While Zara still wanted to experiment more with this newly born Nox being, she knew she'd have plenty of chances to do so in the future. Their mission on this world wouldn't end with just a single Nox settlement, so she had an abundance of time to observe and learn about the species.
Right now, however, she was in the middle of a competition.
She couldn't just let Damien win after all that boasting she did, could she?
Without hesitation, she mobilized the power of her Shadow Laws, putting into motion the comprehension she earned through the past few months of rigorous training.
'Shadow Inverse: World of Light'
Voom!
The surroundings were painted in blinding grayish-white light. All darkness in the world faded as the concept itself was overwritten.
"Kaaaaah! W-what is this?!" The newly born Higher Nox screeched.
It had only just been birthed into existence. It barely had control over its body, let alone the ability to resist someone of Zara's strength.
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it right now!"
As its screeches became louder and more ear-piercing, the blinding light focused on the Higher Nox's position and intensified. When it reached a level where it seemed like a second sun had swallowed the earth…
…the Higher Nox's screams died down.
The light faded soon after.
The battle ended just like that.
'Time to move on.' Zara said inwardly. 'If I delay, I'm bound to lose.'
Her body faded to shadow and dashed through the city. Wherever she went, she would find a new group of Lesser Nox to slaughter.
But even as she did so, she could feel it.
Fierce vibrations emanated from the city center. The fluctuations from the battle there spread even to where she currently was.
As expected of a spatial practitioner, Damien ignored all the small fries and went straight for the bosses.
And considering that the battle was taking far longer than it needed to, he was clearly having a great time.
Zara shook her head in dismay at the thought.
'Tch, cheater.'
***
Just as Zara guessed, Damien didn't waste any time on those Lesser Nox. They didn't mean anything to him, and even if he wanted to kill them, he could easily do after he got rid of their leaders.
The Higher Nox however…
'These guys somehow gained intelligence through means that the Heaven's Armies of countless generations have failed to grasp. But if I can devour them…'
Damien didn't even see these beings as opponents. In his eyes, they were bundles of essence and memories for him to devour.
'I need to be quick, though. It'd be annoying if these bastards dissolved into ink like their lesser counterparts, and it'd be an even greater disaster if they do that transformers shit too.'
Damien dodged a jagged blade as he entertained his thoughts. Just as he did so, three more surrounded him from each side and tried to block his escape routes.
But how could such a strategy work against him?
His body disappeared as the blades converged on his prior position, rematerializing elsewhere.
Still, he wasn't necessarily safe. There were 100 4th class Nox who all gathered together in the central area of the city. When Damien arrived, he provoked them all into action, fighting them at once.
'Then again, it was only two or three at the beginning. Who knew the Nox were so short-tempered? Just a little bit of provocation and they gathered like sheep.'
His body ducked and weaved through a flurry of attacks. Inky black liquid surrounded him from every angle and morphed into various weapons and attacks as he moved around.
Despite the efforts of 100 beings coming together as one, even touching a hair on Damien's body seemed impossible.
"Why are you running?! Fight like a man!"
"Fight us! Fight us, don't run!"
Various exclamations of anger rang out from the surrounding Nox beings. Their bodies morphed and mutated to give them an advantage against him, but nothing they did worked.
They were too weak.
Early-stage 4th class beings were next to nothing to Damien at this point.
'Especially since these guys haven't adapted to their intelligence yet. I can't be certain if it's only those who've just been promoted who are like this or all early-stage 4th class Nox, but at least the ones in this camp are still in the process of learning how to utilize their newfound spirituality.'
Damien didn't think it was strange. Even he, as a human who was born with consciousness, needed a copious amount of time to learn how to use his intelligence. The version of him who existed in the First Dungeon, despite being more fluent, wasn't much smarter than these Nox.
Turning around, Damien slashed his arm through the air and sent an arc of spatial mana at the inky sludge wall that was about to attack him, splitting it in two.
'Their attack patterns are too simple. They have access to Death Laws, but they haven't learned to use them. They're still using the same physical attacks they're used to, but consciously infused with death mana in the crudest way possible.'
He teleported away, appearing behind one of the nearby Nox beings and crushing its skull with a single press of his hand.
The being immediately melted into a puddle of ink emanating a slight law fluctuation.
'As I thought, this is a racial trait. It's not that bad when they're still Lesser Nox, but if the Higher Nox are allowed to combine through this method…'
It might actually create a challenge for him.
Unfortunately, Damien didn't have time to entertain this challenge. He couldn't be certain how memories were affected when the Nox were reborn, and memories were his top priority at the moment.
'Alright, there's no point in delaying further. It's time to get down to business.'
'Dimension Shift'
The world turned grey and one became two. The dimension split horizontally where Damien slashed his arm out, bisecting his enemies without fail.
Their bodies began to dissipate, both halves individually turning into puddles of ink.
Yet, in that split second before they could melt…
'Stagnant Reality'
Spacetime Essence flowed from his body and permeated the surroundings. Within the bisected world, reality itself was brought to a screeching halt.
"Khhh…!" Damien let out a pained breath. Even though his ability to control spacetime had improved, tampering with the fabric of reality on a large scale brought him immense pain, even if he did so for only a few moments.
Not to mention, the mana usage was enormous. Damien was usually someone who never had to worry about running out of mana, but in the current instance…
…100,000 units of mana flowed like water, exiting his body to maintain the space. At the rate his mana was depleting, Damien could only hold the effect for a single second.
But this was enough time.
'Devour'
Rumbling black energy clouds dispersed into the surroundings, centered on Damien's body. Like a horde of beasts, the clouds charged at the bisected Nox beings frozen in time and enveloped them.
Within mere sparks of an instant, they were devoured whole.
When time resumed once more, no trace of them could be found. An influx of essence rushed into Damien's body, accompanied by a sticky and disgusting mana that he found himself unable to integrate.
He didn't even have to think before coagulating this mana into a ball and expelling it from his body.
And just as he did so, he was hit with another wave of boons, the exact benefit he was seeking when he attacked these beings.
Their memories began to flood into his mind.
