CH 228

A few hours before the ‘Safe Zone’ was attacked――



“――the most important thing is to stay away from the owner of ‘Precocious’, and deal with the ‘Sniper’, ‘Envy’ and  ‘Demon’ while I fight the owner of ‘Precocious’.” 



Is what Arroganz had told Katsuragi.



“It’s not just humans is it? I heard that that brother was also taking in monsters.”



“Yes, the ‘Dragon King’s Guard’ and the ‘Sea King’ are a nuisance, but with your skills, you’ll be able to control them.”



“….. No way, my skills aren’t that strong, right? I can’t have more than two monsters of that class, can I?”



“…Grrrr…”



At Katsuragi’s words, the black wolf behind her grunted. 



Schwartz, the Wolf King. He was a monster subdued by Katsuragi with the help of the skill of her occupation “Demon Master”.



He was dominated and manipulated yet he carried strong hostility within his eyes. 



The look in his eyes chilled Katsuragi to the bone.



（……I have to constantly be on the lookout in case he manages to break free from my skill……）



In the first place, the reason she was able to subjugate the Wolf King was the result of a combination of coincidence and miracle.



Normally, it would have been impossible to subjugate a monster who was a member of the Six Kings, as Rebel had said.



The only reason why Katsuragi was able to do this was because she was “originally following Schwartz”.



Since she had subordinated Schwartz before he had received a name and his class ‘Wolf King’, it was easy for her to retrace her steps and subordinate him once again with the help of Arroganz.



（Well, it does not even have 60% of its full potential, but this is enough）



A monster contract that is not in accordance with the monster’s will greatly reduces its true power.



Still, the Wolf King’s power is overwhelming.



By “borrowing” his power, Katsuragi was able to raise her own level tremendously, even though she had not been revived for very long.



We also subjugated the pack of monsters who had been following the Wolf King.



This will be a very useful piece.



“I can’t say much about the dragon, but you have to be careful of the Sea King. He will be on his guard.  He will slow down and devote himself to the safety of the people. He is kind――no, it is because he is sweet.”



“I don’t know if that will work…….”



“It will. You’re not the only one who has been revived, and they’ll do a great job of distracting him.”



“What good are they?”



Katsuragi was not the only person Arroganz had revived.



Before I came here, I met him once, but he didn’t look very strong.



If anything, he seemed to be dragging us down.



“They know the people here. It will slow them down a bit. I don’t understand it, but people value ‘bonds’ and ‘connections’, don’t they?”



“Well, generally speaking, yes…..”



Katsuragi herself couldn’t deny it, as she had taken advantage of that opportunity to launch an attack at the school.



“And it’s the only time we have a chance to attack. If the ‘Eye’ of the ‘Sea King’ is placed throughout the Safe Zone, no matter how well we hold the ‘Wolf King’, our chances of winning will be slim.”



If the other side only has the “Death King”, we can counter them with the “Wolf King”.



But if the “Sea King” joins in, it’s a different story.



The “Sea King” is an extraordinary being that possesses everything needed to search for enemies, defend, and strengthen the camp.



In fact, Arroganz wanted to target the “Sea King” first, not the “Wolf King”.



“…… Now that the Sea King has passed on his power to the next generation, he is stuck at the bottom of the ocean. The other kinsmen were not capable enough to cover the whole ‘Safe Zone’. And if you can hold down Momo, the Black Dog, who has the skill of long-distance movement, the ‘Sea King’ will not be able to participate in the battle. Neither the Sea King nor his clansmen will have any mobility skills to appear on the battlefield.”



“You really know your stuff……. How the hell did you find out all that?”



“I had a few helpers, but basically I can do the research with my skills. It’s not quite as good as ‘Search’, but with a combination of Appraisal and Hubris, I can at least read parts of the system.”



“Ooooh, you’re a cheat, zombie husband.”



Katsuragi burst into giggles.



Arroganz had no idea what was so funny.



“…..As far as I’m concerned, I don’t understand you any more than I understand the Six Kings. You have no qualms about helping me? Unlike me, you are a former human being. What do you feel about killing your own kind?”



“Nothing much.”



She replied casually. 



