Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 323: The Grandmaster (1)

***

After Damien’s departure, the Imperial Supreme Sword focused on dealing with the remnants of Pandemonium.

It wasn't a particularly difficult task. With its core forces gone, Pandemonium wasn't even a match for the elves, let alone the Imperial Supreme Sword.

Just as everything seemed to be going smoothly, the Imperial Supreme Sword sensed an ominous shift in fate.

Fate whispered to the Imperial Supreme Sword—a great upheaval was soon to strike the Empire.

With Pandemonium's power greatly diminished, the only beings capable of causing such chaos were the demons.

The Imperial Supreme Sword immediately used a relic to contact the Empire.

He told them to prepare knights in case the demons might attack.

The Imperial Supreme Sword also quickly returned to the Empire by borrowing the power of the World Tree.

And now, he found himself face-to-face with the demons.

The number of demons was much smaller than what had been seen in Alfheim.

But there was no room for complacency. The aura emanating from the remaining demons was anything but ordinary.

"Oh? It's that human from the island, isn’t it?"

A voice came from the one standing at the center of the demon forces.

He looked like an ordinary human male, but the Imperial Supreme Sword couldn't help but feel a chill.

That man's name was Vahel.

He was a Duke class demon.

"We didn't get to exchange any words last time, did we? That was a real shame. But it's good to see you again like this."

Despite Vahel's greeting, the Imperial Supreme Sword remained silent. Vahel noticed this and asked with a puzzled expression.

"Hey, don't tell me you don't remember me?"

"I remember you."

"Then why aren't you responding?"

"I'm not one to chat with enemies in front of me."

Vahel's eyes widened in surprise, and then he burst into laughter, clutching his belly.

"Yeah, you're right. An enemy is an enemy, not a friend."

With a flick of Vahel's hand, a demon with a mosquito-like snout stepped forward.

"Laria, don't hold back. We need to find Dorugo quickly."

- Understood.

Before the words had even finished, Laria's body vanished. At the same moment, she appeared behind the Imperial Supreme Sword.

She was fast, but what was even more shocking was her stealth.

Not even the faintest sound had been heard when Laria moved behind the Imperial Supreme Sword.

She swung both fists, aiming to crush the Imperial Supreme Sword's head.

But then, something strange happened.

The two hands, which had been flying toward the Imperial Supreme Sword's head from both sides, suddenly slammed into Laria's own chest.

Laria's body was flung backward with a sound like the air being split open.

She stared at the Imperial Supreme Sword with a bewildered expression.

"Huh, are demons usually this fast?"

The one who spoke wasn't the Imperial Supreme Sword. It was the Sword Saint standing beside them.

"I almost ended up watching my friend die right in front of me."

- Was that your doing?

Laria asked, glaring at the Sword Saint. The Sword Saint responded with a wry smile.

"And what if it was?"

Laria's eyes narrowed as she glared at the Sword Saint.

In the next moment, Laria vanished. She reappeared right in front of the Sword Saint and swung her blade.

But just like before, Laria's hand struck the ground instead of the Sword Saint.

Laria wore a surprised expression and saw the Sword Saint's sword flash towards her head.

The tip of the Sword Saint's blade struck Laria's forehead, causing her head to snap back as her body was pushed backward.

"Disgusting, for something that looks like a mosquito, you're tough."

The Sword Saint remarked with a grimace. As he said, only a small trickle of blood flowed from Laria's forehead, leaving her otherwise unharmed.

"…How did you twist the angle of my attack?"

Laria was equally shocked.

Just moments ago, she had put all her strength into her strike, but it had veered off course, as if swept away by a powerful current, striking the ground instead of the Sword Saint.

"That’s just my realm."

The Sword Saint replied nonchalantly.

The level he had reached as a realm was called ‘Ten Thousand Flow Perception.’

Ten Thousand Flow Perception was a state of perceiving all flows in the world and being able to alter them.

