Mercy was a relief.
But when Davey presented it to the prime minister, it only sparked suspicion.
‘Why is he showing mercy now, of all times?!’
Because of that damn Yoshiki Group, everything had gone to hell for his country.
Grinding his teeth, the prime minister cursed the worthless heir of the Yoshiki family.
The man before him—Davey O’Rowane—was immune to traditional diplomacy.
In some ways, he was a tyrant. In others, he was simply unpredictable.
Even so, condemning his actions made no sense.
No matter how much of a mess their current situation was, the fact that he had been protecting Earth for free the entire time remained an undeniable fact. He had even done so out of goodwill, asking for nothing in return.
Therefore, questioning his actions now would only make the prime minister and the others who raised doubts look shameless. Of course, there were still some media orgs who went after the fact Davey was still practically a child, saying he should’ve handled the situation more maturely.
There was a saying that the usually quiet ones were the scariest when they finally snapped. If he chose to cut ties with Earth right there and then, there was no telling what the future would hold—especially with the unprecedented rift crisis currently unfolding.
The initial team sent to investigate the rifts had reported findings beyond their wildest imagination.
One-third of the Awakened individuals who entered had already died.
The situation was spiraling out of control.
"Please, explain in detail,” the prime minister said.
"It’s simple. The Awakened individuals have already entered the rifts, correct?"
"Yes. Normally, they should have returned by now."
"Yet they haven’t."
"Do you have an idea why?"
"Nope. But it’s obvious something’s wrong, isn’t it?" Davey said while shrugging.
"Then...?"
"While rescuing the Awakened individuals, I can take care of the rift for you as well. However, it will only happen on one condition,” he said with a smirk. "I’m taking that bastard into the rift with me."
‘Wait. What?!’
The prime minister made a confused face, unable to comprehend what had just been said.
"What do you mean?"
"Don’t worry, I'll be sure to protect him while we’re inside. If you can’t believe me, I’ll even live-stream the whole thing for you."
Davey wasn’t going to kill the guy.
That was all the prime minister needed to hear.
But of course, if Davey weren’t willing to help because of Kasato Yoshiki, the government would’ve been left with no choice but to take Yoshiki down by force, choosing from a myriad of reasons to justify their harsh actions.
Fortunately, Davey was saying he’d protect him and even livestream the whole thing for them.
The prime minister couldn’t understand what Davey was thinking, his own thoughts churning in a storm of confusion.
"And... what exactly do you stand to gain from this, Prince Davey...?”
Davey chuckled, his crimson eyes gleaming coldly. "I’m just giving him a chance. If he meets my standards, then a formal apology will be enough,” he said with a chilling smile.
But his tone made it clear that he had no expectation that Kasato would ever pass the test.
* * *
A massive rift loomed over the sky of Tokyo.
Before entering the rift, Davey first adjusted the settings for his livestream before manifesting a magic circle.
"Rinne, guard this right here. If it breaks, everything goes back to square one."
She tapped the magic-infused pillar placed beside her. "Rinne evaluates her defensive and protective capabilities very highly.”
"Good."
The rift above them had a shimmering path of light extending toward the ground, somewhat like a stream of water.
Davey immediately identified it as the entrance that the Awakened individuals had likely taken.
Because of the unprecedented circumstances, journalists, government officials, and curious onlookers alike had gathered in droves to witness the scene.
He simply ignored them, instead turning to the man beside him.
"Hey. Move it."
Kasato Yoshiki flinched, pulling his coat tighter over his slumped shoulders and pressing down on his hat. "W-Why should I?"
"Still don’t get it?" Davey gave him a cold glare, making him flinch. "I’m giving you a chance. If you take it, I’ll keep you alive. If you don’t...? No matter who tries to protect you, I’ll kill you myself.”
"Tch. All this, over that?"
"Just ‘that?’ Seems like you still haven’t grasped the severity of your actions. Kouna isn’t someone you can just treat like that."
She wasn’t some ordinary girl—he had once served the ancient dragon Arbit who maintained the balance of the world.
She had blessed the world with her sacrifice.
And years ago, when Davey had been trapped in the Red Void, it was Kouna who had desperately sought out Heins Territory to seek assistance.
Thanks to her, Illyna managed to come and pull him out of the void.
She had been more than just a passing acquaintance—he wasn’t going to let such attacks slide easily.
"Come.”
Kasato made a sour face, but he had no choice but to follow Davey.
Still, the hatred in his eyes was obvious. He looked as if he wanted to stab him in the back the first chance he got.
‘Not that I didn’t expect him to be this way.’
"Alright. Can everyone see clearly?" Davey asked after he turned on his livestream. "Normally, the footage from these rifts are distorted and barely watchable, right?"
As expected, the chat exploded with messages.
