Chapter 428: 99 Things You Can Do as a Human (3)
Chapter 428: 99 Things You Can Do as a Human (3)
I run at the front.
Faster than anyone else.
That is the role assigned to me, and the task I must fulfill.
Even if The Enemy is powerful and threatening, I do not back down.
With that resolve, I race across the battlefield.
The Flesh-colored Spikes erupting from all directions are no threat to me.
Though they emerge with great speed and size, they are ultimately physical phenomena.
There are precursors—vibrations felt through the ground and faint noises. Even if they burst out from right beneath my feet, I can react in time.
“As expected, the Successful Subject is different! He’s dodging well!”
“Patternization implies stagnation; introduce modulation.”
I hear the voices of the Mad Doctors, loud enough to fill the battlefield with their insanity.
Hearing them, the first thing that came to mind was worry for Chloe.
The girl who had been seized by panic upon hearing the voice of her genetic father.
She remained on the battlefield due to various complex circumstances, so she must have heard this voice.
Back then, I was by her side to calm her down, but what about now?
Anger surges within me.
And that anger soon turns into strength, propelling me across the earth.
The distance between me and the doctors, who were far off, gradually closes.
The Flesh Monster the doctors unleashed didn't have its head explode from the single hammer blow I dealt while passing by, so it seems different from the common monsters roaming the city.
Even if it was stronger and its body harder, it wasn't enough to keep up with my speed.
“Haha, fast as expected. To think he’d ignore everything and break through despite all this preparation.”
Just as I reached a distance where the doctor’s voice could be heard normally.
Drrrk.
A small sound and vibration echo from beneath my feet.
A precursor to a spike erupting through the ground.
The expected emergence point is directly in my path.
However, at this speed, it won't be a problem.
Just as I thought that and tried to accelerate—
I instinctively noticed that the magnitude of the vibration traveling up my feet was minutely different.
Gagagagak!
I immediately slammed my feet into the ground, braking hard.
Then, I leaped backward.
It was a waste of the momentum I’d built up, but an ominous feeling had shot up the back of my neck.
Thump.
And I saw confirmation that the instinct which had saved me so many times was right once again.
A giant mouth erupted from the ground.
A human mouth, complete with red lips and neat white teeth.
It burst through the earth and bit down on the spot where I had been standing moments ago.
So they have things like that, too.
It’s disgusting beyond belief, but once I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I won't be caught by it.
As I thought that while gliding through the air—
Boom!
My vision shakes.
The controlled rotation of my sight begins to wobble wildly.
What is this?
It doesn't hurt. However, it took a moment to realize the nature of the impact dealt to me.
After floating in the air for about two seconds, I realized what had made me like this.
A Flesh Giant so massive its size was hard to estimate.
It had swung its hand, swatting me into the sky.
Goddammit, seriously.
I clearly remember passing under that bastard’s legs. Its speed wasn't that fast, so I just ignored it and ran toward the doctors.
But tearing off your own hand to throw it is cheating.
Whether it had some level of intelligence or the doctor was controlling it, it timed the strike perfectly, hitting me the moment I took to the air to avoid the mouth.
The impact of being hit by the hand didn't hurt that much, but clearly outmatched in mass, I danced through the empty air.
Fine. Let’s look on the bright side.
I blew away one of its hands, didn't I?
The moment I turned my gaze toward the giant with that thought—
I saw a rather irritating sight.
The giant was kneeling, its severed hand slammed into the ground.
Maintaining that posture for a moment, the Flesh Giant waited until I landed using a breakfall.
“Fuck.”
It slowly stood back up, proving that its hand had already regenerated.
Right. So you’re not just a big scarecrow?
It seems I’ll have to blow this giant away first if I want to take down the doctors.
I don't think this guy is strong enough to defeat me, but thanks to being swatted by its hand, the distance between me and the doctors has widened again.
I have to assume this guy will definitely interfere during the fight.
Not strong, but annoying.
A massive frame is a weapon in itself.
If that monstrous bulk sweeps the ground with its arm, it becomes a wall, and the distance opens up.
Therefore, I took my eyes off the doctors and looked at the Flesh Giant.
Clank. Clank.
Please, just explode in one hit.
I transformed my hammer and charged toward The Enemy.
The Enemy charged toward me as well.
A massive form shaking the earth as it approached.
It was a pressure that invoked instinctive fear.
“You think I haven't fought guys like you once or twice?”
I drove away that fear.
I swung my hammer toward the foot descending to crush me.
My vision is dyed black.
A foot so large it covers the sky within my sight.
Like the heavens collapsing, the giant’s foot accelerates as it falls toward my head.
But I’m not that scared.
As long as my feet are planted on the earth, I won't lose to anyone.
My light body might be sent tumbling through the sky when a massive physical force is applied to me.
But as long as my feet are on the ground—
I can pour all my strength into my hammer with confidence.
To prove it, The Hammer, soaring from low to high, struck The Enemy’s foot.
KABOOM!
The massive shockwave from the collision of two enormous forces scatters in all directions.
Concrete fragments on the ground dance like dust, and amidst it, I looked at The Enemy.
The contest of strength was naturally my victory.
There was no sensation of being pushed back, and my body didn't even budge.
However.
It didn't explode.
Even though I swung The Hammer with all my might, The Enemy’s foot was only slightly tilted; it didn't burst or get crushed to the point of being useless.
…This is going to be difficult.
The Enemy’s body is unnecessarily tough.
Its speed is mediocre and its strength isn't that impressive.
But as if it were assigned the role of a wall, it is unnervingly sturdy.
