Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

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Chapter 275: The Demon (1)

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“Human, what kind of attitude is that?”

The demon tilted his head to one side, staring intently at Damien.

Despite having a human face, there was something unnatural and ominous about it.

“Not only are you unafraid of me, but you dare to ask questions? How insolent. I don’t like it. But I shall forgive you.”

The demon raised his chin and spread his arms wide, speaking with great arrogance.

“It’s been centuries since I last emerged to the surface to feast on a human. It’s true that fresh and lively prey tastes better than those driven mad with fear.”

Hunger and joy shone simultaneously in the demon’s eyes.

Damien could only let out a hollow laugh at the demon’s attitude.

“This is one amusing bastard.”

The demon clearly saw Damien as nothing more than food, meaning it didn’t consider him a threat at all.

In truth, this wasn’t Damien’s first encounter with a demon.

He had fought a demon during a trip with his family to see the Starlight Fairies.

A dark mage had accidentally summoned a demon while attacking the city.

That battle had ended in Damien’s victory. But that didn’t mean he could underestimate the demon before him.

The demon summoned back then had been just an avatar, unable to fully manifest the true power of its main body.

In contrast, the demon now before him was not an avatar but had possessed a human body.

As a result, it could harness much more of its true power than the avatar could.

‘He’s stronger than that one to begin with.’

They oth were Count class demons, but the power they wielded was different.

This demon was likely among the stronger of the Count class demons.

“Human, my name is Resorve. What is your name?”

“Damien Haksen.”

“Damien Haksen, I’ve remembered it. When I devour your soul, I’ll recall your name.”

Resorve’s limbs began to transform.

His muscles swelled, and his fingers lengthened and sharpened.

“Kahahaha!”

Resorve laughed loudly and closed the distance in an instant, swinging his hand.

Damien blocked Resorve’s attack with his weapon, Dawn, but the force pushed him back.

“Human! Resist! Resist more! So I can enjoy this!”

Resorve continued his assault on Damien.

Each time Resorve swung his hand, the ground split into five fissures, tearing the surface apart in an instant.

“Kaha! Kaha! Kahahaha!”

The more he pressed Damien, the louder Resorve’s laughter grew.

“Human! Why are you silent? Are you too scared to speak?”

“Let’s just say that.”

“Kahahaha! Trying to hide your fear with bravado?”

The demon seemed greatly amused, while Damien’s gaze remained cold and composed.

“Are you the only demon in this area?”

“Ha! Of course not! By now, your comrades are each dealing with one! They’re not as strong as me, but they’re quite formidable in their own right!”

“Thanks for answering. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Suddenly, Damien’s movements changed. He no longer blocked Resorve’s attacks but let them pass.

Resorve’s hands slammed into the ground instead of Damien.

“Kaha… huh?”

Resorve’s laughter abruptly stopped, surprised by the unexpected turn of events.

“Now, it’s my turn.”

Damien switched to offense, aiming Dawn at Resorve’s openings.

His swift strikes cut into Resorve’s body in several places. However, Resorve’s flesh was strangely tough, even repelling the aurablade.

“Human! How insolent!”

Though Damien’s attacks didn’t penetrate deeply, Resorve’s pride seemed wounded.

With a roar, Resorve lunged at Damien, his beast-like hands trying to tear him apart.

But once again, Damien deflected the attacks with twists of Dawn, redirecting them and striking back at the same spots on Resorve’s body.

Resorve’s skin split and blood flowed, though the wounds were superficial. Nevertheless, Resorve was shocked.

“Th-this can’t be!”

Disbelief turned into rage on Resorve’s face.

“Human! Don’t get cocky!”

An enormous energy burst from Resorve. His muscles bulged and rippled.

“Kahahaha!

Resorve’s speed increased dramatically, creating multiple afterimages that surrounded Damien.

The assault pattern changed again. Resorve attacked while Damien defended.

“Human! This has been entertaining! But it ends now…!”

“Second Ring.”

Damien murmured softly. In that moment, a resonant sound emanated from his body.

Damien vanished, and a barrage of blue slashes enveloped Resorve.

“Urk?”

The blue strikes relentlessly cut into Resorve’s body and sparking on contact.

“Kaaargh! Gyaaah!”

Resorve flailed his arms in a panic, trying to shake off Damien.

But his hands grasped at nothing. Meanwhile, the blue slashes continued to rain down, increasing the number of wounds on Resorve’s body.

“Graaargh!”

Resorve raised his fists high into the sky, gathering a tremendous amount of demonic power in them.

“Get away from me, you pesky insect!”

He slammed his fists into the ground.

With a thunderous crash, the surrounding ground shattered. Damien halted his attack and stepped back.

“Your strength is impressive. Truly demonic.”

Damien looked at the shattered ground as he spoke.

It sounded like praise, but it was actually a taunt, implying that strength was all Resorve had.

“Human! How dare you, mere prey…!”

Resorve’s face turned red with anger.

“I was just toying with you, but you’re losing your mind!”

“Toying with me? It doesn’t seem that way.”

“Graaaah! I’ll rip you to shreds right now!”

