Padde Maos and the others were forcibly escorted by Akegarasu to a wasteland-like expanse—a desolate terrain of reddish-brown earth and craggy, rugged rock faces.
"Wh-What are you gonna do to us?"
Padde asked with a trembling voice, directing his words at Oboro, the boss of Akegarasu.
Up until this moment, Padde had assumed Kai Heinemann was merely the head of a massive underworld syndicate called Akegarasu. However, that sugar-sweet assumption was—
"President, everyone, I've brought 'em."
—promptly shattered by the beings to whom Oboro gave a slight bow.
"P-President? Eek?!"
A faint shriek escaped Padde's lips upon laying eyes on the entities floating in midair around them. And no wonder. The floating figures radiated an aura so dense it distorted the surrounding air, and by no stretch of the imagination could they ever be mistaken for members of the Human Race.
Led by a red-haired man sprouting vermilion wings from his back, a host of clearly inhuman aberrations—a man with the head of an owl, a beauty with black wings, a long-nosed man, and others—looked down on Padde and his crew as if appraising merchandise.
"Are those the brats who dared to act disrespectfully toward my Supreme Great One?"
Crossing his arms, the red-haired man glared fiercely at Padde and the others as he questioned Oboro.
"Aye. Our King commanded us to thoroughly beat their rotten attitudes back into shape."
A momentary silence followed Oboro's reply. Immediately after, an explosion of emotion swept through the monsters, and wild cheers erupted.
"Oh! At last, our Sky Lovers Club has received orders directly from our magnificent Great One! With a blockhead at our helm, we've always been beaten to the punch by Girimehkala and the other factions! It was utterly humiliating!"
The owl-headed monster wept, dabbing at his tears with his right sleeve.
"Ah-ah, Old Man Kamui, your true feelings are totally leaking out, y'know?"
"Well, I can't say I blame him."
"Agreed. Up until now, our president's made us look completely pathetic."
As the floating monsters spat out complaint after complaint while glancing at the handsome red-haired man in their center—
"Y-You bastards..."
With a face twisted in rage, the red-haired man called president bellowed in sheer irritation.
"These punks dragged our reputation through the mud. When it comes to dishing out their discipline, we, Akegarasu, demand first crack at 'em!"
The moment Oboro voiced his demand in a forceful tone, intense fury flared across the airborne monsters' faces.
"Don't screw with us!"
"Who gave you permission to call the shots?!"
"Like hell we'd ever allow that!"
Amidst roars of anger that made the very atmosphere tremble, the owl-headed monster raised his right arm. A black, mist-like substance slowly spread outward, completely encircling Oboro.
"H-Hey, Old Man Kamui...?"
The other monsters suspended in the sky froze without twitching a muscle, cold sweat pouring down their faces in massive drops. Etched into their features was pure terror. Indeed, that went for everyone except the unfazed red-haired youth and Oboro.
"This is a divine decree from the Supreme Great One. You understand that, do you not?"
Stepping in front of Oboro, Kamui questioned him in a quiet voice, peering down with golden eyes.
"Of course. This was our screw-up. No matter what anyone says, we're taking the first round."
Staring right back with a gaze as sharp as a hawk's, Oboro gave his answer. The owl-headed monster Kamui curled the corners of his beak into a grin.
"Very well. We shall entrust the vanguard to you lot in Akegarasu. Lord Phoenix, is that acceptable?"
"I don't mind! Regardless, by the Great One's divine decree, the one running this ceremony is me, Phoenix!"
The red-haired youth made his declaration with utter smugness.
"Huh? Huh?! Huuuh—?! Why the hell are you running it personally?!"
"That's right! Normally, it should be handled by all of us in the Sky Lovers Club!"
"Are you planning to take all the credit for yourself again?! Your desperate desire to suck up to the Great One is embarrassingly obvious!"
As shouts of rage flew back and forth, Kamui's owl head rotated unnaturally around to face the red-haired youth, Phoenix.
"Lord Phoenix, these fellows' trial will be conducted by the Sky Lovers Club. That is agreeable, yes?"
Fixing Phoenix with two bloodshot, avian eyes, Kamui pressed him in a voice that sounded as though it were rumbling up from the deepest pits of hell.
"Y-Yeah. Of course, th-that was my plan all along."
Stammering terribly, Phoenix nodded with absolute vigor.