Chapter 305

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 305: The Power Of The Past (1)

***

If pure mana was like clear water, then dark mana was like blood.

It was much thicker and stickier, so whenever dark mana coursed through his body, Damien felt a sense of unease.

He despised that feeling.

No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t get used to it. In fact, the higher his power grew, the more intensely he felt it.

Eventually, Damien began to sense something else in the dark mana—something more than just discomfort.

— "My child is waiting at home! Without me, they'll starve to death!"

— "Mother...! Please spare my mother! I beg you!"

— "You demon-like fiends! You're not human! God will never let you get away with this!"

He could now feel the lingering resentments of those who had been sacrificed to gain dark mana.

That was why Damien hated it. He didn’t want to absorb this power into his body unless absolutely necessary.

But now was not the time for stubbornness. To defeat a formidable enemy, he needed to rely on the power he so loathed.

So, Damien didn’t stop cultivating his nameless mana art. He didn’t block the flow of dark mana.

As he continued, his once flesh-colored skin began to turn gray, like ash. The blue glow in his eyes shifted to a deep red.

Soon, darkness rushed out from Damien and engulfed the surrounding ground. And then it began to burn like fire.

Ziiiiiing...

At that moment, he heard Dawn's faint sound when Damien looked down and saw Dawn weeping weakly.

Dawn was the holy sword so dark mana was like poison for it. Damien quickly stored it back into his subspace.

Then he spoke, stretching his hand into the air.

"Erebos, come forth."

Dormant Erebos materialized from the tattoo. Damien grasped Erebos's handle firmly.

"......"

Hela looked at Damien with a hardened expression.

She had been shivering for a while, sensing his ominous presence.

"Dorugo, it's best if we leave this place now."

Hela fled the scene at lightning speed, carrying Dorugo on her back.

Damien immediately attempted to pursue her.

“Stop right there!”

Just then, a massive shadow loomed over Damien and the ground.

A giant, as large as a mountain, had appeared behind him.

The giant’s body was composed of all sorts of metals.

“As long as I’m here, you won’t lay a finger on my mother!”

The giant, no, Epsilon roared with a thunderous voice.

Even seeing Epsilon's transformation, Damien wasn’t particularly surprised. He already knew her true nature.

Long ago, there were giants on the continent who could create metal from their bodies.

Epsilon had been created using the body of one such giant. Naturally, he had inherited the giant’s abilities.

Epsilon’s true form was created from the body of an extinct race of giants.

“I’ll crush you right here and now!”

Metal began to sprout from Epsilon’s hands. The metal fused together, forming a colossal hammer.

Epsilon swung the hammer down toward Damien. Its size was so immense that it was like a mountain peak crashing down.

However, Damien did not dodge. He didn’t even try to block.

The hammer struck Damien with full force, causing a massive explosion. The invisible shockwave blew everything around it away.

But Damien remained unscathed. In fact, he hadn’t even budged from his original position.

It wasn’t Damien who had been destroyed—it was the hammer. It lay in bits on the ground, fractured beyond recognition, like shattered glass.

“...Why is he unharmed?”

Epsilon muttered in disbelief. His face showed clear confusion.

He had no idea what kind of life Damien had lived in his previous life.

During Damien's time as a Death Knight, Dorugo altered his body to make it nearly indestructible.

But with every gain, there is always a loss.

Damien’s modified body became exceedingly heavy. As a result, he had no choice but to fight with defense in mind rather than evasion.

“Trying to dispel the circle? Foolish. My dark magic is flawless. There's no way you can penetrate it—”

Before Lambda could finish his sentence, the magic circle shattered. Damien's dark mana had caused an overload within it.

“......”

Although Lambda’s face had shifted into a more amorphous form, Damien could still sense his shock.

Damien then pointed at Lambda. In that instant, countless black spikes burst through Lambda’s body.

“Gah!”

Lambda’s form crumpled to the ground, violet blood oozing from the holes in his body as he muttered to himself.

“A curse...? How...? How did he curse my body...? Impossible...”

Damien raised Erebos to finish him off.

But before he could strike, a translucent sphere suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

Damien looked around and saw that he was now surrounded by hundreds of similar spheres.

“...Please, don’t harm my brothers any further.”

Damien spotted Theta among the spheres.

Her lower half had transformed into that of a serpent, while her upper body resembled a blend of human and reptilian features.

Like Epsilon, Theta had been created using an ancient race.

Elder Naga—a species that once ruled the seas.

They were known for stirring the ocean into violent storms with their voices.

“I know I can’t defeat you. But...”

Theta clapped her hands.

The spheres exploded simultaneously, releasing trapped sound waves that pulverized everything in their vicinity.

Yet, these attacks could not penetrate Damien’s defensive aura.

Damien cut through the storm of sound and stood before Theta. She looked at him with a resigned expression.

“Damien Haksen, I... I...”

Damien swung Erebos, aiming to sever her neck.

But at that moment...

A flash of light flickered in the distance, and a beam struck Damien.

He blocked it with Erebos, but the force of the impact sent him sliding back with a deafening sound.

"Theta, I’m sorry for being late."

Hela spoke as she lowered the sword she had just swung.

"I had to get Dorugo to safety first. But..."

Hela glanced at the fallen Four Great Demon Kings with disbelief on her face.

"...I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I never imagined you would defeat them all in such a short time."

She spoke with a bitter tone.

"But it's fine now. I’m here, and—"

"Pathetic."

A cold and emotionless voice cut her off.

"I don't know where your confidence comes from, but you should have fled instead."

"Dear, I know you’re strong... but you shouldn’t underestimate me."

Hela unleashed her dark mana. A powerful aura that rivaled Damien's emanated in every direction.

"I am the ruler of all Giant Evils under the heavens, a knight who has reached the rank of Grandmaster. I am a swordmaster who has mastered the light."

Her sword became engulfed in an aurablade.

"If you let your guard down, you might just lose your head."

With that, Hela launched herself forward, aiming a lightning-fast slash at Damien's neck.

A longsword intercepted her attack at that moment.

Hela was startled as her strike was blocked and also pushed back by its immense force.

As she was forced backward, she looked ahead in disbelief.

Standing where she had been was none other than Damien Haksen. It was he who had just unleashed that powerful slash.

"You..."

Hela's voice trembled as she spoke.

"How... How can you wield a sword of light...? Have you... mastered the same realm as mine?"

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]