One Beat Too Late
It was only after the wind whipped past, one beat too late, that I realized the fist had been thrown. The breeze that made my hair flutter reached me first.
“Fast…!”
“Hup!”
Booong! The fist that had swung forward was immediately yanked back and came flying straight at my head. The speed was monstrous—pure upper-body power with no pause, no wind-up, just raw violence.
I dropped my stance low, slipped under the punch, and drove a kick into the back of his knee. I was already flowing into the next move, anticipating how he would dodge or block, when an unthinkable counter came.
Thud!Crack!
“Ugh!”
The kick to the back of my knee was followed instantly by a spinning back kick to my ribs. Even though I twisted my body at the moment of impact to bleed off some force, the shock still rattled my breathing.
I rolled several times to create distance and avoid a follow-up, but none came. When I regained my footing and looked at him, he was simply flexing the leg I had struck, watching me with calm interest.
“Hmm. I put quite a lot of power into that, yet you took it well. Targeting vital points was a good choice too.”
I let out a long breath. This scenario was completely outside my expectations. I had never imagined the God of Eden himself would be this strong. The way his body had reacted when I struck the back of his knee told me with high probability that he was a cyborg—or an android—using a mechanical frame.
While assessing the lingering sting in my ribs, I said, “High probability of a cyborg. Or an android body.”
“You figured it out already? Excellent. I like you even more.”
Kwaaang! A front kick flew in at terrifying speed and slammed into the wall with a deafening crash. I ducked low to evade it and hammered upward into the joint of his leg. Because the limb was built to mimic human anatomy, the strike folded the knee and broke his balance.
But even as he collapsed, he drove a fist forward from the falling posture. I had no choice but to dodge again. It was an absurdly tough fighting style—hit or miss, he simply kept attacking. The real problem was his body’s ridiculous durability; my strikes were barely landing with any effect.
I need to figure out where the mechanical parts end. I focused on evasion while searching for weaknesses. Both arms and legs were fully mechanical—no vital points there. The torso, protected by what felt like reinforced bone or plating, offered no obvious targets either.
“Damn it, a body like that is cheating!”
“Kuhahaha! This is what a perfect body looks like!”
Kwaaang! His fist smashed into the wall again, widening the cracks. My breathing had already reached its limit; my chest burned. Yet a single clean hit from him would be fatal, so I kept dodging with everything I had.
“Truly impressive! You’re the first opponent who’s lasted this long!”
“Huff… huff…”
That monstrous bastard. Is his entire body mechanical? Sweat poured down like rain, blurring my vision. There was no time to wipe it away; I was too busy surviving the relentless barrage.
At this point, only his neck and head remained as difficult targets. Even though he ignored defense to attack, going for those areas carried enormous risk. His height meant I had to close to a dangerously close range, making it nearly impossible to find the right timing to evade.
Do I have to commit? The moment I steeled my resolve and began looking for an opening, his movements suddenly stopped.
While I caught my breath, he spoke. “Hmm. Let’s stop here for today.”
“W-what?”
“There’s no fun in fighting an opponent who’s already exhausted. Hey! Come in!”
At his loud call, the massive door opened and three Angels entered—Michael and two I had never seen before. So there were more. I stayed on guard, assessing the situation, but the two new Angels approached without any caution.
“Rest well and recover your stamina.”
“What exactly is going on here?”
“I will guide you. Please follow me.”
One of them picked up the clothes I had discarded while the other bowed politely. It was ridiculous, but this was the moment to withdraw as he had ordered. With other Angels present, I couldn’t kill God right now.
God had already vanished after Michael helped him change out of his workout clothes. Only I and the two Angels remained in the devastated room.
When I nodded at the Angels who stood waiting for my reaction, they began to move. I followed, carefully memorizing the route.
It didn’t take long to reach what appeared to be a guest room.
“You may stay here. Gabriel will attend to your needs. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
The Angel who had carried the clothes was named Gabriel. It seemed the Angels here were named after famous figures from mythology. Perhaps it was intentional, given they served in a temple.
She neatly arranged the clothes in the closet and reached out to remove my workout gear.
“Wait. I’ll do it myself.”
“Understood.”
She obediently stepped back and disappeared somewhere inside the room. I scanned the interior but found no surveillance cameras or listening devices.
Whew. I need to wash first.
Ever since becoming a succubus, I barely sweated except during sex. Today, however, I had perspired enough to need a full bath. I tossed the workout clothes into a basket and entered the bathroom.
As expected, the luxurious bathroom was spotless, practically gleaming. I filled the tub and washed away the sweat and grime. Only after the battle’s excitement faded could I calmly assess the current situation.
The biggest discrepancy from the information I possessed was that God was extraordinarily strong and that his violent tendencies were not sexual in nature. He genuinely enjoyed violence and combat itself. Without my enhanced body and the countless sparring sessions I had endured, I wouldn’t have lasted even a minute.
And then there was the fact that his body was mechanical—equipped with technology far more powerful and sophisticated than anything I had ever encountered. All the assassination methods I had prepared under the assumption that my enemy was human had become useless.
