Avaritia and Luxuria . While the two devils began to fight, Hilamee couldnt 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

Hilamee felt she had to act quickly, however, nothing useful came to mind . Analyze could show if someone was affected by status ailments, but it wouldnt show anything abnormal if the mind control was performed via skills that used drugs or words .

Just then, some students approached Hilamee .

Headmistress, there is something we need to tell you .

Its 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 you later .

Hilamee thought that they wanted her to explain 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 too late!

Theres no time . As we speak

Luxuria is in danger, is what Hilamee 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 arent here to waste your time . The students here might be in danger . Please listen to what we have to say .

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

What do you mean?

We feel that some of the students hereare under the influence of something bad . We thought that you might know something, headmistress .

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

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

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

Most players 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 couldnt fully unleash their effects, but they could also sense things and produce effects that players couldnt .

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 werent something to reveal lightly, but because of the dire situation, Lecus did not hide anything .

Unlike Shins expectations, they all learned perception-related 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 Hilamee agreed with .

Lets isolate 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 . Hilamee thought of asking other teachers to help, but Lecus pointed to an instructor before she could .

That person feels the same too .

Hes the one that

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

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

What do you need to talk about, maam? Will you explain the current situation?

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

Hilamee, 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 .

Hilamee 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 Hilamee .

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

It wouldnt have any effect on those not contaminated by a devils 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 .

Im not sure what to feel about that compliment

Shin had given her that weapon . By herself, Hilamee couldnt have solved the situation so easily .

Though she was a former player, by the games standards she was in the lower middle ranks at best .

Theres no time to worry about that, though . Bring all the people that feel influenced here, Ill take care of them . Try not to cause a commotion .

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 .

Hilamee touched the confused student with the wand and she fell down, as if struck by vertigo . Unlike the male teacher, she didnt lose consciousness .

Wheream I?

The girl looked around puzzled: it looked like she didnt recognize the place .

Hilamee 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 couldnt clearly remember what she had been doing .

Gradually realizing the current situation, the student was starting to panic, so Hilamee put her to sleep with a magic spell . She didnt like doing such a thing, but there was no time to comfort her .

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

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

While waiting for the next victim, Hilamee 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 clashing against flesh .

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

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

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

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

LoOks liKe yoUve goT yoUr shAre of pent-UP frUStrAtioN!

Spare me the disgusting comments!

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

Unlike players, 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 accumulated 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 alarming speed . Little by little, Luxuria was starting to lose the edge in their battle of blows .

Luxurias lower body tentacles were also being approached by Avaritias Lifedrain Sludge .

Get that disgusting thing away from me!!

In response to Luxurias 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 players, Paralysis and Bloodred Poison .

The mists 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 .

Luxurias tentacles endlessly spewed the Purple Haze, burning through Avaritias Lifedrain Sludge . The Greed devil, however, always looked in control of the situation . Luxurias Purple Haze was very effective against players, but against devils it barely managed to sear the skin surface .

The unique abilities devils possessed werent very useful against other devils . That applied to Luxuria too . Even among specimens of the same species, however, there was good or bad affinity .

Avaritias Lifedrain Sludge was a draining ability . As opposed to Luxurias Purple Haze, it couldnt 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, nows 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, Avaritias attitude and speech were as cocky as ever, but Luxuria felt that he actually wasnt as confident as he wanted to sound .

The reason was obvious: standing right behind him was an opponent he couldnt defeat even if he fused with Luxuria . If the hostages were rescued or Shin decided to accept a few sacrifices, the situation would change in a flash .

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

Do you plan to absorb him too after me?

No wAY . As sOOn as youRE mINe, Im hIGhtaILing it oUt of Here . EvEn uSIng the hOStaGes, that gUy is tOo mUCh of a bEAsT .

Avaritia replied to Luxurias question, for the first time with a cold and dry tone . He knew that even after absorbing two other devils and using hostages, he couldnt win against Shin .

Avaritias fists struck again, shaking Luxurias body .

