Chapter 41
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Struggle for Survival (1)
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"..."
Kang Do-yeon ceased her activity and gripped the ore.
She could feel the subtle, dormant energy within it, a sensation like a faint tickle.
[We now know how to utilize the energy dwelling within it. It is not perfect. Nor is it optimized. But it was possible to replicate its explosive power.]
"Khk..."
She clenched the ore tightly.
At the same time, a transformation began in her hand and arm.
Physical transformation was a feat only she could accomplish, a unique being whose entire body was made of versatile cells.
She bit her lip and endured the horrific sensation of parts of her body twisting and rearranging themselves.
[The Moonlight Fairies, which we successfully analyzed. Some of them possessed an additional blood vessel in their bodies, designed to handle a mysterious power.]
'That time.'
Kang Do-yeon frowned. An image flashed through her mind: the exceptionally strong specter she had faced one-on-one, her senses pushed to their absolute limit.
The way it had decapitated a large assault-type Legion unit with a single swing of its faintly glowing sword.
[The spiritual power described by Cheonhonsul is similar. Thus, the Legion determined it would not be impossible to combine and apply the two.]
The Legion did not accept Cheonhonsul as it was.
It continuously sought more efficient and effective methods.
The conclusion it reached was this.
Kang Do-yeon stared blankly at the ore, now more than halfway embedded in her forearm.
A new blood vessel, mimicking the body of a Moonlight Fairy, spread out from the ore embedded in her arm.
[Our soul is mighty, but singular. Sharing it among the countless Legion units—our claws and teeth—diminishes both its power and effectiveness, making it difficult to deliver a powerful strike with Cheonhonsul. This was devised as a substitute: to use the ore that already contains power.]
The master of Cheonhonsul, who takes great pride in the art, would be enraged to hear it, but to the Legion, Cheonhonsul served merely as a tool to help fully wield the power dwelling in the ore.
Kang Do-yeon slowly raised the arm with the embedded ore.
The power sleeping within the ore awakened and began to erupt explosively.
[This was recorded in history. Though its beginning was meager and imperfect, it was the first time the Legion wielded Form Power—a higher level of power that warps reality through its own unique method.]
A transcendental power manifested through one's own conviction and will, which others call mana, magic, spiritual power, or divine power.
That power, which not just anyone can wield, exploded from Kang Do-yeon's aimed arm and shot forth.
"Ugh, aaaaaah...!"
Even Kang Do-yeon herself screamed in terror at the massive burst of blue light.
The erupting blue flash soon became a thick beam of light, and upon striking the stone wall ahead, the flash turned into flames, causing a massive explosion.
Kang Do-yeon coughed up blood and was thrown back.
It was a recoil that not even the sturdy body of a Legion unit could withstand.
One of her arms was completely burned to ashes, and another Legion unit caught her as she was thrown back.
"Power adjustment required."
And the Legion, which had been observing the entire process, muttered with interest and immediately deployed the other waiting Legion units.
Reconnaissance was unnecessary.
No, it was useless.
Because no matter what lived inside, it would all be killed and devoured.
A black tide began to rush in fiercely.
Through the eyes of its soldiers, the Legion saw who was there. If they had survived the Ruin Fungus, it meant they had some basic strength.
Which meant there was much to be gained from devouring them.
The Legion licked its chops.
This, too, was one of the expressions it had learned and occasionally used.
*
"Did they retreat for now?"
"...It's quiet."
"Those things never make a sound in the first place. Not when they fight, not when they chase, not even when they die."
In the center of the square, a crowd of people had gathered, their faces etched with worry.
His face pale, he muttered in a trembling voice.
His voice was filled with terror.
The tips of his pointed ears were trembling.
This was a stark contrast to the brave figure he usually cut as a member of the scouting party, and the murmuring of the crowd grew louder.
"Where in the world did those things come from?"
Someone in the crowd muttered in a grim voice.
But no one could offer an answer.
For a long time, they had struggled to survive against the creatures infected by the Ruin Fungus that had overrun the outside world.
The Ruin Fungus, which infects all living animals, had reigned as the ruler of this labyrinth until now.
They knew it well, for they had fought and fled from it.
"It was unbelievable. The way they waged war against thousands, no, perhaps tens of thousands of the infected. We'd hoped we might finally be free from them, but that wasn't it."
