The Heavenly Demon Can't Live a Normal Life

The assassination guild Ecorche. The reason they were able to rise to their current position was thanks to their special assassin, called Ecorche’s Sword.

A total of nine murders. Ecorche’s Sword, who aimed for prominent figures, not only succeeded in killing all nine times, but he also did cruel acts such as peeling off the skin of his targets.

This assassination would be his 10th murder. On the monumental day of reaching the double digits, Cort, the assassin, felt a surge of excitement.

‘Roman Dmitry. If he’s the most talked-about person on the continent lately, he’d be perfect for my 10th target.’

What sound would he make when he died? Rumor has it that he was so cruel that not a single drop of blood could be cut from him, but no matter what kind of life a human has, death would humble him.

He had blended into the darkness and perfectly figured out Dmitry’s guard system. But still, just in case, he sent the assassins of the guild in four directions, and he intended to target Roman Dmitry while they drew the attention away.

He already knew where his opponent was. A mouse tamed with Familiar Magic was sent to Roman Dmitry’s room, and even the fact that he entered the room to sleep was confirmed by the mouse’s eyes.

The room was quiet, and there was only steady breathing. It wasn’t a fake sleep. His sensitive senses could grasp the state of his opponent, and the invisible waves from the human body confirmed that he was asleep.

He had done and succeeded in all nine assassinations in the same manner. No matter how strong a swordsman was, he was bound to be the same human being when asleep, and they all died in the same state without even noticing what had happened.

He raised his mana. He was not a magician, but through the magic circle engraved on his body, he temporarily shared the sight of the mouse.

‘Foolish guy. He doesn’t know what is happening in Dmitry and is asleep.’

He had been asleep for an hour and had now reached a stable state. Cort moved very cautiously. Just like Cliff, he used an invisibility cloak and raised his mana to minimize the sound of his footsteps.

His movements were like those of a swift cat. Climbing up the tall wall, he entered the building, and even though the guards were passing by, he quickly dug inside using the darkness.

The structure inside the building was clear in his head. They mobilized to check the structure of the surroundings for fifteen days and calculated the shortest path to Roman Dmitry’s room.

How long did it take to get there? How long did the guards patrol? And where was the quickest escape route if any other variables arose?

He had already sorted out the variables, so Cort’s movements were bold. In an instant, he had reached the front of Roman Dmitry’s room and activated a magic artifact to block out the noise.

The door opened. It was a detailed element. Beings with sensitive senses wake up at the slightest sound of the door being opened, so Cort even blocked that sound. His assassinations had always been this way.

He never really participated much in normal assassinations, but he always killed the targets himself and followed the same method when they were important figures. He perfectly calculated the locations of the targets, and he had the ability to follow the plans thoroughly. When the bodies with their skins peeled off were found the next morning, people trembled at the name Ecorche.

And so he stepped inside the room. Then he pulled out his dagger. He approached Roman Dmitry and tried to kill him, but Roman Dmitry suddenly got up. And….

“A rat.”

His gaze was directed at where Cort was standing, who was covered with the invisibility cloak.

Last night, Lucas reported something.

“The movements of the enemy are unusual. Considering that there was a time when the lines of their movements overlapped, it seems that they are finally moving in for a full-scale operation. It is clear that they will execute their operation in a few days. From now on, I will strengthen the security and even set up traps in case they move.”

Ecorche’s plan was discovered from the start. Knowing that they would attempt the assassination today, Roman Dmitry went to sleep.

What Cort figured out wasn’t a lie—the waves of energy that he felt and how Roman was asleep until he reached the door were all real.

Roman Dmitry had a dream. It was the life of Baek Joong-hyuk. Until the very end, he couldn’t be careless. His siblings always pursued his life, and they all lived so fiercely that not even a cup of tea could be sipped carelessly without worrying if it contained poison.

At first, he stayed up all night with his eyes open. He had to prepare for an assassin who might come at him at any time, and he had to heighten his senses to scan the room constantly.

One day, two days, and soon more than a year had passed. Baek Joong-hyuk realized he could no longer live like that—staying up at night, pretending to be asleep, and acting—he had reached the limit.

He decided that he needed a break for himself and for the future, so he learned to defend himself against enemies with minimal effort from then on.

So he closed his eyes. Even though he was aware of the assassin’s existence, he went to sleep, and instead, he tried to react with the slightest movements that wouldn’t tip them off.

At first, it was dangerous. There was a time when he almost died because he couldn’t get up until the weapon was close to his nose, and there was a time when his throat was slashed, and blood gushed out.

But he had to do it. The fact that he would eventually collapse both mentally and physically by staying awake was clear, so he prepared for the assassins with minimal effort.

And at some point, his senses became sharp. Even while sleeping, he was alert to his surroundings, and he would wake up the moment he sensed any change.

It was a cautious step without any sound. However, Cort wasn’t that skilled, and the moment he reached the door, Roman was already aware of his presence.

