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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 119: Nemesis (1)
***
‘I never thought I’d meet them so soon.’
Joy overflowed from the depths of his heart. He was so excited that he couldn’t control himself and trembled all over.
‘When I regressed, I vowed. I would definitely find those two and kill them.’
Thanks to the information they had investigated, Dorugo learned about the Haksen Viscounty.
And Damien had to kill his own family with his own hands.
‘They were working for Dorugo even at this time.’
They would definitely have it. A way to contact Dorugo.
If he could get his hands on it, he might be able to find out not only the clues about Dorugo, but also his location.
‘Thank you. For appearing in front of me. I really thank you.’
The corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily with the joy that erupted.
Damien covered his mouth with his hand. He couldn’t show the two people the smile that came to his face now.
Because it would be very ugly and disgusting.
“Have you identified the identities of those filthy scums?”
Radiant Light asked Cheongyeum. He shook his head.
“Nothing has been found out except that they are a group of a dark knight and a dark mage. There is only one survivor, so there is not much testimony.”
“Elder, didn’t you just say that the ‘branches’ of the Mandarin Kingdom were attacked? How come there is only one survivor?”
The Church was widespread on the continent.
It had many branches within each country. It was strange that there was only one survivor while so many places were destroyed.
“I don’t understand that either. It’s impossible for just two people to commit such a mass murder. The survivor testified that there were two, but maybe there are more.”
Damien could tell that for sure. They were a Hanger couple.
The reason why the two of them could have such an overwhelming killing power was because of a certain dark magic that they had directly received from Dorugo.
“What about the central branch of the Mandarin Kingdom? Isn’t there a 1st grade paladin there?”
“He was killed by the dark knight. They say he was not just killed but played to death before he died.”
Radiant Light’s expression became even more serious at those words.
A dark knight was a knight who used dark mana, not normal mana.
Considering the relationship between divine power and dark magic, a paladin should have had an advantage over a dark knight.
The fact that he had still been defeated meant that the dark knight’s skills were that overwhelming.
“Her Holiness plans to immediately dispatch a pursuit team to the Mandarin Kingdom. However, the level of the enemies is not ordinary, so we need to send a corresponding force.”
“So you called me for that?”
Radiant Light’s eyes lit up at Cheongyeum’s words.
“Then has the house arrest imposed on ‘Blinding Pain’ been lifted?”
“Yes…..”
Cheongyeum said with a very unpleasant expression. On the other hand, Radiant Light’s face was full of smiles.
“I should thank Her Holiness. Then I will visit Her Holiness after stopping by my sect.”
Just as Radiant Light was about to leave, Damien asked Cheongyeum.
“Then will you also be forming a pursuit team from ‘The Incinerator’?”
Cheongyeum nodded towards Damien.
“Of course. How can we stand by when these fuckers commit such heinous acts?”
“I would like to join the pursuit team with The Incinerator.”
At Damien’s words, the eyes of the two people widened.
It couldn’t be helped. Damien was asking for an unreasonable request now.
This incident in the Mandarin Kingdom was a very shameful thing for the Church.
It is true that the more shameful things are, the faster they should be covered up or resolved before others hear about them.
And yet, Damien, an outsider, wanted to join the pursuit team.
“Sir Damien, that is an unreasonable request.”
Even Radiant Light couldn’t help but interject.
“This incident is something that our main branch should handle.”
“I agree with Radiant Light.”
Even Cheongyeum spoke firmly. However, Damien had his own reasons for not being able to back down like this.
‘I have to join the pursuit team to meet the Hanger couple.’
Damien knew the Hanger couple well. It wasn’t that he wanted to.
– Hey, Damien Haksen! You poor guy with nothing in your head! I really feel sorry for you.
– Oh, you too… You’re always so thoughtful, you know. Worrying about a can like this.
The Hanger couple would come and find Damien Haksen and chatter on and on about such nonsense.
– We were lucky yesterday. We almost had to sleep outdoors on the night road, but we found a village!
– You’re right. We were really lucky. We got a place to sleep and something to see!
