Chapter 38


    [Trantor – Kie]


    [Proofreader – Kawaii]


    Chapter 38: Cleanup(1)


    ***


    Damien reims the ckness.


    The shadow that had covered the sky was dispelled in an instant. The night sky returned to its original state.


    Damien approached the thick blood puddle left on the ground.


    The power of ckness was truly formidable.


    Even the dark mages of the 7th ss, true to their name, lost their lives without a chance to resist.


    Not only their bodies but also their clothes and belongings disintegratedpletely.


    Damien raised his head and looked into the empty air.


    The dark mana that had nowhere to go because of its wielder’s death was swirling in the air.


    Both being high-ranking dark mages of the 7th ss, the amount of dark mana was staggering.


    He absorbed all the dark mana and stored it in his bracelet. A tremendous amount of dark mana was now stored in the bracelet.


    Judging by it, it seemed to be about five times the dark magic he obtained by killing Akitora.


    “Ah, I forgot to ask about Dorugo.”


    Being dead didn’t mean there was no way to find out about Dorugo.


    In fact, there was even more information that could be extracted after death.


    But Damien preferred to use something other than that method.


    “Well, it can’t be helped.”


    Damien stopped in front of the puddle. Something vague was sucked out of the two puddles.


    Gray smoke-like orbs slowly took shape on Damien’s palm.


    -Aaahh!


    -Ahhhh!


    The two orbs emitted horrifying screams.


    These two entities were none other than the souls of Mustang Fury and Reba.


    Controlling souls was one of the greatest atrocitiesmitted by dark mages.


    Dark mages utilized the souls of living beings for various dark magic purposes.


    Originally, souls went through the cycle of life and death.


    However, a soul utilized in dark magic was entirely consumed after expending all its power.


    It signified theplete disappearance of a human being.


    That’s why Damien hesitated to use this method.


    However, after extracting the souls, he felt no particr guilt.


    Perhaps it was because they were the souls of abominable dark mages.


    “I have to extract everything you know.”


    Damien forcefully extracted the memories held by the two souls using dark magic.


    -Ahh! Nooo!


    -S-stop! Please, nooo!


    The two souls writhed in agony, but Damien did not stop.


    The memories held by the two souls streamed into Damien’s mind.


    “I am Dorugo, The Archlich.”


    Within that moment, he once again encountered the countenance he vehemently despised.


    “You’ve likely heard of me. Most of the dark magic you’re familiar with has passed through my hands.”


    Seeing Dorugo’s visage reignited the rage within Damien, but he forcefully suppressed it.


    ‘Now is not the time to express anger; I need information about Dorugo.’


    “I’ve been observing your activities for a considerable period. Your skills are trulymendable. I have a task that I entrust to you.”


    “I aspire to establish an empire for dark mages, offering a sanctuary for those persecuted. That is my goal.”


    Upon hearing this, Damien couldn’t help but burst intoughter.


    “An empire for dark mages? What a load of bullshit.”


    Archlich Dorugo’s goal was the extinction of humanity, and dark mages were no exception.


    Dorugo had used dark mages during the war, only to kill them all in the end.


    “To achieve my goal, it is necessary to weaken the power of each country. So, go to the Apple Kingdom and sow chaos between them.”


    The meeting between the dark mages of Yn and Dorugo ended there.


    Although it was a one-time meeting, Mustang Fury and Reba diligently proceeded to carry out Dorugo’smand.


    Their targeting of Duke Goldpixie was also part of that mission.


    “Unfortunately, there is no other information about Dorugo on them…”


    There was no way for Damien to find a way to meet Dorugo, something he desperately wanted.


    “Well, expecting anything from these scum was my mistake.”


    Dorugo had moved so discreetly for thousands of years that there was no way to catch him so easily.


    “I need to find and kill that bastard as soon as possible.”


    Dorugo roamed the world to fulfill his n to bring about the destruction of the world.


    The encounter between Damien and Dorugo in a previous life was merely a coincidence.


    Even if he revisited that location, there was no assurance that he would cross paths with Dorugo again.


    “Any other information?”


    Despite that, Damien couldn’t let go of his regrets and delved a bit more into the souls.


    With each disturbance of the souls by dark magic, screams echoed.


    “What’s this?”


    In the midst of it, a peculiar memory came forth.


    It was a memory of Yn’s members gathering in a cave and moving something.


    “Ah, a secret warehouse.”


    Yn had amassed a considerable amount of wealth through ndestine means in the Apple Kingdom.


    But being pursued by the Church, they couldn’t casually carry those riches around.


    That’s why Yn had created a dungeon deep in the mountains and stored items there.


    “I should visit thereter.”


    Having obtained all the necessary information, Damien stopped using dark magic on souls.


    As the souls were liberated from torment, a sense of relief emanated from them.


    Initially, the souls that had a deep gray hue were now noticeably faint.


    During their torment caused by dark magic, the souls had significantly weakened.


    “Is Sebastian still alive?”


    It was when Damien muttered like that a loud sound echoed from afar.


    It meant Sebastian was still alive.


    “Oh, still kicking.”


    Damien smiled and infused the two spirits with ck magic.


    The two souls let out cries again.


    “When you perform body enhancement on Ernst Horowitz, you also imprinted a seal of submission, didn’t you? Signal the dark mana of Ernst Horowitz run wild.”


