Chapter 104
A brilliant beam of light seemed to plunge from the sky to the ground, and then screams erupted simultaneously.
The two Demon Kings were holding Asmodeus's hands to my left and right.
The girl who had been struck by me and sent flying far away was there.
All of them simultaneously screamed in pain and were flung far away from me.
But that was all.
As if to prove they were no ordinary beings, they immediately got back on their feet.
[...How are you controlling Asmodeus?]
The burly man.
The man, who felt like the Demon King of Wrath, Satan, voiced his question.
[You damn bastard!!]
The anorexic woman.
The being who felt like the Demon King of Envy, Leviathan, erupted in fierce anger.
Finally, the girl I had just been talking to.
Belphegor, the Demon King of Sloth, let out a hollow laugh.
I'll admit it. Saint Amael. You surprise me every time. Just now, with your utter stupidity. And now, with your astonishing stupidity. How long do you think you can unleash Asmodeus's Authority?
I clenched my fist, wrapped in the chains.
I'll have to try for as long as I can.
To be honest, I'm scared.
I'm afraid because I don't know what Asmodeus will do to me.
I'm afraid because I know nothing.
And I'm afraid that I have to be hostile towards not one, not two, but three Deities.
But.
So stop complaining and come at me!!
As always, a crisis was an opportunity.
Let's fight.
Let's fight to the end.
If I keep fighting like this, maybe instead of being brainwashed, my soul will just be shattered.
At my words, the three Demon Lords' movements changed.
[Satan. It seems you'll have to take him. Leviathan and I will handle Asmodeus.]
[Hurry. Your body won't last long with the divine power.]
Leviathan and Belphegor split to the left and right.
And the burly man.
Satan slowly walked forward.
His gait seemed leisurely, but the pressure he exuded was extraordinary.
Slowly.
The Flaming Sword, familiar to me, appeared in Satan's hand.
[Amael! Be careful!...]
Asmodeus, who was standing behind me, was about to say something urgently but suddenly closed her mouth.
The Jet-black Wing that had sprouted from her left wing was shaking violently.
She looked up at the sky with a furious expression.
And Asmodeus said nothing more.
And I no longer had the luxury of waiting for Asmodeus's words.
[I won't kill you, Saint.]
The sword in Satan's hand began to glow brightly, emitting a grotesque scream.
[But it will hurt terribly.]
No sooner had he finished speaking than Satan charged at me.
I used my skills with all my might.
Even without Con's support, the skills were cast with terrifying precision and accuracy.
My Body Modification had reached a transcendent level, surpassing its limits multiple times, and Time Stop enveloped my entire body like armor.
A massive Time Stop Sword was firmly gripped in my hand, and my Reflexes and motor nerves began exchanging signals 3000 times faster.
And the brain controlling this immense body was also under Absolute Hypnosis, with incredibly fast Thought Acceleration applied.
Thanks to that.
I was able to counter Satan's Sword Strike.
With a thunderous roar, Satan's Flaming Sword and my Time Stop Sword clashed in mid-air.
The impact of the swords clashing shattered the surrounding rocks, breaking them into fragments.
And simultaneously, as I withstood that first attack.
[Skill Time Stop is being Cast!]
Time momentarily stopped in the entire World.
Satan is too.
Belphegor and Leviathan remained frozen.
I quickly twisted my body, moving to thrust my Time Stop Sword into the opening on Satan's flank.
Thinking he wouldn't be able to move anyway, I swung my sword hastily without even considering Defense, but my expectation was miserably wrong.
[That's not how you use Time Stop, rookie.]
Satan casually grabbed my sword as it was thrusting into his side.
Avoiding the blade, he precisely gripped the flat of the sword with two fingers, then swung his Flaming Sword towards my side.
The sword and armor collided, unleashing an enormous shockwave.
I dropped my sword and was pushed far away, sent tumbling messily across the floor.
Thanks to the armor, I wasn't injured, but perhaps because the shockwave messed up my ears, my vision was spinning.
When I looked up, the three Demon Kings were moving as if nothing had happened, despite time clearly being stopped.
[To use Time Stop right in front of me like that. Your usage is terrible. Pathetically terrible.]
Isn't that obvious?
Did he think I'd received professional training on how to use Asmodeus's abilities?
[Alright, that's enough. How dull. As an opponent, you're pathetically boring. I'll finish this quickly.]
It was truly a common, clichéd line.
But with the next attack, I could no longer dismiss his words as clichéd.
Satan's offensive changed.
As if the Sword Strike we'd just exchanged was merely a game.
He began to press his attack against me with terrifying speed.
I quickly created a new Time Stop Sword and went on defense, but all I could do was block.
With every Sword Strike I blocked, I had to desperately wring out everything I had.
It was so fast and powerful that even with a 3000-fold increase in reaction speed, it was hard to keep up.
Moreover, the enormous shockwaves have an accumulating impact on my body with every block.
Perhaps about five seconds had passed, chronologically speaking.
I reached my limit.
With a *thwack!* from the bursting shockwave, my vision went black.
It seemed something had happened to my eyeballs, the most vulnerable part.
I hastily tried to fix my eyes on Body Modification, but Satan moved faster.
With a *crack*, I felt the strength drain from my hand.
