Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Plague Investigation (3)
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Demian's words made the black mage's eyes widen slightly.
"......Demian Haksen?"
The black mage bowed his head, rummaging through his memories.
"Demian Haksen...... Demian Haksen...... Now I remember. You're the human they told me to capture alive."
The black mage looked at Demian with an intrigued expression.
"I was wondering why they were so interested in you...... Now I get it. You've got some incredible skills, don't you?"
Demian wasn't paying attention to the black mage's words. He simply lowered his gaze to Fenrir.
"......"
Demian didn't know what had happened between Fenrir and the black mage. But Fenrir's emotions were crystal clear to him.
An endless rage and a bottomless hatred poured toward the black mage.
At the same time, a profound sense of helplessness washed over him. Frustration followed. From that sprang a fury swelling like a flood.
"......Now I understand."
He could see why Fenrir from his previous life had been so ferocious.
"......You lost something precious to that guy."
Demian murmured as much and turned to the black mage.
"What's your name?"
"Me? Ah, right, you wouldn't know."
The black mage nodded at Demian's question.
"I'm Garlot. Grand Black Mage of the Aberration Sect."
Demian mulled over the name Garlot. Nothing came to mind.
Even Demian didn't know every black mage out there.
But one thing was certain. Black mages he didn't know were usually nobodies.
'How revolting.'
Demian glanced behind Garlot. Thousands of souls were bound to him, spewing black mana.
"I know it's annoying that you're butting in between me and Fenrir...... but I won't kill you. I've got a request to fulfill."
Garlot formed hand seals. A large subspace opened, and various monsters poured out.
They looked nothing like ordinary monsters. They were all chimeras.
"Damn, there sure are a lot of them."
Demian stared at the chimeras, lost in thought.
He could end this quickly with black magic. But there was a technique he wanted to test instead.
Demian opened his own subspace and pulled out a travel bag.
"Wait a second."
The moment he saw the travel bag, Garlot's expression changed.
"How do you have that......?"
Demian unzipped the bag, revealing a black void.
"Come out."
Countless skeletons marched out of the darkness. Following them was the death knight Domenico.
-I greet my lord.
Domenico and the skeletons knelt in unison. Demian inspected them and nodded.
"Miya's not here?"
No sooner had he spoken than Miya burst out of the darkness, swinging a fist at Demian.
Demian deflected Miya's punch with one hand.
"Kyaang! Kyaang!"
Miya swung furiously in anger. Demian blocked with one hand and asked Domenico.
"Why's it acting up all of a sudden?"
-Well...... My lord, don't you remember?
"Remember what?"
-You told this child, who lacks experience, to fight me with killing intent...... No, you just straight-up told me to kill it.
"Oh."
Only then did Demian recall the order he'd given.
"Kyaang! Kyaaang!"
Miya stopped and protested vehemently to Demian. Demian examined Miya with a satisfied look.
"So that's why its edge has sharpened. My judgment was spot on."
-Does that mean...... you won't retract the order?
Demian looked at Domenico as if to say, "Of course not." Miya's face paled.
"......No way!"
It was then.
Garlot shouted in astonishment.
"Undead? Undead? That knight looks totally normal—how are you handling undead? How?!"
Garlot yelled in shock.
"Noisy."
-I agree.
"Grrr."
Demian, Domenico, and Miya all directed killing intent at Garlot. Far from intimidated, Garlot looked even more delighted.
"Whoa...... You're planning to fight me? Awesome! My chimeras versus your undead! I'm curious which is stronger too!"
Demian ignored Garlot and asked Domenico.
"Domenico, any results from the training?"
-I apologize. I am too lowly to have achieved much.
Demian wasn't disappointed. It had been too short a time for significant results.
-But the former soldiers have all reached quasi-knight level.
Demian couldn't help but smile at that.
"Excellent."
Ordinary skeletons were one thing, but quasi-knights changed the equation. With this much force, they could fight.
"Go. Kill every moving thing."
At Demian's command, the skeletons drew their weapons.
"Rampage to your heart's content."
At Garlot's words, the chimeras bared their teeth.
The undead and chimeras charged at each other.
***
Skeletons capable of using aura rushed at the ogre chimeras.
