Laurakis approached the battle with an unusually serious expression.
She extended her hand toward the front and began chanting a spell.
“Fire Wall.”
A massive wall of flames surged upward, hindering the ants’ approach.
“Ki-ee.”
A deliberately created gap.
The ‘Hell Ants’ charged through it.
Occasionally, some would be burned to death by the flying embers, but they paid no attention.
It seemed they had learned from previous battles, this time deploying many winged ants.
Whiiing.
The sound of bug wings flapping.
The ants overcame the flame wall and barriers in one swift motion, narrowing the distance.
“Kyaao!”
The colossal cat within did not stay idle.
Isiah’s thick forepaws moved nimbly, catching the flying insects.
They were no better than mice before the cat.
Isiah tore the ants apart with her claws or tore them with her jaws.
With each death, the effect of ‘fear’ was applied to the surrounding ants, causing them to lose their wits and flee.
The rest of the group welcomed the ‘fear’ effect.
With so many enemies, such a chance to catch their breath allowed them to briefly recover their stamina.
Tadaada.
The ‘Assault Bot,’ spewing crimson flames, wielded its machine gun.
The bullets fired at a rate of 2,000 rounds per minute obliterated the ants.
The ants rushing at the robot were stopped by a semi-transparent barrier and shattered under the barrage of bullets.
It was an overwhelming massacre.
“Fireball.”
What should have been a basic fireball spell began as a small flame.
As Laura poured mana into it, the fireball grew larger.
A small sun, indeed.
The fireball slowly flew along the road, erasing the ants in its wake.
Laurakis occasionally used ‘Fireball’ to reduce the enemy’s numbers.
Shinnoda’s party was overwhelming the ‘Hell Ants.’
Shinnoda leaped from the rooftop of a building.
A cracking sound followed, and the place he had stepped on fissured.
The target was the demon Astaroth.
She was severely injured from her final battle in this world.
Her wing was broken, and the snake coiled around her body was covered in blood.
In mid-air, Shinnoda turned his head, confirming his companions.
“They’re all busy fighting.”
Having made sure no one was looking, he used his ‘Beheading’ skill.
His body dispersed into black mist and reconstructed behind Astaroth’s back.
“Hmm.”
Astaroth quickly sensed Shinnoda’s presence and turned her head.
Having Agility at the A-rank level, time flowed far more finely for Shinnoda than it did for her.
To Shinnoda, her head-turning movement seemed in slow motion.
He swung his lance upward, determined to sever her neck at that moment.
If he attacked now, it would result in a critical hit, possibly killing her in one strike.
Astaroth desperately twisted her body, moving her lips.
“Bli-”
Shinnoda realized in that fleeting moment that she was up to something but couldn’t move any faster.
Still, his lance had already reached her shoulder.
The sensation of cutting through flesh.
Blood spurted, and her right arm flew into the air.
“-nk.”
Right before his eyes, the demon disappeared, leaving behind only her severed arm.
Shinnoda, the courageous knight, turned his head toward the lingering mana.
There she was, not far away.
Shinnoda immediately used ‘Beheading’ again to pursue her.
Astaroth also used the ‘Blink’ spell to distance herself from him.
They fled and chased each other away from the battlefield, reaching a wasteland not far from the city.
Shinnoda turned his head toward Astaroth, preparing to use ‘Beheading’ again.
But Astaroth was glaring at him, eyes wide.
In her eyes, geometric symbols appeared.
Laurakis hurriedly warned him,
[It’s the Magic Eye! Get out of its sight!]
It was too late.
Shinnoda’s body gradually stiffened.
“Stone…? No, no, it’s not.”
His body wasn’t petrified; it simply wouldn’t move.
“It’s paralysis.”
She, gaining a little composure, asked,
“You’re the leader of that party, aren’t you?”
Astaroth’s alluring voice came despite her obvious pain from the severed arm.
Shinnoda frowned.
“I should have prepared magic resistance. I’ve been too reliant on Laurakis.”
He thought she would be no problem for ‘Dispel,’ given she was a B-rank monster in her weakened state.
Of course, the current situation wasn’t critical.
He had many means of escape.
And having finished his thoughts, he coldly answered,
“Yes.”
Annoyingly, Astaroth hadn’t paralyzed just his mouth.
“Will they hold out if you die? From what I’ve seen, your companions aren’t of a high level.”
Hehe.
Astaroth thought she had cornered Shinnoda, mocking him.
She noticed the individuals fighting the ‘Hell Ants’ and suddenly grinned from ear to ear.
“Hahaha! You’re beloved, aren’t you?”
Once the ruler of love, though now a mere demon, she knew who loved whom as naturally as people took for granted seeing the world.
Astaroth approached his paralyzed body.
‘Is it time to dispel the paralysis…?’
Shinnoda had his own plans.
She didn’t know, but in fact, using ‘Mist Shadow Martial Arts,’ he could easily break free of the paralysis and turn into mist.
