The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 995

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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 995

Chirp, chirp.

A nameless bird soared across the sky, its clear song drifting down.

“Huh…?”

I blinked blankly as I heard the bird’s melody falling from above my head.

“Why is there a village I’ve never seen before right in front of me?”

A small Village lay directly ahead. There were several houses built of red brick, and as I gazed at the smoke rising from their square chimneys, my chest inexplicably warmed. It felt exactly like seeing the Annex Building.

‘Where is this place?’

I had only shattered the Old Woman’s mask that Merlin was wearing in order to treat her, yet I couldn’t fathom how I’d ended up in such a place.

‘Is this the Mental World? It doesn’t feel like it…’

I narrowed my eyes as I surveyed my surroundings.

‘The sensations are far too vivid.’

The familiar fragrance wafting from the Village and the flow of the wind felt so tangible at my fingertips that this seemed to be reality rather than a dream or the Mental World.

‘Or have I died?’

If Tacheon had launched a surprise attack when light erupted from Merlin’s mask, my body might have been torn apart before I could even sense it.

‘No, that’s too much. Larian would have stopped him.’
-Grrrrrrgh!

As I shook my head, thinking I couldn’t have died, a familiar voice came from beneath my feet.

-W-where is this place?

Wrath emerged with his eyes half-open. He still retained the form of blue cotton candy.

-Where have you brought the True Demon King!

Wrath immediately bellowed at me to reveal this location.

‘Since you’re beside me, it seems you’re not dead.’

I chuckled softly watching Wrath grumble about his aching head. Seeing that Wrath in his spectral form had been dragged along, it appeared I hadn’t died yet.

‘Though it feels so vivid it seems real… huh?’

I reached out to grasp the Tree beside me, but my eyes widened in shock.

‘What…’

I couldn’t grab it!

Like a ghost, neither the Tree nor its leaves would respond to my touch.

-Hmph!

Wrath narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized me from head to toe.

-You’ve fallen into the same predicament as the True Demon King! Now you shall know the torment of existing in spectral form!

He burst into satisfied laughter, as though I’d walked right into his trap.

‘So this is what spectral form feels like?’

I examined my own body with a frown.

‘It’s certainly peculiar.’

My senses were sharper than when I was alive, yet nothing would respond to my touch. I finally understood why Wrath was so obsessed with hunger.

‘Should I venture inside?’

I gazed at the Village and clicked my tongue briefly.

“-To that Village?”
‘I think I know where this is.’

I had been pulled into this Village while in a spectral state after attempting to remove Merlin’s mask. This place was undoubtedly Merlin’s Mental World.

“-And that would be the Mad Woman’s past.”

Wrath nodded, having caught on as well.

‘Right.’

I took a slow breath and entered the Village.

“The weather is lovely today.”
“Lovely? Rain’s about to pour down any moment.”
“Did you read the weather with magic again? Let nature be natural, will you?”
“But the cultivation magic Cella developed this time is incredible! The harvest nearly doubled!”
“Her magic is naturally trustworthy.”
“Where have the children gone now! It’s almost evening!”

True to its small size, the Village folk conversed with one another, none left out. It felt as warm and familiar as the Annex Building.

‘I need to find Merlin…’

I narrowed my eyes as I scanned the Village carefully.

‘I have no idea how to find her.’
-Though the True Demon King loathes to say it, that Mad Woman’s appearance is quite refined. She would surely stand out.

Wrath nodded, suggesting that someone with Merlin’s beauty would be noticeable even from childhood.

‘That might not be true.’

I shook my head calmly.

‘The body Merlin wears in the present world isn’t her true form.’

I didn’t know the exact process, but Merlin had seized the body of the person who wore the Old Woman’s mask and descended into the present world.
The face of Merlin I saw in reality and the face of Merlin here could not possibly be the same.

—Yes, that certainly seems to be the case.

Wrath nodded in agreement as well.

—Even if someone like Tacheon was involved, that Mad Woman definitely stole someone else’s body.

