Void Evolution System

Duke Horacio didn't make excuses when he returned to Straea.

He told Grand Duke Famas exactly what had occurred and how Damien got away. Rather than trying to beg for forgiveness, he highlighted the mistakes in the information they had and corrected them.

Regardless, the mission he'd made was a successful one. He wasn't a coward who would kneel and beg just because he'd lost a battle.

An honorable one, at that. Damien was never trying to fight from the beginning. He aimed for escape, and expertly tricked Horacio and his followers to achieve that goal.

It was an impressive performance from Damien, and Duke Horacio acknowledged it.

Grand Duke Famas was the same.

Compared to Malevalon, he could actually be considered an understanding supervisor. He always looked at the entire situation and gleaned what he could from it, rather than focusing on defeat.

Nevertheless, this situation was unique, and while the Grand Duke was analyzing it, Void Palace started withdrawing troops.

Their intent became obvious.

They wanted to throw away all pretenses and fight face-to-face.

Whether it was Malevalon or Grand Duke Famas, both were more than happy to entertain this proposition.

The Sapientia Clan noticed their movements first and immediately relayed the information to Void Palace.

Several thousands of Divinities had left the Straea Clan in quick succession and made their way in different directions.

As of today, they'd arranged themselves all across the globe in groups ranging from one person to ten. They all had different strength levels, some of which couldn't be measured at all, and from the way they openly announced their presence…

It was obvious they weren't trying to be subtle.

Damien recognized their intentions immediately.

It was like a circuit.

If one wanted to get to the boss, one had to go through the minions.

The act of dispatching Divinities could be considered Straea Clan striking preemptively.

Rather than allowing the palace to decide the terms of this confrontation, they'd clearly displayed their intent as if challenging the palace.

If they chose to circumvent this circuit, they'd be labeled as cowards. A label like that didn't fade easily when the entity in question was a great clan.

Damien should've carefully considered his options here. It might have been safer if he instead tried to storm the castle where Malevalon was.

However, even he fell prey to the pride of the strong.

He didn't just want to end this battle.

He wanted to crush the Straea Clan beneath his foot, totally and absolutely.

For that, what better way was there than to perfectly entertain their little tricks and still slaughter them all?

Since that was the case, Damien first had to get some information.

The strength and location of every Straea Clan group was important because only with this knowledge would he know where to deploy his own forces.

The Sapientia Clan had most of what he wanted. All Demigods and most Gods were categorized by their standards, so the majority of those waiting for him were in the open.

There were a few that they couldn't measure, like Malefice Straea. Others more were completely unknown, never before seen by the world.

Those–

'–are Foreign Nobles.'

Damien was sure of it without even confronting them.

There were only around ten who fit the description, but considering how much the Foreign Nobles had been doing to hide themselves, they likely would only allow this number out into the world at once.

Among them was one Duke Horacio who Damien had already met.

'I see he wants a rematch.'

It wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't what came first.

'With this…'

Damien looked at the information in his hands.

'...I don't think it's possible for us to lose.'

It had to be known that several thousand Divinities had been revealed by the Straea Clan. This was a number that far exceeded all expectations others had for them.

Of course, most of those were Demigods as was always the case, however…

'...they have over a thousand Gods.'

It was truly a frightening force. If it was any of the other great clans, or if it was the old Void Palace, they would've been defeated with this display of power alone.

A thousand Gods was an insane number. It was a number that was almost impossible, especially with how new the Straea Clan was compared to the other great clans.

But if that was the case, then why was Damien so relaxed about it?

Shouldn't he have been concerned?

Well, as mentioned before, the old Void Palace wouldn't have been able to take it.

But the current palace…?

The palace that had been able to turn a single day into an entire year for years now?

Those troops who were steadily approaching True Godhood were given all the time in the world to make the transition between Divinities.

And that meant that Void Palace's Gods were also not small in number anymore.

It started with no more than five, who became members of Void Palace's 16 Swords.

However, after those five ascended, it lit a spark behind everyone else.

One after another, those who'd been trapped at bottlenecks overcame those roadblocks, letting them see the land of Gods they'd always dreamed of.

And though his part in it all was minimal at most, they attributed their success to Damien, pledging to him their absolute loyalty.

Every time Damien returned to the palace, it made its appearance during its last visit seem shabby.

The palace itself and all the people within were striving towards greatness with everything they had. It really did fill him with confidence and allow him to act as he wished.

That was why Damien never faltered. It wasn't just because of his confidence in himself, but also the confidence he had in the people around him.

It didn't take more than a few hours from when Damien learned the identities and power levels of his enemies for him to decide which forces to send where.

If one thing was convenient, it was that those Damien had placed on his hitlist were now waiting for him in the open. That meant the teams originally established to deal with them were still right for dealing with them.

That only left him to worry about the people who weren't included in that list.

'Actually, that isn't much of a worry, is it?'

Gods of all levels were waiting for him on the outside.

His people were already occupied dealing with the rest of them.

Didn't that mean…this was a perfect opportunity for him to go out and play?

'That's perfect.'

Damien had just made a declaration that he'd stop hiding his strength, but with the way things were going, he was almost stuck in the palace again.

Now, he definitely had the freedom to move some troops around and fill those empty spaces.

He definitely did.

But, how could he resist?

Damien was practically outside the palace gates already.

His first target, someone he thought he'd have to wait to fight again, but someone who was perfect to use as a way to send a message.

Duke Horacio.

'I'll kill him all flashy and the likes and start this war with a bang!'

Damien's war spirit turned into bloodlust as the thought of fighting filled his mind.

How long had it been since he'd been able to face the world with such recklessness and ignorance?

He didn't know. The only thing that mattered now…

…was the fact that he was absolutely raving at the chance to do it again.