Damien rapidly made his way to the location.
Demigod battles were never stationary. Since their steps could move them from star to star effortlessly, it was natural for them to move around a lot when they were battling with their full power.
When Damien reached the flash he saw, there was nothing remaining but calming fluctuations of the once rampant mana, but the fact that it wasn't yet dispersed completely meant they hadn't moved far.
He spread his awareness and focused on his perception.
'It's not always big explosions or fantastical scenes. When they need to concentrate their power, Divinities strike more silently than anyone.'
His eyes were useless for something like this. He used his ears to feel the earth and listen for vibrations, he used his awareness to scout millions of kilometers in the distance, and he used his intuition to judge where all the factors would combine.
He already sensed several pulses from the distance, but if he just followed them, he'd never catch up.
What he needed to do was predict their movements.
His mind traveled at light speed as he did several calculations. His eyes shot open as he plotted the route.
'There.'
His body vanished.
He flashed through the surroundings until he was at least five stars away from his original position before concealing himself and lying in wait.
And within the minute, the ground began to tremor, the force causing this change coming closer and closer by the second.
BOOOOOOOM!
It wasn't an explosion.
A body tore through a nearby mountain and slammed into the ground only a few hundred kilometers away from Damien.
He watched as the Nox Demigod rapidly stood up and stabilized themself before glaring into the distance.
'Ah, unexpectedly, the enemy is also someone I know. This one should be the Blade Lord.'
If he wasn't mistaken, the Sword Lord was one of the Inhuman Emperor's followers, roughly on the same level as the Marionette Emperor.
He was supposedly quite the gallant figure.
Because he followed the path of the sword, his demeanor didn't match the rest of the Nox Race, instead representing something like a master who severed his connection with all things but his sword.
It was honestly respectable in a sense, if one ignored his true nature.
But currently, he didn't look like his reputation in the slightest.
He was battered and beaten, and after being thrown through the mountain, he seemed to have taken extreme internal damage, as black blood was constantly leaking from his mouth.
As he stood strong and raised his sword, a figure appeared in the air.
Beautiful, like a star lighting up the dreary atmosphere of the Ancient Battlefield, Eyrissea Luminus raised her arm like a graceful willow drifting in the wind.
"This is the end," she said coldly, looking down at the enemy.
"The end? Haha, that is not something for you to decide."
The Sword Lord responded confidently, but his body betrayed his thoughts.
He could hardly move anymore. It was certain he wouldn't survive another attack from her.
Yet, he trusted his sword and raised it once more.
Though she looked pristine, he was sure her internal condition wasn't great either after battling for so long. He was clearer than anyone about the type of damage he could do.
So as long as he succeeded in this attack, he'd have a chance.
As long as his sword followed–
"You seem to be unaware of your situation."
A voice appeared in his ear.
He shuddered.
Iris hadn't moved from her place in the sky, yet…
He looked down with a wry smile.
Right, when he was facing her, the entire world became his enemy.
The second he allowed himself to hit the ground, he lost.
The earth around him clamped around his legs and refused to let him move. There were already spikes on his back, just moments away from impaling him.
"It was a good battle," he said weakly.
Clang!
His sword dropped to the ground.
He no longer had the strength to hold it.
But he wasn't worthy of an honorable defeat.
"Perhaps to you, but to me, you are just another fodder. Please don't think of yourself too highly."
SHIK!
Along with Iris' words, the spikes impaled his chest and stomach, and rampaging mana destroyed the remains of his internal body.
He melted into ink with an expression of unwillingness on his face, and another wave of rainbow mana appeared to make sure he would never revive.
Death in both body and soul.
The most terrifying outcome for a Divinity.
Iris landed on the ground before the corpse and flicked her wrist, picking the treasures he held out of his remains.
'Good. As long as we continue like this…'
Her eyes suddenly shot to the side as a presence appeared in the void.
She already raised her hand to attack, but in the split second her mana took to gather…
"Wait, wait! Look before you shoot!"
A familiar voice graced her ears.
Her eyes widened.
"You…!"
Damien landed next to her with a smile.
"What, weren't expecting to see me here?"
Iris' eyes widened even further. They were practically popping out of her skull.
"Why are you here?!"
The presence of this man was completely incomprehensible, but she couldn't deny it.
After all, she felt something strange from him that had never and could never be replicated. It was undeniable that this man was truly Damien Void and not some illusion created by the enemy.
"Why can't I be here?" Damien asked back.
"Do I need to answer that?! Why and how are you– wait, we don't have time for this!"
Iris quickly grabbed his arm and shot into the sky.
A barrier of protection enveloped them as she used her full speed to shoot away from the area, flying for almost half an hour in complete silence before landing in a nondescript mountainous area like the one Damien spawned in.
Damien tried to make conversation, but she didn't respond to his words as she dragged him to the ground and into a nearby cave.
It was her personal hideout, the place she was using as a base while she attacked the Nox forces.
After finally reaching this place and activating the numerous defense mechanisms that hid and protected it from the outside world, she finally turned around to face him.
"Huu…"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before reopening again.
This was her final confirmation, just her entertaining the needless thought that he was a fake.
But seeing him standing there looking at her in confusion, she was forced to accept it.
"Alright, before anything else, explain!"
Damien raised his brow curiously.
This was an interesting appearance from her.
After all, he'd only encountered the playful Iris he knew. Seeing her act like a Demigod on the battlefield was quite novel.
But he also understood why she was so forceful.
His appearance in the Ancient Battlefield was far more confusing for the Demigods than it was to him.
Damien smiled wryly.
"So basically…I died."
He started his story off as such.
He told the tales of his journey to Al'Katra, exploring the Demon Abyss, dying, and being reborn here. He told her how he'd been moving for the past year and protecting himself while growing and hiding, all the way until he reached the moment when they met.
Iris' expression went through a myriad of changes. From shock at his decisions to extreme shock at the fact that he'd died…actually, it seemed her expression just became more and more shocked as he kept talking.
It was insane.
It was a story that wouldn't have been believable in any other circumstance.
But Damien was here, and his story also helped her understand why they'd been transported to the Ancient Battlefield in the first place.
And because of Damien's unique identity…
"Haa…"
She sighed in resignation.
There was only one thought in her mind.
"You…are truly insane."
