Ch.188The NPC’s Sister and Santa Riding Practice (4)

No way! This can’t be happening!! What?! What on earth is going on?!!!

-BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!!

-CLANG! CLANG!!! CLASH!!

“D-damn i…!!”

-BANG!!! THUD!!

“Urgh?!!”

“Ahahahah!!! I’m finally starting to get the hang of this!! Hey, you’ll put up more of a fight, right?!”

-PING PING PING!!!

“ARGHHHH!!!”

My barrier fails to block all of that woman’s ranged attacks and crumbles. How is this possible?! Me, a high-ranking demon and loyal servant of Pride (Superbia)!

-BANG!!! THUD!!!

“GAAACK?!!”

“Ahaha! Demons aren’t that different from humans after all. I can see what you’re thinking on your face. ‘This can’t be happening. How is this possible? I don’t understand why this is happening.’ And…”

The blue-haired woman approaches slowly with an expression more seductive and sadistic than the Lust Sin I saw earlier. Just what is this human…?!

“I don’t understand why my bullets are getting stronger either. This is nothing like what I expected. I can’t win like this. That’s what you’re thinking, right?”

“What, what kind of trick are you pulling?! Your attack power was definitely not this strong…!!”

One of my arms that was creating barriers against her ranged weapon gets completely torn off, and I try to buy time with conversation. Perhaps because it was something I genuinely wondered about. The woman put her ranged weapon to her chin and spoke with complete composure.

“Of course it’s different from that day. Do you know about [Skills]? I can borrow a bit of power from others who submit to me. Not stealing exactly, according to someone who knows. Apparently, I borrow about half of someone else’s ability. Interesting skill, isn’t it?”

“Wh-what…?”

Could it be that this woman forced her own companions to submit to her? That would explain this strength. That golem and the blonde female adventurer with her. I was planning to separate them somehow and kidnap this woman. The moment I thought that far…

“Ah~ I can tell from your expression. You thought I made Goru and Rei submit to me and stole their abilities, right? But~ that’s not it. I can’t do that to my family.”

“W-what the… You, don’t tell me you’re r…”

“I’m not reading your mind either. Facial expressions, eye movements. And by predicting what someone is thinking based on voice tremors or hand trembling or breathing rate. It just happens to be pretty accurate.”

And I didn’t expect it to work on demons too, the smiling woman thinks as she smoothly swings her sword.

-PING!!

“Urgh?! What’s this now?!!”

“Haha, how about that? This is the swordsmanship of the practice instructor I saw yesterday.”

-CLANG!!!

This time, the blade presses down on my barrier like an axe wielded by a strong man.

“This is an axe technique I saw a male adventurer using a few days ago. Hmm. Is it because the weapon is different? It doesn’t feel quite right.”

-SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!!! CLANG CLANG CLANG!!

“Gah?! Damn it all!!”

“This is rapier swordsmanship I learned from Rei a few days ago when I asked her to show me from a book. How is it? Pretty sharp even with a one-handed sword, right? Really, having such an excellent rival makes me look bad!”

I’m definitely fighting just one human, but I feel like I’m being attacked by many, more than 10 humans at once. And then.

-BANG!!! CRASH!!!

“GAHK?!!”

“I didn’t need to learn mana manipulation from many people. After all, I could just follow what the headmaster teaching Ira showed me. How about that? I put quite a lot of mana into this one. Does it hurt?”

I don’t know what’s happening anymore. Now the mana bullets coming from that tiny pipe hole feel stronger than the cannons humans use to fire iron balls.

A hole is blown through my solar plexus as if a shell had pierced through, and I find myself involuntarily staggering backward.

This can’t be happening, this is strange!! That woman, she definitely didn’t have this much mana before, so how…?!

“Ahahahah!! Does my mana feel strange? Yes, the me you’re facing now is all the professors and assistants from elementary grades 1 to 3, and middle school grade 1.”

