chapter 180

{Kitsu Pov}

As I teleported away from Amari, I appeared in Zagan's room, landing on the ground and groaning in pain. Looking sideways, I gestured for the maids to leave us alone.

"Yes, ma'am," the last maid acknowledged as she closed the door behind her.

"You really are pathetic, Teach," I remarked, pulling a towel from my inventory and handing it to him.

"Don't call me that, Shiro," Zagan muttered, struggling to stand on shaky legs.

"You know I won't stop calling you that," I replied, giving him a deadpan look.

"Ugh, what happened to me?" Zagan groaned, collapsed to the floor again.

"That's something I should be asking you," I responded, narrowing my eyes at him as he struggled to stand once more.

"What?"

"Hmm, well, you got killed," I explained simply, watching to see how he would react.

"And Katie?" He asked, worry evident in his voice.

"No, she abandoned you, so she passed."

Zagan sat on the ground, staring at the floor.

"You deserved it, to be honest. You were just sitting there, depressed," I pointed out, using him as an example.

"I see, so that's what happened," he muttered, nodding slowly.

"So, what exactly happened?" I pressed again.

"How was the first time you killed someone?" He asked after a small pause.

"Dumb question, Teach," I rebuked, irritated by his stupidity.

'I'm the last person you should ask something like that, Teach,' I thought, trying to calm myself down.

"Right, you are a mass murderer after all."

"…sigh."

'He needs a good lesson today,' I thought, glaring at the sack of depression before me.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that!" he quickly added, but the damage was already done.

"Well, you aren't wrong, but I had my reasons," I said, shrugging.

"…"

"Anyway, back to the topic: did you get depressed because you killed someone?" I asked again, wanting a proper answer from the idiot.

"I killed a kid, Shiro. A kid!"

"You didn't, though. There's a barrier set up to reverse time after the fight," I explained, reminding him of something he should already know.

"I know that, but still, I killed him."

"Hmm, so was this your first 'kill'?" I asked, trying to get to the root of the issue.

"Of course it was. I don't go out looking for trouble with other humans!" He snapped, glaring up at me.

"I don't either, but it just happens," I replied playfully, shrugging.

"You aren't making it better, Shiro." He muttered, looking away.

"You know me, Teach. I'm not one for sentimentality." I said, grinning at him and making him even more annoyed.

"Ugh, then let me talk to Amari," he said, grunting in frustration.

"Denied," I responded, shutting him down.

"What? Why?"

"Because she's being punished at the moment. She also has a tournament fight tomorrow, and you'll only make her worry." I explained calmly, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Tsk, fine. Then what are you going to do to me?" Zagan asked, finally managing to get himself up onto a chair.

"Well, first, we need to get you over this issue with killing people." I explained bluntly.

"Hey, don't say it like that!" He yelled, his face draining of color.

"We won't be able to move to the next step if you can't get past this."

'Hmm, I can probably call her, right?' I thought, taking out my scroll and looking for her details before making the call.

"Yo, I have a request," I said to a bubbly girl on the other end.

[1 hour later]

"Where are we going?" Zagan asked, clinging to my clothes in fox form.

"You've asked me that like 30 times, and I've given you the same answer each time. I don't know. I only got coordinates, and we're going to that place."

"But why? What are we going to do?" He asked again, making me growl in annoyance.

"Use your brain, Teach. You need to get over your killing issue, so what's the best way to do that?" I replied, glaring down at him.

"No!"

"When you see what's going on, you won't hesitate to kill them." I said as I jumped up a hill and shifted back into my human form.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, standing up and dusting himself off.

'Well, I asked her for a group known for raping and killing.' I thought, but I didn't want Zagan to know what they do just yet.

"Oh, we're here," I announced as we emerged from the bushes into a clearing.

"Hey, you, what are you doing here?" A guy asked, approaching Zagan and me with two of his buddies.

"Oh, are you guys part of the dark guild group?" I asked, looking at them. Well, their appearance screamed, 'We're dumb, broke, and desperate,' so it could be that they're part of it, but just some lack of it.

"Huh? Who's asking?"

"Someone who doesn't want innocents around here before things get messy." I said, shrugging. Ignoring them, I pulled Zagan closer, holding his collar.

"Who's this?"

"Product," I stated simply, making them look between the two of us.

"Hehehe, he's a noble, isn't he?" The guy in front grinned.

"Boss, wait, she might be trying to fool us," one of the lackeys said skeptically.

"Heh, as if. She's just some demihuman; they don't have any brains." the guy whispered into his lackey's ear.

"Man, that's annoying," I muttered under my breath.

"What is? That I'm telling the truth?" The guy said, making me shake my head.

"Shiro?"

"Shut up," I muttered, shaking him.

"Ugh."

"Hey, don't damage the merchandise." the leader said as he walked closer, wanting to take Zagan from me.

"No, I caught him. I'm bringing him in," I responded, glaring at them.

"Fine, follow us." the leader ordered, turning around and walking into the base.

"Teach, don't close your eyes, alright?" I whispered a warning, following them into the base entrance that was hidden to the side.

"That's a good hiding spot. Boss did tell me you guys had a good one, but that's an understatement, in my opinion." I complimented them.

"Haha, thank you. We actually found this place first."

"Oh, so you guys have been promoted as well?" I asked, wanting to see how their rankings work.

"You mean rewarded? Yes, we were rewarded," The guy corrected, confusing me.

"Of course," I said, nodding.

"Now, let's show you where to put this merchandise." the leader gestured towards one of the doors.

"Yes, please. It's getting annoying to carry this meatsack." I said, sounding irritated.

"Hey!"

"I said shut up."

"For a cult member, you sure talk a lot." a guy said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Ah, so that's where you were," I said, creating a javelin before spearing the guy through the head.

"What!!" Everyone else exclaimed as they saw the guy appear and die in five seconds.

"Yeah, that's the highest-level guy here, so you three can die as well," I said, using an air-pressured arc to slice off their heads.

"Shiro, what the hell?" Zagan yelled, looking at the lifeless bodies.

"Shut it. Let me show you what happens when you show weakness or fail to kill people like this when you have the chance." I said, letting go of Zagan and allowing him to walk on his own.

"Fine."

"Let's go this way first." I opened a door where I heard yells, not the pleasure-to-torture kind.

"What the hell is that noise?" Zagan asked, worried.

"If you try to turn around and run away, I'll make sure you never meet Amari again," I warned sternly, grabbing him by the arm.

"Gulp, I'll try."

"Don't worry. We're actually starting on the easier side," I assured him. Humans as slaves might be worse than someone getting tortured, in their eyes.

'I'll save the rape side for last.' I thought, only to be interrupted by the first jail cell, where two guards were doing something I really didn't expect.

"I thought you said we were starting on the easier side," Zagan muttered before throwing up.

'How the hell was I supposed to know these guys were spit-roasting a prisoner for some reason?' I thought in disgust as I lit the jail cell on fire, killing all three occupants.

Sending a clone ahead, I saw that only this jail cell had such disgusting activities going on.

"Okay, we got the worst over with for this side of the base." I explained, handing Zagan a towel.

"Are you sure?" Zagan asked, still shaken.

"Yeah, well, we need to do this in steps at least, not just jump straight to the most messed-up stuff." I explained, shrugging.

For the next 30 minutes, I led Zagan through the base of a cult well-known in the underground but not in the light. They were quite adept at keeping themselves hidden.

This cult was notorious for how they operated and what they did. Drugs, slavery, murder, and revenge requests. They also have multiple branches around the world, and as you can see, all they use are slaves.

Walking through the base with Zagan should open his eyes to the cruelty of this world.