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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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Chapter 286: More Secrets (1)
***
Afterward, Damien and Agnes focused on rescuing people.
Unfortunately, there weren't many survivors. The two of them managed to save only a dozen or so people from this enormous fortress. Most of those were on the verge of death after suffering from fatal injuries.
Damien used the Authority of Envy to convert his mana into divine power. He then used that divine power to heal the wounded.
"Sir Damien, you're very skilled with divine power, aren't you?"
Agnes asked in awe as she was treating another person.
Mana and divine power were entirely different forces, each requiring a distinct method of use. Yet, Damien was using divine power efficiently without wasting any of it.
"It's thanks to the Dawn."
Damien replied, somewhat evasively, as he focused on healing.
After half a day of hard work, the two succeeded in saving all the injured. However, they were not completely healed, only barely pulled back from the brink of death. They would need several months of care.
Next, Damien opened the subspace and brought out blankets and food. He distributed them to the people.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Not only did you heal us, but you also provided food..."
"We will never forget this kindness!"
The survivors expressed their overwhelming gratitude. Among them was a mother and daughter whom Damien had saved.
"Rita, thank the man who saved us."
"Th-thank... thank you!"
The mother and daughter had been tasked with delivering supplies to the fortress. They had come with a donkey and cart and caught up in a terrible attack.
They had nearly fallen victim to Iota's clutches but were saved thanks to Damien. Damien reassured them and sent them off, as they clearly needed rest.
For the next two days, Damien and Agnes continued to care for the injured and search for any remaining survivors.
Around that time, a rescue team from the royal family arrived.
"Sir Damien! How long has it been!"
Surprisingly, the person leading the rescue team was Oliver Apple, Crown Prince of the Apple Kingdom.
"Your Highness, it's been a while."
"Please, let's not be so formal between us."
Oliver smiled warmly.
There was a time when Damien had served as Oliver's tutor. During that time, he had once disciplined Oliver harshly, and since then, they had maintained a close relationship.
"But what on earth happened here? This level of destruction?"
Oliver looked around at the shattered fortress with a troubled expression.
"There were two Middle Class knights stationed here. The fact that they were killed without putting up a proper fight means..."
"The enemy was a creature having battle powers beyond Master Class."
"...I see. Do you have any idea what the enemy's objective might have been?"
Damien shook his head.
Damien was nearly driven mad with curiosity, but he still had no clue.
"This is becoming a real headache... Did you know? The Kingdom of Apple wasn't the only one attacked. Other kingdoms were assaulted by undead as well."
Damien wasn't particularly surprised. He had already anticipated this to some extent after speaking with the Four Great Demon Kings.
"They say unidentified undead attacked. In some places, just a single undead destroyed entire fortresses. In the worst cases, entire kingdoms were devastated."
Just one.
But if it was one of the Four Great Demon Kings, it was a different story. They were the strongest undead created by Dorugo.
"The Empire and the Church are already tracking them down."
Other kingdoms lacked the ability to pursue and eliminate these undead. It was only natural for the Empire and the Church to take the lead.
'Why on earth did they attack the kingdoms?' Damien couldn't help but wonder.
In his previous life, the reason Dorugo could bring about the downfall of humanity was because of Damien.
In other words, without Damien, he couldn't challenge humanity, even if he had completed the Four Great Demon Kings earlier than planned.
'Dorugo may be a nasty guy, but he's no fool. He must have a specific target.'
Damien reflected on what he knew about Dorugo.
'Dorugo's specialty is causing chaos and achieving his goals amidst it.'
When Damien first became a Death Knight, his skills were only in the Middle Class. After numerous battles, his abilities rapidly improved, eventually allowing him to kill the Imperial Supreme Sword.
It was Dorugo who bought Damien the time he needed to grow. By causing various incidents, Dorugo diverted the attention of the Empire and the Church, allowing Damien to develop safely.
Thus, Damien was certain. The attack on the kingdoms was merely a distraction, and Dorugo had another objective.
'Dorugo plans to do something in Alfheim.'
Alfheim was far more secretive than the city of the dwarves. It was so secretive that it was half-believed to be a myth. Some even claimed that Alfheim didn't exist and that the elves had gone extinct long ago.
But Damien knew the truth. Alfheim existed and the elves were very much alive.
They had even made a defense pact with the Empire, though only the emperor and his closest advisors knew about this ancient agreement.
'Now I understand. The attacks on the other kingdoms were to divert attention, preventing the Empire from aiding Alfheim.'
