Episode 79: The Hidden Lair (2)
Acrich Dorgo had long been preparing to bring about the downfall of human society.
He recruited skilled dark wizards to sow chaos across the continent and spent years building a formidable undead army.
After countless rituals, he finally transformed Damian Haxen into a Death Knight, utilizing every ounce of his gathered power.
But there was another plan Dorgo held in high regard.
The restoration of the cursed sword, Erebus.
Erebus was a mysterious blade, its origins unknown, with no records of it existing anywhere in the world.
The only mention of it was within the Order, which insisted that any fragments of Erebus be sealed away immediately.
Yet even the Order had no true understanding of what Erebus was.
“Dorgo must have known something about Erebus. That’s why he was so desperate to find it.”
Even amidst the chaos of the war, Dorgo was obsessed with locating the fragments of Erebus.
Despite his efforts, he never fully restored it.
The Erebus Dorgo managed to piece together was only about 70% complete. But even at that level, its power was terrifying.
There was a story of a simple farmer who stumbled upon a fragment of Erebus and went on a rampage, killing a high-class warrior.
“If Erebus hadn’t accepted me, I’d be dead.”
Erebus was not only powerful but also notoriously selective about its master.
Initially, it refused to acknowledge Damian, even as he grew strong enough to challenge master-class warriors.
It wasn’t until just before his duel with the Empire’s greatest swordsman that Erebus finally accepted Damian as its master.
“That was an incredible battle.”
Considering the Empire’s reputation as the strongest on the continent, their top swordsman was effectively the mightiest human alive.
He was a fearsome opponent, one even Damian found daunting.
And he wielded the divine sword, El De.
El De, which had seemingly fallen from the heavens, possessed unparalleled power, far surpassing even the Order’s finest holy swords.
Without Erebus, Damian would have surely perished at the hands of the Empire’s greatest swordsman and El De.
”…Perhaps that would have been better. If I’d died by his hand, Dorgo’s ambitions might have been thwarted.”
With the death of their greatest swordsman, the Empire crumbled rapidly.
And with its fall, Dorgo achieved his long-held dream of destroying humanity.
“How am I supposed to handle this…?”
Erebus was too dangerous to be left unchecked. Yet it couldn’t be destroyed.
No method could shatter its fragments, which was why the Order had decreed they be sealed instead.
“I suppose I’ll have to keep it with me.”
As Damian reached for Erebus, the sword’s hilt and blade dissolved into smoke and were absorbed into his body, leaving a tattoo of Erebus on his wrist.
“What?”
Damian was taken aback. This was a sign that Erebus had accepted him.
“This can’t be happening…”
During his time as a Death Knight, Erebus had been reluctant to acknowledge him.
Even after slaying countless masters and reaching unparalleled heights, it had remained aloof.
Yet now, Erebus had accepted him with surprising ease.
Though unexpected, it wasn’t a bad turn of events. He had effectively taken one of Dorgo’s most powerful assets.
“Well, I use dark magic, so why not a cursed sword too?”
The only issue was that with just the hilt remaining, it couldn’t be used as a weapon.
There was a bit of the blade left, but it was too short to even serve as a dagger.
“Maybe I could attach it to a spear.”
If he mounted it on a spear shaft, it might be usable. Though it would then be a cursed spear rather than a sword.
“Miya, let’s head out.”
Miya nodded in response to Damian’s words.
After placing Miya in the trunk, Damian stepped out of the hidden lair.
“Oh, there you are.”
Juan and his mercenaries were gathered, waiting for Damian.
As Juan stood, the other mercenaries followed suit.
“Did everything go well?”
“More or less.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Juan grinned, not pressing for details. A true mercenary through and through.
“Where’s that one?”
“Oh, you mean the girl who loves killing? She’s over there.”
Juan pointed to a tree stump where Veronica Sanchez was crouched.
“I’m back.”
Damian approached, and Veronica looked up at him with a blank expression.
”…Don’t greet me.”
Out of nowhere, Veronica blurted out something nonsensical.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m weak… too weak to even deserve your greeting…”
It was the most bizarre logic Damian had ever heard.
“Stop talking nonsense and get up. We need to leave.”
“Leave me here… I’m too weak to travel with you…”
Damian was starting to get annoyed.
“Do you want me to hit you, or will you just come along?”
“Just hit me… someone as weak as me deserves nothing else…”
Damian clicked his tongue.
Dealing with a lethargic Veronica was even more tiresome than when she was full of energy.
“You’re mistaken about one thing. You’re not weak.”
“Liar… you’re lying…”
“The flesh golem you fought had the ability to absorb magic. The more you cut it, the more magic it drained from you. That’s why you struggled.”
Veronica looked at him as if to say, “So what?”
“You lost because you didn’t realize its ability quickly enough. It wasn’t because you were weak.”
In truth, failing to notice such a trait was why she couldn’t handle a single flesh golem.
But right now, rebuilding Veronica’s shattered pride was more important.
“The swordsmanship you displayed against the bandits was impressive. Even I replayed it in my mind several times.”
Veronica’s ears perked up at the praise.
“With skills like yours, you’re far from weak. Once you get used to fighting undead, you’ll be able to cut down a flesh golem as easily as you do people.”
”…Really?”
“Yes, so don’t just focus on killing people. Try to broaden your skills.”
It was something Damian had wanted to say for a while.
“The realm of swordsmanship is vast. It’s a waste for a genius like you to focus solely on killing.”
This was Damian’s genuine belief.
Veronica Sanchez had talent that even Damian acknowledged.
The problem was that her talent was solely directed towards killing people.
If she could redirect that focus, if she could be made to fight for humanity, she would be an incredible asset.
“What’s your name?”
Veronica asked, looking at Damian.
He hesitated. He had been keeping his identity a secret.
