#217
Lycanthrope (2)
These guys are on a whole different scale.
Of course, this group isn’t the only execution unit around.
There are likely more scattered across the Elven Kingdom and maybe even throughout the continent.
‘The entire continent is beyond my control, but…’
Perhaps we could handle the ones within the territory of the Elven Kingdom first?
Normally, I would’ve thought about heading back right after reporting the situation, but that thought has changed.
[This is Harris. I’ve discovered a pack of Lycanthropes creating a rift to the Abyss in the northern mountains of the Elven Kingdom… ]
After managing the situation on-site and concentrating, he used the “Observer of the Stars” to convey the situation to other High Elves.
[… There may be additional issues, so I’ll continue to search the outskirts for now.]
With Pascal, now a top-tier spirit, sprawled on his air mattress, he moved following his senses.
[Hoo… Well done. We must declare a state of emergency and reinforce our defenses immediately. Just to be safe, I’ll notify neighboring countries as well.]
Upon receiving the news, the Elven Queen sighed with annoyance, and High Elves connected to the World Tree network in Drasha began chattering.
[Hahaha! To be honest, I thought you’d just waste time somewhere, but I didn’t expect you to take the initiative! You really do things properly! This is reassuring.]
[Lord Horut? Even though you’re a retired elder, Harris is still someone chosen by the World Tree. Please use honorifics.]
[… Hmph. So, shall we head out for the outer search then?]
Despite having only four, including the Queen and Cecily.
[Especially considering three of you are away… Above all, the safety of the World Tree is the top priority. We can’t leave this place recklessly. Let’s delegate the additional outer search to others.]
Currently, there were only eight High Elves affiliated with the Elven Kingdom.
Before Cecily and Harris woke up, there were only six, and one of them had already retired from external affairs.
Moreover, now, with Laforey and Lydia gone for the Shrine construction, there wasn’t much manpower left.
‘The Enamel Continent has been too safe, and we’ve been caught off guard.’
However, it wasn’t a major problem.
Even if you exclude the four High Elves in Drasha, there were plenty of strong individuals in the Elven Kingdom.
Although there’s a large gap in potential, ordinary Elves who hadn’t become High Elves could also become strong through training.
“Yawn—.”
After finishing the coordination through the World Tree network, Harris buried himself in the air mattress.
Comfortable and cozy, with a fast mode of transport.
He closed his eyes, feeling the soft winds wrapping around his entire body.
‘Then, shall I start searching again…’
Resolving the immediate issues, gaining support from the World Tree, and earning prestige within Elven society.
This didn’t sound like a bad trip at all.
…Though, it was a bit annoying.
*
Crack— Crack—
With something in his mouth, Harley nodded in satisfaction.
His body was inscribed with unfamiliar yet oddly satisfying genetic information.
‘Must be because a general-grade one is involved? It’s been a while since I encountered something useful, but this is better than expected! It matches me perfectly.’
The shards of the Lycanthrope that Harris sent him.
Unlike other races, they were practically monsters themselves, possessing a heart with shards similar to mana stones…
This not only boosted skills like “Physical Transformation” but also inscribed something beyond that into each of Harley’s cells.
‘Maybe it’s because they’re similar to me. It feels tingly… I think I understand what I’ve been lacking until now.’
Half-monsters that devour the hearts of their prey to grow, possessing extreme physical abilities and transformation capabilities.
Lycanthropes were a very similar race to him.
‘Anyone can see I look like the superior version of them.’
That wasn’t entirely incorrect.
The important fact he realized after staring at a wall for quite some time… was that he had an insurmountable limit.
Despite having stolen genetic information from dragons and various monsters, and having satisfied his madness by taking down numerous giants, the reason he couldn’t move forward was that very fact.
Unlike ordinary beings, he, a chimera created based on research by Hans, had a fatal design flaw as a living entity.
Unlike the Lycanthropes created by ‘God’ directly.
As long as he didn’t overcome that… he could never reach transcendence.
‘Until just a moment ago!’
Slurping up all the Lycanthrope shards, Harley chuckled wickedly.
Of course he would!
After all, he just got a sneak peek at that ‘God’s’ blueprint!
Now, he had filled in the last gap needed for a more complete form, heading toward the ultimate!
‘Hoo hoo, it’s time for a meat party!’
As Harley basked in his satisfaction, celebrating alone with an abundance of meat, his focus shifted.
“Indeed… this giant doesn’t seem like just a servant of madness.”
Turning slightly at the voice from a distance, he looked at Saint Liesta.
It seemed that the task they were waiting for had finally concluded.
“It was summoned through madness, so it couldn’t bring anything else. Absorbing other negative energy to become stronger… well, one might say it’s a process of regaining its original strength.”
She examined the core of the giant that had already been defeated and broken, thickly enveloping it with Holy Power.
“…Hah, with the madness now spreading across the world, I’m worried that more nations might actually fall.”
The concentration of madness that had already spread across the continent was serious.
Now, even a simple hot-headed person might be affected by it.
Initially, there was a limit to the amount of madness that spread throughout the continent, but it continually stimulated its host and gradually swelled.
The increased madness would disperse back into the atmosphere or enter the bodies of stronger predators if the host died, worsening the situation naturally.
“Sniff! Is it okay to eat it now? If I don’t hurry, it’ll just scatter!”
“…Here it is. But is it really alright?”
“Oh, of course! How many have I eaten till now! Hahaha!”
In the midst of all this, a variable named Harley, who could devour madness directly to control it, appeared!
Perhaps his existence was the key to ending the madness crisis, and thus she had no choice but to agree reluctantly despite her disconcertment.
At the moment when Liesta was about to throw the orb into her mouth while glaring at him with narrowed eyes.
Something jolted!
Startled by a sudden feeling, she turned her head in another direction.
