Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 177

Chapter 177: Rubia (2)

***

Rubia was sliced open by Damien’s blade. From her hips to her belly, chest, face, and all to the top of her head.

Rubia’s body was split precisely in half. The cross-section was eerily smooth.

No living creature in this world could be cut in half and still survive.

But Damien did not put away his sword and kept his guard up and kept glaring at Rubia.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, Rubia’s hand moved to attack Damien on the head.

Damien leaned back as if he had expected it. Rubia’s attack sliced through the air.

Then, thorns sprouted from the cross-section of her severed forearm and attacked Damien.

Damien kicked off the ground and jumped back far away. The thorns were embedded in the ground and Damien narrowly escaped from them. The ground was turned upside down with a loud bang.

“Oh?”

Rubia looked at Damien like she was surprised and said.

“You’re still alive? I thought any ordinary person would let their guard down seeing this.”

Even though her body was split in half, Rubia was alive. And to top it off, she was talking casually.

“I was surprised too. I didn’t know you could react to my attack, let alone counterattack.”

“It was something really different from having my forearm cut off.”

“I can tolerate somewhat getting my forearm cut off but you shouldn’t have done this to my body.”

Even the two halves of her body were speaking different words.

“I was wondering how a high-class like you could kill Garrot and Cardack.”

“There was a reason. You’re no ordinary high-class, are you?”

The severed halves began to stick together. Soon, Rubia’s body returned to its original state.

“You’re not surprised even after I showed you this? That’s boring.”

Damien had no reason to be surprised because he had already seen Rubia’s abilities in his previous life.

‘She’s already developed her skills to a considerable level.’

The Berserker sect used their own bodies as mediums to use dark magic.

To them, their bodies were no different from clay, so they could mold them into any shape.

So, even a serious wound was not a big threat to them.

It was like cutting clay in half and then sticking it back together.

“I apologize for underestimating you. So, let’s get serious from now on.”

Her muscles began to swell up all over her body. Tearing through her skin, her muscles bulged out and her size doubled in an instant.

The change was not the only one.

Dark magic crystallized and covered Rubia’s arms like a crystal. It was as if she was wearing black iron gauntlets.

Seeing this, Damien said with an expression of interest.

“Mana Sword?”

Mana Sword was a magic that mages had independently interpreted and imitated the aura of knights.

It was incomparably stronger and sharper than an ordinary weapon.

“Compared to a true aura, this is nothing more than a defective imitation, lacking in many aspects.”

“You’re going to fight a real aura with a fake aura?”

“The Mana Sword may be inferior to the aura, but that’s only if they’re on the same level.”

Rubia was a Grand Dark Mage.

The Mana Swords she created were bound to be on a different level.

“Then let’s do it again.”

Rubia raised five fingers and waved them grandly towards Damien.

Compressed dark mana was released, scraping against the ground. Damien swung Dawn to slash down the Mana Sword.

But the Mana Sword did not shatter; instead, it deflected Dawn.

Damien stuck out his tongue at the heavy impact that traveled up his forearm.

‘What brute force.’

The Mana Sword was inherently weaker than the aura.

And yet, it deflected the aura, not just any aura, but Damien’s aura.

It was a testament to the vastness of Rubia’s dark magic skills.

“How about that? It’s pretty solid, right?”

A voice came from nearby. Damien quickly turned around. Rubia was already behind him.

“From now on, keep your senses high. Otherwise, you might end up with your head crushed.”

Rubia swung her fist at Damien. Damien leaped into the air to dodge the attack.

The fist slammed into the ground. The ground was destroyed, and dust rose into the air.

Rubia burst out of the dust, tearing it apart. She closed the distance in an instant and threw a flurry of punches at Damien.

Her speed was so fast that her forearm would be bent before she even struck. With each swing of her fist, the sound of air bursting echoed through the area.

But Rubia’s attacks hit nothing but air. Damien dodged them all.

“Are you really a high-class?”

Rubia bit her lips in disbelief.

The path the Berserker sect had chosen to counter knights was to enhance their physical abilities.

In fact, Rubia’s speed was now far surpassing that of a high-class.

And yet, she was not gaining any advantage against Damien.

This was because Damien was reading all of Rubia’s movements.

“Oh, this is annoying!”

Rubia angrily charged toward Damien. Before Damien could make any distance, tentacles sprung up out of the ground and tied down his legs.

“Got you!”

The tentacles that had sprouted from Rubia’s ankles were now digging into the ground.

She had moved the tentacles underground to bind Damien’s legs.

“You can’t escape now, can you?”

Rubia swung her fist at Damien with full power.

In a swift maneuver, Damien swung Dawn, not to block Rubia’s oncoming fist but to deflect its trajectory.

The fist missed its target and struck the ground instead of Damien’s face. The sudden change in direction threw Rubia off balance.

“What the…?”

Seizing the opportunity, Damien brought Dawn down in a powerful downward slash.

Crushing waves.

Damien used the technique of Master ‘Wall Breaker’, and the strike descended upon Rubia’s head.

