The Villain Who Robbed the Heroines
chapter-210

Grip!

Her right hand remained motionless,

And then, a sluggish tone echoed around them……

Munch-.

The sound was reminiscent of a child chewing on food.

Crunch!

Crack!

However, could a child’s delicate teeth chew through her dense mana?

As if sensing the food’s resistance, the child chewed more vigorously.

Then, Gremory realized that the thick blanket of mana covering her right hand weakened.

As Gremory tried to pull her arm back, the resistance increased, as if a child was holding on to a toy that their parents tried to take away.

The looming, swirling shadow refused to release her right arm.

Munch!

Munch!

Munch!

Finally, the mana covering her right arm was completely erased.

Crunch!

Then, Gremory’s right arm snapped, twisting in a bizarre direction……

Rip!

The thing’s insatiable greed devoured a chunk of her arm

Munch-.

“......”

“......”

Gremory frowned as she stared into Ferzen’s crimson gaze.

Because those eyes of his were scrutinizing every inch of her body as if judging her.

The same gaze a wolf would direct to a deer carcass, that had been hunted and devoured, before abandoning it…No. Gremory couldn’t stand this look.

“For someone who is struggling to control a single witch’s corpse, you’re acting quite relaxed.”

The corpses of the previous heads of Brutein were scattered through the battlefield,

However, since Ferzen’s mana had reached its limit, he couldn’t control those corpses any longer…

“Don’t you know? Until you slit my throat or pierce my heart, I will not die.”

“......”

“Yet, you really think you can capture this Empress alive?”

“......”

That was not his intention at all.

But as he saw Gremory misunderstand his intentions, Ferzen allowed a smirk to spurt on his face.

“Gremory.”

“......”

“Don’t be presumptuous. I have no intention of embracing you after this battle.”

His gaze was focused.

He continued to look her in the eye.

Gremory wouldn’t be able to understand his behavior.

But Ferzen felt no reason to explain it to her…… that her right arm, torn and twisted, had become completely asymmetrical to her body.

And from this distance, his OCD was being triggered to absurd proportions, as he took note of every single distortion of her body.

How can a woman like this say she has transcended the limits of human existence?

Ferzen simply couldn't allow someone imperfect as her to be labeled as ‘Perfect’ or ‘Transcendent’.

She was nothing more than a defective product, aspiring for things beyond her capabilities.

‘Humans……’ were truly pitiful creatures.

How long has it been since he was forced to confront someone so imperfect like this?

Perhaps that was why Ferzen could vividly see Euphemia standing right in front of him.

As if his mind was trying to save him from seeing such an imperfect woman as this ‘Empress’.

In his eyes, from the moment Ferzen saw the existence of Gremory Elden Ishitar Elmark.

He knew that in this confrontation, there would be no surrenders.

Only one of them would walk away from this confrontation.

Because from the moment Ferzen’s OCD was triggered, the only purpose of capturing this flawed existence was to purge the world of this blight.

“Disappear.”

In a low tone, Ferzen calmly issued his command.

The being under his thrall, whatever it was, immediately slapped Gremory’s face with an absurd strength.

Smack-!

At that moment, a strong gust of wind whipped past Ferzen.

“Ugh……!”

However, Gremory stood her ground.

She resisted the unseen force.

However, the more she resisted, the more Gremory realized that if she didn’t let go of the pressure accumulating within her body and let the kinetic force disperse, her neck would snap.

Wham-!

So, she relaxed her body and fully embraced the impact of the blow.

Crash!

Her body flailed in the air, crashing into a wall.

Then, the creature’s body was slowly revealed as it directed its gaze towards Ferzen.

The thing took the form of a petite girl, with twisted shadows clinging to her body, some shades of darkness assumed the form of strands of hair, as it whimpered towards its master.

「We’re Hungry……」

「We’re Hungry……」

「We’re Hungry……」

The creature whined to Ferzen like a child throwing a tantrum before its parent.

It continued to yell about her hunger, so Ferzen, who had remained silent, pointed towards Gremory’s body, still paralyzed and stuck to the wall.

「Bad food….」

「Bad food….」

「Tastes bad……We don’t want to eat it….」

But the creature shook its head, refusing the meal prepared for it.

“......”

「Ah……」

Flinch!

However, as soon as Ferzen scowled, the creature trembled and moved away from him.

「Eat……? 」

「Do we really have to eat……?」

Even though it knew the order, the creature continued to whine like a child. But Ferzen simply opened his mouth and once again, issued his command.

“Eat it.”

A simple command without any room for refusal.

Wahhhhhhh-!

The creature let out a mournful cry as it looked ahead.

「 Yes……We eat. 」

「 We have to eat…..Eat…..We will Eat.」

Flutter-!

The creature rose through the air as Ferzen watched it.

The book of the Underworld flipped through its pages on its own, but Ferzen didn’t even bother to look at it.

After all, he could instinctively recall the creature’s true name.

Could this change in his understanding be a good thing?

Or perhaps this change represented something……Worse?

Ferzen had no choice but to discard this internal conflict as Gremory, who had been brutally slammed into the wall, tore herself away and stood up.

*****

「 ■…… ■■■…… 」

「 ■…… ■■■…… 」

“■■■.”

What were they saying?

Through her superior hearing, she could hear the voices of Ferzen and the creature.

However, her mind couldn’t understand their words.

Drip-.

No, the mere fact she was perceiving such a conversation could be called an achievement in itself.

Blood trickled from her nose.

