Master Assassin of the Ronan

Chapter 37. The Monster of Illusion (2)

“This can’t be…”

“It seems like something happened, but I have no idea what.”

“We just couldn’t see it. It must have been that fast.”

They were back at the black pond.

Hamil and Blane didn’t understand what had just taken place.

They had only glimpsed Kun charging and Rubin’s swift response.

After the heavy tremor in the air, they couldn’t discern any movement that had occurred between the two.

‘And that Dark Ripple. That was definitely Master Rubin’s Dark Ripple.’

A massive Dark Ripple had surged out momentarily.

Its depth and density were of a level only seen among the heads of the Assassin Blade Family.

To think he could wield Dark Ripple at that level! He’s only eleven years old, the same age as me.

‘It’s only been two years… How high a level has he reached?’

There was no time for Hamil to feel inferior to Rubin.

A new phase was already beginning.

It was the final stage of the “Second Selection.”

Now, Rubin Ronan’s fear would be revealed.

Up to this point, they had advanced together as a team, but from now on, that was no longer an option.

There was no next stage after this, and here, the objective was for each individual to survive alone as the victor.

Whoosh.

“……”

Rubin was silent.

He paid no mind to the fact that he would have to face Hamil and Blane as opponents.

What was far more important was the identity of the fear that would soon appear before him.

‘A fear that’s hidden within me. What could it be?’

At that moment, a figure appeared before Rubin’s eyes.

A shadowed back.

At first, he couldn’t make out the identity.

The figure showed only their back as they walked somewhere, the sound of footsteps echoing in steady rhythm.

‘My body won’t move?’

It was strange.

If that was the monster of illusion, he would have thought to rush in and eliminate it, but his body wouldn’t move.

The same was true for Blane and Hamil.

Both were restrained, unable to do anything but observe the scene before them.

Thud, thud.

A faint noise echoed around them. It was fragmented like shattered pieces, making it impossible to tell what it was.

‘That back…’

It felt familiar, like he’d seen it somewhere, but it wasn’t clear.

Rubin had lived an additional eleven years after returning to this time.

Ordinarily, as one grows, childhood memories become hazy, but over the past eleven years, Rubin had retained an adult’s consciousness.

From the moment he had awakened as an infant, his memory had been vivid. But no matter how hard he tried to recall, there was no one in his past with a back like that.

‘Is it an illusion born from my fear? Or is it…?’

Perhaps it was a memory from his previous life.

As that thought crossed his mind, chills crept up his spine.

Sweat began to trickle down his back.

At that very moment.

Whoosh.

In an instant, the colorless background vanished, and a new setting began assembling like puzzle pieces.

The surroundings of the shadowed figure took shape one by one.

Walls formed.

A floor materialized.

Doors and windows appeared…

At last, the familiar scenery of the Assassin Blade Family’s mansion was revealed. But there was something strange…

‘Corpses?’

Not one, but hundreds of corpses.

Each of them bore gashes and torn wounds, warriors who had fallen in fierce battle scattered across the floor.

The armor they wore was massive plate armor.

Typically, the Assassin Blade Family didn’t wear heavy armor in combat unless it was a special mission.

It would be too cumbersome for assassins who had to move in stealth.

‘Under normal circumstances, that’s true.’

But there had been a time in Rubin’s memory when members of the Assassin Blade Family had worn such heavy armor.

After the Emperor’s declaration of war.

The Assassin Blade Family had plunged into a full-scale war, risking the lives of every retainer and family head.

For the first time, they had donned heavily armed combat gear for war.

‘Which means that person must be…’

A wind blew from the direction of Rubin’s gaze.

The wind passed the figure’s back and reached Rubin.

The scent on the wind was cold and metallic. It carried the unmistakable stench of blood.

It was none other than the blood of the Assassin Blade Family.

That smell sharpened Rubin’s memory. His mind began to throb, and the fragmented sounds that had hovered around him finally became clear.

The final gasps of the dying.

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh and bone.

The clash of weapons.

The bombs and spells raining upon the mansion.

The cries of the empire’s Granbirds dominating the sky.

