LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 10 - Humans Are– (2)
Chapter 10 – Humans Are– (2)
As expected, the surroundings were teeming with monsters.
Leonhart swung his fists at the oncoming Evils of Eclipse. His two fists, imbued with divine power, gleamed faintly with a golden hue.
To the monsters, the light was akin to a natural enemy. One by one, he destroyed the hearts of the creatures and crushed their heads as he advanced.
In one word, he was a skilled hunter.
On the other hand, Bastille’s combat was a mess.
Earlier today, he had been struck by several sniper rounds, losing 30% of his body mass. Despite being nearly two meters tall, his weight had dropped to under 50 kilograms, making it impossible for such a body to engage in proper combat.
He was surrounded by numerous monsters, taking hits as if being mobbed.
However, to the Evils of Eclipse, Bastille was still a predator.
A weakened lion might take kicks from an ignorant pack of rabbits, but a rabbit cannot devour a lion.
A monster caught in Bastille’s grasp struggled in agony, letting out a shriek.
‘Feeling pity for a monster’s scream…’
At this new realization, Leonhart smirked bitterly.
With a crunch, the sound of bones being crushed and muscles tearing echoed as Bastille devoured the monster whole.
The remains of the creature’s hide and bones, like the discarded skin of a puppet, fell to the floor.
While the monsters hesitated, Bastille targeted two more.
He grabbed one by the temple, slamming it into the wall and absorbing its strength. His body weight had already increased by several kilograms.
Although he hadn’t yet had the chance to enhance the quality of his muscles, the suffocating hunger and thirst had subsided somewhat.
Beneath the sinkhole, there were about 30 monsters in total. In just over ten minutes, Leonhart and Bastille had dealt with all of them.
Catching his breath, Leonhart grumbled.
“I’m getting more exhausted the more I fight, but you’re just getting stronger.”
Bastille smiled faintly, barely noticeable under the dim streetlight filtering through the cracks of the sinkhole.
“Damn it! I wish I had a weapon!”
Leonhart complained.
“If I had proper equipment, I could clean up these small fries in no time!”
“That’s a problem we can’t solve right now.”
“Yeah, just refining magic elements into metal takes months on its own.”
Normal iron weapons couldn’t handle Leonhart’s strength. Even a sword forged by a master craftsman with modern refinement techniques wouldn’t be suitable for fighting the Evils of Eclipse.
Some monsters had hard shells, while others had bones as tough as steel. Attacking them with a simple iron sword would likely lead to the weapon breaking if it got caught on their bones or armor.
This issue became even more pronounced because Leonhart was superhuman. The stronger the attack, the greater the recoil.
“If only we could get our hands on some material from a monster’s body, I could just wrap some leather straps around it and use it as a weapon. Maybe even use some basic combination magic. But everything here is human…”
Leonhart kicked one of the dead Evils of Eclipse lying next to him, flipping it over.
Bastille quietly remarked as he looked at the corpse.
“It was probably human.”
“If there’s one thing Seoul is overrun with, it’s humans. Earth’s bugs are too small and weak, and the only other animals are cats or dogs, so they probably mix humans with monsters to create synthetic beasts.”
Revenheim was a world of fantasy. Dragons and all sorts of magical beasts already existed there, and the Evils of Eclipse consumed them, evolving into far more terrifying creatures.
“A lack of materials will definitely be a problem in the future.”
At Bastille’s words, Leonhart shrugged.
“Maybe it’s better to use modern weapons. Things like guns or missiles.”
“Like those guys earlier?”
Leonhart nodded.
“Exactly. Not just equipment, but the materials from Earth might be better. Not some magic beast weapons from Revenheim, but something like a Posco steel sword. Earth’s quality of steel is incomparable, so if we could just refine it with magic elements, we could make something great.”
Bastille couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the mention of a “Posco steel sword.”
A legendary blade from Posco? How absurd.
Leonhart pretended to swing a sword and shouted.
“The holy sword, 304 stainless steel!”
“Hmph.”
Seeing Bastille’s half-smile, Leonhart snickered.
“So, you like this kind of thing.”
“You caught me off guard.”
Bastille, forcing his expression back into composure, began walking deeper into the dungeon.
The playful mood didn’t last long.
The hallway was littered with human corpses. Black slime-like liquid hovered around the bodies, some already burrowing into the orifices of the dead.
That black slime was the true form of the Evils of Eclipse.
Leonhart ignited the corpses with purifying flames. Blue flames consumed the bodies, eradicating the parasitic Evils of Eclipse within.
In that moment, Leonhart resembled a solemn priest, officiating a ritual.
Before the ritual could finish, a scream echoed from the far end of the hallway.
Bastille was the first to dash forward. Leonhart hurriedly completed his purification and followed behind.
In times of chaos, the value of human life only holds weight in stable societies.
When order collapses and the reality of survival of the fittest sets in, human rights are reduced to nothing more than a meal for the stronger beasts.
The humans, trembling in fear, cowered in a corner, helplessly watching as the person in front of them was devoured.
These people were supposed to be fighters.
They wore tactical vests and had their eyes trained on their pistol sights, but it was nearly impossible to stop the monster with 9mm bullets.
“Argh! Run! Lucy!”
A burly man was dragged away, screaming.
