Fifteen seconds.
That's all it took for Zeth before all the mercenaries were lying on the ground, groaning in pain, while he stood without a scratch, with disappointment written all over his face.
'Did I underestimate the difference in power too much?'
Zeth rubbed his forehead. Earlier, he was confident that at least he could take some mercenaries with him. Alas, there they were, lying on the ground.
Shaking his head, Zeth walked past the pitiful mercenaries lying in the mud. For a second, he stopped, glancing at the old geezer rolling around in pain. Zeth's brows furrowed.
"You are a disappointment!"
Walking past the mercenaries with his dreams shattered, he couldn't help but cry inside.
Even if Zeth was humble enough to take them into the Dominion, he was pretty sure they would be dead within a few minutes. The difference in power was just too much.
Even without the God of Death's powers, he had the effects of Heaven's Eternal Body, which somehow gave him above-average physique and senses. And with the help of the necklace, it gave him enough strength to deadlift 950 kg without much difficulty.
'Is the difference really this much? Shouldn't I be just twice or thrice as strong as them?'
Zeth's eyes locked onto the dome before him as he approached, walking over the yellow police barricade. He stood before the dome, eyes squinted, looking at the spiraling muddy barrier moving.
'Should I try touching it? That would be dumb...I should try throwing something in first.'
Eyes closed, he contemplated.
"Hey, you there! Get back, get back!"
Zeth heard someone yelling from afar. Looking in that direction, it was a policewoman running toward him. Short in height, high-tempered, and flat-chested...she ran while waving for him to get back from the barrier. He frowned, clearly disturbed by the unexpected interruption. There were two kinds of people Zeth didn't get along with well...men without balls and women without assets...was there even a difference?
The policewoman closed in, huffing as she spoke.
"Are you dumb? Do you know what that is? Get back from there..."
Zeth looked at the officer standing before him, yelling like a bank cashier. But to his ears, which had adapted to the banshee, her voice was rather melodic in comparison.
"Good thing! I was only looking to throw something into the barrier."
The smile on Zeth's face widened, and the expression on the policewoman's face disappeared. His hand reached for the officer's head. Before she could say anything, Zeth had grabbed the cap off her head and tossed it into the barrier.
"What have you done?" Her jaw dropped open. But Zeth was too busy to spare her a glance.
The cap touched the muddy wall and phased through as if nothing were there. While the officer remained too stunned to speak, Zeth, on the other hand, simply nodded, satisfied with his experiment.
"This one went well. Now it's time to throw something I can retrieve."
Scanning the officer's body from top to bottom, he could only find one thing attached by a wire. Without hesitation, he grabbed the microphone from the officer's uniform.
"No, wait, criminal! This is against the law!"
"You can't touch an officer on duty! I will complain against you! Someone, someone arrest him!!"
The poor policewoman cried like a baby, wiggling her arms and legs, but Zeth didn't even budge. Taking out the connected radio, he threw it into the barrier while holding onto the other end of the spiral wire.
The lady broke down.
"That will be deducted from my salary!!"
Collapsed on the muddy ground, the officer cried, but Zeth still didn't pay any attention. He waited for a second for the radio to enter the barrier, and after a moment, he pulled it back with the wire.
To his surprise—and the officer's as well—the radio was safe and sound. Zeth looked at it from every angle, then deduced,
"So anyone is free to enter and leave...I see."
He scratched his chin, thinking out loud.
"Should I try throwing in a living thing next?"
Then he looked at the officer standing before him, and though he didn't do anything, she screamed and ran away crying.
'What's with her?'
Zeth wasn't very fond of law and order. In fact, if he weren't as rich as he was, he would probably be in some world-class prison in the middle of a dark ocean instead. But unfortunately for him, he still needed to follow the law...or at least pretend to.
Looking in the direction the officer had run, he saw the opening in the police barricade and multiple makeshift tent houses. There were also several other officers and a few officials dressed in suits.
Not long after, Zeth found himself walking through the tents toward the entrance sealed by yellow tape. His white suit and pants became the center of attention for the children, some women, and the few men living in those tents.
The ground was muddy and messy with the footprints of countless people. Even the blue tents looked like a mess. Though many gazes were fixed on Zeth, he didn't feel admiration or sympathy...but something different.
Disgust.
These people were looking at him with disgust.
"Good evening, gentleman. It seems you have wandered into a restricted area..." a friendly voice said.
Zeth looked ahead to see a middle-aged man who had greeted him, or rather, stopped him from walking forward.
Zeth took one last glance around, then, ignoring the strange gazes, asked the official,
"I want to enter the Dominion. You are in my way!"
The official scanned Zeth from top to bottom, then chuckled before calmly replying,
"Sir, you need a permit in order to enter the Dominion."
He spoke with his hand extended.
Zeth frowned. Clearly, he had no such thing as a permit.
"How much for the permit?" he asked, scratching his neck.
The official's lips twitched, yet his voice remained calm.
"Sir, the Dominion falls under the city's jurisdiction. That's why the permit is granted by—"
"Alright, then how much for the city?" Zeth asked nonchalantly.
To his surprise, the official burst into laughter. It took him a minute to calm down.
"You are clearly a man of good humor. Though unfortunately, humor doesn't allow you to pass through the restricted area..." the man said politely, with a hint of mockery. Clearly, who would be rich enough to buy a city? Even if buying one were possible.
However, Zeth smiled back, aware that he actually could.
'In times like these, I miss Alfred so much.'
Zeth couldn't help but recall the old butler who had handled most of these technicalities whenever he needed to do anything. Unfortunately, the old man had fallen into the hands of the nasty hobgoblin.
'May your soul rest in peace, Alfred.'
Zeth prayed with both his hands. Then he paused.
On second thought, Alfred wasn't his real name...it was the name Zeth had given him after getting inspired by a superhero movie. Every rich orphan kid needed a butler like Alfred, after all.
In all honesty, Zeth would exchange Banshee's soul for Alfred's if given the chance.
'Wait...what was Banshee's real name again?'
Just when Zeth was busy contemplating life, a melodious voice sounded behind him.
"You should let him enter, Mr. Maxius. After all, he too is an employee, just like me."
Zeth felt a familiarity. He turned around to see a gleaming golden aura emanating from a figure walking toward him, and he knew this presence well. Goddess of Justice...
"...Themis?"