Free Web NovelChapter 336: Deadly Game Of Politics
At that moment, a heavy set of footsteps echoed across the golden palace.
Damian instinctively turned his head.
A colossal golden lion emerged from behind Sol’s throne with slow, measured steps. Standing well over seven feet tall even on all fours, the beast possessed a magnificent golden mane that shimmered like flowing sunlight. Every muscle beneath its fur carried overwhelming power, while its pair of golden eyes remained fixed solely upon Damian from the moment it appeared.
The lion walked to Sol’s side before lowering its enormous body gracefully beside the throne.
It never once looked away from Damian.
Before Damian could study it further, a burst of purple smoke erupted upon his lap.
Buzz!
Rin appeared immediately, landing comfortably across Damian’s crossed legs before letting out a slow sigh.
"We were wondering why you suddenly became unresponsive." Rin glanced around the palace before his eyes settled upon Sol. "Now I understand."
His voice remained calm but his body did not.
Damian could feel the fox’s muscles remaining tense beneath his hand. Even its tails were unusually stiff.
Without saying anything, Damian gently stroked Rin’s soft fur. The fox slowly relaxed beneath his touch, though the anxiety lingering inside him never truly disappeared.
Only after reassuring Rin did Damian return his attention to Sol.
"I was born and raised in a world populated entirely by humans." Damian’s voice echoed calmly throughout the palace. "Yet we still wage wars. We enslave one another. We exterminate one another. Our vampires, werewolves and monsters exist only in fiction, created because the horrors committed by humans were too terrible for people to believe another human could be responsible."
His eyes remained locked onto Sol.
"There has never been a single century of uninterrupted peace in my world."
His tone grew quieter.
"And that is why I ask... Will exterminating every race except humanity truly create a peaceful world where humans live without fear?"
Buzz!
The atmosphere subtly shifted. Sol narrowed his golden eyes.
Beside him, Leo’s pupils widened almost imperceptibly. Throughout countless ages they had watched innumerable rulers, kings and gods stand before Sol.
Every single one ultimately chose one of two paths. Submission or opposition. Never had someone stood firmly between both extremes.
Damian had openly accepted the extermination of every nonhuman race.
Yet at the same time he questioned whether that victory would truly create the future Sol desired.
Leo quietly observed the human. The question had not been asked to oppose. It had been asked to understand.
After several silent moments, Sol finally answered.
"True."
He neither denied nor argued.
"But does it matter?"
Damian frowned slightly.
"What?"
Sol leaned back upon his throne.
"No one stands above sin."
His calm voice carried absolute certainty.
"What you described among humans exists within every race. If humanity vanished tomorrow and goblins inherited the universe... They would eventually enslave one another., they would wage wars, build kingdoms, betray and murder. They would repeat the same cycle. They are no different."
His expression remained unchanged and Damian listened quietly.
"Once I remove the terrors lurking beyond humanity..." Sol continued, "I shall concern myself with protecting humans from themselves. That is why God exists."
Silence returned and Damian slowly nodded. He honestly found no flaw within Sol’s reasoning.
The man before him possessed a frightening level of conviction, yet beneath that obsession still remained genuine logic.
There was still consciousness buried beneath the madness.
"Alright then."
Damian smiled faintly.
"I’ll play this game your way."
He had no intention of pressing the discussion further. There was nothing to gain from antagonizing the very man currently keeping every other Prince away from Earth.
When the day finally came that he no longer required Sol’s protection...
He could always walk his own path.
Buzz!
Damian’s body gradually dissolved into countless particles of light before disappearing entirely.
The enormous palace became silent once more. Leo continued staring toward the place Damian had vanished.
"He doesn’t fear you."
The lion’s deep voice rumbled through the palace.
"And he has ambition."
Sol simply shrugged.
"Everyone does."
His tone carried complete indifference. As far as he was concerned, Damian’s ambition meant very little.
The important part was that Damian continued establishing human territories throughout the universe.
Every planet they take would ultimately strengthen humanity.
When Damian eventually ascended into Godhood, there would only be two possible outcomes.
He would kneel or he would die. Either way everything Damian built would inevitably belong to Sol.
Because in Sol’s eyes, there could only ever be one God of mankind. Leo silently understood every one of those thoughts that’s why he offered no objection.
No matter how talented Damian became, Sol’s conclusion never changed. When the time arrived, the human would either swear loyalty or cease to exist.
Meanwhile Damian slowly opened his eyes. The familiar ceiling of his mansion greeted him once more and heavy frown settled across his face.
Despite spending several minutes speaking directly with Sol he had sensed absolutely nothing from him. The realization irritated him more than he cared to admit.
"It was him?" Hazel asked quietly.
Rin now stood upon the center table inside the living room. The fox simply nodded.
Every expression within the room immediately darkened.
Racheal slowly rose from the couch.
"What did he want?"
Rin calmly recounted everything. The conversation ended in complete silence and cold determination gradually appeared within everyone’s eyes.
No one questioned whether Sol intended to protect Damian. That part was obvious. What truly disturbed them was the price.
Every decision Damian made under Sol’s influence would slowly bind him tighter.
Today it was Earth, tomorrow it might become his own family.
"Huff..."
Damian released a long breath.
Without saying a word, he gently lifted Racheal from his lap and set her beside him. He rose slowly to his feet and everyone instinctively looked toward him.
They expected him to say something Instead Damian simply left. His footsteps echoed quietly as he walked toward the staircase.
No one tried to stop him, they merely watched him disappear upstairs, understanding he needed time alone to think.
