Episode 169: Reunion (2)
The barrier had only partially collapsed when someone leaped over it and landed inside.
“Damian…!”
It was Athena. She rushed toward him, calling his name with urgency.
Despite having faced two high-class opponents, Athena was unscathed, not even a speck of dirt on her clothes.
Damian wasn’t particularly surprised. Those high-class foes were likely just a nuisance to someone like Athena.
As she drew near, her face was on the verge of tears.
“I’m so relieved you’re safe… I’m sorry I couldn’t help… The barrier kept me from getting inside.”
The black barrier cast by Garot, true to a dark sorcerer’s prowess, was incredibly strong.
Even Damian had to focus all his aura to cut through it.
So it was understandable that Athena couldn’t find a way in.
“Don’t worry. It’s all over now,” Damian said, gesturing to the corpse of Mungchi.
Mungchi had abandoned his original body, creating a new one from darkness.
This allowed Damian to use Mungchi’s former body as proof of his victory.
Athena’s eyes widened at the sight of Mungchi’s corpse, and she exclaimed in admiration.
“You’re amazing! I knew you’d handle it… Wait, what’s that?”
She pointed to Garot’s body, which was in a grotesque state after merging with Bagder and being mauled by Fenrir.
“A monster? No, something’s off… It even has a human face on its forehead?”
“That’s the dark sorcerer who was after the undead. He created the barrier too.”
“A dark sorcerer? That thing?”
“He fused with his own chimera, which is why he looks like that.”
Athena looked at Damian in shock.
“Wait, so you fought a dark sorcerer fused with a chimera and an undead at the same time?”
“Not exactly. They were fighting each other, so I took advantage of the situation.”
Damian didn’t tell the whole truth. With a dark sorcerer involved, the church would send investigators, and they’d discover Garot was a grand dark sorcerer.
It wouldn’t make sense for Damian, known as a high-class warrior, to have defeated a grand dark sorcerer alone.
So he planned to say he finished off the fight between Mungchi and Garot.
“So you did defeat a dark sorcerer who created such a chimera and an undead on par with a high-class warrior… and survived?”
Athena’s face turned bright red. She avoided Damian’s gaze and mumbled softly.
“Ten out of ten…”
“You’re saying strange things again. What kind of score is that?”
“How could I say that out loud!”
Athena shouted briefly and turned away.
Damian looked at her as if she were an oddity.
Afterward, the two sent a message to the Kingdom of Grape, informing them of the undead’s defeat.
Not long after the message was sent, officials from the kingdom arrived.
“This is enormous…”
The officials were left speechless at the sight of Mungchi’s corpse.
But what shocked them even more was Garot’s body.
Even to the untrained eye, Garot’s corpse exuded an overwhelming presence.
“A dark sorcerer capable of creating such a massive chimera…”
“They say he unleashed extensive dark magic. He’s no ordinary dark sorcerer.”
“It’s likely he spread the plague too.”
The officials murmured among themselves as they examined Garot’s body.
One of them, seemingly the leader, grasped Damian’s hand.
“Thank you so much! Thanks to you both, the kingdom is free from future threats! How can we ever repay you?”
With that, the official gestured, and several soldiers brought forth a small metal box.
“This is the promised Fire Moss!”
Damian accepted the box from the official and opened it slightly.
Instantly, the surrounding temperature soared, as if standing under the blazing sun of midsummer.
Inside the box was a small amount of red moss, glowing as if it might burst into flames at any moment.
When Damian closed the box, the temperature returned to normal.
“It is indeed Fire Moss.”
“Of course. Who would dare break a promise with the Fafnir Mercenary Corps?”
The official beamed, and Damian returned the smile.
Damian stored the Fire Moss in his spatial pocket and stepped back, allowing Athena to step forward.
“Hello, I’m Athena Hopper.”
At her introduction, the officials’ eyes widened.
“Hopper? Isn’t that the surname of the Mercenary King?”
“Could it be… you’re of the sacred bloodline?”
Athena nodded, and the officials exchanged astonished glances.
“To think the Mercenary King would send someone of the sacred bloodline…”
“They must have taken this request very seriously.”
“We must express our gratitude separately.”
Athena addressed the murmuring officials.
“Shall we begin the additional settlement?”
“Additional settlement? What do you mean?”
The officials looked at Athena, puzzled.
“We’ve already given you the Fire Moss as per the contract.”
“That was for the defeat of the wolf undead,” Athena pointed to Garot’s body.
“We weren’t informed about a dark sorcerer of this caliber. As you can see, he’s no ordinary sorcerer. We were in grave danger.”
