Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 216

—————–

Chapter 216: Memory (1)

***

The moment Damien absorbed Everis’s memories, the scenery before his eyes changed. The sight of the Colosseum vanished. It was replaced by a dark and confined space.

The stone chamber was vast and possessed a high ceiling. Everis was bound here.

Her limbs were secured to an X-shaped cross by shackles. Surgical scars covered various parts of her body. To make matters worse, needles connected to tubes were embedded all over her.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Everis whimpered as Damien examined her body.

‘She’s dying.’

Damien knew because of the vast knowledge of dark magic inside his head. The failed modifications inflicted upon Everis were leading to her demise.

‘But where am I?’

In his previous life, Dorugo had created hideouts across the continent to change his position constantly. This was all to conceal his existence.

He scanned his surroundings and wondered if this might be one of Dorugo’s hideouts that he knew about. However, it appeared to be an unfamiliar location to Damien.

Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the entrance. A small man with a stooped gait shuffled closer.

“Is Lord Dorugo still in his chamber?”

“Yes, he is.”

The reply came from the attendant walking beside the man. His ashen skin resembled that of a corpse. Dark mana emanated from his body with each step.

This attendant wasn’t a living being. He was an undead creature created by Dorugo.

In his previous life, Dorugo only used undead servants he himself had created. The reasoning behind this was the elimination of any potential betrayal.

“Suddenly cutting off communication without any ongoing research project… How many months has it been now? I’m starting to worry if something might have happened to Lord Dorugo.”

“I share your concern.” the attendant responded.

The two stopped in front of Everis after their conversation. The attendant plunged a needle into Everis’s body and injected its contents.

“Why waste that precious concoction on a failed experiment?”

“Lord Dorugo hasn’t yet decided how to dispose of the test subject. Until then, we need to keep her alive.”

Everis’s complexion improved significantly after the injection. It was due to the restoration of her vitality.

However, this didn’t alleviate her suffering.

“Ugh… Ugh… Aaargh…” Her screams intensified.

Due to the failed modifications, Everis’s entire body was now rotting away. The excruciating pain and repugnance that came with it were hers to bear alone.

“P… Please kill me… Kill me…”

Everis pleaded desperately.

However, the two men didn’t even respond to her pleas.

To them, Everis was nothing more than a failed experiment. She was destined for immediate disposal upon Dorugo’s return. They saw no reason to pay her any attention.

That’s when it happened. Footsteps resonated from the hallway.

The two men instantly turned their eyes towards the source of the sound and their pupils dilating in shock.

“Lord Dorugo!”

“Master!”

A robed skeleton approached them. Upon spotting the two, the skeleton gnashed its teeth and spoke.

“Oh… So you both were here. I’ve been searching for quite some time, you know.”

“We apologize for inconveniencing Your Greatness! We deserve death!”

“This incompetent servant allowed himself to be separated from your side, Master! Please, grant me death!”

The two men hurriedly knelt on the floor. Their expressions were a mixture of awe and reverence. They were impossible to conceal.

In stark contrast, Damien was consumed by murderous rage the moment he laid eyes on Dorugo.

‘Damn it… I have to watch all this unfold.’

The Dorugo standing before him was merely a figure from his memories. Giving in to anger wouldn’t achieve anything. In fact, excessive agitation could disrupt his control over Dark Magic. Now was the time to swallow his anger and endure.

“Are you alright?”

“I apologize for the worry! You suddenly stopped coming out, so I was concerned.”

“Sorry about that. I suddenly got a terrible headache, you see.”

Dorugo rubbed his temples with his bony fingers. The sound of bone scraping against bone was distinctly audible.

“It was so… so painful. My head felt like it was going to explode. That’s why I holed myself up in my room for a while to clear my head.”

“Was the headache that bad…? Perhaps there’s something wrong…”

“Hahaha, no need to worry. I’m all right now.”

Dorugo replied with a hearty laugh.

“I bet everyone was confused with me being away for so long.”

“Fortunately, there haven’t been any major problems. However…”

“However?”

“A knight has recently been showing dangerous signs of activity.”

“Oh ho?”

Dorugo’s expression shifted to one of interest. The skeletal structure of his face somehow managed to convey an emotion.

“Dangerous activity?”

“It’s a bit of a long story.”

The servant began explaining about Damien’s deeds. The more the servant spoke, the more intrigued Dorugo seemed.

“What is this knight’s name?”

“He’s called Damien Haksen.”

“Damien Haksen, huh… From your story, it seems he’s no ordinary knight. Perhaps he could be the one to fulfill my long-held desire…”

Dorugo’s expression suddenly changed. He muttered with a serious look.

“…Damien Haksen?”

“Do you recognize him?”

“No, it’s the first time I’ve heard the name. But somehow… it sounds familiar.”

