It was worse than Renata thought. The tower lords seed fully resolved to take Damon down.
A massive military undertaking marched toward their tower. Demons flooded the streets and skies. Heavy war engines rumbled across the ground, so dragged, others carried by hulking demon races. Lesser demons snarled as they pulled supply wagons. A vast cavalry unit advanced in formation while sections of the city had already been reinforced with rune-forged barricades.
Siege weapons had been prepared with care. They were ready for a prolonged battle if it ca to that.
The tower lords gathered inside a command tent, their coordination surprisingly precise. It was far better than the goddess races Renata had imagined. If this had been the goddess races, there would have been endless argunts and clashing opinions. Perhaps it was because the goddess races had too many factions.
The demon races, on the other hand, were primarily led by the demon kin, who were called the holy race.
Damon stood at a height, looking at the massive army below. His own military force was large, but they were still outnumbered.
The advancing army expected Damon to take a defensive position, but Renata knew that was not what he intended. He was preparing to et this with full force.
Damon stepped out wearing his armor, Matia by his side. Her armor looked like black ice, and a cold air spread outward from her with every step she took.
He walked past the bulk of his new followers.
Then he did sothing none of them expected.
"Open the gates," he ordered.
"Let them in."
Those words made every demon and monster present wonder if he was insane or simply arrogant beyond reason.
Gotrog nodded, bowing his head. He raised his flaming sword and struck the makeshift gate of stone and magic they had constructed. The structure shattered apart.
Damon walked forward, his hand slipping into his shadow. He pulled out a sword.
This was a deeply insidious weapon. It was the sword that could disintegrate flesh and soul.
In his left hand, he drew out a broken sword. This was his Dealer’s Hand.
When it appeared, a baleful aura of death spread across its surface, forcing those who saw it to instinctively take a step back.
A broken sword had beco a weapon people associated with Damon Grey. Many had begun carrying broken blades to imitate the aesthetic, but Damon was not posturing.
He was fighting for his life.
’I will reach an understanding of a domain today.’
"I am here. Co out and face if you dare."
A large axe scraped across the ground as a horned demon charged at him.
A faint sneer touched Damon’s lips. He raised the broken sword slightly and spoke in a calm voice.
"Fall."
The ground thundered. The massive demon’s body crashed face-first into the earth as if a mountain had been placed on his back.
Damon walked forward.
His aura pressed outward, deep and suffocating. No one stood in his way. A path cleared before him as he advanced toward the tower lords’ tent.
When he arrived, the tower lords began stepping out one by one, weapons already drawn.
Damon smiled faintly, his expression touched with battle intent.
The last demon to co out was Bakemon Baal.
The mont Baal saw Damon, he froze. His expression twisted as if he were trying to force two impossible thoughts together. His eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms slowly.
The hair was white.
But those eyes. That presence.
In that mont, his mind began forming unbelievable theories.
The other tower lords were already furious. They had co to attack his tower.
Why was he standing outside?
Did he not intend to follow the rules?
"You, how dare you—" one tower lord began, outraged.
"So you have co to die," a female tower lord said with a sinister smile.
"I see your ignorance knows no bounds. Your death shall be swift," another said calmly, already gathering magic.
"You will die here today," another voice added.
"I surrender," a voice echoed.
There was a pause.
Another tower lord, certain he had misheard, roared, "Yes, what he said. You should surrender!"
"No. I surrender," the voice repeated.
Everyone paused.
They turned to see which coward had spoken.
And to their shock, the one who had said it was a white-haired demon.
It was Bakemon Baal.
Sothing was off.
He was sweating. Not a few beads of sweat. He was drenched, as if the very idea of fighting was inconceivable.
"Bakemon, what are you doing? Is this a joke?" a female demon kin asked, irritation clear on her face. He was their strategist, one of the smartest demons present. Why was he saying sothing like that?
Bakemon glanced at them, then at Damon.
He was not stupid.
This was definitely Damon Grey.
Of course, he had not considered it before because the idea was crazy.
But now he was sure.
Damon Grey was human.
But what if he was not?
Yes. It was coming together now.
Rumors said Damon Grey defeated Ashcroft.
But what if he did not?
What if Ashcroft had taken over his body and was masquerading as Damon Grey?
Or maybe he did kill Damon Grey and simply stole his face.
That would explain a lot.
Why would so many balrogs follow him?
How could he kill demons so easily?
And then there was the demon from monts earlier. He had only said the word "fall."
And it fell.
Most did not know this, but Ashcroft had a spell like that. A spell that made people fall.
After putting everything together, Bakemon reached two possible conclusions.
One. Damon Grey was dead, and this was Amon. Also Ashcroft.
Two. Damon Grey was alive, and Ashcroft, who had lost his body, had used an esoteric spell to take a face similar to Damon Grey’s.
In other words, this was what Amon actually looked like, and because he resembled Damon Grey, he changed his face and beca the unknown ruler.
After all, everyone knew the real Damon Grey hated demons. He would never stand before so many demons and not slaughter them.
Bakemon ignored the other demons and began walking toward Damon, who was genuinely confused and had no idea what was happening.
Bakemon fell to his knees.
"My lord... Lord Amon, it is you."
Damon blinked. His surprise was genuine. He did not see this coming.
"My lord, you have co for the fragnts... you have co for your rightful place..."
Damon had no idea how Bakemon had drawn this link. Amon was his alter ego, and no one knew what Amon looked like.
A small thought ran through Damon’s mind.
’Kill Bakemon.’
If he did, it was too late now. He also needed to know how Bakemon reached this conclusion.
He was even more surprised to see Bakemon Baal here.
When the other demon kin heard the na Amon, they were shocked into silence. Damon did not know how to react.
Then, in a calm voice, he asked, "Tell . How did you co to know it was I?"
Damon felt as if the world was closing in on him. This was beyond bad.
Perhaps Renata was right. Pride ca before a fall.
’Do I have to slaughter this whole city to keep my identity secret?’
No. That would not work. The demon lords would descend on him within minutes.
Which ant he had to play into this.
He was not Damon Grey.
He was Amon.
Damon activated the Faceless skill. His appearance was replaced by a mass of shifting darkness. His gender, race, and even voice beca impossible to determine.
Whatever happened, even if he had to be involved in demon politics, he had to keep the life of Damon Grey intact.
As for the possibility of this information reaching the goddess races, he would deal with that later.
The walls were closing in on him faster than he expected.
What made this worse was the inevitability of it all.
The other demon kin fell silent.
Bakemon smiled, feeling both dread and honor.
"I anticipated you would be the only one who could rally so many demons with such ease. Your tower is magnificent. I also judged based on your appearance. I knew you once considered Damon Grey a worthy opponent, so you wore a face similar to his to crush the morale of the goddess races," he said in a single breath.
Damon watched as Bakemon handed him excuses. Ways to protect his identity.
And Damon, being a good liar, leaned into it.
"Indeed. You are correct. After my original form was destroyed by the Goddess of Doom, only my shadow remained. Over the years, I have slowly been attempting to reconstruct my physical form and regain my power."
His voice was deep. Arrogant. Exactly how he imagined Ashcroft would sound.
Then he deactivated Faceless. It was a dangerous skill. If used too long, it could erode his sense of self.
Bakemon bowed his head.
"Then you have co for your fragnts, my lord."
Damon kept a calm expression.
"Indeed."
Bakemon was about to speak when a demon woman scoffed.
"Yeah right, prove—"
Damon never let her finish.
He activated Demon Dominate and forced her to her knees with a gesture of his hand.
Silence fell.
Then, one by one, the rest of them dropped to their knees before the Dominator.
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