“…W-what? N-no way!! Are you saying you made all those humans submit in such a short time?!!”

“Yes, what about it? But you know what’s interesting? I just learned that submission can work in so many different ways.”

The woman laughs off even my shocked expression as if it’s nothing and continues speaking casually as she slowly approaches me.

“If I don’t ‘subjugate’ someone, I can’t borrow their ability. I always thought that process had to involve violence and threats. But, funny enough, I realized I’d been thinking too narrowly.”

“You know what? People consider someone who gives them work, handles their tasks, directs them, and makes their job easier as their ‘superior.'”

“W-what does that even…?”

“In other words, it’s like this. By working as the headmaster’s secretary at this academy, taking over tasks that the headmaster, the deceased vice principal, and other professors and assistants should do, redistributing and fixing things to make them easier—just by doing that, I was able to stand ‘above’ them.”

I don’t even know what kind of conversation I’m having with this woman anymore. No, more importantly!!

‘I-I need to escape. This plan has completely twisted…!!!’

“Oh my, look at your trembling eyes. Even though they’re reddish and hard to see clearly, I can tell. You’re thinking about escaping right now, aren’t you?”

“…!!”

“A high-ranking demon shouldn’t do that. Besides, if you targeted Ira while aiming for me, you must have known how precious Ira is to us before you acted, right?”

“…Ha, hahah!!”

“Hmm? You’re laughing?”

Yes, yes!! There’s still, still a way…!!

“I can’t believe I forgot in my confusion.”

“Oh my, suddenly found your composure? Did some solution just occur to you?”

“…If you don’t surrender right now, that red-haired girl will die.”

“…Huh?”

I felt a slight chill seeing the human woman’s crimson eyes flash brightly at my words, but I think coldly.

Yes, I didn’t just bring that stupid Wrath with me. I had completely forgotten that I also brought the high-ranking demon of [Lust]. I realize how flustered I’ve been, and how badly I’ve been played by that woman’s actions and words. And at the same time.

“I’m not joking. And I promise. If you come with me, I won’t kill that human girl.”

“I see. You’re not just putting on a brave face in this situation? You have another ally besides that monkey getting beaten up over there?”

“…That’s right.”

It feels like she’s ripped off my head and is looking down at it. Even though this should be a situation where I can take the lead again, I don’t feel like I’m ahead at all.

I need to somehow escape with this woman. I’ll leave Wrath to die since he’s expendable, and order Lust to take control of this woman’s mind…

“…Hmm, I see. Then there’s no need to keep you alive? The one hiding seems smarter than you, so I should ask them instead~”

“Wh…?”

-Thud.

“Huh…?”

Suddenly the world flips, and the woman’s body and face rise higher. No, it’s my perspective that’s…?

“I thought there were only two of you, so I was keeping you alive to extract information, but if there are more, it’s better to kill you quickly.”

“W-wait…”

– BANG⎯⎯⎯!!!

The last thing the demon’s eyes captured was the sight of crimson blood droplets falling to the ground from the sword that had cut his throat, and a bombardment with destructive power incomparable to any mana bullet he had seen before.

[-Occupation: Raid Boss (Ottoman Empire Slave)- Level: 450 Name: Ragni Bluemoon: 19 years old.]

[Strength: 10+526]

[Agility: 10+576]

[Intelligence: 330+362]

[Luck: 200+???]

[HP: 210,000]

[MP: 96,872]

[Skill: One Who Stands Above.]

[One Who Stands Above Effect: One born to stand above cannot be less capable than those below. Steals stats from humans subjugated to you. (Takes 50 percent of the subjugated target’s stats.)]

[One Who Stands Above Active: 48 targets. (Strength 526 Agility 576 Intelligence 362)]

[Skill: Heaven-Sent Talent.]

[Heaven-Sent Talent Effect: Mimics actions and stats seen once. Talent bestowed by the world is not something that can be reached through effort alone.]

