Only Shia seemed to be full of fighting spirit, her rabbit ears wagging excitedly. But...
"No, let me handle it."
Ignoring his companions' nervousness, Hajime extinguished Shia's fighting spirit without further explanation.
"When we came in, I asked you to protect me. Now it's my turn. Please conserve your energy."
“Um… Hajime? There’s no need to do it alone. We can all work together…”
"No, it would be troublesome if the enemy continued to attack us bit by bit along the way. I want to make them realize that all this is in vain."
Shizuku, Ling, and Ryuutarou were worried and uneasy, but they couldn't say it out loud.
Because Hajime's whole body was bursting with bright red sparks, and the expression on his profile was exactly like that of a hungry beast ready to hunt its prey.
Even though they knew he was one of their own, this expression still sent a chill down their spines.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it right away."
"Deal with it, huh..."
Although he had that expression, his tone was so calm that it made people even more frightened.
"Uh, oh..." Even Shia and Tio were speechless. At this moment, the pressure on the Great Shield Aedion finally ceased. It seemed the Apostle had finally acknowledged the futility of simultaneously bombarding with disintegrating artillery fire.
The strongest attack bestowed upon them by the Lord had no effect—even if they were unwilling, the apostles had to admit this fact. I wonder what their state of mind was at this moment.
No one knows the answer.
Then, the Great Shield Aedion was quickly stored in the "Treasure House".
Then, everyone saw a scene of twenty apostles surrounding the area in a hemisphere. Their faces remained expressionless, yet their bodies blazed with a violent silver light, a state they had never seen before.
This state was the apostle's version of "Limit Break." The once calm silver light now flickered intensely, perhaps out of anger or humiliation.
"Anomaly!!"
"too slow."
The apostles swung their twin silver-gleaming swords and were about to flap their silver wings and charge forward—
Hajime's hands suddenly became blurry.
His arms swung out to the left and right like whips. A moment later, a series of prolonged explosions echoed.
That was Hajime's finishing move after firing six rounds simultaneously with his Donal and Hulak guns. When the apostle realized this—
"What!?"
The core of the chests of the twelve apostles had been pierced by bright red flashes.
The apostles who were struck opened their eyes wide, expressions of disbelief on their faces. A beat later, they began to fall, plummeting towards the vibrantly colored ground.
The other eight apostles had the same expression. Taking advantage of this moment—
"All of you squat down."
Hajime instructed Shizuku and the others, spinning both guns in the air and reloading them with a brilliant, fluid motion.
"Anomaly! What did you do!?"
Bullets accelerated by electromagnetic force (electromagnetic guns) are indeed quite threatening.
Before inviting Hajime to the Demon King's Castle, during their confrontation in the snowy plains, the apostle's two greatswords had been pierced by a single blow, so he was well aware of the threat he posed. Even if the apostle's flesh was as hard as steel, it wouldn't be surprising if it were pierced.
However, the source of the Apostle's power—the "core" and the surrounding areas—are another matter. These areas are extremely strong, and unless heavy weapons such as the Pile Bunker are used, it is impossible to destroy them with a single blow.
"This is called armor-piercing bullet. It's specifically designed to deal with apostles."
Armor-piercing bullets—they use an exceptionally hard metal core to enhance the penetrating power of the bullet itself. The original armor-piercing bullets used compressed Azantium ore as their core, and the outer shell also formed a conical space-blocking barrier, making them a special bullet.
If this bullet were used against other creatures, it would not cause much damage due to its high penetrating power. Therefore, it can be said that it is a bullet specifically designed to penetrate the "core" of the apostle.
"But that doesn't explain why we can't escape..."
The apostles should have been able to react. In fact, the twelve apostles that had just been knocked down had already bent their bodies backwards, so even if they were shot through, they would have been able to avoid being hit by the core.
The apostles could not understand what was going on and were filled with doubts.
"I'm not obligated to tell you this."
Hearing Shi's words speak so matter-of-factly, the apostle's eye twitched, and judging that there was no need to ask further, he exerted his analytical ability to the maximum, while his whole body burst into silver light.
As if responding to the apostles, countless ripples appeared in the brightly colored space, and new apostles emerged one after another.
“This… there are at least a hundred of them, right? Nagumo-kun, are you sure everything is alright?!”
"S-Should we help you?"
Suzu and Ryuutarou, who were kneeling on one knee, spoke in panic one after another.
"Don't panic. I can fix it in thirty seconds."
"Huh!?" The two people's surprised and confused voices were drowned out by the continuous gunfire.
What followed was a scene of devastation.
As if to prove that the previous defeat of twelve apostles was no accident, a slightly drawn-out gunshot rang out again. At the same time, twelve more apostles were sent flying.
“──!?”
This one-sided defeat was a disgrace unbecoming of an "Apostle of God." However, the apostles didn't even have time to grit their teeth.
Turn the gun, load the rounds, and fire. Turn the gun, load the rounds, and fire.
Such a feat was accomplished in a fraction of a second, and every shot hit its target. A total of twenty-four bright red flashes shot out like hedgehogs, destroying the apostle's core with uncanny accuracy.
By thinking about their shared abilities, the apostles formulate strategies in real time.
They came to the conclusion that they should control the enemy by sheer numbers, letting the decomposition magic surround the entire body, forming a wall, and simultaneously surrounding and destroying the prey.
The apostles did not need to communicate with each other through words. Like a flock of birds moving collectively, they rushed up at the same time with extremely coordinated movements.
This was indeed a sound tactic. Even if Hajime's reload speed was incredible, the two guns could only fire a total of twelve rounds at once, so there would always be gaps. If they were to outnumber them simultaneously, they shouldn't be able to cope.
However, this monster gunman certainly would not ignore the gun's weaknesses.
