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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s Disciple]
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Chapter 118
In a forest covered with towering redwoods that extend for hundreds of meters, night fell once again. The dense green leaves and the red hue of the trees combined, casting a navy blue tint over the darkness of the forest. In the chilly and silent space, six Heavy Walkers advanced with their lights on.
‘Let’s see.’
I observed them from above the trees. Honestly, as a quasi-player, I could just go down and take them all out, but there’s a reason I’m not doing that.
‘I can’t afford to be exposed. If they find out I’m a quasi-entity, Muriel will either prepare accordingly or try to escape into space to get away from me.’
There doesn’t seem to be another ship besides the battleship, but if they have a means of escaping into space, I can’t stop them. To prevent this, I need to destroy all six at once, ensuring that the enemies can’t capture me on camera.
“I can’t even sleep; what a hassle.”
“Hey, is that around here?”
“Yes, he’s close.”
“Ah, that creature is wandering around a lot.”
“It’s fortunate that he’s close, it will make it easier for us to find him, so let’s catch him quickly and go back.”
The Walker operators complain about chasing traces all day long.
‘Alright.’
Since everyone is momentarily relaxed, now is the time to strike.
Hidden in a suitable spot to surprise attack at any moment, I tightly coiled my tail around the tree and extended my upper body over their heads.
“Now, let’s go.”
I quickly activated the corrosive tentacles. The sharp six appendages of the corrosive tentacles poured down like arrows, accurately targeting the control seats of the six Heavy Walkers. The tentacle pierced through the upper part of the control seats, pulling out or crushing only the heads of the operators inside.
“…!”
The Griffin Wolf, who had been aware of my existence since earlier, leaped forward. The blood-sucking tentacle that sprang from my hand sadly missed the target and only struck the barren ground.
The leaping Griffin Wolf soared upwards. Its body defied the laws of nature, soaring into the air as if there were invisible stairs. Although there was an iron chain connected to its neck, it seemed like the creature had no intention of escaping.
Like an eagle spotting its prey, the Griffin swiftly attacked. Its target was not my upper body, but my tail, the part holding onto the tree.
Quickly releasing my tail and spreading the wings, I flew to another tree. In an instant, the creature’s forelimb struck the Redwood.
Creak.
The sturdy Redwood was deeply gouged by the creature’s forelimb.
“?!.”
The creature, as if it didn’t know how to dodge, widened its eyes. I, now on a different tree, fluffed my tail dramatically.
It seemed the creature didn’t know how to avoid flying. It stared at me with wide eyes as I fluffed my tail, then I swung it forcefully.
Large thorns, larger than kitchen knives, flew towards the creature floating in the air. With eyes resembling an eagle’s, the creature read the trajectory of the incoming thorns in a short moment and evaded them all.
As soon as the creature landed on the ground, the Walkers lost all their control, slowly falling forward.
[What’s happening? Why did all signals cut off? Mother of the sky? What’s going on?]
｢The Walkers fell prey to that creature.｣
Muriel’s bewildered voice flowed from the communication device inside the Walker. Griffin responded briefly with a melodious tone resembling a bird of prey.
[What…What did you say?]
｢He recovered in the meantime.｣
[What the hell?! What kind of nonsense is this? Hey! Bring out the cameras attached to the Walkers! I need to see it for myself!]
However I Couldn’t have possibly allowed her to see me so, I activated the contaminated fungus organ. Contaminated fungus surged upward from near the esophagus, spewing it onto the control seats of the Walkers.
The contaminated fungus that fell onto the Walkers bounced around, adhering to all six of them.
｢I’m dealing with that creature.｣
[Forget the nonsense and quickly pull out… sssss]
“…….”
The control seats melted entirely, and the cameras and communication devices vanished along with them. The Griffin severed the chain around its neck with the fungus.
Seeing that, I was convinced. The creature was also a player.
“You’re… a… player?”
｢Yes.｣
The Griffin answered, not taking its gaze off me. Then it soon wrinkled its face.
｢…Damn, I thought I found happiness, but now I meet a psycho girl and an Amorph in succession.｣
Judging by the conversation they had before the Walkers died and her current attitude,The Griffin Wolf and Muriel didn’t seem to get along.
‘Two players encountered each other already.’
It seems like there are more players in this world than I thought.
‘I’ll look into that later.’
For now, I need to deal with the Griffin Wolf before Muriel arrives. Although it’s uncertain due to its ambiguous attitude, Muriel’s momentary carelessness is enough.
Feeling my hostility, the creature moved slowly to the side, lowering its body like a lion stalking its prey. With my long tail in tow, I also aimed for the creature’s vulnerability.
‘There’s a wound on its abdomen.’
Griffin’s recovery ability is known to be excellent, but it seems to be a fairly deep wound. Even now, droplets of blood were falling between its fur.
As I examined the creature, its gaze also thoroughly scanned my body.Griffin’s eyes had an effect similar to my ‘Insight’ ability, pinpointing the weaknesses of the enemy.
‘Well, it might be useless anyway.’
Looking at the gap between the creature and me, it’s clear that I have a significant advantage. Moreover, the creature is still in a less recovered state from its injuries. If it were another Amorph, it might not be so uncomfortable, but since the creature knows my identity, it’s going to be tricky.
As evidence of this, I can feel the creature’s heart pounding, a sign of tension and fear.
“Kaio!”
After a brief ‘exploration’ period, the initiative was taken by the Griffin. The creature roared shortly and lunged towards me. Its front paw was directed towards where my arm was.
‘It knows that the head is tough.’
Considering the strength I demonstrated when breaking the Redwood earlier, it seems that cutting the arm might be challenging, but breaking it is possible. In other words, it’s better to dodge than to take a hit.
