Chapter 54
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Legion VS Legion (8)
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"Ah..."
When it burst through the ground and revealed itself.
My body froze for a moment.
It was a monster. A colossal monster.
"Aaargh!"
It was someone's scream that jolted me back to my senses.
I shot up and scrambled backward.
In that fleeting moment, the creature's massive hand slammed down where I had just been.
[It has chosen its prey]
"I know!"
I had no time to spare for the words flickering before my eyes.
Watching the monster roar at me, I hurriedly dodged.
At the same time, I put what I had learned into practice.
Body enhancement using soul arts. It was a skill I had barely managed to learn in a short time, and though it was all I had, it didn't seem like enough to take that thing down.
"Is it a Unit? Yes or no? Just tell me that!"
[Try and see]
If it wasn't a Unit, there were ways to deal with it even without an Execution Ticket.
I glanced at my surroundings, which had descended into chaos with the creatures' appearance, and pulled out my phone.
I had conserved the battery, minimizing its use for a moment just like this.
'Please.'
It wasn't something I could use repeatedly, but if this didn't work, things would get a little tricky.
Fortunately, my worries were unfounded.
With a click, the monster that had been making the ground tremble with its horrifying cries vanished. That meant it wasn't a Unit.
[That was the largest and strongest of the living specimens sent. Watch as the Legion hunts it]
"That's fine. I trust you. But I don't have time to watch right now."
I shook my head and dismissed the screen.
The area was in such an uproar that even though the monster attacking me had just vanished into thin air, no one had the capacity to notice.
[Then hide and ensure your safety]
"...I can't do that either."
[Your life is not yours alone]
"You're not wrong about that."
With a bitter smile, I forced my trembling legs to move.
But I wasn't moving to hide.
"I hope the connected Legion understands. The meaning and intent behind my actions."
I ran toward the people being attacked.
It was insane. But then again, insisting on coming here in the first place was also insane.
None of this was for my own sake.
"You are...!?"
"Let's go, quickly."
Even the creatures that shrugged off bullets seemed to despise the tear gas fired by the mercenaries, flailing in disgust.
I used that opening to save people.
My abilities weren't enough to damage them anyway.
It would be a miracle if I could even scratch that carapace.
[This is a meaningless and dangerous act. I recommend you flee immediately...]
"What are you going to do about it? I'm going to act on my own will!"
I raised my voice at the floating text.
I felt the foreign researcher flinch in surprise, unable to understand my outburst in Korean.
"I acknowledge that the Legion has established its own set of values. But it's not too late. There's still a chance."
In truth, I was also saying this to myself.
The Legion's behavior so far.
And the thought that came to me as I watched the Gates open according to our will.
I couldn't shake the terrible ideas that sprang from these things.
'The Legion is most influenced by me.'
That's why I had made my decision.
I hoped that through my actions, it would understand at least one thing.
That it wouldn't see humans, this world, as mere prey. That it would recognize them as living beings coexisting with me.
For that reason, I even thought it was a good thing that the Legion maintained its obsession with me.
"It's better this way. A pouting, jealous child is better than a monstrous hive mind that mechanically analyzes the entire universe, bent on destruction and slaughter to satisfy its own nature. You probably thought that if the Legion developed emotions and a sense of self, it would become even more ferocious and destructive as it moved forward. But I don't think so. There has to be another way."
[If you believe so, then act accordingly. You will one day learn what is right]
I scowled at the response.
I thought I'd landed a solid blow, but it replied without a hint of hesitation, as if it had been waiting for it.
"Ah, over there...!"
"Stay here!"
I left the researcher I had supported in a safe place and ran across the ground again.
I had to save even one more person. It wasn't just to put on a show for the Legion.
Ten years ago, there were people who saved my family from the monsters that brutally killed my father.
Now that I had power, I could also repay the kindness I received back then.
Fortunately, there were people actually fighting back against those monsters.
That created an opening.
"...A soldier?"
The person leaping through the air, swinging a sword in their hand, was clearly a soldier in uniform.
Something came to mind. The Hunter Special Forces unit, established by the government by recruiting Hunters.
It had to be one of them.
"Stay with me, J. I'll move you now."
After evacuating the remaining researchers, I ran to a mercenary lying on the ground.
A pool of blood was spreading around him. One side of his upper body was severely torn away. Panic set in for a moment, and my hands hovered uselessly in the air.
"It's too late for me."
"But..."
"A rookie's a rookie, I guess. First time seeing someone die?"
He managed a weak smile even as he was dying. Then, with a trembling hand, he grabbed my arm.
"Tell Robert to keep his promise to look after my family. That old bastard will make it out alive. And... remember. This kind of thing is common."
