Chapter 704 Encounter [1]

'What a day, what a day.' Damien thought smilingly as he walked away from the battle arena. He made the conscious decision to stop after accumulating his fifth win in Richard.

After all, a genius' win streak wouldn't be reset until they lost, this was the same even if they left and decided to return another day to continue. Though, delaying for too long would naturally cause their streak to expire.

Damien's reasons to stop were two. Firstly, he wanted to take the time to go over what he'd learned in battle today and improve before he returned to the arena for his second run.

This was because, from the sixth match onward, he'd likely be facing opponents above level 300, people stronger than Aishia and the others he'd met in Niflheim.

If it was just one person, he'd be able to deal with them just fine. But against a group of them that fought him in succession, he was bound to suffer some mental exhaustion along the way.

He couldn't allow that. He needed to maintain his peak shape as much as possible so he could continue his brutal training and sparring routine for as long as he could.

The second reason was more complicated. He'd simply made too big of a scene today with his antics.

'They should be coming to find me soon...'

Despite the fact that his actions were for the sole purpose of slapping a tyrant in the face and bringing him down from his pedestal, in the end, he still broke the academy's rules.

Not only had he interrupted a ranked duel, he'd also fought and maimed multiple students outside of the dueling grounds. This was a serious offense that the school definitely wouldn't tolerate.

If he used every last second of the King Bracket's time for his own benefit without allowing others a chance to fight, he'd be condemned even further. He had to at least minimize the damage so the academy wouldn't punish him through isolation or something similar.

pàпdá-ňᴏνêι.сóМ 'Still, the rewards were...more than a little satisfactory.'

Aside from the improvements to his comprehension and battle style, his Heaven's List ranking saw a major change as well. From the 40,000s where he once stood, he'd now made his way to the top 15,000 easily.

The battle arena was a place where powerful geniuses gathered, and the King Bracket was a place where some of the most exemplary of them were seeded. Though these geniuses weren't powerful enough to immediately push his ranking to the top 100 or even the top 10,000, this was more than enough for him at the moment.

Once he finished his challenge tomorrow and defeated the Overlord the day after, he didn't doubt that he'd make his way far past a mere rank 100.

Those in the Emperor Bracket were only the best of the best, so the Overlord blocking the Emperor Bracket from reach naturally had to be the same.

As Damien walked back to the training area to continue his usual routine, he suddenly halted. His eyes darted to a certain location on his right side, and his awareness spread around him.

'One, two, three...a total of fifteen, huh. Quite generous for someone like me.' Damien thought sarcastically.

"Oh? Some familiar faces? I thought you were in charge of guarding the trench. What're you doing all the way over here?"

His words were directed at a certain woman hidden in the shadows. Hearing them, she sighed and walked out.

"I knew you were a troublemaker when we first met, but I didn't think you'd be one that had the power to cause trouble in here. How annoying."

The woman emerging from the shadows was none other than the Head Guard who'd stopped him when he first descended into Hidden Death Valley. The other fourteen she brought along were her personal squad members, people she'd chosen and raised into terrifying powerhouses.

"Damien Void, I've been ordered to escort you to the Board of Directors. Please follow me without causing another scene."

"Relax, that was my plan from the start. I'm not someone who causes trouble just for the sake of it, you know? I like my peace."

The Head Guard shook her head and turned around. With the other fourteen forming a tight barrier around Damien, it didn't look like he could even teeter as he followed them to the Board of Directors.

'They all range from around level 360 to...oho, this Head Guard woman has already dipped a foot into Divinity? Did I see things wrong when I first arrived?'

It couldn't be helped. His abilities, especially his All-Seeing Eyes, weren't developed enough to see through someone so powerful before he began controlling spacetime. Rather than saying he misread them, it was better to say that he read everything he could.

Still, thinking back to his reckless behavior, he smiled wryly. He was lucky he wasn't someone who caused problems randomly, or else he would've died then and there.

The group of guards escorted Damien through Hidden Death Valley, leaving Arcadia and passing through Star City as they arrived at the Hell Hole. When they reached the entrance, the Head Guard flashed her emblem and received permission to enter.

"From this point on, everything you see must remain a secret. You will be promoted to sign a Mana Oath in front of the Director when we reach the office, so don't even think about disobeying." The Head Guard said.

Damien nodded in agreement. Considering the security level of the Hell Hole, this seemed like a basic procedure.

Besides, who did he even have to tell about the place? If it was Zara, they could just share memories through their spiritual connection to share information. In the first place, with her being his beast companion, he doubted he'd be prohibited from sharing with her as long as she signed the same Mana Oath.

The thick doors of the Hell Hole were made of a metal alloy that neither awareness nor space could penetrate. It was an area Damien couldn't break into even if he had 10 times his current power.

And when the group walked in, he finally saw why it was termed the Hell Hole.

Torture.

The training the people within were partaking in was torture at the very least. He saw dozens of people have their bodies destroyed, only to be resurrected by the mysterious medicines injected into them thereafter.

This was a method of physical body training that most could never stand. It was essentially death and rebirth, repeated over and over again until the body reached a satisfactory level of strength.

Damien had undergone this process nearly every time he evolved, and even a few times outside this process, but he never got used to the pain.

'I even became a bit of a masochist to cope with it...tch, damn Void Physique.'

The body reconstruction training was only one of many torturous training regimens Damien witnessed. All around, groups of geniuses were being put through hell to numb their free will and strengthen their bloodlust and power.

Hell Hole...was truly an apt name for this place.

"Stop dilly-dallying and follow me. We've arrived." The Head Guard spoke after around half an hour of walking.

The group arrived in front of a small but ancient door connected to an unassuming hut. If one entered the Hell Hole without knowledge of the hut's existence, they wouldn't pay it any mind.

But Damien was different. He could sense it clearly.

This hut...was a structure similar to Aquazyl.

It was a self-contained realm transformed from a Mystic Realm.

'Oho, these old geezers are pretty interesting.'

With that final thought, Damien followed the Head Guard through the small door.

This would be his first encounter with the wider universe's Demigods, and frankly, he couldn't wait to see how they compared to his master.