"A mall?" Crusher asked as she looked around and avoided hitting anything that was hanging too low with her head. Being 8-foot-tall wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, sadly.

Daz nodded. "It's not too damaged and there are enough shops for everyone to convert one into a private room. We'll likely be here for a couple of weeks since I want to take over Taiwan without killing where possible. So yeah, spend a few points in the system's shop for your daily necessities and spruce up your room if you want."

"Fair' nuff," Crusher said with a shrug. "Gym's mine then."

"Bed shop for me, boys," Dalton laughed.

Freddy gave him a look. "Mind a roommate?"

"Feel free. Like I can use all of 'em beds maself," Dalton answered.

Dorian looked to the crowd of men and woman around him and loudly said, "I'll take up residence in that cafe there! Does anyone here have a skill to get the electricity working again? I'll be our cook while we're here since I have plenty of ingredients stored up in a skill of mine. No reason to spend merit points on food if we don't have to but I'll need the kitchen up and running again."

"Uh, I can do that, sure," a woman said as she raised her hand.

"Great. No point wasting any time then," Dorian said as he motioned with his metal arm for her to follow him.

Daz stood next to Crusher and said, "He's really changed a lot, huh?"

"Yeah. Sure has. The fucker's pretty damned close to evolving too. Enviable bastard," Crusher chuckled.

"... If by the end of this semester, Crusher, you have not successfully evolved, spend the 10-million merit points. Losing you would be disastrous," Daz claimed.

"Haha, worried about little old me? What would Aegles think?" Crusher teased as she jabbed her elbow into the top of his shoulder.

"Who?" Daz wore a confused expression.

Crusher sighed. "Your lady-friend, dumbass."

"No, I understood that. Who is Aegles? You always make the strangest of nicknames for people but they tend to have a reason even if it's not entirely correct," Daz explained.

"C'mon, man. That hurts. My nicknames couldn't be more accurate even if I tried!" Crusher said, indignation showing on her chiselled face.

"Describe Aegles for me then," Daz challenged.

"Well, he was an athlete in ancient Greece who was mute. Guy only ever spoke once according to history. Got pissed during a public contest when someone tried to impose on him or something. Can't rightly remember," Crusher said with a smile.

Daz shook his head and sighed. "Ignoring everything else, Madison is not a man, nor is she mute. She just shortens her sentences dramatically and pauses a lot. You and your nicknames... really."

"Haha, potato potahto, Uriel, potato potahto," Crusher laughed.

Daz was practising using his diamond needles in the main lobby of the mall with Crusher next to him when the Yaoguai leader's voice invaded his entire being, loud as it was.

"King Daz, humans have entered the city from the north. Need I be concerned?" the beast asked in what only sounded like a strange mix between a roar and a foreign language to everyone but Daz and Crusher.

"Holy shit that thing knows how to construct a sentence. You weren't lying," Crusher remarked with a whistle before yelling, "It's just the monster talking to King Daz! No need to panic! Ignore it if ya can!"

Her voice filled the entire mall, letting everyone feel a great sense of relief that they weren't under attack or something just as troublesome since none of them spoke the language the Yaoguai was speaking.

Daz nodded thankfully. "I appreciate that."

Crusher shrugged and wandered off, presumably back to the ex-gym that now served as her living quarters.

"Can you hear me, Yaoguai?" Daz asked as he returned his needles to their suitcase and then made for the main entrance of the mall.

"Indeed. I repeat, need I be concerned? Need I fight in your name today?" the monster asked.

Daz shook his head. "No. That won't be necessary. Guide me to them; these intruding humans. I would like to speak to them first before deciding on anything further."

"Very well," the Yaoguai said. "I shall meet you and carry you to them. The least I can do is act as your steed on this day."

'Wouldn't that wound its pride when I haven't actually shown it how powerful I am? Maybe it doesn't care about pride. Animals don't really have a need for pride in most cases so that would make sense, I guess. It's certainly an excellent offer. Nothing screams 'dangerous man which should not be messed with' like a big demon bear with tentacle whips for a right arm,' Daz humoured internally as he began following the monster's instructions and then met up with it.

"That was a lot of roaring... A lot of loud roaring. It almost sounded like speech, actually. Is he really here? That foreign king guy?" one of the Chinese soldiers asked his comrades.

They looked back and forth at each other in uncertainty. "I think so? That's what the higher-ups said anyway..."

"I wonder what business Sir 1st Lieutenant Chau has with him... Not like we can ask without getting punished," one of the men sighed.

"It is what it is," the most stoic man of the group said.

"Really though, how are we meant to find him in this city? It's pretty big and none of us have tracking or locating-based skills. Whatever made those roars, I'd rather not meet, to be honest," the shortest of the soldiers complained.

