Eden returned his gaze to the room, looking specifically at Damien.
“In truth, we never planned to fight you from the beginning.”
Damien’s eyes widened in shock. Of all the things he expected the Demon King to say, this was the last.
“From the start, my plan was to stay passive. The three of us are unlike Lucius. He’s probably already told you, but we’ve given up hope of ever escaping the clutches of that Demon God.”
“Is it okay for you to speak like that?” Damien questioned.
“Worry not. The influence of those two cannot interfere in the Inheritance sites. It is the greatest benefit that comes with them, especially for us.
“As I was saying before, we’ve given up hope. We have no plans of leaving this realm, or even fighting at all for that matter. After all, even if we can leave, what’s the point? For the past ten thousand years, those two Divinities have been trapped in a stalemate that doesn’t seem like it’ll end any time soon.
“If we make any move to leave the seclusion we usually keep ourselves in, we’ll inevitably become tools used in the conflict of those Divinities. The safest option for us is to stay stagnant. In fact, even our coming to this temple was due to the orders of the Apostles.
“However, they all died within this inheritance. It was to be expected with the arrogance they have bred over the years that they became careless, but not only did they die a dog’s death, they also brought the entire remaining force of the Demon Army down to hell with them.
“Surely, the Demon God felt the loss of so much power at once. If we leave this temple, we are basically walking into our deaths.”
Damien listened quietly as he spoke. He instinctively activated his All-Seeing Eyes for a reason even he didn’t know. But after he did, he felt a strong sensation that the Demon King wasn’t lying to him.
“If that’s how it is, then what do you plan to do now? Killing us would probably get you on the Demon God’s good side, and staying in the temple is even more restricting than staying in Acier. No matter how I look at it, your thoughts don’t make sense.”
The Demon King smiled. “You are a smart one. Indeed my plan might not make sense to you, but that is only because you aren’t from this realm. Didn’t I say it before? The influence of those two Divinities doesn’t permeate the Inheritance Sites.”
Damien frowned and thought about those words. ‘The influence of the Divinities…influence…could it be?’ He suddenly thought of something terrifying.
“It seems you’ve realized it,” Eden affirmed. “The restriction keeping us stuck at the entry-level of 4th class isn’t present here. Didn’t you see the restrictive force that could even force us to follow its will? That force isn’t on the level of a 4th class existence.”
Damien nodded. He didn’t know the power difference between the different levels of 4th class, but that restrictive force did indeed feel inviolable. From his perspective, being able to force even three 4th class existences to follow its will without struggling at all wasn’t something any ordinary power could do. Even if it didn’t reach the ranks of Divinity, it must’ve been infinitely close.
“What, then? You’re planning to stay here and build power? Until you become a Divinity yourself? Do you think it’s so simple to achieve Godhood?” Damien still didn’t entirely believe it.
What kind of concept was Godhood? Would mere time and opportunity be enough to enter such a realm? He didn’t think so. There must be special circumstances involved.
‘Regardless of whether I can achieve Godhood or not, doesn’t staying in a place where I’m not a slave to the whims of others sound better than staying in a place where I am? If I can achieve a level of power that allows me to combat the Demon God and regain total freedom, that’s just an added benefit.
“Enduring for 10,000 years…only Lucius had the determination to do so. For the rest of us, it’s too much. After living the secluded lifestyle for so long, I’d rather continue it than return to being ambitious.”
“And the rest? Eliza can’t live without a dick inside of her every day, and it seems Granheim is the same but with battle. Do they support your decision?”
Eden looked at the other two Demon Kings, completely ignoring Damien’s insults. With the contents of the conversation, even Eliza ignored the jab.
“They will follow my decision. As for whether or not they truly wish to do so, even I do not know. Nevertheless, I didn’t force them. They chose on their own.”
Once again, Damien felt the sensation that the Demon King wasn’t lying to him. It was extremely awkward to keep antagonizing him while feeling it, but Damien couldn’t let his guard down.
‘From the start, Eden has given me the feeling of a schemer. He doesn’t seem like someone who would be content with sitting back and watching things passively. Instead, he seems like the type that would guide everything to fall into place behind the scenes.’
The dangerous aura Eden gave off didn’t come from his power. It felt like a snake was slowly coiling around its prey, luring it into a trap that had been set long ago.
‘I assume that this feeling comes from the All-Seeing Eyes. This lie detector function must be new. But still, there are plenty of ways to fool a lie detector. There’s no way I’ll believe it 100% when I haven’t even experimented with it properly.’
But at the moment, Damien didn’t have any reason to doubt Eden. Even if Eden had plans, they didn’t involve him. As the man himself had said, if he left the temple, the Demon God would either kill him outright or use him as a pawn.
With the prideful nature of the Demon Kings, there’s no way they’d accept that. So at least the part about them staying within the ancient temple should be true.
‘He’s a scheming person, but that isn’t always a bad thing. What matters is who he’s scheming against. As long as it isn’t me or my companions, I shouldn’t care. No, I should actually encourage it…’
For all he knew, Eden’s schemes had played a part in making it so easy to destroy the Demons’ forces. In just 9 months, the fully functioning army had been reduced to nothing.
And a large portion of it had been done by the Apostles’ hands. Damien’s interference might’ve just been the spark that led to Eden’s plans coming to fruition.
‘What a terrifying guy.’
It was the only way Damien could describe the man. Even if his conjectures were all proven wrong, just the fact that Eden could lead him to suspect such things was scary enough.
“Regardless of what you’re planning, it seems our interactions end here. Since you guys are planning to stay here, the three of us will leave. We’ve already achieved our goal and gotten some benefits as well, so there’s no point in staying.”
“And the treasures of the inheritance?” Eden questioned.
Damien grinned. “Keep them. Think of it as a peace offering from me. This time, we’ve managed to avoid becoming enemies. So let’s keep the trend next time as well.”
Eden smiled as well. “You’re quite the interesting kid. Very well. If fate permits it, let’s not meet again. However, if we do, let us do so as allies.”
Damien and Eden strongly shook hands and turned away from each other. Damien looked over to the end of the dining hall where a large gate had appeared at an unknown time.
It was strikingly similar to the gate they entered through when they first arrived at the temple. Even the runes on the doors were the same.
Although the view on the other side of the door was blocked by blinding light, Damien could see it clearly due to his All-Seeing Eyes being fully activated.
As he expected, it was a familiar forest that he had seen only a few days prior. Without another word, he walked through the exit and left the ancient temple, not even taking a second look at the Demon Kings.
Feng Qing’er and Qing Tan didn’t say anything the entire time. They merely followed Damien out of the Ancient Temple as he left.
The dining hall regained its silence as three Demon Kings quietly watched them leave.