Chapter 98
Metal pieces spilled out messily from the vertically split body of the Ketratus knight, which seemed to be entirely mechanical inside.
After twitching briefly, he soon became permanently broken and stopped moving.
The problem was that I couldn't move either.
"F… uck!!"
I collapsed, dropping the sword.
The skin on both palms was completely peeled off, and my arms and legs that had forcibly exerted strength through excessive Body Modification were trembling and losing strength.
"...You can't heal this, can you?"
[I told you!! You idiot bastard!! You did Body Modification beyond the limits your body can accept!]
"Still, try to make an effort, Corn. I'm really in too much pain."
This was the first time I had been in this much pain since reincarnating to another world.
Cold sweat was pouring out uncontrollably and my limbs weren't listening properly.
With ligaments, muscles, and bones all screaming at once, it was an unbearably terrible feeling.
[You're not a hero, Amael. Shall I tell you coldly? You're just an ordinary man. You've only endured until now with bizarre skills I've never seen before. You've never received proper combat training, right? You don't usually train your body either, right? At this rate, you'll be ruined. You'll die!!]
At those words, I laughed even while collapsed on the ground breathing roughly.
"Would you believe me if I said that's what I want?"
I beat down the followers and they even sent an undying mechanical knight.
And that blazing sword melting rocks in real time was probably no ordinary sword either.
Despite doing this much, if I didn't die, then next time surely.
As I saw in my dream, there was a high possibility that 3 Demon Kings would personally manifest to tear me apart.
[Why on earth? Did you commit some great wrong? Are you someone who committed an enormously huge sin? If not, what's the reason for protecting Kanya to this extent of self-sacrifice? I really don't understand.]
Corn seemed to be touching my body with Body Modification skills. My stiff limbs felt a bit better.
I staggered to my feet.
"Just because it's the right thing to do."
Because that was the only way to eliminate Asmodeus in my soul and make everyone truly happy.
While I was talking with Corn like that.
An enormous roar was heard from far away as if an earthquake had struck.
It sounded like the ground was sinking down.
At that sound, I got up while panting.
"Corn. I think we still have more fighting to do."
[You idiot, what did you hear? I told you you've already used your body beyond its limits! If you do any more, your limbs could be completely ruined!]
"But I have to protect Kanya. Isn't there anything we can do?"
Corn was silent for a moment.
Then suddenly.
The pain I had been feeling in my limbs disappeared.
[I blocked the pain. I touched your brain a bit with Absolute Hypnosis. You won't feel pain now. But your body will be overworked even faster. This is absolutely not a good method. You need to lie down and rest right now. You know?]
"Don't worry. I'm not a self-destructive person either. I'll just push myself a bit until I save Kanya."
At my words, Corn laughed as if dumbfounded.
[That’s the funniest lie I've heard this year, Amael.]
I felt strength entering my limbs once again.
[I forcibly did Body Modification one more time. You shouldn't have a problem fighting right now. But remember! This is eating away at your body's lifespan! Parts of your body could be permanently ruined to the point even Body Modification can't fix it!]
"Thanks."
I looked at the blazing sword fallen on the ground.
I desperately wanted to take it.
But my melted palms were still not healed.
It was a weapon I couldn't grasp and wield.
There was no choice.
Right now, taking Kanya to the rocky mountains of Talaheim was more urgent.
I left the blazing sword and ran towards where the sound came from.
***
Kanya's revolver spat fire.
4 Envy followers rushed at her collapsed with their eyeballs bursting without being able to do anything against her rapid fanning.
But that was all the resistance she could do.
The bumpy rocky mountain.
Her withered limbs.
And above all, the fact that the strength of the beings chasing her was at a level surpassing humans.
"Surround her from left and right! Hurry!! A lot of time has already passed!"
As the leader shouted irritably, Envy's followers began to spread out.
Kanya urgently reloaded bullets and swung the gun around firing bullets, but they wouldn't fall for it more than once or twice.
Some even moved while completely covering their eyes with their palms, so gunfire no longer worked.
