Chapter 158: O-Rank Engagement Record—Octomundus (1)
Chapter 158: O-Rank Engagement Record—Octomundus (1)
Click. Click.
The sound of empty magazines rattling at my waist.
Haha. Dammit.
Does any of this even make sense?
I thought as much while sprinting across the rugged earth.
Of course, I didn't dare say it out loud.
If I did, that monster chasing me would find me in an instant.
So, I mastered my mind.
Just do what you always do. Just like usual.
I calmed my mind, slowed my heartbeat, and held my breath.
Just like when I’m taking a shot.
Wasn't that why I had the body of an Awakened?
And yet.
"Huff... huff..."
My breath leaked through the leather mask wrapped around my face.
It was as if the terror in my head had overwhelmed the control I had over my own body.
"So, this is where you were."
Then, I heard that horrific voice.
The monster that had annihilated the patrol units in a single heartbeat.
When I first spotted it on the plains, I couldn't sense any power from it, so I had intended to snipe it normally.
But before a single bullet could be fired, it flew over and incinerated my squad members with a mere wave of its hand.
I immediately kicked off the muddy ground and twisted my body.
At the same time, my left hand ripped the Camouflage Net from my shoulder and hurled it away.
The net left my body, unfurling in the darkness of the night due to the rotation, creating a barrier between me and the Mutant.
I threw a grenade from my belt toward the net.
This isn't enough.
There's no way that thing will die from just this.
Swinging the Anti-Material Sniper Rifle—which had practically become an extension of my own body—I fired toward the predicted location.
Boom!
The anti-material rifle, reinforced by my own power, let out a massive roar and illuminated the surroundings.
The light produced by the muzzle flash revealed the monster's face for a fleeting second.
An octopus wearing baggy clothes.
Wearing a fishy smirk.
But I didn't focus on that face.
I didn't even check the results of my shot.
I simply twisted my body and sprinted away immediately.
I am a sniper.
Maintaining distance is more important than anything else.
Until now, I had hidden myself using the Camouflage Net and physical control, but I had just used the net for that one surprise attack.
This meant I could no longer hide from that monster, which possessed sensory abilities far beyond common sense.
Now, I just had to fight until reinforcements arrived.
Though it felt like I was going to die.
"Hmm. So, why don't we have a little chat?"
I heard that voice from behind, but I ignored it and kept running.
What was there to talk about with a Mutant that had already killed my comrades?
"Ah, is it because I killed the nearby community? That was a legitimate right. Didn't your side attack first?"
Sophistry.
When it was burning the Awakened, that thing was definitely smiling.
This conversation was surely just a ploy to make me stop.
"Well then. I suppose I'll have to force you to stop."
Pressure. The moment I felt it, I immediately veered to the side.
I followed the intuition that had saved my life countless times.
And once again, that intuition saved me.
A single gust of wind blew, and suddenly, nothing existed beside me.
The earth was gouged out, long and deep, seemingly without end.
As if a giant had struck down with a blade, the forest that had been there moments ago vanished, replaced by a cliff.
The starting point of that cliff was right in front of the Mutant, who stood there with a bizarre smile and a raised hand.
Bang!
I immediately took a stance and fired another shot.
To buy time after having to jerk my body so violently to dodge the attack.
"I cannot understand. Are you not a high-ranking warrior entity? Then what is this low-grade weapon?"
I heard those words from behind, but I just kept running.
"I was excited because this land lacked those foul bastards, but if this is the case, the residents here are bound to be unremarkable as well. For a high-ranking entity to be at this level..."
I just ran.
To get as far away from that thing as possible.
"Don't you think so? Mr. Native, who can't even use the power he was given?"
The voice came from right beside me.
I immediately thrust my left hand into my coat and pulled the trigger toward the sound.
Bang!
A small pistol.
A tool I carried to somehow respond to close-quarters combat, which was my weakness.
I never thought I'd have to use it, but it actually turned out to be helpful.
As I thought that, the bullet sped forward, but—
"Truly. Truly disappointing. To have received power and use it like this."
The pistol bullet stopped in front of the Mutant.
It hung in the air as if caught by something.
