When his right hand moved, the "zombies" were flung away. When his left hand struck, the undead were cut in two.

Lucifer's — a tornado of death which killed everything it touched — finally ground to a halt.

"What bothersome pests."

He looked on the undead around him with an exasperated expression on his face, and then pointed a broadsword caked in vile fluids at them.

The undead recoiled at this and tried to flee him. The undead should not have known the meaning of fear, yet they had come to fear Lucifer.

"What a vile strategy."

Zero, it seemed and his accomplices had raided the Neo-Tokyo graveyard, stealing fresh bodies from there and from other places, using neurochips and other implants to turn them into "Zombies" of sorts, connected to a hivemind.

The ultimate disrespect to the dead.

"This kind of half-baked science is an insult to real necromancy."

Lucifer spat on the ground, his voice laced with cold disdain.

"These aren't soldiers. Not even proper undead. Just rotting puppets strung together with stolen tech and arrogance."

Hearing this, Oxy raised his hand, which was glowing faintly with residual magic—a spell primed, waiting for release.

"[Lesser hellfire]."

A wave of searing white flame erupted from his hand in a wide arc, washing over the twitching corpses like a tidal wave of light. The fire didn't just consume flesh—it unmade it. Implanted neurochips exploded in showers of sparks, metal limbs warped and melted, and the stench of burning plastic mixed with charred meat filled the air.

In seconds, all that remained were blackened husks collapsing into ash.

Silence returned, deeper this time.

No clicking.

No groaning steel.

Just wind… and distant sirens drawing closer.

"Thank you, Oxy."

Sooner than later, however, the noise returned.

The assault continued.

Every step Lucifer took forward, the zombies took one back. They encircled him in this way while keeping their distance from him.

This circle moved with Lucifer's steps. Although the zombies seemed to be looking for a chance to attack, any who stepped forward were immediately destroyed by him. Therefore, the zombies merely surrounded him, but did not make a move on him.

Countless of them had already been annihilated by Lucifer when they carelessly strayed too close to him. Even the mindless zombies had learned something from this, which was why they had chosen to surround him.

"Still, if this keeps up, it'll only be a stalemate," he grumbled as he saw the huge throng of undead that still remained.

If he wanted to break the encirclement, he could easily cut a path through the horde. However, if he forced his way through, the zombies would scatter in all directions and the nearby guards might end up being injured or killed. If that happened, he would lose the witnesses to his deeds, and thus fail the objective of being "the mercenary who cleared up this matter." Therefore, he had to lure the zombies to him as he moved forward, in order to ensure the safety of the guards. However, doing so made his forward progress very slow.

And then, oxy responded in earnest to his words:

"Should we summon reinforcements from your home? A couple dozen people could annihilate everything in this district that dares stand against you, Lucifer-sama."

"…Don't be silly. How many times have I told you our objective for coming to this city?"

"But lord, if we wanted to win fame, would it not be better to let the zombies surge into the city and cause more casualties first before stepping in?"

"I have considered that possibility as well. If we knew our enemy's aim, this city's fighting power and so on, we might be able to do that. But since we lack information, we need to avoid losing this chance. It would also be very annoying to have to dance to the opposition's tune. In addition, from what I can see, other teams might snatch away our glory first."

There were also many factors of uncertainty in this plan. He could not predict the opposition's reaction accurately, what the guards might do, and so on. In addition, what was the opposition's aim. Could they even be sure when this matter had turned so convoluted? If any one thing was overlooked, everything would be ruined.

They had no information about the enemy or the scale of their actions, which forced him to be far more cautious than usual.

"I see… Lucifer-sama, you are truly incredible. To think your plan was so immaculately conceived; I expected nothing less of my Supreme creator. I bow before your superior wisdom once more. Speaking of which… your foolish vassal would like to be enlightened on one point. Would it not be better to send other vassals adept at hiding themselves to observe the situation before a great shift in the circumstances occurs, and then seize the moment when it comes?"

Lucifer silently looked at oxy.

The night wind blew softly. Any undead who sought to exploit this perceived weakness would instead be destroyed in one hit by a swing of Lucifer's broadsword.

"…If, if I taught you everything, how would you learn? Figure it out yourself."

"Yes! My deepest apologies."

Lucifer had been somewhat shaken by this. He forcefully jerked his head back to double check the distance between himself and the doors to the warehouse he needed to go to, and to see if the guards could still see him from there.

"However! That said, time is still getting quite tight. It can't be helped — I guess I'll have to carve a path through them."

Lucifer unleashed his power.

[Create Mid-Tier Angel – Enforcer Acolyte]

After using his skill, an angel appeared in front of him, it was something which was invisible to everyone but him and that and one more thing was the reason he had chosen this specific creature.

