Chapter 175 – The Third Force (10)
The situation is not so good. Eve, who commands the entire Legion alone, is finding that the power of the Alliance, based on the diversity she lacks and the synergy that comes from that diversity, is greater than expected. This marks the beginning of a mudfight, different from the overwhelming force we thought would easily crush them.
“They’ll come to realize they need to produce food, mine resources, and breed and raise the population to become the true victors in the end.”
Eve suppressed her anger. In fact, when it comes down to it, it was just a repetition of familiar events. Although she had made an impactful appearance recently by striking the enemy from behind, in the end, when we achieved the ultimate victory, it was mostly about ousting the existing forces as challengers.
We were beings who took rather than protected, attacking rather than defending.
It’s actually better this way. For us, slowly and steadily methodically taking them down is easier than defending against foes coming at us with all their might.
“We’ve had no issues so far. So we can come back without any problems in the future.”
“But the news says…”
“There’s really nothing wrong.”
I comforted my mother as I hugged her. She knows nothing. Really nothing. It may be an unbearable form of unfilial piety, but I’m sure telling her the truth would be an even greater sin.
“Taking such a young child too… No matter how well they fight, isn’t that too much?”
“Well, it was voluntary.”
My mother hugged Eve, who was feeling down despite my careful urging to act cheerfully.
Perhaps due to my brother’s situation, my mother was particularly worried about Eve, a complete stranger to her.
‘She seems to feel strange.’
‘…Every time humans treat me well, I’ve been confused ever since that day. I know it logically, so it doesn’t affect my actions much, but it still confuses me. I want to block this feeling, but it’s not easy.’
When my mother concluded her farewell and left, I communicated with Eve through the collective consciousness. Surprisingly, Eve readily admitted her current state today.
The day I refer to is when Eve, disguised as a human to act as I intended, was jolted by a significant shock and recollected her shaken feelings to remember that she is the hive mind of the Legion.
Ordinary hunter Max, in the moment when he sacrificed himself for his own sake.
‘There’s nothing strange about it. Don’t try to categorize everything too rigidly. I still can’t believe that the demons from the demonic realm, who are currently fighting against the Earth Alliance, have teamed up with humans. You’re the same. Just consider whether someone is on our side or not. Even if they are human, they can be on our side.’
I still held out hope that Eve could choose another way instead of indiscriminate devouring. If she feels the limits of fighting alone, won’t she definitely seek help?
She must have known that herself, which is why she created a submind like Liam.
‘You’re right. Even if it’s annoying, it doesn’t seem like the time to discriminate against means.’
Currently clashing against the wall of reality, Eve agreed with my words. Of course, I wasn’t sure if she fully understood.
“We need to move now. This way.”
“…Considering this is Earth, it’s actually quite a spectacle.”
Once the farewells of the targets and their families were over, preparations for departure were finally complete. I gazed blankly at the sky as I mumbled.
Above the skyline of the metropolis skyscrapers, massive spaceships floated. Although it was a familiar sight to me, who could see the records of the Legion, I had to remember that this is Earth.
Just over a decade ago, the alien debate was heated, and now we were all the way here.
“The large ship, Tantalus, is the vessel that will transport you to the Alliance’s home base. And alongside it are our troops who will, from this point on, fight the demons together with the Earth Alliance. There were some unfortunate incidents along the way, but… anyway, my role ends here. From now on, they will guide you.”
Colonel Romel pointed to the colossal battleship approaching while picking up others from another continent, his shoulders filled with pride.
I, well aware of the explosion incident that occurred during Richard’s escape as it was desperately concealed, simply said nothing.
“I’m curious. I did cease the offensive on the frontier just before a breach. But the enemy’s hurried extraction operation is still in progress. What’s the intention behind that?”
“…Perhaps that could be an important key.”
As Eve gazed at the battleship gradually approaching over the city and river, she casually uttered a significant truth that would make others, especially the members of the Alliance, turn pale.
It was evident that the Alliance was hastily pushing for an alliance with the Earth’s Guardians and attempting to bring hunters to their land because of Eve’s impending invasion.
However, Eve, preoccupied with stopping the Alliance’s advance, had temporarily halted attacks on their frontier. Still, the Alliance did not cease their urgent endeavors.
‘The Alliance’s new weapon, the fortress-grade battleship Jakov, has been considered an impossible dream due to stabilization issues with its power source. But if it has succeeded, there must be a reason for that.’
Richard, now my submind and a former member of the Alliance, suggested he could roughly guess the reason behind it.
“The comparatively weaker rebels were able to pull in various forces from multiple worlds using the units and players they belonged to. Could the Alliance not do the same?”
“Is the Alliance trying to create a new order that rivals the Earth Alliance? They seem confident.”
Eve scoffed at my words. However, there was bitterness mixed in that laughter.
In the end, Eve had failed to become a group that the massive human powers—the Alliance and the Earth Alliance—all feared.
*
“I received communication from the home base; they say they’ve loaded all the selected Earthlings.”
“Things are progressing well. The plans are moving along smoothly. And we’ve successfully secured the troublesome frontier…”
He stood up from his seat and looked out the window. Below the constantly warping facility hall, partially destroyed by the enemy’s attacks, lay the blue planet.
“The disappearance of those monsters is likely thanks to the rebels, isn’t it?”
“That would be the case.”
The aide nodded at his words. The commander of the dispatched fleet found that this large vessel was the only source of trouble involving land that he couldn’t intervene in, but it seemed that matter was also coming to an end recently.
The monsters that had covered the ground and attacked frantically had all vanished without a trace. They knew the reason behind it.
“What do you think, as an outstanding personnel? Do you think the higher-ups will remain greedy?”
“From what I see… Yes.”
The aide, flinching, agreed with his question. They belonged to Ares, one of the forces in the Alliance. Luckily, Ares was the first among the Alliance to use players and users to discover the world called Earth, which had never been detected before.
Earth was an utterly different world from the typical frontiers, and the leadership of Ares, intoxicated by the harvest obtained from Earth, was hoping for even greater gains. The catalyst for this was the formation of a kind of multidimensional coalition by the Rebels.
The allied forces came together to survive the indiscriminate onslaught of the Legion, but in any case, the Alliance was wary of their rivals as their power quickly grew and developed.
“Then the order to move Jakov and the fleet to this coordinate is also related to that, right?”
The commander bitterly smiled as he pointed to the holographic screen that had popped up. The aide nodded, his face dark.
“Then let’s go… In my opinion, we should deal with those space monsters quickly, but the higher-ups are treating those monsters as mere disposable pawns.”
He clicked his tongue and adjusted his hat, officially signaling the start of their mission.
The straightforward soldier found the higher-ups’ instructions stuck in his throat. In the first place, the upper echelons of the Alliance had long been involved in power struggles. The suddenly appearing alien monster faction was just a convenient pawn attacking their troublesome rivals, the rebels.
He had flinched when the frontier was attacked but, having succeeded in repelling it with the new weapon Jakov and due to internal circumstances within the Legion, he brushed it aside as a mere happening.
In this situation, the so-called upper brass of Ares, feeling that “exhilarating” sensation, began actively searching for players and users to establish a new world in a bid to gain superiority in the ongoing power struggle beyond Earth.
“According to the information provided to us, it is said to be a world inhabited by humanoid animals, that is, beastmen. The order states that if they refuse cooperation…”
“We are soldiers, not space pirate groups. We need to make it so they cannot refuse to cooperate. The cabinet is blinded by greed.”
The commander shook his head, feeling the vibrations of warping beginning.
