Chapter 137: Last Resort

Linda’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the battlefield.

The exchange between Damian and Duke Haborym had been nothing short of monstrous. Every clash carried the weight of annihilation, every movement pushed the limits of what the body could endure. They had both poured everything into those few violent moments, but now the difference had become clear.

It was Damian whose body had given in first.

Her gaze trembled as she watched him struggle on the shattered ground. Duke Haborym was right when he said the moment Damain relied on those white flames, the backlash would come.

He was already at his limit!

Damian’s vision was gone. The world before him had blurred into indistinct shapes, his eyes barely able to make out outlines, let alone detail. His breathing had grown uneven and heavy, each inhale demanding more effort while giving him less in return. His chest rose sharply, then dropped as if weighed down by an invisible force.

Air no longer came easily. Each breath felt stolen. If not for the biting pain anchoring him to consciousness, he would have already blacked out.

Gritting his teeth, Damian forced his trembling body to respond. His eyes flared and a deep violet glow ignited within them.

[Dark Miracle Skill Used]

In an instant, his body was restored. Bones snapped back into place, torn flesh sealed, and blood ceased its flow as if time itself had reversed upon him.

Across from him, Duke Haborym’s body reacted.

Cracks tore across his flesh, wounds opening violently as if inflicted by an unseen force. Blood spilled, muscles split, and bone threatened to surface and yet the Duke did not even flinch.

The injuries lasted for less than a breath before they vanished completely. His flesh stitched itself back together, his body restoring itself as though nothing had happened.

Damian laid there, newly healed, but unchanged where it mattered most. The fatigue remained and exhaustion clung to him like chains.

From the rooftop in the distance, Linda’s voice trembled.

“He lost…” she whispered, her expression hollow.

Beside her, Corbin’s brows furrowed deeply, his gaze fixed on Damian’s figure.

“No,” he said quietly, his tone firm despite his weakened state. “He is losing… he hasn’t lost yet.”

Linda turned to him, startled. Corbin’s eyes narrowed slightly as he focused.

“I can still feel him,” he continued. “His presence is weak… but it’s still there.”

That was enough.

That thin, flickering presence was all Corbin needed to hold on to hope. Not hope for Damian, but for himself.

All he needed was time.

His thoughts shifted as he reached out silently.

’Gilbert…’

His call echoed through their connection, but no response came. Corbin’s expression did not change. He could still feel Gilbert’s presence lingering. It was faint, far weaker than before, but unmistakably there.

The archangel was badly injured, pushed to the brink of death, but not gone.

Corbin exhaled slowly, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite the blood staining them.There was still hope!

Seeing Damian struggle where he stood, Duke Haborym’s three gazes softened ever so slightly, not with mercy, but with something closer to acknowledgment.

“You fought well,” he said, his layered voice calm yet heavy, each word carrying the weight of truth. “For someone who only inherited this power two months ago… your growth is monstrous.”

He took a step forward and the ground trembled beneath his feet.

“It is a pity, that this is where your fate ends.”

Each step brought him closer, his towering frame casting a long shadow over Damian’s battered figure.

Damian let out a low, cold chuckle. It scraped out of his throat, dry and ragged, yet filled with something that made even the air feel uneasy.

His body trembled as he forced himself upright. His legs protested, his muscles screamed, but he stood anyway, swaying slightly as he lifted his head to meet the Duke’s gaze.

“You think…you’ve won?”

Damain asked and Duke Haborym paused. For a brief moment, silence settled between them.

His three heads tilted slightly, as if genuinely considering the question. His brows furrowed, not in anger, but in thought, as though he was weighing the statement rather than dismissing it outright.

Then, after that short pause, he answered.

“Yes.”

There was no hesitation or arrogance, just certainty. Damian’s lips curled into a sneer.

“Ignorant fool, that’s exactly why you’ll die here.” he spat, his voice gaining strength despite his condition.

For the first time, irritation flickered across Duke Haborym’s faces. A low growl rumbled from his chest before it erupted outward.

“GRAAAAAAH!!!”

The Duke roared furiously, the sound shaking the battlefield as his patience snapped. Without another word, he surged forward, his massive frame blurring as he closed the distance in an instant.

His arm swung.

A devastating fist tore through the air, aimed directly at Damian’s head with enough force to obliterate it entirely.

“I would love to see how you plan to survive this!” Duke Haborym snarled, his voice filled with savage anticipation,

The distance vanished in an instant as his fist appeared just an inch away. But then everything stopped. The world froze and sound vanished. Damain noticed the world’s color being drained.

[Infernal Transformation: Dark Knight]

In a single instant, the battlefield was stripped of all life, reduced to a silent expanse of black and white. The raging flames, the shattered earth, the distant figures, all of it fell into stillness, as if time itself had been severed.

Duke Haborym’s fist remained suspended before Damian’s face, unmoving, trapped within that frozen moment.

Damian’s eyes widened slightly as memories of his last encounter with the abyss flashes through his mind. To think he would be meeting with that unpleasant entity soon. Unfortunately he didn’t have a choice. This was his only means of survival.

Then it came….

“I knew that you would come to me again,”

And so came, the voice that sent shivers down Damian’s spine and made him nearly regret his decision.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep