Kara arrives home and touches her forehead.
She was so confused after talking to Zaydas that she forgot the real purpose of wanting to speak with him.
That morning, she saw the newspaper, just as she had seen the video of the hero who killed the insectoid that had taken the lives of many humans. It was precisely because she recognized his strength that she needed his help.
However, here she was, at home, confused, and even with her phone in hand and his number dialed, she didn't have the courage to complete the call.
Just thinking about talking to him made her heart race...
With a clenched fist near her heart, she told herself: 'I just have to call him and say we should meet again... But what if he thinks I'm already giving my answer to his "confession"? I'm not ready yet...!'
But she knew that on her own, she wouldn't be able to exterminate the insectoid nest that was found in the western region of Tokyo, in the city of Hachiōji, where Mount Takao (Takaosan) is located—a forest-covered mountain very popular for hiking.
However, this area had been restricted due to numerous insectoid victims. Precisely because she knew there was more than one, as her sources had obtained images of at least 10 insectoids, she needed help.
Having a great idea, she thought: 'Instead of calling him, wouldn't it be easier to send a message and explain the situation?'
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Zaydas was wandering the streets of Tokyo when he received Kara's message.
When he saw the contents of the message, his eyes narrowed.
According to what she said, the fighting power of the insectoids was around the level of the one he had defeated yesterday.
'It'll be troublesome to go with her, so...'
[Okay, I'm heading there now.]
As soon as he responded, he searched Google for images of the area she mentioned, and once he had a clear image, he was able to mark the location and teleport there.
Using his Demonic Power, he changed his outfit to the suit he wore in this dimension.
When his power manifested, he immediately used [Mana Perception] to map the area into grids, ensuring that anything crossing those lines would automatically be identified and analyzed by [Sage].
Within moments, he detected several animals, some of which were dead, and numerous insectoids—31 in total.
'That number is even greater than Kara thought.'
But that was irrelevant. In fact, it was even better.
It seemed that the insectoids had realized no more humans were entering the mountain, so they were devouring every animal that crossed their path.
Among the insectoids, there were two that appeared stronger than the rest. They were almost as strong as Supergirl.
The others had at least the strength of a High-Mid-Class Devil.
If all these insectoids reached the city, a terrible tragedy would occur. If just one of them had managed to kill 194 people in a short time, 31 of them would be catastrophic!
"Loki." Murmuring softly while flying with his left hand extended forward, threads stronger than steel with openings smaller than 3 cm were created in a dome shape, enclosing the entire area where the insectoids were.
This alarmed them, but it didn't matter.
Zaydas simply teleported inside the dome of threads, standing before the insectoids.
He instantly became the target. All of them were similar to the insectoid from yesterday and were capable of flight.
They began emitting sounds resembling those of mosquitoes, but at a much louder volume—so loud that it was incredibly irritating. Zaydas realized this sound was attempting to interfere with his mind and make him confused, but it was completely nullified, having zero effect on him.
When he analyzed it, he understood that this sound could only work if there was more than one of them. It was a combined effect, and the more there were, the stronger the effects would be.
'I'm becoming more certain that I can't let them escape.'
Just imagining them invading human territory, the tragedy would go beyond a thousand bodies. Before heroes could even stop them, hundreds of thousands would have already perished. It was a simple but highly accurate analysis.
And that's without considering the possible evolutions they could undergo by doing all this. The casualties would be even more terrible.
'Supergirl intended to deal with them alone?'
Not wanting to underestimate her, but she wouldn't be able to do it. There was even a chance she would become their "snack," making them even more powerful.
However, she did the right thing by calling him. That showed she wasn't as foolish as she sometimes seemed.
Now, he didn't want to wait for her. Although the chances were low, she might still hold onto the idea that killing these monsters wasn't the right thing to do.
'She wouldn't be that foolish, right?'
The fact that he couldn't answer his own question was concerning.
And if she continued with that ideology, sooner or later, she would end up dying at the hands of those she tried not to kill.
Setting that aside, he moved even faster than the larger insectoids that had flown toward him.
Zaydas' hands were surrounded by the power of destruction as he appeared before the two strongest ones, and with his open palms, he clenched their insect heads.
"Smash! Smash!"
Green slime and brain matter were pulverized into nothing the moment they touched his hands.
"Fenrir." He murmured, and from his shadow, two enormous wolves as black as the night emerged and devoured the two insectoids.
