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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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Chapter 314: The Highest Mountain (1)
***
Vahel was in a particularly good mood today. The task he'd assigned to his subordinate Laria was finally completed.
He made his way down the corridor humming a tune as he opened a door.
"Laria! Are you finished?"
A demon turned around at the sound of Vahel's voice. Uniquely, this demon had a mosquito-like proboscis instead of a mouth.
"It's done."
"Really? I really have high hopes for you. Your efficiency is truly impressive."
Vahel gave a thumbs-up, but Laria's expression remained unchanged.
"Here."
Laria handed Vahel a golden orb.
Vahel took it and said.
"This is all of Dorugo's memories?"
"Yes. Her mental barriers were strong, so it took some time."
"Ha! Of course, it would. She once was a Duke class demon."
He chuckled and looked down at Dorugo on the floor.
As a demon, Vahel could see how badly Dorugo's soul had been damaged despite her outward appearance.
Laria belonged to a species of demon called Moskikiki.
They had the ability to suck out memories by inserting their proboscis into a soul.
While they could extract all memories vividly, the process was excruciatingly painful for the victim.
"Stop... please stop... I'll tell you everything... I'll tell you..."
Dorugo was still writhing in agony as she was unable to escape the pain.
Even though Dorugo had offered to tell everything, Vahel insisted that Laria continue the extraction.
It was simple because he couldn't trust Dorugo’s words.
"Laria, just give her some basic first aid and then get some rest yourself."
Vahel couldn't let Dorugo die. She was the perfect bait to lure out Damien Haksen.
"I'll be going then."
With Dorugo's memories in hand, Vahel stepped outside.
He tossed the orb from hand to hand like a plaything.
Even if he dropped it and lost all the memories, it wouldn't matter. He could just have Laria extract them again.
"Where did you put my mother?! Give her back!"
A loud commotion could be heard nearby. Vahel turned his head.
"Who are these insolent creatures?"
Four undead creatures were seen struggling with his subordinates.
"So, these are the four undeads that Dorugo created?"
Vahel approached them with a curious expression on his face.
"My lord! It's nothing important. These creatures were causing a disturbance, so we subdued them."
Vahel looked at the Four Great Demon Kings who were glaring at him with murderous intent.
"Vahel! Where have you imprisoned my mother!"
"Return my mother!"
The Four Great Demon Kings roared. But Vahel merely smirked.
"Oh, your mother? She's alive.. Barely…."
The Four Great Demon Kings' eyes widened in shock.
"You! I'll kill you!"
One of them lunged at Vahel, but his subordinates held him back.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"I'll kill you!"
The Four Great Demon Kings struggled, but the demons' strength was too great.
"Oh, what a hassle. I healed you and restored you, and this is how you repay me?"
Vahel said wearily.
"You should be thanking me. If it weren’t for me stepping up, your mother would have been torn to pieces long ago."
The demons' hatred for Dorugo was deep. Some of his subordinates still wanted to kill her.
"And yet, I've kept you alive, these lowly undead."
Despite their grandiose title, the Four Great Demon Kings were nothing more than undead in the eyes of the demons. They could be destroyed at any moment.
"Let me warn you one last time. Behave. Or I'll tear your limbs off and leave you to rot in a warehouse. And I'll do the same to your precious mother."
A chilling aura emanated from Vahel. The Four Great Demon Kings' faces hardened.
"Understood?"
Vahel said, taking a step forward. He then put the golden orb containing Dorugo's memories in his mouth.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm."
Dorugo's memories and knowledge flooded into Vahel's mind.
"Reverse time? That's possible?"
"To combine authorities like this... Dorugo was truly a genius."
"To betray his own kind with such talent. What a fool."
"Ah, so she was betrayed by Damien Haksen. She should have taken better care of him."
Vahel paused his muttering. He replayed the recent memory in his mind. His expression grew serious.
"Ah." A slow smile spread across Vahel's face. "So Damien Haksen has a family, huh?"
Vahel stood there, smiling for a long time.
"Ah, I want to play with Damien right now, but... I still have so much to do."
Vahel recalled a memory of Dorugo, one from the distant past.
In this scene, Dorugo is seen in human form, assisting a man. It was Ruin, the nightmarish human who had slain all seven Demon Lords.
The scene was set on a mountain, so high that the entire land could be seen.
"Mount Carion. That's where the Oath was made."
Vahel mused. The key alone wouldn't be enough to break all the Oaths. They needed to go to a specific place and perform a special ritual.
Vahel shouted loud enough for his entire castle to hear.
"Everyone! Prepare for departure! We're going to Mount Carion!"
***
"Mount Carion, you say?"
Iris said and looked at Damien.
