Chapter 97
When Envy's followers rushed towards her,
Kanya felt a strange vibration in the floor.
In that brief moment, Kanya realized it was the sound of emptiness below and immediately found an entrance leading downwards, then threw herself into it.
It was closer to an action of trusting her instincts rather than rational judgment.
But the War Goddess' instincts did not betray her.
There really was an underground cave where she could somewhat fight the other followers.
As Kanya pushed her body into the narrow hole, she slowly pulled back the hammer of her revolver while watching Envy's followers pouring in.
During the time she was treated as Sloth's collection piece,
She often had the opportunity to overhear conversations of Sloth's followers up close, and thanks to that, she often had the chance to hear about the characteristics of each Demon King's order that was close to Sloth.
The Order of Envy.
The order that received the most powerful physical powers among any Demon King orders.
Especially tough skin and monstrous strength were elements that could be called symbols of the Envy order.
But that was all.
As warriors, their judgment and qualities fell far short compared to Satan's followers.
"Find her!! Find her quickly! Spread out!"
Envy's followers who entered the underground cave cast magic to see through the darkness on themselves and began frantically running around.
But rather than a systematic search, it was more like a search by impatient children.
Kanya didn't fire her gun.
She silently picked up a small rock from the ground and carefully threw it towards a corner.
At the clinking sound, the gazes of the enormous number of followers wandering the cave immediately turned towards where the sound came from.
"She's over there! Move!!"
If they were Satan's followers, they would have surely been suspicious at least once.
But Envy's followers, who were only strong in physical abilities but at the level of ordinary people in everything else, rushed in without suspicion.
In that gap, Kanya walked around the Envy followers to the entrance area.
"Where is she!? She should be around here!!"
"You idiots! Get out of the way!!"
Because the leader, unable to bear the frustration and impatience, rushed over himself to search the area where the sound came from, there was practically no one guarding the entrance.
In that gap, Kanya succeeded in crawling back up to the surface once again.
"That bitch... No!!"
When the sound of her crawling up with her withered limbs while grunting belatedly echoed in the underground cave, Envy's followers finally realized they had been tricked and rushed towards the entrance once again.
But it was already too late.
After crawling out of the cave, Kanya took out her gun and aimed at the narrow entrance.
"You bitch! Come here right now or else…! Aagh! Damn it!!"
The leader who urgently stuck out his body had to come back down again with a bullet stuck to his left eyelid.
Other followers urgently stuck out their bodies instead, but they couldn't pull off the feat of closing their eyes with good timing like the leader.
When about 3 followers collapsed downwards with their eyeballs penetrated and brains turned to mush, the leader's anger exploded, "I'll never let you off easy! You hear me? I'll never let you off!!"
At the voice echoing from below the cave, Kanya sneered while urgently reloading her revolver.
"Why don't you come up and say that?"
The narrow entrance.
And Kanya positioned right in front of that entrance.
It was advantageous for Kanya no matter how much Envy's followers flew or crawled if she planted bullets in their eyeballs as they came up.
She just needed to hold out like this and wait for Jericho to return.
It was the best tactic Kanya could come up with by wracking her brain.
Please.
Please let this standoff continue until Jericho comes.
Kanya prayed, but...
When she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet shaking as if an earthquake had struck, Kanya realized something had gone wrong.
Envy's followers.
Beings with the most powerful physical abilities among all Demon King followers.
Instead, she had heard their judgment and tactical abilities as warriors were terribly lacking.
Thanks to that, she had succeeded in trapping them in the underground cave, but Envy's followers solved the crisis in a way that was all too fitting for them.
Suddenly, a long nail shot up through the rock beneath her feet.
"You bitch think you can play with us?"
The Envy followers in the underground had started frantically swinging their nails to break through the ceiling.
Kanya snorted at that crude but simple method.
"You idiots! If you do that, the cave will collapse…!"
Envy's followers didn't stop.
As a result, part of the ceiling of the underground cave made of loosely piled rocks was punctured, and the entire rock cave began to collapse and crumble.
With a huge vibration shaking the entire ground, rocks suddenly began to sink downwards.
Kanya had to urgently distance herself seeing that sight.
After hurriedly distancing herself, Kanya had to look at the rocky mountain where the entire ground had sunk while panting.
"They really are idiots."
The assessment of Sloth order followers that their judgment ability was lacking was accurate.
Envy order followers seemed unable to make long-term judgments.
With such an enormous amount of rocks collapsing right on top of their heads, there was no way they could be alive.
"Kanya!!"
...Just as she thought that, as if it were natural.
Nails shot up through the sunken rocks.
As if they weren't injured at all.
One by one.
Envy order followers began to rise, cutting through the rocks crushing them with their nails.
Normally their bones should have broken or at least gotten scratched, but none of them looked injured at all.
It was the result of transcendent defense and strength.
And nails that could cut through anything.
Kanya began to run away like crazy at that sight.
Why couldn't Envy order followers use their heads well?
