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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 109: The Stranger (1)
***
The day to leave for the Church finally arrived.
After bidding farewell to his family, Damien mounted his horse and departed from Spring Castle.
The journey to the Church was incredibly long, so he had to move diligently.
After traveling for several days, Damien was able to reach the border of the Apple Kingdom.
He needed to cross the border, but the sun was already setting, making it impossible to travel any further.
“There are no villages nearby.”
He spread his mana to check, but he couldn’t feel any signs of life.
In the end, Damien had no choice but to camp in the forest.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this and packed camping supplies in his subspace.
He gathered dry branches and lit a campfire. Then he put a kettle on and boiled water.
While the water was boiling, he had a simple meal of biscuits and jerky. Then, he brewed tea with the boiled water.
He sipped his tea while gazing at the sunset. Thinking about it, it had been a long time since he had such a peaceful moment.
“I never dreamed that such a day would come in my previous life.”
Being alone like this brought back memories of his time as a Death Knight.
He was referring to the time when he was trapped in his own body, enslaved by Dorugo, and became a killing machine.
At first, he had tried everything to regain control of his body.
However, no matter how hard he tried, nothing changed. He could only helplessly watch as his own body killed people.
Clack.
Just thinking about the past made anger well up inside him. It felt as vivid as if it had just happened.
The torrent of emotions was so intense that he felt like he was going to lose his temper.
Damien had to take deep breaths for a long time to control his emotions.
“Damn it…….”
He had to kill that damn Archlich Dorugo as soon as possible.
Otherwise, he would never be able to find a day of peace for the rest of his life.
“To kill him…… I need to get stronger, much stronger.”
Making a calm and objective assessment, Damien knew that he couldn’t defeat Dorugo in his current state.
Among the Dark Mages, those who possessed a different level of skill were called High-level dark mages.
If a High-level dark mage crossed a certain wall and reached a transcendental level, they were called a Grand Dark Mage.
Only a very small number of Grand Dark Mages could transform themselves into undead and become Liches.
And Dorugo was an Archlich, the pinnacle of Liches.
Throughout history, no one had ever reached the level of Archlich except for Dorugo.
That’s how much Dorugo’s strength exceeded imagination.
“Even so, it’s only a matter of time. I just need to get a little bit stronger than I am now.”
Damien was no ordinary knight.
In his previous life, he had killed countless Masters and possessed the talent to destroy humanity.
No genius born before has ever reached Damien’s level.
In addition to his memories and experiences from his previous life, he also possessed the dark magic knowledge infused into him by Archlich Dorugo.
Not only that, but he also possessed Authorities.
In his previous life, Dorugo had tried to make Damien an absolute being.
To this end, he extracted seven Authorities from an ancient artifact and bestowed them upon Damien.
Each Authority possessed a power so strong that even Dorugo found it difficult to handle.
That’s why he could say it with confidence. If he just got a little bit stronger than he was now, he could kill Dorugo.
He was confident that he could not only kill him but also obliterate him without a trace.
“If I just raise my realm a little bit more from my current state, I won’t be afraid of Dorugo. However…….”
He realized it in his previous life.
The fact that one should always assume the worst-case scenario.
That if he didn’t, he would make a fatal mistake.
In order to perfectly eliminate Dorugo without any risk factors, being High-Class was not enough.
“Master. I need to reach that realm.”
Damien currently had the Heart of the Spirit he bought from the auction house and the Core of the Sea Serpent he received from the king.
If he absorbed these two, he could get one step closer to the Master realm.
However, simply increasing his mana pool would not allow him to reach the Master realm.
He needed to complete his own mana cultivation techniques as soon as possible. He needed to use it as a foundation and establish a center in order to step into the Master realm.
This was the reason why Damien was constantly collecting mana cultivation techniques.
“I need to finish my preparations before Juan comes.”
Dorugo was constantly moving, so it was impossible to pinpoint his location.
In his previous life, Damien had encountered Dorugo while working on a commission with Juan’s mercenary group.
So he had asked Juan, whom he had met in this life, for one thing. He told him to let him know immediately if he took on the same commission that he had encountered Dorugo on.
“I will definitely kill him.”
Just as Damien was quietly suppressing his hatred,
A noise began to come from a distance. The ground continued to rumble as if a large monster was approaching.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Damien looked in the direction of the sound with a surprised face.
Soon, he witnessed an incredible sight.
From a distance, the trees in the forest were falling to the ground one by one.
Something very powerful was knocking down the trees.
“Isn’t it coming this way?”
Damien realized that it was coming towards him.
“Whoa!”
The tree right in front of him fell with a roar. A girl and a young man appeared beyond it.
“David, look. What did I tell you? I told you there would be people here.”
The girl said, turning to the young man behind her. Her blonde hair swayed in the wind.
It was so well-maintained that each strand swayed beautifully.
“Oh dear, young lady. What are we going to do if you make such a mess of the forest?”
The young man put his hand to his forehead as if he had a headache. He was carrying a backpack twice his size.
“We had no choice because we got lost! But thanks to that, we even made it to the light!”
The girl walked briskly towards Damien.
“Don’t be scared! We don’t mean to hurt you!”
The girl said, placing her hands on her hips.
It was hard to believe how arrogant she could look.
“We just want to ask for directions! We want to go to the Apple Kingdom, so can you just tell us which way to go!”
