Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Chapter 39 - Night #2
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Night was coming.
At first, he hadn't understood.
But the moment he saw it with his own eyes, Luther felt like he knew why the centaurs had said such a thing.
“Kyaaak!”
“Run! Run away!”
Beyond the wild elves' piercing screams, the night sky was pouring down.
Jet-black, otherworldly beings.
There were so many of them that it felt like the night sky itself was cascading, covering the ground in an instant as they let out horrific shrieks.
[Master! Something's wrong! No life signs detected!]
It wasn't a malfunction in Integra or Schwarz's sensors.
The jet-black monsters pouring from the sky had no life force at all.
Like ghosts.
“Yuno! Hurry!”
It was right then, as Elio shouted once more. Luther reflexively reached out, grabbed his hand, and yanked him down.
-Swoosh-!
Something jet-black pierced the spot where Elio's head had been just moments ago.
Elio tumbled forward, barely dodging the attack, and spun around in abject terror. Luther stared wide-eyed at the jet-black entity that passed straight through the tent without tearing or destroying it.
[Master! They're keeping coming!]
Giving up on detecting them via life signs, Integra launched small drones outside the tent and simultaneously raised Schwarz to its feet.
Luther, clad in his nanosuit, shouted at the still-dazed Elio to run, then mounted Schwarz.
“Kyaaa!”
“Night is coming! The night!”
“Aaaah!”
“Run!”
“Attacks aren't working!”
The entire village was chaos, overrun by jet-black monsters and fleeing wild elves.
But it was eerie at the same time.
Despite the monsters rampaging wildly, all the village tents remained intact.
[Master! Are these things not in the original story?!]
Luther ransacked his memories again at Integra's question, but nothing came up.
These otherworldly monsters definitely didn't appear in Dragon Hunter Origin, nor in Dragon Hunter 3.
“Giaaa!”
The jet-black monsters charged at Luther, shrieking.
Some ran on two legs, others on four, but they all shared one trait: they were utterly ferocious.
[Gatling beam cannon, firing!]
As Luther kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, Integra unleashed the gatling beam cannon on the otherworldly monsters.
Hundreds of energy beams engulfed them in an instant, but nothing happened.
No, to be more precise, the only damage was to the tents and ground beyond the monsters.
[Master! Attacks are passing right through!]
Physical attacks didn't work.
He'd half-expected it since they passed through the tent, but experiencing it firsthand was utterly bewildering.
[Master! Should I fire magic missiles?!]
Maybe magic would work?
But right then—
“Aaak!”
A wild elf whose chest was pierced by a jet-black monster's hand collapsed with a scream.
But no blood flowed.
There wasn't even a wound; outwardly, he looked perfectly fine.
But Integra could tell.
The moment the jet-black monster struck, the wild elf's life signs had weakened drastically.
As if his life force had been drained.
“Integra! Missiles!”
[Magic missile! Firing!]
Whether it worked or not, they'd find out by trying.
Twelve magic missiles launched from Schwarz's auxiliary parts toward the cluster of jet-black monsters at the village entrance, detonating in a barrage.
-Kwa-gagagaga!
It wasn't a mere explosion, but a magical one that swallowed the jet-black monsters.
But when the flames cleared, Luther and Integra could only grit their teeth.
The monsters had flinched or recoiled, but they showed hardly any real damage.
[Master, with our current armament, we don't seem to have a way to fight them.]
[We should retreat for now—]
“Ararararai!”
Right then, another chorus of shrieks echoed.
Luther whipped his head around to see dozens of centaurs charging toward the village like a stampede.
Were they reinforcements come to save the wild elves?
No.
Hardly any life signs emanated from the centaurs.
Ears and mouths spewing jet-black smoke, they didn't fight the monsters—instead, they merged with them and began attacking the village.
[Master! The centaurs have physical form.]
[Did the jet-black monsters possess their bodies?]
That seemed likely.
And proof was manifesting right before their eyes.
“Grraaa….”
Some of the elves who'd been struck down by the jet-black monsters were slowly rising.
Spewing jet-black smoke from their ears and mouths, they shrieked like the centaurs and lunged at the other elves.
Luther held his breath.
Jet-black monsters immune to physical attacks.
Those struck by them turned zombie-like and attacked others.
So what could they do?
“Integra! Clear an escape route for the elves! We need to draw their attention!”
Protect the wild elves who'd fled the village.
Hold the jet-black monsters' gaze, even if just for a moment, to let them escape.
“Wall of fire!”
Some of the fleeing wild elves set the grasslands ablaze with magic.
The towering wall of flames couldn't fully block the jet-black monsters, but it at least halted the advance of the possessed centaurs and wild elves.
“Integra! Ice missiles, bombard them!”
Do everything they could.
