Zarek didn't look back a single time, his pace only increasing as he continued to run.
He didn't make mistakes often, but at the end of the day he was human. What separated him from others was that he knew how to cut his losses.
The way he saw it, no one would dare to use the badge for several months at the very least. There was even a good chance that those chasing after the badge were actually just trying to play defense.
Fighting against an S Class, even with the advantage of one attack, was far too dangerous. There was no one—not even amongst these geniuses—that could guarantee they could kill an S Class with one strike. And if you didn't… well, you'd find yourself facing off against a very pissed-off S Class.
There were good rewards for not only completing this challenge, but being the first to do so. Most of the Demons, if not all of them, planned to quickly gain the strength to kill A Classes, then carefully pick out their best matchups before taking them down one by one.
Plus, if someone had this badge, even if they didn't use it against an S Class, it was as good as a free kill against an A Class. That was even more unacceptable to them.
Trying to hold onto that hot potato would only be a detriment to Zarek. He would let them fight it out first. Then when it was time and he was ready…
He'd take it back with interest.
\\*\\*
"You've seen it, haven't you?"
"Seen it? You mean heard it?"
"A Sin Root."
The voices of the council members had been dull and silent for a long while now. This conversation, however, was happening behind closed doors, a new contingent hidden in the shadows, a cabal within a cabal.
"A Sin Root gained our heritage and is now on the verge of making a mockery of the Trials. This is unacceptable."
"We cannot just kill him casually. There's no way of knowing how many Rebirths he has and which he is on. A Sin Root must be removed by exactly that—its roots. We need an understanding of where he comes from so we can ensure that he is eradicated for good."
"That will take time. But we need to also make certain that he does not win. If he does, there will be nothing we can do to stop the rewards from landing in his hands."
"Is that even possible? He is clever, but his strength is too weak. You've already seen that his tricks won't get him very far. Focus on finding out where he hails from. It won't be too late to find a method to intervene if the situation on the ground changes."
…
The conversation took place in the dark. Zarek himself didn't know that his conversation with Priya and his mention of lives had led to this sort of outcome. He knew that he was being monitored, but not only was his priority Priya at the time, he didn't have enough context to assume that Rebirth was such a problem to these people.
On Earth, by the end of every one of his lives—even the first—the concept of Rebirth was well known and basically accepted. He assumed that in the wider universe things would be the same.
He was wrong.
Very wrong, unfortunately.
\\*\\*
Zarek didn't know what sort of situation he had gotten himself into this time. But if he did know, he would probably start laughing.
The irony of suffering another "loss" so soon after his second would amuse him more than anything. Unfortunately, he didn't know just yet, and it was unlikely that he would learn the truth in any sort of pleasing way.
All he could focus on right now, though, was the map at the corner of his status screen.
If Zarek was correct, Urouge would be the one that came out on top. And given that man's patience and unpredictability, there was no telling if he would choose to come after him or not.
Under those circumstances, Zarek had to make it to his target as quickly as possible.
There was good news on that front. In the last over-week, he had never deviated from the map because Urouge had never made him. Although he tested this, he didn't go far from his target.
So, his progress was good and steady.
Even better, the chaotic times were slowing down. Rather than having to deal with Turned scurrying around everywhere to fight for territory, they had begun to settle a bit, and the number of battles Zarek found himself getting into was diminished.
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Soon, Zarek was just three days out from his target by his estimates, and it was only then he decided to slow down.
Since Urouge hadn't appeared already—or at the very least hadn't made himself known—Zarek doubted he would be coming in the short term. It was likely that if he got his hands on the badge, he would be more concerned with protecting it.
Knowing what he knew, Urouge had certainly planned all of this out well in advance. So, Zarek chose to rest instead. There was no need to keep pushing himself.
He hadn't had an ounce of rest other than a handful of hours of sleep every few days. That battle hadn't lasted long, but because of Urouge's constant pressure, he was already on his last legs before that. For him to press so hard after that was just him asking for his body to shut down.
Luckily, the result was his Endurance finally catching up to the rest of his stats and hitting C.
Zarek downshifted and found a place to enter the tent. After a long rest that was effectively just six or so hours, he was ready to go again.
He continued his journey, not stopping for the next three days until he rested the night of the last.
'Typical…'
The morning following, Zarek slowly crept over a snowy mountain. By this point, the terrain was entirely awash in white, the chill digging to his bones every time a snowflake landed on his mahogany skin.
The location on his map was just ahead. But unfortunately, there were people.