Perception (2)

Anger and hatred surging from deep within my body. It feels as though my reason is melting away under the heat of pure destructive instinct. On top of that, a voice has been echoing in my head since earlier.

Slaughter the evil. Tear it apart and kill it.

Every time that voice rang out, the demons around me were destroyed. At the same time, my consciousness grew distant, as if someone were pulling at my feet.

‘…I think I understand now.’

Why Asuka and Seo-yeon had been so terrified when they couldn’t control their talents. ‘So this is what it feels like to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠devoured by your own talent.’

It was as if some impurity was mixing into my soul. Like a symbiote taking Spider-Man as its host. ‘…If I lose consciousness like this, the talent will consume me.’

While slaughtering demons, I kept thinking, desperately trying to hold onto my mind.

Whoosh, whoosh! Hellfire blazing across the land. This earth was nothing but barren soil where not a single blade of grass could grow. The stench of sulfur brushed past my nose. No way it could penetrate the armor’s purification filter. The Yalu River flowed with lava instead of water. Baekdu Mountain had yet to erupt, so even if it had dried up, lava shouldn’t be flowing. Therefore, the hellish landscape before my eyes was nothing more than an illusion created by my talent.

Thinking that, I chased after a demon fleeing from me.

“Where do you think you’re running?”

I thrust my right hand toward the demon’s head. The Thunderbolt was no longer visible, but it didn’t matter. Even without a weapon, my bare hands were more than enough to kill demons.

Crunch! I grabbed the fleeing demon’s head and tore it in half. Before it could even scream, its head and upper body split apart and vanished like ash.

『……!!』

The surrounding demons shrieked in terror. I shook the black ash from my hands onto the ground and kicked off, launching myself at the next demon.

『…! ……!!』

The demon spat out words in a language I couldn’t understand.

“Shut up, demon.”

Disgusted, I frowned and swung my fist.

Thud! The demon’s head vanished like a popped balloon. Thud, hiss. The headless body collapsed and turned to ash.

The moment I turned to find my next prey—

Thud-thud, thud-thud-thud! Various attacks struck my body. I only felt minor impacts; no real damage came through. I clenched my fists tightly and exhaled a hot breath, then began unleashing overwhelming violence upon the demons.

I kicked the nearest one.

Boom! With a thunderous crash that didn’t sound like a mere kick, the demon’s waist exploded. The moment it vanished into ash with a final scream, I kicked another into the air and smashed it down with my elbow. I ended their pitiful lives with cruel, merciless brutality—piercing one through the chest, driving my knee into another’s spine, ripping the head off a third.

As I continued slaughtering demons with nothing but raw physical power, they stopped charging and began backing away, fear etched across their faces. Then one turned and fled, and the rest followed.

『……!』

『…! ……!』

『……! ……!!』

Every demon that had been watching my massacre let out incomprehensible shrieks and ran. I shook the black ash from my hands and opened my inventory, pulling out two miniguns and thirty-three Thunderbolts.

Click, click. I gripped a minigun in each hand. At the same time, I lifted the thirty-three Thunderbolts from the ground with telekinesis. I chose Thunderbolts over miniguns because they possessed comparable firepower while being lighter. I still wasn’t fully proficient with telekinesis, and thirty-three was the maximum number my mana allowed. It was simply the most efficient setup for massacring demons.

『……! ──!!』

The demons, seeing my armament, screamed in terror and struggled to escape. But they were packed so densely, like swarming ants, that those trying to flee couldn’t easily push through. Some gave up and charged at me instead.

Rumble, boom, boom—! Of course, the desperate demons were erased without a trace by the thirty-three Thunderbolts orbiting me like Gundam panels.

Whirrrrrrr……!! The barrels of the miniguns in my hands began to spin. The demons’ movements grew frantic as they tried to flee. Just as one demon kicked off the ground and leaped into the air—

KABOOOOOOOOOM——!!

Blinding white flashes erupted from both miniguns with a deafening roar. At the same time, the thirty-three Thunderbolts unleashed a storm of lightning with thunderous cracks. Demons caught in the white flashes and lightning storm exploded one after another, vanishing without even leaving ash. Overwhelmed by exhilaration and pleasure beyond mere excitement, I began calculating the most efficient way to slaughter even more demons.

And just as I was pondering methods that would make them suffer while dying quickly—

‘Ah.’