Telekinesis.
If that was the case, I knew how to respond.
The distance was just right, too.
Whoosh.
I swung my right hand hard.
The long barrel let out a whistling sound as it reached the creature's skin.
"...We're the ones who survived with these 'low-grade' weapons."
I pulled the trigger.
POW!
A brilliant flash, a thunderous roar, and the recoil of the forced shot.
It all surged through my body.
A point-blank shot from an Anti-Material Sniper Rifle using Special Ammunition.
Unless the thing was exceptionally sturdy, it would take the impact.
I had a feeling I had dealt damage, but I didn't get cocky and immediately put distance between us.
Three seconds of full sprinting.
When there was no reaction, I immediately took a position between the nearby trees and pressed my eye to the sight.
I saw its corpse.
The Mutant’s body lay there, with half of its upper torso, including its right arm and part of its face, blown away.
I centered my aim on it.
Bang!
Clack.
Bang!
Clack.
Bang!
I continued to pour bullets into it.
Until not even a trace of the corpse remained.
After firing about ten rounds, a crater had formed where the body had been, as if it had been hit by an aerial bombardment. The corpse was torn to shreds, its traces impossible to find.
...Thank god.
It seemed I managed to take it down somehow.
If The Enemy hadn't been careless, I would have been the one dead, but I was lucky it was the type obsessed with talking.
If it had been a monster or beast type, I would have been the one killed.
Those things aren't weak enough to die from a single bullet.
Just as I was about to pull out my radio in relief—
"Indeed. Calling it a 'low-grade weapon' was my mistake. It is slow and easy to dodge or block, but the amount of power contained within is enormous. It is an interesting weapon."
Vroom.
With a bizarre vibrating sound, a Magic Circle appeared where the corpse had been.
The creature appeared again.
In perfect condition, as if it had been in a different location from the very beginning.
"I shall take back what I said earlier as well. You are a top-tier warrior. To think I would die once... I don't know how long it has been."
I tried to flee immediately, but—
"So, having said that."
The thing blocked my path.
Opening its pitch-black mouth wide.
"May I eat you?"
And then, my consciousness began to fade.
"To be so vulnerable to Mental Magic. An unexpected weakness. I should have done this from the start."
My eyes closed.
Slimy tentacles approached.
"Ah, do not worry about your life. You will only... lose your memories. Just... a little bit."
Squelch.
That sensation was my final memory.
* * *
"Hmm. This is harder to swallow than I thought."
'I thought there would be no barrier since he was so vulnerable to Mental Magic.'
Al’shel said as much, then opened his mouth again.
Absorption of memories.
Absorption of abilities.
Absorption of talent.
To use the power he possessed.
Al’shel intended to leave the abilities and talents intact and only drain the memories as a sign of respect to the warrior who had defeated him once, but he was failing, blocked by a Mental Barrier he could not understand.
'What on earth is an "input Key Code"?'
"Aside from things not going well, the power itself is very pure. It is also good that I cannot feel the power of those tiresome bastards."
Thanks to that, he could release his full power.
Muttering to himself, Al’shel waved his hand.
With just a slight wave, countless Magic Circles appeared, and a massive amount of mana flowed in.
Al’shel, who had pressed his mouth against Meteor’s head, watched for a moment before snapping his fingers.
The brightly glowing Magic Circles flickered out, and the mana contained within returned to Al’shel.
'The density of power is low. I won't be able to recover if I spam magic.'
Thinking calmly, he seemed to remember something and rummaged through Meteor’s clothes.
"My apologies, but I shall borrow this as well."
Before long, Al’shel seemed to have found what he was looking for. When he pulled his hand out from Meteor’s coat, it held a black hunk of metal.
"Extremely simple, yet effective. Instead of using chemical reactions for firing, it projects all power into the projectile. Fundamentally similar to a bow... but a much easier tool to learn. Hmm."
'A tool that sacrifices flexibility to focus on damage output? A peculiar creature.'
In his mind, if it were a bow, one could imbue the arrow with will to make it curve in mid-air or imbue it with magic, but this thing simply went straight. It seemed to have no element for imbuing will.
