Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: I Had Talent
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I had talent.
“Truly, you’ve lost your mind! Causing a scene at a tavern and getting thrown out? Do you have any idea how much dishonor you’ve brought upon our family?”
I had a talent for tarnishing the family’s honor.
Father couldn’t sleep a wink dealing with the mess his son had caused.
“Brother! Why on earth did you lay hands on the young master of the Ryanbloom Marquis family! To settle it somehow, Sister was dragged off by that filthy scoundrel!”
I had a talent for crushing my family’s future.
To escape the Ryanbloom Marquis family’s wrath, my older sister had no choice but to enter an unwanted marriage.
“Demian… why on earth did you borrow money using the family land as collateral? The place you borrowed from is a business run by a ducal house. This time, even I can’t help you.”
I even had a talent for squandering the family fortune.
The Viscount Haksen family’s meager wealth all vanished by my hand.
“Get out.”
In the end, Father could bear it no longer and cast me out.
Even Mother, who usually shielded me, kept silent this time.
My younger brother rejoiced, saying it was long overdue.
“Demian… at least take this money with you.”
Only my older sister worried for me.
Even though her life was ruined by her foolish brother, forcing her to part from her beloved fiancé.
“Be happy, please.”
That day, for the first time, I learned what guilt and shame felt like.
I fled the family home like a coward.
* * *
After being driven from the family, I wandered aimlessly.
There was no way a fool who’d spent his life leeching off the family would have any special skills.
The money I had vanished in no time. To avoid starving to death, I had to do anything.
Begging was routine, and fights broke out nearly every day.
“Well, well, the viscount’s young master, eh? Quite the lofty nose you’ve got there.”
“You must be itching for a beating. Shall I grant your wish?”
And surprisingly, I discovered a new talent.
“My arm… my arm…!”
“S-s-someone, a potion… My leg won’t move!”
“P-please, s-spare me, just this once!”
I had a talent for swordsmanship.
When I took down over ten thugs with a rusty dagger picked up in a back alley, I finally realized my gift.
Back in the family, I’d wasted my time in debauchery and laziness, never once touching a sword.
So I hadn’t known I possessed such talent.
“What? You want to be a mercenary? With that scrawny body of yours?”
“…Hah, your swordplay is downright ghostly, nothing like your looks.”
“With skills like that, you won’t die anywhere. Welcome to our Mercenary Group.”
Working as a mercenary, I learned the truth.
My talent was far greater than I’d imagined.
I mastered any swordsmanship in an instant. Not just swords—I handled other weapons adeptly too.
“I couldn’t believe it, but you actually beat a knight!”
“If not for you, we’d all be dead!”
“Brother! From now on, I’ll follow only you!”
In no time, I became the ace of the Mercenary Group.
No enemy frightened me. Not even knights could match me.
Soon enough, I realized my talent had no limits.
In an unwelcome way.
-Fresh corpses walking in on their own!
On a mission we took without much thought, our Mercenary Group encountered a lich.
Lich
A black mage who turned themselves into undead to escape death.
Only the highest black mages could become liches, and their power supposedly surpassed what they had in life.
The lich we faced wasn’t even ordinary.
It was an archlich, the pinnacle of liches.
The Mercenary Group was utterly powerless against the archlich’s black magic.
I was no exception.
-Oh? What a marvel. A human with such immense talent that even my mage sight can’t gauge its limits!
The archlich marveled, showering me with praise.
-But your talent’s development is pitifully stunted. With this gift, a little sword practice should elevate you to mastery.
Observing me again, the archlich clapped its bony hands.
The sound was sharp and hollow.
-Oh ho, now I see. Your soul’s light is so frail—you must’ve rotted your potential with innate laziness!
The archlich nailed my character perfectly.
-Tsk tsk, how tragic. But fear not. From now on, I’ll make your talent bloom fully.
What followed was hellish.
The archlich subjected my body to unspeakable horrors.
I was dosed with dozens of drugs.
My organs were replaced with those from other creatures, and all sorts of magic tools were implanted.
After ten years, I was no longer human.
-Finally, complete!
Death Knight.
The highest undead, born only when a black mage corrupts a knight’s soul.
The archlich had poured all its knowledge and resources into turning me into one.
I didn’t welcome this at all. But I couldn’t voice any complaints.
In the process of transforming me, the archlich had completely erased my will.
To make me a slave loyal only to it.
Yet, for some reason, my will hadn’t fully vanished.
I simply couldn’t control my body. It felt like I was trapped inside it.
-Now, let’s show the world your power.
No sooner had it finished me than the archlich waged war on humanity.
Shockingly, in my first battle, I single-handedly slaughtered over a thousand soldiers.
The death knight’s mighty physique, the forcibly infused vast black mana, and finally my talent combined.
-Humans dying like bugs!
Delighted, the archlich threw me into more battlefields.
I slashed, slashed, and slashed again.
With each one, my talent grew steeply.
