Chapter 158

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-- Chapter 158
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Well the good chapters keep on coming. Next week is going to be a blast.

borisdrakoni (Spoiler):

Signal of Counterattack

In the audience chamber where Hajime's cry echoed, Hajime was held down by several apostles.  Even his right arm that had reached out for Yue was held and twisted behind his back.

Shia, Kaori, and Tio were held down by the wolves that had been transfigured from the floor.  Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryuutaro were unable to move due to Ehito's illusion magic and God's Command.  Aiko, Lily, and the classmates were being watched by the apostles and demonic beasts, and could also not move due to their original injuries.

The artifacts they had relied on were also no more.

To compare it with chess, this would be exactly “checkmate”.  Therefore Ehito, because Hajime and the others had been stopped, gave priority to solving the problem caused by Yue's resistance.

To Hajime that screamed when Yue was taken, the smile that distorted Ehito's face was gloatingly full of the pleasure of enjoying the sight of his suffering.  That may have been the reason why she left the following up to Alv.

About ten apostles and thirty demonic beasts were left behind.  In the audience chamber where the atmosphere had become somewhat quiet, the sound of footsteps resounded.

With a laugh, Alv mocks Hajime's appearance, jeeringly thanking him for discovering “that”(Yue) for Ehito.

To those words, Hajime, whose face is turned down did not even twitch a muscle.  Not even a bit of the murderous intent that had caused the apostles to shiver in fear earlier or the seemingly bottomless torrent of power could be felt from him.  From the degree of his injuries and the amount of blood, by appearances it seemed as if his breath had already stopped.

Perhaps thinking so, Alv inclined his head at one of the apostles holding Hajime.  She shook her head quietly before turning her gaze back to the back of Hajime's head.  He was apparently still alive.

Alv continued to mock Hajime, but the one who angrily shouted back in his place was Shia.  Having shouted, Shia tried to drag herself forward out from under the claws of the wolf.  To silence her, the wolf bit down at Shia's neck and shoulder, causing blood to spurt.

With an angry shout, Shia tried to rally the others and put more effort into fighting back.  Power rose explosively in Shia.  With the sound of something breaking, she jumped up.  The wolf's head was blown off.  The wound in her shoulder spouted more blood but she paid it no mind.

Shia charged forward and threw a punch at Alv.  There was a terrific sound of impact.  Judging by the orbit of the punch, it should have connected solidly with Alv's face, however unfortunately he had erected a barrier in front of him by slightly raising his hand, stopping the attack.  Alv looked at her insolently without fear.

Shia punched again.  Alv looked annoyed at the futility of her actions, but....cracks started to form in the barrier where she punched.  Alv stared slightly in shock while Shia, not missing the chance, spun around throwing a roundhouse kick at maximum strength right at the spot where the cracks had appeared.

The kick blasted through the barrier.  Alv crossed his arms to receive it, but was blown back by the weight of the attack.  Shia threw a heel drop at the floor beneath her, shattering it, and spun like a top kicking the rubble at Alv like bullets.  Then she took off in high speed pursuit.

Alv's body had crashed into one of the limestone pillars and was assaulted by the rubble that came at him like bullets from a Gatling gun.  The pillar itself was crushed by the assault.

Shia pursued to continue her attack, however she was suddenly flanked on both sides by an apostle.  Even though she had noted the apostles and demonic beasts, with the blood rushed to her head she had charged forward anyway.  If she had Doryukken in hand she may have been able to do something about it, however just as she resolved herself to take damage a black flash blew the two apostles back.

It was Tio.  She complimented Shia's spirit for throwing off the effects of God's Command while strangling the wolf that had been on her with her tail by partially transforming herself with a painful expression.  Unlike Shia she had not been able to fully throw off God's command yet.

Tio, covered in black power while practicing sublime magic, blew off the wolf that had been holding down Kaori, while at the same time shooting out a breath attack to restrain the apostles.  At that time, Shizuku's voice rings out, telling Tio to focus on waking Kaori while she defends her and Shia holds off Alv.

