Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

Chapter 334: The Past (2)

"Why is that here?"

Damien turned to look at the Emperor.

Currently, not only Dorugo but all Four Great Demon Kings were missing.

In such a situation, finding only Theta captured was completely unexpected.

"I think I should explain that."

A familiar voice came from somewhere.

Damien turned his head.

The Sword Saint was walking out from an entrance to another room.

"Sword Saint, you were here."

"I heard she's an extremely dangerous one. Eos asked me to take on the watchman role, that’s why..!"

Slurp!

The Sword Saint spoke while holding up a steaming cup of tea.

"I heard from Eos. There was someone called Dorugo behind Pandemonium, right? This woman is an undead created by that Dorugo."

The Sword Saint took a sip of his hot tea as he spoke.

"That's correct. But how did you manage to capture her?"

"It's a bit of a long story... After you collapsed, I checked Vahel's corpse. That's when I discovered a nice thing."

"A nice thing?"

"According to the mages who examined it, it's an item that creates an artificial dimension. I believe they called it 'Phantasmal Realm.'"

Damien recalled the dimensional gate from which demons had poured out at Mount Carion.

He had wondered where all those demons had been hiding. It seemed this Phantasmal Realm was the answer.

"When we entered Phantasmal Realm, we found a ruined castle. We discovered her while searching the place."

"Was that when the battle took place?"

Theta's body was currently covered in wounds, suggesting an intense fight.

But the Sword Saint shook his head.

"She was already injured when we found her. Her wounds were so severe that we even had to treat her."

"Why was she injured?"

"I'm not sure of the details. She's been keeping her mouth shut."

Damien examined Theta.

He suspected the wounds might have been from when she helped Dorugo escape. The demons wouldn't have let Dorugo go easily.

Just then, Theta raised her head and looked at Damien. Damien whispered to the Sword Saint:

"I think she's looking this way."

"Huh? That's impossible. This isn't glass, it's rare metal. She can't see inside from the out-"

-Damien, you're there, aren't you?

The Sword Saint couldn't help but be startled when Theta accurately addressed Damien.

"What? How did she guess that?"

-I have good hearing. I've been listening to your conversation.

The Sword Saint frowned in disbelief.

"She's probably telling the truth."

"That's impossible. There's no way she could hear our conversation from in there."

"Considering her abilities, it's entirely possible."

Theta was an undead who utilized sound.

In Alfheim, she had even detected Damien's disguise by the sound of his heartbeat.

-Damien, I want to speak with you directly.

At those words, Damien and the Sword Saint looked at each other.

"What do you think?"

"For now, I plan to grant her wish. She might know Dorugo's location."

"Just in case, I'll accompany you."

Damien and the Sword Saint opened the door and descended to the bottom of the prison.

-Ah, to think I'd see you again...

A smile spread across Theta's face as soon as she saw Damien's face.

"Where is Dorugo?"

In contrast, Damien only questioned Theta with a cold expression.

"As expected, you ask that first."

"Just answer."

"I'm sorry. I don't know anything."

Damien's eyes turned fierce. Then Theta spoke as if to soothe Damien.

"It's not that I won't answer, it's that I can't. I really don't know where Mother went."

"Do you think that makes sense?"

"I was tasked with being the decoy for Mother's escape."

Despite Damien's criticism, Theta spoke in a calm voice.

"Demons have the ability to search souls and scrape out memories. So what good would it do for me to know Mother's destination?"

Damien had to accept Theta's explanation.

Considering the demons' cruelty, they would have done anything to make Theta talk.

"If you don't know anything, there's no need to keep you alive."

"Then I'd like you to kill me yourself. I'll consider it a lifelong honor."

Damien looked down at Theta with a disgusted face.

He had felt it since their last encounter, but she was a very uncomfortable person.

"I think it's better to keep her alive for now."

At that moment, the Sword Saint, who had been watching the two, suggested to Damien.

"She says she doesn't know anything, but this undead is the only clue related to Dorugo. I think it's better to keep her alive."

Damien nodded.

From the beginning, Damien didn't really intend to kill her. He was just trying to pressure Theta once more, just in case.

"You'd better stay quiet."

After warning Theta, Damien tried to leave with the Sword Saint.

"Damien, you don't know how long I've waited for the day I could speak with you."

Theta's voice was heard from behind.

At first, Damien tried to ignore Theta's words. But he couldn't help but pause at what he heard next.

"You were my idol. I can still see it clearly when I close my eyes. Your overwhelming figure slaughtering enemies."

Damien turned to look at Theta.

