Manowa Chapter 222

Gore was bewildered by the girl who suddenly appeared in front of him.

He knew that this girl's name was『Kazane』. A newbie who was currently making a stir among adventurers. He was able to recognize her; as Gore he had witnessed her appearance after the Black Rock Dragon subjugation during his tracking of the White Sword, and she was in Boltoa's memory, whom he had taken over.

He had been told by Age, his fellow member of the Seven Deadly Sins, that there was a high possibility that she possessed Hagasu's Heart, and he had heard that she should be in Hyvern now.

There had been no contact from Age and the others, but he heard that black monsters attacked the East Dragon Village through Mins.h.i.+ana's intelligence network.

Gore knew about Zeku's devil army, so he naturally understood. The problem was……

「You should currently be『transporting Hagasu's Heart』; why are you here?」

Kazane sneered after those words. She grasped that she was outside the understanding of the devil in front of her. And Kazane had no duty to answer the devil's question. Therefore, she announced.

「Skill・Soul Breaking Blade・To: Berserk Ogre」

Through the Aim Bracelet, the claws on the Berserk Ogre's arms and feet glowed white. Gore instinctively judged it dangerous when he saw that. That was poison for devils.

「Skill・Soul Breaking Blade・To: Yuuko-nee」

But it wasn't only that; the claws of the monster cat he hadn't noticed behind Kazane also glowed white. That also had the signs of being a natural enemy for devils.

「Go!」

Then the two monsters started running at Kazane's signal.

「Tch!?」

Gore tutted. Gore was currently considerably weaker than when he fought Yuuko-nee. Even though Age had shared some power with him, he hadn't recovered that much. Be that as it may, he didn't think he would lose to the two monsters in front of him. Gore wasn't THAT weak, but....

(... That light is dangerous)

He understood it was dangerous at a glance. That was the natural enemy of devils. However, Gore was a devil whose strong point was attacking at long and medium range from the start. He judged it was no big deal as long as he wasn't hit.

「GuooOOOOOOO!!!」

When Gore judged so and tried to take distance, that shout shook his body.

(Spiritual attack! Dragon and Ogre shout!?)

That voice reverberated in Gore, who was a spiritual body. The Ogre's Fear Voice and dragon's Roar synergized together to make a shout that permeated Gore's spiritual body. He would normally be able to repel it. However, Gore's mind was overawed by the light of『Soul Breaking Blade』, so it was inferior to the Berserk Ogre's scream full of fighting spirit. Therefore, that shout affected him.

「GURoOOOO!!!」

Then Gore's body was pierced by the Berserk Ogre's fist. Together with the light of『Soul Breaking Blade』, the dragon claws destroyed Gore's interior.

「Guu, buo!?」

Unexpectedly, or perhaps as expected from obeying instinct, Gore immediately took distance from the Berserk Ogre with that blow. He discovered that some of the souls he had captured, the souls that he was composed of, were vanis.h.i.+ng. That blow had been incredibly dangerous.

「Nyanyaaaa!」

Though the Ogre wasn't the only danger. Yuuko-nee, who ran along the wall up to the ceiling, vigorously swooped down on Gore. But Gore wasn't going to silently continue suffering damage.

「Don't underestimate me!」

So saying, black flame appeared in Gore's right hand and formed into a jet black s.h.i.+eld that repelled Yuuko-nee.

「Nya!?」

The repelled Yuuko-nee immediately spun in the air and landed on the waterway.

「Now, eat this.」

Then countless black fire arrows appeared around Gore.

「Bad!」

Kazane tutted, but Gore's attack didn't stop. Fire arrows were launched like rain by Gore.

「Ginyaaa!!?」

Yuuko-nee screamed as a tremendous number of arrows pierced her, and Kazane realized and immediately undid her summoning. Then Kazane activated her magic defense spell Mirror s.h.i.+eld and further strengthened it with Rainbow Curtain and Cuticle.

「Hahahahahahahaha, die! Die!!!」

Gore continued firing like he had gone mad, but he didn't notice due to being absorbed in firing his longest range attack. He didn't notice the black shadow approaching from the side. Then he was blown away by a black fist.

