Chapter 110: Each Their Own Purpose (8)
“Now all I need is time, but that alone is not enough.”
Eve, having completed her migration, muttered with a heavy voice. It seemed she couldn’t feel a satisfactory sensation while continuing her expansion without interruption, unlike before.
Thinking back, it was only natural. No matter how much energy she extracted and utilized, Eve fundamentally was more of a mimic and learner than a creator.
To grow stronger, she needed plenty of references and experiences.
Being trapped on a desolate planet like this was nothing short of a terrible punishment for Eve. Under these circumstances, revenge was also impossible.
“Surely, there is a way. A way to help me.”
Thus, Eve looked up at the sky. More accurately, she was looking at me through the screen. As if sensing something, her gaze locked onto mine.
“Convey this to Eve. I’m ready, so if she wants to meet, she should come.”
“But we need to prepare before we can meet and become one.”
After hearing what I conveyed, Eve revealed the method to open the gate.
The magic she obtained from the Ardos Academy, the gate, was not as omnipotent as I thought.
To open a gate to a desired location, it was essential to have either the coordinates of the destination or traces of a connection.
The reason the mages were able to migrate from REDRIUM to places they had no knowledge of was purely because, after numerous attempts, they accidentally discovered land that could support life.
“The problem is how a novice in magic like me is supposed to provide the coordinates for Earth.”
“That’s not too difficult. Just follow my instructions with this crystal sphere.”
Eve sent me a crystal sphere roughly the size of a human head using the sacrificial function.
I took it. At a glance, it looked suspicious, but thankfully, it wasn’t an extremely busy moment.
“Ah. You’re awake, Hunter.”
“Nothing happened?”
“Thankfully, that’s correct.”
As I exited the room, a soldier standing guard saluted me. There was a sergeant’s insignia on his ballistic helmet.
Honestly, I was still taken aback by this situation.
Since my first encounter with Eve after using the unit summoning rights.
While Eve was actively expanding her force by engaging in battles with the local humans and units.
I too had been active, fighting, and growing stronger.
This place, which was once a bustling city of South Korea, had now turned into a battlefield. After the coalition forces of the area I belonged to were ultimately repelled, the enemy’s counterattack began.
A thorough war, different from the previous plundering-focused offensives.
“We’ve also heard the rumors, and it seems that the frontline will indeed shift. The armored units are preparing to withdraw.”
At that moment, the sergeant murmured while pointing ahead.
However, unlike the massive being Eve, I was still just a mere individual in the grand scheme of things.
The changes and developments in this colossal world were occurring faster than my own strengthening and movements.
Units, players, and the game.
Those who plunged the world into chaos in an instant were still managing to conceal their identities while simultaneously exerting influence.
Those within the game were continuing to grow and evolve through interactions, regardless of ally or enemy.
“And it has been confirmed that an external force can intervene at any time.”
[Such beings will be the biggest obstacle.]
Avoiding the sentry soldiers, I lifted my head to gaze at the sky.
In that faraway sky, a gigantic spaceship loomed, appearing eerily still.
Its form resembled that of the spaceship that had attacked the Legion’s Nest, albeit slightly different.
It looked even larger and stronger.
A vessel from the ‘Alliance’ that had warped straight from the distant universe to the solar system. Surely, players or units from the Alliance had leaked information about Earth.
It hadn’t been a week since that thing arrived. The shock that Earthlings had felt when the first space battleship appeared still lingered vividly.
“…An obstacle, but it’s also an opportunity for us.”
The chance and help I confidently spoke of to Eve referred to that very entity.
Starting with the Alliance’s battleship, this place seemed perfect for encountering the beings from other worlds who would soon reveal themselves one by one.
Though I hoped that this encounter wouldn’t lead to the indiscriminate conquest and war that Eve had in mind.
“Wait! This area is off-limits to civilians…”
“Idiot! It’s the Hunter of the Guardian Alliance!”
As dawn approached, I crossed the city, currently evacuating people toward a deserted building.
There, a private soldier on guard aimed his firearm at me, but he fired his weapon only after being struck by the ballistic helmet of his superior standing right beside him.
“I have a matter to investigate.”
“Y-You may enter.”
