Chapter 142: Four Guardian Generals

I spat blood and fell to the ground.

But Cronos didn’t finish me off. Instead, he sat down on a rock a little distance away, staring at me with a calm, peaceful expression.

"...Why don’t you kill me?"

『Hm? Boring, wouldn’t you say? If I’d just killed you right away... I’d’ve been left with nothing to do.』

Cronos said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

So he’s completely underestimating me... Yeah, the power gap is obvious. I propped myself up, leaning on my sword planted in the ground.

"...You’ve stopped time?"

『Yeah. I’m a demon god who controls time and space. In a one-on-one fight, I’d be second only to “Wang.”』

I pressed my hand against my wound and cast Healing Magic. The cut was deep—won’t heal easily. Gotta buy some time... just a little.

『No need to rush. Take your time healing. I’ll wait patiently.』

"Acting so relaxed’ll get you tripped up one day."

『Hahaha, now that’s interesting. If there’s someone out there who can beat me, I’d love to meet them. Can you surprise me, kid?』

Damn it... if this guy gets to the others, we’re all done for. Gotta stop him here somehow... Gojo...

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【Half a month earlier—】

The day I fought Gojo with swords. Of course, I was overwhelmed by sheer strength and speed. But even in swordplay, he was far ahead of me.

And he’s got magic and abilities on top of that...

"Can you stop time? Show me once."

"Yeah, sure. Though it’ll just be a feel, really."

I kept my sword ready, eyes locked on Gojo—but in the next instant, he was gone. His sword, too, vanished.

"Like this?"

Saying that, Gojo was standing behind me. Durandal in hand, his own sword pointed at me.

"Doesn't make for a fair fight, does it?"

I forced a smile, handing my sword back to Gojo.

"Still… if you’ve got a power like that, you’re basically invincible."

"No, not really. Every ability has its weakness."

"A weakness?"

Gojo’s words surprised me. I couldn’t imagine there being a flaw in a power like that.

"Like, it doesn’t affect me much, but mana consumption is huge. And when time’s stopped, magic and abilities just… don’t work. That’s a pain."

"Is that so?"

So every power has a downside…?

"You can stop time, but there are still things you can’t fix."

"Things you can’t fix?"

"Like—"

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

I got up, sword raised. The wound wasn’t fully healed yet, but I wasn’t letting it go unscathed.

"Think I’m gonna go down easy?"

『Huh. Is that so?』

He vanished from sight. One second I saw him, the next—my left thigh was slashed open.

"Gaah!?!"

Blood erupted from my leg, I collapsed to my knee.

I jammed the sword into the ground, barely holding myself up. My vision swam. This wasn’t a fight I could win head-on.

Chronos, who’d circled behind me, stepped forward slowly.

『Looks painful. If you’re begging for mercy, I might just help…』

"Pathetic lie. You’re not the saving type."

Chronos’s lips twisted into a grin.

『Isn’t it fun? Using overwhelming power to crush someone. You get it, don’t you? You feel that, right?』

"Can’t say I do. Don’t want to."

『Huh… I thought someone strong like you might understand…』

Chronos stepped closer, raising his sword.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

『If I kill you, I’ll go hunt your companions. More prey means more fun, I’m sure.』

I stop time.

I could’ve killed him easily without freezing time, but I didn’t want to risk a counterattack. If he’d lost both arms and legs without even noticing, he’d just die in despair.

It wasn’t much time, but I did enjoy it a little. Now that I know his allies are with the other generals, guarding this place is pointless.

If I go to them and kill them all, that’s not really going against the “Wang’s” orders, is it?

I was about to bring my sword down when the ground shook. What the hell? I was thinking, and suddenly realized I was on my knees.

『……What?』

I collapsed…? What the hell just happened? Why did I kneel like that? I’ve never felt anything like this before.

I looked up. Leo Garcia was standing, looking down at me. Somehow, time had resumed on its own.