It all happened so fast—just a blink of an eye, and two of the insectoids, the strongest among them, had already been exterminated.
[+14 AP!]
At the same time, he felt a slight increase in his magicules.
Unfurling a pair of Devil wings on his back, he moved again—this time, even faster!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
With a lightning-fast kick, he struck an insectoid's neck. Then, he punched another one's head from an awkward angle but still didn't lose much speed. Advancing forward, he delivered another punch to the head of another insectoid, and when one of them attempted to attack him from behind, he simply lashed out with a back kick, striking its stomach and creating a massive hole, causing its guts to spill out from its back.
Then, he hovered and used "Haki", making the insectoids' resolve waver slightly. He slithered through the air like a serpent, striking several of them at incredible speed before using [Size Alteration] to grow into a 5-meter-tall giant.
He then murmured: "Fenrir."
When a wolf larger than a ten-story building appeared, it seemed to roar, but in reality, it simply opened its mouth and swallowed the insectoids that were falling like snapped kites.
And it wasn't just the dead ones—Fenrir started chasing the other insectoids, swallowing them alive. Even those that tried to flee were sliced into pieces upon hitting the threads that surrounded the area as a barrier.
However, that didn't matter to Fenrir. Even with the barrier in place, it opened its mouth and devoured the insectoid fragments, returning with its face completely intact.
In the end, it was still just a shadow. Even if mutilated, it wouldn't suffer real damage.
Afterward, Fenrir returned to his shadow, and Zaydas reverted to his original size.
[+11,115 AP!]
'Huh?'
That value was strange.
'Great Sage, explain this AP value to me.'
[Analyzing...]
[Answer found. Master, without your intervention, many lives would have been lost.]
Which also meant that someone else would have still managed to stop the insectoids. Maybe Supergirl could have handled them, or perhaps she would have gathered the help of powerful heroes.
'So, the insectoid I killed yesterday would have been stopped by someone else even if I hadn't intervened?'
Otherwise, the AP value he received wouldn't make sense.
[Correct.]
Canceling the thread barrier, he could sense Supergirl approaching.
When she appeared before him, she was frowning deeply.
"What's with that face? You're ruining your beautiful face~" He teased.
"..." She didn't respond, simply letting out a long sigh.
His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you think I shouldn't have exterminated those insects, right?"
"No, I wouldn't dare." She averted her gaze.
"You know, just one of them killed 194 people in a matter of minutes. And I just wiped out 31 of them. Can you imagine what would've happened if they had reached the city?" Zaydas asked.
"T-Thirty-one!?!" She was stunned.
The vision of such a scene was too horrifying even to imagine.
"That's not all. Together, they have an ability to emit a sound that confuses people, turning them into easy targets." Zaydas struck while the iron was hot. "In this scenario, I can't think of many who could resist without being affected by it."
"That..." She choked on her own words before sighing. "I understand."
Perhaps she recognized the sincerity in Zaydas' words, which was why she was so understanding—unlike in other instances.
"Wow. I'm surprised." Zaydas pretended to be shocked. "Who would've thought you'd be this reasonable?"
She groaned and said, "Urgh... The way you talk makes me sound like an irrational woman."
"Aren't you?" Zaydas looked into her eyes. "In the end, all those monsters you captured alive are going through something worse than death."
"Huh? What did you just say?" She tried to grab his shirt collar, but he stopped her with his hand.
"Kara, Kara... Are you really that innocent, or are you just pretending not to see?" Zaydas asked. "What exactly do you think happens to all the monsters you capture alive?"
"I was told they're being held in a secure location for their own good while a cure is being sought in some cases and rehabilitation in others," she replied.
"That's why I say you're naïve."
From Zaydas' eyes, a heat ray shot toward the sky, hitting a drone.
Then, he looked back at Kara. "At this very moment, they're monitoring your every move, and... every single monster you capture is being studied in the most brutal way possible to develop weapons. And, hahaha, believe it or not, these insectoids are the result of their experiments that got out of control."
At this point, he was bluffing. He only had a hunch, since after analyzing these insectoids, something about them seemed unnatural.
"No, no..." She denied it, but her voice lacked confidence.
Seeing her so shaken, Zaydas placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "If you doubt me, see for yourself. And if you're in danger, don't hesitate to seek my help. Understood?"
Once again, she remained silent.
Seconds later, she said, "I'll think about it!"
Leaving those words behind, he turned and flew off at the speed of sound.