Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Mechanical Insects
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“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Kirina's voice echoed through the dust.
“What the hell!”
Jekovic, who had been walking ahead, spun around in a panic.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Shin-ju covered his mouth with an arm, coughing repeatedly.
The Old Book was open in his hand.
He managed to pry one eye open to assess the situation.
“Kugh…!”
Someone was letting out a pained groan.
A massive silhouette shimmered in the dust.
Shin-ju squinted, trying to keep the dust out of his eyes as he stared ahead.
Slowly, the silhouette's form began to sharpen.
A giant, spider-like silhouette entered Shin-ju's vision.
No, to be precise, the upper body was human, and the lower half was that of a spider.
As the dust began to settle, its outline became clearer.
Shin-ju's face twisted into a grimace as he confirmed the creature's appearance.
Atop the spider-like lower body was the upper torso of a Bluerobic Elf, modified with machinery.
*Screech, screech, screech.*
An eerie metallic sound scraped out whenever the mechanical Elf moved.
“Son of a bitch…!”
Shin-ju cursed under his breath.
“Cough, cough, Katrin!”
Kirina's cry rang out.
Blue blood trickled down the spider's sharp foreleg, soaking the ground.
When the dust cleared completely, Katrin was revealed, impaled through the shoulder, chest, and abdomen by the spider's leg.
Katrin, who had been walking right behind Kirina, had thrown herself forward to protect her the moment the explosion occurred.
The face of the mechanically modified Elf slowly looked down at Katrin.
*Creeak—*
The Elf's mouth was split open wide, like the mandibles of a stag beetle.
*Drip, drip.*
The mechanical Elf's tears fell onto Katrin's face.
With a pained expression, she looked up at the anguished face of her kin.
The Elf was crying.
As if begging to be killed.
Furen and Sharin's eyes widened with rage at the horrific scene unfolding before them.
But Furen gritted her teeth, gripping Sharin's arm tightly, and held back.
The two of them had a separate, cold duty to perform.
“Gah!”
Blood burst from Katrin's mouth.
“Kirina!”
Furen's eyes shot wide as she called out to Kirina.
Kirina bit her lip and nodded, as if she knew what she had to do.
*Shing—*
In an instant, she drew two daggers from her waist and sliced through the neck of her kin attached to the spider's torso.
*Sizzle, crackle.*
The cleanly severed head of the mechanical Elf dropped to the floor with a thud.
A moment later, the spider's body collapsed sideways.
Katrin, still gripping the spider leg, fell with it.
“Katrin!”
Kirina rushed to the fallen Katrin's side.
Covered in blood, Katrin was gasping for breath.
“Medic! Is there a medic!”
“On our way!”
Three Elves emerged from the group of refugees.
They examined the prone Katrin's condition.
Meanwhile, Furen and Sharin left Katrin behind, their faces grim as they stared into the large hole the mechanical monster had just burst from.
The two of them sensed an ominous presence approaching.
*Skitter, skitter, skitter.*
The sound of something crawling closer came from within the hole.
Glock-like pistols materialized in Furen's hands.
“They're coming!”
She stared into the hole with a determined gaze.
Sharin had also taken a combat stance, holding her Actrazer.
They had to leave the wounded to their comrades and prepare for the attack that would follow.
“Get Katrin over there!”
Shin-ju shouted, pointing to a corner.
The refugees worked together to cut away the spider leg embedded in Katrin's body.
*Shunk!*
Then they carefully lifted her and moved quickly toward the corner.
Meanwhile, Shin-ju ran after them, hastily chanting a spell.
“What the hell! What's going on!”
Jekovic could be seen galloping toward Shin-ju on all fours from a distance.
“It's an ambush! Protect the refugees while we treat Katrin!”
“…Got it!”
At Shin-ju's calm command, Jekovic immediately turned, bristled his mane, and assumed a fighting stance.
The medics were holding onto the spider legs still stuck in Katrin's body.
