Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 176

Chapter 176: Rubia (1)

***

“Ugh… Ah…”

A night with a full moon hanging high in the sky.

While everyone else slept, Athena writhed in pain and clutched her ankles.

Both of her ankles were wrapped in cloth. The fabric which was originally white, had now been dyed red.

It happened the evening she was imprisoned. Claire returned to the prison with a few mercenaries.

“There’s a risk of escape. Cut her Achilles tendons.”

The mercenaries were taken aback by Claire Fowler’s order. Even though she was a suspect in a case, Athena was a pureblood.

“Lady Claire… This prison is built with rare metals that absorb mana and cannot be easily broken. Moreover, Lady Athena is currently wearing a mana-sealing…”

“Considering that child’s abilities, we can’t be careless.”

“But…”

As the mercenaries continued to hesitate, Claire slapped one across the face.

A sharp sound filled the prison. With a rattled expression, Claire spoke hysterically to the mercenary.

“If you heard an order, shouldn’t you follow it quietly? Why are you babbling on?”

“Y-Yes, Lady Claire… It’s not that…”

“Who do you think is in charge of the mercenary corps now? Should I call Ulric and have him torture you all to understand the situation?”

At those words, Athena understood who had taken over her father’s position as the leader.

It was Ulric Hopper, Claire’s son.

Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising. Ulric Hopper was a Master Class fighter and an unparalleled pureblood within the mercenary corps.

“Do you understand? Do it as I say, quickly!”

At Claire’s scream, the mercenaries reluctantly surrounded Athena. However, they couldn’t readily carry out Claire’s orders.

“I… I’m alright.”

Athena knew who Ulric Hopper was. He was an honest and reliable man, but someone who could never disobey his mother’s commands.

If Claire truly called upon Ulric Hopper, the mercenaries would have no choice but to be tortured.

The Fafnir Mercenary Company wasn’t known for strict discipline, but their punishments were harsh, sometimes even fatal.

“So please, do as she commands.”

The mercenaries bit their lips. In the end, they drew their swords and slashed at Athena’s ankles.

The tendon guards on her heels were very thick. When they were severed, the pain was unimaginable.

However, Athena only shivered violently and didn’t scream.

“Stubborn girl.”

Claire left the cell in a huff. The mercenaries followed suit.

Only then could Athena release a groan. Barely managing any strength, she clutched her ankles.

“…It hurts.”

Even after several hours, the pain hadn’t subsided a bit.

Athena closed her eyes, leaning against the wall, hoping for even a slight lessening of the agony.

Some time passed, but it was hard to tell how much.

The iron door of the prison clanged open, and someone entered. Athena opened her eyes to identify the visitor.

Claire Fowler stood before her.

“Looking good.”

Claire remarked, looking down at Athena. Because of her severed Achilles tendons, Athena could only look up at her.

“You resort to childish tricks.”

There was no way Athena could lower herself to Claire. She spoke to her in her usual manner.

“Childish? What can I do about that? Every time you do those childish tricks, it makes my insides churn with satisfaction.”

Claire said with a bright smile. Athena shivered slightly at the errie emotions she felt radiating from Claire.

“……Why are you doing this to me?”

Athena asked what she had been curious about all along.

Even though not everyone from the factions disliked Athena, Claire’s animosity was on a whole other level.

“That’s a good question. Actually, I wanted to vent to someone as well.”

Claire lowered herself onto her knees, meeting Athena’s gaze.

“What do you think of your father?”

Athena couldn’t answer this question with unknown intentions.

“Your father, Karl… he was a real lecher, the worst kind. He’d change women like it was nothing, and if there was a woman he liked, he wouldn’t hesitate to force himself on her… A truly awful human being.”

Athena already knew it. How dissolute her father was.

“But none of the women Karl slept with were ever dissatisfied. There was no room for dissatisfaction. Where else would you find a man as handsome, strong, and high-ranking as Karl in this world?”

Mercenary King Karl Hopper was a man who had everything in his grasp.

Wealth, fame, personal strength, and even striking good looks.

“What’s more, Karl never aged. I’m not a knight so I wouldn’t know for sure, but they say he was so strong he even overcame aging. So there was no reason for anyone to dislike Karl. But that was also the problem.”

Karl Hopper wouldn’t age. He was always a handsome and charming man.

But women were different. They aged with time. Their skin lost its elasticity, and their eyes drooped. Their beauty as women withered with each passing day.

“Do you know how those old women are treated? They’re completely ignored by Karl. Not even a single visit, as if his affection towards them was a lie.”

Claire’s voice rose slightly in agitation.

“The women who bore him children are at least fortunate. Women who couldn’t even have children were kicked out of the mercenary corps. They dedicated their youth to Karl, yet they received not even a crumbs of compensation in return.”

The situation wasn’t much better for the women who bore the King’s children. They just weren’t kicked out of the mercenary corps, that’s all.

“Can you even begin to imagine the feelings of a woman who loses the man she once loved dearly to other younger women?”

Claire’s eyes darkened. Athena swallowed dryly and asked.

“……What does that have to do with me?”

“Ah, right. That’s what I need to tell you. You might not know this, but… your mother was a woman Karl had been searching for for a long time.”

It was something she had heard directly from her father himself, a long time ago.

“It was your mother who saved your father from a mortal wound he received fighting a powerful enemy when he was young. Thanks to your mother’s care, he was able to cling to life.”

