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Chapter 269: The Nephew (1)

***

After that, Damien had to clean up the aftermath.

The souls of the dead left thoughts at the site of their deaths. Dark mages could read various information through these thoughts left behind by dead souls.

It was highly likely that the thoughts would be a key to the investigation when investigators were sent from Pandemonium.

The thoughts in which ‘Victor the Woodcutter’ appeared were no problem. In fact, it was something to be welcomed. Damien had come here to cause confusion in Pandemonium.

However, the thought left behind in which Damien appeared was a problem.

That’s why Damien erased all the thoughts left behind by the Weapon Master and Achilles when they died.

Only then did he prepare to leave Hammerfell City.

“So, You are thinking of leaving now…”

Then, Damien asked with a bewildered look.

“Why are you here?”

-You! How dare you react like that when you should be happy to see us!

Kilo yelled. Behind him were ten more dwarves.

Of course, all eleven were dead. They were communicating with Damien in their soul state.

“Didn’t you leave with the other dwarves?”

-I was going to, but I changed my mind. I owe you too much debt to leave just like that.

Kilo said, pounding his chest with his fist.

-We Hammerfell dwarves can’t live with debt, no matter what! I’ll stay by your side and repay my debt!

“I don’t need it. Get out of here.”

Damien immediately refused. Kilo’s expression momentarily blanked, as if he couldn’t believe the reaction.

-T-think about it again! Aren’t you tempted by our knowledge and skills?

“You guys should be the ones thinking again. Do you know what it means to follow me? It means becoming undead.”

Damien’s voice sharpened slightly.

“Being undead means becoming a slave to a dark mage. And yet you want to follow me? Are you in your right mind…….”

-We’re all in our right minds.

Kilo said firmly.

-As I said before, we Hammerfell dwarves can’t live with debt. We owe you a debt.

Kilo clenched his fists.

-Pandemonium. Our tribe and city were destroyed by that bastards. We can’t go back without seeing their destruction.

The dwarves behind Kilo nodded in agreement.

-Damien, you killed the Weapon Master. You must be planning to keep fighting Pandemonium. We want to join in the revenge too.

Damien was at a loss for words.

He knew he should send them back.

But he couldn’t help but empathize with their anger. He felt the same way.

“Even so, you want to rely on me, a Dark mage?”

-You’re different from the other Dark mages.

“Different?”

-If you were just any Dark mage, you wouldn’t have just freed our tribe’s souls.

That was true.

The souls of the dwarves who had been bound to the hearth numbered in the tens of thousands.

If he had collected them all, he would have been able to gain an enormous amount of dark mana in one fell swoop.

Even if it wasn’t dark mana, the souls of the dwarves were rare and could be used for a variety of purposes.

But Damien had freed the dwarves without a second thought.

-We can trust you. Please take us in.

Kilo looked at Damien with a firm gaze. It wasn’t just Kilo. The ten dwarves behind him were the same.

Damien took a deep breath.

To be honest, it was a difficult request to refuse. The Hammerfell dwarves was one of the most outstanding among the dwarves.

If they were to join forces with Damien, they would be a tremendous force.

“……Damn it. It’s your own fault. Don’t regret it later.”

Damien extended his hand. Kilo grinned and shook it.

-Master, I’ll be in your care from now on.

***

In the dark space.

Something was moving under the only lit lamp.

“Heh, heh-hee-hee hahaha! That’s it! It’s coming back up! Knowledge is pouring out again!”

Someone who seemed small even though he was wearing a wide-brimmed robe was dissecting a corpse with a knife.

“I’m going crazy! I’m going crazy! It feels like someone is pouring knowledge into my head! Hahahaha! Eugh-hahahahahaha!”

The entity didn’t flinch even though his face and clothes were splattered with blood every time he cut the corpse open, as if every second and minute was precious.

“I finally understand! This is it! With this knowledge, I can create it again!”

He raised his blood-stained hands high in the air and cheered.

Then, he felt a presence behind him. A small man was walking towards the monster with a slow gait.

“I apologize for interrupting your research, Lord Dorugo.”

His voice was so polite that it was almost respectful.

Dorugo took off the robe that had been covering his head. A skull was revealed.

“Genak, what’s the matter?”

“There is no response from the Weapon Master.”

“Again?”

Dorugo’s expression distorted. The skull moved and made an expression.

“How many times is this?”

“This is the third time. We haven’t been able to contact him for a week.”

“That’s strange. There’s no way that guy would have other thoughts.”

“I agree. Could something have happened…….”

“Trouble? Hehehehehe! You’re talking funny.”

Dorugo laughed out loud. He laughed so hard that he rubbed the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. But no tears flowed.

“There are very few beings in this world who could harm that guy. I’ve got all of those few guys under my thumb.”

“Y-yes, you are truly amazing!”

“I’m not asking for compliments. Anyway, I’m saying that there’s no way something could have happened to that guy.”

“Then why…….”

Dorugo stroked his chin and fell into thought.

“……Is he really trying to betray me?”

“N-nonsense! How could there be someone with such a wicked thought…….”

“You never know what’s going on in people’s hearts. I need to check it out in advance.”

Dorugo raised his head. Something was hanging from the high ceiling.

“Iota. It’s your turn.”

Dorugo said to it. Then, the thing moved.

It spread its wings that had been wrapped around its body and landed on the ground.

Monster was nearly 3 meters tall with unusually long arms and legs and had two bat-like wings.

“Gulp.”

Genak swallowed hard at the appearance of Iota. It wasn’t because of Iota’s appearance. It was because of the immense pressure he felt from Iota.

He had felt a similar feeling before in his life.

The pressure from the Weapon Master, Sla, and the Ruler of the Flames.

