“Ha…Ha…Ha…Ha…Ha…Ha….”
Selene, a warrior of the Temple Guardians, ran across the icy passageway.
‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’
The silence spread throughout the passageway spoke volus about the fate of her comrades.
Other mbers of the squad had sacrificed themselves to save her, a practitioner of mory manipulation. Despite knowing that the enemy could consu souls.
‘I never imagined such monsters existed in this world!’ She recalled the sight she had just witnessed as she ran.
White skeletal structures rising several tis the height of a cultist. Initially, she mistook them for giant creatures resurrected in skeletal form.
It didn’t take long for her to realize that sothing had flipped the bones and carapaces of giant creatures. Among the bones stood the heads of her comrades.
The first cultist she spotted was their leader, Krissian. He was impaled on the horn protruding from the monster’s head. Below, a pointed snout resembling a theropod’s was adorned with what she presud to be the legs of a squad mber, twitching.
The surreal sight left her and her comrades staring blankly. Soon, with eerie sounds, the twitching legs that struggled to escape stopped moving.
It was the sound of their comrades’ deaths that snapped her and her squad back to reality. The sharp clang of weapons being drawn echoed alongside savage cries.
It was the sound that accompanied every hunt for monsters.
The Temple Guardians had co prepared with top-of-the-line gear to capture the demon with three heads. Demolishers capable of manipulating matter to destroy it, Champion Shields combining psychic power and ether for exponential defense, Dragon Scale armors forged from the gallagon’s scales, weapons honed with White Gallagon claws, and more.
As one of the Empire’s elite forces, the Temple Guardians had the best equipnt. And those who wielded that equipnt? They were the best of the best.
If the enemy had been just the bone-flipped monster, they wouldn’t have fallen so easily.
There was one reason the situation unfolded differently from their expectations.
Contrary to their expectations, it wasn’t just one enemy.
As the giant monster rose to its feet, other monsters hidden beneath it erged.
A creature with a human head and a spider’s body, and another with a slender tentacle on a pink balloon-like body.
The spider creature absorbed the Champion Shield composed of composite energy. Whenever its hooks scratched the shield, its energy dissipated in clumps.
The bone-flipped monster targeted only weakened guardians. It was incredibly agile for its size.
Whenever it moved, comrades were either impaled on horns or crushed under its massive feet.
And finally, the pink balloon monster. It didn’t move as agilely as the others, but it possessed terrifying abilities.
It was the most powerful psychic user among the many monsters she had seen.
Though not as potent as the young priest Jason, it was enough to overwhelm those present.
Communication with the outside was nearly impossible due to the pink balloon monster.
Its imnse psychic power flowing through its body blocked psychic abilities such as telepathy or soul-linking.
To the cultists, psychic power was like limbs.
Even though they were Temple Guardians, it was impossible to unleash their full potential with restrictions on psychic power usage.
Her comrades struggled to avoid the monsters while attempting to counterattack.
However, such a counterattack proved futile as the number of standing mbers rapidly dwindled. The creatures seed to move as if they had completely penetrated the characteristics and weaknesses of the Temple Guardians’ equipnt.
The spider creature nullified the Temple Guardians’ shields, while the giant creature attacked. Whenever one tried to evade the giant creature, the pink balloon creature restricted the movent of the mbers.
Even when mbers wielding demolishers attempted to shoot, it was to no avail. The creatures always managed to avoid the demolishers, even if they endured other attacks.
They displayed a synergy beyond that of Temple Guardians who had trained for over several decades.
The result was a massacre.
Those who had always hunted monsters were now prey, slaughtered in turn.
The spider creature gouged out cultists’ entrails with its hooked claws, while the pink balloon creature levitated the mbers with psychic power and then tore off their limbs.
And the sight of the giant creature swallowing the still-living cultists.
Perhaps Selene would never forget that sight until her dying breath.
When the group was reduced to only five mbers from twelve, Selene’s comrades shouted at her. They told her to flee, being the one who had mastered mory manipulation.
To prevent the deaths of those present from being in vain, Selene had to survive at all costs. Knowing this, she abandoned her comrades and fled.
“I’ve stored all the mories. If I can just deliver these to Jason…!”
