Chapter 229: Unexpected Backup

Arianne was crazed, berserk.

Her only thought was to hit the pig in front of her.

Her fists, infused with as much mana as she could muster, pummeled the Emperor with all her strength. Yet, instead of hurting him, each blow returned the damage to her own body.

Blood splattered everywhere—Arianne’s blood.

Despite her ability to heal instantly, her reckless fighting made everyone believe she had lost her mind! It seemed she no longer cared for her own life if it meant landing at least one punch on the man before her!

CRACK!

But thankfully, her efforts weren’t in vain.

The sound of cracking echoed, signaling that the middle-finger ring worn by the Emperor was beginning to break.

“…!”

At that sound, like an alarm to everyone else, Eve, Nina, and Ria sprang into action once more. After all, their defensive artifacts related to their modes of attack weren’t completely destroyed yet.

“This is too slow…” Eve grumbled as she holstered her pistol by her thigh.

Without hesitation, she retrieved her sniper rifle from her inventory.

The PGM Hecate II!

Instantly, the atmosphere around Eve shifted.

She gripped the rifle as if it were weightless and dropped to one knee, establishing a stable shooting position. With the target so close, she didn’t even need to peer through the scope.

It was already locked and loaded, simply waiting for her finger to squeeze the trigger!

BANG!

An explosion louder than a pistol echoed.

In that moment, the 0.5 Cal bullet flew, leaving a flaming line across the air. Before Eve could even feel the recoil, the supersonic bullet struck the Emperor, leaving a small, insignificant “burn” across his chest.

“…!”

Eve hadn’t expected such a result.

She thought that, at most, the sniper shot would wear down the Emperor’s protection faster. But Hecate’s bullet actually reached him before it could be rendered powerless, inflicting an injury—no matter how minor!

The speed was so great that the damage wasn’t fully blocked before being reflected back to her by the Emperor’s secondary artifact.

“Ugh…!”

Eve felt a searing burn on her chest.

The same spot where the bullet she fired had hit.

The pain made her frown… but it was still nothing compared to the agony Arianne was enduring right now! She gritted her teeth, pushed through the pain, and cocked the lever back, loading the next round.

“We can’t lose out either…!”

“Yes!”

Nina and Ria also stepped up their efforts.

Though still far from going “all out,” they were firing curses at a pace that a normal witch could only dream of. Their vast mana, a life force capable of sustaining such consumption, was truly an anomaly!

Their curses spread, targeting not only those near the throne but even those far away.

If Sophia, Tiffany, and Rico hadn’t had a Substitute Doll with them, they, too, might have found themselves crawling on the ground, groaning in incoherent pain like the others.

Emperor Cyril’s face began to contort with worry.

He had just sustained an injury, and Eve was preparing to load the next shot. Meanwhile, Arianne’s relentless barrage continued, placing an immense strain on his artifact.

At last, he found himself unable to leave the throne.

If he did, he would succumb to the witch sisters’ curses, just like the others!

Thus, he was forced to remain still, watching as the girls gradually dismantled his defenses…

“NO!”

Or perhaps not.

Emperor Cyril, being the coward he was, sensed an unprecedented danger to his life—the greatest peril he had ever experienced.

Naturally, he had no intention of dying without a fight.

So, despite having lost only about a sixth of his defensive artifacts, he pulled a gem from his pocket. It was a small, blood-red gem, roughly the size of his thumb.

It appeared unrefined, with rough edges, as if it had just been extracted from the earth.

Even though it looked nothing like the polished accessories he usually wore, this gem radiated a power that felt superior to all of them combined. The girls faltered upon seeing it.

“What is that…?”

Nina gasped upon seeing the stone gem.

She felt a strange familiarity with it; however, she couldn’t remember exactly where she had seen it.

The answer danced at the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t have enough time to grasp it.

“Follow the Contract of the Bloodstone and appear before me, GREED!”

His words lacked the reverence of a ritual; instead, they sounded more like a command—as if he was ordering a subordinate to come and bow before him.

In that instant, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.

Eve, Arianne, Ria, and Nina all felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end. Their minds erupted with a warning that resonated like a blaring siren, urging them to flee.

But it was too late.

