Chapter 294
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Chapter 294: Theta (3)
***
The dimensional portal led Theta and Iota to a vast cavern.
Theta started to walk deeper into the cave, but Iota quickly grabbed her wrist.
"Theta! Where do you think you\'re going? I need an explanation!"
"An explanation? For what?"
"Mother commanded us to capture or kill Damien Haksen at all costs! Yet, you just let him go! If Mother finds out, you\'ll face a terrible punishment!"
Theta shook off Iota\'s hand and said.
"Then say it."
"What?"
"I don\'t care if you tell Mother or not."
"Are you counting on Mother\'s mercy? Even Mother won\'t be able to turn a blind eye to this..."
"Do whatever you want. Now, stop bothering me. I need to review the battle with Damien Haksen."
Theta continued walking into the cave. Iota watched her back silently.
"...Damn it, it\'s not like I would report you to the others. Not you."
Iota sighed and a troubled expression on his face.
"Theta, why are you so obsessed with that guy? You\'ve never shown me..."
Crackle!!
Iota gnashed his teeth unconsciously.
"Damien Haksen, this is all your fault. You\'re seducing Theta."
He touched one side of his face.
Whenever he thought of Damien Haksen, the pain he\'d endured that day returned.
"...Damien Haksen, I\'ll kill you."
Iota muttered in a murderous tone and disappeared into the darkness.
***
If Damien had been asked to name the most useful authority he\'d possessed in his previous life, he would have answered without hesitation that it was the Authority of Pride.
The Authority of Pride allowed him to manipulate space. He could distort space to deflect attacks or leap great distances.
In his past life, Damien had traveled across the continent using this power.
Of course, it wasn\'t his own decision. At that time, Damien was Dorugo\'s slave.
Whenever Dorugo needed to travel, he would always give Damien an order.
"What an unusual authority has awoken."
Damien couldn\'t be happy about the awakening of his Authority of Pride but it was too tough to use.
"Unless you have the correct coordinates of place, you can\'t use it."
In his previous life, Damien had only manifested the Authority of Pride when Dorugo had prepared everything. So, he didn\'t know how to use the Authority of Pride yet.
"I need to practice a bit."
Damien examined the magic circle. Fortunately, the Demonic power was no longer flowing back from the magic circle.
"Oh my most handsome, elegant and powerful lord! We were so worried about you!"
Bantadi rushed over immediately. Damien ignored him and turned to check on the elves.
It was fortunate that the elves were lying on the ground, looking much more relaxed.
"Where did the dark mages and dark knights guarding the fortress go?"
"They all fled! They must have been terrified after seeing the battle between you and the Demon Kings!"
"They should have been swept away as collateral damage. What a shame."
Damien said regretfully. Suddenly, Bantadi tried to slit his own throat with his longsword.
"What are you doing?"
"I failed to anticipate your deep intentions and let them go! I will atone for this sin with death!"
"Stop acting and go rescue the elves trapped in the prison."
"You are so kind to forgive me for being such a worthless person. As expected, my tall, mighty, handsome, confident, smart, brave, extraordinary, unparalleled, unique, surpasses all those behind and after, wise, bold, accomplished, elegant, handsome, loved by all, talented, great scholar, heaven-shaking swordsman and amiable master is not only noble but also kind-hearted!"
"Just shut up and get going, will you?"
Bantadi immediately led his subordinates to the prison.
Damien looked at Bantadi with a disgusted expression.
\'I should just kill him right after using the Authority of Lust next time.\'
Just as Damien was making up his mind,
"Ugh... Huff... Huff..."
One of the elves struggled to get up. It was the elf woman who had asked Damien to save her companions.
"You look exhausted. Why don\'t you rest a little more?"
"Resting... I can do that anytime, even after death..."
Damien tilted his head at the elf woman\'s words. It was a line he had heard somewhere before.
"But... there\'s something I need to do first..."
The elf woman forced herself to stand up. Then, she knelt on one knee with her fist to her chest.
"Thank you for saving us... and our people."
"Do you believe I\'m on your side now?"
Damien asked with a smirk. But the elf woman shook her head.
"Not entirely."
"...Are you joking with me?"
"I can\'t completely trust you. But... I will believe that you are an enemy of Pandemonium."
Damien had not only attacked the fortress of Pandemonium but had also drawn his sword against their greatest forces, the Four Great Demon Kings.
No matter how racist the elves were, they had no choice but to respect Damien in this situation.
"Damien Haksen, I would like to invite you to Alfheim. My great-grandmother would welcome you too."
"...Great-grandmother?"
