Chaos, Part 7

What kind of feeling had driven them to attack me first?

Watching the enemies collapse one by one under the pressure of our forces, I couldn’t help but wonder. Were they really nothing more than scraps of data? No, that wasn’t it either. They weren’t mindless monster legions like the Minions that made up most of our own ranks.

Rough as they were, they were still a faction with egos of their own, just like Lena and Karin. Had some unknown player truly wanted to kill me, kill us, badly enough to sacrifice them like this? Was that desire really so intense? What, exactly, did he want?

"That’s only natural, actually. To want something without paying a price for it. Or do you intend to have everything, then?"

Agares’s amused voice rang softly in my ear, as if he had read my thoughts.

"...I do want that."

And I answered him honestly. It was a ridiculous answer, but it was also the truth. I wanted to protect everything, and I wanted to take everything for myself.

Until now, I had thought this warped desire was just the backlash of having grown utterly exhausted in an endless competition, one that offered almost no visible hope or opportunity. But maybe it wasn’t just that.

"Did I not tell you? You can only take part in this game according to your nature."

He laughed at me as if he understood perfectly. But this time, I didn’t deny the mockery. A sleeping greed. That was my essence.

"Then continue making choices for the units that share your fate."

The chaos of the battlefield came rushing back into focus. The Great Lord was still locked in brutal combat with Lena and Karin, along with the rest of our forces.

There was no hesitation. The compatibility score I had recently realized was, in truth, a measure of how well a target matched my nature. We who looked upon the same things and dreamed of the same things would become one, and together we would take everything.

And once again, the Synchronization Rate rose. As expected, it climbed the deeper I sank into the game.

"No way... are we actually..."

Cries and shouts echoed endlessly across the battlefield. And yet, for those fighting at the front, the direction of the battle was already obvious to the body. Everyone could feel which side the momentum had turned toward.

They had been at a disadvantage from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠start. If they had fought alongside the knights, they might have been able to retreat and wait for another day. But the price of making the wrong choice had been steep.

"Tch!"

Right after finishing the unavoidable fight against Dike, the knight commander who had already fled, Robinson gritted his teeth, swatted away a tentacle that had been aimed at him, and cut down a charging Hobgoblin Minion with a single slash.

But his trembling arm still hadn’t recovered. Their power was clearly one that strengthened itself through an enemy’s blood and mana. And yet even that had limits, and the enemy could grow stronger through Devour just as easily as they could.

"Y-you’re the boss too?"

"You’re a little different from the others."

The one who appeared before him then was Karin, after having already dealt with several mercenaries. Robinson quickly raised his sword and glared at her, but Karin didn’t move at all.

"He said you were qualified."

"Qualified?"

"Qualified to... become one with us."

The reason she had singled out Robinson, pointing at him with a monster’s finger formed from hard chitin armor, was simple. Among all the humans on the field, he had the highest compatibility.

"I know. I was once someone like you. The hatred and desire you’re carrying—if you become one with us, we can resolve it. Far more than with some worthless mercenary band like that!"

"You’re insane."

Robinson flinched at the sight of her grinning, her tentacles writhing as she smiled, and the curse slipped out reflexively. Still, there was something in him that felt jabbed, and his eyes wavered just a little.

"Look at this world. It’s a jungle where the strong take everything and shake the rest down for it. Back when I knew nothing, I was angry, furious at how unfair it was. But I decided to accept it. That’s how things are. That doesn’t mean I’m going to die obediently, though."

Karin spat the words out with fierce emotion. Robinson, caught off guard, missed his chance to interrupt and could only keep listening. The more he heard, the more violently his eyes trembled.

"If I can’t do it alone, then I’ll gather others. I threw everything away and became one under his name, and because of that, I became this. I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nothing, just some insignificant woman—and now I can stand against someone like you."

"You..."

"You’re carrying something inside too, aren’t you? Do you really think you can accomplish anything back in that mercenary band?"

Her laugh, light and mocking, shook Robinson’s heart hard.

