Chapter 31

EP.31 Leona Acquires Her Finishing Move

Right after the attack by Amducias and Octoa, South Korea was the first country to increase the number of shelters.

They installed an enormous number of underground bomb shelters nationwide and made it mandatory for all buildings to have bomb shelters.

The emergency action guidelines, established after the Earth Defense Treaty, were also distributed to all citizens.

And now, Korea’s efforts were showing results.

Beep! Beep!

[Evil Energy detected. Citizens of Daejeon, please evacuate to the bomb shelters immediately. Evil Energy detected. Citizens of Daejeon, please…]

The emergency broadcast echoed through the sky.

People, though panicked, rushed in an orderly manner to the bomb shelters set up throughout Daejeon.

The streets emptied in an instant.

Even those in buildings quickly descended via emergency elevators.

It was the result of mature civic consciousness.

Meanwhile, I was circling around my cute demon gate with Dr. Cash in a fighter jet.

Dozens of South Korean Air Force fighter jets were deployed around us, providing backup.

This was possible due to the rapid defense systems established by all nations’ defense ministries under the treaty.

Dr. Cash had basic command authority over them, but in emergencies, it would transfer to the commander.

“The Evil Energy Gauge is stuck at 42%.”

“No signs of it increasing?”

“None. But seeing the dark smoke rising around the gate, it seems like it will open soon.”

As soon as my calm words ended while looking at the monitor,

Sssssk—!

The demon gate moved its thousands of teeth up and down, opening wide.

From it, dozens of shadowy, blurry monsters emerged.

Parax’s minions, the Hope Eaters.

Grrrr…!

The nearly 3-meter-tall Hope Eaters landed in Daejeon with a thud, kicking up dust.

They looked around as if searching for humans.

Poor things… Tsk tsk… The humans have long evacuated.

While the Hope Eaters were searching for prey, a flash of light appeared from a portal on a fighter jet, and Leona emerged.

Her sky-blue eyes glowing, she charged at the Hope Eaters and began slaughtering them.

Swish!

Kraaaah!

One Hope Eater, bisected, let out a death cry.

At 42%, the gauge was a D-grade by my standards.

Though strong from a human perspective, they looked utterly powerless now.

But that was only because Leona was incredibly strong; Hope Eaters could easily chew through tank armor.

Conventional weapons were useless against them, and even cannons couldn’t penetrate their armor.

If humans tried to handle them alone, the damage would be catastrophic.

-Striker1, this is Falcon1-1, the 2nd Special Mission Squadron Falcon Wing has arrived at the operation zone. Awaiting orders.

The deep, gruff voice of an Air Force pilot came through the fighter jet’s speakers.

Striker1 was the doctor’s call sign.

Dr. Cash pressed the comms button, and her modulated voice came through.

“Are the air-to-ground missiles ready?”

-Of course.

“Focus on attacking the monsters farthest from Leona. Don’t worry about property damage now; hit them with the strongest firepower.”

-Roger that. Falcon out.

As the pilot issued orders, dozens of air-to-ground missiles were launched from the fighter jets.

Whoosh!

The missiles, with a light sound, plunged down and exploded.

Kwaaaah!

The entire Daejeon area shook with the deafening roar.

At this point, even citizens deep in the bomb shelters would be worried.

Each missile had a large blast radius and immense power.

But only five Hope Eaters were killed.

Those directly hit were obliterated, but the rest were still active.

Those at a distance didn’t even get a scratch.

-What the…

As the Falcon Wing commander was panicking,

Swish! Swish!

Leona swung her arms rapidly, tearing apart a Hope Eater.

-Wow…

-Is that even human…?

-Are we recording this?

-Even if we do, we can’t watch it again. Striker is jamming the signal. Shut up and fire more missiles. Make sure to hit them directly.

From the fighter jet I was in with the doctor, the pilots’ admiration and chatter could be heard.

Yeah, watch closely how strong my Leona is.

Her blade, the guardian of humanity, will one day be pointed at you.

Beep! Beep!

Then, another gate appeared next to the one the Hope Eaters came from.

“Doctor! New Evil Energy detected!”

“I see it! What’s the gauge?”

“10%… 20%… 30, 40, 55… 74%. The gate is opening!”

74% was a B-grade by my upcoming standard guidelines.

Sssssk—!

The gate opened wider than the one that released the Hope Eaters.

And the demon that emerged was…

-Uhahaha! Finally! Finally out…! For Lord Tairat!!-

It was Parax, the bull-headed demon, shouting in the common language of Erandel.

To humans, it would sound like an unknown language. But his high intelligence was immediately apparent.

This is going to be a headache.

Parax, back to his original size, was about 10 meters tall, smaller than Amducias.

As soon as he appeared, he became Leona’s target.

“Haaah!”

With a magical girl’s battle cry, she charged at Parax, bursting through the air.

