Chapter 145

〈 146화 〉 145화 ­ VS CATS (1）

*

The fight kicked off with a rallying cry from our side, led by the White Bear and Lion.

They were showing off some seriously flashy moves, more than what you’d expect from animals.

The Lion lunged to bite the White Bear’s neck, but our White Bear had already taken a slight step back.

At the same time, the White Bear stepped sideways and delivered a body blow to the Lion, just a half beat quicker than the retreating Lion.

­ Bang!!

The powerful body blow from the White Bear’s massive muscles created a fierce crack.

At the same time, as the White Bear hit the Lion with the blow, it stepped forward again.

But the Lion proved to be quite the clever spirit.

If it were a typical animal, that body blow would have knocked it out cold, but it managed to twist its body and slash the bear’s hind leg with its sharp claws.

­ Slice!!!

The White Bear grimaced, about to kick at the Lion, but the Lion had already widened the gap, getting out of the bear’s striking distance.

Then it made a calculated attack on the bear’s hind leg, clearly targeting the bear’s flashy, dogwood-like steps.

A situation where every moment counted and complacency was not an option.

I cast a buff on the White Bear to empower it.

“Hey! If you win here, we might just get a collab with Bear Cola!”

The White Bear let out a roaring declaration of victory.

But even that wasn’t enough to ensure a win against the Lion.

Facing the sharp-eyed Lion, observing for an opening, this level of motivation was simply insufficient.

So I decided to throw in another buff.

“Let’s talk to Coca-Cola too!!”

The Bear turned its head to look at me.

This time, its expression seemed to question if I meant 815 Cola.

“Of course not!!!”

Meanwhile, the Lion shrewdly took advantage of the White Bear’s distraction and quickly charged to smack the bear’s head.

The Lion already had a number above its head, signaling its attacks.

It was smirking, as if it already knew it had won.

This was a critical moment.

If things continued like this, the White Bear would take a heavy hit.

Just as the Lion’s sharp claws were about to strike the White Bear’s head, I tossed the final bait to draw out the bear’s full combat power.

“A solo advertisement!!!”

At that moment, the fighting spirit bubbling from the White Bear suddenly began to organize itself.

It was like witnessing the calm within the eye of a storm.

The bear was still quietly closing its eyes as the Lion attacked.

And somehow, the bear naturally evaded the Lion’s strike.

This wasn’t just a reflexive action.

It felt like the hope of a solo advertisement unconsciously moved the Bear’s body to avoid danger.

Yeah.

It was the pinnacle of instinct.

A number popped up above the Bear’s head.

Soon, the Bear opened its eyes, and whether it saw a hopeful future or not, a slight smile crept across its face.

The already raised red number above the Lion’s head began to twist, sensing something was off.

As the Lion’s face contorted in shock, the Bear firmly planted its hind legs on the ground like anchors.

Then, twisting its waist dramatically and concentrating all its power in its forepaw, it activated its signature move.

“Roar (Bear Fist)!!!!!”

The White Bear’s Bear Fist (??) landed perfectly as a counter.

With a massive thud, the hefty Lion was sent soaring into the air.

Just as the Bear was about to deliver a follow-up strike, the Leader Holy Knight Peria had already closed in on me.

“Don’t get distracted!!”

“Get lost, you bastard.”

With my left hand wielding a magical power tattooed dagger at 5 o’clock and a wire at 10 o’clock, I quickly wrapped the dagger with the wire and buried it into the ground so it wouldn’t come loose.

Simultaneously, I dodged Peria’s thrusting spear by moving to the right, pulling the wire as I did.

Peria chuckled at my actions.

“You’ve gotten careless!”

This time, a massive shield of tremendous weight started to descend upon me from Peria’s left hand.

Since I had already put on my defensive coat, I figured I could take it and still be fine.

But, uncertain about what would happen next, I activated another magical power tattoo.

Left hand: 9 o’clock shield, right hand: 5 o’clock dagger.

It wasn’t as substantial as Peria’s shield, but it was adequately rough to cover myself.

I slammed the shield into the ground, wrapping another dagger into the wire’s middle.

Then, I threw one dagger lightly so it embedded itself in the dirt.

This time, it was just enough that it could be pulled out easily.

While holding the upper part of the shield with my left hand, I gathered all my strength and jumped upward.

In that moment, Peria’s shield collided with mine, producing a foreboding metallic clang.

­ KWWAAH-CHIK!!!

My shield shattered into pieces, but I was already airborne.

However, Peria wouldn’t lose momentum and immediately aimed her spear at my airborne self.

“You can’t dodge this!”

“Have you ever seen a tower dodge a fight!”

I condensed magical power into just my left palm, and a translucent mirage emerged.

In sync with that, a yellow projectile started firing at me from Peria’s spear.

