"Thank you for the assistance, Lord Odin. If it weren't for you I'm not sure what would have happened." Returning after some time Damian held regret in his eyes. Much of this end result was within his predictions but there were a few things he didn't expect.
The most obvious would be the death of Ordes. He had made it abundantly clear that should any of them be injured they were to receive healing from Valerie but clearly Ordes didn't care for that at all.
"Haha! If you want to thank me then take this troublesome guard from me!" Laughing like a fool Odin happily offered up his own guard. Though it was a fairly nonstandard thing to do it certainly did have its benefits.
First and foremost, Damian was strong. He was growing in both strength and political influence at an alarming degree so getting a close bond with him was influential even if it was a bit late in the game at this point.
"Lord Odin!?" Screaming in surprise Rossweisse wore a fierce blush as she covered her face with her hands. Odin had always moved her around as he pleased but to give her away to a man without her consent? If she didn't know him she'd assume he was helping her!
"We can discuss that later can't we?" Briefly glancing at the people around him Damian smiled apologetically at the chief god of the Norse pantheon. Physically, they could continue fighting but their minds had been pushed to their limits so now that they knew they could relax they had fallen to the brink of unconsciousness.
"Yes of course. I'll come to see you soon though!" Laughing once more Odin teleported away without any dillydallying. Shaking his head wryly Damian couldn't help but look at Rossweisse who had been left behind in pity.
"Why don't we return home for now?" Smiling amicably Damian clapped his hands, a warm sensation running through their bodies as their energies were refilled. It wouldn't bring them to their peak but curing one of their sources of exhaustion was still plenty helpful.
Nodding their heads tiredly various teleportation circles manifested before vanishing alongside their casters. In the end, it was just Damian and a familiar face that Damian dearly missed. It felt like it had been months since he last saw the girl.
"I missed you." Embracing the man called the Malevolent Star without fear Rias Gremory stayed silent for a moment as she rested her head on his shoulder. Despite seeing one another not even a few days ago she missed him dearly.
"It's only been a few days, hasn't it? Have you gotten that addicted to me?" Softly chuckling as he ran his hand through her hair Damian could feel the tension leaving her. He had seen roughly what had happened to all of them with his spiritual stamp but he underestimated how stressful it would be.
"Mhm." Humming into his shoulder tiredly Rias' body went slack as she succumbed to the exhaustion. Chuckling lightly Damian teleported her away for the time being. He wanted nothing more than to join her but he had things to do.
"Are you sure?" It was only a few minutes later that Ophis arrived though Great Red was nowhere to be seen. Damian had expected the True Dragon to come but apparently, he didn't even want to bother with something like this.
"Yeah. I'm sure." Replying softly with an unreadable look on his face Damian held a hand over his heart or rather where it once was. He had torn his own heart out and 'fed' it to the dimensional wall.
The wall was the only line of defense from other universes. ExE was powerful but among them all, they would only rank somewhere around the middle from what Great Red had seen. Damian could fight them all off but this world would inevitably fall. He was only one man after all.
So Damian had given up his heart. It still remains 'connected' to him via his soul so the overall loss was small but the dimensional wall would never fall. In essence, it was similar to the connection he and Ddraig had.
By acting as the power source of the wall Damian had gained the right to command existence within the barriers. Within Draconic Deus he had become omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He had well and truly become a god.
"I don't want to be a king. I'm more than content with just being nobility you know?" Smiling sincerely at Ophis he chuckled softly at her look of confusion. He had given up all that power for such an impossible to understand reason.
However, it was for that reason that Ophis cared for him so much. He was different from the boring devils she had seen, he didn't greed over everything he could see. He willingly abandoned the universal throne that others would die for.
"You don't have to understand. Even I know that what I did was stupid but, oddly enough, I don't have any regrets." Damian spoke softly, a warm grin on his face as he rubbed his hand through the humanoid dragon's hair.
Ophis was a being of nothingness and infinity, a paradoxical being who should not be able to exist yet did. She was an isolated being much like he himself was a few years back but dialed up to eleven. That was why Damian was so happy to see the confusion in her eyes and the disapproving frown on her face.
"Besides, being omniscient gave me a killer headache." Laughing softly Damian turned away with a smirk. It was shockingly difficult to be all knowing and ever present though Damian doubted most would understand.
Omniscience in particular was a terrifying experience, one he wouldn't wish on anyone. He had been the ruler of the universe for a scant few seconds and yet he had seen it all. The end of his life, the end of his comrades' lives, the name of his first child, the fears of his grandchildren, and everything else. He had seen all of it in every possible branch of fate.
To know everything was no blessing. It was a curse of the greatest order, one that Damian couldn't forget no matter how hard he wished to. He would never forget how this world would develop and that may be the biggest regret of his life. Among others of course. He would never be able to witness the wonders of the world with his own eyes again.
"Let's go home." Smiling softly Damian awaited the Dragon God to grab his outstretched hand. It was a shame that he would never be surprised by anything again but that was fine as well. Life didn't need to be suspenseful to be enjoyable. All that mattered was that he didn't forget the bonds that brought him here.
"Ok. Let's go home."
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