Episode 135: The Ruins (3)

“So, you really want a beating, huh? Well, your wish is my command.”

Damian casually pulled a hexagonal club from a pocket of space.

As soon as the club appeared, Numbers 1, 2, and 3 let out shrill screams.

“After all the kindness I’ve shown, you make such a foolish choice…”

Hayden looked at Damian with a face full of disdain.

“Or do you not know who I am? If you did, you wouldn’t dare act like this.”

“I have a rough idea.”

“Rough idea? How can you be so ignorant! That’s why you made such a pathetic choice! But ignorance isn’t a crime, so I’ll let it slide.”

Hayden clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“My name is Hayden Oldenburg! Some call me the man who can stop a crying child with just my presence! The mighty Hayden! Do you know why?”

Hayden placed a hand over his heart as he spoke.

“Because I am a knight of the Middle Class.”

Damian’s face twisted with irritation at hearing something he already knew.

“Ah, but don’t mistake me for just any Middle Class! I’ve fought and defeated many of my peers! Some even call me…”

“Could you just shut up and draw your sword?”

Damian snapped, his patience wearing thin. Hayden shook his head slowly, as if pitying him.

“I was going to give you one last chance… but you’ve made your choice. Fine, I won’t hold back anymore.”

Hayden slowly drew his sword from his waist. It was clearly a fine blade, exuding an extraordinary aura.

“I don’t intend to take your life. My warning was only about taking an arm… I’ll cut it cleanly and even provide first aid.”

Hayden summoned his magic, the sharp energy pressing down on Damian.

“Ah-biyohot! Oh-hyoo-ot!”

With a bizarre battle cry, Hayden charged. The aura-infused blade bore down on Damian.

‘So he’s not all talk.’

Just because they were of the same rank didn’t mean their skills were equal. Even within the same rank, there were levels of proficiency.

Hayden was among the top of the Middle Class, his well-honed swordsmanship proving it.

But in the end, he was still just Middle Class. Hayden’s attacks couldn’t even touch a hair on Damian’s head.

“You’re quite agile! But that won’t be enough to stop my swordsmanship! Yo-ho-ot!”

Suddenly, Hayden’s aura extended like a whip. As he swung his sword wildly, the elongated aura surrounded Damian.

“I’ll slice you up like a potato!”

The aura closed in on Damian. Just before it could strike, Damian gripped his club with both hands and struck the aura whip. Hayden laughed mockingly at the sight.

“What a fool! You think you can block aura with a wooden club…?”

With a sound like shattering porcelain, Hayden’s aura broke into pieces. His jaw dropped in disbelief.

”…You can?”

Taking advantage of Hayden’s confusion, Damian brought the club down on his head.

Thwack.

With a dull thud, Hayden’s head jerked forward. Numbers 1, 2, and 3 screamed, clutching their own heads.

“Ah, ahhh!”

Hayden staggered back, clutching his head. Realizing his skull was intact, he muttered in shock.

“What? I thought my head was…?”

“Got time to daydream?”

Damian had somehow gotten behind him and struck the back of his head with the club.

Caught off guard, Hayden could only groan, clutching his head.

“You hit me again!”

Hayden turned around in fury, but there was no one there.

“What, where…?”

At that moment, the club struck the back of his head once more, making him stagger.

“Keep your eyes open.”

Damian began to relentlessly pound Hayden’s head with the club.

Hayden couldn’t keep up with Damian’s movements. He was helplessly beaten.

“Stop, stop!”

Hayden raised his hands in surrender, and Damian paused.

“Why do you keep hitting my head? Do you think it’s a drum?”

Hayden protested, on the verge of tears. Damian tilted his head and asked.

“Should I hit somewhere else then?”

“Of course, you should… No, I didn’t mean you should hit me at all…!”

Damian’s club moved again, this time striking various parts of Hayden’s body.

“Ow! Ouch! Ahh!”

With each hit, Hayden let out a cry.

“Wait! Stop!”

After a while, Hayden shouted, and Damian paused.

“Do you know who I serve? I serve Lord Deplis!”

Hayden declared with a smug expression, as if expecting Damian to cower at the name.

The problem was, Damian had no idea who Deplis was.

“Victor! Victor!”

Tebo rushed over to Damian and whispered.

“Lord Deplis is one of the High Class in the Kingdom of Macadamia. He’s famous for his exceptional spear skills!”

“You seem to know a lot about this place.”

“I paid for this information from an intelligence group, so it’s quite detailed.”

Tebo admitted sheepishly.

“The scruffy guy over there knows his stuff! Now do you understand? If you keep hitting me, your future will be very bleak!”

Hayden added confidently.

“Just like he said, Lord Deplis is High Class!”

A brief silence followed. Damian spoke shortly.

“Oh, is that so.”

And then he resumed beating Hayden.

“Wait! Stop!”

This time, even Hayden’s pleas couldn’t stop him.

---

The beating finally ended after a long while.

Damian put the now-smooth club back into his pocket space.

“That was quite satisfying.”

Tebo looked at Damian with a face of disbelief.

“Why? Got something to say?”

“N-no, nothing at all!”

Tebo shook his head vigorously.

“Let’s find a place to stay.”

There was much to do today. They needed to plan how to find Gastal using the map they obtained from the ruins.

“You… you humiliated me like this…!”

It was then.

Hayden staggered to his feet. Though uninjured, he was too battered to stand properly.

“Do you think I’ll let this slide?”

Hayden pulled something from his pocket. It was an egg-shaped metal object.

The moment Damian saw it, his eyes turned cold.

It wasn’t just any object. It was an artifact from the ruins, a bomb that exploded when the lid was opened and thrown.

“You crazy fool. You wouldn’t dare use that, would you?”

