Chapter 1389: Grudge [2]
He didn't particularly hold a grudge against Pria, and the Veritas Clan's hostility had nothing to do with his own, but Damien had learned a great deal in the four years of mercenary work he did before coming here.
He never forgot about Void Palace, after all. Once he learned the severity of their situation from Yulia, he was constantly searching for deeper knowledge on the hidden undercurrents breaking down their influence.
And among them, two influences came up more than any others.
The Straea Clan and the Divine Order.
These two forces were the ones truly targeting Void Palace. The Kyushu Federation was involved at a surface level, but they never truly tried to destroy Void Palace.
They only acted to take territory that would be beneficial to them.
However, the two aforementioned clans weren't just targeting Void Palace's territory, but the great clan itself.
They wanted its total destruction, and since that was the case, Damien wanted their total destruction in return.
It was a little funny for him to be thinking of challenging a God when he'd just been forced to flee so miserably from them, but he wasn't acting arrogantly.
He didn't have the power to fight them head-on. This much was still true.
However, he was different now. It wasn't noticeable, but he had changed greatly in the last few months.
If one looked at the current Damien, they'd find that he currently looked extremely similar to an average mortal. His aura was completely reined in, and as if he didn't exist at all, he completely blended in with the environment.
It was unknown whether even a low-class God could realize his presence if he didn't actively reveal it.
He had reached a level of harmony. It wasn't complete, but it was definitely more than just a preliminary state.
Because of that, and because of the Absolute Perception he used moments ago, he had gained far more knowledge on the uncharted area than anyone else.
'Which means I can kill them without actually facing them.'
He smiled. Using someone else's knife to kill wasn't usually his style, but he had no qualms about doing it when he needed to.
His body disappeared, flashing away into the surrounding greenery.
A great scene was going to unfold in the uncharted territory soon.
And it would become the main reason this place remained unexplored for many, many years to come.
***
Deep underground, in a familiar ravine that only two men had ever set foot in, an eye pried open.
Whooooooosh!
A light wind breezed through the space, shaking the rock and causing a minor earthquake that didn't spread to the surface.
"Is it over?"
A voice resounded afterward, making the earth shake even harder. It was too filled with power without being infused with power at all, simply causing natural disasters with its presence,
A dim light encompassed a massive being slumbering in the depths, and soon after, that massive being was no longer.
In its place was a woman roughly 40 years in age whose beauty rivaled those half her age. She had pure white hair and crystal clear blue eyes, completely contrasting the terrifying appearance of her true form.
"In the end, he truly came."
Her voice was filled with melancholy, as if she was speaking to someone who could no longer hear her.
"For fifty million years, I have waited. For fifty million years, I dutifully fulfilled the task you gave me..."
Her forlorn expression could dig up the ounce of pity hidden in the hearts of even the coldest men, however, her eyes had a trace of relief that was hard to notice.
"...will it truly go the way you deemed it would?"
It was a question nobody could answer.
"Despite all of us believing you would be the one to overcome all things, even you met your end to 'that being.'"
The Unrecorded. He wasn't unrecorded by choice, but that was the result of his existence.
He lived a life that should've been remembered for generations to come, but in the end, he made a bet he couldn't win.
He bet his "existence."
And when he lost, his everything was erased from history.
Only a few beings, enough to be counted on one hand, remembered his true name and remembered his Legend. Only they remembered the timeline that was erased from history.
However, even they could not speak his name or publicize his Legend, because if they did so, even they would be erased from this world.
They could not die.
Because the Unrecorded left a prophecy in his wake.
He saw the future where his path would be continued by someone else, someone better. He said that the heights he could never see would finally be breached by that man.
Yet, she couldn't see it.
"He is certainly talented, but can he truly go as far as you said?"
She knew exactly what stood at the end of that path. It was a guardian that nobody could beat, a being that toyed with others like puppets no matter whether they were mortals or Gods.
Could a mere young man, not even a hundred years old, surpass that wall?
"No matter his talent or potential, I cannot see it, but perhaps that is why you were the one to go higher than the rest of us. There was never a time when I could truly read what was on your mind."
She spoke to nobody but herself. The hope that he reincarnated and heard her words somehow couldn't exist in her heart. She was well aware of what his end meant.
But she spoke anyway, because she had to get these thoughts off her chest.
"Haa..."
She sighed to herself.
"I can do nothing but watch."
She didn't like it, but that was the role bestowed upon her.
She was a loyal person. Despite the grievances in her heart, she wouldn't shulk on the duty left to her by the only person in this world she'd never considered family.
She looked into the ceiling above, her gaze piercing it to view the outside world.
"I will judge for myself whether he is worthy of your post. And if he isn't..."
Her eyes turned cold. A horrible aura filled the entire ravine, directly slaughtering the weaker creatures while forcing the stronger ones to prostrate themselves in submission.
"...then I will end him with my own hands before he can become someone truly unstoppable."
***
The happenings in the ravine were known only to one dragon and would never be known to the outside world.
As for the person that dragon was now observing carefully...
Well, he had just finished setting up a trap for enemies he had no business trying to kill.
"Phew...it was rough doing all that without dying, but I managed somehow."
He didn't know much about the environment, so it took time, but after a few weeks of careful experimentation, he finally completed it.
His work of art.
He grinned to himself, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"If I'm not mistaken, they should arrive here in a few more days."
When that time came...
He truly couldn't wait to see what would happen.
Because this was truly a work of art beyond anything he'd accomplished with his brain before.
And if it worked as he intended it to, the consequences would be treacherous.
As the creator of such a thing, how could he not be excited?
"I think I finally understand the whole mad scientist thing."
Damien camouflaged himself and hid within the terrain itself.
Just a few more days until he could see it.
A few more days that passed in an instant.