He furrowed his brow as if something had come to mind.

“Tsk….”

I wandered through the Village in silence before clicking my tongue softly.

‘This spiritual form is quite inconvenient.’

While I could pass through walls and doors, the inability to use martial techniques or aura was incredibly frustrating.

‘At least the Village is small, so that’s fortunate.’

As I sighed and methodically searched through the Village, I heard the laughter of children coming from a small clearing between houses.

‘Could it be….’

I turned my steps toward the clearing where the children’s voices echoed.

“You can’t do that either?”
“You’re really slow….”
“Even younger kids than you can do it.”
“You’re a disgrace to Para. A disgrace!”

Children who appeared to be just over ten years old surrounded a Girl with purple hair, their laughter mocking and cruel.

“I, I can do it too….”

The Girl with purple hair lifted her head weakly.

‘What?’

I widened my eyes as I gazed upon the Girl with purple hair.

‘Merlin…?’

The child with purple hair possessed an aura that transcended mere prettiness—she was beautiful in a way that seemed almost ethereal, despite her tender age.
In a few years, she would bear the exact same face as the Merlin I had once known.

-Your words contradict themselves! She’s identical to the Mad Woman!

Wrath waved his hand dismissively, insisting that Merlin’s face remained unchanged.

‘I… don’t understand why either.’

Merlin had died five hundred years ago, and then was reborn into a girl of this era, wearing the Old Woman’s mask as her new identity.
It was astonishing that the Merlin from the past possessed the same appearance as the Merlin of the present.

‘Yet her eyes are different.’

Without the mask, Merlin’s eyes were violet, and at the center of those pupils was inscribed a crimson cross.
But the girl’s eyes now held only an ordinary violet hue.

-Rather, it is the eyes of the others that bear the cross.

Wrath raised his finger, gesturing for me to look closely.

‘Huh…?’

I followed Wrath’s hand with my gaze and let out a breath of astonishment.

‘He’s right.’

Not Merlin herself, but the children surrounding her—their pupils all bore blue crosses.

‘It’s not just the crosses.’

The children emanated an aura of such pure potency that it seemed they had absorbed nature’s mana directly into themselves. It was the innate gift of a natural mage.

“Hah….”

I swallowed hard as I noticed the crosses inscribed even in the pupils of the middle-aged woman hanging laundry.

‘Could those eyes possibly be a bloodline trait?’

Not everyone in this village bore a cross mark in their pupils, but most did, and they all possessed pure mana alongside it.

“Now, watch carefully….”

Merlin stammered as she struggled to spread both hands open. A small sphere of flame hovered above her palms.

Whoooosh!

Yet the flame could not be sustained, extinguishing like a candle before the wind.

“I knew it!”
“She failed again!”
“She doesn’t even have a cross mark in her eyes. She’s not Para like us.”
“I don’t understand why Cella takes care of her.”

The children teased Merlin, clicking their tongues mockingly.

“No, wait….”

Merlin summoned flame to her palm once more, but it vanished even faster than before, unable to be maintained.

“You can’t do it.”
“Just give up!”
“You can’t even manage basic magic at a lower level.”
“You have no talent. No talent at all.”

The children shook their heads, muttering that it was hopeless.

“You’re not even Cella’s real daughter….”
“You brats!”

Just as the dark-haired child was about to mention the name of the person called Cella, a middle-aged woman who had been hanging laundry came rushing over.

“I told you to stop bullying your friend!”
“Ahhhhh!”

At her shout, the children turned and began to flee.

“Stop right there!”

The middle-aged woman snapped her fingers, and the fleeing children suddenly lifted into the air, being dragged back toward her.

“We’re sorry!”
“It was just a joke!”
“Ugh….”

The children hung suspended in the air like laundry on a line, muttering their apologies.

“You need to apologize to your friend, not to me!”

The middle-aged woman pointed at Merlin, her brow furrowed.