At some point, I could perfectly comprehend and mimic any swordsmanship after seeing it once.
Eventually, I transcended imitation to creation.
I fused all the sword arts I’d learned into new ones.
From then on, I had no equals.
Countless knights fell to me.
Among them were the Mercenary King, the Sword Saint, and even the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman.
No one could stop me.
Not even myself.
“Demian! Why are you with the archlich! What is that form!”
Even when I plunged my sword into Father’s heart on the battlefield.
“Brother! Why are you doing this! Stop! Please, stop!”
The same when I severed my younger brother’s neck.
“You’re alive? But that form…”
The same when I burned the family estate and killed Mother.
“Demian… you must not have been happy.”
Even when attacking the Ryanbloom Marquis family, I could only watch as skeleton soldiers butchered my sister.
-How did it feel to kill your own family who cast you out? I prepared it especially for you.
The archlich said this when I returned after slaughtering them all.
It had known everything and ordered me to attack the Viscount Haksen and Ryanbloom Marquis families.
-Hahaha, of course you felt nothing. But I enjoyed it immensely. Quite the spectacle.
Never had I hated the archlich more.
Never had I loathed my own talent more.
Yet I had to keep fighting for it.
And in the end, we succeeded in toppling every kingdom as it desired.
-Finally! The whole world kneels before me!
The day the stubborn empire fell, the archlich praised me lavishly.
-This is all thanks to you! Without you, this day wouldn’t have come. No, I found you, so my achievement is the greatest. Uhahaha!
Indeed.
In this world, only the archlich had truly recognized my talent.
Thus, the world faced me, the catastrophe.
But even the archlich hadn’t foreseen one thing.
My talent had already surpassed its calculations.
Enough to reclaim control of the body it had stolen.
On the day of victory celebrations.
My mind returned.
* * *
It was a hellscape.
The walls had crumbled. Every building lay in ruins, ablaze.
Massacres raged in the streets.
“Aaah!”
“Run! Don’t get caught, whatever you do!”
The ones being slaughtered were humans.
The blood of the city’s original residents splattered everywhere.
The slaughterers were not human.
Half-rotted zombies, meat golems lumped from flesh, bone ogres moving on skeletons alone.
Countless undead were killing humans.
“Please, spare at least my son!”
“Mom! Mooooom!”
The mindless undead showed no mercy.
People were butchered cruelly.
-Hahaha, ahahaha!
Someone laughed amid the scene.
A man in a luxurious fur coat, out of place in this hell.
Or was it a man?
Only bones remained, making gender impossible to discern.
-Wonderful! Perfectly as I envisioned!
Its skull clacked as its jaw kept laughing.
No face left to read.
But anyone could see the skeleton was overjoyed.
-As the saying goes, revenge is sweeter the longer waited. Can you imagine my joy now fulfilling a vow from 500 years ago?
No answer came.
The Archlich Dorgo turned and asked again.
-Why no reply? Am I not speaking?
Where Dorgo turned, skeleton soldiers gripped a middle-aged man.
Hair yellow as a ripe pumpkin, beard thick down to his chest.
Emperor Howard Adelaite.
Howard Adelaite screamed at Dorgo from the skeletons’ grasp.
“You scum! Daring to slaughter my subjects! Filthy demon, hell itself isn’t enough for you!”
The emperor’s curses meant nothing to Dorgo now.
They were almost sweet.
Savoring the emperor’s rage, Dorgo spoke.
-Are you done? Then shall we begin the coronation?
“What nonsense is that! You, a coronation?”
-Of course, mine. I’ve achieved the first continental unification in history. Emperor suits me, doesn’t it?
Dorgo burst into laughter.
The emperor squeezed his eyes shut.
How far would this undead mock humanity?
-Now, bring the crown.
From the undead legion stepped an undead in black armor.
Seeing it, the emperor’s face hardened.
Death Knight Demian Haksen.
Countless knights had lost their lives to it, and over hundreds of thousands of soldiers massacred.
Dorgo had conquered the continent solely thanks to that death knight.
-Oh, my most loyal knight.
Dorgo gazed at the death knight with affection.
-Thanks to you, I’ve reached this position. How shall I reward such merit?
The death knight stood silently, holding the crown.
Dorgo chuckled at the sight.
-A foolish question. You’re my slave. Serving me is your greatest joy.
As Dorgo’s laughter grew louder.
The death knight suddenly hurled the crown behind its head.
The abrupt action cut Dorgo’s laugh short.
-Hm? What? I never ordered that…
The death knight gripped the greatsword on its back.
It stepped forward and swung.
Dorgo reflexively unleashed black magic.
A black barrier blocked its path.
But the death knight’s slash tore through the barrier effortlessly.
And bisected Dorgo’s body.
-Wh-what is this…
The death knight tossed off its helmet. A youthful face appeared.
Unmistakably human.
But death knight transformation had grayed its skin entirely.
“Finally… I can move by my own will.”
