Chapter 95: Evolution, Not Corruption (3)
In the moment of execution. Instinctively, she sensed that the heavy and large blade was falling onto her neck at that instant.
Amid the sensation as if time was flowing slowly, Reina fell down without even having the chance to scream against the fierce wind pressure and shockwave.
The last thing she saw was undoubtedly the mask of the black monster.
“What the…”
“Uagh!”
Screams echoed from all directions.
Reina, who was thrown from the broken guillotine, squirmed on the ground like a bug.
Her severed limbs and battered body no longer moved as she wished. All she could manage was to barely turn her head and see what was happening.
‘What the hell.’
She was horrified by the scene unfolding before her eyes.
In the chaotic scene, a pair of black feathered wings swirled, engulfed in a crimson aura.
The crimson energy soon became a violent strike that shot out in all directions. The execution ground, once a cauldron of excitement and madness, fell into terror in an instant.
People screamed and fled, many already lifeless on the ground.
“Catch it! Catch it!”
One of the knights guarding the execution site, unable to assess the situation, charged forward. A long leg clad in black armor extended, kicking the knight’s upper body, shattering the breastplate and sending him flying, drenched in blood.
Only then did Reina manage to fully take in the sight of ‘it,’ or rather, the young woman she had undoubtedly seen.
‘She’s looking at me. Why?’
The gleaming eyes behind the mask perfectly met her blue ones.
Reina couldn’t understand. Why was this monster looking at her? Abandoned and betrayed, she was now in a state worse than a bug.
“Ah…”
But the monster’s hand reached out and gently caressed her trembling face.
Reina was unaware that the microbial infection had penetrated her body through that touch.
At the same time, the injuries to her body began to heal, and the pain started to fade. For the first time, the infection that had solely been used to torture humans was now being used to heal one.
‘Do you want to live?’
“…!!!”
And at that moment, Reina shuddered at the will of an extraordinary being resonating within her mind.
“Move quickly!”
“An attack! It’s an attack!!”
The capital of the continent, Menace, was in chaos.
An invader had appeared, causing havoc in a holy city that had never allowed even a single enemy invasion, a pride of the people.
“What on earth is that monster?!”
“Don’t be surprised! Move, Commander of the Guard!”
But this was the center of the continent, the headquarters of magic itself.
Literally the gathering place of the continent’s overall power, where mages were more numerous than stones strewn along the road, the response was swift.
“Get back, monster!”
A large knight clad in shining silver armor, who was absorbing a barrage of spells from mages in the air, leaped onto the roof with all his strength.
His name was Lak. His position was the captain of the Guard of Menace.
His skills were among the best of the knights. The sword he wielded shone green and soon became a bolt of lightning striking down.
“Khk! You blocked this?!”
A massive shockwave reverberated through the air. Squinting at the ringing sword, he watched the black wings that had crossed to block his blade and felt a chill run down his spine.
“Uwaaaaah…”
Of course, there was no impact, but as he could not fly, he was soon pushed back by the wings and flailed in the air before crashing to the ground.
“Preparation of the magic direct cannon is…”
“What good is that! It just flew off in another direction!”
When Lak fell to the ground with a thud, the mages quickly launched their spells in a panic, but they couldn’t manage anything substantial and were flustered.
Moreover, they could not match the opponent in mobility. Before the mages could even attempt anything, the enemy had swiftly crossed the sky and reached the opposite side of the city.
As if it aimed to stir the entire city.
“So, shouldn’t we be dropping it, then?”
“President of the Academy, you need not intervene…”
“In times of such gravity, when should I intervene?!”
At that moment, a short, hunchbacked old man donned in robes with a staff emerged from the building with his disciples and gazed into the sky.
“I don’t know what kind of monster it is, but it is incredibly arrogant.”
His eyes gleamed as he raised his staff and harnessed his magic.
“Not just any city, but coming in here alone to Menace. How many Academy Presidents are present here now?”
As his eyes glittered, he swung his staff, and in an instant, the flow of air around him changed.
That flow turned into a fierce storm. The most powerful magic used by the Academy’s leading figure who manipulates the winds.
The opponent, sustained by the power of Formancy, ultimately couldn’t withstand the whirlwind and landed on the rooftop of a nearby five-story building.
“Fire!”
Immediately, the concentrated barrage from the waiting mages followed.
