In the basement of Regalia Castle, a man in a white robe with a large burn scar on his face was staring in excitement at a wriggling creature.
Beside him was a man possessing a deformed, mutated body, who looked at the white-robed man with open disgust toward the creature.
“Beta… What a repulsive thing. And that is saying a lot, coming from a man turned Devil like me.”
“What are you saying? This is the most adorable creatures I have ever seen — Well, almost, I suppose.”
The white-robed man tapped the tip of his chin. The mutated man, knowing what that ‘almost’ actually meant, turned to the creatures called Beta once again.
“…Of course, the Heavenly Beasts. Lady Ishtar considers them quite troublesome obstacles. If I only knew where they were, I would go and destroy them immediately…”
“They have lived through the chaotic era of the Devil King. Neither of us would be a match for them.”
“…Listen, I have cooperated with you against my personal preferences. Failure will not be tolerated.”
“Hmph, your efforts are nothing compared to mine. Besides, there is no such thing as failure in this strategy. The only path ahead of us leads to success.”
“As creepy as ever.”“And what does that make you?”
Arcane energy filled the air of the room as the two men glared at each other. Perhaps in reaction, the creature called Beta unleashed a surge of energy from its body.
The two stopped their bickering upon taking notice of the creature’s behavior.
“Hmm, as powerful as an SS-ranked monster. So you were not boasting just for the sake of it… Billy.”
“And you will be the one in charge going forward, Cleath. You know what to do, don’t you?”
“I’m following Lady Ishtar’s orders. Of course I do.”
Billy cast a light source spell to illuminate the Beta, revealing a grotesque creature lying comfortably on a pile of countless Alpha corpses.
Its constantly pulsating, skinless muscles were in pure black, and oversized fangs grew from its jaws.
Black flame leaked from its mouth with every breath. Its drool melted through the pile of bodies below it. And its size was five times that of an Alpha.
“Hehehe… Time for the great march of my adorable creations!”
“We have an open path to T’oued. I will soon get my revenge…!”
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
“How tedious.”
Bull the King Happy Killer grumbled as Shi’shichou, the legendary Violet Phoenix, stood on its back.
“Don’t complain so much. Do you think this isn’t tedious for me too?”
The Phoenix held up its wings to block its face.
Still Bull did stop complaining, as it knew how much turmoil the Violet Phoenix’s emotions were currently in.
“Damn that old tortoise… he’s taking his sweet time with that ‘hibernation’! He’s done nothing but sleep ever since the Devil King’s era ended! I would have smashed his shell and dragged him with us if I could! And that tiger isn’t any better! I mean, fortune telling… by plucking petals off flowers!? How’s that supposed to foretell anything!? And it totally ruined that lavender field that was so beautiful just a few years ago! I would have lifted him up and dropped him from heaven… IF I COULD! Well, at least Kohryu was unlike those two — even served us a meal after thanking us for the report! As a gesture of respect, I swear to not eat even a single snake for the next 500 years! My diet will instead consist of tortoises and Murder Tigers! Well, Bull, any comments!?”
“…Sorry, what was that? I stopped listening at the part where you said ‘old tortoise’.”
“W-what!? So I just need to repeat the whole speech!? And you’ll listen this time!?”
“Yeah, and I’ll also swear to eat birds for the next 500 years.”
“Hmph, hopefully you’ll find some that actually taste good.”
“…Great, just great.”
“Did you say something?”
“My back feels tingly because your claws dig into it. It’s about time you got off.”
“…Hmm, fine.”
Shi’shichou flapped its wings and leaped up from Bull’s back, and after a flip in mid-air, it landed…
“…Why are you standing on my head?”
“Because you said to get off your back?”
“GRR!!”
“Hey, don’t shake around so much! Are you trying to knock me off!?”
“I AM! Hell, I’mma skewer your ass and roast you over a fire!”
“Not if I roast you first!”