[Heaven-Sent Talent Active: Rei Sol. Naty Naika. Jack. (See details for more: ……)]

*

[…So, after I approach him, if I fire one shot into the sky, I can handle it alone. Two shots mean I need your support, three shots mean it’s an emergency requiring the headmaster’s support, four shots mean I need both your and the headmaster’s support but it’s a situation we can handle routinely. Got it?]

[If you get taken down by them first…]

[Goru, you said you can see my stats and skills, right? How do they look now?]

[You’ve become strong enough that I shouldn’t worry, but you’re still human. You’ll still die if your head and heart get ripped out.]

[Heheh. Isn’t that the same for the opponent too? Oh, maybe not. Perhaps there’s a possibility the opponent isn’t human? But if it’s something that doesn’t die even with its head and heart removed, wouldn’t that be a demon?]

[…Why does the headmaster want me to bring her in? It would be better to keep her in the mountains from the start…]

[No way. Once the headmaster becomes aware and starts to move, Ira’s peaceful academy life will be over immediately.]

[What?]

[The headmaster, from what we saw when we fought her… She has high mana control and combat ability, but she’s not good at improvising. If she moves after something happens, the situation will already be beyond salvaging and everything will be in chaos.]

[So that’s why you want me to bring the headmaster from outside?]

[Exactly. Setting aside her improvisation skills, since you know something’s going to happen, you can forcibly drag the headmaster who’ll be on the ice even if you have to.]

[If it’s a three-shot situation, you’ll be in quite a bit of danger, you know?]

[Ha! This happened because of me. Don’t worry about that.]

[…Understood. Let’s hope your prediction is wrong.]

-THUD!!!

“URGH?!!”

[Really. This is beyond prediction or expectation—at this point, it’s more like precognition. An actual demon, seriously.]

“Ah, shit. Both of you bitches, seriously!! Ptui!!!”

I punch the monkey demon’s jaw while recalling my morning conversation with Ragni. But something feels a bit off.

When Ragni shot its eye with her gun, it seemed to burst easily. Why isn’t my fist working? I was planning to smash its head.

“Hey, golem. I was scared of that pathetic arrogant bastard because he seemed so afraid, but is this really all he’s got?”

-Tilts head.

I just nod without bothering to talk to him, and he starts laughing hysterically. What’s going on? Did his eye bursting drive him insane?

“Ah, yes. I, who am in Wrath’s hierarchy, was wrong to follow the orders of another demon who isn’t even the Sin of Wrath, and especially his subordinate.”

-CRACK! CRUNCH!!

[Hmm? Did he get bigger?]

Looking at the creature who seems slightly larger than when we brought him before Ragni, I check his status window.

[High-Ranking Demon of Wrath: Level 369]

[HP: 80,126]

Huh? The level is the same, but the HP has recovered. No, it’s increased from before? It was definitely in the early 70,000s at first.

“Golem, I’ll give you a chance. Try to kill me with your next blow. If you can’t kill m…?!”

-WHOOSH⎯⎯!!!

I jump over the monkey’s head as he suddenly starts posing, and use all my strength to hammer down with both fists.

Is he an idiot? He told me to try to kill him, but killing him was my only interest from the start. His face smashes through the ground, and this time surely…

[HP: 87,926]

[Huh?]

“Kekek!! KEKEKEK!!! Yes, that attack was a bit stronger than before! But it’s not enough to kill me!!!”

-CRASH!!

[What?]

The blood-covered monkey face grabs me with one hand while I’m still in mid-air. What’s going on? Does his HP recover and size increase when he’s attacked? Could it be that even high-ranking demons have powers according to their hierarchy? My master never mentioned this. So was Ragni’s eye shot accumulated to make him stronger? I should complain to Ragni later… No, first!!

[Please let go of m…?!]

“Huh? What’s wrong, try to escape if you can!!!”

-CRACK!!

[Ugh?!]

[Slime Mime Golem: Level 403]

[HP: 107,623]

My level should be higher, but I can’t break free from his grip. He’s… quite strong?

