178. Apostle of Gluttony

Gulaka of Gluttony.

Four hundred years ago, of the four Legion Commanders we killed, this was the third one to die.

Honestly, Gulaka's main body couldn't be called strong in combat. It was probably the weakest of the Legion Commanders. But it was the one that caused the most damage.

Gulaka, true to the name Gluttony, chews up and swallows everything. Humans, Demons, Monsters—it devours them all without distinction. That's how it grows stronger and increases its total Demonic Energy.

So among the Seven Legion Commanders, it held the most Demonic Energy. No, it held so much that it surpassed the concept of merely possessing it—it had to vomit it back out because it couldn't digest it all.

So naturally, wherever Gulaka's main body appeared, an indescribably dense Demonic Energy scattered through the air, thick enough to blot out your vision.

That alone killed everything. Its mere appearance killed thousands upon thousands of humans, killed Monsters, killed Demons. It ate the dead, the corpses. It grew its strength, grew its rank, and spewed out even denser Demonic Energy.

Monsters that endured that Demonic Energy grew stronger. Demons grew stronger too. Humans went mad or became Demonized Humans.

And so they submitted to Gulaka.

That was what made Gulaka so troublesome and so fucking aggravating.

First encounter. Every knight order that followed us at Anketin was annihilated. The second time, eighty percent of the Imperial Army was slaughtered. The third time, the Saintess Luna—the natural enemy of Demons—was left with a scar that would never fade.

And then, on the fourth encounter.

We killed it.

The thirty-eight thousand-strong suicide squad that fought with us was wiped out. Kaloso lost an eye. Luna fell into a coma for three months.

But we succeeded in killing it.

Except we couldn't completely annihilate it. The retainers Gulaka spawned, the apostles consumed by Gulaka's Demonic Energy, the remnants of Gulaka.

We couldn't erase all of it.

Just as we were about to wipe out everything, Luxrina of Lust appeared on the battlefield where we'd slain Gulaka.

We couldn't burn the corpses. We couldn't purify the Demonic Energy. We couldn't fully kill the apostles, and the retainers fled.

With Luna in a coma and even Kaloso half-crippled, we couldn't continue the fight.

We had no choice but to promise ourselves next time.

But for me, there was no next time.

Because after we took down Luxrina, Kaloso killed me.

So that thing. The Apostle of Gluttony.

I have to kill it with my own hands.

Because we failed to completely kill Gulaka and this situation happened, so I should take responsibility? For the greater good? Justice?

It's not some bullshit reason like that. We killed Gulaka's main body. Why should we take responsibility? If some bastard tries to blame us for what we missed, I'll tear them limb from limb.

The reason I have to kill that thing is... simply my stubbornness. Ronan's obstinacy.

A delusion I never fully escaped from in the past.

In the past, the bastard you could call that thing's father gave me hell, and now its brat is giving me hell, so I want to kill it myself.

That's all. A trivial reason like that.

"Hoo..."

With a sigh, I pulled myself out of the memories of the past.

I also set aside, for now, the speculation about how the Apostle of Gluttony appeared in the first place.

I can deal with all of that slowly once this is over.

What matters right now is the fight. No room for any other thoughts.

I climbed the hill. I could see the nameless girl who had spoken my name.

Thin legs, thin arms, thin torso.

But her head was huge. Her eyes, with no eyelids, stretched open to their limit, were huge too. And her mouth was big enough to swallow a hippopotamus whole.

And at the center of that thin body, a girl jutted out awkwardly. A girl with only her head remaining, the rest of her body transformed into the maw of Gluttony.

Maybe because her rank was insufficient, her Awakening was incomplete. She looked truly horrifying.

[KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIK—!!]

The girl who had completed her Awakening as an apostle—no.

The Apostle of Gluttony no longer produced human language. Whether it was because the voices of the students it had devoured were mixed in, or whether that was just how it sounded originally, it let out a roar mixed with the screams of many humans.

