Finally, Guts managed to break through the enemy crowd and get closer to Ubik. It was another fat creature, resembling the slain Conrad. The same greasy bald head and two cheeks, the same two hands clasped together on its chest. It was from this apostle that waves of emotions and illusions emanated, constantly trying to penetrate Guts' consciousness. Right now, this dwarf infuriated the swordsman more than anyone else, so he chose him as his first target.

The apostle was on guard, so the blade of the sword passed just a few centimeters away from the dodging demon. The demon started to giggle and spew some vile words, but at that moment, Guts, who was already almost ready to fall, shot his harpoon, piercing the repulsive face straight through. The apostle screamed and tried to escape, but Guts flew after him, gradually reeling in the cord and getting closer to his target.

Seeing that their comrade was in danger, the two remaining apostles made different decisions. Griffith immediately rushed away recklessly, saving his own skin, while Void approached the Sacrifice and unleashed the full power of his magic upon him. Unfortunately, all that power was blocked by a psionic shield that Guts had put up around himself. The same shield "cut off" the tentacle that connected the swordsman and Ubik, thus achieving Void's goal. But when the first wave of fire subsided, a hundred more tentacles burst out of it towards the apostle. A handful of them reached the carelessly approaching enemy, after which Guts pulled him towards himself and chopped him to pieces.

The death of another apostle, as well as the fact that the demon slayer hadn't received a single wound during all this time, threw the remaining demons into panic. As a result, Guts was able to catch up with Ubik unhindered and thrust his sword into his back. Making sure that both apostles were dead and the rest of the demons scattered in terror, the Black Swordsman once again chased after the fleeing Griffith, who managed to escape.

For a couple more hours, we literally flew over barren wastelands, where the only signs of life were the occasional giant monsters the size of mountains, trudging off to who knows where. But signs of death pursued us everywhere. This place was literally filled with the spirits of the deceased, moaning and screaming, demanding vengeance. Guts didn't let himself be distracted by all this, simply moving forward at maximum speed.

Finally, before us rose a huge gloomy castle, resembling the work of Aliens under the command of a genius of gothic architecture. And from the castle walls protruded numerous spikes, on which skeletons, humanoids, and all sorts of monsters hung, writhing and contorting in agony.

A powerful demon emerged from the castle to meet us, emanating an overwhelming aura of dominance. He outwardly resembled a human, but there was something alien in his appearance, indicating that the human form was not native to him. At the sight of him, a brand on Guts' body seemed to go berserk, causing even its owner, despite my completely numbed pain sensations, to groan and fall to his knees. But Guts' mind remained clear, and he looked at the enemy with hatred, gripping his sword tighter.

"So, you're Guts" - the demon said, looking at us with a disdainful interest. - "I must admit, you've greatly annoyed me by destroying my servants. Come here, why are you hiding there?"

The last phrase seemed to be not intended for us. After a few seconds, Femto, the Skull Knight, and... that same witch who received us in the forest "house" came out of the main gate of the temple. Now many things become clear.

"Hmm, what should I do with you?" - this creature noticed us. - "Don't you want to become my servant?"

"I will destroy you" - Guts hissed, getting up from his knees.

"No, you are uncontrollable" - the demon sighed. - "And this strange elf... I can't sense his aura at all."

No wonder he couldn't sense anything. For Guts, destroying such demons was a feat beyond reason. But for me, they were like disgusting cockroaches that could be crushed with a single movement. After all, in this strange world, my magic, psionics, and chakra worked almost without any problems.

"Decided!" - the demon clapped his fist on his palm. - "Skull, go and kill him."

"Master?" - The Skull trembled in fear. Even the horse under her shook with horror. But it was not Guts that this demon feared, it was me.

"Don't worry, he is completely suppressed by the seal. Look, he can barely stand."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Indeed, Guts gave the impression that he had used up all his strength to get up. But inside, he was boiling with the anger that overwhelmed him, preparing to unleash it on the relaxed enemies.

"But, master, this elf on his shoulder..."

"Do you dare to oppose me, Hand of God?" - the demon snarled. In this world, the speech of intelligent beings was not limited by the boundaries of any language. The demon's name resembled the name of a group of apostles, but in the word "hand," it was more likely referring to the palm. Here, however, it referred to the whole hand.

"Hand of God?" - I immediately intervened in this quarrel. - "Do you have someone here called Foot of God? Or Ass of God? What about Dick of God? And I suspect that none of you has earned the name Brain of God, because neither you nor your god ever had any brains."

