Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Archenemy (1)
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‘I never thought I’d run into those bastards this soon.’
Joy overflowed from the depths of his chest. His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
‘When I returned, I vowed it. I’d track you two down and slaughter you without mercy.’
It was because of the information those two had gathered that Dorgo learned about Viscount Haksen’s family.
And Demian had been forced to kill his own family with his own hands.
‘Even at this time, those scum were working for Dorgo.’
Those two surely had it. A way to contact Dorgo.
If he could get his hands on that, he might uncover not just clues about Dorgo, but even his location.
‘Thank you. For showing up right in front of me. I mean it sincerely.’
A surge of ecstasy twisted his lips into a grin.
Demian covered his mouth with his hand. He couldn’t let those two see the smile that had just formed.
It would probably look utterly hideous and repulsive.
“Have you uncovered the identities of the fiends?”
He asked Radiance and Azure Flame. Azure Flame shook his head.
“Nothing beyond the fact that they’re composed of a Dark Knight and a black mage. There’s only one survivor, so testimony is scarce.”
“Elder, didn’t you just say the branches of the Mandarine Kingdom were attacked? How is there only one survivor?”
The Holy Order was a religion spread widely across the continent.
Even within a single nation, it maintained countless branches. For so many to be annihilated with just one survivor was suspicious.
“That part troubles me too. Just two people couldn’t possibly cause that level of mass destruction. Though testimony claims two survivors, there might have been more.”
Demian could confirm that part definitively. The Hanger couple were indeed a duo.
The reason mere two could wield such overwhelming destructive power was a certain black magic passed down directly from Dorgo.
“What about the central branch in the Mandarine Kingdom? Doesn’t it have a Grade 1 Holy Knight?”
“They say he was slain by the Dark Knight. Not just killed outright, but toyed with before death.”
Radiance’s expression grew even graver at those words.
A Dark Knight was a knight who wielded black magic rather than mana.
Considering the relationship between holy power and black magic, a Holy Knight held a natural advantage over a Dark Knight.
To lose despite that meant the Dark Knight’s skill was overwhelmingly superior.
“His Holiness plans to assemble a pursuit force immediately and dispatch it to the Mandarine Kingdom. However, given the enemies’ caliber, we must send commensurate strength.”
“That’s why you called me?”
At Azure Flame’s words, Radiance’s eyes gleamed.
“Then the confinement imposed by ‘Dazzling Pain’ has been lifted?”
“……It has.”
Azure Flame spoke with obvious displeasure. In contrast, Radiance’s lips spread into a wide smile.
“I should express my gratitude to His Holiness. Then I’ll head to my sect first and pay him a visit.”
As Radiance moved to leave, Demian asked Azure Flame.
“What about ‘Incinerators’? Will they also form a pursuit force?”
Azure Flame nodded toward Demian.
“Of course. How could we sit idly by while heretics commit such an outrage against heaven?”
“I wish to join the pursuit force alongside the Incinerators.”
At Demian’s words, both men’s eyes widened.
It was inevitable. Demian was making an unreasonable request.
This incident was deeply humiliating for the Order.
One must swiftly cover or resolve shameful matters before outsiders notice.
For an outsider like Demian to join the pursuit force in such circumstances?
“Sir Demian, that’s an impossible request.”
Even Radiance couldn’t hold back and interjected.
“This matter must be handled by our main order.”
“I agree with Radiance.”
Azure Flame stated firmly as well. But Demian had his reasons for not backing down.
‘To encounter the Hanger couple, I must join the pursuit force.’
Demian knew the Hanger couple well. It wasn’t by choice.
-Hey, Demian Haksen! You poor friend with nothing but air in your skull! I genuinely pity you.
-Dear, you... You always think so deeply. To worry about a hollow tin can like this.
The Hanger couple would seek out Demian Haksen and spout such nonsense every time.
-Yesterday was lucky. We nearly camped in the dark, but found a village!
-You’re right, dear. So lucky. Got a bed and some entertainment!
-Ah, the human pig contest was fun. You wouldn’t get it, tin can. Human pigs are like this: first, the limbs...
Nothing but nauseating topics. If he could, he’d have snapped their necks right there.
-We once raided Order branches on that one’s orders. Needed souls steeped in holy power.
-It was tough back then. No matter how many souls we stuffed in, the seal wouldn’t break.
-Got fed up midway and decided to wait. When they send a pursuit force, slaughter them all for soul supplies.
If what Demian had overheard was true, the Hanger couple wouldn’t have fled far after raiding the branches.
They were surely lurking nearby, waiting for the Order’s pursuit force. To kill Holy Knights and harvest their souls.
‘Even I couldn’t just blindly hunt down those two.’
Knowing they were near the branches wasn’t enough to find them, and their exceptional skills made them adept at evasion.
But collecting souls steeped in holy power was one of their top priorities.
They’d be lying in wait, jaws open, to devour Holy Knights.
In other words, to meet the Hanger couple, he needed to move with the Order.
But now, two of the Five Great Saints opposed it.
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that we distrust you.”
Azure Flame patted Demian’s shoulder in reassurance.
Suddenly, Demian opened his subsace. He drew forth Dawnbreaker.
Ziiiiiing.
Dawnbreaker trembled faintly upon emerging, as if protesting why it had been left inside so long.
Demian ignored its complaint and knelt on the ground.
“Elder!”
Azure Flame feigned surprise at Demian’s action.
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“Though I am an outsider, I always live with the sacredness of God in my heart!”
Demian feigned a voice thick with righteous fury.
“I breathe only by God’s mercy! Every breath reminds me that I live! And fills me with His grace!”
