kscans

Chapter 215 - Cheat Bastard VS Villainess 11

It wasn't that I was pretending not to see it... it's just the kind of problem that has no answer no matter how much you think about it. I'd never considered it too deeply, but even so, I understood my own abnormality. The way I grow at an impossible rate during a fight is one thing, but that part is still fine. The reason I get called a deadbeat, a cheat, or a bug is something else entirely.

You could call it a growth limit. In a gacha game, a character's level cap differs based on their rarity, right? It's the same principle. Someone born with a blessed disposition will naturally have a higher level cap. If a common person's is 20, a strong person's might be 70 or 80. As you can tell from the fact that my abilities as a Star's Fallen Child are stuck in the first stage, my own spiritual disposition isn't particularly high. I learned various techniques with my deftness to increase the cards in my hand, so my rarity was probably around SR, if not quite R.

Despite that, before I knew it, I had become the strongest in this world. It's the result of repeating lawless limit breaks over and over, even though my disposition should have already reached its ceiling. It's happening even now. Just when I thought I had reached the absolute peak, I fought an equally matched villainess and grew even more. Is this a wanko soba speed eating contest? I kept breaking my limits at that kind of pace, and finally reached a realm she could never attain. Impossible limit breaks. Adding a rarity that shouldn't exist in the system. That growth, which ignores all limits, is the greatest proof of my abnormality.

To be honest, I thought the villainess was the same way. She repeated her awakenings so many times in such a short period. You can understand why I'd want to curse her out for being a cheat, right? But I was wrong. The villainess simply had a ceiling so high it was invisible. It wasn't that a ceiling didn't exist at all. As she kept awakening, I finally understood. I could see it. I could see her limit. In that case, there's no longer any need to worry about minor attrition.

"I feel stupid for getting so worked up."

"What... what are you talking about?"

Ignoring her words, I glanced at the extermination army. They had shifted from fighting in outer space to fighting on the fake Earth, using the terrain to their advantage and giving it their all. I sent a message to everyone telling them they could stand down, and then I simply erased the small fry.

"You... you...! Hebu?!"

The villainess was momentarily stunned, but she immediately tried to retaliate by attacking the extermination army. Well, they won't die as long as I'm alive, so it's futile, but there's no need for them to die needlessly either. I crushed the villainess's attack and, without a moment's pause, punched her square in the side of the face.

"Now, let's begin the public execution."

I grabbed the villainess by the collar and teleported to the fake Earth. Then I repainted the space, creating a giant colosseum large enough to hold the entire extermination army.

"No way..."

"Hey, hey, hey."

"Eh, you're kidding, right? Did he... did he do it again?"

Ignoring the murmuring spectators, I addressed everyone.

"It's the ridiculously busy end of the year! You're all pissed off about being dragged into this crappy mess, aren't you?! As for me! I couldn't even use my real clones because I couldn't afford to waste extra power for the final battle! For a little while now, I've had an acquaintance disguise himself as me and go to work in my place! I feel so bad for my diligent subordinates and superiors!!"

Huh? You think it can't be helped since it's a battle for the fate of the world?

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN A DAMN THING TO A SALARYMAN SUFFERING THROUGH AN END OF YEAR DEATH MARCH!!!!"

A salaryman doesn't fight for the world, he fights for himself, his family, and his company! And my main job is a salaryman! The Supernatural World is my side gig! Getting this stressed out over a side gig is just ridiculous!!

"He just snapped all of a sudden."

"He must have had a lot of pent-up frustration..."

"He's the strongest man in the world who can get away with any selfish whim, yet his salaryman spirit is off the charts."

"To not forget the pride of a salaryman even in a situation like this... in him, I have witnessed 'courage'."

Right now, I'm seriously pissed off. So before the main punishment, I'm going to torment her thoroughly! I threw the flailing villainess aside and spread my arms wide.

"That's why! I'm gonna show you all a sight that'll really make you feel good!"

"...!"

"Let the show begin! I'm accepting applications for brutality pay at any time, so hit me up!!"

Being made a spectacle for humans was nothing short of a humiliation. With her anger on full display, the villainess attacked the spectator stands, but her attack was blocked by a barrier and dissipated.

"My... body... you bastard, what did you...?!"

This time she tried to attack me, but the villainess collapsed on the spot.

"Forbidden Curse, LD."

I calmly announced the technique's name. LD was a curse so dangerous that even I had no choice but to designate it as forbidden. LD is an abbreviation. Its full name is Lifestyle Disease.

"Cancer, stroke, heart attack, hypertensive diseases, diabetes, cirrhosis, chronic kidney failure..."

The karma of humanity born from the affluence of modern society. Forbidden Curse LD slams all of it into the target at once. Right now, the villainess's body is being eaten away by the seven deadly illnesses, leaving her unable to even stand. If it were just a normal lifestyle disease, it would be one thing, but this is a lifestyle disease turned into a curse. But... ah, not yet. It's not over yet. I won't let her off this easily after she destroyed the world once. She's caused a great deal of trouble for a lot of people, including me.