His legs threatened to buckle. But Rubin held on. He refused to let go, his eyes fixed on the figure before him.

To win this test?

No, for a reason far more significant, he endured this crushing weight.

Rubin was staring into the far distance, the vast unknown.

He had to.

Otherwise, this life would become utterly meaningless.

“……”

The wind blew, stirring the man’s cloak.

As the cloak fluttered, it revealed the man’s silver armor beneath.

The most powerful armor in this world.

A legendary piece forged from the scales of a white dragon.

Upon it, the Imperial Emblem was clearly engraved.

The Emperor bent down.

Someone lay beneath him, gasping for breath under the Emperor’s foot.

“Are you… Seiren’s child?”

Because of the surrounding noise, the Emperor’s words were hard to hear.

For that reason, Blane and Hamil couldn’t understand the circumstances of this battlefield.

They had no idea who the armored figure was or what he was saying.

But Rubin remembered everything.

‘Are you Seiren’s son?’

‘Kh-h-hk.’

Blood trickled from his mouth. He had taken too many blades.

The relentless magic attacks striking him were quickly stopping his heart.

“I suppose you’re in no condition to chat. Pity you’re not quite your mother’s equal. But you are my nephew, after all.”

The Emperor extended his hand to the side.

One of his guards, who stood by him, handed him his sword.

The Emperor’s sword.

Another legendary weapon rare across the continent.

For a moment, the sword glinted in the sunlight.

The Emperor pointed the tip of his sword at the young Rubin.

Intentionally, he prepared to drive it in very slowly.

So that the pre-reincarnation Rubin would reach death ever so gradually.

“It’s fortunate that I finally get to cut you out.”

The sword drove deeper, bit by bit.

Very slowly.

Until the hilt pressed against Rubin’s chest.

The blade emerged from Rubin’s back, piercing through his flesh.

Once pristine, the blade was now stained dark red.

In that instant.

The sunlight vanished.

The surrounding noise ceased, and the background disappeared once more.

A world of complete monochrome.

In the center of it stood only the Emperor.

The Emperor, clutching his sword, turned.

Turning to gaze at the final three contestants.

Rubin forced his mouth to form words to greet him.

“Tel…mach.”

The Emperor’s gaze settled precisely on Rubin.

As the restraints fell from his voice, Rubin spoke the Emperor’s name once more.

“Telmach.”

The Emperor’s face was hidden behind a golden mask.

Rubin would never forget those eyes that gleamed from behind it.

Step, step.

Telmach resumed his halted stride.

And with just a few steps…

Thud.

Blane collapsed helplessly. His eyes rolled back, leaving only whites visible.

He had perished.

“…Blane!”

Step, step.

And a few more steps followed.

Life rapidly drained from Hamil’s wide, shocked eyes.

Thud!

Now, the only one left was Rubin Ronan.

In the stark white, colorless space, Rubin faced the Emperor.

This was already their second encounter alone.

The Emperor approached and stood before him.

From beyond the golden mask, his pale eyes were clearly visible—those detestable eyes of the one who had massacred Rubin and everyone else!

‘…I’ll kill you!’

For a brief moment, Rubin unleashed all of his Dark Ripple.

Not only the Dark Ripple of his current life but also the untamed power from his past life.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Rubin’s body shook violently. His chest was overwhelmed with intense vibrations.

Despite the violent storm of Dark Ripple before him, Telmach’s gaze from behind the golden mask remained as calm as a serene sea.

In that instant, Rubin understood.

This wasn’t the Monster of Illusion.

If it were, it would have been distorted or altered in some way.

But the one who stared mockingly at him was none other than the real Emperor Telmach, the one who had driven Rubin to death.

“It’s been a long time, Seiren’s son.”

Rubin suppressed his rage.

The sight of the Assassin Blade Family crumbling came vividly to mind. His mother’s death, the mansion reduced to ruins.

Although fury welled up within him, he did not lose control.

“A long time? That can’t be. This is our first meeting today.”

Through his return, Rubin Ronan had been reborn.

“……”

Rubin sheathed the dagger he had been holding.

