“What… is this?!”
Noah listened in shock to the voice coming from the void.
Though Aurora had her mouth open, the sound came from all directions.
Countless disgusting voices rose from the darkness, then screamed madly.
[“All of these things should be mine!”]
[“Everything should be mine!”]
[“All the gifts of the Filth Spirit! They should all be mine!”]
[“Greed… Pride… Sloth… Anger… Lust… Gluttony…”]
[“Your abilities should all belong to me!”]
[“I! Envy! I am the Favorite of Filth! I am the Only Beloved of the Filth Spirit…!”]
[“Hahahahaha… Hahahahahaha—!”]
Noah felt her consciousness washed over by the filthy power again and again.
She shook her head violently, trying to throw it all off.
She looked up and saw Envy gazing at the sky with an extremely devout posture, then screaming madly.
[“Praise! The Filth Spirit!”]
[“Praise—Envy!”]
So this… is the power of a god?
Noah wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
She stood up with difficulty, feeling pain in every joint of her body.
Supported by her attendants, Noah watched as the Puppets surrounded her and her attendants with stiff steps.
She stepped back in pain, feeling her bones creak.
Noah stared at Aurora, who led the group, and asked Thorn without looking back.
“Thorn, can you break through the encirclement…?”
Hearing Noah’s question, Thorn immediately froze.
He gritted his teeth, his tone hesitant.
“Unlikely… Madam, you’re so badly injured now. We’re not confident we can escort you out of here.”
Greed’s kick had indeed hurt Noah badly.
She struggled to straighten up, only to find that her injuries were slowly healing.
Noah stared at the wounds closing up in surprise, suddenly recalling the abnormality after each Death Return.
Noah knew that after each return, the pain would still come back, but each time it felt lighter.
Only now did she realize it wasn’t the pain fading—it was because her recovery ability had been strengthened!
Noah clenched her fist, feeling that her strength had fully returned.
She straightened up and said to her attendants,
“No, I’m not asking you to save me.”
Noah raised her arm and broke free from the attendants’ support.
She turned to look at Thorn and said in an extremely serious tone, “Don’t worry about me. I need you to break through the encirclement directly and go to the Main Gate to rescue that Cat Girl!”
“Who?”
Thorn first stared in surprise at Noah’s regained mobility, then was shocked by her order.
He knew the Sin Organization had a Cat Girl prisoner, but he didn’t understand why Noah suddenly wanted him to save her.
Thorn followed Noah as they retreated, asking in confusion.
“Madam, why do you want to save her? What good does that do us?”
“Oh, I don’t have time to explain!”
Noah and her attendants fought while retreating, hiding behind a shipping container as quickly as possible.
While returning fire with her pistol, Noah urgently instructed Thorn.
“I’m not as fast as you, and my combat ability isn’t strong, so you’re the best person for this task! The other two attendants—one goes back to the base to get reinforcements, the other stays with me to protect me. Understood?!”
Thorn still hesitated about Noah’s order.
He frowned and said worriedly, “Then what about you, Madam? There’s no way you can hold off so many people!”
“Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t die.”
Hearing the footsteps behind the container getting closer, Noah issued her command anxiously.
“His target is my body, so I won’t die. I’ll hold them off as long as I can to buy you time. There’s no time to lose! Go! Now!”
As the words fell, a Puppet appeared before Noah as if teleporting.
From the pillow tucked under its arm, she could tell it was originally Sloth.
Before it could act, Thorn drew his Long Blade and cleaved it from top to bottom in two.
Sensing the enemy’s encirclement tightening, Noah urged again, “Go! Or it’ll be too late!”
Thorn cast a worried glance at Noah, then nodded firmly.
He lifted Sloth’s two halves and hurled them into the air.
Taking advantage of the moment the Sin Organization was distracted by the corpse, Thorn and the attendant leaped out of the encirclement at full speed.
They stepped on the Puppets’ heads and escaped like stepping on plum blossom stakes.
Aurora had no intention of pursuing.
She continued to command the Puppets to surround Noah tightly.
Seeing Noah’s miserable state, Aurora sneered.
“Heh, pretty lady, even your most loyal servants have abandoned you. What’s the point of living? Why not join Envy and believe in the Filth Spirit?”
“Sorry, I already have a faith…”
Noah shot a Puppet, deliberately avoiding its vital points.
Gripping her dagger tightly, she and the attendant beside her used cold weapons to hold off the Sin Organization.
The two fought and retreated, gradually returning to the Office Area.
They held on desperately, hoping that Thorn and the other attendant would find reinforcements quickly.
Meanwhile, Thorn had already arrived at the Main Gate at top speed.
He ordered his subordinate to take another route back to the base for reinforcements, then surveyed the situation at the Main Gate.
All the Sin Organization members had been taken by Aurora to the Warehouse District.
Only the Cat Girl was there, constantly knocking at the shackles on her feet.
Seeing this, Thorn rushed over, raised his Long Blade, and shouted at the Cat Girl.
“Stand back! I’ll break this chain!”
Though she didn’t understand why this man wanted to save her, the Cat Girl stopped what she was doing.
Thorn no longer cared about his weapon.
He raised his Long Blade and hacked at the azure-gold chain with all his might.
But even after the blade was dulled, the chain only gained a few dents.
At his wit’s end, Thorn gritted his teeth fiercely, raised the Long Blade, and struck again with all his strength.
With a clang, the already-dulled blade broke.
Thorn knelt in despair, lamenting his incompetence.
Noah was still waiting for him to rescue her, but he could do nothing.
Just then, the Cat Girl spoke to him in a commanding tone.
“Give me the sword.”
Thorn didn’t understand her meaning for a moment.
He looked up in confusion.
“Huh? What?”
“Give me the whole sword! Hurry up!”
The Cat Girl stretched out her hand and called out impatiently again.
Though he didn’t know what she wanted to do, Thorn quickly handed his broken sword to the Cat Girl.
She watched as the broken blade gradually melted and re-formed, eventually becoming a ball of molten iron.
The Cat Girl gripped the molten iron tightly and shouted.
“Steel Refining Art!”
Under Thorn’s stunned gaze, the molten iron slowly took the shape of a Long Blade.
The Cat Girl pinched the blade’s edge and sharpened it like a whetstone.
She handed the restored Long Blade back to Thorn.
“Go on. Aren’t you going to save me?”
“Steel Refining Art?! So you’re the one…”
Thorn seemed to understand why his Madam insisted on saving this Cat Girl.
Shocked but not daring to delay, he raised the Long Blade again and hacked at the chains on the Cat Girl’s feet.
It took thirteen broken blades before he finally cut through all the shackles on her wrists and ankles.
The Cat Girl stood up, stretched her wrists, and clasped her hands at Thorn in thanks.
“Thank you for the rescue, brother. Great kindness needs no thanks. Farewell!”
With that, she turned to leave.
Thorn quickly stopped her, gasping for breath.
“Hold on… Wait! I went through all this trouble to save you, and you’re just leaving like that?!”
The Cat Girl tilted her ears in confusion and spread her hands.
“Huh? What else?”
Thorn was almost furious.
He grabbed the Cat Girl and ran toward the Warehouse District.
“You’ve got combat ability, right?! Hurry up and come back with me to save our Madam! It’ll be too late if we’re any slower!”