You Shall Not Pass (2)
A barrier materialized in the wake of the sudden bombardment. Atop that wall stood an unidentified figure clad in matte black and gray.
『What the hell is that bastard?』 『What, is he seriously trying to stop us alone?』 『Kekeke, that crazy fucker! He’s completely lost it!』
Voluntary Fallen. Fallen who couldn’t handle their own talents. Fallen twisted directly or indirectly by demonic energy. Mocking laughter erupted from the swarm of such Fallen gathered into a black wave.
Small wonder. There were at least tens of thousands of Fallen gathered here alone, and their numbers kept swelling. Beyond the Yalu River, on the Death Continent, thousands upon millions of Fallen were marching toward the Korean Peninsula under the Named demons’ orders.
Of course, the demonic bridge connecting the Death Continent and the peninsula was limited, so they couldn’t all advance at once. Still, did they really think a single person could stop them? And one whose energy barely registered at mid-upper rank?
『Hey, you arrogant little shit! Just stay right there! We’ll come rip your head off…!』 『Insolent fool! You think a mere mid-upper rank can halt our advance?』 『More arrogant than the arrogant ones!』
The Fallen advancing on the forward base found the figure on the barrier so presumptuous it made their blood boil. The vanguard began sprinting to tear the intruder apart.
When they were roughly a hundred meters from the barrier—
『…H-Huh, my strength…』 『M-My body’s losing power…』
The mid-upper to upper-rank Fallen panicked as their strength drained away. The lower- and mid-rank Fallen screamed in terror and either thrashed wildly or tried to flee.
Those who broke ranks were either executed by upper-rank Fallen or trampled to death by the tide behind them. Yet even as fresh bodies filled the gaps, the lower ranks continued to panic.
“None of you—!”
A thick, modulated, savage roar rang out from the figure on the barrier. At the same time, eleven miniguns that had appeared around him spun their barrels with a thunderous roar.
The vanguard tried to retreat, but—
『What are you stopping for?!』 『You wanna get trampled too?!』 『Keep running, you bastards!』
The press of bodies behind them made retreat impossible. Forced to charge at full speed, they met the next cry.
“You shall not pass through here——!!”
『…Ah.』
Eleven streaks of white light poured from the miniguns. Before they could even react—
『…Kuaaaagh—!』 『I don’t wanna die…!』 『M-Mon…!』
They vanished without a trace.
The eleven beams of light continued to rake across the black wave amid the deafening roar.
『…Kuaaaagh—!』 『S-Save me…!』 『I don’t wanna die…!』
Those struck by the beams screamed their last and crumbled to ash. The Fallen charging behind them fared no better.
『…Uwaaaagh!』 『What the hell are you doing?!』 『Don’t fly this way! Don’t—uwaaagh!』
The special explosive rounds (B+) from the modified Death Angel (A) inflicted flame damage laced with holy power, sending them flying backward like ragdolls in a game.
While sweeping the miniguns left and right like a living turret to halt the advance—
“G-Good heavens…” “He’s holding off tens of thousands by himself…” “But he said he was just an intern…”
Shocked voices rose from the 1st Punitive Force members still gathered below the barrier. They were only mid-rank, and there were barely ten of them. Even if they tried to help, they would be less useful than the ten miniguns I was controlling with telekinesis.
More importantly, I couldn’t accept their help for one simple reason: they only had one life each.
『Our upper ranks will take the lead!』 『Everyone, raise demonic barriers!』 『Pour out every drop of demonic energy!』
Whether or not the Named had issued the order, the upper-rank Fallen began pushing to the front, their full-powered demonic barriers slowly advancing while deflecting my bullets. Even so, Super Accuracy still punched through, bursting bodies apart, yet the damage reaching the rear ranks dropped sharply.
‘Time to jump into the wave.’
- I’m ready, Master.
‘Good. Then let’s warm up before we dive in.’
I activated Clairvoyance (A). My vision soared skyward. I took in the enormous horde of Fallen marching on the forward base and transmitted every last drop of mana except the bare minimum needed to avoid collapse.
A hundred-meter radius of the black wave turned white. Holy-power-infused grenades had appeared above the Fallen’s heads.
『…! ……!!』 『……!!』 『…!』
Their faces twisted in horror. I pulled Aegis from my inventory, switched it to shield form, and thrust it forward.
‘Terra, detonate.’
- Understood, Master.
My vision snapped back as mana ran dry. The drone beside me shot forward with a high-pitched whine. The instant it touched the first grenade—
BOOOOOOOOOOM———!!
Every grenade within the radius detonated at once. A colossal shockwave slammed into me. The barrier and every building in the forward base were instantly pulverized.
My body was hurled backward like a rubber ball, smashing craters into the ground with each bounce. Thanks to Aegis and Atlas Armor’s damage absorption, I felt no pain, but the physical impact still rattled me.
To stop the tumbling, I drove my fist into the earth.
CRAAAAASH—!
The ground split in a long furrow. My momentum slowed until I finally came to a halt.
“Whew… finally stopped.”
I yanked my arm free, stood up, discarded the now-gray Aegis, and triggered the fourth injector on the potion auto-injector (A) strapped to my waist. A needle pierced my side and mana flooded back in at once.
- Master, the Fallen are coming.
“Yeah, I can see them.”
The grenade barrage had wiped out roughly half the wave, yet the tide was already refilling from the Death Continent.
“Hey, Terra.”
- Yes, Master.
“Can the weapons I have destroy the demonic bridges?”
- A large-scale explosion like the last one should do it.
“Then five boxes of grenades per bridge?”
- Yes, that should suffice.
“Hmm… twenty-five boxes total, then.”
I quickly laid out the plan while summoning two modified Thunderbolts (A) into my hands. At the same time, I raised new barriers to keep the Fallen from scattering.
By the time I reached what had once been the forward base, I had penned the horde in like livestock.
“Terra, I’ll need your help to blow the bridges.”
- I’m always ready, Master.
“Good. First, let’s make our own forces.”
I opened my inventory. Drones poured out with whirring motors. Behind them came the cars from the Association’s underground parking lot, crashing onto the ground.
“I’ll have to transmit these myself.”
After using another mana recovery shot, I arranged twenty vehicles—ten on each side. Only then did Terra begin the transformation.
- Commencing Iron Golem transform.
Metal clanged and shifted. The vehicles unfolded into humanoid forms.
- Iron Mk. 83 sortie preparation complete.
- Iron Mk. 83 sortie preparation complete.
The replicated golems spoke in unison, weapons ready. I transmitted miniguns loaded with holy bullets to their wrists and five boxes of grenades into each unit’s storage.
- Master, Terra is ready for sortie.
“Just a moment.”
I loaded the Thunderbolts in both hands and answered with a storm of lightning.
BOOM—CRACKLE—!