Chapter 303: Strongest Entity In The World

The cheering died instantly.

Every head turned toward the source of the voice—the vampire queen, standing with her arms crossed, her crimson eyes cold and unforgiving.

"He is human." She repeated, her voice carrying across the suddenly silent valley. "Which means we cannot trust him so easily. This could all be a trap. A performance designed to lure us in, to lower our guard, to make us vulnerable."

Shivers ran through the crowd. Murmurs spread like wildfire.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that!"

"How could I? I was so vigilant a moment ago. It’s almost as if I was put under a spell!"

"Exactly! I came here ready to keep my heart guarded, but instead I was cheering like a fool. Was this all planned? Was it all just a trick?"

The excitement that had filled the valley moments ago evaporated, replaced by wariness, suspicion, fear.

The same races that had been clapping and shouting for encores now looked at each other with uncertainty, their hands drifting toward their weapons.

Some even took a few steps back, as if the stage itself had become a threat.

The mood had shattered. The spell had been broken.

Luca watched it happen, a wry, disappointed expression crossing his face.

"So close." He muttered under his breath. "I was so close to bringing everyone together without a single word."

Behind him, the elves stirred uneasily. Selma, Ivy, and Alia exchanged worried glances. The elders clutched their robes.

Even the little ones, who didn’t fully understand what was happening, could feel the shift in the atmosphere and pressed closer to their mothers.

He turned his gaze toward the vampire queen, who stared back at him with a cold gaze.

She was the one who had spoken. And Luca understood why.

Of all the races present, the vampires were the only ones who had truly interacted with humans over the past few decades.

They had traded with them, made deals with them, and been betrayed by them.

The vampire queen herself had fallen into human traps before—had nearly been captured, shackled, and kept as a pet in some noble’s collection.

She knew, better than anyone, just how treacherous humans could be.

Her wariness was not paranoia.

It was survival. Honestly even she herself was succumbing to the pure heart put into the the performance, but managed to snap herself back to reality in the very last minute.

And she was not alone.

The lamia queen watched with calm, assessing eyes, her slit pupils tracking Luca’s every movement.

The dryad queen, despite swaying to the music moments ago, had maintained a composed, almost detached demeanor throughout.

And the little pony-centaur who had been complaining earlier snorted loudly.

"Finally!" She said, stamping her hoof. "Someone finally said something. I thought for a moment everyone was just going to trust him blindly."

The mood shifted further. Whispers of agreement spread. Weapons were gripped tighter. Eyes grew harder.

Leona took another step forward, worry etched on her face. "Luca—"

But he just smiled and raised his hand again.

"It’s alright, Leona. Let me handle it."

He then stepped to the edge of the stage, facing the crowd directly. The lights had dimmed, leaving only natural sunlight to illuminate him.

His frilly pink shirt seemed even more ridiculous now, more out of place, but he didn’t seem to care and instead bowed. A small, humble bow.

"Hello there." He said, his voice carrying easily across the valley. "My name is Luca. Luca Faust."

He straightened and looked out at the gathered races.

"But the term I’m much more known by, of course, is Hero..."

"...The Hero sent by the Goddess of Equivalent Exchange to save the demi-human continent."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. They had already known—but hearing him say it aloud, hearing him claim the title so openly, still sent a jolt through them.

This was the Hero. The one who had slaughtered his way through the human continent.

The one who had been summoned to save them.

He was standing right in front of them, wearing a frilly pink shirt and ribbons in his hair.

Luca chuckled, running a hand through his ribbon-tied hair as he said,

"I don’t want to spew a bunch of lies on our first meeting. It’s obvious there are quite a few keen individuals here—

He let his gaze linger on the vampire queen, the lamia queen, the pony centaur.

"—and I don’t want to leave you with a bad impression."

He spread his arms wide.

"So let me be honest. What the lady over there with the sharp fangs said is true."

Gasps.

"I did put on this performance to lure you in. In one way or another, you could say you’ve been trapped."

Weapons were raised. Spells were readied. The tension in the valley ratcheted up to a breaking point.

"See? I knew it!"

"Traitors! All of them!"

"We should never have come!"

Luca raised his hands in a calming gesture, his smile never wavering.

"Of course, not in the way you think."

The crowd hesitated.

"I just wanted to put on a performance to calm everyone down, pull down your nerves a little bit. You all seemed quite tense, after all."

He smiled, genuine and warm.

"I wanted to make everyone forget about their own thoughts for a moment and just focus on that single moment, so that we could all feel like one single party."

He linked his fingers together to emphasize his point as he sincerely said,

"I genuinely did not want to lure anyone into a trap where harm could come to anyone. That was never my intention."

The races stared at him, searching his face for deceit, for hidden motives, for any sign that he was lying.

But they found none. His eyes were open, his expression sincere, his posture relaxed. He wasn’t hiding anything.

It was...baffling.

Even the vampire queen, who had been prepared to dismiss him, found herself hesitating.

She had spent decades learning to read humans—to spot their lies, their manipulations, their hidden agendas. And she saw none of that in Luca.

He meant what he said.

