Regardless of the rationality behind it, it was true that Damien was here and nothing would change that.
Leaving the Ancient Battlefield before the war between Demigods ended was not permitted. Many had tried to flee in the past, but things like circumstances and emotions didn't affect the rules of this place.
"Really, what am I supposed to do with you?"
Iris felt like she'd sighed more in the past few minutes than she had in her entire life.
"What do you mean? I'd prefer if we worked together, but if you don't want to, I'm also fine going on my own," Damien responded casually.
"On your own?! Do you understand what that means?!"
"Why wouldn't I? I've been doing it for the past year, you know."
"That's…true, but still! If you met someone truly strong, could you guarantee your life?"
"Hahaha! Since the moment I found myself here, my life hasn't been guaranteed."
Damien laughed heartily.
The sentence had more meaning to him than Iris realized.
After all, while he told her about his death because there was no way to explain his existence here otherwise, he didn't say too much about it.
Iris was probably assuming he was exaggerating and didn't truly die. He likely reached the cusp of death and managed to survive through the same secret means he'd been hiding from her since their first meeting.
If she ever realized he truly came back from the dead, she'd be swamped with a whole different wave of confusion.
Damien's life wasn't guaranteed.
It was something he'd come to terms with in the past year.
In the lower universe, he never thought about it. No matter how close he got to death, he was always of the mind that he "would not die."
It was a stupid arrogance that he regretted, because when death truly came, it didn't give him any possible means for survival.
Now, in this place surrounded by enemies who could kill him with a flick of the wrist, he came to realize just how meager his life was in the grand scheme of things.
It was a motivator above all else.
Iris stared at him strangely.
"What is your plan if you move alone?" She asked, her tone becoming milder.
Damien shrugged.
"Kill and get stronger until I don't have to worry anymore."
"Agh! Can't you say something that puts my worries at ease?!"
"You're worried about me? I can't lie, I'm a little touched."
"Now isn't the time to be joking!"
Damien smiled.
Though her domineering attitude was fun to watch, he liked this Iris, the version he could converse with as an equal, better.
"Calling it a joke is a bit harsh. You have to realize my circumstances. It's either I fight until I survive, or I die. There's no escape for me."
Iris shook her head, unable to respond.
It wasn't just for him, but for everyone on the Ancient Battlefield. The problem was that his chances of survival were so much more meager than anyone else's that she couldn't understand why he was so calm!
"Haa, you understand that moving with me will put you in more danger than moving alone, right?" She said.
"Of course I do. But, the more danger there is, the greater the opportunity to grow. I have to get stronger as fast as possible, so wouldn't it be better for me to ally with you?"
Iris frowned.
"Don't worry. If you're thinking I'd be a burden, that's simply not true anymore," Damien continued before she could speak.
"...what?"
He wouldn't be a burden?
Here?
That had to be a joke!
Rationally speaking, there was no reason for her to accept Damien's offer to ally. To someone as strong as her, he couldn't be anything but a burden.
But, she also couldn't bring herself to accept leaving him to his own devices.
Putting aside the fact that him acting as he pleased got him into this situation in the first place, she had a personal relationship with him.
She wasn't so heartless as to abandon a friend…no, the only true friend she'd ever had.
She refused to do something so disgusting.
And putting aside even her personal feelings, if one looked at Damien objectively, it was hard to deny his potential.
While it would definitely be burdensome, protecting such a genius until he reached maturity would give her many more returns than abandoning him.
Right now, the struggle in her mind was between rationale and emotion, and Damien understood it well.
He wasn't so arrogant as to say he could hold his own.
But to say he was a burden…?
Maybe that was a bit extreme.
"Here, let's do this," he finally said.
"Pour your mana into my body."
Iris looked at him like he was a madman.
"What?!"
Damien smiled and grabbed her arm, placing her hand on his chest.
"Don't worry about it and just go. If I was going to die, would I even ask you to do it at all?"
Iris furrowed her brows in hesitation, but she couldn't deny his reasoning. After traveling with him through the Severed World, she was clear on his personality.
"Fine, but if you get hurt, I'm not helping you."
"Haha, I never expected it, but I know you would."
"Tch."
Iris rolled her eyes and pushed Divine Energy through her palm, allowing it to flow into Damien's body.
She controlled the flow well, but it didn't take much Divine Energy to kill a lower existence.
No matter how much she controlled it, if she didn't stop after a single second, he would inevitably die.
Or at least, that's what she thought.
"H-huh?"
She stammered as she suddenly felt the mana escaping her control.
Like there was a black hole in Damien's body, her Divine Energy was pulled beyond her will and sucked into his body.
"Stop right now! You'll really die!"
Damien grinned.
"It's nice to see you all flustered, but I'll have to disappoint you."
He put his hand on the cave wall to his side and let the Ananta Matrix do its job.
As long as there was Divine Energy in his body, it had to be expunged.
As long as it could be expunged, he wouldn't suffer damage.
This was the skill he'd developed in the past year.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A terrifying force tore through the cave and put a massive hole in the wall. If Damien didn't specifically aim so the blast would dig downward, it would've punctured the side of the mountain they were in.
He turned back to Iris, happily enjoying her dumbstruck expression.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"I'll be able to survive quite well, won't I?"
There was nothing she could say.
An ability like this…did Demigods even have an ability like this?!
If they could directly expunge the enemy's Divine Energy in the same form through which it entered, they'd be able to avoid leagues of damage that broke them down over long periods of fighting.
If the Blade Lord could do this, he wouldn't have died to Iris' strikes!
"I know you still have the issue of combat power to worry about, but I can demonstrate that when we get out of here."
Damien continued as if what he'd done was nothing.
But honesty, Iris didn't need to see his combat power. Just this ability alone was extremely useful, especially if he could use it on others.
Combat power was just a bonus on top of the already delicious cake he'd just presented her!
She sighed for the last time.
"Alright, I concede. Let's go together."
It wasn't a hasty decision, nor was it a logical one, but it was the decision she wanted to make, so she didn't care about the nuances.
But if she was going to ally herself with Damien, she needed more assurance than just this.
"Let's start from the top," she said.
"I'm sure you're still unaware of too many things. First things first, let me tell you about the overall situation of the Ancient Battlefield."
