Chapter 248
Chapter 248
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 248
Chapter Title: Parting (1)
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Demian stared at Sla's corpse.
Thanks to his black magic knowledge, he could see it. How desperately her soul had screamed as it perished.
No matter how superior one's physical regeneration, once the soul was destroyed, that was the end.
What lay before him now was nothing more than an empty husk.
"It's over."
As the tension released, pain throbbed throughout his body. The aftermath of the battle hit him all at once.
Too exhausted to even stand, Demian sank to the floor.
He closed his eyes tightly. In the darkness, he murmured softly.
"Sis..."
In his previous life, Louise had been the only one in the family to look after him until the very end.
Even when he was exiled from the family, she had worried for him. She had given him the money she had secretly saved and wished him happiness.
But Demian had failed even her final request.
He had become a Death Knight, bringing misery to himself and everyone else. In the end, he had killed his family and let Sla claim his sister's soul.
His sister had suffered in Sla's grasp for so long.
"I finally... killed her."
Of course, that was all from his previous life.
In this life, his sister was living a happy newlywed life in the real world.
Killing Sla wouldn't save the sister from his past life. Only Demian would find satisfaction in it.
That didn't mean he intended to stop.
The trash who had ruined his family's souls in his previous life. The vermin who had sided with Dorgo and plunged the entire world into misery.
If there was even a 1% chance of that same future repeating...
He wouldn't let a single one live. He planned to kill them all and erase even a fragment of their souls.
"You did well too."
Demian looked down at Dawn. Then he noticed it. The blade of Dawn was chipped.
It seemed it hadn't fully withstood Sla's final strike.
"You pushed yourself too. Sorry about that."
Ziiing.
Dawn let out a sword cry as if to say it was fine. Of course, it couldn't really be okay.
"I guess it's time to visit the Holy Order again after so long."
He had been planning to anyway.
Legendary holy swords like Dawn grew stronger through repeated battles. And each time they grew, they needed to be tempered once to fully unleash their potential.
"Rest for now."
Demian sheathed Dawn. Then he sensed presences from above.
A crowd of people poured in through the hole in the ceiling. One of them shouted.
"Sir Demian! You're alive? Sir Demian!"
It was the dean, Altmann Bedepulrite.
Altmann rushed to Demian with the other instructors. But when he saw Sla's corpse, he recoiled in horror.
"Wh-what in the world is...?"
Sla's corpse had shriveled up like a mummy from the destruction of her soul.
But since her main body had been so enormous, even the mummy was gigantic.
Even knowing it was a corpse, it was overwhelming.
"It's Sla."
Demian said calmly. Altmann asked in shock.
"Th-this is really Sla?"
"If you can't believe it, call in the investigators. They should already know the properties of Sla's black magic."
At those words, the dean's eyes and those of the other instructors wavered.
Demian was stating it so confidently that they had no choice but to believe, however unwillingly.
That this was indeed the corpse of Pandemonium's great evil, the harlot Sla.
"...To take down Sla single-handedly."
"How many people in the Empire have that kind of skill?"
"No more than ten. Incredible."
The instructors all looked at Demian with faces full of awe.
Demian paid little attention to their reactions.
"I'll be on my way."
"H-hold on, where do you think you're going?"
The dean asked in surprise. Demian fixed him with a cold glare.
"Why? You wouldn't try to block my path again, would you?"
Demian still held a grudge over how the dean had interfered earlier.
Under Demian's threat, the dean couldn't even lift his head.
"Th-there's no way."
"I'm exhausted and need rest. I'll be in my dorm, so call me when the investigators arrive."
Demian leaped up through the ceiling. As he emerged outside, he saw the faces of other instructors.
Among them were exactly two students.
Oliver Fortina and Penelope Borgia.
"Neither of you is hurt, right?"
Demian approached them as he spoke. But the two flinched and stepped back.
"Um..."
"Th-that is..."
The two were clearly afraid of Demian.
Demian didn't feel particularly hurt by it. When he had found Sla, he had lost control of his emotions.
It was only natural they were scared after seeing his face then.
"I'm glad you're both safe. Get checked just in case and rest."
Demian turned and headed to his dorm.
Oliver and Penelope watched his retreating back with complicated expressions.
* * *
Less than a day passed before investigators were dispatched to the academy.
The investigators extracted black magic from Sla's corpse and tested it.
"...The black magic pattern matches. It's definitely Sla."
"This is really Sla? One of the most dangerous great evils dies this easily?"
"What can we do? The corpse is right here. We have to believe it."
The investigators quickly wrote a report and sent it to the imperial palace.
