The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1055:
“Hoo.”
After confirming that Raon had entered the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters, Martha shook the remaining Blood Energy from her wounds.
“Father.”
She bowed respectfully to Denier, who stood to her right as if protecting her.
“Thank you for helping me. Thanks to you, I was able to regain my senses.”
She had fought foolishly, her mind clouded by blood after being provoked by the Twelfth Apostle, but thanks to Denier, she had escaped with only light injuries.
If he had not helped her, she would already have been skewered by the Tenth Apostle’s spear.
“Martha. You….”
Denier let out a low sigh, as if he already knew what she was about to say.
“I’m fine now.”
Martha clenched the hand gripping her sword and gritted her teeth.
“I will kill the Tenth Apostle with my own hands. Father, please help the others.”
She lowered her head, saying this was a fight she had to finish herself.
“Are you really capable of it?”
“I have your sword. I can win.”
This was no longer like before, when she raved in resentment and blindly insisted she could do it.
With the Tyrant Sun Sword Denier had taught her, she could significantly close the gap in martial prowess between herself and the Tenth Apostle. It was a fight worth attempting.
“Haa….”
Denier furrowed his brow and sighed, as if realizing he could not stop her.
“Very well. But if it becomes dangerous, call out at once.”
He stepped back five paces, as if he would wait behind her.
“……”
Without lowering his sword, Denier fixed a sharp gaze not on Martha, but on the Tenth Apostle.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Martha gave a slight nod to the Tenth Apostle, who had waited without attacking while she and Denier spoke.
“It’s been almost twenty years, but not a single day has passed since the moment I first saw you without me remembering that day.”
The moment when a small village, not wealthy but peaceful and warm, was swallowed by flames and drenched in bright red blood was still carved into her mind.
The stench of blood and smoke, the screams of the people, and the laughter of the Blood Demons. That hell remained with her even now.
“I still have nightmares every night. I always wake from the sight of my mother hiding me, smiling even as she was captured by you. My whole body is soaked in cold sweat, and my face turns pale.”
Martha gripped her sword so tightly that her joints creaked.
“Today, I’ll shatter that memory and every one of those nightmares!”
Gritting her teeth, she pointed her sword at the Tenth Apostle’s neck.
“You have the right. If you’ve carried that much resentment, then repay it.”
The Tenth Apostle raised his spear and aimed it at her heart, as if accepting her challenge.
“Don’t you dare act like a warrior, you Blood Demon. You disgust me!”
Martha roared and charged at the Tenth Apostle.
Whoosh!
Not wanting to lose the advantage of his spear’s long reach, the Tenth Apostle thrust before Martha could close the distance.
“Hmph!”
Martha twisted her ankle to avoid the spearhead and tried to slip further inward, but the Tenth Apostle’s spear strikes were not singular.
Whoooooosh!
The Tenth Apostle’s spear multiplied into hundreds of thrusts and poured toward all of Martha’s vital points.
Clangclangclangclang!
Martha abandoned her charge and used footwork to deflect the Tenth Apostle’s spear strikes.
‘He’s fast, but I can dodge.’
Whether it was because of the two months of hellish training under Raon, she could evade the spear strikes of the Tenth Apostle, who stood in a much higher realm than she did.
‘But….’
Martha frowned as she knocked aside the spearhead aimed at her chest.
‘Getting close isn’t easy.’
Her greatest strength lay in close combat.
She wanted to close the distance and strip the Tenth Apostle of the range advantage his spear gave him, but the speed of his thrusts was fast and his movements were profound, making it difficult to approach.
“You’ve certainly become a different person from the child of that day.”
The Tenth Apostle slowly lowered his eyes, then stomped and lashed a brutally fast thrust to the left.
Swoosh!
As Martha twisted her body to the right, the Tenth Apostle’s spear changed direction abruptly and sliced across her left arm. Flesh was torn where the spear brushed past, and red blood ran down.
‘His spear technique changed.’
It seemed the Tenth Apostle had judged that his previous spear technique would not be enough to capture her, so he switched to one that was faster and more vicious.
The transitions between moves were seamless, and the speed and power had both increased, making it difficult to deflect.
“Still, it’s meaningless.”
The Tenth Apostle thrust out an even fiercer strike, his expression unchanged, as if wounding her were only natural.
Crash!
Martha furrowed her brow as she deflected the spear strike surging toward her neck.
‘If this keeps up, I won’t even be able to fight properly. I’ll just die with a spear through me.’
No matter how much she had grown, the Tenth Apostle was undeniably much stronger than she was. If she continued to be pushed back like this, she would die without landing even a single meaningful sword strike.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Martha charged straight into the Tenth Apostle’s spear strikes, which pressed down like a gale from the north.
‘Even if I die, I have to carve at least one mark into that bastard’s neck before I go!’
