Past Life Returner

It was more accurate to say that they “exploded.” Only a small number of individuals observed the emergence of adult Grafs from beneath the ground, as soil erupted in all directions and cascaded down. Despite only a portion of their bodies being visible, these adult Grafs had already begun to obscure the sky, casting vast shadows that darkened the surrounding area.

The size of each joint was so large that I could barely see the head of the Grafs as I bent my head back to look up. The size of one Graf alone was mind-blowing, but seeing over thirty of them popping up like that was overwhelming. I had never seen something like this before.

It appeared that those Grafs who had been avoiding me earlier decided to show up at once. In addition to the giant ones, there were also mid-sized and baby Grafs as well. Therefore, when they rose in three directions, it looked like a scene from Jurassic Park in a jungle.

An adult Graf stood upright in the center of the campsite. Meanwhile, the expedition team members fell from the sky and screamed.

"Aaaargh-!”

There were so many Grafs swarming in that the expedition team was completely overwhelmed and couldn't handle the situation. Even the emergency system they had in place proved to be useless. Basman, who was the strongest member of the team, was too preoccupied with keeping himself alive to help anyone else.

He was also holding the Supreme Priest in one arm as if she had told him the way to escape. Although he was shouting, telling everyone to retreat, it appeared that he had no intention of actually leading a retreat for Einhell and the other explorers. In the blink of an eye, the team fell apart, leaving everyone to fend for themselves and focus on their own survival.

The adult Grafs began to spew out green venom in such large quantities that it was akin to a fire hydrant bursting open rather than a mere shower. They were on the verge of turning around and dousing everything in the area with their poisonous spray. This was especially alarming considering how small the entire camp was compared to the vast surrounding area they had already occupied!

Right then, the carriage that I was in also melted.

[* Storage box]

[Dark Robe of Eos[1] has been added.]

I took out the robe that was useful for disguising me.

[You have used Odin’s Ethereal Animal.]

I spread my wings and raised my tails. The one who was aiming at me was an absolute idiot. Despite seeing its fellow being trampled under my feet as it attempted to swoop down and attack me, and despite realizing that its poison was ineffective against my blazing flame wings, the idiot didn’t hesitate to continue to charge toward me.

When I smacked the ground with my Alpha, Beta, and Gamma tails, the embers sparked up. The fire penetrated the poison and soared up. I could have pierced its head, but that would be unnecessary. As soon as I removed the wings that were blocking my line of sight, its wide open jaw was right in front of me.

[* Storage box]

[Zeus’s Thunder Spear has been removed.]

[You have used Odin’s Wrath.]

[Subject: Zeus’s Thunder Spear]

In just a split second, I seized the spear and watched as lightning surged up its length. After the bolt pierced through Graf's skull, I jolted its writhing jaw and then shot upwards once more.

Looking down at the ground from above, it brought to mind my memories of the past. It resembled a scaled-down version of the apocalypse, where the Graf Clan, under the leadership of the Adult Graf, had annihilated humans and cities with their poisonous attacks.

I thrust the spear into one spot in the air. Regardless of how big they were, lightning bolts poured into the Graf’s heads.

As the blue light flashed before me, I sensed multiple presences that dared to leap forward and challenge me.

[You have used Devi’s Sword.]

I threw a sickle that would cut the remaining Graf’s throats, then turned to the ones that challenged me.

The shoreline came into view as I traversed the barren wasteland. Across the sea lay the home of the Seven Demon Kings, known as the ‘Continents of Death.’ Not all of the Demon Corps had a stronghold there. Only the Barba, Graf, Baclan, and Maruka were established there, having occupied those territories since their birth.

In fact, the Greenwood Continent and other species were barely surviving under my watch. Monsters were just targets of subjugation here, but we couldn’t even dream of exploring the Continents of Death.

When I arrived at the coast and found the origin of the Graf Clan, I could feel at once that it had passed the sea far from the Continent of Death. It had definitely gone through the War of New Devil. Also, it was the one who had occupied the Continent of Death and made it into the Land of the Graf Clan.

If I were to compare it to any of the Declans, then I would say that it was more akin to the leader of the mainland Declans rather than just a priest who had crawled on fours before me.

Meanwhile, it didn’t shiver when it saw me. Instead, it unfolded its wings, which only the original species had, and flew at the same altitude as me. It acted as if it expected me to come by wriggling its jaw, which was often used to partake in cannibalism, and glaring its three eyes. I could understand that it was acting like a human.

Slap-!

I wrapped Alpha around its neck, wrapped around its upper body with Beta including its arms, and wrapped its legs with Gamma. Then, the fire that had been scattered intensified into flames and began to burn its body. Its agony was evident in the way it struggled.

However, it unexpectedly overcame the power of my tails. Just as it was on the verge of freeing itself from the bindings, I thrust my spear into it. However, its chitin proved be quite hard. A shower of fiery and electric debris erupted before I finally sensed the feeling of my spear piercing it. When the tip of the spear came out from the opposite side of its body, I twisted the spear downward and threw it on the ground as hard as I could.

BANG!

Despite the pain that had been inflicted by the lightning rods piercing its body, the Graf refused to release the spear. I leapt to the ground and stomped down with all my might on the end of the spear. It plunged deep into its body, burying its long shaft underground before erupting once more with lightning bolts.

I quickly retrieved the spear, rolling it back into my grasp. I then focused my lightning power with the intention of shattering its face.

Swoosh!

Its entire form was being pulled toward the sea by a powerful suction force, making it difficult for me to keep my balance.

The ocean was swirling. The object that had ensnared the Graf, which was being pulled down by the current, turned out to be one of the tentacles of a Maruka.

Doom Insectum?

The Graf Clan worshiped Doom Insectum, but the Maruka Clan also considered it as their god.

