Chapter 44
‘By now they should have arrived…’
If this factory complex didn’t stretch on forever, it was about time I met up with the party I’d split from.
At that moment I felt a huge ripple of mana.
Sorry, but Seo Gyeoul hasn’t grown that much yet.
So the owner of that power must be—
‘Julie Pearson.’
So the castaway really was her, after all.
KRAAAANG—!
A blinding light and an earth-shattering blast echoed through the underground.
‘They hit hard…’
Urgent voices followed right after.
— Woof woof!
— Those bastards are half-blinded! Stamp them all!
— Leave the front line to those guys, I’ll coordinate the battle.
— Haste. Strength. Sharpness.
Hearing those frantic voices, I could finally let out a sigh of relief.
They were all alive.
‘The battle situation doesn’t look bad either.’
Thunk!
I gathered mana to my soles and blasted it out like shooting.
The ground was damaged beyond repair, but I didn’t care.
I sprinted at top speed and soon a huge gate came into view.
No hesitation.
I kicked the door open without thinking.
KRAAAANG—!
A reverberation filled the warehouse.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
For some reason, the interior fell silent.
I brushed through the thick dust and checked the time.
‘Exactly five minutes.’
If you make a promise, you keep it.
As the dust gradually cleared, a battlefield filled with frost, ice, heat haze and flames came into view.
And the most noticeable among them was—
“Huh, you’re late.”
“So the tamer you kept shouting for is that young man…?”
“Still, you kept the five minutes we agreed on.”
Seo Gyeoul and Julie Pearson.
And—
“Woof woof!”
“Kreeee—”
My babies that I could put in my eyes and not feel pain.
My feelings welcomed my comrades, but—
‘Julie Pearson doesn’t look okay.’
My rational mind, cold and mechanical, immediately assessed the situation.
‘We hold an advantage, but not overwhelmingly. Their fanatical zeal is bolstering their morale…’
Having identified the problem, it was time to fix it.
‘Let’s finish this quick.’
I quickly pulled the [Broken Dice] from pocket space.
As the name says, it’s a “broken” die.
A cube, but it spits out a random number between 1 and 10.
‘Come on, at least 50%!’
De-gurururu—
Two dice tumbled on the floor and displayed numbers.
[8][9]
That is, 89%.
“This is it!”
I immediately applied the dice effect to the dagger I’d just acquired, ‘Flame Inscription’ (염각, 焰刻).
Flame Inscription is a dagger that has a 20–80% chance to paralyze one of the target’s five senses for two seconds.
Ding!
[‘Flame Inscription (焰刻)’ will paralyze one of the target’s five senses for two seconds with a fixed 80% probability.]
Swish—
I scooped the dice up and darted into the chaotic battlefield.
“I am a servant and a lamp of the One—guh—”
I plunged the dagger into a follower’s throat.
My attack restarted the fighting.
“What the hell is this kid?! Rebecca, contact Sibyl!”
“Krader, I think Sibyl is gone.”
“……What?!”
The man and woman who looked like priests hesitated, then lunged at Seo Gyeoul.
I trusted her and kept moving.
“Siu! Pearson’s condition—”
“I know! First handle the fight! Geri! Ride with Gyeoul and fight!”
“Woof—!”
Geri bit Seo Gyeoul’s scruff and tossed her onto his back. Their compatibility was good, so fighting together would multiply their synergy.
Swoosh—
“Uuuugh—!”
“Freki, guard Pyeongon!”
“Woof!”
[You kill player Oren—09 (Lv.52).]
[You kill player Zed—19 (Lv.49).]
[You kill player Neria—15……]
[Skill ‘Talent Devour’ devours a talent (67/100).]
Meanwhile my dagger never rested, cutting down the numbers of copies and followers.
“Pearson!”
“Huh?! You’re the one who floored Jugunryul at the ‘Archive of Records’—”
“Later with that! I need backup!”
“I may look like this, but I’m one of the Three Thrones….”
Pearson grumbled but immediately cast a buff on me.
My heavy body felt light and vitality surged through me.
It felt like before we started the operation.
‘Name’s got weight.’
Even weakened by a seal, as she’d said, the skill of one of the Three Thrones was not trivial.
Even a normal buff raised stats to another level.
‘Hoo, with this support I should deliver.’
Psst—
No need to overcommit to deep attacks.
“Ugh, I can’t see in front—!”
“What?! Attack…? Say it loud! I can’t hear you!”
The status effect from Flame Inscription is brutal.
Moreover, sometimes—
Flare—
“Help! Fire, the fire… it won’t go out!”
“Aaagh—! It hurts! It hurts so much!”
Those heavily afflicted writhed under additional ‘fire damage’.
They spat curses in ‘unending pain’.
‘…And this kind of panic is highly contagious.’
It starts with one.
If it becomes two, three…
Then it spreads uncontrollably.
