Damien's journey back to Void Palace wasn't impeded again after that.
After all, even if they knew where he was going, they couldn't chase him.
The Straea Clan still had to be wary of the Veritas Clan and the Holy Empire. If worst came to worst and they decided to expand their area of operation, the Vega Clan would likely step in as well.
At the current moment, even if it was Straea, they couldn't act outside the Northern Region.
Of course, that was going to change soon.
The Dark God had given his order. Both the Straea Clan and the Foreign Race nobility would begin acting soon enough, but that was still a ways away.
For the Foreign nobility, it was a serious task to enter the Heavenly World. Until they could reliably travel between the two realms, they couldn't do much.
As for Straea, well, Malevalon was currently in a certain mood.
He wanted to destroy the person who stole his treasure. He wanted nothing more than to directly kill that person.
However, he had to hold himself back. It wasn't because of those who had their eyes on him and it wasn't because he wanted to guarantee the safety of his clan.
Instead, it was because he was given a far more important task to complete, and until he was done with it, he couldn't focus on anything else.
Even if that "anything else" was Dante Void and the prison he was being kept in.
Malevalon had to quell his desire for revenge.
He also needed to gather information to find out where that man went.
Though, even if Damien hid his soul fluctuations and pretended to be someone else, his end goal was obvious.
There was only one influence that would do such a thing, after all.
Nevertheless, while the Straea Clan reeled from the events that happened under their noses, Damien found his way back to Void Palace, unharmed and with the best news he could possibly have.
Dante Void had been recovered.
Unfortunately, he couldn't just announce the information.
For the time being, he had to withhold news about Dante's status. This was both to keep Malevalon's suspicions as mere suspicions and to protect Dante.
It would take time for him to regain consciousness. It would take even longer for him to regain strength.
Until he'd done both, the fact that he'd been successfully extracted from the Celestial Prison was a truth the Straea Clan could never find out.
That was the main reason why Damien kept his return secret as well.
He snuck into the palace in the depths of the night and called his mother, aunts, and uncle.
They were the only ones he was willing to tell.
And more importantly, they were the key to Dante's recovery.
"Mom…"
Damien smiled at her as she walked in. He nodded at the rest, giving his greetings to them as well.
"You've returned…?" Claire asked.
She was happy that her son was back, but hardly any time had passed since he left.
Did he return with bad news…?
Did something happen to him while he was gone…?
The worries that plagued her mind didn't allow her to maintain hope, but Damien's smile was bright enough to somewhat calm her spirits.
If he was smiling like that, then her son was fine. Even if he didn't succeed in the operation, he'd returned without a scratch.
That was all that–
"I succeeded."
"What did you just say?" Hugo asked, questioning his hearing.
"I said I succeeded."
Damien's smile widened.
"I managed to rescue him."
Silence.
It was a silence filled with so much emotion that it could hardly be called silence.
"W-where is he?" Claire asked hesitantly.
Damien pursed his lips.
He didn't want to ruin their happiness by showing them Dante's current state.
'Should I wait until he's regained his complexion first?'
Even if Dante was unconscious, if he looked okay, it would probably make them feel better.
'But how long will it take to get him to that point without Mom and Aunt's help?'
He used the same laws as them, but they had far more experience than him. Unlike Damien, they were practiced in even the most niche concepts of those laws.
There were things they could do that even he lacked the ability to do right now.
'Haa…I guess there's no choice.'
"Mom, his condition is a bit…well, you'll see it in a second."
He prefaced the situation so they could mentally prepare themselves.
And as he watched their expressions harden, he pulled Dante from the Sanctuary.
His body was still frail and weak, his skin hugging his bones.
His Divine aura was so heavily weakened that he barely seemed like a Divinity anymore.
And regardless of the presence of his closest family, he didn't open his eyes.
"I managed to contain his leaking Divinity and heal the most immediate wounds on his body, so he's not in serious danger, but…"
"I can't give him his Divinity back until he's awake again, and I can't figure out how or why he entered this coma, so I can't wake him up."
Damien had tried several times while he was making his way back.
He originally went to the Sanctuary to remove the foreign energy from Dante's body, which he accomplished, but when he tried to investigate Dante's soul and mind…
"...I was completely blocked out. I don't think I'm capable of breaking his protections unless I'm willing to harm him. That's why I'll need all of your help."
"You don't need to say anything more."
Serena was the one who spoke up.
They all understood Dante's situation clearly after listening to Damien.
Those first words, the ones that assured them of Dante's immediate safety, allowed them to calm their hearts and think over things logically.
And when it came to a task like healing Dante…
No matter what it took, they'd bring Dante back.
Damien nodded, smiling wryly to himself.
"In the first place, you never needed to ask for help. We are more than willing to sacrifice ourselves for him."
No matter what it took, they'd bring Dante back.
Damien nodded, smiling wryly to himself.
'I guess mom wouldn't just take anyone as her sister.'
Serena was also someone Dante held dear, and she had the same commitment to him as Claire did.
"Then, I'll take my leave."
Damien knew his aunts and uncle needed some time alone with his father.
And after seeing how deep the feelings Claire and the rest had for Dante were, he suddenly had the urge to go find his own people.
Yes, this was his family.
Hugo, Persia, Claire, Serena, and everyone else at Void Palace were people he held in his heart.
But they weren't his only family.
Damien had another family, one he'd found himself as he made his arduous journey to the Heavenly World.
And right now, he was missing them more than anything.
Not just his wives, but everyone.
Long Chen, Su Ren, and all the other friends he'd made along the way. Tian Yang, Malcolm, and the many mentors who'd become his most trusted confidants…
Damien had been too involved with the Heavenly World's matters ever since he got here.
Now that the war was in full swing, he didn't have to take a frontline position as often.
So he finally had time to spend with them.
'I guess this is the perfect time.'
Damien's demeanor softened.
'Let's take our first real break since coming to this world.'
