Ch.172Chapter 172. Isolation

Phobia Homer.

I knew him as a Beastman and an enemy of humanity, but nonetheless, he was someone who could exercise judgment and respect his enemies.

I thought I might someday meet him as an adversary, but I believed that even in that moment, we would be able to respect each other.

-Kuooo!! Kuoaaaaaa!!

But somehow this situation…

Why is he appearing in this sanctuary, and moreover, why is he blocking our path as the same kind of monstrosity as those we’ve defeated before?

Were these monstrosities not just humans from this land who transformed for some reason?

Why have even you, who should have no connection to this sanctuary, appeared before me in such a state? Why…

“Hero! It’s dangerous!”

At that moment of admonishment aimed at me as I stood frozen in confusion.

Only then did I regain my senses, strength returning to my body, and I caught sight of the massive forepaw approaching.

Despite his grotesquely distorted body, his speed remained swift.

Yet the pressure from his sheer size created an overwhelming intimidation even without any special abilities.

An attack that sapped the opponent’s fighting spirit just by confronting it. No matter how much strength one had to block it, if swayed by it, reason would be paralyzed and the body would be dismembered in an instant.

-Whirrrr!

But this was an experience my body had gone through countless times over the past six months.

Immediately gathering my courage, I aimed the tip of my spear at his forepaw, channeled my mana into it, and rotated the shaft half a turn.

The forepaw was pushed away by the mana current flowing along that trajectory.

Then came the strike of my spear shaft against his now exposed body.

-Paang!!!

The accompanying mana explosion hit his massive body, but Phobia’s form didn’t get pushed back—it only flinched momentarily.

Damn, withstanding my counterattack with pure mass alone without mana? Is he a monster?

-Krrrr, kahak!

No, judging by the blood he’s coughing up, he’s not completely unharmed.

But the monstrosities I’ve encountered so far all possessed some regenerative abilities.

Such minor internal injuries will surely heal before long.

-Hwoong, kwoong!

As if confirming my guess, a series of forepaw swings followed immediately.

As I repeatedly pushed back those attacks using my spear shaft, my mind was filled only with thoughts of how to overcome the opponent before me.

Whatever the case, I couldn’t afford to lose to a monster that had lost its reason.

What I needed to do now wasn’t to hesitate because of old ties, but to figure out how to defeat a monster physically superior to me.

‘In battle, the difference in physical size is absolute. Even if we can use mana, if the opponent can also use mana, the power gap becomes even wider.’

As Flan taught me, the idea that bigger creatures are slower and clumsier is just fantasy.

If such differences could be easily overcome, humanity wouldn’t have been treated as the weakest in this world, standing on the brink of extinction.

I felt this keenly even as I deflected Phobia’s frenzied charge.

If I failed to deflect an attack even slightly, my neck would be severed in an instant.

‘Some say the strong are easily careless because of their power, but thinking all strong opponents will be careless and show weaknesses is the arrogance of the weak. Betting everything on the expectation that your opponent will act according to your thoughts is something the weak should never do.’

As she said, I couldn’t expect all enemies to act as I hoped.

It would be unreasonable to expect beasts, magical creatures, and now these crazed monstrosities to act like beings with intelligence.

‘So always remember: if you think your opponent is stronger than you, they can overwhelm you with full force at any time.’

The full power of such a strong opponent, exemplifying those teachings, was continuously rushing at me.

Hwoong, hwoong, continuous forepaw strikes from his massive body.

As I deflected those attacks with my spear and moved across the drawbridge, I felt urgency welling up from deep within my heart.

Should I just keep deflecting his power like this?

Shouldn’t I counterattack whenever I see an opening?

‘Never charge in first. If your opponent is stronger than you, they can withstand even if they show an opening, but conversely, if the weaker one exposes a gap and gets caught off guard, everything ends in that moment.’

As I struggled with this dilemma, I began to notice changes in his physical form.

A swelling that started from the split parts of his body soon transformed into tentacle-like protrusions of flesh and bone, beginning to spread around.

-Kwaddeuk!

Sharp, vicious weapons whipped around repeatedly.

