LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 11 - Humans Are– (3)
Chapter 11 – Humans Are– (3)
The worms of the Rift, using humans as their hosts, could not help but become something akin to humans.
Their physical abilities were inferior to that of humans, bound by the inevitable limitations of their possessed host.
If the power of the monsters were only that much, humanity would not be so easily destroyed. Thus, the worms of the Rift had been studying ways to widen the gap even further.
Humans and humans. Humans and more humans. Humans and even more…
Non-human things.
The monsters of the Rift, created by blending God’s creatures, were superior. The strength of those beings, combining human intellect with the traits of other animals, rivaled that of the ancient colossal beings—dragons and giants.
Humans, in fear of their power, called them this:
‘Demonkind.’
A giant with a pointed snout and a massive jaw, its layers of sharp teeth twitching under thick muscles, tore humans apart.
From its sudden appearance to its rampage, everything happened in an instant.
Standing at 3.5 meters tall with a massive frame, it dashed forward like a bullet, leaping over the barricades.
Before the heavy weaponry could even fire, it had already chewed through and crushed every human around it.
KSA operatives, faced with the paranormal phenomenon that was their profession, found themselves unable to respond for a moment.
Only after five or six members had been torn apart, spraying blood everywhere, did the lieutenant’s command come down.
“Open fire! Turn that monster into a pile of meat!”
The rifles blazed. Modern firearms were indeed powerful. Even the shark-like demonkind had to pull back from the barrage.
But the enemy wasn’t just one demon.
With the demonkind’s thunderous roar as their signal, the monsters began their relentless assault.
The unit’s firepower had suffered heavily from the loss of their heavy weaponry. The monsters, using their numbers as a weapon, continued their advance, and soon, the human forces began to worry about running out of ammunition.
Leonhart, who had been watching the whole scene like a bystander, finally spoke.
“Is this about what I expected?”
“It seems so.”
“I’ll take care of the small fry. You handle Fistris.”
Bastille slowly nodded.
“I’m not sure if I can, though.”
“That joke’s a little funny.”
Smiling, Leonhart picked up one of the KSA’s support machine guns that was lying on the ground.
A weapon that couldn’t be used without being mounted, but Leonhart’s strength, already far beyond human just a day after his return, made it possible.
The machine gun roared again. As one ammo box emptied in an instant, a massive hole was blown into the enemy’s ranks.
Through that gap, Bastille moved forward like a shadow. His target was the giant with the shark’s upper body, Fistris.
At this moment, Bastille was the only one capable of confronting that monster.
—
Bastille was slammed into the wall by Fistris’s brutish fist.
The wall tiles shattered and fell to the ground. Bastille’s body dropped heavily onto the tile fragments.
It was a wonder that a human body made of flesh and bone could withstand such a blow.
Forcing his spine, bent at a ninety-degree angle, to straighten, Bastille stood, coughing up blood once more.
Had he not consumed a fair number of monsters on his way here, he would have been incapacitated from that single blow.
Slowly, Bastille approached Fistris again.
The 3.5-meter-tall giant with a shark’s head raised a clenched fist and slammed it down toward Bastille’s head.
Bastille rolled forward, ducking into the giant’s reach. But Fistris’s fist soon struck Bastille’s side.
The sickening crack of ribs echoed as every bone on his left side shattered. Jagged fragments of bone pierced through his rib cage.
His entire body screamed in pain. He felt as though his mind would give way.
But he endured, forcing himself to stay conscious. Reaching out, he grabbed Fistris’s elbow.
Finally, for the first time, he touched it.
“Raaaargh!”
The monster let out a cry. The agonizing scream echoed several times throughout the hall.
Fistris’s arm went limp, hanging uselessly. Bastille had drained its life force through his touch.
With its other hand, Fistris grabbed Bastille’s head and pried him off its arm. But it wasn’t a good choice.
Fistris intended to crush Bastille’s head in its grasp, but Bastille opened his mouth and bit down on the monster’s flesh.
Startled by the unpleasant pain in its hand, Fistris loosened its grip and flung Bastille to the ground.
Bastille’s body tumbled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
To anyone watching, it was clear that this fight was entirely in Fistris’s favor.
Bastille’s body had sustained severe damage, to the point where every step he took toward the enemy looked precarious.
However, as Bastille approached, Fistris began to tremble, instinctively backing away.
It had begun to sense it.
That red-eyed human was trying to devour him.
The demonkind, looking at its limp arm, realized that this fear was no baseless delusion.
Fistris’s back hit the wall. Only then did the monster realize that it had been retreating.
The realization that he was afraid of that tiny human stung his pride. Roaring like a warrior, Fistris charged forward again.
He rammed into Bastille with his shoulder. The impact was like being hit by a massive cannonball, forcing a blood-choked gasp from Bastille.
“Khuh!”
Fistris, with Bastille draped over his shoulder, sprinted with all his might toward the opposite wall. Concrete fragments embedded themselves into Bastille’s back as they smashed through partition walls.
Like a runaway train, Fistris continued to drive Bastille forward for another 30 meters.
With only a few steps left before they hit a wall lined with metal paneling, Fistris pushed off the ground, preparing to deliver the final blow.
It seemed like the end for Bastille.
