Chapter 38: The Demise-Class Death Knight Returns

Chapter 38 Recap (1)

Damian retracted the pitch-black darkness.

The darkness that had covered the sky instantly dissipated, and the night sky returned to its original state.

Damian approached the dark, murky puddles on the ground.

The power of the pitch-black darkness was truly formidable.

Even the 7th-tier black mages, who were supposed to be formidable, were unable to resist and lost their lives.

Not only their bodies, but also the clothes they wore and the items they carried were completely destroyed.

Damian looked up at the sky.

The black magic power, having lost its owner, was swirling in the air.

Perhaps because both were high-ranking 7th-tier black mages, the amount of black magic power was enormous.

Damian absorbed all the black magic power and stored it in his bracelet. An incredible amount of black magic power was stored in the bracelet.

Estimating it, it seemed to be about five times the amount of black magic power he had obtained from killing Agito.

"Ah, I forgot to ask about Dorgo."

The lid had opened, and he had acted without thinking about the consequences.

In fact, even if they were dead, there were still ways to find out about Dorgo.

Ironically, more information could be extracted after their deaths.

However, Damian did not want to use that method if possible.

"Well, there's nothing I can do."

Damian extended his hand toward the puddles. From the two puddles, something pale and indistinct was sucked out.

Two grayish, condensed orbs slowly materialized on Damian's palm.

-Screech!

-Scream!

The two orbs emitted terrifying screams.

These two masses were none other than the souls of Mustang Fury and Rebecca.

Manipulating souls is one of the greatest evils committed by black mages.

Black mages often use the souls of living beings for various black magic spells.

Souls are supposed to cycle between life and death.

However, souls used in black magic are consumed and eventually destroyed.

This means that a person is completely erased.

That's why Damian also avoided using this method.

But after extracting the souls, he didn't feel much guilt.

Perhaps it was because the souls of these despicable black mages were so repulsive.

"You will have to spill everything you know."

Damian used black magic power to forcibly extract the memories from the two souls.

-Ah! Ugh!

-Screech! Scream!

The two souls writhed in agony. But Damian did not stop.

The memories from the two souls flowed into his mind.

-I am Arkrich Dorgo.

And within those memories, Damian Hassen saw the face he so despised.

-You might have heard of me. Most of the black magic you are learning has passed through my hands.

Seeing Dorgo's face, his murderous intent surged again. Damian struggled to suppress it.

Now was not the time to vent his anger. He needed to obtain information about Dorgo.

-I have been watching your activities for a long time. Your skills are quite impressive. I have a task I trust you to carry out.

-I want to build an empire for black mages. My goal is to provide a sanctuary and a home for persecuted black mages.

Upon hearing this, Damian Hassen couldn't help but laugh.

'An empire for black mages? His bark is as impressive as his bite.'

Arkrich Dorgo's true goal was the annihilation of humanity, and black mages were no exception.

Dorgo used black mages and then killed them all at the end of the war.

-To achieve my goal, it is necessary to weaken the power of the nations. So, go to the Apple Kingdom and cause chaos.

The meeting between the black mages of Ulan and Dorgo ended there.

Although it was a one-time meeting, Mustang Fury and Rebecca faithfully carried out Dorgo's orders to ensure their success.

Targeting the Goldfairy Dukedom was precisely for that reason.

'There's no other information... I guess.'

Unfortunately, this was the extent of the information these two knew.

There was no information on how to meet Dorgo, which Damian desperately wanted to know.

'Well, it was a mistake to expect anything from these lowlifes.'

Dorgo had moved so secretly that he had not left a trace for thousands of years.

It was impossible to catch him so easily.

'I need to find and kill him as soon as possible.'

Dorgo was wandering the world to realize his plan to bring about the end of the world.

Their encounter in the previous life was purely coincidental.

Going back to that place would not guarantee meeting Dorgo again.

'Is there any other information?'

Still, Damian couldn't let go and continued to search the souls.

Each time the black magic power tore through the souls, screams echoed.

'What is this?'

Suddenly, a peculiar memory surfaced.

A memory of Ulan's officers gathering in a cave and moving something.

'Ah, a secret warehouse.'

Ulan had accumulated a great deal of wealth while operating in the shadows in the Apple Kingdom.

But as fugitives, they couldn't carry the wealth around freely.

Therefore, Ulan had built a dungeon deep in the mountains to store their wealth.

'I should check this place out later.'

Having obtained the necessary information, Damian stopped tearing through the souls.

The two souls, now freed from their suffering, seemed to feel relief.

Initially dark gray, the souls had become noticeably fainter.

They had been severely weakened by the abuse from the black magic power.

"Is Sir Sebastian still alive?"

As Damian muttered this, a loud noise echoed from a distance.

