Chapter 170: Private Discussion with Rin [2]
Damian’s brow narrowed further, but he did not speak or argue. There was no hostility behind Rin’s words, no hidden malice, only a blunt honesty that made it difficult to reject outright. He understood that much, even if the tone grated against him.
Rin, on the other hand, did not care whether offense was taken. Its gaze remained steady, as if Damian’s feelings held no weight in the face of what needed to be said.
"While your wives have a strong reputation in the underworld, the truth remains that Lin Qui is the only reason they could get away with it. They are on the level of top ranking Dukes of Hell, but that is all they are. In less than a year, you should have already surpassed them at the rate you are growing."
Buzz.
Damian blinked, disbelief flashing across his face before he could suppress it. Surpass Ruby, Racheal, and Hazel in a year? The thought alone felt absurd, almost insulting to the power he had seen them wield so effortlessly.
Rin watched him in silence, its expression unreadable before a faint sigh escaped it, laced with clear disappointment. It could hear his thoughts, could feel the doubt forming, and to it, that doubt was proof of a deeper flaw.
Damian still did not understand.
He did not grasp the difference between inheriting the power of a Sin and merely being a demon or an angel.
It was a gap in understanding that should not exist, especially for someone who had benefited so greatly from that very difference.
In a matter of months, he had gone from a fragile human, one heartbreak away from collapse, to a being capable of engaging in battles that could level entire cities. That kind of growth was not natural. It was not fair. It was absolute.
Yet he still questioned the ceiling of his own potential.
To Rin, that ignorance was almost offensive.
Of all the hosts it had served, Damian possessed one of the highest ceilings it had ever seen, yet he was also one of the most flawed. His past as a powerless human had left gaps in him that power alone could not immediately fill.
Too many gaps.
Meanwhile, Damian remained silent, his thoughts turning inward as he processed everything. At first, it felt impossible to accept, but as seconds stretched into a minute, something shifted.
The logic began to form.
The pattern began to reveal itself.
He exhaled slowly, his mind tracing his own growth from the moment everything began. He was no longer human. Not truly. Even calling himself a hybrid felt like an understatement now.
He was something else entirely.
Something closer to a demon than anything he had once been.
If he could rise this far in a matter of months, then the idea of reaching his wives’ level within a year no longer sounded impossible. It sounded inevitable.
Damian leaned back slightly, his fingers brushing against his chin as his thoughts settled. When he looked at it clearly, he realized something else.
He was no longer afraid of them.
That quiet fear he once carried, buried deep within him when he was still weak, had vanished without him noticing. It had dissolved somewhere along the path of his growth.
Now, when he looked at them, he did not see threats.
He saw equals.
"Alright. Alright. I believe you." Damian finally spoke, breaking the silence as he straightened slightly. "So do you recommend I scrap the entire plan to open a church?"
Rin shook its head immediately, as if it had been waiting for the question.
"Of course not. Your brothers will come for you regardless. This will only hasten the arrival of one of them. However, it is also your best chance at reaching demigod or even god level within a short span of time. As long as you reach demigod level, you can return to Velmora. Within that domain, your strength can rival that of gods, and your brothers will not dare act carelessly."
Damian leaned back again, his expression turning thoughtful as his fingers tapped lightly against his chin. The situation unfolded in his mind with increasing clarity.
"So it is a race against time." he muttered. "If I reach demigod level first, I win. If they reach me first, they win."
"Correct." Rin nodded. "That is why every action you take from now on must serve one purpose. Growth. Once you have what you need to establish your political career, abandon the firm and redirect that time toward your wives. If you remain disciplined and follow the path, you will come out on top."
Damian’s expression darkened slightly at those words.
Blacksheep Firm.... Victor.
Everything he had planned within that world, It all became smaller in this moment. His dreams of becoming the managing partner became insignificant compared to what lay ahead.
His ambition to rise within that system, to stand above men like Victor and make them regret ever looking down on him, would have to be discarded if he chose this path.
But even as the thought formed, he already knew the answer.
He did not have a choice.
After facing Duke Haborym, after feeling the weight of that battle and everything it implied, Damian understood that his life had already shifted beyond the boundaries of normal humans.
This was inevitable.
"Okay." he exhaled, a faint, bitter smile forming on his lips. "I will play your game."
Everything was moving too fast.
Just months ago, he had been navigating human problems, human ambitions, human conflicts. Now, he was discussing timelines that would carry him to a place beyond mortality itself.
It felt unreal.
Like he had skipped entire Chapters of his own life.
"If you follow the plan, we will succeed." Rin said, its tone steady, almost certain. "Too many of your predecessors have gathered knowledge for this very purpose."
Damian did not respond immediately.
He simply leaned back in silence, staring ahead as the weight of that statement settled in. The life of Damain Hill may have actually ended that morning he got shot.