Hearing the voice from that face, Dorgo panicked further.
-H-how can you speak? I erased your will completely!
“It only seemed that way. I never fully vanished. I was trapped inside my body, watching everything.”
Death Knight.
No, Demian Haksen lifted Dorgo’s bisected upper body.
His face was emotionless, but his eyes blazed with hatred and rage.
Noticing, Dorgo smiled.
-Oh… quite angry, aren’t you? I understand. I’d feel the same.
Even in peril, Dorgo exuded confidence.
Liches store their souls in a mana repository called a life vessel.
Destroy the life vessel, or the lich lives on.
The archlich Dorgo was no different.
-Considering your contributions, I’ll allow some venting today. Just until I find a way to control you again.
Dorgo had prepared spare bodies.
Once its flesh was destroyed, it would transfer its mind and dominate Demian Haksen anew.
-Go on, then. Smash me to dust, curse me all you w—Urk!
Suddenly, Dorgo spewed black mana from its mouth.
Not just the mouth—black mana erupted from its entire body.
The black mana and soul from the life vessel were refluxing outward.
-Th-this can’t… Urk!
The life vessel was intact.
Yet Dorgo was dying in real time.
Incomprehensible.
“For ages, I pondered how to kill you.”
Liches don’t die without destroying their life vessel.
But under Dorgo’s domination, finding it was impossible.
“So I created a sword art that severs your soul along with everything else.”
-S-such a sword art can’t exist…
“Why not?”
Demian Haksen tightened his grip on Dorgo’s nape.
“Have you forgotten who I am already? You always boasted with me right here! Your greatest masterpiece!”
Demian Haksen.
His talent, devouring countless experts, had reached divine realms.
With a sword, anything was possible.
Impossible didn’t exist for him.
-B-block him! Stop this fool now!
Panicked, Dorgo ordered the undead legion.
Skeleton soldiers and golems charged Demian Haksen.
He swung his greatsword wide, unleashing a dark aura tidal wave that engulfed the legion.
The black wave crushed and shredded them.
The undead were swept away without resistance.
-N-no…
Dorgo was speechless at the absurdity.
Now an enemy, he felt it bone-deep.
Just how much of a monstrous outlier his creation was.
No more black mana leaked from Dorgo’s body.
Dorgo sensed death approaching.
-Sp-spare me… p-please…!
Demian Haksen twisted his lips.
“Fall to hell.”
The light in Dorgo’s skull sockets vanished. Its soul extinguished completely.
Demian Haksen slammed Dorgo’s skull to the ground.
And stomped it to powder.
-Uwoooo!
-Kraaaa!
Undead outside the palace howled.
Berserk without their master.
“Silence.”
Demian Haksen spread black mana, reasserting control.
The undead legion fell instantly silent.
In the prolonged war, Dorgo had infused him with black magic knowledge.
Thus, Demian Haksen was the legion’s second-greatest black mage after Dorgo.
“Self-destruct.”
At his command, the legion began destroying itself.
Over hundreds of thousands of undead vanished in moments.
“Y-you are…?”
The emperor stared at Demian Haksen in shock.
But Demian Haksen paid him no mind.
“…It’s finally over.”
Demian Haksen sank to the floor.
Even as undead, deep fatigue consumed him.
“No, not yet.”
Demian Haksen reversed his grip on the blade.
He pressed the tip to his chest.
Beneath this skin lay the power source driving Demian Haksen as a death knight.
Destroy it, and he’d face true death.
“There’s… still work to do.”
His family’s faces surfaced. No smiling ones.
He’d always angered them.
“I need to apologize. Say I’m sorry, that I regret it.”
Demian Haksen plunged the sword into his chest without hesitation.
No pain.
Only thick darkness shrouded his vision.
And…
“Demian?”
A voice echoed from the dark.
“Demian, why are you sleeping here? Get up.”
The voice of his longed-for sister.
Fortunately, he could meet her before hell.
“Father’s looking for you. He’s quite angry. What did you do this time?”
Father was furious too, as expected.
He had to hurry to Father.
Confess all his sins and beg forgiveness.
Demian Haksen steeled himself and opened his eyes.
Bright sunlight and his sister’s face greeted him.
“…Huh?”
Her face was much younger than the last he’d seen.
Too shocked, Demian Haksen blurted to her.
“…Sister, why do you look so young?”
“Oh, sudden flattery? Trying to get me to side with you when Father scolds you?”
She giggled brightly.
Hearing that laugh after so long, Demian Haksen could only stare blankly.
“Got it. Trust your big sister. Now fix your clothes and hurry?”
She walked ahead.
The Viscount Haksen estate loomed where she headed.
“…I’m sure I destroyed that with my own hands?”
Demian Haksen looked down at his body.
Unlike his death knight form, healthy pale skin with color gleamed.
“…What happened to me?”
Only after more time did Demian Haksen finally realize.
He had regressed to the past.