Chapter 40: Let’s See What You’ve Got
The rcenary captain clenched his teeth as he looked at the girl.
He had seen too many of his vice-captains die horribly, torn to pieces because they underestimated that delicate appearance. With her bare hands, she could rip through armor and tear flesh. That girl was undoubtedly a monster wearing a human disguise.
“You monstrous wench!”
He struck with all his might, a heavy sword blow aid at her.
The girl twisted her body slightly to the side and raised her forearm.
Puuk—!
The mont the sword pierced her left forearm, the girl steadied her swaying body and stretched her remaining hand toward the rcenary’s heart.
A speed so fast it left afterimages.
Her hand drove straight through the rcenary’s heart.
“Kuh, kuhugh!”
The girl glanced briefly at the rcenary, who coughed up blood, then slowly pulled out his heart.
Gguaaaaah—!
A wretched scream echoed out.
Blood splattered across the girl’s face. As she stared blankly at the pulsing heart in her hand, the rcenary’s life was completely snuffed out.
The shouts of the remaining rcenaries turned to screams, and then faded into silence.
With their captain dead, the rcenaries fell into panic. No longer organized, they scattered in all directions, desperately trying to escape.
But those caught in the encirclent were eventually rounded up by the chiras and dragged off sowhere.
“Aaaah—!”
“Sp-spare …!”
A hellish scene of despair unfolded.
Soon after, the forest clearing, now empty, was littered with only the traces of bloody sars where the bodies had been taken.
“Arena, be careful.”
Dominic took out a handkerchief and wiped Arena’s bloodstained face. He then examined her pierced forearm and began to treat it.
He tore away the shredded flesh and removed the ruptured muscle.
A level of excruciating pain no human could bear.
But the girl rely stared blankly at the heart still clutched in her hand.
Finishing the treatnt, Dominic gently stroked her hair.
The brown hair they both shared created a strange sense of dissonance.
“You’ll be fine soon, my beloved daughter.”
The one who would soday acquire Retonicalus's Heart and beco known as the “Calamity of Beneta,” with a hundred hearts within her.
Dominic was on the path of madness, crafting his own daughter into a chira, his ultimate masterpiece.
The wound, where even the bone had been exposed, healed rapidly.
This was the effect of troll DNA mixed into her body, granting her incredible regenerative abilities.
But just as quickly, Arena’s body suddenly went limp.
Dominic pulled a violet gemstone from his pocket and placed it in Arena’s mouth.
A purple light glowed inside her mouth. As the light faded and the mana stone dissolved, she regained her composure, standing by Dominic’s side as if she had never collapsed.
Dominic glanced up at the sky, gauging the ti.
‘The duration of the mana stone’s effect is getting shorter.’
This wasn’t a bad on.
It ant her body had developed to a point where it could no longer rely on the violet mana stone for sustenance.
From what Dominic understood, it was an indication that her body was reaching perfection. The only issue was that he had yet to find a new power source to sustain it.
‘I tried to buy ti by increasing the supply, but the situation’s turning strange.’
Dominic looked around.
Until just monts ago, five hundred rcenaries had been lying in ambush here, waiting for him.
Now, Etor was after him, just like Beneta.
‘The order ca from Tomzael, the Lord of Etor.’
After persuading a few of the cornered rcenaries, he had obtained information that was of serious concern.
‘The Demon’s Gem, a mana catalyst—how did the secret of the bio mana stone leak?’
The rumor of the mana stones had spread across the entire Tobaron region.
How had Viscount Tomzael learned about the mana stones and ordered the chira hunt?
‘They didn’t even ntion the side effects.’
It was clear that soone was deliberately spreading these rumors.
Who could it be? Who would have the knowledge to understand the secret?
‘Is it them?’
He recalled the chiras that had suffered heavy losses a few days ago on the western side of Laup Forest. More than half of them hadn’t returned, and the only place that could explain the presence of red mana stones in Etor was there.
A mysterious group of shamans.
They vanished as soon as he started to make his move, as if deliberately avoiding him. If those shamans were indeed involved, they might know the secret of the bio mana stones.
‘Their response is too quick.’
The secret of the mana stones had spread, and the movents of the lords surrounding Laup Forest were being observed everywhere.
Beneta, in particular, was the most problematic.
Unlike other places that sent rcenary bands, Beneta’s lord himself had appeared with a personal army.
The plan to gather experintal subjects over a month had reached its limit in less than half that ti.
The thought of retreat crossed Dominic’s mind.
With enough test subjects already secured, was it worth risking further conflict?
It might be better to buy ti by leaving so chiras as bait.
Once they experienced the mana stone’s side effects, they would have no choice but to hesitate.
‘The Crystal Mimic’s greed has been noticeably increasing. It’ll be ti to deal with it soon….’
Ten years ago, while fleeing from Grand Duke Clarke’s pursuit, he had hidden deep within Laup Forest and stumbled upon a ghastly, ancient box wedged into a collapsed cliff.
The ancient box introduced itself as a mimic from ancient tis, and with its high intelligence, it communicated with Dominic.
The bio mana stones were a type of reward the mimic produced after consuming test subjects.
That was the reason for the cross-species hunts.
To receive the violet mana stones, he needed the blood of various species.
And as a bonus, he gained ancient knowledge.
Without the Crystal Mimic, neither the chiras nor Dominic himself would exist as they did now.
It was a savior.
And it was also a target to hunt.
