Chapter 400: Purge Time |
The Seeds are the key to the world’s collapse.
If they absorb Hosts and continue growing until reaching a certain threshold, the Seed will sprout and finally gain the power to destroy the world.
However, this is only possible if they have accumulated enough bioenergy.
“We’ve captured all the Hosts in this area.”
“It seems like we’ve eliminated them all here as well since no presence is detected.”
For the Seeds, absorbing Hosts that haven’t accumulated energy is completely useless.
It’s like a master firing their servant and taking on all the hard work themselves.
The Seeds were not unaware of this.
Thus, they couldn’t help but feel reluctant.
“There was no other choice, right? If we wanted to prevent that traitor, Rapolai, from growing any further.”
“That’s right. It’s better to take the prey from that bastard than to let him swallow them all.”
“Besides, wasn’t it the leader who suggested this idea? What’s there to question?”
“Of course, without a doubt.”
Although the Seeds displayed telepathic confidence in their leader, Azrakan, he himself had serious doubts about this operation.
“Was it really the right decision to eliminate all the Hosts in the world?”
Since the elimination was already done, regret was pointless, but a lingering sense of guilt remained.
He couldn’t stop questioning whether it had been the right decision.
“It’s too late for regrets. There was no other choice, right?”
If they hadn’t eliminated them, the traitor Rapolai would have absorbed them.
It was better to share the prey among themselves than let another devour it completely.
This was how Azrakan rationalized his action of ruining the harvest.
“Now that we’ve eliminated the Hosts, that bastard can’t grow anymore. Let’s proceed with the next plan.”
“What’s the next plan?”
“Eliminate the traitor.”
With his growth halted, all that was left was to take revenge on him.
“I know Rapolai’s location. Gather everyone and let’s eliminate him together.”
“That sounds good!”
“I’ve been waiting for this order!”
“Let’s show him the fate of a traitor!”
Though they couldn’t be seen, all the Seeds displayed unanimous fury toward Rapolai.
How could he betray them and seek attention for himself when they should be working together?
They were eager to kill Rapolai as soon as possible.
“I’ll tell you Rapolai’s location, gather at the spot I’ll indicate...”
“Wait a moment!”
A Seed interrupted.
“I can sense his frequency nearby.”
“What? Who?”
“Rapolai! He seems to be very close to me.”
Everyone remembered Rapolai’s frequency from the previous telepathic contact.
“Is he crazy, showing his frequency instead of hiding it?”
“Is this a provocation?”
“I can’t wait any longer. I’ll go teach him a lesson first.”
“Hey, wait...”
“Stay calm. I’ll handle it and inform you of the result.”
“Hey! Wait!”
The Seed’s frequency vanished.
It had gone straight toward Rapolai’s frequency to confront him.
But it never returned.
“His presence... has disappeared.”
“What do you mean, leader?”
“Are you referring to the Seed that went after Rapolai?”
“Yes. His name was Rafael. After contacting Rapolai, his signal vanished. The meaning is obvious.”
“You mean...?”
“Yes. He’s dead. Rapolai killed him.”
Azrakan reported his death without emotion.
For the other Seeds, it was a shock.
This only fueled their anger.
“That damned traitor!”
“Killing a Seed! That crosses the line!”
“He’s the one who declared he would devour all the Hosts. The line was crossed long ago.”
“Leader, tell us his location! We’ll avenge Rafael!”
“Hmm...”
Azrakan’s original plan was to gather all 10 Seeds, excluding himself, to attack Rapolai together.
But with one Seed dead, the situation had changed.
They were eager to take revenge immediately.
“Calm your minds and think rationally. If you attack alone, you could end up like Rafael. It’s better if we gather...”
“If one isn’t enough, we’ll attack in a group.”
“Right, Azrakan? Why don’t you send several Seeds nearby?”
“Exactly! You can track all the Seeds’ locations!”
“Tell us who’s near Rapolai to attack him now!”
Azrakan wanted to be cautious, but with everyone clamoring for revenge, he had no choice.
“Alright. The Seeds closest to Rapolai are Halok, Valenska, and Ahiros.”
“Perfect. Three should be enough.”
“We three will attack him.”
“Just tell us the location.”
Azrakan, with a sense of unease, gave them the information.
“The current location is...”
But soon, he would regret his decision.
The outcome was entirely different from what he expected.
“This is...”
“What’s happening, leader?”
“I just confirmed that the three met with Rapolai. But their signals have been cut off.”
“What?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means three were defeated by one...”
The shock left the Seeds speechless for a moment.
“Is Rapolai that strong?”
“He originally had 15 Hosts.”
“But we’ve also absorbed plenty of Hosts. How...?”
“Were three not enough?”
Now, only seven Seeds remained, excluding Rapolai.
They couldn’t afford any more losses.
