Chapter 282

The peaceful chirping of birds sounded from across the window, where one could see pink clouds and purple fog. A large wolf beastfolk groaned as he opened his eyes.

“Where... am I? he mumbled.

“Wolf! You’re up! How do you feel?”

Pseraslav turned to the voice coming from beside him. There was Ranko, the black tiger, standing with his tail pointing straight up as if he were about to take a shit.

“I feel so heavy,” Pseraslav said as he stared at the bandages wrapping his entire body. “Where are we?”

“Justitia. We transported you here as soon as you collapsed after killing Haema Sanguis.”

“I killed... Haema Sanguis?”

Pseraslav recalled a flash of iridescent light and the human who had thrust his hand into Haema’s heart.

“Huh? You don’t remember? I don’t blame you. You used the supernova impostor to its absolute limit, after all. Your memory must have been blown away after your Beast Force took over your sense of reason.” Ranko nodded with a smile and said proudly, “Wolf, you killed the Ninth Fiend, Haema Sanguis. Your attack turned him to dust.”

“Who... told you that?” Pseraslav asked.

“Cheon Seong-Hwi. That aside, wolf. Be happier! You’re one of the Ten Lords and Fiends now!”

Pseraslav understood the entire situation and laughed loudly. “Kekeke...Gahahahaha!”

His entire body ached, but he couldn’t stop laughing.

You’re giving me just the glory after taking all the spoils, huh? he thought.

He could still see the cold, heartless eyes of the human who had been hell-bent on killing him. Seong-Hwi’s ploy was obvious. He was giving him the credit for killing Haema Sanguis as a gesture of reconciliation while passing all the nuisances that came with it to him.

“Gehehe, the prick,” Pseraslav muttered.

Although he had seen through Seong-Hwi’s ploy, he wasn’t particularly upset. Whatever the case, Seong-Hwi had not killed him when he could have, and had even handed him the seat of the Ninth Fiend, which he had been aiming for. The backstabbing still gave him chills, but he was also impressed.

They were living in a world where only the strongest survived. The survivors were the winners, and yesterday’s enemies could become today’s friends. That was just how the Mirror World was. Pseraslav had no intention of taking revenge against Seong-Hwi, even without the promise. No, he had no leeway to take revenge in the first place.

I’m in a predicament. I became the Ninth Fiend, but my magnitude was reduced too much. I need to accumulate causality as soon as possible!

Pseraslav looked out the window. The pastel-colored sky sent him back to his childhood.

“Ranko, do you remember our promise?” he asked.

“Hm? What promise?”

“Our promise to turn this world upside down... the two of us, fellow loners.”

Ranko smiled widely. “Of course, I fucking remember!”

Both Pseraslav and Ranko were ostracized from their packs because they were different—freaks. Pseraslav was born with the power of the sun among wolf beastfolk, who were normally born with the power of the moon. Ranko was born with the power of darkness, so he grew up being shy, always hiding in the shadows. They could tell the other was a loner from the moment they met and came to a mutual understanding.

“I told you, didn’t I? You’ll prove yourself by shining brightly, and I’ll become the shadow of your light,” Ranko remarked.

This was the origin of Pseraslav’s history, Shining Verification. They were trying to prove that they weren’t freaks, but special beings. They wanted to be compensated for the ostracization they suffered in their youth.

“You did,” Pseraslav mumbled.

“Now that you’ve become one of the Ten Lords and Fiends, no one will be able to refute us! Our verification has only just begun!” Ranko shouted.

Pseraslav smiled and said, “Yeah, we’re only getting started.”

What mattered was the road ahead. Now that he had occupied a seat that everyone coveted, challengers would flock to him like flies.

“First... I should focus on recovering in a safe place. I have to restore my magnitude, too,” he mumbled, then was reminded of something. “Where’s Cheon Seong-Hwi?”

“Huh? Cheon Seong-Hwi? Oh, Underground should still be at Vampyr Forest. The Sēmen commenced an arbitration. Do you want to guess who’s there?”

“What? Is every single consul there or something?”

Ranko shook his head and replied, “Get this. The First Lord, Grandis, is leading the arbitration. I’m guessing the negotiation has begun by now. All the attention in the Mirror World is there.”

***

Seong-Hwi walked down a hallway in a mansion made of steel. Dwarf statues made of steel stood at attention along the hallway, each with weapons in hand. The giant steel door at the end of the hallway opened by itself once Seong-Hwi reached it. Beyond the steel door was a rectangular table and chairs, and those sitting on them all turned toward Seong-Hwi.

“You made it, Seong-Hwi,” Bafor greeted.

“This way, Master Seong-Hwi,” Irura said warmly.

Seong-Hwi sat at the seat they guided him to and looked across the table.

