"Checkmate."
Sinon pulled the trigger of her rifle.
BOOM!
All the close combat she had shown up until now had been nothing more than a disguise, a careful preparation for this moment. The Hecate II, her single-shot anti-materiel rifle, roared like thunder, unleashing a shot powerful enough to pierce even tank armor.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Zenon screamed, consumed by excruciating pain. The bullet didn't just pierce his right shoulder — it tore through his entire chest, ripping through flesh and bone, leaving behind a grotesque hole from which blood and organs gushed in a waterfall of gore.
Even with his magic power amplified dozens of times, a point-blank shot of that caliber was fatal.
"Still alive? Tsk... so the drug really does boost your vitality... But only for a few seconds."
Sinon gasped for air. She clutched her numb wrist. Her shooting posture had been terrible in that moment. She should've aimed for his head.
"Ahhh! No! I don't want to die! How could I die like this? I was one step from the top—how can it end here?"
"Ahhhh, I don't want to die!"
"Shut up," said Shino, her voice cold and filled with contempt.
"Can't you at least die like a man?"
"You want to die crying? Want to show your ugliness at the end?"
Zenon was strong, but he had no dignity as a warrior. Some people fight beautifully for their lives. Others, like him, just become pathetic and desperate.
"No, I can't die yet! I'm Zenon Griffey, the 12th Knight of the Cult! I'm not someone who can die here!"
Trembling, Zenon pulled a vial of red pills from what was left of his clothing.
"!!!"
Sinon's face froze. Even with her numb arm, she drew her magic revolver and fired—a single dry shot destroyed the vial, scattering the pills into the filthy sewer water.
But Zenon, desperate, buried his face in that black, foul-smelling sludge like a madman, swallowing everything.
He didn't care about anything anymore except surviving—and killing the cat-woman who had brought him to this point.
"UH... OH... OHHH!!!"
A single pill was enough to make him dozens of times stronger. He had swallowed at least ten... along with sewer water.
"Power... Yes! I can feel the power!"
"This guy's insane."
"Kitty... this is really bad," Alexia muttered, unsettled.
Zenon was transforming before their eyes. His body twisted into grotesque shapes, like rotting, misshapen flesh. The unbelievable regeneration even managed to heal the devastating wound from the Hecate.
But he was no longer human—just a shadow of what he once was.
"My life span... What's happening?! My vitality is disappearing!"
His muscles swelled as his hair turned white. A powerful colossus on the verge of dying from old age.
There was no trace of biological beauty left in him.
But he survived.
The power granted by the continuous intake of the drug had even strengthened his regeneration to the point of recovering from a fatal Hecate strike.
A Hecate shot would be fatal to any human. Though he had survived, he could no longer be called human.
Night Raid had acquired and analyzed that drug years ago. It grants temporary power at the cost of the user's own vitality. The price of taking one pill is about ten years of life.
"You're pathetic," Sinon said with a smirk.
"Heh~ Looks like you were just another pawn to the Cult. They didn't even tell you what those pills would do to you."
"What did you say?! You knew?! The Cult... they never told me there was a price!"
"Each pill consumes ten years of your life, you idiot," Sinon mocked.
He screamed in despair. Each pill cost more than ten years, and he had taken a dozen. A hundred years, gone in seconds.
"It's all your fault! You ruined my future!"
"I'll kill you!!" he screamed, his eyes shining with madness.
"But not quickly, not mercifully. I'll tear you apart, piece by piece. I'll rip every scream from your throat until it shreds. And when you think you can't feel any more pain... I'll show you there's a hell you haven't even imagined yet."
"You'll beg. You'll plead. And even then, I won't stop!!"
Zenon roared, abandoning any plan of capturing them alive.
"Alexia Midgar, get out of here. Now."
"Eh? But you—"
"I'll buy time. I'll protect you. That's my mission," Sinon replied firmly.
But Zenon wouldn't allow any escape. He moved in the blink of an eye, too fast even for Alexia's reflexes.
"Agh!"
He grabbed Sinon by the neck and lifted her off the ground, his eyes wide with hatred.
"Beg! Cry! Show me your fear! I need to feel like this was worth it!"
Sinon said nothing. Her feline eyes remained calm, unwavering.
"Fear? Don't be absurd..."
Even with the enemy crushing her throat, she showed no ugliness, no despair. Her gaze was so resolute that even Zenon felt overwhelmed.
She had already known fear. In the cold winter, when she had been abandoned—no family, no food, no future—she had nothing. But then... someone took her in. He cured her demonic possession. Gave her a new home, a family. Melted the ice in her heart with the warmth of being cared for.
Now, there was only one thing she feared: not being needed by him anymore.
"I'll be fine," she said.
"What?"
"I'm under my master's domain... He will protect me. He promised. And he never breaks a promise."
She smiled. A pure, confident smile.
Because she knew she was within two kilometers of his detection range.
"You Night Raid bitches are insane! You really believe your beloved leader will come save you? That's ridiculous! I'll kill you right now!"
Zenon raised his arm, ready to slam her into the ground.
He would make sure she suffered as much as possible.
But then—
"Get lost, you piece of trash."
"Wha—UGH!!"
A fist appeared out of nowhere and smashed into his deformed face, launching Zenon against the wall with brutal force.
Alexia's eyes widened as she saw the figure emerging from the darkness, carrying Sinon in his arms like a princess. His presence was majestic and overwhelming.
"You... really came to save me, Midnight-sama."
Tears sparkled in the cat-girl's eyes.
Alexia felt a chill. She had thought Sinon was a wild, untamable cat... But she was completely wrong.
She wasn't wild. She already had an owner.
Gentle, loyal, and fiercely devoted to him.
"I should've given you a clearer order, silly kitty... Your life is the priority."
"Sorry... I just didn't want to disappoint you, Master..."
"Silly girl. You could never disappoint me."
Midnight gently touched the cat-girl's head, infusing her body with magic that healed all her physical injuries.
Then, he turned to Zenon, who was staggering out of the rubble.
The pressure emanating from Leon was terrifying—like a humanoid dragon ready to annihilate everything in his path.
The fury radiating from him was visible.
His magic sword appeared in his hand.
"You dared to hurt someone who belongs to me... Are you ready to pay for your crimes, worm?"
---
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."