***

The sea calmed down, and I could discern Doom Insectum’s face as it emerged halfway above sea level. It wasn’t as huge as Doom Caso and the Adult Graf, but I could feel that there was something even greater that was inside it as it glared at me with two eyes.

The cold force exuded a sense of serenity, but also a hint of unease. Doom Insectum seemed restricted, unable to unleash its full potential from its current position, similar to Doom Caso!

"What Doom Kaos is most wary of is the internal conflicts between monarchs!”

It said the same thing as Doom Caso had.

I responded, “Then you would know that I’m the leader now.”

I didn’t like the way it peeked out only half of its face. When I swung my spear and cut down the water, the seawater that was covering its body was swept in that direction and returned to its original state.

I was able to see its whole body in a flash. It was roughly the same size as me and possessed massive rakes, yet there was nothing particularly remarkable about its appearance save for its wings, which was reminiscent of the original Graf species. Oh, and it also had the tentacles of the Maruka Clan wriggling on its chin.

Instead, the true difference lay in the string that bound it. It was made of strong energy and was tied to the area below its neck. Furthemore, the string appeared to extend to the endless deep sea.

The ancient Holy Knight Saint Jayden was probably very powerful as he was capable of sealing both Doom Insectum and Doom Caso, and then was able to confront Doom Entegasto.

I said, “I will tell you again. I’m the leader here. You have no right to tell me what to do.”

Anyway, I felt like Doom Insectum was aiming for the ruins that Doom Caso had pointed at. Otherwise, it couldn’t have shown up at this time. Maybe it had already acquired the relics even though it couldn’t use them.

"Remove the seal first if you want to say something. Doom Kaos must want that too.”

Although I was provoking it, it didn’t answer me. It was a taciturn monarch. Doom Insectum’s two eyes were positioned below the sea level with half its face submerged, and they scrutinized me in a discreet manner.

It replied to me a few minutes later, “Any warnings will likely be ignored by you.”

Following that, it disappeared inside the ocean, leaving with a deep grudge against me. It was definitely up to something, so I had to hurry.

***

[* Storage box]

[Dark Robe of Eos has been removed.]

When I came back to the campsite, spiders that were as big as a house were skulking about. They were preoccupied with hauling the dead bodies of Grafs underground. While a single spider could manage to drag a small corpse with ease, it took multiple spiders to transport the medium to larger-sized Grafs. They cut the bodies and wrapped each part with the thread they produced from their anuses.

The Graf corpses were vanishing beneath the surface, while on the other side, the surviving team members had congregated in the ‘Healing Zone,’ which appeared to be a creation of the Supreme Priest. The area was similar to the insignia I had which was called ‘The Land of Sacred Healing.’ Although a considerable difference between their power existed, the basic mechanism was the same.

I didn’t step into the area that the priest created because I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be beneficial to me even if I didn’t test it.

Ddddd-

Meanwhile, even though the battle was over, the ground was still shaking. This continued as the giant jaw spewed out soil like a fountain while my loyal spider sunk its fangs into the head of the Adult Graf and dragged it down to the ground.

At that time, I made eye contact with Basman and Einhell, who were looking around in bewilderment. They were in the middle of a few survivors.

Basman walked out of the Healing Zone. He pulled up Mana by leaping over the puddles filled with acidic poison and displaying warrior-like movement. The first thing he said as he saw me wasn't related to whether I was still alive or not.

"Did you see that, too? Saint Jayden…did save us

His voice trembled with emotion. I soon realized why the survivors had made a mistake, as the “Flaming Wings” often appeared in the legend about Saint Jayden, and the revered Holy Knight had similarly been portrayed with wings ablaze. Therefore, they were only startled by the vibrations that were caused by the spider for a brief moment. Before long, they regained the look of awe and worship in their eyes. In fact, Basman was one of them.

The reason why the expedition had to be stopped, even for the sake of the Supreme Priest’s wishes, was also for that reason. They said they couldn’t let the holy land, which was directly affected by the divine power of Saint Jayden, be defiled.

Are we stopping the expedition? Right before reaching the ruins?

Given the circumstances, I had no choice but to advance the plan. The expedition had to continue. I needed to quickly confirm what was inside the ruins and what was happening as long as Doom Insectum was nearby.

[* Storage box]

[Dark Robe of Eos has been added.]

I put the robe inside the storage box and ignited the fire that I had extinguished.

The wings spread wide enough to obstruct my peripheral vision. Basman wasn’t surprised by my hair or eye color. His eyes were glued onto the burning wings. Loud voices burst out from where the Supreme Priest and the survivors were gathered.

"Saint… Saint Jayden

I ignored Basman, who was on his knees, and headed towards the Supreme Priest. I had already found the entrance to the ruins. As soon as I struck the ground with my Alpha tail, cracks formed on the ground that had been imbued with healing power. Then, clusters of white light scattered into pieces like a glass window shattering.

Even then, the survivors couldn’t wake from their ecstasy. The only one who freaked out was the Supreme Priest.

I said as I looked down at her, “Priest, tell me now. Do I look like Jayden?”

She began shivering and couldn’t answer. I didn’t care and continued, “I gave you gold and saved your life. You owe me a lot. Bring this to an end.”

Then, she squeezed out her voice in a scream, “You…you are not…a saint-!”

I said to her, “I heard you guys calling me the Demon King who Brings the Night.”

The Supreme Priest stopped shaking. Her stiff eyes didn’t even blink.

"Doom

I smiled slightly. “Doom Man. Yes, I am also called by that name.”

[You have used common power 'Gate Formation.’]

I set the destination of the gate as the star fortress of the association’s headquarters. Tentacles writhed as they emerged from the torn black space.

1. Sister to the God of the Sun. ☜