Chapter 413: Metamorphosis (4)
Reincarnator – Chapter 413: Metamorphosis (4)
"What the… What is going on?"
The family heads, who had basically flipped the capital upside down, were all lost in confusion.
Crack!
Crunch!
It was only for a brief moment, when the relic's energy was released, that the monsters went berserk.
Now, the seven monsters were all fusing into each other, focusing on the one that had swallowed the person that caused all this.
I didn't even look like a monster anymore.
The flesh and bones of the seven monsters had long started fusing into each other, as if they had been one entity from the start, turning into a more simple, but much larger, form
'It's… Like a mountain.'
They had fused even though they were all individually humongous to start with. This caused the result to simply resemble a large mountain.
As K-Merrow Nell looked at the giant mountain that was being formed in a daze, K-Ukatan Pael shouted in frustration, "You stupid bastard! Why are you just standing there? Aren't we gonna drag that guy and the Relic out?"
Ukatan Pael's personality was like fire, but he wasn't stupid. No, his mind spun fast enough to accommodate his personality and still allow him to lead a giant clan.
Why were those giant monsters fusing in the first place?
Deducing from what those things had been chasing after all this time, it was easy to find the answer.
Energy.
What would happen if those gluttons, who were getting stronger and stronger as they devoured more energy, decided to suck the energy from the Relic?
He couldn't even imagine how much stronger they would become.
As he finished this dreadful thought, dark flames started to blaze around K-Ukatan Pael's body, a power that was a-whole-nother dimension stronger than the strength he had shown so far.
'Ukatan Pael… What a fox! Has he been hiding his strength?'
K-Merrow Nell frowned as he looked at the small sun-like energy.
"Haaaaaaa!"
Booom!
With a long shout, K-Ukatan Pael launched the giant, dark red sun that he had formed toward the giant lifeform that was almost done fusing.
K-Adelaia Ron and K-Merrow Ron shouted in shock as they watched this scene, "You stupid bastard! You're going to destroy everything around here with that!"
"Is there anything else to be destroyed?"
As Adelaia Ron and Merrow Nell tried to stopped Ukatan Pael…
Booooom!
… a huge explosion swept by the area next to Neoreim, ringing out loudly, the strongest and largest explosion so far.
The residual energy of the explosion was more than enough to melt the second layer and evaporate metal.
"Ahhhh…."
"Patriarch! Why…?"
The cloud of death that was caused by the giant explosion swallowed all the living creatures that had been within its range.
Even the ones outside of the explosion's range died one by one from the poisonous vaporized metals and the heat.
'… Damn.'
As Adelaia Ron frowned at the sight, K-Merrow Nell swept away the clouds and shook his head toward Adelaia.
"They were those who had found out about the secret beneath the capital. They had to die anyway. The real problem is that thing."
K-Merrow Nell's eyes had been locked onto one thing the whole time.
Grrrrr.
Despite the giant explosion, the giant monster remained alive. Only the surface of its being had been burned off. The other parts of its flesh squirmed around and quickly mended the areas that had been damaged.
"Haa… Haa… Seriously?"
K-Ukatan Pael seemed to have exhausted himself in that attack, but gritted his teeth at the sight.
Only that much damage despite his attacks? K-Ukatan Pael felt annoyed as he touched his left wrist with his right hand.
'If one isn't enough… I'll show you a shower of them'
He, alone, might not be enough. Even the three clan heads might not be enough to do it, but what if they gathered all their ships and attacked it for three days and three nights nonstop? If they attacked with enough force to even drive a hole through the planet, would that monster still manage to withstand them?
'Yeah, that sounds good.'
If they pierced the entire continent and shoved that thing into the center of the planet, there was no way that thing would be able to survive.
Chiiijiiijiiik.
From the internal communications device that was embedded in his left hand, he heard the voice of the fleet's admiral, the admiral that Ukatan Pael trusted the most, R-Paotan Pael.
Ukatan Pael kept his eyes glued to the giant mountain and said, "There's something you guys need to do. Get over here immediately and…"
But Ukatan Pael's voice cut off.
Adelia Ron had appeared beside him and had grabbed his wrist.
"… What is this?"
That was clearly overstepping the boundaries.
As Ukatan Pael's face stiffened, Adelia Ron looked at him with a numb expression and said, "Wake up, you bastard! What will happen to Pompeion if we bring them here?"
"… Son of a."
Ukatan Pael swore in a manner that was hard to determine whether it had been targeted at Pompeion or Adelaia Ron, but then, he took a step back.
He agreed with Adelaia Ron.
Ukatan Pael took a deep breath and said, "Right. Let's say we don't have the freedom to destroy that thing. But, are we going to keep that thing alive like that?"
It was already that powerful before consuming the Relic's power. If it sucked the energy of the Relic and got even more powerful, there would truly be no more solutions then.
"Woah! I wondered where you had gone off to, but it seems you are still alive!"
"Sure."
K-Merrow Nell continued to speak sarcastically at the voice. He really disliked that fellow, but there was nothing he could do since they really needed the help.
The three clan heads looked at each other with a frown as their eyes moved downward, toward the man who had spoken to them.
From the distance, Kiriel, who had been watching the whole scene, bit her lips.
'I mean, I managed to escape using the chaos, but…'
She understood Hansoo's plan to gather power beneath them, which meant she needed to prepare as well, as much as she could.
'Please, remember me.'
Kiriel disappeared by use of her Cloudy Movements.
....
Rumble!
Two different forces were acting upon Hansoo's body. One, from the massive Relic energy rising from within him, and the other was the dozens of tentacles from the Haetara, which had surrounded him in order to suck the energy away.
The tentacles wanted to rip Hansoo's body apart and suck the energy directly from the Relic, but they realized it wouldn't be as easy as planned. It was too hard for them to simply break him apart.
Despite having squeezed, pressed and crushed him in numerous ways, nothing happened. Actually, things had happened, but the bastard had held on the whole time. It was a battle of time now.
The energy seeping out from him was too sweet for it to give up. How great would it be if it could suck the energy directly?
Grrrrk
The Haetara continued to suck the energy and try to crush Hansoo's body, and to prevent that, all skills and even the seeds within Hansoo's body kept struggling.
The Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement made a impregnable wall, while the Nine Dragons Strike's seed twisted Hansoo's body in the manner that would be most efficient in dealing with the tentacles' attacks.
There was nothing to speak of the Immortal's soul as even the Pandemic Blade was working in order to help the body regenerate. Of course, the skill that was working the hardest was the Demon's Gate.
<… Survival. Important.>
Rumble!
The Thirteen Shadows continuously struggled to regenerate Hansoo's body and resist the pressure. The dark and evil power from the Thirteen Demons was unfittingly working to keep a body alive.
Kakakaka!
As the shadows of the demons complained, one of them chuckled coldly and whispered in Hansoo's ear.
There was no response. Hansoo had basically reached near unconsciousness from all the different forces wreaking havoc within his body.
Nonetheless, the demon Barmamunt continued to whisper.
By the time the kid escaped, he would be a different existence, both in terms of his physical body and of his mind. He would be closer to them, an existence that would enjoy the screams of creatures getting their flesh ripped apart and their bones crushed.
And when that happened, they would be able to have more fun than ever before.
If not, all that effort would be a waste.
Kadadak.
Kuduk.
Barmamunt frowned as he looked at Hansoo, who was going through a massive change.
'I can't understand this boy… Why are you smiling?'
Even while going through the change, even while unconscious, Hansoo was smiling.
That made Barmamunt very uncomfortable.
Chapter 413: A step towards Desolation (1)
Reincarnator – Chapter 414: A step towards Desolation (1)
Rumble!
K-Merrow Nell was in the center of the circuits that extended out from the Relic, looking at the mountain that had finished morphing and standing still with a scowl, as if something had displeased him.
The other two clan heads were doing the same.
A man watching the three clan heads and a humanoid creature by the heads said as he stroke the Relic, "Well, this might actually be for the better. If we hadn't realized that monster reacted this intensely to the Relic, we might've failed even after activating the force build below."
Samuel nodded. If they hadn't known that the monster wanted the Relic, they would've suffered much more since the vast amount of energy being released from the Relic would've continued to entice the monster.
However, the clan heads weren't very satisfied with the man's words.
"Let's get to the point. We need to get back to the battlefield after all."
Samuel shook his head at those words.
"No, there's no reason to anymore."
"…?"
Samuel continued to talk to the dumbfounded clan heads, "It's time to activate the barrier."
Samuel focused on Mihee's words.
"Good job! Everything's solved here as well. We just need to activate the Relic."
Mihee asked with a worried expression.
The fact that the Relic was in their hands meant one of two things: either they succeeded in negotiating with Hansoo, or Hansoo had been killed by Samuel.
