ALL NOVEL
Chapter 37
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 37: The Return (3)
‘This is unbelievable.’
Mustang Fury denied what he was feeling.
‘I am a dark mage of the 7th class. It’s on a different level than low-class mages!’
The status of a mage and a dark mage is divided by class.
There are a total of 12 classes.
To be called a high mage, one needed to ascend to the 7th class or higher.
The combat prowess of mages varied depending on their sect, making it challenging to evaluate precisely.
Mustang Fury was a high-ranking dark mage specializing in the Berserk arts of Berserk Sect which is famous for combat.
He possessed formidable combat skills, enough to look down upon even mid-class knights.
It was incomprehensible. How could he be so terrified of a mere low-class Damien Haksen?
‘What in the world is he?’
But denying it continuously became difficult, as Damien emitted an unusual aura.
Being complacent even after witnessing such a sight would be foolish.
Aware of this fact, Mustang Fury maximized his dark mana to its fullest.
Knights enhanced their bodies with mana, gaining superhuman strength and speed. The Berserk Sect could similarly use dark magic through a similar method.
A body over three meters disappeared suddenly.
It reappeared behind Damien.
Mustang Fury clenched his fist. Dark mana solidified tightly around his massive fist, akin to a bludgeon.
‘One strike and it’s over.’
Mustang Fury brought down his fist.
A roar erupted as the ground shattered. The aftermath alone toppled the surrounding trees.
Yet, despite this level of destruction, Mustang Fury’s expression remained unchanged.
The only thing destroyed was the nearby terrain; Damien remained unscathed.
”You… What trickery did you just pull?”
Moments ago, Mustang Fury had seen it clearly.
The moment he attempted to strike Damien with his fist, the trajectory suddenly deviated.
Due to the gust, Mustang Fury’s fist slammed into the ground instead of connecting with Damien.
“It appears patience isn’t your strong suit, so I’ll warn you in advance.”
Damien offered no response to the question, muttering incomprehensible words.
“Talk about Dorugo. If you reveal where he is, I’ll spare your life.”
“Nonsense…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Damien swung the Thousand-Mile Sword.
The sword swung from bottom to top, and cut Mustang Fury’s throat.
The sound of the neck-snapping was sharp and clear.
Kraaaah!
Blood began to spurt out wildly from the severed neck. Mustang Fury clutched his throat, screaming.
“Seems like my warning didn’t sound serious to you?”
Damien stared at Mustang Fury with eyes full of killing intent.
“Then, from now on, I’ll make you feel it to the bone.”
***
Mustang Fury desperately pressed his head, and then a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
His muscles melted like jelly, and his severed neck began to reattach themselves.
The mages of the Berserk Sect altered their bodies for combat, and the greatest advantage gained was not immense power but rather regenerative abilities.
They could cleanly restore their bodies even if cut, torn, or contorted.
Grrrr…
Barely managing to attach his neck, Mustang Fury growled toward Damien.
“Kill… I’ll kill you. Tear you apart and kill you!”
“Those might not be the words you should be saying.”
“Can’t you… shut up!”
Mustang Fury charged.
His massive body seemed to disappear, then reappeared right in front of Damien. He swung his fist towards Damien.
Damien read Mustang Fury’s movements with an indifferent gaze.
‘So he thinks he can win with just one hit?’
Currently, Mustang Fury paid no attention to defense at all.
It was a characteristic combat style of the Berserk Sect, relying on regeneration and focusing solely on offense.
‘Let me show you that your thinking is mistaken.’
He blocked the incoming fist with his palm and pushed it aside.
The trajectory of the punch deviated, hitting the ground instead of Damien.
“What?”
Bewilderment crossed Mustang Fury’s face. The same phenomenon as before had occurred again.
“Another trick?”
Mustang Fury struck again.
Mutated body, vast dark mana.
The combination of these made Mustang Fury’s attacks resemble flashes of lightning.
However, Damien effortlessly parried all of Mustang Fury’s attacks.
His fists had never touched Damien.
‘I can clearly see the effects of the elixir.’
Sword insight, a state where a swordsman can change the flow of attack and change its trajectory.
However, the drawback was that it consumed a significant amount of mana, especially against strong attacks.
