"I never expected it to be you... It really has been a long time. When I heard the vehicle transporting you had been mysteriously attacked and disappeared, I was genuinely disappointed to lose one of my test subjects.
So Shadow saved you. I didn't expect Shadow Garden to have started moving that early."
As he looked at the Golden Leopard Clan features on Zeta, Petos suddenly seemed to understand, then let out a sigh.
"Yeah, it has been a long time. So... even knowing the blood feud between us, you can still talk about cooperation, Petos?"
Her catlike eyes shimmered with Magical Power as Zeta fixed Petos with a cold stare and spoke in a slow, mocking tone.
"Hmm... a blood feud?"
Hearing that, Petos frowned as if giving it serious thought. A second later, he nodded, apparently agreeing with her.
"That is a little troublesome. My mother passed away ten years ago... How about this? I have three sons and two daughters.
If Shadow Garden is willing to cooperate with our Cult of Diablos, I'll offer my father and my children to you as gifts of goodwill between our two sides."
Does this man even know what he's saying?!
Standing off to the side and ignored by both of them, Sayaka Kirasaka did her best to keep her expression under control after hearing Petos's outrageous words, but inside she felt like she'd been struck by lightning.
Even Sayaka Kirasaka, who had suffered domestic violence as a child, was this shocked. Zeta, the person directly involved, went without saying.
"Ha... hahaha..."
Zeta came to a stop and burst out laughing.
"You really are beyond saving."
"A mere grudge over a murdered father means nothing in the face of a lifespan that can be called eternal. Given enough time, I believe you'll come to understand what it means to be immortal."
"Don't make excuses for yourself. A person like you would sell out anyone for profit, whether you had immortality or not."
Purple Magical Power shot through Petos, and the golden fur on Zeta's body began to spread as a dangerous aura rose from her.
"Oh dear, oh dear, don't be so hasty. Why not hear our offer first? The price we're offering is the position of the First Seat of the Cult of Diablos..."
The moment he said that, Zeta, who had already been about to attack, froze. Seeing that, a radiant smile spread across Petos's face.
"That's right. As long as you agree to cooperate, the current Twelve Seats of the Round Table are willing to acknowledge Shadow as our lord and let Shadow lead our Cult of Diablos... No, by then it should be renamed the Shadow Cult.
Let me tell you something in advance. You probably already know it anyway. The kings of the nations in World 3 are basically puppets of our Cult of Diablos.
Just think about it. If our two organizations join forces under those conditions, then World 3, the richest in resources among the three merged worlds, can be unified in the shortest possible time.
With your Shadow Garden openly backing us, we won't be stuck in the same situation we are now, strong on defense but weak on offense. We'll be able to absorb the technologies, rare resources, and special talent of the other two worlds without restraint and use them to develop ourselves.
Look at Netheril. It's nothing more than a bunch of Witches who used to be terrorists, plus a group of insignificant small countries. Yet just because they benefited from the Lord of Netheril, in less than two years they used arms dealing and advanced technology to siphon off the entire world and became a major power that no one dares underestimate.
Now look at us. For over a thousand years, whenever other worlds collided with our original world, the Cult of Diablos preserved all kinds of miraculous technologies left behind in the aftermath. We possess various ancient relics from the legendary ancient mage civilization. We control the resources of the entire world.
As long as Shadow Garden agrees to cooperate, we can completely surpass Netheril. No, Netheril is just a mob. We're far more professional than that bunch of Witches..."
The more Petos spoke, the more excited he became. His arms waved on their own, as if he were already lost in the grand future he was describing.
Zeta listened quietly, as though she had already been persuaded.
"So, what do you think, Lilim..."
"Don't call me that. I abandoned my past long ago."
"Then..."
"Zeta."
"Very well, Zeta-san. What do you think of what I just said?"
Zeta smiled and gave Petos a small nod, as if she had accepted his proposal, but there was not a trace of feeling in her eyes.