It would've been better if it was the former, but something kept bugging Mihee's mind.
Samuel replied with a slightly bitter voice, "… It didn't just end with words of course."
Samuel shook his head.
"No, I didn't kill him, but I don't know what I should do. But…"
Samuel stopped. He wanted to say that they should kill Hansoo, but Samuel hadn't said it out of respect for Hansoo's relationship with Mihee, and because the words Hansoo had left before he disappeared kept bugging him.
'Ominous.'
Samuel clenched his jaw as K-Merrow Nell called for him, "Enough chit-chat. We're going to begin since we've finished preparing."
"… Right away?"
It wasn't K-Merrow Nell that responded, but the man, "We don't have all the time in the world. There's no reason to waste our time if everything is already ready."
Then…
Boom!
… The man's hand started to shine brightly, a bright light that pushed back the scorching heat. That bright light got more and more intense as it started to devour the ground beneath them. And soon, the circuits that were now filled with the bright light started to extend in all directions with the Capital, Neoreim, as their center, past the underground space and toward the boundary of the Neropa Union in the far distance.
Ukatan Pael tutted as he saw this scene, "Tsk! Too bad we can't contain all of the territories we wanted. The 113th Zone in the east is damn worth it."
"We agreed that we would compensate you for that already. There are priorities."
As K-Merrow Nell spoke…
Booooom!
… A change started to occur around the hundreds of metal towers that had been places by the boundary.
...…..
Rumble!
'Everything should be fine, right?'
The 14th Border City, Etoreim.
Metionel looked at the city that had been destroyed by John Stone with a bitter expression. Their tribe had ruled over the place in the past. Though it wasn't theirs anymore, and it was destroyed now, watching the scene still displeased him greatly.
Kachak!
Metionel stepped on the corpse of the traitor, Karas.
'If you were going to just die like this, why did you betray us in the first place?'
Metionel continued to walk through the inner parts of the city that had long been destroyed by Karas, John Stone and the other Dragon God Soldiers, but suddenly…
Boooom!
… A tremendous noise shook the entire city.
Kakakakak!
'What the hell?!'
Pushushushuk!
Metionel activated his Dragon God Armor and barely managed to maintain his balance. He had thought that everything had ended, but what was this?
'… No, there shouldn't be anything else left near here.'
There were no ships, monsters, nor were there any other Dragon God Soldiers. There weren't any special satellite weapons or explosives, nothing that could shake the city like this. However, he was only startled for a moment, and his shock soon turned into fear.
'What the hell?!'
Beneath the ground, from the center of Etoreim, the destroyed city, a giant bright barrier was being created, a translucent barrier that made it hard to discern whether it was solid matter or energy.
It had risen up from the ground and had split Etoreim in half.
Boom!
Kachak!
The city that had barely maintained its shape soon turned to dust and disappeared as the barrier swept past it. The issue was that this barrier was now breaking apart the building Metionel was standing on.
'Dammit!'
Whoooosh!
Metionel quickly activated his Dragon God Armor and rose into the air, watching the scene below in utter disbelief.
It wasn't just Etoreim. The entire continent was being split in half by the barrier that had destroyed the building he had been standing on.
Metionel clenched his teeth.
'Damn… Where does this lead?'
Though it looked like it was rising straight up into the air, Metionel, a Dragon God Soldier, could see that the barrier was half of a sphere. It just looked like it was rising up vertically due to its massive size.
The barrier was making a slight curve as it rose up, which meant that that giant continent would be divided in two parts, a part that was outside the half sphere, and the part that was inside of it.
Though he didn't know what maniac was causing all of this, they weren't doing it just for show, and now, he needed to make a choice that would change his entire future.
However, he only pondered it for a moment before he quickly flew off toward the outside of the barrier.
'Thinking about it, I'll just be trapped inside once this is complete.'
If Hansoo had succeeded in stealing the Relic, this wouldn't have happened, which meant that the Neropa Union had activated this. To be trapped together with them? The Flameless Lands didn't exist anymore, and no other groups were a threat to them. It would be a dictatorship.
'Dammit… Dammit! I don't like those guys from Pompeion either!'
But he had no other choice.
Rumble!
As Metionel made a complex expression toward the giant barrier before his eyes…
Whoooosh!
… White clouds appeared by his side.
"Hey! You!"
Metionel was surprised by Kiriel, who had suddenly appeared by his side.
"Here you are! Come! We have no time."
"Huh? Ahhh!"
Kiriel grabbed onto Metionel and quickly used her Cloudy Movements again.
Sssss!
The two bodies quickly disappeared into white clouds again.
....
Whoooosh!
'This place is…?'
Metionel instinctively looked around as he was teleported alongside Kiriel, and soon…
"…Ugh! What is this?"
"God! My joints!"
Metionel sighed in relief as he looked at the core members of Reunion.
'They are all alive!'
The terrorist actions they had caused in various locations had put their lives on the line. Of course, he had been worried when they had parted, but seeing them all there made him greatly relieved.
'Though, I don't see everyone exactly…'
It was good enough.
Metionel quickly thanked Kiriel.
"Thank you for taking care of us all."
If they had been split apart with the chaos from the barrier, it would've been even harder for them to survive. Kiriel waved at him lightly with the intention of saying that it wasn't much, and Metionel smiled as he looked around.
The most important question was still unanswered: 'Where exactly is this?'
Then, Metionel saw a small window on the side of the area and looked outside.
"Huh?! Ahhhh! Why did you bring us here?!" Metionel shouted with a mixture of fear and rage.
Of course, he'd seen the barrier that was being completed outside the window, which meant that he was in the inside half of the sphere.
At that rate, they would all die.
Kiriel shook her head and said, "Don't be like that. I put a lot of thought into it as well."
"…?"
As Metionel made a confused expression, Kiriel continued, "Think about it. They aren't turtles, right? Why would they be defending themselves like that?"
Metionel nodded. She was right. There was no reason for this.
Kiriel asked with a tired expression, "Wouldn't they be doing that because there are greater dangers outside?"
'Or because they were creating a greater danger.'
Kiriel looked at the barrier with a worried expression.
...
"Good. This is perfect."
A man nodded as he watched the giant half-sphere that covered the continent. It looked like half of a sphere, but in reality, it was closer to a full sphere.
It was now time to head on to the next stage.
The man looked at the clan heads and Samuel as he spoke, "Now, blow up the Red Jade."
Of course, it wouldn't be a full explosion because even that barrier wouldn't be able to withstand one. They were going to shake it just a little bit, just enough to burn everything outside to death.
Samuel shouted in terror, "What the?! You never told us about that!"
What about their race that was outside? They had never heard about that.
The man shrugged at Samuel's words and asked, "Did I have to?"
The man smiled.
Chapter 414: A Step Toward Desolation (2)
Reincarnator – Chapter 415: A Step Toward Desolation (2)
"What?!"
As Samuel responded angrily, the man repeated without an expression, "I asked whether there really was a need for me to tell you such things. This isn't related to the contract you and I had, right? I told you that I would protect everyone within your Union and create a sanctuary for you."
"You… Did indeed," Samuel slowly spat the words out.
The man was right.
'But if you really cared about us, then you should've told us about something like this. You clearly knew our goals…'
When the clan leaders had told them that he could only guarantee the safety of the ones inside the Neropa Union, Samuel and Mihee had nodded since it was hard to save both parties at war with each other. And, if those who followed Sangjin joined the war on Pompeion's side, there was nothing the Neropa Union would be able to do.
So, the two of them had helped the Neropa Union and hadn't thought much of it since they could just assimilate the humans spread around Pompeion's territory after they destroyed those controlling Pompeion.
However, with something like only the people within the Neropa Union being able to survive, Samuel blamed himself for not being thorough enough.
'No… Maybe not yet.'
Rumble!
Samuel gritted his teeth as he looked at the giant wall in the distance that existed to cover half of the continent in it and cook the other half alive.
Who could've thought of such a vicious plan?
K-Merrow Nell snickered at Samuel.
"You should've read the contract thoroughly before you agreed to it. What about we give you a refund? We're pretty nice to our customers after all."
K-Merrow Nell was implying that they would throw the two of them and the other humans out from the barrier. Samuel clenched his teeth and shook his head.
"… No."
Samuel wanted to beat the crap out of those clan heads and cut all ties with them, but at this rate, some simple calculus told him that half of humanity on this continent would die.
He wanted to break the union, stop the malicious plan and figure out a different way. But, he could not.
'… I must save at least half.'
If he escaped that place and failed to find a different method, it wouldn't be just half dying. Every single person would perish.
And if they, the ones who held the contract, disappeared, he couldn't even imagine what would happen to the humans who migrated to this place in the future.
'No, I can at least figure that out.'
Those guys were the type to talk casually about wiping half of his entire race.
