Domain.

For those who had surpassed a certain level, this held a special meaning.

A decisive technique that projected an individual's mental image onto reality.

It manifested, transcending the laws of physics, and bestowed a higher level of existence upon the owner of the mental image.

To be frank, the reason Bianca, a mere thief, became a member of Madhouse was because her ability to handle a domain was highly valued.

She handled a domain not through enlightenment, but through her innate ability.

The darkness made of shadows was her mental image and her domain.

The unidentified monster swarm, which should not have existed, gained substance and exerted physical force under her domain.

Because she had shaped them with her mental image, the monsters were infinite and could have abilities that surpassed the limits of living creatures.

The Shadow Slime she had brought out to finish me off was an example of that.

The Shadow Slime was an incarnation of the huge physical force that Bianca had imagined.

It rammed into everything like a tank and devoured and absorbed everything like a glutton.

When it had eaten its fill, it would grow so large that even a decent building couldn't withstand its size and would crumble into dust.

Although it was smaller than that now.

Nevertheless, its innate physical force was not to be ignored.

There were two standard ways to deal with it.

Either fight it with a greater force that surpassed the physical force it possessed, or tear apart its core from the inside.

My choice... was to target Bianca, not the Shadow Slime.

[Domain Declaration.]

[The World Tree's vegetable garden is deployed as a simple domain in the surrounding area.]

Domain Declaration.

It was a new ability that the World Tree had learned when Bel was hired as the manager of the vegetable garden.

When I declared a domain, the World Tree's domain was summoned in the surrounding area.

Although it wasn't the standard concept of projecting a mental image, this was also a domain guaranteed by the system.

It was more than enough to deal with Bianca's shadow domain.

'In fact, just with this power, saving Bel was not a loss.'

Under me, he was nothing more than a lazy slave, but he was one of the people with the best skills in this world.

Just by placing him in the vegetable garden, the territory of the World Tree, his level had risen.

'What would happen if Bel quit as the manager of the vegetable garden?'

Well, that was something to think about when the time came.

I wouldn't have the ability I had already acquired taken away.

[The World Tree temporarily regains its original power.]

[Nature Affinity increases significantly.]

[All living creatures within the declared domain respond to your will.]

[The spirits realize their origin under the influence of the World Tree.]

[The great divinity of the World Tree excludes the domains of others existing in the same place.]

[It intimidates the enemies within the domain.]

The World Tree's domain contained more power than I had expected.

The summoned World Tree's vegetable garden was more lush than I remembered.

The materialized spirits shone so brilliantly that they were blinding, and they embroidered the scenery.

A warm energy originating from the World Tree rushed into my body like a storm.

Although the World Tree had taken root in my body, there was a sense of unease that I couldn't erase.

The energy that was flowing into me now blurred that boundary as if with a brushstroke.

The World Tree's consciousness momentarily assimilated with my consciousness.

My mind leaped to a higher dimensional plane.

My field of vision, which had far surpassed the limits of my physical body, soared high above the clouds and looked down on the ground.

It was the vision of the World Tree that had regained its power.

And then, I could instinctively perceive it.

It was an ability that would not last long.

It was the limit of the domain of a small area called a vegetable garden.

It was a power that would disappear in an instant.

The growth of the immature World Tree also could not properly draw out that power.

And yet.

Even though I had only glimpsed a fragment of it, a sense of omnipotence that seemed capable of doing anything swept through my whole body.

Rustle!

I stretched out my hand.

The plant clusters moved in unison according to my will.

As comfortably as breathing, as naturally as moving my own body, I moved them.

And thus, I could fully feel it.

This was my domain.

[The great divinity of the World Tree excludes the domains existing in the same place.]

The meaning was literal.

Bianca's shadow domain was pushed back by the World Tree's domain and scattered into ashes.

"...Wow."

Bianca, who had finally revealed herself, was dazed.

I didn't know if it was because her brain couldn't keep up with reality, or if she had lost her mind at the abnormal situation of domain exclusion.

It was a fatal opening.

Charrrr!

At my gesture, all the plants in the domain gathered together.

What was formed was the great wrath of Mother Nature.

A single heavy whip.

Or a single huge tentacle.

The Shadow Slime was crushed by its force and scattered into fragments, and the ceiling, which had been pierced all the way to the rooftop, revealed a sky hazy with smoke.

The illusion of a towering giant tree overlapped with its form.

The wind flowed between the leaves and wrapped around the clouds.

The spirits danced around it, scattering a brilliant powder of light.

And then.

Rumble!

It came crashing down.

***

"We're all dead! We're all dead!"

A high-pitched, frantic voice could be heard from a distance.

