Chapter 126
Tens of minutes had pa.s.sed since the start of the battle .
Sei and the others were lying on the ground . They had been disarmed, their legs had been slashed, and they had lost the ability to fight .
If it was only Debris, they still had the possibility of winning . Indeed, stopping time was certainly troublesome . No matter how experienced a mercenary or adventurer might be in battle, if his weapons were lost, he wouldn’t be able to use his full power .
However, what was really troublesome was the man who accompanied Debris . If he hadn’t been here, it would have been possible for Sei and the others to bridge the gap and achieve victory over Debris .
Sarjes and Virgo were still standing, but both of them had been unable to find an opening to attack before time was stopped .
“Do you understand now? This is the difference between those who are chosen and those who are not . There is an insurmountable difference between us . ”
“Why are you acting like you’re so great? …It’s not you who’s amazing . It’s the ring . ”
Hearing Debris bragging about his victory, Alfie wanted to at least retort back spitefully . She couldn’t move her body anymore, so she could only move her mouth . But apparently, it was more effective than Alfie expected as she saw Debris’ face become distorted with rage .
“…Did you just insult me?”
Debris moved next to her in an instant and stomped on her back .
“Argh!”
“I’m asking if a mere commoner just insulted me!”
Stomp, stomp, stomp .
The girl’s back, head, arms, and legs were being trampled on without any guilt or hesitation .
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Gants was enraged by the scene and he forced himself to stand up, picked up his axe, and swung it with all his might . This exceeded Debris’ expectations, but he quickly disappeared to avoid the axe . However, Virgo antic.i.p.ated his movement and flew forward to attack with her weapon .
“Eek!?”
A flash of the sword pa.s.sed in front of Debris’ face . Panicking, Debris stopped time and widened the distance between them . Virgo lost sight of him for only a moment, but she quickly found him again and turned around .
It wasn’t that Virgo was keeping up with the stopped time . She certainly lost sight of him . However, the difference in their base speeds was too great, so she could attack before he could take action . After fighting him for a while, it became obvious that while the ring was certainly a threat, Debris himself was not a big deal . In that case, she could place all of her bets on this!
“That’s enough . Do you not care what happens to this young man?”
“!”
However, Virgo’s movement was stopped by Debris’ a.s.sociate . The a.s.sociate was sitting next to Sei and had a knife at his neck . This was a threat . If anyone moved again, he would decapitate Sei . As a result, even though Sarjes and Virgo could still fight, they couldn’t make a move or do anything .
Having secured his safety, Debris smiled victoriously and bashed Virgo in the face .
“Ugh!”
“Ho—How dare you surprise me!? …Even though you’re just a worthless commoner! You too! Don’t put me in danger, you useless piece of trash!”
Debris. .h.i.t his a.s.sociate out of irritation, then turned his gaze back to Virgo . Her cheek was slightly red because of the beating, but since their statuses were too different, there wasn’t any swelling . She was staring at Debris with a sharp gaze .
Debris clicked his tongue as if his mood was ruined by those eyes, but he immediately smiled unpleasantly once more .
“I don’t like this . If you don’t know what courtesy is, then I’ll just have to educate you . Courtesy is very important, you see . Those who don’t know it will have a hard time in the future . For your own sake, I’ll teach it to you . ”
“…You don’t deserve any courtesy . ”
In response to Virgo’s words, Debris silently kicked her .
Gants clenched his fists so hard out of rage that they were bleeding . Sei felt helpless and angry that this situation had resulted from him being held hostage .
Why? Why am I so weak? This is miserable . I want power…power to defeat this guy and protect everyone!
Debris continued to raise his hand towards Virgo while stomping on Alfie . But despite this, the girl’s att.i.tude did not change . Instead, Debris reached the limits of his patience first .
“You need to have a better understanding of where your place is . ”
Having said that, Debris placed his hand on Virgo’s clothes and tore them off all at once . Her white skin was exposed and her underwear could be seen . However, even though Virgo felt embarra.s.sed, her eyes continued to stare straight at Debris .
