Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 158

Chapter 158: Duel (2)

***

The moment the sword was about to cut her throat, Athena’s body disappeared.

Athena, who had turned into a lightning bolt, retreated far back before restoring her body to its original state.

At that moment, Athena could feel a tingling pain in her neck.

When she touched her neck with her fingers, a faint trace of blood came out.

“….”

Athena looked at Damien with a surprised face.

She thought she had completely dodged it, but it was Athena who was slightly slower.

“U, uwaaa!”

“Did you just see that? Lady Athena is using her lightning power!”

At that moment, cheers erupted from the mercenaries. The exchange just now was enough to excite them.

“Since when did you start using lightning so naturally?”

“That’s amazing. It’s like watching the young days of the Mercenary King.”

The ‘Thunderclap Heavenly Movement Technique’ that Athena was mastering was a mana cultivation technique that could convert mana into lightning power.

Lightning stimulated the muscles and nerves, allowing them to move even faster. Furthermore, by entrusting one’s physical body to the flow of lightning, one could move like lightning.

Even among the children of the Mercenary King, who was known as a genius, there were few who had learned the Thunderclap Heavenly Movement Technique. It was that difficult of a mana cultivation technique.

“……But what the hell is that guy? Where did such a monster come from?”

“It’s amazing that he reacted to the speed of lightning……but how did he able to react so fast?”

However, the skilled mercenaries, especially the master class, were admiring Damien.

The Thunderclap Heavenly Movement Technique was a mana cultivation technique that overwhelmed the enemy with its overwhelming speed and destructive power.

Damien had effortlessly turned all of that away.

“As expected, you can dodge this much.”

Damien spoke to Athena.

When she realized that she was the object of his evaluation, Athena found herself laughing involuntarily.

“You, you’re interesting.”

Most of the enemies she had fought so far had not even been able to react to Athena’s attacks.

But he had not only reacted, but he had also counterattacked.

“As expected, my eyes were not wrong. It’s a point.”

A smile spread across Athena’s mouth. It was bewitching, yet somehow joyful.

Damien slung his sword over his shoulder and looked at Athena with a crooked gaze.

“You’ve been talking about points since earlier, but what are you scoring?”

“I can’t tell you now. I’ll tell you when it’s all over.”

The wound on her neck had already healed completely.

The children of the Mercenary King all possessed such a fast recovery ability. However, it was not enough to instantly regenerate major injuries such as fractures or cuts.

“Now that I know you’re not to be taken lightly……”

Athena drew out her lightning even further. White lightning enveloped her body and soared high into the sky.

“I won’t let my guard down anymore.”

Athena kicked the ground and lunged at Damien, thrusting her spear out.

Athena’s spear, transformed by lightning, was so fast that it could not be tracked by the naked eye or even by sound.

However, Damien blocked the spear with his sword as if it were a matter of course.

Athena was not surprised. Of course, Damien could do this much.

Athena swung her spear at Damien one after another. Damien also did not dodge and responded.

The spear and the sword clashed several times in the air. Sparks flew each time they collided.

“Amazing? But I don’t think you can keep blocking it.”

Athena drew out her lightning even further.

The speed at which she thrust the spear became faster and faster. It was as if she was scattering multiple spears at the same time.

“Huh? What…?

“How can he… ?”

A look of amazement gradually appeared on the faces of the mercenaries.

This was because Damien was blocking all of those countless attacks.

With the blade, hilt, pommel, and so on.

He was blocking the spear with various parts of the sword. As a result, Athena was not able to land a single effective attack.

Athena was just as surprised.

She had been attacking intending to corner Damien, but all of her attacks were being blocked.

It was as if he was reading her mind.

“You’re really amazing.”

After a moment of surprise, Athena rejoiced like a child.

Athena was born with an overwhelming talent. That’s why she had never been able to find a proper rival until now.

Her peers were much weaker than her, and she had quickly surpassed those who were much stronger than her.

That’s why, in Athena’s eyes, other people looked like animals. The only person who was not like that was her father.

But today, she met a new ‘person’. It was Damien.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I had this much fun. So… can I go a little rougher?”

Athena’s movements changed.

She transformed into a lightning bolt and began to envelop Damien’s surroundings.

Every time Athena moved, afterimages made of lightning were created around Damien.

The moment the number reached ten, the afterimages charged towards Damien.

They had no physical strength, but since they were made of lightning, they were a technique that could cause an electric shock if they even touched him.

“What a troublesome technique.”

Murmuring thus, Damien swung his sword at the afterimages.

‘So this is it.’

Athena felt a great sense of regret.

Those clones were designed to explode with thunder power the moment they were cut.

In other words, Damien’s chosen method of destruction was wrong.

It was at that moment that Athena made her judgment.

The afterimages that Damien had cut did not explode and instead scattered into the air.

“…What?”

It was not a mistake. The afterimages he had cut did not explode.

This was because he had cut the center of the afterimages precisely, preventing the lightning from exploding and causing them to simply scatter.

“…Wow.”

A smile spread across Athena’s mouth.

This was the first time she had ever fought someone who could match her like this. Joy filled her heart.

She wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as possible. This was the first time she had an opponent she could go all out against.

However, the honor of her father was at stake in this battle. She had to finish it now and claim the victory.

Athena prepared her final blow.

She gripped the spear with both hands and poured her lightning into it. The spear, which had absorbed her lightning to the limit, glowed red hot.

“This is the end.”

Athena thrust out the spear. The lightning compressed in the weapon was released in an instant.

Ultimate Technique – Splitting Thunder Destruction.

The released lightning split into six branches and engulfed Damien. Each one possessed immense power.

At the moment she was convinced of her victory, Athena saw it.

Damien’s entire body was glowing red. At the same time, his body disappeared.

