Chapter 172 - The Choir Softly Sing.

In a city near a tall mountain, the noise of the huge crowds filled the ears as vehicles' horns went off once in a while.

The lively crowd consisted of not only locals, but even a considerable number of tourists traversed the streets and explored the various attractions around while heading towards a particular gate facing the mountain.

The stairs extending towards the clouds on the mountain were a sight to behold as tourists took pictures and admired the view.

A group of friends joked and laughed as they grabbed a bunch of snacks from a street vendor, but their voices suddenly came to a halt followed by the horrible screeching of a knife scraping against a plate.

The noise echoed and vanished quickly, yet no one seemed to notice as if they didn't hear it nor the blurred surroundings as the vehicles, people, and the site began to distort.

Like a stain washed by water, their colors and shapes dissolved away, replaced by a boundless whiteness. It was like the world lost all its distinguishable features, leaving a white landscape.

But at the very same moment, a black hue surfaced this empty horizon.

They were too many and covered everything in sight, overlapping and multiplying. Despite their ever-changing sizes and forms, they were mostly like shadows cast by leafless branches of trees.

People, now outlined like a basic sketch, weren't bothered by these branches sprouting from any position, even their insides, and following them in every action.

Messaging his forehead, a young man with headphones suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing someone to bump into him from behind.

Unaware of what was going around, the woman who pumped into him apologized for the inconvenience, but the man accompanying her got irritated because they got ignored.

But he didn't hear them, he couldn't even if he wanted to. It was uncanny, to say the least as if thousands of irritating noises overlapped at once, but the world was completely voided from sounds at the moment.

As he glanced over, the woman's face and body lost all the identifiable features. It was like looking at a basic mannequin, tied by those branches like a marionette, and so was her boyfriend and everyone else here.

She told him something and apologized again before taking her boyfriend away as the branches spread like ripples, but despite the headphones being off, no sound was coming to his ears as if he became deaf once more.

It was like he was in a completely different world separated from all. A bit horrifying, but very familiar to him.

However, he clearly 'understood' them.

The weird and crude, yet pure information bypassed all his regular senses, telling him what he needed and more. The woman's words, her thoughts and everyone else here, the scenery faraway, everything became very clear through those twigs.

The branches continued their chaotic dance and as if they noticed his gaze, more and more hidden ones surfaced. It was like the person in front of him was reduced to nothing but information until they began to gather­­———

The screech sounded again in his head followed by a stinging pain.

"Ha?! What did I do wrong?!"

"Can't you see?! He's just a kid!"

Suddenly, the desolated world dissipated like a mirage and the world returned to its vibrant form. The quarrel of the two sounded clear as everything regained liveliness.

The sounds and colors sudden shift bombarded Leo's mind as the faint Personal Reality and AIM Field retreated. Although they recovered a bit during these two weeks, they are still weak and basically nonfunctional.

Rubbing his temples, the ringing in his head finally died away, but the headaches were still going strong. To be frank, the injury he received would cripple anyone permanently in case they unlikely survived. However, it wasn't one of his concerns at the moment.

"….."

His expression was rather unusual as he stared at the mountain ahead in silence. The life energy flowed through the ground and headed towards it from several channels. Yet, his eyes seemed to be lost in thoughts.

However, he took a deep breath, clearing his mind before facing the mountain.

"So, we finally met. The legendary multiversal and invisible Mt. Tai. You diagnosed billions of cultivators with blindness, yet here you are, standing in plain sight"

At the entrance of the First Heaven Gate, Leo stared at the stairs disappearing into the clouds with an inexplicable feeling.

"Can I say I'm not blind now? Probably not, but… I can feel a lot of people puking blood for no reason. I'm satisfied" Leo smiled with contentment and nodded sagely to the mountain.

{Hm? What nonsense are you spouting at these bunch of rocks?} Ddraig looked at Mt. Tai and Leo before a vein popped on his head.

"Shhhhhhhh, don't ruin this for me"

{....}

Leo put his fist in his palm and saluted the mountain despite all the weird stares he has been getting.

{Did you adopt wasting time as your new philosophy? You're very good at it}

"Always has been. But now, now, don't be like that, Ddraig. Didn't you hear that every place has its own culture and costumes? For example, this place gives blindness to cultivators and…"

Leo paid the entrance fee casually before he stepped inside the gate while explaining the profound truths to Ddraig. The moment he did, a chance in the atmosphere occurred as he passed through a film.

