Chapter 333
“You bug-like bastard. “I thought he was dead, but he was hiding well.”
Cult Ranker Alshas clicked his tongue when he saw me sitting on the ground.
Instead of responding, I looked to see if there was anything that could threaten me.
‘If there are other rankers or reinforcements, it’s a pain.’
The auxiliary organ under the chin twitched and collected information floating in the air.
‘It looks like there’s no one in the mansion.’
Not only that, but there was no sign of popularity anywhere nearby.
Of course, you can’t let down your guard because you may be hiding using concealment technology. Or, he could activate Thunder God from a very long distance and bombard me.
‘Besides, there’s something strange about that mansion.’
From the outside it looks like it’s just an old, small mansion, but there’s something strange about it.
The faint sound of wind heard through open doors and windows, and the subtle smell of earth mixed in. These are elements that cannot exist in a normally built mansion.
‘I have to be careful.’
Both you and me are rankers. Just as I am hiding my secret, the same goes for my enemies.
I quickly checked the environment and also looked at the enemy’s clothing.
Like Jason we met before, Alshas was wearing a dragon slayer set made from the corpse of Black Gallagon.
However, it was slightly different from the typical configuration I know.
The dragon slayer set consists of the energy blade-shaped weapon Purification, the tomahawk-like ‘Condemn’, and a reinforced suit made of Gallagon’s scales. Among them, Alshas was holding only two bags. I couldn’t see where Jeonghwa had gone.
The appearance of the reinforced suit was also subtly different from what I knew. The armor she wears is made for men.
‘Did you get it from another ranker?’
Maybe he received it from a comrade in his faction.
‘Other than that, there’s nothing special about him.’
Actually, that’s the problem.
This situation is too advantageous for me right now.
When fighting the cults underground, I didn’t go all out and hid my strength as much as possible. They even pretended to be dead.
Alshas, the captain of the imperial carrier, would have been deeply involved in the operations of the punitive force. So you will know better than anyone else what it means for me to reappear. They probably think they’ve launched an attack because there’s no need to hide anymore.
Nevertheless, no matter how I look at it, it is absurd for him to appear in front of me without any preparation.
‘Do you believe Isabel?’
I focused my attention on the small Coldblood standing next to Alshas.
I know very well that there is no way he would betray me. Because I did my best to help me and the kids avoid danger.
‘I’m here because of the contract.’
We already know that he signed an unfair contract. There was also a contract stating that ‘you must obey the ranker’s orders’.
‘I wasn’t expecting this, but…’
I already expected that I might end up fighting two people, Isabelle and an enemy ranker.
And I know what to do to solve it.
‘Those involved in the contract must be eliminated first.’
Of course, that will not invalidate the contract itself. Because it won’t disappear until you kill Vortex One and break the contract.
But that’s a problem that can be dealt with later. The first priority is to immediately remove the object of protection from Isabelle. That way, she can move more freely than now.
‘What’s surprising is that even though he knew about it, he revealed it openly.’
Maybe he made that choice because he didn’t know the relationship between me and Isabelle.
I’m not saying this, but all the rankers in the game hated me. From the perspective of Alshas, who knows nothing, it is natural to believe that Isabel will be hostile to me.
To be honest, it was hard to say that Alshas was a good colleague, even with empty words, but he was probably a better opponent than me, who sees everything as a genetic essence. In fact, Isabel didn’t hate me until I brought PS-111.
“Morph Park and a pet. What an incredible combination. “Did you suddenly gain a humanity that wasn’t there before?”
Alshas mocks me with a sarcastic tone. My eyes keep moving as if I’m calculating my power.
‘Now you know that I am not an easy opponent.’
Sea Demon and Red Gallagon riding on my back, and Gryphon Wolff flying with me. Even if we exclude PS-111, this force consists of two raid boss-level creatures and two rankers.
However, there was no sign of nervousness in Alshas’s appearance. Even Isabelle, who I knew, flinched when I appeared.
‘I think there’s a hidden card…’
Any further analysis is meaningless. If you attack it directly, it will become clear.
“If you have a pet, you can have a conversation….”
Before he finished speaking, I took out my tentacle and struck him. While he was talking, he hurriedly lifted the ax he was holding, probably because he didn’t know I was going to attack him.
The two pieces of punishment crossed each other in an X shape and collided with the appendages of the tentacle that had flown ahead. Because the size difference between the two was so great, Alshas was left floating in the air due to the impact of the collision.
As she flies away with her posture broken, another erosion tentacle quickly approaches. The sharp appendage at the end of the tentacle nipped the tip of her ankle.
“What?!”
Alshas’s face becomes tinged with embarrassment. He probably thought it was strange because his body suddenly stopped moving as it wanted.
‘good.’
When I cut off the guy’s ankles, I activated the unique trait that I had kept completely hidden. The ‘Medusa organ’ is an attribute that turns enemies it touches into quartz statues.
She quickly crystallized down to her knees and landed on the garden behind her. I took out all my remaining tentacles and attacked her.
“….”
She couldn’t even moan because more than half of her body had turned into stone. The head on my left opened its maw and swallowed her whole.
‘It’s over.’
I can feel the body being digested as it passes through its long neck. Since you got the ranker, you will get a perk, a characteristic, or something else. I waited for the textbox to appear.
‘huh?’
But even after waiting, there was no response.
I looked at Isabel because I thought something was strange. The guy’s expression was the same as when he was standing next to Alshas. I didn’t feel like I could breathe at all with this.