That was divine power.

A type of magical energy given from the god, filtered through pure mana.

No one could refute it, and the two magical energies collided simultaneously.

With a powerful boom, both attacks canceled each other out.

I landed behind Peria, and she turned to face me.

She looked at me like she realized something.

“That technique. It’s the Cheonma Repulsor.”

“Wha?”

“And I’d say you can use it about 5 to 6 times!”

“Damn it, how did you know that?”

[Isn’t your information leaking?］

‘How did you even figure out the number of uses?’

Peria answered, showing an expression like it was obvious.

“Of course, I could tell since I’ve seen the whole regression thing from the beginning!”

“Oh my gosh, fuck. You’re a reader. Nice to meet you.”

“Just my pleasure.”

In an instant, Peria and I paused our fight, lowered our weapons, and extended our hands to shake.

Peria shook hands and then spoke to me.

“So this episode is extending into a series, right?”

“I’ll say it once.”

[A day has 24 hours, wouldn’t it be better to do a 12-episode series?］

‘You planning to sleep or something? You can sleep when you’re dead.’

[Don’t worry about bathing; a funeral home will handle that after you die.］

­ Shut it, you bastards.

Hearing the barking in my head, I ignored it and met Peria’s gaze.

In the most hopeful tone, I said.

“It’s not an extension, it’s a three-episode series!”

“The Lord will bless you!”

In that moment, a sudden worry arose in my mind.

Peace was in a similar state, as it hastily spoke to me.

[Wouldn’t it mean that Peria can figure out your ability as well?］

‘Ah, crap. If someone finds out, I’m done for.’

However, Peria, noticing my expression, anticipated my concerns.

With a gentle smile, Peria spoke quietly.

“Are you worried about your abilities? Don’t fret.”

“Uh… for real?”

“Yes, I won’t say a word to anyone.”

Her unwavering assurance felt like my worries were unfounded.

“To be honest, if I say it, I’d actually get dragged for heresy.”

“Thank you, blessed reader!”

Meanwhile, Caressy halted her attack on Jeong Ahyeon, looked at our antics, and yelled.

“You idiots! Is this a time for chit-chat while fighting!!”

“Don’t keep neglecting the match like that!!!”

“Ah!!!”

Having been ignored often during the matches, Jeong Ahyeon shouted, seething with indignation, and summoned several beasts right behind Caressy.

Each summoned beast began gnawing and clawing at various parts of Caressy’s body.

“It hurts!!!!”

In an instant, a blast of divine power exploded from Caressy’s small frame.

The divine power surge blew away all the summoned beasts latched onto her body.

However, due to the prior attack, traces of bites and blood were evident on Caressy’s body.

Seeing that, I shouted urgently.

“Hey! Jeong Ahyeon! Don’t let that chick heal!”

“Y-Yes!”

“Don’t rush it. You don’t have to worry about healing abilities.”

Jeong Ahyeon desperately summoned beasts to pressure Caressy.

But Peria reassured me, saying not to worry.

“Our Saintess can’t use healing spells.”

“Ah, so she focused on damage!”

“Damn it, what’s with the good news?!!!”

“Ah! I fell for it!”

Caressy manifested a gigantic cat paw in her right hand and promptly slammed it down on Peria’s head.

“Shut up!!!”

­ Thwack!!!!

“Sniff…”

Looking at that, Jeong Ahyeon gave a somewhat empathetic look and addressed Caressy.

“You seem to be having a tough time.”

“…You look worn out too.”

Feeling a strange connection, the two suddenly paused their fights and shook hands.

To an outside observer, it could easily be mistaken as a moment of peace accord amidst the chaos.

Meanwhile, Peria, having been struck by Caressy, scowled at me with a fierce glare and growled once more.

“How dare you befuddle me! Are you ready yet?”

“Be fooled? Hell no.”

Peria picked up her weapon again, trying to distance herself from me.

But now was the moment to use the setup I had laid out from the start.

I pulled the wire with all my might using my left hand.

“What!”

“Where are you going! Don’t jump off, Reader!!!”

The second dagger I’d thrust into the ground popped out as the wire was pulled tight.

That tightened wire caught Peria’s knee, and as she attempted to back away, her body lurched forward.

To keep from falling over, Peria reflexively drove her spear into the ground for support.

Seizing that moment, I quickly dashed out.

Seeing my movement, Peria hastily raised her shield, while I concentrated magical power in my right hand to collide with her shield.

Just as my right hand was about to touch her shield, I heard Peria’s desperate cry.

“Oh, my Lord!!!”

And then, an explosion was supposed to happen at the contact point between my right hand and Peria’s shield.

Or rather, it should have happened.

However, no explosion occurred.

‘Huh?…’

[Wha-whats going on?］

An unprecedented anomaly took place.

*