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Rumble–!
Like the fable of a pupa transforming into a butterfly, the power sleeping inside Shirahui broke free of its hard shell and stretched out.
Meanwhile, she looked down at her own body.
No, even if she didn’t look, she could understand everything happening around her, including herself.
Her body had now broken the shell of a human and was in a state of being one with nature.
It was no longer flesh and blood but a hot mass of plasma made up of positive and negative charges.
Her sense of reality was getting increasingly further away and in its place was an omnipotent sense she had never felt before.
She could sense every electrical signal traveling back and forth between the neurons in the human body.
And even the countless laws that governed the world.
A-ah…
For the first time she felt as if she was seeing the world properly.
Not only that, the name of the existence she had signed a contract with naturally came to mind.
Zeus.
The chief God of Mount Olympus in Greek mythology and the God of sky and thunder.
No way…God really exists.
Just as she wondered why Zeus had started talking to her, she suddenly realized the identity of the power that was inside her.
Zeus’ weapon, Goddess of Lightning, Astrape.
All this time it had been the power of Astrape inside her body.
Finally realizing the identity of Lightning Calamity, she raised her hand high.
Rumble–!
Energy gathered on her outstretched hand as countless lightning struck from the dark clouds above.
Dozens, and hundreds strands of lightning intertwined and combined in the air to form a giant spear.
Crackle–!
The surrounding space swayed and distorted as a seemingly blinding light wrapped around it.
At the end of her gaze was the figure of Henri flapping his wings and banging on the walls.
It was the very same monster that had felt like an insurmountable mountain just a moment ago. However, now it felt like a summer bug and was nothing more than a little annoyance.
I’ll have to erase those wings first.
Looking towards Henri, she hurled the lightning bolt that was held in her hand.
< Goddess of Lightning, Astrape >
*God’s Punishment
The world was instantly enveloped in an indistinguishable white light.
And immediately after,
“Keuaaak!!”
An attack that had flown faster than a stream of thought had destroyed Henri’s wings without a trace as he crashed to the ground screaming in pain.
Boom–!
Henri’s heavy body covered by a shell collided with the floor and formed a crater.
“K-keuk…”
His arms and legs twitched like an insect that had jumped into an electric fly swatter.
And due to residual electrical currents, his body continued to give off sparks.
“Th-this can’t be happening…Th-this…Keuhok!”
He vomited a mouthful of blood as he staggered to his feet.
Meanwhile, Shirahui approached him with an expressionless face.
A giant lightning bolt was slowly forming again in her hand with each step she took.
“S-stay away! Stay away!!”
Henri frantically stretched out his finger. Emanating from the end was a condensed heat that flew towards Shirahui.
However, it was meaningless to Shirahui who had already taken off the shackles of a flesh body.
Rather, the flame from Henri’s attack was sucked into her body made of plasma and was absorbed.
Seeing that, Henri shouted.
“Th-this is ridiculous!! It doesn’t make sense!! How can a God intervene?! The law of causality! What happened to it?!!”
It wasn’t easy for existences known as ‘God’ to appear in the world.
Their actions were constrained by the several invisible laws that made up the world.
And it could be said that the Apostles of Eighth Layer Hell who desired to resurrect an Evil God knew that better than anyone else.
“But…What the hell is going on here?!!”
If it was so easy to bring a God into this world, what have they been trying for all these years?
While Henri was venting his anger, Shirahui had already arrived right in front of him.
Soon, she coldly spoke.
“I’ve always hated bugs.”
Crackle–Crackle–!
The end of the lightning bolt in her hand faced Henri.
Suddenly, Henri knelt down and begged.
“S-spare me… P-please! I was wrong. I mean it! B-believe me!”
The sight of him begging for his life was enough to shock others in the gym.
Shirahui also showed a dumbfounded expression when she saw it.
“Don’t you have any pride?”
