―― A point 5 km south of Ket Nya.
Sado, the leader of Sadotela, suddenly collapsed to her knees, clawing desperately at her throat in agony.
"Boss? Are you all right?"
Her female aide worriedly rubbed her back and peered into her face—
"Huh?"
She let out a bewildered cry. And with good reason. Sado's face was writhing and squirming in a gelatinous mess.
"Eek?!"
As the aide shrieked and leaped back, the thing that had been Sado lunged after her, grabbing her by the collar. Then, its face stretched out flat.
"Eeeeeeek!!"
The head of what was once Sado engulfed the screaming aide's upper body at blinding speed.
CHOMP.
A wet crunch rang out as bone splintered and flesh tore away. Stripped of its entire upper torso, the aide's lower body fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Moments later, Sado's entire frame bubbled as if boiling alive, creaking and snapping violently.
In the blink of an eye, she transformed into the gentle-looking young man, Sugar, complete with asymmetrical blue hair that hung long on the left and short on the right.
"That was close. Maybe I underestimated him a little. To think the natives of this continent had someone that strong."
Sugar flexed every joint in his body, testing the mobility of his new vessel.
"Well, I won't lose a second time."
Sugar licked his lips. Being bested by the weak was a humiliation, but against the strong, that was another matter entirely. For Sugar, to whom the concept of death practically did not apply, a life-and-death struggle against the mighty was an essential pastime to stave off boredom. The sensation of his life being worn down, even temporarily—that was truly exhilarating. Above all, the look of despair on the faces of the powerful who had never known defeat drove him wild with pleasure.
"Yes, yes, yes! To drag someone like that down into the depths of despair and then devour them... oh, how delicious will that be?!"
He wrapped his arms around himself, thoroughly intoxicated by the thought. Surely, it would be unimaginably delectable. But before that—
"I should have a meal, shouldn't I?"
When Sugar turned his gaze toward a cat-faced boy trembling in the corner—
"Heeeeeek!"
The boy let out a shrill scream.
Sugar possessed the special ability to replenish his magical and physical power by consuming other living beings. Having suffered such a crushing defeat earlier and being forced to hijack this foolish woman's body, he was thoroughly exhausted. Against a normal opponent, this form would suffice, but against him, Sugar needed to fight in his true state. Otherwise, victory would be out of reach. He had to be at full strength to face that blond man.
"It's okay. It won't hurt. It'll be over in an instant."
He took a step toward the cat-faced boy, but—
"I'm afraid you won't be eating anymore."
"Huh?"
Along with that dry voice, a hand seized the back of Sugar's collar from behind and shoved him backward. When he looked up, a black-haired brat who didn't look particularly strong was standing before him, wearing an eerie smile.
"Whooo are you?"
With an arrogant attitude like that, he was either exceptionally strong or just a complete fool.
"Me? I am Kai Heinemann."
"You certainly introduced yourself quite directly, I must say."
"—?!"
Sugar instantly whipped around at the sudden, suffocating malice that flared behind him, only to find a monocled gentleman standing there.
Wh-What is this guy?! In all his life, Sugar had never encountered anyone with such an intense and sinister aura.
Besides, how could someone so conspicuous get this close to Sugar without being noticed? He hadn't felt the slightest trace of a presence.
No, it wasn't just this black-haired gentleman. The black-haired brat was the same. No matter how much his appetite had distracted him, he had allowed them to approach this easily. The only one who had ever done that, before or since, was their commander.
They're dangerous! These guys are utterly lethal! Sugar's instincts screamed at him so hard it was painful.
He sprang backward to put distance between himself and the two of them, only to be grabbed by the scruff of his neck and hoisted into the air once again.
"What?"
It happened so fast his brain couldn't keep up.
"In your current state, you aren't even worth talking to. Hurry up and show your true colors."
He was flung into the air again and tumbled pathetically across the dirt.
"Even if a slug becomes the King of Slugs, in the end, it is still merely a slug. From Master's perspective, whether it reveals its true colors or not, it remains an insignificant slug."
Looking down at Sugar rolling on the ground as if gazing upon an insect, the black-haired gentleman offered his utterly bizarre commentary.
"Well, you might think you said something clever, but that makes no sense at all."
"Is that so? I, for one, was convinced it was the most fitting description for this slug."
"Well, whatever. Let's move this along instead."
The black-haired brat shrugged, the corners of his mouth curling upward as he looked down at Sugar.
"Eek?!"
A chilling, unfathomable dread surged through Sugar at an expression so far removed from a native—no, from a human entirely—and a scream tore past his lips. At the same time, Sugar's body sprang away from that human-shaped monster like a coiled spring, instantly dropping into a combat stance.
"I happen to be in an exceptionally good mood today. So, I'll give you a chance."
"A... a chance?"
