Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

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Chapter 325: The Grandmaster (3)

***

Damien unknowingly frowned. He had just heard something absurd.

"I\'m your reincarnation?"

"Strictly speaking, it’s not a complete reincarnation. You didn’t inherit the original soul."

"What do you mean by that?"

If it\'s reincarnation, it\'s reincarnation. What did he mean by not inheriting the soul?

"The original self split himself to create something. The Oath placed on the world and the Erebos you possess were created in that way."

"Ruin split himself for the sake of humans. In the end, only one part remained. That’s the talent you possess."

"Are you saying I inherited that talent?"

"Yes, when he died, I thought ‘talent’ had disappeared. I didn’t expect it to remain in the world."

Ruin paused, then spoke again.

"It was probably left behind for humans. That’s just the kind of being Ruin was, even to the end."

With that, Ruin gave a bitter smile.

"Damien Haksen, let me make this clear as the original owner of that talent. Your talent is greater than you realize. So set yourself free. Break out of your constraints."

"How am I supposed to break free? I’m already free."

Damien genuinely couldn’t understand Ruin’s words.

Right now, Damien felt boundlessly free. He had lived his life without ever knowing limits. He could do anything he desired.

"If it were easy, do you think I’d be advising you? Start by recognizing the constraints. That’s what will broaden your vision."

Ruin\'s figure began to blur. Damien felt the space around them collapsing.

"If you don\'t understand yet, just eat well and sleep well. The stronger your body, the more you’ll be able to achieve."

Ruin disappeared with those final words. Damien was pulled back into the real world.

"......"

Back in reality, Damien stared at Erebos for a long while.

Even after meeting Ruin, his questions remained unanswered. If anything, he had even more questions now.

"......So the more you die, the clearer your mind becomes."

If that’s the case, he would just have to kill Ruin enough times for him to stay lucid.

Just as Damien was about to focus his mind to re-enter Erebos, he was interrupted.

—Sir Damien, we’re ready!

Balhard shouted to Damien.

More urgent than meeting Ruin was dealing with the demons. Damien stood up and approached Balhard.

"Let’s go quickly."

Following Damien\'s order, Balhard opened a dimensional portal leading to the Otherworld.

Damien entered the gate alongside Balhard.

***

As soon as they returned to the Otherworld, countless dragons greeted the two.

—Balhard, what’s the situation? Did you find the Altar?

—Did you encounter the demons?

Questions bombarded them from all sides, and Balhard was visibly flustered.

"Explain."

Damien ordered, gesturing to Balhard with his chin. It was going to be a long explanation, and he was too bothered to speak himself.

—Well, about that…

Balhard briefly summarized what had happened to the elders.

The moment they heard Balhard’s explanation, the expressions of the dragons grew grim.

—So the demons have discovered the location of the Altar?

—Why did the demons disappear?

—That is indeed strange.

The dragons began murmuring among themselves, exchanging worried glances.

Damien shouted at the dragons.

"Save the discussions for later. There’s something you need to do right now. Find out where the demons have appeared on the surface."

Normally, such a rude command from Damien would have sparked outrage.

But given the urgency of the situation, the elders acted quickly.

Two elders began chanting in the ancient Dragon Tongue. The surrounding mana began to shift, and water started pooling on the ground.

Reflections of natural landscapes began to appear on the surface of the water. The images shifted rapidly—from the sea to cities, to the sky—without pause.

— Found them.

The scene froze in place, revealing the capital of the empire.

Once grand and magnificent, the capital now lay in ruins. At its center, the Imperial Supreme Sword, Cheongyeum, and Vahel were engaged in battle.

—It’s the Empire. The demons are in the Empire right now.

"Can you tell why they went there?"

—We can’t gather that level of detail.

"Then I suppose I’ll have to confirm it myself."

Damien turned to Balhard.

"Balhard, open a dimensional portal to the Empire."

—Understood…

—Stop.

A cold voice interrupted them.

A young girl emerged from among the dragons.

It was the ancient dragon, Iris.

"Damien, are you planning to go to the Empire?"

"You’re stating the obvious. I need to stop them, don’t I?"

"I disagree. While the Empire buys us time, we should take control of the Altar."

Damien couldn’t help but frown at the unexpected suggestion.

"The value of the Altar is immeasurable. Furthermore, the Demon Lords’ corpses are there. If we use it, we could gain the power to fight against the demons."

"And in the meantime, the Empire will be destroyed."

"That would be an unavoidable sacrifice."

Damien stared silently at Iris before speaking.

"I don’t like it."

Iris’s proposal essentially meant sacrificing the Empire.

Despite knowing full well that countless people would die and be sacrificed because of it.

“Are you refusing my proposal?”

“Yes. I’m going to help the Empire.”

“In that case, at least leave Erebos behind.”

Damien’s expression changed.

He had never revealed Erebos in front of Iris.

Yet, Iris knew that Damien possessed Erebos.

“How did you recognize Erebos?”