He tore at his hair.
They didn't know their identity, but when the number of nearby infected plummeted in a short time due to the appearance of this unknown force, they had hoped to pit one enemy against the other.
But that was a terribly naive thought.
The new predator that had struck down the old one was far too overwhelming, and even more terrifying.
"Don't worry too much, Felix."
"Lady Narian."
Just then, the gathered people parted, and a woman appeared.
She was a noble who had inherited the leadership of this group through her lineage.
The man called Felix finally relaxed his expression upon seeing her.
"On the contrary, this is an opportunity. A chance to escape the oppression that has lasted for a long time, since our ancestors' days."
"I..."
"If we use this opening well, there will be a chance for us too."
She placed a hand on Felix's flinching shoulder.
He gave a faint smile.
Hope. They clearly hadn't let go of hope yet.
"Above all, we are not alone."
"That's right."
She, Narian, turned around.
Felix and the other residents also turned their gazes to look behind them.
It was a large cavern that had been their home for ages.
For in the center of this village, their hope was growing.
"Our ancestors did not abandon us and sent a benefactor known as a Player. Thanks to their grace, we have been able to grow the Divine Tree again."
She said this while looking at the sapling that was just beginning to grow.
It looked like an ordinary sapling, but the stakes driven into the ground around it were special.
The stakes were all gifts bestowed upon them, granting them the power to replant their ancestral heritage, which they had been unable to restore.
"With the power of the Divine Tree, we will surely survive."
She muttered, looking down at her own hand, from which a faint light seeped from a drawn pattern.
The Divine Tree was a special tree connected to her people.
It was also a means to reclaim their lost power and revive their race.
"I was overthinking things. It's enough. We can do this."
Felix reassured his comrades and the other people.
He forced the negative thoughts away.
'All that's left is the fight.'
In the end, to survive, they had to fight.
Whether their enemy was the horrific infected that had destroyed this world long ago, or these new, unidentified monsters.
They would keep fighting.
Still, their situation now was better than it had ever been.
Because not long ago, a being who provided them with great help had appeared.
"Felix. H-here, drink this."
"Thank you, Nia."
He smiled and patted the head of the little girl who had brought him a drink.
"You all are our future. By the time you become adults, the Divine Tree will have grown large, and then we'll surely be able to go outside."
"I'm going to be a scout too!"
"No. When that time comes, you will become a true warrior. When we leave this place, leave this labyrinth, and reclaim our past glory."
"Then I'll be the strongest warrior."
The child declared with a determined expression that she would become a strong warrior.
He was satisfied with that.
Since there were many fine successors to follow, he believed his role was simply to pave the way for them.
"...!"
"Aaaaaargh!"
But in that moment.
With a massive explosion, the thick stone gate, which had been heavily guarded, shattered, scattering fragments in all directions.
"Th-this can't be..."
Felix's face went pale as he threw himself to the ground, holding the child in his arms.
That thick stone gate was one of the defensive mechanisms imbued with the wisdom of their ancestors.
The thick stone wall, which no infected creature had ever breached, was shattered in a single blow.
Shining through the thick dust were countless red glints of light, too numerous to count.
"E-everyone, grab your weapons!! It's the enemyyyy!!"
At someone's piercing scream, he instinctively rose to his feet and drew the sword at his waist.
'Oh, Divine Tree. And you, unknown fairy spirit from another world.'
In this moment, it was as if time had stopped.
For the sake of all he wished to protect, he gritted his teeth and charged.
His ears ringing from the explosion, hearing nothing but his own bursting heartbeat and ragged breaths, he made eye contact one last time with Narian, who had run out in shock from behind, just before the moment of impact.
"Die, you beast!"
Toward the giant black beast charging at him, its six red eyes glowing from the gaps in its head carapace, he likewise unleashed light from the pattern on his body and swung his sword down.
The sword met strong resistance as it broke through the carapace and dug into flesh.
The Legion unit's muscles were so tough they were almost sticky, but he cut through them with sheer force.
In the end, Felix succeeded in felling the enemy with his first strike.
"Ah..."
But that was merely the signal flare marking the beginning of the struggle.
Along with his other comrades who charged forward with a war cry, he had to stand against the endless invasion of the Legion.