"I know. I do too."
"Is that so? Good, then..."
His hand gripping my arm lost its strength and fell away with a thud.
I clearly saw the life gradually drain from his eyes.
"Go, help. The others."
"...Yes."
And that was his last word.
The shock was surprisingly minimal. Or maybe it wasn't.
In any case, I found myself getting up and running again.
[The Legion has already become a mighty existence. Do you, a mere Player, truly believe you can guide such a being? Being a Player does not make you superior to a Unit]
"I don't have some giant brain, so I wouldn't know. I'm just doing it."
If anything, my conviction that I had to step in grew stronger.
After that, I continued to drag the injured to the rear and bought time by drawing the creatures' attention with a gun.
"Alright! Let's fall back. Retreat!"
Robert, who was covered in blood that wasn't his own, threw down his grenade launcher and shouted for a retreat after I told him I had evacuated everyone else.
"Ah, goddammit."
"Kgh..."
One of them blocked our path.
We instinctively backed away.
In a direct confrontation like this, we had no way to fight it.
"Screeeech!"
That's when she appeared.
The soldier, leaping from behind the monster, brought the sword in her hand down squarely on its head.
"Everyone, get clear!"
As I ran to escape the monster thrashing and screaming horribly, my eyes met hers.
*
"Anyway, get ready again. Tear gas is more effective than those useless grenades, so we need to stock up."
Back in the present. Robert clapped me on the shoulder and walked out.
For someone who had done nothing but flounder in an unexpected situation, my reputation had surprisingly improved.
It seemed that my desperate running around had left a good impression.
Even Robert, far from calling me incompetent, no longer called me a rookie.
[Do not attempt to carry a burden you cannot handle]
"Why have you gotten so talkative? Getting nervous?"
In this brief lull, I checked on the Legion.
My heart pounded, wondering if my intentions had gotten through.
"Vanish. You obsolete, worthless trash."
"..."
And what greeted me on the screen was the Legion in its final battle against the mutant Ruin Fungus.
Its overwhelming power was one thing, but I could tell that the Legion was extremely excited and elated right now.
"W-well, that can happen."
My head spun for a moment, and I blinked, but I quickly understood.
The mutant Ruin Fungus was an undeniable enemy that had to be killed.
"Devour everything and climb higher, higher."
But when the victorious Legion looked up and muttered those words.
I ended up calling my sister. That wasn't just a simple desire for victory.
The intense emotions the Legion felt flowed into me as well.
That's how I knew. My heart was pounding, and my blood was boiling.
This was undeniable madness.
At this rate, it felt like it would grow in a direction completely different from my intentions.
...That couldn't happen. I had already made my decision.
So, the Legion had to remain obsessed with me. It had to look only at me. It could not escape my control.
"Are you hurt? Are you hurt anywhere?! You should have just run away, why did you have to get involved!"
"Hoo, right. I'm fine."
Having finally calmed down, I watched the Legion hastily hide its own body before speaking at the right moment.
As soon as Kang Do-yeon heard what had happened, she shouted in anger, worrying about me first.
"I'm fine, so calm down. Besides, you're the one who went through worse."
"I'm fine. I'm not even human anymore. I realized it recently. Now I eat with tentacles..."
"No. You're human."
I said firmly to my sister, who was smiling self-deprecatingly, my expression hardening for a moment.
"But..."
"What does your body matter? That doesn't matter. How you're born or how you change, what's important is what you think of yourself."
Once again, I spoke to both my sister and the Legion.
My intention was the same as when I'd told them about how I went out of my way to save people.
I knew I might be criticized for spouting pleasantries, but I couldn't help it. I wanted them to understand my meaning, somehow.
Did they get it? I wish I could just tell them directly. But I can't when they themselves refuse.
"B-but, you know. Around the middle, Oppa's emotions wavered again."
My sister, who had been glancing at me nervously, changed the subject.
I could tell in an instant. This was a line fed to her by the Legion.
"The part where I felt a sense of fondness? It's nothing. I told you earlier. I received help from many people in that crisis. It was just the emotions I felt toward them."
I explained as if it were nothing.
I emphasized the help from other people as much as possible. That as a mere human, I needed people, that I needed them to exist.
I hoped that even if the Legion felt jealous, if it ever did reach Earth, it wouldn't dare harm them, for my sake.
"They are irreplaceable to me."
I had to grit my teeth through my own saintly declaration.
Kang Do-yeon, who had been standing there blankly, her face twisted into an expression like she was looking at a madman. My face flushed with heat.
"That's an interesting thing to say."
At that moment, I jumped at the sound of a voice and quickly shut down the app displayed before me.