“Fragments… Is that guy talking about the ‘Fragment of the Seeker Colored by Chaos’?”
Small things that came to mind as the goal of my job change quest.
Lizardmen, Mostalia, Crystalride – the beings I had subdued flashed through my mind.
“Surely it’s not inside your body. Where did you hide the fragment? Is it in the space? How could you possibly put it in the space?”
“What nonsense, that was a quest condition, so it must have disappeared… Huh?”
In that moment, a sensation I had never felt before in the space revealed itself.
“The fragment is still gathered as one, isn’t it?”
The fragments I had collected until now remain clustered deep inside the space.
Yet, the Seven-headed Dragon said it couldn’t hold them in the space.
The special nature of the space I used was brought to mind once more by the Seven-headed Dragon.
“…… It’s dangerous.”
The aura emanating from him prevents me from moving an inch.
“Where is it? Hmm? If you just hand that over, I have no reason to harm you today. That blue-eyed bloodthirsty guy will be taken care of, right? I saw before that the synergy from teaming up with Jo Gi-man was effective. If I fight alongside you in this form, will I gain that effect? What was the name of that achievement? Where did you get such achievements? Why are you silent… I’m already annoyed, and if you keep this up, I might just tear you apart?”
“… Hey, give me a chance to speak and I’ll talk…”
*Thwack!*
“Ugh…!!”
Something struck my jaw, and I flew off, crashing into the ground as if I were digging a hole.
“I didn’t even register what happened.”
In that brief moment, I wondered how many times I got hit; there were over 30 broken bones.
“I can’t win this… Maybe it’s better to die once and aim for the newly acquired ‘Death’s Return.'”
Even though I faced death, strangely enough, I felt at ease.
Was it because the opponent was that monstrous, or was it because my harvest for the day had been so plentiful?
As I struggled to rise again, the too-much-talker started up once more.
“Sigh- This won’t do. Jo Gi-man’s shell is still intact, so I can mix it with the clone and recreate it. I may be wasting my skills, but that’s fine. However, what was it? That skill called ‘Thief’ that I couldn’t resist earlier is troubling me. It claims that just by killing, it definitively steals the powers of another being?
Isn’t that a much higher capability than ‘Devour,’ which I have to consume multiple times to gain a chance to acquire? It dares to possess the potential to surpass me. Can a lowly skeleton soldier even think of that? Huh? What do you think?”
“You psycho. You’re just doing whatever you want.”
As I closed the distance, now just 10 meters away from him, I found myself seized by a peculiar sensation.
Oddly enough, looking at him didn’t invoke fear; rather, I felt a strange sense of challenge. Surely he was an insurmountable being—why was I feeling this way?
Have I finally gone insane?
– The Fragments of a Great Being gaze curiously at the Evil God Seven-headed Dragon.
I felt strangely reassured from behind.
That presence had arrived.
Though the Seven-headed Dragon claimed to block everything, it seemed limited to Irmana’s divine line.
The ‘Fragment,’ responsible for a slice of the Great Being, appeared as if nothing had happened and gazed down at us.
*Stop!*
The Seven-headed Dragon stood frozen as if caught in a trap.
“Ah… Huh? Huh? Why, how? Wh-What is this? Who are you?!”
Sweat beaded on the forehead of the Seven-headed Dragon disguised as Jo Gi-man, who was recoiling unconsciously.
“Why? Why would someone like you exist in such a shabby place… It doesn’t make sense… You shouldn’t be intervening in this lowly world! Why! We’re still far from rising! Are you here to cause trouble? Or are you perhaps proposing something to me?”
The Seven-headed Dragon wore a mask of fear, yet at the same time, his expression resembled that of a child overwhelmed with awe.
As the corners of his mouth began to rise, it became evident that he was thrilled to somehow attract the interest of the Great Being.
But I felt a hint of sympathy for him, knowing why ‘Fragment’ showed interest in the Seven-headed Dragon.
“Hey… You’re gonna get eaten, you know.”
Even beings akin to great beasts are a delectable dessert to him. The Seven-headed Dragon would surely be drool-worthy.
But that was just for a moment.
The gaze of the Great Being vanished.
Why?
Perhaps because he lived so high in the sky, it was hard to keep watching something as trivial as us down here for long.
Yet, for a brief instance of facing ‘Fragment,’ the Seven-headed Dragon looked drained, collapsing to the ground, heaving breaths.
“Hahaha… ha…”
He exhaled a hollow laugh, which was uncharacteristic of him.
Seeing that, I realized for the first time that the Seven-headed Dragon indeed had a human side.
“Wait… Who are you?”
As I tried to quickly distance myself, the Seven-headed Dragon seized me.
“What is it? What’s the name of your essence? Why do you have someone like that watching over you? Tell me!”
*Tap Tap Tap!*
“What?”
I lightly tapped the fallen Seven-headed Dragon, who was trembling, before swiftly returning to the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the Seven-headed Dragon, arms extended towards the sky, simply let out a hollow laugh.
That look was exceedingly awkward for a divine being called the Evil Dragon.
*
Worried about the Beastmen, I hurried back, but my worries were unfounded.
“I won?”
“Ah, Alpha-nim!!”
