Don't force me to use my right fist.

Sōyū ignored her and calmly poured all his magic power into the magic circle in his hand.

What kind of effect would a purely supportive magic, using a clock as its main medium and combined with the properties of frozen ice, produce? Zuoyou had already tested it.

Unfortunately, with his meager 100 points of magic power, even if he poured all of it into it, he could only freeze time around him for one second.

A second is enough time to do a lot of things, but it's still too short for Sawa.

However, with the support of that magic wand's effect, the operation time increased to three seconds, which completely changed the nature of the situation.

Even though each use of this skill requires a significant amount of gold to craft the clock, Sōyū feels it's absolutely worth it.

After all, who can refuse to let time stop?

"Time Magic - The World!"

With a touch of childish arrogance, he uttered the name of the magic that Lianye had long coveted—a halo of light, like a clock face, rapidly spread from beneath Sawa's feet throughout the entire space, plunging the world into a black and white, like a photographic negative.

Bypassing the Bone Woman blocking his way, Saya walked to the woman who had jumped off the overpass and was falling to the ground, pulled her up, and put her aside.

Then, taking advantage of the last moments, Saya walked up to the girl who was still looking at the woman with a regretful expression as she fell.

"Although I don't like hitting women, I think you deserved this slap." After slapping the other person across the face, Sawa casually took out a pumpkin head from his backpack and put it on his head.

Then time began to flow.

Chapter 158 Will Make Me Feel Great

The world regained its color. The woman who should have fallen below and been swallowed by the rolling traffic fell to the floor of the overpass, while the girl fell directly to the ground with a bright red mark on her face.

"I think people like you just need a good education, you need a loving beating."

Wearing a terrifying pumpkin head that seemed to appear out of thin air, Saya looked at the bewildered girl and spoke to her in a low, gloomy voice.

"No, don't hurt my daughter!" The woman, who had resigned herself to her death, couldn't understand what was happening, but when she saw the pumpkin-headed monster approaching her daughter, she still rushed to the girl's side without hesitation, spreading her arms to protect her.

"Mom, Mom." The girl, hiding behind the woman, covered her face, which was still throbbing with pain, and looked at her mother's not-so-broad back with tears in her eyes.

"If you're going to do something, then come at me. Please spare my daughter, I beg you." The woman, who had been pleading with Saya, humbly knelt before him, mistaking him for a terrifying, grotesque woman upon seeing his strange pumpkin head.

For the first time, Sawa felt that being treated as a weirdo wasn't so bad; at least it could awaken the fear in people's hearts, thus making them understand their truest thoughts.

Of course, it's best to forget about someone begging for mercy.

With a swift movement, he bypassed the woman protecting the girl and lifted her up by the neck with one hand, grabbing the girl who was still in a daze.

"I'll give you a chance. If you want to live, pull that red thread, and I'll send your mother to hell." Completely immersed in his role, Saya, assuming this bizarre new identity, issued a final test to the girl. If she hadn't come to her senses after what had just happened, Saya wouldn't wait for her to die; he could personally send her to hell for a true hellish education.

"Please, spare my daughter! I'll do anything, I'll take her place, just please don't hurt her!" The woman cried, desperately trying to support her daughter's body so she wouldn't suffocate from being choked. Saya, however, seemed not to hear her. He tightened his grip slightly, making the girl's breathing more rapid, as if forcing her to make a choice.

"Mother.

Lowering her head, she glanced at the woman who had abandoned all her dignity for her sake. Tears of regret streamed down the girl's face. She had witnessed everything her mother had done for her, and now, even if she wanted to deceive herself, it was too late. Tears dripped from her chin, and the girl closed her eyes resignedly, letting the straw doll in her hands slip from her grasp.

She'd already made the wrong choice once, and at least this time, she didn't want to make the same mistake again.

However, as soon as she made this movement, the force in the arm that had been strangling her neck dissipated, and the strange man in front of her released his arm from her neck and put her down.

"You've saved your own life. Be thankful that you still have the chance to apologize to your mother."

Picking up the straw doll from the ground, Sawa ignored the two people who were hugging each other, crying, and apologizing to one another. He then walked away towards the two women, Hone-onna and her companion, who were giving him hostile looks from around the corner.

"Does doing this do you any good?"

After glancing at the mother and daughter huddled together, whispering something, Hone-onna, knowing that Saya had ruined the mission once again, questioned Saya in an angry tone.

"Yes, it will make me feel really good, is that not allowed?"

Sōyū tossed the straw doll in his hand defiantly, his expression one of arrogance, as if to say, "Come and fight me if you dare."

The truth is, the two people involved in this "Hell Correspondence" simply lacked communication and the opportunity to share their truest thoughts. Once they had clarified things, there would be no reason for the "Hell Correspondence." This is exactly what Saya wanted to see. Why must a story end tragically to serve as a warning? If someone recognizes their mistakes and corrects them, there's no need for such a tragic ending, right?

you!"

Raising her arm in anger, the Bone Woman, thoroughly enraged by Saya, was ready to teach this man who had been interfering with her work a lesson.

Although her abilities were quite peculiar, she was not the kind of weak woman who could only endure things passively.

