Chapter 89
Episode 89 - Chaos and Hero (7)
"The strongest Beast Legion ever is undoubtedly under my control..."
The Lord of Beasts, Gartin. Once a powerful individual who stood above even the Demon King's Commanders, ruling over the Demon Realm.
At the very least, now that his seal was broken, he could easily deal with a few rookie Hunters from Earth.
In fact, even after being struck by the Assassination Authority, he overcame it and defeated Ji Changhyun, Chris, and Cha Jiyeon, who had all charged at him.
However, his greatest ability was not his personal strength, but rather the Beast Legion itself.
The Beast Legion, composed of creatures of the Demon Realm led by him, was an unstoppable assault force, a merciless violence that trampled over everything in its path.
"But... just what, what are those things!"
Gartin, whose blue eyes glinted inside his skull, clicked his beak in anger.
The Beast Legion, which had crushed the arrogant humans' main unit with overwhelming power, was now openly losing its strength and momentum it had once boasted.
"Grrraaah!"
One of the Beast Legion's most formidable main forces, the Swamp Centipede-Handed Gorillas, covered in tough scales.
These 5-meter-tall gorillas, skilled in close combat with their four arms, were being helplessly torn apart by Four-Legged Beasts with massive fangs and Giant Spiders with venomous fangs.
Gartin couldn't even consider those black monsters as the same kind of beasts. Their appearance, which cunningly combined the traits and strengths of all kinds of creatures, resembled a Black Magic Chimera, a trend once popular in the Demon Realm, rather than a natural lifeform.
However, the Legion's genetic manipulation techniques, accumulated experience, and data were far superior to such synthetic monsters.
"What on earth..."
And then there were the Demon Desert Lobsters, the assault soldiers the Beast Legion prided itself on.
These were literally giant lobsters with four pincers that lived in the desert, their size comparable to that of a large bus. Within the Beast Legion, they were classified as large.
Crunch-
However, these lobsters, with their durable carapaces that could even crush human tanks, were instantly trampled and burst apart.
Every time the Over-sized Species charged forward with its massive hammerhead adorned with spear-like protrusions, dozens of beasts were crushed and impaled to death.
"These things..."
Gartin, who flinched, saw the Demonic Mole Cricket being ripped apart alive by a similarly black carapaced monster.
In the sky, Flying Species with spider mouths were breathing flames, burning Monstrous Birds to ashes.
As the Lord of Beasts and the ruler of these creatures, he couldn't believe this reality. Hellscape. Even to the Demon Clan, this was a Hellscape.
'Are these truly living beings!?'
For a moment, he almost lost his mind, but he managed to impale a Flying Species charging at him with its claws bared, using his spear.
There was no hesitation, no sound of screams. They simply charged, fought, and died.
Of course, fighting under orders was the same for his Beast Legion.
However, the beasts were undoubtedly living beings, and they had emotions.
"My control!!"
Gartin, shocked, shouted. His control over the entire Beast Legion was gradually weakening.
There was only one reason. The beasts were prioritizing survival over his orders.
In other words, they had begun to feel fear and terror toward their opponents.
"Will you let it end like this!"
Unleashing his mana, Gartin flew across the air toward the Oversized Species that was breaking through the beasts' formation.
Aiming his mana-infused spear, he pierced through its tough external carapace. The blow from the spear penetrated the Oversized Species' head and even pierced the ground beneath it.
"How, how could this be..."
However, the Oversized Species did not die instantly. For most species, the head where the brain resides would be a weak point, but the Legion Soldiers didn't even have a developed brain to begin with.
At that moment, three Higher Species escorting the Oversized Species charged at the bewildered Gartin with spears.
"How dare these mosquito-like things..!"
Enraged, he pulled out his spear and swung it like a windmill.
The Higher Species displayed a collaborative technique with agile movements, blocking his actions.
When two of them deflected his spear, the third would always stab at his blind spot with their spear.
Although his mana far exceeded the power core of the Higher Species, they fought him as if they were one entity, using formations to counter him.
"Oh ancient bugs of the land! Aid me once more!"
While Gartin was confident he could win, he realized that if this dragged on, his Legion would be annihilated, so he made a decisive move.
The battlefield shook as if an earthquake had occurred. While the Legion Soldiers, having detected the vibrations in advance, quickly moved out of the way, the Oversized Species near Gartin was ultimately overturned and crushed by the giant organism that emerged from the ground.
"Wipe them all out!"
The Deathworm that emerged from the ground was even larger than the one that had previously attacked the Allied Forces.
Smirking, Gartin flew in front of the Deathworm. This gigantic body would kill the enemies just by moving once.
"Primitive creatures like you won't even be able to pierce this one's external carapace..."
But at that moment, the massive shadow covering his body disappeared. Completely, as if it had been erased.
