Volume 3 - CH 22

“Enough of this nonsense! I told you, I’m not your subordinate!”

Oh, I said it because he’s so persistent.

The evil god, who seemed to be on the verge of exploding, said quietly.

“Activate administrator code—target stopped.”

I was about to ask him what he would do when I realized my mouth wasn’t moving.

And not just my mouth. I couldn’t move my hands, legs, or even my eyes.

I saw Patrick and #2 also motionless from the corner of my eye. They are probably just as immobile as I am.

My only hope is Remn, who is in my shadow.

“You can’t move, can you? This is the power of God. The four of you… four? Ah, I see, you’re in the shadows. Remn, was it? To me, you’re as good as a human.”

Eh, Remn can’t move either? Then it’s no use.

The evil god looks at us, unable to move an inch, and speaks.

“You know firsthand what it means to defy me—”

The evil god who spoke at length was swallowed by a black pillar that descended from the sky.

The explosion was delayed and passed my ears. This is… Ryuu’s breath.

The dragon breath with dark attributes has the effect of dissolving the target. No matter if it is stone or metal, it will dissolve. No matter how good the evil god is, he will be unsafe.

“……Dragon. Administrator code activated—target stopped.”

The evil god came out and said flatly in his unchanged wavering mosaic form when Ryuu stopped the breath.

There was no sign that it had worked at all. In addition, it seemed to have stopped Ryuu’s movement.

I cannot move my eyes, so I can’t confirm it. But since Ryuu isn’t breathing or roaring, I’m sure he can’t move.

I still couldn’t move either. No matter how much effort I put into it, my body can’t move a muscle. What should I do? Think, think, think.

“What’s going on?! I heard a loud noise!”

Bad things happen in a chain reaction.

Elanora heard the sound of Ryuu’s breath and came out of the house.

I hate you, #2.

“One after another, so troublesome… Administrator code activated—target stopped.”

He also stopped Eleanora’s movement following Ryuu’s.

Not that stopping her movement affects our strength and situation.

No, I wouldn’t know since I couldn’t look back. There was no way that Eleanora could withstand the mysterious power that neither I, Patrick, nor Ryuu could—

“Whoa! I couldn’t move for a moment! What is this?”

“…What?!”

…What the hell?!

The same thoughts probably crossed the evil god’s mind.

How could she move? I didn’t think it was possible unless she had some secret hidden power, but then I heard a voice.

“We will have to talk about this the next time you put Eleanora in danger again. Administrator code activated—target released.”

“Owaahh! I can move.”

I saw a woman with white hair and a shining forehead when I turned around.

It was no wonder she had joined the fight, given that Eleanora was in trouble.

“There you are, Deco-chan!”

“Stop calling me Deco-chan! My name is Sanon! I will transport you. Get ready!”

Sanon can travel anywhere the sun is shining, or so I heard. I remember Remn had tried to use her as a taxi, but she refused.

She probably just wants to get Eleanora away from the battlefield, but it’s a nice gesture.

Sanon made her move without waiting for a response. The light is so blinding that I can’t see anything, and it hurts like hell.

“Ouch, it hurts.”

“Ow, ow, ow.”

“Oww, that hurts!”

That was Remn, #2, and my reaction. Some people take heavy damage from the light.

When the light disappeared, the scenery around us changed completely.

This place was where I had first met Sanon. Nothing but an empty grassland. There was no need to think about the damage done to the area.

Next, we need to check on the people who have been transported. There’s me, #2, and Remn. Patrick was also there, and Sanon, who managed to transport multiple people instantaneously, was next to him.

You can’t forget to mention that the mysterious blur, the Evil God Kugelschreiber, was also there.

“Haa, spatial transfer. Nothing can be done about it when the entire phrase is specified.”

He showed no signs that the sudden transition fazed him.

We have managed to secure a place where we don’t have to worry about our surroundings. All that remained was to defeat the evil god at all costs.

The only way to deal with the evil god that uses mysterious restraining abilities is for Sanon to have some way to counter them.

The God of Light, whom I rely on, put her mouth close to my ear.

“I have consumed most of my power by lifting the restrictions and transporting you. The rest is up to you.”

“…Huh—”

“I couldn’t carry the dragon, and that’s on me. I apologize for that.”