…Indeed, many giants were emerging from the borders of the Abyss.
But…?
“Saint?”
After a while of being frozen, Heinrich called her cautiously a few times before she snapped back to reality and slowly spoke.
“Giants have appeared. Quite a few of them… Five? No… maybe even more.”
Quietly resting, Isea, Geos, and Lydia turned rigidly to look at her.
A single giant could stagger a minor nation.
If there were five or more of such monsters appearing simultaneously, it would be a crisis situation in which even an empire would have to mobilize all its forces.
If they didn’t eliminate them before they grew stronger, the nation could truly face annihilation.
“Saint! Please share the coordinates of the most vulnerable spot first! We need to clean that up as quickly as possible!”
Despite the urgency, Isea kept urging Liesta, who looked focused on something.
Since preparing for teleportation took considerable time, they couldn’t afford to hesitate!
However, she simply shook her head at that insistence, grasped the holy emblem hanging around her neck, and sighed before speaking.
“…I’m afraid this time we won’t be able to take action. Even for you, Isea, crossing the continent immediately would be a challenge, wouldn’t it?”
“Huh? Well, that is true, but… no way?”
“Hoo, first, I’ll contact the Shrine to get the news through Laforey. Why is this happening again…”
The White Giants that started to appear on the Enamel Continent, which had been quiet until now.
Including over five of them invading simultaneously from the start.
If they didn’t react in time, the damage would quickly snowball.
-Harris: Ah, what now…
Unfortunately, with the distance too far, Liesta couldn’t pinpoint the exact coordinates, but simply being able to grasp the situation quickly was a significant help.
As Harris flew around the outskirts of the Elven Kingdom, urgently transmitting news to the High Elves…
“Ugh— my stomach feels bloated.”
Shortly after swallowing the giant’s core, Harley frowned as he gently rubbed his belly, detached from the serious atmosphere of the group.
Of course, he could chew and digest even steel, so it wasn’t really a problem of indigestion.
“Urp! Burp—!”
With a loud burp, thick steam began billowing out of his mouth like a chimney.
And at that moment, a significant change started occurring within him.
Steam billowed from his mouth, seven orifices, and all his pores, while his body heated up like molten iron, causing the surrounding air to become instantly hot.
“Uh? Harley? Why are you suddenly…?”
“Wait! Step back!”
《The entity has achieved the necessary conditions for growth. Special skills “Frenzied Beast,” “Heart of the Bone Dragon,” and “Madness Control” are merging to evolve into “Tyrant of Madness.”》
This was merely something that had to happen eventually, just earlier than expected.
Although he hadn’t anticipated that he would return so swiftly after just chuckling to himself moments ago.
As the deficiency that existed until now vanished, the madness that had been unable to break through its limits was compressed, exceeding a certain concentration.
The skills affected by this evolved simultaneously, leading to an explosive increase in physical capabilities—
Finally, his flesh shattered the barriers that had been restricting him, leaping to the next level.
《The entity has achieved the necessary conditions for growth. Special skills “Mutation,” “Physical Transformation,” and “Giantization” are merging to evolve into “Ultimate Evolution Life Form.”》
Harley had no deep reflections on martial arts nor profound insights into truth.
What he sought was simply the ‘end as a living being’ and the contradictory goal of ‘infinite evolution.’
《The special skill “Ultimate Evolution Life Form” absorbs and strengthens sub-abilities “Enhanced Regeneration,” “Great Strength,” and “Hyperreactivity.”》
But through all this, the countless life forms’ information he had painstakingly gathered and the possibilities…
The rigorous analysis and adjustment at the cellular level he undertook to utilize all of it most efficiently.
And the accumulated obsession through all those processes…
Was enough to transcend his flesh beyond its limits.
“Step back! It’s dangerous to approach now!”
“What’s happening? Is it really the giant’s core that caused this?”
Flinching at Harley’s sudden crazy boiling energy, the group quickly stepped back, their faces stiff with concern.
Within the thick steam, sounds of his bones twisting ferociously echoed incessantly, so this was only natural.
Seeing their anxious expressions, Heinrich, who was continuously monitoring the internal situation, calmly smiled and reassured his comrades.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”
But before he could finish his sentence.
“Bwahaha——!”
An echoing laughter that seemed to shake the very fabric of space resonated all around.
*
Harley thought.
About the situation he found himself in.
‘Ah! I feel fresh and good, but I’m also annoyed because I’m hungry! Guess I should eat something first? But…’
Then suddenly, the engravings on his body caught his attention.
Various mystical patterns etched on his beautifully sculpted muscles, like a piece of art.
“Hmm, this doesn’t quite satisfy me.”
He was the ultimate and strongest life form.
Naturally, everything that expressed him must also be the best!
‘Speaking of which, what did that old lady say back then? Didn’t she promise to give me something amazing?’
He recalled.
After resolving the issues with the tribal alliance, she promised to inscribe the Engraving of the Dragon King.
However, now as multiple issues erupted across the continent, including the South, he couldn’t just rush there and make plans separately.
The church was trying very hard to calm things down, but if the hero party barged in recklessly, it would only lead to a fight.
‘…But why should I care about that?’
Can’t I just smash everything?
After all, the previous Grand Chief was the root cause; taking him down would solve everything!
‘Alright! Let’s go, right now!’
Admiring himself for being not only strong but also wise, Harley resolutely stood up from his spot.
Mouth full of a huge chunk of meat.
And Heinrich, watching from a distance, quietly held his forehead.
“…Saint? Are you alright?”
His colleagues, relieved that he was okay after standing up just like normal while chomping away, asked with puzzled expressions.
But he didn’t have the luxury to answer that.
‘Ah, my Holy God…’
Unintentionally, another weirdo had just joined the ranks.