Damien doubted his ears for a moment.
A great-grandmother would be a grandmother\'s grandmother. No matter how long elves lived, it didn\'t make sense for a great-grandmother to still be alive.
"You doubt my words. But if you hear the name of my great-grandmother, you will understand."
"Who is it that you\'re so hesitant to tell me?"
"You humans call my great-grandmother Milene."
Hearing those words, Damien was left in complete shock.
Milene of the Dreaming Flame.
A member of the Salvation Squad and a hero of the past.
Damien had met an avatar of Milene at the harbor and had been told how to reach Alfheim.
"Wait, you\'re saying you\'re Milene\'s great-granddaughter...?"
Damien knew that there was only one person alive who could be a descendant of Milene.
"What\'s your name?"
"You ask quickly. My name is Sincia."
The name Sincia left Damien speechless.
There was only one elf who was Milene\'s great-granddaughter and named Sincia.
The queen of Alfheim, who had fought against Dorugo to the bitter end in her past life and died a horrible death.
She was standing right in front of him.
***
Sincia was the first elf in history to contract with two spirit kings.
The power that a single spirit king could wield far surpassed natural disasters.
Sincia could summon two such spirit kings. It goes without saying how powerful she was.
She was the biggest obstacle when Dorugo invaded Alfheim.
The undead that Dorugo had prepared were all destroyed by the spirit kings. The dark mages and dark knights were also unable to perform properly.
-Damien! Kill her! I told you to kill that damn bitch!
As the battle dragged on, the damage increased. Dorugo\'s hatred grew accordingly.
After a long battle, Damien managed to annihilate the spirit kings and subdue Sincia.
-I won\'t let you die easily!
Dorugon ordered Damien to cut off all of Sincia\'s limbs.
Then, in front of all the elves, he pulled out her heart and killed her.
Her body was covered in blood as she died a horrible death.
"...You\'re Sincia?"
Damien looked at Sincia suspiciously.
In fact, Damien didn\'t remember Sincia\'s face clearly. The Sincia he had seen in his past life had severe burns on her face.
But the Sincia that Damien knew could easily conquer a fortress like this.
However, he didn\'t feel any such power from this elf woman.
"I guess you don\'t believe me. Well, my great-grandmother was such an amazing person, so I understand."
Sincia took Damien\'s doubt in a different direction.
"You don\'t have to believe me right now. When you go to Alfheim, your misunderstanding will be cleared up."
"That\'s right. Then guide me there right away."
Although he didn\'t show it, Damien was in a hurry.
He had a lot to ask Milene. He had to meet the Imperial Supreme Sword, he had to protect the elves from Pandemonium, and above all, he had to kill Dorugo.
"I would like to, but... there\'s actually one problem."
"Problem?"
Damien could only look puzzled.
If she was Milene\'s great-granddaughter, she should be able to bring Damien to Alfheim. What kind of problem could there be?
As Damien and Sincia traveled together, he learned the reason behind her problem.
"Kill them! There are elves inside!"
"Undead ogres, where are they? Ram the gate immediately!"
Alfheim\'s royal palace was under siege by an undead army.
The undead army raised by Pandemonium was enormous.
Tens of thousands of undead densely surrounded the royal castle.
Damien looked at Sincia. She avoided his gaze.
"So this is the problem you were talking about?"
"...Yes. To enter Alfheim, we must break through Pandemonium\'s army."
Only then did Damien understand why Sincia had tried to rescue the elves alone.
Alfheim was unable to send reinforcements because it was busy fending off Pandemonium\'s invasion.
"You\'re a descendant of Milene, yet why were you here instead of in the royal palace?"
"Well, it\'s a long story to explain here."
Damien glared at Sincia with dissatisfaction. It was ridiculous, but it wasn\'t the time to listen to her story.
"It\'s a bit troublesome, but... it\'s not a big problem. There a way to get into palace without going through that army."
"Avoiding it? What are you saying?"
Damien pointed to the main gate with his sword.
"I\'m an invited guest. So, I should enter the gate properly."
Sincia turned her gaze to the main gate.
To get to the gate from here, they would have to break through the undead army that filled the field.
"...Are you serious?"
Sincia asked with a stiff face. Instead of answering her, Damien ordered Bantadi.
"Bantadi. From now on, you protect the elves and follow me."
"Yes, I will protect them with my life!"
"Good, make sure you do. Your lives don\'t matter, but the lives of the elves are..."
"Oh... Thank you for your advice, My lord ...! I will definitely carry out this order..."
Damien ignored him again and charged towards the undead army.
***