Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]

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Chapter 291: Alfheim (3)

***

The elves were captured almost immediately.

The elf woman answered Damien’s question with a face full of shame.

“Alfheim is on the losing side of the war.”

“I don’t know how they did it, but Pandemonium managed to break through the barrier and launch a surprise attack. Because of that, Alfheim suffered massive casualties from the very beginning.”

Alfheim had relied heavily on its protective barrier, a magical shield created by the World Tree, a powerful and ancient entity.

No one had expected the barrier to be breached, and they were completely caught off guard.

‘It’s all unfolding just like in my past life.’

It wasn’t entirely the elves’ fault. The protective barrier around Alfheim was created by the World Tree, a being as old as time itself.

Because of this, the barrier was incredibly strong. That was why humans had been unable to find Alfheim for hundreds of years.

“Half the island is already in Pandemonium’s hands. We’re holding on by a thread right now.”

“I don’t understand. Can’t you just summon the Spirit Kings and drive them out?”

Elven warriors gain power by forming contracts with spirits.

Even the weakest of spirits could easily level a mountain. The most powerful of these spirits were the Spirit Kings.

They were beings so powerful that they were often considered to be heavenly forces themselves. Alfheim had three such Spirit Kings under contract.

“Since Pandemonium’s invasion, the World Tree has been greatly weakened. Fire Spirit King, as well as other Spirit Kings, have been affected. What’s more, the Fire Spirit King has been captured.”

“Captured?”

Damien looked at her in disbelief.

To force a contract on a spirit, you first had to subdue it. And subduing a being as powerful as a Spirit King was practically impossible.

The elf woman gave Damien a strange look.

“Are you pretending not to know? Or do you really not know?”

“I’ve already told you I’m not on Pandemonium’s side.”

“...The Fire Spirit King, one of the pillars of our world, has been captured by the Lord of Eternal Flame, the Giant Evil of Pandemonium.”

[TL/N- The Ruler of the Flames changed to —> ‘The Lord of Eternal Flame’ for translation accuracy.]

Damien was stunned.

‘The future has changed again.’

The Lord of Eternal Flame was a being on par with Sla and the Weapon Master, a true pillar of Pandemonium.

"The Lord of Eternal Flame forced the fire spirits to serve him like slaves."

In his past life, the Lord of Eternal Flame had coveted the Fire Spirit King. But he had ultimately failed to subjugate him.

"It's not just the Lord of Eternal Flame. Pandemonium also has four incredibly powerful undead creatures in its ranks. Even two of them could rival a Spirit King. They're monstrous beings."

It seemed she was referring to the Four Great Demon Kings. Aside from them, there were no other undead creatures capable of challenging a Spirit King.

"If the Imperial Supreme Sword of the Empire hadn't come to our aid, Alfheim would have already fallen."

"Wait, the Imperial Supreme Sword is here?"

Damien was startled. It was an unexpected name.

"...Your ignorance confirms that you're not truly allied with Pandemonium."

"Just answer the question. Why is the Imperial Supreme Sword here?"

"That's something that..."

The elf woman trailed off.

"...I'm not going to tell you."

Damien stared at the elf woman intently. She shrieked.

"No matter what you do, I can't tell you that!"

"..."

"Even if you torture me for an answer!"

"Then I have no choice."

Damien took a step back which caused the elf woman to sigh in relief.

There was no point in asking her now. He could simply ask the Imperial Supreme Sword himself.

"Do you know someone named Dorugo?"

It was time to get to the heart of the matter.

The elf woman blinked.

"Dor...ugo?"

"I see. Bantadi, you must know him."

Damien turned to Bantadi.

Bantadi was affiliated with Pandemonium and knew Dorugo's name. So, he was likely to know something about him.

"I'm sorry! I have no idea where he is!"

"You're attacking Alfheim on his orders."

"That's true, but as a lowly soldier, I only receive orders!"

Damien was stumped again.

He hadn't expected to have to search for Dorugo again, especially after coming all this way to Alfheim.

"...Are you really not on Pandemonium's side?"

The elf woman asked cautiously. Damien sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you... What are you doing?"

The elf woman had knelt before him.

"...I'm begging you. Please help us rescue my people."

"Your people have been captured?"

"Pandemonium has razed the forests in the occupied territories and built fortresses. Our people are being held captive there."

The elf woman bit her lip and continued.

"The elven warriors are fully engaged in holding off Pandemonium's main forces. I wanted to rescue them myself, but I'm simply not strong enough. Please, I beg you."

She banged her head against the ground.

"If we do nothing, my people will all be sacrificed in the dark mages' experiments. Please help us!"

Damien stroked his chin.

In his past life, he had led Dorugo's vanguard in attacking Alfheim.

He had killed countless elves, annihilated countless spirits, and ultimately destroyed the World Tree. With the World Tree gone, the elves had all become subjects of dark magic experiments and met gruesome ends.

He couldn't ignore this plea, even if finding Dorugo was his priority.

"...Wait, a fortress?"

