Chapter 40: Let’s See What You’ve Got
The mercenary captain clenched his teeth as he looked at the girl.
He had seen too many of his vice-captains die horribly, torn to pieces because they underestimated that delicate appearance. With her bare hands, she could rip through armor and tear flesh. That girl was undoubtedly a monster wearing a human disguise.
“You monstrous wench!”
He struck with all his might, a heavy sword blow aimed at her.
The girl twisted her body slightly to the side and raised her forearm.
Puuk—!
The moment the sword pierced her left forearm, the girl steadied her swaying body and stretched her remaining hand toward the mercenary’s heart.
A speed so fast it left afterimages.
Her hand drove straight through the mercenary’s heart.
“Kuh, kuhugh!”
The girl glanced briefly at the mercenary, who coughed up blood, then slowly pulled out his heart.
Gguaaaaah—!
A wretched scream echoed out.
Blood splattered across the girl’s face. As she stared blankly at the pulsing heart in her hand, the mercenary’s life was completely snuffed out.
The shouts of the remaining mercenaries turned to screams, and then faded into silence.
With their captain dead, the mercenaries fell into panic. No longer organized, they scattered in all directions, desperately trying to escape.
But those caught in the encirclement were eventually rounded up by the chimeras and dragged off somewhere.
“Aaaah—!”
“Sp-spare me…!”
A hellish scene of despair unfolded.
Soon after, the forest clearing, now empty, was littered with only the traces of bloody smears where the bodies had been taken.
“Arena, be careful.”
Dominic took out a handkerchief and wiped Arena’s bloodstained face. He then examined her pierced forearm and began to treat it.
He tore away the shredded flesh and removed the ruptured muscle.
A level of excruciating pain no human could bear.
But the girl merely stared blankly at the heart still clutched in her hand.
Finishing the treatment, Dominic gently stroked her hair.
The brown hair they both shared created a strange sense of dissonance.
“You’ll be fine soon, my beloved daughter.”
The one who would someday acquire Retonicalus's Heart and become known as the “Calamity of Beneta,” with a hundred hearts within her.
Dominic was on the path of madness, crafting his own daughter into a chimera, his ultimate masterpiece.
The wound, where even the bone had been exposed, healed rapidly.
This was the effect of troll DNA mixed into her body, granting her incredible regenerative abilities.
But just as quickly, Arena’s body suddenly went limp.
Dominic pulled a violet gemstone from his pocket and placed it in Arena’s mouth.
A purple light glowed inside her mouth. As the light faded and the mana stone dissolved, she regained her composure, standing by Dominic’s side as if she had never collapsed.
Dominic glanced up at the sky, gauging the time.
‘The duration of the mana stone’s effect is getting shorter.’
This wasn’t a bad omen.
It meant her body had developed to a point where it could no longer rely on the violet mana stone for sustenance.
From what Dominic understood, it was an indication that her body was reaching perfection. The only issue was that he had yet to find a new power source to sustain it.
‘I tried to buy time by increasing the supply, but the situation’s turning strange.’
Dominic looked around.
Until just moments ago, five hundred mercenaries had been lying in ambush here, waiting for him.
Now, Etor was after him, just like Beneta.
‘The order came from Tomzael, the Lord of Etor.’
After persuading a few of the cornered mercenaries, he had obtained information that was of serious concern.
‘The Demon’s Gem, a mana catalyst—how did the secret of the bio mana stone leak?’
The rumor of the mana stones had spread across the entire Tobaron region.
How had Viscount Tomzael learned about the mana stones and ordered the chimera hunt?
‘They didn’t even mention the side effects.’
It was clear that someone was deliberately spreading these rumors.
Who could it be? Who would have the knowledge to understand the secret?
‘Is it them?’
He recalled the chimeras that had suffered heavy losses a few days ago on the western side of Laup Forest. More than half of them hadn’t returned, and the only place that could explain the presence of red mana stones in Etor was there.
A mysterious group of shamans.
They vanished as soon as he started to make his move, as if deliberately avoiding him. If those shamans were indeed involved, they might know the secret of the bio mana stones.
‘Their response is too quick.’
The secret of the mana stones had spread, and the movements of the lords surrounding Laup Forest were being observed everywhere.
Beneta, in particular, was the most problematic.
Unlike other places that sent mercenary bands, Beneta’s lord himself had appeared with a personal army.
The plan to gather experimental subjects over a month had reached its limit in less than half that time.
The thought of retreat crossed Dominic’s mind.
With enough test subjects already secured, was it worth risking further conflict?
It might be better to buy time by leaving some chimeras as bait.
Once they experienced the mana stone’s side effects, they would have no choice but to hesitate.
‘The Crystal Mimic’s greed has been noticeably increasing. It’ll be time to deal with it soon….’
Ten years ago, while fleeing from Grand Duke Clarke’s pursuit, he had hidden deep within Laup Forest and stumbled upon a ghastly, ancient box wedged into a collapsed cliff.
The ancient box introduced itself as a mimic from ancient times, and with its high intelligence, it communicated with Dominic.
The bio mana stones were a type of reward the mimic produced after consuming test subjects.
That was the reason for the cross-species hunts.
To receive the violet mana stones, he needed the blood of various species.
And as a bonus, he gained ancient knowledge.
Without the Crystal Mimic, neither the chimeras nor Dominic himself would exist as they did now.
It was a savior.
And it was also a target to hunt.
