Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Still Just B-Rank
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Unlike usual, Laurakis approached the battle with a serious expression.
She extended her hand forward and chanted a spell.
"Fire Wall."
A massive wall of flames erupted, blocking the ants' approach.
"Kieek."
A gap intentionally created.
The 'Hell Ants' charged through it.
Occasionally, sparks flew, burning some to death, but they paid no mind.
Having learned from previous fights, this time a large number of winged ants were deployed.
Whirrr.
The sound of insect wings buzzing.
The ants crossed the flame wall and barricade in one go, closing the distance.
"Kyao!"
The massive cat inside didn't sit idle.
Isia's thick front paws nimbly caught the flying insects.
To them, they were no different from mice before a cat.
Isia tore the ants apart with her claws or bit them with her jaws.
Each time one died, the 'Fear' effect applied to nearby ants, causing them to lose their minds and flee in droves.
The rest of the party welcomed the 'Fear' effect.
With so many enemies, these breathing moments allowed brief stamina recovery.
Rat-tat-tat.
The machine gun of the 'Assault Bot' spewing crimson flames.
Bullets fired at 2,000 rounds per minute pulverized the ants.
Ants charging at the robot were blocked by a translucent barrier, shredded by the bullet storm.
It was a one-sided massacre.
"Fire Ball."
Originally a basic fire magic spell.
But as Laurakis poured mana into it, it grew larger and larger.
A miniature sun.
The fireball slowly traveled down the street.
Like an eraser, it wiped out ants in its path.
Laurakis periodically used 'Fire Ball' to delete enemy numbers.
Shin Noda's party was overwhelming the 'Hell Ants'.
Shin Noda leaped from the rooftop.
With a 'crack', cracks formed where he had stood.
His target: Demon Astaroth.
Her injuries from the final battle in this world were severe.
One wing broken, the snakes coiled around her body blood-soaked.
Airborne, Shin Noda turned his head to check on the party.
'Everyone's busy fighting.'
Confirming no one was watching, he used the 'Throat Slash' skill.
His body dispersed into black mist, reconstructing behind Astaroth's back.
"Huh."
Astaroth sensed Shin Noda's presence and whipped her head around.
With Agility A-rank, Shin Noda perceived time far more finely than her.
To him, her head-turn was in slow motion.
Intending to decapitate her, he swung his spear from below upward.
This strike would be critical; it might kill her in one blow.
Astaroth desperately twisted her body, her lips moving.
"Bli-"
Shin Noda perceived even this instant, realizing she was up to something, but he couldn't move faster.
Still, the spear had already reached Astaroth's shoulder.
The sensation of slicing flesh.
Blood burst as her right arm flew into the sky.
"-nk."
The demon before him vanished, leaving only one arm behind.
Spear-wielding dragon knight, Shin Noda.
He turned toward the mana source.
She wasn't far.
Shin Noda immediately used 'Throat Slash' to pursue.
Astaroth escaped with 'Blink' magic.
They fled and chased, drifting away from the battlefield.
Before long, they reached wasteland outside the city.
Shin Noda turned toward Astaroth to use 'Throat Slash' again.
But Astaroth glared at him, eyes wide.
Geometric patterns rose in her eyes.
Laurakis urgently warned.
[It's the Evil Eye! Get out of her sight!]
Too late.
Shin Noda's body gradually stiffened.
'Petrification...? No, not that.'
His body hadn't turned to stone.
It simply wouldn't move.
'Paralysis, huh.'
Regaining some composure, she asked.
"You're that party's leader, right?"
Astaroth's seductive voice.
Despite her severed arm, she showed no pain.
Shin Noda frowned.
'I need magic resistance. I've been relying too much on Laura.'
He'd assumed weakened B-rank Astaroth wouldn't resist 'Dispel'.
Of course, this wasn't a real crisis.
He had plenty of escape options.
Finishing his thoughts, he replied coldly.
"Yeah."
Annoyingly, Astaroth hadn't paralyzed only his mouth.
"If you die, can they hold out? Your comrades seem low-level."
Giggle.
Astaroth laughed, thinking she'd cornered him.
Checking those fighting the 'Hell Ants', she suddenly grinned ear-to-ear.
"Hahaha! You're loved, huh?"
Now just a mere demon, once a goddess of love.
As naturally as people see the world, she knew who loved whom.
Astaroth approached the immobilized Shin Noda.
'S解hould I break the paralysis now...'
Shin Noda had a plan.