Just like Karin, Robinson also had his own desires buried deep inside him, which was why he had joined this unusual mercenary force and served as its second-in-command.

In truth, the so-called "Violent Tyrant" had certainly given those who followed him real power. Robinson himself had once bragged loudly that a mere mercenary like him had gained power on par with an elite knight commander.

And yet, some part of him still felt uneasy. The power Robinson had wanted was not merely this much.

After all, they still had to operate within the existing order, and their limits were already set. No matter how strong they became, a mercenary was still only a mercenary.

"So what do you say... to joining us, where we can break free of humanity and order, and fight forever until we grow stronger?"

That sweet temptation, spoken by Karin from the perspective of someone who had already been through it, shook Robinson’s heart to its core.

When domination was built only on violence and intimidation without any other measures, there came a point where ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it reached its limit. And when that happened, it could no longer stop a faction from defecting.

The battle, which had consisted of nothing but blood and slaughter, finally came to an end after turning the entire area into scorched ruin over the course of half a day.

"Your soldiers have won. With the loss of 169 Minions and 12 Warriors, they killed 114 enemies and captured 16 for essence infusion. A number of them escaped, and another 98 died to one another, but still—victory is victory."

Agares summarized the situation. At a glance, our losses seemed greater, but for Ascalas, Minion-class troops were easy to replenish and not especially important.

"Also, because of this battle, 11 Minions have gained the chance to evolve into Warriors. So it may not have been such a bad trade after all."

"Clear those notifications and show me Lena’s condition."

"You are quite worried, aren’t you? Even though she’ll recover either way."

Ignoring the rising notifications, I checked something else instead. There was Lena, sprawled on the ground as if dead, her raven-black hair disheveled and her eyes closed.

But her condition was serious. Hit by the enemy’s final self-destructive blow, mistaken for the avatar itself, Lena’s lower body had been completely blown away, leaving only her broken black spine dangling in place.

I naturally chose the option to save Lena from the selection that appeared. Thanks to Ascalas’s uniquely tenacious life force, she could survive injuries of this magnitude as long as she was given the corresponding amount of nutrients.

"It was a difficult opponent, but if you bring down a difficult opponent, the reward is only natural."

"...So this is what you were willing to stake everything for."

After that, I checked the rewards that came pouring in: Mythic Essence, experience, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single gemstone glowing red.

"What is this?"

"A gemstone that contains concentrated mana. It’s a game item like Mythic Essence, so keep it in your inventory. At some point, it will probably become absolutely necessary."

Agares held back the rest of his words. And I didn’t press him about it right then either. There was already too much that needed doing.

"By your choice, enemies with compatibility above 50% will have their essence infused and be turned into Minions."

Compared to Lena, who had absorbed all the enemy’s aggro, the Great Lord had taken less damage, but its massive body still moved forward to approach the surviving humans, who flinched in terror.

"Look properly. This is our master, the one bestowing his favor upon you."

"T-this is..."

Robinson flinched at Karin’s harsh voice.

For now, unlike the others who had been captured by force, he had surrendered of his own volition.

Besides, the moment his avatar died and turned to dust, all the power that had been granted to him vanished as well. He had returned to being a normal human, and he no longer had any choice at all.

But no matter what, that enormous spider was just too disgusting. More than anything, what shocked him most was that this spider had been the real body all along.

"It’s scary, isn’t it. I felt the same way. But I promise you, it’s only for a moment. So drink it gratefully."

"W-wait! Ggh...!?"

Shivering harder and harder at the sight of the spider’s approaching fangs, Robinson was seized by Karin, who grabbed him by the nape and forced his mouth open.

But there was no escaping with the desperate struggles of a single man who had lost all his strength. In the end, Robinson was forced to gulp down the essence of Ascalas spilling from the Great Lord, coughing all the while.

It’s hot.

And the very first sensation he felt was heat. That heat spread through his whole body, a poison that changed and reshaped his very essence.

"K-Khh... Aaaagh!!"

In the end, he screamed and thrashed wildly. He was a slightly different case from Lena or Karin, who had transformed without any such problem.

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