Chapter 61 - Last Warning

"YAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! STAY AWAY!!! STAY AWAYYYYYY!!!!!!"

Loud screams filled the air just outside the house for a moment, then silence ensued not long after.

Three people remaining.

"...I'm sorry, big brother! I wasn't able to detect these things as early as possible!" Aoi apologized to me.

"It's fine, you used your powers for a different purpose after all," I replied. "Also, I don't think you could detect these guys in the first place."

Are these hands really living things? If no, then it's impossible for her to detect their presence. That is one of the disadvantages of her ability as a Death Goddess.

"...The gazes of those eyes are very nasty, I'm getting shivers just by looking at them," Aoi spoke worriedly.

Meanwhile, the woman couldn't believe what she's seeing. Monsters, that's what she called the strange things that appeared around her.

"Don't mind those things--we need to get out of here first!"

At that instant,

Whooooosshhhh--

One of the 'hand trees' extended a few of its 'branches', having their mouths opened wide as they reel towards the woman.

"N-NOOOOOO--!!!"

Defenseless as she was, the woman groveled on the ground, screaming and trembling in fear.

"M-Ma'am!"

I saw her husband's crutch near her position. Kicking the ground off me I leaped and reached for it before they reach the woman.

"Gotcha--"

I used the crutch to block the hands' assault. With each hand grabbing onto the wooden object, both sides became engaged in what has now become a tug-of-war situation.

"...Big brother! Are you okay?" Aoi shouted from the side.

"Guuh...I'm fine, but I don't think I can hold them for too long..."

With their number it's obvious that their combine strength will overcome me. However, I still have to protect the person behind me.

Fwip! Fwiippppp--!!!

"A pincer attack?!"

Another two sets of extending arms sn.a.k.e.d their way simultaneously from both sides, while I'm still busy holding my ground against the first set.

"...Hrgh! I won't let you touch my big brother!"

From her shadow, dark chains appeared and restrained the approaching arms.

"...W-Wha--"

However, the restriction only lasted for a few seconds. With Aoi's reserves reaching a very low level after using her powers continuously for long periods now, the strength of her chains aren't enough to hold them off.

"Aoi!!!"

With the danger alarm in my mind ringing furiously, I decided to let go of the crutch.

Crackkk--

The crutch got instantly snapped and broken into pieces by the sheer force of the hands. Seeing how easily they broke a wooden object, I don't need to imagine what they could do to a person's bones.

"Ha-haaaaa--?!"

"...B-Big brother!!!"

"Don't worry, I'll get you two out of here!" I assured them.

Drawing my strength from within, I began carrying her in my arms. At the same time, Aoi climbed onto my back.

"...Incoming!!!"

More than thirty of them started going after us in different directions. With my hands full with these two ladies, I have no choice but to dodge their spear-like attacks while finding ways to reach the exit.

They're blocking the way leading to the exit, so the only way out is...

"The window!"

The window at the middle is the only way to go. Getting there is easier than to the door, but these guys probably won't let us do...--

"...What are you doing, big brother?! They're coming for us again!"

"A-Ah, right!"

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!!!

The long arms acted like a lash as they mercilessly sweep around the house. Being able to cut through concrete, this house won't last any longer.

"M-My house..."

"Your life is more important, ma'am! We have to get out of here!"

Almost there...

Fwip! Fwip! Whoooooooshh--!!!!

BLAGGGG!!!

"YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"So close?!?"

Sweep, thrust, crush...these guys have begun using various attacks at the same time to stop us.

"...Big brother! Behi--"

"Aoi--no!!!"

Aoi leapt off my back, just in time before the long arms could hit me and the woman. The force was strong enough to launch her several feet above, and creating a hole on the ceiling because of it.

"No...no...!" The woman's eyes widened in horror when she saw a little girl's body being hurled upwards because of the attack.

"Hang on tight, I'll try to catch her."

"H-Huh?!"

Applying more strength in my legs, I jumped up while still carrying the woman and we got out through the hole in the ceiling. We saw Aoi just overhead us as she falls down, and I managed to catch her on my back.

"...Uuuu...are we outside now, big brother...?" Aoi asked me while her vision's still spinning due to the impact.

"Yeah, we got out thanks to you."

"...Is that so...then I guess it's all worth it. Uuuu..." Aoi fainted right after she said that.

"T-That girl...how is she still alive?!" The woman asked.

"M-Maybe she's not destined to die yet, who knows?" I replied.

We landed just outside the house. I expected that the hands would still go after us, but for some reason they didn't.

"W-What are those things?"

"I don't know ma'am, but that's the least of my worries right now."

"Huh?"

BANG! BANG! BANGGGGGG!!!

"Not only your house--it seems that there's plenty of them everywhere!"

Not only they are overwhelm us by the numbers, they also overwhelm us by the size. The largest hand measures about 50 meters tall and spans about five meters in width, and is almost entirely covered with thousands of red-colored eyes.

Those eyes...they remind me of someone.

I shouted at the hands surrounding us. "I know you're the one who's behind this. Come out and show yourself already!"

When I said that, a relatively smaller hand sprouted from the ground. A slit then appeared on its palm area, and a person came out of it.