At the message, a chill ran down my spine. Without hesitation, I activated injector number one on the potion auto-injector.

Whoosh. The needle pierced my waist. A surge of vitality and refreshing energy spread throughout my body. When it reached my head, my mind cleared, and the various cruel and merciless methods of demon slaughter faded away.

‘…Wow, I really was swinging wildly.’

Thoughts I would never normally have. And while killing the corrupted, I shouldn’t have felt exhilaration or pleasure—only excitement at best. ‘…When did I start being controlled?’

As I eliminated the demons—or rather, the corrupted—around me, I thought carefully. At first, I had denied the landscape one detail at a time to stay conscious. The land, the river, the smell. I dismissed the hellish scenery as an illusion. Then I started killing fleeing demons… Ah, that was when. I realized I had been under the talent’s influence ever since I tore demons apart with my bare hands instead of using guns.

‘Ah, I tried to control the talent with pure strength alone.’

This wouldn’t do. I decided to actively use the potion auto-injector, which I had planned to save only for emergencies. As if refusing to obey my thoughts, the talent Demon Slayer (S)—suppressed by the golden apple and spirit pill—began to rebel violently.

I snorted and activated injector number two.

Whoosh. As the injector worked, two energies spread through my body. The anger, hatred, and destructive instincts the talent carried sank as if buried under stone. Even so, the talent struggled to control me, but it couldn’t move under the weight of the elixir and divine medicine. Gradually, the hellish landscape returned to normal. The land blazing with hellfire became ordinary ground. The sulfur smell vanished. The lava-filled Yalu River flowed with water once more. The corrupted, who had looked like demons, reverted to human form.

『…Aaaah! Run—!』

And the incomprehensible language became audible again. While mowing down the corrupted with miniguns and Thunderbolts, I pondered what to do about the talent. ‘Haa… At this rate, I won’t be able to evolve Demon Slayer to S+.’

The condition for evolution required controlling the talent with pure physical and mental strength, not external forces like potions or items. But at my current level, I couldn’t control it… so I would have to rely on potions for the time being. At the same time, I replaced the potion auto-injector (A) with a new one.

‘Terra.’

- Master!

Terra’s voice came immediately, as if she had been waiting.

- I’m glad you can hear me now. Her tone was still flat, but it carried worry and relief. I apologized and explained that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn’t heard her because I was under the talent’s influence. ‘…So it looks like I’ll have to control the talent with potions for a while.’

- I agree that’s necessary.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Terra agreed. I sighed and asked, ‘Terra, what rank do I need to reach to control Demon Slayer?’

- Your current rank is Mid-Upper… Master, a corrupted is attacking from behind.

‘Yeah, I know.’

Even without Terra’s warning, I had sensed the killing intent. I spun around and shredded the charging corrupted with the minigun. Seeming somewhat relieved, Terra continued.

- At Mid-Upper, you would need at least the middle of Upper rank to control Demon Slayer.

‘Middle of Upper… Yeah, that makes sense.’

It matched what I had expected. After all, Demon Slayer (S) was a high-ranking talent even among S-ranks that started at one million points, requiring four and a half million points. So controlling an S-rank talent would require at least the middle of Upper rank… as expected. ‘Wait… then what about Seo-yeon? She evolved her talent at Mid-Upper, just like me now.’

Seo-yeon’s talent, Sword Prodigy, which she had possessed since birth. When I checked the point cost for Demon Slayer before, Sword Prodigy had been listed at three million points. Yet she had evolved it at only Mid-Upper rank. Even with my help(?), it was absurd. When I asked, Terra let out what sounded like her first sigh.

- Haa… Master, the Black Fox must be treated as an exception.

Exception? Why?

- The reason the Black Fox could evolve her talent is because of you… No, never mind.

‘What? Why stop there?’

- …It would be better for your well-being to simply treat it as an exception.

‘…That bad?’

- Yes, it is. …Then I’ll treat it as an exception.

I nodded at Terra’s advice and stopped walking. The place I stood was roughly the middle of the black wave, just barely outside the explosion range of the magic bridge.

『Stop them! No, protect it!』

『Don’t let that monster and the golems reach the magic bridge!』

『Hey, you idiot! How are you supposed to stop them? How do you break through that barrage?!』

‘Right, how are you going to stop them?’

Rather than stopping them, how were they going to break through the firepower raining down around me? With two miniguns and thirty-three Thunderbolts firing nonstop, how could they even approach? I spun in place and shouted a question they couldn’t hear.

