This Isn't an E*otic Game?-Chapter 96: Each One’s Battle (1)

Even looking again, I still can’t tell if that thing’s a cannon or a handgun.

With a thunderous roar that could tear my ears off, I ducked down fast and dodged the bullet.

Unlike the flat plain where the demons first ambushed me, this place was a rocky mountain.

There were plenty of things to use for cover.

I heard the bullet I dodged explode behind me in a massive blast, and fear shot up my spine like electricity.

If I get hit, I might survive.

But Kanya would definitely die.

I hid behind a large boulder and set Kanya down.

At some point—without me even saying anything—she was already holding the bolt-action rifle.

“I have to go hold it off. It’s hard to fight with you on my back.”

“I’ll support you with long-range sniping.”

“I’m counting on you, Kanya. I’ll draw that thing away as far as I can, so make sure you stay far too.”

“Is it impossible to make armor with time-stop?”

I nodded at her question.

Kanya bit her lip hard.

“Can you win?”

At that, steam started rising from my body.

Body Modification. Sensory Amplification x3000 had been applied.

Kon was tuning my body in real-time for combat with meticulous care.

“I can. Kanya. Don’t die.”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she silently adjusted the tangent sight on her bolt-action rifle and gave a single nod.

There was no need for words anymore.

I leapt out from behind the rock and charged toward the enemy, while Kanya broke off in the opposite direction.

“Kon! Try Absolute Hypnosis!”

I barked the command at Kon as I stared down the rapidly approaching Ketraltus unit.

But—

[Can only be used on living beings!]

Of course it didn’t work.

The skill failed like it was the most natural thing in the world.

That red-glowing helmet just stared at me in silence.

I saw the barrel of its gun rotate toward me.

I saw the bullet fly toward me in a burst of flame.

With reflexes accelerated 3000 times, I could watch the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) bullet crawl toward me as if in slow motion.

But my body still moved far slower than those reflexes.

[Now!]

Thanks to Kon’s exact calculations, I moved just in time to dodge the bullet.

After dodging that one shot, it was my turn.

I grabbed a fist-sized stone off the ground.

I couldn’t make weapons with time-stop anymore.

But if I didn’t have them, I’d make do with what I had.

“Kon!”

[Leave it to me!!]

I felt the muscles in my shoulder and everything around them pull tight.

Clenching the stone hard enough to shatter it, I hurled it with everything I had.

With a bone-chilling sonic boom, the rock flew straight toward Ketraltus’s helmet.

But just like me, it casually tilted its head and dodged the rock, then pulled the trigger again, aiming at my body.

I dodged the bullets with Kon’s help as I closed the distance.

[Long-range’s not gonna cut it!]

I agreed with him.

Throwing something with real force required prep time and a lot of setup. A pistol just needed a trigger pull.

That meant I had to go close.

The problem was the flaming sword in its left hand.

That thing didn’t look ordinary at all.

If I even had a weapon, this would be a different story.

I was really starting to feel the loss of time-stop.

Still, I had to try.

I began to approach Ketraltus.

As soon as I judged the distance close enough, it holstered its gun and gripped the sword with both hands.

Could I dodge it?

The blade came down toward me so slowly, I could see its path clear as day.

It was aiming right for my neck with terrifying precision.

I twisted my body perpendicular to the direction I’d been running.

Even with my body enhanced through modification, it felt like my muscles, bones, and joints were all screaming in agony.

But that pain bought me enough time to dodge the blow.

Its side was wide open.

I stepped forward with my lead foot and punched with all my strength.

What rang out wasn’t the sound of a human fist hitting armor—it was metal crashing against metal in an earsplitting roar.

Ketraltus’s body flew through the air and slammed into the ground behind it.

[It landed! I made it so it feels pain 3000 times more intensely!! If it’s still alive after that, it’s not human!......]

Kon’s shouting cut off into silence.

I was the same.

Through the shattered side of its armor, I could see the inside.

There was nothing there.

Just clanking chunks of metal.

And the messed-up part was—those chunks of metal began to slowly repair the damage like a living creature would.

Ketraltus regenerated its body like it hadn’t taken a single hit and slowly stood back up.

The murderous glow from its helmet intensified.

[Sensory Amplification x3000 only applies to living beings!]

A skill failure notification popped up in front of me too late, and I let out a hollow laugh.

[Hey. Amayel. That thing’s not human at all. So what’s your plan?]

It wasn’t just some hunk of metal.

Judging by the way it swung that sword, its reaction speed and strength were probably close to mine.

I clenched my fists.

“What else? I’ve gotta win.”

The dry popping of beans came from far away.

Gunfire.

Kanya.

Shit.

There must be another group going after her.

But I couldn’t run to her.

I had to beat this monster of a hunk of steel before I could cross over and even think about helping Kanya.

But catching up fast wasn’t going to be easy.

The flames pouring from Ketraltus’s sword grew even fiercer.

The light shining from its eyes grew even more intense.

And then, the armor covering its body began to writhe like something alive, before sprouting sharp spikes all across its surface.

[This way. It'll be even harder for you to land a punch on me.]

A chilling metallic voice like a ghost howling seeped out from beneath the helmet.

I gritted my teeth hard.

