"Ahh~ this is supposed to be an assassination mission, but I really can't bring myself to finish it so quickly."
A soundless mutter exited the mouth of a beautiful black-haired woman who was perched on a large tree within the forest. In her line of sight, a burly demon angrily marched forward, trying to find traces of her existence.
"Dammit! Get down here and fight me, woman!" He roared into the night sky.
Proto was already thoroughly enraged. It had been many minutes since he entered the forest, but he had yet to make contact with anyone else. Even Nali was no longer by his side.
If it was just that, he wouldn't have been so enraged. The problem was that every few minutes, he'd sense mana fluctuations not far away from him, signaling that someone was nearby. Every time he reaches the point where the fluctuations originated from, though, he'd be met with empty air.
'Dammit! This bitch really thinks she can play with me! I'll see how she begs me to release her when I finally conquer her. Keke, let's see how you run from me.'
Proto vividly remembered the appearance of those two girls. One was fiery and bold, while the other was cold and playful. Their personalities differed, but they both perfectly fit the type of woman he most loved to conquer.
'Plus, that kind of beauty can't be found just anywhere. Tsk tsk, if only I could find where those two sluts came from, I'd be able to have as many beauties as I want.'
As Proto fantasized about what he would do after he caught his prey, his expression twisted into a perverted grin. Seeing this, Qing Tan had the urge to throw away all pretenses and simply kill him right then and there.
'No no no. Calm down, Qing Tan. What's more fun when you see scum like this? A quick death? Or when they plead for mercy under your feet? That's right, be patient.'
When the scene of her torturing Proto appeared in her mind, Qing Tan was quickly able to curb her desire to kill.
As time passed with Qing Tan further angering Proto with various tricks, the night became darker. The moon in the sky above reached its peak and began to descend once again.
But the darkness in the forest only continued to spread.
Proto finally sensed substantial movement in the surroundings. Pushing mana into his legs, he rushed over. When he reached the location, he found a familiar figure quietly standing in the dark.
"Winthrop." He muttered. Seeing the fallen figure of his former comrade, he couldn't find any emotion in his heart besides disgust.
"Not only did you lose and shame our name as Apostles, but you also lost to an outsider, a woman at that. You were supposed to be a man! Your job is to dominate! What can a woman do in front of you besides grovel and beg for your meat?! How could you lose to such a pathetic creature?"
Every word that left his mouth was laced with coke ferocity. His mana slowly circulated through his body before increasing its pace.
"Don't worry. This shame might be a stain for you, but I, as a fellow brother, will wipe it clean by erasing you from the face of the earth."
He charged at his former comrade, his fists moving like lightning to pierce the opponent's flesh.
Bang!
A large explosion rang out as the air around Proto's fists imploded. The force of his punch far exceeded what it looked like on the surface, causing the ground to concave into a massive pit.
The Shadow Commander Winthrop calmly watched the incoming fist. His face was obscured by a black fog, so his expression was unreadable. But his body didn't move at all from its position.
When the fist impacted the Shadow Commander, it caused his entire body to scatter as if he had been blown to bits. However, true to its nature, the body quickly coagulated once more before solidifying.
"Tch. Petty tricks. How many times do you think I need to punch before your body can no longer reform? Heh, let's find out."
Proto started throwing a barrage of punches without pause. Even after the Shadow Commander's body was blown to pieces, he didn't stop, disallowing his opponent from reforming his body.
While the rain of fists continued, small pieces of the Shadow Commander's body separated and began to latch onto Proto. Strangely enough, his dark material didn't move to stop them at all.
Over time, the pieces of shadow accumulated to the point where the Shadow Commander's body no longer existed. It was only when he saw that his opponent was no longer returning that Proto stopped punching out.
"Hmph. To think you were turned into something as weak as this. You can rest In peace now knowing that I'll be taking care of that slut for you."
"Oho? And how are you planning to take care of me?"
Unexpectedly, a reply came from the surroundings. However, it seemed to be coming from every direction instead of a single point.
"You must be the black-haired bitch. Good, I like your type more. Stop with the pathetic games and come face me like a man."
"But I'm not a man, though? Actually, why is it that you're so obsessed with men? Could it be that you're…" Qing Tan didn't finish her sentence, but started giggling as if she discovered a big secret.
"Could it be that I'm what?" Proto responded in frustration. He could tell that the woman was teasing him, he just didn't know what she meant.
"Huh? Don't tell me you're actually this dumb? Well, you have to be lacking brains if you actually thought coming here was a good idea. Not only you, but even the rest of your comrades. Only 2 of you? We've already proven that we can kill you guys in small numbers, so why send only 2? The effects of a collapsed leadership are really harsh!"
Qing Tan rambled aimlessly. But she was indeed telling the truth. Even the Apostles who had said they were willing to endure until they received further instruction from the Demon God were brimming in hatred and a thirst for vengeance.
Only, they didn't have the guts to openly accept the challenge they had been presented with.
It was why they accepted Porto's willful actions instead of trying to stop him, while using the excuse that they couldn't act against each other to justify their cowardice.
The old man who previously led the Apostles was the type to remain level-headed in every situation. It was why they didn't make such foolish mistakes under his leadership. Now that he was gone, they no longer had such a figure to keep them in check.
But most of the Apostles would never acknowledge this. The ones who did acknowledge were too powerless to do anything about it.
"Woman, what's with all this talk? Are you stalling so your friend can come help you? Come out and fight me already!" Proto yelled.
He didn't care about the internal structure and politics of the demons. He only cared about his own morals and values. Hearing Qing Tan's rambling just irked him more, since it meant she was too scared to show herself to him.
"Fight?" Qing Tan muttered in response. "Since when was there a need to fight?"
"Hahaha! So you are planning to surrender yourself to me willingly? As expected, you are just a coward who was hiding behind that man from before."
"Wow, you can still talk like this? Even after so much time you haven't realized it?" Qing Tan could barely contain her laughter.
The more idiotic this guy was, the better it was for her. His dark material had been corroded to the point where it was almost useless already, and her shadows had taken full control of his body, but he was still talking about fighting.
Proto frowned. "Don't play mind games with me. Just come out and fight!"
"Fine, fine. It can't be helped. I'll just help you learn it with your body then."
Qing Tan jumped down from her perch and landed in front of Proto with a smile.
"Now then, shall we get started?"
