Chapter 299: Romania (3) |
An overwhelming presence, emanating from a massive, muscle-bound figure.
“Khehehe…”
Unlike Heinz’s cold and insidious aura, or the Duke’s heavy and oppressive presence, this one stirred a primal fear, a sense of imminent danger, making it impossible to look away.
Like a volcano on the verge of eruption, its power unpredictable and uncontrollable.
“Caution! Don’t engage recklessly.”
“Leave the perimeter to the outer teams! Don’t split our forces!”
“Is that… even human? Or… a demon?”
Vampires, who fed on the blood of living beings, and transcendent beings, who had surpassed their limits, all instinctively recognized it the moment they saw him.
Despite its human form, that creature was not human.
‘What kind of monster is that…?’
A monster.
That was the common thought that crossed their minds.
The beast hide draped over his head like a mask, concealing his face, only amplified that impression.
He looked like a half-human, half-beast demon.
“…Who are you? How did you get in here? …Do you even realize what you’ve just done?”
The Duke, stepping forward, spoke in a low growl, the air thick with tension.
The barbaric intruder had, upon his arrival, critically injured a transcendent member of Heaven’s Turn Society and killed two of Dracul’s vampires.
He was clearly an enemy, but they knew nothing about him, so the Duke wanted to gather some information before engaging him.
‘Why did he attack us? Is he connected to Phantom? Then the one fighting the outer teams… How did he get in here? …I suppose it’s possible he has such an ability. But why did they suddenly appear?’
The Duke’s thoughts were in disarray.
Even Heaven’s Turn Society, a global secret organization with unparalleled intelligence capabilities, had no information on these intruders.
And they had thoroughly investigated Phantom, Heinz.
But.
Harley, the unknown intruder, had no intention of answering his questions.
“Huh? What are you saying? I don’t understand. Speak English!”
He replied in English, feigning ignorance.
Language was no barrier to him, thanks to 「Xenoglossy」, but it was a small prank, a way to conceal his origin and mislead them.
The Duke frowned, about to speak again…
“Well, don’t worry! There’s a universal language called… violence! Khahaha—!”
…But Harley’s boisterous laughter cut him off.
His muscles bulged and twitched.
Creak! Crack—!
A metallic groan, unnatural for a living being, echoed through the air, like the sound of heavy machinery.
Sizzle—
His body flushed red, steam erupting from his pores, and the air around him shimmered from the intense heat.
Crack— Crackle!
His already massive muscles expanded further, his limbs swelling, and sharp claws, like hooks, extended from his fingertips.
A dark red aura, like a heat haze, seeped from beneath the scales covering his body, his “Bio-Aura”, fueled by ‘madness’.
He was the pinnacle of evolution, a being that had transcended its limits through endless growth.
The “Ultimate Evolved Lifeform” itself.
“…What is that?”
“A mutant demon? No, it’s more than that…”
“What a sinister aura. Focus your minds! Don’t be contaminated by it!”
The members of Heaven’s Turn Society instinctively recoiled, as if facing an apex predator.
And then, realizing their instinctive reaction, their faces contorted in shame.
Such a display of fear was humiliating for them, proud and powerful beings.
“Huu…”
But Harley, now over three meters tall, simply exhaled a cloud of steam, his gaze fixed on them, a predatory glint in his eyes.
“Kuhut— Now then…”
His beast-like mask shifted, revealing a row of sharp, shark-like teeth.
And that monstrous jaw, far beyond human proportions, twisted into a sinister grin—.
“…Let the hunt begin! Khahaha!”
—And then, with a burst of savage laughter, he charged forward.
____________________
A shadowy figure stealthily slipped away from the chaotic battlefield and headed towards the outskirts of the forest.
‘I was careless.’
The figure, an assassin dispatched from Heaven’s Turn Society’s Greece branch on Doctor’s orders, composed himself, his mind cold and calculating.
He had narrowly escaped with his life, but the situation wasn’t good.
‘Losing my limbs is a critical disadvantage. I’ve managed to stop the bleeding for now…’
His gaze shifted to his right side.
Where his arm and leg had been torn off, now replaced by jet-black prosthetics.
Artificial limbs, woven from the dark chakra he could manipulate, a temporary measure to restore his mobility.
‘…I didn't expect him to be that strong.’
It had been a mistake to linger nearby, trying to assess the intruder’s abilities.
He hadn't expected him to see through his stealth and tear off his limbs with a casual swipe!
‘I’d like to just leave…’
But he couldn't just abandon his mission, especially in this chaotic situation.
And unlike those monsters who could regenerate their limbs, he, a mere human, needed to prove his worth to Doctor to receive proper treatment later.
‘I’m at a disadvantage against that monster. I’ll support the outer teams and eliminate the other intruder…’
But.
His thoughts were interrupted.
———!