Acolyte's were the lowest members of Lucifer's forces, being the lowest tier in the mid tier angel category itself that could be made with the skill and were weak in direct combat. However, in exchange, their special abilities were incredible. In the case of the "Enforcer Acolyte" angel, it was the power of "absolute judgement". In other words, the ability of this type of angel was to kill any undead within a specific aoe. Even though it didn't really made sense, for how can the undead be dead, they still died.

The Enforcer Acolyte materialized in a burst of golden light that didn't blaze, but pulsed—like a heartbeat made visible. It stood seven feet tall, its form slender and elegant beneath flowing robes woven from shimmering silver threads that shifted like liquid.

Its face was smooth and featureless save for two vertical slits where eyes should be—gaps filled with swirling constellations, as if peering into the void between stars. No mouth. No nose. Just silent judgment.

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Wings unfolded from its back—golden father's slowly falling and disintegrating as it floated.

It was adorned with a golden halo that glowed with faint silver lines, and its hands held a long silver greatsword, which emanated a strange sense of majesty.

"Kill them."

The angel obeyed Lucifer's orders and laid into the surrounding undead horde. Though there was only of it, it was more than enough.

As the angel flew away, killing undead with each stroke of its sword, Lucifer continued using his skills.

"Then, let's take care of things on this side too."

Those skills were [Create Mid-Tier Undead – blood knight]. After summoning several of them, he ordered:

"Chase away any intruders that enter the sector. Killing mercenaries is

fine, but do not kill the guards."

The blood knights' bodies shimmered and vanished. Now that his work was done, Lucifer smiled to himself.

The Mid-Tier undead were there just in case some mercenaries used flight to reach the enemy's location and steal the credit for his hard work.

"Then, let's go."

As the two summoned creatures made a brutal display of their skills, Lucifer charged into the greatly thinned ranks of the undead horde.

Only Oxy remained with Lucifer by the time they reached the old slightly overgrown warehouse at the heart of the sector. Several suspicious-looking fellows were standing in a circle in front of the chapel, apparently conducting some kind of ritual.

They all wore crude black robes which covered their entire bodies, and which varied in both texture and color. Their black head cloths hid their faces and only showed their eyes, while the wooden staves they carried had strange carvings on their ends.

They were short, and by the way they carried themselves, they were probably all men.

The only exposed face belonged to the man in the middle, and he looked like he was undead. He was well-dressed, and seemed to be concentrating on a book that he held in his hand.

The wind carried whispered words to Lucifer ears. The voices in the air rose and fell in unison, and it sounded like some sort of chanting. However, it did not sound like a requiem to the dead, but more like some sort of dark ritual which blasphemed against the deceased.

"Should we ambush them?" Oxy asked. However, Lucifer shook his head.

"It wouldn't help. Besides, it seems they've already spotted us."

Lucifer had no concealment-related skills, so he simply strode directly over to them. Although he could have avoided the lights of the area, all the opposition would need to do was use night vision in order to see as though it were broad daylight.

In fact, there were already several people looking at Lucifer and Oxy.

Given that they had not launched an attack yet, they might have something to say. Having come to that conclusion, Lucifer decided to approach them head-on.

As Lucifer and Oxy walked below the lights, the suspicious group of people took a stance, and one of them said to the man in the center, "ken-sama, they're here."

"Ah… what a lovely night. Don't you think it's wasted on a boring old ritual?"

The figure in the center—Ken—slowly closed the ancient tome in his hands, its cover inscribed with a sigil that pulsed faintly, like a dying heartbeat. His pale, sunken eyes locked onto Lucifer's masked face.

"Ah… a guest with flair," Ken croaked, voice dry as autumn leaves. "You've cut through my little welcoming committee rather… enthusiastically."

He stepped forward, robes whispering against cracked concrete. The others shifted nervously behind him.

"But tell me," Ken continued, tilting his head like a curious vulture, "did you come to stop me? To save these people?" A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

Lucifer didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slowly drew his broadsword again—not to attack—but to rest it over one shoulder like an old friend.

"I'm an mercenary on an assignment, looking for a few missing people… I trust you know who I'm talking about, even if I don't state their name's?"

The other members of the group took a stance, which confirmed in Lucifer heart that they were not innocents who had been dragged into the matter. Under his helmet, Lucifer smiled bitterly at ken, who was looking around the surroundings.

"Just the two of you? Where's the rest of your crew?"

"Yup, just the two of us. We flew over here with a flight spell."

"You're lying, that's impossible."

Lucifer sensed that there was some kind of meaning behind that curt retort.

Thus he asked:

"You don't have to believe it, but let's get back to the main topic. If you let the other's and specially the girl return home safely, I can spare your life. How about it, ken?"

Ken glared at the foolish disciple who had blurted out his name.

"—And you are?"

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask. Is there anyone over there besides you lot?"

Ken looked coldly at Lucifer:

"We're the only ones—"

"—Surely it's not just you? There should be someone with a piercing weapon among you… planning to ambush us? Or are you hiding because you're afraid?"

"Guilty."

