The happenings outside the forest couldn't make their way in. It was impossible for the Gehenna Tribe to communicate with the outside world, especially not with how deep in the forest they lived.
They continued on with their lives, completely secluded.
At the moment, practically the entire tribe was waiting anxiously for a single man to return.
The atmosphere had been tense since the morning. When the earth began to shake near the afternoon, their anxiety only got worse.
Perhaps nobody realized how close they'd gotten with Damien until he left.
And since Thalia went with him, their worry only worsened.
Of course, the Saintess had supreme confidence in her decision. She showed no signs of stress despite her successor going to fight the Uruk, and that was the only reason the rest of the village wasn't in a panic right now.
The Saintess' status was immense, practically indomitable. The villagers weren't members of a cult, so of course they had their own individual thoughts, but they still tried to calm themselves using the Saintess as their example.
Nevertheless, the village was a volcano right now, just waiting to erupt. Whether the eruption would be one of joy or sorrow, however, was still unknown to them.
The odd mood in the village drew out a few characters who'd been too focused on their own matters to appear in public recently.
Namely, Darius and Tiamat.
Their reactions upon understanding the reason behind that strange mood were reasonably mild.
They, as people in close contact with Damien, didn't doubt that he could slay some tiny beast. But, they were definitely interested in what he'd been doing since the last time they saw him.
Darius had been working in the forges for a very long time. As days turned into months, he earned the respect of his peers and masters. His fire control became superb, and his power became far more pronounced.
Darius began showing an appearance like the true owner of the Sun and Moon Divine Flame.
Because of this, quite unfortunately in the sense of timing, Darius was sent on a mission at a nearby volcano, where he could enhance himself even further.
He only recently returned, and hearing that he missed Damien's show in the forge, he was definitely saddened.
But, promising himself that he'd ask his brother to teach him some skills when he returned, Darius returned to the forge to train.
He'd become quite attached to the art, after all.
Tiamat wasn't all that different. She was naturally more indifferent than Darius, but she did have an interest in what had happened in the village in the past year.
She hadn't been anywhere close to her.
The instant she got accepted by the village people, the women took her away, claiming she had "impure air around her mind and heart."
They took her to a small zen garden with a waterfall and a calm atmosphere one wouldn't expect in this brutal jungle.
Tiamat was opposed to doing what they wanted of her. Some of it seemed relaxing, but others seemed to be trying to turn her into a more traditional woman, which she wasn't a fan of.
She did end up doing as they said, though.
Not because she had a sudden change of heart, but rather because she found out that the garden was the perfect place for her to connect with the world.
The so-called chaos in her heart and mind was caused by the confusion she felt towards this world. The best way to solve that confusion was to understand the world itself.
She only participated in the various asks of the tribeswomen once in a while. The rest of the time was spent in meditation, which was why she hadn't been around.
Tiamat came out of meditation for one reason.
She felt danger approaching.
Something in the world seemed to be changing. A vile aura was approaching, and Tiamat felt that if she didn't leave seclusion, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
It was only a coincidence that she came out in time to experience this.
The moment when Damien and Thalia arrived at the entrance of the village without a single scratch on them.
As they stepped into the village amidst the silent gazes of the tribespeople, Damien smiled and waved his arm through the air.
Thud!
At first, it wasn't clear what had fallen to the ground.
In a pile of meat chunks that seemed primed for cooking, half of a massive head was buried.
They recognized it instantly.
"The Uruk…"
From her place high above the village, the Saintess spoke, her words resounding through every nook and cranny.
"...has fallen!"
That was the last silence the tribespeople would experience for several days.
They erupted into cheers. Damien was immediately engulfed by the crowd and picked up. He was being paraded around the village before he knew what was happening.
People got to the drums, letting music alight the village.
It was time for a celebration.
As night fell, the meat of the Uruk was cooked to perfection. Actors and dancers came out to give performances on Damien's valiant feat, as heard directly from the mouth of Thalia.
Everyone indulged in food, drink, and entertainment without limits. Damien, as the main character of the event, was seated directly in the middle and given the treatment of a king.
Thalia was nowhere to be found, but she wasn't the type to indulge in such events in the first place.
And while Damien thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and appreciated the way the tribe regarded him as one of their own, he also wasn't particularly a fan of parties.
He stayed with the villagers until a little past midnight when the alcohol started getting to him, and when he saw the opportunity, he slipped away.
He headed deep into the jungle. The Uruk was dead, and since he killed it, the surrounding beasts considered him the ruler of this territory. As such, they didn't dare to even think of attacking him.
The night view here was peaceful.
This world wasn't like the Heavenly World whose stars were artificial.
Out there, beyond the barrier that encaged this territory, was a sea of stars completely foreign to Damien.
'I want to see it.'
Even disregarding his path to Existence or the war with the Foreign Races, he really wanted to get out there and explore the sea of stars.
That was a desire he'd never lose, no matter how old or powerful he got.
He remembered that day. It was the first conscious memory he had in life. It was the moment he awoke from the delirium of infancy.
The stars decorating the sky, creating a beautiful mosaic that no artist could ever hope to replicate.
As a man, he'd already conquered the stars he saw that day.
He was looking at a new sky now, a new horizon.
Yet, there would never be anything more calming to him than that wondrous mosaic painted in the sky.
Damien took a deep breath, thoroughly enjoying the cold breeze against his skin.
'Something good will happen soon.'
Gehenna would open in just a few days.
He wanted to spend those days in peace, just like this, however…
He sat up, preparing to greet the person approaching him from behind.
"Haa…I wonder what it'll be this time."
