Chapter 152: The Prank
For a few moments after Shen’s body smashed into the wall, the entire place fell into an unnatural silence, as if even the air itself had frozen.
The wardens who had been standing around, each with their own thoughts and emotions, now had their gazes fixed on Shen’s unmoving body.
Blood continued to drip down slowly from his eyes, nose and mouth, forming a small pool beneath him as his limbs twitched faintly before going completely still.
The scene felt wrong.
Not just because he was dead... but because it happened too suddenly.
"...He died?"
One of the wardens muttered under his breath, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Ziggy stood rooted to the spot, his raised arm slowly lowering as his breathing turned uneven.
His eyes were locked onto Shen’s body, and a strange feeling began to rise in his chest, something that didn’t quite match the rage he had felt just moments ago.
"I... didn’t use that much force..." he muttered, his voice no longer as imposing as before.
Even in his anger, he had not completely lost control.
He knew very well how strong his attack had been, and that punch... should not have been enough to kill a 4th Origin Silver Class lord instantly.
Mantis frowned deeply as his gaze sharpened, staring at Shen’s corpse with a growing sense of unease.
Something was off, really off.
A lord at that level shouldn’t die like this, heck their self regeneration is so much faster.
He took a step forward, intending to inspect the situation more closely, but just as he moved—
CRACK
A faint sound echoed from Shen’s body.
It was not loud, but in that silence, it was enough to make everyone’s expressions change.
Mantis immediately stopped, his eyes narrowing.
"What was that...?"
Before anyone could react—
BOOOOOOOOM!!
Shen’s body suddenly exploded from within.
It was not a simple burst of energy or a surface-level attack, but a violent internal detonation that tore his body apart in an instant.
Flesh, blood and shattered bones burst out in all directions, splashing across the house, walls and even reaching some of the wardens standing nearby.
"What the hell?!!" one of the beastmen wardens shouted as he instinctively jumped back, wiping away the blood that had splattered onto him.
Even Mantis was forced to step back, his calm expression finally breaking as his eyes turned sharp.
Ziggy’s pupils shrank drastically.
"I- I didn’t do that!!" he spoke immediately, his voice filled with shock.
There was no hesitation in his tone, but complete and utter bafflement.
That explosion... was not his doing, he had purely used physical power and that too was not strong enough.
The air turned heavy as all the wardens stared at the remains scattered across the area. The smell of blood thickened, and for a moment, no one spoke.
A human lord had just died.
And not in a controlled or lawful manner.
Mantis’s expression darkened further as multiple thoughts ran through his mind.
Even if Shen had been guilty... even if Ziggy had reason to attack him... things had gone too far now.
This was not something that could be brushed aside easily.
There are laws after all, Shen might have received death penalty to stop the relation with the pigmen from getting worse.
But still, this was not the way.
But before he could speak anything...
"Father?"
A confused voice suddenly came from behind.
The expressions of all the wardens changed as they turned around almost simultaneously.
Ziggy’s body froze.
Standing a short distance away were Peg... and the rest of his friends.
Alive and completely unharmed.
Their clothes were a little messy, their expressions confused as they looked at the chaotic scene, but there was not a single injury visible on their bodies.
"...Huh?" Ziggy’s mind went blank.
For a moment, he simply stared at Peg, his brain failing to process what he was seeing.
Illusion or was he daydreaming? Why was he suddenly seeing his son again? Didn’t he die and get eaten by that bastard?
Peg scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze moving from the shattered house to the blood splattered everywhere and then to the group of wardens.
"Uh... what’s going on here?" he asked, his tone uncertain.
Ziggy’s breathing became erratic.
"...Peg?" he muttered, his voice low and shaky.
The next moment, his body moved instinctively.
He rushed forward and grabbed Peg, pulling him into a tight embrace, as if afraid that he might disappear if he loosened his grip even slightly.
"You’re alive!! You’re actually alive!!" Ziggy shouted, his voice trembling heavily.
His hands moved quickly, checking Peg’s shoulders, arms, face, as if confirming again and again that he was truly unharmed.
"You’re fine? He didn’t hurt you? That bastard didn’t touch you, right?!" Ziggy asked rapidly, his tone completely different from the rage-filled one earlier.
