[Your comprehension of the *Second Step of the Abyssal Sword Art* has been completed!]

[Abyssal Sword Art I -> Abyssal Sword Art II]

"That’s enough," Damon said, stopping the Dark Knight’s sword mid-swing with his command.

It had been hours since they started. The Dark Knight was relentless in a way no human training partner could be. It didn’t tire, didn’t slow and didn’t pull its strikes out of consideration.

Every exchange demanded full commitment, or it would find the gap and strike it without hesitation.

That was precisely why he trained against his summon. Complacency had no room to develop against something that never gave it an inch.

Within those hours, Damon’s understanding of the Abyssal Sword Art had greatly increased, enough so that even the system took notice, officially increasing it in his status screen.

But with his mana already being gone from evolving Eve’s class and now his stamina nearing its end, it was time to get some rest.

With a single intent of his thoughts, he left his domain and reappeared in his room.

But the moment he arrived—

"Eek!!!"

Hana jumped to her feet from the edge of his bed, where she was sitting.

Damon raised a brow, not just because he was surprised to see her in his room but more so because of her reaction.

"I-I was just... I interrogated Jax, so I came to tell you what I found out so far, but you weren’t there, and the door was open-ish, so I allowed myself in," she began explaining, speaking so fast Damon barely managed to catch everything she said before he waved her off.

"It’s fine, I was out training."

She blinked. "Training? Wait... Out?"

Damon didn’t reply, at least not out loud. He simply thought back about his domain and his training with his summon, and a slow realisation dawned on Hana, who couldn’t stop herself from reading his mind.

"Oh... I see."

"So, what did you find out?" Damon asked, sitting on the edge of the half-broken bed, which shifted slightly under his weight, one side still caved in from whatever had happened between Nyla and Ning Xiaoyu earlier.

"He refuses to talk, but doesn’t know I can read his thoughts, so it was pretty easy to get things out of him." She quickly explained before continuing. "He’s terrified of you."

She paused, letting the words hang in the air before speaking. "Most of his thoughts were him recalling your battle in the warehouse, your abilities, the way you take lives without as much as blinking... He seems to be petrified of you"

Something quiet shifted across the girl’s face, something that she had been holding in the back of her mind.

"Actually... It’s not just him. Most people in the citadel fear you."

Damon remained silent for a moment.

Although he wasn’t exactly sure why they would fear him, he didn’t really care either. He only needed what he had to do to survive, not once did he take an unnecessary life.

"Anything about the citadel?" he asked, catching the girl slightly off guard.

"No, not yet... You don’t care what they think?"

"Most people in the citadel are completely useless. Living off the strength of others and hoping their day to fight won’t come. Their opinions are worthless." He took a small pause before asking. "What about you? Are you scared?"

The girl was visibly surprised by the sudden question, shifting a little uncomfortably before taking a couple of steps toward him and sitting right beside him, close enough to brush her arm against his, as if the close proximity was enough of the evidence that she wasn’t scared.

"I’m not scared of you..." she murmured, her eyes trailing across the room.

Damon took a look at her.

She was fidgeting with the strands of her golden hair, and her eyes were as far away from his as they could, locked onto the far corners of the room.

"It-It wouldn’t hurt to inspire a little hope in people’s hearts," she suddenly said.

"That’s Ivy’s job."

"Then what’s your job?"

Only now did her eyes finally meet his.

"To kill what needs to be killed."

Hana held his gaze for a moment longer than she’d held anyone’s in a while before raising to her feet.

"I should get going." She took a second to fix her mini skirt before walking slightly hurriedly toward the door.

"I’ll have more from Jax by morning," she said. "He thinks in his sleep, too."

Damon raised a brow. ’She can read people’s thoughts while they sleep?’ he thought to himself, and at that moment, a faint smile flashed across the girl’s face.

"Yes, I can!" she replied excitedly, and just as Damon was about to tell her off for reading his mind, she left his room and quickly closed the door behind her.

’Damn mind readers...’

He let out a long exhale before he settled down on his half-crooked bed. It was a little uncomfortable, but after his long training session with the Dark Knight, it didn’t really matter as the sleep quickly claimed him, and he was soon woken up by the rays of a new day.

With the arrival of the new day, Damon was quick to leave the bed, which protested his weight one final time as he stood and got ready for the council meeting. The broken room looked worse in daylight than it had the night before, every detail of the destruction clearer without the forgiving dark to soften it.

Today was the day they would discuss their plans on how to take on the enemy citadel and use the information Hana got from Jax to their advantage.

It was an important day, and Damon wanted to be there from the very start. But of course, just as always, the citadel was bustling with life in the morning, making even the easiest walks longer than necessary.

Damon took far longer than he anticipated to arrive, cursing everyone along the way before he finally reached the door of the council meeting room and entered inside to see everyone already waiting for his arrival.