“I don’t really care who dies. A lot of people are going to die and it’s not going to bother me. But I’m grateful to my zombie husband, you know? I’ve come back to life thanks to you. I must pay back the debt I received.”



“……”



It’s not a lie.



That’s what Arroganz felt.



“……Humans are really interesting creatures.”



“Hm? Did you say something, darling?”



“Nothing. We’re almost at the enemy’s camp. We’ll go as planned.”



“Understood! Ah, that’s right, darling. I’d just like to confirm one thing….”



(――and, well that is how I decided to take on the job of stalling….)



While dodging the incoming slashes, Katsuragi looked at Rikka and Ichinose, who were standing behind her.



（――Honestly, this is tough）



Not to mention the demonised Rikka, if I stop paying attention to Ichinose behind me for even a moment, I will not be able to detect her presence anymore.



In the end, Katsuragi is only able to keep a track of Ichinose due to her skill.



―― “Sense sharing”



It is one of the skills that she acquired when she got the profession of a demon user.



The skill’s effect allowed her to share her vision with one of the contracted monsters.



The more monsters she has contracted with, the wider her view of the battlefield.



It would be impossible for her to wield this skill without a huge amount of information processing ability, but she had managed to master it.



（Aim is accurate……）



If she was distracted for even a moment, she would be hit by bullets. 



Even in a room surrounded by monsters, that sniper was able to pinpoint her weak spots. 



She is so good, you could mistake her for a soldier instead of a student. 



On top of that, Ichinose and Rikka were the perfect combination.



If she made even the slightest mistake, she would be at a disadvantage. 



(Seriously, even my zombie darling is reckless.)



To be honest, I like it. 



I need to change my attitude.



These two are strong.



As strong as that ‘man’ who had killed me. 



(If this is the case, let’s try shaking things up a little.)　



Katsuragi took a deep breath and,



“Oi, are you sure you want to kill those monsters? They belong to the Wolf King.”



““――!?””



At Katsuragi’s words, their movements slowed down.



“You guys. You wanted to join these dogs, right? If you kill them but manage to save that Wolf King somehow, you guys will still end up as enemies. I wonder if that will be okay.”



Those two were visibly upset at her words.



How easy they are.



“Here’s an opening for you! Do it.”



“Guh…. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”



One of the Dark Wolves attacks Rikka.



The other monsters followed suit.



Their moments were awkward since they were being forced to fight. 



Both Ichinose and Rikka were aware of that.



“Guh… In that case, I will beat you first.”



“Oops.”



After forcing her way through the crowd of monsters, Rikka launched a desperate attack which could be considered borderline suicidal, but Katsuragi was able to dodge it with ease.



Skill ‘Slave Reduction’.



This skill converts 10% of the status of the monster who has made a monster contract with her and turns it into her status. The number of monsters that she can collect is up to ten, excluding the Wolf King.



In this way, she was able to raise her own status.



“If you think that the Demon Master is weaker than her own slaves, then you are making a big mistake.”



“You――!”



Slash, slash, slash, slash.



Katsuragi ducked and dodged the barrage of slashes aimed at her. 



“Gaaaaahhhh!”



“Huh――?”



The next moment, Rikka lost her balance.



The Dark Wolf’s shadow grabbed her ankle.



A fatal gap.



“Ora!”



“Aha――!”



Katsuragi kicked Rikka with all her strength.



Rikka was thrown away and the monsters that were eyeing her started chasing after her. 



“Ricchan!”



“I, I am okay… Natssun…”



Katuragi looked at Rikka, who was standing up despite her battered appearance, with a cold gaze.



(……That hurt. Did I break a bone? What the hell is she made of, stone?)



Her status had been increased due to demonization. 



In terms of pure raw power, Rikka was better than Katsuragi.



But in this situation where monsters were attacking her from all sides and she had to protect Ichinose while making sure she did not kill any of them…



Eventually, she will be stuck.



And if Rikka dies, Ichinose did not stand any chance. 



Moreover,



“……I don’t understand. Why won’t you give up……?”



There was no desperation on their faces.



How can you look like that in this situation?



“Give up…? Why should I give up? The fight is just beginning!”



“……（nod nod）”



Ichinose nodded at Rikka’s words.



