"How is everyone?" Damien asked, watching Tiona and Tione help Chloe to her feet.
"We are fine." Chloe brushed herself off. "But I cannot believe it took you this long to show up, nya."
Anya walked over to Damien, a playful pout on her face. "You left us to fight a bunch of demons alone! Shame on you, nya." She glanced at Chloe and winked.
"Yeah, nya." Chloe joined in. "Come on, nya."
Damien blinked. "What?"
Tione sighed, rolling her eyes. "They want you to pamper them, you fool. How do we all love you when you are this clueless?"
"Oh." Damien walked to Anya and Chloe, pulling them into a hug and giving each a kiss. "There. Happy?"
Chloe's cheeks flushed. "I should not be happy about this, since you did it with so little enthusiasm..." She touched her lips. "But it was an amazing kiss, nya."
Damien smiled. "I am sorry. I am like this. I am just worried about the others. So if you are all safe, we have to move."
"Yeah, sure." Chloe gestured to Akizuki, who was leaning on his katana. "Akizuki has an injury, but he can walk."
"Okay then. Let us go."
...
It did not take long for Damien and his crew to find the next team. Aisha, Samira, Royland, and Lunoire had defeated the Gluttony Sins Duo and were trying to find a way out of the castle when Damien broke through the walls.
Next, they located Gareth, Finn, Lefiya, and Daphne. Finn was heavily injured from his battle with the Leviathan, the Sin of Envy, but they were all alive. Gareth went on a tangent, telling everyone how crazy amazing Lefiya had been in the battle. The young elf was dying of embarrassment.
Finally, they entered the last of the five castles.
Inside, Damien found a panicking Cassandra, crying as she tried to heal the others. Riveria lay with a missing eye. Ryuu's body was a ruin of broken bones and internal bleeding. Ottar's entire frame was broken in a dozen places.
Damien and the others rushed to her side.
"I do not... do not..." Cassandra sobbed. "He was... too strong... we just could not... they all..."
"Hey, hey, hey." Damien knelt beside her, his voice calm. "Relax. Relax."
He scanned the injured. Daphne quickly moved to comfort Cassandra, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Damien turned back to Cassandra. "You did well, darling. You saved them. They are all stable."
He pulled out a handful of healing potions and handed them to Finn and Tione. They moved quickly, forcing the potions down the throats of the wounded.
Finn helped Riveria drink. "These are heavy injuries. Whoever did this must be very strong. Riveria, Ryuu, and Ottar are all top-level adventurers."
"It... was a demon." Cassandra's voice trembled. "He died. We killed him. But it was... too hard."
Damien nodded. "If he is dead, then that is good. That also means you have all killed the necessary demons."
He looked toward the center of the pentagram, where the massive castle loomed.
"The path to that castle should finally be open."
Ais stepped forward. "Yes. We are ready."
Damien shook his head. "There is no 'we.' It will be me alone."
"WHAT?!" The protest was almost unanimous.
Damien raised a hand. "Do not worry. I am not doing this to sideline you. If anything, I will be needing you guys."
He turned to face them fully.
"You see, what we have all faced were the Seven Deadly Sins—variants of them. I fought Lust. You have taken down Wrath, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, and Greed." He paused. "If you are noticing anything, Pride has not shown up. There were five castles... and one in the middle. Lust had no castle. None."
He gestured toward the central structure.
"I first assumed that the final castle would house Pride. But what if I am wrong? What if it houses the Demon King? It would make sense, no? Then what about Pride?"
He let the question hang in the air.
"In my understanding, I think the castle contains the Demon King, and Pride awaits outside—either trying to ambush me or something else." He looked at each of them. "So I will need you guys on the lookout. A few minutes. If things feel fine, come inside too. If an attack occurs..." He smiled. "Handle it."
Tione let out a breath. "Sheesh. For a moment, I thought you were getting rid of us."
Tiona nodded. "Me too."
Damien shook his head. "I would never. The whole point was to make you all stronger. And you have become stronger. You all do not realize it yet, but you have grown beyond reason. You have bled, teared, worked together, and fought hard to defeat enemies beyond reason."
He paused, his voice softening.
"The sin duos you fought might be on the level of the Ant King...the final boss of my last dungeon. I have not told you this, but this is my last dungeon. The strongest and final training dungeon that came with my powers." He met their eyes. "That means you all are standing side by side with me in my biggest challenge. So be proud of yourselves. You have earned it."
They turned to each other and then back to him, conviction burning in their eyes. His heartfelt speech filled them with confidence.
Damien smirked.
"Now then. Let us get to it, shall we?" He turned toward the central castle. "Let us face the Demon King."
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