When the palace received it, it erupted in chaos.
"They say Sla definitely died at the academy."
"What? Does that mean Sla was really hiding in the academy?"
"Impossible... How could a great evil be in a place like the academy...!"
"We should investigate the other institutions too. Who knows if Pandemonium's tentacles have reached them."
The palace bureaucrats treated the incident with utmost seriousness.
The academy was the cradle nurturing the Empire's future. For it to be tainted by Pandemonium...
There was no guarantee other institutions were safe. They had to launch a massive investigation, even if it turned the Empire upside down.
"More importantly, this knight named Demian Haksen. Did he really face Sla alone?"
"The testimonies from the students and instructors match. It's certain."
"Impossible. Wasn't Sla one of the top monsters among Pandemonium's great evils?"
"How many knights died to Sla? And he did it single-handedly..."
The bureaucrats had originally thought very poorly of Demian Haksen.
How could they like the man who had shattered the traditions of the Helian Tournament?
But if that knight had killed the great evil Sla, it changed everything.
"Thinking of what that damned wench did makes me feel relieved."
"Over several hundred thousand imperial citizens sacrificed to that harlot."
"And the knights? Quite a few died. Plenty of talents stolen too."
The harm Sla had inflicted on the Empire was incalculable.
There wasn't a single noble in the Empire who didn't grind their teeth over Sla.
"I hear he went to the academy specifically to hunt Sla."
"And we were the ones badmouthing Demian Haksen without knowing."
"Ha, this is... I don't even know how to apologize."
As the bureaucrats buzzed about Demian Haksen and Sla, the Emperor fell deep into thought.
'To slay Sla...'
The Emperor couldn't help but be greatly impressed.
The Empire had chased Sla for decades without even catching her tail.
Yet this man had found the monster single-handedly and slain her alone.
'What an enormous achievement...'
There was likely no such feat in the Empire's history.
'Wait.'
Suddenly, the Emperor realized something.
'Doesn't this mean I can support him without restraint now?'
* * *
While the investigation proceeded, Demian rested in his dorm.
'I need a week to recover.'
To keep up with Sla's speed, he had pushed the Harmonizing Infinite Extremity Art and Starlight Pollen to their limits.
Using those two mana cultivation methods multiplied physical abilities and mana output several times over, but the strain on the body was equally immense.
'It's still hard to fight enemies on Sla's level.'
Demian didn't view this victory optimistically.
Sla had been relatively easy, at least. He had the advantage in compatibility.
Her most powerful weapon was emitting pheromones.
Most knights fell to the pheromones and became her slaves. Even those who resisted were constantly disrupted mid-battle.
But pheromones had no effect on Demian. His control over his body was that superior.
'Her physical prowess was terrifying, but her movements were simple as a result.'
Sla's speed and destructive power were unmatched, but without martial arts training, her attacks were predictable.
Thanks to that, Demian could read all her moves and counter in advance.
'A Weaponmaster won't be that easy.'
A Weaponmaster was a master-class fighter who had overcome countless walls.
They were technically perfected and could create endless variables with their magic swords.
'To face a Weaponmaster, I need to get stronger.'
Demian thought of the dragon heart stored in his subspace.
Even that felt somewhat lacking. He needed an elixir to further elevate his abilities.
'If possible, more fragments of Erebos would be ideal.'
If Erebos's power grew stronger, he could instantly turn the tide against a Weaponmaster.
'Where was the next place to obtain a fragment...'
As Demian pondered, someone knocked on the door.
Demian rose and opened it. To his surprise, an unexpected guest stood there.
"Elder?"
The Sword Saint was at his door.
The Sword Saint immediately pulled Demian into a hug. And laughed loudly.
"Uahaha! You mad bastard! I never thought you'd kill Sla!"
The Sword Saint embraced Demian tightly in joy. Only after a long while did he release him.
"How did a busy person like you come all the way here?"
"How could I sit still after hearing Sla was dead? I rushed right over! I have so many questions for you I'm dying here!"
The Sword Saint pounded Demian's back.
"But who's the one behind you?"
Demian asked, looking at the man standing behind the Sword Saint. The man had his head and face covered with a black robe.
"Ah, this guy is..."
A troubled expression crossed the Sword Saint's face for a moment.
"I'll introduce myself."
The man said as he removed the robe covering his head.
Silver hair, like threads spun from moonlight, caught the eye first.
His hair wasn't the only unusual feature. His skin was an unnatural white, devoid of any tone.
"My name is Eos."
The man stared at Demian with eyes red as blood.
"I'm also known as the Empire's Greatest Sword."