Weapons left their scabbards, and the abilities ignited as the people around Damon charged at him to end the quest, no hesitation in their eyes.
His gaze swept across the chamber one more time, and with his Heavenly Comprehension active, his eyes scanned more than any normal look could have done.
[Your comprehension of *Blademaster* Class is now complete!]
[You received a class: Blademaster]
[Your comprehension of *Water Mage* Class is now complete!]
[Your comprehension of...]
[...]
It took merely a single glance for him to grasp a complete understanding of each class.
None of them seemed particularly interesting, but some provided a percentage stat bonus, which, on stats as high as his, amounted to more than most would gain in a lifetime.
He grasped almost two dozen classes before the first of the attackers had reached him.
The man swung an axe that was almost as big as him, and at least twice as heavy.
Damon sidestepped the attack with ease before cutting the man’s arm off with a swift arc of his weapon.
The others arrived a second later.
Their attacks weren’t much better. Swings and attacks that would maybe work on low-level monsters that had no thought other than to attack.
Damon moved between their attacks as though they were moving in slow motion, avoiding each ability and weapon, and striking in between the gaps of their attacks.
In a matter of a few seconds, three dozen people lay sprawled across the ground.
Most were missing arms or legs, while some were cut down to a state of unconsciousness.
Despite those injuries, most of the people there were left alive. Not because of weakness or a mistake, but simply because killing them brought no purpose to Damon.
"Damn monster..." someone among the injured hissed.
From their perspective, it probably wasn’t too wrong of an observation. He was closer to monsters or divine beasts he found in Ayame’s world than to the humans around him.
Damon, however, ignored the remark. His mind had already moved on to the main problem of the quest.
According to the system, if he didn’t die, everyone else, including Ivy, Nyla and the others, would die.
***
Moments earlier, inside the dark citadel, more specifically, inside a large room inside of its eastern tower, a girl with golden light brown skin sat back in her chair, brushing her luxurious black hair, when a sudden notification rang through the world.
She blinked, and the hairbrush slipped out of her hand as she read the text before her eyes.
"D... Damon?!"
She jumped to her feet, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Across from her, on one of the walls, a calendar hung, each day from when he suddenly disappeared was crossed.
Her heart hammered against the ribs at the mention of his name, she had waited so long but as her excitement slowly subsided and she focused back on the notification, a faint frown appeared on her face.
"We have to... kill Damon?" she murmured under her breath before turning toward the door and rushing toward the council meeting room.
As she ran, she saw the citadel in complete disarray.
Everyone around her had received the exact same notification. Everyone here was aware of Damon, even back in the central station days, he was somewhat of a legend, a man who came and killed his best friend to free the people from mind control, but now, he was far more than that. He was a target not of a human being but of a system itself.
Moments later, she dashed into a council meeting room where a discussion was already underway.
Ning Xiaoyu, Victor, Hana and Eve were already talking, while Ivy sat in her chair with a kind of distant look on her face.
It was the same look she had since her sudden return. She was quiet and distant, leaving most of her previous responsibilities for everyone else to pick up.
The room was quiet for a moment after Nyla entered.
Then Victor spoke first, picking up the conversation that began before her arrival.
"So what do we do?" he asked.
No one answered immediately. Nyla moved to one of the chairs but didn’t sit down, her gaze shifting across everyone present.
The question sat in the air, heavy and without a clean answer. Everyone in the room understood what the quest meant. They had seen enough of the system to know it didn’t bluff.
There was no second meaning behind what the system meant by death.
Ning Xiaoyu’s fingers drummed once against the table. "The quest parameters are clear. One hundred and twenty days. If the anomaly isn’t killed then—"
"I can read," Nyla said flatly, shutting her down almost immediately.
Another silence followed, this time it felt even heavier.
Hana’s gaze moved toward Ivy, as it had several times since the notification appeared. Ivy hadn’t reacted. She sat with her hands folded on the table, her eyes somewhere else entirely. Whatever was going on behind them, she was keeping it there.
Eve shifted in her seat. "We don’t even know where he is. Or what condition he’s in. He’s been gone for—"
"Months," Nyla said. "I know."
"Then you know we can’t just—"
"I’m not saying we do anything." Nyla’s voice was even. "I’m saying we don’t make decisions about Damon before we’ve even seen him."
Victor leaned back in his chair. "The longer we wait—"
"The longer we wait, the more information we have." She looked around the table. "We find him first. Then we decide what to do."
No one argued. Not because they agreed, necessarily. But because nobody in that room was particularly eager to be the one who pushed the other direction.
Ivy’s chair scraped back quietly.
Everyone’s attention snapped toward her.
She said nothing.
Just stood up, straightened her back, and walked toward the door, moving for the first time since the notification had appeared with anything resembling purpose.
Nyla watched her go for a moment before turning back to the others.
"Let’s move," she said.