Chapter 532: Astaroth’s Support

Damian lay upon the triclinium while Alice carefully wrapped bandages around his ruined right arm, each movement deliberate as she tried not to worsen the damage beneath the cloth.

Mary sat behind him, gently cleaning the moisture from his long white hair while Rah stood beside the chair holding a small container of ointment that Alice had already applied to the charred flesh.

Loth remained near the bathhouse entrance, waiting for further instructions, when the door finally opened and William stepped inside.

The Grand Chamberlain’s gaze immediately settled on Damian, and for the first time since entering the room, his tense expression eased slightly. Some colour had returned to Damian’s pale skin, although he still looked nothing like the Prince who had entered the battle earlier that day.

William approached and fell onto one knee, bowing deeply. Damian noticed the gesture immediately. There was something different about William’s respect now, something deeper than before, as though witnessing Damian defeat Dantalion had changed the way even his most loyal servants viewed him.

"Sire, your fiancées, ministers and officials are all outside the palace, demanding an audience with you. They are curious to ascertain your condition." William reported.

Alice immediately frowned. "Are they crazy? Don’t they know the kind of battle he just survived or are they just stupid?!" she growled angrily.

Mary looked equally irritated. "I don’t care if my dad is one of them, kick them all out!" she yelled.

Damian calmly raised his left hand, silencing both women before they could continue. His expression remained relaxed despite the exhaustion visible in his eyes.

"Tell them I will be at the royal court tomorrow morning, but for tonight, I need some rest, and also thank them for their help dealing with the Order of Demons."

William nodded respectfully. "Yes sire..."

Damian paused for a moment before adding, "And for my fiancées... tell them I’ll meet them tomorrow after the royal court meeting."

William bowed again. "Yes sire..."

Yet he did not move.

Damian noticed the hesitation immediately and frowned. "Anything else?"

William quickly lowered himself even further before answering. "Sire, I apologize, but I also got a third request from Lord Astaroth to be allowed to sneak into the palace and have a meeting with you. He claims it is important that he sees you."

Buzz!

Rah’s expression instantly hardened. "In this condition, he demands to see my man in secret? If he plans to assassinate Damian, that coward should just come at all of us directly!" she yelled furiously.

Damian rolled his eyes at her reaction. His girls were being exceptionally protective today, and strangely enough, he found it amusing.

Considering everything he had experienced inside Realm Zero, their exaggerated concern felt almost comforting.

"Very well. Bring him in." Damian said calmly.

"Sire!!!!" Alice, Mary, Loth and Rah chorused together, their voices filled with disbelief.

Damian slowly sat upright and flexed his left shoulder before glancing at them.

"Relax... Duke Astaroth is one of my most important allies. This meeting is too crucial to ignore."

He began standing, but the four women immediately moved to block his path.

"Then we will go with you. We can’t leave you alone with such a dangerous demon, especially not in this condition." Mary argued, and the others nodded in agreement.

Damian stared at them for several seconds before releasing a defeated sigh. "I’ll let you all stand outside the room. If anything happens, you can rush in and save my life. Is that okay?"

He raised a brow, and the women’s annoyed expressions gradually relaxed. They finally stepped aside, although none of them looked particularly pleased with the arrangement.

Twenty minutes later, Lord Astaroth sat beneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree inside one of the palace’s indoor gardens, the delicate pink petals drifting slowly around him while he waited.

The peaceful surroundings felt strangely disconnected from the chaos that had engulfed Velmora only hours earlier.

Clank!

The door to the garden opened, and Damian walked inside. Astaroth’s brows immediately narrowed when he saw the Prince’s long white hair, then his attention shifted to Damian’s slight limp and the heavily bandaged right arm that hung loosely at his side.

Damian crossed the room and calmly sat on the opposite side of the table, settling into a cross legged position before meeting Astaroth’s gaze.

"You came here to see my condition. Are you satisfied now?" Damian asked calmly as he poured himself some tea.

Astaroth frowned, but not because of Damian’s words. His eyes remained fixed upon the injuries.

"Your soul is damaged. Isn’t it?" Damian chuckled softly before picking up his cup and chugging down the tea in one gulp.

He savoured the taste for a moment before placing the empty cup on the table and looking directly at Astaroth again.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

Astaroth nodded without hesitation. "You truly proved your worth defeating Dantalion. Even with the Abyss, I knew it would be a near impossible task, but the price you paid is... too great."

Damian picked up the teapot and calmly began pouring tea into Astaroth’s cup.

