And so she wanted to kill him before anyone else did.
She searched for his location and found it immediately.
He was inside of the wall and on his way out.
And so Mei teleported to the front of the castle gate.
She didn"t have to wait long for Hanakawa to appear in front of her.
For some reason, he was carrying an unconscious man and Takato Yogiri was with him.
"Woah! Mei-tan! It"s Mei-tan! You look like a Saint! Oh, my eyes feel so blessed now!"
She had antic.i.p.ated that he would be surprised to see her. Still, this predictably creepy way of talking was enough to make her want to vomit.
"I think everyone dresses appropriately for their cla.s.s."
Yogiri said in a bored voice as he explained to Hanakawa.
"Ohh! Is that why!? Then that means I will be able to worship the image of Sora as an idol up close!"
"Apparently, she"ll be dressed as an idol when she fights."
"Woof! Wait! This is no time for celebrating, all right!? This means that those G.o.ddesses will come down and bare their poisonous fangs at you, Takato!"
"You"re not listening. And I"m going to ignore them if they don"t attack us. So, did you come to attack us?"
Yogiri asked Mei.
Mei was not amused at how nonchalant they appeared.
Yes, she wanted to see their expressions distort with despair, just like the others had.
"Well, it"s a battle royale. I don"t have a choice."
In order to make them lose all hope, she had to show her power like she did before.
She didn"t have a grudge against him, but she decided to kill Yogiri first. She wanted to see the look on Hanakawa"s face as he begged for his life.
If she erased him in an instant, Hanakawa wouldn"t know what had happened. So it would be best to get closer and punch him in the face.
"Saint Punch!"
She ran up to Yogiri and flung her right fist. Mei had never done any kind of combat sport, and so the punch was lacking in skill. However, it didn"t matter, as her laziest of punches would still land. And they would kill.
Yogiri"s left hand touched Mei"s wrist.
What a pointless thing to do.
That"s what she thought, but in the next instant, pain shot up through her body.
Before she knew it, she was on her elbows and staring at the ground as she suffocated.
As a girl who had lived a normal life, it was a pain that she had never experienced before.
"Hey! Isn"t that bajiquan?"
"Dannoura called it the "Dannoura Elbow." I learned it for self-defense."
Not understanding what was happening, she raised her unsteady head.
But from Yogiri and Hanakawa"s conversation, it sounded like she had gotten an elbow to the stomach.
"Wh-what…"
The power of the G.o.ds were supposed to prevent her from taking damage or feeling any pain.
"Aren"t you going to kill her?"
"Well, she hasn"t attacked us with anything lethal, yet."
Mei used the only power that was her own. She used "prayer." She prayed to the G.o.ds and made a request. In other words, it was an ability that allowed you to talk with them.
In an instant, the s.p.a.ce where the G.o.d sat appeared in her mind.
As always, the white cat was there. But then Mei froze in shock.
There was no power in the white cat"s limbs. It had collapsed on the ground and wasn"t moving.
"G.o.d! What"s happening!? Where is my power of invincibility! This is a contract breach!"
She cried desperately. However, deep down, she knew what this meant.
The white cat looked like it was dead. It would never reply to her again.
"Hey! I said hey! What am I supposed to do!? I can"t lose my power in a place like this!?"
In the middle of a battle royale in the depths of the demon world.
It was clear what would happen if she lost the protection of the G.o.ds.
"No…this can"t be…"
And then, the black cat appeared.
It was the other G.o.d that sometimes fought with the white cat.
"I don"t know what happened over there! But you might as well help me then. Do something!"
"…I understand your situation. I shall lend you my power."
In the next instant, the power of a G.o.d enveloped her body. And she understood that she was once again invincible.
"I won"t hold back anymore! All of you shall be erased from existence!"
She no longer cared about making Hanakawa feel despair.
More than that, she had an overwhelming desire to kill Takato Yogiri, as he had caused her so much pain.
G.o.d"s light that erased everything.
Mei decided to unleash it in all directions.
As she remained on her knees, she would annihilate everything so she didn"t have to lock onto any target.
But…
Nothing happened.
The image that appeared in her mind was of the black cat, which was now on the ground with its tongue sticking out.
"It"s a lot easier with people like you, where the source of the power and the user are different."
Yogiri said cooly.
"…What…what did you do…"
She was trembling. And it was her words that were laced with despair.
Finally, Mei understood that the images she saw in her head were the work of Yogiri.
But she did not know how it was possible.
However, it was a fact that she could no longer use any power. And she knew what that meant for her.
She felt worry and fear envelope her.
Now that she had no power, she was just an ordinary highschool student. And yet she was deep underground and involved in a battle royale.
And so…
Perhaps she should ask for help.
Perhaps she should ask for protection and to be taken with them.
However, Yogiri was the person that should be most feared in this place.
He had easily taken her power that she thought made her invincible. And the G.o.ds were dead.
She couldn"t stay around such a monster.
"Are-are you not going to kill her?"
As Mei shook in fear. The annoying Hanakawa opened his mouth.
"It"s not like I want to go around killing everybody. I"m just doing it because we"ll be killed if I don"t."
"Then why don"t you just take away their power? I think everyone will be happy with that."
"I just did it this time because it was easy. Usually, the power and the user aren"t separate, so I can"t just kill the source of the power."
"Oh, well. So, Mei-tan doesn"t have power anymore? Then why don"t we take her with us?"
This unexpected suggestion was a ray of hope.
Of course, she didn"t know what Hanakawa"s intentions were, and his creepy smile was not encouraging. But Mei was less enthusiastic about asking Yogiri for help.
She had hated Hanakawa so much, but now he was like a saviour to her.
He would protect her now that she was powerless, and bring her to a safe place where Yogiri couldn"t reach her.
She didn"t know what would happen after that, but she felt like she would still have a chance.
It was the sage"s gift. The power of G.o.d had sealed it, but if she awakened to it now, she may gain power that will allow her to survive the battle royale.
"But Hanamiya can"t seem to walk. Are you going to leave David and carry her?"
"No. I"m terribly sorry!"
That was all it took to make Mei"s plans come crumbling down.