Not much time had passed since they started fighting, but the magic power Luxuria had stocked was already half depleted by Avaritias 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 play, though .

She didnt know how useful it could prove to be, but she would just gradually lose like that . Ready to play 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 opponents mind .

It was a shockwave attack that also inflicted status ailments, called Dread Lullaby .

Most status ailments couldnt affect other devils, but the shockwave would .

This too was a wide-range indiscriminate attack . It blew away both Avaritias own body and the Lifedrain Sludge, with a deadly lullaby that would turn a normal person into a lifeless husk .

YoUre tOo dAMN lOUD, bITch!

Avaritia cursed while holding the ground with his hands . The Dread Lullaby was one of Luxurias most powerful attacks .

Even if Avaritia was safe from the status ailments, he couldnt 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 Luxurias Dread Lullaby subdued, black lights started glowing from the tips of Avaritias goat horns .

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

Luxuria couldnt avoid Avaritias attack . The black globes traveled close to Luxuria and exploded, enveloping her large body in the blast .

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

It was Avaritias most powerful skill, Bullets of Corruption .

Kh

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

It was of course a very powerful attack, but if a player 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 wouldnt be affected by the half max HP effect, but being hit by all bullets would cause considerable damage .

Part of Luxurias tentacles and wings was gone, her large arm was partially torn off, the other half charred black, still .

That was pretty rough

Differently from Luxurias focus on status ailments, Avaritias 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 players 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 .

Avaritias skills increased in draining ability as the damage increased .

ThAt wAsnt eNOugh, huh .

You didnt think I would go down this easily, did you .

Luxurias stats were based on defense . Even after suffering Avaritias brutal attack, she could still move enough .

The Lifedrain Sludge sent as follow-up was burned by Purple Haze . Luxurias 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 Avaritias attacks anymore .

Ladies, should be, treated with care!

HaH! No nEEd fOR cOmplImEnts bETweEn uS!

The situation was now completely one-sided .

Luxuria could only parry one of Avaritias fists with her arm: the other had to be blocked by her tentacles . Because of that, she couldnt stop Lifedrain Sludges 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 Luxurias movements . Little by little, Avaritias fists started breaking through Luxurias defenses .

With clashes strong enough to make the air vibrate, Luxurias body floated in the air slightly .

YoU serIoUsly puT up a gOod fIghT .

Avaritia continued to attack relentlessly . His rush of fists didnt let up, together with Lifedrain Sludge . The greed devils punches rained through Luxurias defenses .

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

Haha!! HahAhAhaHA!! HaHAHaHA!

Avaritias laugh echoed through the surroundings . Luxurias body was tattered, more than half of it was painted black .

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 wouldnt do anything until all hostages were freed .

. HahAhahAh .

Avaritias fists stopped .

Whatare you doing?

Only Luxurias head remained uncovered by the Lifedrain Sludge . She couldnt imagine what Avaritia was planning by stopping to attack then and there .

ThAts mY lINe . YOur atTAckS aRe liGht, yoU dOnt eVen dOdge . YoU stOckEd alL tHat pOwEr, but DidnT eVen usE it rIGhT .

Avaritias level was higher, but after they both used their skills, one was almost unscathed, the other almost out of commission . 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 .

DoNt tELL me thAt yoU wOrrIed aBOut the dESTrucTIon? YoU, a dEVil?

If she had gone all out, Dread Lullaby 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 .

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

Hmm? I dont knowwhat youre hinting at .

Luxuria had no intention of giving Avaritia an honest answer .

She didnt 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 couldnt 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 yoUrEAlLy the dEvIl of lUst?

.

Luxuria did not have enough strength left in her to even speak . Avaritias 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 black cocoon .

ThIsiS

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 flash passed right next to the devil .

YOu!?!

The flash deftly kicked the air to dodge Avaritias fist and approached the cocoon .

I pray its not too latehaaaAAAAh!!

Shins The Ark sliced open the cocoon .