The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 540
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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 540
Lunan Slion bit his lip as he observed Sylvia’s serpentine, adhesive gaze.
‘Why did she come looking for me?’
Sylvia had shown me no interest since being humiliated by Raon.
She hadn’t visited home for so long that I’d resigned myself to thinking she’d given up, but her sudden appearance the moment I returned didn’t sit well with me.
“What have you been doing to make your hands this cold!”
Clara frowned as she took Sylvia’s pale, frigid hands in her own.
“It’s still cold weather, after all.”
Sylvia offered a gentle smile as she unbuckled the sword at her waist and leaned it against the wall.
“You could protect your body with aura.”
Rokan Slion sighed, questioning why she endured the cold without any protection.
“It’s too bothersome.”
“You are the heir to the Slion Family. Treasure your body more.”
“Understood!”
Sylvia placed her hand to her forehead in a salute and took a seat beside Lunan Slion.
“Anyway.”
“She never changes.”
Clara and Rokan smiled warmly, finding Sylvia’s nature endearing.
“….”
Unlike the two of them, I maintained a subtle tension throughout my body, ready to move at any moment.
‘It’s like the look in her eyes from before.’
Sylvia’s gaze held an undisguised hunger—the same raw desire she’d harbored before I humbled her.
At least there was one saving grace: Seolhwa sat beside the dining table.
She’d brought her blade to polish it after the meal, but now I was grateful for her presence—a safeguard against whatever Sylvia might attempt.
I couldn’t defeat Sylvia outright, but I could hold her back until she tried anything inappropriate toward my mother and father.
‘No matter what she does, I’ll stop her.’
As Lunan Slion lowered his right hand beneath the table, keeping his focus on Sylvia’s movements, the dining hall doors swung open and servants entered carrying fresh dishes.
They cleared away the cooled plates and arranged steaming new courses across the table.
“Oh, that reminds me—I have a gift.”
Sylvia smiled faintly and produced a spatial pouch.
Just as Lunan Slion’s hand reached for Seolhwa’s sword hilt, a gray box tumbled from Sylvia’s pouch—a container of pearl ice cream.
“They released a new flavor, and I thought of you, so I picked some up.”
Sylvia extended the ice cream box toward him with an inviting gesture.
“Wait!”
Rokan Slion raised his palm sharply.
“Mine comes first! No cutting in line!”
He plunged his hand into his spatial pouch and withdrew an even larger ice cream box.
“Lunan! Try your father’s first!”
Rokan Slion waved his hand insistently, demanding his own ice cream be opened before Sylvia’s.
“Like father, like son. Exactly the same.”
Clara found the sight of the three so endearing that she rested her chin in her hand, her expression warm and radiant.
“Mm…”
Lunan Slion released his hand from Seolhwa’s sword and accepted the ice cream boxes from Sylvia and Rokan Slion.
“I’ll eat after we have dinner.”
“That’s fine. But you’ll eat the one your father bought first, won’t you?”
Rokan Slion raised his finger, insisting that Lunan Slion eat his ice cream first no matter what.
“Yes.”
Lunan Slion nodded and observed Sylvia. She wore an enigmatic smile before turning her gaze toward Rokan Slion.
“How disappointing. I’ve prepared a gift for Father as well.”
Sylvia reached into her spatial pouch once more. This time, an elegant white wine emerged.
“It’s a forty-year-old Sichelle Blanc.”
“Oh! Such a treasure?”
Rokan Slion’s hands trembled as though the wine were a priceless artifact.
“I happened to acquire it at an auction. Please enjoy it right away.”
“No.”
Lunan Slion pushed his chair back roughly and stood. Something felt wrong. I had the distinct impression that Sylvia had done something to that wine.
“Father. Don’t drink that.”
“L-Lunan? Why?”
Clara’s eyes widened as she lifted her head.
“…It would be wasteful.”
Lunan Slion gazed at the wine in Rokan Slion’s hands and awkwardly smacked his lips. It was a ridiculous excuse, but nothing better came to mind. At times like this, I wished I could borrow Raon’s words.
“It certainly would be wasteful. This wine isn’t something you can obtain just because you have money. Besides, it’s a gift from my son after so long.”
