Episode 70 – Grave Threat (10)
“Already, your sense of self, along with that brain of yours, is with us. What meaning do soul or body hold anymore?”
Just before the real battle began, the Queen said this to Syla, telling her she would be given a new body.
At first, Syla didn’t understand these words, and it wasn’t until she eventually submerged herself in the digestive fluid and went through the process of most of her body dissolving and being restructured that she fully grasped their meaning.
‘How is this even possible?’
In the brief moment when her consciousness rested within the massive collective consciousness, Syla shuddered as she found herself now inhabiting her body, transformed by the Queen’s intent.
It was the same as when she first joined the Legion. While living as a vampire, all the countless common-sense beliefs she had clung to with unshakable faith were shattered.
“How does it feel to be reborn?”
“I don’t think it gets more exhilarating than this.”
The Queen herself emerged from the sticky mucus and grinned wickedly as she looked at the figure that had just surfaced.
On the surface, Syla’s appearance looked no different from when she was a vampire noble, with her lovely pale pink hair and beautiful body, but now every single cell in Syla was made up of the most powerfully modified universal cells.
The body, which was crafted by investing massive amounts of nutrients and mana, began to transform itself, enveloping her whole body in just moments with sleek and sturdy armor.
‘An enormous amount of mana resides within my entire body.’
Syla clenched her fist in amazement at the deep crimson mana that would discharge outward from her body at even the slightest provocation.
Ordinarily, mana is stored within the body, in places like the heart or danjeon, and utilized accordingly. Although there are various ways to handle mana, this fundamental principle remains constant.
However, the Queen and the Legion shattered even this basic assumption.
They literally embedded mana into each cell, creating an entity where mana was distributed throughout the whole body.
Rather than a living being, it was as if she was a fighting machine created solely for combat.
Even Seila, one of only two members of the Legion’s knights, was no exception when it came to this essence.
“I admit it was quite an adventure. Considering the costs simply in terms of soldiers, I’ve invested the equivalent of thousands of them, so you must be thoroughly tested.”
The Queen, satisfied with this new Syla, utilized this war to accumulate combat data, intending to evaluate Syla by having her fight the strongest adversaries.
“I’ve heard of it. They say there are some among them who surpass the ordinary. So, you are those ones.”
Marcela, with a rigid expression, could not recognize Syla standing before her. Even if she recognized her face, at that moment Syla was just one individual among the monsters, her face hidden behind a black mask.
Anyway, Syla held no personal grudge against Marcela.
So, she simply acted according to her orders.
“Guh!?”
Surprisingly, he stumbled when he prepared to swing his sword with red mana.
Marcela had no time to doubt Syla’s identity.
At that moment, Syla’s back, flashing with numerous crimson eyes, split open to reveal two more arms that appeared, wielding spears and starting to swing them.
From Marcela’s perspective, it was as if three spears were wildly flailing in front of her all at once.
In such a monstrous form, Marcela could not even imagine that the entity standing before her had once been a fellow of her own kind.
‘This is insane. A monster like this, how could…’
Yet Syla had not entirely discarded her legacy from the past.
The martial skills she had mastered during her time as a vampire now fused explosively with her new body, blooming in an entirely new way.
The complex and graceful martial arts of Syla, reborn as a Legion knight, was something different from other Legion soldiers.
It was not strange that Marcela was shocked and astonished to see her, believing she was merely a variant in a group of monsters, wielding skills that were reputed to be mastered only by the gifted intelligent beings.
“Keuh!”
As Syla kicked off from the ground, her spear’s thrust transformed into three flashing streaks and shot forward in an instant.
Marcela, desperately moving and flinging her sword’s energy, barely managed to guard against the condensed energy flying toward her, but her defenses were ultimately shattered, and her body was heavily scratched and torn.
It was miraculous that she hadn’t died instantly. If she had not been a vampire, known for longevity, she might have perished at that moment.
“Captain!”
“No! Stay back!”
