The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

“I found it.”

Sella set down the hard bread and dried fruit, then nodded.

“The Roser Kingdom.”

She let out a ragged breath, saying she’d found out which kingdom the knights who took the villagers belonged to.

“R-Roser?”

Merlin looked at Sella, swallowing hard.

‘The best kingdom in the south, no less.’

The Roser Kingdom was called the empire of the south. Even she, who had never left the village, knew its reputation.

“Why would a country like that target a small village like ours…?”

“They called us demons. Said the cross in our eyes is an inverted cross—a symbol of the devil.”

Sella bit her lip and pointed to her crimson eyes, which she had always thought were beautiful.

“D-Demons…”

Merlin’s chin trembled.

‘But why?’

They had lived quietly, harming no one. She couldn’t understand why they’d been branded demons.

It was so absurd she didn’t even feel anger at first—just a hollow confusion.

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

Sella said they would rescue the villagers and return, her gaze fixed on Merlin.

“B-But…”

“It’s fine. I’ve already finished deciphering the Magic Interference Formation.”

She clasped her hands, saying she’d figured out the formation that blocked the villagers’ magic.

“I’ll save everyone, so can you wait here?”

“I-I’ll go with you. I don’t want to be alone…”

Merlin grabbed Sella’s torn sleeve and begged her not to leave her behind.

“Please…”

If even Sella didn’t come back, she didn’t think she could keep living. She wanted to stay together, whether they lived or died.

“Haa…”

Sella couldn’t ignore those eyes. She let out a long sigh.

“Well, if they found us once, they might find you if you’re alone.”

As if deciding it would be safer, she took Merlin’s hand.

“Let’s go together. But…”

Sella rested her hand on Merlin’s head.

“If my identity is exposed, you and I are not related in any way. Understand?”

She gripped Merlin’s shoulders, telling her to abandon everything and run if things turned dangerous.

“If you promise me that, I’ll take you.”

“Ah…”

Merlin met Sella’s desperate gaze and nodded with difficulty.

“I understand.”

“I trust you, my daughter.”

Sella pulled her into a hug. Not wanting to lose that warmth, Merlin lifted her trembling hands and held her back.

She wished time would stop like this. No—she wanted to go back to when they lived with everyone, before any of this began.

—

Gulp.

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

‘What if I get caught…’

The Roser knights she’d seen—cold and merciless—made her tremble even while she stood outside the gates.

“Don’t worry. Your mom is with you.”

Sella took her hand and walked through the gate without hesitation.

Whoooooosh!

Beyond the massive gates, countless people filled the capital streets.

Just the crowd on a single road seemed larger than everyone in their village combined. The city overflowed with energy, and Merlin realized just how enormous this kingdom was.

Grip.

Merlin clenched her fist as she watched the lively people.

‘Why…’

Why do they look so ordinary?

The people of the kingdom that had taken the villagers—living their everyday lives, laughing, talking, passing by—made her skin crawl with a strange, unbearable disconnect.

The longer she followed Sella through Roser, the more that ordinariness made her nauseated and furious.

No matter how she looked at them, she couldn’t understand how they could call people demons and treat them like monsters.

As Merlin struggled to keep her anger contained, the crowd began to drift toward the upper part of the capital.

“Let’s go too.”

Sella seemed to feel it as well. She tightened her grip and led Merlin upward.

Whoosh.

The place the crowd had gathered was an execution ground.

Kneeling on the platform were the villagers Merlin had lived with.

“S-Sella-nim.”

“You have to be patient.”

Sella held Merlin’s hand tightly, warning her not to move. She squeezed so hard it hurt, as if that pain was the only thing keeping her steady.

“Are those the ones who colluded with the Demons?”

“Their eyes are definitely strange.”

“It looks like a cross, but it’s actually an inverted cross. No wonder they’re siding with the Demons.”

“I heard their Mana flow is different from ours. It’s easier to think of them as monsters.”

The people didn’t see the Fara Clan as human. They sneered and spoke as if they were looking at something beneath them.

“Execute the demons!”

“Kill them all!”

“Kill them!”

Stones flew, and the cries grew louder.

