Chapter 736

Raon lowered his gaze, imagining the Phantom King hiding in the darkness.

Phantom King.

He first encountered the Phantom King when he was appointed as the Shadow's leader. The monster's presence was so faint that if Derus hadn't spoken to him, he wouldn't have even realized he was there. However, despite his subtle aura, he possessed tremendous martial prowess.

He was a Grand Master even then, so now he must be at least at a high level, possibly even upper level.

Still...

He should have been far removed from actual combat. The Phantom King had passed on the title of the South's best assassin to Raon and disappeared. Since he only reappeared after Martio and Lisbon's deaths, Raon had the advantage of continued experience.

Let's try to shake him up.

Raon gestured toward the ink-black cavern.

"You know you've been discovered."

He tilted his chin arrogantly to disrupt the Phantom King's psyche.

"Come out."

"Are you Raon Zieghart?"

An aged voice echoed from the deep darkness. It was the Phantom King. He made his voice resonate throughout the cavern to conceal his exact location.

"That's right."

Raon nodded briefly, scanning the darkness that seemed to swallow even light.

"You must be the Phantom King?"

"Yes. I am the Phantom King."

The Phantom King answered without hesitation, but still concealed his position by projecting his voice without revealing himself.

"Martio and Lisbon, who raised you, were children I raised."

His voice conveyed a deep sadness and loneliness.

So it’s the Phantom King after all.

Raon lowered his gaze and relaxed his fingertips.

He manipulates emotions at will.

The emotions of sadness and loneliness emanating from the Phantom King's voice were false. He probably never considered Martio and Lisbon as his disciples.

"Did you hear it from Derus?"

Raon narrowed his eyes slightly, looking toward the center of the cavern. Judging by his mention of Martio and Lisbon, he must have heard from Derus that Raon was the assassin Raon.

"Yes. He said you were Raon."

The Phantom King readily admitted it, letting out a small chuckle.

"Do you believe that swindler?"

Raon scoffed as he surveyed the cavern's terrain.

"He is a god."

The Phantom King remained unwavering, as if Derus was his only true god.

"Did you know he ran away with his limbs torn off and a hole in his stomach?"

Raon described Derus's state as he fled, tilting his chin to the side.

"He abandoned the house he raised his whole life and ran away. Some god he is. Truly extraordinary."

"Shut up."

The Phantom King's composure, once as still as a lake, briefly rippled. He seemed to follow Derus more than expected.

Whether it’s real or fake, I can use it to my advantage.

In a battle with an assassin, the one who controls emotions and information wins. The more Raon knew about him, the better.

"Thanks to you, so many things have crumbled."

A sharp murderous intent emerged from the Phantom King's voice.

"With Martio and Lisbon dead, I had to take over the raising again, and I even had to participate in improving the Water Demon Hosts instead of the necromancers."

He exuded an even stronger murderous intent, saying that he had to live busily with his old body. Raon felt a sharp pain in his skin.

"Congratulations on your new job."

Raon laughed and clapped.

"I hear jobs are scarce these days. Getting a job at your age is quite an accomplishment."

"They say the tongue is sharper than the sword, and you prove it."

The Phantom King chuckled, causing a slight breeze.

"But that's as far as you go. You will regret coming here alone even in death."

He suppressed all the burning murderous intent in the entire cavern. It felt like a resolution to kill with all his might.

"I’ve always been curious. How skilled is the Phantom King, known as the best assassin?"

Raon melted into the darkness with a deep smile.

"This darkness will be your grave."

"Boy."

The Phantom King's mocking laughter echoed.

"I have been the symbol of terror known as the Phantom King since before you were born. Do you dare challenge me in assassination?"

"If you're scared, don't bother."

Raon shrugged and shook his head.

"Fine. Either way, you will be the one to die."

The Phantom King's voice took on a calm tone. The composure befitting an assassin. The only time he showed any sign of being shaken was when Derus was insulted. Raon lowered his posture, suppressing his presence with the Ring of Fire.

