Monaka clutched his mascot head and struggled.
Champa's face was full of naked determination.
He already had one hand on the headpiece, ready to rip it off and expose whatever was hidden underneath.
"Be good! Let me take a look!"
"No!"
The commotion quickly drew quite a bit of attention.
Levos noticed Champa's suicidal behavior too.
But before he could stop him, Champa had already pulled with force.
"Hmph! Refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Then don't blame me for getting rough!"
Riiip.
Champa violently tore Monaka's mascot head off.
Vados covered her forehead. "Now it's exposed…"
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
The excited grin on Champa's face stiffened.
He had imagined all sorts of faces beneath that costume, but never this one.
Levos hurriedly raised a hand, and a barrier enveloped the few people around Zeno, cutting off all sight and sound from the outside.
Champa stared at the round little head in front of him, then looked down at the mascot head in his hand. His mind went completely blank.
The tiny, harmless-looking figure before him was looking up at him with pure eyes, eyes so clear that they held not the slightest impurity.
That gaze was enough to make the gods tremble.
Champa wanted to run, but some bastard had already set up a barrier and blocked off all his escape routes. He could not flee even if he wanted to.
"My clothes are broken."
Zeno blinked, his tone calm.
"…"
Champa's catlike eyes flew wide open. His body began trembling uncontrollably.
He opened his mouth, but stuttered so badly he could not even form a complete sentence.
"Z-Z-Z-Z-Ze…"
"Really, Lord Champa. Why do you insist on provoking people for no reason?" Levos stepped in to smooth things over.
"Lord Champa," Vados reminded him with a straight face, "touching His Majesty Zeno is an extremely unwise thing to do."
"Ah… ah… AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Champa finally snapped out of his petrified state and let out a shriek so distorted it hardly sounded human.
The mascot head and fake ears dropped from his hands. He collapsed flat on the ground in a full-body prostration.
"Y-Y-Y… Your Majesty Zeno! I had no idea it was you in person! Please forgive my unforgivable disrespect!"
Tears and snot ran down his face. He shook like a leaf, wishing he could just erase himself on the spot.
"I… I am… an idiot…"
Zeno's expression remained calm, or rather, blank as always.
He looked at Champa. "You exposed my identity."
Champa opened his mouth, but not a single excuse came out.
He knew the disaster he had caused this time was greater than everything he had done wrong over the past tens of millions of years combined.
What do I do now?
"Um, Levos…"
Cold sweat soaked through his back as Champa cast Levos a pitiful pleading look.
Levos sighed. "Your Majesty Zeno, fortunately I reacted quickly. The instant Lord Champa pulled off the headpiece, I sealed the inside from the outside with a barrier. Your identity has not been exposed."
Zeno blinked and shifted his gaze from the trembling Champa to Levos.
"Then it's fine."
The terrifying pressure crushing Champa's heart quietly vanished.
Just those three simple words made his whole body go limp. It felt like he had just stepped back from the brink of annihilation.
He gasped for breath, and once he had recovered a little, he hurriedly thanked Zeno for his mercy.
"Your Majesty Zeno is benevolent. I will absolutely turn over a new leaf, carry out my duties as a God of Destruction with diligence, and prove my repentance through action, so as not to fail your grace…"
Zeno looked at Champa and tilted his head.
"By the way, what are you doing here?"
"I…"
Champa jolted upright. "I came to participate in the tournament! To prepare for the Tournament of Power you'll be holding later, so that my performance there will satisfy you!"
"Oh my," Vados said, covering her mouth lightly. "Lord Champa, why do I get the feeling you only rushed over here for Earth's food?"
Champa's body instantly froze.
Damn that Vados.
She always had to sabotage him at the worst possible moment.
"Food? Tournament? Which one is it for?"
Champa felt as if he had two heads and neither of them was working.
In front of Zeno, every lie felt thin and useless.
He only regretted being greedy enough to come along in the first place.
"O-of course it's for the tournament!" he forced himself to say. "The food was only… incidental. Yes, incidental! Your Majesty Zeno, just watch. I'll definitely give it my all in this tournament and present you with the most exciting battle possible!"
He had no choice but to commit now.
Originally, he had only planned to coast a little, enjoy the show, and go gorge himself once the tournament ended. That dream was now completely dead.
Other than Levos, he had never taken any of the participants here seriously.
But now he had to show real effort and go bully them for real.
"All right then." Zeno nodded. "Do your best."
At last, the identity exposure crisis was resolved.
Levos let out a breath of relief and stretched out a hand. A gentle glow enveloped the damaged mascot costume.
The torn fabric stitched itself back together. The headpiece and ears were restored and returned to perfect condition.
Zeno picked up the repaired headpiece and put it back on, once again becoming the harmless, blank-looking Monaka.
Champa stared at this in speechless disbelief. That disguise was clearly made just to set traps for him.
What normal person would bully someone who looked so harmless and airheaded?
He had no proof, but he seriously suspected Vados had arranged this whole thing just to make him lose weight.
Otherwise, she should have warned him telepathically or stepped in the moment he started acting rashly.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
That meant Levos was probably in on it too.
Those two must be working together behind his back.
Levos paid no attention to Champa's strange look.
Just as he was about to remove the barrier, Vados's voice drifted over.
"Mr. Levos, we have been inside this barrier for quite some time. The people outside are bound to have grown suspicious. If you remove it now, have you thought of how you will explain this to everyone else?"
Her words immediately reminded the others.
The barrier had blocked all sight and sound, yes, but something this abnormal could not possibly escape the notice of the more observant people outside.
Champa's face turned pale again.
He had thought he was finally safe, only to realize there was now another huge risk of exposing Zeno's identity.
And this entire situation stemmed from his own recklessness.
Levos frowned.
She was right. There were only a handful of people inside the barrier. If anyone paid close attention, it was only a matter of time before they noticed something strange about Zeno.
He needed a way to draw attention away from Zeno.
If only there were a few more people inside the barrier.
Suddenly, a bold thought formed in his mind.
He examined the inside of his body.
There were still nine not-so-friendly guests staying there.
It was about time to let them out. If he kept holding them in any longer, he might really drain them dry.
Then let them out and use them to divert everyone's attention.
"Your Majesty Zeno, I need to tell you something…"
"What is it, Levos?"
Zeno's curious voice came muffled through the mascot suit.
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