Getting to Alfheim and stopping Dorugo's plan was the only thing Damien had to do.
Finally, kill Dorugo, the leader of the Four Great Demon Kings and uproot whole Pandemonium.
Damien's eyes filled with murderous intent.
***
Thanks to the arrival of the rescue team, Damien and Agnes were relieved of caring for the injured. Damien entrusted the wounded to the prince and prepared to return to his territory with Agnes.
"Sir Damien, could you stay at the royal palace for a while?" Oliver asked cautiously.
With a monster stronger than a Master Class on the loose, it was natural for him to be concerned about the safety of the palace. However, Damien shook his head.
"My family is waiting for me."
"If that's your decision, there's nothing I can do…." Oliver responded reluctantly.
"And based on my estimation, those creatures won't attack the Apple Kingdom again."
This wasn't just a guess; it was almost a certainty. In his previous life, Dorugo had focused solely on destroying the Empire and the Church because the other kingdoms lacked significant power.
Once the Empire and the Church fell, the weaker kingdoms would naturally submit. There was no value in mobilizing forces to conquer them separately.
"Your Highness, we'll be on our way."
Damien said and he and Agnes headed to the Haksen estate.
On the way, they stopped by a branch of the Church near the territory.
"Sir Damien, I'll visit you again soon."
After parting ways with Agnes, Damien went directly to the Count's estate.
"Father, I'm back..."
As soon as he entered the drawing room, his father rushed out and embraced him with open arms. He stood silently as he continued holding Damien close.
Just as Damien felt a bit bewildered, the rest of his family arrived.
"Damien! You're safe!"
"Brother! I'm so glad!"
His mother, sister, and even Abel ran up to hug him.
Damien felt a warm sensation in his chest. It was an unfamiliar but not unpleasant feeling.
After some time, Damien finally managed to extricate himself from their embraces.
"Damien! I heard everything! The demon summoned in the Tartarus Kingdom was a Duke class demon! If I had known it was such a dangerous demon, I never would have sent you!" His father scolded. Damien responded with a confident smile.
"What do you think of me? Those demons are no match for me."
"You... always boasting..." His father's eyes started to well up again.
Damien found this side of his father somewhat unfamiliar. In his rebellious days, he had always thought of him as a stern and boring man. Now, he realized he was someone who cried a lot.
"Father, I'm really okay. I'm not hurt, and it wasn't that difficult."
As Damien was comforting his father, a not-so-welcome voice chimed in.
"Oh? You're still alive."
He looked up to see Veronica passing by, munching on a slice of pumpkin pie.
"You're still here?" Damien was surprised.
"Does it matter to you?" She replied nonchalantly.
Damien felt his blood pressure rise at her tone. Judging by her rude manner of speaking, it seemed like she was overdue for another 'rehabilitation' session.
While Damien was silently fuming, his mother hurried over to scold Veronica.
"Veronica, I told you to eat inside!"
"The pumpkin pie you made was so delicious, I couldn't resist."
Veronica said, taking another bite and savoring it with a blissful expression. Countess chuckled softly at the sight.
"Just remember to maintain some decorum. It's for your own good."
"Yes, Mother. I'll make sure to do that from now on."
Damien watched them, astonished at how close they'd become. They weren't just friendly; they acted like actual mother and daughter.
"Veronica."
"What?" she responded while munching on the pie.
"Are you planning to stay here for good?"
"And if I am?"
She replied showing that she was uninterested.
"Is that so?"
Damien's eyes had a meaningful look in them. Veronica looked at him with a hint of unease.
"…What are you plotting?"
"Nothing at all."
"Don't lie! Every time you make that face, you end up giving me work!"
"I said it's nothing."
"You think I'll fall for that? Tell me right n—"
Damien pulled a club out of his subspace, causing Veronica to quickly hide behind Countess.
***
That night, Damien sneaked into the backyard, making sure no one saw him. Infusing his voice with dark mana, he spoke.
"Kilo, come forth."
Black smoke gathered in the air, and soon, a group of dwarves appeared before him.
"Damien! Welcome back! We almost grew old waiting for you!"
Kilo exclaimed excitedly as soon as he appeared.
"You won't believe how we've remodeled Spring Castle! I swear, it'll be the best fortress our Hammerfell dwarves have ever built!"
"Yeah." Damien replied nonchalantly.
