96 – Battles of Our Own

I still can’t tell if that thing is a cannon or a pistol.

With an ear-splitting roar, I quickly ducked to avoid the bullet.

Unlike the plains where the demons first attacked me, this place is a rocky mountain.

There were plenty of places to use as cover.

As I heard the bullet I’d dodged create a massive explosion behind me, I felt terror surge up my spine.

If I get hit, I might survive.

But Kanya will definitely die.

After hiding behind a large rock, I set Kanya down.

Kanya already had her bolt-action rifle in hand, without me even having to say anything.

“I have to go and hold him back. It’s hard to fight with you on my back.”

“I’ll help you with long-range sniping.”

“Please, Kanya. I’ll try to keep him as far away as possible, so you stay far away too.”

“Isn’t it possible to create armor with time stop?”

I nodded at her words.

Kanya bites her lip hard.

“Can you win?”

At that, steam began to pour from my body.

Body Modification. The result of 3000x Sensitivity being applied to me.

Kon was meticulously tuning my body for combat in real time.

“It’s possible, Kanya. Don’t die.”

Kanya didn’t answer me.

Instead, she silently adjusted the tangent sight on her bolt-action rifle and simply nodded.

No more words were needed.

I jumped out from behind the rock and ran towards the enemy, and Kanya started running in the opposite direction.

“Kon! Absolutely try to hypnotize him!”

As I looked at the approaching Ketratu Squad member, I ordered Kon.

But.

[Can only be used on living beings!]

As expected, the skill didn’t work.

The red-glowing helmet silently stared at me.

I could see his gun barrel turning towards me.

I could see the bullet flying towards me, accompanied by flames.

The reflexes, sped up 3000 times, allowed me to watch even the incoming bullet in slow motion.

But my body was moving far slower than my reflexes.

[Now!]

Fortunately, Kon had calculated perfectly, so I was able to move my body at the right moment and dodge the bullet.

After dodging one bullet, it was my turn.

I grabbed a fist-sized rock from the ground.

I can’t conjure a weapon with time stop.

But if one isn’t available, I’ll improvise.

“Kon!”

[Leave it to me!!]

I feel my shoulder, and the muscles connected to it, tighten taut.

Clutching the rock as if to crush it, I hurled it with all my might.

With an eerie, whistling crack, the rock flew, aimed precisely at Ketratu’s head.

But he, like me, tilted his head casually to avoid the stone, then cocked the pistol again, aiming for my body.

With Kon’s assistance, I dodged the bullets, closing the distance.

[Ranged attacks are useless!]

I agree with Kon.

A proper throw, one with any real power, requires a long and complicated wind-up. A pistol, on the other hand, only needs a trigger pull.

Then it had to be close combat.

The problem was the flaming sword the b*stard held in his left hand.

It didn’t look like an ordinary object.

If I even had a weapon, things would be so much different.

I regretted, anew, that I couldn’t just use time stop.

Still, I had to try.

I began to approach Ketratu.

Judging the distance close enough, Ketratu stowed the pistol and grasped the sword in both hands.

Can I evade this?

The blade falls toward me, visible in agonizing slow motion.

Its trajectory, aimed precisely at my neck, is chillingly accurate.

I abruptly twisted my body perpendicularly to my running direction.

My body was enhanced with modifications, but my muscles, skeleton, and joints screamed in protest.

I was successful in evading Ketratu’s attack for a price of bearing such pain.

My flank was completely exposed.

I planted my foot and unleashed a punch with all my strength.

Instead of the sound of a human fist colliding with metal armor, a metallic clang resonated instead.

Ketratu’s body floated upwards, flying backwards to slam into the ground.

[It landed! I set his pain receptors to 3000x their normal level!! If he’s still alive after that, he’s not human!…]

Kon fell silent, abruptly halting his words.

I was similar.

Through the shattered side of the armor, I could see inside.

There was nothing there.

Only clanking pieces of metal.

And, strangely enough, those metal pieces slowly began to repair the damaged area, like living things.

Ketratu, as if he had not suffered any blow, reconstituted his body and slowly stood up.

The light emanating from his helmet grew even more ominous.

[Skill Amplification x3000 only applies to living beings!]

A hollow laugh escaped me as the skill application failure notice belatedly popped up before my eyes.

[Hey, Amael. That thing’s not even human. What are you gonna do?]

It wasn’t just a simple hunk of metal.

Judging by the way it swung that blade at me, its reaction speed and strength were probably similar to my own.

I clenched my fist.

“I gotta win. What else am I gonna do?”

A sound like roasting beans drifted from a distance.

Gunfire.

Kanya.

Damn it.

Seems like there’s another group after Kanya.

But I couldn’t just run to her.

I had to beat that monstrous metal scrapheap first, then maybe I could cross over and help Kanya.

But it seemed like chasing after her quickly would be a challenge.

The flames erupting from Ketratu’s sword intensified.

The light blazing from its eyes intensified as well.

And the armor it wore writhed as if alive, instantly sprouting sharp spikes all over its body.

[This will make it harder for you to land a fist on me, won’t it?]

An eerie metallic rasp, like a ghost wailing, escaped from beneath its helmet.

