Chapter 430: Tower Reaching the Sky (1)
Chapter 430: Tower Reaching the Sky (1)
…What the hell is that?
The fact that an enemy is resurrected isn't a problem in itself.
I’ve faced so many bastards who repeat The Cycle of resurrection and regeneration that I’d actually be suspicious if an enemy died in one go.
But this time, it’s different.
If I said what I was thinking out loud, everyone might call me crazy.
Those aren't the same doctors from before.
It’s something closer to Meteor’s ability rather than simple resurrection or regeneration.
Yet, their ability is fundamentally different from Meteor’s.
With Meteor, even if his personality, tone, or appearance changed, I could instinctively tell he was the same person after talking for a few minutes.
But my instincts are screaming that those two who just appeared are not the same beings as before.
They look the same, speak the same, and act the same.
But there’s something—an area difficult to explain with words.
A change in the way they vocalize, their body movements, the minute differences in their expressions. Those things make me perceive them as different entities.
No, even that might be an illusion. Perhaps every tiny detail is identical, but because my instincts reject them, I’m forcing myself to find differences.
The same, yet different.
That is why I spoke to them.
“Who the hell are you?”
I spat the words out while clutching my spilling guts.
“I am Dr. Kapustin. The man you killed just a moment ago.”
“Coffin.”
They replied with smiles. Smiles that seemed genuinely glad to see me, just like when we first met.
On their faces, there was no trace of the terror they felt right before death, nor any hatred toward me.
They simply looked at me, smiling.
Then, with a wave of a hand—
“Is it alright to just stand there dazed? The battle isn't over yet. Successful Subject. Or is it Completed Specimen? The meaning is the same.”
With those words, a spear was summoned somewhere far from this spot.
Someone was skewered and killed by that spear. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I sensed it.
Fine, it doesn't matter.
What does it matter if they aren't the same enemies from before?
They’ve defined themselves. They claim to be the same as those two monsters.
Then I’ll simply respond in kind.
So.
“Die.”
My head had cooled for a moment, but the rage simmering inside remained the same.
Running at an infinite speed, I raised my hammer and swung it at them.
I didn't care if it was resurrection, regeneration, succession, transmission, or cloning.
I would simply crush them until they could no longer perform those actions.
This method wasn't always right, but it was correct in the vast majority of situations.
Thus, I unleashed a strike that was slightly weaker than before, but backed by more refined strength.
Because the full weight wasn't behind it, the range was narrow, but it was a blow that could definitely trigger a small-scale spatial collapse.
Those bastards said they could regenerate earlier because their flesh touched my body.
In that case, I’ll fight with a thorough focus on annihilation.
It’s a contest of whether my body hits its limit first, or whether I can erase every single scrap of your flesh.
Whir.
A silent destruction, unfitting for its power, was unleashed.
The pinnacle of physical force, where even the aftershocks of the impact were swallowed by the destruction.
No matter how extraordinary their regeneration was, this blow would grant them a certain death if they were swallowed by it.
As the strike flew forward, scattering the remnants of the collapse—
“Knowledge is the accumulation of experience.”
“Therefore, even in failure, knowledge accumulates and moves forward.”
“If that is true for the experiences of others…”
“How much more so for one’s own?”
Thud.
The light sound of a footstep echoed.
Something surged up in front of me.
A small, flesh-colored human.
It resembled a Flesh Monster, but its power was infinitely fragile.
“When The Hammer reaches the point of impact, it grants The Hammer a weight approaching infinity for a duration approaching zero. Due to that singularity which blatantly ignores the law of conservation of mass, it possesses velocity and converges into force.”
“Since the activation time is infinitely close to zero, the amount of energy consumed is theoretically non-existent, yet the energy emitted is something that converges toward infinity.”
So what?
I don't know the complex theories behind my techniques.
I just move my body because I know what results will follow when I act.
Ignoring their explanation, which was being hammered into my brain rather than my ears, I tried to adjust The Hammer’s trajectory to bypass the Flesh Monster that had appeared. But in that instant—
“In other words, this effect detonates the moment it strikes something.”
Squelch.
The Flesh Monster I had avoided suddenly bloated like a balloon.
Having already changed The Hammer’s trajectory once, I couldn't react to The Enemy’s suddenly expanded mass.
“We know from experience, but it’s going to hurt quite a bit.”
“We’ll make good use of the remains.”
As their laughing voices pierced my mind—
The bloated Flesh Monster was instantly annihilated at the moment of impact.
And the void began to consume my body.
The world breaks.
My body is torn apart.
I wasn't hit by the attack directly, but the restoration process of the world that had shattered at point-blank range shredded my body.
