Damien stood in ethereal form several kilometers below the surface looking up.
'He's probably there, right?'
Before he left the subterranean world, he got as close to the target location as possible so he wouldn't need to run needlessly.
However, he still had to make ample preparations before meeting Immortal Blood Asura again.
Since he wasn't in a great rush, he spent several months in the nearest hidden cave practicing with the hammer and anvil and gaining experience as a blacksmith.
It was a great experience for him.
He had to create the forge using his own flames and Creation, including every piece of machinery necessary to fix Mirage, which was his main goal.
He also needed to understand the strange translucent material Mirage was made from, which he could only title Space Crystal without knowledge of its true name, and recreate that from scratch.
After all, Mirage's shards were either used to damage Immortal Blood Asura or lost in the chaos.
The process took a considerable amount of time, but by the end, not only did Damien have a new and improved Mirage, he also had a great understanding of how to properly use Creation Laws for his benefit.
'Alright. Everything is set. The only thing left is to charge out.'
He'd surveyed as much as possible without getting too close to the surface recently, and luckily enough, he seemed to be under a mountain, so he didn't have to worry about an immediate attack.
'Then, without further ado…'
Damien shot upward.
He cruised past ground level for the first time in what felt like years, and rapidly continued upward.
He didn't feel any sort of freeing sensation since the rock of the mountain didn't differ from the underground much besides its lower density, but he didn't care about any of that.
He followed the blue mana thread that was guiding him until he was halfway up the mountain.
His awareness was able to spread now, and the first thing he saw was–
'–fuck, I was wrong.'
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The mountain exploded into bits.
"DAMIEN VOID, YOU HAVE FINALLY EMERGED!"
Immortal Blood Asura's manic roars entered Damien's ears again.
But he was no longer panicked.
As he was reintroduced to the air of the world above ground, Damien smiled, swerving through the mana storm with relative ease.
"If someone asked me what I missed the least, it'd probably be your annoying ass voice," he said, well aware that Immortal Blood Asura could hear him.
He tuned out the regular roaring of that man and rapidly surveyed the area, his eyes landing on a slight twinkle amidst the rain of debris.
'There it is.'
Actually, Immortal Blood Asura's attack was quite fortunate. Instead of having to break through the mountain himself, he had a free miner taking care of it for him!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The surrounding explosions were loud and filled with power, but Damien had grown subtly in his time away. With a cool head, he carefully dodged the attacks and made his way to the slate falling through the sky.
'You're mine.'
He snatched it without a problem, and as it turned into a flash of blue light that combined with the main slate studded with diamonds, Damien made his great escape.
"Hey, Impotent Bitch Asura, I'll be leaving, so catch me if you can!"
With a taunt and a grin, he disappeared.
The slate was already pointing to a new location roughly a million miles away.
"DAMIEN VOID!"
Immortal Blood Asura was consumed by madness.
1 year, 4 months, and 16 days. That's how long he waited for Damien to come out of the subterranean world.
Yet, the second he did, instead of granting him the pleasure of dying, Damien continued being the pest he was.
Immortal Blood Asura was naturally furious. Any of Damien's safe returns in the past could be chalked up to luck, but this time was different.
Damien escaped him multiple times since they met on the Ancient Battlefield with skill that Immortal Blood Asura refused to acknowledge.
He wanted to crush the brat that was growing at a pace that scared him, though he refused to admit that part as well, but it was proving far too difficult.
Never was there an enemy who could last this long against him!
His constant success left him prey to his negative emotions far more than others, so when Damien reappeared.
Either he'd die, or Immortal Blood Asura would become a demon. There was no in-between.
Damien also came to understand Immortal Blood Asura's chaotic state after their chase ensued.
He was throwing attacks with much more fervor than before, and he didn't seem to care if they hit or not as long as they carved his presence into Damien's mind.
Moreover, he wasn't conserving mana in the slightest. If Damien hesitated in the slightest, he'd be struck by something other Demigods could only ever use as a final killing move.
'He's strong. Stronger than ever.'
Damien was acting light-heartedly, but he was focused to the extreme. Immortal Blood Asura wasn't someone who could be underestimated.
'To think power like this is present in the lower universe. Then, the Heavenly World…'
He never stopped to think about how strong his enemies were, but it became hard to ignore at times like this.
He was really fighting people of this level.
He was fighting people he could tear down entire worlds with a snap of their fingers!
But Damien didn't let it scare him.
'Hahaha, I'm getting more excited thinking about it.'
He rushed and teleported, moving as fast as he possibly could, until he arrived at another mountain that didn't look much different from its peers.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sky and earth were filled with dust and debris from the attacks that struck everywhere but Damien's body.
He rushed into the mountain, this time into a cave on its side, and glided across the ground watching the blue mana thread.
Unlike the last slate, this one wasn't hidden at all. It was sitting peacefully in the middle of the cave as if someone had dropped it on their way out.
'Well, who am I to complain?'
Damien grinned as he bent over and picked it up mid-movement. In the same movement, he phased through the the cave wall and came out the other side of the mountain.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Exactly on time, the mountain peak exploded behind him, giving him quite the backdrop.
Within the falling debris, Immortal Blood Asura's figure was hidden. However, those blood-red eyes glowing like a predator in a frenzied state were still as clear as ever, striking fear into the hearts of any who witnessed them.
But how could Damien be included among them?
He didn't even look back to see it!
His grin widened.
'Two down, three to go!'
It was going smoothly so far.
All he had to do was trust himself.
Because the end was almost nigh.
'The next target is…oh, I didn't expect to be going there so soon.'
'I won't be able to do much but run with my current circumstances, but who knows? I might run into those guys again after so long.'
How would they react when they saw him?
'Haha, it's going to be fun.'