“You bastards! Snap out of it! Rebecca, cast magic quickly!”
“Krader, calm down.”
The man called Krader roared to restrain them, but it was too late.
Puft. Puf. Psst—
[You kill player Kyle—04 (Lv.58).]
[You kill player Rian—05 (Lv.46).]
[You kill player Selen—12 (Lv.63)……]
…….
[You kill player Baron—02 (Lv.52).]
[You acquire ownership of the loot.]
[Skill ‘Talent Devour’ devours a talent (89/100).]
The chaotic mob became prey for the predator.
Dozens disappeared in an instant.
Then a title that had been dormant woke and upgraded.
[Title, ‘Follower’s Enemy (High)’ upgrades to ‘Follower’s Nemesis (Rare)’.]
[Achievement points: you gain 2,200 coins.]
“Hoo….”
I wiped the blood from Flame Inscription and checked my condition.
Warm, like after warm-up; my body was heated.
‘Perfect.’
With the analgesic effect of the ‘Seokrim spider’s fluid’ and Julie Pearson’s buff, I was unstoppable.
When the small fries were all dead, the situation quieted somewhat.
“…….”
“…….”
Now only two remained: the man called Krader and the girl-priest Rebecca.
On our side were me, Seo Gyeoul, Julie Pearson, and the wounded but present Geri and Freki.
‘Almost done. Just make sure they don’t keep the mature form (seongche).’
They may not necessarily have the mature form, but better be cautious.
“Geri and Freki block the retreat. Seo Gyeoul, pair with me. Pearson, be backup.”
“Woof!”
“Yes.”
“……So thorough, it’s almost suspiciously thorough. Good thing you’re not the enemy.”
I ignored Julie Pearson’s grumble and focused fully on the two priests.
Always finish properly.
“Rebecca, looks like you’re screwed?”
“Death was always at our side.”
“Stop the nonsense, stall a bit….”
Krader eyed me and tried, slyly, to slip a hand behind his back.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Bang!
I planted my feet and reached Krader in an instant.
“You damn—”
Screeeech!
Krader swatted my dagger away and dropped whatever he was trying to draw.
De-gurururu—
A marble about the size of a small ball rolled on the floor.
“Mr. Gyeoul! Push them in now!”
“Got it!”
Clang! Clang! Szeeeeng—
I pressed them hard.
As Krader swatted my dagger away, he screamed like he was losing it.
“Captain Belmut! We’re in trouble! We’ll be dead instead of completing the mission!”
[Crackle—Static… Crackle—]
“Send us ‘the Host of the One’ like with Sibyl! We’ll absolutely complete the mission!”
My head turned to the marble.
A dimly glowing bead.
‘…I have to destroy it. That’s a comms orb.’
When I tried to move, Krader lunged at me.
“Where do you think you’re going, punk! You’re not leaving!”
He charged recklessly.
Slash— Psst!
I cut off his right wrist.
And slashed diagonally across his chest.
“Aaaah—!”
Still, he clung on stubbornly.
No—he seemed to grow stronger the more wounded he was.
‘Sibyl fed on senses… this one feeds on wounds?’
At that moment, a heavy voice crackled from the comms orb.
[Crackle—It’s all right. Your mission is over.]
“Ugh… what? What do you mean?!”
Krader answered in a mad breath, barely parrying my attack.
[Martyr yourselves. That is the last way you can contribute to the order.]
“…You fuck! What kind of bullshit is that?!”
[Click—]
The transmission cut off unilaterally.
The expression on his face—who used to grin when wrists were cut—was contorted.
A face twisted with anger and sorrow.
“Aaaaahhh—!!”
He threw himself at us as if to die together, and I took a step back.
The more hurt he got, the stronger he became.
I had to wait for a clear kill opportunity.
‘Besides, they’ve been abandoned by the order. Who knows what they’ll do…’
Being forsaken by the church they blindly believed in would be a crushing loss.
A cornered rat bites the cat.
So we had to hunt calmly.
“Kiddo, what should we do?”
“No idea.”
“Let’s just die here without regrets. How about that?”
“Nope, I don’t like that.”
The two priests stared at us back-to-back, as if exchanging last greetings before death.
“Fuck…do you want to live like that?”
“…….”
“Right. Even you little ones have to survive. I’ll open a gap—when I signal, run. Got it?”
Listening to them, it was almost laughable.
Who did these guys think I was—deaf?
“We can hear everything.”
This warehouse has only one corridor.
Unless you pay a ‘great price’ like the Host, escaping through our line was impossible.
Krader must have known that; he hid his trembling hand and tried to bluff.
“I don’t know how you beat Sibyl… so you mustn’t be in great shape either, right? Huh?”
“Think what you want.”
“Hmph, Ruby-17 there definitely looks messed up… Do you really think you can stop me like that? You can’t even stop knowing it!”
What a ridiculous guy.
Actually, both of them were strange.