She didn't know, but 'Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts' could free him anytime.
Turning to mist and all.
'But a sloppy attack... she'll Blink away again.'
He decided to wait for an opening.
Sneaky types like her were weakest when they thought they'd won.
Hence, the so-called 'damsel in distress' lure tactic.
Astaroth lifted his chin, forcing his eyes to meet hers.
"I want to see the woman you love watch you die."
Heart shapes appeared in her eyes.
[That's the Enchanting Evil Eye. If it hits, you'll see that demon as your lover and obey her.]
That would be trouble.
Thinking so, Shin Noda saw this as the perfect chance.
"Illusion Thousand Kills."
The ultimate technique of an unnamed assassin.
Recreated in another world by unrelated hands.
A fleeting montage flashed in Shin Noda's mind.
Memories of that assassin.
The culmination of his enlightenment.
Shin Noda multiplied, surrounding Astaroth.
"Hmph. Clones, huh. That sort of thing."
Astaroth abandoned enchantment, pressing her hand to Shin Noda's heart.
"Explosion."
An explosion erupted inside Shin Noda's armor.
Blood poured like waterfalls between scales.
Dragon Heart and human heart both obliterated, ceasing function.
Astaroth mocked him.
"Nice to give clones physicality, but the caster's dead... Think I've only seen kids like you once or twice?"
Having lived over a millennium, Astaroth had vast combat experience.
She assumed the mana-cut clones would vanish.
She was wrong.
Illusion Thousand Kills didn't create mere clones.
The many spear-wielding Shin Noda's aiming at her heart were all 'real'.
Replicating Dragon Heart Shin Noda wasn't easy.
But that's what made it a miracle.
A nameless absolute master's reality-warping technique.
From the moment 'Illusion Thousand Kills' activated, her heart's destruction was sealed.
"Kek."
Dozens of spear tips pierced her heart.
Multiple blades shredded it to rags.
Astaroth sought regeneration.
'......'
None.
No method came to mind.
Weakened, she could do nothing.
She'd underestimated humans.
Astaroth resented her past self.
"I, I... urk. If I weren't hurt... No, if not sealed... Damn it. Dying to the likes of you. I've commanded and killed far stronger like insects."
"That's bullshit. If you were intact, we wouldn't be here. Idiot."
Astaroth's face twisted in rage.
Shin Noda withdrew his spear.
Simultaneously, all but one Shin Noda dissolved into mist and vanished.
Astaroth collapsed.
Spitting blood, she glared at Shin Noda.
"Kehuk. Heuk."
Shin Noda impassively met her gaze.
Astaroth's lips moved.
"......Return."
Suddenly, a pistol appeared in her hand.
Gunshots rang.
Astaroth kept pulling the trigger.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Seven more shots.
Click-click.
Magazine empty.
A faint smile crossed her face.
"Even in death, urk. I won't go alone......"
Shin Noda stomped down on Astaroth's jaw.
Her vocal cords shattered utterly.
Teeth all gone, jawbone pierced skin.
"Sorry, but this is bulletproof scales."
He patted his bullet-riddled abdomen.
Bullets hadn't penetrated, embedded in scales.
"Stronger than Earth's pistols."
Originally, rifle rounds would bounce off.
Shin Noda grasped the red gem on Astaroth's chest.
Far from the city now, no witnesses.
-------------<Inheritance>-------------
[Strength 078 permanently increased]
[Agility 070 permanently increased]
[Intelligence 122 permanently increased]
[Luck 057 permanently increased]
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He dismissed the translucent window, rummaging the ashes.
In hand: a belt and small pouch.
<[Item Acquired]>
-------------<Item>-------------
◇ Name
Transformation Belt
◇ Rank
000 A
◇ Description
A transformation belt made by scientist 'Abrakson' idolizing heroes.
Manipulate the belt to transform into the hero 'Abrakson' wanted to be.
※Restriction: Requires Empire Grade-1 Engineer level mechanical knowledge
◇ Effect
Transforms into mechanical hero 'Gareas'.
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<[Item Acquired]>
-------------<Item>-------------
◇ Name
Subspace Pouch
◇ Rank
--- C
◇ Description
Can store items up to 8,000L volume (small tent size) in subspace.
◇ Effect
To store: Hold item and think Insert.
To retrieve: Visualize item and think Return.
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Shin Noda pocketed the items and raced back to the city.
Only masterless 'Hell Ants' remained.
'Time for the experience point event now.'
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