In the woods of Catalivo, near the Vistalia Kingdom, a group of people were urgently running.

The time it took for news of the Empire's collapse to spread varied, which created a clear situation.

In places with quick access to information, people often fled sooner, while in villages where information lagged, they fled later.

Some villages didn't even realize what was happening within the Empire until monsters showed up at their doorsteps.

Take Yueying Village, for example. They started to flee, but it seemed to be too late.

Uwe was about to reach the exit of the woods but suddenly halted.

Some people behind him nearly couldn't stop in time and were about to ask why he stopped when they saw the scene outside the woods through the gaps between the trees.

A gloomy and hopeless expression instantly covered their faces.

The sunlight outside the woods was bright and beautiful.

The weather, which once made people want to stretch, now only made their limbs cold and their hearts almost stop beating.

Outside stood a monster over three meters tall, resembling a bipedal bull.

However, it had a pair of curved ram horns atop its head.

Behind it were gigantic membrane wings spanning nearly four meters wide, and its crimson eyes exuded a teasing, human-like expression.

"Run, why aren't you running?"

Its voice was somewhat hoarse, and from its tone to expression and stance, it conveyed a relaxed sense of cat-and-mouse play.

Uwe took a deep breath, stepped into the sunlight, and said gravely, "Mahat, if you want to kill me, then go ahead, but our grievances shouldn't involve others."

"Heh heh."

Mahat let out a cold laugh. Originally, it wasn't a monster but a criminal whose right hand was broken and was cast out.

Over the years, it continued petty thefts outside.

If it weren't for Naraku wanting to replenish the number of monsters killed by Onestor, it wouldn't have been turned into a monster by the Shikon Jewel.

That transformation drastically changed Mahat's life.

Unlike the terrified people fleeing, it had become a predator, experiencing for the first time the feeling of standing high above.

Among the eighteen attack routes devised by Naraku, it chose this one just to get revenge on Uwe and the others.

"Back then, I only stole a little from you, yet you cruelly disabled my right hand, not caring about our village bond at all."

Mahat recounted its tragic past, its eyes fixed on Uwe, the most outstanding young man in the village.

In stark contrast to its life, Uwe was lively, active, and smart since he was young, the leader among the children of the village.

He remained unchanged as he grew, successfully marrying the most beautiful woman in Yueying Village.

Honest, sincere, kind, brave—Uwe seemed to embody all good human qualities.

Everyone was human; why was there such a wide gap?

Mahat had pondered this question many times, but now it no longer cared.

Because it had become excellent enough, there was no need to worry about who, between itself and Uwe, was better. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

What was Uwe, anyway? Without its past experiences, he wouldn't even be worth its special trip.

"Now, it's time for you to pay the price.

Jenny, if you want everyone to survive, then you should know what to do; you're not an ignorant girl anymore."

Mahat shifted its gaze from Uwe to the woman behind him.

She had shoulder-length chestnut hair, a refined face, and an ordinary long dress that accentuated her curves.

That alluring figure was Mahat's cherished treasure in the past.

It wasn't planning to spare these people but wanted to deceive Jenny, luring her willingly to give herself before dying in despair.

Mahat believed that such an event would be more entertaining to watch.

It pulled down the animal hide at its waist, revealing a deadly weapon.

Thick as two arms and resembling a wolf fang club, it was covered in spikes that glistened with a metallic sheen under the sun.

Getting struck by that would undoubtedly result in a gory mess.

Jenny was undoubtedly doomed.

Uwe's face was full of anger.

Jenny was also frightened and turned pale, her body trembling.

The elder of Yueying Village spoke, "Mahat, stop spouting nonsense. How could you possibly spare us?"

"Right, we know you too well." "You've never done a good deed since childhood—lying and deceiving have always been your habits."

"If you want to kill, then kill! We will never give in to you!"

"That's right!"

Uwe drew the sword from his waist, his expression becoming resolute.

This was the best sword in the village.

Besides this sword, Yueying Village had no swords, only axes or pitchforks.

Mahat's face showed a touch of annoyance; it hadn't expected these people to stand by Uwe's side at such a critical moment of life and death.

It coldly scanned them and fixed its gaze on Jenny, saying, "Jenny, you don't want to see Uwe die, do you?"

"You've never been a trustworthy person."

Jenny shook her head, not believing Mahat would spare others.

Even if she gave herself, it would be useless.

This was a greedy, vengeful, narrow-minded person.

