The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 635

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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 635

“How. How is this even possible.”

The creature wearing Rimer’s face didn’t cry out even as its wrist was crushed. It repeated the word “how” while twisting its leaf-colored eyes in anguish.

I furrowed my brow deeply as I observed its form.

‘This thing. It’s not human.’

No matter how much pain tolerance training one underwent, if the bones in the wrist shattered, the elbow and shoulder would involuntarily flinch.
But this creature showed no reaction whatsoever, as if it had erased pain perception itself.

It seemed to be either a phantom created by a barrier, or some kind of special Monster.

“How!”

The Monster wearing Rimer’s face shrieked and tried to wrench its wrist free from my grip.
I attempted to hold on, but its wrist transformed into a gelatinous liquid, and I could no longer maintain my grasp.

“What are you.”

I bit my lip as I stared at my now-empty hand.

“What am I?”

The creature’s hand, wearing Rimer’s form, transformed into something thick and muddy, and it drew forth two blades.

“Those swords…”

I couldn’t mistake them. The forms were far too familiar. The Heavenly Sword and the Soul Reaper Sword.

“I am Raon Zigheart.”

As I stood there in disbelief, the creature charged forward with the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword raised.

Clang!

The Heavenly Sword held by the Monster wearing Rimer’s visage blazed with crimson heat lines.

“What in the—!”

I widened my eyes and retreated backward.

‘Red Slash?’

A sharp heat line grazed past the space I’d vacated. The floating snowball evaporated in an instant, scattering droplets.

I swallowed hard. It was real. The sword technique that Monster just deployed was Red Slash—a Manhwagong technique I used frequently. It was impossible, since I was the only one on the Continent learning Manhwagong.

Boom!

The Monster stamped its left foot on the ground as if to pursue me as far as I’d retreated. Even that footwork was familiar.

‘Harmonious Step….’

It used Harmonious Step to surge leftward and brought the Heavenly Sword crashing down. The strike was Fang of the Beast—a technique that mimicked a predator tearing at its prey’s throat.

Clang!

I drew the Heavenly Sword and simultaneously thrust Snowwind Blade Form into the attack. The frigid blade severed the flow of the strike, twisting the balance of Fang of the Beast.

“Khekhekhe.”

The Monster in Rimer’s form was pushed back, yet it curled its lips into a long, mocking smile.

“Just who are you?”
“I am Raon Zigheart.”

It sneered and thrust the false Heavenly Sword toward the sky.
A crimson-tinged flower bud slowly bloomed from the silver blade. Thousands of flame fragments scattered like wind, surrounding the Snowy Plain.

“Flame Spirit….”

Red Slash, Harmonious Step, Fang of the Beast, and now Flame Spirit.
The Monster had perfectly recreated Flame Spirit—a technique that could be called the most technically difficult sword art. It lacked nothing in power or form.

“I’m going insane… what?”

I let out a hollow laugh before narrowing my brows. Above the forehead of the creature scattering Flame Spirit, a murky gray horn resembling a shark’s fin sprouted forth.

‘A horn?’

Wait, that color….

I’d never seen that horn before, but that murky gray hue stirred a memory from my past.

‘A Doppelgänger.’

It was identical to the original skin color of the Doppelgänger that had attempted to abduct Yua at the Lower Castle.

‘Given how it’s mimicking my swordsmanship, it’s definitely a Doppelgänger.’

A Lord, no less.

Unlike ordinary Doppelgängers that devour humans and absorb their abilities, a Doppelgänger Lord could replicate the powers of anyone it encountered from the start.

I’d heard that even a Lord had limits to ability replication, but whether due to the peculiarity of this space or something else, this creature was displaying combat prowess equal to my own.

-So you’ve finally realized?

Wrath snorted dismissively.

-That copying bastard will continue to mimic your techniques. Since it’s tedious, dispose of it quickly.
‘Hmm….’

I narrowed my eyes as I extinguished the Doppelgänger Lord’s Flame Spirit with genuine Flame Spirit.

‘But something feels off.’

Ordinarily, Doppelgängers don’t assume the form of others—they manifest as exact copies of oneself and engage in one-on-one combat.

The legend that meeting a Doppelgänger meant death originated from that very nature.

Yet this Doppelgänger Lord appeared in Rimer’s form, ambushed me, and only then began employing my swordsmanship. This was far from a typical scenario.

‘Then this must be….’

Derus Robert’s manipulation.

“I am Raon Zigheart!”

The Doppelgänger Lord shrieked and thrust the fake Heavenly Sword forward. The sword strikes flew like arrows, spreading like a mirage and pressuring all my vital points. Thirty-six Crimson Needles.

