The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Hmm?”

A foggy night sky.

A silver-haired man flying through the dark night sky suddenly looked down below.

“What is the matter, Lord Lucion?”

A red-haired woman flying alongside him asked.

“It smells foul.”

He finally stopped flying and began to look around the vast plains below him.

“Where are we now?”

“We’re a bit away, but it seems like we’re near Luwen, where the Royal Academy is located.”

“The Royal Academy…”

The man stroked his chin, maintaining a refined gaze towards the plains.

“Did you feel some bad energy?”

“Bad energy? Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call it bad energy.”

A slight smirk appeared on the man’s face, showing a hint of discomfort.

A strange and yet very irritating energy that seemed to be located somewhere in the depths of his memory.

“It’s an energy that, as a dragon living in this world, I cannot tolerate, to the point where I can barely contain my anger when confronted with it.”

A feeling that he shouldn’t leave this place just yet was slowly rising in the man’s heart.

“We’ll have to delay our return.”

A radiance of magic emanated from his widely spread silver wings.

Unlike the energy that beautifully lit up the dark night sky, the man’s eyes were filled with an indescribable murderous intent.

* * *

“Papa!”

Nana stood tall on the vast plains, waving at me.

“It’s really wide here! There’s no one else but us, right? Nana is so excited!”

Nana, as if trying to relieve the stress that had accumulated over time, spread her wings and flew around in all directions.

“Wait, Nana, that side is dangerous!”

Brian was following her, trotting along behind her.

They’re having a good time.

A quiet plain area, easily 10km away from Luwen.

Accepting Brian’s suggestion to show Nana around the outside, I brought them here in the middle of the night.

Since the location of Luwen is right at the border of three countries, the surroundings of the city were part of a battlefield where conflicts had been repeated for hundreds of years.

Meaning, it was land where human footsteps had ceased.

Here, Nana could run and fly as much as she wanted, and even transform into a dragon without any problem.

[You are quite the merciful father, aren’t you?]

The materialized Kaeram sarcastically remarked.

She was lying on the grass, watching them in a very comfortable position, supporting her head with one hand.

At this point, it seems I can’t really deny being called a father.

[Why? Why not get her a mother while you’re at it? That young princess would be perfect, wouldn’t she? I bet she would agree to it.]

“That’s a terrible thing to say…”

I shivered at the absurdity of the idea.

[Deny it all you want. I hear the place you’re living in now was given by the emperor of this country, right? You know what that implies, don’t you? It might not be immediate, but I see it happening sooner rather than later.]

I had things to say, but I didn’t feel like responding, so I chose to maintain silence on that question.

Instead, I continued the conversation with a laugh.

“Do you know what I’ve realized living through my past life, Kaeram?”

[What, going to confess again?]

Kaeram replied with a seductive smile.

“My fate, no matter how much I try to live peacefully, doesn’t allow for it. This peaceful time now is just a brief rest. I assure you, it won’t last long.”

[Of course! It obviously won’t last. You didn’t think you could live peacefully with a demonic sword like me, did you? For the sake of my fair skin, you need to periodically show me the taste of blood! If not, I’ll have to…!]

Zzzing

“…!”

Suddenly, a white mana flashed in the sky, illuminating it.

Then, it fell to the ground, engulfing the surroundings, and seemed to seal off the area as if preventing anything from leaving a certain space.

“See, I told you it wouldn’t last long?”

Thud

“Ouch!”

Nana, who had been frolicking around, stumbled backwards after bumping into something.

“Are, are you okay, Nana?”

Brian hurried over and gently stroked her head.

Dazed, Nana simply touched the colorless wall in front of her, as if she found it fascinating.

“What is this?”

It’s a barrier.

And one with a tremendous amount of magical power at that.

Not that I’m trying to judge, but this wasn’t the kind of magic that some passing apprentice magician would possess.

It was at least the level of magic power one would associate with a Grand Magician like the headmaster of Kundel.

Moreover, the eerie aura emanating from between the barriers…

It was definitely not something a human would possess.

-Whooosh

An indiscernible red light flickered below the colorless wall that surrounded us.

In addition to preventing anything from entering from the outside, it also created a kind of boundary line that prevented us inside from getting out.

“Brian, come this way with Nana.”

“Yes!”

Brian hurriedly picked up Nana and ran towards me.

-Boom

As if heralding the arrival of some formidable being, thunder roared in the black sky.

-Swish

Perhaps feeling scared, Nana quietly approached and clung to my leg.

“…”

She’s trembling.

Not because of the sound of thunder.

She’s trembling because she feels the foul aura of some fools in that damned thunder.

I silently stroked Nana’s head.

Soon, lightning struck down into the center of the barrier with a vibration, and along with the rising white smoke, a familiar aura was felt.

The energy that could only be emitted by the descendants of the gods, the lineage with divine blood, so-called divine power.

It was an aura that didn’t exactly fill me with good thoughts, something that could belong to some fools.

“Disgusting.”

The being within the smoke uttered an exceedingly irritating phrase from the start.

