Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 312
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In the dimly lit underground maze, a group of cultists marched forward.
Most were clad in reinforced suits, though some wore massive armor that dwarfed them.
Towering at least two heads above the others, these figures were the fully armed Priests of the Eye of Revelation. Their reinforced suits were specially crafted to battle the Vortex One cult.
Even the most psychic cultists found it nearly impossible to maintain sanity when exposed to the power of Vortex One. Warriors with decades of training often succumbed to madness in a fleeting moment during combat with the cultists.
To mitigate this, the Priesthood provided means to protect their most vital warriors. The elite priests were equipped with suits named Inquisitor Armor. These were crafted using vast quantities of Nova Metal refined with dark matter, offering immunity to various energy-based attacks.
Furthermore, their physical defenses were formidable enough to withstand even the bombardments of warships. In terms of sheer defensive capability, they surpassed the Dragon Scale Armor used by their rivals, the Temple Guardians.
However, the Inquisitor Armor had its drawbacks. Its unique resistance effect nullified any psychic abilities that could enhance combat. Additionally, its weight significantly hindered movement speed.
Among those in the underground maze, some carried special weapons.
At the center of the group, two warriors walked, supporting a single massive weapon between them.
Shaped like a spear wielded by giants or mythical beings, the weapon was called Slayer. It was a modified version of the Temple Guardians' Demolisher, repurposed into a mass-production heavy weapon.
Despite being a mass-production model, its size alone made it vastly more powerful than the Demolisher, making it particularly effective against Outsiders with tough exoskeletons. Considering the specifications of the creature they were about to face, the Slayer was an essential tool.
Burdened by their heavy weapons and armor, the extermination force moved at a sluggish pace.
Yet, no one complained.
Their target was a monster endowed with immense power, high intelligence, and the ability to shapeshift. Facing such a creature without sufficient preparation was tantamount to a death sentence. After all, hadn’t the extermination force that preceded them suffered heavy losses?
Thus, the team adopted a cautious strategy, building an encirclement to trap the creature. Although this approach consumed an entire day, the results were promising.
Now, thousands of cult warriors awaited at key locations throughout the underground maze. When the extermination force or the guards at each point encountered the “Three-Headed Demon,” other units would reposition to intercept its movements and rebuild the encirclement.
Although the creature launched occasional attacks on the defenders and extermination force while they established the net, the damage it caused was minimal. Conversely, the team managed to injure it.
Approximately three hours ago, as the group approached a fork, the creature suddenly appeared.
From its grotesque maw spewed a torrent of highly acidic liquid and clumps of corrosive fungus.
Despite the ferocity of the attack, the extermination force was ready this time. The heavily armed priests shielded the team, leveraging the defensive capabilities of their Inquisitor Armor. Meanwhile, the warriors wielding Slayer opened fire.
Even the creature’s thick carapace was no match for the Slayer’s molecular-disintegration rounds. Two of the horns on its eyeless head were destroyed, forcing the creature to flee immediately.
This first tangible success in the underground brought a surge of morale to the extermination force. If they could injure it, they could kill it.
From that point on, the creature refrained from appearing openly. Instead, it relied on its unique ability to mimic voices, attempting to deceive the team.
But the extermination force was undeterred.
The longer this game of cat and mouse dragged on, the more advantageous it became for them. After all, the cultists owned the planet and could call on endless reinforcements, while the creature could not.
Moreover, reinforcements from the Temple Guardians—specialists in monster hunting were set to arrive in a few hours. Their arrival would decisively tilt the odds in favor of the extermination force.
“Movement detected 500 meters ahead,” reported a subordinate.
“Good. Inform the priests at the other locations,” the deputy commander of the Eye of Revelation Priesthood responded with a nod.
“Yes, sir.”
The warriors wielding Slayer prepared to fire at a moment’s notice, while the priests in Inquisitor Armor gripped their weapons tightly.
The sounds of their breathing and footsteps echoed faintly against the earthen walls.
As the distance between the detected movement and the extermination force diminished, a sound emerged from ahead.
“Everyone, halt.”
At the deputy commander’s words, the entire squad halted their movements. In the silence, where even breathing couldn’t be heard, a voice echoed once more.
