92 – The Fight

“So. Three Demon Lords are after this girl. And we have to protect her from those b*stards while getting to a place called the Rocky Mountains of Talachheim. Is that it?”

“More or less.”

As soon as he heard my explanation, Kohn let out a hollow laugh.

“Hey. Amael. Stop time.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

I did as Kohn told me. Time stopped, freezing everything but me.

“It’s over now. Pick up that girl and just go to the rocky mountains. Your ability is ridiculously broken. There’s no need to even consider fighting.”

It’s not a wrong thing to say.

Not fighting is, of course, the best outcome.

[Of course. Fighting is a good way to show your masculinity, I get wanting to flaunt your virility in front of the female. But you gotta pick your battles. Three demon lords, you said? You could face a fate worse than death.]

“You’re right. Doing as you say is the safest, most reliable path.”

[Told you! What are you even trying to fight for? You don’t mess with gods.]

“The problem is, the three demon lords know my ability.”

There’s no way those three demon lords wouldn’t know my ability.

And they would surely know that the easiest and safest way to take Kanya to the rock mountain is to freeze time and go.

They will definitely know it.

It would be great if they had no countermeasure for time stop, but considering three demon lords are pooling their resources, I couldn’t guarantee that there’s absolutely no way to break it.

“I need to prepare for when my ability is countered. Just in case I can’t stop time. I need to have the strength to fight their followers, don’t I?”

[I hope that never happens… But you’re not wrong. Hmm. I really don’t like this. I’ve fought almost every kind of tough guy out there, but fighting a god is a first.]

“From what I’ve heard you say, you went on an adventure, breaking through hordes of subjugation forces, other male unicorns, and all sorts of monsters, just to get with one virgin mare. Just hearing about it makes you sound like a real man, are you really scared of this?”

[Scared? It’s not about being scared… It’s just… it’s a god. Amael. Gods are different. They’re beings you can’t take lightly. Those sons of b*tches are monsters who defy the natural order. Fighting three gods just to protect one female is a terrible deal.]

I sighed briefly at Kon’s hesitant words.

Logically speaking, Kon was a hundred times right.

Going up against three divine beings is no small feat.

But I have to.

I’m doing it because there’s no chance of winning.

Because that’s how I can die.

“Fight the three divine beings as much as possible. And die at the end of it. That’s my goal, Kon. So, help me out.”

[Why are you so desperate to die? You crazy b*stard. I don’t understand it at all. At first, I thought you were just spouting nonsense, but this is way too serious!! Amael. It’s not just death! Your very soul could be shattered! That’s what fighting divine beings means!!]

I laughed at those words.

“That’s exactly what I want.”

[Your goal is soul shattering? You want perfect annihilation, with no more reincarnation, rebirth, or past lives?]

“Yeah. That’s it.”

Then I can go back to Korea.

Kon remained silent for a long time after my words.

[You’re truly the craziest b*stard I’ve ever seen. Why is it someone like you is my master, so I can’t even run away!]

“So. Are you going to help? Or not?”

At my words, Kohn hesitated before finally letting out a long sigh.

[If I only had my body, I’d have bolted already. But since I can’t run away *from you*, I’m stuck helping you, aren’t I?]

“Alright. Then let’s brainstorm some more varied uses for our abilities. We should also consider what other powers you can use to support me, in case I completely lose the ability to stop time altogether.”

[Hold on. You had other powers besides time stop?]

“Yeah. Body modification, absolute hypnosis, and a skill that increases sensitivity 3000-fold.”

At my words, Kohn burst into laughter, as if he couldn’t believe it.

[All of them are for… *that* kind of business! Of all the luck, I’m going to have to fight three Demon Lords with these cliché, lewd-sounding abilities….]

Though he grumbled, Kohn and I were stuck together, and he said he didn’t want to die. So, with that as his motivation, he passionately helped me devise ways to use my skills in battle.

In the frozen time.

We spent what felt like forever developing tactics.

*

Morning.

[Amael. Kanya’s awake. You get up too.]

At Kohn’s alarm, I groggily opened my eyes to see Kanya already out of bed, staring blankly ahead with a dazed expression.

“Kohn. How’s your psychic state?”

[You think I’m you? That wasn’t even a blip.]