I bit down hard on my teeth.

“I’ll crush you as fast as I can.”

[I like that.]

Ketratu chuckled.

The rock beneath the knight’s feet cracked.

And then, the next instant.

The knight was swinging his sword right in front of me.

My reflexes registered its movements fast enough.

But my body had reached its limit.

Because of that, I barely managed to dodge the blade, paying the price with a gash that started bleeding on my cheek.

“Kon!!”

Kon responded instantly to my shout.

[Any more modifications to your body, and it’ll break!! We’re already pushing the limits of what a human body can handle!!]

But I had to win.

“Do it!”

[Damn it! The aftereffects are going to be brutal! Fine! I’ll try to push it a little further… Hey, Amael. Don’t get hit by that sword.]

Kon didn’t need to explain why he said that.

[The wound on your cheek is unhealable.]

The red warning message made my fist tighten.

A sword with wounds that are unhealable and speed that requires me to push my body to its limit.

It wasn’t a time for worrying about Kanya.

*I* was in the most danger.

*

As soon as Kanya heard the sounds of Jericho and the giant knight beginning to fight, she turned and ran.

She needed more distance before it would be safe to snipe.

But the terrain was rough, rocky mountain, and she was burdened with her guns and ammunition.

And her thin, withered limbs made her escape sluggish.

“Kanya.”

Moreover, the demons didn’t seem inclined to let her run away unmolested.

She hadn’t run far before a group of figures appeared, tearing through the very fabric of space.

Dozens of them, bearing unsettlingly long fingernails.

Thirty meters or so.

Kanya hastily pulled the rifle from her shoulder, brought it to bear, aimed at the approaching enemies, and pulled the trigger.

The blessed round flew true, aimed precisely at the head of the man who appeared to be their leader, and struck home.

The head of the leading demon worshiper jerked violently.

But he wasn’t dead.

“Hmm…the audacity. I want to tear you apart.”

The bullet hadn’t pierced his skull.

He casually plucked the flattened round from his forehead, tossed it aside, and chuckled.

“Your weapons are useless against us, Kanya. We have reinforced our skin and flesh with the power of Envy…”

Before he could finish speaking, another gunshot rang out.

The worshiper’s head lurched again.

“…you little b*tch. Aiming for the eyes?”

A bullet clung to the worshiper’s left eyeball.

Apparently, he’d closed his eye just in time, the eyelid deflecting the bullet.

“Catch her.”

Realizing further parley was pointless, the worshipers charged.

Their long fingernails, nearly reaching the ground, scraped against the rocks, spitting sparks.

As the distance rapidly closed, Kanya’s rifle spat fire relentlessly.

Four worshipers fell without accomplishing anything.

Their brains turned to mush by the bullets piercing their eyes.

It was marksmanship bordering on the divine, but killing a few wasn’t enough.

There were still far too many worshipers remaining.

Kanya bit her lip.

‘What to do?’

Her eyes and ears frantically scanned the surroundings, formulating a plan.

In a split second, she made the optimal tactical decision and began to run.

She discarded the rifle and the ammunition pack on her back, drew the revolver from her waistband, and started pulling the trigger.

Even though she was firing at oncoming enemies while running, her accuracy was terrifying.

Two more worshipers joined the ranks of those felled by eye-piercing bullets in that brief instant.

“Close your eyes on time! You morons! If your eyelids are protecting your eyes, the enemy can’t hit you!”

Kanya smiled, hearing the rough shout of the one who seemed to be the zealots’ leader.

“Too slow!”

Kanya disappeared as if being sucked into a large hole formed between the rocks, not far from where she stood.

It was only natural that the followers’ eyes widened.

“That b*tch!! Don’t let her escape! Catch her, no matter what! Catch!…”

The black hole flashed brightly for a moment.

Along with a gunshot, one of the followers charging at the head of the pack had his eyeball burst and sank to the ground.

The faces of the Envy zealots twisted in rage.

But reality, unlike their desires, was not so forgiving.

Kanya was small.

The zealots, on the other hand, were all adults.

And they had unnecessarily long fingernails.

The problem was that the hole Kanya had entered was rather narrow for an adult.

Only one person could fit through at a time.

“I’ll widen the hole…”

The zealot who spoke had his eyeball burst along with a gunshot, and he sank again.

The leader of the zealots, who had quickly closed the distance to the hole, roared roughly.

“Just go in! I’ll go first!”

He hurriedly contorted his body into the hole.

“You damn b*tch. Now you won’t escape…”

The leader, grinning as he stepped into the hole, had to twist his expression the next moment.

Even with his entire body inside, there was still plenty of space left.

It was gigantic.

It seemed it wasn’t an ordinary hole.

It seemed that the hole was an entrance to an underground cave.

And of course.

The cave was terribly dark.

As the leader stared into the impenetrable darkness for a moment,

A gunshot rang out and one side of the huge cave flashed brightly before darkening again.

The leader’s head snapped back violently, then returned.

A crumpled bullet was stuck to his eyelid.

“The same spot again!! This crazy b*tch!! Everyone down! Catch her!!”

In the end, there was only one choice the leader could make.

Dozens of followers began to squeeze their bodies into the narrow hole and descend.