Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Hideout (2)
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Archlich Dorgo had made extensive preparations to destroy human society.
He had recruited capable black mages to sow chaos across the continent and, over a long period, built a powerful undead legion.
He had devoted all his painstakingly gathered strength to perform dozens of rituals, ultimately transforming Demian Haksen into a Death Knight.
But there was one other plan that Dorgo valued highly.
The restoration of the demon sword Erebos.
Erebos was a demon sword of unknown origin. No records of it existed anywhere in the world.
Only the Church mentioned that its fragments must be thoroughly sealed if discovered.
Even the Church, however, did not truly know what Erebos was.
‘Dorgo must have known all about Erebos. That’s why he searched for it so obsessively.’
Even during the war of annihilation, Dorgo had been frantic to find Erebos’s fragments.
Yet even Dorgo had failed to fully restore it.
The Erebos that Dorgo restored was only about 70% complete. Even so, it wielded terrifying power.
There were cases where rural farmers who chanced upon a fragment went berserk and slew high-class foes.
‘If Erebos hadn’t acknowledged me, I would have died.’
Erebos was not only powerful but also a finicky demon sword that chose its own master.
At first, it refused to acknowledge Demian as its master. Even when Demian grew strong enough to disdain master-class foes, it remained the same.
Only right before his battle with the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman did Erebos finally accept Demian.
‘That was one hell of a fight.’
Considering the Empire the strongest on the continent, the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman was effectively humanity’s strongest.
He was a monstrous figure befitting the title, enough to make even Demian feel a sense of crisis.
Above all, the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman wielded the Divine Sword ‘El De’.
El De, which had fallen from the heavens one day, possessed power surpassing any divine weapon in the world. Even the Church’s finest holy swords paled in comparison.
Had Demian not possessed Erebos, he would have lost his life to the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman and El De.
‘...Maybe that would have been better. If I’d died by the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman’s hand, it might have thwarted Dorgo’s ambitions.’
Once even the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman fell to Demian, the Empire crumbled swiftly.
And Dorgo succeeded in annihilating humanity by toppling the Empire, fulfilling his lifelong wish.
‘How the hell am I supposed to handle this...’
Erebos was far too dangerous an item. Yet it couldn’t be destroyed.
No method could destroy Erebos’s fragments. That was why even the Church ordered them sealed rather than destroyed.
‘I’ll have to keep it with me for now.’
As Demian thought this and picked up Erebos—
The sword’s hilt and blade turned to smoke and absorbed into his body. A tattoo in the shape of Erebos appeared on his wrist.
“What?”
Demian couldn’t help but be shocked once more. This phenomenon was proof of Erebos’s acknowledgment.
“This can’t be...”
During his time as a Death Knight, Demian had struggled to gain Erebos’s approval.
Even after slaying countless masters and reaching an unrivaled realm, it refused.
Yet this capricious sword had now accepted Demian as its master with shocking ease.
It was perplexing, but not a bad thing. He had essentially stolen one of Dorgo’s key assets.
“Besides, I use black magic anyway. No reason I can’t wield a demon sword.”
The problem was that only the hilt remained, rendering it unusable as a weapon.
A bit of the blade was left, but it was too short even for a dagger.
“Maybe I can attach it to my spear shaft.”
Hanging it from the spear’s tip might make it somewhat usable. Though then it’d be called a demon spear instead of a sword.
“Miya, let’s go.”
At Demian’s words, Miya nodded.
* * *
Demian stuffed Miya into the trunk and exited the hideout.
“Oh, there you are.”
Juan had been waiting with the mercenaries, huddled together.
As he stood, the other mercenaries rose as well.
“Did you handle your business?”
“More or less.”
“Good to hear.”
Juan grinned. He didn’t pry further. The perfect mercenary attitude.
“Where’s that guy?”
“Ah, the girl who loves killing? Over there.”
Juan pointed to a tree stump. Veronica Sanchez was crouched there.
“I’m here.”
Demian approached. Veronica Sanchez stared at him with a blank face.
“...Don’t greet me.”
Out of nowhere, Veronica Sanchez spouted something irrelevant.
“What nonsense is this?”
“Weak... I’m weak... Not even worthy of your greeting...”
It was the strangest loop of logic Demian had ever heard.
“Cut the crap and get up. We’re heading back.”
“Leave me behind... I’m too weak to travel with you...”
By now, Demian was starting to get irritated.
“Want me to beat you or just go?”
“Just beat me... All a weakling like me can do is get hit...”
Demian clicked his tongue.
The energetic Veronica Sanchez was annoying enough, but the listless one was worse.
“You’re misunderstanding something. You’re not weak.”
“Liar... Lies...”
“The flesh golem you fought had the ability to absorb mana. The more you slashed it, the more mana it stole. That’s why you lost.”
Veronica Sanchez gave him a look like it didn’t matter.
“You lost because you failed to quickly grasp that trait. Not because you’re weak.”
To be honest, she couldn’t handle even a single flesh golem without that insight, so it was true.
But right now, restoring her crushed pride was key, so he held back.
“The swordsmanship you showed killing those bandits was outstanding. I replayed it in my mind several times.”
At the successive praise, Veronica Sanchez’s ears perked up.
“Someone with that level of skill can’t be weak. Get a little more used to undead, and you’ll slice golems like people.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. So from now on, don’t just focus on killing humans. Try branching out.”
It was what Demian had wanted to say all along.
“The realm of swordsmanship is vast. It’s a waste for a genius like you to fixate on murder.”
This much was Demian’s sincere belief.
Veronica Sanchez had talent worthy of his recognition.
The issue was that it was solely focused on killing people.
If he could redirect that focus—if he could make her fight for humanity—it would gain him tremendous power.
