Chapter 21 - Maria is a Cockroach

[She is dead]

Ryuk's eyes fixated on his reflection, hearing a mechanical voice responding a small smile formed on his face.

'How many hours?',he inquired, moving towards the bath, unfazed by the shattered mirror—broken cleanly due to force—without any pieces on the floor.

[She will wake up in 3 hours]

'Why is it taking more time today?', Ryuk found it confusing regarding Maria's ability to delay her healing or perhaps even to revive herself.

[She is mentally and physically exhausted]

'As expected of you, Kermit', A smile formed on his face as he remembered Priest Kermit's usual behavior.

After Ryuk instructed him to keep Maria in the monastery, it would have been impossible for Kermit not to torment her.

'But it's good at least; the Demon seed will develop faster', His amber eyes glinted as he thought about the most troublesome Heroine on the battlefield.

Saintess Maria, being a heroine, couldn't evade Heaven's favor.

She possessed Divinity Core, granting her not just the ability to heal but also to enhance, like some games in his previous life.

Maria could add buffs and even debuff others, making her the most troublesome.

In the battle, the foremost opponent was undoubtedly the Son of Heaven, Edward.

His body, already enhanced by Maria's ability, became one of the most troublesome elements, compelling Ryuk to adopt a common battle strategy—eliminating the healer.

However, Maria's abilities went beyond that of a typical healer.

Her enhanced body, combined with Amayara's protection, continually bolstered others' strength, thwarting Ryuk's attempts to exhaust her divine energy.

Ryuk quickly realized that the true strength lay not in the front guards—Edward, Amayara, Henna, and Diana—but in Maria herself.

{ A/n:: I know due to not regular updates you guys must have forget these names, Check Author's Thoughts}

As he comprehended the importance of eliminating Maria, he started burning through his « Ether Core » faster, which he used in less amount to prolonge the battle — focusing his battle strategy on stamina rather than raw strength.

Breaking through all the defenses of the Heroines and Edward, he finally landed a sword strike on Maria's neck, severing it.

Yet, to his surprise, her healing abilities acted like regeneration, reattaching her severed neck.

It was far from what he had expected.

He knew Heroines wouldn't be easy to kill, but Maria's abilities surpassed his anticipation.

'A Coacroach Indeed'

Ryuk removed his clothes and sank into the bath, prepared beforehand by the maids.

Although it contained water from yesterday, in this world with mana, the water remained crystal clear, he entered the bath before relaxing, thinking about his 'favorite' heroines.

After all, it was impossible not to fall for them when they were such a big help, and his love intensified for them during the Final Battle.

Remembering the final battle, his amber eyes coldly kept themselves locked on the bathroom ceiling, looking at it coldly.

You cannot win a war outside until you have won the war that you are fighting inside you

On that day, he was fighting a battle inside himself too, One between his mind and his stubborn heart.

His mind wanted to tear those people to shreds, but his heart did not follow his mind..

It wanted to give them slow suffering, not wanting to let them have a peaceful death.

Unlike others who, on lack of options, either choose mind or heart, he chose both—first following the mind's suggestion by giving them a peaceful death, letting them feel the cold of heaven.

Now, following his heart, he would make sure to let them feel the warmth of hell.

In that battle against people who were closer to him than others, those whom he cared for, standing against him made him remove all other emotions.

The only emotion left was rage.

Yet, in the midst of that battle, three heroines whom he 'genuinely' cared for emerged.

Seeing their help and love for him, he even wanted to give them a chance to choose how they would meet their inevitable deaths—a painless one, if possible.

Those three whom he felt grateful for were Olivia—his dear stepsister, Jenny—his slave, and Maria—the Saintess herself.

The battle that lasted for 7 days and 8 nights would have extended further if not for these three, who helped him fight against the others.

'I can only do this much, Jenny,' genuine emotions shrouded him as he sat inside the tub, leaning his head and covering his face with his hands, remembering the reason for the mercy he showed her by requesting Countess Carlien.

Eight individuals, including the Son of Heaven, stood before him.

The battle was exhausting—they were not ordinary people but the strongest ones one could face.

In such a battle, what one needs the most is not power, but stamina to prolong the fight, and he had that.

Ryuk came from a world where his way of thinking slightly varied from this world's.

He never believed strength alone was sufficient to remain undefeated.

Even after possibly killing the Son and Daughters of Heaven, he could be considered overpowered, facing not just one opponent, but eight—each capable of standing toe to toe with him.

Still, he emerged victorious due to various factors.

He never expected to easily kill those individuals.