Whoooosh!

I gritted my teeth as I erected a flame barrier with the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword.

‘That was clever.’

Derus had manipulated the space to allow one-on-one combat with the doppelgänger, creating a vicious arena where it could ambush in the guise of an ally.

After fighting alongside comrades from the First to Third Floors, deepening bonds, he orchestrated a betrayal on the Fourth Floor—striking with a dagger wearing a friend’s face. In terms of cruelty, no one could match him.

If the doppelgänger had mimicked Rimer more convincingly, I might have fallen for it.

-Then the True Demon King’s subordinates!

Wrath suddenly jumped as if remembering something.

-The ice cream girl! The beef girl! The pineapple girl! And even the True Demon King’s wallet! Aren’t they all in danger!
‘They won’t be.’

Their acting would be just as clumsy as his.

The doppelgänger consumes humans and perfectly mimics them.
The ones on the Fourth Floor must work from mere fragments of memory to replicate their allies’ forms, so their performances would be somewhat crude.

The Doppelgänger Lord expressing concern for the Gwangpung Unit while wearing Rimer’s face was proof of that.

The Gwangpung Unit, trained since Bekmang Mountain to watch for each other’s weaknesses, wouldn’t fall for such deception easily.

“Kiiaaaaaah!”

The doppelgänger thrust the sword it had been holding back into the forward position. Massive flames spiraled from the blade, taking the form of a dragon.

“Is it the Flame Dragon Seal this time?”

I narrowed my eyes and moved to evade just as the attack came.

Whoooosh!

Rotating flames filled my vision. The blazing inferno that swept forward like a tempest felt strangely sluggish.
If I accelerated the flames even slightly, I could enhance both their power and speed.

Hwoooong!

After evading the Flame Dragon Seal with Taehwa Bro, the Doppelgänger Lord pursued from the right, unleashing a Frost Chain downward. The blade of frost shadowed behind the Soul Reaper Sword, aiming for my throat.

‘It’s following too quickly.’

Looking at it now, the second frost blade was pursuing behind the Soul Reaper Sword far too rapidly. If I gave it more time, it would become even harder to counter.

‘Now that I think about it….’

Was this the first time I’d ever seen my own swordsmanship from this perspective?

The Doppelgänger I’d faced at Lower Castle hadn’t mimicked my technique—it had simply attacked with overwhelming force. This was my first opportunity to observe my own swordsmanship from an enemy’s viewpoint. It was proving invaluable.

‘This is actually quite useful.’

I drew a faint smile and gripped the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword lightly.

‘I’ve found a new training ground.’
-What training ground are you talking about!

Wrath furrowed his brow as he watched me.

-Finish this quickly and get out, you insane celestial bastard!

*

*

*

“What in the world….”

Delphos clenched his teeth as he watched Raon battle the Doppelgänger Lord.

“Why don’t surprise attacks work on that monster!”

He cried out in bewilderment, clutching at his head.

“I-I’m terribly sorry.”

The Sabi Commander bowed his trembling head.

“This isn’t your fault to apologize for.”

Delphos bit his lip until it bled.

“Even if I had done it myself, nothing would have changed.”

He glared at Raon within the crystal sphere, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened.

“That monster is the root of all this.”

I could overlook how he used the First Layer as a playground to train swordsmen. I could accept that he subdued the Phoenix on the Second Layer without difficulty.

But then he arbitrarily revived the Phoenix and made it his subordinate, opened the secret passage in the Maze on the Third Floor, and killed Seol Goehu at its end.

‘Yes. Seol Goehu….’

Even now, that made no sense to me.

A single strike.

Raon Zigheart had merely evaded while searching for an opening, then pierced Seol Goehu’s vitals with just one sword strike.

When I witnessed that scene directly, I was so stunned I couldn’t speak for a long time.

‘Seol Goehu was superior in power.’

I was a Grand Master myself, but I naturally thought Seol Goehu, with his overwhelming aura and experience, would win.
I still couldn’t believe that monster had died from a single counterattack.

‘And on the 4th Floor as well….’

The ambush hadn’t worked.

The plan for the 4th Floor had been perfect.

Separated from his companions after spending time together. When his vision opened up and he felt uneasy, if a trustworthy ally appeared, anyone would inevitably lower their guard.

But Raon had sensed the Doppelgänger Lord’s ambush and countered with a response that transcended mere defense. It was something I wanted to believe was a dream.

‘Is he just lucky?’

No, that couldn’t possibly be it.

One or two times could be attributed to luck, but with so many incidents occurring, I had no choice but to acknowledge his skill, whether I liked it or not.

