Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight - Chapter 120

————
Chapter 120: Nemesis (2)
***

The number of people in the pursuit team was not that large.

In the case of ‘The Incinerator’, it consisted of five people in total: 1st-grade paladin Paramond, three 2nd-grade paladins, and Damien Haksen.

The ‘Blinding Pain’ side was similar. It consisted of one 1st-grade paladin and three 2nd-grade paladins.

There were two reasons why the number of people was so small.

First, it was because the pursuit team was formed too hastily. For the Church, which was chronically short of manpower, it was a stroke of luck to be able to mobilize two 1st-grade paladins.

Second, it was because they needed to move quickly. The more people there were, the more things they would have to take care of, so it was an inevitable choice.

In this way, a total of nine people headed for the central branch of the Mandarin Kingdom.

***

“…….”

When they arrived at the central branch of the Mandarin Kingdom, the pursuit team was all shocked.

The central branch was the place that managed all the affairs of the Church in the kingdom.

Distribution of doctrine, expansion of the Church, tracking of heretics and dark mages, and so on.

It was large in scale and well-defended against external attacks.

But now, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of crows cawing.

There were bloodstains everywhere on the building, and flesh was rotting on the floor.

What shocked the party even more was the sight of the statue at the entrance.

Dozens of corpses were hung from the neck of the giant statue, which was created to symbolize the greatness of God.

The bodies did not close their eyes even after death. They died filled with fear and pain.

‘They had this horrible hobby from the beginning.’

Damien also looked at the bodies with a disgusted face.

That was why they were called the Hanger Couple in the future.

– Can! You don’t know this, but there’s a taste of dark magic!

– My wife and I love the dark magic that comes out when we hang people!

They committed such horrible acts simply because they suited their taste.

“Paramond, let’s move now. We need to meet the Bound winds.”

Serbo, the 1st-grade paladin leading the ‘Blinding Pain’, said. Thanks to him, Paramond was able to get out of the shock.

“……Let’s go inside.”

Paramond said in a heavy voice. The pursuit team headed inside the branch.

As they headed there, they could see several paladins throwing bodies into a pit.

“Move quickly. There is no time to dawdle. We need to clean up the scene quickly and track them down.”

A man was directing them.

Maybe it was because he was wearing glasses, but he looked more like a teacher than a paladin. He had a gentle face and no strength in his eyes.

However, the long scar on one eye changed all that impression.

The man felt their presence and turned to look at the pursuit team. The man’s chest was emblazoned with the symbol of the ‘Bound winds’.

“Paramond, Serbo. You are both late.”

The man spoke to the two 1st-grade paladins. His tone was very stiff.

“We came here as fast as we could.”

“The branch has been destroyed. You shouldn’t have just come here as fast as you could, you should have come here with a will to live or die.”

Paramond smiled kindly, but the man just frowned.

Damien asked Agnes.

“Who is he?”

“He is Nadine, a disciple of Elder Green Wind and a 1st-grade paladin of the Bound winds.”

It was a name he had never heard before. Even when he searched his previous life memories, it was the same.

“Are the only sects that came to support us the ‘The Incinerator’ and the ‘Blinding Pain’?”

“Yes, please take care of us.”

“Her Holiness has done something useless. The Bound winds alone is enough.”

Paramond’s smile disappeared at those words. But the man didn’t care at all.

“It doesn’t seem like he is the kind of person who cares about others?”

Damien whispered in a small voice. Agnes smiled bitterly.

“Sir Nadine does have that kind of feeling. He is said to be the strongest among the 1st-grade paladins.”

It was an interesting assessment.

“The strongest, you say?”

“Yes, he is so talented that he is considered to be the closest to the Master.”

Master.

In other words, he was expected to be a candidate to become a Master. His talent was very high.

“Now that you are here, you should also lend a hand. We need to clean up before the dead are resurrected as undead.”

Where there were many corpses piled up, undead were crawling around.

This is because the miasma created by the rotting of the dead souls and bodies creates the undead.

Paramond approached the pit. Then he tilted his head.

“There are no wounds on the bodies? What the hell is the cause of death?”

“I don’t know either. They must have developed some other strange dark magic. It’s obvious what the heretics are doing.”

At those words, Damien approached the pit. There was one thing he had to check.

As Paramond said, the bodies were all clean and showed no wounds.

They were just wearing expressions full of agony.

‘……So they used that after all.’

A faint dark magic was emanating from the bodies. It was exactly the same as the dark magic Damien knew.

Nightmare Slaughter.

It was a dark magic that took away lives or destroyed minds by showing horrific visions.

It had a fast casting speed and a wide range, despite its fearsome killing power.

It was a devastating dark magic created by the combination of Dorugo’s genius and evil.