"So what you mean is, you want to use our Master as a shield while your Cult of Diablos plunders the resources and technology of the other two worlds, grow stronger, and then find a way to stab us in the back and swallow us whole afterward. Is that it?"
"Zeta-san, you've misunderstood a little..."
"How frustrating for you..."
Cutting Petos off, Zeta looked straight at him. For the first time, a smile appeared in her eyes.
"You who once sat high above, acting with impunity, able to claim the head of a nation's ruler with a single command—with the merging of the worlds, the number of forces capable of destroying you has suddenly grown by more than a dozen.
If it weren't for the Master's initial intervention, which deterred the forces of the other two worlds, you might have been forced to reveal yourselves to the light due to their invasions…"
Boundless Magical Power seemed to surge from Zeta's heart, forming a purple aura that spread across her body.
"You're terrified, aren't you… Only daring to stay within your own territory, afraid to take a single step beyond it, afraid that your existence will be exposed to the light.
Your words sound so noble, yet you lack even the courage to fight. You only send your puppet forces to support the Mitsugoshi Company, using them as scouts to probe the other two worlds.
Even your presence here is because your own credentials are insufficient. Drag this out any longer, and the Cult of Diablos will expel you from your seat, forcing you to leave the Kingdom.
Your strength is by no means weak, yet you dare only to bully the weak. You lack the courage to swing your sword against those stronger than you, and you still have the nerve to speak of development."
She raised her right hand, seizing the crimson-black chain that had suddenly appeared, and crushed it.
"As for trash like you, who should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago, let me send you on your way."
Zeta vanished from her spot and reappeared beside Petos. The golden wheel in her left hand, radiating overwhelming Magical Power, surged toward him in an attack.
Petos' expression shifted. He no longer casually blocked the strike as before, instead pulling on the crimson-black chain in his hand to dodge.
"Thud!"
As he watched the severed arm drop to the ground, Zeta did not hesitate. She spun and hurled the golden wheel backward.
Petos, barely avoiding the strike, pressed his left hand against the wound on his right shoulder. Before he could react, his head was severed, and his headless body collapsed to the ground.
Zeta gazed at the corpse without a flicker of emotion. She raised her hand and flicked a syringe into the air.
It missed!
"Failed, huh? Can you tell me where you got your intel on me? Normally, even with performance-enhancing drugs drastically boosting your regeneration, losing your head still means death. I've taken out quite a few enemies with this move."
The headless corpse stood upright. With its left hand, it picked up the chattering head from the ground and placed it back on its neck. Flesh grew over the severed joint, reconnecting it, while the severed right arm also regrew.
"No comment."
Zeta vanished. The golden wheel sliced off one of Petos' legs, yet his body regrew it even faster than before.
"Can't we just stop and talk for a moment? You can't kill me anyway."
"Do you even believe what you're saying? I'm genuinely curious how long your immortality will last."
A massive surge of Magical Power exploded from behind, obliterating half of Petos's body. His bloodied internal organs fell to the ground, but within a second, they regenerated.
"Think about my earlier proposal. If you're refusing my offer solely because of your hatred toward me, I suggest you calm down. We're offering a very high price. Otherwise, once we locate the others in your Shadow Garden and form an alliance, you, putting personal grudges above duty, will face a joint hunt from both our sides."
"You might be mistaken about one thing…"
The relentless attacks stopped. Zeta appeared before Petos, staring coldly at him.
"Honestly, I find your proposal tempting. Partnering with you wouldn't just let us consume your forces faster, it would save a lot of trouble. We could directly inherit your legacy. But…"
Her hand plunged into Petos's body. Vast Magical Power condensed in her palm, compressed, then detonated.
"My Master would never permit it."
Looking at Petos, now reduced to a mass of flesh and unable to maintain a human form, Zeta spoke solemnly.
"We're offering a very high price."
Even as a lump of flesh, his twisted face was still visible. Clearly, Petos's immortal body was reaching its limit.
"My Master is not such a crude person."