‘What is this?’
“You crazy bastard, you’re attacking me so deliberately.”
At that time, a familiar voice was heard from inside the mansion. The owner of the voice slowly walked out from the entrance of the mansion.
‘Aren’t you dead?’
The being that walked out of the mansion was Alshas, whom I had just eaten. From their faces and voices to the equipment they were wearing, they were completely identical.
“As expected, the Empress was right. “You can’t communicate.”
The guy scratched his forehead with the ax handle as if what had just happened was nothing.
‘what? ‘No, because I’m not wearing a tuner.’
A ‘facilitator’ who grants the user the ability to teleport in times of crisis might be able to escape me, but that’s probably not the case. Because I confirmed with my own eyes that there was nothing on my head.
Worst of all, his corpse was completely digested in my stomach. There was no sign of it disappearing along the way or anything like that.
Therefore, Alshas, who appeared before me, is a different being from the one I killed, with only the same appearance.
‘It’s strange to see him as a clone.’
Even though it is a clone that has just woken up, something is not clear. Even if the body is like that, it doesn’t explain the fact that the men’s enhancement suit and the two pieces of condemnation were copied.
It’s not that there wasn’t a psychic technique to create an alter ego in the game, but it’s not that natural. It may be a technique I don’t know about, but if it were, the cult rankers I fought with would have also used it.
Then there is only one answer.
‘This guy’s perk.’
Each of the rankers I have fought so far had perks that did not exist in the game.
Presumably, Alshas’s privilege may be to create identical copies of himself as he does now.
‘If my guess is true, that guy too…’
There’s a high possibility that that guy talking calmly in front of me isn’t even real. The original from which the duplicate was made must be somewhere other than here.
‘It’s becoming annoying.’
I thought he was coming off confidently for someone who knew my notoriety, but I never thought he would pull a trick like this.
“I guess cloning yourself is your special trait.”
When I spoke in Lovetz’s voice, Alshas snorted.
“Ha, I thought you were dumb because you’ve been keeping quiet until now.”
It is the power to create identical alter egos. It is a very desirable ability. One more reason for him to die.
‘Before I find the original, I need to check the clone’s abilities more.’
“The attack just now was unexpected. Oh, to be exact, I expected it, but I should say it was much faster.”
As I stayed still and did not attack, Alshas criticized me. It was a composure that only those who were confident that they would not fall into crisis could show it.
‘Muscle movements, heart sounds, and even the condition of the armor. ‘It’s exactly the same.’
“Moffak, you must be curious about this right now. “I guess you wonder what kind of confidence I have when I can’t beat you even if Isabelle and I work together.”
The guy who said that gestured to Isabelle.
For a split second, I made eye contact with Isabelle. There were many emotions in those eyes. Feeling sorry, resentment, and even worry.
The guy who conveyed various emotions to me immediately looked away and went to stand behind Alshas.
“Do you know why humans are the lord of all creation? “It’s because we work together to overcome difficulties.”
The earth’s surface shook greatly as she spoke. At the same time, I felt a powerful energy that made my auxiliary organs tingle.
Something is coming quickly from underground to the surface.
“Empress. help.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the old mansion exploded.
[Zuz zuzuzu (everyone be careful)]
I spread my wings wide and quickly gained altitude. In a split second, dozens of stakes measuring about 3 meters flew out and pierced the skin of the wing.
“Big baby! are you okay?”
The pain from the injury struck my mind, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
The being that threw the stake at me crawls out of the ground. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that it comes out by lifting the ground rather than crawling out.
As expected, the size of the being that rose from the ground easily exceeded 30 meters. A giant monster that resembles a rhinoceros beetle but is equipped with multiple biological cannons on its back. The remains of the collapsed mansion fell into the hole from which it emerged.
「Big Adult」「Enemy」「Be Careful」
“Many life reactions detected. Please be careful.”
In the area below me, and throughout the city, similar creatures were appearing on the ground.
“Amorph, that can’t be right….”
[Z (yes)]
The Mother of Heaven, flying next to me, is astonished as she sees monsters popping out here and there.
I fully understand her feelings.
I also never thought I would see them in the cult’s territory.
And then something appeared that drove a wedge between my thoughts and hers.
A huge creature with hundreds of eyes appeared from the pit where the mansion used to be. The being with countless sensing organs rose into the air after carrying Alshas and Isabelle on top of its body.
“It’s a real shame to lose Berzan 02, but the Empress strongly wants it, so there’s nothing we can do.”
「’■■’■ you ■■■. I ordered you to kill your friend ■■ ‘■■■’.”
“I know. I know. “Then let’s get started.”
As soon as Alshas finished speaking, they appeared from the pit.
Thousands of monsters measuring 5 meters in size and looking like a mix of wasps, snakes, and scorpions flew into the sky at the same time. The sky of the collapsed dome was instantly filled with the loud sound of flapping wings.
While the flying monsters surrounded me, the 30m tall monsters on the ground also pointed the tips of their bio-cannons at me.
Those monsters have no name.
Because being an individual has no meaning to them.
Many exist for one.
A being from a completely different place than this universe.
A group of outspacers summoned by Alshas attacked me.
A word from the author (author review) The end of the previous episode, Contract (4), has been slightly modified.
Previously, it was stated that Alshas was aiming an ax at Isabelle’s neck, but that part was deleted. Watch the next episode.”