Meanwhile, Ferzen, who had been talking with the creature, seemed oblivious to the fact he was using a language alien to this world.

Thud!

Pieces of stone fell from the dented wall.

As the shadowy creature in the form of a girl approached her, Gremory wiped away the blood from her nose.

The eerie feeling she had still lingered.

But the Empress refused to label this feeling as cowardly as ‘Terror’.

If that was the case, then Gremory wouldn’t even be able to raise her head and look at the creature.

That means this feeling wasn’t part of the ‘Fear’ spectrum, but something more akin to ‘Excitement’.

“Ha.”

When there were no more mountains for the strongest being to climb, she tried to make one for herself.

But now, in front of this being, she had found a towering mountain just waiting for her to climb it.

Therefore, how could she contain this bursting feeling?

Gremory lived for this.

And would die for it.

Thud!

Crack!

It was a pity the container of such a strong soul didn’t match her disposition.

So, as if getting rid of a broken armor, Gremory tore off her right arm and stood up.

Unlike Wizards or Warlocks, Auror Knights can’t control how much mana they use.

They also had no control over the quality of the mana.

When the Auror Knight reached the peak of body refinement, their mana flowed through their body uninterrupted.

So, their use of mana is akin to wringing out a towel soaked in water.

While an Auror could increase the output of mana by exerting their muscles, it was impossible to emit a specific amount.

That is why, as soon as Gremory tore off her arm, the mana that should have been there continued to flow naturally into the other parts of her body.

This would increase her output.

However, the stability would decrease.

On another hand, another quality of the Auror Knights was this - The more they are driven into a corner……

The Stronger they become.

Crack-!!

Clenching her left fist, Gremory flexed her power.

Then, a tyrannical amount of mana gushed out in waves.

The intensity of her mana, and the clear intent behind it,

It was almost impossible to describe such a tremendous concentration of power.

Slap-!

At the same time, Gremory slapped her ears, bursting her eardrums.

The moment she lost her hearing, the concentration of her mana flowing through her left arm became even denser.

「 Waaaaaah─── 」

The creature stopped in the air, its posture a complete travesty for the girl-like appearance it had.

Swoosh-!

With clenched teeth, Gremory propelled herself forward, curling her body.

Then she went round and round.

A single strike, using her body as a weapon to generate centrifugal force.

The strike was an ignorant one, without any sort of technique or embellishments. It was the blow of a tyrant.

「 Oh 」

The Gaping, monstrous mouth that had no place in such a child-like body closed.

The authority of gluttony collided with the tyranny of mankind.

Then,

Piiii—!

Like the thunder that would follow a lighting strike, the soft sound of her fist was soon followed by a deafening roar as if the world itself was screaming.

This massive scream echoed across the land.

The airflow created by such a swift blow was quickly sucked into the chasm below, creating the illusion that such a scream was released from a monster lurking underground.

Swoosh-.

Swoosh-.

Thwip-.

ROAR-!

BOOM-!

The overflowing mana contained within her fist vanished with that single strike.

However, unlike before, it was like slicing flesh with a full blade.

She could feel the power devouring her mana weakening, as Gremory smirked, pushing her fist forward.

Indeed, a human was pushing a monster from the Third Floor of the Underworld, by brute force alone.

That feeling, that intoxicating feeling of conquering such an unimaginable existence, made her body shudder with pleasure.

Perhaps this was the feeling men had when violating a virgin?

Crack-!

Crunch-!

The cracks forming around her fist were visible, as Gremory continued to pour all her remaining strength in her blow.

Break—!

Along with the sound of glass shattering, Gremory’s blow struck true.

Wham-!

The girl-like appearance of the creature became distorted, revealing a grotesque figure.

Burst—!

At that moment, all the mana behind the blow disappeared.

Due to this, Gremory was overwhelmed by the creature’s powers and was thrown back.

Thud-!

Thump-!

Like a stone thrown into a calm river,

Her body flew, skipping through the battlefield, bursting through the soldiers of both Ernes and Elmark…….

Splat-!

Amidst the chaos, the soldiers screamed in agony as their bodies were torn to shreds.

But Gremory couldn’t hear their wails and screams.

In an attempt to stop her momentum,

Thunk-!

Gremory planted her two legs on the ground and applied a forceful brake.

Kudunk-!

After sliding for a while.

Thud-!

She reached the exit of the Elialta Gorge, in front of their Empire's stronghold.

"......"

Slowly straightening her soaked bloody back, Gremory finally became aware of her situation.

“Cough……!”

Wiping the chunks of flesh off her face,

Trying to take off the pieces of guts that got into her mouth, a steady stream of crimson followed her cough.

“Ah……”

Ever since embarking on the path of an Auror Knight,

It had been a long time since she had felt such exhaustion.

At last, even her transcended body was tired.

Her overflowing mana seemed to be depleted, not even a trickle flowing within her.

She was blown through the whole battlefield.

Wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity to issue a retreat?

“......”

No.

This was not even an option.

Since she was reduced to this state, that man was certainly at this limit as well.

If that was the case, then she had to persevere for a little longer, and perhaps force him to open the gates of the Underworld one more time.

The deals a Warlock could do with the creatures residing within the Third Floor were unimaginably expansive.

Therefore, no matter how wealthy he and the Empire were, there was a limit of how many deals he could do.

She could consider a retreat after that time.

Stomp-.

Removing her legs from the ground, Gremory moved.

The Sun was still high in the sky.

So, she only had her own shadow to guide her.

Indeed.

This war.

Was still far from over.