Floor 21 — Colony Planet (2)

A high-pitched alarm was blaring through every corner of the castle, and woven between its shrill tones came the sound of hurried footsteps rushing about.

Every soldier inside the fortress was probably converging on this position right now.

It didn't matter. Everyone inside the slave factory was already dead.

From the sounds of things, I still had some time before they reached this place.

Once I had gathered the tortured demi-humans into one spot, they numbered roughly two hundred.

One of them lowered their head toward me.

"O Liberator... thank you."

Liberator, was it...

I had heard that word before, from the orcs on Floor 2. Hearing it again here stirred something strange in me.

There seemed to be something behind that word... Liberator.

Was that what they called people like me — those who had refused the status window?

"No need. First, we have to get out of here..."

I turned my gaze toward the black tentacles.

I had saved all the demi-humans who'd been tortured, but the problem was the ones still bound to those unidentified tendrils. Cutting them with my axe was out of the question — there were simply too many, and I was pressed for time. Throwing lightning was no better, since the tentacles were connected to the captives and might injure them.

As if understanding my hesitation, an elderly seraph crawled forward and bowed its head.

"Those who have been pierced even once by the brainwashing tentacles become witless husks beyond all saving. Please, at least send them gently on their way."

Damn it. The old man's words drew a faint sigh out of me.

If I had arrived just a little sooner, maybe I could have saved even one more of them.

The old seraph must have seen the look on my face, because it spoke up carefully.

"Had you not come, O Liberator, we would all have shared their fate. Do not torment yourself over it."

Instead of answering, I gave a small nod. There was no more time to waste.

Outside, the alarm bells were ringing at faster and faster intervals, and the frantic footsteps were practically upon us.

Deal with the tentacles first.

I raised my mana and brought lightning down on the three massive clumps of tentacles at the center of the chamber.

Crackle— Without so much as a shriek, the writhing masses convulsed and thrashed in agony. Then, trailing the acrid smell of scorched flesh, they withered away like burnt-out wicks.

Along with them, more than three hundred bound demi-humans lost their lives.

As a thick stench of death filled the slave factory, I guided the gathered survivors toward a corner of the room.

"Everyone, hide here for now. I'll throw up a veil concealing you — they won't be able to see you."

"Are you certain you have the strength to protect us, O Liberator?"

They were probably worried about the state of my mana.

I gave a light nod.

There was nothing to worry about. Once the fighting started, the mana-accumulating gauntlet would fill me back up anyway.

"I'm fine. Please, stay hidden and stay safe."

"Thank you..."

After wrapping the demi-humans in Shadow Veil, I hurried out of the slave factory.

Every bit of attention was focused on me right now — which meant the sooner I left, the safer they would be.

The moment I emerged, I saw the demi-human soldiers encircling the factory.

"Wait — where is Lord Oshuk—"

One of the orc soldiers I'd seen earlier asked after the goblin commander's welfare.

"The goblin is already dead. Just like the future waiting for the rest of you."

There was no time for conversation. With those words, I kicked off the ground and bolted.

I hadn't planned on fighting these bastards to the bitter end here. I needed to reach the armory at the center of the fortress.

What I'd been mulling over earlier — the great furnace in the armory.

I had to blow it up. That would drag all their eyes over there too.

In the chaos, I could spirit the demi-humans out. It seemed like a workable plan.

"Kill the intruder!"

"Avenge Lord Oshuk!"

Demi-humans clutching every manner of weapon came charging at me. When facing overwhelming numbers, the most important thing was space to move.

But I no longer needed it.

Setting aside the gap between us, I had the Shadow Monarch.

An enemy they couldn't see.

I could invoke their most primal terror — and without even using Flash Step, I activated the Shadow Monarch.

The instant I vanished from their sight, the demi-human soldiers began to panic.

Left.

The moment I cast the veil, I flexed my knees and cut hard to the left.

The soldiers belatedly tried to chase after my vanishing form, weapons hurtling wildly along the path I'd been taking.