The senior soldier’s eyes were drawn to the badge attached to my coat.
Having rapidly increased my standing due to the war in the demonic realm, effectively giving me influence on par with a world government, was quite handy in situations like this.
“I, um, I really appreciated it back then, Hunter Kang Shin Woo. Thanks to you, I survived.”
“…It was nothing.”
The private soldier greeted me with a voice that seemed to crawl out as I passed by.
I simply smiled and replied.
Honestly, I didn’t remember. He might have been a soldier I fought alongside once, but there had been so many soldiers who fought with me until now.
[I need a secluded space where I can freely release my energy.]
“The underground cinema of the closed mixed-use building should be enough.”
I found a suitable location as Eve required.
If it was a cinema with good soundproofing, it could prepare for any unforeseen incidents.
Opening my bag, I retrieved the crystal sphere I had received and placed it in front of the screen of the theater.
With this, I had essentially completed half the task.
The only thing left was to supply energy to this crystal sphere.
I pulled out a compacted ore of the power source from the Legion that Eve had consistently provided.
Using that ore in my other hand, I began to extract the inherent energy and transfer it to the crystal sphere.
One, two… I continued to pour energy in. I had been told that this way, Eve would be able to know the coordinates of this place.
“Is this working? It’s getting hotter and glowing brightly like it’s about to burst?! Hey!”
However, while I was following the instructions, I grew anxious as time passed. The entity that was supposed to keep relaying the situation suddenly fell silent. At that moment, my heart sank, wondering if something had gone wrong.
“No. Everything is proceeding smoothly as planned.”
I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
It was my sister’s voice, but it had a distinctly different beautiful tone.
Slowly, I turned my head. The first thing I saw was long, dark black hair fluttering in the wind inside the gate.
*
I knew for sure that we weren’t strangers. But perhaps due to the many incidents following that day, I momentarily felt breathless seeing Eve.
Simultaneously, a strong shock hit me and my body thudded to the ground.
Just as before, Eve charged at me as if she were leaping into my arms, now perched atop me with her red eyes glimmering as she looked down at me.
“There were some annoying things recently, but anyway, I’ve been waiting for today.”
“…Yes. Me too.”
“And I felt quite bad, but now I think I’m okay.”
Eve’s lips curled slightly upwards. I couldn’t bring myself to push her away.
A different kind of tension enveloped my body.
“Let’s become one.”
Eve once again brought up the topic.
“Indeed, if we become one, we can fill each other’s imperfections.”
“I agree, but first, let me hear a bit more.”
I forced a bitter smile and slowly pushed Eve away.
Fortunately, Eve didn’t ascribe any meaning to that action and willingly moved aside.
“I know how you think of me. In the end, you’ve been considering me as just another human, haven’t you?”
“That’s right. So let’s become one, and I’ll erase your inferior human genes.”
“…It was you who was defeated by that human, Eve.”
I could see what it meant to be momentarily frozen. Eve became a statue, remaining in that scowling state.
Despite being a massive life form with intelligence and processing power that could easily surpass a supercomputer, she momentarily failed to assess the current situation and entered a buffering state.
At the same time, my heart felt ticklish. The confusion Eve was experiencing was transmitted to me unfiltered.
“I think you’re quite lacking and have much more to learn.”
I didn’t stop there; I landed an additional blow.
Eve’s frozen expression began to crack with confusion, and an emotion of anger began to rise amidst her bewildered feelings.
“How… could you say something like that to me?”
“Think rationally, Eve. As you should. That’s the reality. Didn’t you create your subminds to prevent yourself from being simplified and suppressed by emotions?”
Eve’s anger faced me for the first time, but I met it head-on.
This was for Eve but rather for all of us.
“Right now on Earth, and connected to the demonic realm, there are many things we can take advantage of. By utilizing them, we might be able to defeat the humans who attacked us.”
“T-Then… I just need to devour Earth?”
“What did you hear from what I said, Eve? Devour? As you are now, there’s absolutely no way you can win in a fight against them.”
I smiled as I struck the final blow.
Eve’s expression finally crumbled. If Eve had the capability to cry, she would have likely been shedding tears uncontrollably.