Numerous assassins sought his life in Murim, and compared to them, Cort was nothing. Even while sleeping, eating, and moving, he had experienced assassination too many times, so he boldly went to sleep.

Did Cort know? More than the number of assassinations he did—no, out of all of Ecorche’s assassinations, the number of assassination attempts on Roman Dmitry was a lot more.

That was the variable that Cort didn’t predict.

He got goosebumps. The moment his opponent looked at him, Cort knew that something had gone wrong. However…

‘I cannot fail.’

The operation had begun. Assassins were attacking from all sides, so there was no need to wait anymore. The problem was that the opponent was a 5-star aura swordsman. He had heard about Gustavo dying, yet he didn’t hesitate.

“Hold.”

A magical artifact manifested. At the same time….

“Haste.”

He used buff magic. Cort was equipped with various weapons as he was the best assassin in the guild, and the moment he clashed with his opponent, he rushed at him.

His speed and strength quickly increased. In addition, his aura and the dagger he held proved that he was not a normal assassin.

A 4-star aura. He was not in the Rankings. Even though his skill wasn’t known to the world, surprise attacks based on his 4-star aura brought him success nine times. So it wasn’t an arrogant decision for him to attack Roman.

Since he had thoroughly prepared himself, he judged that he had a good chance of winning if he caught him off guard.

One hit. The wind was cut off. Roman Dmitry turned his head to avoid it, and the moment their eyes met, Cort hurriedly backed away.

Nothing happened. Roman Dmitry put his hand on the sword but didn’t pull it out. However, to Cort’s eyes, Roman Dmitry’s sword blew his head off. It felt like his feet were sinking. Even though they hadn’t properly exchanged blows, Cort’s face was drenched in sweat.

Sweat dripped. Cort swallowed and lowered his stance.

‘If I am a little careless, I will die.’

His instincts told him. He was such a dangerous enemy. Even for Cort, who had defeated nine strong opponents, this was the first time in his life that he had experienced this.

There was breath-taking silence. When Cort kicked the ground again, he raised his aura to the maximum.

He was fast. His body moved like a beast, and he threw daggers, aiming for his opponent’s gaps.

Roman Dmitry dodged most of them and hit the last one with his sword.

It was his chance. Cort dug into the gap in his opponent’s arms, and after inducing him to defend his lower body, he quickly turned around and stabbed the dagger under his chin. It was a surprise attack.

When the opponent tilted his head, he used aura and aimed for his vital points. At that fleeting moment, he attacked six times. Cort’s attacks were threatening, but the moment he stopped attacking, bright red blood splashed everywhere.

“…!”

His arm flew off. He couldn’t even feel it. He thought that he had the advantage, but it was his arm that flew. This made him go pale. Roman Dmitry’s fame wasn’t false. The moment Roman Dmitry, who killed Gustavo, was aware of the assassination, fighting him head-on was stupid.

Was it because of the symbolic meaning of the 10th assassination? As for Cort, he made a reckless decision.

‘It’s over.’

His defeat was sure. The assassination failed, and now he had to survive, leaving behind the responsibility.

“Flash.”

He used a magic bomb. The magic bomb was used at full power, and a pure white light exploded, blinding his opponent. And then, he ran right away.

When the light subsided, Cort’s figure was gone, and blood dripped down the path he had fled.

Roman followed the trail. There was no need to rush. The moment the enemy stepped in with resistance, he had already fallen into a trap that he couldn’t escape from.

The pain was intense. With a hand around his bloodstained arm, Cort was running to the retreat path he had thought of in advance.

‘Damn it. This operation was a complete failure. With the power of Roman Dmitry that I experienced, the situation wouldn’t change even if the guild members arrived. Rather, Dmitry’s soldiers will swarm this place, and we won’t be able to escape.’

His goal was to survive. Once he reached the path that the guild members had secured, he witnessed another shocking scene.

It was an assassin of Ecorche. One of them collapsed with a scream. A battle broke out at the corner of the path that was supposed to be their escape route, and the person who was leading the troops of Dmitry was someone he knew.

Chris—the existence the entire guild was wary of. Chris was such a great threat that they even did an internal evaluation to avoid clashing with him as much as possible.

And in his hands, the assassins were dying. Not only did they fail to kill Roman Dmitry, but the situation outside was looking bad as well.

‘No. Did they actually expect our plan?’

From the series of events, Roman’s reaction to the assassination and the fact that a battle was taking place outside confirmed it.

But, of course, the truth was only half right. It was true that Dmitry saw through their plan, but it was Roman’s ability that made the assassination fail. In a normal sense, one couldn’t think this far.

Cort turned around and ran in the other direction. However….

“…This.”

Things were not different there. No, everyone was dead.

Among the corpses scattered everywhere, someone was standing, and he looked at Cort. He also knew him well—it was Kevin.

Kevin, with a colder face than usual, was waiting for Cort to come his way very eagerly so that he himself could kill him.