Everything went fast for the people of the territory from that point forth.
For the Gehenna Tribe, it was a tense time.
That night, Thalia pulled herself together. She accepted her role, and truly accepted her responsibility.
Truly maturing as she wanted to would be a slow process, but what mattered was her choice to persevere.
As long as she didn't give up, she'd get to where she wanted to be.
That was a foregone conclusion.
When Thalia returned to the tribe the next morning, she immediately gathered the elders and told them about Damien's proposition.
After speaking to them about it, she took it to the rest of the tribe.
Everyone deserved to have a say in this.
For the most part, they were terrified. They didn't think they were nearly good enough to become rulers above trillions of people.
That simply wasn't their role in society.
They were just common people, after all. Putting them in an aristocratic position when they had no knowledge or expertise in the role was absolutely not the right choice.
The reactions to Thalia's proposal were mostly negative.
Not because the tribe didn't want to grow, but because they wanted to do so slowly.
They hadn't even recovered from the calamity they'd just faced. How were they supposed to elevate themselves to the top of society right now?
Thalia and the elders decided that the matter would be put to vote, so the tribe could decide what the tribe wanted to do.
And that vote…
…ended in failure.
The majority of the tribespeople said no to the offer. Those who said yes were mainly the younger geniuses who still had the hot-blooded desire to see the wider world.
It was decided then and there that the tribe wouldn't accept Damien's proposal.
However, that wasn't the end of it.
The tribespeople didn't want to leave the jungle just yet, but they didn't want to limit Thalia's opportunities.
Maybe for them, it was too dangerous.
For Thalia, on the other hand?
It was the chance of a lifetime.
Thalia was still young. She was their Saintess, yes, but she'd always been an independent woman with dreams larger than any of them could imagine.
Times were tough right now, but tough times were exactly what bred heroes.
They wanted to see Thalia thrive.
And when Thalia thrived, she could come back to the jungle and bring the rest of them up to her position.
Because Thalia wasn't just a Saintess to them, she was a daughter and friend.
They respected her, but they also loved her.
There had never been a Saintess who'd been forced into her role as young as Thalia was.
In this special situation, where an even more special situation had presented itself, they also had to give a special answer.
The tribe as one declared it.
While they would remain in the jungle, Thalia needed to take this chance and become a ruler beyond all rulers.
That was the destiny she was meant for.
The support of her people meant more to Thalia than they'd ever realize.
It was this moment when they all came together to support her that she finally managed to overcome herself.
A little bit of light returned to her eyes.
And the ambition she'd gradually been killing slowly started to make its return to her heart.
That same day, Thalia went to Damien and accepted his offer, telling him about the decision of the tribe.
He, naturally, already knew what had happened, and he'd already made preparations for it.
Six months had passed since he killed Count Verex.
Those left at his estate had already been questioning their Lord's disappearance. At this point, a makeshift order had been created to take care of things in his absence.
Damien visited that place last night.
And he exerted his power.
Discreetly, he read every soul in that place and weeded out the good from the bad.
Afterwards, while removing the rotten parts of the estate, he used some mild brainwashing so the people there wouldn't make problems for Thalia when he brought her into office.
And, finally, Damien brought some Nox beings from the Sanctuary to fill in the positions that were left open and supervise the original members of the estate that were left.
The Nox could adapt to malakh far easier than regular denizens of the True Void Universe, and since the Nox under Yong An's control were loyal to him, Damien didn't have to worry about them falling prey to old instincts.
Damien had already removed any trace of Foreign Race control from the Nox's bodies. No matter what the Dark God's forces tried, they'd never be able to regain the control they once had.
Nevertheless, the Count's estate was prepared for Thalia's arrival already. From the Demigods who'd protect her to the people who'd help her manage managerial tasks, everyone was present.
As an extra safety measure, Damien also left one more person though.
Well, whether or not he could be considered a person was a real question at this point, but he was once one.
He, of course, was Void Palace's 6th Sword, Rein Winchester, who'd been reborn as a homunculus after Damien gained the concept of order.
He'd been in the Sanctuary until now, getting used to his new body. Damien originally brought him along as insurance against other Gods, but now he'd found a perfect place for the man.
The homunculus body Rein inhabited was not human, and responded extremely well to new stimuli. It could adapt unlike anything else, so Rein could use his power effectively even if he was placed in a new cosmos.
Everything was set.
And Thalia matched Damien's expectations perfectly.
With her commitment, there was nothing left to be done.
Damien took her to the Count's estate, her new residence, and introduced her to everyone and everything.
Unfortunately, he couldn't stay to watch how she grew.
Damien had to get back to the Heavenly World as soon as possible. Not just for his own matters, but for the Gehenna Tribe as well.
Count Verex may have been relatively weak, but he was not unknown.
His death was sensed by several people across the cosmos, and they would soon turn their eyes to this place.
Before that happened, Damien had to start a war with the Straea Clan.
The Celestial Prison was his goal.
And the Celestial Prison wasn't something that could be created by the people of the True Void Universe.
There was only one being with enough power to create a prison that could house Dante Void.
From beginning to end, it was because of that person that Dante was forced to suffer.
'The Dark God.'
Even after absorbing Count Verex's existence, Damien didn't know anything about the elusive figure but his title and gender.
All he could tell was that the man in question was more dangerous than anyone else in existence.
And he was the enemy Damien had been working all this time to face.
To save his father, to strike the Foreign Races, and to turn attention away from Thalia and her people, Damien needed to leave.
He returned to the tribe only five days later to regroup with Tiamat and Darius.
After saying their goodbyes, which were laced with the awkwardness of not wanting to part but being faced with a strange distance and dissociation, the group made their way back to the original Dimensional Crack's location.
With Damien's control over the Count's territory, he could now open the crack from this place at any time, but to arrive in the same position as he entered from, he needed to open it here.
He turned around, giving the jungle one last look.
'It was nice while it lasted.'
A little vacation away from struggle, albeit one that was interrupted, was something he really did need.
And now that the time had come, he opened that portal.
He could finally return home.