"Help me!"
Someone was pleading from the shadows that had yet to be illuminated. However, the deputy commander did not act rashly.
"Is there a standby point nearby?"
"There is one."
"Have you contacted them?"
A subordinate who had hurriedly tried to establish contact shook his head. The deputy commander immediately issued an order.
"Stay alert. It's close."
"Yes, sir."
"If you see any movement, commence fire immediately. That’s an order."
The creature had been mimicking voices to deceive them all along. The chances that it was an ally were slim.
In fact, orders from above had already clarified this: the creature could imitate the voices of other sentient beings, so if there was any suspicion, they were to attack without hesitation.
Following the deputy commander’s lead, the extermination team began cautiously advancing toward the source of the voice.
"Help meee! Help meee!"
"Pay it no mind. Focus on your mission. I’ll take full responsibility for everything."
"Help meeeeee!"
The closer they got, the more desperate the screams became. Each time the voice rang out, the deputy commander kept the team’s morale steady, preventing them from faltering.
Then, all of a sudden, the voice stopped.
The corridor, which should have been filled with silence, began to tremble. The deputy commander, catching sight of something shifting beyond the shaking shadows, shouted loudly.
"Open fire!"
The slayers and various weapons unleashed a barrage, illuminating the dark tunnel in bursts of light. The thunderous explosions battered the walls of the corridor mercilessly. Amidst the flashing light, a massive creature twisted its body violently.
The relentless bombardment of the extermination team only ceased once the creature’s movements stopped entirely.
The dirt-covered ground was soon slick with its spilled blood.
No creature could survive after losing that much blood, but the deputy commander remained cautious.
"Confirm it."
A priest cautiously approached the creature.
"D-Deputy Commander!"
"What is it? Is it still alive?"
"No, sir! Please, come take a look!"
The voice of the subordinate inspecting the corpse was filled with evident distress.
The deputy commander moved closer and, upon seeing the body, understood the cause of their unease.
The corpse lying before them…
The creature, half-buried in the dirt, was not the three-headed demon they were hunting.
It was a Redworm a species vital to this planet's ecosystem.
"What… what should we do?"
In a way, it would have been better if the creature were still alive.
'…Damn it.'
The dead Redworm was an immature specimen. Judging by its size, it could easily be mistaken for the three-headed demon they were pursuing.
This meant the creature might have been mimicking a Redworm to avoid their attention. Or worse, it may have already slipped past them entirely.
Tracking solely by size and vibrations had revealed a critical blind spot.
"Contact HQ immediately. Tell them the target is hiding among the Redworms."
"Yes, understood…"
At that moment, the silent corridor trembled. The sub-leader knew exactly what that meant.
"More Redworms are coming! Prepare for battle!"
The three-headed demon hadn’t just run away.
It had prepared a massive trap targeting them.
---
‘Got them.’
The vibrations were so intense they could be felt without auxiliary sensors.
The Redworms were on the move.
They probably thought they had successfully cornered me, but they were wrong. In reality, I had led them here.
Straight into Redworm territory.
The hunting squad didn’t realize it, but the tunnels they were standing in weren’t my work. All I had done was add a few diversions to the burrows the Redworms naturally used.
On top of that, I made sure to throw my voice along the way, luring them into a grave mistake. They assumed I was the only one beneath the crimson sands capable of mimicking voices.
‘The ranker probably realizes something’s wrong… but it’s too late now.’
At this point, the ranker has two options.
They could come down here and chase me directly, or they could kill every moving Redworm.
‘They’ll likely choose the latter.’
If the ranker was sharp, they’d suspect this situation was orchestrated by me. But with their heightened caution, it was unlikely they’d risk coming underground.
And bringing out the Imperial Carrier to attack this place wasn’t an easy decision either. Destroying Verzan 02 was on a completely different scale than just bombing a sanctuary.
Even if they somehow managed to destroy it, what if I survived? Would they take the risk of facing me in the void of space, unsupported by anyone?
The only realistic option for the ranker was to kill the Redworms and continue tracking me.
‘Not that it’ll matter, since that’s exactly what I want.’