The enemy barely managed to deflect the bombardment with the black wings that had the force to demolish a building and once more propelled itself off the ground to leap over the structures.
“Do you think you can escape?”
Yet again, knights blocked its path. The initial confusion had vanished, and now they seemed to have the upper hand, filling with confidence.
“First Guard! Spread formed units. We will surely capture it! The merit will be ours!”
In response to the commander’s orders, the guards drawn up in sharp formation brandished their swords and charged together.
The enemy, too, pounced toward them.
“Watch your back! Carlson and I will…”
Collision and shock, and bloody splatter.
The commander, who had been shouting confidently, suddenly couldn’t believe his eyes.
Why was his face, which should command the battlefield, caught in such a powerful grip?
Why was his body, spewing blood, visibly collapsing before his eyes?
Why were his subordinates screaming while clutching severed limbs?
Now ordered to escape from this place, she effortlessly threw away the head of the commander, which had been grasped in its grip.
His viewpoint, floating in the air, slowly dimmed in despair.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“…!”
Yet again, she faced an obstacle.
A shot erupted. Just as she attempted to spread her wings and ascend, a blinding flash struck her.
The light emitted from his eyes flickered. She did not fall. Surrounded by a crimson barrier, she looked down at him.
‘Unit!?!’
Recognizing that identity, his brow furrowed gruesomely. Yet she, in a position where she had to flee, did not attack him there.
She merely continued to fly away.
“President!”
“President!”
Just after, the people rushed toward him in haste. Still, his expression did not lighten.
The people thought he was angry for letting the enemy escape, but that was not the case.
‘Have such monsters been gaining power?’
He ground his teeth. If it were just a simple monster, it honestly wasn’t worth much thought. They could easily hunt it down.
But now it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t simply a monster to consider.
Under this sky, it was a formidable adversary they could never align with.
An enemy that definitely had to be killed.
“Let’s not be too disheartened! Look! A capture formation cast by our proud mages has emerged! The creature is now a rat in a trap!”
One of the obliviously excited council members shouted while pointing to the sky.
Indeed, as he said, a gigantic curtain appeared in the sky, wrapping around the city. Originally intended to prevent external invasions, it could also be used to capture a fleeing enemy.
That curtain was now steadily shrinking and would soon confine the target, making it unable to move.
“…This can’t be.”
However, their optimistic thoughts did not last long.
The opponent extended a hand, summoning crimson power, and concentrated it at the tip before unleashing it.
Regardless of the scale, the curtain created by the Academy members was shattered instantly.
As the descending curtain turned into smoke and vanished. No one around could utter a word, and silence filled the air.
“…By the authority of the President, I will urgently convene an extraordinary meeting right now.”
“What?!”
“And bring Schultz, who is under investigation. We need to hear the story in detail. It can no longer be taken lightly.”
He immediately made his decision.
—
“The youngest Chairman of the Continental Council, Dark Yuta Crewger.”
In the center of the Nest, Eve realized his identity from the simple description notes she had from interrogating the captive.
A young genius mage from a prestigious family with brilliant silver hair. That was the public identity known about him.
But that was no longer the case. He was not merely a human, but a special existence connected to beings from the outside world.
“But, whether he is a unit or a player…”
“The strands were very thin, but it’s highly likely that he is a unit.”
“Did he recognize that too?”
“Perhaps.”
While communicating with Kang Do-yeon, Eve smiled.
The last face of his she had seen through Kang Do-yeon’s eyes was still vivid. Eve was convinced that he had realized Kang Do-yeon was a unit through some method.
“Then isn’t that dangerous?”
“Not at all.”
In response to the question of whether exposing his identity so easily wasn’t dangerous, she replied immediately.
Today, the chaos caused in Menace by sending Kang Do-yeon was not solely to divert Reina.
“It’s uncertain whether it’s full strength or not, but… if what was shown today is all the mages can do…”
Eve stood up and looked around the Nest.
“They will never win.”
[Preparations are nearly complete. A large-scale force that has never been attempted before.]
The expansion to the target amount was finished. The mass production of the planned legionnaires was already in progress.
A formidable force in the hundreds of millions was ready to pour out of the Nest at any moment.
“We are a colossal wave, and their defenses are but a sandcastle. What about you, Reina? Can you see well? Have you made up your mind?”
Eve murmured quietly.
At this moment, Kang Do-yeon, soaring toward this place, held Reina, who was at a loss in her embrace.
