Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Alien VS Alien
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Thankfully, the woman answered Ian's questions without any fuss. Her responses came mixed with the unique body odor of someone who hadn't bathed and the stench of ammonia, but they were still fairly helpful. Ian personally laid down a one-way ticket to the afterlife with a chop to the back of her neck and stepped out onto the ruined street.
"This is Incheon...?"
Incheon, the city in the northwest of South Korea. A place infamous for scandals and all sorts of incidents, but also Ian's hometown where he was born and raised. Now, that very place was so devastated it was hard to recognize its former self.
Finding intact buildings was a challenge. The wreckage of a crashed plane was embedded vertically into a half-collapsed high-rise. There were no active fires, but traces of past blazes lingered.
Bodies littered the roadside. Scattered bite marks from long maws suggested the Reptilians had used them as rations. Who said they weren't omnivores? They'd devoured them thoroughly.
"...No need to hunt for survivors. They're not real residents of this world anyway."
He forced his stiff, sluggish brain into gear. It was like oiling a rusted engine—one that could mutter to itself rather than just think. Muttering helped sort his thoughts far better than silent rumination.
Truth be told, he wanted nothing more than to hole up in a nearby building and crash, but he hadn't found the two yet, so that wasn't an option.
"It'd be easier if they showed themselves first... No action so far, though. Am I the only one dropped in Incheon?"
It was a reasonable deduction. Korea might be smaller than other countries, but it wasn't that tiny. Driving from Seoul to Busan took a solid four hours... If the two were in Busan, even if they caused a ruckus, he'd never spot it with the naked eye.
"I doubt they're that far, but just in case. Keep it in mind."
The roads were in terrible shape. Occasional breaks were one thing; some sections had melted into unrecognizable masses. Driving would be impossible.
Not that any intact cars were likely left. In a city bombed to hell, what were the odds? If Anomalies actually existed here, maybe—but the only one around was Reptilians.
"Subterranean lizard people, Moon Nazis, Antarctic alien penguins, Martians... If those all showed up at once, Earth would be a sight to behold."
None were powerhouse individuals on their own, but united to conquer Earth? Spectacular. Ian chuckled, imagining Moon Nazis battling cannibalistic Antarctic penguins.
That's when it happened. Footsteps thudded from ahead—thump, thump.
Too heavy for human, yet carrying the bipedal rhythm of a beast. Ian halted and stared at the approaching group. They, scouting the area, spotted him standing there and froze.
[All of you, halt.]
A hissing, deflating voice came from one. A long tongue flicked out from its maw and retracted. Ian tilted his head slightly and summoned his Grimoire.
Elongated snout. Vertical slit pupils like a reptile's. Slender tail tapping the ground. Greenish scales.
No need to look further.
Reptilians.
[Didn't expect any humans left.]
The leader of the pack.
A lizard with an eyepatch spat it out.
Its voice was bizarre—like a man and woman with ruined throats speaking in unison. Personal quirks aside, it wasn't a voice anyone would want to hear.
Ian clicked his tongue.
"Lizard. Learn to speak properly first. Whose speech patterns and voice are you aping?"
[...What?]
The Reptilian's face twisted at Ian's cheek.
[A mere human dares call me lizard? A monkey spawn?]
"Don't use such strong words. You look weak."
Ian flipped open the Grimoire's cover using a line he'd heard somewhere. The ominous black cover rustled aside, revealing pristine white pages. The angle hid the contents from the Reptilians, but they instantly sensed the book's special nature.
[...Idiotic words aside, you seem somewhat special. Where'd you get that book?]
"Picked it up at the library."
[Treating us like fools? Think you're something because we're talking?]
Boom!
The pack leader slammed its foot down vertically, sending a massive boom through the asphalt crater and a brief quake through the earth. The shockwave whipped Ian's hair and coat.
[Hand over the book. I'll cleanly decapitate you as a reward.]
"And if I don't?"
[I'll chop off your limbs and toss you to the troops as a toy. We can impregnate regardless of gender.]
"That's fucking disgusting."