– Ah, the human-pig game was quite fun. You wouldn’t know, can you? Human pig, you see. First, the arms and legs…
Every topic was disgusting. If he could, he wanted to strangle the two of them right then and there.
– In the past, we were ordered to attack the branches of the Church. We needed souls soaked in divine power.
– It was hard work back then. No matter how many souls we put in, the seal wouldn’t break.
– I got tired of it halfway and decided to just wait. I was going to kill all the pursuers they sent and collect their souls.
If what Damien had heard was true, the Hanger couple would not have run far after attacking the branch.
They would surely be waiting nearby for the Church’s pursuit team. To kill the paladins and collect their souls.
‘No matter the kingdom, it wouldn’t be easy to just go looking for those two.’
Just knowing that they were near the branch wouldn’t be enough to find them, and as capable as they were, they were also top-notch at running away.
However, collecting souls soaked in divine power was one of their biggest goals.
They would be waiting with their mouths open to kill the paladins.
In other words, to meet the Hanger couple, he needed to move with the Church.
However, the two Great Elders were opposing him.
“Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not that we don’t trust you.”
Cheongyeum patted Damien on the shoulder and consoled him.
Suddenly, Damien opened a spatial ring. He took out the Dawn from within.
Jiiiiiiing!
The Dawn that came out trembled slightly. As if it was protesting why it had been left alone until now.
Damien ignored Dawn’s protest and knelt down on the floor.
“Elder!”
Cheongyeum pretended to be surprised by Damien’s actions.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“Although I am an outsider, I always live my life with the holiness of God in my heart!”
Damien feigned a tearful voice.
“It is all thanks to God’s mercy that I can live and breathe! Every time I breathe, I feel that I am alive! And the grace of God!”
It was a lie.
Breathing was just breathing; who would feel such absurd things?
“But how could despicable scums like them… attack the paladins and priests, who follows the will of God! How can we just overlook this!”
Damien drove Dawn into the ground.
Jiiing!
Dawn protested. It seemed to ask to be handled more gently. But Damien ignored Dawn’s plea once again.
“If you won’t allow it, Elder, I’ll go alone!”
With determined eyes, Damien looked at Cheongyeum.
A brief silence passed between them.
“…Still, I cannot permit it.”
Radiant Light broke the silence.
“Although I understand Sir Damien’s intentions, objectively speaking, he’s still an outsider…”
“Sir Damien!”
Cheongyeum hugged Damien, tears streaming down his face. Radiant Light looked at Cheongyeum in astonishment.
“I knew I didn’t misjudge you! I knew you’d act like this!”
Damien had experienced who Cheongyeum was in a past life.
Fierce yet infinitely yielding to allies. Especially to those shown faith.
So, emphasizing faith, Damien thought he would be allowed.
“I will definitely include you in the ‘The Incinerator’ pursuit team!”
Cheongyeum tapped his chest with his palm as if to tell Damien to trust him.
“Elder, perhaps that’s…”
Radiant Light tried to intervene, but Cheongyeum, glaring at her, continued.
“What does it matter that he’s an outsider? With such devout faith, refusing such a person isn’t what God desires. Sir Damien, come with me.”
“Yes, Elder.”
The two disappeared down the path.
Left alone, Radiant Light could only stare at them, seeming perplexed.
“He doesn’t seem that faithful… Did I misjudge him?”
***
Cheongyeum led Damien straight to the building used by ‘The Incinerator’.
Inside the building, the paladins of the sect were moving busily. It seemed to be because of the formation of the pursuit team.
“Attention.”
At Cheongyeum’s words, the movements of the paladins stopped abruptly.
“Sir Damien here will also be joining the pursuit team this time.”
At those words, the paladins of the sect began to murmur.
One of them stepped forward. He was a young man with copper skin and a muscular body.
“Master, may I ask you one thing? Is it okay to include an outsider in the pursuit team?”
At the man’s question, Cheongyeum pondered for a moment before speaking.
“I know it’s not right.”
“Then why did you include Sir Damien?”