"Ah, so you are Ren Mortel. You're a lot younger than I expected."

"Eh...Eh?!"

The one behind all of this is...

"Hm? What's wrong? Are you expecting someone else to appear in front of you?" The person asked mockingly.

A middle-aged man wearing a rugged, faded brown shirt, and green pants. He is barefooted, and his feet are full of wounds and bruises.

An appearance of an ordinary-looking person, with an exception of having a huge X mark written on his bald head.

"B-Balm...?" The woman on my arms gasped her breath.

E-Eh? You mean this man is...

"Balm! Where did you go all this time? We've been looking for you, and..."

"Hahahahaha! Who is the Balm you're talking about? I don't know what you're saying, woman!" Balm said as he laughed crazily.

"B-Balm, you..."

"I don't think that person is your husband, ma'am," I said to her.

No, the body belongs to Balm for sure. It's just, there's someone different inside.

"You there, who are you? Why do you know my name?" I asked the one controlling his body.

"My identity don't matter here. As to why I know your name, I just learned about it through hearsay."

"Hearsay? A-Are you working for Myriel?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then, are you one of the Lumiari?"

"Lumiari? What's that?" He tilted his head.

"Are you working for somebody else?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?!" The person a.k.a. Balm yelled. "I'm not working for anybody! I prefer to do things alone!"

'Myriel, Lumiari? Never heard of them," his eyes tell it that way. Assuming what he said was true, how could it be possible for someone to know a complete stranger only by the means of hearsay?

He then walked slowly towards us. Contrary to what Balm's wife had told me, this one doesn't have any problems while walking.

"What did you do to my husband?" The woman asked him.

"By husband, you mean this one?" Balm pointed at himself. "Don't worry woman, I'm just borrowing this body for a bit."

When he said that, his arms and neck started twisting outwards 180 degrees, creaking each time his muscles and tendons are stretched beyond their limits.

"Hahahaha! See, with my control I can unleash the full potential of this body! Only I can do this!"

Searching for the perfect host, that is his reason for being.

"Balm...no..."

"Hahahahaha!!!"

Filled with despair, the woman started sobbing. The man in front of her, isn't the person she loved for more than 20 years.

Seeing that, I placed her and Aoi on the ground.

"W-What are you..."

I smiled lightly at her. "Ma'am, I will bring your husband back, I swear."

I whispered something into her ear, and shifted my attention towards Balm.

"Ah, so you want to get this body back from me? I wonder how can you do that?" He asked with a sneer.

"The usual way," I replied. "I'll beat the hell out of you until you decide to come out."

"Well that's fine," he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm planning to come out of this body anyway."

At that moment, about 50 hands gathered around him, and pointed towards me.

"I'll come out of this body...to get yours instead!"

"No good--"

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!! The place where we were just seconds ago, instantly got covered in holes as I managed to get the three of us out of the way.

"Ma'am, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes, I'm alright. But your sister--"

"Don't worry about her. Just do what I told you, and you will be safe."

Aoi is still unconscious, but I could still feel her dark aura faintly swirling around her. As long as she's with her, her odds of surviving will be greater.

"U-Understood."

Carrying Aoi on her back, the woman started running away.

"You think I'll let you do that? Never!"

He gathered again several hands with threadlike limbs, but this time they are aimed for Aoi and the woman.

"Watch out--!!!"

The woman stopped her feet, only to see dozens going after her. They all became entangled into one large hand, forming a spear stance with its fingers.

But before they could reach her--

Tsakk--!!!

"G-GAAHHH--?!"

When I pushed them out of the way, the hand pierced through my body, and carried me upwards.

"NOOOOOOO--!!!"

"Just continue running! Don't mind me!" I shouted at her.

Run, run for your life and don't look back! Take Aoi and yourself to safety!

"U-Understood!"

She looked around and saw an open manhole nearby. Steeling her resolve, she jumped into it while still carrying Aoi on her back.

Fortunately, he didn't saw her enter the manhole.

As for I...

"AAAAGGHHKKK--"

My body crashed into several houses first before crashing into the ground. That hand made a hole the size of a dinner plate through my chest, causing my organs to be destroyed.

"Hahahahaha!" Balm laughed loudly. "Look at you, your heroism has caused your body to become like that! What a waste of streng...--"

"No, my strength isn't wasted."

"What?!"

Heh, my wounds started healing with the help of the [Death] Arcana. Seeing my unbelievable recovery, Balm was put into shock.

"Now that they finally escaped into safety, I can finally beat you to shape without worry."

"Haha...hahahaha!!! Good, good--what I saw just now is the best reason why I want your body!"* He spoke hysterically.

BGSSSHHH!!! BGGSSSHHHHH!!!!

At a snap of his finger, giant hands the same as the one behind him appeared from every building around us. Then, their eyes began glowing brightly, covering the surroundings in a deep red light.

"HAHAHAHAHAH!!! YOUR BODY--GIVE IT TO ME!!!!!"*

At his signal dozens of giant hands start crashing down. With these guys having creepy features like eyes and mouths, I can't afford to get crushed by them.

