Chapter 65
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Monster of the Abyss (4)
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The Divine Tree was the very foundation of the Moon Elves, their everything. They had spent decades nurturing it to this size.
But now, that Divine Tree was being crushed alive, toppling over.
The horrifying tree that burst forth, destroying the Divine Tree, was by no means the elves' own.
"...How on earth."
Wight stared at the faded emblem on his body and muttered in despair.
There was no longer any point in resisting.
All that remained for them in this absurd war was death, and they would be lucky if they could even choose the manner of it.
Wight used his sword as a cane, trembling as he stood up.
'Is this what our ancestors felt, fighting the endlessly swarming Ruin Fungus?'
Despair and resignation in the face of an unstoppable catastrophe.
He aimed his sword at the enemy commander.
All the warriors who fought alongside him were dead. But the countless monsters now surrounding him were not attacking; they were waiting.
"Come. So you... were the queen of these monsters."
He had decided on his own end.
He would at least leave a scratch on the one who appeared to be the leader of these beasts.
The enemy was strong. Faster and more powerful than any foe he had ever faced.
It was an impossible feat with one arm torn off and a hole in his stomach, but still, he took a step forward.
"Keuk!"
But the moment he spoke, the Legionaries standing nearby lunged at him.
Impaled on the poisonous stinger of a medium-sized Legionary based on a giant scorpion and lifted into the air, a flicker of indignation crossed his eyes before the life quickly faded from them.
'How dare anything stand above me.'
The reason he was denied a respected end and was instead unceremoniously slaughtered was so trivial that he would have lamented it, had he known.
"That's too cruel... at least his final moments..."
Kang Do-yeon took off half her mask and murmured in a sad voice.
The memories remained even with the mask on. They were detached, like peeking into someone else's diary, but she was still aware that they were her own.
That was why she knew all too well the desperation and anguish that Wight and the Moon Elves had shown.
'This is the ecosystem, this is nature. A mere swarm of ants can be crueler than us, and a mere pack of wild dogs can be more violent.'
Of course, such considerations were not even a factor for the Legion.
Fight to live, the loser dies, and the victor grows. It was not only the Legion's nature but a law followed by all living things in this world.
Knowing the hypocrisy of her own feelings, Kang Do-yeon said no more.
'Finish it.'
The Legion's final order was given.
Putting her mask back on, Kang Do-yeon led the Legionaries into the already conquered city.
Everywhere she looked, there were bodies, bodies, and more bodies.
Of course, to the Legion, those bodies were merely nutrients of an equivalent mass. There was no need to clean them up.
This space, too, would become a Legion nest, and the elves' corpses, along with the Legionaries' own, would be digested as they were.
[Some of the Legionaries scattered to search the city have discovered a passage leading elsewhere.]
"Was this some kind of mine?"
In the midst of it all, the Legion found a passage leading from the city to another area.
Seeing it through the shared information, Kang Do-yeon identified what it was.
Mining tools were scattered about, and sparkling ores were embedded here and there in the rock walls.
This was clearly a mine.
[This was the moment the Legion understood how they, unable to freely manipulate the power of the Divine Tree like the Legion, had obtained the Divine Stones.]
'This is a significant harvest. The energy in a few highly concentrated Divine Stones is greater than that of several hundred kilograms of organic matter.'
A Legionary ripped out an ore with its bare hands. Using the Legion's sensory organs within the mine, they could find more ores that faintly radiated a presence.
At the end of this mine, Kang Do-yeon discovered other caverns that the Legion had connected to by breaking through the wall from the floor below.
This was the place that had been sealed by the spell they had found there.
'There are other things to deal with before this place.'
Having seen the end, there was nothing more to see. The Legion turned its attention elsewhere.
Knowing what was about to happen, Kang Do-yeon squeezed her eyes shut and put her mask back on.
"Kill... Kill me! Kill me!!"
Believing her pride to be her greatest strength, the sole surviving chieftain screamed her lungs out as she was dragged forth.
"You vile worms of hell... you hideous monsters of the abyss!"
Her cries echoed throughout the city. In truth, after seeing the Divine Tree explode before her eyes and her comrades torn to shreds, she was already half-mad.
She had bitten her tongue long ago. The Legion was only keeping her alive by force with the infection it had injected beforehand.
'She needs to be quieted.'
Displeased by her screams, the Legion issued a command to the infection that had now taken over her entire body.