In his view, they were cockroaches—even if you severed their limbs, they wouldn't die.

But it seemed as if the heavens were not favoring their children, though he knew half the reason behind this, the other half remained a mystery.

In that battle, he was ready to use the system if outer forces intervened—commonly referred to as plot armor—but no one came.

It was as if something prevented any help from arriving.

From outside, something hindered the luck of these individuals, and from within—three individuals did their part of the job.

His first favorite was Jenny—his slave.

His favor for her rose in the midst of battle when she supported him in killing the Son of Heaven.

Remembering her help warmed his heart; after all, someone was with him, even if it was her lack of IQ that was helping, but still, it belonged to her.

His second favorite was his stepsister, Olivia, the most supportive in the whole battlefield, one who helped him to kill Maria.

It was Olivia who, in a moment of panic, foolishly shouted at Maria to protect her divine core, unwittingly giving Ryuk insight into the reason behind Maria's overwhelming abilities.

Amidst the battle and pondering ways to stop the Saintess from constantly granting buffs to her allies.

Ryuk relentlessly attacked Maria in an attempt to uncover any weaknesses in her seemingly unstoppable healing ability.

As his sword aimed for her stomach, another sword intercepted it, halting Ryuk's intended strike.

Although he had plans beyond harming her at that instant—like tossing her into a volcano—it was the only recourse he could fathom against someone capable of perpetual regeneration, akin to a Hydra.

The interruption came from the woman who, through gritted teeth, divulged critical information to Ryuk as if she were an insider.

// Maria, switch your Divine Core's position. I'll keep him occupied //

Even the most Dumb person could deduce two things: Maria drew her energy from a Divine Core within her, likely linked to her superhuman healing, and second that she possessed the ability to relocate it within her body to protect from getting it harmed.

Realizing that Olivia aimed to safeguard Maria's stomach, Ryuk delivered a harsh life lesson.

Insert your Leg inside others business only when you are prepared to get it broken

With one hand gripping his sword and the other swiftly producing a poisoned arrow, he pierced Olivia's shoulder.

Though such crude methods might seem incongruous for someone of his status.

Ryuk believed that in love and war, everything was fair—though love was hardly an option in this scenario.

He felt amused remembering the significant help these three provided, it was—by being in that group.

Their mere presence was enough to fall the whole situation into his hands.

Yes, they did their part so perfectly that it shortened the battle to a mere seven days.

Ofcourse, even without their help, the outcome was inevitable.

Jenny, the most disadvantaged among the group, used daggers—a weapon designed for close range.

Coincidentally, Ryuk's specialty was close-range combat.

It was clear as day what would happen; still, being stubborn, Jenny kept attacking, making him redirect more attacks due to his sword instead of cutting her, met someone else.

Whenever his sword moved towards one of the limbs, a savior arrived to protect a damsel in distress—Edward Abernathy, known as the Son of Heaven.

It became a known pattern in the battle. Whenever Edward created distance, he swung his sword towards Jenny or Olivia, prompting their savior to come to their rescue.

Out of 15 swift strikes in just three seconds, one always tore through Edward's skin.

There's a saying in this world - What I fear is not capable enemies but a lacking friend

In the midst of a battle where death awaited them, proving their intellect, Jenny and Olivia held the rear for him.

Ofcourse, he wasn't pathetic enough to depend solely on these tactics.

Even as a villain, he wasn't so low as to rely on underhanded tricks, When he could just left the battle's outcome to the decisions of these individuals themselves.

Jenny, despite being advised not to close the distance and disrupt Ryuk's engagement with others in close range, misunderstood and took it as being called the weakest in the group.

This led to her making mistakes that caused Edward to protect her.

Observing how Edward protected her unwillingly while gritting his teeth in frustration, Ryuk knew it wasn't love that made him protect her.

He couldn't think of anything.

What could a slave offer to warrant such lengths, even getting his limbs cut off while protecting her?

Ryuk contemplated everything that Jenny could offer that man but found nothing.

He knew it couldn't be her body; that was already claimed by him.

Then what could it be?

Now, after witnessing and learning about the existence of other continents, he realized there must have been some extravagant offer made to Edward by that soul projection coming out of Jenny.

And about what it was, would be revealed soon in the future.

Standing from the tub, he made his way out of the bathroom while wearing a towel, 'At least this small body didn't need much maintenance'

"Johan!" Ryuk called out his butler, who was already standing outside the door waiting for any assistance.

"Yes, Your Highness," Johan entered the room before bowing and waiting for orders.

"Prepare a carriage; we are going to Goddess Fela's Monastery"