Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 225

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Chapter: 225 The Realm (2)

Salik stared at the nine swords created by Damien with trembling eyes.

While her own swords emitted a dark gray hue, Damien’s swords radiated a blinding blue light.

Despite this, Salik could recognize it. Those were swords produced through the same realm she possessed.

Impossible.

Despite knowing this, Salik struggled to deny it. She desperately tried to reject the idea that Damien had used the same realm as her.

It was clear that Damien was using the same realm as a Sword Saint.

No Master Class possessed more than one realm. That wasn’t just common knowledge; it was an unquestionable truth.

This had to be a trick.

She didn’t know how Damien did it, but it had to be a vile deception, a ruse to break her will to fight.

“I can see exactly what you’re struggling with.”

At that moment, Damien’s voice reached her. She looked at Damien with a dazed expression.

“Don’t bother denying it. What you’re thinking is correct.”

Salik stared at Damien with a face full of disbelief.

“What… that’s nonsense…”

“I have a special talent. Any technique or realm I see with my own eyes, I can mimic it.”

Salik tried to comprehend Damien’s words. Then anger began to boil within her.

“Are you trying to deceive me with such obvious lies?”

There was no need to ponder. Such a person couldn’t exist.

“I’ll kill you right now so you can’t spout any more nonsense!”

Salik reached out toward Damien. Her nine swords shot towards Damien.

Nine black lines instantly converged on Damien.

At that very moment, the swords created by Damien moved.

Blue light blocked the black light. The swords from both sides clashed repeatedly.

With a thunderous crash, the swords shattered. The fragments of the aurablades fell to the ground and then evaporated.

“……”

After witnessing this, there was no longer any way to deny it.

Damien was using the same realm as her. And at the same level as herself.

At that moment, immense loss overwhelmed Salik’s heart. Despair was evident on her face.

“This… this can’t be… did you… did you steal my realm?”

To a knight, their realm was a source of pride.

It was the culmination of a lifetime’s worth of training and skill.

To have such a precious treasure stolen right before her eyes.

“That can’t… that can’t be possible!”

Salik’s face twisted like a ghost. Deep despair filled her eyes.

“That’s a familiar expression.”

Damien remarked as he looked at Salik.

Back when he was a Death Knight, the knights who fought and lost their realms to Damien all had that same expression.

The problem back then was that Damien’s enemies were knights fighting for humanity.

Seeing those noble individuals fall into despair because of him filled Damien with guilt.

Now, he felt immense joy at being able to return that despair to the scum of Pandemonium.

“How long do you plan to stay in shock?”

Damien charged at Salik. It was only then that she snapped back to reality.

“How dare you… use my realm against me!”

Damien and Salik clashed their weapons. They swung their swords to kill each other.

“Die!”

Damien and Salik hurled their nine swords at each other. The swords collided in midair.

The two people and their nine swords entangled in a complex melee. In a blink of an eye, thousands of strikes were exchanged.

“…!”

With each clash, the shock Salik received grew.

The Azure Sky’s Flight was not an easy realm to master. Even as the original owner, it took Salik considerable time to handle it skillfully.

Just controlling the nine swords was challenging enough, but fighting simultaneously? That was a task of significantly increased difficulty.

Yet Damien was executing it all too effortlessly.

As if he originally possessed the Azure Sky’s Flight realm.

“Don’t mess with me!”

That fact fueled Salik’s fury. This caused a lapse in her control over the nine swords.

Damien didn’t miss that opening. He immediately commanded his nine swords.

Salik’s nine swords shattered completely. A look of dismay crossed her face.

“W-wait…!”

Salik hastily tried to recreate the nine swords. But before she could, Damien swung Dawn towards Salik’s neck.

At that moment, someone rushed at Damien.

“Don’t forget about me!”

Barche intervened. He was aiming a punch at Damien’s face.

Damien withdrew his sword and stepped back. Barche’s punch missed its target.

“Damn it! He dodged again!”

Barche shouted as he began pressing his attack on Damien.

Thanks to All Weapons Beloved pushing the potential of his armor to its limits, Barche’s movements were extraordinary.

Every time Barche attacked, a loud explosion erupted, and black lightning flashed.