There was a metallic click as it locked into place.

“Save your words for our next meeting, Telmach. Next time, I’ll come to find you.”

And then, my blade will pierce your chest.

Suddenly, Telmach’s cloak fluttered.

The direction of the wind seemed to have shifted, blowing from behind Rubin and colliding against Telmach.

The Emperor let out a low chuckle.

And then… that was it. His form broke apart in the wind, disintegrating until he became nothing but ashes.

Fssssh.

Even as he vanished, Telmach’s yellow eyes remained, lingering until the very end, glaring at Rubin as they fragmented into ashes.

“Haa…”

With Telmach gone, Rubin finally felt the oppressive weight lift and collapsed onto the ground.

“Is it over now?”

The scene shifted back to the black pond. Rubin dipped both hands into the dark water and moved them slowly.

His hands trembled faintly.

The cool sensation of the rippling water.

It was no longer the illusory world created by the spider.

The cold, eerie sensation of the pond seeped through his body. He had returned to reality.

At that moment, a massive form stirred in the black pond, and the Dream Spider appeared.

This time, it wasn’t suspended in the air.

The Dream Spider had left its web for the first time and descended to the ground.

Floating above the pond, it glared at Rubin with its bizarre eyes as it approached.

“As I thought. I sensed something was off.”

“You saw everything, didn’t you?”

Rubin knew he couldn’t hide the fact that he had gained a second life from the Dream Spider.

“What should I call it? Dying and then getting another chance at life!”

“It’s called returning.”

“Yes, returning! A returner…”

“You’re treating me with more respect now, I see.”

The Dream Spider’s eyes gleamed again.

“There are about ten humans on this continent who give me a hard time. Your mother is one of them, but that… that guy just now is beyond comparison.”

“Emperor Telmach, the one who killed me.”

“Yes, that guy! Anyway, kid who lives twice, I get that he killed you… but I’m curious about something. Would you mind telling me?”

“What is it?”

“You must know things that will happen in the future, right?”

“Yes, to some extent.”

“Then, by any chance, do you know… if I’ll die by his hand too?”

Rubin chuckled.

Well, of course, he’d be curious.

Even if the Dream Spider was close to a god, it couldn’t know the future.

After seeing the destroyed main estate of the Assassin Blade Family, the Ronan Mansion, it was natural for him to worry about his fate as well.

Instead of answering, Rubin got up from where he had been sitting.

The test was over. It was time to leave the pond and head out of the forest.

“W-wait! Am I going to die by his hand too?”

The Dream Spider was serious.

It bristled, its fur standing on end, pressing Rubin for an answer. But Rubin just shrugged.

“Telmach wanted to erase everything related to the Assassin Blade Family Ronan. Not only all other members of the Assassin Blade Family but even the Roincrow’s habitat and this black forest of illusion.”

“W-what…? That can’t be! I need to kill Telmach right away!”

Rubin shook his head.

It was already impossible.

“The Emperor has already surpassed your abilities. Negotiation, threats—none of it will work.”

“Th-then what are you doing? What’s your plan?”

“Revenge. I’ll repay my death and bring down the empire he built.”

Rubin added.

“That’s why I’m growing stronger now. I don’t think there will be a second chance at returning.”

“Is it even possible? This plan of yours?”

The Dream Spider’s eyes were filled with confusion and fear.

Rubin approached and looked at his own reflection in its large, glassy eyes.

“Of course. All the fortuitous encounters that didn’t happen before, the levels I hadn’t reached, even the allies who didn’t survive.”

This time, I can have them all.

“Dream Spider, if I ever need your help, I’ll pay you a visit. But until then, don’t tell anyone that I’m a returner. Not even my mother. If you break that promise…”

“What will happen?”

Rubin took a step beyond the black pond. He walked slowly along the path that led out of the forest.

“Then, you’ll die by the Emperor’s hand. Not knowing when it’ll happen, trembling in fear until the end.”

“……!”

Step, step.

Behind Rubin, the Dream Spider submerged itself deeply in the pond, bubbles rising as if it were desperately trying to calm its unease.