“This place is dangerous! There’s no way I could bring Ryuu here!”

“Ah, okay.”

Ryuu and Eleanora are meant to be protected in our home. They should not get involved with an unknown evil god.

But I was troubled. Even if you know it’s coming, there is no way to avoid the evil god’s power.

As much as I wanted to calm down and have a strategy meeting, the evil god wouldn’t allow it.

“Haa. …I have to start over again. Administrator code—”

Not again. At this rate, he would stop us from moving again.

Punching will usually help in these situations.

As I approached the Evil God Kugelschreiber or the mysterious blur, I punched it hard.

My Yumiela Punch hit somewhere around the evil god’s area with all my might. I did it. Huh… my fist slipped through.

…What? I thought I hit him? I could feel it. But it slipped through. It didn’t feel like fog or anything… What the hell?

“It’s useless. You and I are different. You can’t touch someone you can’t see clearly.”

I’m unsure about its logic, but physical attacks seem to be ineffective.

Then, there are magical attacks. Ryuu’s breath didn’t work as expected.

The evil god is about to use his power again, so I hastily activate my magic.

“Administ—”

“Black Hole.”

The blurry mosaic is shrouded in black spheres.

Black Hole is a spell that makes the whole space disappear. Since he was affected by Sanon’s spatial transportation, there was a good chance that it would work.

The jet-black sphere disappeared a few beats later, shrinking toward the center.

Yep. The sphere was gone. The atmosphere was probably gone, too. But he was standing there completely unharmed.

“Oh, no….”

“Didn’t I tell you it was useless? Your spell is powerful, but it only removes material from your level.”

I can’t do this anymore.

I have never fought a superior opponent before. And lately, I had been fighting against opponents who only needed a single Black Hole to finish them off. Deep down, I was proud of myself for thinking that if it came down to it, I could use magic to win.

Physical attack is no good, neither is magic. It was already too late to settle the matter through discussion.

This time I can’t do it. I’m a bug-level strong character, but the evil god is the real deal.

I relaxed my entire body.

“I’ve run out of ideas.”

“I commend you for your grace. Administrator code—”

“Don’t give up!”

His body is pierced by stone spears that sprout from the ground.

It’s not working, Patrick. It’s not working at all.

“You don’t know when to give up… Admin—”

“This guy has a weakness! You just haven’t found it yet, Yumiela!”

Patrick slashed the evil god. The sword passes through the air, and the blurred mosaic only wavers slightly.

The evil god has been interrupting me in the middle of my speech… Oh!

“Administrator code—”

“Dark Flame.”

“Admini—”

“Black Hole.”

“Adm—”

“Yumiela Punch!”

Yeah! Thanks for the help, Patrick!

He nodded firmly when I gave him a look of gratitude.

He needs to say something about an administrator code or something to activate his power. And you can interrupt it by attacking him. The moment he said, “Adm,” I could shoot him and shut him down.

But the evil god has no shadow. You must note you can’t use shadow lance, a kind of magic where stuff comes out of the shadows.

The evil god says with blatant annoyance.

“How long do you think you can keep up this charade?”

“If one punch doesn’t work, I’ll punch you a hundred times more. If a hundred times don’t work, I’ll hit you a thousand times. I’ll keep going until I get you.”

“Stupi—”

“Black Hole… oh, were you going to say stupid? I made a mistake. Please don’t say that. It’s easily mixed up with other words.”

Yosh, back to the topic.

There are plenty of ways to defeat an invincible enemy. Things like learning a special breathing technique from a mysterious ojisan, having a mysterious ojisan teach you the concept of death, or hitting a purple Pikmin.

Although I’ve been relying on others, there are still many other methods. Let’s try them all.

The Black Hole has been disabled, and I’m feeling unusually blue. Let’s start the hellish endurance battle. Fuhahahahaha.

It was all thanks to Patrick. He’s the best kind of boyfriend who is always on my side when I’m down.

“Thanks, Patrick.”

“Mhm. Your speech was cool.”

“Huh? Don’t hit on me so suddenly!”

“Sorry, I can’t help myself. I like that about you.”

Ok, wait a minute, what happened? I thought this was the part where he denied he was hitting on me?

Eh? Wait, what do you mean?

While my brain was screaming with errors from the sudden confession, Patrick prevented the evil god from doing anything.