‘If I can just get my hands on a new power source…’
With the “thing” held by the Crystal Mimic, he could finally begin his revenge against Grand Duke Clarke, the one who had plunged him and his daughter into the depths of despair.
Dominic picked up a book. It was thick and heavy, resembling an ancient to, but he held it comfortably with one hand.
“Arena, we need to shut down the experintal prisons. Start the cleanup.”
For the first ti, Arena responded to his command. She gave a slight nod, her eyes flashing with a sharp gleam.
At that mont,
Kwoooooo—!!!!!
The entire forest trembled with the chiras’ cries.
Collection squads began visiting the various experintal prisons set up throughout the forest.
Dominic sat down on a rock alongside Arena.
The chira army was divided into two main roles.
The collection squads and the hunting squads.
Once the chiras that had just finished their hunt returned from the prisons, he planned to leave so as bait and withdraw to the lab.
A retreat-minded operation.
Arena stared blankly at the sky, while Dominic resud reading his book.
“The end is near.”
Dominic muttered quietly as he looked down at the book.
Kiaaaaaaah—!
A shrill cry echoed close by.
Elton signaled to halt.
Moving swiftly through the trees above the forest, I sensed a flurry of presences below as branches whipped past.
People, terror-stricken, were fleeing among a swarm of chiras.
“M-monsters…!”
“What the hell are these things?! Where did they suddenly… Aaaagh!!!!”
The chiras rampaged, seizing any humans they caught sight of.
With far more chiras than humans, it seed only a matter of ti before they were all caught.
“What are you planning to do?”
“What do you an?”
“You must have a purpose.”
“A purpose? Yeah, I’ve got one. Just follow .”
For now, I planned to head toward the mountain stronghold.
Once we arrived, we concealed ourselves in the treetops and surveyed the surroundings.
An enormous crowd was scattering in all directions across the forest.
Two thousand? Three thousand?
There seed to be even more than the band of thieves we’d encountered last ti. Just as Karl had ntioned, it looked like Dominic was indiscriminately capturing humans.
Those fleeing to survive were using others as bait.
They shoved down their companions as they ran, stabbed their allies in the legs with weapons, and threw stones at the weaker ones to slow them down.
Justice did not exist here.
The first ones to be captured and dragged away were always the weak.
In the past, I might have watched this scene with a bitter feeling.
Perhaps I would have even offered help if it was needed.
But now, I had learned to accept the situation as it was.
I followed behind the humans being dragged off by the chiras. Elton, looking at with a questioning expression, finally voiced his suspicion.
“Don’t tell … you’re planning to save them?”
“No.”
Saving them all would be impossible, and rescuing them wouldn’t benefit my survival in any way.
“Then why are you following?”
“I want to see how the chiras cross over.”
“Cross over what? The boundary?”
“Yeah. Have you seen it before?”
Elton nodded heavily. After a mont, he pointed in a certain direction.
At the edge of the barrier, we saw chiras. They paused for a mont, devouring the humans they’d captured in a single gulp.
Then, they leapt into the air.
The chiras disappeared as if they had vanished into thin air.
The sa scene unfolded all along the boundary, without regard to direction.
When I narrowed my eyes at Elton, he continued explaining.
“We tried jumping through that place ourselves, but it just transported us to a different part of the forest. We couldn’t escape.”
It had been the sa for .
If anything, I’d almost been killed by a sli that ambushed during my attempt.
But it seed that chiras could sohow leave through the barrier.
“There’s a pattern to it.”
“A pattern?”
“Every single one of them disappears after consuming a human.”
“So, the chiras act as a conduit for escaping the barrier.”
What was the difference between us and the chiras?
A few days ago, I had tried crossing the boundary while holding a mana stone, but it hadn’t worked.
That ant the mana stones weren’t the key.
While I was pondering, I noticed three creatures that looked like gnolls, lumbering on two legs just below us. No—they weren’t exactly gnolls; they were chira versions of gnolls, with mismatched monster arms grafted onto their sides.
Co to think of it, most of the small chiras resembled gnolls. Considering the large population of gnolls in Laup Forest, it made sense that they’d be a common base material for the chiras here.
‘Ti to test the waters.’
My goal was to collect violet mana stones by hunting the larger chiras. But first, I needed to confirm sothing.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got.’
Elton, the Fla Blade.
I needed to verify his skills firsthand.
I looked over at Elton and gave him a hand signal, instructing him to attack the gnolls.
Elton’s brow twitched in irritation.
“Don’t order around.”
“I thought you were interested in the mana stones, no?”
“……”
At my smirk, Elton scowled, then finally drew his dagger. With a swift leap, he descended from the tree, heading straight toward the gnolls below.
The mont Elton moved, I pulled out my crossbow and loaded a bolt.
Just as Elton was about to engage, I pulled the trigger.
Thwip—!
Kieeeeeek!
The bolt struck one of the gnoll chiras, making it scream in pain. The forest began to stir in response to its cry.
More chiras were coming.
Elton incinerated one of the gnolls with a surprise attack and then looked up at with wide, furious eyes.
It was a look that said, Are you out of your mind?
I gestured back with another hand signal.
‘Hold them off.’
“You crazy bastard!!!”
Well, there wasn’t much ti for a careful test, after all.
With a strong bait like Elton, the hunt would go that much more smoothly.
‘If you want to be angry, bla Karl. He’s the one who taught this.’
Concealing myself within the foliage, I fixed my gaze sharply on one direction.
The forest was shaking violently in that spot.
A massive creature was on its way.
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