[Holy shit.]
[Something about interference waves, right?]
"Well, it's your lucky day, chat—my stream isn’t affected by any of that. You can enjoy my content in high quality."
The reason for streaming wasn’t to prove Kasato Yoshiki’s innocence or guilt—that was just an excuse.
Despite the many rifts that had appeared worldwide, with numerous countries having explored them, barely any substantial information about them had been made public.
Strictly speaking, the governments had been withholding information to hide the true strength of their Awakened individuals and control the flow of information.
But fear of the unknown was far more terrifying than seeing the truth.
Even if things got violent, Davey figured it wouldn’t matter. After all, monster hunting was recognized as some kind of sport on contemporary Earth.
"Alright, let’s go in. Hope the others are still alive."
[But why’s he helping all of a sudden?]
[Yeah, wasn’t he just gonna leave them?]
[Y’all are crazy... People are dying, and with great power comes great responsibility. Let’s be real, it’s his fault after all. At least, the start is.]
[LMAO why would he be responsible though? Is he their babysitter or something? The fucking audacity of you people disgusts me, smh.]
[My guy is doing all this for free, and people still complain! WTF. If I were him, I’d leave right now.]
Davey chuckled as he read the constant flow of messages in chat. Sёarch* The NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
He then glanced at Kasato.
"Let’s get going."
"What do you even expect me to do in there?" he snapped. "Are you just taking me in to die?"
"Hmph. Relax. I’ll keep you alive. I’m taking you along because I just want to test something."
Originally, Kasato’s own father—Vice Minister Yoshiki—should’ve stopped Davey, but he had focused on throwing his son to the wolves.
Typical politician.
As soon as they stepped into the rift, a chilling presence wrapped around them, familiar yet eerie.
Then, the landscape materialized.
"Hmm."
The scene before Davey was of a city teetering on the brink of apocalypse.
The inside of a rift was materialized based on human emotion—an illusion, yet made disturbingly real.
Still, rift interiors normally resembled forests.
Davey couldn’t help but think of how unusual it was for a rift to resemble a destroyed city.
"Urgh. What’s that smell?"
Kasato Yoshiki gagged, grimacing as he covered his nose.
"First things first: I originally wasn’t planning to help at all. You’re correct about that, chat,” he said toward the thousands of viewers watching. "But... I figured I needed to at least give him a chance. And the livestream? It’s just so no one accuses me of using this as an excuse to kill him. I want you all to see what happens."
"Hiiik!!"
Davey then casually summoned Transcendence’s Demise, Odin’s old staff, and tapped it lightly against the ground.
The ground twisted.
[By the name of the Death Lord, I command you. Rise.]
[9th Circle Devil Magic]
[Lord Skeleton Rage]
From the earth emerged beings that Sword God Ares had once described as “max-level bone bastards that’re built like thugs."
The skeletal warriors looked deceptively thin—frail, even. Their armor seemed brittle, and their swords appeared worn.
But in truth, each of them was powerful enough to fight ten Master-level Awakened individuals at once and still win.
Whether the Awakened individuals hadn’t had time to clean them all up, or had simply fled in a rush, a swarm of monsters appeared.
The massive demon-type monsters drooled as they lumbered toward Davey and Kasato Yoshiki.
Davey pointed his hand toward them and commanded, “Advance.”
In a flash, the swords the soldiers were holding glinted, and several demon heads went flying.
“Alright. Move your ass,” he said coldly while walking forward.
Kasato Yoshiki scurried along with a pale face.
* * *
Yoshiki Kasato was in complete shock, like he’d been struck by lightning.
He had no idea what was happening at the moment.
“Kraaa!!!”
“Aaaahhh!!!” he screamed back in fright.
The only thing he did know for sure was that the bastard had dragged him into an insanely dangerous rift.
The real problem was, he had no clue what Davey was really after, going through so much trouble for no apparent benefit.
He didn’t know why he had to go through such a nuisance.
‘What did I even do wrong?!’
Grinding his teeth in frustration, he watched the chat flood with mocking messages every time he screamed or stumbled in panic—whether it was due to a sudden quake or a monster ambush.
He knew the public wasn’t on his side. After all, a lot of people had suffered because of him.
‘But still! This is going way too far! That bastard is the villain here, not me! Should I kill him? Could I kill him?’
His eyes glinted with murderous intent.
He couldn’t forgive the man who had ruined his perfect, privileged life. Ever since entering the rift, his feelings of hatred had only intensified.
Davey O’Rowane was casually commanding his army of monstrous skeletons to charge forward while he casually stayed behind. Even to Kasato, a complete novice, he looked to be full of openings. He figured if he could manage to stab him from behind, Davey would just die on the spot.
