Only a few seconds remained until the start of battle, but even seconds were essential to practitioners on Damien's level.

"Listen, just follow my lead and fight. It's the same as always right?"

"Same as always?! How is this the same as always?!"

"O-o-o-one hour? H-how can we possibly resist for that long?"

"This time, I'll have to agree. We are not nearly strong enough to last an hour against an army equipped to take out thousands, if not tens of thousands, of practitioners at our level."

A flurry of sound transmissions were exchanged between the five squad members. Their panic was obvious, and it wasn't like it was unjustified. Damien didn't take the same forceful attitude as he usually did in this specific situation.

"Listen carefully. While the sheer numbers make it feel impossible to win, that's just an illusion. Pain is an illusion, fear is an illusion. You three have spent your entire lives preparing for war, and now that it's here in front of you, you hesitate? Especially when you have such a trustworthy and reliable leader, what reason do you have to fear?"

Damien gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back and grinned like a wild beast.

"Just trust your instincts and fight. If you run out of mana, find me and I'll supply you with more. Remember, we are the Stargazer Squadron! We aren't some side characters that are meant to die here!"

Nobody responded, but the flames in their eyes indeed began to ignite.

Perhaps it was in part due to Damien's speech, or perhaps they'd finally accepted the inevitability of their circumstances, but the three geniuses threw away their fear and hesitation.

As for Zara, when was there a moment she didn't stand tall at Damien's side?

"Go wild and eat as many as you can. Since the Death Seed awakened your connection with the Nox, don't you think consuming more of their mana would be helpful to you?" Damien said to Zara with a smile.

"Mm, I'll try my best," Zara replied succinctly.

Even if she wanted to say more, there was no need for it. Damien could completely understand the emotion behind her words.

"Well, then" Damien finally spoke aloud.

"Should we get this show started?"

Just as his words fell, they were eclipsed by the sounds of heinous roars and screeches only a few feet away.

And finally

A tidal wave eclipsed a canoe.

***

BOOOOOOM!

'Material Shift'

'Stagnant Reality'

'Dimension Shift'

Xiu!

Damien's figure disappeared in a flash at the exact same instant a flying projectile pierced the space where he once stood.

As his body reappeared, reality collapsed where he once was, thousands of Lesser Nox experiencing an abrupt and wholly unscheduled bisection.

BOOOOOOM!

This wasn't the first and it wouldn't be the last, but it almost felt like any damage he did was nothing more than a drop of water in the vast ocean.

"Woah!"

Damien rapidly snapped out of his thoughts and tilted left ever so slightly, barely dodging the war hammer that grazed his face.

"Hey, buddy! Didn't anyone tell you that ambushes are for cowards?!" Damien spouted annoyedly.

"Jie jie jie! There are no cowards in war, only winners and losers!"

The Higher Nox who attacked Damien was short and stumpy, standing at roughly 5 feet tall with a body like a meatball. Strangely enough, his fat didn't jiggle as fat should. It was instead dense and steely like tempered muscles.

"Fatty, you should be careful. I heard this ride has a height restriction."

"Jie jie jie! Did you start spouting nonsense after realizing you are about to die?" The fatty Nox laughed obnoxiously.

"Hm? No. I guess I have to speak in dog terms for anyone here to understand me. So basically, what I meant wasaren't you a little too short to be fighting in wars?"

Damien taunted the fatty with a twisted smile on his face. A face that suddenly enlarged in the fatty's eyes.

'Like master like disciple.'

Hel appeared in his hand and pointed at the Nox's forehead.

"Boom."

Space exploded. Without prior warning or any sort of fluctuation, space between the fatty's eyebrows caved in, impacting him with extreme force.

"Kagh!" The fatty made a phlegmy sound as he flew backwards. He stabilized himself almost immediately, however, and glared back at Damien.

"You rat! Didn't anyone teach you that ambushes are for cowards?!"

"Touch."

Damien teleported once more and covered the distance between him and the fatty in a spark of an instant. His fist swung down at the fatty's face loaded with the power of Spacetime.

'This fatty didn't even get scratched by Hel's bullet. His power might not be higher than mid-rank, but his defense is basically high-rank. He won't be easy to kill.'

Damien spread his awareness with a trace of concern in his eyes.

At the same time, he twisted his body impossibly and evaded the war hammer slamming down towards his head.

'Just this one fatty is so powerful already, yet there are over a thousand of these guys?'

He sighed with emotion as he realized it.

'This is going to be a long ass hour.'

His fist swung forward, colliding with the fatty's. A shockwave spread, killing any Lesser Nox around them.

'Right, before I worry about anything else, I should take him out first.'

This would be the first battle of hundreds, thousands, or maybe even millions.

This would be the first battle of that terrifying hour that would follow.

With so much hanging on the results of this battle, Damien couldn't just let himself get stood up, could he?

A battle-hungry smile crept onto his face for the first time in many, many years.

***

The world became shadow. Light and dark interlaced and created something new, something capable of encompassing everything, consuming everything.

It wasn't just darkness that couldn't exist without light, it wasn't just light that could only exist within the darkness, it was a "shadow" that was created to combine the advantages of both sides.

However, this shadow seemed incomplete.

The "darkness" was saturated to the maximum. It was the blackest of blacks, the most convoluted darkness that could drive one insane by merely glimpsing it.

However, what was the cause of this lacking "light?"

Zara wondered earnestly as she made full use of the enchanting darkness around her.

Her every step was the cause of thousands of deaths, her every breath tormenting the souls of the deceased.

As for the remains of those who fell?

Before they could even attempt to combine into a greater being, they were swallowed by the darkness, becoming one with it.

'Becoming one with my legion is the best fate for your kind.'

Zara turned her gaze. Her golden eyes shone like gems as she focused her attention on a nearby being.

Strong.

Stronger than anything she'd ever faced.

But not as strong as Damien.

'The perfect practice dummy.' Zara thought to herself.

She couldn't understand it.

Just why couldn't the "light" ever form true duality with the "darkness" within her domain?

She thought long and hard without ascertaining anything.

It was almost as if her thoughts were being "restricted."

But just as someone very dear to her would always say

The best way to improve was through practical experience.