Normally, using Ten Thousand Flow Perception required direct contact with a blade.

But after reaching the level of a Grandmaster, even that limitation had vanished.

"…Now I understand why my seniors warned me to be cautious of Grandmasters."

Laria's entire body twitched.

Her muscular limbs began to shrink rapidly, and wing-like structures emerged from her back.

"So, you weren't just mosquito-like, you're an actual mosquito."

The Sword Saint muttered as Laria flapped her wings once, releasing pinkish powder in all directions.

Seeing this, the Sword Saint instinctively moved back, but the moment his feet touched the ground, a wave of intense dizziness and a throbbing headache struck him.

"Did you really think simply moving away would save you? How foolish."

Laria’s voice echoed from above.

"My power is 'Contamination.' Any living creature near me will be tainted and rot away."

The Sword Saint looked down at the ground beneath him.

Weeds that were once sparsely growing on land had turned yellow and were melting into a liquid state.

"It doesn't matter if physical attacks don't work. I'll kill you like this."

Laria flapped her wings powerfully, sending a gust of wind imbued with the power of contamination toward the Sword Saint.

* * *

"Looks like they're already fighting over there."

Vahel glanced at the battle between the Sword Saint and Laria.

"Guess it’s about time we start too, huh?"

As Vahel spoke, the Imperial Supreme Sword raised his sword. Migmag, who stood behind Vahel, spoke.

"Your Excellency, allow me to handle this."

"You're not exactly good at fighting, are you? Stay back and watch."

"But…"

"Besides, I’d be bored just standing around."

Vahel stretched his arms and began walking toward the Imperial Supreme Sword.

"Alright then, let’s see what you’ve got…"

Before he could finish his sentence, an invisible slash cut toward Vahel's neck.

The Imperial Supreme Sword had used his ‘Heart Sword’ to materialize a slash.

But the strike didn't even graze Vahel's skin. It was blocked by a translucent barrier covering Vahel's body.

"Oh, I almost got cut there."

The Imperial Supreme Sword showed no disappointment. Considering Vahel was a Duke class demon, even if the slash had succeeded, it was unlikely it would have killed him.

The Imperial Supreme Sword pushed off the ground, dashing toward Vahel while unleashing more Heart Sword attacks.

The manifested slashes cut across Vahel's body in the Imperial Supreme Sword's mind. But Vahel immediately used his power of Isolation to shield himself.

"Such light attacks won't work on me."

As soon as the distance closed, the Imperial Supreme Sword swung his sword. Yet again, it was deflected by Vahel's power without making a dent.

"I told you, it won't work."

Despite Vahel's mocking, the Imperial Supreme Sword didn’t stop and continued his relentless attacks.

He slashed with his Heart Sword and struck directly with his sword. Vahel’s body was assaulted from every angle by the Imperial Supreme Sword's strikes.

"You’re more stubborn than I thought."

Vahel stood in place. He was not lifting even a finger and effortlessly deflecting the Imperial Supreme Sword’s relentless barrage.

No matter how much the Imperial Supreme Sword attacked, Vahel didn’t even lose a strand of hair. The gap between their powers was that significant.

Even so, the Imperial Supreme Sword did not cease his assault.

He wasn’t attacking mindlessly. He was gauging the strength of Vahel’s power.

‘There’s no difference in intensity. Every part of his defense is equally strong.’

His plan to target a weak spot had failed.

Now, only one option remained to overwhelm him with brute force.

The Imperial Supreme Sword conjured a single image in his mind. He imagined countless blades raining down on Vahel.

"...Hmm?"

Vahel's expression shifted as he noticed something was off.

"What are you trying to do…?"

The Imperial Supreme Sword materialized his vision. A torrent of countless slashes poured down on Vahel.

The number of strikes was infinite.

So numerous that they couldn’t be counted or even tracked, the slashes surged forward like a tidal wave.

"Urgh!"

Even Vahel couldn’t hide his shock. The relentless barrage of slashes struck his entire body.

