Chapter 398: Host Navigation |
Rapolai was bewildered.
Not only had he been trapped in a space-time rift, but he also encountered a crazed human wielding a scythe.
And that human was spouting nonsense.
“Rapolai. That’s your name, isn’t it?”
“.......”
“Answer me. I know you understand. By parasitizing humans, you’ve already learned Korean, right? And while we’re at it, can you take on a human form instead of staying in that liquid state?”
Internally shocked, Rapolai transformed into a black human figure.
The human smiled, seemingly satisfied.
“That’s better. Now we’re on the same level.”
“There are ways to know everything.”
“So, you’re the one who dragged me into this space-time rift?”
“Who else could it be?”
“What are you? How can a human possess this kind of power...?”
“I’m not human.”
The figure, who appeared human, continued.
“I am the God of Time, Cronos. I brought you here because I have a proposal for you.”
Ryu Min lied without hesitation.
There was no reason not to, given how well it had worked when deceiving Boluak previously.
However...
“God of Time? Don’t make me laugh.”
This time, his opponent wasn’t easily fooled.
“The only true god in this world is the god of dimensions, Deorant. He is the only true god, and all other gods are false, useless, and trash.”
His faith in Deorant was deep.
“And now you’re talking about a God of Time? That god doesn’t exist, and I refuse to believe such a thing exists!”
“You can’t believe it even though you’re trapped in a space-time rift?”
“No. I don’t believe you. And I’m not interested in chatting with you. So, drop this barrier while I’m still asking nicely.”
He was now making threats.
Ryu Min couldn’t help but laugh.
“You must be stupid... but I have to admit you’re brave.”
“Have you gone mad? Drop this now.”
“And if I don’t? What can you do?”
“I’ll kill you, human!”
Rapolai radiated intense bloodlust, but to Ryu Min, it was simply ridiculous.
It was like a prisoner yelling at their jailer.
“What a fool. He’ll be easy to manipulate.”
Ryu Min, who had already eradicated Seeds and Hosts and saved a timeline, wouldn’t be intimidated by such threats.
“Go ahead and try.”
“I’ll do it!”
Rapolai’s bravado lasted exactly ten minutes.
“Hah, hah...”
During those ten minutes, he used every possible method and means, but none of his attacks had any effect.
“Is it my turn now?”
Ryu Min’s body vanished in an instant.
Appearing above Rapolai’s head, Ryu Min swung his scythe fiercely.
Even though Rapolai’s black form was sliced in half, he smiled.
‘Fool. I’m liquid, physical attacks don’t affect me...’
But the intense pain that followed made Rapolai scream.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Does it hurt?”
Ryu Min, who had restored Rapolai to his original form, slashed him again.
“Ahhhh!”
“It hurts, doesn’t it? My scythe cuts even the soul.”
Barely recovering, Ryu Min slashed him again, this time at the waist.
Then he split his head, chopped off his arms and legs, and slashed his neck once more.
He diced his entire body as if chopping vegetables.
Each time he did, Rapolai screamed in agony.
“Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh!”
Each cut made his voice rise even higher.
‘This must be a new experience for him. The sensation of pain.’
Seeds, born as the strongest beings, do not know pain.
Having lived as flowers in a greenhouse, considering themselves noble, it couldn’t be otherwise.
“Ugh, ugh...”
Rapolai, who had been sliced up nearly to death, was in a pitiful state.
Shattered into more than 200 fragments, he couldn’t even recover, showing no intention of resistance.
“Rapolai. Are you ready to listen to me now?”
“Ugh...”
“Do I need to cut you more for you to understand?”
“No, no... I’m ready to listen...”
He looked at Rapolai, whose mind was so broken that he could barely speak, with satisfaction.
He was worried that torture might not work, but it turned out his will was weaker than expected.
“As I said, I’m the God of Time. I descended to Earth in a human body to eliminate the threat of the Hosts. Do you believe me?”
“Y-Yes, I believe you, I believe you.”
“Good attitude. If you had believed me from the start, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much, would you?”
“That’s true.”
“In any case, Hosts are beings that defy the laws of time. I have a duty to eliminate them. But I can’t determine their locations. That’s where you come in.”
“H-How can I help? Just tell me what you want me to do!”
His attitude had completely changed from when they first met, and he was now eager to cooperate.
“You will be my Host navigator.”
“Huh? Navigator...?”
“You’ll be in charge of locating the Hosts. I need to eliminate them.”
“Ah...”
“Don’t worry. Once I’ve wiped out all the Hosts on this Earth, my mission will be complete. Then I’ll set you free.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Why would I lie?”