‘Damn it.’

It was the first time Damien had felt Dorugo’s dark magic since he regressed.

Something was boiling up. His head felt hot, like a stew that had been boiled for a long time.

Memories of the past came flooding back. The time he was turned into a death knight by Dorugo, the days he killed people on his orders, and finally…….

– How did it feel to kill your own family that you kicked out? I prepared it especially for you.

Dorugo’s voice came to mind when Damien killed his family with his own hands.

– Hahaha, of course, you didn’t feel anything. But I really enjoyed it. It was so much fun to watch.

That voice, that eyes, and that smile —all vividly resurfaced in his mind.

It seemed like he was going to lose his mind at any moment. Damien barely held onto his sanity. It was a close call.

“Sir Damien!”

Agnes grabbed Damien’s hand and poured out her divine power.

The infused divine power spread throughout his body. Agnes’ divine power was very warm and peaceful.

“Are you really okay? Your expression just now…….”

“It’s nothing.”

Damien pulled away his hand. He couldn’t worry about Agnes anymore. If he was careless, he might lose his sanity.

He couldn’t bear that. Damien had to kill the Hanger Couple here.

Otherwise, it seemed like he would have a hard time maintaining his sanity.

“Wait, who is that guy?”

Just then, Nadine found Damien.

“I can’t feel any divine power at all?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Paramond stepped in front of Nadine to explain. But Nadine pushed Paramond aside and glared at Damien.

“He’s not a paladin? Paramond, what is the meaning of this?”

“Sir Damien is an ordinary knight. But don’t worry. He is very devout…….”

“You’re crazy.”

Nadine spat out a single word.

“You’ve lost your mind letting an outsider participate.”

“Nadine, I would appreciate it if you would watch your words. The one who allowed Sir Damien to participate was our Master.”

“Then you should have stopped him. Are you saying you just stood there and watched?”

Nadine glared at Paramond and spoke firmly.

“I cannot allow the participation of an outsider. Send that man back immediately.”

“That’s not possible.”

Paramond cut him off. Nadine’s face turned grim at those words.

“I am not your subordinate. And as I said before, Sir Damien’s participation was permitted by Cheongyeum.”

“If you don’t expel that man, we, the Bound winds, will carry out the mission alone.”

At Nadine’s words, Paramond’s pupils widened slightly. He thought for a moment and then said.

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Let’s each do our best.”

Paramond did not flinch even at Nadine’s warning. The two men stared at each other in silence.

“Tarantula!”

Just then, Nadine raised his voice. One of the paladins of the ‘Bound winds’ who was standing behind stepped forward.

“Yes, sir.”

“Go and subdue that man yourself. You are authorized to use force against anyone who interferes. Just don’t kill him.”

“Understood.”

The paladin approached Damien. Paramond glared at Nadine.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“If you had opposed Master’s decision from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Paramond narrowed his eyes and said.

“Agnes! Protect Sir Damien at all costs!”

Agnes stepped in front of Tarantula. Tarantula looked at Agnes with a mocking expression.

“I heard you just became a 2nd-grade paladin…… Are you really going to try to stop me with that level of skill?”

“You talk too much. If you don’t want to see blood, you’d better back down now.”

“Then let’s see how you stop me.”

Tarantula moved. In a gust of wind, he was suddenly behind Agnes.

“Ugh!”

Agnes spun around in surprise. At that moment, Tarantula drew his sword from his waist and swung it.

A strong wind blew. The wind whipped around Agnes’ body.

“Ugh!”

The wind was heavy. It felt like she was being beaten by invisible fists.

Agnes’s body was flung far away. Agnes stopped herself by digging her hands into the ground.

“Sir Damien!”

She cried out urgently and looked straight ahead. But Tarantula had already reached Damien.

“Outsider, if you don’t want to get hurt, you’d better come with me.”

Tarantula held the blade of his sword to Damien’s neck. The skin was cut slightly and blood dripped down.

At that moment, a feeling of disgust surged up. The boiling emotions broke free from Damien’s control.

Snap.

The sound of something breaking rang out clearly.

***

It was right after Tarantula raised the blade of his sword to Damien’s shoulder.

Damien crouched down and lunged inwards. At the same time, he grabbed Tarantula’s wrist.

“Are you going to rebel after all? I’ll cut off all your fingers!”

Tarantula tried to swing his sword even though his wrist was caught.

At that moment, mana was infused through Damien’s hand. Tarantula felt a tingling pain and all the strength in his body drained away.

“….?”

When he came to his senses, he was already kneeling on the ground.

“What just happened to me?”

He tried to get up, but he had no strength in his body. It seemed like his mana and divine power had been blocked.

Damien put his hand on Tarantula’s head. Right after that, his head hit the ground.

***

————