Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 330: Father and Child (1)

Just before the demons all entered the dimensional portal, Damien manifested his mental sword.

The slash from his imagination materialized in reality. The formless sword attempted to cut both the demons and the dimensional portal simultaneously.

However, the mental sword Damien created was suddenly blocked by a wall that appeared.

A rectangular wall formed around Damien.

“He persists in hindering me until the end.”

Damien said, looking down at Vahel.

Although Vahel was already dead, his power still lingered in the world.

Unless Vahel's body was destroyed, his power would not disappear, and it was clear it would continue to bind Damien.

Damien concentrated mana into the hilt of Erebos. Colorless aura spread out from Erebos.

Simultaneously, Vahel's body began to disintegrate. Only then did the walls confining Damien vanish.

However, by that time, the demons had already escaped. Damien clicked his tongue briefly.

“I must return to the Otherworld immediately.”

Opening a dimensional portal to Inferno wouldn’t be easy.

Surely, the demons had moved somewhere on the surface. By returning to the Otherworld, he could locate and capture them.

Damien tried to summon Balhard to open the gate to the Otherworld.

At that moment, blood spurted from his mouth.

“Cough, cough.”

Doubling over, Damien continuously coughed up blood. It wasn’t just from his mouth. Blood also flowed from his eyes, nose, and ears.

Damien inspected his body.

His muscles, internal organs, and even his veins were gravely damaged. He felt like a cracked pottery piece on the verge of shattering.

Every breath brought overwhelming pain. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Damien muttered.

“…So that’s why Ruin told me to strengthen my body.”

When Damien reached the Grandmaster level, he combined the Five Wheel Harmonious Art and the Nameless mana art into one.

Thanks to this, Damien could wield greater power than he had during his Death Knight days.

The problem was his physical body.

Unlike his time as a Death Knight, the human body was extremely fragile.

Despite being strengthened with numerous elixirs and sapling from the World Tree.

Operating both techniques simultaneously with such a body naturally led to its destruction.

“I was too absorbed to realize.”

Damien collapsed to the ground. The pain made it difficult to maintain his composure.

“Balhard!”

Damien shouted loudly. Then, Balhard appeared as the air distorted.

- You called for me.

Immediately upon arriving in the capital through a dimensional portal, Damien ordered Balhard to conceal himself.

This was in case demons attempted to interfere with Damien and Vahel's battle, so Balhard could launch a surprise attack.

However, the battle ended swiftly, and Balhard didn’t get a chance to participate.

“I’m going to lose consciousness now.”

- Excuse me?

“You must protect me with your life. Understood?”

Balhard’s eyes showed a rebellious glint. It seemed that following Damien's order was quite humiliating for him.

The problem was that Balhard had sworn an oath of obedience to Damien.

“I will follow your orders.”

“You’ve got quite the expression there. Be prepared when I wake up.”

“Pardon? No, it’s just how I look naturally...”

“Silence.”

Damien opened a subspace and consumed a healing potion. Then, he activated the World Tree sapling before closing his eyes.

Damien fell asleep immediately. Balhard silently watched over him.

He was an extremely dangerous human to let live.

Not just because of his inherent strength, but also because of his unpredictable nature.

If he had to kill him, now would be the time.

But Balhard couldn’t make any threatening moves against Damien.

Once he had made an oath, Balhard had no choice but to obey Damien's commands.

Throwing away his life to break the oath was also not an option. An oath made with Dragon Tongue was not so easily broken.

“Damn it.”

Balhard muttered a curse under his breath.

Suddenly, he sensed people approaching. Turning his head, he saw humans glaring at him.

“Am I seeing things? It looks like a dragon.”

The Sword Saint remarked, holding a half-broken sword.

His body was stained black in various places, evidence of the corruption from Laria’s power.

“Dragons have long been extinct.”

“Sword Saint, stop with the nonsense. Focus on rescuing that child.”

Cheongyeum said irritably as he stepped forward.

Both of Cheongyeum’s arms were completely ruined, a result of blocking Vahel’s power.

“Dragon, I don’t know where you came from, but it'd be best if you handed him over quietly.”

At Cheongyeum's threat, Balhard responded with a sneer.

“Human, you’re straining yourself despite your dying body.”

“Dying?”

A fierce killing intent emanated from Cheongyeum’s eyes.

“Would you like to see what it feels like to be beaten by someone who’s dying?”

For a human, his fighting spirit was considerable. Balhard sensed that this opponent wouldn’t be easy.

“Even so, I cannot hand over Damien Haksen.”

Balhard activated his dragon heart to draw out his mana. A tremendous aura spread out in all directions.

Cheongyeum and the Sword Saint’s faces hardened slightly.

They realized that fighting this opponent with their injured bodies would be difficult.

In fact, even if they were in perfect condition, victory wouldn’t be assured.

