For the Boss!
For the boss!~ I want to show them. Show them everything. That we won't lose to these punks. I want to prove it to him.
Black Knights swarming from all directions. They grab enemies by the waist and limbs, hurling them like balls. They tear off arms and legs like ripping dried meat. They paint the ground red with crimson gore.
With Rina, Mira, and Shera leading the charge, the North Face Family—who'd been standing dazed in the rear—rush forward without a second thought. All for one reason. For the organization's boss! For the man who saved them from death's door and gave them new life. For the one who extended a saving hand from the rock bottom where death could've come any moment. For the only one who accepted them in this godforsaken land.
"For the North Face Family!~"
"Only for the boss!-"
"Wipe 'em all out!-"
"Any stragglers owe beer money tonight!!--"
"““Uoooooooh!!!~~~”””
……
“Uh... kids? What about the plan I actually prepped for once?”
“Rookie... you even know how to manage those walking disasters?”
“Don't ask... I got no clue either~”
The boss himself is left baffled alongside Big Daddy by the family's unscripted all-out assault.
……
“Kyahahaha!~♥ Yes! This is it! This is what it's all about! Plans? Victory? Defeat? Who cares! This battlefield, where we exist solely to kill and be killed—it's the purest, most primal instinct of life, the most beautiful aesthetic! Kyahahahaha!!~~♥”
Under the crescent moon, Halpas hovers in the night sky, gazing down at the fierce ground battle below with an ecstatic smile. Even as her own [contractors] drop dead around her, she couldn't care less about their fates. Victory or defeat, living or dead—none of it matters to her. Ambush, field battle, siege, defense, ambush, retreat, blitzkrieg, annihilation—any kind of battlefield is fine. She craves only war! Bigger wars! More beautiful, spectacular wars!
“Hehehe~ Ah~ It's so magnificent! Now I get it—I wanna contract with those guys down there. Imagine the epic wars we could wage together? Don't you think? Lady Baal?”
Halpas murmurs softly into the empty air, as if facing Vanessa from afar. And as if answering her question, Vanessa in the North Face Family mansion converses back via magic.
“Aaaahn~♥ So scary~ That hourglass... Hehehe~♥ [Primal Regression], huh? Do you even know what it means for Lady Baal to use her power in that state?”
“I'm so curious. How did a mere human capture Lady Baal's heart? Care to tell me if it's not too much trouble?”
“Ahhn~♥ So cold~ Then just confirm if my guess is right? Could it be... you met in a different time, not this one?”
……
“Kyahahahaha!~♥ Nailed it! Even so, it's impressive! [Another time] or whatever, to win over a hell lord's heart!~♥ That human's looking more and more tempting~?”
Kuuuung—
“Kuhuk! Gah!-”
“Haha... r-right, I'll remember. Didn't think you'd actually use [Primal Regression].. haha... kyahahaha...”
“What can ya do? A human who beat Bepher's contractor? Weird if the others didn't take interest. Makes him all the more impressive.”
……
'But still, I'm dying to know. What kind of encounter made even Lady Baal ready to stake her life on [Primal Regression]?~♥ Kyahahaha!~♥ Even after this war ends, I'll keep watching him~♥ Probably the others too~♥'
Baal, Ruler of Time, sees, manipulates, and shares experiences across all timelines. The primordial Seven Deadly Sins demon lords, born at the dawn of creation. Baal, who surpassed them to reign as Demon King. Her true name as the Time God is long forgotten, reduced today to Rank 2 of the 666 demons. Halpas is intensely curious why this absolute time deity fixates on a mere human. And she's not alone—the distant watchers of this war feel the same.
Halpas and Vanessa, long aware of their gaze, turn fierce glares afar and speak in unison.
[[DO NOT INTERFERE WITH HIM!]]
Those receiving the warning from Rank 2 and Rank 38 slowly fade their presences and vanish.
……
“Hyurtcha!-”
Kaang!-
“Oh? As expected of the boss—tough one?!”
“War! Bigger wars!- The Goddess of War watches over us!-”
Buuuung!- Ssswoooosh! Kwagagagagang!!!—
'Whew~ This guy's getting dangerous... Bragged big to the boss earlier, but he's powering up.'
The North Face Family annihilates over 4,000 Black Knights in a brutal melee. Exhausted grunts and the wounded fall back; only a handful remain. Normal members are spent.
Roar! Fwoosh!
“These bastards. They're getting stronger?”
“Jean! I can't freeze 'em anymore!-”
At first, Jean's flames turned them to ash, Pablo's ice shattered them. But as numbers dwindle and battle peaks, they grow tougher. Jean's inferno doesn't burn them; Pablo's frost doesn't stick.