"All Satous! Unleash your desires!! Super SatoChat!!!!"

From behind me, darkness erupted like a volcano, forming thousands of arms. Countless eyeballs floated on these arms of darkness, their eyes bloodshot and gleaming.

"Ugh..."

The villainess grimaced in disgust. Of course she would. No one, man or woman, would like having raw lust thrown at them. Oh, patience, patience. True, she's an invader with no human rights and not a single redeeming quality, but wait just a little longer, my fellow Satous.

"Hold on, you and your body...! Sensitivity times five hundred million!!!!"

"!?"

Every single one of her senses was magnified five hundred million times. A normal person would probably drop dead in an instant, but the villainess is different. She's a creature beyond all standards. She's just barely managing. Well, I suppressed it to a level where she could just barely manage.

"You... bastard!!"

While her face contorted in agony, the villainess fought back against LD by continuing to forcibly heal her body. As soon as she regained control of her flesh, she began to deal with the surging arms of darkness.

"Fuhahahaha! You're really trying hard, even though it must be agony just to stand there!!"

"You... bastard...!!"

"Hey, you sure it's okay to be focusing on me? If you get caught by my super pervert hands, you'll be even more disgraced, you know?"

"...!!!"

Haah... I feel so good, even taking a dump after being constipated doesn't feel this refreshing. The stress that's been building up since that night is melting away.

"Is he a demon?"

"That's rude to demons. The demons fought alongside us."

"Is it just his power, or is his scumbaggery also off the charts?"

"I mean, sure... the villainess is an enemy with no room for sympathy, but still..."

"Not even a god could have predicted she'd get this kind of payback for destroying the world in a fit of pique."

She fought the curse with all her might while dealing with the relentless attacks. It was like singing up-tempo hard rock or death metal while sprinting a marathon. After about twenty minutes, the villainess exhausted her stamina and collapsed. I made the arms of darkness disappear and walked over to her.

"...kill me."

"If the god who created you made one mistake, it was sealing your power."

"What... are you..."

He should have completely stripped away her power as it was back then. On top of that, he should have sealed her 'potential for growth' so she couldn't regain her power over time. That method would have worked on her former self, even if it wouldn't on the her of today. Unlike a bug like me, her growth ceiling was just ridiculously high. If he had sealed or stolen her potential for growth, the villainess would never have regained her power.

"So, that's what I'm going to do."

As I extracted all of the villainess's power, I also lifted the curse. Right now, her specs are no different from a normal human's. The curse would kill her. Then, just as I said, I nipped her potential in the bud so she couldn't grow over time.

"...!"

"Too slow. Don't be so wary. In a way, it's nothing to worry about."

She must have sensed that things were taking a bad turn, even if she couldn't grasp the full picture. She tried to bite off her tongue, but I was faster, of course. I carved a curse forbidding suicide into her very soul with all my might.

"From now on, I will seal your memories, leaving only your revulsion for humanity intact. You will live in this world as a human. Of course, it won't be a single life. You will be reincarnated again and again. It's similar to the punishment your creator gave you."

Even if she dies once, it won't be the end. She will continue to be reincarnated as a human for eternity. The villainess's face paled at my declaration. It was not the fear of being kept alive forever, or the fear of being unable to die. It was the immense disgust she felt at having to live as a human once more, just like in the past. And when I said I would seal her memories, I only meant her memories of who she was and why she hated humans, plus one other thing. In other words, her memories from one reincarnation to the next will be retained. Unlike her creator, my power is overwhelming. It will be like a prison she can never escape.

"But I'm not a monster. I'll create one single path for you to escape this eternity."

Her creator was probably acting out of parental love. I think he wanted to believe in his child. He thought she would understand someday, so he intentionally left it unsaid. If he had foolishly said something, it would have only provoked her. He must have thought, this child might take the long way around, but someday, surely... But I will state it clearly and set it as a condition. She'll forget this condition until she's released, but the moment she is, that's when the real hell begins.

"The moment you love someone from the bottom of your heart, the chains of the seal will be torn asunder, and you will regain your power and memories."

"Wha..."

If the seal isn't broken, her mental anguish will never end. However, even if the seal is broken, a different kind of pain will assault her. If she were to ever know love... well? It's obvious she'd suffer from the weight of her own sins. For someone this twisted to ever learn of love, it would be impossible without an encounter that reformed her from the very core. After all, she despises the entire human race enough to destroy the world. It's not a matter of loving one specific person and not caring about the rest. For her, the moment she can love a person will be the moment of her reformation. To advance is hell, to flee is hell. This is my own personal punishment, one that Lucifer himself would give a standing ovation.

"N-no! Stop! Kill me right now..."

With a snap of my fingers, the villainess vanished. She had entered the exclusive cycle of reincarnation I created just for her.

"Good night, villainess. Have a good life."