Chapter 88
Episode 88 - Chaos and Hero (6)
[He stood alone in front of the enemies. It was a Beast Legion numbering in the thousands. Yet, he was calm and tranquil.]
"I know. I can feel it. Right now, there's no hesitation. I have conviction."
[It needs you. And it believes in you. It wants you to come for it, to win.]
"That's right. He believes in me."
Eve placed her hand on her chest, murmuring quietly, just like Kang Do-Yeon's habit.
They were calling out to each other. At this moment, their connection was stronger than ever.
Thanks to that, Eve could fully understand his emotions. The same went for Shin Woo, who was facing the approaching enemies alone in the Wasteland.
The trust between the two entities was firm. The connection of their souls, tied only to each other, was that strong.
"Go to him, and kill his enemies."
Eve abruptly stood up from the throne, her eyes flashing from within the mask. The entire Legion trembled without leaving out a single entity.
There was no hesitation in her decision. This sortie was for the reason she defined for her existence, her growth, and her survival.
[For you, who are both one and many, the application of the Unit Summoning Ticket is special. And you can choose.]
"Show the overwhelming Legion Army to those false and feeble beasts, what a true Legion is."
[But currently, there aren't many troops available.]
"With the stored energy, mass-produce Legion Soldiers through accelerated growth and division."
[That would result in an excessive loss of energy efficiency.]
"It doesn't matter."
Eve had already finished all calculations and predictions. From the beginning, if Shin Woo died, so would she.
"For him, even a planet is worth it."
Therefore, there was no reason not to give her all to save Shin Woo.
Even if it meant devouring an entire planet, the immense energy generated could all be invested for him.
Soon, the entire Nest trembled. The Legion's racial trait of accelerated growth and rapid division consumed energy like madness, creating a massive force in an instant. Of course, this was something that would never be done under normal circumstances.
In the midst of it all, Eve prepared her weapon.
It was one of the spoils of war, an utterly ordinary iron sword.
The reason she chose a sword as her weapon was simple. Because he learned the sword, she chose it as well.
[Prepare.]
Soon, a massive energy began to move. Eve's eyes sparkled.
She coveted this mysterious power that moved the system.
"But this power is still beyond analysis or access. For now. It's closer to a type of divine authority."
[...]
Eve looked down at her body, gradually wrapped in light, and smirked.
Soon, Eve's body, along with part of the Legion, vanished as if evaporating from the world.
*
"Quite a lot of them."
At the entrance of the canyon, I smirked as I watched the approaching beasts.
In the end, everyone left in their vehicles. It was better this way, as seeing the Legion would have been catastrophic.
[The Legion is ready.]
"Are you sure about this? It's not going to be just one or two units popping out, right?"
I made a final confirmation. I wasn't standing here alone out of sheer madness.
What I believed in was the Unit Summoning Ticket I received as a reward after annihilating an opposing unit for the first time.
According to the description, it wasn't particularly advantageous for other players. At best, it could summon a single entity, and it had to return after a set time.
But that didn't apply to me. The Legion, Eve, was both one and many. In other words, the summon ticket summoned the entire Legion.
[However, it's impossible to transfer the entire Legion, so only a part of it will be summoned. But even that part will surely be sufficient.]
"Alright."
I wasn't shaken or excited. As long as the Legion was summoned here, I had nothing to worry about.
After all, we would win. I was certain. We would win.
A battle between Legions? Eve would never lose to those kinds of beings.
I even felt relaxed, calmly observing the approaching enemies.
'What about the others, like Cha Jiyeon or Ji Changhyun?'
I even found myself worrying about others.
The monster legion approaching here could be considered their main force.
Among the remnants scattered to chase the retreating survivors after annihilating the main unit, the largest group was heading here.
For now, I could only hope the others had survived and escaped safely.
"There's no way the main unit was destroyed just because a few more monsters overwhelmed them. There must be something else."
I scanned the area, looking for something unusual. I suspected there must be a command entity leading this monster horde.
