Chapter 170: Sweet And Sour
The special event wasn't limited to just Voomie and Caelum.
All across the Land of Sweets...
Countless pairings were quietly taking place.
Every participant found themselves transported into a private tasting space, where only they and their assigned opponent remained.
Each rivalry was as unique as the desserts they imagined.
In one such space.
Paul was leisurely enjoying an outrageously expensive ice cream.
Normally, there was no chance someone like him could ever afford such a luxury unless he asked for pocket money from his parents.
So he naturally intended to enjoy every single bite.
Just as he finished another spoonful.
The surrounding scenery rippled.
"Hm?"
Paul calmly adjusted his glasses.
These past few days, he had noticed something strange about himself.
For reasons he couldn't explain.
His confidence occasionally skyrocketed at the most random moments.
Sometimes he would become so composed that even he wondered if someone else had possessed him.
And unfortunately, this happened to be one of those moments.
A graceful figure slowly descended before him.
She possessed an elegant humanoid appearance.
Four pairs of magnificent white wings spread behind her back.
Every feather radiated a soft holy light.
"A human?"
She tilted her head slightly.
Paul pushed his glasses upward as a mysterious gleam flashed across them.
"My name is Paul."
He gave a refined bow.
"And, Miss, it appears you have walked straight toward your own defeat."
"…"
The winged woman blinked.
"Pfft."
She almost laughed.
'So he really doesn't recognize me.' She thought with genuine amusement.
That was rather refreshing.
After all, wherever she normally went, people either screamed in awe, or immediately knelt in worship.
Her reputation alone was enough to shake anyone.
Combined with the terrifying divine power she possessed.
Few dared even meet her gaze.
Yet, this ordinary-looking human was confidently declaring victory before the competition had even begun.
"Interesting."
A playful smile appeared on her lips.
"I suppose this will be entertaining."
Elsewhere.
Jojo found himself facing a young Lionman.
The boy possessed golden fur, sharp crimson eyes, and a faint aura of nobility that couldn't be hidden.
The moment Jojo saw him, his eyes widened.
"A Royal Demon? What are you doing here?"
The Lionman froze.
'He recognized me?'
A look of disbelief flashed across his face.
Most people simply assumed that he was from just another beastkin race.
Very few could distinguish an ordinary Lionman from a member of the Royal Demon Clan.
Yet, this tiny panda had identified him with a single glance.
"Who exactly are you?"
The Lionman's expression gradually became cautious.
Jojo simply smiled like a sinister old man.
In another place.
Bonjour's summon, Big Ice, stomped forward with heavy footsteps.
Waiting opposite him, was an unusual participant.
A Fire Dragon Egg.
"…"
One couldn't speak, and the other had no reason to.
Instead, the temperature around them instantly changed.
Frost spread beneath Big Ice's feet.
Crimson flames danced around the dragon egg.
The air itself hissed as fire and ice collided.
Just as the two prepared to attack, a warning appeared overhead.
[Violence between participants is prohibited.]
Both immediately stopped as they glanced at each other.
Then, without saying a word, each began imagining a dessert instead.
Moments later.
Big Ice proudly created an enormous frozen mountain of shaved ice infused with glacial fruit syrup.
The Fire Dragon Egg answered with a blazing molten lava cake that released waves of scorching heat.
Neither hesitated.
The two simultaneously hurled their desserts at one another.
BOOM!
Frozen syrup exploded into the air.
Molten chocolate erupted like a tiny volcano.
Neither dessert survived.
Satisfied, the two silently prepared another round.
Apparently, throwing desserts at each other wasn't considered violence.
And out of every strange pairing created by the Land of Sweets.
None was stranger than the one opposite to Grozni Gefährlich Morozov Höllenbrand.
The Hollow Lich calmly looked across his arena.
His skeletal eye flames flickered once.
His opponent stood perfectly still.
It had green leaves.
A sturdy trunk.
Bright yellow fruit hanging from its branches.
It was… a lemon tree.
"…"
The lemon tree rustled proudly in the breeze.
Even Grozni had no idea how one was supposed to compete against a tree.
Then, after taking a closer look, his empty eye sockets flickered.
"Oh? How rare, a Situation-Souring Lemon Tree?"
His voice carried genuine surprise.
The tree remained silent for a moment.
Then, a wooden face slowly emerged from the center of its trunk.
Two eyes opened and a mouth formed beneath them.
The tree observed Grozni with equal curiosity.
"How rare, an intelligent Hollow Lich."
Then, neither spoke.
The atmosphere became strangely awkward.
Finally, Grozni broke the silence.
"Tell me child, how are sweets related to your kind?"
The tree answered after a pause.
"I am not a child, I have lived longer than you."
"Kekekekekekeke!"
Grozni suddenly burst into laughter.
The lemon tree merely stared not understanding the joke.
After all, would this tree believe him if he was told that Grozni once used several of his Great Tree Elders to sow discord between entire empires?
Grozni chuckled inwardly.
'Judging from that expression, probably not.'
His gaze slowly wandered across the surroundings.
'Still, this place truly is fascinating.'
Without further hesitation, Grozni began imagining ingredients.
Then he simply compressed everything into a dense black sphere.
A thick, glossy paste floated before him.
It looked utterly unappetizing.
Yet it contained great energy.
Even the lemon tree's leaves twitched.
"What a dangerous thing to eat."
It instinctively sensed that the black sphere contained ingredients of terrifying quality.
Not to be outdone, the tree focused as well.
It imagined every sour flavor it had ever experienced.
Soon, dozens of brilliantly yellow desserts appeared around it.
Without hesitation, the tree happily began consuming them one after another.
Contrary to what its name suggested, the Land of Sweets wasn't limited to sweetness alone.
Most visitors naturally imagined cakes, chocolates, candies, and pastries.
That was why the place had earned its name.
However, as long as one could imagine it a flavor, it could all be brought into existence.
And sweetness and sourness were simply two sides of the same culinary coin.
"Kekekekekekeke!"
Grozni laughed heartily after eating the black mass.
The dense black paste dissolved into pure mana the moment it entered his body.
"Excellent."
He could clearly feel it.
His ascension into a true Lich was not far away.