Chapter 334

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

Chapter 334: The Past (2)

"Why is that here?"

Damien turned to look at the Emperor.

Currently, not only Dorugo but all Four Great Demon Kings were missing.

In such a situation, finding only Theta captured was completely unexpected.

"I think I should explain that."

A familiar voice came from somewhere.

Damien turned his head.

The Sword Saint was walking out from an entrance to another room.

"Sword Saint, you were here."

"I heard she's an extremely dangerous one. Eos asked me to take on the watchman role, that’s why..!"

Slurp!

The Sword Saint spoke while holding up a steaming cup of tea.

"I heard from Eos. There was someone called Dorugo behind Pandemonium, right? This woman is an undead created by that Dorugo."

The Sword Saint took a sip of his hot tea as he spoke.

"That's correct. But how did you manage to capture her?"

"It's a bit of a long story... After you collapsed, I checked Vahel's corpse. That's when I discovered a nice thing."

"A nice thing?"

"According to the mages who examined it, it's an item that creates an artificial dimension. I believe they called it 'Phantasmal Realm.'"

Damien recalled the dimensional gate from which demons had poured out at Mount Carion.

He had wondered where all those demons had been hiding. It seemed this Phantasmal Realm was the answer.

"When we entered Phantasmal Realm, we found a ruined castle. We discovered her while searching the place."

"Was that when the battle took place?"

Theta's body was currently covered in wounds, suggesting an intense fight.

But the Sword Saint shook his head.

"She was already injured when we found her. Her wounds were so severe that we even had to treat her."

"Why was she injured?"

"I'm not sure of the details. She's been keeping her mouth shut."

Damien examined Theta.

He suspected the wounds might have been from when she helped Dorugo escape. The demons wouldn't have let Dorugo go easily.

Just then, Theta raised her head and looked at Damien. Damien whispered to the Sword Saint:

"I think she's looking this way."

"Huh? That's impossible. This isn't glass, it's rare metal. She can't see inside from the out-"

-Damien, you're there, aren't you?

The Sword Saint couldn't help but be startled when Theta accurately addressed Damien.

"What? How did she guess that?"

-I have good hearing. I've been listening to your conversation.

The Sword Saint frowned in disbelief.

"She's probably telling the truth."

"That's impossible. There's no way she could hear our conversation from in there."

"Considering her abilities, it's entirely possible."

Theta was an undead who utilized sound.

In Alfheim, she had even detected Damien's disguise by the sound of his heartbeat.

-Damien, I want to speak with you directly.

At those words, Damien and the Sword Saint looked at each other.

"What do you think?"

"For now, I plan to grant her wish. She might know Dorugo's location."

"Just in case, I'll accompany you."

Damien and the Sword Saint opened the door and descended to the bottom of the prison.

-Ah, to think I'd see you again...

A smile spread across Theta's face as soon as she saw Damien's face.

"Where is Dorugo?"

In contrast, Damien only questioned Theta with a cold expression.

The Sword Saint cried out urgently. But Damien didn't stop.

A slash full of anger beheaded Theta.

***

"Oh, my back."

In the ruined capital.

A soldier moving debris from buildings sat down on a shattered wall.

A nearby comrade chided him with a disapproving face.

"Hey, don't slack off. Keep moving."

"Let's rest a bit. My back's been acting up lately."

The soldier said, patting his back with his fist. The comrade clicked his tongue and moved elsewhere.

With the nuisance gone, the soldier could rest easy.

"When will we ever clean all this up?"

The soldier muttered, looking around at the ruins.

A few days ago, demons opened a dimensional gate and invaded the capital.

The city that boasted a thousand years of history was destroyed overnight. Many people died.

"It'll take more than a generation to clean this up and rebuild."

The fortunate thing was that the Empire wouldn't fall just from this.

The power that the Empire had built up over more than a thousand years was truly formidable.

"Should I get moving again?"

Just as the soldier was about to get up, suddenly the air split open and two men walked out of the gap.

The soldier stared at the two with a dumbfounded expression.

"It's completely demolished."

"Damien Haksen and a Duke class demon clashed. It's a stroke of luck that the damage ended at this level."

The two men began to converse while looking around the ruins.

"Iota, according to Mother, Theta is imprisoned underground. You'll have to find the exact location yourself."

"Can't we switch roles? I want to kill that bastard Damien Haksen with my own hands."

"Don't be stubborn. We didn't come here today to kill Damien."

The soldier stared at the two with a blank expression.

He couldn't properly understand what they were talking about. But there was one thing he could understand.

"A-ambush!"

The soldier turned and ran away. He shouted loudly so everyone could hear.

"Enemies have appeared! It's an ambush! An ambush!"

Epsilon just watched the soldier silently. Iota asked with a puzzled face.

"We don't have to kill him?"

"Why bother killing such a small fry? And it doesn't matter if our arrival becomes known."

"That's true."

Iota stretched his arms high towards the sky.

"But it's a bit annoying. What ambush? Have you ever seen such a brazen ambush?"

"Stop the nonsense and find Theta."

"Alright."

Wings sprouted from Iota's back. He flapped them and soared high into the sky.

"I should get to my task as well."

Black energy billowed out from Epsilon's body.

Though it looked similar to dark magic on the surface, it was a completely different power. It was the true power that was said to be wielded only by demons.

Epsilon opened his palm. A symbol appeared on it. It was identical to the one on Damien's hand.

Gluttony.

The authority to absorb everything.

All the debris of buildings scattered on the ground was sucked into Epsilon's palm. The ruins instantly turned into a barren field.

Epsilon turned his gaze towards the imperial palace.

Unlike the completely destroyed capital, the imperial palace maintained its form.

Epsilon held out his palm towards the palace. All the absorbed debris was released at once.

The released debris struck the imperial palace.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]