*Boom!*
But after the deafening crash, it was Bastille who remained standing.
Just before hitting the wall, at the very moment when Fistris had gathered all his strength into his shoulder, Bastille had struck back.
To gather strength meant to focus one’s life energy.
Slowly raising his hand, Bastille reached for the shark’s shoulder.
The lion’s hand swiftly absorbed Fistris’s energy. Drained of power, the shark-headed giant didn’t even realize he had let go of Bastille before his head slammed into the wall.
The head that burst open from the full-force headbutt wasn’t Bastille’s—it was Fistris’s.
Bastille approached the monster, who had its head buried in the wall, and absorbed the rest of its remaining energy. The enormous shark-like body lost its glow and turned to ash, crumbling to the ground.
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped him.
It had been a fairly substantial meal. Though he wasn’t sure if he had lost more than he’d gained after taking such a beating, his hunger was mostly sated.
—
With Fistris fallen, the enemy’s movements changed.
The monsters of the Eclipse, though aggressive and appearing dimwitted at first, were not mindless like zombies. They seemed to have developed a fear after witnessing Fistris’s miserable death. They huddled together, baring their teeth defensively.
However, in the face of modern firearms, densely packed formations were the worst possible strategy.
Concentrated fire wiped out hundreds of monsters in an instant.
After repelling the enemy’s wave, there was finally a brief moment of respite. Leonhart approached Bastille, who sat catching his breath off to the side.
“As expected, you were amazing. I’m impressed all over again.”
Leonhart grinned as he congratulated his friend on the victory, but Bastille merely let out a short sigh.
“That was a losing battle for me.”
“You’ll have to take a few more losses before we can eliminate the heart of the Eclipse.”
At that moment, a few KSA operatives approached Bastille and Leonhart. Among them was Lucy.
Leading the group was a soldier-type man standing nearly 190 cm tall. A long wound just beneath his cropped hair was still bleeding.
He saluted Leonhart and Bastille.
“I’m Nelson, the combat commander of the KSA Korea branch. I received a report from Lucy. You call yourselves knights—are you perhaps from the Roman Paladins?”
Leonhart shrugged with a smile.
“For now, that’s a secret. I don’t know how you’ll react when you find out who I really am, and I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks here.”
“I understand. More importantly, I want to express our gratitude on behalf of all my men. Without your assistance, especially his contribution… well, you seem to have an extraordinary ability.”
Commander Nelson bowed his head toward Bastille. But what he received in return was a cold, emotionless gaze.
“I assure you, I didn’t mean to pry into your abilities. If I was being rude, I apologize.”
Leonhart, speaking on behalf of his taciturn friend, responded.
“He’s not angry. That’s just his personality. More importantly, do you have any more powerful weapons? The rifles are fine, but I’d like something that can wipe out a larger area all at once.”
“These firearms were already a significant stretch within the legal frameworks of this country.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true. Then we have no choice but to rely on speed. Let’s concentrate all our forces on taking down the leader. Once we eliminate the heart of the Eclipse, the rest of them will stop growing.”
“What exactly is the heart of the Eclipse?”
“Just think of it like a queen ant.”
“You mean there’s something controlling these monsters?”
Leonhart nodded as he explained.
“The monsters of the Eclipse grow because of the heart. Once we destroy the heart, we’ll have a breathing period until the next one appears. And these monsters will stop spawning in this dungeon.”
“That’s good to hear. But… it won’t be an easy mission, will it?”
Leonhart sized up Commander Nelson and the KSA operatives under his command, gauging their equipment and abilities.
Even with him and Bastille involved, it wasn’t easy to predict the outcome of the operation.
But there was no time to hesitate.
Even now, the heart of the Eclipse was continuing to nurture more monsters, and no one knew when another powerful demonkind might emerge.
“We’ll just have to bet our lives together.”
Leonhart turned and stared into the deeper part of the aquarium.
He longed for proper equipment, but for now, he had to make do with a few abandoned handguns, which he hastily tucked into his belt.
—
What awaited them inside the aquarium were countless cocoons.
It was unsettling to march forward with so many monster eggs at their backs, knowing they could hatch at any moment. But right now, there was no other option but to strike the heart.
The heart of the Eclipse was located in the deepest part of the aquarium.
In the center of the world’s largest aquarium, known for its massive size, stood a 20-meter-high tank.
The cylindrical tank, once filled with beautiful schools of fish, had long since been destroyed, leaving only shattered glass.
At the center of the broken tank lay a single jellyfish-like creature.
The room it occupied was filled with cocoons, and a few monsters of the Eclipse that had already hatched were wandering around.
Leonhart spoke to Bastille.
“They don’t seem fully developed yet. There aren’t too many of them.”
Bastille replied.
“Still, be careful. They’ve probably been around for some time, so they could awaken at any moment.”
Leonhart nodded and turned to the KSA operatives.
“We need to pour all our firepower into taking out the heart. The longer we take, the more dangerous it gets.”
“Understood.”
Commander Nelson gave hand signals to spread out his troops. The plan was to open fire from all directions at once.
The operation went smoothly. The two-story donut-shaped viewing platform, originally built for admiring the giant aquarium, was the perfect place to launch an attack.
As soon as the fifty rifle-armed operatives took their positions, Nelson gave the order to fire.