Chapter 100 – Evolution, Not Corruption (8)
“Pull back until reactivation. Now, I will end this war. I will conquer Menace right now.”
Eve, her eyes gleaming, commanded the legionnaires flying forward from the throne in the center of the nest.
Meanwhile, the higher beings were quickly recovering Reina’s body, which had fallen under the Execution Authority, and were making their getaway from the scene.
The mages launched a barrage of magic in an attempt to pursue them, but the higher beings resonated their barriers and successfully escaped leisurely.
Eve had now turned her focus away from them. After all, Reina could be revived by re-implanting her soul and connecting her to the Collective Consciousness.
To Eve, whose hive mind was that of the Legion, that miraculous, nonsensical process was merely a matter of moving a part of her own body.
At the same time, the giant Collective Consciousness was activated once more. Countless legionnaires charged forward, shaking the earth as they rushed towards Menace.
‘We’ll sweep it all away in one go.’
The plan remained the same. Mobilize all forces to sweep the entire area.
Eve knew that Menace was the core and center of the human forces, the dominant species of this world, and she was well aware that humans were incapable of swift movement compared to her.
Moreover, Menace was now in a state of complete chaos, having already lost its defensive capabilities.
If they blew it away like that, the humans would be unable to properly regroup and would simply be swept away.
‘Three million medium-sized flying units capable of high-speed flight.’
The first forces mobilized toward Menace as the vanguard numbered three million flying units.
Their overall form was based on insects, resembling giant hornets the size of bulls.
They were covered entirely in a hard, lightweight exoskeleton and could fly faster with two pairs of wings.
Their primary weapon was a long, sharp stinger, akin to a spear for humans. Additionally, all six of their legs sported sharp claws reminiscent of a raptor.
‘Make sure they don’t get their wits about them.’
With a sly smile, Eve issued a command for a full assault as she began to see Menace in her sights.
The sole objective was to prevent them from properly organizing and mounting any resistance.
“Everyone..! Evacuate now!”
“They’re sky creatures!”
Naturally, Menace fell into utter chaos.
Monsters flying across the distant skies, darkening them, were heading toward this place which had barely recovered from the damage of the previous night when the bright full moon hung overhead.
“Now we must admit it. They are an army. Not a pack of beasts, but a clear army with a purpose, troop types, and tactics!”
“Activate the defense wall immediately! Get the remaining people to evacuate!”
The mages rushed to respond in urgency. This was precisely the reaction Eve had wanted.
If they had scattered and fled without looking back, there might have been a way. However, they had committed to facing the overwhelming numbers head-on, leaving them with nothing but a desperate fight that would end in death.
In the city at large, countless shells fired from their magic artillery pierced the gloomy sky and hit the approaching flying units.
The flying units, controlled simultaneously by Eve, moved as one, minimizing the damage.
They didn’t even think to be hit by such disordered attacks, unleashed without any coordinated fire.
“…Roses. Are you ready?”
“Y-yes. But did the Player really use the Execution Authority?”
“Regrettably. But who knows? The Execution Authority has many gaps.”
Dark, who was watching the scene from the roof of the council building, partially destroyed by Reina’s bombardment, nodded at Roses, who approached him with a tone of cold anger.
Having briefly left the scene and now returning, Roses swallowed hard.
He had had complaints about Dark’s strange, forceful orders, but in a situation like this, it was a miracle that there might still be some method to their madness.
“What on earth do you plan to do with them?! They’re nothing but ordinary, powerless vermin!”
“Don’t speak carelessly. While they may have no power, they possess hot blood that can be sacrificed for us.”
Dark turned his back on the battlefield.
Roses, panicked, called out to him, but he shot back one final remark before leaving.
“This is not the time for that.”
As Roses stared blankly at Dark’s departing figure, he suddenly felt a jolt and hurried off in a direction other than the battlefield.
What mattered most to him was his own life.
…
Dark, separated from Roses, walked silently.
A large-scale assault had attacked the entire city.
The western part of the city that had been struck had already turned into a battlefield. Due to the extremely high population, evacuation was not easy.
The frantic exodus of citizens was concentrated toward the east.
There, there was a large training ground where people of all ages had gathered, deceived by Roses’ lie that he would open a gate for their escape, numbering about a thousand.
