Pet Tournament

Run?

Who allowed you to run?

Who allowed you to struggle?!

"Obediently kneeling down and killing yourselves to atone is the mercy of the gods, you ignorant worms."

They struggled desperately. Even a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone a trapped beast fighting for its life.

The drugged person's speed had already reached the human limit. Mortal eyes could not even catch an afterimage. They did not need to inflict any damage; they were only trying to divert and draw away the targets.

All just to get the information out.

It sounded tragic and heroic, but what did that have to do with me, Chlorine Sodium?

This strike had nearly surpassed the limits of mortals. Even a god should at least be hindered for a second, right?

Or rather, how could true gods possibly exist in this world?

Yet these people's knowledge was ultimately far too shallow.

Ignorance bred fearlessness. It was both bravery and stupidity.

Before powerful ships and cannons, a warrior's courage meant nothing. Likewise, before an existence resembling a god, every tactic and formation became meaningless and fragile.

"Let me show you exactly what kind of existence you have offended."

A crisp snap of the fingers rang out. In the next moment, countless weapons came crashing down like a violent storm!

It was golden rain. Countless weapons streaked with golden light and pounded densely into the entire village. Every collision erupted with power like a tank's main cannon!

They bombarded the area in every direction, using those immensely valuable weapons as disposable throwing tools.

··················

The absolute worldly violence represented by dozens of trucks and the members of the Guard turned in an instant from metal vehicles and monsters in the eyes of civilians into burning scrap metal and human fragments, releasing their last light and heat into the winter.

"Ugh... ah."

The tall member of the Emperor's Royal Guard was as helpless before the girl as a chick being picked up. His weapon could not even penetrate the energy protecting her body, while her inhuman quality cast a mysterious, deadly veil over the girl descending from the sky.

Resistance was meaningless. Everyone who raised a weapon was torn apart by flying explosions. Precise kills with power comparable to large-caliber main cannons, followed by scorching shock waves, crushed everyone, regardless of rank or status, identity or strength. The last surviving guardsman could not understand anything that had happened before him.

In the blink of an eye, the guardsmen who had fought desperately and the dumbfounded members of the Guard standing frozen in place were all killed by incomprehensible attacks.

There was not a ripple in those golden eyes. Only indifference toward life itself remained, as though she had casually... stepped on bugs by the roadside.

"Monster... mon... arghhhhhhh!"

Before he could finish, the once-arrogant member of the Emperor's Royal Guard could no longer make a normal sound. Flames suddenly enveloped the man without warning. It was no different from throwing someone into a furnace and devouring him from the outside inward. Boiling blood, dissolving muscle, and beastlike screams echoed through the snow-covered valley.

Indifferently watching the last survivor in her hand slowly burn into an unrecyclable lump of garbage, the girl tossed him aside, having lost interest.

Worms should behave like worms. Crawling on the ground was what they were meant to do.

Bringing only slaughter, destruction, and ruin, crushing everything into powder like a natural disaster, then dancing atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood—that was what a villain should do.

Using the power of a god to strike down mortal heretics—this was the power of a Herrscher.

In ancient times, priests used fragments of the authority of the gods they worshiped to exercise the power of apostles upon the earth.

In this age, those who walked the earth while wielding divine might were the apostles of the gods—the Herrschers.

Anchors connecting the real universe and the restraints, even when they held only fragments of divine authority, were gods in the eyes of mortals!

To balance the various worlds, the God's Apostles were born—divine beings whose purpose was to draw the hatred of the Children of the World.

She glanced at the silver-haired Castet lying beside her. The girl named Yelena was still unconscious.

Good. There were no witnesses. Every survivor had been dealt with, and Yelena, the protagonist's suspect, had not seen what happened. That left plenty of room to maneuver.

The mission was complete, so there was no need to remain here. The Herrscher raised her foot to leave, then suddenly stopped.

She needed neither aim nor a glance backward to confirm with her eyes. At this level, her eyes had long since ceased to be her only means of detecting enemies.

Imaginary power tore apart the boundary between reality and illusion. As purple ripples echoed out, several strange, oddly shaped blades shot forth!

"Quit sneaking around. Aren't you coming out? Or do you think I can't crush your weak spot?"

