Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Death King (2)
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[That's true up to the present moment, though.]
'No need to add that part.'
What mattered was that, at least right now, I was ahead of Fabian.
My spirits soared.
I'd rolled around endlessly to get this far, but it felt like a reward for all that effort.
'...But if I hesitate even for a moment, he'll overtake me in an instant.'
It could also be seen as barely catching up by exploiting the cheat-like abilities of Setting Addition and Synopsis to their limits.
Fabian was a heavenly genius with innate talent.
An overwhelming prodigy who kept growing without end.
To stay ahead of him forever, I too would have to strive endlessly without ever being satisfied.
'What a ruthless cheater.'
As I followed Damian with those thoughts, I began to feel a suffocating pressure building the lower we descended.
Thanks to my Divine Blood, I was only struggling a bit with breathing, but the others looked far worse off.
Logan Deolic seemed relatively fine, but the knights and soldiers trailing behind him looked on the verge of death.
"How are Riya and Maria holding up?"
"Oh? Are you worried about us?"
Riya smiled brightly in response to my question.
She looked as if she were out for a leisurely stroll.
"I'm protecting us with Dragon Word, so we're fine. And I'm shielding Maria too, so no need to worry."
Looking closely, a hazy barrier enveloped Riya and Maria.
It seemed to be blocking the encroaching death energy.
I wasn't too concerned about Riya, but Maria—being close to an ordinary human—had me worried. This eased my mind a little.
"Good job, Riya."
"Hee hee hee. Praise like this is a bit embarrassing... but not bad."
For all her quirks, Riya was clever enough to read my intentions and act on them promptly.
Sometimes her draconic nature made me wonder, but moments like this reassured me she was fine.
"This will be different from before."
Upon reaching the entrance to the seal, Damian issued one final warning before stepping inside.
I nodded and followed him in, where a bizarre crack came into view.
Logan gasped in shock upon seeing it.
"W-What in the world is that?!"
Thump, thump, thump!
The space pulsed like a beating heart.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the empty air, shedding motes of light, and black liquid oozed from the fissures.
A normal human would lose their life just from touching that liquid.
'It's so clear even without using Insight Eye.'
I'd expected it, but I couldn't help tensing up.
The Death King Rugal's revival was imminent.
A sticky, insidious aura wrapped around my entire body, instinctively putting me on edge.
"Weren't you curious about what blackened the skies? That's it."
Damian kindly explained to the stunned Logan.
"Long ago, Rugal Necris—the Death King, called one of the Seven Heroes alongside me—became a lich and sought to destroy the world. He's been slumbering here."
"T-That's absurd. You... you're really Damian...?"
"I don't lie. I've been guarding this place all this time to stop the lich Rugal."
It was a tale straight out of legend.
Damian's voice was quiet, but in the sealed space, everyone present could hear him clearly.
"No way... It can't be. Damian? Rugal? This is ridiculous."
But Logan could no longer claim I'd fabricated it.
The presence emerging from the shattering crack was overwhelmingly powerful.
It was too grand to be the scheme of a mere count from one kingdom.
"I-It really is Sir Damian..."
"You never know. Maybe that Death Knight is lying..."
The Deolic family's private soldiers were already half-convinced by Damian's words. The sight before them lent credence to his claims.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Then, the cracked fissure fully shattered, opening a pitch-black hole.
An overwhelming power surged forth, as if the Demon King himself had appeared.
「Da... mian...」
I'd once thought Damian's voice sounded like scraping metal, but compared to Rugal's now, that was nothing.
The sound reverberated through the vast space, sending chills down my spine and an urge to clap my hands over my ears.
「This time, you've gathered plenty of trash around you.」
A black shroud unfurled in midair, revealing a grotesque figure.
Black robes wrapped tight with golden chains and various artifacts.
Peeking from between the robes were stark white bones, proving Rugal was a lich.
"Rugal, this ends now."
Damian murmured lowly as he slowly drew his sword.
At the same time, a sword aura—no, sword beam—far surpassing mine erupted fiercely from his blade.
「Kuhahaha! That's why I hate you. That attitude, treating me like I'm nothing.」
Beneath the robe, the skull's sockets gleamed with amethyst eyes like jewels.
Immediately after, death energy coiled around Rugal's body, slowly lifting him into the air.
"What are you waiting for? Planning to just watch forever?"
"Huh?!"
I called out to Logan, who stared dazedly at Rugal. He jolted in surprise and drew his sword.
He must have sensed it too—that one misstep here meant instant death.
"Everyone, draw your swords! Stop that evil spirit right—!"
「Annoying. Begone.」
Rugal casually extended a hand toward Logan's shout, as if swatting a fly.
Violet radiance flowed out, engulfing the Deolic soldiers who were just drawing their weapons.
Kwaaaaa!
"Arghhh!"
The Deolic soldiers screamed and shrank back at the sight.
It wasn't even proper magic.
Just a wave of mana, but laced with Rugal's dense death energy—it would melt an ordinary human on contact.
"Riya!"
Riya reacted to my shout, immediately chanting Dragon Word.
The surging mana wave faltered and compressed into a thin stream.
I swung my sword vertically down at the condensed mana.
Kwaaaaa!