    The two souls immediately obeyed Damien’smand.


    Using the dark mana Damien had channeled, they sent a signal to Ernst Horowitz.


    The distant explosions quieted down. It was evidence that themand had been sessfully conveyed.


    “Good job. As a reward, I’ll release you.”


    Damien tightly grasped the two souls. The two souls uttered their final cries and vanished.


    Damien flicked his hands as if getting rid of something dirty.


    The battle was concluded, but Damien’s work was far from over.


    ***


    “Huff, Huff, Huff.”


    Sebastian Vincenzo let out a deep exhale, his breathing rough and uneven.


    His entire body was covered in wounds, and the flowing blood stained his clothes red.


    “Sir Sebastian, you seem to be going through a lot.”


    Ernest Horowitz sneered, holding backughter.


    Despite his rxed demeanor, he too had wounds on his body. Sebastian Vincenzo’s asional counterattacks had left their mark.


    However,pared to Sebastian, who seemed on the verge of copsing any moment, Ernst appeared in much more better shape.


    “I didn’t expect you tost this long against me. Truly admirable.”


    “Admiration by you?… I find it shameful.”


    “You should be proud of yourself because I’m so strong right now that I’m afraid of myself.”


    Sebastian scoffed at Ernst’s words.


    “Falling behind someone who just uses dark magic to increase strength and aura is truly embarrassing.”


    Knights aren’t strong solely due to their speed and strength; it’s their mastery of skills that sets them apart.


    Swords, spears, axes, and more.


    Mastering weapons to the extreme and realizing the truth beyond.


    A knight who understands it and gains enlightenment can cleave the seas and split mountains.


    That’s why knights are feared.


    As for Ernest Horowitz, it’s a different story. He doesn’t focus on honing his skills; instead, he merely enhances his physical abilities and aura.


    That’s why he couldn’t kill Sebastian Vincenzo so far.


    “Still noting to your senses?”


    Ernest Horowitz’s face turned vicious.


    Ernst adjusted his posture, and a red aura gathered at the tip of his spear.


    Seeing the aura, Sebastian Vincenzo made up his mind.


    He was okay with dying here. But even in death, he intended to take Ernst Horowitz with him.


    Sebastian Vincenzo gathered his aura.


    In a single stroke of the sword, he poured all his determination and skills.


    In the darkness, Sebastian Vincenzo’s aura shone brightly.


    “You’re trying hard. But it’s futile.”


    Ernst Horowitz spoke with a sneer.


    That’s when it happened.


    “Ahh!”


    Suddenly, Ernst Horowitz made a gasping sound.


    “Ugh!”


    As if that wasn’t enough, he began to convulse.


    Ernst Horowitz threw away his spear and tore at his body with his fingers.


    “Aaaargh!”


    A thick smoke began to billow from the orifices in his face.


    Sebastian Vincenzo recognized it immediately.


    Dark magic.


    “No……! Noooo!”


    Ernst Horowitz’s muscles withered, and his hair turned white as the dark mana drained from him.


    In the blink of an eye, Ernst Horowitz transformed into an old man and copsed to the ground.


    “Hmph, hmph, hmph.”


    Sebastian Vincenzo’s eyes widened as he observed Ernst Horowitz, who was breathing heavily.


    “Did he… survive?”


    ***


    As the day began to brighten, the reinforcements sent from the Duke’s castle arrived.


    Surprisingly, there were two mid-ss knights and a staggering five low-ss knights among them.


    Witnessing the utterly devastated forest, those who arrived were rendered speechless.


    Even more remarkable was the fact that not a single person had perished in this onught.


    Sebastian Vincenzo was severely injured but not in a life-threatening condition. On the contrary, Damien was unharmed. On top of that, he had even managed to kill two dark mages.


    “How on earth did you manage to kill those two? ording to the knights, they were not ordinary dark mages.”


    Two mid-ss knights approached Damien and inquired.


    Damien casually replied, “I just dodged appropriately and slit their throats.”


    The knights nced at the devastated forest, skeptical of evading such powerful dark magic.


    “Evaded this level of destruction?” one of the middle-ss knight asked, giving a doubtful nce.


    “The power was strong, but their skill wascking. Perhaps they enhanced their power using some method.”


    The two mid-ss knights nodded in agreement.


    Dark mages often increased the potency of their dark magic through dubious means, but the gained power wasn’t usually stable. It came with drawbacks like slow casting speed or low activation probability.


    “I can’t see the corpses of the dark mages.”


    “Do you see those two puddles over there? Those are the bodies. After slitting their throats, the bodies suddenly melted away.”


    Dark mages often concealed themselves in such a way due to their many secrets.


    Still, one of the mid-ss members found it hard to believe.


    “You may be skilled, but… How did you evade suchrge-scale dark magic?”


    “Oh, you really have to see it to believe it.”


    Damien disappeared before their eyes and reappeared behind a knight.


    The movement was so fast that even a middle-ss would have to concentrate to see it.


    Seeing this, the knight reluctantly epts Damien’s exnation.


    “Truly remarkable. How on earth do you possess such skills at such a young age?”


    To the knight’s inquiry, Damien casually responded, “I’m a genius.”


    The knight gazed at Damien, his face adorned with a dumbfounded expression.


    [Trantor – Kie]


    [Proofreader – Kawaii]