Blood poured out like a waterfall from his left arm, where the lower part of his forearm had disappeared.
"Ugh, aaaahh ...
Camellia barely managed to hold onto the thread of consciousness that was fading away. She gritted her teeth to endure the excruciating pain that stabbed every nerve and the heat that seemed to burn her brain.
I didn't have the luxury of just struggling around.
Even with my confused mind, I knew only two things. It was dangerous to continue on this path. And the enemy had been waiting for an 'opportunity' from the beginning.
Camellia's value as a fighter is centered on her spells. If her spells don't work, all she has left is the strength unique to Pecatum.
Even his fighting skills themselves are not outstanding. He just has a high low point. At least, he didn't have the confidence to survive a head-on fight with the current Kim Lee Hyun.
'Oh, I have to run away.'
Camellia turned around and ran away.
At the same time, he gave orders in his head. He had to tie the enemy's ankles even if it meant throwing himself at them. He had to run along the railroad and get out into the streets while the soldiers bought him time.
Actions based solely on survival instinct.
Anger and hatred had soon been replaced by fear.
Camellia looked back without realizing it as she ran away.
Pfft, pfft!
Kim Yi-hyeon was swinging his mace to clear a path. The infected's claws were scratching at the jumper. Sometimes, they even dug into the flesh, causing drops of blood to spurt out.
But it doesn't stop.
It just charges forward like a tank, without any warning. Even though the wounds are getting bigger, there are no signs of infection.
'Why, how can you be so fine…!?'
Camellia had no way of knowing.
There can be no such thing as a perfect enemy in a game. Except for those that are labeled as 'unbeatable', they are designed with the assumption that the user will defeat them.
Even stages that seem extremely difficult at first glance have strategies. For example, you can clear them easily by organizing certain agents or using certain equipment.
Episode 14, featuring Camellia, is no different.
[Sacred Heart]
[Rating: ★★★★★★]
[Category: Weapon]
[Description: A sacred relic excavated from the ruins of Osteus, a religious nation that fell into ruin two hundred years ago without a sound. Despite being buried for a long time, there is no rust. It is not even known what kind of metal was used or how it was refined.
You know what the problem with this is? It's too shiny. It's like it's glowing all by itself at night. Anyway, it's so fucking shiny that I can't sleep!
─The record of a certain small-minded atheist.]
[Effect: 'Punishment' is prepared, which increases the damage of one normal attack by 1333% every 15 seconds. When this effect is activated, 'Purification' is applied to the wearer for 15 seconds, removing all status abnormalities once every 3 seconds.]
Here Camellia's spell is judged as a debuff.
The order in which you mutate after being weakened for 5 seconds. If you are completely consumed by the fungus, you cannot be released even with 'purification', but if you release the weakened state in time, you will not proceed to the next stage.
'It's a bit of a scam.'
To reiterate, Polaris is a collectible strategy game.
It's not over just by selecting agents. This is a game that relies heavily on equipment. You can still play without them, but the quality of play will be different.
'There's a reason why we spend tens or hundreds of millions of won on a single weapon.'
15 seconds. Once again, the iron fist scattered the light of destruction in all directions.
Kwaaang!
With just one swing, the infected were swept away like autumn leaves. As expected, the power was incomparable. Even without any techniques, he could suppress them with just his strength.
What I hadn't expected was a recoil. The bones and muscles of my right arm, which held the mace, screamed. It might have been my imagination, but it felt like a sound that shouldn't have come from a human body.
But I was able to hold out long enough.
The severed muscle fibers were reconnected. The twisted bones were realigned. The jumper was torn in places, and gray crystals grew on the exposed skin.
[Mutation rate 46.7009%]
'The progress is too fast.'
Kim Yi-hyeon clicked his tongue in frustration. However, even this was a blessing in disguise. Wasn't a mere three-star agent overwhelming Camellia on his own? It was a price he had to accept.
Even so,
'I can't waste any more time.'
It's better to finish it as soon as possible, even if it means pushing yourself a bit.
I changed the policy in my brain. I broke the criteria of the 'safe range' that I had arbitrarily set. I excluded the rear and focused on the infected blocking my path.
"Kurururuk!"
I pushed the head of the infected person who was clinging to me while diving with my palm. I stepped on the hand that was waving while lying face down. I grabbed the chain against the wall of meat that was laid out in a straight line.
The timing was spot on.
The moment the chain was swung horizontally, the mace flashed. The first part of the infected's body that had been hit by the hammer disappeared, as if a piece of Jenga had been pulled out from a pile.
Only after three or four people had suffered the same fate did the shock begin to subside. However, the power was so great that the infected along the way were blown away like trash.
As the corpses increased, the walls became thinner.
The number of soldiers that was so numerous that it seemed foolish to count them all had decreased noticeably. That much slaughter had been committed. The feeling that came to my hand was extremely disgusting.
Chimi turned her discomfort into murderous intent.
'I never miss it.'
There is no next.
Camellia must be killed here.
I passed through the lobby and reached the platform. As I stepped outside, the view became clear. The rails laid between the two platforms continued endlessly outside.
"Ugh, ugh..."
Infected people crawled out of stopped vehicles. There was no distinction between men, women, or children. These pieces of meat that could no longer be called people carried out orders without their own will.