“Wh-what do you mean pride…I was wrong. Wh-what can I say?! I-I actually did it all because the other guys told me to. It was a mistake!!”
Henri’s expression was so honest that if someone hadn’t seen what he had done they would sympathize with him.
But…
Everyone here had seen it clearly.
How much he had enjoyed slaughtering people.
“…Ugly until the very end. Just die like a bug, villain.”
Shirahui raised her hand without any lingering feelings. However, just as the lightning bolt was about to strike Henri…
Pointing to the people who had drank water from him, Henri shouted.
“W-wait! Wait!  If you kill me now, they’ll all die too!!”
“…What?”
Henri’s sudden outburst had forced Shirahui to stop her attack.
Is it the last struggle before he dies?
Rather, as much as he said their lives were in danger, it was likely just a lie to escape his current crisis.
But…
What if it’s true…?
If it was true, could she still kill a villain like this?
No, I don’t need to be swayed by his words again.
Her hand had stopped for a moment, but she soon shook her head and pulled herself together.
“You’re lying.”
“H-hehe…Is that really so? You don’t seem to believe me, so I’ll show you.”
Henri looked at her with a wicked smile.
There was an ominous feeling the moment she met his eyes that showed confidence.
No way…Really?
She hastily concentrated her consciousness on the people that had drank the water.
As a result, she could feel the bioelectrical signals coming and going from their brain cells.
***
Reaper Scans
[ Translator – Yasi ]
[ Proofreader – Karane ]
Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/reapercomics
***
But now that she was looking into their heads, in between, she saw something small and foreign.
It was like…
…Insects?
The moment she noticed them, the insects suddenly expanded and began to swell in size.
“Stop! What the hell are you doing…”
She shouted at Henri in a hurry.
“Huhu, you’ll believe me after seeing it for yourself.”
Baaang–!
The insects in one of the people’s heads exploded, shattering the person’s head into pieces.
As a result, the body that had lost its head stumbled for a moment before falling down with a thud.
“You son of a bitch!”
Angered, Shirahui immediately swung the lightning bolt in her hand.
But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to kill Henri as the spear stopped in front of his neck.
Henri who saw it spoke with an expression of renewed confidence.
“Huhehe…Yeah. I knew it! I knew it, keuhaha!”
“…Fuck!”
“I was just going to play with them when all the other toys were dead…I can’t believe this was so helpful. Keuhaha!!”
Henri burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Shirahui’s mind couldn’t help but to become tangled.
What should I do…?
Sacrifices were inevitable in order to punish villains.
Just like how Henri had mocked her earlier, this time again he was forcing her to make a choice.
These people had all killed another person for a bottle of water anyway. Then wouldn’t it be right to sacrifice them?
To her who thought as such, the well-kempt man knelt down and begged.
“P-please save me…I-I still have a young son at home.”
Following the man, the others also fell to their knees and wept.
“I-in order to live, I had no choice. I’ll really atone for it…”
“If I die, there won’t be anyone to take care of my mother…”
Each spoke out, and as a result, Shirahui’s mind grew increasingly complicated when she heard them.
Can I decide their lives at will…?
What was the definition of justice? Uncertainties she didn’t know the answer to came one after another.
But one thing was certain, whatever the outcome was, she had to make a decision as soon as possible.
There’s…not much time left.
In the first place, the power she was using now wasn’t entirely her own.
Thanks to Zeus’ support, she was barely managing to control Astrape.
However, since a little while ago, Zeus’ support had been growing weaker and weaker.
Once Zeus’ interference was completely gone, the destructive power she could no longer control would kill her.
And without me, people will die again.
Thus, she didn’t have to think any more.
I’ll bear all the sins.
Having made up her mind, the moment when the final attack was about to be fired,
Out of the blue, Henri suddenly shouted.
“Stupid bitch! You shouldn’t have given me time!”
The shell that covered Henri’s chest opened and through the gap black flames resembling hellfire billowed out incessantly.