Peg blinked, completely confused.
"Huh? Who are you talking about?" Peg asked.
Ziggy froze.
"...What? I am obviously talking about Shen, didn’t you send me the video of yourself getting k- kidnapped by him?"
Peg glanced at his friends, then let out an awkward laugh.
"Ah... about that... it was just a prank," he said, scratching his cheek.
"A... prank?" Ziggy repeated, his voice stiff and mind completely empty.
What was even going on here?
"Yeah, we just thought it would be fun to mess around a bit, so we arranged everything like that," Peg said with a sheepish grin, as if it was nothing serious.
Ziggy’s expression slowly turned blank.
His gaze shifted from Peg... to the scattered flesh and blood all over the ground... and then back to Peg again.
"So... you weren’t kidnapped?" he asked slowly.
"No?" Peg tilted his head.
"And... you weren’t eaten?" Ziggy asked again, his voice sounding even stranger now.
"What the hell are you saying, daddy? Of course not!! Haha how would I be standing here if someone eat me?" Peg asked, chuckling to himself.
His friends also started laughing, ziggy’s expressions was better than they expected.
Ziggy went silent, he gulped his saliva and his pupils shrank, what had just happened.
His mind had stopped working.
The whole place was completely silent.
The entire situation that had pushed him into uncontrollable rage... had just collapsed in an instant.
From the victim he had turned into a criminal, all because of a simple... prank?
On the other hand, the wardens’ expressions became extremely complicated, though few almost laughed out loud.
Mantis’s calm expression finally cracked.
His gaze slowly shifted towards Ziggy, and the anger that had been suppressed until now began to surface.
"You..." his voice was low, but the sharpness within it was unmistakable, "...you just killed him!!"
Ziggy flinched.
"I- I didn’t mean to! I told you, I didn’t even use that much force!" he said quickly, trying to defend himself.
Mantis stepped forward, his aura growing heavier with each step.
"I tried to stop you," he said, his tone turning colder, "but you still attacked. Do you not respect the human rules, not respect me, you think it’s all a joke?"
Ziggy clenched his fists.
"How was I supposed to know?! Everything pointed towards him! The pork, the cloth, everything—" he tried to argue.
"Then we should have verified it properly," Mantis interrupted sharply, his voice rising even more.
Ziggy pointed towards the remains scattered everywhere.
"Then do an autopsy! I am clearly being framed right now, I didn’t use much force at all, there is something strange here. Check it properly, maybe there is still something—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
Because even as he said it, he realized.
There was nothing left.
Shen’s body had exploded completely, reduced to scattered flesh and blood. There was no intact corpse left to examine.
Even the little blood and flesh was full of strange potions and food that was present around.
"...Shit," Ziggy muttered under his breath.
Mantis closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as he tried to suppress his anger.
"Enough," he said finally.
His gaze swept over Peg and his group before returning to Ziggy.
"All of you, come with me."
Ziggy opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but upon seeing Mantis’s expression, he swallowed his words.
"This matter is not over," Mantis added coldly.
Without waiting for any reply, he turned and began to fly away.
Ziggy hesitated for a moment before following, still holding Peg by the shoulder, while Peg and his friends exchanged confused glances as they trailed behind, clearly unable to understand what exactly had happened.
Of course they cannot fly, and were carried there.
The other wardens also began to leave one by one, some shaking their heads, some whispering among themselves, all of them aware that this incident would create quite a stir.
Soon, the area fell silent again.
Only the destroyed house and the scattered remains were left behind.
...
Far away, sitting atop a distant structure, Neil watched everything unfold calmly.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Heh... perfect."
From beginning to end, everything had gone exactly as he expected.
Not a single step had deviated.
He remained there for a few more moments, watching as the wardens disappeared into the distance, ensuring that nothing unexpected happened.
Only after confirming that everything had settled did he stand up.
Even if they try to search through those remains they wouldn’t find anything, Neil possessed the Aquamorph skill, a single thought could change such things.
Even a single slime would work.
"Good job," he said casually.
There was a brief silence before Freya’s faint voice sounded in his mind.
"...Hmph."
Neil smirked slightly.
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Thanks for reading... adios