Neo and Zestia waited for hours, and yet Bambo still hadn’t returned. Both of them became frustrated after waiting for so long.

​Suddenly, Zestia suggested with a smile, "Hey, Neo, do you want to check out the fair going on nearby? I promise it will be a lot of fun."

​Neo, who was bored out of his mind, agreed. "Well, it’s better than staying idly by."

​After walking for 15 minutes, they arrived at the fair. The streets were illuminated with bioluminescent lights, and the stalls were filled with various kinds of oceanic items such as pearls, seashells, and rare fish. Most of the stall owners were mermaids, and they maintained a friendly attitude toward human guests.

​But of course, some of the locals were talking behind their backs. Not just Neo and Zestia, but other humans were also feeling the tense atmosphere.

​"Neo, wanna play Fishbowl?" Zestia suddenly asked, leaning against a game stall.

Neo shook his head, crossing his arms. "No, I’m not interested in games."

​"Suit yourself," Zestia said, tossing a handful of local currency onto the counter.

"Watch and learn, Neo."

"Traveller, I must let you know some rules. You absolutely cannot use any kind of Beyonder power." the stall owner said sternly.

"Got it."

Nodding, Zestia grabbed a ring and threw it toward the swirling vortex inside the illuminated fishbowl, but the shifting water currents deflected it completely.

"Damn it..."

She tried again, her brows furrowing in frustration, but the ring bounced off the rim. Zestia played round after round, losing every single time.

By the tenth consecutive loss, her shoulders slumped, and she looked genuinely deflated, her usual fiery confidence completely extinguished.

​Neo sighed, stepping up to the counter. "Let me show you how it’s done."

​"Oh, so now the big shot wants to play?" Zestia mumbled, pouting as she watched him pick up a ring.

​Neo narrowed his eyes, silently activating passive traits of [Vellsing] to increase accuracy and speed by 1.5x.

Just as he wanted, the world around him seemed to slow down, and the chaotic swirling of the water inside the bowl became a predictable pattern.

Swish!

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the ring. It cut through the air and dropped perfectly into the center pocket.

​Clink.

​The mermaid stall owner blinked in surprise, but smiled politely.

"A lucky shot, traveler."

​Neo didn’t reply. He picked up another ring, and then three more. In a blur of motion that the untrained eye couldn’t even follow, Neo fired the rings in rapid succession.

Every single one scored flawlessly, bypassing the water traps and hitting the highest-value targets.

​Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

​The stall owner’s smile vanished, replacing it with a look of pure horror as the prize pool began to spin out of control.

Neo kept going, scoring fantastically each time without a single miss.

The crowd that had been whispering behind their backs suddenly grew quiet, watching in absolute awe as Neo single-handedly broke the game.

​By the time he ran out of rings, the stall owner completely broke down, dropping to his knees behind the counter.

"Please! Mercy, Lord Beyonder! Spare me! I won’t have any prizes left for the rest of the festival if you keep this up!"

​Zestia’s mood changed instantly. She forgot all about her previous losses and began cheering like a happy child.

"Did you see that? That’s what you get for rigging the water currents! Good job, Neo!"

Neo looked up, and upon seeing her cheerful smile, something inside him stirred. It was only for a second, but it felt as if a great deal of time had passed. Snapping back to reality, Neo stood up to leave.

​But just then, a shout was heard nearby.

​"Bastards! Let go of me! I didn’t steal anything!"

​The cry came from a little merfolk boy, who seemed to have been caught red-handed by a burly stall owner.

​"Little thief, you think you’re so smart? Watch how I peel every scale off your body and feed it to the dogs!" the stall owner grinned viciously.

​The other stall owners also vented their frustration:

​"Yeah, Gilbert, fuck him up!"

​"Teach him a lesson he will never forget!"

​"Kill him! These lowlifes are the reason we are being exploited for our energy stones!"

​"Death is a mercy to their kind."

​"No! Don’t kill me! I just wanted some food! I want to live!" the little mermaid boy begged, tears streaming down his face.

​Despite his cries, no one seemed to care.

​Hearing their spiteful comments and the little mermaid’s pleas, Neo realized there was actually no difference between humans and mermaids at this moment. Everyone was bent on suppressing the weak, just to fuel their own inferior egos.

Before Neo could do anything, Zestia stepped in, pulling a handful of credits from her pocket.

"Here, take this. It’s more than enough to cover whatever he took. Just let the boy go."

​The stall owner, Gilbert, didn’t even look at the money. He swatted her hand away, his grip tightening around the boy’s collar.

"Keep your dirty money, human. This isn’t about the food anymore. These lowborn rats need to learn their place. He’s a lower kind, and a thief will always be a thief. He deserves to die right here!"

​The little boy let out a choked gasp as Gilbert raised a heavy, stone-tipped club.

"Yeahhh! Kill him!"

The crowd cheered, eager for blood.

​Before the club could fall, Neo stepped forward.

​He didn’t draw a weapon, nor did he shout.

He simply let a fraction of his [Vellsing Transformation] aura bleed into the air.

The temperature around the stall instantly plummeted, yet a suffocating, phantom heat seemed to wrap around everyone’s throats.

The latent Cosmic Force radiating from Neo felt ancient, dark, and utterly merciless.

​Gilbert froze mid-swing. His eyes widened into saucers, his pupils dilating as he looked at Neo.

Unknowingly, his knees began to knock together, and a cold sweat broke out across his massive frame. It felt as if he were standing in the presence of a primeval devil that could erase his entire existence with a single thought.

​The cheering crowd also went dead silent.

​"Let him go," Neo said as if he was giving an absolute decree.

Gilbert’s fingers lost all their strength. He dropped the club, and the little merman scrambled away, gasping for air.

Without making any further fuss, the terrifying stall owner stumbled backward into his own display, trembling so hard he couldn’t even speak.

And Zestia looked as if she had seen this persona of his before, back when he slaughtered her so-called friends.

​"Just what are you, Neo? Why do you always feel so cold and distant?"