A chill ran down his spine. An intense dread unlike anything he had ever experienced before...
"Yeah. A game of tag."
"A game... of tag?"
The black-haired brat placed an hourglass on the ground.
"That's right. It's a game from an otherworldly realm different from here. I'll give you until the sand in this hourglass runs out to run away from me. If you manage to escape, you win. I'll let you go. But if I catch you—let's see. You'll become Belze's toy until you die."
"That does not even qualify as a game, I must say. Furthermore, turning it into Belze's toy after giving it hope? Simply destroying it swiftly would be far more merciful."
To the monocled gentleman's weary remark,
"You think so? I thought it was a pretty good idea."
Kai slumped his shoulders slightly and rubbed his chin with his right hand.
"Indeed. I highly doubt a slug could ever escape from Master to begin with."
"Stop screwing with meeee!"
At their utterly contemptuous attitude, the rage born of humiliation overpowered the survival instinct screaming within him.
This chill had to be nothing more than Sugar's imagination. Most of these barbaric natives possessed a mysterious power called a Gift. Among those special abilities, there were bound to be ones that stoked fear or paranoia in others. If so, it was entirely possible that a Gift had triggered his sense of dread.
That had to be it. There was no way he, Sugar, would feel fear toward some native who didn't even look strong.
Still, considering that blond native, and the fact that he truly hadn't perceived this black-haired brat's movements earlier, carelessness was out of the question. In that case, he just had to face them in his true form!
Sugar unleashed the beast within. His skin bubbled and boiled, his bones creaked, and his muscles swelled with terrifying power. Sharp fangs sprouted, instantly shifting him into the strongest creature from his homeland. His physical toughness was roughly ten times what it was before. In this form, defeat was impossible!
"You're just a filthy native! Don't you get cocky with meeee!"
He leapt forward, aiming to tear out the black-haired brat's slender throat with his fangs, but a delicate right hand caught him by the neck and hoisted him off the ground.
"Huh-wha?"
He let out a dazed squeak. In his true form, he had never once in his life been restrained like this.
"I don't intend on getting cocky. I'm just in a thoroughly good mood right now since the first trial was cleared without a hitch. That's why I proposed a game to give you a bit of an advantage. After all, in a serious fight, a slug like you wouldn't stand a chance."
"Guh-gaghhh!!"
His throat was crushed with vise-like strength. He thrashed desperately to break free, but the grip didn't budge an inch.
(Eek?!)
A dark aura radiating from the black-haired brat's right hand clung to Sugar's entire body, corroding and disintegrating the hijacked flesh of the former Sado as if dissolving it from the inside out.
"Oops, my bad. I almost killed you by accident."
Sugar was dropped, hitting the ground with a heavy thud right on his backside.
"Hmm. If this guy dies, he might possess someone else and get away, so making him Belze's toy really is the best option after all, isn't it?"
(No, no, no! This guy is out of his mind!)
He even knew about the possession?! This guy was definitely not a native. He was some unknown entity that merely took the same shape as them.
(You've got to be kidding me!)
Desperation took over. Glancing frantically around to find a way out of this predicament, his eyes fell upon the boy.
Leaping backward, he seized the cat-faced boy and pressed razor-sharp claws against his slender neck.
"Don't move! If you move, I'll kill him!"
If he could buy time right now and take his own life, he could use his possession. Once he did that, he could escape these monsters. Either way, Sugar couldn't beat them. If anyone could, it was only their commander.
He thought they would panic, but the black-haired monster merely looked at him as if staring at a pitiful insect.
"Do as you like."
He stated flatly.
"I'm serious! If you move, he dies!"
"Boil him, bake him, do whatever you please. Provided you can, that is. Right, Girimehkala?"
"By your will!"
The cat-faced boy's head unnaturally rotated a full 180 degrees, looking up at him. The corners of a massive mouth filled with sharp fangs stretched all the way back to its ears, and a blood-red cornea with a pitch-black pupil glared piercingly right through Sugar.
"Hiiieee?!"
Screaming instinctively, Sugar tried to stumble back, but found himself bound tightly from head to toe by a shroud of black mist.
"So? Are you going to accept my game, or not? This is merely a passing whim because I happen to be in a good mood. Either way is fine by me, you know."
If he didn't play that game, Sugar's life and dignity would surely be toyed with by these creatures. Judging from the black-haired monster's words, it would undoubtedly be a living hell where even death was forbidden.
"No..."
"Hm?"
"Noooooo!"
He struggled frantically, but the mist wouldn't budge an inch.
"It seems you intend to participate in the game. Well then, let us begin."
The black-haired monster snapped his fingers, and the black mist dispersed.
Sugar scrambled to his feet, turned his back on the monsters, and bolted, desperate to put as much distance between himself and those nightmares as his legs could carry him.