But Damien dodged Barche’s attacks as if it were natural, almost as if he could foresee the future.

“The combination of demonic armor and All Weapons Beloved. More troublesome than I thought.”

“All Weapons Beloved? How do you know my master’s realm…?”

Damien pointed his finger downward. At that moment, nine swords fell from the sky.

The falling nine swords struck Barche’s body.

“Argh!”

They didn’t pierce him, but the impact was unavoidable. Barche had no choice but to dodge to escape the nine swords.

However, the nine swords were relentless. They pursued Barche and continued to deliver slashes.

“Salik!”

Barche shouted loudly. Salik immediately created and launched nine swords.

Salik’s nine swords blocked Damien’s. Only then did Barche catch his breath.

“Damn it! How is this happening! Why is Damien using nine swords!”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, so don’t ask, damn it!”

The two hurled curses at each other. Yet, despite their words, they were obviously cooperating seamlessly.

“Enough, let’s go! We have to kill that bastard here and now!”

“Got it!”

The two charged at Damien.

Salik’s nine swords held back those created by Damien.

In that case, they had the advantage with their greater numbers.

‘This isn’t going to work. I’ll have to make a few more.’

Seven more swords appeared around Damien.

“What?”

“Huh?”

Salik and Barche’s faces filled with astonishment at the sight.

Damien pointed his finger at Barche. Immediately, the seven swords enveloped Barche.

“W-wait…!”

The seven swords falling from the sky struck Barche. Explosions and loud bangs followed. Barche was driven deep into the ground.

The seven swords pierced through the dust and soared back into the sky.

Damien pointed at Salik. The tips of the seven swords turned toward Salik.

“…Damn.”

Salik sensed her fate and cursed briefly.

Seven flashes of light pierced Salik’s body.

* * *

“Ugh.”

Blood spurted from her mouth.

Salik looked down at her body with a pale face.

Seven swords had pierced her body.

They had penetrated not only her limbs but also all her vital organs.

The dark magic preemptively cast by Sla was useless. Aurablades can destroy everything.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Even as she continuously coughed up blood, Salik glared at Damien.

“H-how…?”

Just a moment ago, Damien had created more swords.

Even though Salik, the original owner of the realm, could only manage nine swords, Damien had created sixteen.

“You ask useless questions.”

Damien said nonchalantly in response.

“I just use it better than you.”

At those words, Salik let out a bitter laugh. She didn’t even have the energy to get angry. She was in too dire a situation to be enraged by such a statement.

“Ha… If I’d known someone like you existed… I wouldn’t have come here…”

As Salik laughed self-deprecatingly, immense dark mana burst out from above. Both Damien and Salik looked up.

Barche, who they thought was dead, was standing in a mangled state. The areas directly hit by the nine swords had turned his armor and flesh into a mess.

“Damien Haksen!”

Nevertheless, Barche was still alive. Not only that, he was gathering an enormous amount of dark mana.

“You shouldn’t let your guard down!”

Barche kicked off the ceiling, dropping straight toward Damien.

At the same time, he launched his fist at Damien. At that moment, the aurablade expanded gigantically.

“This is my victory!”

Barche’s ultimate technique struck Damien’s body.

Damien’s clothes were completely torn apart. What lay beneath was revealed.

A pitch-black armor, dark as the abyss had covered Damien’s body.

The armor was so thin that it was unnoticeable beneath his clothes.

For a moment, Barche was captivated by the sight of the armor.

As disciples of a Weapon Master, they all had a deep knowledge of all demonic weapons and armors. Thus, he could recognize it.

He could see how extraordinary the armor Damien wore was.

“I was curious about what you were planning, so I left you alone, but it turns out to be nothing.”

Damien had long been aware that Barche was alive.

Even so, he left Barche alone, a luxury afforded by having Hemaera.

One of Hemaera’s main functions was the ability to absorb all external impacts.

Even the technique Barche had used with all his might was fully absorbed by Hemaera.

Of course, Hemaera’s functions weren’t limited to impact absorption.

Damien placed his hand on Barche’s chest. Enchanted by the armor, Barche didn’t notice.

“Hemaera, release it.”

Hemaera trembled. In the next moment, Barche’s body, armor and all was shattered.

***