Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Reunion (1)

***

The thick fangs crushed the shell mercilessly.

The tender flesh and organs behind it were all crushed into the shell.

‘Ugh, ugh…… ugh……!’

The senses that had been developed in order to make Bagder a Master-class chimera now turned back on him.

The sharper his senses, the greater the pain. The pain, which had been amplified several times over, was transmitted directly to Garrot.

‘P, please…… hurry up and finish this……!’

The moment Garrot earnestly wished for it, the fangs shattered the core.

‘I, I’m alive…….’

At that moment, all of Bagder’s functions stopped. Garrot was finally able to find peace.

“Huh?”

……He thought he had found peace.

“Where is this?”

When he came to his senses, Garrot was standing in the darkness.

There was nothing but darkness all around him. Even under his feet. He was standing on darkness, not ground.

‘Am I not dead?’

As Garrot was wondering, the darkness stirred and a wolf emerged.

The wolf quickly approached and bit Garrot’s arm before disappearing. Garrot grabbed his shortened forearm and screamed.

“Ugh, ahaaaa……!”

Blood gushed out of the wound like crazy. Garrot gasped for breath in excruciating pain.

That wasn’t the end of it. Another wolf appeared and bit Garrot’s leg.

His leg was bitten off below the knee. Garrot fell to the ground, bleeding.

“A-Ahaaa…… ahaaa…… aaaaa……!”

A dozen or so wolves appeared before Garrot’s eyes. He waved his one remaining arm and said.

“W, wait…….”

The wolves rushed at Garrot all at once and tore off his remaining limbs. They ripped open his stomach and scraped out his organs. They crushed his spine and licked his marrow.

“Aagh! Ugh……!”

Garrot screamed in excruciating pain. But no matter how much he screamed, the wolves didn’t stop.

“H, hahaha! Hahahahat!”

In the end, Garrot was reduced to a head. But he didn’t die. He was just insane, laughing like a madman.

The wolf opened its mouth and swallowed Garrot’s head. As he fell down the wolf’s throat, Garrot felt relieved.

‘F, finally it’s over…….’

But the next moment, Garrot was greeted by the sight of himself intact.

“……Huh?”

Garrot looked down at his body with a surprised face.

The limbs that had been torn off were now perfectly intact, and the stomach that had been ripped open had returned to its original state. The broken spine stood upright again.

– Grrrr.

– Grrr.

The wolves surrounded Garrot again. Garrot’s face turned deathly pale.

“Aaaagh!”

Once again, the wolves surrounded Garrot and devoured his entire body. Garrot had to go through the excruciating pain again as if he was going crazy.

It didn’t take long for the wolves to devour him completely.

And then, the next moment.

“…Huh?”

Garrot’s body was restored to its original state once again. The wolves were also surrounding Garrot.

Only then did Garrot realize.

He realized that this was a spiritual space and that he was suffering as a soul.

That’s why he kept regenerating even after his entire body was devoured. The soul of Garrot, the Grand Dak Mage, would not easily be destroyed.

“Th, that’s enough…”

Garrot shouted at the wolves.

“Stop it! Leave me alone… I said, leave me alone!”

Garrot’s screams echoed long and loud. But they were quickly drowned out by the sound of the wolves’ feasting that followed.

***

‘He must be suffering in Fenrir’s stomach right now.’

Looking at the corpses of Garrot and Bagder, Damien recalled his past memories.

Humans eaten by Fenrir did not die easily.

They were trapped in his stomach, forced to produce dark mana while suffering eternally. Until their souls were extinguished.

The soul of a grand dark mage like Garrot would not be easily extinguished, so he would suffer for a long time in Fenrir’s stomach.

‘A fitting end for a piece of trash.’

Thinking so, Damien approached Fenrir.

– Whimper…… whimper…….

Fenrir, whose body had now been replaced by darkness, was growling around Garrot’s corpse.