As Samuel stood in silence, the mysterious man walked toward the relic and said, "I'll now focus on shaking the relic's core. It will take a bit of time, so don't disturb me. Focus on what you all need to do."
"How long is it going to take?"
The man pondered a moment at K-Adelaia Ron's question and responded, "Not long. Just a week should do."
K-Ukatan Pael laughed out loud at Samuel, who had bit his lip after hearing the words 'a week.'
"Good! Send some letter or something to people on the other side of that thing in the meantime! It should be enough time to say your goodbyes!"
'Damn…'
And, as Samuel ground his teeth…
'Hmm… Is he planning something?'
… K-Merrow Nell watched with sharp eyes.
...…..
Rumble!
Boom, boobooom!
'… Jesus Christ!'
Samuel looked at the sky with a complicated expression. They had done an amazing job as allies. The giant metal towers they had affixed into the ground, and the blue barrier that was the result of the towers, everything was doing great at blocking the attacks on Pompeion, the barrage of attacks that came from beyond the barrier with the noise they made when they collided against it.
Despite the Miprosky-level ships that could easily melt away any city on the planet like ice cream under the hot summer Sun continuously attacking…
Boooom!
Boom!
… The bright barrier stood and maintained its ground, refusing to give in.
K-Merrow Nell's warning from earlier rang inside Samuel's head.
'Damn…'
The watch over them had become much stricter than before, so it wouldn't be easy to move around anymore either.
'… Kang Hansoo, what would you have done?'
Samuel turned around from the barrier and looked in the distance with a complicated expression on his face. The mountain was shaking, but nothing was actually happening to the giant creature that had Hansoo sleeping inside of it since Hansoo's execution date had been pushed back by a whole week.
'No… There was no other way.'
Samuel looked at the various ships floating outside the barrier that were watching over them. As the giant barrier was formed, the Neropa Union's ships that had been buying time against the Pompeion Empire had also been left outside. Though they wouldn't be able to receive the protection of the barrier, that wasn't a huge issue since they just needed to fly out from the radius of the explosion when the explosion happened.
Though a few Pompeion ships that acted quickly alongside the Neropa ships would survive, that wouldn't be much of an issue either. Where would those ships receive energy and supplies once their entire hometown got destroyed?
The chances of them surrendering was close to a hundred percent, and even if they did resisted, it still wasn't an issue. Kang Hansoo's execution would come after that.
Once they cleared the Pompeion Empire and removed the barrier, the ships would descend back to the ground. If the three clan heads and the hundreds of ships attacked continuously, even the giant mountain would melt away.
Even if the mountain managed to resist the attacks, the land underneath it would melt away. Then, it would be game over.
'It would fall straight into the core of the planet… How am I going to tell this to Mihee?'
He hadn't even told the other humans about what was going to happen.
Samuel had a complex expression on his face as he walked into the residence. The fancy interior of the terrace welcome him. It stood out within the ruins of the terror that had been made by the members of Reunion.
'Well… They did focus on important locations, so a living space like this is still fine.'
Then…
"Oh, hello."
"… How did you get in?"
Kiriel giggled as she looked at Samuel and his expression froze.
"I won't take you in, so get out of here. This place is under watch. Soon, either the clan heads or the Dragon God Soldiers will…"
Kiriel giggled again.
"Under watch?"
Tiririring!
Countless panels appeared before Kiriel's eyes, panels that showed various places within the city they were in.
"What the…"
'She stole the authorizations?'
Kiriel spoke in a leisurely tone, "The capital has been blown away. The other cities nearby have been destroyed as well. There's no way they would be able to maintain their systems at this point."
The capital, Neorime, had been entirely blown away. All of the important facilities and the scientists had died as well. And not only that, but the secondary systems that should be holding the city when something like this happened were also destroyed by him and Reunion's terrorist acts. Even the people who could restore those systems had long fled or died.
Though the internal systems of the giant ships floating in the sky were more than enough to stabilize the systems of the entire continent, they were all floating outside of the barrier and could do nothing.
Meanwhile the Technorats of Reunion had survived, so crawling into the cracks and stealing authorizations was easy in a situation like this.
"No need to go that far. This is good enough. Good job."
They couldn't destroy the clan heads, nor the Dragon God Soldiers, nor the ships with the authorizations, so there was no need to go that far.
This was enough, enough to do things comfortably.
Chiii-
Kiriel ended the call with Metionel and then spoke to Samuel, who was still standing with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"I heard about your plans."
She had listened in on the orders sent to the ships, so she already knew what was happening. She even saw Samuel worrying through the hacked system, which is why she had come, to solve everything.
"Stop dawdling around and help."
"What do you want me to do?"
At Samuel's question, Kiriel answered, "It would be good if Hansoo woke up in time but… We need to prepare in case he doesn't."
If Hansoo woke up within a week, that would better, but they needed to prepare, just in case he didn't.
"… You are talking about stopping the plan that is going to shake the entire planet."
Kiriel nodded.
'I must stop Hansoo from being submerged in magma no matter what.'
Even if everyone else all died, she had to stop it.
Samuel's expression remained cold as he replied, "Why must I help?"
It was true he didn't like how the things were unraveling right now, but one wrong move could end everything. He wouldn't even be able to guarantee his own safety at that point. There was too much to lose for him.
Kiriel giggled as she spoke, "Actually, I spoke to someone else before you."
"What?!"
Then…
Tiriririring.
A panel appeared in Kiriel's hand.
"Mihee…"
Samuel was at a loss seeing Mihee's rage-filled expression through the screen.
....
Rumble!
"The way it's beating is disturbing."
It was beating faster and stronger as time went on, as if a change was occurring inside of it.
'We need to hurry and get rid of that…'
K-Merrow Nell frowned at the mountain that was shaking disturbingly, but he quickly changed his focus to the ones that were making him constantly nervous, though not as much as the mountain.
'I hope they don't try anything reckless.'
That would be for the best.
K-Merrow Nell thought of the abnormally quiet humans and mumbled to himself.
Chapter 415: A Step Toward Desolation (3)
Reincarnator – Chapter 416: A Step Toward Desolation (3)
Rumble!
The vast underground.
K-Merrow Nell looked at the hundred-meter wide underground room with a disgusted expression.
"This place always gets on my nerves… What are you doing?"
There were various tools around, and he could not figure out what they were for, along with various forms of energy and experimental subjects.
The man, who was in the center of the lab, said in response, "Experimenting."
"Experimenting?"
The man nodded at K-Merrow Nell's question.
"Yeah, tests regarding the aliens who call themselves 'humans.'"
"You…You aren't attempting the Flame's Blessing again, right?"
K-Merrow Nell had deduced what the man was searching for as he looked at the marks on the corpses on the ground. The man nodded.
"Didn't you say you had already finished the experiment? About five years ago."
"… I did."
The man thought of the past and nodded. He had gone into research right away, from the moment the aliens first appeared on this land. It had been an experiment to allow the Flame's power to enter the bodies of those humans, but it had ended in massive failure.
Unlike the Angkara, who had been exposed to the power of the Flame their entire lives, those 'humans' had not been able to withstand the power of the Flame and started melting away one by one.
It hadn't been a question of strength.
In terms of body strength, those humans had been way stronger than citizen who didn't wear Dragon God Armor.
Even before the strange elevator had descended on humans, their race was just too weak to begin with. They were weak, and it was for that reason that they had raised their strength by using things called runes, artifacts and skills.
However, that strength had become a poison since their bodies could barely withstand it.
As the strength of the Red Jade was added onto this, their bodies were unable to withstand the amount of energy and basically started melting down on themselves.
"You even failed on those things called Transcendents. You told me that before."
The man nodded.
'Yeah…'
As the elevator descended and the general power level of the humans rose extremely fast, some came out of the Flameless Lands and tried to fight. Of course, that was futile.
Maybe if they had gone through at least four transformations, but with only one or two levels of change, they were too weak. Thanks to that, they had been caught, and he had been able to experiment on them again.
He had thought that extremely powerful bodies and souls might bring him success in his experiments, but the result was utter failure again.
Though their bodies and souls had gotten stronger, they had been changed forcibly through the Crystals, and their bodies had been barely holding on.
As the power from the Crystals and the Blessing collided with one another, another failure occurred. The subjects had all become living bombs.
"I thought you had given up, but it seems fun to make the same mistake over and over again, huh?" K-Merrow Nell asked.
One mistake could be forgiven. Actually, multiple mistakes could be forgiven. However, by repeating the same mistake twice, there was no way out of being punished since people like that didn't seek to advance and would make the same mistake again in the future.
However, the man in front of him was doing the exact thing he hated most.
The man responded, expressionlessly after K-Merrow Nell's words, "So what? Are you going to do something about it?"
