Volume 9 / Chapter 275
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Isleidir
There will be an end as long as she is a living being, so he can last for a long time with the Miracle's formidable energy and a level 9's stamina.
This is the problem. He can win just by lasting like this.
If the difference between level 8 and 9 is severe, the difference with level 10 will be even worse. He covered that difference with the Miracle, but this is lukewarm.
To think that this is a fight he can win with endurance.
For a level 10's ability to end with just splitting.
Cha Jun Sung knows Evil Queen well. That can't be all.
She could be hiding somewhere and preparing something. She's plenty capable of doing something like that.
This third awakening could be an excuse and she could be testing Cha Jun Sung's power with her splitting ability.
'Or she's chipping away at my energy.'
He isn't tired, but he and the Miracle experienced at least a 1% decrease in condition.
Chasing tails, he has this kind of thought:
If her intention is to chip away at his energy, it is a loss for her as well.
Is he fighting alone?
As Cha Jun Sung's power decreases, her power decreases proportionally.
It takes an enormous amount of energy and nutrients to produce all of those alters. Following the flow of the battle, Evil Queen's side is taking the damage.
"Odin. How is it?"
[It's just a guess, but Evil Queen's strength could be maintained.]When Cha Jun Sung goes into direct battle, Odin takes auxiliary control for the Miracle and observes Evil Queen from afar.
[The two fused into one. That also means they are two. Combining all of the information sent by Lifers, Bon Load is with Evil Queen's nucleus. If that splitting ability is Bon Load's and only his nutrients are being consumed, Evil Queen herself will be fine.] [Rather than dividing between the barriers of the first, second, and third awakening, it is important to see which one follows which being's characteristics. a.n.a.lyzing the patterns until now, first and third are Bon Load and only the second is Evil Queen. How could it be that only Bon Load is twice when the subject is Evil Queen?]"Evil Queen is twice too?"
[She could go back to her original power after consuming Lifer Cha Jun Sung's energy with Bon Load's strength that is irrelevant to her own.]"Does that mean she would go back to her second awakened state?"
[She could show her characteristic in her third awakened state. Of course all of this is in the case if Evil Queen is hiding her strength.]He is right.
If that really is Evil Queen and Bon Load's strength unlike their tremendous expectations, Odin's guess becomes completely worthless.
But if it is true, they showed each of their characteristics in the first and second awakening, which means the third state has both.
It also means that they are hiding one and only showing one.
Cha Jun Sung's hand was changed into a skewer, stabbing all of the Evil Queens that come at him from ahead. The Miracle spreads out through the stabbed part.
Particles in the nanometer unit explored the inside.
They are a.n.a.lyzing the biological characteristics of mutant Evil Queen. This is something that is impossible even with a level S battlesuit, but the Miracle can do it.
The split Evil Queens were so similar it was like looking at twins.
In contrast, there was a faint difference of genes inside the sh.e.l.l. This is a results of a.n.a.lyzing all of the alters that Cha Jun Sung and Odin came into contact with.
[There are two kinds of genes; I will just arbitrarily call them gamma and delta. As a result of a.n.a.lyzing patterns, there is a 10 to 15% difference in the two individuals' abilities. The interesting thing is that the difference in ability shows their cla.s.ses. I have concluded that gamma gives orders to delta.] [If you look at Evil Queen's layout on the hologram, delta goes forward and gamma is positioned in the back. There are about 10 deltas to one gamma.]In Lifer numbers, it is like party members to a party leader.
This means that there could be force, raid, and core leaders somewhere.
"How about alpha and beta?"
Odin skipped over alpha and beta, and expressed the Evil Queens in only gamma and delta.
Cha Jun Sung picked out that aspect specifically and asked about it.
[Alpha is the skeleton mountain. Beta is… I'm sure you know?]"So what you mean is that of those, there could be betas hiding until the end, giving orders to gammas and deltas unlike the dying ones?"