There aren’t many opportunities.

Judging by the flow of aura that made his voice resonate, the Phantom King's martial prowess was at least at the upper level of Grand Master. On the other hand, Raon was exhausted, having used the prolonged Sword Domain and unleashed his anger, barely maintaining half his usual strength.

Despite the unfavorable situation in many ways, perhaps due to the euphoria of revealing Derus's true identity, he didn’t feel like he was going to lose. Especially not in this place.

"Let's begin."

Raon slowly unsheathed the Blade of Death, twisting his lips into a smile.

"A silent war."

The Phantom King stared into the darkness where Raon had disappeared, chewing the inside of his cheek.

So, he is the assassin Raon.

Derus had suspected that Raon Zieghart was once the Shadow's leader, the assassin Raon, and finally became convinced, equating the two. Even before, he warned that if anyone came here, it would undoubtedly be Raon.

He had accepted it halfheartedly, not expecting it to be true.

Lord Derus told me to withdraw no matter what, but...

But he couldn’t miss the opportunity to kill that guy. Since Raon Zieghart was the assassin Raon, they couldn't coexist under the same sky. He had to kill him here and now.

However...

He's still a fool. Is it because of the joy of discovering Derus's identity? Raon came for an assassination duel, not a head-on confrontation. Raon Zieghart is strong. In a direct fight, it's uncertain who would win, but coming for an assassination duel like this is a huge advantage for me.

His skills are predictable after all.

Even if he's been away from actual combat for a while, in terms of assassination, the only one above me is the King of Assassination: the King Slayer. Aside from that, I’m confident I won’t lose to anyone.

"I can clearly see where you’re hiding."

The Phantom King made his voice sound like it was coming from behind as he extended a constant aura in all directions. While concealing his own position, he pressured the space where Raon could move.

"Why is Derus's lapdog so noisy? Ah, I guess there’s no need to lick his master’s feet now that they’re gone."

While insulting Derus, Raon unleashed sword strikes into the air.

Boom!

The ceiling collapsed, sending rocks and soil crashing down, making the air in the cavern even heavier.

Is he trying to shake my psyche?

The Phantom King licked his lips as he watched the direction Raon had moved toward.

But you are the one who is shaken.

Raon must have destroyed the ceiling and insulted Derus out of impatience and anxiety for not being able to detect his presence—but it was all according to the Phantom King’s plan.

Because I deliberately showed murderous intent.

When Raon insulted Derus, he deliberately showed a little anger to give false information. Raon was clearly trying to exploit that opening.

"Don’t insult him."

As one of the designers of this space, the Phantom King had memorized the entire layout. He could visualize exactly how and where Raon would attack. He approached the wall, pretending to be fooled by Raon, while silently raising his murderous intent.

As expected, just before reaching the wall where the dagger should have been stuck, he heard the sound of a sword flying from behind.

Where do you think—?!

As he calmly turned to counterattack, the incoming sword was surprisingly slow.

What is this!

His eyes widened in shock as the red dagger he thought was simply stuck in the wall was grabbed by a white hand—

Slash!

—piercing his lower abdomen where his energy center was located.

"Kuheo-eok!"

The Phantom King, feigning anger, headed toward the right corridor where Raon had entered.

I can feel it from that end.

A very faint presence was felt from inside the brainwashing classroom that bent to the left. The Phantom King bent his knees slightly, holding the dagger in his hand with a reverse grip.

No, that isn’t Raon.

There was a presence as faint as an ant inside the wall, but it wasn’t Raon.

He should have stuck a dagger in the wall.

It was clear Raon had stuck the dagger he had unsheathed before disappearing into the wall to disguise his presence and then ambush from behind.

Not a bad plan, but...

The Phantom King dropped the dagger he was holding and knelt down.

"I told you."

It was Raon. His red eyes gleamed eerily in the darkness.

"This darkness would be your grave."

Thud!

Raon struck the Phantom King's heart, stunning the Fury Worm.

"Kueouk..."

