The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 996

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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 996

“Para?”

The King of an unnamed nation rolled his clouded eyes to the left.

“I’ve never heard of such a name. Are they a race like the Elves?”

He shook his head, claiming it was a race he’d never encountered before.

“Your Majesty. Para is not a race.”

The High Priest with a neatly groomed white beard stepped forward.

“They are humans like us, but we simply call those more sensitive to mana the Para.”

He explained that Para were humans sensitive to mana and lowered his gaze.

“The High Priest speaks correctly. I once treated a Para member, and they were nothing more than an ordinary human like ourselves.”

The Healer also nodded, affirming that Para were not a different race.

“I see.”

The King turned his gaze back to the Sage wearing Tacheon’s face, as if he understood.

“But why did you bring up the name Para?”

He lowered his white eyebrows, as if confused about the reason.

“Before I explain that part, there is something I must first correct.”

The Sage raised his slender, elongated fingers. These fingers also resembled Tacheon’s in the present world.

“Para are not humans, but an entirely different race from us.”

He shook his head, saying the High Priest and Healer’s opinions were wrong.

“Pardon?”
“No, what do you mean…?”

The High Priest and Healer swallowed hard, watching the Sage dismiss their opinions as if they were nothing.

“The Para’s physical body is no different from humans, but their mana flow is distinctly different from ours. The cross-shaped mana holes in their eyes create an alien wavelength. They are more similar to Elves or Trolls than to humans.”

Tacheon lowered his finger as he explained that the Para were fundamentally different from humans.

“Hmm…”
“Mana flow, you say…”

The High Priest and Healer, unable to refute Tacheon’s words on that point, scratched their cheeks and ears.

“Whether they’re human or another race doesn’t matter. Why did you bring up the Para in the first place!”

The King furrowed his brow as if time was of the essence. Even as he spoke, another hair and eyebrow fell from his head.

“Because the Para are the answer to stopping Your Majesty’s aging.”

The Sage smiled thinly, saying that the Para could cure the King’s affliction.

“Is that… truly so?”

The King approached the Sage, his jaw trembling.

“Tell me! How must it be done!”

He clasped his hands together, declaring he would do anything if only his aging could be cured.

“Since this is information no one else knows yet…”

The Sage glanced away cautiously, gauging the room.

“Everyone, leave!”

The King understood the Sage’s meaning and waved his hand, commanding everyone to leave the Audience Chamber.

“Yes, understood.”

The High Priest and Healers left the Audience Chamber with visible reluctance, their expressions sour.

“The rest of you, out!”

The King stamped his foot at the guards standing like statues before the pillars, ordering them to leave.

“Your Majesty, we should remain in case of unforeseen circumstances….”
“Enough! Out! Does the Sage look like someone who would harm me?”

He cut off the Captain of the Guard’s protest, his eyes narrowing as he gestured toward the door.

“…As you wish, Your Majesty.”

The Captain of the Guard bit his lip slightly and led the knights out. His creased expression suggested this was far from the first time such a scene had unfolded.

“Now, speak.”

Once the King confirmed everyone had left, he grasped the Sage’s hand firmly.

“Tell me how to cure my illness!”

He bit his lip, his desperation evident—he would do anything.

“The blood of the Para Race I mentioned earlier….”

The Sage nodded calmly while gazing at the King’s hand.

“It will serve as an elixir to heal Your Majesty.”
“What…?”

The King released the Sage’s hand with a sudden jerk.

“Blood? You mean I must kill them?”

His eyes widened as if he had never considered such a thing.

“Indeed.”

The Sage spoke of killing humans without erasing the smile from his lips.

“Your Majesty’s mana currently flows in the opposite direction of natural mana. Since your body cannot withstand that stress, rapid aging is progressing.”

He shook his head, explaining that this was such an abnormal affliction that no human medicine or treatment could cure it.

“However, as I mentioned earlier, the Para Race possesses a mana flow different from humans. What enables this are the mana cores in their eyes and their hearts.”

The Sage raised his fingers, pointing once to his own eyes and once to his chest.

“In the past, the Para Race built a kingdom called Sirken and enjoyed prosperity, but now they have fallen into decline with only a handful remaining. Still, there should be enough of them to treat Your Majesty’s condition.”

