Chapter 157
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Shattering the Altar
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All-knowing and all-powerful, eternally immortal god.
Even though it wasn't his true self but merely an avatar I was about to face, my body betrayed me the instant I laid eyes on the Demon God's form—my dick sprang to full attention.
Stop getting hard!
I wrestled my mind back under control, slowly forcing down the erection that was threatening to burst through my pants, then refocused every ounce of my attention on the Demon God.
I could get excited over that luscious figure later. For now, I had to pour everything I had into taking this bastard down.
The fight kicked off without any signal from either side.
The moment the Demon God twitched his fingertips ever so slightly, Kiria reacted instantly, multiplying the blade she'd thrown earlier into dozens and hurling them at him.
Pffft-thunk!
Dozens of Kiria's blades embedded themselves in the Demon God's body, mangling it—but he just laughed it off and charged straight at us.
As he barreled forward, the ordinary-looking ground and walls around us warped, sprouting into black thorns that lunged at me alongside him.
Boom!
"Ngh..."
"For a mere creation, your movements are surprisingly swift."
I dodged the Demon God's strike, but his attack grazed my leg just a bit.
It was only a light scrape, but the area around it was already mottled with black spots, like it was necrotizing.
Sensation... still there...
It hurt like hell, but it wasn't so necrotic that I'd lose all feeling.
"You alright, Hero?"
"Yeah, what about you?"
"I'm fine. You can't be the first to fall, Hero. You're the only one who can deal the Demon God a truly devastating blow."
Kiria explained that since she'd inevitably borrowed some of the Demon God's power, her attacks couldn't inflict serious damage.
She'd do her best to restrict his movements, so I needed to evade everything and land a solid hit.
Easier said than done...
This whole space had been dragged here by the Demon God, so the ground and walls were all extensions of his attack power.
And closing in at that insane speed... I'd need a perfect strategy just to dodge it all.
But.
"Got it."
Whining about it wouldn't change a thing—we'd just die anyway. Better to struggle and take him down in the attempt.
"Hoo..."
After a quick deep breath, I charged at the Demon God in sync with Kiria's signal.
The Demon God grinned so wide his face nearly split, countering our assault head-on.
How long had Kiria and I been battling the Demon God?
Subjectively, it felt like at least a week straight, but in reality, less than a day might have passed.
Dodging attacks that could kill with the slightest graze kept my mind in hyper-focus, making me feel like I was aging rapidly.
Every one of the Demon God's strikes flashed my life before my eyes like a montage.
So after all this prolonged fighting, had we made any real progress against him?
If only.
Reality wasn't so kind.
Our bodies were covered in countless black necrotic spots from the Demon God's attacks.
The spotted areas throbbed with pain, but it wasn't utterly hopeless— the Demon God was sporting some deep wounds too.
"Next up, your right arm, Demon God."
"You filthy creation... don't get cocky!!!"
The Demon God had started off grinning ear to ear like he was in bliss, but the smile was fading from his face bit by bit.
Kiria's attacks regenerated on him like a hydra's severed heads, but mine cauterized the stumps, preventing any regrowth.
As a result, several parts of the Demon God's body had been lopped off by me: left arm, right shoulder, right leg.
Beyond those major hindrances, his body was riddled with smaller cuts.
No blood flowed from the severed spots—just charred black marks.
But even with those injuries, we weren't in the clear.
Probably next...
"Kiria."
"I know."
The Demon God's body was wrecked, but so were Kiria's and mine.
I'd bluffed about going for his right arm next, but truthfully, we were barely standing as it was.
Our mental stamina was scraping bottom, forcibly dragged out, so dragging this out any longer would only favor him.
We had to pour everything into this turn and end it.
Gulp.
Squeezing out nonexistent strength, I gripped my sword tighter, assumed position, and charged alongside Kiria.
Slash-slash-boom!
We evaded the black thorns stabbing at us from the Demon God, and Kiria sealed his movements briefly with her blades, letting me land my strike.
I lost my balance forcing the hit through, but I landed on one foot, twisted, and swung my sword from his chest up through his right arm, severing it clean.
The Demon God staggered, chest gashed open.
As Kiria's and my blades dove in to press the advantage—
"You filthy creations!!!!"
The Demon God bellowed.
Black thorns erupted around him, exploding outward toward us.
Kaboom!
We blocked and dodged as best we could, but protecting vitals left our front limbs riddled with holes like Swiss cheese.
The sight was nightmare fuel, straight out of a trypophobia horror show—and it hit Kiria just as hard.
"Hah... hah... Filthy... creations!!! Die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die!!!"
How many times did he scream "die"? Anyone would think words could kill.