“Hey, what are you doing!?”
“What am I doing? …Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to educate her . It’s an honor for a commoner to be embraced by a n.o.ble like me . ”
Debris grinned and raised Virgo’s chin . He couldn’t be stopped . n.o.body could move because Sei was being held hostage . Without hiding his despicable desires, Debris reached for Virgo’s underwear .
—In that moment, the ceiling collapsed and a beauty in a red cloak descended from above .
“…Huh?”
“Hmm . To think that there’s a bas.e.m.e.nt in this place . Are you sure there’s no mistake that this is the place?”
“Yes, master . This is the place that Sagittarius located . ”
The embodiment of terror who was also a peerless beauty stood there, alongside the steel doll who was her follower . Ruphas looked around casually and widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing Sei .
On the other hand, as the cause of her trauma was before her, Alfie’s face became uncomparably paler than ever before . Unlike when she first met Alfie, Ruphas was currently in disguise . She was wearing gla.s.ses and had hidden her wings . However, as her face itself didn’t change, she could still be recognized by people who knew her .
“What are you all doing here?”
“Ru—Ruphas-san, why are you here?”
“Oh, I had received a request from the innkeeper . I don’t really care about the reward, but he looked kind of worried and was distracted while cooking . It seemed to be a waste of his talent, so I came to find a solution . ”
Sei was stunned by her response and wondered what in the world he was fighting for . Even though Sei and his friends had been desperately chasing evil, did she come here merely because she wanted to eat something delicious?
Libra, who had moved away in the meantime without anyone noticing, returned to Ruphas with a woman whose face had been burned .
“Master, she seems to be the target . Her features match the description . ”
“…Hmm . ”
Ruphas narrowed her eyes coldly as she examined the burned face and then looked at Sei’s wounds . Her eyebrows lowered in displeasure when she saw Alfie’s awful condition . But there wasn’t really a significant change at this point . The atmosphere changed drastically when she saw Virgo with her underwear exposed .
—All expressions vanished from Ruphas’ face .
At that moment, Sei—no, everyone in that place who knew Ruphas—had the feeling that they were going to be killed . Even Libra, who wasn’t able to feel fear, became alert against her master . The change was just that drastic .
“…For now, I’ll like to hear about it . Did you do all these?”
“Huh? Who are you? Isn’t your att.i.tude rather big after showing up so suddenly? Ignorance is truly scary . It seems that you don’t even know who I am?”
“Hmm . I have absolutely no idea . ”
Debris’ expression changed after hearing Ruphas’ remark that seemingly made fun of him . However, he immediately smiled smugly once more and spoke pretentiously . On the other hand, Sei was paralyzed with fear so much that he couldn’t even speak, but he was desperately shouting in his heart .
Stop it . Don’t provoke her any further . Apologize now and beg for forgiveness . Otherwise…you’ll be killed!
However, Debris didn’t doubt that he had the advantage . He didn’t notice that he was stepping on a nuclear weapon, let alone a land mine—no, a star before an imminent explosion .
“Well, whatever . Rejoice . I appoint you as my toy . Despite your att.i.tude, you look good . You’re suitable for me to play with . ”
“…Master, let’s kill this thing . ”
“Wait, Libra . I haven’t heard his answer yet . Considering what I’m about to do, a simple apology would be unacceptable if I got the wrong person . Therefore, I have to verify the truth . ”
Ruphas didn’t take any action other than question Debris again without showing any signs of anger .
“So, are you responsible for this?”
“Oh, yes . I educated her a little since she dared to speak against me . That woman…She burned her own face without my permission because she hated being embraced by me . Isn’t that sow rather pretentious?”
“Another question . Virgo…the flügel over there . Are her bruises and clothes also your doing?”