That’s why Damien hadn’t been able to fully utilize it until now. He had too little energy.
This time, however, the ingestion of the Elixir of Mana Crystallization solved this problem to some extent.
“How long do you plan to keep dodging me?”
“Why, are you bored, then I’ll keep you company.”
Damien didn’t let any more attacks slip through.
Dodging the incoming attack, Damien shifted his body and swung the Thousand-Mile Sword, cutting through Mustang Fury’s forearm. A long and deep wound immediately surfaced on Mustang Fury’s arm.
“It’s useless!”
As Mustang Fury raised dark mana, the forearm wound regenerated in an instant.
Seeing this, Damien wore a satisfied smile.
“Good, I’ll have no problem slicing you up to my heart’s content.”
“What?”
Charging towards Mustang Fury, Damien swiftly passed by, slashing at his side and cutting through the ribs. The abdomen split open, revealing a gush of blood, though the organs didn’t spill out.
“Aaaahhh!”
Mustang Fury screamed, swinging his fist.
Damien easily avoided his attack, rotting away the joints of the forearm. The forearm dangled like a broken tree branch.
“Damien Haksen!”
Filled with anger, Mustang Fury’s voice reverberated. The four tentacles hanging from his back lunged at Damien.
Damien’s hand moved with finesse. The tentacles were swiftly sliced into dozens of pieces.
“This guy!”
New tentacles emerged from Mustang Fury’s back and ready to swing at Damien.
But Damien’s figure was nowhere to be seen. He disappeared somewhere.
“Where did he go?”
“Here.”
A voice echoed from the side.
Turning around, his thigh split. A bundle of muscles was severed all at once.
Mustang Fury’s body swayed greatly. Shortly after, another voice echoed.
“This time here.”
Before he could turn around, his knee had cut-off.
Muscles, tendons, and even joint bones were cut. Mustang Fury’s body tilted to the side.
“Kwaaah!”
Mustang Fury immediately inserted the tentacles into the ground to support himself.
Mustang Fury quickly regenerated the wounds on his knees.
However, before the knees could fully reattach, Damien struck again.
“Aaargh!”
When the same place was slashed again, the pain doubled. Mustang Fury screamed.
“Dull and slow.”
Damien relentlessly moved, torturing Mustang Fury’s body.
Every time a voice was heard, blood spurted and flesh was cut. Eventually, Mustang Fury succumbed to the relentless assault and crumpled to the ground.
A situation where he couldn’t make a move.
To finish it off, Damien appeared in front of Mustang Fury.
Just as he was about to swing the sword towards his neck, Mustang Fury’s eyes flashed.
Mustang Fury opened his mouth wide toward Damien. Dark mana began to surge from his throat.
“Try to dodge this one!”
Mustang Fury expelled dark mana, radiating it in a burst.
Just as it was about to vaporize Damien, Damien thrust his Thousand-Mile Sword.
forward.
The sword and dark mana collided. The Thousand-Mile Sword vibrated menacingly, emitting waves of its own brilliance.
The released brilliance formed an invisible barrier.
Relentlessly, dark mana pounded against the barrier. However, it failed to pierce through and only scattered in all directions.
“…!”
Even with his trump card thwarted, Mustang Fury’s pupils dilated as if in disbelief.
Dark Blade – Void Fortress.
It was a technique used by a Sword Musician in a previous life, capable of absorbing the opponent’s attack to form a protective shield. Originally a defensive skill, it could also be utilized as a counterattack depending on how it was employed.
“I won’t kill you because you need to hear about Dorugo.”
As the time blocking the dark magic stretched, the brilliance of the sword also intensified.
Damien flicked the blade with his fingertips.
The brilliance of the sword was magnified several times. A tidal wave of sound engulfed Mustang Fury.
***
Mustang Fury was swept away by the brilliance and flew far, tumbling on the ground several times.
“Cough… Cough…”
Mustang Fury lay on the ground, spewing blood while facing severe injuries from the recent attack. His internal organs were ruptured, and blood vessels were torn apart.
“Quickly… Regen… erate…”
Mustang Fury attempted to use dark mana to regenerate his body.