Still, it’s not to the point where I can't take it down.
It just takes a lot of time. It’s a being I can kill if given enough time.
The problem isn't the strength of this thing.
It’s the fact that this thing isn't our target, but a mere wall.
The ones we actually need to take down are the doctors, and I can't afford to waste time on this unnecessarily sturdy thing.
What should I do?
Should I leave this to the others?
But while it’s weak by my standards, its specs are like a natural disaster to other Heroes or the Defense Force.
Then should I take charge of this thing and let the other Heroes take down the doctors…?
No, the doctors aren't opponents to be taken lightly either…
Infinite questions follow.
Questions that repeat endlessly like a snake biting its tail, with no clear answer in sight.
Amidst that agonizing deliberation—
Thump.
A massive sound echoes from behind my back.
Startled by the sound, I turned around, and there stood two people I never expected to see.
Red, blue, and white.
An American Hero with heavily bulging muscles.
And an Old Man in a wheelchair, looking even more pathetic than usual because he was placed next to that mass of muscle.
That pathetic, mad Old Man slowly lifted his head.
And soon, he opened his mouth.
“This is why I can't leave you young ones alone.”
A voice that didn't lose out to the doctors' rang across the battlefield.
Containing both madness and fury, that voice seized control of the battlefield in an instant.
“The city is my backyard.”
Pang!
A massive power begins to whirlwind.
An esper who can only exert his power under specific conditions.
Because that stands in direct opposition to the versatility and reliability required for survival on the battlefield, those with such powers were assigned roles other than direct combat.
But even among such personnel, there exists one who has reached a certain pinnacle.
A defensive battle where no possibility of victory was seen.
In a city located at the edge of an island nation from which everyone had fled.
An esper who remained alone in the city to protect those who lacked the strength to retreat and the units that had not yet returned to base.
That esper proved his power by virtually defending the city single-handedly.
A being who exerts power nearly close to omnipotence once the condition of 'buildings' is met.
“Rise.”
Thump.
A giant footstep echoes.
Thump.
A second footstep, as a colossus of power takes root in the earth, shakes the ground.
Then.
“Uwooooooooooo!”
A greyish mass that looks like it could never utter a sound based on its appearance alone howls toward the sky.
Concrete fragments scattered across this vast battlefield.
They gathered into one place by the will of a single esper, and the stones that once protected humans from external dangers now began to roar to strike down the enemies of humanity.
The Concrete Colossus.
The pinnacle of the power held by the Lord of Infinite Castles, created by consuming vast resources.
Its size isn't as massive as one might think. The Flesh Giant blocking us is actually larger.
Compared to the Colossus, Void Runner, or Gray Eater—the largest beings in my memory—it is naturally quite small.
However.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The colossus runs at a speed incomparable to those monsters.
Unlike its appearance, which looks like a mountain standing upright, the colossus shows agile movements as if it were a human scaled up.
Normally, when an object's size increases, its movement speed decreases.
It’s a natural law.
If speed were to increase in direct proportion to size, the amount of energy required for that action and the burden on the body would be beyond imagination.
Of course, the amount of energy held increases as the size grows, but it is physically impossible for speed to increase in pure direct proportion.
However, this theory only applies within the realm of Original Species Physics.
Otherworldly Power allows one to ignore such laws.
Even with the Gray Eater, there were conspiracy theories that the Management Bureau was putting on a show with a non-existent monster, claiming that such a creature could never exist under the influence of gravity biologically. Yet, that monster existed and nearly destroyed the world.
The Concrete Colossus made by the Lord of Infinite Castles' ability is the same.
Though it is dozens, hundreds, or perhaps thousands of times larger than a human, it moves as nimbly as one.
Therefore, the power contained within it carries a tremendous force that belies its size.
“Move.”
The moment the Concrete Colossus collided with the Flesh Giant along with the Lord of Infinite Castles' fury-filled voice—
CRASH!
The Flesh Monster, several times larger than the Concrete Colossus, fell to its knees before the smaller being.
The path opens.
The path to The Root of all this.
As if to block that path, human-sized flesh monsters swarm up from the ground.
Splat. Splat. Splat.
By the trampling of the Concrete Colossus that immediately rushed in, they were turned into something resembling gum stuck to the ground.
It was a disgusting sight, but I was too focused on the path that had become so clearly visible to perceive it as such.
I begin to race down that path.
I don't know if I’m alone or if there are Heroes following behind.
My job is simply to move ahead of everyone else.
Whether someone follows or not, my task remains unchanged.
While I ran down the path, the Lord of Infinite Castles was clashing with the regenerated Flesh Giant once again.
In a fleeting moment.
Our gazes met.
A single moment where we happened to look at each other on the battlefield.
In that split second.
The Lord of Infinite Castles, with a blunt expression, simply jerked his chin toward the location of the doctors.
Without even a common word like “Go.”
However, because I clearly understood the meaning behind it—
I didn't give any answer to the Lord of Infinite Castles' action and simply raced down the path made of flesh.
My vision is gradually dyed pink.
The Flesh Pillar grows larger the closer I get.
In contrast, two human figures look even smaller.
They weren't even looking at me, watching the fight between the Concrete Colossus and the Flesh Giant with interested expressions.
I leaped from a distance and shouted toward them.
“Nowadays, even bastards from degree mills call themselves doctors!”
It wasn't a provocation I came up with.
It was a sentence Dr. Ludwig had passed down to me.
“…What did that lab animal just say, Coffin?”
“He called us high school graduates, Kapustin.”
“…He must die.”
The effect was magnificent.