As Bakuran and Salomé had defeated Zal'Thorr, Bakuran had repaired the damage by restoring nature to its original state. However, it seemed that Zal'Thorr was not dead. In the form of a small bird, it returned, but its intentions remained undefined.
Salomé exclaimed: "Zal'Thorr?!"
Bakuran replied: "This wretched creature isn't dead?"
The small bird moved away from them and said: "Calm down, I don't want to fight anymore. It's pointless against you two; you're too fast for me!"
Salomé, intrigued, asked: "How did you survive?"
Zal'Thorr explained: "When you attacked me recently, before I collapsed, I had already anticipated my defeat. I used my Vital Absorption to capture a living bird that I hid within my energy armor. When you launched your final attack, you hit my heart, the heart of the canopy, a crystal under my torso where my existence and powers reside. As long as it's not destroyed, I can reform or regenerate infinitely. I released the bird infected with my consciousness and used my Parasitic Rebirth skill to be reborn."
Salomé and Bakuran were surprised and impressed by this.
Bakuran asked: "What kind of creature are you?"
Zal'Thorr replied: "I'm a forest mutant, created to protect nature from threats. I judged you as dangerous because you were destroying trees without reason."
Salomé and Bakuran looked at each other and smiled, reassured. Salomé said: "Actually, you're not an evil being."
Zal'Thorr shook its head: "Never. I absorbed the energy of living beings in this forest, but unfortunately, your attacks destroyed everything."
Salomé felt compassion: "We're infinitely sorry. We didn't know this, or we would have changed our approach."
Zal'Thorr asked: "What are your names?"
Bakuran replied: "I'm Bakuran Satsujin Otoko, and she's my little sister, Salomé Satsujin Otoko."
Zal'Thorr seemed joyful in its bird form: "Even better..."
Far away, in a forgotten place, bodies of strange creatures littered the ground. A voice pleaded: "Please, spare me!!!" before its head exploded violently.
Bakuzan Satsujin Otoko, with the blood of his enemies on his face, said: "Well, these mutants deserved it."
A voice behind him commented: "You did well today!"
Bakuzan replied: "These mutants had been suffering the villagers for years. I hope they'll be okay now."
Bakuzan looked at the sky and asked Niyus: "Father, what time is it in our region?"
Niyus replied: "About 2 PM."
Bakuzan: "Ah, that's not much."
Niyus: "The red mutants you killed, how many were there in total?"
Bakuzan: "25,343. I wonder what made them so powerful. Beating them was as easy as jumping over a 4-centimeter line on the ground!"
Niyus smiled and replied: "You've become too strong, son. Since you were young, you've been constantly seeking power."
Bakuzan smiled as well: "One thing is certain, I'm not as strong as you yet."
Niyus chuckled, then his attention was caught by something else. He looked at the sky nervously as if he sensed something strange.
Bakuzan noticed his father's strange reaction: "Is there a problem, Father?"
Niyus replied more seriously: "Son, go home; I'll join you. I need to finish something quickly."
Bakuzan: "But Father!"
Niyus: "Do what I say!!"
He shouted.
Bakuzan: "But Father, I can wait for you here. We can go home together after you finish what you need to do!"
A cold sweat ran down Niyus's forehead.
Niyus: "Tsss, too late... Alright, stay here, don't move, understood?!"
Bakuzan nodded.
Niyus rose into the sky and flew at an astonishing speed. In an instant, he was beyond Earth and approached the Moon.
He landed delicately on the Moon and scanned the surroundings: "I've found you, stop hiding."
A horned creature, all black with luminous red eyes, bare-chested, wearing black pants, metal armlets, and a red cape with a high collar, appeared.
Niyus, unimpressed by the tension, said: "It's not just anyone who can sense the presence of a being like me."
The creature replied with a deep voice: "I'm a being connected to the underworld, but I'm not a demon. I'm much more than that. You're no match for me."
The creature vanished in an instant and tried to strike Niyus, who dodged the blow and disappeared as well. The two terrifying beings fought on the Moon at incredible speed.
The creature smiled: "Not bad, you fight well, but it's insufficient."
Niyus looked at his hands and noticed they were trembling.
Niyus: "Adrenaline is rising in me; this is clearly a fight where I could lose my life."