"…You really are a bastard. Do whatever you want. But, you'll need to activate the Relic within the timeframe no matter what. I really wish to get rid of that thing as soon as possible."
K-Merrow Nell looked toward the giant mountain in the distance, the thing that was shaking in a disturbing manner.
If he didn't get rid of it as soon as possible, he felt like he wouldn't have an easy time sleeping.
The man nodded.
"Don't worry. There's no need for me to do anything else to it anymore anyway."
The Relic was already pumping its power into the core of the planet, toward the Red Jade. There was nothing he needed to do anymore.
The Relic would succeed in agitating the Red Jade in time, and the Red Jade would destroy everything on the planet as punishment for disturbing it.
K-Merrow Nell walked out with a frown as the man continued to look at the body he was experimenting on. It was the body of a very ordinary human, not even one they called Transcendent.
The body he was looking at was similar to the ones who had already ascended. There was one key thing that was different about them, however.
'Yeah…These guys are different.'
Before and after the elevator landed.
The ones who had been there before and the ones who came after were different. The ones who had been there before were just inferior. No matter what skills they had or how many crystals they had devoured, nothing changed. However, the ones that came up after the elevator had descended were different.
'Their bodies have already gone through multiple rounds of modifications.'
It wasn't just some regular modification either. They were extremely advanced, to the point of the man's own race barely being able to accomplish something like it.
Their bodies had been rebuilt, implanted with a pool of mana and then further strengthened by use of some strange material.
'This…This might be enough.'
Joy appeared on the man's face.
It might really be enough for his experiment to succeed.
Zzzzzt!
Chiiiiizzzztt!
The man dissected another subject and then started to ponder.
Not enough. It wasn't enough.
'I… I need more subjects.'
He didn't only need a Transcendent, but he needed a Transcendent who had gone through those body modifications.
He had gathered quite a lot of bodies due to the chaos this time around, but they weren't enough. He needed living specimens, and a lot of them. Only then, might he be able to succeed.
'Good. But, who did all of these modifications?'
They were more than simple modifications. They were closer to art. As the man looked at the various traces upon the body, he got lost in thought.
….
Kiriel breathed in deeply as she looked at the giant mountain in the distance, as well as the Capital that was behind it.
'Haa…'
She was getting nervous, but she calmed herself down and turned around.
"What's the situation like currently?"
Metionel replied as he checked the status of the Capital, "I haven't checked everything, but I'm sure the Relic is inside the Capital."
Since the Capital's main systems had been destroyed, it was even harder to monitor it. All useful Technorats who had survived in various cities had been called to the Capital for recovery work.
The cracks were rapidly being mended, and that made it harder and harder to surveil them. It was hard to figure out the exact details of the situation, but one thing was clear, the Relic was inside the Capital.
'Four days just to find out a small detail like this…'
Since there was too much at stake, they could not move before they were sure.
'I had hoped Hansoo would wake up before then, but… Oh well.'
Kiriel looked at Samuel and Mihee standing next to her and asked, "It would be too hard to get to the Relic, right?"
The two nodded.
'Too hard.'
Maybe if the clan heads hadn't been watching over them so meticulously, but not like this. It was as if they believed the humans were going to try something. They, who knew both of their powers very well, will protect the Relic with all their powers.
Kiriel thought for a moment and then said, "Then, as we planned, we'll need to aim for the metal towers."
Mihee and Samuel nodded.
They only knew that the Relic was inside the Capital. They didn't know where it was, how it was working, nor how to stop it.
But the metal towers were different.
Samuel and Mihee knew the locations of every single one of them, and they knew how to stop them. They just needed to smash them apart.
"I saw them as I was moving the group… They're not that strong. We can definitely destroy them."
"We know all the locations as well since we're the ones who put them down."
Kiriel smiled.
This was good. They just needed to go and destroy them. There was no way they would continue to destroy the planet if the barrier disappeared.
Their plans would fail and they would have to battle with Pompeion again. They just needed to get what they required from the two powers.
"Finish preparing. We'll move once we're clear about the clan head's locations."
Kiriel nodded at Mihee's words.
Though they just needed to destroy the metal towers before the plan went in motion, it was better to hurry since they didn't know what kind of variables could come into play at once they started.
'And, that might happen while we're out doing this.'
She knew that Hansoo wouldn't take that long to reach the Fourth Star. He had gone in after calculating that, after all.
'Hurry and come out, Hansoo…'
Kiriel looked at the giant mountain in the distance again.
.....
At those words…
Ssss.
… Hansoo woke up from his sleep and looked at his body.
"A-amazing!'
Three days, it only took three days for the Nine Dragons Strike to break through. Power that was dimensions stronger than before rushed through his body, but Barmamunt's question and Hansoo's answer weren't just limited to his body.
His mind as well.
"No need to say more."
"Hmm… What to do, indeed."
Vast amounts of strength flowed through his body, and Hansoo played around with a strand of that strength as he looked at the giant creature entrapping him.
Chapter 416: A Step Toward Desolation (4)
Reincarnator – Chapter 417: A Step Toward Desolation (4)
Rumble!
The Great Allen Ravine.
The giant ravine that had acted as the boundary between the Pompeion Empire and the Neropa Union had long lost its purpose due to the new boundary that was now the giant barrier.
Whooosh!
The giant barrier rose up in from between the ravine and into the sky, creating various sounds beneath it, deep within the ravine.
Oooong!
A giant tower rose up from below the ravive, but the difference between its size and the ravine's was so vast that people couldn't see the tower. However, the tower was actually massive as well.
Next to the tower that was located in an extremely dangerous environment, covered in the heat and pressure that rose up from the Red Jade deep within the planet…
Whoooosh!
White clouds started to appear, and suddenly…
Whoosh!
… the clouds spread apart as a couple appeared from within them.
The moment they appeared, the surrounding heat and pressure started converging upon their location as if fighting an intruder. It was an environment that the people of Angkara had given up due to its harsh conditions, which even kept the Dragon God Soldiers from being able to work.
However, the couple that had appeared didn't mind it. They quickly surrounded themselves with reinforcements. If that amount of heat and pressure had been able to damage them, then the tower wouldn't have been there in the first place.
Samuel, one of the two, frowned as he looked at Kiriel, who had just helped him teleport there instantaneously.
"Damn… That memory reading ability this really is disturbing."
Who would feel good having someone rummage through their mind?
Kiriel shrugged.
"Nothing I can do. I can only move to places I know."
"Tsk!" Samual continued frowning as he said, "That… about Mihee. Don't tell her. I will…"
"I know, I know."
Was he really worried about a thing like that in a situation like theirs?
'Just confess already," Kiriel shook her head at the thought and looked around the area. 'So, it was in a place like this.'
Rumble!
The powerful heat that came up from the Red Jade had covered the surroundings, and Kiriel stared at the giant metal tower that was standing within the flames. It really looked out of place.
If Samuel hadn't been the one to erect them, it would've been really hard to find where those things were. Even if the towers were huge, finding something like that in those vast lands would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
'But hey, we found it.'
Oooooong!
Kiriel continued to look at the giant metal tower that shone brightly within the red flames. Though the size didn't make destroying it an issue, the thin protective barrier surrounding it did.
Samuel's complaints could be heard coming from next to her as well. "Tsk! I thought it would be simple," Samuel mumbled at the metal tower.
Destroying the tower itself was easy. However, the protective barrier that was absorbing the energy of the Relic to maintain and sustain itself really got in the way. Though it wasn't as powerful as the giant barrier, the protective layer seemed as if it was still quite sturdy.
'With just a three-star… It wouldn't be enough.'
Not only that, but the moment they attacked it, the three clan heads would be notified. They would rush over there the moment the alarms reached them.
Samuel sighed as he thought up to that point and then looked at Kiriel.
"…This is impossible. Let's just give up."
"Stop spouting nonsense. You know what will happen if you give up."
The moment they gave up, every living creature outside the barrier would burn to death, and Hansoo would be driven deep into the planet's core.
However, Samuel continued to shake his head.
"I really cannot think of a way. The metal tower's protective barrier is stronger than I thought."
They were able to teleport, but the clean heads had access to photon transmission. If the clan heads used the energy that had originally been designated for fighting Pompeion to run the photon transmission, then essentially teleporting the three clan heads would be an easy feat.
It would be more than enough to match Kiriel's skill.
Maybe if their location wasn't exposed… But the moment they started to attack a tower, the clan heads would rush over and stop them.
'Damn! I just need to destroy one, but we don't have enough people.'
Kiriel clenched her jaw. If someone distracted the clan heads and bought them time, maybe. However, as they were, they were nowhere near enough.
As Kiriel made a tight fist, looking depressed…
Booooooom!
… the giant barrier that rose high up into the sky shook.
It was as if the entire land was being broken apart.
Rummmmbleee!