He smiled faintly, relieved that treatment was possible.

“Eyes and hearts, you say….”

The King swallowed hard as he gazed into the Sage’s luminous eyes.

“Are you saying we must kill these Para creatures?”
“Indeed. There is no other way.”

The Sage nodded, affirming that killing the Para was the only method for the King to survive.

“But killing people is human sacrifice, is it not!”

The King bit his lips, clearly having not considered the prospect of sacrificing others for his own survival.

“As I stated initially, the Para Race are not human.”

The Sage waved his hand dismissively, as if to ease the King’s concerns.

“But….”
“When orcs, trolls, or elves perish, what emotion does Your Majesty feel?”

He cut off the King’s words and invoked the names of monsters.

“Hmm, I suppose I would feel nothing.”

The King furrowed his brow, acknowledging that he would feel indifferent.

“Then what of harvesting medicinal herbs that grow from the earth?”
“That would be even less of a concern.”
“It is the same thing.”

The Sage smiled gently, as if that settled the matter.

“The Para Race may appear human, but they are not. You need feel nothing at their deaths, just as you would feel nothing plucking a plant from the ground.”

He shrugged his shoulders as though it were a simple affair.

“Your Majesty’s time remaining is not so long. Will you abandon all this glory and splendor and depart? Merely because of monsters?”

The Sage gestured toward the vast panorama of the kingdom visible through the window, tilting his chin.

“Hmm….”

The King’s gaze swept across the prosperous kingdom as he followed the Sage’s finger, his wrinkled hand trembling at the fingertips.

“There is no need to suffer. It differs not from ordering the subjugation of monsters.”

The Sage knelt on one knee and grasped the King’s hand.

“Entrust everything to me. Grant me only the authority to command the knights, and I shall finish all of it and prepare an elixir of eternal life for you.”

He bowed his head as he spoke of needing authority to command the knights.

“The knights?”

The King looked down at the Sage, his eyes narrowing.

“Yes.”

The Sage nodded calmly, as though making a reasonable request.

“The Para Race, being sensitive to mana as they are, can all wield magic—from children to the elderly on death’s door. To capture them, we require strong warriors.”

He smiled faintly, explaining that the knights must be used to capture the Para Race alive.

“Will… will that suffice?”

The King opened his trembling lips, entranced by the Sage’s words.

“There is one more matter. I will need some time to prepare a ritual to disrupt their magic.”

The Sage lifted his gaze, stating that once the preparations were complete, he could capture all of the Para Race without significant casualties.
His golden eyes began to gleam with an eerie brilliance.

“Haa….”

The King met the Sage’s gaze and swallowed dryly. He placed his wrinkled hand against the window, gazing upon the panorama of the kingdom reflected in the glass.

“You are certain of this?”

His voice deepened as he steeled his resolve.

“Of course. Only my hands and those of the knights shall be stained with blood. Have no concerns.”

The Sage bowed respectfully, beseeching the King’s trust.

“Very well. If we are to do this, do it thoroughly.”

The King nodded, commanding that the entire Para Race be brought in.

“As you wish.”

The Sage affirmed his obedience and withdrew. He exited the Audience Chamber without turning his back.

“….”

I watched the Sage’s sinister golden eyes through the gap in the door, my jaw clenching involuntarily.

‘I can almost see what will happen next.’

My heart ached as I sensed tragedy descending upon that gentle village.

-The True Demon King senses it as well.

Wrath exhaled a heavy breath, feeling the same premonition.

‘Filthy bastard.’

I furrowed my brow as I gazed upon the decrepit King.

‘A schemer without even the courage to soil his own hands sits upon the throne.’

The King spoke of entrusting the matter to the Sage, thereby distancing himself from responsibility for murder. Witnessing the epitome of human depravity, fury surged within me.

‘I want to kill him right now.’

It was the moment I revealed my intense rage toward the King.

Screeeech!

Time froze once more, and a blue dimensional gate opened before my eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to show me….”

I narrowed my brow as I gazed at the flickering dimensional gate.

“But if it’s to save that one, I’ll do anything.”

Without the slightest hesitation, I stepped directly into the dimensional gate.

*

*

*

When I opened my eyes again, a large cave carved into the Mountain Slope came into view.

