Episode 141: The Selection of Gasdal (2)
Why on earth was Gasdal at the Count’s estate?
The question lingered in Damian’s mind, but there was no time to ponder. He had to reach the estate as quickly as possible, unsure of what chaos Gasdal might unleash now that his cover was blown.
“In the future, Gasdal slaughtered not only the soldiers and knights of the Count’s estate but also everyone who came to explore the ruins, absorbing them all.”
In the worst-case scenario, the massacre from history could repeat itself.
“Mia, how are you feeling?”
“Woof!”
Damian glanced back at Mia, who sprang to her feet as if nothing had happened. The wound from the spectral spear had vanished without a trace.
Even for Mia, recovering from a wound inflicted by a spectral spear should have been no easy feat.
“It must be thanks to the phoenix’s blood.”
During the battle with Gasdal, Mia had managed to absorb the phoenix’s abilities in that brief moment, even conjuring flames.
“We need to head to the Count’s estate.”
“Woof!”
Mia barked with determination, but Damian shook his head, indicating she couldn’t come along.
“We’re going outside, so you can’t come with me.”
With that, Damian offered her a travel bag. Mia’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Damian quickly ascended to the surface.
He left the artifacts he found on the sixth floor behind. No one else would venture down there anyway.
The Count’s castle was close to the ruins. Without delay, Damian made his way there.
The castle gates were firmly shut. As Damian approached, the soldiers standing guard blocked his path.
“I have urgent news for Lady Frize. It’s a matter concerning the safety of the Count’s estate.”
The soldiers looked at him incredulously. If someone showed up out of the blue with such a claim, even if it were Damian, they’d react the same way.
“Victor, is that you? I remember seeing you take down that knight from the Duplis faction.”
One of the guards recognized him.
“But Victor, you can’t meet the lady with such a flimsy excuse. Please, turn back…”
Just then, the sound of gears turning echoed, and the castle gate began to rise slowly. The guard turned in surprise.
Beyond the open gate stood Dominico, his expression stern as he addressed Damian.
“Victor, come in. The lady has summoned you.”
Damian passed the guards and entered the castle, the gate closing behind him.
Inside, he saw numerous knights and soldiers gathered.
At the center stood a young woman.
Her long hair and pale skin made her beauty stand out.
She was Lady Frize, the heir of the White Kingdom.
“Victor? I’ve heard much about you from Dominico, but this is our first meeting.”
It was also Damian’s first time facing Frize directly.
Her voice was lively, almost cheerful.
“You knew I was coming.”
Otherwise, the gate wouldn’t have opened without the soldiers relaying his message.
Frize smiled quietly at his words, a bright yet somehow shadowed smile.
“A dark sorcerer is hiding within the Count’s estate.”
Damian spoke directly to Frize.
A dark sorcerer.
An outcast hunted by the Holy Order with fervor.
Yet Frize showed no surprise at the revelation of such a person hiding in the estate.
Instead, she responded calmly.
“I know.”
A brief silence followed.
Damian wasn’t particularly surprised, having somewhat expected this.
“Have you allied with the dark sorcerer?”
He needed to confirm.
“In a way.”
“So, opening the ruins was also for the dark sorcerer. They needed skilled warriors and knights.”
“That’s right.”
“And the announcement to marry whoever found the relic sword was for the same reason?”
“Exactly.”
“The soldiers patrolling the ruins were to capture explorers for the sorcerer’s experiments, weren’t they?”
“You’ve got it.”
Frize spoke with a hint of admiration. Damian sighed and asked,
“Why ally with a dark sorcerer? You must know what would happen if the Order found out.”
“I’d rather not discuss that.”
Frize drew a line with a smile.
“The sorcerer just made a request. They want you dead.”
Frize raised her hand, and Dominico and the knights stepped forward.
“Dominico, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“I will carry out your orders.”
With those words, Lady Frize turned and disappeared.
Leaving only Damian, Dominico, and the knights and soldiers of the White Kingdom behind.
“I never thought it would end like this between us.”
Dominico gave a wry smile.
“It’s not the time for this, but… I quite liked you. It’s a shame.”
Dominico closed his eyes tightly, speaking with a heavy heart.
“Why did you get involved so deeply?”
Damian responded firmly to Dominico.
“Step aside.”
“I can’t. Lady Frize has given her orders.”
At Dominico’s signal, a soldier struggled to bring over a weapon.
A zweihander, a long, heavy sword meant to be wielded with both hands, yet Dominico lifted it effortlessly with one hand, as if it were a dagger.
“More than anything, the sorcerer is essential for Lady Frize’s wishes. We can’t lose them.”
As Dominico took up his weapon, some knights approached him.
“Sir Dominico, let us handle him.”
“No, I must face him.”
Dominico spoke decisively.
“He’s no ordinary middle-class. You stand no chance.”
Dominico summoned his power, a fierce aura exploding forth.
Among the high-class warriors Damian had faced, none possessed such overwhelming energy.
This was not something an ordinary high-class could achieve.
Master class.
He was just a step away from that superhuman realm.
It was truly remarkable talent. No wonder he had been infamous as Gasdal’s death knight in a past life.
But Damian had no time to admire Dominico’s talent. His anger and disgust were too overwhelming.
“Allying with a dark sorcerer? What a foolish decision.”
Dominico’s expression hardened at Damian’s words.
“You speak without knowing the circumstances…”
“Whatever your reasons, it doesn’t matter! The moment you trusted the words of dark sorcerers, you became irredeemable fools!”
In his past life, Damian’s entanglement with dark sorcerers had led to ruin.
It destroyed his life, his family’s lives, and ultimately, the world.
“Do you even realize what you’ve done? You’ve invited hell upon yourselves! By the time you’re tearing your hearts out in regret, it’ll be too late!”