He thought she might be trying to provoke him, but she wasn't. Theta was looking at him with pure eyes.

"On the battlefield, you were an absolute being. All who challenged you lost their lives. Even renowned knights couldn't survive."

"Stop."

Damien could not bear it anymore and tried to stop her but Theta didn't stop.

"Wherever you passed, there were only corpses. You didn't leave a single enemy alive."

"I told you to stop."

Damien's voice rose. But Theta didn't comply.

"Do you remember? There was a time when the Empire's knights united to stop you. You massacred all those foolish ones."

The memories he had barely buried came back to life.

The rushing knights, the feeling of cutting them down, the scent of blood that invaded his nostrils with every breath.

"And you attacked the castle they were trying to protect. Foolishly, the humans inside chose to resist rather than flee."

The castle gate that crumbled like a porcelain bowl with one kick from Damien.

The humans visible beyond it. Wooden spears carved from trees and eyes full of fear.

"Everyone in the castle took up arms, saying they would avenge the dead knights. You trampled them all."

There was no need to even draw his sword. Stomping and punching was enough.

Dozens of humans instantly turned into pieces of meat.

"There were women and children among them. You didn't spare them either. You exacted punishment for resisting Mother."

The children screamed and ran away.

Damien hunted down each of those children and ended their lives.

Because that was the order.

Because it was Dorugo's will that not a single one should be left alive.

So that everyone would tremble in fear at the name Damien Haksen.

"Damien."

A gentle voice was heard. Damien broke free from the nightmare of the past and glared at Theta.

"You were my idol."

The moment he heard those words, something snapped in his mind. Before he could make a judgment, his body moved first.

When he came to his senses, he was already holding Erebos.

"Damien...!"

The Sword Saint cried out urgently. But Damien didn't stop.

A slash full of anger beheaded Theta.

***

"Oh, my back."

In the ruined capital.

A soldier moving debris from buildings sat down on a shattered wall.

A nearby comrade chided him with a disapproving face.

"Hey, don't slack off. Keep moving."

"Let's rest a bit. My back's been acting up lately."

The soldier said, patting his back with his fist. The comrade clicked his tongue and moved elsewhere.

With the nuisance gone, the soldier could rest easy.

"When will we ever clean all this up?"

The soldier muttered, looking around at the ruins.

A few days ago, demons opened a dimensional gate and invaded the capital.

The city that boasted a thousand years of history was destroyed overnight. Many people died.

"It'll take more than a generation to clean this up and rebuild."

The fortunate thing was that the Empire wouldn't fall just from this.

The power that the Empire had built up over more than a thousand years was truly formidable.

"Should I get moving again?"

Just as the soldier was about to get up, suddenly the air split open and two men walked out of the gap.

The soldier stared at the two with a dumbfounded expression.

"It's completely demolished."

"Damien Haksen and a Duke class demon clashed. It's a stroke of luck that the damage ended at this level."

The two men began to converse while looking around the ruins.

"Iota, according to Mother, Theta is imprisoned underground. You'll have to find the exact location yourself."

"Can't we switch roles? I want to kill that bastard Damien Haksen with my own hands."

"Don't be stubborn. We didn't come here today to kill Damien."

The soldier stared at the two with a blank expression.

He couldn't properly understand what they were talking about. But there was one thing he could understand.

"A-ambush!"

The soldier turned and ran away. He shouted loudly so everyone could hear.

"Enemies have appeared! It's an ambush! An ambush!"

Epsilon just watched the soldier silently. Iota asked with a puzzled face.

"We don't have to kill him?"

"Why bother killing such a small fry? And it doesn't matter if our arrival becomes known."

"That's true."

Iota stretched his arms high towards the sky.

"But it's a bit annoying. What ambush? Have you ever seen such a brazen ambush?"

"Stop the nonsense and find Theta."

"Alright."

Wings sprouted from Iota's back. He flapped them and soared high into the sky.

"I should get to my task as well."

Black energy billowed out from Epsilon's body.

Though it looked similar to dark magic on the surface, it was a completely different power. It was the true power that was said to be wielded only by demons.

Epsilon opened his palm. A symbol appeared on it. It was identical to the one on Damien's hand.

Gluttony.

The authority to absorb everything.

All the debris of buildings scattered on the ground was sucked into Epsilon's palm. The ruins instantly turned into a barren field.

Epsilon turned his gaze towards the imperial palace.

Unlike the completely destroyed capital, the imperial palace maintained its form.

Epsilon held out his palm towards the palace. All the absorbed debris was released at once.

The released debris struck the imperial palace.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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