The Phantom King trembled all over, coughing up black blood from the shock of his energy center being shattered.

"H-How did you get there..."

He trembled, noticing a small open space under the wall.

"I designed this place. There was no such space..."

"Of course not."

Raon looked at the Phantom King, twisting his lips.

"Because I created this place. I, Raon."

This hole in the ground was one of the secret passages Raon had prepared to escape Derus, so it was natural that the Phantom King wouldn't know about it.

"...I see."

The Phantom King gritted his teeth, seeming to finally understand the situation.

"Cutting the ceiling, insulting Lord Derus, it was all a trick."

"That's right. I knew the Phantom King wouldn’t be moved by something like that."

Raon nodded calmly. Unleashing sword strikes to create noise and dust, and mocking Derus were preparations to reverse the Phantom King's psychological warfare. As expected, he approached thinking there was a dagger stuck in the wall, falling perfectly into the trap.

Another assassin might not have been fooled. It was a high-level deception that could only be attempted because it was the Phantom King.

"I underestimated you too much. Kill me..."

The Phantom King raised his unwavering gaze, even while coughing up a gruesome amount of blood.

"I am the Phantom King. Torture is useless against me."

"We’ll see."

Raon shook his head and pushed the heat of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the cold of the Glacier toward the Blade of Requiem embedded in the Phantom King's abdomen.

"I don’t know anything, and even if I did, I wouldn’t—Keheuk!"

The Phantom King's expression, which had remained firm as if he could withstand any torture, suddenly shattered.

"Kuaaaaaaak!"

The Phantom King screamed and shook his limbs like an ordinary person, not the best assassin.

"Why did you stay here?"

Raon moved his finger, observing the Phantom King's trembling eyes.

"Derus would have surely told you to leave this place as well. If you were targeting me, you would have made more thorough preparations."

"I-I don't know..."

"In other words, you stayed here for another reason, probably to retrieve or hide something."

The Phantom King only groaned without answering, but unlike before, his gaze wavered with confusion rather than pain. It meant that Raon's prediction was correct.

"You wouldn’t have hidden it elsewhere in a situation where a battle could erupt..."

Raon reached the Phantom King's chest. He pulled out the only object that wasn’t a weapon from his chest. It was a small wooden box, ordinary in appearance with no patterns.

"You, you..."

"It seems this is it."

Raon opened the box’s lid as he watched the Phantom King's face turn pale. Unlike its ordinary exterior, the inside of the box was covered in strange magic inscriptions, and in the center, a blood-red bead exuded a chilling murderous intent and malice.

"What is this..."

Raon frowned, bringing the bead closer to the Phantom King.

“What are you planning to do with this!”

"Kuuuu..."

The Phantom King kept his mouth shut despite the torture. He was a tough one.

–How dirty.

Wrath frowned as he looked at the bead.

–Tremendous murderous intent, blood, grudges, and pain are contained within it.

He shook his head, commenting on the terrible aura.

"This place..."

Raon bit his lip as he looked around the underground cavern, not at the blood-red bead.

"They've gathered the grudges and deaths embedded in this land."

Countless children had died unjustly, leaving indelible blood and grudges in this cavern. It seemed that Derus had tried to use even that malice.

"Kill me..."

The Phantom King confirmed Raon's suspicion by asking him to kill him.

"Where were you told to bring this?"

"I-I don’t know. He said he would come to get it..."

He answered while bleeding, as if he thought it was all over.

"So that’s all you know."

Raon struck the Phantom King's nape, rendering him unconscious.

–Aren’t you going to kill him?

Wrath waved his hand, asking why Raon didn’t cut his throat.

'This guy doesn't deserve to die here.'

The people buried in this land are all children who died unjustly. Someone like the Phantom King couldn’t be buried here.

"He’s fortunate, at least."

Raon sighed as he looked at the bead emitting increasingly intense malice. He didn’t know how Derus intended to use this bead, but he was fortunate to have stopped it. If it had gotten out, something terrible would have happened.

–Ugh, get rid of it immediately!

