Avaritia and Luxuria . While the two devils began to fight, Hmee couldn’t hide her surprise at the information received from Schnee .


    Some of the students had been charmed by the devil and were now being used as hostages .


    “I have to do something…”


    Hmee felt she had to act quickly, however, nothing useful came to mind . 【Analyze】 could show if someone was affected by status ailments, but it wouldn’t show anything abnormal if the mind control was performed via skills that used drugs or words .


    Just then, some students approached Hmee .


    “Headmistress, there is something we need to tell you . ”


    “It’s very important!”


    The students were among the top fighters of the institute, the Elf Lecus and the Dragnil Myu . Gian was behind them too . They had probably been training when they evacuated, as they wore their battle gear .


    “This is an emergency, please standby with your assigned teacher . I will listen to youter . ”


    Hmee thought that they wanted her to exin the current situation, so she told them to wait with their teacher .


    “We know that very well . We must speak now, though . ”


    “Yes!! Or it will be toote!”


    “There’s no time . As we speak —”


    Luxuria is in danger, is what Hmee was about to blurt out, but she stopped herself just in time .


    These three students would probably be okay, thanks to the mental training they had received from Shin and Schnee, but the other students would likely fall into panic .


    “Headmistress, we aren’t here to waste your time . The students here might be in danger . Please listen to what we have to say . ”


    Seeing Hmee turn silent, and Gian stepped forward to talk to her, in a very calm tone . His eyes were deadly serious . Looking at them helped Hmee to regain someposure she had lost .


    “What do you mean?”


    “We feel that some of the students here…are under the influence of something bad . We thought that you might know something, headmistress . ”


    Gian looked at Lecus, who exined further . The allegedly influenced students were enveloped in impure magic or were acting strangely .


    One of them happened to be nearby, so Hmee used 【Analyze】, but no status ailments were disyed . Lecus and the others, however, all said that they were acting strange, albeit each in a different way .


    That was the difference between former yers and pure denizens of this world .


    Most yers thought that learning skills was everything . Because of their experience in the game, their concept of skills was fixed .


    Lecus and the others, however, had a more abstract understanding of skills . Because of this, they couldn’t fully unleash their effects, but they could also sense things and produce effects that yers couldn’t .


    “Did Shin give you any skills?”


    “No, nothing . We learned new skills during training, though . I learned 【Magic Vision】, Gian 【Sign Perception】, and Myu 【Insight】 . ”


    Skills weren’t something to reveal lightly, but because of the dire situation, Lecus did not hide anything .


    Unlike Shin’s expectations, they all learned perception-rted skills . The reason why they learned different ones was that, in this world, there were conditions to learn skills were different from the game rules Shin was familiar with .


    Before learning the skills, they had never felt sensations such as those they were feeling now, so Lecus was sure that the skills were the cause, a theory that Hmee agreed with .


    “Let’s iste one of them and ask them some questions, then . ”


    “I think that person would be the best choice . ”


    They needed as many clues as they could . Hmee thought of asking other teachers to help, but Lecus pointed to an instructor before she could .


    “That person feels the same too . ”


    “He’s the one that…”


    The instructor Lecus pointed to was listed among the possible spies who leaked ssified information out of the institute . However, the investigation had only reported him as possiblypromised .


    It would be easier to ask a teacher to talk in private . Hmee then called him to one of the shelter rooms used to store goods .


    “What do you need to talk about, ma’am? Will you exin the current situation?”


    The male teacher was still rtively shaken because of the sudden teleportation . His eyes swiftly shifted from left to right, his behavior slightly erratic .


    Hmee, without a word, took a card out of the item box and materialized it .


    It was a yellow crystal set on top of a green and white spiral, the 『Clear Storm Wand』 .


    Hmee lightly touched the confused teacher with the tip of the wand . That moment, his whole body trembled and he lost consciousness .


    The 『Clear Storm Wand』 was an anti-devil weapon Shin gave to Hmee .


    Shin had attached it with added magic damage to devils and the ability to clear the influence of devils from whomever it touched .


    It wouldn’t have any effect on those not contaminated by a devil’s influence, so it was clear that the male teacher had been controlled by a devil .


    “Ooh! That weird feeling is gone!”


    “Amazing, as expected of our headmistress . ”


    “I’m not sure what to feel about thatpliment…”


    Shin had given her that weapon . By herself, Hmee couldn’t have solved the situation so easily .


    Though she was a former yer, by the game’s standards she was in the lower middle ranks at best .


    “There’s no time to worry about that, though . Bring all the people that feel influenced here, I’ll take care of them . Try not to cause amotion . ”


    “Understood . ”


    Lecus replied, Myu gave a huge nod and Gian a smaller one, then they all left the room . Soon enough, they returned with a female student with them .