….

Merlin sat crouched beside the cave’s entrance, her head bowed.

‘Where is this….’

I turned my gaze. From the location, it appeared to be the Mountain beside the Village.

“Sigh…”

As Merlin lowered her head and exhaled a long breath, a rustling sound echoed from deeper within the cave.

‘Could it be a bear?’

Tensing at the possibility of a bear or monster, I was surprised to see a blue-haired knight emerge from the cave, clad in silver armor. He looked like someone I’d seen before.

“Princess. Are you crying again?”

The blue-haired man approached Merlin’s side with a respectful bow.

‘Princess? Ah!’

Rocta Deport!

My eyes widened in astonishment. The blue-haired knight was the Dragonian Rocta Deport whom I had absorbed while wearing Eden’s helmet.

“I’m not crying. And please don’t call me princess…”

Merlin shook her head without lifting her face.

“But you are crying. And how could I call the princess by any other name?”

Rocta said he could see everything and knelt on one knee.

“How am I a princess…”

Merlin sniffled, insisting she was absolutely not a princess.

“You are the daughter of Queen Cella, so of course you are a princess.”

Rocta continued to call Merlin a princess.

‘Now that I think about it…’

I narrowed my eyes as I observed Rocta and Merlin.

‘He called Merlin a princess in the Mental World too.’

Rocta had called Merlin a princess even when they met in the Mental World, and he had said he regretted not being able to protect her.

“Cella is the Queen of Sirken, and you are her daughter, so you can’t help but be a princess.”
“But our village isn’t the Sirken Kingdom….”

Merlin shook her head, saying that the nation of Sirken didn’t exist.

“The legacy of Sirken is connected to this village. It’s small, but a place no one can touch.”

Rocta grasped the sword at his waist, saying that the village where Merlin lived was the embodiment of Sirken.

“And with Queen Cella and the princess here, even more so!”

He nodded confidently while speaking the names of the queen and princess.

‘Wait. …Princess?’

I rubbed my temples while looking at Rocta.

‘Did you happen to hear Merlin’s name?’
-No, I did not hear it.

Wrath also shook his head, saying he only heard the word “princess.”

‘As expected, I can’t hear it.’

Whether it was when I spoke with Cella or now with Rocta, whenever Merlin’s true name came up, a crackling sound would ring out, making it impossible to hear properly.

“But I’m not Cella’s biological daughter anyway.”

Merlin bit her lip, as if asking if I didn’t already know that.

“Whether she gave birth to you or raised you with her own hands doesn’t matter. Cella regards you as her daughter.”

Rocta nodded, saying that was all that mattered.

“….”

Merlin remained silent for a moment, then slowly lifted her head.

“Really?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”

Rocta drew a faint smile for the first time.

“Cella is waiting for you to call her mother.”

He waved his hand, suggesting I try it today.

“But the words won’t come out.”

Merlin sighed, saying her tongue felt stiff.

“Besides, I don’t have a cross in my eyes, and I can’t use magic either….”

She shook her head as if ashamed.

“Such things don’t matter to parents.”

Rocta chuckled softly.

“Our circumstances are somewhat—no, quite different from yours, but regardless, such things don’t matter.”

He gestured with his chin, saying Cella wouldn’t concern herself with such matters.

“Hmm….”

Merlin’s mood seemed to lighten as she straightened her posture slightly.

“But where are you going, Uncle?”

She blinked, noticing the pack on Rocta’s back.

“Being here has made my body stiff, so I intend to go train for a while. I’ve already received permission from Her Majesty.”

Rocta nodded, explaining that he would be away from this place temporarily.

“Ah….”

Merlin’s jaw trembled at Rocta’s words about leaving.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back in about a month.”

Rocta chuckled, saying he was only going to sharpen his combat instincts.

“N-no, it’s fine. Have a safe trip.”

Merlin nodded weakly, concealing her reluctance.

“Yes. I’ll be going then. And….”

After completely exiting the cave, Rocta waved to Merlin.

“Princess, you just need to be honest with yourself.”

He laughed brightly, saying everything would work out if she did.

“Then.”

With those final words, Rocta slowly descended the mountain.

“….”

