"Old ghost, it seems every time I visit you I see this same reaction. At some point, you have to stop being shocked, right?"
Vormec reined in his shock and grunted. "Tch, it's just you. I thought I was gonna welcome some big shot customer, but it's just a brat who came to leech."
Damien rolled his eyes. "It's too late for this kind of act. What, did you miss me so much you couldn't express yourself properly? I'm sorry, but I'm a married man. I can't accept your feelings." He said with mock sympathy coloring his face.
Damien dodged to the left, avoiding the hammer that was just forged. "Tsk tsk, even if you're angry that I rejected you, you can't just mistreat precious artifacts like this. Old ghost, I'm heartbroken seeing how low you've fallen."
Vormec's face went red in anger, but he couldn't retort at all. Seeing this, Damien grinned.
Vormec was terrible with word games, and last time they met, Damien was too. But after spending so much time with those Cloud Plane cultivators who loved to spout bullshit even in the middle of life-or-death battles, he picked up a few tricks.
"Little demon, you never come around these parts if you don't want something from me. Come on, spit it out. How badly did you fuck the sword I made this time?"
Damien found a nearby chair and sat down. Straightening his posture, he intertwined his fingers and stared at Vormec seriously.
"W-what? It can't be that bad!" Vormec stuttered seeing Damien's change of pace.
Damien continued to stare at Vormec with utmost seriousness. His gaze was so hard it could break bricks like butter.
"It's gone."
"Gone?"
"Shattered."
"Shattered?"
"Destroyed completely. Not even scraps are left of it."
"You…"
"And I did it to myself. The sword couldn't handle my power and broke."
Vormec almost passed out on the spot.
Damien grinned sheepishly. "Well, I got a better sword not long after so…no harm no foul?"
Something snapped in Vornec's head. He rushed over to Damien and tightly gripped his shoulders, heavily shaking him back and forth.
"Better sword?! No harm no foul? Brat, that was my life's greatest achievement! And you broke it just like that?! That precious sword?! It was a growth-type artifact! A GROWTH-TYPE ARTIFACT! Even when you become a Demigod, you'll still be able to use it perfectly! Yet…not only did you break it, but you did it with YOUR OWN ATTACK?!" Vormec yelled in frustration.
"I got a better sword, though." Damien smiled sheepishly and muttered under his breath.
Vormec's head was about to legitimately explode from rage. In the end, he was forced to leave the room to calm himself down.
"AGGGHHH, YOU BASTARD! WHEN I SEE YOUR FACE I WANNA BEAT YOU, BUT I AIN'T GOT ANY COMBAT SKILLS! BASTARDDD!" A muffled roar came from beyond the door of the side room.
A few minutes after the roar, Vormec returned as if nothing happened. "Brat, since you're already here, lemme see that new sword of yours."
Damien rolled his eyes at the shameless old man. After all, he knew this would happen. It was the reason he mentioned the new sword at all.
Because the second Vormec's brain registered those two words, all his anger would vanish, replaced by his unending curiosity as a blacksmith.
'My genius plan succeeds!' Damien praised himself inwardly as he swiped his hand through the air.
"This sword is called Mirage. He's become a good partner of mine."
Mirage appeared in the air, vibrating excitedly. It flew in circles around Damien's head like a pet that missed its owner.
Damien grabbed the sword hilt with a smile. "Did you really miss me that much?"
Bzzz!
Mirage shook rapidly. Damien felt like he could practically hear the sword's cries of affirmation. And when he did, his smile widened. He clutched the sword hilt tighter.
"Tsk tsk, what a bothersome sword."
Meanwhile, Vormec stared at Mirage hungrily, like a greedy lion staring down its prey.
Mirage shook in fear when it sensed his gaze. Damien also looked over in disgust.
"Old ghost, get your dirty gaze off my baby. I'll kill you for real."
Vormec snapped out of his trance and rubbed his head sheepishly. "The usual thing?" He asked hopefully.
Damien nodded in response. This old man was a benefactor of his, so he didn't mind entertaining him.
The two were soon transported to the same old plain where Damien had been countless times before. However, in the past few years, the battle scars that accumulated here were slowly beginning to fade away.
'Well, it's not too late to add a new one.'
Damien took his stance with Mirage in hand. He concentrated on the blade, pouring everything into it. And then, he let loose a vertical slash.
'Void Sword Art Fifth Form: Dimensional Severance.'
The thin black line of Dimensional Severance razed the plain ahead. With Damien's spatial abilities combined with Mirage's spatial amplification, the attack was truly terrifying.
And seeing it, Vormec sighed in stupefaction as well. He shook his head in remorse.
"It's a shame. My skill only works on swords I crafted myself. If I could get a look at that sword, my skills would improve by leaps and bounds!"
Damien smiled wryly as well. He knew from the beginning that there was no point in coming out here. The two of them were just reminiscing on old memories.
And they did so for many hours to come. It was only when night fell that Damien finally left Vormec's workshop.
'I didn't really have any connections at the Adventurer's Guild, so there's no need to visit there…should I just go straight to the palace?'
There were a few more places he wanted to visit. Namely, the Zenith Academy where Malcolm was, and the Beast Domain once again.
Actually, Damien's first visit to the Beast Domain was immensely shortened. His original plan was to visit Ethan during that time, and discuss the purge plan with the rulers of the area, but his sudden meeting with the Beast Empress totally derailed his plans.
In the end, he had the White Dragon King and Elvira quickly kill the Beast Emperor and then he ran away. He didn't want to stay with Alea any longer, lest he got further attracted to her.
'Troublesome matters are everywhere. Right, let's ignore everything and focus on my reunion with mom now. Everything else can be solved in due time.'
Damien's figure flashed away from Archdale, appearing in Aurora in the next instant. The second he did…
Waves of people congregated at his location. Rabid screams and yells filled the vicinity, threatening to make Damien's ears bleed.
As for what the rabid crowd was screaming…?
"Son-in-law!"
"It's the Emperor's son-in-law!"
"Princess Rose's husband! He's really here!"
"Kyaaa~! He's so handsome!"
"Son-in-law! If you ever feel bored of the princess, you can take me any time!"
"Hey! Who said that? The princess' husband belongs to me!"
"No me!"
"Guys, he's too amazing for us to monopolize him! We should form his great worldwide harem!"
""Yeahhh!""
Damien stood frozen in shock. The women were the loudest, but there were a great deal of men within their ranks as well. And hearing the occasional sausage within the field of flowers didn't sit right with Damien at all.
His expression went cold. Formless World Force spread from his body in the form of Awareness, accurately pinpointing James Adelaire's location.
And once he locked on, Damien's figure disappeared instantaneously.
'Damn Father-in-law! If I don't beat you today, I'm not a man!"
