Chapter 53: Damian Blacksun [1]

The three names hung in the quiet air of the castle library like heavy, ancient iron weights.

Austin Paureen.

Dwane Darney.

Damian Blacksun.

In Craig’s gruesome past life—during those forty long years, he lived a life of relentless bloodshed, terror, and despair.

Those three names belonged to absolute titan figures among the top fifteen survivors of the catastrophic Second Apocalypse.

Damian Blacksun was the infamous, legendary Black Knight.

In the dark timeline of the original apocalypse, Damian had fled the devastated Northern Continent after his ancestral home fell, journeying west to align himself with Craig’s faction.

Awakening with an extraordinarily rare, battle-oriented Unique-Grade Talent of the Space Path, Damian’s absurd growth trajectory had propelled him all the way to the exalted class of a Sword Dominator before Craig’s eventual death.

He had been Craig’s unquestioned right-hand man, a living shield and an unstoppable sword.

This time around, Craig was determined to find him early—to recruit and forge that bond long before the second coming of the void.

The other two were no less vital.

Austin Paureen had served as Craig’s brilliant Chief Strategist.

He was a quiet, intensely focused young man whose strategic maneuvers and resource management had single-handedly kept Craig’s defensive lines alive against impossible apocalyptic hordes.

While Craig genuinely valued Austin’s unwavering, absolute loyalty to their cause, he was even more captivated by what resided within the young man’s skull.

A mind that only appeared once in ten thousand years.

A natural tactical genius whose intellect could outmaneuver entire armies.

And lastly, Dwane Darney—Craig’s fiercely loyal, trusted comrade during the bloody, six-year Darkstar Succession War.

Dwane had been a crafty, exceptionally talented Spirit Mage whose versatile magics had turned the tide of dozens of close-quarter skirmishes.

Tragically, Dwane had been targeted and assassinated by a rival faction’s shadow guild midway through the Succession War, a loss that had deeply scarred Craig’s early campaign.

Each of those three men held a unique, indispensable place in Craig’s overarching grand design.

That was precisely why he had tasked Ser Hughway with locating them as his absolute highest intelligence priority.

Craig reasoned that since the current timeline was positioned twenty-five long years prior to the outbreak of the Second Apocalypse, all three of them should still be relatively young, unawakened, or living mundane, mediocre lives.

They would be hidden away in obscure villages or acting as minor commoner mercenaries, making them easy to recruit, nurture, and bind to his cause from the ground up.

Craig maintained a calm, impassive posture as he observed Ser Hughway’s face, searching for the slightest tremor of confusion or hesitation.

Ser Hughway kept his cool with veteran composure.

He lowered his head into a deep, formal bow, his armored gauntlet resting over his heart.

"I must offer my deepest apologies to the Lord Viscount for not presenting this intelligence sooner," Ser Hughway began, his voice low and measured.

"My scouts have successfully uncovered definitive traces regarding both Austin Paureen and Dwane Darney."

Craig’s dark golden eyes flickered. "Speak."

"Regarding Dwane Darney, his whereabouts remain somewhere in the far Eastern Territories, making direct contact difficult at this hour," Hughway detailed precisely.

"However, as for Austin Paureen... the most recent intelligence places him directly within the boundaries of the Vraxen Duchy, governed by the house of the Veraxes Ducal Family."

Craig let out a soft, audible sigh of relief.

The Vraxen Duchy was situated in the Western region—a domain relatively close to their current sphere of trade and diplomatic routing.

"If Austin is currently residing within the West," Craig murmured, a faint smirk returning to his lips, "then tracking his precise movements and securing his presence will be far easier than anticipated."

He paused, his expression turning sharp and expectant as his eyes narrowed slightly. "And what of the third name? What about Damian Blacksun?"

Ser Hughway lifted his head, a subtle, knowing smile touching his lips. "As for the young man named Damian Blacksun... he actually arrived in the Myrain Viscounty not too long ago."

"What?!"

Craig gasped, his usual calm demeanor shattering for a fraction of a second.

His eyes widened in absolute astonishment.

"Why in the world didn’t you inform me of his presence the moment I stepped foot back in the castle? When exactly did he enter my territory?!"

Ser Hughway raised a hand smoothly, urging his young liege to relax. "Calm yourself, my Lord. I took the liberty of assigning five of our elite covert soldiers to quietly shadow him from the moment he passed through our western border checkpoints.

They are currently keeping a round-the-clock watch over his movements, ensuring he cannot slip away from our lands undetected. I simply chose not to disturb the Lord Viscount while you were actively conducting the hunt within the Jeju Forest."

Ser Hughway bowed slightly. "If it pleases my liege, shall I send a squad of knights to apprehend the young man and bring him directly before you in chain or custody?"

"No," Craig shook his head firmly, his mind racing as he composed himself. "That would ruin everything. If he is in the territory without an official invitation, he is most likely staying near the commercial quarters in the Viscounty’s central capital... probably here to conduct some minor trade or procure specialized cultivation materials."

Craig ran a hand through his damp hair, his dark golden eyes gleaming with intense determination.

"I will go and meet him personally."

Ser Hughway nodded in understanding, though a subtle look of caution settled into his eyes.

"I obey your command, my Lord. However, I must offer a crucial reminder to the Lord Viscount..."

"A reminder?" Craig raised an eyebrow.

"The individual named Damian Blacksun is not a mundane civilian," Ser Hughway stated gravely.

"He is already a fully awakened Ranker."

Craig’s brow furrowed tightly. "A Ranker? Already? So quick?"

In his memories of the future, Damian had been a late bloomer who didn’t achieve prominent renown until much later.

But was extremely skilled when it comes to wielding the sword.

To hear that he was already a certified Ranker twenty-five years before the apocalypse threw a massive wrench into Craig’s assumptions about his current power level.

"What is his current class then?" Craig asked, his voice dropping into a tense hush.

Ser Hughway looked Craig directly in the eyes.

"Based on the administrative reports and mana evaluation the immigration officers picked up from him at the gates... I believe he has already attained the class of a Sword Runner."