“S-sorry….”
“It really was just a prank….”

The children rolled their eyes and bowed their heads.

“Sniff….”

Merlin didn’t respond, instead covering her face as she sniffled.

“….”
-….”

Raon and Wrath stared with gaping mouths at Merlin crying like an ordinary child.

‘Is this really Merlin?’
-This is the Mad Woman?

*

*

*

“Sigh….”

Merlin wiped her eyes and nose vigorously to hide any trace of tears, then entered the Old Brick House at the edge of the Village.

“I’m… I’m back.”

As she bowed her head listlessly, a young woman emerged from the Kitchen with a rustling sound.

“You’re back early?”

She was a beautiful woman with smooth blonde hair tied back neatly and a refreshing appearance, and her eyes bore a blue cross mark.

“Did you have fun playing… huh?”

The blonde-haired, red-eyed woman nodded with a smile, but her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she noticed Merlin’s reddened nose.

“Did you cry again?”

The blonde-haired, red-eyed woman sighed, as if this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened.

“No, it’s not that.”

Merlin shook her head, claiming something had merely gotten into her eye.

“I see. Then it can’t be helped. But always be careful with your hands. A mage’s hands and eyes are their life, as Merlin’s teachings say, yes?”

The blonde-haired, red-eyed woman gently caressed the burn marks carved into the tips of Merlin’s fingers. As if possessing a special power, the burns slowly faded away.

“…Yes, Cella.”

Merlin couldn’t meet the blonde-haired, red-eyed woman she called Cella directly and averted her gaze slightly.

“Call me mother, and speak comfortably with me.”

Cella shook her head, saying there was no need to be so formal.

“…”

Merlin didn’t answer, only rolling her eyes. She seemed both embarrassed and hesitant.

“…Alright. Let’s eat first.”

Cella let out a short sigh before returning to the Kitchen.

“I-I’ll help you.”

Merlin sniffled and followed Cella into the Kitchen.

“That’s enough. Go wash your face and hands.”

Cella sent Merlin away again, instructing her to wash her face and hands.

“O-okay….”

Merlin opened a round silver sphere with her shoulders drooping as if she’d been scolded, washing her hands and face.

-That one….

Wrath exhaled sharply as he watched Merlin with her lips pouted like a duck’s.

-Is that really the Mad Woman? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem right?

He shook his head, saying that crazy woman couldn’t possibly be this quiet.

‘I had the same thought.’

I let out a small hollow laugh.

‘She’s so different from the Merlin I know.’

Merlin always displayed extreme vitality and action. I never imagined that this sociable monster—who called Sylvia “Mother” upon their first meeting and called Glen Zigheart and Lectar “Grandfather” despite everyone fearing them—could have such a past.

-But….

Wrath gazed at the Kitchen where Merlin and Cella had gone, his eyes serious.

‘What is it?’

I looked at Wrath, sensing something ominous.

-Aren’t you curious what dinner at this residence will be?

Wrath smacked his lips, eager to see it right away.

-It smells wonderful, but I can’t quite tell what it is!

He gestured quickly toward the Kitchen, wanting to go in and look.

“Sigh… I’d like to see your past too.”

I stepped into the Kitchen, imagining in my mind how Wrath had become the Demon Lord of Wrath.

In the meantime, as if time had shifted, Merlin and Cella were dining at a round table.

-What is this?

Wrath’s eyes rolled as he gazed at the crimson-hued dish on the table.

-It looks like melted tomato, cheese, and sausage? It’s like pizza, yet something is different!

He smacked his lips eagerly, wanting to eat it.

“How was the spell manifestation?”

Cella handed Merlin a slice of buttered bread, her eyes brightening slightly.

“Did the duration increase?”
“Just about one second.”

Merlin exhaled a long sigh, saying nothing had changed.

“It’s fine. You’ll improve.”

Cella smiled, saying it would gradually get better.

“You have talent, after all.”
“I… I don’t have any talent like that.”

Merlin shook her head, biting her lip.

