Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 116

Chapter 116: The Iron Trial (2)

***

– You…….

The mummy opened its mouth. Its voice was dry and raspy, like the desert wind.

– How did you get in here? How did you activate the mechanism? No, even if you activated the mechanism, you shouldn’t have been able to break the seal.

The mummy’s eyes darted to Damien’s wrist, where it found the tattoo of Erebos.

– You……!

The mummy’s eyes widened. Its withered face twisted.

– How do you have this? The only one who knows the location of the original is that woman!

Damien tried to pull his arm away, but the mummy’s grip was stronger than he thought.

– I see! That woman betrayed us! I knew this day would come! We shouldn’t have accepted her!

The mummy glared at Damien and shouted.

– You fool! Do you know what that thing is? You shouldn’t use it recklessly! You shouldn’t let it see the light! It is an object that should be kept hidden in darkness forever!

Damien frowned. He couldn’t understand what the mummy was talking about.

One thing was for sure, the mummy was not being friendly.

– Soon, destruction will come! The whole world will be plunged into darkness!

The mummy’s eyes burned with madness.

– Now that it has come to this, I will take it! I will use its power to stop the destruction!

Muscles erupted from the mummy’s chest and covered the fragment of Erebos.

A massive burst of dark mana exploded from the mummy.

The blast sent Damien flying backwards. He quickly recovered and landed on his feet.

“What the hell is going on?”

Damien stared at the mummy, his face a mask of confusion.

The mummy was getting up. Its joints creaked as it moved.

“Look, I don’t understand what’s going on here. Why don’t we start with introductions?”

– Just hand it over!

“This is not a good time for a conversation.”

Just as Damien was about to open a subspace and take out the Thousand Mile Sword,

Black particles began to gather around the mummy. Soon, they formed into smooth, spherical shapes.

Dozens of spheres hovered around the mummy. The stone walls and floor crumbled and melted away wherever they touched.

It was not dark magic, but the power of corrosion.

“You plan to use the fragment as a power source?”

The fragment of Erebos was a massive source of power.

Those who possessed the fragment gained incredible power and could use the powers of Erebos.

Once, a farmer who had found a fragment of Erebos had managed to inflict a fatal wound on a high-class knight.

However, the cost was too high. Those who used the fragment of Erebos lost his mind and died within a day.

“The Thousand Mile Sword will be useless.”

Damien was safe from the power of corrosion because he had been chosen by Erebos.

However, the Thousand Mile Sword was not. Although its resistance to corrosion increased when he infused it with mana, it was not completely safe.

In particular, it was clear that even a slight touch of the black spheres would destroy it.

Damien closed the subspace again. And he manifested Erebos.

The mummy’s face twisted even more at the sight of Erebos.

– You won’t give it up easily!

As the mummy reached out towards Damien, the black spheres shot towards him.

Damien’s eyes moved rapidly. He read the trajectories of all the spheres and found the optimal path to block them.

Just as Damien was about to swing his spear,

Suddenly, the spheres scattered like smoke. Not just some, but all of the spheres disappeared at once.

“Huh?”

– What is this…….

The mummy looked down at his chest in surprise. The area where the fragment was embedded was turning gray.

-No, this can’t be…… This can’t be……! I have a mission……!

His entire body turned gray in an instant. Then it disappeared without a trace.

Only the fragment remained where the mummy had been.

“So it wasn’t really a soul, but a thoughtform.”

Damien muttered, staring at the sight from a distance.

The lingering regrets of a sentient being left behind when it died were called thoughtforms.

The stronger the regret, and the greater the powers of the person when he was alive, the stronger the thoughtform became.

“A thoughtform strong enough for me to mistake it for a soul…….”

He must have been a master class or higher in his lifetime.

However, strong as it was, a thoughtform was still just a thoughtform.

The fragment of Erebos was powerful, but it came at a great cost. It was not something that a thoughtform could handle.

That’s why it disappeared as soon as it used the power of the fragment.

“Why was such a great person dying in a place like this?”

Damien, who had been wondering about the mummy, recalled what he had said.

“He said that using Erebos would bring destruction.”

It was something he had never heard in his previous life.

Dorugo, who had also been collecting fragments of Erebos, had never mentioned destruction either.

“There’s no need to take the words of a thoughtform seriously.”

Thoughtforms were like the dregs of the original and did not have proper intelligence.

There was nothing more foolish than taking their words seriously.

Above all, Damien had never felt anything strange when he used Erebos in the past.

“And besides, it’s safer for me to carry Erebos around than to leave it hidden.”

Damien was not the only one collecting Erebos.

Dorugo must also be using his forces to collect the fragments of Erebos.

Wasn’t the hilt of Erebos that Damien currently possessed found by the dark mages group that served Dorugo?

Even if he hid Erebos, Dorugo would surely find it somehow.

It was much better for Damien to possess Erebos than for it to fall into Dorugo’s hands.

“But it’s still better to be vigilant.”

The lesson Damien learned from his previous life was to always be prepared.

A moment of carelessness could lead to a fatal mistake, and that mistake could ruin everything.

“If there is even the slightest sign of danger, I will have to step forward.”

