Rise Of The Hoarder

I was in so much pain that I forgot how to make a sound.

Choking on my blood and drowning in agony, I could barely even move my body.

‘Argh! It hurts! It hurts so much!!!’ My mind rang as I desperately wished for the pain to end.

The Angel, as usual, hovered above me, showing me the image of death. I was forced to face despondency once again—the inevitability of my loss.

Was I going to die? Was this really the end? I knew the answer to that at this point.

‘I… I…’

“You are too dangerous to exist. Your level of threat has been completely analyzed. This will be the lady attack.” The angel remarked.

“Huff… Huff…” I made heavy breaths, looking at the figure that floated in the sky who glared at me.

Multiple bodies of the dead littered the ground, leaving only me standing. Many of my blades were already broken, rendered useless in the face of the overwhelming force I faced.

Shining brightly, the white shadow nearly dimmed my eyes, and if not for my resistance I would have been blinded by it._.

“It’s useless… I can’t… I can’t win!” I coughed, spurting blood from my mouth in the process.

My body was weakened already, and I knew it was the end for me. I had no more strength to escape, and even if I did, this ‘thing’ was way faster.

I couldn’t even put up a fight, since none of my attacks would be effective. Victory was never even an option.

The figure slowly descended, ready to execute me. Sweat poured all over my body while myriads of thoughts rang in my head.

“I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die!”

For the first time in a long time, I witnessed the same amount of fear I had when I was still a powerless nobody. No… This was even far worse than that. After all, with enough training and leveling up, there was no Demon I couldn’t ultimately beat in that apartment.

But now, in face of true terror and sheer power, enough to disintegrate even the most powerful of my weapons and nullify all of my skills, I knew true despair.

It was my loss.

Finally, the ringing stopped in my head, replaced by one definite and absolute conclusion which was that I couldn’t escape.

“I’m… going to die here…”

The enemy created multiple feathers and made them target me in a flash. Having barely any strength left in me, I couldn’t possibly react to the high-speed projectiles.

Plus, now that the woman was warier of me, there existed no alternative left at this point.

>SHINK<

The dozens of feathers glinted sharply and readied themselves, waiting for the directive of the Angel.

“Haa… haa…”

I struggled to breathe, facing upward and waiting for my execution.

“This is the end.”

>WHOOOOOOOOOOSHHHH!!!<

After proclaiming my demise, her whirring feathers lunged at me at undetectable speed. I was powerless in face of the terror that would soon greet me and rend my body to fone chunks!

Instantly shutting my eyes, I awaited death.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds… No death came.

‘W-what’s this…?!’ I felt a strange presence in front of me, and even though my eyes were closed, my senses worked perfectly.

The feathers had stopped for some reason, and suddenly appearing in my front was another human—a Gifted.

This presence was awfully familiar—so much so that I decided to open my eyes in curiosity, despite the overwhelming fear of death that lingered.

The moment my eyes captured the image of the one in front of me—they stretched widely, full of surprise.

‘T-this…?!’

“Hey, Jeremy… w-what’s going on?” The human’s voice rang in my head.

It was sweet, it was soft, it was so familiar and comforting. After fighting on my own for so long, in fear and desperation, I finally felt the comfort of another.

“L-Lara…?!” I responded, wondering what she was doing out of Subspace].

Before I could completely utter what I had in mind, I noticed the feathers that were supposed to completely obliterate me were now hanging in that air, inches from Lara.

It was as if an invisible wall had stopped them somehow.

‘This… don’t tell me…’

There was only one explanation for the bizarre scenario that was unfolding before my eyes.

<Automatic Summon>!

I must have run out of reasonable items for defense that my Skill chose the most rational option to block the barrage of feathers—Lara!

Well, being fair, she was Level 100, sturdier than most objects. It was no mystery why my Skill automatically chose her as a meat shield. The greater mystery, however, was why the attack failed to hit.

I looked above and found the opponent frowning even more, seeming displeased by Lara’s sudden presence.

‘Ah! So that’s it!’ My mind suddenly rang and I realized a game-changer.

Somehow, despite her sheet powers, the Angel could not attack Lara due to some kind of restriction. I didn’t know the details, but it would explain why her feather arrows stopped before reaching my associate.

Looking back, I also remembered how Lily was exempted from her attacks and why she separated me—the target—from a civilian like the young girl.

In essence… I had just figured out my opponent’s weakness!

“You… how are you not unconscious in my presence?” The Angel suddenly asked, displaying a level of surprise and animosity.

Once she said that, I also glanced at Lara and wondered the same thing.

There was certainly nothing special about Lara compared to me. Why did Lily fall, even I nearly collapsed, yet she was absolutely unaffected by the immense pressure emitted by the Angel!

Lara looked confused at this point. Her last memory was in complete dissonance with the current events that were unfolding. Sure, she was used to switching spots due to the effects of [Subspace], but even this was too much for her.

‘That’s it!’ I exclaimed internally.