abcnovels
Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Chapter 61
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 61: The Crusade(2)
***
Damien stepped out for a duel.
“It suddenly got serious,” said Margata, clenching her fist with a troubled expression.
“Oh, by the way, I’ll let you know in advance. There’s no need to apologize. I didn’t like the behavior of those guys either.”
Margata pointed a finger toward Dionysius, who was preparing for battle.
“They’re just a bunch of assholes. Always picking fights over trivial matters.”
“They’re definitely harboring a grudge because the Black Snow lost to our master.”
“I think so too. Damien, since it’s come to this, show them what you’ve got. Make sure nobody doubts you.”
Damien nodded.
Then, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Then why didn’t Lady Margata suspect me?”
Even Sanus of the Blinding Pain who held no grudge against the ‘ The Incinerator’ suspected Damien. In contrast, Margata had been trusting him from the beginning.
“Huh? Of course, if Agnes believes in you, then I do too.”
Margata said it nonchalantly.
“Even though Agnes is a bit naive, she’s good at reading people.”
***
Damien stepped onto the open field for the duel.
Many people had gathered around to watch the duel between the two.
“Are you ready? Prepare yourselves mentally. The consequences of insulting our sect are severe.”
Dionysius said while gripping his spear.
Damien responded with a silent smirk. There was a spark in Dionysius’s eyes.
“Now, are both of you ready?”
Sanus stood between the two, serving as a judge for the duel born out of the conflict between the two factions.
“Since we, the ‘Blinding Pain,’ are here, don’t worry and fight to your heart’s content. Even if your arms and legs are cut off, we’ll reattach them in no time.”
Sanus casually spoke with a smile on his face.
“Let’s begin.”
Sanus raised his hand high and then brought it down.
As soon as the starting declaration was made, Dionysius used his divine power to cover the spear.
Originally, divine power was bright and dazzling, often compared to light. However, Dionysius’s divine power was the opposite. Shades of gray and black mixed like remaining ashes.
‘Mixed Blizzard.’
A sect formed by peoples who awaken the power of coldness, known as the ‘Mixed Blizzard.’
As soon as Dionysius unleashed his divine power, the temperature in the vicinity plummeted. It wasn’t an illusion. Ashen frost started covering the ground.
Simultaneously, a chilling cold pressed against Damien’s entire body, as if he had been left naked in the middle of winter.
‘It seems he has learned how to wield his abilities properly.’
The primary tactic of the ‘Mixed Blizzard’ sect was to create ice shards to pressurize their enemies.
However, it’s a trick to fool enemies, the real weapon of ‘Mixed Blizzard’ is something else.
The chilling effect of the ‘Mixed Blizzard’ drained the warmth from the bodies of nearby enemies, causing their movements to become sluggish and slow.
In the case of Black Snow, a Great Saint, it was enough to freeze enemies who got too close and kill them with its coldness alone.
Dionysius, being a 3rd-grade paladin didn’t possess such abilities.
Nevertheless, he was threatening enough. It would have been challenging for knights of the same level to withstand the chill emitted by him.
For Damien, however, the chill posed little threat. All he had to do was circulate his mana and drive it away.
‘There’s an easier way.’
Damien opened his spatial ring and drew the Holy Sword.
As he pulled out the sword, a dazzling blade was revealed.
“A Holy Sword? How can someone who’s not a paladin possess a Holy Sword?”
“Who on earth gave him the Holy Sword?”
Paladins shouted with an astonished expression on their faces.
Margata and Agnes subtly glanced at each other, but Gamal wouldn’t let it slide.
“Margata! What is that? How can an outsider possess the Holy Sword!”
“Well, there’s no rule against it, is there? The Holy Sword isn’t some extraordinary treasure.”
“If the symbol of the Church isn’t an extraordinary treasure, then what is?”
The unsheathed holy sword emitted divine power. It drove away the coldness invading Damien’s body.
It was one of the abilities of divine power – to protect the owner from all sorts of harmful things. Even with the same divine power, there were no exceptions.
“You’re holding quite an extraordinary item!”
As the coldness was suppressed, Dionysius ground his teeth.
“After defeating you, I’ll take back the Holy Sword!”
Dionysius concentrated divine power on the blade of his spear, and an aura made of divine power covered the blade.
Holding a spear covered with the grey aura in his hand, he charged forward.
In response, Damien infused mana into the Holy Sword.
In an instant, the aura of divine power covered the Holy Sword. Damien couldn’t help but be impressed by its speed.
‘Indeed, it’s a good sword.’
Every weapon had a mana conductivity rate. The cheaper the material, the lower the mana conductivity rate. A lower mana conductivity rate meant more mana loss and slower manifestation of the aura.
In the case of this Holy Sword, there was almost no mana loss. Not only that, but the manifestation speed of the aura was incredibly fast.
It indicated that high-quality materials were used in its creation.
“Let me see your skills up close!”
Dionysius, who had come too close unleashed a series of thrusts with his spear.
Damien blocked every strike without batting an eye.
Dionysius’s expression hardened slightly as the spear was blocked in vain.
“You have some skills!”
Dionysius ignored Damien’s words and he continued with more strikes. Numerous thrusts were aimed at vital points, but Damien relentlessly countered.
To onlookers, it appeared that Dionysius, who was raining down attacks, had the upper hand. However, the reality was quite the opposite.
Paladins watching the duel had long realized this fact.
“I can’t believe he’s blocking all those attacks and not being pushed back at all…….”
“He’s not just blocking; he’s parrying. And to parry, you need…”
“He has to be able to perfectly predict every attack…”
Paladins were astonished at Damien’s skill.
“So, He had been toying with Sir Dionysius.”
