Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 297: Obstacles (3)

***

"So, you're going to retreat, are you?"

Hela muttered under her breath, eavesdropping on the conversation between the Imperial Supreme Sword and the Lord of Eternal Flame.

Despite the vast distance between them, she could hear their words with perfect clarity. That was one of the benefits of being Grandmaster.

"With a hostage by his side, he will not fight. Eos still have a weak heart."

"Unfathomable. Why the weak heart? It's not the behavior of the strong."

The man standing beside Hela spoke. His head was as round as a balloon. It was as if he were carrying a solid mass of muscle on his shoulders.

"Lambda, it's no wonder you don't understand. You were born perfect."

"Then what about that man? Imperfect?"

"Yes, Imperfect. He was born strong but has the heart of a weakling. But don't underestimate him. Even I couldn't surpass his skills."

Though Hela appeared youthful, she was much older than the Imperial Supreme Sword.

However, he quickly caught up to her skills and was now much stronger than her. Truly befitting the title of heavenly genius.

That was why Hela envied the Imperial Supreme Sword. At the same time, she felt a possessive desire.

She wanted to get her hands on his head and toy with it.

“I can't wait to get my hands on that head.”

Hela muttered as she gazed at the Imperial Supreme Sword. Her eyes gleamed with greed.

Suddenly, a flame erupted from the void, and a man emerged from it.

“You're back, sweetheart.”

Hela greeted him warmly, but the Lord of Eternal Flame responded with displeasure.

"I told you to stop calling me that. I respect you as the head of Pandemonium, but I won't tolerate that."

"My dear, were you upset? I'm sorry."

The Lord of Eternal Flame glared at Hela with a terrifying expression. Then, he sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough. Dealing with you only gives me a headache."

"My Dear, you're so wise. You did well to hold back earlier. If you had fought there, our plans would have been severely disrupted."

"Plans, plans, plans! I'm sick of hearing it. Why are you so afraid of my elder brother? You're both Grandmasters!"

At The Lord of Eternal Flame’s question, Hela smiled and replied.

“My dear, the Imperial Supreme Sword is very powerful. Even I can't fathom it. To capture such a monster, one must plan thoroughly.”

“Are you intimidated by my brother?”

The Lord of Eternal Flames said with a hint of sarcasm.

But Hela wasn't particularly angry. She was too old to be offended by such childish provocations.

"My Dear, have you forgotten? This is Alfheim. If we fight the Imperial Supreme Sword here, the World Tree will do everything in its power to help him. Are you confident that you can defeat the World Tree's blessing?”

At Hela's question, the Lord of Eternal Flame fell silent.

As his head cooled, he realized how ridiculous he sounded.

"Let's go back for now. That guy is calling for us."

"Don't call him so casually."

"That's up to me. Lambda, could you open the door?"

Lambda formed a triangle with both hands. A light emanating from the triangle created a rift in the dimension.

Among the Four Great Demon Kings created by Dorugo, only Lambda and Iota could move between dimensions.

Because of that, Lambda always had to be with Hela.

After all, Hela was Dorugo's most powerful ally.

"Then let's go in."

As the three of them passed through the dimensional portal, a vast and enormous cave appeared.

Inside the cave, countless dark mages were bustling.

They were carving magic circles into the stone floor with hammers and chisels.

The three of them headed towards the center of the magic circle. There, a large altar was placed.

On top of the altar, someone covered in a black robe was overseeing the work.

"Dorugo, I'm here."

At Hela's greeting, the person in the robe turned their gaze. Then, a skull-like head appeared.

"Hela, Leo... Where have you two been?"

"There was a small conflict. I almost ended up fighting the Imperial Supreme Sword."

At those words, Dorugo's eyes flickered.

"The Imperial Supreme Sword? I've emphasized several times that it's not the right time yet?"

"Don't worry. We didn't fight. Your plan won't be disrupted."

"Hela! Are you going to brush that off again? All I asked of you was to prevent any variables until the appointed day! And you couldn't even keep that small condition?"

"Dorugo, you should think before you speak."

The smile disappeared from Hela's face. The atmosphere changed completely.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm not your lackey. I'm only cooperating because I want something."