‘If I can just get my hands on a new power source…’
With the “thing” held by the Crystal Mimic, he could finally begin his revenge against Grand Duke Clarke, the one who had plunged him and his daughter into the depths of despair.
Dominic picked up a book. It was thick and heavy, resembling an ancient tome, but he held it comfortably with one hand.
“Arena, we need to shut down the experimental prisons. Start the cleanup.”
For the first time, Arena responded to his command. She gave a slight nod, her eyes flashing with a sharp gleam.
At that moment,
Kwoooooo—!!!!!
The entire forest trembled with the chimeras’ cries.
Collection squads began visiting the various experimental prisons set up throughout the forest.
Dominic sat down on a rock alongside Arena.
The chimera army was divided into two main roles.
The collection squads and the hunting squads.
Once the chimeras that had just finished their hunt returned from the prisons, he planned to leave some as bait and withdraw to the lab.
A retreat-minded operation.
Arena stared blankly at the sky, while Dominic resumed reading his book.
“The end is near.”
Dominic muttered quietly as he looked down at the book.
Kiaaaaaaah—!
A shrill cry echoed close by.
Elton signaled to halt.
Moving swiftly through the trees above the forest, I sensed a flurry of presences below as branches whipped past.
People, terror-stricken, were fleeing among a swarm of chimeras.
“M-monsters…!”
“What the hell are these things?! Where did they suddenly… Aaaagh!!!!”
The chimeras rampaged, seizing any humans they caught sight of.
With far more chimeras than humans, it seemed only a matter of time before they were all caught.
“What are you planning to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“You must have a purpose.”
“A purpose? Yeah, I’ve got one. Just follow me.”
For now, I planned to head toward the mountain stronghold.
Once we arrived, we concealed ourselves in the treetops and surveyed the surroundings.
An enormous crowd was scattering in all directions across the forest.
Two thousand? Three thousand?
There seemed to be even more than the band of thieves we’d encountered last time. Just as Karl had mentioned, it looked like Dominic was indiscriminately capturing humans.
Those fleeing to survive were using others as bait.
They shoved down their companions as they ran, stabbed their allies in the legs with weapons, and threw stones at the weaker ones to slow them down.
Justice did not exist here.
The first ones to be captured and dragged away were always the weak.
In the past, I might have watched this scene with a bitter feeling.
Perhaps I would have even offered help if it was needed.
But now, I had learned to accept the situation as it was.
I followed behind the humans being dragged off by the chimeras. Elton, looking at me with a questioning expression, finally voiced his suspicion.
“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to save them?”
“No.”
Saving them all would be impossible, and rescuing them wouldn’t benefit my survival in any way.
“Then why are you following?”
“I want to see how the chimeras cross over.”
“Cross over what? The boundary?”
“Yeah. Have you seen it before?”
Elton nodded heavily. After a moment, he pointed in a certain direction.
At the edge of the barrier, we saw chimeras. They paused for a moment, devouring the humans they’d captured in a single gulp.
Then, they leapt into the air.
The chimeras disappeared as if they had vanished into thin air.
The same scene unfolded all along the boundary, without regard to direction.
When I narrowed my eyes at Elton, he continued explaining.
“We tried jumping through that place ourselves, but it just transported us to a different part of the forest. We couldn’t escape.”
It had been the same for me.
If anything, I’d almost been killed by a slime that ambushed me during my attempt.
But it seemed that chimeras could somehow leave through the barrier.
“There’s a pattern to it.”
“A pattern?”
“Every single one of them disappears after consuming a human.”
“So, the chimeras act as a conduit for escaping the barrier.”
What was the difference between us and the chimeras?
A few days ago, I had tried crossing the boundary while holding a mana stone, but it hadn’t worked.
That meant the mana stones weren’t the key.
While I was pondering, I noticed three creatures that looked like gnolls, lumbering on two legs just below us. No—they weren’t exactly gnolls; they were chimera versions of gnolls, with mismatched monster arms grafted onto their sides.
Come to think of it, most of the small chimeras resembled gnolls. Considering the large population of gnolls in Laup Forest, it made sense that they’d be a common base material for the chimeras here.
‘Time to test the waters.’
My goal was to collect violet mana stones by hunting the larger chimeras. But first, I needed to confirm something.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got.’
Elton, the Flame Blade.
I needed to verify his skills firsthand.
I looked over at Elton and gave him a hand signal, instructing him to attack the gnolls.
Elton’s brow twitched in irritation.
“Don’t order me around.”
“I thought you were interested in the mana stones, no?”
“……”
At my smirk, Elton scowled, then finally drew his dagger. With a swift leap, he descended from the tree, heading straight toward the gnolls below.
The moment Elton moved, I pulled out my crossbow and loaded a bolt.
Just as Elton was about to engage, I pulled the trigger.
Thwip—!
Kieeeeeek!
The bolt struck one of the gnoll chimeras, making it scream in pain. The forest began to stir in response to its cry.
More chimeras were coming.
Elton incinerated one of the gnolls with a surprise attack and then looked up at me with wide, furious eyes.
It was a look that said, Are you out of your mind?
I gestured back with another hand signal.
‘Hold them off.’
“You crazy bastard!!!”
Well, there wasn’t much time for a careful test, after all.
With a strong bait like Elton, the hunt would go that much more smoothly.
‘If you want to be angry, blame Karl. He’s the one who taught me this.’
Concealing myself within the foliage, I fixed my gaze sharply on one direction.
The forest was shaking violently in that spot.
A massive creature was on its way.