    Hmee touched the confused student with the wand and she fell down, as if struck by vertigo . Unlike the male teacher, she didn’t lose consciousness .


    “Where…am I?”


    The girl looked around puzzled: it looked like she didn’t recognize the ce .


    Hmee asked her if she remembered how she came here, not mentioning the devil, and the girl replied that her memories were hazy, as if she had been dreaming . She couldn’t clearly remember what she had been doing .


    Gradually realizing the current situation, the student was starting to panic, so Hmee put her to sleep with a magic spell . She didn’t like doing such a thing, but there was no time tofort her .


    After the male teacher and female student were moved to an empty room in the shelter, Hmee had Lecus’s party continue bring in influenced people to her .


    The students and teachers that gave an unusual feeling were not few, but,pared to the total number of evacuees, they were still a small fraction .


    While waiting for the next victim, Hmee prayed that Shin and the others could buy enough time and stayed safe .


    ◆◆◆◆


    Thundering sounds echoed through the institute .


    No one would think that they were produced by fists striking against fists, flesh shing against flesh .


    They could, however, if those fists belonged to devils . Fistsrge enough to crush people .


    The reinforced bodies of high level monsters wereparable to rare metals in terms of resilience .


    Their massive bodies, ignoring allws of physics, were packed with mass, heavy enough to carve the ground they walked on . Now, two of such walking cmities were battling each other .


    Each sh of their fists shook the earth and the air .


    “LoOks liKe yoU’ve goT yoUr shAre of pent-UP frUStrAtioN!”


    “Spare me the disgustingments!”


    The devils exchanged casual quips along with blows . There was a gap of 50 levels between them .


    Unlike yers, whose level cap was 255 and individual stats varied greatly, the stats of monsters depended heavily on their level . The higher the level, the stronger the monster: it was as simple as that .


    Excluding affinities and the monsters which specialized in specific stats, normally the monster with higher level was stronger . This was especially true for devils, which had high stats overall .


    No clear difference could be seen from the two devils as they exchanged punches, however . The reason was the magic power Luxuria had umted while in Erkunt .


    The source for her magic power was human desire, which strongly spiraled around human towns . There was a limit to how much magic power could be stocked, but Luxuria had enough to fill a 50 levels gap .


    “How loNg can yoU keEp up, HMMm?”


    “Kh!”


    Naturally, however, such magic power would be depleted as the battle continued . As it did, the gap between Avaritia and Luxuria would widen .


    Devils possessed vast powers . Precisely because of that, the magic power decreased at rming speed . Little by little, Luxuria was starting to lose the edge in their battle of blows .


    Luxuria’s lower body tentacles were also being approached by Avaritia’s 【Lifedrain Sludge】 .


    “Get that disgusting thing away from me!!”


    In response to Luxuria’s shout, her tentacles trembled, unraveled from the ball, and emitted purple smoke from their tips . Their aim was the 【Lifedrain Sludge】 crawling on the ground .


    When touched by the purple smoke, the 【Lifedrain Sludge】 spread all over the floor disappeared with a sizzling sound .


    It was one of the skills Luxuria could use in devil form, 【Fading Purple Haze】 . It could inflict heavy damage to equipment and, to yers, 【Paralysis】 and 【Bloodred Poison】 .


    The mist’s strong acidic properties would continuously inflict damage if one stayed inside it: that was the reason why 【Lifedrain Sludge】 was disappearing .


    “BabE, I jUst wanTEd to celEBRate our meeTIng with a hUG . ”


    “Too bad, I already have a special someone . ”


    Luxuria’s tentacles endlessly spewed the 【Purple Haze】, burning through Avaritia’s 【Lifedrain Sludge】 . The Greed devil, however, always looked in control of the situation . Luxuria’s 【Purple Haze】 was very effective against yers, but against devils it barely managed to sear the skin surface .


    The unique abilities devils possessed weren’t very useful against other devils . That applied to Luxuria too . Even among specimens of the same species, however, there was good or bad affinity .


    Avaritia’s 【Lifedrain Sludge】 was a draining ability . As opposed to Luxuria’s 【Purple Haze】, it couldn’t be ignored because it would have little effect .


    Because of the two devils’ affinity, if Luxuria touched the sludge even a little she would be sapped of her strength even more than the usual .


    “If yoU waAnt to gIVe up, now’s tHE beSt, TIMe, yoU knOw? Make my lIfE a lITTle eASier . ”


    Avaritia urged Luxuria to surrender, confident of being in an advantageous position . Despite his boastful attitude, the blows he unleashed were as fierce as before .


    “Too bad for you, I never know when to give up . Why are you even asking a devil to be a good loser?”


    Luxuria switched to a defensive stance, focusing on buying time .