Her gentleness disappeared and a chilling killing intent swept through the air. The Lord of Eternal Flame standing beside her trembled in fear.

"You insolent woman! How dare you be so presumptuous!"

However, Dorugo was undeterred by Hela's killing intent and spat out his anger.

"You're the one who keeps breaking your promises! If you continue like this, I might have to cancel our contract!"

At Dorugo's threat, Hela's eyes narrowed. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"...I'll be more careful from now on."

Surprisingly, it was Hela who backed down first. Hela withdrew her killing intent and suppressed her aura.

"I hope you keep that promise this time!"

"I'll keep it in mind. So, is the plan progressing well?"

In response to Hela's question, Dorugo looked at the magic circle being drawn on the floor and said.

"Don't worry needlessly. Everything is going smoothly. The demonic power has been absorbed into the roots of the World Tree in sufficient quantities. Once the magic circle to activate the power is complete, everything will be over."

Hela stood beside Dorugo and looked at the magic circle.

As a dark knight, she only had a basic understanding of dark magic.

Therefore, even looking at the magic circle, she couldn't understand what it was or how it worked.

"But there was one thing she knew for certain.

That this magic circle would fulfill her long-held desire.

"The Imperial Supreme Sword... Finally, his head will be in my hands."

Just imagining it made her heart race. A smile crept up her face.

Hela stretched her lips wide. When Dorugo saw her, he made a disgusted face.

"You're such a pervert. Don't smile like that."

"Actually, I've always been curious about something."

"What is it?"

"While I've wanted the Imperial Supreme Sword's head for a long time... why are you so obsessed with him?"

Dorugo summoned the demons, invaded Alfheim, and created this large-scale facility underground... it was all to kill the Imperial Supreme Sword.

Hela couldn't understand why. Even though the Imperial Supreme Sword was the Empire's most powerful force, why go to such lengths?

"...I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"You won't understand even if I tell you. You won't understand how I've been feeling lately."

Dorugo tapped his temple with his bony finger.

"Someone inside me is shouting. Saying that if we stay like this, it will be dangerous, that everything will go wrong. But I don't know what to do."

Hela looked at Dorugo with an expression of incomprehension.

Sometimes, dark mages suffered from nightmares and hallucinations.

But that usually happened when novice dark mages couldn't withstand the resentment of their victims.

It was hard to believe that a dark mage of Dorugo's level would be afflicted by such a trivial curse.

"...Anyway, I see that your desire to kill the Imperial Supreme Sword is genuine."

Hela stared at the magic circle for a while. Then, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

"Damien Haksen is on this island."

At those words, Dorugo reflexively turned his head.

"...Damien Haksen is here? How?"

"I don't know about that either. I think he was bought by the Imperial Supreme Sword?"

Dorugo fell into thought. He rested his chin on his hand and repeated Damien's name.

"Damien... Damien... Why does my heart race every time I hear that name? What is that guy’s name... ugh."

Dorugo groaned and grabbed his head with both hands.

"My head... My head hurts... It hurts so much I'm going crazy... Damien... Damien Haksen... Who is that guy anyway..."

“You're not mad because he keeps interrupting you?”

Dorugo paused and looked at Hela.

"Is…?"

"You've been interrupted by him countless times, haven't you? That unpleasant feeling doesn't disappear easily."

“You have a point, that's why his name is giving me headache so much.”

Dorugo removed his hands from his head. His expression was much more relaxed as if his headache had disappeared.

"It seems your problem has been solved. Well then I shall be off.."

Hela said that and left.

"Your Highness, I will take my leave as well."

The Lord of Eternal Flame bowed to Dorugo and spoke. Dorugo asked him casually.

"Is the stake I gave you working well?"

"Perfectly. Thanks to it, I can now control the Spirit King like my own limbs."

The Lord of Eternal Flame smiled brightly and said. Dorugo smiled contentedly as well.

The stake embedded in the Spirit King's body was made by Dorugo.

It was originally just a roughly conceived object, but he was able to complete it thanks to the occasional inspiration.

"There are more of those stakes, we subjugate the other Spirit Kings."

"Leave it to me!"

"Good attitude. I'll be counting on you."

