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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 174: Untitled
***
Kardak looked at the blade protruding from his abdomen in disbelief.
“When…when did you…place the assassin…?”
Kardak thought that Damien had hired an assassin. And a very high-level assassin at that.
As a Grand Dark Mage, there were few people who could ambush him and stab him in the stomach.
However, when he looked back, he realized that he had been wrong.
All he could see was the hilt of the sword. There was no one holding it.
“H, how is this possible…”
Did someone throw the sword from a distance? He had heard that there were Master Class individuals with that ability.
Kardak was trying to understand the situation by searching through his knowledge when the sword that pierced his abdomen suddenly became heavier and the blade pointed down.
“Kugh, kugh-aaark!”
He knelt down in excruciating pain as his flesh was torn. Only then did Kardak realize.
The sword was not thrown.
The sword was moving on its own.
“D, Damien! What kind of…trick are you using?!”
He had heard rumors of a figure among the Master Class who could fight by freely flying their weapons.
However, that was thanks to the realm they had reached by ascending to the Master Class.
It was not a technique that a High Class like Damien could imitate.
“It’s useful after all.”
Damien said with a satisfied expression.
A while ago, Damien had fought Gasdal in the Almond Country.
There, he had been able to get his hands on a very precious relic sword.
A masterpiece created by an ancient craftsman to protect the prince.
A relic sword with the ability to fly and attack enemies.
Damien named the relic sword Ethereon.
Since then, Damien had taken out Ethereon whenever he had time to test its performance.
How fast was its flying speed? What was its cutting power? How many functions did it have?
Ethereon had not only the ability to fly, but also stealth functions such as invisibility and silent flight.
While moving with Kardak, Damien had secretly taken out Ethereon and made it follow him.
However, even with its stealth function, it was impossible to surprise Kardak with just Ethereon.
This was because Grand Dark Mages were extremely sensitive to the flow of mana.
That’s why Damien ate some of the soup even though he knew it was poisoned. He even acted like he was poisoned.
It was all in order to lure Kardak into letting his guard down and stab him in the abdomen with Ethereon.
“You…hid something like this…and your story about being His servant…was also a lie…!”
“Well, yes.”
Since he had already been surprised, Damien admitted it honestly.
“Then how…did you know his name? Are you an imperial spy?”
“This isn’t the time to be asking questions like that.”
Damien said, gripping the hilt of the sword. Seeing this, Kardak gritted his teeth and said.
“B, but without me, you won’t be able to find the location of the Mercenary King.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. Just sit still and wait for your neck to be cut off.”
Damien said nonchalantly.
This threat would not work on Damien, unlike other knights.
After killing Kardak, he could just ask his soul directly.
“…Do you think a High Class can kill me?”
Anger rose on Kardak’s face. It was understandable that he, a Grand Dark Mage, was being ignored by a High Class.
Damien pointed his finger down. Ethereon moved down, and the entrails were cut a little longer.
Kardak’s expression twisted. However, he did not scream.
“You have a lot of courage to talk like that. And have you forgotten? Garrot, a Grand Dark Mage like you, also died at my hands.”
“It will be difficult if you think of me and that guy as the same.”
A deep sneer appeared on Kardak’s lips. He did not look like a person whose life was in danger at all.
“The level of a Grand Dark Mage depends on the degree of completion of their dark magic. Garrot was a far inferior guy compared to me.”
Kardak said, wiping the blood from his lips.
“Let me show you how big the gap is… from now on.”
A thick liquid oozed out from between the bandages wrapped around Kardak’s body.
As soon as he saw the liquid, Damien immediately pulled Ethereon out of Kardak’s body.
As soon as Ethereon was pulled out, the liquids fell to the ground. Then, the gravel and soil on the ground began to melt away in an instant.
“You have good reflexes. If I had left it alone, that relic sword would have disappeared.”
Corrosive poison ‘Flowing Rust’.
It was one of the poisons that Kardak liked to use. It was a poison that melted all ‘solid objects’, regardless of metal or stone.
During the War of Destruction, Kardak had once used this poison to collapse the Imperial fortress known as the Iron Fortress.
The bandages stretched on their own and sealed Kardak’s wounds.
As the wounds disappeared, Kardak slowly raised himself and said.
“Look forward to it. I will give you the most horrible death.”
