Chapter 139: Duke Haborym, Dead
The world regained color and time resumed.
But Damian was gone.
In his place hovered a six-winged black knight clad in ghastly armor that seemed carved from condensed darkness. Six vast wings spread behind him, each feather jagged and unnatural, leaking thin strands of black mist that dissolved into the air. The crimson scarf fluttered around its neck, the only color on its body, swaying calmly despite the violent winds still raging across the battlefield. The entity hovered effortlessly, its posture relaxed, its gaze lowered toward Duke Haborym as though looking down at something insignificant.
The pressure changed instantly and the battlefield fell silent.
Duke Haborym felt it before he saw it. His three heads lifted slowly, and the moment his eyes landed on the six-winged knight, his entire body stiffened. The emerald flames around him flickered violently as his instincts screamed danger far greater than anything he had faced.
The abyss spoke.
"An Asura slaving away for a prince of hell."
Its voice was calm, yet it crushed the air with each syllable.
"Has your worth fallen so low? Have the Asura become errand boys?"
Duke Haborym’s expression twisted with offense. Rage flashed across all three faces, his muscles tightening as his pride was struck directly. But he did not raise his head further. He did not retort. He did not even meet the abyss’ gaze for more than a brief moment before lowering it again.
He did not dare.
The abyss tilted its head slightly, studying him.
"I value the Asura clan," it continued, its tone unchanged. "But it is unfortunate the boy chose you for death."
Its burning red eyes narrowed and Duke Haborym’s pupils shrank.
Without hesitation, he sprang backward, his six arms spreading as emerald flames erupted violently around him. He created distance in a single leap, then another, retreating further while his eyes glowed with threatening green light. Hellfire surged around his body, swelling instinctively as his survival instincts took over.
The abyss did not move.
It hovered in place, completely unfazed by the display of defiance. In fact, the air around it grew colder. A faint irritation seeped from its presence, subtle yet suffocating.
"You intend to refuse death from me?" it asked slowly
Duke Haborym’s heart sank at those words and he gritted his teeth, his muscles trembling as pride and instinct collided within him. How dare it use this tone on it despite knowing it’s asura heritage?
They are the pioneers of the underworld, not disposable tools. If the abyss plans to kill him for that mortal, then he doesn’t have any reason to be polite anymore.
He raised his head slightly.
"Do you think I would not dare fight you?" Duke Haborym said, his layered voice strained but firm.
The abyss didn’t respond because it didn’t matter. Whether Duke Haborym accepted his fate or not did not matter; his death had already been decided.
"It’s your fate. You have no choice." The Abyss’s voice was empty and definite.
Those words ignited the Duke’s fury and all three heads roared at once as emerald flames burst violently from his body.
"I would like to see how strong the abyss could truly be inside a human vessel!!!" Duke Haborym bellowed viciously.
Duke Haborym stomped the ground hard and an immense wave of hellfire erupted beneath his feet, rising high into the air like a tidal wall of emerald destruction that threatened to collapse upon the six-winged knight at any moment. The flames surged wildly, filling the sky and swallowing everything in their path.
The abyss did not move. It casually stretched out its hand and black flames erupted from its palm as a massive greatsword formed within its grasp. The blade appeared heavy, ancient, and utterly silent, its edge swallowing light rather than reflecting it.
Then the abyss swung.
Boom!
The motion carried no effort, yet a terrifying shockwave exploded outward. The rising hellfire was blown apart instantly as though struck by an invisible wall. The entire sea of emerald flames scattered, revealing Duke Haborym hidden within, his six arms braced as he struggled against the pressure from that single casual swing.
Before he could react, the abyss stood before him with the blade already raised.
Duke Haborym’s eyes widened and emerald flames erupted from his body as he shot backward with incredible speed. The distance widened instantly, but the moment he stopped, the abyss was already in front of him again with the sword raised.
"What?!" The Duke gasped.
He shot upward into the air and the same thing happened. He dropped to the ground and dashed sideways, yet the black knight remained directly before him as if it had never moved. He fled across the battlefield, reached the only standing building, and landed on the roof, but no matter where he went the abyss remained in front of him with the blade lifted in silent judgment.
Only then did Duke Haborym realize he was not being chased. The distance between them was simply collapsing no matter how far he moved.
The abyss reached forward and grabbed his shoulder.
Duke Haborym felt as though a mountain had been placed upon him, but this was no ordinary weight. The pressure drained strength directly from his body. His limbs went limp, his muscles slackened, and even his knees buckled beneath him. The abyss forced him down with a single hand while raising the blade with the other.
"Kneel."
Duke Haborym dropped to one knee.
Only then did realization strike him. His pupils shrank as he gasped the name...
"Bathin."
The shortening of distance without movement belonged to Bathin. The abyss had never chased him. It simply erased the space between them repeatedly until escape became meaningless.
Duke Haborym opened his mouth to speak but no word came out.
"Didn’t I tell you resistance is pointless?" The Abyss snarled.
The greatsword hacked into his left shoulder and carved deep through flesh and bone, burying itself toward his chest. Black blood sprayed outward as his mouth opened wider, yet no cry came out. Instead his entire body ignited in black flames despite still being alive.
The abyss held him firmly and leaned in until there face stood only an inch away from each other’s.
"Rejoice, you have the opportunity to become part of something bigger. You will live forever as a subordinate to the Demon Lord who will bring back the golden age of the demon race!"
As those words were spoken, the abyss’s shadow expanded across the ground and a figure emerged within it. A demon clad in knight armor appeared seated on a pale horse, wielding a lance while a scorpion tail curled behind him. The eyes of both rider and horse resembled cracked black crystal, lifeless and hollow as they stared silently at the burning Duke.
He stared at Bathin briefly before lowering his gaze on himself. The strike and flames caused no pain. He only felt himself dissolving slowly. To think this would be his end.
If he had known Damian possessed this abyssal inheritance, he would have sided with him from the beginning. With such power, everything changed. This was a means of altering fate itself.
He looked up at the black knight with complicated emotion, but it was already too late. Nothing could be undone.
"From the depths of the abyss, I will be watching to see how far you go." Duke Haborym let out a small smile free of regret.
Slowly he closed his eyes as the black flames consumed him completely. His body crumbled into ash and the drifting remnants flowed directly into the abyss’s shadow.
The world began to shake violently as the one maintaining the barrier entered his final moments. On the rooftop, Linda held Corbin tightly while clutching a chaplet.
The being before them was not Damain, it defied explanation. Her instincts screamed not to run but to die, urging her to end her own life before that monster chose to do it.
Even Corbin frowned deeply. The presence on the roof felt unnatural, something that should not exist. To him the demonic aura was diabolic, yet it was nothing compared to the hollow emptiness emanating from the six-winged knight.
He wanted to speak but he dared not speak up to a person who could kill Duke Haborym. At least not on his condition.
After observing them briefly, the abyss shifted its gaze as the first crack appeared across the blood barrier. Sunlight pierced through the red sky and spilled across the battlefield.
It was finally over.