If the mummy’s words were true, Erebos could not only bring about destruction but also prevent it.

Considering Damien’s talent and the power of Erebos, he could prevent any danger before it happened.

“Erebos, absorb.”

Damien held out the hilt of Erebos towards the fragment.

The fragment turned into a liquid-like substance and attached itself to the broken blade.

Once he found a fragment, it would automatically be restored and take its shape. Thanks to this, he didn’t need to find the fragments in order.

“Now it looks a bit more like a weapon.”

The blade had only become slightly longer, but it looked much more menacing. It now had the appearance of a weapon.

Damien transformed Erebos back into a tattoo.

“What is this again?”

A ring was lying where the fragment had been.

Judging from the material, it seemed to be made from the carved bone of some creature. An unknown pattern was engraved in the center.

Judging from the fact that it had maintained its form in the corrosion, it was no ordinary object.

Just as Damien was about to reach for the ring, the entire space began to shake.

He quickly grabbed the ring and ran outside.

As soon as Damien came out, the stone walls and floor grew rapidly and filled the space.

Damien couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight.

“This wasn’t a cave, it was a space expanded using magic.”

The space where the mummy had been was similar to a subspace. It was a place created by expanding a crack in space that wouldn’t normally exist.

Needless to say, it was a very high-level magic. Even a high-ranking mage couldn’t use this kind of magic.

“There’s no way a priest could use such advanced magic, and someone else set it up… .”

As Damien was lost in thought, the iron wall surrounding the trial ground rotated. The entrance to the space was covered by the iron wall.

The entrance on the ceiling opened. Light poured in, and the faces of Cheongyeum and Holy Empress appeared.

“Sir Damien!”

Cheongyeum cried out with a face of relief.

***

“W-what do I do to solve this… ?”

Malta was in tension as the iron gate, which was the entry point of the trial was not opening.

“Originally, I would have been able to intervene with the mechanism this way… .”

By adjusting the intensity with which he knocked on the iron gate, he could have activated the mechanism.

The problem was that this method no longer worked.

“Did they make a mistake while repairing it last time? Or is it so old that the parts are worn out?”

Malta circled the iron gate, lost in thought.

Just then, something fell from the sky. An old man was holding an old woman in his arms.

It was Cheongyeum and the Holy Empress.

“Malta! You said Sir Damien was trapped in the trial ground! What does that mean!”

Holy Empress shouted at Malta as soon as she got down from Cheongyeum’s arms.

The two of them had been having an important conversation when they heard the news that Damien was trapped in the trial ground.

Since it was an urgent matter, Cheongyeum had carried Holy Empress here.

“That, that is… .”

Malta’s face hardened. As the one who had first proposed the Iron Trial, Malta could not avoid responsibility for this.

“What on earth is wrong with the mechanism… No matter how I manipulate it, it won’t open….”

“You’re telling me that now… Step aside. I’m going to break it!”

The trial ground was a place created by the dwarves using their craftmanship.

It was so difficult to break that even a middle-class would have to spend a whole day attacking with their aura.

However, it was different with the Aura Blade used by a master.

“Oh, no! This mechanism is a treasure that our ancestors made themselves!”

“Someone is trapped inside right now, and that’s what you’re worried about? Step aside, or I’ll make you!”

Just as Cheongyeum was about to shout,

The iron gate began to open slowly, accompanied by the sound of metal clashing.

The three of them headed straight for the entrance. When they looked down, they saw Damien standing there.

“Sir Damien!”

Holy Empress shouted with a bright smile.

Damien lightly kicked the ground and climbed up, dusting off his clothes.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Fortunately, I’m fine.”

Holy Empress sighed in relief at Damien’s words.

“What on earth happened?”

“I don’t know either. I put the rare metal dagger into the slot, just like Malta said, and this happened.”

Damien shrugged.

It was too complicated to explain. In times like this, it was best to play dumb.

Since the space where the mummy had been was already destroyed, there was no way they would find anything even if they investigated.

“This has never happened before… .”

Holy Empress said, looking back at Malta.

“Malta, I will order the Iron Trial to be suspended for the time being. We need to send craftsmen to thoroughly investigate the cause of this incident.”

“Yes! I understand! I will call the craftsmen right away!”

Malta shouted and tried to run away. Holy Empress grabbed him.

“Malta, why are you going? Don’t you have something else to do?”

“Yes, yes? What are you talking about… .”

“Didn’t you promise to give Sir Damien a legendary holy sword?”

Malta’s face hardened at those words.

“Although there was a minor accident, Sir Damien still passed the Iron Trial on his own.”

“T-that’s… .”

“Leave the investigation of the cause of the incident to other craftsmen and go and keep your promise.”

Malta hesitated and then spoke to the Holy Empress.

“Your Holiness, even so, the legendary holy sword… .”

Holy Empress stared at Malta without saying a word. Malta broke out in a cold sweat at the strange sense of oppression.

Malta slowly turned to Damien. He spoke to Damien with a very earnest face.

“W-would it be okay to replace it with a high-ranking holy sword?”

Damien snorted at those words.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

***