Episode 330: Parent and Child (1)
Just as the demons were about to vanish through the dimensional portal, Damian unleashed his mind blade.
The slash he envisioned in his mind materialized in reality. His formless sword aimed to cut through both the demons and the portal simultaneously.
But Damian’s mind blade was suddenly halted by an unexpected barrier. A rectangular wall had appeared around him.
“Always getting in my way,” Damian muttered, looking down at Vahel.
Vahel was already dead, but his power lingered in the world.
Unless his body was destroyed, his power would remain, binding Damian.
Damian focused his energy on the hilt of Erebus. A colorless aura spread from Erebus.
Simultaneously, Vahel’s body began to disintegrate. Only then did the walls imprisoning Damian vanish.
But by then, the demons had already escaped. Damian clicked his tongue in frustration.
“I need to return to the Otherworld immediately.”
Opening a portal to hell wouldn’t be easy.
The demons had likely moved somewhere on the surface. If he returned to the Otherworld, he could track them down.
Damian was about to summon Valhard to open a portal to the Otherworld when blood suddenly gushed from his mouth.
“Cough, cough.”
Bent over, Damian coughed up blood repeatedly. It wasn’t just his mouth; blood trickled from his eyes, nose, and ears as well.
He examined his own body.
His muscles, organs, and even his blood vessels were severely damaged. He felt like a cracked porcelain vase, ready to shatter at any moment.
Every breath brought a wave of pain. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Damian murmured to himself.
”…So that’s why Ruin insisted on strengthening my body.”
Upon reaching the level of a Grandmaster, Damian had merged the Five Rings Harmony Technique with the Nameless Qi Technique.
This fusion granted him power greater than he had ever wielded as a Death Knight.
The problem was his human body.
Unlike his time as a Death Knight, a human body was far too fragile.
Even with numerous elixirs and the sapling of the World Tree enhancing his body, it was still weak.
Using both techniques simultaneously had inevitably led to his body’s destruction.
“I was too blinded to realize it.”
Damian collapsed to the ground. The pain was so intense that maintaining his sanity was a struggle.
“Valhard!”
He shouted loudly, and the air shimmered as Valhard appeared.
“You called?”
As soon as they arrived in the capital through the portal, Damian had ordered Valhard to stay hidden.
This was in case a demon tried to interfere with his battle against Vahel, so Valhard could ambush them.
But the battle ended swiftly, and Valhard never got the chance to intervene.
“I’m about to pass out.”
“What?”
“You must protect me with your life. Understood?”
Valhard’s eyes flashed with defiance. Following Damian’s orders seemed a bitter pill to swallow.
The issue was that Valhard had sworn an oath of obedience to Damian.
“I will follow your command.”
“That expression of yours is quite something. Prepare yourself for when I wake up.”
“What? No, I just naturally look like this…”
“Quiet.”
Damian opened a subspace and consumed a healing potion. Then, he activated the sapling of the World Tree and closed his eyes.
He quickly fell into a deep sleep. Valhard watched him silently.
Damian was a dangerously unpredictable human.
His strength was formidable, but his erratic nature was even more concerning.
If he were to be killed, now would be the time.
Yet Valhard couldn’t make any threatening move against Damian.
Having sworn an oath, Valhard was bound to obey Damian’s commands.
Even sacrificing his life to break the oath wasn’t an option. Such oaths were not taken lightly.
“Damn it.”
Valhard cursed under his breath.
He sensed movement nearby. Turning his head, he saw humans glaring at him.
“Am I seeing things? Is that a dragon?”
The Sword Saint spoke, holding a half-broken sword.
His body was stained black in places, a sign of contamination from Vahel’s power.
“I thought dragons were extinct.”
“Sword Saint, stop with the nonsense. Focus on saving that boy.”
Cheongyeom snapped irritably, stepping forward.
His arms were completely ruined, injuries sustained while blocking Vahel’s power.
“Dragon, I don’t know where you came from, but you’d better hand him over peacefully.”
Valhard responded to Cheongyeom’s threat with a sneer.
“Humans, you’re pushing yourselves too hard with those dying bodies.”
“Dying?”
Murderous intent flared in Cheongyeom’s eyes.
“Want to see what a dying man can do?”
For a human, his spirit was impressive. Valhard sensed this wouldn’t be an easy fight.
“Still, I can’t hand over Damian Haxen.”
Valhard drew upon his dragon heart, unleashing a massive aura that spread in all directions.
Cheongyeom and the Sword Saint’s faces tensed.
They realized that facing him with their injuries would be a challenge.
Even if they were in perfect condition, victory wasn’t guaranteed.
