Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 305: The Power Of The Past (1)

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If pure mana was like clear water, then dark mana was like blood.

It was much thicker and stickier, so whenever dark mana coursed through his body, Damien felt a sense of unease.

He despised that feeling.

No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t get used to it. In fact, the higher his power grew, the more intensely he felt it.

Eventually, Damien began to sense something else in the dark mana—something more than just discomfort.

— "My child is waiting at home! Without me, they'll starve to death!"

— "Mother...! Please spare my mother! I beg you!"

— "You demon-like fiends! You're not human! God will never let you get away with this!"

He could now feel the lingering resentments of those who had been sacrificed to gain dark mana.

That was why Damien hated it. He didn’t want to absorb this power into his body unless absolutely necessary.

But now was not the time for stubbornness. To defeat a formidable enemy, he needed to rely on the power he so loathed.

So, Damien didn’t stop cultivating his nameless mana art. He didn’t block the flow of dark mana.

As he continued, his once flesh-colored skin began to turn gray, like ash. The blue glow in his eyes shifted to a deep red.

Soon, darkness rushed out from Damien and engulfed the surrounding ground. And then it began to burn like fire.

Ziiiiiing...

At that moment, he heard Dawn's faint sound when Damien looked down and saw Dawn weeping weakly.

Dawn was the holy sword so dark mana was like poison for it. Damien quickly stored it back into his subspace.

Then he spoke, stretching his hand into the air.

"Erebos, come forth."

Dormant Erebos materialized from the tattoo. Damien grasped Erebos's handle firmly.

"......"

Hela looked at Damien with a hardened expression.

She had been shivering for a while, sensing his ominous presence.

"Dorugo, it's best if we leave this place now."

Hela fled the scene at lightning speed, carrying Dorugo on her back.

Damien immediately attempted to pursue her.

“Stop right there!”

Just then, a massive shadow loomed over Damien and the ground.

A giant, as large as a mountain, had appeared behind him.

The giant’s body was composed of all sorts of metals.

“As long as I’m here, you won’t lay a finger on my mother!”

The giant, no, Epsilon roared with a thunderous voice.

Even seeing Epsilon's transformation, Damien wasn’t particularly surprised. He already knew her true nature.

Long ago, there were giants on the continent who could create metal from their bodies.

Epsilon had been created using the body of one such giant. Naturally, he had inherited the giant’s abilities.

Epsilon’s true form was created from the body of an extinct race of giants.

“I’ll crush you right here and now!”

Metal began to sprout from Epsilon’s hands. The metal fused together, forming a colossal hammer.

Epsilon swung the hammer down toward Damien. Its size was so immense that it was like a mountain peak crashing down.

However, Damien did not dodge. He didn’t even try to block.

The hammer struck Damien with full force, causing a massive explosion. The invisible shockwave blew everything around it away.

But Damien remained unscathed. In fact, he hadn’t even budged from his original position.

It wasn’t Damien who had been destroyed—it was the hammer. It lay in bits on the ground, fractured beyond recognition, like shattered glass.

“...Why is he unharmed?”

Epsilon muttered in disbelief. His face showed clear confusion.

He had no idea what kind of life Damien had lived in his previous life.

During Damien's time as a Death Knight, Dorugo altered his body to make it nearly indestructible.

But with every gain, there is always a loss.

Damien’s modified body became exceedingly heavy. As a result, he had no choice but to fight with defense in mind rather than evasion.

Damien focused on a technique to protect his body with an aura.

The result was an invincible defense so solid that it earned him the title of ‘The Impenetrable Shield.’

“If that’s the case… I’ll keep swinging until I break you!”

Epsilon made another hammer, this time even larger than the one before.

Just before he could swing the hammer, Damien extended his hand.

The darkness that had spread across the ground responded to his will. It surged up and wrapped around Epsilon’s limbs.

“Kyaaaah!”

Epsilon screamed as he struggled, but no matter how much strength he used, he couldn’t shake off the darkness.

Damien opened his palm and gathered dark mana into it.

The dark mana coalesced and formed a black sphere. Damien launched the sphere straight at Epsilon.

The sphere flew through the air and struck his torso.

His stomach evaporated in an instant.

"……!"

A gaping hole appeared in Epsilon’s body.

The size of the hole was massive, completely obliterating his abdomen and part of his chest.

The metal that encased his body offered no protection at all.

Epsilon's body collapsed shortly thereafter. He couldn’t even scream.

“Damien Haksen!”

A thunderous voice erupted from above.

Damien looked up and saw a black dragon, its massive form blocking out the sky.

He recognized the dragon's identity immediately.

It was Iota.

His body had been created using the corpse of Bahamut, the evil dragon who once ruled part of the continent.

This was why Iota could wield the power of a dragon.

“You dare harm Epsilon! I will see to it that you die here and now!”

Iota opened his massive jaws, and a blue flame began to gather in his throat.

The blue flames engulfed the ground where Damien stood.

