Episode 334: The Past (2)
“Why is that here?”
Damian turned to the Emperor, his voice laced with confusion.
Not only was Dorgo missing, but the four great demon lords had also vanished without a trace. Yet here was Sita, captured and alone. It was completely unexpected.
“Perhaps I should explain.”
A familiar voice drew Damian’s attention to the entrance of another room, where the Swordmaster was emerging.
“Swordmaster, you’re here.”
“I heard she’s a dangerous one. Eos asked me to keep an eye on her, so here I am, doing my best,” the Swordmaster said, raising a steaming cup of tea.
“Eos mentioned that Dorgo was behind Pandemonium, and that woman is one of his undead creations.”
The Swordmaster took a sip of his hot tea.
“That’s correct. But how did you manage to capture her?”
“It’s a long story… After you collapsed, we examined Vahel’s body and found something intriguing.”
“Something intriguing?”
“The mages determined it was an artifact that creates an artificial dimension. They called it the ‘Illusionary Realm.’”
Damian recalled the dimensional gate at Mount Karon, where demons had poured out. It seemed the Illusionary Realm was the answer to where they had been hiding.
“Inside the Illusionary Realm, we found a ruined castle. While searching it, we stumbled upon her.”
“Was there a battle?”
Sita was covered in wounds, evidence of a fierce fight. But the Swordmaster shook his head.
“When we found her, she was already injured. Her wounds were so severe that we had to treat her.”
“Why was she injured?”
“We don’t know. She hasn’t spoken a word.”
Damian studied Sita, pondering if her injuries were from helping Dorgo escape. The demons wouldn’t have let Dorgo go easily.
Just then, Sita lifted her head and looked directly at Damian. He whispered to the Swordmaster, “I think she’s looking at me.”
“Huh? That’s impossible. This isn’t glass; it’s rare metal. You can’t see through it from the outside…”
-Damian, you’re there, aren’t you?
Sita’s voice, calling Damian by name, startled the Swordmaster.
“How did she know?”
-My hearing is quite good. I’ve been listening to your conversation.
The Swordmaster frowned in disbelief.
“That can’t be. There’s no way she could hear us from in there.”
“Considering her abilities, it’s entirely possible.”
Sita was an undead who used sound. In Elpheheim, she had detected Damian’s disguise by the sound of his heartbeat.
-Damian, I want to speak with you directly.
Damian and the Swordmaster exchanged glances.
“What do you want to do?”
“I think we should grant her request. She might know where Dorgo is.”
“Just in case, I’ll come with you.”
Damian and the Swordmaster opened the door and descended to the prison’s depths.
-Ah, to see you again…
Sita’s face lit up with a smile the moment she saw Damian.
“Where is Dorgo?”
Damian’s expression was cold as he interrogated her.
-Of course, that’s the first thing you’d ask.
“Just answer.”
-I’m sorry. I truly don’t know.
Damian’s eyes darkened, but Sita spoke soothingly.
-It’s not that I won’t answer; I can’t. I genuinely don’t know where my mother went.
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
-I was a decoy to help my mother escape.
Despite Damian’s accusations, Sita’s voice remained calm.
-Demons can extract memories by probing souls. Knowing my mother’s destination wouldn’t have helped.
Damian had to concede. Given the demons’ cruelty, they would have used any means to make Sita talk.
“If you know nothing, there’s no reason to keep you alive.”
-Then I hope you’ll be the one to kill me. It would be an honor.
Damian looked down at Sita with disgust. She had always unsettled him.
“I think we should keep her alive for now,” the Swordmaster suggested, watching them.
“Even if she claims to know nothing, she’s our only link to Dorgo. It’s better to keep her around.”
Damian nodded. He hadn’t intended to kill her; he was just testing her one last time.
“Stay quiet and behave.”
With that warning, Damian turned to leave with the Swordmaster.
-Damian, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to speak with you.
Sita’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
At first, Damian intended to ignore her, but her next words made him pause.
-You were my idol. Even now, when I close my eyes, I can vividly recall your overwhelming presence on the battlefield.
Damian turned back to Sita. He wondered if she was trying to provoke him, but her gaze was sincere.
-On the battlefield, you were an absolute force. Everyone who challenged you met their end. Even renowned knights couldn’t survive.