The Lord of Eternal Flame thanked him repeatedly before leaving.

"Damien, Damien Haksen... Damien..."

Dorugo kept muttering Damien Haksen's name even after the Lord of Eternal Flame left.

Mother, I'm back!

At that moment, a noisy voice was heard. Iota and Theta were approaching where Dorugo was.

"Why are you two away from your posts until now? I told you to always be on standby."

Dorugo said with an angry face. But Iota grinned and began to massage Dorugo's shoulders.

"Mother, why are you so angry? We just went to look around the island. And we also found some elves and had a snack."

Dorugo's expression softened slightly at Iota's massage. Dorugo said helplessly.

"...Next time, be sure to tell me where you're going."

"I'll keep that in mind!"

The Four Great Demon Kings were created using fragments of Dorugo's soul.

In a way, the Four Great Demon Kings were like children to Dorugo.

Therefore, Dorugo could only be weak to the Four Great Demon Kings, unlike his other subordinates.

"Theta, you should also keep that in mind... Your clothes are different from this morning?"

Theta flinched at Dorugo's question.

"...I changed because my clothes were torn during swordsmanship training."

"Is that so? Don't obsess over it too much. That's not your real strength."

"..."

"Why aren't you answering?"

"No, I will follow your words, Mother."

Theta replied briefly.

Her two eyes were filled with a rebellious light.

***

"…Did you just say 'half-elf'?"

Damien was so shocked that he instinctively asked for confirmation.

During his time as a Death Knight, Damien had frequently clashed with the Imperial Supreme Sword. Because of this, he knew a lot about him.

But hearing that the Imperial Supreme Sword was a half-elf was completely new to him. It was something he had never heard before.

"It's understandable that you wouldn't believe it. I didn’t inherit many of the traits typical of an elf. At best, my vision is a bit sharper, my senses are a little keener, and I recover quickly in the forest."

"Those seem like pretty important traits to have inherited."

When knights talk about elves, those three traits are the ones they envy the most.

Compared to human swordsmen, elves have superior vision, sharper senses, and are practically invincible in the forest.

"You could see it that way. But I didn’t inherit the most important trait."

"Are you talking about spirit magic?"

"You've guessed correctly."

For elves, spirits are an inseparable part of their lives.

They’re companions in life, the most trustworthy friends and the most powerful weapons.

The ways in which spirits can be utilized are countless, even outside of battle.

"And that’s true for my younger brother as well."

Now that he thought about it, the Lord of Eternal Flame had always been particularly obsessed with spirits.

In his past life, he even suffered a severe injury and lost half of his body while trying to forcibly subdue a spirit king.

It was likely that he was tormented by a sense of inferiority, unable to control spirits as a half-elf.

"Is that why, as a half-elf, you came to help Alfheim? And why is your brother in Pandemonium? Why does he harbor such hostility toward you?"

"That’s…"

He began to speak but then looked over at Alfheim.

"It’s about time we head back."

"What? But before that, could you answer—"

"We should hurry back. I have a bad feeling that something terrible will happen if we don’t."

The Imperial Supreme Sword strode toward Alfheim without another word. Damien clicked his tongue briefly.

"Let’s follow him."

Damien spoke to the elves. Then, Sincia turned to Damien and asked.

"What do you plan to do with those humans?"

She gestured toward the dark Knights and dark mages, including Bantadi.

Damien pointed a finger at Bantadi.

“Bantadi.”

“Oh... Lord called my name! Now I can die without regrets!”

“Shut up. I’m giving you an order. Stay around here and wait for further instructions.”

Even though he had arrived at the royal castle, his work wasn’t finished.

He still needed to kill Dorugo and drive out Pandemonium.

These people would be quite useful in the fight against Pandemonium. It would be a waste to kill them now.

“We will follow your orders!”

Bantadi responded loudly. After hearing his response, Damien entered the royal castle of Alfheim with the elves.

“Damien Haksen, this way.”

Following the Imperial Supreme Sword, Damien headed toward the most important place in Alfheim, the heart of the World Tree.

When they arrived, he saw a familiar face.

“Damien Haksen, we meet again.”

It was the elf he had met at the harbor.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]