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The path back to the Ark.
What greeted me was a sight more overwhelming than anything I'd seen before.
["…Are those all corpses?"]
"Seems like it."
["Wow..."]
Esther's mouth dropped open at the sight before her.
And understandably so.
The vast land stretching tens of kilometers was filled with thick smoke, blazing flames, massive craters from explosives, and countless corpses of beasts and monsters.
"..."
The acrid smoke rising from the ground reached all the way to the sky, obscuring visibility.
Who could possibly estimate how long it would take to burn all those corpses and clear the outer front lines of the Ark?
The sheer number of beast and monster corpses blanketing the battlefield was overwhelming.
'Before I return, I'd better take care of what needs to be done.'
Although the current situation entangling the Ark, the Kronos Union, and the Rose Cross Knights made for anything but a leisurely environment, I couldn't afford to delay my task.
Feeding the high-grade beasts and monsters I'd hunted to Janus and Horus—that was something that absolutely could not be postponed.
'The front-line incineration will start soon. I can't put this off.'
The number of high-grade beasts and monsters I'd hunted during this multi-wave attack was by no means small.
From the Grade-1 Named Demon-Type: Durandal, Noble of the Night, to the massive Grade-1 Named Colossal Behemoth: Bearagon the Vomiter, and even the ginormous Grade-1 Petrified Dread: Geogranite Dread.
If I simply returned to the Ark without retrieving them, their remains would be wiped out by the upcoming incineration process.
Considering how much of my power depended on Janus and Horus, I couldn't allow that.
"Let's go."
Of course, locating the corpses wasn't going to be easy.
Finding a needle in a haystack might seem easier, given that what lay before me were nothing but corpses.
But it didn't matter.
I already remembered the general locations where I'd defeated those beasts and monsters—all I had to do was devour everything in those areas.
'Then…'
Gripping Horus's skeletal reins, I urged him forward.
* * *
Collecting the beast corpses wasn't all that difficult.
Since I already knew their rough locations, I just needed to devour everything nearby.
"Devour it."
[Kiggit!]
[Kihihit!]
Janus and Horus let out joyful cries and began their ravenous feast.
Now that both had gained strength far surpassing their former selves, their appetites had increased to an incomparably ravenous level.
No matter how much there was to eat, it wouldn't be an issue.
Ssssss...!
Countless bone tentacles began to extend in all directions, quickly engulfing the surrounding area.
They were the bone tentacles of Janus and Horus.
Having reached a level equivalent to non-classified monsters, Janus and Horus began feasting, and the corpses of the beasts in the area started to vanish as if decomposing with time.
Slurp, slurp──!
Crunch!
Not long after finishing off one zone, Janus and Horus moved on to another.
And so, the feast continued.
An all-consuming, gluttonous banquet that devoured everything in sight.
[You have absorbed the blood and flesh of Grade-1 Named Demon-Type: 'Durandal, Noble of the Night'!]
[By absorbing a significant portion of Grade-1 Named Demon-Type: 'Durandal, Noble of the Night,' you have acquired some of its abilities.]
.
.
.
[You have absorbed the blood and flesh of Grade-1 Colossal Behemoth: 'Bearagon the Vomiter'!]
[By absorbing a significant portion of Grade-1 Colossal Behemoth: 'Bearagon the Vomiter,' you have acquired some of its abilities.]
.
.
.
[You have absorbed part of Grade-1 Petrified Dread: 'Geogranite Dread'!]
[You have absorbed numerous core fragments of Grade-1 Petrified Dread: 'Geogranite Dread,' and acquired its abilities.]
Thanks to moving diligently, it didn't take long to retrieve everything I needed.
Even beyond those targets, other beasts and monsters scattered throughout the front lines served as excellent food for Janus and Horus.
[Kiggit!]
[Kihehehet!]
At last, after devouring everything that needed to be devoured, I could feel how much stronger Janus and Horus had become.
At this rate, even Horus alone might be able to hold his own against The Rotting Body, Opacum, the first boss monster of the Red Line stage.
'Of course, he couldn't actually win… but he's grown strong enough to put up a fight.'
That's when fighting alone. If Janus and Horus fought together, the two of them would have no problem subduing Opacum.
I now had monster subordinates at the level of Red Line stage bosses.
'Of course, we're still a long way off… but it's not a bad start.'
I checked Janus's status to see how much he had improved, and brought up the bone armor information for the first time in a while.
───────────────
[Bone Armor (Lv.5)] [Janus] [★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ (15 stars)]
— A defensive gear made by linking a domesticated bone parasite to the energy core of the Ark's officer-grade protective suit (Lv.5).
— Named "Janus."
— Current absorption rate of Ankelenth's Fang: 72.6%
— You have absorbed part of Grade-1 Named Demon-Type: 'Durandal, Noble of the Night.'
— You can use some of Durandal's abilities.
— You have absorbed Grade-1 Colossal Behemoth: 'Bearagon the Vomiter.'
— You can use some of Bearagon's abilities.
— You have absorbed multiple cores of Grade-1 Petrified Dread: 'Geogranite Dread.'
— You can use some of Geogranite Dread's abilities.
