Episode 255: Threats (2)

Jeremy Demang.

One of the top disciples of the Weapon Master, he clutched his stomach, blood spewing from his mouth.

“Ugh! Ughhh!”

It was more like a torrent than a trickle. The blow he had just received had ruptured his insides.

“Damian Haxen… that bastard…!”

He couldn’t see him.

Jeremy couldn’t track Damian Haxen’s movements at all. Not when he closed the distance, not when he extended his leg, not even when he landed a blow to Jeremy’s abdomen.

The only thing Jeremy registered was the impact on his stomach.

“I’ll… I’ll kill you…”

Jeremy tried to stand, but his legs refused to cooperate. His body wobbled unsteadily.

His eyes darted wildly.

He was a disciple of the Weapon Master, a formidable fighter capable of taking on notorious villains.

Even if Damian Haxen had killed Slah, how could he be rendered helpless with just one strike?

“There’s no way… the gap is this wide…”

“You can’t even stand.”

Damian Haxen’s voice reached Jeremy’s ears.

“And you dared to speak of my family with such pitiful skills? It’s almost laughable how infuriating it is.”

Jeremy gritted his teeth at Damian’s taunt.

Pitiful? Me? A direct student of the Weapon Master, wielding a cursed sword bestowed by him?

“Insulting me is like insulting my master… Even if you were invited by him, there’s a limit to what I can tolerate!”

Jeremy forced himself to his feet, though his legs still trembled.

He grabbed the greatsword strapped to his back.

-Hmm?

As soon as he gripped it, a voice echoed—a voice that was both masculine and feminine.

-I was having a nice nap. Why wake me?

“Shut up and get ready. We’re fighting.”

-What’s with the sudden change? Oh? Isn’t that Damian Haxen? Didn’t the Weapon Master tell you to bring him in?

The cursed sword spoke with concern, but Jeremy snapped back.

“Just heal me! I need to kill that bastard right here!”

-Why so angry?

Dark energy from the cursed sword flowed into Jeremy’s arm, and his pallor quickly improved.

“Ah, much better,” Jeremy said, rolling his neck. His once pale face regained its color.

“I’ll make you regret those words, you bastard.”

-You’re really going to fight Damian Haxen? What about the Weapon Master’s orders?

The cursed sword spoke hesitantly.

-And he killed Slah. How do you plan to beat him?

“Can’t you just shut up?”

Jeremy was painfully aware of the vast gap between him and Damian from that initial strike.

But he couldn’t just back down. Damian had insulted his master.

“Just follow my lead. I won’t rest until I’ve torn at least one of his arms off.”

-Oh dear.

Jeremy gripped the greatsword with both hands. A surge of dark energy erupted from the cursed sword.

The moment it touched the surrounding foliage, the plants withered, a testament to the intensity of the dark energy.

Simultaneously, Jeremy’s body began to change.

The cursed sword melted slightly, merging with Jeremy.

His skin turned gray, and his aura grew more menacing.

Synchronization.

A technique to enhance dark energy and physical abilities by merging with the cursed sword.

“A worm struggling in vain.”

Damian Haxen drew the sword from his waist.

The moment the blade was unsheathed, Jeremy’s eyes were drawn to it.

As a disciple of the Weapon Master, he could immediately tell that the sword Damian wielded was no ordinary weapon.

“What… what is that sword…?”

Instead of answering, Damian gripped the sword, a sharp killing intent emanating from it.

“Unlucky bastard. Not going to tell me, huh?”

Jeremy raised his cursed sword in response. The massive blade pointed skyward.

“Here’s a tip. You’d better put that sword away if you don’t want to cry tears of blood.”

The cursed sword Jeremy received from the Weapon Master was named Gulonta.

Gulonta had the power to weaken.

Anything it touched would have its molecular structure destroyed.

Rocks crumbled like sandcastles, trees turned to sawdust, and metal became like clay.

Whatever sword Damian had, it couldn’t possibly withstand Gulonta.

“Not going to take my advice? Then so be it!”

Jeremy launched himself forward. Damian charged as well. The cursed sword and the holy sword clashed in mid-air.

The two stood locked in a standoff, weapons pressed against each other.

Jeremy shouted at Damian from behind his blade.

“Ha! Is this all you’ve got? I expected more from someone who killed Slah. You’re nothing special.”

Jeremy smirked, but Damian spoke.

“You’re softer than I thought.”

Damian tightened his grip. In the next moment, the holy sword sliced through the cursed sword’s blade.

“…What?”

It was like a sharp knife cutting through hardened cheese. The cursed sword offered little resistance before it was severed.

“W-wait…”

In an instant, the cursed sword was cleaved in two.

---

-…Huh?

The cursed sword’s reaction was delayed.

The split blade fell to the ground, black smoke billowing from the severed edge.

-Ah…?

Only then did the cursed sword realize what had happened.

-Ahh! Aaaah! Aaaaaah!

The cursed sword screamed, a piercing sound that seemed to shake the world.

“G-Gulonta!”