Anything the flames touched was reduced to ashes without a trace. But Damien was the exception.

The darkness beneath Damien’s feet blocked the flames, preventing them from reaching him. The flames were stopped cold by the dark barrier.

"......!"

A look of shock flashed across Iota’s face. But soon his gaze sharpened.

“Too lukewarm for you? Let me turn up the heat until you can't withstand it!”

Iota drew on even more of his draconic power. The blue flames intensified and continually grew fiercer.

Damien calmly raised Erebos. The darkness on the ground began to converge around Erebos.

As the darkness gathered, it easily pushed back the flames.

The disastrous dragon's flames, which reputedly had burned half the continent, seemed weak during this time.

Iota witnessed this and shouted in horror.

“You monster…!”

Damien swung Erebos, and the slash cleaved the sky.

With a swift motion, the aurablade pierced Iota's body and rose upward. It was as if a black wall had sliced through the heavens.

“Guh…!”

Iota’s body was split from his left shoulder down to his right side. He couldn’t even let out a final cry as he plummeted to the ground.

Damien watched Iota fall and picked up Erebos.

Then, suddenly, the ground beneath him began to glow red.

There it was—a red circle carved into the ground, accompanied by red lightning and a terrifying sound.

Damien turned his head and saw a giant jellyfish-like creature floating in the distance.

“Damien Haksen. Dangerous. Must kill.”

It was Lambda.

His body had been created using the flesh of a Marquis Class demon.

This particular demon was known for possessing exceptional intelligence, even among demons.

Thus, the dark magic Lambda wielded was in a league far superior to that of ordinary dark mages—both in speed and power.

“This is the annihilation spell circle. Damien Haksen, I will disintegrate your body.”

The magic circle glowed even brighter, and the amount of crimson lightning surging from it increased dramatically.

At that moment, Damien pointed his finger at the magic circle.

His dark mana began seeping into the circle. Lambda saw this and sneered.

“Trying to dispel the circle? Foolish. My dark magic is flawless. There's no way you can penetrate it—”

Before Lambda could finish his sentence, the magic circle shattered. Damien's dark mana had caused an overload within it.

“……”

Although Lambda’s face had shifted into a more amorphous form, Damien could still sense his shock.

Damien then pointed at Lambda. In that instant, countless black spikes burst through Lambda’s body.

“Gah!”

Lambda’s form crumpled to the ground, violet blood oozing from the holes in his body as he muttered to himself.

“A curse...? How...? How did he curse my body...? Impossible…”

Damien raised Erebos to finish him off.

But before he could strike, a translucent sphere suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

Damien looked around and saw that he was now surrounded by hundreds of similar spheres.

“...Please, don’t harm my brothers any further.”

Damien spotted Theta among the spheres.

Her lower half had transformed into that of a serpent, while her upper body resembled a blend of human and reptilian features.

Like Epsilon, Theta had been created using an ancient race.

Elder Naga—a species that once ruled the seas.

They were known for stirring the ocean into violent storms with their voices.

“I know I can’t defeat you. But…”

Theta clapped her hands.

The spheres exploded simultaneously, releasing trapped sound waves that pulverized everything in their vicinity.

Yet, these attacks could not penetrate Damien’s defensive aura.

Damien cut through the storm of sound and stood before Theta. She looked at him with a resigned expression.

“Damien Haksen, I… I…”

Damien swung Erebos, aiming to sever her neck.

But at that moment...

A flash of light flickered in the distance, and a beam struck Damien.

He blocked it with Erebos, but the force of the impact sent him sliding back with a deafening sound.

"Theta, I’m sorry for being late."

Hela spoke as she lowered the sword she had just swung.

"I had to get Dorugo to safety first. But…"

Hela glanced at the fallen Four Great Demon Kings with disbelief on her face.

"…I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I never imagined you would defeat them all in such a short time."

She spoke with a bitter tone.

"But it's fine now. I’m here, and—"

"Pathetic."

A cold and emotionless voice cut her off.

"I don't know where your confidence comes from, but you should have fled instead."

"Dear, I know you’re strong… but you shouldn’t underestimate me."

Hela unleashed her dark mana. A powerful aura that rivaled Damien's emanated in every direction.

"I am the ruler of all Giant Evils under the heavens, a knight who has reached the rank of Grandmaster. I am a swordmaster who has mastered the light."

Her sword became engulfed in an aurablade.

"If you let your guard down, you might just lose your head."

With that, Hela launched herself forward, aiming a lightning-fast slash at Damien's neck.

A longsword intercepted her attack at that moment.

Hela was startled as her strike was blocked and also pushed back by its immense force.

As she was forced backward, she looked ahead in disbelief.

Standing where she had been was none other than Damien Haksen. It was he who had just unleashed that powerful slash.

"You…"

Hela's voice trembled as she spoke.

"How… How can you wield a sword of light…? Have you… mastered the same realm as mine?"

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]