Section 15: Chapter Fifteen—Pet Competition

"Rip."

The sound of flesh tearing, with blood vessels and organs still clinging together in sticky strands, echoed through the woods.

The four black-clad men who called themselves guards, along with an uncounted number of worthless mortals, were now completely silent.

They could not stay here any longer. Not merely because so many people had died, but mainly because...

The house and everything else had been smashed into ruins. It was impossible to keep living here.

Yet there seemed to be more than one faction present. A flying arrow tore apart an observer hiding in the woods.

The person looked like an Infected. His entire body was ragged, his expression dull, and he showed no sense of danger. Even when he was blown apart, he displayed no fear. The instant he died, some kind of connection was severed. Clearly, this was a trick similar to using a familiar.

They were treating people as familiars?

The method of control was still unclear, but one thing was certain: this world possessed not only technology, but magic as well.

Of course, this information was only confirmed after the other party was shot apart. Before that, Chlorine Sodium had merely sensed something furtively spying on everything nearby.

Chlorine Sodium, the vicious villain whose hands were stained with countless lives, had never cared about innocents. If someone could still live after discovering her existence, then even if they were some strange undead creature, she would first smash out their brains and smear them across the wall before discussing anything.

However, matters were apparently far from over, because a pretentious voice rang out nearby.

"Perfect performance. To witness such a spectacle is truly an honor."

The man appeared while applauding, seemingly extremely confident—confident enough to show himself so casually near Chlorine Sodium.

The girl did not turn around, but the speaker showed no intention of restraining himself. He even continued his awkward self-introduction to warm up the conversation.

"I hope you will forgive my abruptness. Might I know... your honored name, Miss?"

The man inclined his head slightly, like a young noble inviting someone to dance at a ball. No—he was probably a noble.

He was very confident, and possibly quite strong. At the very least, he was slippery and cold, yet deeply inscrutable. Unlike the fools before him, he had not exposed his aura or killing intent, but neither had he concealed them completely. He was like a merchant holding a knife: the long blade was his tool for dealing with the poor, while the money on his person was his tool for dealing with his peers.

What greeted him was a sword flying at extreme speed!

Valuable weapons mixed with silver-white javelins smashed into the spot where the voice had come from. The weapons shattered under their kinetic force, releasing a surge of energy. The resulting gale lifted the snow across the ground into the air, where it slowly melted into a sky full of snowmelt.

Only after sensing that the energy of life had vanished did Chlorine Sodium turn around to see what had been making the sound.

The thing I, Chlorine Sodium, most enjoy is telling self-important people no!

I'm a villain, so villains never fight fair.

The other party had indeed been struck solidly. Yet even a centipede remained dangerous after death. That man was actually still alive.

More precisely, his waist had been smashed apart and the arrows had torn away half his body. Only half of his torso remained barely attached, leaving the noble's upper and lower halves shaped like the letter N.

Grotesque and comical.

Mm, I didn't miss.

Chlorine Sodium thought so.

"You really are refreshingly straightforward, Miss. But never mind. I came bearing sincerity, and I'll let you feel it."

The man did not seem to care in the slightest. Black liquid slowly surged from the wound, sticking his body back together like adhesive. In the end, it slowly transformed into flesh, while the remaining dead skin was rewoven to fill the gaps in his clothing.

Only after turning around did the girl see the man she had severed at the waist and watched recover.

Another silver-haired person. Everyone who appeared in this book seemed to have silver hair.

Unlike Yelena's snow-white hair and Chlorine Sodium's pallor, this man's appearance was more gray-white—chaotic, aged, and yet capable of staining any white thing it touched gray.

Unlike the Ursus bear that represented the Ursus people, his pointed ears and the object on his back suited his image quite well.

A snake.

With his hands crossed, he had the air of a refined, cultured scoundrel.

"My name is Koschei, a humble Fidia Noble. I imagine an outsider would face many inconveniences in Ursus. I can provide a 'shortcut.'"

"A deal?"

The girl had plenty of time, so she did not immediately drive him away. Instead, she gestured for him to continue.

"No, no, not a deal. I would prefer to call it... cooperation."