Yet it only staggered, not walking forward. That meant the girl's consciousness remained. It had to be. Those who carried Demonic Energy in their bodies and were crudely awakened by the Barrier all ended up like that.

But it wouldn't be long before it started moving. After five minutes, it wouldn't be able to control itself by its own will.

It would feel the sensation of chewing up people, the taste, the smell, the screams—all of it—while tears of blood streamed down.

So killing it as quickly as possible is best for them, and for other humans too.

Splash— splash—

I walked without letting my guard down.

The students I passed along the way were alive. Eight corpses lay crushed beneath the apostle. Five corpses had been devoured.

Seventeen corpses had burst bodies or remaining body parts. As for the corpses where only shoes or training uniforms remained—well. I couldn't count those properly.

At least twenty corpses seemed to have vanished entirely.

There were many living students too. They were unconscious, dying from Demonic Energy poisoning, but they were alive for now.

I can't fight recklessly. I have to protect the students as much as possible while making it focus on me.

Well, honestly, that's just the plan for right now. If I run out of room to maneuver, I'll have to abandon them all.

If I move the fight elsewhere, there'd be less to worry about, but whether that thing would follow me is uncertain.

If it comes to that, I could open a Gate of Purgatory.

"Nah, it'd be a waste to open one for trash like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that."

I chuckled and leaped over the ridge. The apostle's form came into clearer view. The smooth head that had been raised to the sky turned toward me. An eyeball the size of my head rolled—roll, roll—and stared at me.

Immediately after, writhing tentacles burst from its body and wrapped around the girl embedded at its center. It was protecting her as if she were its vital point.

And she actually was the vital point. The torso had all become a mouth, but the head remained. The head was the weak point.

If I burst that girl's head, the apostle would die on its own if left alone for half a day.

Of course, I have no intention of aiming for the weak point. I'm going to beat it to death until it's gone.

Didn't I tell Sparkle?

That I have to save the kids who come into my sight.

And right now, I can see a lot—a whole lot—of kids in my sight. As a man... no, I'm a woman right now, but anyway... I've got my pride, so I have to keep my word.

If it were Gulaka's main body, they'd all be dead already. But this isn't the main body. It's worse than a remnant. The Demonic Energy it spews is thin and weak.

That thing is garbage that has lost its reason.

Thanks to that, the kids are still alive. As long as they're alive, I can save them somehow.

So then.

No more wasting time.

Tap—

I kicked off the ground and ran.

A sticky wind coiled around my whole body. The groans of the children, their crying, their screams—all faded from my senses. Their figures blurred from my vision.

What my vision, my senses, my body focused on was.

The Apostle of Gluttony.

[GGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAaa—!!]

A roar that seemed to gnaw at my bones rang out. The apostle's thin arms slammed into the ground. Its two legs, planted on the earth, rippled. The Demonic Energy spread through the air gathered toward the apostle.

I knew that form. I knew what would happen next.

Gulaka's Authority, Thorns.

I focused Aura into the soles of my feet. Just before it burst out—gathered to the point where even I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't control it—I executed a Stomp.

RUMBLE—!

The Aura that burrowed into the ground exploded outward. It drove fully into the earth and shook the mountain ridge. Tree roots were ripped out. Wildflowers were torn to shreds. Students sprawled on the ground rose into the air.

At the same time—FWOOOSH—! Hundreds of thorns shot up from the ground. The mouths attached to each thorn smacked their lips. No students were impaled and killed by the thorns.

But the thorns were still baring their teeth.

If this continued, all the students would be eaten.

I had to break the thorns.

Using the leg I'd planted for the Stomp as an axis, I spun my body around. I twisted my shoulders and hips to add momentum. When my body had fully rotated, I extended my leg.

Roundhouse Kick.

CRRRAACK—! Dozens of thorns touched by my foot broke. The broken pieces shot backward violently, shattering every thorn in their path.

