Chapter 96
Looking again, it was hard to tell if that was a cannon or a pistol.
With an ear-splitting roar, I hurriedly ducked to avoid the bullet.
Unlike the flat ground where demons first attacked me, this place was a rocky mountain.
There were many places to use as cover.
Hearing the huge explosion caused by the avoided bullet behind me, I felt fear crawling up my spine.
If hit, I might survive.
But Kanya would surely die.
After hiding behind a large rock, I put Kanya down.
Kanya was already holding a bolt-action rifle without me saying anything.
"I have to go block him. It's hard to fight with you on my back."
"I'll help with long-range sniping."
"I'm counting on you, Kanya. I'll try to keep that guy as far away as possible, so you stay far away too."
"Is it impossible to make armor with Time Stop?"
At her words, I nodded.
Kanya bit her lip hard.
"Can we win?"
At those words, steam began to pour from my body.
Body Modification. The result of 3000x sensitivity being applied to my body.
Corn was meticulously tuning my body for combat in real time.
"It's possible. Kanya. Don't die."
At my words, Kanya didn't answer.
Instead, she just nodded while silently adjusting the tangent sight of the bolt-action rifle.
No more words were needed now.
I sprang out from behind the rock and ran towards the enemy, while Kanya began running in the opposite direction.
"Corn! Try Absolute Hypnosis!"
As I looked at the Ketratus member who had quickly approached, I gave an order to Corn.
But.
[Can only be cast on living creatures!]
As expected, the skill didn't work.
The helmet glowing red quietly looked at me.
I saw his muzzle turning towards me.
I saw a bullet flying towards me with flames.
Reflexes 3000 times faster allowed me to see the bullet flying in slow motion.
But my body moved much slower than my reflexes.
[Now!]
Fortunately, thanks to Corn's precise calculations, I was able to move my body at the right timing to avoid the bullet.
After avoiding one bullet, it was my turn.
I picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground.
I couldn’t make weapons with Time Stop.
But if I didn’t have any, I could improvise.
"Corn!"
[Leave it to me!!]
I felt my shoulder and related muscles tensing tightly.
After gripping the rock so hard it might crumble, I threw it with all my might.
With a chilling sound of tearing through the air, the rock flew accurately aiming for the Ketratus' head.
But he lightly tilted his head to avoid the rock just like me, then pulled the trigger again aiming at my body.
I narrowed the distance while avoiding bullets with Corn's help.
[Long range is hopeless!]
I agreed with Corn.
To exert proper power with throwing, the preparation motion was long and complex. On the other hand, a pistol just needed to pull the trigger.
Then I had to go to close combat.
The problem was the flaming sword he was holding in his left hand.
It looked like no ordinary object.
If I at least had a weapon, things would be very different.
It was a moment when I newly regretted suddenly being unable to use Time Stop.
But I still had to try.
I began approaching the Ketratus.
Judging the distance was close enough, the Ketratus put away his pistol and grasped the sword in his left hand with both hands.
Can I avoid it?
The blade falling towards me was seen very slowly.
The trajectory accurately aiming for my neck was chillingly precise.
I hurriedly bent my body vertically from the direction I was running.
Even with a body strengthened by modification, my muscles, bones, and joints seemed to scream.
As the price for enduring such pain, I succeeded in avoiding the Ketratus' attack.
His side area was wide open.
I stepped forward and punched with all my might.
Instead of the sound of a human fist hitting metal armor, a roar of metal hitting metal burst out.
The Ketratus' body floated and flew back to crash.
[It worked! I made him feel pain 3000 times stronger!! If he's still alive after taking that, he's not human…!]
Corn shouted then fell silent.
I was similar.
The inside of the armor was visible through the shattered side area.
There was nothing inside.
Only clanking pieces of metal existed.
And the funny thing was that those metal pieces soon began slowly repairing the wounded area as if they were living creatures.
The Ketratus repaired his body as if he hadn't taken any damage at all, then slowly got up.
The light pouring from his helmet becomes even more fierce.
[Skill 3000x sensitivity can only be applied to living creatures!]
Seeing the skill application failure notification that belatedly appeared before my eyes, I let out a hollow laugh.
[Hey. Amael. That's not human at all. What are you going to do?]
It wasn’t just a simple lump of metal.
Judging by how he swung the sword at me, his reaction speed and strength were probably similar to mine.
I clenched my fist.
"I have to win. What else can I do."
A popping sound was heard from far away.
Gunshots.
It was Kanya.
Damn it.
It seemed there was a separate group targeting Kanya.
But I couldn't run towards her.
I had to defeat this monstrous lump of metal before I could go help Kanya or do anything else.
But it seemed difficult to chase after her quickly.
The flames pouring from the sword the Ketratus was holding became even stronger.
The light pouring from his eyes also became more intense.
And the armor covering his body wriggled as if alive, then created sharp spikes all over his body.
[This way. It will be much harder for you to swing your fists at my body, right?]
An eerie metallic sound like a ghost wailing flowed from under the helmet.
I gritted my teeth hard.
"I'll crush you as quickly as possible."
[I like that.]
The Ketratus giggled.
