Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 015
Chapter Title: The Alchemists
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"What the hell?! Why is a chimera over there!?"
Joseph let out a panicked shout at the sudden crisis.
They had definitely sealed off the area around the site.
Originally, the 3rd Platoon was supposed to disembark from the rooftop a short distance from the scene and enter from the ground.
But out of nowhere, a chimera had appeared at the drop point and intercepted the helicopter.
"I-I don't know!"
"Deploy Alpha Team! The enemies are two giant claw-type chimeras! They attack by throwing their claws!"
"Yes, sir!!"
"What about the helicopter crash site!?"
The female officer monitoring the screens shouted.
"It's crashing toward the complex occupied by the alchemists!"
"You mean it's going down right at the scene?!"
"Yes!!"
"Damn..."
In short, the helicopter carrying the police had plummeted helplessly into the heart of enemy territory.
"Can we reach the officers on the chopper?!"
"We're trying!"
"Captain! We've partially restored connection to 3rd Platoon's body cams!"
"Put it on the monitor!"
"Yes!"
Several body cam feeds popped up in front of them.
And the scene they showed was pure pandemonium.
"Ugh, my head."
Clutching my throbbing skull, I first activated Baal's Minor Curse.
The headache that had plagued me even after barely surviving the crash vanished cleanly.
Feeling refreshed, I ripped off the tangled seatbelt with brute force.
"What the hell is going on..."
At that moment, a bizarre screech echoed as a massive claw burst through the helicopter's fuselage right next to me.
Clang!
"......"
Talk about brutal.
"Damn it! More chimeras incoming!"
"Shoot! Fire!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
Peering out through the half-wrecked hatch, I saw utter chaos around the chopper.
Chimeras were swarming the crash site, locked in fierce combat with a handful of surviving inmates defending against them.
Then, from one side, Walter's voice rang out.
"You son of a bitch! Breathe! Come on, breathe!"
Turning my gaze, I saw him performing CPR on a gaunt officer.
"If you die too! Damn it! No one's coming! To save us!"
"Hey, old man."
As I approached, Walter looked up at me with wide eyes.
"...! You...!"
"He's already gone."
"......"
I didn't need to check. Maybe because I'd grown so used to death.
Now, I could tell at a glance if someone was dead or alive.
"Son of a bitch!"
Walter let go of the officer with a sour expression.
I crouched down and gently closed the man's staring eyes.
'We were just starting to get close...'
It was a shame.
"Hey, you assholes!! Quit messing with the corpse and help out!"
An inmate with an X-shaped scar on his face bellowed at us.
But in that instant, a flying claw decapitated him cleanly.
Splat! His body crumpled limply.
"What the—?!"
Walter aimed his right arm at the approaching giant claw chimera.
His arm split open, revealing a barrel that fired a blue plasma bolt.
Boom! The chimeras were shredded and flung away.
But more claws surged through the gap. I quickly took cover behind the helicopter and yelled,
"We need to get out of here first!"
The chopper had crashed in the open courtyard at the center of the block-shaped complex—an easy spot to get attacked from all sides.
"But we're completely surrounded!"
An inmate gripping dual pistols shouted at me.
"How the hell are we supposed to escape?!"
Walter, sticking close behind me, thrust out his left arm against claws coming from the opposite side.
His forearm split open, deploying a plasma shield that blocked them.
"Whoa."
I couldn't help but admire it.
"Old man, you can do that too?"
"You think I've survived this long on looks alone?"
"Honestly, I pegged you as a one-trick pony who just plays dead."
"......"
"Kieeeeek!"
Walter blasted a freakish dog-like chimera hybrid with plasma, changing the subject.
"Anyway, got any bright ideas?!"
A ponytail inmate fighting near the chopper's tail rushed over and shouted,
"...Those bastards! They're too tough—bullets barely scratch 'em!"
"Damn it!"
Walter's plasma rounds were the only thing that worked, but he couldn't fire them continuously.
"Batteries have limits. Keep this up, and it'll run dry soon."
The dual-pistol guy made a despairing face at Walter's words.
"So we're just gonna wither away here?!"
"No."
All eyes turned to me.
'Survivors including me: about four total.'
"I've got one experiment I want to try."
"Experiment?"
"Old man, cover me."
"What?"
I activated Baal's Minor Curse and charged at the swarm of chimeras heading our way.
"Hey! You crazy...!"
Walter provided rapid covering fire behind me.
Staring at the chimeras' tough shells, I thought,
'Internal Force Fist Punch forces magic into the target to destroy their internals.'
If that's the case...
I targeted a humanoid chimera charging at me, drooling, and unleashed Internal Force Fist Punch.
Internal Force Fist Punch (Enhanced)
Injects mana into the enemy's body, directly impacting their internals. Generates a powerful shockwave aftershock.
My body naturally stepped into position, and my fist sank into the chimera's solar plexus.
And I felt it.
Something from deep inside me surging out through my fist with tremendous force.
"...!!"
The moment that something reached the chimera's hide, a violent shock wrenched its guts apart.
Crack!
"Kiiiiii!!!"
But that wasn't the end.
Enhanced Internal Force Fist Punch.
The intense aftershock exploded simultaneously, blasting away the chimeras behind it.
"Kreeeeeek!"
