Chapter 89
The time-stopped world was quiet.
Maybe that was why.
My rough breathing and Corn's chattering seemed to sound even louder.
[It's already been over 6 hours!! 6 hours!! During that time we've passed 315 mares, and 89 of them were pure!! How much longer do we have to do this!? Do you know the sorrow of having to pass by mares who could immediately become pregnant with my child because I have no body?!?]
"It's not 6 hours. We just feel like it's been 6 hours. Not even 1 second has passed in this world."
[You call that an explanation! I'm getting tired now. Are we just wandering aimlessly, not knowing when a hunchbacked woman with withered limbs will appear!!]
Rather than getting angry at Corn's complaints, I found myself understanding.
I did feel like we were wandering around too aimlessly.
But well.
Considering the revelations I had received, this was relatively tame.
It was much better than suddenly coming to the capital and acting as a saint like with Erpha.
"Let's try to move a little more, Corn. We must find that woman. Absolutely. I've explained several times on the way."
[I know. I know. Fuck. You have to die instead of that woman for peace to come to the world. One hell of an elaborate suicide... Hey. Should we just do this?]
"Do what?"
[Use all my psychic power at once. In exchange, I'll stop for a while until I recharge my psychic power. In return, I can detect a huge range of humans at once. How long are we going to wander around without a plan like this? Isn't it better to search broadly once rather than that?]
Corn made a pretty plausible suggestion.
Certainly, what Corn said was right.
Wandering around aimlessly like this was too tiring for both of us.
"We have no choice. Let's do that."
[You agree?]
"Yeah. Give it a try. It seems much better than wandering around aimlessly."
[Okay.]
The locket around my neck began to vibrate fiercely.
The locket that was humming and emitting tremendous vibrations soon strongly emitted an intense wave that gave me goosebumps all around.
"How is it? Corn? Did you find her? Is there perhaps a woman with withered limbs and a hump like I said?"
[...There is.]
My eyes widened at Corn's tired voice that I was hearing for the first time.
"There is? Really?"
[The direction is that way. If you run straight to your right, she's there. But… we need to hurry.]
The vibration of the psychic amplifier rapidly subsided.
[That woman... is dying... sleepy...]
"What? Dying? What do you mean? Explain in more detail!"
The psychic amplifier stopped working.
At the same time, a tremendous mental burden began to rush to my brain.
"Ah. Damn it."
Although not even 1 second had passed in the world's time, I had moved for 6 long hours in stopped time.
There was no way mental power wasn't consumed, and because of that, I couldn't maintain Time Stop at all when the psychic amplifier disappeared.
If a man who was neither a mage nor a knight demonstrated qinggong leaping 10 meters in one step, wouldn't that be like advertising that the Saint was here?
So when Time Stop was released, I walked around as quietly as possible...
"Why is she dying of all things why!?"
This time, I absolutely couldn't do that.
After releasing Time Stop, I hurriedly looked around.
Late evening.
Maybe because it was a remote area in the north that could be called the outskirts of the empire.
There was not a single person in sight.
At this level, even if someone discovered me, they wouldn't spread rumors that the Saint was here!
My legs that underwent muscle modification stomped the ground with tremendous force, making a cracking sound.
In the time-stopped state, I could move around comfortably without even feeling the wind brushing my cheeks, but when I demonstrated qinggong with time flowing, the wind brushing my ears began to make a fierce sound.
"Damn it! Don't die!! You can't!!"
Please.
Don't die.
"I'll die instead of you!!"
How could I let go of this chance to destroy my soul that I've somehow grasped.
I couldn't miss it.
***
A narrow space limited by a magic circle.
The characteristics of weapons like spears and daggers.
And a body that hadn't eaten or drunk properly for days.
Moreover, one side was a divinity of Pandemonium that benefited the most during the celestial war, and the other side was a divinity so weakened that it would disappear if not dwelling in a human soul after being shattered.
The fight was difficult to sustain for long from the start.
"Guk!!"
Sloth's follower lightly deflected the spear tip thrust in with his dagger, then strongly kicked Kanya's stomach.
Blood bursts from Kanya's mouth as she staggered back, pushed away as if her internal organs were damaged.
"Aah. It's so annoying to death? Why did you run away and make me work so hard like this?"
Black energy frosts on the follower's hand, then the next moment it materialized and flew towards Kanya.
[Kanya!]
Red divine power symbolizing the Goddess of War enveloped Kanya's body.
With a sharp noise, the black energy and red energy collided in midair.
Kanya was unharmed, but her weak body couldn't even withstand the shockwave from that collision.
Kanya collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Even then, she never lowered her cane, but the cane was shaking precariously.
"Let's end this quickly."
The follower rushed in once again.
The goddess raised divine power at that sight, but it was a pitifully small amount.
[Oh no! Kanya!!]
That was because Kanya's body, which was the channel to emit divine power, was seriously injured.