The dark elf matriarch, who had been watching the exchange with an amused smile, tilted her head.

"So you admit you manipulated us. And you expect us to just...accept that?"

"Of course not."

Luca shrugged before smirking and saying,

"Rather I expect you to understand why I did it...I am a human, after all."

He pointed at his ears. "I don’t have pointy ears like some of you."

The dark elves touched their ears unconsciously.

He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.

"I don’t have sharp teeth or long tongues either."

The lamias flicked their tongues out briefly, showing off their fangs. The beastkin bared their teeth.

He spread his arms wide. "I don’t have scales, or fur, or feathers. No wings on my back or my arms."

The harpies rustled their feathers. The fairies stretched their wings.

Then he turned around and, to everyone’s utter dismay, began shaking his ass.

Luna buried her face in her hands. Leona’s eye twitched.

"I also don’t have a tail." Luca said casually, still shaking. "Unlike some of you."

The beastkin’s tails bristled. The queen of the dragonkin looked like she was contemplating whether Luca was really the Hero or some clown.

Luca turned back around, his face serene, his smile gentle.

"So, as you can see, I’m a human. Even though I’m not technically from this world—I come from a completely different dimension, far, far away—I’m still a human at the end of the day."

He shrugged.

"And because I knew how much you distrust humans, I had no choice but to distract you from that fact."

He paused, his expression softening.

"Not that I blame you. For years, the humans have been trying to invade your continent."

"Even though you prefer to keep to yourselves, they’ve been constantly trying to steal your resources, enslave your people—"

He shook his head.

"I understand why you feel the way you do. If I were in your place, I would feel the same."

The goblins shifted uncomfortably. The ogres scowls deepened. The centaurs’ tails flicked with remembered anger.

"So I don’t blame you." Luca continued. "I don’t blame any of you for not trusting me. You have every reason to be cautious."

He let that sink in, then his expression shifted. His smile turned into something sharper, more playful.

"But even if I wasn’t human and belonged to one of your races..."

"...I’m pretty sure you’d still be wary of me."

The leaders frowned, confused.

Luca stepped forward, to the very edge of the stage, and spread his arms wide.

"After all..." He said, his eyes glinting. "I am the strongest entity in this entire world!"

"No one could possibly even touch a hair on my head and when you’re in front of such a powerful being..."

He gave a arrogant smirk.

"...it’s only natural to be afraid."

The moment he said it, something shifted.

It wasn’t magic. It wasn’t a spell. It wasn’t any kind of visible power.

It was simply...presence.

A weight that pressed down on the crowd, making their hearts race, their palms sweat, their instincts scream at them to run, hide, do anything to get away.

They were afraid.

And they hated it.

But of course there were many who didn’t fall under the spell like the demi-human leaders, especially the dragonkin queen who was the first to recover.

Her pride stung, her honor wounded, she forced herself to step forward, her eyes blazing.

"On what grounds can you possibly say that you’re the strongest? Even I, the strongest warrior in the demi-human continent..."

She ignored the annoyed twitches of the other leaders.

"...would not dare make such a bold claim. Where do you get your confidence?"

Luca chuckled.

"Where does my confidence come from?"

He took a breath and finally said,

"It comes from this."

The moment he finished...he vanished.

One moment he was standing on the stage, a colorful figure in pink and ribbons. The next, he was simply...gone.

No flash of light, no puff of smoke. Just gone.

Panic erupted. Heads swiveled. Weapons were raised. Spells were readied.

"Where is he?!"

"Did he teleport?"

"Stay alert! He could be anywhere!"

Then a voice came from behind them. Casual. Amused.

"I could just come over here without you knowing...and pluck your tail out."

Every head turned and they shivered at the sight they saw.

Luca was standing directly behind the dragonkin queen, his hand casually wrapped around the tip of her tail.

Her eyes were wide, her body frozen, her mind unable to process how he had gotten there.

Her guards, who had been positioned around her, looked equally stunned. They had seen nothing. Heard nothing.

Luca grinned. "Nice tail, by the way. Very pretty."

Before anyone could react, he vanished again.

This time, he appeared next to the ogre leader, who stumbled back in shock. He reached out and plucked the massive club from her hands, swinging it around as if it weighed nothing.

"I could also just take your weapon and smash your own face in with it before you can utter a word." He said cheerfully.

Then he was gone.

The vampire queen’s daggers were raised, her body tense, her senses stretched to their limits.

She would be ready this time. She would—

A gust of wind brushed against her neck.

She looked down.

One of her daggers was gone.

She looked behind her.

Luca stood there, smiling, the dagger in his hand pressed casually against her throat.

"I can also just slice your neck right here and let you bleed out on the spot."

The vampires around her were frozen, their faces pale. They had guarded her perfectly.

There were no blind spots. And yet—

Luca tossed the dagger back to her and vanished again.

He reappeared on the stage and leaned down, his voice carrying across the valley.

"The fact that I can kill every single one of you without any of you even knowing where the strike comes from..."

He paused, his eyes cold, his smile sharp.

"That is what gives me the confidence to call myself the strongest being in this world."