The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 998

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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 998

“I found them.”

Cella set down the hard bread and dried fruit, nodding with determination.

“It’s the Roser Kingdom.”

She exhaled heavily, having discovered which kingdom the knights who abducted the villagers came from.

“The… Roser Kingdom?”

Merlin swallowed hard, staring at Cella.

‘The greatest kingdom in the Southern Region…’

Since the Roser Kingdom was known as the empire of the south, even someone like me who had never left this small village knew of its reputation.

“Why would such a powerful nation target a small village like ours…?”
“They called us demons. They said this inverted cross in my eyes is a demonic symbol.”

Cella pointed to her crimson eyes, which she had always found beautiful, and bit her lip.

“Demons…?”

Merlin’s jaw clenched.

‘Why on earth?’

We had lived peacefully without harming anyone, yet somehow we had become demons. I couldn’t comprehend it.
The absurdity was so overwhelming that even frustration seemed to elude me.

“Either way, I have to go to Roser. If I delay any longer, I may not be able to save everyone.”

Cella said she would rescue the villagers and return, her gaze fixed on me.

“B-but….”
“It’s alright. I’ve already deciphered the entire anti-magic Formation.”

She clasped her hands together, declaring that she had fully understood the Formation blocking the villagers’ magic.

“I’ll bring everyone back, so can you wait here?”
“N-no, I’m coming with you. I don’t want to be alone….”

Merlin cried out not to leave her behind, gripping the torn sleeve of Cella’s garment.

“Please….”

If Cella didn’t return, I couldn’t go on living. Whether in death or life, I wanted to be together.

“Sigh….”

Cella couldn’t turn away from the desperate light in the young girl’s eyes and exhaled a long sigh.

“I suppose if they found us while we were hiding, they could find you alone too.”

She seemed to realize that staying alone would leave me vulnerable to pursuit, so she took my hand.

“Let’s go together. But….”

Cella placed her hand on my head.

“If my identity is exposed, you and I have no connection whatsoever. Understand?”

She gripped my shoulders, telling me to abandon everything and flee alone if danger arose.

“If you swear to that, I’ll go with you.”
“Ah….”

I gazed into Cella’s desperate eyes before nodding with difficulty.

“I understand.”
“I trust you, my daughter.”

Cella called me her daughter and embraced me. Not wanting to lose that warmth, I trembled as I raised my hands to hold her back.

I wished time would stop like this. No—I wanted to return to the past when I lived together with everyone.

*

*

*

Gulp.

Merlin swallowed hard as she gazed at the entrance to the Roser Kingdom.

‘What if I’m discovered…?’

The first outsiders I had ever seen were the Roser Knights who wielded their blades without hesitation, so my entire body trembled at the mere sight of the kingdom’s landscape.

“Don’t worry. Your mother is here with you.”

Cella grasped my hand and strode boldly through the kingdom’s gates.

Whoooosh!

As we passed through the gate—larger than any giant—countless people came into view, walking through the Royal Capital.

The number of people passing down a single street alone exceeded the entire population of the Village. The vitality was overwhelming. I finally grasped what it meant to be in a great kingdom.

Crunch.

Yet as I observed the vibrant citizens of the kingdom, my fists clenched involuntarily.

‘Why…?’

Why were they so ordinary?

Watching the cruel citizens of this kingdom—those who had abducted the Village people like beasts—living their lives as if they were normal humans, a profound disconnect seized me, and my fingertips trembled with barely contained rage.

The more I explored the Roser Kingdom following Cella, the more this ordinariness nauseated me, and the more my anger swelled.

No matter how much I looked, I could not comprehend how they could regard fellow humans as Demons and treat them like Monsters.

As Merlin barely contained her rage, people began gathering toward the upper part of the Royal Capital.

“We should go too.”

Cella, sensing the same thing I did, steeled her trembling hands and climbed toward the upper section of the Royal Capital.

A heavy wind swept across.

The place where the crowd had gathered was an execution platform, and kneeling atop the Platform were the villagers I had lived alongside.

“C-Cella…”
“You must endure this.”

Cella gripped my hand firmly, commanding me not to move. She too was struggling to bear it, her grip so tight my hand ached.

“Are those the ones who colluded with the Demons?”
“Their eyes are definitely strange.”
“They look like crosses, but I heard they’re actually inverted crosses. They’re not siding with the Demons for nothing.”
“I heard their mana flows differently from ours too—it’s easier to think of them as Monsters.”

The Kingdom’s people treated the Para Race not as humans, but as Monsters, their laughter dripping with contempt.

“Execute the demons!”
“Kill them all!”
“Death to them!”

The crowd hurled stones at the suspended Para Race, screaming for their immediate death.

“Their execution will take place in one week.”

