[So. You’re telling that three Demon Lords are targeting that girl. And we have to protect her while making our way to that place called Talhaim’s Rock Mountain. That’s it?]
"More or less."
As soon as I finished explaining, Kon let out a dry laugh.
[Hey. Amayel. Try stopping ti.]
"Why?"
[Just do it first.]
I did as Kon told . Ti froze, and everything stopped except .
[That’s it. It’s over. Just pick up the girl and carry her all the way to the mountain. Your ability is ridiculously busted. You don’t even need to waste ti worrying about fighting in the first place.]
He’s not wrong.
If I don’t have to fight, that really would be ideal.
[Of course. Fighting’s a great way to show off your male instincts. I get that you want to flaunt your masculinity in front of a female. But co on, look at who you’re dealing with. You said three Demon Lords? You might end up worse than dead.]
“You’re right. What you said is the safest and most certain option.”
[Exactly, right? Why even bother with a fight? You’re not going up against so random schmuck—these are gods.]
“The problem is, those three already know about my ability.”
There’s no way the three Demon Lords don’t know what I can do.
And they definitely know that the easiest and safest way to get Kanya to the Rock Mountain is to use ti-stop and just walk there.
They absolutely know that.
I’d like to hope they have no counterasure to ti-stop, but this is three Demon Lords working together. I can’t guarantee there’s no way for them to break it.
“I need to be prepared for when my ability gets countered. If I can’t use ti-stop, even for a mont, I need to at least be able to handle a fight with their followers, don’t you think?”
[I hope that doesn’t happen... but yeah. You’ve got a point. Ugh. I really don’t like this. I’ve fought a lot of crazy shit, but I’ve never gone up against a god before.]
“From what you’ve told , didn’t you once storm through a crusade, beat up other male unicorns and monsters alike, all just to get laid with so virgin mare? That makes you sound like a total alpha, and this freaks you out?”
[It’s not fear! I’m not scared, okay? It’s just... they’re gods, Amayel. Gods are different. You can’t look at them like normal beings. They’re freaks that exist outside the natural order. Fighting three gods just to protect one girl? That’s a bad trade.]
Kon’s whiny grumbling earned a short sigh from .
If we’re being rational, Kon is a hundred tis right.
Going up against three divine beings isn’t sothing anyone would call “sensible.”
But I have to do it anyway.
I have to do it precisely because there’s no chance of winning.
That’s how I die.
“I’ll fight the three of them with everything I’ve got. And in the end, I’ll die. That’s the plan, Kon. So help out, okay?”
[Why the hell are you so dead set on dying? You psycho. I seriously don’t get it. At first I thought you were just saying crazy shit, but this? This is too fucking real!! Amayel. It’s not just dying! Your soul could get completely annihilated! Fighting gods ans exactly that!!]
I laughed at that.
“That’s exactly what I’m hoping for.”
[Wait. You want soul destruction? Like, no reincarnation, no rebirth, no past lives—just pure, final oblivion?]
“Yeah. That’s the goal.”
Because that’s the only way I get to Korea.
Kon went silent for a long ti after hearing that.
[You’re the craziest bastard I’ve ever t, and I’ve t so real sickos. Why the hell do I have to be stuck with you as my master? I can’t even run away!]
“So? Are you gonna help or not?”
At my words, Kon hesitated before finally letting out a long, heavy sigh.
[If I had a body, I’d have bailed a long ti ago. But since I can’t run, I’ve got no choice but to help you.]
“Good. Then let’s try using my abilities in more versatile ways. We’ll assu I might not be able to use ti-stop at all. Let’s think about how you can support my other skills too.”
[Hold up. You have other abilities besides ti-stop?]
“Yeah. I’ve got Body Modification, Absolute Hypnosis, and a sensory boost—3000x enhancent.”
Kon let out a ridiculous laugh.
[Those are all fucking sex abilities! I can’t believe this. I’ve lived a long ti, but I never imagined I’d have to help soone fight three Demon Lords using a bunch of horny-ass, softcore porno powers...]
He grumbled a lot, but Kon stuck with anyway. Since he couldn’t run away and really didn’t want to die, he got surprisingly enthusiastic about figuring out how to repurpose my skills for battle.
In the frozen world of stopped ti,
We spent a long, long while developing strategies.
