Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 80

Chapter 80: The Unexpected Guest (1)

***

The return journey was as long as the trip there.

It wasn’t possible to leave Erebos as it was before. Damien decided to stop by the city’s blacksmith on the way to see if there was any suitable equipment for the spear.

“I don’t mind if it’s heavy, but I’d like it to be as sturdy as possible.”

Erebos had an effect that corroded surrounding objects even when left alone.

Currently, only the handle remained, so it had a weak corrosive power, but it had the characteristic of getting stronger as it was restored.

When it recovers to 70% in a previous life, just taking out Erebos would turn everything nearby into dust to the point of breaking.

“Something heavy and sturdy… How about this?”

The blacksmith brought a long pole from inside.

“It’s an item ordered by a lord near the city to use as a flagpole. But when it was completed, they said it was too heavy to take away.”

Damien tried lifting the pole as a test.

It was so heavy that it was impossible to lift with one hand, and he had to hold it with both hands.

He tried to lift the pole with both hands and put strength into it. It didn’t bend at all, no matter how hard he tried.

“Isn’t it amazing? It’s a thing made of steel that has been compressed tightly for months.”

It was extremely heavy and didn’t bend easily. It was the worst item for use as a flagpole, as it was originally intended.

Still, Damien liked the pole.

It was good for training with heavy things, and since it was made of compressed steel, it seemed like it could withstand Erebos’s corrosion for a long time.

“Let’s use this.”

Damien asked the blacksmith to buy a few bundles of steel wire along with the pole.

Damien took out Erebos when he went outside the city.

Erebos, which was stored as a tattoo, came out again according to Damien’s will.

Damien tied Erebos’s handle to the end of the pole with the steel wire.

He wrapped it with all his might, summoning up all of his mana. Erebos and the pole stuck together as if they were one.

“It doesn’t look like much, but it should be useful.”

Erebos was a greatsword. It was very big. The blade at the end of the handle was very wide and thick.

Thanks to that, it looked more like a broken blade than a spear.

Damien infused the mana into the pole. Even though he put in only a little, not only the broken blade but also the entire pole was covered with aura.

‘As expected, the essence doesn’t go anywhere.’

Erebos had many abilities. One of them was the amplification of mana.

Even a small amount of mana could be increased severalfold. No one knew how this was possible. Not even the Dorugo could figure it out.

The amplification of mana will be increased as Erebos is restored.

In a previous life, there was a time when Erebos created a sky-reaching and gigantic aura blade, which was able to instantly cut down an entire army.

‘There’s one more thing I need to check.’

Next, Damien drove Erebos into the ground. Then, within a diameter of 1m around the spear, the plants turned black.

The blackened plants gradually turned to dust and disappeared. There were no exceptions, from weeds to towering trees.

This was one of Erebos’s main abilities, ‘Black Collapse.’

Black Collapse was an ability that corroded the surroundings and then destroyed the structure.

Currently, the range was small and the power was weak, but as the Erebos restored, Black Collapse also became stronger.

In a previous life, no one could approach Damien because of Black Collapse. Living beings turned to dust and scattered as soon as they came close, and long-range magical bombardment was the same.

Only the Master Class could resist Black Collapse. Even then, they had to continuously consume mana to resist corrosion.

“It’s really dangerous, as expected.”

Damien muttered and turned Erebos back into black smoke, then absorbed it.

Interestingly, not only Erebos but also the spear turned into black smoke. This was also one of Erebos’s minor abilities.

“Now it’s a straight line to home.”

Damien drove the horse in the direction of the Haksen’s estate.

***

As Damien approached home, he couldn’t help but feel anxious again.

“I don’t know if Father’s anger has subsided.”

It had been over two weeks since he had traveled back and forth through the Longhost Mountains. At that time, rumors of Damien’s rise to the Middle Class would have spread far and wide.

His father must have heard the news, so wouldn’t his anger have subsided?

While harboring such expectations, Damien arrived at the Haksen’s estate.

However, as soon as he set foot in the mansion, he felt uneasy. Instead of being welcomed, Damien finds no one inside the mansion.

There were no servants, no family members. Damien extended his senses.

He sensed multiple energies in the reception room on the second floor. When he focused his gaze, he could see the heat of people beyond the wall.

Damien moved to the reception room and opened the door without hesitation. Only then did he see his family sitting on the sofa.

The problem was that hooded men were standing behind them with weapons.

“D-Damien…?”

His father spoke with a face full of fear just as Damien was about to respond.

“So you’ve come.”

One of them spoke. Like the others, he wore a hood, so his face couldn’t be seen.

The man approached Damien. Two of the hooded men came forward and placed two chairs.

The man sat down on one of the chairs. Another man stood behind him. He looked like a bodyguard.

“It’s nice to see your face. Please, have a seat.”

The man sitting on the chair spoke. His voice was very dignified.

Damien obediently sat across from the man. It was a place facing the door.

“What do you want from me?”

Damien asked as he leaned back in his chair. The man seemed to like his relaxed attitude and chuckled.

“You don’t seem to be in a hurry. Is it because of your confidence? Or is it an act to hide your true feelings?”