"Until the Mental Barrier is breached... I should study this."
As Al’shel spoke, he tossed the gun into the air.
Whirrr.
Magic circles appeared around the gun suspended in the air.
'Disassemble.'
Creak.
The sound of the pistol twisting echoed.
Snap.
According to Al’shel’s will, the parts of the gun were disassembled.
About two minutes passed as his eyes darted around, inspecting the components.
"Just as I expected. All the user does is pull that part."
Excluding its destructive power, it was the worst way to use power.
No flexibility, no mystery, and even monotonous.
That was what Al’shel thought, but he soon felt a sense of interest as well.
'It would be good for conserving mana. And it could fill my empty tentacles.'
He thought it was the perfect weapon to fill his empty tentacles.
Unlike his other kin, he didn't need the assistance of numerous magic staffs or weapons, so his tentacles had been empty. He rejoiced at having found a weapon to fill them.
"Now then. What should I call this?"
Naturally, no answer came back.
"Ah. My apologies. You were asleep."
Whether he knew it or not, Al’shel spoke nonchalantly.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me. It seems I'll be able to break through soon anyway."
Whoosh.
Waving his slimy hand, he stored the gun in sub-space.
"Let us finish this."
Then, generating Magic Circles in both hands, he began to move them toward Meteor’s head.
'A Mental Barrier that I cannot understand even after spending this much time. It is interesting, but...'
"It cannot be helped, can it? I am starting to get annoyed, so I shall resolve this with force."
Whirrrrr.
The Magic Circles began to rotate.
To destroy the Mental Barrier inside his head.
Just before the Magic Circles touched his head—
Ping.
The faint sound of a string vibrating rang out.
"?!"
Startled, Al’shel abandoned the attempt to destroy Meteor’s Mental Barrier and threw himself aside.
A silver flash streaked through the spot where he had been.
"...What is this?"
Al’shel spoke calmly, but his interior was filled with confusion.
Since arriving in this world, he had been using detection magic over a massive range and had never let his guard down.
The confusion stemmed from the fact that he had felt nothing until the very moment before the attack.
In fact, several of his tentacles had been severed by that flash.
If the owner of that flash had aimed precisely for his head, another one of Al’shel’s lives might have been consumed.
If it had ended there, Al’shel’s mind might not have been so confused.
There were countless beings stronger than Al’shel, and hadn't he just lost a life to that warrior moments ago?
Because Al’shel thought that way, what was truly confusing was—
"Are you not an invader? Why would such a person help a local lifeform?"
The creature emitting a green glow from its eyes in the darkness was clearly one tainted by will.
"Tsk. What's this? Are you a guy with a consciousness too?"
As if betraying Al’shel’s question, a voice filled with wisdom and reason flowed from Quilp’s mouth.
"...You possess reason."
"It's no big deal. More importantly, I have a question for you."
Perhaps due to Quilp’s easygoing atmosphere, the tension surrounding them vanished.
"Speak."
Al’shel also relaxed his guard slightly and opened his mouth.
But that was merely Al’shel’s delusion.
"Why were you attacking a human?"
Quilp’s immense emotion and rage began to consume the surroundings.
"If by human, you mean that native? Then it was self-defense."
"Tsk, tsk. Self-defense, is it? Fine. I'll let that much slide. He's not my comrade, after all."
Quilp’s mouth twisted, and the world began to be contaminated.
"Then, next question. Do you intend to coexist with humans in this world?"
As if finding Quilp’s question interesting, Al’shel’s skin turned red as he spoke.
"By 'coexist,' do you mean a community or an alliance?"
"No. We are not natives of this world. Therefore, we merely protect it through sacrifice."
"Interesting. From what you say, it sounds like a group. Do many people empathize with such an ideology?"
Creak. Creak.
As the two powers collided, the world began to emit strange noises.
Even though both had already made up their minds about each other, they continued to speak.
"If they do not understand, we simply suppress them with force. That is the way of The Society."
"Those are fine words. I can agree with that. Therefore, I shall suppress humans with my own power. I am not the type who can live under anyone else."
"Tsk."
【The world is void】
A sound echoed.
And the two powers collided.