The creature replied: "You won't just be able to lose it; you will lose it."
Niyus: "Otherwise, I'd like to know why you want to kill me before continuing."
The demonic creature replied: "It's for something specific. You can know anyway, after this fight, you'll be nothing but a lifeless body. The Killer Man eradication plan is about to begin, and I was tasked with eliminating you because you're too bothersome."
Niyus: "The Killer Man eradication plan? What's that?"
The creature replied: "It's a project created by humans who hate your family and want to kill all of them, including your entire clan to the last."
Niyus's eyes widened, and he murmured: "My clan? My family?"
He turned around and tried to return to Earth, but the demonic creature stopped him.
Niyus: "Get out of my way, my family is in danger!!!"
Niyus attacked the creature, and a brutal exchange of powerful blows ensued.
Niyus: "How can a demonic being interfere with human affairs? Demons and several types of mythical beings were forbidden from doing so. You're breaking a law; it will cost you dearly!!"
The creature replied: "Breaking laws is my way of life. I'm the only mythical being in this affair, and I'm more of a spectator than a fighter. Just that you risk disrupting my show, so I must kill you so that weak humans can settle it among themselves."
The demonic creature grabbed Niyus by the throat, trying to immobilize him. Niyus struck the creature on the belly and made it release its grip. Niyus launched a series of attacks on the creature, but it was difficult to pierce its defense.
He moved away and attacked with blue magical orbs. The demonic creature deflected them with a simple left-handed blow.
Niyus: "What a plague!!!"
He cried, disoriented.
The creature smiled: "You're no match for me. The person you are today is not the same as before. I'm just a weaker avatar of my true self, and I don't even have a God level, yet look at the state I've put you in."
Niyus tore his top and smiled: "I have to fight with all my might. I won't tolerate my family being in danger!"
He released a mass of golden aura that seemed to distort space.
The creature smiled and said: "You're going to get serious, while I'll just have fun!"
It also released a reddish aura that did the same as Niyus's.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Bakuzan looked at the sky, seeming worried.
Bakuzan: "I wonder what drew Father into the sky."
He thought back to Niyus's strange behavior and the fact that he wanted Bakuzan to go home.
Bakuzan: "I wonder what's going on."
He stood up and headed towards a fruit tree. He looked at its fruits and said: "I've never seen these fruits before."
He plucked a fruit that resembled a grape but was orange in color.
A voice behind him resonated: "Let go of that fruit, it's dangerous!"
Bakuzan turned around and saw a young girl with white hair, dark skin, and indigenous clothing. She had gray eyes that made her particularly beautiful.
Bakuzan: "It's kind of you to warn me, but don't worry about me. This kind of thing has no effect on me."
The girl was surprised and replied: "How is that?"
Bakuzan smiled and crushed the fruit in his hands, which startled the girl.
The girl replied: "You're crazy! The juice of that fruit causes itching that makes you scratch until you peel your skin!!!"
Bakuzan opened his hand and said, looking at the fruit juice: "I'm not afraid, I tell you. I've already analyzed everything thanks to F-Kgod."
The girl replied, intrigued: "F-Kgod?"
Bakuzan nodded.
From his open hand, a small, humanoid creature appeared, faceless and the size of an apple. A notable feature was the circle on its head with a triangle inside.
The girl asked: "What is this thing?"
Bakuzan replied: "F-Kgod is a creature I created from my mana and gave consciousness to. It's like a familiar, with all my skills, but much weaker. It analyzes everything faster than me. Thanks to it, I know this fruit is harmless to me, or that you're harmless to me."
The girl jumped and replied: "That's impressive. Are you human?"
Bakuzan nodded: "Of course, I'm Bakuzan Satsujin Otoko. And you?"
The girl was initially shocked and said with a weak voice: "A Satsujin Otoko?"
Bakuzan nodded.
Then, strangely, the girl smiled: "I'm Maya."
Bakuzan: "Why are you smiling all of a sudden?"
Maya: "I understand why you're so weird, and the fruit juice has no effect on you. My father always tells me that the Satsujin Otoko are weird."
Bakuzan: "What does he mean by weird exactly?"
Maya: "That he can't understand your behavior... hihi."
The girl laughed under Bakuzan's thoughtful gaze. Bakuzan smiled as well and let himself laugh.