Novels online

Chapter 426

Masquerade (4)

The moment the executioner made eye contact with a pair of odd eyes, he flinched unconsciously..

And right after that, he realized what he had done and gritted his teeth..

‘···Are you nervous? I?’

It was something that couldn't happen, something that shouldn't have happened..

He is the undefeated fighter that Buncheonhoe boasts of..

He wasn't a Buncheonhoeju, as he had already acknowledged a long time ago, and there was no way he would be nervous as he made eye contact with an enemy of a similar level to himself.!

‘···Okay, this is just a brief embarrassment. I was just a little surprised because something unexpected suddenly happened..’

After rationalizing himself like that, he widened his eyes and took another step forward, glaring at the monster in the beast mask..

And he quickly analyzed the cause of the problem that embarrassed him..

‘The only thing that changed was the eyes. The rest are still bound by time. ...but how could they follow my timeline without any contact??’

Then I suddenly discovered something different from before..

The suspicious energy that he gave off just before.

What had been encroaching on space had extended all the way to where he was..

‘Is it because of this energy??

Nothing was certain yet, but it was clear that it would be dangerous to wait any longer..

Right now it was just the pupils, but if this variable got bigger, I didn't know when it would spread to something more..

And if that happens···.

‘···This might be a bit difficult. I need to finish this as quickly as possible..’

Leave it alone before the variables become bigger than they are now..

He quickly changed course..

Originally, I had planned to completely subdue him for interrogation, but now was not the time to be so relaxed..

Even if it's a bit of a stretch, it's better to get it done first..

After making that judgment, a lava-like energy gathered together in the right hand of the executioner..

‘In this timeline, we should avoid overdoing things as much as possible, but... I can't help it. I have no choice but to deal with him somehow and leave..’

As a huge amount of energy moved within the frozen timeline, the load on his body, which maintained its unique skills, began to increase like a snowball..

Until now, he had been able to use his abilities without much pressure thanks to his distant status and the body of an archdemon, but as he crossed a certain safety line, the absolute law of 'time' began to reach out to him..

‘I'll rip off one arm with this one.!’

If you cut off each limb like that, even the monster with the best reflexes would have no way to respond..

The greater the accumulated damage, the longer it will take to regenerate, so what followed was only one-sided devastation..

Phuwak—!

A hideous hand, shining with lava-like brilliance, dug into the giant's chest and blood spurted out..

However, the expression on the face of the executioner who actually attacked was not so good..

The opponent's pattern so far has been to react immediately the moment a vital point is attacked and let it go with minimal damage.···.

‘You gave me a vital position on purpose? ···Oops!’

But that realization was already too late..

Clumping—

As if they had been waiting from the beginning, the living tissue growing around covered the right hand that was digging into the chest..

The bones that grew in an instant tightened the wrist like handcuffs, the tough muscles wrapped around the arm like a chain, and the infinitely proliferating flesh stuck to it like glue..

Of course, the amount of necrotic cells was greater due to the destructive energy contained in the hand, but it was inevitable that the body of the executioner who attacked in the process came to a halt for a very brief moment..

Suddenly!

And that moment was enough.

“Haha! Got it—!”

Until Harley's two large hands grabbed the right arm that had just fallen from her body..

Time that had stopped slowly began to move again.

[Ugh —what a crazy guy! No matter how good your regenerative ability is, you won't be able to easily recover from this attack! But I just received that from a secret post.?]

When the time axis, which had slowed down, finally returned to its normal orbit.

What remained in that place was a giant in a beast mask with a large hole in his chest, and a demon who was unable to escape as quickly as before and was caught by one arm..

[under! If you thought this would be enough to keep me captive, you were mistaken. Do you think I'm just a brat who only believes in my unique skills and runs wild??]

Gooooo—!

A thick energy emanated from the executioner's body..

Although he is now using his skills out of necessity, wasn't he usually more likely to enjoy using the abilities he had accumulated as a devil??

No matter how great Harley's vitality was, there was no way she could have been his opponent since she was hit in the vital area and her vital organs, including her heart, were lost and her capabilities were reduced..

“Kahahaha! A critical place? I don't know what you're talking about!”

Of course, Harley didn't do it without thinking..