And so, on their way back to the Far East Wasteland where Tūs was, the two mighty creatures clashed, shaking the earth and turning the vicinity into a vacant lot, depriving countless smaller creatures of their habitat.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Meanwhile, in the Far East Wasteland, Tūs was being confronted by a certain man clad in gray.
The man’s pale blue eyes locked on to Tūs, showing no intention to look elsewhere.
Tūs opened one eye and, upon seeing the man, shot him a piercing glare.
“The hell are you doing here?”
“Is it not normal for a student to visit his mentor?”
“Hmph, you’re not my student. And I’m never ever letting you back here, even if Mel begs me to.”
“Hehehe… quite rare for an individual to take that tone with me in this day and age. Does the name ‘Grey’ not instill any fear in you?”
“Why would I freak out against a little shit like you? Just look at you — you’re so scared of me, you’re ready to shit your pants any second now!”
“Oh-ho?”
The man — Gaspard — released a surge of arcane energy, his golden hair fluttering in the wind.
“What, you figured I’d get in your way? That’s why you’re here? Is that it?”
“Is it necessary for one to pick up a pebble on the road? No. However, the depth of your knowledge may change in the coming days… so I suppose I should kick the pebble to the side.”
Another surge of arcane energy erupted from under Gaspard’s feet up to the sky, filling the whole vicinity with a green flash of light.
Tūs scratched his afro hair and opened his other eye.
“Hah! I was right!”
“Now get ready to meet your maker!”
Gaspard held out one hand and fired a super-compressed blast of arcane energy.
It accurately hit Tūs, flying through his torso and splitting the ground behind him. The destruction did not stop there, however, as more and more fissures formed, culminating in the eruption of a nearby volcano.
Gaspard was about to crack a grin, but once the dust let up, what he saw prompted his expression to freeze over.
“…Why are you still alive?”
“Why not? Like I said, I ain’t scared of you! Gahahaha!!”
Tūs laughed and pointed at Gaspard.
He was then shot at with an even stronger energy blast — strong enough to split the earth and obliterate mountains.
Despite that, when the dust settled, Tūs was standing there, smiling as if nothing had happened.
“…Hmm, I see…”
“See what? What do those shitty little eyes see, you little shit?”
Gaspard gave no response to Tūs’ taunting attitude, saying nothing as she turned around.
“Ooh? Running away now?”
“Hmph. Cheap provocations mean nothing to me.”
Saying that, Gaspard then disappeared faster than the blink of an eye.
Tūs stood still and stared into the distance…
“Whew…”
…And then he let out a sigh as some visual glitches occurred to him.
His figure distorted and blurred, emitting a noise not unlike the shredding of paper. Then he completely disappeared, leaving behind the aftermath of a large-scale destruction that, against all logic, had been caused by a single person.
A few dozen kilometers south of that location, a giant was sitting cross-legged.
It was none other than Tūs, whom Gaspard had confronted just moments ago.
“Heh, the Holographic Illusion turned out to be pretty useful… Oh, looks like those two are here already.”
Tūs looked to his south and caught sight of a silhouette running toward him… and next to it was another silhouette, flying through the sky.
“Hahaha! Whoever gets to Tūs first wins!”
“If I win, I’ll rip off all of your feathers!”
“What!? Then if I win, I’ll chop off your tail!”
Shi’shichou and Bull cut through the wind and shook the earth as they made their way to Tūs.
And the moment they got to him, they came to a stop immediately.
“Tūs!”
“Who’s the winner!?”
Both beasts closed in on Tūs, prompting him to take a few steps back and keep a comfortable distance.
He proceeded to scratch his afro and grumble,
“It’s a draw.”
“”WHAT!?””
The two, yet again getting no definite conclusion to their competition, looked up at the sky with shock.
Then Tūs, for a different reason than the two others, looked up and grumbled,
“…Gah, that was scary…”
Then he heaved a sigh of relief.
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