“After that, your father kept searching for your mother, but apparently wasn’t very successful.”

“Eventually, Karl did find your mother. But by then, she was already old, sick… a truly sorry sight. That’s why I never paid any attention to her. There was no way Karl would still be interested in such a woman.”

Claire gritted her teeth with a grimace.

“But reality was different from what I expected. Karl not only came back with your mother but also clung to that woman until her very last breath. Why? He wouldn’t even look at me once, calling me old and never visiting me again. He just ignored me! Why only your mother? Why only that woman!”

Claire slammed her fist against the bars of the cell. Her skin tore apart and blood trickled down her arm. However, she kept glaring at Athena.

“……I would love to kill you, but everyone is stopping me from doing that.”

Claire sighed, sounding genuinely frustrated.

“Tomorrow, I’m expelling you from the mercenary company. Never return to the Fafnir Mercenary Company again.”

Claire turned around to leave the cell. Before exiting, she seemed to remember something and spoke again.

“Oh, and by the way, they say a man named Damien is dead.”

Athena’s eyes widened at the sudden news.

“What are you talking about? Why is Damien dead?!”

“I don’t know. A guard went in to deliver his evening meal and found him dead from a heart attack.”

Athena dragged herself on her arms towards the bars and grabbed them, shouting.

“You’re lying! You expect me to believe that?”

“Believe it or not, I don’t care. Why would I lie to you?”

With that, Claire left the prison cell.

***

“How did you know I was lying?”

Damien readily admitted to Rubia’s accusation.

After all, it was just a lie he told to find out the location of the Mercenary King.

Now that he had achieved his goal, there was no point in lying.

“A message came from Master. She heard about your plan and said she didn’t believe you. If He sent you to get the Mercenary king’s body part there wouldn’t have been a need to send his direct attendants.”

Damien let out a small laugh. He didn’t expect that Rubia could contact Sla that fast. His luck was terrible.

“Come to think of it, there were more than a few strange things.”

Rubia continued while staring at Damien.

“Dark mages never refer to ‘Him’ by name. He is a far too great a being for that, and there’s always the risk that the Empire might discover his identity.”

There wasn’t a particular reason why Damien had addressed him as “He.” He simply couldn’t bring himself to use honorifics for someone like Dorugo.

“And it was also strange that He would order you to kill Garrot. There’s no way He, who cares for us and loves us so much would never tell us to kill each other.”

Damien nearly laughed out loud at that.

Dorugo cared about the dark mages because they were valuable tools that he could deploy in the coming war of destruction.

“Not only did you trick me, but you even killed Kardak! Do you know how useful he was? It’ll be incredibly difficult to find another dark mage of that caliber who specializes in poisons!”

Rubia wasn’t angry about Kardak’s death but rather the loss of a useful “tool.”

She was exactly like the Rubia that Damien had seen in his previous life. She never cared much for men. She saw them as tools to be used and discarded. Her attitude was the complete opposite of her master, Sla.

“You’re awfully confident. Have you forgotten that two of your kind have already fallen to me?”

Damien’s remark caused Rubia to burst into a chilling laugh.

“Are you comparing those two to me? That’s a little insulting to my pride.”

Grand Mages were classified by their proficiency in dark magic. Naturally, a Grand Mage who had studied and honed their magic skills for a long time would overpower a newly Grand mage.

Rubia wasn’t just a Grand Mage; she was a disciple of the Giant evil Sla. The dark magic she wielded was far superior to anything those two could muster.

“Honestly, what would a knight with a hollow head know? Very well, then. Let me show you firsthand in a way you can easily understand.”

Dark mana erupted from Rubia, a dense and volatile energy.

Crack.

One of Rubia’s shoulders jutted upwards unnaturally.

Crack.

Then, her neck twisted sharply to the side.

Groan.

Her entire body began to contort grotesquely. Bones lengthened, tearing through her skin. Hundreds of muscle fibers writhed over the exposed bone.

A towering figure reaching three meters tall.

An inflated mass of muscles that resembles a tumor in appearance.

A hideous form devoid of any discernible gender.

The beautiful woman was no more. In her place stood a horrifying monster that inspired pure dread.

– Ah, refreshing.

In stark contrast to her monstrous form, Rubia’s voice remained hauntingly beautiful. It only made the sight more eerie.

-This sense of liberation, it never gets old.

There was only dark mage sect in this world who fought by transforming their own bodies:

The Berserker Sect.

Specializing in close-quarters combat, they boasted the highest combat prowess among all dark mages.

Just like the Giant evil Sla, Rubia was also from the Berserker sect. The pheromones she exuded were a product of her body-altering magic.

– Resist with all your might. I want to savor this feeling for as long as possible.

Rubia raised her leg which was as thick as a tree trunk. The ground turned into a crater as she slammed her leg down with all her power.

Rubia’s body shot forward in a straight line. Appearing right before Damien, she swung her arm in a wide arc.

Her arm suddenly grew very long and became a weapon the size of a whip.

***

As Rubia’s attack was about to hit him, Damien also swung his sword in counter-attack. The unleashed aura cleanly sliced off Rubia’s elongated forearm.

– ……Huh?

Rubia’s surprise was momentary. Damien seized the opportunity and swung the sword upwards, unleashing a burst of aura.

The explosive energy ripped through Rubia’s body, leaving a gaping wound that stretched towards her head

***