A male voice suddenly rang out from the warehouse.

An man slowly emerged into the light, and every step he took was accompanied by the clattering of metal against metal.

"You…"

"They found me out, so there's no point hiding."

"May I know your name? I'm Zero."

"…Well, it's kind of pointless to answer your question, but I guess I'll tell you anyway. My name is Sato."

"I've never heard that name before… how about you?"

"I haven't heard of it myself - and I've gathered information on all the highranked mercenaries in the city, so how is it I've never heard of a Sato among them? Still, how did you know it was here?"

"The answer is inside your head. Show me."

"Figured it out, already?"

As he said that, the man — Zero's — face twisted. he had a grin so wide it nearly reached his ears.

"You mean these?"

The top side of Zero's head opened up, revealing what looked like small circuits all over it. However, Lucifer's excellent vision saw the truth immediately. Those were not circuits.

They were countless neurochips with mercenary star's pasted onto them. Black. Iron. Silver. Gold. Platinum. White. Red. All these were the proof of all the mercenaries

Zero had been killing, the trophies taken from his hunts. Innumerable vengeful groans seemed to haunt his head.

"It was these prizes of yours which led me to you."

A look of confusion came over Zero, and Lucifer did not intend to explain himself.

"You… are quite the collector."

Lucifer gave a slight chuckle as he spoke. Then, his tone shifted.

"Oxy. Deal with ken and the other men. I'll take care of this guy."

With that, he quietly warned Oxy to watch out above.

"Understood."

Ken expression was somewhere between a sneer and a grin. The cold-eyed

Oxy, on the other hand, showed nothing on his face.

"…Zero, let's kill each other over there."

Lucifer immediately set out without waiting for zero to respond. Once they had gotten some distance away, a thunderous, eye-wateringly bright discharge of lightning erupted between Oxy and ken. As though on cue, Lucifer and Zero turned to look at each other.

"Could it be those people I killed were your friends? Are you mad because I killed your buddies?

Zero continued in a mocking tone:

"It was so fun. I crushed one like a bug, blasted a hole through another's torso. You know what happened to the rest? The ones you're looking for, they're dead. They died believing that no one save them, in despair. Oh, how good it felt so see the light be released from their eyes. You know, there's one person still alive, barely, let's see if you can find her."

Zero was all smiles. Lucifer looked at him, and shook his head.

"…No, there's no need to apologize."

"Really? Well that's a shame. It's fun to piss off those people who get all emotional when their friends come up. Could it be they weren't your friends?"

"…Well, under the right circumstances, I might have done the same thing as you. So blaming you for it would be hypocritical."

Lucifer slowly raised his greatswords:

"…Still, they were tools for building my reputation. Once they returned to the mercenary company, they would have spread word of my deeds to the other mercenaeries. They would have told everyone about how the two of us were heroes who drove off the King of the Radiated Forest by ourselves. And now you've gotten in the way of my plans. That greatly displeases me."

Zero seemed to have sensed something in Lucifer's tone, and he chuckled:

"Well, it's too bad I can't read your emotions. Can you read mine? I think you can. It's not hard to tell how people will act just by looking at them. But I can get a better idea by looking at your eyes. You are mad, right? You want to punish me."

He pointed an accusing finger at Lucifer:

"I have a question! What if it had been someone close a friend or even a close friend who did what I did? Would you have been angry? Would you have killed them?"

Lucifer did not answer immediately. This was a personal question, asking about his inner character.

His silence, which was just as good as an answer, made Zero laugh.

"So you wouldn't have killed them… even if you lost something important you valued—that important friend, you still wouldn't have killed them, right? Even if that important friend took something important to you away, you would still forgive them, right? You would still care for that friend, right?"

Zero let out a bark of harsh laughter.

"Everyone I cared for is already dead, So, that question holds no merit to me."

"You think you're strong enough to defeat me?"

"Oxy alone would be more than enough for you."

"Don't be silly. how could a measly little girl beat me? It'll be over in two or three blows. Like everyone else, she's just meat."

"I see, so you're that confident in your abilities as a warrior…Oh, and, Oxy's a boy."

"Yup, it goes without saying. No warrior in this country can beat me."

"Is that so… well, that gave me an idea. I shall give you a handicap, and have my revenge on you at the same time."

Zero's eyes narrowed, and for the first time he had a look of annoyance on her face.

"According to the info from the black roses, there's only five people in this country who can give me a good fight. Kajiwara hideaki. Akira of Black death. Lisa lillybed of White Snakes. . Dexter moonlight.….though none of them could beat me even if they went all-out.

Zero smiled to Lucifer. That smile was a disgusting one.

"I don't know what sort of ugly face is under that helmet of yours, but there's no way that I, Zero — one who's left humanity behind — could possibly lose!"

In contrast to the agitated Zero, Lucifer's reply was calm and composed.

"Because of that, I will give you a handicap. Under no circumstance will I use my full strength on you."

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