While Setsuna and the others were eagerly preparing to head to the front lines for a fight, a majin arrived at the ever-expanding border of the Yuanlin Empire.
The sight of the Shadow Demon girls still hard at work on construction made him pause in surprise.
He was Phobio, the Black Leopard Fang, one of the Three Beastketeers serving Demon Lord Carrion of the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania. Carrion had ordered him to come investigate what was happening in the Great Forest of Jura.
Yet he had barely entered the forest before coming across the empire's border, which was still under construction and steadily expanding.
Phobio had no idea what to make of it. As a native of this world, he simply couldn't understand what they were doing.
Leading several subordinates behind him, he frowned slightly but still remembered Lord Carrion's orders. Since he didn't think much of the people here anyway, Phobio casually swept his gaze around, carrying himself with the same overbearing arrogance as the previous Lizardman envoy.
The moment he crossed the imperial border, he shouted at the Amazoness patrol members watching him warily.
"Go get whoever's in charge here. I have something to discuss with him!"
"..."
Hearing this, the Amazoness girl withdrew her cold gaze and immediately tapped her bracelet to report the situation up the chain.
At the same time, the nearby phase-space gate lit up.
Setsuna and Lapis stepped out from within.
The three-pronged expedition Kagali had dispatched had already set off. However, since the distances to their respective destinations varied, the group heading toward Eurazania would naturally arrive sooner.
Setsuna and Lapis had chosen to fight in the Beast Kingdom, perhaps because they liked the sound of the country's name.
"The Shadow Demon Corps is way too fast. They've already reached Eurazania's border, and it's only been a few minutes since we left."
Setsuna glanced at the map and companion markers projected from her bracelet, looking anxious.
"Lapis, I already sent them a message telling them to wait for us. We're short on time, so let's hurry."
"Mm. We can't waste any time. Lapis wants to come back afterward and take a bath with Takumi-sama... maybe wash his back too."
Lapis nodded repeatedly, and the two were just about to leap into the air and head for their destination when the captain of the Amazoness patrol called out to stop them.
"My Ladies, there are outsiders here. They say they're looking for Master."
"Outsiders?"
Setsuna, who had little interest in weaklings, raised her eyes toward Phobio.
She immediately frowned.
"A man? And an ugly one at that. What do you want with Takumi-sama?!"
Setsuna's cold interrogation left Phobio momentarily stunned.
"Y-You... What do you mean, ugly?! I am Phobio, Black Leopard Fang of Demon Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers!!!"
"I'm the strongest warrior in the Beast Corps, and the most handsome too!!!"
Phobio shouted in outrage, but Setsuna and Lapis continued staring at him with cold, indifferent eyes.
After spending so much time around Takumi—and with their own life levels having undergone a qualitative evolution—their standards of beauty had risen dramatically.
No matter how handsome another man might be, Setsuna and the others would still place him firmly in the category of ugly.
Especially now that they had grown this powerful. If they focused, they could clearly make out every pore and every hair on someone's body, and even smell the odors clinging to them.
To Setsuna and the others, unless someone possessed a body so pure and flawless that it resembled a precious divine medicine—in other words, unless they were on Takumi's level—everyone else was disgusting enough to resemble maggots crawling through a sewer, impossible to look at or approach without revulsion.
After staring at Phobio for just a moment longer, both Setsuna and Lapis felt their stomachs turn.
Fortunately, they could seal off their sense of smell with magicules and rely on internal circulation to breathe. Otherwise, they felt as though simply standing near him would contaminate them.
By now, after boasting for so long, Phobio had finally noticed the way Setsuna and Lapis were looking at him.
They weren't looking at him like a person at all.
It was more like they had spotted a pile of shit lying by the roadside.
Phobio was so furious that blood rushed to his head, and he nearly lost control of his magicules.
Lapis spoke coldly.
"We don't care who you are. Do you know Takumi-sama, or do you have some business with him?"
Even as she asked, Lapis secretly sighed to herself.
No matter what, next time I'm putting some points into [Mind Reading] on the skill tree.
It might not work on enemies at our level or stronger, but it'd still be useful against low-level guys like this.
Then we wouldn't have to suffer through the hassle of talking to them at all.
As Lapis thought this, she started chatting with Setsuna directly in her mind.
Lapis, I was thinking the same thing.
Exactly. Talking to this... whoever he is is such a waste of time.
Feeling thoroughly looked down upon, Phobio raised his chin in anger.
If Setsuna and the others were going to act even more arrogant than him, then he would simply be more arrogant still!
He represented the dignity of the Beast Kingdom. There was no way he could allow himself to lose to them in sheer attitude.
Phobio puffed himself up and made his declaration.
"This place of yours is pretty nice. It seems perfectly suited to being ruled by Lord Carrion, don't you think?"
"So I came here today to give you the opportunity to place yourselves under Lord Carrion's rule!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Phobio distinctly felt the air around him turn cold.
"Lord Phobio... something feels wrong."
One of his subordinates spoke cautiously, not even daring to look at the murderous gazes of the girls nearby.
Seeing how cowardly they were acting, Phobio snorted.
"Hmph. What are you afraid of? With me, Phobio, here, these guys—"
Not good!
Before he could finish, Setsuna had already condensed a blade of ice in her palm and charged straight at him.
Only killing intent toward Phobio remained in her eyes.
He actually dared say something like that. He has to die!
Besides, he's a man. Takumi definitely won't blame me for killing him!!
The instant Phobio felt Setsuna's killing intent, panic seized him.
He had never expected her to attack so quickly, and the terrifying pressure radiating from her left him struggling to breathe.
I'm going to die!!
Those words flashed through Phobio's mind instantly.
"No way! I'm not dying here!!"
Phobio surged with every ounce of magicule power in his body and unleashed his strongest attack.
"Leopard Fang Blazing Palm!!"
Flames erupted from both of his palms as he thrust them forward, blazing fiercely as they met Setsuna's descending ice blade head-on.
The scene was like a man raising both hands in an attempt to stop a massive coil of steel rolling straight toward him.
Slash!!!
The ice blade swept smoothly through both of Phobio's palms and continued straight through his neck.
His all-out attack had failed to accomplish anything.
With great difficulty, Phobio lowered his gaze toward his severed, frozen hands and instinctively tried to reach for his neck.
The moment he moved, however, the world suddenly spun around him.
Phobio's final sight was his own headless corpse.
The freezing cold continued spreading, encasing both his severed head and body in solid ice...
...
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