If I had tried to counterattack out of impatience, I would have been harmed by those attacks.

But what was even more shocking was that something was about to be fired at me from his gaping front.

The pounding heart and the vortex of organs churning inside it.

And between them, a massive… distortion of mana currents.

-Kwaaaaaaa!!

The moment those currents condensed and fired like a shell, before I could think rationally, my body moved to meet the projectile with my spear shaft.

And in that state, I rotated.

To deflect the force of the collision sideways and to control the flow of that power.

-Whirrrrrrrk!

The violent rotation of my spear trying to neutralize the mana projectile attack.

The afterimage from it formed a complete circle, and I felt the tendons in my arm straining as I tried to control that power.

But it wasn’t over yet.

If I stopped now, the unneutralized recoil would overwhelm me.

‘During combat with an opponent, accept the force generated, control its flow, and instead of releasing it externally, gather it within your body.’

It’s not just about deflecting the enemy’s attacks.

The collision that occurs when deflecting inevitably generates force, and that force is transmitted to the surroundings, leading to phenomena.

What I needed to do was to accept that force as mana, and by converting it into a flow occurring around me, maintain that power without neutralizing it.

The delicate control ability needed for this was already in place.

The spirits in communion with me would control my mana at a level far beyond human perception, according to my will.

‘Next, you need to condense. Control the residual force that wasn’t deflected within your body, and concentrate it at a single point…’

-Kuooooooo!!!!

As I barely succeeded in neutralizing the projectile, Phobia Homer charged at me again.

Tentacles that burst from his distorted body thrashed in all directions, confusing my vision, while the spear in my hand split into two, transforming into twin blades.

-Shririk, shahak!

I struck down the approaching tentacle attacks with my blades, giving them rotation to gather the force steadily without dispersing it.

As the impacts accumulated, my body gradually grew heavier. As that power approached its critical point, the burden on my flesh from accepting such intense mana increased.

But I had to endure. Until the perfect moment to strike the opponent came.

-Krrrr, kaaaaa!!

After such exchanges, a roar followed by a charge.

Recognizing the opportunity in this clearly linear attack, my body immediately rotated, and the spear shaft formed by rejoining my twin blades moved from below to above.

I released part of the gathered power, unleashing a torrent of mana.

-Kwaaa!

The attack was halted by that explosion, exposing his front.

No matter how much an enemy relies on their physical advantage, they can’t withstand an attack that uses their own power against them.

And that means they won’t be able to withstand the ‘fatal attack’ that follows.

‘Remember. The time to counterattack after the exploration phase is not when the opponent shows an opening at the end of exchanges, but when you yourself can control the opponent’s actions to create an opening.’

As she said, successfully creating an opening in the opponent means I can now analyze and control their actions to some extent.

There would be no chance for a counterattack from them.

When such an attempt is made, all that has been condensed from the previous exchanges is ready to be released.

-Pazzzzzzzk!

The fierce current arising from the power gathered to the limit in my body.

When that power accumulated enough to create sparks on its own, my gaze turned precisely to Phobia’s exposed front.

And what would follow was a spear sharper than my eyes.

The ultimate strike pouring out everything gathered from the battle so far.

-Ssaehak!!!

It was fired in the form of a javelin, and soon hit Phobia’s body.

The violent rotation that occurred in that state would surely grind everything around it.

In the past six months, nothing had withstood this fatal blow. Even the ruler of the great forest was killed with one strike. There was no way a mindless monster could withstand this fatal counterattack.

-Kaeu… Aaah!

That’s what I thought until a scream erupted from his mouth.

The spear that should have pierced through his body and advanced only went halfway before stopping in place.

“This is insane…”

The spear that should have ground his body to pieces had stopped in its tracks.

I soon realized why.

The flesh that should have been shredded by the rotation was regenerating, and that regenerative power had even stopped the spear’s advance.

-Kiyaaaaaaaa!!!!

And with the scream that followed, the mana spear was completely shattered.

Though he was spewing blood from every orifice in his body from the impact, Phobia was not dead.

Rather, as if stimulated, the fierce power emanating from his body began to affect the surroundings.

-Jjeojjeok, jjeojjeok!

