episode_0151

Long ago, in a grimy alley in Rustroom, lived an unremarkable unawakened man. He dreamed of success, but reality was harsh.

As he spent his days steeped in alcohol, he considered ending his own life. He likely would have become a corpse as planned, had someone not approached him one day and offered him grace.

The man joined the cult, succeeded in awakening, and became captivated by its teachings. After long efforts, he even rose to the rank of Elder.

And now, Karnan, filled with ecstasy, led an army of demonic beasts, advancing towards the outpost.

‘Leader-nim, are you watching? I’ve succeeded!’

His chest swelled with emotion.

After using the power and artifact he was given, he succeeded in controlling the horde of demonic beasts, just like the great Cult Leader.

A golden ring encircled the brim of the conical hat on his head, shining brightly. It was the secret to creating the demonic beast army.

Although there were minor side effects, such as his heart beating at an abnormal speed and a crawling pain in his veins and nerves throughout his body, like ants swarming.

Still, he would be able to control them for a while. Enduring the horrific pain with grotesque religious fervor, he maintained control.

“Elder-nim, I feel it! The Vision Prism!”

Beneath the Noxterror, a cultist riding a bull-shaped demonic beast shouted. The brightly lit outpost of the safe zone, contrasting with the dungeon’s darkness, was visible.

‘They’re caught in a trap!’

Indeed, Karnan thought his prediction was correct. Though a minor disaster had caused them to lose the artifact, it had ultimately moved to the very location the cult desired, hadn’t it? This was undoubtedly an opportunity prepared by God.

“Haha, excellent! A prepared meal indeed!”

Kill the heretics, offer them as sacrifices, and activate the artifact. Then, he would be able to control an even larger horde of demonic beasts than now. If he led the demonic beasts beyond the gate, the chance for ascension would draw closer.

‘For now, it’s time to test their defenses. There will be some martyrs, but it can’t be helped.’

Sacrifice was the path to drawing one step closer to salvation. Thinking this, Elder Karnan shouted with all his might to inspire the cultists.

“Ascension awaits!”

**

I saw the demonic beasts pouring in from beyond the dungeon. Their numbers reminded me of the cockroach-like demonic beasts I fought with Irene a few weeks ago.

「Why are there so many?」

「Look there! There are people too!…Wait, why are their clothes like that?」

Peculiar figures wearing white conical hats were running among the demonic beasts.

The people standing outside were gripped by fear when they saw the horde of monsters. The crowd rushed towards the entrance.

“Move! What kind of inspection is this at a time like this!”

“Huh? Oh…!”

The guard hunters had no time to stop them. They too were in shock, seeing the swarming horde of demonic beasts before their eyes.

The Federation troops didn’t miss their chance.

“It’s an emergency, we’re going in!”

“What, what did you say?”

“Surely, you’re not thinking of handing over the artifact to those demonic beasts and cultist bastards out there, are you? Hey! Move out!”

After saying that, Major Marius forcibly drove the truck into the entrance. The convoy pushed its way in with brute force. The Atlas Clan administrators had no choice but to step aside, as it seemed ready to run them over at any moment.

“You! What in the world…”

“Well, we’re all in the same boat now. Given the situation, we’ll provide firepower support. If you have any complaints, you can tell me after all this is over, alright?”

“Ugh…”

The clan official was speechless. The soldiers moved as they pleased. Tanks were deployed one by one at the main entrances, and soldiers moved behind the defensive walls and barricades.

「It’s a temporary alliance.」

「Well, they’re soldiers, so they should fight well for now, right?」

As the demonic beasts approached, sirens blared noisily throughout the safe zone.

-Emergency! Emergency! Demonic beast cluster of unknown scale approaching! All personnel are requested to evacuate inside! Everyone able to fight, please come to the defensive walls and entrance!

The hunters of the Atlas Clan and people from other clans came rushing, one by one, each armed with their weapons. Normally, they would have just gone outside the gate, but now, it was a situation where if they didn’t fight together, they would die.

By the way, the sight unfolding before my eyes was quite astonishing. Humans controlling demonic beasts!

“Irene-ah! My eyes are playing tricks on me! There’s a person riding on top of a Noxterror!”

“You saw correctly. That’s a person. My goodness, is this even possible? Controlling demonic beasts?”

Even Irene, who usually maintained her composure in most sights, seemed quite flustered by the current situation.

Armed cultists were charging together with the horde of demonic beasts.

“Ascension awaits!”

The bastards spouted some crazy nonsense.

Strangely, the demonic beasts didn’t attack the cultists at all. These monsters, who would normally go wild at the sight of humans, treated the people around them as comrades at that moment.

Even more strangely, there were some who rode the demonic beasts as if they were horses.

「To think someone actually did that!」

A person riding a demonic beast, on top of a demonic beast? What method could they possibly be using? That didn’t look like power an ordinary cultist would possess.