The land beneath it reverberated with noise and vibration as the Red Jade went on overdrive, and the barrier cracked apart slowly as the towers that were maintaining it made huge noises and started to shine blindingly.
Ooong!
And in the midst of all this, Samuel and Kiriel looked on in disbelief.
'… What the?'
Even the attacks from the ships hadn't been enough to shake the barrier, so who could be affecting the barrier to that degree?
'Who?… Is it him?'
Kiriel turned around and looked past the barrier.
...…
Kuooooo!
Cracks were appearing on the giant barrier that split apart the earth and heavens.
Ooooong!
As the barrier struggled to regenerate the cracks and stabilize…
Boooom!
…. a red beam cut through the land and smashed against the blue barrier again, a power that was dimensions stronger than a ship's attack.
If the bright barrier was the shield of the gods, the red beam that smashed against the it was the spear that served to punish them.
And from the end of that spear, a man, who stood on the other side of the barrier, chuckled coldly.
"It doesn't tarnish the hard work that went into it, haha."
Chiiiiik!
It was the emperor of the Pompeion Empire, Pompeion himself.
The crystal that was being held in Pompeion's hand shone menacingly red, and from beneath his feet, a giant cannon the size of a city let out smoke as it cooled down.
<… The 114th Zone, 291th Zone have entirely melted away!>
Various panels appeared around Pompeion reporting the giant cannon's status.
The cannon's name was Gungnir.
Though the cannon looked as if it had been designed to shoot down gods, the current situation wasn't that good. Smoke rose up from various parts, and the sounds of things blowing up could be heard constantly.
And, as Pompeion frowned at that, the Technorat's flustered face appeared.
"Understood, hurry and prepare."
Pompeion frowned and then looked toward the bright barrier. The cannon that had cost an entire year's worth of the Empire's earnings was breaking down with just two attacks.
Though they had both used a Relic to produce results, unlike the barrier that was slowly recovering itself, the giant spear seemed to have received a large amount of damage.
'Tsk! Is this the limit?'
The stolen technology seemed to be too much for their capabilities.
Pompeion chuckled as he he said, "That Neropa… Is it helping me while knowing what that alien is thinking?"
No, Neropa didn't know. If it had, then it wouldn't have been helping him like this.
Of course, Pompeion's question didn't receive an answer.
'He's like a bloody statue…'
Pompeion took a glance at Sangjin, who had been watching the barrier silently, and then refocused.
One attack left.
However, even if he finished the barrier this way, he wouldn't be able to rest.
"After I deal with this, I need to face him. So, I can only trust you to handle the rest."
As Sangjin nodded…
Oooooong!
… the tremendous energy that seeped out from the Relic under the emperor's control created a long spear within Gungnir.
And this time, the spear won.
Booooom!
The barrier that had been recovering was pierced, a giant hole punched through it. But, it didn't seem like they had a lot of time.
The barrier continued to regenerate, and the hole dwindled quickly. However, Pompeion didn't worry. From that point on, things wouldn't be his reponsibility.
"Hurry and go in!"
Whooosh!
Sangjin's shone a bright violet as he quickly flew toward the hole into the Neropa Union.
...…..
Boooooooooom!
"What the…? What's going on!" R-Gregorian Nell freaked out as he turned around to the huge noise.
The barrier that split the earth across and rose up into the sky now had a hole in it.
'…They pierced it?'
But, his shock only lasted a moment.
Kuuududuk!
Kuduk!
R-Gregorian Nell quickly turned around again to the sounds that occured behind him, and the thing he was supposed to watch over came into view.
At that moment, he realized that the pierced barrier wasn't the biggest issue.
He remembered his objective, so R-Gregorian Nell quickly activated his visor and shouted, "Damn! Emergency! Code Red! The strange life form has started to move! I repeat, this is not a drill! Code Red! The strange life form has started to move again!"
His objective: watch over the mountain-like monster and report the moment a changed occurred.
"Dammit! Respond!"
Kadududuk!
Roaaarr!
R-Gregorian Nell started to cry as he shouted while watching the moving mountain.
Chapter 417: A Step Towards Desolation (5)
Reincarnator – Chapter 418: A Step Towards Desolation (5)
Diiririk!
Dirrring!
Countless panels appeared in the air.
Of course, no one had expected the barrier to be pierced, and a grim expression fell on K-Adelaia Ron's face.
'… Pompeion, you were hiding such a terrifying weapon?'
K-Adelaia Ron's eyelids twitched as she looked at the weapon that had made the hole in the giant barrier. She could not understand.
'Why did he only use that now?'
If he had used it when the three clan heads had been sitting in the capital, it would've ended in a moment. No matter how strong they were, they could not withstand something that could pierce the barrier itself. No, even if that thing had been aimed at the ships: one shot, one fleet.
Since he had attacked three times, he could've erased three fleets. That would've been more than enough to screw the balance of power. Why was he holding onto such a thing?
However, K-Adelaia Ron realized that this wasn't the time for her to worry about it.
Tiriring!
K-Merrow Nell's and K-Ukatan's frozen expressions appeared before K-Adelaia Ron's face.
Such might…
Adelaia calmed Ukatan down. "Calm down. It doesn't look like that can impact us directly," she said while looking at the various reports that had come her way on the giant cannon that had stood beneath Pompeion.
The picture of the cannon that they had been taken by a satellite was showing had it had melted down, and white smoke was rising from the remaining parts, meaning that it would be impossible to fire it again.
Three shots had caused that.
Shooting again was not possible, and even if it were, it wouldn't cause much harm to them who were inside the barrier.
With a relieved smile, Ukatan Pael said,
'That's because you favor the military like the dull person you are.'
By filling the entire upper hierarchy with military personnel, it was obvious that his clan lacked intelligence gathering capabilities. However, that was also the reason why the Pael family had the strongest might of the three families.
It was a good thing that they had a weakness since they could become enemies at any moment. The real issue was what they currently had to deal with.
Though she had told Ukatan Pael that there wasn't much of a problem, her actual thinking was slightly different.
Would Pompeion have thought that the weapon he had prepared would fail at breaking through the barrier? She didn't think so, which meant that Pompeion had deduced that the small hole he had created would be more than enough.
'That guy that came in through the hole.'
There was something about him.
As if thinking similarly, K-Merrow Nell spoke through the panel,
They didn't know who had come in through the hole, but the combined forces of the three of them should more than be enough.
K-Adelaia Ron nodded at K-Merrow Nell's and K-Ukatan Pael's words.
It wasn't a bad idea, but when K-Adelaia Ron was about to respond, an urgent report was sent her way.
"What? By whom?"
'… Did Pompeion prepare something else as well?'
If so, things would really become a problem. If the towers got destroyed and the barrier fell, the giant cannon Pompeion had created would easily erase the capital.
As K-Adelaia Ron hurriedly told the Technorat to elaborate on the report, the Technorat clenched their teeth and sent a video.
Then, K-Adelaia Ron's expression froze.
"… Samuel. Mihee."
'Why are they there?'
But the shock only lasted a moment.
"Bastards! How could you have not known this until they were already there?! What the hell were you doing this whole time?!"
K-Adelaia Ron's rage-filled voice filled up the room.
....
Kiiririririk!
Samuel nodded at Metionel's words.
The timing of Pompeion's attack was truly god-sent. The attention of the Neropa Union had been split, giving him their best opportunity to act. As Samuel's hands darkened, a large amount of mana started to swirl around them.
Booooom!
The earth rose up in spikes and smashed onto the tower. The dark spikes rose up from all directions in order to destroy the tower.
Though the tower shone brightly in order to resist it, it was a futile struggle.
Kakakaka!
Crunch!
The endless attacks slowly ate away at the tower.
'I need to destroy it quickly and move!'
As Samuel focused…
Oooooong!
… a familiar sound, which he dreaded most in the current situation, could be heard from behind him, the sound of the photon transmission.
'Damn!'
As Samuel quickly moved to the side…
Boooom!
… a giant fireball rushed past the spot Samuel had been standing on.
Sssss!
Due to his concentration being disturbed, the various dark spikes that had been attacking the tower fell back to the earth, while the bright light around the tower quickly stabilized.
'Damn!'
Samuel scowled and turned around as a rage-filled face came into view.
"You… You traitor! What the hell are you doing in such an important moment?!"
Samuel spat at Ukatan Pael's angered voice, "What do you mean by traitor? You betrayed us first!"
'This isn't so bad.'
The worst situation that Samuel had thought of was having all three of them go there. If that had been the case, even if Mihee succeeded in destroying her tower, he would've longed burned to a crisp.
This was a gamble, and of course, he had his own questions.
'…Wait. There are two of us, so they should have send two here and still have some power left, no?'
The situation he had thought of next was that while one clan head bought time with one adversary, the other two went to kill the other. Since only one had shown up against him, did that mean that two had gone after Mihee?
