Chapter 96
It was still hard to tell whether that thing was a pistol or a cannon.
A thunderous boom rang out, tearing through the air. I ducked just in time to avoid the bullet.
Unlike the open plains where the demons had first ambushed me, this place was a mountain of stone—plenty of cover to take advantage of.
I heard the round explode somewhere behind me, the shock echoing through the rocks. A chill crept up my spine.
If it hit me, I could probably survive.
But Kanya? She’d be dead for sure.
I dove behind a large boulder and gently set Kanya down. She was already gripping her bolt-action rifle before I even had to say anything.
“I have to go stop him,” I said. “It’s too hard to fight with you on my back.”
“I’ll cover you with long-range fire,” she replied without hesitation.
“Thanks, Kanya. I’ll try to keep him as far from you as I can. You stay back, too.”
“Can’t you form armor with the time-stop again?”
I shook my head in response.
She bit her lower lip.
“Can you win?” she asked.
At her question, steam began to rise from my body. The result of Physical Enhancement and x3000 Sensory Amplification.
Kon was adjusting my body in real-time, optimizing me for combat with surgical precision.
“I can,” I said. “But you can’t die.”
Kanya didn’t answer. Instead, she silently adjusted the tangent sight of her bolt-action rifle and nodded.
There was nothing else that needed to be said.
I burst out from cover and charged the enemy. Kanya sprinted in the opposite direction.
“Kon! Try Absolute Hypnosis!”
As I neared the Quattuor unit, I shouted the command.
But—
[This skill only works on living beings.]
Of course it didn’t work. The system rejected it without hesitation.
The helmet glowed red as it turned toward me in silence.
I saw the barrel of its gun rotate toward me.
I could even see the flame igniting behind the bullet as it launched toward me.
My enhanced reflexes, magnified 3000-fold, made the bullet’s path seem almost slow.
But my body—my actual body—was nowhere near as fast as my reflexes.
[NOW!]
Kon calculated the timing perfectly. I moved just in time and dodged the round.
As soon as I evaded the first shot, I countered.
I grabbed a fist-sized stone from the ground.
If I couldn’t make a weapon with time-stop, I’d improvise.
“Kon!”
[Got it!]
My shoulder and surrounding muscles coiled like a spring.
I clenched the rock tightly in my fist until it felt like it might shatter in my grip, then hurled it with everything I had.
The air screamed. The rock flew straight for Quattuor’s head.
But just like me, it tilted its head ever so slightly to dodge the projectile, and then fired its weapon again.
Dodging the next barrage with Kon’s support, I steadily closed the distance.
[Ranged combat won’t work!]
I agreed.
To throw something effectively required space and motion—both of which took too long. But a pistol? Just pull the trigger.
Which meant I had to close the gap. Fast.
The real problem was the flaming sword in its other hand.
One glance and I could tell—it wasn’t ordinary.
If only I had a proper weapon.
Losing time-stop at a moment like this stung more than ever.
Still… I had to try.
I charged forward.
Once I was close enough, Quattuor holstered its pistol and gripped the sword with both hands.
Could I dodge?
The swing came for my neck, clear and slow as if underwater.
Its trajectory was perfect—lethal.
I abruptly twisted my body at a right angle.
Even with physical enhancement, my muscles, joints, and bones screamed.
But it paid off. I dodged the slash.
Its side was exposed.
I stepped in and drove my fist into its ribs with all my might.
Instead of a punch colliding with metal armor, it sounded like steel crashing into steel.
Quattuor was lifted off the ground and smashed into the rocks behind it.
[Direct hit! I set its pain sensitivity to 3000x! If it’s still alive after that—it’s not even human!—]
Kon abruptly stopped.
So did I.
Its shattered side revealed the inside of the armor.
There was… nothing.
No flesh, no blood.
Just clanking, shifting metal parts.
And somehow, those parts began repairing themselves.
Quattuor stood up slowly, completely unfazed.
The red light in its helmet glowed even brighter.
[x3000 Sensory Amplification only works on living things.]
The red error message popped up in my vision. I let out a dry, bitter laugh.
[Yo, Amael. That thing’s not human. What’s the plan?]
That wasn’t just some pile of scrap metal.
If it could swing a sword like that, it probably had reflexes and strength on par with mine.
I clenched my fists.
“We win. That’s the plan.”
Gunfire crackled in the distance—like popcorn in a hot pan.
Gunfire.
Kanya.
Shit.
Looks like there’s another squad going after her.
But I couldn’t help her.
Not unless I took down this armored freak first.
And that wasn’t going to be easy.
The flames on its sword burned hotter.
The red light from its eyes grew fiercer.
Its armor twisted unnaturally, forming razor-sharp spikes all over its body.
[Now, you won’t be punching me so easily.]
A voice like metal scraping over bone echoed from beneath its helmet.
