STL

Chapter 32: One-Man Army

Added 2025-06-17 18:00:05 +0000 UTC

Question (5)

The Chimera devoured the cultists ravenously. Kwon Hyun-seung fired his gun, causing it to flee hastily. Its escape speed was remarkable.

"Where did that thing even come from?"

Comet rested her chin on the railing, gazing down thoughtfully.

『Wouldn't you say an Alchemist summoned it?』

"Well, yeah, probably."

The cult's Alchemist was visible, clutching his head in despair. Beside him, the pseudo-cult leader was holding the back of his neck. It seemed summoning the Chimera wasn't the intended outcome.

A gunshot rang out, and the Chimera twisted its body. The gunshot wound healed quickly, seemingly causing no significant damage.

"Interesting."

『What do you find so, pray tell?』

"The Chimera's purpose seems to be for engaging in combat with the military."

The cult's Awakened rushed towards the Chimera. Spears pierced, swords swung, and fists moved, imbued with Mana.

Tendrils stretched towards the buildings. The Chimera evaded the attacks and flew towards a building. A cultist by the window was devoured.

Comet retrieved a soul orb and collected the soul.

"It's been taught to avoid engaging strong opponents. It mainly devours the weak. That way, it'll be injured less, but its regeneration speed is inefficiently fast. As if it was designed to withstand gunshots."

Martial arts-based Awakened climbed the building walls, chasing the Chimera. It was futile. The Chimera extended a cluster of tendrils, traversing several buildings before landing on the opposite street. Several cultists were entangled in the tendrils and devoured. The already massive Chimera grew slightly larger.

"Wow, it's good at three-dimensional maneuvers too. It seems it was raised with urban warfare in mind. The Alchemist may not have been good at one-on-one combat, but they're skilled at raising Chimeras."

Comet leaned against the railing.

"If they had a few of those, it would definitely be difficult for the military to advance. Unless they bombed it, but bombing the city to catch a pseudo-religion is not cost-effective, so that's unlikely. It seems like a Chimera raised for a show of force."

『……Are you enjoying the spectacle?』

"I never thought I'd see something like this in reality, not just in a game."

The Awakened jumped from the buildings, attacking the Chimera. The Chimera grabbed a streetlight with its tendril cluster and performed an evasive maneuver. The Chimera's body spun around the streetlight, flying through the air. The tendril cluster swayed.

"Wow, I should have become an Alchemist."

『Perhaps that would have been better……. It's tormenting to be with a Necromancer.』

The Alchemist belatedly arrived at the scene where the Chimera had passed. He grabbed his head and collapsed. He seemed to have fainted from excessive stress. The cult leader hurriedly supported the Alchemist.

The Chimera, clinging to the building wall, shook its tendril cluster and let out a shriek. Then, it kicked off the wall and soared into the air. The Chimera landed on another street. Unfortunately, it was where the Alchemist was. The round, massive lump of flesh rushed towards the Alchemist. The Alchemist and the cult leader beside him were crushed.

The sound of a loudspeaker blared.

"Everyone, evacuate inside the buildings! This is an emergency!"

Kwon Hyun-seung shouted from the rooftop of a building. Some of the cultists, terrified and bewildered, hurriedly evacuated to nearby buildings. Doors and windows were quickly closed.

The Chimera moved towards the source of the noise. The monster, climbing the wall, reached the rooftop where Kwon Hyun-seung was in an instant.

The Chimera shook its tendril cluster and shrieked. Kwon Hyun-seung recoiled in horror. Being a non-Awakened with little practical experience, he seemed to have forgotten that raising his voice could attract the Chimera. Or perhaps he was so focused on evacuating people that he didn't think about this aspect.

The loudspeaker fell to the ground, and the gun barrel spat fire. The rushing tendril cluster burst apart. New tendrils emerged from the Chimera's body.

The tendril cluster swayed, and a shriek echoed. In that gap, bullets struck the body, but it quickly regenerated. As a tendril swung, Kwon Hyun-seung was sent flying and crashed down.

The Awakened, belatedly arriving by climbing the wall, attacked the Chimera. The tendril that was about to drag Kwon Hyun-seung away was severed. The Chimera quickly leaped towards another building. Three-dimensional maneuvers were performed, moving from building to building. The Awakened shouted and chased after it. It was of little use. The difference in mobility was too great.

Kwon Hyun-seung, who had been knocked down, used his gun as a support to stand up. He staggered to the rooftop railing and watched the chase. The Chimera pierced a window with its tendril and dragged out a person. A scream rang out and then stopped.

The shadow watching it staggered across the rooftop. The loudspeaker was picked up.

A moment of silence flowed.

It was impossible to know how many thoughts were passing through his mind at that moment.

Kwon Hyun-seung squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

"Your food is here!"

The somewhat hesitant shout was amplified by the loudspeaker and became organized. The shout contained more courage than hesitation.