The Knight Commander left only those words—that the Para Race would be executed at this location in seven days—before departing.

“Ah…”

Merlin bit her lip and tried to step forward, but Cella held my hand and wouldn’t let go. Her eyes were bloodshot as she shook her head.

“We can’t. Not now…”

Though it must have been harder for Cella to endure than for me, she never lost her composure and turned away.

“Let’s go down.”

She took me to an Abandoned Annex on the outskirts of the Royal Capital and rented it.

“It will be alright.”

The moment Cella entered the Abandoned Annex, she embraced me and patted my back.

“We can save everyone.”

She met my gaze and nodded. Her eyes had changed color to conceal her appearance, yet she remained beautiful.

“Let’s finish this and go back. Living by the Beach might be nice this time.”

Cella laughed, saying things would be even better than before.

“Yes…”

Merlin nodded as if she hadn’t noticed, even as she sensed the anxiety hidden in Cella’s voice.

‘Am I truly helpless once again?’

If only I could use magic, I could have helped Cella.

This helplessness—unable to cast spells, unable to wield a blade—felt like a curse.

A long sigh escaped me.

Merlin watched Cella’s shoulders trembling with unease and sighed inwardly.

*

*

*

Since arriving in the Roser Kingdom, Cella had changed her appearance countless times, mapping out the geography and power structures of this place.

After identifying who she needed to fight and where to escape, she stood before me on the day before the execution.

“I’m going to start now.”

Cella smiled and took my hand.

“If I get caught and chased, you must not move no matter what. Do you understand?”

She extended her pinky finger, reminding me of the promise we’d made before coming here.

“Mm….”

I bit my lip as I looked at the tip of Cella’s finger.

“Do you know what your name means?”

Cella smiled, meeting my gaze.

“Light and hope….”

I nodded quietly.

“Yes. Everything will turn out fine, just like your name.”

Cella smiled and gently stroked my hair.

“Now, let’s make a promise.”
“…I understand.”

Knowing how dangerous and urgent the situation was, I raised my pinky and linked it with Cella’s.

“Good. See you soon.”

Cella left those words behind and disappeared.

‘Now I’m alone.’

Since Cella had rented the Abandoned Annex entirely, no one came or went—but that fact made me even more anxious. I hoped the results would come quickly, whatever they might be.

As I huddled beneath the blankets with my head wrapped, a tremendous sound erupted from the direction of the Royal Palace.

‘Has it started?’

I threw off the blanket and rushed to the window. The Castle Wall, which had felt as rigid as armor, was crumbling, and within it, a tempest of fire and frost raged.

‘Cella…’

She was undoubtedly fighting while protecting the others.

‘I need to prepare to escape.’

Merlin climbed out of the Bedroom immediately. Since I didn’t know when Cella would return, I gathered my belongings to leave at a moment’s notice and waited by the door.

But no matter how long I waited, Cella never returned. Instead, the mana flow within the Castle grew violently unstable.

‘What in the world is happening…?’

I was trembling as I gripped my backpack, my lips quivering, when it happened.

Screeeeeech!

A crimson pillar erupted from the ground beneath my feet, accompanied by an eerie wail.

Yet the pillar of light merely shrieked without affecting me in any way.

‘What is this?’

As I blinked at the light, I heard the sound of people rushing from outside.

“It’s here!”
“The Demon is inside!”

The people confirmed that the Abandoned Annex’s door was locked, then began smashing the Wall with hammers and axes.

Crash!

The Wall and door finally collapsed, and the people turned their blazing eyes toward me.

“There! A young Demon!”
“Wait, there’s no cross mark in their eyes?”
“No! That mark proves it! Trust the Sage!”

The people called me a Demon and began pouring through the collapsed Wall into the inner chamber.

“Ah….”

Merlin fled backward, but didn’t make it far before her back slammed against the Wall.

“Demon!”

Just as the people reached out toward me, a gust of blue wind erupted from behind, hurling them all back.

“Are you alright?”

It was Cella. Despite being covered head to toe in wounds and blood, she worried about me first.

“I’m sorry. It was all a trap….”

She bit her lip, saying that capturing the Para Race and the execution ceremony had all been traps.

Indeed, a crimson glow was rising beneath Cella’s feet as well.

“We need to escape this place quickly.”

Cella clasped her hands together and activated a teleportation spell.

Whirrrrr!

But her magic dissipated just as pathetically as my flame magic had.

“This is blocked too, then.”

Cella bit her lip and shook her head. It was just as she was clasping her hands to activate another teleportation spell.

Splurch!

A pale white hand burst through Cella’s abdomen.

“I apologize, but I cannot simply let a guest who has come this far leave.”

From behind her, a man with golden eyes emerged, wearing a sinister smile.

“Oh! It’s the Sage!”
“The Sage has arrived!”

