After returning with his two aides to the mansion in the upscale residential district that served as his base in Babel, Knut sank onto a beast-leather sofa and clasped his hands together. His expression was dead serious, stripped of every trace of his usual flippancy.
"What is the matter? You do not seem yourself."
Charybdis materialized out of thin air to question his partner.
"Things have gotten a bit troublesome."
"Troublesome?"
"My nephew, Gil... he's grown stronger than me in my current state."
"Ha! Impossible! Even with your power severely restricted, you are still on par with a lesser god, are you not?"
"That's why I'm telling you Gil has stepped into our territory. And what's more, so have the two fledgling knights at his side."
"Such nonsense—"
Charybdis scoffed, but seeing Knut without the faintest hint of a smile, his tone grew grave.
"Are you... truly serious?"
"My two aides were neutralized by his knights in an instant. Without even being allowed to put up a fight."
"..."
"..."
Charybdis glanced at the short-haired man and the maid-clad woman, both staring at the floor in frustration while biting their lips. He fell into brief contemplation.
"Knut, I had assumed you were an anomaly—a mutant monster born among the Human Race—but perhaps it is atavism after all."
"Atavism?"
"A phenomenon where the blood of gods that mingled with your ancestral bloodlines in the distant past suddenly reemerges generations later. That would explain why paranormal power manifested in both you and your nephew at the same time. Those two aide knights of his likely became your nephew's kin or something of the sort."
"Atavism, huh... I see. So it's in my blood. In that case, this has nothing to do with Kai Heinemann. I can assume as much, right?"
"Kai Heinemann? Ah, that child of man you were so concerned about. I looked into him myself just in case, but I sensed no significant power from him. He is merely an ordinary child."
"Just a child, huh... Fine. Then there's no need to be excessively wary of him..."
Having arrived at a reasonably plausible conclusion, the searing tension that had gripped Knut melted away, and his usual nonchalant demeanor returned.
"You seemed unusually cautious of him, so I have already made arrangements on my end to have him eliminated. You have no objections, yes?"
"Yeah. Kai Heinemann is fine as he is."
"Shall I dispose of that nephew of yours, Gilbert, as well? It would be quite simple to deal with him right now."
At Charybdis's suggestion, Knut snapped his head toward him at an unnatural angle.
A dense crimson aura erupted from Knut like a raging tempest, making the entire building groan under the pressure. His two aides swallowed hard.
"Charybdis... if you lay a finger on him, I'll kill you where you stand."
In response to Knut's low, venomous growl, Charybdis merely shrugged.
"I expected as much. Then we leave him be for now, yes?"
In an instant, Knut slipped back into his everyday persona.
"Of course. Gil is my precious, beloved nephew. He'll come back to my side eventually. I just have to be patient until then. Still, this little episode made the lack of fighting strength in our camp painfully clear. Myself included, naturally."
Nodding firmly, Knut rose from the sofa.
"With your original power, he would hardly pose a threat... Your caution borders on pathology when taken to such extremes."
"Is that so? Regardless, I intend to gorge on negative emotions and ascend to even greater heights."
"Negative emotions, you say. What exactly do you plan to do?"
"Find a spring where negative emotions gush forth. Come on, Charybdis, you know what I mean, don't you?"
"A battlefield... So you mean to manufacture another one?"
Though impossible to tell beneath his mask, Charybdis was almost certainly smiling. When he asked the question in a light, buoyant tone as if planning a picnic, Knut threw his arms wide and bellowed:
"I'll build the ultimate hell in this world! To kill and be killed, to hate and be hated—that is the very wellspring of my power, the sole purpose of my existence!"
"What would you have me do?"
"Here's the plan—"
Knut began to speak, and the world of Lemuria plunged deeper into chaos.