Chapter 150
Chapter 150
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: The True Nature of the Colony Lord
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The lord of the colony had fallen to Havel's sword.
“Giek, gieeeek.”
The creature was dying, spewing out all sorts of filth from its body.
'Was it so focused on the outside that its main body's durability was weak?'
It seemed easier to hunt than expected.
Now that it was wounded, this was the perfect chance.
Havel didn't hesitate and launched another assault.
His thrusting sword reached the colony lord.
The creature belatedly extended black tendrils toward Havel, but...
Havel's blade struck first.
Slash!
With a chilling sound, the colony lord's head flew off entirely.
Havel shattered even the rolling head into pieces in an instant.
The colony lord's body twitched before going limp.
Its flesh, half-connected to the ground, finally slumped to the floor.
'Is that it?'
But it had ended far too anticlimactically.
Then Havel realized something—no Calamity was flowing into him.
Whenever he defeated a floor's lord, he always absorbed its Calamity.
Yet nothing was being absorbed now.
Something was off.
'Is this guy not the real one?'
Or had Kaal failed to send him to the right place?
As Havel pondered this...
Bubbles erupted from the severed neck with a gurgling sound.
At the same time, veins and flesh sprouted from the stump.
The neck bones protruded, gradually forming a skull shape.
Flesh and veins filled it in at rapid speed.
It was regenerating its head.
An absurd level of regeneration.
Havel lifted his foot.
Crunch!
He unhesitatingly stomped the regenerating head into pulp.
Then he swung his sword, pulverizing the colony lord's body completely.
He didn't just chop it into chunks this time—he reduced it to powder.
Yet again, regeneration began to creep from the severed parts.
Havel's eyes twitched.
This was practically immortality on par with his own.
What kind of monster was this?
'Should I just erase the moon after all?'
As he seriously considered obliterating the moon...
Havel noticed the colony lord's Calamity flow moving strangely.
'This is...'
Havel focused the power of his eyes.
The Calamity flows came into sharper view.
Soon, he spotted something.
'It feels connected to somewhere else.'
Havel raised his hand.
He plunged it straight into the regenerating colony lord.
The creature continued regenerating its flesh regardless.
Ignoring it, Havel summoned Calamity into his hand.
He then spread it throughout the colony lord's body.
At that moment...
The Calamity he'd infused spread rapidly in all directions.
'This...'
And soon, Havel grasped the colony lord's true nature.
The colony lord wasn't just one entity.
It was a single being composed of multiples.
As long as even one survived, the others kept it alive—no matter how many died.
With its innate regeneration, there was only one way to eliminate the dispersed fragments.
'Destroy all the scattered ones at once before they regenerate.'
Havel frowned.
He hadn't anticipated this.
Even he was only human.
Even if he wielded the Dawn Meteor Sword's divided blades of light...
He could only kill one colony lord at a time.
'The colony lords are scattered everywhere.'
Havel had pinpointed all their locations via Calamity, but...
He realized he couldn't eliminate them all at once.
No matter how fast he moved at light speed, he couldn't hit every scattered one simultaneously.
'I can't do this alone.'
Three people came to mind.
Elashiya, Pyod, Baria.
Those three had surely entered the city.
Three might not be enough, even with him.
Excluding the three and himself, they needed at least six more.
Havel tore apart the regenerating colony lord again.
As he did, he forged a single Dawn Meteor Sword.
Thud!
He immediately stabbed it into the colony lord.
It wouldn't last long, but it would halt the regeneration for now.
'Just a temporary measure.'
Havel decided to leave before the Dawn Meteor Sword faded.
He aimed his sword at the ceiling and infused it with Dawn.
The moment enough Dawn had gathered...
Havel leaped, piercing straight through the ceiling in a soaring thrust.
He broke through the moon's layers and the black tendrils.
In an instant, he emerged into outer space.
“Havel!”
At that moment, Kaal approached from afar.
He had already pulled Havel into his spatial domain, his face lit with excitement.
The tendrils outside had all frozen still.
He thought Havel had defeated the colony lord and was thrilled.
But he soon noticed Havel's expression wasn't pleased.
“Havel, what happened?”
As he asked if something had gone wrong...
Havel slowly nodded.
“The colony lord isn't just one.”
“What?”
“I examined it. It's a dimensional being that regenerates infinitely until every instance is killed simultaneously.”
“Th-that can't be...”
Defeat washed over Kaal's face.
He'd thought slaying the colony lord would end everything.
But it wasn't singular.
Kaal couldn't help feeling dismayed.
“Then...”
“Yeah, there's no way to kill the colony lord.”
To defeat it, specific conditions had to be met.
Kaal's face darkened as Havel explained.
Ability users couldn't do anything against the colony lord.
The parasites embedded in their bodies prevented them from even mustering hostility.
That meant relying on ordinary people without abilities, but...
Regular folk wouldn't even reach the colony lord before dying.
“From what I've confirmed via Calamity, there are seven colony lords.”
