Chapter 58…
I have no intention of dragging this out.
I can tell just by looking at his eyes.
The more words I exchange with him, the more confused he’ll become in his head.
“Better to cut him down quickly.”
I clenched my Yumgak.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, the elderly man sitting in the armchair slowly spoke.
“…Interesting. A powerful murderous intent.”
He leaned slightly and tapped the armrests.
Both his speed and the intonation of his words were leisurely.
“Is that ‘monster’ inside you provoking you? Telling you to kill me?”
His smiling face showed not mockery, but pure curiosity.
Malteon.
He was far more cunning than what Crader had described.
Just a single sentence made me pause.
“…….”
“Heh, that expression… Surprised that this old man saw through you at a glance?”
“…Yeah. I was a bit surprised.”
Talent, “Beast’s □□(?)”.
Since reincarnation, I’ve never let go of the thought of it.
Even if I had loosened it briefly.
“Of course. Nothing is more dangerous than uncertainty.”
It’s like having a time bomb in your head.
How could I ever forget?
“Sure, I may have briefly denied reality….”
Most patients do the same, after all.
I’d dare say anyone criticizing that lacks empathy.
“Yes, a young person like you might find it astonishing.”
Malteon nodded as if agreeing with my surprise and continued speaking.
“But it’s not really something to marvel at. By this age, one can see it at a glance—”
“No. That’s not why I was surprised….”
Anyway, I had to admit it now.
“That the guy inside me has made its nest.”
But that aside.
I need to shut that old man’s mouth first.
I can’t stand him acting like he knows everything about me.
“The ‘monster’ you talk about, always insisting I handle things myself… or saying it’d kill for me… it was so noisy before. But now, oddly enough, it’s quiet. That’s why I was surprised.”
“…….”
“Maybe it realized? That you’re a powerless old man who doesn’t even need to step in?”
“Heh… For a young man these days, your tongue is quite sharp.”
The man, who had been lounging, suddenly gripped the armrest tightly.
My gaze lingered there before returning to his face.
“Come on, reveal the card you’re hiding.”
Yeah, people who act so relaxed are usually devious. On the flip side, they can afford to act relaxed because they have something trustworthy up their sleeves.
“So, let’s press a little more.”
I gave a sly smile, responding to Malteon’s invitation for an encore.
“And I find it interesting too.”
“…Interesting in what way?”
“Whether killing you will trigger a PK (Player Killing) message, or whether my ‘level’ will rise.”
“…….”
Crader had told me:
He’s a monster who gave up being human.
“Are you even human?”
His expression turned icy, like a corpse.
Anyone unaware might mistake him for an ice mage.
“But he’s not a nature-type sorcerer.”
The reason Malteon chose the gate farm as his base.
The reason the armored rat waves occurred even though it wasn’t a gate break.
The test subject of human and beast experiments I saw in the lab earlier.
And.
“Like the blind security agents, obedient as steel sheep…”
All of it was caused by one single factor.
“No… more precisely, that heart… it’s not yours, right?”
Malteon remained silent.
The relaxed, emotional expression he had just shown vanished completely.
“…….”
Swish—
He stood up from the armchair like a lifeless doll.
“You know too much. You must die.”
He swung the priestly staff in his other hand.
Thin blades shot out from it.
Simultaneously, the surrounding mana intertwined like tangled threads.
“Master of Flesh! Incoming!”
Rebecca, standing behind, shouted.
He’s perceptive; something was definitely happening.
Boom—! Koo-goo-goong—
The back door burst open, the walls collapsing like soft chocolate.
― Screeeeeek!
― Zap! Crackle!
Armored rats and grotesque hybrid creatures of human and rat poured in.
And that wasn’t all.
“…Whoa?”
Rumble—
The ceiling between Malteon and me collapsed, spilling more monstrous creatures.
In an instant, we were surrounded.
“Crader did say he’s a wizard.”
The information he provided was correct.
These zombie-like monstrosities.
They’re not ordinary beasts.
No, without magic, they couldn’t exist.
“And ordinary wizard magic wouldn’t be enough…”
Only a ‘death manipulator’ could control this.
A second-class wizard specialization:
Necromancer.
Only they could do this.
This meant Malteon is a Necromancer, and his level must be over 100.
“And he even had that annoying weapon hidden…?”
As expected, he’s a devious one.
Revealing it meant he was angry enough to lose reason at my provocation.
“Brother! What do we do?!”
“What do you mean? Just handle it.”
Visible blades aren’t scary.
It’s the unseen ones that are.
I dashed forward, swinging Yumgak.
Thud-thud—
Three monsters’ rotting flesh was sliced in one strike.
Their flesh was weaker than expected.
[Lv.56 Dead Ratman defeated.]
[Lv.56 Dead Ratman defeated.]
[Lv.56 Dead Ratman defeated.]
[Small amount of EXP gained.]
“…Oh? It gives EXP?”
Unexpected luck.
Undead raised by players usually don’t give EXP.
Yet the system recognized these creatures as beasts.
The reason was clear.
“Oh?! EXP too? And they’re weaker than expected…”
“What… then those guys who came here before were how pathetic?!”
Kim Pyeong-on and Crader quickly understood the situation.
Their eyes turned predatory.
Clang-Clang— Swish—
The two, once battle priests of the Reverse Heaven Sect, and my most talented allies, went wild, cutting down the monstrous horde.
Of course, I wasn’t standing idle.
Shhhk—
Every swing of Yumgak severed the monsters’ torsos.
[Lv.46 Dead Ratman defeated.]
[Lv.46 Dead Ratman defeated.]
[Lv.46 Dead Ratman defeated.]
The numbers were huge, far surpassing the armored rat wave we faced earlier, but with the three of us, they were eliminated in no time.
