Chapter 116: Everyone Has a Hidden Side (4)
“Ha…”
The hot and dry air. The barren and rough ground.
She sighed as she looked back. The gate had vanished.
Returning home, her encounter with her mother from that one night felt like a dream.
Since the connection with Eve was fundamentally one-way, there was no way to know the situation on that side first.
“We are essentially like sisters, so it’s felt. You seem unable to ease your feelings.”
“Reina?”
At that moment, someone approached her and spoke. Reina, having removed her mask, came up to her with a faint smile, as if she had been waiting.
“I’m currently on a mission…”
“I received orders from that person and returned briefly to lead a new breed.”
Knowing that Reina was leading the legionnaires on a mission to exterminate the only creatures in this world, the dragon species, she was slightly surprised, but Reina just laughed nonchalantly.
“Is the outfit you’re wearing the attire from ‘that place’? It’s fascinating. It’s quite revealing, showing your thighs.”
“…That’s not important.”
Having flinched at the gaze scanning her from head to toe, Kang Do-yeon transformed her body once more.
Her skeleton twisted, and her internal organs repeated the cycle of destruction and regeneration. Her skin was covered with tough, resilient leather and hard black armor, transforming into a complete monster’s body.
‘Now this form feels more comfortable.’
As she looked down at her hands, her black-dyed eyes glimmered with red pupils.
The body of the legion was meticulously designed and created for maximum efficiency in combat. At least, for the purpose of movement, it couldn’t get any better than this.
And just yesterday, she had transformed back into a human body for the first time in a while.
While she had previously infiltrated a local city in human form to extract information from investigators, yesterday felt different.
At that time, she felt another sense of stability as she returned to a human body.
But yesterday was different. It felt awkward and out of place. It was uncomfortable and inefficient.
“…”
Kang Do-yeon shuddered for a moment. She couldn’t believe she had such thoughts.
“Ah… I see what this is.”
Reina approached the frozen Kang Do-yeon and whispered in her ear with a grin.
“At last, you too have begun to seek true evolution.”
“Evolution…? No, this is…”
“I understand. It’s natural to feel resistance at this stage.”
Reina, smiling, clung to Kang Do-yeon from behind and began to stroke her body with her hands.
Reina touched the rough and firm armor that enveloped her body, gazing at it with a rapturous expression, as if she were touching the finest silk.
Kang Do-yeon couldn’t bring herself to resist that touch.
“You surely understand with your head. Compared to that fragile human body, this beautiful body is perfect. Do not fear. This is a blessing and a miracle.”
Reina’s eyes gleamed as she openly whispered in her ear. Since the moment she was reborn, Reina had been acting with her firm conviction.
The union with the legion was a blessing and an essential condition for the true evolution of primitive and inferior beings.
That ideology had become even more solidified as she successfully accomplished and developed the ultimate realm of magic, which she had never achieved even a speck of during her human years.
‘What am I?’
Confusion came to the mind of Kang Do-yeon, who was influenced by that ideology.
Until now, she had simply fought as a monster, giving up her humanity to become stronger.
In return, Eve provided her with rewards, allowing her to continue getting stronger.
Thanks to that, she didn’t have the time to think specifically about what exactly she was or what she should become.
Her reluctance to harm civilians and her tendency to target only those who wished to fight were remnants of that confusion.
“Think seriously about it. You are the first of the proud legion, my sister, my superior, Kang Do-yeon.”
Even as Reina floated away from her, Kang Do-yeon stood there, unable to move, lost in thought.
“…”
“Have you thought it over?”
“Ah?!”
After standing still for hours, when she lifted her head again, she was startled by a voice that suddenly came from behind.
“Eve?!”
There stood Eve, who was surely on Earth. Not in human form, but in the form of the legion, with glimmering red eyes.
“How…”
“This body is merely my avatar. I can be anywhere within the reach of the legion’s power.”
“So any form…”
“Can be replicated.”
“Is possible.”
“You too…”
“Are part of me.”
But with a smirk, Eve revealed her identity.