The weakened divine power couldn't properly respond to the black magic, and so the cane was futilely cut by the dagger.
And the follower of Sloth stabbed the dagger into Kanya's heart without any hesitation.
"Kyaaagh! Aaaagh!!!"
"Shh. Shh... If you endure just a little, you'll soon become Belphegor's again, Miss Kanya."
"No!! No!!"
"Accept the subjugation spell once again. Your soul and body. Become completely hers."
Slowly, black energy spreading from the dagger crawls down Kanya's body like a snake.
The black energy that crawled down like that slowly began to engrave magic circles all over her body.
One of the highest black magic.
It was the scene of a language spell bestowed directly by the Demon King being implemented.
[You bastard!! You bastard!! You think I'll just leave you be!!]
The goddess dwelling in Kanya's soul shouted and raised divine power, but that resistance was blocked so simply it was futile.
The follower looks down at the goddess' rebellion as if it were cute.
"What great thing can a parasitic divinity living by clinging to a mere mortal's soul after being defeated in war do? Still, you should thank Lady Belphegor, Goddess of War. Considering your fame 300 years ago, that lazy one personally bestowed a language spell."
[No! Kanya!]
At the goddess' cry, Kanya grabbed the follower's wrist with her two withered hands. And she desperately began to try to push out the dagger stabbed in her heart.
"I curse you all. I endlessly curse all of hell!! For making my body like this! For taking away everything I loved!! For making a life without a single happy memory!! I curse you all!! I won't give up!! I'll die before going back there again…!!"
"Ah. So annoying."
The follower moved his hand without any hesitation.
He lightly exerted force while grabbing Kanya's withered arm, and with the sound of bones breaking, her hand twists in a bizarre direction.
And before Kanya could scream, the follower's fist flew towards her face.
With the sound of bones breaking, Kanya's teeth and nose were crushed and burst.
She lost consciousness and collapsed with a hideous appearance.
Meanwhile, the black energy extending from the dagger stabbed in her heart was greedily spreading towards her entire body.
"Fucking bitch being annoying till the end,” the follower spat in irritation.
[Kanya…!! Ka…!]
The goddess could no longer even make a sound because her entire body was covered in high-purity hellish magic personally bestowed by the Demon King.
The follower lightly shook off Kanya's tooth fragments and blood on his hand and stands up.
"In about 3 minutes, this brief deviation will end. Great Goddess of War. No, should I call you Belphegor's toy #3 now?"
The follower stretched leisurely.
Now he just needed to wait for the subjugation spell to completely settle in this sacrifice's body and soul once again.
Even if damaged and shrunken, a divinity was still a divinity.
Belphegor was a Demon King who very much liked to collect such divinities and use them when needed.
She never liked going to the front lines herself.
Making others do things.
Controlling others.
A being who preferred to make others move as she wanted.
That was the Demon King of Sloth.
If that Goddess of War was captured again, she'd probably be forcibly mobilized to handle even more cruel and terrible hell tasks as punishment for escaping.
And she'd have to endlessly work and work for Belphegor as her divinity was ground away in hell.
But what did it matter?
"O’ Belphegor. Accept my sacrifice and grant me a reward. Hehehe."
From the follower's perspective, whatever happened to the Goddess of War was none of his business.
He just needed to collect his reward.
"I wonder what I should ask for this time..."
The follower's eyes suddenly narrow as he contemplates with a pleased face whether to choose women or money.
"...Huh?"
It was a strangely bright time even though the sun has set, but not quite midnight.
Something could be seen bouncing up and down in the distance.
The follower craned his neck and focused his gaze towards the horizon.
Something went up and down over the horizon.
Repeatedly going up and down.
After a long time.
"...A person?"
The follower noticed it was a person.
And the moment he realized it was a person.
He suddenly felt chilled.
"What kind of person jumps that high?"
Just from a rough glance, it was a crazy speed leaping at least 10 to 20 meters in one jump.
Even holy knights and knights whose physical abilities were evaluated to have surpassed humans didn’t move like that.
They only accelerated at tremendous speed when necessary, they didn’t do the crazy thing of using that tremendous acceleration constantly like that.
"Who on earth is that…?"
And the next moment.
The follower felt even more chilled.
"That bastard…"
The jumping being was very accurately.
"That bastard is coming this way?"
Flying towards the follower.
The follower hurriedly looked down at the ground.
The deception veil magic was working properly.
It was magic that not only made it impossible for beings inside to go outside without permission, but also prevented beings outside from even seeing what was happening inside in the first place.
"Unless it's a high priest or chosen one, they absolutely shouldn't be able to see through this magic..."
When the follower raised his head with pride in the black magic he had trained his whole life.
Two sensations came to him.
One was visual information that an angry young man seemed to be making a motion of swinging something.
And the other was...
"Gueogh!!!!"
The sensation of a belt mercilessly slapping his cheek.