Despite this, Cheongyeum and the Sword Saint did not retreat.

Cheongyeum forced his damaged arms to clench into fists. The Sword Saint forcibly drew out his depleted mana.

“Mind if I join in?”

At that moment, another voice called out.

A young boy and a woman were approaching. It was the Mercenary King and Green Wind.

“Mercenary King? You’re still alive?”

“You senile old man, spouting senseless words again.”

The Mercenary King frowned in response to Cheongyeum’s remark.

“Are you really going to help us?”

“Of course. I owe that guy a lot.”

The Mercenary King said, pointing at Damien.

“Never thought I'd see a dragon again in my lifetime...”

There was a moment of nostalgia in the Mercenary King's eyes. But it was only brief.

“Hey! Lizard head!”

The Mercenary King shouted at Balhard.

“I have a lot of questions for you, but there's just one thing I need to say right now!”

The Mercenary King drew upon his lightning power. The dazzling lightning enveloped him.

“Give me Damien Haksen! Otherwise, I’ll roast you and eat you...”

- Karl?

The Mercenary King frowned. The dragon had suddenly called out his name.

“How do you know my name...”

Suddenly, his expression became blank, and he asked in a doubtful voice.

“Father..?”

* * *

A dimensional portal opened up in the empty air.

Several demons poured out from it.

They were varied in appearance. A demon with a bull's head, one with a mosquito-like proboscis, and another in the form of an old man.

“Arghhh!”

The bull-headed demon screamed towards the sky.

Despite the large sword wound on its torso, the demon seemed obliviously angered rather than in pain.

“Laria! You fucking bitch!”

Asthar pushed Laria to the ground, pinning her while venting his fury.

“Why did you abandon His Excellency!”

“I was just following orders.”

“No! You abandoned His Excellency!”

Asthar punched Laria in the face. Laria took the hits silently.

“Asthar! Stop!”

“What are you doing!”

Bas and Alter grabbed Asthar, trying to hold him back. Asthar struggled to free himself.

“Let go! I said let go!”

“Don’t misdirect your anger!”

Bas’s sharp reprimand made Asthar freeze. He hung his head.

“…You’re right. I lost in anger.”

Asthar extended his hand to Laria.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I understand.”

Laria said plainly, taking Asthar’s hand and getting up.

As his anger subsided, Asthar’s perspective widened. He looked around.

“Where are we?”

“We’re at Carion Mountain.”

Laria’s answer made Asthar scowl.

“Why did we come here?”

Carion Mountain was known as the highest mountain on the surface.

It was the place demons had scoured for an altar.

“No, that’s not what matters now.”

The escape location was irrelevant. What mattered was what to do next.

“According to His Excellency's orders, we will return to Inferno first.”

Asthar wanted to go and kill Damien immediately.

But he had seen firsthand how formidable Damien was.

He had watched as the Duke class demon was killed as easily as a bug by Damien's strength, a power far beyond Asthar’s capacity to challenge.

“We’ll return to Inferno and wait. For the moment Damien Haksen dies.”

However, Asthar had one advantage over Damien: longevity.

Demons lived almost infinite lives. Asthar planned to wait until Damien aged and died.

“Fate is on our side anyway.”

Asthar held up his hand in front of the demons.

In his palm lay a rusty key.

“What is that?”

“How do you have it?”

The demons exclaimed in surprise.

This key was the tool for making Oaths and originally belonged to Vahel.

“His Excellency transferred it to me just before he sacrificed himself.”

The technique to transfer objects was not as advanced as dimensional portals, but it was still a highly sophisticated skill.

However, Vahel, being a Duke class demon, could use transfer techniques freely.

“I will never forget today's grudge. I will definitely kill Damien Haksen.”

Asthar gripped the key tightly, his body trembling, when Laria patted him on the shoulder.

“We are fortunate that Lord Vahel entrusted you with the key.”

“Worrying about us until his final moments. Truly a decision worthy of His Excellency...”

As Asthar turned to look at Laria, a dull sound echoed, and something pierced Asthar’s chest.

With a look of disbelief, Asthar looked down. Laria’s hand had penetrated his chest.

“What... have you done...”

Laria gripped Asthar’s heart and crushed it. Asthar collapsed immediately.

“Asthar!”

“Laria! Have you gone mad!”

Bas and Alter tried to attack Laria, but before they could, large holes appeared in their chests.

Migmag.

The demon with the iron staff had used the dimensional portal to pierce their bodies.

Both demons collapsed without even being able to scream.

Laria and Migmag looked down at the fallen demons.

Despite the gaping holes in their chests, the three demons were still alive, but barely clinging to life.

“It’s over.”

A voice came from the forest.

Laria and Migmag immediately knelt down on the ground.

From the direction in which the two demons knelt, someone appeared.

A robed skeleton.

It was Dorugo.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]