"Who are you?"
He asked with a trembling voice.
But the man in front of him didn't respond. Instead, he smiled and declared with an imposing voice:
"Here, I ask the questions."
Before he could react, the elf threw a kunai directly at his enemy.
A sudden breeze made him blink… the kunai had vanished. He tried to say sothing, but a sharp pain shot through his body. When he looked down, he saw the sa kunai embedded in his abdon.
"I won't ask again. Who are you?"
The voice asked once more. But the dark elf clenched his teeth and remained silent.
His stubbornness was t with a brutal blow. Before he could defend himself, his body was already flying toward a distant tree.
Taking advantage of the distance, he tried to lt into his shadow to escape. However, another violent strike rcilessly threw him back again.
This ti, he tried counterattacking with a fireball… but before he could complete the spell, he was once again slamd into the ground.
Seconds later, he found himself back at the center of the Hellhound circle, in front of the sa man as before.
But sothing had changed. His hand—once as pale as his sunless skin—was now stained with blood.
A look of disbelief appeared on the elf's face. He had thought they'd used so kind of ability on him, but no—it was just a punch. A punch so fast he hadn't even seen it coming.
"Will you talk now?"
The dark elf stared at him, terrified, yet still his mouth did not open. Then he closed his eyes, resigned to death.
Kaito didn't even look at him. He turned around and coldly ordered:
"Finish him."
His screams of pain rang out for a few seconds, drowned out by the sound of fangs tearing flesh and fire consuming his body.
After that, Kaito's day was… surprisingly normal.
---
In a hidden place, where sunlight couldn't reach, a female figure worked under the dim glow of candles.
With a mature appearance, dark skin, and long ears, her identity as a dark elf was evident. Even so, her beauty surpassed the ordinary. Her face was fine, with deep brown eyes, and her long straight hair of the sa color fell down her back. Her figure, with wide hips and a prominent bust, could have distracted any man… but not the subordinates kneeling before her. They knew how dangerous that beauty was.
"Who was it?"
She asked with an icy voice.
"We still don't know. He was supposed to be monitoring the movents of a new species to the west… but he hasn't returned."
One of them replied, trembling.
"You don't know? It's been two days since Julius disappeared! He was an elite spy! If soone was able to eliminate him without leaving a trace, we've got a serious problem."
Her voice clearly showed her irritation.
"Th-that's why… we've been trying to gather clues without alerting the culprit..."
"And what have you got so far?"
"We believe it's a Lord that appeared in the west."
"A Lord?"
The woman smiled mockingly.
"Impossible. Lords need ti to develop. None of them could've defeated Julius just two weeks after appearing."
"B-but… the wolves he was observing weren't strong enough to defeat him, and Julius was only watching them. If soone else noticed him… they must be related to those wolves. A new race with that much power doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Most likely, they have a Lord behind them."
The woman fell silent, organizing her thoughts. Of course, she knew that… but even so, the idea that the culprit could be a Lord seed absurd.
There's a reason why the main cities weren't panicking over the appearance of Lords—and that reason was simple: complacency. They knew it took a long ti for Lords to beco dangerous. Even if they discovered one, they were more likely to try to use them than eliminate them.
Sonya, who ca from the elven capital of the Black Forest, had more information than most. That's exactly why the possibility still seed impossible to her.
"I want proof. If there really is a Lord like that, I will know. Leave and report back the mont you find anything."
"Understood!"
The subordinates responded in unison before lting into the shadows and vanishing as if they'd never been there.
---
anwhile, in the real world…
The city was on the brink of chaos. Situations like the kidnapping at the downtown center had beco almost routine.
Kaito's family stayed locked inside their house, going out only when absolutely necessary. And Kaito, of course, was the one in charge of doing the shopping.
That day, while he was returning, an explosion rang out nearby.
"This is getting out of control..."
Kaito muttered with a tense expression. The city was being destroyed by the ideals of a few.
And the governnt… didn't they see what was happening? It felt like they were provoking them on purpose.
With those thoughts, he went to sleep.
Only to wake up to news that changed the world.
He turned on the television, and the first thing he saw was a breaking news broadcast.
---
[We interrupt regular programming with breaking news.]
[Following the recent events of the past weeks, the governnt has decided to step back and make concessions to cooperate with the Lords.]
[From now on, the governnt will no longer directly intervene in matters related to Lords.]
[A new organization will be created, called the "Guild," with branches in every country. Lords are invited to register—not to collect their information, but to provide benefits.]
[Depending on their rank within the Guild, Lords will receive money, property, special rights, and many other benefits.]
[They'll also be able to accept "missions" suitable for their rank, which will be paid—tasks that only soone with abilities can do.]
[The Guild's leadership will be composed mainly of players, although it will also include governnt mbers to maintain contact with the State.]
[While it's possible that in the future the Guild will beco fully independent, due to recent events, the governnt believes continued oversight is still necessary.]
[This change is expected to encourage cooperation between Lords and citizens, to build a better country together.]
Kaito remained silent for a while, processing the information, before muttering angrily:
"Those bastards..."
They could have done this from the beginning and avoided so many problems.
And the speed at which they announced it… This wasn't a recent plan. They'd probably been thinking about it for days—maybe even weeks.
With the Lords' growing power, it was obvious they'd need an organization to manage them. Even so, this one could be completely, or nearly completely, independent.
But with governnt officials as superiors, they'd basically be under constant surveillance. Kaito didn't believe for a second that they were just a bridge between the Lords and the governnt.
The worst part was the excuse: that the Lords had caused problems and therefore couldn't be left unsupervised. But the reason they caused problems in the first place… was them.
Kaito understood that had been their plan from the very beginning. They handed the governnt the perfect excuse to monitor them—disguised as concessions ant to appease them.
And yet, public opinion was already against them because of their actions. If they even refused to accept this, their only remaining path would be to act like tyrants to get what they want. That's why most of them would end up accepting it.
"Sotis I forget, the governnt is full of smart people..."
Of course, it wasn't exactly a brilliant move either. From the start, they'd left them no choice.
It's like guiding a rat toward a goal, simply by building walls around it.
Even so, the governnt severely underestimates them. Maybe now the Lords aren't that troubleso, but in the future, they'll be capable of destroying cities with a single move.
And if Koneko's story repeats itself… then things will turn completely against them.
Gaia will beco their new world, and in Gaia, the Lords rule.
The governnt isn't naïve enough not to know that. Which only leaves one possibility: they have soone. Or maybe several. The governnt isn't ignoring Gaia. They're counting on those people to beco the true rulers of that world.
Even so… that goal is impossible.
Why?
The reason is simple.
Kaito is here.
______________________________________
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