"Haaak..!"
Black veins instantly bulged across her body as she writhed, her eyes wide.
She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
'Now you can hear my voice. Your brain, your lungs, your heart... all in my hands.'
"Ah... ahh..."
'Tell me everything you know.'
The horrific agony of having her entire nervous system, which governs sensation, directly manipulated and intensely stimulated was worse than the pain of being burned alive, said to be the most excruciating of all.
Writhing in unimaginable pain that could bring back even a maddened mind, she began to spill everything, facts and falsehoods alike, just to find relief, her pride and hatred forgotten.
"So, so... the sur-surface's hu..."
"Humans..."
'Humans?'
And in that process, the Legion learned who had dispatched the golems from the Stem Layer.
*
"Isn't it a little amazing? Just a decade ago, when I was in college, aliens were things of imagination and fiction. Of course, I never expected those aliens to be monsters popping out of Gates."
"Back then... everyone thought that way."
"But, as you know, this universe is much wider and more complex than that."
Ji Chang-hyun chuckled and murmured.
We were in a secluded corner of the first garrison where the main Federation forces had temporarily retreated after taking heavy losses in the recent battle at the Alpha base. It was a sort of... training hall he had set up.
I was there alone with him.
"There are many aliens far more incredible than those monsters. They might even be more advanced than us. But I believe in us, in humans."
"In humans? I'm sorry, but it was another human who hurt my sister."
"...That is true."
Perhaps my expression soured, as he nodded readily.
"But Mr. Kang Shin-woo. You have to admit this. That there are many good people, too. I'm not asking you to believe in the entire human race. I'm asking you to believe in those who are clearly working for a greater, universal cause."
"Like your master."
"These are all things he taught us. That we can do it."
He was immensely proud of who he was now.
He said that after becoming a Unit, he had received teachings, his eyes were opened, and he had grown stronger.
Honestly, it was hard to believe. The idea that a Player's goal might not be survival and growth.
But Ji Chang-hyun, his comrades, and his Player were already acting that way.
I couldn't figure out what 'species' they were grouped under. Could it really be based on disposition?
"It's time to show humanity's potential."
His eyes shone with a confident attitude.
At the words "humanity's potential," I subtly averted my gaze.
On a screen displayed in a corner of my vision, the victorious Legion was interrogating a prisoner and had finally learned of the humans living on the surface.
I wondered what the Legion would think of humanity.
In any case, the human race could be considered my kin. Would it take that into account?
[The Legion has found new prey. A truly massive and valuable-looking prey that could foster its own growth.]
"..."
Apparently not. Though I knew it wasn't bringing out its physical form because it knew I was watching, I had a feeling I knew what decision the Legion would make.
Well, I hadn't expected much in the first place. Even I don't think all humans, who lack a hive mind, are the same just because they share the name of a species.
...It seemed I needed another way.
Maybe give it more gifts.
Or, give it something it would like even more than a gift.
"Branch Manager. The Federation Commander is now..."
"Oh, I'll have to go for a moment."
Just then, Ji Chang-hyun announced he had to step out, leaving me and heading outside.
It was a strange sight. Of course, he was an S-rank Hunter, a member of society's upper echelon, so it wasn't that odd for him to meet with high-ranking officials.
But right now, he was acting not as an S-rank Hunter but as the representative of an organization.
A global organization founded to help the powerless who were sacrificed in the conflict between the App, Players, and Units.
And to make them stronger.
Indeed, Ji Chang-hyun's still-unidentified Player had ordered his Units to impart his teachings and to spread those teachings to talented ordinary people as well.
It was an unbelievable reality, but the organization was running smoothly. No, it was being revered, its members called heroes.
The fact that my first instinct was to suspect whether these acts were of pure goodwill or a sophisticated political maneuver was proof of how jaded I'd become these past few months.
"He was certain I already knew about the App because of my relationship with Cha Ji-yeon. But even though he's not fond of the App, he hasn't revealed its existence to the public?"
[It's rational. If the App's existence were revealed, you all would be the ones inconvenienced. Regardless of what he thinks of this game, there's no reason to disclose it. Even if he did, what would he gain? Their anger? A scapegoat?]
"True."
Having nothing particular to say, I fell silent.
Besides, worrying about others was of little use to me right now. For now, the priority was to get stronger by receiving the techniques Ji Chang-hyun had offered to teach me.