[A piecemeal example is Africa's Parasite King who was born as a parasitic type, but cannot manage a tribe of tens of thousands alone. So he has a middle-man to deal with communication with the lower levels.] [The skeleton mountain is similar. Producing and managing those many level 7 alters are separate matters. There needs to be a management system in order to focus on production, so it would have been well thought out.]About 300 Evil Queens are being maintained.
Of these, only 1 is beta and 299 are gammas and deltas. Cha Jun Sung needs to find that 1 beta.
"Are you tired?"
"You can't beat me."
"Bon Load's abilities are really incredible."
Hundreds of Evil Queens each say something as they approach him.
It is a skin-crawling sight. They are visually indistinguishable.
"We decided to make you a limb of the one who created us."
"But it's not me. It's their license to create us, but it's my will after. I can do anything with this strength."
"What a joke. It's because there's a goal. If they wanted to kill you, you know how easy it would be? You think you would survive if they launched a bomb here right now? You and I are both dead."
Someone extremely overworked. That's Evil Queen's current state.
Seduced by power, she couldn't come to her senses.
Without considering what Jigneon's group needed to gain from the experiment, it is incineration.
"You found it?"
[I can't with just a scan. There's no choice but to check for yourself.]"Can I attack them all at one time?"
[You could if you wanted to, but they're so dispersed that you won't be able to create a proper impact. It would be difficult to distinguish with that.]The most extensive attack is to sweep with his tail. He can exert more power if he adds the Miracle's support to this, but there is a limit.
It might have worked if they were low level, but level 7s will be able to protect their own bodies.
'If I were her, where would I put the beta?'
Would she hide it in the back? Or would she consider the number of opponents and put it in the front?
"If I can't find it, I'll just have to get it to come to me."
Papat!
He can't figure it out just by thinking about it. He needs to move.
Cha Jun Sung hit the earth, grabbed one of the Evil Queens by the face, and burst it.
Cha Jun Sung threw away the dead and rushed straight ahead. He realized after trying a few times, but the Evil Queens attacked in coordination as though previously planned, but they strayed from that if the skeleton mountain was in danger.
Because they made such a big fuss, Cha Jun Sung went back every time it happened with the thought that he couldn't get hurt in it.
But it was a little different this time.
He needs to give something up if he wants to gain something.
He is trying to force it out even if that's the length he needs to go to.
Even if he needs to give the Miracle.
Bang bang bang!
Evil Queens run in a frenzy at Cha Jun Sung's bull-rush.
His vision is blocked.
They are like mites.
'More. Come in.'
While running forward, additional forces were produced from the skeleton mountain as soon as he killed them.
Now that he looks at it, the mountain has gotten smaller.
If he lands a big hit, they will show some kind of reaction. Of course it won't be in a good sense.
"Ugh! Preparation?"
[It's already done. Barrier deployment! Lifer Cha Jun Sung needs to prepare for the shock as well. It will scour the entire radius!]One of the Miracles compressed into a circle, went through the Evil Queens, and flew toward the skeleton mountain. Then the one left over wrapped around Cha Jun Sung in layers.
Cha Jun Sung enlarged a coat as st.u.r.dy as iron in that state and compressed it as much as possible. It is a struggle for defense.
"Hiding? Fine. That means she has a special attack. But if the opponent is expecting it and waiting, it's better to get it out faster. You know why? What good is it if you have strength? It's over if you die before you use it."
Using the Miracle's energy overload, its self-attack collides with the skeleton mountain. It isn't like a bomb. It is simply an aggregate of energy.
The skeleton mountain evaporates like a pencil drawing being erased.
Kyah!
Evil Queens scream and scatter out. They lose connection to the main body, act individually, and try to find a way to live.
Cha Jun Sung wanted to kill them, but he couldn't move either. It is because an energy septic wave flew at him from the front.
"Black Lord!"
A yell heard from ahead of him.
One out of the hundreds of Evil Queens rapidly transformed and changed into Evil Queen's second awakened state.
"Don't look for me, and worry about yourself."
The big explosion from the Miracle's self-destruction swallowed Cha Jun Sung and Evil Queen whole. Flames spark in front of the barrier.