Slipping through that storm, I swung left and drove my axe into the chest of a seraph who looked to be a centurion.

"Kraagh!"

An attack from nowhere.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

To their eyes, it would look like a seraph standing perfectly still had simply had its chest torn open and collapsed in a spray of blood.

Like an invisible man, I didn't need to worry about blood staining my body either.

Shadow could conceal anything. Beneath that ash-gray sky, even the blood sprayed onto me was invisible to my enemies.

There was no room to breathe. The target was the armory.

If I head straight for it, they'll catch on, so...

I had to move on a bent line, as if I were heading for the main gate.

Even if they couldn't pinpoint my location, they could roughly infer it from where their comrades were falling.

And the breakthrough itself was easy.

Beneath the densely packed soldiers, the ground was black with shadows, as numerous as they were.

Dozens — hundreds — of shadow spears surged up from the earth, and the front ranks collapsed in a wide swath.

Three of them skewered on a single spear, and on the other side, my axe came swinging down.

Hot blood ran along my jawline and seeped between the plates of my armor. The climbing suit underneath was quickly soaked through.

The reek of demi-human blood stung my nose.

Taking a short breath through the sickening stench, I swung the axe in a wide horizontal arc. The roughly hewn blade slammed into the back of an orc's neck.

The orc's head, still clad in its full plate helm, went spinning off its shoulders.

"Aaaargh!"

"Where is he?! WHERE?!"

"Friendly! Don't stab me!"

In the midst of that maelstrom, goblins driven mad by an unseen terror shrieked at the top of their lungs, while panicking seraphs swung their weapons at their own comrades.

And through it all, I ran toward the armory.

With the alarms already screaming, I didn't hesitate to kick the factory door clean off its frame.

The hinges gave way, the steel door crumpled, and it went flying.

Clang— The ringing of metal against the floor cut sharply through the chaos.

My eyes locked onto the great furnace at the center of the hall. All I had to do now was throw lightning at it—

Huh?

That was when I sensed something strange.

A wave of mana rippled down from the ash-gray sky, sluggish and delayed.

A mana pulse, out of nowhere... what was that?

Something was happening, but I had no way of knowing what. The moment the mana pulse swept over my body, I realized my Shadow Monarch skill had been dispelled.

The Shadow Veil peeled away, and every pair of eyes that had been tracking the collapsing corpses turned toward me.

Eyes brimming with rage and hatred.

But instead of attacking me, the demi-human soldiers looked up at the sky.

"Th-the, the Administrator!"

"We're done for..."

Even as the demi-humans wailed, a portal bloomed open in the heavens.

Unlike the bright portals I'd seen in the Tower, this one glowed a deep, smoky gray.

And in that instant, an overwhelming presence pressed through from beyond it.

Not someone I can take lightly.

Every muscle in my body had already gone taut at the sudden phenomenon. I tightened my grip on the axe with both hands.

And I realized, instinctively, that I couldn't stay where I was.

It was pure gut feeling.

Something was about to burst through that portal — and if I stood still, I would take the hit.

At the same moment, I kicked off the ground and leapt into the air.

Drawing the axe back behind my shoulder, I stepped on empty air with Kashatum's boots.

Then I kicked off the void once more and shot upward.

A double leap.

In that instant, a black silhouette shot out of the portal like a beam of light. Even using Flash Step, it would have been hard to match that speed.

I swung the axe I'd been drawing back with everything I had.

...Damn it.

I knew before our weapons even met.

I had prepared first and struck first, but the enemy was simply too fast. I wrenched the axe's trajectory sideways at the last instant.

From attack to defense. The change in path followed pure instinct alone.

I twisted my wrist to reposition the blade and barely managed to haul back my arm, already extended with full force. My right arm felt like it was overloading.

Kra-kaang!

Then his blade slammed into my axe — and into me.

I barely deflected the sword before tumbling headlong toward the ground.

"Kki-ik! Suhyeooook!"

