Ch.46Chapter 46 – Beast

“The culprit.”

That’s what Rich had clearly said.

That this incident wasn’t his doing.

Of course, whether one should trust the words of an entity like the Undead King was questionable, but it didn’t feel right to ignore them either.

“I’ll know when I get there.”

Fortunately, the path was straightforward, so I didn’t get lost and quickly reached my destination.

And upon arrival, I saw something massive.

“That’s…”

It was a jewel.

The same jewel I had seen embedded in the golems’ bodies.

And the same jewel I had seen in the mine before.

But the size was different.

It was enormous.

And it was floating in the air, emitting an ominous light.

Mine, Great Purge, Cemetery.

I unconsciously listed the words that came to mind.

A jewel observed at sites where massive monster outbreaks occurred.

“Could that jewel be attracting monsters?”

That was the first possibility that came to mind.

Come to think of it, there were more undead in the cemetery than the cemetery itself could account for.

As if they had been drawn in from all around.

The mine, too, had no reason to house so many monsters, yet the situation escalated to a Great Purge.

And the fact that such jewels were found on the golems suggested they might even be able to control those golems.

‘Was that lich right?’

I slowly approached the jewel.

If this jewel was the cause, destroying it might at least prevent more undead from appearing.

‘Let’s just break it and see.’

Perhaps breaking it could cause more problems, but I couldn’t just leave it alone.

I don’t know how to stop it anyway. Breaking it will cause some change, whatever happens.

I was about to draw my greatsword to destroy it when—

If not for the heavy sound cutting through the air, I would have done so.

I quickly jumped backward.

A massive halberd struck the ground, slightly damaging the spot where I had been standing.

It was clearly an attack aimed at me.

I immediately focused.

Trying to detect whoever had ambushed me.

Then something charged at me from the ground.

I swiftly swung my greatsword to cut down the approaching object.

“What the—?”

I felt a heavy weight on my greatsword.

Looking at it, I saw a small figure stomping on my blade.

“What is this now?”

I had swung immediately, but somehow it had mounted my greatsword instead.

I almost let out a bitter laugh when the creature jumped off my sword.

Then it launched a kick at me.

I extended my arm to block the kick and threw the creature away.

Then I heard something charging from behind.

I quickly turned my body sideways.

A lance that seemed designed for mounted combat grazed past where my waist had been.

-Whoosh!

At the sound of air being cut, I rolled backward.

The massive halberd that had been thrown earlier smashed the ground where I had been standing.

Dust rose slightly, then settled.

“…Well, I thought I’d see you somewhere.”

Though I didn’t expect it to be here.

I dusted myself off and faced forward.

Staring directly at my attackers.

They wore bright red armor.

Their helmets completely covered their faces.

The face guards, shaped like human faces, looked menacing.

Their builds were all different.

Each had two swords strapped to one side of their waist.

As I stood up and pointed my greatsword, they pointed their weapons back.

“I’ve been wanting to see you, you bastards.”

We entered a standoff with the test subjects.

But why would they appear here?

‘Could that insane cult be behind all of this?’

Just as I had that suspicion—

-Clap clap clap

I heard applause from behind me.

I turned my head slightly to check.

A priest wearing a mask that covered half his face was standing there.

“Surprise.”

The priest smiled.

I kept my eyes on the three in front while looking at the priest.

“You move well. Must be quite the adventurer?”

“Who the hell are you?”

I snapped at the priest.

“…Hudson.”

The priest spoke with hostility.

“Priest Hudson, servant of the great Emiris.”

The man introduced himself.

“And those are members of the Red Holy Knight Order.”

The man proudly spread his arms and pointed at me.

“They’re not people you should dare to oppose so casually.”

His proud explanation was almost laughable.

But I felt something off about his description.

‘…It seems he doesn’t know who I am.’

If he knew I was a test subject, there would be no reason to introduce them like that.

There’s only one conclusion: he doesn’t yet know that I was one of their test subjects.

“What is that?”

I asked, pointing at the jewel, and Hudson opened his mouth.