“I was curious about how he killed three filthy dark mages… Now I understand.”
“Lady Margata had a reason to involve him in the crusade.”
“It’s a shame. Despite his skills, he doesn’t know ‘Mixed Blizzard’ well enough.”
While the paladins acknowledged Damien’s skill, which had exceeded their expectations, they were actually predicting Dionysius’s victory early on.
“The cold from ‘Mixed Blizzard’ accumulates in the body with every block.”
“At first, it’s bearable, but eventually, the cold explosively increases.”
The cold emitted by ‘Mixed Blizzard’ could be expelled using divine power from the body.
However, the cold that seeped into the weapon couldn’t be dispelled as easily.
“He’s probably reaching his limits now.”
Contrary to the paladins’ thoughts, Damien’s movements didn’t slow down at all. Instead, Dionysius’s breathing became rough, indicating that he was nearing his physical limits.
The Paladins were astonished at the sight of the two.
“The Paladin of ‘Mixed Blizzard’ reached his limit first?”
“This is unbelievable. Sir Damien is continuously taking damage due to the cold…”
The Paladins couldn’t understand what was happening before their eyes.
“You’re all blind.”
Margata exclaimed with a triumphant smile.
“Every time a weapon their weapon clashes, Damien releases aura to fend off coldness that accumulates in his sword.”
Even after hearing Margata’s explanation, the paladins couldn’t comprehend. Emitting an aura to block the cold made sense. But doing it repeatedly against an onslaught?
Such skill was impossible for a Low-Class, and even a Mid-Class would find it challenging.
“Lady Margata, even if that’s the case…”
“Impossible? But the person doing it is right in front of you. If you don’t believe me, ask Gamal.”
All eyes turned to Gamal. Gamal, staring intently at Damien Haksen, spoke.
“…Margata is right.”
The mouths of the paladins fell open in disbelief.
***
“Damn it!”
Dionysius cursed.
“Why isn’t it working!”
Ironically, Dionysius had no clue why the cold wasn’t affecting Damien at all.
“Hey.”
During the exchange, Damien spoke to Dionysius.
“Is this how it ends?”
At first, Dionysius didn’t understand why Damien was saying such things.
“If you have any cards left, play them all. That’s the only way others will believe.”
Only after hearing the following words did Dionysius realize the intent behind Damien’s words.
“A guy like you, no matter how many come at me, won’t be enough.”
Strength involuntarily surged into the hand holding the spear. Rage pounded through his mind.
“…If you want to see it, I’ll show you as much as you want!”
Dionysius struck the ground with his spear, simultaneously releasing all his divine power.
Divine power spread in all directions from the ground. Dionysius converted all of it into cold.
Ice spikes erupted from the entire arena, aiming to pierce through Damien Haksen.
Seasonal Technique – Thorny Field.
There was no place to escape. Even if he dodged, a second attack awaited.
Once all the ice spikes emerged, they shattered explosively, scattering cold and shards.
Just as Dionysius was certain of victory, Damien took a step forward.
***
The Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation.
In this mana cultivation technique, besides the method of accumulating mana, several other techniques were written. One of them was temporarily amplifying physical abilities.
The human body structure is inherently lazy. Most athletic abilities are dormant, and one must continuously move the body to gradually awaken these abilities.
However, within The Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation, there was a technique that could instantly draw out full athletic abilities and unleash the full power of athleticism in one fell swoop.
That’s not all. With mastery of the technique, it was also possible to enhance physical abilities. Just like Damien now.
Damien manipulated mana according to the principles of The Art of Sacrificial Raging Demon Manifestation. The mana instantly activated the muscles. The body temperature rose sharply, and a pleasant tingling sensation spread throughout the brain.
At that moment, the entire world seemed to move in slow motion.
The flapping wings of a bird flying in the sky leaves swaying in the wind—everything moved slowly.
Damien lifted one foot.
Ice spikes were emerging from the ground, but it was okay. Damien’s movement speed was faster than the rate at which the spikes appeared.
He took a step forward.
The muscles in his lower body exploded. His entire body accelerated. In the blink of an eye, he reached under Dionysius’s nose.
Damien swung the sword down. Dionysius couldn’t even react to Damien’s attack.
The straight-falling sword struck Dionysius’s shoulder.
Damien had already deactivated the aura. Dionysius’s shoulder was protected by chainmail, so the blow didn’t cut him in half.
Instead, the impact shattered his collarbone. His body crumpled downward. His knees bent and touched the ground.
“…?”
Dionysius blinked his eyes twice. He had no idea what had just happened to him.
“It’s my victory.”
Damien spoke briefly, then sheathed his holy sword and looked at Gamal.
“Do you believe in me now?”
No response came from Gamal.
“Do you believe in me?” Damien raised his voice once more.
Only then did Gamal exhale a deep sigh and answer.
“I believe.”
“Then, you won’t oppose my participation in the crusade?”
“One thing… just one thing I want to ask.”
Gamal asked Damien.
“We paladins participate in the crusade to exterminate dark mages and prove the greatness of the gods. Why are you participating in the crusade?”
The dungeon the Crusaders were to enter was a dark mage’s dungeon. It was a dangerous place to go and filled with potentially life-threatening dangers.
“You’re asking a stupid question.”
Damien replied as if it were obvious.
“Our family’s territory was cursed by the Yulan’s high-ranking member Akitora, who tried to kill our family. Killing just one won’t satisfy my vengeance.”
Damien said sharply.
“So, I’m going to avenge against the others.”
At that answer, Gamal’s pupils slightly widened.
“…Damien Haksen, I welcome your participation.”
Thus, Damien Haksen’s participation in the crusade was confirmed.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]