It was when he met the Evils of Pandemonium.

-Khe-khe, Mother called me?

Iota asked with a strange laugh. Dorugo frowned at his words.

“I told you to call me Lord.”

-Don’t be so stiff. I was born from Mother’s soul, right? So you could say we’re like parent and child.

[PR/N- Anyone who is confused, Iota is made up from Dorugo’s soul.]

“Tsk! I’ve made you too spoiled.”

-Understand me. I can’t help the way I was born.

Genak couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe as he watched Iota converse casually with Dorugo.

Iota was one of the secret weapons that Dorugo had spent hundreds of years creating.

Despite all the effort he had put in, Iota had always been lying in the laboratory without a soul.

This was because Dorugo had succeeded in creating Iota’s body, but had failed to create a soul that matched it.

Dorugo had been frustrated, thinking that he would have to spend another few decades working on it.

However, just a few days ago, Dorugo had succeeded in completing Iota.

This was thanks to the ‘strange inspiration’ that had come down to him out of nowhere.

-So what do you need me to do?

“Go to the Hukmak Mountains and find the Weapon Master. Deliver my message to him and come back.”

-Do I have to kill him?

Dorugo immediately shook his head at that.

“No, the Weapon Master is a force we absolutely need for the War of Destruction.”

-Ugh, that’s boring. What if he attack me first?

“Still no. Subdue him and bring him to me.”

-Eeeeeeeeeeei.

Iota trailed off his words in dissatisfaction.

“You must never kill him. Not only the Weapon Master, but Achilles who is with him as well.”

-That dwarf? Why him?

“I absolutely need Achilles’s knowledge and skills. There’s no one else who can replace him.”

-Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.

Iota spread his wings. At the same time, dark mana surged around him.

At the same time, the ceiling warped and a colorful door opened.

-Then I’ll go and come back!

Iota flew towards the door. The door swallowed Iota and disappeared as soon as it closed.

“Whew…….”

As Iota disappeared, the pressure that felt like it was going to crush his heart disappeared as well. Genak wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief.

“Lord, Iota is always amazing.”

Dorugo smiled proudly at Genak’s admiration.

“Of course. He’s an undead I created.”

“I know it’s off-topic, Lord Dorugo, but…… don’t you think we no longer need to hesitate to go to war with the Empire?”

Iota wasn’t the only secret weapon that Dorugo had spent hundreds of years creating.

There were three other undead as well. They, too, had been unable to have the souls until recently and had only just been completed.

“With the Four Great Demon Kings you have created, Lord Dorugo, I think we can easily destroy the Empire.”

Genak spoke sincerely.

As he saw it, the power of the Four Great Demon Kings was equal to the Empire’s. And with Pandemonium added to that, it was not impossible to destroy the Empire.

“What are you talking about? It’s still not enough. It’s barely enough.”

However, Dorugo flatly denied Genak’s words without a moment’s hesitation.

“Don’t judge the Empire by what you can see. Those bastards are much bigger monsters than you think.”

The smile had disappeared from Dorugo’s face.

“Do you think you’re going to be able to defeat them if you just fight them? We’ll have to fight the Church, the Fafnir Mercenary Company, and other kingdoms as well. Our forces are barely enough.”

“I see…….”

Genak trailed off his words with a sigh of disappointment.

There was nothing he could do but accept his master’s words. After all, his master was a thousand times wiser than he was, a fool.

“So…… not enough…… something…… something else is needed…… something…….”

Dorugo began to mutter something over and over again, biting his fingertips.

“I know something’s missing, but I don’t know what it is. What is it? What do I need to…… to destroy the Empire…… to destroy humanity……?”

After muttering for a while, Dorugo turned to Genak and asked.

“That’s right. What happened to my plan to capture that guy?”

“That guy? You mean Damien Haksen?”

“Yes, that guy. I want to see him with my own eyes.”

“One of the Giant Evils is about to move. They’ve identified that he has family in the Apple Kingdom, so they’ll be taking action soon…….”

Then, another hole opened up in the ceiling. Iota popped out of it.

-Mother! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible!

“I told you to call me Lord.”

-That’s not important now!

Iota said with a horrified expression.

-He’s dead!

“What are you talking about?”

-I’m telling you he’s dead! The Weapon Master too! His disciples too! Achilles too! They’re all dead!

Dorugo frowned at that and said.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

-It’s not a joke! It’s true! I brought you their thoughts, so check for yourself!

Iota held out his finger to Dorugo. The thoughts were concentrated on the tip of Iota’s finger.

Dorugo absorbed the thoughts that Iota handed him.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said.

“Genak, cancel the plan to kidnap Damien Haksen.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes, there is. Some bastard is interfering with my plans!”

Dorugo’s eyes flashed. Flames erupted from within the skull.

“Victor the Woodcutter! Bring this bastard to me immediately! I want him to kneel before me!”

***

After leaving the Hukmak Mountains, Damien returned to his family home in the Apple Kingdom.

“They’re probably going to be really mad at me…….”

Before entering, Damien couldn’t help but feel scared.

This time, he had been away from home for an especially long time. And he hadn’t even sent a single letter.

It was obvious that his family, especially his father, would be furious.

“Hahaha! Damien, you’re back! I’m so glad to see you after such a long time!”

However, contrary to Damien’s expectations, his father was not angry at all.

Damien asked his mother with a confused expression.

“Mother, why is he acting like that?”

“Oh, well, you see. He is going to be a grandfather now.”

Damien couldn’t understand his mother’s words for a moment.

“G-Grandfather? You mean……?”

“Your older sister is pregnant.”

At that, Damien’s face was filled with shock.

His mother said with a playful expression.

“What’s the big deal? You’re an uncle now.”

***