The other cult members I’d met had all been like Sibyl.
Rebecca was inscrutable.
Krader was less a fanatic and more like… ‘a thug’, I guess.
Anyway, it was about time to finish things.
“Do whatever, try it.”
Gulp—
Krader swallowed and began counting.
“Three… two…”
Flare—!
At that moment, Rebecca, who had been standing quietly behind Krader, flared crimson flames that seemed to consume everything.
“……?? Hey, what are you doing?”
“When this magic is done, I’ll forget Krader. Like the oatmeal I ate yesterday.”
Rebecca murmured in a blank voice.
Whether she spoke to me or to Krader wasn’t clear; it sounded hollow.
‘Crazy… that’s dangerous.’
I didn’t fully understand what was going on, but my instincts screamed.
That magic—never face it.
“Everyone, get back!!”
I shouted frantically.
But Rebecca began chanting as if just getting through overdue homework.
“My most precious thing turned to kindling, burn it… and burn all that is precious to them as well.”
Krader cursed at Rebecca.
“Hey!!! Stop it, damn it!”
“Krader, you’re a coward, so you’ll survive just fine.”
No matter what they yelled, I hurriedly pulled mana together.
“Everyone behind me!”
I pushed myself and used beast-resonance one more time.
[User uses skill, ‘Beast Resonance Lv.1 (B−)’.]
[Synchronization with ‘Geri (Wol-sik-rang)’ successful!]
[User uses ‘Niflheim’s Frost Max (S)’.]
Shrrrreeeeek—!!
I stood in front of Seo Gyeoul and Kim Pyeongon and erected a massive wall of ice.
Freki had already returned to his nest.
I didn’t worry about Julie Pearson.
Worrying about that person is a bigger luxury than worrying about Maugeonwoo.
Soon—
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
A huge noise and light dominated the space so that ears rang and nothing could be heard.
Even though we had the ice wall, the surrounding temperature shot up in an instant.
‘It’s hard to breathe…’
If not for Geri’s ability, we’d be in trouble.
But as they say, time heals.
Fsssss—
…….
…….
.
After some time passed, it gradually calmed down.
Of course, my skill and Seo Gyeoul’s magic helped.
“Phew… Mr. Siu, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Gyeoul, are you alright? Pyeongon?”
“I’m fine aside from being drained of mana. Pyeongon’s been sleeping through it all, as usual.”
Good thing the damage was less than I feared.
“You juniors don’t worry about me at all. How rude.”
“……Are you okay?”
“Geez, so formal, isn’t it?”
Julie Pearson, standing a bit farther off, blinked her golden eyes and grumbled.
Seriously, all this happened because of her; she should have some conscience.
“So is it our turn now?”
“……Huh? For what?”
“You saved the life of the CEO of the big BlueStone Megacorp. You’re not going to just let it slide, right?”
Ahem….
“And there’ll be a lot to talk about too, ‘Ruby-17’.”
I tossed the terminal that had ‘Ruby-17’ written on it to Julie Pearson.
She took it and clammed up like a shell.
‘Luckily there’s at least some conscience…’
If she’d been brutal, she might have tried to kill and erase everything. Or run off irresponsibly.
I had contingencies, but that would be a pain to deal with.
‘This could even escalate to a national conflict.’
Anyway, I quieted her and looked back at the battlefield.
“…….”
Rebecca stood there with empty, soulless eyes.
Krader was gone; nowhere to be seen.
‘Hm, so it ended up like this.’
Krader had fled and Rebecca had become a vegetable.
The plan had deviated slightly at the end.
‘Well, what can you do…’
Some variables I couldn’t control.
I’m not a god.
I can’t control everything in the world.
But—
‘Whatever happens, I’ll just use it to my advantage.’
Even if Rebecca was of no use now, Krader had cooperated with me.
So traces of my mana would cling to him.
‘With that, he can’t escape Geri and Freki’s scent…’
He was already in my palm.
But for now I decided to just watch.
‘A forsaken man can’t go back to the cult anyway… and from how he looked earlier, he doesn’t seem like someone who’ll just take it lying down.’
I only needed to keep an eye on Krader.
Then he would lead me up to his superiors—the bishop rank.
‘Heh, this is the true bait.’
I smiled and Julie Pearson, unable to hide her curiosity, came closer and asked.
“So, junior… what are you going to do now?”
What to do.
I leave chores I don’t want to do to others.
“By now a government special force under direct command should be on their way here.”
My last card to deal with any resistance from Pearson and to tidy up the incident.
Now that I’d confirmed Pearson was intact, I only needed her to take care of the aftermath.
‘I can really squeeze a lot out of the government this time.’
Rebecca was valuable loot.
A priest in the cult ranks highly.
And since international traces showed up, the operation’s grade probably spiked.
‘Which means the pay will rocket up too…’
This operation had many variables and headaches.
But it looked like I’d get sweet compensation.
