Grand Duke Damian (3)

The foundation that constitutes Damian — sorcery.

It had already almost died out, and was only being passed down to some heteromorphic races.

But even that was nearly lost, and only a small portion was being passed down.

Therefore, no one recognized the nature of the energy flowing from Damian now.

Only Ludvic and Bigrind, sensitive to energies other than holy power, were looking around as if something was strange.

“Stop. Do not come any closer.”

Ludvic, true to his usual self, didn’t take long to notice the anomaly.

A man approaching the Saint.

A man approaching despite Ludvic’s words to stop.

A very tall man, exuding a gloomy feeling just by looking at him.

As soon as he saw that man, Ludvic instinctively felt it.

Dangerous.

Dangerous.

That man is not human —

Holy power billowed from the light spear he had unconsciously drawn.

Gripping that spear, Ludvic pointed it at the man and shouted.

“I said stop!”

A tension that made his body bend.

Feeling a kind of sensation he had never felt before, Ludvic unknowingly shouted.

“He-Hero?”

Bigrind, who had noticed that something was strange and the odd feeling spreading in this place, approached behind the Hero.

From that stiffened voice, it was clearly felt how tense she was.

“It’s not demonic energy, but an unknown energy. We, we must not let him come any closer.”

Bigrind looked the man over.

He was a man in her memory.

His impression had been so intense that she hadn’t forgotten him.

A man who was empty, gloomy, and also depressed.

His attire was that of a nobleman, but it was unclear why such a man was in a place like this.

“I told you to stop—!”

Only when Ludvic shouted loudly once again did the man stop.

As his half-closed eyes opened fully and looked at Ludvic, Ludvic felt his heart sink at those bright red pupils.

He’s not human.

There’s no way that could be human.

The man’s eyes turned towards Ludvic, then back to Bigrind.

After making eye contact with Bigrind and engraving her image in his pupils once more, the man slowly muttered.

“Flow, flow and flow here until it finally unfolds.”

Black energy overflowed from the sleeve of the man — Damian.

The black energy, overflowing as if to thoroughly soak the ground, began to spread at a terrifying speed as soon as it touched the ground.

The black energy flowing from Damian rose like mist, and it swayed like a mirage as it spread around.

“Saint!”

“Yes!”

With Ludvic’s shout, a dazzling golden radiance burst forth from Bigrind.

The golden radiance pounced on the black mirage rising from Damian, and when the two energies clashed, a hissing sound of burning was heard along with acrid smoke rising.

‘He’s fallen for it.’

Ceres, watching from a distance behind, smiled with satisfaction.

And Eize was quietly observing Ceres’s broadly smiling face.

Acrid smoke rose, and the black mirage seemed to fade, pushed back by the golden radiance.

Taking advantage of this moment, Ludvic tilted his light spear and pounced on Damian.

“Are you from the Dark Covenant!”

Just when it seemed the spear would pierce him, Damian’s figure that appeared to be pierced by the spear was nowhere to be seen.

Only a piece of pure white parchment was pierced on the spear, and his figure was not visible; rather, Damian appeared behind Ludvic.

“Dark Covenant, I know nothing of such things.”

Damian raised his hand and struck Ludvic’s back.

Just before that hand, billowing with black energy, struck Ludvic, Ludvic lowered his posture and thrust his spear upwards.

“Reveal your identity!”

Ludvic’s spear pierced Damian.

It pierced his Adam’s apple precisely, but Damian’s face was utterly calm.

Showing no sign of pain and not moving at all, Damian slowly grasped the spear and pulled it out of his neck.

Black smoke rose from his fingertips touching the spear and a burning smell reverberated, but Damian didn’t seem to care at all.

“Identity, identity… I’m not sure what my identity is. Should I be called the king of a ruined country, or the slaughterer of a prosperous country? I don’t know, but can you tell me?”

Damian’s voice was utterly gloomy.

To Damian, who kept speaking words of unclear meaning, Ludvic shouted again.

“You speak incomprehensibly, you must be a demon too!”

“A demon. Then I must be a demon.”

Damian released the spear he had been gripping and stepped back smoothly.

The black energy rising from his feet moved freely as if it were his own body, even though he didn’t move his feet.

“The priestess said I could fulfill my long-cherished wish, so I must try for that. Don’t interfere.”

As soon as Damian’s words ended, an explosion erupted from the community center.

The community center, where a fierce battle with the Dark Covenant had taken place, had undergone rough repair work, but even that was now blasting apart.

The black energy that began to surge from there rose high into the sky like a fountain.

“Knights, priests, what are you doing! Quickly, counterattack!”

Ludvic shouted.

Despite such an anomaly occurring at the community center, except for Ludvic who was blocking Damian and Bigrind who was busy driving away the black energy, the cathedral knights and priests were just watching the scene.

Those watching with pale faces seemed to come to their senses at Ludvic’s shout, and they too began to put on their equipment and run towards the community center.

“I’m fine! More importantly, quickly evacuate the poor and contain the situation!”

“Contain, contain. Are you saying you would try to stop me?”

A depressed voice.

An utterly gloomy voice that seemed devoid of any emotion.

Damian stood still in that spot and took Ludvic’s attacks with his whole body.

Most of the attacks were blocked by a protective charm, but occasionally, sharp attacks that even pierced through that succeeded in ending his life.

Even so, it was just one out of the millions of lives he possessed.

