Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Gauntlets Emerge from the Mist
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"Hahaha!"
Laughter filled with malice.
To be honest, even among allies, there are always guys you just can't stand.
I didn't even know this bastard knew how to laugh that loudly.
It wasn't a situation for jokes, let alone laughter. No one here wore a smile that pure.
Not me, not Betty, not the heroes battling the magic beasts, not even the magic beasts charging out with madness in their eyes.
"Well done! Anis Harper!"
A demon is a demon, after all.
Seeing him so exhilarated, the words fit perfectly.
No matter how human-like their appearance, no matter how they occasionally showed human traits, a demon remained a demon.
The 72 angels were the first beings created by God. When God departed in disappointment from humanity, the furious angels defected and became demons.
But if their intense rage and hatred toward humans birthed demons, then why was Kahtael laughing with such delight?
Come to think of it, Kahtael had never shown anything resembling anger toward humans.
Right now, his eyes reflected only primal sadism and ecstasy. Not a hint of rage or resentment.
- Paat!
Kahtael conjured another black spear and hurled it skyward. It lacked the previous overwhelming destructive power, but there seemed to be something special about it.
The spear ascended before splitting into multiple branches that rained down on the battlefield. Amid it all, his laughter endlessly reverberated in my skull.
I glanced at Kahtael. Even as an ally, I really couldn't stand the guy.
Anyone could see this wasn't fun at all, yet here he was, laughing his ass off and grinding my nerves.
He had to know exactly how I felt.
"Having fun?"
"Of course."
I wanted to plant a soccer kick right into the side of his head. But I had to hold back for now.
- Kwak!
[Ah...]
To vent my aimless fury, I stomped hard on Han's hair trailing along the ground. The dazed Han walking ahead toppled backward from the recoil. Haha, serves you right.
"......"
Kahtael looked my way.
No, more precisely, at the dented earth beneath my foot.
The mirth slowly drained from Kahtael's expression. Suspicion crept into eyes once brimming with ecstasy, replacing the sadism.
As if his gaze were saying, 'What the hell is this bitch flipping out about now?'
"...Betty."
"Yes?"
"You can still use your powers to some extent, right?"
"If it's just moving on my own..."
"Then head somewhere safe. The fighting's about to get even fiercer."
Betty's powers were limited after heavy mana use. Kahtael ordered her to fall back to safety—an uncharacteristically demonic act of consideration.
"But what about Anis..."
"Anis will join the battle too. You'll just get in the way."
"Um.... Okay...."
Betty shot me a worried look. I gave a slight nod as if to say not to worry, and only then did she nod back reluctantly.
"Hide well."
"...Yeah. Be careful, Anis."
With those words, Betty vanished. Even as her form faded completely, she made no effort to hide her concern for me.
As Betty disappeared, Kahtael turned to me with a faint smile.
What did that smile mean? Excitement for the battle ahead? The cruelty of a child anticipating fun? Or simple mockery directed at me?
"Well then. Time to set out, Anis Harper. You haven't forgotten the destination, have you?"
Destination.
I read his intent in that word.
He was reminding me of our prior "promise."
Yeriel.
I calmly repeated the three letters in my mind.
[Your intentions are plain as day. Sending Betty out of sight, and now dredging up the contract to shove you to the front lines.]
Han, face buried in the dirt, muttered.
[He wants you to snap. Preferably deep in enemy territory.]
Yeah, figures.
Kahtael had been fed up with my wavering mental state for a while.
He probably saw me as an unpredictable psycho who could lose it any second.
From his perspective, he'd want me shipped off to Yeriel at the first opportunity.
Lest I turn my blade on him instead.
Since I was already cracking, why not isolate Betty too, crank up the anxiety, and toss me into the fray?
[It's like hot potato.]
Not wrong.
Even with Betty constantly talking to me, distinguishing hallucinations from reality was growing harder.
But there was no need for concern.
