Once he made a promise to Matia.
He did not want to acknowledge that promise…
Or the truth… so he denied it.
Even now, because the truth was cruel, it broke even the strongest man.
Level up requirent
[Frost Attribute Corrupted Souls – 99/100]
That was all Damon needed now.
He had slain countless corrupted creatures—so many that he'd nearly beco corrupted himself.
It wasn't like he had sought out frost-type monsters on purpose. This region just teed with them.
All kinds, actually; many monsters of different varieties lived and fought in this hellish land.
The worst of them all was the Ruin Knight.
Well, at least with those of the third rank.
Its minions were nothing but "ice soliders." Damon had never actually seen the thing's full form, but judging from its minions alone… he assud it was a knight.
The biggest problem?
The area around it—perpetually frozen. Just getting near the bastard chilled your bones.
Damon had fought creatures ranging from Rank 3 to Rank 6. He hadn't won against anything above Rank 3 yet, but he always made sure they rembered him.
Winning wasn't always the sa as killing. He had killed a Rank 5 once—technically.
He'd snatched the kill.
The battle was between a Rank 5 and a Rank 6. Damon didn't wait. Before the Rank 6 could land the killing blow, he struck.
The dying Rank 5 fell… and he got the final drop.
That's how he got the Staff of Carnage.
His reward?
Getting ripped in half by the furious Rank 6.
But… he was Deathless.
He couldn't die.
So he suffered. Days passed in agony. And then… he stood up again.
Today, he fought one of the strongest Rank 3s he had ever faced.
He activated Ravenous, letting it boost his power, then launched forward with a sonic boom—his body cloaked in shadow, crashing into the foggy, frozen form of the Ruin Knight.
As he got close, frost spread over his blackened form, but he was resistant.
He ignited himself in the flas of Ashborn—which didn't look like fire at all, but more like flickering shadows.
His body now burned hot and cold.
Their blades collided—one lting and burning, the other coated in mist and ice.
The ground exploded beneath them from the force.
Damon's sword shattered.
Destroyed.
He didn't waste ti grieving the loss. It was only another blade used as a conduit for Ashborn.
He left himself open deliberately.
The Ruin Knight's blade slashed—tore into his shoulder, ripping through flesh and armor, stopping at the bone.
"Hehe… my bones are as tough as steel…"
His voice ca out cold and beastly through the maw of his Ravenous form.
He raised his claws, aiming for the creature's chest.
It tried to dodge. Damon grabbed its hands.
"Hahaha… I got you…"
"As long as I don't let go—you won't dodge like you always do…"
The flickering blue eye within the mist narrowed.
Suddenly, the tentacles on its back shot out, slicing through Damon's shadow, cutting skin, blood spraying as his HP dropped hard.
He didn't care.
He struck back—Magic Gatling bursting from his free hand, blasting away at the Ruin Knight while keeping its arm pinned.
His skill—Vengeance—activated. As long as he struck the one who'd hurt him within three seconds, he recovered a portion of HP proportional to theirs.
But Damon wasn't done.
He slamd into the freezing, monstrous figure of the three-ter-tall knight.
The cold killing intent sank into his body like poisoned needles.
An elbow smashed into his back. Even in his Ravenous form, Damon coughed up frozen blood.
His armor dented—cracked beneath the weight of the shadows and frost.
His wounds refused to heal.
A freezing debuff had latched onto him.
And worse—Ravenous drained his health passively. His shadow was always hungry.
He didn't have the ti to use Sacrifice—he couldn't properly feed his shadow while mid-combat. That ant balancing offense with survival.
Still, he clung to the slippery foe.
Its form was hidden by mist, but Damon felt its twisted, corrupted shadow—inhuman and alive.
It tried to escape, wings spreading—but Damon expected that. He dug his claws into them.
The creature groaned—its first sound.
Its cold body was encased in thick armor. The breastplates were large. Its waist was narrow.
But none of that mattered in the heat of battle.
Damon bit into its side.
His shadow fangs froze and shattered from the armor's cold.
Frost poured into his mouth.
But new fangs ford, thicker, heavier.
He bit down again.
Blood—cold and corrupted—spilled into his mouth as the icy armor cracked.
Beneath it, the flesh was rotten. Twisted. Disgusting.
But Damon didn't hesitate.
They thrashed across the corrupted ground like wild beasts.
The Ruin Knight—pinned on its back—fought to break free. It widened its mist. The cold intensified, freezing Damon's body as it stabbed and tore into him.
The frozen earth cracked, shattered, then froze again.
Damon released bursts of Ashborn, black heat pulsing outward, trying to manage the balance of burning shadow energy and sacrificing more.
He reached into his inventory.
Pulled out Broken Bonds—the sword with Disintegration.
He stabbed it into the Ruin Knight's wings.
Its crystalline wings trembled—the pain causing its mist to fade slightly.
In that flicker of clarity, Damon noticed a familiar curve etched on its armor.
He raised the sword again, eyes wild, and plunged toward its heart.
It tried to parry.
He bashed its head with his knee, cracking its helm—then yanked the sword toward its chest.
His teeth clenched.
That design … it looked too much like the armor of Shattered Ice.
Too familiar.
Many Mist Knights had once served the original bearer of that design.
This was just another one.
Another one of those bastards—still not dead after thousands of years of corruption.
But…
"What if it was… Matia…"
That one thought made the ravenous shadow pause.
He tried to pull the blade back—
But the Ruin Knight shoved itself further into it—impaling itself deeper.
Its mist began to disperse.
Its shattered helm revealed a face.
Damon's eyes shook.
His heart plumted.
This was the truth.
Even corrupted, traces of her tarnished beauty remained.
The light in her eyes… dimd.
"Matia…" he whispered.
The corrupted fairy… regained a flicker of herself.
"…Yo… you found …"
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