With my body perforated, head spinning, arms too weak to even lift the sword's weight, I thought it was over—until his ravings sparked a glimmer of hope.
Unlike his earlier smug grin, he now looked like a cornered animal puffing itself up to seem bigger.
His breathing was ragged, and despite us being on our last legs, he wasn't pressing the attack.
The Demon God was at his limit too.
That realization hit, and my body lunged at him on autopilot.
Lifting the sword drained me completely; my left arm dangled limp, but I charged heedlessly.
Whoosh!
Horror crossed his face as he flung black thorns at me.
Fewer than before, and weaker by far.
I parried them away with my sword.
Clang!
"Urk..."
"Creation... creation... creation..."
Countering that feeble assault shook my balance; I collapsed to the ground.
My legs gave out completely, refusing to move no matter how I willed them.
As he muttered "creation" over and over with a grin, hurling more thorns, I thought we were fucked—then Kiria arrived from behind, manifesting three blades.
Weaker and smaller than the dozens from before, fragile things on the verge of shattering—but she poured her all into them.
Keen!
One blade streaked in, batting away the black thorns.
"Gahk...!"
Another pierced straight through the Demon God's mouth and out his neck.
"Guhk... glurk..."
Even these diminished blades wouldn't vanish or regenerate on him.
As he flailed in panic at the blade through his throat, the final one plunged into his eye.
Squelch!
"Grk... guaaahk..."
The instant the last blade sank into his eye, Kiria's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed forward.
This was our only shot to finish the panicking, unregenerating Demon God.
"Hah."
I hauled my useless legs upright through sheer willpower; they trembled violently.
Vision blurred, body screaming in protest.
I'd hit my absolute limit—couldn't even tell if the thing ahead was the Demon God or a dying hallucination.
Still, I swung at the figure before me.
Slash!
"...G...hk..."
For a split second, it looked like his body cleaved in two.
He seemed to scream, but the sound faded from my ears.
Still, I swung.
Slash!
I bisected his prone form once more.
And kept going.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
Lost in a trance, I couldn't even recall why I was swinging—until darkness swallowed my vision.
In that blackout, I vaguely heard a crack!—but nothing after.
Felt like I blinked, and suddenly I was face-down on the ground, sword shattered beside me.
The Demon God's avatar was gone; somehow, I'd been returned to the altar room outside his space.
"Awake... Hero?"
"Kh... ah..."
I spotted Kiria slumped against the wall and tried to call her name, but my voice wouldn't come—vocal cords shredded or something.
"Don't... ngh... force words out. You look like hell."
Pot calling the kettle black.
"Guess you finished him after I went down."
She propped me up, helping me lean against the wall.
My limp body splayed out; as I touched the ground, cracks spiderwebbed across the altar—this room.
"Just shatter this altar and we're..."
She flashed me a beautiful smile, then closed her eyes in focus.
The cracking altar disintegrated from the ceiling down, punching a sinkhole straight through to the Demon King's castle above.
The altar crumbled entirely; the wall I'd been leaning on collapsed into rubble.
Kiria gazed up at the gaping hole overhead, tears streaming down her face.
Defeating the Demon God and destroying the altar must've hit her hard.
Seeing that eased my mind.
My eyelids grew heavy; I let them drift shut and slipped into sleep.
"Shouldn't you rest more? Isn't it too soon to move?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. Celestina healed me up good."
I ruffled Sia's head as she eyed me worriedly, then rose from the bed and stretched lightly.
She stuck close, still fretting despite my assurances.
I'd woken a week after drifting off while watching Kiria's tears.
Opening my eyes, I found myself in the Hero Party's lounge.
At first, I wondered if it was all a long nightmare from pre-battle fear—but the bandages and lingering pain said otherwise.
"The Demon King brought you?"
"Yeah."
When I asked how I'd gotten here, they said Kiria carried me back herself.
Despite her own grievous wounds, she'd walked right into the alliance camp cradling me, tossed me to them, and left.
My injuries were so severe that even with Celestina treating me nonstop for that week I was out, they barely improved—and I had to stay bedridden another week after waking.
Body still wasn't fully recovered; standing was a chore. But for quick rehab, I pushed myself up.
I explained everything—how I'd woken, why the Demon King brought me back—and the alliance finally grasped that the Demon King's threat was gone, easing off their guard.
I could head back to my wives' arms now, but...
Not like this.
I needed to rehab fast, storm the Demon King's castle, and see Kiria.
She'd told them, when dropping me off, to have me come to the castle once I was healed.
I had a pretty good idea why...
"Heh heh heh..."
Pain shot through me, but I couldn't stop grinning.
Once my body's fully mended, Kiria and I...
Anticipation made my balls tingle.