Chapter 36: Return (2)

Damián shouted at the soldiers.

"Drop your bags and get on your horses immediately! We must leave this place!"

The soldiers, already startled by the sudden loud noise, hastily followed Damián's orders.

"Knights, please mount your horses quickly."

Damián said to the two knights. One of the knights hesitated and spoke.

"Sir Damián, shouldn't we go to help Sir Sebastian now...?"

Damián slapped the knight's cheek. The knight looked at Damián with a bewildered expression.

"Do you think a low-class soldier can help in a duel between mid-class warriors? You'll only be in the way."

"B-but..."

"Stop yapping and get on your horse. Do you want to let all these soldiers die too?"

The soldiers were all terrified. Seeing their faces, the knight nodded heavily.

"...I understand. Let's go quickly."

"Where are you going?"

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice was heard. The knights turned their heads in surprise.

A middle-aged man and a woman stood a short distance away.

The man was ordinary, but the woman had an incredibly beautiful appearance.

However, the soldiers had no time to admire the woman's beauty.

It was due to the ominous presence they felt from the two people.

"What are you doing here?"

Damián asked the two people. The man smiled and said.

"That's a question I don't really want to answer. We're people with many secrets."

The middle-aged man raised his voice.

"Our goal is Damián Haxsen. If you let Damián Haxsen go, we won't kill the rest."

Hearing this, the knights shouted without a moment's hesitation.

"Shut up! Do you think we'll listen to the likes of you?"

"Sir Damián is the benefactor of the Duke's family! Do you think we'll abandon our benefactor?"

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue at the knights' response.

"That's why knights... You need to see the gap before you come to your senses."

The middle-aged man spread his hands. Black magic power erupted from his palms.

The black magic power covered his entire body, spreading up his arms. Black magic symbols appeared on the skin exposed outside his clothes.

Crack.

With a strange sound, the man's body began to twist.

His bones and muscles started to grow. His ordinary build quickly transformed into a giant over three meters tall.

His skin turned a deep crimson, resembling the hide of a monster rather than human skin.

Most bizarrely, four tentacles sprouted from the man's back. They were as thick as tree trunks and covered in scales.

The transformed man looked like a demon that had crawled out of hell, terrifying to behold.

"...Rage School."

One of the knights muttered in fear.

The Rage School referred to those who used their bodies as conduits for black magic.

The black magic used by the Rage School went beyond merely enhancing the body; it caused transformation.

The transformed body could exhibit abilities that surpassed human limits, granting combat power comparable to that of monsters.

This was why the Rage School was considered to have the highest combat power among black magic schools.

-Now, can you feel the gap between us?

The more skilled a Rage Mage was, the more severe the transformation.

The middle-aged man had created new body parts that humans don't have, a sign of a high-ranking Rage Mage.

A high-ranking black mage was equivalent to a mid-class knight in strength.

Three low-class soldiers stood no chance against such a formidable opponent.

-This is my final offer. Abandon Damián Haxsen and flee. I'll spare those who run.

The knights' faces turned pale. Their hands trembled as they held their swords.

"...Sir Damián, I will help you."

"Give us orders, and we will follow them."

Despite this, they did not flee. Instead, they burned with determination.

Damián Haxsen spoke in a stern tone.

"Can't you see? If we fight, we'll all die. You should flee."

"It doesn't matter. Losing our honor is more terrifying than death."

"I feel the same way."

The middle-aged man chuckled at their words.

-You're stubborn. But it doesn't matter since I planned to kill you all anyway.

The middle-aged man pointed behind him. The woman was now holding a black staff, with black magic power swirling around it. The knights muttered in hatred.

"...You were planning to use black magic if we fled."

"You despicable and vile creatures...!"

The middle-aged man only laughed at their condemnation.

-It's best not to think you'll die peacefully. I'll make you beg for death.

The middle-aged man began to move. The knights drew their weapons.

Suddenly, Damián Haxsen struck the necks of the two knights with the edge of his hand.

Caught off guard, the two knights instantly fainted.

The middle-aged man, as well as the soldiers who were trembling behind him, were shocked and stared at Damián Haxsen.

"Take these men and flee to the Duke's family."

Damián ordered the soldiers. When they hesitated, Damián shouted.

