The Great Evil.
Even within the Pandemonium, a place reserved for only the strongest, there were those who had carved out their own empires—true powerhouses.
The influence wielded by a single Great Evil was comparable to that of a king.
“We’ve finally pinpointed the location of the Great Evil we’ve been tracking. All that’s left is to eliminate him, especially after that unfortunate incident at the Helian Tournament.”
He was referring to the chaos that had erupted during the tournament.
“His Majesty was furious. He insisted that this humiliation must be avenged.”
It seemed the Empire was determined to take down the Great Evil this time.
Damian pondered for a moment.
The Extermination Squad was a covert force operated by the Empire. If they were involved, it meant the mission was top secret.
Yet here they were, sharing such a sensitive mission with an outsider like him.
“Do you trust me?”
“Halfway,” the Sword Saint replied, taking a swig of his drink.
“You may have killed a beast from Pandemonium, but that alone isn’t enough for me to trust you. For all I know, they could have sacrificed a dark knight to plant you as a spy.”
Considering the schemes of dark sorcerers, it wasn’t an unreasonable suspicion.
There had been cases where families were sacrificed to infiltrate spies into the royal palace.
“So, I want to use this opportunity to verify the other half. And see your skills in action.”
“What’s the name of this Great Evil?”
“Vanexia of the Deadlock.”
Damian had never heard of this Great Evil. It seemed to be one that had vanished before the War of Destruction.
‘Must be one of the weaker ones among the Great Evils.’
Not all Great Evils were created equal. Their power and influence varied.
Figures like Sla and the Weapon Master were among the most formidable.
“I’ll participate.”
“That’s the spirit. But are you sure? This mission involves facing a Great Evil. You could lose your life.”
The Sword Saint’s voice turned serious, a stark contrast to his inebriated state.
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t die anyway.”
“Hahaha, what an audacious answer.”
The Sword Saint burst into laughter, seemingly pleased with Damian’s response.
“Good. Be at the northern gate before dawn tomorrow.”
“Understood… Wait, tomorrow morning?”
“The operation is set for tomorrow. We need to leave as early as possible.”
Damian looked at the Sword Saint, a bit taken aback.
“Isn’t this a bit rushed?”
“That’s how the world works, isn’t it? See you then.”
With that, the Sword Saint left.
Damian continued to stare at the door, still in disbelief.
Damian explained the situation to the people at the mansion.
The news of his sudden departure the next day left them equally shocked.
Since the Extermination Squad’s activities were top secret, he couldn’t reveal everything. He had to mix in some lies.
Afterward, Damian headed to his room and took out the sword and armor he had received from the royal palace.
He examined the sword first.
It was about 1.2 meters long, tapering to a sharp point. The blade was etched with patterns in rare metal, and the crossguard and hilt were studded with small jewels.
It was more a work of art than a weapon. In fact, this sword wasn’t meant for battle.
It symbolized the Emperor’s authority.
Ordinarily, no one but the Emperor could wield it, except in rare cases where it was lent to someone acting on imperial orders.
‘Why would they give me something so significant?’
If Damian misused this sword, it could cause chaos in the Empire.
Yet the Emperor had handed it to him without hesitation.
‘And why did he kneel before me? Why did he cry?’
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.
He barely knew the Emperor, having only seen him twice, even counting his past life.
‘The first time was when Dorgo attacked the palace.’
Right after winning the War of Destruction, Dorgo had attacked the palace and captured the Emperor. That was when Damian first saw him.
But Damian had been too busy reclaiming control of his body and exacting revenge on Dorgo to pay attention to the Emperor.
After his revenge, he had immediately taken his own life and returned to the past, leaving no room to remember the Emperor.
‘Was he that grateful for saving the Empire’s face at the Helian Tournament? Even so, giving me the sword seems excessive.’
After much contemplation, Damian decided to focus on the task at hand.
He summoned Erebus and brought it close to the sword.
“Erebus, absorb it.”
Black droplets began to seep from the sword’s surface, reacting to Erebus.
The droplets clung to Erebus like magnets.
As Erebus absorbed the droplets, its blade lengthened, now slightly longer than an axe blade.
Damian swung it through the air. The cutting sensation was significantly improved.
“It can finally be used as a weapon.”
Though the length was still a bit lacking, it was sufficient to be used as a sword.
Damian transformed Erebus back into its emblem form and examined the sword.
“As expected, it’s weakened.”
Having expelled Erebus’s fragment, the sword’s strength was much reduced.
“But no one would know just by looking at it.”
Damian stored the sword in his spatial pocket.
He might need to borrow the Emperor’s authority someday, so he decided to keep it handy.
Next, he examined the armor.
It was a breastplate called the Sealed Hemeira, designed to cover only the torso.
“First, I need to break the seal.”
Damian gathered all the dark magic left in his bracelet.
Since he hadn’t recharged it after the last use, the dark magic in the bracelet was very weak.
Fortunately, awakening Hemeira didn’t require a large amount of dark magic. Just enough to stimulate it.
Damian infused Hemeira with dark magic. At first, nothing happened. But soon, Hemeira turned crimson.
“Ah… Ah…”
A voice emanated from Hemeira.
