Chapter 112 – Each One’s Purpose (10)
Uniting with the Legion. It had been nothing but a vague imagination until now. Connecting with that immense Collective Consciousness was something I never even dared to imagine.
‘Ugh, Aaaah!’
It wasn’t a perfect transformation. However, the omnipotent cells I received from Eve through a kiss multiplied within my body, bringing immense pain and discomfort.
I couldn’t scream; I had to endure it. The only thing that could help me grit my teeth and hold on was the fact that Kang Do-yeon, six years younger than me, had faced this pain multiple times before and had endured valiantly.
Eventually, all the pain subsided, and the expanded sensations began to return to normal.
‘…Is this the end?’
When I regained my senses, I was surprisingly bewildered by my normal state.
After that, there was no intense mental shock as I had expected, nor was there immense information tearing through my brain.
‘You’re like Kang Do-yeon. Because you can’t accept it with the identity of an ordinary human, part of the information was blocked. You know how slightly more expressed Reina was affected, right?’
‘Yeah. That’s a relief.’
Knowing about Reina, who was reborn as a loyal Submind of the Legion yet became twisted with great emotional disparities, I was grateful for Eve’s consideration.
‘If you want, you can abandon your identity as a human. Then you could fully accept the Collective Consciousness.’
‘No, not now.’
Eve looked slightly disappointed, but for now, this was enough for me. I could harness all the advantages of the Legion while still acting as I intended, without losing sight of who I used to be as a human.
Above all, my rank was not lower than Eve’s. Although I ultimately needed Eve’s cooperation, the embodiment of the Collective Consciousness to move the Legion, it at least meant that I did not have to obey Eve’s every command.
As I had trusted Eve, we became one, literally.
Sounds began to echo distantly. The Sacred Tree, which had wrapped and repaired my unconscious state, broke apart, gradually revealing light.
I reached out to that light, parting the space, and stepped outside.
My appearance, including the clothes I wore, had not changed since I entered. The only difference was the omnipotent cells of the Legion that had settled within me.
In certain situations, these cells could act as my power at any time.
“Can you feel it? In your heart.”
“Yeah. The power core of the Legion.”
Eve, who had been waiting, gently stroked my chest.
The power core of the Legion hidden within my heart, imbued with Formancy. With just this small ore, I had become significantly stronger than before.
“But why is Eve wearing a school uniform? In a human body, too.”
Only then did I catch sight of something that felt oddly out of place. Kang Do-yeon, who had also returned to a human body after a long time, sat in a chair, clicking her tongue.
“How is it? Useful, right? Seeing it like this, Eve also seems like an ordinary girl, doesn’t she?”
“…Yeah, definitely.”
My younger sister transmitted the memory of what had just happened into my mind through the Collective Consciousness.
I experienced a unique feeling for the first time, both strange and chilling.
But I couldn’t whine about it. It meant that she had been receiving such sensations without any subtle considerations all this time.
“Then let’s get out of here for now. Close the gate, Eve.”
“What’s next?”
“Uh… Going home?”
Eve closed the gate as I instructed. The screening room was once again plunged into darkness, but three pairs of red eyes, including mine, glowed faintly, piercing through the darkness.
“Home?”
“Eve, let’s make an identity first.”
I revisited my plans. It wouldn’t have been easy in the past. But what kind of world was this now?
It was a chaotic world where spaceships warped in, and the entire world fought against the demon realm, with various beings from other worlds opening portals and gates.
“Creating an identity for a girl with lost memories is now easy.”
“???”
I took Eve’s hand, who was staring blankly at me, and pulled out my phone.
“Hello, Hunter? What about the students?!”
“They’re the kids we just rescued. We’ll take them now, so don’t worry about it!”
At the same time, we passed by the soldiers who were guarding the entrance of the building and naturally made our exit.
Eve was held by my hand and curiously surveyed her surroundings while following me. Even Kang Do-yeon was the same.
‘It’s been too long. This scenery… Although it’s broken and chaotic here and there.’
“I know. Let’s hurry.”
Noticing my gaze, Kang Do-yeon unknowingly made excuses through the Collective Consciousness, but I could understand sufficiently.
However, this place drew a lot of attention. After hastily returning, I loaded the kids into my car.
“Did you buy a car, Oppa?!”
“I didn’t buy it; I received it. Just be quiet.”
The person I called while sitting in the driver’s seat was someone I could nominally consider my superior.
“What on earth is the Guardian Alliance that you belong to?”
“It started as just another simple group, but it’s not like that anymore.”
I held the phone to my ear, sharing the information I knew with Eve and Kang Do-yeon for the first time using the Collective Consciousness.
Both of them seemed to slightly change their expressions as they apparently received it simultaneously.
