Chapter 1593: Catch [3]

Malefice's core explosion was already big enough to be seen from the other side of the world, right?

Well, that explosion was soon dwarfed. It's golden-white light faded and was replaced by a bright blue color and even greater pressure waves.

Cracks formed across the entirety of the world's surface. Massive earthquakes and eruptions made the sky and ground extremely hostile, and the world itself cried as it was forced to experience brutal agony.

'Shit!'

Damien gritted his teeth as he used Existence to create multiple barriers that isolated him from the explosion.

'The world is going to collapse.'

He vastly underestimated his opponents, because he'd never fought them at their full strength. He created the explosive himself, but the fluctuations it gave off weren't chaotic enough to produce such horrific results.

'But order can also do something like this.'

Perhaps Grand Duke Klaus and the dark beast's energies found some sort of common ground and amplified each other.

Whatever the reason was, it held true that the world was going to die if this kept going.

'I don't even need to care about Maveth anymore.'

Damien had perfectly executed his plan. He had no doubt that the Grand Duke was already dead.

No, anyone and anything in the blast radius was dead.

There were no survivors.

Everyone was aware of how strong Damien was.

However, even he could only survive using Existence barriers.

Without that power, even with the Authority of Immortality, Damien would have died.

He would've been incinerated into nothingness before he could ever begin to regenerate.

Against that force...

'Damn!'

Damien put his arms out and spread his mana into the world, grabbing it and essentially pulling it back together.

He used the concept of order, desperately healing each and every crack that formed until the world had returned to one piece.

It was a tedious process, especially with a world of this size. Damien's perception was stretched to its limits, and he felt the world ripping apart as if it was his own body.

It was more painful because of that, but he also gained a more intuitive understanding of the flaws he needed to fix, which made his job easier.

Blue waves of energy continued to rush past him in the physical plane, unable to touch him. Damien bit down as hard as he could, concentrated all of his attention, and carefully made every necessary move until all of the necessary processes could be automated.

And finally, he had the chance to teleport away, delegating a portion of his consciousness to manage the adhesion.

Damien only got a true grasp of the blast's size when he left it.

If there was a way to describe it...it looked like the moon had collided with Earth, except in this case, the moon was a fiery ball of destructive blue energy.

'If I had known, I would've done this from the start.'

Damien put an Existence barrier around the area, just like he'd done with Lance.

He allowed the explosion to continue its rage, but he contained it within an area that it wasn't allowed to leave.

This way, even if Maveth somehow managed to survive, he would die before the force dispersed.

'It's a shame. He had a short run.'

It was like Maveth had taken control over his fellow Nobles just a few days ago, and he was already dead, along with all of the rest of them.

'Time really flies...'

Damien smiled to himself.

He let go of his mana as the world finally decided to stay together on its own.

And he looked down at his work with pride.

The blue star was a sign of his arrival here, a greeting to anyone who was concerned.

Those who once ruled this plane would not keep it for much longer.

It was his territory now, and would remain that way until the day he personally decided to let it go. Not one second earlier.

If anyone had a problem with that...

...then they could come see him about it, right?

***

A lot of the time after that was used for reorganization.

With Maveth, Lance, Klaus, and Famas dead, there was really no structure left in the Foreign Nobility.

Sure, the Dukes hadn't been targeted yet, but what could they do?

Even if they banded together, they never stood a chance against a Grand Duke.

Damien hadn't killed one, but three people of that caliber. Why would they try to challenge him now?

It was a misconception on their part. Damien was far stronger than an individual Duke, but if all 31 came together, then it would've been quite a difficult situation even for him.

Their fear, caused mostly by his deeds that were turned into fables by the time they reached their ears, was the cause of their undoing.

Damien once again did rounds around this world.

Since it didn't have a name...

'No, since it's mine now...'

He decided to name this world after his home cosmos. It was a simple name, but it was more than indicative of the world's purpose.

It was the True Void Universe's first success in conquering the Sacred Abyss.

When the True Void World eventually became a galaxy, then a universe, and then the cosmos itself, wouldn't it be far easier to combine the two if they shared the same name?