"View Details"
───────────────
The absorption rate of Ankelenth's Fang had increased by about 3%, but there was no significant grade-up.
It seemed even leveling up the bone armor wasn't easy anymore, since its rank was already so high.
'Still, this is more than enough.'
Janus and Horus would only grow stronger.
And now, I felt it was time to raise some other subordinates as well.
'Haven't seen the Turncoat Knight lately… I should summon him and feed him too.'
If I could pass along some of the power Janus and Horus had gained, the Turncoat Knight would no doubt become much stronger.
And if I shared it with the Turncoat Rook in the Shadow Order as well, he'd be even more useful.
'Well, I've gathered what I needed. That can wait.'
What mattered now was the Kronos Union, who had just allied with the Ark through this Wave.
If someone were trying to sabotage the alliance for their own ends, it was up to me to stop them.
"Stay here and finish eating."
I ordered Horus to remain and devour the remaining beasts on the front line, then activated the Z-74 Jetpack.
It was finally time to return to the Ark.
* * *
"I'll be going now."
"Are you sure you're alright? Even if we did some temporary treatment, you still need proper care."
"I'll get it later. There's something I need to do first."
Staff Sergeant Alex Hope stood from the bed after only receiving basic treatment.
Though the military doctor insisted he receive proper medical care, he couldn't afford to lie around right now.
"Ugh..."
"Hey, you still alive?"
"…I'm alive, you bastard."
"Yeah? You were so quiet, I thought you were dead. Hah."
Before leaving the infirmary, Staff Sergeant Alex Hope glanced toward the groaning wounded.
Among them were not only Ark soldiers, but many warriors of the Kronos Union as well.
All of them had shed blood for the Ark.
"..."
Alex Hope had many thoughts about the upcoming summons.
What exactly should he say when he got there?
As the officer in charge of Gate Rose-15, Alex Hope had been closer to the Kronos Union than anyone.
Naturally, what he said about the current agenda would carry weight.
"..."
Lost in thought, Alex Hope headed for the Purple Line—the location of the Rose Cross Knights' summoned meeting.
The Purple Line.
One of the Ark's forward fronts, and the next line after the very front, Rose Line.
* * *
As Alex Hope approached the Purple Line, flashing neon signs greeted him.
The Purple Line was a curious place within the Ark.
Though it was the second most dangerous front after the Rose Line, paradoxically, it received far less support.
Because of that, the overall economic state here wasn't good.
Thus, the Purple Line had become one of the Ark's most desolate districts.
"..."
Maybe because of that, its streets were quite deserted.
Few lived here to begin with.
Those who wanted to live relocated to other lines. Those who failed remained, dragging out their lives in despair.
Beep, beep-beep-beep…
Cleaning robots rolled along the empty roads, filling the silence.
With a severely low population, the Purple Line suffered from extreme manpower shortages.
As a result, they came up with alternatives—like these robots.
Maybe because of that atmosphere, a peculiar religion had taken root in the Purple Line.
A machine-worshipping faith.
The Machine Cult.
'Still the same as ever.'
Alex Hope passed through the silent street and stepped into a nearly abandoned alleyway.
Normally, to hide a tree, you put it in a forest. But in the ghost town-like Purple Line, the opposite was true.
Move openly here, and you'd be spotted in no time.
Creaaak...
He opened a rusted metal door in the alley, walked down a pitch-dark corridor, and finally stood before another sealed metal door.
At a glance, it looked like an old rusted door—but it was reinforced to a level where it couldn't be forced open by ordinary means.
Knock, knock-knock-knock, knock-knock─
Alex Hope knocked in the designated sequence, and the seemingly impenetrable door slowly opened.
"You're here."
Though he'd come promptly, almost everyone had already arrived.
They all knew how important today's agenda was.
"Since Alex is here, let's begin right away."
Despite a key face being missing, they were beginning the meeting. Alex Hope raised a question.
"The Commander isn't coming?"
"No. Today, I'm acting commander."
He didn't ask why the Commander of the Rose Cross Knights wasn't attending such an important meeting.
There must have been a reason.
So, Alex Hope quietly took his seat.
"I assume everyone knows today's topic. But this is a matter we must address."
Agnes, the deputy commander of the Rose Cross Knights and acting chair of the meeting, spoke softly.
"I heard the Kronos Union performed admirably in this Wave. Staff Sergeant Alex Hope, is that correct?"
"…Yes. The Kronos Union truly fought for the Ark."
"Of course—they had everything to gain from doing so. At this point, it's reasonable to say that an alliance between the Ark and Kronos Union benefits both sides. For now, neither has reason to betray the other. Does anyone object?"
No one responded.
Everyone here had seen how Kronos Union fought in the Wave.
"But I can't shake the feeling that everything is going exactly according to someone's design. For those of us who worry about Ark's security, this is something we can't ignore."
Agnes continued.
"That's why I believe we must shift the focus of today's topic. We need to reconsider who we should truly be watching."
At her words, one name surfaced in everyone's mind.
If someone had designed all of this—it could only be that person.
"You don't mean…"
"Yes. It's who you're thinking of."
Agnes's artificial left eye glowed red.
"Is Carl Marcus a threat to the Ark?"