God of creation system : The apocalypse

Chapter 16 : The discrimination

As Nathaniel continued to track them, he never expected an encounter to break out between Suwi and the Enforcers.

They managed to strike Suwi and heavily wound her in an attempt to capture her.

The smoke gradually cleared away from the surroundings, and now they waited for Suwi's next move in the fight.

From above, Nyabu leaped down toward Toto's location to warn him about the impending battle.

"Stay alert, Toto. Fighting someone like a soul eater is no joke."

Toto stood up while reminding his companion about the soul eater's ability to consume souls—a feat they can accomplish simply by holding onto a living being.

Because of these terrifying abilities, every creature in Endoryo was afraid to fight or even interact with soul eaters, which was why they were treated as a plague.

A moment later, Suwi burst out of the building, emerging from the very hole she had originally entered through.

She attacked swiftly, wielding her sword while shouting,

"First burning technique, Flame Burst!"

Toto did not flinch, matching her attack with a punch of his own.

"Second burning sword technique, Flame Dragon Slash!"

Right after the attack,she immediately followed up with another to ensure her enemy would suffer damage.

However, to her utter surprise, she felt no change in Toto's presence.

This was when she saw that Toto was completely impervious to the purple flames, even though his entire body was surrounded by them.

Rabaikasyu flames were capable of burning away an opponent's energy, including defensive body energy, but the protection Toto was using was far from ordinary.

"He is so durable; he is practically untouched by the rabaikasyu flames," she muttered.

While deep in thought, she noticed that the opponent in front of her had suddenly vanished, realizing she had failed to track his movement during her last attack.

"Wait, where did his other companion go?"

She was startled when someone spoke right behind her, accompanied by a terrifying presence.

Nyabu had managed to position himself directly behind her, her raised legs poised to strike Suwi.

"Seventh katsuki technique, Mighty Impact!"

Nyabu unleashed a powerful downward stomp, but Suwi managed to jump aside just in time to avoid it.

Even so, Nyabu moved with incredible speed, immediately pursuing her so she could not escape.

"Did you really think you could escape from an Akatsuki like me?" She taunted.

The Katsuki were a renowned race of wild cats from the Great Forest. Each of them possessed the natural ability to move at blistering speeds, even without the aid of crimson items.

Just as Suwi expected, she could not keep up with Nyabu's movements using her vision alone.

Taking advantage of her unprepared state, Nyabu launched a lightning-fast counterattack.

"Eighth katsuki technique, Power Kick!"

The impact was so devastating that Suwi was sent flying upward, dropping her sword in the process.

Before she could even land from the air, Nyabu pursued her relentlessly to prevent her from recovering, delivering another downward kick.

"Great Damage!"

Suwi crashed violently into the ground. Even though she was encased in durable snake-skin armor, she could still feel the crushing impact echoing through her body.

She writhed in pain, but she knew she could not waste a single second, as lingering meant certain capture.

She forced herself to sit up and tried to move.

"This isn't good. Her attacks are simply too powerful for my first-form armor."

Suwi knew that her armor's durability wouldn't be enough and that she needed to funnel more energy into her defense. However, her main problem was her severely depleted physical energy.

While Suwi was lost in thought, she failed to notice Toto closing in from behind. They gave her zero opening to prepare.

"I didn't even feel him approach," she whispered.

As she turned around, Toto's massive hand met her face, grabbing her head without hesitation and slamming her straight into the pavement.

"Power Slam!" he roared.

After slamming her to the ground, she didn't let go of Suwi's head and hurled her across the street.

Suwi slid across the asphalt, her body visibly weakened from the barrage of attacks.

She knew she couldn't match Nyabu's speed, nor could she break through Toto's defensive shield, leaving her completely helpless against the pair.

"I need to get out of this place," she whispered.

Trembling and exhausted, she forced herself to move and stand up, but the two of them refused to give her a chance.

While Suwi was on her knees, Nyabu suddenly dove forward and kicked her in the back, sending her crashing back down to the ground.

At that moment, Nyabu grabbed Suwi's arm and pressed his foot down onto her face as she lay there.

"Did you really think we'd let a plague like you escape?" he sneered.

Suwi felt her consciousness fading as her body's energy plummeted. It was no longer enough to mount an attack and defeat them, but she knew she had to escape this place at all costs.

Moving became even harder as Nyabu gripped her arms tighter.

She knew she might have reached her limit and that there was no escaping the Enforcers now—but she never expected what happened next.

Amidst her utter despair, Nathaniel suddenly arrived and shoved Nyabu away from her.

