The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

In the face of suffering, a product of pain, anyone, regardless of who they are, reveals their vile nature.

Galas spoke.

He claimed he never suggested making Marionette dolls from the beginning.

I can vouch for his honesty, even with my life as an assassin.

From the countless lives I’ve taken, it’s something I can recognize just by looking at him.

The moment the shadow of death approached, he spilled all the facts he knew, and within them, there was no falsehood.

In other words, ultimately, Boris lied to me.

Why is it that in life, we often have such experiences?

Moments when, despite grappling with a perplexing situation, a serendipitous event leads to finding a solution.

Starting from that serendipitous moment, the scattered pieces of the puzzle finally come together.

This change in Boris’s personality is likely not the first.

Perhaps he’s been altering his personality according to his whims since he first created the Marionette dolls, or even before that.

Then where is his true personality now?

At least within this city, it likely doesn’t exist.

He’s probably left only his shell and another personality behind, completely concealing his traces.

Why?

For what reason?

Shouldn’t he let them know as soon as possible that the fog they’ve been looking for is none other than me?

Over a month has passed, and if we haven’t found even a small trace, it’s time to change our thinking.

He’s not revealing himself for some reason.

He’s devising a plan to expose my existence.

So what he needs most right now is a space and time to hide his body.

But as the nature of the mist dictates, once a target is chosen, it will be pursued until death.

As an ordinary human, there’s no safe place for him to hide his body on this continent.

Then what if he hid his body in a space that’s solely for himself, free from any interference?

Is there such a space?

Although the attributes may be different, Boris is a special human who possesses divine transcendence like me.

Thus, what he can do, I can do, and what I can do, he can also do enough.

A space similar to the power of the gods, created only by those who possess divine transcendence.

Unauthorized beings cannot enter, and it’s easy to access other spaces with similar energy.

It’s what we call a divine spatial dimension.

Outside, following the familiar yet eerie energy.

The cold night breeze brushing against the skin did little to calm the current raging emotions.

Look at that familiar, almost welcoming figure.

Enveloped in a bright, intangible light, and holding a pristine white scroll in one hand.

As if responding to it, the hand holding Kaeram trembled violently.

Though it might seem out of place, I suddenly wanted to check my face in a mirror.

I wondered if I was smiling with joy or grimacing with anger.

“It seems you’ve been waiting for me eagerly.”

The first words from the one who finally shed his mask, harmonizing with his characteristic repugnant laughter, echoed in my ears.

My lips stretched wide on both sides.

“First, let me ask, who are you?”

“Have you already forgotten me? That’s quite disappointing. You can’t imagine how long I’ve been waiting for the moment of our reunion.”

It’s identical.

The smile of the man I saw in Luwen and in my past life is chillingly identical.

To the extent that there’s almost no need for further proof, my body and mind were already filled with certainty about him.

“While I was gone, did you get along well with another me?”

“Do you change personalities like changing clothes?”

“How could that be? It’s just a small privilege of the Black Blood Clan.”

He took a step back, as if to reveal the radiance emanating from the slightly raised ground beneath the soil.

“In one way or another, you’re a human with divine transcendence like me. There’s no way you wouldn’t understand the current situation. My personality has been in the divine spatial dimension of light, which has never existed on this earth, along with the Bible.”

It was roughly as expected.

That’s probably why Kaeram couldn’t find any trace no matter how much he searched.

“I’ve been enduring the passage of time there, waiting for the day I would face you. But it’s a bit surprising. Even though I wasn’t the real me, you still kept this body intact. I must applaud your remarkable patience.”

It’s a lie.

I didn’t think he would simply switch to that false personality from the beginning.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to flash that cheeky smile, as everything went according to plan.

“Cyan Vert. Even though our relationship is one which cannot be mixed like water and oil, you are a truly special existence to me. You’re the one who made me feel emotions I’ve never felt before in my entire life.”

It’s the same for me.

Because of you and your master, I experienced the bitter pain of betrayal for the first time.

“Do you remember the first moment we met? I still haven’t forgotten the look in your eyes that I saw back then. It wasn’t a cautious look towards a stranger, but rather a look of disdain towards a target for revenge. Why? Why did you look at me with such eyes when we first met, someone who was just a stranger to you?”

“Do you expect me to answer that?”

“Of course not. I also don’t want to resolve the current questions immediately. Wouldn’t it be better to resolve them when our relationship is at its peak? That way, it will be more satisfying.”

“…….”

“So, unfortunately, once again…”

-Boom!

As I unleashed the suppressed power, a black mist enveloped both me and him.

“At its peak? Nice. That’s a very good phrase. But you know what?”

His smug smile slightly faded as he felt the pressure from my existence.

“I can’t think of anything other than killing you right now.”

There’s no need to drag it out any longer.

