'That went…perfectly.'
Damien walked into the starry sky with a smile on his face. His conversation with Baek Woojin had ended, and it had gone far better than he'd ever expected.
'I knew he was an army man to the bone, but to think it had such an insane influence on his opinions.'
Damien was able to easily confirm that the brainwashing worked properly. Baek Woojin didn't doubt his false memories at all, and due to the care Damien put into changing each memory, he was even slightly influenced by the pseudo-emotions present within them.
Aside from that, Baek Woojin was heavily influenced by the army's opinion. Damien was now considered a war hero. If it wasn't for his spatial abilities making him extremely elusive, he would've already been swarmed by people trying to get acquainted with him.
When those two factors combined, it made for a Baek Woojin that was actually amiable, something Damien never expected to see.
'I'll have to stop by Heaven's Army headquarters at some point to heal his sister, but that should be nothing after I master Samsara. For now, everything is flowing perfectly on Baek Woojin's side.'
The instructor was now considering a true long-term alliance with Damien, an alliance that extended to the Hunting Dogs.
'I hadn't even heard their name before, but it turns out they're really something.'
Of the squads battling in Throh, the Hunting Dogs were one of the top performers. When added to their other feats throughout the war, it wasn't surprising that they were so renowned.
'If I can get such a strong force under me…'
Damien grinned at the thought.
He lifted his head and looked at the door at the door his feet led him to. Opening it, he was greeted with a strange scene.
Synth sat on a chair with her back hunched. Her eyes were on the floor, and her hair fell messily, obscuring her face.
Her entire aura was gloomy. Ash stood next to her patting her back lightly, while Tyler paced with concern on the other side of the room.
While it was a great thing seeing the three of them up and moving as if nothing happened…
"What's with this atmosphere?"
Damien's voice cut through the silence.
Synth's body shuddered.
Tyler froze, turning his face away with shame.
Even Ash couldn't look Damien in the eye.
'Though, that last one is just the usual.'
"What the hell happened while I was gone?"
Damien walked into the room with a solemn face. He couldn't imagine what could've put his squad members in such a state.
Synth shakily looked up.
Tears formed at the corner of her eyes when she looked at him.
"I…I can't believe it…"
She choked out the words, seemingly unable to formulate her thoughts properly.
"How could you…HOW COULD YOU SELL YOUR BODY TO SAVE US?! UWAAAAAH~!!!"
Synth immediately broke down into a fit of uncontrollable sobbing. Tyler looked away in pain, and Ash…continued being Ash.
As for Damien…
"…bruh."
…he facepalmed so hard the two surfaces almost fused.
Pak!
Pak!
Pak!
Three dimensional flicks resounded, and three bumps swelled on three different foreheads.
"What the fuck are you idiots on about?"
Damien stood like an exhausted teacher dealing with his students as he faced his three squad members, who were now kneeling on the floor in front of him.
"T-that…" Synth mumbled.
"That?" Damien repeated with a raised brow.
"W-well…I mean, it's your fault for looking suspicious! How could you do…"that"…with that squi—?!"
Pak!
Another flick resounded.
Damien's eyes turned to Tyler.
"So?"
"Baek Woojin came to us a few days ago to apologize, and then today she caught wind of the two of you meeting privately. You can guess how it went from there."
"And you joined because…?"
"Uhh…because it sounded fun?"
"Tch. Fair enough."
Damien shook his head wryly. He was glad his squad members were in peak condition, but at the same time, he was somewhat lamenting that his squad members were in peak condition.
Since the emergency situation wasn't really an emergency at all, Damien relaxed and sat down in a nearby chair with a relaxed look on his face…
After disciplining Synth a little, of course.
"You guys are really living lavish. To think they'd provide you with a suite like this."
Damien looked around the room, impressed. It was seriously like a five-star resort, completely unlike the other more "economy class" rooms on the starship.
"It can't be helped. After all, aren't we the squad members of the great Death Emperor Damien Void?" Tyler responded teasingly.
"Khh…" Damien cringed at the nickname. "They just named me after Death Emperor Star, didn't they."
"They 100% just named you after Death Emperor Star."
"Fuck."
Damien sighed at his luck with titles. It seemed that everywhere he went, he'd only get half-asses titles that made him endlessly cringe.
He looked out the window with a frown.
"Putting that aside, how was it? Your first experience at war, that is." He suddenly said.
"…"
The room was still for a few moments.
"…it was terrifying."
Tyler was the first to speak.
"We've been preparing our entire lives to enter the battlefield, but virtual simulation can never truly emulate the feeling of being here. The stench of blood, the screams of dying allies, the atrocities of the Nox, nothing could've prepared us for the reality of war."
Synth nodded in agreement. There were multiple times throughout the few months they spent on Calypto when she felt like giving up and leaving. The mental stress was far greater than anything she'd experienced in simulations.
"But still, I don't regret it." She said.
Looking at the starry sky beyond the window, a small smile crept up her face.
"Our narrow worldviews were expanded, we were able to experience many things we never would've known if we'd stayed in the Hell Hole, and most importantly…"
"…we got stronger."
Synth clenched her fist.
"Never again will we be humiliated like we were back then."
Her determination blazed through the room, coalescing with the blazing ferocity of her two closest companions as they reminisced on the past few months,
Overall, none of them regretted this experience, and none of them mourned their fates.
Risk and reward often came hand in hand. War was merely the most visceral representation of this concept.
Tyler, Synth, and even Ash had been trained for war since young, and now that they'd survived their first tribulation…
'I can't wait to see how you grow in the future.'
Damien smiled lightly.
He didn't know if he'd ever see these three again after he returned to Hidden Death Valley, but he couldn't deny that they'd left a deep impression in his heart.
After staying with them for so long, Damien realized the importance of many things he'd neglected in the past.
Most importantly, camaraderie and teamwork.
Damien was a lone wolf. Nothing could ever change this trait of his.
However, perhaps it wouldn't be bad to have a force under his command, a force that obeyed him absolutely.
For helping him realize the importance of such a force…
Damien would forever be thankful to these three rogues that he'd met by fate.