Jeremy shouted in shock.

“W-what is this… This can’t be…! Gulonta…! So easily…! How is this…!”

While Jeremy was lost in confusion, Damian swung his sword again.

The blade severed Jeremy’s forearm, sending it flying, still clutching the cursed sword.

Jeremy screamed, clutching his severed arm.

“M-my arm! My arm! You crazy bastard! What have you done!”

Damian swung again, slicing off Jeremy’s other forearm.

“Aaagh! Aaaaah!”

Jeremy screamed, and for the first time, fear appeared on his face.

“H-huh… Huh!”

Jeremy tried to flee from Damian. But before he could take a step, he stumbled.

Jeremy fell to the ground, desperately looking back.

Only then did he realize his knees had been cut.

“A-ah… Aaaah!”

“Shut up.”

Damian stomped on Jeremy’s face, pressing it into the dirt.

“At this rate, you’ll bleed out soon.”

Damian activated the power of jealousy, imbuing his magic with the essence of fire.

The sword began to glow with heat. Damian pressed it against Jeremy’s wounds.

“Aaagh! Aaaaah! Aaaaaah!”

Jeremy foamed at the mouth, his body convulsing. But Damian continued his work, unfazed.

“Y-you demon… Why are you doing this to me…?”

Jeremy pleaded. Damian answered by slicing open his abdomen.

“Gah!”

“Why? Did you just ask why? You threatened me first, and now you have the nerve to ask that?”

Damian’s voice was icy, but his eyes burned like molten lava.

“This is why I hate your kind. You worms think nothing of exploiting others’ weaknesses.”

Damian raised his sword. Jeremy shouted desperately.

“W-we have to report to the master regularly! If I don’t, he’ll know I’m dead! Then not just you, but your family will be in danger too!”

Damian’s hand paused. Jeremy sighed in relief.

“L-let me go, and I promise not to harm your family!”

Suddenly, Damian began to laugh. Jeremy asked nervously.

“W-why are you laughing…?”

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

Damian brought the sword close to Jeremy’s neck and grabbed his hair.

He pulled Jeremy’s head back, pressing the blade against his throat.

The more Damian pulled, the deeper the blade cut. Blood gushed from the wound.

“Aaagh!”

Jeremy screamed, but Damian didn’t stop.

“I-I’m not lying! If I die, the master will really…!”

Damian tightened his grip, and Jeremy’s head was severed completely.

“That’s none of your concern,” Damian said coldly, tossing Jeremy’s head to the ground.

Moments later, a ghostly mist began to rise from Jeremy’s corpse.

—Graaah…

Jeremy’s soul was trapped in the shock of death, unable to move on.

Damian immediately channeled his power of envy, transforming his magic into dark energy. He used this dark energy to seize Jeremy’s soul.

“Submit to me.”

The dark energy pierced into Jeremy’s soul. Jeremy resisted, but it was futile.

—Aaargh! Nooo!

As Damian inflicted direct pain on the soul, Jeremy quickly surrendered.

Damian forced Jeremy’s soul back into his body and invoked necromancy.

“Rise.”

The headless corpse stood up, fumbling around until it found its head and placed it back on its neck. The dark energy reattached them.

“You said the Weapon Master would notice if you died? Then we’ll just pretend you’re still alive.”

Damian wasn’t fond of using dark magic on people. But when the target was less than human, it was a different story.

—Hun…gry…

A voice whispered in Damian’s ear. The magical beast Hemeira craved the remnants of the recently destroyed cursed sword.

“Feast to your heart’s content.”

Hemeira, nestled within Damian’s clothes, emerged and began devouring the shards of the cursed sword, resembling a slime as it did so.

Damian looked up. The demonic energy released by the sword hovered in the air. He extended his hand, and the energy was absorbed into the markings on his hand.

“Looks like I’ll be unlocking another power soon.”

As Damian contemplated the markings on his hand, the undead Jeremy spoke.

“I… submit… to you… no, to my master… I submit to my master…”

Jeremy’s speech was still clumsy, but it was a minor issue. In time, he would act just as he did in life. But that didn’t mean Jeremy was truly alive. Reviving the dead was impossible. Damian had merely reanimated Jeremy’s corpse as an undead and bound his soul to it to deceive the Weapon Master.

“How… should I address you… Damian? Lord Damian Haxen?”

“No, don’t use that name.”

“Then… what should I call you?”

While staying with the cult, Damian had pondered his next move. His goal was to kill the Weapon Master to divert Pandemonium’s attention and resources, leaving them unable to focus on his family. But simply killing the Weapon Master felt insufficient. Pandemonium needed to be shaken to its core.

So Damian revised his plan.

“Victor.”

Damian opened a pocket dimension and retrieved a wooden mask, the same one he had used to impersonate Victor during the Starlight Jellyfish Festival.

“From today, I am Victor the Woodcutter.”

The enigmatic dark sorcerer, Victor the Woodcutter, would bring down one of Pandemonium’s key figures, the Weapon Master. That was Damian’s new plan.