And now, here were fools willingly walking into that hell.
Their actions infuriated him beyond measure, his emotions nearly impossible to contain.
“Shut up.”
“You should be the one to shut up! Why didn’t you stop it? When your master was making such a foolish decision, you should have stopped her! Or were you too empty-headed to see through the sorcerer’s lies?”
Dominico’s face hardened at the barrage of insults. He gritted his teeth and raised his weapon.
“I can’t listen to this any longer. I’ll silence you now.”
Dominico launched himself forward, closing the distance in an instant, swinging the zweihander down.
At that moment, a tremendous impact shook the entire castle.
A high-class warrior on the verge of master class.
Such a being, striking with full force, could rend the ground and shake the world.
Yet, the intended target remained unscathed. Dominico’s attack was halted by the dawn blade Damian wielded.
“You managed to block it!”
Dominico exclaimed in disbelief.
“Ha! You’re not a middle-class but a high-class! I didn’t realize!”
Since entering the White Kingdom, Damian had been masquerading as a middle-class.
Even the great Blue Flame hadn’t discerned Damian’s true strength.
Though Dominico was on the brink of master class, he couldn’t have known.
“If you’re high-class, all the better. I can swing my sword without hesitation!”
Dominico swung the zweihander repeatedly. The sword was so long and heavy that each swing tore through the air with a distinct sound.
Damian parried all of Dominico’s attacks with the dawn blade.
Compared to the zweihander, the dawn blade seemed thin and fragile.
Yet, despite the repeated clashes, the dawn blade neither bent nor broke. Instead, the zweihander’s edge began to wear.
“An impressive sword. This one was crafted from the alloy of the ruins.”
Dominico’s expression hardened.
“It seems I can’t fight you normally.”
As Dominico channeled his magic into the zweihander, a crimson aura enveloped the blade. Across from him, Damian infused his own weapon, Dawn, with a shimmering blue aura.
The two warriors clashed, their weapons swirling with energy. Red and blue intertwined in a chaotic dance.
“Sir Dominico! Finish him off!”
“Don’t let anyone stand in Lady Frize’s way!”
The knights and soldiers watching the duel cheered Dominico on, their voices rising in fervor.
With the zweihander’s longer reach, Dominico’s red aura seemed to dominate the battlefield, giving the impression that he was overpowering his opponent. This only fueled the enthusiasm of the soldiers from the White Kingdom.
But then, in a sudden twist, the blue aura sliced through the red.
The zweihander’s blade split in two, and with it, Dominico’s body was cleaved. He staggered back, blood pouring from a deep diagonal wound across his torso.
“Sir Dominico?”
“What… what just happened?”
Damian swung Dawn through the air, flicking the blood from its blade. Dominico looked at him, despair etched on his face.
“How… how did you see through all my moves?”
Damian replied, shaking the blood from his sword. “It’s a matter of skill.”
“Skill… difference…”
Even after just one exchange, Dominico painfully realized the vast chasm between their abilities.
“It’s time to pay for your foolishness.”
The knights and soldiers of the White Kingdom had not only concealed the existence of Gastal but had also been abducting explorers under the guise of patrols, delivering them to Gastal. Dominico had overseen these operations, making him complicit in offering up these victims for Gastal’s experiments.
Such a man could not be allowed to live. Damian was about to deliver the final blow when—
“Aaaah!”
With a battle cry, the knights charged in.
The knights rushed at Victor, shouting as they went.
Victor swung his sword at them, his aura-infused strikes cutting them down. The knights tried to defend themselves by coating their weapons with aura, but it was futile.
“Argh!”
“Aaagh!”
Their aura was no match for Victor’s power. Weapons and bodies were cleaved apart, leaving no doubt of their fatal injuries.
“Protect Sir Dominico!”
“Don’t run! Push him back!”
Despite their losses, the knights pressed on, using their fallen comrades as stepping stones to reach Victor. Eventually, their sheer numbers forced Victor to retreat slightly.
In that moment, the knights managed to support Dominico, pouring a potion over his wounds.
“Sir Dominico! You must go!”
“We’ll hold him off!”
Dominico looked at them incredulously. “What are you saying? We should fight together!”
“Sir Dominico, we can see it too! He’s not someone we can defeat!”
To the knights of the White Kingdom, Dominico was a revered figure. Yet, he had been gravely wounded without even putting up a proper fight, highlighting the gap between them and their foe.
“While we hold him, get Lady Frize to safety!”
Dominico snapped back to reality. The knights were right. Even if they all attacked together, there was no guarantee of victory. If they failed, Victor would surely kill Frize and the dark sorcerer.
”…I’m sorry, everyone!”
Leaving them behind, Dominico sprinted towards where Frize was.
The knights watched him go with bitter smiles.
“Fools,” Victor said coldly. “Your master has allied with a dark sorcerer. If you don’t stop him now, you’ll pay dearly.”
“Whatever nonsense you’re spouting…”
The knights gripped their weapons, summoning all their magic.
“You won’t get past us!”
They charged at Victor, who clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Fine. I’ll deal with you. You deserve to die anyway.”
Victor raised his sword, and soon, the knights’ blood stained the ground.
Dominico raced to the castle’s annex, where Gastal’s laboratory and Frize’s secret ambitions lay. Frize spent all her time there outside of her duties, so he was sure she’d be there now.
“Lady Frize! You must flee!” Dominico shouted as he burst through the door, only to freeze in place.
Frize lay on the floor, a gaping hole in her chest. Her eyes were lifeless, devoid of any spark.
“Hmm? You’ve finally arrived?” Gastal turned to face Dominico, his hands stained a deep red.
Seeing the heart resting in Gastal’s hands, Dominico’s mind snapped.