Chapter 269

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Kawaii]

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Chapter 269: The Nephew (1)

***

After that, Damien had to clean up the aftermath.

The souls of the dead left thoughts at the site of their deaths. Dark mages could read various information through these thoughts left behind by dead souls.

It was highly likely that the thoughts would be a key to the investigation when investigators were sent from Pandemonium.

The thoughts in which ‘Victor the Woodcutter’ appeared were no problem. In fact, it was something to be welcomed. Damien had come here to cause confusion in Pandemonium.

However, the thought left behind in which Damien appeared was a problem.

That’s why Damien erased all the thoughts left behind by the Weapon Master and Achilles when they died.

Only then did he prepare to leave Hammerfell City.

“So, You are thinking of leaving now...”

Then, Damien asked with a bewildered look.

“Why are you here?”

-You! How dare you react like that when you should be happy to see us!

Kilo yelled. Behind him were ten more dwarves.

Of course, all eleven were dead. They were communicating with Damien in their soul state.

“Didn’t you leave with the other dwarves?”

-I was going to, but I changed my mind. I owe you too much debt to leave just like that.

Kilo said, pounding his chest with his fist.

-We Hammerfell dwarves can’t live with debt, no matter what! I’ll stay by your side and repay my debt!

“I don’t need it. Get out of here.”

Damien immediately refused. Kilo’s expression momentarily blanked, as if he couldn’t believe the reaction.

-T-think about it again! Aren’t you tempted by our knowledge and skills?

“You guys should be the ones thinking again. Do you know what it means to follow me? It means becoming undead.”

Damien’s voice sharpened slightly.

“Being undead means becoming a slave to a dark mage. And yet you want to follow me? Are you in your right mind.......”

-We’re all in our right minds.

Kilo said firmly.

-As I said before, we Hammerfell dwarves can’t live with debt. We owe you a debt.

Kilo clenched his fists.

-Pandemonium. Our tribe and city were destroyed by that bastards. We can’t go back without seeing their destruction.

The dwarves behind Kilo nodded in agreement.

-Damien, you killed the Weapon Master. You must be planning to keep fighting Pandemonium. We want to join in the revenge too.

Damien was at a loss for words.

He knew he should send them back.

But he couldn’t help but empathize with their anger. He felt the same way.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com

“Even so, you want to rely on me, a Dark mage?”

-You’re different from the other Dark mages.

“Different?”

-If you were just any Dark mage, you wouldn’t have just freed our tribe’s souls.

That was true.

The souls of the dwarves who had been bound to the hearth numbered in the tens of thousands.

If he had collected them all, he would have been able to gain an enormous amount of dark mana in one fell swoop.

Even if it wasn’t dark mana, the souls of the dwarves were rare and could be used for a variety of purposes.

But Damien had freed the dwarves without a second thought.

-We can trust you. Please take us in.

Kilo looked at Damien with a firm gaze. It wasn’t just Kilo. The ten dwarves behind him were the same.

Damien took a deep breath.

To be honest, it was a difficult request to refuse. The Hammerfell dwarves was one of the most outstanding among the dwarves.

If they were to join forces with Damien, they would be a tremendous force.

“......Damn it. It’s your own fault. Don’t regret it later.”

Damien extended his hand. Kilo grinned and shook it.

-Master, I’ll be in your care from now on.

***

In the dark space.

Something was moving under the only lit lamp.

“Heh, heh-hee-hee hahaha! That’s it! It’s coming back up! Knowledge is pouring out again!”

Someone who seemed small even though he was wearing a wide-brimmed robe was dissecting a corpse with a knife.

“I’m going crazy! I’m going crazy! It feels like someone is pouring knowledge into my head! Hahahaha! Eugh-hahahahahaha!”

The entity didn’t flinch even though his face and clothes were splattered with blood every time he cut the corpse open, as if every second and minute was precious.

“I finally understand! This is it! With this knowledge, I can create it again!”

He raised his blood-stained hands high in the air and cheered.

“Lord, Iota is always amazing.”

Dorugo smiled proudly at Genak’s admiration.

“Of course. He’s an undead I created.”

“I know it’s off-topic, Lord Dorugo, but...... don’t you think we no longer need to hesitate to go to war with the Empire?”

Iota wasn’t the only secret weapon that Dorugo had spent hundreds of years creating.

There were three other undead as well. They, too, had been unable to have the souls until recently and had only just been completed.

“With the Four Great Demon Kings you have created, Lord Dorugo, I think we can easily destroy the Empire.”

Genak spoke sincerely.

As he saw it, the power of the Four Great Demon Kings was equal to the Empire’s. And with Pandemonium added to that, it was not impossible to destroy the Empire.

“What are you talking about? It’s still not enough. It’s barely enough.”

However, Dorugo flatly denied Genak’s words without a moment’s hesitation.

“Don’t judge the Empire by what you can see. Those bastards are much bigger monsters than you think.”

The smile had disappeared from Dorugo’s face.

“Do you think you’re going to be able to defeat them if you just fight them? We’ll have to fight the Church, the Fafnir Mercenary Company, and other kingdoms as well. Our forces are barely enough.”

“I see.......”

Genak trailed off his words with a sigh of disappointment.

There was nothing he could do but accept his master’s words. After all, his master was a thousand times wiser than he was, a fool.

“So...... not enough...... something...... something else is needed...... something.......”

Dorugo began to mutter something over and over again, biting his fingertips.

“I know something’s missing, but I don’t know what it is. What is it? What do I need to...... to destroy the Empire...... to destroy humanity......?”

After muttering for a while, Dorugo turned to Genak and asked.

“That’s right. What happened to my plan to capture that guy?”

“That guy? You mean Damien Haksen?”

“Yes, that guy. I want to see him with my own eyes.”

“One of the Giant Evils is about to move. They’ve identified that he has family in the Apple Kingdom, so they’ll be taking action soon.......”

Then, another hole opened up in the ceiling. Iota popped out of it.

-Mother! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible!

“I told you to call me Lord.”

-That’s not important now!

Iota said with a horrified expression.

-He’s dead!

“What are you talking about?”

-I’m telling you he’s dead! The Weapon Master too! His disciples too! Achilles too! They’re all dead!

Dorugo frowned at that and said.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

-It’s not a joke! It’s true! I brought you their thoughts, so check for yourself!

Iota held out his finger to Dorugo. The thoughts were concentrated on the tip of Iota’s finger.

Dorugo absorbed the thoughts that Iota handed him.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said.

“Genak, cancel the plan to kidnap Damien Haksen.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes, there is. Some bastard is interfering with my plans!”

Dorugo’s eyes flashed. Flames erupted from within the skull.

“Victor the Woodcutter! Bring this bastard to me immediately! I want him to kneel before me!”

***

After leaving the Hukmak Mountains, Damien returned to his family home in the Apple Kingdom.

“They’re probably going to be really mad at me.......”

Before entering, Damien couldn’t help but feel scared.

This time, he had been away from home for an especially long time. And he hadn’t even sent a single letter.

It was obvious that his family, especially his father, would be furious.

“Hahaha! Damien, you’re back! I’m so glad to see you after such a long time!”

However, contrary to Damien’s expectations, his father was not angry at all.

Damien asked his mother with a confused expression.

“Mother, why is he acting like that?”

“Oh, well, you see. He is going to be a grandfather now.”

Damien couldn’t understand his mother’s words for a moment.

“G-Grandfather? You mean......?”

“Your older sister is pregnant.”

At that, Damien’s face was filled with shock.

His mother said with a playful expression.

“What’s the big deal? You’re an uncle now.”

***

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Kawaii]