A black figure flew across the night sky. Hidden by the darkness and unnoticed by anyone, it came to a stop not far from the entrance to an underground facility.
A group of women wearing the same black bodysuits as Zeta stood near the entrance. At their head was a pink-haired woman with a golden hair ornament.
When she saw Zeta approach after landing, the pink-haired woman took the lead in dropping to one knee. Bowing her head with one hand over her chest, she spoke respectfully.
"Zeta-sama."
Zeta showed no surprise at the sight of them kneeling. She simply waved a hand for them to rise, then turned her gaze toward the underground facility.
"Victoria, are you sure he's inside?"
"Yes, Zeta-sama. We kept watch the entire time and saw him enter with our own eyes. We also recovered the full layout of the building from the original design plans retained by Mitsugoshi Company. The surveillance system has been hacked, the escape route has been sealed, and people have already been stationed at the other entrances."
"Heh, good. Ready to fight?"
Golden ring blades appeared in Zeta's hands as she lowered herself into a fighting stance.
Victoria said nothing, but the sword in her hand was answer enough.
"Go easy on them. Do not cause too many casualties. That man is still of some use, and we need to leave him one or two subordinates. Of course, that is only if we are absolutely certain. If there is any danger, kill him immediately."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zeta charged toward the building, taking the lead. The others followed close behind.
The four Beastmen guarding the entrance had only just caught sight of Zeta when the golden rings flew out like boomerangs and slit their throats before they could say a word. Their heads hit the ground a moment later.
The lock came open instantly. Zeta led the group inside, and the killing began.
As she sped forward, watching Beastmen fall one after another, especially the feline ones of the same kind as herself, a trace of memory and contemplation flashed through Zeta's icy violet, gem-like eyes.
...
Zeta was different from most of those in Shadow Garden.
She had been born as the eldest daughter of her clan chief, and her father was not some rotten man obsessed only with strength, survival of the fittest, self-interest, and sons above daughters. In that regard, Zeta had undoubtedly been fortunate.
Zeta's father was a true father.
Therianthropes were a race that believed in survival of the fittest. Among them, strength was everything, except for intellectual races like the fox tribe.
Compared to male Therianthropes, female Therianthropes were clearly at a disadvantage in terms of raw strength, and were naturally discriminated against. Along with that discrimination came prejudice.
Unlike human nobles, Therianthropes were too straightforward to hide such prejudice. In their eyes, female Therianthropes were either machines for bearing children or symbols of strength.
Among Therianthropes, the stronger the male, the more wives he would have. Under that logic, it was perfectly normal for the strongest male in a clan to have dozens of wives. In some clans, the chief might even have over a hundred wives and more than a thousand descendants.
In that kind of environment, the chief of the Golden Leopard Clan, who had only taken a single wife, stood out tremendously. And matching that unusual choice was an intellect sharp enough to rival the Spirit Fox Clan.
Zeta was outstanding, and her father saw that clearly. With the thought that it would be better to keep her at home than marry her off, he devoted himself to raising and cultivating her.
That was another thing that made Zeta different from other Therianthropes. Even when the eldest daughters of most Therianthrope chiefs showed exceptional talent, their fathers would still, because of ingrained prejudice, unconsciously refuse to nurture them. To put it in human terms, many Therianthropes saw their daughters as a losing investment.
And so, under the careful care of her family, Zeta grew up exceptional in every way. If things had continued like that, she might well have become chief of her own clan one day.
But there was no such if.
At the age of twelve, a single black mole changed Zeta's fate.
At first, she paid it no mind, thinking it was just a normal part of growing up. It was only when the black mark began to spread and her magic power started to go out of control that Zeta realized something was very wrong.
When her parents confirmed that the black mark was a sign of Demon Possession, Zeta cried and begged her father to burn her to death.
According to clan law, anyone with Demon Possession was to be taken out into the wild and executed personally by the clan chief. She did not want her father's hands stained with the blood of his own child.
Zeta's father refused.
He refused not only Zeta's plea, but also the very idea of dealing with her according to clan law.
Instead, he chose to hide the truth. He kept Zeta concealed at home while he went out alone in search of a cure for Demon Possession.
That, too, was something that made Zeta different from most people in Shadow Garden. For most members of Shadow Garden, when their families discovered they had Demon Possession, what they received was not help, but violence.
No matter how loving a family might have seemed before, no matter how harmonious they had acted, the moment they learned their daughter had Demon Possession, they chose to attack her. They wanted to kill their own daughter to keep the family's honor from being stained. And if she escaped, they would put out a bounty for her. Humans, Elves, and Therianthropes were all the same.
After her father left, Zeta stayed inside her home, not daring to go out, waiting for him to return with good news.
A month later, she was awakened from her sleep. Just as she thought her father had come back with a way to cure Demon Possession, what she saw in the living room was her father, bound.
Behind him stood a priest, along with the second-in-command of her clan.
A coup… a coup caused by me.
That thought was immediately shattered when her father dropped to his knees. He revealed the truth about Demon Possession, forcing the priest into a decision to silence the entire Golden Leopard Clan.
Taking advantage of the moment, her father stayed behind to hold off the enemy, allowing Zeta, her mother, and her younger brother to escape.
But it did not take long for them to be captured. From the very beginning, this had been nothing more than a cage.
After being captured, Zeta was brought before the priest. She watched with her own eyes as her mother and younger brother were killed, and she herself was taken away to be used as the priest's experimental subject.
On the way there, sitting inside the carriage, Zeta reached out to the Devil in the void. Even knowing it might only be a hallucination, she still begged for power. She longed for the strength to take revenge, and then…
Boom.
Within a blue-violet explosion, Zeta encountered her god.
...
Her thoughts returned to the present.
Zeta raised her hand and slit a Beastman's throat with the golden ring in her grasp.
Live in the present. Move toward the future. As expected of Master.
Recalling Cid's words, Zeta let out a quiet laugh in her heart. Not at him, but at herself.
Another Beastman fell beneath her blade. Then the golden ring came to rest against the throat of an elderly Beastman lying on the ground. A thin line of blood appeared where the sharp edge touched his skin.
So wait for me… just wait…
"Speak."
Once I kill him with my own hands, I will fulfill my mission. Otherwise… I will never accept it.
"Where… is… Petos?"
At the mention of the man who slaughtered her entire family, Zeta's voice carried a killing intent that ran deep into her bones.
The Tenth Seat of the Cult of Diablos, Petos.