Ukatan Pael growled as he spoke, "Cockroaches! It seems you guys really do care about your own kind, huh? To come over the wall to help… "
"…?"
However, before Samuel could respond, Ukatan Pael blazed on fire and shouted. It wasn't that only one had come after him. One would be enough.
Boooooom!
The tremendous power that had been further amplified by the Flame's Blessing rushed toward Samuel.
......
"Damn! Why aren't you responding? HQ! HQ!"
R-Gregorian Nell continued to cry and shout as he stared at the moving mountain. As its movements became larger, the sound coming from within it became louder as well.
Why wasn't HQ responding?
'Dammit! Why did they tell me to watch over this in the first place, then?!'
At that moment…
"Woah, woah, woah! Chill man! I've blocked it all."
"…!"
As R-Gregorian Nell turned around in shock…
Boooom!
… a giant bloody axe rose toward him.
"Damn!"
Whooosh!
R-Gregorian Nell quickly activated the power of the Flame inside his body.
"Woah, there."
Boooom!
John Stone grabbed the axe that had returned to his hand and said with a frown, "I told you I can handle it alone."
"Huh?"
As R-Gregorian Nell responded…
Pushuk!
"Kuhuuuk…."
… he groaned as his body got pierced from behind.
"Guhukk…"
R-Gregorian Nell's head dropped as he heard Kiriel's voice and fell to the ground.
Thud!
"Haa…"
"I told you I didn't need help."
"He might've run away."
'If the clan heads found out, it would've become a real issue. Anyway, is he coming out?'
Thump! Thump!
Kiriel mumbled at the giant mountain that now resembled a beating heart. The beats coming from it seemed to indicate that something was going to be birthed from it.
If Mihee and Samuel hadn't distracted the clan heads… No. If Pompeion hadn't attacked then the clan heads, they would've felt this quake.
Kaaadadak!
A hand pierced through the top of the mountain.
"He's out…"
"Woah! He's out!"
"…"
As Kiriel frowned at the overly excited John Stone, John quickly realized his actions and piped down.
"I mean… I'm just saying, you know?"
'Thank the heavens.' John Stone sighed with relief. 'Samuel, you lucky bastard. You might get to live.'
Though they had split due to their conflicting opinions, he was still worried. The memories he had of himself and Samuel slowly rose from within him, the days when Samuel had rescued him and they had fought with their backs against each other, but it was all fixed now.
That aura. Since he had come out, everything would be fixed.
John Stone tapped Kiriel and said, "Come on. Let's hurry and go up."
"… I was going to anyway."
Kiriel and John Stone quickly moved to the top of the mountain, and before their eyes, Hansoo, who was looking around while kneeling, could be seen.
John Stone shouted toward Hansoo. He was in a hurry.
"Hey! Let's move! We don't have much time! Things have turned terrible while you were asleep!"
Then…
"…"
… Hansoo heard John Stone's shout and asked, "Who are you?"
Kiriel's expression froze at that moment.
Chapter 418: Experiment (1)
Reincarnator – Chapter 419: Experiment (1)
'Who am I?'
"What the… We don't have time to joke around. Come on, man. We're in a hurry!"
John Stone was at a loss for words. Though the gap had increased, they had once fought against each other in the Flameless lands. Humans tended to forget good things quickly, but hatred lasted a long time So, how could Hansoo not remember fighting with him?
'Damn! Samuel is probably a blood bag right now. We don't have time for this…'
Every second was important for Mihee and Samuel, or even the Capital. They needed to drag this guy to one of those places as fast as possible and deal with it. Only then, would their fight end.
'At least, he got incredibly strong.'
John Stone looked at Hansoo. An aura that made one feel chills ran through his back. There was black mana moving behind him. Something felt strange, but if one thought of it as a side-effect to gaining such a large amount of strength in such a short amount of time, it wasn't that weird.
Though, it really did feel ominous.
'Thank god he's not an enemy.'
John Stone extended his arm toward Hansoo and shouted, "Come on! Stop spouting nonsen-…"
"Wait."
As John Stone was about to shout in anger, Kiriel stopped him. Unlike John, she knew why this had happened.
Kiriel asked with a frozen expression, "Do you remember me?"
Hansoo frowned as he spoke.
"You… Mmm… You are…"
Hansoo started to mumble and grab his head. Little bits of memory fragments flashed within it.
Hansoo ignored the voices of the demons inside his head and said to Kiriel, "You… I remember you. You're Kiriel."
"… Phew!" She asked him, "Have you lost a lot?"
"If only I knew."
He couldn't know how much he had lost. He couldn't even begin to calculate the exact amount he had lost. It was as if the lost memory had been replaced with something else.
'Damn…'
Kiriel bit her lips and then place her hand on Hansoo's shoulder, staring into his eyes. She was asking if she could read his memories, and Hansoo nodded as he answered, "Go ahead. I'm curious too."
"…"
Kiriel fell into despair as she looked through Hansoo's memories.
'… They're all blocked.'
Nothing could be read, not just the memories themselves, but even the physical memories within Hansoo's body. It was as if someone was blocking her abilities.
'Damn!'
John Stone couldn't hold back anymore, and he shouted from next to them, "What the hell are you guys talking about?! Dammit! We don't have time for all this!"
Various voices continued to ring through John Stone's visor, including Metionel's and the various Technorats of Reunion.
Nothing was in their favor.
Thankfully, one of the family heads wasn't participating, which was an issue of its own. Since they were being driven out of the systems, they didn't know where the heads were and what they were doing. Every second was precious.
However, instead of doing something, they were wasting time there.
Hansoo looked at John Stone's eyes and said, "Quiet"
John Stone flinched and took a step back.
As he took a step back, he realized something strange. Hansoo's eyes were different. He couldn't be sure, but his instincts told him so. They told him that one mistake would be the end of him.
'Wha-what is this?'
He felt the vicious aura ravaging through his body, and he realized that the reason why he was afraid of Hansoo wasn't simply because Hansoo had gotten stronger.
Kiriel clenched her teeth.
'As I thought…'
She couldn't read his memories, but she could at least read the emotions hidden within the body. Hansoo had had a form of belief inside him before.
Though it had been brutish, his goal had always been to bring the most positive results to everyone. However, the only things remaining inside his body now were the emotions of a tyrant: laziness and boredom.
His eyes were of a tyrant who had lost interest in the world, but she didn't step back. Since they could still communicate, she might be able to persuade him.
John Stone's words were right, so Kiriel took a step forward and said, "Hansoo, I understand this feels a bit sudden because you just woke up, but that man's words are right. We need to hurry…"
"No."
"…?"
Hansoo shook his head.
"I'm saying that it's been quite a while since I've woken up."
He hadn't just woken up. It had been almost a day. He had lain inside the beast for an entire day. He just hadn't found a reason to move. Things had been comfortable inside, and it had been the best environment to raise his strength.
Because the beast trying to suck his energy got stronger with him, although he could've reached the Fifth Star with some more time if he stayed in, he decided to come outside.
The voice inside him kept telling him to, but it wasn't coming from someone else. They were the words he had repeated to himself continuously before losing his memories: 'Do not forget this.'
"So, my goal is to save everyone and throw a huge middle finger at god, right?"
"… Yes."
Hansoo was at a loss for words.
"Ugh! Why did I choose to do something so tiring?"
Kiriel's expression turned grim at those words.
'He becomes this different just because he lost his memories?'
Of course, Kiriel was aware of the reason. As people gained experiences and created memories, they changed slowly. However, those things that propped people up had suddenly disappeared.
Currently, Hansoo was who he had been before all of those experiences and accomplishments he had gone through. His speech actually sounded younger and rougher as well.
'It's over.'
There was no way he would act now.
As Kiriel's expression fell into despair, Hansoo shrugged and said, "Well, let's go and check it out."
"…?"
Kiriel was shocked, and Hansoo chuckled.
"I'm just curious, that's all."
Hansoo was indeed very curious. Saving humanity? Even if they gave him ten thousand tons of gold, or even the whole world, he wouldn't do such a thing. He could easily live an easy and comfortable life by himself, so why would he go out of his way to suffer and work? To win against the Abyss in the war?
Of course, if they had greater forces and were also individually strong, that would help with winning. But, surviving after a victory and being happy were two different things.
Due to the characteristics of the Abyss, where there was infinite potential to become stronger, a large population of powerful people was better for winning, but it was much easier to be happy by running around alone and causing chaos.
Getting found out was harder when one was alone, and one could monopolize whatever they found, which meant that his previous goal hadn't been for him, but for others. That made him curious. Why did he try to do such a tiring job while risking everything he had, including his life?
After thinking for about a day, he had found the answer.
"The people around me succeeded in convincing me."
