Master Assassin of the Ronan

Chapter 4. The Hundred-Day Cradle (3)

In the dawn, the darkness had yet to fade.

A voice echoed from beyond the door.

“Master, it is Mirnico.”

This man, with hair as white as snow, was the physician of our family.

Among those residing in the Ronan mansion, he was the only one who couldn’t wield Dark Ripple.

Nevertheless, his continued presence was permitted for a single reason: his genius-level medical skills.

Mirenico was capable of not only performing physical surgeries but also casting healing magic, holding responsibility for the health of the head of the family and all those of the Assassin Blade Family bloodline.

“You’re late.”

Mother opened the door herself, allowing Mirnico to enter.

Without any excuses, he lowered his head, awaiting the head of the family’s command.

“Come in. There’s something that needs your attention.”

Mother, sitting on the edge of the bed, exposed her left forearm.

The wound from a duel a few days prior was visible.

It wasn’t an ordinary wound.

Though it looked like a sword cut, it emitted a faint blue light, accompanied by a searing, fiery energy.

“Hmmm.”

Adjusting his monocle, Mirnico examined the wound with a serious expression.

“There’s a broken sword blade embedded here.”

Using healing magic, Mirnico extracted a piece of sword blade the size of a finger.

The sword fragment, after being removed from the forearm, lingered in the air momentarily before settling on the furniture beside the bed.

Yet the blue light emanating from Mother’s wound didn’t disappear.

“Hmmm.”

“Do you know what it is?”

Mirnico stroked his beard, a troubled expression crossing his face.

A wound that even the family’s top physician couldn’t identify.

“I sense a resistant energy from the wound. Were you perhaps hit by magic?”

“It’s not magic.”

“That’s peculiar. It feels like a typical sword wound, yet there’s mana in the air, along with traces of an unknown force. Fortunately, the head’s Dark Ripple is offering complete protection, so although it may take time, it should naturally dissipate.”

“I think so too. It’s gradually fading.”

As he continued to examine the wound, Mirnico’s tone grew firmer, as if he had identified something.

“This might be… a Sword Soul.”

Still, he didn’t seem fully convinced of his own assumption.

“The Sword Soul manifests only through an aura of five stars or more… It’s rather unusual. This is my first encounter with something like this.”

The level of five stars. Be it Dark Ripple, aura, or mana, it symbolized reaching the stage of a master.

But Seiren was an assassin who had reached the level of seven stars.

She wasn’t someone who would let her arm be claimed by a mere five-star opponent.

This Sword Soul was undoubtedly left by someone with a skill level nearing seven stars.

Seven stars.

For Mirnico, who couldn’t even grasp the enormity of that level, it felt simply incomprehensible.

Mirnico looked at the head of the family with eyes filled with both fear and reverence.

Perhaps aware of his gaze, Mother wrapped her exposed forearm back up.

“There are many strong people in the world.”

“Still, since you’ve returned, Master, that person must now be gone from this world.”

It seemed Mirnico wanted to know who the opponent was. If he could find out, he could study the wound more effectively.

But no matter how he was the family’s physician, he couldn’t ask the head of the family who her assassination targets were.

The emperor’s decree handed to the Assassin Blade Family was a secret even among the family members.

Neither siblings nor parent and child, not even mentor and disciple, were permitted to know.

“Leave now. That will suffice.”

“My apologies.”

The reason Mother hastily dismissed Mirnico likely included me as well.

She must have thought she had brought in far too many people during this Cradle of 100 Days.

‘She must be worried about my Dark Ripple not settling properly. If I end up falling far behind even Dorian and Maphis, who are below average, it would surely disgrace the family.’

As if reading my thoughts, Mother glanced at me.

Mother, who then lay beside me on the bed, soon concentrated her energy.

Moments later, I felt Mother’s Dark Ripple filling the confined room.

A massive, majestic mountain, a vast jungle.

And the feeling of facing an immense and violent sea.

‘Mother’s Dark Ripple is… truly overwhelming.’

The children of the Assassin Blade Family could only receive the head of the family’s Dark Ripple infusion during the Cradle of 100 Days.

This was the unique privilege of the Cradle of 100 Days.

I let myself be absorbed into Mother’s immense Dark Ripple.

‘…!’

The Ring from my previous life began to respond.

The Dark Ripple from my previous life, latent in my body, began to simmer slowly, like lava.

At the same time, Mother’s Dark Ripple gradually started filling the empty second Ring.

‘Such a powerful concentration.’

I deliberately kept the first Ring concealed.

Not only could I not fully control it yet, but if it were discovered that I had two Rings, the coming days would become exhausting.

For now, this small ‘second Ring’ would be more than enough.

‘Mother, don’t worry. I’ll soon surpass the likes of Dorian and Maphis.’

But then.

I felt an unusual energy.

A completely different presence drifting within Mother’s Dark Ripple.

Ah, it was called a Sword Soul, wasn’t it?

That thing was there.

It was the Sword Soul of the formidable opponent, etched into Mother’s forearm.

The Sword Soul, as the term suggested, was a scar imbued with a warrior’s soul.

Only those willing to risk death could leave such a mark.

Of course, it wasn’t a scar just anyone could leave.

‘As Mirnico mentioned, it must have come from a practitioner with an aura level of five stars or more.’

However, the Sword Soul engraved on Mother’s forearm was beyond that level.

Mirnico had his doubts, but I knew from experience in my past life.

This was the Sword Soul left by an opponent above seven stars, an immensely powerful and ferocious Sword Soul, incomparable to that of five stars.

