Chapter 32: The Legion’s Gratitude (3)
“Tell me to take this picture. To the Legion, send it…”
[If you believe in us]
Believing. That single word barely stitched together my increasingly hazy mind.
I grit my teeth despite trembling.
The deed was already done.
I had to manage it.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
I raised my hands, shaking uncontrollably.
I had to hold them with my other hand.
My breath became harder and harder.
It was all my fault.
All because of me.
[Take the picture. Time is short. If you lose consciousness and suffer brain damage, I can’t guarantee your memories]
I squeezed my eyes shut.
The price of incompetence was brutal.
With the click of the shutter.
I eventually activated the camera.
[Leave the aftermath to us. Are you going to sit here and just watch it all slip away again?]
“…No, I can never let that happen. Never.”
[Then move. You must have a thought in mind]
Each word gnawed at my heart.
I barely managed to move my still trembling legs.
“Gate!! A sudden gate!”
“Take care of the patients!”
Almost simultaneously, the sound of sirens and screams echoed from outside the hospital.
People weren’t talking about end times for no reason these days.
But for those who understood the situation, a fierce war was already raging.
I rushed through the hospital corridor, supporting my mother, who was exhausted from crying and was experiencing dizziness from shock.
The glass windows shattered, and chaos began to unfold.
It turned out to be a fortunate turn of events.
Once the uproar began, one patient going missing would be naturally buried in the noise.
*
“…”
[Can you clearly feel his emotions? Fierce anger and hatred. We were in the process of learning that. There was no need to learn about helplessness and guilt. Burn with hatred. Anger is power]
In the dim space.
In an instant, a flash of light revealed someone wrapped in bandages.
[Those emotions will become our power. We will be more rational than anyone else, while at the same time, we will be hotter than anyone else]
Some legionnaires cautiously moved to peel the bandages from the miserable state of Kang Do-yeon’s body.
If left like this, she would soon lose her life.
At the same time, the nest of the Legion began to move.
It extended its tentacles toward her.
[He truly wishes for his sister’s survival. I can feel his sorrow. Sadness is a useless emotion. So now it’s our turn to erase that sorrow]
The tentacles slowly coiled around her body.
The sticky mucus secreted from the tentacles began to gradually encase her.
On the surface, it looked no different from the absorption and digestion the Legion had shown before.
But the process occurring inside was entirely different.
[We will merge our cells with her body. Calmly, slowly. Replacing each cell of hers with ours]
It was a bonus that we thoroughly analyzed human genes using some of her bodily tissues.
Thanks to this, the Legion could replace and reconstruct her flesh with its own body.
[This will be recorded in history. For the first time in the Legion, a commanding entity with an independent self will be born]
This was an immense privilege.
The emergence of another self within the Legion that could threaten its own position was something that had never even been considered before, given that they had been repeating nothing but consumption, slaughter, decomposition, and analysis.
What made this possible was a strong desire conveyed through a direct link.
[Do not be afraid. I assure you, she, Kang Do-yeon, can become our next weapon]
Before I knew it, Kang Do-yeon was completely submerged in the fleshy wall.
In the center of the nest, the large fleshy wall encasing her resembled a human uterus.
She was entirely enveloped in the mucus filling it.
This mucus was composed of countless Legion cells.
As her body’s existing cells were decomposed at a cellular level, new cells were written, perfectly restoring her original form.
[This is a fortuitous development]
The Legion came to a complete stop.
They were eagerly awaiting the special nest housing Kang Do-yeon.
[The enemies on level 35 are special and powerful. Considering the existing methods, a considerable loss of energy is anticipated to break through. Therefore, it makes sense to bolster our powers]
The Legion could not ascertain what the enemies on level 35 were.
They had previously attempted to divert a corpse to analyze it, but the moment the light from the markings on the body extinguished, they turned into desiccated mummies and crumbled apart.
They were never a normally living opponent; thus, any analysis was impossible.
[But next time, we will win]
They had confirmed all of the opponent’s weaknesses.
The Legion had already calculated that they were certain of victory.
