Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Beholder Takedown
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My body plunged in upside down.
Several tentacles blocked my path, only to be sliced clean by my blade as I buried myself completely inside its body.
Kieeeek!
The impact sent the Beholder dropping in altitude.
I wrestled against the tentacles coiling around me, cranking my jetpack into overboost and dragging us both downward.
“...Ngh, that stings!”
Merdi’s lightning kept slamming into it, affecting me too.
The electricity coursing through its tentacles clashed with my barrier, sparking fierce backlash.
But since it was already near saturation, it wasn’t draining my power.
If anything, I was the one doing the draining.
Kiruk!?
Lightning surged from the tentacle gripped in my right hand, flowing straight into me.
The burden lifted instantly.
The Beholder, shocked by this unfamiliar reversal of its own power, flailed wildly before retaliating with a suction force of its own.
‘That’s a mistake.’
I gave it everything I had.
I’d already probed its tentacles with my ability and grasped the Beholder’s limits.
It struggled to absorb multiple types of energy at once.
It could manage, but it’d be like scarfing down junk food—its insides would churn.
And that’s exactly what was happening now.
I fed it the full power of my Core Weapon and my horn.
Not just raw energy, either—I hit it with everything I could muster, like Crimson Cannon blasts and piercing shots.
Kiriririruk!!
The Beholder, greedily sucking it all in, soon let out a panicked shriek.
It was already saturated; there was no room.
The tentacle absorbing the influx of diverse energies bulged grotesquely, convulsing.
“Not done yet.”
While the Beholder was distracted, I closed the distance to Merdi steadily.
We were now within range of her control.
Sure enough, something she did made the Beholder’s entire body tremble like leaves in the wind.
“Gotcha, you thieving bastard.”
The lightning it had absorbed began boiling out of control.
Its skin, which had held vast energies unscathed until now, spasmed, and the tentacle tips charred black.
I landed beside Merdi, pulling free to watch the spectacle.
“Reminds me of an electric jellyfish.”
“That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Fair point. Anyway, grill it good. Might finish it off like this.”
“It’ll be over quick, so wait your turn.” Merdi shot me a sudden pouty glare.
“Huh?”
“You thief! You stole some too.”
“Thief, huh.”
“Why’d you take it? And you can’t even control what you’ve got.”
“It’s mine now.”
I played innocent.
Just as a Core Weapon’s core needed synchronization to use, the lightning I’d absorbed had been dyed with my unique essence.
So yeah, it was fully mine.
“...Thief it is. How’d you do it?”
“Later. Focus on the fight for now.” To rescue the Beholder, the aliens were charging in recklessly.
Merdi had to stay locked on it, leaving me to handle everything else.
I dispatched a Dread Knight that lunged out of nowhere, then intercepted incoming projectiles.
R3D3 fired relentlessly, focusing fire on the flying craft.
‘Just a bit more!’
Sweat beaded on Merdi’s forehead.
I’d figured getting close would make it easy, but things weren’t going perfectly.
The Beholder vented the energy I’d fed it through its spines, recovering somewhat.
It was still taking damage from the lightning inside, but not as badly as before.
‘No good.’
I prepped my Crimson Cannon.
Not a light shot this time—full output, one solid hit.
But a voice stopped me.
“Don’t interfere!”
Her eyes stayed fixed on the Beholder as she spoke.
I saw it in her gaze: she saw this as a matter of pride.
But this was the perfect opening.
One clean Crimson Cannon shot in its current state would be fatal.
It couldn’t escape while pinned like that.
Still, I lowered my arm.
I chose to trust her words.
‘Yeah. Let’s believe in her.’
The prepped Crimson Cannon swept the area around us.
The fight was tilting in Merdi’s favor.
The Beholder, struggling harder now, twisted its tentacles and groaned.
Then suddenly, lightning burst from its entire body.
It jerked away, fleeing high into the sky.
I frowned and muttered.
“Slipped away...?”
“Nope. Watch.”
Merdi’s voice rose in excitement.
“You think I’d just let it go? That thing’s guts are cooked.”
She was right.
The Beholder looked worse than ever.
It wasn’t just the visible wounds.
Its tentacles had lost their vigor, its body was withered and dry.
And the way it wobbled in flight screamed major damage.
‘Figured it was done for, so it took the hit to purge it?’
Probably.
“But what now?”
I eyed the Beholder already fleeing far off.
Pushing after it with my jetpack? I was out of charge.
“What do you mean? Now the real fun... Kyaa!”
Mid-sentence, the ground beside us exploded, showering us with debris.
The weakened earth crumbled toward Merdi’s spot, so I yanked her arm and pulled her back.
As the dust settled, out stepped Roze.
“Number three!”
“You...”
“Lemon, Merdi! You’re here! What’re you up to?”
She’d been late because she’d taken out two at once, apparently.
Roze beamed with satisfaction at her score, oblivious to Merdi’s baffled stare.
