It must be said, Frey was a retainer well-chosen by Damien.
She might not be the most talented among his followers, but she was undoubtedly the most experienced and boldest, gambling her own safety as a bargaining chip.
"Is this the limit?"
In the liminal space between the Jura Forest and the Void Ark, another retainer who remained in the Cardinal World was Treyni, the former Dryad, now a Celestial Spirit.
She was tasked with assisting Violet in controlling the forest's barrier, calming the creatures within to prevent greater chaos.
Thus, Treyni had to stay.
"You've done well, Treyni."
Violet's voice echoed in Treyni's mind. Simultaneously, a surge of pure soul energy flowed through the corridor into her body.
"This is Lord Damien's gift to you."
"My deepest gratitude…"
Treyni closed her eyes, her form melding into the forest. "When I awaken, I will immediately seek an audience with him."
Violet's world-rule concealment, Treyni's barrier, Frey's attention-drawing spectacle outside, and Velzard's personal guardianship... four layers of protection, four women safeguarding Damien's evolution.
"So, are we redundant?"
The four Primordial Daemons, positioned perilously close to Damien within the forest, naturally sensed Velzard's radiant presence like a blazing sun above them.
Aside from being unaware of Frey's situation, they were astounded by the sheer extent of Damien's precautions.
"Truly worthy of Lord Damien!"
"Cautious... beyond cautious!"
"Hey, you lot…"
Jaune stared, exasperated, at Noir and Blanc, who were on the verge of becoming Damien fanatics. "Get serious!"
"Can't you see the barrier's about to break?"
She understood their enthusiasm and even wanted to join in.
But was this really the time for such antics?
There had to be a limit to slacking off!
"Ah!"
"It's breaking! My side's breaking!"
"Violet, don't slack off!"
"I'm not."
Violet snapped, "I'm doing my absolute best, you jerk!"
The four were struggling to contain the immense magicalule unleashed by Damien's evolution.
If they didn't, the force would surge outward, reducing the entire monster town to rubble.
As Primordial Daemons, failing to protect a mere town would leave them with no face to remain by Damien's side.
"No holding back on magicules."
Noir declared, "No matter what, we must protect Lord Damien's territory!"
"Haa!"
With that, Noir unleashed his full power first, followed by Blanc, then Jaune and Violet.
Jaune had long abandoned any thoughts of challenging Damien.
What a joke!
A mere fraction of his leaking magicules was enough to overwhelm her.
Jaune versus Damien?
No way!
She fully recognized his strength.
To serve under such a powerhouse, to be his loyal follower, Jaune was utterly content. 'Lord Damien! I revere you!'
Of course, Damien, immersed in his bloodline transformation, couldn't hear the daemons' exchange.
Nor did he know Velzard had stepped up to personally guard him.
At this moment, guided by Violet, his consciousness was challenging ever-higher peaks of ultimate power!
[Ultimate Skill Lord of End begins completion…]
[Completion successful]
[Acquired Ultimate Skill Lord of End (Apep)]
[Unique Skill Hall of Heroes begins evolution challenge]
[Evolution failed…]
[Retrying challenge]
[Evolution failed]
[Unique Skill Hall of Heroes integrates Prime Treasury, retrying evolution]
[Evolution successful, acquired Ultimate Skill Lord of Creation (Tiamat)]
[Unique Skill Void Ark begins evolution challenge]
[Challenge successful]
[Unique Skill Void Ark evolved into God of the Void (Azathoth)]
[Unique Skill World Spirit begins evolution challenge]
[Challenge failed]
[Continuing challenge]
[Challenge failed]
[Unique Skill World Spirit integrates Unity of All Spirits, retrying evolution]
[Challenge successful, acquired Ultimate Skill Lord of Armies (Michael)]
[Unique Skill Capturer begins evolution challenge]
[Challenge failed]
[Unique Skill Capturer integrates Learner and Spirit Tamer, retrying evolution]
[Evolution successful, acquired Ultimate Skill Lord of Wisdom (Uriel)]
[Ultimate Skill Lord of End integrates Ultimate Skill Lord of Creation, begins evolution challenge]
[Challenge successful]
[Acquired Ultimate Skill God of Chaos (Kaos)]
With that, Damien's awakening ceremony concluded.
In truth, after completing his first Ultimate Skill, Lord of End, he had already broken through his bottleneck, stepping into the realm of a True Demon Lord.
Thereafter, his magicule cap rose from 1 million to 9.99 million.
To go further, one needed an Ultimate Skill as a foundation, then to forge a second path... requiring at least two Ultimate Skills.
Only then could one enter the calamity domain, elevating to Special S-rank.
However, Damien's case was exceptionally unique.
He already possessed Veldanava's bloodline, a Dragonoid like Milim.
Unlike Milim, who couldn't fully dragonize, Damien had the chance to fully claim the title, identity, and divinity of the Star Dragon King.
With Violet's aid, he successfully achieved a racial leap.
From Dragonoid to True Dragon.
True Dragon were inherently Special S-rank calamities.
They possessed immense magicule reserves.
Damien was no exception.
Upon transforming from human form to True Dragon, he could use Dragon God Transformation to become the new Star Dragon King.
As for the threshold between 9.99 million and 10 million magicules, the Stardusts themselves were the key to unlocking that gate, no further higher-tier Ultimate Skills required.
Veldora was similar.
Despite lacking Ultimate Skills, he consistently ranked among the top in magicule reserves.
Truly, the True Dragon, created by Veldanava as his archetype, were an extraordinary race, born exceptional.
***
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