“War?”
What could possibly cause the Apostles to move for war? The humane within the realm couldn’t cultivate, so they didn’t have an opponent that wasn’t the Demon Kings themselves.
‘No, the outsiders are here as well.’
But it still didn’t entirely make sense to him.
The Apostles were special existences. They could control him due to the corruption that had been forced upon him by their bastard Lord, but their power couldn’t match a true 4th class existence in a real fight.
But against a 3rd class? They were nigh invincible. They had reached a level where normal 3rd class existences had not a single chance against them.
So why were they moving? What caused them to do so? Demon King Lucius’s mind suddenly moved towards the scene he had witnessed a few days prior.
A storm that had eclipsed the entire Demon army it faced.
‘That Stormbringer…if it’s them, then it makes more sense for an Apostle to move.’
But even then, there should only be a single Apostle acting. For three to move was begging overkill even for someone as powerful as that Stormbringer.
‘Then, are there more than have similar power to him?’
If it was like that, then things started to make more sense. Still, three Apostles, this seemed like a chance unlike any he had gotten in many thousands of years.
‘My daughter…’
Worry coated his face once more as he thought of her. Although he still wasn’t able to re-establish the mark he had placed on her, he knew she was alive. His intuition was telling him so.
And the intuition of a 4th class existence wasn’t something that could be thrown away as a mere feeling or speculation.
‘If she’s alive, then she has to be in the hands of that Stormbringer.’
It was the only logical conclusion. The Stormbringer was the most powerful of the outsiders that had been present at the battle his daughter had taken part in, so her being in his possession wasn’t a far-reaching thought.
If it was him in that situation, he would’ve taken the most powerful of the enemy forces and tortured them for information. Was there any other course of action more fitting?
The thought of his daughter being tortured brought him endless pain, but he knew he couldn’t direct his anger at the Stormbringer. As he was in the same situation at one point in time, he couldn’t fault the other party’s actions.
If it was him, he’d have long since killed the enemy after they lost their use.
And the Stormbringer seemed to be someone who could become a valuable ally to him. Since his daughter was alive, he could at least be grateful for this much and put down his personal grudge for the sake of long-term benefits.
He could only hope that she wasn’t too distraught or damaged.
‘Forgive me, my daughter. I hope you can understand that I’m doing this for the sake of our future.’
Demon King Lucius organized his thoughts before turning his attention back to Trishia.
“Gather our personal forces and send a group of Generals to aid the Apostles’ expedition. Pass my orders down. A storm can become a valuable ally if one can navigate it properly.”
Trishia bowed to the Demon King once again and hurriedly left his office.
Not even ten minutes, she returned to report the completion of her task.
Demon King Lucius watched the army that was leaving the demon city from the window in his study. His expression remained unreadable even then.
***
There was only half an hour until the enhanced Demon army was projected to reach their location, but Damien had suddenly vanished from sight.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he had already told Feng Qing’er and Qing Tan that he was leaving to prepare something, panic would have spread through their camp.
After all, he was expected to deal with one of the three most powerful arriving beings along with the two women, so his presence was incredibly important to their coming battle.
As the Demon Army continued to get closer to them, Damien began to feel a sense of foreboding that wasn’t present before. He felt that something out of his control would happen, and this feeling quickly quelled the reckless battle lust that was threatening to consume him.
Due to this foreboding feeling, Damien decided to grab a final card that he wasn’t planning to take yet. He wanted to complete the process at a later date.
But now, he was back in the Sanctuary, looking at the haggard figure of a woman on the ground.
She hadn’t been fed anything for the past day that she had been confined here, so it was only natural for her condition to deteriorate. And although Damien knew it was cruel, this was the best treatment he could offer to an enemy.
At least he hadn’t killed her.
Elitra’s eyes were still dull, as if she had already ended her life, but Damien could still feel the life force within her body.
‘Her battle with the Nihility Flame probably worsened.’