The gemstone, which Emperor Cyril referred to as the Bloodstone, emitted a brilliant red glow. The walls, the floor, the pillars—everything was drenched in its blood-red sheen.

From its center, thick black smoke billowed out, rapidly coalescing into a single, enormous figure. A giant monster.

It had red skin, four muscular arms, and legs as thick as evergreens. Towering over three meters tall, it sported two long horns on its forehead, curving forward toward the sky.

Its eyes, the same blood-red as the Bloodstone, conveyed a surprising intelligence that seemed out of place in such a creature. Its mouth was lined with rows of sharp teeth, capable of tearing anything apart with ease.

[You cretin.]

The figure spoke, regarding Emperor Cyril with a look of disdain.

[I’ve told you before not to address me so casually. Do you have a death wish?]

The giant spoke, its voice reverberating throughout the hall, loud enough to leave everyone’s ears ringing uncomfortably. Even Emperor Cyril frowned deeply, biting his lip in frustration.

“I don’t care!” he growled. “You and I share a contract! If you don’t want to face the consequences of breaking that agreement, then do as I say!”

[Ugh…]

The giant grumbled, clearly irritated and frustrated, before turning around to face the wary girls with his four narrowed eyes. He observed all four of them, and his eyes widened in surprise.

[So, there are humans with this level of strength as well? This is quite surprising…] he muttered in awe. [I suppose reaping your souls and taking them back to the fourth hell would earn me some rewards instead!]

The moment he made his decision, a powerful wave of killing intent surged from his body. It was strong enough to break Nina’s curse, forcefully erasing it.

It was also potent enough to cause all the weak ones to die on the spot.

“N-No…!”

Emperor Cyril groaned as he witnessed the scene, realizing that only he, the four girls, and the three people behind them remained alive.

The monster, the Greater Demon known as Greed, paid no attention to such trivial matters.

Instead, his focus was solely on the four girls before him.

He moved.

Nobody noticed when it happened.

The girls only saw him appear right in front of their eyes.

’So fast!’ Arianne thought quickly as she raised her blade to block the incoming fist.

She positioned herself in front of Eve, determined to protect her from danger.

However…

“Ugh!”

The force behind the fist was greater than she had anticipated.

Her sword shattered, and the fist struck her squarely in the chest—no, it was such a massive fist that it impacted her entire upper body!

BOOOOM!

She was unable to stop it, but at least she managed to push Eve out of the way at the last second.

Still, Arianne ended up flying across the entire audience room, crashing through a wall and toppling a few pillars before rolling to a stop on the pathway a few hundred meters away.

Even though she still had a significant amount of health left in her HP Pool, her injuries halted any recovery. The damage she sustained brought her HP Pool down to near zero!

“A-Arianne…?”

Eve gasped as she watched her loyal knight get flung away like a broken doll.

However, she didn’t have time to worry about Arianne; she was still in imminent danger.

Despite Arianne pushing Eve out of the way, it didn’t mean the enemy wouldn’t strike again. The second fist came barreling down, almost like a meteorite, right before her face.

’Ah!’

Eve’s eyes widened as she thought about dodging.

However, she wasn’t quick enough to react in time.

The fist came crashing into her small body, sending her hurtling through walls, veering off in a different direction than Arianne had.

“Gah…!”

Her mind was a chaotic blur as she coughed blood.

She couldn’t recall exactly what had happened, but all she knew was that her entire body was in agony. It felt as if she had several broken bones and ruptured organs, as if a road roller had just passed over her!

It was a miracle that she was still alive.

Her survival was due to her last-minute attempt to save herself—jumping in the direction of the fist.

Still, there was no way she could fight in her current state.

She felt as though she was on the brink of death and needed immediate medical attention.

[M-Miss Eve?!]

As if on cue, Navi appeared before her, looking panicked. The little penguin quickly retrieved a potion and poured it over Eve’s face.

[T-That was close…] He said, wiping his imaginary sweat. [Don’t worry, I’ve called backup already!]

“…Backup…?”

With the potion restoring her health, Eve attempted to rise, only to find that Nina and Ria were gone. In their place stood a single figure before the demon, effortlessly holding its fist with one arm.

Eve tilted her head in confusion.

After all, this was a figure that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“…Fenrir?”

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