"Hm? Would you look at that…"

Normal people and even relatively strong figures wouldn't notice, but Leo picked up this difference instantly. Glancing around, Leo felt the Divine Power prevailing through the air.

The intensity and consternation were at least two steps lower than Asgard, but without a doubt, this is a God's Realm.

{Oh? This place… it's reminding me of an annoying old man.}

"Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down? Well, it isn't a big surprise. This is a sacred mountain, after all. But I wonder…"

Waving with his hand, the Divine Power scattered away like mist before it soon grouped again and filled the area. For a mere entrance, this amount was a bit concerning.

"This doesn't seem to be a mere coincidence"

Although he wondered what they were plotting, he's not all that bored to seek it out. If anything happens, he'll just carpet bomb the entire place on their heads. Easy and simple.

Passing by various people and vendors, Leo observed this realm while climbing the path to heaven. There was no reason to do so, but actually, if by any chance someone told him 'Can't see Mt. Tai', he wants to say 'Harlot, I climbed Mt. Tai'. There's no more important motive than this.

However, unlike Asgard, this realm isn't really separated from the Human World. It overlaps with the mountain and connects to its internal structure, making everyone who passes through one of the entrances at the 'hospitality' of the gods here.

Bathing in the Divine Power is probably the reason for most legends about the mountain. This surely limits the flexibility of the realm like Asgard which has an entire layer modeled after a modern city, yet, it augments the ties to nature, allowing the gods to have more strength in their domain.

But as the gods can get a boost in their domain, the movement of Divine Power also reflects their intention and nature in some cases. For Leo, it looked a bit too welcoming, but he still shrugged it off.

Yet… he was soon blocked by someone. Well, rather than say blocked, it was such an obvious behavior that made Leo's eyebrow twitch.

An old man, dressed in long white robes stood at the next turn of the stairs. His getup and long white hair and beard made him completely out of the place, yet, no one paid attention to him.

Leo looked at the old man as the latter did the same. They stared at each other for a while before Leo took a turn around him and continued ascending.

Of course, the old man kept appearing at the same position in every next resting place, then the two stared at each other again, not breaking the line of sight until they separated by the mountain wall.

This behavior continued until the Midway Gate to Heaven. At this point, the Divine Power in the air increased and gathered, well, mostly around the old man like it's screaming 'I'm here'. Leo started to get annoyed by this golden mist flying at his face, so he stopped.

"Seriously? Is this the best you could have come up with to hide?"

"Of course, not. The Dai Miao aren't rude to guests. Hiding will be insulting as a visit from an esteemed guest is a joyful occasion"

{Esteemed? Since when? Hey, Ddraig, last time I checked, I'm an official terrorist, right?}

{… Yes}

The Red Dragon and The Pure Angel stared at the old man weirdly before Leo said " You say that, yet you aren't going to introduce yourself and would probably tell me to reach the peak if I want to know. But to be honest, I don't want to know, keep it for yourself"

"...…."

The old man fiddled with his long bread. It was hard to notice, but Leo saw his wrinkled face twitch faintly. However, he turned away calmly and said "If you want to know who I am, reach the peak. Our fates shall converge at that moment"

The old man vanished swiftly after those words, leaving Leo with his eyebrow twitching.

"I'm totally ignoring him when I get up there, but…" He squeezed the bridge of his nose before looking up. "I have a bad feeling about this"

{Hm? They shouldn't pose any problem to you}

"No, it's just there might not be a reason to blow up a hole in the mountain. My Life Courting will fail before it even starts" Leo sighed secretly with a troubled expression, which made Ddraig stare at him judgmentally.

With deep sadness and his Dragon's partner judging him, Leo continued climbing the mountain.

As one of the five sacred mountains of China, Tai Shan is truly one of the cores of Chinese supernatural society, which is why Leo came here to plant the artificial nodes. It's kinda hard to ignore several dragon veins crossing the land into these five mountains and it's so neatly organized that he doesn't have to bother to look for them.

This is why Leo left the Dragon Veins in the supernatural societies-related area to the last. These cabals, organizations, schools, sects, clans, etc… make things too easy.