"We have to run away right now! Get a fake identity from a broker, secure an escape route, and then for transportation... yes, the hover rail! No one will be able to track that!"

"You're so noisy. Just wait quietly."

"You! Aren't you scared? It's a member of Madhouse! I must be crazy, it's the same whether I die this way or that way, it would have been better to just get caught...!"

The voice, which had been rising as if screaming, was cut off.

Hella, who had discovered me following Bel, who was gaping with his mouth open, opened her fist and waved her hand.

Was she contemplating whether to hit me on the back of the head or not?

Bel, who didn't even know that I had saved his life, had an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"You're here. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"H-how...!"

"I told you to stop making a fuss. He's fine, but you're making a fuss when you haven't done anything."

"No, this ignorant guy who only has a decent face was a great guy who could fight Madhouse and come back unscathed? Don't lie! You're a fake disguised as the Shadow Empress...!"

In the end, a fist flew.

Bel, who had been punched, grabbed his head and cowered.

"The ledger and the blueprint?"

"I've stored them in a storage device. As for the blueprint, it's better for them to take action than for us to go around blabbing that we deleted it ourselves. What about you?"

"The android has been disposed of."

Although I was talking about the fake one.

As I gave Bel a look, he nodded his head.

It was a confidence that they would never be caught as a fake, even if an investigator was dispatched.

...Although his appearance of rolling on the ground with a tear-stained face only fostered distrust, I decided to trust his pride as a technician.

"I wasn't asking about that, I was talking about the fight with the Shadow Empress."

Although she wasn't as frantic as Bel, she seemed to have been worried.

Hella circled around me, examining my whole body.

Her gaze was burdensome, so I said briefly.

"I repelled her."

"Repelled?"

"I couldn't kill her. She ran away as soon as she knew she had no chance of winning."

"Well, she's famous for being quick on her feet."

I wasn't careless.

It was just that the guy was quick, as befits a thief.

The shadow domain connects space and space.

It was usually maintained, connected to the secret warehouse where Bianca stored her stolen goods and a subspace.

Although her domain had been excluded by my domain declaration, a shadow is a naturally existing phenomenon.

An emergency escape using this was Bianca's trump card.

The reputation of the elusive thief who had never been caught even once stemmed from that.

I know she had no choice but to run away rather than counterattack because I had caught her off guard... but I felt a slight sense of unease.

'...The end was a little strange.'

It's not like she didn't have a way to resist, but she was excessively careless.

Her unfocused eyes were completely fixed on me.

Until right before the attack came crashing down on her, she was constantly and fervently.

The heat was purer than that of a child, and it was so blatant that it was embarrassing.

'It was the look of someone who had found an item they liked.'

But since that gaze was directed at me, a person, not an object.

It was a matter of ignorance to me.

***

"Cough! Cough!"

"Ah, damn it! You scared me."

Bianca, who had popped out of the shadow, coughed repeatedly at something that was blocking her throat.

After coughing until her face turned red, what she spat out was a black, dead pool of blood.

As if she had vomited out her life force, her whole body was limp and powerless.

As she leaned her trembling body against the wall, she finally noticed the other person.

"...Why are you here?"

"Ahem, I was just passing by and thought I'd take a look."

The mad dog, Buggy Vile, coughed dryly, pretending to be dignified.

Bianca frowned so much that wrinkles formed on her forehead.

Before, he was young and had a cute side, so he was tolerable.

But the still-awkward face of the young man only felt unpleasant.

Most of all, that awkward acting was so terrible that it made her want to vomit.

"Then what's that in your hand?"

"..."

Buggy hastily shook his hand.

A splendid glove that had fallen to the floor rolled on the dusty ground.

This was Bianca's treasure vault.

A collection warehouse where the stolen goods she had stolen were stored.

That glove was also something she had stolen from some rich person.

Bianca remembered that its estimated value was enough to build a decent building in District 3.

"No, well, I was just trying to take a look."

"And if you liked it, you'd steal it?"

"Steal? I was just trying to borrow it."

His gray-white eyes couldn't look at her directly and wandered here and there.

Perhaps because he was caught in the act, his tongue was unusually long.

To dare to try to steal stolen goods from a thief.

The shadow, containing a great anger, soared up and then poured down like a waterfall.

"Hah!"

"...What?"

Buggy, who had reflexively taken a defensive posture, discovered Bianca, who was clutching her chest, through the gap between his fingers.

He carefully touched her with the tip of his foot, but there was no special reaction.

"Damn it, I got scared for nothing. Why are you acting up with that messed-up body? Isn't that blood you spat on the ground? You got hit hard."

Bianca glared at him with her eyes wide open.

"...Move your foot. Before I tear it off."

