Giovani didn't really have the extra space to pay attention to him after that original glance, but Damien was still smilingly watching the proceedings from the side.
'I didn't think it'd turn out like this when I brought Nikolas. I was really preparing for a direct confrontation with the order, but it's good that it turned out this way instead.'
It really wasn't, but he was telling himself that to feel better.
Honestly, Damien didn't care much about the traitor. He hadn't been with the palace for very long, so he didn't feel any sort of connection with the people there aside from those who were family yet:
He was building that connection with the Swords that remained, but the rest of them were just strangers to him.
Why would he care about a stranger?
Giovani was just a target for elimination in his eyes, and since he brought a weapon to do the eliminating part for him, he didn't have to pay it any more mind.
However, Giovani presented a variable far larger than himself.
'The Divine Order was supposed to be a small problem, but it's looking like it'll be anything but. At this rate, I don't even know how we're going to confront the three-pronged assault we're currently facing.'
The Divine Order's power was more manageable, but with the information they had, they became a demon on the same level as the Straea Clan.
'The Divine Order was supposed to be a small problem, but it's looking like it'll be anything but. At this rate, I don't even know how we're going to confront the three-pronged assault we're currently facing.'
The Divine Order's power was more manageable, but with the information they had, they became a demon on the same level as the Straea Clan.
Damien was able to act covertly against the Divine Order because of their proximity and his disguises, but his facade wouldn't be able to last once the Straea Clan caught wind of what was happening.
They never showed any direct kinship with the order, but as they were both working towards the same goal, it wouldn't be strange for them to start sharing the same bed.
'That's absolutely unacceptable.'
The current road map for Void Palace couldn't allow such an event to take place.
'The problem once again boils down to how late I got here.'
The situation was already in full swing. Damien was the one intruding when it was practically already at its foregone conclusion.
The alliance he feared was likely already a thing.
Which meant…
'...not only do I have to pull the Veritas Clan in a lot earlier than expected, but I'll have to bring out a wild card as well.'
Damien sighed.
He missed the frontline. Being able to just fight and solve all his problems that way was far more entertaining than spending most of his time planning for the future.
'But on the bright side, once this is all over with, I'll be able to run wild without anything to stop me.'
He looked towards the future with hope, and as plans rapidly formulated and came together in his mind, Nikolas also managed to do his job properly.
It took a while to convince the unruly Giovani that he wasn't going to cut it in the Heavenly World, no pun intended.
By the time he stopped swinging at Nikolas, his sword had already dulled. Let alone cutting a God, with the way Nikolas left it, it wouldn't even make a good kitchen knife.
"Fine."
Giovani spoke through gritted teeth.
"Meet me in the Heavenly God Plane."
Nikolas smiled in response.
"As you wish."
The two held their swords pointed at the ground and stood just a few feet apart, facing each other.
Their mana swarmed forward, creating two unique territories that surrounded them and influenced all the energy in a several dozen million-kilometer area.
Their minds and souls were transported into another plane. As for their bodies…
"Ah, it's my time to shine."
Damien stood up and casually walked up to where they stood.
Neither of them could recognize his presence anymore. Their battle was likely continuing in full swing in the Heavenly God Plane, at a level Damien couldn't even fathom yet.
But that wasn't any of his business.
They were only here to eliminate a traitor, not to show off.
He found out he could do it in the Forbidden Secret Realm, but back then, he wasn't fully equipped to deal with the aftermath.
This time, however, he had reliable backup.
Damien combined the forces in his control, creating the pubescent version of Existence Law that he'd been learning to master.
Just as he did last time, he approached the enemy God's body and prepared all his mana without restrictions.
He didn't aim at the head this time. As he'd found, it didn't actually do much damage.
Instead, he used his freedom of movement to thoroughly scan Giovani's body and find out how he moved his mana.
That was Damien's target.
With nothing left to do but strike, Damien did exactly that.
He let loose all his mana, locked on to the systems it needed to attack.
There was no explosion, but there was a heavy sound that rocked the surrounding structure.
"KAHAK…!"
Giovani was instantly disconnected from the Heavenly God Plane.
His soul and senses returned to the body, only to start coughing up heaps of blood soon after.
"WHO?!"
He tried to send out a wave of mana in every direction just to push back whoever attacked him, but he found that his mana was a lot more sluggish than he remembered it being.
It didn't affect him in the long run, but in that moment, he found himself unable to move mana properly.
He was temporarily crippled.
And the opponent he left in the Heavenly God Plane wasn't just going to sit around and wait for him.
Nikolas exited as soon as he realized Giovani's oddity. Just like the other man, the first thing he saw when he arrived back in the Heavenly World was blood being coughed up.
He didn't quite get it, but he wasn't just going to waste an opportunity.
He gripped his sword and moved it to his waist, still sheathed.
Only a single movement was made from there.
One, extremely clean, almost impossibly fast, sword strike.
Nikolas was on the other side of the coliseum before anyone knew it.
As for Giovani…
Everything went still for a second.
Sixteen sword slashes appeared in the air as one, all overlapping with different parts of Giovani's body.
It was a brutal scene.
They seemed to enact themselves in a sort of rhythm.
For instance, there were four slashes on each of Giovani's arms. Before the ones closer to the shoulder actually cut their target, the ones on his forearm and wrist would cut first.
Before Giovani's legs were severed, his toes, ankles, and knees were slashed first.
They were sword slashes perfectly executed so Giovani would feel the pain wrought by each and every one individually without fail.
"AAAAARGH!"
A sound of pain.
Thud!
A limbless body dropping to the ground.
If Giovani stopped struggling and focused, he'd have found that his mana was already moving as it did previously.
He had the option to flee or somehow fight back if he wanted to.
However, it was too late for him even if he did realize it.
Nikolas wasn't one to revel in things like this more than he needed to.
His sword went back into its sheath on his waist.
Another perfect slash was made.
And Giovani's body became a small hill of meat chunks.
Damien stepped in at that point and devoured his soul as if it was just another Monday morning.
That was the end of the traitor known as Giovani Perera.
