Richter was never a fighter. He was a researcher.
He didn't put his time into personal strength, but that didn't mean he was weak.
When the doors to the space opened up, hordes of chimeras, both humanoid and not, poured into the room.
There were at least hundreds of them. Most of them were weaker lower existences, but there were several tens of Demigod-level chimeras among them as well.
"You've been putting in work," Damien complimented as he panned his gaze over them.
"Work that you ruined in one sweep!"
Richter was evidently angry, but he didn't raise his voice again.
"Since you've come, then don't even think about leaving!"
He had his chimera horde, which gave him confidence in winning.
Without hesitation, he commanded them to charge, and within an instant, Damien was surrounded by so many lifeforms that his body disappeared under their shadows.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Damien looked around calmly. There were attacks coming at him from every side, but he was dodging without much of a problem.
BANG!
A massive hybrid chimera with a bear body swept its claw at him and struck him in the side, throwing him away.
He stabilized himself and quickly twisted his body to avoid the mantis chimera that swung at him from behind.
'I see. Their physical strength is pretty impressive, but do they not have affinities?'
He didn't immediately attack because he was testing them, but after a few seconds of aggravating them further and further, he figured that they were already using everything they had.
'I mean, yeah. If it was a normal Demigod, their number alone would be enough to put pressure on them and maybe even kill them, but has he really been doing all his research for just this?'
Damien couldn't really see the value in chimeras like this, especially considering the risks and inhumane acts that were needed to create them.
'Whatever. It's not my business, anyway.'
He was here to save Asher Norn. He had to remember that this man's business was not his own.
Their slight shared fate from the lower universe was just that. He had no reason to actually get involved with the man.
'I guess I'll just destroy them.'
He had fun fighting the chimera outside, but this fight wasn't the same.
He was already bored even though it hadn't started yet.
Plus, he really had no need to entertain all this.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
He shot beams of destruction at the Demigod chimeras one by one. Each beam was powerful on its own, but when they struck each other, they combined and exponentially increased their power.
By the time the spiderweb of destruction beams finally coagulated into its true singular form, it was a beam strong enough to eradicate the Demigod chimeras with a single strike.
WHOOSH!
The beam was like a snake. It zig-zagged and twisted through the air, striking each Demigod chimera multiple times before moving on to the next and giving them the same treatment.
Their number was large, but their strength wasn't so much.
After all, chimeras were already soulless beings. Without affinities, they were weak, and because of their inherent disadvantages, they were weak.
They fell one by one without a chance to fight back.
It was an unbelievable sight.
Damien was controlling everything, so he could have ease and boredom in his heart as he fought, however, for Richter who was watching from the outside, it was insane.
The roars and cries of chimeras filled the air with so much sound that the air itself vibrated.
The ground rumbled and quaked as they moved, their steps strong enough to collapse the ruin through physical strength alone.
They were tightly packed, but they were moving in an orderly fashion. The hundreds of chimeras worked together in perfect formation to surround and eliminate their enemy.
Unlike how Damien described them, the chimeras really were terrifying.
But what was even more terrifying was the reddish-black beam that cut through them like they were nothing.
It was like a hummingbird buzzing from target to target. It didn't show any mercy, it couldn't be impeded by anything, and the longer it existed, the more the chimera horde was broken into something not worth mentioning.
'I must run.'
Richter accepted defeat far faster than any other opponent Damien had met.
After all, he wasn't a fighter.
The second he saw the chimeras falling so easily, he let go of any pride or anger he might've had and began plotting a route of escape.
He took everything he could take with him and ran out of the room, ignoring even Asher Norn who he considered the best vessel for his research in the world.
He ran through the corridors of the ruin that he'd memorized after spending so many years here, and within the minute, he arrived at a secluded room that was locked behind a myriad of protections.
A key was all it took to remove them all, and as he entered, Richter rushed to a nearby mechanism. His fingers flew as he inputted command after command, and finally, the device was ready.
VOOM!
A teleportation gate opened.
Richter didn't even wait to see what was happening behind him. He ran at full speed and practically leapt to get through it.
But what was he expecting?
It was the consequence of not knowing who he was up against.
Instead of finding himself in another location, he found himself falling face down on the floor where the gate once stood.
"You trying to run?"
A voice came from behind.
He shakily turned his head.
There stood Damien, covered in bright red blood, smiling with his eyes closed with an extremely menacing expression on his face.
"Unfortunately for you, space happens to be my specialty."
Damien's steps resounded through the room especially loudly due to the circumstances.
He approached Richter and opened his eyes, looking down at the man on the floor.
"W-wait!" Richter exclaimed.
"I can give you anything! All my wealth, all my research, anything you need to know, I will give it to you! Please spare my life!"
"Oh?" Damien hummed in interest.
"But I don't think you could give me anything I can't get on my own?"
Richter's body was shaking.
He'd been in this situation dozens of times before. He'd been cornered by tens of powerful beings who wanted things from him, but he always managed to survive.
Whatever they wanted, he gave to them. Whenever they tried to kill him, he escaped.
Whether it was through the spatial gate or other means, he always managed to get away, after which he could always hide somewhere until the heat was off his back.
But something told him it wouldn't be the same this time.
"A-anything…I can give…"
He reached into his coat pocket as he spoke and pulled out a pen-shaped device.
"Work!"
He clicked it.
If it worked as intended, the space would've been filled with light that blinded the enemy so he could run and activate one of the many spatial devices he kept in storage for this very situation.
However…
"I told you that's not going to work."
Against a man who controlled existence, puny tricks were truly nothing.
Richter tried to beg again, but Damien already lost interest.
He really didn't expect anything from this man anymore.
"Whatever you want to say, I'll hear from your memories. So, kindly die so I can eat them."
With those words as the last Richter would ever hear, Damien stepped on the man's throat, crushing it into pieces.
Richter died. His body and soul were consumed by a deep blackness beyond all else.
And Damien brushed his hands off as he returned to the main space.
"Now that that's over, let's get back to the fun stuff."
