Episode 168: Reunion (1)
Sharp teeth mercilessly crushed the carapace.
The tender flesh and innards beneath were completely pulverized.
“Ugh, ugh… ugh!”
The heightened senses developed to transform Bagder into a master-level chimera now turned against Garot, becoming a curse rather than a blessing.
The sharper the senses, the greater the pain. The agony, amplified several times over, was transmitted directly to Garot.
“Please, just… end it quickly!”
At Garot’s desperate plea, the teeth shattered the core.
“I’m… alive…”
In that moment, all of Bagder’s functions ceased, and Garot finally found peace.
“Huh?”
…Or so he thought.
“Where am I?”
When he came to, Garot found himself standing in darkness.
Everywhere he looked, there was only darkness. Even beneath his feet, there was no ground—just darkness.
“Am I not dead?”
As Garot pondered this, the darkness stirred, and a wolf emerged.
The wolf lunged at him, biting off his arm before vanishing. Garot clutched his shortened arm, screaming in pain.
“Aaah!”
Blood gushed from the wound, and Garot gasped for breath, overwhelmed by the excruciating pain.
But it wasn’t over. Another wolf appeared and tore into his leg.
His leg was ripped off below the knee, and Garot collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely.
“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”
Before him, five or six wolves appeared. Waving his one remaining arm, he pleaded.
“Wait… please…”
The wolves pounced, devouring his remaining limbs, tearing open his belly, and scraping out his innards. They shattered his spine and licked the marrow.
“Aaah! Aaaah!”
Garot screamed in the midst of the horrific pain, but no matter how much he cried out, the wolves did not stop.
“Haha! Hahaha!”
Eventually, only Garot’s head remained. Yet he did not die. He merely laughed like a madman, his mind shattered.
A wolf opened its mouth and swallowed Garot’s head. As he slid down the wolf’s throat, Garot felt relief.
“Finally… it’s over…”
But in the next moment, Garot found himself whole again.
“What…?”
He looked down at his body in shock.
The limbs that had been torn off were intact, his shredded belly was restored, and his broken spine stood straight once more.
-Grrr.
-Grrr.
The wolves surrounded Garot again, and his face turned pale.
“Aaah!”
Once more, the wolves closed in, devouring him whole. Garot had to endure the mind-numbing pain all over again.
It didn’t take long for the wolves to consume him completely.
And then, in the next moment.
“What…?”
Garot’s body was restored once more. The wolves were still surrounding him.
It was then that Garot realized.
This was a spiritual realm, and he was suffering in his soul form.
That’s why his body kept regenerating despite being devoured. As a grand dark sorcerer, Garot’s soul wouldn’t easily dissipate.
“Please, stop…”
Garot shouted at the wolves.
“Stop it! Let me go!”
His desperate cries echoed, but were soon drowned out by the sound of the wolves feasting.
“By now, he must be suffering inside Fenrir’s stomach.”
Looking at the bodies of Garot and Bagder, Damian recalled memories of the past.
Humans consumed by Fenrir did not die peacefully.
Trapped in its stomach, they were doomed to eternal torment, producing dark magic until their souls were extinguished.
Given that Garot was a grand dark sorcerer, his soul wouldn’t easily vanish, meaning he’d suffer in Fenrir’s stomach for a long time.
“A fitting end for trash.”
With that thought, Damian approached Fenrir.
-Groan… groan…
Now that Fenrir had taken on a form of darkness, it circled Garot’s corpse, whining.
It didn’t seem to mourn Garot’s death. There seemed to be another reason.
“What’s wrong?”
-Master… I want to see my master…
Thanks to their contract, Damian could somewhat read Fenrir’s thoughts.
-This bad man killed my master! My master is gone!
That didn’t mean he fully understood Fenrir’s thoughts.
It took Damian a while to comprehend Fenrir’s words.
“So this guy killed your master and tormented his soul until it vanished.”
Damian pondered for a moment.
There was no way to bring back a vanished soul. But there was a way to ease Fenrir’s sorrow.
Damian gathered all the dark magic released upon Garot’s death.
He stored some in his bracelet and used the rest to cast a dark spell.
Dust began to gather over the magic circle Damian had laid out. Fenrir’s eyes widened at the sight.
-Master! I can smell my master!
The ashes formed the shape of a small boy.
But it was just a shape. There were no distinct features, no fingers properly formed.
Even so, Fenrir wagged its tail furiously, a look of joy on its face.
-Master! Master!
Fenrir ran around the boy’s form, lying down in front of it.
But the boy did nothing, just stood there silently.
-Master…?
Fenrir slowly rose, licking the boy’s face.
But nothing was there. The dust forming the boy’s shape scattered and then reformed.
Fenrir looked at Damian with a drooping tail. Damian spoke with a bitter expression.
“I’m sorry. There wasn’t enough lingering thought to create more than this.”
The boy hadn’t left behind any significant thoughts at the moment of death, indicating how severely Garot had exploited him.
-Master…
Fenrir gazed at the boy forlornly. Then, the boy slowly reached out a hand.
The formless hand patted Fenrir’s head a few times. Fenrir’s face brightened once more.
-Master! Master!
Damian couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight.
The lingering thought he had managed to gather was incredibly faint. He hadn’t expected it to move.
Lingering thoughts were remnants of emotions and memories held at the moment of death. The boy must have thought of Fenrir strongly until the very end.
As the boy’s thought began to dissipate, Fenrir watched intently, as if trying to memorize the sight.
When the boy finally vanished, Damian asked Fenrir.
