Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Struggle for Survival (3)
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"Ha... haha."
The sight was enough to make him laugh in disbelief.
It felt like if they stayed put, they would simply wither away and die.
So he had tried to break through.
The enemies had retreated once more, and this time, the interval was a bit longer.
He'd harbored a sliver of hope that perhaps this was the end.
"S-Sir Felix..."
But it was a vain hope.
Beyond the cavern they had used as a shelter, on the grand staircase.
Waiting there were countless black beasts.
The same ones they had just slaughtered, their corpses piled into mountains.
The creatures swarmed not only the floor but the ceiling and walls as well.
"Everyone, raise your weapons. This is the end."
Only then did Felix realize.
His eyes glinted.
'This isn't a war.'
He had been momentarily mistaken due to their disciplined actions, so different from the infected, but this was nothing as grand as a war.
It was just the same desperate struggle for survival they had always endured.
Lose, and you die. Win, and you live.
"If only we'd had a little more time."
Muttering faintly, he raised his chipped and broken sword.
At this point, he was filled with regret.
If only the Divine Tree had grown a little sooner.
If only they hadn't been discovered this time.
"Uwaaaah!"
He took the lead, charging headfirst toward the Legion units.
Inspired by his charge, the last of the warriors followed suit.
And this very moment, when they were betting everything on one final strike, was precisely what the Legion had orchestrated.
[Indeed, their combat power, which had been steadily rising, has now hit its peak. Though their stamina and numbers are falling, this is what makes such a miracle possible. That is true power.]
Felix, swinging his sword in a trance-like state, had already surpassed his own limits.
A faint blue light flared from his sword and body.
The patterns drawn on his skin glowed brighter than ever before.
Although his swordsmanship was inferior to the knightly specter that had once guarded the city, he possessed an explosive power the specter lacked.
[The Legion dispatched its strongest all-purpose unit.]
Among the Legion swarm was a newly created unit.
Its form was similar to the previous ones.
About two meters tall, based on the bodies of orcs, humans, and the recently acquired Moon Elves.
A lithe, elastic body covered in black carapace.
But it had an addition: a long, sturdy, and nimble tail taken from the lizards that had ruled the lowest level.
"Kuk..."
Felix flinched, breaking out in a cold sweat as he saw what had just grazed his cheek.
The tail, lashing out like a whip, had brushed past his face, carving a deep, thin scar into the floor before retracting.
"What in the world are you things? Are you even living creatures?"
He gritted his teeth and summoned his strength.
He had never seen monsters like these before.
They possessed a different kind of horror from the grotesque Ruin Fungus infected.
'But I must win.'
As a Legion unit drew its sword and charged, he too kicked off the ground.
Sword met sword.
A crack appeared on the carapace blade.
He ducked his head, dodging the tail that whipped out in an instant.
He twisted his waist to evade another pair of arms that burst from its back plate.
All while their swords remained locked.
Having deflected every attack, he thrust his sword upward, cleaving the Legion unit in two.
'I can... win!'
He could feel his own growth.
His heart pounded with excitement.
"And what are you?"
And so, he didn't lose his confidence even as a new enemy appeared.
A slender frame, a curved body, and flowing black hair.
A figure utterly alien compared to the other monsters.
Felix instinctively took a stance and stepped back.
Through the slit of the black mask covering its face, a red light glinted.
*
"It's not like brainwashing..."
While the Moon Elves were launching their final, desperate attack for survival.
Kang Do-yeon had quickly arrived on the scene.
She touched her own face.
The mask was one with her, melted into her body.
She knew her own state.
'What the Legion wants is for me to act of my own free will.'
She didn't know what effect the mask had.
It didn't seem to be forcing her actions, but it was obvious it wouldn't tolerate any thoughts that went against the Legion's will.
[The newly created all-purpose Legion unit was defeated in a single blow. The difference between being able to handle Form Power and not is immense. Therefore, the Legion has now sent the most powerful being it has created.]
She bit her lip. It was her turn.
But fighting an intelligent being that so closely resembled her was not something she could take lightly.
[From the beginning, the Legion did not expect much from you, who were an ordinary human girl.]
"Ugh!"