"How dare you insult him!?" - the demon screamed, spreading waves of anger and hatred. - "For this, I will punish you..."

I didn't hear exactly how he was going to punish me because at that moment Guts suddenly lunged forward and struck with his sword, aiming for the head of the Hand of God. The magical barrier surrounding the enemy deflected the blow, but Guts didn't stop there. He slipped past the bewildered demon and headed straight for Griffith. The latter had not relaxed for a second during all this time, so he managed to dodge and rush towards the castle gates. Guts followed him, but right in front of his nose, the doors slammed shut, cutting him off from his desired prey.

"How dare you attack me?" - the demon roared, not realizing that he had just signed his own death warrant.

Guts turned around, with a swift movement of his hand, he split the witch's spirit in half and lunged at the Hand of God.

"Flora!!!" - the Skull Knight screamed. - "You killed her. I won't forgive you!!!" After these words, the little skull turned around and... galloped away, whipping the horse.

But unfortunately for him, both the Hand of God and Guts were distracted from the impending battle to punish the fugitive. The swordsman shot a harpoon that pierced the back of the Sword Knight and pulled him off the horse. And the demon threw a fireball at the useless servant, which instantly incinerated him, melting him into a bubbling puddle of metal.

"Now it's your turn" - the demon said, turning to Guts.

"You're mistaken. Now it's YOUR turn!!!" - the swordsman replied, rushing forward.

Guts simply ignored the fireball, similar to the one that burned the little skull. He used his psionics to protect his sword from the flames, but his body was completely engulfed in the fiery element. The 'filler' of Guts' body, of course, melted, but it didn't harm him at all. The crystal was still intact, and although his body became less sturdy, it still continued to run forward.

Seeing the blazing Guts emerge from the flames, the demon was surprised. He immediately conjured a magical shield, absorbing the full force of the sword attack descending upon him. However, the foolish demon had not accounted for Guts himself. The body of the "blazing swordsman" collided with the demon and... splattered like liquid metal. But a moment later, the metal reassembled itself and surrounded the demon from all sides, burning him alive, penetrating his body and immobilizing him. I would say that in that moment, Guts correctly utilized his Vritra body. He didn't defend himself, but instead charged at the enemy and destroyed him, manipulating the matter under his control.

A silent scream echoed through the surroundings, followed by silence, indicating the death of the Hand of God. Guts, now cooled down and gathering himself, slung his sword over his shoulder and headed towards the castle, contemplating whether it would be easier to breach the gates or break in through a third-floor window. This structure deviated from the traditions of medieval castles, resembling more of a large "house" with no windows on the lower floors.

However, before he could take more than a few steps, an intense "spiritual pressure" descended upon the surroundings. The concentration of demonic energy in the vicinity instantly skyrocketed, indicating the arrival of a truly powerful demon. Even I was impressed at this point.

"You dared to kill my servant" - a voice echoed from nowhere. - "You are but a victim worthy only of being devoured. Where does such audacity come from?"

"Reveal yourself!" - Guts roared in response, gripping his sword with both hands. - "Or are you afraid to face me?"

“What insolence. You are unworthy even to look at me, the true god of humanity. Your very existence offends me, the Idea of Evil. You pitiful humans created me yourselves. But now, I rule this world! I rule over you and your meaningless lives. Today, even hearing my voice is a great mercy on my part. If you truly desire to meet me, then I will await you in my castle. As for your master, who couldn't control his Sacrifice, I will take him with me to administer the appropriate punishment.”

With that, the spiritual pressure dissipated, and the world returned to normal.

"Griffith! I will find you and destroy you!!!" - Guts bellowed towards the heavens, feeling the mark of his blood enemy fading away at an unimaginable speed.

The swordsman was about to embark on the pursuit when portals began opening around him, unleashing hordes of demons. They were weaker than the recently slain Hand of God, so Guts was not in immediate danger. However, getting rid of them was not going to be easy, so he had to "slightly" delay his pursuit.

It took Guts a whole week to decapitate the last demon that had been swarming him and survey the landscape littered with corpses as far as the eye could see. Throughout that time, he ran forward without stopping for a second, while demons attacked him, attempting to halt, devour, and destroy him. Unfortunately for them, Guts was indigestible and indestructible, so to some extent, this entire army only managed to accomplish the first objective.