However, no matter how much dark mana he used, his body’s wounds remained unchanged.
Being a practitioner of the Berserk Arts, it wasn’t an ability to infinitely regenerate wounds. Each regeneration consumed both stamina and dark mana, so there were limits.
“Damn it…”
Footsteps echoed.
As Mustang Fury struggled to lift his head, he saw Damien approaching.
He looked just as good as the first time. He wasn’t even sweating.
“Da…Damien Haksen…”
Mustang Fury gazed at Damien with a face filled with terror.
“Who are you… How do you possess such power…”
“Do you think I spared you to hear such nonsense?”
Damien placed the Thousand-Mile Sword on Mustang Fury’s shoulder.
“Speak. Where is Dorugo?”
“…Do you think I would tell you that?”
“Then you’ll die.”
Damien raised the sword high. At that moment, Mustang Fury shouted.
“Rebecca! Now!”
Mustang Fury screamed.
From a distance, Rebecca unleashed dark magic.
She hadn’t just been watching the situation unfold; she had been preparing dark magic in case of an emergency.
A black shadow appeared behind Damien’s back.
A skeletal figure, draped in a tattered cloak, thrust a scythe into Damien’s neck.
“A curse of instant death from a curser who reached the 7th class!”
Mustang Fury exclaimed in delight.
“No one has survived this curse at such close range!”
Even with death imminent, Damien’s eyes remained unchanged.
“You should learn more about that curse, but I won’t let you live for now.”
Damien said indifferently. Mustang Fury ground his teeth.
“Let’s see if he can make that sound after he’s dead, Rebecca, kill him!”
Rebecca clasped her hands together. Then the skeleton tried to swing its scythe at Damien’s throat.
In that moment, a pattern appeared on Damien’s palm.
The pattern began to glow red. The skeletal figure recoiled, covering its face with its skeletal hands as if witnessing something horrific.
Gradually, it emitted a grotesque scream and shattered into pieces.
“…Huh?”
The shockingly gruesome scene left Mustang Fury dumbfounded.
With his knowledge, it was likely he couldn’t comprehend what he had just witnessed.
Authority of Greed.
One of the seven authorities that Dorugo implanted into Damien’s body in his previous life.
It was an ability to decompose and absorb all forms of magic and dark magic.
As long as Damien possessed this ability, there was no way for him to be defeated by dark mages.
”This is dark magic that I’ve spent my entire life studying in Yulan……! If the conditions are right, I can kill even a High Class!”
“What, was this crude dark magic your vision magic, you people?”
Just as knights had a vision, mages also had visions.
However, the meaning slightly differed. It referred to the magic that mages researched and perfected throughout their lives.
Some of their visions were not created by an individual but were studied and perfected by a group.
“Do you think you could walk around with such mediocre skills?”
Damian harbored a deep-seated loathing for dark mages. It was disgustingly unbearable for him.
This time, man’s meager self-confidence akin to a frog in a well truly irked Damian’s temperament.
It was to the point where he couldn’t endure it without trampling on it.
“Before sending you to the afterlife, how about a little gift?”
Damien Haksen removed a bracelet.
It was a bracelet he had acquired after killing the Yulan’s member Akitora, an ancient artifact that could store any energy and perfectly conceal it.
Damien used this bracelet to store dark mana, preparing for emergencies.
“Let me show you what real dark magic is.”
Damien raised his finger.
No need for magic circles or spells. He manifested dark magic by merely manipulating it.
The night sky instantly turned pitch black.
The sparkling stars, the moon, and the brightening sky as it approached the horizon—all turned black.
“This is…”
Mustang Fury couldn’t recognize the dark magic Damien was using.
It was inevitable. This was the dark magic that Dorugo had kept as his secret technique.
Blackness.
A dark magic that exerted physical force, obliterating everything within its range.
It corresponded to the highest-ranking 9th-class dark magic.
In his past life, Damien had used this dark magic to obliterate a thriving city protected by layers upon layers of overlapping protective spells.
Damien lowered his raised finger.
An unseen force crushed Rebecca, Mustang Fury, and everything within its range.
Without a chance to feel pain, the bodies of the two were completely obliterated.
All that remained in the place where they stood was a blood pool.
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]