Havel shared the count after checking.
Seven of them.
Kaal felt his breath catch.
“I can handle three of them.”
Havel was certain those three had entered the city.
“But even including me, we need three more to take down the lords.”
“Three more...”
Kaal slowly raised his head.
“I can be one.”
His black eyes gleamed sharply.
Ability users couldn't harbor hostility toward the colony lord.
But Kaal was different.
Part of his body had been destroyed, allowing him to feel enmity.
Just like Freddy.
If he erased the parasite seal in his heart, he could fight.
But they still needed two more.
Kaal bit his lip.
Parasites stopped ability users from even feeling hostility toward the colony lord.
That made self-sacrificing their hearts impossible on their own.
Only a few could harbor enmity.
“Zero-grade agents...”
Like Freddy, those who could erase parts of their parasites to gain hostility.
And the ones Freddy had mentioned, like himself.
He needed to meet them.
Even if it meant forcing death upon them.
Their help was essential.
“Havel.”
They were heading back to the city.
The city they returned to was a total wreck.
Red tendrils filled the streets everywhere.
Ability users stood powerless before them, unable to act.
Casualties among civilians were piling up as a result.
In the midst of the ruined cityscape...
One group was holding their ground.
The so-called Zero-grade agents.
The nine survivors after Freddy's death.
They desperately saved citizens and confronted the red tendrils.
But their numbers were far too few.
They couldn't contain the crisis alone.
“Damn it, what do we do about this?!”
A blond man with wild hair cried out in anguish.
He was the Zero-grade agent known as the Yellow Dragon.
In terrible shape, he rolled on the ground, thrashing to block the red tendrils somehow.
“No idea. We can only hope they win.”
Beside him stood a red-haired woman.
The one who wielded flames, unleashing them indiscriminately.
It managed to hold back the red tendrils somewhat.
Since the tendrils weren't targeting her directly, she could activate her ability.
A clever workaround.
“Wh-who the hell are they, anyway?”
A bumbling man clutching a laptop shouted beside them.
The Zero-grade agent, Giraffe.
“I don't know the details.”
She knew nothing about one of them.
“All I know is the Chairman trusted them.”
But Freddy had believed in them.
So she would too.
At that moment...
As she thought the sky was flashing more than usual today...
A barrage of light rained down on the red tendrils filling the area.
Kaboom!
The region overrun by red tendrils vanished in an instant.
Those witnessing it stared in stunned silence.
Two young men appeared from the sky above.
One was Havel.
The other was Abraxis—Kaal.
“Abraxis?”
The Fire Fox uttered his name, and the other Zero-grade agents looked shocked.
Freddy had sent a message about him.
But seeing Abraxis in person was a first.
Kaal and Havel landed right in front of them.
The Zero-grade agents' gazes fixed on them.
Kaal stood calmly before them.
“Zero-grade agents, I need your help.”
He spoke in a heavy tone.
It was a tale demanding they stake their lives, after all.
The Zero-grade agents exchanged puzzled glances.
But the Fire Fox, who knew where they'd gone, asked,
“Do you need our power to slay the colony lord?”
Kaal nodded slowly to her question.
“There are seven colony lords.”
Seven colony lords.
“They're dimensional beings that regenerate endlessly unless killed simultaneously.”
Those words were enough to harden the Zero-grade agents' faces.
They all understood what Kaal meant.
“Ha.”
The Fire Fox broke the silence.
She let out a brief, wistful laugh, her eyes gleaming.
“Not a tough ask after all.”
As if she'd been waiting for this day.
She tapped her chest.
“It's like what the Chairman did—saving someone.”
She, whose life Freddy had saved.
So that saved life could now save others.
“So that's the story.”
Soon, Zero-grade agent Steel stepped forward.
“I'll go.”
He readily offered his life.
“What? You're all deciding without me? Don't leave me out.”
Zero-grade agent Yellow Dragon joined them.
“I hate being left out.”
The Zero-grade agent Black Sheep moved too.
And not just them.
Red Dog, Sky Rat, Purple Shell, Giraffe, White Swallow, Blue Tiger.
All stepped forward with the same resolve.
They all believed their lives were worth staking.
The nine excluding Freddy.
Every Zero-grade agent volunteered to defeat the colony lord.
Kaal's eyes trembled.
As if he had words to say, he opened his mouth then closed it.
But feeling their will, he said no more.
“...Thank you.”
He simply offered his gratitude.
Kaal clenched his fists.
He knew nothing about these people.
They'd always hidden themselves.
But like with Freddy...
He felt a vague regret that he should've gotten to know them a little.
Then he could've expressed deeper thanks for their resolve.
“Lord Havel!”
At that moment...
A woman bounced over from afar.
Elashiya Selentia.
Turned childlike by Kaal's spatial ability.
Baria and Pyod followed behind her.
“You're here.”
Havel looked up, realizing all the pieces were in place.
“We're going to slay the colony lords.”
This time, they'd truly defeat them.