I submerged myself in the warm water, letting the tension drain from my overworked muscles. Thanks to my superior recovery ability, I had already healed considerably.
My next actions would depend on God’s intentions. Would he truly let me rest before another fight, or would he summon me to his bed? If it came to the latter, that would be the moment to end it. Absorbing vital energy from a cyborg body would be difficult, so I would have to aim for his throat the instant he let his guard down.
After enough time had passed, I dried myself and left the bathroom. Gabriel’s voice greeted me immediately.
“He is waiting for you in the dining hall. Please get dressed.”
She silently began clothing me in the prepared garments. A thin dress with no underwear covered me from neck to ankle, and soft shoes were slipped onto my feet. After a light application of makeup and neatly combing my hair so it fell smoothly down my back, she led me to the dining hall.
The dining hall itself was the very definition of grandeur. In the center of the vast space sat only a single table and two chairs. God was already seated, waiting.
The moment I saw him, my body tensed instinctively. I forced it to relax and approached with caution.
“Sit. You need to eat well if you want to recover.”
“Yes.”
As soon as I took the seat opposite him, Angels began bringing out plates of food as if they had been waiting. Luxurious dishes filled the table in ornate tableware. I shifted my gaze to him as he spoke.
“Your emotional acting during our little game felt quite genuine. You must have practiced a lot.”
“You flatter me.”
It seemed he had interpreted my display of anger as acting. Well, an Angel showing genuine rage would be impossible by design. Still, to think he considered that brutal fight nothing more than play… it stung my pride a little.
He sliced a perfectly cooked steak and placed it in his mouth. The way he chewed and swallowed suggested that at least his internal organs were human. When I remained still, he paused his busy hands.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
I picked up my utensils and began to eat. Even though it was just steak, the rich flavor that exploded across my tongue genuinely surprised me. It was far more complex than anything I had tasted at high-end restaurants. While I had planned to eat simply to conserve vital energy, the food was delicious enough that I could actually enjoy it.
As we ate, he continued speaking.
“I’ve been thinking. We’ll need to take appropriate measures to improve your performance. Your strength, speed, and combat technique are usable, but your durability is lacking. I want fierce battles where we trade heavy blows.”
Trading blows with a cyborg like that… even with several bodies, I wouldn’t last. More than that, it was clear he saw me purely as a combat partner. Was he not interested in sex at all? Still, it would be strange for me to initiate seduction.
“If I had done this sooner, I could have enjoyed it much earlier. I was being stubborn for no reason.”
He kept talking to himself, apparently not requiring my input.
“Let’s start by increasing the toughness of your body. Modifying you gradually while enjoying the process sounds good. When the meal is finished, follow Michael.”
“Yes.”
He looked as excited as a child who had just received a new toy. For now, I had no choice but to obey. Above all else, God himself was simply too strong. With assassination now heavily compromised, my only real option was to wait for an opportunity.
God devoured an enormous quantity of food in moments and left first. He really did seem to act entirely on whim and personal desire.
The Angels who had been standing around the table like motionless dolls—Gabriel and one whose name I didn’t know—followed him out. Only Michael remained, waiting for me.
“If you have finished eating, I will guide you.”
“Ah, yes.”
I followed her, observing her movements closely. Her perfectly expressionless face showed not a single fragment of emotion, and her disciplined, mechanical gait truly matched the description of an Angel as a living doll. The implant’s analysis program also confirmed she had undergone considerable combat training.
Isabel had originally intended the implant for combat support, but in instinctive, high-speed close-quarters fighting like my bout with God, it had proven more of a hindrance, so I had kept it deactivated. Still, for analysis and investigation like this, it was incredibly useful.
After following Michael for some time, a staircase leading underground appeared. The spiral stairs descended many turns before finally ending. Motion-activated lights illuminated the corridor, revealing modern hallways and advanced facilities that felt completely out of place in the classical temple.
There were many questions I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t question an Angel who served as God’s limb. Instead, I recorded everything on video as I followed.
Where Michael stopped, there stood a device similar to the human modification apparatus in Isabel’s laboratory—only much larger and far more advanced. At her command, the coffin-like lid opened, revealing a space where one could lie down.
She pointed inside and said, “Remove all your clothes and lie down within.”
“You’re not going to tell me what this device does, are you?”
“It is the womb of God where humans are reborn as something new.”
“I don’t understand what that means.”
“Understanding is unnecessary. Obey the command.”
Her inorganic, dead eyes stared directly into mine. An Angel who didn’t even bother acting out emotions was eerily doll-like—almost disturbingly so.
With no other choice, I removed all my clothes, lay down naked inside the device, and the lid descended, sealing shut. As expected, this was a human modification device. Though much larger, the interior was similar.
Soon, the cold liquid I had experienced several times before began to fill the chamber. My entire body was submerged, yet I could still breathe. The technology was clearly more advanced. The liquid must have contained a sedative, because my eyelids grew heavy and I could not resist falling asleep.