Chapter 109
Chapter 109
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Strange Guest (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The day to depart for the Church had finally arrived.
After bidding farewell to his family, Demian mounted his horse and left Spring Castle.
The journey to the Church was extremely long, so he had to move diligently.
After several days of travel, Demian arrived at the border of the Apple Kingdom.
He needed to cross the border, but the sun had already set, making further travel impossible.
“There’s no village nearby.”
He extended his senses to check, but detected no signs of life.
In the end, Demian had no choice but to camp in the forest.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this and packed his subspace full of camping gear.
He gathered dry branches and lit a campfire. Then he placed a kettle on it and boiled some water.
While the water boiled, he had a simple meal of biscuits and jerky. Afterward, he brewed tea with the boiled water.
Demian sipped his tea while gazing at the sunset. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he’d had such a leisurely moment.
“In my previous life, I never dreamed a day like this would come.”
Being alone like this brought back memories from his Death Knight days.
Memories of being trapped in his own body, enslaved to Dorgo, massacring people.
At first, he had tried everything to regain control of his body.
But no matter how hard he tried, nothing changed. He could only watch powerlessly as his flesh slaughtered innocents.
Crunch.
Just thinking about the past still filled him with rage. It felt as vivid as the recent events.
The torrent of emotions was so intense it threatened to overwhelm his reason.
Demian had to take deep breaths for a long while to calm himself.
“Damn it...”
He had to annihilate that damned Archlich Dorgo as soon as possible.
Otherwise, true peace would never come in his lifetime.
“To kill him... I need to get stronger than I am now. Much stronger.”
Judging coldly, Demian in his current state couldn’t defeat Dorgo.
Among black mages, those with transcendent skill were called high-ranking mages.
When high-ranking black mages surpassed a certain wall and reached an otherworldly realm, they were called grand black mages.
Only a tiny fraction of grand black mages could transform themselves into undead and become liches.
And Dorgo was an archlich, at the pinnacle among liches.
In all of history, Dorgo was the only one to reach that height.
His power was beyond imagination.
“But it’s only a matter of time. I just need to get a little stronger than I am now.”
Demian wasn’t an ordinary knight.
In his previous life, he had slain countless masters and possessed talent enough to destroy humanity.
No genius ever born could match him.
On top of that, he had his past life’s memories and experience, the black magic knowledge implanted by Archlich Dorgo.
And he even possessed authorities.
In his previous life, Dorgo had sought to make Demian an absolute being.
To that end, he extracted seven authorities from ancient divine relics and bestowed them upon Demian.
Each authority held power so immense even Dorgo could scarcely handle it.
That was why Demian could say with confidence: a little more strength, and he could kill Dorgo.
Not just kill—he was certain he could erase him without a trace.
“If I advance my realm just a bit further from my current state, Dorgo won’t be a threat. But...”
He had learned in his previous life.
One must always assume the worst.
Letting his guard down would lead to fatal mistakes.
To annihilate Dorgo perfectly, without any risks, high-class wasn’t enough.
“Master. I need to reach that realm.”
Right now, Demian had the spirit heart bought at the auction house and the sea serpent’s inner core from the king.
Absorbing those two would bring him one step closer to the master realm.
However, simply increasing his mana capacity wouldn’t get him there.
He needed to complete his own mana cultivation method as soon as possible. Only by establishing it as his foundation could he ascend to master.
That was why he kept collecting mana cultivation methods.
“I need to finish preparations before Huan comes looking.”
Dorgo moved constantly, making his location impossible to pin down.
In his previous life, Demian had encountered Dorgo while taking a commission with Huan’s mercenary group.
So in this life, he had asked Huan for one favor: if he took that same commission, notify Demian immediately.
“I’ll definitely kill him.”
It was then, as Demian quietly quelled his hatred.
Noise began coming from afar. The ground trembled continuously, as if a massive monster approached.
“What’s that? What’s going on?”
Demian looked toward the sound with a startled face.
Soon, he witnessed an absurd sight.
Trees in the distance were toppling one by one to the ground.
Something extraordinary was knocking them down.
“It’s heading this way?”
Demian realized it was coming toward him.
“Hiyah!”
With a shout, the tree right in front of him fell. Beyond it appeared a girl and a young man.
“David, look! What did I tell you? I said there’d be someone here, didn’t I?”
The girl turned to the young man behind her. Her golden hair swayed with the motion.
It was so well-maintained that every strand glistened and shimmered.
“Good grief, miss. Even so, you can’t just trash the forest like this.”
The young man pressed his hand to his forehead as if his head ached. He carried a backpack twice his size.
“We’re lost—what can we do? But thanks to it, we found the firelight properly, didn’t we?”
The girl strode toward Demian.
“Don’t be scared! We’re not here to hurt you!”
She placed both hands on her hips as she spoke.
