Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight - Chapter 76

—————

Chapter 76: Her (1)

***

The Killer Ghost was a mysterious master, with her past shrouded in enigmatic obscurity.

Origin, past, name, none of them were known.

The first time the Killer Ghost appeared was when Damien was active as a mercenary.

A gruesome and cruel incident occurred in a neighboring kingdom’s city.

Citizens were being killed one by one and eventually even knights were being attacked.

People who checked the knights’ bodies couldn’t help but be shocked. Numerous wounds were found all over the bodies.

The depths, shapes, and sizes of the wounds were all different. It was as if a child had played a prank.

As the damage increased, some knights who couldn’t stand by any longer joined forces to catch the murderer.

The knights dug traps and lured the murderer, then attacked.

The result was shocking. Instead, the knights were counter-attacked and the murderer killed all the knights and calmly left the scene.

The knights of the neighboring kingdom were shocked. They realized that the murderer was no ordinary person and mobilized more knights.

From then on, the murderer was called Killer Ghost.

The knights succeeded in cornering Killer Ghost after a long chase.

Many knights attacked Killer Ghost together. Among them were high-class knights.

But the result was the same. All the knights who attacked Killer Ghost became victims. Not even the high-class knights were exceptions.

After that, Killer Ghost was not caught. She wandered the continent and killed people.

Soon after, Killer Ghost became known on the continent with rumors that she was suspected to be a master class.

‘The faces are identical.’

The first time Damien met Killer Ghost was after he became a Death Knight.

At that time, Killer Ghost, despite being a master class, had a beggar-like appearance.

‘Her eyes still have some warmth.’

The future Killer Ghost had eyes that were much colder and murkier than now.

In comparison, the current Killer Ghost’s eyes were… so clear and clean.

“I said hello, but you won’t accept it?”

Killer Ghost asked, shaking her head. The thieves around cursed her.

“What is this crazy bitch saying now!”

The thieves tried to attack Killer Ghost. Just before that, she drew two swords with both hands.

Both swords were heavily corroded. It seemed that they would break soon, not to mention killing people.

However, when she swung them, they cut through the thieves’ bodies as if they were sharp swords.

The speed of attack was so fast that it seemed as if the thieves were standing still.

“Uh… uh…”

“Ugh…”

Blood lines were drawn all over the thieves’ bodies, and they were torn apart.

‘Foundation was already laid in place by this time.’

Damien admired Killer Ghost’s swordsmanship. She had already established her own swordsmanship.

‘Moreover, she is already on the path of becoming middle class.’

Killer Ghost was already at the peak of the low class. It was only a matter of time before she reached the middle class.

She was not as talented as Michael Ryanbloom, but she was still a rare talent.

“I changed the angle of the cut, but it doesn’t give me good acceleration.”

Killer Ghost squatted down and looked at the body. She was poking the cut surface with her fingertips.

“It should be cut more smoothly and coolly. Is it better to narrow the angle?”

Her behavior was similar to that of the Killer Ghost Damien had met in his previous life. It was a behavior that came out when she killed someone and thought there should be a better way.

‘How did she do that?’

Thinking about the future actions of Killer Ghost, it was only right to kill her now. The number of knights who would be killed by her would exceed three digits.

But Damien thought Killer Ghost’s talent was a waste. Such a genius was hard to find even in the master class.

There was a dangerous existence called Dorugo. It was foolishness to let such power disappear.

It was much better to make it helpful here.

‘Besides, she hasn’t even started to cause trouble yet.’

The mass genocide committed by her was to happen a few years later from this point on.

The serial murder committed by Killer Ghost was to happen several years later from this point on.

The current version of her couldn’t even be called Killer Ghost. The title of Killer Ghost was created as a result of that incident.

Damien was just calling her Killer Ghost because of the memories of his previous life.

‘Shall I try to rehabilitate her?’

It would be nice if I could, but it didn’t seem easy. Killer Ghost was a human with strong willpower.

In her previous life, Dorugo also praised Killer Ghost’s abilities and tried to bring her to his side.

Dorugo wanted to destroy humanity, while Killer Ghost was obsessed with murder.

