The Price of Chaos

“Tina, what are you doing!?”

Having only been inside for a short while, the world outside seemed to have turned apocalyptic. Rosa, pushing the door open, stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the scene before her.

Scanning her surroundings, her keen perception quickly pinpointed the culprit.

“Tina!”

She shouted again, and seeing the elf remain unresponsive, she advanced towards Tina, fueled by a raging fury, battling against the powerful winds with every step.

Then, raising her arm, she swung a merciless punch directly at the elf’s head.

“Stop it right now, you damned Tina!!!”

“Ow!”

With Tina’s pained cry, the ferocious gales instantly dissipated into nothingness.

‘It’s over…’

Watching Rosa repeatedly bowing and apologizing to the school security team, Villy shakily straightened her body. As an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, she had truly experienced the terror and danger of the Black-blooded species (TL Note: A race known for their volatile and destructive nature).

Tina was, in essence, a literal humanoid natural disaster.

On reflection, however, Xiu Lan was still much more well-behaved than Tina; at least she listened to reason and rarely did anything too outrageous.

Filled with an inexplicable surge of pride, Villy attempted to take a few steps forward, only to misstep and fall backward.

“Waaahhhhh!”

‘Oh no, I slipped.’

“Are you alright?”

Aier’s blue hair brushed softly against Villy’s face. Villy looked up at Aier, their eyes meeting.

“Th-thank you.”

Unconsciously, her face flushed crimson.

‘Argh, it’s all that idiot’s fault; now I’m too scared to get close to other women.’

“Thank you, I’m f-fine, could you help me up?” she repeated.

Villy was pulled to her feet by a small hand, and she thanked the blue-haired girl, saying, “My name is Villy, and you?”

“I’m Aier.”

The blue-haired girl’s expression remained as calm and unruffled as ever.

“It seems this elf’s personality is still quite unstable,” Chongyun remarked, arms crossed over his chest.

“You only left for a short while and caused such immense destruction. If you were gone one day, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to tear this city apart, would it?”

“That’s none of your business,” Rosa retorted coolly, twisting Tina’s ear.

Tina chimed in, “Exactly, exactly, it’s none of your business, you smelly old man. Someone as ugly as you should worry about whether you’ll make it out of here alive first.”

Ignoring Tina’s threat, Chongyun continued, “While I don’t know how much you’ve remembered, I’ll remind you again: the [Team] possesses the technology to stabilize her personality…”

“I know everything you know,” Rosa interrupted Chongyun. After a moment of careful thought, she added, “I’ll consider your proposal.”

“Rosa!” Tina cried out indignantly, instinctively disliking the man for some reason.

“Shut up,” Rosa said, covering Tina’s mouth with her left hand, then extending her right hand expectantly. “Since you’ve found me, hand over the equipment first.”

As if anticipated, a coin-sized emblem landed in Rosa’s palm, adorned with a simple, hastily drawn cat face that looked comically adorable.

“…Hmm? Is this a Demonic God Machine (TL Note: A powerful, technologically advanced combat suit or weapon)?”

“Don’t look at me, Aier drew it. She said she always had trouble distinguishing between the different types of Demonic God Machines, so she took it upon herself to draw avatars on the emblems. For example, this cat head represents Bastet.”

“…Thank you. But you shouldn’t have many Demonic God Machines left, should you? Will me taking one affect your next actions?”

Rosa gave Tina a light punch for attempting to snatch the Demonic God Machine, then put the emblem away while Tina sulked.

“Don’t worry, we found the old man, and he’s now working at full capacity. Though I never expected him to look so…”

“I’ll keep that a secret for now, but I guarantee you’ll be utterly astonished when you see him.”

“Furthermore, the upcoming operation requires Bastet and your assistance, doesn’t it?” Chongyun explained.

“A mission? In this city?”

Rosa frowned, quickly sifting through her memories.

“Aside from a bunch of Bloodlust Syndrome patients, what else here could possibly attract your attention? Those almost-dead Gods? Or…?”

She suddenly thought of something. “Could it be…?”

“Divine Power,” Chongyun revealed the answer directly. “We need enough energy to summon the Monarch… and those ignorant Human Gods are the perfect sacrifices.”

“Have you decided on your target yet…?”

“The sun of Thebes, the great fish of Hecate Sea, the underground of Dongchuan… these are all excellent materials for sacrifices.”

“However, the World of Convention still needs their power to sustain itself. Acting rashly would surely alarm those Demons. With the whereabouts of the Executors unknown, we stand no chance against them.”

Rosa asked, “Then…?”

“Fortunately, not long after I arrived in this city, I encountered something even more suitable. It’s the legacy left behind by the resentful, the hateful, and the defeated.”

“I’ve already pinpointed its location. I’ll send you the data now, and you’ll receive further notification when it’s time to act. Please be ready at any moment.”

‘As expected…’

Rosa responded, “Understood.”

“Senior Rosa—”

Suddenly, Villy’s call interrupted their conversation.

“An outsider is approaching, so let’s end our discussion here. You still remember the usage regulations for the Demonic God Machine, right?”

After receiving Rosa’s affirmative nod, he continued, “There’s one thing you must pay attention to: you are still human. It’s best to strictly control the frequency of using the Demonic God Machine, otherwise, you might suffer some very serious side effects. Farewell.”

‘Is it beginning? My mission.’

Watching Chongyun depart, Rosa’s eyes held a distant, hazy look.

No matter how much she tried to deceive herself, a mundane life was bound to end someday.

Now, her past mission had caught up to her; it was time to move forward into the future once more.

‘Everything is for the sake of reclaiming the correct world…’

“Senior Rosa, Senior Rosa…”

Villy’s worried voice sounded in her ear. “Are you alright?”

“Apologies, I’m a bit dizzy,” Rosa said, covering her forehead, feigning lightheadedness. “Villy, is there something you needed to talk to me about?”

Villy, suspecting nothing, cleared her throat and began to recount Xiu Lan’s transgressions:

“Well, it’s like this: since this morning, I haven’t been able to contact Xiu… Liu Yu. Senior, do you know her home address? I wanted to go check on her.”

“Oh my, has she skipped class again…?”

Villy had never seen Rosa like this before; her bright smile gave off a chilling sensation. Undoubtedly, she was angry.

“Perhaps something happened, and she couldn’t come to school,” Villy tried, attempting to commute Xiu Lan’s death sentence to a suspended one.

“Indeed, that’s also a possibility. How about this, Villy, you come with me, and we’ll go confirm that child’s situation.”

‘If she’s really skipped class again, then she’s dead meat.’ Villy silently completed Rosa’s unspoken threat.