Chapter 41: The Struggle for Survival (1)
“…”
Kang Do-yeon, momentarily halting her activity, grasped the ore in her hand.
She could feel the subtle energy within it tingling as it stirred.
[Now we know how to utilize the energy contained within it. It is not perfect. It is not optimized either. But it was possible to recreate its explosive power.]
“Ugh…”
She clenched the ore tightly.
At the same time, transformations began occurring in her hands and arms.
The physical alteration was something only she, a special being composed entirely of versatile cells, could undergo.
Enduring the terrible sensation of her body twisting and rearranging, she bit her lip.
[The Moonlight Fairies we successfully analyzed possessed another vein to manipulate a mysterious power within their bodies.]
‘At that time.’
The image of an exceptionally strong phantom crossed Kang Do-yeon’s mind, the one who had fought her in a one-on-one battle while maximizing her sensory organs.
That phantom, who had effortlessly beheaded a massive assault-type legionnaire with a softly glowing sword.
[The spirit energy referred to by Celestial Soul is akin to that. Thus, the Legion judged it plausible to combine and apply both aspects.]
The Legion did not simply accept the Celestial Soul as it was.
They continuously pondered more efficient and effective methods.
The conclusion they reached was this.
Kang Do-yeon stared blankly at the ore, now embedded deeply in her forearm.
A new vein, mimicking the Moonlight Fairy’s body, spread around the ore embedded in her arm.
[Our souls are powerful but singular. Sharing it among numerous legionnaires, who are akin to claws and teeth, would diminish both its power and effectiveness, making it difficult to deliver a devastating blow via Celestial Soul. This alternative was devised to utilize the ore that already harbored power.]
The master of Celestial Soul, who held great pride, would be enraged to hear this; however, for the Legion, the role of Celestial Soul was sufficient to assist them in fully harnessing the power embedded within the ore.
Kang Do-yeon slowly raised the arm with the ore embedded in it.
The power sleeping within the ore awakened and began to explode forth.
[This was recorded in history. Although its beginning was weak and imperfect, it marked the first instance of the Legion operating a power beyond reality—Formancy.]
The transcendent force that others referred to as mana, magical energy, spiritual energy, or divine energy, which manifests through one’s beliefs and will.
That force, which no one could readily wield, exploded from Kang Do-yeon’s arm.
“Ugh, Aaaah…!”
She herself was startled and screamed as a massive surge of blue light erupted.
The burst of blue light quickly coalesced into a thick ray, striking the stone wall ahead, igniting into flames and causing a massive explosion.
Kang Do-yeon was flung back, blood gushing from her mouth.
The recoil was too much even for the strong body of a legionnaire.
One of her arms was completely burned and shattered, and a legionnaire caught her as she was thrown back.
“We need to adjust the power.”
The Legion, observing the entire process, murmured in fascination and immediately deployed other waiting legionnaires.
There was no need for reconnaissance.
No, it was useless.
No matter what dwelled within, they would kill it all and devour it.
A black wave began to charge in and pour forth.
Through the soldiers’ eyes, the Legion saw who was there. At the very least, those who survived the Devouring Fungus had the basics covered.
If that were the case, it also meant that there would be much to gain when they devoured them.
The Legion licked their lips.
This was one of the expressions they learned to use occasionally.
*
“Have they retreated for now?”
“…It’s quiet.”
“They never make a sound to begin with. Not when fighting, nor when pursuing, not even when dying.”
In the bustling square filled with worried faces, someone murmured in a trembling voice.
That voice was filled with fear.
The pointed tips of their ears were quivering.
Against the pale complexion he wore, the bustling of the crowd grew louder.
“Where on earth did those things come from?”
Someone among the crowd muttered darkly.
Yet no one could provide an answer.
They had been striving to survive against the Devouring Fungus-infected entities that had occupied the outside for many long years.
The Devouring Fungus, which infects all living creatures, had reigned as the ruler of this labyrinth.
Knowing well from their struggles and flight.
“I couldn’t believe it. The sight of those thousands, no perhaps tens of thousands of infected entities waging war. We thought we could finally escape from them, but it was not that simple.”
He tore at his hair.