Shizuku dashed along the ground.  Her body is covered in dark blue magic.  She slipped into the guard of an apostle approaching Tio from behind, and used a combination technique from the Yaegashi style, “Kagami Kaminari”(Mirror Thunder) to blow the apostle back with an elbow strike.

Shizuku had used Sublime magic to achieve a pseudo Limit Break.  Though even now she had not completely freed herself from the God's Command as her face was still distorted by acute pain.  Tio told her not to do anything unreasonable, which Shizuku acknowledged.  Tio, using the wolf held by her tail as an improvised hammer, knocked away the apostles who dodged the breaths she fired at random while running up to Kaori.  At the same time, Shia took off in pursuit of Alv.

Shizuku, facing an apostle who began to move, picked up a splinter of the floor while running and threw it at the apostle, aiming at her eye.  This was a Yaegashi style throwing technique.  Even though her body was strengthened by Sublime magic, to accurately aim at the eyeball while running was an unexpectedly expert technique.

However, the apostle easily deflected it with her sword.  Turning inorganic eyes at Shizuku, the apostle spread her wings and shot an innumerable amount of silver feathers at her.

Shizuku dodged it to the very limit by continuously practicing Ground Contractor and No Rhythm, and ignoring the fear of the feathers brushing the edges of her clothes and hair, approached the apostle while raising a shout.  She executed a kick using an unarmed fighting technique of the Yaegashi style “Gyaku Washitsume”(Reverse Eagle Claw).  Even if the sword was lost, it was possible to keep fighting with the Yaegashi style using scabbard techniques, physical techniques, throwing techniques, etc.(***Note, the Yaegashi style is awesome!  I could probably read an entire spinoff series dedicated just to Shizuku and her dojo.***)

With the Shizuku of today powered by the pseudo Limit Break, the kick should have been able to blow off even the apostle.  However, she was still too naive.  The kick was easily blocked by the silver wings.  What's more, the boot Shizuku was wearing had already disappeared at the point of contact.

Shizuku  rotated her body and threw another kick with her other foot, but this was also blocked with the wings.  Shizuku was blown back.  She fell painfully down to the ground.  Silver feathers poured down like rain from above.  Shizuku barely managed to avoid the feathers by rolling away.  Picking up another chunk of the floor, she threw it at the apostle who tried to face Tio who was busy with Kaori, but the apostle blocked it with her wings without looking.

In her mind, Shizuku wondered if she could hold them off long enough for Kaori to heal Hajime while she desperately evaded the barrage of death.

Her goal was for Tio to use Spirit or Reproduction magic to wake Kaori up.  As long as Kaori was there, Hajime could be healed with superior recover magic.  As long as it was possible for Hajime to move, the current situation could be overturned.  That was Shizuku's trust in Hajime.

Shizuku looked over at Hajime who was held down by three apostles while lying in a sea of his own blood.

She thought to herself that for the person she had seriously fallen in love with for the first time who had helped her many times, saving both her life and her mind, she could do anything.  Even if apostles were her opponents.  Even if she had no weapons.  These weren't sufficient reasons for her to break.  This time she would save him.

In a small voice Shizuku started muttering an incantation.  Though most of the artifacts had been taken, the ones that weren't weapons and considered insignificant were still at hand.  The shoes with Aerodynamic given to them, the hairpin with regenerative functions, and clothes that had been sewed with the magic formation of Sublime magic.

From Shizuku's body that kept evading the silver feathers, an abnormal dark blue magic suddenly sprang up.  Piling up multiple uses of Sublime magic, was a pseudo Hatsubusu obtained?  Naturally, power the exceeded the limit could not be freely used.  The act of piling up the magic by force, it was not impossible that it would become a load.

Shizuku's expression painfully distorted.  She bit her lip to endure the movement of the large power.  In exchange for that pain, her body covered in brilliantly shining magic was strengthened.

To such a shine of magic, the apostle about to reach Tio who was concentrating on recovering Kaori looked back for an instant, but judging it to be trifling turned back and raised her sword at Tio.