“I’ll crush you as fast as I can.”

[Now that I like.]

Ketraltus let out a low chuckle.

Cracks formed beneath the rock where the knight stood.

And in the very next moment—

The knight was already swinging his sword right in front of me.

My reflexes detected the movement quickly enough.

But my body couldn’t keep up.

Because of that, I barely dodged the blade, and in exchange, blood began to drip from my cheek.

“Kon!!”

At my shout, Kon responded immediately.

[If I modify your body any further, it’ll break!! You’re already at the limit of what a human body can handle!!]

Even so, if I wanted to win, I had no choice.

“Do it!”

[Shit! The aftereffects are gonna be nasty! Fine! I’ll push it a bit further... Hey. Amayel. Don’t get hit by that sword.]

I didn’t need an explanation for why he said that.

[The wound on your cheek is unhealable.]

A red warning window flashed in front of me, and I clenched my fist.

A sword fast enough that I had to abuse my own body just to barely dodge it—and if it hits, I can’t heal.

This wasn’t the time to be worrying about Kanya.

I was the one in the most danger.

****

As soon as the sounds of Jericho clashing with that massive knight echoed through the air, Kanya turned and started running.

She had to gain a bit more distance before sniping—it wasn’t safe yet.

But she was on a rugged rocky mountain, lugging firearms and ammo.

And with her frail, shriveled limbs, her escape speed was miserably slow.

“Kanya.”

On top of that, the Demon Lords clearly had no intention of letting her run away peacefully.

She didn’t get far before a group of people tore through space and appeared in the distance.

Dozens of them. All of them had disturbingly long claws on their hands.

About thirty meters away.

Kanya hurriedly pulled the rifle off her shoulder, braced it against her, aimed at the enemies, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet, infused with divine power, flew straight for the head of the man who appeared to be their leader—and hit dead-on.

The lead demon cultist’s head jerked violently.

But he didn’t die.

“Hmm... You sly little bitch. I’d love to rip you apart.”

The bullet hadn’t pierced his skull.

He casually peeled off the mashed-up round from his forehead and tossed it aside, then began to chuckle.

“Your firearms won’t work on us, Kanya. Our skin and flesh have been enhanced with the Authority of Envy—”

Before he could finish, another gunshot rang out.

His head snapped back again.

“...You fucking bitch. You’re aiming for the eyes now?”

A bullet was lodged in his left eyeball.

Looked like he closed his eyes at just the right moment, and his eyelid blocked the round.

“Catch her.”

The cultists, realizing there was no point in talking further, began to charge.

Their long claws scraped against the ground, throwing sparks as they ran.

As the distance closed rapidly, Kanya’s rifle spat fire without pause.

Four cultists dropped without even getting a chance to react.

Their brains had been pulverized by bullets that pierced their eyes.

It was marksmanship bordering on supernatural.

But just killing a few wasn’t enough.

There were still plenty left.

Kanya bit her lip.

‘What do I do?’

Her eyes and ears scanned her surroundings at high speed as she pieced together a strategy.

In the blink of an eye, she made a tactical decision and took off running again.

She tossed away her rifle and the ammo pack on her back, pulled out the revolver from her waist, and began firing as she ran.

Even while sprinting, her shots were terrifyingly accurate.

Two more cultists were dropped, bullets ripping through their eyes.

“Time your blinks, you morons! If your eyelids are closed, they’ll block the shot and the bitch won’t be able to hit you!!”

Hearing the furious bark of what sounded like the cultist leader, Kanya grinned.

“Too late!”

She dove into a wide gap between two rocks nearby and disappeared like she’d been sucked into it.

It was only natural the cultists’ eyes went wide.

“That fucking bitch!! Don’t let her escape! We have to catch her no matter what! I said—!”

The pitch-black hole lit up for a brief moment.

A gunshot rang out, and one of the lead cultists charging into the hole had his eyeball explode as he crumpled on the spot.

The faces of the Envy cultists twisted with rage.

But reality wasn’t as kind as their emotions.

Kanya was small.

The cultists, on the other hand, were all full-grown adults.

And on top of that, they had unnecessarily long claws.

The problem was, the hole Kanya went into was far too narrow for an adult to easily pass through.

Only one person could enter at a time.

“I’ll widen the entrance—”

The cultist speaking had his eye blown out with another gunshot and dropped.

The leader of the cultists, now nearly at the hole, let out a furious roar.

“Screw it! I’m going in! I’ll go first!”

He forced his body into the narrow opening.

“You filthy little bitch. Now you’ve got nowhere to—”

Grinning as he slipped inside, the leader’s expression suddenly twisted.

Even after his whole body had entered, there was still a lot of space.

It was huge.

Apparently, this wasn’t an ordinary hole.

It seemed the gap she had entered was actually the entrance to an underground cave.

And naturally—

It was pitch black inside.

As the leader stared into the pitch darkness, a gunshot flared from deep inside the cave, illuminating it for a brief moment before vanishing.

His head snapped back again.

A mangled bullet was stuck to his eyelid.

“She’s aiming at the same spot again!! That bitch!! Get down here!! Catch her!!”

In the end, the leader only had one option left.

Dozens of cultists began forcing their way into the narrow hole, one at a time.