As Dawn struck Rubia’s head, ‘Crushing waves’ amplified the impact severalfold.

Rubia’s head crumbled under the blow and her body was sent crashing to the ground.

***’

The Berserker sect boasted physical abilities far surpassing those of knights. This was an undeniable truth.

Unlike knights who had to solely rely on physical training, the Berserker sect could manipulate their bodies at will through dark magic.

Yet, despite this advantage, people still perceived knights as superior to the Berserker sect. In reality, it was a daunting task for the Berserker sect to face knights in battle.

There was only one aspect where the Berserker sect could never surpass knights:

Techniques.

Knights were not merely strong and fast; they were formidable due to their lifelong dedication to honing their techniques.

“Ah, hahaha…”

Rubia forced a laugh as she rose from the ground. Her shattered head began to rapidly regenerate.

“This is strange? This can’t be happening? I can’t lose to a mere high-class like this?”

Despite her perfectly restored head, Rubia’s eyes darted around frantically.

“I’m a Grand Dark Mage! I trained under my master, risking my life! I’ve even killed over ten high-classes!”

A Grand Dark Mage was comparable to a Master Class. The pride Rubia held was immense. And now, that pride was being crushed before her very eyes.

“This… this is impossible. It shouldn’t be happening.”

Rubia’s arm split open, and her two arms multiplied into six.

“Now, for real… I’ll show you what I’m truly capable of!”

Her six arms extended like whips, each moving like a separate entity as they attacked Damien.

The sheer number and speed of the attacks made evasion nearly impossible.

But Damien did not attempt to dodge. Instead, he unleashed the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation.

His body temperature soared rapidly. His muscles activated with explosive power. All his senses heightened to an extreme degree.

The six arms Rubia swung seemed to slow down drastically, eventually coming to a standstill in mid-air.

Of course, they hadn’t actually stopped. It was simply an illusion caused by Damien’s heightened perception.

“First Ring.”

“Second Ring.”

“Third Ring.”

The three rings he had formed within himself began to spin ferociously.

The high-output magical energy was transferred to his body, amplified by the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation.

With a single step forward, Damien swung Dawn towards Rubia’s closest arm.

The Mana Sword covering her forearm clashed against Damien’s aura.

Just moments ago, the Mana Sword had deflected the aura. But with the rings activated, the outcome was different.

Both the Mana Sword and the forearm split simultaneously. They were cleanly severed without any resistance.

Damien closed in on Rubia and slashed off her forearm with repeated blows.

He didn’t stop at one; he struck again and again. The elongated forearm was quickly reduced to dozens of pieces.

And so, Damien stood face to face with Rubia.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, he pointed the blade at Rubia.

Damien deactivated the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation.

His boiling body temperature instantly cooled down. His physical abilities and senses returned to normal.

The world that had been frozen in time began to move again. Rubia, who had been standing like a stone statue, noticed Damien.

“…Huh?”

A look of bewilderment crossed Rubia’s face.

From her perspective, Damien, who had been standing far away, had suddenly appeared right in front of her.

“W-when did you get in front of me…!?”

Rubia tried to raise her arms to block Damien, but her six arms had already been reduced to dozens of pieces.

“N-no way…”

As Rubia attempted to regenerate her forearm, Damien thrust his blade forward.

‘Annihilation’

The technique was created by Cheongyeum, one of the Five Great Elders of the Church.

A single blow that shattered everything struck Rubia’s heart.

Starting from the chest, Rubia’s muscles tore apart. The bones hidden within were pulverized like dust.

“…!”

Before she could even scream, Rubia’s body crumbled into pieces.

“Phew.”

Damien exhaled deeply and deactivated the Combined Infinity Cycle.

The sudden exertion had left him feeling a surge of fatigue. His body felt heavy and sluggish.

“It’s a great technique, but it’s incredibly draining.”

As Damien sat on the ground catching his breath, the scattered fragments of Rubia’s flesh began to reassemble.

The flesh coalesced into a fist-sized lump, which then split open, revealing a distorted face.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

A piercing scream erupted from the gaping maw.

“How dare you do this to me? A mere high-class like you! How dare you! Reduce me to this… this hideous form!”

Despite her body being torn apart, Rubia was not dead. She was somehow clinging to life, albeit barely, and slowly regenerating her body.

“Do not run! Right now! I’ll kill you!”

The speed at which the flesh was reassembling accelerated. Rubia’s form grew larger and larger.

“I’ll kill you! I will! Even if it means sacrificing my own life, I’ll make sure you… glug.”

Suddenly, black liquid spewed from Rubia’s mouth.

“W-what is this… Ughhh!”

The regenerating flesh began to rot and decay, turning black. Rubia’s form could no longer hold itself together and collapsed to the ground.

“W-what have you done to me… What have you done to me?!”

“Oh, it’s nothing special.”

Damien replied nonchalantly to Rubia’s screams.

“I just coated my sword with Kardak’s poison.”

***