I don't have any weapon with me right now, but what if...

"[Decay]!"

One of the simplest spells under the [Death] Arcana's [Sacred Curses]. It works as it is stated, causing flesh of enemies to rot instantly. I don't know if it works against these things, but I have no time to waste thinking of any alternatives.

At my word, all of the giant hands around us--disintegrated instantly into ash.

"Eh...?"

"W-What...?!"

Balm and I couldn't believe what just happened. Both of us only stared at the falling ashes dumbfoundedly.

"Y-You...what did you just do to my babies?!"

"I-I tried using my power to defend myself, I think..."

I mean, neither of us expected it to be THAT effective, you know?! Aoi haven't told me anything about each curses' strength when she passed it down to me, so it's just natural that even me who is the user will be surprised.

"Tch! Using that kind of ability on the get-go will cost you a huge amount of mana...this time, I won't let you escape for sure!!!"

From his back, two giant hands came rushing like furious snakes towards me. With their claws bared, they are intended to rip me to shreds.

"[Decay]!"

Instead of dodging, I used the curse again to destroy the hands before they could reach me.

But--

"Hahahaha! You think they could be easily destroyed like last time? I won't fall for the same trick twice!" Balm exclaimed proudly.

The two hands got destroyed, but after a moment they regenerated and formed spikes on their skin instead.

"H-Hey--!"

Like a homing missile the two hands kept on chasing after me. I continuously used [Decay] while dodging to halt their advance, but its effects grew weaker and weaker over time.

"G-Gaaaaah--!"

I received a gash on my left arm. Though it's not serious, it's the shallow ones that are more painful.

"Hahahaha! The longer you struggle dodging, the quicker and more responsive my babies will become! If I were you, I would rather give up already and become a host for my opponent than turning into shreds of meat!"

"As if I'll let you use my body for your shenanigans," I firmly replied.

"Oh really? Then I have no choice. I will rip your body apart!!!"

With a creaking sound, Balm's back created an additional seven pairs of arms, raising the total number of hands chasing me to 16. Each of them moved in a zigzag motion, making it more difficult to dodge his attacks.

"Keep dodging, keep dodging! That's the only thing you can do now!"

Any obstruction standing in their way, whether trees or the walls of buildings, are easily cut down as if it was butter. Not only that, but it seems like they can already predict where I'll go next.

These hands are too troublesome...I can't just keep in dodging their attacks all the time, right?

Think, think...I have to look for their weakness...

"Eyes..."

That's right. All of his hands have eyes embedded on it. Maybe...

"[Eye Shatter]!"

An improvised curse. It's hard to remember any curse that has something to do with eyes at this time so I had to create a curse of my own right on the spot.

Plok! Plok! Plokplokplokplokplokkk--!!!!!

One by one, all of their eyes burst, gushing out blood like mini fireworks.

"Ha-HAAAAAH! KAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH?!!!!"

Even Balm's eyes aren't spared from the curse. With blood flowing generously out of his two eye sockets, he screamed, "YOU! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU--!!!!!!"

At his command the 16 hands came attacking at once but without their eyes, they missed the target and got tangled altogether.

"You said you could unleash the full potential of your host body, right? Can't you just regenerate your eyes just like what you did earlier?" I asked him while standing on top of a tall building in which I had no idea how I got here.

"Are you an idiot? As if you humans can do it in the first place?!" He replied angrily.

I see, so he is limited by the strength of his host. That's the reason why he had an interest in my body.*

"Then I guess it's time for you to stop controlling other people."

"You dare!!!"

He leaned back for a moment and then a huge, thorny arm came out and extended from his mouth, spanning the whole Plate Town.

"If I will be destroyed here, I might as well take everyone with me!!!"

Twisting his body, he used it as a very long whip to ravage the whole area. The forest, the Guild headquarters, the town hall...they all vanished in a blink of an eye.

"The Sandy Fish..."

The inn is just at the other side of the street, and the huge arm is heading straight towards it without delay.

One single sweep.

From where I stood, I saw the whole Sandy Fish and the whole neighborhood turning into heaps of debris while being crushed by his extremely long arm that grew larger and larger the more he destroy.

"N-No..."

I fell on my knees. In an instant, the whole Plate Town is gone.

"Hahahahaha! There's only two of us now. All your family and friends are alive no more!" He said with a cackling laugh.

"..."

"What's wrong, are you mad at me? I can't see you right now but I can feel your rage in the air."

"Kill..."

"Hm?"

Kill him. Kill him.

Kill he who killed everyone. Kill he who killed everyone...

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill--KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL--

Tsakk--!!!

"This...can't be..." Balm muttered in disbelief as his head was cut off by a piece of paper being blown by the wind.

Kill...?

"My, what happened here? Looks like this elder sister came a bit late, huh?"

I collapsed and fell from the building. For a moment I thought I'm already on the ground, but I noticed that I'm being carried by someone while floating in the air.

"My...riel..."

"That's right. Big sister is here," She said with a gentle smile.

"You..."

"[Sleep]."

Before I could even say another word she placed a small piece of paper on my forehead, and my consciousness gave away instantly.