Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 283: The Four Great Demon Kings (1)

***

"Sir Damien! We're under attack!"

Agnes shouted urgently upon discovering the fort.

"Judging by the creature's appearance, it must be an undead! I'll quickly contact the Church, and Sir Damien, you should..."

Suddenly, Agnes realized something.

Damien wasn't listening to her at all. He stood motionless, like a statue, staring intently at the creature.

"...Sir Damien?"

She asked cautiously. As expected, there was no response from Damien.

Right now, all of Damien's attention was focused on the creature.

And it was no wonder. That creature was a monster that shouldn't exist here.

Iota.

One of the Four Great Demon Kings created by Dorugo.

The most powerful undead, specializing in aerial combat.

According to the original timeline, it wasn't supposed to be completed for another ten years. Yet, there it was, standing before them.

"...Lady Agnes, please tend to the wounded."

"Sir Damien? Sir Damien!"

Ignoring Agnes, Damien dashed toward the border fort.

With one powerful leap, he crossed the forest. With the second, he reached the fort.

And on the third,

Damien soared high into the sky, bringing his sword down toward Iota.

***

"This is way too easy."

Iota sighed heavily from above.

Below him, the border fort lay shattered and ablaze.

"Aaah! My leg! My leg!"

"Jason! Get a grip, you idiot!"

Corpses and wounded soldiers were strewn about.

More than half of the knights and soldiers defending the fort had perished in Iota's attack.

The survivors were left with fatal wounds and were slowly dying.

"Just too easy."

Iota flew around the sky, expressing his disappointment.

He was destroying the border fort under Dorugo's orders to cause chaos in the kingdoms.

When asked why, Dorugo had explained it was necessary to kill the Empire's greatest swordsman.

"I can attack any other kingdom, but not the Empire? How boring."

While the Empire had an abundance of Master Class warriors, many other kingdoms didn't even have one.

The Kingdom of Apple was no exception, lacking any Master Class fighters.

In such a situation, the border fort stood no chance against Iota's onslaught.

"I'm feeling a bit peckish."

Iota looked down and spotted a soldier pinned under the collapsed wall.

"Ugh, ugh... Ugh..."

The soldier was bleeding from the head, barely clinging to life.

Iota immediately descended after noticing the still-living soldier.

He reached out with a long hand, grabbed the soldier, and brought him to his mouth.

"W-what... Aaaaagh!"

The soldier who was somehow able to regain consciousness started to scream in terror. He was struggling but he couldn't escape Iota's grip.

Ignoring the soldier's resistance, Iota bit into his head in one swift motion.

"Mmm, the brain has a nice texture. I like that I can eat fresh prey right away."

Iota tossed aside the soldier's lifeless body and continued walking, smacking his lips.

Then, he noticed two humans hiding in a partially collapsed house.

"M-mom... I'm scared..."

"Shh, stay quiet."

A wall separated them, but Iota could hear the mother and child's voices clearly, thanks to his keen sense of hearing.

It wasn't just their voices. Iota could also see the emotions radiating from the mother and child with his sharp eyes.

Fear, dread, foreboding.

The source of dark mana was the suffering of the human soul.

The mother and daughter generated dark mana as they were surrounded by all kinds of negative emotions.

To Iota, who thrived on souls and dark mana, the pair seemed like a feast seasoned with rich spices.

But he had no intention of devouring them right away. He knew how to "cook" them to perfection.

Iota grasped the wall and tore it away, revealing the terrified mother and daughter.

"Ahhh!"

"Eek!"

They screamed as soon as they saw Iota.

"Rita! Run! Quickly!"

The mother shoved her daughter away. The daughter screamed and tried to flee in the opposite direction.

"Such an unfilial child."

Iota muttered.

He quickly reached out and grabbed the daughter. She dangled in the air, held by one arm.

"Mom! Mom!"

"Rita! No! Not Rita!"

The mother frantically stabbed Iota's leg with a kitchen knife.

But there was no way a kitchen knife could pierce Iota's body, which couldn't be harmed even by aurablade.

The knife broke quickly, and the mother's face filled with despair.

"Mom! Mom!"

"R-Rita...! Please, let Rita go! Eat me instead!"

The mother clung to Iota's leg, crying out in desperation.

Pushed to the extreme, the souls of the mother and daughter emitted even more intense dark mana.

Ah, how delightful.

Drool dripped from Iota's mouth. He could hardly contain himself.

He opened his mouth wide, intending to devour the daughter first.

"No! No! Noooo!"

The mother screamed and blood spilled from her mouth.

At that moment, a tremendous surge of mana came from a distance. The sky changed color and the winds began to blow too fast.

Iota immediately closed his gaping mouth. The presence was too overwhelming to ignore.

"A Master Class warrior? No, this is..."

Someone soared high into the sky and descended toward Iota, slashing at him with a sword.

Iota quickly blocked the sword with his forearm. The unexpected weight of the strike made him instinctively release the child and get pushed back.

"Wow, impressive."