Cracks formed in the rock the knight was standing on.
And the next moment.
The knight was swinging his sword right in front of me.
My reflexes noticed his movement fast enough.
But my body was the limit.
Because of that, I had to narrowly avoid the blade, and as the price, blood began flowing from my cheek.
"Corn!!"
At my shout, Corn immediately answered.
[If I modify your body any further, it will break!! Even now it's modified to the limit of the human body!!]
But I had no choice if I want to win.
"Do it!"
[Fuck! The aftereffects will be no joke! Alright! I'll try to do more... Hey. Amael. Don't get hit by that sword.]
There was no need to explain why Corn said that.
[The wound on your cheek is an unhealable wound.]
At the red warning window, I clenched my fist.
A speed that required me to push my body to the limit to avoid a sword that couldn’t be healed from if hit.
It wasn't the time to worry about Kanya.
I was in the most danger.
***
As soon as Kanya heard the sound of Jericho and the huge knight starting to fight, she turned around and began to run away.
It was safer to snipe after putting more distance than now.
But the place she was running was a rough rocky mountain, and she was currently carrying guns and bullets.
And due to her withered, twisted limbs, her escape speed was very slow.
"Kanya."
Moreover, the Demon Kings didn't seem to have any intention of just watching her escape smoothly.
Before she could run far, she saw a group of people appearing by tearing space in the distance.
Numbering dozens, they had bizarrely long nails on their hands.
A distance of about 30 meters.
Kanya hurriedly took out the rifle slung on her shoulder, shouldered it, aimed at the enemies, and pulled the trigger.
A rifle bullet imbued with divine power accurately flew towards the head of the man who looked like the leader at the front and soon hit.
The head of the demon worshipper leader at the front jerks greatly.
But he didn't die.
"Hmm... You naughty thing. I want to tear you apart and kill you."
The bullet didn't penetrate the skull.
After lightly peeling off and throwing away the rifle bullet that was crushed and stuck to his forehead, the leader begins to giggle.
"Your firearms won't work on us, Kanya. With Envy's power strengthening our skin and flesh..."
Without even listening to the end of his words, another gunshot rings out.
The head of the worshipper who was speaking jerks greatly.
"...You fucking bitch. You aimed for the eyes?"
A bullet was stuck to the worshipper's left eyeball.
It seemed he closed his eye at the appropriate timing and his eyelid defended against the bullet.
"Catch her."
The worshippers realized further dialogue was meaningless and began to rush in.
Long nails reaching down to their legs began to spark as they scraped against the ground.
As the distance rapidly narrowed, Kanya's rifle frantically spat fire.
4 worshippers collapsed without being able to do anything.
It was because bullets penetrating their eyes turned their brains to mush.
It was marksmanship close to miraculous, but killing just a few like that wasn't enough.
There were still many worshippers left.
Kanya bit her lip.
What should I do?
Her eyes and ears quickly survey the surroundings and begin to formulate a strategy.
After making the optimal tactical judgment in a split second, she began to run.
After throwing away the rifle and ammunition backpack on her back, she grasped the revolver at her waist and began pulling the trigger.
Despite shooting while running at approaching opponents, her shooting was terrifyingly accurate.
Two more worshippers collapsed with their eyeballs penetrated in that short moment.
"Close your eyes in sync! You idiots! If your eyelids are protecting your eyes, the opponent can't hit you!!"
Hearing the rough shout of the one who seemed to be the leader of the worshippers, Kanya smiled.
"Too late!"
Kanya disappeared as if sucked into a large hole created between rocks not far from her.
It was natural for the followers' eyes to widen.
"That bitch!! Catch her so she can't escape! We must catch her no matter what! Cat…"
The pitch black hole suddenly brightened for a moment.
With a gunshot, the eyeball of one follower rushing at the front burst and he collapsed.
The faces of Envy's followers twisted with anger.
But contrary to their feelings, reality was not easy.
Kanya was small.
On the other hand, the followers were all adults.
Moreover, they had unnecessarily long nails.
The problem was that the hole Kanya entered was quite narrow for an adult to enter.
Only one person could enter at a time.
"I'll enlarge the size of the hole..."
The follower speaking collapsed again as his eyeball burst with a gunshot.
The leader of the followers who quickly narrowed the distance and approached the hole shouted roughly.
"Just go in! I'll go in first!"
He hurriedly crammed his body into the hole.
"You fucking bitch. Now you can't escape..."
The leader who entered the hole gleefully, however, had to crumple his expression the next moment.
There was plenty of space left even after his whole body entered.
It was huge.
It seemed this was no ordinary hole.
It seemed the hole just now was an entrance leading to an underground cave.
And of course.
It was terribly dark inside the cave.
As the leader was briefly looking at the darkness where nothing could be seen, at that moment.
With a gunshot, one side of the huge cave brightened for an instant then darkened again.
The leader's head jerked back greatly then returned.
A crumpled bullet was stuck to his eyelid.
"She shot the same place again!! This damn bitch!! Everyone come down!! Catch her!!"
In the end, there was only one choice the leader could make.
Dozens of followers began coming down, cramming their bodies into the narrow hole.