“Dammit! Katrin…!”
Kirina sobbed beside them.
Having finished his spell, Shin-ju approached and looked at Katrin calmly.
“I know a way to staunch the bleeding for sure. All you need to do is pull the legs out safely.”
Shin-ju looked at the medics again, as if seeking confirmation.
“You have to trust me. Understood?”
*Nod, nod.*
They nodded, their faces a complex mix of hope and anxiety.
“Hoo.”
The Old Book floated up beside Shin-ju.
“I'll count to three. Pull the legs out on my mark.”
The three medics each took hold of a leg, expertly positioning themselves to pull.
“One! Two!”
Shin-ju paused for a beat, then shouted.
“Three!”
The medics' arms tensed.
*Squelch—!*
Katrin screamed as the three legs were yanked from her body.
“Now!”
Shin-ju cupped his hands and extended his arms toward Katrin.
Shadows swiftly gathered around him.
Rising from the ground, the shadows began to wrap around the pierced areas like black rubber bands.
“Grrrghh….”
Katrin threw her head back, her face contorted in agony.
“Hoo… That should do it for now. Lady Katrin, are you alright?”
As Shin-ju looked down at her, Katrin managed a weak nod.
Kirina and the surrounding refugees let out sighs of relief.
The sound of Furen's gunfire came from behind Shin-ju.
“They're swarming!”
Furen stood before the large hole, firing at whatever was pouring out.
“Mechanical insects! But their forms are inconsistent!”
Sharin, holding her Actrazer, shouted from beside her.
“Dammit all to hell! They turned our comrades into lumps of machinery!”
“Sharin!”
*Kieeeek—*
“Hup!”
At the same time as Furen's shout, a mechanical insect that had flown in from the air was sliced in half by the Actrazer.
The upper half of the mechanical insect fell in front of Shin-ju.
*Kieee—*
Shin-ju bit his lower lip as he looked down at the mechanical insect.
An Elf's face was attached to a long, centipede-like body.
*Clack, clack, clack, clack.*
The centipede-Elf clacked its mandibles a few times, then coiled its body.
*Shashashak—*
The centipede-Elf suddenly charged at Shin-ju, moving in a rapid zigzag pattern.
*Bang—*
Before Shin-ju could react, the centipede was struck by Furen's bullet and went limp.
As Shin-ju stared down at the shattered lump of machinery, a phrase came to mind.
'Nanomachine composite.'
It was an advanced technology developed on the Frontline.
*Dammit... Was the Frontline involved in this too?*
They were generally a righteous race, but not all of them were.
Where there is light, there must be shadow.
Suddenly, Jekovic jerked his head up and pointed somewhere.
“Over there!”
“I can definitely feel a breeze coming from that hole! We have to go up that way!”
Shin-ju looked at Jekovic.
He could clearly see his mane fluttering in the breeze.
A wave of unease washed over Shin-ju.
*A sudden attack... and a path opens up this easily?*
“Hoo.”
Shin-ju's expression grew serious.
Regardless, they had to move forward.
*Rat-a-tat-tat— Rat-a-tat-tat—*
Expressionless, Furen skillfully took down the approaching mechanical insects one by one.
Sharin muttered from beside her.
“They're swarming, but there aren't that many of them.”
“Don't let your guard down.”
Furen quietly admonished her while firing her gun.
“I'll help you!”
Shin-ju had come up beside Furen.
“I have a request.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
*Rat-a-tat-tat—*
“It seems some of our comrades have become victims of an experiment.”
Furen spoke calmly, continuing to fire.
“Yes… I saw.”
“Can you subdue them while keeping them alive as much as possible?”
*Clack, click—*
Furen finished reloading.
“There's something I need to ask them.”
And she began firing again.
“…And I want to give them a proper funeral.”
“…Understood.”
Shin-ju peered into the massive hole.
Elves, modified into indescribable insects, were scrambling over each other to crawl up.
Looking closely, he saw Furen was trying her best not to kill them, aiming only for the composites' legs.