Naturally, this was a lie.
If he mentioned that he’d also eliminate the Seeds, Rapolai might refuse to cooperate.
If he knew his life was in danger, he’d look for another way to save himself.
“In exchange for guiding me, you can absorb all the bodies of the Hosts we take down.”
“I understand.”
He seemed satisfied with the offer.
‘He’s definitely a fool.’
I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to ask everything I was curious about.
He seemed willing to answer anything.
“How many Hosts were sent to this world?”
“Including the one you killed here, there are 300.”
“Are they spread out one in each country?”
“I suppose so.”
“And how many Seeds are there?”
“That information... I don’t know... I swear! I really don’t know!”
“Who’s accusing you of lying?”
Although the Host seemed frightened and shouted, I could tell he was telling the truth.
‘If there are 300 Hosts, they probably sent 12 Seeds, like in the previous timeline.’
Now that I had a Host navigator, I had to start eliminating them as soon as possible.
“I see the researchers have left. I’ll break the barrier, absorb the Host, and then get out of the building. Understood?”
“Y-Yes...”
When the space-time rift dissipated, the surroundings changed.
Just as Ryu Min said, the researchers were not present, likely taking a break.
“Absorb it.”
“Yes.”
Rapolai reached out to the Host’s corpse on the autopsy table.
Glu-glu-glu-
The black liquid emanated from the body, completely absorbed into Rapolai’s palm, leaving only the empty shell of Song Min-hyuk.
When the researchers returned, they would be utterly devastated.
“Now that you’re done, guide.”
“To where?”
“To the nearest Host.”
—————–
With Rapolai, Ryu Min traveled across the globe.
From Japan to North Korea, Mongolia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
They visited every country one by one.
Although “visit” isn’t quite the right word—these were raids.
‘Who would care about crossing borders when it comes to eliminating monsters?’
The leaders of each nation should be grateful to Ryu Min.
Though no one really knew what was happening.
Fzzzzzz!
“Kyaaak!”
Giving a curt order to the charred Host’s corpse, Ryu Min spoke.
“Absorb it.”
“Y-Yes...”
Rapolai reached out to the dead Host, who hadn’t been able to put up any resistance.
Seeing them die without even being able to fight back, one couldn’t help but feel pity for them.
‘This is the fifteenth one. Does the God of Time really plan to wipe out all 300 Hosts?’
Even though he could feel himself growing stronger with each absorption, Rapolai didn’t feel entirely comfortable.
It felt like he was plucking sprouts that hadn’t fully matured yet.
“What are you thinking?”
“N-Nothing.”
“Stop thinking nonsense and guide us to the next Host.”
“Y-Yes, it’s that way. Let’s go.”
As Rapolai, maintaining his black form, flew through the air, Ryu Min followed with a tired gaze.
‘He’s starting to doubt his own actions.’
The same thing happened when he used Boluak as a guide.
At first, he followed orders well, but over time he began to question whether he was truly doing the right thing.
‘But with my backing, he’ll have no choice but to keep eliminating them.’
In the end, Boluak had also greatly contributed to eliminating the Hosts before he died.
Rapolai here would meet the same fate.
‘But the pace is too slow.’
Beyond the annoyance of having to visit each country, the progress was simply too slow.
Since Earth isn’t linear, he had to backtrack through already-traveled paths, wasting time and resources.
Flying through the sky, they moved from place to place.
‘Currently, 285 Hosts remain. To eliminate them all...’
It would take at least two full days.
‘Right now, many innocent people are suffering at the hands of the Hosts. I need to speed up the hunt.’
But no matter how fast he was, it wasn’t enough.
Rapolai, the guide, was too slow.
‘Even faster than an airplane, this isn’t enough to reduce the damage.’
Isn’t there a way to capture the Hosts more quickly?
While Ryu Min pondered, a brilliant idea struck him.
‘That’s it.’
He smiled as his eyes met Rapolai’s.
“Stop for a moment.”
Rapolai, with a worried expression, asked as he came to a halt.
“Why... why? Is something wrong?”
“This isn’t working. When do you plan to capture all 300?”
“But there’s no other way, is there?”
“Who said there isn’t? Yes, there is.”
“W-What...? What way...?”
“You, can you communicate telepathically with other Seeds?”
“Yes, but... are you asking me to locate other Seeds? I can’t find them. I can only communicate telepathically, but I can’t locate them...”
“Who asked you to find them? Are you always jumping to conclusions?”
“T-Then why...?”
“Rapolai.”
Ryu Min asked seriously.
“Do you know how to act?”