Al Assad
Al Assad is a level-seventy-one Awakened assassin who enters a dungeon to kill Kang Woojin and is killed instead. Woojin recalls his soul, raises him as a Death Knight, and forces his initial hostility into service through the discipline of the older knights. Al Assad then identifies his former sponsors and becomes a stealth operative directed against the network that sent him. (Chapters 38, 43–44, 54, 58, 67, 73–74)
Biography
From assassin to Death Knight
While alive, Al Assad descends through a dungeon in darkness and uses an explosive hidden ability and a large sword against Woojin's Skeletons. After his defeat, Woojin retrieves the corpse, summons its still-hostile soul, and creates a level-one Death Knight. Al Assad initially requires as much Control as hundreds of Skeletons, so Kiba and the veteran knights subject him to severe discipline until that cost falls. Once questioned, he identifies the people who ordered the assassination and selects an Iranian businessman from a list, giving Woojin a route toward the sponsors behind the attack. (Chapters 38, 43–44)
As an undead operative, Al Assad becomes obedient and redirects his assassination skills into Woojin's service. Combined with Ggaebi, he uses Ghost Steps and Shadow Cloak to approach a hit list without detection, and he later kills Relick before that enemy is also raised. His rebirth is said to push his former AA-rank or seventh-circle power into S-rank or eighth-circle territory. At his last appearance, he is trusted to watch Alandal's gate and carry the wounded Gangchul into custody, with no indication that his service has ended. (Chapters 54, 58, 67, 73–74)
Appearance and personality
As a Death Knight, Al Assad wears black robes and a keffiyeh and resembles an ancient Persian assassin. His undead body is skeletal enough that Kiba can destroy and later regenerate his legs, and he carries paired blades in later service. The living chapter emphasizes quickened breathing and sharply accelerated movement rather than giving a detailed face, build, or age. (Chapters 38, 43, 54, 58)
Al Assad is initially hostile and defiant, attacking Woojin even as a disembodied soul and resisting his new status. Repeated discipline makes him obedient, though the terror he projects remains strong enough to silence Gangchul. His willingness to identify former employers can indicate cooperation or revenge, but the chapters do not directly explain his private motive after resurrection. (Chapters 43–44, 54, 58, 74)
Abilities and class
Alive, Al Assad possesses a hidden ability that sharply accelerates his movements and lets him cut through groups of Skeletons with a two-handed sword. As a Death Knight he becomes a dual-blade stealth fighter with Ghost Steps and Shadow Cloak, which blur his body, merge his approach into the terrain, and make covert discovery unlikely when combined with Ggaebi. His exact living class and the individual mechanics of the two stealth skills are not otherwise defined. (Chapters 38, 54)
Rebirth raises his stated combat tier from roughly AA rank or seventh circle to S rank or eighth circle. This improvement comes with undead dependence and an initial Control burden: Woojin must spend enormous Control to maintain him until loyalty and trust increase under the Death Knights' discipline. The corpus does not provide later numerical levels, regeneration costs, or a major battle testing his S-rank ceiling. (Chapters 43–44, 58, 67, 73–74)
Power progression
| Stage / Realm / Ability | Chapter(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Living AA-rank stealth swordsman | 38 | Uses a hidden acceleration ability and a two-handed sword to cut through Skeleton formations, but his exact class remains unstated. |
| S-rank Death Knight | 43 | Woojin kills and reconstructs him as a dual-blade Assassin Type Death Knight with stealth skills, raising his stated tier while making him undead and initially expensive to maintain through Control. |
Relationships
- Kang Woojin: Al Assad attempts to assassinate Woojin, is killed and raised by him, and gradually becomes an obedient Death Knight used for covert killings and security. (Chapters 38, 43–44, 54, 58, 73–74)
- Kiba: Kiba enforces the Immortal Army's hierarchy by physically disciplining the newly raised knight, rapidly reducing the Control needed to keep Al Assad in line. (Chapters 43–44, 58)
- Ggaebi: Ggaebi joins Al Assad's shadow to enhance an assassination mission, combining the knight's own stealth skills with the Familiar's concealment and information access. (Chapter 54)
- Kim Gangchul: Al Assad watches Gangchul's confrontation with Woojin, carries the wounded prisoner, and intimidates him into silence without needing to attack. (Chapter 74)
Items
The scoped inventory assigns Al Assad no individually notable generated artifact. His large sword while alive and paired blades after resurrection are weapons used by the character, but neither is named or catalogued as a unique item. (Chapters 38, 43, 54, 58)