The collision between the energies had offset the shock. It was incredible. It is such a great power that not even level 10 Evil Queen could be guaranteed survival.
It was so strong that after the remaining energy cracked the barrier, it knocked Cha Jun Sung's coat. The sh.e.l.l comes off like a shedding snake.
"f.u.c.k…"
Bang bang bang bang!
Cha Jun Sung's swearing was swept into the explosion and disappeared to the other side.
/ /
Volume 9 / Chapter 276
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Isleidir
Cha Jun Sung shook his head and stood up.
His body was a mess. 80% of the main body was gone. It was because he relieved even this much of the shock.
His arm and tail that had been ripped off, but a part of his body regenerated and went back to its form. He had attacked the skeleton mountain by sacrificing the Miracle.
It took down hundreds of Evil Queens, but not all of them will have died.
"I almost died."
It isn't an exaggeration. He would have ended up like the skeleton mountain if she had been hit while bare-bodied.
[It was dangerous.]Odin went back to the PDA in the body in order to communicate with Cha Jun Sung. It had not evaporated because it was inside his body.
Cha Jun Sung walks to the skeleton mountain. Only the terrain is left after it was blown away cleanly. There are traces of it everywhere, but there wasn't a lot.
"Just come out now."
Cha Jun Sung spoke as he looked around the area where the mountain had been.
Then…
A piece of flesh dripping in red crawls out from one side of the forest.
Evil Queen.
It seems there had been a problem in composing her form. But it is impressive that she stayed alive. That's how strong she was.
"I just tried copying what I saw in a movie. I didn't think she would actually come out."
[It fell together luckily.]Cha Jun Sung smirked and looked at the red life form – at Evil Queen.
"Black… Lord! I – I need to get stronger! I need to get stronger to stay alive!"
"What is she talking about?"
Could it be strength from rage?
The red liquid takes distinct form.
It isn't her first, second, or third awakening, but Evil Queen's form. She is smaller and less harmful than usual. He doesn't even feel intimidation.
"Is it because of the shock? Because Bon Load died and only you survived? I don't care."
Cha Jun Sung released his awakened state.
Instead of fighting with difficulty in this state, he chose to strengthen his body. And then he spoke.
"Take it out."
A battlesuit came out of the s.p.a.ce compression bag that Odin opened.
Cha Jun Sung went into it without delay. A different kind of strength from a mutant.
"I should see the end as a Lifer, shouldn't I?"
[That's the coolest thing you've said until now.]"It'll be a quote."
Kyak!
Evil Queen lost reason, Cha Jun Sung burst his Overbooster, took out Hades, and became a beam of light.
A ray that lights up the darkness.
[Danger warning, battlesuit damage 79%. Activating the secondary core.]The battlecore's energy was done. As the secondary core became activated, it maintains the battlesuit's very limited basic system.
Cha Jun Sung sat, leaning on a boulder. From the way he sat and the shape of the broken boulder, it looks like it was embedded under great strength.
The battlesuit had been reduced to sc.r.a.p iron and was so damaged that it wasn't positive if Cha Jun Sung inside was safe. It looked like he needed to dispose of it right away.
Clunk clunk!
The crushed and ripped outer armor separates itself.
Each time the seriously damaged parts fell, it found a relatively good appearance.
This was due to Odin's judgment that there was no use in keep it on.
The battlesuit that had been just under 3m tall had sharply reduced. Ultimately, it transformed to resemble a basic level C battlesuit.
As much as it has a simplified appearance, there is an impact on performance.
[How long are you going to lay there?]"It's hard…"
[The notice is coming. If you're tired, squeeze out the strength.]Cha Jun Sung moaned as he got up.
No, he tried to get up.
But he couldn't get up. He can't put strength in his entire body.
"Booster output 5%."
Boom boom!
Weak flames are ejected from the booster and lift Cha Jun Sung's body into the air. It feels like he is floating in water. He could stand with a little strength.
Strictly speaking, it couldn't be said that he is standing on his own. He is standing with the booster's strength.
All he is doing is holding the balance.
Cha Jun Sung picks up Hades from the ground.
It had been a vicious fight.