“Cough!”
The shock applied to my body in a time shorter than a single breath mangled my already hopeless physical condition even further.
My regeneration can't keep up.
A halo of light surrounded my body, but the speed of regeneration was slow.
I knew from many battles that my regeneration had its limits, but those had all been against powerful enemies far stronger than me.
Now, I had taken massive damage from enemies far weaker than me, using my own power against me.
Dammit.
Get up, body.
Those crazy psychos are walking this way.
“He’s not dead yet.”
“Intriguing.”
“The composition of the physical body isn't much different from a human’s. Then what creates such a different result?”
“The link between flesh and blood that we do not yet know.”
“Yes, new knowledge, and the advancement of science.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Isn't it obvious?”
“We must consume him.”
Snap.
My sense of stability vanished.
The ground beneath my feet collapsed.
My body, which had been trying to stand by leaning on The Hammer, fell into the air.
White teeth and red lips entered my field of vision.
And a tongue licking those lips.
…My body really is in a mess.
To think I couldn't even sense the precursor to an attack.
Even while reflecting on my state, my body prepared to escape the situation.
Clank. Clank.
The Hammer began to transform the moment I realized the situation.
I was trying to escape by firing the boosters somehow, but I didn't know if I’d make it in time.
Since I was doing everything I currently could, thoughts of what to do if I failed flashed through my mind.
If I get chewed by those teeth, my strength will win out, so it should be fine even if I’m bitten…
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just get eaten and shred them from the inside…
Wait, then their flesh would touch my body, so that’s a no-go…
As I contemplated my situation like a third-party observer—
While I was weighing whether my escape or the closing of the mouth would be faster as the sunlight vanished, a voice rang out.
“Let’s get you out of this disgusting place!”
The progress halted, and a powerful voice echoed in my ears.
Because the mouth was almost closed, the vibrant sound echoed endlessly as if in a cave.
Normally, I would have smacked him for being so noisy, but at least for now, it was a somewhat reliable voice.
“Took you long enough.”
I muttered grumpily while being held by the owner of the voice.
“The battlefield was such a mess, I had no choice but to take time to settle things!”
The muscular Blonde Man suddenly crouched down.
“POWER JUMPPPPPP!”
With a deafening roar that pierced my eardrums, passed through my skull, vibrated my brain, and popped out the other ear—
My vision shifted.
The place we arrived at was the battlefield where I had been scuffling with those two vermin until just a moment ago.
The two villains, still standing tall on that battlefield, looked at us—who had arrived via Ultimate’s spatial leap—with interest and spoke.
“I see, so that is the famous Ultimate? I’ve heard much about him, but this is my first time seeing him in person.”
“The one who received the name of the All-Powerful. Ultimate. His nature is impressive, but…”
They started babbling to each other again.
Taking that chance, I roughly pulled away from Ultimate’s grip and set my feet on the ground again.
Drip.
Blood fell from various parts of my body from the recoil of landing, but it was fine.
Ultimate looked at me with a worried gaze and soon spoke.
“Has my head gone strange? Their voices overlapped for a moment, and now I’m just understanding the meaning of what they say.”
Ultimate blurted out something completely unrelated to his gaze.
He probably knew there was no point in worrying about me, so he asked such an out-of-place question.
“Don't worry about it. Those bastards talk so much you’ll get used to it.”
It wasn't telepathy; it was words whispered directly into the brain.
No matter how long the speech was, the meaning was carved into the mind in an instant, like opening a book and reading the text.
It was likely thanks to that ability that their voices had echoed across the entire battlefield when the tower rose.
I didn't care much, but Ultimate seemed quite flustered.
However, wasn't there more important information than their nonsensical abilities?
“First, be careful. If you touch their flesh, you’ll lose partial control of your body. Their main methods of attack are flesh expansion and flesh transformation. On top of that, they use spear and monster summons that are currently wrecking the battlefield, so watch your step. Also, I killed them once, but looking at them now, they’ll probably keep resurrecting.”
I conveyed their abilities as quickly and concisely as possible.
At my words, Ultimate asked back with a bewildered expression.
“…What do you mean, control is lost if you touch their flesh?”
I had been as direct as possible, but it seemed Ultimate thought I was using a metaphor.
So, I lifted my shirt and showed him my stomach.
Because I had ripped the flesh out with my own hands, it was surrounded by particles of light, but my stomach still hadn't regenerated.
“See how my guts and everything are torn out? Their flesh touched my body, and mouths started growing from it. I didn't know how to deal with it, so I just ripped the flesh out.”
“So you meant it literally. That means I have to fight while keeping as much distance as possible… It’s not my style, but it can't be helped!”