After finishing dealing with the first plot point and receiving the glorious middle finger cloud that appears once in a while, Venom finished his modification on the magic tool, which means the plan can finally start and Leo's terrorist occupation can shine once more.

There has been nothing better to do, to be frank. The Chat is giving him an existential crisis by being stuck at 99% for a week now and Genshirou is satisfying people with weird fetishes in his devil job… Yeah, literally.

Not to mention, his AIM Field and Personal Reality are going up and down lately, which could end badly. Not for him, but for everyone on the planet's surface. But oh well, as long as he finishes the project and recovers the Crowns, these backlashes shouldn't pose a big problem.

Passing the clouds, the number of people reduced sharply. After all, not everyone will torture themselves and climb up. They'll be taking the cable car instead. Well, Leo wasn't bothered by the distance. He simply walked nonstop until he found himself near the peak.

The Jade Emperor Peak--- The highest point in Mt. Tai is one of the most famous tourist places in China. When people were either resting or taking photos at the clouds' view, Leo walked straight to the temple ahead.

He tapped the air with his hand as it rippled. The barrier separating the inner realm from everyone cracked like glass before Leo stepped inside.

The icy mountain winds calmed down as the scenery completely changed. The tourists, vendors, and the normal peak were replaced by a big temple.

A few people wearing long robes slightly similar to the old man from before appeared. Some were guarding the gates to them while others either walked around respectfully like they are scared to cause any problem here.

Leo glanced at them before he noticed a 'gaze' landing on him from within the temple.

Not bothering with everyone who had dumbfounded and horrified expressions because he broke the barrier in their faces, a portal appeared in front of Leo before he vanished from sight.

He found himself inside a spacious room of an ancient style, even so, the decorations were luxurious and moderated enough to not look uncomfortable. However, Leo's focus was on the person waiting here all along.

A man in his twenties dressed in luxurious robes of the same type as the old man's. His long hair was tied by a band as a long sword rested by his side. At the moment Leo appeared, he turned around.

{Hmph, a strong presence for someone almost crying from fear} Although the young man's expression was solid like rocks, Ddraig saw fear deep in those gray eyes.

He 'looked' at Leo before bowing down with his palm in his fist and greeted "Junior, Meng Shirong, greet the esteemed elder. I hope the esteemed elder would understand. The situation wasn't optimal to prepare a proper greeting"

{Damn, it's been less than two hours and I have been promoted from a Young Master to an Elder. Wait, he's calling me old, isn't he?! Well, to be fair, even I don't know if I should be old or young at this point}

{Hmph, it's not surprising. The strong are respected whatever they go. As long as you have strength, they wouldn't even dare to complain about blowing up their houses} Ddraig was very natural about it. Probably because the previous Boosted Gears hosts had similar encounters.

However, it seems he forgot that Leo isn't a 'normal' Boosted Gear host.

{Duh, Mr. Obvious Dragon Emperor, but that sounds very boring. More importantly, what about my life courting?! Don't you dare mention death. So many people courted it successfully, it's a massive harlot!}

{...}

"I know the elder might have several questions, but in the honor of Dai Miao, we seek no animosity" Meng Shirong walked towards the table in the room before he gestured politely to Leo.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but it doesn't matter now. You have good 'eyes' and know how to use them" Although he didn't bother to hide much during this trip, noticing his presence is still a good feat as Leo nodded.

{…. Really? Are you telling this to a blind person?} Ddraig felt speechless because this young man in front of him was clearly blind despite his competence.

Meng Shirong only sat down after Leo did before he started pouring some tea slowly. Despite his calm and collected actions, he still looked very nervous in Leo's eyes.

"I'm honored, but the esteemed elder is overestimating me. It's all thanks to the great ancestor. This junior happened to 'see' the Infinite Dragon God once. The overwhelming presence covering this land in darkness was hard to forget and it reappeared once more today. Once again, this junior is honored to meet the renowned one, The Fall"

"...…."

