the wrinkles and blemishes that once marked his face had vanished, leaving him with the visage of a handsome young man in his twenties.
Even those who had seen Derus of Cheongeomseong during the Six Emperors Five Demons era would never recognize him now.

“What brings you to the Temple?”

The High Priest Strude smiled gently and bowed his head. His voice was identical to Derus’s, forcing me to suppress the urge to clench my fists.

“I’ve come to offer my desires.”

I fixed Strude with a piercing gaze, my lips curling as if to show my displeasure with his delicate features.

“A new believer, I see. Welcome.”

The High Priest Strude greeted me with a warm smile, even as I made no effort to hide my disdain.

“Why are you really doing this!”

Charlie raised both hands in front of me, pleading for me to stay calm.

“A man’s jealousy is absolutely repulsive! And over appearance, no less!”

He furrowed his brows deeply, as if disgusted.

“Jealousy? Stop spouting nonsense!”

Raon cried out that it wasn’t like that and shoved Charlie away.

‘This aspect is identical to Derus Robert as well.’

During the Six Emperors Five Demons era, Derus Robert had similarly despised all humans inwardly while always displaying a smiling, benevolent facade outwardly. True to being his fragment, Strude the High Priest also seemed to be acting out a gentle personality on the surface.

‘Still, thanks to Charlie stepping in, it passed over easily.’

Because Charlie had made a fuss beside me, the suspicion that had begun to bloom when I first hesitated had subsided. Once I achieved my purpose and left this place in the future, I would need to offer him some form of compensation.

“Believer Charlie. You’ve brought quite an amusing person.”

Strude offered Charlie a calm smile as if it were no trouble.

“Ha, I’ve only visited once, yet you remember my name?”

Charlie’s jaw dropped as he looked at Strude.

“Of course. I remember everyone who has come to this place.”

Strude nodded as if it were only natural.

“As expected, High Priest Strude is truly different….”

Charlie clasped his hands together as if deeply moved.

“I apologize on his behalf. His personality is rather poor, you see.”

He bowed deeply, offering an apology in Raon’s stead.

“Why are you apologizing?! I did nothing wrong!”

Raon roughly kicked Charlie’s rear end.

“Ugh!”

Charlie collapsed to the ground, clutching his rear end.

“You must be Jilpen’s follower? I’ve heard your name mentioned for the remarkable
deeds you’ve accomplished since arriving in the Celestial Realm.”

Strude helped the fallen Charlie to his feet, a subtle smile gracing his features.

“As I said, I’ve come to offer my desires. Don’t keep me waiting—process it quickly.”

I gestured toward Strude with a flick of my chin. Given how things had unfolded, it seemed best to continue projecting this air of arrogance and disregard for propriety.

“Of course. I can process it immediately. However, before that….”

Strude’s eyes narrowed to thin slits.

“I must know what you desire.”

He leaned forward slightly, as if asking what I would gain from offering my desires.

“What can you do for me?”

I turned the question back on Strude.

“Anything at all. I can have people killed, make you wealthy, restore your youth. If your desire is strong enough, any wish becomes possible.”

Strude spoke of killing people with a chilling casualness that belied his refined features, his smile warm and inviting.

“Then what about those towers being constructed?”

I frowned, gazing at the multiple towers visible beyond the Temple.

“Those are towers built for greater wishes. They are towers of desire—constructed by those who seek to meet a divine messenger and achieve wishes that would normally be absolutely impossible.”

Strude the High Priest laughed, calling the Babel Tower that sought to touch the Sky the Tower of Desire.

“Bringing the dead back to life, becoming a transcendent being, becoming the richest person in the world. Or there are even desires so beastly that they’re hard to even speak of.”

He nodded calmly, as if he knew all the wishes of those who built the Tower.

“So…”

Strude curled his lips upward as he looked at me again.

“What is your wish, believer?”
“…To become a Transcendent.”

I paused for a moment before clenching my fists.

“With power, I can obtain money, food, and women—anything! Once I become a Transcendent, I’ll reduce those who looked down on me and mocked me to nothing but a handful of bloody mist. I’ll do whatever it takes for that!”