Merlin waited until Rocta had completely disappeared before rising to her feet. With resolve hardening in her chest, she clenched her fists and made her way back to the village.

“Sigh….”

Merlin took a slow breath, opened the door, and stepped inside her home.

“I told you not to wander around so late!”

Cella placed her hands on her hips, her expression clearly irritated.

“Um….”

Merlin’s lips moved wordlessly as Rocta’s words echoed in her mind, her eyes fixed on Cella.
But the moment she caught sight of the blue cross gleaming in Cella’s eyes, she bit her tongue.

“…I’m sorry.”

Merlin bowed her head and hurried into the room as if fleeing.

“In any case.”

Cella furrowed her brow before returning to the study.

“….”

I watched Merlin, drained of her usual vigor, and exhaled a long sigh.

‘She’s completely different from the Merlin of this world.’

Understanding why the same Merlin possessed such a different personality, an ominous feeling welled up in my chest.

“Haah….”

I exhaled a long sigh and gazed up at the ceiling, where a single speck of dust clung.

*

*

*

“Ugh….”

Merlin sat collapsed before Rocta’s cave, releasing a pained moan.

“It didn’t work again.”

She bit her lips, lamenting her failure to succeed with magic today.

“Why can’t I do it?”

Merlin understood the theory and sensed mana better than anyone, yet inexplicably couldn’t complete the spell, shaking her head in frustration.

“….”

I narrowed my eyes as I watched the flame dissipate helplessly from the tips of Merlin’s fingers.

‘Just as she said, the flow of magic isn’t abnormal.’

Merlin here possessed mana of such high purity that she didn’t fall short compared to her counterpart in the present world, yet she couldn’t succeed at even the simplest spell and always ended in failure.

‘What’s the reason?’
-It is a lack of confidence, it is.

Wrath furrowed his brow as he observed Merlin.

‘Lack of confidence?’
-Indeed. That one is so deficient in confidence that she makes the Mad Woman of reality seem assured by comparison.

He snorted dismissively at that.

‘Is confidence really that important?’
-In magic and sorcery, mental fortitude matters more than technique itself. How one perceives oneself determines the flow of power.

Wrath clicked his tongue, noting that Merlin’s shattered confidence was suppressing the flow of her magic.

-Originally, that young Mad Woman should have been capable of wielding magic far stronger than the adults present here.

He nodded with certainty.

-Though there is something strange about it….
‘Something strange?’
-The talent of the Mad Woman here appears superior to that of the Mad Woman in the present world.
‘What do you mean by that?’

I narrowed my eyes at Wrath. It made no sense that Merlin here would possess greater talent when they were the same person.

-Even the True Demon King lacks the theory to explain this precisely. However, the very power I sense from that young Mad Woman’s soul differs from the present world.

Wrath scratched his head, admitting he couldn’t explain it exactly.

‘…Has something gone wrong with her soul?’

Though Merlin here and Merlin in the present world shared identical appearances, the differences in their eyes—the cross-shaped pupils and their vitality—suggested that an explanation wouldn’t come easily now.

‘I can’t tell.’

For the two weeks since entering this Mental World, I had observed Merlin, but she was merely an ordinary girl prone to embarrassment.
She harbored affection for Cella yet lacked the courage to call her mother, and while claiming she made no effort, she spent entire days practicing magic in secret.

‘She’s so different from the Merlin I see now….’

It was as I shook my head, sensing the vast chasm between myself and the masked Merlin known as the Mad Woman.

Kuwaaaaang!

A tremendous crash echoed as if something massive were plummeting, and crimson flames began erupting from various points throughout the village.

“Wh…?”

Merlin’s jaw trembled as she watched thick black smoke billowing from the village’s direction.

“What, what is this?”

She swallowed hard and rose to her feet, sprinting toward the village.

-It’s begun.

Wrath exhaled a short breath.

‘Yes.’

I sighed, watching Merlin’s unsteady figure disappear toward the village.

‘This helplessness is truly maddening.’

I could foresee what situation would unfold, yet I could do nothing about it. The frustration was suffocating.
It felt as though I had returned to those days when I was held on a leash by Derus Robert.

‘Still, I must go.’

I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them as I dashed after Merlin toward the village.

‘To witness the end of this world….’

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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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