Understanding Furen's intent, Shin-ju chanted a spell from the Old Book.
He summoned the giant soap bubbles he had used before to safely subdue the leashed alien beast.
Just then, a great tremor that shook the very earth transmitted through the ground beneath them.
Deep inside the hole.
A bumpy, circular silhouette appeared.
A moment later, as its outline sharpened, everyone gasped in horror.
Its upper body was a grotesque amalgamation of various aliens, all fused together, supported by the mechanical legs of an arthropod.
It was a sight reminiscent of the monster from Hobbes's *Leviathan*.
The monster squeezed through the passage, approaching rapidly.
“Fucking hell!”
With a horrified expression, Shin-ju quickly summoned his bubbles.
“Dammit! Where are these things coming from!”
Shin-ju quickly summoned bubbles to rescue the mechanical composites in front of him.
Furen's eyes widened as she drew the long rifle slung over her back.
It looked like a weapon from World War I, modified with alien technology.
Furen had already finished loading and calmly raised the barrel, entering sniper mode.
“Shin-ju, don't worry about this. Focus on the rescue.”
She encouraged him, taking a deep breath.
“…Yes!”
Shin-ju trusted Furen and focused calmly on his spell.
*Float, float.*
The bubbles floated toward the mechanical composites.
*Kuaaaaaah—*
*Uwaaaaaah—*
*Uooooooh—*
*Kiyaaaaah—*
The giant mechanical monster resembling the *Leviathan* cover crawled upward, letting out a bizarre cacophony of cries.
The voices of countless species mixed together, creating a harrowing scene.
Suddenly, the monster's speed increased.
Furen calmly observed the monster through her scope.
*KA-POW—*
The crisp crack of a gunshot, one that seemed to pierce through the very air, rang out.
*Thwack—*
The bullet pierced one of the torsos on the mechanical monster.
*Kuaaaaaah!!!*
*Uwaaaaaah!!!*
*Kuaaaaaah!!!*
The mechanical monster writhed in pain, faltering.
In that time, Shin-ju was absorbing the mechanical composites into the bubbles and moving them safely to his location.
Dozens of mechanical composites, encased in bubbles, passed over Shin-ju's head.
The composites struggled to escape, but it was no use.
“That's all of them, Lady Furen!”
“Hmph!”
Furen's expression changed.
Then, her sniper rifle instantly transformed into a giant bazooka.
Shin-ju stared at Furen with wide, surprised eyes.
She knelt on one knee, shouldered the bazooka, and brought her eye to the scope.
The image of the Leviathan-like mechanical monster filled the scope.
“In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”
*FWOOOOSH—*
A large missile launched from the bazooka's barrel.
The bazooka missile flew toward the eyes of the dozens of aliens woven into the upper body.
In that instant, they closed their eyes with peaceful expressions, as if they had been waiting only for death.
*KA-BOOM—!!*
*Thud, thud, thud.*
Fragments of corpses, scattered in the air, rained down to the floor.
*Whirr, clank.*
The bazooka had already reverted back into a sniper rifle.
Everyone stared blankly into the now-silent hole.
Shin-ju inadvertently looked up.
The bubbles were floating leisurely above him.
In total, Shin-ju had rescued fifteen individuals; seven of them were Bluerobic.
Soon, Sharin, Furen, and the refugees behind them all looked up with sorrowful expressions at their comrades who had suffered horrific biological experiments.
“Shin-ju, you can bring them down now.”
Sharin requested.
The bubbles floating in the air slowly descended to the floor.
The mechanical composites inside the bubbles thrashed about wildly.
Furen walked out from between Shin-ju and Sharin.
Furen silently looked up at the face of a Bluerobic woman trapped inside a bubble.
*Creeeak.*
The woman's face was crying, but her sharp legs were scratching wildly at the bubble, displaying aggression.
“Do you… recognize me?”
Furen met her eyes and tried to speak to her.