Chapter 40

While the audience in the Prime Universe was busy cursing at the screen that had once again turned into static, in Plane 25838, a tiny cub was struggling to get closer to the "monster," wanting to comfort it and tell it to stop crying.

The "monster," whose limbs were pinned to the ground by the arrows of the hybrid Winged Clan warriors, was unable to move. Yet, it seemed stunned upon realizing it was weeping.

Tears.

It was something it had not seen since it was "cursed."

As for the compliment of being "pretty" from the cub before it, that was something it hadn't heard in ages.

How many years had it been?

It had forgotten how many years it had been since it turned into this terrifying form; it only knew that it was so ugly and disgusting that even it couldn't bear to look at itself.

But at this moment, the cub before it was looking at it with pure, flawless eyes. There was no disgust or revulsion in the cub's gaze, only overwhelming concern and heartache.

The giant monster could no longer suppress the grievances and pain in its heart. Looking toward the cub, big, heavy tears began to fall.

...

Meanwhile, the executives of the Black Universe Group hidden behind the screens were stunned into numbness.

The Tears of Innocence—a supreme treasure of the Prime Universe.

Born in places of filth, these are treasures that can only condense from the tears shed by a life form composed of malevolent thoughts, which in turn are gathered from the malice of the universe.

Only life forms twisted by the purest malice can condense their tears into these precious Tears of Innocence.

However, those life forms contaminated by such pure malice usually lose their consciousness and sanity; after all, under the assault of such intense evil, ordinary life forms would have chosen self-destruction long ago.

Those that survive the contamination often become as disgusting and ugly as the life forms on Plane 25838. Because they embody such concentrated cosmic malice, they appear exceptionally hideous in the eyes of every other living being.

Faced with such disgusting "monsters," almost everyone instinctively feels revulsion and attacks them.

Under such constant attacks, these "monsters" carrying cosmic malice never have the chance to shed the "Tears of Innocence."

...

The executives of the Black Universe Group were certain that they were not the only ones who had discovered the "Tears of Innocence." The omniscient brain-cores of their two rival groups must have detected its presence simultaneously.

Unfortunately for them, the sub-plane 25838 fell within the sphere of influence of the Black Universe Group.

The executives of those other two groups must be jumping with frustration right now, aren't they?

...

Su You, of course, knew nothing of the chaos in the Prime Universe.

He was staring wide-eyed at the "monster" before him, watching as its falling tears turned into beautiful gemstones. Seeming to forget his curiosity about the "pretty gems," he tried even harder to get close to the "monster" and asked earnestly, "Are you crying because you’re in a lot of pain?"

The little one looked at the "monster" nervously, then tentatively reached out to touch one of the monster's hands, which was pinned down by the arrows of Silvalando.

Fearing that touching the wound would make it hurt more, the little guy pulled his hand back quickly after a light tap. After a moment of thought, he leaned close to the wound and puffed out his cheeks to blow on it. "Whoosh, whoosh—it won't hurt anymore!"

Just as the little one finished blowing and was looking at the "monster" with a troubled expression, wondering what else to do, he suddenly heard the "monster" ask in a trembling voice, "...Can you... touch me again?"

The "monster's" voice was hoarse and nervous, but filled with unprecedented clarity.

The little one, who was crouching and fretting over the injury, blinked when he heard the request and said, "Of course I can."

As he spoke, the little one hesitantly touched the "monster's" hand again. "I'll touch very gently, so it won't hurt, okay?"

In truth, it did hurt.

After all, Silvalando's arrows had pierced its limbs and pinned them to the ground. Its internal organs were aching from the penetration.

But compared to the pain, everything happening before it was even more incredible.

As a member of the Nether Clan, the "monster" had originally thought their leader had attained liberation through some other stroke of fate.

But the moment the cub touched it, the "monster" finally understood... why their leader would carefully shield this cub with a protective barrier even while fighting that hateful enemy.

Because...