‘But if I attack rashly… she’ll Blink away again.’
He decided to wait for the opportunity.
Typically, such cunning types were most vulnerable when they thought they had the upper hand.
Thus, the plan was what one might call the ‘Charm Trap.’
Astaroth lifted her hand, gripping Shinnoda’s chin and fixing his eyes to look directly into hers.
“I want you to see a woman dying for love.”
A heart-shaped symbol floated in her eyes.
[That’s the Enchantment Magic Eye. If affected, you’ll take the demon as your lover and follow her commands.]
That’s a problem.
Shinnoda, thinking so, instead recognized it as the perfect opportunity.
“Man-eating Kill.”
An incredibly powerful technique developed by an unnamed assassin.
From another world, it was recreated by one who lacked love.
Images momentarily flickered through Shinnoda’s mind.
It was the memory of some assassin.
The culmination of the insights he had gained.
Multiple Shinnodas swarmed around Astaroth.
“Hmph. Clones, I see. What’s so great about that?”
Astaroth abandoned her enchantment, instantly placing her hand over Shinnoda’s heart.
“Explosion.”
An explosion occurred inside Shinnoda’s armor.
Blood flowed like a waterfall between his scales.
Both the Dragon Heart and the human heart vanished without trace, ceasing their function.
Astaroth mocked him.
“Seems you’ve made these clones capable of physical attacks, but now that the controller is dead…. Haven’t I seen a few kids like you?”
Astaroth with over a thousand years of battle experience was quite seasoned.
She assumed the clones would disappear once the mana supply was cut off.
But she was mistaken.
The Man-eating Kill wasn’t about creating clones.
The multiple Shinnodas wielding spears all aiming at her heart were real.
Obviously, replicating Shinnoda with the Dragon Heart wasn’t easy.
But that’s what made it a miracle.
A nameless supreme swordsman had created this technique, one that altered reality itself.
From the moment ‘Man-eating Kill’ was cast, the destruction of Astaroth’s heart was already a foregone conclusion.
“Kekh.”
Dozens of spears pierced her heart.
Her heart was shredded by the numerous spearheads.
Astaroth sought a way to recover.
….
There was none.
No matter how much she pondered, there was no method.
In her weakened state, there was nothing she could do.
She regretted her past self for underestimating humans.
If it weren’t for her injuries and her powers being sealed….
“If only I hadn’t been hurt…. If only my powers weren’t sealed… It’s infuriating to be killed by someone like you. I used to have much stronger beings under my control and killed them like insects.”
“That’s nonsense. If you were in your full strength, I wouldn’t have come here. Fool.”
Astaroth’s face distorted with fury.
Shinnoda pulled out his spear.
At the same time, all the Shinnodas except one dispersed into mist.
Astaroth fell to the ground.
She spat blood, glaring at Shinnoda.
“Keh haa… I won’t go… alone…”
Shinnoda impassively met her gaze.
Astaroth’s lips twitched.
“……Return.”
Instantly, a pistol appeared in her hand.
The gunshot echoed.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Seven more gunshots echoed.
Clank clank.
The magazine was empty.
A tranquil smile appeared on her face.
“Even if I die… keh… I won’t go alone…”
Shinnoda lifted his foot and stomped down on Astaroth’s jaw area.
Astaroth’s vocal apparatus was completely shattered.
Her teeth fell out, and her jawbone pierced through her skin.
“Sorry, but this is bulletproof scales.”
He caressed his abdomen where the bullets struck.
The bullets hadn’t penetrated, lodged instead in the scales.
“It’s stronger than Earth’s pistols.”
Normally, his scales would have bounced off rifle rounds.
Shinnoda grabbed the red gem that appeared on Astaroth’s chest.
They were far enough from the city that no one was watching.
————-<Succession>————-
[Strength 078 increased permanently]
[Agility 070 increased permanently]
[Intelligence 122 increased permanently]
[Luck 057 increased permanently]
———————————–
He closed the semi-transparent window that appeared before his eyes and searched through the ashes.
In his hand came a belt and a small pouch.
<< Item Acquired >>
————-<Item>————-
◈ Name
Transformation Belt
◈ Rank
000 A
◈ Description
A transformation belt created by the scientist ‘Abraxson’ out of admiration for heroes.
By manipulating the belt, you can transform into the hero that ‘Abraxson’ desired to become.
※Restriction: Requires mechanical knowledge at the level of a first-class Imperial Engineer.
◈ Effect
Transform into the mechanical hero ‘Gareas.’
————————————-
<< Item Acquired >>
————-<Item>————-
◈ Name
Subspace Pouch
◈ Rank
— C
◈ Description
Can store items up to 8,000L in size (about the size of a small tent) in a subspace.
◈ Effect
To store, grab the desired item and say ‘Insert.’
To retrieve, think of the desired item and say ‘Return.’
————————————-
Shinnoda gathered the items and ran back to the city.
The only things left were the ‘Hell Ants’ without their master.
‘Time for the experience event.’
