The previous day.

A few demi-humans gathered at the top of a restaurant. Clad in long hoods, their masks hid their identities. The differing insignias on their cloaks were their sole identification.

One individual, code-named Rat, wore the insignia of a rodent. As a silent member, she spectated the heated discussion, adding nothing to the discourse.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

A loud bell rang five times, interrupting the discussion.

“5 bell rings? Is it another pair of those bloody beasts?” A grating voice asked. Judging by the emblem of a castle, Rat inferred that it was Castle, a demi-human reputed for his brute strength.

“That's impossible. The timing is inappropriate. None of the beast clans will send their younger ones into the trial. Not now! Especially with the competition ahead… it’s just too risky.” Another voice replied. Its owner wore the symbol of a wave.

“It’s one of our kind? Then we must recruit them!” Castle banged the floor with his sheathed sword.

“Castle, learn to use your brain! This could be a trap by the Council. Even if it wasn’t their plan, Discipline won’t let this chance slip.”

“Discipline this, Discipline that! If you’re so scared of that geezer, then go become his slave! You speak like one with human blood.” The grating voice cackled.

“Castle! There are limits to my patience.”

“Gahaha. Did I stab the truth? Was your mother a human? Or was your mother desperate enough to choose a human?”

The unwarranted insult sparked a fierce argument between the duo. The other hooded members showed no signs of intervention. Some of them even chuckled.

Rat sighed, disappointed in this group. In her opinion, the unity and potential of the Resistance were lacking. Without her help, she wondered if they would even survive for another year.

As the argument escalated to a competition of insults, she intervened.

“What a ragtag bunch! You hope to overthrow the Counccil of Order? Forget the Counccil… Even I can desstroy your pointless resisstancce.” For a few seconds, the hall was deprived of any sounds. Basking in the shocked silence, Rat awaited their reaction.

“Who are you? ...Rat? No! You aren’t Rat!” All eyes fell on her chest. Their confused silence amused Rat.

“Well, you now have a rat in your organization. Congratulationss!” She curtsied.

“What did you do with Rat?” Wave’s voice possessed a hint of warning. He made a few subtle gestures with his hand. Rat smiled in amusement, curious as to what tricks her prey could conjure.

She removed her mask. Pulling her hood, she revealed her pale, beautiful face to the crowd. In her short life, no individual had ever forgotten her after the first encounter. And she doubted if this group would become the first to defy that trend.

“I am not your enemy. I only happened to dine on a little rat.” She licked her palm in memory of the meal. It had satisfied her voracious tummy for many hours.

“Castle, I’ll block the exit. You kill her! She won’t escape today!” Wave’s shout surprised Rat. From what she had seen, these two individuals were the greatest rivals within the group. However, they could ignore internal conflicts in the face of external threats. This pleasant surprise forced her to position them at one stage higher than mere prey.

The towering Castle dashed towards her. His large sword flashed through the air. Shrugging, Rat decided to ignore the rude gesture and explain her goal.

“Do not mistake me for your enemy. I am here to help you-”

Tsuiin!

Before she could complete, the sword split her body vertically. Blood spurted in copious amounts as the halves of her corpse collapsed.

“Hmph. You dare to sneak into our headquarters. You must have a death wish.” Castle sheathed his sword with an arrogant smirk.

“But how did she kill Rat? And… Is she a human?”

“Who cares? She’ll be plant food in a couple of days.”

Rat's corpse twitched. It stitched together to reveal Rat in an unharmed state. Having eavesdropped on the conversation, a faint smile crept up her face.

She felt extremely hungry, even to the point of craving the flesh of these demi-humans. However, she controlled her impulses. A better delicacy awaited her.

“…You dessire a human corpsse, I dessire a human corpsse. We share a common goal, and I can help you.” She spoke, annoyed by the hunger pangs.

Gasps filled the room. Despite expecting this, Rat’s irritation grew. In her eyes, the value of the demi-humans nearly plunged to the level of mere prey. However, she had plans for them, which prevented her from dining on them.

“Your organization is terrible. Where do I begin? You sset your hideout above a resstaurant... A resstaurant!! Which idiot agreed to thiss idea?"

"In addition, you have poor codenames, terrible communication, and your security... Anyone with bassic tailoring sskills can infiltrate your pathetic organization. Your foolishness is beyond my comprehension!” Listing their vulnerabilities, her hunger grew. She could barely refrain from eating them.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” For the first time, someone took Rat seriously. But it did not please her.

She groaned, baffled by the foolishness of this group.

“Can you not hear? Or do you lack undersstanding? I have already enuncciated my goal. I dessire a human corpsse! In return, I will help you rally the remnantss of thiss… Resisstancce and transsform your misserable group.”

“You didn’t state your identity. Who are you?”

Rat's vertical eyes dilated.

‘I revealed sso many of their weaknesses. Insstead of sseeking ssolutions, they are more interessted in my identity? Foolishness musst run in their bloodlines. Ssss... Prey shall always remain prey!’ Rat's vision reddened as she revealed her killing intent. Her patience had worn off. In her sight, the status of the demi-humans had dropped to mere prey.

“My identity iss not important. I am jusst a rattled ssnake.” She grinned, revealing four prominent fangs.

The group quivered in fear as her neck extended. Her head transformed into a snake.

A couple of minutes later.

The demi-humans groveled before Rat. Even the gigantic Castle begged for his life. The price of obedience was three unlucky prey, who temporarily quelled her craving stomach. Along with this, she had regained her sanity.

Watching their reactions, Rat remembered her mission.

‘Ren, you will grovel before me, begging for merccy. But, it will not redeem you. The pricce for rejecting Lord Loyalty is... Death! Not jusst to you... but to everything you hold dear.’ She licked her palm.