It didn’t take long to notice where that power originated from.

Frost was forming around us from the moment he screamed, and a cold that made the skin sting was enveloping us.

“Damn, phase two here?”

Whatever the case, if it wasn’t over yet, I had to continue the fight.

As I tried to readjust my posture, I felt my movements gradually being restricted and quickly looked down at my armor.

Frost forming in the seams of my armor.

My expression immediately crumpled as I realized it was hindering my movements.

“This is… damn!”

This was the worst.

Just when precise movement was most important for my technique, the cold was seeping in and restricting such movements.

-Kuoaaaaa!

Damn, I can’t deflect this charge.

Just as I was about to draw mana into my armor to counter with my body…

-Shihak!

A shadow darted in front of me, deflecting Phobia’s forepaw, and a mass of threads wrapped around his body, flinging him in the opposite direction.

Such skill from such a small frame seemed impossible.

I immediately knew who it came from.

“Flan, you…”

“Run.”

Despite my bewilderment, Flan only spoke urgently.

Following her urging, I felt the drawbridge we were standing on shake violently.

-Chalgerang!

One of the chains connecting the drawbridge was about to break.

The drawbridge was far too weak to withstand Phobia’s violent rampage.

-Krrrr, kwaaaa!

Seemingly unaware of this, Phobia prepared to charge again in his frenzied state.

Flan looked at him with pity, but soon turned around and began pushing my back.

“Run!”

If the drawbridge collapsed, further combat would be meaningless.

Finally retrieving my weapon, I turned and fled following Flan’s shout, while she protected my rear, briefly looking back at the pursuing Phobia.

The frost tyrant, his body distorted yet raging madly, chased after us with a fierce blizzard behind him.

And the drawbridge’s collapse accelerated under his charge.

Flan, who had been looking at the monster with pity, soon followed me off the drawbridge.

And with a crash! The chains finally broke and the drawbridge began to collapse.

Phobia, standing on it, could not defy gravity and fell miserably into the raging river below.

The biting frost wind that had been raging until now subsided as if it were a lie.

In the silence that followed, soldiers carefully looked down where he had fallen and cautiously spoke.

“I-is it over?”

“Even if he’s alive, he won’t be able to climb back up. Not after being swept away by that rapid current.”

The height of the cliff was considerable, and the current was so strong it created waves.

Once fallen into what was essentially a natural disaster, it would be impossible to survive even for a monstrosity with immortality.

Even if he were alive, he would be swept away to the sea and never appear before us again.

As we caught our breath with relief, I noticed the expedition members looking at each other tensely.

“That was definitely Phobia Homer, right?”

“So the Beastmen did invade this place. And then something went wrong and they went berserk.”

“Was this rampage caused by the vampires?”

“What kind of situation is this…”

Though we had defeated the formidable Phobia, many questions remained.

That was true for me as well, but the problem was that we couldn’t resolve those questions right away.

“…It’s not over yet.”

The gate beyond the collapsed drawbridge.

Flan, who had turned her gaze forward past that gate, looked down at the city below and spoke in a quiet voice.

It didn’t take long to understand what her words meant.

-Kiyaaaaa!! Kyaoaaaa!

Though shrouded in mist, it was clearly a city befitting the name “sanctuary,” with coexisting ancient formality and holiness.

But the screams of monstrosities could be heard from all around, and bloodstains and flesh greeted us prominently from the entrance.

“…Right, this is just the beginning.”

Though there were many unknowns, one thing was certain.

With the drawbridge collapsed and our retreat cut off, we were now completely isolated within the sanctuary teeming with monstrosities.

****

And, in the sewers beneath the fallen city.

A monstrosity that had entered the sewers, built to process the city’s rainwater and wastewater, repeatedly advanced along a path created through frozen river water.

Its body had been ruined and its reason long consumed by the strange power that spread from the moment it set foot on this land.

“I… absolutely…”

Yet it still had a purpose.

A purpose driven by a single calling deeply engraved beneath the realm of its instincts.

“Ab-so-lute-ly can-not for-give…”

Revenge.

That was the only driving force moving this monstrosity that had returned alive to this deep underground.