That’s why it was thrashing so fiercely, trying to pierce through Mother.

Though it wouldn’t be able to scratch her under the overwhelming protection of her Dark Ripple.

‘I’m different. It’s dangerous.’

Instinctively, I knew.

At this moment, as I accepted Mother’s Dark Ripple, that Sword Soul could harm me.

A Sword Soul that had reached the level of seven stars.

In my previous life, I had barely reached five stars, so it was a power I couldn’t handle in my current state.

And now, I was in the frail body of a baby.

If that Sword Soul, imbued with such an aura, targeted me… my Dark Ripple would be torn to shreds, leaving not a trace behind.

‘Would I become crippled right after my return?’

As expected, I sensed the Sword Soul shifting direction.

From Mother’s impenetrable body, it was now targeting my small, soft body.

Damn it.

If I didn’t react, it would surely be drawn into me.

‘Should I unleash the Dark Ripple from my past life?’

But I quickly abandoned that thought.

The Dark Ripple stored in the first Ring was too immense for a baby’s body to handle.

Uncontrolled power wasn’t an ally but an enemy, hastening death.

However, the Dark Ripple in the second Ring was too weak to defend against it.

It hadn’t even fully developed and was below even the first star level.

With such a meager amount of Dark Ripple, I couldn’t fend off that enormous force.

A sense of despair washed over me.

But Mother, unaware of anything, continued infusing her Dark Ripple into me, mingled with the Sword Soul.

I couldn’t blame her.

This was an era where the concept of a Sword Soul hadn’t been adequately studied.

‘What should I do?’

My thoughts tangled as the Sword Soul, brimming with murderous intent, began to flow into my body.

If I died like this…

My return would be meaningless.

And the future would repeat itself once more.

The emperor, nervous about his hunting hound turning on him, would seek to deal with us by any means.

One by one, the Assassin Blade Family’s retainers would vanish during missions.

The emperor would raise baseless accusations of treason, amassing an army.

Countless families would align with the false pretext the emperor presented…

That face.

The face I saw just once, moments before my death, for the first and last time.

The emperor’s face, concealed behind a dazzling golden mask.

The sinister smile he likely wore behind that mask as he ended Mother’s and my life resurfaced in my mind.

“Rubin?”

Sensing something amiss, Mother called out to me, realizing that my body had suddenly grown unstable.

But it was already too late.

The Sword Soul had already penetrated my body, and I had to make a decision.

Would I submit to the Sword Soul, yielding my two Rings and becoming crippled?

Or would I subjugate the Sword Soul and become its master?

I made my choice.

‘If I can neither avoid nor block it… I’ll accept it as it is.’

Would it work?

I didn’t know. But I had no other choice.

Reversing my initial plan to repel the Sword Soul, I reached toward it instead.

Not submission, not defense, but ‘acceptance.’

“…Hmm?”

Mother, sensing something, displayed a rare flicker of alarm.

The blue light from the Sword Soul on Mother’s forearm intensified, radiating with greater power.

In that blinding light, like a flash of lightning, I cast the die.

I reached out my hand toward the Sword Soul.

* * *

Damn it, I lost consciousness.

Did I die again?

Perhaps I had been too greedy.

Not only did I reach out to the Sword Soul on Mother’s forearm, but I also touched the broken sword blade fragment beside me, which was surely overambitious.

The moment I grasped it, my consciousness was cut off, as though severed by scissors.

I had felt an instinct that it would strengthen me, yet it seems it merely pushed me away.

And as a result, I now found myself in an odd space.

Dark, sticky, and a place where I couldn’t maintain balance, it felt as though I was floating in a swamp.

‘What’s going on? This is how I looked before I died.’

Reflecting in the dark, viscous swamp was my appearance from before my return.

Thirty years old, my endlessly weak self of those days.

I raised my hand to touch my face, but my hand passed through it.

“Am I dead after all?”

My dismal muttering echoed as though I were inside a cave.

At that moment, an unexpected voice reverberated.

-That cannot be.

It was from above.

When I looked up, an old man, engulfed in a blue light, was gazing down at me with an intrigued expression.

What in the world was going on?

What was this situation?

“Who are you?”

-That’s what I would like to ask.

“I am Rubin Ronan.”

-…An unfamiliar name. Let me take a closer look.

The elderly man in blue light approached and examined my body.

Momentarily, I assumed he intended to attack, but my defensive stance only made him chuckle.

-Haha, don’t worry. The baby’s life is still intact. Though your body may appear feverish and unconscious.

“What do you mean?”

-I’d like to ask you the same. How is it that you’re in the body of a baby?

Then, he stood firmly before me, exuding a sense of resolute majesty.

Since he was already aware of my existence, I had no reason to hide further.

I answered honestly.

“Exactly as you see. I am a regressor.”

-A regressor? Oh ho. Is that a privilege unique to you? I wasn’t granted such a fortune, a fact I envy.

“You’re not surprised.”

-Haha, this world harbors many untold secrets. I simply regard this as discovering one of them.

“It’s your turn to answer now, old man. Who are you? Where is this place, and is there a way back…?”

-Calm yourself, young man. No matter how urgent, one must not stray from the proper path. Allow me to introduce myself first.

The old man took a step closer, his blue glow gradually dimming, and his face came into clearer view.

But.

‘Wait, that face…?’

-My name is Haneke Brion. I served as the emperor Telmach’s right hand and as the empire’s grand marshal. That is, until I was slain by your mother’s hand. Do you recognize me?