Because of the situation, Milfa also helped to transport the medicine to the affected area. Milfa didn't really showcase her power this time, considering she wanted to remain hidden from the spotlight.
However, her squad was enough to liberate all the demons that surrounded the city while delivering the medicine. So, the mission was completed without any problem.
After knowing Milfa was among them, Laufey didn't plan to show himself anymore. The others might not know, but he obviously knew the vice captain of his former squad and the strength she hid.
Damian and Milfa should have the power to stop him. And with the addition of her squad, it wouldn't be that hard to defeat the others.
So, Laufey chose to retreat.
The other reinforcement also came, liberating the Demon Barrier Squad from their current predicament.
She was slightly worried about Noel, so she tried to visit him once again before they returned to the base. But surprisingly, Noel had moved on and started working for tomorrow.
At the very least, it seemed that the setback would only motivate him to train harder instead of crushing his determination. Although she knew Noel planned to become a noble, it didn't change the fact that Noel would be useful as long as he kept working for the army. So, she wanted to make sure that Noel kept striving forward while in the army.
After a few days, the group had finally recovered and they were ready to return to the base. Of course, they had to go to the Demon Barrier Squad's headquarters first to meet Faust.
It seemed that Faust only wanted to express his thanks for their help. He also heard about the incident, so he didn't plan to do anything about it as gratitude.
As soon as they finished settling everything, the group returned to the headquarters, which took them six days.
During their travels, Noel seemed to be daydreaming a lot of times as though he was thinking about a lot of things. In fact, ever since that defeat, Noel became more quiet.
Of course, Noel wasn't trying to distance himself from them. He just wanted to think about a lot of things, including the lesson Damian gave him.
The group had to face Clara first, obviously with the record of the incident. Clara didn't say anything other than how glad she was knowing all of them were fine.
She even dismissed them to let them recover and give them time to get even stronger.
Though, Noel chose to visit her afterward to apologize.
As one would expect from a leader of the Demon Relief Squad, instead of blaming Noel, Clara actually pointed at herself and declared that she was the one at fault.
It was her fault that she let Noel proceed with everything. Just like the others, she planned to get better at discerning the situation so that she would be able to see through the danger and prevent the others from dying.
The result might be bad, but the Demon Relief Squad would surely get stronger.
Noel was truly glad that he was a part of the Demon Relief Squad.
The others chose to rest their body for one day so that they could train tomorrow. But Noel didn't have time to rest.
He had taken enough rest for his muscle to recover, so after dealing with everything, he came to a forest near the city. This was where he usually met Dimitri.
But this time, the one he was going to meet was Damian.
Noel was standing in front of Damian with his sword on his waist.
"Alright. Since we've finally returned to the city, it's time for me to teach you for real." Damian raised his finger. "I want you to answer one question first before we start. How do you think a Spirit correlates to your talent?"
Noel frowned. This was public knowledge, but Damian wouldn't ask him something that simple. It seemed that he wanted him to answer something else.
"I want to answer it with Spiritual Energy Reserve, but I think I will go with…" Noel paused for a few seconds before continuing, "The spirit's type?"
"No." Damian shook his head. "Well, this is a secret, but I think I can give it to you with my authority. The answer depends on yourself."
"It's true that Spiritual Energy Reserve and Conversion Rate can easily be reflected as your talent. In fact, this is the only way to measure your talent. However, have your Spirit told you the reason why they give you their power?"
"The reason… Ah!" It didn't take too long for Noel to realize the answer. He remembered the time Ardagan told him and the Moon Goddess confirmed his suspicions.
"The Spirits help humans because they want to see something. If humans become strong, their take in spirit abilities might differ from the spirits themselves. So, knowing there was another way to use their power was a benefit that the spirit could get, was what both of them said."
He finally remembered the words and noticed how they had been telling him to do it this whole time. Ardagan and Heisk had indeed provided him with powerful abilities, but they had told him that he could use their abilities in his own way. He was the one who never put any effort into it.
"It seems that you have realized it." Damian smiled. "The spirits want us to innovate and use our abilities in our own way. This is a mutual relationship between us and the spirits."
"Of course, doing it when you are too weak is hard. Not only is your Spiritual Energy Reserve small, but your control over Spiritual Energy is also weak. That's why we teach this only to Spirit Masters onward."
"I don't care what you plan to do, but I am going to tell you this one thing. The Spirit Abilities are powerful, but they are by no means perfect. If the strongest man in the world only relies on the same abilities, he will be bound to lose sooner or later. That's why you have to keep innovating and finding a new way to progress if you don't want to lose."
Damian pointed his finger at Noel. "At least one ability… I want you to at least master one ability."