I revealed the authority of Greed and Gluttony, my eyes turning disturbingly cold.

Yet beneath my outward appearance, my mind remained more composed than ever.

‘This is right.’

In Jilpen’s form, I had always displayed a desire for power and the pursuit of strength. It was best to openly show my craving for absolute power rather than reveal shallow desires.

“A Transcendent…”

Strude stroked his smooth chin, his gaze lowered.

“It’s a simple wish, yet also a difficult one.”

He chuckled, muttering something cryptic.

“What nonsense is that?”

I furrowed my brow deeply.

“Our god can easily grant such a wish.”

Strude spread both arms wide, gesturing toward the Archangel-shaped deity standing behind him.

“However, your current power level, Lord Jilpen, hasn’t even reached Master rank yet. You’d need to surpass dozens of stages beyond that, which requires an enormous amount of desire. You’ll only be able to achieve it by building the Tower like them and reaching toward the sky.”

He nodded, saying that I must build a tower by sacrificing my desires.

“If I can just become a Transcendent, I’m willing to give up anything!”

I bared my teeth in a grin, my greed shining through even more vividly as I laughed.

“Excellent.”

Strude, the High Priest, smiled knowingly and extended both hands toward me.

“Take my hands and transfer your desires to me. Depending on the magnitude, your tower will be erected in the Celestial Realm.”

He exhaled coldly as he explained that if the tower grew tall enough to touch the sky, an Archangel would descend and grant my wish.

“Excellent!”

I nodded decisively and grasped both of Strude’s hands.

‘This is where it matters.’

If this were the Derus Robert I knew, he would attempt to find a loophole even through this stage of sacrificing desires. I operated the Ring of Fire with utmost intensity to prevent my true intentions from being exposed.

“I shall begin.”

As Strude began, I felt my desires naturally being drawn out from my soul.

But that wasn’t all.

Sssssssss.

A very subtle aura seeped in from Strude’s hands and began to comb through my soul.
It seemed he wasn’t merely discerning my desires—he was attempting to examine the state of my soul and inner landscape.

‘As expected.’

I felt my prediction was correct and inwardly scoffed.

‘Even if it’s not Derus himself, a mere fragment can be deceived easily enough.’

The ring of fire rotated, and at the very edge of my soul, a false shell was created—one that harbored only the will to grow stronger.

Ssssshhhhh!

The sinister energy sent by High Priest Strude read only the newly created shell and slipped from my body like a loach escaping through water.

“I sense a burning desire to become stronger. The Divine One surely understands such conviction.”

As High Priest Strude nodded grandly as if I had passed the trial, a thunderous sound erupted from outside—the earth itself seemed to split apart.

“Wh-what…?”

Charlie gasped in shock, clutching his head and bending at the waist.

“There is no need for alarm.”

High Priest Strude smiled gently and pointed to the side, where a new tower rose up amid a storm of grey dust.

“That is the tower containing Jilpen’s desires. Magnificent, isn’t it?”

He raised his hand, indicating that the tower gleaming grey was mine.

“Pathetic.”

I frowned as I gazed upon the grey tower that had just been born.

‘At this rate, it won’t reach the sky even after a year.’

I had thought I’d accumulated considerable desire, but it fell far short of my expectations. There was no way I could reach the sky within a year through normal means.

“Though it is low now, if you continue as you have been, you should be able to reach the sky within a few years.”

High Priest Strude released my hand and bowed deeply, as if asking for my continued cooperation.

“A few years? Don’t talk nonsense.”

I let out a scoff as I stared at the back of High Priest Strude’s head.

“In a few years, the bastards I need to take revenge on might be dead! I don’t have time to wait like that!”

I shook my head vigorously, insisting that I couldn’t wait several years.

“Then what do you suggest? We can’t seize the other towers now. We should just quietly accumulate desire….”
“Seize?”

I repeated Charlie’s words and gazed at the towers of others who sought to reach the sky.

“You said those towers are manifestations of desire, right? Then….”

I curled my lips upward, my greed laid bare for all to see.

“I’ll just seize the towers through life-or-death duels!”

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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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