No, no, no. Putting the burden on him alone is not a good idea, considering the long war ahead.

I’ll be right behind you. If the two of us work together, it won’t be the two of us alone. We could have used more help.

I understand how sorry they could feel to enter our lovey-dovey space. But no slacking off.

Upon checking on them, I saw that #2 and Sanon were having a conversation somewhere near the battlefield. Seriously, no slacking off, guys.

“Hey, you.”

“It’s Sanon.”

“I don’t care about your name. I have a question for you. Why didn’t you fight back when he tried killing you? You’re a lot stronger than God of Darkness, aren’t you?”

“…Your world’s version of me is the one who decides to take the nonresistance path. I’m not the one you should’ve questioned.”

“You’re not me, but we have the same thought process. Then, you should know, right?”

I was about to call them, but I couldn’t help but overhear what they said.

I am eavesdropping. But I also wonder why Sanon takes the nonresistance path. The conversation progressed despite my worries. #2 was argumentative, while Sanon was nonchalant.

“I prefer not to get involved with humans. There is no point in interfering in human disputes.”

“I guess it’s not a good idea for God to interfere in any kind of fight. But I killed you, you know?”

“Even so. Even if you killed me, no God should kill a human even if it kills us.”

“Haa? A human? How can someone who can handle monsters be human? How can a single human destroy the world? Compared to the Demon King, you’re the worst.”

“…Yumiela Dolknes, you are definitely a human. You’re one of the humans I treasure.”

“I’m nothing more than a look alike.”

#2 turned away and retorted.

Sanon is Sanon. She’s straightforward like that, just casually spitting facts.

Up until now, I’ve only seen her in situations involving Eleanora, so I didn’t know, but her impartiality is crazy. She considers #2, who brought the world to an end, to be a human and does nothing to interfere. Because of her self-discipline, she couldn’t even do anything about her predicament, let alone humanity’s. Eleanora would have been one of #2’s victims.

The timing was off as I fumbled to call them. I could hear Remn’s voice below my feet.

“Really, Sanon. You went too far with your awkwardness.”

“It’s beyond too much.”

“I’ve been through a lot in the past. Seeing you offer to help like this surprised me.”

Sanon just couldn’t see Eleanora in a tough spot. It was neither to help Remn or me nor to fight against the evil god.

Whatever her motives, the God of Light saved my life. She was able to release me from my restraints and even transport us. In comparison, Remn doesn’t have many opportunities to be involved.

But he looked like a kid, so I couldn’t help it. He notices my stare.

“You think I’m useless, don’t you?”

“No. I never thought about what you were doing sneaking around in the shadows. I haven’t even thought about what it would mean if we got stuck together.”

“I had no choice! I knew he was going to use the code, but I didn’t think he would use the whole space!”

“I get it. And the code?”

“That guy is famous for being reluctant to use his powers!”

He said he didn’t know, despite it sounding like common knowledge.

Now let’s give this huge task to Remn, who has been feeling worse than I imagined. This is a task that only he can perform.

“We don’t have time to talk. Give me back my sword.”

“…Right, I kept it. Here.”

Remn quickly pulls out the sword from the shadows and holds it out to me. He pulled it without so much as a flick of the wrist.

It’s different from what he promised. He was supposed to take it out in a cooler way. There’s no point in leaving my sword in his hands if there’s no performance.

After receiving the pruning sword, Sanon, who seemed to have been watching the scene, raised her voice sharply.

“What do you have in your hand?!”

“I know this is dangerous.”

“It’s way beyond dangerous! Such a horrible thing…”

Sanon doesn’t seem to like my sword. I wonder if light and dark are incompatible with each other? It’s not like my sword will eat her. She’s overreacting.

I have plenty to complain about Remn for giving up the performance, but we are running out of time, as I said myself. #2 has started to join the saturation attack against the evil god. I’d better join in.

Let’s not do this today. Swiftly, I pulled the black sword from its sheath.

“Come to my hand, pruning sword, reaping the world’s branches and leaves.”

“Eh? What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I mumbled a chant absent-mindedly, Remn heard what I was saying.

My mind has a battle between my chuunibyou self that enjoys the chanting and is ashamed of it. Before we settle that, let’s quickly finish the battle with the evil god.