The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

– "That old bastard… isn't that the worm I ripped the arm off of?"

Wrath furrowed his brow, recognizing the Demonblade.

'Yeah.'

Raon clenched his teeth as he stared at him.

'It's him.'

The white-haired old man with thin, thread-like eyes. There was no doubt—it was Dreg, head of the Black Blood Lotus and one of the leaders of the Five Divine Order.

"Demonblade. Why are you here?"

He had expected some kind of monstrous existence to be sealed within that cursed, ritual-bound boulder—but he hadn't imagined it would be Dreg himself.

'I don't get what he's thinking.'

"I wanted to return," Dreg said, spreading his arms with a serene smile.

"Return? What do you mean?"

Raon narrowed his eyes, confused by the statement.

"After losing my arm to the Blue Demon King, I walked a path of ruin."

Dreg twisted his lips into a grin, glancing at his shoulder where his prosthetic arm was attached.

"The wound I received from the Demon King never healed. It tormented me endlessly. Time didn't make me stronger—it only wore me down." (T/N: This was when Wrath first descended. It was the arc when the Five Divne Order was first introduced but Wrath wiped them all.)

He clutched his wrinkled forehead, saying each day had been agony.

"And with my arm lost, I had to live at the edge of transcendence, no longer truly one. But that wasn't the worst of it."

Dreg looked at Raon and formed a chilling smile.

"Because I weakened, the dogs of the Five Divine Order began to mock me. No—'not just them.' The whole world treated me like a bird with clipped wings!"

He gritted his teeth, stroking his demonic energy-drenched prosthetic arm.

"Raon Zieghart. Do you know?"

Dreg slowly raised his gaze, as if time itself had stopped.

"Do you know the pain of losing your strength? The pain of soaring in the sky, only to crash into the earth?"

He let out a small laugh and shook his head.

"You wouldn't. You, who only know how to climb without end, will never understand."

He said it was natural that Raon didn't know, then lowered his hand.

"But now it's fine. I can return once more."

He yanked the prosthetic arm off his shoulder.

'Thunk!'

As he cast the false limb to the ground, the sea of demonic energy swirling around the plains and mountains surged violently, pulling itself toward him.

Fwoooooosh!

Like a womb nurturing a child, the purple waves condensed rapidly, wrapping around Dreg's entire body.

'Should I strike now?'

Raon gripped the [Heavenly Drive] tighter and bit his lip.

– "No! If that compressed demonic energy explodes, everyone behind you will die! And you'll be severely wounded yourself!"

Wrath warned that Dreg was like a powder keg right now—one wrong move would set it off.

'Then I can only watch?'

Raon clicked his tongue and began drawing out [Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation] and [Glacier] to their peak.

'Crack!'

From Dreg's shoulder sprouted a new arm—formed of purple flesh. It wasn't regeneration like a troll—it looked like an entirely new body emerging, like a slime.

And that wasn't the only change.

Fwooooo.

His white hair turned pitch black, and his wrinkled, gray skin tightened into firm, youthful flesh.

The man who moments ago looked nearly one hundred years old now looked barely in his twenties.

Kuaaaaaah!

With his new hand, Dreg clenched his fist. The shockwave split the riverbed beneath his feet in two. It was a terrifying display of power.

"Yes… this is it. This is the strength I longed for—the power from the days I ruled the continent."

He raised his gleaming new hand toward the radiant sun with a twisted smile.

"No, not 'returned'—I've been reborn."

"…"

Raon stared at the purple arm and bit his lip.

'What is that…?'

More than his rejuvenated appearance or his regenerated arm, the sheer amount of demonic energy contained in that arm was staggering.

It felt as if the entire sea of demonic energy that had blanketed the plains had been absorbed into it.

"What the hell did you do?"

Raon furrowed his brow at Dreg's smiling face.

'This isn't natural power.'

A human cannot grow a new arm. Dreg had clearly done something unholy using the demonic energy of this land.

"To fully control demonic energy, there's always something you need."

Dreg twirled his finger slowly.

"A sacrifice."

"What…?"

"The purple sea that covered these plains was the concentrated essence of demonic energy built up by the Black Blood Lotus. It contains the blood of many."