"This is not within our job responsibilities."

Once again, he reached out and calmed the Bone Woman down from her predicament. The kimono-clad girl's blood-red eyes met Saya's before she extended her fair hand towards him.

"Can you give me back the straw man? It's mine."

She still used a completely emotionless voice to make her request to Wakasaya. The kimono-clad girl's cold gaze was fixed straight ahead, making her look like a delicate doll.

"Aren't you going to lift a finger?"

Scratching his head, he placed the straw doll into the girl's heart. He had originally planned to test whether his recently improved strength would be enough to deal with the girl without relying on the characteristics of that bug-like ship. Sighing, he realized that...

His plan failed; this person was indeed just an emotionless working-class puppet.

"The straw doll wasn't untied, so the request wasn't made. Everything that happened along the way was her own fate, and it has nothing to do with us. We won't interfere." The girl who took the straw doll from Sōyu shook her head, turned around, and disappeared into the shadows with the Bone Woman, whose anger gauge was clearly full from Sōyu.

"Tsk, why be so principled? Doesn't that just make my earlier sarcasm seem meaningless?"

Looking in the direction where the kimono-clad girl disappeared, Saya narrowed his eyes. Apart from resolving a matter that had been bothering him for a long time, as he had just mentioned, he hadn't really gained much from this trip.

However, Sōyū, who always believed that one should be open-minded in everything, still managed a smile after taking one last look at the mother and daughter who had helped each other to their feet. Whether it was a loss or not, wasn't it up to him to decide? He could just treat it as practicing his magic skills, couldn't he? It was all a good thing.

Chapter 159 I'm Here to Talk to You

After things were mostly settled there, Saya removed the pumpkin head and headed back to school. Even with his improved strength, he didn't have a better solution to the Hell Correspondence issue for the time being. He could only watch and join in the fun when he had time. To truly resolve this problem, Saya felt the focus should be on Shiki. She seemed to be busy contacting the Three-Eyed Spider in the New Hell lately. When she asked him to retrieve the Enma Blade, she mentioned that finding the blade was also to deal with this matter. Unfortunately, Saya still hadn't found any clues. Perhaps tonight, he could create a few Iron Golems and send them to the brewery in exchange for information. Planning what to do that night, Saya walked briskly towards the school, but his path was blocked by several hooded men who appeared out of nowhere.

Sawa looked up, somewhat puzzled, at the group of men who looked like they were cosplaying. "How old are they, still wearing those hooded hoods? Are they part of the (oFFF group)?"

"We'd like to talk to you."

A hoarse, middle-aged man's voice sounded from behind Zuoyou, and the other hooded men surrounded him without warning.

"What are you going to talk about? At least state your identity. I don't really like talking to strangers." Zuo You looked at these strangely behaving guys with suspicion. Had he gotten involved with some kind of pyramid scheme? Or were they acquaintances?

"Of course it's about Ms. Hanezaki, and of course, we're also very curious about you, Mr. Saya."

The hooded man, clearly the leader of the group, spoke again, inadvertently revealing their identities.

"Oh, the Church of Truth? We can talk, we can talk. It's just that this place isn't very nice. How about you arrange a more comfortable and quiet place for us to sit down and have a proper chat?" Sawa, who hadn't expected them to come knocking on his door before he even made a move, nodded. He didn't mind having a good talk with these guys. Judging from their tone, they seemed quite curious about him, and he was also quite curious about them. Finding out each other's backgrounds was a worthwhile endeavor.

"It's good that Mr. Sawa is willing to cooperate, which saves us trouble. Please come with us." The man, who hadn't expected Sawa to be so easy to talk to, paused for a moment before turning around and leading Sawa towards their destination. The other hooded men stood behind Sawa, blocking all his retreat, as if preventing him from escaping.

"Actually, there's no need for this. I have no intention of running away, and you guys don't need to be so tense, right? Everyone relax, it's good for all of us." Sōyū followed behind the man with his hands in his pockets. He felt like a powerful older brother surrounded by his underlings, only these underlings weren't cooperating with him. These hooded guys showed no intention of replying, silently following behind him like walking corpses.

Even when Sawa lowered his head and peered through the hoods at their faces hidden in the shadows, he could only see their deathly pale faces, their dull eyes devoid of any light, fixedly staring at Sawa's back.

"Ugh, you guys are all staring at me like that, it's making me a little nervous. Can we chat a bit and ease the tension?" Saya scratched his head. This group seemed a bit different from the ones who attacked Kaguya before. Could they be elites? That makes sense. It seemed that apart from that cadre-level Westerner, the others were just mercenaries who were paid to do their jobs. But these people were more like brainwashed cult members, both in terms of their demeanor and their attire. They were the epitome of classic cultism. The somber atmosphere continued until Saya followed them into an abandoned building. Only then did they disperse from behind Saya and stand at the various exits of the building, heads bowed.

"I've noticed that you all seem to prefer these kinds of places—no, I should say, how do you even find these kinds of places? Can't you find something more down-to-earth? Wouldn't it be better if we ordered some grilled skewers and beer, and chatted while we ate?"