The aftereffects of stopping time and practicing tactics for so long yesterday had completely drained my mental strength. I had to stop halfway and go to sleep. But Kohn still had psychic energy to spare; he was perfectly fine even after acting as a sentinel in my stead.

He’s a reliable guy, I thought anew.

I gave the open rocket ship a light pat, twice, a gesture of thanks, then approached Kanya.

“Kanya. How are you feeling?”

“Refreshed.”

She looked down at her own thin, emaciated hands.

“That’s why it feels strange. I’ve never felt this refreshed in my life…”

Hearing her words, I felt a twinge in my chest, for some reason.

Maybe it was because I’d seen, from the perpetrator’s perspective, just how miserable her life had been.

I gently stroked Kanya’s hair.

“I’m sorry, but let’s get up now. We need to move quickly. We’re heading straight for the rocky mountains.”

At my words, Kanya stared at me for a moment before nodding.

She slowly got to her feet.

The room had been acquired hastily from the innkeeper, along with a set of girl’s clothes.

The hastily acquired garments, ill-fitting as they were, hung far too loose. The trouser cuffs dragged along the floor, and her hands vanished completely within the sleeves.

But it hardly mattered.

After all, Kanya wasn’t meant to walk.

“Here. Get on my back.”

I knelt, presenting my back to Kanya.

“Pardon?”

“I’ll carry you. So get on.”

“…”

“We have to reach the rocky mountain, don’t we?”

At my words, Kanya hesitated a moment before finally clambering onto my back.

Her gaunt, hunched spine and painfully thin frame gave the unsettling impression of bearing a grotesquely twisted branch, rather than a human being.

I firmly supported her hips with one hand, then took a deep breath.

Now it begins.

Kanya, toward salvation.

And I, toward death.

“Kanya.”

“Yes.”

“There will be many things that are difficult to understand from now on. I wish I had the time to explain everything in detail, but I don’t, and even if I did, it would still be difficult to grasp. But one thing is certain: I’m on your side. Understood? You must trust me. Will you do that for me?”

I couldn’t see the expression on Kanya’s face behind me.

But the way she gripped my collar tightly suggested that she hadn’t decided to distrust me outright, at least.

“Understood. I don’t really have other choices, do I.”

“Good. Then, shall we go?”

“Yes.”

“Kohn.”

[Ready. Commence.]

I retrieved a gold ingot from the money pouch at my waist and placed it on the bed.

The owner of this shop was a good man.

Contrary to his appearance, he was far too kind – so much so that, in addition to what I asked, he even offered to summon a priest of the Grace Order. I’d had no choice but to lightly tamper with his mind using Absolute Hypnosis.

He suffered because of me, one way or another, so I had to provide adequate compensation.

With the payment settled, I activated Time Stop.

All the world fell silent, leaving only myself, Kon, and Kanya clinging to my back in motion.

“Wh-what is this? What did you just do? How is it the world is…”

“Kanya. I’m sorry. I can’t explain that part to you. Can’t you just trust me for now?”

*How could I tell her it was the power of the Demon Lord Asmodeus?*

*To a child who’s suffered all her life because of demon lords?*

At my words, Kanya seemed a little uneasy, tightening her grip on my collar.

“Okay.”

Thankfully, she understood and moved on.

And so, with Kanya on my back,

I began to run through the world where time stood still.

“S-slow down, please…”

“Three Demon Lords are after us. We don’t know when they’ll strike. The best case is that they won’t, but that might not be how it goes. So, we don’t have time to be slow. Kanya. I’m sorry. Just hold on.”

At that, Kanya wrapped her arms completely around my torso, pressing herself tightly against me.

After confirming she was secure, I began to run even faster.

*[Please, let us reach the rocky mountain safely, just like this.]*

“I second that, Kon.”

*[Please, nothing bad happen… Eeeeee. Please.]*

Kon’s silly tone almost made me laugh even in this situation.

“What’s got a Unicorn like you so scared? You’ve bedded over 1000 virgin mares and annihilated more than 50 subjugation parties!”

*[Fighting three divine beings is no small matter, you know? Of course I’m scared! Not just any beings, but three divine beings!! Please. Please. Since time is stopped, no one will notice, right? Please, let that be true. Please.]*

“Yeah. Please let it be true.”