She gripped her sword with both hands and struck at his neck, a vital spot.

But…

Kaaah!!

The sword bounced off without piercing Parax’s skin.

‘Parax’s skin is incomparable to the Hope Eaters…’

-Uuuuh!!-

But it still hurt. He groaned, twisting his neck.

Leona, I’ll help you, just buy some time.

Marcella and I have created a weakness.

Just stop Parax from finding the humans hiding underground and feeding on their despair.

If you don’t, he’ll kill hundreds, thousands of humans you’re supposed to protect and grow even stronger.

I put my hand to my ear to communicate with Leona.

“Leona! Don’t attack recklessly! First, scan for weaknesses!”

-But…

“Your Device capacity has more than doubled. You have about 8 minutes of transformation time left, so there’s still room. Just draw his attention and look for weaknesses. We’ll scan too.”

-Ah, got it.

After replying, Leona stepped back from Parax and began using consumables for large demons.

Yeah, just buy time from a distance. Don’t charge in recklessly.

**

Daejeon’s central district was practically leveled by the firepower from the Falcon Wing and fighter jets.

No building was left intact. But there was a gain.

All the Hope Eaters were successfully killed.

“Please return now. We’ll handle the big bull-headed one.”

At Dr. Cash’s command, the Falcon Wing began to retreat as if waiting for this.

Parax, who didn’t even get a scratch from missiles.

Staying any longer would mean certain death without achieving anything, so they quickly disappeared at the doctor’s command.

And Leona…

“Hap!”

Thud!

-Grrr! You bitch…!-

Was pushing Parax back.

His knees were shaky, the bones not fitting well, thanks to the nanomachines Marcella and I secretly injected.

His kneecaps were being eaten away by those nanomachines.

Noticing this, I gave Leona the order, and she steadily accumulated damage on Parax’s knees, turning the tide.

But killing Parax would be tough.

Releasing a late-game boss early, without a finishing move, Leona could only temporarily incapacitate Parax.

Leona needed to learn a finishing move, and I had already planned for this.

‘Now, Marcella… You’re ready, right? If you go too far like with Octoa, I’ll cut your tail off.’

Just enough to knock me out for a few hours.

I secretly signaled Marcella without the doctor, who was staring intently at the monitor, noticing.

Then, Parax’s focus blurred slightly, unnoticed by anyone.

He ignored Leona’s attacks and stretched his arms toward the fighter jet I was in.

And…

Whoosh!

He unleashed dark magic from his ten fingers.

Like a waterjet, thin and precise, it was an attack Parax hated using except in emergencies, consuming his stored despair.

So why did he use it?

Because Marcella had Amon hypnotize Parax into doing so.

This would leave Amon powerless for a while, but… It’s good for awakening a finishing move.

Let’s think positively.

Leona had acquired her finishing move when Yoo Seunghyun was in mortal danger.

It was a natural acquisition in a loved one’s crisis.

Now that she loves me along with Seunghyun, the conditions shouldn’t be different.

If I’m on the brink of death, Leona will finish Parax with one strike and come to save me.

Thud!

The dark magic Parax unleashed pierced the sturdy armor of the fighter jet.

And in its path was me…

“Guh!”

Five holes appeared in my stomach.

I let out a short scream and clutched my stomach with both hands.

A sticky sensation. Blood was gushing out.

Damn it… Marcella, you bitch, I told you not to go too far…

Did you forget I’m in a normal human body now?

Or did you have a grudge against me? Seeing how you liked it when I pulled your tail, probably not…

But still, it seems I’m on the brink of death.

“Kyaaaah!!”

Hearing Leona’s distant scream, I buried my face in the ruined monitor.

Ah… My vision is turning black.

The fighter jet is crashing.

The doctor rushed forward and pressed the ejection button.

Whoosh!

The cockpit opened, and my body, along with the seat, was flung into the air.

The wind feels nice. Good ventilation for my perforated stomach.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the distance, yellow light clusters were streaming out.

Leona’s sword, now enormous, was flying toward Parax’s forehead.

Though my eyes were too dazzled to see clearly, it was clear Leona had awakened her finishing move.

We need to name it… What would suit it?

Since it was learned through the power of love, maybe Lovely Sword? No, too childish.

I don’t know, let’s just call it Finishing Move like before.

I’ll think about it in my dreams.

Thud!

Someone gently caught my body.

Forcing my drooping eyes open, I saw Leona, her sky-blue eyes streaming with transparent tears.

She saved me. Of course she would.

Her lips were moving as if saying something, but… I couldn’t hear.

By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen Leona’s face up close.

With Sehwa’s features showing, she looks even more beautiful.

Damn you, Marcella, making me see such a beautiful, noble face in detail like this.

If I survive, you’re dead.

Wait, shouldn’t I be mad at Amon, not Marcella?

I don’t know, let’s just punish both.

With that thought, I lost consciousness.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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