But if he gave a false name now, his connection with Veronica would be severed.
“I’m Damian Haxen.”
After a moment’s thought, he decided to reveal his true name. Veronica’s eyes widened.
“I’ve heard of you… the one who won the recent jousting tournament… So you’re that Damian Haxen…”
Her expression turned dreamy.
“You were the one I most wanted to kill… I never thought we’d meet like this.”
But something about Veronica’s reaction seemed off.
“Thanks to you, I’ve realized my shortcomings… Once I overcome them, I’ll become much… much stronger…”
As she spoke, her eyes began to change.
The lethargy vanished, replaced by a dark, intense focus.
“To learn from the one I most wanted to kill… It’s fate! The heavens have given me a goal! To kill you!”
It was as if she had returned to her murderous state. Damian realized it immediately.
Her obsession had shifted from killing in general to killing him specifically.
“You taught me so I could become stronger and kill you, right?”
“What nonsense…”
“Got it! I’ll work on cutting other things too! I’ll get stronger and challenge you again!”
Veronica clenched her fist with determination.
“I’ll definitely kill you, so watch me!”
After the brief commotion with Veronica, Damian began descending the mountain.
“You can go now.”
On the way down, Damian decided to let Veronica go.
He figured it was safe since her obsession had shifted to him.
“Just in case, don’t kill people for fun. Only kill those who attack you.”
“Oh! You’re worried I might kill others, right?”
Her response was exhausting. Veronica waved her hands cheerfully.
“Don’t worry! You’re the only one for me! I’ll definitely come back to kill you!”
With that, Veronica disappeared over the mountain.
“Uh… congratulations?”
Juan, who had been nearby, spoke to Damian. Damian glared at him.
“Enough with the nonsense. Let’s get going.”
“Ah, understood.”
Descending was much quicker than climbing up.
Thanks to their haste, the group managed to reach the Old Village just as the sun was setting.
“Here’s the money I promised.”
True to his word, Damian handed over additional gold coins to Juan and his mercenary band. He had originally intended to give them one extra coin each, but he decided on two.
“This is… too much. Three gold coins per person?”
Juan’s eyes widened in surprise, but Damian just smiled.
During their exploration of the mountain range, Damian had been genuinely happy to have the mercenaries by his side. Juan and his team were exactly as he remembered: diligent, loyal, and honest.
“Don’t think of it as too much. This mission was incredibly important to me.”
“But we didn’t really do much…”
“How can you say that? Thanks to your excellent guidance, we spent less time in the mountains.”
With Damian’s insistence, Juan reluctantly accepted the gold. The entire mercenary group broke into wide grins.
“And here’s an additional reward.”
Damian handed Juan a thick piece of paper, something he had been working on during their journey through the mountains.
“What is this?”
“It’s a manual on mana cultivation and swordsmanship.”
Juan’s face showed a mix of confusion and disbelief.
“Why would you give us this…?”
“I noticed you all were practicing some form of mana cultivation.”
Juan’s confusion deepened.
“H-how did you know…?”
“You’re all using mana, albeit weakly. It was obvious. But the amount is too small. You must have been practicing an incomplete method.”
In a past life, Juan had shared a basic mana cultivation technique with his comrades. It was something he had learned as a trainee knight, but it had its limits. Despite this, Damian’s exceptional talent had allowed him to surpass knights even with that rudimentary method.
“You should abandon what you’re currently practicing and learn this instead.”
The technique Damian offered was based on what he had learned from Juan, so switching to it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Your generosity is appreciated, but I can’t accept this.”
Juan handed the paper back, his demeanor cautious. It was a wise stance. Mana cultivation techniques were priceless, worth far more than a handful of gold coins. No one would offer such a thing without ulterior motives. It was only natural to be suspicious.
‘My intentions are pure, though,’ Damian thought with a wry smile. Juan’s wisdom might one day backfire, but Damian admired their unwavering integrity.
“I’m not giving it for free. I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“First, keep my identity a secret. Second, I need you to take on another task.”
“Your identity?”
“I’m not Victor. I’m Damian Haxen.”
Juan froze, pointing at Damian with a look of disbelief.
“Not Victor… Damian Haxen? You mean the Damian Haxen?”
“The very same.”
“My goodness… That explains everything… your skills, the holy sword… You truly are the genius from the rumors.”
Juan slapped his cheeks with both hands, trying to process the revelation.
“So, what’s the second task?”
“Do you know Lake Devon?”
“The large lake in the south of the Apple Kingdom? I’ve heard it’s vast.”
“If you come across any requests to investigate disappearances at that lake, come to the Haxen estate and inform me immediately.”
In a previous life, Damian had gone with the mercenaries to investigate those disappearances and encountered Dorgo. However, he hadn’t pursued the investigation at Lake Devon yet because the timing wasn’t right. Dorgo was a wanderer, never staying in one place for long. Going there now would be pointless.
“You’re offering a mana cultivation technique in exchange for such a simple task…?”
“It’s not simple. It’s of utmost importance to me.”
Damian’s voice was earnest. As he wasn’t a mercenary, he couldn’t make such a request through a mercenary office. Hiring another mercenary was out of the question; they’d likely take the money and forget. But Juan was different. He was someone who would see a task through to the end.
“I don’t know your reasons, but if that’s the case, I’ll accept.”
Juan said, tucking the paper away. Damian smiled in relief.
“Make sure to practice diligently. It’s far superior to most techniques out there.”
Though he had put it together in just two days, Damian was confident in its quality. He had designed it to be simple enough to learn without a teacher, yet powerful enough to rival any martial art.
“If you run into any trouble while practicing, come to the Haxen estate. I’ll help you.”
With those parting words, Damian bid farewell to Juan and his mercenaries. It was time to head home.