“Wow, this is very elaborate, isn’t it? Just for fun, I tried changing the internal structure of my body.!”

[···What?]

“This really made me feel like I wanted to do that for some reason. I wonder if there are any coincidences like this! Kahahahaha!”

Because he was never attacked at a critical point in the first place..

Heart, liver, stomach and lungs, etc..

Organs that would normally be located in the chest had already been scattered to other areas such as the lower abdomen and thighs..

As if they had predicted in advance where they would be attacked..

‘Ugh, the sensation I felt at my fingertips was somehow strange. Was this guy overlooked because of the special nature of his body?.’

Only then did the executioner realize.

This monster only looked like a human on the outside and had nothing in common with a humanoid creature at all..

While acknowledging his body, he was unconsciously caught up in the stereotype..

Kugugoogung Palace!

Two beings face each other at a distance where their bodies touch each other..

The energies surging from both sides clashed violently..

No, it wasn't just energy that collided..

[Let go! This leech-like guy!]

“Haha! Don’t hesitate, friend! I also really like fighting. Let’s have fun together.!”

[You guy···!]

“what's the matter? Didn't you want to fight for your life? A real sword battle where body and soul collide, bloodshed and death! Big! It's a man's fight?”

Ultra-close fighting using not only limbs but also wings and tail.

There was a persistent battle between those trying to escape and those trying to hold on..

As he had assured, the Executioner was not a very formidable opponent, even excluding his unique skills..

Not only was the combat experience accumulated so far, but the flame-like energy boiling over from his entire body was enough to melt Harley's hard skin, and the devil's body, optimized for actual combat, was no different from a weapon in itself..

“Okay then, first of all—.”

However, if he had some misfortune, it was that his opponent was unrivaled in this field..

Like a boxer caught by a wrestler, he struggles to escape, but unlike him, Harley, who has all mysteries in her body, accepts all resistance with her body and gradually crushes the enemy in the water..

“—Should I start by taking a bite while it’s still fresh??”

[Off—! This monster!]

Because of you, the skin of my stomach is stuck to my back..

Harley's mouth opened wide as she said that, and her jagged teeth dug into the hard devil's scales..

***

This wasn't the first time I came across a time-related ability..

This had already happened once in the process of defeating the Buncheonhoeju who invaded Outerica..

‘Although the details are different, in the larger scheme of things, there are many similarities..’

Heinrich, who had plunged the holy sword into the man's chest at that time, was able to share a moment of frozen time together before Hoeju used his ability to supposedly reverse time..

Thanks to the divine power that penetrated into his body through the holy sword, it became a medium..

‘It's no different from then.’

Instead of using divine power, the madness of the abyss was used, and instead of injecting it directly into the body, it was replaced with eroding space..

Of course, it would have been impossible if it were just that, but the experience of having already succeeded once against someone much stronger than the Executioner was of great help..

‘Since it is an ability used by a being of the same level, the hurdle is lower..’

Strictly speaking, his unique skill was not to stop ‘world time’..

If that were really the case, his avatar, which had spread to other dimensions, would have detected an abnormality..

The mechanism of the ability it used was to escape outside the timeline flowing through the world..

From a practical standpoint, there isn't much difference between either side, but mathematically, there is a lot of room to intervene and forcibly take it out..

‘The physical strain caused by using the ability is probably considerable. The method chosen to alleviate that would have been demonization..’

Heinrich, who had been quietly analyzing the fight between the executioner and Harley, narrowed his eyes..

Rumbling—!

The artificially created space continued to scream and twist in the storm of energy rushing here and there..

Even though a being who could be said to be a middle-level transcendental person used all kinds of magic tools to build it, he was unable to fully withstand the aftereffects caused by the collision of higher-level energies..

‘I did give it a shot first, but... It's not that easy after all.’

The executioner had to allow Harley to feast on him while his right arm was blocked..

However, despite being forced into such an unfavorable distance, it did not collapse easily..

The moment Harley found a moment of opportunity to prey, he immediately cut off his captured arm and used time stop again to escape..

‘That arm also regenerated quickly. Also, after that, I became cautious about activating my abilities, so the same method didn't work... Well, still, just the resistance increased by using “Shikigami” is a pretty good result..’

