Chapter 42: The Heavenly King’s head was tough.

Looking in the mirror while eating was just part of my daily life.

And that wasn’t all.

I…

“It’s not just that. With this mace…”

I was about to say more, but stopped when Battle mage glared at me.

Seriously, why bring it up first and then act like that?

Anyway, I admit confessing takes courage.

But unfortunately, it’s not something that can happen.

Is it because I’m not a lesbian?

No, that’s not it.

Perhaps because of a past life or something, I’ve grown quite tolerant of same-sex relationships.

I have no intention of criticizing women liking women.

“If you were going to confess like that, you should’ve come in person.”

At my words, Jeon Taeyeon gave a subtle, enigmatic smile.

“Did you figure it out?”

The Jeon Taeyeon before me wasn’t the real one.

To be precise, this was some kind of illusion.

I was sure the other two had realized it as well.

There was this instinctive feeling about it.

Moreover, the airflow from the air conditioner behind Jeon Taeyeon passed directly to us without obstruction, and her seated posture seemed oddly sunken into the sofa.

“Only amateurs wouldn’t notice.”

Cheonma muttered, shaking her head.

“A guild master wouldn’t have such weak mana to begin with.”

Battle mage shrugged her shoulders.

Both of them, having been significant figures in their own worlds, could easily tell that this Jeon Taeyeon was fake.

“So, in other words…”

I swung my mace at Jeon Taeyeon’s head.

Crash!

Her body shattered.

It was torn apart, utterly destroyed, like smashing a wooden object with a hammer.

No, to be exact, it was just a small wooden doll pretending to be Jeon Taeyeon.

“Well, fine. It was never going to be easy, was it? Then shall we have some fun?”

Jeon Taeyeon’s voice echoed unpleasantly from somewhere.

Snap!

With the sound of fingers snapping, a piercing beep resounded.

In an instant, hunters affiliated with the Heavenly King Guild appeared through the doors.

They came in, one after another, like strings of Vienna sausages.

The room itself seemed to be designed as a trap.

New doors opened in the walls, and hunters from the guild surrounded us on all sides.

“Hey, you don’t look ignorant, but you’re acting pretty stupid.”

“Stupid, you say?”

That’s too much.

What kind of nonsense is that, saying I don’t look ignorant but I am?

“Isn’t that a bit harsh, even as a joke?”

Harsh?

Not at all.

I had my reasons.

Jeon Taeyeon must have anticipated this far anyway.

They must have prepared for me in advance.

At least, it’s not like I’m entirely against making a deal with Jeon Taeyeon.

Handling everything with brute force alone seems reckless.

So instead of using force to handle it, I’ll use force to govern it!

-I don’t really see how those two are any different in this situation.

That’s just how the world works.

Still, daring to covet my body is a crime, so I’ll have to teach them a sharp lesson.

This calls for demonstrating an overwhelming difference in power.

That’s the only way to gain the upper hand in negotiations.

First step: make these guys obedient.

“If it were the real Jeon Taeyeon, I wouldn’t have struck her in the first place. Besides, you both act like dealing with these guys here would make us criminals or something.”

“Are you saying it wouldn’t?”

Of course not.

Battle mage keeps treating me like a criminal.

Has she ever seen such a charming, lovable criminal saint before?

For now, though, I need to deal with these guys first.

[Sacred Barrier]

[Respawn Field]

First, I set the stage.

“This is our field now. You all know RPG games, right? Where the mobs keep respawning?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“The Heavenly King Guild seems pretty low-level. Most of them seem to specialize in body enhancement. At best, they’re just a slightly stronger gang.”

“Die!”

While I was still talking, a lunatic with a sword charged at me.

I casually swung my mace at his head.

Crash!

“No, I don’t think so.”

They’re just average thugs, nothing more.

The guy I smashed got back up again.

Cheonma found this incredibly interesting.

“Oh, I see. So this is the strategy—using people who can get back up even after being killed.”

Cheonma figured it out instantly.

As expected from someone from the Martial Alliance.

There must’ve been similar types over there too—ones who die and come back to life.

“Yes, well, it’s limited to this field. And, Cheonma, it’s not ‘even if you kill them.’ If they rise again, they’re not really dead. They’re still alive.”

“Then I suppose I can go all out.”

Cheonma drew a lightsaber.

Fssshhhh-

With a hissing sound, a blade of light formed into the shape of a sword.

This time, the lightsaber was notably red.

The air was thick with a palpable killing intent.

“Cheon! Ma! Slash!”

Cheonma swung her sword at the Heavenly King’s hunters.

“What’s different from the last time?”

“What do you mean?”

Swish!

The Heavenly King’s hunters fell, clutching their bleeding necks.

Cheonma had precisely cut only their necks—not enough to decapitate them, but enough to inflict maximum pain.

Unexpectedly, our Neko Cheonma was merciless when killing.

Her eyes gleamed with murderous intent as she struck down the hunters.

“My sword energy can cut through anything it touches.”

“Oh, as expected of Cheonma.”

The sight of hunters repeatedly dying and reviving, only to charge again, was strangely comedic.

“They’re using some weird power! Surround them and attack!”

“Attacking a saint like me? I guess it’s time to deliver some salvation.”

Crash!

The hunters fell, revived, charged again, and were struck down once more.

They were like unkillable roly-polies—the Heavenly King’s hunters!

“Is this really the time to be impressed? There are way too many of them!”

Battle mage, punching a hunter into submission, hurled another one in my direction while shouting in frustration.

Somehow, the walls had been smashed, making the battlefield even larger.

How far had Jeon Taeyeon predicted this?

Did she know from the beginning that I would come here?

It’s hard to believe, considering we had no prior connection.