It meant that Sebastian Vincenzo was still alive.

"Oh, he's still alive."

Damian smiled and injected black magic power into the two souls.

The two souls screamed again.

"When you performed the ritual on Ernst Hovitz, did you engrave the mark of obedience? Send a signal to Ernst Hovitz to amplify the black magic."

The two souls immediately obeyed Damian's command.

Using the black magic power injected by Damian, they sent a signal to Ernst Hovitz.

The distant explosions ceased, indicating that the command had been successfully delivered.

"Good work. As a reward, I will set you free."

Damian tightly gripped the two souls. They screamed in agony and then vanished.

Damian shook his hands as if to rid himself of something dirty.

The battle was over, but Damian still had work to do.

* * *

"Huff, huff, huff."

Sebastian Vincenzo panted heavily.

His body was covered in wounds, and the blood had stained his clothes red.

"Sir Sebastian, you look very exhausted."

Ernst Hovitz said with a mocking smile.

Despite his casual demeanor, Ernst Hovitz also had wounds on his body.

Sebastian Vincenzo's occasional counterattacks had left marks on his body.

But compared to Sebastian, who looked like he was about to collapse, Ernst Hovitz was in much better shape.

"I didn't expect you to hold out against me like this. I truly admire you."

"Admire... I feel ashamed."

"You can be confident. I am so powerful that I am even afraid of myself."

Sebastian Hovitz sneered at this.

"To be pushed around by a brute who only has raw strength and magic power is the most shameful thing."

A knight's strength is not just about being fast and strong.

It's about mastering techniques.

Swords, spears, axes, and more.

They master these weapons to the extreme and discover the truths beyond them.

A knight's sword, once they have discovered the truth, can part the sea and split mountains.

That's why knights are feared.

On the other hand, what about Ernst Hovitz?

He has no technical improvement. He has only enhanced his physical abilities and increased his magic power.

That's why he hasn't been able to kill Sebastian Vincenzo yet.

"You still haven't come to your senses, have you?"

Ernst Hovitz's face turned fierce.

Ernst Hovitz took a stance, and red aura gathered at the tip of his spear.

Seeing this aura, Sebastian Vincenzo made up his mind.

He was willing to die here, but he intended to take Ernst Hovitz with him.

Sebastian Vincenzo gathered his aura.

He poured all his knowledge and skills into a single sword.

In the darkness, Sebastian Vincenzo's aura shone brightly.

"You're trying hard. But it's useless."

Ernst Hovitz smirked.

At that moment,

"Ugh!"

Ernst Hovitz suddenly gasped.

"Choke! Choke! Choke!"

He began to convulse.

Ernst Hovitz dropped his spear and clawed at his body with his fingers.

"Ugh!"

Black smoke started to pour out of the holes in his face.

Sebastian Vincenzo immediately recognized what it was.

It was black magic power.

"No... No!"

As the black magic power drained out, Ernst Hovitz's muscles withered, and his hair turned white.

Ernst Hovitz instantly became an old man and fell to the ground.

"Ugh, ugh."

Sebastian Vincenzo blinked his eyes repeatedly as he looked at Ernst Hovitz, who was struggling to breathe.

"Are... are you alive?"

* * *

Around dawn, reinforcements sent by the duchy arrived.

There were two mid-class and five low-class knights.

Seeing the completely destroyed forest, they were speechless.

More astonishingly, no one had died in this attack.

Sebastian Vincenzo was severely injured but not in mortal danger.

Damian Hassen was unharmed and had even killed two black mages.

"How did you kill those two? The knights said they were not ordinary."

Two mid-class knights asked Damian, who was resting.

Damian casually replied.

"I just dodged and then beheaded them."

The knights looked at the devastated forest in disbelief.

Dodge such powerful black magic casually?

"Their destructive power was strong, but their skills were poor. They seemed to have used some method to enhance their power."

The two mid-class knights nodded.

Black mages often used dubious methods to enhance their black magic.

But the power gained this way was not genuine.

It came with problems like slow incantation speed or low activation probability.

"I don't see the bodies of the black mages."

"See those two puddles? Those are the bodies. After I beheaded them, the bodies suddenly melted."

Black mages often concealed their secrets this way.

Still, one mid-class knight found it hard to believe.

"I know you are skilled, but I can't understand how you dodged such powerful black magic."

"Do I really need to see it with my own eyes to believe it?"

Damian disappeared from in front of the knight and reappeared behind him.

His movement was so fast that even a mid-class knight had to concentrate to track it.

Seeing this, the knight accepted Damian's explanation.

"Truly remarkable. How did you acquire such skills at such a young age?"

Damian casually replied to the knight's question.

"I'm a genius."

The knight looked at Damian Hassen with a disapproving face.