    Shin could not move because of the hostages, but Luxuria thought that he had to have contacted Schnee . In addition, Avaritia’s attitude and speech were as cocky as ever, but Luxuria felt that he actually wasn’t as confident as he wanted to sound .


    The reason was obvious: standing right behind him was an opponent he couldn’t defeat even if he fused with Luxuria . If the hostages were rescued or Shin decided to ept a few sacrifices, the situation would change in a sh .


    Avaritia was definitely acting confident to hasten a conclusion, or so Luxuria thought while blocking his attacks .


    “Do you n to absorb him too after me?”


    “No wAY . As sOOn as you’RE mINe, I’m hIGhtaILing it oUt of Here . EvEn uSIng the hOStaGes, that gUy is tOo mUCh of a bEAsT . ”


    Avaritia replied to Luxuria’s question, for the first time with a cold and dry tone . He knew that even after absorbing two other devils and using hostages, he couldn’t win against Shin .


    Avaritia’s fists struck again, shaking Luxuria’s body .


    Not much time had passed since they started fighting, but the magic power Luxuria had stocked was already half depleted by Avaritia’s flurry of punches and 【Lifedrain Sludge】 .


    Because of that, the level difference between the two devils was growing ever starker .


    Luxuria did not have much leeway either . Most of her skills inflicted the opponent with status ailments, but were of little use against other devils .


    Her strongest strategy was to shower the enemy party with status ailments and disrupt their teamwork . Against a single opponent or someone who resisted status ailments, her strongest point was practically useless .


    “I still have a couple cards to y, though . ”


    She didn’t know how useful it could prove to be, but she would just gradually lose like that . Ready to y all cards at her disposal, Luxuria released her power even more .


    The vines covering her head squirmed . After a few seconds, countless rips and cracks appeared on the surface of the vines .


    “Tch!”


    Avaritia clicked his tongue and packed even more power into his punches . Luxuria could still defend herself, albeit barely .


    The rips and cracks on the vines grew wider, gradually revealing human mouths . The countless mouths that appeared on the vines drew in air .


    “What!?”


    Luxuria activated her skill after making sure that Shin, still behind Avaritia, had covered his ears with his hands .


    All the mouths emitted a shriek . Shrill voices, low voices, clear voices and twisted voices . A multitude of mixed voices that attacked the opponent’s mind .


    It was a shockwave attack that also inflicted status ailments, called 【Dread Luby】 .


    Most status ailments couldn’t affect other devils, but the shockwave would .


    This too was a wide-range indiscriminate attack . It blew away both Avaritia’s own body and the 【Lifedrain Sludge】, with a deadly luby that would turn a normal person into a lifeless husk .


    “YoU’re tOo dAMN lOUD, bITch!”


    Avaritia cursed while holding the ground with his hands . The 【Dread Luby】 was one of Luxuria’s most powerful attacks .


    Even if Avaritia was safe from the status ailments, he couldn’t just shrug it off .


    The more powerful Avaritia was gradually pushed back . The attack was a shockwave in all directions, so it damaged the institute too, but with a battle between devils going on so close, that was par for the course .


    Incidentally, Shin quietly used Avaritia as a shield against the attack .


    “TIme for pAYbAck . ”


    As the effects of Luxuria’s 【Dread Luby】 subdued, ck lights started glowing from the tips of Avaritia’s goat horns .


    After a few seconds of charging, the ck lights were shot towards Luxuria . Compared to Avaritia’s massive body, the lights seemed quite small, but were actually one mel wide .


    Luxuria couldn’t avoid Avaritia’s attack . The ck globes traveled close to Luxuria and exploded, enveloping herrge body in the st .


    Just like blots of ink falling over the painting of a scenery, the very air around them seemed to be covered in ck, for the three seconds of the attack .


    It was Avaritia’s most powerful skill, 【Bullets of Corruption】 .


    “Kh…”


    Luxuria had forgone the option of avoiding the st and did all she could to protect herself .


    It was of course a very powerful attack, but if a yer was hit with it, their max HP would also be reduced to half . For this reason, it was nicknamed the “frontline killer skill” .


    Other devils wouldn’t be affected by the half max HP effect, but being hit by all bullets would cause considerable damage .


    Part of Luxuria’s tentacles and wings was gone, herrge arm was partially torn off, the other half charred ck, still .


    “That was pretty rough…”


    Differently from Luxuria’s focus on status ailments, Avaritia’s skills were primarily designed for draining . Luxuria suffered heavy damage because this skill had low draining capabilities, being primed for causing damage .


    This was the same for yers and monsters alike, and did not change in the new world either . If one wanted to raise the drained amount, it was necessary to either attack more times or raise the damage of each attack .


    Avaritia’s skills increased in draining ability as the damage increased .