{Oh, you got a new title. It isn't as bad as I thought it'll be… and shorter. Don't worry, there are still more to go. I know you'll like them}

Ddraig mocked him and laughed at Leo's frozen face after he heard his new nickname. In fact, Leo was slightly shocked because this name shouldn't be figured here, however—

{Well said, Breasts Dragon Emperor}

{*crack*!}

The Fall———

Leo ignored the breaking noise from within the Longinus as three questions circled his mind. How did they decide this, who agreed to this, and where can he find them to have a friendly conversation?

Unaware of it, Leo's silence made Meng Shirong shiver as clear signs of fear flashed across his eyes, but to his relief, Leo shook his head and nodded.

"Figured. I assume you have something to tell me" Leo took the teacup as he leaned on the chair, noticing that Meng Shirong's body flinched faintly.

"There's no such thing. Instead, it's the honor of Dai Miao to welcome you. But it would be a sin to take more of the esteemed elder time." Meng Shirong's frozen facial expression finally took a serious approach before he spoke "Representing the Five Great Sacred Mountains, as long as it doesn't bring harm, we shall satisfy any wish of the elder"

"Hm? You're putting this offer like you are pretty sure I won't do something that will erase this place from the map. It seems your eyes have more to them or is it simply a desperate guess. Maybe the ancestor whispering to you now knows better"

Meng Shirong's face changed a little before it returned to normal, but Leo found him struggling to not break into a cold sweat.

Despite losing his sight, the world always felt more 'colorful' for Meng Shirong. With the blessing of the supreme god of the mountain, this unfortunate fate became his strength.

However, he could barely squint now. The crushing presence flooded his mind, making his ability barely functional, yet, what horrified him the most was that his brain can't recognize anything.

The opposite figure is clearly looking like a young man, but his mind couldn't settle on a decision. Is he old, young, tall, short, what his facial features are, and is he even a young man? The scariest part is that this is what his brain is doing. It was deceiving itself by itself, unable to break free from this cycle. The more he sensed, the more he understood this fact and his fear grew stronger.

A monster.

Appeared from nowhere and flipped the order of this world. The Fall in the eyes of most is more terrifying than Great Red and Infinite Dragon God because no one understands him. What are his goals and views on the world? Is it kindhearted or straight-up destructive?

The unknown situation builds a pretty horrifying picture of The Fall.

"Well, I need access to all major nodes of the Dragon Veins across China, especially the ones involved in the formation between the Five Mountains. Don't worry, I won't flatten them" Leo shrugged and asked as Meng Shirong closed his eyes for a moment and contacted someone before nodding.

Without further ado, he took a luxurious Azure Dragon token and presented it to Leo before saying "This is a gift from the great ancestor. You can access all important locations on the mainland and be treated as the highest guest. It also contains the main coordination of the Five Elements Peaks formation"

{Highest guest? They are desperately hoping for you to not wreak havoc here} Ddraig felt the situation to be annoying and Leo had to agree. These politics are hurting his brain and he should probably leave.

"The Five Elements Peaks is the greatest formation in the mainland. In the past, with the help of the Four Auspicious Beasts, it used to be the strongest wall. Unfortunately, the beasts are currently in a country named Japan, including Huang Long (Yellow Dragon). If the esteemed elder is seeking the Dragon Veins, the beasts may provide a big h---"

Playing with the token, Leo ignored Meng Shirong's words and sighed "Well, it seems I really won't have to blow up a hole in this mountain. You bunch buried the formation pretty deeply, huh?"

Meng Shirong's body trembled and faint sweat appeared on his forehead when he heard Leo saying those words with a bored expression. However, Leo already had enough of chit-chat and stood up.

But as Meng Shirong calmed down, Leo passed him and add a few words "But next time remember, using me to point the knife at someone isn't a sign of good intentions, just saying"

His words didn't carry any strength and were very carefree, but Meng Shirong stiffened and felt as if he had fallen to the abyss. With a pale complexion, he tried to explain, but in the end, he only bowed slightly because Leo vanished from the room.

Outside the temple, the freezing wind blew as Leo walked in the Jade Emperor Peak. From who knows where he took five small wooden crosses. They looked like they were made of old dried wood, twisted into irregular shapes.

Injecting them with mana, he tossed them into the air as they grew into the size of an adult male. A wave of pink energy warped, igniting the crosses in pinkish gleam before their shapes scattered into cherry blossoms like particles dancing in the wind.

