Episode 177. Punishment (3)
“I’m going. Next time I see you, I’ll repay your kindness properly.”
Oscar climbed onto Selok’s back. Selok spread his large wings and began to fly into the sky. Oscar’s expression was full of pride, even though he didn’t get Selok with his own powers.
By the way, it’s a story of grace until the end. Thinking about it in conjunction with his past life, it seems like he’s a character with extremes, either this or that, revenge or grace.
Wheezing- Wheezing-
Oscar flies away with powerful wingbeats.
Now it was time for Rubin to move, but Tina was dawdling and kept trying something.
“Wait a minute. Ugh…! This isn’t working… … .”
Tina’s body seemed to be momentarily covered in light, but then disappeared. She had tried to transform from Roinecrow into another creature, but failed.
“You said Cellok? That blue griffon. I tried to transform into it, but it didn’t work. It must be a very special creature.”
It seems that the Hwanhyeol tribe cannot change into a ‘semi-intellectual body’. Well, they are beings that enjoy eternal life by repeating hibernation without any concept of extinction. Maybe that was natural.
“I thought it would be pretty cool if it changed to that. It’s a shame.”
“Let’s go too.”
Rubin urged Tina to eat again.
Following those words, Tina flapped her wings and ascended into the sky. She made a large circle in the sky and quickly descended toward Rubin on the ground.
Saaaaah.
Rubin started to run forward, estimating Tina’s trajectory. The moment he felt Tina approaching him, he jumped high without looking back. Tina appeared beneath him.
Boarding with landing.
“Are you feeling better?”
“So-so.”
It was only for a day, but my physical condition improved. It was thanks to the medicine Kuze had made and the smoke that accelerated my recovery.
I also felt that the Darkness had become more solid after the fight. Of course, the two Darknesses were still 5 stars and 4 stars respectively. However, it felt certain that 6 stars were not far away.
‘When you reach 6 stars, the dark side trait will bloom.’
A realm never reached in a previous life, the 6th level.
I didn’t know what was waiting for me.
According to Killian, when the Darkness reaches 6 stars, its unique characteristics bloom. In Killian’s case, upon reaching 6 stars, he gained ‘Flawless Darkness’, which is undetectable by other assassins.
So what is waiting for me?
The inevitable pain called the ‘Curse of the Six Stars’ was not important.
‘Come to think of it, Damon was also a 6-star.’
My thoughts shifted to the direction I was going.
When I didn’t know about the 6 stars, I just thought they were people who had taken on important roles among the dead, but not anymore.
Damon will also have the 6-star traits and will likely be enduring the accompanying curse as well.
‘If there is a gap in the journey.’
I thought it would be a good idea to ask him to spar, even if it was just for a little while. Sparring with a strong opponent must be a rare opportunity.
‘By the way, why did you come all the way to Damon?’
In principle, a direct vassal was not allowed to leave the mansion. The fact that he sent a direct vassal to call Rubin may have meant more than just protection.
‘Maybe that’s what Mother meant.’
It’s not an entirely impossible guess.
This funeral had a punitive meaning for Telmah. In particular, the fact that he had summoned the ‘Eight Great Houses’ of the Assassin’s Blade together heightened the seriousness of the situation.
‘Are you seriously going to pay attention to Heukyeongga?’
The name for the eight great families, ‘Heukyeongga’. Has the emperor already begun to check them?
Things were unfolding differently than expected.
* * *
Black Shadow.
A family that forms the backbone of the contemporary assassination swordsmanship.
The Imperial Order called them the ‘Eight Great Families’, but that was just a convenient term. The long history of the Assassin Sword Families had their own names.
When referring to the head of the family, it was called ‘Heukyeong (黑影)’, and when referring to the family led by Heukyeong, it was called ‘Heukyeongga (黑影家)’.
-Are you saying that they are the eight most powerful heads of the numerous collateral branches?
‘Yes, that’s right.’
Rubin answered Haneke, casting his eyes out of the carriage window. The luxurious carriage, drawn by six fine horses, was running smoothly along the Pamuk Avenue.
-I thought I knew everything about the Assassination Swordsmanship, but I guess not. The more I learn, the more new things I discover.
It seems that ‘black poetry’ was a rather new concept to Haneke. Of course, there was also the fact that his nanny, Furet, did not teach him about black poetry in detail.
‘That’s understandable, because it’s a waste of time to memorize the names of the eight people who climbed the Black Shadow every time.’
-Waste of time? Oh… Now that I think about it, that makes sense. If you have to be one of the top eight out of all the heads of the household, it can’t be a permanent position.
That’s right. The collateral heads of the clans challenged each other to rise to the ranks of the Black Shadow and experienced failure. Usually, one or two of the eight Black Shadows changed once every five years.