"Stop it already!"

Vahel shouted, summoning crystals of isolation around him.

The crystals expanded, their spikes shooting out in every direction. They destroyed buildings and shattered the ground.

"Kraah!"

And yet, the slashes did not stop. As long as the Imperial Supreme Sword maintained his mental image, the Heart Sword would continue to strike.

Then, suddenly, the barrage of slashes came to an abrupt halt. Vahel looked around in shock.

"What? Why did it suddenly stop…?"

At that moment, he saw the Imperial Supreme Sword standing directly in front of him, gathering an immense amount of mana.

The Imperial Supreme Sword’s blade was now enveloped in a massive aura, the condensed mana forming a devastating aurablade.

The Imperial Supreme Sword envisioned a new image.

He visualized the most powerful strike his body could muster. A single blow that would cut Vahel’s body in half.

As soon as that image took shape, the Imperial Supreme Sword swung his sword.

In that instant, the entire capital shook.

***

“Fucking hell.”

Damien cursed and sprinted. His face was full of urgency.

Suddenly, an aurablade shot towards him from a distance.

Damien threw himself on the ground and rolled just in time as the slash swept through the space where he had been running moments before.

The ground was split open, revealing smooth and polished surfaces that didn’t resemble earth at all.

"Huuh... huuh..."

Damien stood still for a moment to catch his breath. From experience, he knew Ruin would pause briefly after swinging his sword. He had to recover his stamina in that short window.

"How is he still so strong, despite being past his prime?"

Damien had already died thirty times in this place.

Thankfully, it was a mental space, so not much real time had passed.

“Damn it.”

Ruin lifted his sword again. Damien stopped resting and started moving again.

"How on earth did he combine all those different energies?"

Mana, dark mana, and even divine power.

Ruin had effortlessly fused what were known to be incompatible energies and woven them into one.

The resulting aurablade's power was beyond imagination. It was capable of cutting through Damien's aurablade like a hot knife through tofu.

“Shit..”

Another slash flew towards him. Damien ducked low as he felt the crescent-shaped aurablade graze his hair as it whizzed past.

Of course, Damien wasn’t just running away the entire time.

His eyes never left Ruin, watching his every move. He was analyzing the aurablades Ruin was creating.

“I'm starting to understand it.”

Damien called upon his dark mana and mana.

Blue energy clashed violently with black energy. Damien forcibly suppressed the resulting backlash.

Gray smoke coiled around his blade. Unfortunately, unlike Ruin’s, it wasn’t colorless.

That was expected. While Ruin had used divine power, Damien had only managed to combine mana and dark mana.

"Still, this should be enough!"

Damien gripped his aurablade and charged at Ruin.

Ruin responded immediately with a slash. Despite his vacant expression, his movements were razor-sharp.

Damien swung his sword to counter the strike. The two aurablades collided.

But Damien’s aurablade only held for a brief moment.

Ruin's blade pierced through Damien's aurablade, cutting it apart.

“Hah!”

At that moment, Damien let out a laugh as he twisted his longsword. He used the realm of Sword Saint ‘Ten Thousand Flow Perception’.

He redirected Ruin's aurablade in a different direction.

“This is the end!”

Damien slashed at Ruin’s neck with his longsword. Ruin’s head separated from his body and both fell to the ground.

“Phew, that was exhausting.”

Damien wiped the sweat from his forehead. This battle had been even more grueling than the fight against Vahel.

Then, Ruin's corpse vanished.

Moments later, a new Ruin appeared in the distance. Damien turned to him and spoke.

"What are you planning to show me this time...?"

“Wow, you’re really something. You’ve managed to kill me twice now.”

Ruin’s voice rang out.

Damien was too shocked to respond.

“Haha, it looks like what I said really surprised you.”

Ruin laughed cheerfully as he spoke.

“By the way, my name is Ruin. Since fate has brought us together, how about I teach you some swordsmanship?”

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]