Chapter 78
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: A Test of Will
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‘Is there a problem?’
"Yes. There is."
Kang Do-yeon, her mask off, nodded with a grim expression.
This was the Legion's nest, established in a destroyed village.
A sort of forward base, it had foregone the functions of absorption and analysis to focus solely on digestion and decomposition.
These bases were vital, breaking down any organic matter fed into them and converting it into nutrients to supply the Legion's soldiers.
"Why did you order me to stop? You told me to go out and fight!"
‘I did. But the situation has changed.’
"The situation?"
Protesting, Kang Do-yeon flinched in confusion.
‘He didn't seem to want you to fight.’
The Legion released its control over the information, telling her what had just transpired.
Kang Do-yeon's shocked expression shifted rapidly.
"Eve."
‘You understand what that means.’
She mumbled blankly, her brow furrowed from a throbbing headache.
It wasn't the Legion that had removed her from battle, but Shin-woo. The Legion had simply received his will and granted his request.
In fact, the Legion was rather displeased about pulling her from the front lines.
‘Honestly, I can't understand it. If the concern is that you'll get hurt because you're weak, the correct course of action isn't to hide and flee, but to fight and grow stronger. Running away only means you'll be running forever. But if that's what he wants... I must obey.’
"Then what about my position? There's no unit stronger than me."
"I can just make one."
"...!"
Kang Do-yeon's head snapped up. The voice had come from the trunk of the Divine Tree used to create this nest.
The Divine Tree began to twist. It poured all the energy stockpiled in the nest into accelerating cell division, forcing rapid growth.
This method of production was, in truth, incredibly inefficient, like pouring water into a bottomless jar, but with an overabundance of food, it was an acceptable cost.
Soon, a human figure began to emerge from the trunk. A female form, long black hair, power cores embedded in her body.
"From now on, I will fight myself. Operating a command unit puts a bit more strain on the Hive Mind, but it can't be helped."
Having created a body for herself in an instant, Eve shattered the withered Divine Tree and landed on the ground, murmuring coldly as she looked at Kang Do-yeon.
"Ah..."
It was true that she feared battle and found it unsettling. It was also true that she felt a revulsion toward the act of killing humans who looked just like her, regardless of whether they were from another world.
But being excluded like this, Kang Do-yeon felt a pang in her chest for some reason.
"Strange. Why do you harbor such feelings?"
"...I don't want to be left out."
Eve, the Legion itself, instantly recognized the emotions of Kang Do-yeon, who was practically a part of her.
Knowing this, Do-yeon didn't hide her true feelings.
"You are afraid now, and you have hesitation. But separate from that, you also have fighting spirit and desire."
"That's right."
"Contradictory. As expected, the emotional landscape of a pure-blooded human is inefficient and worthless. So complex and shameless, they frequently trip over their own feet."
Eve pushed her masked face right up to Do-yeon's.
But Kang Do-yeon did not avoid her gaze.
"You're right. But I want to be of help to Oppa. I've felt that way for ten years. I'm tired of being helpless. I'll become strong and protect what's precious to me... even if it means killing someone."
"..."
Her wavering heart stopped its turmoil at that moment. Just like when she wore the mask. But Kang Do-yeon was not wearing a mask now.
Eve slowly turned her head. At the same time, she began to calculate.
[Weighing his request against the subject's own will. Which will you prioritize?]
"The answer is already clear."
Eve finished her calculations in an instant. From the Legion's perspective, letting its only sub-mind sit idle in the rear was never an appealing option.
"Prove your will. Use that will, the only somewhat useful power humans possess."
"Prove it?"
"You said you would fight to protect. Then move to that location immediately. The enemy dares to attack our base. Legion Commander, sortie now, kill them all, and protect our nest."
Eve projected the situation hundreds of kilometers away into Kang Do-yeon's mind.
There was another base nest there. And a military force was currently heading toward it.
"B-but that's too far! There isn't enough time!"
"I told you. Prove your will. Before you are his sister, you are mine. And whether you become strong is for me to decide."
"Ugh!"
Eve moved her body and lunged at Kang Do-yeon.
She literally embraced her. It was not an act of affection in the slightest.