Finally, Kanya who had been frantically shooting at the 3 groups of Envy followers rushing from left, right, and front had to give up distance.
As her gun was cut off by nails and fell to the ground, one follower grasped Kanya's small head with his hand and lifted her up.
"Let go!! Let me g..."
"You fucking bitch."
His voice was full of hatred wanting to kill her, but the follower just silently used black magic.
Immediately, thorn-like tattoos crawled up Kanya's limbs and tightly wrapped around her body.
Kanya tried to resist violently, but the thorns strongly constricted her limbs whenever she moved.
Unable to bear the considerable pain, Kanya let out a scream.
"It would be better not to move. If you don't want to be in more pain, that is."
After tearing off the ammunition belts wrapped around Kanya's body and placing them on the ground, crushing them so they couldn't be used, the followers hurriedly began returning to the portal they had come from.
Kanya wanted to scream, but the thorn tattoos were intensively wrapped around her mouth area, so extreme pain surged even if she opened her mouth slightly.
She couldn't even wriggle, and it was impossible to make a sound.
"Hurry! Hurry! Come back quickly…! Damn it!"
A curse burst from the leader's mouth as he was urgently waving his hand giving commands.
Almost simultaneously, a rock flew at the leader.
It was at a speed surpassing sound, so even though the leader hurriedly blocked with his arm, his body could be seen staggering greatly.
Kanya's eyes widened.
It was Jericho.
"Run! Run back to the portal! I'll hold him off!" the leader shouted and leapt forward.
"Oh Envy!!"
The tattoos engraved on the leader's body emitted an eerie gray light.
Rock throwing at supersonic speeds continued briefly, bursting the brains of a few followers, then soon quieted.
And then the sound of fierce clashing began to be heard from behind with a roar.
Jericho was literally fighting with all his might, clashing with the leader.
Blood spurted from his hands every time he threw a punch.
Although it looked extremely painful, he didn't stop fighting.
Seeing that sight, Kanya felt pathetic about herself.
A stranger who knew nothing was going this far for her.
But what was she doing?
She was in a state of being captured and dragged away without being able to do anything.
Kanya scraped together the last bit of divine power from Bellia remaining in her body.
And while carefully observing her surroundings, she desperately thought about what the best thing she could do was.
At the critical moment.
She explosively burst out all the remaining divine power in a surprise attack.
"Aagh!"
The follower holding her let go with a scream.
Of course, even doing that, the thorn tattoos wrapped around her body didn't disappear.
Extreme pain surged even if she moved her body slightly.
And where she burst out divine power was a slope.
Following gravity, Kanya rolled and fell downwards, hitting here and there.
Every time her body collided with rocks, she was forced to move around, and she couldn't come to her senses from the intense pain from the thorn tattoos.
Finally she rolled to the end of the slope and lost consciousness after roughly colliding with a fairly heavy rock.
The last thing Kanya saw before losing consciousness was the sight of Jericho frantically running towards her.
***
They had clearly prepared very thoroughly.
Nothing worked on the man in front of my eyes.
[Absolute Hypnosis doesn't work! 3000x Sensitivity can't be applied either! It says it's a target that can't be affected!!]
The gray tattoos engraved on the man's body were emitting light like crazy.
That was right.
The 3 Demon Kings must know my abilities.
This was the second time engaging with me, so they must have come prepared with countermeasures.
Absolute Hypnosis and 3000x Sensitivity didn’t work, and I couldn’t use Time Stop.
Body Modification had already modified beyond the limits my body could endure, so my body felt loose.
I felt my body not moving as I wanted.
I felt my physical abilities had decreased even though Corn did modifications.
Right.
That was correct.
I wasn’t someone who was properly trained for combat.
There was a limit to forcibly strengthening an ordinary person's body with Body Modification to fight.
"What are you doing!? Hurry and take her!!"
The follower blocking me shouted.
Kanya came into my view.
She seemed to have slipped and fallen down a slope, unconscious with her whole body in a mess.