Naturally, that resistance also included resistance to ‘time stop’..

Thanks to this, Harley can now leave her consciousness in the timeline the moment he uses his powers without having to worry about it..

Of course, it was still not to the point where he could move his body like his opponent, but considering that the possibility of doing so was gradually increasing as time passed, the primary goal was already fully achieved..

‘Take this opportunity to develop your tolerance for time as much as possible and prepare countermeasures..’

In fact, that was the biggest reason why Harley continued to insist on one-on-one contact with the executioner..

Since the opponent is a demon, of course it will be easier to deal with him if Heinrich himself takes the lead..

However, in order to build up the know-how and resistance to deal with 'time' as he had hoped, Harley, who fought directly with his body like that, was much more efficient..

Because that was his identity as the “ultimate evolved life form.”.

‘The power that Buncheonhoeju wields is probably space and time. It was nothing short of luck that I got to deal with that lower-level executioner before I could properly fight him..’

The Executioner had no choice but to continue using that ability in order to deal with Harley, who was aggressively attacking him..

As the battle progressed, Harley's body gradually became more and more devastated as she had not yet built up perfect resistance, but considering that the 'adaptation' progress was rapidly increasing in proportion, it was not a bad situation..

“Kahahaha! what? You could fight so well, but did you lose it like that? Let's hang out some more, friend.!”

[her! No matter how much I cut, there is no end. Where on earth did a horrible monster like you come from?.]

“You're a devil yourself, but you talk a bit harshly! Monsters and demons are all there.?”

[under! This time, I will cut off your head. Let me see if I can still use my tongue.!]

The Executioner is gaining victory over Harley by actively utilizing his transcendent ability to stop time..

Even though the status itself was similar, the presence or absence of unique skills seemed to determine victory or defeat..

Unlike him, Harley, whose very existence is a product of the unique skill called “Avatar,” didn’t have any special skills..

“It's a struggle... a struggle···.”

Heinrich, who had been looking at him with cold eyes from outside, sneered..

As I watched it like this, I was struck by how ironic those words were..

‘I guess they didn't want a fight, but wanted to enjoy a safe thrill..’

In the first place, his ability itself was a bundle of contradictions..

Is it worth fighting for your life while having insurance that will keep you safe in any situation??

It was no different from just enjoying a brief thrill on an amusement ride with all kinds of safety features in place..

‘Maybe that's why I enjoy more dangerous situations..’

He glanced in that direction for a moment and then turned around..

Since both sides are optimized to hold on, it doesn't look like there will be a winner right away, so there's no need to keep watching yourself..

Heinz II, who could understand the flow of cause and effect in real time, was enough to monitor the situation in case of an emergency..

“Let's see, then I've been···.”

Harris had already started analyzing the means of sealing off this space by utilizing the barrier of Jinbeopryu and the opposite, “Muyu Bagua Bigong (改)”..

In addition, magic world avatars such as the immortal king Hans and the dragon Horus are putting their heads together, so the result will come out somehow..

“···I guess I'll have to sort out the rest of them..”

From the holy sword held in his hand, a large blade of light appeared with a dazzling brilliance..

At the same time, three pairs of large wings spread wide, and a halo emanated from its entire body..

Divine power so strong that even the aftermath of a demonic fight on one side of the battlefield melts away and disappears..

His enormous presence made some of those who had been staring blankly at the transcendent battle turn in his direction..

“I'll have to move diligently. Because there are still six left.”

He looked around at them lightly and shrugged his shoulders..

It was the first real battle of Heinrich, an angel from another world..

***

“What the hell is this···.”

Faced with the sudden change in the situation, Ahn muttered blankly..

‘When I used 'Fate Manipulation', I was just feeling desperate, but who would have thought that things would really turn out like this??

‘···It's Masquerade?’

I thought it was amazing that Ken helped me..

It wasn't normal to look into the details of this place far away..

But isn't this now far beyond what she expected?!

‘Are you capable of confronting the executioner head-on? Moreover, there is not a single strong person at that level.···?’

She swallowed her saliva without realizing it..

The hope that had dried up just a little while ago began to spring up little by little..

And as if to symbolize the expectations sprouting in her heart.

Wow!—

With a dazzling dawn.

An angel descended on earth.