Not killing him back then and only breaking one hand was already too merciful of Yueying Village's people.

Mahat's eyes glinted with a coldness as it sneered, "Since none of you trust me.

"Then if I don't do something bad, wouldn't I be letting your impression of me down?"

After speaking, it didn't stay in place any longer and chose to stride forward, not using excessive speed, but instead slowly closed in to increase their inner fear.

Uwe's hand holding the sword trembled; he knew very well that he couldn't defeat Mahat, who had transformed into a monster.

He couldn't understand why the other had become like this, but he understood that the opponent was very powerful.

In Mahat's hands, trees were like paper, and human bodies were no exception.

But he couldn't retreat.

Uwe took a deep breath and swung his sword forward.

Mahat didn't even bother to block it, with its current body's hardness, the sword coming down was like killing someone with tofu—it was a complete joke.

But suddenly, Uwe's sword lit up with a burst of light.

What?!

Mahat was startled and hurriedly swung its claw with all its might.

...

In an instant.

Uwe's sword fell, and Mahat's claw pierced its own chest.

Blood splattered onto Uwe's face.

The people behind were stunned.

Uwe was also shocked, when did his sword gain explosive effects?

No, he took a closer look and realized the hole in the chest wasn't caused by a sword, it looked more like some kind of claw.

After a brief moment of thought, Uwe noticed a young man standing to the side, with well-defined features and a pure white outfit that looked like noble attire, fitting snugly.

The aura was strong.

This was the focus of Uwe and the men's attention.

As for Jenny and the other women, they were more inclined to appraise the young man's features and body, thinking there was no man in the village who could compare.

Although Jenny really liked Uwe, she didn't want to speak against her conscience.

The young man was probably a prince from Catalivo.

"Don't stop, keep running."

Aozawa took out a wooden plaque from behind him, with text from Catalivo, paired with his universal gesture for running, he believed these people could understand.

Immediately, he turned and ran towards another direction.

The monster tide was advancing, but not all monsters were gathered together.

If they were, it would be difficult for people to disperse and respond, he would lose the original intention of creating another world.

Although Aozawa wasn't controlling the actions of all monsters on a large scale now, he used Fate Weaving to manipulate the general direction.

The details, however, were decided by Naraku.

He didn't care.

"Thank you!"

Uwe expressed his gratitude.

Even if Aozawa couldn't hear, he felt obliged to thank him for saving his life; as for repayment, he didn't have the ability.

He was just an ordinary person.

Uwe put away his sword and turned, saying, "Let's go."

"Okay."

The group hurriedly fled from the forest.

...

"There are Treasure Users hunting us."

A faint voice suddenly echoed in his mind. A monster resembling a lion but with a human face on its chest dug out a heart, with cruelly flickering eyes: "Treasure Users?

In the past, upon hearing that title, I would've been terrified and saluted those people.

Now, I just want to ask the Treasure Users how many seconds can they last?"

This arrogant remark made the monster responsible for communication lightly sigh. It lay by a mountain cliff, its back and face covered with numerous eyes.

Through those eyes and the large ears left and right, it could see and hear faraway happenings, what people were saying.

Phoenix Academy Maggie and Aozawa's figures hunting monsters were also seen by it.

"Don't be careless, we have just been transformed into monsters by Lord Naraku, and are still familiarizing ourselves with our powers.

The Treasure Users are already very clear about the abilities of their Noble Phantasms.

Based on my observation, the blonde girl uses a Noble Phantasm related to swords, which can release sharp golden light. Six monsters have already died by her sword.

The other young man's ability is even more bizarre, likely related to illusions, terrifying illusions, I've already seen that young man die three times.

But each time afterward, it's always monsters lying down, with self-inflicted chest wounds.

Both move back and forth along the border, constantly hunting monsters trying to enter Vistalia Kingdom.

Behind them might be someone similar to me mediating, otherwise, they wouldn't pinpoint the whereabouts of the monsters so precisely each time."

"I see, but there are only two of them, if we call more monsters, are we afraid of losing?"

"Yes, so this time I've specially contacted thirty-six monsters, not to fight together, prioritize taking out the woman, then sneak attack and resolve the young man.

Remember, when fighting the young man, don't waste your breath, just go up and attack."

"I know, don't be so long-winded."

The human-faced lion replied unhappily.

The two were of equal status, neither being commanded by the other, it was merely that the monster's ability was more suitable for communication, thus it stayed in the back.