“There was a reason I had to do so.”
Cheongyeum clenched his fist. He trembled all over with an emotional face.
“Sir Damien, although an outsider, has proven himself to be no less devout than us. He has always lived his life with the grace and gratitude of God in his heart, and he was more angry than anyone in the world at the attack of the dark mages this time.”
“There was such a reason…!”
The man was immediately convinced. It wasn’t just the man. The paladins of ‘The Incinerator’ also nodded their heads.
“Then of course we should accept him.”
“That’s right. If he hates those motherfuckers, so he’s automatically one of us.”
Indeed, they were the most simple of the sects, ‘The Incinerator’.
‘Can they really be this simple?’
Damien was worried.
Come to think of it, it was because of this simplicity that ‘The Incinerator’ suffered the most casualties during the War of Destruction.
However, they had also saved so many people that it was not an easy issue to judge.
“Sir Damien!”
Agnes came running out from between the paladins. A smile appeared on her expressionless face.
“I’m so glad I can be with Sir Damien again.”
“Me too.”
From Damien’s point of view, it was just a polite remark.
However, Agnes’ reaction was a little different. She blushed slightly and avoided his gaze.
‘To think that Sir Damien would feel the same way as me… .’
Just as Damien was looking at Agnes with a strange look,
The copper-skinned young man approached him and extended his hand to Damien.
“My name is Paramond. I am the master’s first disciple and a 1st grade paladin.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Damien Haksen.”
Damien shook Paramond’s hand and thought to himself.
‘Paramond? Could he be the ‘Blazing God General’?’
The Church did not only have the Five Great Elders as Master Classes.
In addition to them, there were many other Master Classes who were active on the continent as members of the Church.
In the Church, Master-class paladins were referred to as the “White grade”.
Damien hadn’t met many of the White grade members in the Church, but there were countless among them.
Among them was a White grade known as the Blazing God General, who was famous for wielding flames all over his body on the battlefield.
Damien hadn’t met the Blazing God General due to his untimely demise at the hands of another corps commander.
“Oh, that’s right. Paramond, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Cheongyeum addressed his disciple.
“What is it?”
“If Damien joins us, there will definitely be troublesome matters. You need to handle him well.”
Paramond nodded at Cheongyeum’s words.
“I’m prepared. You don’t need to worry.”
“You might need to be even more prepared.”
At the master’s words, Paramond chuckled.
“The factions being mobilized for this pursuit are three in total: our ‘The Incinerator,’ the ‘Blinding Pain,’ and… the ‘Bound Winds.'”
At the mention of the Bound Winds, Paramond’s face stiffened.
“That cursed… I apologize.”
“No, feel free to speak your mind. I share the same sentiment.”
“Are those wretches also participating? But isn’t the Bound Winds engaged in different missions altogether?”
“They’ve nearly completed their mission, and they’ve been detached separately. They happen to be the closest to the Kingdom of Mandarin.”
At this, Paramond wiped his face with his palm.
“The Bound Winds are probably already conducting investigations at the destroyed stronghold by now. If those guys happen to see Damien… Well, it’ll be incredibly troublesome.”
“It will indeed be very, very troublesome.”
Listening to the conversation between the two, Damien turned to Agnes and asked, “Why are the Bound Winds reacting like that?”
Damien was well aware of the faction known as the Bound Winds.
It was a faction led by one of the Great Elders, Green Wind.
Damien had fought against Green Wind and the Bound Winds before.
But at the time, he didn’t particularly feel anything remarkable about them.
“Oh, that’s… You’ll understand once you see for yourself.”
Agnes trailed off with a troubled expression.
‘You’ll understand as soon as you see it for yourself.’
Damien looked bewildered.
And a few days later, when they arrived at the stronghold in the Kingdom of Mandarin.
“You must have lost your mind completely! I want to crack open that skull of yours and see what’s inside! Regardless of your circumstances, our Bound Winds cannot tolerate the participation of an outsider. In that case, I’d rather handle the mission alone.”
Damien could finally understand what she meant.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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