Unfortunately, Damien was not in a position to answer.
He had been in shock ever since the girl appeared.
‘……Why is the Sword Empress here?’
The woman who had competed with the Imperial Supreme Sword for the title of strongest human was standing right in front of him.
***
The Sword Empress.
As her name suggests, it was an incredibly arrogant and haughty title.
The Emperor of the Sword? Who in this world could use such a title?
However, those who had actually fought the Sword Empress had no choice but to discard such thoughts.
The Sword Empress’s skills were that overwhelming and great enough to inspire awe.
‘She was an incredibly strong person.’
During his time as a Death Knight, the majority of the Masters who fought Damien lost their lives in the first battle.
However, the Sword Empress was not like that. The outcome was not decided at first. They clashed several times after that.
Even though all of her techniques were seen through, and even her all enlightenments were stolen, the Sword Empress did not fall.
However, in the sixth battle, the Sword Empress eventually lost her life.
The girl’s appearance was exactly the same as the Sword Empress that Damien remembered. If she were a few years older, she would have been perfect.
‘She looks exactly the same as in my previous life.’
The Sword Empress that Damien remembered and the girl in front of him was completely identical. Except that she was much younger.
“Excuse me? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
When Damien didn’t say anything for a while, the Sword Empress tilted her head and asked.
“Aha! I see now. You’re asking for compensation, aren’t you?”
Damien was a little taken aback by the out-of-nowhere question.
“Compensation?”
“You don’t have to pretend you don’t know! I’ve already learned everything from my father! You have to pay compensation if you want someone to do something for you!”
The Sword Empress gestured. The man standing behind her sighed and took out a leather pouch.
“Take it.”
The Sword Empress flicked a gold coin at Damien. The gold coin spun around and landed in front of Damien with a thud.
“Now that you’ve received your compensation, tell me. Which way is the Apple Kingdom?”
“No need.”
Damien threw the gold coin back at the Sword Empress. The Sword Empress caught the gold coin with a puzzled look on her face.
“What business do you have in the Apple Kingdom?”
“I’m looking for someone. Do you know Michael Ryanbloom?”
At those words, Damien felt a strange feeling.
In his previous life, Michael Ryanbloom had lived a lazy life because he couldn’t find an opponent, and he had been defeated by the Sword Empress. After that, he devoted himself to training again and reached the Master realm.
Seeing that the Sword Empress was looking for Michael, it seemed that this was the time.
“What are you going to do when you find Michael Ryanbloom?”
“That’s an obvious question. What reason would a knight have for looking for a knight? To compete with each other, of course!”
The Sword Empress said, clenching her fist and raising it high into the air.
‘I wonder. Who would win if the two of them fought right now.’
In terms of talent alone, the Sword Empress was far superior to Michael. In his previous life, Michael had never been able to defeat the Sword Empress.
However, unlike in his previous life, Michael had left his lazy life much faster in this life by meeting Damien.
In addition, he was growing even more rapidly by accepting Damien’s advice wholeheartedly.
“I originally came here to fight Michael Ryanbloom… but I heard some strange rumors on the way.”
“Strange rumors?”
“They say that a man named Damien Haksen defeated Michael Ryanbloom.”
The Sword Empress continued, her face filled with interest.
“That’s not all. They also say that he helped the Church to kill dark mages, that he reached Middle Class in the shortest time possible, and other ridiculous rumors like that.”
“He must be a very great man.”
“Isn’t he? That’s why I’m so curious. I wonder what kind of person he is. How strong he is.”
Before long, the Sword Empress’s gaze was fixed on Damien.
“You are Damien Haksen, aren’t you?”
Damien finished his cup of tea and said.
“You’re quick to catch on.”
“I was right then. After all, there can’t be many people this strong.”
Damien could have easily hidden his strength if he wanted to, but he didn’t.
This was because he was curious to see how the Sword Empress would react.
The Sword Empress that Damien remembered was a person who, despite her flashy appearance, was more competitive than anyone else.
– Damien Haksen! Today is the day I will defeat you!
– I’ll retreat for now! Let’s fight again next time!
– It won’t be easy this time! I’ve developed a technique to defeat you!
She was someone who never gave up, even after being defeated by Damien several times. Each time, she had sincerely tried to defeat Damien.
– …In the end, I was never able to defeat you.
– It was fun while it lasted. I don’t know about you, though.
Even at the last moment, the Sword Empress’s attitude remained the same. She did not fear death. She did not resent him.
– I’ll be waiting for you in the afterlife first. Let’s fight again later. That time, I’ll really have a conversation with you…….
Until her neck was cut off, the Sword Empress had unilaterally promised a duel with Damien. It was a truly Sword Empress-like ending.
After killing the Sword Empress, Damien had been haunted by a terrible feeling for a while.
“If you’re Damien Haksen, then there’s only one thing I can do.”
The Sword Empress stood up. She stretched her limbs and loosened her body.
“Are you proposing a fight?”
“Of course. What else is there for us to do?”
He burst out laughing at the Sword Empress’s words.
The Sword Empress was truly the Sword Empress. She was exactly the same as the one Damien remembered.
“That’s good.”
He had been curious anyway.
Just what kind of strength did the Sword Empress have at this point in time?
‘I should also test out my new skills.’
Damien cracked the knuckles of his fingers and stood up.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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