Chapter 63: The Return of the Doom-Class Death Knight

Chapter 63: Dungeon (1)

“Delante, what are you doing? Are you in your right mind!”

“To deliberately expose our position and draw in the cult! It’s a foolish act akin to suicide!”

In a space shrouded in deep darkness, two men were venting their anger.

The two men glared at a direction where a thin, young man stood.

The young man was staring blankly at a large mirror that stretched almost to the ceiling.

“Delante! Are you even listening to us!”

“Let’s take cover immediately! Ura is down to just the three of us now! If we die, Ura’s lineage will be cut off!”

The two men raised their voices again, but the young man continued to gaze into the mirror.

“...I can’t hear anything.”

Suddenly, the young man spoke.

“No matter how long I wait, I can’t hear the holy voice...”

The young man caressed the mirror with both hands. The mirror only reflected his face indifferently.

“This is the first time He hasn’t responded for so long. It’s never happened before.”

The two men looked at Delante with exasperation.

“Stop staring at that mirror!”

“The cult is right at our doorstep. There’s no time to waste on such things...”

At that moment, the young man turned his head sharply.

His beautiful face had turned into a monstrous one.

“What? What do you mean ‘what’? You’re calling the only channel to Him ‘what’?”

Black magic power erupted from the young man’s body. The immense amount of black magic power began to shake the entire space.

“After all the favors we’ve received from Him, you’re insulting Him? Now it’s clear! He must be disappointed with us!”

The young man vented his anger, and the space shook even more.

“Failing to carry out His orders properly! Forgetting His favors! He’s disappointed with our pitiful state! That’s why He’s cut off contact!”

Overwhelmed by the young man’s overwhelming presence, the two men were too frightened to speak.

Not all of Ura’s black mages were of equal strength.

These two were also high-ranking black mages in their own right.

But compared to the young man, they were far inferior. Not even the leader of Ura could match the young man.

“Why did you bring in the cult? To carry out His orders! If we wipe out the cult, not only the cult but also the Apple Kingdom will be shaken! Then He will be satisfied!”

The young man’s face lit up with a joyful smile, as if imagining the happiness.

“No! That’s not enough! I’m preparing a gift for Him! I’m going to create flesh golems from the excellent corpses of paladins! He will surely be satisfied with my dolls!”

The young man’s magic power suddenly calmed down. He looked at the two men and smiled.

“Now that I look at you, your bodies seem quite usable...”

The two men’s bodies were covered in goosebumps. They hastily summoned their black magic power.

At that moment, something emerged from the ceiling.

It looked like an ordinary human, but its entire body was covered with parts from other creatures.

The flesh golem grabbed the heads of the two black mages and slammed them into the ground.

Their faces were crushed, and they lost consciousness.

“Kite, take these two to the sealing room. I’m going to perform the procedure immediately.”

The young man ordered the flesh golem.

The flesh golem, which resembled a human male, nodded and carried the two away.

“I need to find excellent corpses that will satisfy Him... I need to prepare a gift that will satisfy Him.”

The young man bit his nails and muttered.

At that moment, a round glass pane with bat wings flew in.

The glass pane showed the scene of the cult battling the flesh golem.

“Finally, the materials are coming in.”

A bright smile appeared on the young man’s face.

“Will they be able to pass the test I’ve prepared?”

A flesh golem with several human faces on its round body attacked the cult.

The paladins of the cult were helpless against it.

“Not good... Not good... Ordinary people won’t do. The paladins of the sect need to step in.”

The flesh golem at the entrance was one that the young man had put a lot of effort into.

It was not something ordinary paladins could handle.

“Come on, show me the paladins of the sect... Show me how excellent they are as materials!”

The young man stared at the glass pane with intense focus.

At that moment, a man stepped forward. He dodged all of the flesh golem’s attacks and plunged his sword into its torso.

The flesh golem’s movements stopped abruptly. After a moment, it began to collapse.

“...What?”

The young man blinked his eyes repeatedly.

The man used magic power, not holy power, clearly indicating he was an ordinary knight.

An ordinary knight had accurately found and pierced the core of the flesh golem.

“How did he do that...? Instinct? Or did he sense the magic power?”

The young man was instantly captivated by the knight.

“Amazing... I thought the paladins of the sect would be the best... I never expected such a material...!”

The excellence of the material is not determined by the quality of the body alone. The talents of the creature also play a significant role.

In that sense, the knight was the most outstanding material the young man had ever seen.

“I’ve found it! With this, I can create a doll that will satisfy Lord Dorgo!”

The young man, known as Delante, spread his arms wide and cheered.

* * *

The extermination team entered the dungeon.

As they moved further in, new flesh golems appeared.

Flesh golems with human bodies attached to four legs attacked the team from all directions.

Damian gripped his holy sword to fight the flesh golems.

“Damian Hassen, don’t interfere. We will handle this battle in the Mixed Blizzard.”

Gammal spoke in a cold voice.

Sanus asked, “Oh, Gammal, shall we help with our Radiant Pain? I can enhance you~.”