“Don’t talk nonsense and get to the point. What do you want from me?”

The man next to him became agitated and stepped forward. The man raised his hand to stop him.

“You’re impatient. Or do you not want to talk to me?”

“Both. So tell me what you want.”

“Haha, then I have no choice.”

After a short laugh, the man said to Damien.

“Damien Haksen, I came here to confirm a rumor.”

“A rumor?”

“According to the rumors, you helped the Church to defeat the dark mage… and you’ve already reached the Middle Class.”

The man changed the subject as he continued.

“To be honest, I can’t believe it at all. As far as I know, you were just a nobody a few months ago. It’s impossible for someone like that to reach the Middle Class in less than six months… it’s unheard of.”

It was a reasonable doubt.

To learn swordsmanship and rise to the Low Class within a year was considered a genius feat.

However, Damien had reached the Middle Class in less than half a year.

“Such unprecedented events are not unheard of.”

“Ah, that’s true. Historically, there have been one or two cases, right? In other words, your growth rate is that of a genius. So it’s hard to believe.”

The man raised the teacup that was on the table.

“Most of the people who heard the rumors don’t believe it. I’m one of them. That’s why I came here to confirm it.”

The man snapped his fingers. Then, the men standing behind Damien’s family hit the ground with their weapons. The rough sound made the family flinch.

“I’ll tell you in advance, you can’t refuse. If you do… you know what will happen.”

Damien clicked his tongue. The discomfort was reaching its peak.

“These guys are acting like they own the place.”

The man next to him, who had been standing like a bodyguard, became agitated again.

“Be careful with your words. This person is not someone you can speak to lightly.”

“Then why would such an esteemed person do such a despicable thing?”

A burst of energy erupted from the man’s body. The shockwave hit Damien’s face and body.

‘He’s a Middle Class.’

He looked young, but he was already at the Middle-Class level. It was not a typical talent.

“Tell me how to bow down that stiff neck of yours!”

The man lunged forward and grabbed his sword hilt. Damien kicked the man’s sword hilt while sitting down.

As a result, the man couldn’t draw his sword. Meanwhile, Damien kicked the sword hilt and flew backward behind the chair.

‘If we fight here, the surrounding family members could be harmed.’

Damien opened the door and ran outside. A moment later, the man also ran outside.

The man chased after Damien and swung his sword. The sword enhanced by the aura, aimed to cut Damien at a sharp speed.

Damien blocked the attack with the iron sword he had used in the Longhost Mountains.

‘This guy is causing trouble in someone else’s house.’

It was easy to avoid, but if he did, the family would still be under the direct influence.

Damien blocked the attack while luring the man out of the mansion.

“How long do you plan to keep running away?”

The man shouted in frustration, pulling out more mana.

A Middle Class that could change the course of the war was trying to exert its full power.

The surrounding objects began to fly away just from the mana emanating from him.

Damien couldn’t help but grimace at the sight.

“Is this guy nuts?”

When the Middle Class truly exerted its power, the nearby area would be devastated.

If that man exerted his full power, not only the mansion but also the fields would be completely destroyed.

Especially in this situation where he had already done something regrettable to his family. He couldn’t let the mansion be destroyed.

Damien used the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation technique.

The first effect of the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation was activated. His body temperature rose rapidly. All the muscles in his body and all his senses were activated.

His senses were heightened. The whole world seemed to slow down. Sweat droplets from the man’s forehead hovered in the air.

He took a step forward.

He aimed for the man’s neck and blocked the horizontal swing with his sword.

The “Ten Thousand Flow Perception,” a technique of the Swordmaster level, was activated. The trajectory of the blade twisted. The blade that had been swinging horizontally suddenly shot up.

The blade slipped out of the man’s grip and flew far away.

“…!”

The man was surprised too late. Damien didn’t hesitate and kicked the man’s abdomen.

“Cough!”

With a bang sound, the man’s body bent forward and flew backward.

The man rolled on the ground several times. He held his stomach and writhed in pain, unable to get up.

Damien stomps the ground. Without hesitation, he swung his sword towards the man’s neck.

The swinging blade was about to hit the man’s neck.

“Ah.”

Just before that, someone intervened between them. A Hand grabbed Damien’s sword and stopped it.

Damien looked at the person who grabbed the blade. It was a middle-aged man who had been in the drawing room.

“You almost got his throat cut. Isn’t that too much?”

“It’s too much for you.”

Damien replied, putting away his sword.

“A person who is almost a High Class is playing such a prank.”

“Hmm? Have you already noticed? This is no fun.”

The man took off his hood. Then, the face of a middle-aged man with a full beard appeared.

“I was going to introduce myself nicely after the fight was over. But the situation has gotten complicated.”

“I know that the threat to the family was fake.”

“You even figured that out? This is really no fun.”

The man said with a disappointed expression.

“Let me introduce myself properly.”

In fact, Damien already knew without being told.

It wasn’t because Damien had memories from a past life. Any citizen of the Apple Kingdom would know.

“I’m Liam Bluegreen.”

One of the three High-Class knights in the Apple Kingdom.

There was a man in front of him who was loyal only to the king.

***