The female soldier he had been protecting, Lucy, fired wildly in desperation. She emptied her clip into the monster, but it didn’t stop its feast.
At that moment, a hand suddenly appeared beside her.
Startled, she turned her head, only to see an exceptionally tall man. His unusually large, bony hand gripped the monster’s temple. What happened next was unbelievable.
The monster, which hadn’t feared bullets despite being wounded, let out a terrified screech.
The black liquid that had been parasitizing its body squirmed as if trying to escape through its nostrils and ears, but was quickly pulled back inside.
The one who saved her was Bastille.
The monster being devoured by Bastille screamed in agony.
“Graaaaah!”
At the ear-piercing shriek, the other monsters wandering nearby all turned their heads toward them.
“Watch out! The monsters are—!”
Lucy shouted, but Bastille didn’t react to her warning.
The monsters quickly charged at Bastille, attacking him. Thinking it was the end, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.
Just as she was about to collapse in despair, she heard another monster scream, and cautiously opened her eyes.
The man who had saved her, Bastille, was now covered in wounds from the monsters’ attacks, his body ravaged.
But the monsters’ collapse was even faster.
The creature caught in his grip instantly turned into a dried-up husk, crumbling away. One by one, he reached out with both hands, dealing with the monsters attacking him.
Crack. Crack.
A monster that was falling apart bit into Bastille’s side, its jaws digging deep enough to leave a gaping wound in his ribcage.
However, he merely cast a cold glance downward. He extended his hand, absorbing the creature’s energy and reconstructing his own body by assimilating its muscles and blood vessels.
One of the monsters circling nearby changed its target.
While Bastille was locked in a fierce struggle with several monsters, one creature aimed at the woman standing frozen behind him.
Lucy’s hands trembled as she hastily reloaded her gun’s magazine. But before she could pull the trigger, the monster was already at her throat.
“Ahhh!”
Lucy screamed in terror.
At that moment, the monster’s body stopped. It trembled as if it had been struck by a stun gun and then collapsed to the floor.
She looked up to see who had saved her. It was Leonhart, the man who had descended into the underground with Bastille.
With Leonhart joining the fray, the situation in the hallway was quickly brought under control.
Leonhart approached the dazed woman.
“Are you hurt?”
“Ah, no… I-I’m fine.”
Lucy patted herself down. Aside from being drenched in monster blood, she seemed physically unharmed.
After checking her own condition, Lucy quickly clasped her hands together, praying over her fallen comrades scattered around her.
Then she turned to the two men and expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you for saving me. I’m Lucy Valentine from KSA.”
The moment Leonhart heard that, he smiled and glanced at Bastille.
He hadn’t expected to hear the name of the KSA so soon again. It seemed the organization was more mobile than he had anticipated.
Feigning ignorance, Leonhart replied casually.
“You some sort of security force?”
“We’re the Special Paranormal Response Unit. As you can see, we deal with monsters like these.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you do. Regular people wouldn’t stand a chance against these creatures.”
Lucy lowered her gaze.
“It feels like you’re mocking me for being incompetent. But you two…”
“We’re not regular people either. Just like you, we specialize in hunting these kinds of monsters.”
Lucy nodded and then suggested,
“If your goal is to protect civilians, how about working with us? The KSA’s main force is currently gathered at the aquarium’s main entrance. Our squad was ordered to secure the eastern sector, but as you can see… With your help, it would be a great advantage in resolving the anomaly at the Dragon Superior Tower.”
Leonhart immediately responded to her proposal.
“That’s a good idea. There are more monsters than we expected, and we’ve been struggling ourselves.”
“Thank you for cooperating. Please follow me. This path has already been secured by the KSA, so it should be safe.”
After sending Lucy ahead, Leonhart turned to Bastille and spoke.
“I’m curious about their capabilities.”
Bastille nodded in agreement.
—
Contrary to Lucy’s confident introduction, the situation with the KSA’s main force was dire.
They had set up their base in the underground plaza where the aquarium’s ticket booths were located.
In the middle of the spacious open area, they had piled up metal benches, forming a makeshift barricade.
A heavy machine gun was mounted on the barricade, an outdated but formidable weapon from the days of the First World War, spewing out dozens of rounds per minute to hold back the monsters.
But trying to track these creatures with human reaction times was no easy feat. The bullets mostly ended up riddling the walls, while the monsters continued slaughtering the humans.
Dozens of KSA operatives relied on their heavy weapons and barricades to hold the line, but the number of monsters pouring out from the aquarium showed no signs of decreasing.
Bastille let out a short sigh.
“Those monsters… They must be the former visitors.”
Leonhart nodded in agreement.
“A busy weekend evening. An aquarium, a shopping mall, restaurants… There must have been more people here than the population of the Earl’s Castle back in Revenheim.”
It was a stark reminder of just how plentiful a feeding ground Earth had become for the Evils of Eclipse.
Leonhart spoke again.
“At least we can be thankful for one thing—those parasites rarely infect large predators. A parasitized dragon would be a disaster.”
Bastille nodded in agreement with Leonhart’s observation.
However, both of them were forgetting one crucial detail.
Conversations like this often foreshadowed even bigger problems.
BOOM!
The door connected to the aquarium exploded, crashing outward along with part of the wall. It had been a fireproof door made of steel, but it crumpled like a piece of paper and tumbled across the floor.
And from within, a real monster emerged.