…For reference, spinning in place was unavoidable. Since Super Accuracy guaranteed 100% hit rate on wherever I “focused,” I had no choice but to shoot while turning, even if it looked ridiculous. Of course, I could have used Clairvoyance (A) without needing to spin, but I was currently controlling thirty-three Thunderbolts with telekinesis. Clairvoyance consumed more mana than expected, so I couldn’t use it in this situation.

While I was thinking that, several corrupted charged at me as if they had a plan. Judging by how their bodies turned steel-like, they seemed to have physical enhancement skills. Unfortunately, the direction they were coming from was being swept by miniguns, not Thunderbolts. And the minigun, Angel of Death, had the effect of Special Armor-Piercing Rounds (B+) — “Deals additional and fixed damage to armored enemies.”

『Everyone, follow me! I’ll break through… Aaaagh……!』

『No, why can’t we block……』

The corrupted who thought they would be fine with various enhancement skills and magic barriers protecting them turned to dust under the white flashes and vanished. The corrupted following the enhancement types made sharp turns and fled in panic. But even as they ran, white flashes embedded themselves in their bodies. Just like the ones who had charged, the fleeing corrupted turned to dust and disappeared.

Thud, thud-thud! From behind came the sound of heavy footsteps. I turned and saw the golems that had jumped into the black wave with me charging forward, shredding corrupted with chainsaws in both hands.

『No! Stop them, stop them!』

『Damn it! How is that magic barrier so thick?!』

『You idiots! Concentrate fire on the golems… No, don’t run away!』

As expected… corrupted were still corrupted. Even with tens of thousands gathered, their survival instinct was unavoidable.

『Aaaah! I don’t want to die!』

『I can’t die in a place like this! I can’t!』

『You Upper-rank idiots, you stop them! We’re running!』

From Lower to Mid-Upper, all corrupted below Upper rank charged toward the magic bridge at once. This caused chaos as corrupted crossing the bridge collided with those fleeing.

- That’s unfortunate.

‘What is?’

- It’s a shame I can’t control the drones because I’ve used up all my computational power.

‘…What? Weren’t you able to control machines infinitely?’

No wonder the drones weren’t coming out even though the inventory was open.

- Unfortunately, no. Just as you consume mana to use skills, I also require computational power to hack or control machines.

‘Computational power… First time hearing about it.’

- Of course. Computational power isn’t a resource native to this world; it’s unique to the system you use.

‘…What? System-exclusive resource?’

Is it okay to use it freely?

- You don’t need to worry. The computational power for hacking and control is allocated separately, so incidents like the previous system emergency maintenance won’t occur.

‘That’s a relief.’

I let out a sigh of relief and melted the Upper-rank corrupted rushing to stop the golems with miniguns and Thunderbolts. Even though the lower corrupted had fled, there were still many Upper-rank ones, so I couldn’t prevent all of them from reaching the golems.

『…Damn it! Die here or die running, what’s the difference?!』

Several corrupted cursed and clung to the golems’ bodies. They released all their magic and self-destructed.

KABOOOOOOOOOM——!!

A black-and-white explosion erupted. The grenade boxes inside the golems had detonated along with the corrupted’s self-destruction.

- Master! Activate Aegis immediately!

At Terra’s urgent cry, I threw aside the miniguns and the Thunderbolts I had been holding with telekinesis, then pulled out Aegis shields from my inventory. I converted all thirty-five into shields and extended them toward the explosion. At the same time, the golems caught in the blast began exploding in a chain reaction.

KABOOM—! KABOOOOOM—! KABOOOOOOOOOOM——!!

With a cataclysmic roar as if the world were collapsing, a white explosion engulfed me.

Crack, crack, crack, crack……!!

One, three, five, seven… The Aegis shields touched by the explosion vanished at an alarming speed. I kept pulling out more Aegis to resist the blast. After more than thirty-five—seventy-two Aegis had been destroyed—

…the explosion stopped.

“Whoa… I thought I was dead.”

I let out a long sigh of relief and dropped the Aegis in my hand. The shield, now turned from red to gray, crumbled into ash and disappeared. Looking at it, I felt exhausted despite Infinite Stamina being active. Of course, it was only a feeling; my movements weren’t hindered.

“…Did all the golems explode?”

- Yes. But all the golems exploding also wiped out a large number of corrupted.

