What could’ve caused this?

****

"How much misfortune will I have before I finally have fortune?" Damon muttered, gazing at the moon. The moon was the only thing he felt was pure—something that purified the world of sin.

Half a day had passed, and the battle between the top guilds had long since started, fighting to decide which guild was the best for him to join.

On the other hand, Damon, who was seated in the distance on a rooftop, wondered just how everything went south. How could Kesean, who was known for being someone without talent, be given a second contract in the middle of their battle?

His misfortune didn't just end there, as Kesean's second contract attracted the attention of the top guilds, leading him into his current situation, where he didn't want to receive their anger or join them. He knew that he would be given recourse, but that came with a price he wasn't willing to pay.

His freedom would be restricted, along with his movements. He couldn't let that happen, as he desired to lead and not be under someone else's foot, forced to concede. He was already in a guild, which didn't restrict his freedom, but the Flying Falcon Guild wasn't a top guild; they couldn't even be compared to the numbers and strength of the top guilds.

That's why he was in this city. He was exiled to a weaker city, where the strongest were only at the strength of a B-rank, something that even his guild, an A-rank guild, could deal with without any issue.

Either it was his misfortune or not, he ended up in the same city where Levi, someone he had once considered a close friend before he knew he lacked talent, resided. A young boy still filled with innocence, whom at the time he had come to despise, using him as an object to vent his own frustrations.

Damon didn't know why, but only one person came to mind as to the cause of all his misfortune: Levi! He was certain that he was dead, but somehow he had managed to mess up everything for him.

It should've been impossible for someone who was already dead to cause so much trouble for someone who wasn't, but he was convinced that there was some connection between Levi and his misfortune.

Was it a curse that manifested after Levi's death, or was it his punishment for everything he had done to him? Whatever it was, it made him hate Levi even more than before.

"Argh, only if I could kill them... I would've already left this cursed wasteland, never to come here again, but these injuries hinder that. There's also a difference in strength and numbers. Even if I was in peak condition, I still wouldn't stand a chance."

"If it wasn't for Kesean, none of this would've happened... I wouldn't have to watch this battle when I clearly have no intention of joining any of the top guilds. I only suggested this because angering them wasn't ideal and I didn't have the time to think of a better solution, but I should've thought of something that could at least benefit me…"

He clenched his fists in frustration to the point where his blood started trickling down his hand. Nothing since Levi's death had gone according to his desires; everything he did led him to even more misfortune, giving him a greater headache each time.

After a few minutes, he regained his composure, as his flame had already closed the wound, stopping his hand from bleeding.

"The likelihood of me jumping through the ranks again is incredibly low; there hasn't been anyone who has received three different contracts in their lifetime." He looked at his hand, where he created two spheres of fire and wind elements that conflicted with each other, not letting one take over the other.

His eyes revealed understanding.

"Focus solely on my strength," he muttered, understanding his path ahead. He possessed no control over his future or his misfortune, but he did have control over his strength.

The only way to escape his misfortune was to improve his own strength, giving him the power he needed to resist the misfortune he had. He understood that improving his control over the element of fire and his control over the element of wind would greatly improve his strength, but he still felt that he could grow more than that.

He needed something more.

****

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Not far from Damon, there was a battle between two powerhouses, each from different guilds. So far, the battle has been fairly even, at least from an ordinary spectator's point of view. However, only the powerhouses knew the truth.

The battle was slowly tilting to one side as one powerhouse became weaker over time. He had only a little time left before he reached his limit, which would leave him with zero ability to continue. Losing now wasn't something he could afford, not with his guild's leader wanting Damon.

Just the thought of returning to his guild without Damon, only to suffer the wrath of his guild leader, sent shivers down his spine. He couldn't let something like that happen; he was afraid of the consequences he would suffer if he did.

Boom~

For the hundredth time, he was sent flying into one of the buildings, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he felt his body screaming in pain, wanting to rest, but he didn't! The young man pulled himself from the rubble, not willing to end the battle.

"Hahaha, is that all you got?" Not too far from the young man was a violet-haired woman floating in the air who donned beautiful light armor, favoring speed and nimbleness over defense.

There was a white sword in the hands of the young woman that she had used to force the young man into this situation.

"Your ability is decent, but you're still an amateur in your endurance; you can't even use it for more than six hours? How pathetic? At this rate, you won't last another hour. How disappointing your guild must be to have someone as useless as you?" The woman's cold insults echoed throughout the battlefield, falling into the ears of everyone.

Seeing the young man's unwillingness to forfeit, her figure disappeared, appearing before him in an instant, swinging her sword with incredible strength, leaving little time for the man to react.

Though the man was growing weaker the longer he fought, he was still someone one shouldn't take lightly. He still had some strength to fight! He raised his shield with a speed unfitting of the heavy armor he wore, blocking the brunt of the attack, only to be sent flying again.

Boom~

"Just give up; there's no need to continue this pointless battle. Your defense is about to break, and once that happens, you'll likely die. I don't want to have to kill you, not when there's a chance it will create conflict between our two guilds."

The young man shook his head, not giving up. "I can still fight."

"Very well. Since you refuse to listen, I will end this quickly. If you end up dead, that is your own choice, as I've warned you several times." As she spoke, a deathly violet aura engulfed her sword.

This time, she wouldn't hold back anymore as she released her element, finally deciding to use her entire strength for the first time during the battle.

*****

Not far away from the battlefield, Lilith could be seen moving through the city, heading in a certain direction. She had only one goal, and that was to reach her destination.

Since the city was in chaos and most of the people had lost their minds, even the weakest of them tried to stop her, thinking they could fulfill their desires before their inevitable deaths.

Unfortunately for them, she wasn't in the mood to stop or had the intention of letting them fulfill themselves. Whoever tried to get in her path died, and their lifeless bodies were stored away, leaving only a few droplets of blood behind.

With every passing minute, her strength grew slightly, increasing with each kill as she grew closer to her destination, with fewer and fewer kills as she grew closer.

Soon, there wasn't a single soul in sight as she reached the entrance to her destination, where her eyes widened at the destruction before her eyes. Destruction was everywhere across the entire city, but she was certain that there had been a battle that caused the devastation, and not long ago.

"Who could've caused this much destruction to the Durham gang?"