They were waiting anxiously to leave this place.
[The Player was greatly dismayed by the enemy’s assault, causing a momentary commotion.]
[First, amplify the magical power. Open the gate as you planned and allow the monsters to engage in battle.]
As he walked along that path towards the training ground, words shimmered before Dark’s eyes.
It was a directive from the being that had granted him quite a useful power.
“I will do as instructed.”
Dark mumbled absently, hearing the screams and shouts around him.
His Player was not particularly capable. According to him, he was the princess of his clan and boasted that he would become the clan leader in the future.
To young Dark, the Player appeared young and immature.
However, that power was undeniably real. Dark believed that the only way to break through this situation was to combine the strengths of the Player and himself.
A golden cup sent as an “offering.” By drinking the blood contained within, Dark shed his human form by inheriting the Player’s power.
Now, he was well aware of what that power entailed.
“Chairman?! Oh my…”
“The Chairman has come!”
The citizens in the training ground, trembling in anxiety, cheered as Dark appeared alone.
If someone of his high status had come personally, it meant they wouldn’t be abandoned.
And above all, trust in the young, capable Dark had always been high.
‘This is…for the greater good. It is unavoidable.’
For the first time, as he looked at those people, the icy facade of his eyes began to waver.
It was a completely different sight compared to when he had massacred those designated as units, even children.
Naturally. They were his adversaries. But the ones before him now were citizens who believed in him and followed him.
‘I am not corrupting. This is right…’
Grinding his teeth, he pulled something out. It was a kind of scepter. This too was an offering.
Its effect was to use blood as a sacrifice and convert the power within into magical power.
Dark cast a spell toward the citizens, who were puzzled about what he was doing.
The spell was one that did not exist in this world: Blood Magic.
A deep crimson magical power erupted from his body, head bowed down.
*
“What an interesting power. Did you actually hide a trump card until the very end?”
Eve smiled faintly as she commanded the legionnaires while Dark had gone to the training ground.
The slaughter continued. While explosions from the mages’ magic burst forth, they amounted to little more than a handful.
They were being pierced and captured by flying units, which took less than a day to be formed, while the mages had trained their magic for decades.
[The strength of the enemy units has suddenly increased.]
“I’ll have to capture and analyze them.”
Of course, the opponents were not easily dealt with either. There had been units that had rushed into the battlefield long ago.
Belonging to the same side as Dark, they appeared almost identical to the local humans. They wielded swords and cast spells.
‘But the taste of their blood was completely different.’
They exhibited quite remarkable movements, showing effective combat against the legionnaires.
One of the enemy units that appeared to be a knight was captured.
Three nearby legionnaires swiftly pierced his chest, neck, and legs with their stingers from both sides; however, he swung his sword as if he felt no pain, seemingly unfazed by death.
“I sense a thick Formancy in all of his blood. How intriguing.”
Eve naturally coveted something new, that being their power.
[Attempted abduction, but the target escapes.]
“The magical power has completely vanished from the dead body. So we must capture him without fail.”
The problem was that at a certain point, their strength began to grow stronger and stronger.
Through that, Eve realized they were somehow connected to one another. She attempted to capture them, but the lack of Formancy in the regular flying units presented a limitation.
“…This won’t be easy.”
Furthermore, seeing the blood-red magical power erupting from the opposite side of the city, Eve instinctively sensed the defeat of the vanguard.
In the swirling maelstrom of magical power, akin to a fierce storm, she glimpsed a figure flying through the air with silver hair billowing behind.
He cast a spell—a heavy, blood-red magic reminiscent of dark blood.
The blinding flash that erupted annihilated the thousands of legionnaires filling the air.
That was certainly not the kind of magic Eve was familiar with in this world.
‘Can it sustain a barrage? Is that its maximum power?’
In that moment, Eve changed her target. The priority was to gather intelligence on the opponent’s power.
All the flying units came to a halt at once and launched toward Dark.
He drew forth his magical power once again, unleashing a massive force.
“Hurry, support the Chairman!”
“Gather! There’s a way!”
The people who had fallen into endless despair gathered around him with newfound hope.
Although they were horrified by the colossal magic that defied common sense, they continued to resist by rallying around Dark.