“You... What’s your name?”
Veronica Sanchez looked at Demian and asked.
Demian hesitated. He had been hiding his identity all this time.
But giving a false name now would sever ties with her completely.
“Demian Haksen.”
After much thought, he gave his real name. Veronica Sanchez’s eyes widened.
“I’ve heard of you... The one who won the jousting tournament... You’re that Demian Haksen...”
Her expression grew dreamy.
“The one I most wanted to kill was you... Never thought I’d meet you like this.”
But her reaction was odd.
“Thanks to you, I realized my shortcomings... Once I overcome this, I’ll be even... much stronger...”
The more she spoke, the more her eyes changed.
Killing intent crept into her listless gaze. Her bright eyes darkened, growing sticky and obsessive.
“To gain insight from the one I most wanted to kill... This is fate! The heavens gave me a goal! To kill you!”
It was just like when she was consumed by murderous obsession. Seeing it, Demian instinctively knew.
Her obsession had shifted from killing in general to killing him.
“You gave me this realization for that reason, right? To make me stronger so I can kill you! Right?”
“What nonsense...”
“Got it! I’ll work on cutting other things too! I’ll grow stronger than now and challenge you again!”
Veronica Sanchez clenched her fist.
“I’ll definitely kill you, so watch me!”
* * *
After the brief commotion with Veronica Sanchez, Demian began descending the mountains.
“You can go now.”
Along the way, he decided to release her.
Her obsession had shifted to killing him, so it should be fine.
“Just in case, don’t kill for fun. Only kill those who attack you.”
“Aha! You’re worried I’ll kill others instead of you, right?”
Exhaustion washed over him at her words. Veronica Sanchez beamed and waved both hands.
“Don’t worry! You’re the only one for me! I’ll definitely come kill you again!”
With that, she fled over the mountains.
“...Congrats?”
Juan, standing nearby, said to Demian. Demian glared at him.
“Enough chit-chat. Let’s go down.”
“Got it.”
Descending was faster than ascending.
Thanks to their haste, the group reached Old Village by dusk.
“Here’s the promised pay.”
As agreed, Demian paid Juan and the mercenaries extra gold coins.
He had planned one per person but gave two.
“This is... too much. Two gold coins each?”
Demian just smiled at Juan’s words.
Exploring the mountains with the mercenaries had made Demian happy.
Juan and his group were exactly as he remembered: diligent, loyal, honest.
“Don’t think it’s too much. This job was truly important to me.”
“We didn’t really do anything...”
“What do you mean? You guided us perfectly, shortening our time in the mountains.”
At Demian’s insistence, Juan reluctantly accepted the gold. The mercenaries’ faces broke into wide grins.
“And this is extra compensation.”
Demian handed Juan a thick sheaf of paper, written in spare moments during the ascent.
“What’s this?”
“A mana cultivation method and swordsmanship manual.”
Confusion crossed Juan’s face.
“Why give us this...”
“I noticed you’re all practicing mana cultivation.”
Juan’s confusion deepened.
“How did you...”
“You’re all using mana faintly. How could I not notice? But the amount is so minuscule. You must be using an incomplete method.”
In his previous life, Juan had shared his mana cultivation method with his comrades.
The problem was that it was the most basic training knight method from his trainee days.
Such a low-level method had hard limits, no matter how much you practiced.
Demian’s previous life talent was so exceptional that he could beat knights with it anyway.
“Abandon what you’re using now and learn this instead.”
In truth, the method Demian gave was based on what Juan had taught him. Switching wouldn’t be an issue.
“...I appreciate the kindness, but I can’t accept this.”
Juan offered the paper back, wary.
A wise stance. Mana cultivation methods weren’t buyable with dozens of gold coins.
No normal person would hand it over like this. There had to be an ulterior motive. Suspicion was right.
‘It’s purely goodwill on my part.’
Demian gave a wry smile. Juan’s wisdom might one day bite him, but Demian liked their unchanging uprightness.
“It’s not free. I have one request.”
“Request?”
“First, keep my identity secret. Second, take one more commission for me.”
“Identity?”
“I’m not Victor. I’m Demian Haksen.”
Juan froze. He pointed at Demian in disbelief.
“Not Victor... Demian Haksen? That Demian Haksen?”
“That’s me.”
“My god... It all makes sense now... Your skills, the holy sword... The rumors of your genius are true.”
Juan slapped his cheeks with both palms.
“So what’s the second commission?”
“Do you know Debern Lake?”
“The massive lake in southern Apple Kingdom.”
“If you find a commission to investigate disappearances there, come to Viscount Haksen’s estate and tell me immediately.”
In his previous life, Demian had gone with the mercenaries to investigate those disappearances and encountered Dorgo.
He hadn’t investigated Debern Lake yet because the time wasn’t right.
Dorgo didn’t stay in one place; he wandered. Going now would be pointless.
“You’re giving a mana cultivation method for just that commission...?”
“It’s not ‘just that.’ It’s the most important commission to me.”
Demian spoke earnestly.
As a non-mercenary, he couldn’t post such a request at the guild.
Nor could he trust other mercenaries; they’d take the money and forget.
But Juan? Demian trusted him. He’d complete any commission, come hell or high water.
“I don’t know your circumstances... but for that reason, I’ll accept.”
Juan pocketed the paper. Demian smiled in relief.
“Practice diligently. It’s far superior to average methods.”
He’d rushed it in two days, but the quality was solid.
He’d simplified it for self-study without a master.
Yet its power rivaled any technique.
“If you get stuck, come to Viscount Haksen’s estate. I’ll help.”
With those final words, Demian parted ways with Juan’s mercenary group.
Now it was time to head home.