“The execution of these people will be in a week.”

The commander of the Knights declared it plainly, then turned and left.

“Ah…”

Merlin tried to step forward, but Sella held her back. Her eyes were bloodshot as she shook her head.

“No. Not now…”

Sella looked like she was enduring even more than Merlin, yet she didn’t lose control. She forced herself to turn away.

“Let’s go down.”

She led Merlin to a detached house on the outskirts of the capital and went inside.

“It’ll be okay.”

The moment they were inside, Sella hugged her and patted her back.

“We can save everyone.”

She met Merlin’s eyes and nodded. Her eye color had shifted to hide her identity, but she was still beautiful.

“Let’s save everyone and go back. Maybe we’ll live by the sea this time.”

Sella smiled, as if the idea alone could pull them forward.

“Yes…”

Merlin nodded, pretending not to notice the tremor hiding in Sella’s voice.

‘Am I not going to be able to do anything again?’

If only she could use magic, she could help Sella-nim.

This helplessness—no magic, no sword—felt like a curse.

‘Haa…’

Merlin let out a quiet breath, watching Sella’s back as it shook ever so slightly.

—

After coming to the Roser Kingdom, Sella changed her appearance countless times to learn the city’s layout and the forces at work.

Once she figured out who she had to face and where she had to escape, she stood before Merlin on the day before the execution.

“We’re going to start now.”

Sella smiled and took Merlin’s hand.

“If I get caught and chased, you must never move. Understand?”

She held out her pinky, telling Merlin to remember the promise from before.

“Umm…”

Merlin bit her lip as she stared at Sella’s fingertip.

“Do you know what your name means?”

Sella smiled, holding Merlin’s gaze.

“Light and hope…”

Merlin nodded faintly.

“Yes. Everything will be alright, just like your name.”

Sella stroked Merlin’s hair.

“Now, you have to promise.”

“…I understand.”

Knowing how urgent this was, Merlin raised her pinky and hooked it with Sella’s.

“Okay. See you later.”

Sella whispered that she would see her again—and disappeared.

‘Now I’m alone.’

The detached house had been rented entirely, so no one came or went. But that only made the silence sharper, her anxiety heavier.

Merlin hid under the blanket, covering her head, when a deep roar thundered from the royal palace.

‘Did she start?’

She scrambled out and looked through the window.

Walls that had seemed unbreakable were collapsing, and storms of fire and frost churned within the palace grounds.

‘Sella-nim…’

Sella was fighting—saving them while fighting.

‘I have to be ready to escape.’

Merlin packed what she could in case she had to run at a moment’s notice, then waited by the door.

But Sella didn’t return.

Instead, the Mana flow from the palace began to twist violently.

‘What’s going on…’

Merlin bit her lip, the hand holding her bag trembling.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A red pillar of light rose beneath her feet, and a harsh sound echoed.

But it did nothing to her.

‘What is this?’

Before she could understand, footsteps and shouting surged from outside.

“It’s here!”

“There’s a demon in here!”

The door was locked. People began striking the wall and frame with tools.

Crack!

The wall and door gave way, and people poured in with wide, frantic eyes.

“It’s here! A young demon!”

“H-Her eyes don’t have a cross!”

“No! That mark proves it! Trust the Sage-nim!”

They shouted “demon” as if it were truth itself, pressing closer through the broken entry.

“Ah…”

Merlin stumbled back until she hit the wall.

Just as hands reached toward her, a blue wind blasted from behind her, forcing everyone back.

“Are you okay?”

Sella.

She was battered and covered in grime, but the first thing she did was check Merlin.

“I’m sorry. It was all a trap…”

She bit her lip, saying the capture and the execution were bait from the start.

A red light was rising beneath Sella’s feet as well.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Sella clasped her hands and activated Teleportation magic.

Woooooong!

But the light faltered and vanished.

“I guess this is blocked too.”

Sella’s jaw tightened. She was about to try again.

Thwack!

A pale hand struck through her midsection.

“I’m sorry. I can’t let a guest who came all this way leave.”

A man with golden eyes appeared behind her, smiling as if he’d been waiting.