Kardak’s eyes glowed darkly.
***
Venom sect
Those who handle poison are known as a particularly dangerous sect among other dark mages sects.
Even Master Class individuals who can fly, run, and jump have died from a single drop of their poison.
However, there was one fatal flaw with the Venom sect.
It was ultimately ineffective if it didn’t come in touch with the target.
No matter how terrible the poison was, it was useless if it didn’t touch its target.
However, that disadvantage was not a problem for Kardak.
Grand Dark Mage.
A transcendent being who can activate high-level dark magic with a single finger.
To such a Kardak, poisoning the target was no problem at all. Even more so against a High Class like Damien.
“Let’s begin.”
Kardak shook his hands. At that, a new poison oozed out of his body.
The poison immediately turned into snakes. Dozens of snakes slithered towards Damien.
Their speed was extraordinary. In the blink of an eye, they gathered at Damien’s feet.
Kardak reached out his hand towards Damien. At that, the snakes all exploded, releasing yellow smoke that covered the area.
He had instantly vaporized the poison to create a poisonous gas.
“This poison burns the nerves and brain. Even a little inhalation will make you taste hell.”
He said with a triumphant expression.
“It’s a waste of expensive poison, but there’s no poison as painful as this…”
That’s when it happened.
Damien emerged through the smoke. He was unharmed despite being covered in the poison gas.
“…What?”
Kardak couldn’t help but be confused. It was a poison gas that could penetrate the skin even if you held your breath. It didn’t make sense that he was unharmed.
“…You really are an incomprehensible guy! I can’t let you live long!”
Kardak spread his arms. A large amount of poison poured out of his forearms.
The poison seeped into the ground. The next moment, a net made of poison sprang up in front of Damien.
The moment he saw the net, Damien changed direction. But it was already too late.
Posion nets sprang up from all sides, blocking Damien’s escape route.
Damien immediately swung his sword and released an aura.
A barrage of aura slashes rained down on the net. However, the aura was unable to cut through the net and dissipated.
Seeing this, Kardak sneered and said.
“It’s a poison that disrupts the flow of mana and you won’t be able to cut through it at your High Class level.”
The net began to shrink. The spiked net was about to envelop Damien.
“First Ring.”
At that moment, Damien muttered softly. At the same time, a resonant sound began to emanate from his body.
Kardak couldn’t help but be puzzled by the sound he had never heard before.
Can that sound come from a human body?
At that moment, Damien’s body disappeared. At the same time, the net of poison was torn apart.
“…What?”
Kardak couldn’t help but be confused by the unexpected situation.
That’s when he heard footsteps. Kardak hurriedly looked to his left. Damien was standing there.
“Hmph!”
Kardak again tried to block Damien’s path by spreading a net of poison.
At that moment, something fell from the sky.
The sword that had pierced his abdomen now pierced Kardak’s wrist. His wrist was severed, and the dark magic was nullified.
“Kuaark!”
Kardak screamed in sudden pain.
But apart from the pain, he quickly prepared dark magic with his other hand. If he didn’t stop Damien now…
“Second Ring.”
Damien, who had been far away, appeared in front of him in an instant.
Kardak couldn’t help but be greatly surprised by the speed that exceeded common sense.
“…A High Class like you is making me use this method!”
Dark mana exploded from Kardak’s body. At the same time, thin needles rained down on Damien.
They were as thin as animal hair, but they were all needles made of poison. Even a single prick would melt the entire body with extreme poison.
The hair-thin needles rained down on Damien, invisible to the eye.
“As expected, you’re using this.”
Kardak heard Damien’s muttering in his ear.
As expected? What does that mean? As if he had expected it…
Countless questions arose in Kardak’s mind.
At that moment, Kardak could see it.
The poison needles that hit Damien’s body were bouncing off.
Aura armor.
Anyone at the High Class level could protect their body by wrapping their mana around their body.
He knew that. But the trump card that Kardak had prepared was something he had specially designed.
The needles were thin, but they were designed to pierce even aura. There was no way to block them with an aura armor.
“What the hell is this…!”
The moment Kardak screamed, Damien swung his sword.
A blue aura cut through Kardak’s neck.
Kardak’s eyes widened in surprise and fear. He tried to raise his hand to defend himself, but it was too late.
His head fell to the ground, and his body twitched for a moment before becoming still.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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