“We dragons have experienced Erebos firsthand. We know how terrifying it is. How extraordinary it is. All of us are aware of its power.”

Iris glanced briefly at Damien’s hand.

“Erebos is considered the greatest treasure Ruin left behind. Surely, you must have used that sword to open the Altar, didn’t you?”

“You’ve got it right. As expected of an ancient dragon.”

“If you leave Erebos behind, we’ll use it to open the Altar and find a way to expel the demons. In the meantime, you can support the Empire, can’t you?”

Iris’s plan was hard to fault.

But Damien had no intention of handing over Erebos to her or the dragons.

“I’ll keep Erebos. I don’t trust you.”

“That’s disappointing. I thought you shared the same goal as us, don’t you?.”

“The same goal? Are you referring to your plan to betray me?”

At Damien’s accusation, Iris involuntarily fell silent.

“Don’t try to dodge it. I overheard you and others on the first day. You were planning to betray me and steal the key from the demons.”

The key Ruin had created.

With it, one could either fulfill or break the Oath.

The dragons intended to use the key to lift the Oath binding them.

“How could I trust you with Erebos after that?”

“…I see. You were already aware.”

Iris sighed briefly, and then her eyes sharpened.

“In that case, we’ll have no choice but to take it by force.”

Before Iris even finished her sentence, the elders began chanting in the Dragon Tongue.

With each word of Dragon Tongue, an overwhelming pressure weighed down on Damien’s shoulders.

“Your true strength only emerges when you use dark mana, doesn’t it?”

Iris spoke in a calm voice.

“We’ve cast a barrier over the entire Otherworld that suppresses and eradicates dark mana.”

Damien let out a hollow laugh. He hadn’t expected them to prepare something like this.

“To think things would end this way. Very well then, take Erebos from him.”

The remaining dragons, excluding those maintaining the Dragon Tongue, began to move.

Dragons were the mightiest of all creatures.

And among them, the elders, those of immense strength, now harbored hostile intent toward Damien.

“Well, well.”

Damien glanced at the dragons surrounding him and chuckled dryly.

“I figured you had something up your sleeve, but I didn’t expect something this crafty.”

A barrier that suppressed dark mana—it was certainly a clever move.

It was certainly a threat, one even Damien had to acknowledge.

He reached into the air, and as the tattoo on his wrist vanished, Erebos appeared.

"Are you really planning to fight us?"

"I’m not about to just let you take my weapon while I stand here watching."

"Foolish. No matter how strong you are, without dark mana, you stand no chance."

Iris’s expression remained calm, but her voice brimmed with confidence.

"I’m still pretty strong even without dark mana."

"We know that. But you can’t handle all of us at once."

Damien chuckled.

She was right. Without using the power of the Death Knight, Damien was still a Master class knight.

One or two elders might be manageable, but all of them together? It was impossible without dark mana.

"So you guys have chosen death."

"Are you going to hand over Erebos now?"

"I’m not about to let you take it from me so easily."

Damien placed his palm against Erebos’s blade. Iris watched him and spoke with clear disdain.

"Are you planning to use Erebos’s power?"

"What if I am?"

"Foolish. Have you already forgotten what I told you? We know Erebos very well. We’ve already prepared countermeasures."

Though her face remained expressionless, Iris’s voice radiated confidence.

"You might think you know Erebos well."

But there was something the dragons didn’t know.

Damien Haksen had traveled through time, carrying the memories and experiences of his past life.

"You’ll find this more difficult than you expect."

Damien began channeling his magic into Erebos.

Normally, Erebos would only awaken with the infusion of dark mana. But now, with its restoration nearly complete, things were different.

"Roar, Erebos."

In that moment, the entire world trembled.

***

"Everyone, be careful! Erebos has awakened!"

Iris shouted as soon as Damien unleashed the power of Erebos.

Waves of energy radiated from Damien, spreading outward. Anything that came into contact with the waves vanished without a trace, and the wave soon reached the spot where the dragons stood.

"Use Dragon Tongue to push back Erebos’s power! Once you get used to it, counterattack immediately..."

But just then, the waves abruptly stopped. And instead of continuing to spread, they started to retract.

The unexpected phenomenon left Iris and the dragons bewildered.

The energy began to compress around Erebos’s blade.

"You’ve never seen anything like this before, have you?"

Damien said, looking at Iris’s stunned expression.

"This is how you really use it."

Damien ran his fingers along Erebos’s blade, and from the condensed wave, a thin line of energy shot forth.

The line hit the ground, and at that moment, the earth split open in a jagged tear.

Iris felt a shiver run down her spine.

By compressing the wave, its power had multiplied, and its speed had become far too fast. No Dragon Tongue could stop it now.

As Damien raised Erebos high into the air, the sense of dread Iris felt intensified.

"Everyone, get out of the way...!"

Damien drove Erebos into the ground.

From the point where the blade struck, hundreds of lines shot outward in every direction.

The unleashed lines pierced through the dragons\' bodies, leaving no room for escape.

***