Crossing space and time, each cross appeared above the main core of one of the Five Elemental Peak. They halted in the air before accelerating and crashing directly into the center.

However, they didn't cause any as they phased through formation until they hit the Dragon Vein's node. Several magic circles emerged on their surface before they sank deeply and merged with the enormous life energy.

The Five mountains across the country faintly trembled before they calmed down.

{The flow of energy in the crosses is stable. The artificial nodes have been planted successfully. Congratulations, my Lord} Venom received feedback from the dormant magic devices and reported it immediately.

"You did most of the work. Shouldn't you congratulate yourself, instead?"

{Congratulations to… myself?}

Leo shook his head as Venom had a hard time with it and kept repeating that phrase, but oh well, it wasn't a bad conclusion for him. With this, his journey of Courting Life ended before it even started… What a sad day.

As a land with deep ties to the occult and mysterious world, the important Dragon Veins in the whole country are deeply connected by the efforts of organizations here. This eased Leo's work a lot.

Now, maybe he should go plant the other nodes or look for the fucker who put a new chunni nickname on his head. A lot is left to do, which hurts his procrastinating soul deeply.

However, a familiar presence appeared, but he didn't bother as he accelerated his steps.

"Bullying a junior isn't something befitting your position, esteemed guest"

At the edge of the peak, the old man from before faced the mountain winds and looked at Leo. The Divine Power surrounding the realm circled him as usual, but Leo wasn't buying it.

"You're acting as if he didn't ask for it"

The old man simply didn't speak, neither Leo was interested if he had any words. He passed by his side before vanishing into thin-air.

Noticing that Leo's presence has left the God's Realm, the old man fiddling with his long bear in silence.

After a while, a long sight escaped his lips. His mind and memories have been deceived into a mess despite his efforts. There wasn't a moment about Leo's silhouette in his brain that he could figure out if it was true or false.

"The figure who shook all rivers and lakes isn't simple, after all" The old man whispered as a figure came rushing from behind.

"Junior, Meng Shirong, greet the great ancestor" Meng Shirong saluted the Great Deity of Mt. Tai as the latter nodded gently and said "You did well"

"Ancestor overpraised. It's is all because of the great ancestor grace that Dai Miao can stand tall"

"My time has already passed. The temple is in your hands…" The Great Deity shook his head as Meng Shirong didn't dwell into the subject further and said "The ancestor predictions were correct; he didn't come with… a lot of animosities. The Fall seems to be after the Dragon Veins for an unknown motive… Maybe this is our chance"

The Great Deity shook his head and before saying "… It's for the better if we keep the past buried for now"

Meng Shirong lowered his head as his fist clenched tightly. Taking a deep breath, his complexion returned to normal.

"…. Junior offends. As The Fall is clearly targeting the Dragon Veins, he'll surely go after those thieves! There's no better time to strike and recover the Five Beas—"

"The three biblical factions have been under the move lately" The Great Deity spoke as Meng Shirong rendered silence.

How could he not know the recent weird behavior of those three groups? Their spies and informers have been speculating that the three factions might be aiming to join forces, but if this happens…

"They have many ties to the country named Japan and if the rumors are true, I'm afraid…" The Great Deity said slowly as Meng Shirong understood and lowered his head again.

They might have to give up their attempt against the thieving Five Principal Clans.

"But even so, I'm afraid the others won't keep their hands off these muddy waters…" Knowing the old stubborn fogies at the other temples, Meng Shirong felt more worried.

The Great Deity didn't speak any further as he watched the clouds rolling around the mountains. It has been a long time since the mountains trembled and he's afraid that the following days won't go in peace.

…

Unaware and uninterested in the story behind, Leo flew like a comet, leaving a bright trail behind him.

The distance shrank quickly as he wondered where he should go. Anywhere would do at the moment because his head hurts from analyzing the previous politics. It feels like as long as he touches something, the butterflies that the World's Will probably suppressed will flap their wings again.

{Does this mean I'm destroying 'her' work just by walking around? Well, it isn't my problem. I can't just become nonexistent… Well, I totally can, but we don't talk about that} These were Leo thought as he flew past a middle finger cloud that bizarrely formed.

To be honest, he's still a bit salty for not being able to court life properly. Why did all those people just walk around and attract a bunch of retards, but he found reasonable and wise figures?! This is injustice!