「Could it be magic or the power of an artifact? As far as we know, there are almost no ways to control demonic beasts.」

In fact, according to the game’s lore, there was a way. But it wasn’t a normal method. It would turn a person into a shell.

Organizing the world-building of Crimson Scholar in my mind, I climbed onto the defensive wall with my teammates.

“Fire!”

The machine gun turrets installed next to the defensive wall were already spewing fire relentlessly. My ears rang for a moment. Dazzling streaks of tracer bullets swept through the horde of demonic beasts. The hunters cheered excitedly.

“Good, kill them all!”

As the bastards approached, the hunters also picked up their respective weapons and shot at the demonic beasts.

A variety of weapons, from massive rifles to repeating crossbows and staves, poured out bullets, bolts, and magic in rapid succession. The cultists and demonic beasts could be seen tumbling down.

“Wow, we might not even have to fight!”

I was thrilled, as our allies’ firepower was formidable. There was even a tank on our side!

A blue flash erupted from the barrel of the light tank. A dazzling barrage of cluster bombs swept through the demonic beast horde as if a broom were clearing dust. The machine guns mounted on its chassis continuously spewed lead bullets, melting away all the charging demonic beasts.

-Roar!

What the demonic beasts that escaped all that firepower faced was the defensive magic array encircling the wall. As soon as they approached, electric sparks flew and flames incinerated the demonic beasts.

-Everyone, don’t worry! Our Atlas Clan’s defense system is perfect!

With a crackle, the speakers installed within the base activated, and the Vice-Chief spoke in a proud tone.

The invigorated hunters slaughtered the demonic beasts and cultists.

“Huh? Those bastards, they’re running away.”

After attempting a few charges, the cultists seemed to hesitate before finally stopping their attack and retreating.

「Did we win?」

「It’s ending too easily.」

It was strange. The Noxterror, ridden by what appeared to be their leader in a conical hat, had seemed to charge forward, but then simply watched.

“Could they be testing the waters?”

Feeling something was off, I looked at Irene. She seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, as she agreed with my words.

“If they’re not fools, that is. In that case, the previous attack was a test.”

Ten minutes later, the second attack surged in.

This time, intermediate demonic beasts were mixed in.

Twenty minutes later, twenty-five minutes later, forty minutes, one hour.

The attacks repeated in succession.

**

The safe zone suffered repeated wave attacks from the cultists for over four hours. Even so, the defense line, bolstered by the Federation soldiers, did not easily crumble.

「Ugh, suicide demonic beasts!」

「We could never replicate that.」

The Violets marveled at the creativity of the Unification Assembly. The offensive, which began with low-level demonic beasts, gradually diversified. They attempted various tactics, such as charges led by intermediate demonic beasts or suicide attacks.

The defense system was solid, but no matter how strong an Awakened was, hours of tension were bound to lead to mental exhaustion.

“There are no fatalities, but it’s unsettling. The number of injured is steadily increasing.”

Listening to Daphne’s worried words, Unit 573 turned its head towards the defensive wall. Black smoke billowed from the machine gun turret destroyed by a bomb skullkit’s charge.

The cultists’ attacks suddenly ceased at a certain point. During the lull, people assessed the situation.

“Communication with the ceiling has been cut off.”

Even the emergency communication network, which had survived the elevator collapse, was now severed. People felt a growing unease. Elevator restoration was still ongoing.

“Is it coming down? Wasn’t it just supposed to be lowered with a cable?”

“They’re urgently bringing in equipment from above the ceiling and installing it. Please wait a little longer. It’ll be done soon.”

“If I’d known this, I would’ve learned some flying magic…”

Amidst the disarray, friction arose once again between the Federation troops and the hunters. Arguments ensued in front of the armored truck carrying the artifact.

“Ammunition is low, and everyone is exhausted. Their objective is this, so we should dismantle it right now!”

“No, I told you! They said the elevator would come down in a few hours, didn’t they? Then couldn’t we just send it up as the top priority?”

While the commotion unfolded, a group of people watched from a distance.

The Magnaavis agents, disguised as ordinary small-to-medium clan hunters, were quietly waiting inside the outpost. Their eyes were fixed on the armored truck carrying the Vision Prism. Arguments continued around them.

“It was good we retreated. Do you see where our camp was located? The demonic beasts swept right through it.”

The Vanguard commander pointed towards the defensive wall.

“By the way, I didn’t know those cultists could control demonic beasts. It’s an unexpected variable. Have you identified the cause?”

Lera took the tablet from her subordinate and pointed at the screen. On the paused video, there was a man in a conical hat riding on black slime. A particularly luminous metallic band was visible beneath the brim of the conical hat.

“The analysis results just came in. Tracking the flow of magic, it appears that the artifact on the head of this individual, who is riding on a high-level demonic beast, is controlling the demonic beasts.”