He didn’t seem to be grieving Garrot’s death. There seemed to be another reason.

“Why are you doing that?”

– Master…… Master is gone…….

Because of the contract, Damien could read Fenrir’s thoughts to some extent.

-This bad guy killed Master! Master is gone!

That didn’t mean he could fully understand Fenrir’s thoughts.

It took Damien a while to concentrate on Fenrir’s words before he could understand.

“You mean this guy killed your master and tormented his soul until it was extinguished?”

Damien fell into thought for a moment.

There was no way to bring back an extinguished soul. However, there was a way to soothe Fenrir’s sorrow.

Damien gathered all the dark mana that Garrot released when he died.

He stored some of it in his bracelet and used the rest to manifest dark magic.

Dust began to gather on the magic circle that Damien had spread out. Fenrir’s eyes widened when he saw it.

– Master! I smell Master!

The ashes soon took the form of a small boy.

However, it was only a form in name only. It had no facial features, and its fingers were not properly formed.

Even so, Fenrir wagged his tail frantically with a happy face.

– Master! Master!

Fenrir ran around the boy. He lay down on his stomach in front of him.

However, the boy did not move and just stood there.

– Master……?

Fenrir slowly raised his body. He licked his master’s face.

But he didn’t touch anything. The dust that formed the shape of its master scattered and returned to its place.

Fenrir looked at Damien with his tail down. Damien said with a bitter face.

“I’m sorry. There wasn’t much thought left, so I couldn’t create anything more than this.”

The boy had not been able to leave behind any proper thoughts until the moment he died. That meant he had been exploited so badly by Garrot.

– Master…….

Fenrir looked at the boy weakly. Then, the boy slowly reached out his hand.

The incorporeal hand stroked Fenrir’s head a few times. Color returned to Fenrir’s face.

– Master! Master!

Damien couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight.

The thoughts that Damien had been able to gather were extremely weak. He had no idea that such weak thoughts could move.

Thoughts were the remnants of emotions and memories held at the moment of death. Perhaps the boy had also thought strongly of Fenrir until the moment he died.

The boy’s thoughts began to dissipate slowly. Fenrir watched the sight for a long time as if trying not to forget.

When the boy had completely disappeared, Damien asked Fenrir.

“What do you plan to do now?”

Once a soul becomes undead, it can never reincarnate again.

Fenrir’s only options were to remain as he was forever or to be killed and find peace.

“If you want, I can let you rest. In return, your soul will be extinguished…….”

– Master!

“It is unfortunate, but your master is gone. He can never come back.”

– New master! New master!

Fenrir wagged his tail furiously as he looked at Damien. Damien looked at Fenrir with a puzzled face.

“……You mean I’m your new master?”

Fenrir nodded his head. Damien looked at Fenrir with an incredulous face.

“If you come with me, you will keep fighting.”

– ……Fighting? Who with?

Damien pointed to Garrot’s corpse and said.

“With strong and dangerous guys like that.”

At that moment, Fenrir’s eyes turned fierce. The hair on his round body stood on end.

– Good.

Fenrir spoke in a commanding voice.

– If I can kill the ones who killed my master again…… I like it. I will follow you. I will follow my new master.

Because of the contract, he could tell.

The reason why Fenrir had completed itself as an undead.

It was for revenge against the dark mages.

“You have also chosen a difficult path.”

It was something Damien could welcome.

As he was called the Beast of Destruction, Fenrir’s potential was enormous.

It was not yet in his complete form. Fenrir would become even stronger in the future.

“Then what should your name be…….”

From what Damien knew, the name Fenrir was given by the dark mage. He couldn’t keep using such an unlucky name.

– Name? You’ll give me a name?

Fenrir smoothed down his fur again and returned tohisround shape. He looked at Damien with a face full of anticipation.

“How about Eternal Destiny Breaker?”

– …….

But when the name came out of Damien’s mouth, he couldn’t help but be serious right away.

