“You want to rebuild the tower that destroyed our world?”
Veilrak spoke as if dumbfounded.
“This isn’t our land. I’m saying this because our world has already disappeared.”
Dominic continued smoothly, like a fox gently wagging its tail.
“Don’t you think present-day Earth has too many restrictions when it comes to finding prey?”
“…….”
“Cheep?!”
When Veilrak seemed to nod at Dominic’s words, Mephisto gasped.
“Let’s recover your body with me and rebuild the tower. How about becoming the master of the tower and devouring all those who invade our land?”
“…….”
Dominic’s eyes sparkled, and Veilrak fell silent.
Dominic smiled slyly toward Mephisto, perhaps interpreting his silence in his own way.
Mephisto, who had swiftly turned his head away to avoid meeting that gaze, narrowed his eyes.
‘Don’t tell me, this zombie mukbang fanatic. He isn’t actually tempted by that guy’s proposal, is he?’
“Cheep!” (Tell him no quickly!)
“Why should I do that?”
At that sudden question delivered in a flat tone, Mephisto flapped his wings with a flutter.
Because…….
“Cheep…….” (If you leave, Gru will be sad…….)
Mephisto said in a fading voice.
He couldn’t find any other reason.
Mephisto didn’t really know what the tower was. In fact, it was true that he didn’t care what influence it had on this world.
But Gru wouldn’t be like that. If Veilrak left him, he would surely be sad.
“…….”
But even after saying that, Veilrak merely remained silent, so Mephisto pouted his beak.
Did that mean he didn’t care what happened as long as he recovered his true body?
That might be the case. Veilrak had wanted to return to his original body. He would probably like eating plenty of humans too…….
Then, Dominic spoke.
“Your Highness, I think it would do if you became the master of the 99th floor this time.”
“Cheep?!”
“We will be able to create a completely free world.”
Though Mephisto chirped that he didn’t need such a world, Dominic merely wagged his invisible tail without a care.
Was it because his true body was a beast-type? Even while Veilrak found his fox-like fawning repulsive, he remained silent, lost in thought.
‘……?’
Suddenly, Mephisto tilted his head in confusion.
How did he know Dominic’s true body was a beast-type?
It was as if he had naturally pulled from his mind information he had known from long ago.
“Nonsense.”
At that moment, Veilrak dismissed it with a single word.
“Pardon?”
Dominic asked back in surprise.
Then Veilrak answered indifferently.
“The tower was nothing but a madman’s clownish antics built to test the world. Would you foolishly seek to be its puppet again?”
He recalled the second bloodkin who had been lost in madness and built the tower.
That man had tried to test the world by making the Sheier and bloodkin sealed by Mephisto into the masters of each floor.
“Lord Veilrak, if you take my hand, you can return to your original body. Does that not appeal to you either?”
Dominic blinked a few times, looking anxious.
“I should be able to return to my true body when my master wishes it.”
To be exact, it would be when he had grown enough to wield power as his master desired.
He decided to swallow the following words.
At Veilrak’s answer, Dominic looked quite surprised.
“Your master?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t mean that yellow little girl, do you?”
“It seems you know well.”
Dominic opened his mouth as if he had heard something absurd.
The Veilrak he knew was not someone who would live as another’s bloodkin besides a Sheier.
Beneath a child of Earth, someone not even Mephisto?
But his indifferent face seemed to say that all of it was true.
As if to confirm that suspicion, Veilrak added one more thing.
“Speaking of which, my master will worry, so I must be going now.”
“Please wait a moment!”
As he tried to leave, Dominic quickly stopped him.
Veilrak spoke with an expression that showed he was clearly annoyed.
“I have no intention of listening to any more nonsense.”
“Cheep cheep!”
Mephisto placed his hands on his hips and seconded Veilrak’s words.
“No. You will soon stop thinking of it as nonsense. If the decision is difficult, I shall help you.”
At the same time, Dominic sprang to his feet.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Cheep?”
While Veilrak and Mephisto were bewildered, Dominic stretched out one arm.
Soon, his arm turned into smoke and vanished.
*
“Crafters and children stay out.”
This was the conclusion Gidan and Sereuhi had reached. They decided not to show anything harsh to non-combatants and children.
Gidan took out earplugs, placed them in Gru’s ears, and had her move with Haruna to a spot in front of the warehouse door.
Shortly after, a barrier was erected inside the warehouse.
Gru, who had followed Haruna outside, stroked the baby rabbit in her arms.
Perhaps because the item’s effects lasted quite a while, the smoke had not yet disappeared, but the people enjoying the pop-up store were still bustling about.
Among the cheerful crowd, Gru was the only one with a sullen face.
A man named Haengddai had kidnapped Mephisto and Veilrak, so perhaps that was why she alone seemed ill at ease.
‘He might turn Mephi into a two-person serving, and show Veil sappy romance movies while torturing him……’
At Gru’s worried expression, Lucifer’s sprout wilted as well.
But that was only for a moment. Lucifer clenched his fist with his plump rabbit foot.
He was his master’s first bloodkin! Now, when his brothers were in danger, was exactly when he had to be of help.
In his mind, he pictured a baby rabbit performing brilliantly, jumping in a rainbow arc.
The baby rabbit delivered a kick like Mephisto and defeated Haengddai; Gru joyfully hugged Lucifer. Mephisto and Veilrak gave a thumbs-up to the baby rabbit who saved them.
This is it!
“Hmph!”
It was when Lucifer snorted like Gru and made that determination.
Suddenly, thick smoke began to rise around them.
Sniff sniff! The baby rabbit’s eyes went wide upon smelling the smoke.
His sprout stood straight up, and the plump baby rabbit’s front paw tapped Gru’s arm and pointed at the smoke.
“Hm?”
“Kyu! Kyu-kyu!”
Lucifer squirmed out of Gru’s arms.
The baby rabbit landed on the ground, flapped its ears like wings, and delivered a kick.
“Mephi?”
“Kyu!”
Then he spun around to the opposite side and, with an annoyed expression, pretended to lie on his side and press a TV remote repeatedly.
“Veil?”
“Kyu!”
Lucifer jumped as if to say ‘correct’ and pointed at the thickening smoke again.
It seemed to mean that his brothers’ scent was coming from that smoke.
‘Are Mephi and Veil in that smoke?’
[“Why is the smoke coming out again?”]
Haruna seemed to find the rising smoke strange and pulled Gru toward her.
“Let’s go inside for now.”
Haruna turned on the translator, and Gru nodded and held Haruna’s hand.
They were just entering the warehouse like that to tell her brothers that this smoke was related to Haengddai.
From within the smoke, someone’s arm appeared and snatched Gru’s body.
*
Dominic’s arm, which had turned into smoke, returned. That arm was holding a child.
Whatever the circumstances, Veilrak had become the bloodkin of this tiny, yellow, chick-like child.
Though her mana was a bit larger than that of other humans, she was still just a child.
If he returned to his true body and threatened the child, things would become easy.
If Veilrak had willingly become a bloodkin, he would definitely obey his master’s orders.
That was certainly the plan, but…….
Taking the child had all gone according to plan, but the moment Dominic felt the sensation of plastic against his temple, he couldn’t hide his bewilderment and froze solid.
What had touched his temple was a fork, the kind a child might play with.
The child had pointed the fork at his head.
The moment Dominic realized this, the child’s voice reached him.
“Are you Haengddai, the one who kidnapped Gru’s babies?”
At the same time, chick-shaped drones began to fly out of Gru’s bag one by one.
The handmade S-rank chick drones were waiting for their master’s command.