C392. Heartbeat (7)
The black Shadow Tree that had emerged from the royal palace rose, splitting the sky and the earth into thousands of cracks.
And what was heard next was:
XXXXXXXXXXXX-!!!
They were the chilling screams of the Peculiar Creatures, also known as Strange Creatures.
As if hundreds or thousands of beings were screaming in unison, that sound echoed throughout the entire Colony.
“Ah.”
The gigantic dark tree, which until a moment ago maintained its shape, began to slowly fade away.
And then…
The fruits hanging from the black branches began to fall one after another toward the ground.
Each of those fruits—which individually were already impossible to contain even for a skilled combatant—were hundreds, thousands of Peculiar Creatures.
However, upon crashing against the ground, they disintegrated like soft fruits, being crushed without resistance.
“Didn’t you say…?”
Akaron murmured, stunned by that scene. His mind had already deduced without much difficulty who had done this. It was strange that anyone could fail to understand it.
If he ruled out the 1st Prince, who was clearly trying to hand them over to those monstrosities, only one person remained in that palace.
“What did I say?”
“That that thing over there was only ‘a little’ stronger than Golden Flash?”
Akaron felt a shiver run down his spine.
The scene before him inevitably made him remember Golden Flash.
The first Babayaga of the Colony.
The strongest of them all.
Golden Flash.
Akaron knew her strength well. And it was natural.
In the recent battles, it had been her who contributed the most to stopping the Peculiar Creatures.
If in the upcoming battles the other Babayaga died, Akaron would simply lament the loss.
But if Golden Flash fell…
Akaron would abandon the battle without hesitation.
The death of Golden Flash would mean, without exception, that even uniting all the remaining forces of the Colony, they would be incapable of defeating their enemy.
That was the level of strength Akaron recognized in her.
But what he was seeing before his eyes...
“That is... simply a god.”
Even he, who already considered her impossible to measure, could not help but utter those words.
“…It seems the rumors were not exaggerated.”
Kazan, who was watching in a daze, nodded.
At that moment—
BOOM!
From the half-destroyed royal palace, another earth-shattering explosion resonated.
And new Creatures began to sprout; just seeing them caused revulsion.
“What the shit, they didn't run out even though we killed so many!?”
Akaron shouted at the absurd situation.
But it was only for an instant.
“Tsk, carry the wounded quickly!”
At Kazan’s shout, Akaron came to his senses, lifting the fallen soldiers under his arms.
The two initiated the retreat toward the coliseum.
‘…The evacuation is complete.’
With the disappearance of the Shadow Tree, the Creatures fell from the sky like rain. And the royal palace of the Colony had already been completely devastated.
Alon, observing from afar, confirmed that his plan had worked.
“Ha…”
A voice was heard beside him.
Alon turned and saw Karan, laughing in disbelief.
His condition was not normal.
As soon as the Peculiar Creatures had been summoned, he awaited Alon's death with an ecstatic face. But now there was no intact part remaining on his body.
Of his limbs, only a right leg remained. His torso had three huge holes.
For a common human, it was a state that would mean instant death. But Karan was still alive.
“…Certainly… your reputation was not undeserved.”
“But unfortunately for you, I do not die.”
Alon observed Karan's body.
He was not only alive, but his body was even beginning to regenerate.
With a difference: he no longer had a human appearance, but was starting to resemble the Peculiar Creatures themselves.
But Alon showed no surprise.
From the beginning, he had foreseen that Karan would have some hidden trick. His attitude had always been too confident for someone without power, even in front of him.
Seeing him like this only confirmed that Karan could not read his thoughts. Nothing more.
“What good will regenerating alone do you? Most of the Peculiar Creatures you summoned have already been eliminated.”
“Don't worry. Besides those toys you killed, I have many more to sow.”
CRACK—
And, as if to prove he wasn't lying, new Peculiar Creatures began to emerge from the periphery of the royal palace.
“......Were there... two summoning circles?”
“What a pity.”
Karan smiled broadly.
“Now watch. When these creatures fill this city with their terror... He will appear. Ah—”
He was laughing, but his emotional state was extremely dangerous. His smile did not match his eyes, filled with confusion and delirium.