She continued to attempt telepathy as she ran. As the distance from the creature increased, its power weakened. Perhaps if she went a little further, she could transmit these mories to her comrades.
“!”
At that mont, amidst her sprint, she heard a sound. She quickly activated the Champion Shield strapped to her wrist.
“Who’s there?”
Holding the faintly glowing gold Champion Shield, she looked around.
Thinking she might have misheard, the sound ca again. Amidst the sound of wind blowing through the passageway, there was sothing mixed in.
“Damn it! Who’s there?….”
Her eyes darted frantically. All she could see was her distorted reflection in the ice. The distorted faces of the cultists seed to mock her, as if her comrades were laughing at her.
You too will soon join us.
Temple Guardians learn not to waver even in dire situations against monsters.
But today, was it because of the situation or so unknown factor? She couldn’t gather her thoughts like a rookie heading into her first battle.
“Damn it! Who are you, co out!”
She lost her composure, screaming like a wounded beast. In response, a sound seed to echo as if answering her cry.
The sound was similar to the one heard when a flag flutters in the wind.
Only then did she realize what the sound she had heard was.
It was the sound of a creature flapping its large wings.
And unlike just a mont ago, the sound was much closer. Almost as if it were coming from directly above her head.
“…….”
Her gaze slowly rose upward.
There should have been nothing there except ice.
But hanging upside down with green wings, a creature looked down at her.
Her violet eyes t the creature’s gaze, and she reached for her blade. Before her hand could touch the hilt, the creature’s wings spread wide. In that instant of realization, she felt her strength drain from her body. The world she saw flipped, and a familiar ankle ca into view.
Selene’s mind plunged into darkness.
***
｢Prey｣｢Escape｣｢Block｣｢Success｣
[ZZZ ZZZ (Well done)]
Adhai, who had returned to tidy up the fleeing prey hiding outside, ca back. A cultist torso hung from her back. Seeing her bloodied body, it was clear she had been hit with extre force.
‘No apparent injuries.’
She had completely mastered the combat thod of rushing with psychic power enveloping his body.
‘Impressive lad.’
I patted the head of the combat-trained Adhai and lifted the cultist’s body on her back with corrosive tentacles.
‘All 12 of the intruders here have been dealt with.’
Although my tooth fairies had initiated the start of battle, it was my first ti fighting directly.
Their abilities were as I had expected, but there were a few surprises.
‘The equipnt is better than I thought.’
My gaze shifted to the equipnt the cultists had brought. Dragon Scale armor, Champion Shields, swords forged from Gallagon, and even demolishers. All were high-priced weapons.
I picked up a weapon resembling a dart gun among the scattered weapons on the ground.
It may look unimpressive, but it was a powerful weapon capable of destroying even the toughest materials, as evidenced by the hole it made in the Ice Horror’s carapace, which was broken by No. 26 with all its might.
Special defensive asures are required to defend against demolisher attacks. I don’t have such defensive asures yet.
‘And this sword is quite expensive too.’
The white weapon strapped to the cultists’ waist was a blade made by shaving the claws of a White Gallagon. It creates a psychic blade that can strike enemies from a distance. It has the sa effect as the Gallagon claw that Si-hyun Yujin drew from her palm during our previous fight.
People with such good equipnt wouldn’t co here for no reason. I woke up the faceless beings attached to the carapace.
“What brought you here?”
“T-That’s…!”
The five faceless beings struggled not to speak, but it was futile.
The faceless beings on my body were all reconstituted from Amorph’s body. Just as my arms and legs obeyed my commands, they couldn’t refuse my orders.
In the end, they spilled everything.
Their explanation was not lengthy, but it contained very important information.
What they ca to catch, and who was leading them.
If I hadn’t checked it now, it could have been crucial information that could put everyone in great danger.
‘The young priest is targeting .’
He was the one who argued for sending an Imperial flagship and fleet to combat the three-headed demon that appeared on the planet called Saegil 08, which the cultists call PH-101.
When the plan failed and he lost influence in the Imperial Council, he reportedly ca here leading the Temple Guardians to make up for the failure.
What does that an?
‘The player who sponsored Muriel.’
