The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

‘Whoooosh!’

The moment Raon finished speaking, the once-gentle atmosphere of the meeting room plunged, becoming as cold as an ice cave.

“Huh?”

“Follow us or die? Even for a Zieghart, that’s going too far!”

“Watch your mouth! Not even the Four Demons would make threats like this!”

“Has the fame gone to his head? He’s out of his mind.”

The swordsmen of the Swordless Pavilion standing behind the Evil Sword Marquis bit their lips, their auras flaring with hostility.

“You should’ve made your decision sooner if you didn’t like it. The situation has changed now.”

“A threat? We gave you a choice. How is that a threat?”

“How pathetic…”

Martha, Burren, and Runaan scoffed, telling them to get a grip on the situation.

‘Crackle!’

As the executives of the Light Wind Palace and the Swordless Pavilion unleashed their Auras in a standoff, blue sparks erupted over the white round table, charring the ceiling and walls of the meeting room black.

“Enough.”

The Evil Sword Marquis raised a hand, stopping the swordsmen behind her.

“Quiet.”

Raon also turned his head slightly, restraining Burren, Martha, and Runaan, who were about to unleash the energy waves of a Grand Master.

“…”

The Thespian Emperor said nothing, and the warriors of White Whale behind her remained as still as dolls.

“Your words are quite harsh, aren’t they?”

The Evil Sword Marquis sat back down, her eyes turning cold.

“Were you serious about what you just said?”

Unlike when she was flustered by the story of The Fallen One, she now maintained a calm demeanor. It seemed she intended to hear everything out before getting angry. It was the mindset befitting a Transcendant.

“He must be. He’s not the type to bluff in a situation like this.”

The Thespian Emperor traced the handle of her teacup with a finger, a faint smile on her lips. It was as if she had anticipated this situation.

“Yes. I am serious.”

Raon met the Evil Sword Marquis’s cold gaze and nodded.

“Why?”

The Evil Sword Marquis tilted her chin, as if demanding a reason for his words.

“We, the Five Kings, and Zieghart in particular, believe we have given the Five Divine Orders plenty of opportunities.”

Raon placed his hands on the round table, looking into the sunken eyes of the Thespian Emperor and the Evil Sword Marquis.

“What opportunities?”

“You five factions are bound together under the name of the Five Divine Orders.”

Raon continued, his gaze fixed on the flag of the Five Divine Orders fluttering on the meeting room wall.

“Sharing a single flag means that a problem in one faction must be treated as their own by the other four.”

“That’s right. That’s what it means.”

The Evil Sword Marquis acknowledged his words without hesitation. Though she might not have known much, she didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding things.

“The Demonblade tried to kill me to erase his own evil deeds, and the Demon Slayer Spear attacked me first when I was trying to protect a friend.”

Raon clenched the hand that had been stained with the blood of the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear into a fist.

“Originally, I and Zieghart should have held the Five Divine Orders, to which the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear belonged, accountable. But I chose not to make the matter public…”

“That’s not right.”

The Evil Sword Marquis raised a hand toward Raon.

“Those two had already left the Five Divine Orders. This one tried to persuade them to wait a little, but they wouldn’t listen and left!”

She called the Thespian Emperor ‘this one’ and frowned. Their relationship seemed to be more than just a simple alliance.

“The Demonblade left without a word to us and was killed by you, and the Demon Slayer Spear left the Five Divine Orders after the Black Tower fell, saying he wanted to feel alive. If I had known they would both die like that, I would have stopped them, by force if I had to, and gone to the Five Kings.”

The Evil Sword Marquis clicked her tongue, as if regretting her failure to stop the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear.

‘Come to think of it…’

Raon smacked his lips briefly as he looked at the frowning Evil Sword Marquis.

‘The Evil Sword Marquis wanted to choose the Five Kings before.’

He remembered that, unlike the others, the Evil Sword Marquis had hated the Four Demons from the start and had only wanted to side with the Five Kings.

However, even if he felt some goodwill toward her, the time to let this incident slide had long passed.

“No.”

Raon shook his head with frustrating slowness.

“The Five Divine Orders never officially announced the departure of the Demonblade and the Demon Spear Society. The same goes for the Pirate King.”

“What does that…”

The Evil Sword Marquis’s brows furrowed as if she was hearing this for the first time, and she looked at the Thespian Emperor.

“Is that true?”