When the other vampire soldiers rushed to save him, Marcela, his face drained of color, stopped them.
‘Damn. This monster, no, this is truly a monster!’
However, it was too late.
Syla’s spear flew toward him, curving eerily, then flashing as it struck, decapitating the elite vampire knights in a single blow, their bodies pierced, creating fountains of blood from every side.
In a matter of moments, all of Marcela’s fellow warriors around him had been eliminated.
Unconsciously, he looked further away, but all he could see in every direction were the cries and screams from the intense battlefield.
Now, no one was left to save him.
“The experiment was sufficient, and personally, it’s the beginning of my revenge. Are you happy?”
Between Syla, wrapped with surging mana, and Marcela, gritting his teeth, the Queen, who had watched the entire scene, asked her for an impression.
“Of course.”
Syla’s response mirrored the same sentiment.
From the moment when she had fallen into the Goblins’ nest, the vengeful feelings she harbored deep within her have now begun to ignite fiercely.
“My Lord is an authority in blood magic, and possesses countless knights…”
“Nonsense. I know Irwan, that old relic inside out.”
Finally, Syla’s spear cleaved Marcela’s head in two.
She mockingly sneered as the desperate words of her dying moment spilled out.
Marcela was horrified to hear her voice just before his death, but the dead cannot speak.
“Can you laugh even in situations like these?”
Kruger said this after taking a deep breath.
It felt too good to have that annoying Marcella from the march, who kept being a nuisance, die without revealing all his depravity.
It was a minor issue. While most of the Legion soldiers hardly express any emotions, both my clones and my original body ultimately share the same emotions.
I may not be able to separate my self into two.
“Means nothing. Rather, are you checking my face in such a situation?”
“Hmph.”
I countered with a bigger smirk, making Kruger cough awkwardly.
“Snap out of it. The current situation ain’t good.”
I let out a bitter laugh while I easily beheaded one of the Fallen Ones with the sword I was holding. Poor guy.
“Our main force is on the verge of collapsing. Judging from the sight, the commander-in-chief is fighting fiercely, but even if he’s capable of capturing a single one of those creatures, can he deal with over a thousand?”
“I think the same thing. So, what’s your plan?”
“We were hired, so we must follow orders, but taking care of ourselves is also a duty of mercenaries.”
I pointed towards the center. It seemed that Commander Zumun had determined that escape was impossible and had given the order to keep fighting instead of retreating awkwardly.
It felt like he had opted for mutual annihilation rather than getting massacred while fleeing, but it was a futile effort.
After all, the forces fighting here were only a part of ours.
“The formation will collapse at any moment. Any attempt to remain and hold out with the old tactics is meaningless. Let’s break through before it’s too late and head towards the commander-in-chief.”
“What nonsense. What could we possibly do when we get there? Zumun is a warrior several times stronger than us.”
“If the commander does not issue a retreat order, we’ll be deserters and won’t even get our pay. Trust me.”
Kruger was right. Though a brilliant warrior, the limitations of his origin from the frontier were obvious. To be honest, he was still a young and unpolished warrior.
Still, his gaze wavered at my words, as the results of the actions I’d proven through my behavior thus far reached him.
“Look, the general’s in trouble!”
“See? Let’s rush to save him. Anyway, our only viable choice, which allows us both to survive and claim victory, is this. We’ve lost this battle.”
Just then, a signal flare shot up from the direction where Zumun was stationed, causing ripples of excitement to spread.
It was exactly as I had instructed. Rozalyn, who had gone to the left side, and Syla, who had dealt with Marcela, were making a coordinated attack on Zumun to actively collapse the ranks.
“Though it’s insane, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Make the fools follow you. That’s your job.”
Kruger also closed his eyes tightly, then began running behind me.
Even if we were only a small mercenary band, abandoning the resistance caused the right flank where we were positioned to collapse naturally.
The Orcs screamed, but we paid them no mind. We wouldn’t have been able to hold out for more than a few more minutes anyway.
