From the start, Damien never planned to take more than a few days to deal with this unknown continent. There was another reason why he aligned his timetable with the completion of Apeiron’s purge.
Earth.
It was a world that he had no connection to, yet was deeply connected to at the same time.
Actually, Damien wanted to abandon Earth after his mother moved to Apeiron. The world was simply too underdeveloped to be of use to him, and there was nothing motivating him to protect it.
Sure, it was his homeworld, but the good memories he had there were already by his side, so did he need to be sentimental about it?
Regardless of his feelings, however, Earth was a world bound to him and the first world he became the Star Master of. He couldn’t just abandon it.
Now that he could communicate with that child, it was no longer a possibility.
‘Luckily, Earth isn’t the same as Apeiron and the Cloud Plane. It wasn’t involved in the previous war at all. Although there’ll still be traitors, I doubt the number and strength of them will be anything to care about.’
There wasn’t a single person who would set their sights on a world like Earth, so he could cleanse it cleanly and return to Apeiron. These were Damien’s thoughts as he entered the Warp Gate to Earth.
But when he arrived on the planet, he was almost forced to doubt his own thoughts.
‘I knew it improved drastically, but this is too much to even be called drastic. Is this…even Earth anymore?’
His location was the sky above Los Angeles, California, his hometown. But, this city was no longer known as Los Angeles.
Heaven’s Sanctuary, the home of the 12 Gods.
The massive holographic billboard outside the city made it seem like a den of scammers, but considering how the people looked at the words in reverence, Damien didn’t think it was so simple.
’12 Gods? There are actually humans in this world who dare proclaim themselves Gods? Are they tired of life?’
Damien wasn’t a stickler for rules, but seeing something as conceited as this made him furious.
In truth, Damien looked down on Earth. Considering how he’d already met more than one Demigod and experienced Divinity firsthand, it was only natural.
But it wasn’t like his view was wrong.
Even Apeiron could crush Earth’s forces like nothing. Damien didn’t know the exact strength of Earth now, but he had a rough estimate. Even if they had insane growth rates, they were still incredibly weak.
But they dared call themselves gods? They dared to become content with the little power they had?
‘Tch. I have some flies to discipline. Since I’m technically responsible for this world, I’ll allow you to witness what true power looks like.’
His figure vanished from the sky, appearing in the middle of a massive uninhabited desert somewhere in the middle of what used to be the United States.
And then, his aura flared wildly.
***
Due to his mind being completely clouded by anger, Damien ended up disregarding the other changes to Earthen society during his absence, but the changes were truly drastic.
The skyscrapers that created the city skyline were no longer plain and dull. They were made out of precious materials and built in shapes that ordinary construction couldn’t achieve.
When it came to transportation technology, the advent of flying cars already became too much of a trend, clogging up the airways. Most passenger vehicles had returned to the land, not that they regressed in any way.
The scene was almost straight out of a science fiction movie with all the wondrous technological advancements made through Mana Engineering and Science. The entire heroes and villains theme that earthlings embraced a few years back seemed to have calmed down as well.
Instead, Earth entered an era of exploration. Star Warriors were those who led this era, fighting off mysterious beasts and exploring deep space for the prosperity of mankind.
And the 12 greatest Star Warriors who had the power to level cities with a single attack, they were the 12 Gods worshipped by all.
In Los Angeles, at the Headquarters of the Star Association, those very same 12 Gods were currently gathered for an emergency meeting.
“What?! The mana signature is above SSS-Rank?! Are you sure the reader didn’t malfunction?!” A lithe woman with fiery red hair exclaimed.
“Y-yes, Madame. We are sure the reading is entirely accurate. In the middle of the Santara Desert, there is a presence above SSS-Rank.” An attendant replied.
“What is the movement of the presence? Has it done anything suspicious?” An old man with a sword on his hip questioned.
“No, it is stationary. But its aura has been flared nonstop ever since its discovery. We aren’t certain whether it will make a move soon or not.” A bespectacled man replied.
“Hmm, it is best if we take care of this danger before it becomes a problem. Although the 12 of us are SSS-Rank, if we work together we should be able to stop it.” The old man said.
“Ha? Are you joking, old fart? Do you really want me to risk my life against something like that? No way!” A teen in a hoodie scoffed.
“It is our duty as the hope of humanity to help! Regardless of whether we live or die, we must kill that being!” An armor-clad warrior shouted.
“Hmph. What hope? You’re just a bunch of pathetic people drunk on power. If it wasn’t for you lot forcing me, I would have never joined this bullshit organization.” A brunette woman harrumphed.
The 12 Gods might’ve been portrayed as transcendental beings to the masses, but reality was far from that expectation.
They were simply humans with power. Even their beliefs differed vastly. Getting the 12 of them to work together wasn’t an easy task at all.
But, the 12 Gods weren’t newly crowned to their positions. By this point, the governments of the world already knew how to deal with them.
“A reward of 50 billion dollars has been placed on the ones who can subjugate that monster, but nobody has moved. The world is expecting the great Gods to save them once again.” The attendant voiced.
And immediately, the atmosphere of the room switched.
Some of them truly fought for justice, some for other reasons, but a great deal of them were moved by personal power and status.
If there was a majority vote, the rest could only comply. And now that money was added to the equation, 8 of the 12 Gods readily agreed.
“Haa, whatever. You bastards can go die for all I care. I’ll just watch from the back.” The teen rolled his eyes and spat.
The group soon moved out, donning the special Magic Armor Suits that were made for them before they did so.
And soon enough, they arrived at the Santara Desert.
“Sheesh…even from all the way out here, I can feel that thing’s aura. What is with this bloodlust?” A blonde-haired woman commented.
“Stop talking needlessly and prepare for battle. It’s coming.” The old swordmaster responded.
And just as he predicted, the source of the aura rapidly approached their location.
A voice suddenly appeared from behind them. It wasn’t the voice of anyone they knew. And because not a single one of them could sense the presence of that voice’s owner, cold terror slowly gripped at their hearts.
“Yo, so these are the rumored 12 Gods, huh. Even if I was expecting you to be a disappointment, this is far worse than I imagined.”