Chapter 1285 - 1286: The Camp

At this point, Damon was closing in on the area. From his position, he could see red energy rising in the distance, accompanied by terrible flashes of magic. It was still miles away, but he would get there in no time.

"Look over there," Evangeline called out, pointing to the side.

Far away from them was a large group of people. The place looked like a distant settlement. Damon tapped the back of the flying whale, and it turned in that direction.

As interested as he was in getting the Pillar, finding a settlement was a good thing. Damon hadn’t spent much time here compared to the others, so he had forgotten that Abellona had been here for several months. Clearly, others had been here for a long time as well.

When he closed the distance, he saw what he could only describe as a refugee camp. The air reeked of dried blood and despair.

The people here wore tattered, worn-out clothes, or just rags. Some were injured, and not far from the camp was a large field of graves. There were so many dead that it made Damon’s heart twist.

When the whale-like creature approached, they all began to scatter, some taking up battle stations. However, Damon didn’t proceed any further. He merely stopped at the edge of the camp before slowly dismounting.

He could feel the presence of some of his Shadow Drones and even Maw.

Damon stepped down and helped Abellona dismount. Even though she didn’t really need any help, she accepted it nonetheless. Evangeline floated down, and the three of them approached the camp.

The defenses were laughable at best, but a lot of people were still here.

Women and children who couldn’t fight, along with those who could fight but had been injured and survived.

Damon reached the entrance to the camp, and when he got there, someone’s voice echoed out.

"Stop! Halt! Don’t come any closer!"

Damon glanced ahead and saw some knights wearing mismatched armor, their expressions cold.

He didn’t stop moving. He approached until he was about a meter away from them and said, "Let us pass."

The men and women glared at him.

"They can pass, but you can’t."

Damon looked at them and then realized he still had his demon horns. However, there were demon children here, too. He had seen them from the sky, so that couldn’t be the problem.

"I am Damon Grey."

A woman glared back at him.

"We know. You’re not welcome here, traitor."

Abellona and Evangeline narrowed their eyes. It seemed Damon was quite hated.

"Why is that? Why would you try to stop him? I doubt you can," Abellona said, noting the vast gap in power between them. Damon could kill them with a thought.

"We don’t have the power to stop him, but we can at least die trying."

Another person called out, his voice cold and fearless.

"Kill us, Damon Grey! What else can you do? We aren’t scared of dying anymore. What other reason is there to live?"

None of them feared death because, in their eyes, they were already dead. Despair was a shroud that settled over you before you even died.

Evangeline lowered her head. Damon had done some things, but it wasn’t all his fault.

They just wanted someone to blame, someone on whom they could focus their hatred.

Damon’s eyes narrowed, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill them over this. He just wanted a place for Abellona to settle. He had never planned on bringing her here in her condition, even if she was in the Seventh Class. However, he knew she would beg to differ, considering they needed as much combat power as possible.

Just as Damon was about to say something, the crowd parted, and a young woman with pink hair stepped out from behind them, holding a black cat that seemed to be made of writhing shadows.

When Damon saw her, he felt a weight settle on his chest.

The image of the young girl who had been training alone in the courtyard after her father was killed by him surfaced in his mind.

When Iris saw him, her eyes widened, and she ran towards him. When she reached him, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him.

"You’re alive! I’m so happy you’re alive!"

When Damon felt her arms around him, his eyes widened for a moment. He couldn’t even blink or draw a breath.

Then he slowly wrapped his arms around her. He hesitated because he wasn’t sure if he should, or if he even had the right to do so after everything he had done.

"Hug her back, you bastard," Evangeline whispered harshly as he hesitated, and that was all he needed.

Eventually, he had to let her go.

"I was worried I’d find your corpse somewhere. I’m glad you didn’t die," he whispered softly.

Iris nodded, then glanced at the guards.

"Let’s go inside. I’ll tell you everything on the way."

"Captain, we can’t let Damon Grey inside! He’s the enemy of the goddess races!" one of them called out.

"Yeah! He destroyed the world! How can someone so evil be allowed in with all our families and survivors?"

"Shut up! I’m not asking for your permission. Do you think you’re the only ones who lost family and friends? Or did you forget that Damon had more to lose than anyone here? Our world is gone, destroyed. Damon lost people, too. He lost his daughter, his sister, his aunt, and his grandfather. What makes your losses greater than his? What right do any of you have to cast judgment on him? Have any of you contributed to the world as much as he has? If you want someone to blame for your failures, I suggest you look in the mirror."

Iris didn’t hesitate or mince her words. With that, she pushed them out of the way to let Damon pass.

The camp was terrible, but the healers were clearly doing their best to help those who were hurt.

Some people were already dead, but no one had come to attend to them.

There was no food, and the children looked bleak and lacked energy.

Evangeline stopped next to a man and cast a golden light over him, healing his body instantly. Her actions drew attention, and someone noticed what she had done.

Then they saw Damon.

"It’s Damon Grey... The fiend lives!"

"Get out of here! We don’t want you here!"