And then I saw a woman running breathlessly along the rails.
"Ugh, ugh! Shit, why is it like this…!"
Camellia.
The person responsible for this tragedy was running away in a pitiful manner. Blood was flowing down his pants. He was limping, as if he had grazed me when I allowed him to strike.
fault.
Kim Yi-Hyeon lightly jumped up from the platform and boarded the train. He lowered his posture and put down his mace. Next, a spear appeared in his hand.
The window seemed to be made of glass. The face reflected was extremely dirty. Not only the mask, but even the hair was dyed bright red. It was as if it had been dipped in a bucket of blood and then drained.
He took a javelin-throwing stance, clutching the spear.
─Ppajijik!
Blue sparks flew from the spear. The leather on my hand felt like it was burning. I held my grip tightly, enduring the intense pain. The current gradually intensified and began to envelop the entire spear.
Camellia also noticed the flow of great power. Her eyes, which were checking the rear, shook violently. She stopped running and shouted in a loud voice.
"Hey, gather here!"
As instructed, the infected gathered around Camellia. An old man wearing glasses. A pregnant woman with a swollen belly. A child who looked to be about ten years old. The proportion of socially disadvantaged people was high.
It was no coincidence.
The infected people at the station were soldiers chosen by Camellia. Those with relatively weaker fighting power were left here. They were a kind of hostage in case of an unexpected situation.
So that the enemy hesitates even for a moment.
Camellia took her one remaining hand to her bosom. She took a pistol out of her coat pocket and aimed it at Kim Ihyeon. She smiled crookedly and put her hand on the trigger.
"Die─"
Lightning struck faster than a bullet.
─I felt like I was having a nightmare.
My limbs were as unstable as if I had been pinned down by scissors. My whole body felt heavy like water-soaked cotton. My parched throat demanded moisture.
The only sense that was still intact was sight. The sight before my eyes was blurry, so I had to take a moment to examine things to distinguish them. The shattered ceiling, the sky. The falling snow.
Soon a shadow covered the view.
The sky was covered and a hateful face appeared. The enemy of my benefactor, the man I was going to kill, was aiming a gun at me. My eyes were drawn to the pitch-black gun barrel without me knowing it.
"...왜."
Camellia couldn't hear well, perhaps because she was deaf. Camellia poured out the doubts that had been in her mind, not even sure if she was verbalizing the words properly.
"Why did you kill him?"
"뭐?"
"There was no one else but you, sister. But why…."
Camellia was crying.
Her facial skin was so torn that her expression was unreadable, but it was clear that she was sad. That's how precious Snowfield was to her.
There were hard times, and days when she was saved and supported. Kim Yi-hyun knew that too. Camellia's past was explained in detail in the game.
It wasn't Kim Lee-hyun's concern.
"That's your matter."
He said, catching his breath.
"I won't go into detail since you probably won't hear me anyway, but everyone has their ups and downs. Everyone has been through some shitty times at least once. I'm in the middle of one myself."
I turned my gaze away.
There were corpses strewn across the rails. The reason they were still breathing despite being hit directly by [Return Light] was because they were protecting Camellia.
I could have let out a few words.
They are also precious people to someone. They are living beings with their own families, friends, and lovers. They are human beings who should care for others and know how to feel angry.
The thought remained just a thought.
As I said, it won't be heard well. In the first place, Kim Yi-hyun didn't fight while looking into other people's circumstances. The only difference from Camellia is that he blamed 'his' mistakes, not others.
That difference was the most important.
"Snowfield was the one who made my life even more fucked up. So I killed him."
"Why, because of you. If only you weren't there..."
"Basically, they're all for similar reasons. But you could say you're an exception."
The raised thumb lowered the pistol's hammer.
"I just didn't like you since long ago."
Taang!
There was a hole in the center of the forehead.
Camellia's pupils dilated as she opened both her eyes. Her breathing and body trembling stopped. A drizzle of snow fell on her messy coat.
[ERROR!]
[An unexpected error occurred.]
[Confirmation of death of character 'Camellia']
[Calculate the damage rate of the scenario.]
[Now Loading....]
A follow-up message arrived shortly thereafter.
[Loading Completed!]
[Highest damage rate in Main Episode 14 'Curse']
[Damage rate of main episode 15 'Regret']
[Damage rate of main episode 16 'Twilight']
[Main Episode 17 'Dawn' Damage Rate Lower]
I waited for about 10 more seconds.
"...What? Is it the end?"
I tried to raise an objection, but there was no change. It was a different flow than before. Even while feeling puzzled, my brain worked on its own. I quickly came up with a plausible inference.
"Are you saying this is not enough?"
However, Camellia's weight in the 'story' is not that big. She met a similar ending in the game. She is a character who dies in vain because she is blinded by revenge.
'Although it almost blew up a city.'
In other words, it's just one city. Even in the event story, it's a world where the country is destroyed. It's not a major event that can spread across the entire continent.
'If you think about it logically, the experience points would have increased compared to 1-star or 2-star.'
If you say that the public service is not enough, then I can accept it.
"But it's still a good choice."
Kim Yi-hyeon tried to scratch his head, but then put his hand down in disgust. The sticky blood was extremely disgusting. Then he looked around and let out a weary breath.
'Should I cut it down a little more and go?'
There were still infected people roaming around the station.