LThe thundering clouds that filled the sky soon faded away and melded into the air. A cool wind blew through the atmosphere that was once a murky swamp and cleared away the massive cloud of debris that was in its place.
When the smoke cleared, the only thing left in the area was a large pit that was slowly being filled by the brownish water of the swamp, and two people who silently stood in the middle of that pit.
'Damn, I think I overdid it a bit.'
If Ruyue were here, she'd probably chide him about his definition of 'a bit' but that was besides the point. The enemies this time were all small fries who had at most hit the peak of 2nd class of the very beginning of 3rd class. An attack like his Storm Dragon's Fury that could even kill a heavenly genius like Long Chen if he was unprepared was most definitely too much effort.
But his rage ended up getting the better of him, leading to him causing such a commotion.
"Woooaaah!"
Although the little girl he held in his bosom still found it hard pressed to speak actual words, sounds of amazement and wonder continuously left her mouth, and the shining gaze she directed at him made Damien slightly embarrassed.
"Kuhum, let's go somewhere more comfortable first and get you some tasty food and drinks. How does that sound?"
The little girl eagerly nodded, only then realizing the hunger she had been suppressing for many days.
Damien smiled. It seemed his presence had alleviated some of the burdens this little girl had been carrying. And if his otherwise stupid move earlier had accomplished that, then he no longer felt bad about using it.
Spreading his awareness, Damien noticed that the surroundings were no longer as quiet as they once were. Many beasts and even a few humans and abominations were headed in this direction, attracted to the commotion he had caused.
Once again looking at the little girl, Damien grinned. "Hold on tight, little one. This big brother will show you the meaning of speed!"
Two people, one big and one small, shared the same shining gaze for a moment before flickering away, their speed so fast that it didn't even leave impact on the air until many moments later.
Boom!
As the rush of wind from Damien's departure filled the atmosphere, a fiery red figure arrived in that place as well. She looked at the now destroyed environment with a frown on her face.
"What happened here?"
It had already been a week since the geniuses that came to this realm had spread out in search of prey to enhance their stars, but Feng Qing'er was different.
Although she had taken similar actions at first, she had soon run into the remains of what seemed like it used to be a village.
Signs of infrastructure were evident, but anything that was built had been razed to the ground. The ground was littered with planks of wood and dirt, sometimes even rubble of stone. Dilapidated portions of buildings that seemed to have aged and eroded considerably decorated the sides of what used to be a street.
But that wasn't even close to the worst part.
The dead bodies that littered the ground took the crown.
"What the fuck…" a rare curse left Feng Qing'er's mouth as she looked at the scene. Perhaps if it was just ordinary slaughter she wouldn't have batted an eye, but this was different.
These bodies looked like they had been tortured and mutilated before death. And even after death it looked like they had become a feast for something else. There was rarely an entire intact body among the mass, and even the ones that were close were corroded by a black inky substance that Feng Qing'er's Fire Phoenix Flames seemed to abhor.
Although she was a beast, it didn't mean she had no sense of decorum. The larger beast clans like hers rarely even took their beast forms unless it was necessary. Perhaps it was due to the environment she was raised in, but such a disgusting sight almost made her vomit.
Feng Qing'er spread her awareness to cover the village, but sadly, she found no signs of life. 'What kind of creature would commit such a heartless massacre?'
The Phoenixes in general were a graceful race in both bearing and temperament. They weren't afraid of violence at all, but they would never needlessly commit such massacres. Especially when…
'There's no mana in the atmosphere.'
Yes, ambient mana was ever present, but Feng Qing'er was thinking of a different phenomenon. When a person died, their mana would dissipate into the atmosphere. This was common knowledge.
And even though the atrocity in front of her looked like it had been committed long ago, she had checked with her awareness, and by the state of the bodies, she knew it had only taken place a few days ago at most.
For there to be none of that dissipated mana in the atmosphere, especially when hundreds of people had died at the same time, it could only mean one thing.
'They had no cultivation to speak of.'
Feng Qing'er trembled in rage. She wanted to find the ones responsible and tear them to pieces. But just at that moment, bright flashes of lightning lit up the air. By the time Feng Qing'er looked over, a large portion of land had been covered in a sphere of crackling black light.
'Is it them?'
Flaming wings manifested on her back as she blazed forward, reaching the location of the commotion only a few minutes after it died down.
But by the time she arrived, there was nothing left besides a deep crater and traces of unbelievably dense killing intent.
***
"Woooow! Big brother is amazing!"
A youthful voice cried out in wonder within a discreet cave hundreds of kilometers away from the previous swamp.
"Aren't I? This big brother is what you would call a master-level chef!" An older voice responded.
In front of him, a burning flame that originated from the sun was being used to…cook a pile of beast meat he had pulled out from his subspace.
Damien grinned. Although he hadn't dabbled much in cooking, his skills were still anything but average. He had gotten used to dealing with beast meat within the dungeon, even if he had eaten it all raw, and he had learned the more refined cooking methods from Rose.
The current meat was from a beast that looked like a massive chicken. Damien had spotted and killed a few of them on their way over. As for seasoning, he had plenty in his subspace.
'Damn. Some of the useless stuff that mom gave me is actually coming in handy.'
His mom had left him a plethora of random household items when he left her on Apeiron. Although she also must've known he wouldn't need them, she still felt the need to provide at least something as his mother.
And Damien happily accepted her feelings. In front of the mother that he had worked so hard to save and bring back, he would never be anything more than a little boy.
Anyway, Damien had been cooking and feeding that little girl the beast meat for a while now, but her appetite seemed insatiable. Damien was beginning to wonder if she was actually a Heaven-Swallowing beast in disguise.
And after drinking what seemed like a gallon of water, the little girl had also regained her ability to talk. But Damien didn't push her to say much. He wanted to let her have a moment of peace after the travesty that she had obviously been to.
After that peace ended, perhaps he'd get the answers to a few questions that had been on his mind…
