I’ll be honest; I was a little afraid when Lucia charged at the predator. I wasn’t sure if she’d win or not, considering the difference between their sizes. If Lucia couldn’t use her qi, she was almost like a normal person … with the bodily strength of a divine beast. I know that’s how strong she is, but she’s only the size of the predator’s head! It doesn’t make any sense for her to overpower something that has more mass than her. It’s simple applied mechanics. Larger things generate more force, but I forgot Lucia is an existence that isn’t logical at all. I think she’s the first person to ever kill a predator. …Kill a predator. …Kill the predator! “What the heck are you doing, Lucia!?”

“Giving my mount belly rubs!” Lucia said.

I can see that, but why!? Wait. Did she say mount? “M-mount?”

“Uh-huh.” Lucia puffed her chest out and patted the predator on the head. “Say hello to Mr. Wuffletush.”

“It’s a female.”

“Mrs. Wuffletush.”

“You can’t have a predator as a mount!” I’m getting nightmares just thinking about it. A divine beast that disrupts all forms of mana merely by existing. If she ever brought that to the capital, half of our infrastructure would shut down: the streetlights wouldn’t work, the refrigerators would break, and the toilets wouldn’t flush. It would be a complete disaster.

“Why not?” Lucia tilted her head, and the predator copied her. How the heck are they already that close? The predator’s a fierce wild beast that killed a group of ninth circle magicians. …Lucia might as well be a wild beast too. I guess, they suit each other? No! Wait. It’s definitely because they’re both squirrels.

“Everything would break if you kept the predator as a mount.”

“That’s not true,” Lucia said. She patted her hand. “My interspacial ring still works.” A bowl of acorn stew appeared in her palm and she fed it to the predator. “See?”

It does work. Why does it work? It shouldn’t be working. My interspacial ring works too. Interesting, maybe the capital wouldn’t fall into chaos if Lucia paraded it around…. Who am I kidding? The citizens would be terrified. The predator is the bane of mages; there’s no way anyone will allow it to live. “You have to kill it, Lucia.”

“I’m not killing Mrs. Wuffletush!” Lucia said and hugged the predator. The predator licked her face and wrapped its tail around Lucia’s body. “She’s too cute to be killed.”

“No one’s going to allow it to live.” Why doesn’t she understand? The predator fundamentally breaks society. Everything that people trained for is rendered useless in front of the predator. Years spent dedicated to magic and martial arts, wasted because of a giant squirrel. In the presence of the predator, a commoner might as well be as strong as a noble. Something that threatens the position of a noble can’t be allowed to exist. I don’t approve of such thinking, but that’s how it is. If Lucia keeps the predator as a mount, her life will be in danger.

“Oh really?” Lucia asked and pulled a saddle out of her interspacial ring. When did she buy a saddle and why does it fit Mrs. Wuffletush perfectly? No, Ilya! You can’t acknowledge the predator’s name! Lucia stood on the predator’s back and glared at everyone in the coliseum. “Then I’ll kill anyone who wants to hurt Mrs. Wuffletush! In a world without qi and mana, I’m literally the strongest person to ever exist. If you want to fight me, then bring it on!”

Oh my lord, she’s right. Only someone who can kill a predator is qualified to fight Lucia. And Lucia’s the only person to ever subdue a predator. Is, is she invincible now? Who the heck brought the predator here!? I need to give them a beating for breaking the world’s balance. Wait! That’s it! The person who brought the predator definitely has a way to beat it.

“Alright,” Lucia said and nodded. “It looks like no one wants to fight. Great.” She looked at me. “See, Ilya? Everyone’s fine with Mrs. Wuffletush’s existence.”

There’s a difference between accepting something because you want to and accepting something because you’d be dead if you didn’t. “Then what happens now? I don’t think the Godking’s Brawl can go on. Besides, you already ruined the whole concept once you sold the top twenty places.”

“Lady Pentorn’s right,” Cain said. “I declare the Godking’s Brawl officially over. The top ten should line up in front of me to receive their rewards.”

“Wait!” someone shouted. She was covered in blood, and her arm was hanging limply by her side. “That predator … it’s not alone! There’s four more outside the coliseum. Someone teleported five predators into the city!”

“Five predators…?” Cain asked his jaw dropping open. “You’re serious.”

“Hey! Man in the sky! Give me my legendary beast core and let me out of here,” Lucia shouted. Mrs. Wuffletush ran up to Cain and picked him up with her claws. “I don’t see Ilya’s dad or Ilya number two’s grandmother here. That means they’re still outside.”

That’s right! Even Father would be helpless against four predators!

“You, you’re going to fight them?” Cain asked Lucia.

“Shut up! Give me my core and open the exit!” Lucia shouted. She grabbed Cain and stripped him naked before tossing him off Mrs. Wuffletush. “You were taking too long, so I took a slowness tax!” As Cain hit the ground, a portal opened up in the sky and a few people jumped through. “Go, Mrs. Wuffletush!”

The people who were entering the coliseum screamed as Lucia’s predator bounded towards them. A few peed their pants as Mrs. Wuffletush ran past them and leapt outside, the portal closing behind her. And in the end, I started calling the predator Mrs. Wuffletush. If Lucia saves the people outside, they definitely wouldn’t bother her about owning a predator. Or five. She’s not planning on taming them all, is she? Well, even if she is, please let her save my father in time.