Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 91

It was rare, but not unheard of, for emergency alerts to sound in Gyeongju.

This was because alarms would occasionally blare throughout the city during phenomena like the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons [a traditional festival featuring costumed processions] or the Wild Hunt [a folklore motif involving a ghostly hunting party].

But this time was different.

It was the first time since the Great War [likely referring to a significant conflict in this world’s history] that an alert was issued for the emergence of a Monster Gate.

21:34.

The appearance of five Mutant Gates was confirmed.

The degree of magical imbalance was identical across all, so phonetic codes from Alpha to Echo were assigned.

21:45.

The Gyeongju Homeland Infantry Division and the Special Forces—a government special unit trained in magic—equipped themselves and began defensive operations, quickly evacuating nearby citizens.

21:50.

A mobilization order was declared throughout Gyeongju, and officially qualified sorcerers and warriors completed their assembly according to established procedures.

This was the standard national-level response when Gates appeared.

Except for very rare cases, situations being resolved by a few individuals or civilians was impossible in modern times.

If that were to happen, the national system could not be maintained.

Woo-oong!

All troops swallowed nervously as they faced the Gates.

The Gyeongju area was gripped with tension, as if a battle was about to break out at any moment.

One minute, five minutes, then thirty minutes passed.

Finally, an hour had gone by.

And.

Nothing happened.

* * *

Valerie left the workshop and immediately activated all her combat artifacts, pushing off the ground.

She had pre-set the coordinates and cast a flight spell, but even as she flew, Valerie felt something was off.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

If Gates had formed, monsters should have been pouring out, and if monsters were pouring out, there should have been scenes of things exploding, breaking, and burning. This atmosphere was all wrong.

Thud!

Valerie arrived at the Gate before anyone else.

But she couldn’t help but doubt her eyes.

‘……Nothing came out?’

Valerie landed lightly on the ground and immediately activated her Analysis Eye [a magical ability to assess situations].

Woo-oong!

The moment she saw the Gate, Valerie’s expression twisted at the first piece of information she read.

‘What kind of madman…….’

Gates were a phenomenon caused by magical imbalance.

That meant that humans could create them if they tried.

And Valerie detected human magic within the Gate.

‘Terrorism? There’s a limit to how crazy you can be.’

But then, she noticed something strange.

If the Gate was opened for terrorism, it shouldn’t be this quiet.

Monsters should be rampaging.

No, why weren’t monsters coming out in the first place?

‘Wait. What is this?’

Valerie’s eyes narrowed.

‘It’s not terrorism. This is…… a tunnel? Not a normal Gate, but…… a passage? Did something already come out?’

It felt similar to a teleportation circle that connected distant places.

But it was one-way, not two-way. Moreover, it was a passage that only allowed passage from the other side to this side once.

‘Ugh.’

Valerie felt pain in her eyes for the first time in a long time.

The Analysis Eye couldn’t decipher it, naturally straining her.

‘This isn’t magic.’

It wasn’t sorcery, nor was it a natural phenomenon, and it wasn’t caused by magic.

It was beyond her knowledge, so she couldn’t completely analyze it.

But it was definitely taking the form of a Gate.

‘I need to check the others.’

If it were a normal Gate, they would have to organize a strike team to enter and stabilize it, but this Gate didn’t need that.

It would close on its own in about half a day anyway.

‘I need to watch a bit longer. What is this, really?’

She needed more samples to ‘analyze’ this.

Valerie headed to the next Gate with a disturbed feeling.

* * *

By the time Valerie had seen three Gates, the military had arrived and was controlling the situation.

With a large number of troops blocking all the Gates, Valerie couldn’t easily approach like she had with the previous three.

‘Should I just barge in and say I need to check the Gates?’

She briefly considered it but sighed and shook her head.

The fact that she was in Korea was not yet publicly known.

When she said she was going to learn sorcery, her teacher had repeatedly told her not to reveal her identity. If her face became known, she would be ordered to return immediately, possibly as early as tomorrow.

‘Anyway, what was that thing?’

Valerie ended up glancing at the Gate from outside the military’s control before turning away.

She had rushed out with all sorts of tension after hearing the news of the Gate’s appearance, but she only ended up with a lot of questions.

Valerie cut off her magic and turned around with a slightly stiff expression.

‘I need to do some research in the workshop. I’ve never seen anything like that before…… Who are these crazy bastards?’

She wished she could have examined it more closely with her Mystic Eyes [another magical ability, likely for detailed observation], but she was worried about being misunderstood if she approached.

Back at the workshop, Valerie flopped onto the sofa as if sliding.

‘Ah, I was tense for nothing, and now I’m hungry. I want to eat late-night snacks. I want chicken. And beer. Slurp.’

Exhausted, her tension dissolved as her thoughts flowed freely.

For a moment, all thoughts of Gates, magic, and terrorism vanished from her mind, replaced by chicken.

Tick-.

The warning sound of the detector reached her ears.

‘Another Gate, perhaps?’

Valerie jumped up and ran to the detector.

A large panel displayed a map of Gyeongju.

Numerous lights were flashing on it.

“What, what is this?”

And among those points, there was one that was moving most violently.

Mount Toham.

At first, she thought the monks of Bulguksa Temple [a famous Buddhist temple in Gyeongju] had noticed the Gate and were moving, but that wasn’t it.

‘It’s a magic wavelength I’ve never seen before. What are these?’

If it were a Gate, it should be red, and if it were a monster, it should be black.

But there was a gray light flickering over Mount Toham.

‘Why is Unknown marked there? And thirty-one of them?’

Gray, Unknown.

It meant a magic wavelength she didn’t recognize, and it also meant it was an aura that the detector had never sensed before.

‘Wait, could it be.’