He's The Fool, for fuck's sake! Is this cursed Origin playing another joke on his existence?! Wasn't his previous life enough?! Shaking his head, Leo accelerated and decided to plant the Dragon Veins' nodes in the ocean.

A light jog in the deadly depths has proven to be quite relaxing in the previous time.

*Ding!*

But as he was prepared to dive from the stratosphere, a clear ring sounded in his head. The bright comet broke into various shimmers as Leo slowed down until he floated calmly in the air.

Illusion? No, that doesn't work on him and his brain isn't going crazy… yet. This annoying and familiar notification noise couldn't be mistaken. It haunted him down since the day he got into crippling debts.

From an empty point in space, the blue holographic screen expanded until its content became visible to Leo. Same as always, it was impossible to sense where it came or where it leads to.

[The MoonLit Chat Room version 2.0, welcomes you.]

Greeted by the following message, Leo tilted his head and whispered "2.0? This shitty chat upgraded and got a bad name too… This doesn't sound promising."

Leo swept the message away and stared at the default main interface as two options were displayed. [MoonLit Main] and [MoonLit Chaldea], even these got the same name, which made his eyebrow twitch before sighing secretly.

Complex emotions flashed in his eyes as he stared at the first option. His last memory about it was those guys getting stuck in some shitty ploy between the multiverse space and Konosuba World's Will.

Come to think of it… he also sends them some 'help', doesn't he? Leo clicked his tongue as the roaring winds blew his clothes, yet it didn't manage to mask his irritation.

That experiment was a big mistake. He shouldn't have ever attempted it. Not the part where he got bombed, but when he gave them 'that'. No one should come in contact with it, not now, not like this…

It's alright if it was only him, it's his own choice, and no one has the right to interfere. But he doesn't wish for it to befall anyone else. Call it his last compassion and selfishness.

His state wasn't the best back then. It was a struggle to barely get a grip on reality as the world jump (Incomplete) made 'that' resurface. The unexpected spiritual poisoning wasn't helping either, maybe it was the reason behind this entire problem.

But… there's no point in mentioning it now. Aware of the worst-case scenarios, Leo buried those feelings and clicked on [MoonLit Main].

What happened has happened. If the worst occurred, then he'll take the full responsibility to fix it, although he doesn't really have the confidence in doing so.

The screen flickered before a new interface loaded quickly into the familiar, yet different-looking chat channel. Faintly sighing, Leo shook his head and read the chat.

Same as ever, this feeling is the worst. Back then or now, it seems they are quite destined. However, Leo's expression quickly went from somehow troubled, into perplexed, and ended on a blank complexion staring at the screen in total silence…

[NEET Princess: As the following points state, I hope the mighty and wise World's Wills would assign me as the new admin]

[Advocate of Gender Equality: Very good arguments. As one of the victims of the tyrant admin, I would like to point out he's unqualified for leadership. Not to mention, he hasn't been online since forever. For the greater good and justice, I recommend NEET Princess as the new admin]

What is he exactly looking at?

[NEET Princess: Your words moved me deeply, Junior Kazuma. Striving for righteousness against the tyrant should be everyone's goal. Your mentality will take you to places, junior]

[Advocate of Gender Equality: You praise me too much, lady Kaguya. But the place you mentioned is perhaps… exempted from mutes?]

These… harlots…

The violent winds up far in the sky trembled as a large amount of energy started leaking.

[NEET Princess: Fufufu… Junior Kazuma sure is knowledgably]

[Advocate of Gender Equality: Hahaha… Compare to lady Kaguya, I'm nothing much]

They… of all times… I was worried…

Looking at the cringe messages, Leo felt something snap in his mind because they did what he couldn't achieve. Looking at the sky, Leo cracked his fingers and neck before staring down at the Chat Room window.

[Bri-Bri: You two… Why are you talking like this? Don't answer, but It has been two weeks, can't you cut it out?]

[Big Sister Lion: Everyone, look at the right]

[NEET Princess: ?]

[Advocate of Gender Equality: Hm?]

Kazuma and Kaguya glanced at the right bar of the Chat Room. It showed the names of the Chat members and their current status. However, their eyes landed on a particular name that appeared on top of the list.