“Piece of cake.”
“Huh, strange… but good.”
Kim Pyeong-on wiped sweat from his forehead, satisfied.
Crader seemed bewildered at how easily it ended.
Rebecca was safe since Crader carried her in battle.
“Now we just need the three of us to finish him off, right?”
“…Wait. I’ll take the first strike. Damn it, thinking about how that old man tormented me makes my teeth grind.”
As Crader stepped forward, Malteon glared at him coldly.
“Crader. I knew you’d betray me. You were always bat-like.”
“Sorry. Weren’t we both capable of anything for revenge?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about your revenge. It’s also my revenge.”
“…Huh? You mean you’ll win?”
Crader swung his axe casually over his shoulder.
His earlier worry had vanished.
But Malteon remained calm, emotionless from start to finish.
“I’ll turn your corpse into a Pegoolem and use it as a vanguard against the False Spera Church. Be grateful.”
“What the hell? Old man, you senile or something? You’re alone. Don’t you get it? I’ll handle the False Spera Church myself.”
“No… I’ll just kill you and feed you to the dogs.”
Thud—
I kicked Crader in the back immediately.
“Ugh…!”
Crack-crash—!
Bones shot up from the surrounding corpses, piercing the spot where he stood.
Malteon glared at me.
I faced him and spoke.
“Still some human emotion left? Getting riled up, I see.”
“…We need to end this meaningless fight quickly.”
Malteon muttered and swung his blade staff, activating a death ritual.
“[Coles Rebuild].”
The mana responded, seeping into the corpse piles.
Creek— Clank— Swish—
Monsters whose limbs had been dismembered reassembled instantly.
― Screeech—!
― Help…
We didn’t just stand there.
I moved first.
“…Tch, disgusting.”
A radiant sword arc cut through the darkness.
Shhaaaak—!
The path was cleared.
Kim Pyeong-on quickly reacted.
“Big guy! To the brother’s side!”
“Who’s big guy!”
Kim Pyeong-on and Crader followed behind me.
Even if we couldn’t escape to the ground, we had to get out of the confined room.
“Hey! Where are you going!”
“Shut up and follow.”
“Ugh…”
It wasn’t far, so we arrived quickly.
In the center of the lab, I gave orders immediately.
Dead Ratmen were swarming from all directions.
“Form a circle around Rebecca. Hold them off.”
“That’s it? Why?! We could just kill them!”
“Big guy, just follow the brother’s orders!”
“Right. Master of Flesh said so.”
Kim Pyeong-on cut down a charging Dead Ratman, shouting.
Rebecca joined in, and Crader begrudgingly followed my orders.
“Damn it, all of you!”
There was a reason I acted like this.
“The guy started using the [Heart]’s power….”
That power synergized perfectly with the Necromancer class.
If it strengthened the [Coles Rebuild] skill…
Shhaaaak—!
Even if the revived monsters were chopped into pieces…
“Huff… Brother! They won’t die!”
“Damn it, and no more EXP… Ah… Huff!”
They could be resurrected like immortals.
Not truly immortal, but we had to finish them completely.
To do that, we needed to gather them all here.
“That’s why we hold the line.”
“Damn it! Huff… You said you had a plan!”
Crader blocked a Dead Ratman’s bizarre blade hands with his dual axes, shouting.
I just half-opened my eyes.
I drew the surging mana within me.
“Come out.”
From the nest, my resting children manifested in the lab.
“Auuuuu—!!”
First was Gerry.
His shadow stretched like moonlight.
Though thin after boosting his potential, his cold, moon-like presence remained.
Grrr…
Next, Freki tore through the space.
His thick fur was lifeless, but his aura filled the lab with overwhelming power.
Beep—
Finally, Kakan and Seongsik.
Landing on my shoulder, the small golden one exhaled quietly.
His scales were dull, body fatigued from overexertion, yet his golden eyes burned brightly.
“….”
“….”
“….”
All three were injured and tired, but their presence was stronger than anyone else here.
― Click, click…
― Screeeeek?
The Dead Ratmen stepped back, obeying their master’s command.
“Thank you… for coming.”
Despite their state, they answered my call.
I had to live up to that expectation.
“Whoa! What the hell is this…?”
Crader started to speak, but—
Ziiiing—
The relic, invisible until now, revealed itself:
[Halo of Scars].
“…Good. Eat.”
I looked up as the halo hovered above, sucking the dark energy from the three beasts greedily.
Thump— thump—
Red cracks pulsed between the fragments, trembling as if seeking each other.
Not just the three beasts, but Kim Pyeong-on’s dark energy was absorbed as well.
[Charging…]
[25%… 56%… 84%…]
Kim Pyeong-on muttered while alternating his gaze between the halo and me.
“Brother, this is…”
“Trust me. It’s good for you.”
[Charging 100%]
[Halo of Scars, activated.]
The space warped instantly.
Metallic waves spread from above my head.
A ring of light.
Red afterglow scattered like fragments, embedding into the three beasts and one human.
“Wow, brother! My body…!”
Wounds healed, bleeding stopped.
Broken bones fused.
Fur regrew, glossy and healthy.
“Auuuuu—!”
“Woof woof!”
“Beep—!”
Freki’s gaze blazed like radiance,
Gerry’s breath was cold as moonlight,
Kakan’s scales gleamed gold.
Kim Pyeong-on sharpened his senses and gripped his sword.
“They’re back.”
All restored to their prime.
Even stronger than before.
“….”
Thud—
At the same time, the enemies froze.
A ‘stiffness’ spread across the battlefield.
Dead Ratmen halted like stiff dolls.
“…What the hell?”
Crader chuckled wryly.
I raised Yumgak.
“This means we’re now perfect.”
The tide of battle had turned.
