Ch.85Tales from the Holy Kingdom (3)

As soon as the wings appeared, pain followed, but at the same time, tremendous power came with it.

So I immediately tried to escape from that madman at full speed. No, I tried to escape.

Wham!

When a powerful impact hit my abdomen, I was thrown backward.

“Ugh!”

“Good, struggle more! That makes breaking you so much more satisfying!”

The madwoman who had been behind me just moments ago was now in front of me, laughing hysterically.

Let me put some distance between us…

Wham!

“Aaah!”

Just like before, the madwoman’s fist struck my abdomen. Perhaps because I was hit in the same spot again, it was much more painful than before.

I tried to take out my gun and aim it at the madwoman…

She disappeared from my sight. Could she be behind me?

Wham!

“Aaaagh!”

Just as I turned my head to check, another powerful impact struck my abdomen.

While I was clutching my stomach in pain, the madwoman appeared before me and spoke with a voice full of madness.

“What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be running away?”

I need to get up and create some distance. But the pain surging from my abdomen makes it difficult to move.

“Not answering? I personally bothered to ask a worm like you!”

Wham!

Once again, the madwoman’s kick flew toward my abdomen.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

This time, the impact was much greater than before. And since I kept getting hit in the same spot, the pain doubled.

“Kuheuuk…”

I clutched my stomach and somehow managed to stand up. I really need some kind of good plan…

-Hey. What’s going on? Why did you stop moving?

Leo’s voice echoed in my head. Maybe Leo would know some solution?

“Right now… I’m fighting… what looks like the enemy leader… a woman… Aaaagh!”

As always, a fist flew into my abdomen. But this time, I somehow managed to block it, minimizing the impact.

“Fighting? I’m just training a worm.”

The woman interrupted me with a voice that seemed to contain both joy and anger.

-So you’re saying you’ve met an opponent you can’t defeat, right?

“Yes… Do you have… any good ideas…?”

-No. Just try to hold out somehow.

“That’s… easier said than… Kuaaaagh!”

Thunk.

The madwoman threw a dagger at my abdomen. But this time I couldn’t block the attack, and the dagger pierced my stomach.

“Uuugh… Kuhuk!”

I pulled the dagger out of my abdomen. But I’ve heard that doing this could be dangerous…

If things get really dangerous, I’ll use divine power somehow. I still have 5 shots left.

And so I continued to be attacked repeatedly in the abdomen without being able to offer any resistance.

As my stamina decreased, the burning pain throughout my body grew stronger. These wings will probably disappear soon.

Then that terrifying pain will come back, like before. I just need to endure this 4 more times.

I think I can somehow endure it, but I’m still so afraid I could go crazy. I really don’t want to feel that pain again.

“Huuk…”

Whether it was due to the helplessness I was feeling or the anticipation of all the pain to come, tears leaked from my eyes. And seeing this, the madwoman started to speak excitedly.

“Good! Show me more of that expression of despair!”

I’m so afraid I feel like I might faint. Really, really, I absolutely hate that pain.

I took out my gun and aimed it at myself.

But sadly, as soon as the wings disappeared, an indescribably painful sensation came over me.

“—!”

An ear-splitting, agonized scream burst from my mouth. And at the same time, I somehow managed to shoot myself with a bullet made of divine power.

“Kuheuuk…”

Thanks to having prepared the bullet in advance, the pain didn’t last long. Good, if I do this, I can endure much more easily.

“Aren’t you going to spread those wings again like just now? If not, you’ll die right here.”

“I will, so mind your own business.”

I took a deep breath and aimed the gun at myself. As fire spewed from the gun, the wings spread again with pain that I could somehow endure.

Now I have to endure this 4 more times… no, I can endure it. At least reinforcements should arrive by then.

Although I’ve almost reached my mental limit, I can’t collapse yet. If I fall here, everything I’ve endured so far will be meaningless.

“You. How many more times can you do that healing?”

“Why should I answer… Aaaaaaaaaagh!”

Suddenly, a hole was punctured in my stomach. The pain was so intense I felt like I would lose consciousness immediately, but survival instinct forcibly kept me awake.

I need to shoot divine power quickly. Otherwise, I’ll really die.

Desperately enduring the pain, I managed to shoot divine power at myself. Thanks to that, my body became clean without any trace of injury.

Instead, a large hole was torn in my clothes. At least the important parts aren’t exposed, so that’s fortunate?

Anyway, the woman continued speaking while clearly showing her displeasure.

“So how many more times can you do it?”

If I don’t answer, my stomach will be punctured again. So I might as well answer obediently.

“…Three times.”

“What are you talking about? It’s two times. Don’t you know how to subtract?”

“It is three times, what are you… Aaaaaaaaaagh!”

Once again, a hole was punctured in my stomach. I really feel like I’m going to lose my mind completely.

Still, I desperately held onto my consciousness and somehow managed to shoot myself with a bullet made of divine power.

My body returned to normal again, but I was certain that this madness would repeat two more times.

“Let’s calm down and talk…”

With an unbearable impact to my abdomen, I lost consciousness.

***

“What? Aren’t you going to get up and heal yourself?”

