CHAPTER 591: CHAPTER 592: NEVER BE THE HERO

Fear was a primordial emotion, however what Damon was feeling thinking about his first words to the unknown god almost made his heart explode.

It was a good thing the unknown god messed with a bunch of concepts and sealed them away, making them temporarily obsolete.

Like fear.

Damon felt the passage of time again. His body was in good shape. He had even regained his lost arm.

He didn’t even notice at first. It seemed the unknown god was benevolent enough to patch him up.

With a deep sigh Damon glanced around the cavern, searching for his arm. After a while he saw it, charred and covered in dried and hardened blood.

Damon wore an impassive expression as the raven and the squirrel arrogantly glanced at the limb as if examining it.

"Caw...caw...lose too many times..."

He glared at the raven.

"Shut up. I haven’t lost my limbs that much... only like a few times..."

The squirrel used the opportunity to suck up to Damon by smacking the raven and climbing up his body, stopping on his shoulder.

"He only lost his limbs like two times."

Damon, irritated, swatted the squirrel away.

"Damn rodent, whose side are you on."

He squatted down. The arm was useless now anyway, he already had another one. The reason he was looking for it was because of the piece of gear attached to it.

The omnidirectional gear. Removing it carefully, he strapped it onto his new arm.

"There. Good as new..."

He would have to find time to repair it, and luckily for him he was in the nest of crystal spiders, the monsters that produced the threads used in its wires.

Damon walked around and collected the toughest webs he could find.

With that done he glanced up at the massive crystal platform in the ceiling.

"Right... Abellona of Valtheron is still here..."

Damon was unsure what to do with the princess. She was still unconscious and he also had a contract with her, one where she had agreed to pay him five billion zeni.

"What should I do with her..."

While Damon was contemplating that, the sound of something walking into the cavern caught his attention. His body tensed instinctively as he caught its presence through his shadow perception.

Sharp claws and fangs. A body of scales.

A lesser demon... specifically the one Ashcroft had been riding when he first came here.

Damon prepared himself, expecting it to attack, but it did no such thing. It only glanced at him before slowly walking forward.

It stopped in front of Damon with no hostility in its eyes.

There was a glimmer of intelligence in its gaze. This was not killing intent or vengeance. It was only the silent acknowledgment of a loyal subordinate awaiting orders.

Damon’s eyes flickered, swirling like the abyss, and he whispered.

"Demon Dominate."

As soon as the words left his lips, he felt a connection form between him and the lesser demon. In that moment, it could not resist his will.

To test the limits of his domination, he gave a cruel command.

"Die..."

There was a tone in his voice that was cold, domineering, and inhumane, far beyond what Damon would normally display.

The lesser demon did not hesitate. It raised its claws and reached toward its own skull with the intent to rip itself apart.

Damon’s eyes widened. He stopped himself immediately.

"Stop!!"

The lesser demon froze. Damon gasped, shaken.

"...what... what the hell was that..."

In his heart of shadows he felt something stir... a seed that drove him toward depravity.

"Is... this Ashcroft’s seed of depravity..."

Damon had underestimated what the system meant when it said there was a possibility of demonization.

"I’m turning... into a demon..."

No. Not yet. He was still human for all intents and purposes. But what if he found more of Ashcroft’s fragments? What if his resentment and darkness fed the seed?

Damon raised his head with a sigh.

"Ahhh... it’s starting to make sense now... Mugu became a demon too... the possibility that I will exist... no, it’s almost certain..."

Damon laughed, because it was all he could do.

"What more will I sacrifice for power... What is a demon anyway... how much will that change me..."

That said and done, Damon knew he would have to figure things out on his own. For now, he would have to say goodbye to Abellona of Valtheron.

He reached into his shadow storage and pulled out her spatial ring.

"I didn’t take your chastity because... erhmm... I just didn’t... but I’m taking your spatial ring and all your other stuff..."

Thinking of all the wealth inside, Damon coughed and winced in mock pain, even though he wasn’t actually injured.

"Cough... cough... this will cover my medical bills..."

He held his head dramatically, even though there was no one to witness his ridiculous justification for theft.

"I also need it for mental reparations... for attempted rape on a minor... She’s lucky I’m not suing... or telling my grandfather..."

Damon nodded to himself.

Yes, if she ever tried to pull something, he’d drag her down with him.

Then there was also the matter of the five billion zeni.

Damon wasn’t sure how she would react to everything, and honestly he preferred she not know anything about what happened between him and Ashcroft. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the politics of the imperial capital.

"Not when I don’t have strong enough political backing... and matters related to Ashcroft are troublesome..."

For now the best option was clear. He would fake his death.

"This would be a tragic scene where young and handsome Damian... who saved the princess and stole her heart..."

Squeal. Squeal. Caw. Caw.

His pets were not impressed with that last part.

"Shut up. That’s how it’s going to go down."

At least it was in the stories his mother used to tell him and his sister.

He could almost hear them scoff in disgust.

Coughing to hide his embarrassment, Damon continued.

"Sadly, he slew Ashcroft and died too... the arm is proof..."

The raven cawed at him, almost asking how he intended to get his five billion zeni, knowing Damon would never let money go.

"Relax, fools, this is only temporary. I just don’t want her accusing me of touching her or dragging me into politics... If she doesn’t reveal anything, fine. If she does... there is no such person as Damian..."

He was mostly worried she would be petty.

Squeal. The squirrel asked a silent question.

"What about my face? That’s fine... I usually wear a hood in public places anyway, and I can just use my armor helm... and if she sees me I can just deny, deny, deny..."

The two animals weren’t convinced, but they seemed unconcerned. Damon always had a plan, and if he didn’t, he’d figure one out.

"We can get the money at a later date through anonymous sources. She signed an oath scroll. She has to pay up..."

The piece of human garbage with no regard for a lady’s feelings went about tampering with the battlefield, the lesser demon and his two pets serving as assistants.