[Ding! Kali affection threshold reached. Copied trait: Authority of Slaughter (Gold)]
[Authority of Slaughter (Gold): You wield the Authority over "Slaughter." You can draw strength from killing aura to continuously grow stronger, and you can also invoke the power of slaughter.]
A brutal killing intent surged out of Takumi like a flood, turning into a blood-red river that swept across the already-collapsing fighting nation.
RUMBLE—!!!
Wherever that murderous aura passed, it became physical—shredding buildings like paper. Even though Takumi deliberately restrained it, the flowers, grass, and trees rooted in this land withered in an instant, crumbling into ash beneath the crossing currents of slaughter intent.
Kali's body twitched and spasmed on instinct as she sensed that terrifying pressure. Unfortunately, she was out cold—so deep in unconsciousness she couldn't even lift her head to see what Takumi looked like right now.
After several seconds of the sky-splitting killing intent, it all snapped back into Takumi—condensing into blood-colored patterns that branded themselves into his divinity like a seal.
Feeling his power jump noticeably, Takumi let out a quiet breath.
"No wonder Kali loves watching people kill each other. For her, that's a form of training. If I use the Slaughter Authority to buff myself, it can multiply my combat power by more than tenfold without any losses. I can also stir slaughter-force inside others—twisting their minds until they become my killing puppets."
He rubbed his temples, forcing down the rising madness trying to flood his thoughts.
"I've only grasped the basics so far, but if I push deeper… this is starting to feel like those Laws of Slaughter in xianxia stories."
The power boost was obscene—so obvious it almost felt unfair. If he fueled the Authority with divine power, then even at Demon King tier, cutting down an Super–Demon King tier existence wouldn't be impossible.
The problem was the other half of the package: that killing intent could just as easily chew up the user's mind.
Kali's personality—how violent she was, how addicted she was to watching slaughter and conflict—finally made perfect sense.
And honestly? Amazons were born with that same wiring.
Takumi's gaze turned sharp.
"You've got all this energy to fight? Then stop wasting it on killing each other and go carve out territory for me. That continent in the Redo of Healer world is huge—go conquer it."
He formed Divine Envoy chess pieces again, infusing them with a sliver of the Slaughter Authority, then distributed them to the Amazons inside his Spacetime Realm.
The moment they fused, a new trait appeared for them:
[Heart of Slaughter (Purple): A fragment of the Slaughter Authority bestowed by Takumi. When activated, it can multiply your power by 5–50, and you can also gain extra experience through killing to grow stronger.]
"A weakened version of the Authority," Takumi said with satisfaction.
The more Authorities he collected, the more he could empower his envoys—strength feeding strength, snowballing his forces at a ridiculous rate.
Then Takumi came back to reality, clicked his tongue, and bent down to lift Kali off the ground.
Not using divine power had… definitely been rough on her.
"Though, honestly," he muttered, pinching her flushed cheek, "I can't even say she suffered. She was smiling way too damn happily."
He placed Kali into his Spacetime Realm and handed her off to Anna and the others to look after.
A goddess deserved a different level of care than the Amazons.
He also sent a quick mental message to Anna, Freya, and the rest, explaining who Kali was and where the Amazons came from.
…
"This is Goddess Kali?" Setsuna poked Kali's round belly, and milk poured out in waves.
"Don't touch her like that, Setsuna," Anna snapped, rushing in to stop her. "Put her in the bath first—unless you want to mop the floor again."
Everyone moved at once. Meanwhile, Norn, Kureha, and the others went to manage the newly arrived Amazons.
With a whole batch of powerful female warriors under their command, steamrolling the other empires in the Redo of Healer world wasn't going to be a problem.
While the Spacetime Realm bustled like a war room, Takumi kept things steady and flew toward the Great Tree Labyrinth.
Fresh off defeating Kali, he found it hard to get motivated to do anything else—his brain had slipped into that post-fight, post-heat dullness.
…
While Takumi was in that blank, detached state, a Familia arrived at the Great Tree Labyrinth.
In fact, even before Takumi accepted the Guild commission, a team had already taken a local request and headed out to investigate.
They were the ones who frequently operated outside Orario:
The Artemis Familia.
The Artemis Familia specialized in hunting—except their prey wasn't animals. Their arrows were aimed at monsters. They often took work in towns and villages beyond Orario's reach, building a strong reputation and a lot of goodwill.
This time, they'd basically mobilized the whole unit.
Twenty members total, all women.
Among the many demi-human races, there were also a striking number of beautiful elves in their ranks.
They wore lightweight gear built for movement and carried ranged weapons—mostly bows. Every piece of equipment bore the Artemis Familia crest: a moon and bow emblem.
The moment they entered the forest of the Great Tree Labyrinth, they ran into an ambush—black venom scorpion monsters swarming in.
"Artemis-sama! Scorpion monsters up ahead!!"
The Familia captain, a Level 3 human adventurer with red hair—Rethusa—spotted the threat first and called out immediately.
Then a calm, clear voice answered.
It was Artemis herself—wearing a light battle cuirass and skirt, long blue hair flowing behind her as she moved.
"Rethusa, you command here. Lante—you're with me."
Bow in hand, Artemis issued her orders and led her followers forward.
Her blue hair streamed, and she accelerated with shockingly strong, athletic legs that didn't match her slender silhouette at all.
Right behind her was Lante, a young half-elf girl with pale blue hair and pointed ears.
She was the youngest in the Artemis Familia, with a past marked by being abandoned. Artemis had been the one to take her in—raising her, even feeding her with a mother bear's milk so she could survive.
To Lante, Artemis wasn't just a goddess. She was something closer to a mother… or an older sister she worshiped with her whole heart.
Watching Artemis drop scorpion after scorpion with absurd speed and perfect shots, Lante couldn't help complaining.
"If our goddess goes all-out like this, the rest of us are going to look useless."
She puffed her cheeks, clearly annoyed.
"Artemis-sama, please—let us do more, okay?"
Artemis stopped, looking helpless.
"It's not that I don't want to. Ordering all of you around while I just stand there… that doesn't fit me. My body moves faster than my mouth."
"Ugh… that's such a pain," Lante muttered, still pouting.
While they bickered, the dozen-plus venom scorpions were already dead—cut down by a clean storm of arrows.
The followers moved in to butcher the bodies, extracting magic stones—smaller than the ones from the Dungeon—and collecting valuable materials like scorpion shells and tails.
For the Artemis Familia, monster drops were one of their most important sources of income.