Sure, the bastard might be powerful, but at the end of the day, he was still human. He knew there was no way Davey could survive a knife to the heart.
Still, Kasato couldn’t make a move just yet. The urge to kill him was growing stronger, but he had to calculate the odds. He needed to be sure.
The slightest notion of not killing him was no longer in his mind. The man in front of him had ruined his life. Turned his head into a mess. Made him the target of national scorn!
No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t think of a scenario where he could forgive him. His hatred burned even more intensely, but he couldn’t think of a clear-cut way to effectively ruin him.
Davey remained relaxed, steadily wiping out monsters as they appeared.
“Haa. Haa!!”
Breathing hard, eyes bloodshot, Kasato glared at Davey and surreptitiously reached into his jacket pocket.
Retrieving something, he smirked and thought to himself, ‘Yeah! With this, I can erase him without a trace.’
He’d heard the monsters of the rift were on another level—both in number and power. He started to believe that Davey was leaving some stragglers alive not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.
He figured even Davey had to be cautious.
Sure, the skeletons were strong—but no amount of strength could stand against an overwhelming number of monsters.
Kasato slowly stepped back with an eerie grin.
Holding what appeared to be a stick of incense he had retrieved earlier, he activated it and tossed it behind him quickly so no one would see. He then pulled out another item and gripped it tightly.
His mind screamed at him to use it. To kill Davey now. To make the move before it was too late.
His impulse surged as his reason blurred.
Then the adrenaline kicked in.
‘Yes. This is all his fault! I did nothing wrong. That bastard destroyed my life!’
The item in question was an unethical byproduct of secret experiments conducted by the Yoshiki Group—a special lure that attracted monsters.
The lure covered the entire area where its smell spread. But the one in his hand was a half-failure, its effective range being difficult to control.
The notion of such a tool had come from stolen research, retrieved from a now-destroyed organization on Earth—one wiped out by none other than Davey O’Rowane.
But some of their work had survived, and the Yoshiki Group had gotten their hands on it.
This was also one of the reasons monster taming research had been conducted, though they had to continue research in secret after a change in regimes.
They saw it as a golden egg for military power. It was a tool the empire-obsessed Yoshiki family would never give up.
The moment the incense was activated, its scent spread, drawing in every monster within several kilometers.
Kasato smirked with a murderous grin, watching Davey from behind.
Then, in a calm voice, he asked, “Hey, why aren’t you just wiping out all the monsters right away?”
“Why do you think? You don’t know how dangerous the monsters here are, do you? Even I have to take them one at a time, just to be safe. If they all come at once, we’re both dead.”
Hearing that, Yoshiki smirked internally, confirming that Davey didn’t suspect him at all.
The impulse to go ahead with his plan grew stronger.
‘Yeah. Smile all you want, asshole. It’ll be your last.’
No matter how strong he was, and no matter how powerful those skeletons were—if tens of thousands of monsters came at once, he knew it’d be over for Davey.
Of course, that might mean his own death as well.
But he’d already accounted for that.
He had a second incense hidden in his clothing—a suppressant that would dull the monsters’ aggression.
He was going to lure them in, get Davey killed, then scream, light the second incense stick, and run like a terrified victim.
No one would ever trace it back to him.
Guooohhh!!!
The effect could already be seen kicking in. Roars and tremors echoed from not far away.
But what Yoshiki didn’t know was that it was all already part of Davey’s plan.
“Turns out, some people truly are beyond fixing.”
He saw a black wave of monsters surging their way over from the distance.
He spotted monsters of Special A-Class, and others even more dangerous.
‘I can kill him!’
That was what Kasato thought.
But nothing went as planned.
“What I just said about fixing people... who do you think I was talking about?”
‘Was... Was he not just responding to someone in the chat?’
Suddenly uneasy, Kasato scowled.
As an ordinary human, it was difficult for him to fathom how strong Davey O’Rowane was. Sure, he got that he was ‘strong,’ but in his mind, he was still human.
An uneasiness began to gnaw at him.
“W-What are you talking about?!”
Even the chat window on the device was flooded with question marks. No one seemed to understand what was going on.
But after hearing what Davey said next, Kasato realized that he’d walked straight into a trap.
“I was talking about you. And for the record, this rift? It's filled with fine particles that amplify human emotion. So, right now, you probably want to kill me more than anything else in the world.”
‘What?!’
Eyes wide, Yoshiki shouted, “What the hell are you talking about?!”
“All massive rifts are like this. They shake up human emotions, simultaneously amplifying them.
So if one thought brave thoughts, one became braver. If one had happy thoughts, they would feel euphoric. And if one started feeling murderous, it would also be amplified.
Kasato, of course, had been entirely unaware.
“If you came in here with any thought of killing me, you already failed the test, you bastard.”