“What about it? She dared to make me feel a bit of fear . This is merely her retribution . ”
“Hmm…This is amazing . It’s like the type of lower lifeforms you see in books and it’s even the kind that’s particularly despicable . ”
Ruphas spoke in a straightforward manner regarding Debris . Wasn’t this man named Debris the archetype of despicable n.o.bles? For him to be this rotten, it was impressive in its own way .
In a sense, this was a kind of compliment from Ruphas . But Debris was evidently displeased by her words as he drew his sword .
“It seems you need to be educated as well . ”
—Time stopped .
Channeling mana into the ring would stop the time of this world . Everyone, except for Debris, would become sculptures . The Ring of Time, which was said to have been once given to the hero Alioth to defeat the Black-Winged Overlord, was invincible .
If he could stop time, he would win, no matter who his opponent was . This woman who suddenly appeared was no exception . For now, he would peel off her clothes . He couldn’t wait to see her relaxed face collapse in shame . While thinking such despicable thoughts, Debris reached out to Ruphas…
—His arm was grabbed and the flow of time was restored .
“Oh, that’s surprising . You can move at this speed even at your level? Or is it some kind of trick?”
“Wha—…Eh…!?”
“Oh, I see . It’s this ring . It seems like a powerful item . ”
Ruphas, who casually entered the stopped time, spoke in a tone as if she didn’t even notice that time had stopped . Indeed, she truly didn’t realize it . For her, stopping time was just a phenomenon that occurred naturally whenever she moved seriously . It was a trivial thing for her as the world stopped simply because it couldn’t catch up to her speed .
Therefore, Debris’ time stop effect was simply high-speed movement in Ruphas’ eyes . For monsters at her level, it was only a natural phenomenon . Stopping time didn’t even const.i.tute a skill for her . It was simply an ordinary movement .
Ruphas removed the ring from Debris’ hand and examined it .
“Hmm . The sacred artifact, Chronos . It’s quite a big deal . Upon activation, it reduces the speed of the world by ten thousand for a few seconds . It can effectively stop time, huh? …But this is…defective…”
“Gi—Give it back!”
“Well, wait a bit . We need to settle some things first . ”
Ruphas smiled gently and raised her fist . Using Blunt-Edge Strike, her steel-like fist smashed into Debris’ face at supersonic speed . Debris’ nose broke and started bleeding as he was being blown away, but Ruphas grabbed his head and forcefully pulled him back .
“Oops . Don’t faint yet, brat . The punishment is only starting . ”
Ruphas laughed like a wild beast eyeing her prey and activated Coercion . In an instant, everyone was a.s.saulted by a heavy pressure as if the sky itself had fallen . Merely stopping the time of the world was not even worth mentioning . Suppressing the entire area with just her presence was a talent that truly befitted a king .
The world itself seemed to fear Ruphas’ presence as Coercion’s pressure was so great that it even physically cracked the floor . However, Sei and the others barely took any damage as she demonstrated fine finesse in controlling the shockwave that cracked the floor .
“Eek…!?”
At this point, Debris finally understood . He was the one who was ignorant . He finally realized that he had picked a fight with a ridiculous monster . And Debris thought, Ah, again . I’m being looked down upon again . I’m being ridiculed again .
“I—I don’t want…I don’t want to be looked down upon anymore…! I—I don’t…want to go back to that time anymore!”
Debris Speth was abandoned as a filthy orphan in front of a church . He grew up without knowing his parents’ faces and voices . His body was weak and he had no magical talent . As a result, he was ridiculed by the people around him every day .
Useless Debris . Incompetent Debris . Those were his nicknames . He had never once been praised and was constantly being looked down upon as garbage . But one day, his life was completely changed . When he learned that he was actually a n.o.ble’s son who was kidnapped and then abandoned by the desperate criminal in front of the church, he literally jumped for joy .
Yes, I’m actually a n.o.ble . I’m different from those commoners .