Ian grimaced, unprepared to hear Reptilian reproduction details here. He whipped out his meteor pen and sketched a magic circle on the ground. His tongue flicked at their blatant disdain.
[Words won't cut it. Gotta lop off an arm first to make you compliant.]
Thud, thud!
The Reptilian lumbered forward, crushing the ground under its bulk. The pack followed.
[Squad leader, if we're using it as a toy, let me go first.]
[Shut it. It's useless without training. Slice the belly, gut it, insert the eggs first.]
[Tch, under... stood...]
They closed in amid their grotesque chatter. But Ian finished his circle faster. He tossed pre-prepared Aberration flesh onto it, stood, and chanted.
"O Circulator, thou who cycles eternal." "Thou who crawls through endless eons." "As proxy and consort of the One, I command thee."
⟨ Summoning Magic ⟩
A being he'd summoned once before. Gray-skinned hound of the outer seas, veins exposed. Creature of death and rebirth across eternities.
[What the hell's that punk saying?]
[No idea. Ignore and grab—]
"I have prepared a feast for thee. Come forth."
Drip.
The chant ended as a red blood droplet fell from the Grimoire. Iron tang mixed with briny sea reek wrinkled the Reptilians' snouts. The drop spread on the ground, forming a low blood mist.
And from that mist.
[...Grrr.]
A massive limb burst out.
Quadrupedal joints prominent. Razor-sharp gray claws leaking black seawater. Red veins crawling gray skin. Pulsing arteries. Veins.
Before they could process, the mist cleared, revealing its owner.
A hunting hound the size of a bus. Drooling saliva, blood, and seawater, it stood beside Ian, exhaling heavily.
[...Huh?]
[...What the fuck is that?]
[...]
One known as the Circulator.
The specimen summoned in the moonfallen village appeared on Earth in its evolved form.
"Miss me?"
Ian grinned, stroking its hide. Like a dog nuzzling its owner, the Circulator leaned in. Grotesque to the point of horror, but Ian accepted its affection.
"Told you I'd summon you again last time."
[Grrr!]
"This is that moment."
Ian scratched under its chin and turned to the frozen Reptilians. They shuddered under his gaze.
"Devour them however you like. Just avoid Yu Eun-ha and Han Yu-na—the two from my memories. Got it?"
[Grrr!]
The Circulator nodded. Saliva dripping, it eyed the Reptilians. Eyeless, yet sensing all, it bared jagged fangs and crouched low.
Hunting stance. Raw killing intent poured from it as the Reptilians extended claws, readying for battle.
[Everyone, stay calm! Beasts that size exist on Earth too! We can han—]
KABOOM!!
The leader's words drowned in the roar. Only its lower half remained where it stood. Its upper body was already in the Circulator's maw, mangled beyond recognition by teeth.
[Fuck, kill it!]
The deputy squad leader yelled—then was shredded into five pieces by claws.
Blue blood, organs, bones rained down. Before they hit, the Circulator gaped wide and neatly decapitated the rest.
Three seconds total. Headless lizard torsos slumped; the hound crunched skulls, then ravenously tore into the bodies. Ian watched silently, closing his Grimoire.
"Got their scent? Track 'em. Oh, and smash anything in sight—no issue. Just alert me if you catch those two's smells."
[Grrr? Grrr!]
"What scent? It's on me a bit—sniff and confirm."
[Grrr... sniff sniff... Grrr! Grrrrowl!]
"Good, glad you get it. Finish eating and follow. I'll head out first."
[Grrr!]
The Circulator nodded and dove back into the corpses. Ian tapped its head with the Grimoire and walked the cleared path.
Then he ran into those cultists again. Spotting him strolling the ruined city unscathed, they muttered among themselves.
He had zero interest in their chatter.
No chance to ask anyway. As they approached with who-knows-what in mind, the freshly finished Circulator charged and body-slammed them. They burst without a squeak, spraying gore everywhere.
"Whoa, that packed a punch!"
Ian blurted the unfiltered thought.
[Grrrowl!]
Taking it as praise, the Circulator leaped and bisected a relatively intact building.
The structure's midsection bent like a bow.