Here.
Here.
Here too!
It was unnerving to see that the holy taverns that had once provided him with much-needed sustenance were so barren and dry.
Ferris crouched down to inspect the microwave food that was still present on the shelves.
As he opened the plastic container, the pungent and rotten aura penetrated him in a not-so-pleasing way.
There's no canned food... Ferris closed the container and went outside to the streets.
I guess I should go to the mall after all. Ferris took out the cartoonish map and his phone.
Thankfully, there was a compass diagram in the map which he could use.
Opening the compass application on his phone, he expected an easy route.
What the... Ferris looked at the needle displayed on his screen, only to find out that it was going haywire.
There's no signal, and even the compass is broken. Ferris once again looked at the crimson clouds and dark atmosphere.
City XXIII was located further away from his own city. So, accounting for the time, he guessed that City XXIII would be in nighttime, but that wasn't the case.
Did they set up a barrier then?
Crimson clouds as far as the eye could see—It was clear that this would definitely take more than a mere demon-level villain to accomplish.
Can Prodigy Prince even find me? This is troubling. Ferris sighed and looked at the map once more.
If he can't accurately find the locations, then his next shot was to simply search for the tallest building so that he could look for the mall from a high vantage point,
Fortunately, the structure he needed was conveniently right across the street from him.
I guess this is pretty big. Ferris sacrificed his neck to properly gauge the height of the skyscraper in front of him.
Considering it was an abandoned city, there was no electricity to power the elevator. So Ferris had no other choice but to use his legs for the ascent.
However, this was an easy feat for him, and so, he didn't hesitate to enter the building and start the long hike.
Step. Step. Step.
I'm still on the 2nd floor, but it's already so musty. Ferris covered his mouth, questioning if what he was doing was even a good idea.
As he kept ascending to the 3rd floor, his senses picked something up.
It definitely came from the 3rd floor.
What is that sound I'm hearing? Ferris cupped his ears with his hand and quietly ascended the stairs to the 3rd floor.
It was the sounds of a struggle.
He stepped into a dim hallway, The noises grew sharper and clearer the further he went into the hallway.
"Oh... man, I can't get enough of this!" one voice said, panting between the hits.
"I know, right? I don't even care if I fail the villain exam—fucking wannabe heroes up's more funny anyway."
Inside a small office space, two men stood over a bloodied hero examinee who was barely conscious as he struggled to breathe. The poor soul was already struggling to stand on his knees.
But blow to the side of the head sent him collapsing onto the floor with a dull thud.
"Oh~ I'm gonna—
Slice.
Before the man could finish his sentence, his head hit the dusty floor with his mouth still half open and his eyes frozen in confusion as the world around him turned upside down.
His partner recoiled instantly as a hooded figure stepped into the room, with his stained sword in hand.
Panic gripped him as he scrambled for the small revolver at his side and raised it toward Ferris.
If Ferris couldn't dodge a bullet, then it was better if there wasn't one at all.
Slice.
Too slow.
His hand hit the floor with the gun still clenched in his severed grip.
"Argh! Who the hell are y—
Slice.
"Hikkk!" He dropped to the ground, while clutching his groin in horror. Something important was missing.
Grunting through the pain, he opened his mouth wide and let out a feral scream. From the depths of his throat before a long, and seemingly acidic tongue shot out toward Ferris.
Acid tongue? Ferris's nose twitched in disgust. What kind of blessing is that?
He ducked low and dashed forward, pointing his sword forward and drove it straight into the man's gaping mouth.
A twist of the blade was all it took to sever the connection between brain and spine. The body went limp the moment it happened.
Three people... Ferris withdrew his blade and gave it a flick to cast off the blood.
I've already killed three people today. Ferris sighed internally, then turned toward the hero.
"You're safe now—
. . .
Ferris kneeled to touch the body, but to his horror, the body no longer had a pulse.
Bottling his emotions, the best thing he could do now was to find a cloth and cover the body up.
After finding one from the dozens of rooms, he covered him up.
The next step now was to move the other two bodies and limbs into another room. However, Ferris paused at his decision.
"On second thought..." Ferris muttered as he began stripping their shirts off before going to a window and opening it.
This is a fitting burial. He threw the two bodies out into the streets below.
And now to desecrate their belongings.
He dug his hand into the pocket on the pair of pants he saw and found a plastic bag that carried some 3 different fingers.
The other pants carried that same bag, but it only contained 2 fingers.
Is this how they prove their kill? Ferris thought, finding the bag to be irritating on the eyes.
Discarding the bags, he found another item that was present in both pants.
A metal emblem that depicted a shattered sword.
A unified group?
From his memories, there has never been a case of a mass grouping of villains that could pose a threat to the Hero Association.
Even the villain-controlled cities didn't have a single head, but rather many heads trying to take the crown for themselves.
But now, it was clear that this was the group behind the recruitment of villains, the kidnapping of hero examinees, and the conduction of their own version of the hero exam.
And they can even make three disaster-level demon villains as proctors for the exam.
Ferris decided to keep one of the emblems for himself in case he needed it.
After paying his respects to the dead hero examinee, he continued ascending the endless flights of stairs.
Once he arrived at the highest floor the stairs could take him, a door that led to the outside caught his attention.
Opening the door, he stepped onto the observation deck which was a platform that jutted out around the building.
Cool air brushed against his face as the sounds of distant combat echoed upward to his ears as if they were being carried by the wind.
Scanning around, he spotted some intact binocular telescopes arranged in a row near the edge of the platform.
Now that's convenient. Ferris hopped over to one of the binoculars and placed his eyes near the two circles.
Now I don't have to squint my eyes... Huh?
Unfortunately, the telescope only displayed a black background.
He retreated his head and tried to find why the binoculars didn't work.
Eventually, he saw a small slit on top of the object.
Oh right... You need to pay if you want to use it.
Checking the other side of the small telescope, he noticed that it was covered by small metal hatches, which seemed to be the cause of his problem.
He turned around before slipping his nails into a small gap.
Using his essence, he carefully ripped it open so as to not damage the lenses.
"There we go." Ferris returned his eyes to the telescope.
Now it was working as intended, but when he tried to swivel them, he couldn't.
It's stuck to the metal pole...
After finding the problem, he didn't hesitate to draw his sword and simply sliced the pole.
Hopefully, I won't get fined for this. He joked to himself before catching the falling binoculars.
First, he landed his gaze toward the top of the broadcasting tower.
Adjusting the lenses, he zoomed in close enough to properly see three figures standing dangerously over the ledge.
A warrior that proudly displayed his massive, muscular figure, as he wore only a metal loincloth and a helmet.
Some elderly person in a wheelchair. What was most unique about him was his sword that he hugged like a pillow.
And lastly, a woman wearing a black mourning gown. But her most prominent features were her horns.
She looks like the leader... ?!
Ferris couldn't believe his eyes.
The lady seemed to have noticed Ferris's gaze, as she locked her eyes with him despite the a large distance between them.
After that, she smiled and winked before blowing him a kiss with her velvet red laced lips.