Damien followed Astoria as she began scouting the area and forming a plan of attack.
It didn't take her long to accept his order and firm her will.
However, while Damien accompanied her, he didn't plan to help unless her life was truly endangered.
After all, she couldn't grow if she was coddled.
As such, Damien used this time to think over the information he'd received from the Golden Dragon Emperor when he first entered the atmosphere.
'According to the old man, there's only five minutes before the world's situation becomes irreversible. But if Astoria can defeat these four Territory Lords before then, she should be acknowledged by the World Core, which is guaranteed to change things.'
Astoria began to descend from the air, taking a more direct approach. She walked through the territory of the first Territory Lord, the Lightning Lord, with the confident intention of facing him head-on.
Damien shrugged and followed her. In the first place, he didn't think these little cosplay lords could touch his disciple, so he wasn't worried.
'At the moment, there are three battlefields. The palace is being handled by the royal children and imperial guard, so I don't have to worry about it. There's apparently a Valkyrie taking care of some of the stronger Territory Lords, but she's accompanied by an entire army so I don't need to go over there to help.'
Damien's brow slightly raised in a curious manner as he thought about it.
'Still, this is the third Valkyrie I've met even though they're supposed to be an extinct clan. I should go meet her and make acquaintance once this ends.'
Shaking off that tangent, his thoughts narrowed in on the final battlefield.
'The Draconic War God will die if he continues alone. With my 1st revolution strength, I'm still not strong enough to fight those High Commanders and Supremes, but there are several thousand extreme peak masters under that level that will also barrage him. I can use them as target practice to acclimate to this new stage and sense the changes in my body.'
Damien nodded to himself as he finalized his thoughts. Once he finished up here with Astoria, he would immediately go aid the Draconic War God.
Nevertheless, at the moment, he was nothing more than a lurking old master. His role was to watch the younger generation show off for a bit before the big guns finally came into play.
And who would ever say no to playing such a role? Not only was it a treat to see one's disciple soar to the heavens, but it was also great to kick back and use one's status as an excuse to do nothi—
'Kuhum, what're these impure thoughts? I would never use my position as an excuse to be lazy. Never. Not at all. Okay maybe if I…'
As Damien fought his internal monologue, Astoria finally approached the enemy she was targeting.
The Lightning Lord was a member of the Lightning Kraken Clan, a mainly aquatic clan that rarely interferes with the affairs of the land.
However, this time, they seemed to change their mind.
"Oho? Who is this? Isn't this the little demon princess who caused my son so many losses back then? How honored I am to receive your visit!"
The sticky words of a fat man with dark blue skin welcomed Astoria. In response…
"Hey, blueberry bitch, are you the one calling himself a Territory Lord on someone else's land?" Astoria coldly uttered.
Damien almost spat out his water, even forgetting for a second that he wasn't drinking any water.
'Who taught her to talk like that?!' He wondered inwardly as he watched the bluebe— Lightning Lord's face turn different shades of purple.
"Hey, blueberry, isn't your face supposed to be turning red right now? Wait, don't tell me…pfft!"
Astoria suddenly laughed out, apparently extremely amused by the blue— Lightning Lord's situation.
"You…! Even in this situation, you dare to be arrogant?! Little Dragon, I will catch you today!"
The Lightning Lord barely paid Astoria any mind. After all, this princess who was nothing more than an early-stage 4th class 2 months ago, what could she achieve against a late-stage like him?
"Haha, my little Li will definitely be happy if I give you to him as a gift. Little girl, why don't yo—"
Bang!
Elena stomped her foot down on the Lightning Lord's and pressed it into the ground.
Boom!
A fist covered in golden aura tore through space and slammed into the side of his face, throwing him into the ground below.
Crack! Riiiip!
Under Astoria's powerful physical strength, the Lightning Lord's foot was unable to escape. As such, when his body was thrown to the side with such velocity…
His leg was directly torn from his torso.
"Ahhhh!" The Lightning Lord yelled in anguish.
Astoria's cold eyes filled his vision in the next instant.
"You are not worth my time. Just die."
Astoria pulled her fist back and covered it in a copious amount of golden aura, a compact spatial dimension formed an inch in front of her fist, a Dimensional Cage compressed to the extreme.
And in a single second, before the Lightning Lord could even react, she punched out and struck it.
BOOOOOOOM!
A rupture in space spread forward for several hundred kilometers, tearing the Lightning Lord and almost his entire territory and clan to shreds.
"Hoo…" Astoria breathed out, settling her emotions.
She looked up with firm eyes.
"Master, this one wasn't challenging enough. I'm going right to the next one," she said as she began to move.
Damien smiled as he followed behind. "What're you telling me for? This is your stage, use it as you please."
Astoria continued flying forward without acknowledging his words, but on her face, a small smile spread imperceptibly.
This warmth, she was glad she had it at a moment like this.
If it wasn't for the constant understanding that Damien was right behind her supporting her, she didn't think she could keep her calm after seeing the state of the world.
That warmth enveloped her like a comfortable cocoon and gave her the strength to protect what she wanted to protect.
And though she didn't notice, that warmth manifested around her body as a slight golden aura that even Damien could barely see.
His smile was extremely wholesome at the moment, like a father watching his daughter graduate high school.
She was truly growing into her own, and it was clear that the universe was acknowledging her progress.
In this world, perhaps only Damien understood what kind of struggles Astoria faced internally.
She never let these struggles affect her strength like his weak past self did, and she never let these struggles surface and affect her life, something Damien also failed to do.
Astoria wasn't someone who suppressed her troubles, but someone who accepted and internalized them, constantly working towards the day when she could personally make those problems disappear.
This was truly her stage.
The current Beast Emperor Star was quite literally set up so it could help Astoria take that final step and bloom into her full true potential.
When that day came…
Just what heights would she reach?
Damien's blood boiled in anticipation.
He couldn't wait to see it.
And it seemed he needed to start working hard.
After all, he could never let his disciple surpass him, could he?