Someone had to play the role of bait. If so, it should be given to the courageous. It was clearly a valuable action.

But it changed nothing.

The Chimera no longer reacted to the troublesome opponent. Instead, it dodged the Awakened and leaped, breaking the next window.

Kwon Hyun-seung ran towards the railing and shouted.

"I'm here!"

His voice echoed through the city.

But nothing changed.

Someone shouted, and someone died.

The gradually decreasing shouts and the gradually increasing screams mixed together.

As time passed, nothing changed.

The loudspeaker fell weakly to the ground.

A person collapsed.

Even so, nothing changed.

Comet put her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky.

Screams were heard.

『End your indifference. Go and seek honor. Honor is something to be respected.』

"Alright."

Comet rummaged through her robes.

"Because souls must be respected."

A soul orb was taken out. Souls surged, and a giant wolf appeared. Fenrir howled.

Comet touched Fenrir.

Incantation omitted.

Spirit Body Enhancement.

Fenrir kicked off the rooftop and leaped. A Spiritual Power storm raged in the air, and Fenrir kicked off the sky. The trajectory of Spiritual Power plunged towards the ground. The Spirit Body Chimera and the Biomech Chimera collided. The wolf's fangs tore at the Chimera, trampling it.

Comet crossed rooftop after rooftop, walking to where Kwon Hyun-seung was. Kwon Hyun-seung, who was sitting down and watching the battle between the Chimeras, turned to look at Comet.

"I came because I heard shouting."

"……Did it reach the mountains?"

Kwon Hyun-seung seemed to remember that Comet had said she was going hiking.

Comet smiled brightly.

"If I hadn't heard it, I wouldn't have come."

"That's a relief."

Kwon Hyun-seung lowered his head. He took a deep breath, and his shoulders dropped, as if he was relieved.

"You did well. If someone hadn't shouted, many people would have died. You saved them."

Kwon Hyun-seung let out a hollow laugh.

"You're exaggerating too much."

"But it's true."

Even though the being who came after hearing the shout might not be a benevolent god, she was at least a benevolent demon.

Comet took out a soul orb. She blew on it to remove the dust. She put it in her mouth and broke it. Spiritual Power surged, and black wings were unfurled.

Kwon Hyun-seung looked up.

Comet lightly kicked off the rooftop and flew into the sky. Her wings fluttered, and she sped through the sky. Sunlight sparkled as she pierced through the cold clouds.

She spread her arms, basking in the sunlight. It was warm. She didn't want to use more souls, so should she push herself a little? She extended her knife forward. The knife transformed into a long spear. As she swung it, some of the clouds cleared.

The Chimeras, tangled together and fighting on the ground, were visible. Comet relaxed her body and slowly fell. As the speed accelerated by gravity reached its limit, she pointed the spear towards the ground and fluttered her wings. A shockwave shook the sky.

Fenrir hurriedly fled. A black trajectory moved towards the Bio Chimera. Her wings shattered, and Spiritual Power gathered at the tip of the spear. The spear and the Chimera collided. The explosive force struck the earth. The massive creature burst apart, and the impact tore through the ground. The atmosphere exploded, and some of the glass windows shattered.

A moment passed. Comet raised herself from a pool of blood. Then, she frowned and wiped her mouth. Chimera blood dripped down.

"I forgot about this. It tastes awful……."

Comet smacked her lips and frowned.

The Princess was horrified.

『What are you eating?! Spit it out!』

"I'm not eating it. And you shouldn't spit on the street."

Fenrir, who had fled, ran over and lapped up the pool of blood. The pool of blood splashed. Comet stroked Fenrir.

"See? If I had spat, he would have eaten it."

『Is that what you're saying right now? Stop him from that first!』

"Let him drink. He must be thirsty."

『People are watching!』

"Ah."

Kwon Hyun-seung and the Awakened were watching from afar.

Comet hurriedly stopped Fenrir.

"You can't eat things like this, yuck. You'll get a stomachache."

Fenrir protested, sticking out his snout. It seemed to be asking what kind of stomachache a soul could get. She coaxed and soothed him, putting him back into the soul orb. Comet felt like she was sweating, so she wiped her forehead. There was no sweat, but blood dripped down.

"I really feel like I get a lot of help from the Princess."

『Hmph.』

Comet stretched her stiff body, which had been strained from pushing herself, and left the crater.

Kwon Hyun-seung, who was organizing the situation with the Awakened, approached.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to catch it before more damage occurred."

"I just did what I had to do."

Comet smiled. Kwon Hyun-seung smiled back and looked at the crater. His smile seemed weak.

"Amazing……."

"I pushed myself a bit."

The assimilation rate is still insufficient.

"Even so, you're amazing."

Kwon Hyun-seung smiled bitterly. Even though the problem was solved, he didn't seem entirely happy.