“No... perhaps I should ask first if you will be able to see him.”
Alon then noticed that the Peculiar Creatures of the Divine Blood were surrounding him.
At a glance, they already exceeded the hundreds.
Those creatures advanced with grotesque and rumbling steps.
Karan, who was looking at him with mockery, heard him say:
“Do you think I can't handle them?”
“Not at all. After seeing your power up close, I know very well that you can kill them many times over. But—”
Karan smiled broadly.
“Do you think you can repeat it a hundred times? Two hundred?”
After those words, new magic circles began to appear behind him.
“His army is much more vast than you imagine. This is merely a fraction.”
“Let's see how long you last.”
His reasoning made sense.
If it was true, Alon would not be able to resist for long.
His Mana Hall and Reverse Heaven were not made for prolonged combat.
And yet, Alon did not get upset.
For two reasons.
First: he evaluated that Karan was probably exaggerating.
The Divine Blood had barely been generating major incidents for a month.
Even before, although Peculiar/Strange Creatures had been reported, it was not possible to produce hundreds or thousands in such a short time.
Besides...
If they really possessed such a huge army, they wouldn't limit themselves to attacking only the Colony, no matter how much importance faith based on terror had.
Second:
Even if Karan was telling the truth...
“I have no intention of resisting.”
Alon simply didn't plan on staying in that place.
And then:
“What?”
Karan frowned just when—
CRACK—!!
A golden lightning bolt descended.
“Master!”
Seolrang, completely wrapped in golden light, landed in front of Alon.
She wrapped around him and flew off with him.
“…Huh?”
Karan could only stare in astonishment at the place where Alon had been.
And then—
“That son of a—!!!”
He remembered that the citizens were gathered at the coliseum.
And he understood that he had been manipulated.
It didn't take him long to do so.
Just after escaping from the palace with Seolrang's help—
“Thank you, Seolrang.”
“No, Master! Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
Alon, who had landed in front of the coliseum, stroked Seolrang's head, who was looking at him with concern.
“…It has already begun.”
The area was already chaos. There were clear signs of a previous battle against Peculiar Creatures.
Groans were heard everywhere.
Corpses of combatants and monsters were scattered on the ground.
“Marquis!”
“Are you okay?”
Penia and Evan ran toward him quickly. Alon understood the situation thanks to them.
‘The plan worked.’
In conclusion, Alon's plan was successful.
While he attracted Karan's attention, and the Babayaga eliminated the soldiers to prevent the news from reaching the palace, the citizens were evacuated to the coliseum, avoiding an indiscriminate massacre.
But even though the plan had worked...
The real problem was not over.
Because what he had to eliminate was—
“You—!”
—the Divine Blood.
Alon looked up at the voice.
It was Karan, who until recently was at the royal palace, now looking at him from above.
“…Is that the prince?”
As Penia asked, Karan's current state was so far from human that there was no longer any way to consider him normal.
His entire body was similar to that of a Peculiar Creature. Even his eyes had mutated grotesquely.
“You thought you fooled me, but nothing changes.”
With his voice full of madness—
The Peculiar Creatures began to surround the coliseum, while new magic circles appeared.
The combatants cursed, and Alon prepared to use his magic when—
CRACK—
Karan's back began to inflate grotesquely.
“Ah?”
Karan looked at his body in confusion, until he seemed to understand it.
“W-Wait—!! Keep your promise, Divine Blood!”
But—
CRACK! CRACK CRACK!
His body inflated even more.
“Divine Blood! Keep your word! I will hand over everything! Everything here! I will keep all promises—!!”
Karan screamed as if sensing his end.
But—
“pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease—!!! GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
His body, swollen without control...
...completely tore his skin apart.
And then—
CRRRRRAAAAAAACK—!!!
A gigantic leg emerged.
Enormous.
“What the shit…”
A spider leg so large that it easily surpassed the height of the coliseum.
Emerging from inside Karan's body.
And then—
[Worship me.]
A deep voice resonated.
And that which emerged, destroying the remains of Karan's flesh, forcing its way through an impossible space—
[Worship…]
Finally appeared in front of Alon and the others.
[Poison Eater.]
Completely revealing its form.
