Day Ten—
This was no illusion, but reality.
Ten days ago, two mysterious beings descended. In just ten days, they achieved what humanity could never imagine—two individuals, by their own power, utterly crushed the Gastrea.
The monsters that once pushed civilization to the brink of extinction crumbled like ants before these two unknown lives.
Every battle was like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves.
In ten short days, eighty percent of the world's Gastrea had been burned away. All confirmed Stage V entities were annihilated.
Though they took human form, they were not human, nor Cursed Children.
They were unknown lifeforms, beyond human comprehension. Governments temporarily named them: [Goddess of Flame] and [Arcane Apostle].
At first, many still schemed to capture them.
Now, none dared.
If they could nearly wipe out Gastrea in ten days, then in ten days they could just as easily wipe out humanity. They truly could stand against the entire world alone.
And yet, greed never allowed men to rest.
Though Zeroy had made it clear she was not to be trifled with—she had never turned her hand against humanity. On the contrary, she kept helping to kill Gastrea.
Even when she killed those sent to contact her, a few she spared and returned safely to their cities.
This showed she could be communicated with, that she even cared for humans.
And so, people began to dream...
"About twenty percent of the Gastrea remain—by the way, is it really just the two of us on this mission?"
Zeroy looked curiously at veteran Patchouli.
"Not exactly. I set magic circles in Tokyo. I sensed at least two other Reincarnators descending."
"Then why haven't we seen them act? I thought it was just us."
"..."
Patchouli gave her a half-lidded, faintly exasperated look.
"Did you think everyone was as strong as you? By active, do you mean the whole world's attention? With what we're doing, those two have probably already decided to just wait the mission out and pay the Points penalty to abandon it."
Who could understand this? Competing for missions alongside an apocalypse demon? Was the Main God's matchmaking really this cruel?
"Uh... scared them off? That's... a little awkward."
Zeroy twirled a strand of hair.
"I didn't mean it like that. If I'd known others were here, I'd have told them. We could compete normally. I like harmony—I want everyone to get along, like you and me."
"Is that so? What if they fall into your definition of evil?"
"Then they'd better hope I don't catch them :)" Zeroy smiled.
"..."
"The last twenty percent are mostly in Africa."
This had been deliberate. They cleared the rest of the world first, leaving Africa for last.
Because no humans lived there anymore—it was a dead land. There was no rush.
"You handle those. I have to deal with humanity now."
Zeroy stretched.
"You look almost excited," Patchouli noted.
"Mmm... excited and not. Excited because I get to crush vermin. Not, because I wish vermin never existed at all. If only everyone were good."
"Don't go too far. If you overdo it, [Goal 2: Ensure humanity's survival] might fail."
"No way, you misunderstand me too much, Patchouli. I thought we knew each other better by now." Zeroy put on an aggrieved look.
"Kill to protect life, cut karma not people. Killing has never been my goal. It's only a means to an end. I want a beautiful new world. To me, killing itself is nothing—I neither like nor hate it."
"That's... unexpected."
"Mhm, that's how it is. Anyway, I'm off."
"..."
Watching Zeroy vanish into the sky, Patchouli rubbed her forehead helplessly.
Truth be told, Zeroy was just a normal person. Her judgments of evil matched most people's sense of morality, even aligned with the laws of this world.
In other words, she targeted actual criminals.
She was simply uncompromising… and highly effective.
It was only because her actions defied common sense that one instinctively saw her as dangerously unstable.
...
After parting from Patchouli, Zeroy chose a nearby city.
The moment she arrived above it, she felt it: evil.
A suffocating miasma of guilt and crime tainted the whole city.
"...Sigh. Looks like I'll have to kill a lot." Zeroy exhaled helplessly.
"Let me think... how should I do this... First, announce the purge, so the innocents won't panic..."
As she pondered, the people below noticed her.
Heads lifted. Some stared in awe, some in fear. Some knelt and prayed.
Zeroy and Patchouli had never hidden their movements. They often flew over cities, and lucky ones even saw them slay Gastrea outside the Monoliths.
Governments tried to suppress news, but inevitably it leaked to the privileged few.
In these ten days, cults sprang up in every nation, worshiping the [Goddess of Flame] and [Arcane Apostle].
Believers said they were divine envoys sent to save the world.
Others called them demons.
These were often groups who deified Gastrea, seeing them as God's agents cleansing the polluted world.
Whatever the stance, governments and organizations reached a consensus: they could not control the two by force. But since they were approachable and not hostile, they could still be controlled—through other means.
In essence, such power had to be in human hands. If humanity could uncover their secrets, it could advance even further.
...
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