Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Legion vs. Legion (7)
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Ruin Fungus.
A calamity that, hundreds of years ago, infiltrated a world and then this underground realm, exterminating all life.
And the Ruin Fungus, trapped underground, evolved on its own to become the Mutant Ruin Fungus.
They were powerful.
Their potent infectivity could devour any animal, and their ability to mimic and replicate using that infectivity was a power possessed only by the mutants, formed from the gathering of many lesser hives.
"Krrk."
Among these mutants, there was one that was particularly unique.
The first Mutant Ruin Fungus. It had, until now, dominated its kin with overwhelming strength and reigned supreme.
But it was safe to say that the crisis it now faced was more critical than any before.
"Grrrrooo..."
One of the giant mutants let out a roar and rammed its body against the sealed entrance.
But the blockage didn't budge an inch.
They were bewildered. They had never encountered such a situation in all their countless battles.
No, the thought of collapsing or altering the terrain hadn't even been a consideration.
The Moonlit Fairies had resisted and fought in such a way, but that was the result of an unknown power called Form Power.
They never imagined that a creature capable of engaging them in a war of infection and close combat would also possess such an ability.
They had no one connected by a string, no one to help them.
The Mutant Ruin Fungus, having not reached that concept, had no way to overcome this situation.
"..."
It, the Leader Hive, knew instinctively.
They were not fools. If they couldn't go down, there was no answer.
Knowing what lay above, they did not choose to ascend.
The atmosphere shifted strangely.
The Mutant Ruin Fungus under its command began to eye each other warily.
If they devoured all their kin here, they could enter an extreme state of hibernation and probably survive for a few hundred more years.
The leader bared its corporeal teeth and growled.
The alliance that had been maintained between the hives was on the verge of shattering.
"Krrr..."
But just then.
With a crumbling sound, something fell from a nearby wall.
'The Legionnaires have finished their work. Now, if you destroy the weakest point, you can collapse only the stem-layer of the 45th floor, where their main force is located.'
"Understood."
Having reached the designated point, Kang Do-yeon received her next instruction.
The Legion had used its tunneling ability to manipulate the foundation of this upper floor.
That is, the 45th floor where the Mutant Ruin Fungus was gathered, making it fragile.
They had already confirmed, using their detection and sensory abilities, that the majority of the enemy was on that floor.
If they could collapse it completely, they could neutralize them in a single blow.
Once their bodies were crushed to a pulp, they wouldn't be able to physically resist, no matter how tenacious they were.
"Hoo."
Exhaling, she raised her sword.
The newly replenished power systems throughout her body began to activate.
The energy she emitted converged on her sword.
A crimson-black energy began to storm around the blade.
The Legion's method for producing its strongest firepower was, in fact, to concentrate all its energy into a single point and detonate it.
She aimed the sword at the designated point.
Almost simultaneously, the energy condensed in the sword erupted in the form of a beam.
"Ugh!"
'Evacuate.'
The beam exploded on contact, creating a massive detonation, and a huge shockwave shook the area.
Her power wasn't particularly strong compared to the vastness of this great cavern.
But it didn't end with a simple shockwave.
Following the direction meticulously prepared by the Legionnaires based on the Legion's exquisite calculations, the entire impact started a chain reaction.
The structures that had served as pillars were shattered or exploded one after another.
The ceiling cracked with loud splintering sounds as dust and dirt poured down, and the broken walls showered fragments everywhere.
[You are the first since the Moonlit Fairies. The first being to alter the terrain of this labyrinth.]
"Kuh..."
In a situation where it was difficult to even run due to the vibrations, Kang Do-yeon, with her senses maximized, managed not to fall or stumble, running before throwing her body with all her might.
She thought she heard a faint scream.
It was a multitude of screams coming from the collapsing ceiling.
'The plan is a success.'
She could see without seeing.
She knew just how many Mutant Ruin Fungus were mixed in with the debris that was now crashing down with a deafening roar.
"Ugh..."
"Get up."
"You... you came yourself?"
It was a funny thing to say, since every Legionnaire was, in essence, the Legion.
But she couldn't help but think it.
As she took its hand and stood up, she flinched at the glint in the eyes of its mask.
"They who can be called our first fated enemy, and they who can give us a great gift."
The Legion walked past Kang Do-yeon and headed toward the ruins.
In this ruin, where two stem-layers had become one, there were still living Mutant Ruin Fungus.
"Uuuuuaaaah!"
One of them crawled out, breaking through the collapsed wreckage.
The Leader Hive that had led the Mutant Ruin Fungus lesser hives.
That creature, with its exceptionally large body, strangely resembled a human.
A female human, at that. Of course, its body, reinterpreted through the lens of the Ruin Fungus, was not that of a normal human.