****
Morning.
[Amayel. Kanya’s awake. You should get up too.]
At Kon’s voice-alarm, I groggily opened my eyes and saw Kanya already sitting up in bed, staring blankly into space.
“Kon, how’s your psychic state?”
[You think I’m you? I’m fine, no sweat.]
After stopping ti and running intense strategy drills for hours, my ntal stamina hit rock bottom and I had to crash halfway through. But Kon still had psychic energy to spare—even after taking night watch for , he looked perfectly fine.
Honestly, pretty damn reliable.
I gave the opened locket a couple of light taps to say thanks, then walked over to Kanya.
“Kanya. How’s your body?”
“I feel refreshed.”
She stared down at her scrawny, emaciated hands.
“That’s why it feels strange. I’ve never felt this refreshed in my whole life...”
Sothing in my chest stung at her words.
Maybe because I’d seen her entire hell of a life so vividly from the abuser’s point of view.
I gently patted her head.
“Sorry, but we’ve gotta move. We’re going straight to the Rock Mountain.”
Kanya stared at for a mont, then slowly nodded.
She got up from bed with unsteady motion.
I had asked the innkeeper for so ergency clothes for a girl while getting the room.
Because it was all last-minute, the size was completely off. The clothes hung loose—her pant legs dragged on the floor, and her hands disappeared into the sleeves.
Not that it mattered.
I didn’t plan on letting her walk anyway.
“Here. Get on.”
I knelt and offered her my back.
“Huh?”
“I’ll carry you. So hop on.”
“...”
“We need to get to the Rock Mountain, don’t we?”
Kanya hesitated for a mont, then slowly climbed onto my back.
Her spine was twisted and frail, her body like dry kindling. It felt like I was shouldering so grotesquely bent branch, not a human being.
I gripped her bony hips with one hand and took a deep breath.
This is the beginning.
Kanya moves toward salvation.
And I—
toward death.
“Kanya.”
“Yes.”
“There are going to be a lot of things from now on that’ll be hard to understand. I want to explain them in detail, but there’s no ti. And even if I did, it’d still be hard to get. But one thing’s certain. I’m on your side. Got it? You have to trust . Can you do that?”
I couldn’t see the expression on Kanya’s face from where she clung to my back.
But judging from how tightly she was gripping the collar of my coat, she didn’t seem to be doubting , at least not right now.
“...Okay. I don’t have any other options anyway.”
“Good. Then we’re going, alright?”
“Yes.”
“Kon.”
[Ready. Begin.]
I pulled a gold bar from the coin pouch on my belt and set it down on the bed.
The innkeeper here had been a good person.
Despite his appearance, he was so kind that he even offered to go fetch a priest from the Church of Grace, beyond what I’d asked—which ant I’d had no choice but to nudge his mind a bit with Absolute Hypnosis.
After everything he’d gone through because of , I had to make sure he was compensated properly.
Once I finished paying, I activated ti-stop.
The whole world fell silent, and only I, Kon, and Kanya—clinging to my back—were still moving.
“Wh-What is this? What did you just do? How is the world...?”
“Kanya. I’m sorry. I can’t explain that part. Could you just trust for now?”
How the hell was I supposed to tell her it was the power of the Demon Lord Asmodeus?
To a girl who’d spent her entire life being tortured by a Demon Lord?
Kanya must have felt uneasy, because her hands clenched tighter around my collar.
“...Okay.”
Thankfully, she accepted it without further questioning.
With Kanya on my back,
I began to run through the frozen world.
“J-Just a little slower...”
“There are three Demon Lords after us. We don’t know when they’ll attack. I hope they don’t—but there’s no guarantee. So we don’t have ti to take it slow. Kanya. I’m sorry. Hang in there just a little longer.”
At that, Kanya wrapped her arms tightly around my torso, pressing her body firmly against mine.
Once I was sure she was secure, I picked up the pace even more.
[Please, please let us reach the Rock Mountain safely.]
“I’m with you on that one, Kon.”
[Please, please, no surprises... urgh... please...]
Even in this situation, Kon’s dramatic voice made laugh.
“Didn’t you say you mounted over a thousand virgin mares and wiped out over fifty crusades, you badass unicorn? And now you’re scared?”