“…”

The Thespian Emperor said nothing, merely closing her eyes.

“The reason is obvious, even without hearing it. You didn’t want the outside world to find out that the authority and power of the Five Divine Orders had diminished.”

Raon nodded, looking at the Thespian Emperor, whose eyes were still closed.

“The Five Divine Orders is an alliance formed to reap various benefits from the center without getting entangled with the Six Kings and Five Demons. But three of its members left? And during a war, at that? To the Five Kings and the Four Demons, you would just be a meal served up perfectly for the taking.”

He continued his explanation, watching the flustered Evil Sword Marquis, as he had read all of the Thespian Emperor’s thoughts.

“Honestly, it’s not a bad idea. I would have likely made a similar choice to you, Thespian Emperor. However…”

Raon’s lips twisted as he looked at the Thespian Emperor, who had opened her eyes again.

“If you make such a choice, it is only right that you also bear the responsibility that comes with it. From my and Zieghart’s perspective, it’s as if we were attacked by the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear while they were still members of the Five Divine Orders.”

“Ugh…”

The Evil Sword Marquis bit her lip deeply, as if she finally understood his point.

“B-But!”

“Even so, it’s not something we did…”

“You should have told us about this…”

The swordsmen of the Swordless Pavilion trembled, their fists clenched in frustration.

“Shut your mouths.”

The Evil Sword Marquis lowered her hand, stopping the swordsmen of the Swordless Pavilion from speaking at all.

“…”

Even after hearing all the facts, the Thespian Emperor said nothing, merely staring at her empty teacup.

“Actually, there’s something I don’t understand.”

Raon looked at the Thespian Emperor, who was sitting directly across from him.

“After what happened with the Demonblade, why didn’t you publicly announce the Demon Slayer Spear’s departure? You couldn’t have been unaware that if the Demon Slayer Spear caused trouble after the Demonblade, the damage would fall squarely on the Five Divine Orders.”

The Thespian Emperor he knew was someone who would look before she leaped. Having been burned once by the incident with the Demonblade, he couldn’t understand why she would repeat the same mistake.

“Tell me.”

The Evil Sword Marquis, apparently thinking the same thing, gestured with her chin toward the Thespian Emperor.

“You’re right.”

The Thespian Emperor lowered her brows as she personally poured red tea into her cup.

“The old me would have immediately announced the departure of the Demon Slayer Spear and the Demon Spear Society right after the Demonblade was defeated.”

She gave a thin smile, as if to say Raon was correct, and set down the teapot.

“Then why didn’t you?”

Raon’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the Thespian Emperor.

“Did you want the benefits of maintaining the Five Divine Orders that badly?”

“…”

The Thespian Emperor didn’t answer, only gazing at the shallow ripples in her teacup.

“On my way here, I heard a story about you from that man.”

Raon pointed to Mekane, who was standing behind the Thespian Emperor.

“He said that after the Four Demons’ attack, you used your personal funds to first take care of the residents’ homes and livelihoods. The you I know would have done that out of concern for outside perception and rumors, but there must have been a little affection in it, a desire to care for your own people.”

He scoffed, looking down at the vibrant city visible through the meeting room window.

“But because of this incident, this very city you cultivated could have been turned into a sea of blood by Zieghart. We had both the power and the justification, so no one could have questioned it.”

Raon slowly composed his breathing, imagining the worst-case scenario.

“Everything you hold dear could have been destroyed. Why did you make such a choice?”

He tilted his chin, telling her it was time to give him an answer.

“Tell me honestly.”

The Evil Sword Marquis slammed her palm down on the round table.

“What were you thinking!”

She ground her teeth, demanding a proper explanation.

“Haaah…”

The Thespian Emperor let out a long sigh, like exhaling cigarette smoke.

“The Fallen One. Yes. So it all comes down to that.”

She looked at Raon, a weary smile on her face.

“I understand. I’ll be honest with you this time.”

The Thespian Emperor nodded heavily, signaling she would hide nothing more.

“As you may have noticed, I can read the Celestial Omen.”

She stood up from her seat, lifted her white robes, and placed a book that had been strapped to her thigh onto the round table.

“The Celestial Omen is a future that has already been decided and cannot be changed. Using this Sun and Moon Star Scripture, I can read the future, if only a little.”

The Thespian Emperor opened the book called the Sun and Moon Star Scripture and flipped through it.

“But since that day, I haven’t been able to see the future clearly.”