"Kiiiiiiii!"
Boom!!!
"......!!"
Walter and the inmates gaped at the absurd sight.
"Insane."
"What the hell was that..."
"W-What is that guy?"
The ponytail inmate's eyes trembled.
"Some kinda mage?"
It looked like I'd just strolled up and tapped the chimera lightly—then a massive storm swept away the ones behind it.
The bizarre scene wouldn't look out of place as some kind of magic.
But I was just as shocked.
'What is this...'
Of course, it paled compared to that werewolf's fist strike I'd seen before.
Still, the destructive power exceeded my expectations.
'This... is huge.'
That was when it hit.
"Gah!?"
Sudden agony ripped through my upper body as muscles tore and my guts twisted.
I couldn't help but panic.
'No way—one use and this?!'
Instinctively, I realized.
'Ah, I get it. This skill.'
It wasn't meant for humans.
True to its Wereking Fist name, this was a skill for werewolves.
But that didn't matter.
'I'm immortal.'
One use of Baal's Minor Curse and my body bounced back good as new.
"Hoo."
A grin tugged at my lips at the refreshing sensation.
'Immortality really is the best.'
Walter recovered first and shouted at the inmates.
"Hurry! Follow that guy!!"
"!!"
Deploying his plasma shield, he stuck behind me and yelled,
"We can break through like this, right!?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, just leave it to me."
"Then run!"
I unleashed Internal Force Fist Punch on another charging dog-type chimera.
Boom! The aftershock ravaged everything behind its exploding guts.
We bolted into the complex building through the cleared path.
Once inside, things got even easier.
The narrow corridors forced the chimeras into single file.
'Internal Force Fist Punch!'
Each punch sent a shockwave sweeping the hall.
The recoil shredded my arm muscles and guts every time, but so what? I'm immortal.
As long as my body kept reviving endlessly, nothing held me back.
Just like with the curses.
True infinite power—a walking perpetual motion machine.
"What now?!"
Walter asked. I replied,
"We have to take out the culprits, or these chimeras will keep chasing us!"
"You're saying charge the alchemists like this!?"
"Anyone got a working terminal?"
"Mine's good!"
The dual-pistol guy tossed me the device from his chest.
"Okay."
I pulled up the map and addressed the incoming chimeras.
"Then how about we take a quick lap around the complex? Like a casual stroll."
The inmates stared at me like I was insane.
I was used to it by now.
"Whoa, they were hiding here."
Finally reaching the room where the alchemists hid, I clicked my tongue in silence.
Of all places, the basement boiler room.
Wasted effort busting through the front doors.
"Hey, look over there."
Following Walter's quiet nod, sure enough.
The woman from the helicopter photo lay dead in a gruesome state.
I tsked briefly.
"...Honestly, I figured."
"Yeah?"
"She was pretty."
"...What does that have to do with anything?"
Then one alchemist yelled at me indignantly.
"Th-This is cheating! It's cheating!"
"Cheating?"
"We spent years researching and creating those chimeras, and you wipe them out this easily...! Cheating! Cheating!"
I frowned.
"Who cares?"
Walter shaped his plasma into a blade and sliced off the alchemist's leg.
Splash!
"Aaaargh!!"
"Filthy trash."
I could understand his disgust.
We'd seen the residents massacred upstairs, all preserved as specimens.
Probably sourcing new chimera hosts—who knows.
But these alchemists had clearly slaughtered around a hundred people overnight.
"Punishment squads wouldn't even want scum like this."
The dual-pistol inmate yawned.
"Whatever. Let's finish 'em."
The alchemists screamed in terror.
"Eek!"
"D-Don't come closer! If you kill us, the Al Kimia Alliance will..."
"Blah blah blah. So what?"
As he aimed his pistol—
"Th-Then...!"
A rear alchemist jumped up and hurled a red gem at us.
"Die!!"
"?!"
Startled by the ominous mana glow, I grabbed the inmate's collar, activated Baal's Minor Curse, and flung him backward while shouting,
"...?!"
"Everyone, get down!!"
A fire spell engulfed my vision.
Whoosh!
A colossal inferno swept over me in a blink.
The alchemists burst into delighted laughter.
"Heh, heh, hehehe! Thought alchemists were helpless without chimeras!!"
"Stupid bastards!"
"Serves you right!"
"Without that guy, the rest are nothing..."
But soon, their eyes bulged.
There I stood, unscathed amid the clearing flames, brushing off ashes.
"Without me... what was that?"
"H-How...!"
"That gem held at least advanced mana...!"
Plasma rounds blasted their upper bodies away.
Splat! The alchemists crumpled.
"......"
Turning, I saw Walter—face singed—aiming his barrel at them.
"You little... shits."
Thud. Walter collapsed unconscious.
★ Escaped the crashed helicopter (★★★★★)
★ Prevented Al Kimia Alliance from recovering leaked info from operatives (★★★★)
★ Eliminated over half of on-site chimeras (★★★★★)
★ Subdued the culprits (★★★★★)
+ Level Up
+ Bonus Stats for High Achievement
+ Enhanced Skill Points Awarded
I thought,
'No new skill tree unlocked this time.'
I'd only died once—to that fire magic gem.
That was when—
"?!"
I blinked.
'Skill acquired... without skill points?'