'Both you and Edahi are mere prey to the true predators!'

The Edahin Intelligence Headquarters was a prominent building in Evergreen city. Frequented by even members of the Council of Order, its presence was iconic to the residents of the city.

With over 50 floors in height, its architecture was supported by lavish expenditure on the part of the Council. Especially the top floors, which were often compared to paradise. However, only the top officials of Edahi could frequent this area.

While Rat took her first step in conquering the Resistance, two prominent members of the Council gathered at the topmost floor of this building.

A werewolf slouched on his desk, staring at the reports. He did not notice the arrival of his friend.

“What is wrrong with you?” A white-armored lion asked.

The werewolf shifted his lifeless gaze from the desk. Seeing his friend, a tired smile crept up his face.

“Justice… you’ve come.”

“This is not the Discipline I rremember! What is torrmenting you?”

“I received intel from within the Pillar faction. They are dissatisfied, even murmuring rebellion.” Discipline rubbed his forehead.

The lion’s expression worsened.

“So, they have picked the path of the unjust. Forgetting all the favors that Edahi has bestowed upon them, they chose to rrepay good with evil? Good! I shall hunt these trraitors to extinction!”

Seeing his friend about to rampage, Discipline intervened.

“Wait! They haven’t made that decision yet. For now, it’s just internal murmurs. I don’t believe that they’ll take the path of rebellion… yet.”

“Then what is your prroblem? Stop moping about like a deprressed canine!”

“The problem isn’t simple. I’ll show you.” The werewolf took a box of inscribed stones and dropped them onto his table.

Watching Justice’s confused expression, he continued.

“I transcribed them for you. Just read them.”

Justice placed his paw onto a stone. Inserting his mana, he closed his eyes. A couple of minutes later, he frowned. Soon, he sifted through the stones, one after another. With each passing stone, his expression worsened, until it couldn’t become any uglier.

Witnessing this transformation, Discipline sighed.

“Audacious! Arre all demi-humans planning a rrevolt!? Discipline! How farr has your rrace been corrupted? Arre they forgetting all that WE have done for them?!” Justice roared.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. There are no revolts… yet. But, they are dissatisfied. The Divine Emperor’s decision has opened a wound. If let to fester, it will worsen… weakening the unity of our Empire, maybe even to the extent of, His Grace forbid, a disastrous civil war.” Discipline replied.

“Grr! Wishful thinking! The Divine Emperor crreated the title of Honored Guest! His Grrace determines who is worthy of it. If the demi-humans arre dissatisfied, tell them to brring theirr grrievances to me! I will convince them! If they cannot control theirr ambition, I do not mind expelling them. The humans were not the first to be expelled. They will not be last!”

Discipline understood his friend's disposition, but he disagreed with the suggestion.

“Justice, your approach is a harsh one. It will not win any minds. Our goal is to protect Edahi from all threats, internal or external. If we handle this incorrectly, it will create a deep wound, one that will require many centuries to heal.”

“Then what do you prropose?” The desk trembled at the white-armored lion's roar.

The werewolf paused, waiting for Justice to calm down. Discipline knew the temper of his friend, especially when the lion saw anything he considered unjust.

After the lion calmed down, Discipline spoke.

“Can you arrange a meeting with Lord Righteous?”

“No. He went to the Demonic Miasma with Courage. I do not know when they will rreturn.”

Discipline frowned. After thinking for a while, he nodded.

“Then please do me a favor and arrange a meeting once Lord Righteous returns. Remember, it cannot be delayed.”

“Fine. But the demi-humans better contrrol themselves. Otherwise-”

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The ringing of a bell interrupted the lion's fury.

“We have another pair of talented children.” The werewolf smiled in relief. The ringing bell provided him a good excuse to shift the topic of the conversion.

“But this timing...”

“I agree. It’s most likely a pair of demi-humans. But we have to invite them. I don’t think they’re involved in this mess.”

“Do whatever suits you. I will inform you once they rreturn.” Saying this, the white-armored lion left.

The werewolf shrugged. He knew that the contents of the stones had ruined Justice’s view of the demi-humans. But, the dissatisfaction of the demi-humans was no longer a secret.

He approached the window. Staring at the sparse clouds, his mind wandered into various troubling scenarios.

‘Lord Righteous, if you don’t return soon, I’ll be forced to use my final resort. I cannot allow Edahi to plunge into chaos.’ Exuding an aura of slaughter, he completed his thoughts.

'The Order of Edahi shall never be infringed upon!'

The next morning.

“Ren! You have a guest!”

Ren jerked. Rubbing his tired eyes, he scanned his surroundings.

‘Where am I? This is not the trial… Right… I already finished that.’ Yawning, he stretched. Having slept for the first time in a long year, he thoroughly enjoyed the lazy feeling.

“REN! A guest is waiting for you!” Lena’s voice blared again, this time louder.

‘A guest? For me?’ Ren frowned. Punching his face, he snapped out of his daze. Barely arranging his hair, he waddled downstairs, tired.

Meeting his unexpected guests, Ren’s drowsiness evaporated.

“Zuzi? Nez?”

“Ren-zi, did we disturb your sleep?” The butterfly woman smiled.

“Not really. I should’ve woken up by now. Anyways, you were looking for me?”

“Nez-zi has something to tell you. Can we go somewhere else?”

Ren’s brows furrowed. Nevertheless, feeling guilty over the previous day’s argument, he agreed.

“Sure, lead the way.”

Chinzu nodded. She waved towards Lena and touched Ren. With a flash, Ren’s surroundings warped.

The next moment, he was standing before a table. Scanning his surroundings, he noticed many tables, spaced evenly in an open hall. Although mostly empty, the place had a neatness and ambiance that he couldn’t even find in Kana’s cottage.

‘A restaurant?’ Ren wondered.