Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 258

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 258

The moment the man entered the conference room to report, I immediately sensed a familiar aura from him.

“Report in detail! A masked terrorist group? Who dares to do this here…”

The martial artist, representing India, hurriedly approached the reporter and asked.

As the distance between him and the reporter narrowed, I grabbed the martial artist by the back of his neck and threw him backward.

“Cough! What is this!”

*Swish!*

Then, I swiftly chopped the reporter’s neck.

A fountain of blood erupted.

The martial artist, slammed to the ground, wore a bewildered expression.

“What is the meaning of this!”

“Could the Soongmoo Yi family be behind this!”

Before the room became too noisy, I clicked my tongue.

“If you can’t even recognize *this* much, shut up. I just saved your life.”

“Wh-What?”

Immediately after, the body of the man whose neck I had clearly severed twitched, and his body began to transform strangely.

The small body began to grow like a balloon, and the magic within began to twist and distort.

-Krrrr…

Soon, he transformed into a monster.

‘Monsterization.’

It was the power of Behemoth that I had experienced several times.

The guy who came here to report was a vanguard of Behemoth.

-Krrrr…

As the monster rose, the pieces of clothing he had been wearing as a human fell to the ground.

A monster in the shape of a medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur.

The reptile’s unique vertically slit pupils swept across the room.

“Wh-What is that?”

“Could it be…?”

I narrowed my eyes, checking the reactions of each representative.

Even when faced with the shocking phenomenon of monsterization, I didn’t sense confusion or fear from them.

It was more like they were surprised that those things had come all the way to this place.

A reaction as if they knew those with such power.

‘…If they’re people who can be in this position, they must know about Behemoth.’

The one who reacted most strongly was Saintess Christina.

A murderous aura, so ominous it was hard to believe it came from someone with the name of Saintess, surged forth.

*Whoosh!*

The next moment, a terrifyingly fast energy shot past my side.

The giant monster fell to the ground with a hole blown through its chest.

“To dare… to show your face before me again,” she spat out, as if chewing the words.

She still exuded an ominous aura as she spoke.

-Krrk, the, the nations, kick! Scarecrow-like… representatives of humans…

Even though he had been hit directly by the Saintess’s attack, with a large hole in his chest, the monster didn’t die and stood up, clacking his shark-like jaws and spewing human language.

-W-We are, for the true freedom and… krrk! Liberation of humans… to spread the true gospel, kieeek!

-…We have risen from the long darkness. That castle in the sky… will be ours… keeeeek!

The next moment, the monster’s head snapped and turned towards me.

-You cursed bloodline, ignorant and foolish, not even knowing your own origins. Kie, krrk!

-Soon, from that castle, we will… take what is yours… kieek!

The monster’s gaze turned again, heading towards one part of the conference hall.

-And…

Who is he looking at?

The monster’s mouth opened again.

Just as I was about to turn my head, following the monster’s gaze, my mystic eyes caught the flow of magic suddenly enveloping the monster.

“Gasp.”

I took a step back, taking a short breath.

*Kwaaaaa!*

In the blink of an eye, the monster’s body was engulfed in flames and turned to ashes.

“What are you doing?”

I looked at the man who had cast this magic with a distorted expression.

It was the Tower Lord Michael who had cast the magic.

He lowered the staff he had been aiming and replied nonchalantly.

“Is there any need to listen to the enemy’s provocation until the end?”

“…”

I stared at Tower Lord Michael.

Tower Lord Michael maintained a strange smile, not avoiding my gaze.

At first glance, it might seem like there was no problem with his actions.

But the timing… was coincidental.

His magic was activated as if to silence the monster.

‘Besides…’

The spell that made up that magic just now… It disappeared too quickly, so I couldn’t see it properly, but I felt like I had seen it somewhere.

Where did I see it?

*Kwaang! Kwaang!*

The commotion inside was brief, but the external explosions continued to echo. Even at this moment, the sounds of battle against Behemoth’s attack continued outside.

“Well done, Young Master Lee Cheol. I never thought I would see them in this place,” Saintess Christina said with a chilling gaze.

The Holy Kingdom has a grudge against Behemoth, and so do I.

*Peeeeeek! Poong!*

The next moment, signal flares and smoke bombs soared into the sky all over the unexplored region.