At that apostle, Shizuku shouted with anger.  She fully demonstrated her characteristic as a speed type fighter.  Boosted by Sublime magic, it was a level that even the apostles could not ignore.  Much to the astonishment of the apostle raining feathers down on her, Shizuku dashed right past her.  The apostle about to bring her sword down on Tio turned instinctively at the sign of something approaching swiftly.

However, Shizuku wasn't going to give her time to complete that motion.  She aimed a spinning air kick right at the back of the apostle's head.  The apostle was blown right over Tio.  Shizuku turned in midair and used Aerodynamic to jump over  the head of another apostle.  Twisting her body in the air, she kicked at the apostle's head with both feet using another technique of the Yaegashi style.  The apostle who wasn't able to counter was thrown headfirst into the ground with a cracking sound in her neck, leaving a small crater while her head was buried at an impossible angle.

Then the apostle who had been bombarding her turned the silver feathers on her again.  Shizuku could not dodge them because Tio and Kaori were behind her.  If she had the black sword she may have been able to tear up space to defend against the attack, however now she was barehanded.  If she dodged now her companions would die.

Her hesitation was fatal.  The silver light of death approached her.  Her mind became pure white.

In that moment...

The voices of two people resounded.  At the same time, shining barriers erected themselves in front of Shizuku.  Liliana had used her own blood to draw a magic formation, desperately reaching out to Shizuku.  Suzu had also drawn a magic formation with her own blood and was reaching out from where she painfully lay.

The silver flash struck the barriers and was slowed temporarily, however due to their nature of destroying all things physical and magic, naturally the barriers also disappeared after a few seconds too.  However, those few seconds were enough for Shizuku's destiny to change.

Hearing a familiar voice telling her to get down, Shizuku dropped without hesitation.  A similar silver flash came from behind her and impacted into the flash shot by the apostle with tremendous power.  Shizuku smiled knowing that it must have come from Kaori.

Telling the apostle not to think she is the same as them, Koari's body shined with silver light, strengthening with Sublime magic.  The power she was shooting out increased in strength, swallowing the flash shot by the apostle completely.  While muttering about being exceeded by their own body with an indescribable expression, the apostle who takes Kaori's attack turned to dust.

Kaori thanked Tio who was tired from using Spirit and Reproduction magic to revive Kaori.  She started to use magic to recover not just Hajime, but everyone else as well, however before she could she was attacked by the swords of the two apostles Shizuku had fought before.

Kaori, Tio, and Shizuku faced off against the two apostles, but screams made them divert their gazes.  Lily and Suzu were being held down by demonic beasts.  Ryuutaro tried to go to Suzu while Aiko and Nagayama tried to help Lily, but they were attacked by snake and spider type demonic beasts.

In addition to that, Alv's voice rings out, complaining about the trouble they gave him.  Shizuku and the others look toward that direction and see Alv holding Shia up by the throat while she is covered in wounds.  Though she was still conscious, her groaning voice was weak.

Everyone called out to Shia.

While their attention was diverted, the apostles did not miss the opportunity.  Kaori, Tio, and Shizuku were blown away by the apostle's magic.  Though Kaori was able to reduce the damage they suffered somehow, before she could use recovery magic, Alv used the God's Command to stop her.

This was why Shia was defeated.  Her movement was restrained.  Though it wasn't as powerful as Ehito's command.  Kaori and the others, strengthened by Sublime magic, began to move again immediately.  However, even if just for a moment, it was still fatal as long as the apostles and demonic beasts were there.  More magic was shot toward them, and Kaori could not defend against it this time and the three of them were blown away, falling to the ground with smoke coming off of their bodies.

The counteroffensive which led to the military gains of only defeating one apostle was easily suppressed.

Alv threw Shia down like garbage, trampling down on her back while looking around angrily.

He hadn't killed them instantly so that they could taste despair as well.  Thoroughly enjoying it, he turned to Liliana and told her that the first target for the world's extermination will be Hairihi kingdom since it is easy to open a gate from the gods' world to Kamiyama.  Lily angrily called him and the rest of the gods insane.

Turning to the classmates, he told them that their home will become Ehito's playground.  Imagining the deaths that will result, and remembering that their precious families are there, they glared at him with demons' looks'.