Nevertheless, to create a real "True Void World," Damien had to do more than just kill people.

He slaughtered all of the Dukes without fail, and within a few days, he started replacing them with his own people.

Duke Horacio made his return to this world, along with anyone else who had the potential to adapt to this cosmos' laws.

Damien still hadn't contacted Thalia and the rest, though, he was planning to visit after he finished claiming the rest of the world.

If it was people he met, then...

Just a little after he completed his Duke hunt, he went to the Sanctuary to consult Lynn and work out some plans for the new world.

At that time, he happened to run into someone quite special.

"Elena...?"

He was really just walking around on Theavel to enjoy the atmosphere of the now fully-bloomed world when he saw her at a food stand on the side of the street.

"Oh, you're here? I thought you'd gone away somewhere," Elena responded with a smile, causally waving him over.

It was a bit painful for him to realize how common his disappearances had become, but at the same time, he was happy his wives had enough trust in him to expect his return so firmly.

Damien sat down with Elena and ordered himself a snack.

"Why are you here? You never come to the Sanctuary."

"What about you?" Elena returned. "If you're here after something like that happened, then you must have some crazy scheme going on."

"Scheme is a little harsh, no?"

"Maybe."

Elena smiled.

"As for me, you know I don't like using this place as a cop out, but it still comes in handy as a final resort."

"You had to escape something that bad?"

"Yeah. It was pretty crazy."

"But you're okay, right?"

"Completely fine. I made it here in time and took a few days to heal. I'm about to head back, actually."

Elena let her words trial off, looking at Damien up and down.

Sure, he still looked handsome and well-kempt, but she could see the subtle scratches and tears on his clothing.

'Which is stupid, since his clothes are made of energy.'

Signs of wear on clothes made from his imagination could only appear if he was exhausted greatly.

"You're good too?" She asked, putting her hand on his.

Damien smiled without concern.

"Yeah, it's all good. At this point, the hard stuff is over with and all I need is a workforce, which is...a little harder now that almost everyone is in the Heavenly World."

"Hmm...temporary or permanent?"

"Both, and both need people who are adaptable and talented."

Elena nodded.

"If it's a temporary workforce, I can help. As for the people you need permanently...isn't it easy to get in contact with the others?"

Right, from the Sanctuary, Damien could easily contact those at the palace and gather the people he needed.

That was why he came, wasn't it?

However, it seemed he wouldn't have to do the tedious work.

Elena promised to take care of it in his stead, and after a little more conversation, she left.

Her story wasn't ready to be told yet, after all.

'I wish we could've spent more time together, but...oh well.'

He had things going on, and more importantly, for the first time in a while, Elena had things going on.

She was on an adventure that was clearly both dangerous and exciting for her, because he could feel it in her soul just how eager she was to get back in the field and continue exploring.

Their conversation was around an hour long, so in terms of small talk, they'd done enough of it to be satisfied. As for the more gritty things, they just didn't mention it.

This wasn't the time for them to get comfortable, after all.

Nevertheless, that meeting was the reason Damien started going in and out of the Sacred Abyss Universe with not only humans and other natural species, but also with an army of Valhalla souls.

The people were placed throughout the True Void World, assigned roles in many sectors to promote the world's growth.

Those who would lead the population from here on were hand-

picked by Damien himself, and with them at the head, he didn't need to worry about there being any problems.

With the arrangements made, he finally did what he'd been meaning to do since the moment he killed the last Duke.

All at once, Damien claimed ownership of every territory in this world, completely making it his own.

The world shined.

Damien's influence was immediately reflected, as the desolate atmosphere was filled with light and life.

Green, blue, and other colors melded with the natural reds and browns of the environment, creating a unique image in the eyes of the planet's denizens.

Even the most uneducated of them could tell that something massive was happening.

Whether that would be good or bad for them...?

Perhaps they'd only find out in the future.

But Damien chose his people well, and he wasn't someone who took pleasure in mistreating the common folk.

The True Void World would be treated like any other world under Damien's reign. The people would be given the same opportunities if they were able to take hold of them.

Because this was the seed of revolution.

This was the moment Damien's "Grand Merger" plan finally went into action.