Or does she always keep this level of security?

Either way, that woman is no ordinary person.

She’s clever enough to know exactly how the weak should act.

“That’s definitely true.”

Unlike some others I’ve smashed repeatedly, she seems mentally tough as well.

I dealt with three charging hunters, smashing their helmets with ease.

Crash!

Once I crushed them like this, they wouldn’t rush at me again so easily.

“Kill the saint and her companions!”

“Everyone, help! Let’s save the master!”

But the hunters just kept adding to their numbers.

Even the ones we initially defeated got back up and attacked us again.

Seeing this, Battle mage sighed with disbelief.

“No one’s staying dead, and they’re just increasing in number. What’s your plan?”

Exactly.

They’re multiplying endlessly.

There must have been dozens already, and from the long line of hunters stretching behind them, it seemed like their numbers could easily multiply several times over.

The more people gather, the bigger the stage becomes.

“Oh, should I have just killed them after all?”

Honestly, I’d prefer that too.

But it seems Battlemage isn’t too fond of the idea.

Still, I don’t want to be labeled a criminal.

This place is so inconvenient for that reason.

Since we’re in the city and not a dungeon, we can’t go all-out and destroy everything.

If only this were a chaotic place like the hero’s world, where law and order were nonexistent, it’d be so much easier.

“That’s not the point! If you’ve done something, you must have a solution, right? Cheonma, instead of just going along with everything, say something for once!”

Can Battle mage do anything other than yell in frustration?

It’s not like I don’t have my reasons for what I’m doing right now.

“Doesn’t this feel like a good fight for once? And Battle mage, you need to take a closer look at the situation. The saint is deliberately gathering them.”

As expected of Cheonma.

She understands me completely.

Even with the hum of her lightsaber echoing around, she’s perfectly in tune with my thoughts.

“That’s right. I’m gathering them on purpose.”

“Why?”

Battle mage slammed another one or two hunters into the wall and turned to me with a questioning look.

“Who do you think I am?”

“A fraud?”

“What the heck?!”

How rude!

What about me looks like a fraud to you?

Battle mage really has a foul mouth and an even worse personality.

“With those shabby robes of yours, you always use purging evil as an excuse to mess with people.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m a saint.”

A woman embodying the perfect beauty modeled after a goddess.

Being honest with myself, I love how I look in this form.

“Forget it, I give up talking to you.”

“Anyway, a saint purifies evil—that’s the point.”

I raised my mace high.

From the back, Jeon Taeyeon swirled a wine glass and smirked mockingly.

“Hahaha. Your power is impressive, but all you’ve done is increase their numbers!”

How carefree.

She won’t be laughing for long.

“Area-of-effect skills are meant to gather monsters before unleashing them—that’s the way.”

It’s a fundamental rule.

Even Maria, the steppe tribe’s hair sorceress, used this strategy to crush the Demon King’s army with meteors and capture a fortress.

I’m no different.

“What are you even—”

“Well then, let’s unleash it with all we’ve got!”

I slammed my mace into the ground with full force.

Holy Crash!

Boom!

Booooom!

The earth trembled violently as holy energy surged outward like a massive explosion.

As soon as I struck the ground, a blinding light engulfed the surroundings.

The building began to collapse, and the wicked foes fell on the spot.

After some time, the area was utterly devastated.

The building was in ruins.

*

Thus, the Heavenly King Guild was completely obliterated.

“You really went and destroyed it. What now?”

“Well, at least the outer structure is intact, right?”

The building had been quite large, reinforced like a fortress to withstand monster invasions.

Naturally, only the interior was destroyed, so from the outside, the Heavenly King Guild’s building still appeared intact.

At first, I thought it would collapse entirely, but it seems they had prepared for this kind of situation.

So, really, we’ve done nothing wrong.

“Wow, you’ve broken all this. Do you even know how much this place is worth?”

Jeon Taeyeon, who had been standing calmly in the same spot, remarked with a look of disbelief.

Everything else was destroyed, but she remained completely unscathed.

No, that wasn’t her—it had to be something else.

Maybe this time, it wasn’t a wooden puppet but something sturdier.

“All I did was smash the wooden puppet. You’re the one who sent the attack.”

Battle mage retorted.

Exactly.

She wasn’t wrong.

All of this was Jeon Taeyeon’s doing in the first place.

“Well, that… no, you’re right. Let’s not get petty. We’ve already done our research on all of you.”

Is she a pervert?

Or a stalker?

Should I just go ahead and smash her head in?

“You already know how this is going to end, don’t you?”

“Yes. Honestly, even if it wasn’t for this, I would’ve kept my distance.”

“Creepy.”

This is why I can’t stand people who catch on too quickly.

“By the way, are my subordinates dead?”

“You should be thankful they’re not. They’re all alive.”

I smashed them just enough to avoid killing them.

Probably broke all the bones in their bodies.

Who told them to pick a fight with us?

It’s their own fault.

“I guess I was the one underestimating you. Well, just so you know, the real me isn’t even here. When I’m unavailable… haah, I leave this kind of stand-in.”

“Then why did you bother sending hunters?”

Cheonma cautiously asked.

“Claiming it was to assess your skills would sound too petty, wouldn’t it? Honestly, I don’t have a proper excuse. Admitting it outright feels like losing to you.”

If it was to assess our skills, there are plenty of problems with that explanation.

I can already see through her intent.

It’s obvious what she’s thinking.

“It’s a battle to see who gains the upper hand in negotiations, since we’re both interested in striking a deal.”

At my words, Jeon Taeyeon gave a crude wink.

“See? We understand each other. Exactly.”

Understand?

Not even close.

The only regret is that I can’t smash her head.