“What do you plan to do now?”
Once a soul becomes undead, it cannot reincarnate.
Fenrir’s only options were to remain as he was or to dissolve and find peace.
“If you wish, I can let you rest. But your soul will be extinguished…”
-Master!
“I’m sorry, but your master is gone. He can’t come back.”
-New master! New master!
Fenrir wagged its tail vigorously, looking at Damian. Damian stared at Fenrir, bewildered.
”…You want me to be your new master?”
Fenrir nodded eagerly. Damian looked at Fenrir, incredulous.
“If you come with me, you’ll have to keep fighting.”
-…Fight? With whom?
Damian pointed at Garot’s corpse.
“You’ll be fighting strong and dangerous foes like him.”
At that moment, Fenrir’s eyes turned fierce. Its once round body bristled with fur.
-Fine.
Fenrir spoke in a commanding voice.
-If I can kill those who killed my master… I’m fine with it. I’ll follow. I’ll follow my new master.
Thanks to their contract, Damian understood.
Fenrir had completed itself as an undead for one reason.
Revenge against the dark sorcerers.
”…You’ve chosen a difficult path.”
For Damian, it was a welcome development.
Known as the Beast of Destruction, Fenrir’s potential was immense.
It wasn’t even in its final form yet. Fenrir would only grow stronger.
“Then what should I call you…”
According to what Damian knew, the name Fenrir was given by the dark sorcerers. He couldn’t keep using such an ill-fated name.
-Name? You’ll give me a name?
Fenrir calmed its fur and returned to its round form, looking at Damian with eager anticipation.
“How about Eternal Destiny Breaker?”
-…
But as soon as the name left Damian’s lips, he couldn’t help but frown.
“Don’t like it? I suppose it lacks a bit of impact. Absolute Power Slayer might be better.”
Once again, Fenrir frowned, even stomping its paws in protest. It seemed none of the names were to its liking.
-Munchkin!
Fenrir declared energetically. Damian looked puzzled as he asked.
“Isn’t Eternal Destiny Breaker better than that?”
“Fluffy! Fluffy! Fluffy!”
Fenrir’s voice boomed with insistence. In the end, Damian had no choice but to comply with Fenrir’s wishes.
“Honestly, I think another name might suit better… but fine, Fluffy it is.”
“New master! I like it!”
Fluffy began nuzzling Damian’s face enthusiastically.
“Master! New master!”
Damian looked at Fluffy with an expression of mild annoyance. Just then, Dominico approached him.
“Congratulations, my lord. You’ve gained a formidable ally.”
“Well, it is strong, I’ll give you that.”
Despite its dog-like antics, Fluffy was a fearsome undead creature.
Suddenly, Fluffy noticed Mia. Mia noticed Fluffy too.
“Woof?”
“Whine?”
The two creatures tilted their heads, curiously eyeing each other.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
“Grrr…”
Mia bared her teeth and growled, causing Fluffy to tuck its tail.
“Woof! Woof!”
Mia puffed out her chest with a proud expression. Damian turned to Dominico, bewildered.
“What are they doing?”
“Perhaps they’re establishing a pecking order?”
“You’d think they’d look out for each other, being in the same boat.”
As Damian clicked his tongue in disapproval, the barrier Garot had set up began to crumble.
It wouldn’t do for others to see Damian surrounded by undead.
He retrieved a travel case from his dimensional space and instructed, “Everyone, get inside.”
“Woof?”
“Whine?”
Mia and Fluffy both looked displeased. Mia wanted to stay outside longer, while Fluffy seemed eager to play more with Damian.
“Stop being difficult and get in.”
Damian grabbed them and shoved them inside despite their struggles.
Unlike them, the skeletons and Dominico entered without protest.
“Oh, Dominico.”
Just before Dominico stepped inside, Damian stopped him.
“Yes, my lord?”
“I noticed you’ve trained Mia well. Good job.”
“You’re too kind.”
“So, double the intensity.”
”…Pardon?”
Dominico thought he must have misheard, but Damian’s face was devoid of any jest.
”…Understood.”
As a loyal knight, Dominico had no choice but to comply with Damian’s command.
Suddenly, Damian’s gaze shifted to the empty air. Dominico, puzzled, asked, “My lord, is something wrong?”
“Nothing,” Damian replied, twisting his lips into a smirk. “Just realized there’s another rat lurking around.”
”…Garot is dead?”
From a distance, Kardak muttered in disbelief as he observed the collapsing barrier.
“What on earth happened…?”
Garot had left Kardak outside the barrier, insisting he didn’t want a spectator, leaving Kardak clueless.
“He had Bagder with him, didn’t he…?”
Garot was a twisted soul obsessed with monsters and the undead, but his skills were undeniable.
Especially the Bagder he created, a chimera so powerful it could look down on high-class beings.
“Damian Haxen… who exactly is he?”
Despite his confusion, Kardak couldn’t help but shiver with excitement.
”…If it’s him, perhaps he could truly satisfy the master.”
The greatest mentor of all.
The origin of all dark magic.
Akrich.
He was searching for a soul with exceptional talent.
If they brought this man, as Rubia suggested, the master would surely bestow great rewards.
Kardak was tempted to abduct him right then and there. But he knew he wasn’t capable of capturing Damian Haxen alive.
Even the weakest poison he possessed would only result in Damian’s disappearance into toxic fumes.
“I should report to Rubia first.”
Kardak’s form melted back into the shadows and vanished.
In his shock, Kardak failed to notice.
Damian Haxen had been watching the spot where he stood all along.