I kindly asked, but there’s no answer. How dare this damn worm ignore me?

As I approached to kick him again, I saw the worm lying unconscious.

“Are you trying to die? Get up and heal yourself!”

Still no answer. He seems to have lost consciousness. Then how are those wings still maintained?

I don’t know. If I leave this worm like this, he’ll definitely die. Then I’ll get an earful from that damn boss.

“Ah, shit… this is valuable…”

I took out a potion and poured it on the worm’s punctured stomach. The worm recovered cleanly, just like before.

Why did he faint when he could have just recovered himself like earlier?

I guess I’ll just take him back. Despite appearances, he’s still a hostage.

I’m already excited thinking about the torture I’ll inflict on him. Should I give him physical pain? Or mental pain?

Right, someone likes this guy, didn’t they? What if I force myself on him in front of that person?

No, let’s start by burning his entire body while continuously feeding him potions to keep him alive.

As I approached to lift him up,

Wham!

“Kuhuk…!”

Suddenly, he got up and punched me.

“What? You were still conscious? Then why didn’t you get up earlier?”

If you had gotten up earlier, I could have saved my precious potion. Damn worm, what should I do next?

Should I burst his heart? Or tear out his intestines and force him to eat them?

Of course, I wasn’t planning to be that extreme. But this worm doesn’t know his place.

As I was contemplating how to torture this worm, suddenly flames gathered in his hand and formed a sword.

Then the worm began to run quickly toward me.

I don’t know why, but he’s gotten faster. But he can’t surpass me with just this speed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you!”

So I threw another punch toward the worm’s abdomen. I’ll make another magnificent hole this time.

But the moment my fist touched the worm,

“Death Throes”

—Boom!

He exploded.

“…Kuk!”

It’s a clone. I don’t know how he managed to use such a technique, but the real body is definitely nearby, trying to attack me.

And I felt a presence behind me.

“You damn worm!”

I quickly turned my body and kicked toward the worm.

“Death Throes”

—Boom!

“Kuk!”

But this time too, the worm’s clone exploded. Where is the real body?

As I turned around to look for him, a sword with no presence flew toward my neck.

“…!”

Thanks to my quick evasion, I barely avoided the attack…

Clang.

The sword’s trajectory suddenly changed and cleanly cut off my right arm.

“Aaaagh!”

The worm swung his sword toward my neck again. But I also kicked toward the worm’s abdomen.

He definitely can’t dodge this. Now this worm will take my kick and be cut in half.

As I was certain of victory at that moment,

Flap!

He flapped his wings quickly and floated up from his position. Thanks to that, my kick sliced through empty air.

And the worm drew a circle with his sword in midair,

Clang.

My left leg, which was crossing through the air, was cleanly cut off.

As a result, I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

And the worm raised his sword and shouted.

“Requiem”

But I’ve seen this fighting style somewhere before. I definitely remember seeing it…

The Hero, it’s him! This is definitely the technique he used when finishing off the old boss!

But why is the Hero in that worm’s body? No, that doesn’t matter.

I need to escape. Otherwise, I’ll really die. So I took out a potion from my pocket and drank it.

But a single potion wasn’t enough to recover everything. Still, one leg grew back.

As I stood up to escape, I felt death approaching right in front of me.

“No! I don’t want to die! I’m sorry! I’ll do anything, please forgive me!”

As I was wailing desperately in the face of death, suddenly his wings disappeared.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

And his agonized scream was heard as well. That overwhelming pressure was no longer felt.

Instead, there was just one worm writhing in pain.

“…Ha! You bastard.”

I stood up, approached the worm, and stomped on his stomach.

“Aaaagh!”

“Hey. That recovery thing from earlier? If you don’t want to die, use it on me.”

The worm, in pain, took out his gun.

“Kuuuk…”

Bang.

A bullet with some kind of divine energy came out. But the bullet missed me and went astray.

“You fucking worm!”

And I kicked the worm. He screamed as if in real pain.

“Hey. You still have one shot left, right? If you miss again, I’ll really kill you.”

The worm asked me in a trembling voice, like a scared dog.

“But… my hand isn’t moving well… what do you want me to do…?”

“Can you move your fingers?”

“Yes… I can do… that much…”

Though I was angry, I kindly placed his gun against my abdomen.

“There, now shoot.”

“Yes… I understand… you idiot!”

—Bang!

Suddenly, an incredibly destructive bullet, opposite to the divine bullet, spewed from the gun barrel. Thanks to that, my upper and lower body were separated.

And that damn worm squeezed out a disgusting voice.

“That’s… one year of my lifespan… you bastard…”

That gun could also be used for attacks. I forgot that simple fact.

Did I lose? Me? To that worm?

No, this is definitely because that damn Hero intervened. It’s absolutely not because I’m weaker than that worm.

If I hadn’t let my guard down, I definitely could have beaten him. So this doesn’t count!

If I had just thought a little more… if I had been serious from the beginning…

If… if…

…Anyway, I’m about to die now. What does winning or losing matter?

Demon King, I’m sorry… I failed…

And so, tasting the bitterness of defeat for the last time, I lost consciousness.