005 - The Height of Malice

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“Stella! Fancy meeting you here. I loathe to think you were hiding from us—not on purpose, I hope.”

The voice was grating, coming from the one who stood in the middle, somehow resembling a wolf. It was as if his vocal cords weren't meant to produce such sound—they most likely weren't—and had to strain themselves. Judging by his appearance, a growl would have been more likely to come out of his mouth.

Would that have been specists of me to think this way?

Still, the sight wasn't as strange as it appeared, for Therians were also quite common, even in the Divine Realm. Many Divinities—although looking mostly like humans—were closely related to them.

It was—in fact—the other way around.

The Divine Tribe were the ones that looked like Divinities. After all, they were once created in their image. This applied to more than just humans—like the twins—but also to all the related races. Be it elves, dwarfs, or even demons—believe it or not.

As for the three new arrivals, as I stated before, one was of wolf descent. There might have been a proper name with which the Divinities referred to them, but they took to calling themselves Lycans. They were the most common Therians, making up over a fifth of their entire population.

This particular lycan was well-dressed—something you would see only on a nobleman or a relatively affluent merchant. And yet, the way he spoke betrayed his social status. It felt forced, somehow. Almost like a child repeating what he had heard to make himself feel more important.

Next to him was something I could only liken to a Cheetah. He was bare-chested—if sporting only fur could be likened to being naked—with a pair of leather pants that ended just below what I assumed would be the knee.

There was a hunger in his eyes—I say he, as no proper female Therian would ever be seen exposing herself in this way. They may be descended from animals, but they weren’t savages and uncultured. Especially their females. They had Standards.

The last one was rather peculiar. Judging by the two horns on her snout, she was obviously a Rhino. And yes, you heard me right. She was female, which felt somewhat jarring considering her build. She was twice as large as the other two—combined.

Yet unmistakably female. After all, no male in their right mind would willingly wear this type of dress. It seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart, unable to contain the mass of muscle that was her body. This dress was also pale blue, and when contrasted with her gray skin, I almost felt the urge to look away.

The makers of that dress obviously didn’t have this type of demographic in mind.

“What brings you all here?” Stella replied, looking rather uncomfortable, yet it seemed she recognized the trio.

I couldn’t help but wonder how such a diverse cast could possibly be acquainted. Last I remembered, the Therian Empire was located relatively far from here, down south. Or had things changed that much since my previous visit to this plane?

“I thought we weren't due for another month—or so," she added, but I could see a barely perceptible frown creeping up on her face, almost as if she could scarcely restrain it from appearing.

Opposite of her, the trio were looking rather smug.

They glanced my way, their eyes filled with disdain as they noticed the soaked bandages wrapping my chest and the apparent weakness of my flesh. Still, they lingered for a moment before returning to Stella, as they had no business with me—How could they?

“Well—you know? Things always change,” the wolf-like being began. “There’s been some new developments, and we will need you to accept your new deadline.”

The wolf smiled—if that was what it could be called. All I saw was two rows of sharpened teeth protruding from his mouth and a barbed tongue that seemed to be licking his lips, relishing in the power he seemingly had over Stella.

The other two weren't any different, with only the Rhino looking relatively uninterested. Instead, she seemed to glance around, looking rather nervous—almost like a misbehaving child afraid to be discovered by one's parents.

Stella looked uncomfortable. Although she desperately tried to hide it, her small fist was clenched behind her back, and I worried that she might break the skin with her nails with the way she squeezed.

They just had to arrive the moment Sirius stormed off. A coincidence—was it? I asked myself.

There was no way it could have been. The Rhino’s nervousness was a dead giveaway.

“There’s no way we can come up with the money on such short notice—” Stella began, only to be cut off by the wolf.

“That’s none of my boss’s concern, lady. That’s for you to figure it out. Otherwise, he has other plans to recoup his investment. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but slavery’s been booming down south—if you catch my drift.”

His smile grew creepier by the second. That creature was enjoying this way too much. Same with the Cheetah. Only the Rhino grimaced, but she did nothing to stop it.

Still—I couldn’t stay silent any longer. While I had no interest in getting involved in other people’s drama—and I didn’t really believe her measly blessing had been enough to mend my injuries after that fall—somehow or other, she may still be considered my saviour. I wasn’t ungrateful enough to ignore this.

“A debt, wasn’t it?” I asked. “How much are we talking about?”

“More than a broke peasant like you can afford, I’d wager,” the wolf sneered.

“You better remain shilent, churl~ Thish doesh not conshern you,” the Cheetah said, his voice somehow even more grating than the wolf.

If I wasn’t feeling so weak, I would have socked him one right in the jaw, if only not to have to hear him speak any longer than necessary.