[Annihilation Maker (Admin)] was written in golden color with a tiny crown at the side and a small green icon that showed the current status… Online.

It was quite weird they didn't notice the unique display of the admin role until now… but it was too late.

[Annihilation Maker (Admin):...]

[Advocate of Gender Equality: Oh… shit… *Cough*… It has been a while]

[NEET Princess: It's quite windy today, isn't it? I'll go close the window… Ah, Leo! This is a pleasant surprise; I was so worried about you. You must have a lot to say, please, take your time]

The chat got caught in uncomfortable silence as everyone didn't know what to write. Only the looming admin title flickered as it brought dread for some reason.

The seconds turned into minutes before a new message appeared…

[Annihilation Maker (Admin): I went to China… yet… You. Two. Are. Courting. Life. Huh?]

It's weird how a text coming from across the worlds can be very intimidating. For some reason, Kazuma sensed the dreadful atmosphere coming as he swallowed.

[NEET Princess: How lovely. Did you bring souvenirs? Wait, where? What the odds]

[Advocate of Gender Equality: Um… Don't you mean, courting death? I can't believe you got that wrong]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) muted Advocate of Gender Equality for 1 hour.

Reason: Death is a harlot]

In a swift motion, everyone saw Kazuma getting assassinated in cold blood as his name went gray.

[Gudako (Chaldea's Admin): What is happening? I suddenly got a notification]

[Big Sister Lion: It has begun. Time to enjoy the show… Go, admin! I always knew you'd come back]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) muted Big Sister Lion for 1 hour.

Reason: Bootlicker]

Leone almost fell from the chair as the Chat Room blue color turned gray.

[NEET Princess: Admin abuse!! This is why I should be elected as the voice of reason and truth! I demand justice!]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) muted NEET Princess for 1 hour.

Reason: Justice]

[Strongest Man In The World: Hm? Oh? Guhahahahaha!! Did you return, boy? Took you long enough!]

Sitting on his ship, Whitebeard grinned as he saw Leo finally return to the Chat Room, but his expression soon froze as a message appeared.

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) muted Strongest Man In The World for 1 hour.

Reason: Croissant looking mustaches]

*BAAAM!!*

The whole area began to shake violently as Whitebeard's crew panicked at the sudden fury of their father.

[Bri-Bri: Isn't this a bit too much? I know about the other two, but Leone and Grandpa Whitebeard didn't do anything]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) muted Bri-Bri for 1 hour.

Reason: Flat, opinion automatically ignored]

Electricity flashed as all the electronics devices in Tokiwadai Middle School dorms malfunctioned, sending them back to the middle ages.

In a few seconds, almost every username in the chat turned gray except three.

[Annihilation Maker (Admin): Saitama, are you here?]

[A Hero For Fun: Eh? Yeah]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) muted A Hero For Fun for 1 hour.

Reason: Bald lurker]

"....." Putting down the manga in his hand, Saitama stared at the reason written in the message with a blank face as Genos, who was cleaning, felt a change in the atmosphere.

As silence descended on the Chat Room, only two usernames weren't grayed.

[Gudako (Chaldea's Admin): Um… uh, Lucifer, hello… Long time no see]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin): …]

[Gudako (Chaldea's Admin): So… How have you been?]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) doesn't have enough permissions to mute Gudako (Chaldea's Admin)]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin): …]

[Gudako (Chaldea's Admin):… I see. But… How do I put this? Wasn't that a bit too much? I mean…]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin) doesn't have enough permissions to mute Gudako (Chaldea's Admin)]

[Annihilation Maker (Admin): ಠ_ಠ ]

[Gudako (Chaldea's Admin): Uhhhh… I'm sorry!!!]

[Gudako (Chaldea's Admin) is Offline]

The gray list extended in the chat room as only one remained, standing tall above the rest. On top of the massacre, Leo stared down at his work with a blank expression.

Provoking everyone in the chat without a reason didn't faze him, nor did the looming [DXD World's Will +99] messages on the left side. Just like the good ol' times, if he did it once, he'll do it again!

Everyone will surely understand, after all, he's a kind person acknowledged by the world itself. Yeah, very kind…

After a long separation, the tyrant admin has finally returned to the Chat Room, 'welcomed' by all, as the list of gray names was self-explanatory.