“Soul… Offer…”
Unlike other demon swords, Hemeira couldn’t form coherent words. This was due to its past.
The demon who created Hemeira was a duke-level demon, the most powerful in hell aside from the “king.”
But the demon was killed immediately after creating Hemeira.
Before dying, the demon poured all its power and soul into Hemeira.
In essence, Hemeira was the duke-level demon itself.
“Soul… Offer…”
The problem was that the trauma of its death had severely damaged its soul, leaving Hemeira with less intelligence than a beast.
This was where the issue arose.
Like demon swords, demon armor was a vessel for demons to exert influence on the mortal realm.
Demon swords and armor didn’t destroy their users immediately; they kept them alive as long as possible for this reason.
But Hemeira, lacking intelligence, couldn’t make such judgments.
To become Hemeira’s owner, one had to offer their soul. But Hemeira, with its diminished intelligence, couldn’t exercise restraint.
Unlike other demon armor, it absorbed the soul of its wearer completely, leaving them dead.
Thus, even Dorgo couldn’t fully utilize Hemeira. Anyone who wore it died on the spot.
“I’ll have to subdue it first.”
Subduing Hemeira was simple.
Damian spread his magic throughout the room to conceal the commotion that was about to ensue.
“Hemeira, from now on, I am your master.”
“Soul… Offer…”
Damian raised his fist, charged it with magic, and struck the armor.
With a loud crash, Hemeira dented. The magic Damian had spread absorbed the sound.
“Ugh.”
Unable to withstand the impact, Hemeira groaned in pain. Damian clenched his fist again and spoke.
“I am your master.”
“Ah… It hurts…”
Damian struck Hemeira again. With the second crash, the armor dented further.
“I am your master.”
“Soul… Soul…”
Damian continued to strike, not stopping until Hemeira was nearly scrap metal.
“Master! Master!”
Finally, Hemeira surrendered. Its previously awkward speech was now clear.
“Master! Acknowledged! Master!”
The moment Damian was recognized as the master, Hemeira transformed into a necklace and fell to the ground.
Damian put the necklace around his neck, satisfied.
“Whether human or demon, sometimes a good beating is the only way to make them listen.”
The Emperor stood by the window, gazing at the night sky. It was the best way to clear his troubled mind.
‘Why did I act so disgracefully?’
The source of the Emperor’s turmoil was none other than Damian Haxen.
Today, the Emperor had knelt before Damian Haxen, a knight from another country. He had even shed tears.
He couldn’t understand why.
Unlike when he had seen him in the Colosseum, meeting him in person had unleashed a torrent of emotions within him.
Unable to withstand the emotional surge, he had knelt and wept without even realizing it.
When Damian Haxen withdrew, the emperor was left in a state of shock, unable to comprehend his own actions.
He wasn’t the only one taken aback.
The palace doctors, wizards, and priests all rushed to examine the emperor, suspecting that Damian Haxen might have cast some sort of mind-altering spell on him.
The conclusion? Nothing was amiss. This only deepened the emperor’s confusion.
“Your Majesty, are you alright?” a concerned royal guard inquired. The emperor nodded slowly.
“It’s not too late. Perhaps you should send someone to retrieve the sword,” the guard suggested.
“No, it’s fine,” the emperor replied.
“But, Your Majesty, that sword is a symbol of your authority. If Damian Haxen were to misuse it…”
The sword held immense value. Even if Damian used it to kill a high-ranking noble, he would go unpunished. Such was the nature of the weapon.
“Leave it be,” the emperor insisted.
Despite understanding the implications, the emperor felt no desire to reclaim the sword from Damian Haxen.
It simply didn’t matter to him.
Even if Damian were to misuse the sword, it was of no consequence.
In fact, the emperor found himself wanting to give Damian even more.
He wanted to offer him anything, to shower him with the most precious treasures from the imperial vault.
No, beyond that, he felt an overwhelming urge to hand over the entire empire.
‘I’ve lost my mind,’ he thought. To feel this way about a knight he’d never met before—he must be going senile.
‘I need to keep my wits about me,’ he reminded himself.
As the leader of the empire, he couldn’t afford to be swayed by such inexplicable emotions.
“Your Majesty, there are troubling rumors circulating in the streets,” the guard continued.
“Rumors?” the emperor asked.
“There’s talk that Damian Haxen might be… your illegitimate child.”
The emperor burst into laughter at the absurdity. An illegitimate child? He swore to the heavens he had never fathered one. He had only ever had one empress.
“Wait a moment.”
The rumor of an illegitimate child was nonsense.
But… the possibility of some blood connection couldn’t be entirely dismissed.
Could it be that Damian Haxen was descended from a previous emperor or a distant branch of the royal family?
If that were the case… truly the case…
“Conduct an investigation,” the emperor ordered.
The guard’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Surely… you don’t mean… he really is…”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” the emperor retorted, frowning.
“Investigate whether the Haxen family has any royal blood,” he clarified.
“Understood,” the guard replied.
The emperor turned his gaze back to the night sky.
If Damian Haxen truly had royal blood, then what?
“Perhaps I should adopt him,” he muttered absentmindedly, startling himself with the thought.