The Strange Cat from Fuuto

With just a casual glance, Inves, trembling all over, screamed and fled in panic, running away from Haruko as fast as he could.

"You are?!"

Looking up at the knight in front of her, Haruko's eyes lit up with excitement: "Are you Shota's friend?"

"Did he send you to rescue me?!"

Shirai, who was staring blankly at Haruko, remained silent, but thought to herself, "A contradictory nature!"

The woman in front of me was wearing filthy clothes, and her face was covered in grime, as if she hadn't washed it in ages.

Haruko looked at Shirai with wide eyes, but Shirai shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know the Shota you're talking about."

"I don't recognize him!"

A hint of sadness flashed in Haruko's eyes, but she quickly forced a smile again and said, "Well, thank you for saving me. Our gathering place is nearby. Would you like to come and sit for a while?"

"The gathering place?" Bai Ya stared at Qingzi for a moment before speaking, "If it can let that me see more about you, I will go!"

"That's wonderful!" Haruko exclaimed excitedly as she tore off a corner of her shirt and struggled to her feet with the help of a baseball bat. "With you joining us, our settlement will be even better!"

Are you doing very poorly?

"Yes, the water and electricity in Sawame City have been cut off, and there's not much food to be found. Not to mention, there are so many monsters roaming outside, making it even more difficult for us to find food."

"However, things will be much better with you joining us!"

Looking at the woman in front of him, who was disheveled but still had a smile, Bai Ya silently added a chapter to his heart for humanity.

Soon, Bai Ya followed Qingzi to the gathering place she had mentioned.

It was called a gathering place, but it was actually a large shopping mall with all sorts of clutter blocking the entrance to prevent the Inves' invasion.

Although the sealed doors and windows block out light, they greatly reduce the possibility of being attacked.

"Go! Hit him!"

"You piece of trash!"

"Charge! Charge!"

.......

Just as Bai Ya and Qingzi arrived at the door, they heard shouts coming from inside. Bai Ya keenly picked up on the heavy breathing of a boy and the suppressed sobs in his throat.

"Is it always this lively?"

"It's not usually like this!" Haruko limped over the clutter to the entrance of the mall and opened the door with practiced ease.

Inside, the dimly lit mall hall was crowded with people. In the center of the crowd, a lower-ranking Inves was fighting with a young boy with a youthful face.

It was called a fight, but it was actually a one-sided crushing defeat. How could a boy with only physical strength be a match for Inves?

Haruko's smile froze when she saw the boy.

"My beloved?!"

"My beloved!!!"

Haruko, her voice as mournful as the howl of a mother wolf mourning her cubs in the wilderness, pushed through the crowd and rushed to the boy, embracing him tightly.

"Um?!"

Upon seeing this, the young man sitting in the head seat flicked his lock, and Inves stopped his attack.

"You're not dead, Haruko!"

"Shota, why is my brother fighting Inves? Didn't you say you'd take care of him for me?!"

"When did I say that?" Shota looked around, a mocking smile on his face. "That's all just your own delusion!"

"Then at least take good care of him for the sake of our many years as neighbors!" Touching her younger brother's wounds, Haruko's heart sank to the bottom.

Being attacked by Inves and infected with the poison of Helheim was inevitable; the wounds all over his body proved that his brother had been infected.

"That's true, but now that I have the power, you're not qualified to keep promises!"

"You really disappoint me!" Bai Ya stepped over the crowd and came to Haruko and her brother's side. He glanced at Shota and said, "I thought you humans still had a sliver of hope, but now it seems you're nothing but a bunch of fools who rely on strength!"

Chapter Thirty-Six: DJ Sagara and Shiroya's Bet.

"I thought you humans still had a sliver of hope, but now it seems you're nothing but a bunch of fools relying on strength!"

Bai Ya spoke coldly, looking expressionlessly at the survivors around him, his eyes beneath the mask revealing undisguised disappointment.

"Who do you think you are, daring to speak so arrogantly on my turf?!"

Shota stood up, clutching the Lockseed, and seemed inclined to start a fight at the slightest provocation.

"Foolish humans!"

Bai Ya, who had placed his hand on the driver at his waist, was too lazy to hide it anymore, but at that moment a hand grabbed his arm: "Don't do anything reckless here, or the forest will go berserk, and then Sawame City will be finished!"

"Is there any point in continuing a world like this?!" Bai Ya glanced at the suddenly appearing DJ Sagara, who shrugged and laughed, "You've only seen a little bit, and you're going to deny the whole world based on that? That's far too arbitrary!"

"Seeing this is enough!"

After removing the golden apple lock from her waist, Bai Ya revealed her true form with a flash of light.

The white exoskeleton armor was exposed before everyone's eyes, and Shota, who had been swaggering, suddenly took a step back: "Monster?!"

"See that? This is the race you chose!"