「...!」
Rugal's mana shattered and dispersed under my strike.
For something that had erupted with such force, it vanished pathetically.
"I do love undead."
I felt Rugal staring intently at me after I cleaved his mana in one go.
I pointed my blood-red blade at him.
"Hah."
Damian chuckled at my bold stance, finding it amusing.
"Rugal, I've told you before: don't judge people by appearances."
「Damian!」
Flames ignited in Rugal's eyes.
He was furious—not just that I'd casually blocked his attack, but at Damian's provocative gaze looking down on him.
"I won't protect you twice."
"Y-You bastard..."
As I brushed past Logan, saying that, he ground his teeth in humiliated fury.
Meanwhile, the Deolic soldiers gazed at me with admiration.
'Condition's good too.'
Even after losing some blood, I felt full of vigor.
The red Divine Blood coating Genova's blade flashed brilliantly.
"Sir Damian, focus on attacking him! I'll handle the rest!"
"Right, Clay. Leave it to you."
Boom!
Damian charged at Rugal, who lunged while spewing tendrils of mana.
I followed behind, activating Insight Eye.
'How many spells is he preparing at once?!'
Rugal was casting over thirty spells simultaneously as he rushed Damian.
Mana gathered in the air, forming various magics that encircled them.
'I couldn't believe he wiped out Dalros Kingdom alone...'
Now, seeing this, I had no choice but to believe.
The Death King Rugal was a being who could wage war on a nation single-handedly.
'And he's summoning too!'
Skeletons crawled from the floor, and dark wraiths materialized in the air.
Preparing dozens of spells while summoning this many at once.
A fitting title: Death King.
I took a deep breath and shouted loudly.
"What are you all waiting for?! Keep those monsters from reaching Sir Damian!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The Deolic knights and soldiers reflexively responded to my command and hurriedly blocked the skeletons and wraiths.
"C-Clay, you bastard! How dare you command my soldiers?!"
"Then stop standing around and do something."
"I was going to anyway, you insolent fool!"
Logan spat that as he unleashed red aura.
As if to avenge all his past humiliations, his momentum was astonishing.
[He's got some skill, at least.]
'Even if he looks like that, excluding Countess Ribina, he's unmatched in Talua Kingdom.'
Still a high Sword Expert, not yet a Sword Master, but gaps exist even within ranks.
Logan Deolic was at the pinnacle of high Sword Experts—a true knight.
"Haaap!"
I'd mocked him, but Logan Deolic's skill was indeed impressive.
Each swing of his sword bisected countless skeletons and wraiths, his technique nearing the perfected form of Silver Star Sword.
Most late-stage forms were lost, so it only vaguely incorporated the essence, but still formidable.
[Hey, where's he going?]
'Huh?'
Slaughtering skeletons enthusiastically, Logan soon approached the Damian-Rugal clash.
His bold charge at Rugal, displaying tremendous prowess, was almost inspiring.
'...Did I tease him too much?'
[Guess he wanted to show off.]
My blocking that mana wave for his soldiers must have irked him.
Plus my constant jabs—must have wounded his pride deeply.
"To call me trash! Even if you're a past Seven Hero, that's all you are—past!"
Shouting for all to hear, Logan squeezed out his full power and unleashed his ultimate technique.
"These ghosts of the past, I'll cleave in one—!"
「You're in the way. Vanish.」
"What?!"
His Silver Star Sword ultimate, dyeing the area in silver light like falling meteors, was instantly shattered by a black spear from the side.
Rugal then ducked Damian's sword strike and flicked a finger.
Kwaang!
"Arrrgh!"
Logan's armor exploded into pieces, hurling him back the full distance he'd charged, smashing into the wall.
It happened so fast the Deolic soldiers stared dumbfounded at their embedded lord.
"Oh my."
Riya smiled sweetly at Logan, who had rolled his eyes back in a faint against the wall.
She seemed tempted to finish him off but noticed my gaze and quickly withdrew her hand.
"...You weren't planning to actually kill him, right?"
"Oh, perish the thought. I was just checking if he was alive."
Riya covered her mouth, laughing daintily as always—even with Damian and Rugal locked in a battle for the ages right beside us.
"More importantly, Riya. What do you think? Can you handle it?"
"Yes? Ah."
Riya nodded confidently at my quiet question.
"Clay, I'm a dragon, remember?"
"I believe you."
I gripped Genova tightly and turned from her.
Then, I addressed the flustered soldiers and knights glancing between Logan and me.
"Absolutely do not let skeletons or wraiths reach Damian. In five minutes, Skeleton Warriors, Mages, and Specters will appear from 10 o'clock and 3 o'clock directions ahead."
"A-Advanced monsters?!"
"They'll summon slowly, so no worries."
Insight Eye let me peer into Rugal's summoning magic circles spreading everywhere.
Things Riya would have handled alone without the Deolic privates—but kind Sir Logan Deolic had provided troops, so best to use them.
"Now, form up and hold your positions!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Deolic privates shouted vigorously, proving their elite status. Though initially terrified, they didn't crumble easily amid the thick death energy.
'Alright, now...'
I took a deep breath and watched Damian and Rugal's battle.
Their clash had transcended mere 'fight.'
And now, I had to join them.