Transforming Schwarz into Sky Beetle mode, Luther fired magic missiles at the jet-black otherworldly monsters.
The massive chill from the explosions froze the surrounding area, but it failed to snare the monsters this time too.
[Still, their movements slowed by over 30%!]
[Unlike physical attacks, magic seems to have some effect— Master!]
“Giaa!”
A flying jet-black monster lunged at Luther.
But he didn't panic, maneuvering Schwarz to evade the charge.
As Integra had marveled multiple times, Luther's piloting skills were unmatched.
‘Night is coming.’
Piloting the Sky Beetle, Luther gazed toward the point where the night had begun pouring.
Beyond the jet-black sky, it shimmered like a heat haze.
What was happening?
Who were they, and where had they come from?
Had the southern centaurs already fallen to the ‘night’?
And what about the Illusion Mirror?
Was there any connection between this series of events and the Hecatoncheires?
Before he could sort through the whirlwind of thoughts, Luther banked the controls sharply, slicing through the air like he was skidding.
The jet-black monsters pursuing him failed to keep up, colliding with each other midair and plummeting to the ground.
Normal physical attacks didn't work on them, but they could damage each other, it seemed.
[The laws of inertia apply!]
[Or maybe it's an issue with their consciousness?]
Either way, it worked.
Luther lured them tantalizingly close, then induced collisions with aggressive maneuvers.
“Gak!”
“Giaak!”
The tangled jet-black monsters tumbled across the ground.
Luther pulled away, climbing high and scanning the distance.
He spotted possessed elves heading toward the direction the wild elves had fled.
Wild elves were particularly adept at close combat among elves.
High elves, teeming with grand magi, might have repelled the jet-black monsters with a storm of powerful spells, but wild elves had few mages, and those they had were low-level.
[Magic missile, firing!]
Integra blocked the possessed elves' path with a missile barrage.
Luther dodged the rising jet-black monsters, piloting the Sky Beetle while checking the wild elves' escape direction.
The already-possessed elves were beyond saving, but a good number seemed to have escaped.
Spotting Elio in the rear, buying time with wind magic, Luther turned his gaze back to the village.
And that very moment—
[Master! Life signs detected!]
Not a wild elf—someone else.
Luther turned to see a single centaur running along the outskirts of the wild elves' village.
No jet-black smoke from his ears or mouth, normal complexion.
Above all, he wore the white-and-black uniform of the Holy Knight Order.
“This way!”
The centaur, locking eyes with Luther, shouted loudly and waved.
As the jet-black monsters turned toward the noise, he hurriedly drew a holy relic of the Holy Knight Order from his bosom.
“Foul abominations! Begone!”
Raising the relic high with a roar, a brilliant light erupted, causing the exposed jet-black monsters to halt their charge and cower, if only for a moment.
[Master! Let's link up!]
[We might find a way to counter the jet-black monsters!]
Luther agreed.
Moreover, with most wild elves having fled, there was no need to drag this out.
“Hurry!”
Responding to the centaur's urging, Luther floored the accelerator in one go, boosting Schwarz's speed to shake the monsters.
“Black hair, purple eyes! Heavenly gear! Are you the Archangel of Go?!”
As he approached the centaur, the man asked urgently.
Luther nearly shouted no, but this wasn't the time for clarifications like internal rumors or intel accuracy.
Nodding immediately instead, the centaur veered toward the village exit and said,
“We need to escape first! The only way to fully repel these night monsters is the sun!”
The relic's light wasn't true sunlight; it only bought time.
Transforming Sky Beetle back to Land Beetle, Luther ran alongside the centaur, while Integra recalled the small drones she'd deployed everywhere and shouted,
[No life signs, so relying on visual sensors.]
[Scouting surroundings— flank!]
As if responding to Integra's scream-like warning, jet-black monsters burst through the outskirts tents.
Luther accelerated to shake them off while signaling Integra with his left hand.
[Got it!]
Integra sent half the recovered drones toward the jet-black monsters—or rather, toward their source, the night sky.
“Share visuals!”
Just fleeing wasn't enough.
They needed more intel on them.
What were these jet-black monsters? What was their goal? Their connection to the southern centaurs with the Illusion Mirror?
Half of Luther's vision filled with the jet-black night sky.
The drones' cameras, passing through the monsters' bodies, captured what lay beyond the shimmering haze.
A black-haired man holding a mirror.
A dragonkin.
Jet-black monsters pouring from the mirror he held.
The dragonkin eyed the drones with red eyes.
The moment their gazes met through the camera, Luther knew.
He's looking this way.
He's aware of me.
-Kwa-bam!
An explosion, and half his vision went black as the drones detonated.
Luther cut the visual share and glanced at the centaur running beside him.
“That way!”
Locking eyes with Luther, the centaur pointed in a direction.
Toward the rising sun—east.