In the unexplored region, where communication is not smooth, they often used such traditional means of communication.

“Maknae [youngest sibling or member]. It looks like we need to return to the base right away.”

My first brother and second sister approached urgently.

I nodded.

“Yes, it seems they didn’t only attack this place.”

The black smoke rising from the northern end, and the signal flare making its unique dragging sound, came from the Soongmoo Yi family.

The sound of the signal flare meant assembly, and the black smoke meant they were under attack.

“Saintess Christina, I’m sorry, but we must leave first.”

“Yes, I wish you good fortune.”

I nodded and left the conference hall, which was beginning to become noisy.

Before leaving, I made eye contact with Tower Lord Michael one last time. He was still looking at me with a strange smile.

* * *

I hadn’t even taken a few steps away from the conference hall when I was faced with a scene of utter chaos.

‘…It’s terrible.’

Monsters, monsters, monsters.

The entrance to the conference hall was already swarming with monsters.

As if Behemoth’s forces had brought the monsters of the unexplored region with them, a huge number of high-ranking monsters attacked the alliance.

“Death! It is the green darkness!”

“Kieek! Kyaaaak!”

It wasn’t just monsters.

Wizards running around screaming, warriors muttering strange languages that I couldn’t understand… Humans and monsters were mixed together, attacking humans.

“Those filthy things, as always.”

My second sister clicked her tongue as she watched. I wondered if my second sister had also been involved with Behemoth.

I maintained my composure and quickly assessed the enemy’s strength.

‘They didn’t even bring the low-ranking No-Masks [lowest rank of Behemoth soldiers]. There are few Patterned Masks [mid-rank soldiers], and most are White Masks [high-rank soldiers]. It means that at least executive-level members are in control.’

No-Masks are practically monsters, Patterned Masks are the ones I saw at Ancestor Yi Hyangseon’s tomb, and White Masks are like Cardinal Horatio, whom I saw during the Holy Kingdom incident.

Based on the information I had learned while tracking Behemoth, I was able to grasp the scale of the enemy forces.

‘There were masked people mixed in with each force.’

The person right next to you suddenly turned into a monster, or put on a mask and attacked right in front of you.

I confirmed this and clenched my fist tightly.

‘This means that there may be masked people among the main family’s forces as well.’

The Soongmoo Yi family’s forces were no exception.

Behemoth’s mask… was scary because it was put on even without one’s knowledge.

‘Tsk, disgusting things.’

Things that are neither human nor monster.

Insects like cockroaches, acting without knowing their place.

Every time I saw them, I felt a deep sense of disgust rising from within.

“I’ll clear the way.”

“Ooh, trying to use your strength a bit?”

“Yes.”

I replied briefly to my second sister’s playful words and immediately stepped forward.

*Shalalalak!*

Momentarily, hundreds of weapons made of black energy appeared in the air.

The moment I unleashed my power, all of Behemoth’s forces engaged in battle turned their attention to me as if they had made a promise.

“That, that, that. The moon rises from the blue hole.”

“The, the Successor. Successor. Success, sor.”

“Kill, ours. Why is black blue?”

I scoffed at the strange voices that couldn’t be considered human vocal cords.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t say those ridiculous things.”

*Thump!*

All the masked people in the room rushed at me at the same time.

It was truly like moths flying into a flame.

*Swish! Crack!*

Leaving a black light of aura in the air, Behemoth’s forces were torn apart by the dancing weapons.

-Kieee… Krrk!

I didn’t even wait for them to monsterize after death.

Their blood didn’t even fall at my feet.

Not even a small piece of flesh could pass through the Celestial Net floating in the air.

The surroundings became noisy.

‘I-Impossible…’

‘Was the Black Emperor that strong?’

‘How could he gain such power at such a young age?’

Soon, my second sister whistled and grinned.

“Wow, amazing?”

“Let’s go now.”

“Huh? There are still a lot left? Are we leaving without cleaning up?”

My second sister seemed restless, fiddling with the handle of the greatsword she was carrying on her shoulder.

“There’s no reason for us to take care of the alliance, is there? Let them take care of their own losses.”

The Holy Kingdom was a bit of a concern, but that was their problem.

And if they were forces that could be shaken by this much, it would be better for them to collapse now.