“Oh, you know what this is? Then you must know how powerful it is!”

If that bomb went off, everything within 20 meters would be obliterated.

“Even you must be afraid of this!”

It was nonsense.

As a High Class, Damian’s body was protected by a defensive mechanism.

That bomb couldn’t kill him. Even a hundred of them wouldn’t be enough.

The problem was that others would die.

Damian never considered himself altruistic.

But if innocent people died because of a conflict he was involved in, it would surely disturb his sleep.

“If you plan to set that off, I won’t stand by.”

“Oh, I’m so scared. Try and stop me!”

As Hayden gripped the lid of the metal object, Damian prepared to use his Burst Light technique, ready to snap Hayden’s neck in an instant.

Just then, something flew through the air. A dagger pierced Hayden’s forearm and embedded itself in the ground.

“Ahhh!”

Hayden screamed, dropping the bomb. He clutched his bleeding arm, groaning in pain.

“What is the meaning of this?”

A stern voice rang out. Damian turned to the source of the voice.

A knight in heavy armor was approaching with soldiers.

The knight and soldiers bore the emblem of the White Kingdom.

“Sir Dominico!”

At the sight of the knight, Hayden cried out in alarm.

“I’ll ask again. What were you trying to do? Were you really going to detonate that dangerous artifact here?”

The knight’s face was hidden by a helmet.

But it was clear he was furious.

Dominico’s commanding voice made Hayden break out in a cold sweat.

“It wasn’t me, it was that commoner over there! That lowly nobody dared to lay hands on me, a noble!”

“You’re spouting nonsense. I’m questioning your crimes right now.”

Dominico picked up the bomb that had fallen to the ground and spoke with a cold edge to his voice.

“You were informed of the rules, weren’t you? Nobles and knights are allowed to operate here, but causing any disturbance on the surface is strictly forbidden.”

He continued, his tone icy and unyielding.

“Hayden Oldenburg, you’ve broken the rules. I’m afraid you’ll have to be exiled from the White Kingdom.”

“What? You can’t be serious! Sir Duplis won’t stand for this!”

“Do as you please. Take him away.”

The soldiers of the White Kingdom approached Hayden Oldenburg, who glared at them with a murderous intent.

“Just try to come closer! I’ll kill every last one of you—”

Before he could finish, Dominico moved swiftly, closing the distance and delivering a powerful punch to Hayden’s jaw.

“Ugh!”

Hayden’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed, unconscious. The soldiers dragged him away, disappearing from sight.

“That was a close call,” Dominico remarked, turning to Demian. The light emanating from his helmet was impressive, and Demian couldn’t help but be in awe.

‘A high-class knight,’ he realized. It explained why Dominico had remained unfazed even at the mention of Duplis. He was a formidable warrior, having reached the level of a high-class knight.

Demian saw even further into Dominico’s potential.

‘He has the talent to reach the master class.’

It had been a long time since Demian had encountered such a prodigy since the Sword Queen.

“As the one responsible for security, I must apologize. I’m sorry for the trouble,” Dominico said, removing his helmet to reveal a rugged face, scarred and far from handsome.

Demian was taken aback, not by Dominico’s appearance, but by recognition.

’…The Weeping Domingo.’

In his past life, one of the most powerful death knights under Gastal’s command stood before him.

If a death knight was born from the corruption of both body and soul, a death knight was created when only the soul was corrupted. Gastal had collected the souls of exceptional knights to form his death knight legion, with the Weeping Domingo being his most prized creation.

The name Domingo was Gastal’s doing, but the nickname “Weeping” was given by humans, as Domingo constantly shed red tears, leaving a crimson trail in his wake.

‘Domingo must be another reading of Dominico.’

Noticing Demian’s intense gaze, Dominico touched his face and asked, “Why are you staring at me like that? I’m not exactly handsome.”

“You remind me of someone I know.”

“That friend of yours must not be very good-looking either,” Dominico chuckled heartily. But when Demian didn’t laugh, he scratched his head awkwardly.

“Your skills are impressive. Hayden is a formidable knight, hard to match, yet you defeated him so easily,” Dominico continued, his expression turning serious. “But you were reckless. Hayden is part of Duplis’s faction. Duplis won’t let this slide.”

Dominico’s concern was justified. No one would take a blow to their pride lying down, especially not someone of Duplis’s high-class stature.

“I’ll protect you as much as I can while you’re on the surface… but be extra cautious when you enter the ruins.”

With that, Dominico turned and left with the soldiers of the White Kingdom.

As Demian watched him go, he noticed a woman standing in the direction Dominico was heading. She was striking, with long, straight hair like a brushstroke, calm eyes, and skin so pale it was almost translucent.

“Wow… I never expected to see Lady Frize out here,” said Thiebo, who had approached Demian unnoticed.

“No wonder the nobles are flocking to the ruins. Finding the relic sword means not only gaining control of the White Kingdom but also the chance to marry such a beauty.”

Lady Frize clung to Dominico’s side as he approached, chattering softly. Whatever they were discussing, Dominico’s face was lit with a smile.

“Looks like Sir Victor is quite taken with the lady,” Thiebo remarked with a knowing grin. Demian frowned at the implication.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Then why do you keep watching her?”

“That’s…”

Demian glanced back at the pair. They seemed genuinely happy together.

But that happiness would soon be shattered. Gastal would slaughter the soldiers and knights of the White Kingdom, absorbing them into his army.

Perhaps it was the memories from his time as a death knight, but Demian couldn’t see their fate as someone else’s problem.

He understood why Dominico had been called the Weeping Domingo in his past life.

‘This time, I’ll stop it.’

Before those two could meet their tragic end, Demian resolved to find and kill Gastal. He added one more goal to his list.