Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Master (3)
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Tievo always tried to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
But who could have predicted that undead would swarm the entire city, massacring its people?
"Damn it, I finally get a taste of the good life, and then this shit happens!"
Tievo swung his weapon at the skeletons while spewing curses.
When he'd met a man named Victor and secured a massive haul of artifacts, he'd been filled with dreams that his life was about to change.
But overnight, he'd been backed into a corner where he had to worry about his very survival.
The silver lining was that Tievo wasn't alone.
"Everyone, hang in there! Don't fall!"
Countless knights were fighting the skeletons alongside him. Among them, the one who stood out head and shoulders above the rest was Dufelis.
A high-class knight—one of only two in the entire Macadamia Kingdom.
Dufelis's skill was indeed extraordinary. With a single swing of his sword, dozens of skeletons shattered into pieces.
The problem was that they just reformed.
The skeletons Dufelis had smashed reformed back to their original state.
Seeing this, exhaustion crept onto Dufelis's face and those of the other knights.
"Ugh, argh!"
At that moment, a skeleton's spear thrust pierced Tievo's shoulder.
Fortunately, his armor held, sparing him from injury.
"You bastard! This armor's an artifact, you know!"
Tievo roared as he bashed the skeleton with his club.
But no matter how much he hit it, the skeleton wouldn't break. Instead, it grabbed his club and flung him aside.
"F-Fuck! Fuuuck!"
Curses spilled from his lips involuntarily. As terror gripped Tievo,
Suddenly, the light vanished from the skeleton's eye sockets, and its body crumbled into bone fragments.
"Huh? Wh-What?"
It wasn't just the one Tievo was fighting. Skeletons across the entire city were collapsing.
Everyone was left dumbfounded by the abrupt turn of events.
"W-We survived!"
But the relief was short-lived. People cheered in the joy of survival.
"Hoo, whew."
Tievo slumped to the ground, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Victor... is that guy okay...?"
Tievo muttered worriedly.
* * *
"H-Hiiik... Hiiiik...!"
Ever since Demian injected black mana into him, Gasdal had been writhing on the ground.
"S-Stop! Stop it! That's enough already! Stop ripping out my soul!"
"N-No! I was wrong! It's all my fault! Please stop! Just stop!"
"K-Kill me... Please just kill me... Please... Just kill me already...."
Gasdal endlessly screamed and spewed agony. Occasionally, he begged desperately to be put to death.
Dominico and the skeletons watched the scene in silence.
As undead themselves, they knew exactly what Gasdal was going through.
He was being tortured by over tens of thousands of souls in the spiritual realm.
Even knowing he was the enemy, it was horrific enough to inspire pity. Of course, that didn't mean they truly felt sorry for him.
-Is this why you didn't entrust Gasdal to me? To inflict even greater suffering?
Dominico turned to Demian and asked. Demian let out a scoff.
"Don't misunderstand. I simply thought they were the ones qualified to exact revenge on Gasdal."
Demian's voice remained ice-cold.
"I could have thrown your souls to them as well... Consider yourselves fortunate that I didn't."
Demian had given them a chance at revenge, but he hadn't forgiven their crimes.
He simply chose not to condemn them further, since they had opted to fight Gasdal even after turning undead.
-...You're right. The sins we've committed still remain.
Dominico looked up at the sky. Unlike the ruined count's estate, it shone an unbelievably clear blue.
-Your real name is Demian Haksen, right?
Dominico stood before Demian. The skeletons lined up behind him.
-Thank you for helping us.
As Dominico bowed his head, the skeletons did the same.
"...You don't need to thank me. More importantly, go tend to your master."
-We appreciate the consideration. Then we'll retrieve his body.
Dominico and the skeletons left to find Freize's corpse.
The annex had been obliterated by the black mana Gasdal unleashed, sweeping Freize's body away with it.
Meanwhile, Demian began cleaning up.
The first thing Demian secured was the fragment of Erebos.
Even amid a strike powerful enough to obliterate an entire mountain, the fragment of Erebos lay intact on the ground, undamaged.
Demian bent down and picked it up.
"This makes the second piece."
The fragment he'd obtained this time was tiny—hard to believe it had powered a master-class undead.
Demian drew out the Erebos stored in his wristband.