Yet neither Cheongyeom nor the Sword Saint backed down.
Cheongyeom forced his broken arms to form fists. The Sword Saint drew upon his depleted energy reserves.
“Mind if I join in?”
Another voice chimed in.
A young boy and a woman approached. It was the Mercenary King and Nokpoong.
“Mercenary King? You’re alive?”
“What a cursed thing to say, you senile old man.”
The Mercenary King frowned at Cheongyeom’s words.
“You’re here to help us?”
“Of course. I owe that boy a lot.”
The Mercenary King gestured toward Damian.
“Never thought I’d see a dragon again in my lifetime…”
A hint of melancholy flickered in the Mercenary King’s eyes, but only for a moment.
“Hey! Lizard head!”
The Mercenary King shouted at Valhard.
“I’ve got a lot of questions for you, but right now, I’ve got just one thing to say!”
The Mercenary King summoned his lightning power, which enveloped him in a dazzling aura.
“Hand over Damian Haxen! Or I’ll roast you and eat you…”
“Kal?”
The Mercenary King frowned. The dragon had suddenly called his name.
“How do you know my name…?”
His expression turned blank, and he asked in a voice filled with disbelief.
”…Father?”
A dimensional portal opened in the empty void.
Several demons tumbled out.
They were a motley crew: one with a bull’s head, another with a mosquito-like snout, and one resembling an old man.
“Argh!”
The bull-headed demon roared at the sky.
Despite the large sword wound on its torso, the demon seemed unfazed by pain, consumed by rage instead.
“Laria! You bastard!”
Asta shoved Laria to the ground, pinning him down with fury.
“Why did you abandon His Excellency?”
“I was just following orders.”
“No! You abandoned him!”
Asta punched Laria in the face, who took the blows without resistance.
“Asta! Stop!”
“What are you doing?”
Bas and Alter grabbed Asta, trying to restrain him.
“Let go! I said let go!”
“You’re misdirecting your anger! This is just venting!”
Bas’s sharp words made Asta freeze. He hung his head.
”…You’re right. This is just venting.”
Asta offered a hand to Laria, apologizing.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
Laria replied calmly, taking Asta’s hand to stand up.
With his anger subsided, Asta surveyed their surroundings.
“Where are we?”
“Mount Karon.”
Asta frowned at Laria’s answer.
“Why here of all places?”
Mount Karon was known as the highest mountain on the surface.
It was also where demons had scoured for altars.
“Never mind, that’s not important now.”
The location wasn’t the issue. What mattered was what they did next.
“According to His Excellency’s orders, we return to hell.”
Asta wanted nothing more than to kill Damian Haxen immediately.
But he had seen firsthand how powerful Damian was.
The way he dispatched a duke-level demon like an insect was beyond Asta’s reach.
“We’ll return to hell and wait. For the moment Damian Haxen dies.”
However, Asta had one advantage over Damian Haxen.
His lifespan.
Demons lived almost indefinitely. Asta planned to wait until Damian Haxen died of old age.
“Fate is on our side, after all.”
Asta held out his hand to the demons.
In his palm lay a rusty key.
“What’s this?”
“How do you have that?”
The demons exclaimed in shock.
This key was a tool for making oaths, originally held by Vahel.
“His Excellency transferred it to me just before sacrificing himself.”
Transferring objects was a high-level skill, not as advanced as dimensional portals, but still significant.
But as a duke-level demon, Vahel could wield transference with ease.
“I won’t forget today’s grudge. I will kill Demian Haxen.”
Asta clutched the key tightly, her body trembling with rage. Laria placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and spoke softly.
“You’re lucky. It’s a good thing Vahel entrusted you with the key.”
“Even in his final moments, he was thinking of us. Such a noble decision…”
As Asta turned to look at Laria, something heavy and sharp pierced her chest.
Asta looked down in disbelief. Laria’s hand had gone straight through her heart.
“What… what are you doing…?”
With a cold, unfeeling grip, Laria crushed Asta’s heart. Asta collapsed instantly.
“Asta!”
“Laria! Have you lost your mind?”
Bas and Alter lunged at Laria, but before they could reach her, large holes appeared in their chests.
Migmag.
The demon wielding a metal staff had used a dimensional portal to pierce their bodies.
The two demons fell without even a chance to scream.
Laria and Migmag stood over the fallen demons, watching them silently.
Despite the gaping wounds in their chests, the three demons were not yet dead. They clung to life, barely breathing.
“It’s over.”
A voice echoed from the forest.
Laria and Migmag immediately dropped to their knees.
From the direction where the two demons knelt, a figure emerged.
A cloaked skeleton.
It was Dorgo.