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Chapter 174 - Chapter 173: Demon Lord

Izayoi's words might have sounded crude, but every one of them came from the heart. In fact, it was those very words that calmed down Black Rabbit, who had been flustered until now. She stood still, dumbly staring at him.

Though their time together had been brief, Black Rabbit had already come to understand the kind of person Izayoi was. For someone like him to say such things so willingly only showed just how overwhelming the pressure brought by Yoru was.

"Is Mr. Yoru... really that terrifying?"

It took her a long moment to collect herself before murmuring those words, almost like talking to herself.

"Yeah... that guy's a monster. A real one."

Izayoi replied with a bitter smile. To be saying such things himself—he couldn't help but feel it was rather ironic.

"As for that so-called Serpent God? She's just a little white snake."

"Even so, Izayoi-kun, don't you think you're underestimating the Serpent God a bit too much? She's still a deity, after all!"

Shaking her head and brushing off her earlier panic, Black Rabbit ignored Izayoi and ran toward the waterfall.

"Well... looks like things are wrapping up. It should be safe to head over now."

Muttering to himself, Izayoi casually followed behind her.

The closer they got, the more intensely they could feel the chilling air in the atmosphere—something that clearly deviated from Black Rabbit's expectations.

Yoru, with his gift of ice manipulation, didn't seem to be at much of a disadvantage against the Serpent God's gift of water. Even before reaching the waterfall, the cold had already permeated so thoroughly that it seemed Yoru had the upper hand in the battle.

When Black Rabbit and Izayoi finally arrived at the falls, they were struck speechless—not even the cold registered anymore. They could only stand and stare in stunned silence at the incredible sight before them.

The cliff known as the "End of the World," the terminus of the Eight Great Rivers of the Little Garden—Tritonis Grand Falls—was now completely frozen.

It wasn't just the waterfall. The entire region within a hundred-li radius had turned into a world of ice and snow. Everything was covered in frost—nothing else could be seen.

Black Rabbit and Izayoi stared in wide-eyed astonishment at Yoru, while the latter scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

"Uhh... I might've gotten a little too serious."

He gave them an awkward, friendly smile, which made the two shiver involuntarily.

If this was only him being "a little serious," then just how much destruction could he cause if he got truly serious?

"T-The Serpent God... what about her?"

Black Rabbit asked hastily, running up to Yoru and looking up—only to see the frozen sculpture that was once the Serpent God.

"Uwah... the Serpent God turned into a block of ice?!"

"She's fine. I only froze her. It won't endanger her life."

Yoru reassured her calmly. Even though he had defeated the so-called Serpent God, he didn't feel even the slightest bit interested in the reward.

Because that so-called deity was just far too weak. So weak, in fact, that he found it hard to believe she dared call herself a god.

With that kind of power, how could she possibly hold dominion over something like world travel?

Yoru let out a sigh as he thought this.

"Let's go, Black Rabbit."

"Ah… A-Alright, Lord Yoru. But the Serpent God…"

"It's fine. If she's just ice, she'll probably thaw out completely within a day."

"N-No, that's not what I meant, Mr. Yoru! Since you defeated the Water God, you should also take the reward. It's something that would greatly benefit our community!"

"Oh?"

Surprised by her words, Yoru looked up just as a contract gently floated down from the sky, transforming into a tiny sapling.

"That's the one! The Water Tree—it produces a constant supply of pure water! With this, our community won't have to travel far just to find clean water anymore!"

Black Rabbit held the small sapling with a look of utter bliss.

"I heard that loud and clear, you know. To think you guys didn't even have access to water… Black Rabbit, just how weak is your community, exactly?"

A chilling voice rose from behind her.

"Ah! That…!" Black Rabbit jumped up, flustered and fumbling her words.

"I'm… I'm terribly sorry." She finally bowed her head in dejection, even her rabbit ears drooping down.

"The truth is… our community is on the brink of collapse. That's why I was so desperate for new members to join us... If… If Mr. Yoru and Izayoi-kun refuse to join us, our community…"

"I already told you—I don't care about that."

Yoru said with a chuckle, amused by how nervous she looked. He walked over and gently patted her head.

As Yoru approached, the chilling air around them slowly dissipated, and the temperature rose to a more comfortable level.

"Mr. Yoru…" Black Rabbit looked up, deeply moved. Her emotions stirred so strongly that her blue hair once again turned into a beautiful cherry blossom pink.

"Alright, save the sentiment for later. Let's talk about your community's situation first. It's fine to be weak—we just have to find a way to grow stronger."

Yoru smiled. The situation reminded him of the Hestia Familia from back in the day.

"To start, our guild doesn't have a 'name' to claim. Like many other nameless guilds, we're just referred to as 'No-Name.'"

"Oh, there are other guilds like that? Go on." Yoru nodded slightly.

"We also don't have a guild banner—something that represents a guild's strength."

"Mmhmm. What else?"

"Besides having no name or banner, what's worse is that we no longer have a single core member to rely on. To be precise, out of our 122 members, only Lord Jin and I can even participate in Gift Games. The rest… are all children under the age of ten!"

"That's beyond hopeless," Izayoi sighed beside her.

"Exactly…" Black Rabbit drooped her head once more.

"But how did it come to this? Don't tell me your community is actually a kindergarten?" Izayoi asked with genuine curiosity.

Black Rabbit shook her head gloomily.

"No. All their families were taken from them—taken by the greatest calamity to ever strike Little Garden… the 'Demon Lord.'"

"Demon Lord?!"

Hearing that, Izayoi, who had only been half-listening up until now, suddenly shouted in shock.

"What's wrong, Izayoi-kun?" Even Black Rabbit was startled by his outburst.

"That sounds amazing! If it's a Demon Lord, then they must be unimaginably strong, right?! A game where we defeat a powerful boss to save a weak, collapsing community—this is so exciting!" Izayoi jumped up with sparkling eyes, like a kid who just found the ultimate toy.

"No way… Demon Lords are Little Garden's natural disasters—practically unbeatable. Not even gods can stand against them."

"Oh…"

Hearing that, even Yoru seemed to grow interested.

A Demon Lord… With that kind of overwhelming power—could they possibly possess the ability to travel across worlds?

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