"We may not have a choice," the stoic man said as he straightened his spine and held his rifle with an abundance of caution. "Something's coming here and it's coming fast."

Any semblance of nervousness or uncertainly escaped the men as their training kicked in. They assembled into a defensive position, ready to deal with whatever it was their comrade had detected.

As it got closer more and more of them could feel the vibrations and hear the sounds of something huge running towards them.

'What the...' Despite his years of training and the requirement for him to be just another soldier and not a person of his own when in the army, the frontmost man recoiled in fear at the sight of the... thing that had neared them.

"W-We can't fight something like that!" he yelled even at the risk of being ratted out by his unit for his cowardice.

If they somehow survived this encounter he'd much rather get shot in the head for fleeing than ripped to pieces or eaten by what he could only describe as a walking nightmare.

The stoic man gulped nervously. "H-Hold your ground! We've been trained for this! If it's so big it must be intelligent! D-Do you mean us any harm?!"

The monster ignored them. Instead, it lowered its head and, unbelievably, a man jumped down from it.

"No, I do not," Daz said to the frightened-looking soldiers. 'Yaoguai isn't that scary, is it? Perhaps my perception of fear is warped. For all I know they could be having a normal reaction.'

"A grey halo... Y-You're King Daz, right?" one of the other soldiers asked.

He nodded. "Indeed. Yaoguai here told me that people had entered the city. Yilan City is under my control now, so despite its somewhat abandoned state, I would like an explanation as to why you are here. Perhaps to relay a response regarding what I said to your leading captain yesterday?"

"T-That's a Yaoguai? Unbelievable..." Apparently one of the other men had lost all rationality and had chosen to reach for a cigarette packet in his front pocket. He pulled one out and lit it with a skill before taking a puff. "Sending just 6 men for this was a mistake..."

Daz cocked his head. "Why? I do not intend to kill you."

The stoic soldier took a deep breath and then said, "King Daz, we are here on the orders of Sir 1st lieutenant Chau to inform you that he would like to meet you at your earliest convenience! He will be expecting you at Tower 3 where last you met! That is all. We will be leaving now, assuming we have your permission to do so."

"Hmm..." Daz fell into thought. "Sure. I have no reason to keep you here. Have a safe trip back."

"L-Likewise." The soldiers didn't hesitate to march away at double speed.

"Do I intimidate your kind?" the Yaoguai asked once the men had left the city and several minutes had passed.

Daz shrugged. "Probably? I'm not scared of you because I know I can beat you and because I have your loyalty, for now at least. As far as I am aware, it is in human nature to fear that which they do not understand and that which they think can and will hurt, affect, or kill them. At the same time, humans can be afraid of things that make no sense. It's a complex topic."

The Yaoguai nodded. "I see."

"Now the only question that remains is how they reacted to my declaration of eventual sovereignty over Earth... Positively? Negatively? Dismissively? There's also the topic of their reaction regarding me 'politely' asking them to leave Taiwan," Daz mumbled.

"What will you do should they react negatively? I am curious," the Yaoguai asked as it promoted Daz to step back onto its head.

"I'd rather not kill anyone when taking over this island, but if my hand is forced, I can only regretfully give up the additional rewards offered by the system. My control matters more than the lives of the foolish in the grand scheme of things," Daz answered honestly. "They are over there," he said as he pointed to the large tower.

"... I see," the Yaoguai answered plainly though it was contemplating over Daz's words in its mind.

"I didn't expect... this," 1st Lieutenant Chau admitted as he gazed up at the lumbering giant of a bear demon. "I assume this is the Yaoguai I have received varying reports on over the past few weeks?"

"Probably. Regardless, it works for me now," Daz answered. "Yaoguai, do you mind staying out here? If you see any signs of me fighting feel free to let loose and show me what you're capable of."

"Hah. Humorous. Very well," the Yaoguai answered as it found a place to rest outside of the walls that protected the Chinese tower.

1st Lieutenant Chau gave Daz a cautious look. "Should I be worried?"

"That depends wholly on what you wanted to discuss with me," Daz answered.

"Right... Well, Your Majesty, the general secretary is waiting for you," 1st Lieutenant Chau claimed.

Daz's eyes narrowed. "Mu's father?"

1st Lieutenant Chau seemed initially confused before realising something and nodding. "Ah, right. He calls himself by an alias now, does he not? Indeed. The general secretary is his father."

Daz stroked his chin. "Interesting. I wonder what a man who was willing to try to kill his own son for wishing to no longer remain silent about his father's corruption wants to discuss with me, a man known now for being rather strict when it comes to enforcing justice. How very, very, interesting."

"Aha... Is that so?" 1st Lieutenant Chau really wasn't sure how to think about Daz.