“Easy now,” the wolf said, using his furred arm to restrain his spotted companion. “We’re civilized people, aren’t we? We’d rather not have the other Tribes think of us as mere beasts. Think of our reputation. No—this is nothing more than a perfectly legal business transaction.”

“How is threatening her with slavery supposed to be legal?” I asked. “This feels a lot more like extortion to me.”

“Because those were the terms of the contract. Legally binding, of course—signed in her parents’ names.”

“They signed their own children into slavery for failure to pay? I find it hard to believe any government would uphold such a contract.”

“You must be new to this town, then,” the wolf smiled. “Why should we care about any government. The God of Contracts himself was witness to this agreement.”

"Now—That! I find it hard to believe."

“Well—that might be a slight exaggeration, but the contract remains valid nonetheless. Someone possessing the Blessing of Contracts made sure of it.”

“Might I see it, then? You know—to make sure there no... unexpected clauses, if you know what I mean.”

"You jest, good sir! We would never dare do anything of the sort. Your doubts wound me greatly, but moving on," the Lycan said as he turned back to Stella. "Time is money—as the humans say. We've been lenient. We've even given you ten years to come up with the money. We expect full repayment promptly—in a lump sum. Otherwise, don't blame us for enforcing the contract."

When he spoke his last words, his expression was grim and somewhat bloodthirsty. From what I could tell, it was almost as if they were expecting the twins to be unable to repay that debt. In fact, they seemed sure of it, expecting them to fail.

They came here as a show of force; they enjoyed seeing her squirm. This wasn't business; this was pure sadism on their part. There was no rhyme or reason behind it—just malice.

They despised her, and despite how little I had come to know her, I couldn’t find a single reason for it. If anything, this young woman was laudable in anything she did. There wasn’t a single reason not to think of her as deserving of respect.

If there was, it was a laughable one. Her race. She was human, a part of the Divine Tribe, made in the image of the Divine himself. Of course, they would be jealous. But enough to go this far? Just to make her suffer?

I have killed a great many people in my time. Many undeservedly so. Yet, none have I done so merely out of malice. For the first time in my life, I felt the urge to slaughter purely for the sake of it.

And yet, I restrained myself because Stella—despite her current predicament—was looking at me with concern in her eyes. Even in her dark times, she felt the need to worry about someone else.

It seemed I touched upon a glimpse of what her twin must feel when looking at her. How she would rush headlong into danger if not for someone to rein her in.

A Mortal Saint? Could one possibly exist? No wonder even she decided to bless her.

I felt something shift inside me.

I closed my eyes and looked back to the blessing they called [Status].

Below everything was a box designated [Skills]. It was mostly blank, except for a single one—one I was intimately familiar with, one I had been using most of my life, and one that was the core of what it meant to rule over Slaughter.

[Blood Control]

Despite seeing no prompts or ways to activate it, I instinctively knew how.

I simply had to concentrate and I felt my blood stir. Not just my own but also those of the people around me, though it was more subdued. They didn't even seem to realize. Still—although my mastery was great, the power I could wield was puny compared to my prime. At most, I could control a fist-size mass of my own blood.

And yet, that was enough.

The blood soaked in the bandages wrapped around my wound was slowly pooled together into a small ball, none of them even realizing what I was doing.

It wasn't until I raised my hand and pointed two fingers toward the spotted bipedal animal that their eyes widened in disbelief, but it was already too late. A needle of blood rushed through the air, propelled by whatever mysterious force empowered the so-called [Skills], only to impact the middle of the Cheetah’s forehead.

It shattered on impact, but that wasn't unexpected. In fact, I was counting on it. This small amount of blood couldn't possibly be able to pierce through one of the Therian Tribe, known for their sturdy bodies—at least compared to humans.

Instead, my goal was for my blood to diffuse itself into a cloud at close range, only to be ingested orally, which it thankfully did once the creature roared with rage at being attacked in such a way.

While I could have simply aimed for his mouth in the first place, it would have been much too suspicious. I couldn’t let my intentions show for what would come next.

Enraged, the cat sought to rush me over, and with its superior speed—even among Therians—I would have no way to evade it. Thankfully, my blood had already served its purpose. Without any signs, the feline only took a few steps before dropping to the forest's ground, eyes rolling to the back of its head.

The Wolf and Rhino were both stunned at how quickly the Cheetah had dropped dead. They could only stare in disbelief—as did Stella.

And yet, more than the corpse laying at my feet or the two Therians' murderous intent now aimed at me, what truly caught my attention was a message that appeared in the depths of my mind, besides the omnipresent [Status]. It read—

[Ding! Death Confirmed! Experience Threshold Reached—Stand By For Level Up]

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