A Battle Over in an Instant! - Anime: Start by Being a Desperado! (Danmachi+Rakudai Kishi)

Chapter 237: A Battle Over in an Instant!

"Oh?"

Seeing Shiro suddenly step between him and Rem, and hearing the murderous intent in his words, Petelgeuse showed no fear whatsoever.

Instead—He seemed intrigued.

"Incredible! Incomprehensible! Impossible to understand!"

"At this moment, with the Trial so close at hand, why has someone like you appeared when you were never recorded in the Gospel?!"

Petelgeuse bent backward like a writhing worm.

Both hands clutched his face before violently pulling at his own skin.

His fingernails dug into his flesh and tore chunks away.

Blood immediately poured from the wounds.

Yet Petelgeuse did not seem to care in the slightest.

He continued mutilating himself while screaming—

"You insignificant existence who was never recorded in the Gospel!"

"And yet you have become an uncertainty before the Trial!"

"What is this?!"

"Could this also be part of the Trial?!"

"Am I, the one so greatly favored, meant to decide your fate?!"

"Aaaah! I can feel the Gospel!"

"I can feel the love!"

"MY BRAIN TREMBLES—!!!"

Watching tears stream from Petelgeuse's eyes, Shiro was left somewhat speechless.

He had initially assumed that as a Sin Archbishop—someone essentially equivalent to a leader within the Witch Cult—Petelgeuse should at least know more than ordinary cultists.

But judging from his mental state—He did not exactly look capable of calmly organizing useful information.

Still—Petelgeuse being insane was not entirely bad for Shiro.

At the very least, while talking to him, Shiro would not need to constantly analyze whether information accidentally revealed through his rambling was true or false.

Silently committing the terms "Trial" and "Gospel" to memory, Shiro turned toward Rem, who was still lying on the ground.

"Ram and Emilia have already withdrawn."

"With your stamina, if you follow that path, you should catch up with them pretty quickly."

"Once you do, tell them something for me."

"I need to leave for a while because of a few things."

"If it's quick, I'll be back in a week or two."

"If it takes longer, maybe a month or two."

Hearing that, Rem shakily pushed herself upright and tried to stand.

"Rem... Rem can still fight."

"Don't force yourself."

"You can barely stand right now."

Shiro pulled Rem up and let half her body lean against him.

While feeling the softness of the girl pressed against his side, he casually healed all her injuries as well.

Rem stared at her own hands in surprise.

Shiro pointed toward the direction he had come from.

"There's one more thing I didn't tell Emilia."

"With how excessively kind she is, even if I told her, she probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

"So I'd rather entrust it to you."

"Instead of staying here and making me divide my attention, how about prioritizing the order I'm giving you?"

"Ugh..."

"Please give me your instructions."

Knowing she would be of little help by remaining here—and might even become a burden—Rem glanced unwillingly toward Petelgeuse.

Then she lowered her head and waited for Shiro's command.

"When you get back to the mansion, keep an eye on Roswaal for me."

"Lord Roswaal...?"

"It's too troublesome to explain right now."

"I'll tell you the details when I return."

"But until then, don't mention this to Ram or Emilia either."

"If Roswaal notices anything strange about your behavior, he might become suspicious."

"Yes..."

Only after Rem disappeared from sight did Shiro finally turn back toward the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult.

"AAAAAAH!"

"I'VE BEEN IGNORED!"

"SADNESS! GRIEF! MELANCHOLY! AGONY!"

"I was thinking so, so, so, so seriously about how to grant you mercy!"

"If you want attention, how about saying something worth paying attention to?"

Shiro looked at him calmly.

"For example, I'm very interested in that Gospel you mentioned."

"Could you lend it to me for a look?"

"AAAAAH! I UNDERSTAND!"

"I UNDERSTAND NOW!"

"You intend to steal love away from me!!!"

"Very well!"

"Then let us compare who is more worthy of receiving favor!"

"For love!"

"The Authority of Sloth!"

[Unseen Hand]!!!

The instant those words left Petelgeuse's mouth—Shiro suddenly sensed danger and immediately leapt backward.

