Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

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Chapter 272: The Demonic Followers (1)

***

The Tartarus Kingdom was located on the edge of the continent.

Its territory was quite large, but its national power was not very strong. It was famous for its abundant seafood, as it was bordered by the sea.

It was a kingdom located very far from the Apple Kingdom. It would take over a month to get to the Tartarus Kingdom.

However, if you were with the Five Great Elders, it was a different story.

Damien was moving at an incredible speed, riding on the wind. It was as if he was sitting on a carpet made of wind.

Damien sat on the wind and looked out at the scenery outside.

Even with his dynamic vision, he couldn’t see passing scenery quickly.

This was the result of Green Wind’s wind being amplified by Radiant Light’s amplification.

“At this speed, we’ll be in the Tartarus Kingdom in a few minutes.”

Green Wind said to the group.

She didn’t look even a little tired, even though she was handling wind on this scale.

It was the power befitting a figure who was one of the Five Great Elders.

“Then I should explain it to Sir Damien in advance while we’re on the way. If I explain it after we arrive, there won’t be enough time.”

Radiant Light continued, turning to Damien.

“Sir Damien, our top priority is to destroy the summoning circle. We need to destroy it to…”

“To reverse summon the demon.”

Radiant Light’s eyes widened at Damien’s answer.

“Oh, how did you know that?”

“I’ve read books about demons.”

It was a lie, actually. The reason Damien knew about demons was because of his past life memories.

Perhaps the only other existence in this world who knew more about demons than Damien was Dorugo.

“Then I guess there’s no need to explain it separately.”

Demons were creatures that lived in Inferno, not on the continent.

Since they were creatures that existed in a completely different dimension, they were subject to various constraints when summoned to the continent. That’s why demons were very weak right after they were summoned.

The only way to break the constraints was to feed the demon a human soul.

That’s why dark mages kidnapped humans and offered them as sacrifices even after summoning demons.

The biggest constraint that demons summoned to the continent faced was being bound to the summoning circle.

If the summoning circle was even slightly damaged, the demon was reversed summoned back to the Inferno.

“It sounds simple when you hear it, but it won’t be easy. This demon summoning incident is not ordinary.”

Cheongyeum, who was known as the strongest among the Five Great Elders, had disappeared.

It was an event that was impossible to understand considering Cheongyeum’s strength and status.

“I heard from the Church that they’re judging that a Marquis class demon was summoned.”

“That’s right. A demon of that level would be the only one who could put Sir Cheongyeum in danger.”

Damien agreed with Radiant Light’s words.

With Cheongyeum’s strength, he could easily bring down even the main body of a Count class demon.

“But what I don’t understand is how Pandemonium was able to prepare a summoning circle of this scale without the Church’s knowledge.”

Damien naturally thought of Dorugo.

Dorugo had been preparing for a long time to destroy humanity.

Such a Dorugo would have been able to prepare a summoning ritual of this scale in a short period of time.

‘But why?’

The problem was that he couldn’t understand why Dorugo had made such a choice.

In his previous life, Dorugo had not relied on demons. This was because he was arrogant and overconfident in his own abilities.

Moreover, Dorugo was not very interested in demons. He was not at all attached to the graces or powers that demons bestowed.

‘Could it be that he made this choice because I killed the Weapon Master?’

The greatest advantage of the Weapon Master was that he could use dozens of Demonic sword.

Demonic swords were no different from avatars of demons. In other words, the Weapon Master could use the power of demons without limit.

Even during the War of Destruction, the Weapon Master was used as a kind of demon.

‘The Weapon Master is dead. All the Demonic swords have been destroyed as well. There is no one in Pandemonium who can freely wield the power of demons now. So if he summoned a demon, then…?.’

Damien was lost in thought when Green Wind spoke to Radiant Light.

“Sister, we’ve entered the airspace of the Tartarus Kingdom. This is where Pandemonium’s territory begins.”

As soon as Green Wind finished speaking, the smell of burning and blood rushed in from all directions.

Damien’s expression hardened involuntarily. There was only one meaning to these smells.

‘The dark mages are raiding the villages to gather sacrifices.’

Damien clenched his fists involuntarily. But now was not the time to let his anger out.

He had to destroy the summoning circle as quickly as possible and reverse summon the demon.

“We’ll be at the summoning circle in just a bit. Get ready now.”

Just then, something caught Damien’s senses. Damien reflexively got up from his spot.

“Why?”

Green Wind asked with a puzzled expression. At that moment, a light flashed in the distance.

A red beam of light shot straight towards them. Damien swung his Dawn to cut the beam down.

But the moment Dawn collided with the beam, he couldn’t help but change his mind.

‘It’s going to be tough to cut it down.’

Damien was standing on the wind right now. The fact that his footing was unstable made it difficult to swing Dawn properly.

Damien twisted Dawn to deflect the beam’s trajectory. The beam shot up into the sky.

The group looked up at where the beam had disappeared with surprised faces. Agnes, who was the first to come to her senses, asked Damien.

“Sir Damien! What was that just now…?”

“It seems like the demon isn’t happy about us coming.”

As he spoke, a light flashed again ominously. Another red beam of light shot towards them.

“Sir Damien, step back.”

This time, Radiant Light stepped forward. She raised her divine power and created a shield made of light.

The shield blocked the red beam. But the red beam pierced the shield all too easily.

The beam that had pierced the shield was about to engulf Radiant Light.