I clenched my jaw.
“I’ll crush you. Fast.”
[I like that.]
Quattuor chuckled.
The stone under its feet cracked.
And the next instant—
It was right in front of me, swinging.
My reflexes caught it in time.
But my body couldn’t keep up.
I narrowly dodged.
The price: a thin, bleeding cut across my cheek.
“Kon!!”
[If I enhance you any more, your body will break! You’re already operating at the human limit!]
“If I don’t win, none of that matters. Do it!”
[Shit! You’re gonna regret this! Fine! I’ll do it—just don’t let that sword hit you.]
I didn’t even need to ask why.
[Warning: Wound on cheek cannot be healed.]
The red warning flashed in front of me.
I gritted my teeth.
An unhealable wound from a single graze.
And I was forcing my body past its limits just to fight it.
Forget Kanya.
I was the one in danger.
***
The moment the sound of battle erupted between Jericho and the towering knight, Kanya turned and started to run.
She needed to gain more distance before she could safely start sniping.
But it wasn’t easy.
She was running through jagged, uneven rock terrain. She was carrying firearms and ammo. And her skeletal, emaciated limbs weren’t exactly built for speed. Her pace was frustratingly slow.
“Kanya,” she muttered under her breath.
As expected, the Demon Lords weren’t about to just let her escape peacefully.
She hadn’t gone far when a new spatial rift tore open in the distance.
From within it emerged a group—dozens of them—each with unnaturally long, clawed fingers.
They were about 30 meters away.
Kanya quickly slid her bolt-action rifle from her shoulder, braced it, and pulled the trigger.
A holy-energy-infused bullet zipped through the air, aimed directly at what appeared to be the leader’s head. It hit.
The head of the demon cultist leading the charge jerked violently.
But it wasn’t a fatal blow.
“Tsk… what a sly little thing. I’d love to tear you to pieces.”
The bullet had failed to pierce his skull.
He casually plucked the flattened round from his forehead and tossed it away, chuckling.
“Your guns won’t work on us, Kanya. Our flesh is reinforced by the power of Jealousy—”
Another gunshot rang out before he could finish.
His head snapped to the side once more.
“—You damn little bitch. You aimed for my eye?”
A bullet was lodged in his left eyelid.
He’d reflexively shut his eye just in time—his eyelid blocked the round.
“Get her.”
Realizing talking was pointless, the cultists charged.
Their elongated claws scraped across the stone floor, sparking violently as they came at her.
The gap closed rapidly.
Kanya‘s rifle fired again and again with unrelenting precision.
Four of them dropped before they could even react.
The bullets had gone straight through their eyes, liquefying their brains.
Her shooting was almost supernatural—but it wasn’t enough.
Dozens remained.
She bit her lip.
What should I do?
Her eyes and ears scanned her surroundings, calculating—strategizing.
Within seconds, she had a plan.
She tossed aside her rifle and the ammo pack strapped to her back, then pulled a revolver from her hip.
She began firing as she ran.
Even while sprinting—and shooting at sprinting targets—her aim was disturbingly accurate.
Two more cultists dropped, their eyeballs ruptured by perfectly-placed shots.
“Time your blinks, you idiots!” the cult leader roared.
“If your eyelids are shut, she can’t hit you!”
Kanya smiled.
“Too late.”
She vanished into a dark crevice between two boulders, like a shadow slipping into a crack.
The cultists’ eyes widened in disbelief.
“That little—! Don’t let her escape! Get her! Now!”
But just as they reached the crevice, a flash of light burst from the darkness.
A shot rang out.
One of the lead cultists collapsed, his eye shredded by a sacred bullet.
The others were shaking with fury.
But no amount of rage could change the facts.
Kanya was small—almost child-sized.
The cultists were full-grown adults with comically long claws.
And the gap she’d crawled into… wasn’t exactly roomy.
Only one person could squeeze in at a time.
“I’ll widen the entrance with magic—”
Another gunshot.
Another eyeball popped.
Another corpse hit the ground.
The leader howled in frustration.
“Screw it! I’ll go in myself!”
He shoved himself into the crevice, muttering under his breath.
“Stupid little rat. You’re cornered now…”
He grinned as he dropped into the space below—
But his smile quickly vanished.
There was room.
Plenty of room.
Far more than there should have been.
It wasn’t just a crack between rocks.
It was the entrance to a cave.
A massive one.
And, naturally, it was pitch black.
The leader squinted into the darkness.
Just as he did, another gunshot lit the cave for a split second.
His head jerked back violently.
When he looked again, a flattened bullet was clinging to his eyelid.
“She shot the same spot again?! Damn it—GET DOWN HERE! NOW!”
There was no other choice.
One by one, dozens of cultists began squeezing themselves into the narrow gap, shoving their way into the pitch-dark cave, teeth clenched and claws twitching.
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