-Roaaar!
Of course, they were no match. Even low-class knights struggled against regular ogres.
And this wasn't a normal ogre. With four arms, it was clearly a chimera fused from two ogres.
Mere quasi-knight skeletons couldn't handle it.
But the skeletons had one special advantage.
-Uhahat! Its head's smashed!
-Hey! Your arm's over here.
They didn't die.
As long as their lord, Demian Haksen, lived, the skeletons would never die. Even if shattered, they regenerated instantly.
The skeletons charged the ogre endlessly, heedless of their broken bodies.
Under their reckless assaults, wounds began accumulating all over the ogre chimeras.
As the saying goes, steady drips soak through clothes. In the end, the ogre chimera collapsed, covered in injuries.
-Raaargh! We won!
-Who's next!
The skeletons that felled the ogre chimera leaped at the next one.
While the skeletons steadily took down chimeras one by one, Domenico was massacring them.
-How dare these monsters charge me!
Every time Domenico swung his greatsword, a chimera's head flew.
Even in life, he had been among the top high-class knights.
On top of that, he'd successfully absorbed a bit of the insights Demian had given him.
The next most standout after Domenico was Miya.
"Kyaang!"
Miya charged like lightning and bit into an ogre chimera's neck.
It absorbed blood to copy the ogre's power, then ripped off the chimera's head with ogre-like strength.
As the chimeras began to falter, Garlot exclaimed in admiration again.
"Impressive...... They're no ordinary undead."
Garlot paid particular attention to Miya.
"Where'd you get a flesh golem like that...... It's almost on par with Fenrir?"
Even as his chimeras were smashed, Garlot didn't panic in the least.
These weren't chimeras he'd put real effort into. Losing them was no loss.
"Bagder, you're up."
He didn't want to use Bagder if possible— it might even kill Demian Haksen by accident.
But the chimeras couldn't stop Demian Haksen, so he had no choice.
"Kill everyone except that human male you see there."
At the command, Bagder moved. It rushed Miya at tremendous speed.
"Kya?"
Miya couldn't react in time. Bagder's fist descended on its head.
In that instant, Demian Haksen appeared in front of Miya. He blocked Bagder's fist with Dawn.
He simultaneously twisted its trajectory. Bagder's fist missed Demian and slammed into the ground.
Demian immediately swung his sword, unleashing aura. A massive slash cut into Bagder's torso.
Bagder was pushed back. But that was all. The aura hadn't even scratched its carapace.
"Extremely tough. Looks like you put a lot of work into this chimera, huh?"
Demian reacted with interest at the sight.
"You'd better get serious. Bagder's on par with master-class."
Garlot spoke with confident smugness. Demian let out a scoff.
"What's so funny?"
"How could I not laugh? You beef it up a bit and delusionally think it's master-class level."
He acknowledged Bagder's threat to some extent, but comparing it to master-class was pure fantasy.
"......Don't talk big when you couldn't even slice Bagder's carapace."
Garlot snapped sharply. This was a far cry from his composure during the earlier chimera slaughter.
It was a trait of the Aberration Sect. They poured all their affection into just one chimera.
So he couldn't overlook an insult to Bagder, even if he'd ignore others.
"Well, fair enough."
Demian readily admitted it. Bagder's carapace was tough enough that even Demian's aura struggled to cut it.
"Perfect timing, then. I've got a technique I learned just for moments like this."
Before coming here, Demian had acquired the mana circulation method left by the empire's greatest swordsman of old.
Demian named it the Ring Convergence Infinite Art.
The Ring Convergence Infinite Art formed rings of mana within the body, doubling mana output.
Demian had created three such rings.
He planned to use it right here.
"First Ring."
One ring began to rotate. At the same time, a humming vibration emanated from Demian's body.
As the vibration intensified, Demian's presence grew stronger. The aura enveloping Dawn thickened as well.
"Bagder! Attack!"
Sensing something ominous, Garlot ordered Bagder.
But before Bagder could move, Demian's body vanished.
"Where the hell......"
As Garlot muttered blankly, Demian's afterimages surrounded Bagder's body.
The afterimages swung their swords in unison. Dozens of slashes engulfed Bagder.