Suddenly, a crack appeared beneath Resorve’s feet.

It wasn’t the ground that split but the very fabric of space. Through the tear, a kaleidoscope of colors could be seen.

Resorve threw himself into the rift. As soon as he was swallowed, the space closed.

An onlooker might think he had fled, but Damien knew better.

Demons were a proud and arrogant race. They wouldn’t run away so easily.

Sure enough, a killing intent emanated from the side. Resorve’s hand aimed for Damien’s head, but Damien blocked the attack with Dawn.

With a dull thud, Damien was pushed back. He steadied himself and looked up.

In the distance, Resorve was visible, with one arm protruding from a spatial rift.

“Human, you got lucky this time. But the second time won’t be so easy.”

Before he finished speaking, Resorve’s hand burst from the ground.

Damien leapt to avoid the attack. Then a hand shot out from the sky.

Hands emerged from all directions. Damien had to keep moving to dodge Resorve’s relentless attacks.

‘So, he can manipulate space. This is going to be troublesome.’

There were few demons, even among the most powerful that could manipulate space.

The ability to control space was rare and immensely powerful.

‘I can’t attack him like this.’

Resorve was hiding in the spatial rifts. To strike him, Damien would need to pierce through space itself.

“Kahahaha! Are you realizing the situation now?”

Resorve shouted triumphantly, confident that Damien couldn’t harm him.

“Still such an annoying bastard.”

Despite being on the defensive, Damien’s expression didn’t change.

In the past, Damien would have needed to use the power of the Death Knight to cut through space.

But now, things were different. Though he hadn’t yet reached the pinnacle of his past life, he could cut through spatial rifts.

“I’ll make sure you realize it.”

Damien narrowed his focus.

With his focus narrowed, Damien’s senses became even sharper.

He dodged attacks while trying to sense Resorve’s presence.

Eventually, he found the spot where Resorve’s aura was the strongest.

“There you are.”

Damien thrust Dawn forward. Dawn suddenly vanished, embedded in the rift of space.

Damien gripped Dawn tightly and slashed widely, tearing open the space.

As the space split apart, Resorve’s hidden form was revealed.

“What, what is this?”

Resorve shouted, his face filled with shock. In that moment, Damien grabbed Resorve by the collar.

He yanked Resorve out of the spatial rift and slammed him into the ground.

“Urgh!”

Due to his tough body, Resorve wasn’t significantly harmed.

Resorve quickly pushed off the ground and stood up and attempted to open another rift.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Damien swiftly moved forward and kicked Resorve in the abdomen.

“Gah!”

For the first time, a groan escaped Resorve’s lips.

Unable to escape into the rift, Resorve was thrown back.

“You human! How dare you kick me?”

“I didn’t think you’d have time to act so leisurely.”

A voice sounded right in front of him. Resorve then realized Damien was chasing him.

Damien slashed Dawn downward, the blue blade severing one of Resorve’s arms.

“Graaah!”

Resorve screamed in pain and tried to retreat, but Damien didn’t let him go.

He thrust Dawn into Resorve’s chest, pinning him to the ground.

“Graaah! Gyaaah!”

Resorve tried to pull out Dawn with his remaining hand. Damien immediately activated the Authority of Envy and converted his mana into divine power.

The divine power flowed through Dawn and into Resorve’s body.

“Graaah!”

Resorve’s screams grew louder.

The divine power started burning Resorve from within.

“How does it feel to be looked down upon by the humans you so despised?”

Resorve gritted his teeth at Damien’s taunt but couldn’t muster any resistance.

Damien drove Dawn deeper into Resorve. Resorve’s eyes bulged as if they would pop out.

“I’ll burn you to death right here.”

The amount of divine power being infused increased and intensified Resorve’s agony.

“No, no!”

For the first time, fear crossed Resorve’s face.

“I can’t go back to Inferno like this! I don’t want to return to that boring place!”

Resorve mustered all his strength. The ground beneath them split open and created a rift.

“This is…”

If Damien stayed put, he’d be dragged into the rift as well.

The rift wasn’t fully open yet, so he could escape. But Damien didn’t move.

This was his chance to strike Resorve’s head. It was worth the risk.

Damien stood his ground. Soon, the rift swallowed both him and Resorve.

—

Inside the rift, everything was chaotic and disorienting.

Damien closed his eyes and waited. Eventually, the unsettling sensations disappeared.

He opened his eyes and saw a partially collapsed fortress.

“What the…?”

A man stood before him.

“I did say to bring a man, but… I didn’t mean in this way.”

The man tilted his head curiously. Then Resorve spoke to him.

“M-My Lord! That’s not important! This human! There’s something strange about him! You must help…”

Suddenly, Resorve’s head exploded, splattering blood onto Damien’s face.

The headless body twitched and then fell still.

“…”

Damien was too shocked to even wipe the blood off his face. He just stared at the man in disbelief.

“What? Surprised that I killed him without lifting a finger?”

The man chuckled. But that wasn’t why Damien was shocked.

It was this ominous aura.

He had felt it once before in his previous life.

“Vahel.”

A Duke class demon.

The king of Inferno stood before him.

***