"Hmm…"
Damien didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this.
'Why would they keep him alive like this?'
He couldn't think of a reason why this man wasn't dead already.
From his state, it was obvious that his soul had been tortured to a near-death state. With that, Damien didn't need any more answers.
'I don't know how much they know, but if it came from a Sword, it has to be significant.'
Damien frowned. His mind went through dozens of thousands of possibilities as he tweaked his plans for Void Palace.
'It won't be nearly the same as it used to be. It might cause trouble if I try to do something so radical, but it's the best option for us.'
"Granted, that's only if we have time."
Damien shook his head.
He was instantly disappointed by what he found here, but he was going to salvage his experience as much as possible.
He walked forward and put his palm on the top of the corpse-like man's head.
Despite the direct contact, Rein showed no signs of awareness.
His ego was probably already gone. What was left here was a soulless soul just like a homunculus had, but this one had yet to be instilled with a purpose.
'The only positive about being in this state is that I can do to them as they did to us.'
Rein's soul didn't have an ounce of strength to resist Damien's intrusion. He didn't have to kill Rein to read the memories of his existence.
Damien closed his eyes, setting up precautions so he'd be notified if anything special happened on the outside, and sent his senses into Rein's soul.
He read every memory from the start. He saw how Rein grew, how he served and worshipped Void Palace, and how he ended up captured.
"Haa…"
He felt Rein's pain with his own soul as he experienced the memories firsthand, but Damien didn't crack. Unlike the average person, he'd endured soul torture several times since he was young. He wouldn't break from this much.
'Regardless of what happened, he deserves to be respected.'
Damien couldn't feel anything but sympathy for Rein after seeing what he'd been through, as well as his fierce loyalty towards the palace.
This was a man worthy of the title "6th Sword" in his youth. For him to die like this…
'...it's a bit of a shame.'
Putting aside his posthumous contribution, which gave Damien a clear idea of how the Divine Order was operating, Rein's hundreds of contributions to the palace without any sort of compensation or rewards were more than enough for Damien to take note of him.
Someone like this was absolutely necessary to a big influence.
'But even I can't heal a body like this. His soul, though…'
Damien had a sudden idea.
'His soul can be fixed.'
There were hundreds of perfect vessels outside, and Damien happened to have the knowledge of how to transfer a soul to another body.
'Perfect. I'd been wanting to find out about the homunculus production, so this ties together well.'
Glancing at Rein, Damien sliced his finger through the air, producing a small tear in space that shattered the imprisoned Sword's shackles.
'I don't want to take his soul out prematurely in its current state, so I'll just take him with me for now.'
Damien grabbed Rein and sent his mana into the air to transfer him to the Sanctuary.
However, at that moment, the entire facility shook.
RUMBLE!
Damien's senses went on alert. He quickly retracted his mana and kept his mind focused on the strands of awareness he had spread throughout the area.
His eyes opened to a new scene, completely different from the pristine research environment he'd seen previously.
"Fiends! Die by my hand!"
A booming voice struck the walls and caused them to shake.
In the middle of the room Damien entered through, the one directly under the cathedral, there was now another man.
Unlike Damien, he was taking a more direct approach. The ceiling was caved in as if he'd destroyed the ground down to the hidden facility. There were no signs of a cathedral on the surface at all.
The pods filled with homunculi were destroyed, from the most developed ones to the ones that were still fluids, and the entire room was now a mess of dust and debris.
The cause of the damage was just one man.
He had short, spiky blonde hair and bright red eyes. He held a massive greatsword in his hands, which he swung endlessly, destroying everything in his path.
He rapidly made his way through several facilities, utterly decimating them, until he finally reached the one Damien was in.
'All the researchers are being killed, and all the research is being destroyed. This guy is…'
BOOOOOOOM!
An explosion rocked the sealed compartment.
'He'll be here soon.'
Damien's eyes narrowed.
The room had already been cleared.
Each sealed compartment was being torn open and destroyed.
The man got endlessly closer to Damien, but Damien didn't move.
He could've escaped to the Sanctuary, but he chose not to.
It was a terrible decision.
The man outside was not someone he could handle.
He needed to use Existence Mana at a heavy price in order to kill a homunculus that emulated their power.
So how could he ever think about matching up against a real God?
Still, he didn't move.
Instead, he took Rein's body onto his back and carried it.
He kneeled down on the ground, and by the time his sealed compartment burst open…
BANG!
Damien slammed against the wall, using his side so the man on his back didn't take the brunt of the force.
He coughed a mouthful of blood, quickly standing up and wiping it off.
His eyes came in contact with another pair, one that looked at him with curiosity and a hidden darkness.
"You…are not one of them."
The man spoke strangely, and his eyes slowly warmed.
"I see…I see…!"
His expression completely changed, and even tears began to subtly form in the corners of his eyes.
"There were still people on our side…!"
He was practically mumbling to himself with no particular target in mind.
However, he quickly straightened himself and calmed his expression.
"I don't know who you are or who you work for, but now isn't the time for us to talk. They'll be here soon."
Damien glared at the man distrustfully.
"Who are you?"
"Hmm…we don't have much time, but I'll give you a short introduction."
The man walked forward, putting his hand on Damien's shoulder.
Naturally, Damien couldn't resist.
"I am Void Palace's 7th Sword, and the man in your arms is my colleague."
BOOOOOOOM!
A sound came from the entrance of the hole the so-called 7th Sword had created.
"Shit, they're already here."
He clicked his tongue and glanced down at Damien.
"Just come with me for now. We can talk in detail later."
Damien nodded shakily without much of a choice, and without another word, the man took out his sword and slashed upward.
A massive amount of mana was unleashed from his body, and with that single slash, the earth was evaporated into nothingness in all directions, creating another huge hole that led to the surface.
With Damien still grabbed by the shoulder, he shot into the air, flying dozens of millions of kilometers per second.
Throughout this whole interaction, including the quick escape, Damien remained relatively silent, secretly protecting Rein's body with his mana.
His eyes did not soften because he was with the "7th Sword," nor did he feel some sort of relief.
No, rather, it was the other way around.
Currently, Damien was having a very, very, very, very, very hard time keeping his bloodlust hidden.
