Damien wasn't feeling that proud of defeating Mira since it was simply just an exchange of nethereal attacks and not a real fight. Her cultivation was suppressed; she wasn't allowed to use her nethereal manifestation nor deploy a domain. Even if he was able to do these things, he wasn't sure if he could best her in these things.
'I am close to a breakthrough. I should cultivate immediately,' Damien could feel his ethereal core being filled to the brim and immediately sat down to meditate under this thick nethereal energy.
—-
"Master…I didn't want to ask this before him, but…how are you able to trust him so easily? I am not trying to question your actions, but I want to know if there is something about him that makes you confident about him? He might be half-ghoul, but in my eyes, he still has human blood, and he lived among humans for all these years. I feel that he might betray our race for humans and even take advantage of Master. Forgive me if I am overstepping, but I am worried for you, Master," Mira said in a subtle nervous tone as she looked at her Master's back.
She was worried that she might anger her Master, but she felt that she had to make sure Master was wary of that half-human, even if he was related by blood.
Akira stood still for a second before slowly turning around to look at her, "I can understand you are worried for our people, and it is only natural for you to have such prejudices towards him, considering what happened to you."
Mira's expression became heavy as Akira indirectly mentioned her past.
"But Damien is different. I might have only spent time with him when he was just a baby, but when I saw him again…I already felt connected to him. And when you look into his eyes, you can see that he is no ordinary person. I am not talking about his talents…I am talking about what he must have gone through. Those eyes don't belong to an 18-year-old boy but a man. And when he looks at me, all I can see is sincerity, no deception."
Mira looked away as she couldn't exactly refute this since her Master had lived for so many centuries, and surely she knew how to read people better than her.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"And you are right. He didn't grow up in this world, and that means he doesn't hold any attachment towards any humans in this world. That is why you shouldn't always act antagonistic toward him. You will only be pushing him away from us if you make him feel uncomfortable. He is my only family, and the last thing I want is for him to run away because of us. I won't force you to be friendly with him but act reasonably," Akira said firmly.
"I will…Master. I am sorry if I offended you with my naive questions," Mira said with a bow.
"It's alright to question me whenever you feel like your beliefs are being pulled into question. Harsh times are ahead of us, and Damien could very well be the turning point of our clan," Akira said with a heavy look.
Akira's words made Mira remember something important as she asked, "Master, why didn't you tell him about the claim the three warlords are making on your chair?"
Akira pulled together her brows as she said, "Damien can't be distracted with the matters of the clan at this moment. He needs to get stronger first before he can directly get involved. Till then, I can't let them know who he really is. I will just have to keep those hungry dogs at bay as long as I can."
"Master…" Mira mumbled in a worried tone as she sighed. She also knew that this was the reason Daemon Lord Larmun was trying to take advantage of the situation.
*Pop!*
"Haaa…that was quick," Damien said to himself as his cultivation reached the fourth level of the Heaven Ethereal Realm.
"You still have a long way to go. When fighting against humans, you can even take on those as strong as Ruthren but against ghouls…Some of your strengths would be offset by theirs. After all, as your aunt said, nethereal energy makes ghouls stronger than their human counterparts of the same cultivation," Luna commented.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"My aunt did say that there is a pill to let me jump to the Profound realm easily once I breakthrough a few more levels. At least I wouldn't have to worry about that," Damien said with a smile.
"Master is so lucky to have someone powerful to look after you now. This time the journey to becoming stronger may not be filled with hardships as before," Kalypso said with a gladdened smile.
"I know…It still feels like a dream that I have a family. I thought I was meant to never have one, but now I understand why anybody would want to have one," Damien said with a subtle smile as he thought about Akira.
He then got up and said, "But first, I want to learn more about this place, especially the ghouls. Let's see if Mira is up to the task."
Damien opened the door and was surprised to see an old maid waiting for him with a set of clothes in her hands.
She gave him a warm smile and said, "Damien, the Mistress had ordered me to give you these clothes. I assume you have cleaned the training hall pretty well?"
Damien was surprised by her words, but then he put two and two together and said with a smile, "Of course. It is as clean as it could get. Thank you…?"
"You can call me Jayna. I am just an old servant of this clan, and I am pleased to see that Mistress brought a fine young man like you back home," Jayna said in a low, calm voice before walking away.
"Does she know me? How strange…" Damien mumbled inwardly as he saw her walk away.