“Do you think you deserve to know?”

“I saw a similar jewel in the mine.”

When I said that, Hudson’s mouth closed.

“That jewel, does it attract monsters?”

Hudson’s arms trembled.

Judging by that reaction, I seemed to be right.

Those adventurers who attacked the mine.

The one who quickly self-destructed after seeing the jewel.

I could understand at least why he self-destructed.

“…I can’t believe the recovery team failed.”

Hudson scratched his head.

He frantically scratched and clutched at his hair.

“Aaaah, these damn fools, failure, if it gets out, it’s a failure. Why, why, why?”

“Hey.”

“No, I don’t want to be punished again. It hurts, it hurts, it still hurts.”

Is he out of his mind?

Hudson, who had been frantically tearing at his hair, looked up.

“You, yes, if I eliminate you first—”

Blood vessels appeared in Hudson’s eyes.

His eyes were trembling.

His arms were trembling.

He’s afraid of something.

“…Kill him!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the three test subjects charged at me.

Swinging the halberd, thrusting the spear, and drawing what looked like claws—all aimed at me.

‘No need to hold back.’

They’re already puppets of the enemy.

If I hesitate because they’re the same as me, my life will be in greater danger.

I moved my greatsword to deflect the halberd and spear.

The small one with claws charged through the gap.

“Unfortunately, you’re too small!”

Before it could swing its claws, I grabbed its head and threw it.

Regrettably, it regained its posture in mid-air and landed properly, but I kicked it in the stomach and sent it flying.

Then immediately, the spear and halberd came at me from behind, and I twisted my body to avoid them.

Their weapons clashed and deflected off each other.

After several exchanges, I could be certain.

‘If it were just one, I’d definitely win.’

Thanks to training with Ludger?

My body moved more smoothly and naturally than I thought it would.

In contrast, my opponents’ movements were somewhat jerky and slow.

If it had been just one opponent, I was confident I could dispatch them more quickly than expected.

It had been just under a week, but I could tell that sparring with Ludger had made me at least a little stronger.

The problem was that there were unfairly three enemies.

The one with the halberd tried to engage me head-on, while the one with the spear circled around looking for an opening.

And the small one would target my back whenever I focused on the other two.

I couldn’t devote time to just one opponent.

I was confident I could take one down with enough time, but the other two would exploit any lapse in my guard.

I had indeed become stronger, but not enough to overcome a numerical disadvantage against opponents of similar skill.

‘Dragging this out is disadvantageous.’

Physically, I’ll eventually reach my limit.

I needed to overcome the numerical disadvantage before then.

I needed to catch them off guard.

While swinging my greatsword, I threw it.

The enemy with the halberd dropped it while trying to block my greatsword.

I seized the halberd, swung it once to fend off the one with claws, then kicked my grounded greatsword toward the one with the spear before jumping back.

“What? What kind of movement is that…?”

I heard Hudson’s confused voice.

Ignoring him, I swung the halberd around.

I deflected the one who had lost his halberd and was now charging with a sword, then sent the small one flying as it approached.

“…Against those test subjects, almost the same speed and strength.”

I could hear Hudson muttering behind me.

“And weapon throwing. Yes. That’s right. Yes, yes, yes.”

Soon Hudson looked at me.

He formed a hand sign, and something like light flew toward me.

‘What is this?’

It didn’t seem like an attack, but I dodged slightly.

However, it must have grazed me because the light turned red.

Then it disappeared.

Nothing happened.

While I was momentarily confused—

“Kik, kik kik, kik kik kik kik!!!!!”

Hudson suddenly started laughing maniacally.

“Finally, finally found you, you damned bastard!”

Hudson laughed with joy.

“It’s you, you’re Number 13!”

Hudson began laughing hysterically.

‘Was that some kind of detection spell?’

While I was wondering about that light, Hudson laughed.

“Don’t you know, Number 13? No, of course you wouldn’t!”

And he started answering himself.

“You all have one thing in common in your bodies. If we find that, we can track you down anytime, anywhere. We can find you!”