Rokan Slion nodded slowly as he gazed at the wine.
“Just enjoy it. I’ll buy you more next time.”
Sylvia waved her hand, saying it was fine.
“I won’t hear it. You little brat. You buy gifts for Lunan Slion but never buy anything for me. I’m keeping this one to show off later.”
Rokan Slion chuckled and handed the wine to the Butler behind him, ordering him to bring a different premium wine instead.
The Butler returned shortly with a red wine and glasses, pouring for all four of us.
“It’s a thirty-year Baresia. It’s not quite as fine as Sichelle, but it’s still worth drinking.”
Rokan Slion raised his glass, suggesting we toast together as a family for the first time.
“Of course.”
Sylvia raised her glass without the slightest disappointment, moving with fluid grace.
Clink.
Lunan Slion focused on Sylvia’s eyes and hands as he clinked glasses with the three of them.
Sylvia drained her glass in one gulp, and both Rokan Slion and Clara smiled as they sipped their wine.
Tap.
Lunan Slion set down his glass without even bringing it to his lips.
“Aren’t you going to drink, Lunan Slion?”
“No.”
I shook my head at Clara and relaxed my slightly stiffened fingers.
“Father, Mother—do you happen to know about that?”
As the laughter-filled drinking session continued and the wine bottle was emptied, Sylvia leaned forward toward the table.
“What are you talking about?”
“A monster called Baphomet has appeared in the Southern Region, they say.”
“Baphomet!”
“Hmm….”
Rokan Slion’s eyes narrowed, while Clara tilted her head as if unfamiliar with the name.
“That monster….”
“Yes. It’s a monster. And an extraordinarily formidable one at that.”
Sylvia nodded calmly with a faint smile.
“Since Mother and Lunan Slion seem unfamiliar with it, let me explain briefly—it’s an exceptionally powerful monster. It can wield both aura and mana, and it’s a commander-class monster with intelligence surpassing that of humans.”
She continued her explanation, moving her fingers across the dining table as if sketching a picture.
“However, unlike other monsters, Baphomet has one distinctive characteristic.”
“A characteristic?”
“Yes. From the moment of its birth, it seeks out its mate.”
Sylvia slowly brought the index finger of her left hand to meet the index finger of her right hand.
“A Baphomet that has found its mate becomes incomparably stronger than before. The one that appeared in the Southern Region is likely searching for its mate right now.”
“That’s not all, though.”
Rokan Slion set down his glass and exhaled heavily.
“Baphomet is a monster that grows.”
He gazed down at the wine, red as blood, his brow furrowed.
“They grow stronger faster than humans called geniuses. We must eliminate it before it finds its mate and before it grows any further.”
“Father, you certainly know a great deal about this.”
“I fought one when I was about your age.”
Rokan Slion shook his head as if recalling a terrible experience.
“Still, it’s rather pitiful.”
Clara traced her finger along the rim of her wine glass, exhaling deeply.
“She was searching for her mate, and yet she was attacked….”
“…Mother, you are quite compassionate.”
Sylvia’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if Clara’s words had caught her off guard.
“Do not speak such nonsense. Those creatures act on instinct alone, so they often attack humans without reason.”
Rokan shook his head, insisting that a Monster was still just a Monster, regardless.
“Ah, there is one more peculiar thing about Baphomet.”
“What is it?”
“When seeking a mate, if that mate is blood kin, it is said to gain power beyond imagination.”
“Blood kin? What a grotesque creature… Oh.”
Clara dropped the glass she held to the floor.
“This… this cannot be….”
Her entire body trembled as though struck by lightning, and she toppled backward along with her chair.
“Clara!”
Rokan sprang from his seat and rushed toward her.
“What is the matter with you!”
“Mother!”
Lunan, cradling Seolhwa, leaped onto the dining table and bounded down toward where Clara had collapsed.
“What are you all doing! Summon a healer at once!”
Rokan shouted at the Butler and servants behind him, but none of them moved.
“What in the—”
“Do not raise your voice.”
Sylvia smiled, wetting her lips with red wine.
“They’re simply following my orders to remain still.”
“S-Sylvia?”