“Enough.”
Damian finally spoke, unable to hold back. But Sita continued.
-Wherever you went, bodies piled up. You left no enemy alive.
“I said enough.”
Damian’s voice rose, but Sita didn’t stop.
-Do you remember? The empire’s knights once united to stop you. You slaughtered them all.
Memories he had buried resurfaced. The knights charging at him, the sensation of cutting them down, the scent of blood with every breath.
-And then you attacked the castle they tried to protect. Foolishly, the humans inside chose resistance over escape.
With a single kick, Damian had shattered the castle gates like they were made of clay.
Beyond them, humans with wooden spears and eyes filled with fear.
-To avenge the fallen knights, everyone in the castle took up arms. You crushed them all.
There was no need to draw his sword. A stomp, a punch, and they were done.
In moments, dozens of humans became nothing more than meat.
-Among them were women and children. You showed no mercy. They paid for defying my mother.
The children screamed and ran. Damian hunted them down, one by one, ending their lives.
It was an order.
Dorgo’s command was to leave no one alive.
So that the name Damian Haxen would instill fear in all.
-Damian.
A gentle voice pulled him from his nightmare. He glared at Sita.
-You were my idol.
At those words, something snapped in Damian’s mind. Before he knew it, his body moved on its own.
When he came to his senses, he was already holding Erebus.
“Damian…!”
The Swordmaster shouted urgently, but Damian didn’t stop.
His rage-fueled strike severed Sita’s neck.
“Oof, my back.”
In the ruined capital, a soldier sat on the remains of a shattered wall, taking a break from moving debris.
Nearby, a fellow soldier scolded him with a disapproving look.
“Hey, stop slacking off and get back to work.”
“Just a short rest. My back’s been acting up lately.”
The soldier patted his back with a fist, while his companion clicked his tongue and moved on.
With the nagging gone, the soldier could finally relax.
“When will we ever clear all this?”
He muttered, surveying the ruins.
A few days ago, demons had invaded the capital through a dimensional gate.
The city, with its thousand-year history, was destroyed overnight. Many lives were lost.
“Rebuilding this will take more than a lifetime.”
Fortunately, the empire wouldn’t fall so easily.
The power it had amassed over a millennium was immense.
“Time to get moving again.”
As the soldier stood, the air suddenly split open, and two men stepped out of the rift.
The soldier stared at them, bewildered.
“It’s completely destroyed.”
“Damian Haxen and a duke-level demon clashed here. It’s a miracle the damage wasn’t worse.”
The two men began discussing the ruins.
“Iota, according to Mother, Sita is imprisoned underground. You’ll have to find the exact location yourself.”
“Can’t we switch roles? I want to kill that damned Damian Haxen myself.”
“Don’t be stubborn. We’re not here to kill Damian Haxen today.”
The soldier watched them, confused by their conversation. But he understood one thing clearly.
“An attack! It’s an attack!”
He turned and ran, shouting at the top of his lungs for everyone to hear.
“The enemy is here! We’re under attack! Attack!”
Epsilon watched the soldier in silence, not making a move. Iota, with a puzzled expression, asked, “Aren’t you going to kill him?”
“Why bother with a small fry like that? Besides, it doesn’t matter if they know we’re here.”
“True enough,” Iota agreed, stretching his arms high above his head. “But it’s a bit annoying, isn’t it? What kind of ambush is this? Have you ever seen such a blatant ambush?”
“Enough with the nonsense. Go find Sita.”
“Got it.”
Wings sprouted from Iota’s back, and with a powerful flap, he soared into the sky.
“Looks like I have my own task to attend to,” Epsilon murmured.
A dark energy began to emanate from Epsilon, swirling around him. Though it resembled dark magic, it was something entirely different—a power known only to demons.
Epsilon opened his palm, revealing a symbol identical to the one on Damian’s hand.
Gluttony.
The power to absorb everything.
The debris scattered across the ground was drawn into Epsilon’s hand, leaving the ruins transformed into a barren wasteland in an instant.
Epsilon turned his gaze toward the royal palace. Unlike the completely destroyed capital, the palace still stood.
He extended his hand toward the palace, releasing the absorbed debris.
The unleashed wreckage rained down, striking the palace with tremendous force.