"Hehe, go ahead and try. It was pathetic to see you acting like a senior all the time, so this is good. Now I can easily kill you just by reaching for your neck."

"..."

Buggy opened his mouth wide and grinned, bringing his face close.

His one wide-open eye showed a madness that desired bloodshed.

His closely cropped hair and rugged muscles were a threat in themselves.

"...Why are you being so serious? I can't even make a joke."

The murderous stare-down, which had continued for a while, soon stopped.

Buggy, who had been growling like a beast, lost his excitement and backed away first, relaxing his expression.

"Was it a joke?"

"If we're going to fight, we have to fight in perfect condition. Seeing you so weak just drains my energy."

Buggy reached out and put Bianca's arm around his shoulder.

Under Buggy's meticulous support, which did not match his impression, Bianca sat down in a chair.

"So, why did you get so messed up? Are you getting old and your body isn't what it used to be?"

"I'm still young, so shut up. I just failed."

"Failed? Ah, you said you were going to steal something. But isn't this the first time you've been hurt this much? What were you doing, not running away? That's your specialty."

"I was mesmerized."

At the unexpected answer, Buggy was momentarily at a loss for words.

"...Did you see a ghost?"

"I saw art."

"What are you talking about? Did you hit your head?"

"It's a sensibility that a fighting dog who only knows how to fight wouldn't understand."

When she closed her eyes, there was a scene that still came to mind vividly, like a photograph.

It was a true work of art created by the miracle of nature.

"...I want to see it again."

But now, she didn't feel the same ecstatic feeling as then.

Was it because it was a desire she had felt from a person, not an object?

It was a feeling of being tantalized.

The act of licking her lips was something she had done without realizing it.

"I can sympathize with that. I also want to meet the guy who put me in this state as soon as possible and beat him up."

"..."

Bianca suddenly remembered that the contractor was the man who had taken one of the lives of the mad dog in front of her.

"Are you going to kill him?"

"Of course. It's a thrilling moment just to imagine it. Do you think I can endure it?"

His glittering, overturned eyes were soaked in madness, as if he had taken drugs.

"...Then that won't do."

Taxidermying the dead him was also tempting, but it was unknown whether the taxidermied corpse would bring the same emotion.

It seemed she should avoid visiting when she was moving with Buggy.

And...

"Don't move your feet so stealthily. I'm watching everything."

"Tsk, you have so much, can't you just lend me some generously once?"

"No. It's my collection."

"An old woman who doesn't have long to live, how much are you going to take to hell..."

"Do you want to die?"

Just in case something unfortunate happened in a place where she wasn't, she had to stop this guy from getting stronger.

...It was by no means because she was being petty because his insolent tone and thievery were annoying.

***

"You're here."

Cromwell, whom I met in the office I had stopped by to report, looked well.

Before I could even sit down, he spoke first.

"They say the commercial district of District 3 is a mess. Delight Conquem's building has collapsed, and the hyenas who were watching the situation went crazy after being like a dog chasing a chicken. The commotion was so big that even the heavy-assed security bureau moved for the first time in a long time."

And what did I do in the midst of that?

Cromwell urged me for an answer with a look.

I responded to his expectation.

"The android has been disposed of. I've left the evidence at the scene, so contact Sylvester and have an investigator notarize it."

"The Shadow Empress of Madhouse wouldn't have been easy, but it's a great achievement."

"I was lucky."

I was lucky in many ways.

Since she was a great person with the skill to just take the item and run away if things went wrong, things could have gone awry.

If that had happened, there would have been followers who suspected that I had stolen the machine.

The difficulty was one thing, but the aftermath was also a request that was not to be trifled with.

"In terms of the development of technology, it's a pity. It will take a long time for a complete android to be developed in the future."

"You can't work if you worry about every little thing like that."

"It's just a pity. I was going to fire Jack downstairs as soon as the android was commercialized."

I just smiled wryly at the content that was hard to agree with.

"I should go back and rest now."

The report was finished.

I felt dizzy from the smell of alcohol that permeated the room with my tired body.

Just before I went down the stairs, leading my tired body.

Cromwell said quietly.

"If you've stolen the item, be careful not to get caught by the client. That's not my business, but after you get caught, it becomes my business."

I turned my head and examined Cromwell's expression.

Seeing him carelessly examining the label of a liquor bottle, I wondered if I had misheard.

Of course, it couldn't have been a mistake.

'...He has a good sense.'

Did he have a hunch when he entrusted the investigation of Delight Conquem?

"I don't know anything about it."

"I don't know anything about it either."

"You seem to know."

"Go back and rest now."

How uncharitable.

Having failed to draw him to my side, I shrugged my shoulders and just waved my hand.

(End of Chapter)