Damien saw it from the ground.
Once he managed to clear the majority of the infectious fog in the air, he was able to perceive it much more clearly, and despite seeing Iris' condition become worse and worse, he wasn't able to move instantly.
He had to first get rid of the plague abscesses on the ground, a task he'd almost finished at this point.
The Plague Lord couldn't control them anymore, so he didn't face as much resistance as he worked. And with his layers being mostly stripped away, Damien's workload stopped increasing as well.
He eventually finished, and when he returned his attention to the battle, he saw that situation.
Iris and the Plague Lord were standing several tens of millions of kilometers away from him, but his vision had improved during his stay in the Ancient Battlefield, allowing him to see them.
This situation was at a standstill.
But this kind of standstill was disadvantageous in every way.
Because the second Iris lost the ability to control her puppets, she'd lose.
After all, unlike her, the Plague Lord didn't have to consciously control the spread of his plagues in her body.
Damien didn't hesitate to move.
Now that the man's true body was exposed, he wasn't nearly as terrifying.
Once again, he formed a needle out of Elemental-Samsara and shot it into the air.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out, and the Plague Lord's body shot backward like a comet.
Yet, Damien didn't stop with just that.
'He's protecting his body with Divine Energy. I have to kill him before he can retaliate.'
He teleported like a madman until he surpassed the Plague Lord's falling speed and arrived in his path.
Three more Elemental-Samsara needles appeared in his hand, shooting out in tandem.
They curved in different directions, creating strange swirling patterns in the air as their flight paths became untraceable before they struck the Plague Lord from the back and both sides and exploded.
BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOM!
There was so much mana clouding the air that Damien could barely see whether or not the enemy was actually damaged, but he didn't care to know.
Once again, he teleported and arrived in the midst of the explosive force.
He spread his awareness and found the first trace of nearby Divine Energy before instantly making his way there.
The target was right in front of him.
Damien extended his hand, pushing it against the Plague Lord's exposed torso and coming in contact with the thinning layer of Divine Energy around his body.
A grin formed on his face.
"You're done."
VOOOM!
A pulse of Void Mana exited his palm.
Perhaps he couldn't use it as an all-powerful force yet, but that was its identity. Once it came in contact with Divine Energy within Damien's jurisdiction, it dissolved it into nothingness and exposed the Plague Lord's body.
The Plague Lord's eyes widened in horror.
He realized what was happening to him.
He realized that he was facing a Supreme.
He realized he could survive if he just attacked once.
But…
He also realized it was far too late.
Damien's palm shot forward and closed the centimeter gap that separated it from his skin.
And instead of needles, the compressed force of Elemental-Samsara directly pushed into his body and ravaged his systems.
He didn't have a single chance anymore.
After all, his true body was incredibly weak!
"N-no…"
He managed to get one final word out.
And Damien responded in kind.
With a smile, he flared his mana.
"Bye bye."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Elemental-Samsara exploded through his body until it could no longer be contained, and the Plague Lord's physical form imploded, sending bits of ink flying in all directions.
At the same time, the elusive energy of the Void broke into his soul space and began its devouring.
The Plague Lord died before he realized what was happening.
Damien felt the rewards of his kill flooding his body, but he didn't have time to pay attention to them.
He rapidly made his way back to Iris and held her in his arms, teleporting until he found the nearest cave to form a new hideout.
Luckily, caves were quite common in the Ancient Battlefield. It was likely an intentional mechanic since the rest of the environment was so bland.
After setting up several walls of material defense and separating them into an isolated dimension, Damien carefully sat down, gently laying Iris' body on the ground and resting her head on his thigh.
"Nngh…"
Iris groaned in pain.
She could roughly understand what was happening, but her internal systems were too messed up for her to speak or open her eyes.
She endured the pain as silently as possible, and Damien made it easier on her with his subtle movements, but her body touching the hard rock was enough to send spikes of agony through her body, eliciting a verbal response.
"It'll be okay," Damien reassured softly.
He didn't have to imagine what kind of immeasurable pain she was experiencing. He'd felt something similar himself, so he knew how important it was for her to endure with everything she could.
He didn't try talking more, knowing exciting her emotions would only exacerbate her situation, and placed his hand on her forehead.
"Just relax. I'll have you good as new in no time."
His words were calm and warm, just like the energy that flowed into her body.
[Heal] and Void Mana worked in tandem, snaking through her and treating her similarly to how Damien removed the infectious fog.
He first separated the plague strains with Void Mana and eliminated their combined effects. Afterward, he devoured what he could and used [Heal] to fix the parts that were too far damaged.
Once the effects of his healing ability had worked for a while and separated the plagues from her organs and blood enough, the Void Mana was able to take a second sweep and devour what was left.
It was a repetitive and simple process, but it was incredibly intuitive since a single wrong move could shatter Iris' internal balance.
Nevertheless, this kind of precise control was a specialty of Damien's, so he didn't encounter much of a problem.
Once her body was healed, Iris' visible condition improved considerably.
She opened her eyes and looked at him, and tried to talk as well, but Damien shushed her before she could.
"It's not over yet. The most important part is what comes next."
She nodded slowly.
She tried to hide it, but the pain in her eyes was obvious to him.
To a Demigod, the soul was more precious than anything else.
Perhaps she regained her faculties when Damien treated her body, but the majority of her pain was still actively assaulting her.
Damien looked down at her with a bit of awkwardness.
"This next part…well, I'll just apologize in advance, but I don't really have a choice."
A reddish hue appeared on Iris' face as she realized what he was talking about, but she just closed her eyes and turned her head.
Damien steadied his breathing.
'I am a good man. I am a good man. I am a good man.'
He repeated the phrase over and over again in his mind.
His hand trailed down off Iris' forehead to a new location.
'I am a good man. I am a good–'
'...it's over for me.'
As his hand pressed forward, his fingers pushed into a pillowy softness like no other.
After all, the gateway to the soul…
…was located in one's chest.