During that hellish training, Raon had always taught her to focus on her strengths.
Her strength was not evasion, but the force of charging forward while offering flesh and grinding bone. Gritting her teeth, she resolved to kill him even if it meant trading wounds.
Crack!
Martha drove her ankle forward. Instead of avoiding the spear, she advanced into it and brought down her sword.
The tyrannical sword strike of the Tyrant Sun Sword collided head-on with the descending spear strike of the Tenth Apostle.
Booooom!
Feeling the violent recoil, Martha bit her lip. Even though she had blocked in time, her bones and muscles ached, and her skin tore. The Tenth Apostle truly stood on a higher level than she did.
‘I already knew he was stronger than me.’
I can never step back!
If my body is pushed back, then my spirit will be pushed back too. Even if I have to take losses, I have to keep moving forward.
‘I’ll keep using the Tyrant Sun Sword.’
The Tyrant Sun Sword was a special sword technique whose tyrannical energy grew stronger the more evil energy it cut down.
Even if she was being pushed back now, if she kept fighting, she would eventually be able to unleash a sword strike that would not lose to the Tenth Apostle.
Clangclangclangclang!
Martha deflected the spear strikes pouring down like a downpour and pushed forward one step at a time.
Determined never to break, she kept advancing with heavy steps until she reached a distance where she could hear the Tenth Apostle’s breathing.
“Hmm!”
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Martha’s eyes, the Tenth Apostle furrowed his brows.
“It’s too soon to be surprised!”
Martha swung the strengthened Tyrant Sun Sword toward the Tenth Apostle’s neck, piercing through his Blood Energy.
Whoooooosh!
The Tenth Apostle swiftly spun the shaft of his spear, trying to block her sword strike.
Chiaaaaang!
In that instant, the flow of the Tyrant Sun Sword intensified sharply, pierced through the Tenth Apostle’s defense, and carved a long wound into his shoulder before passing through.
“This is….”
The Tenth Apostle let out a low groan as he looked at the white blood flowing from his shoulder.
“What is that energy?”
He furrowed his brow and looked at the brown aura wrapping around Martha’s sword with a puzzled expression.
“You can see it and still not know?”
Martha twisted her lips into a smirk as the aura around her sword burned thick and heavy, like the edge of an axe.
“It’s the grim reaper that’ll kill you Blood Demons.”
===
Kyaaaaang!
Martha frowned as she watched the Tenth Apostle’s spear block the technique of her Tyrant Sun Sword.
‘That bastard….’
He’s adapting to the Tyrant Sun Sword.
She had thought she could win like this, but true to a martial artist who had reached the peak of Grand Master, the Tenth Apostle had recognized the danger of the Tyrant Sun Sword and was no longer confronting it head-on, instead targeting her openings. It was an irritating style to deal with.
‘Even if my swordsmanship gets exposed, I have no choice but to keep swinging.’
The reason she could stand against the Tenth Apostle, who was at the peak of Grand Master, was because of the Tyrant Sun Sword.
The moment she used another sword technique just to avoid revealing more about the Tyrant Sun Sword, her head would be cut off. So no matter how difficult it was, she had no choice but to keep pressing forward.
Chiaaaaang!
Martha curved the crescent-like technique of the Tyrant Sun Sword toward the Tenth Apostle’s chest.
“Now I see it.”
But the Tenth Apostle seemed to have grasped the flow of the Tyrant Sun Sword and avoided her sword with only three steps.
Paaaaang!
As if he had no intention of stopping at mere evasion, the Tenth Apostle twisted his spear blade and thrust it toward her shoulder.
Chwaaaak!
She tried to block it by unfolding a defensive stance of the Tyrant Sun Sword, but the spear strike bent in a bizarre angle and deeply sliced across her waist before passing through.
“Ugh….”
Martha bit her lip as she clutched her bleeding waist.
“Your swordsmanship has the ability to repel Blood Energy. It’s certainly dangerous, but….”
The Tenth Apostle shook the red blood from his spear blade and clicked his tongue.
“Your realm can’t keep up with that power. This is the end.”
He flashed murderous eyes, as if declaring that it was over.
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Martha screamed and charged at the Tenth Apostle. She brought down the Tyrant Sun Sword toward his head.
Kyakyakyakyak!
As if his words about this being the end had been sincere, the Tenth Apostle blocked the technique of the Tyrant Sun Sword without difficulty and stabbed her shoulder.
“You’re talking big for someone who says this is the end.”
Martha snorted, paying no mind to the wound in her shoulder.
‘Damn it.’
Though she pretended to be calm, cold sweat was running down her back. Since he had stabbed the same spot again, the wound was bad. If she did not deal with it quickly, there could be aftereffects.
Martha bit down on her lip and glanced to the right.
‘Father.’
Even while cutting down archbishops and Blood Demons, Denier kept sending glances toward her, clearly worried.