Three consuls. I’ve already met one of them, he thought.

He was staring at Consul Dodo, a cat beastfolk with black fur and amber eyes. They had met at the Capital after the Nivalis invasion.

“Meow?” Dodo, who had been resting her chin on her hand, stared intently at Seong-Hwi as her vertical slit pupils narrowed.

“Cheon Seong-Hwi,” mumbled a gloomy man with red eyes, sitting beside Consul Dodo.

Consul Scourgify of Consanguineus. And beside him is—

“Pleased to meet your acquaintance, human leader. I am Consul Abraxas,” said a man with a black rooster’s head and a horn resembling that of a rooster’s comb, interrupting Seong-Hwi’s thoughts.

He had a flail at his waist and a round shield on his back. Once the man greeted Seong-Hwi with respect, Seong-Hwi did the same with a business smile.

“Pleased to meet you, too, Consul Abraxas, the Eternal Gentleman.”

Abraxas was formerly a member of Daemonium, a faction led by the Fourth Lord.

Two consuls are from the vampires and beastfolk, who were directly involved in this war, and one is a consul from Daemonium, a faction in a negative relationship with Necrophilia.

There was no way this was a coincidence. The silent war had already begun. Scite Amor and Erzsebet Melos were sitting at a different side of the rectangular table.

“That’s... Cheon Seong-Hwi? The one who killed Demens?” Scite remarked as she glared at everyone in the room warily.

The expressionless Erzsebet glanced at Seong-Hwi once and then looked forward again.

Trouble could break out at any second with this kind of lineup, Seong-Hwi thought.

Although none of them were to be trifled with, they remained in their chairs, simply waiting for the man who the seat of honor belonged to. Just then, heavy footsteps sounded, stiffening the expressions of everyone in the room. They could feel an unfathomably high caliber from afar, but it felt pointless to gauge how far the individual exuding the caliber was.

The steel door opened, and a muscly man, easily over four meters tall, with copper skin, grey eyes, and curly hair entered the room. He exuded such powerful aura that simply laying eyes on him felt like one was looking up at a high mountain. He was playing with a small, chubby baby he was holding with both hands.

“There, there. You’re a cute one. Good boy,” he said to the baby.

“Waaahh!” the baby cried.

“Oh, no. Why do you cry, small one? Are you hungry?”

“The Miniaturization is making him uncomfortable. Pantagruel, don’t whine at Master Grandis. No means no,” scolded Gargantua, following behind Grandis.

However, Pantagruel only cried even louder. “WAAAHH!”

“My, my... Is anyone good at taking care of babies?” Grandis asked with a serious expression.

Everyone remained silent in their chairs, simply looking at one another and not knowing how to respond.

Just then, Seong-Hwi stood up and said, “I have experience in nursing babies.”

Bafor and Irura stared at him in confusion.

“You do, Seong-Hwi?”

“I can’t see it.”

Seong-Hwi ignored them as he sprouted the sixteen Wings of Evolution and flew up until he was eye level with Grandis.

“Waaahh! Ahh?” Pantagruel, who had been squirming as he wailed, was captivated by Seong-Hwi’s beautiful shining wings.

“Ohhh! He stopped crying!” Grandis shouted, genuinely impressed.

Seong-Hwi grabbed Bulgasal in his hoodie pocket by the back of its neck and pulled it out. Bulgasal, who had been sleeping as it digested all the metal it absorbed, stared at Seong-Hwi with sleepy eyes as it dangled from Seong-Hwi’s hand.

Pwoo? What’s up, Daddy?

Seong-Hwi pointed at Pantagruel and said, “Can you play with this child for a bit, Bulgie?”

Pwoo, pwoo! No way! I only just got rid of Echo!

“You’re a good Bulgie, aren’t you? If you play with him, I’ll let you have as much metal as you want once we’re back at the Capital.”

Pwoo? Really?

I’ll feed you tons. I need to open a bunch of cubes, after all, Seong-Hwi said inwardly.

Not even knowing what Seong-Hwi was thinking, Bulgasal licked its lips from the thought of eating to its heart’s content and turned to Pantagruel.

“Bah! Baaahh!” Pantagruel waved his arms, staring at the fascinating Bulgasal.

Pwoo! I’m gonna hate you tons if you don’t keep your promise, Daddy!

Bulgasal sprouted the Steel Blade Hawk’s wings and turned his trunk into the Performing Chain Whip. It grabbed Pantagruel and placed him on its back.

“Babababaaahh!”

Pwooooo! Don’t grab my ears! Stay still! I’m only gonna fly around this area once! Bulgasal shouted as it flew toward a window to leave the room, swaying like a fly with an injured wing because Pantagruel was moving around, trying to grab its trunk.