“In the end, we have no choice but to settle this on the final floor….”
“Not yet.”

The Sabi Commander slowly lifted his gaze.

“I understand the desire to hope, but even a Doppelgänger Lord cannot defeat a Grand Master.”

Delphos clicked his tongue briefly and shook his head.

“I have reinforced the barrier in that space.”

The Sabi Commander gazed into the crystal sphere, his knuckles clenching tightly. Deep wrinkles suddenly etched across the back of his hand as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

“What?”
“I have altered the formula to allow the Doppelgänger Lord to wield power beyond its own strength.”

Intense heat blazed across the Sabi Commander’s pupils.

“Raon Zigheart will have to face an opponent that grows stronger and stronger.”

*

*

*

The Heavenly Sword, drenched crimson as if scattering sunlight itself, collided head-on with another Heavenly Sword.

Clang!

A colossal inferno erupted as if the volcano itself had detonated, consuming both sky and earth. The snow that had blanketed the world melted away, revealing the barren gray battlefield beneath.

I trampled through the scorched earth where the snow had vanished, extending the Heavenly Sword toward the doppelgänger Lord wearing Rimer’s visage and wielding my own swordsmanship.

Boom!

The doppelgänger Lord, as if it had been waiting, mirrored my stance and unfolded the identical sword technique.

Crash!

Flames bloomed in the space between blade and blade, forming a pearl-like circle before detonating in an instant.

It was the second form of the Raon Zigheart sword technique—Heavenly Ascension.

A tremendous shockwave rippled outward, and for a moment, the falling snow ceased as if the world itself had paused.

Crash!

Both I and the doppelgänger Lord retreated a step, then thrust our blades toward each other’s hearts, treading the Heavenly Ascension stance.

Frost Chain, Azure Rain, Blood Rain, Silver Sword Dream, and even Bow String Sword—we exchanged identical techniques, each seeking the other’s vitals.

Cracks began to splinter across the space that had seemed indestructible, and the earth buckled beneath the onslaught.

I twisted my lips as I observed my own swordsmanship displayed by the doppelgänger Lord.

‘It’s growing stronger with each exchange.’

The power of the techniques wielded by the doppelgänger Lord intensified and accelerated with every clash. At this point, I could feel myself being pushed back in raw strength.

‘However….’

Nothing would change.

I had transformed far too much since I first learned and created those sword techniques. The person I was then bore no resemblance to who I had become.

The Doppelgänger Lord’s swordsmanship possessed greater power, but it lacked the enlightenment I had recently discovered.

What would carry me forward was not a monster that had accumulated more aura, but myself—someone who had amassed deeper contemplation and experience.

‘Thanks to that creature, I could grasp that truth more clearly.’

Observing the Doppelgänger Lord’s swordsmanship had elevated my martial understanding, yet I encountered a version of myself still wielding the blade in the same limited manner.

‘Those techniques, forged only from sensation without the foundation of a proper incantation, felt incomplete.’

Until now, I had been like a grown body dressed in children’s clothing. I had gained a small but crucial insight into what I needed to do and how to do it.

‘This too is fortune.’

Or perhaps inevitability.

The Fourth Floor seemed designed as a space where one could confront oneself through the doppelgänger. Since it was a training ground created by the Zigheart Ancestor, this was neither coincidence nor fortune—it was necessity itself.

“I am. I am Raon Zigheart!”

The Doppelgänger Lord roared, plunging both blades into the earth. The counterfeit Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword blazed with brilliant light, painting the sun and moon across the pristine sky above.

I swallowed hard, my gaze fixed upon the sun and moon illuminating the white heavens, and the divine and demonic blades held in the Doppelgänger Lord’s hands.

“Sword Realm Manifestation…?”

Was such a thing even possible?

I had never imagined the Doppelgänger Lord capable of wielding Sword Realm Manifestation. For the first time since entering this place, genuine shock flooded my mind.

“Kiiieeeee!”

The doppelgänger, having achieved Sword Realm Incarnation, shrieked and charged forward. The auras of the divine and demonic blades pierced through my black dragon robe.
Even from a distance, a searing pain burned across my skin.

Ching!

I infused the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword with cold and heat, drawing the Flame Wall and Frost Chain.

Crash!

The impact was tremendous, befitting divine and demonic blades. My shoulders felt as though they might dislocate.

“Kieeeee!”

The doppelgänger continued its momentum, raining down the divine and demonic blades in rapid succession. It wasn’t wielding them with explosive force alone—it deployed proper sword techniques. Fighting it felt like facing a master who had transcended realms.
Without exerting excessive force, he unfolds a proper sword technique. It felt like facing a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of mastery.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

Raon narrowed his eyes as he wielded the Heavenly Sword against Chungwoo and raised the Soul Reaper Sword against Eun Geom Mong.

