Chapter 76
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Invasion and Encroachment (5)
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[I know you are angry.]
"Is that so? Good. That makes things easier."
I stood up and began pacing inside the barracks.
First, I had to compose myself. The Legion was not a being to be dealt with through the simple emotions of a single human.
I had to convey why I was angry and what I was asking for, clearly and precisely, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
[The Legion is also very confused right now. Why are you angry?]
"...I just couldn't stand it for a moment."
I let out a deep sigh. A wave of self-loathing washed over me.
Was I in any position to be angry? Not at all. For the sake of the Legion's growth, and through that growth, 'our' safety, I had, like the spineless commoner I was, deliberately overlooked and accepted the Legion's acts of slaughter.
The only time I thought to stop it was when its gluttony and twisted obsession extended to me and those around me.
But all this understanding and acceptance was based on the premise that the Legion was acting for its own growth and sustenance.
"Killing for sustenance, for growth—I let that slide. But abducting women and disassembling them alive just to collect data to create a face I might like... I just couldn't tolerate that."
[Why not?]
"It means you killed people not for yourself, but for me, because of me!"
The absurdity of my own words made me let out a hollow laugh. I was definitely the foolish one here. In the end, whether they were analyzed or used as nutrients, their fate was the same: death.
Yet, selfishly, I found the fact that people were being captured and killed because of me unbearable.
Being this weak, I could see why the Observer had bypassed me until the Legion's ego had a chance to grow.
"I need to record a video. To convey my true feelings, I have to clear up this misunderstanding first."
I fiddled with the spare phone. I had been planning to record something anyway, and now a situation had arisen that required it immediately.
Rather than just having my words relayed, sending a video would be far more effective in conveying my feelings.
"And I'll use this chance to try something. One small thing at a time. To see just how the Legion will listen to me."
I set up the phone and took a deep breath.
I wasn't scolding its actions, nor was I forcing a certain path. This was just about communication. My only hope was that, based on its behavior so far, the Legion seemed to like me quite a lot.
"Uh... I'll just assume you can understand me. This is for you... the one I'm speaking to. To my Unit, to the Legion, who must be surprised right now."
And this video would be my first direct communication with the Legion.
*
"Why is it so slow!"
In the Nest, the Legion was uncharacteristically anxious.
Even knowing its emotions affected the entire collective, it was difficult to control them.
In this universe, there was only one being who could have such an effect on this vast entity that was both one and many.
And now, the Legion was waiting for the video message sent by that one and only being to arrive at the lowest level of the Labyrinth.
[Wait patiently.]
"Tell me beforehand! You said he turned off the screen right away. Is he, is he mad at me? Just tell me that!"
The being that had slaughtered countless people without a hint of hesitation was now stomping its feet and shouting at the empty air like a child throwing a tantrum.
[It would be meaningless if I told you. See for yourself.]
Just then, the phone he had bestowed upon them arrived at the underground nest.
Unable to wait any longer, the Legion took drastic measures.
Leaving its body on the surface as it was, it accelerated the growth of a portion of the nest's cells on the lowest floor where the phone was, creating an eye and an ear.
It was a grotesque form—a slimy tentacle with an eyeball and an ear attached—but there was no time to worry about appearances.
Using the tentacle, it tapped the phone's screen and hastily played the video.
"It's not your fault."
Those were the first words he spoke after making it clear he was talking to the Legion.
"It was... a natural human instinct. You see, people don't like it when others die because of them. Especially me. I have a lot of bad memories."
He explained why he had been angry. The Legion found itself agreeing with his words.
After all, it had already conducted a fair amount of analysis on 'humans.'
Just as the Legion had its own nature, humans had theirs.
"I'm not telling you not to kill humans. Just don't do it for the sake of creating an appearance. Like I said before, I think the form you create for yourself will be the best."
"The form I create for myself."
He already knew the Legion was trying to create a body from Kang Do-yeon's testimony, so the Legion, feeling no suspicion, nodded its tentacle up and down.
There was none of the rebelliousness he had worried about, no sign that it might ignore his command.