On one hand, he was a kid younger than half his age, on the other, he was an extremely powerful individual who ruled a large kingdom in the States and he was also the son of one of the world's most powerful espers.

'I miss when all I had to worry about was people in the homeland figuring out that our government and military are, or were, corrupt to high hell... Oh well. Times change, I guess. An apocalypse will do that, haha,' the man thought to cope with the gravity of Daz's hidden and not so hidden threats.

'This is difficult,' Lindsey Blanchard thought to herself as she sat in the front courtyard-slash-playground of the dormitory.

'How do I get an Ember? I've been thinking really hard and trying to draw out my emotions but nothing's working...' she sighed internally and shook her head.

Suddenly, the girl felt a pair of arms wrapping around her from behind in a warm hug. 'Ah. It's Miss McArthur... The king's girlfriend... She... thinks I'm lonely?'

One of the few skills Lindsey was lucky enough to own was one that allowed her to sense the emotions of others when they were in contact with her.

It wasn't direct nor clear but it showed intent rather well. What she could tell from the structure of the arms and the body pressing against her back was that her ambusher was, indeed, Madison.

The intensity at which she was being hugged, as well as the... sensations she could feel coming from her, helped identify Madison's intent.

She honestly thought it was a weird skill to get from her class since her class was derived from the braille book she happened to be reading when the apocalypse started but it certainly helped her communicate with others better despite her blindness and deafness.

"Miss McArthur. It's lovely to feel you," Lindsey said.

She felt Madison placing her chin on her head softly and she seemed to say something, but, of course, she couldn't her hear. What Lindsey could tell though was that the king's lovely girlfriend was pouting.

"Ah. I'm sorry. Were you trying to cheer me up by surprising me? Thank you. I'm not upset I'm just puzzled as to why I don't yet have an Ember despite all of the effort I am putting in." Of course, even though Madison replied Lindsey couldn't tell what she was saying.

"Perhaps it would be wise for me to instead focus on Miss Cromwell's esper training. It is difficult though when I can't watch her demonstrations," Lindsey said with a short chuckle.

"Perhaps I need to stop focusing so much on me and think more about how I can help others... I wonder if the cathedral would be willing to hire me and let me try to help them with their goal-completion assistance? Haha..." Lindsey chuckled.

Madison seemed to stiffen in thought before Lindsey felt a warm pleasurable sensation flow through her. "Ah... Of course. It completely slipped my mind that you were also an esper like us, Miss McArthur... So this is... internal energy?"

The teen smiled faintly. "It's warm. I would love it if I could activate this energy myself and use it to make others feel like this... Wouldn't that be lovely?"

Something inside of her flicked as if a switch had been turned on. She felt Madison get off of her and the intent she had left as she did was one of confusion and interest.

'Huh? Something's entering me... It... It isn't internal energy...' Now even Lindsey herself was confused. It was only after seeing a system notification in her mind did she understand what had just happened.

Congratulations! The host has successfully gained insight into the [Ember of Selflessness]. The host has entered a new ranking list. The host is now rank #24 on the Ember Insight Ranking list. Due to being in the top 100 ranks for Ember Insight, the host gained the right to select 3 additional entry-level Embers which the system will provide the host insight into (the host must have a very rudimentary understanding of the Ember's concept for it to be selectable).

Madison's confusion turned into horror when she had quickly run around the bench the girl was sat at only to see her crying wildly. "Sorry! Didn't, mean, upset! Did, hurt, you?"

Even though the girl was crying she was smiling as she covered her face with her hands. Madison didn't really understand why she was doing this so she felt responsible.

She wasn't very familiar with how bloodline-lacking espers worked. She'd given Rose internal energy before but Rose was special, so maybe she had accidentally injured this girl? She didn't know and that scared her.

'I just wanted her to stop looking so gloomy, not make her cry!' Madison was really panicking. 'I've never made anyone cry before! Not even that one time I bit Daz by mistake!... Well, Rose was crying when she confessed that she likes Vanessa b-but that was different!'

The girl wiped her eyes and wore a dazzling smile. "I can finally be of use... I... have a purpose... Miss McArthur... Thank you. I don't know if you helped me but I am thankful nonetheless. You really are a kind soul."

'She's... not upset? Was she happy-crying? Rose mentioned that that's a thing before... Arg! Why didn't Daz have emotions growing up and why is Rose such a liar with hers?! I-I want to comfort her but I don't know if she needs comfort!' This was, without question, the biggest dilemma Madison had been in since this morning when she didn't know what to have for breakfast.

"... Whatever. Gonna, hug. Hugs, fix," Madison verbally decided before once again wrapping her arms around the teenager.

"... You really are a warm person. I'm thankful that the king has someone like you by his side," Lindsey said as she returned Madison's hug.

'Yup. Hugs fix everything!' Madison declared loudly in her mind.