As Terra said, the once-swarming corrupted were nowhere to be seen.

“…Can this place be restored?”

It was understandable— the once-flat ground was now riddled with craters, as if meteors had struck. It was completely devastated.

- That’s a job for superhumans with restoration abilities. You don’t need to worry about it.

Even so, I was the one who caused this.

- You were trying to protect this place. And there are no civilian or superhuman casualties, so it’s fine.

At Terra’s assurance, I tilted my head. ‘Is that how it works?’

- Master, if you’re still uneasy, consult Kali later.

“Ah, that works.”

I nodded at Terra’s words and kicked off the ground. Landing on intact earth outside the crater range, I said, “So the only corrupted left are those crossing the magic bridge?”

- Yes.

“Terra, does operating golems also consume computational power?”

- Yes, unfortunately.

“Then there’s no other way.”

I took a short deep breath and approached the magic bridge. When I reached the maximum transmission range of fifty meters, I transmitted five grenade boxes onto the bridge. At the same time, I activated the derived skill Live Focus from Sniper’s Keen Sense (A+).

Grenade boxes falling from the sky. Corrupted fighting each other on the bridge. Even the hazy dust blowing in. Everything began to slow down. Of course, my perception remained the same, but my movements became extremely sluggish. Then I executed the idea I had been thinking about since last time.

Speed Limit Release [ON / OFF]

Step. In the slowed world, I regained my original speed. But of course, there was a price. Throb! My mana consumption accelerated so rapidly that my heart ached. Even just walking, not running—

Crack! An Aegis I had prepared just in case turned gray and shattered after a single step, as if my body was under severe strain. I activated the mana recovery injector and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pulled out a new Aegis. Then, as I slowly raised my arm—wait, even this simple action was breaking them? ‘Is it because Live Focus is active?’

Otherwise, simple movements shouldn’t cause damage. After all, during the previous training session, moving my arms with Speed Limit Release active hadn’t caused any harm. Worried I might die if I made a mistake, I temporarily disabled the cheat. I took ten Aegis from my inventory and equipped one on each finger. I couldn’t equip more than that anyway, since only one effect applied per finger.

Speed Limit Release — ON

I reactivated it. Then, aiming at the grenade boxes falling at an extremely slow speed, I raised my arm—consuming one Aegis—and fired the training pistol I had transmitted into my raised hand—consuming a second Aegis.

Bang…… The gunshot sounded slow. But the fired bullet, boosted by Super Accuracy and Speed Limit Release, flew toward the grenade boxes at its usual blistering speed—or even faster.

Crack…… The pistol disintegrated. At the same time, the grenade boxes on the bridge began exploding in slow motion. Seeing that, I took my next step toward the bridge.

& After walking for a long time, consuming ten Aegis every ten steps and burning through an enormous number of Aegis and mana recovery potions, I finally managed to transmit and detonate grenade boxes on all five bridges. Now I just needed to get out of the blast range.

Whoosh. I activated the mana recovery injector. At the same time, I transmitted ten Aegis onto my ten fingers and equipped them. Then, repeating the same actions as before, I distanced myself from the bridges.

Ding. I switched Speed Limit Release to OFF and ended Live Focus. The slowed world returned to normal speed.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM——!!

The bombs on the five bridges exploded with an earth-shattering roar. The bridges and all the corrupted on them vanished in an instant.

Whoosh……! A tremendous gust from the aftershock slammed into me. But since I had already switched to shields and extended them forward the moment I ended Live Focus, I wasn’t pushed back or injured.

After some time passed—

- Situation resolved.

Terra informed me that the situation had ended. With the five bridges connecting to the Death Continent and tens of thousands of corrupted all destroyed, it was indeed over. But… what was this unease? I pulled out a Thunderbolt from my inventory, still feeling anxious. The moment I gripped it—

『Yoo-jin.』

My name was called from above, accompanied by the distinctive voice of a corrupted. I looked up and saw a corrupted with flowing red hair. And… I knew that corrupted very well. I immediately aimed the gun at him and activated Speed Limit Release.

『Nice to meet you. I am Greed….』

Then I pulled the trigger at Greed, who was leisurely introducing himself.

Rumble, boom——!!

With a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thunderclap, the Thunderbolt disintegrated and vanished. At the same time, an enormous blue light flashed, followed by—

『……What?!』

A massive energy cannon made of lightning pierced straight through Greed.