Chapter 580: Standing On Business

Damian flew into one of the many balconies of the Eastern Palace and landed without making a sound. He stepped through the open doors and entered the room, expecting to find Twenty surrounded by some of the others, but instead found his friend sitting comfortably in a chair wearing a bathrobe.

Twenty’s dark skin looked strangely different without the tattoos that had once covered his body and given him the intimidating appearance he had cultivated on Earth. His head was completely bald as well, the result of having all his hair shaved off during his captivity. Despite the changes, however, the familiar mischievous look in his eyes remained.

"Brother... You are back so quickly." Twenty yelped in surprise, nearly jumping out of the chair.

Damian walked straight toward the sofa and dropped himself onto it, cigar already resting between his fingers. "Of course. Were you expecting i would take a lot of time?"

Twenty flashed a mischievous smile as he leaned back. "Come on. When you took that hottie with you I expected something would happen."

Damian rolled his eyes and threw his hands apart dramatically. "Come on, look around. I have no shortage of hotties. Have you seen my seven concubines?"

Cough! Cough!

Twenty immediately started coughing violently, beating his chest repeatedly as though the words had physically struck him. He grabbed his neck with his left hand and staggered toward the sofa before dropping into the seat next to Damian.

"Are you serious?" Twenty blurted out with the first breath he managed to get.

Damian nodded casually, spitting out a plume of purple smoke from his nose. "Of course... My wife is a literally God and she’s an elf."

Twenty sat upright so quickly that the bathrobe nearly slipped from his shoulder. He stared at Damian like he had just announced that he had become the emperor of another universe. "You mean those baddies with pointy ears and blonde hair and shit?"

"Yep. Exactly those kind of girls. But mine has got big boodbies." Damian said proudly.

Buzz!

Twenty’s hand immediately went toward his head, instinctively looking for his hair to grab, but his fingers met nothing. He froze for a second before remembering that there was nothing left to grab. Damian noticed the reaction and simply shook his head with an amused expression before pulling the cigar box from the sleeve of his robes and placing it on the table.

He then turned toward the door. "Who is out there. Come in!" Damian called out.

Clank!

The door opened almost immediately, and a blue skinned attendant from the Kasok clan rushed inside. Her eyes widened the instant she saw Damian sitting in the room. She stopped so abruptly that her shoes scraped against the floor before she quickly dropped onto both knees and lowered her head.

"Sire?"

"Bring his food up and get us some wine as well." Damian said.

"Yes... Sire!" She answered hurriedly before getting back onto her feet and rushing out of the room.

Twenty stared at the door in surprise for several seconds before slowly shifting his gaze back toward Damian. The casual way the attendant had appeared, bowed and immediately obeyed him made the reality of Damian’s position sink in all over again.

"You are living the life bro." Twenty said as he pulled out a cigar and began looking around for a lighter.

Damian glanced at him before reaching over and taking the cigar from his fingers. He placed it between Twenty’s lips before touching the tip with his finger. A small flame appeared instantly and lit the cigar.

Twenty’s eyes widened at the sight. He stared at the burning cigar for a moment before taking a cautious drag. The effect was immediate. His head buzzed and his vision seemed to blur slightly as the strength of the smoke hit him far harder than he expected. He leaned back against the armrest for support while his other hand rose to his forehead.

Damian calmly reached over and took the cigar from Twenty’s mouth as he blew out a mouthful of smoke. "Ooh damn... This shit strong!"

Twenty gasped in surprise, his eyes already reddening.

Damian nodded firmly and placed the cigar on the table. "Everything here is at least ten times stronger than what you get on earth. For the wine make sure you only drink in sips." Damian said while setting the cigar down on the table.

Twenty nodded while rubbing his forehead with reddened eyes. He was completely high, and the combination of the strange palace, the overwhelming power around him and the unfamiliar strength of everything being served here made the entire situation feel increasingly surreal.

After a moment, he looked at Damian with dreamy eyes. "I really get to enjoy all of this forever?" Twenty asked.

Damian could already tell what was going through his friend’s mind. Twenty was imagining himself spending centuries surrounded by luxury, beautiful women, good food and everything else the Underworld had to offer without ever having to worry about the life he had once lived on Earth.

"Not really. You only get three thousand years here before you are forced to reincarnate. That is on the premise that I live that long." Damian shook his head.

Twenty’s dreamy expression faded slightly, replaced by confusion. He raised a brow as he studied Damian. "Reincarnation? And what’s going to kill you, you said you are God?" Twenty blurted out.

Damian rolled his eyes and crossed his legs. "I’ll start with reincarnation..." He began calmly. "On the case of reincarnation, all wondering souls must reincarnate three thousand heads after entering the spirit realm to maintain the balance. It’s a process of life, death and rebirth even God’s can control. The only way to escape this is to become a cultivator like me but that would mean exposing yourself to the violent and dangerous part of life in this place and I don’t want that for you."

Twenty opened his mouth to respond, but Damian raised a finger, immediately signaling him to stop.

"As for the allegations of me being a God. Yes I am a God but there are God’s everywhere. Even my elf wife is a God so it’s nothing special. Gods kill Gods in this place and everyone goes on about their life like nothing happen. I killed a God today and you don’t see anyone making a fuss about it."

Twenty’s lips slowly formed an "O" shape as he processed that information. He glanced around the lavish room, then toward the door through which the demon attendant had disappeared, before looking back at Damian.

"So me and my boys can live safely and quietly for here for three thousand year, or we can get on the gangsta side of things and risk dying wey or living forever?" Twenty asked.

Damian raised a brow and stared deeply at Twenty. For a moment, Twenty expected another joke, but the amusement in Damian’s expression disappeared.

"Nah the cultivation option is not even an option, I won’t allow it.. This place is too dangerous and there is too little time for you to grow strong enough to survive a confrontation with the dangers i see ahead. So no, you and the rest of the black Apostle are not going to get involved in anything regarding cultivation. You will sit back and enjoy the peaceful life I plan to provide for you." Damian’s tone left no room for argument.

Twenty stared at him in silence. This was the first time he was seeing this side of Damian.