The first time she blinked, the six bolts of lightning had reduced to four.

The next time she blinked, the four bolts of lightning had reduced to two.

The third time she blinked, there were no more bolts of lightning left.

Instead, Damien was right in front of her.

Even with her senses heightened by lightning, she had not noticed him approaching.

Without even giving Athena a chance to counterattack, Damien swung his sword down.

***

“Excellent.”

That was the emotion Damien felt as he received Athena’s attack.

Of course, there were many areas where she was lacking compared to her past self. However, considering her young age, her skills were terrifying.

“Her eyes are the same as her previous life.”

Athena’s pupils sparkled like stars.

Looking at those eyes, memories of the past surfaced in his mind.

And that’s why it was painful.

Damien felt a sense of guilt towards everyone he had driven to misfortune.

He wanted to atone for everyone who had died by his hand.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Damien’s fault.

Back when he was a Death Knight, Damien was a slave who could only follow Dorugo’s orders, having lost control of his own body.

But even thinking that didn’t ease Damien’s mind.

‘Athena Hopper, you lost everything because of me.’

On her way to becoming the 2nd Mercenary King, she lost her father because of Damien.

She wanted revenge, but it failed because of Damien.

And that wasn’t all. She was captured by Rubia, the mastermind behind the destruction of her mercenary company, and after suffering all sorts of horrific humiliation, she lost her life.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine how bitter she must have felt at the moment of her death.

The same was true for Damien.

One of the reasons Damien came looking for the Fafnir Mercenary company was to atone for his sins to her.

“This is the last one.”

Athena thrust out her spear.

Six bolts of lightning engulfed Damien. Damien briefly admired the technique that possessed immense power.

“You’ve shown me something great, so now it’s my turn to teach you a thing or two.”

Damien activated the Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation. As his whole body burned, his physical abilities skyrocketed.

He took a step forward. Accelerating explosively, he cut down one of the lightning bolts with his sword.

The lightning that should have turned the ground into a mess was nullified in vain.

Damien continued to advance, cutting down the lightning bolts one after another. When all the lightning bolts were gone, Damien stood before Athena.

He swung his sword down at Athena.

But he stopped just short of cutting her throat. The blade of the sword stopped next to Athena’s neck.

In that moment, a heavy silence enveloped the entire world.

Damien sheathed his sword and spoke to Athena.

“I win. Do you admit it?”

Athena nodded in a daze.

The moment Damien’s victory was confirmed, the mercenaries cheered in unison.

Even though he was an outsider, Damien’s final move was enough to excite the mercenaries.

Damien put away the sword and enjoyed the cheers of the mercenaries.

‘Every time I see them, I’m reminded that they’re a great mercenary group.’

Just by listening to their voices, you could tell how thoroughly trained they were.

Suddenly, Damien noticed that Athena’s face was flushed red.

Was she sick? There was no way she could have been injured.

As Damien looked at Athena with a puzzled expression,

“P-perfect…….”

Athena muttered in a small voice.

“H-Handsome…….”

“What are you talking about?”

“T-that, how can I say that with my own mouth!”

Athena let out a shrill scream and turned to run away.

“It seems that Athena from this time has a bit of a problem mentally.”

Damien muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

***

“Hmph, heh…….”

Amidst the cheers, the Mercenary King was so shocked that he could not say a word.

“Athena…… my greatest pureblood…… has lost……?”

The Mercenary King knew well where his bloodline originated from.

Dragon.

The apex of all living beings under the heavens.

That extinct creature was his father.

That’s why the Mercenary King was so proud of his bloodline.

That’s why he gathered the outstanding children among his descendants and named them ‘Pureblood’.

But now, those Purebloods, his children, had been defeated by that one man.

“This…… this can’t be happening…… this shouldn’t be happening…….”

The emotions the Mercenary King was feeling right now were truly complex.

He was shocked and horrified. And then, anger flared up.

“Damien Haksen……! You insolent……!”

But the last emotion he felt was completely unexpected.

“……I’m intrigued.”

Greed.

The desire to possess that limitless talent surged within him.

He had never thought for a moment that he, a man, would desire another man.

The possessiveness grew in an instant, snowballing out of control. Even the Mercenary King could not control it.

Dragons were creatures with a possessiveness that bordered on obsession. The Mercenary King, who had inherited their blood, was no exception.

“How I can recruit that man into my mercenary group…….”

Considering Damien’s personality, he would not be easy to win over.

“Isn’t there some way to do it?”

The Mercenary King stroked his chin and pondered.

“That’s right. That’s it.”

A sly smile slowly spread across the Mercenary King’s lips.

Perhaps it was because of his young appearance, he looked like a mischievous boy who had come up with a naughty prank.

***

At that time, there was one more person who was interested in Damien.

Rubia.

The concubine who was favored by the Mercenary King was looking at Damien with a strange look in her eyes.

‘A genius that surpasses the blood of the dragon? Is this even possible?’

She had approached the Mercenary King early on, coveting the blood of the dragon.

After all, in the current era where dragons have disappeared, the Mercenary King was the only one who possessed the blood of the dragon.

That’s why the value of the Mercenary King’s bloodline was immeasurable. So much so that she had used it as bait to lure several dark mages from Pandemonium.

‘I thought he was just a crazy man at first…….’

But if he had that kind of skill, it was a different story.

‘Didn’t he say that he was looking for outstanding souls to create Death Knights?’

He was traveling the continent in search of souls that would satisfy him, in order to create a Death Knight that could lead all wars to victory.

If she offered him a soul that he would be satisfied with, she would surely receive his great favor.

Perhaps she would even be able to learn dark magic that surpassed her teacher’s.

‘Handling men…… is easy for me.’

Lust gleamed in Rubia’s eyes.

***