Taking jabs at Evangeline was a good way to pass the time. He'd come so far from outright telling her to screw off.

However, good times didn't last long. They couldn't really spend the whole time together when the final battle was already here.

A day had passed since Evangeline and Leona had arrived, and Damon was taking it easy with his current party.

Leona glanced at Waton, who was talking with Wendy, a small frown forming on her face.

"I hate to be that girl, but I'm sort of surprised he's still alive."

Damon leaned back on his chair with a small smile.

"Yeah… why?"

She shook her head lightly.

"It's just you aren't a very friendly person, especially to rich snobs."

Damon chuckled, looking at her.

"Well, turns out we have a lot more in common than I thought. And rich snobs are people too."

Leona narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Huh… that's weird. You hate nobles and rub your poverty in our faces every chance you get."

He felt a pang of annoyance at her words. Rub his poverty in their faces? When did he ever do that? He was—

"You did," Leona broke his train of thought. "You'd say, 'I don't expect rich people to understand,' or something along those lines."

Damon sighed, shaking his head with a small click of his tongue.

"Ahrg, hmph, so what… besides, well, it doesn't matter. I wouldn't expect a brat like you to understand your elders."

"We're the same age, and I'm smarter than you give me credit for. I'm not that naive."

She lowered her head as memories came flashing through her mind.

"At least not anymore."

Damon didn't say anything. Leona narrowed her eyes.

"Everyone's so obsessed with entering the World Dungeon as if that guarantees fame, fortune, and power. But power is never easy to obtain. This World Dungeon—we have no idea what world we would be cast into or what horrors lurk there."

Leona's eyes flickered slightly, seeing Damon's smile fade.

"Can we even overcome its trials? I mean, we lost Matia in Lysithara, even if none of us want to admit it… maybe ermh… sorry."

Damon sighed. He understood. He wasn't stupid. He had been thinking about it, and he understood it was an unspoken agreement in their party not to talk about Matia's change, even if no one knew the actual circumstances behind it.

It was an unspoken fact that she was not the same person, something fundamental about her was lacking, not as a warrior… but as a person.

"Leona… it's fine. You shouldn't worry about that. It's going to be alright."

He didn't make any guarantee. Leona heard a small wave of uncertainty in his voice.

She smiled softly.

"In the absence of the desirable, let the available be the desirable."

This was their party motto and had been what pushed them forward.

Hearing those words, Damon bit his lips.

"Hey… what if the control we think we have of our lives is—"

Rooooom!

The sound of a large battle horn echoed in the air, cutting Damon's voice off before he could speak.

On the horizon, the sounds of marching echoed out. A large number of people in armor of different varieties marched forward behind them.

Damon remained seated as he watched the factions approaching, his expression narrowing.

"I didn't think they'd put aside their differences and march together."

It was quite a sight—different factions working together.

Abellona's Imperial Faction was composed of knights, nobles, and adventurers from the Empire.

The second faction was led by Emilia Highgon, Xander Ravenscroft, and Yuka von Penrose, someone Damon had not seen in quite a while.

The last time he met Yuka was in the streets of Valerion when Damon had beaten up some of those Imperial Academy students.

After them was the Academy Faction, comprised of Aether Academy, Eldorian Academy, and whoever else joined them.

The prodigy Magnus was leading them, along with Ishara Fang from the War Academy and Natch Wuta from Aether Academy.

After them came the elves, and fairies or as Damon liked to call them, the "racist faction"—which was led by Velora Nyxfall, the dark elf from the Silver Glades.

The last was the Loose Alliance, made up of wanderers, adventurers, and people who didn't fit in with the more posh groups. Their leader was an adventurer Damon didn't know until now, referred to simply as "the Representative."

This was the loose gathering of people who had now joined together to come here and face off against the demons beyond the bridge.

Their overall number was still higher than Damon expected. There were at least seven thousand people left even after all the fighting.

'I knew they outnumbered the demons I have, and it's not even close…'

Even with the demon beasts, it would be a little hard to wipe out this many people.

Luckily, Damon—or rather Amon—had been ready.

That said, some faces were still missing, like Lilith and Sylvia.

He knew Lilith was on the main island doing goddess knows what, and Sylvia, while still alive, was elusive, with few sightings of her.

However, she seemed to be tracking Lilith.

"Which means she'll be heading to the main island as well."

As this large group approached him, Damon was unfazed, even with the crushing weight of an actual army pressing down on him.

His expression remained unchanged. His reasons were simple. He had planted his patrons in each group, and he could break any of them with a snap of his fingers. He had the forced obedience of hundreds of people.

One mistake, and this whole alliance of loose sand would break into a chaotic free-for-all. Regardless of whether it was demons or goddess races who won, Damon would win.

It was safe to say he was the most powerful person within this World Dungeon, dominating everything from the shadows.

The leaders of these factions stepped forward to reach the front of the bridge.

Each of these people would be negotiating with him right here. On the surface, everything seemed calm, but underneath was a web of interconnected personal relationships, friendships, and enmity that formed the undercurrent of everything.

Among said relationships was Damon's unwitty association with the third princess, Abellona of Valtheron.

And she was staring straight at him, her crimson eyes narrowed.

Leona narrowed her eyes.

"What did you do to her?"

Damon shrugged, waving his hand and whispering.

"It's nothing much. She just owes me money."

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