I Built a Divine Zoo in Another World

The gigantic deformed rat that led the entire invasion, its body covered in protrusions and hundreds of tails, its claws like daggers, its eyes like burning embers. The creature radiated a suffocating pressure, a presence that made the air weigh heavily on the shoulders of everyone nearby.

Very different from the small companion who now walked peacefully around the surroundings of that hill, completely unaware of the storm of thoughts stirring in Lukas’s mind.

Rourke had never shown any sign of that corruption. There had never been a flicker of aggression in his eyes, nor had there ever been a moment when Lukas felt afraid of his presence.

On the contrary, from the very first moment Lukas found him, despite the obvious fear the little rat showed toward humans, he had never sensed any murderous intent from him.

He clearly remembered the first time their eyes met, that morning when Lukas found the injured little rat. The small body was trembling, his eyes wide with fear, and he only wanted to escape, disappear among the leaves, and never be seen again.

Then came the fruits, offered with patience and care. The patience, days of slow approach, every gesture carefully calculated not to frighten him. The walks together through the forest, the little rat following his steps. The nights sleeping in the same room, trust growing with each passing day.

The days when Rourke began, little by little, to trust him, to accept his touch, to seek his company. The first time the little rat climbed onto his hand of his own accord, his eyes shone without fear.

Without realizing it, that animal had ceased to be merely a surviving and rescued creature. He had become a companion, a friend, a member of his family.

Lukas breathed slowly, feeling the air fill his lungs.

"No..." He thought to himself, conviction growing in his chest.

"Something happened."

His mind began organizing the possibilities, each one being examined and either discarded or kept.

The true Rat King had been defeated, of that he had no doubt. He had seen Clavor and Count Hark defeat and kill that monster with his own eyes, its colossal form falling beneath their combined attacks.

Then why did that ability carry exactly the same name? If Rourke truly possessed it, that meant there was some connection between the two, some invisible thread connecting them across time and space.

"Perhaps..." The thought emerged slowly, taking shape like an image revealing itself in the darkness.

Perhaps Rourke was not exactly the same being, but merely what remained, a remnant, a fragment, a new life born from the ashes of the old one.

A kind of survivor, carrying the essence of what it had once been, but free from the corruption that had consumed it.

Or... perhaps, a new birth. The same soul, purified, reborn, beginning a new journey.

Lukas remembered the appearance of the little rat when he first found him. The golden stripe shining over his head, a thread of light amid the gray.

His eyes were completely different from those of the other rats, brighter, more alive, carrying an intelligence that went beyond instinct.

Not a trace of the dark energy that surrounded the corrupted rats, no sign of that evil presence Lukas had felt during the battle. Just a small creature, frightened and injured, seeking safety.

The more he reflected, the more one hypothesis seemed to make sense, its pieces fitting together like a puzzle.

"Perhaps... the corruption disappeared completely..."

The idea slowly matured in his mind, gaining form and substance. If all that dark energy had been destroyed with the death of the original monster, perhaps only the essence of that creature had remained, the part that had not been corrupted, the original spark that had existed before its fall.

Without hatred, without violence, without corruption. Just... a new life, free to choose its own path.

Lukas remained silent for a few moments, allowing that idea to settle. He could not prove anything at all, it was merely a hypothesis, a theory born from his limited understanding.

Even so, his heart told him that it made sense, that explanation resonating with something deep within him.

He smiled faintly, a smile of acceptance and understanding.

"Whoever you were before... now you’re simply Rourke."

The memory of the little rat sleeping beside his pillow immediately appeared in his mind, as clear as a photograph. The small body curled into a ball, his breathing steady, the warmth of his presence against Lukas’s arm.

It was difficult to associate that image with the terrifying Rank A monster, the creature that had nearly destroyed the region. Very difficult, almost impossible. Even if there truly was some connection between them, some deep connection that he still did not completely understand, it changed nothing.

Not for Lukas.

He had already made his decision many days ago, at the moment when the little rat first climbed onto his hand. Rourke was part of his family, a companion on his journey. The trust they had built between them, day after day, was worth far more than any theory about his past.

His gaze returned to the luminous panel, the words still shining before him.

"I want to understand this ability better."

He had barely finished forming the thought when the panel responded. The words silently disappeared, the letters dissolving like luminous dust, as if carried away by an invisible wind. New lines began to appear in their place, more numerous, and more detailed, filling the empty space with information.

Lukas watched attentively as the screen completely reorganized the information, each new line adding depth to his understanding.

A few seconds later, a new title appeared, shining with a light of its own.

[Rat King]

Directly below, the first description began to appear, letter by letter, as if being written by an invisible hand.

[All rats within the area of influence instinctively recognize your existence. No rat will spontaneously attack you. All will feel respect and submission toward you.]

Lukas read slowly, each word being absorbed and processed. Then, he returned to the beginning and read it again, making sure he had not missed any detail.

His first reaction was surprise, a wave of awe running through his body.

"Area of influence..."

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