There were a lot of things left unfinished in the newly named True Void Territory in the Sacred Abyss Universe.
Damien wanted to supervise Thalia's growth so that she could rule more efficiently and provide him with the things he needed from her, but he didn't have that kind of freedom.
Since he'd left good people with her, though, he believed she'd meet his expectations once again, so he left without much worry.
It was a little bittersweet, though.
It was never mentioned, but Damien knew of the feelings Thalia developed when they were hunting together for a year.
He didn't say anything about it, and neither did she, but they both knew.
On her side, it was the fact that she was more worried about the tribe than romance and didn't think she had time for it. More than that, as a future Saintess, she would have to deprive herself of such joys.
She'd willingly chosen to shut her feelings off, and after the Saintess' death, whatever remnants there were got crushed.
It was a bit of a shame that her first glimmer of romance ended in such a way, but perhaps it was better that she cut those feelings off herself.
Because, though it was selfish, Damien would've felt terrible cutting them off for her.
He already had four wives waiting for him at home. He already didn't give them as much attention as they deserved as it was, so how could he bring another one home?
On top of that, with his current mental state, he frankly didn't have a single romantic bone in his body. He was too focused on his goals to look at anyone in any way that wasn't platonic.
It was always fated to end badly, but Damien still felt a bit sour about it.
Especially since, putting aside her feelings, they were still close friends.
Whatever the case, she made Damien's time in the Gehenna Tribe a memorable one, and their time together would always have a place in his heart.
It was such a mentality that let him arrive home in peace, without any excess emotion ruining his mood.
'I guess it's a thing with Saintesses.'
The two Saintesses he met were the ones he respected more than anyone else in that cosmos, and they were the reason he left there with a positive impression of it.
They didn't know it yet, but that positive impression would go a long, long way.
Damien didn't waste any time after returning.
Feeling the fresh aura of mana around him, he first checked how much time had passed.
Since the two cosmos operated on different laws of time, it was obvious that they'd have different time flows.
There was no accurate way to measure the exact relationship between them, but it had been around 2 months since Damien left, so that was something.
The short span of time he'd been gone was a great thing for him.
Some more difficult cracks did indeed take a long time to close, so nobody would question why the area had been closed down for so long.
And in only two months, the tension between forces couldn't have heightened enough for Damien to return to any unexpected situations.
If there was one thing to note, it was the fact that this area, unlike any other closed crack location, was not left corroded.
The Foreign Race territory that had formed here was completely gone. It was the first time in history that something like this had ever happened.
Damien met up with Dominic and the rest of the Void Palace forces guarding the crack the moment he got out, and as Darius began excitedly telling his brother about his adventures, the group made their return to the palace.
He didn't realize how much he missed this place.
The halls that had become familiar, the feeling of home he thought he wouldn't be able to feel for a while, the people who were all family to him…
He got another chance to remember just what he was fighting for.
Damien wanted to immediately go meet his wives. He'd been thinking about how little they'd been able to see each other recently a lot, but he first had to call a meeting and inform the people he ruled about what they'd be doing next.
This was an important moment. It could not be postponed for anything.
Before news even got around that the Young Lord had returned, a notice of an emergency meeting concerning all important personnel was called.
Everyone arrived with the same confusion, people like Claire and Serena, the 12 Swords, the Elders, and important military personnel.
Naturally, they were all surprised to see Damien standing at the head of the hall when they arrived.
For the most part, nobody asked questions.
Both from the look in Damien's eye, and the fact that he'd called this meeting before informing anyone of his return, told them that something important was about to happen.
And after everyone was present and seated, Damien finally opened his mouth.
"I've found it."
The first words he said.
He looked directly at his mother as he spoke.
"I've found the Celestial Prison."
The hall was instantly thrown into silent chaos.
Claire's eyes shook, as did Serena's.
Persia had serious eyes, while those from the 12 Swords had mostly surprised expressions on their faces.
They didn't even know Damien knew about the Celestial Prison, and he'd already come back telling them he knew where it was.
If it wasn't surprising, what was?
The rest of the room was filled with confusion, since none of them knew what the Celestial Prison was.
Hugo stood up and slammed his hands down on the table in front of him.
"Are you telling the truth?!"
His voice came out almost as a roar, which brought people's attention back to Damien.
Hugo, or rather, Brontus, was one of Dante's closest friends and someone Damien called uncle even though they didn't have any blood relation.
Seeing his excitement made Damien happy.
So happy, in fact, that he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"I'm telling the truth. During my excursion in the otherworld, I gained an opportunity and saw it with my own eyes. I'm confident I can get there."
"Hahahahaha!"
Hugo immediately broke into excited laughter.
"Good! Good! Good!" He repeated the same word over and over again.
Meanwhile, Claire and Serena were already holding back their tears.
The news meant more to them than it did to anyone else, after all.
Damien looked around the room.
Looking at all these people, every single one of whose names he knew, his mood began to change.
Excitement, anticipation, all these emotions that were clouded by the events in the Sacred Abyss Universe returned to him.
His smile widened into a grin.
"The reason I've called you all here isn't just to reveal this news. I'm sure it's confusing to a lot of you right now, but it boils down to this…"
Damien's eyes narrowed.
"...get everyone ready."
Effective immediately...
"...we will be waging war against our enemies."
It all came down to this.
"With this operation, we will save Dante Void and bring him back to our palace safely, and…"
"...this time, we won't stop until they're all exterminated."