BOOM—!

The place where he had just been standing exploded as though struck by some enormous object.

Stone fragments scattered everywhere.

"If you don't want to lend it to me, just say so."

"What's with suddenly attacking?"

Shiro glanced at the shattered ground.

"But... [Unseen Hand], huh?"

"I see."

The scene immediately made him connect the attack with the name Petelgeuse had shouted beforehand.

Just as the name implied—Petelgeuse had released some kind of invisible arm and attacked the position where Shiro had been standing.

For most people in the world—Losing any one of the five senses during battle could be fatal.

And here, the missing sense was vision—Arguably the most important one in combat.

If you could not see an attack—You had no idea when it would come.

You had no idea where it would come from.

You could not even tell when to defend without guessing.

Even if an ordinary person knew how Petelgeuse's ability worked, they would likely have no idea how to deal with it.

However—

BOOM—!!!

"If your attack is invisible, shouting every time you launch it completely defeats the point."

Shiro continued moving as he spoke.

"I can think of at least five people I know who could casually deal with something this half-baked."

Every time Shiro stepped away from a position—That exact spot exploded a moment later.

It was as though he already knew where every attack would land.

"WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!"

"WHY WON'T YOU SUBMIT TO MY DILIGENCE?!"

"If you want me to submit, at least don't announce every attack before you launch it."

Amid the continuous explosions, Shiro moved extremely slowly.

Compared with the frequency of the Unseen Hands, his speed looked almost lethargic.

Yet even so—His body moved like an agile cat.

Every time, he slipped through the tiny gaps between the rain of invisible palms with absurdly slow movements.

"You fight against diligent me while deliberately conserving your strength!"

"What sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! SLOTH!!!"

Shiro's casual attitude finally drove Petelgeuse into complete fury.

In a place Shiro could not see—The number of "hands" suddenly multiplied.

Under Petelgeuse's control, the pitch-black arms slowly separated into four groups.

Then—They attacked Shiro simultaneously from the front, back, left, and right.

Seeing this, Shiro stopped running.

He lowered his stance into a crouch and concentrated strength into his knees.

Then he jumped.

"I'VE CAUGHT YOU!"

"INEVITABLE EFFORT IS WHAT WE CALL DILIGENCE!"

"WITNESS IT!!!"

Alongside Petelgeuse's scream—An overwhelming pressure appeared above Shiro's head.

Having listened to Shiro's earlier criticism, Petelgeuse waited until the final instant after Shiro leapt into the air.

Only then did he gather every hand together overhead.

The countless arms merged—Forming a gigantic pitch-black palm thousands of meters across.

Wind screamed past Shiro's ears.

His escape routes were completely sealed.

The range of the Unseen Hand covered the entire forest.

"THIS IS!"

"MY!"

"DILIGENCE!!!"

BOOOOM—!!!

A deafening collapse shook the entire forest.

Birds exploded from the trees in panic.

Mabeasts fled in every direction.

A massive shockwave spread outward, uprooting trees and vegetation around the enormous palm.

The ground rolled.

Rocks shattered.

Everything beneath the Unseen Hand was either crushed flat—Or reduced to dust floating through the air.

"CARRY OUT THE TRIAL!"

"REPAY LOVE!!!"

"MY BRAIN TREMBLES—!!!"

Petelgeuse shoved both hands into his mouth and bit down.

His teeth tore into his fingers.

Bones cracked.

His mouth filled with blood.

And yet—His voice remained overflowing with delight.

Even someone from the legendary family of Sword Saints would suffer terribly if they took that attack head-on.

At least—That was what Petelgeuse believed.

However—

"Sorry."

"If this had happened earlier, I might've had time to play with you for a while."

A voice suddenly came from behind Petelgeuse.

"But I've got some important guests waiting for me afterward."

"So—"

The silver-white figure had somehow appeared behind him without warning.

The next instant—

"Goodbye."

Shiro's Device drew a clean arc through the air.

The battle—Was over.

…

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Chapter 237 - A Battle Over in an Instant!