However, his happiness lasted only for a while . As a n.o.ble, he was treated with scorn by his peers for being raised as an orphan . That was why he pretended to be strong in order to not be looked down upon . He must rise above the others—
“I don’t care . ”
Ruphas’ fist smashed into Debris’ face again .
“Ugh…ha!?”
“Why did you suddenly start monologuing about your past even though you weren’t asked about it? Did you think that having a tragic past would erase whatever you have done? Honestly, I don’t care about your past . ”
As far as Ruphas was concerned, Debris’ past was no different from dog poo that was left on the roadside . An orphan? Being looked down upon? Why should she care?
This guy had laid his hands on Virgo, thereby making himself an enemy . That was all that mattered . Besides, she didn’t like the way he did things .
I can abuse people because I had a tragic past? Ridiculous .
n.o.bles had duties a.s.sociated with their stations . n.o.bles existed not to abuse the commoners, but to protect and govern them .
I have done many bad things and took many lives . I have burned and destroyed my opponents . I won’t deny that . But if someone plays around with his subjects’ misfortunes, he is no longer a n.o.ble . He’s just a sc.u.mbag who has authority .
Within Ruphas, her emotions disappeared at an alarming speed, leaving behind only the ruthlessness of the Black-Winged Overlord .
I really don’t like him .
In that case, there was no need to hold back . There was only one thing to do .
Blunt-Edge Strike was activated…and she bashed him with all her might .
Bash .
Bash, bash .
Bash, bash, bash, bash .
Bash, bash, bash, bash, bash, bash, bash, bash, bash .
Ruphas’ fist mercilessly landed on Debris at the rate of over one hundred million punches per second .
Head, face, chest, shoulders, arms, knees, belly, legs, shins, and t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es!
Every part of his body was crushed!
Incisors, canines, premolars, and molars!
All of the teeth in his mouth were broken . His jaws were broken as well . His eye sockets and eyeb.a.l.l.s were crushed . But the fist did not stop .
The skull, facial bones, back bones, chest bones, and ribs! The shoulder bones, collar bones, upper arm bones, forearm bones, wrist bones, and hip bones! The pubic bone, thigh bones, kneecaps, calf bones, and foot bones!
Every part of his body was completely destroyed! It was an unreasonable scene where a punch that could crack a planet in a single hit was forcibly mitigated to leave 1 HP behind due to the skill’s effect . Debris’ mental fort.i.tude was incinerated in an instant by the severe pain, but he couldn’t die because of the skill’s effect .
“Get lost, you lowlife . ”
“………!”
When Ruphas’ consecutive attacks were finally over, there wasn’t any part of Debris’ body that remained unharmed . His body was barely keeping its humanoid shape even with the skill’s effect . The lump of meat that couldn’t even scream took the final hit and was blown away dramatically . But immediately after, Ruphas grabbed his head and pulled him back .
As long as Blunt-Edge Strike was active, he wouldn’t die from Ruphas’ attacks . However, the skill wasn’t smart enough to account for other factors . For example, if Ruphas didn’t grab him, Debris would have been blown away over a distance proportional to the power generated by several hundred million punches per second . Ruphas herself couldn’t be sure where he would end up . Perhaps, he might be blown into s.p.a.ce and die there .
Ruphas threw Debris away gently, but even though she did it gently, it was still done by someone with an exceptional arm strength . Debris crashed into a wall, sinking several meters into it as if he was digging a tunnel before he finally stopped .
This casual action was like throwing trash that was picked up from the ground into a garbage bin . It was just a casual gesture, but the phenomenon that resulted from it was completely unreasonable . Having seen such an overwhelming scene, the face of Debris’ a.s.sociate turned pale and he realized their chance of victory was completely zero .
After completely destroying the human called Debris, Ruphas added,
“Don’t worry…I was using Blunt-Edge Strike (Hold Back) . Use the little time you have left to regret what you’ve done . ”
…How exactly was this holding back?
While thinking so, Sei and the others raised their pale faces to look at Ruphas .