Nothing is left in the area because they poured everything out.
They reduced a several kilometer radius into ruins.
The Heavy Gravity was still being maintained, and ordinary Lifers couldn't come here.
Not far from where Cha Jun Sung is sitting.
Evil Queen is gasping for breath among disgusting sc.r.a.ps of meat.
Cha Jun Sung is a mess too, but he at least has a ruined battlesuit. On the other hand, Evil Queen used all of her energy in battle. She is in such a helpless state that he could shoot her and she would die. There is a clear winner.
"I'm.. dying?"
"Why am I dying?"
"It's a world where the strong live. Only the weak die! I withstood that h.e.l.l. Why am I dying in a place like this?"
Cha Jun Sung didn't say anything as he put Hades to Evil Queen's chest.
Is it because the ability is lost?
He can feel her nucleus' energy.
"Law and order collapsed when the world collapsed! That kind of law of the jungle where the strong live and the weak ie! The era of beasts came! I survived that kind of period, but I have to die here?"
He only heard fragments, but Cha Jun Sung understood what Evil Queen was saying.
She would have been an ordinary woman before awakening.
How would an ordinary woman change after going through that period?
It wouldn't be strange for her personality to change to the extreme.
Cha Jun Sung first met Evil Queen in the virtual version. He does not know a lot about Evil Queen not just as a level 9 mutant, but also as a human.
"… I guess you're a victim too if you really look at it. Life Mission is the one that created all of this, and we're the ones who came into contact with you first."
If the virus hadn't been spread in this world, mutants, animals, and humans would have been living their own lives. Evil Queen would have been living in a different form as well.
Lifers were guaranteed human life and had a choice, but mutants hadn't had a choice in anything since the virus was spread.
Mutants experienced more loss than Lifers did.
"Who do you think you are! What right do you have to kill me? Are you even Black Lord? Why do you hate me? Why are you so hostile to me?"
Evil Queen behaved opposite to what is normal for her because she had been driven to the extreme.
Cha Jun Sung found a puzzling question among her rapidfire interrogation.
The reason why he hates Evil Queen.
At some point while going through Life Mission's virtual and reality versions, he took on Evil Queen as his goal and naturally came to hate her.
The reason?
He doesn't know.
He can't explain in a way to make someone else understand.
'Is it brainwas.h.i.+ng?'
A total of 10 years.
He enjoyed Life Mission's virtual version for 10 years. It isn't a game where he pounds on the computer keyboard and mouse with his fingers.
It was a virtual reality that used EEG to make them feel like they were experiencing it for themselves. It is plenty of time to be brainwashed without realizing it.
'Training school.'
The supervisors and helpers said that the virtual version were a training school.
What is a training school?
Just as it sounds, it is a place where something is trained.
Come to think of it, he remembers long ago when the reality version was first launched and he was summoned to this world to hunt dozens of Kiwods.
He had never killed until then. Even if he had had experience, he ma.s.sacred living things in a matter of a day without any resolve.
This was similar with other Lifers as well.
There were those who had expressed reluctance, but there had been very few. Most of them killed and weren't even afflicted by any after effects.
'Why?'
Because they were the same.
There was almost no difference between the virtual and reality versions, so they didn't feel any distrust.
'It was thorough.'
All Lifers including Cha Jun Sung moved the way they had intended while designing Life Mission, from start to end. They can't even blame someone else.
No matter how strong their bodies are, they are deadwood if their minds have deteriorated.
The virtual version's main purposes were killing living beings and cultivating the minds of contemporary people who build walls as they live their lives. Even if a Lifer other than Cha Jun Sung had met Evil Queen in the virtual version, they would have been brainwashed to register Evil Queen as an enemy as well.
Cha Jun Sung looks down at Evil Queen.
She has no fault.
But…
The eerie feeling of penetrating the nucleus.
Cha Jun Sung split Evil Queen into hundreds of pieces in that state. It was for complete destruction.
"Sorrry."
He means it.
He realized what the problem was, but he couldn't let her live. There's no progress if he doesn't kill her. That's it.
/ /