The fragment turned liquid like a droplet and adhered perfectly to the blade. The short blade grew slightly longer.
Demian swung the polearm with Erebos attached for a test. Thanks to the extended blade, he felt it slice through the air more effectively.
"If it grows just a bit more, the power of oxidation might awaken."
Like the power of corrosion, the power of oxidation was one of Erebos's most potent abilities.
While corrosion erased matter, oxidation erased mana.
A natural counter to mages, Demian had once blocked a barrage of spells from grand archmages prepared with deadly intent using the power of oxidation during his Death Knight days.
Next, Demian gathered all the surrounding black mana and stored it in his bracelet. He then erased all traces of high-tier black magic usage.
Finally, Demian approached Gasdal.
By now, Gasdal had stopped breathing. His soul had been utterly destroyed.
"Worthless trash."
Demian spat in contempt and moved to incinerate the corpse with black magic.
That's when he noticed the magic tool hanging around Gasdal's neck.
"This is..."
Demian removed the necklace and examined it. Sure enough, it was a magic tool enchanted with subspace magic.
Demian opened the subspace and checked inside. It was far larger than the ring he'd been using—nearly three times the size.
"This is useful."
The item was blameless. Demian pocketed the subspace necklace.
In exchange, he pulled out all of Gasdal's research materials and books from inside and incinerated them along with the corpse.
Next to catch Demian's eye was Gasdal's staff.
Fitting for a grand black mage, it was no ordinary item.
"A staff made from spiritwood branch. Where did he get something this rare?"
Spiritwood was a special tree that grew only in the spirit realm, home to the spirits.
It was incredibly hard to obtain, but renowned as the ultimate material for crafting magic tools.
Of course, if comparing grades, the World Tree cherished by the elves was far superior—but acquiring that was next to impossible.
"I could sell this to some mages."
It was too valuable to discard. Demian stored the staff in his subspace.
-Demian, we're finished here.
Dominico and the skeletons returned to Demian's location.
"Did you recover the body safely?"
-Yes, we just buried him in the backyard. We wanted time to mourn... but there's something more urgent.
"More urgent?"
Demian looked at Dominico with a puzzled expression.
-People will swarm the castle soon. We want to repay you before that.
* * *
The place Dominico led Demian to was the underground of the count's estate.
-This is the entrance to the count family vault. There's something inside I'd like to give you.
As if he'd been there several times before, Dominico deftly manipulated the device on the iron door. The door slowly slid open to either side.
"A vault..."
Demian peered into the entrance with interest.
It was the vault of a family that had produced a master-class knight and risen to the rank of county. Even Demian couldn't help but feel anticipation.
But when the iron door fully opened, Demian was greatly disappointed.
"...It's empty?"
The interior space was decently large, but there were scarcely any items left.
-After Master passed, we had to sell everything inside to sustain the county.
Dominico said with an awkward expression.
"But we kept the most precious treasure."
Dominico guided Demian deeper inside. There hung a single greatsword.
The blade alone seemed over two meters long. The hilt was so long that it would still extend well beyond a two-handed grip.
What stood out most were the lines etched into the blade's surface. Dozens of straight lines extended from the base to the tip.
-Master found this relic sword on the final floor of the ruins. Suspecting it was no ordinary item, he kept it stored in the vault.
Dominico began explaining from beside Demian.
-It's too large and heavy for practical combat, so Master never used it once.
Dominico gazed at the greatsword with longing.
-I don't know what abilities it has... but he said it was precious even on the final floor. It's no ordinary item, so if you hold onto it and sell it later, you'll get a fortune.
Demian approached the relic sword.
This was the only thing found on the final floor of the ruins.
The relic sword that the ruins' original owner—the artisan—had been crafting to offer to the prince.
"Who would've thought it was here..."
Among the descriptions Demian had seen in the ruins, the method to activate it was included.
Demian channeled mana into the relic sword. Its crossguard began to glow brightly.
-Huh? Wh-What?
As the relic sword activated, Dominico startled and stepped back.
The relic sword floated lightly into the air and began circling Demian.
Demian mentally commanded it to move as a test. The relic sword obeyed perfectly.
"You'll need a name too."
Demian said, looking at the relic sword orbiting him.
"Let's call you Biyeon."
And with that, Demian became the owner of the relic sword.
* * *
Afterward, Demian left the count's estate.