[At the same time, our brains are developing further]
In this time of waiting, the Legion reinforced other aspects.
This time, they had obtained part of the brain tissue of a 17-year-old human girl, Kang Do-yeon.
With that, the Legion’s brain began to rapidly grow, enhanced by the perfectly analyzed human brain functions.
An intelligence far beyond that of orcs.
Even though they hadn’t fully understood it, the Legion had mimicked that structure and enlarged its volume thousands of times over.
[Now we will surely know. Though we haven’t learned yet, if we do, we can create reproductive organs and even speak]
The gigantic brain was now sufficient to fill an entire space.
Although still close to being a blank slate, the development of the brain helped to exponentially increase the Legion’s processing power and communication speed, which also advanced its collective consciousness.
They evolved once again in that manner.
[Did you see it?]
“…Yeah.”
[This is the Legion’s true intention]
“I believed.”
He nodded darkly as he watched the entire scene unfold.
His eyes remained fixed on the nest containing his sister.
“I heard you contacted us. Um…”
“I am Kang Shin Woo.”
“Yes. Mr. Kang Shin Woo.”
Late at night.
I took a taxi headed to Chae Yeon.
Working together with Chae Yeon had become a necessity for me.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t know when I would be hunted.
She, who knew my identity as Oh Yu-na’s subordinate, wore a displeased expression.
It was understandable.
Oh Yu-na was not very proactive in alliance activities and was currently in a state of unconsciousness due to an incident today.
To her, I seemed to possess little utility…
“I’ve heard news. About your sister… even her corpse… to those bastards.”
However, contrary to my expectations, she took my hand with a sigh.
I was honestly surprised, my eyes wide and speechless.
That someone as strong and significant as her would care about such things.
“I was a hunter and a human before being a unit.”
Her bitter smile pierced my heart.
Looking back, I hadn’t considered that.
She, being a true individual and not merely a part of the Legion like the legionnaires, was she genuinely in absolute agreement with her player?
“Thanks for your sympathy. But I’m here for another matter.”
“Another matter?”
“I will prove it. So… please take me along for the upcoming gate raid.”
I conveyed my resolution to her while gritting my teeth.
Chae Yeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
But I was serious.
I didn’t feel sorry about the risky path ahead for the Legion.
Because, after all, they would want that too.
I realized that now.
“You want to prove it?”
“Please give me a request. I will handle it.”
“That… I’ll note it. Our player seems to find it interesting as well. An increase in power is always welcome.”
Chae Yeon nodded almost reflexively.
I wasn’t without a sliver of belief either.
[Explore the truth of the labyrinth beyond level 35. If so, you will reach Chapter 3 and secure safety by utilizing additional functions]
Just one step ahead.
“You’re only twenty-three, and you’re going through hardships at such a young age.”
“Um, I think the hunter is twenty-four now too.”
“That may be so, but…”
I was momentarily taken aback.
The fact that someone who seemed so mature was only a year older than me.
She chuckled lightly while fiddling with her phone.
“Don’t worry too much. Our player already knows the identities of the mysterious units that harmed your sister and attacked Oh Yu-na, and they are confident of victory. We will surely take our revenge.”
“What kind of bastards are they?”
“They don’t share much information with me. But it will be revealed for sure.”
She nodded as if to reassure me.
I decided to trust her for once.
Revenge didn’t matter to me.
I didn’t know how long it would take, but I would handle it myself, along with the Legion.
“Thank you.”
I was grateful that she cared for me when she could have easily ignored me.
[It would be wise to stay close. The enemies have the ability to track players]
“Yeah. But did those bastards really think of Oh Yu-na as a player when they targeted her?”
After parting with Chae Yeon, I rubbed my head.
As I attempted to gather my shattered mental state, one thought nagged at me.
Targeting a player indicated they belonged to the same world; however, the units I knew from Oh Yu-na were people far removed from the high-tech suits featured in CCTV footage.
“Or maybe they are a group that acts on our behalf to eliminate opponents. I don’t know.”
I clicked my tongue and got back into the taxi.