The two had a lot in common.

-What? You want to destroy humanity? Then who am I supposed to kill!

But the negotiation broke down there. Killer Ghost was not a person who would obediently follow his words.

‘Dorugo failed, but there is one way.’

In his previous life, Damien had fought a master called the ‘Personality Corrector.’

He was probably the most absurd master among the masters Damien knew.

He was the person who had risen to the level of a master by rehabilitating criminals.

The way the Personality Corrector rehabilitated criminals was very simple.

At first, he would beat the criminal for an hour.

But if the criminal didn’t repent, he would double the beating time.

From 1 hour to 2 hours, from 2 hours to 4 hours and from 4 hours to 8 hours.

According to rumors, there were times when he beat them for 512 hours.

Furthermore, the Personality Corrector’s unique skills were said to be so powerful that there was no one he could not rehabilitate.

If I use the Personality Corrector’s technique, can’t I rehabilitate Killer Ghost too?

That was what Damien thought.

“I get it now! I figured out how to cut at what angle!”

Killer Ghost shouted excitedly and stood up. Killer Ghost grinned and looked at Damien.

“You know what, I just came up with something really interesting. Would you guys like to help?”

Killer Ghost approached with rusty twin swords. The mercenaries were surprised and stepped back.

“Just stay still. It doesn’t hurt at all. It’ll be over soon. So you don’t need to be scared at all… What are you doing?”

Killer Ghost asked with a puzzled look. It was because Damien had cut a thick branch and started to sharpen it with a dagger.

A club of the right thickness was made. Damien tapped his palm with the club and said.

“What’s your name?”

Since the title of Killer Ghost had not yet been created, he couldn’t keep calling her Killer Ghost. Damien’s question was met with a nod from Killer Ghost, who said.

“Me? I’m called Veronica Sánchez.”

“Good. Veronica Sánchez. From now on, I’ll rehabilitate you.”

“Rehabilitate? Why me?”

“Why not? Because you’ve done wrong.”

“Wrong? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, you did.”

Damien remembered the Personality Corrector he had seen in the past.

The Personality Corrector never tried to persuade his opponents. The reason was simple.

I’m right, and he’s wrong. It’s so obvious, why would I try to persuade him?

“From now on, let me make you accept that fact.”

***

“I’ll show you what a crazy person can do.”

She said, sticking out her tongue.

“In that sense, I’ll start by killing you first!”

She swung the rusty twin swords at Damien. They were nothing more than pieces of junk, but they couldn’t be ignored.

As he had just seen, Killer Ghost had used those rusty swords to chop up people’s bodies.

‘That killing technique was created during this time.’

Veronica’s technique was very strange.

She approached Damien with her arms outstretched, her entire body swayed. Only her head remained still in the air.

It looked ridiculous, but he couldn’t let his guard down. Veronica was a madwoman who loved killing people, and she only thought about the best way to do it.

In other words, that was an optimized movement for killing people.

In fact, most of the knights who were killed by the future Killer Ghost mocked her technique and met their deaths.

Veronica, who was shaking, approached Damien and swung the twin swords in her hands.

Veronica’s swordsmanship had no restraint or rules. At first glance, it looked like a beginner swinging randomly.

But the sharpness and weight of the real attack were extraordinary.

Damien blocked her attack with the club. Sparks flew several times from the air.

“Huh? You’re good at blocking?”

Veronica’s face widened in surprise. Soon, a smile appeared on her face.

“You had the right to say strange things to me!”

She shook her body and moved her position wildly. While doing so, she continued to swing her twin swords.

Whenever an attack seemed to hit head-on, she was already behind him.

But if you turned around, she was already moving to the left.

‘She’s accurately assessing the range of people’s vision and moving.’

She was swinging her weapon outside of people’s vision.

It was a skill that only Veronica, who had studied people to the extreme to kill them, could do.

If it were any other middle-class knight, they would have been helpless.

But the one here was Damien.

Both in experience and skill, he was far superior to Veronica Sánchez. Moreover, Damien had fought the future Killer Ghost directly.

‘Back.’

Damien moved first again and blocked the twin swords flying from the left. Her expression changed from surprise to astonishment.

