Chapter 80 — Meeting Brian Again I

Edrin set aside his feelings of gratitude and pushed his glasses up from the bridge of his nose, adopting his professional demeanor to answer Damian’s question.

"Marco and his people have occupied a little over thirty percent of the outer region so far. They’ve sent us about five hundred thousand Federation coins total."

He paused, pulling out a small datapad to reference the detailed reports.

"According to Marco, establishing the orphanages is consuming the vast majority of our capital at the moment. Running them properly will require even more ongoing investment."

"I see. Use that money to get everyone their choice of weapons when you visit the city later. Make sure they get quality equipment, not cheap garbage."

Damian’s voice was tired, his exhaustion obvious.

"And explain to me why the progress of occupying the region is moving so damn slowly. Thirty percent in two months seems pathetic considering they already had 10% under their control."

He sat back down heavily in the chair, looking completely drained.

One of the Mafia members, Marcus if Damian remembered correctly, suddenly pulled a beer from his jacket pocket and placed it on the desk in front of Damian with an oddly proud expression.

Damian stared at him speechlessly for a moment, then shrugged and cracked open the bottle.

He hadn’t had anything to drink since killing that massive serpent days ago, and his throat felt like sandpaper.

Some of the other members exchanged amused glances, clearly familiar with Marcus’s habit of carrying alcohol everywhere.

"Well, Marco said that you killed almost half their original members during the takeover.

Recruiting new people and properly assimilating the smaller gangs we’ve absorbed is taking considerable time and effort."

Edrin’s tone was carefully neutral as he delivered this information.

"Hmm. It seems Marco didn’t fully understand what I meant when I gave him those orders."

Damian took another long drink, thinking.

"I don’t need him to spend weeks recruiting and negotiating with every small-time gang in the region. Just butcher anyone who refuses to join and take over their territory by force. Simple."

His casual tone when discussing mass violence made several students shift uncomfortably.

They were still not used to the violence completely. But they were starting to find it less uncomfortable.

"Anyway, we’ll visit them soon and speed things up considerably. I don’t want to waste months just securing the outer region when there’s so much more work to do."

Damian’s expression turned contemplative as he spoke, and everyone in the room immediately understood the implication.

Another mission was coming soon.

Edrin, Lysa, and Ronan exchanged knowing looks, but none of them seemed surprised or particularly concerned. In fact, they looked almost eager for it.

Last time had been brutal and terrifying, but they’d all grown tremendously from the experience. Now that they were stronger, they wanted to test themselves again.

"Right. Now that all of you have advanced in rank, I want you to start officially challenging Noble students tomorrow. Issue the ranking challenges all at once together."

Damian’s crimson eyes swept across the group.

"I want every single one of you to replace Nobles in the rankings. The top fifty should have all thirty-two of you represented, without exception. Including you, Zav."

He looked directly at Zavier, who straightened his back immediately.

This time, there was no trace of his usual anxiousness. Instead, Zavier slapped his chest confidently.

"Don’t worry, Boss! I won’t disappoint you!"

"Good. Now all of you go practice your skills and weapon arts. I need to rest. It’s been a very long day."

Damian stood up with a massive yawn, clearly ready to collapse.

But before anyone could move toward the exit, something unexpected happened.

Kuro emerged from Damian’s shadow like liquid darkness taking physical form and landed gracefully on his shoulder.

The raven’s blood-red eyes swept across every person in the room with an intensity that made them all freeze.

Everyone felt an overwhelming pressure the moment Kuro’s gaze touched them.

It was different from Damian’s Slaughter Intent but equally terrifying in its own way.

Like death itself was examining them, weighing their worth, deciding if they deserved to continue existing.

"B-Boss... what the hell is that thing?"

Ronan somehow managed to gather enough courage to speak, though his voice stuttered with barely controlled fear.

"Hmm? Oh, this is Kuro. I formed some kind of bond with him while training in the forest."

Damian’s tone was completely casual, like he was introducing a normal pet.

"I forgot to mention him earlier with everything else going on."

He reached up and gently stroked Kuro’s dark feathers with obvious affection.

Kuro immediately retracted his intense gaze from the others and rubbed his beak against Damian’s cheek in an almost affectionate gesture before melting back into his shadow.

The moment Kuro disappeared, everyone released breaths they hadn’t realized they’d been holding.

Damian seemed completely oblivious to how terrifying Kuro’s presence had been for everyone else.

That creature’s pressure was suffocating.

Whenever it looked at someone directly, they felt like death itself was staring into their soul, making every survival instinct scream in absolute terror.

Only a complete monster like Damian, who’d already developed Slaughter Intent and spent weeks killing beasts in that forest, didn’t feel Kuro’s oppressive aura at all.

"W-we should get going now, Boss!"

"Yeah, you need rest! We’ll see you tomorrow!"

"I have to train my weapon art anyway!"

"See you guys later!"

Almost everyone practically ran for the exit, making various excuses.

Even Ronan, usually the bravest and most confrontational, was among the fastest to leave.

"Hmm? What’s gotten into them?"

Damian watched their hasty retreat with genuine confusion, shaking his head.

He was about to leave himself when he suddenly sensed a familiar presence and turned toward a specific direction.

Officer Brian Oleaf stood there in his standard SFD suit, hands in his pockets, watching Damian with an unreadable expression.

****

"I’m being transferred back to Norrington City."

Brian’s words hung in the cool night air as he and Damian walked slowly through the Academy’s eastern garden.

It was late enough that they had the space entirely to themselves. The moon hung full and bright overhead, casting everything in pale silver light.

Damian said nothing at first, just kept walking with his hands in his pockets.