Yu shook his head regretfully and looked at the middle-aged man who had been standing in front of him without saying a word.

“Mr. Saya, I think we can stop this pointless banter. Let’s talk about serious matters.” The man standing in front of Saya turned around and took off his hood.

A bald head, resembling a hard-boiled egg, was revealed, covered in strange tattoos that added to his eerie appearance.

"When you're not working, do you have to wear a wig? Won't people mistake you for a weird old man and call the police to arrest you?" wh

Sōyū's focus was not on that at all; instead, he pinched his chin and asked Waka with a serious expression.

He'd had this question for a long time: in anime and manga, villains are always dressed in the coolest outfits imaginable. Don't they have any daily life needs? Even with their bizarre costumes, just going to a public restroom would draw stares for blocks. Or maybe their embarrassment tolerance is so high they don't care about such things at all?

"That's not the point, Mr. Saya. You should understand that we didn't call you here to talk about this kind of thing." The middle-aged man, who was taken aback by Saya's question, paused for a moment before forcibly steer the conversation back on track.

"What are you talking about? Tell me! Are you trying to turn me against you, or are you planning to eliminate me in one fell swoop?" Whisuo casually slapped a wooden block behind him, swaggered down on it, and, while munching on an apple, asked the middle-aged man opposite him. Since it was about Kaguya, there were only two options. Headquarters probably didn't really want to ask what he'd had for lunch and what his future plans were. These members of the Church of Truth probably weren't that idle, or rather, the only person who would do something so seemingly crazy was Whisuo himself.

Chapter 160 Everything you're saying I own...

"Then we'll get straight to the point. We've witnessed your strength, Mr. Sōyū. So, the main reason we've come here is to ask you if you'd be interested in joining our True Word Church."

"Believe me, you won't regret becoming a servant of the gods." However, Sōyū only felt they were becoming even more idiotic. All this fancy stuff, didn't they feel ashamed?

"Is this how you recruited Kaguya's maid? It's a dereliction of duty on the part of the Japanese police that they didn't arrest her as a lunatic."

Sōyū's lips twitched. He couldn't possibly accept being asked to become someone else's servant right off the bat.

"No, the reason you think that way is because you haven't witnessed the greatness of the gods. Once you've witnessed their power, you definitely won't say that anymore." Sawa had seen many fanatical followers of Wihl, but this was the first one who gave off such a crazed vibe. What kind of faith could turn someone into such a blind person who only knew how to boast about the power of gods? Logically speaking, this could even be considered an evil god.

"Enough with the nonsense, just tell me what you can offer. Empty promises won't sway me." Sawa waved his hand at him. He didn't think these people could turn one of Kaguya's most trusted maids against her with pure talk. Either they had some real power, or they had some kind of preemptive strategy. Whatever it was, only by seeing it would he have a way to deal with it. Sawa said this, but in reality, his virtual arm already held a bucket of milk, ready to be poured at any moment.

"Benefits? We don't have any so-called benefits, only divine favor." The bald man shook his head, his eyes burning with even more fervor.

"A gift from the gods? For example? You should tell me first, what's the use of just bragging? If you don't tell me, I'm leaving."

Sōyū sighed. "Do these people always talk so casually, like they're breathing heavily?"

"So, Mr. Saya, what do you need? As long as you pursue what you desire, the gods will bestow blessings upon you to fulfill your needs." The bald man looked at Saya, much like a shop assistant promoting a product.

"Sorry, I don't really need this kind of thing. Besides, do you think the Yuzaki family would offer a lower price?"

Zuo You waved his hand dismissively, like a picky customer. Money wasn't something he could easily conjure up; with the entire MC system as his cheat code, he was practically immune to poverty in his life.

I've already said, besides exchanging money for gold to craft enchanted golden apples, what other help does having more money provide him?

"That power that transcends all others?"

"Let's not even talk about that. If someone is higher than your god, I might consider it. Otherwise, I don't want to waste my time and energy on other people's business."

As for power, Zuoyou has even less interest in it. Expecting a gamer who just wants to farm and relax to play power games is a huge stretch.

"We can help you cure any ailment, even if the person you specify is not a member of our church." The bald man, who never expected to sway Zuo You with such vulgar words, finally threw out a little bait. Many people, even if they are very strong, still cannot guarantee that the people they care about can be the same as them.

Hmm, maybe you should try something else. After all, I might be better at this than you guys.

Sōyu propped his forehead with one hand. This might be a very tempting offer for others, but for him, who still had half a set of Golden Apples in his bag, it was simply too irresistible.

"Someone like you, Mr. Saya, must be pursuing great power, and even so, the gods can still bestow blessings upon you based on your current level."

"Even for a strong person like you, it's not impossible to rise to the Right Seat of the Gods!"

"You mean that guy I beat so badly he ran away? Forget it, I can't really trust the power given to me by others. It's better to control this kind of thing myself. Zuo You likes the feeling of increasing his strength, but that's within the system's scope, relying on his own efforts to defeat monsters and obtain rewards. He's not very interested in divine gifts of unknown origin like this."

If someone has the confidence to give you power, they naturally have the means to take it back. So what's the point of having this thing then?