The people in the room simply stared at Bulgasal flying away, in a daze due to the comedy that did not fit the room’s atmosphere.

“Wow. You are quite capable, my small, interesting friend. Do you have any intention of selling that item to me?” Grandis asked as he smiled at Seong-Hwi.

“I apologize. It isn’t for sale,” Seong-Hwi replied.

“Is that so? What a shame. Right, then, let us take our seats.”

Grandis walked to his seat as his footsteps echoed throughout the room. The giant steel chair creaked intensely and dented when he sat down. Seong-Hwi also returned to his seat and sat down.

“Okay, then,” Grandis remarked as he glanced at the people sitting at the table. “Let’s make this quick. Being this small is uncomfortable for me, too.”

***

“Barbaria and Underground have engaged in a joint invasion against Consanguineus! This is a clear violation of the World Law!” Scourgify denounced as his red eyes shone. “Consanguineus suffered greatly from their attack. Berto, Grawamen, Semita, and Demens have passed away. Even Lord Haema Sanguis is... presumed dead!”

He gritted his teeth as he exuded ferocious bloodlust.

“The Sēmen must charge Underground and Barbaria with severe disciplinary action! The leaders of this attack must be put on trial and be sentenced to life in prison in Purgatorium, at the very least!” he shouted.

“Meow? Dodo has a question. Do those leaders include Pseraslav and Ranko?” Dodo asked as her black tail wagged.

Scourgify’s blood vessels bulged. “Of course, it does! Not just Pseraslav and Ranko, but Cheon Seong-Hwi, Bafor, and Irura over there are all guilty!”

“Hmph! You idiot. Do you seriously think that would fly? If that were to happen, Barbaria would just leave the Sēmen.” Dodo’s tail shot up as she giggled mockingly at Scourgify. “Besides, isn’t there something more important that Consanguineus should be doing? You should be asking for protection from the Sēmen. The Ninth Fiend is dead now, after all. Myahaha!”

“You bitch!” Scourgify shouted, jumping out of his chair and causing the chair to fall over.

“Meow? You wanna go?”

The atmosphere between Scourgify and Dodo grew heavy. Consanguineus suffered immensely indeed, the greatest impact being the death of Haema Sanguis. On the other hand, a member of Barbaria had taken his seat as the new Ninth Fiend.

“I agree with Consul Dodo,” said Seong-Hwi, who had been observing the situation.

Dodo turned to him and winked.

Seong-Hwi continued, “And let us make one thing clear. This wasn’t an invasion, but a rescue.”

“Cheon Seong-Hwi, you bastard! How dare you run your mouth after you killed Demens Rabies?!”

“Killed? That is also wrong. That was punishment.” Seong-Hwi smiled and said, “I, the Second Son of humanity, first in the human ranking, represented humankind to make a vampire who treated humans like livestock to fill their stomachs, pay for his sins with blood!”

He then turned to Bafor, who nodded and opened the steel door. Dozens of humans who had been standing by on the other side of the door entered the room. Leading them was the deathly pale Nino Manfredi, Gustav von Seyffer, and Gao Weiguang. Behind the three High Rankers were people who had been freed from the central ancient castle, reluctantly walking into the room.

“Urgh...”

“I-I don’t want to go in...”

“Gulp!”

“Tell everyone here what you experienced, my fellow humans,” Seong-Hwi said, his voice filled with dignity.

The people glanced at Seong-Hwi hesitantly. Bafor and Irura each did their best to help them relax.

“It is okay. You will all be safe. Underground is with you all.”

“He is right. All we want is the truth.”

The fear in their expressions slowly faded, then was replaced by rage.

“Underground...”

“That’s... the new confederation, right?”

“The one that the Union is a part of.”

“They’re... on our side!”

They then blurted out everything that the vampires subjected them to.

“They tied us to blood tanks and extracted our blood as if we were horseshoe crabs!”

“They didn’t even see us as living beings! We were just tools to them!”

“Kurgh! Those who weren’t of use anymore were loaded in a wheelbarrow and carried to the landfill!”

“You...” Scourgify trailed off, his expression hardening, which only widened Seong-Hwi’s smile.

We have more than enough justification, but it all comes down to... Seong-Hwi trailed off in his thoughts as he shifted his gaze to the high seat, where Grandis was stroking his chin and listening to the victims’ stories. How do you feel about this, Grandis?

Grandis was ultimately the one with the final say. In other words, this arbitration was all about who could persuade Grandis better. Seong-Hwi rapidly structured the perfect strategy in his head, and soon decided on how to steer this arbitration.

If Grandis’s personality, which I’ve only heard about, is true... I need to be aggressive, emotional, and righteous above all else!

***

90% of decisions are emotional; ensure your arguments evoke feelings.

David J. Lieberman