If I deal with you, who is riddled with doubts and suspicions about me, right now, my ecstasy will soar to its peak.

It will give me a sense of achievement at the brink that I’ve never experienced before.

For the greater moment that will come afterward.

“I’m not a savior like you. I’m an executor who will make you beg for mercy in the depths of despair….”

It’s always been like this, and it will continue to be.

Did he expect this reaction from me?

He chuckled the same way and nodded his head.

“Human beings are truly foolish creatures at times. Thinking they know themselves best, yet sometimes they’re so ignorant that they miss the most important facts.”

Mmmmm…

A significant amount of mana manifested from his hand.

“So, please prove it here. Whether the path you intend to take is truly salvation or execution.”

Whatever futile attempt he was trying, whatever he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave this place.

I will spend a very long time here, savoring the chilling pain of death I felt…

*Kugukung*

Suddenly, a strong vibration occurred from the ground.

Startled, I looked down, and from beneath the ground, I could distinctly feel a familiar energy.

“Wondering what I’ll do with this giant marionette?”

In Boris’s hand, there was now a black magic circle drawn to cast high-level magic.

“Under this workshop lies the sealed corpse of the Devil Dragon summoned and sealed during the Holy War in the past.”

Devil Dragon?

What nonsensical talk is this?

To what extent did you expect this?

Even if you were going to control something, why is the corpse of a Devil Dragon buried here?

Summoned during the Holy War?

I’ve never heard such a story in my two lifetimes…

[Master, below!]

As Kaeram urgently shouted, I immediately turned around and stepped back.

*Thud!*

In what must have been a split second, an extremely precarious situation.

From the spot where I stood, something black, presumed to be a tail, pierced through the ground and emerged into the world.

“Hundreds of years of suppressed dragon’s wrath are now revealed to the world.”

* * *

The void of darkness consumed everything around, the space of the magic swords.

At its center, two individuals, a man and a woman, were facing each other with contrasting expressions.

While the woman, with a displeased look, bit her lips, the man smiled calmly as he looked at her.

It was a completely opposite scene compared to their previous encounter.

“What’s the problem? It’s not like I did anything wrong. I just treated my master special, just like you did with yours.”

Hishkrea shrugged as if to say, what’s the big deal.

“Yeah, yeah. Your face did look familiar. But what’s with all this gibberish? If you get too used to familiarity, you’ll end up useless, you know?”

“From someone like you, who replaces their master, it’s something you’ll never understand. It’s about proper harmony for the bright truth.”

“That truth of yours is so tiresome…”

Kaeram shook her head, sticking out her tongue.

“Our reunion is regrettable, but it seems to end here. Although you played tricks before, this time it won’t be easy. Those above are very determined. Well, if you want to leave your master’s embrace that much, I won’t stop you…”

“Shut up. I’m barely keeping myself from tearing your mouth in half.”

As Kaeram emanated murderous intent, she issued a warning, but Hishkrea maintained a relaxed smile.

“Well then, until next time. Kaeram. It seems like today might be the last time we have such a peaceful conversation…”

His last farewell, filled with obsession, was met with silence from Kaeram.

With a brief glimmer, Hishkrea disappeared from the space, leaving Kaeram alone in the silent void.

“…”

There were rough curses swirling in Kaeram’s mouth, too torturous to utter.

* * *

The red heat looming in the black night sky.

The once peaceful Axilium was now a battlefield echoing with the collapse of buildings and screams of people, engulfed in tragedy.

People crying out in despair at a strange calamity they had never experienced before.

The knights trembled with fear, unable to muster the will to fight.

Could there possibly be anyone in this world capable of moving in the presence of such a gigantic beast?

Some people were unable to move, horrified by the grotesque appearance that they could hardly believe was a living creature.

“Run away!”

The situation in the slums was no different.

Faces filled with despair, some desperately calling out for salvation.

“Boris! Boris! Where are you?”

The savior of the slums, who never appeared no matter how much they called.

Despite their desperate cries, the object of their call did not appear.

Instead, a fiery red meteor soared towards them from the sky.

In the moments before the horrific tragedy unfolded, people knelt and cowered, and a woman who had been desperately calling out for the savior looked at the meteor with a vacant expression, as if all hope had been drained from her.

Just as the last flicker of dim hope vanished like a flickering flame about to be extinguished…

*Splinter!*

With a sound that cleaved through space, the meteor that had been hurtling towards them was split in half and disappeared.

“Boris…?”

The people cheered, thinking that the much-longed-for savior had appeared, but ironically, what they saw was not a savior.

“…..?”

A black-haired boy emanating a chilling aura, wielding a purple-crimson dagger in his hand.

A brutal executor has emerged, vehemently rejecting the notion that his actions, regardless of method or consequence, constitute salvation.

His existence utterly denies it.