It was almost like teleportation.

When Damien pulled the trigger, it all happened in an instant, far too fast for such an intensive process.

The trigger being pulled was a catalyst. The black gems in Damien’s wrists lit up, sucking in Damien’s mana like a vortex. This mana was then circulated through the gem itself, being compressed and concentrated multiple times over.

Only when this process ended would the mana enter the gun. As for the process, even Damien couldn’t quite understand how the mana went from the gems to the guns. The only thing he could sense was that there was some sort of connection between the four objects similar to Damien’s Celestial Mana Threads.

Regardless, the “bullet” was transported into the gun’s chamber and propelled forth using mana conceptually mirroring a ray gun.

Essentially, the bullet itself was heavily compressed spatial mana that would cause both splash damage and direct damage. It was a marvelous wonder of science and magic combined into one.

Damien pondered over it for a bit, and then decided to send off a few more shots. He wanted to test if there was something special about the Twin Moons that left it separated from the main weapon racks.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t seem to find the difference. Either that, or the weapon itself didn’t want him to find it. Whatever the reason, Damien’s search was futile.

p-a- n-d-a-n-0-v-e-l、 However, as weapons, the Twin Moons were spectacular. The immediate compression and amplification of mana through the Nodal Gems were phenomenal, much faster than if the process was attempted by human hands.

Not to mention, the Nodes themselves were integral in allowing the firearms to show their true power. The simple and inelegant shape and positioning of the Nodes allowed an extremely rapid system to be created.

Mana would bounce between his Wrist Nodes and the Central Node on his nape, hastening with each revolution until its momentum was enough to tear everything to shreds.

Though, using the Twin Moons only created a feedback loop through three nodes. Damien understood that there were many more ways the denizens of this world utilized their strange mana system than simply firing weapons.

Nevertheless, Damien soon left the Sanctuary and covertly re-entered his home, nodding in greeting to Aishia entering his study.

He sat down on his fanciful chair and fell into thought, continuing what he couldn’t finish at the Armament Hall.

The question was simple.

‘Should I be reckless?’ Damien didn’t know. He was having a hard time deciding on it.

His hesitation came from one main thing, the fact that everyone else who came on this mission with him would be endangered. If he couldn’t finish within 6 months, even Rose and Ruyue would be caught up in the aftershocks.

But if he could finish within 6 months…

Damien peered through the wall at his “wife,” his eyes indifferent.

‘This woman wants Niflheim to be brought down. Although her desire is just, it isn’t enough. I’m afraid Asgard has been corrupted since long ago.’

The longer he stayed in this world, the easier it was to realize. Especially as he heard about the world’s past through Aishia, it was easy to see. It was also easy to see how Aishia herself had been indoctrinated.

Asgard was not an ally. Damien had no proof of this, but he was sure of it. But he also knew that if he never discovered the harmful nanomachines that entered his body along with the AI Core Processor, he never would’ve realized the small details he could now see with ease.

‘Destroying Niflheim isn’t enough. If it comes down to it, I’ll have to destroy the entire world.’

Thinking about all the innocent lives that’d be lost irked him, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He simply didn’t have the power to save them.

With this in mind, Damien returned to his mundane daily routine. That day, he came to a decision that would heavily impact his future.

As for what that decision was…?

That was a story for another time.

***

3 days passed quickly, and soon enough, it was time for Damien to return to work. With his reassignment, he was no longer allowed to casually rest.

Although Damien wanted to know about what was going to happen to the Treasure Duplication research, he realized that the big men who always led him around would never answer his questions when he needed them to.

Instead, he found himself in a different lab. It had an overall neat appearance, with not nearly as many random objects and machines strewn around as Damien’s lab.

In a quiet corner, a blonde woman clacked away on the holographic keyboard in front of her, seemingly inputting the results of some test.

As for Damien, he was forced to stand in another corner of the room and watch this happen. He had already been present for half an hour, yet Lynn Carter hadn’t acknowledged his existence.

Frankly, Damien was getting a bit annoyed. Although he didn’t have a problem waiting, that only applied to things he cared about. For someone as trivial as Lynn Carter, Damien had no patience.

“Kuhum, excuse me,” Damien spoke. The only response he got was silence. Even the clacking of a keyboard didn’t break this awkward silence because the keyboard itself was holographic. It was the first time Damien cursed technological advancement.

“Excuse me!”

This time, he wasn’t so kind. He sent a trace of mana into his voice, his volume causing nearby beakers to rattle.

“What do you want?” Lynn Carter finally turned to him and coldly asked.

Frankly, she had no interest in the researcher that had been brought in as her assistant. No, not even an assistant, he was put in a similar position to Aubrey Price.

But it was merely a puppet position. Someone like Damien Grey who didn’t even know about Evotech’s shadow would never be given such an important role.

Even his position on the Treasure Duplication project was only provided to him because his wife was overlooking it. As for his wife, wasn’t she one of the most important members of the executive board?

Last time Lynn Carter saw the woman named Aishia, she didn’t even have close to enough status to interact with her. She could only watch from afar.

But that Aishia woman was incredibly arrogant and domineering, suppressing those who didn’t follow her will exactly. Perhaps this was the reason why Lynn developed a grudge against Damien, despite his innocence in the matter.

Naturally, Damien didn’t know any of this backstory. He was forced to endure the undeserved grudge in silence.

“Um…aren’t I here to assist you in your research? I don’t think having me stand here pointlessly will help with that at all.”

Lynn looked back at him with derision. “What help could you possibly provide? The only reason you got this far was because of your wife.”

Damien’s temper flared. His research and his wife, these were the two things Damien Grey didn’t accept any bull** on. But not only did Lynn insult his research, but she’d also insulted his wife’s honor!

Damien was truly riled up. Without thinking about the consequences, he let off a slew of curses, sternly lecturing Lynn Carter.

“…do you understand?! Even if you’ve been valued by Evotech, you are merely one of many! Do not look down on other people’s efforts like pathetic scum!”

Damien’s rant ended quickly, and only then did he realize what he’d done. He began sweating profusely as he watched Lynn Carter’s frosty expression.

But unexpectedly, she broke into a slight smile. “Right, we’re all just one of many here. There is no significance in anything we do regardless of how great it is. I apologize for my rudeness, Professor.”

“Hm?”

Damien numbly accepted Lynn’s handshake, not knowing what to do next. This wasn’t the reaction he expected from her.

The Evotech employees he’d met so far were prideful. Even when they attempted to hide it, it was far too easy to feel their ingrained pride as employees of Evotech, of the company that ruled the world.

Yet, Damien didn’t see any of that in Lynn. If anything, her spirit seemed deflated and unwilling.

A wild thought appeared in Damien’s mind when he saw her current appearance. Although it was their first meeting, he had a sudden good feeling.

‘This woman…would it be possible to convince her to rebel?’