‘I have to do this properly.’
Because of her, the Black Tortoise Palace and the Light Wind Palace could not move as freely either.
Since she had stepped forward and declared that she could win, she had to see this through to the end, whether that meant death or victory.
‘I can’t show Raon something shameful either.’
Raon had created today’s situation to keep his promise of saving her mother from the White Blood Lord.
He had told her not to stop in her fight against the Tenth Apostle, and since that meant he needed her for the battle against the White Blood Lord, she absolutely could not stop here.
And yet, to reach that fight, she first had to defeat the Tenth Apostle standing before her.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
Martha screamed and charged, bringing her sword down toward the Tenth Apostle’s neck.
“You’re already collapsing.”
It was just as the Tenth Apostle shook his head in pity at Martha’s wavering sword and raised the shaft of his spear—
Whoooooosh!
The imposing aura infused into Martha’s sword suddenly intensified, shoving back the white Blood Energy and the spear shaft as it carved a deep scar across the Tenth Apostle’s chest.
“Who said I was collapsing?”
Martha shook her head and flung off the Tenth Apostle’s white blood running down her sword.
“I won’t collapse until I blow you and that damned mosquito bitch apart and kill you!”
She roared and unleashed consecutive stances of the Tyrant Sun Sword, tearing through the Tenth Apostle’s Blood Energy.
She poured every last bit of aura and stamina she had been saving for the later battle into this very moment.
Chiaaaaang!
It seemed the Tenth Apostle had not been going all out either, as he wrapped his entire spear in mist-like Blood Energy and parried Martha’s slashes.
Kyakyakyakyak!
At close range, sword and spear clashed countless times. The wall crumbled, and Martha and the Tenth Apostle crashed down onto the shore.
Kugugugugu!
Martha frowned as she watched the Tenth Apostle’s spear technique, which thickly condensed Blood Energy to obstruct the flow of the Tyrant Sun Sword.
‘Has he adapted even to the full-power Tyrant Sun Sword?’
How am I supposed to kill this bastard?
The Tenth Apostle kept adapting to the Tyrant Sun Sword the longer he fought her, so even after she had unleashed her full power, she was being pushed back again.
‘At least it’s lucky this is land.’
Perhaps because all of her focus was on the battle, she could clearly feel the power the earth was sending into her.
Her affinity with earth was the highest, and Titan’s Aura also drew out greater power from the ground, so she felt she might still be able to pull out a little more strength.
‘But that alone won’t be enough.’
Martha bit her lip and shook her head, then met the eyes of Runaan and Burren, who were watching her fight.
The two were looking at her with eyes that burned with something beyond concern.
It was clear that if she were pushed back just a little more, they would abandon their own fights and rush over here.
‘This is my fight.’
She shook her head, telling them not to interfere under any circumstances.
“Then win…!”
Runaan shouted for the first time in her life. That cry, from the girl who had become as precious to her as family, echoed deep within her chest—no, within her soul.
“I’ll trust you.”
Unlike Runaan, Burren gave a calm nod and turned back to lead the Light Wind Palace once more. Seeing the back that seemed to radiate trust made her heart tremble even more.
Kyaaaaang!
Martha smiled faintly as she looked at Burren’s back and Runaan’s eyes.
‘We fought so much together.’
Memories surfaced of all the times they had fought, not only during training at the Fifth Training Ground, but also during the additional training with Rimmer to awaken Sword Field Creation.
‘There were good times and bad times…. Ah!’
As Martha knocked aside the Tenth Apostle’s spear strike while remembering the past, her eyes widened.
‘Maybe… I can do it now.’
Thanks to Runaan and Burren, she could feel the flow of souls and the blazing energy rising from the earth, and the one way to kill the Tenth Apostle came to mind.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
Martha looked up at the Tenth Apostle beyond the shaft of his spear and parted her lips.
“What do you think when you kidnap innocent people and drink their blood?”
“…Nothing.”
The Tenth Apostle shook his head and said he felt nothing, just as one felt nothing while eating a meal.
“So you’re the same after all.”
Martha curled her lips into a long, thin line.
“Good. I’m glad you’re still a monster I can kill without hesitation.”
She took one step forward, as if she were about to bring the whole world crashing down. Drawing the earth’s energy into her body and soul, she released the resolve and mental image she had built as a swordsman.
“Sword Field Creation.”
Martha raised her sword in a reverse grip like a knight’s statue, placing it before her chest and aiming the blade toward the ground.
‘Even if I can never hold a sword again after today, that’s fine. Instead….’
Just for today!
Making a covenant of the soul in place of Zieghart’s blood, she drew out the deep, boiling malice she had accumulated toward the White Blood Cult.
“Demon Prison!”
Behind Martha, a gate to hell forged from crimson blood rose into existence.