Wrath also seemed to feel the bead’s grudge, snorting and turning his head away.

'Should I take it?'

–With your abilities, you could purify and absorb the energy itself, but the indelible grudge would remain, lowering the quality of your soul instead.

He lowered his fist, saying to simply destroy the bead.

"I guess I should..."

As Wrath said, he could purify the bead’s power with the Ring of Fire, but it seemed that he couldn’t erase the grudge.

"I guess there’s no other choice."

As Raon was about to clench his fist to destroy the bead, the Blade of Requiem burst into an intense sword chant.

Shiiiiing!

"What? Are you going to consume it?"

The Blade of Death resonated with its sword chant once more, as if telling him to leave it to itself.

–Ah, no! Just break it!

Wrath shook his head, insisting that it absolutely shouldn’t be done.

"Now I see. You weren’t worried about me."

–N-No, it’s not that! I just...

"You were just trying to prevent me from getting stronger."

–Wait!

Ignoring Wrath’s gesture, Raon stabbed the red bead with the Blade of Requiem.

Crack!

The bead shattered, and the crimson energy that came out was about to touch him, but was absorbed by the sword instead. The Blade of Requiem resonated with a clear chime—

Tiiiiiing!

—as if comforting the vengeful spirits residing in the bead.

It wasn’t seeking power...

Was it trying to offer comfort?

Raon smiled slightly as he looked at the blade turning red. It seemed that the Blade of Requiem hadn’t desired power, but had accepted this bead to comfort the vengeful spirits and seek revenge together.

I wonder if you're in there too.

Hoping that his unnamed first friend, Number 9, was also with the Blade of Requiem, Raon closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them again.

Raon sheathed the Blade of Requiem and pulled Raon Zieghart’s biography from his chest. He carefully wrote his name on the half-torn first page.

"Lephon."

He bowed his head as he placed the book in the center of the cavern.

"My revenge, your revenge, and the revenge of everyone sleeping here, I will return after it’s all over."

Raon bowed briefly and exited the underground cavern. Turning his gaze toward the direction of the rising smoke, he saw the magnificent sight of all of House Robert engulfed in flames.

A scene I’ve wanted to see for over 20 years.

After revealing Derus’s true identity and seeing the house that was his everything consumed by flames, an indescribable euphoria and satisfaction washed over him. This emotion was something that no one else could feel or understand except himself. Wrath looked at Raon, frowning.

–You’ve been very strange today...

Just as he was narrowing his eyes with suspicion,

[You have accomplished an impossible feat.]

[You have achieved a feat that will change the history of the continent.]

[All skills have increased by 50 points.]

[Trait <Backstab>...]

[Trait <Snow Flower Perception>...]

A huge amount of messages appeared, as if to silence Wrath.

–Kueo-eok!

Wrath gaped at the messages, nearly choking.

–Y-You thought you were going to throw me off? You really fooled that bastard Uriel this time, so this level of reward is des... deserved...

He dragged out the words as if hypnotizing himself.

–No, but 50 points is too much… No! I’ll take it! As a reward for shutting Uriel’s mouth, it’s enough...

While Raon remained motionless, Wrath only contradicted himself, his whole body trembling.

–Fine. I’ll endure it this time. I’ll endure it. Next time...

[You have received the acknowledgement of <Wrath>.]

[Additional rewards will be granted.]

[All skills…]

[Traits…]

Wrath gaped again at the newly appeared messages.

–Next time… my ass! I can’t endure this!

Unable to hold back any longer, Wrath exploded, shaking his head violently.

–When did I ever acknowledge you! I never said that word!

It seems your will to endure was taken as acknowledgement?

–That’s cheating! I was just happy that Uriel got screwed! And why give additional rewards! This damn system, just obey me for once… Eh?

Wrath, who had been yelling, suddenly doubled the size of his round eyes upon seeing the final message.

–No, that shouldn’t be given! Has your head been filled with Nadine’s bread?!

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – MurimTang]

[Proofreader – Mayank]