——Perception expansion skill activated instantly.
His thinking speed increased, and the world in his eyes seemed faded. He could clearly grasp the expressions of all the apostles rushing towards him, and even every silver feather on their wings.
In a world where everything became slow and clear, Hajime's arms leaped rapidly.
He aimed in all directions, including front, back, left, right, and top, so that Donal and Hulak's beams overlapped, firing with both guns simultaneously, without even a tenth of a second of error.
Two bullets landed before the rising apostles—
"Hmm!? This is... space magic!"
As the apostle predicted, the two bullets emitted a strong space-vibrating shock wave.
──Special bullet: Space Explosion Bomb.
Hajime had anticipated that the Apostles would adopt such a tactic and had already equipped himself with special bullets to form a barrier against the shockwave.
Even the apostles could not easily break through the shock of space.
Naturally, some apostles were blown away, and even those who did not fly away had to stop.
With such a flaw exposed, the result is predictable.
A fatal flaw inevitably resulted in fatal damage. Twelve more apostles were struck down.
When the apostles regained their composure, Hajime finished reloading his gun.
The corner of the apostle's eye twitched slightly.
Then, bright red flashes came relentlessly.
Why couldn't he dodge it? Could it be that he activated his skill, "Prediction," and predicted the apostles' movements? Even so, how could he have accurately penetrated the core? He had clearly taken evasive action before being hit.
(If you can't dodge, split the bullet.)
The apostle raised his greatsword and slashed straight down. The timing was impeccable, and the sword movement itself was also ideal.
A sharp blade enchanted with decomposition magic should have been able to cut the bullet in half, no matter how hard it was. However, the apostle's wishful thinking was unexpectedly overturned.
(!? Through──)
Finally, in the split second before the core was pierced and the system ceased functioning, the apostle grasped the reason why the bullet could not be dodged.
The bullet passed through the greatsword—no, it was the trajectory that shifted ever so slightly, creating the illusion. It deviated by a few centimeters, narrowly avoiding the sword before returning to its original trajectory.
──Special bullet living bullet.
This is a product of the combined refinement of transformation magic and generation magic, a true "living bullet".
It was just like the living golems I'd made for Myuu last time. While they had no clear will, as long as a command was given to the bullet before it was fired, it would automatically identify obstacles, avoid them, and continue on to penetrate its target.
This is why the apostles were unable to dodge or counterattack Hajime's bullets.
Although the bullet itself cannot track the target with such a large U-shaped rotation, it can change its trajectory between the moment of launch and the moment of impact, before reaching the target.
Even if the apostles possessed foul-level sensing abilities and reaction speeds, they would still be unable to cope.
After being combined with armor-piercing bullets to become "living armor-piercing bullets", it is even more irresistible and is the true "Apostle Nemesis".
Coupled with Hajime's gun skills that could be considered magical, this was undoubtedly a magic bullet that was sure to kill.
"Hmm...don't stop moving! Keep your distance and sweep with silver feathers!"
Even though the apostles possessed the ability to think together, one of them couldn't help but shout. After learning the above facts, an unknown emotion welled up within her. To shake it off, she subconsciously raised her voice.
After shouting, the apostle himself also took off at super high speed, leaving behind an afterimage. However—
(I can’t get rid of it!)
Their eyes met. Her speed was too fast for the human eye to grasp, but those eyes—the eyes of a monster—were fixed on her. On the battlefield, where countless identical Angels were scattering their afterimages, Hajime's gaze remained fixed on her—the Sixth Angel (Zexter), not once letting go.
──It seems you are the commander.
At that moment, Zekester saw it. The corners of the monster's mouth lifted high, as if cracking.
"what……"
Zekester himself didn't know why such a sound was made.
A bright red flash shot straight towards Zekester, passing through the gaps between countless apostles and silver feathers, and shot towards Zekester's chest with incredible precision, as if passing through a pinhole.
Zexter felt time flow abnormally slowly. This was not the world an apostle with super high performance could experience.
This must be what is called—
(It is said that humans see this before they die...)
The marquee phenomenon. Zexter saw her past, secretly active throughout history. She saw that many of the humans she had killed were people she had deemed unnecessary pawns and disposed of.
Suddenly, she saw the impossible. Those people's faces were filled with joyful smiles, as if they were happy for victory, as if their resentment had been washed away.
(I will never admit it! We are supreme──)
Zekester muttered inwardly, unwilling to admit defeat. This was not a normal apostle's reaction. Then, her core was pierced.
"Concentrate your fire! The rest of you follow!"
After the fall of the Sixth Angel (Zexter), the Eleventh Angel (Elufort) immediately became the commander of all the apostles.
To the apostles, the commander was merely an individual representing the group. All individuals could think simultaneously, and no individual had fixed thoughts, so the commander's defeat would have no impact.
The apostles quickly and decisively chose new tactics and put them into practice.
The apostles were divided into five groups of three. Each group spread out, keeping their distance. They crossed their swords, their tips overlapping, and raised them high.
Fierce silver light emanated from the three apostles' bodies, condensing at the tips of their great swords, emitting a light as dazzling as the sun.
In order to protect them while they were gathering energy, the other apostles formed cocoons with their silver wings for defense, and used silver feathers to form magic circles to activate multiple barriers. They also emitted decomposition magic with their whole bodies and crossed their double greatswords to defend themselves impenetrably.
This is undoubtedly the greatest defense that the apostles can deploy within their capabilities.
But even with such strict security──
"Is that your trump card? Well, bring it on."
Although Hajime said this, he still mercilessly fired bright red flashes, piercing through the apostles one by one.
──Multiple-stage shooting with gun skills.
Fire at the same target at high speed, causing them to hit almost simultaneously to increase penetration.
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