Rokan Slion’s lips trembled as he watched Sylvia’s eyes transform in an instant.
“By the way, Father truly is remarkable. That drug works on the mind regardless of one’s martial prowess, yet you’ve endured this long. I’m actually impressed.”
“Did you do this?”
“Then who else would have?”
“Someone! Anyone!”
At Rokan Slion’s cry, the Dining Hall doors burst open and the family’s swordsmen entered.
“Take Clara to the healers, and quickly seize that—”
But the swordsmen who entered positioned themselves behind Sylvia instead, their hands resting on their sword hilts.
“You… why are you all—”
“Your closest attendants have become mine, Father. Isn’t it natural that the swordsmen would follow you as well?”
“You wretches!”
“I invested considerable effort, after all. Money, martial secrets, base desires, and leverage—I gathered it all.”
Sylvia smiled thinly as she observed the warriors and servants standing behind her.
“Father has grown too enamored with peace. You’ve become nothing but an old, fat dog eating scraps thrown by Zigheart.”
“You insolent—”
Rokan Slion snarled and tried to rise. His eyes blazed crimson with fury.
“Zigheart is certainly powerful, of course. But eighty percent of that strength comes from Glen Zigheart—that monster. The rest are merely mediocre rabble.”
Sylvia laughed softly and lifted her gaze, her eerie eyes narrowing as she looked at the warm lighting that seemed so incongruous with the atmosphere.
“The world will change soon. And from the heart of our Slion Family, I shall become the awl that strikes at Zigheart’s back.”
“I would never allow such a thing! Never… Ugh!”
Rokan Slion staggered and collapsed to his knees. Against his will, his arms and legs convulsed before he fell backward.
“As expected, the drug works much better when you’re agitated.”
Sylvia stroked her chin with an amused expression.
“Lu, Lunan. Run….”
Rokan couldn’t even finish his words before his body went rigid.
“Ah, Father, Mother.”
Lunan watched Rokan and Clara, whose eyes were the only things that could move, and breathed heavily. Both of them blinked desperately, as if pleading for him to escape.
“What did you do!”
She bared her teeth as she glared at Sylvia.
“You thought I poisoned the wine? That would be boring.”
Sylvia lifted the nearly empty wine bottle. As she opened her palm, the fallen bottle shattered, and the crimson wine spilled across the white floor like blood.
“I didn’t do anything to this wine. What I touched was….”
Sylvia’s finger pointed toward the glasses that Clara and Rokan had drunk from.
“Those glasses.”
“What did you do to Mother and Father!”
Lunan lifted Seolhwa, her killing intent blazing.
“Lunan. You made a mistake too.”
Sylvia smiled brightly and waved her hand.
“If you wanted to stop me and save Mother and Father, you should have kept talking. You should have told them that your brother was acting strange, that your brother seemed insane. Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“Sylvia….”
“Ah, but when I was young, I did tell Father and Mother that I was acting strange, didn’t I? Why didn’t that work? Why didn’t they believe you?”
Sylvia pointed to the servants and attendants standing behind her and let out a pale yellow laugh.
“Even then, quite a few of them stood behind me and gave reports favorable to me, so how could it have worked? Father and Mother pitied you, thinking you were delusional.”
“You….”
Lunan gritted his teeth and pulled every ounce of aura from his core. A chilling cyan aura wrapped in frost blazed across Seolhwa’s blade.
“Magnificent! You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment!”
Sylvia’s lips trembled as she gazed at the aura aimed at her throat, her smile widening.
“It was worth letting that wretch live.”
As he clapped lightly, warriors and servants approached the fallen Rokan and Clara.
“Don’t come any closer! I’ll kill them all!”
Lunan snarled and turned Seolhwa toward the warriors.
“Resistance is always beautiful. However….”
Sylvia pointed at Rokan and Clara, licking her crimson lips.
“If you leave Father and Mother as they are, their breathing will stop and they’ll perish. Are you truly prepared for that?”
At his question, Lunan’s fingertips trembled.
“….”
The aura blooming from Seolhwa’s blade melted away like spring snow.
Clang!
Finally, Lunan’s sword fell to the ground.
“A wise choice.”
With Sylvia’s laughter, the lights in the Dining Hall went dark.