Those around him had succeeded in changing who he was. Whether they had done it with action or words, it didn't matter. The important thing was that he had changed, changed to the point where he would act on his own and strive for that goal.
So, Hansoo decided to give in to his desperate self from before he lost his memories.
If he had changed before… 'Then, I'll be able to change again.'
He was curious to know if the people past and those at present would be able to change him again, which is why he came out. He did it to give them a chance.
"I don't know… You guys try to convince me as to why I have to do this."
"… And if we fail?"
Hansoo chuckled.
"Then, I'll do whatever I want. As for now, I'll also do whatever I want."
"…?"
"What? Got a problem? You haven't said anything or shown me anything yet, right?"
So, he was going to do what he wanted.
'I'm gonna take everything and go up.'
He wanted to go up, but he couldn't just leave like that. If the power of one Relic was that strong, how strong would three be?
Also, it looked like the Relics only worked properly once all three were gathered anyway. So, how could he leave such precious things behind?
'Let's safekeep this one here for now.'
Boom! Boom!
Hansoo looked at the Haetara below struggling desperately to suck the energy from the Relic. Though taking the Relic would help, it would be annoying if the thing followed him, which would be a loss in the end.
He could just retrieve the other two and then come back for that one. Finding the other two was his top priority.
"Let's go."
'I'm curious as to what will happen!'
Worst case scenario, he would just take what he could and go up.
Hansoo chuckled.
Chapter 419: Experiment (2)
An Reincarnator – Chapter 420: Experiment (2)
Rumble!
'So, this is the one…' K-Merrow Nell thought to himself.
Mihee and Samuel had always talked about this:
<…No, it won't be that easy. They have a formidable foe on the other side.>
K-Merrow Nell remembered the name: Sangjin.
Everytime he heard about the 'Sangjin' fellow, he made fun of Mihee and Samuel for being cowards, but he realized why the duo feared that man so much.
Booom!
"Ahhhhh!" K-Merrow Nell shouted out loudly as he exploded in flames at the violet soldiers rushing toward him from all around, corpses that rose from the dead, an endless amount of them too.
Booom!
K-Merrow Nell's flames rushed past the soldiers, but shortly after that…
Sssss!
… as Sangjin spread mana about again, the bodies of the soldiers that had been killed were reconstructed as they rose up again.
The ones that had burnt up in flames rose back up with the same weapons and armor as they charged at him again. K-Merrow Nell fell into despair as he looked at the expressionless soldiers charging at him.
'This will never end at this rate… No wonder Pompeion only sent him in.'
If he was like a torch, lighting up his surroundings, then this army was comparable to giant violet waves that were trying to supress him. One of two things would happen: Either he would die from exhaustion, or Sangjin would run out of mana.
'…I should've just taken one of the two kids instead.'
He didn't know what was a higher priority between Sangjin and the two duo attacking the barrier, but the fact that he was merely used to buy time didn't feel great. He didn't like how he had to risk his own life against this monster, but he was going to rise above that.
He wasn't someone who should be fighting some monster in some random place, even more so since that monster was powerful.
'Tsk!'
K-Merrow Nell grinded his teeth.
The exchanged felt neverending.
Adelaia needed to find a solution as quickly as possible. Ukatan wouldn't be able to since his intelligence and patience were both lacking.
"Kuhuup!"
Boooom!
K-Merrow Nell burned the surrounding soldiers again and stared at the man standing behind the endless wave.
"Let's do this… Why don't you join us? I'll let you and your subordinates live," K-Merrow Nell proposed to Sangjin.
There was no reason for him to stick with Pompeion anyway. The result after the war was much more important.
And if Pompeion won, there would be no reason for Pompeion to keep those humans alive. No, he would need to kill them. The humans would continue to grow stronger if they were left alive, and they weren't going to stay anyway.
To let such a dangerous group of organisms alive in one's own territory, that was not something someone with power would do, and if they did, that person wouldn't fit to have that power. People like him needed to pull out everything and anything that could possibly become a threat to him by the roots the moment they were detected.
The Neropa Union acted similarly but slightly different. Even if they did beat the Pompeion Empire, the war wouldn't over. The three clans would then have to battle each other, and that was as important as fighting the Pompeion Empire.
Since everyone would use every last bit of their strength in the final battle, and because they had gotten to know each other too well whilst fighting together, to them, the humans were important.
They would become great assets in the upcoming war. The other clan heads were thinking the same thing. The new humans coming up would have to choose with whom they would side as well.
That was why Samuel and Mihee had agreed to become their allies. Because they knew their future was brighter with them than with Pompeion. Though the war would become longer and more vicious, they would earn the right to live in Angkara.
And Merrow had come for a specific reason…
'This guy is the most dangerous of the three…' K-Merrow Nell thought to himself.
Being the most dangerous meant that Sangjin would be the most useful once K-Merrow Nell managed to recruit him. That was why he had decided to come here despite the dangers, to gain the man as his blade.
"It's over for Pompeion anyway. The balance has been tilted, and the plan cannot be stopped. You need to find a way to live too, right? Come with me, and I'll give you the best treatment possible."
Sangjin responded with a scoff.
"Is this how you recruit people? While you fight them?"
"Wha…? Damn!"
Booom!
K-Merrow Nell shouted again as he burned the soldiers charging at him.
Sangjin told him, "Recruiting allies is good, but you should first find out about the person you're trying to recruit, no?"
Sangjin looked toward the Capital in the distance.
...….
"Damn! You're going to the Capital? You aren't going to help the other two?" John Stone shouted in frustration as he looked at Hansoo rushing toward the Capital.
If that man went to the Capital, then the other two would sooner or later lose the fight.
Hansoo shook his head.
"No. I don't know who they are, but they're doing a good job. So, I need to act now."
John Stone's expression froze.
'Bastard… This guy is just selfish.'
He knew a bit about the situation as well. Hansoo had lost his memory and changed into a different person. Though his actions showed that he hadn't lost his memories completely, John knew that Hansoo's personality had gotten a bit twisted.
John Stone spat on the ground and then said to Kiriel, "Damn! Kiriel, move me to Samuel, please."
"…What can you do there?"
It would be like a shrimp getting in a fight between whales.
John Stone shouted out in rage, "F***! Then, what?! That bastard is trying to fulfill his own greed! I need to help out at least!"
Hansoo chuckled.
"Why are you treating me like such a selfish person? This is good for you guys too."
"Huh?"
Hansoo shrugged as he spoke, "You know that I held the Relic inside that thing's stomach, right?"
As John and Kiriel nodded, Hansoo continued, "I felt it then, but the power hidden inside the Relics is huge, big enough to decide the fate of this entire planet. Well, you might know that since you've seen it as well."
John and Kiriel nodded again. They knew it better than anyone else. Every time a Relic was activated, the planet was flipped upside down.
Relics had created the seven beasts that shook the entire Neropa Union, raised the barrier that cut the planet in half, and even fueled the spear that pierced that barrier. Though the civilization of Angkara was quite advanced, the power of the Relics was dimensions greater.
Hansoo said to John Stone, "What was supposed to happen to them?"
"… Apparently, the three clans want to hold one each after the war."
For some form of peace to appear after the war, a balance of power was needed. Only then, would they be wary of each other and raise their strength in secrecy. If one tried to eat all three, then they would get destroyed by the other two. So, each family would take one each and create a temporary balance of power, and the people that would fill that gap between them were the humans following Samuel and Mihee.
Hansoo chuckled.
"But did everyone agree?"
"… What do you mean?"
As John Stone frowned, Hansoo continued, "There's one more guy in the Capital, right? Did he agree?"
Hansoo took a short break from his speech before continuing, "It didn't seem like he was part of Angkara as well."
That man was strange, beyond a simple genius. He was a man who had created a copy of the powerful alien who called themselves the 'Nerpa,' as well as technology from the Neropa Union. He was the man who had given the power of the 'Flame's Blessing' to the clan heads and the Dragon God Soldiers.
Once he got to that point, it was easy to deduce what would happen.
"It seems that man is the original owner of these Relics."
That meant that there were three races on the planet: the aboriginals of the planet Angkara, the humans and a mysterious alien race. Three races, but one land.
Though it was large enough for the three races to live in harmony, reality wasn't that simple. All three races had the power to wipe the other two out.
Hansoo continued to chuckle.
"If I were him, I would wipe everything out."
"Wait…"
As John Stone realized something…
Booooooooooooooooooooom!
… A tremendous amount of energy burst out from the Capital, not just enough to shake a part the planet, but more than enough to destroy a large part of it.
"…"
"Haha, look at that. He and I really think alike."
'Let's go see who it is.'
It wasn't too late yet.
Hansoo dashed toward the capital at a higher speed.
...….
"Hahahahaha!" the man in the middle of the Capital laughed as he looked at the modified human.
