This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 626

Wherever you go in the world, there are always those who act with reckless bravado.

Such was the case with the British Hero ‘Queen,’ who, standing atop a container, looked down at the Expedition Team below with a confident demeanor and declared that she would show that creature the power of humanity before taking off in its direction.

The speed with which she flew toward the enemy was so fast that no one had the chance to stop her.

Nevertheless, while everyone was surprised by ‘Queen’s’ sudden action, nobody actually worried about her.

It wasn’t because of any ill feelings among the Expedition Team or any desire to keep her in check.

It was simply because… to them, it felt natural.

After all, ‘Queen’ from England was known to be among the top ten heroes in the world, if not in the top five.

Even with her limitations tied to her talent, if those restrictions were lifted, many believed that her name could have easily replaced the name of someone currently within the TOP 10.

So when they witnessed ‘Queen’s’ sudden action, everyone thought that even if she couldn’t inflict any meaningful damage on that entity, escaping from it wouldn’t be too difficult.

And that’s exactly why no one joined her.

Given the situation, watching the two fight to gauge the true extent of that much-rumored humanoid creature didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Even within the temporarily arranged Meeting Room, when discussions were underway on how to proceed, the typically calm and composed ‘Queen’ had sunk into such calculations behind her unexpected action.

What more can I say?

She was confident.

She believed she could eliminate that ‘thing’ which was foolish enough to mimic a human form, a monster as it was.

And if she succeeded?

Surely, she would earn significant merits.

Perhaps merits she could brag about until her last breath.

How could she resist something so tantalizing right in front of her?

‘Why does everyone have to be so unnecessarily slow…’

With a mix of mockery for those who had missed their chance to intervene and anticipation for the glorious achievement that would soon be in her hands, she rapidly closed the distance to her target.

At the same time, she silently prepared a massive strike that would be unleashed the moment her opponent came into range…

‘…Huh?’

As she soared forward using the power of her wings, she suddenly realized something critical.

‘It vanished…?!’

Just moments ago, the enemy that had been so clearly in her sights had disappeared without a trace.

Soon after, a blaring siren—a sound typical of a nearby forest fire—began to reverberate in her mind.

‘Where? Where did it go?’

The eyes detecting her owner’s crisis began to dart around maniacally, scanning every possible direction.

However, no matter where she looked, there was no sign of the ‘Girl.’

Not above, not below, not beside her—nowhere.

If she was not there, then?

The answer was clear.

‘…Behind!’

Feeling an overwhelming sense of danger wash over her like an electric shock, she immediately turned her body.

To be honest, she believed she had reacted quickly enough, and thus felt certain she could avoid it…

Phwack—!

The moment she instinctively glanced down at the bizarre sound echoing in her ears, she was met with an unbelievable sight.

A slender arm soaked in bright red blood had erupted through her abdomen.

‘Uh…?’

Following that, as she slowly shifted her gaze, she found something that resembled a hybrid of a jewel and flesh, caught between the blood-soaked slender fingers of the ‘Girl.’

What on earth was that?

She had no clue.

She couldn’t understand at that moment… but suddenly her talent fell silent.

She could feel her once-mighty wings, which had grown large behind her, vanishing helplessly.

At that moment, the arm that had erupted from her abdomen pulled out slowly.

Gravity, which she hadn’t felt earlier while flying, began to grip her strongly.

The scenes before her eyes swirled chaotically, and the ground—covered in flesh—rapidly approached.

Amongst that puzzling scenery, she caught sight of the ‘Girl’ gulping down something that looked like a strange object caught between her fingers as if it were candy, with her bright red tongue.

So what was that?

What was it really…?

It was probably because of the things pouring out through the hole in her abdomen at this very moment.

As she began to feel her consciousness fading away, that was when the wings sprouted from behind the ‘Girl.’

The crimson wings, now made of blood, unfurled behind her, resembling those that had just moments ago been where ‘Queen’s’ wings had been.

.

.

.

In a literal instant, a fierce competition erupted.

And the result of that competition led to the demise of ‘Queen,’ one of the Expedition Team members, plunging the top of the container into an inexplicable and eerie silence.

There was no way around it.

In the eyes of those who bore witness to that scene, silence was inevitable… for it had been that shocking.

It wasn’t merely about ‘Queen’s’ abrupt and futile death.

That alone was shocking enough, but what truly sent the Expedition members into a state of horror was a different scene altogether.

At a certain moment, the crimson wings sprouted from the back of the ‘Girl.’

She showcased something that closely resembled ‘Queen’s’ wings, which had previously been there, right before their eyes, leaving those who witnessed it with an unexplainable feeling of the grotesque.

And rightly so; for in the eyes of everyone who had seen the entire chain of events, it certainly appeared that way.

It looked as if the ‘Girl’ had killed ‘Queen’ and stolen her talent.

Given what they had known until that point, such a thing was impossible.

What more could be said?

The act of forcibly stealing someone’s talent was fundamentally infeasible.

If such a thing were possible, the Candidates dreaming of becoming heroes would forever be subjected to life-threatening killings.

However, through extensive research, the impossibility of this had already been proven, and thus everyone believed it to be true…

What on earth just happened?

In that instant, everyone’s thoughts involuntarily turned to the mysterious object the ‘Girl’ had pulled from ‘Queen’s’ body…

But that was all they could do.

The presence of the knife raised right in front of them was simply too threatening to ignore.

It’s hard to claim that the strongest person in the Expedition Team was present, but there was no way to dismiss the overwhelming power that could instantly kill someone.

And… it was plain to see that the ‘Girl’ seemed to be absorbing the talent of the one she had just killed.

In that moment, she stepped into the spotlight, and they all instinctively understood.

To achieve their mission of completely eradicating the Another, they needed to overcome ‘that thing’ first.

If they couldn’t surpass what had emerged so boldly ahead of them, then eradicating the Anothers from this world would be impossible.

Not to mention?

If they couldn’t surpass that thing, humanity might face a future devoid of hope.

For if they failed to surpass it, it meant that all the talents of those who had joined the Expedition Team would belong to ‘that thing.’

Each of those talents was so exceptional that they could represent entire nations.

If ‘that thing’ succeeded in absorbing them all, just how strong would it become?

What was certain was… if such an event happened, it wouldn’t end with just a few cities disappearing.

At the very least, several nations could fall, and in the worst case, an entire continent might end up in their hands.

As a person who embraced the title of Hero, they couldn’t let that happen.

Thus, the situation stood.

“…This doesn’t seem like a time for us to just be wary of one another.”

Those were the words that slipped from someone’s lips.