For reference, Naif of the Greas family did not make it here. Naif is close to the main family in the vast family tree, so he can be said to belong to the root, but he does not meet the criteria of the Black Shadow, which is ‘absolute inaction’.
-Then you don’t know what kind of people the current Black Shadows are.
‘Yes, I remember clearly that it was 15 years ago.’
-15 years later? Then, was there a future dark shadow among the children who took the test with you?
‘Yes. Two people climbed onto the black screen.’
Then, Haneke seemed to recall his memories of the ‘second choice’, genuinely wondering who it could be.
-Kun? That brat. And the other kid, I think, might be Blane.
It was accurate.
Kun Crokison.
Blaine Krieger.
The Croquis family has consistently produced talented people, to the point where it is rare for them to have not been in the dark for generations.
At present, the Black Shadow 8 also had the Croquis family head, and after his death, Kun, who ascended to the family head, also took over the Black Shadow’s position.
-Hmm… So you’ve been a blacksmith for generations. So you must be trying to trample on the status of your family.
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And Blane.
Unlike his previous life, this child was suffering from burn trauma.
‘Actually, that’s why I brought that kid up in the ‘2nd selection’. I remember him as a 6-star player around the age of 30, and the one who reached the pinnacle of long-range assassination.’
In the previous life, the opportunity to become a black shadow was opened when his father, who acknowledged Blane’s inaction, handed over the family head early. The condition was that only the head of the family could become a black shadow.
Blane, who became the head of the Krieger family, took over by defeating one of the existing black shadows.
‘Of course, I don’t know what will happen this time.’
-Oh, right. This time, there was that kid too. The kid who was supposed to die during the first mission, but you saved him.
This is the story of Hamil Cunitli. In his previous life, he was a child who was killed by a poisonous snake because the imperial edict gave him false information.
This time, measures have been taken to prevent him from dying for the same reason, so Hamil will definitely become the head of the Kunitli family.
If that happens, there is a high probability that he will compete with Blane for the position of Black Shadow in the future.
‘The important thing is not the dark shadow of the future. The dark shadow of the present is the problem. The fact that Telmah has summoned them is not a pleasant situation for the main family.’
The main house and the black house.
Even without the example of the Croquis family, the status of the Black Family has historically maintained a tight balance with the main family.
Historically, there were quite a few times when the head of the main family was weaker than the Eight Black Spirits.
Most of the Black Spirits were 6-star, and there were some who reached 7-star. On the other hand, the head of the Roinen family was a position that was maintained simply because he was pure-blooded.
Among the heads of the Roinen family, there were some who weren’t even 6-stars.
-Ah… I was just thinking about the siren who killed me, but now that I think about it, that makes sense.
‘If there were no vassals, the position of the main family could have been in danger at any time.’
If the pillar that supported the entire Assassination Sword Family was the Black Shadow, then the power that maintained the main family could be said to be the vassals.
Like Damon or Killian, vassals who reached the rank of 6th star are not uncommon in the history of the Assassin’s Blade.
They were stronger than most collateral clans, and were on par with the Dark Spirits. Their only loyalty was to the main clan, regardless of whether the main clan was weak or strong.
‘Of course, as Haneke said, things are different now.’
The current time, when the one and only head of the family, Siren, reigns supreme, could be said to be the time when the name of Roinen shines the brightest throughout the long history.
Siren’s presence was so great that it pushed even the most accomplished vassals like Killian and Damon deep into the shadows.
-Maybe that’s why Telmah wants to punish you under the pretext of a funeral.
Rubin secretly agreed.
Simple, yet the most obvious reason.
-Isn’t that right? Think about it. You were reborn and became stronger, but didn’t Siren’s growth rate also increase?
It was correct. Whether in her past life or her present life, her mother was strong. She reached a level that no one had ever reached before.
The only difference was the growth rate. I don’t know if Rubin’s return had any effect, but the time it took to reach 8 stars was brought forward.
-Before the return, Killian was said to have killed Amret. But this time, Siren took care of it.
For a moment, Rubin recalled the back of his mother that he had witnessed at the top of the White Tower. Her sharp sword strike removing the bomb connected to Amret’s heart.
I watched with all my eyes focused on the darkness, but I could never follow that wondrous realm of the sword.
Since then, Siren must have been given various missions by the Emperor.
Even if it wasn’t a task to eliminate a 7-star human like Haneke or Amret, she would have been given difficult and dangerous missions befitting her status.
‘Telmach may have been observing his mother from various aspects.’
Now that I think about it, it makes sense that Telmach still hasn’t spotted Rubin in his sights.