"Ah... Aaaargh!"
Her eyes wide, she screamed madly, unable to bear the pain.
As Eve's body, composed of omni-cells, disintegrated, it clung viscously to Kang Do-yeon's body and began to flow inside her.
The pain born from the process of reconstructing her entire body was akin to the torture of the Ruin Fungus manipulating a victim's nervous system.
‘Endure and you will gain power. Fail to endure, and you will be culled.’
Eve whispered into her mind as she writhed in agony.
Soulmancy was the fundamental medium through which the Legion currently manifested Form Power using its power cores, and Soulmancy operated based on one's will and the strength of their soul.
No matter how many power cores were attached, they were inefficient if the user's will was weak.
For the superorganism Eve, who had grown to such a massive scale, it was no problem, but the same could not be said for Kang Do-yeon.
In any case, to become stronger, she had to prove herself worthy.
‘You overcame it, but I still spoon-fed you power others could never obtain.’
The seemingly eternal moment of pain ended. Left alone, Kang Do-yeon pushed her modified body upright.
Outwardly, almost nothing had changed.
But the number of omni-cells dormant within her had nearly doubled. This meant the power core that replaced her heart had also doubled in size, doubling its output.
"Haaah..."
As she exhaled a hot breath, her head bowed, a pair of enormous wings covered in black feathers burst from her back at high speed.
A dark red ore glinted at the joints of the wings.
‘The proof isn't complete yet. Go and stop the enemy.’
She shot into the sky in an instant. It wasn't just the wings. She expelled propulsion at tremendous speed through vents built into the armor on her lower back.
"Time to choose."
Clenching her teeth, she muttered to herself.
You can't have everything while living in this world. So you always had to choose one thing.
"W-what is that!"
"In the sky... Aaargh!"
Arriving on the scene in an instant, she landed without slowing down.
The shockwave sent a cloud of dust into the air, and those who had been approaching the nest were sent tumbling to the ground. There were no Legion soldiers anywhere near the nest.
Eve had pulled them all back. This place was a testing ground, solely for Kang Do-yeon.
‘These are my enemies, the enemies of the Legion.’
A red glint flashed in her blackened eyes as she raised her unmasked face to look at the panicked and terrified men.
"A woman...?"
"It's a monster! Kill it!"
Panicked, they reflexively raised their weapons and charged.
She, too, made her choice. A monster—she couldn't agree more with that word.
‘I am a monster.’
She swung her wings, which had momentarily thinned into blades.
The moment the wings, wreathed in a dark red aura, swung like blades, fountains of blood erupted from all directions.
"Uwaaah!"
She snatched the neck of a soldier who had luckily survived the blow and was charging at her with a sword, her armor-clad hand now tipped with sharp claws.
And then she squeezed.
"Guhk."
With a sickening crunch, the corpse with the broken neck went limp.
For a moment, she saw an overlap between the dead soldier's face and the red, cross-shaped eyes of the man in the blue suit who had tried to kill her, who had ended up cutting off and crushing her limbs.
The pain and shock of that time were still vivid.
"Uh, uwaah..."
"Run!"
Overwhelmed by the sight, the remaining men turned and began to flee.
‘Concealing information is fundamental.’
Eve had, of course, ordered her to kill everyone who had found the nest.
Kang Do-yeon clenched her jaw and kicked off the ground, leaping forward.
With every move she made, people fell, spraying blood. The mask, reading her emotions, flickered in and out of existence.
‘Sufficient. At the very least, I can have her fight without issue when on the defensive.’
But when she plunged her hand through the back of the last fleeing enemy.
Eve smiled with satisfaction.
"On the defensive... you say?"
‘It seems the enemy is finally starting to rally in earnest.’
The Legion showed the panting Kang Do-yeon the data gathered by the scouts spread out in all directions.
A full day had now passed since the Legion's existence was revealed.
The humans, who had been unable to respond effectively and had at best managed regional rescue efforts, had gathered rather quickly to form an army.
‘Buy time. Buy as much time as possible. All of our resources are being poured into erosion, digestion, and nest expansion, so for now, we must hold them off with only the forces we've already produced.’
The Legion decided to accept their challenge.