After hearing the story from Arang, it turned out that the disappearance of the First Clone and Sang-gun returning to the battlefield served as a catalyst, and crucially, the efforts of the skeleton clones of Jo Gi-man, Ainz, Zweihander, and Dry helped us defeat them.
“At the end, the two-headed dragons’ movements got a bit wobbly, but maybe it was thanks to you, Alpha-nim…?”
“…”
I merely shrugged my shoulders.
It was more accurate to say I had become speechless.
“A lot of lives were lost…”
The casualties among the Beastmen were severe.
Nearly a hundred Beastmen lay sprawled with lifeless, hollow eyes, while other Beastmen were diligently trying to piece together their remains.
– *Sniff*… Sister. What am I supposed to do if you keep going like this…
– The Elder ended up saving me, but…
It’s said that no death is without a story.
Next to each deceased, there were those mourning their loss.
And there was also a giant tiger who wore a sorrowful expression at the sight of all the Beastmen.
“I’ve lost an arm…”
Sang-gun, who had lost one of his arms.
I wasn’t sure if it was from the First Clone or the two-headed dragons, but he seemed utterly unconcerned about the lost arm.
“Hmm…”
Normally, he would be deeply contemplative.
If he used the Life Potion on them, would it pose another threat to me and Yeon-hee? He probably calculated that.
*Buzzing…*
However, the ‘Ryun’s Precious Gem’ residing in my heart pleaded desperately to save the poor Beastmen.
“By the way, why isn’t this gem falling off? Will it disappear if I die?”
The precious gem settled naturally, as if it had been inside me all along.
I felt flustered, yet the warm aura felt reminiscent of a baby’s breath, which was not a bad sensation.
[Please gather the forms of the deceased as intact as possible here.]
“…? What are you trying to-”
Sang-gun looked at my written request in confusion.
However, Arang and Nam Ho-yeol, who were watching quietly, could only nod in approval, signaling him to follow my request. Sang-gun relented and began issuing commands to the Beastmen.
Using my unique sense, I greatly assisted in piecing together the corpses that shared the same flow of magic, and soon, the Beastmen moved with military precision under my orders.
Sang-gun quickly recognized the efficacy of my abilities and began backing me up.
After about thirty minutes had passed, all the corpses were gathered in one place.
‘Some may struggle a bit. Those completely obliterated may not…’
There were a few corpses missing heads or hearts, but most of them had at least one of the two still intact.
*Huff…*
I took out the massive sphere filled with Life Potions from the space.
“───?!!”
The Beastmen seemed to sense that the item was extraordinary, as they dared not approach, fearing it might break.
Of course, I instinctively knew this sphere was more robust than it appeared, but I chose not to reveal that.
The first to be revived was a mysterious woman.
From the shape of her ears, she seemed to be of the Myojok tribe, but that was the only part of her face I could verify.
*Thud thud thud!*
I summoned the ‘Stone of Darkness’ to block the view around us.
I had just realized that the process of the potion’s effect wasn’t a sight for the faint of heart.
Though her head was gone, her heart remained intact, so the Life Potion’s effect surely applied.
Flesh, bone, and veins sprouted slowly from her neck as her face formed.
It was a terribly grotesque sight, but hope began to shimmer on Sang-gun’s face, who stood beside me.
And moments later.
“Gasp…! Haah- Haah-”
“Jina!!”
Seeing Sang-gun calling out the name of the woman with a bright smile, it seemed the revival had succeeded perfectly.
“Alright. I can bring back this much.”
After that, the work progressed smoothly.
Having confirmed the effect, Sang-gun stopped keeping watch over me.
However, Arang and Nam Ho-yeol stayed busy going back and forth through the walls of darkness, making small contributions to saving lives.
As two hours passed.
“Thank you! We are really grateful!!”
“We’re so appreciative… What can we do to repay you just a fraction of what we’ve received?”
“Thank you for saving us!!”
I had successfully revived precisely 107 Beastmen.
While a few couldn’t be revived due to serious mutilations, the atmosphere dramatically shifted for the better.
Sang-gun, however, remained with his eyes closed beside the deceased, taking a moment of mourning.
When I approached him, Sang-gun hugged me tight, sobbing that he would surely repay this kindness.
The tears of this elderly man, who was well past his sixties, carried great weight, and I could only stand there silently, at a loss for words.
“Please tell me your wish. I will do anything.”
‘It’s sudden to say such a thing…’
[Are you aware of the current situation in our world?]
“Huh? Is something happening?”
‘Was it before the Orc invasion…’
Ridiculously, Sang-gun was unaware of the situation in our world.
After hearing him out, it seemed he had left just before the Orc invaded, and astonishingly, the one who orchestrated his departure was the ‘One Who Shows the Way’ from the Association.
By that one choice alone, in addition to the Beastmen who participated in this expedition, there were over a thousand elite forces who were pulled away from the upcoming Orc invasion.
For us, it was indeed a tremendous loss of power.
‘What the hell is that kid?’
So Yoon-seul.
The child who saved Yeon-su countless times.
Yet, things didn’t seem to be going well since that child did as she asked.
I couldn’t help but suspect that perhaps she had been robbed of her very soul by a demon.
‘When I met her, there was nothing suspicious… Hah… It seems even sense is not all-knowing. When the Orcs are somewhat sorted, I should prioritize dealing with her.’
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