Floating Continent, Borderland Zone, Island No. 2
"So that's it, you are the creators of this Sky Paradise."
William looked at the skull and his former teammates sitting opposite him with a clear understanding.
"Yes, in order to escape the threat of the [Seventeen Beasts], we used great power to suspend the earth in the sky. Now, we have finally endured for five hundred years."
The white-haired Great Sage nodded and said when he heard William's question.
And the black skull, being pushed by a maid, said proudly:
"I contributed eighty percent of the effort! Yehahaha!!!"
Hearing this, William frowned slightly and continued to ask:
"What exactly are those so-called [Seventeen Beasts]? What exactly happened?"
Hearing William's question, the black skull said with a hint of solemnity in his tone:
"This is precisely humanity's own sin…"
Then, the Great Sage and the black skull explained the origin of the Seventeen Beasts to William.
Here, the two of them deceived William, telling him that the Seventeen Beasts were products of human experimentation.
In reality, the Seventeen Beasts were the so-called humans.
Afterwards, the three of them continued to talk about the origin of the Golden Fairy race.
"Fairies are an unstable, ghost-like ambiguous existence."
"They are the souls of children who struggle to comprehend their own deaths, drifting through the world."
"They can't even be considered living beings!"
The Great Sage paused here, looked at William's expression, and then continued:
"I have a necromancy technique that can create fairies from specific souls."
"Fairies, unafraid of death, are ideal mass-produced weapons that can decisively self-destruct with magic."
"Fairies have short lifespans, and if they generate too much magic during combat, they will be eroded by memories of their past lives, leading to a collapse of their personality."
Hearing this, William understood the true situation of the children he had been taking care of.
Thinking of the future fate of Chtholly, Nephren, Ithea, and the others, William's face was heavy with sorrow.
The Great Sage also invited William to participate in the counterattack against the surface, but he was directly refused.
"Do you value those fairies, who cannot escape death, more than the future of this world?"
Hearing the Great Sage, his former teammate, question him, William replied without hesitation:
"Yes, right now, I just want to return to their side as quickly as possible."
Hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed in the Great Sage's eyes, and he continued to ask:
"Is this your will, Willem Kmetsch?"
"It is."
"I thought you were a man closer to a hero."
Just as William was about to say something, a voice suddenly came from the side:
"Is there a problem with him wanting to return to the side of beautiful girls? It's better than being with an old geezer like you, isn't it?"
"Who's there!"
"Intruder!"
William and the Great Sage looked at the young man who suddenly appeared on the sofa, both shocked.
"Asymptomatic species, looks like a cannibal…"
The Great Sage looked at Zhong Chen sitting on the sofa and muttered in a low, solemn voice.
"Cannibal? Do I look like someone who eats people? I am a genuine human being!"
"What! Impossible!!!"
"How can you be human? There should only be William left as a human!"
Hearing Zhong Chen's words, William and the Great Sage looked at Zhong Chen on the sofa in disbelief.
The Earth God, who had already left, also heard the commotion and was pushed back by a maid.
"No matter how much you disbelieve, I am human, and a more pure-blooded human than you, after all, you are…"
Zhong Chen stopped speaking here, and William, hearing this, felt that Zhong Chen had a hidden meaning in his words, so he immediately asked:
"What do you mean by that? What are we?"
Zhong Chen ignored William and instead looked at the Great Sage, asking with an amused expression:
"Do I need to continue?"
"Who exactly are you, sir? If you are human, how did you survive?"
The Great Sage did not directly answer whether to speak or not, but instead asked about Zhong Chen's origin.
"I can only tell you that I am human. As for the rest, I don't want to say. You will know in the future."
"And I only have one purpose in coming here: how about adding me as a manager of the warehouse?"
Hearing Zhong Chen's words, William hurriedly objected:
"No, how can Chtholly and the others be looked after by an unknown person like you!"
"Are you sure? Sometimes, choices are very important. Once you choose wrong, you might lose something."
"I…"
Looking at the playful smile on Zhong Chen's face, William suddenly felt an inexplicable sense that he couldn't refuse.
It was as if something he couldn't accept would happen if he refused.
"We still don't know your name, sir. Could you please introduce yourself?"
Seeing William fall silent, the Great Sage beside him narrowed his eyes and asked.
The Earth God beside him quietly watched Zhong Chen. He always felt a shiver that reached the depths of his soul when facing Zhong Chen.
So, he, who was usually talkative, wisely shut his mouth.
Zhong Chen picked up a fruit from the table, wiped it on his clothes, took a bite, and then softly introduced himself:
"Zhong Chen, human!"
"Mr. Zhong Chen, then…"
"William, what is your decision?"
Hearing the Great Sage's question, William stared at Zhong Chen, who was continuously eating the fruit, for a full minute.
Finally, as if having made up his mind, he said:
"Mr. Zhong Chen, you really won't harm those children, will you?"
"Of course, little lolis and such are the treasures of the world!"
Looking at Zhong Chen, whose eyes were full of light when mentioning little lolis, William could only temporarily put aside his worries.
Moreover, this was the second human besides him, although he hadn't known him before.
But in this world without humans, Zhong Chen's appearance indeed gave him a long-lost joy of meeting a fellow kind.
"Then, welcome, Mr. Zhong Chen, to join us!"
Saying this, William extended his right hand towards Zhong Chen, and Zhong Chen, seeing this, also extended his hand with a smile.
"Please take care of me, William, Second Class Technician!"
The Great Sage, seeing Zhong Chen and William shaking hands, also smiled and then said:
"Since that's the case, then Mr. Zhong Chen will go back with William later. I will handle your identity."
"Then I'll trouble you. Oh, by the way, Skull, I don't have a place to stay right now. Can you find me a place?"
Zhong Chen looked at the Earth God and said without ceremony.
"Um, I have a name. I'm called Black Candle Duke, and this old man is named Swann Candel."
"Oh, it makes no difference. Anyway, you're just a skull, so calling you Skull feels perfectly fine to me."
At this point, Zhong Chen suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a skeleton in the Monster Country Federation's underground labyrinth, which Shuna had brought back earlier.
He immediately continued:
"Later, I'll introduce someone… er… a skeleton to you. I think you two should have common topics."
William and the Great Sage Swann, who were beside them, heard Zhong Chen's words, and a sharp glint flashed in their eyes.
The information inadvertently revealed in Zhong Chen's words just now made the two of them unable to help but think more.
"Alright, I won't disturb you three any longer. Miss, may I trouble you to take me to my room?"
Zhong Chen asked the maid who was pushing Black Candle Duke, with a full smile.
"Yes, please follow me…"
The remaining three watched Zhong Chen leave with the maid, all falling into silence.
What was the purpose of this suddenly appearing human, who seemed anything but simple…