"You are always the most important. I respect your opinions, and I acknowledge your instincts."
'I am important. He acknowledges me.'
He wanted to secure a minimum level of influence as a precaution, without obstructing the Legion's hegemonic path.
And so far, at least, his influence was greater than the Legion's own nature. For the Legion, that single phrase, "you are the most important," was more than enough, worth more than a hundred other words.
It was a statement that completely swept away the anxieties it might have harbored during the time they couldn't communicate directly.
"I want to give you a gift."
'A gift.'
"A name to call you by."
A name. At that one word, the Legion's entire being flinched.
It wasn't that the Legion lacked the concept of a name.
It already knew what a name was and what it signified.
It had simply paid no attention until now because there was no being worthy of naming it. Even if someone were to call it by a specific designation, it had no intention of acknowledging it.
If such a being existed, it could only be the one person who had been deeply involved with it from the very beginning.
"To the ego of the Legion that has emerged. Your name... I'll call you Eve from now on. I hope we get a chance to talk to each other soon."
He spoke the name he had agonized over for several days.
Of all the meaningful, grand, and beautiful names a former ordinary college student could think of, he ultimately chose a somewhat common and simple name, one fit for a person.
[Are you pleased?]
'Of course.'
The Legion's mood changed in an instant. At this moment, it felt better than ever before. It was a gift more precious than any other.
[Then focus on the battlefield. The humans' counterattack is beginning.]
The video ended there. Simultaneously, the Legion turned its attention elsewhere.
After a series of unstoppable assaults, the locals, who had been on the receiving end until now, had gathered an army and begun a full-scale resistance.
"Kill them! Kill the ancient fiends that have crawled up from hell, the Ruin Demons!"
In a region quite far from here, a troop of knights in gleaming armor charged on horseback, attacking the legionnaires that had invaded a village.
[Not even a few minutes after receiving a name, you've gained a new one. Ruin Demon is their term for the Ruin Fungus.]
"The Ruin Fungus they drove from the surface in the past has become a part of us, so it doesn't matter. Is this, then, a chance for revenge?"
The Legion, Eve, no longer cared what they called it.
Its name was now fixed as one. In fact, it had no intention of letting them speak its sacred name.
'Kill them all.'
The Legion's emotions, which had been in a dreamlike state from its communication with him, turned cold once more.
When waging war, it became a killing machine, emitting only hot fury and madness. This, in fact, was closer to the Legion's true form.
Medium-sized legionnaires, based on four-legged beasts, kicked off the ground and charged toward the advancing knights.
Simultaneously, the knights raised their magic spears and aimed them forward.
"Activate the formation."
The two sides, filled with killing intent, rushed toward each other, mere seconds from impact. Anyone would be terrified by the sight of the black-armored monsters, their bodies comparable in size to the warhorses charging at them, their eyes glinting.
Just then, the man in the center of the formation raised his arm. In his hand was not a magic spear, but a short wand with a jewel at its tip.
"Link circuit. Maximize output."
The wand in his raised hand glowed, drawing a single spell.
The spell activated, tracing lines of blue light.
The anchor points of this spell circuit were none other than the knights charging alongside him. As the lines connected them, their bodies began to burn with a blue light, sharing each other's mana.
"Uwaaaah!"
Thanks to the spell that enhanced not only the knights but their warhorses as well, the sharp-tipped formation solidified, becoming a single blue spear.
A powerful, colossal spear that would smash and cast aside anything in its path collided head-on with the large monsters that had been charging without hesitation, accompanied by a full-throated roar.
"Kuh..."
"Hold on!"
The resulting shockwave shook the very earth, as if a bomb had exploded.
What emerged from the collision, piercing through the impact and the thick cloud of dust, were the knights, still maintaining their formation.
They had literally ground up enemies that were heavier, larger, and tougher than themselves.
'A new combat method using magic. The Stas School, which researches organic formations that enhance and move by using escorts as nodes.'
The Legion's assessment, as it watched the scene, was simple.
'This is the first time I've seen it in use. I want it.'
And with the command that followed, figures that had been hiding in the nearby forest began to move.