I pointed at the Beholder.
“Check that out.”
“Huh? Beholder?”
“We were fighting it.”
“Just you two? Tell me next time!”
She showed zero tension, even against a Beholder.
“We’ve got it seasoned. Finishable now.”
“What about here?”
“Leave it to us. Prioritize nuking the Beholder.”
Roze’s eyes sparkled.
Her gaze on it measured the distance.
“Got it.”
She nodded low, then squatted in place.
Her face turned deadly serious.
Moments later, a faint crimson glow rose from her body.
Her leg muscles swelled, then snapped straight—and she rocketed upward at insane speed.
“Again!” Merdi griped at the flying dust, but I ignored her and watched the sky.
‘Three hundred? No, over four hundred meters.’
Her jetpack was trashed except for the one on her leg.
Yet she’d leaped that height in one go.
The slight shortfall? Covered by that last jetpack burst.
Kirruk!
The Beholder shrieked in alarm, flailing its tentacles.
More limp flop than swing, though.
Weak—it could barely move.
Roze ignored the feeble interference and drove her fist home. The Beholder’s lower body tore open huge, spraying fluids.
“That’s gotta hurt.”
“Worry about yourself.”
Merdi snapped back.
One punch had the Beholder groggy for real.
Yet its survival instinct kept it fleeing.
Roze grabbed a tentacle and yanked, drawing a scream like agony itself. The Beholder sliced off the tentacle—and part of its lower body—to break free.
“Whoa, that...!” A following explosion.
Its emergency escape trick again.
Difference: no sudden acceleration.
Still, it shook Roze off and barely escaped the Hive Nest’s barrier.
“This...!”
“Roze! Don’t chase!”
I stopped her quick.
Easy out, hard in.
Sucks to lose it, but we couldn’t let her go and leave us stranded.
Roze landed beside us, disappointment plain.
“Slipped away again.”
Twice now—her mood soured.
Her body still steamed with heat.
That crimson glow wasn’t just show.
Proof the air around her was scorching in real time.
A secret technique only peak martial artists could wield, flooding the body with vitality and boosting strength.
“Pisses me off.”
“...Roze, you good?”
“This?”
She glanced down at my words and nodded.
“Maintaining it’s no big deal. It ramps up only with intense movement.”
“Ah.”
“Activation costs a ton, so timing the shutdown matters.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll teach you later. Feels like your time’s coming, Lemon.”
Her smile answered my skeptical look.
When had I reached that level?
My body was tougher, sure, but I’d figured it was basic training gains—not true martial progress.
But no time for questions.
Roze, done answering, moved to smash the next core, wasting no time.
Moments later, I scanned around and startled.
“When’d it ramp up this much?”
“Holes everywhere. What’d you expect?”
Higher-threat types everywhere now.
The deep-nest ones had finally crawled up.
‘Roze’s tunnels helped, too.’ Big specimens kept emerging.
Mostly awkward half-hybrids, as usual.
I glanced skyward, then drew on my full power.
“How we finishing that one?”
“Comms?”
“Dead since we got here.”
Heavy jamming.
Total blackout.
Smog Tail’s smoke in the air, plus the Hive Nest’s own interference.
“Hm...? That.”
Something caught my eye.
Above the Beholder—surrounded by flyers, fleeing—way up in the hazy sky, silhouettes plummeted fast.
“They’re here.”
Teams 1 and 2.
Late, but here.
Impact abilities blanketed the sky first.
Aiming for quick kill—insane firepower.
First to breach and engage: Giz.
His massive frame unleashed a full-power blow, caving in the Beholder’s head.
He grabbed a spine, planted himself, and pried its mouth open by force.
“Grrraaaah!!”
Insane strength.
The jagged inner teeth stabbed his hands—he didn’t care.
He wedged in like a pillar, holding it agape from inside.
Why? The next moment explained.
“The Slayer title’s mine!”
Runshin dropped spear-first into the gaping maw.
Moments later, he burst out the lower body.
Impaled straight through.
“I, Runshin, am the neutralizing spear supreme! Ahahaha!!” Runshin crowed triumphantly, pumped.
I groaned.
“Wasted the kill on the wrong guy.”
“Don’t we split merits?”
“Last one in steals the spotlight.” Dramatic finish.
Doesn’t matter if it was on its last legs.
The star’s the one who shows at the climax.
“Not thrilled.”
Merdi grumbled, pouty.
Then she conjured a massive lightning orb over her hand.
“Think this trumps our trio dropping it?”
“Hm...”
Three supers taking a Hive Nest?
Unprecedented.
8th-grade Alien Slayer was big, but ‘first’ always wins.
“This’d be better?”
“Love it.”
Merdi grinned darkly, exploding her power output.
The orb swelled tenfold in an instant, engulfing a swarm of large aliens.
Earthquake rumble hit same time.
‘Fourth one?’ Hive Nest power down nearly 20%.
Collapse incoming.