It was a lie.
Breathing was just breathing—who felt such nonsense?
“Yet vile heretics have defiled the branches... mocked the priests who follow God’s will! How can you ask me to stand by?”
Demian plunged Dawnbreaker into the ground.
Zing!
Dawnbreaker protested again, demanding gentler handling. Demian ignored it once more.
“If you won’t permit it, Elder, I’ll go alone!”
Demian gazed at Azure Flame with eyes brimming with resolve.
A brief silence fell between them.
“……Still, I can’t allow it.”
Radiance broke the silence.
“I understand Sir Demian’s feelings, but rationally speaking, you’re still an outsider……”
“Sir Demian!”
Azure Flame teared up and embraced Demian. Radiance stared at him in bewilderment.
“I knew I hadn’t misjudged you! I knew you’d act this way!”
Demian had experienced Azure Flame in his previous life.
A fierce man, endlessly soft toward allies. Especially those with strong faith.
That’s why he’d emphasized piety, expecting approval.
“I’ll personally assign you to the Incinerators’ pursuit force!”
Azure Flame thumped his chest, as if to say trust only him.
“Elder, that’s……”
Radiance tried to dissuade him in panic. Azure Flame glared at her.
“What does being an outsider matter? With such devout faith. Rejecting one like this goes against God’s will. Now, Sir Demian, come with me.”
“Yes, Elder.”
The two vanished right then.
Left alone, Radiance could only stare after them in disbelief.
“He doesn’t seem that devout…… Did I misjudge him?”
* * *
Azure Flame led Demian straight to the building used by the Incinerators.
Inside, the sect’s Holy Knights bustled about. Likely preparing the pursuit force.
“Attention.”
At Azure Flame’s command, the Holy Knights froze in place.
“Sir Demian here will join this pursuit force.”
Murmurs rippled through the Incinerators’ Holy Knights at his words.
One stepped forward. A bronze-skinned youth rippling with muscle.
“Master, one question. Is it truly fine to include an outsider in the pursuit force?”
Azure Flame pondered briefly before answering the man’s query.
“Yes. Opposition will be fierce.”
“Then why include Sir Demian?”
“There was no choice.”
Azure Flame clenched his fist. His body shuddered with emotion, face moved.
“Though an outsider, Sir Demian proved faith as devout as ours. He never forgets God’s grace and gratitude in his heart, and burned with greater fury at these heretics’ raid than anyone.”
“Such a reason……!”
The man accepted it immediately. Not just him—the Incinerators’ Holy Knights nodded too.
“If that’s the reason, we must accept him.”
“Right. As long as they hate heretics, anyone’s family.”
Truly befitting the simplest sect among them, the Incinerators.
‘Is it okay to be this straightforward?’
Demian worried for them.
In truth, this simplicity led to the Incinerators suffering the greatest losses in the apocalypse war.
Yet they’d saved countless lives too, making it hard to judge.
“Sir Demian!”
Agnes scurried over from amid the Holy Knights, a smile blooming on her stoic face.
“I’m truly glad to be with Sir Demian again.”
“Me too.”
To Demian, it was mere polite formality.
But Agnes reacted differently. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she averted her gaze.
“To think Sir Demian feels the same……”
As Demian eyed Agnes oddly, the bronze youth approached and extended a hand.
“I’m Paramount. Master’s prized disciple and a Grade 1 Holy Knight.”
“Pleased to meet you. Demian Haksen.”
Shaking Paramount’s hand, Demian thought inwardly.
‘Paramount? Could he be the Blazing Flame Divine General?’
The Order’s Master-class Holy Knights weren’t limited to the Five Great Saints.
Countless others served the Order across the continent.
The Order called its Master-class Holy Knights White Grade.
Demian hadn’t met countless White Grade members.
Among them was one famed for sweeping battlefields wreathed in flames, dubbed the Blazing Flame Divine General.
Demian never met him, as another legion commander claimed his life.
“Ah, right. Paramount, a word for you.”
Azure Flame addressed his disciple.
“What is it?”
“If you take Sir Demian along, trouble’s sure to brew. You must handle it well.”
Paramount nodded at Azure Flame’s words.
“I’m prepared. No need to worry.”
“You’ll need even more resolve.”
At his master’s words, Paramount tilted his head.
“This pursuit force draws from three sects. Our ‘Incinerators,’ ‘Dazzling Pain,’ and…… ‘Bound Wind.’”
At ‘Bound Wind,’ Paramount’s face hardened.
“Those accursed…… Sorry.”
“No, speak freely. I feel the same.”
“Those accursed ones are joining? But Bound Wind’s all tied up on other missions.”
“Greenwind says their tasks are nearly done and pulled personnel separately. Conveniently closest to the Mandarine Kingdom.”
Paramount rubbed his face with his palm.
“Bound Wind’s probably already at the ruined branches, investigating. If they see Sir Demian……”
“It’ll get extremely annoyingly troublesome.”
Having overheard, Demian asked Agnes.
“Why the fuss over Bound Wind?”
Demian knew the ‘Bound Wind’ sect well.
Led by one of the Five Great Saints, ‘Greenwind.’
He’d fought Greenwind before. Clashed with Bound Wind too.
But back then, they’d left no particular impression.
“Ah, well……”
Agnes trailed off, looking troubled.
“You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
Demian looked puzzled.
And a few days later, upon arriving at the Mandarine Kingdom’s branches.
“You must’ve lost your mind completely! I want to crack open that skull and check inside! Whatever your circumstances, Bound Wind won’t tolerate an outsider’s participation. We’d rather handle the mission alone.”
Demian now understood what she meant.