Dealing with Coppa and Lazuli was easy for Damien. At first, when they first showed up, he thought they had the potential to be even more of a challenge. Even though their sneak attack was slow and easy to dodge, he assumed it was because they didn’t actually want to kill him.

Especially after he heard what they had to say. They sounded like they were holding back, so he happily accepted their challenge, excited at the prospect of being in a real fight for the first time in forever.

Unfortunately for him, they were incredibly weak. Judging by how they fought, he assumed they were probably below Level 500. Much weaker than even Lena, when he considered how she took a full-powered punch from him and survived.

Meanwhile, Lazuli was completely obliterated from the same punch. And Damien was certain the same would have happened to Coppa if not for the fact that Damien had wanted to ask questions.

So Damien beat the dwarf to within an inch of his life before interrogating him. There was a long spiel about how they were former heretics of the System who were turned to Inquisitors and sent down to Extim on a mission— nothing Damien particularly cared about until Coppa explained that Aria was their target.

Damien didn’t question why the little demon girl was their target. He assumed the reason was obvious— that the Overlords had sent them. So once he learned more about the other members of the Inquisitors, he finished off Coppa and headed back to the mountain home.

Unfortunately, since he had already been lost, it took him longer than he wanted to get back. But fortunately, he seemed to arrive back on time.

Damien was relieved to see that both Lena and Aria were still fine. However, he couldn’t feel that way for long when he saw the state they were in. He was immediately overcome with an overwhelming anger he hadn’t felt in a long time.

An unbridled fury that drove him to act without even saying a word. But he didn’t attack. Not immediately. Instead, he hopped off the tree, landing right next to Aria and Lena.

He didn’t even acknowledge the red-skinned man that was standing to the side— Bronz, as Coppa had called him. And yet, Bronz backed away with narrowed eyes, tensing even at the slightest movements Damien made.

Kneeling down, Damien bent over Aria and met her gaze. “Are you alright, Aria?”

“I-I’m fine, papa. But mama—” Aria gasped, looking over to the Leviathan at the side.

Damien pursed his lips as he reached for the satchel to his side. He produced the last of his Potion of Regeneration, pouring a single droplet into the little demon girl’s mouth.

Blinking, Aria slowly rose to her feet as her injuries were washed away. She stared at Damien, and he handed her the vial. There were still a few gulps left inside, and he nodded at her.

“Take Lena somewhere safe— then remove the Ring of Transformation and give her this, alright?” he instructed the little demon girl.

Aria just nodded and did as she was told. No questions asked. She ran over to Lena, picking up the bleeding woman’s body, before dashing further into the forest. All the while, Damien watched her go.

And Bronz raised a hand, pointing at her. “Do you really think I’ll just—”

But as he started, Damien appeared next to him, grabbing by the forearm.

“Don’t you dare,” Damien said simply as he glared at the red-skinned man.

Bronz’s eyes went wide, before he leapt back. He forced himself out of Damien’s grip and rubbed his wrists. He glanced at Aria disappearing into the forest, then sighed as he faced the half-naked man.

“Well, it’ll be annoying trying to track her down again after I deal with her,” Bronz scoffed as he straightened himself.

Damien narrowed his eyes, looking down at his hand. He was surprised by Bronz’s strength— by his ability to break free from his grip so easily.

However, Damien hadn’t been unprepared for a tough fight. “So you must be Bronz. Coppa told me all about how strong you were— how I was going to regret going against them because of you.”

“Indeed you are. But I am quite surprised to see more of my subordinates have been killed. Especially by another human. Seriously, I thought that the people of Extim were supposed to be weak. How are you so strong?”

Bronz gave Damien a genuinely impressed look.

“Unfortunately for you, neither Lena nor I are from Extim,” Damien replied as he met Bronz’s gaze.

“Oh? Then where are you from?” Bronz raised an intrigued brow.

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“Does it really matter?” Damien asked in response. He stepped forward as he clenched his fists. “Why should I bother with telling you anything when you’re going to be dead within the end of the hour?”

Damien spat as Bronz paused. The red-skinned man chuckled, raising a hand to the side. There was a flash of light, and a pitchfork came into existence next to him. Did he summon it? Or did he create it? Damien didn’t know.

But Bronz simply swiveled the pitchfork behind his back as he smirked dangerously. “You’re quite confident in yourself, huh? Well, unfortunately for you, while many men have tried to kill me…”

And Damien’s eyes flickered as Bronz vanished. He appeared in front of Damien, the pitchfork already aimed for Damien’s face.

“All have failed.”

