"Vermin," I muttered coldly, my voice sharp.
A purple lightning bolt struck down where the boy stood, creating a deep crater and charring the ground black.
Dust and crackling purple lightning filled the air. Through the swirling haze, Grayson could make out the tailed Lilith standing a few meters away, cradling the boy who should have been charred to ash.
"Wait, where am I?" Grayson muttered in confusion.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? You almost killed my business partner!" the tailed Lilith shouted, her tone sharp with annoyance.
"Lilith!" Grayson said warmly, a calm voice cutting through the chaos. He seemed surprised, but excited to see her. He gave her a soft smile and began to approach.
"And you—didn't I tell you not to get caught?" she snapped at the boy, not missing a beat. "I've repeated this so many times already. Make a good enough distraction before—"
She broke off mid-lecture, her eyes narrowing as she turned back to Grayson."Wait... what did you just call me?"
Grayson now stood directly in front of them, his warm smile fading into a puzzled expression.
I glanced left and right, catching the stares of the Asímians surrounding us. Whatever had taken over was now gone.
Finally, I looked down at the tailed Lilith and asked, my voice edged with confusion, "What the hell happened here?"
The tailed Lilith stared at me for a long moment, unsure if I was messing with her. Eventually, she answered.
"This child bumped into you and smeared those fruits on your skirt. You got pissed, and that's when I felt your killing intent. I ran after him to get him out of the way before you attacked. I just barely made it," she said, glaring.
"Oh? I don't remember anything after I felt something bump into me," I replied, my eyes shifting to the stain on my kilt. "And it's not a skirt — it's a kilt," I added, summoning the dark cloud to wipe the stain away.
More Asímians began to gather. A group of them rushed in, spears in hand, ready for battle. The spears hummed with power. They were made of centrium and "Chrysos", the mysterious wood that bonds with centrium.
I prepared to open a gate — I had no interest in brawling with randoms. But then the dust fully cleared... and everyone dropped to their knees, including those chasing the boy.
"...Okay? This situation just keeps getting weirder," I muttered.
"What happened?" Kitsune appeared beside me, eyes scanning the crowd.
"I'm not quite sure myself," I said, pointing at the boy still in the tailed Lilith's arms. "But I think I almost killed this kid."
"Lilith, I was so scared!" the boy suddenly wailed, burying his face between the tailed Lilith's breasts, his small hands eagerly playing with them.
Without missing a beat, the tailed Lilith slapped him off of her. She then grabbed him by the ear, lifting him off the ground like he was garbage. She stretched her arm toward me, holding the boy out with visible disgust.
"I changed my mind. Just kill him," the tailed Lilith said flatly.
"Wait—you can't be serious! I'm just a sweet, innocent boy!" the kid cried, feigning innocence.
I gave him a long look, peering into the thread of his lifespan. "He is only fourteen years old. That's nothing to me."
"W-Why were you even considering it? Lilith wouldn't let me di—" the boy cried out.
"Quiet," the tailed Lilith cut him off, her voice cold and sharp, like a mother about to discipline her child.
I turned to her. "What made you want to save this boy, anyway?"
"Oh, he stole these cute shoes for me, so I owed him a favor." She lifted her leg, showing off the footwear with a smirk.
"That's it?" I asked.
She nodded cheerfully, patting the boy's head like he was a loyal pet.
I glanced around. The crowd of Asímians still had their heads bowed, not one of them daring to move. 'So much for casually exploring,' I thought.
"Let's go," I said aloud.
"Where to?" the tailed Lilith asked.
"This is just a small town. The capital's bound to have far more interesting things," I said.
"Alright—a rematch!" Kitsune shouted, dropping into a ready stance like a sprinter at the line.
The tailed Lilith smacked Kitsune on the back of the head with her tail, dropping her flat to the ground.
"These shoes are new. I am not running again," she declared, reaching forward to open a gate.
Before she could, I gently grabbed her hand. "I have somewhere specific in mind."A gate opened before us—and without warning, it pulled us all in.
We reappeared in front of a massive medicine shop somewhere deep in the capital.
"Wh-what just happened?" the boy stammered, collapsing on the ground, shivering. "Am I going to die?"
"Shit, I forgot about this kid," I muttered.He was soaked in sweat, his life force visibly withering.
'So, this is what happens when a living being goes through the gate…' I thought. 'Question answered, I guess.'
"Tailed Lilith, take him back where you found him. You'll have to run, unless you don't mind him dying from another gate trip," I said, heading toward the medicine shop.