“We’ve underestimated Rapolai. It’s my fault. As the leader, I shouldn’t have revealed his location...”
Azrakan also blamed himself.
He hadn’t anticipated things would go this wrong.
“We must unite the seven of us and face him together. Do you all agree?”
“Hmm, agreed.”
“It seems we have no other choice.”
Just when everyone agreed to unite and attack, a voice interrupted them.
“What are you discussing without me?”
“...!”
“Ra, Rapolai...”
Suddenly, Rapolai joined the telepathic conversation.
“So you’re whispering among yourselves and leaving me out? This is a bit disappointing.”
“You damn psycho!”
“Are you the one who killed our comrades...?”
The Seeds couldn’t hold back their anger. It was as if the murderer had appeared before the victims’ families.
Rapolai’s malevolent laughter echoed through the telepathy.
“Hehehe, comrades, my ass. Everyone was competing to devour Hosts.”
“It wasn’t a competition; it was to stop you...”
“Stop giving ridiculous excuses. All of you prepare to die. If you have the guts, come at me all together. I’ll face you all, hehe.”
After launching a massive provocation, Rapolai cut his signal. The Seeds’ fury reached its peak.
“That bastard shouldn’t be allowed to live!”
“Leader, tell us where he is! I won’t be able to live in peace until I kill him!”
“Yes! With how confident he is, we need to show him the power of all seven together!”
They were all eager to kill Rapolai. Although Azrakan originally planned to gather everyone to face him, there were no objections to doing so now.
However...
“This is strange. Why is he so confident?”
Azrakan, being a good leader, began to suspect. Rapolai had only consumed about 40 Hosts. Each Seed had absorbed more than 20 Hosts, so it was natural that three Seeds should have been able to defeat him. Yet the unexpected result was Rapolai’s victory.
“Even if he won in a one-to-three ratio, he couldn’t defeat all seven together.”
The seven attacking together couldn’t lose. Rapolai should know this too.
“Then why provoke us like this...?”
There were two possibilities: either he was truly confident of winning, or he was bluffing, hoping that out of pride, only a few would go to face him so he could defeat them one by one.
Azrakan believed the second option was more likely.
“If he’s provoking us to send only a small group, he’ll defeat them one by one.”
If that were the case, then attacking with all seven would be the best option. Rationally thinking, that was the most logical decision.
“But why do I have this uneasy feeling...?”
He wanted to think it over more carefully, but there was no time.
“What’s wrong, Azrakan?”
“Let’s go kill him already!”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
The Seeds urged him to hurry.
“Alright. Everyone gather at the point I mentioned.”
——————-
Rapolai, who had participated in the telepathic conversation and launched the provocation, was trembling at that moment.
“You... you’re going to protect me, right?”
It was because of a human with a scythe hanging on his back.
But that human didn’t seem to notice who was trembling in fear.
“Why are you trembling? I’m going to protect you anyway. Didn’t you see how I killed the Seeds earlier?”
“Yes, I saw.”
“If dozens come, I’ll protect you. So don’t worry.”
He wasn’t worried. He had seen how the Seeds were turned to ashes with a single strike, so how could he not feel at ease?
“My concern is whether he’ll let me live in the end. That’s the most important thing for me.”
Though the God of Time had promised to let him go if he captured Hosts, he asked for one last favor.
“Leave your signal frequency as you move. That way, you’ll attract other Seeds.”
When a Seed named Rafael fell into the trap, the God of Time killed him mercilessly.
Then, three more Seeds came for revenge and were also eliminated.
“Why is he killing Seeds? He said he would only deal with the Hosts...”
Rapolai wanted to ask, but fear held him back.
“Don’t worry. I’ll let you live for old times’ sake.”
“Thank you.”
“So just relax and wait. They’ll come to you.”
With hopes of surviving, Rapolai waited for the Seeds to arrive.
And just as the God of Time had predicted...
“Bingo.”
His comrades appeared.
Ryu Min smiled as he watched the Seeds approach.
“There he is! The traitor!”
“Rapolai, damn you!”
“But who is that with him?”
The Seeds were puzzled to see a human near Rapolai.
“Does he have wings on his back?”
“A demon?”
“His skin color is different.”
“Whatever he is, let’s kill him!”
“Rapolai, your time is up!”
The Seeds charged toward Rapolai, but Ryu Min frowned.
“One, two, three, four, five, six... One is missing.”
He expected to see seven, but only six had shown up. Reading their thoughts, he quickly figured out who was absent.
“The leader, Azrakan. He didn’t come.”
It seemed Azrakan was suspicious and had only sent the others.
“Clever guy.”
Ryu Min decided that, although he couldn’t handle all of them at once, he needed to eliminate those who were present.
When the Seeds were within range...
“Rune of Lightning. Wide-Area Emission.”
A high-voltage current surged and trapped all the Seeds within a 30-meter radius.
Rapolai included.