Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

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Chapter 303: Memory (1)

***

The mention of a Duke Class demon made the Imperial Supreme Sword recall the demon that had recently fought against the Church—Vahel.

Duke class demon with the power of \'Isolation\'.

His favorite tactic was to attack his enemies with a solid square pillar that he created by \'isolating\' a certain area of space.

His abilities also allowed him to isolate the five senses of his targets.

As the Imperial Supreme Sword pieced it all together, he realized what had happened to his body.

"You\'ve isolated every flow within my body…"

"Smart. Nothing changes even though you are aware of the nature of the curse."

Dorugo sneered."

"The powers of demons are on a different level than mere curses. A human body like yours can\'t possibly undo it."

Dorugo glanced over at the Lord of Eternal Flame and added.

"Leo, you did well. Without you, we couldn’t have cornered the Imperial Supreme Sword."

The Lord of Eternal Flame said nothing and silently endured his own suffering from the demonic power. His eyes were filled with nothing but hatred for the Imperial Supreme Sword.

"Leo… You must have resented me so much… But… I can\'t grant your wish…"

The Imperial Supreme Sword calmly assessed his own condition. Although the flow within him was ‘isolated’ he could still breathe, even if just slightly. While his blood flowed weakly, he could still move a faint amount of mana.

Vahel\'s power of ‘Isolation’ wasn’t perfect. The fact that the Imperial Supreme Sword was still alive was proof of that.

He began to resist the power, pushing it back and attempting to regain control over his own body.

"I can hardly believe it, even though I’m seeing it with my own eyes."

Hela remarked with surprise. She had already noticed the changes happening in the Imperial Supreme Sword\'s body.

"Resisting a demon\'s power with sheer will… I guess I can\'t afford to hold back anymore."

She channeled a vast amount of dark mana into her legs, lowering her body like a sprinter about to take off.

With a deafening boom, Hela kicked off the ground and moved at lightning speed. A streak of light shot toward the Imperial Supreme Sword.

Hela was a master of quick sword. Her movements and sword techniques had already reached the speed of light.

As she became a flash of light, she swung her sword, intending to decapitate the Imperial Supreme Sword in a single slash.

In that moment, the Imperial Supreme Sword envisioned a single image in his mind—a sword that could strike down light.

As that image solidified, a sharp sound echoed through the air, and Hela’s sword was deflected.

But the Imperial Supreme Sword’s vision didn’t end there. He envisioned a counterattack, a strike chasing after Hela as she retreated.

Invisible slashes rained down on her, and she was forced to parry each one as she backed away.

"Eos! You monster!"

Hela shouted while laughing gleefully.

Despite her attacks being neutralized, she seemed thrilled.

"Your heart sword still stands strong, does it? Just as I expected from the man I acknowledge!"

Even though he was dying from the demon\'s power, the Imperial Supreme Sword’s heart sword remained formidable.

"But how many times can you use your heart sword with that body of yours?"

The Imperial Supreme Sword was dying from the effects of ‘Isolation.’ No matter how strong he was, it was impossible for him to keep using his heart Sword in his current state.

"And I’m not alone."

The Four Great Demon Kings had by now assembled behind Hela.

"…"

Though the Lord of Eternal Flame was out of the fight, four even stronger beings had taken his place.

The Imperial Supreme Sword, on the other hand, had lost the support of the World Tree and was slowly being killed by the demonic energy.

The Imperial Supreme weapon raised his sword, ready to take on Hela and the Four Great Demon Kings despite the grave circumstances.

"Eos, just give up. At least die peacefully."

"I can’t do that."

"Why are you so stubborn? Those elves never recognize you as their own."

At Hela’s question, the Imperial Supreme Sword forced a bitter smile.

A young elf who had ventured outside the island to broaden her horizons had fallen in love with an imperial noble.

On the surface, it seemed like a beautiful romance straight out of a melodramatic novel. But the reality was far from that.

His mother was expelled from Alfheim after becoming pregnant. She couldn’t receive the World Tree\'s vitality and grew emaciated with each passing day.

His father no longer loved her, having lost interest in her once beautiful appearance.

From the beginning, he had another wife and an heir to continue his lineage. He disregarded his two half-elf sons as well as the elf, giving them no attention at all.

Not only was she abandoned by her hometown, but she was betrayed by the man she loved.

How much suffering and pain must she have endured?

Even the young Imperial Supreme Sword felt pity for his mother. He felt she was unjustly pitied and was deeply sorry for the pain brought upon her life because of them.

- "Eos, what would you like to eat for dinner tonight?"

Yet the mother held no resentment towards her sons.

- "Leo, you’ve grown up now."

- "Eos! Didn’t I tell you not to fight with your brother?"

- "Just wait a little longer. I’ll make you a beautiful garment from this yarn."

In fact, she gave him all the love his father never gave him. Thanks to her, Eos felt the absence of his father less keenly.

But the mother did not live long. She collapsed the year her sons came of age.