He murmured as if cherishing something precious, his thin eyes slightly lifting.

"Blood…"

Raon repeated the word and swallowed dryly.

'A living sacrifice…'

When people speak of blood and sweat, it usually means effort. But in this case, Dreg truly meant human blood.

'And…'

Trevin had said zombie swordsmen emerged from the sea of demonic energy. The puzzle pieces all fell into place.

"You didn't…"

Raon's lips trembled as he looked at Dreg.

"You offered your subordinates as sacrifices?"

"Yes. Half of the Black Blood Lotus is buried in this land."

Dreg nodded without hesitation, as if boasting of an honorable feat.

"They died happily. For them, to aid me even in death would've been the greatest honor."

He lowered his gaze and smiled, his eyes dyed purple.

"You lunatic…"

Raon gripped the [Heavenly Drive] tighter.

'He's completely lost it.'

To regain his strength, he had sacrificed half of his own faction. Raon had known Dreg was twisted—but this crossed every line.

– "He sacrificed his own subordinates to grow stronger?!"

Wrath gritted his teeth and glared.

– "Hand me your body! This time I'll rip out more than his arm—I'll take his damned head!"

He was genuinely enraged, swinging his fists wildly.

"Of course, that wasn't all…"

Dreg let out a long, narrow laugh.

"To return in this form, I needed the aura of pure martial artists."

"Aura?"

"Yes. There was plenty of demonic energy, but acquiring aura wasn't easy. So…"

He glanced toward the flames of [Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation] that had repelled the demonic energy and nodded.

"I created this plan. To steal the aura you would use to fight monsters and repel the demonic energy."

He clapped softly, saying everything had been planned from the start.

"I thought it would take a long time, but thanks to you, it ended quickly. Just as 'he' said, this was the perfect place to do it."

He praised himself for the flawless execution.

"Him? Who?"

Raon frowned. Dreg's words suggested he wasn't acting alone.

"No reason to tell you that."

Dreg snorted and turned his head. His wounded pride suggested it had something to do with the Five Monarchs.

'So the Five Divine have fallen to the Monarchs' side…?'

No—based on what he said earlier about being disregarded, it wasn't certain.

It was more likely that Dreg and the Black Blood Lotus had acted alone.

"I'm in a really good mood now. I had planned to spare those I met first, but…"

Dreg licked his lips and brushed his hand over the hilt of his sword.

"Raon Zieghart. I can't let you go."

"I've got no grudge with you."

Raon furrowed his brow.

"You don't, but I do."

Dreg waved his hand and scoffed.

"Thanks to the Demon King's arrival, you lived. But because of it, I fell into despair."

He gripped his sword so tightly his teeth ground audibly.

"Since then, I've fallen and fallen, while you kept rising. You earned the title Dragon Slayer by killing the Water Dragon Kaibar. You defeated Axe King Roman and became the Usurper. You even led the war against the North-South Union to victory!"

He listed Raon's achievements, folding one finger at a time.

"Your name is spoken everywhere, while mine is mentioned nowhere—as if I had vanished from this world. An epithet or name that no one speaks holds no value."

Dreg chuckled and nodded, the word 'inferiority' flickering in his purple eyes. The canonical source for this content: M|V|L2EMPYR.

"You're hailed as a transcendental of the new era, while I'm just an outdated relic. So I vowed—next time we met, I'd cut off your head and end this so-called new age."

He grinned, saying he hadn't expected the opportunity to come so soon.

Though his appearance was young, the voice and tone of an old man sent a chill crawling up Raon's spine.

"Leader!"

"What just happened?!"

"Are you alright…?"

Burren, Martha, and Runaan rushed over, having been pushed back by Dreg's earlier explosion.

"Raon!"

"Leader, are you unharmed?"

"The sea of demonic energy is gone, so why does the stench feel even worse now?"

Trevin and the other swordsmen arrived, all worried.

"Everyone fall back."

Raon waved them off as Dreg drew his sword from his waist.

"Let's begin. A battle where the transcendental of the old era tramples the one of the new."

With Dreg's declaration, a slash of purple demonic energy surged forward.