“Don’t you like it? Well, it is a bit lacking in intimidation. Maybe something like Absolute Power Slayer would be better.”

This time, Fenrir couldn’t help but be serious. He even stomped his front paws on the ground. He seemed to dislike all of them.

– Munchi!

Fenrir said forcefully. Damien, who heard the name, asked with an incomprehensible face.

“Isn’t Eternal Destiny Breaker better than a name like that?”

– Munchi! Munchi! Munchi!

Fenrir shouted even louder. In the end, Damien had no choice but to follow Fenrir’s wishes.

“No matter how I look at it, I think another name would be better… Fine, I’ll call you Munchi.”

– New master! Good!

Munchi started rubbing his face against Damien. He looked at Munchi with an annoyed face. Then, Dominico approached Damien and said.

– Congratulations, my lord. You have acquired a powerful force.

“Well, he is strong.”

Although he acted like a dog, Munchi was a fearsome undead.

Then, he suddenly noticed Miya. Miya also noticed Munchi.

“Kya?”

– Woof?

Miya and Munchi looked at each other and tilted their heads left and right.

“Kya! Kya!”

– Whimper…….

Miya growled, baring her teeth. Munchi tucked his tail between his legs.

“Kya! Kya!”

Then Miya patted her chest and made a proud face. Damien asked Dominico with an incredulous face.

“What is she saying now?”

– I’m not sure either… Maybe they’re establishing dominance?

“They’re in similar situations, they should be able to take care of each other.”

Just as Damien was clicking his tongue, the barrier that Garrot had put up began to collapse.

It would be inconvenient for others to see Damien surrounded by undead.

Damien took out a travel chest from the subspace and said.

“Everyone, get in.”

“Kyaa?”

– Woop?

Miya and Munchi made faces of displeasure. Miya expressed her opinion that she wanted to stay outside, and Munchi seemed to want to play with Damien more.

“Don’t be annoying and get in quickly.”

Damien grabbed the two and forced them in. Miya and Munchi struggled, but it was no use.

Unlike the two, the skeleton and Dominico entered obediently.

“Ah, Dominico.”

Before Dominico could go inside, Damien stopped him.

– Yes, give me your orders.

“You seem to have trained Miya well. Well done.”

– You flatter me.

“So double the intensity.”

– …Yes?

Dominico thought he had misheard at first. But there was no playfulness in Damien’s face.

– Ah…, I understand.

As a loyal knight, Dominico had no choice but to obey Damien’s words.

Then, suddenly, Damien stared into the void. Dominico asked with a puzzled face.

– My lord, why are you doing that?

“It’s nothing.”

Damien curled one lip and added.

“I just thought there was one more rat left.”

***

“….Garrot is dead?”

Kardak muttered with a perplexed expression as he observed the barrier from afar.

“What on earth happened…?”

Since Garrot had left Kardak outside the tent, he hadn’t seen anything.

“Garrot must have had a Bagder with him, right…?”

Garrot was a pervert who was only interested in monsters and undead, but his skills were undeniable. In particular, the Bagder he created was an incredible chimera that even high-class knights would die easily by his hands.

“Damien Haksen… What exactly is his identity?”

Feeling perplexed yet thrilled, Kardak couldn’t help but wonder.

“…If it’s him, perhaps he would truly satisfy them.”

The greatest master.

The originator of all dark magic.

Archlich.

He was seeking souls with exceptional talents.

As Rubia had mentioned, if they brought that human to him, Archlich would offer tremendous rewards.

Kardak almost wanted to kidnap him immediately. However, he doubted his ability to capture him alive.

Even if he used the weakest poison he possessed, Damien would likely turn into pile of flesh and die.

“I should go see Rubia for now.”

Kardak’s body melted back into the shadows and disappeared somewhere.

Shaken by the intense shock, Kardak failed to notice one crucial fact.

That Damien was still staring at the spot where he had been.

***