I twisted my body like a dancing cobra, avoiding the creature’s front paw. As the creature’s front paw hit the ground, it created a thunderous explosion, echoing like a grenade blast.
Since the attack failed, the creature’s posture collapsed. Without missing the opportunity, I pulled out a bone axe from my hand and swung it towards the creature’s back.
However, just as the creature failed in its attack, my intention was not fulfilled either. In the meantime, the creature flexibly twisted its body and narrowly avoided my attack.
Using the recoil from its body movement, the creature swung its hind leg towards my neck, precisely targeting the area where the monster’s tentacle was.
‘Oh no!’
I quickly moved backward, and the tentacle just grazed me, but considerable pain rushed through.
‘Unbelievable.’
The monster’s tentacle is a characteristic based on a superpower mechanism, not something you’d see in a game. No Amorph player would acquire a superpower mechanism. Yet, the creature caught on to a vulnerable spot on my body in a short moment.
While I was stepping back in amazement, the creature did not follow up with another attack.
To be precise, it couldn’t. It was busy avoiding the corrosive tentacles that sprouted from my back.
The tentacles pierced through the ground and air where the creature stood, however the creature skillfully evaded them.
However, my attacks did not end here. The eye-shaped patterns on my head simultaneously glowed.
The watcher of night suppressed the Griffin’s mind.
In an instant, the creature’s gaze became hazy. Although the Griffin quickly regained its composure due to its resistance to mental attacks, it was too late.
“Kuk!”
The blood-sucking tentacle shot from my hand grazed the Griffin’s side. The creature tried to evade it desperately, but my combat arm did not miss.
I used the Ghost Claw while holding the creature’s front paw. When my hand touched the bones and muscles inside the paw, I released the special effect.
Naturally, since my hand was larger than the creature’s front paw, the paw shattered from the inside due to my hand.
“Kraaah!”
The creature couldn’t endure the pain of its front paw exploding from the inside and screamed loudly.
In the meantime, my other arm gripped the creature’s neck. I slammed the creature into the ground with full force. The creature, caught in my hand, was helplessly thrust into the ground.
I swung my massive tail to bring down the Griffin’s body lying on the ground, aiming to finish it off.
Thunk!
The Griffin spews blood. With that blow, its waist and leg bones were all shattered.
‘If it weren’t for the Griffin’s exceptional vitality, it would have died instantly. Sensibility wasn’t bad, but the opponent was weak. The timing was off too.’
I had successfully subdued the Griffin. I grabbed the creature, which was barely breathing.
“I…will…kill…you…right…now.”
Silence
“Re…veal…all…you…know.”
I wasn’t sure about the connection between the Griffin and Muriel, but they had collaborated. If that were true, the Griffin would likely have a lot of information about Muriel. I planned to decide whether to eat or spare the Griffin after obtaining all the information.
However, the Griffin’s response was unexpected.
｢Ku, kukuk, kugh… Nothing has changed after all.｣
The Griffin laughed while covered in blood. From the recent attack, the Griffin’s spine and legs were broken, but if it weren’t for its remarkable vitality, it might have died on the spot.
‘Sensibility was not bad, but the opponent was weak. Timing was off.’
The Griffin had been present at the scene, watching the events unfold. Despite my actions, it seemed to hold no fear of death.
“Are…you…in…sane?”
｢Kwak! Cooluk, kugh… Well, it’s not wrong. From now on, I’m going to do crazy things, I have lost my mind.｣
After saying that, the Griffin stared directly into my eyes. In its pumpkin-colored eyes, a boiling emotion could be seen.
It wasn’t fear of death or despair over being eaten soon, as one might expect. According to the auxiliary apparatus below its jaw, the emotion seemed to be fierce anger.
｢I’ll tell you everything I know. If you demand cooperation, I’ll listen. If you want to treat me as a slave, go ahead. Even if you devour me, I don’t mind.｣
“What…are…you…saying?”
“Promise me one thing. Give Muriel the greatest despair you can show. If you promise that, I’ll give you everything you desire.”
It seemed that the relationship betweenGriffin Wolf and Muriel was not very friendly.Griffin’s hatred seemed genuine, even to my eyes.
“You…don’t…have…the…right…to…negotiate…with…me.”
｢I know. kuhhh, this is my position. But you know, the weakness of a parasite.｣
The Griffin’s gaze turned to my arm containing the parasitic colony.
“This…thing?”
｢Kukuku, I’ve struggled so much because of that that… kuhh, it might look that it has changed in reality, however it’s still not perfect.｣
Griffin Wolf’s insight was extraordinary. None of the opponents I had faced so far had quickly grasped my abilities. Thanks to the enhanced infection type, I could now control ten parasites.
Also, if I concentrated without moving, I could control the body of a being dominated by the parasites for ten minutes. In the game, I had often blown up clans using my symbiotic apparatus and parasitic colony.
‘Though there is a vulnerability, that’s a fact.’
Inducing internal conflict in the enemy is highly effective, but the interrogation function itself hasn’t been significantly enhanced.
Therefore, as seen in William’s case, even under severe pain, one can choose to speak the truth or entertain distracting thoughts.
‘Moreover, it seems to know quite a bit about me.’
Judging by its speech, it’s evident that the creature has fought against me in the game several times. However, Wolf has fought so many battles that its memories seem vague and uncertain.
‘Hmm.’
As I remained silent, the creature closed its eyes as if signaling for me to proceed as I wished.
This dying Griffin Wolf is quite an intriguing being.
‘What should I do?’
It would be better to contemplate more, but I don’t have time.
Having made up my mind, I reached out towards the creature’s head.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s Disciple]
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