The moment she entertained a weak thought, the mask began to materialize.
The mask's job was to help her focus on her mission as 'a part of the Legion'.
"Ah..."
The instant the mask was on, her endocrine system was forcibly manipulated, and her mind was forcefully calmed.
And into that placid mind, the Legion's command took priority.
'Kill and devour.'
She drew her sword.
Her bloodied and battered opponent was gasping for breath as he looked at her.
Normally, she would have been overwhelmed by the gaze of a warrior who had danced on the edge of death.
But not now, not with the mask on. Besides, she had already seen his skills, over and over.
The combat data, paid for with the lives of the Legion units.
All of it was stored perfectly.
"..!!"
Her opponent, swinging his sword, widened his eyes as she dodged his blade with a single step.
'Give them despair.'
Twisting her body to evade the second strike, she kicked out and broke one of his legs.
The shattered shin bone tore through the flesh and jutted out.
She dodged the arm he thrust out with gritted teeth, then chopped down with the side of her hand, severing it.
Then came the final blow, delivered with his one remaining arm and leg.
A faintly glowing sword.
If it hit, even she would die.
But she swung her own sword at the blade, which held a power her carapace sword couldn't match.
A blue ore, glowing at half intensity, was partially embedded in her forearm.
A hot energy radiated from the gem.
"Ah."
Seeing it, he let out a single, final sigh.
"Haaa... haa..."
[They have tasted true despair. Because a great mountain they could never hope to surmount, even by risking everything, had appeared. All that remains is to dispose of those consumed by fear.]
The Legion units swarmed forward in unison, pushing the front line.
Kang Do-yeon took off her mask, panting for breath.
The ore embedded in her forearm had now lost its light and fell to the ground with a clatter.
"What if he had an Execution Ticket? He could have used it on me."
'What meaning would that have? A single Execution Ticket cannot kill us.'
She spoke in a trembling voice, but the Legion's will that answered was cold.
'I promise you. In any case, I have your soul and all your data. Even if you die, bringing you back is easy. You are precious to him, something he can never lose.'
"How could you..."
The Legion was, in its own way, being genuinely kind and showing favor.
The only problem was that its methods and direction followed its own standards, which were completely different from human common sense.
Kang Do-yeon bit her lip.
This was the price.
The price she paid for her life and power.
'If you can't bear it, you can always wear the mask.'
The horrific data of the slaughter continued to flow into her mind.
She barely managed to endure it.
The Legion not ordering her to handle the cleanup was a sort of consideration on its part.
Having received that much, she couldn't complain any further.
"I'm fine."
'Liar.'
"You're right. It's a lie. But I have to say it, don't I?"
She stood up from her spot.
Wearing the mask didn't mean she wasn't herself.
The sensation still lingered at her fingertips.
The sensation of killing.
She couldn't forget the glinting eyes that had looked at her.
"I have to get stronger."
She muttered blankly.
She had clearly been the victor in the battle, but she considered it a defeat.
Without the mask, she would have lost.
[A prisoner has been captured. For the purpose of extracting information.]
'You know what I'm going to do, right?'
Faced with the chillingly cold reality, Kang Do-yeon squeezed her eyes shut.
"L-let go of me... Let go!"
The survivors' shelter.
Amidst the carnage where every living creature had been slaughtered, one survivor was captured and dragged forward.
The Legion intended to learn several things from him.
[First, the language. The Legion has only one method of acquiring a language.]
'Let's talk. With us.'
"As if I'd... willingly talk to monsters like you... Gack."
[A method to easily open the mouth of a resistor has also been devised in advance.]
The Legion units injected bacteria-type units into the captured prisoner's body.
In an instant, his entire skin was covered in black veins, and the prisoner shrieked in agony, thrashing madly.
"Now, you can hear me, can't you?"
The Legion infiltrated every corner of his body, infecting and corrupting his cells.
It wasn't simple pain, but an agonizing torment that struck the nerves directly.
The prisoner's will to resist shattered in an instant, and he began to act as the Legion intended.
It took some time, as he wasn't very cooperative and wasn't made one with the Legion like Kang Do-yeon, but one by one, the questions were answered.