The kingdom’s soldiers who had been trying to capture me fell to their knees upon seeing the golden-eyed man.

“You….”

Cella’s lips trembled as she stared at her bleeding abdomen, clearly unprepared for this ambush.

“So you truly are the last Queen of Sirken Kingdom.”

The man called the Sage nodded with a smile.

“In truth, if I capture only you, the rest matters little.”

He wore a damp smile, as if he held some connection to the vanished Sirken Kingdom.

“Ah… ah….”

Merlin’s breathing came in ragged gasps.

‘Lady Cella?’

The arm piercing through Cella’s abdomen, the blood spilling onto the ground, that Monster wearing a human face and smiling, the humans praying like fanatics—it all felt like a nightmare.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A crushing sensation spread through my chest as my heart ached. My vision began to fade to white.

“Now I shall mark you as well….”

It was the moment the Sage reached for Cella’s throat to twist it.

BOOM!

Tremendous flames erupted from Merlin’s grasp, obliterating the Abandoned Annex and unleashing a torrent of scorching heat across the surroundings.

It was not merely fire. Wind and frost descended from the heavens in a tempestuous maelstrom, while the very earth convulsed and collapsed upon the advancing knights, burying them all.

Roooooaaarrr!

Merlin’s violet eyes blazed with crimson crosses as she unleashed the four elemental magics simultaneously.

Kuuuaaaaaahhh!

The sheer force swept across heaven and earth, tearing asunder the knights who radiated formidable auras without mercy.

“P-please, Sage!”

The knights and the kingdom’s citizens who had barely survived stretched their hands toward the Sage, pleading for aid.

Uuuuuuuuuuuung!

The man called the Sage withdrew his hand from piercing through Cella’s abdomen and erected a barrier of mana to block Merlin’s magic.

“Kahahahahaha!”

He gazed at Merlin’s eyes floating in mid-air and burst into a twisted laugh.

“Yes. So you were the real one!”

The Sage extended his hand, interfering with Merlin’s magic.

Uuuuuuuuuuuung!

Merlin continued to pour forth devastating magic, but as she reached her limit, blood spilled from her lips as she was forced backward.

“Dieeeeeee!”

She unleashed every ounce of her rampaging power to save Cella, yet the Sage did not retreat a single step.

“Stop your resistance and come to me.”

As the Sage reached out his hand, Merlin’s body began to be pulled into him.

Zing!

Just before the Sage’s grip closed around Merlin’s throat.

Clang!

A silver flash erupted from the right, severing the Sage’s arm and catching the falling Merlin in a firm embrace.

“Lord Rocta Deport. I shall protect the Princess first, as His Majesty commanded.”

Rocta’s lips pressed into a thin line as he glanced at the collapsed Cella. With nothing more than a blink of acknowledgment to his liege, he bolted northward, cradling Merlin against his chest.

“No… this can’t be…”

Merlin coughed black blood, her voice fractured and hollow.

“I’m sorry. It’s already too late.”

Rocta shook his head, insisting there was no way to save Cella. Even as tears streamed down his face, his legs never ceased their desperate pace.

Still…

I reached out my hand toward Cella, who couldn’t rise.

I never got to thank her. Never got to tell her I loved her.

I never thanked her for treating me as her own daughter, never expressed my gratitude for her endless love.

Or rather…

Mother.

Not once had I called Cella by that name, and the regret consumed me.

If this was to be our farewell, I wished I had called her that, even if it meant embarrassment or shame. The weight of my past silence—all the things I never did—gnawed at me with unbearable anguish.

“Please…”

Rocta Deport pressed forward with unwavering resolve, cutting down the knights that blocked his path, his focus fixed only on the road ahead, determined to fulfill his duty to save Merlin.

“I didn’t anticipate that.”

The Sage, whose arm had been severed, now stood before us completely unscathed, blocking our path.

“But this is where it ends. You may proceed, but that young lady cannot.”

As the Sage spread his hand, crimson sorcery erupted outward, coiling around both Rocta and Merlin’s bodies.

Crack, crack, crack!

Their bodies lifted into the air, constricting as if they would shatter into pieces.

“Mom!”

Merlin couldn’t suppress the piercing regret that stabbed through her chest, crying out one last time toward the fallen Cella.

“It’s already too late. The Princess of Sirken will—”

The Sage smiled faintly, shaking his head, when—

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

Cella, who had lain motionless as if dead, materialized before him, her small fist unleashing a crimson bolt of lightning.

Boom!

The Sage’s head burst open even as his smile remained frozen on his face, his body collapsing to the ground.

“Now, at last…”

Cella turned back to Merlin, black blood still trickling from the corner of her mouth.

“You called me mother.”

She smiled as if speaking her final words, nodding gently.

“Evelyn.”

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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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