"Hurry up!"

Only then did the soldiers start to mount the knights on their horses and flee.

The horses carrying the soldiers disappeared into the forest path.

-You didn't expect him to sacrifice himself, did you?

The middle-aged man sneered.

-But it won't matter. My subordinate behind me will cast a curse on them. They'll all die before they can leave the forest...

"Sacrifice? You're completely mistaken."

Damián suddenly said.

"I just got rid of them because they were in the way."

-In the way?

"Yes, I can't fight properly if there are spectators."

Saying this, Damián Haxsen began to stretch his body.

The middle-aged man looked at him with a bewildered expression.

-I knew you were arrogant, but I didn't know you were stupid. Do you know who I am? You can't possibly stand against me.

"I know. You're a black mage from Ulan."

At this, the middle-aged man's eyes widened.

-You... How do you know that...?

"I have a rough idea of your goal. You were planning to use Chelsea Goldfex to take over the Duke's family, right? It failed because of me."

The middle-aged man's eyes shook.

It wasn't just the revelation of his identity that disturbed him, but the exposure of his specific goal.

"Ernst Hovitz talked about killing the Duke, but that was a lie. You never intended to kill the Duke."

Damián stretched his arms and continued.

"Because the Duke's family is too large. If you tried to assassinate the Duke, it would be difficult to handle the aftermath. So why are you here? Your real target is me."

Damián stretched his neck.

"I killed one of your officers and ruined your plans. You wouldn't just let me go."

That's why they brought Ernst Hovitz to kill Damián Haxsen.

To Ulan, Ernst Hovitz was just a useful pawn.

The evidence was the black magic active in Ernst Hovitz's body.

Ernst Hovitz, like Guillaume Blackwing, had gained great power at the cost of his life force.

But Ernst Hovitz was consuming his life force much faster than Guillaume Blackwing.

He was certain to die before the day was over.

-Why did you hide the fact that you knew our identity?

"If I had said it, you would have all fled. So I kept it hidden. That way, you would come to kill me."

The middle-aged man added, looking bewildered.

-Why did you try to draw us out? What's your plan?

"I don't have a plan. I just want to kill you with my own hands."

Damián Haxsen hated black mages.

He couldn't rest until he eliminated every one he saw.

Especially since Ulan was the organization to which the black mages belonged who had targeted the Haxsen family.

"Now that all my questions are answered, let's start. I need to kill you quickly and go save Sebastian."

According to Damián's calculations, Sebastian Vincenzo wouldn't die easily.

But he couldn't be complacent. Anything could happen during a battle.

-...I understand very well that you're insane.

The middle-aged man said with a bewildered expression.

-At any rate, my decision to kill you was right. I can't let someone who knows our identity live.

A cruel smile appeared on the middle-aged man's lips.

-Let me introduce myself. I am Mustang Fury, the leader of Ulan. The woman over there is Rebecca, the deputy leader.

Damián's eyes changed slightly.

He knew about Ulan, but he didn't expect them to be the leader and deputy leader.

Thinking about it, it made sense that the leaders would be involved in such a risky plan to take over the Goldfex Duke's family.

-Being able to eliminate such a risk in advance is nothing but the grace of the great Archlich.

Damián's body stiffened. He asked reflexively.

"Archlich? Dorgo?"

At the name, Mustang Fury's eyes widened.

"How do you know his name...?"

His mouth closed.

Without anyone touching him, his muscles contracted, and his mouth shut.

-...?

He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't obey.

Mustang Fury was bewildered.

His body was moving on its own, against his will.

"What is this?"

Hearing the voice, Mustang Fury looked at Damián.

Only then did he realize why his mouth was closed.

The atmosphere had changed.

Until a moment ago, Damián Haxsen had been acting calmly and leisurely.

But now, it was different.

A fierce killing intent radiated from Damián's eyes, so intense that it was hard to look directly at it.

It felt like having one's face close to a massive inferno.

Mustang Fury found himself breathing heavily without realizing it.

All the muscles in his body were stiff. If he didn't consciously breathe, he felt like he would stop breathing altogether.

"Are you one of Dorgo's subordinates?"

Damián Haxsen's lips curled.

In the midst of the overwhelming killing intent, a sense of exhilaration emerged.