"I'll give you everything you want as long as you take charge of this land of mages. There are thousands of ancient books, black magic, and many other things here. You can keep it all."
Frieren's eyes showed interest as soon as she heard about magic, strange books, and magical materials. All these things fascinated her, so she couldn't wait to see how many books were here.
Syndra took a deep breath and said, "I'll arrange everything so you can take control of this mage tower more easily. You can look around this tower with your friend in the meantime."
"Well, thank you for accepting my sudden request." Damian said goodbye and took Frieren out of the room.
Honestly, everything was very unexpected. He had expected Syndra to get upset and expel him from this mage tower, but what he never expected was the deterioration of this tower, where powerful mages used to be seen as instructors and the command was quite bloody.
But when he arrived, he not only received everything this tower had to offer but also all the people in this mage tower, which surely housed thousands of people.
While Damian maintained his serious expression and stroked one of Frieren's pigtails to calm his emotions, they soon arrived at the great dining hall, where hundreds of people could be seen receiving their food.
"Do you want to eat something?"
"I'll be fine without eating; I'd prefer to go to a quieter place." Frieren didn't want to be among so many people, so they headed to the gardens, where there were peach trees.
Damian sat on a wooden bench and leaned back on Frieren's legs, who, by the way, was not bothered. That feeling she felt was not at all unpleasant; she could clearly feel it, so she did not push Damian away, who was acting normally.
"This place is not what you described."
"I know, everything seems very different from what it used to be. When all the great mages of this tower died, it seems that everything became quieter, perhaps also due to the fear of losing the war."
Frieren nodded; this was the reason why everyone ate in silence. Many had lost the will to live; others were simply here to see if they could reach a much better destination.
It seemed that everyone was aware of what was happening in the world. Everyone here understood perfectly that humans couldn't beat the demons.
But they didn't know about the City of Snow Storms, which was currently preparing for war. No one knew the power Damian was accumulating, so maybe things could change.
"We have to see what awaits us."
...
Many hours passed, and soon night fell. Damian and Frieren stayed in the old room that used to be his, so they didn't have to camp as planned.
Frieren was sitting on the bed, appreciating the surroundings, and said, "Nothing seems to have changed."
"It hasn't been touched since I left. It seems that my death was never known, so this place couldn't be touched." Damian was about to explain more to Frieren about this place when suddenly someone knocked on the door.
The sounds were very desperate, as if something bad had happened, so Damian walked to the door, where he found a bald boy.
"Are you the thunder mage?"
Damian blinked a little confusedly and nodded. "I've been called that at some point."
"Quick, the barrier is gone, and our master is dead."
"Who?"
"You know her; you talked to her this morning."
Frieren closed her eyes for a moment and said, "There are demons approaching."
Damian's expression turned cold, and just by moving his hand, darkness spread throughout the mage tower, where hundreds of Paladin guardians began to track down the demons to kill them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Walking away from the room and ignoring the sounds of explosions, Damian walked to the room where Syndra was and entered without any problem. When he looked at Syndra, Damian's eyes closed for a few seconds.
"I'll take care of it, Syndra." Damian looked at Syndra's corpse, completely lifeless, without aura or traces of life.
It seemed she had been doing everything possible to stay alive and keep the barrier up, but when she saw it was no longer necessary, she succumbed to exhaustion and the curses of her magic that had ended her life.
Maybe she didn't know, but with her death, Damian was not obliged to continue with the binding vow. But since he had given his word and needed citizens, there was no reason not to accept all these people.
Damian waved his hand, and the barrier outside began to form again. Soon after, Damian sent those children to rest and prepared for the migration of these people.
There was nothing more to do in this place.