“You, you! H-how!”

She shouted loudly in confusion. Confusion soon turned into a gap.

Revealing a gap in front of a skilled person like Damien was no different from asking to be killed.

Damien struck her head with the club. With a popping sound, she fell to the ground.

“Ow! Ahh! Ughhh! My head! My headdd!”

She grabbed her head and rolled on the ground.

Damien spoke to her in a cold tone.

“Don’t be so dramatic. You’re fine.”

She murmured, feeling her head around.

“Uh… how? I thought it had burst…”

Even after being beaten for hours by the Personality Corrector, the criminals did not receive any injuries, let alone their lives being in danger.

The reason this was possible was due to the state of enlightenment that the Personality Corrector had achieved.

A state where no injuries appear no matter how hard you hit.

A state to safely inflict pain without worrying about injuries.

He reached in state of enlightenment because the personality corrector felt ‘sympathy’ for the criminals.

“Come on, say it again. Killing people is bad.”

“What nonsense is this all of a sudden!”

She rushed again with her twin swords. However, it was useless as Damien had already read all of her movements.

Damien avoided all her attacks and hit her head. Once again, She fell to the ground with a terrible sound.

“You hit me again!”

“Say it again. Killing people is bad.”

“Who would follow such nonsense!”

She raised her twin swords again. However, before that, Damien hit her head.

Crunch!

With a strange sound, Veronica’s head was slammed into the ground. She stroked her head and sobbed.

“Why… why are you only hitting my head? Do you think I’m an idiot!”

“You are an idiot. An idiot who kills people.”

“I’m not an idiot!”

As Damien raised his club, she covered her head with both hands.

“Say it again. Killing people is bad.”

“Killing… killing people is… bad.”

In the end, she had no choice but to follow Damien.

Damien couldn’t help but admire the changed Veronica Sánchez.

‘Personality Corrector, that crazy method works.’

It was not for nothing that the Personality Corrector was highly regarded as an expert in rehabilitation.

“Say it again. Killing people is bad.”

“Killing… killing people is… bad.”

“Good attitude. Then let’s fix another mistake this time.”

“An… another mistake…”

“Say it again. I’m weak.”

At Damien’s words, her eyes showed defiance again.

“I’m not weak!”

“You are weak. You’re getting beaten up by me like this.”

“That’s… that’s… you’re the weird one! Do you know how many people I’ve killed!”

Damien sneered at her protest.

“You can just kill normal people.”

“So what!”

“Do you know how to deal with monsters? The undead that dark mages summon? The spirits that elves summon?”

Veronica’s eyes widened at Damien’s words.

“I don’t care about them!”

“That’s your preference… I’m asking you. Can you win against them in a fight?”

“Of course I can!”

“No, you can’t win.”

In a past life, Damien had fought Veronica directly, so he knew well.

Veronica’s skills declined significantly when fighting things other than humans due to being too absorbed in murder.

During the Death Knight era, when Damien fought Veronica, this problem became apparent. Veronica’s state of mind, which was like a whirlpool of human blood, did not affect Damien at all.

“Ogres don’t die just because you slash them a few times with a sword. The tough exterior of a rock elemental cannot be broken by ordinary magic. Ghost warriors can quickly heal even if they’re cut by a sword.”

Unless it was an Aurablade that only can be used by master classes, the aura was not invincible.

“That… that’s…”

“If you understand, say it again. I’m weak because I only know how to deal with humans.”

Her face twisted. Defiance returned to her eyes.

“As expected, not easy.”

Damien swung the club. She shouted desperately at the sight.

“I… I am weak! I’m weak because I only know how to kill normal people!”

Damien, who was about to strike with the club, stopped his hand.

He nodded as he was very satisfied.

“Now you’re admitting your mistakes. That’s a very good attitude.”

“So, can I go now?”

She tried to move away from Damien. He shook his head and said.

“I’m not sure if you’ve been rehabilitated, so you’ll have to accompany me for a while.”

Her expression collapsed at Damien’s words.

“Hmm? I still see defiance in you?”

At Damien’s words, Veronica smiled broadly again.

***

————