As soon as he emerged, crowds flooded toward the estate. It had been a close call.
Next, Demian went to retrieve the artifacts he'd left at the inn and on the sixth floor of the ruins. They were too valuable to abandon.
With the city in chaos from the undead outbreak, selling them in the county was impossible. The black market in Apple Kingdom seemed the better option.
Thanks to the ample space in the subspace necklace from Gasdal, he could fit them all.
Once he'd recovered all the artifacts, Demian sneaked into the inn where Tievo was staying to tie up his final loose end.
"Snore."
Tievo lay sprawled across the bed, fast asleep. Demian flicked his forehead sharply.
"Ugh, guaaah!"
Tievo shot up with a guttural yell. Upon seeing Demian's face, he nearly shouted in shock.
"Tsk."
Demian swiftly pressed Tievo's pressure point, paralyzing his neck muscles. Tievo's scream died in his throat.
"Calm down. It's me."
Demian showed his face. Tievo's eyes widened.
Demian released the pressure point, and Tievo spoke with a stunned expression.
"Mr. Victor? You're alive?"
"You thought I was dead?"
"You weren't anywhere to be seen, so I thought you were goner for sure..."
Tievo sighed in relief as he said this.
"But why come at this hour?"
"I had a lot to take care of before leaving, so I had no choice."
"L-Leaving? What about the ruins?"
"With this mess? The ruins are the least of our worries."
With a massive undead outbreak, inquisitors would soon be dispatched from the county.
Meeting them would only complicate things for Demian, so he planned to leave beforehand.
"I came because I need to pay you for your hard work before I go."
"Pardon?"
"That armor and gauntlets are yours from now on."
Tievo's eyes widened at Demian's words.
"But that's not enough compensation."
Demian produced a few artifacts he'd brought in advance—items from the sixth floor.
"Selling these alone will keep you comfortable for life."
"M-Mr. Victor..."
Tievo looked at Demian with deep emotion.
"It's not much as payment... but I'll erase a bit of your memory."
"Pardon?"
Demian placed a finger on Tievo's forehead and cast black magic.
He extracted and erased the memories of the past few days.
It was preparation in case Pandemonium interrogated people.
The backlash from the black magic caused Tievo to pass out on the spot.
"Live well."
With that, Demian slipped out of the inn.
* * *
Demian, who had left the inn, mounted the horse he'd prepared in advance and departed the county.
How long had he ridden? Suddenly, Demian halted his horse.
"Come out."
No sooner had Demian spoken than the surrounding bushes rustled.
From them emerged figures with translucent forms.
They were the county's knights and soldiers, along with Dominico's souls.
"Why are you following me?"
After the battle ended, Demian had dispelled the black magic binding them. They had reverted from undead to souls.
"Your place of death is the county. Don't follow me any further."
Demian spoke in a stern tone.
The county's knights and soldiers turned to Dominico. He stepped forward before Demian and said,
-Demian, do you plan to keep fighting black mages from now on?
"Probably."
-Why... why do you fight the black mages?
Demian frowned at Dominico's question.
"I have no intention of telling you that. Surely you didn't track me down just to ask something so trivial?"
-Use us in that fight.
Demian froze at the unexpected words.
"What?"
-I said, use us as tools to achieve your goal.
"What are you thinking?"
At Demian's question, Dominico gave a wry smile.
-Two reasons. First, as you said, we haven't fully atoned for our sins yet.
As Demian had condemned, they had captured innocent explorers and turned them into Gasdal's test subjects.
Even if done for their lord, a sin was a sin.
-Second... we want to repay the grace you've shown us.
Demian wondered if he'd misheard. But Dominico and the other souls gazed at him with resolute expressions.
Demian fell into thought.
If he were alone, he would have refused their loyalty.
Demian could fight just fine by himself. They would likely only be a hindrance.
But now, Demian had a family to protect.
Sooner or later, he would clash with Pandemonium. They would surely pressure him without restraint or mercy.
No matter how skilled Demian was, he couldn't fend off attacks from all directions with just one pair of hands.
"...You'll regret it."
At Demian's words, Dominico and the other souls smiled and replied,
-Don't worry. We absolutely won't.
Dominico and the souls knelt before Demian.
They looked just like knights swearing fealty to their sovereign.