- "Alfheim… I want to run through its forests…"

Until her death, the mother longed for Alfheim, unable to forget her homeland even after being cast out.

That’s why the Imperial Supreme Sword had come here—to repay his mother’s love and to protect the homeland she cherished until the end.

"Hela, your rambling is unnecessary. Or are you afraid of me?"

At the Imperial Supreme Sword’s provocation, Hela snickered and launched herself forward.

A flash of light came hurtling towards him. Following that, the Four Great Demon Kings charged.

* * *

With an explosion, chunks of debris began to rain down.

Damien could have easily escaped through the debris on his own.

But the problem was the elves. He had no time to save them and escape simultaneously.

"Dorugo, you bastard!"

It was clearly a trap. Damien roared in anger and swung his sword.

The aurablade released from Dawn pierced through the falling debris.

For a moment, the ceiling was cleared. But it was only for an instant.

The gap was quickly filled as the falling debris continued to pour in.

Damien desperately tried to think, searching for a way to save the elves and escape.

"Damien… Haksen…"

At that moment, Hata, who had collapsed on the ground, managed to speak with great effort.

"Leave us… and escape… at least you… should run…"

Damien\'s body stiffened at those words. Unpleasant memories resurfaced.

- "Brother! Run away! You can\'t defeat them!"

His teeth clenched. His head felt like it was going to burst from the intense fury.

He was deeply disturbed.

The thought of being toyed with by Dorugo.

Of having to sacrifice something because of Dorugo.

The irritation and frustration were overwhelming, almost unbearable.

"…Ugh!"

At that moment, a crushing headache overwhelmed him. It wasn’t ordinary pain; it felt like his head was going to explode.

Damien clutched his head with both hands, struggling to endure the pain.

"Ugh…"

Suddenly, Damien’s vision went dark, and a familiar scene appeared before him.

A burning and destroyed castle.

Undead creatures massacring people.

Damien stood atop a high tower, overlooking the scene.

"Could this be…?"

Damien recognized the place from both his past and present lives. It was the Imperial Palace.

As this realization hit him, a familiar voice came from behind.

- "S-save me… Please…!"

The headless body of Dorugo was pleading desperately.

In front of Dorugo stood a knight in black armor. Damien’s eyes widened at the sight.

That knight was his past self—a Damien Haksen who transformed into a Death Knight.

At that moment, Damien understood what the memory he was witnessing was about.

He was seeing the moments right before his regression.

- "Go to hell."

The past Damien ruthlessly crushed Dorugo’s head until it turned to dust.

- "W-who are you…?"

A middle-aged man standing a little further away asked in confusion. It was Emperor Howard Adelard of the Empire.

But the past Damien didn’t even glance at the Emperor.

- "There is still… work to be done."

The past Damien held Erebos upside down and brought the sword\'s tip to his chest.

- "I apologize, I\'m sorry, I\'m sorry."

Without hesitation, the past Damien drove Erebos into his chest.

Erebos pierced through his chest and protruded out the back, leading to the past Damien’s death.

This much was familiar to Damien. But the memory didn’t end there.

Suddenly, a strange power began to flow from the wound in his chest.

It wasn’t mana, dark mana, divine power, or even the demonic energy.

- "Why was this power stored in my body…?"

The past Damien looked down at his chest in bewilderment.

Then, a magic circle suddenly appeared on Damien’s skin.

The circle was densely engraved all over his body.

The past Damien examined the circle, and anger filled his eyes.

- "Dorugo! Was this your doing? What were you planning to do with my body!"

The past Damien tried to erase the magic circle, but it was futile. The circle only glowed brighter.

Eventually, even the seven symbols embedded on the back of his hand began to shine.

The power erupting from Damien’s body flowed into the seven symbols, causing all seven authorities to manifest simultaneously.

- "Ugh!"

Unable to endure the manifestation of all authorities, Damien’s body began to collapse.

Soon, a black hole formed in the air.

The black hole sucked in Damien then continued to pull in Dorugo’s lifeless body, and finally Emperor Howard Adelard.

The black hole closed after absorbing them.

"...Hah!"

At that moment, Damien came to his senses, returning from the memory to reality.

If Damien wasn’t mistaken, what he had seen was a memory from the past.

A memory he had even forgotten, unaware of its existence.

Milene was right. The reason Damien could reverse time was due to these authorities.

It was simply that he had failed to realize it because the memory had been erased.

"...Dorugo, you intended to offer me as a sacrifice."

Damien’s body was destroyed by the activation of the ritual.

Clearly, Dorugo had planned to destroy the Empire and then sacrifice Damien to return to the past.

“Even tearing you to shreds a thousand times wouldn’t be enough for you, you fucking bitch!”

The thought of being used by Dorugo until the very end fueled Damien’s rage.

However, he had to set aside his emotions for now.

Debris from the ceiling began to pile up on the floor. At this rate, the elves would be buried under the rubble and die.

Suddenly, Damien recalled Milene’s words.