Damien barely ducked under the attack in time. It was fast. The fastest attack he had to dodge in his entire life. He couldn’t have prepared himself for that speed. It was only thanks to his [Super Instincts] that he managed to avoid the strike.

However, even though Damien was taken aback by Bronz’s speed, he still immediately moved for a counter. He went for a leg sweep, but Bronz hopped into the air, avoiding it. Damien took advantage of that moment Bronz was in the air to lash out with a flurry of strikes.

[A Hundred Blows], Damien thought as he punched out at Bronz who was mid-air.

But Bronz grinned and suddenly shot further into the sky. Blinking, Damien watched as the red-skinned man flapped a pair of wings and floated overhead, completely evading the hundred consecutive punches in an instant.

A flying enemy… annoying, Damien clicked his tongue as he stared at Bronz.

“What’s wrong? I thought you said you were going to kill me! So far, the only thing you’ve murdered is my expectations of you— because you’re a disappointment!” Bronz laughed.

And Damien’s brows snapped together. The realization slowly settled in that this fight wasn’t going to be anything like the fight with Coppa or Lazuli. It was going to be much harder than that.

However, it didn’t matter to him.

Because he was going to kill Bronz.

And with that resolve, Damien shot into the air, soaring straight for the cackling Bronz who accepted this challenge.

***

This should be far away enough, Aria thought as she set her mama to the ground.

The two of them were at the edge of the forest now, miles away from where papa and that stranger were fighting. And yet, even from here, the little demon girl could feel the ground rumbling. She looked up and she watched as dust and debris were sent flying across the battlefield in the distance.

It was like a localized hurricane was forming there from the sheer strength of the two combatants. There were the occasional flashes of light, accompanied by the booming clap of what sounded like thunder.

But Aria knew it was not thunder.

Shaking her head, she turned back to her mama and slowly tried to wiggle the Ring of Transformation out of her tongue.

“Come on—” Aria grunted.

And finally, she pried the ring off her mama’s tongue. Stumbling back, Aria watched as mama’s form shifted, distorting for a moment— before expanding and growing with each passing second.

Aria backed away as mama returned to her true and beautiful self. But the injuries and wounds that covered her body hadn’t vanished. In fact, they remained there, growing in size even.

Circling around the humongous body of her mama, Aria got to the mouth and began to pour out the remains of the potion given to her by papa.

“Please work…” Aria whispered.

She stepped back as she emptied out the option, waiting for something to happen. And slowly, she looked on as the wounds that covered Lena’s body began to fade away. Or at least, the worst of the wounds disappeared.

There were still some cuts and scratches that marred Aria’s mama. But the worst of it was gone, and Lena’s breathing calmed.

Aria sighed in relief as she slumped to the ground. But then she immediately straightened a moment, before looking at the battle raging on in the distance.

“Papa… please win…” she whispered as she closed her eyes.

***

And Damien fought on. He leapt in the air, swinging wildly for Bronz. But his attacks missed. He couldn’t land a punch on the flying figure.

But the same could be said for Bronz. He sent these purple rays of magic down at Damien, and the [Legendary Brawler] easily avoided them. So the two of them were locked in a standstill, seemingly equal in strength and speed.

It was frustrating. It was annoying. It was difficult to overcome. And yet, it was everything Damien had ever wanted.

For the first time in a long time, he was faced with a real challenge.

He had been craving this. Ever since he cleared all of the secret bosses back in the tutorial, he had been able to defeat every single enemy he faced without breaking much of a sweat. Even against the final boss of the tutorial, while he had been worried for a moment, he still won with a single punch.

So this was everything Damien had wanted. He should have been excited. His blood should have been pumping, rushing through his veins. His adrenaline should have been at a high.

And yet… and yet… he felt nothing.

Why?

Damien didn’t know. All he could focus on was this battle at the moment— at winning and defeating Bronz. But as he landed back on the ground and panted, Bronz huffed overhead, raising his pitchfork.

“You really aren’t making this easy for me,” Bronz said as he began to conjure a purple spell circle above. “But I’m getting tired of this battle. So I’m going to end this.”

“Hm?” Damien frowned as he watched the spell circle grow more and more complex, folding within itself.

And Bronz laughed wildly as he stabbed his pitchfork into the spell circle. “[Monster Summon: The Unkillable Hydra]!”

Damien blinked, seeing various long serpentine heads begin to peek out of the spell circle. All the while, Bronz cackled as he spread his arms wildly.

“Behold— the immortal beast that brought torment to Tertia for over a thousand years! Witness its power as it devours you and everything you care about!”

And the hydra emerged from the spell circle as it screeched, opening its many mouths and unleashing a blast of flames at Damien.