Chapter 52

Watching the confrontation that tore space time even if only for an instant Damian couldn't help but be impressed. His knight's capability had been assured but the prowess and skill of Vincent Edelweiss was shocking.

The earth had been torn asunder and the skies had clear markings of their battle where the dimensional gap showed its desire for conquest. Destroying the barrier and fixing the gaps in the sky Damian did not stop Sona from teleporting by her Knight's side.

"Kiba, how much did you see?" Rias asked her Knight with wide eyes. Her peerage was strong, strong enough to defeat even Sona's she believed, but that seemed more difficult than she expected.

A smart king like Sona, a sly general like Aguero, and a strong sword like Vincent were going to be troublesome opponents in the future. Luckily, while she lacked pieces, those she did have were not lacking when it came to Sona's own. They may even surpass them.

"I saw most of it but…" Kiba began but paused for a moment, thinking over his words carefully to cherry pick the best path. "Their last attack seemed to have reached a level I have not. I could barely catch a glimpse of what they had done."

"A glimpse? That alone is impressive." Damian interjected, his words warm yet his tone was beyond bland. That domain he was speaking of was not something to be entered casually nor was it something to be seen by the weak. Even Vincent had entered it by chance rather than experience as his Knight had.

"Indeed. I've only heard about it but… seeing it in person truly is different." Rias murmured softly, her words attracting a glance from her betrothed. Rias herself had been able to see into the domain but she had not been able to move. Even so, it was impressive.

"What exactly happened Rias?" Akeno asked with wide eyes. In the beginning, she was able to see what was happening even if they were extremely fast but in the end… nothing happened. It wasn't like she missed it, her eyes should have at least caught a glimpse if that was the case, but rather that nothing had happened to begin with.

In the span of an infinitely small amount of time they had attacked one another. Yet that wasn't possible. She would have at least seen their blades move, felt the wind react, and heard the flesh being cut but none of that happened. Nothing happened yet something occurred.

"They entered the domain of the strongest." Damian declared coldly. It was a domain of pure strength, a domain where time-space and even reality would bend a knee toward the will of the combatant. 

It was a vague and difficult to enter state of existence that few truly mastered. Even gods such as Apollo or Loki couldn't enter it at will and the number of times they had entered it at all could be counted on one hand. Naturally, the amount of battles that required it was a similar number.

It was the realm purely available to the strong and the talented without any exceptions. It was not something to be entered easily nor was it something to rely on as that in and of itself was incorrect. 

To enter the domain of the strongest absolute confidence was necessary. Confidence that you were the strongest, that you would win, and, in this case, that their swords would cut through all opposition.

"Domain of the strongest?" Gasper muttered softly, his tone filled to the brim with awe. Despite his shy nature, Gasper was actually enamored with strength, respecting the strength of others and desiring it for himself.

"Umu! It is a realm of being fit only for Kings!" Nero proclaimed proudly with her hands on her hips as she stood beside her King. Her expression was filled with even more pride than before yet the desire for praise in her eyes was new.

"Congratulations." Damian answered her desires albeit in a less than satisfactory way. Nodding happily, the Emperor of Roses' ego swelled once more as she looked down upon the Gremory peerage despite her short stature.

"Of course. An Emperor such as myself could not possibly lose to rabble no matter how talented they may be!" Nero declared proudly, a wide smirk full of almost childish pride on her face. She was famed as an Emperor, a Tyrant, and a Beast but she looked no different to a normal girl.

"Rabble? That's quite rude don't you think?" Akeno asked politely, a soft smile on her face with closed eyes as holy lightning danced around her body like serpents and the air popped ominously.

"So you consider the truth to be insulting? How delusional!" Nero shouted happily, her sword materializing in her hand as she prepared herself to fight back against the Daughter of Baraqiel who had famously abandoned the Fallen. 

"Hey." Shirone spoke softly while gently tugging on Damian's sleeve, her usually sharp voice meek. Her normally calm expression was tainted with worry and she couldn't help but fidget in place. "Can I talk to you… privately?" She requested quietly.

Not bothering to respond verbally, a thin barrier of demonic energy shrouded them, all outside sounds vanishing as the outer world took on a pink hue. Taking a deep breath the young Yokai repeatedly opened and closed her mouth as if searching for the right words.

"Thank you… for saving us." Shirone began hesitantly, her golden eyes looking at his eyes of a similar shade worriedly. While everything had improved since that day for her the same couldn't be said for Damian. She wanted to thank him but bringing up bad memories wasn't something she wanted to do. Unfortunately, her goal couldn't be accomplished without them rising up.

Gazing at her emptily she couldn't begin to imagine what emotions he held within his eyes but she didn't have to. His body, his life force, was screaming in anguish. It always was. From the moment she saw him till now, he was always in anguish.

"You're welcome." Damian replied emotionlessly after a tense batch of silence.

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