“Now it’s a group representing Earth, created solely to protect humanity of this planet. The heads and core consist of units and players within the game, but they prioritize the protection of their kin and this land over winning or losing the game. Currently, their influence spans the majority of Earth and acts as a support for powerless players and units?”
Eve recited the information about the Guardian Alliance in a cold voice. I could sense the underlying cynicism in that voice.
“What could possibly be more important than victory or defeat in this universe? Why bother protecting the waste that should be eliminated, accepting inefficiency?”
“…There are various perspectives, Eve. Anyway, it has nothing to do with us, right? We just need to go about our business as we see fit. At least in this wartime situation, being a member of the Guardian Alliance carries weight. Yes, Team Leader. It’s me.”
It would be great if that were the case, but I had completely given up the attempt to instill human values or perspectives in Eve.
I simply thought that if I referred to it as a part of our “disguise” for our own sake, she would begrudgingly go along with it even if she hated it. The basis for this was entirely dependent on Eve’s degree of affection, so the bizarre power struggle over Eve’s values had only just begun.
“It seems the withdrawal order was true. Can I stop by home now? I have something urgent to attend to.”
“…I can’t go home.”
Since I had finished all I needed to do here, going home was not a problem. In fact, my superior on the other end of the call granted permission readily.
The problem arose not from the upper command, but from the scene itself.
I hung up the phone and shifted my gaze toward the direction Kang Do-yeon had muttered about.
“Gate!”
“Another attack from demons, or rather, demon nobles!”
“High-ranking demon nobles!”
Siren alarms blared as soldiers preparing for withdrawal began to move hurriedly.
My body instinctively moved as I grabbed the sword beside me.
“You all stay here…”
“I’m going too, together.”
However, as I hurried to get out of the car, Eve grabbed my arm.
“I said I would always be with you.”
“…Fine. But Do-yeon stays here. It would be bad if your face gets known right now.”
Eve and I were equals. I couldn’t impose my will on her either.
Eve’s will was so strong that I couldn’t refuse her. Besides, it was something I had anticipated.
In the end, I burst out of the car alongside Eve.
New enemies emerged from the gate, along with the Kobolds I had seen way too many times in the demon realm.
With violet skin, bald heads, muscular bodies, and large battle axes in their hands.
“@#₩&!!!”
Those were the very native species of the demon realm we now referred to as demon nobles, similar to the leaders of the demon army Eve once led.
Suddenly appearing, these guys became the backbone of the demon alliance, which convened to confront Earth, using their agility and immense strength to conduct hit-and-run tactics and effortlessly crush armies on their own.
Thus, taking down such beings became the mission for hunters.
“Hunter?! Cease all fire! Prepare to aim!”
“Kang Shin-woo Hunter… But who is the person next to you?”
Eve and I dashed across the battlefield, propelled by the initial battle using the linked Collective Consciousness.
But neither of us wavered or faltered at all.
We were one.
Seeing the same sights, thinking the same thoughts, sharing the strength of each other.
Simultaneously, the powers we possessed resonated.
Eve passed her fighting techniques onto me, the battle method I had not rested from even for a single moment in the past.
The perfected technique of completion was now cast in its full form for the very first time.
“I’ll finish it.”
I blocked the arrows shot by the Kobolds with my sword and struck down the demons, opening the path for Eve, who claimed she would finish it.
Eve, without feeling awkward in a human body, and even without holding a sword, burst into the approaching Kobold warriors with just a single punch to each, smashing them along with their weapons.
The shockwave alone was strong enough to crack the asphalt.
We charged forward, moving as one without any reason to worry about each other’s backs.
In less than a few seconds, the path the dozens of subordinates had been charging along was unexpectedly cleared, and I could see the demon’s look of astonishment.
Eve leapt up, breaking the earth beneath her and propelling herself several meters high. She spun her body and struck down toward the stunned demon with a kick.
“Ugh…”
The axe that had clashed with Eve’s little foot, clad in sneakers, shattered into pieces, sending shockwaves racing outward. As a result, Eve’s stance faltered in mid-air.
The demon, who tried to swing a battle axe about as big as Eve’s upper body to block, screamed as its arm burst apart, spraying blood while it knelt on one knee.
However, the demon had no chance to retaliate. The slash from my wielded sword cleaved its body in half.
This was also a power that would have been absolutely impossible if it were just me alone, or in my past self.
‘I’m happy.’
In this unbelievable scene, I could distinctly feel Eve’s very simple emotion. The feeling that she was happy to fight alongside me. And I felt the same.
“Oh no, have I messed up?”
And then I returned to reality, looking at the perplexed expressions of the soldiers.
Even if it was a debut battle, I had debuted too flamboyantly.