And I saw other demon followers hurriedly running to take her.
At this rate, she'd be captured.
She'd be taken away from me.
I had to save Kanya.
I gritted my teeth and looked at the follower blocking me.
The guy who clearly had systematically learned martial arts wasn't taking a single hit from my attacks and was just one-sidedly beating me up.
And one strange feeling I got while fighting him.
This bastard isn't trying to take my life.
I was fighting by forcibly strengthening my ruined limbs, but my strength, agility and reflexes were inferior to the being in front of me.
Moreover, our sense of approaching the fight itself was different.
If he had wanted to kill me, he could have done so at any time.
But he didn't.
Just like that metal Ketratus earlier.
And the guy in front of me too.
They're reluctant to kill me.
Then?
"Uwaah!!"
I lowered my head and rushed forward.
If he struck my head with his nails, my skull would instantly split open like a watermelon and spill out everything inside.
At that posture of me rushing in while thrusting out a vital point with all my might, the guy who had been fighting confidently until now suddenly panicked and pulled back his nails.
"You damn…!"
In that state, I accelerated and rammed my head into the follower's stomach in front of me.
It was a nicely executed headbutt.
Even with ruined limbs, my strength was enhanced so the impact must have been quite large.
I tumbled forward for a while, becoming one lump with the follower.
After that, I tried to get up and run towards Kanya.
"Where do you think you're going!?"
With a burning pain in my Achilles tendon area, I collapsed forward.
From the feeling, it seemed the guy I had been entangled with had cut my leg tendon with his nails.
Because I had been exerting all my strength to run, I rolled messily and crashed into the rocky ground.
I see followers carrying Kanya and running towards the portal in the distance.
[Amael! If you maintain Body Modification any further, your limbs will be permanently ruined! No more!!]
I heard Corn's voice shouting while urgently reattaching the cut tendon.
I knew.
I knew my body's condition better than anyone.
Even if I got up again like this, the guy behind me would do his best to interfere.
There was also the method of using Absolute Hypnosis on those followers taking Kanya, but just like it didn't work on the follower who fought me, there was a high chance it wouldn't work on those guys either.
They seemed to have come down after thorough preparation.
I looked at Kanya getting farther away.
Her withered limbs were horribly broken and dangling around after rolling and falling.
If she was captured, she'd probably be treated even worse than now.
And now.
For the first time since reincarnating to this world.
There was nothing I could do.
In that feeling of powerlessness, I felt compassion.
Kanya.
A child who has never been happy even once from childhood until now.
I wanted to save her.
I hoped she could be saved.
But now.
I had reached my limit.
"It's done! Go in just like that!"
I heard a voice full of joy behind me.
Kanya was now very close to the portal.
The distance was already too far for me to catch up.
I was angry.
Why does that innocent being have to go suffer again?
I want to save her.
I wish she wouldn't be captured.
And...
I knew the name of the being who could grant this wish.
The name I had tried so hard to eliminate.
The name I loathed and hated.
But the name I needed most now.
"Asmodeus!" I shouted. "Save Kanya!!"
With that cry as my last.
I lost consciousness feeling a strong impact to the back of my head.
***
Envy's chosen one kicked the back of the saint's head with all his might, knocking him unconscious as he let out a final cry that was almost like a scream.
"What an idiot. Nothing will change no matter what you do."
The chosen one smiled and began running towards the portal.
It was a success.
He had succeeded in the dangerous mission that Envy had so earnestly requested.
Once he entered the portal with Kanya, enormous rewards from the Demon King would follow.
As he was involuntarily smiling, suddenly.
He realized something was strange.
His body felt sluggish.
No matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn't properly move forward.
That wasn't all.
"High Priest… sir."
The other followers hurriedly approaching the portal while carrying Kanya were the same.
Everyone's movements were sluggish.
It felt like only their bodies' time was flowing slowly while their minds remained the same.
The leader follower.
"What… is…?"
The being called High Priest forcibly turned his stiffened neck backwards.
The saint who should have been unconscious was standing up.