"Was it a good idea to just let them go like that?"
Demon Queen Eliza's voice broke the silence that enveloped the dining hall.
"Why? Didn't you hear what I said?" Eden responded with a smile.
"Tch. It's been so many years, don't think I don't know your true nature by now. Just tell it to me straight instead of speaking in riddles."
The Demon King's smile became odd. "It's fine to let them go. In the end, their use has already passed. In the coming days, their interference will only become an unreliable variable instead of something helpful. As for what we do now, I didn't lie to the boy.
"There are only three months left until they leave this realm. Until that time, we wait patiently and grow our strength. Don't you know the nature of this realm? The Divinities will focus their gazes away from our world as those kids move on to further trials. Without His constant surveillance, we can perform the Ancestral Ritual without interference."
"The Ancestral Ritual…" Eliza shuddered just thinking about it.
A forbidden skill that even the peak powerhouses of the Demon Race didn't dare to carelessly use back when they were still in their homeland. A skill that would cause seas of blood to flow freely.
"Is it the only option? Without sufficient strength, even we will die during the summoning process…" It was Eliza's main worry. The reason she was still hesitant about Eden's plan.
But Eden simply maintained his indifferent smile. "Whether we die or not, it is too early to decide. We have yet to prepare a sufficient number of sacrifices, but with the work of those outsiders, we've come far closer to the desired amount. After thousands of years of preparation, why think about backing out now?"
Eliza sighed. Indeed, they had been planning it for too long to stop now. It was a shame that she couldn't get revenge on that little bastard who had wronged her so many times, but it couldn't be helped.
Her pride wasn't anywhere near as important as freedom. If she had to lay low and endure for only a bit longer until those brats left the Trial World, she would do so.
"Still, it seems that boy has some tact. To give up on the allure of an inheritance site so easily, it isn't something just anyone can do. And from the way he spoke, it's almost as if he has a way to deal with us if the situation took a turn for the worse."
Demon King Eden's eyes sparkled with interest. "What a shame. If times were different, perhaps he would've been the best sustenance. But in the end, it's not something I can afford. Come, let us seize the true treasures of this inheritance and begin our preparation. Time waits for no man."
Eliza nodded and followed Eden further into the inheritance site. As for Granheim, he just followed them without a word. Of the things the two had been speaking about, he barely understood one, and that was the Ancestral Ritual that all demons learned about from childhood.
'Well, whatever. Following that sneaky guy means I can escape. Escape means I can fight a lot of strong people. Mm, that's good.'
Demon King Granheim smiled in satisfaction at his genius before hurriedly leaving to catch up to the other two.
***
"So? What just happened? Explain it clearly." Feng Qing'er chirped after leaving the inheritance site.
"We left behind so much good stuff! Since it's you who made the decision, I didn't say anything, but I still want an explanation!"
Damien smiled wryly. "Didn't you get something good already? It's not good to be too greedy."
"Oh, please. Look who's talking. I don't want to hear anything from you, Mister 'Got Too Greedy and Ended Up in a Coma for 3 Months.'"
"Kuhum…I have no idea what you're talking about. The reason I passed out was because my spine had been severely injured and the injury kept worsening as months passed."
"What?! Since when did you have a spine injury?!" Feng Qing'er yelped.
"From the beginning!" Damien spoke seriously. "It hurts like hell. My spine was shattered into pieces from carrying this team on my back."
"Bastard!"
Qing Tan giggled to the side while watching the two before interjecting. "That's nice and all, but are you going to keep diverting the subject?"
Damien coughed lightly again. "Fine, fine. Essentially, we and the Demon King have formed a temporary ceasefire."
"That's it?"
"Well, it's a bit more than that but that's the essence of it. What matters is that we have the next 3 months free of interference from Demons. We achieved White Stars from such a long time ago, so these 3 months are basically free days for us."
"Oh, right! Even those Apostles died and I didn't even realize it. Plan: Success!" Feng Qing'er pumped her fist in the air in celebration.
"Does it even count as a plan?" Damien quipped back. "From what you told me, you guys just coincidentally found an inheritance site and used a borrowed knife to kill."
"H-hmph! All according to plan. You are just too much of a caveman to understand our genius."
Damien shook his head with a smile. Indeed, being around these two was much more fun than spending his time isolated in his spiritual world. He missed the warm atmosphere that he had been lacking in those years he spent alone.
'Has my mental age increased? Am I an old man now? Or is it just that my perception of time became wack in a space without time? I'll just think of it as the latter…it's more convenient that way.'
"So what are you girls planning to spend the next few months doing?" He asked out loud.
"Hmm~ relaxing? Teasing Qing'er? All kinds of things!" Qing Tan smiled happily. She voraciously gazed at Feng Qing'er's breasts as she spoke.
Feng Qing'er instinctively covered her chest and shuddered. "I'm going to practice. I'll single-mindedly focus on practicing in seclusion with nobody else around! Don't come here!"
Feng Qing'er flicked her wrist and a flaming greatsword appeared in her grasp.
'I see. Familiarizing herself with her new weapon is a good use of the remaining time we have. I need to do the same if I can find some time in my schedule.'
"What about you, bastard?" Feng Qing'er spoke up.
"Why are you calling me a bastard?" Damien asked with a raised brow.
Feng Qing'er quirked her head cutely. "Um, I got used to it?"
"So you've been calling me a bastard so often that it stuck?" Damien said in a deadpan voice.
"Yup!"
"Should I be honored that you think of me so much or should I smack you for thinking of me as a bastard?"
"Shut up and answer the question!"
"Which one should I do? Shut up or answer the question?"
"Argh! You infuriating bastard!"
Damien smiled and looked at the sky. "Well, I'll probably just sit around and do nothing."
He was excited for the coming days. Although there were some twists and turns along the way, everything had lined up as he had hoped in the end.
'The time element…how long have I been wishing to unlock it?'
He finally had his first real chance to comprehend time, and he sure as hell wasn't going to waste it.
When Damien looked back at the girls, he found them staring at him with dead fish eyes.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's kind of embarrassing to see you trying to act mysterious all of a sudden, that's all."
"Keuk…!"
Even though the demons had been wiped out, it seemed Damien still had to watch out for sneak attacks on all sides.