"Let me start with the main feature: a mana reservoir located in the underground of the castle! From there, circuits branch out to supply mana to each facility…"
Damien listened with a tired expression as Kilo rambled on.
"It's impossible to withstand a Master Class attack, so we changed our approach: recovery after destruction! Instead of defense, we focused on offense! I guarantee even a Master Class would struggle to survive if they enter the castle..."
"I have another order for you."
"An order?" Kilo was intrigued.
Damien pulled a travel bag from his subspace and summoned all the undead within it.
"My lord, what is it?"
Dominico asked with a serious tone. Damien gathered the undead together and addressed them.
"Dominico, Kilo, you two will cooperate to protect the castle from now on."
Both Kilo and Dominico looked puzzled by the sudden command.
"The movements of Pandemonium are unusual. We don't know how things will turn out."
Although Damien had had Kilo remodel the castle as a precaution, it didn't completely alleviate his concerns. Therefore, he decided to station the undead he had with him here as well.
"My lord, if it's Pandemonium we're up against... We might not be enough."
Damien's undead forces were formidable. Dominico was a Master Class and the forces under him were even stronger. Miya was also a significant threat, and the skeletons were all Middle Class. But facing Pandemonium, even such power couldn't guarantee safety.
"I have something in mind regarding that."
"What is it?" Dominico inquired.
Damien gave a cryptic smile. "You'll find out soon enough."
At that moment, a presence was felt at the garden entrance. Damien waved his hand through the air.
"Hide for now. Wait until I call for you."
The undead hid without understanding the reason.
Shortly after, Veronica appeared before Damien.
"If you have something to say, say it during the day. Why call me at such a late hour? I'm about to fall asleep."
Veronica yawned as she spoke.
"Veronica, I need to talk to you about an urgent matter."
"What is it? Make it quick. I have plans with mother to visit the city tomorrow."
"The Haksen estate might be in danger."
Veronica froze at those words.
"You heard, right? The undead attacked the border fortress. It was a terrifying monster. Even Master Class wouldn't be able to secure victory."
"So?"
"That monster was probably sent by Pandemonium. As you know, I am an enemy of Pandemonium. They won't just let me be."
Thus, Damien proposed to Veronica.
"Veronica, I need your help. Protect my family while I'm away."
Veronica hesitated for a moment before responding.
"I'm still just a High Class. I doubt someone like me would be much help."
While Damien was absent, Veronica had reached the High Class level.
However, even being High Class was insufficient to fight against Pandemonium.
Pandemonium was filled with Grand Dark Mages and Master Class beings.
"Don't worry about that. I'll train you myself."
"Training?"
Damien wasn't planning to train her personally, as he needed to leave for Alfheim soon. Instead, he intended to have Dominico train Veronica. Dominico had already trained skeletons and Miya, so he was perfect for the job.
The problem was that this plan required him to reveal some secrets to Veronica.
Could he trust Veronica?
That question had already been resolved. The Veronica Damien had known in his past life was indifferent to dark magic or heresy. She was selfish, thinking only of her own gain, which made her more reliable in this situation.
"Veronica, I know how to use dark magic."
At that moment, Veronica's mouth was wide open.
"Starting today, I'll be ordering my undead to train you. With your talent, you should be able to..."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Suddenly, Veronica burst into laughter.
"What? What did you say? Ha ha ha! Dark magic? Ha ha ha! What nonsense are you spouting now?"
Veronica laughed as if she had gone mad.
"Do you think I'd fall for such a lie? Do you think I'm that foolish?"
"Seems like you don't believe me. Let me show you proof..."
"Ha ha ha! It's still funny. I could have accepted if you just said you knew dark magic. But undead? You command undead? Ha ha ha ha!"
But Veronica's laughter did not subside easily.
"No wonder you're so gloomy and unpleasant. So it's because you're a dark mage. I guess being around corpses makes anyone's personality worse."
"Is this some kind of joke? No way, it can't be. Who would make such a boring joke? Even if you're strange, I'd believe it if you were just eccentric, but this is beyond that."
Veronica laughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes.
"Just so you know, don't talk about this in front of others. You'd be reported immediately. Got it? ... What are you doing now?"
Veronica's face turned to one of fear and tension as she noticed Damien holding a club.
"Why do you always carry that thing?"
"Don't come near me with that!"
"I saw you the other day, and you're out of shape. You're like a naughty child. Now it's time for some beatings."
Damien tapped the club on his palm.
"Let's start with ten strikes, then we'll begin your training."
***
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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