"Cooperation conducted by provoking me? Or is that how you people receive guests?"

The man carried the same scent as the dead cannon fodder. Clearly, they had encountered one another shortly before. The cannon fodder had followed the scent here, while this man had hidden nearby and watched everything. The cannon fodder had probably been used as his expendable pawn.

Expendable pawns to test whether the other party was willing to cooperate. What excellent scheming.

"Of course not. These foolish, ignorant mortals lack the ability to recognize another's strength, just as ants cannot comprehend the grandeur of mountains. I merely hastened the process. After all, words can never make such people understand. Words are always pale and powerless; they only shout meaninglessly. If I used violence afterward, it would waste a great deal of time. It is better to let them understand their insignificance early and learn exactly what they are. Only then can we avoid meaningless conflict, don't you agree?"

Koschei's gaze fell upon Yelena, who lay unconscious in the snow not far away.

In the next instant, countless swords flying from an unknown direction completely buried the spot where he stood!

"Boom!!!"

Several shock waves severed the surrounding trees at their roots. The snow was blown away, exposing the frozen earth several meters below.

That strike was enough to empty a mortal's health bar—and then subtract another hundred or so.

Yet clearly, the man before her had not died. Whether he was cut in half or blasted into paste, he could reshape himself from a pool of black blood.

Of course, this was not true annihilation. It was merely a god's pointless experiment.

Like a child casually tearing off a fly's wings to see what would happen.

Seeing that he was unharmed, Chlorine Sodium stepped forward and blocked Koschei's view. It was both rejection and a threat.

Koschei was perceptive enough. After reshaping himself, he withdrew his gaze and continued with a smile.

"You really are straightforward, Miss. But I am no ordinary mortal either, so there is no need to waste your strength. Fighting until one of us dies would benefit neither of us. Besides... that Infected is a tool you greatly need to cultivate, isn't he?"

Turning a person into someone useful required time and money. Koschei longed for a successor, so he knew very well how difficult it was to find a suitable person—and how much harder it was to raise one.

Seeing that the outsider before him showed no displeasure, Koschei continued.

"You clearly sensed what had happened to her and hurried back, yet you did not immediately help. You observed from outside for a long while, confirmed certain things, and only then entered to rescue her. I greatly admire such conduct. Unlike those who do not know the height of the heavens, I understand your strength and recognize your value. But even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. The people living on this ancient, ignorant, foolish, and pitiful land are always narrow-minded and blinded by what lies before them. They cannot understand the difference between the greatness of the sky and the smallness of man, so they will constantly cause trouble. And you lack sufficient information. Otherwise, surely you would have known that the Emperor's Royal Guard and these ordinary beasts would come looking for trouble."

"Who are you threatening?"

"This is not a threat, but a practical necessity. You need a local snake to clear the road for you, don't you?"

Koschei gave a subtle smile. He completely understood the motivation of the person before him. People only pitied pets, and that silver-haired Castet was clearly her pet.

But raising a pet required time and effort, while this place did not welcome outsiders at all.

"And I happen to be plotting a grand undertaking. I likewise need to raise a suitable pet to carry it out. Our interests align, so why not cooperate?

"Besides, you can rest assured. At heart, we are the same kind of people, aren't we?"

The same kind of people. This was not opportunistic rhetoric, but the conclusion he had reached after observing her.

If she truly wished to protect the girl, there was no reason for her to watch from the sidelines until the moment intervention became necessary. That was not a concerned gaze. She was merely treating the other party as a useful tool to cultivate.

The gaze of a scholar observing white mice in captivity.

Powerful strength, a deeply hidden identity, an incomprehensible way of existing, and... this same way of thinking made Koschei believe it.

They were the same kind of people.

Gods who loved this land and its people.

·····················

Where... is this?

Another unfamiliar ceiling. Yet the voice beside her was enough to make her feel at ease.

It was Chlorine Sodium.

"You're finally awake. How did you sleep?"

As always, the silver-haired girl's face showed little expression.

Yet as she watched Yelena slowly awaken, no one could see the narrow, malicious smile blooming deep within her hidden thoughts.

An Infected organization, an interesting plan... What was this supposed to be, a Pet Competition?