It was merely to that extent, not showing any sign at all.

“Now rise and move. The time has come to move for my rest.”

Once again, a small whisper flowed from Damian’s mouth.

Every time he muttered as if whispering, black energy continued to pour out, and except for occasionally flinching when Bigrind’s hammer of divine punishment fell on his head, its momentum did not stop.

“Saint, I hear you’re called a Saint. Indeed, it is fitting. You might be a woman who can give me rest.”

“Stop talking nonsense—!”

Ludvic let out a shout of effort.

From the light spear he was holding, an even more fierce holy power stretched out with a wooing sound.

Strength entered his legs planted on the ground.

Ludvic gripped the light spear tightly again.

‘I can’t, I can’t burden the Saint alone anymore.’

The incident with the apostate Yona must not be repeated.

He didn’t want to see Bigrind suffering and in pain because of that again.

“Your king has returned, so rise. Rise and offer your lives to me.”

Every time Damian muttered, the black energy covering the sky and the mirage rising from the ground swayed as if dancing.

The golden radiance emitted by Bigrind kept burning them, but for now, it was outnumbered.

“Ho-how should we block it…”

Faced with this bizarre phenomenon they had never seen before, the priests and cathedral knights hesitated for a moment.

“Many point at you and say you cannot be saved.”

• • Grrrrr…

The ground began to shake, starting from the community center.

As if an earthquake had occurred, the ground began to shake violently, and the poor people also screamed and scattered in all directions like ants hit by water.

“I am your salvation, your master, and the one who receives your lives.”

“Won’t you shut up—!”

Ludvic’s spear slashed all over Damian’s body.

Even after stabbing and stabbing dozens, perhaps hundreds of times, Damian’s wounds were immediately restored.

“Rise and take the lives of your enemies. Offer even those lives to your king.”

Damian muttered as if it didn’t matter that it was his own body.

Despite not making any counterattack, Ludvic still couldn’t bring Damian down.

Damian, who stood firm to the end as if without any wounds.

The black energy rising from his body mixed with the energy bursting from the community center, taking on a strange hue.

“Now, rise.”

The moment Damian’s eyes flashed open, black mixed into his red pupils, shining ominously.

Slowly, Damian raised his arms.

The black energy gushing from his body grew even fiercer and began to race across the ground.

The entire ground is dyed black, black, black.

“I call your name with my voice.”

The black ground began to churn.

Even so, the energy pouring from Damian did not stop.

Rather, it poured out even more fiercely, endlessly expanding the black ground.

“At last, you rise from there.”

Finally, the energy covering the ground resonated, mixing with the energy bursting from the community center.

Its expanse was so vast that it was too wide to take in at a glance.

“Wh-what should we do! Hero, Saint!”

The priests and cathedral knights, confused and not knowing what to do in front of the community center, called out to Ludvic and Bigrind one after another.

And at that moment.

The energy covering the sky explosively expanded its range, drawing the priests and cathedral knights gathered in front of the community center into its scope.

“Wh-what is this—!”

“We must get out!”

“N-no! We can’t get out!”

“Priests, hurry with the purification!”

The dome-like thing drew in the priests and cathedral knights at once, becoming a barrier that trapped them.

Those trapped inside each attempted to escape, not only using force against the barrier but also pouring holy power, but the barrier didn’t budge at all.

“I-it’s moving!”

The barrier began to gradually narrow its form.

The barrier, which had been quite wide, rapidly narrowed, enclosing the cathedral knights and priests trapped inside.

Watching this scene, Bigrind put aside the purification of the black energy and began to directly exert holy power towards Damian.

“Please release those people—!”

Damian did not respond to Bigrind’s cry.

Rather, he savored the golden holy power pouring onto him, and the life being shaved off in chunks each time he was hit—

“At last I’ve met you. The one who can fulfill my long-cherished wish, who can give me rest, at last…!”

Damian turned towards Bigrind.

Damian’s red pupils were not normal.

His utterly gloomy expression was now tinged with a faint joy and ecstasy, and even an incomprehensible madness could be felt.

Damian slowly raised his arms.

“At last, at last salvation comes to me. This long life, now at last—!”

Meanwhile, the barrier continued to shrink.

Although it had been quite a wide space, the continuously shrinking barrier kept pressing and tightening around the priests and cathedral knights.

“Sa-save us! Hero—! Saint—!”

“Release them, please release them——!!”

Bigrind screamed as if her throat would tear.

Hearing that scream, Damian approached Bigrind, and Ludvic stepped in front of him, thrusting his spear.

“You cannot approach the Saint, demon.”

“Is that so.”

Damian raised his hand and lightly flicked his fingers.

With a snap sound, in an instant, the barrier became a wall that touched.

The cathedral knights and priests caught in between turned into blood without even being able to scream once.

And the blood squeezed from their bodies became one mass and rose into the sky.

“Salvation lies with me, and your permission is not needed for me to exercise my will.”

Damian’s monologue, as if reciting the end of a prayer.

The mass of blood floating in the sky flew to him and seeped into the chest of his tailcoat.

“—With this, my life has been extended again. Although you destroyed so much, it has become like this, so you cannot fulfill my long-cherished wish.”

At Damian’s words, Ludvic could finally realize the identity of the man before him — Damian.

“…You, you’re a vampire. I should have noticed from ‘king of a ruined country’ and ‘slaughterer of a prosperous country’…!”