She let out a self-deprecating laugh.

“That day?”

The Evil Sword Marquis’s eyes narrowed, as if asking when that was.

“You.”

The Thespian Emperor pointed a finger at Raon.

“Ever since I read the Celestial Omen of Raon Zigheart, most of the future has become blurry.”

She held up the book to show a drawing at the end. Red lines scattered in all directions from a torn page, as if blood had been poured on it. It looked as if the book itself was screaming in agony.

“This is my Celestial Omen?”

Raon frowned at the eerie pattern drawn in the book.

“I actually visited Zieghart after reading the Celestial Omen. But every future I saw was shattered by you. So I came back here to find out who you were. But this is the result.”

She sighed, her breath heavy, as she showed him the torn page of the Sun and Moon Star Scripture again.

“After this, I didn’t know what I could see or what I could do. Strangely, I was able to find the soul stone you were looking for. In any case, I didn’t hesitate because I wanted to gain an advantage…”

The Thespian Emperor’s lips parted as she looked intently at Raon.

“I couldn’t make a decision because I didn’t know what choice I had to make to save the Five Divine Orders.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, saying her mind had frozen after reading his Celestial Omen.

“It seems the ability to read the Celestial Omen has itself become a shackle for me.”

The Thespian Emperor let out a hollow laugh, saying that because she couldn’t see the future clearly, she had become unable to make any choice.

“The Fallen One must have gone to you after reading a Celestial Omen that he wouldn’t die. But the result was death.”

She nodded, as if she also knew how The Fallen One had died.

“Now I’m certain. You have the power to change the Celestial Omen. No, to change fate itself.”

The Thespian Emperor let out a heavy breath she had been holding for a long time, as if she could finally break free from the now-blurry Celestial Omen.

“So that’s what it was. That’s why…”

The Evil Sword Marquis chewed on her lip, as if she finally understood. It seemed she had left all the administrative work to the Thespian Emperor.

As he had thought earlier, the two of them clearly had a relationship closer than a mere alliance.

‘Fate again.’

Raon closed his eyes, recalling the title he had recently obtained, .

‘It doesn’t matter if I change fate or create a new one.’

I just have to do what I can.

Without thinking about things like Celestial Omens, the future, or fate, he focused only on what he had to do and opened his eyes again.

“I understand your situation, but I can’t read the Celestial Omen, nor do I believe in it, so I don’t particularly sympathize.”

Raon shook his head coolly.

“The reason I didn’t hold the Five Divine Orders accountable for the Demonblade’ actions and waited was because you gave me information about the soul stone. But now that the incident with the Demon Slayer Spear has also occurred, that leverage is gone. Now, please make your choice.”

He asked once more whether they would follow the path of the Five Kings or die here.

“Haaah…”

The Thespian Emperor lowered her head, a hand on her forehead.

“Meeting you has cleared my once-confused mind. I can finally make a decision without hesitation.”

She smiled thinly, looking into Raon’s eyes.

“I and the Five Divine Orders will follow the Five Kings…”

“Wait.”

Just as the Thespian Emperor was about to make her choice, the Evil Sword Marquis rose to her feet.

“I still object.”

The Evil Sword Marquis’s brows lowered as she declared she would not choose now.

“What? But you’ve wanted to side with the Five Kings from the beginning.”

The Thespian Emperor’s eyes widened, as if asking why the sudden change of heart.

“I know this one was in the wrong, and I fully understand that the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear caused trouble while they were still our members.”

The Evil Sword Marquis nodded, acknowledging that Raon and the Five Kings had every right to hold them accountable.

“But that alone isn’t enough to convince me. I’m an ignorant warrior, after all.”

The Evil Sword Marquis grabbed the sword she had propped against the round table.

“I want to decide after clashing swords with you directly.”

She lifted her chin, declaring that she would follow him if he could defeat her.

“That’s not a difficult task.”

Raon let out a small laugh and stood up from the table.

‘This person is worth fighting.’

Because of Glenn’s warning-like words, he had wanted to clash with the Evil Sword Marquis himself, even if not the Thespian Emperor.

“However…”

Raon elegantly lowered his chin, meeting the Evil Sword Marquis’s sharp gaze.

“Come at me with your full strength. Don’t hide a single thing.”

“If I do that…”

The Evil Sword Marquis’s eyes took on a cold glint, sharp as a blade, as if she truly was hiding something.

“You’ll die, you know?”