Suddenly, a plan came to mind.

If he couldn't find Dorugo, why not make Dorugo come to him?

By wreaking havoc on Pandemonium's forces, he could force Dorugo to react.

'But the prisoners are a problem.'

Ideally, he wanted to charge into the fortress and destroy it immediately.

However, that might provoke Pandemonium into using the elves as hostages.

Then he remembered what he had done to help the dwarves.

'Ah, I know what to do.'

Damien turned to Bantadi.

"Bantadi, are you good at acting?"

***

A short while later, Damien and Bantadi had arrived at the Pandemonium fortress.

'They call this a fortress... it's enormous.'

A towering wall had been erected on a vast plain cleared of all trees. On the walls stood dark knights exuding a sinister aura.

As Damien was examining the fortress, the elf woman asked in a trembling voice.

"...Are you sure there's no other way?"

There wasn't. A chain bound the elf woman, along with the other elves.

Damien was also wearing a robe to disguise himself as one of Bantadi's subordinates.

If he revealed his identity, someone might recognize him.

"I'm going to use you as an excuse to gain access to the prison. Please bear with me."

The elf woman looked at Damien with a mixture of hope and fear.

Meanwhile, the group arrived at the fortress gates. Damien whispered to Bantadi at the front.

"Bantadi, do your thing."

"Yes, lord! Just leave it to me!"

Bantadi cleared his throat and shouted towards the wall.

"Hey, you guys! It's me! Open the gate!"

"Who- Wait is it you Bantadi? Did you have a good hunt?"

"Can't you see? I've brought back a bunch of elven bastards!"

"Excellent work. Wait a minute, Gates are opening."

Clank! Clank!

The massive gate began to swing open.

"Come in."

Damien followed Bantadi into the fortress.

The first thing they saw were busy soldiers moving weapons and materials for dark magic.

'What's that?'

Damien's gaze was drawn to a structure in the center of the fortress.

A giant pulley system was erected over a deep and wide pit.

"Bantadi, what's that?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, your highness. All I've heard is that it's a very important facility."

The more Damien looked at it, the more suspicious it became. He couldn't take his eyes off the pulley.

"My lord, this way to the prison."

Bantadi's words pulled Damien back to reality. As curious as he was about the pulley, rescuing the elven prisoners was the priority.

Just as Bantadi took a step forward, the sky above the fortress split open. A crack formed, and a woman stepped through.

She was undeniably beautiful, but there was something unsettling about her. It was the kind of discomfort one feels when confronted with something too perfect.

'Theta.'

She was Theta, one of the Four Great Demon Kings.

As soon as Theta appeared, dark mages and knights from the fortress gathered around her.

One of them asked politely.

"Your Highness Theta, what brings you here?"

"I've come to inspect the progress, as ordered. How far has 'it' penetrated?"

"The last batch we received has been completely absorbed into the underground."

"I'll have to verify that myself."

Theta walked towards the pit. The dark mages and knights followed her.

Suddenly, Theta stopped. She turned to look at Damien and Bantadi.

"...Come here, both of you."

Bantadi glanced at Damien.

There was no chance that one of the Four Great Demon Kings would fail to recognize Damien.

After all, he had completely concealed his aura.

Bantadi led the group towards Theta.

"What were you doing?"

"I was about to move the captured elven prisoners to the prison."

Bantadi pointed to the bound elves. However, Theta didn't even glance in their direction.

"Is the man beside you your subordinate?"

She pointed at Damien. Bantadi quickly replied.

"Yes. He's not very skilled, but he's quick-witted, so I keep him close."

"I see. You may pass."

Bantadi bowed and started to walk away. Damien followed.

As Damien passed by Theta, she suddenly swung her hand. A wave of dark magic washed over him.

Damien swung his sword, deflecting the magic.

He was unharmed, but his robe was torn, revealing his face. Theta stared at him and said.

"So it was you."

"How did you know? I thought I'd concealed my aura perfectly."

Theta pointed to her ear.

"I have excellent hearing. I remember the sound your body made when we last met."

Damien chuckled.

Every person's organs produce a unique sound. Theta had identified him by this sound.

Most people would have dismissed such a claim as nonsense.

But Damien knew better. Theta possessed such abilities. He just hadn't expected her to remember his sound so clearly.

"I've been looking forward to seeing you again."

Theta extended her hand. A cloud of smoke formed, condensing into a longsword.

Damien raised an eyebrow at the weapon Theta had summoned.

'Last time she used a greatsword.'

In their previous encounter, Theta had wielded a greatsword, similar in size to Damien's.

"As fellow swordsmen, would you like to show me what you can do?"

Damien sneered.

"An undead creature pretending to be a knight? How laughable."

Even though it was clearly a provocation, Damien couldn't resist.

"Very well, undead."

Damien channeled his mana. Theta responded by gathering her dark mana.

In an instant, both disappeared in a blur of motion.

Their swords clashed in midair.

***

[Translator - Kie]

[Proofreader - Kawaii]