『What… what did you do…!?』

『I raised the oxygen pressure just around me. Using 【Durendal】’s atmospheric control and wind magic, I can manipulate oxygen levels. Extremely high oxygen pressure is deadly poison. I gambled on whether it’d affect your tough body—turns out it worked.』

『S… so it was oxygen…』

『Even in a world where time’s stopped, you still inhaled lethal oxygen on your own. What’s wrong? Can’t you stop time anymore?』

My hands trembled. My body wouldn’t move. Stupid… me… defeated by a human like this.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"You underestimated your opponent too much. Even if you were weaker, showing respect would’ve meant you could never have lost."

I raise my sword.

"Wait... hold on!"

"Praying for mercy won't save you. I’ll only destroy you completely."

"Stop... please!!"

Descending【Duranadal】, I sever Chronos’s head. The blade’s "Godslayer" power cuts through without hesitation, killing the demon who dared call himself a god.

I watch the head roll away from the body, then wipe the blood and sheathe the sword.

"One down..."

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

【Mongolia — Southeast of the four landed warships】

Freyja and Wang (Wan) were assigned this sector. They’d already cleared through what looked like a hundred ordinary soldiers, pushing deeper into the area.

Near the rear section of the massive warship stood a single man.

Well, "man" — he wore a helmet, face hidden. They judged him male just from his size, though truthfully, they couldn’t tell if he was male or female.

"Uh... that guy? Definitely trouble."

"Yeah. Can’t move forward without taking him down. I’ll strike first — Freyja, cover me."

"Got it."

As they approached, a strange feeling crept in. The opponent wasn’t armed. Standing in a warrior’s stance, fists clenched — Wang (Wan) guessed martial artist type.

『Ah, ah... such lovely young ladies』

"Wait — he spoke! English?"

"Wait, Freyja — sounds like Chinese to me."

『It pains me to kill such sweet little girls... but I have no choice』

They immediately understood the voice was from a skill. And from the tone, they were certain it was a man.

At that moment, a fighter jet appeared in the sky. They recognized it as one of their own, but seeing it, the armored man raised his hand.

‘Tch, annoying little bug buzzing around…’

The fighter jet changed course as if pulled down by gravity, crashing straight into the ground. The man hadn’t done anything else—just raised his hand.

“What the hell was that…?”

“Magic… or some kind of ability?”

‘Well then, the annoying pest is gone. Let’s talk in peace.’

God General Gaia

Demon Beast Type Lv4216

[Unique Skill]

Gravity Control

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

[Mongolia — Northwest of the four landed warships —]

‘What’s this? You think you can beat me just by showing up in numbers? How naive!’

‘Nah, we’ve poured a lot of our strength into this… doesn’t look like it’ll be easy.’

Carlo, assigned to the southeast, had brought along Luca and Anna—most of their force, including the children and all the “Suzaku” members except the Wang.

But standing in front of them was a giant, over two and a half meters tall, resembling some kind of beast. Though armored, it was his monstrous, heavily muscled body that drew the eye.

So intimidating was his appearance that Carlo could only sigh.

“This was supposed to be the easiest point to break through… are we really gonna be okay?”

‘I’ll crush every last one of you.’

God General Ares

Demon Beast Type Lv3991

[Unique Skill]

Cosmic Invincibility

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

[Mongolia — Northeast of the four landed warships —]

‘Oh my, what a darling little girl. Lost, are we?’

"...Uh... I'd really appreciate it if you could just let me through..."

"Ufufu, can't have that. Besides, making it this far means you've taken down nearly a thousand soldiers, right? Such a cute face... and so scary."

God General Demeter

Demon God Type Level 4307

[Unique Skill]

Double Barrier Defense

There’s no doubt this little girl is one of the gifted in this world. But the eerie, oppressive aura she’s giving off… Demeter’s a little thrown off by it.

Wrapped in a black robe, she held a staff too large for her petite frame—unlike anything befitting her size. Demeter judged her to be the same mage type as herself.

...I-I can't seem to move, can you please get out of the way...?

"Can't do it. I'm guarding this place by the Wang's orders."

...I see... I didn't really want to kill you, but...

Emily Simon

Dark Lord Lv13

[Occupational Skill]

Dark Blessing Rank SSS Title: "The One Who Calls to the Dark"

Demon King Summoning Rank E