“What is it, you bastard?”

I said while swinging the halberd to knock down the one with claws.

But he didn’t seem inclined to answer normally.

“That one, if we capture that bastard, at least, my face, my face can be saved, I don’t like pain. So, so…”

Perhaps because he was contorting his face so much.

His mask fell off.

‘That’s…’

Hudson’s face was grotesquely distorted.

It was disfigured by burns, similar to mine.

“Capture that bastard right now!!!!!!!!!!”

Hudson shouted with all his might, and the three test subjects charged at me again.

I raised the halberd to deflect a sword and swung it toward the one with the spear.

Soon the spear-wielder tried to block the halberd.

But I slightly lifted the halberd to disrupt the spear-wielder’s stance and then swung the halberd targeting their abdomen.

-Clang!

“…Damn it.”

Was I lacking strength?

The halberd clearly hit the abdomen but didn’t cut through.

Clicking my tongue at how sturdy the armor was, I kicked the enemy away.

‘At least the blade didn’t break.’

Relieved that the halberd’s blade hadn’t broken, I swung the weapon again.

While fending off the enemies, the one with claws used its small stature to attack from behind.

I quickly tried to block with my arm guard, but it immediately split.

I immediately struck down the one with claws using the halberd.

‘This isn’t going well.’

The difference in armor quality was more significant than I thought.

I remembered the holy knight and the black robes.

The holy knight who was in danger due to insufficient armor, and the black robes moving as one.

Even if I could definitely win against one, they were starting to close the gap with their numerical and armor advantages.

Still, I could somehow maintain the exchange of attacks.

In other words, they needed such advantages just to fight me on almost equal terms.

Soon we separated and pointed our weapons at each other.

“Damn it.”

I cursed softly as I took my stance.

‘My armor is in terrible shape.’

After blocking unavoidable attacks with my armor several times, it was now punctured or broken in many places.

The bag around my waist, the bow and quiver on my back—all had fallen to the ground from enemy attacks.

Fortunately, I hadn’t taken any direct hits. No major injuries.

I could still fight.

“Holding up well, aren’t you, Number 13?”

I heard Hudson laughing from behind.

But I had no time to pay attention to that.

I focused as I saw them charging at me again.

‘Christina said there would be a price…’

But I have no choice now.

If I die here, it’s all for nothing.

Like when I fought the holy knight, centipede, and golem, I try to draw out the heat from my body.

Thinking about it now, this ability had only activated in one-on-one situations.

Still, it’s the only way to turn this situation around.

I tried to focus despite my chaotic mind.

Soon my body started to heat up as if burning something.

‘It worked.’

As I became aware of smoke starting to rise, I swung my fist at the approaching enemy.

-Thud!

The opponent who was charging with a spear couldn’t respond to my faster and stronger fist and took a hit to the face.

Taking advantage of the momentary hesitation, I swung the halberd widely.

The halberd cut through the smoke emanating from my body and sliced through the opponent’s armor along with the spear.

The opponent’s helmet split in half, and the armor cracked.

A familiar woman with long black hair appeared from within.

‘The one whose bones I broke…’

The woman whose bones I had broken before escaping—I didn’t expect to see her here again.

Perhaps remembering her grudge from that time, she contorted her face, jumped back, and drew her sword.

Meanwhile, I swung the halberd to repel the two who were trying to attack from behind.

‘That’s enough.’

My specs now exceeded the enemy’s.

The situation that had barely been maintained now tilted in my favor.

I raised the halberd and swung it.

I was about to cut down the one with claws when—

“No, no. That won’t do.”

Hudson muttered.

“Use all your power now, you fools!”

-Clang!

Smoke began to rise from the one who had blocked my halberd with claws.

“What…”

-Swoosh!

At the sound of something being swung, I immediately rolled to the side.

The three approached me with their weapons pointed, enveloped in smoke.

“What you can do—”

Hudson said quietly.

“Of course they can do it too.”

I glared at Hudson.

“…Right, I didn’t expect you could use it on your own.”

“Do you know what this is?”

