Damien's body cringed in disgust. At the same time, he wondered whether he should regret his impulsive action or not.
Killing Luo Tian was a move to provoke Wrath in the same way he provoked Damien. There wasn't much else to it. But in fact, the difference in their power levels made this a feat unheard of.
Damien understood that he could die at any moment, but he simply couldn't stop himself from acting as he wished.
Because that was his end goal.
To stand at the top unfettered by anyone or anything. If he wished to reach that point one day, he needed to embody his beliefs at every step of the way until he arrived there. Otherwise, his resolve would be far too flimsy to see the peak.
And in the same vein, he had to kill Luo Tian. Because if, at this juncture, Damien finally bent to power and authority, he'd cut off his future development.
Malcolm, Tian Yang, Bai Xieren, Albeus, and even Tiamat; these characters were all people with immense power. But not once had Damien acted deferential to any of them.
Perhaps he was just slightly deferential to Malcolm and Tian Yang, but they were his teachers, so this was only natural.
But even then, he was cheeky and arrogant. This was his personality, and he didn't change it for anyone.
But today, he was in front of someone who wasn't nearly as amiable as the other Demigods and powerful existences he'd met. If Damien pushed the limits too much this time, he'd truly die.
So when he saw the disgusting smile on Wrath's face, he was already in the process of teleporting away to make some distance between them.
This move didn't have any tactical advantages, but it at least gave Damien the illusion of safety.
Watching his antics, Wrath smiled. Mm, the scent he smelled previously was truly coming from this boy. Although it was muted and not nearly as powerful, it was still the same scent that he'd been chasing for a very long time.
And it was for this reason that he suddenly appeared in front of Damien. If it was anyone else who arrived with Luo Tian, they wouldn't have been able to even see a single hair on his head.
But Damien was special.
'I do not know who He is, but if the seed He left behind is truly as miraculous as I've heard…'
Wrath calmed his growing excitement. If Damien was related to the seed he was searching for, he had already done too much. Altering the seed's course of growth wasn't something he had the qualifications to do.
Besides, if he did too much, then…
Rumble!
The ground quaked as if to affirm Wrath's thoughts.
"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll leave things alone." He muttered with a smile.
Looking at Damien, he sighed. The interaction between the two was really too short. They'd only spoken a few sentences before he was forced to leave.
But that was fine too. Wrath was certain that he'd already imprinted himself into Damien's memory, and that was enough for now.
"Grow well, little seedling." His voice was projected into Damien's ear as if he was whispering from a centimeter away. Following this, he vanished.
Damien stood silently outside the main headquarters of the West Wing, unknowing of what to do.
The strange interaction he just had didn't mean anything, but Damien had a strange feeling as if it meant a great deal more than he'd ever expected.
Regardless, about the antics of a Demigod, Damien couldn't speculate at all. That level was too far out of reach.
He could faintly feel it as someone who was on the cusp of achieving 4th class…
If the gap between 3rd class and 4th class was a vast ocean, then the gap between 4th class and 5th class was like the starry sky; impossible to estimate.
Damien sighed. Demigods would move to their whims and those below them had no choice but to follow. In this universe where Gods didn't exist, a Demigod's will was absolute.
Giving one last look at the West Wing around him, Damien flashed away, disappearing from Evotech Headquarters.
***
Damien returned to Shadow Garden rapidly. Now that he'd barged into Evotech, it was impossible for him to return to his Damien Grey identity.
After all, even if Evotech security seemed flimsy with how Damien bypassed it, that was only because he had the necessary access.
Now, though, that access was likely revoked. Not to mention, Wrath himself was lusting after the Void Physique. Returning to Evotech was suicide.
Once he arrived at Shadow Garden, the first thing he did was make a brief report to Albeus about everything that happened. Over the course of the few days that Damien stayed in Shadow Garden, he'd formed somewhat of a friendship with the old man.
Reporting to him was a matter of courtesy. Since he was gracious enough to lend Damien his troops, Damien wouldn't skimp on showing respect either.
Nevertheless, after conversing with Albeus about future plans, he immediately went to the small hut that had been prepared for him and sat down on the bed.
A sigh of relief and indignation leaked from his lips.
The previous event was too odd. The way things chained together seemed without order, and many of his interactions were cut off before they could bear fruit.
Damien almost wished he could bring Luo Tian back to life, but he knew that was worthless.
By this point, revenge had lost meaning to Damien. Seeing Luo Tian pathetically plea for help while running from him, Damien suddenly lost interest.
His revenge target turned out to be so weak…
But the big fish that was introduced in return wasn't something Damien knew whether he should be excited or concerned about.
'I can't even say that it was a close one this time. If he didn't choose to let me go, I would've died. As for why he chose to do so…'
Damien frowned and shook his head. The emotion on Wrath's face wasn't something that could be cultivated over a single meeting.
It was an emotion that had festered and bred for years to reach its current magnitude.
That kind of obsession wasn't simple. And for a Demigod to be the one feeling it…the object of obsession couldn't be simple at all.
Damien wasn't conceited enough to think he was the one Wrath wanted. But, at the same time, he understood that he was.
'Fuck…'
It wasn't long ago that he learned about the Nox and their connection with the Void Physique. Now, he'd met someone on that side who was actively chasing it.
'Things are going to get troublesome. But, the only one I have to fear is Wrath. Even if I expose my abilities to those peak 4th class beings, they don't have the status or ability to take anything from me. If so…'
Why did he have to continue hiding the Void Physique? The one he was trying to hide it from already knew anyway. This thought rushed into his head and took root, tempting him.
But he shook it off immediately. With the Void Physique's concealment ability, Wrath shouldn't have been able to confirm whether it was truly present in Damien's body or not.
Showing it off so blatantly was simply seeking death.
But even then, Damien smiled. He smiled because he knew that although things weren't going according to plan, his plan was proceeding perfectly.
Chaos was slowly enveloping the unnamed world.
