The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Chapter 285: The Flow for Him (5)

“……”

I woke up with a strange sensation, as if something had pricked my cheek.

Describing my current feeling is like falling alone into a deep sea abyss where the bottom cannot be seen—a feeling of emptiness and powerlessness.

I should open my eyes to see what’s around me, but I didn’t particularly feel like doing so.

What difference would it make if I looked?

Fighting the Devil King in a state where my mind was severely damaged from shattering the holy sword’s subspace would be reckless to anyone’s eyes.

Of course, Keyram’s scolding was natural.

But I had to go.

If I didn’t, in the end, the Devil King would kill other humans, and I was the only one who could end that massacre.

I didn’t go mindlessly.

Despite the worst situation, had I not planned it all out?

In the desperate situation when the Devil King aimed to take my life, I entrusted my soul to Keyram and passed on my body.

The regret of not seeing my father one last time did linger, but what would be the point in worrying now?

It wasn’t my body anymore.

I certainly kept my promise with Keyram.

The very promise that I would never sacrifice her.

I had given up my entire body, so I assumed she would fight on her own from now on.

With a body tempered with demonic blood, the senses of an assassin, and the power of the Black Mist God, if she controlled all these, not even the Devil King with the death sword would be undefeatable.

“……”

But the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

I clearly told her to devour my soul, so why am I still conscious?

It’s not that I can’t move my body if I set my mind to it. Look.

My arms and legs moved freely, didn’t they?

And beyond the eyelids that were closed, I even felt a short burst of light.

As if being drawn to that light…

I naturally opened my eyes.

“……”

So, this place is…

It definitely isn’t the demon world.

The air itself felt starkly different in this unmistakably human realm.

It wasn’t an unfamiliar place, yet it was also not so strange.

-Whooosh

Within the forlornly blowing wind, the smell of dry blood wafted over.

Following the familiar scent, I naturally moved forward but stopped not many steps ahead.

Ah, I remembered.

This place, one could say, was the most disastrous site across my past lives.

The outskirts of Sebelinus, the capital of the Uship Empire.

In the midst of a nameless forest covered in verdant leaves.

Somehow, I saw a familiar corpse.

A man lying in solitude, with both wrists severed and blood seeping from his body.

It was me.

All around, there was nothing else—only my body lay desolate.

What could this be?

Am I dreaming a nightmare?

It felt too real for that.

Regardless of what its true nature was, I understood it to be an abnormal situation.

The numerous knights, assassins, and sorcerers who had attacked me.

Even Boris, who commanded them,

And the holy sword and its master, who directly ended my breath.

There was no sign of them anywhere.

Did they not bother to dispose of me after my death?

They undoubtedly didn’t leave me be with good intentions.

Either they left me for the beasts to handle, or they might’ve fabricated a false incident about an empire knight assassinated by ruffians, to use it for handling another person.

It’s something that devil would do indeed.

So now, the question was why this gruesome memory was laid out before me.

They say a person’s life memories rush by before death, so is this what’s unfolding now?

What should I make of this…

-Swish

Suddenly, from the opposite side where my body lay, I sensed someone’s presence.

Instinctively, I hid behind a tree.

Shortly after, someone cloaked head to toe in a mantle appeared beside my body.

Their face was hidden under a hood, preventing me from discerning their identity.

But judging by their walk and overall physique, they seemed to be an average-built woman.

Who is she?

A sorceress sent to deal with my body belatedly?

If so, she wouldn’t have come alone?

Looking around for other guardian knights or companions, I saw none.

Instead of cremating or moving my body elsewhere, the woman just stared blankly at my corpse for about a minute.

Then, all of a sudden, as if collapsing…

“……!”

She began to wail, clutching my body.

This was perplexing.

Who is this woman, and why is she sobbing so sorrowfully over someone else’s corpse?

Not to brag, but back then, there were virtually no one who would shed tears for me.

Not a wife, much less a lover.

So who would weep for me, when I had even been betrayed by the brother I devoted my life to?

Whether this really is the aftermath of my previous death or a nightmare-like illusion, a strong desire welled up within me to see this woman’s face.

Without hesitation, I approached her.

Striding boldly, making my presence known, but she didn’t glance at me even once.

It seemed she wasn’t even aware of my existence.

Then, as I leaned over to see the face buried in my corpse,

“Young master……”

Caught off guard by the unexpected words, my body froze.

What?

What did this woman just say?

“I’m truly sorry. Young master……”

Young master. She called me young master.

After Bert left the mansion in my previous life, there was no one who would call me young master.

Yet this enigmatic woman had clearly called me that while embracing my corpse.

No, at this point, saying her identity was unknown made no sense.

This familiar voice, the resonant sobbing, the familiar atmosphere.

This woman was unmistakably…

“Emily?”

Despite my astonished call, she did not look at me.

She simply continued to weep bitterly, looking at my cold, discolored corpse.