As he finished speaking, Ultimate’s body began to shrink with a shout.
From a form filled with unnecessary muscle and a large surface area for getting hit, he transformed into the shape of a normally well-trained Young Man.
…Though I still don't understand why he insists on keeping those muscles in every form.
“How are things with the Defense Force?”
“There were many casualties, but we succeeded in bringing things under control. They should be launching a counterattack now. However, they won't have enough leeway to support us here.”
I hadn't expected support in the first place.
Still, it seemed we had avoided the worst-case scenario where the command structure collapsed from the initial surprise attack and the rest were slaughtered.
That was likely thanks to this airheaded man and the other Heroes working their asses off.
Unlike me, who charged at The Enemy even after knowing of their deaths.
It was something someone had to do, but it felt a bit bitter.
Anyway, while we were peacefully preparing for the next battle and exchanging pleasantries—
“In other words, the timing of its awakening was after our laboratory was destroyed.”
“Still, wouldn't it have value as a pure, natural control group? Coffin.”
“That entity has too many variables to be used in experiments. Not only does it have no value as a control group, it is merely a dangerous object that cannot be controlled.”
“A valid point. Then, it has no value at all.”
The mad academic fraudsters were also engaged in a discussion full of nonsense.
It seemed that discussion had just ended.
“Ultimate, I apologize for saying this upon our first meeting.”
The Bulky One who spoke waved his hand toward Ultimate with a beaming smile.
“You are useless. Therefore, if you leave the Successful Subject beside you and go, I shall overlook your presence. Ah, did you come with that elderly man who is currently rampaging? Then I apologize, but the elderly man must be left behind as well.”
His expression suddenly shifted to one of complete indifference as he spat out those bizarre words.
“Do you think I would listen to the words of a wicked villain?”
Ultimate’s face as he replied held a smile, but his voice was thick with immense rage.
“Ah, what a tedious existence. Even the response is within the expected range. Then.”
But Ultimate’s rage meant nothing to The Bulky One, who openly looked at the sky and let out a sigh.
“Die and become nourishment.”
Boom.
The moment he finished speaking, a massive palm fell from the sky.
“You should have drawn their attention more, Kapustin.”
“My apologies, Coffin. I felt that if I spoke any longer with such a tedious human, my brain cells would die of boredom.”
“Then it can't be helped.”
Along with the nonsense of those mad beings.
Just as those crazy words suggested, the palm that fell from the sky belonged to The Slim One.
Having shoved his arm into the pillar at some point, The Slim One pulled it out and struck at us with a giant hand. That ambush, which didn't even feel like an ambush, naturally failed and couldn't affect us.
“…I wasn't told about that ability!”
“I’m seeing it for the first time too, so I don't know!”
If others heard this conversation, wouldn't they say both of us are idiots?
Anyway, the two of us ran forward while conversing like that.
“Rear support!”
“Acknowledged!”
The moment we got close enough to the enemies, we split up.
The small me, running forward with my hammer.
The large Ultimate, despite his youthful appearance, supporting the attack from behind.
Anyone watching might call it a strange formation, but this was correct.
“The result will not change just because there is one more of you! As long as the tower remains, we are immortal! We shall reach the heavens!”
As I approached, The Bulky One prepared for battle again.
The Slim One remained observant, preparing for any unexpected situations.
“It does change, you moron.”
A new top-tier Hero has joined this side.
As if to prove my words—
“Urgh?!”
The Bulky One’s movements suddenly stopped.
The Bulky One’s hand, which he had been trying to bloat, certainly expanded, but it was immediately compressed again by some force.
His legs, which had been trying to widen the distance along with the attack, were vibrating in place, unable to take a single step back.
Of course, this wasn't because I had done anything.
This was Ultimate’s telekinesis.
Because of his muscles and fighting style, many misunderstood him as a purely physical Hero.
But the ability Ultimate possessed was what made him all-powerful. That was why he had received the S-Rank title.
His Supernatural Power was at a level far beyond the imagination of those lunatics.
While they struggled against the telekinesis to barely take a step back, I reached them, hammer raised.
“Dumbasses who can't even recognize their opponent’s skill. That’s why you’re nothing but academic fraudsters.”
My hammer slammed into the head of The Enemy Ultimate had pinned down.
The brief sensation of something shattering traveled up my arm. The flesh that tried to scatter from the explosion floated in the air due to the telekinesis before being burned away.
Yes. With Ultimate here, I don't have to obsess over spatial collapse.
I’ll still have to be careful in my own way, but I can fight like I usually do.
The Enemy will surely resurrect soon, but the sensation of crushing their skull, which still lingered in my hand, wasn't half bad.