Slash!
Whether it be Damien, Rose, or the 12th Elder, not a single one of them understood what just happened.
The black and white light around Ruyue's spear was distorted and melded together into a disgusting yet oddly pleasing grey color that stunned the senses. Her spear moved like a snake, her wrists seemingly becoming boneless and more flexible than the limits of the human body allowed.
Her figure zipped by the 12th Elder's side while performing these strange movements. She didn't even look like she struck the 12th Elder when she did so.
But the results spoke for themselves.
A thin red line appeared on the 12th Elder's torso. It spread until it made a full circle around her body and reconnected with its origin.
The 12th Elder's face turned pale. Her voice came out as more of a whimper than anything else.
"H-how…?"
She didn't even feel herself being struck. By all logic, there was no way for Ruyue's attack to hit her, considering the direction and power put into it.
But, she couldn't deny the thin red line on her body that was leaking a small trace of blood. The wound didn't look like much, but she knew…that this would be her final thought.
"Haa…" Ruyue let out a cold breath. As if waiting for this moment, the 12th Elder's body horizontally split into two pieces.
Ruyue's irises returned to her eyes, those weary golden orbs looking at the scene she had just caused.
A relieved smile formed on her lips. "I…did it."
Her body fell from the air, unable to sustain itself any longer. All her mana had been used up in that attack.
Damien's figure flashed away from the chair he was sitting in, deftly catching Ruyue before she could fall too far. Of course, he made sure to utilize vector control so that he wouldn't aggravate her body condition when he did so.
"Tch…so stupid." He gritted his teeth so hard that he drew blood as he looked at Ruyue's current state. Even saying that she was on death's door wasn't an over-exaggeration.
His worry turned into fury as he thought about it. If he had just intervened in her battle, she would've never turned out like this. It was the same for Rose.
But he wasn't going to take his rage out on Rose, nor was he going to blame himself. He wasn't a child anymore.
This battle was imperative to Ruyue's growth. It was the reason why he didn't interfere at all, and even while watching her get injured, he tried to keep his attitude light-hearted so he wouldn't distract her.
Because he knew it. If he or Rose had done anything too extra in aiding her, Ruyue never would have discovered the spear technique she used to kill the 12th Elder.
Pah!
Damien slapped himself in the face. It was a crisp slap that woke him up from the dark thoughts that kept plaguing his mind.
He knew it from the start. This was the nature of the world. For him to reach his current level of power, he was forced to fight death countless times and endure untold amounts of torture.
Was he so special that only he would be forced to go through such trials to become stronger? Was he going to force his wives to just be trophies for him while he went and did all the dirty work?
No. The answer to both questions was no.
"[Heal.]"
Damien activated the [Heal] trait he received from the Primordial Undying Tree. A greenish-white cocoon formed around Ruyue's injured body.
In the future, there would be plenty of times when he was separated from his women. Even if he wanted to keep them by his side, he knew it wasn't possible to tie them down like that.
He was their man, not their owner. It was his job to support them in achieving their dreams while standing by their side to experience both despair and happiness together.
It was for this reason why he never pressed Elena about the dilemma plaguing her mind. Perhaps even she didn't know how clearly he could see her feelings, considering how he spent most of their lives together pretending to be dense.
'I need to have a proper talk with her. I won't allow our new relationship to be built on a foundation of sex.'
He looked over at Rose. Her remark during the previous battle, no matter how light-hearted it had been, was an obvious show of her anger at his actions.
He was really not doing a good job of being a proper husband to them.
But it couldn't be helped. It was his first time in such a situation. How was he supposed to know how to perfectly handle it?
Rose was his first ever experience with a relationship, but before they could properly progress, he fell in love with Ruyue as well. And then, out of nowhere, he had sex with Elena.
The thought of being unrestrained, having permission from his women to form a harem, made him too complacent with his situation.
Even if he was allowed to have multiple women, it was still necessary for him to make sure he didn't bite off more than he could chew.
And at the moment, for an inexperienced guy like him, he had already done so with the three women he already had.
But he had no thoughts of running away or putting a hold on his relationship with any of them. Now that they had all come together for the first time, it was time for him to make reparations and build the relationship that the four of them shared until it was sturdy and without problems.
'Haa…at first I was just worried about Ruyue getting hurt, but I ended up thinking way too deeply about it.'
It wasn't like the two issues were completely unrelated, but it was still irresponsible of him to think of such things while in the situation they were currently in.
'Perhaps I've become desensitized to this kind of thing.'
It was a problem he never expected to appear. After all, nobody could prepare him for it.
Even though it hurt him to see Ruyue get injured, he wanted it to hurt him more. Frankly, it just stung a little, nothing more than that.
Because he had been through far worse to gain power. He had his arm severed, he had his entire left half burned to cinders by dragon's breath, he had jumped into a pit of molten lava for the sake of tempering his body, he had been impacted by a God's True Voice and came out more powerful.
The injuries on Ruyue's body might've seemed heavy, but they weren't something he couldn't heal through his newfound Trait.
So, subconsciously, he wasn't as worried as he felt he should've been when he saw his woman get fatally injured in battle.
'My emotions…haven't returned to humanity quite yet. Perhaps they never will. Do I learn to cope with it, or do I find a way to fix it?'
He didn't know which was the better option. For now, at least, he didn't have time to worry about it. Maybe this would be another situation where he only realized the severity of the problem after he personally felt the consequences.
But before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, the cocoon that encased Ruyue's body cracked open.
Ruyue's sleeping figure emerged from within, her eyes fluttering open. Seeing Damien's worried eyes looking down at her the second she woke up, she smiled.
"How'd I do?"
And her casual words seemed to clear some of Damien's confusion as well.
'That's right. No matter how much my emotions are dulled, it doesn't change the depth of my love for her.'
With a bright smile on his face, he replied in an equally casual tone. "It was great! Sigh, if only I had some popcorn, it would've been way better."
Ruyue scoffed. "I've heard of this popcorn stuff from Rose. When we get some time, you need to let me try it."
"No problem. I'll even take you to meet my mom while we're at it. Actually—"
Damien's words were suddenly cut off.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out. The Xue Clan's palace abode was turned into fine dust particles floating in the air.
What remained in its place was a frightening aura that far outstripped that of any elder that fought only a moment prior.
Xue Yebai was finally making his move.