Dobby's cry stretched out like a broken record, warbling across the distance.

And in the blink of an eye, the dirt ground was rushing up before me.

I hurriedly wrapped my arms around my head. A moment later, impact shuddered through my entire body. Everything was a blur.

How is he faster than me?

Even using Flash Step, belatedly though it was, I hadn't been able to keep up with him.

I rolled across the earth and wracked my brain, but nothing came of it.

Pain surged up from every part of me.

...Shit.

Forcing the pain down, I pushed myself to my feet — and light settled over my body.

Dobby's healing spell.

I turned my gaze back to the Administrator.

The Administrator was a lizardman. But unlike any I had ever seen.

Black from head to toe. A horn jutting from his bald skull, reptilian eyes, grotesquely gaunt limbs and tail — and a blade the color of dusk.

I ignored the notification window that floated up. This was no time to be reading system messages.

The Administrator looked down at me with curious eyes.

"I wondered what lunatic was attacking my factory, and it's you. A Challenger, are you?"

Challenger? What was that supposed to be?

Judging by the way he was talking, it seemed to refer to me somehow...

"Hmm, no, you're not a Challenger. How long has it been since the law was amended? No way you're a Challenger."

Despite my silence, the Administrator rattled on to himself. It seemed to be a kind of habit.

"What are you?"

He stared at me, his face full of questions — then, as if realizing something, he shook his head.

"Never mind. You're going to die anyway. What does it matter?"

The way his reptilian eyes stretched into a smile was deeply unnerving. Instinct told me battle was imminent.

And that this time, I would need my buffs.

"Dobby, buffs."

"Kkiik! Got it!"

As Dobby chanted his spell, my body grew lighter.

These were the buffs I'd been declining all this time for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sake of growth — Strength Enhancement and Agility Enhancement.

For a moment, a brilliant glow settled over me.

The dull ache left over from my fall vanished, and fresh strength flooded back into my weary body.

Seeing this, the dragonman — who hadn't even reacted to my earlier provocation — curled his lips into a slimy grin.

"Heh heh. You think a few body-enhancement spells are going to change anything?"

Instead of answering, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠used Flash Step.

While hurriedly pulling the buff potions out of Moongchi and downing them, I thought fast.

Well — he looked stronger than me, but my instincts were telling me this was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fight worth taking.

If his speed was the same as before, it would be rough... but somehow, I didn't think it would be.

I kicked off and charged.

My body felt lighter than usual. Probably thanks to the buff potions and the Agility Enhancement and Combat Awakening Dobby had cast on me.

The moment I moved, the Administrator kicked off too. In an instant, he vanished from my sight.

...Where is he?

Right!

The Administrator was streaking in from my right like a bolt of light.

But it wasn't the Flash Step-defying speed from before.

That earlier speed must have come from the portal itself rather than the Administrator's own power.

A portal-assisted strike, maybe. Something like that.

Still, I couldn't let my guard down. He was roughly on par with Flash Step now.

Even with my concentration cranked to its absolute limit, the Administrator's movements felt blisteringly fast.

I shifted the axe to my left side and choked up on the grip.

It shortens my reach, but...

This wasn't a fight where reach mattered. It stung my pride, but this opponent was stronger than me.

Whatever situation arose, I needed to be able to react instantly.

And to move unpredictably against him, gripping the axe short was the best choice.

"Chi—jwit!"

A hiss. The Administrator's breath slithered out like a serpent's cry, sharp and clear.

In the same instant, I cut the axe diagonally upward, from lower left to upper right.

Kraang—! He simply brought his sword up to meet the axe's arc and deflected it with insulting ease.

I tensed my left arm, barely suppressing the axe as the rebound flung it outward.

With a snap of my wrist, I spun the axe in a short full circle to the right and brought it crashing down — but the dragonman swung his sword and parried that too.

And at the same moment, a razor-sharp tail whipped out from between his legs, hurtling straight for my abdomen.