-CRACK!!

[ARGH?!!]

[HP: 94,623]

“KAHAHAHA!!! SHIT!! I should have just done this alone from the start!!! That stupid Pride bastard, what was all that about the golem?!!”

His grip on my body gets stronger and stronger. My HP has decreased much more than initially. This is bad, this shouldn’t happen.

“Kehehehe!! After I crush you like a mouse, I’ll rip off that blue-haired woman’s head, and then tear apart that flea-sized red-haired girl too!!! You’ll regret defying me, the next Sin of Wrath, Ira, as you d…!!!”

[Sigh. What are you babbling about, you empty-headed monkey?]

“Huh…? Ah? What, words? Magic to speak…? Slime?”

-CRACK.

“ARGH?!!”

[Since you’re so big, I thought I couldn’t cover you completely with my slime body and was planning to just smash your head to kill you. But it seems you can’t die peacefully.]

[Skill: Gigantification activated.]

[Gigantification Effect: You grow larger. Maximum size is proportional to MP consumed. After gigantification, MP consumption is size in mm x 0.02 per second.]

[Size selected: 8M]

Roughly speaking, his current size is about 4 meters. He might grow bigger or increase his HP, but he said something he absolutely shouldn’t have. So…

[I just hope Lady Ira isn’t watching this.]

“GACK?!! W-what?!”

-WHOOSH!!!

“URRRGH?!!”

I use gigantification to increase my size, break the hand that was holding me, and immediately slam his face into the ground. I want to swing my fist and smash his head, but that might make the whole mountain shake and end the practice session.

What we want is Lady Ira’s peaceful daily life, not a day on a hectic battlefield.

[Who are you calling a flea-sized girl? If I’m a flea, then you, smaller than me, are a mouse’s dick? You’re quite loose with your mouth. And how dare someone like you speak the name ‘Ira’?!]

-THUD THUD THUD!!

“^$#$!#%% ?!!!”

I press his face further into the ground while kneeling on one knee, and write words with my slime near his eyes.

Hoping he’ll despair even more in this short time.

[You mentioned the Sin of Wrath earlier, right? Not sorry to tell you this, but I ate the core of the Sin of Wrath. It was a burning garbage of a demon who shared the same name as our Lady Ira. So you’re saying you’re the next Sin of Wrath?]

My master killed it, but I deliciously ate the core, so it’s not a lie. The creature who read my words widened his eyes in disbelief, but I brought my face closer to him and wrote more.

[I wonder what your core will taste like? I hope it’s more delicious than the Wrath core I ate before.]

-Slurp.

“?@!#$!$%!!!!”

He seems to be shouting something while buried in the ground, but when I turn my writing into liquid and wrap it around his head, nothing can be heard anymore. His flailing arms are annoying, so I grab them with my bare hands and break them off, then cover the wounds with slime to prevent regeneration.

Hmm, I’m nervous about Lady Ira finding out, so I have no choice.

[Normally I would dissolve you slowly to give you time to regret your very existence and repent for moving your mouth so carelessly, but unfortunately, I don’t want my small master to find me, so I’ll dissolve you quickly.]

[High-Ranking Demon of Wrath: Level 369]

[HP: 76,126] [HP: 73,206] [HP: 67,923] ……

I dissolve him faster than his body can regenerate, and slowly absorb him. Now all his limbs have melted, and he’s less than 2 meters in size.

I gradually reduce my gigantification to match, and watch him as he blinks his reddish eyes and moves his mouth in the slime liquid, trying to say something.

‘Don’t. Want. To. Die. Please. Spare. Me. Forgive. Me. Don’t. Dissolve. Me.’

[Pfft. All demons in Wrath’s hierarchy are the same. Just as my master said, the way you control your anger and beg for your life at the moment of death is definitely worthy of a future Sin.]

And so, I quickly dissolved and ate another Wrath demon’s core.