It wasn't because they were stupid.
It was because they had bodies that could solve most problems without needing to use their heads.
"D-don't come! Don't come!!"
Kanya pulled the trigger towards Envy's followers even while running away.
A few Envy followers who hadn't completely escaped from the rocks yet sank after getting hit in the eyeballs with bullets.
But that was all.
The rest smoothly escaped from the rocks and began chasing Kanya.
And at the forefront.
"Close your eyes in sync, you idiots!!"
The leader with a crushed bullet stuck to his left eyelid was running while letting out monstrous shouts.
***
The flaming sword passed over my head with a chilling sound.
Taking advantage of that gap, I dove in and this time swung my fist towards the Ketratus' helmet.
As my fist collided with the armor, I felt a terrible pain in my hand.
The helmet naturally shattered and burst apart, but I also had to pull back my hand in considerable pain.
Looking down at my fist, I saw my hand full of holes from the spikes grown on the armor.
Of course, it soon healed and the wounds disappeared thanks to Corn, but I didn't want to experience that spine and brain-piercing pain again.
[Seems painful?]
The Ketratus member who had his helmet burst apart mocked me while recovering as if nothing happened.
There was nothing under the burst helmet.
The sight of metal pieces with nothing in them recovering like living creatures was quite chilling.
[Amael. What are you going to do about that? Huh? Most of our skills don't work because it's not a living creature!]
Corn shouted while trembling.
This guy.
He talked big about being a manly man, but he seemed scared when faced with a being like that.
I slowly distanced myself while looking at the Ketratus who recovered in an instant.
I was in a hurry.
I was worried about what happened to Kanya.
I had no weapons and if I faced that monster with punches, it hurt terribly every time my fist made contact.
Even if I endured the pain and launched attacks, that guy just recovered ostentatiously.
"I don't know either, Corn."
[That's why I told you not to get involved with Demon Kings!! I knew this would happen! You're not supposed to fight divinities!!]
"You're right. Your words are correct."
Thinking normally, that was true.
But I was a being whose purpose itself was not normal.
Seeing them send down something like that, I could think the Demon Kings must be quite pissed off.
Now just a little more.
I hope it would reach the stage where the Demon Kings would personally manifest to try to kill me.
I'd show them they had to come down themselves to kill me.
"Corn. Can you make my skin able to withstand high temperatures?"
[W-what are you going to do? You crazy bastard!]
"That sword. I think I need to steal it and use it."
[What?]
"That bastard. He keeps recovering, right? But even I can’t recover when hit by that sword. Then if I cut that knight with that sword, wouldn't that be it?"
[...That's the craziest thing I've heard... You son of a bitch!!]
I was already running out before even hearing Corn's full answer.
Even though he says that, when it actually happened, Corn would perform the necessary body modifications for me.
"Remove fear with Absolute Hypnosis!!"
As I shouted that while rushing at the Ketratus, the fear from the pain of having holes punctured in my fist earlier disappeared.
That Corn.
He's certainly capable.
He'd be perfect if he just got rid of his habit of talking vulgarly.
[Do you think you have a chance of winning?]
The Ketratus spat out those aggressive words from beyond his helmet.
The flaming sword flew towards my neck once again.
I didn't avoid that sword.
Rather, I dove straight in.
3000 times.
My reflexes had increased 3000-fold.
No matter how fast the Ketratus' sword strike was, there was no way I wouldn't be able to see it.
Slowly.
My two hands move to catch the flying blade in midair.
I saw Corn changing the skin part of my body to be very thick at the appropriate timing.
It would probably still be painful, but I should be able to endure it for a short while.
I'd stop the sword by catching the blade in midair and then immediately snatch it away.
And just as my hand was moving to grab the blade.
[Huh!]
Seeing me dive straight towards the blade without avoiding it, the Ketratus guy suddenly exclaimed in shock and stopped the blade flying towards me midway.
I couldn't read his emotions because the Ketratus had no face, but his voice and hesitant attitude clearly revealed his intention of not wanting to kill me.
...He doesn't want to kill me?
What's this strange situation now?
Thanks to the stopped blade, I instantly changed my judgment of grabbing the blade.
My hand approached the hilt.
And as soon as I grasped the sword hilt, I began to exert force.
"Corn!!"
[Kill him!!]
My arm began to exert ridiculous strength after receiving Body Modification beyond human limits.
[Warning!! Body modification beyond human limits has been carried out! If continued further, aftereffects will occur to the original body…!]
I roughly ignored the red warning window.
Now wasn't the time to worry about that.
"Die... you lump of metal!!"
The Ketratus guy didn't seem to expect my strength either.
The gauntlet holding the blade was completely torn off the armor.
And so the flaming sword became mine.
In that state, I swung the sword.
[Wai—]
With those words as his last, the Ketratus guy was.
Split vertically from top to bottom.
The armor simply melted from the blazing blade.
And of course.
He didn't recover.