    “ThAt wAsn’t eNOugh, huh . ”


    “You didn’t think I would go down this easily, did you . ”


    Luxuria’s stats were based on defense . Even after suffering Avaritia’s brutal attack, she could still move enough .


    The 【Lifedrain Sludge】 sent as follow-up was burned by 【Purple Haze】 . Luxuria’s tentacles had decreased in number, however, so the sludge was closer than before .


    Because of the damage suffered by her giant arm, Luxuria could not fully parry Avaritia’s attacks anymore .


    “Ladies, should be, treated with care!”


    “HaH! No nEEd fOR cOmplImEnts bETweEn uS!”


    The situation was nowpletely one-sided .


    Luxuria could only parry one of Avaritia’s fists with her arm: the other had to be blocked by her tentacles . Because of that, she couldn’t stop 【Lifedrain Sludge】’s progress as well as before .


    Luxuria, locked in a defensive stance, saw her body gradually surrounded by 【Lifedrain Sludge】 .


    “What a nuisance!!”


    【Lifedrain Sludge】 was also limiting Luxuria’s movements . Little by little, Avaritia’s fists started breaking through Luxuria’s defenses .


    With shes strong enough to make the air vibrate, Luxuria’s body floated in the air slightly .


    “YoU serIoUsly puT up a gOod fIghT . ”


    Avaritia continued to attack relentlessly . His rush of fists didn’t let up, together with 【Lifedrain Sludge】 . The greed devil’s punches rained through Luxuria’s defenses .


    She was still parrying, but it was just a flimsy difference from her opponent’s attacks hitting cleanly: Luxuria was practically turned into a sandbag .


    “Haha!! HahAhAhaHA!! HaHAHaHA!“


    Avaritia’sugh echoed through the surroundings . Luxuria’s body was tattered, more than half of it was painted ck .


    She could tell, somehow, that Shin was holding himself back from acting .


    She had secretly sent him a message before turning to devil form, so he wouldn’t do anything until all hostages were freed .


    “… . HahAha…hAh . ”


    Avaritia’s fists stopped .


    “What…are you doing?”


    Only Luxuria’s head remained uncovered by the 【Lifedrain Sludge】 . She couldn’t imagine what Avaritia was nning by stopping to attack then and there .


    “ThAt’s mY lINe . YOur atTAckS aRe liGht, yoU dOn’t eVen dOdge . YoU stOckEd alL tHat pOwEr, but Didn’T eVen usE it rIGhT . ”


    Avaritia’s level was higher, but after they both used their skills, one was almost unscathed, the other almost out ofmission . The gap was far too wide .


    The key fact was that Luxuria failed to dodge the 【Bullets of Corruption】 . Even if her body was now gigantic, her high level also granted her high speed . It was unthinkable that she would be hit by all bullets, shot right in front of her .


    “DoN’t tELL me thAt yoU wOrrIed aBOut the dESTrucTIon? YoU, a dEVil?”


    If she had gone all out, 【Dread Luby】 would have extended its reach as far as outside the institute .


    If she had dodged the 【Bullets of Corruption】, some of them too would have caused damage outside the institute .


    Luxuria’s behavior, bizarre enough to make Avaritia stop attacking, was motivated by her desire of wanting to limit damage and casualties .


    “Hmm…? I don’t know…what you’re hinting at . ”


    Luxuria had no intention of giving Avaritia an honest answer .


    She didn’t know herself why she had done that . Her own life should be the most important thing, but before she realized it, she had blocked all 【Bullets of Corruption】 with her own body .


    She couldn’t resist anymore . Avaritia would now absorb her, erasing her existence for the world .


    Her body would resurrect, one day . It will probably inherit her memories too . The next Luxuria, however, would be a different entity .


    Even with the same memories, her feelings would not be the same . In a way, that was the same as “death” .


    “Are yoU…rEAlLy the dEvIl of lUst?”


    “……… . ”


    Luxuria did not have enough strength left in her to even speak . Avaritia’s eyes grew narrower as he watched the defenseless Luxuria . His 【Lifedrain Sludge】 then resumed its progress, without meeting any resistance .


    Luxuria was fully covered by 【Lifedrain Sludge】 and turned into a ck cocoon .


    “ThIs…iS…”


    Avaritia looked at the cocoon with suspicion .


    The battle was over, Luxuria did not resist anymore . The fusion should have started already .


    Despite this, Luxuria was still existing inside the cocoon .


    Avaritia had no recollection of such a phenomenon . That was enough to create an opening .


    Explosions resounded behind Avaritia, attracting his attention . That very instant, a blue and silver sh passed right next to the devil .


    “YOu—!?!”


    The sh deftly kicked the air to dodge Avaritia’s fist and approached the cocoon .


    “I pray it’s not toote…haaaAAAAh!!”


    Shin’s 『The Ark』 sliced open the cocoon .