“No, it’s not necessary. We are strong enough without relying on Radiant Pain. You should help the other paladins.”

After firmly rejecting the offer, Gammal shouted,

“Listen, Mixed Blizzard. For the honor of the sect, do not let a single one escape.”

As soon as Gammal’s order was given, the paladins of the Mixed Blizzard unleashed their holy power.

A chilling cold spread throughout the cave.

Frost formed on the surface of the flesh golems, noticeably slowing their movements.

“Let’s go!”

Led by Dionysio, the paladins of the Mixed Blizzard charged at the flesh golems.

Each time a paladin swung their spear, the flesh golem’s body shattered like ice.

The flesh golems screamed and counterattacked.

But with their bodies frozen by the cold, they couldn’t effectively attack the paladins.

‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s terrifying.’

The cold of the Mixed Blizzard not only froze objects but also magic power.

For undead creatures powered by black magic, it was like poison.

‘I can’t even mimic their power.’

Damian was a genius but not omnipotent.

The power used by the sect was something Damian couldn’t replicate, as it was a different kind of force from magic power.

“What an incredible sight.”

A voice came from the side. Turning his head, Damian saw Sanus approaching.

Her skin was as white as snow, and her platinum hair was spotless.

Her appearance was so holy, it seemed to have just emerged from a sacred painting.

“The Mixed Blizzard is one of the strongest among the sects~ Though they have a bit of a strong ego~.”

Sanus chuckled.

“Do you know why they told you to stay back? It’s because your ego was hurt~ You took down the flesh golem at the entrance all by yourself~.”

To Damian, it was an absurd reason. If it were true, it would mean they were petty, not just having a strong ego.

“...Ah, but you kill them too easily. These filthy heretics should have their insides ripped out and then be killed in pieces.”

Sanus watched the Mixed Blizzard fight and muttered with a hint of disappointment.

Hearing this, Damian gave Sanus a look of disgust.

‘Light, the disciple of that crazy woman. This woman is also insane.’

Damian had fought all five of the Great Paladins.

Among them, Qingyan was the strongest, but the most troublesome was Light.

Light could be described as a fanatic among fanatics.

Her level of fanaticism was so extreme that other paladins seemed like atheists in comparison.

‘Thinking about it, it wasn’t just Light. The members of Radiant Pain were all crazy.’

During the Death Knight era, dozens of Radiant Pain paladins had even committed suicide to kill Damian.

“I apologize for doubting you, Sir Damian~.”

“It’s fine. We have a big task ahead, so thorough checks are necessary.”

Damian replied in a tone that suggested he didn’t care.

It was annoying that Sanus was siding with the Mixed Blizzard, but he didn’t intend to hold a grudge.

“I’ve never seen anyone fight like Sir Damian.”

Sanus looked at Damian with an almost unsettling gleam in her eyes.

It was a gaze he had seen somewhere before. A foreboding feeling passed through Damian’s mind.

“So, are you not interested in becoming a paladin~?”

“No.”

Damian answered coldly.

“Why not~? As a paladin, you become a proxy to wield the wrath of God. It’s a truly glorious role~.”

“I am still too inadequate to wield the wrath of God.”

“Having such doubts... But don’t worry~. If you’re inadequate, you can improve~. By the way, Radiant Pain has a six-month special training program for outsiders~.”

Sanus didn’t give up easily. Damian was starting to feel tired.

“And as a paladin, the disadvantage of lacking magic power will be completely resolved.”

That one sentence dispelled his boredom.

Sanus was right; Damian’s weakness was his lack of magic power.

He was taking magic power crystals and practicing the Force Accumulation Technique daily, but he was still far from sufficient.

For her to pinpoint this so accurately was impressive.

“Do you not believe me?”

Taking Damian’s gaze as doubt, Sanus began to explain.

“Paladins are granted holy power based on their faith. Every time they eliminate a filthy heretic, God grants them holy power.”

Paladins increased their holy power through different methods than knights.

Prayer, good deeds, service, and more.

There were many methods, but the most effective was eliminating heretics.

By offering sacrifices to God through the elimination of heretics, their holy power increased.

However, this was not an attractive option for Damian.

‘I can’t subordinate myself to the cult just because I lack magic power.’

Becoming a paladin of the cult would bring too many troublesome responsibilities.

Most importantly, the issue of lacking magic power would resolve itself over time.

By completing the Mana Cultivation Technique and consuming more elixirs, he could resolve it.

Just absorbing the Heart of the Spirit he currently possessed would grant him a tremendous amount of magic power.

“What do you think~? Isn’t it attractive~? If Sir Damian wishes, I can perform the baptism right now...”

“Sanus, what are you doing! Why are you trying to take Damian away!”

At that moment, Margarita shouted.

“Margarita, it doesn’t matter where Sir Damian belongs~. What’s important is that his skills are used to tear heretics apart~.”

“You’re talking nonsense. How many paladins have you lured away like this! How many times have other sects