“Okay, let’s go.”

My first brother understood my words and stepped forward.

* * *

Since there were only three of us to begin with, there was no one to take care of.

We flew with all our might towards the direction of the main family’s base.

When we were not even a few kilometers away, *Kwaaaaa!* I felt an explosion and a huge amount of magic that would cover the world erupting from the conference hall we had run out of.

For a moment, I thought it was the mobile fortress opening its gates, but it wasn’t. It was just magic created by one person.

*Whirrrrr!*

The magic that spread in all directions soon became a tidal wave of flames, sweeping away the monsters that had rushed into the conference hall.

The heat was so intense that it rushed to this distant place – a baptism of fire reminiscent of God’s punishment.

The surrounding flames moved like a giant snake, turning the area around the conference hall into scorched earth.

“It’s Tower Lord Michael’s magic,” my first brother said.

It was a formidable power that made it understandable why he was called the strongest wizard of the era. To put it coldly, in terms of destructive power alone, it was a level above my first brother’s magic.

*Thud!*

The moment I confirmed that magic, I stopped walking.

“Why? We need to hurry.”

“What’s wrong, Maknae?”

My first brother and second sister looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“…That is…”

I frowned and stared intently at the magic. It wasn’t that I was shocked or impressed. My mystic eyes had discovered something in that tidal wave.

At the same time, the strange sense of incongruity I had felt began to fit together like a puzzle.

The changes in the Magic Tower that I had discussed with my first brother, the situation leading up to the organization of the alliance, the stories that Valerie had secretly told me through the Black Turtle Society…

-Tell Lee Cheol. Be careful of the Magic Tower. Something is happening in the Magic Tower.

-Master has changed. Tell Lee Cheol to look with his mystic eyes. If it’s Lee Cheol… he’ll be able to see it.

-I may not be able to contact you in the future. Tell him to ask me directly as well.

And finally, Michael’s actions to silence Behemoth, and… the spell of that magic that I had seen somewhere.

“Maknae? What’s wrong?”

“…First Brother, since you have mastered magic, let me ask you one thing.”

“What is it? Hurry and ask, we’re in a hurry.”

“The spells that make up that magic right now… Is it something that anyone can follow, or is it just powerful but the spell itself is simple?”

My first brother narrowed his eyes and looked closely at the magic.

He answered, “No. Spells are like fingerprints. Even if you don’t want to erase them, they tend to show. Tower Lord Michael’s magic has always been famous for having a unique system that no one can follow.”

That’s what I thought.

I took a long breath.

To those without mystic eyes, it would just look like a powerful magic from a high-ranking wizard, but not to me.

I could finally be sure what the sense of déjà vu I had felt while looking at Tower Lord Michael’s magic in the conference hall was.

I had seen magic with those characteristics in Ireland, in the Holy Kingdom as well, in Northern Europe as well, from Chief Secretary Choi as well, and from the countless ‘dolls’ I had encountered while chasing them.

‘Tower Lord Michael is Kabbalah.’

Not a doll.

My mystic eyes are not omnipotent, but I can definitely grasp the structure of the power that builds the dolls. I didn’t see the unique energy of the dolls from the Tower Lord in my eyes.

Anyway, what is certain is that there were traces of Kabbalah in his power.

‘Is he a shell given the consciousness of an apostle like a puppeteer? Or his disciples who followed him?’

I can’t be sure which one it is. That’s not what’s important.

I clenched my fist tightly.

‘It means that they have taken over the Eiffel Magic Tower, which is called the leader of the Western magic world, as their force.’

Kabbalah may be a much larger organization than I expected.

I didn’t think that an organization of about six nights would not participate in a huge event like the aerial fortress, but I didn’t know it would be this much.

‘Should I have cut him down in that place?’

No.

If it was the Kabbalah I knew, another replacement that I didn’t know would have been created the moment I cut him down.

‘They shouldn’t know that I knew.’

I’m glad I didn’t realize it for sure in that place.

But… there is something I’m worried about.

‘Valerie, is this what you were trying to tell me? Then where are you now?’

I came, but I didn’t even see her face.

It’s only been a few days since I received the call, so nothing major should have happened, but I was worried.

*Thump!*

Then I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder.

“Maknae, what’s wrong?”