Damien was also a victim of this mentality.
As he got older, no matter how much he wanted to use power to force his way through everything, he found that intellect was necessary to do what he wanted.
His enemies were too powerful and much, much smarter than him.
Damien was never a genius in the literal sense. He started out at the bottom of the intelligence spectrum. Putting it lightly, the teenage him was a supreme idiot.
So when he grew and started using his brain, he still didn't do it as well as others, which is what eventually led to his death.
He was lucky enough to have the strength to compensate for his dullness. If it wasn't for that strength, he probably would've died several times.
But, he still tried his best.
He still tried to strategize and put himself in a position where he could control events behind the scenes.
Only, this time, that was the wrong approach.
He was tired of it.
All the schemes and trickery disgusted him, because these people had the power to face each other directly but refused.
In a sense, it was cowardice.
The only way to end this conflict was to kill, and in the Ancient Battlefield, there were no tools to use besides one's own strength.
Therefore…
"What's the point…?" He muttered out loud.
"I'm sorry?" Iris responded in confusion.
"What's the point of all this? In the current situation, why do we need to do so much?"
Iris smiled wryly. She didn't need him to say more to understand. After all, she'd had the same questions.
"There isn't one," she responded succinctly.
"Maybe it's hard for you to understand, but most people can't accept the easiest solution, because when it's that easy, it feels wrong."
"Though, that's not it. If you were them, would you go out of your way and risk your life?"
"Yes, I would. Even if I were them, that wouldn't change anything."
Damien's response was surprisingly fast.
"It's common sense, isn't it? Either they risk their lives to protect their futures, or they betray us and risk their lives to protect their futures. No matter what the outcome is, they won't be able to reach it without facing death. Doesn't that make the current situation meaningless?"
Iris was silent for a moment.
It wasn't like Damien said something wildly profound, nor did he display knowledge above his status.
He said something that should've been common sense.
But common sense wasn't that problem.
"Hahaha…hahahahaha!"
She couldn't help but laugh.
He really didn't say anything.
She felt stupid.
But why was this so refreshing?
"Then, what do you think we should do?" She asked in sheer curiosity.
"Do I even need to say that? We need to force those bitches out of their hidey holes," Damien responded with a grin.
"Hahahahaha!"
Iris' laughter got freer.
"Right, that is indeed the solution."
There wasn't anything wrong with the current situation. Even if it would take a long time, it would eventually balance itself out and the people muddling the simplicity of it all would come to their senses.
But it was clear Damien didn't want to do that.
"Alright," Iris finally said, calming herself down.
Her tone was a lot lighter now. Her stress evaporated like it never existed in the first place.
"When the situation is simple, just take it simply, huh?"
She liked it.
She liked it a lot.
She'd had similar thoughts, but every time she did, she fell into a hole of bad choices.
Either she and her people succumbed to the situation and followed the lead of those Demigods in the base camp or stood against their allies and tried to reform the universe's forces with their own hands.
Those were the options she saw, because when one was so deeply involved in events, it was hard to see the third route.
It was hard to realize that the option to break the board and ruin their games even existed.
And even if it did exist, how did one go about accomplishing it?
Didn't it take a great deal of planning and perfect execution?
But no.
Not at all.
Maybe in any other circumstance it would be that complicated, but as Damien said, it wasn't like that this time.
If they moved against their own people they'd be labeled traitors and become the common enemy of the people they were trying to control, so the cowards in their turtle shells couldn't move in the dark.
There were no consequences to acting on one's own accord.
If they were, would Damien have even met Iris here?
"Let's do it then," she said, feeling like she'd been struck by enlightenment.
There were no consequences, so why hesitate?
Damien smiled.
"Okay, let's do it."
He didn't really understand why Iris was acting like he said something genius, but he didn't care.
It seemed her doubts about traveling with him disappeared, and if she accepted his decision, he didn't have anything to be unhappy about.
Iris didn't waste any time.
She felt like she'd been reborn with a mentality that was free and unrestrained.
She immediately contacted the intelligence division and found the coordinates of every Nox Lord they were tracking, and then contacted her allies to fill them in on the new course of action.
Obviously, some people responded like she was crazy. This wasn't an Eyrrisea Luminus thought process at all, but it made them feel just as refreshed as she did.
Because they also remembered who they were.
They were Demigods.
They were Divinities.
They weren't snakes or foxes, they were people who didn't need to stay bound by conventional ideologies.
What was the point of having power if they limited themselves to the games set up by others?
A subtle change appeared in the universe's forces at that moment, a change in mindset that would slowly become more physical with time.
But for now, it was still subtle, and had nothing to do with Damien and Iris.
The duo began plotting their route soon enough.
With Iris' power and Damien's support, they only needed to stay wary of a small portion of the enemy's forces, a number no more than a few hundred.
So, they started to move soon enough.
Iris was naturally the main attacker. She approached enemies alone and started battles like she'd been doing until now.
But Damien's presence was far more impactful than she ever expected it to be.
He couldn't kill them, but he could give the Nox Lords fatal damage that made the battles easier for her, he could help her expel Divine Energy or use himself as a shield to absorb and redirect hostile mana, and he could act as an all-round support using his laws to control the battlefield and give her the advantage.
Slowly but surely, the fame of this duo would rise to new heights and they would become the start of a revolution in the Ancient Battlefield.
But…
That was a story for the future.
At this point in time, they were still in the process of perfecting their synergy, and as they moved, they conversed about many things.
Through this, more than just the overall situation, Damien learned some specifics about the war.
And some of this information…was extremely shocking.
