Viscount Pattashi Toni, a noble of the Holy Amelia Kingdom and the homeroom teacher of Class 1-D at Ouboro Academy, was sipping fruit wine in the parlor of his estate, awaiting a report of victory.
What Pattashi had commissioned Black Stake to do was assassinate that insolent, cheeky little brat.
A Gift was a benevolent blessing bestowed upon mankind by the Holy God of War Ares. That boy's Gift was "Most Incompetent in the World." In other words, he was the being least loved by God Ares in all creation. A sinner like that had no right to exist in this world to begin with. And yet, that wicked woman Rosemary, who actively pushed to curb the nobility's influence, had gone out of her way to appoint that very brat as her Royal Guard.
Nobles were the crystallization of miracles left behind in this world by the Holy God of War—the most sacred pillar of world order.
Yet that vixen had dared to openly reject the aristocracy, going so far as to install such an incompetent wretch into the Royal Guard appointed by the royal family, the sublime bloodline entitled to rule over all nobility. Such an outrage could never be tolerated in the name of God.
That utterly worthless degenerate deserved to be expunged from the face of the earth.
Better still, the operation would simultaneously dispose of Lumine Helner, who bore that trash Gift known as "Fallen Life." It truly was a plan that killed two birds with one stone.
"Hey, merchant, this wine is quite good."
The pudgy merchant narrowed his already slitted eyes even further.
"I am exceedingly honored that it pleases you, my lord. This, too, is all thanks to Lord Pattashi, who always provides us with such splendid slaves."
He bowed with utmost reverence.
"Hmph! Slaves can be procured by the dozen. After all, they're nothing but low-ability trash students forsaken by God."
Pattashi would approach promising female students at Ouboro Academy, lure them with false promises of transferring them to other academies, and slip a specialized narcotic procured from this slave merchant into their drinks to get them hooked. Once the girls were thoroughly addicted and incapable of resistance, he would have them voluntarily withdraw from school, saddle them with exorbitant debts under the pretense of drug costs, and sell them off as debt slaves.
His next target would be that Elf named Seth, or perhaps that stunning transfer student from this year, Ariel. A beauty like her was bound to fetch a handsome sum.
The door opened, and after a brief bow, the butler entered the room.
"The leader of Black Stake requests an audience with you, Master."
It seemed matters had proceeded smoothly.
"Show him in!"
Guided by the butler, a burly, short-haired man stepped into the parlor. There was no mistaking him—this was the boss of Black Stake.
"What became of Kai Heinemann and Lumine Helner?"
"Everything concluded as planned."
The boss of Black Stake replied without the slightest shift in expression.
"You captured Lumine Helner as well, didn't you? Then hand her over to me before passing her along to the vanguard. I intend to enjoy myself to my heart's content."
Just as Pattashi gave the order, his voice laced with unbridled lust, the mercenary leader thrust his left hand forward and arched backward unnaturally, like a boneless mollusk. And then—
"I deliver the decree of the Great One!"
The voice tearing from the mercenary leader's throat was a harsh, piercing screech that could not possibly belong to a human.
"It is Kai Heinemann. To Viscount Pattashi Toni of the Holy Amelia Kingdom and your entire retinue: You have genuinely incurred my wrath. Therefore, you shall be executed. Not a single piece of trash involved in this affair shall escape. You had best bid farewell to what few comfortable days you have left."
With that screech, he snapped his gaze forward and unhinged his jaw. Countless insects poured from his maw, one after another, morphing with sickening, bone-snapping crunches into monstrous entities bearing giant faces.
The creatures encircled Pattashi, beginning an eerie, flawlessly synchronized dance as they spun around him.
"Eeeek!"
Unable to endure the sheer terror any longer, the butler broke into a run toward the exit, only for a massive hand to snatch him mid-stride. A monster voraciously crunched into him, devouring him headfirst.
"Gyaaaahhhhh!"
The slave merchant collapsed to the floor, wetting himself in absolute horror. Even Pattashi stood frozen, struggling to comprehend the surreal nightmare unfolding before his eyes.
Yet the merchant's bloodcurdling scream finally forced reality through his stupor.
"M-Monsters...!"
Spurred by a terror that made the blood in his veins run backwards, Pattashi raised his left palm and began chanting the incantation for his most destructive spell.
It was a wide-area spell that would incinerate every living creature in the mansion's vicinity, but compared to the life of Pattashi, a man chosen by God, collateral lives were utterly worthless. Frankly, he couldn't care less.
"Huge Flame Wave!"
Flames condensed at Pattashi's fingertips, erupting into a towering surge of fire that swept toward the thing that had once been the boss of Black Stake.
"What...?"
The colossal wave of fire was effortlessly swallowed down the creature's gaping maw.
"Burp!"
The thing that used to be the mercenary belched.
"My magic... did nothing...?"
That spell packed enough firepower to reduce an entire platoon to ash. And it had simply eaten it?
How could something so absurd be possible?!
"Gigagaga!"
As the creature shrieked, its face swelled hideously, the corners of its mouth tearing open all the way to its ears while its eyes morphed into faceted compound lenses.
Confronted with an abomination stripped of all humanity, a primal, bone-deep terror overwhelmed Pattashi.
"Damn it all!"
The moment he stumbled backward to flee—
"Gugh?!"
His foot caught, sending him sprawling to the floor. An instant later, an agonizing, searing pain shot up his right leg. When he turned his head—
"Hieeeeeyaaaaahhhhh!"
A frantic scream tore from his throat. And with good reason—a monster with a massive, twisted face was sinking its teeth into his right leg right at the hip.
Through a haze of warped vision and suffocating agony, the sea of insects crawled steadily closer.
"Stay back! Don't come any closer! Get awaaay from meeee!"
Just as he shrieked in desperation until his vocal cords frayed, two hands clamped onto his shoulders. The giant face loomed over him, parting its cavernous jaw.
That was Pattashi's very last memory as a human being.