Time passed swiftly. As the universe gradually gained the ability to stand on its own feet, Alexander's presence within it diminished.
The war continued to rage on. Large and small battles destroyed parts of the Infernal Realm, but the Nox were being continuously pushed back. The war zone was shifting into Hephaestus, and as the dwarven domain had already been largely destroyed by the Nox's efforts to plunder World Cores, the actual damage caused by the war itself was mostly lessened.
Though, since the reason was that Hephaestus was already ruined, it wasn't necessarily something to be proud of.
Nevertheless, things were going well for Grand Heavens Boundary now that the Nox Demigods were gone. Despite the great damage that it took in the past few decades that left it a shell of its previous self, it was more than enough for the people who stayed alive.
The common population who couldn't fight was being protected within the borders of the Human Domain and the Divine Realm, and the warriors and soldiers felt a suffocating feeling in their hearts as they realized that the end was approaching.
The total number of Nox had been cut down severely by the countless battles in the past.
They were now holed up in the old Heaven's Army headquarters and the areas around it, playing more defensively than ever before.
Now was the time to strike.
Now was the time to end the war.
The Demigods had been gone for roughly a decade now, which meant the results of their battle would become clear soon.
So before they returned, things in the universe needed to be settled. Otherwise, in the case where the Nox side won, the chances of victory would completely evaporate.
Currently, a meeting was going on. It was a meeting like any other, and those present with a say in it were the same characters who'd been leading the war for the past decade.
Rose, Ruyue, and Elena, who'd risen to the peak of Supremes and represented the pride of the younger generation stood at the head.
Tian Yang and the Golden Dragon Emperor, two advisors who were already respected within the older generation and the only two "Demigods" still in the lower universe, had positions with the same weight as their identities.
The core members of the Judgement Order like Su Ren and Long Chen, strategists like Luciel, Elyssia Bloodlock, and several other well-known individuals also sat at the main table, including Yong An, who was an unexpected face to most.
Along with them, there were several military advisors and generals in the room to spectate and pass their decisions along at the fastest speed possible.
These were the universe's most trusted people, those who would not betray them no matter what.
Because even in this time when the universe wasn't losing so badly, people still turned traitor for one reason or another.
The topic of this meeting was the final counterattack. They were making plans on how to move their forces to completely corral and kill the Nox left in the universe.
With Yong An's support, understanding their movements was simple. With the brains of those like Rose and Luciel, creating strategies was also easy, and with the wisdom and experience of those like Tian Yang, any flaws in the plan could be directly picked apart and fixed.
After warring for so long, the synergy between these people had grown to an unprecedented level, so such meetings were really more for the sake of appearance than anything else.
Their confidence had to be made known to the lower-level troops, after all.
The meeting proceeded extremely smoothly. Before some of the spectators even realized it had started, it was over.
And despite the speed, nobody could say they rushed things.
Their plans were far, far too concrete for such a statement to be true.
As the various forces left to carry out their duties to prepare for the scheduled battle, Yong An stood up with some slight hesitation in his heart.
'I won't get killed, right…?'
Thinking about the conversation he had with Alexander a bit ago, he figured things would be fine, but he was still scared.
Damien could see Rose, Ruyue, and Elena the way he did because they were his wives. However, to anyone else, they were far too fearsome to just approach.
The feats they accomplished in this war were magisterial. They, as part of the younger generation, most of whom were still just a part of the universe's forces and not key figures like they were expected to be, had become so integral to the war effort that anyone in existence, whether it be the strongest experts or the most common farmers, knew their names.
Their legends were adored by all, they were the role models that children growing up in this era aspired to be, and to people who'd fought side by side with them, they were people who absolutely couldn't be offended.
Because when they got serious, they were terrifying.
Nevertheless, Yong An made a promise to his friend, so he had to do something.
He approached them before they left the meeting room and asked them for a moment of their time, waiting for those unrelated to vacate the premises before he spoke again.
With just the four of them in the room, Rose took the opportunity to speak first.
"Was there something? If it isn't important, you know what will happen."
Yong An smiled wryly.
"I understand why you don't trust me, but please try to hear me out on this one."
Their relationship was…rocky. Yes, he was of great help, and yes, he was Damien's friend, at least, according to him, but the three women couldn't easily drop their guards with anyone.
This included most of the Judgement Order.
Their attitudes were completely understandable, so despite the grievances in his heart, Yong An naturally didn't question them on it.
But this time…well, if they continued to hold their prejudice, he'd die before he was able to give them the good news.
Still, he steeled himself and looked into their eyes.
"I will make a Mana Oath first. I, Yong An, swear that everything I say from this point forth is absolutely true. If I lie, may the heavens strike me down."
He started with assurance even though Damien already told him it wouldn't work.
As Damien was in the Void, something like a Mana Oath wouldn't be able to sense his presence, so if Yong An spoke wrong, it would still strike him down despite him speaking the truth.
But he did it anyway as a show of faith.
After taking a deep breath, he continued on to the main point.
"Damien Void…"
"...is still alive."
VOOOOOOM!
Yong An's eyes bulged. The air in the room cooled down to subzero temperatures in an instant, and something invisible was grabbing his neck with such force that it felt like his trachea was going to be crushed.
"What did you say?"
Ruyue spoke first.
All three of their eyes were absolutely cold.
Damien's name was a taboo. Everyone knew it. The second it was mentioned, the moods of these three women would become horrifying.
They had yet to accept his death, but after a decade of fighting without seeing a hint of him, they couldn't help but fear the worst.
In order to push that fear down and maintain hope, they did not allow themselves to think about the matter of his life or death, because if they did, their mentalities would break down.
They treated themselves like widows, because it was the only way to survive.
But…
Yong An, this Nox being, suddenly came and said he was alive?
What was his goal?
Why now?
No matter what, it was better to kill him first. They couldn't allow themselves to be shaken at this time.
Yong An could see all those thoughts in their eyes. He could feel their cold killing intent encroaching on his soul.
This kind of fear, he hadn't felt it since the last time he saw the Saint Emperor.
"W-wait…! I can…explain!"
He squeezed the word out in a panic.
He had to save his life somehow.
Rose glanced at Ruyue for a moment, and the force crushing Yong An's neck lessened enough for him to speak.
"Haa…haa…haa…"
"If you cannot give a satisfying answer, you will die here."
Yong An nodded, catching his breath.
"I have evidence. I was told as long as I say it, you will not question me anymore."
He knew what he had to say, but…
'...will this really work?'
Under their scrutinizing gazes, his face turned a shade of red one wouldn't expect possible with the Nox's natural skin tone.
'I have no choice.'
He steeled himself again.
Even if it wasn't his dark history, it would become his dark history the moment he said it.
It didn't matter.
He had to save his life.
So, as he gathered up every little bit of courage in his body, he yelled out confidently.
"AHHH, MY EYE! THE PAIN IN MY RIGHT EYE! EVERYONE, LEAVE ME BEFORE THE DEMON SEALED IN MY RIGHT EYE, AND THE DARK DEMONIC FLAME SEALED IN MY RIGHT ARM, BECOME UNCONTAINABLE! I, DAMIEN VOID, AM THE ANCIENT GOD OF THE WORLD! I AM INDOMITABLE!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The silence was incredibly loud.
And Yong An wanted to die.
Actually, it would be better if they just killed him now.
He was fine with that.
But contrary to his expectation…
"You may leave now."
…Rose spoke up.
Naturally, Yong An ran away with his tail between his legs as fast as possible to get away from the embarrassment he wished he didn't have to remember.
He ran away so fast…that he didn't catch the hints of tears forming in the eyes of those three women.