With North Face pushed back, Big Daddy's crew supports, but enemies hold steady.
“Oppa! They're getting stronger as numbers drop!”
“Yeah! Yeah! Their bodies are toughening up!”
“Mira and Shera's punches aren't killing 'em... Hey, Pablo. It's what I think, right? These guys all...”
“Ah~ Looks like every Black Knight was Halpas's contractor. As their numbers drop, the demon's power concentrates on survivors—making 'em stronger!”
“““War! War! War!!--”””
Still half remain. Their apparent leader pushes back Rina in a tug-of-war of strength. She, with ogre might, breathes raggedly, overpowered.
“Hey, you lot! Not thinking of losing here, right?!”
“Bullshit! Randel, you look pale yourself!”
“Damn it! If these rookies can't win, neither can the rest... Hey! Blood Knights stay—others fall back! You're in the way! Snipe from afar!-”
“““Yes sir!”””
“God, men are pathetic! Everyone fall back! I'll handle it!-”
“““Hm?”””
As the allied families retreat, Mary steps forward, ordering the rest back. She'd been slicing Black Knights one by one. No more pathetic shows for the boss—she raises a hand to her face.
“Run if you wanna live. Can't you see the boss worrying from there?! I'll take care of it!”
“Mary?”
“Mary unnie?”
Slither...
“““Gasp!”””
All see Mary unbind her eyepatch and realize. Under Jean and Pablo's lead, allies bolt.
“Mira, Shera—drag Rina unnie back. Prina and I got this.”
“Yup! Shera, let's go!”
“O-okay! Mary unnie, hold on!-”
Kuung! Kuung! Kuung!
Petrification gaze. All who meet her eyes turn to stone. Cursed eyes from a basilisk, hell's monster. As she prepares, Mira and Shera grab fighting Rina's arms and flee.
Paak!
“Hey! Let go! I can still fight!-”
“Rina unnie! Run!”
“Mary unnie's unveiling her eyes!”
“Gah?! F-for real?!”
Kuung!
“Scared I'll miss?! Keep the war going!!--”
Chaeng!- Kaang!
“Hm?!”
Hearing Mary's eyepatch news, Rina spots her closed eyes afar and sprints with Mira and Shera.
The contractor scorns the fleeing cowardice, preps another aura blade—but Mary's ultra-fast sword blocks it.
“Sorry, but you're mine.”
“Little bitch... blind?”
“No.”
Whoosh— Crackle!
“Urk?!”
“Be a good statue. Can't keep the boss waiting.”
Crackle!
“B-body... turning to... stone...”
Crackle!
At sword's range, he meets Mary's eyes—unavoidable. Petrification curse spreads; he becomes a Black Knight statue.
As subordinates panic at their leader's fate, those meeting Mary's gaze petrify too. Quick ones close eyes or turn—but Mary won't allow it.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
“Prina! Your turn. Absorbed the groundwater? Finish 'em!”
……
Psheeeeeew!!~~
“Finally! Mary unnie, I was wondering when you'd call! Was just chatting with Estelle unnie, waiting!”
Tzzzzzzt!!—
“Gaaaaah!!--”
“Kaaaaah!!--”
Mary sheathes her sword into the ground repeatedly, summoning Prina. A massive tentacle slime erupts from below, ensnaring Black Knights—melting flesh and armor alive.
Prina, prepped by Actor's pit channeling groundwater, had swelled.
Original plan: Deepen pits, cover with Estelle's webs and dirt. Feign retreat from lines 1 and 2, lure charge into traps. Prina digs to aquifer, absorbs, swells with acid to dissolve.
“Anyway, melt these?”
“Yeah, plan change—but you'll wrap it up.”
“Yessir~ Leave it to me~ For the boss, gladly!”
The field turns acidic swamp from Prina's groundwater binge. Indestructible core means no win without finding it deep underground—eyes covered, they can't. Acid seeps armor gaps, melts bodies to bone in horror.
Tzzzzzt! Sizzle!
“Whew~ Ate too much? Wonder if boss'll give fat bonuses this time? Or maybe with the boss...”
“Hey! Boss is mine first!”
“What?! I finished 'em! Mary unnie!”
“Shut it! Settling with boss tonight!-”
“Omg, so greedy! I did it all?! Neh?! Bragging bigger boobs?! Neh?!”
“I'll stone you?! Talk back to unnie?!”
“Try it! Try! I'm slime—no eyes! Won't stone! Do it?! I'll melt you!”
……
“Uh, my say? Yeah? I'm the boss? Why's no one hearing me?”
At battle's absurd end, Actor's plea goes unanswered.