I spoke with difficulty, perhaps due to the heat in my body.

Hudson smiled and said:

“I know. Of course I do. Who do you think tampered with your bodies?”

Hudson slowly stood behind the test subjects.

“That’s possible because of that heart.”

“Heart?”

I unconsciously touched my chest with one hand.

Of course, I couldn’t feel anything through the solid armor.

“Ah, you wouldn’t know. It would be more serious if you did.”

Hudson laughed mockingly.

“Why are you laughing?”

That laugh was so unpleasant.

A irritated question came from my mouth, and Hudson began to answer quietly.

“I just remembered how much fun I had with my colleagues back then.”

“What are you talking about?”

I swung the halberd as I spoke.

But the three test subjects simply blocked my halberd with their weapons.

Hudson opened his mouth.

“It was really fascinating how otherworlders’ internal organs are so similar to ours.”

Suddenly Hudson looked at me.

“Did you notice, by any chance?”

“Notice what?”

Hudson started mocking me again.

“That we replaced your internal organs, parts here and there.”

In that moment, everything I had been thinking vanished from my mind.

“What did you do to my body?!!!”

I shouted involuntarily and charged.

I swung the halberd widely, forcibly breaking their stance.

“Calm down, you can’t reverse it now anyway!”

“Shut up!”

I saw Hudson reaching into his robe.

I tried to punch Hudson.

-Bang!

“What the hell is this now!”

An unknown light appeared in front of Hudson.

I swung the halberd to break through the light.

-Bang!

-Bang!!

“It’s useless! Do you think we wouldn’t have countermeasures after a madman like you escaped?”

“You bastard!”

Hudson laughed.

I swung the halberd wildly.

The heat in my body was still sufficient.

I should be able to break through this too.

“And that power, you should stop using it soon!”

“Then shut up and come out, you bastard!”

I struck again and again.

As long as I have this heat, I can surely break through.

“That power shortens your lifespan the more you use it!”

Hudson laughed loudly.

My body stopped involuntarily.

“What?”

“It puts strain on your heart, naturally.”

My body started to cool down.

“What are you saying?”

“What do you think?”

Hudson laughed.

“If you keep using it, you’ll die.”

“What the hell did you people do to a human body!”

I tried to swing the halberd to break the barrier.

But perhaps due to my concentration being disrupted by Hudson’s words earlier—

The heat in my body had already disappeared.

-Bang.

A weaker sound than before.

-Stab!

And pain shot through my side.

“Ugh…”

Turning my face, I saw a sword protruding from my side.

With smoke, another one had pierced my side.

As I tried to grab the sword while bleeding, it happened.

-Thud!

This time, the woman from earlier kicked me in the head.

My body flew back helplessly.

As I flew, the sword in my side was pulled out, and blood began to pour.

Dark red blood soaked the ground.

“Human, you say?”

Hudson approached, laughing.

That barrier was still deployed.

“Why do you think you’re human?”

He began looking down at me.

“You’re a beast.”

“…What?”

What nonsense is this?

“Why should we treat otherworld heathens as humans?”

At his gesture, the three test subjects lined up behind him.

“Such heathens are merely tools and beasts for our Holy Kingdom.”

This bastard.

“Come to think of it, it’s convenient, isn’t it? That world is full of beasts like you, tools like you.”

How dare he view people like this.

“With enough materials and time, we can use as many as we want. It’s like having a treasure trove.”

My consciousness began to fade.

Did I lose too much blood?

“Time to go home, Number 13.”

Hudson spread his hand.

Soon the other three kicked my body.

‘Damn them.’

Despite saying such things openly, the test subjects showed no reaction.

I wondered meaninglessly whether such an existence could even be considered alive.

‘My consciousness…’

Perhaps due to blood loss, my mind was hazy.

And I could see the black-haired female test subject reaching out to me.

Is it all over?

My eyes were about to close.

-Swish!

Blood splattered.

I barely turned my head to look at where the blood had sprayed.

‘What…’

An arrow was embedded in the black-haired woman’s body.