*
*
*
I stood at the center of the 5th Training Ground and drew the Heavenly Sword. With its pristine blade pointed toward the sky where the sun had yet to rise, I held my breath.
Recalling the advice Glen Zigheart had given me two days prior, I brought the blade down in a sweeping arc.
Whoooosh!
A biting wind from the sword cut through the frigid dawn air, etching a razor-thin line across the Training Ground floor.
Whoooosh!
Without even glancing at the mark, I lifted the Heavenly Sword again and brought it down in the identical stance.
The second sword wind erupted, yet the number of marks on the Training Ground floor remained unchanged.
Even after one hundred downward strikes, only the first single line remained etched upon the ground.
Fwooosh!
I nodded in satisfaction, then raised the Heavenly Sword overhead and brought it down with renewed force. The precision and sharpness woven through one hundred strikes transformed into speed and weight, carving a trajectory across the Training Ground floor as though struck by a massive hammer.
The precision and sharpness contained in the hundred sword strikes transformed into speed and weight, carving a trace on the Training Ground’s floor as if it had been struck down by an iron mace.
With complete focus poured into each blade strike, by the time I completed my training session, the risen sun had advanced to the center of the sky.
Because I concentrated my full attention on each strike, by the time I finished one round of training, the rising sun had moved to the center of the sky.
-Yamma!
Damn it!
When Raon tried to train the mysteries of the Moonless Sword with the Gale Sword, Wrath suddenly jumped up in front of his eyes.
Isn’t it time for our appointment?! Why aren’t you going already?!
Wrath pointed at the sky, saying it was time for the group dinner he had scheduled with everyone.
“Hmm…”
Raon lowered the Heavenly Sword and lifted his head. Just as Wrath had said, the promised time was right around the corner.
‘I’m a bit disappointed.’
-Disappointed my foot! You’ve done nothing but train ever since that old geezer left!
‘My training is going well these days. Times like this feel like a waste of time.’
I didn’t feel a definitive surge in growth, but the chaotic martial techniques were organizing themselves, and each training session left me satisfied.
-I’ve never met anyone as obsessed with martial arts as you!
Wrath shook his head in exasperation.
‘Then a bit more?’
-Shut up and get to the Ice Cream Shop already! I’ve been restraining myself from eating bead ice cream all this time for today!
‘Fine. Fine.’
I sighed. I quickly washed up and headed to the Shopping District.
Since I arrived almost exactly at ten, most of the Gwangpung Corps had gathered.
“Why are you only just arriving when you’re the one who called us here!”
Martha squinted her eyes, complaining that I was late.
“Look, he’s even carrying a sword. He came straight from training.”
Burren shook his head as he looked at the Heavenly Sword.
“This is seriously ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.”
He sighed, saying he couldn’t keep up.
“What kind of training is he planning to put us through anyway….”
Dorian was already trembling with fear at the thought of training.
“Commander.”
Mark Goeten bowed his head quietly with admiration in his eyes.
“Hmm?”
I approached the Gwangpung Corps, tilting my head in confusion. By this time, that lazy-voiced fool who should be muttering something about being a handsome Raon was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Lunan?”
“He hasn’t arrived yet.”
Burren waved his hand.
“That’s strange. He’s never late for an ice cream promise.”
Martha tilted her head, saying it was odd.
“….”
I lifted my gaze toward the clock standing in the plaza.
Tick.
It was now ten o’clock, yet Lunan still hadn’t appeared.
-Hey!
‘I know.’
I nodded and looked toward the Gwangpung Corps.
“If I don’t return within an hour, inform the Slion Family Estate that something’s happened. Dorian and Martha, you’re coming with me!”
“What?”
“What are you talking about….”
Without waiting for their responses, I dashed toward the West Side.
-The ice cream girl breaking a promise? That is most peculiar indeed!
‘Right. Lunan’s never broken an ice cream promise, no matter what.’
Lunan may appear lazy, but there are two promises she never breaks.
Training and ice cream. Especially when it comes to ice cream—she arrives more than an hour early and waits first.
‘Something’s definitely happened.’
I headed toward the Slion Family Estate with absolute certainty.
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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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