"If it bothers you that much, then find me a solution to my problems." He placed the teapot down and leaned back slightly. "If you are worried about my condition, don’t. I still have a few thousand years to live. That’s enough time for me to accomplish my goal and save the demon race. You, on the other hand, should spend that time looking for a solution and make sure I can enjoy the fruits of my labor."

Astaroth could not help but smile at Damian’s casual reaction. He had expected to find a Prince battered not only in body but also in soul and mind, yet the damage Damian had suffered had seemingly done little to diminish his determination. If anything, his willingness to continue pursuing his ambitions despite knowing exactly what his condition meant only reinforced the impression Astaroth had formed of him.

"By the way..." Damian’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Astaroth raised his head, and his eyes immediately widened.

Damian’s head was suddenly surrounded by a hundred small heads representing different races, each one possessing distinct features and expressions. The manifestations floated around him for several seconds before Astaroth finally recognized what he was seeing.

"Dantalion..." he mumbled. Damian nodded calmly, and almost immediately all one hundred heads withdrew into his body and vanished.

"What is his is now mine." Damian said. "The Amon I killed is a fake. The real one will lead half his forces and reclaim my God Mine in the Dark World, shortening the time I need to become a God to just ten years."

Astaroth remained silent, the revelation forcing him to reconsider several events from the past. The supposed death of Amon had always been accepted as fact, and yet Damian was now casually revealing that the man was alive and working with him. It also explained how Damian had managed to make several demigods from Amon’s house bow to him so readily.

Damian leaned forward, planting his left elbow on the table before resting his chin against his palm.

"So tell me, Duke. My allies are all making an effort to make my dreams come true. How will you help to make my dreams come true?" he asked.

Astaroth blinked in surprise before a quiet chuckle escaped him. "You are truly full of surprises... I cannot deny it anymore."

He picked up his tea and took a slow sip, allowing the warmth to settle before closing his eyes briefly to savour the fresh taste. When his eyes opened again, the uncertainty that had occupied them was gone, replaced by resolve.

Astaroth rose from his seat and looked down at Damian, who remained seated while calmly pouring more tea into his own cup.

"From here on out, you have my support. I’ll actively search for a solution to your current condition, and I will have members of my Draconian clan and a very good number of my influnecial Ifrit friends decamp from the Crimson Palace to Velmora. I will also get the entire demon race to know that Velmora is the future of the Underworld. So prepare to reorganize your realm, it will be packed with new supporters." Astaroth said firmly.

Damian raised his cup toward him. "I’ll be thanking you for that in advance."

Astaroth nodded with a smile before adding, "I will also leave Kaja behind with you. He will seek you out to relay any new information I get regarding your brothers’ movements."

Damian blinked in surprise. "You are leaving Velmora?"

Astaroth nodded firmly. "Now that you have been injured and without the throne of power in your hands, be rest assured some of your brothers may be compelled to make moves. I need to call a meeting of elders and have them dissuade their Princes from making such a move."

Damian slowly nodded. The reasoning was sound. His condition was no longer merely a personal matter. Every Prince who learned of his weakened state would have an incentive to test his defenses, and Astaroth understood that political pressure might be just as important as physical protection.

Astaroth turned and began walking toward the door, but before he could leave, Shin suddenly rushed through it and ran straight past him toward Damian.

"Teacher!" he screamed, stopping directly in front of Damian with a horrified expression.

Damian’s brow twitched. "Don’t teacher me, you brat. It’s Master, and why are you making a fuss about this? You are blind!" Damian cursed viciously.

"I’m not blind I just see differently!" Shin screamed back!

"You little rascal, are you talking back to you master?!" Damian howled.

Astaroth chuckled at the exchange, but his smile faded almost instantly as he fully turned back toward Damian.

"I almost forgot... That man from the Golden Palace came here seeking to take advantage of whoever won the fight, but I managed to drive him off. You must be wary of him." Shin and Damian immediately shifted their attention toward Astaroth, and Damian’s expression became ugly.

"He was really here?" Damian’s voice was filled with disbelief. Astaroth nodded firmly.

"Just be careful... There were more eyes watching you than you think. Never lower your guard."

With that, Astaroth finally walked out of the room, stopping briefly at the doorway to glance toward Alice, Mary, Loth and Rah waiting outside. He gave the women a brief nod before disappearing down the corridor, leaving Damian seated beneath the cherry blossoms with Shin nearby and the four women watching from outside.

Damian remained silent, his eyes narrowing slightly as he considered Astaroth’s final warning. He had already known that his battle with Dantalion would attract attention, but apparently there had been far more observers waiting to see which of the two would emerge alive.