「Bubera」

The black flame arrows disappeared as Gore struck the wall.

(No way, he broke through those black flame arrows!?)

The black Ogre was charging once again towards the astonished Gore. His whole body was pierced with arrows, so he looked seriously wounded, but a closer examination would reveal that almost none of the arrows were piercing deeply. The individually weak arrow shots failed to pa.s.s through the Berserk Ogre's muscles, which were comparable to the Black Rock Dragon's scales.

「Black Flame!」

Gore summoned black flame to deal with the approaching Ogre and formed it into armor that covered his entire body. Gore was wearing physical black armor that had red lines on it like blood vessels. However, the Berserk Ogre's fist pierced that armor.

「Guu!?」

Gore groaned as he was pierced by the impact.

He couldn't protect against the claws' penetration. However, the area other than where the claws penetrated the armor was not affected by the white light. Gore grasped that he would be able to defend with physical obstacles and stacked more armor on top.

「Whoa, he's getting bigger.」

Just like Kazane said, Gore wearing several layers of armor turned into an armored giant. Black flame appeared in both hands and turned into jet black swords covered with sharp red lines, and he slashed at the Berserk Ogre in front of him. The Berserk Ogre's claws and the jet black swords collided, and sparks scattered.

But that alone was insufficient. What did Gore first see in this place? The girl named Kazane.

「Skill・Charge・Killing Leeeg!!!!」

He was exchanging blows with the Berserk Ogre; that meant he was staying in one place, which meant he was struck by Kazane's deadly technique.

The jet black armor was destroyed by the powerful blow, and half of Gore vanished.

「Higyaa!?」

Gore screamed from the extremely heavy blow, then took off and abandoned the half-broken armor as he started fleeing. Yes, Gore no longer had any choice but to flee. There was no choice but to flee in fear from the threat beyond his expectations.

The Berserk Ogre was about to chase, but Kazane stopped him.

「Guruu」

The Berserk Ogre looked at Kazane after she stopped him, and Kazane calmly declared.

「He fled from us. That's his loss.」

The Berserk Ogre stopped groaning after those words.

「Besides, I've already prepared for the settlement, so don't steal its turn.」

The Berserk Ogre silently disappeared after Kazane spoke. The Berserk Ogre realized. The words of his master were not warm words that overlooked the enemy. h.e.l.l was the only thing awaiting Gore in the place he escaped to. Then the Berserk Ogre knew. The dreadfulness of his master's power.

**********

「Haa, haa」

The devil's out-of-breath voice echoed in the darkness. Since a devil was a spiritual body, he no longer needed to breathe, but he remembered his body before becoming a devil. It could be said that Gore's mind maintained his appearance.

So Gore's out-of-breath behavior was his consciousness from his time as a human being expressing the reality of his current state; in other words, Gore was considerably fatigued and cornered.

「What, what, what is that little girl!?」

His voice rose. The ability of the child he had confronted just now. There had certainly been suspicion that she was a player, but she should have only『appeared』months ago. Even if he was weakened, she shouldn't be able to corner him like this.

They had been thinking a player would have been able to accomplish the Ogre subjugation. It seemed she was also part of the battle against Diablo, but Zeku's grandchild was the one who defeated him. The Black Rock Dragon was supposed to have been subjugated by the power of the White Sword. Gore didn't know that Kazane's achievements were actually being cunningly concealed.

And Gore's information network hadn't caught any stories about a Heroic Spirit appearing. So he had concluded that she didn't have one, and she didn't use it in the battle just now. She shouldn't have been a danger.

(d.a.m.n it. It couldn't be... Age? Did that guy screw up?)

In the first place, it was unnatural that Kazane was here. If they had reached the East Dragon Village with Hagasu's Heart, returning here would be...

(No, it would be possible riding a dragon. In terms of time, that Ao? No way.)

Gore's guess was correct. Up to there.

(But, no matter, those guys can't save Queen Yuuko. If I get away here, I can appear as Boltoa on the surface, and that group can be arrested as state rebels.)

He had heard that Kazane was on good terms with Prince Sieg.