Damien quickly jumped in between and deflected the beam. The beam crashed into the ground.

“What the… I reinforced it a hundredfold?”

Radiant Light muttered in disbelief as she watched the scene unfold.

Without a moment’s rest, another flash of light appeared. This time, not one but several lights flashed simultaneously.

Red beams of light rained down without a break. Damien deflected them with his Dawn and said.

“Mam Green Wind, let’s land here.”

“We’re still quite a ways from the summoning circle. You’re blocking them well, so if we just keep going…”

“I can only deflect them because I can see them from above. If the number of beams increases any more, I won’t be able to hold on.”

On the ground, Damien might have been able to exert his full power. But on the wind, he couldn’t.

“…I see.”

Green Wind changed the direction of the wind. The wind, which had been flying in a straight line, headed downward.

The four people landed in the middle of a forest. And then, no more beams of light came flying.

Damien muttered, looking in the direction the beams had come from.

“Stopped? You’re going to watch?”

It didn’t feel good.

The demon was treating Damien like a complete toy right now.

“Wait till I meet you in person.”

***

“Hoo… so you can block all my beams.”

A man muttered, looking out from the top of the tower.

“I didn’t mean to kill you, but it wasn’t exactly easy either… Humans these days are pretty good, aren’t they? Don’t you think so, Dorugo?”

The man asked, looking back. Dorugo glared at him with a displeased expression.

“…Why were you summoned?”

“Hmm? How about I honestly say that I’m happy because you are here? It’s like digging for silver and finding gold.”

“Bullshit. You demons would never do anyone any good.”

Dorugo’s words brought a sly smile to the man’s face.

“Dorugo, you sound like a human. Weren’t you also one of our kind? There’s just a little problem called betrayal…”

“Enough. Did I go through all the trouble of drawing a summoning circle just to talk about that old nonsense?”

“You’re so grumpy. Can’t we chat a bit after all this time?”

“Pathetic.”

Dorugo’s eyes gleamed ominously.

“Pathetic? You didn’t even earn a title when I was active.”

“It’s true that you’re older than me, but… you should look at your current position. A demon who has fallen from grace.”

Killing intent oozed from the man.

The two men stared each other down. Then the man shrugged and stepped back.

“If that’s what the summoner wants, then there’s nothing I can do. So, tell me what you want. Why did you summon me?”

“I want the demonic power of a Marquis class demon.”

The man’s eyes widened at those words.

Demonic power was the strength that demons possessed. It was a higher concept than dark magic.

“Demonic power is like an elixir to dark mages, but I doubt a being of your stature would call on me to consume such power, especially in such numbers.”

The man spread his arms wide. At that, the magic circle drawn across the entire meadow revealed itself.

The scale of the magic circle was staggering, but even more surprising were the materials.

The magic circle was drawn entirely with magic stones and gemstone powder. And in the center, there were over a thousand hearts piled up.

“You don’t need to know that?”

“I can’t help but be curious…”

“Just answer me. Will you agree to the contract?”

The man clapped his hands and said.

“Since you’ve kindly shown me the world, I guess I can fulfill that request.”

He said with a chuckle.

***

“Is everyone alright?”

Radiant Light looked around at the group and asked. Everyone nodded their heads in affirmation.

“Well, I don’t know where this is. Green Wind, where was the summoning circle?”

“Just keep going southwest.”

“Did everyone hear that? Let’s move on.”

“Where are you going?”

At that moment, a stranger’s voice was heard.

They turned in the direction of the voice and saw a group of ragged men.

They weren’t dressed like this because they were beggars. Their clothes were ruined because of their grotesquely twisted arms and legs.

The men’s arms and legs were black as if they had been dipped in ink. And they were all strangely deformed.

Some men had only two giant arms. Others had the heads of beasts in place of their arms.

“…Demonic followers.”

Agnes muttered in disgust.

Dark mages did not follow or worship demons. They saw them only as trading partners.

But the demonic followers were different. They were a race that had gained immense power in exchange for becoming servants of demons.

“Just when we were running out of sacrifices, I didn’t know you’d fall from the sky like this.”

The man who seemed to be the leader laughed, baring his teeth. His left arm, which had turned into a hyena, made a clicking sound.

“You idiots, don’t just stand there watching. Get in there and catch them.”

The men surrounded the four of them. Then Radiant Light smiled and said.

“Oh my, you’re brave ones. You think you can block our way?”

“Sister, it’s not that. I think they just don’t know who we are.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s definitely possible. What chance do these insignificant lowlifes have to see our faces?”

“Hmm… that makes sense.”

Damien drew his Dawn. But Radiant Light reached out and stopped him.

“Sir Damien worked hard last time, so please rest this time.”

As Radiant Light stepped forward, the men were all taken aback. It was because of her appearance.

“Th-this is a face that’s too precious to offer as a sacrifice.”

“Brother, let’s just take this woman. Wouldn’t the other three be enough?”

Radiant Light pointed down and said.

“Do you know that? They say the earth has a force that pulls things down.”

At those words, the demon followers looked at each other.

“Is she maybe a pretty girl who’s gone a little crazy?”

“We’re out of luck. There’s no fun in playing with a woman like this…”

Radiant Light raised her divine power. A dazzling light burst forth from her.

“Shall we try a hundredfold gravity?”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the demonic followers’ bodies sank into the ground below.

Khaaaa!

The legs and lower bodies of the demonic followers were crushed.

***