The room was already full when Damon entered.

Ivy sat to the left of the head of the table, hands folded, the particular composed patience of someone who had been ready for ten minutes and wasn’t going to say so.

Victor was beside her, looking marginally more rested than the last time Damon had seen him. Theodore occupied his usual spot at the far end, far from everyone and with his arms crossed.

Hana sat right beside Eve, who was only a seat away from Ning Xiaoyu. Each of their gazes immediately locked onto Damon as he entered, each carried a different emotion.

Damon moved instantly toward his seat.

"Let’s start," he said the second he settled down.

Damon took his seat.

Ivy nodded once and turned to Hana, letting her know with her gaze to begin.

"It’s been hard getting any useful out of Jax..." she began, her gaze escaping for a moment toward Damon before locking back into focus. "But I think I got something."

"What is it?" Ivy asked, and Hana was quick to explain.

"They were planning to tackle a rift this Friday, two days from now. It’s an A-Rank rift, and they put all five of their strongest fighters to take it on."

"A Rank?" Theodore frowned slightly. "Are you sure you heard them correctly? Even a B rank rift is a risk most would be stupid enough to take."

"I’m sure. They weren’t confident, but their leader pushed for it." Hana replied.

"Is it even possible to do?" Victor murmured. "The rifts grow exponentially harder, so an A rank must be near impossible to deal with."

"It’s possible," Damon joined in. "Nyla and I closed an A-Rank rift on our own."

A moment of silence struck the room.

For everyone present, even a B-Rank rift would be considered an almost impossible task, and yet, here he was sitting there and telling them how he closed one with only one companion.

"Still..." Victor continued. "Maybe we should just let them take the risk. If they died, it would work in our best interest."

"And if they survive?" Damon quickly retorted. "Would you rather fight them before gaining fighting experience from an A rank rift or before?"

Slowly, the control of the room pivoted toward Damon, who seemed to be the only one not cowed by fear or calculating risks.

"Do you know the location of the rift?"

"I do," Hana quickly replied.

Damon nodded.

"What are you thinking?" Ivy asked, noticing he was already putting a plan in his head.

"Their main strength comes from their lieutenants. There are 14 in total. If we can lower that number by 5, we should."

"You mean...?"

"Yes. I will carry out a mission to enter the A-Rank rift after them."

The room went quiet again, this time, the silence was a little heavier. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"So..." Theodore began, cutting through that oppressing silence. "Have you thought about who’s lucky enough to go on that crazy mission of yours?"

"I did," Damon replied. "I’ll be going alone."

"Alone into an A-rank rift chasing after five of their strongest fighters? Why?" Ivy asked, a small frown settling on her face.

"Because I can win." He replied flatly.

There was no way he could’ve known that for a fact, but after remembering his main reason for getting stronger, which he remembered while reminiscing about Ayame’s leave, there was a newfound determination in his eyes.

"Everyone should focus on getting stronger. I can’t go around and carry everyone around with me." He looked around the table one final time. "Whatever we have here, it means nothing if we can’t defend it."

Then, he suddenly stood up, which only added weight to his argument. "When I return they will be no room for the weak in this citadel."

His words cut through the room like a freshly sharpened blade. He left without giving them a chance to even digest his words, the door shutting behind him with a soft thud. The silence that followed was heavier than anything any of them had ever experienced.

But he only managed a couple of steps down the corridor before a voice called out behind him. ’Wait!’

The word came with more urgency than she usually allowed herself in public. A soft clicking of heels followed, faster than her usual composed pace, and when he turned, he saw something he rarely saw on her, Ivy moving without thinking it through first

A soft clicking of heels echoed across the corridor as Damon turned around to see Ivy run toward him.

He raised a brow. "What is it?"

"I want to go with you." She said with a determined look on her face.

"Huh?" he frowned. "You have to stay to lead the citadel."

"I’ve been stuck dealing with mundane staff for so long I barely remember combat." She paused for a second letting the words settle before continuing. "For people to follow us, they need to trust our strength. I need to get stronger just like you said."

The corridor went quiet for a moment while Damon took a second to observe Ivy.

What she said was true. Unlike the others who were simply considered capable fighters, he and Ivy were seen as leaders, fearless, the strongest people in the citadel. If the people’s trust in the abilities faltered even a little, then the whole coalition would collapse.

"Who’s going to deal with things here?"

"I already asked Hana, she accepted." Ivy smoothly replied.

Damon nodded.

"Very well. We leave Thursday afternoon."

A faint smile flashed across the girl’s face before she quickly turned around and headed back into the council meeting room, still having a few matters to discuss with the others, while Damon went back to his room from where he would enter his Domain and continue his training.

The task ahead of him wasn’t going to be easy. Facing five opponents while inside an A-Rank rift will most certainly be dangerous, but this was exactly the type of challenge he needed if he wanted to grow stronger.