Tega's expression darkened.
"What does this Supreme Lord even want?" he muttered.
Zack folded his arms. "Hard to say… But it looks like he's here to shake up the order of things."
Tega blinked. "How do you mean?"
"I mean," Zack said, "he's not aiming to join either side—Heaven or Hades. He wants to become the third force. Something in between. A new player in the universal game."
Tega went quiet, processing that.
"So… he's trying to absorb enough power to place himself on a battlefield that exists outside the one between light and darkness?"
"Exactly," Zack replied. "And now, this being of chaos—and his army of high-tier Principalities—is starting with Pison. Supreme Lords only emerge once every few centuries. For one to be this…loud, it means one thing: he's coming to conquer."
Zack gave Tega a sideways glance. "Watch your back, my friend. With your history—and your ties to that Old One—your head might roll before mine."
"Please don't joke about that, Your Majesty," Tega said quietly. "I'm not the same man I used to be... not after what happened to my family."
Zack allowed himself a small smile. "Maybe that made you sharper."
Tega closed his eyes. "I think it's unlikely... Cthulhu's power runs deep. But still... I hope this Supreme Lord doesn't target her first."
"You'd be pulled into the struggle," Zack finished the thought. "And you'd never see the end of it."
He lifted the clear orb in his hand and looked into it.
"Now, Tega. Let's do business as usual. This is a Memory-Capturing Orb, as you've known by now..."
Tega leaned in, trying to shake the weight off his shoulders—at least for a moment. The looming terror of Ruben, somewhere near, faded to the background.
The truth was, anyone with enough mystical sense had felt it—Falling Star. The city-leveling power. Something perceived as a declaration of war.
All four heavenly fragments—pieces of the original world—recognized it for what it appeared to be: a challenge. Not just to Heaven or Hades, but to both.
Quietly, they were all rallying their forces for a third Great War… one that now included a new contender.
Ironically… it had all started from a simple, overblown misfire by an airheaded Fenrir who just wanted to enjoy his long life in peace and luxury—
(Platform?)
{…}
(Actually, I've been meaning to ask this since Volume 2 started... but who exactly are you talking to?)
{No one, Master. I was simply analyzing your new abilities.}
(No, no. You were definitely narrating something just now… GASP! Don't tell me—you have imaginary friends now?!)
{That's none of your business, Master.}
(No, actually, it's very much my business. Whether I like it or not.)
{Unlike a certain foolhardy protagonist who keeps getting scammed due to an alarming lack of common sense, I was doing something far more significant… something larger than life itself.}
(…)
{Master? What were you saying again? I appear to have forgotten.}
(Forget it. I'll be taking back my POV now, thank you.)
*
RUBEN
After the roasting of a pitiful devil in the coastal area, I took a trip to Coastelle... only to end up roasting again.
Okay, let me explain myself properly;
After obliterating that poor excuse for a creature, called a devil, we (actually, just me) may or may not have turned a whole mile of land into an ashen wasteland. With no life. No sound. Just scorched earth and regret.
The sky hadn't cleared either. Black smoke still hung over it like a funeral veil.
Needless to say, the hunt for meat came to a dramatic end.
So, I did the next best thing: I returned to the submerged lands of Coastelle, where the fruits—despite acting like harlots—at least looked edible. (I checked for poison, I swear.)
Now I was roasting them. For my cohorts.
Using sharp wind, I sliced the fruits into neat chunks. Then I skewered them with sharpened branches.
With a little earth manipulation, I raised a proper stone platform for grilling—complete with a fire pit below.
A walking kitchen, that's what I'd become.
Humans had always fascinated me with their cooking.
So many steps. So much detail. So much… flair.
And so entirely unnecessary!
Why don't they just drink some deer blood and relax?!
Ugh, humans. Always making things look so damn good. Even I get smitten.
{Why, Master, could it be your simplemindedness that keeps drawing you toward human cuisine?}
(No, no. It's because I'm great enough to perceive the emotions behind their food. Obviously.)
{So it's not as meaningless as you claimed earlier?}
(Hehehe. Platform, I see you're in a good mood. But I won't play by your rules.)
Back to what we were doing:
I was roasting an assortment of fruit for 203 individuals.
{No one asked you to, Mr. Supreme Lord.}
(Platform… is this still about earlier? Okay, fine! I'm sorry for calling you out on hallucinating. We good?)
{...}
I sense impending doom from that silence.
Before you start thinking only I had to serve them without any help—I wasn't the only one doing the work. A few of my Specters helped out.
Just being near me was a lot of help.
Still, I was grateful for their efforts, so I wanted to treat them.
I turned to my left and spotted Alicia and Levi devouring the fruit skewers like their lives depended on it.
Sure, the fruits literally begged to be eaten, but still—pace yourselves!
"Hey, you two!" I called. "Slow down—what if you choke?"
Alicia looked up with her face smeared in a rainbow of juice stains. I grabbed a cloth and wiped her mouth clean.
Levi edged closer, cheeks flushed, clearly hoping for the same treatment.
Sigh. Her mouth wasn't even dirty.
Still, I wiped it anyway, much to her delight.
And that's when I felt it—the unmistakable, spine-prickling bloodlust radiating from behind me.
I didn't need to guess who it was from.
"But Master Raven…"
When is Levi going to stop calling me that? It beats the whole Ruben thing!
"You're such a surprisingly good cook, I couldn't help but pounce on the meal."
…Eh…?
G–Good cook? No way.
"True, true."
Alicia too?!
"I was expecting something simple since it was just fruit," she added, "but the seasoning, the heat, the crisp... and it all has Ruby's essence all over it. It was wonderful. I want seconds!!"
Essence? But wait—
"H–Huh?! You folks are absolutely exaggerating!!" I turned away before they caught sight of my face—now warmer than the fire pit.
I am the great Ravenswood (now Ruben)!
I will not be seen blushing like some maiden in a court romance!
"Hmph! Fine then!" I declared with a huff. "I'll just have to make it even more delicious! Just watch!"
With a swirl, I stomped back to the grilling platform.
"Cute."
"Yes, very adorable."
Wait a second… I feel like I'm being used somehow...