Episode 349: Death Knight (1)
The moment Dorgo realized Damien Haxen’s intentions, he moved instinctively. He was ready to do whatever it took to stop him, even if it meant breaking his neck. But just as his hand was about to reach Damien’s throat, an explosion erupted around him.
A massive force pushed Dorgo back, and he couldn’t help but be thrown backward by the sudden blast. Landing on the ground, he glared ahead. A thick gray smoke obscured Damien Haxen from view.
“Damien Haxen…! Are you really going to summon the past?”
As the smoke slowly dissipated, a figure emerged. The first thing Dorgo noticed was the ashen skin and towering physique, reminiscent of an ancient tree. Scars crisscrossed the thick, steel-like muscles, too precise to be from battle—more like surgical marks.
“Damien…?” Count Haxen called his son’s name hesitantly, disbelief coloring his voice. “What… what happened to you?”
He stared at Damien’s transformed appearance, struggling to comprehend. Then their eyes met, and Count Haxen saw it—the eyes he once knew, blue as the sky, now glowed with a menacing red light. Within them, countless tiny gears spun, like some kind of magical device.
But that wasn’t all. Strange devices were embedded in Damien’s torso. “What happened to you…?” Count Haxen asked, desperate for answers. But Damien turned away, ignoring him.
From the void, black armor began to envelop Damien’s body, covering the scars and the embedded devices. Through the helmet’s visor, the red glow of his eyes shone ominously.
A Death Knight. A monster from a world long destroyed had returned.
“You’re insane,” Dorgo muttered, shaking his head as he watched Damien’s transformation. “To think you’d revert to that form. I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as you.”
Dorgo was the first to conceive the idea of reversing time. He knew well that it wasn’t a magical solution that fixed everything in an instant. To achieve a result through time reversal, one had to follow a set process.
To become a Death Knight again, Damien Haxen must have undergone the procedure once more. “But what do you hope to achieve with that body now?”
Though surprised by Damien’s unexpected actions, Dorgo realized he had no reason to feel threatened. The current Damien Haxen was far more powerful than his past self, and Dorgo had already defeated him with ease. Why fear him now, even if he had returned to the form of a Death Knight?
“Well, it’s convenient for me. I won’t have to modify you again,” Dorgo said arrogantly. He had planned to capture Damien and transform him into a Death Knight once more. To turn back a thousand years, he needed a body strong enough to withstand the strain of time reversal.
“I won’t kill you. I’ll just break your limbs,” Dorgo declared with a smug tone. “I won’t make the same mistake as before. This time, I’ll make you my loyal servant.”
Dorgo activated his power of arrogance, accelerating his body as time sped up around him. He charged at Damien, moving so fast that the world seemed to stand still.
He aimed a strike at Damien’s shoulder, intending to pierce and sever it. But just before his fingers touched the armor, a blow landed on his abdomen. His body bent backward, and he was sent flying. Only then did the searing pain register in his mind.
Clutching his stomach, Dorgo landed on the ground, looking up in shock. There stood Damien Haxen, his fist still extended.
What?
Dorgo stared at Damien, more stunned by the fact that Damien had moved than by the punch itself. “How did you react to my speed…?” he coughed, blood spilling from his mouth, indicating internal injuries. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t severe, and Dorgo quickly healed himself.
“Even a bee has a sting. I underestimated you,” Dorgo admitted, wiping the blood from his lips and glaring at Damien. Though the situation was shocking, he dismissed it. Damien’s combat skills were far superior to his own, so it was possible for him to anticipate and counter his moves.
“But it won’t happen again,” Dorgo vowed, moving once more. This time, he used his power of sloth to accelerate even further, appearing behind Damien in an instant. He lifted his leg and brought it down, aiming for Damien’s shoulder.
But just before impact, Damien twisted his body and countered with a punch to Dorgo’s face. The armored fist smashed into Dorgo’s face, sending his head snapping back with a sickening crunch. His body followed, tumbling backward, unable to land gracefully this time.
“Argh!” Dorgo cried out, rising to his feet, hands clutching his shattered face. The pain was excruciating. “Damien! How are you… how are you matching my speed?”
Once could be a fluke, but twice confirmed it. Damien wasn’t just predicting his moves; he was moving at the same speed as Dorgo.
“Impossible! It can’t be!” Dorgo shouted, removing his hands from his face to see Damien standing there, fist clenched, black energy swirling around it. The sight sent a chill down Dorgo’s spine. Instinct screamed that he couldn’t ignore this. He had to either dodge or block.
“How dare you…!” His pride wouldn’t allow him to retreat. Dorgo gathered his energy, mirroring Damien’s stance. Vast power coalesced in his fist.
Damien struck first, and Dorgo followed suit. Black energy and raw power collided, resulting in a massive explosion that engulfed them both.
When the dust settled, Damien stood with his fist still extended. But Dorgo was different. The arm he had punched with was gone, along with a portion of his upper body.
“Ugh…!” Dorgo groaned, clutching his wound, disbelief etched on his face. This was impossible. He had absorbed three demon lords, gaining immense strength and power beyond comprehension. Yet he had been overpowered, losing an arm in the process.
-Disgusting.
The red glow in Damien’s eyes flickered with disdain.
-Returning to this body, moving it myself… it’s all revolting.
Damien retracted his fist, speaking with a voice filled with contempt.
-The worst part is how comfortable this body feels.
He looked down at his hand, the one he had just used to strike.
-Now that I’m back, I can feel it clearly.
Damien’s aura began to expand rapidly, like fire meeting oil.
-Just how extraordinary this body is.
His energy spread, consuming the world around him like a wildfire.
-How much effort you put into modifying me.
The intensity was overwhelming, like staring into the sun. Dorgo blinked repeatedly, questioning his own eyes, but nothing changed.
“You… could it be?” A theory flashed through Dorgo’s mind. In his past life, Damien Haxen’s consciousness had been sealed, forcing his mind and body to act separately. But now, they were in perfect harmony.
And not only that, Damien was far stronger than before. He had defeated a duke-level demon and easily handled a demon king.
“If my theory is correct… then…”
The Death Knight’s body was originally designed for time reversal. To create it, Dorgo had used the finest materials he had ever collected.
A soul that had reached the pinnacle of power now inhabited the Death Knight’s body. What heights could Damien Haxen reach with all conditions perfectly met? Even Dorgo, with the power of a demon king, couldn’t fathom it.
-This body can handle anything I throw at it.
The ground beneath Damien’s feet began to burn. Crimson flames spread rapidly, engulfing the earth. The entire world was set ablaze.
The wind from afar made the flames flicker, sending embers soaring high into the sky. They scattered like petals in the breeze.
“Dorgo.”
Demian Haxen reached out into the air, and Erebos materialized in his grasp.
As he clutched Erebos, Demian’s presence grew even more formidable, his aura sharp and menacing.
Dorgo felt a chill run down his spine at the sinister energy emanating from him.
“Let’s settle this.”
From within the black armor, a pair of red eyes flashed ominously.