Dorugo had combined authorities to ‘restore’ things.

The way the missing parts were perfectly restored seemed like rewinding time.

And Damien had seen how Dorugo had tried to rewind time in his past memories.

“…If I’ve seen it, I should be able to do it. That’s the kind of person I am.”

But there weren’t enough authorities. Damien had only unlocked five authorities.

He needed the demonic energy to unlock more authorities.

Damien knelt and placed his hands on the magic circle on the floor.

If it was Dorugo’s magic circle, Damien could handle it too.

As he infused it with dark mana, the magic circle on the floor began to glow.

“If I can activate the magic circle, I can also stop it.”

Damien first halted the demonic energy seeping into the World Tree.

“Hah…!”

“B-breath… I can breathe!”

The elves gasped for breath, their connection to the World Tree restored.

Next, Damien extracted the demonic energy through the magic circle.

Demonic energy was released from the magic circle, and Damien absorbed all of it.

Then, one of the dormant authorities awakened.

The Authority of Sloth.

It was the power to manipulate time.

In his past life, Damien had used this power to accelerate or slow down an enemy\'s movements.

Or at least, that was all he had been able to do. But now it was different.

Damien used the Authority of Envy on his own mana. He transformed it using the mysterious energy he had seen in his memories.

He amplified the energy with the Authority of Wrath. With this amplified energy, he activated both the Authority of Pride and Sloth simultaneously.

The authorities connected and unleashed a new ability.

The falling debris gradually slowed down until it completely stopped in mid-air.

“M-moved…?”

“W-what’s happening…?”

The elves looked up in astonishment at the suspended debris.

Damien intensified the ability. The debris began to rise back up into the sky.

The destroyed space began to revert to its original state. It returned to exactly how it had been before.

“…”

“…”

The elves stared at Damien in dazed silence.

The power Damien displayed was something even magic and spirits couldn’t achieve.

The elves looked at him as if they were facing a deity.

“Haah, haah…”

Damien exhaled heavily.

Despite just a brief use of this power, both his stamina and mana were completely depleted.

“Is everyone alright?”

Damien asked the elves. They nodded slowly.

“That’s good. You all stay here and recover your strength.”

Though it felt like he was going to collapse from the strain of using many authorities, there was still more to be done.

Damien headed toward the spot where the dimensional portal had opened.

The dimensional portal was already closed, leaving nothing behind.

But with the Authority of Pride, Damien could still see it.

He could see the traces left by the opening and closing of the dimensional gate.

The Authority of Pride dealt with space. Thus, reopening a closed dimensional portal was possible.

Damien squeezed out the remaining mana and activated the Authority of Pride. The closed dimensional portal was reopened again.

Without hesitation, Damien threw himself through the dimensional portal.

***

It was as if a storm had swept through.

The entire field was utterly destroyed. It looked as if an earthquake had struck. The ground was split open and exposing its depths.

“Cough.”

The Imperial Supreme Sword was at the center of the devastation.

His body was covered in wounds. He was bleeding from his mouth, possibly from internal injuries.

“...How can you still be alive?”

Hella asked in disbelief.

The head of Pandemonium and the Four Great Demon Kings had coordinated their attack. Despite that, the Imperial Supreme Sword had held his ground.

Though the Four Great Demon Kings hadn’t revealed their true forms, it was clearly an extraordinary situation.

“...I’m curious too. Why haven’t you managed to kill me yet?”

Hella wryly smiled at those words.

“Impressive, Eos, Impressive. But do you think I don’t know that you’ve truly reached your limit?”

To prove Hella’s words true, the Imperial Supreme Sword knelt on the ground.

Hella approached him closely. Despite the enemy being right in front of him, the Imperial Supreme Sword couldn’t lift his sword.

“Hah…”

The Imperial Supreme Sword looked up at the sky.

He had been able to read the flow of fate since his birth. Even now, he was peering into his destiny.

The tumultuous flow of fate was illuminating a single path.

Death.

The fate that had been foretold long ago was coming for him.

“Eos, your head will become my greatest treasure.”

“...I hope you’ll clean it daily.”

Hella raised his sword high.

The Imperial Supreme Sword did not close his eyes. He kept them open to witness his destiny until the very end.

But something strange appeared in Eos’s eyes.

“...What?”

The flow of fate had become chaotic again. The inevitable death that had approached was beginning to scatter.

“Could it be…?”

A dimensional portal opened above the Imperial Supreme Sword. From it, Damien Haxen emerged.

As soon as Damien appeared, he swung his sword at Hella.

Hella Fallen dodged the attack, retreating and staring at Damien with disbelief.

“How... How did you get here...?”

“Daddy’s home! You motherfuckers.”

Having said that Damien ignored Hella and turned his attention towards a nearby standing skeleton and yelled again.

“Dorugo!”

He focused solely on the one person.

Shouting with all the hatred he had.

“Stay right there! I’m going to send you straight to hell right now!”

***