It was such an arrogant pose, one wondered how anyone could look so haughty.
“I just want to ask for directions! We’re heading to the Apple Kingdom—which way is it?”
Unfortunately, Demian couldn’t respond.
From the moment the girl appeared, he had been in shock.
“...Why is the Sword Empress here?”
The woman who had vied for the title of humanity’s strongest alongside the Empire’s Greatest Sword stood before him.
* * *
Sword Empress.
As the name suggested, it was an incredibly arrogant and haughty title.
Empress of the Sword? Who in this world could claim such a title?
But those who had actually fought her had no choice but to abandon such thoughts.
Her skill was that overwhelming, worthy of awe.
“She was an incredible powerhouse.”
During his Death Knight days, most masters Demian fought died in their first clash.
But not the Sword Empress. The first battle ended without a decisive outcome. They clashed several more times after.
Even after Demian saw through all her techniques and stole her realm, she didn’t fall.
But in their sixth battle, the Sword Empress finally lost her life.
The girl’s appearance matched the Sword Empress from Demian’s memories perfectly. Just a few more years of growth, and it would be exact.
“She looks exactly the same as in my previous life.”
The Sword Empress in Demian’s memory and the girl before him were identical, save for her much younger age.
“Hey? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
When Demian remained silent for a long time, the Sword Empress tilted her head and asked.
“Aha! I get it now. You want payment, right?”
Her sudden remark caught Demian off guard.
“Payment?”
“No need to play dumb! My father already taught me everything! If you want someone to do something for you, you have to pay them!”
The Sword Empress gestured. The man behind her sighed and pulled out a leather pouch.
“Here.”
She flicked a gold coin toward Demian. It spun in the air and landed with a clink before him.
“There, payment received—so tell me. Which way is the Apple Kingdom?”
“No need.”
Demian tossed the gold coin back to the Sword Empress. She caught it with a puzzled look.
“More importantly, what business do you have in the Apple Kingdom?”
“I’m looking for someone. Do you know Michael Ryanbloom?”
At those words, Demian felt a strange sensation.
In his previous life, Michael Ryanbloom had lived indolently without rivals until he lost to the Sword Empress. After that, he trained diligently and reached the master realm.
Seeing the Sword Empress searching for Michael meant this was that exact time.
“What do you plan to do with Michael Ryanbloom?”
“What a silly question. Why does a knight seek another knight? To test our skills, of course!”
The Sword Empress thrust her clenched fist high into the sky.
“‘I’m curious. If these two fought now, who would win?”
In terms of pure talent, the Sword Empress far outstripped Michael. In his previous life, he never once defeated her.
But unlike then, the current Michael had awakened far sooner after meeting Demian.
And with Demian’s full guidance, he was growing even more rapidly.
“I originally came to fight Michael Ryanbloom... but on the way, I heard some strange rumors.”
“Strange rumors?”
“That a guy named Demian Haksen beat Michael Ryanbloom.”
The Sword Empress continued with a face full of intrigue.
“And not just that. Rumors of him helping the Church take down a black mage, reaching mid-class in record time—ridiculous stuff like that.”
“Sounds like quite the guy.”
“Right? It piqued my curiosity. What kind of person is he? How strong is he?”
Before he knew it, the Sword Empress’s gaze had fixed on Demian.
“You’re Demian Haksen, aren’t you?”
Demian finished his tea and spoke.
“Sharp instincts.”
“As expected. Of course someone this strong isn’t common.”
Demian could hide his power at will if he wanted, but he didn’t.
He was curious how the Sword Empress would react.
The Sword Empress he remembered had a spirit fiercer than her glamorous appearance suggested.
“Demian Haksen! Today I’ll finally defeat you!”
“Retreating for today! We’ll fight again next time!”
“This won’t be easy! I’ve developed a technique to take you down!”
She never gave up, no matter how many times Demian beat her. She always fought with genuine intent to win.
“...In the end, I never beat you once.”
“It was fun while it lasted. Not sure about you, though.”
Even in her final moments, the Sword Empress remained true to form. She feared no death. She held no grudge against Demian.
“I’ll be waiting in the afterlife. Let’s fight again then. That time, I’ll really talk to you...”
Until her head was severed, she boldly promised Demian a duel on her own terms. A fitting end for the Sword Empress.
After killing her, Demian was haunted by a dreadful feeling for a while.
“If you’re Demian Haksen, I have only one thing to do.”
The Sword Empress stood up. She stretched her limbs to loosen up.
“Want to spar?”
“Of course. What else is there for us to do?”
Demian burst into laughter at her words.
As expected, the Sword Empress was the Sword Empress. Just as he remembered.
“Sounds good.”
He was curious anyway.
Just what level of skill did the Sword Empress at this point possess?
“‘Might as well test some new techniques while I’m at it.’”
Cracking his knuckles, Demian rose to his feet.