A flash of light, silent and swift, appeared before him, bypassing his weakened senses.
“······!”
A preemptive strike, before he could even react.
‘Damn it…! Another monster…!’
Kaboom—!
And the one who had launched the attack,
Harris, the High Elf summoned from Earth, whistled softly, his body completely assimilated with the forest thanks to skills like 「Natural Body」 and 「Assimilation with Nature」.
‘He dodged at the last moment? Not bad, considering his injuries.’
He held Themis, the bow crafted from a World Tree branch, in one hand and an arrow in the other, his eyes half-closed.
“But I’m not letting you go.”
His emerald eyes, their star-shaped pupils gleaming, activated 「Watcher of the Milky Way」, and the entire forest unfolded before him, its details clearer than any satellite image.
The location and movement of every living being, their energy levels, their skills…
He absorbed all the information, organizing and analyzing it instantly, then aimed his bow at a specific location, drawing the string.
‘Every single one of them is Heaven’s Turn Society’s pawn. I won’t let any of them escape.’
His mission was to eliminate Heaven’s Turn Society’s outer teams, preventing them from interfering with the main battle.
And to maintain his disguise. But with his ability to assimilate with nature, enhanced by 「Gentle Eight Trigrams Secret Art (Modified)」, it wasn’t a problem.
He had already eliminated the support-type awakened individual who had created those creepy eyes, and the transcendent assassin who was most likely to discover his location…
Kaboom—!
…had been reduced to ashes by his attack.
‘That takes care of one. Thanks to Harley marking him, it was easier than I expected.’
He wouldn’t have been able to eliminate a stealthy and agile assassin so easily otherwise.
Having achieved his objective, Harris swiftly and silently moved to a new location.
And immediately after,
Crackle—!
Koooong!
A sniper attack, tearing through space, followed by a barrage of magic spells, bombarded the spot where he had been standing.
It was an attack from Heaven’s Turn Society’s outer teams, who were still putting up a fierce resistance despite their dwindling numbers.
‘Destroying nature like this… They deserve to be punished.’
Harris frowned, glancing at the devastated landscape.
As a guardian of the forest, he couldn’t tolerate such wanton destruction.
He summoned his spirits and drew his bowstring.
…Of course, the one most deserving of punishment for environmental destruction was… someone else, but he consciously ignored that thought.
At the center of the battlefield,
Kaboom!
A fist, wreathed in dark red energy, clashed head-on with a hammer imbued with aura.
“Khahaha! Ah, this is good! Very good!”
“Hrrrragh!”
A powerful shockwave rippled outwards from the collision, accompanied by a manic laughter.
And the result of that clash was clear.
“Gah! You monster!”
The massive warrior, who had seemed confident in his strength, was thrown back, his body flying through the air.
But that wasn’t the end of his troubles.
Having lost his balance, he desperately tried to deflect the giant hand that was reaching for his face.
Clang—!
A jarring metallic sound echoed through the air as his hammer collided with the giant hand.
And in that brief opening, his companions rushed forward, barely managing to rescue him from the imminent danger.
“Don’t engage him directly! We have to wear him down…!”
“Do you really think that’ll work against a monster like that?!”
“It’s our best option! Just focus on surviving…”
It was like a raid boss battle.
The problem was that the boss was intelligent and skilled in martial arts.
“Khaha! Come on, friends! Let’s play some more!”
A monster, wielding human martial arts techniques, rampaged through the battlefield, and the desperate cries of those trying to subdue it echoed through the air.
“Whew— That’s better. Duke, we have unfinished business, don’t we? Let’s finish it.”
“…Phantom!”
Heinz, observing the chaos from a distance, spoke casually.
His gaze, cool and appraising, swept over his opponent.
Like an expert evaluating a piece of merchandise.
____________________
Inside a building in Bucharest.
Crash—! Clatter!
Doctor jumped to his feet, sending the snacks on the table flying, the room descending into chaos.
But he didn’t care.
He didn’t have the time to be bothered by such trivial matters.
“What… What is that…?”
He stared at the holographic image, his voice barely a whisper, his mind seemingly blank.
But he knew what it was.
He couldn't not know.
“Could it be…? No, that’s impossible…”
The Complete Evolution Project.
A project he had conceived and drafted about ten years ago, after encountering the ‘Predator Dragon’s Blood’ from the Lauveda dimension, a world inhabited by countless dragon species and dragon hunters.
Wasn't that the very reason he had orchestrated Heinz's capture?
“Ahhhhh—! That’s definitely…!”
It wasn’t just a simple chimera, a crude combination of different species.
It was a project to create the ultimate lifeform, a being capable of endless evolution by constantly acquiring superior genes.
“But… that…”
But no matter how hard he tried to be objective, he, the possessor of 「Eye of Truth」, could see it clearly.
“…Why is that there?!”
‘That’ was undeniably a creature created based on his research.