In a puzzled tone, Dorugo asked after contemplating for a moment.

“More importantly, why are you all here?”

“We came to check on the test subject.”

“Test subject?”

“Yes, master. This test subject.”

The servant pointed at Everis. Dorugo approached Everis.

“Ah… Now that I see her, I remember. She’s the one we were experimenting on to restore the power of the Eye of Night. It ended up being a failure, though.”

Dorugo muttered as he examined Everis.

“For this experiment, I even managed to get a Master Class from Sla. It’s a shame it failed.”

Even for Dorugo, Master Classes weren’t readily available test subjects.

“We kept her alive since you hadn’t yet issued a disposal order, master.”

“Why did you do such a foolish thing? Just discard her. She’s a failed experiment anyway, and there’s no way to save her… or wait.”

A strange expression crossed Dorugo’s face.

“I thought she was a complete failure, but now that I take a closer look, it seems like she can be saved! No, not just saved. I can strengthen her powers!”

Dorugo’s eyes blazed with excitement. He raised his bony arms high in the air.

“This is incredible! Ideas are starting to flood my mind!”

Dorugo grabbed Everis by the hair. Everis stared back at Dorugo with no strength left to resist.

“Don’t worry, child. I’ll perfect you! Once I’m done, you’ll possess immense power! Power that will allow you to disregard anything that stands in your way!”

Dorugo’s laughter grew louder and louder.

And the moment his laughter reached its peak, Damien was yanked out of the memory and back to reality.

***

Damien snapped back to reality. Lowering his gaze, he saw Everis still held captive in his hand.

‘No vital information, as expected.’

All memories from before she became a test subject were erased, and even her time as an experiment was erased a little.

‘I guess risking myself wasn’t worth it after all.’

Using dark magic in such an open space as the Helian Tournament was practically suicidal.

Therefore, Damien manipulated the dark mana within Everis to shatter her soul, creating an illusion for the crowd. There was no risk of exposure, but his actions were undeniably dangerous.

“Ugh… Ugh… Ahh…”

Fragments of words tumbled from Everis’s lips. With her soul destroyed, she was nothing more than a hollow shell.

Damien released her head and retreated a safe distance.

Suddenly, Everis’s body bloated rapidly before exploding in a violent burst. Crimson flames and smoke filled the arena.

“Aaaaakk!” “Eeeek!”

The unexpected explosion sent screams rippling through the audience. Thankfully, the protective barrier was held and prevented them from any injuries.

‘This crazy bastard, Dorugo.’

Damien swore under his breath as he watched the explosion from afar. Dorugo had implanted explosives within all his test subjects to ensure there was no information leaked about him.

Damien could have deactivated the explosives beforehand, but he didn’t. If the Empire ever investigated Everis’s remains, they might discover his use of dark magic.

The flames and smoke cleared, and the crowd’s attention slowly turned towards Damien.

“H-He’s alive!”

“He’s not even the slightest injured from the blast?”

The spectators were stunned to see Damien standing unharmed after the massive explosion.

Just then, the murmur of the crowd died down instantly. The Emperor himself had risen from his seat.

***

The Emperor stared blankly at Damien as he stood there unharmed.

He had not only defeated the dangerous Master Class Everis in one fell swoop, but he had also emerged from that explosion unscathed.

“Was that knight’s name Damien Haksen?”

The Emperor inquired and his voice laced with astonishment.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Damien Haksen…”

The Emperor furrowed his brow. The name was undeniably new to him, yet it felt strangely familiar for some reason he couldn’t grasp.

“Should we evacuate the audience?”

A nearby Captain of the Guard suggested with his voice filled with tension.

“Hold on a moment.”

The Emperor commanded the guards to halt their actions with a wave of his hand.

While the safety of his citizens was a top priority, something else seemed to take precedence in his mind at that very moment.

“Such a feat deserves a worthy reward.”

His voice boomed through the Colosseum as he declared…

The Empire had suffered a significant loss with the demise of not just one, but two valuable Master Classes thanks to Everis’s rampage. Thankfully, Damien’s intervention had mitigated the damage considerably.

It was an unwritten rule – those who served the Empire with such distinction deserved to be acknowledged and rewarded accordingly.

With that thought solidifying in his mind, the Emperor rose to his feet. Despite the chaos, all eyes instinctively turned towards him.

“Damien Haksen. I have seen what you have done. You have valiantly eliminated the threat posed by that filth from Pandemonium.”

At the Emperor’s words, Damien Haksen immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head respectfully.

The Emperor couldn’t help but feel a flicker of satisfaction at the young knight’s courteous demeanor.

“I wish I could reward you now, but the circumstances are not favorable. I will invite you to the imperial palace sooner or later. Please do not refuse my invitation.”

With that, the emperor added briefly

“There, I will reward you as you deserve.”

***