“No!”
Shirahui took the attack with her whole body to keep the flames out of reach of others.
But this black flame, unlike the flames she had dealt with before, started burning her soul instead of her body.
“Kyaaaak!”
A terrible pain unimaginable. All sorts of evil and negative emotions ate away at her soul.
And beyond that, she could vaguely sense the master of this flame.
An absolute existence that seemed to have been created by the collection of all kinds of malice in the world.
Because of the influence of that Evil God, Zeus’ support quickly began to dissipate.
The dark clouds above slowly cleared away and her body that was one with nature gradually returned to its original appearance.
“Keuahaha! It’s my victory!”
“N-no, at this rate…”
Hearing Henri laugh as if he was sure of his victory, she finally squeezed out her remaining strength and threw the lightning she held in her hand.
Baaang–!
“Keuoook!”
Her body bounced far away as the spear made of lightning penetrated Henri’s body.
However, did the power become too weak?
She was certain she had thrown enough strength to destroy Henri completely, but he somehow had survived and was gasping violently.
“Keuk…fucking bitch…”
Shirahui, who had completely returned to normal, laid on the floor as she looked up at Henri.
Along with her fading consciousness, she spat out.
“A-ah… No…”
There was no longer the omnipotent power or laws she had perceived.
It was a power she had borrowed with everything on the line, so she didn’t expect it to end so vainly.
“Keuhue…Bitch, from now on, it’ll be impossible for you to die unless I allow it.”
Henri stared at her with bloodshot eyes as his body constantly spewed sinister energy.
Then, to those who had drank water from him, he commanded.
“Go cut off that bitch’s limbs right now!”
Those who heard his order approached Shirahui without hesitation as if they had forgotten how she had saved them just a moment earlier.
As such, she sensed her end.
In the end…I couldn’t protect anyone…
She resented her own sloppiness for having hesitated at the last moment.
Why do I always make such foolish decisions…
Suddenly, the day of the entrance ceremony where Noah had immediately cut off a villain’s neck came to mind.
As expected, everything he does is the right answer…This wouldn’t have happened if Choi Noah was here…
The more she recalled Noah’s face, the more she felt like she would cry at her own patheticness.
However, at the same time she also wanted to see his face again even if just once.
“…It’s a shame killing her like this.”
Before Shirahui knew it, people had approached her and were murmuring softly as they looked her up and down.
Soon, they held her arms and legs tightly.
“Well, I hope you don’t blame me too much. In order to live, I have no choice.”
The well-kempt man she had saved earlier grabbed her by the hair and pulled out a sharp knife.
Seeing that, she decided to let go of the Lightning Calamity she had been barely holding back.
Rather than be played by them and dying, she thought it would be much better to speed up her death by overloading.
One thing she regretted was that she couldn’t do what Noah had asked her to do because of her own stupidity.
I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to protect everyone.
The moment she was about to let go of her lingering feelings,
Boom–!
A sudden tremor resounded within the gym.
“Wh-what!”
“D-did you hear something just now?”
And once again, the gym shook even louder than a second ago.
Booooom–!
The dust from the ceiling fell and there was an ominous sound as if something was splitting.
“W-wait a minute, is that a crack?”
The people who heard it became agitated as they looked towards the barrier with anxiety.
Crack, Crack–!
The cracks that seemed indistinct spread rapidly and began to split.
Soon,
Baaaang–!
Along with a deafening explosion, one wall of the gym collapsed completely.
Soon, through the rising dust, the voices of a young boy and a woman could be heard.
“Hmm…Why was it so hard? It took a long time.”
“That’s why I told you to find another way.”
People who couldn’t easily adapt to the sudden situation could only stare at the collapsed wall while frozen in place.
The hot air that had been trapped in the enclosed space was released and as a result the dust was cleared in an instant.
And…
“Well, it’s not too late, so it doesn’t matter.”
Standing there and smiling confidently was Noah.