A tall man, over 2 meters in height.

Shimmering silver long hair and a single horn rising from the center of his forehead.

Behind him, giant wings emitting vast amounts of divine power were slowly folding into his body.

A dragon.

Not a half-human, half-beast like Nana, but a pure-blooded dragon.

A fully matured dragon who had lived for hundreds of years, a different dimension from the juvenile devil dragon we encountered in the Lemea Valley.

Behind him, a red-haired woman with a similar aura was present.

Of course, she was also a dragon.

The silver-haired dragon frowned upon seeing Nana hiding behind my legs.

“So, that was it. The source of the foul smell…”

That?

Instantaneously, a sizzling sound along with anger surged within me.

“A Dragonkin. A hybrid born between a dragon and a human… How can such an abhorrent being exist in this world…”

The woman behind added insult to injury by openly calling Nana an ugly being.

When something is so absurd, it tends to momentarily halt one’s ability to think.

That’s exactly where I was.

Not just incredulous, but utterly flabbergasted.

“Are you the owner of that half-breed, human?”

I didn’t feel like answering such a demeaning question, so I just stared at them silently.

Seemingly displeased by my gaze, the red-haired dragon raised her voice in anger.

“How dare a lowly human glare at someone like that!”

The silver-haired dragon raised his hand to calm her down.

“The half-breed is one thing, but your energy is not ordinary either, human…”

His gaze shifted from me to Kaeram beside me.

“I see. Amidst the foul stench, I sensed an unusual energy. It turns out to be a demonic sword in your possession.”

Kaeram let out a pleased hum in response.

[Oh? My popularity hasn’t died down, has it? There are still those who recognize me. Should I give an autograph or something?]

“Drop the jokes. To possess divine power yet degrade yourself to being a mere minion of a lowly human, and you dare to stand against me. Or are you still half asleep, unable to grasp the situation?”

Her face contorted instantly.

[Do you have a death wish?]

“…”

[Where do these worthless things come off, getting on my nerves like this? Should I pull out that tongue of yours and plug your mouth with it?]

“How dare you utter such blasphemy in our presence!”

A roaring shout was followed by a fierce gust of wind.

I continued to stare them down, unfazed.

“You’ve been silent all this while, human. Well, for beings like you, it must be an honor just to lay eyes on noble beings like us. It’s not surprising you’ve become dumbstruck.”

Their nonsensical words didn’t even elicit a laugh from me anymore.

“But rest assured, human. I have no intention of bothering with lowly beings like you. However, that half-breed needs to be handed over to me…”

“…”

“An ugly being, yes, but still a hybrid of dragon and human blood… It’s worth studying. Hand her over, and I will personally spare your lives…”

“Shut your mouth.”

A chill silence spread as the atmosphere violently stirred.

My eyes were still fixed on the towering figure with silver hair.

“What did you say?”

“Shut your mouth. Are those big ears just for show? If you don’t want that gaping mouth torn apart, then keep it shut, kid.”

Even dragons are taken aback when something is so absurd that thought processes halt.

The red-haired dragon, it seemed, lost her ability to speak, her pupils shaking violently.

“Hahaha…!”

A laugh, filled with madness, echoed throughout the barrier.

The gaze fixed on me once again emitted a fierce murderous intent.

“This is why inferior beings are no good. Incapable of assessing the situation they’re in, they bring misfortune upon themselves…”

From the outstretched hand of the aggressor, a large amount of mana began to converge.

“First, I shall pluck out those abominable eyes of yours…”

-Clasp!

As I clenched my open hand tightly, the concentrated mana dispersed and rushed towards me.

“…?”

However, nothing changed.

My eyes remained fixed on him, and nothing around me or affecting me had changed in the slightest.

The only thing that formed was a dark, circular aura around the base of my feet.

“A barrier within a barrier?”

The silver-haired giant’s brows furrowed deeply.

“Are you telling me you’ve spread another barrier within my own?”

I’m not in a state to kindly answer such a question because just a moment ago, our little one, who had merely been trembling, was now on the verge of tears, trembling in fear with a face about to cry.

“…”

I’ve seen that face many times before.

Regardless of age or gender, every human I’ve killed always showed a face consumed by fear and terror in their final moments.

And now, this little one was showing the exact same expression.

Not because of me, but because of these insignificant beings, she was feeling the fear of death.

“Brian.”

“Yes, my lord…!”

“Cover Nana’s eyes and step back. And don’t ever come in front of me.

“I will follow your command!”

Brian took off his cloak and wrapped Nana in it.

Nana obediently accepted Brian’s gesture and did not stop trembling until the moment she moved away from me.

“What are you, exactly? Even if you possess a demonic sword, how could a mere human like you wield such power within my barrier…”

I completely ignored the silver-haired giant’s words and quietly closed my eyes.

A brief respite named peace.

To unleash the energy that had been dormant within me during this brief period, I exhaled the breath I had been holding and quietly murmured.

“Dark Art 9th Form: Manifestation of the Demonic Sword.”

(To be continued)