This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 648

The battle between the world-renowned strongest Hero and the girl who leads the Another Ones felt exactly like watching a fight between a pencil and an eraser.

The girl swung her arm.

In an instant, her arm, which had swelled up, soared towards Miss Almighty, threatening to cover the area.

From the girl’s body, tentacles surged forth, and roots rose up from the ground, all aiming at the same target.

Each and every one of them possessed an unusual strength.

The sight of all this focusing solely on one person was enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone who witnessed it.

Even those watching on the side could feel it, so one could only imagine how the target felt.

Yet, Miss Almighty didn’t even blink.

Whether it was an act to appear composed under the watchful eyes of others, or a manifestation of confidence that this level of assault couldn’t harm her, it was hard to tell, but that was the situation.

Meanwhile, the attacks aimed at her were closing in inch by inch.

In that moment, it was hard to believe that the hand of one who was called the strongest in the world was that pristine and slender, devoid of even a single scar, lifted up high.

The various attacks targeting her came to a standstill right there.

It looked exactly like hitting an invisible wall.

Just as the girl’s delicate eyebrows twitched and trembled, those halted attacks began to disintegrate into dust.

The sight of the gray particles being consumed by the bright red colors, stitching the world around, was surreal.

As the spectators momentarily shifted their gaze toward that spectacle, Miss Almighty took a step into the void.

And then, she began to approach the girl positioned on the opposite side.

Click-click—

It shouldn’t have been possible, but each time Miss Almighty moved, the sound of high heels echoed in the ears.

The distance was far, and the ground she was stepping on was nothing but air; how could this be happening?

Had my completely exhausted body started to hear illusions?

Regardless of the questions ringing in my mind, Miss Almighty continued to nonchalantly extend her foot.

Had she been wary of her approach?

Frustrated with things not going her way, the girl, embodying the usual sulking expression of her age, leaped backward.

Perhaps she thought to create some distance, just in case.

In conclusion, the girl’s attempt met with futility.

As soon as she tried to leap back, it was as if an invisible hand grabbed her and pulled her right back to her original position.

Could she have never anticipated such a thing?

For the first time, a flicker of agitation crossed the girl’s face.

That expression was oddly discomforting.

Perhaps it was because she wore a girl’s mask, but when she suddenly made such a face, she felt less like a monster merely draped in human skin and more like a genuine person.

Could she have chosen that look deliberately to lead to this moment?

If so, that would be utterly chilling.

This implied that the Another Ones had advanced to the point where they could manipulate human emotions, demonstrating a frightening level of learning.

What impact would that have on the war against the Others?

No one could possibly predict that.

Thus, she could only stiffen her expression, and while she did so, was it finally to shake off the enemy closing in right before her eyes?

The girl waved her arms without hesitation, attempting to resist.

At that moment, her body, which had never taken on a form outside of human shape except when attacking, warped and began to swell and shrink dramatically.

Was she thinking of capturing Miss Almighty to turn the tide now that things had come to this?

As if something inside her was thrashing around, the girl’s outer skin ripped apart, revealing a being that seemed maliciously strung together from muscles and flesh, bursting forth from within.

Then, it spread out wide, as if to engulf Miss Almighty right in front of her.

It resembled an alien life form that could only be seen in a sci-fi movie.

Those observing the scene likely drew in a breath at that moment.

As before, the collection of flesh, muscles, and sharp teeth that looked ready to swallow Miss Almighty came to a halt in an upright position.

It was as if someone had intentionally pressed the pause button.

Yet, one could tell just by looking at the true form of the monster that this was not the case.

The mass of flesh, which was taking on the shape of a wave crashing against a sandcastle, shook violently, fighting against an unseen force that had grabbed her.

It looked ready to break free from its bonds at any moment.

However, the speed at which it was being restrained was much faster than its struggle to escape.

A red line was drawn across the outer skin that had been pathetically hanging beneath the huge mass, which had originally taken the shape of a girl.

At the moment its frantic thrashing halted for the first time, a sound akin to a dying cry echoed from the direction of the monster.

The mass of flesh, still evoking disgust, began to crumble from the top down right after.

As if it were something that had not been permitted to exist, the body of the girl, who had been the vanguard of the Another army, began to dissipate into dust.

‘That… that monster is going down so easily…’

Is this real?

It must have been a moment of pure astonishment.

With the enemy falling so effortlessly, did she feel an emptiness in her heart?

Amidst the scene filled with gray dust, speckled with traces of blue, Miss Almighty stood still, extending her hand toward the remnants that hadn’t completely scattered.

Then, she began to murmur something.

“Is this… Is it true after all?”

It was hard to be sure from such a distance, but her lip movements seemed to suggest that.

Thus, questions began to arise.

What is it that is being confirmed?

Thoughts whirled in my mind, but all the while, she remained vigilantly against the superior entities charging from this direction and the mysterious roots that had sprouted inside the Forward Base.

Perhaps it was because the girl that could be referred to as their leader had vanished into thin air.

Those once organically interconnected beings that seemed unbelievable to be Another started showing deplorable forms right then and there.

Could it be true that the monster indeed had been controlling them all?

As the ones initially displaying themselves gave way to a hopeless scenario where they couldn’t even utilize the talents they had swallowed, things became much easier from that point on.

Taking advantage of the moment where their limbs were tangled, I began to focus fire to gradually whittle down their numbers, turning the tables as they had once almost pushed us back.

Although a few of the entities that had devoured usable talents continued to resist tenaciously, it was still a futile effort.

In a situation where they couldn’t even make proper use of the talents they had absorbed, there was no way they could match those who had polished their innate abilities to the extreme.

In the end, even those higher-grade entities who swung their stolen powers at the villains succumbed here and there amidst the debris… and thus, once the cleanup of the higher entities was completed, all that remained were mere cannon fodder lower entities.

It was implausible that things which couldn’t even surpass the girl who had served as the vanguard and the higher entities dispatched to support her could ever overcome a heap of leftovers.

And once the cleanup of the lower entities was thoroughly finished…

Miss Almighty, who had been standing in the void, finally stepped back down from the wall.

“Now it’s become clear.”

And just as she said that, the very next words that followed were…