“I don’t even have Para’s eyes.”

She bit her lip as she gazed at the blue cross etched within Cella’s pupils.

“Eyes like these don’t matter.”

Cella set down her fork and offered a gentle smile.

“What truly matters isn’t the power of magic itself, but which magic you learn and how you wield it.”

She laughed, saying that even without such eyes, the path of magic stretched wide and far before her.

“Merlin wasn’t Para either. You know that already.”

Cella gently covered her own eyes, urging her to remember this well.

“Yes….”

Despite Cella’s counsel, Merlin seemed lost in thought about what had happened during the day, exhaling a short sigh before setting down her fork and spoon.

“Thank you for the meal….”

She left those words behind and hurried out of the residence once more.

“Wait, just a moment!”

Cella reached out and called after Merlin, but she had already rushed outside.

“Sigh….”

Cella exhaled softly, her gaze falling upon the bread Merlin had left half-eaten.

“Being a mother is truly not easy. Far more complicated than magic.”

She shook her head and began clearing the table.

‘I should leave.’

It seemed I would gain no further information by remaining here, so I was about to follow Merlin outside when—

A fierce wind howled.

Suddenly, a blue light erupted before my eyes, and a dimensional gateway large enough for a person to enter opened.

‘What is this place…?’

I turned around with furrowed brows, only to find Cella frozen in place, still holding her plate. Time seemed to have stopped.

-It seems to be telling us to enter.

Wrath furrowed his brows, saying there was no other choice.

‘That makes sense.’

I smacked my lips briefly and stepped unhesitatingly into the blue dimensional gateway.

Whoooosh!

A massive golden platform came into view—more than twice the size of Glen Zigheart’s Jade Throne.

Upon the brilliantly and beautifully crafted throne sat an Old Man, trembling with his knees, his head grotesquely bald and his face etched with countless wrinkles.

“I… I must find a way.”

The Old Man wearing an ornate golden crown gnawed at his fingernails in terror, repeating only that he must find a way.
His entire body was carved with deep wrinkles, and his complexion had turned so sallow that he looked as though death could come at any moment.

“I absolutely cannot die like this…!”

The crowned Old Man chewed his lips as he gazed at the vast panorama of the Kingdom visible through the window.

“So find me a way, I’m telling you!”

He shrieked and hurled the medicines and healing artifacts placed beside the throne down below the platform.

“We… we sincerely apologize, Your Majesty.”
“However, the illness you suffer from is unlike anything we have encountered before…!”
“We… we have never seen an illness that accelerates aging to such a degree.”

The Priests and healers below bowed their heads in shame.

“Incompetent fools….”

The nameless figure ground his teeth, revealing deep fury. In the meantime, he had aged further—another wrinkle had etched itself across his forehead.

“If only that person would come. If only that person….”

As he called out to someone, his trembling hand gestured, and the massive doors of the Audience Chamber swung open.

Creak, creak, creak.

The figure who entered through the doors was a man draped entirely in a gray robe.
He approached the Platform with a stride that brimmed with confidence, yet remained measured and restrained.

“Your Majesty. I have finally discovered a way to cure your ailment.”

The man in the gray robe bowed deeply to the wrinkled King, having found a definitive solution.

“Is… is that truly so?”

The King swallowed hard and descended from the Jade Throne.

“Sage! Speak at once!”

Without even straightening his back fully, he rushed down the Platform and stood before the man in the gray robe.

“Of course.”

The man called Sage drew a subtle smile and removed the hood that had concealed his face.

“Huh?”

I swallowed hard as I gazed upon the face of the man in the gray robe.

‘Tacheon…?’

The face of the man in the gray robe was identical to the Handsome Young Man’s mask that Tacheon wore. Seeing him smile, one could say without exaggeration that they were the same person.

“Your Majesty. Could it be….”

The man wearing Tacheon’s face let out a sinister laugh as he brought his hands together.

“Are you familiar with the Para race?”

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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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