Chapter 47: A Man Of Principle.
The Eidolon Priest stared darkly in Damien’s direction.
It wasn’t the first time it had stood in the bitter cold, glaring toward that particular stretch of the frozen forest. In fact, it had been doing so for almost a week now.
Every one or two days, it sent out a scouting party to investigate, yet none ever returned. At first, it assumed the raging blizzard had swallowed the idiots whole or caused them to lose their way.
But then the blizzard gradually died down, so it increased the size of the scouting parties. Even then, none returned.
The priest let out a low growl.
The next moment, a clawed fist slammed into the side of its face from behind, launching it several meters across the frozen ground.
Blood streamed from its mouth and nose, but it ignored the pain and immediately lowered its head without looking back.
It knew only one creature in the camp possessed enough strength to do that.
"Chief... Please show me mercy."
The Chief growled in rage.
It had waited.
It had given its lowly servant ample time to scheme and investigate, yet after an entire week, it had produced nothing.
Maintaining such a massive army in this frozen wasteland was already difficult enough. As their hunger grew, keeping the Eidolons under control would only become more troublesome.
"I have granted you the blessing of my Awakened ability, entrusted you with my army, and even given you my time. Yet you continue to disappoint me. Give me one good reason not to take your life."
If not for the freezing cold, the priest would’ve been sweating bullets.
"Chief... I have reason to believe the human encampment lies in that direction."
It pointed toward the same stretch of forest Damien occupied.
Its suspicion happened to be correct, but it was nothing more than a desperate guess. There were countless reasons why the scouting parties had failed to return. Blaming the humans was a far fetched conclusion, but the Chief demanded results, and this was the best explanation it could offer.
The Chief turned its gaze toward the distant forest and remained silent for a moment.
"Very well."
"We will march immediately... These storms are not naturally occurring. Another may descend at any moment."
...
"Me... I’m a man of principle. I wouldn’t do half of what most people think I’m capable of, and I’m certainly not as mindlessly driven as some of those pompous assholes.
Andrea sent me on this death mission knowing full well Naomi would try something, and she did. Luckily for me, her methods are as subpar as her sister’s brain capacity.
Naomi tried to kill me simply because she didn’t want her enemy using me to grow her own influence. Such insane debauchery is far beneath me. I admit I sometimes make choices that benefit me and me alone, but that’s only because I have no choice.
Paige didn’t have to die if she hadn’t sided with Leslie. I wouldn’t have tried to kill Leslie if she hadn’t sided with her sister. And if Naomi hadn’t targeted me in the first place, I wouldn’t bear such ill will toward her.
I’m just being defensive here. I had no choice. Nobody wants to kill another human being, certainly not me. But imagine being forced into a situation where it’s either you or them. What would you do?
Exactly what every other human would do to survive.
And that’s what I did".
A few dozen meters away, hidden well beyond their sight, Damien observed the Eidolon army as it prepared to march once more.
"Well... it seems they’ve figured out the general location of our camp. I should probably do something about this unfortunate incident, citing the fact that I may or may not have had something to do with it..."
Damien fell silent for a moment.
"Nah. Let’s allow Andrea to handle that one as well. Besides... that looks like something that falls under Andrea’s responsibilities. More importantly, I should at least see what this mega weapon looks like... but I’d need to get closer."
Damien glanced at the clear sky.
The sun shone brightly overhead, and there wasn’t the slightest sign of another blizzard. He really didn’t feel like waiting until nightfall, so he decided to try something he’d been meaning to test for a while now.
Remaining low to the ground, Damien quietly crept closer.
He didn’t dare approach too far. The snow covered landscape was almost entirely white, while he was dressed from head to toe in black. The contrast would’ve exposed him immediately.
Still, he got close enough.
Two unsuspecting Eidolons were carrying a large wooden crate toward the enormous weapon stationed near the center of the camp.
Damien remained perfectly still as black miasma slowly seeped from every part of his body. It spread silently across the frozen ground until it reached the feet of the two unsuspecting Eidolons.
The darkness was thick and impenetrable. It rose above their knees until they lost all sense of direction. Then, moments later, even their sight.
The instincts of the living Eidolons immediately noticed movement within the darkness, they let out startled growls, but there was nowhere to retreat to.
The world had gone completely dark.
The two Eidolons thrashed wildly, roaring in confusion as they blindly swung their claws in every direction.
Meanwhile, a pair of dead claws slowly opened the crate and Damien’s figure casually slipped into it.
The space inside was just large enough to fit him after he tucked his knees against his chest.
The undead quietly lowered the lid before dissolving back into black miasma.
The darkness blanketing the two Eidolons vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.
The pair blinked in confusion, but only the same wooden crate rested between them.
The two exchanged puzzled grunts, scratched the backs of their heads, then shrugged as if deciding the whole thing wasn’t worth thinking about.
With another grunt, they hoisted the crate back onto their shoulders and continued marching toward the colossal weapon.
Hidden inside, Damien allowed himself the faintest smile.
"See, no need for violence, just like a man of principle".