“Oh, interesting. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

The agent was intrigued. His curiosity, impossible to conceal even through the modulated mechanical voice, was evident.

“So, if we destroy this artifact or subdue its user, we can stop that demonic beast army. Did I understand that correctly?”

Lera nodded.

“According to the researchers’ calculations, there’s a 90% chance they’ll scatter. What do you want to do? With our current strength, an assassination attempt is feasible…”

“Why now, specifically?”

The commander shrugged. His meaning was, why should the Federation do something that would only benefit them right now?

“Let’s just watch for now. We don’t know how the situation will unfold, but…”

Before he could finish speaking, a loud noise erupted from the left side of the defense line. Black, slimy tentacles burst through the floor and shot upwards. Lera’s blue eyes widened.

“Hmm, what are you going to do now?”

At the agent’s question, she briefly compared the forces of the two opposing factions. Although there would be some casualties, she judged that the defense line would not collapse to that extent.

But what if they tipped the scales a bit? This might be the chance.

Having made up her mind, she activated her telepathic communication.

「Initiating Plan Four.」

「Confirmed.」

It was not uncommon for people to be wiped out by unexpected hordes of demonic beasts appearing inside dungeons.

What was happening in this dungeon would become one of those common occurrences.

After she finished her report, the agents prepared to activate the Prism.

Simultaneously, Lera activated the artifact device strapped to her back. Output to maximum.

A wave of magic swept through the surroundings.

***

The cultists’ new attack began underground. When tentacles burst from the ground and seized their prey, the ensnared people screamed in agony as their flesh melted away.

“Aaaargh!”

The soldiers and hunters, who had been arguing fiercely, turned their heads. Their faces hardened. The Noxterror, having absorbed its prey, tore through the floor, revealing its massive amorphous body.

As the demonic beast fully crawled out of the ground, a horde of demonic beasts then swarmed out of the tunnel like ants.

“We were careless. Tunnels…!”

The Vice-Chief groaned. He blamed himself inwardly while frantically calling out to people, struggling to block the attack.

However, the enemy was also within.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Haha! Die!”

The cultists who had been disguised as civilians revealed themselves and began attacking other hunters.

“It’s cultists! Get them!”

“Die, heretic!”

As the commotion grew, Major Marius quickly got into the command vehicle. The Vice-Chief, seeing this, panicked.

“Damn it! It’ll collapse like this. We’re leaving first!”

“Wa-wait! Where are you going!”

“We are retreating! See you at the rear. Attention all! Retreat to the designated coordinates! Over!”

“Wait, the defense line is still intact!!”

“Shut up! If we just trust your words, the artifact will be ruined!”

The Major, shaking off all restraint, quickly got into the vehicle. The tanks blocking the entrance turned their bodies and headed for the base’s back gate.

“Hey! Where are you going!”

As the demonic beasts swarmed in, the hunters were agitated when the soldiers and tanks suddenly retreated from the defense line.

-Mobile Unit Commander-nim! Retreat is not an option! Please reconsider the order…

An officer hastily sent a radio message, but the Major ignored it and set the convoy in motion.

“That idiotic bastard, playing hero…”

The convoy, moving with the truck at its center, headed towards the back gate. The moment they surveyed their surroundings, a sudden flash swept through.

“Ugh, aah!”

**

Unit 512 felt an anomaly during the battle.

“Ugh?”

A strange, unpleasant wave brushed past my body and disappeared. I felt an odd sensation.

「What was that? Is it the cultists’ magic?」

Unit 512, thinking nothing of it, pulled the rifle’s trigger. The hammer made a clicking sound, futilely striking the chamber.

“What the…”

Thinking it was a misfire, I pulled the charging handle. No bullet was fired.

Emergency communications spread continuously throughout the Violet Network.

「Squeal! The bullets aren’t firing!」

「My gun is broken! Why is this happening?」

「Is it a bullet problem?」

It seemed I wasn’t the only one. Kalia, who had been firing her magnum revolver next to me, was also hurriedly removing the cylinder to take out the bullets.

“Damn it! Why is this happening all of a sudden?”

I looked around. Hunters, like me, who had been firing their guns, were suffering from sudden misfires.

“What? Why is this…”

“Is it broken?”

Now that I looked, the machine gun turret next to us, which had been diligently unleashing bolts of destruction, had also stopped firing.

More precisely, it was firing, but its shell ejection port was continuously spitting out perfectly good bullets. Like someone who had drunk too much vomiting their guts out.

While I was wondering why this was happening, Daphne, who had been waiting behind, ran over in terror.

“Ev-everyone! Gather here! Now!”

“Huh?”

Simultaneously with the deployment of a massive pale green shield, a dazzling flash swept through the safe zone.

“Gasp!”