A Creator God, akin to the father of the Cardinal World.
Any being from the central world who met Damien would instinctively perceive him as gentle and harmless.
If one were to describe the current Damien in a single phrase, it would be something like an innate charm akin to a holy succubus.
Of course, if Damien actively released his Demon Lord aura, that was another matter entirely.
Take the King of Falmuth, for instance.
Damien had no interest in earning the affection of someone like that.
It would be utterly revolting.
"Fine, just assume I used some kind of charm magic on you," Damien said so candidly that it made Hinata start to doubt herself.
"Also," Damien continued, settling into a chair Carrera had brought, "as a prisoner, isn't your attitude a bit off?"
"Not a hint of remorse. That puts me in a difficult spot."
"You brought over 3,000 soldiers to attack my territory," Damien said. "Do you think something like that can just be brushed off lightly?"
"Or do you think you're still a child, and I should let it slide for Shizu's sake?"
"I…"
Hinata wanted to retort with some defiance.
But for some reason, facing Damien, she felt an instinctive awe.
The reason was the same.
A Dragon God of Creation could be a benevolent father or a stern one.
No matter how cold or powerful Hinata was, when facing Damien, she couldn't help but feel a step below him.
"Please don't make things difficult for Shizu-sensei. She has nothing to do with this," Hinata said.
In a sense, this war was largely because of Shizu.
If Yuuki Kagurazaka hadn't deceived her, claiming Shizu was manipulated, Hinata would never have joined the battlefield so readily.
Of course, she wouldn't admit this.
Shizu and the children had a new future now, and Hinata wouldn't let her actions drag them down.
'She's got some backbone,' Damien thought.
He could hear Hinata's thoughts.
Though she didn't admit fault, her willingness to take responsibility earned her a bit of respect in his eyes.
"What exactly do you want from me?" Hinata shifted the topic, trying to avoid implicating Shizu. "Since you didn't kill me and took me prisoner, it means I'm still useful to you, right?"
"Just tell me directly."
"As long as it's within my power, I'll do my best to make amends for my mistakes," she said.
Shizu had explained Monster Kingdom's situation to her yesterday.
The residents here weren't human.
But was there really a difference between intelligent monsters and humans?
If you looked at lineage, Shizu herself was a Majin, not human either.
In that light, Hinata's actions were tantamount to attacking another nation without understanding the situation.
Such an act was an unforgivable crime, no matter where you were.
Damien would be well within his rights to execute her.
"But if you plan to use me to threaten Luminous, you might as well kill me now," Hinata declared.
That was her bottom line. She could admit her wrongs, but she wouldn't help Damien turn against her own people.
"Hm, I believe you're not afraid to die," Damien said, praising her resolve to die rather than betray Luminous. "But what does that have to do with me?"
Hinata was already in his hands, along with the 3,000 Crusaders.
With such a loss, how could Luminous possibly sit still?
"You!" Hinata's pupils shrank as she exclaimed, "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't get it?" Damien shook his head. "Do you think I need your help to lure Luminous here?"
"I've already sent Ultima to the Holy Empire of Ruberios."
"Soon, Luminous will come in person," Damien said.
Ultima, the Primordial Purple, and Luminous were old acquaintances.
As the most carefree of the Primordial Daemons, Ultima loved spying on the material world through magic, so she had crossed paths with Luminous several times.
Their relationship wasn't exactly friendly... encounters often led to clashes.
In terms of strength, Ultima, as an upper-tier Daemon, was roughly on par with Luminous, an Awakened Demon Lord without an Ultimate Skill.
She couldn't win outright.
But losing was equally difficult.
Luminous simply lacked the decisive means to defeat her.
Plus, Primordial Daemons had an immortal nature. Even if their physical body in the material world was destroyed, they would merely return to the underworld, not truly die.
With this trait, Ultima had frustrated Luminous to no end, leaving her grinding her teeth in anger.
"Ultima?" Hinata, of course, had no idea who that was.
"Oh, right, you don't know about them yet," Damien said. "How about another name, then?"
"Have you heard of the Primordial Purple?"
"Primordial… Purple…" Hinata froze, then her pupils contracted sharply. "You! Are you insane?! You summoned a being like that to the material world and even gave her a name?!"
What were the Primordial Daemons?
A group of monsters among monsters, utterly disregarding life and acting with reckless abandon!
The only Primordial Daemon known in the material world (Hinata was unaware of Rain and Missery) was the legendary strongest Demon Lord... the Lord of Darkness Guy Crimson!
"She's got some knowledge," Carrera said with interest. "But it's kind of annoying. Ultima's so weak, yet she's got you this spooked."
Carrera was stronger than Ultima.
Yet she'd been standing here for ages, and Hinata hadn't shown much shock.
"What?" Hinata hadn't ignored Carrera.
The moment she opened her eyes, she'd noticed the girl and was stunned by the terrifying aura she exuded.
But only now did Hinata realize what she'd overlooked.
"You're a daemon too?"
A daemon who could casually speak the name of a Primordial Daemon without honorifics.
The implications were clear.
'Another one!'
A single Primordial Daemon descending was already a catastrophe requiring the Holy Empire of Ruberios to prepare for war.
And Damien had summoned two!
Naming a Primordial Daemon would evolve them into a Daemon Duke.
With enough souls, further evolution wasn't out of the question.
Realizing this, Hinata finally understood the situation.
She had brought disaster upon the Holy Empire, upon humanity, upon Luminous... a calamity they should never have provoked!
***
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