Chapter 67 – Monsters of the Abyss (6)
“Tell me you turned off the screen.”
[He turned off the screen. And his supply arrived…]
Before the words could finish, a dormant flying species, perhaps waiting, snatched the phone and darted across the nest.
In the uppermost nest, as soon as I said I had turned off the screen, a creature reappeared.
A girl with a mask, her smooth and flowing black hair hanging down to almost her hips…
The flying species dropped the phone into her hand.
“Kang Do-yeon? Where is she?”
[Currently, she is replenishing nutrients and resting on one side of the nest to alleviate mental fatigue. The Legion has never shown your supplies to Kang Do-yeon first.]
“Are you seriously considering your sister as a competitor? She’s my sister.”
[Well, the Legion doesn’t care about that. What matters now is your feelings. And the sense of hierarchy. Because your rank is higher than Kang Do-yeon’s.]
“H…”
I felt troubled in many ways.
Sending my sister to the Legion was an unavoidable choice to save her life.
But truly, it was unforgivable to throw someone who just started high school into a nest of alien monsters.
In such a situation, the Legion, which aims solely for efficiency, would have no consideration for ‘humans,’ so it was clear I would struggle even to hide my difficulty.
[I informed you of the video storage path, and now the Legion is attempting to view the video you sent.]
At that moment, the Legion, tapping on the screen, began to review the video I sent.
“…?”
[…It seems overly flustered.]
The first video the Legion played was my video letter.
On the surface, it was directed at my sister, but after watching for a few seconds, the Legion suddenly shook the whole nest and hid its body at an incredible speed.
It dashed headfirst against the wall, wedging itself in, and in an instant, disappeared through a crack, leaving only its feet visible. Soon even those feet vanished completely.
From the overturned phone, only my voice was mumbling.
“I can feel your emotions are intense. Why, though?”
[It seems seeing your face was unexpected. The Legion has intentionally avoided seeing your face all this time.]
“My face?”
[It’s akin to the logic of hiding one’s own face.]
Soon, Kang Do-yeon arrived at the scene. From her grim expression, it seemed she had been forced to get up at the Legion’s command.
“This is just a video sent by my brother. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
She picked up the phone and shouted into the air.
After some time passed in that state, the squirming wall split open again, revealing the Legion.
“I am not embarrassed. I clearly…”
“I can understand your feelings. You are embarrassed.”
“No, I’m not.”
“…Trying to block my feelings won’t work. It’s all obvious.”
“No, it’s not.”
An unexpected back-and-forth ensued between them.
From that, I could ascertain the feelings the Legion currently held.
[Are you reassured?]
“I’m not sure. At least it seems like you’ll listen to me.”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
The scariest part would be if the Legion, having grown a bit, completely ignored me and acted on its own.
For now, it seemed I still held considerable influence, which was a relief. But if that influence continued to dwindle, I would no longer be able to control the Legion.
In the worst-case scenario, the Legion that invaded this place might bury me alive in the nest, only providing nutrients to keep me alive.
“Let’s at least see it properly. It looks like this is a video my brother sent to me. What if the battery dies?”
Kang Do-yeon, having stopped her childish bickering and appearing more mature, rewound the video.
I noticed her eyes tremble as she watched the video.
In truth, it had been a long time since she saw a human face, especially one like her own.
As I saw her eyes gradually welling up with tears, my heart felt unsettled.
“T-this is also a message from your brother to you. Listen carefully.”
In the midst of all this, seeing my intentions grasped and conveyed to the Legion only deepened my unease.
“Is there a chance the Legion will let my sister go in the future? If I ask, won’t they release her?”
[That depends on how you approach it.]
I asked, knowing full well it wouldn’t be much help.
The answer was, as expected, typical and predictable.
“Did I fight well…? Am I amazing…?”
[The Legion is currently reviewing the information of the soldiers who were utilized in the previous battle in real-time.]
Meanwhile, the Legion was enjoying my few words and feeling elevated.
Despite being a transcendent being commanding countless troops that could annihilate countless species in this maze, in this respect, the Legion seemed remarkably naïve.
I once again confirmed that my influence over that child was still significant.
Before that influence could wane further, I needed to solidify it more robustly.
This was a kind of battle: whether my influence on the Legion’s self would be larger, or if inherent nature and other environmental factors would have a greater impact.
“I shouldn’t let you get too comfortable just yet.”
“What do you mean by that?”
[It’s a fundamental statement. Among the units, players… and the forces associated with them participating in this game, there are many that cannot be underestimated, so the Legion naturally must become even stronger.]
At that timing, words that seemed almost premeditated danced before my eyes.