Ignoring Shota, Bai Ya scoffed, "It's only been half an hour since I saved this woman, but look at the state of things here. Do they really deserve to be saved?!"

"It would be better to let them face the destruction they were meant to face!"

"Are you still thinking about that?!" DJ Xiang Le's face darkened. He grabbed Bai Ya and the two of them disappeared from the spot, leaving behind a group of bewildered survivors.

On the rooftop of a building in Sawame City, Shirai and DJ Sagara appeared.

"What do you want to say by bringing me here?!" Stepping forward to the edge of the rooftop, Bai Ya looked down at the entire city of Sawame. DJ Sagara watched Bai Ya's back and said, "A race can only get one golden fruit. That's the rule, and what you did was a violation of the rule."

"I gave you face in front of that cat, but are you still going to remain obstinate and head towards your destruction?!"

"But is there still hope for this world?!"

"And there is still something in my eyes!" DJ Sagara said firmly, his eyes fixed on Shiroya's retreating figure. "Even if our original fate has been altered and the future I envisioned has been burned away, I still believe in humanity, and I believe in this race!"

"Heh, now that the Golden Fruit is in my hands, are you going to take it back for violating the rules you mentioned?!" White Fang turned around, and as he raised his arm, a dazzling golden light rose from his open palm. The golden light grew stronger and stronger until the Golden Fruit appeared perfectly intact in his hand.

Looking at the golden fruit in Bai Ya's hand, DJ Xiang Le scratched his head in distress: "Heh, the rules I used to carefully follow have now become shackles binding me!"

"What are you going to do?!" Bai Ya stepped forward: "Are you going to use force to break the rules and reclaim the fruit, or are you just going to stand by and watch this world be destroyed?!"

"How about we compromise?" DJ Sagara waved his hand and said bluntly, "You believe this world should perish and that humanity doesn't deserve the fruit of gold!"

“That’s right. All I’ve seen are fools who rely on power. If I really have to decide who gets it, I’d rather give this fruit to Miku than give it to a human.”

"Since you've put it that way, let's make a bet!"

"How about a bet?!"

"That's right. We will each select a proxy to reveal our views to the other. The winner will reap the golden rewards, and the loser will lose everything!"

“…” After staring at DJ Sagara for a moment, Bai Ya slowly said, “Since you’ve brought it up, then let’s decide it this way!”

"But before that..."

DJ Sagara looked at the golden fruit floating in Byakuya's hand and smiled. Byakuya followed DJ Sagara's gaze to the golden fruit in his own hand, and sighed helplessly, "Since you've given me such a hint, then let's do as you say!"

...............

Helheim Forest, the ruins of Fimsim, the throne room.

Bai Ya appeared silently between the thrones. After waving his hand to close the spatial rift, he turned his gaze to the cat sleeping on Sugar's lap.

"Lord Baiya, you're back!"

Sugar quietly greeted Bai Ya, a look of fear and trembling appearing in her eyes. Bai Ya didn't seem to care; his aura was inevitably betrayed by his turbulent emotions.

"Just let him continue sleeping, don't make a sound." Bai Ya's voice rang out from the depths of Sugar's heart, and Sugar nodded hesitantly.

Bai Ya raised his hand and opened his palm, revealing a golden apple lock seed. Bai Ya summoned Miku's red apple with a wave of his hand, holding an apple lock seed in one hand.

"Sizzle..."

A faint current appeared between the two locks held in their hands as they were brought together. Ignoring the raging energy flow above, Bai Ya continued to move the two locks closer together.

"Let's merge into one!"

As Bai Ya spoke in a low voice, both of the Lockseeds in his hand emitted a blinding light, and Miku woke up with a jolt the moment the light appeared.

"What's going on?!"

He looked at the two orbs of light in Bai Ya's hand, and the glimmer of light that appeared in the center, with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing, Brother Bai Ya?!"

Bai Ya did not respond, and continued to close the two locks in his hand, and the locks began to overlap.

This is the first step in the fusion of the two locks. Miku looked curiously at the new lock that was about to be born in Baiya's hand.

The fusion process did not last long, and the two Lockseeds, which were theoretically of the same origin, eventually merged together under Bai Ya's power.

“Buzz.…”

With a strange buzzing sound, a bright light shone from Baiya's hand. Miku narrowed its eyes and swiftly flicked its tail upwards, blocking Sugar's eyes.

This level of luminosity in lumens is enough to directly blind a person.

"Success!"

With a sigh of relief, Bai Ya said, "Miku, this is a gift for you!"

Before the light from the orb in his hand had faded, Bai Ya handed the Lockseed to Miku.

"For me?!"

Miku, who had tilted his head to the side, retracted his tail, which had been blocking Sugar's view, and then extended his tail forward to coil around the Lockseed in Baiya's hand.

"A Lockseed I've never seen before!"

Countless particles of light emanated from the cluster of light, revealing the full form of the Lockseed within to Miku.