We escaped the village.

Employing every technique of swift movement I knew, I continued to run.

Kanya.

Kon.

Neither of them said a word.

I, too, kept my lips sealed tight.

The world where time stood still was eerily silent.

Normally, I might have thought nothing of it, but now the quiet felt like a premonition of a great war.

Had we been running for an hour, lost in the rush?

The landscape of the village faded away.

Gone entirely was any sense that people lived here, only the wide, flat plains stretched before me, eerily silent, as I raced across them.

[WARNING!!]

[Strong Interference Detected!]

[The Authority of Skills is………Being Limited……..]

A red alert window blared, and at the same instant, the time-stopped space shattered, expanding with phenomenal force.

The space ballooned outward in the shape of a colossal dome, before abruptly halting its growth.

Then, the space directly ahead of me split apart, forming a fissure that writhed like a crack, and began vomiting forth a staggering number of people.

I had no choice but to stop.

[Son of a b*tch!!…Amal! How are the abilities?]

I hastily tried to activate Time Stop.

It worked, sort of.

But it was far from perfect.

“Luckily, I can still use it. But the area I can freeze is severely limited. And…I can’t release the Time Stop outside the dome.”

[So they don’t want us to run.]

“Precisely.”

[Damn it!! What about the other abilities?]

Slowly, I began checking my other skills. I confirmed that the other three were functioning normally.

“The other three are fine.”

[Hahaha. So it’s exactly the scenario we were worried about yesterday, huh? We’re having one hell of a lucky streak. One hell of a streak!!]

Kon’s voice trembled as he spoke.

And it wasn’t just Kon.

“J-Jericho.”

Kanya, clinging to my back, was also shaking.

And, to be honest, I was scared too.

The figures spilling from the fissure numbered close to a hundred.

Six who appeared to be black mages.

Most of the followers were armed with bolt-action rifles, light machine guns, and pistols, with what looked like World War I-era grenades strapped to their chests.

And those men at the front.

The three of them, clad in distinctive crimson armor, carrying nothing but longswords.

The armaments they carried were far less impressive than those of people armed with firearms, but the aura they exuded seemed far more terrifying.

There seemed no way to avoid a fight.

Slowly, I set Kanya down.

“Kon. I’m counting on you.”

[Understood.]

Something began to slowly envelop Kanya and me, covering us from the ground up.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Armor, Kanya.”

Kon, utilizing his overflowing psychic power with precision far exceeding my own, meticulously wrapped pockets of time-frozen space around our bodies.

This secured us at least minimal defense.

“Get back. And keep your body low to the ground, hide as best you can. Got it?”

At my words, Kanya immediately moved away from me and dropped flat on the ground.

After confirming her safety, I slowly started to walk forward.

[Alright. So. Ready?]

“Do it.”

As I spoke those words, I simultaneously activated three skills, and Kon immediately began to manipulate them.

[Body Modification, Sensitivity Amplified by 3000, Absolute Hypnosis activated simultaneously!]

[Using features unlocked with level-up rewards!]

[Reflexes Augmented by 3000, completed.]

[Muscle and Skeletal Augmentation, completed.]

[Hypnotic Boost to Thought Speed, completed.]

The drastic bodily changes pushed my body to its limit, generating intense heat that caused steam to slowly rise from beneath my clothes.

[All done. Amael. Now, you have to fight. As I said, I can only support you!]

“Thanks, Kon.”

I lightly clenched and unclenched my fist, feeling a strength beyond common sense flow in and out of my grasp.

At this level, it was manageable.

The three knights at the forefront, seeing me approaching, wreathed in steam, slowly drew the swords from their waists.

“We shall offer your skull to the Demon King of Wrath.”

Seeing the dark magic slowly coalescing around their blades, I too extended my hand forward.

“Make it.”

My command over time stop manifests with delicate precision, enveloping a specific space.

A hammer.

The form of a massive warhammer.

I slowly gripped the time-stopped warhammer in my right hand.

[This is madness, Amael.]

“I know.”

Cold sweat beaded on my brow.

But a smile stretched across my lips.

“Let’s die, Con.”

[You’re the only one dying! I don’t want to yet!…]

My legs launched me from the ground.

And the next instant.

My time-stop hammer was smashing straight through a knight’s skull.