The one who judged him as a Black Gallagon-class powerhouse was the player. And it was a player with much stronger power than Muriel.
If the opponent is a player, the plans I’ve made so far need to be revised.
‘They must know about .’
If they are rankers over there, it was obvious what precautions to take when fighting against Amoph.
‘It’s impossible to deceive them with parasites or faceless beings once the enemies join.’
The original plan was to lure the enemies into the joint where the Ice Horror was. The joint was so weakened that it could collapse at any mont due to extensive damage to the walls and ceiling.
My plan was to collapse the walls and ceiling there and bury all the enemies under the ice above. Even if the enemies were strong, there was almost no chance of surviving under several hundred ters thick ice.
Would a Black Gallagon-class powerhouse survive depending on what psychic power technique he possesses? If he survives, I planned to launch a coordinated attack with the children to subdue him.
‘But if they consider an enemy…’
Since they would know that I set a trap, the chances of them moving according to my intentions are low. To deceive them, I need to think harder.
‘…It’s fortunate that I know now.’
As soon as I heard the explanation, I slightly modified the original plan and called PS-111.
“A variable has arisen. Take the children and go to the location I ntioned first.”
[Understood.]
It prepared to leave with No. 26 on his back and Adhai.
｢Big one, see you later.｣
[ZZZ (Got it)]
After bidding farewell to the children, I quickly moved to the nest. On the way, I didn’t forget to put the auxiliary device on the ground to monitor the movents of the enemies.
‘The distance is getting a bit tight.’
There were only a few minutes left until the remaining two groups gathered in one place. The group attacked by PS-111 and the Mother of the Sky were moving around in extre caution, so they hadn’t joined yet.
‘If I stop by the nest and then go, it’ll be too late.’
I have to attack from behind before the enemies join.
I stopped in the middle of the passage and pressed the auxiliary device against the ice, trying to link it to the nest’s substation under my chin.
The nest was expanding on its own, and this area was already stained black. Although no spores had appeared yet, the nest’s mucus had spread here and solidified, so it was possible to send a signal at least.
‘She’ll notice it right away if it’s her.’
Feeling around the ground with the auxiliary device, I found a place to link while the stem of the nest, which had just begun to spread, touched the auxiliary device.
I felt a part of my senses pouring onto the ground, and the wide corridor began to feel like my body. It was a successful link with the nest.
‘Good.’
I detonated a few spores inside the nest. In response, two objects lying in the marsh began to react. Soon, one of the objects started moving in this direction with the other.
The Mother of the Sky, who captured prisoners, must have read the signal I sent.
While maintaining the link, I double-checked the passages in this underground space. There was no sign of movent from the enemy player and his group.
While keeping an eye on them, the Mother of the Sky appeared. She was holding a female cultist in her beak.
The lower part of the cultist’s neck, where I had broken the bone when capturing her, showed no movent. The Mother of the Sky must have known that the Imperial armor had life support functions, so she took such asures.
I carefully avoided the cultist’s gaze so as not to be detected. If No. 26 were present, it would be different, but without him, I had to be cautious with the soul link.
｢What happened? This wasn’t part of the plan, was it?｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (The plan changed)]
I explained to her the things I heard from the faceless beings. Flas shot from her pumpkin-colored eyes as she understood my wavelength.
｢He’s here?｣
[ZZZ (Yes)]
｢…We can’t afford to miss him.｣
[ZZZ ZZ (Of course)]
We can’t just let a player, especially one who knows about , go like this. We must capture him by any ans necessary.
｢What are we going to do?｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (First, take care of the subordinates)]
The subordinates brought by the player are ard with weapons made from Demolishers and Gallagon’s claws. They are formidable enemies who can inflict fatal injuries on , so I cannot afford to be complacent.
Dealing with them becos extrely difficult if they are directly commanded by the player.
‘So, we need to strike before they gather.’
I looked down at the cultist captured as a prisoner.
Originally, I planned to use the cultist to instill fear by stripping her skin in front of the enemy. But the situation has changed, so I might need to slightly change the plan.
‘If they’re players, they won’t fall for it naturally.’
What about those who haven’t joined yet?
I reached out to the paralyzed cultist.
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