He turned around with a dumbfounded expression.
The Deathworm that had just been there, emerging from the ground, was now gone, leaving only a hole behind.
"Y-You can let go now. But are you sure you can handle it? It's so big."
"That's our main base, Oppa. A single larva like that isn't a problem. That guy, however, is."
Kang Do-Yeon landed on the ground, holding Shin Woo in her arms. In Shin Woo's hand was a cellphone that had just recorded the Deathworm.
"You... you human! You human bastard!!!!"
At least Gartin could sense that Shin Woo had done something, and his blue eyes burned with rage, angrier than ever.
"Now step back far away. The others will protect you."
"...Alright."
Kang Do-Yeon handed Shin Woo over to the Higher Species nearby and stood in front of Gartin.
In that fleeting moment, Gartin's spear flew toward her heart, tearing through the air.
"...!"
However, Kang Do-Yeon barely twisted her body to avoid the strike and swung her dark crimson flaming wings, cutting through the mana surrounding his body.
"A female with a human face and a monster's body!"
Gartin thrust his mana-covered spear again.
She twisted her body and extended her wings, and as their wings and spear clashed, they left a deep, long trace on the ground with an explosion.
"You're just like those human bastards. Needlessly flashy, immature, and young."
Although they exchanged blows, Gartin was one step faster. He sneered as he swung the spear shaft he had retrieved, striking her abdomen. The barrier shattered instantly.
The armor covering her stomach broke apart as she was flung back, and dark crimson bodily fluid splattered from her mouth.
"...How can she still stand?!"
However, Kang Do-Yeon immediately rose with terrifying eyes. Although she had taken a hit, unlike Cha Jiyeon or Ji Changhyun, she could instantly regenerate and rise even if her internal organs ruptured or her limbs broke.
And she felt no pain.
As long as she had the will to fight, she could fight anytime, a blessing given to her by the Legion.
"How dare you... How dare you, how dare you!!!"
Enraged by this unbelievable reality, Gartin shouted, but silence had already filled the surroundings.
"Is that all you've got, skeleton?"
"...And who are you?"
Instinctively recognizing the voice calling him, he clicked his beak and turned around.
Eve, her glowing eyes shining through the mask, dropped the head of a wolf beast she had been holding.
"You're the only one left now. Aside from those sent as specimens, I made sure to analyze the remaining ones as much as possible. Even if we return with nothing, knowledge will remain."
Eve spoke as she looked around. Gartin clicked his beak at the sight.
The Beast Legion was annihilated. Now, only the Legion Soldiers remained in the area. Moreover, the special species, the Sacred Tree, and the sticky secretion that had grown from the ground had formed flesh walls, covering the area and decomposing the beasts' corpses.
This area had already become part of the Legion.
"Draw your sword, Commander of the Legion. His skills are formidable, so the two of us will face him together."
Eve, moving her body, drew her sword. She handed a sword held by a nearby Higher Species to Kang Do-Yeon.
I'll kill you all and take your heads as evidence to report to the previous king.
Gartin sneered as he raised his spear, watching them.
"...!"
However, when Eve and Kang Do-Yeon simultaneously kicked the ground and swung their swords, Gartin, with wide eyes, stumbled as his severed wing bones fell.
'One more time.'
There was no need for words. No need for exchanged glances. They trusted their partner and didn't guard their backs.
They only attacked, looking forward. The spear thrust at Eve was deflected by Kang Do-Yeon, and the kick aimed at Kang Do-Yeon was blocked by Eve.
The clash of swords and spears, bones and flesh, created unbelievable sounds and shockwaves.
Gartin's attacks, executed with full power, were blocked perfectly without a single error, and the mana surrounding his body began to break.
Enraged, he swung his spear with all his might, but Eve, stepping on Kang Do-Yeon's back, leaped and dodged it. Performing an aerial flip, the inverted Eve's eyes met Gartin's terrified gaze up close.
"Guh..."
Finally, Eve's dark crimson flaming strike slashed deeply into Gartin's shoulder.
He was so focused on Eve for a moment that he didn't even realize Kang Do-Yeon, who had rolled on the ground, had cut his ankle.
Gartin's body collapsed as his ankle was severed.
Eve, landing as is, severed the arm holding the spear, and Kang Do-Yeon, who had rolled on the ground, knelt on one knee and used her sword to sever the remaining leg.
The collaborative technique that the two beings executed together now was a new technique devised by Eve, utilizing all the knowledge she had acquired so far.
This technique, thoroughly tailored to the human body and the resonance method, was created by Eve solely to teach Shin Woo.
'To be with him.'
Moreover, the reason this technique was deliberately completed as a collaborative technique was to fight together someday.
Gartin, who had lost all means of resistance, writhed on the ground.