Those looks as if they could kill just stroked his superiority complex further though.  His blissful expression was evidence of that.

He mentioned that the migration of the Majin people is nearly complete, so although he wanted to enjoy the taste of their despair more there was no more time to play around.  Looking above, the entirety of the Majin race was passing through the gate  into the gods' world.  This had been going on even while they were fighting.  They alone would be the only ones to survive the destruction of the world.

Alv kicked Shia away.  As he did, he signaled to one of the apostles, who nodded and approached Myuu and Remia.  Remia desperately held onto Myuu begging them to stop.  The apostle's fist mercilessly struck Remia, knocking her into a wall.  She fell to the ground vomiting blood.  As a normal person it was impossible for her to move after that.

Even though Myuu's scream resounded, nobody could do anything.

The apostle brought Myuu to Alv.  He used magic to crucify her in the air and brought her before the unmoving Hajime.

Alv tells Hajime that the despair he has felt so far wasn't nearly enough to make up for his actions of shaming him and interfering with Ehito's play.  That's why he will burst the head of the girl that looks up to him as a father right in front of him.  He tells Myuu to scream now.

Myuu, however, tells Hajime not to die and to get up.  Even with impending death looming over her she still seems unworried.  Instead she only worried about her beloved papa.  Shia's and the others' voices call out to Hajime to stop Alv and save Myuu.

--It was a strange spectacle.

At a time like this, with the eyes of a beast Hajime would be sure to aim his fangs at the throat of his enemy.  Though the Myuu he doted on would be killed in a moment, he was quiet.

Because there is no sign of the apostles holding him down letting down their guards, it is certain he is conscious.  However, cruelly, terribly, he was quiet.

Was it too much of a shock to lose Yue?  Was his mind broken?

Shia and the others who knew of Hajime's deep love of Yue, when seeing his unmoving form thought so at first.  At last, though, they remembered a sense of unease.

And then they noticed it.  Their bodies were covered in goosebumps as they instinctively felt a warning from being driven into a corner.

Myuu timidly called out to Hajime again.

When Hajime doesn't even raise his face, Alv signaled to an apostle.  The apostle looked at the back of Hajime's head.  Surprisingly she showed a slight hesitation, but gripped his hair carefully with the atmosphere of steeling her mind, and raised his face by force.

In that moment, Alv unconsciously retreated one step.  Ungracefully he lost control of his magic, dropping Myuu right before Hajime's eyes.  In a panic, he tried to cast magic at Myuu again.  The hand that was thrust out was trembling slightly.  The demonic beasts standing behind him also retreated, their bodies shaking.

--Fright

It was unbecoming for demonic beasts who received strengthening of the Age of Gods magic.  It could be seen in their eyes.  Alv's trembling also was the same.

The cause was just one.

Abyss.

The abyss that extends in their presence, instinctive fear was woken up at their core.

It was darker than black, deeper than hell.  While having a god's body, even that would be swallowed and disappear within the overwhelming nothingness that was in that eye.

Hajime's eye.

“K.....Kil..”

Alv, driven by an impulse that even he didn't understand, tried to give the order to the apostles to kill Hajime immediately.

Using Myuu, having his revenge for obstructing his plan, doing it by his own hand, hurting god's pride by retreating, such ideas immediately flew out of his mind.

Right now, stopping the root of it all was necessary.  A noisy warning was repeating in Alv's head.

To the instruction, the apostles swiftly attack.  Though there was neither murderous intent nor one drop of magic felt, a bad feeling must have built for a long time.  They wanted to end it quickly.

The apostles wore silver light on their bodies.  They would disintegrate his body completely with their power.  However that action was fatally slow.

Alv gave too much time to Hajime.  As if the current quietness were a lie, killing intent began to overflow from Hajime.  Magic as red as blood poured out as if to swallow everything.  It was as if the lid to hell had opened.

The voice of Hajime finally came out also, which could be mistaken as originating from the furthest depth of hell.  The meaning also was dark and heavy, like a curse.

“Each and everything disappear completely(denial of all existence).”

That moment, the concept of denial was released to the world.


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