"Did you see us and think that your strongest form was this? How foolish. The human form is so weak without Form Power."
The Legion sneered at the creature.
In a way, it was a being of the same kind as the Legion.
Its accomplishments were also remarkable compared to the Legion, which was now just beginning to climb the labyrinth.
But the Legion had leaped forward, while it had failed to evolve over hundreds of years and had ultimately fallen.
Being of the same kind, it knew well. As long as one fails to constantly grow and evolve, one is nothing but a loser, trash, an obsolete species.
"Are you... are you going to fight it yourself?!"
Kang Do-yeon realized the Legion's intent and was horrified.
Of course, "fighting it yourself" was also a strange thing to say.
After all, it was the Legion itself that had been moving each and every Legionnaire until now.
"Yes."
But this time, the Legion moved its own body.
It didn't bother to find a reason.
It was simply following its feelings.
"Well then... you old predecessors. I shall take everything you have."
As the Legionnaires waiting in advance prepared to charge, the Legion also moved its power.
"Krrk?!"
While the surviving Ruin Fungus and the Legion clashed in a final battle to end them, something shot forward in an instant.
It buried itself deep into the Leader Hive's body before it could even notice.
The staggering creature tried to grab and pull it out, but this time another one flew from the opposite direction and lodged in its leg.
Next came its back, neck, arm, waist, and so on.
In the blink of an eye, its entire body was pierced by what looked like black, sharp spikes.
At their tips, gleaming red crystals pulsed with light.
"That's..."
[Through its own research, the Legion has developed a method of combat using its own body.]
Kang Do-yeon's eyes widened in surprise.
Those black spikes were all unleashed at once.
Beneath the somewhat desperate screams of the Ruin Fungus, dozens of spikes moved simultaneously.
[Using its transcendent computational power that controls the Legionnaires, it executes dozens of attacks in a fleeting moment. For now, they take the form of thorns, but there is much potential for development.]
The Legion's physical body was, in reality, just standing still.
The spikes, radiating a crimson-black aura, flew in again, creating another deep hole in the leader's body.
'Why... did I harbor such an emotion?'
The Legion, moving its body, ducked its head, dodging a sweeping hook-like hand.
Simultaneously, a flying spike once again pierced through the enemy's chest.
A powerful hand flew at it, but didn't even graze it.
The outcome was already decided.
The more the Ruin Fungus struggled, the more wounds appeared on its body.
'A new emotion.'
The Legion kicked off the ground, and in an instant, grabbed the enemy's neck, slammed it to the ground, and pinned it there.
It transformed its feet and arms to hold the enemy's body firmly in place.
The two monsters' eyes met.
Simultaneously, a fierce war of infection unfolded where their bodies touched.
But the result was different from before.
The Legion's infectivity began to overwhelm the tired and wounded Ruin Fungus.
Starting from the neck it held, black veins spread through the creature's blood vessels.
The choice to use such an inefficient method, despite the drawbacks, was born from the desire to finish the Ruin Fungus with the very infection and corrosion they prided themselves on.
"Graaaah..."
"Disappear. You obsolete, useless trash."
Watching the enemy's form gradually become covered in black veins, the corners of its mouth curled up on their own.
The emotion the Legion was feeling now was a thick sense of exhilaration.
Fighting, devouring, and evolving were the Legion's natural instincts. So there should have been no reason to feel exhilaration, and yet.
'This is enjoyable.'
The entire Legion was stirred.
Considering that every emotion the Legion had developed until now had originated solely from him, this was an unprecedented event.
[...Today's events will be recorded in history. Have you found it now? Another reason to live.]
The war was over. The Legion was victorious.
With their command entity annihilated, the remaining Mutant Ruin Fungus were no longer a collective.
"I must devour everything and go higher, higher."
The Legion's eyes sparkled as it looked up.
The collapsed 45th floor. And the entrance to the 46th floor, the way up.
It could guess that there was something more.
Otherwise, these mutants couldn't possibly be this weak.
The Legion found itself wanting to experience more wars like this one with the Mutant Ruin Fungus, again and again.
Because in the end, it would be the one to emerge victorious and grow even stronger.
*
[The Legion has won. Now, all the power of the Ruin Fungus, which was our greatest threat, has become ours.]
"I need to... look closely..."
[There is time for now, so there is no need to rush.]
Thank heavens, the Legion had won.
I believed it would. So now, the important thing was me.
"Mr. Robert."
"I came to say hello. Thanks to you, a lot of my kids made it out alive."
"Are we... are we continuing the mission?"
"Of course."
Robert entered with a dark expression on his face.
In the heavy atmosphere, there wasn't much to say.
Back when the Demon World Prairie Dogs attacked us.
Things were so hectic then that, honestly, my own memory was hazy.