Since Zeroy began her first great purge of the pests, seven days had already passed, and at last the news spread.
Now, with nations like isolated islands, only the internet linked them together.
Nevertheless, only after Zeroy left did the survivors have the mind to upload what had happened in the city.
The tower of fear, built from human corpses, spread across the world like wildfire. The photos reached the desks of the world's leaders, leaving all those self-important rulers dumbstruck.
At a glittering banquet, nobles in suits and gowns were rooted in place at the sudden alerts on their phones. Wineglasses slipped from trembling hands, scarlet wine soaking the carpet, staining costly suits—regardless, no one cared.
Their eyes were fixed on the photos, pupils reflecting the gruesome outline of the hundred-meter tower of corpses.
"What... is this?"
"Impossible... did those two unknown beings do this?"
"No! No way!"
Terrified whispers and exclamations filled the hall. The high and mighty, now pale and shaken.
Instants ago, over toasts and laughter, they had been mapping out their new world.
They schemed how to wring out Zeroy and Patchouli's remaining value, how to bind them with morality, trap them with laws, and, with the soon-to-be-passed Hero Law, turn the two beings into pawns.
Their words brimmed with confidence, as if everything were under control, as if Zeroy and Patchouli were lambs awaiting slaughter.
They even admired and envied each other's cunning in their covert struggles.
But reality came down like a hammer, shattering their dreams.
Or rather… it was as if they had been slapped hard in the middle of their smugness.
Now, clutching their stinging cheeks, they had yet to react.
That tower of corpses, a grotesque monument of severed heads, seemed to mock their arrogance.
Every mangled body was a bloody satire of their illusion of control.
"Why... why did it come to this?"
"How... how dare they?"
The intelligence reports stated that this tower of fear had been raised in the territory of a once-important ally. That country had been a superpower, a seat at the table even after the Gastrea War, nearly their equal in strength. Now it was reduced to this.
No wonder they had lost contact.
And it was not an isolated case.
Suddenly, a projector switched on by itself, casting an image into the hall. On the screen was a bright, cheerful blonde girl.
"Hey, hey, hey? Can you hear me?"
Meanwhile, behind her loomed a burning tower of corpses.
"Whatever, you can hear me, right? I heard you were looking for me? Good, here I am. You must be happy about that."
"Hmm... I don't have much to say to you anyway. After all, you're just pests. This transmission is only to tell you—your good days are over. Wash your necks and prepare for the purge."
···
"Alright, let's see if it works as intended."
At sunrise, Patchouli tossed a grimoire to Zeroy.
It was so thick it could be used as a blunt weapon, its black cover plain except for a strange red gem embedded in its face.
Once it was in her hands, the method of use surfaced in Zeroy's mind.
Simple: just hold it and think of using it.
Zeroy wasted no words. Since Patchouli didn't explain or warn her, she had no need to hesitate. She tried it immediately.
The city was small, but even overnight, she had only killed a fifth of it. She still had work to do.
A blue magic circle unfolded on the street ahead of her, expanding rapidly to cover several districts. Then, two to three hundred people were transported at once to a clearing Zeroy had designated.
With them sent away, Zeroy charged into the district, blade in hand.
As it was a test, she spent nearly ten minutes verifying both the pests left behind and the innocents teleported away.
Once confirmed to meet her standards, she returned to Patchouli.
"Works great! As expected of you, Patchouli."
She gave a cheerful thumbs-up.
"But using the spell didn't consume my mana. Is it because of this gem?"
"That's a Philosopher's Stone I made from blood at the base of the tower. It only stores mana, but it should hold enough for you to use for a while. For the rest, keep experimenting. You'll only know once you try it yourself."
"Got it. Still, a Philosopher's Stone must be pretty valuable, right?"
"Don't worry. Like I said, it only stores mana."
"Alright."
Zeroy took the grimoire and continued testing.
By noon, she was nearly fully adept at using it.
And before night fell, she finished cleansing the city.
"This efficiency... ten times, no, more than ninefold at least!"
Hovering above the now-silent city, Zeroy clenched her fist.
She could feel the power, the efficiency!
She was overjoyed.
Patchouli's spell was perfect. By controlling the mana output, it could target up to half a million individuals, then teleport fifty thousand at once.
If pests were few, she teleported them. If innocents were few, she teleported them.
Once separated, she could carry out indiscriminate purges like slaughtering zombies.
Two problems remained. At maximum range, selecting five hundred thousand targets consumed immense mana. One use would exhaust a Philosopher's Stone and even damage the grimoire.
She had to scale down the output and increase frequency, constantly sending people away until a whole city was separated, then purge.
The second issue: it worked mainly on ordinary humans. Even some stronger Cursed Children were immune.
It was, in essence, a pest-shredding machine specialized for weaklings.
"Come on, Patchi, let's go clear out more pests!"
"Patchi?"
Patchouli blinked. It had been a while since she heard that name.
"I feel like we're friends now. So the name should be a bit more familiar, right?"
"...Suit yourself."
Patchouli had no opinion.
"Anyways, really, aren't you tired at all?"
"Not at all! Come on, let's go, everyone's waiting~"
...
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