It seemed Satan had simply grabbed my entire hand and crushed it.
I wanted to scream, but there was no time.
My eyes recovered belatedly, and I realized Satan was holding me by the neck, being lifted into midair.
Both my hands were crushed, dangling limply.
The problem was...
This injury cannot be healed with Body Modification!
The fact that my crushed hand wouldn't heal.
I trembled, looking at Satan.
[I told you, didn't I? It would hurt.]
Satan raised his Flaming Sword.
And he thrust the tip of the blade into my waist, a spot my armor couldn't defend.
My abdomen began to burn and smolder with the scorching flames.
As I was unable to bear the unbearable agony, a scream burst from me.
[Amael!...]
Asmodeus screamed, but she couldn't save me.
[Stay still.]
Leviathan and Belphegor weren't just standing idly by.
The two of them grabbed Asmodeus's arms and began to restrain her forcefully.
[Let...go!!]
Asmodeus let out a furious roar.
With a resounding echo, the pillar of light descending from the Sky grew even stronger.
The three Demon Kings' bodies began to smolder and cook, but they merely laughed.
[You miscalculated, Asmodeus. If you unleash such powerful Authority, do you think your precious Amael can withstand it?]
They weren't wrong.
As the pillar of light began to intensify...
I started to feel a burden on my body.
I began to feel the pain of something immense and heavy pressing down on my body, something unbearable.
The burning pain in my abdomen, coupled with the immense pressure, was becoming unbearable.
Asmodeus!!...Stop it!!
At my words, the pillar of light faded.
Now I understand the situation.
It was a checkmate.
Asmodeus's ability to unleash Authority was limited because of me.
In addition, Leviathan and Belphegor are present. And the unknown entity controlling the Black Wing on the left is also present.
Asmodeus also had to contend with the interference of the being she called Lucifer.
Asmodeus couldn't do anything.
And I, too, was in a situation where I couldn't defeat Satan in front of me.
No one could save me from Satan.
Satan seemed to know that very well.
The Flaming Sword dug even deeper into my waist.
A searing pain, too intense to be called mere burning, began to surge.
I wanted to faint.
It felt like fainting would be more comfortable.
But somehow, I couldn't even faint.
[It hurts, doesn't it? It will hurt terribly. It's on a different level from the Baltaruk that Sloth's Collection used last time. Only I can properly wield this sword.]
Satan said mockingly, then pulled out the sword.
After the sword twirled playfully, Satan's Demonic Sword vanished.
My entire body was drenched in sweat.
To prevent feeling excessive pain, I canceled the Sensitivity 3000 Skill Cast, and the Thought Acceleration created by Absolute Hypnosis was also released.
Due to my mental state being shaken by the extreme pain, the armor created by Time Stop also melted away and disappeared.
I squirmed like a helpless worm, held in Satan's hand.
And then, suddenly, Satan kindly set me down on the floor.
And he extended his hand to me.
[You don't want to suffer any more, do you? Then take my hand, Saint. If you do, there will be no more pain. No more sorrow. No more despair.]
I trembled, looking at Satan's hand.
It was a different method of persuasion than Belphegor's.
And honestly, this approach seemed far more convincing.
I truly never wanted to experience that pain again.
My heart wanted to just grab it.
But, as expected.
I couldn't grab it.
I slowly got to my feet.
My legs were shaking uncontrollably, and a dull ache still lingered in the part of my waist that had melted from the sword.
This injury cannot be healed with a skill!
It was an injury that couldn't even be treated.
No matter how I thought about it.
Taking his hand would have been wise.
Satan observed me, then smiled confidently.
[Don't resist any further, Saint. If you do, you will die. It won't just be your body that's destroyed. If you're pierced by my Demonic Sword Baltaruk, your very existence will be annihilated.]
At his words, I clutched my stomach and looked up at Satan.
You mean my soul...will be shattered, right?
[Yes. And the process of your soul being destroyed will be so terribly painful and agonizing that the pain you just felt will seem like a joke. You wouldn't want to suffer that, would you?]
At his words, I let out a wry laugh.
I slowly raised my guard.
Cold sweat was pouring like water, my abdomen was scorched, and my vision was still blurry from continuous exposure to shockwaves.
My crushed hands were still the same.
Just standing was painful.
But.
I see hope.
Satan flinched at my actions.
[...What are you doing?]
I can't take your hand, Satan. I don't know exactly how you'd use me if I fell, but...it certainly wouldn't be in a positive way for people.
[You fool. You want to suffer that pain again? I can completely annihilate your soul, Amael. Do you want to endure even worse pain than before?]
At his words, I thought of the people I had met since coming here.
There were evil people, foolish people, and frustrating, annoying people.
But more than that, there were the people I loved and the pitiful ones.
And there were far more people I wished happiness upon.
Yes. If it means the people I love won't suffer because of me, then this is better. So...
I know my words are foolish.
It's an irrational statement.
But what can I do?
No matter how I think about it, this is right.
A battered body.
A Pantheon that doesn't respond.
A powerless Asmodeus.
All circumstances were helping me.
Now I can go back to Korea.
I forced a smile.
And then, as if to provoke him, I waved my hand at Satan.
Bring out... your...Baltaruk.