With Cain's arrival, the battlefield felt turned upside down. The oppressive aura emanating from his body made the virus beasts stop their pursuit of merging into a single unit. It would also give his comrades a bit of time to catch their breath.
Cain, who adopted his lower stance, took a deep breath. With one stomp on the ground, the air exploded as his body blurred and turned into a bullet that shot straight, leaving a black line that cut through the small virus beasts that lined up.
[Integrity +1%]
[Integrity +1%]
...
In the blink of an eye, he cut down dozens more virus beasts, causing the atmosphere to freeze. He stood on the expanse of scrap and looked towards the towering metal gorilla.
After seeing its prey destroyed, the monster roared. Then drumming its chest several times with a 'clang-clang' sound that buzzed in Cain's ears.
The monster's long, bulky hands plunged its fingertips deep into the ground. With one powerful jerk, the ground shook, and a large chunk of rock was flipped over and threatened to flatten Cain with anything around him.
However, the large mountain that cast an ominous shadow toward him seemed slow in his sight. It was the effect of releasing the Limit Break skill, combined with his lightning attribute, that increased his speed, reaching Mach speed.
'Too slow.'
Black lightning scorched the surrounding barren ground as he jumped high until it reached near the head of the steel-armored primate.
Cain raised his katana above his head and swung it downward, attempting to split the monster's right eye, which still showed a malevolent glow. Unlike the left eye that was wrecked, it was proof that someone from his group had destroyed it.
Unfortunately, Cain's movement had been anticipated when the gorilla opened its mouth wide. From within, a ball of white light hummed, then blasted a sound wave that attacked his ears.
The ringing noise was like a knife that shredded his eardrum. It gnawed within, until the nerves in his brain were forced to shut down the system for a moment, and Cain's vision went dark.
Seeing the black eyeballs of the human in front of him turn white. The gorilla parted its steel lips before swinging its large palm, trying to slap the small creature.
However, faster than its hand, a gust of strong wind whistled softly while taking the unconscious human in her arms.
"Mr. Abel!"
Louise shouted at her other comrade. She lowered her gaze, seeing Abel standing tall, golden light enveloping his body. The boy raised his sword high.
Not finished there, the golden light conjured into his sword and turned into a long blade as Abel jumped.
"Heavenly Slash!"
The brown-haired girl landed and slowly lowered her leader, who was still unconscious. Louise wrinkled her eyebrows, witnessing red liquid coming out of Cain's ear. Tangible proof that the sound-wave attack had a very significant effect on him who was not wearing armor.
She gulped hard, wondering why her leader didn't put on his fixed armor suit. But Louise shook her head furiously to chase away the unnecessary thoughts.
On the other side, the tall monster crossed both its hands, intending to hold off the attack Abel launched. However, it did not know that the light Abel released was their natural enemy.
When the golden sword touched the gorilla's arm, it easily sliced through it, causing the monster to widen its red eyes. The gorilla spun its body while trying to push the golden sword aside.
Louise, who was gritting her teeth, flinched. Suddenly, her gaze turned towards Peter, who had been silent all this time. She held her breath as the ground beneath her shook.
"This!?"
The tremor increased, causing the gorilla to lose its balance and fail to deflect Abel's attack. His golden sword penetrated downward, splitting the gorilla's right shoulder down to its right leg.
"Yes!"
Louise's mouth opened wide, her stiff expression melted with joy as the tall monster's body fell, raising a red dust into the air.
"It's not over yet!"
The voice beside her made the girl stiffen. Cain, who was sleeping, had woken up, and his black eyes glared at the swarming enemies behind them.
Cain clicked his tongue, realizing his foolishness after experiencing a slight increase in his strength. As a result, his hearing broke, and the surrounding sounds became silent.
Right at that moment, the red glow on the gorilla's left chest shone like the sun before its separated body flew far into the sky.
'Damn it!'
Without further ado, Cain spun his body and ran towards the common-rank virus beasts that were stopped due to an invisible command sent by the mysterious figure lurking from a distance.
The lightning on his body crackled, turning him into a killing machine that slashed every metal monster that stood before him. Each time a black flash appeared, the virus beast's bodies split, leaving an eerie blackened trail.
There was a reason why Cain stormed the minions instead of the big one.
It was his instinct.
Somehow, his mind kept whispering that if the gorilla merged with the still-alive monsters, the situation would become complicated later.
[Integrity +1%]
...
The blue panel continuously appeared on the edge of his vision. Cain gritted his teeth and was about to annihilate the remaining dozens of virus beasts, but it was already too late. The red glow in the sky emitted a strange wave that attracted scrap and still-alive virus beasts.
"Damn it. Rika shoots the still-alive virus beasts dead!"
As he ran, Cain shouted and tried to slash the closer one. His blade missed its target as the monster's feet began to leave the ground.
"What do you think I've been doing all this time, huh!?"
Rika shouted, although Cain didn't hear it. She then aimed her scope at the virus beasts, which were floating as if drawn by the gravity of the red sun in the sky. However, the glow was too bright for her eyes, making her squint and unable to carry out her task.
Cain raised his hand to protect his retina from being burned while peeking at the sky. This process was very familiar to him.
The red sun emitted heat, increasing the temperature around them. Cain mistakenly inhaled to catch his breath, but the dry air that filled his lungs caused him to cough.
For a few seconds, the black sky turned red before it shattered into myriad sparks that rained down on the barren land. From the sky, a humongous monster appeared. It's twice the original size, the monster had four long arms and a tentacle tail that writhed as if it had a mind of its own.
The moment its large body touched the ground. It sent a shock that blasted away every piece of debris and dust, leaving the area and the atmosphere dark.
Cain closed his eyes to protect himself from dust. After a few seconds, his eyelid fluttered open, and his black pupils shrank, staring at the more red dots on the gorilla's body.
'So my guess was right.'
In the fight earlier, Cain thought of a theory that if the gorilla merged with the horde of still-alive virus beasts, what would the result be later?
Would only its size and strength increase?
And if the worst in his mind did happen, would the monster's core also increase to match how many virus beasts it consumed?
Roar!
An earth-shattering roar resonated through the world, bringing an oppressive might that shook Cain and his comrades' consciousness. The roar, like an apocalypse trumpet, subsided, but its effect still lingered in their hearts as fear.
Cain, who felt his hands wouldn't stop trembling, gulped to moisten his parched throat. He inflated his lungs and bit his lip until it tore. Blood trickled down his chin as the stinging pain hit his brain, causing his body to stiffen and regain its freedom.
He moved his feet, stepping forward to face the evolved gorilla monster. His black pupils shrank, and he saw thirteen monster cores inside its body, interconnected like a constellation.
Looking to the side, the boy peeked at the panel that kept counting down.
[Remaining time: 32 seconds]
'There's no time left!'