Athena continued.
“Since we dealt with an unexpected and dangerous foe, we expect appropriate compensation.”
The officials exchanged glances, a strong resolve not to back down evident in their eyes.
“We cannot accept that demand. We must adhere to the contract…”
“Oh, and you’re aware that your kingdom’s high-class warriors interfered with us, right?”
The officials’ eyes wavered at her words. They must have been briefed on the situation on their way here.
“That… Sir Office and Sir Valet acted on their own…”
“You can’t just brush it off like that. We suffered significant losses because of them. Ultimately, it’s the kingdom’s fault for not managing them properly.”
The officials were left speechless by Athena’s rebuttal.
“Shall we discuss this in detail?” Athena smiled sweetly, leaving the officials no choice but to nod.
Athena spent a long time negotiating with the officials.
“Her skill in handling officials is impressive,” Damian thought, watching her from the side.
True to her lineage as the Mercenary King’s daughter, Athena was adept in such matters.
“I’ll send someone from the Fafnir Mercenary Corps later. We’ll finalize the settlement then.”
As soon as they secured a promise from the officials, Damian and Athena left the Kingdom of Grape.
They knew the church’s investigation team would soon arrive, and getting caught up with them would only waste time.
“My father should be in the Kingdom of Peach by now.”
The Fafnir Mercenary Corps traveled across the continent, taking on various requests.
While the two were away, the Mercenary King had headed to the Kingdom of Peach for a mission.
Damian had no need to return to the Fafnir Mercenary Corps, having secured his reward.
But he couldn’t ignore the valuable connection he’d made with the Mercenary King.
Moreover, he needed to claim the additional compensation promised for defeating Garot.
Thus, Damian and Athena set off for the Kingdom of Peach.
During their journey, Damian pondered a few things.
“Now that I have the Fire Moss…”
To reach the Master Class, Damian needed two things: a foundational mana cultivation technique and the mana to fill the gap.
With the Harmony of the Universe technique, the Nectar of the Gods, and the Fire Moss in his possession, he had all the necessary components.
“But I can’t consume them just yet.”
Both the Nectar of the Gods and the Fire Moss contained immense energy.
Though they were said to neutralize each other when consumed together, they would still place a significant burden on his body.
He needed to be fully prepared to absorb both elixirs completely.
“The dark mana I sensed at the end is also concerning.”
Right after defeating Garot, Damian had sensed dark mana leaving the scene.
It was a familiar presence from his past life, allowing him to identify the source easily.
“To think Kardak was involved.”
Once hailed as a promising talent of the Poison Sect, Kardak had wasted his life infatuated with Rubia.
In his past life, Kardak had always been by Rubia’s side.
“The plague Garot spread was likely his doing.”
Kardak’s skills were notoriously feared during the War of Destruction.
The deadly poison he developed was lethal even to Master Class warriors.
“Though he’s probably not at that level yet.”
He likely hadn’t reached that level of skill yet. But that didn’t make him any less dangerous.
“Two grand dark sorcerers…”
Kardak was a threat, and Rubia was no less dangerous.
If Damian remembered their names, it meant they survived until the War of Destruction, causing untold harm.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
But Damian wasn’t overly concerned.
Unless it was a master class, no mere dark sorcerer could hope to challenge Demian. Even a grand dark sorcerer would fare no better.
In terms of dark magic alone, Demian was overwhelmingly powerful. On top of that, he possessed seven distinct powers.
Just by wielding the first power, the Power of Gluttony, he could dismantle most dark spells with ease.
However, poison was one thing the Power of Gluttony couldn’t break down. Not that it mattered much.
“Poison is only deadly when you’re unaware of it.”
With preparation, poison was rendered useless. Even Kardak’s poison was no exception.
“As long as no one’s watching, I can handle this.”
Demian began to organize his thoughts, one by one.
After traveling for over a week, Demian and Athena finally reached the Fafnir Mercenary Camp.
“There it is!”
Athena exclaimed with joy, pointing to the camp spread out across the plains.
“Why did Dad have to come all the way out here?”
Despite her grumbling, Athena’s face was bright, likely because she was about to see her father.
The two of them entered the mercenary camp.
But something was off.
Not only the mercenaries but even the staff were in a state of chaos.
Demian and Athena were bewildered. Athena grabbed a passing mercenary to ask what was going on.
“Hey, you.”
“I’m really busy right now, who… Oh, Miss Athena?”
“Why is everyone like this? What’s going on?”
The mercenary’s face darkened as he replied to Athena’s question.
“The Mercenary King has collapsed.”