Solving the Problem

Heh heh, I saw something interesting...

Zhongli was walking home, though his smile was somewhat unnatural. Earlier, he had sensed an extremely strong wish nearby, so he naturally used Geo Sense to "look" over there.

He had gotten the shock of his life the moment he looked. He had seen the people planning to kill him—the entire team—and even heard their specific plan!

He was genuinely a little dumbfounded.

W-Was this the legendary suicide truck?

Old Third Glasses's wish was incredibly strong. He wanted to grow stronger and make his life better, even if he had to pay any price. Having such a powerful and pure wish should have been a good thing, but...

His teammates would probably never have imagined that the most cautious Third had become an informant. Before the mission had even begun, he had sold out every one of his teammates. He had even argued his case and proactively bought Zhongli precious time for what he was about to do. This was simply...

A Divine Being!

Though it was a bit of a pity, an enemy was still an enemy. Sparing talented enemies and being softhearted was irresponsible toward his own safety. Without absolute certainty, it was better to deal with them directly.

Night fell.

Zhongli put on black clothes, covered his face, and left through the back door of his home. No one noticed him, because he had planned this route carefully. No one would see him.

His Geo Sense vision was incredibly useful. Its practical value was no less than a full-map cheat.

The Shell Mercenary Group was diligently hiding from his sight and searching for blind spots right under his nose, terrified that he would spot them directly and draw out some unknown danger. Unfortunately for them, it was useless.

Zhongli moved swiftly through the night without making a sound. He covered himself with a small amount of Geo Elemental Particles, making his movements even more concealed.

Blooming Beauty was the one keeping watch and conducting surveillance beside the Zhongli Family home. Her figure looked curvaceous beneath the restraint of her tight outfit, exceptionally eye-catching. Her Dark Red hair was like a Rose Flower in the night—beautiful and dangerous.

She was quite pretty.

Zhongli smiled as he walked over. The beauty concentrating on her surveillance had yet to notice the approaching danger.

Only she was keeping watch now. The others were gathering information in various places through their own methods... or passing the time. The Shell Mercenary Group knew how capable Wild Rose was. Her ability to conceal herself was exceptionally strong in one-on-one situations. If even she could be discovered, anyone else coming would merely be delivering themselves to their deaths.

Zhongli drew closer and closer to Wild Rose, a dangerous smile gradually appearing on his face. With a casual grip of his hand, Vortex Vanquisher instantly appeared in it. At the same time, he quickened his pace.

This feeling... There's danger nearby!

Wild Rose, who was keeping watch, sensed that something was wrong. For some reason, ever since earlier, her eyelids had started twitching wildly for no apparent reason, as though some danger was about to descend.

Her heartbeat gradually sped up as she looked around with increasing caution. Unfortunately, she did not discover the man making her heart race.

Though she saw no one, her vigilance did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, she examined every detail around her even more carefully, and the unease in her heart grew stronger and stronger.

"Are you... looking for me?"

A crisp, sunny teenage voice sounded from behind her, but in this darkness, the voice brought her nothing but unease and fear.

"Blood Rose..."

Wild Rose had just been about to summon her Martial Soul and turn around, but in the next instant, she permanently lost the ability to speak. Her surroundings began changing rapidly, then froze forever at a certain moment.

Was that... my body?

That was the last thing Wild Rose had time to think before she completely lost her life.

Zhongli flicked the tip of his spear, shaking off several drops of blood. He looked at Wild Rose, who had completely lost all signs of life, and waited carefully for several minutes. Only after confirming that she was thoroughly dead did he mutter to himself:

"Ah, I didn't really want to do this either, but you came to kill me. If I didn't fight back, things would become troublesome, so... I can only trouble you a little. I'm truly sorry."

He raised one hand and lightly pointed at Wild Rose's body. A large amount of Geo Element transformed into miniature Planet Befalls that descended onto her body, rapidly petrifying it into a lifelike statue.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth... Geo Burial!"

Zhongli snapped his fingers, and the statue instantly turned to ash and scattered away. Not even a drop of blood fell, as though this person had never existed at all.

Tonight,

the same thing had to be repeated six more times.

Late at night, an exhausted Zhongli returned home and opened the front door with his key.

The house beyond the door was lit.

Aserine was sitting on the sofa.

"Why aren't you asleep? What are you doing here?"

Zhongli asked softly.

"I was waiting for Master to come home."

Aserine stood up and replied politely.

"Oh."

Zhongli nodded slightly, walked straight to the sofa, and sat down. He crossed his hands, lowered his head, and said nothing.

He had always believed that his mental resilience was strong. Killing enemies in self-defense for legitimate reasons should not have caused any psychological problems. Yet when he truly acted, when he swung his weapon, he felt intense discomfort deep in his heart.

Perhaps because his resilience truly was not weak, he endured that discomfort every time and acted cleanly and decisively, turning the enemies' corpses into ash.

The killings in Dragon Form had been different from this time. When he used Rock Spears in Dragon Form, their range and power had been too great. He only knew that the enemies had died; he had no idea exactly how they had died.

But this time... he had seen everything clearly...

Masked Boss had been very relieved, very composed. With his heart pierced through, he used the last strength of his dying flare to light a cigar. His hand trembling, he took a puff and looked at the dazzling lights of the distant streets from the empty outskirts before saying, "Thank you."

Long-haired One-eyed Second had been in the city. While he was using the toilet over an earthen pit, Rock Spikes erupted from within it and pierced through him in an instant. The scene had truly been rather cruel.

Third had been very cautious, deliberately choosing channels hidden in the darkness to investigate through. Then, during the investigation, countless Rock Spears nailed him to death, and he ultimately turned to ash.

And there was Fourth...

In battle, he would not hesitate in the slightest. Eliminating enemies was the most important thing. But after the battle ended, he would still feel some discomfort.

That discomfort was also a form of erosion. And for rock, erosion was also a record—a force that could permanently alter the form of stone to a certain extent, as well as a mark of growth.

This feeling really was awful...

Zhongli sighed again.

He looked at Aserine, who sat obediently beside him, met her fervent gaze, and sensed an even stronger wish.

"Master, if there is anything that makes you uncomfortable to do, please order me to do it directly. I will clear away every obstacle for you! This is my duty as a Maid!"

Aserine declared resolutely.