The city had been lively and boisterous as always until, in one of the newer night districts, a casino building burst into black flas. The fire started on the upper floors, giving enough ti for the rich patrons and staff to be evacuated.
Luckily.
Luckily, because of what ca next.
A destructive explosion of black fire roared through the night. In a single second, the entire building was gone every brick, every stone, every trace obliterated, leaving nothing but a deep crater where it had once stood.
Ergency response units arrived on the double. Knights, healers, local patrol squads… soon the entire area sward with experts providing care and anities to the people.
The fast response was a stark contrast to the slums. Naturally, it was because the people here were richer and thus their lives had more value.
A cry of misery echoed through the streets — not from soone injured, but from the noble owner of the casino. He had just lost millions of zeni in investnt, along with the obligation to compensate all the patrons who had lost their wealth during the incident.
Worse, soone had taken advantage of the chaos to steal jewelry and valuables.
Damon watched it all from a distant rooftop. He'd wanted to destroy that building for years. Not out of jealousy — no, this was personal.
The land beneath that casino had once been a residential district. The noble had forced the people to sell their hos for dirt-cheap prices.
Damon rembered it well. When he first ca to Valerion, he'd hoped to live with Luna in the house their father once owned in that district — a safe, middle-class neighborhood, far from the slums.
But when he went to the war banks, the noble had already planned to seize it…
Later, when Damon saw the place, it was a giant casino.
"Well… I won't kill him," Damon muttered, "since he paid for the house. But I can blow off so steam every now and then. Can't wait for him to rebuild it."
Housing in the capital was expensive — that's why the slums were packed to the brim. As for how his father had bought the house in the first place… that wasn't a mystery.
"What can I say about a man who seduced the daughter of a grand duke?"
His mother must have been the one to give it to him — or at least found so excuse to throw her 'princess money' at him.
Damon smirked, feeling in a good mood.
"She must've been his version of Lilith Astranova."
Lilith did have a tendency to spoil him — from his wardrobe to just about everything else.
He looked at the staff in his hand. The Staff of Carnage. The weapon he'd used to blow up the building.
*******
[Staff of Carnage]
Type: Weapon
[Description:]
His fangs were swords, his wings the wind, and his breath could reduce cities to ash. All feared Ashergon. Wherever he flew, only smoldering ruins remained.
[Effect:]
Forged in destruction, this staff can absorb any single form of energy drawn from your body. There's no limit to how much it can contain, no matter how vast or volatile. With a single strike, it releases all stored energy in a cataclysmic burst — mimicking the fury of a dragon's breath.
But beware. Push it beyond its limits, and the staff will crack… then shatter.
[Cooldown:]
24 hours
Truly his most powerful weapon. And now, he'd have to wait a full day before charging it again.
Damon was about to leave when he spotted a group in robes, carrying magical tools.
"Ahhh…" he groaned. "Scum."
He wasn't insulting them — that was their na. Special Control Unit on Magic. SCUM for short.
An imperial knight division tasked with dealing with magical cris and disasters. Dragon attacks, dark spirits, evil rituals, mana anomalies… they handled all of it.
"Yeah… that's my cue to exit."
He figured it would take them a while to investigate. Hopefully, they'd bla it on Ignath or a radical who summoned him.
And even if they suspected him… well, as long as he left the capital first, it didn't matter.
Teleporting several tis, he reached the city gate. The guards there were as lax as always. They didn't even see this as a threat needing a full-city mobilization.
Damon slipped into the shadow of a woman passing the checkpoint. She handed a small coin to one of the knights with a wink. The knight took it like it was nothing.
Nothing special. By the end of the day, he and his buddies would pocket plenty of bribes.
Damon didn't relax until they crossed the gate. Then, he slipped into the shadow of a carriage and teleported half a kiloter away, appearing near a tree.
He resud his human form with a sigh of relief. Monts later, a squirrel and a raven swooped down beside him.
He stretched his back. "You two have your fill of human eyeballs and testicles?"
He opened his palm. "Now hand over the stuff you stole from the casino." Find the translation on MV&LEMPYR.
The squirrel and the raven obediently produced rings, watches, necklaces, earrings — all expensive trinkets.
Damon cleared his throat, trying to look serious.
"You disgusting thieves… I can't abide this. I'll be taking this for… erm… safekeeping."
He dumped them into his shadow storage. He'd sell them later.
The squirrel and raven exchanged looks.
They thought they were living rent-free… When did this fiend start charging rent?
Wasn't this guy too shaless? Wasn't he the one who told them to steal during the chaos? Didn't he say it was "redistributing wealth from greedy hoarders"?
Caw caw. Squeal squeal.
They made sure he knew what they thought of him.
He ignored them.
Damon leaned back against the tree. The light of dawn still far on the horizon.
"Now then… ti for our next — and final — stop."
He closed his eyes.
"But first… let's rest a bit. It's a long journey."
Just as he started to relax… his eyes snapped open. His danger sense flared.
He tilted his head just in ti for the tree trunk behind him to explode in splinters — an arrow slamming into it.
Damon's expression went cold. He spread his shadow perception, sweeping the distant trees.
Figures moved in the treeline. Shadows carrying bows and weapons.
"Elves."
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