“Ooh! It’s Sage-nim!”

“Sage-nim is here!”

The people who had been trying to seize Merlin dropped to their knees before him.

“You…”

Sella stared down at herself, lips trembling, as if she hadn’t expected an attack from that direction.

“So you’re the last queen of Sirken, after all.”

The man called Sage smiled and nodded.

“To be honest, as long as I catch you, I don’t care what happens to the rest.”

His smile sharpened, as if he’d been tied to Sirken all along.

“Ah, ah…”

Merlin’s breath hitched.

‘Sella-nim?’

Everything blurred together—Sella’s sudden collapse, the man smiling with a human face, the crowd bowing like devotees.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart pounded so hard it hurt, and her vision began to whiten.

“Now, let’s put a mark on you too…”

The Sage grabbed Sella by the throat, as if to end it.

Kuwahhhhh!

A tremendous surge of flame burst from Merlin’s grasp, ripping through the house and blasting heat outward.

It wasn’t only fire.

Wind and frost crashed down in a storm, and the ground heaved, swallowing the knights rushing in.

Gooooooo!

Merlin unleashed magic of four attributes at once, a crimson cross burning in her purple eyes.

The force swept through the area, scattering even the knights who radiated powerful Aura.

“S-Sage-nim!”

The surviving knights and citizens cried out, reaching for him in panic.

Woooooong!

The Sage pulled back and raised a Mana wall, blocking Merlin’s torrent.

“Kuhahahaha!”

He burst into twisted laughter as he stared at Merlin’s eyes.

“Yes. So you were the real one!”

He reached out and disrupted Merlin’s magic directly.

Woooooong!

Merlin kept pouring out power, but she was pushed back. Her breath grew ragged, her body trembling as if she’d reached her limit.

“Dieeeee!”

She forced everything out to save Sella, but the Sage didn’t shift an inch.

“Stop resisting and come to me.”

As he spread his hand, Merlin’s body began to be dragged toward him.

Cheee!

Just before the Sage could seize Merlin—

Paaaaang!

A silver flash cut in from the right, severing the Sage’s arm and catching Merlin as she pitched forward.

“I am Lokta Deport, following Your Majesty’s order to protect the princess first.”

Lokta’s lip trembled as he looked at Sella. He lowered his head once—barely a blink of a greeting—then turned and ran north with Merlin in his arms.

“N-No…”

Merlin’s voice cracked.

“I’m sorry. It’s already too late.”

Lokta shook his head, saying he couldn’t save Sella. He kept running, tears streaming down his face.

‘Not yet…’

Merlin reached toward Sella, who didn’t rise.

‘I didn’t even get to say thank you. I love you.’

Thank you for treating me like your daughter.

Thank you for loving me.

No—more than that…

Mom.

She had never once called her that.

If this was how it ended, she should have forced the word out, no matter how embarrassed she felt.

She hated the version of herself who couldn’t do it.

“Please…”

Lokta kept moving forward, cutting down anyone who blocked him, refusing to look back, as if clinging to the mission of saving Merlin.

“I didn’t expect this.”

The Sage appeared ahead of them again.

The arm that had been cut was gone—and he looked untouched.

“However, this is the end. You may not know, but that young lady can’t go.”

He spread his hand, releasing a red spell that wrapped around Lokta and Merlin.

Crack!

Their bodies lifted into the air, pressure squeezing down as if to crush them.

“M-Mom!”

Merlin couldn’t bear it anymore. She screamed the word toward where Sella had fallen.

“It’s already too late. The princess of Sirken…”

The Sage smiled faintly and shook his head.

Pajijijijijik!

Sella—who had been motionless—appeared in front of him, red lightning blazing from her fist as she struck.

Kuwahhhhh!

The Sage slammed down, his smile breaking apart with him.

“Only now…”

Sella looked back at Merlin, black blood on her lips, yet she didn’t wipe it away.

“You’re calling me mom.”

She smiled, as if leaving her last words behind.

“Evelyn.”

(T/N : Ooohhhh. So Evelyn is Merlin’s real name. I wonder how it became Merlin. )