Ever since the beasts became units, shedding their simple animalistic nature, the aspect of war had changed drastically.
It was no longer an era where sheer firepower alone could secure victory.
"...Is it that one?"
I thought I spotted such a being. A powerful individual who had defeated strong members of the Allied Forces like Cha Jiyeon.
I pulled out the Detection Stone from my pocket. The range was still too far to determine whether they were units or not.
"&♤♧@%*#!!"
Before long, the monster legion, shaking the ground, stopped before me.
As I expected, there was a leader among them. A grotesque lifeform with a white skeleton holding a spear, looking like a mix of a bird and a human.
"@#%!!"
"What the hell are you saying?"
It kept pointing its beak at me, making clicking noises.
Judging by its behavior, it didn't seem to believe I was alone. Instead of focusing on me, it kept scanning the surroundings.
But when the continued reconnaissance by the monstrous birds confirmed I was indeed alone.
I felt like I could even see an expression on the skull-like face. It looked incredibly displeased.
'It's coming.'
I instinctively realized it and immediately used the summoning ticket.
The Detection Stone was silent. Confirming that they weren't units, I shook off my last doubts.
"Oh..."
But at that moment, I failed to catch the spear thrown with transcendental power.
In the brief moment of realization, the spear flew toward me. By the time I noticed it.
The spear was already about to pierce my chest.
"Eve."
At that moment, I called out that name. The name I had given her.
Suddenly, she appeared, her long, dark hair fluttering in front of me. Though it was her back, I had seen this figure many times before.
"..."
There was no response. Eve grabbed the spear aimed at me with her hand and let it drop.
[The Legion has arrived. Now, it's war.]
The ground shook. The atmosphere trembled. Without even looking, I could tell what was approaching from behind me.
"Eve. Just for a moment..."
[There's nothing for you to do now. I came to protect you, so just watch.]
Eve kicked the ground and soared into the air in an instant.
I couldn't follow her through the violently shaking ground.
"Tsk..."
Something massive passed by me. An over-sized species I'd only seen on screens before.
It wasn't just the over-sized species. Numerous Legion Soldiers tore through the ground, the sky, and underground, marching past me.
I could see the skull-faced leader. It looked visibly flustered.
[Indeed, the creatures of the Demon Realm are strong, but they're still mere lifeforms. They can't compare to the Legion Soldiers, who were born from analyzing and combining such beings.]
I could only stand in the middle of the black wave, watching. The Legion Soldiers overwhelmed the enemies with sheer force, pushing them back.
The Beast Legion that annihilated the Earth Allied Forces was indeed strong. But ultimately, they were ordinary lifeforms.
They needed to reproduce, eat, and survive.
That's why we were stronger now. Such things didn't matter to the Legion Soldiers. They were filled with nothing but muscle, lacking digestive systems or reproductive organs.
Survival wasn't important to the Legion Soldiers either. They moved solely for victory and battle.
I saw the massive beasts, which I thought were relatively large, collide with the over-sized species and get flung away, exploding. The Demonic Mole Crickets, which crushed and destroyed tanks, had their heads ripped off by the mining-type Legion Soldiers created based on them.
"Ugh..."
At that moment, large fragments from the battlefield flew toward me.
However, those fragments never reached me.
"I guess... I should say thank you? Eve."
Two Higher Species, who had positioned themselves beside me before I realized it, activated their Barrier to block the fragments.
My gaze naturally shifted upward.
A fierce battle was unfolding in the sky, just like on the surface.
I saw the Flying Species of the Legion tearing apart Flying Beasts, including Monstrous Birds, using their claws and poison stingers.
And then, a pair of black wings crossed the sky.
My face naturally darkened.
The wings, which instantly slashed and tore apart the enemies surrounding them, cut through the air and landed swiftly in front of me.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"You don't need to worry, Oppa. I'm perfectly fine right now. More than ever."
Turning her body and removing her mask, my younger sister Kang Do-Yeon spoke, her red eyes glinting with an unchanged expression.