'Chhhhk!'

Raon cleaved the wave in two using [Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation – Flawless Sea of Flames].

"Retreat as far as you can!"

He gave the order for the Light Wind Division and Iron Division to fall back.

'Shiiiiiiing!'

From the purple-stained riverbed, a flash of swordlight burst upward.

'Clang clang clang!'

Unable to block it all with the [Heavenly Drive], Raon drew the [Soul Requiem Sword] and parried the miasmic blades threatening to pierce him.

'They're heavy.'

Each one was a transcendent-level strike—it made his grip tremble just to defend.

"So it's true—once your body returns to youth, your power returns as well."

Dreg curled his lips in satisfaction.

"I wonder how long you'll last."

He made a smug gesture and swung his blade.

"This is just the beginning."

The space carved by Dreg's slash cracked open, and demonic energy beasts with gleaming purple eyes surged out.

'What the…'

Raon suppressed his alarm and slashed with the [Heavenly Drive].

But the beasts scattered like mist and regrouped, revealing blackened fangs.

They weren't real monsters—they were miasmic sword projections.

Fwoooosh!

Even with [Flame Dragon] unleashed, he couldn't stop them all. One tore into his waist, and the wound began to rot and blacken.

"This is my [Demonic Realm]."

As Dreg swung diagonally, an even darker wave of demonic energy-born beasts burst forth, raining down on Raon and the Light Wind Division.

"It'll be the last thing you all see."

—

Rumbleeeee!

Dreg laughed in exhilaration as he cornered Raon again and again.

'Yes. This is the power I needed!'

His rejuvenated body surged with vitality. His demonic energy was endless. The word 'invincible', once so distant, now felt close.

Kuwaaaaa!

A single demonic energy-infused slash tore the land apart. Raon stumbled back under the weight of it.

Dreg grinned—he was overpowering the young transcendental in both strength and speed.

"Is that all you've got? You think that's enough to challenge me?"

He slashed through space again, summoning beasts of demonic energy. Sword strikes and summoning, combined into a technique no ordinary aura could match.

'Shiiing!'

Raon tried to clear the beasts using advanced footwork, but he kept taking wounds, big and small, getting pushed back.

'He can't even land a hit.'

Watching Raon, who had once been called the future of transcendence, being utterly overwhelmed—it was exhilarating.

He wanted to take Raon's head and show the world that he, Dreg, still stood tall.

'I'll even get revenge on that Demon King…!'

The humiliation he suffered at the hands of the Blue Demon King burned inside him.

But just thinking about him brought those noble blue eyes to mind—eyes that made Dreg hesitate. Even with this power, he still feared him.

'No. Focus on Raon Zieghart for now.'

He shoved that fear aside and swung his demonic energy-flaming sword down.

Rumbleeeee!

The ominous demonic energy exploded, erasing the space Raon stood in.

'It's over.'

Raon, who couldn't even dodge the demonic energy beasts, couldn't possibly withstand this slash.

He'd be wiped from this world, leaving only his head behind.

'Now I'll take revenge on those Five Divine Order bastards who looked down on me, and…'

Just as Dreg believed the battle was over and was planning his next move—

'Kuuuuuuuuum!'

A thunderous boom split the heavens. From within the miasmic tide, red and blue flashes burst upward.

'Shraaaaaaa!'

Half of the demonic energy sea burned away in golden flames. The other half froze in silver frost and shattered.

Between the divine flame sword and the demonic frost sword, a pair of burning red eyes blazed.

"Ah…"

Dreg saw Raon's eyes—and in them, he saw the same pressure as the Blue Demon King who had torn off his arm.

The color was different, but the noble, overwhelming presence was the same.

"…Now I can fight."

Raon checked that the Light Wind Division and Iron Division had retreated and nodded.

"Y-You… were stalling for them?"

Dreg's lips trembled as he realized Raon had been buying time for the others to escape.

"The head of the house said it might still be too soon—but maybe today's a good day to test it."

Raon lifted the [Heavenly Drive], now blazing with flames, and the [Soul Requiem Sword], gleaming with frost. He raised his chin arrogantly.

"To see if I can overcome the wall of the Five Divine Order."