It was only natural considering her condition. The flame was probably much closer to winning and consuming her than it ever had been before.
But that wouldn’t last much longer. The final card Damien wanted was this flame itself.
Ranked 23rd on the Heavenly Flame Index. In his hands, he knew this flame could become an extremely powerful tool.
He wanted to steal it from the Demon Kings, since their Nihility Flames were bound to be more powerful, but for now, he’d settle for hers. He could always consume more in the future.
Without talking to Elitra at all or even acknowledging her, Damien put his hand on her shoulder and inserted his low-level Void Essence into her body.
Quickly circulating it, he found the Nihility Flames raging throughout as if it was a wolf and untameable bull.
‘It seems she wasn’t lying about burning alive every day.’
Feeling some pity for her, he used his Void Essence to wrap around the rampaging flames and congeal them at a single point.
Although they tried to resist, what was the point? Even the most powerful of manas were nothing in front of the Void.
The raging flame quickly became docile and formed a ball at Elitra’s chest before shooting up her throat and out of her mouth.
“Kuk…kuk!”
A fit of coughs left her mouth as the clump of black flames exited. Soon after, they obediently entered Damien’s body.
The Nihility Flame spread through his body the same way it did with Elitra, the only difference being its attitude. The flame fused with his muscles and bones, empowering them. It mingled with his black lighting as if they were close friends
.
Even under the fear of Void Essence, it was acting cozier than he expected. But he didn’t have time to question it.
Sensing the disappearance of the constant pain that had been racking her body for as long as she could remember, some light entered Elitra’s eyes again.
Her weary gaze landed on Damien, who was curiously playing with the obedient Nihility Flame between his fingers.
The light in Elitra’s eyes brightened once more at the sight. Something in her mind seemed to click.
“L-Lord.”
Her voice was hoarse, but she still managed to force it out.
“What?” Damien looked at her in shock.
“Lord.”
She said it with much more confidence the second time.
“Why the hell am I your Lord?”
“You who has tamed the Nihility Flame. The one who saved me from endless torment. Only you are worthy of being my Lord.”
As she spoke, her eyes seemed to shine. The restriction that stopped her from speaking certain words had been entirely lifted in the mysterious space she was now in.
It only made her want to worship Damien as her Lord even more. The fact that he was only a 3rd class like her, yet was able to accomplish something that even her father couldn’t do. It made her body feel a tingling sensation she had never felt before.
“You’re aware that I tortured you like a day ago right? Isn’t your attitude change too sudden?”
Damien was baffled. He couldn’t understand her at all. He even thought she was trying to make a ploy for revenge. But her eyes were so clear and her emotions so thick that he couldn’t immediately say she was fooling him.
Elitra didn’t seem to register his words at all, though. She lowered her body until she was in a kowtow position and placed her head on the ground.
“If my Lord wishes to punish me, this lowly servant doesn’t dare to resist. Please accept me, Lord.”
‘What the hell?’
Damien wanted to understand what was happening, but he once again realized how limited his time was.
“Sigh, I’ll deal with you later. Obediently stay here and wait.”
“Yes, My Lord!”
Bothered by her enthusiasm, Damien ended up leaving a pile of food and water in the confinement area so her condition would slightly improve.
Her mana was still sealed and she no longer had legs, so he didn’t have any reason to deem her a threat anyway.
“Do you truly expect us to wait for another ant to show up? Did you think you would be granted privileges or something?”
When Damien reappeared in the Trial World, he was greeted by the scene of the Demon army already in confrontation with the assembled geniuses.
The Commander at the forefront of the force stood in the air with a high and mighty look on her face, mocking the geniuses.
“Ha? Special treatment? As if you deserve to say something like that. Ugly bitch, come let this big sister teach you a lesson!”
And Feng Qing’er was standing in front of her with a similarly proud look on her face. The atmosphere was already heated on the verge of exploding.
Damien smiled wryly at the scene.
‘Well, at least I’m not too late, I guess.’