From the beginning, it was an environment where it was difficult to notice Rubin’s unprecedented growth. This was because the great light called Siren was blocking Rubin.
‘Because of me, Telmach failed in his plan to train Per as a vanguard. Then, at that moment, he got a suitable excuse and is trying to control the Assassin’s Blade with it.’
What on earth is their intention?
What are you planning?
What would I do if I were Telmah?’
‘This funeral is Telmah’s prelude to annihilating the Assassin’s Blade. Since it is a prelude, it is impossible to reveal everything from the beginning.’
The assassination sword is still useful to Telmah, and Siren is still useful. If Siren’s sword is restricted right now, it is obvious that Telmah will be the one to suffer.
If so, wouldn’t the punishment be given 15 years in advance, rather than now?
* * *
The carriage carrying Rubin and his party ran nonstop along Pamuk Avenue. It did not stop except to change horses along the way.
They could even move at night. Some sections of Pamuk Avenue were closed to traffic at night, but even that was allowed for Rubin and his party.
That meant that the imperial edict’s measures were certain. Looking at it another way, it was the emperor’s intention to hold the funeral as soon as possible and reveal his will.
“… … .”
midnight.
Rubin looked around the carriage.
The three assassins sat side by side, their eyes closed. Of course, their eyes were closed, but their darkness spread out wide like a boundary.
Next to him, Kuze had a thoughtful expression on his face, seemingly thinking of a new trick.
And Damon, sitting across from him. Rubin met his gaze. Damon’s sharp eyes stood out.
“Damon.”
“Go ahead.”
“How far is it to the mansion?”
“If we continue like this without stopping, we will arrive within ten days.”
“Really? I have a question.”
Damon blinked as if to give orders.
“Can you invest a few days in improving my skills during those ten days?”
Rubin’s voice rang out low. At those words, Grokal opened his closed eyes. For some reason, Grokal’s expression was bright.
Damon, on the other hand, remained expressionless. He continued the conversation.
“Your Majesty, are you talking about training now?”
“Yeah. Kuze is my Roinenser, but his specialty isn’t swordsmanship.”
At that moment, the carriage shook violently. However, none of the assassins inside seemed to waver.
“What I need now is a duel with you. And you watched me fight Rosettaller. You know how I should grow.”
As Rubin added, Damon’s expressionless face changed slightly.
“I need to feel like a 6-star. I want to be more solid before I meet the Dark Spirits.”
“It took a day.”
“Huh? Haru?”
“It’s only been a day since I got on Pamuk Boulevard.”
Following Grokal, Charcot and Virko also opened their eyes. They all had the expressions of people who had heard the words they had been waiting for. The only one who did not understand the situation was Kuze, who had been lost in his dark plans and had heard the conversation late.
Rubin, who now understood the situation, snickered.
“As expected, the lord didn’t send you here simply to be his escort.”
“Yes. If escorting was the main purpose, we should have gone to Lord Dorion, not the youngest. The eldest Lord’s level is lower than the youngest.”
Following Damon, Grokal opened his mouth.
“Damon said three days, I said four days, starting from the time we get up the Pamuk Highway.”
“You mean how long it took me to ask Damon for swordsmanship training?”
“Yes. By the way, the Lord predicted two days. He ended up being wrong on all three.”
In just one day, I revealed my will. And to top it all off, I requested a swordsmanship duel with a six-star giant.
Anyway, judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like Damon was willing to accept the request.
“Fortunately, since the young master requested it early, it seems like the number of sparring sessions will increase.”
“But the problem is that I can’t stop the carriage.”
“Besides, the coachman and his assistant are from the Imperial Department. They will both check on you from time to time.”
Rubin also knew that he was being observed from time to time. The coachman was not an unmanned person, but it seemed clear that he had received separate instructions from the imperial command.
If you had to train while on the road, that meant you had to fool their eyes too.
“Fortunately, there is a way. It may be a somewhat fragmented training, but I think it can still quench your thirst, Master.”
First, Damon took out his dagger and checked its condition. Then he opened the door of the moving carriage wide.
Even though it was the middle of the night, the carriage was still running without slowing down. As if it was slamming! As if it was slamming! A strong wind blew into the carriage.
The coachmen were still unaware of the situation behind them. The carriage provided by the imperial command was that big.
“hmm…….”
Damon grabbed the top of the carriage and leaned out, his hair tousled by the wind.
“Master, please call Tina first. We need her if we want to practice secretly.”
“Tina? Oh, I think I know what you’re trying to do.”
Tina was now flying through the night sky with the other Roinecrows. If she were told that she needed to transform, she would surely be happy that she wouldn’t have to do the boring flapping of her wings anymore.
As expected, I felt Tina, who had already noticed my intentions, turn around and approach me.