* * *

-Whoosh

“Where is this?”

“It seems we’ve returned.”

The three ladies who had returned to Arem through teleportation magic.

Right at the spot they had faced Nagel before teleportation.

-Boom!

A strong explosion sounded from the center of the residential area before they could take a moment to gather their thoughts.

While unclear what had happened exactly, the ladies instinctively surmised it had to do with Sian or the Devil King.

“Papa must have arrived!”

Nana, who first sensed Sian’s presence, opened her eyes wide.

Lunab also sharpened her eyes, catching onto Sian’s scent.

“Let’s hurry, sister!”

“Wait, just a moment Nana!”

Before Arin could stop her, Nana dashed towards where Sian was.

-Thump

However, not far along, she bumped into something invisible and fell over backward.

“Are you okay?”

Rubbing her forehead, Nana nodded.

Following behind, Lunab noticed a transparent wall fluttering in the air and frowned.

“It’s a restriction barrier.”

Given the situation, it appeared to be the same barrier Nagel had instructed the Devil Dragons to create.

“To prevent the spread of damage, he must have erected a double layer, and coincidentally, it’s blocking right in front of us.”

“Is there no way to release it?”

“It’s not impossible, but it takes time. If it’s a dragon’s barrier, it might take us several hours…”

-Zap!

At that moment, a brief light sparked from the barrier.

Rippling like waves, a small gap emerged, just enough for one person to pass through.

“Can we enter now?”

Arin and Lunab looked at Nana in surprise.

“How did you do that, Nana?”

“I don’t know? I just touched it thinking maybe, and it opened?”

With a bright smile, Nana replied.

“Quickly, let’s go! Papa is waiting!”

“Wait a moment.”

Lunab caught Nana’s arm as she rushed ahead.

“It’s pointless to rush in recklessly. If senior really is fighting the Devil King inside, we need to have a clear plan on what we can do before going. Especially if we don’t want to get in the way…”

“Are you saying we should decide beforehand how we can help?”

“Depending on how we approach the situation, the way we can assist senior will differ.”

“Approach?”

“Whether we choose to save the senior so we can all escape together, or if we help the senior kill the Devil King… We have to decide on that first.”

At the mention of killing the Devil King, Arin shuddered.

“If we have to choose, the second option seems more feasible. Given the Devil King is alive, returning to the human world intact seems impossible.”

Even that seemed nearly impossible, truth be told.

Hadn’t they already felt it when they faced him directly?

The overwhelming presence of the Devil King, which caused fear beyond death, just by standing before him.

“Is there no way to resolve this peacefully? So that no one gets hurt?”

“Given the current situation, I’d say that’s nearly impossible…”

“Ho, is that Lunab there?”

A familiar voice calling for her made Lunab immediately turn around.

“……!”

Recognizing someone she didn’t expect to see, Lunab’s eyes narrowed in doubt.

Arin and Nana also turned their heads, and unlike Lunab, they appeared puzzled.

Exactly twenty steps away from where the three ladies stood.

There were Rogers, the administrator of the Devil King Castle, and…

“Bestie?”

Bestie, the companion of Belcarion, was there.

* * *

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Faster than before, with stronger power, and an intimidating aura as well.

The awakened Sian was truly a different being.

Thunderous clashes resonated each time their swords met.

Nevertheless, both men wore smiles soaked in thrill.

“Mist Sword: Dance of the Blood-stained Sword!”

The Dancer of the Mist, having recovered his body, painted enchanting curves in the air with his sword, which then transformed into dozens of sword energies assailing Belcarion.

The Devil King parried each onslaught with his death sword.

-Uwoooong

Belcarion did not stop at defense; he counterattacked immediately.

He poured an immense amount of magic into the sword from his body, the weapon blazing like the sun, and swiped ferociously at Keyram.

Keyram didn’t dodge but met the strike head-on.

-Bang!

The forceful collision caused fierce ripples to spread around.

“Are there many like you scattered in the human realm?”

“How could there be? It’s full of morons barely managing their own lives and trembling in fear. But he is special.”

“You don’t seem like Sian at all to me right now. Who’s in that body of yours?”

“Why don’t you ask that fine sword you’re holding?”

With a menacing smile, Keyram retorted.

“I mentioned it earlier, didn’t I? I am not in a good mood. The fact that I have to do this because of a worthless person like you is too annoying!”

A slight tremble emanated from the unsettled Sian’s hand.

“Let’s end this quickly. I have more than just you to finish off.”

Reeling back, Keyram let black mist emanate once again from the body she’d taken over.

In response, Belcarion drew out even more potent magic energy.

Both started preparing for the final blow, deciding the outcome of their face-off.

Resolve to not give in shone in each other’s eyes.

As they were about to unleash the decisive blow,

“Sian!!”

“Belcarion!!”

At the desperate plea calling for them, their movements halted, as if by magic.

(To be continued in the next chapter)