"I am not running again," the tailed Lilith replied, already scheming.She grabbed Kitsune's arm with her tail.
"Hiii little runner," she said sweetly, "You're so fast. Much faster than Grayson. Don't you want to prove that?"
Kitsune paused, eyes narrowing… then nodded, clearly taking the bait.
As I stepped into the medicine shop, I was greeted by an all-female staff.
"Welcome, sir," they said in perfect unison.
"Is there anything specific our Herb Haven may get for you?" one of them asked with a professional smile.
"Yes, actually. I'll be taking your most lethal poisons," I replied without hesitation.
She blinked, her smile wavering just slightly.
"I'm sorry, but we can't sell those to just anyone. You'll need special permission to—"
"I wasn't asking," I cut in, my turquoise eyes glowing coldly. The effect was immediate—she took a step back, sweat beading on her brow. She struggled to maintain her composure.
"Y-yes, sir. Right away," she stammered, then rushed to the back of the shop.
Moments later, the tailed Lilith walked in, head held high like royalty.
"What did you do with the boy?" I asked.
"Took care of it," she said with a sly smile.
'Kitsune wasn't with her. Figures. She probably used the poor girl to do the grunt work,' I thought.
"Welcome, ma'am," the staff greeted Lilith in unison, just as they had with me.
"Interested in drugs now?" she teased.
"Haha. I'm basically a living drug," I replied.
"Yet here you are, wanting more," she shot back.
"There might be foreign microorganisms on this planet that not even my dark cloud contains. If I can absorb them, the cloud could become even more lethal—maybe even to other reapers on the stronger side," I said.
"Hey hey, no need for excuses. Drugs make for good company," she said, still messing with me.
"I don't like you," I said with a mock glare.
A few minutes later, the staff member returned, carrying three chained chests—each one a different color: black, red, and purple.
She set them on the table carefully, as though they might bite.
"These are the most lethal poisons our shop offers," she said, voice a touch steadier now.
I reached out and picked up the black chest.
Instantly, I felt it—a sinister aura of death rolling off it in waves.
"These poisons were extracted from the fangs of a giant, three-headed serpent—an ancient beast that lived for over a thousand years," the staff member explained. "We were only able to harvest them after it crossed paths with… you-know-who."
'They're talking about me. That little snake laid eggs in my pool, so I killed it,' Armando muttered from within the cloud.
'Did you just go around killing everyone?' I thought.
"Just opening one of these chests carries a 90% certainty of death from the aura alone. That's how lethal these poisons are," she added with confidence.
"How does it work?" I asked.
"The black chest contains a poison that rots the body and eats away at the soul. The red one contains a venom that gradually drops the body's temperature and hardens the blood, cutting off circulation. Eventually, the victim turns to stone."
"And the purple?"
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"That one is... hard to explain. Legends says the serpent's third head didn't originally possess venom. But after its encounter with you-know-who, it began to use the purple lightning. Some believe it absorbed the very essence of his purple tribulation lightning. It's been over a thousand years, so the story's authenticity is... questionable."
'It truly was taboo to speak Armando's name on this planet. Anyone foolish enough to utter it aloud risked being struck down by purple lightning from the sky—what they called the Purple Tribulation Lightning. I'd overheard enough hushed conversations to know it wasn't just superstition.
"What she says is true. I was caught off guard with my first strike—not expecting the little pet of Herb Haven to absorb it. Still, it wasn't a fight... it was an execution," Armando said proudly from within the cloud.
'Pet?' I thought.
"How much for all of them?" I asked. "I'm willing to pay."
"The manager says they're... on the house," the staff member said carefully.
'How generous. Did they figure out who I am?' I wondered.
Without another word, I broke the chains on all three chests.
"Wait—what are you doing?! If you open those here, we'll all die!" she cried, her face pale with terror.
"Calm down," I said coolly. "You should know what I am by now. No one here will die, I assure you."
She backed away to a safer distance, trembling, but nodded in acknowledgment.
I opened all three chests.
A thick, suffocating aura began to pour out, the pressure from the poison's lethal aura pressing down on the shop. It reached out like invisible tendrils, ready to claim anyone in range.
Before it could spread, I absorbed it all into my dark cloud—every wisp of it, mine.
Inside the chests sat tiny glass bottles, no larger than eyedrops. Each one held a liquid that matched the color of its chest—black, red... and the third? A clear, transparent fluid that shimmered faintly, almost too clean to be natural.
I picked up all three bottles, inspected them for a brief second—then drank them all in a single gulp.