At the same time, the eggs in the nest began to crack open, revealing several forms.
“This is…!”
Kang Do-yeon was horrified at seeing their appearances.
The faces of those who had just emerged from the eggs were all too familiar.
Herself, as well as her brother Shin Woo, Reina, and the locals she had devoured, among others.
They stood in alignment with cold faces devoid of any emotion, each speaking one word with different voices.
“They are human-type entities I created just in case for disguise.”
“B-but they’re just identical on the surface.”
“True. Fundamentally, they are ultimately just like the other legionnaires.”
As Eve issued another command, their bodies twisted wildly, transforming from human forms into those of the versatile legionnaires.
Kang Do-yeon realized their bodies were composed of the same versatile cells as hers.
It was unusual because Eve had only invested in high-tier entities like herself, Kang Do-yeon, and Reina, as the versatile cells were extremely inefficient in terms of energy.
“Legion Commander, assign a mission. Take these individuals, and infiltrate their world beyond the gate, as if I were disguising myself beside them on Earth.”
“Infiltrate?”
“To see how they respond. More than anything, I’ll cross-check the information gathered from Earth to discern exactly what they are and what purpose they came with.”
Eve assigned Kang Do-yeon a mission. For a moment, her eyes shook, but she tightly closed them and then opened them again.
When she opened them this time, they were steady. A mask slowly formed from changing skin tissue, gradually covering her face.
“And after gathering the information?”
“When we have sufficient power here, we will strike in one fell swoop.”
Eve smiled as if asking what was so obvious.
*
“Everyone, step back!”
“Oh my…!”
“Is that magic too?”
In a place where quite a few people had gathered and were murmuring, they were all looking up at the sky. New buildings were descending ‘from the sky’ over the half-destroyed city.
“We’ll need to install some additional facilities, but all services should be available.”
The man in front, proudly watching the scene, wore attire different from that of the locals.
He watched the heavy building descend to the ground, and he began to clap in self-congratulation.
“Look! We have come to help you!”
The people clapped in response to his words, trying to win the favor of the locals, who had recently endured a great disaster.
“Remarkable, isn’t it? They say they came from another world riding that gigantic airship.”
“They also claimed they killed all those hideous black bugs.”
Two men, weary from leading their families in evacuation, murmured while clapping.
Putting everything else aside, the most comforting thing for them was that the monsters that had once brought them terrible hell had all disappeared.
“Is that true?”
“Huh?”
At that moment, someone spoke to them. It was a woman with short black hair who was standing quietly beside them.
As their eyes met, she smiled slightly, and their sudden wariness lessened a bit.
Although she appeared somewhat better off than the other evacuees, she was still just an ordinary woman in appearance.
“Did you notice during the evacuation? They say the monsters’ nest has completely disappeared. They claimed they burned it all.”
“Ah… they…”
She nodded. The men seemed excited, perhaps because they were pleased with her reaction, and they began to elaborate.
“Those are extraordinary people!”
“To be honest, it’s more impressive than magic. The mages can’t summon such large buildings.”
“Eh… Still, their magic seems a bit inconvenient.”
As she reacted strongly, the men suddenly started playfully jostling each other, adding to their discussion.
She watched their exchange for a moment, then raised the corners of her mouth and spoke again.
“Then, those people will continue to help us?”
“Well, that depends on whether the high-ups negotiate well.”
“Our situation isn’t very good. How wonderful it would be if we could cooperate with those from another world who brought so many massive steel airships.”
The men sighed and confessed their feelings in response to her question.
Local sentiment had turned significantly. The arrival of a stronger and more mysterious force at a time when those who should have been the focal point had collapsed had already captivated the hearts of the people.
‘…Indeed, I’ll have to capture a key figure. But is this really their intention? Charitable activity?’
Casting a sidelong glance, she wiped the expression off her face and slipped away from the crowd.
The ruins of the city where the evacuees had settled.
Once, this city had been one of those where she, Kang Do-yeon, led the legionnaires to attack.