With a clear goal, I wouldn't let go of everything and get devoured by illusions.
Not while even the faintest...
sliver of hope remained. Not yet.
- Thud.
I stepped past Kahtael.
And gazed at the checkpoint entrance beyond.
Destination: Yeriel.
Nothing more, nothing less. Yeriel alone.
I'd carve the path myself.
The obstacles blocking the gateway to that path...
Had to be cleared.
"Block them!!!"
The signal flare was a bellowed roar.
The magic beasts had finally overrun the shattered barricade line and tangled with the heroes.
"Sunbae! Barrier!!"
"No, too late."
Redeploying the barrier was impossible. The beasts had already forced their way through the entrance, intermingling with the heroes.
Even if they managed it, Anis wouldn't stand idly by.
Han U-sol opted to pump holy-infused bullets into the beasts instead.
Wasting mana on a barrier was less efficient than summoning extra weapons to repel them.
- Pajijijik!
Intense beams of light erupted from Han U-sol's back.
The mana-holy infused projectiles pierced multiple magic beasts, eliciting sizzling burns.
―Kyaaaak!
―Kieeeek!
The impaled beasts barely writhed before collapsing with short death cries. Han U-sol steadily thinned their numbers.
- Pajik! Pajik!
―Kyaaaak!
But the fresh waves surging in outnumbered them.
He wanted more weapons for faster strikes, but with beasts entangled among allies up front, caution was mandatory.
Charging ahead would cull them better, but circumstances forbade it. The demon was raining attacks from afar, exploiting the chaos.
- Kwaang!
Black spears showered from the sky.
Not as devastating as before, but far too numerous.
Han U-sol focused on intercepting the deluge.
He shot down incoming spears and threw up small barriers when needed.
Any he missed skewered heroes or beasts before slamming into the ground.
"...Anyone capable of melee, reinforce the front! Everyone else, focus on spearing the spears! Ronel! Rear command's yours!"
"W-wait, Leader! Hey!?"
Asellica, witnessing the scene, decided she couldn't wait any longer. She abandoned command and charged the front lines.
The fact that she—the one holding all decision-making power—rushed in personally underscored how dire things were.
"Rookies, fall back! A Squad, vanguard with me! Everyone else, team up with other squads and just hold for now!"
- Chaak! Seogeok!
She'd spent more time in the rear since taking command, but her skills hadn't rusted.
True to her past as a top ranker, she carved through several elite magic beasts at once.
- Peoseok!
And another head exploded. A raw, watermelon-bursting sound.
The rear was pouring effort into intercepts, but blocking every spear proved impossible.
The number embedded in the ground grew, as did the corpses. Change stirred once spears sufficiently studded the heroes' surroundings.
"W-wait! Mist from the spears...!"
"This is...!"
Black mist.
Black mist seeped from the lodged spears.
It crept outward, filling the gaps between heroes. A familiar nightmare from just hours ago.
"Fall back for now!"
The heroes pulled away slightly. In response, the magic beasts pressed the narrow entrance harder, surging like a tidal wave.
They'd barely stemmed the tangle before, but the retreat created fatal space.
Asellica bit her lower lip.
Giving the beasts room was disastrous, but pressing on in visionless fog was worse.
She hadn't wanted this, but desperate defense was all they had.
At least the cursed black spears had stopped. The rear could now fully commit.
Asellica glared at the thickening mist.
Undoubtedly, new magic beasts were spawning inside alongside the breached ones. The moment they burst out, she'd need every ounce of focus.
She stared only briefly.
'...What?'
A familiar girl's silhouette appeared.
The faint shadow slowly emerged from the fog.
Anis Harper.
She revealed herself.
The black-haired, slender girl, little changed from three years ago.
But in stark contrast...
Heavy gauntlets draped from her shoulders to hands, encasing both arms entirely.
And.
"―――!!!"
One roar.
"Ugh...!?"
- Kwaaaang!!
The hero standing right beside Asellica rocketed far away.