A few days passed after that.
Damien spent most of his time with the Stargazer Squad, and when he wasn't with them, he was off making sure Aesir didn't get himself into any trouble.
Aesir, unlike the Director, was an extremely mischievous and sarcastic person. He was almost a perfect rich young master, except he lacked all the class a young master would possess.
It wasn't uncommon for Damien to be forced to break up a random fight that Aesir instigated or appease higher officers who were affected by his antics.
Nevertheless, throughout these few days, Damien was able to take care of most of his priorities in the Real Plane.
The only reason he hadn't visited Zara yet was Calypto.
'After the first day, progress has slowed immensely.'
The academy's fleet would be leaving Calypto tomorrow, far ahead of their projected return date. After the preceding events, there was truly no reason to remain in this desolated world.
'The Saint Emperor made a full retreat out of Eden. It's projected that his Avatar is back in the Abyss right now recovering his forces. Aside from the polluted atmosphere, Calypto is a pretty safe place to be.'
In fact, because of the poisonous air that killed Nox and humans alike, Calypto was probably one of the greatest places to hide from the war.
'There's still some more time until the progress examination. I should be able to make it back on my own by the time it starts.'
Damien furrowed his brows as he looked out at Calypto.
In the end, this world would become his. Even if he himself wasn't a ruler like Leona, he still had a certain responsibility towards the worlds he bound.
Calypto was a special case even among them, since its World Core was his own creation to an extent.
'I want to see how it ends. And I need time to train by myself as well.'
It wasn't a hard decision to make. The hard part was explaining his decision to those around him and separating himself from them.
This process took the entirety of the day to finish.
From the Stargazer Squad to Baek Woojin and Park Jinho, Damien had a lot of goodbyes to say before he could leave.
Before he knew it, he'd met more comrades than he knew what to do with.
"Be careful! Even if it's you, surviving isn't a guarantee! Always keep your guard up! If you see an enemy that's too great to handle, run away! Your life is more important than your pride! Do you understand?!"
Park Jinho gripped Damien's shoulders furiously and shouted every possible piece of advice he could think of.
The young man in front of him was a genius without predecessor or successor. He, as a mid-level 4th class being, stood equal to a Demigod's Avatar and fought without hesitation or fear.
He was an example for the younger generation, and a rival for the old. He was someone who would one day become a central figure in the war.
How could Park Jinho ever think about losing the future hero of the universe?
"You have to survive!"
Damien wryly smiled as his body was flung about by the distraught commander. To the side, the rest of his comrades stood snickering amongst themselves.
"Tch. So much for a wholesome goodbye." Damien muttered.
"Hah? What'd you say, you bastard? Wholesome goodbye?! WHOLESOME GOODBYE?! You're lucky I'm not beating your fu—mmgh mmph!"
A pair of arms appeared behind Synth and dragged her away, covering her mouth as she continued trying to yell out curses.
Tyler smiled apologetically from beside where she once stood.
"As you can see, she's not taking the news well."
Damien wriggled his way out of the commander's grasp and walked over.
"Well, I never expected her to. Good luck dealing with that when I leave."
"A bastard until the end, huh."
"It can't be helped. It's my defining trait, after all."
"Tch. I feel bad for the poor souls who follow a bastard Captain like you."
The pair chuckled. After a moment, Tyler straightened his body and faced Damien head-on. Keeping his head lowered, he deeply bowed.
"It was an honor serving under you."
Damien's eyes widened for a second, and before long, softened as his smile turned warm.
"It was an honor serving alongside you as well."
The pair stood in silence for a while. They knew each other inside and out after going through life and death together for so long. No words needed to be said to convey their intent.
"Ah, but I guess Ash isn't going to say anything until the end." Damien suddenly said.
Ever since that fateful day, Ash hadn't spoken a single word to him, even in battle. Though it was understandable, he still felt it was a shame.
Tyler turned away with a strange look on his face. "Well…it isn't quite for the same reason anymore."
"Hm?" Damien questioned.
"You…never mind, it's probably better if you don't know. Who knows what'd happen if you got your bastard claws in her."
"What the hell are you on about?"
"Hm? Ah, I was just wondering how those Nox's claws work. They change shape so naturally that it almost feels strange."
"Hmm…"
Time passed as Damien mindlessly conversed with Tyler and the rest who'd come to see him off.
It was truly a larger group than he'd imagined. There were plenty of people Damien hadn't even met before, purely coming to thank him for what he'd done.
It didn't feel that special to him.
All he did was his best to survive and grow stronger.
But somehow, he'd managed to make such a deep impact on so many people's lives.
The strings of fate and karma were truly strange. The more he felt the effects of his newfound fame, the stronger this thought became.
Damien smiled. He found himself smiling often in this atmosphere, almost as if he was born to live on the battlefield.
But like all good things, his time with these comrades had to come to an end as well.
Damien stood in the starry sky alone, watching a fleet of starships fade into the distance.
He kept remembering his final conversation with Tyler. The happy moments were one thing, but more than that…
'Captain, you must exercise utmost caution from this point forth. I don't know what secret you're hiding, but it's a surety that the Saint Emperor is fully aware of it at this point. As long as you are on the battlefield, you will not have a single peaceful moment.'
Tyler's last words to him were words of warning.
Damien was aware of it.
He'd been trying not to think of it with everything else on his plate, but now that things had calmed down, there was nothing else to push the thought to the back of his mind.
The life of a target that he'd been avoiding ever since he learned of the Void Physique's peculiarity was likely going to become his from this point forth.
And to prepare for what was to come…
'I need to get stronger, unbelievably stronger.'
There was only a single solution.
Damien flashed into Calypto's corrupted atmosphere.
He had until the World Core was completely purified.
By the time the process ended and it came time to return to Hidden Death Valley…
'I need to become a monster.'