It doesn’t look like they’re bluffing.



Even in this situation, they are going to win.



(No no, they are going to lose. Yet, why don’t they give up….?)



That’s what Katsuragi couldn’t understand.



Because if you lose, you die.



No one wants to die.



If you don’t want to die, you should survive in any way you can.



If you live, you will have another chance.



There is nothing that I want to give up my life for. There is no way.



“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”



“…. Damn!”



Katsuragi gasped at Rikka’s spirit to once again attack her. 



In the next moment, she felt a sharp pain on her leg.



“Guh――”



Ichinose, the sniper.



Katsuragi was distracted by Rikka and had forgotten to pay attention to Ichinose’s breath. 



And Ichinose did not miss that opportunity. 



“With this――”



“――it is over”



Katsuragi grabbed the incoming ‘slash’ with her bare hands.



The flesh of her hand ripped open and the blood gushed. An intense wave of pain swarmed her senses.



But even then, she was able to stop Rikka’s slash due to her strengthened bones.



“Is this for real…”



“Unfortunately, this is the reality!”



Katsuragi grabbed Rikka’s sword and refused to let go.



“What are you doing, monsters? Kill them while I’m still standing!”



“……Shi―!”



Her weapon was trapped and Rikka grew stiff when she realised she had no way to free it. 



Now, it is your turn to despair.



You’ll have to beg for your life, just like you did back then.



But Rikka’s expression does not change.



On the contrary, she even looked calm――



“――You’re late, Nisshiー”



“――――”



This time, Katsuragi’s expression changed.



And the next moment.



“――’Don’t move’!”



The order stopped Katsuragi and the monsters from moving.



Their bodies stiffened.



Katsuragi somehow managed to move her eyes and looked at the source of the voice.



There stood the person who was the reason why they couldn’t move.



“Oh, that’s right, darling. I wanted to ask you something.”



“What is it?”



“Do we need to be worried about Nishino and Igarashi? They’re not as bad as the others, but I think even they are pretty nasty.”



“…… Indeed, ‘command’, ‘charm’ and ‘spirit summoning’ are powerful skills. But it’s not a problem.”



“Reason?”



“Because they are only ‘human’. The powers of the unevolved are negligible. They can’t be a threat.”



On the other hand, if they had evolved, those two would have been a reasonable threat.



“Just to be on the safer side, I checked them before coming here. Neither of them showed any signs of evolving. It is safe to leave them alone.”



“Understood.”



There was no way they would be so ‘lucky’ that they would just happen to evolve before they launched their attack.



Therefore, neither Arroganz nor Katsuragi regarded them as a threat.



“―― Long time no see, Katsuragi.”



“……”



Looking at Nishino’s sudden arrival, Katsuragi turned speechless.



(Oi oi, zombie darling, isn’t this totally different from what you told me?)



The aura she felt from Nishino.



It was definitely the aura carried by those who had just evolved.



(What kind of ‘luck’ did he have to have evolved now of all times……)



No, he’s not just evolved.



Just, what kind of skills has this man acquired?



If he had evolved just now, in other words, the skills he acquired would be roughly at level 1.



There is no way that he could have stopped me and my monsters like this with just the old skills of “command”.



It’s almost as if his skill level had risen all at once.



“Sorry, we are late.”



“Seriously, you really kept us waiting.”



Rikka snatched her weapon out of Katsuragi’s hand.



This scene, Katsuragi could only watch it play out silently.



She was under the command of “don’t move”, she had no chance to run away or even tremble in fear.



(Oh dear, this is getting out of hand…..)



It seems that the tables have turned all at once.



It’s a shame that she lost due to a man whom she thought of as an insignificant opponent.



(Sorry, zombie darling. I can’t pay you back.)



I didn’t think it would turn out to be like this in the first place.



It’s not like me to help someone pay back a debt, even if they’ve brought me back to life.



I should have been more selfish and run away as soon as I had the ‘Wolf King’ and his entourage under me.



Maybe I have lost my mind by being alive again, by not being a human anymore.



(Well, it doesn’t really matter anymore……)



The first time she couldn’t accept it, but the second time was much easier.



Katsuragi simply stared at the sword as it approached her.