"Destiny showed me that place. The demons are undoubtedly heading there."
"Why Mount Carion?"
Damien asked.
Iris pondered for a moment before replying.
"I'm not entirely sure, but... I believe that to completely break the Oath, they need to go to a special place. Mount Carion is likely that place."
"Then we need to hurry."
Damien immediately stood up.
Iris grabbed him.
"Damien, take Balhard with you."
"Balhard?"
Iris nodded.
"Compared to you, he's much weaker, but he's the strongest among the young dragons. He'll definitely be helpful."
Damien pondered this for a moment before nodding.
"I'm sorry I can't offer more help."
Iris said with a somber expression.
"I'd like to send more of my kind, but... only one dragon can use loophole and leave."
Through extensive research, the dragons had discovered a way to bypass the Oath using Dragon Tongue.
For a long time, they had been sending dragons to the surface to gather information. That was how they knew so much about Damien.
"I've already told Typhon. You can use Balhard however you like."
"Then I'll make the most of him."
Damien replied with a serious expression, though his words were said lightly. Iris chuckled.
***
Damien exited Iris's home to find a young man with a sullen expression.
The man had bright red hair and a rather rough appearance.
Damien looked at the young man and said flatly.
"Lower your eyes."
The young man immediately looked down and broke out in a cold sweat.
It was as if fear were ingrained in his instincts. This was Balhard in human form.
"Balhard, Iris mentioned Carion Mountain. We're going there now."
"As you command."
Balhard replied, immediately opening a dimensional portal using Dragon Tongue.
They stepped through the portal and arrived at Mount Carion.
"The air is definitely different here."
Damien took a deep breath.
He began to understand why the dragons were so desperate to leave the Otherworld.
"What should we do now?"
Balhard asked.
"We need to find the demons. They must be here..."
Just then, a loud noise and a surge of demonic energy erupted in the distance. Damien and Balhard exchanged glances.
"Balhard, let's go that way."
"As you command."
They headed towards the source of the noise and found a group of demons wreaking havoc.
"Damn it! Where is the altar?"
"His Lordship said it was here! Search everywhere!"
Several demons were causing chaos, tearing down mountain peaks and destroying the surrounding landscape.
"Huh?"
One of the demons spotted Damien and Balhard.
"Damien Haksen! Damien Haksen has appeared!"
At the demon's shout, the others gathered. Damien surveyed the group. There were two Count class demons and several Baron class ones too.
"Quite a number of them."
"Indeed."
"Balhard, deal with them."
"Excuse me?"
Balhard looked at Damien incredulously.
"You don't want to fight them?"
"Why should I fight such small fries? You deal with them."
A look of humiliation crossed Balhard's face. It was humiliating for a dragon to take orders from a human.
"I told you to lower your eyes."
Damien reminded him. Balhard immediately bowed his head.
"What? Can't you do it?"
"No, no."
"If you're scared, don't do it. It's not like you'll die."
"No! I can do it!"
Balhard roared, his eyes blazing with anger as he rejected Damien's command. He immediately reverted to his dragon form.
"A dragon? How did a dragon get here?"
"Aren't all dragons trapped in the Otherworld?"
The demons were all taken aback by the dragon's appearance.
Normally, even if a dragon used Dragon Tongue to escape the Otherworld, they couldn't use their full powers.
But now that the Oath was weakening, these restrictions were lifted, allowing Balhard to use his strength freely.
"You infernal scum! I'll burn you all to ashes!"
Balhard unleashed a torrent of flame, forcing the demons to scatter.
One demon, caught off guard, was engulfed in flames and reduced to ashes in an instant.
"Be careful! It's not an ordinary dragon!"
"The fastest one of you, distract it!"
Demons charged at Balhard.
"Dare to challenge me!"
Balhard roared, engaging the demons in battle.
A fierce clash between dragon and demons ensued.
***
"Oh, he's quite good."
Damien observed from a distance as he watched Balhard fight. "I don't think I need to help him after all. Don't you think?"
As he turned around, he saw a cloaked figure.
"Indeed. Where did he find such a dragon? A couple of Count class demons won't be enough."
The figure was woman and replied nonchalantly. Damien nodded and asked.
"So, what kind of demon are you?"
The woman shook off her cloak and revealing countless daggers hidden beneath.
"I'm Laetitia. In Inferno, they call me the Marquis of Blades."
The daggers flew into the air. There were at least thirty of them. She grabbed two and infused them with mana.
"Damien Haksen, let me show you what a real fight is like. Consider it an honor."
Damien chuckled.
"That's quite an honor." And he drew Dawn.
The two magical blades clashed, marking the beginning of a new battle.
***
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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