This cub was their leader's stroke of fate; this cub was the hope for the salvation of the entire Nether Clan!

The moment the cub touched it, it felt a fresh power radiating from the point of contact, sweeping through its body.

Its cursed body seemed to be redeemed in that instant.

So, when the cub pulled its hand away, it couldn't wait to ask in its hoarse, trembling voice, "...Can you touch me again?"

Finally, when the cub touched its body again, the filthy, cursed power that had been gathering in its body and nearly consuming it completely began to be driven out by a pure, straightforward, and untainted force!

Everything seemed to change at this moment.

It saw its own once-disgusting limbs begin to recover the appearance of their Nether Clan.

First, the limbs closest to the cub.

Then the torso, the face, the hair...

As the curse faded, even the arrows pinned into its limbs fell away into thin air... although its limbs still bore terrifying puncture wounds, joy surpassed everything else at this moment.

Feeling that it had returned to normal, the "monster" finally understood why its leader would hold this cub so nervously, reluctant to let go.

Because this cub was the hope for "life" belonging to their Nether Clan.

...

Not far away, the "monsters" who were already gathering toward the site of the battle between the Nether Demon Lord and Silvalando felt the moment the curse on another clansman was broken!

Hope...

That was their new place of rebirth!

In an instant, countless "monsters" began to surge toward their land of hope, and all the soldier king candidates were observing the changes here as well.

"...Oh my god, look! That monster's transformation!!"

"Did you hear? The main system just sent a new notification—another Nether clansman has been tamed by Candidate 001!"

"As expected! That cub is the monster cub leader tamed by Candidate 001, and this cub leader is helping Candidate 001 tame his clansmen!"

"So those monsters weren't actually monsters to begin with, right?"

"Do those monsters all turn back into standard humanoid life forms after being tamed by 001?"

"It's incredible..."

The tiny cub, of course, had no idea that his simple touch would cause such a massive "misunderstanding."

He was still feeling sad about the "monster's" wounds.

But the "monster" ignored its own puncture wounds. Using its bloodied hands, it carefully picked up the "Tears of Innocence" one by one from the ground, then held them out to the little one with both hands.

Su You looked at the actions of the "Nether" clansman and asked nervously, "Doesn't it hurt?"

The Nether clansman, now free from the curse, looked at the concern in the cub's eyes and smiled happily. "It doesn't hurt."

Compared to the pain of being immersed in the curse for who knows how many years, even the agony of having his limbs pierced didn't seem so unbearable.

At this moment, he was just desperate to thank the cub, but he didn't know what he could possibly offer to thank the one who had saved him from the endless abyss of pain.

Therefore, remembering the cub's praise earlier, he immediately crouched down and picked up the gems formed from his own tears that had fallen to the ground.

As a Nether clansman who had been scoured by the power of the curse for countless years, he could certainly sense how powerful and pure the energy within his "tears" was.

But at this moment, these "tears" were to him merely things that might make the cub happy.

He carefully held the gems with his bloodied hands and presented them to the cub, asking earnestly, "Do you like them?"

After the cub nervously took the gems from his hands, the Nether clansman finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, then asked pleadingly, "What is your name? My name is Wan You. May I hug you?"

After taking the pretty gems, the little one had no interest in looking at them anymore. He quickly shoved the pretty stones into his "pockets" and looked up at Wan You earnestly. "My name is Youyou. Of course you can."

As he spoke, the little one took the initiative to bury himself in Wan You's arms, carefully avoiding his wounds.

...

Just as Wan You was carefully and happily hugging the cub, the executives of the various groups in the Prime Universe were about to explode—

"Damn it...!"

"The Tears of Innocent Blood!"

"My god..."

Legend has it that when the "Tears of Innocence" are stained with the original owner's blood and then piously gifted by the shedder, they become the even more precious "Tears of Innocent Blood."

Possessing it—even for the highest-level life forms who have already died—means they will gain a new lease on life.

At this moment, the executives of every group issued their highest-level orders to their subordinates.