[You think fighting three divine beings is normal? Of course I’m scared! We’re not talking about regular monsters here—it’s three godlike entities! Please, PLEASE tell no one noticed we’re moving in frozen ti. Please.]
“Yeah. I hope to god you’re right.”
We left the village.
I ran with full use of lightfoot techniques, moving fast.
Kanya stayed silent.
Kon stayed silent.
And I kept my mouth shut too.
The world in ti-stop is disturbingly quiet.
Normally, I wouldn’t think anything of it—but now, it felt like the stillness before a world-ending war.
After what must’ve been an hour of running nonstop—
The village scenery vanished.
No signs of life remained. Just vast, quiet plains stretching endlessly.
And just then—
[Warning!!]
[Detected intense interference!]
[Skill authority... is being restrain—...]
With a blaring red system alert, the area where ti-stop was active suddenly expanded violently.
A massive do-shaped space blood outward—and then stopped expanding just as suddenly.
And at the sa ti, the space directly in front of split apart like a cracked screen—and began spewing out people. A lot of people.
I had no choice but to stop.
[Goddamn it!! Amayel!! Your ability—how is it?!]
I quickly tried to activate ti-stop again.
It worked.
But it was far from okay.
“I can still use it, thankfully. But the area I can freeze is very limited now. And... I can’t stop ti outside the do.”
[So we’re boxed in.]
“Exactly.”
[Fuck!! What about the other skills?!]
I calmly checked my remaining abilities. The result was clear.
“The other three are fine.”
[Hah... haha... So this is exactly the scenario we worried about yesterday. What shitty luck. Fucking fantastic.]
Kon’s voice was trembling.
And not just Kon’s.
“J-Jericho...”
Kanya, still on my back, was trembling too.
And to be honest?
I was scared as hell.
From the rift spilled nearly a hundred people.
Among them were six who looked like black mages.
The rest—all followers—were ard with bolt-action rifles, light machine guns, and pistols. So had grenades strapped to their chests, the kind you’d see in a World War I trench.
And at the front—
Three n.
Wearing signature blood-red armor. Each carried only a longsword on his waist.
Compared to the gun-toting troops, they were lightly ard—but the pressure they exuded was terrifying.
There was no way around it.
A fight was unavoidable.
I slowly set Kanya down.
“Kon. I’m counting on you.”
[Got it.]
Sothing began to slowly envelop both my body and Kanya’s as we stood on the ground.
“W-What are you doing...?”
“Armor, Kanya.”
Using the overflow of his psychic power, Kon carefully layered hyper-precise pockets of stopped ti over our bodies, forming a protective barrier far beyond anything I could manage myself.
It gave us at least minimal defense.
“Get away from . Keep your body flat to the ground and hide as best you can. Got it?”
At my words, Kanya imdiately backed away and lay flat on the ground.
Once I confird she was secure, I began walking forward.
[Alright. You ready?]
“Do it.”
The mont I spoke, I activated three skills at once—while Kon imdiately began manipulating them.
[Activating Body Modification, 3000x Sensory Boost, and Absolute Hypnosis simultaneously!]
[Unlocking functions gained from level-up!]
[Reflexes enhanced 3000-fold.]
[Muscle and bone structure reinforced.]
[Cognitive speed boosted via hypnosis.]
My body began to overheat from the rapid and extre physical changes. Steam started to rise, seeping through my clothes.
[All set, Amayel. From here on, it’s all you. I’m just the support, rember!]
“Thanks, Kon.”
I lightly clenched and released my fist—and felt the power surge and fade again, far beyond the realm of human strength.
This might be enough.
The three knights at the front, seeing approach while steaming like ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a furnace, slowly drew the longswords from their belts.
“In the na of the Demon Lord of Wrath, I offer your skull.”
As I watched the black energy coiling around their blades, I extended my hand.
“Make it.”
In response, a ti-stop field compressed tightly and precisely in the air—
Forming a massive warhamr.
A hamr crafted entirely from frozen ti.
I reached out and gripped the enormous warhamr with my right hand.
[This is insane, Amayel.]
“I know.”
Cold sweat rolled down my temple.
But I smiled anyway.
“Let’s go die, Kon.”
[You go die! I’m not ready to—!!]
My legs kicked off the earth.
And the next mont—
My ti-stopped warhamr smashed straight through the skull of one of the knights.
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