'Our savior was working properly!'
Their savior hadn't thrown their race away. The savior was working hard somewhere in the universe, which meant he needed to do something as well, the job he had been assigned to do.
Rumble!
The energy from the Relic intensified, as if it was replying to the man's feelings.
Chapter 420: Transition (1)
Reincarnator – Chapter 421: Transition (1)
"Stop playing around and go back. You don't have a chance of winning anyway," K-Adelaia Ron had stopped for a moment and kindly told Mihee.
Mihee was a waste to kill.
'If I can recruit her, it'll be a huge benefit.'
At that rate, the Pompeion Empire would be over, which meant that she needed to prepare for the next stage, the fight against Ukatan Pael and Merrow Nell.
Of course, it wouldn't be an issue if they could all stay together, but suspicion was a dangerous thing. Two other forces that had strength similar to her own… Living together under one roof with two parties that could try to take her neck at any moment?
Maybe while they had a common enemy, but once the Pompeion Empire was destroyed, the next target would be those two.
'She would be a great asset then,' K-Adelaia Ron thought to herself as she looked at Mihee, whose fighting spirit was still high despite defending against her flames.
Rumble!
One of the best options was to convince her without using any force. Of course, it would be even better if the other two clan heads got beaten to death. The two other clan heads getting hurt or dying would be the best scenario, but if the two other humans died or got injured, that would be good as well.
It would be even better if Samuel ended up hating Ukatan Pael and decided to join her forces. Any of those options would fall in her favor.
So, for now, the best method was to convince the girl in front of her.
At that moment…
Chiiijijik.
… Intel about the newcomer from outside the wall got reported to her.
K-Adelaia Ron looked at Mihee and said, "It seems your old friend is here… Isn't this enough? It's the one you always talked about."
K-Adelaia Ron and Mihee's normal relationship wasn't half bad.
They were allies, yes, but they were both women leading large groups, so they had a lot in common. They had often talked about personal matters over a cup of tea on K-Adelaia Ron's terrace, and though she had heard about a lot of different people, the majority of Mihee's talks had been about two men: Sangjin and Hansoo.
K-Adelaia Ron stopped attacking and said with a smile, "Come to me. If you can convince those two, why would I mistreat you? Instead, I would treat you better than anyone else."
Mihee clenched her teeth.
'… Really?'
She had imagined a situation like that. Though they had been split up like that, how amazing would it be if they reunited and climbed to the top together?
But, Mihee shook her head. Even if K-Adelaia Ron gave her word, not everything would be solved.
"… Even if you say so, I cannot trust that man."
The one doing the planning wasn't the three clan heads, but the man behind them. Even if K-Adelaia Ron was on her side, if that man's opinion was different, then it wouldn't matter.
K-Adelaia Ron laughed.
"Do you take us for fools?"
"…?"
"There's no way we would be working with such a powerful man without countermeasures, right?"
...…
As he swung the hammer in his hand, a black aura exploded from Hansoo's hand.
Boooom!
"Ahhhhh!"
"Damn! Hurry! Please! I can't stop him!"
Every moment Hansoo swung his hammer, the recovering protective around the city cracked apart, and Dragon God Soldiers were flung away.
The first defensive layer, which Hansoo had had to work a bit in order to destroy in the past, disintegrated in an instant, while the aura itself even damaged the second layer.
Kaaadadak!
The bright wires that made up the second layer became visible.
"Let's go down."
Whoosh!
Hansoo jumped down and started to run toward the location of the Relic. Kiriel looked at him with a confused expression.
"How are you right now?"
It looked like he had lost his memories, but at the same time, it looked like he still had them. He had changed too much not to have lost his memories, but he was acting similarly to how he had in the past as well.
Hansoo chuckled.
"It's kind of funny, really. It seems the demons took the very important ones."
As he thought back to everything, most of his remaining memories were related to one thing: battle.
He had fought and fought. He had trained on days when there had been battles to fight and then used that newly gained strength to fight others.
As long one was human, they would have memories of being with other humans, but the only things remaining were battles. The memories the demons had taken had been those fragile, yet happy, memories. If the demons really wanted him to go insane, they had done a good job.
Since the only memories he had left of humans were negative ones, if he needed something, he would take it. If he wanted something, he would kill for it. He would use the harsh reality as an excuse to crush others beneath his feet.
Those were the only memories he had left of humans, to the point that it shocked him that he had decided to save them in the past.
'Well, it's not half bad.'
No matter what, it seemed like he was a bit different now.
Hansoo made a strange expression in reaction to Kiriel's worry and then checked out his own body.
'Anyway, I really did become stronger.'
Hansoo felt the strength that flowed through his body as he thought to himself. He didn't know what kind of fond memories he had had with people in the past, but he clearly remembered how much strength he had had in each battle.
That was very clear to him since battles were the only thing he could remember.
As to how different he was between now and then, it was a hard strength to achieve even if he had known about the future.
Now, he could even to this:
'Let's see.'
Hansoo stopped and looked at yet another barrier that had appeared before him. It was as if the Relic had realized that Hansoo had come for it, and it was hastily reinforcing its defenses.
Though its appearance looked like various random plates that had been melded together, its actual defensive properties didn't look simple. He couldn't even figure out how thick it was.
Hansoo touched the barrier for a moment while focusing in the depths of his heart, and then the five skills, the five seeds, started to squeeze out their powers.
Rumble!
A dark red orb surrounded his body. It carried the power of the Demon's Gate, the Demonic Dragon Reinforcement, the Pandemic Blade and two other skills.
As the orb condensed…
Rumble!
… Hansoo walked forward.
It was nothing out of the ordinary. He was simply walking forward at a steady pace.
But, that was enough.
As the red orb's surface touched the barrier…
Chiiiiiiii!
… the barrier that had been blocking his path melted away as if a hot metal ball had been placed against a block of ice.
It was slow, but steady.
Hansoo smiled contently and walked forward.
How long did it take?
Chiiiiik.
A tunnel was formed as he reached a large area, and in the middle of that space, Hansoo saw the Relic that was shaking everything while sucking in energy. The man was holding it.
The man was easily controlling the energy that could easily tear the entire capital appart. It was their first time meeting, but he knew that the man was the one who made the fake Nerpa and triggered the situation back on Nelkipa.
Hansoo took a glance at the Relic in his hand and said, "It's my first time seeing you, but I'm sure you've seen me plenty."
Though Hansoo was seeing the man for the first time, the man had to have been observing him for quite a while.
The man said as he stared at Hansoo, "You've changed."
"Yeah. Don't look at me like that though. I've come here to kill you after all."
He didn't know what that man was planning exactly, but at the rate things were going, everything on his planet would die, including Hansoo himself.
The man said, "I didn't really hate you that much, you know."
The man was lonely.
Even before he could overcome the sadness of his entire race having been eradicated as soon as he had been born, he realized he had to rebuild his race and civilization all by himself.
Maybe if all of that had been impossible, he would've easily given up, but their technology had advanced too far, and thanks to that, even the one remaining member of their race could eventually build it all back up.
The man shouldered the loneliness, sadness and the hopes of his race as he moved onward. Though his plan against Pompeion had failed, his work in the Neropa Union had succeeded beautifully.
And during that time, he had heard about a person, a person who carried a similar load on his shoulders: Kang Hansoo.
Well, there was someone similar to Hansoo who was even a step ahead: Clementine. But, Clementine's aspirations were too small.
Happiness for those nearby? A joke.
On the other hand, Hansoo had met and exceeded all of his criteria.
Though the human race was as weak as bugs compared to his own, Hansoo's goal of saving his entire race was the same as his own. Though they were on different sides, they had a lot in common.
Hansoo shook his head.
"Thanks for your high praises, but I've changed a bit."
The man looked at Hansoo coldly.
"That's the issue. Did you go in there just for this?"
Hansoo had become stronger, but the most important thing wasn't strength. It was one's efforts and their will to achieve their goals. There was a huge disparity between the power to make a billion happy and the power to make ten happy. If one's goals were large, their strength would soon follow suit, but if one's goals were small, then eventually, that being would stagnate along the way.
Hansoo's goals had been large, and he had relentlessly chased after them, which was how he had been able to become that strong. But, to give up now?
His race, who could see into others' souls, could clearly see what had changed inside of him.
"You dumb bastard! That strength should be used somewhere greater."
Hansoo chuckled as he held the hammer.
"I don't know how I came to chase after such a goal, but one thing is clear…"
"…?"
"… That I didn't chase after that goal because of words like yours."
Kiriel's worries were better than the man's, which was laughable, especially coming from someone that was trying to wipe out all living things on the planet.
"I know you have a lot that you want to talk about, but first, take a nap."
Booom!
The hammer that had been in Hansoo's hands flew toward the man.