Not all the thorns broke. I retracted my extended leg and brought it down. THOOM! The thorn right in front of me broke and flew into the air. I swung my arm wide and struck it.

In the process of that wide swing, I kicked, struck, and hurled more broken thorns.

CRRRAAACK— Once again, the launched thorns smashed other thorns in their path to pieces. Soon, thud— thump— the students dropped to the ground. None were dead or critically injured.

That was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough.

Gulaka's main body might be different, but its remnants can't use Thorns consecutively. Variables? None. Every one of the hundreds of remnants I've killed so far was the same.

I trust my experience. My memories.

Again, I kicked off and ran. CRUNCH— The apostle, which had been pulling its limbs out of the ground, opened its mouth wide. A tongue shot out from inside. It snatched up the corpse of a female student lying on the ground.

And then.

"It's so damn inconvenient not having a weapon, fuck."

I reached it.

I aimed at the apostle's body with my fingertips. I rolled my foot. The force rising from my toes traveled through my hips to my shoulders. I twisted my body violently and clenched my fist.

One-Inch Force.

B-BOOM—! With the sound of tough beast hide bursting, the apostle's body shot backward.

The female student wasn't eaten. I grabbed the girl by the scruff of her neck, threw her behind me, and charged forward.

Faster, sooner, harder.

I extended my foot forward. I passed the apostle. One step, two steps, three steps—I gritted my teeth and changed direction.

SKRRRCH— With a violent braking, my body twisted around. I could see the apostle flying toward me.

I relaxed my body and leaned forward. My left foot carried my weight. My right foot supported lightly. I held that center perfectly and gathered Aura into my extended left foot.

One, two, three. When the apostle entered my range, I detonated the Aura. My left foot shot upward. My body flipped through the air.

At that moment, I used Deceptive Body. Flash— cherry-blossom-colored Mana blazed. The Mana that had soaked into my joints swelled and burst. There was no ground to push off, but full force was added to my right foot.

Crescent Moon.

My right foot, lifted from the ground and kicked upward, traced a half-moon arc.

And then—CRACK! My right foot, nearly launched like a projectile, smashed into the apostle's head. The violent aftershock sent the apostle's body flying into the sky.

Again—flash—Mana blazed. My two feet, which had risen into the air, were planted firmly on the ground. I took a full breath and leaped into the air.

Meanwhile, the apostle twisted its body and fired countless thorns. They became my footholds, cutting down the time it took to reach the apostle.

I stepped on the launched thorns, grabbed them with my hands to dodge, twisted my direction, smashed them with my fists, stepped again, and leaped. I passed the apostle. Thorns were still firing. Its thin limbs stretched like rubber bands and surged at me.

I seized that arm and twisted my body. The tentacles were still holding on. A mouth sprouted from the tentacle. Before the teeth—teeth that looked like saw blades ripped and driven in—could bite my hand, I yanked the tentacle.

Instead, my body lurched forward. An obvious result. The apostle weighed several times more than me.

That was what I was aiming for.

I released the tentacle. As my body pitched forward, I tapped away the thorns flying at me—tap, tap—and corrected my course.

The apostle that had risen into the sky fell toward the ground again. I was falling too.

In the dizzying sensation of falling, I gauged my strength.

Direction? Accurate. Speed? Not slow.

But not enough. Faster. I curled my body into a ball to dodge the thorns. I pushed off the dodged thorns with the soles of my feet. My falling speed increased.

I repeated it. Once, twice.

The third time. The speed was sufficient. I laced both hands together. Gripped tight. I snapped my hips forward. My waist curved like a bow. I raised ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my clasped hands above my head. I tightened my breathing.

And so, just before the apostle hit the ground.

Flash—the light from Deceptive Body raged.

My raised hands tore through the air and swung down toward the apostle.

Star Drop.

Falling Star.

———!

With a roar that burst eardrums, one of the many peaks of the Anketin Mountains vanished.