She raised the golden wheel high, slicing Petos cleanly in half from head to toe.
"It seems the negotiations have failed. I have no choice but to kill you. I don't plan to die here."
"Hah. You don't really think I'm the kind who worries about playing fair, giving you time to recover so I can defeat you honorably, do you? Even if I did restore your strength, you still wouldn't stand a chance against me. I'm not who I was seven years ago."
With a derisive snort, Zeta sidestepped an attack and, with a backhand slash, cut Petos in two at the waist.
"You think I can't kill you? If it weren't for Gardos being utterly useless, I would have captured you alive already. This formation was made specifically for you."
"That's right. I'm grateful to them. And as a reward for helping me scout the way, I'll let them go. I won't wipe out an entire clan just to cover up intelligence, like you would."
With a flick of her wrists, the golden wheel flew from her hands. Zeta pinned Petos to the wall, stepped forward, and struck his heart, further draining the Magical Power sustaining his immortal body.
…
Trying to suppress her presence, Sayaka Kirasaka watched the bloody scene before her, wishing she were deaf.
What had she just heard? Was she really hearing this?
Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two in front of her as she gripped her massive sword. She calculated the odds of successfully ambushing them alongside Yukina Himeragi and taking out these two, along with Gardos and Asagi Aiba, all at once.
It wasn't surprising she was thinking this way. Who would have expected it? What seemed like three groups of mere terrorists actually included one faction as the strongest hidden force in World No. 3, and another that was even more formidable, subordinates of "Shadow", one of the strongest powers in the world.
Major factions have long been sending agents into World 3 to investigate. They simply couldn't believe that a World 3 with Shadow existing could be so simple. For a world where SS-class is the top-tier, to produce a fighter ranked among the top five globally, the power gap was even more absurd than the three Primogenitors of World 2.
Yet out of fear of Shadow, the highest-level agents sent by these factions were limited to S-class. Sending anyone stronger risks uncovering information that could prove far too dangerous. Everyone just wanted a rough picture, they didn't want to dig too deep or acquire classified intelligence, which could easily make enemies.
The final conclusion was simply that World No. 3 was indeed extraordinary, and that was the extent of it.
This was because agents sent by the major powers either returned empty-handed or disappeared entirely, failing to bring back any intelligence. Among the missing were S-class fighters. Whether any SS-class were among them remains unknown.
As is well known, in situations like this, with no direct communication, decisions made purely by tacit understanding, and no way to verify afterward, there are always a few who secretly manipulate things behind the scenes.
This is what made it truly terrifying. Several S-class agents, and possibly an SS-class, vanished without uncovering a single clue.
The intelligence that had cost major factions so much, yet yielded nothing, was now fully within Sayaka Kirasaka's ears. Many of her questions about World No. 3 were suddenly answered.
No wonder nothing was discovered. The inner world of World No. 3 is dominated by just two forces, enemy or ally, leaving absolutely no room for other powers to survive. It's like an impenetrable fortress.
There might be some minor factions, but even combined, they likely wouldn't account for five percent of the inner world's strength.
By Sayaka's estimate, if the intelligence she had gathered here were converted into performance metrics, it would carry her from now until retirement.
Yet she felt no joy. If this intelligence leaked, she'd be interrogated a thousand times over. The major powers would pick her brain until she was a shell of herself.
She didn't even need the major powers to act. The Therianthropes before her would prove it. Anyone who believed Zeta's promise to let them go would be a fool. Clearly, the so-called "release" would require Zeta to erase their memories first.
Asagi Aiba wasn't paying much attention to the intelligence inadvertently revealed during the fight. It wasn't that she didn't care. She was just swamped with debts and had no time to worry. She'd rather spend that time figuring out how to turn this intelligence into profit.
Yukina Himeragi wasn't fully focused. Perhaps it was because she'd just finished a mission and lacked experience, or it was lingering effects of the poison. Although she knew the intelligence was critical, she didn't take it seriously, and hadn't grasped the severity of the situation.