Uncertain of the identity, he nonetheless wished for a scenario where the emergence of some unknown force had caused a rapid decline in the numbers of the nearby infected entities.
However, that was a woefully complacent thought.
The new predator that had invaded the long-time predator was overwhelmingly terrifying and chilling.
“Don’t worry too much, Felix.”
“Lady Narrian.”
At that moment, the gathering crowd parted as a woman appeared.
She was a member of the noble class, carrying on the leadership of this group across generations.
Felix, as he was called, finally relaxed his expression upon seeing her.
“It is an opportunity instead. A chance to escape the oppression that has persisted since the days of our ancestors.”
“I…”
“If we utilize this gap well, there will be an opportunity for us too.”
She placed her hand on Felix’s quivering shoulder.
He smiled faintly.
Hope. Clearly, they still had not lost hope.
“Above all, we are not alone.”
“Indeed.”
She, Narrian, turned her body.
Felix and the other residents followed her lead, glancing back.
A large communal area, gradually carved out through years of toil, lay in the center of the village.
That was where their hope was growing.
“Our ancestors did not abandon us, and they sent us the benefactor known as the Player; through their grace, we have been able to start nurturing the Sacred Tree once again.”
She looked at the sapling that was just beginning to grow.
Though it appeared to be an ordinary sapling, the stakes planted around it were special.
All the stakes were granted to them as gifts, providing them with the power to replant the ancestors’ assets that they had yet to restore.
“With the power of the Sacred Tree, we will surely survive.”
She murmured, gazing down at her hand, from which faint light emanated, adorned with a drawn emblem.
The Sacred Tree was a special tree connected to her race.
It was also a means to reclaim the lost power and revitalize their kind.
“I was overthinking things. That’s enough. We can do this.”
Felix reassured his companions and the people.
He resolutely pushed aside negative thoughts.
‘In the end, all that remains is struggle.’
To survive, they had to fight.
Whether it be against the horrific infected entities that once destroyed this world or the new monsters of unknown identity.
They would continue to fight.
Yet, at this moment, the circumstances were better than ever.
Just recently, a being that provided them significant assistance had emerged.
“Felix! Here, take this.”
“Thank you, Nia.”
He smiled as he brushed the head of the little girl who brought him a drink.
“You are our future. By the time you become adults, the Sacred Tree will have grown large, and surely, we will be able to go outside.”
“I want to be part of the search party.”
“No. By then, you will become true warriors. The time we step outside from here and reclaim the glory of the past beyond this labyrinth.”
“Then I will be the strongest warrior.”
The child declared with resolve that they would become a strong warrior.
He was satisfied with that.
He thought many wonderful individuals would follow in his footsteps, and he only needed to pave the way for them.
“…!”
“Uaaagh!”
But at that moment.
With a massive explosion, the thick stone door that had been fiercely guarded shattered, scattering debris in all directions.
“Is, is this possible…?”
Felix’s face grew pale as he lay on the ground, cradling the child in his arms.
That thick stone door was one of the defensive mechanisms infused with the wisdom of the ancestors.
It was a wall of stone that no infected entity had ever breached, shattered in a single strike.
Amidst the dense dust, what shone were countless red eyes, hard to count.
“All soldiers, arm yourselves!! It’s the enemy!!”
With someone’s piercing scream, he instinctively rose, drawing the sword at his waist.
‘Sacred Tree, and you, the fairy spirit of another world whom I do not know.’
In this moment, which felt like time had stopped.
He gritted his teeth and charged forward for the things he wanted to protect.
In his ears, muffled by the booming sound, he could only hear the pounding of his heart and his breathing, as just before collision, he locked eyes with Narrian, who suddenly sprang out from behind.
“Die, beast!”
He swung his sword at the massive black beast charging towards him, its six red eyes gleaming through the gaps in its carapace, the light of the drawn emblem shimmering from his body.
The sword, meeting with fierce resistance, shattered the carapace and sank into its flesh.
The muscles of the legionnaire were so tough they were almost sticky, yet he cut through it with sheer strength.
In the end, Felix succeeded in taking down the enemy with his first strike.
“Ah…”
But that was merely the signal for the beginning of the struggle.
Along with other companions who rushed in shouting, he had to confront the endless invasion of the Legion.