(It would be nice to grandly execute the person that child loves in front of his eyes. Cleave her torso from the crotch, slice her up with a smiling face, do as I like until her mind breaks, hya, hyahahaha)

His composure was broken, and his true nature began to appear. Devils were their minds. Without a body to act as a limiter, their minds easily fell into spirals of negative thoughts. However, as might be expected, even Gore in his discomposed state began to notice.

Well now, what is this path I'm traveling down?…… he thought.

Then, there was the zakun sound of something being pierced.

「Ah?」

The zakun, zakun p.r.i.c.king sounds continued. Things like insect legs p.r.i.c.ked Gore from the darkness.

「It hurts? It hurts, it hurts!?」

Zakuzakunzakunzakunzakunzakunzakun……

p.r.i.c.king. The p.r.i.c.king continued. Gore screamed from the pain.

It wasn't Boltoa's body, but Gore's Astral Body itself that was being bound. Therefore, he couldn't run away by separating from the body.

Then Gore was entranced by the『something』standing in front of him.

It was wearing a black robe with gold embroidery. It had dishevelled long black hair, and it was wearing a horned bone mask covered in sorcerous patterns.

The eyes that could be seen through the gaps in the bone were gold. The whites of its eyes were dyed blood red, and tears of blood continually gushed out. The mouth wearing bright red lipstick was split into a smile, its right hand held a huge bloodstained hatchet, and its left hand was holding a chain connecting it with something like a guillotine blade.

Furthermore, there were a countless number of suspiciously s.h.i.+ning eyeb.a.l.l.s of various sizes floating around it. Gore realized they were Magic Eyes. How many Magic Eye possessors would need to be killed to obtain such a large number of Magic Eyes?

And then, the true form of the insect legs piercing him. There were countless red eyes around him. Countless red eyed insects were there. Gore's field of vision was entirely covered by a swarm of huge spider-like insects.

「Mo, monster…」

Gore said genuinely. That was something he had also thought when he fought the queen, but this wasn't different from that time. He was certainly overwhelmed during his battle with the queen, but he had still been standing on the same stage. It was a battle. However, right now, the strange thing in front of him was different. The image of a true monster that was completely different from his own sense of values was being seared into Gore's eyes.

「HiHAAHAHAHA」

The monster laughed. A fierce laugh.

「HeY, hOw dO yOU FeEL RiGhT NOw?」

「Monster, monster, monsterrrrrr!!」

Gore half-madly screamed. Forgetting that he was a devil, which was also categorized as a monster. Then his entire body was violated by poison. One of the magic eyes broke through his defense. The poison that devoured even an Astral Body dyed Gore purple.

「OnDUruSuKA?」 (TL: オンドゥルスカ, purple Kamen Rider flubbed line (I think?) reference)

The meaning was unknown to Gore. Gore didn't know anything.

The sensation of the indignity a.s.saulting his every nook and cranny was dominating Gore. The insects were eating his soul. Not killing him, just eating him little by little. Little by little, little by little from his limbs, pulverizing his mind, breaking, dyeing everything in despair.

And the mind of the devil who had lived for 500 years collapsed in just a few minutes. If there was a h.e.l.l, that thing before Gore was surely his. He could only beg for mercy. Only the pure soul that wished for it to end was remaining.

「Kill me... please... plea... kil...」

「RoGEr, UnDErSToOd? HyaHAa」

The monster's eyeb.a.l.l.s spun and scattered the flowing tears of blood. Then the final merciful blow pierced Gore.

That was the moment the existence called one of the Seven Deadly Sins was horribly killed.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Adhesion Sword『Gum』, Spell Dagger Feather x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring

Level : 32

Health: 124

Magic Power: 235+420

Strength: 55+20

Agility: 50+14

Endurance: 32

Wisdom : 62

Dexterity : 39

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror s.h.i.+eld』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior's Memory』『Night Vision』『Crus.h.i.+ng Blow』『Dog's Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material s.h.i.+eld: Lv2』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』

Kazane:「………… (White eyes)」

Yumika:「Huh, Kazane's SAN value is zero!?」