“Did my enemies fight monsters like that?”

He connects the terrifying power and the endless burning heat and cold with mysterious swordsmanship. It was my own form, yet it was a sight I couldn’t help but grow tired of.

“However…”

The shortcoming never went away.

I had always thought my Sword Realm incarnation was complete until now.

I thought I had achieved better balance upon reaching Grandmaster, unlike when I was a Master.

But it wasn’t.

Looking at it with eyes that had gone one step beyond Grand Master, there were far more than just one or two shortcomings.

It seemed fine to not balance the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword perfectly and instead create slight differences between them, and in one-on-one situations, it also seemed good to concentrate the Sword Realm’s range to maximize its power.

The more I clashed swords with my doppelgänger, the clearer the path I needed to take became. Yet I could never be satisfied with anything.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch!

The Doppelgänger Lord stepped back with one foot. I positioned the Heavenly Sword over my right shoulder and the Soul Reaper Sword behind my right hip.
Blinding radiance erupted from both blades, spreading outward in all directions.

‘Azure Crimson Undefeated Sword!’

The linked technique of Divine Demon Harmony and the strongest sword technique I could currently wield surged forth from the Doppelgänger Lord’s hands.

“Kiaaaaaaaaa!”

The Doppelgänger Lord unleashed its most thunderous roar yet.
It surged forward relentlessly, as if demanding one final clash. Merely by its approach, my muscles felt as though they would rupture and my skin would melt away. My strongest blade, Azure Crimson Undefeated, had met its match.

Boundless amplified flames and frost blades descended. It was as though a crimson sun and azure moon were devouring the heavens themselves.

‘There’s no way to stop this….’

That’s what I would have thought in the past.

I created Divine Demon Harmony back when I was a Master.

It had grown stronger since becoming a Grand Master, but I could feel it still fell short.

‘To ascend further, I must shatter the person I once was.’

I would accept this clash.

I drove my feet forward with tremendous force. The impact surging from my ankles spread throughout my entire body.
The heat of Manhwa Palace and the chill of Glacia rushed through my swollen mana circuits.
The flames and frost, stimulating each other and burning fiercely, ignited lightning upon the blades of the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword.

Change is frightening, but without progress, nothing can be achieved.

I gazed at the sky beyond the flames and frost.

Infinitely high, untouched by anything—a noble sky.

Gazing upon my goal, I drew forth my utmost strength in this moment.

Heavenly Sword, True Void Flame.

Nothing could touch the endlessly shifting sky.

Screeeeeech!

The wave of flames conjured by the Divine Sword shattered, and the glacier mountain erected by the Demonic Sword crumbled.

What remained behind was the sky—an expanse that transformed yet remained unchanged.

“You… changed?”

The Doppelgänger Lord seemed to realize I was different from him, letting out a peculiar laugh. He wore a satisfied smile before vanishing into the light of flames and frost.

Whoooosh!

The snow falling from the sky ceased. The Snowy Plain faded away, and a black corridor opened. It was the passage leading to the next floor.

‘Now I understand everything.’

I gazed at my trembling hands and bit my lip.

‘This place was created by the Zigheart Ancestor for his descendants.’

It wasn’t a training ground for a single descendant, but a place designed for all of Zigheart.

On the 1st Floor, I strengthened my stamina and mental fortitude by facing Monsters in darkness and evading traps. On the 2nd Floor, I cultivated strategy and camaraderie by confronting a formidable Monster. The 3rd Floor Maze I traversed swiftly, but it was likely designed to develop judgment, insight, and cooperation.

The 4th Floor I just cleared was designed so that swordsmen could test their own abilities by battling themselves, and those who had achieved the Sword Realm could cultivate their inner spirit.

Each floor was a compassionate space designed to guide warriors toward greater heights.

But Derus Robert had transformed this land—filled with the Ancestor’s care—into a hellscape where death’s grasp extended. His habit of manipulating people’s lives remained unchanged.

‘Derus Robert.’

I bit my lip and gazed at the hole leading to what was probably the final floor.

‘You won’t be here.’

Derus Robert, more cautious than anyone else, would surely not exist in this place.

But the scheme he had devised remained intact within this Tomb.
For the sake of the Zigheart Ancestor who had aided me greatly, I had to shatter his plan.

I hurled myself into the Black Hole, my lips twisting with resolve.

‘By the name of Zigheart, I shall deny everything you are.’

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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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