He managed to force Nyabu back and free Suwi from his grasp.

"Let her go!" Nathaniel shouted.

He bravely stood in front of her, blocking Nyabu from doing anything further to the young woman.

Even Nyabu was stunned by Nathaniel's sudden display of bravery.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Leave her alone. I won't let you hurt my friend," he replied.

Even Nathaniel was shocked by his own actions, but despite his fear, he knew he had to do it to keep the Enforcers from capturing Suwi.

He knew that Suwi's capture would be a catalyst that worsened everything in the plot of his comic, and he desperately wanted to prevent that from happening.

Suwi was equally in disbelief at Nathaniel's actions, especially knowing he was just an ordinary human who could get killed at any second if he meddled.

"What are you even doing? Have you lost your mind?" she asked, pulling herself up from the ground.

"I'm not leaving this place until you let Suwi go!" he shouted back.

Annoyed, Nyabu dismissed Nathaniel's defense of the soul eater as sheer foolishness.

"I don't have time to play games with you, so step aside and don't get in our way," Nyabu added.

Nathaniel knew that unlike Suwi's vicious enemies, the Enforcers still followed a strict set of laws; they could not harm innocent creatures who had committed no crime against the code.

"Suwi hasn't done anything wrong, so why are you arresting her?" the young man questioned.

At that moment, Nyabu's tone shifted, growing suspicious that Nathaniel had been manipulated by the soul eater accompanying him.

"Do you know nothing about soul eaters? Or have you already been deceived by her sweet words?"

She proceeded to explain to Nathaniel that soul eaters were overflowing with dark energy—a force that constantly compelled beings who wielded it to commit evil.

"Soul eaters have an insatiable thirst for spirit energy, which is why they resort to devouring the souls of their victims."

She labeled them as a plague that needed to be wiped out from Endoryo to ensure the safety of everyone.

Nathaniel understood what the Enforcer was saying, but he immediately defended Suwi against the harsh judgment.

"You're wrong! Suwi is completely different from others of her kind," he retorted.

Nyabu just sneered at what she heard, rubbing her head in disbelief that a human—the favorite prey of soul eaters—was the one defending her.

"It looks like you've completely lost your mind if you think she's different from her own kind."

"How about this?"

"It is our duty to erase threats to everyone's safety, yet here you are, getting in our way," he added.

Suwi felt Nyabu's killing aura radiating from her hands, so she didn't hesitate to act to protect Nathaniel.

"I'll just finish both of you off right here."

Suwi became alert, managing to instantly grab Nathaniel's clothes and throw him out of harm's way.

"Get out of here!"

She seized the opportunity to grab both of Nyabu's arms to block his impending attack.

Suwi struggled against her, trying to stop her claws from scratching her, but Nyabu suddenly crouched down, dragging Suwi down with her.

Taking advantage of the leverage, Nyabu leaped up and drove his knee straight into Suwi's chin, forcing her to let go.

Moving with blinding speed, Nyabu immediately spun mid-air and struck Suwi in the back once more.

"Katsuki Claw Strike!"

The blow connected, sending Suwi crashing down to the earth once again. No matter how much she wanted to stand back up, her exhaustion caused her to collapse right back onto the soil.

As Suwi struggled to rise, Nyabu walked toward her slowly.

"I don't have anything against you personally, but true peace in Endoryo will only be possible once soul eaters like you vanish."

Meanwhile, Nathaniel was still lying on the ground, groaning in pain from rolling across the dirt.

"Ouch."

He forced himself up because he realized that the Enforcer troops had arrived—and just as he feared, they were intent on capturing Suwi.

"Why do the Enforcer troops have to be here of all places? This is bad," he whispered.

He knew Suwi couldn't be captured by them because those harboring a deep grudge against soul eaters might execute her on the spot. Furthermore, this didn't match the original story, where the forces of the seventh sword, Yuki (of which XXV was a member), were the ones who captured her.

Nathaniel stood up and glanced at the two of them. Even though he knew what needed to be done, hesitation gripped him because he feared getting hurt if he intervened.

"How am I even supposed to stop him?"

A moment later, he saw Nyabu kicking Suwi's unmoving, unconscious body.

"I have to do something, but how am I supposed to stop this cat girl from doing that to Suwi?"

"Because of your kind, so many have lost everything and been left with nothing," Nyabu muttered angrily.

Though trembling with nerves, Nathaniel couldn't stop himself from shouting out of pure pity for Suwi's situation. He knew she didn't deserve to experience this just because of pure discrimination and racism.

"Stop what you're doing!" Nathaniel yelled.