Before they even set up their net, I had already encountered over 80 Redworms. Imagine how long it would take them to hunt all of them down. Even at their fastest, it would take at least a week.
While they chased the wrong target, I only needed to wait until I could transform again.
‘Of course, I’ll need to spice things up a bit.’
To keep them from straying from my plan, I’d reveal myself at the right moments. That way, they’d cling to the futile hope of catching me by hunting the Redworms.
And they’d keep assuming I was in a ‘weakened state.’
‘Alright, time to move aga—oh, wait.’
Just as I was about to search for others who hadn’t encountered the Redworms yet, I remembered something I had forgotten.
I raised one of my combat arms and grabbed two horns on the left side of my head. With all my strength, I snapped them off.
Number 26 watched as I broke the intact horns, then nudged me with its tentacle.
｢Big One, why break horns?｣
[ZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZ (I’m pretending I haven’t healed yet.)]
｢Pretend? I know pretend! I pretend to be bad things too!｣
[ZZZ (Exactly.)]
｢I’m good at pretend! Watch!｣
The creature spoke and extended its mutation tentacle. The ordinary tentacle shifted and wavered before taking the shape of the broken horns on my left head. The only difference was that it was pink, but otherwise, it looked exactly like my own head.
[ZZZ (Well done.)]
｢I’m good at it!｣
[ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (When you meet bad guys, just do it like before.)]
｢Yeah. It’s acting.｣
The tentacle, now returned to its original form, climbed up and perched on my head.
From there, I moved with it, taunting the enemies as we went. Even after Adhai joined me, the plan stayed the same.
As expected, the enemies chose to reduce the Redworms. However, far more forces were deployed underground than I had anticipated.
‘I didn’t think they’d even bring the Temple Guards.’
The Temple Guards were not only priests' bodyguards but also experts in monster hunting. Normally, they wouldn’t be stationed on Verzan 02, since the Eyes of Revelation priesthood handled that task.
But seeing warriors clad in their sacred armor patrolling this place meant they had been urgently summoned from another planet.
‘They must really want to catch me…’
But their method was flawed.
The large number of troops wasted time killing Redworms, mistaking them for me. Thanks to that, I was able to hold out underground for two days without serious damage.
‘Just one more hour.’
In about an hour, the cooldown for ‘Organic Evolution’ would end. After that, I could leave this place in my transformed state.
Mother of the Sky and PS-111 had already prepared for my escape long ago. They would be waiting for me at the rendezvous point outside.
‘Should I push the enemies even further before I go?’
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Go on ahead. I have something to take care of.)]
｢Okay.｣
｢Hurry｣｢Come on｣｢We’ll wait for you.｣
I patted Number 26 and Adhai once each for their hard work and sent them on their way.
Leaving them behind, I turned in the direction where the cult group had gathered.
‘Hmm?’
Just as I neared the group, my auxiliary senses detected an unusual presence.
The cultists in this underground area never traveled in small numbers. But this presence I sensed now it wasn’t the feeling of a large group.
‘And this familiarity… I feel like I’ve sensed it before.’
The approaching figure moved with faint footsteps and mechanical precision. It was the movement of someone I had faced directly before, but I couldn’t recall when or where.
‘Just in case.’
I prepared my acidic breath, aiming in the direction of the approaching presence. The moment the figure emerged from beyond the cave, I unleashed the breath.
A cannon made of thick, greenish, viscous liquid shot across the corridor and struck the target.
“…Acidic slime. It hasn’t changed.”
‘Huh?’
A voice echoed through the corridor, shrouded in acidic smoke. And then, an intangible blade-like gust sliced through the mist, severing one of the horns on my central head.
‘Could it be?’
“Do you remember me?”
I was more shocked by the identity of the opponent than by the fact that the tip of my horn had been cut.
Long, black hair, a thin frame, and eyes that exuded a cold, calm madness.
There was only one person I had encountered with such traits.
The first formidable foe I had faced since landing in this world.
A genetically engineered human who had been defeated by me in a life-or-death battle.
‘Si-Hyun Yujin?’
She, who had died once, now reappeared in this dark underground world.
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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