Forsaken Starfall

Fyar watched the man's every gesture, trying to analyze the strange man personality.

He's a crazy narcissist. Did he just ask his victims for their opinion?

Is he serious? Should I shoot him? No. He seems very strong.

Extremely strong. If I shoot him, I might be the one who dies.

Plus, he doesn't seem to know about my Neutralize yet.

So what should I do? We'll be dead in an hour!

Will help arrive?

Are there any strong adventurers left? Fuck! Fyar muttered inwardly.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." 00 seemed to remember something. "You are the only adventurer group still alive, by the way."

Zaefal's expression darkened. Cyhas covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with horror. Eutas lowered his head. Illya tightened her grip on Fyar's arm.

That son of a bitch... Did he just say he killed all the adventurers in the city?! Fyar bit his lip.

"W-what do you mean..." Fyar asked, his voice low.

"My goodness, you don't understand something that simple?" 00 sighed. "I ordered my men and Whitening to kill every adventurer in this city."

He smiled again at Fyar and his comrades.

"And it turns out, there were still some left. And that is... you all. And don't worry, I didn't kill the civilians. They are safe in the shelters. Besides, if I killed them, there would be no citizens left for me to absorb, right?"

"Oh!" 00 was slightly stunned. "Let's, let's get back to the first topic about the three conditions for this ritual to work, okay okay?"

00 sat back down in his chair. He picked up an apple from the table and bit into it. A crisp crunching sound was heard in the silent square.

"You know, there's a reason why the Kingdom forbids witches or mages from leveling up past eighty."

The Kingdom forbids it? I just found out about this... Fyar turned to Illya.

"Is what he's saying true, Illya?"

Illya nodded. Her face was still pale. "Yes. It was explained at the academy that any witch or mage who exceeds level eighty is considered a criminal. The reason... is that it's too dangerous for the witch or mage themselves."

"Boop!" 00 crossed his fingers. "You're almost right, but still wrong, pretty girl."

"Wrong?" Illya asked.

"The reason the Kingdom forbids witches from leveling up past eighty is..." 00 pointed up, to the sealed red sky. "That."

"That?"

00 nodded. "When a witch or mage reaches level ninety-nine like me, their desire or urge to level up becomes high. Very high. Like a curse. It can't be held back. And... and the conditions... are above you."

00 raised one finger. "The first condition is to destroy or create chaos in a city."

He raised another finger. "The second condition is to kill a Dragon."

He smiled. "And the third condition is to absorb all souls. Just like what I'm about to do now."

The most troublesome class. Even though it's strong, the side effects can drive you insane. No wonder the Kingdom forbids it, Fyar thought.

"You bastard! So the reason you killed that Dragon General was for the condition too, huh?! You said you had no other choice!" Zaefal shouted. His face was red with anger, his hands trembling violently.

00 hissed softly while shaking his head. He went back to chewing his fruit. He gestured with one finger, asking Zaefal to wait.

After swallowing the fruit, he spoke again, "I really didn't have another choice, man!"

"Like, look at it this way. You're under a curse to level up. And the ingredient comes to you on its own! Are you really going to let it go to waste hahh?"

"You use it, of course!"

"You'd be a fool if you waste it."

He glanced at the dining table for a moment before looking back at Fyar and his comrades.

"By the way, do you guys want to eat? Hungry?"

"Bread? Fruit drinks?"

Fyar, Cyhas, Zaefal, and Eutas didn't answer. They just stared at 00 with strange looks.

Is this guy joking? He's offering food to his victims? What is he thinking? Damn, I really can't figure him out, Fyar muttered, growing even more baffled by 00.

"How did you make the Guardians leave the city? Did you kill them too, you asshole?" Zaefal asked.

"Ooo," 00 nodded while pointing at Zaefal.

"Good question, good question."

"Well. This was the hardest part and one of the most expensive, though."

He drank the cold drink from his glass.

After drinking, he continued, "I hired Whitening to summon a level one hundred monster in a level seven dungeon. And ohhh, it worked. The Guardians in this city went straight there!"

His smile widened again. "How about it, how about it? Genius, right? Genius, righttttt?"

"No you narsistik son of a bitch," Zaefal answered without hesitation.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" 00 said. "And yeah, as for communications... I killed everyone at the Association..

"Well That's boring, because you probably already guessed that right?"

00 stood up from his chair again.

Clap!

"In other words!" 00 paused for a moment. "There's nothing you can do now, buddy."

"You fucked"

"Done"

"And that's the most beautiful thing you can know right now."

He sat back down. "Keep me company now. To wait out that one hour."

"Heh, I should probably give 06 and 05 a bonus for not killing you earlier."

What should I do? If we fight him, we'll die. We only have one hour. And if we do nothing, we'll also die. Everyone in this city will die!

This is a dead end?

I really don't know the way out.

Is this the end of my life?

Just like That? Fyar bit his lip harder, until it bled slightly.

Illya, who was beside him, seemed to understand what Fyar was feeling. She reached out her hand and gently rubbed the back of Fyar's hand.

Fyar snapped out of his thoughts for a moment. He turned to Illya, who offered him a gentle smile.

one that was clearly forced, but meant to reassure him