A situation where five Gates had artificially appeared.

Moreover, thirty-one unidentified magic wavelengths had appeared on the mountain.

She couldn’t help but think of the connection.

‘These are the ones!’

The ones who passed through the Gates, or the ones who created them.

Suddenly, another person came to mind.

“Wait. Lee Cheol definitely said he was going to Mount Toham…….”

No sooner had she muttered than a yellow dot, signifying a Mystic Eye user, suddenly appeared on the mountain on the detector.

One yellow dot surrounded by numerous gray dots.

‘It’s dangerous!’

Valerie burst out of the workshop.

* * *

Haah…….

I let out a long breath and frowned.

“Now it’s even monsterization.”

-Krrr…….

Vertically slit pupils, green skin covered in scales, a huge body, and bipedalism.

‘It looks like a Lizardman…… but is that the Lizardman I know?’

The body was three or four times larger, and the scales were thicker.

Moreover, the magic power of the guy visible through the Mystic Eye was showing an unbelievable phenomenon.

It was clearly a monster’s body, but the way the magic moved was similar to human magic.

-Shiaak!

Not only did it aim for my lower body with its tail, but it also aimed for my upper body with its jagged teeth, and even evaded my attacks.

It was far superior to a typical Lizardman’s movements.

The movements themselves were more intense, but it felt balanced and had a flow.

Until now, it seemed like it was forcibly trying to imitate the monster’s fighting style while still being human, but now…….

‘It’s like it’s found its original body…… yet it’s fighting like a human.’

It was a contradictory impression, but there was no other way to explain it.

-Kieeeek!

Screech!

A strand of hair was slightly cut and scattered by the suddenly swung attack.

I almost reacted too late.

I was watching with the Mystic Eye and was on guard, but the attack came at a speed far exceeding expectations.

Moreover.

-Kkyaaaaak!

The monster transformed into a ghoul here was not alone.

A ghoul transformed into a female ghost-type monster, commonly called a Wraith, suddenly burst into a ghostly scream.

‘Kuk!’

Thud!

The terrifying high-pitched wail momentarily caused confusion in the operation of magic.

The aura heading towards Mujin momentarily stopped, and in that fleeting moment, the Lizardman slammed its heavy body into me.

“Kuk!”

Kwaang!

I ended up allowing a blow.

Staggering backward, I felt my body tilting as if I had fallen into a swamp.

Squish!

Another ghoul, a Slime.

The Slime, which had reached my toes, wriggled up my leg.

And I felt the magic in my body draining away in an instant.

‘Energy Drain?’

The 9th-grade monster Slime was using Energy Drain.

‘Annoying……!’

Hwaak! Kwaang!

I burst out magic, shook off the Slime, and created distance.

I glared at the ghouls.

The ghouls were showing completely different movements than before.

They were each thinking and coordinating to attack me.

-Shiaak!

-Kieeeek!

-Eubeuk!

Lizardman, Wraith, and Slime.

Even though they could attack enough, they didn’t attack.

‘They’re not rushing at me like before.’

The monsters were slowly surrounding me, wary.

It was certain.

Their intelligence had increased.

Or their instincts had become sharper.

‘If you don’t come, I’ll go.’

Thud!

The dirt floor caved in as I stepped forward.

I accelerated rapidly and entered the Lizardman’s embrace.

Spirit Power Art, Cutting Wind [a specific combat technique].

The same aura skill was formed on Black Night and Mujin.

The crossed double strike mercilessly scraped the Lizardman’s abdomen.

-Kieeeek!

It hit directly.

I had properly cut deep inside, so the Lizardman would now be out of this battle…….

Hm!

I quickly took evasive maneuvers at the chilling feeling that ran down my spine.

Kwaang!

The Lizardman’s tail flew and crashed into the ground.

‘Even regeneration?’

The X-shaped line drawn on the Lizardman’s chest began to wriggle and stick together.

The Slime was using Energy Drain, and the Lizardman, who was only a low-level monster, was using regeneration.

Come to think of it, I had never heard of a Wraith’s cry restricting magic, even though it wasn’t a Fiend.

‘……Tsk.’

Frustration washed over me.

Even mental fatigue from the continuous battles.

It was still okay, but thanks to constantly operating the Mystic Eye and bursting out aura skills, my magic was also being consumed little by little.

-Kieek!

Kwaang!

The Lizardman rushed at me again as if it had waited long enough.

The long, gaping mouth collided right in front of my nose.

The Wraith continued to scream from a distance, interfering with magic operation, and the Slime, moving stealthily in the shadows, popped out at important moments to interfere with movement and steal magic.

I felt my patience snap.

“……Magic amount or whatever. I’ll quickly cut you down one by one.”

Swoosh! Thwack!

I gritted my teeth and plunged the weapons in both hands into the ground.

And I raised the aura of my entire body to maximum output.

Aura skill unfolded from the two swords stuck in the ground.

Aura Skill, Wave [another specific combat technique].

When I discovered the entrance to the tomb, it was only enough to push away leaves and dust, but the power of the Wave unfolded with full power was not at that level.

-Kieeeek!

It was a storm of aura that cut down everything touching the ground.

The Lizardman’s entire body became covered in blood and collapsed on the ground from the Wave’s aura that spread out in concentric circles.

-Shiaaaak!

The Lizardman tried to get up, but I quickly approached and climbed onto the Lizardman’s back.

“Let’s see if you can regenerate even after your neck is cut off.”

I swung Black Night and Mujin as if crossing them.

Like scissors,

Thud!

The Lizardman’s neck was cut off and fell to the ground.

It was a reasonable result since I had poured out as much aura as possible.

I got off the Lizardman, who was twitching violently from postmortem rigidity, and immediately rushed towards the Wraith.