Iota said, staring ahead.

He saw a man holding the child in his arms.

"Not only did you land a hit on me, but you also saved the child? Impressive."

The man didn't respond to Iota's words.

The man gently set the child down on the ground and spoke to the mother.

"Run as far as you can. Don't stop until the fort is out of sight."

The mother hastily grabbed her child and fled. Iota watched them with a look of regret.

"Ah... they were ripening so nicely. Isn't it cruel? They say not even dogs are disturbed while eating."

Iota complained, but the man just stared at him silently.

"Well, I'll let it slide. The soul of a powerful human like you is tastier than that of ordinary folks."

Iota licked his lips, then suddenly recognized the man's face.

"Wait a minute, you're Damien Haksen! What a coincidence! I didn't expect to find you here!"

Damien was the human Dorugo had recently shown the most interest in. Consequently, Iota knew all about Damien's history and even his face.

"Mother has been wanting to study you. So why don't you come with me? I promise you'll be treated well."

"How were you completed?"

Damien suddenly asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You shouldn't be complete right now. It's impossible. So why are you here in front of me?"

"What nonsense are you..."

"Are you the only one completed? Or are the other three finished too?"

At that moment, Iota froze.

Dorugo had created four Great Demon Kings, and only Dorugo's closest aides knew this.

Yet Damien, an outsider, had just mentioned the Four Great Demon Kings.

"...Is there a traitor? This matter can't be ignored."

Iota's expression grew serious.

Whatever else, he couldn't tolerate anyone endangering Mother's plans.

"Damien, you'd better explain how you know about us, and in as much detail as possible."

Iota swung both hands, and twelve aurablades shot out from his nails.

The twelve aura blades rushed towards Damien, but he deflected them all with his sword.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd deflect them so easily. The rumors weren't exaggerated."

Without a word, Damien launched himself off the ground. Iota laughed loudly.

"Wow, scary! Then I'll increase my power too!"

Iota drew upon more dark mana, his presence doubling as if the previous attack had been a mere jest.

He swung his hands wildly, moving so fast that it seemed his arms multiplied.

Dozens of aura blades poured down, aiming to tear Damien apart.

Yet, Damien took no defensive action; he just kept running forward.

"Huh? What kind of reckless..."

As the cluster of aurablades struck, Damien's body dissipated like smoke.

The buildings and fort behind him crumbled, but Damien remained unharmed.

"...What?"

Confusion spread across Iota's face. It was an unbelievable sight.

'Ghost Shadow.'

Realm of the Phantom, who was known as the pinnacle of assassins.

In his time as a Death Knight, Phantom had attempted to assassinate Damien but ended up being killed instead.

During that process, Damien absorbed all of Phantom's techniques and skills.

Originally, Ghost Shadow was used to blend the body and mana to erase one's presence or slip through tight spaces.

However, Damien used Ghost Shadow more aggressively.

Just like now.

Each time the aurablades rained down, Damien evaded them using Ghost Shadow.

"Ha! You have quite a few tricks, don't you?"

Despite not even grazing the hem of Damien's clothes, Iota did not seem impatient.

He observed Damien's movements with cold and calculating eyes.

"But, looking closely, it's quite predictable, isn't it?"

Damien dissolved into smoke again. As he reappeared, Iota shouted.

"Gotcha!"

Iota's arm stretched out, aiming to pierce Damien's face.

He had already realized that Ghost Shadow couldn't be used consecutively. So, this attack...

At that moment, Damien raised his foot and stepped on Iota's hand.

Iota's hand was pinned to the ground, causing a massive impact that shattered the earth.

"Huh?"

While Iota was momentarily startled, Damien muttered softly.

"Third Ring."

With a resonant sound, Damien's figure vanished.

Before Iota could fully comprehend this, Damien reappeared in front of him and swung his sword.

A blue flash sliced toward Iota's neck.

***

However, the Dawn did not sever Iota's neck.

As soon as it touched, numerous scales sprouted from Iota's neck.

Despite being cloaked in aurablade, the Dawn couldn't cut through the scales.

With a dull thud, Iota was pushed back, clutching his neck with a horrified expression.

‘As expected, it's tough.’

Damien wasn't particularly surprised. He knew what Iota was.

Iota was an undead created by Dorugo using a dragon's corpse.

The elongated limbs were infused with dragon muscles and bones.

Not just that. The bat-like wings and internal organs were also made from a dragon.

A whole dragon had been compressed into Iota's body.

"Unbelievable. A mere human dares to slash my neck?"

Iota removed his hand from his neck, where the dragon scales had already lain flat again.

"What should I do? My pride can't let this slide."

Thump.

A heavy sound resonated from within Iota's body.

"I am the ultimate creation of Mother. I can't be outdone by a human."

No, it wasn't a drumbeat.

It was the sound of the dragon heart inside Iota's body pounding.

"Be ready, I'll fight you seriously from now on."

Iota spread his wings wide.

Dark mana and dragon power erupted simultaneously.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]